Book a Week in 2011 -- Week 24

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday! Today is the start of week 24 in our quest to read 52 books in 52 weeks. Welcome to everyone who is just joining in, welcome back to our regulars and to all who are following our progress. Mr. Linky is all set up on the 52 books blog to link to your reviews. The link is in my signature.

 

52 Books Blog - W is for What Shall We Read Next. Nifty book search engines to discover new and interesting books. Beware though, time sucker. :)

 

What are you reading this week?

 

 

 

 

Link to week 23

[Robin M]

I'm being a bad girl. Really should be reading sources for class paper. Instead I'm on a fluffy paranormal romance kick reading Christine Feehan's Ghostwalker series. This week have read #3, 4, 5, and 6. I love getting into series with a whole cast of characters and each book highlighting one couple out of the cast, but all involved in the story.

[Storm Bay]

I'm reading The Weed that String's the Hangman's Bag, the second Flavia novel. I did finish the last one I posted, The Dark Shore. All you Flavia fans can drool, because I also have the third one thanks to my handy-dandy library network.

[Storm Bay]

I've liked them all, and not at all because I want to find out what happens to a character, but because they've been interesting each on its own merit. However, it has been fun to see the characters grow (or regress in some cases.) #2 was really helpful in that it provided insight into a life situation I've had to work through. I don't want to give spoilers, so I'll put it at the bottom of this post. It did though drag during the middle/end though. #4 has been my favorite.

 

 

What's the name of the 4th one, and does it involve psychic stuff? I didn't stick with the second one on Darrow because I don't care for him and am tired of novels with psychic characters. It was okay in the first one, because it wasn't a big part of the novel.

 

:grouphug:One of my brother had a stillborn child 16 years ago; I haven't been through that, but I know it was a hard thing for my db & sil to work through.

 

(reposted this here since the new thread was put up while I was on the forum:)).

[Stacia]

.

[Stacia]

I'm reading The Weed that String's the Hangman's Bag, the second Flavia novel. I did finish the last one I posted, The Dark Shore. All you Flavia fans can drool, because I also have the third one thanks to my handy-dandy library network.

 

I think the third Flavia book is the best one so far.... :001_smile:

[Mom-ninja.]

Started Leaps of Faith and of course, the nerd in me, finds it fascinating.

 

Almost done with Wuthering Heights and I'm really wondering how it will end.

[Storm Bay]

I think the third Flavia book is the best one so far.... :001_smile:

So far I like the first one better than the second, but the second one isn't bad at all.

[Stacia]

So far I like the first one better than the second, but the second one isn't bad at all.

 

Yeah, I liked the second one the least. But, it was still good.

[Medieval Mom]

I'm still reading Springtime in Britain. I haven't read as much this week, as I'm putting together our plans for third grade and catching up with house/yardwork. We had houseguests for a little over two weeks. After posting this book for several weeks now, I'll spice up my boring post with the book's cover image. :D

Nature writing is definitely a genre that I've neglected in the past, and would like to read more of in the future. I'll definitely be seeking out more books by this author. :)

Edited June 12, 2011 by Medieval Mom

[dangermom]

I read The Face in the Frost, a minor classic in the fantasy genre, and In Search of Ireland's Heroes, a dense history of Ireland's struggle with the English.

 

As a bonus, I did a Book Seer pick of The Pedant and the Shuffly.

[JennW in SoCal]

Spring Heeled Jack is such a fun romp -- I'm glad you are loving it too. Mark Hodder threw in everything, even the kitchen sink as they say, but somehow it actually all works!

 

I finished The House of the Spirits, and really enjoyed it. It did compel me to read up on Salvador Allende as my Chilean political history is a bit fuzzy!

 

I just came home with a bag full of Rex Stout mysteries and a few other good titles. Do any of you remember Kay in Cal who started this Book a Week club back in 2009? She and her hubby are getting ready to move to the other side of the country and are purging their huge library. I took a homeschool friend to peruse Kay's library today -- my friend's house burned down last fall and she was thrilled, emotional even, to be able to replace so many wonderful books. I restrained myself to two large canvas bags, one of which was full with D&D books for my 16yo!

 

I'll probably start with a Dorothy Sayers title -- Kay had a Lord Peter novel I've not yet read.

[Sparkle]

I mostly read Agatha Christie again this week since I haven't been able to get to the library: Partners in Crime, Murder at the Vicarage and Death on the Nile. I also read Annulment, the Wedding That Was: How the Church Can Declare a Marriage Null by Michael S. Foster. Right now, reading You Can Change by Cedric Pisegna, C.P., and still reading Blessed John the Wonderworker from last week.

[Sparkle]

I'm still reading Springtime in Britain. I haven't read as much this week, as I'm putting together our plans for third grade and catching up with house/yardwork. We had houseguests for a little over two weeks. After posting this book for several weeks now, I'll spice up my boring post with the book's cover image. :D

Nature writing is definitely a genre that I've neglected in the past, and would like to read more of in the future. I'll definitely be seeking out more books by this author. :)

 

This looks totally up my alley. I just requested it from the library :)

[Mom-ninja.]

Has the Book a Week been around since 2009? I remember when I first saw it felt so intimidated by it. :) I love it now.

[Imprimis]

 

Still reading & loving The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder. Very fun, witty, adventurous romp through a sci-fi/steampunk Victorian England....

 

 

"From Booklist

 

*Starred Review* The usual superlatives for really clever fantasy (imaginative, mind-bending, phantasmagorical) aren’t nearly big enough for this debut novel. With this one book, Hodder has put himself on the genre map. The time is 1861; the place, London, England. The country is besieged by loups-garous (werewolves), and Spring Heeled Jack, the notorious (and possibly mythical) creature who appears out of nowhere to accost young women, is causing a bit of a ruckus. To deal with these problems, the prime minister recruits Sir Richard Francis Burton, the noted explorer, linguist, and self-promoter. With the help of his friend, the poet Algernon Swinburne, Burton wades in with both feet and uncovers a frightening conspiracy and a (potentially) world-altering technology. And that’s just the bare-bones story of this wildly inventive—another insufficient superlative—novel. Hodder has brilliantly combined various genre staples—time travel, alternate reality, steampunk—into something you’ve never quite seen before. His mid-nineteenth-century Britain features steam-driven velocipedes, rotorchairs, verbally abusive messenger parrots, a pneumatic rail system, and robotic street cleaners. The book’s supporting characters include Charles Darwin, Florence Nightingale, Francis Galton, and Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the revolutionary civil engineer (although Hodder uses them in excitingly twisted new ways). The book is incredibly ambitious, and the author pulls it off like an old pro: not only is the setting exciting and fresh, the story is thrilling and full of surprises. Hodder’s only problem now is to find a way to follow up this exhilarating debut, which will appeal not only to sf/fantasy readers but also to mystery and historical-fiction fans."

Books read in 2011:

 

 

Okay, I'm generally not a sci-fi or fantasy fan, but that just sounds so fun...

[Medieval Mom]

Has the Book a Week been around since 2009? I remember when I first saw it felt so intimidated by it. :) I love it now.

 

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! :)

 

Teale has a way of describing his travels in a companionable, yet scholarly way. It's rather like traveling to England with long-lost grandparents. (His wife joins him in his travels.) I'm anxious to read his other titles, especially the four seasonal tomes about his travels in the USA (The American Seasons), the last of which (Wandering Through Winter) earned him the Pulitzer prize in 1966. In the book I'm reading, Springtime in Britain, he finds out about the Pulitzer award during his travels abroad!

Edited June 13, 2011 by Medieval Mom

[prairiegirl]

I think the third Flavia book is the best one so far.... :001_smile:

 

:iagree: The first one was second best and the second one comes in third, imo. I love Flavia and am waiting eagerly for #4.

 

Stacia, I have to say that you read the most interesting books. I love the covers of all of your books. Where do you find them all?

 

I finished 'Daughter of Time' by Josephine Tey today. I thoroughly enjoyed this book but you need a score card to keep track of all of the people involved. It can be a tad confusing at times.

 

I have now started Book #33-- The Father of Forensics by Colin Evans. It is about Bernard Spilsbury, who began what we know now as CSI. I am also reading Angels in the Architecture by Douglas Jones and Doug Wilson.

[eaglei]

Last week I posted that I was going to do much lighter reading this week - and I did!

 

I finished these:

 

#42 - Christmas at Harrington's, by Melody Carlson.

 

#43 - Thirteen Men Who Changed the World, by H.S. Vigeveno. This quick-reading, not-meant-to-be-deep, overview gave a somewhat enlightening summation of the twelve disciples' lives, plus Paul's. The author pointed out the differences in each person and related these characteristic traits to people in general, while also showing how God used their particular personalities to change the world. I think I found the author's treatment of Judas Iscariot among the more riveting, as he presented this man in a light I had not heard preached or taught before.

 

Currently reading, and will finish today:

 

#44 - Ruth Erskine's Crosses, by Isabella Alden. Anyone who enjoys books by Grace Livingston Hill will surely like Alden's books, as Isabella was Grace's aunt and encourager in Grace's subsequent writings. I've not read a lot of Alden's books (hard to find - even the reprints), but it seems to me that Isabella incorporates much more of the gospel as well as scripture into her stories, without being preachy, than Grace did.

 

Next up will be Marlo Thomas' autobiography, Growing Up Laughing.

[Robin M]

 

Still reading & loving The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder. Very fun, witty, adventurous romp through a sci-fi/steampunk Victorian England....

 

Love the cover. Sounds intriguing and will have to check it out.

 

Has the Book a Week been around since 2009? I remember when I first saw it felt so intimidated by it. :) I love it now.

 

Kay in Cal started it in 2009, then had to drop out due to personal reasons. I just sort of took it over, then kept it going.

[ladydusk]

We listened to The Horse and His Boy by CS Lewis on our way home from OBX yesterday, enjoyed it immensely.

 

Had a great vacation week! I'd hoped to finish Beauty for Truth's Sake last week, but am 40 pages from the end. I'm going to be both smarter and dumber when I finish it.

 

My 2011 Reviews:

 

1. Her Daughter's Dream - Francine Rivers

2. Island of the World - Michael O'Brien (AMAZING!)

3. Mennonite in a Little Black Dress - Rhoda Janzen

4. Cinderella Ate My Daughter - Peggy Orenstein

5. Devil's Cub - Georgette Heyer

6. Keeping a Nature Journal - Clare Walker Leslie and Charles E Roth.

7. Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization (Audio Book) - Anthony Esolen

8. Excellent Women - Barbara Pym

9. The Abyssinian - Jean-Christophe Rufin

10. In the Company of Others - Jan Karon

11. One Thousand Gifts - Ann Voskamp

12. Regency Buck - Georgette Heyer

13. Bath Tangle - Georgette Heyer

14. The Convenient Marriage - Georgette Heyer

15. The Organized Heart - Staci Eastin

16. Your Home: A Place of Grace - Susan Hunt

17. Christian Encounters: Jane Austen - Peter Leithart

18. Bambi: A Life in the Woods - Victor Salten

19. Aunt Jane's Hero - Elizabeth Prentiss

20. The Magician's Nephew (Audio Book) - C.S. Lewis

21. The Horse and His Boy (Audio Book) - C.S. Lewis

[nd293]

I am still way behind, and still aiming to catch up...

 

The two books I had requested from the library were not available until late this week, so on Tuesday I picked up an Afrikaans book on a whim. Afrikaans was my second language growing up in South Africa, and we covered it consistently right through school. Of course, I haven't read anything in Afrikaans for the best part of 20 years, and have not really heard the language spoken for the past 7yrs that I've been out of the country. It was really amazing to me how easily I slipped back into the language, and I have a firm resolve to pick a modern language for the children to study consistently for the rest of their school careers. I am giving dd the summer (N. Hemisphere summer, I mean, it's winter Down Under) to play around with K12's Summer School "World Language Sampler" before making a decision.

 

Anyhow - the book I read was a political thriller involving South African diplomats, illegal arms smuggling and a coup in a West African state. I am already nearly finished The Attack by Yasmina Khadra (actually an Algerian male author). It is set in Israel, and concerns a modern, non-religious, Arab-Israeli surgeon who discovers that the wife he knew to be equally modern and non-religious has committed a suicide bombing. It's well-written, but I am a little ambivalent about reading a book that starts with the death of the main character.

 

I am still reading slowly through Stephen Law's The Great Philosophers and will start on The Cellist of Sarajevo next. I'll be working through everyone's lists to find my next few reads. I think after a coup and two war zones I will need something light!

 

11. Die Blou van Ons Hemel – Quintus van der Merwe (Afrikaans language political thriller set in West Africa, Belgium and South Africa at the time of a coup in a West African state)

10. The Golden Silence – Paul Johnston (Third in the “Alex Mavros†crime series set in modern Greece, against background of the civil conflict during and after WWII)

9. The 19th Wife – David Ebershoff ­(Fictional looks at polygamy in context of a modern fundamentalist Latter Day Saints sect, and in the early days of the church)

8. The Almond Blossom Appreciation Society – Chris Stewart (Stories from the British author’s 20 years of living on a farm in Andalucia, Spain)

7. Crying Blue Murder – Paul Johnston (First in the “Alex Mavros†crime series set in modern Greece, against background of the civil conflict during and after WWII)

6. Look for Me – Edeet Ravel (Israeli peace activist searches for her husband who purposely vanishes after suffering injuries in a military accident)

5. The Last Red Death – Paul Johnston (Award winning crime fiction set in modern Greece, against background of the civil conflict during and after WWII – second in “Alex MAvros†series)

4. The Red Tent – Anita Diamant (Retells the Biblical story of the family of Jacob from the perspective of his daughter, Dinah)

3. The Housekeeper and the Professor – Yoko Ogawa (Beautiful Japanese novel about the relationship between a housekeeper and a maths professor whose memory lasts only 80 minutes)

2. Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert (Italy, India, Bali – spiritual discovery)

1. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down – Anne Fadiman (Clash of values over the treatment of a Hmong girl in a USA hospital – Non-fiction)

 

[Stacia]

:iagree: The first one was second best and the second one comes in third, imo. I love Flavia and am waiting eagerly for #4.

 

Stacia, I have to say that you read the most interesting books. I love the covers of all of your books. Where do you find them all?

 

I agree w/ your order on the Flavia books, lol.

 

Thanks about the books. If I don't find them interesting, I don't keep reading. Maybe that's why the ones I do read are interesting? ;):tongue_smilie:

 

Where do I find the books or where do I find the covers...??? (If you're asking about pics of the cover art, I just do a google images search. If you're asking about books, well, I find ideas all over -- from this list, to blogs, to random searches on amazon, to friends' recommendations, etc...)

[Negin]

I'm reading a history book of the cities of Acre and Haifa (where we'll be in a few weeks) in Israel.

 

I finished The House of the Spirits, and really enjoyed it.

This is one of my all-time favorites. :)

 

Has the Book a Week been around since 2009? I remember when I first saw it felt so intimidated by it. :) I love it now.

I was intimidated at first also.

Mind you, back then, I think I was intimidated by these forums overall! ;)

[Heather in Neverland]

This week it is The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan.

[slug hollow]

I am woefully behind on my reading, but for this month it is due to dedicating the larger chunk of my reading time to painting, so it is a profitable trade for me.

I did manage to finish a book in the last week + a couple of days. Appropriately, it was art related. Two worlds of Andrew Wyeth, by Hoving

It is an odd joy to rediscover things I dismissed out of hand in my teens. It is also pretty fun that my library's two books on A. Wyeth pre-date his Helga pictures, so I will have more to discover later.

I'm also reading a little fiction, but lately it's 3-4 pages before I fall asleep. Makes any book a long read.

[Jane Elliot]

What's the name of the 4th one, and does it involve psychic stuff? I didn't stick with the second one on Darrow because I don't care for him and am tired of novels with psychic characters. It was okay in the first one, because it wasn't a big part of the novel.

 

 

The 4th one is Scandalous Risks, and there's only a little bit of psychic stuff going on with a minor character, but in the 5th book (Mystical Paths)that character becomes the main character, and it's a lot like book 2, except that it has a more interesting plot. I'm only halfway through #5 so the verdict is still out. I'm not going to say these are my favorite books ever, but they have definitely made me think, and they've grown on me enough that I'm always wanting to read the next one.

Edited June 13, 2011 by Luann in ID

[Jane Elliot]

We finished Gone With the Wind which we started in February. Loved, loved, loved this book, even if there were a few times I wondered what on earth I was doing reading this to my 10/11yo :ohmy:. Hopefully a few things went over her head. At the end my three girls said, "That's it?!?! She's ending it there?!" And I said, "That was almost 2000 pages, and you still want more??" but I knew what they meant. I didn't want it to end either, and especially not where it ended. I had to imagine my own satisfactory conclusion in order to get over it. :tongue_smilie:

 

We (6yo-14yo) also finished The Hobbit. Fun, fun, fun.

 

The girls and I have started The Hiding Place. I haven't decided what I'll read to my younger group yet.

 

I'm still reading through the Starbridge series, and supposedly I'm reading Christianity and Liberalism with Tim Challies's Reading the Classics Together, however I'm having a difficult time finding the kind of quiet reading time that book requires because the summer sun wakes my little kids up too early in the morning.

 

Books Finished in 2011:

1. Glamorous Powers - Susan Howatch (4/5 stars) 1/7

2. City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era - Michael Gerson and Peter Wehner (5/5 stars) 1/15

3. That Distant Land: The Collected Stories - Wendell Berry (4/5 stars) 1/27

4. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Written by Herself - Harriet Ann Jacobs 1/28

5. The Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness Emmuska Orczy RA (4/5 stars) 2/2

6. The Warden – Anthony Trollope (4/5 stars) 2/5

7. Death of a Red Heroine – Qiu Xiaolong (3.5/5 stars) 2/9

8. Listen – Rene Gutteridge (3/5 stars) 2/21

9. Trusting God - Jerry Bridges (5/5 stars) 2/27

10. Remembering – Wendell Berry (4/5 stars) 3/2

11. Island of the World – Michael O’Brien (5/5 stars) 3/25

12. The Great Divorce – C.S. Lewis 3/26

13. The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins (4/5 stars) 4/3

14. Catching Fire –Suzanne Collins (4/5 stars) 4/8

15. Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins (4/5 stars) 4/15

16."They Say / I Say": The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing– Graff and Birkenstein 5/9

17. Ultimate Prizes – Susan Howatch (3.5/5) 5/14

18. Scandalous Risks – Susan Howatch (4/5) 6/2

19. The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien RA (5/5) 6/6

20. Gone With the Wind – Margaret Mitchell RA (5/5) 6/7

Currently Reading:

21. Mystical Paths – Susan Howatch

22. Christianity and Liberalism – Gresham Machen

23. The Hiding Place - Corrie ten Boom

[Mom22ns]

I'm doing a lousy job at posting each week, but I'm still reading. I just finished The Amulet of Samarkand last night. I had tried this before and was just freaked out by the demon summonsing. Ds really loved the trilogy though and I thought I'd better read it to discuss appropriately. I actually found the book fun and funny. Ds & I did discuss our beliefs about demons and how that compares to what is in the book as I was reading though. Glad I read it. I haven't decided if I will read the next one.

 

1: Graceling

2: Voyage of the Dawn Treader

3. A Single Shard

4: The Fiery Cross

5: A Season of Gifts

6: Otto of the Silver Hand

7: A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver

8: Harry Potter

9: Watership Down

10: Master Cornhill

11. A Breath of Snow and Ashes

12. Catherine Called Birdy

13. Shadow of the Bull

14. I Juan de Pareja

15. The Second Mrs. Giaconda

16. Leonardo DaVinci

17. Mary, Bloody Mary

18. Luther: Biography of a Reformer

19. To Kill a Mockingbird

20. The Shakespeare Stealer

21. The Westing Game

22. The Three Musketeers

23. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

24. An Echo in the Bone

25. The Amulet of Samarkand

[hsbaby]

I am few books behind, but hope to catch up so I am reading two this week. I started The Glass Castle and Unbroken. Hopefully I can get through them both and start another two next week.

[ladydusk]

Finished Beauty for Truth's Sake. It wasn't what I had expected, but I'm very glad I read it ... and maybe moreso that I reviewed it. That narrating sure helps you think through what you've learned, eh? LOL

 

My 2011 Reviews:

 

1. Her Daughter's Dream - Francine Rivers

2. Island of the World - Michael O'Brien (AMAZING!)

3. Mennonite in a Little Black Dress - Rhoda Janzen

4. Cinderella Ate My Daughter - Peggy Orenstein

5. Devil's Cub - Georgette Heyer

6. Keeping a Nature Journal - Clare Walker Leslie and Charles E Roth.

7. Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization (Audio Book) - Anthony Esolen

8. Excellent Women - Barbara Pym

9. The Abyssinian - Jean-Christophe Rufin

10. In the Company of Others - Jan Karon

11. One Thousand Gifts - Ann Voskamp

12. Regency Buck - Georgette Heyer

13. Bath Tangle - Georgette Heyer

14. The Convenient Marriage - Georgette Heyer

15. The Organized Heart - Staci Eastin

16. Your Home: A Place of Grace - Susan Hunt

17. Christian Encounters: Jane Austen - Peter Leithart

18. Bambi: A Life in the Woods - Victor Salten

19. Aunt Jane's Hero - Elizabeth Prentiss

20. The Magician's Nephew (Audio Book) - C.S. Lewis

21. The Horse and His Boy (Audio Book) - C.S. Lewis

22. Beauty for Truth's Sake - Stratford Caldecott

[unsinkable]

I finished the Passage by Justin Cronin.

 

From Amazon:

 

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Best Books of the Month, June 2010: You don't have to be a fan of vampire fiction to be enthralled by The Passage, Justin Cronin's blazing new novel. Cronin is a remarkable storyteller (just ask adoring fans of his award-winning Mary and O'Neil), whose gorgeous writing brings depth and vitality to this ambitious epic about a virus that nearly destroys the world, and a six-year-old girl who holds the key to bringing it back. The Passage takes readers on a journey from the early days of the virus to the aftermath of the destruction, where packs of hungry infected scour the razed, charred cities looking for food, and the survivors eke out a bleak, brutal existence shadowed by fear. Cronin doesn't shy away from identifying his "virals" as vampires. But, these are not sexy, angsty vampires (you won’t be seeing "Team Babcock" t-shirts any time soon), and they are not old-school, evil Nosferatus, either. These are a creation all Cronin's own--hairless, insectile, glow-in-the-dark mutations who are inextricably linked to their makers and the one girl who could destroy them all. A huge departure from Cronin's first two novels, The Passage is a grand mashup of literary and supernatural, a stunning beginning to a trilogy that is sure to dazzle readers of both genres. --Daphne Durham

 

It is a great, can't-put-it-down 800 page summertime read. There are different sections of the novel that provide natural stopping points if needed and some sections are slower than others. Not much super gory violence and very little sex, if that is a concern.

[Stacia]

Springtime in Britain

 

I requested this from the library.

 

Spring Heeled Jack is such a fun romp -- I'm glad you are loving it too. Mark Hodder threw in everything, even the kitchen sink as they say, but somehow it actually all works!

Okay, I'm generally not a sci-fi or fantasy fan, but that just sounds so fun...

Love the cover. Sounds intriguing and will have to check it out.

 

It really is so fun. I'm totally enjoying this book.

 

I was getting online here to post something interesting (to me, anyway ;):lol:) about it. Dd's friend was over here this evening & saw my book (The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack) & mentioned that Spring Heeled Jack was mentioned in an encyclopedia of myths/folklore that she has. I checked wikipedia & am fascinated to find out that he really was a 'popular' bogeyman type creature in Victorian England. Even though this book is a fantasy/steampunk book, if you love historical fiction (as I do), I think you would greatly enjoy all the period details & research in this book.

 

on Tuesday I picked up an Afrikaans book on a whim. Afrikaans was my second language growing up in South Africa

...

11. Die Blou van Ons Hemel – Quintus van der Merwe (Afrikaans language political thriller set in West Africa, Belgium and South Africa at the time of a coup in a West African state)

 

Very cool. I will have to get my dd to pronounce that title for me (she speaks Dutch). My Dutch pronounciation makes dh & dd roll their eyes & groan. I wonder if that's a book dh & my in-laws would enjoy?

 

I finished the Passage by Justin Cronin.

...

It is a great, can't-put-it-down 800 page summertime read. There are different sections of the novel that provide natural stopping points if needed and some sections are slower than others. Not much super gory violence and very little sex, if that is a concern.

 

That does sound like an entertaining summer read. I will have to look it up & request it. :D

[Negin]

Just finished this to hopefully help me be more creative and better with taking photos. :confused:

It was okay. It's not so much the book. It's just that the book wasn't fully applicable or relevant to me. Just some of it was. I got it used, so I didn't pay too much for it at all.

I wish I was the type to take fabulous pictures and that I was less lazy and would actually take pictures more often. I need to find some sites that are user-friendly and not overwhelming.

 

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

With a day trip out of town, a birthday party at my house, babysitting nieces and nephews, and dh leaving on his fishing trip on Friday, I doubt I will finish any of the 3 books I'm reading this week! Still reading the ones from last week, and added L'heure des elfes by Jean-Louis Fetjaine. First book in French for me this year. I've had it sitting on a shelf for ages- it still has a price tag in French francs on it! I've been dreaming in French a lot lately, so I wanted to read something in French and this book is an easy, light read.

 

I'll catch up on vacation in July!

[Hunter's Moon]

Uhm, I'm reallllly behind. Not just a few weeks, but a few months :glare:

 

1. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

2. The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory

3. The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory

4. Blood of the Fold by Terry Goodkind

5. Temple of the Winds by Terry Goodkind

6. Soul of the Fire by Terry Goodkind

7. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clark

8. City of Glass by Cassandra Clark

9. Faith of the Fallen by Terry Goodkind

 

Currently reading "The Scarlet Letter" for school, "Brush Up Your Bible" for fun, and "The Pillars of Creation" for fun. Hopefully, with my three weeks off in August I can hit the books hard :D but I'll have two college classes still, so I'm not sure how that'll work.

 

I really need to catch up and start blogging about it again, too!

[unsinkable]

I requested this from the library.

 

 

 

 

 

It really is so fun. I'm totally enjoying this book.

 

I was getting online here to post something interesting (to me, anyway ;):lol:) about it. Dd's friend was over here this evening & saw my book (The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack) & mentioned that Spring Heeled Jack was mentioned in an encyclopedia of myths/folklore that she has. I checked wikipedia & am fascinated to find out that he really was a 'popular' bogeyman type creature in Victorian England. Even though this book is a fantasy/steampunk book, if you love historical fiction (as I do), I think you would greatly enjoy all the period details & research in this book.

 

 

 

Very cool. I will have to get my dd to pronounce that title for me (she speaks Dutch). My Dutch pronounciation makes dh & dd roll their eyes & groan. I wonder if that's a book dh & my in-laws would enjoy?

 

 

 

That does sound like an entertaining summer read. I will have to look it up & request it. :D

 

I want to look for that Spring Heel Jack book, too. Stephen King wrote a short story in which Spring Heel Jack was the nickname of a serial killer. Thanks to all who recommended it.

 

Stacia, I hope you like the Passage.

[radiobrain]

I am behind, but what's new?

 

I started reading Galore. So far I love it.

 

That is all.:D

 

BTW, loved Mr. Peanut. Very odd book.

[nd293]

IVery cool. I will have to get my dd to pronounce that title for me (she speaks Dutch). My Dutch pronounciation makes dh & dd roll their eyes & groan. I wonder if that's a book dh & my in-laws would enjoy?

 

The book (Uit die Bloe van Ons Hemel) has some Dutch passages in it, thanks to the parts set in Belgium. I could more or less make sense of them - I think it's easier for a Dutch speaker to read Afrikaans than visa versa.

 

Uhm, I'm reallllly behind. Not just a few weeks, but a few months :glare:

 

Me too! Good to know I'm not the only one.

 

I've finished one book this week, and should finish a second, and heard from the library that The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is waiting for me. It's set to be cold and rainy for the rest of the week - perfect reading weather!

[Robin M]

I finished the Passage by Justin Cronin.

 

It is a great, can't-put-it-down 800 page summertime read. There are different sections of the novel that provide natural stopping points if needed and some sections are slower than others. Not much super gory violence and very little sex, if that is a concern.

 

 

Good to know. I have it on the shelves. Waiting for a week when I can clear the decks to read it.

Edited June 16, 2011 by Mytwoblessings
misspelling

[Storm Bay]

Uhm, I'm reallllly behind. Not just a few weeks, but a few months :glare:

 

1. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

2. The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory

3. The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory

4. Blood of the Fold by Terry Goodkind

5. Temple of the Winds by Terry Goodkind

6. Soul of the Fire by Terry Goodkind

7. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clark

8. City of Glass by Cassandra Clark

9. Faith of the Fallen by Terry Goodkind

 

Currently reading "The Scarlet Letter" for school, "Brush Up Your Bible" for fun, and "The Pillars of Creation" for fun. Hopefully, with my three weeks off in August I can hit the books hard :D but I'll have two college classes still, so I'm not sure how that'll work.

 

I really need to catch up and start blogging about it again, too!

 

You have the summer. I may have missed it, because I haven't been on the boards enough, but have you finalized plans for this fall? My dd found the MCAS very easy other than part of the English one (she hates writing essays), but we have to wait until the fall for the results.

[Mom-ninja.]

I finally got my review posted for The Art of Racing in the Rain here. On to book #18!

 

My dad said he couldn't bring himself to finish that book because he was so bored.

 

 

Finished Wuthering Heights! I was very surprised at the ending. Not what I expected.

 

My Nook arrived today in the mail! Woohoo!

[Storm Bay]

I read A Red Herring Without Mustardi, and so am finished with the Flavia books that have been written so far. I've just started Carnegie medal winning Tamar by Mal Peet, which I found at a library sale. It's going to count for week 25, although I am ahead. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0763640638/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0744565707&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0HTSGT0WQSFVTJZ3X6MR Mine has a different cover, though.

[Robin M]

 

Link to week 25 - Please continue the conversation in the new thread.