Book a Week in 2011 - Week Thirty Eight

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday, my darlings! Today is the start of week 38 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 - L is for Laurie R. King. September 19th is Laurie King's birthday. Check out her detective fiction novels surrounding Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes and their adventures.

 

Couple more weeks to October. Let's make October a spooktacular month. I have Bram Stoker's Dracula and The Snakes Pass in my TBR Pile. What other scary books can we scare up to read?

 

What are you reading this week?

 

 

 

Link to week 37

[Robin M]

I'm currently reading Laurel K. Hamilon's Merry Gentry series. Not for the faint of heart - she's turning into a fertility goddess so you can imagine what that means. ;)

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I'm still listening to A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. I finished Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz, both of which I was reading for week 36! I read Why Don't I Do the Things I Know Are Good for Me? by BJ Gallagher this past week, and I started Children of the Self Absorbed by Nina Brown. Can you tell I'd been browsing in the self-help section of the library while the kid's were at theatre class. :D

[eaglei]

Well, this week I will be wrapping up Elswyth Thane's "Williamsburg Series." I will be sorry to leave those characters . . .

 

Yesterday, I concluded:

 

#58 - This Was Tomorrow (volume 6);

 

and today I began the end . . .

 

#59 - Homing (volume 7)

[Storm Bay]

Since some library books came in with due dates, I switched from Smart Moves to The Myth of the First Three Years http://www.amazon.com/Myth-First-Three-Years-Understanding/dp/0684851849 . It deserves more than the 3.5 star average, for sure. It's not light reading and isn't highly entertaining, which is one of the reasons it loses points sometimes, but it does an excellent job of debunking the myths that have been used to encourage education for very young children and the fallacious "facts" used to encourage parents to provide constant stimulation to their children in misguided attempts to improve their IQs. While extreme abuse/deprivation can lower a child's abilities in certain areas permanently, there is nothing about constant stimulation of babies & toddlers that provides a permanent increase in IQ, etc.

 

It's not a perfect book, of course, but a worthy read if you're looking for something that has actual science discussed in it.

[Stacia]

.

[Violet Crown]

Finished 21. What Maisie Knew. Still crawling along....

 

So far:

20. The Return of the Native. Thomas Hardy

19. The Spoils of Poynton. Henry James

18. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. Haruki Murakami

17. The Story of an African Farm. Olive Schreiner.

16. Terence, Phormio & Other Plays. Betty Radice, Tr.

15. Sinclair Lewis, It Can't Happen Here.

14. Goethe, Faust: Part One. Philip Wayne, Tr.

13. Robert Musil, Young Torless. Eithne Wilkins & Ernst Kaiser, Tr.

12. Chris Wright, Dr. Wright's Kitchen Table Math: Book 1

11. John Barth, The Sot-Weed Factor

10. Fernando de Rojas, The Spanish Bawd (La Celestina); J. M. Cohen, Tr.

9. Charles Baudelaire, The Flowers of Evil; various tr.

8. Henrik Ibsen, A Doll's House and Other Plays (The League of Youth, A Doll's House, The Lady From the Sea); Peter Watts, Tr.

7. Allan Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind*

6. Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France

5. Graham Greene, A Burnt-Out Case

4. Aeschylus, The Oresteia (Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides); Robert Fagles, Tr.

3. Camara Laye, The Radiance of the King

2. St. Augustine, Sermons for Christmas and Epiphany

1. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

0. Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars*

[Imprimis]

I was moving happily through Frances Mayes' Bella Tuscany: The Sweet Life in Italy until, while in Barnes & Noble, I happened upon the much-hyped, newly released, first novel by Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus.

 

I picked The Night Circus up, read the blurbs, was even enchanted by the dust jacket and cover (yeah, I know ;)), made my purchase, and...Bella Tuscany was abandoned like last week's leftovers...

 

I was swept in by The Night Circus from the beginning, and could not put it down.

 

It's an unusual and highly immersive story that is written in such a way that makes you feel as if you're traveling through someone else's dreams; it has a hazy, ethereal, almost trippy quality to it.

 

While the plot line may be a bit flimsy,The Night Circus makes up for that in atmosphere and mood. I loved, loved, loved all the dazzling and detailed descriptions!

 

It was a riveting and fun read, but the end came much too quickly.

 

Now, I'm back in Tuscany :)

Edited September 19, 2011 by Imprimis

[laughing lioness]

I just finished an Erma Bombeck A Marriage Made in Heaven. Sweet, easy read. It was a bit autobiographical and covered the women's movement. Interesting and at times very touching.

We've been so busy it's nauseating. The only way I'll get through 52 books this year is by keeping them all light and fluffy.

[Stacia]

I happened upon the much-hyped, newly released, first novel by Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus.

 

Oh goody. I've already had this on request from our library & can't wait to get it. Heard an interview about it on NPR about a week ago.

[Imprimis]

Oh goody. I've already had this on request from our library & can't wait to get it. Heard an interview about it on NPR about a week ago.

 

I hope you find it as charming as I did!

 

My teen was the one who first brought The Night Circus to my attention. She had read several articles about it, and we both thought it sounded interesting.

 

It really has a quality about it that sets it apart---so much so that I wasn't surprised to hear that someone bought the film rights to the book even before it was released (although I can't imagine how some aspects of the book can be effectively translated to film...)

[Stacia]

I hope you find it as charming as I did!

 

I hope so too, lol! I know I already want to love it. :001_smile:

 

Finished Garden Spells a little while ago. I really enjoyed it -- just a sweet, enchanting little book.

[Negin]

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - very nice so far, not too heavy, which I like, since we have so much going on.

 

 

I signed up for goodreads, but have been extremely lazy and unmotivated to add any books. Need to get on that. Been more into pinterest lately. Pinterest doesn't require me to think and is my time to totally veg out. ;)

[Negin]

I finally decided to try to count the number of books I've read in 2011. I actually went back through all this year's threads. :D

Seems like I'm on book #32, not including all the read-alouds I do with my dc.

[Lizzie in Ma]

Reading Known and Unknown, Donald Rumsfeld and First World War, Hew Strachan.

[prairiegirl]

I'm happy to hear a review about "Night Circus," I read about it on Amazon but wasn't too sure what to make of it. I will not put it on The List. :001_smile:

 

I read "Before I Go To Sleep" by S.J.Watson this week. It was an old-fashioned psych-thriller. You knew halfway through what was going on but it was still a good read. Book # 46 is "A Duty to the Dead" by Charles Todd. The author's style reminds me that of P.D.James. I am enjoying it so far.

[dangermom]

I finished the Hourglass Door trilogy, and read Who Killed Homer?

[luvnlattes]

I finished Now You See Her by Joy Fielding. I don't recommend it...lame, lame, lame!!!!

 

I'm not sure what I'll read this week. None of my library holds have come in.

[Stacia]

.

[Imprimis]

I hope so too, lol! I know I already want to love it. :001_smile:

 

Finished Garden Spells a little while ago. I really enjoyed it -- just a sweet, enchanting little book.

 

I should mention, The Night Circus is not charming in the quaint, sweet sense (although there are some sweet moments), but more in the "spellbinding" sense.

 

There is a slightly dark feel to it at times, and definitely some dark/creepy scenes.

[Sparkle]

I finished Black Orchids by Rex Stout, which I enjoyed. Still reading Riders of the Pony Express, and started Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana, Jr. I'm irritated because I borrowed a book on Lola Montez from the library and I cannot find it anywhere! Of course, our house is a big mess right now from remodeling but I swear that book has vanished. I really wanted to read it, too. I think next up will be Decision Points by George W. Bush.

[Stacia]

I should mention, The Night Circus is not charming in the quaint, sweet sense (although there are some sweet moments), but more in the "spellbinding" sense.

 

There is a slightly dark feel to it at times, and definitely some dark/creepy scenes.

Thanks for mentioning it. I figured it might be like that (& that's ok w/ me).

 

On a separate note, I think I may temporarily stop The Rosetta Key & get the first book in the series from the library, then get back to The Rosetta Key (which is book #2 in the series). In the meantime, I picked up Dracula the Un-Dead & am reading it -- getting a head-start on my 'creepy' October reading. :D

 

 

From Publishers Weekly

"In this sequel to Bram Stoker's Dracula, his great-grandnephew offers one of the rowdiest revisionist treatments of the most influential vampire novel ever written. In 1912, as Stoker labors to adapt Dracula for the stage, its characters are dying gruesomely all over London. It turns out they are as real as Stoker himself, who learned their secret story on the sly and took creative liberties when turning it into his popular penny dreadful. Dracula's true story involves the passing of his blood line through Mina Harker to her son; a malignant Dr. Van Helsing, who Scotland Yard suspects had a hand in the murders attributed to Jack the Ripper; and the exploits of a 16th-century vampire countess, Dracula's former lover, who cuts a bloody swath through London seeking the survivors of Dracula's last stand in Transylvania. Energetically paced and packed with outrageously entertaining action, this supernatural thriller is a well-needed shot of fresh blood for the Dracula mythos."

 

[Mom-ninja.]

subbing

 

I'll be back later to read and post

[Angel]

We are back from vacation and I can't believe I'm saying this, but I only finished one book on vacation, my beach read... Twilight. I'm almost done with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and we listened to half of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on audio on the way to Florida.

 

On the positive side...the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was unbelievable!! It's a good thing the Butterbeer was not alcoholic :D Absolutely amazing vacation. We were just a little wiped out after three full days at Universal Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios, that must be why I kept falling asleep reading at night once we got to the beach. That's my story and I'm sticking to it ;)

[Imprimis]

 

On the positive side...the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was unbelievable!! It's a good thing the Butterbeer was not alcoholic :D Absolutely amazing vacation.

 

We love Universal's Wizarding World! I think Forbidden Journey is one of the most brilliant attractions anywhere---from the queue to the ride itself---and really immerses you in the whole Harry Potter world.

 

Glad you had a great time!

[NanceXToo]

I'm currently reading Laurel K. Hamilon's Merry Gentry series. Not for the faint of heart - she's turning into a fertility goddess so you can imagine what that means. ;)

 

I liked that series, too! When you're done with Laurel K. Hamilton, I highly recommend J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series!!!

 

It's a good thing the Butterbeer was not alcoholic

 

OMG I know. That stuff was sooooooooooooooooooooo good (and I would not have minded an alcoholic version at all haha). I think I need to look up a recipe online and try to make it, you've got me drooling over the memory of the stuff hehe.

 

Anyway, I am reading A Dance With Dragons (I think that's it), the 5th in the Game of Thrones series by George R.R. Martin.

 

I'm also reading The Inheritors by William Golding as a read aloud with my almost 11 y/o daughter. (And A Treasury For Five Year Olds with my almost 6 y/o son). :)

[Robin M]

In the meantime, I picked up Dracula the Un-Dead & am reading it -- getting a head-start on my 'creepy' October reading. :D

 

 

 

 

Thoroughly enjoyed this one. :)

 

When you're done with Laurel K. Hamilton, I highly recommend J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series!!!

 

Thanks for the recommendation. I already have both Dark Lover and Crave from his Fallen Angels series in my TBR pile.

[Mom-ninja.]

Do I have everyone here that's on Goodreads? Robin, I think I'm missing you.

[Mom-ninja.]

I finished It's Okay and I really enjoyed it. I listened to it on audio while working out, and there were times that I couldn't do my moves because I was laughing so hard. I'd fall down on my mat in a fit of giggles. :001_smile: But then I'm a doggie lover.

[Stacia]

I finished Dracula the Un-Dead. For the most part, I enjoyed it. At the end of the book, the authors (one is the great-grandnephew of Stoker, the other a screenwriter who is a huge fan of Dracula) discuss how they decided to write the book & why. Part of what they tried to do in the book is pay homage to the original story written by Stoker, as well as incorporate things that are familiar to fans of various movies (and some other books) written as take-offs from the Dracula story. I think it definitely helps to read the original version of Dracula first. It had been two years since I read it, so it took me a little while to remember everyone's roles in the original story. Some of the character portraits in this book are not especially flattering (probably why some Dracula purists have given this book less-than-stellar reviews). I think the biggest weakness in this book is the (over-the-top, imo) sensationalism (violence veering into mild erotica) when Countess Bathory makes her appearances in the story. The authors did say they tried to 'modernize' the story (the action is set 25 years after the timeline of the original story), but some of the modernizing just didn't mesh well (because it's still a Victorian type story, but there are places where it feels like you're reading a modern novel). If you're willing to just go along for the ride & not analyze or nitpick too deeply, I think you can enjoy this story for what it is -- a rip-roaring, fast-paced variation on the immortal legend of Dracula that even manages to pull in Jack the Ripper. (And, hey, it's waaaaaaaaaay better than Twilight! ;):D) Overall, a good read for October.

 

I also read a book of short stories by Edgar Allen Poe. The Gold Bug actually contains three of his stories: "The Gold Bug", "The Sphinx", and "William Wilson". I enjoyed all three, especially "William Wilson" (which, to me, had the most ominous undertones). "The Gold Bug" was more entertaining (and funny) than I anticipated. I'm familiar with both Charleston and Sullivan's Island, so it made the story (of "The Gold Bug", which is set there) even more interesting.

Edited September 22, 2011 by Stacia

[NanceXToo]

Thoroughly enjoyed this one. :)

 

 

 

Thanks for the recommendation. I already have both Dark Lover and Crave from his Fallen Angels series in my TBR pile.

 

I haven't read the Fallen Angels series- I think I will check it out soon!

 

J.R. Ward is a female btw! :)

[Robin M]

Do I have everyone here that's on Goodreads? Robin, I think I'm missing you.

 

I haven't got there yet. soon... soon...

[Robin M]

I haven't read the Fallen Angels series- I think I will check it out soon!

 

J.R. Ward is a female btw! :)

 

 

I keep doing that...confusing the sexes of authors. my bad!

[Mommyfaithe]

I finally finished Katherine by Anya Seton. I loved it and I absolutely LOVE Anya Seton. Her books are so dense, they take me a long time to read and digest. Time very well spent.

 

I also finished reading the Hobbit to the kiddies.

 

I am now reading Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick...and the Golden Goblet to the kids.

 

Faithe

[Imprimis]

I finally finished Katherine by Anya Seton. I loved it and I absolutely LOVE Anya Seton. Her books are so dense, they take me a long time to read and digest. Time very well spent.

 

 

 

Faithe

 

Katherine is one of my all time favorite books! Beautifully written and well-researched.

[Negin]

Do I have everyone here that's on Goodreads? Robin, I think I'm missing you.

I think you have me.

I'm still trying to learn the layout and ins and outs of it. Haven't had much time. I'm frustrated at the "2011 Reading Challenge" part. It doesn't seem to allow me to input the books I've read in 2011, even though I have a 2011 Bookshelf. Annoying. Or maybe it's just me. I need to spend more time there figuring things out. Been too busy.

On a similar note, my own personal goal from here on out, which is more realistic for me, is 26 Books per year. It's very rare for me to finish a book in a week. Plus, I read other stuff - National Geographic, etc. 26 books for me is more do-able. :)

[nd293]

I think you have me.

I'm still trying to learn the layout and ins and outs of it. Haven't had much time. I'm frustrated at the "2011 Reading Challenge" part. It doesn't seem to allow me to input the books I've read in 2011, even though I have a 2011 Bookshelf. Annoying. Or maybe it's just me. I need to spend more time there figuring things out. Been too busy.

 

Negin, I also had trouble with "2011 Reading Challenge" part. Once you register for the 2011 Reading Challenge, then any book that you've set as read in 2011 automatically goes there. The "Date I finished this book" box is at the bottom of the page of info you can complete for each book. I just filled in random 2011 dates, as I haven't been recording those. If you click on one of the books you've read, the "edit" button is on the right hand side of the page, opposite "My Review", although I think there are other places it appears too. On the Home page, next to the 2011 Reading Challenge icon, click "view books" and you'll see the book covers of the books you've read this year. (Hope that makes sense - I've been interupted about 10 times since I started the paragraph...)

 

Last week I read...

 

32. The Terracotta Dog ­â€“ Andrea Camilleri (2nd in the Inspector Montalbano series – Italian police / crime novel)

This week I'm not making any progress, and am losing my enthusiasm for reading again, so I have just given in to my baser desires and requested two detective books by authors I've previously read and enjoyed. The Botany of Desire will still be there once I've read those!

[Negin]

Negin, I also had trouble with "2011 Reading Challenge" part. Once you register for the 2011 Reading Challenge, then any book that you've set as read in 2011 automatically goes there.

Thanks so much. Just did it. :D

[Angel]

We love Universal's Wizarding World! I think Forbidden Journey is one of the most brilliant attractions anywhere---from the queue to the ride itself---and really immerses you in the whole Harry Potter world.

 

Glad you had a great time!

 

Thanks! I didn't ride Forbidden Journey. I would puke. Surprisingly, it got to my stomach of steel dh. He and the girls said it was amazing, though. Dd11 rode it the most. She came off the first time almost hyperventilating because of the spiders, but the next couple times she just closed her eyes. I loved the castle! I took my time and walked through and took pictures. There were no lines, really, so the family was off the ride before I was done meandering through.

 

OMG I know. That stuff was sooooooooooooooooooooo good (and I would not have minded an alcoholic version at all haha). I think I need to look up a recipe online and try to make it, you've got me drooling over the memory of the stuff hehe.

 

Anyway, I am reading A Dance With Dragons (I think that's it), the 5th in the Game of Thrones series by George R.R. Martin.

 

 

I don't drink but if it tasted like that, well.... Dh made two different recipes for our Harry Potter Marathon party last November. His recipes were much richer. I'm looking at my souvenir mug wishing I could get it refilled today :D

 

I can't believe how many people love George R.R. Martin! I am such a huge fantasy geek but by book 3 I was so sickened by the plot line and what he did to the characters that I couldn't take any more. Now I am eagerly waiting Robert Jordan's (and Brandon Sanderson, to be fair) last book ;) Was hoping to see it in October but now I'm wondering if I'll have to wait till next year.

[Storm Bay]

I weakened and picked up a light fiction novel by Alexander McCal Smith called Corduroy Mansions. It's humour (I've actually laughed out loud a few times, which I rarely do when reading) and not a mystery. It's not great literature, but I did need a laugh. The humour is different than the 1st Ladies' Detective series.

[6packofun]

I am reading Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin right now.

 

After that I'm reading the sequel to Rot & Ruin by John Maberry called Dust & Decay. Great zombie books; ds and I were thrilled to find these. There's actually a story, strong characters, and not gratuitous violence.

[Angel]

I stole a few moments to finish "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" yesterday. It is one of my favorite Harry Potter books. I need to take a side trip and read one of my dd's lit books before continuing with Harry.

[Violet Crown]

Finished

 

22. Gerald Hanley, Drinkers of Darkness

 

Excerpt:

 

'Will I have a difficult death?' he asked her, pretending to joke but anxious she knew. 'Don't talk like that,' she said, watching his eyes. 'Eat your toast before it's cold.' He knew she was feeling the death of O'Riordan, and he was annoyed with himself for not seeing more clearly into her. How much there was in her that he could not know. On that he got up, irritated. It was time to take the special short service for the Africans; Christmas Day service, but now darkened by a white man's death. He did not feel that usual exaltation of Sunday mornings when he went over in his mind what he would say about God and man's mission on earth. This morning God had put his hand in amongst them and plucked one of their number into his silence, a reminder that Christmas was not a closed season for the one that came like a thief in the night. Tamlin shivered, though the sun burned already with the sweltering promise of midday. One forgot how quickly death could come in this country; a chill, a hasty fever, a bite, and you were rushed into the ground as O'Riordan would be by afternoon.

 

 

New vocabulary: bint (which apparently shows up in a Monty Python sketch. So that's what he was saying.)

 

 

So far:

21. Henry James, What Maisie Knew

20.Thomas Hardy, The Return of the Native.

19. Henry James, The Spoils of Poynton

18. Haruki Murakami, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

17. Olive Schreiner, The Story of an African Farm

16. Terence, Phormio & Other Plays. Betty Radice, Tr.

15. Sinclair Lewis, It Can't Happen Here.

14. Goethe, Faust: Part One. Philip Wayne, Tr.

13. Robert Musil, Young Torless. Eithne Wilkins & Ernst Kaiser, Tr.

12. Chris Wright, Dr. Wright's Kitchen Table Math: Book 1

11. John Barth, The Sot-Weed Factor

10. Fernando de Rojas, The Spanish Bawd (La Celestina); J. M. Cohen, Tr.

9. Charles Baudelaire, The Flowers of Evil; various tr.

8. Henrik Ibsen, A Doll's House and Other Plays (The League of Youth, A Doll's House, The Lady From the Sea); Peter Watts, Tr.

7. Allan Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind*

6. Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France

5. Graham Greene, A Burnt-Out Case

4. Aeschylus, The Oresteia (Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides); Robert Fagles, Tr.

3. Camara Laye, The Radiance of the King

2. St. Augustine, Sermons for Christmas and Epiphany

1. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

0. Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars*

[Medieval Mom]

I'm now on to The Two Towers of the LOTR trilogy, as well as reading CM and Protecting the Gift.

 

I finished reading Time Cat with ds. :)

[dangermom]

I'm about a third of the way through Peter Ackroyd's Albion, which is about "the development of the English imagination." It's just a super book, but about every other page he mentions something that I have to go look up or download right away, so it's going kind of slowly. I'm on the King Arthur bit now.

[Stacia]

I have started The Rule of Four.

From Publishers Weekly:

 

"Caldwell and Thomason's intriguing intellectual suspense novel stars four brainy roommates at Princeton, two of whom have links to a mysterious 15th-century manuscript, the

Hypnerotomachia Poliphili

. This rare text (a real book) contains embedded codes revealing the location of a buried Roman treasure. Comparisons to

The Da Vinci Code

are inevitable, but Caldwell and Thomason's book is the more cerebral-and better written-of the two: think Dan Brown by way of Donna Tartt and Umberto Eco. The four seniors are Tom Sullivan, Paul Harris, Charlie Freeman and Gil Rankin. Tom, the narrator, is the son of a Renaissance scholar who spent his life studying the ancient book, "an encyclopedia masquerading as a novel, a dissertation on everything from architecture to zoology." The manuscript is also an endless source of fascination for Paul, who sees it as "a siren, a fetching song on a distant shore, all claws and clutches in person. You court her at your risk." This debut novel's range of topics almost rivals the

Hypnerotomachia

's itself, including etymology, Renaissance art and architecture, Princeton eating clubs, friendship, steganography (riddles) and self-interpreting manuscripts. It's a complicated, intricate and sometimes difficult read, but that's the point and the pleasure. There are murders, romances, dangers and detection, and by the end the heroes are in a race not only to solve the puzzle, but also to stay alive. Readers might be tempted to buy their own copy of the

Hypnerotomachia

and have a go at the puzzle. After all, Caldwell and Thomason have done most of the heavy deciphering-all that's left is to solve the final riddle, head for Rome and start digging."

[Robin M]

 

Link to week 39 - please continue conversation in new thread