Book a Week in 2011 - week fifty one

[Robin M]

Good morning my darlings! Today is the start of week 51 in our quest to read 52 books in 52 weeks. 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 - Happy Birthday Jane Austen. Highlighting Jane Austen since her birthday was December 16th. Sourcebooks has put up all the Austen inspired books up for sale and ebooks are 1.99 each from online booksellers. Check out the Jane Austen mini challenge and commit to reading some of her books in 2012. I'm committing to two.

 

The wrap up questions will be posted next week so start thinking about your best and worst reads, top 10, favorite new author etc.

 

The I'm Participating in 2012 Mr Linky is up now and check out the I'm Participating thread in 2012 here on the forum. Lots of questions from newbies.

 

What are you reading this week?

 

 

 

 

Link to week 50

[Robin M]

I just finished reading Hostage Zero by John Gilstrap. Synopsis:

 

"When two teenage boys are inexplicably kidnapped from a Virginia residential school for children of incarcerated parents, Grave and his crew set out to locate the victims and apprehend the abductors. Then one of the boys is drugged and left to die in a field, saved only by the fateful intervention of a passing homeless man, and Grave's investigation begins to turn up leads that point to government and organized crime connections." It is intense and engaging.

 

I have one more book to go in my A to Z by author and title challenge. Didn't think I was going to make it. Dithering between The Forest House by Marian Zimmer Bradley and Under a Raging Moon by Frank Zafiro. Which one should I read?

[-M-]

Well, I'm at 112 for the year now. Off my game, but respectable, you know?

 

#112 Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Ransom Riggs)

The photos were a neat "hook," and I appreciate genre "shake-ups" (e.g., I Am Not a Serial Killer (Dan Wells)), but Peculiar fell short for me.

 

Side note: I began reading this on the Kindle but finished reading it on the iPad. This is definitely a book that should be read in the traditional format or on a larger format e-reader; the Kindle simply couldn't offer the clarity needed to appreciate the photographs.

[Mom-ninja.]

Robin, I think you should read Bradley's book. I'm biased though as I like her books.

 

I reading two books and listening to one on audio. Having a hard time finishing though with every thing else I have to do. So, I'm not sure if I'll get any of them finished this month. I hope too.

[Just Robyn]

This week I finished:

 

53. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka - an edition with 60 pages of story and 140 pages of analysis. That just seems funny to me. Included in the non-story pages were a letter written by Kafka to his friend and one diary entry. Those were almost as good as the story itself, and I think I've got to squeeze Kafka's diary into my reading for next year.

 

54. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. (High five to Mental Multivitamin) I read this to my kids and we all enjoyed it. I edited a bit as we went along as I found some of the language to be too foul for my kids at their ages. The pictures and story were not too creepy for them, which was a concern.

[Rosie_0801]

Well I happily sat and read a whole book, a WHOLE BOOK, of Tamora Pierce's short stories on Saturday. I haven't read a whole book in one day for a long time. *sighs happily*

 

Rosie

[eaglei]

Finished reading:

 

#76 - The South Wind Blew Softly, by Ruth Livingston Hill. Quiet, predictable, enjoyable. If you like Grace Livingston Hill, then you'll likely enjoy her daughter's writings, too.

 

Currently reading:

 

#77 - Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen, by Bob Greene. I am about a third of the way through this and enjoying it very much. It is touching on a deep level. Not because the material is deep, but because the story is true. It's about a small town in Nebraska that troop trains briefly stopped at during the war. It's about the love, the service, the sacrifice that the people willingly gave to our boys who were in service for our country.

 

Here is a paragraph from the book: "Each day of the war - every day of the war - an average of three thousand to five thousand military personnel came through North Platte, and were welcomed to the Canteen. Toward the end of the war, that number grew to eight thousand a day, on as many as twenty-three separate troop trains."

 

From the book jacket: "Astonishingly, this remote plains community of only twelve thousand people provided welcoming words, friendship, and baskets of food and treats to more than six million GIs by the time the war ended."

 

At a time of rationing, the people freely gave of their own resources. One partial entry reads thusly: "Contributions from the Moorefield group yesterday were 25 birthday cakes, 39 1/2 dozen cup cakes, 149 dozen cookies, 87 fried chickens, 70 dozen eggs, 17 1/2 quarts of salad dressing, 40 1/2 dozen doughnuts, 20 pounds of coffee, 22 quarts of pickles, 22 pounds of butter, 13 1/2 quarts of cream . . ."

 

Another partial entry reads: "Sixteen women of the Paxton community donated 52 dozen Easter eggs, 600 bottles of milk, 2,000 buns, six hams, 12 sheet cakes, one quart of chicken spread, three boxes of apples . . ."

 

The author was able to personally meet and talk with some of the people who worked in the Canteen, AND, with some of the military personnel who passed through. One lady told in detail how her family dressed the chickens they regularly donated - the work involved (chopping the necks, defeathering, etc., no refrigeration) and the wee hours they kept to accomplish that goal. Another lady told how she dealt with the egg rationing in making her cakes - and what she substituted.

 

Former soldiers, now in their 70s and 80s (the book was published in 2002), remembered North Platte with tears of gratitude. Actual tears. Some could not talk for long moments while they brought their emotions back under control. One man, about to undergo surgery in the morning, had his son-in-law call the author to meet him at the hospital the night before because he so wanted to share his memories and his gratitude.

 

The book, while touching, is not maudlin; and, the author does a good job of juxtaposition between then and now.

 

Well, I don't generally write about the books I've read (especially when I haven't yet finished them!), but this one is quite touching. Whether you like history or not, if you like human-interest stories, you just might like this one . . .

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I finally got Cutting for Stone at the Library. Pretty good so far.

[Heather in Neverland]

Just finished "Divergent" by Veronica Roth and I really enjoyed it. Not sure what to read next... Either book 3 of the Game of Thrones series, or possibly "The Paris Wife".

[Heather in Neverland]

Well, I'm at 112 for the year now. Off my game, but respectable, you know?

 

#112 Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Ransom Riggs)

The photos were a neat "hook," and I appreciate genre "shake-ups" (e.g., I Am Not a Serial Killer (Dan Wells)), but Peculiar fell short for me.

 

Side note: I began reading this on the Kindle but finished reading it on the iPad. This is definitely a book that should be read in the traditional format or on a larger format e-reader; the Kindle simply couldn't offer the clarity needed to appreciate the photographs.

 

I actually really loved this book until the end. I did not care for how it ended at all. The pics were great though!

[CAMom]

I started reading A Game of Thrones. I'm 200 pages in but I think I'm going to give up.:001_huh: It's not that I don't like it, it's just not my genre and I feel like I'm just reading it to read it. I don't know if I want to invest in the other 75% of it.

 

When I set it aside, I picked up The Poisonwood Bible. I'm 50 pages into that so far and really like it.

 

Should I plug through AFoT or is it OK to just let it go?:bigear:

[dangermom]

This week I've got Torn, which is #4 in the latest Haddix series, Gaudy Night (my favorite Sayers mystery!), and a neat science book for the layperson, The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain.

 

I'm now reading Laurel Thatcher Ulrich's Well-Behaved Women Rarely Make History.

[Mom-ninja.]

The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain.

 

 

 

That looks interesting.

 

Now, I'm off the computer to go read.

[Robin M]

I started reading A Game of Thrones. I'm 200 pages in but I think I'm going to give up.:001_huh: It's not that I don't like it, it's just not my genre and I feel like I'm just reading it to read it. I don't know if I want to invest in the other 75% of it.

 

When I set it aside, I picked up The Poisonwood Bible. I'm 50 pages into that so far and really like it.

 

Should I plug through AFoT or is it OK to just let it go?:bigear:

 

 

If you aren't enjoying AGoT then stop and go with something more interesting. I read the whole thing, enjoyed it but then really didn't care to read the whole series. After I saw the tv version, I really didn't care for it at all. Some things are better left to the imagination.

 

Hope you enjoy Poisonwood Bible. I thoroughly enjoyed that one. Lead to a lot of discussions with my hubby just telling him about the story.

[Stacia]

I set aside Darkmans this week because I was traveling (and Darkmans is a large, thick library book, so I didn't tote it w/ me). Instead, I read one I've had on my shelf awhile: The Man Who Swam the Amazon: 3,274 Miles on the World's Deadliest River. I tend to enjoy tales of adventure & I enjoyed this book, a narration of Martin Strel's epic swim. Overall, it is not very well-written. (It was mostly written by Strel's river navigator; I'm assuming he's a great navigator, but writing is not his forte.) However, Martin Strel accomplished an incredible feat & I definitely liked reading further details about what daily life is like when you're swimming 40, 50, 60, even 70+ miles a day, every day for months when you're over 50 years old. What Strel accomplished is really quite amazing.

 

From the back cover:

 

 

"Thirty-two hundred miles, piranha, crocodiles, anaconda, river sharks, blistering and relentless sun,dangerous currents, river pirates and drug runners, and the insidious candirú.

 

Martin Strel swam through it all. Why? To call attention to the continued deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and to river pollution.

 

By the time he finished this epic swim from the river’s source in the Peruvian Andes to the delta in the Atlantic headwaters near Belém, Brazil, Martin Strel was almost dead, straining with the remaining shadows of his strength to reach the finish line. His blood pressure was at heart attack levels, his entire body filled with subcutaneous larvae, and he was besieged by dehydration, diarrhea, and exhaustion.

 

Drawn from the eloquent and evocative trip diaries of writer Matthew Mohlke, who, armed with buckets of blood to divert piranha, guided Strel, The Man Who Swam the Amazonis a gripping and inspirational story of perseverance, passion, and endurance: a real-life odyssey of a rare and driven man."

 

I'll now go back & finish Darkmans this week (I hope).

 

 

Books read as of July 2011:

32. The Reluctant Entertainer

33. A Curable Romantic

34. A Reliable Wife

35. Living the Simple Life

36. The Music of Chance

37. The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise

38. Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui

39. The Book of Jhereg

40. The Lost Symbol

41. Storm Front

42. The Clutter Cure

43. Simplicity Parenting

44. Madame Tussaud

45. The Map of Time

46. The Somnambulist

47. The Island of Lost Maps

48. The Adventurer's Handbook

49. Garden Spells

50. Dracula The Un-Dead

51. The Gold Bug

52. The Rule of Four

53. Ilustrado

54. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

55. Boneshaker

56. Judgment of Tears: Anno Dracula 1959

57. Slaughterhouse-Five

58. The Graveyard Book

59. World War Z

60. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

61. The Man Who Swam the Amazon

 

Stacia's Challenge/2011 Goodreads

Edited September 12, 2014 by Stacia

[nd293]

I hardly read last week, and now I'm even further behind! The plan is to finish 3 books this week, and read 2 while on holiday next week.

 

I was up at 6am this morning to read, and just finished #48 (reading at the park while the kids play).

 

#48 was Fire Fire by Eve Sallis. I found it compelling but disturbing, and probably would not have finished it if not on a deadline. The story of a mentally ill woman raising (and damaging) her children on an isolated bush property. Despite being ambivalent about the book, I was impressed by the writing, and will try something else by the author next year.

 

Nikki

[Negin]

Reading has been very slow for me since I only get to read at bed time and by then I'm exhausted. I'm still reading and really enjoying The Shadow of the Wind.

 

 

The story takes place in Barcelona, a city that I would so love to visit.

 

 

When I set it aside, I picked up The Poisonwood Bible. I'm 50 pages into that so far and really like it.

I read this recently and really liked it.

And yes, if you're not enjoying Game of Thrones, I would stop. I don't believe in continuing any book that doesn't do much for me. Life is too short to read stuff that we don't love, IMHO. You probably recall my 10% rule. :D You've given this 10% and more ... just my humble 2 cents.

Edited December 19, 2011 by Negin in Grenada

[Heather in Neverland]

I started reading A Game of Thrones. I'm 200 pages in but I think I'm going to give up.:001_huh: It's not that I don't like it, it's just not my genre and I feel like I'm just reading it to read it. I don't know if I want to invest in the other 75% of it.

 

When I set it aside, I picked up The Poisonwood Bible. I'm 50 pages into that so far and really like it.

 

Should I plug through AFoT or is it OK to just let it go?:bigear:

 

I know what you mean! I have actually read books one and two but mostly because there are such rave reviews about it so I felt it must be me. :D

 

I think they are ok but not great.

 

I have book 3 and I am just staring at it...unsure of whether or not to take it on.

[Lizzie in Ma]

I've been reading Brent Week's Night Angel trilogy and really enjoying them.

Just started book 3 last night.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

.

[Violet Crown]

Finished

 

29. E. E. Cummings, The Enormous Room

 

A wonderful book I hadn't even known existed until I saw it at the bookstore. Before becoming famous as a poet, Cummings in his youth volunteered to serve in the Red Cross ambulance corps in France in the First World War. After a French censor misinterpreted some letters that Cummings' best friend 'B.' had sent home, B. and Cummings were arrested as suspected spies and ended up in a French POW prison for an extended time. The Enormous Room is Cummings' account of his imprisonment. The horrific conditions and the general mistreatment of prisoners are all there, but his focus is on portraits of his fellow prisoners, in their humanity, good and bad. Often (as in the following excerpt) he veers into the poetic, but for the most part it's in beautiful prose.

 

Excerpt:

 

... And The Zulu came out of la commission with identically the expressionless expression which he had carried into it; and God knows what The Three Wise Men found out about him, but (whatever it was) they never found and never will find that Something whose discovery was worth more to me than all the round and powerless money of the world--limbs' tin grace, wooden wink, shoulderless, unhurried body, velocity of a grasshopper, soul up under his arm-pits, mysteriously falling over the ownness of two feet, floating fish of his slimness half a bird.... Gentlemen, I am inexorably grateful for the gift of these ignorant and indivisible things.

[luvnlattes]

I finished Learning Disabilities by Robert Cimera. It was a basic overview and I enjoyed the chapter on ideas for college. I fell behind while reading it, though.

 

This week I'm reading Drive: 9 Ways to Motivate Your Kids to Achieve by Janine Walker Caffrey. I heard about it on this thread and decided to check it out. This book is #50 for me. It's been a quick read so far so I might be able to squeeze in another book this week.

 

Next year I'm thinking of participating in the A to Z challenge. I've been busy scouting out books and placing holds at the library. I'm getting excited!

[CAMom]

If you aren't enjoying AGoT then stop and go with something more interesting. I read the whole thing, enjoyed it but then really didn't care to read the whole series. After I saw the tv version, I really didn't care for it at all. Some things are better left to the imagination.

 

Hope you enjoy Poisonwood Bible. I thoroughly enjoyed that one. Lead to a lot of discussions with my hubby just telling him about the story.

 

 

I read this recently and really liked it.

And yes, if you're not enjoying Game of Thrones, I would stop. I don't believe in continuing any book that doesn't do much for me. Life is too short to read stuff that we don't love, IMHO. You probably recall my 10% rule. :D You've given this 10% and more ... just my humble 2 cents.

 

I know what you mean! I have actually read books one and two but mostly because there are such rave reviews about it so I felt it must be me. :D

 

I think they are ok but not great.

 

I have book 3 and I am just staring at it...unsure of whether or not to take it on.

 

Thank you three!! That's just the permission I needed. I feel like I gave it the "good 'ole college try." I was getting frustrated. I'd read a whole chapter and have it build to the end only to have the author not give me a payoff of what happened and switch to an entirely different character.

 

I had it on my Kindle through my library so I think I'll just delete it in case there is someone on the waiting list for it. :D

 

I'm about 120 pages into The Poisonwood Bible now and I really like it.:)

[laughing lioness]

Slowly finishing Bird by Bird. LOVE This woman's writing!! LOVE.

Also The Way Home by Ingalls.

[Violet Crown]

Finished

 

29. E. E. Cummings, The Enormous Room

Completely forgot the Vocabulary I Had To Look Up (my own personal challenge within the book-a-week challenge):

 

poilus

decumbiture

tuyau

[Ali in OR]

My book #50 was Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier. It came up when I was searching the library catalog for women in science. It's a fictional account of Mary Anning who was a fossil hunter in Lyme Regis in the first half of the 19th century. It depicted her friendship with Elizabeth Philpot who liked to find fossilized fish and carefully categorized them. Both were really scientists before women were allowed to participate in or were recognized for that work. I like Tracy Chevalier--her writing was a pleasure after last week's Jodi Picoult book.

 

I'm hoping to have many hours of reading on the sofa this week. Right now I'm reading the second book in Ursula Le Guinn's Earthsea Cycle, The Tombs of Atuan. Pure pleasure reading. I also have Rachel Carson's Silent Spring out from the library until the 27th (the same women in science project that revealed Remarkable Creatures). I hope I can make it through that. Also have the 3rd Earthsea book out--I should be able to make it to 52 with one of those.

 

2011 Reading List

 

50. Remarkable Creatures-Tracy Chevalier

49. The Tenth Circle-Jodi Picoult

48. A Wizard of Earthsea-Ursula Le Guin

47. The Honourable Schoolboy-John le Carré

46. A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver-E.L. Konigsberg

45. The Spy Who Came In From The Cold-John le Carré

44. Parallel Play-Tim Page

43. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan-Lisa See

42. Call for the Dead-John Le Carre

41. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy-John LeCarre

40. Alice in Wonderland-Lewis Carroll

39. Seven Daughters and Seven Sons-Barbara Cohen

38. Augustine Came to Kent-Barbara Willard

37. Trudy’s Promise-Marcia Preston

36. All Together In One Place-Jane Kirkpatrick

35. The Invisible Wall-Harry Bernstein

34. A Red Herring Without Mustard-Alan Bradley

33. At the Sign of the Sugared Plum-Mary Hooper

32. The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag-Alan Bradley

31. Do Hard Things-Alex and Brett Harris

30. Anna of Byzantium-Tracy Barrett

29. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie-Alan Bradley

28. Cutting for Stone-Abraham Verghese

27. Stay With Me-Sandra Rodriguez Barron

26. Radical Homemakers-Shannon Hayes

25. Heaven is for Real-Todd Burpo

24. Under the Tuscan Sun-Frances Mayes

23. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother-Amy Chua

22. These Three Remain-Pamela Aidan

21. Chocolat-Joanne Harris

20. Where the Red Fern Grows-Wilson Rawls

19. Duty and Desire-Pamela Aidan

18. An Assembly Such As This-Pamela Aidan

17. Left Neglected-Lisa Genova

16. Classics in the Classroom-Michael Clay Thompson

15. True You-Janet Jackson

14. The Samurai’s Garden-Gail Tsukiyama

13. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet-Jamie Ford

12. God’s Middle Finger-Richard Grant

11. Kristin Lavransdatter-I: The Wreath-Sigrid Undset

10. The Housekeeper and the Professor-Yoko Ogawa

9. A Lucky Child-Thomas Buergenthal

8. Three Cups of Tea-Greg Mortenson

7. Run-Ann Patchett

6. The Red Queen-Philippa Gregory

5. Agnes Grey-Anne Bronte

4. The Daughter of Time-Josephine Tey

3. Mythology-Edith Hamilton

2. Phantom Toll Booth-Norton Juster

1. Her Fearful Symmetry-Audrey Niffenegger

[Just Robyn]

I liked the end. A friend of mine and I are pulling for a sequel. :001_smile:

 

 

 

Great book. I need to read it again at some point.

 

I'm behind quite a bit (I just finished #45), but I'm still hopeful that I have a chance to make it by the end of the year because I'm midway through a whole trove of books.

 

Right now I'm half way through The Elegance of the Hedgehog and I'm digging it. Hopefully, I can have a review together before this thread wraps at the end of the week.

 

Yes! The end left me wondering if there is a sequel coming.

[Mom-ninja.]

My book #50 was Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier. It came up when I was searching the library catalog for women in science. It's a fictional account of Mary Anning who was a fossil hunter in Lyme Regis in the first half of the 19th century. It depicted her friendship with Elizabeth Philpot who liked to find fossilized fish and carefully categorized them. Both were really scientists before women were allowed to participate in or were recognized for that work. I like Tracy Chevalier--her writing was a pleasure after last week's Jodi Picoult book.

 

I'm hoping to have many hours of reading on the sofa this week. Right now I'm reading the second book in Ursula Le Guinn's Earthsea Cycle, The Tombs of Atuan. Pure pleasure reading. I also have Rachel Carson's Silent Spring out from the library until the 27th (the same women in science project that revealed Remarkable Creatures). I hope I can make it through that. Also have the 3rd Earthsea book out--I should be able to make it to 52 with one of those.

 

 

 

I few of us on this thread have read Remarkable Creatures. It's a good book.

 

I've always wanted to read Silent Spring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right now I'm half way through The Elegance of the Hedgehog and I'm digging it. Hopefully, I can have a review together before this thread wraps at the end of the week.

 

That looks good.

 

 

 

I'm working through three non-fiction books. The Price of Honor, The Orthodox Church, Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know

 

My personal challenge for this past year has been to read an equal number of fiction as non-fiction because I tend to read almost all non-fiction. I think I feel behind with my fiction. After these three books my brain will be begging for fiction!

Edited December 19, 2011 by Kleine Hexe

[Angel]

Hey, hasn't someone here read "The Eyre Affair" by Jasper Fforde? I ran across this on the link Robin posted and it sounds delightful. My dd17 just read Jane Eyre and watched the movie, if this is appropriate I would love for her to read it. Can anyone tell me if it as s*x or bad words? Like is it a PG, PG-13, or R book ;) Thanks so much!

 

My book #50 was Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier. It came up when I was searching the library catalog for women in science. It's a fictional account of Mary Anning who was a fossil hunter in Lyme Regis in the first half of the 19th century. It depicted her friendship with Elizabeth Philpot who liked to find fossilized fish and carefully categorized them. Both were really scientists before women were allowed to participate in or were recognized for that work. I like Tracy Chevalier--her writing was a pleasure after last week's Jodi Picoult book.

 

 

I read this early in the year and really enjoyed it!

[Cleopatra]

This week it was The Chrysalids by John Wyndham. I really enjoyed the book and Wyndham's writing. He left me with a number of issues to ponder: people often repeat the same mistakes, people who are different tend to be marginalized, and especially when people truly believe that they are on the same level as God, how disastrous their decisions can be. Even the Sealand people mirrored the last behavior and, at the end, when they rescued David & his sister, I really wondered if they were better off with the enlightened, intellectual Sealanders, or if they should have stayed behind with the savage Mutants and the narrow-minded, fundamentalist Waknukkians. Hmmmm .........

 

51. The Chrysalids - John Wyndham

50. The Canticle for Leibowitz - Walter M. Miller, Jr.

49. Elizabeth and Essex - Lytton Strachey

48. Elizabeth I - Margaret George

[Robin M]

Hey, hasn't someone here read "The Eyre Affair" by Jasper Fforde? I ran across this on the link Robin posted and it sounds delightful. My dd17 just read Jane Eyre and watched the movie, if this is appropriate I would love for her to read it. Can anyone tell me if it as s*x or bad words? Like is it a PG, PG-13, or R book ;) Thanks so much!

 

 

 

I couldn't find anything on the clean teen rating site. I haven't read it but looked up a few reviews and sounds like it is pg. Now I want to read it. :) Put it on my wishlist. I do have "One of our Thursday's is missing." and looking forward to that one.

Edited December 19, 2011 by Mytwoblessings

[Angel]

I couldn't find anything on the clean teen rating site. I haven't read it but looked up a few reviews and sounds like it is pg. Now I want to read it. :) Put it on my wishlist. I do have "One of our Thursday's is missing." and looking forward to that one.

 

Thank you for looking around! I have such a tough time with that. Many times the amazon reviews will tell me if it's "steamy" but if there are a lot to read through, well, I give up. I think the idea is intriguing. I put a request in to our library loan and look forward to reading it.

 

My younger sister gave this book to me as a gift. I don't want to call her a prude (okay, I guess I just did ;)), but she absolutely wouldn't have given it as a gift if there was anything objectionable in it. If you can wait a couple of weeks I can tell you if it's worth reading. I'm hoping to get it read by the end of the challenge so she can't yell at me for not reading it yet. She bought it for me for Christmas 2010... oops.:blushing:

 

Thanks for the description of your sister. That helps! I don't read R rated anymore :tongue_smilie: so I guess I would be a bit prude, too. ;) It's really hard to read anything new without knowing what I'm going to run into. Because if it's really good, then I will have trouble putting down. Like I read The Girl Who Chased the Moon (which I adored) and there was one small scene in it. I read Garden Spells and it had many more scenes and nasty words. Sigh. But I had to finish it. Now I don't know whether or not her other two are ok or not so I haven't picked them up. Oh, well, I digress :tongue_smilie: PG-13 is my limit and certainly my dd's for now.

 

This thread really helps me pick my books. I can try new things just by asking around. Love it!

[eaglei]

Slowly finishing Bird by Bird. LOVE This woman's writing!! LOVE.

 

Is this by Anne Lamott? Is she really that good? My library does not list this book, but the description and reviews on Amazon sounded like my cuppa! The library lists novels, such as Blue Shoe, Crooked Little Heart, Joe Jones, and Hard Laughter; also, non-fiction Grace (Eventually), and Plan B. Are these worth reading? I'll (eventually) try these, based on what you say! :)

[laughing lioness]

Is this by Anne Lamott? Is she really that good? My library does not list this book, but the description and reviews on Amazon sounded like my cuppa! The library lists novels, such as Blue Shoe, Crooked Little Heart, Joe Jones, and Hard Laughter; also, non-fiction Grace (Eventually), and Plan B. Are these worth reading? I'll (eventually) try these, based on what you say! :)

 

Yes. I've never read anything else by her, but her books are now on my list! I started reading Bird by Bird because it's on everybody's list about "how to write." She is so random/global/ funny/insightful, deep, irreverant. She is bold. Mainly she is very funny :)

[dangermom]

Hey, hasn't someone here read "The Eyre Affair" by Jasper Fforde? I ran across this on the link Robin posted and it sounds delightful. My dd17 just read Jane Eyre and watched the movie, if this is appropriate I would love for her to read it. Can anyone tell me if it as s*x or bad words? Like is it a PG, PG-13, or R book ;) Thanks so much!

 

I've read the whole series, and I really like it. That said, the villain of the piece is given the pseudonym "Jack Schitt." And there are probably a few other swear words, though not a lot. I'd certainly let a 17yo read it.

[Angel]

I've read the whole series, and I really like it. That said, the villain of the piece is given the pseudonym "Jack Schitt." And there are probably a few other swear words, though not a lot. I'd certainly let a 17yo read it.

 

Thanks! I've got it coming from library loan. I hope it doesn't take too long :001_smile:

[Jane Elliot]

Still reading Anna Karenina for me and Great Expectations aloud to my girls. If I finish them before the end of the year, and that's a fairly good possibility, they will be numbers 31 and 32.

[eaglei]

Yes. I've never read anything else by her, but her books are now on my list! I started reading Bird by Bird because it's on everybody's list about "how to write." She is so random/global/ funny/insightful, deep, irreverant. She is bold. Mainly she is very funny :)

 

Thanks! I'll have to request Bird by Bird from the library. I haven't requested a book in awhile, so I think I won't feel too uncomfortable doing so now. (If someone requests a book that they don't have, they will often purchase it which, when it's me, makes me feel funny and wonder if anybody else will read it to make it worth the library's expense...) Last time this happened was about a year ago, so I think I'm due to request a book!:D

[Just Robyn]

It looks like there will be a sequel to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. :hurray:

[nd293]

Just finished #49 Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott on audiobook from Libribox. I don't generally read historical novels, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I am always amazed at the way the drama and humour and action and pathos in a book written 200 or more years ago can still feel relevant today. I have only read vey briefly about this period of history (King Richard, Normans, Saxons) and found that the book "fleshed out" what I had read very well. I'd highly recommend it to anyone studying the Middle Ages with their children.

 

Three more to go!

[Negin]

Thank you three!! That's just the permission I needed. I was getting frustrated. I'd read a whole chapter and have it build to the end only to have the author not give me a payoff of what happened and switch to an entirely different character.

Good for you! :D

 

I'm about 120 pages into The Poisonwood Bible now and I really like it.:)

Love this book. There's one character in particular who really made me laugh - the rather shallow one. :lol: Even though the book is not exactly a funny one, she would just make me laugh every time it was her chapter.

 

After Shadow of the Wind, I may very well catch up on some British celebrity magazines - Hello! and so on. I never read such stuff. Only if I'm at the hairdresser's and there's really not much else to read. But these days, since there are no magazines in Grenada anymore, I'll read almost any magazine. One of our guests gave me a whole bunch. Her reasoning in a very strong Scottish accent and in a whisper mind you, "You always have to be aware of the gossip!" Okay .... whatever! Sounds good to me. :)

Edited December 20, 2011 by Negin in Grenada

[Mom-ninja.]

But these days, since there are no magazines in Grenada anymore, I'll read almost any magazine. One of our guests gave me a whole bunch. Her reasoning in a very strong Scottish accent and in a whisper mind you, "You always have to be aware of the gossip!" Okay .... whatever! Sounds good to me. :)

 

When my cousin visited in Oct. she left me a Cosmopolitan magazine she brought from Germany. I don't ever read Cosmo, but I read that one simply because it was in German and I don't read enough German.

 

 

I just checked my list on Goodreads and I just finished book #61. Of course quite a few of those were audio books that I listened to while nursing my little one to sleep. :)

Edited December 20, 2011 by Kleine Hexe

[laughing lioness]

Thanks! I'll have to request Bird by Bird from the library. I haven't requested a book in awhile, so I think I won't feel too uncomfortable doing so now. (If someone requests a book that they don't have, they will often purchase it which, when it's me, makes me feel funny and wonder if anybody else will read it to make it worth the library's expense...) Last time this happened was about a year ago, so I think I'm due to request a book!:D

 

You are absolutely due! And it's a "classic" on how to write. I am so encouraged by this book- I feel like I have been empowered to write "bigger" - if that makes any sense. She is just so real and "normal" in her quirky weirdness. I actually bought this book (one of the few I've purchased since the fire) and I am so glad I did- I've written and commented and marked it all up! I'm requesting a pile of her other books from the library today.

She has written a couple of books chronicling the deaths of her father and best friend. And she writes about digging into the hurt and pain of real life.

I've worked so hard to "hide" the some of the ugliness of a close relationship -the person died recently- and have felt like I've had to "honor" this person by "hiding the dirt" What she says is dig deep, open the door to the ugly stuff. I had a big revelation about my own grief over those words (Oh! that's why I'm not getting over the hurt of their death! Kapow!) I think that's what makes her writing so....fun. She is writing about big, painful, huge things, but it's done with such realness and humor. Isn't it odd how words, a book, (a book on writing) can offer healing to heart hurts?

 

I want to finish Love and Respect by Eggerichs before the year is over and then dive back into Lamott's stuff. lmk what you think!

[-M-]

I posted about #112 on Sunday, but I've since finished three more:

 

■ #113 Mean Mothers (Peg Streep)

Psychology. Subtitled "Overcoming the Legacy of Hurt," this exploration of a provocative subject provided background material for a recent research project.

 

■ #114 Twisted Summer(Willo Davis Roberts)

YA fiction. A cozily predictable mystery for the youngest YA readers, Twisted Summer features Cici, a fourteen-year-old girl who wants to be acknowledged as one of "big kids." What I appreciated about this simple story was that Cici demonstrated her maturity through her displays of tenacity, intellect, and loyalty -- not through, say, sexual and/or substance experimentation. I know, right? How positively old-fashioned.

 

■ #115 The Grounding of Group 6 (Julian F. Thompson)

YA fiction. When it was first published in 1983, Grounding caused a bit of a stir with its blend of satire and psychological thrills (to say nothing of its frank sexual content, which, though tame by today's standards, was quite taboo then). I was nineteen when it was first released and missed its ascent into cult classic status (enthusiastic review here). And though I had rediscovered the merits of YA fiction by the time Grounding was re-leased in 1997, I somehow missed it again. Arriving at the book sans hype, then, I would say that it is both competent and compelling, though not nearly as memorable as a more recent entry into the "really, really bad parents" sub-genre of YA fiction: Neal Shusterman's Unwind.

[-M-]

I loved The Chrysalids! Have you read Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids? Also thought-provoking and well written.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

.

 

 

[Mom-ninja.]

 

■ #113 Mean Mothers (Peg Streep)

Psychology. Subtitled "Overcoming the Legacy of Hurt," this exploration of a provocative subject provided background material for a recent research project.

 

 

 

I need to read this book.

[Robin M]

I posted about #112 on Sunday, but I've since finished three more:

 

■ #113 Mean Mothers (Peg Streep)

Psychology. Subtitled "Overcoming the Legacy of Hurt," this exploration of a provocative subject provided background material for a recent research project.

 

■ #114 Twisted Summer(Willo Davis Roberts)

YA fiction. A cozily predictable mystery for the youngest YA readers, Twisted Summer features Cici, a fourteen-year-old girl who wants to be acknowledged as one of "big kids." What I appreciated about this simple story was that Cici demonstrated her maturity through her displays of tenacity, intellect, and loyalty -- not through, say, sexual and/or substance experimentation. I know, right? How positively old-fashioned.

 

■ #115 The Grounding of Group 6 (Julian F. Thompson)

YA fiction. When it was first published in 1983, Grounding caused a bit of a stir with its blend of satire and psychological thrills (to say nothing of its frank sexual content, which, though tame by today's standards, was quite taboo then). I was nineteen when it was first released and missed its ascent into cult classic status (enthusiastic review here). And though I had rediscovered the merits of YA fiction by the time Grounding was re-leased in 1997, I somehow missed it again. Arriving at the book sans hype, then, I would say that it is both competent and compelling, though not nearly as memorable as a more recent entry into the "really, really bad parents" sub-genre of YA fiction: Neal Shusterman's Unwind.

 

"Is this allowed?" :lol: Nope, you aren't allowed to post more than once and you can't talk about more than one book a week. :tongue_smilie: Silly goose. Of course it's allowed. Talk em up all you want.

[eaglei]

You are absolutely due! And it's a "classic" on how to write. I am so encouraged by this book- I feel like I have been empowered to write "bigger" - if that makes any sense. She is just so real and "normal" in her quirky weirdness. I actually bought this book (one of the few I've purchased since the fire) and I am so glad I did- I've written and commented and marked it all up! I'm requesting a pile of her other books from the library today.

She has written a couple of books chronicling the deaths of her father and best friend. And she writes about digging into the hurt and pain of real life.

I've worked so hard to "hide" the some of the ugliness of a close relationship -the person died recently- and have felt like I've had to "honor" this person by "hiding the dirt" What she says is dig deep, open the door to the ugly stuff. I had a big revelation about my own grief over those words (Oh! that's why I'm not getting over the hurt of their death! Kapow!) I think that's what makes her writing so....fun. She is writing about big, painful, huge things, but it's done with such realness and humor. Isn't it odd how words, a book, (a book on writing) can offer healing to heart hurts?

 

I want to finish Love and Respect by Eggerichs before the year is over and then dive back into Lamott's stuff. lmk what you think!

 

You have definitely whetted my reading appetite for Lamott! I think it's the "dig deep" part that did it, along with the "realness and humor" and "healing to heart hurts". I, too, have hit a wall when trying to write the "ugly" and have tended to revert to generalities - not good . . . I am looking forward to reading her writings, including requesting Bird by Bird. Not sure if I'll make it to the library before Christmas (or even year's end) - but January is (amazingly) right around the corner!

 

Thank you so much for taking time to post!

[K in MI]

#50: Trauma: My Life as an Emergency Surgeon (Cole)