Book a Week in 2012 - Week 16

[Robin M]

Good morning dolls! Today is the start of week 16 in our quest to read 52 books in 52 weeks. Welcome back to all our readers, welcome to all those just joining in 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 - Judge a book by the Cover: Highlighting a few new to me authors and books picked out based on the cover alone. Issued a challenge - go check it out.

Read a Russian Author month: What book are you reading and how are you enjoying it so far?

 

 

What are you reading this week?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to week 15

[Just Robyn]

I did almost no reading this week, excepting read-alouds. I did finish one book, only because I read most of it last week. Anyway, I finished

 

Sunshine by Robin McKinley - This book was pretty good, but it left a lot of things open at the end, as if there were a sequel, but there isn't one. And since it looks like it came out in 2003, I doubt there will be one. I hadn't heard of this author before (I read the book for a sci-fi/fantasy book group.), but I guess she writes children's books too and even has one Newbery winner, The Hero and the Crown and one Newbery Honor book, The Blue Sword. Despite the problems with Sunshine (to which I would give a solid three stars if there were a sequel), I will probably be reading another of her books and maybe choosing one of her books as a read-aloud too.

[Robin M]

Still working on The Brothers Karamazov. Keep finding other books to read between that capture my attention

 

Read Jeaniene Frost's Halfway to the Grave, then discovered Jennifer Estep's Elemental Assassin series and read Spider's Web which was better than Frosts. So currently on Estep's 2nd book Web of Lies.

 

Received a surprise book in the mail yesterday "The Raw Shark Texts" by Steven Hall. No note inside so big THANK YOU to whomever sent it.

[porque]

Just a few things to add this week-

 

#29 Cane River by Lalita Talemy. It followed a family (the author's) from slavery to freedom, early 1800's to early 1900's. Fiction, but a lot of actual documents/accounts included as well.

 

DD9

#34 Among the Enemies

 

Not sure if I will finish anything this week. Trying to alternate non-fiction with fiction, and I am just not as motivated with the non-fiction. But my house is cleaner!

[Zebra]

This week I tried to read One Thousand Gifts but I just could not finish it. I got up to page 105 and gave up. DH finally said, "All you've done is complain about that book, WHY are you still reading it?" :lol:

 

There were some good things in this book, but the flowery language was too much for me. I'm sure there's a lot of people out there who really enjoyed this book.

 

This week I did finish My Lucky Life by Dick Van Dyke (#23) and Beyond Boundaries by John Townsend (#24). The Dick Van Dyke book got me wanting to watch Mary Poppins again. DD and I downloaded the Mary Poppins soundtrack and have been enjoying it all week.

 

Beyond Boundaries was sort of the sequel to Boundaries (which was literally a life changing book for me). Beyond...not so much life-changing, but it had some good points in it. Probably worth a read if you've had serious boundary issues in the past and enjoyed the original Boundaries.

[Pink and Green Mom]

Finished #24 - Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon. I started it at 2 in the afternoon on Thursday and stayed up all night to finish it. I really liked it. I'm on the waiting list for Books 2 and 3 at the library. I'm not usually a fan of series so we'll see how this goes.

 

I've started The Expats by Chris Pavone and so far I am not thrilled. Like the idea, hate the writing style. I think the Sweet Valley High books I read in the 80s were better written...

 

I need to figure out how to get my whole list on this post.

[Ali in OR]

I finished Paula McLain's The Paris Wife about Ernest Hemingway's first wife and also Susan Cain's Quiet and enjoyed both. The first made me very curious about the Hemingways' lives, and I'll probably need to re-read one of his books. As an introvert I loved Quiet and found much of it applicable to various life situations. I picked up 11/22/63 from the library on Thursday and haven't even started it yet, so now I have like 12 days to read 850 pages. Made no progress on Anna Karenina and probably won't while I have 11/22/63 going.

 

Books Read in 2012 (* = contenders for my 2012 Top Ten)

30. Quiet-Susan Cain*

29. The Paris Wife-Paula McLain

28. The Girl Who Chased the Moon-Sarah Addison Allen

27. The Feast Nearby-Robin Mather

26. The Sugar Queen-Sarah Addison Allen

25. The Invention of Hugo Cabret-Brian Selznick

24. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks-Rebecca Skloot*

23. The Hunger Games-Suzanne Collins

22. Not a Fan-Kyle Idleman

21. Wildwood-Colin Meloy

20. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children-Ransom Riggs

19. The Mysterious Affair at Styles-Agatha Christie

18. A String in the Harp-Nancy Bond

17. The Art of Hearing Heartbeats-Jan-Philipp Sendker*

16. The Lacuna-Barbara Kingsolver*

15. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows-Alan Bradley

14. Garden Spells-Sarah Addison Allen

13. The Prince and the Pauper-Mark Twain

12. Romeo and Juliet-William Shakespeare

11. The Shallows-Nicholas Carr

10. The Handmaid’s Tale-Margaret Atwood

9. Mudbound-Hillary Jordan*

8. The Other Wind-Ursula Le Guin

7. What the Dog Saw-Malcolm Gladwell

6. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall-Anne Bronte

5. Tehanu-Ursula Le Guin

4. The Scarlet Pimpernel-Baroness Orczy

3. The Paleo Diet-Loren Cordain

2. Peter Pan-James Barrie

1. The Farthest Shore-Ursula Le Guin

[-M-]

This week, I will finish The Pen Commandments (Steven Frank) and Timon of Athens (Shakespeare). Here's what I finished last week, bringing my year-to-date total to 35.

 

■ The Fiddler in the Subway (Gene Weingarten)

Essays; journalism. I begin and set aside many worthwhile books -- books I thoroughly enjoy and/or appreciate as I am reading them but inexplicably "forget" to finish. These abandoned friends end up at the bottom of a towering book stack of reproach or, as is the case with Fiddler, shelved. A couple of weeks prior to seeing Joshua Bell at Symphony Center (related entry here), I wanted to share Weingarten's Pulitzer Prize-winning feature "Pearls before Breakfast" with the Misses. "I have that book," I thought. But, as it turned out, I had never finished it; I had shelved it. I have finished it now, though. Contents include the heartbreaking and difficult story "Fatal Distraction," which earned him his second Pulitzer: "Fear Itself"; and "The Peekaboo Paradox" (retitled "The Great Zucchini" in the collection).

 

■ Mr. Monster (Dan Wells)

■ I Don't Want to Kill You (Dan Wells)

Fiction. After reading I Am Not a Serial Killer two years ago, I wrote, in part, "Wow! I haven't met a sociopath this interesting since Joyce Carol Oates' Zombie." The two follow-up novels are nearly as compelling as Wells' mixed-genre (psychological thriller / mystery / horror) introduction to John Wayne Cleaver.

 

■ The Memory Palace (Mira Bartók)

Memoir. In her NYT review of The Memory Palace, Melanie Thernstrom writes:

 

Bartok’s tone shifts frustratingly from intimate and confessional to distant and elusive. Boyfriends appear and disappear with little or no explanation. In one section she has met a man; the next section opens a year into their crumbling marriage. Then, suddenly, she is engaged to a different man, about whom we learn almost nothing.

Since she so incisively described Bartók's narrative device -- the fable-based metaphor of the memory palace -- it seems frustratingly obtuse of Thernstrom to accuse Bartók of shifts in tone. To me, the "broken," disjointed, and even opaque nature of parts of this beautifully, magically wrought narrative is precisely what one would expect from a writer who had not only endured sustained horror during childhood but had also suffered traumatic brain injury in adulthood. In other words, Bartók's memory palace must, by unintended design, possess unfurnished, incomplete, and dark rooms. Highly recommended, particularly to fans of Jeanette Walls' The Glass Castle.

 

■ Going Bovine (Libba Bray)

Fiction. Granted, it's an utterly unrelated context, but I couldn't help but hear Charlie bellowing, "I'll show you the life of the mind! I'll show you the life of the mind!" (Barton Fink, 1991) as I read Bray's teacup-ride of a novel. After all, what are we shown if not the emotionally rich life of a dying teenager's mind (and a wry, observant, and imaginative teenager, at that)? Come for the clever chapter titles ("In Which a Brief Sanctuary Is Found, I Fail to Comprehend Jazz, and I Am Forced to Have a Conversation with My [expletive] Father"), and stay for the physics, the references to don Quixote, and all of the truth good fiction tells.

Edited April 15, 2012 by Mental multivitamin

[Jane in NC]

This week I finished #19, Devil-devil, a Soho Press imprint which introduces us to the detective team of Sargent Ben Kella, native of the Solomon Islands, and an unlikely sidekick, missionary nun Sr. Conchita. Set in the '60's, the book offers lessons in anthropology and geography of the Solomons. I enjoyed it.

 

I finished another Balzac story--at one a week I'll eventually get through the book.

 

Moving on, I am reading another Gladys Mitchell mystery. Such intelligent books!

 

Totally off topic but I think that our readers may enjoy interesting films as well. I saw two this week: the documentary Being Elmo and Academy Award nominated animation, Chico and Rita. Loved, loved, loved Chico and Rita! Not for the kiddies, though. The film is about two star crossed lovers, Cuban jazz musicians. The music by Bebo Valdes is incredible!

[Night Elf]

I wasn't much in the mood for reading this week. I did read The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin and enjoyed it. It was a very clever mystery book with a very satisfying ending. It was fun to see a little into the lives of a handful of people in an apartment building. It's so easy to be stuck in my own little world that I don't think much about how other people live and what motivates them in their lives.

[Stacia]

52 Books Blog - Judge a book by the Cover: Highlighting a few new to me authors and books picked out based on the cover alone. Issued a challenge - go check it out.

 

I love this challenge. I read a few last year for this challenge & have been looking forward to doing it again this year!

 

From your list, Robin, I'd pick either The Aviary or The Woman in Black, I think....

 

Received a surprise book in the mail yesterday "The Raw Shark Texts" by Steven Hall. No note inside so big THANK YOU to whomever sent it.

 

I didn't send it, but that's cool! I read that earlier this year & really loved it. Can't wait to see what you think of it. Mind-bending, for sure.

 

I need to figure out how to get my whole list on this post.

 

Are you trying to put web links in? If so, that may be the problem. Each letter/number of the entire web link counts toward the max number of characters you can put in a post. Can you just write a list of your books (w/out web links)?

 

I picked up 11/22/63 from the library on Thursday and haven't even started it yet, so now I have like 12 days to read 850 pages. Made no progress on Anna Karenina and probably won't while I have 11/22/63 going.

 

I've been waitlisted for awhile for 11/22/63 too. I figure I'll have to drop my other reading when it finally comes in....

 

Fiction. After reading I Am Not a Serial Killer two years ago, I wrote, in part, "Wow! I haven't met a sociopath this interesting since Joyce Carol Oates' Zombie."

 

For some reason, your comment makes me think you might enjoy The Sisters Brothers by Patrick de Witt (even though it's a noir western, and not a horror/thriller type book).

 

In other words, Bartók's memory palace must, by unintended design, possess unfurnished, incomplete, and dark rooms. Highly recommended, particularly to fans of Jeanette Walls' The Glass Castle.

 

Sounds like a book I need to check out....

 

This week I finished #19, Devil-devil, a Soho Press imprint

 

I need to check out Soho Press' works. I remember you mentioning them (last week?) & thinking it sounds like they publish some cool books.

[Stacia]

I finished my Russian book earlier today. It was The Master & Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. I think my head is still swimming from all of it & it may take me awhile to formulate a response. I really enjoyed it (& loved that it's satirical, surreal, & sophisticated) -- just wish I had a comparative/analytical lit. class reading it w/ me so I could discuss, debate, & understand it more. :001_smile: Maybe this website will be the barest start for me in analyzing & understanding....

 

I think my brain hurts. :tongue_smilie::lol:

 

Not sure what book I'll be starting next....

----------------------------

My Goodreads Page

Completed the Europa Challenge Cappuccino Level (at least 6 Europa books: #s 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 19, & 21 on my list).

Completed Robin's Read a Russian Author in April Challenge (#24 on my list).

 

2012 Books Read:

01. Mozart's Last Aria by Matt Rees (3 stars)

02. Oh No She Didn't by Clinton Kelly (2 stars, if you're in the right mood, lol)

03. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt (4 stars)

04. In a Strange Room by Damon Galgut (4 stars)

05. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling (5 stars)

06. The Infernals by John Connolly (3 stars)

07. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (2 stars)

08. The Coral Thief by Rebecca Stott (3 stars)

09. Zeroville by Steve Erickson (4.5 stars)

10. Broken Glass Park by Alina Bronsky (4 stars)

 

11. Hygiene and the Assassin by Amélie Nothomb (2 stars)

12. The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner (3 stars)

13. The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall (4 stars)

14. The Nun by Simonetta Agnello Hornby (4 stars)

15. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (5 stars)

16. The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim (3 stars)

17. The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino (3 stars)

18. The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt by Caroline Preston (3 stars)

19. Cooking with Fernet Branca by James Hamilton-Paterson (4 stars)

20. Stone Junction by Jim Dodge (3 stars)

 

21. Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio by Amara Lakhous (3 stars)

22. Colony by Hugo Wilcken (5 stars)

23. Swimming to Antarctica by Lynne Cox (3.5 stars)

24. The Master & Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (4.5 stars)

Edited April 15, 2012 by Stacia

[Paisley Hedgehog]

.

[Stacia]

My read a Russian pick is One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn. It is pretty depressing so I'm not sure how far I will get.

 

It is very good, but very sad.

[cjgrubbs]

Here is what I've read so far this year:

1. Radical - Platt

2. The Vikings - Janeway

3. Beorn the Proud

4. A Midsummer night's Dream - Shakespeare

5. Ahab's Wife

6. Books that Build Character

7. Shadow Spinner

8. Adam of the Road

9. The Mystery of the Roman Ransom

10. Raising Real Men - Young

11. The 17th Swap - McGraw

 

I've started The Bible Jesus read but I've gotten sidetracked by BarnHart by Jenna Wolginrich. I've also been trying to preread history options for next year like Hakim's History of Us, Story of the World vol 3, Kingfisher Encyclopedia... :tongue_smilie:

 

Maybe I can get "caught up" over the summer!:lol:

[Negin]

I finished:

Dress Your Best - 2 out of 5 Stars - Just okay, nothing to write home about

 

The Top Five Regrets of the Dying - 4 out of 5 Stars - Really Good

 

I'm currently reading:

Madame Tussaud - I'm enjoying it especially because of having visited Paris and Versailles last summer. I also loved Scarlet Pimpernel and all the French Revolution stuff.

 

 

I've started The Expats by Chris Pavone I think the Sweet Valley High books I read in the 80s were better written...

:lol:

 

Totally off topic but I think that our readers may enjoy interesting films as well.

:iagree: and have felt this way for quite some time. Love a good movie. :D

[Mom-ninja.]

Because I love Jeeves and Bertie so much I've started another one.

[Just Robyn]

I finished my Russian book earlier today. It was The Master & Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. I think my head is still swimming from all of it & it may take me awhile to formulate a response. I really enjoyed it (& loved that it's satirical, surreal, & sophisticated) -- just wish I had a comparative/analytical lit. class reading it w/ me so I could discuss, debate, & understand it more. :001_smile: Maybe this website will be the barest start for me in analyzing & understanding....

 

I think my brain hurts. :tongue_smilie::lol:

 

When I was searching for a Russian book to read I came to this a few times. I wanted to choose something shorter though since I already have several books that I'm in the middle of that I really want to finish. Seeing your review bumps it up a few slots on my to read list.

[rwjx2khsmj]

I totally missed last week because dh was out of town and I was struggling to take care of the basics. I did do some reading and some listening over the last two weeks.

 

I read:

11/22/63 by Stephen King

The Scottish Prisoner by Diana Gabaldon

Book of Dreams by T. Davis Bunn

 

I listened to:

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett

Jack Plank Tells Tales by Natalie Babbitt

 

I'm currently reading:

Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

[Shawneinfl]

I've been away from the boards for about a month, but in that time I have been trying to get some reading in. Started but didn't finish 11/22/63 by Stephen King (lost interest - scifi is not my favorite genre). I did read 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper, Imagine, How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer and am currently reading The Know-it-All by AJ Jacobs which is about a guy who decides to read the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica. It is laugh-out-loud hilarious. Not so funny is In the Land of Invisible Women, a story of a female doctor from Britain who travels to Saudi Arabia to work for a year.

 

I just downloaded two books about the sinking of Titanic.

[Just Robyn]

I've been away from the boards for about a month, but in that time I have been trying to get some reading in. Started but didn't finish 11/22/63 by Stephen King (lost interest - scifi is not my favorite genre). I did read 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper, Imagine, How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer and am currently reading The Know-it-All by AJ Jacobs which is about a guy who decides to read the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica. It is laugh-out-loud hilarious. Not so funny is In the Land of Invisible Women, a story of a female doctor from Britain who travels to Saudi Arabia to work for a year.

 

I just downloaded two books about the sinking of Titanic.

 

I read The Know-It-All last year and enjoyed it. Have you read his other books? I LOVED The Year of Living Biblically, but haven't read The Guinea Pig Diaries.

[Jen in PA]

Finished this week:

 

#49 Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. I wasn't expecting to like this one, but it really grew on me once I got past the first hundred pages or so.

 

#50 Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age. I don't know why, but I had a really hard time finishing this book, and I can't quite put my finger on the reason. The subject matter was interesting, the writing was thoughtful, but I had to push myself to read to the end, which is pretty ironic given its title.

 

#51 Dead Man's Knock. This is the third volume in the graphic novel series The Unwritten, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'll probably get to book 4 next week.

[eaglei]

I read The Know-It-All last year and enjoyed it. Have you read his other books? I LOVED The Year of Living Biblically, but haven't read The Guinea Pig Diaries.

 

I read all three of these some years back. You've got to feel for his wife, with some of his ideas! She gets some payback, though, in The Guinea Pig Diaries when he spends a month doing her bidding. (As I recall, he does something different for each month of a year - like one month he outsourced his life [to someone in India, I think . . . ] - including having someone argue with his wife for him)!

[eaglei]

This week I finished:

 

#17 - A Lantern in Her Hand, by Bess Streeter Aldrich. It may just be the mood I've been in, but this book was sadly touching.

 

Just started:

 

#18 - Killing Lincoln, by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard. So far, so good.

[luvnlattes]

I finished Pretty is What Changes by Jennifer Queller. The author is diagnosed with the breast cancer gene. The book details her coming to terms with the knowledge and her decision to undergo a double masectomy despite the fact she did not have cancer. It was readable but not fantastic.

 

11/22/63 by Stephen King finally came into the library and I picked it up yesterday. I'm looking forward to starting it tonight!

[Alice]

■ The Fiddler in the Subway (Gene Weingarten)

Essays; journalism. I begin and set aside many worthwhile books -- books I thoroughly enjoy and/or appreciate as I am reading them but inexplicably "forget" to finish. These abandoned friends end up at the bottom of a towering book stack of reproach or, as is the case with Fiddler, shelved. A couple of weeks prior to seeing Joshua Bell at Symphony Center (related entry here), I wanted to share Weingarten's Pulitzer Prize-winning feature "Pearls before Breakfast" with the Misses. "I have that book," I thought. But, as it turned out, I had never finished it; I had shelved it. I have finished it now, though. Contents include the heartbreaking and difficult story "Fatal Distraction," which earned him his second Pulitzer: "Fear Itself"; and "The Peekaboo Paradox" (retitled "The Great Zucchini" in the collection).

 

 

 

I love Weingarten, those stories are all ones I've enjoyed.

 

In the past two weeks I've read...

 

The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt. I linked to my (overly long) review. The short version is that I thought the author failed to really prove his main thesis (that the poem On the Nature of Things by Lucretius was a major influence on modern thought) and I was somewhat annoyed by his openly hostile stance on religion. I didn't think it was a great book as far as information went, although he does tell an interesting story. In the end I was glad that I read it only because it was good exposure to a worldview different than my own.

 

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain. As an introvert I found a lot to love in this book but I was also pleasantly surprised to come away with some new insights. I found it a really interesting read.

 

Make the Bread, Buy the Butter by Jennifer Reece. I really loved this one and ended up buying it, which is rare for me to do. Reece found herself unemployed and ended up attempting to cook from scratch for her family. She does bread and butter, and jam and gets chickens and goats. She also does prosciutto and cheese and HOT DOGS. The things I loved about it was how practical she is and that she is a great writer. For each recipe she gives a bottom line (make it or buy it) and also parses out the hassle factor, the cost, and the taste so you can really see if it is worth it for you. Woven in between the recipes are really funny and endearing stories.

 

I also listened on audiobook to several books. This is a relatively new thing for me. I tend to think of audiobooks as "cheating" which has more to do with the fact that I'm a very visual learner and remember much more when I read than when I listen. But I decided to redeem some of the time I have to spend driving every morning to various hospitals for work and listen to books.

 

I listened to Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl. I'm not sure if I would have enjoyed it as a book. It's very long (the audiobook was 17 CDs) and full of asides and long descriptions and flashbacks and obscure literary references. But the narrator for the audiobook, Emily Janice Card, is fantastic and made this a joy to listen to.

 

I also listened to Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Excellent.

 

Read in 2012

1. The Christmas Memory by Truman Capote

2. The Piano Teacher by Janice Y. K. Lee

3. Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James

4. I Think I Love You by Allison Pearson

5. The Most Dangerous Thing by Laura Lippman

6. Believing the Lie by Elizabeth George

7. The Rise and Fall of Mt. Majestic by Jennifer Trafton

8. Below Stairs by Margaret Powell

9. Confessions of a Prairie ***** by Alison Arngrim

10.Still by Lauren Winner

11. An Atlas of Impossible Longing by Aduraha Roy

12. City of Tranquil Light by Bo Caldwel

13. The Shallows by Nicholar Carr

14. Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny

15. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

16. Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

17. Inside Out and Back Again by Thanha Lai

18. The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure

19. Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

20. Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

21. Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

22. A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny

23. Feed by M. T. Anderson

24. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

25. The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt

26. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

27. Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl (Audiobook)

28. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (Audiobook)

[Shawneinfl]

I read The Know-It-All last year and enjoyed it. Have you read his other books? I LOVED The Year of Living Biblically, but haven't read The Guinea Pig Diaries.

 

I had read a review of the Year of Living Biblically and that's how I found Know-It-all. Can't wait to read the others.

[Violet Crown]

Still working through City of God. :tongue_smilie:

[Stacia]

I'm currently reading:

Madame Tussaud - I'm enjoying it especially because of having visited Paris and Versailles last summer.

 

I enjoyed that one!

 

When I was searching for a Russian book to read I came to this a few times. I wanted to choose something shorter though since I already have several books that I'm in the middle of that I really want to finish. Seeing your review bumps it up a few slots on my to read list.

 

:001_smile: You just made my evening. Thank you. And, yes, I think you'd really enjoy The Master & Margarita.

 

currently reading The Know-it-All by AJ Jacobs which is about a guy who decides to read the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica. It is laugh-out-loud hilarious.

 

I've read his others, but not that one. Love his books. They make me lol too.

 

I read The Know-It-All last year and enjoyed it. Have you read his other books? I LOVED The Year of Living Biblically, but haven't read The Guinea Pig Diaries.

 

You must read The Guinea Pig Diaries. Very funny.

 

#50 Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age. I don't know why, but I had a really hard time finishing this book, and I can't quite put my finger on the reason.

 

I love the irony of your comments. :D:lol:

 

I also listened on audiobook to several books. This is a relatively new thing for me. I tend to think of audiobooks as "cheating" which has more to do with the fact that I'm a very visual learner and remember much more when I read than when I listen. But I decided to redeem some of the time I have to spend driving every morning to various hospitals for work and listen to books.

 

I listened to Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl. I'm not sure if I would have enjoyed it as a book. It's very long (the audiobook was 17 CDs) and full of asides and long descriptions and flashbacks and obscure literary references. But the narrator for the audiobook, Emily Janice Card, is fantastic and made this a joy to listen to.

 

Alice, I always love reading your in-depth reviews. Fabulous.

 

I have a similar audiobook prejudice :tongue_smilie:, probably for the same reasons. I have a very hard time listening to audiobooks. To actually retain anything I've heard, I almost have to sit still, close my eyes, and just concentrate on the words I'm hearing (which kind of negates the benefit of listening to audiobooks while driving, at least for me... ;):lol:)

 

I read Special Topics in Calamity Physics & can't imagine listening to the asides, descriptions, flashbacks, etc... & being able to follow them. For me, that is one book I definitely would have to read vs. hear. I find it interesting that you had the opposite reaction...

[Kareni]

Make the Bread, Buy the Butter by Jennifer Reece.

 

This sounds quite intriguing, so thank you for the review. (I looked for it at my library and learned that the author's last name is actually Reese.)

 

 

Recently finished the historical romance Scandal by Carolyn Jewel which I enjoyed.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Stacia]

52 Books Blog - Judge a book by the Cover: Highlighting a few new to me authors and books picked out based on the cover alone. Issued a challenge - go check it out.

 

For anyone who wants to do this challenge, check out this website:

The Book Cover Archive

 

Lots of neat cover art to see there. (That's where I found the books I read for this challenge last year.)

[Stacia]

Ok, here are some of my choices for 'choose a book by its cover'.... My criteria were that it had to be an interesting cover, a book I could get at my library, & one that I wasn't familiar with already....

 

The Pieces from Berlin

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

Censoring an Iranian Love Story

The Complete Works of Marvin K. Mooney (got this one for Christmas but haven't read it yet...)

Salmonella Men on Planet Porno

The Dream Life of Sukhanov (actually I've already got this one checked out from the library as part of my Russian author reading...)

 

I'll see which (if any) I like once I get them & start reading...

[VeganCupcake]

I just finished reading Catherine the Great by Robert J. Massie. I really liked it.

 

Onward to Daniel Stein, Interpreter by Ludmila Ulitskaya. It's my Russian author book for April.

[Negin]

I enjoyed that one!

I know and that's why I got it. :D :grouphug:

 

Ok, here are some of my choices for 'choose a book by its cover'.... My criteria were that it had to be an interesting cover, a book I could get at my library, & one that I wasn't familiar with already....

The Pieces from Berlin

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

Censoring an Iranian Love Story

The Complete Works of Marvin K. Mooney (got this one for Christmas but haven't read it yet...)

Salmonella Men on Planet Porno

The Dream Life of Sukhanov (actually I've already got this one checked out from the library as part of my Russian author reading...)

I'll see which (if any) I like once I get them & start reading...

Stacia, these all look so good. I'm particularly interested in Censoring an Iranian Love Story. I just hope that the ending is decent. Iranians seem to love really tragic, sucky endings :glare:.

BTW, I really, really, really miss you posting images on this weekly thread. It's just not the same without your images. After all, you're the one who taught me how to do them. :lol: :grouphug:

ETA: Added most of the above to my wish list. :)

Edited April 16, 2012 by Negin in Grenada

[Alice]

Alice, I always love reading your in-depth reviews. Fabulous.

 

I read Special Topics in Calamity Physics & can't imagine listening to the asides, descriptions, flashbacks, etc... & being able to follow them. For me, that is one book I definitely would have to read vs. hear. I find it interesting that you had the opposite reaction...

 

Aw, thanks! That made my morning. I think the reason the audiobook was so good was the strength of the narrator. She really became Blue and was just fantastic.

 

This sounds quite intriguing, so thank you for the review. (I looked for it at my library and learned that the author's last name is actually Reese.)

 

 

Oops, thanks for the correction.

 

 

The Complete Works of Marvin K. Mooney (got this one for Christmas but haven't read it yet...)

 

I'd read that one on the title alone. I often find myself saying to my kids "It's time to go! Marvin K. Mooney will you please go now!" as we're trying to get out the door and they are dawdling.

[Heather in Neverland]

This week...

 

Started reading:

 

Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas

The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller

 

Completed so far:

16. The Constantine Codex

15. What the Dog Saw

14. What is the Mission of the Church?: Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission

13. Gods and Kings

12. A Skeleton in God's Closet

11. My Hands Came Away Red

10. The Omnivore's Dilemma

9.Dead Heat

8. Redeeming Love

7. Family Driven Faith: What it Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk with God

6. Organized Simplicity

5. Year of Wonders

4. The Holiness of God

3. The Paris Wife

2. The Peach Keeper

1. Relic

[Jane in NC]

I had read a review of the Year of Living Biblically and that's how I found Know-It-all. Can't wait to read the others.

 

A.J. Jacobs has a new book out, Drop Dead Healthy: One Man’s Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection. The Year of Living Biblically was a hoot. I recommend it as a good entertainment for high school students too.

 

Requesting the new Jacobs book from the library...

[Stacia]

Stacia, these all look so good. I'm particularly interested in Censoring an Iranian Love Story. I just hope that the ending is decent. Iranians seem to love really tragic, sucky endings :glare:.

BTW, I really, really, really miss you posting images on this weekly thread.

:001_smile: Hi, Negin! Well, I hope that book doesn't have a tragic, sucky ending. :tongue_smilie: (That's not my style, really.) I have no idea about the book because I haven't even read a description of it -- just going by the art & title alone.

 

I guess I've gotten lazy on posting images, plus I feel like my posts are so long that maybe I better cut something.... :lol:

 

I'd read that one on the title alone. I often find myself saying to my kids "It's time to go! Marvin K. Mooney will you please go now!" as we're trying to get out the door and they are dawdling.

LOL. I used to love Marvin K. Mooney when I was a kid. It was one of my favorite books. When I read it again as an adult, I had to wonder what I was thinking. :lol: Oh well. The title definitely drew me in as well. I figured our library system would never get it & I waited for it on PaperbackSwap for almost a year, then gave in & asked for it for Christmas. I definitely want to read it this year.

 

A.J. Jacobs has a new book out, Drop Dead Healthy: One Man’s Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection. The Year of Living Biblically was a hoot. I recommend it as a good entertainment for high school students too.

Oh, good to know he has a new one out!

 

I have started reading The Dream Life of Sukhanov by Olga Grushin.

 

It's another book I selected for the 'Read a Russian Author in April' challenge. I figured I'd read a female Russian author since I just finished reading a book by a male Russian author.

 

The Independent's review of the book.

[Enough]

I think it's been a couple of weeks since I posted. In that time, I've finished Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking (I'm an introvert, so I was nodding my head through a lot of this book; the brain research was fascinating; highly recommended) and A Thousand Acres (modern retelling of King Lear; writing was lush and dense and engrossing; highly recommended).

 

This week I'm reading the 3rd Flavia de Luce mystery- A Red Herring Without Mustard. A previous thread reminded me that I had read and enjoyed one of these already, so picked up the only one my library had available. I love Flavia. :)

 

My list for the year:

1. Skippy Dies

2. Raising Freethinkers

3. The Collaborative Habit

4. By Heart

5. Lost Memory of Skin

6. Hunger Games #1

7. Ahab’s Wife

8. The Sisters Brothers

9. The Feast Nearby

10. Parenting Beyond Belief

11. Hunger Games #2

12. The Shallows

13. Hunger Games #3

14. Momma Zen

15. Why Read Moby-Dick?

16. The Housekeeper and the Professor

17. The Creative Habit

18. Life of Pi

19. The Happiness Project

20. Wayward Saints

21. Protector of the Small: First Test

22. Girl Reading

23. Protector of the Small: Page

24. Protector of the Small: Squire

25. Protector of the Small: Lady Knight

26. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking

27. A Thousand Acres

[Guest kayt3]

I'm starting The Count of Monte Cristo, by Dumas this week. Looking forward to it too!:)

 

Might also read Animal Farm, not sure though.

[Rosyl]

Hi, everyone,

I have learned 2 things doing this challenge. The first is I don't like the tones of some books. I prefer an author to take me on a journey with him/her. I think this can be done in the first person or third, I also think it can be done in fiction or non-fiction. I get annoyed at the undertone of my way is the only way.

 

The other thing I have learned is that I stick to one genre comfortably. In keeping a tally of my books I see more of one type, I have been challenged to step out of my genre and read different books. I am having a lot of fun.

 

I should be able to finish a couple this week.

Happy Reading to you all this week.

 

32) The Core by Leigh Bortins I didn't care for the tone, but I enjoyed the information.

 

 

31) Breaking Intimidation by John Bevere This was a little charasmatic for my taste, but good.

30) Big Decisions Linda Byler

29) Mockingjay Collins

28) Catching Fire Collins

 

27) I walk in Dread the Diary of Deliverance Trembley A Dear America Book

26) A Hope For Hannah by Jerry Eicher

25) A Year of Living Biblically A.J. Jacobs

24) Through My Eyes by Tim Tebow on audio

23) A Dream For Hannah by Jerry Eicher.

22) Much Ado About Nothing Shakespeare on audio

21) A Love That Multiplies, Duggars on Audio

 

20) Ella Finds Love, Eicher

19) Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

18) The Duggars 20 and counting by Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar

17) Emotionally Healthy Spiritually by Peter Scazarro

16) Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider

15) The Survivor by Beth Wiseman (yet another amish book)

14) The Art of Mingling by Jeanne Martinet audio book

13) Growing up Amish by Beth Wiseman

12) Ella's Wish By Jerry Eicher

11) Growing up Amish by Ira Wagler

 

10) The Healing by Wanda Brunstetter

9) Christmas in Sugarcreek by Shelley Shepard Gray

8) The Dark Tide

7) Little Men, Louisa May Alcott on Audio

6) Winter of the Red Snow.

5) The Daniel Fast by Susan Gregory.

4) A Wedding Quilt for Ella by Jerry Eicher

3) Longing by Karen Kingsbury.

2) Little Women by Alcott

1) Midummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare

[VeganCupcake]

Slog slog slog--that is me starting Daniel Stein, Interpreter. I hope it is going to get better. It got such good reviews. Pretty please, get better!!

[LostSurprise]

34. Cyteen 2: The Rebirth by CJ Cherryh~science fiction, future worlds, cloning. Yeah, more of this. I'm on a light reading role. More political maneuvering. The little girl clone of the murdered witchy genius gets older, learns more, tries to take more control of her environment. Unfortunately, suffers from middle of a trilogy syndrome. As the little girl gets older, I'm not sure I like her, although it will be interesting how similar/different she is from the old witch in book 1. Not sure how long it will be before I read book 3. They didn't really leave on a must-read note, and the entire book...while seeming realistic for the characters started...just meandered.

 

33. The Peace War by Vernor Vinge~science fiction, future timeline, technology. I read this one to dh in the car. We both liked it better than Fire Upon the Deep by Vinge, probably because its a lot less complicated. A splinter group uses a physicist's work to create the perfect weapon, a 'bobble' or impenetrable bubble which can isolate anything. Group takes over world, disables countries. Fifty years later the same physicist finally takes an apprentice and works to reverse the evil his invention has done the world. Lots of action. Boy genius from the 'hood. Treachery.

 

32. Whiskey Breakfast by Richard Lindberg~biography, memoir, Swedish Immigration, Chicago. I wanted to like this. I don't mind rough immigrant experiences. My husband's family is part Swedish. My father's family came from the neighborhood next to Swedetown (Logan Square area). But...well, the author's father, the main character, was a jerk. That's pretty much it. The author did a great job, not pulling punches, showing both weakness and strength but I could never get past that. By the end I felt myself fed up with humanity. Plus, frankly, as a memoir of a Chicago neighborhood it did not do that well. Less than a third of the book took place there, the author did not have a good connection with the neighborhood and its obvious that everyone moved out to the 'burbs as soon as they could.

 

31. Corvus: a Life with Birds by Esther Woolfson~non-fiction, birds.

30. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen~classic literature.

29. Cyteen: The Betrayal by CJ Cherryh~science fiction, future, space, cloning.

28. Divergent by Veronica Roth~youth fiction, dystopian.

27. The Help by Kathryn Stockett~fiction, '60s, race relations.

26. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs~youth, fiction.

25. Below Stairs: the Classic Kitchen Maid Memoir by Margaret Powell~non-fiction, memoir.

24. Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card~fiction.

23. Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood by Oliver Sacks~non-fiction, memoir.

22. The Garden Book of Wisconsin by Melinda Myers~non-fiction, gardening, flowers and landscaping.

21. Putting Down Roots: Gardening Insights from Wisconsin's Early Settlers by Marcia Carmichael~non-fiction, history, gardening.

20. Gudrun's Kitchen: Recipes from a Norwegian Family by Irene and Edward Sandvold~cookbook, biography.

19. Twelve Owls by Laura Erickson~non-fiction, birds.

18. A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell~fiction, WWII

17. A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge~science fiction, space

16. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card~classic science fiction, read aloud.

15. Flour by Joanne Chung~cookbook, baking

14. Home to Woefield by Susan Juby~light fiction, humorous

13. Making the Most of Shade by Larry Hodgson~non-fiction/gardening

12. Growing Perennials in Cold Climates by Mike Heger~non-fiction/gardening

11. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson~mystery

10. Letters from Yellowstone by Diane Smith~historical fiction

9. The Circus in Winter by Cathy Day~fiction

8. The Alphabet in the Park by Adelia Prado~poetry

7. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman~non-fiction/medical

6. One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus~speculative fiction

5. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Hidden Gallery by Maryrose Woods~juvenile

4. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Jester~(read aloud) juvenile

3. The Alienist by Caleb Carr~Mystery

2. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton~Fiction

1. The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt~Fiction

 

Working on:

 

Master and Commander (O'Brien)

The Explosive Child (Green)

Embassytown (Mieville)

[rieshy]

I finally finished Mother Courage and Her Children by Bertold Brecht. I don't generally enjoy reading plays but I enjoyed this one.

 

My favorite quote is when Mother Courage's son is captured while behind enemy lines and she comforts herself with the subject of bribery: "Corruption in humans is same as compassion in God. Corruption's our only hope. Long as we have it there'll be lenient sentences and even an innocent man'll have a chance of being let off."

[Violet Crown]

A.J. Jacobs has a new book out, Drop Dead Healthy: One Man’s Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection. The Year of Living Biblically was a hoot. I recommend it as a good entertainment for high school students too.

 

Requesting the new Jacobs book from the library...

 

I failed to get back to you on the prior thread, but I meant to tell you that The Housekeeper and the Professor looked interesting, and I'll keep an eye out for it. And to say that Balzac was much more interesting reading than Augustine.

[ladydusk]

I read The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion for my book club this month. It is the story of her year of grief after her husband died at the dinner table. Her magical thinking was the expectation that she could do something to bring him back; that he was still there. Well written, completely different worldview on death and God, but much to consider and think about.

 

2012 Books Reviews

1. Lit! by Tony Reinke

2. Loving the Little Years by Rachel Jankovic

3. Words to Eat By by Ina Lipkowitz

4. How to Tutor Your Own Child by Marina Koestler Ruben

5. Evening in the Palace of Reason by James R Gaines (spectacular)

6. The Cat of Bubastes by GA Henty (Audio from Librivox)

7. The Last Battle by C S Lewis (Audiobook)

8. A Praying Life by Paul E Miller

9. Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students by Christine Fonesca

10. Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers by Ralph Moody (fantastic read aloud)

11. The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

12. The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis

13. How to Write a Sentence by Stanley Fish

14. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

[aggieamy]

I'm still only on page 52 of Moonstone after almost a week of it being on my nightstand. It's interesting but I just haven't had time to read yet this week. Boo. I might actually switch to something lighter and easier to read. It's not a book you can read on for ten minutes or pickup to read while waiting for an appointment. It takes a while to get back to where you were and remember what was going on.

 

DH and I are also listening to Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods and both are enjoying it.

 

 

 

In progress:

 

 

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Casino Royale - James Bond by Ian Fleming (book club)

Tales of Robin Hood by Tony Allan (read aloud)

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (audiobook with DH)

Father Brown Mysteries by GK Chesterton (audiobook)

 

 

2012 finished books:

 

 

43. Half Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer - Audiobook (****)

42. Half Magic by Edward Eager (***)

41. Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede - Read Aloud (****)

 

Books 1 - 40

Amy's Rating System:

 

***** - Fantastic, couldn't put it down

**** - Very good

*** - Enjoyable but nothing special

** - Not recommended

* - Horrible

Edited April 17, 2012 by aggieamy

[dangermom]

A book of C. S. Lewis essays, The World's Last Night, and a historical mystery on the Lower East Side, Murphy's Law.

 

And here's my review for my Russian selection: Eugene Onegin.

[Negin]

Well, I hope that book doesn't have a tragic, sucky ending. :tongue_smilie: (That's not my style, really.)

Yep. Me neither. :lol:

 

I guess I've gotten lazy on posting images, plus I feel like my posts are so long that maybe I better cut something.... :lol:

Nope, your posts are great and much appreciated. :grouphug: Go ahead and post images when you have the energy. :D

 

The Housekeeper and the Professor looked interesting

I liked this one a lot. :)

[Kareni]

I recently finished two books --

 

Simply Magic by Mary Balogh -- an enjoyable reread (historical romance)

 

The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton -- a light and entertaining book (historical romance)

 

Regards,

Kareni