Book a Week in 2012 - Week 24

[joannqn]

Messenger, the third book in The Giver trilogy, popped up on our Kindle hold from the library this week so I read that. I was told I wasn't going to like the ending because I was unhappy with the ending of The Giver. I was actually fine with the ending. Interesting symbolism in the third book.

[Storm Bay]

For those who read The Great Gatsby &/or are looking forward to the movie coming out at Christmas, here's a neat article talking about getting the clothing for the movie authentically correct.

 

 

Is it good as an adult vs as a teen?

 

.

 

 

Has anyone here reread it lately who read it first in high school? I read it on my own then & can't even remember if I liked it or not (I read a LOT of books in high school & have forgotten most of them). Is it better as an adult?

 

 

My first Ray Bradbury book was The Martian Chronicles which I read way back when in high school. Hubby and I recently read Fahrenheit 451 and enjoyed talking about the story, big brother and how events relate to current politics. Lively discussion!!!

 

I think that I may have read them in this order, too, but am not sure. I reread Fahrenheit 451 when dd read it for freshman English (still homeschooling her at that time), but haven't reread the other. Does anyone know if Martian Chronicles is as good as the other, or is it far too dated? I also read Something Wicked This Way Comes and may well have read other Bradbury as I read a fair bit of Sci Fi from ages 10 through 17 or so (a friend introduced me to Robert Heinlein when I was 10.)

 

I can't wait to argue about how much I disliked Wuthering Heights! :lol: I'm still angry about wasting my time w/ those characters. I'm curious if others in my book club liked it or not.

 

 

 

I don't like Wuthering Heights, either, and loved the photo which I mistakenly deleted when deleting things in your post I'm not addressing.

 

My first and only Ray Bradbury book was The Martian Chronicles in high school. Can't remember it.

 

 

I think it might be short stories and that one of them involved a fully automated house that retoasted the same two pieces of toast every day ( I don't remember much about the book, that's for sure.)

 

LOTR is totally worth having read.

 

I loved The Hobbit in 3rd grade. I was advised to wait to read LOTR after that.

 

I tried in high school and got half way through The Two Towers and gave up. It is a lot of description.

 

Twenty years later, I wanted to read the books before I saw the movies (I failed at this ...) but I did read it to say I'd read it. Then, I re-read the whole series in a row last year and really liked it.

.

 

I read The Hobbit in gr 3 as well, and bought LOTR in gr 5. However, I didn't even try reading it until I was 19, and after I read Gormenghast (all 3 books). I liked LOTR at 19, but when I tried to read it again after watching the first 2 movies, I found some of the parts very, very slow.

Edited June 12, 2012 by Karin

[Stacia]

Is it good as an adult vs as a teen?

 

Has anyone here reread it lately who read it first in high school? I read it on my own then & can't even remember if I liked it or not (I read a LOT of books in high school & have forgotten most of them). Is it better as an adult?

 

Me! I read it in high school for the first time & remember loving it (but had forgotten many of the details). Per Robin's challenge, I read it again the other week & totally loved it.

 

So...

My teenage self = :thumbup1:

My much older (& hopefully wiser) adult self = :thumbup1:

 

Can't wait for the newest version of the movie too. :D

[Storm Bay]

So, onto Ray Bradbury, Here's a list of his first 25 books, and I am sure I also read The Illustrated Man but don't have time to search for the summary right now. Not sure if I've read more than the 4 I've mentioned or not. I was totally a geek in denial with nongeeky friends (my friend who introduced me to Sci Fi lived in CA, where I only lived for a little while--all my friends in my hometown were non-geeks & didn't read scifi.) Okay, yes, you can read scifi without being a geek, I guess, but to read as much of it as I did, and most if not all of the hard core authors at the time (Heinlein, Arthur C Clarke, Bradbury, et al) as well as many now long forgotten lesser known sci fi novels (I'm still trying to remember the title of one book about two people found in Antarctica, and the woman was revived--they'd been kept, I can't think of the term for it, in such a way that they could be revived for millenia.)

 

Ray Bradbury's first 25 books:

 

1. 1947 DARK CARNIVAL

2. 1950 THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES

3. 1951 THE ILLUSTRATED MAN

4. 1953 THE GOLDEN APPLES OF THE SUN

5. 1953 FAHRENHEIT 451

6. 1955 SWITCH ON THE NIGHT

7. 1955 THE OCTOBER COUNTRY

8. 1957 DANDELION WINE

9. 1959 A MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY (published in the UK as THE DAY IT RAINED FOREVER)

10. 1962 SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES

11. 1962 R IS FOR ROCKET

12. 1963 THE ANTHEM SPRINTERS AND OTHER ANTICS

13. 1964 THE MACHINERIES OF JOY

14. 1965 THE VINTAGE BRADBURY

15. 1966 TWICE 22

16. 1966 S IS FOR SPACE

17. 1969 I SING THE BODY ELECTRIC!

18. 1972 THE WONDERFUL ICE CREAM SUIT AND OTHER PLAYS

19. 1972 THE HALLOWEEN TREE

20. 1973 WHEN ELEPHANTS LAST IN THE DOORYARD BLOOMED

21. 1975 PILLAR OF FIRE AND OTHER PLAYS

22. 1976 LONG AFTER MIDNIGHT

23. 1977 WHERE ROBOT MICE AND ROBOT MEN RUN ROUND IN ROBOT TOWNS

24. 1978 THE MUMMIES OF GUANAJUATO

25. 1979 THIS ATTIC WHERE THE MEADOW GREENS

[Storm Bay]

Me! I read it in high school for the first time & remember loving it (but had forgotten many of the details). Per Robin's challenge, I read it again the other week & totally loved it.

 

So...

My teenage self = :thumbup1:

My much older (& hopefully wiser) adult self = :thumbup1:

 

Can't wait for the newest version of the movie too. :D

 

Okay, it's on hold.

[Mom-ninja.]

She loves the Enola Holmes books and the Jim Dale audio stories of Sherlock Holmes

 

Wait! Jim Dale has narrated Sherlock Holmes?! Must find them.

[Violet Crown]

Thanks for listing those. I was pleased to see that I read ten of them in my younger years. Martian Chronicles was my first and favorite (gads ... I feel like I'm discussing old boyfriends) but I loved his non-sf stories too.

 

Is the Reading Hive aware that Bradbury wrote the screenplay for the 1956 Moby Dick?

 

So, onto Ray Bradbury, Here's a list of his first 25 books, and I am sure I also read The Illustrated Man but don't have time to search for the summary right now. Not sure if I've read more than the 4 I've mentioned or not. I was totally a geek in denial with nongeeky friends (my friend who introduced me to Sci Fi lived in CA, where I only lived for a little while--all my friends in my hometown were non-geeks & didn't read scifi.) Okay, yes, you can read scifi without being a geek, I guess, but to read as much of it as I did, and most if not all of the hard core authors at the time (Heinlein, Arthur C Clarke, Bradbury, et al) as well as many now long forgotten lesser known sci fi novels (I'm still trying to remember the title of one book about two people found in Antarctica, and the woman was revived--they'd been kept, I can't think of the term for it, in such a way that they could be revived for millenia.)

 

Ray Bradbury's first 25 books:

 

1. 1947 DARK CARNIVAL

2. 1950 THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES

3. 1951 THE ILLUSTRATED MAN

4. 1953 THE GOLDEN APPLES OF THE SUN

5. 1953 FAHRENHEIT 451

6. 1955 SWITCH ON THE NIGHT

7. 1955 THE OCTOBER COUNTRY

8. 1957 DANDELION WINE

9. 1959 A MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY (published in the UK as THE DAY IT RAINED FOREVER)

10. 1962 SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES

11. 1962 R IS FOR ROCKET

12. 1963 THE ANTHEM SPRINTERS AND OTHER ANTICS

13. 1964 THE MACHINERIES OF JOY

14. 1965 THE VINTAGE BRADBURY

15. 1966 TWICE 22

16. 1966 S IS FOR SPACE

17. 1969 I SING THE BODY ELECTRIC!

18. 1972 THE WONDERFUL ICE CREAM SUIT AND OTHER PLAYS

19. 1972 THE HALLOWEEN TREE

20. 1973 WHEN ELEPHANTS LAST IN THE DOORYARD BLOOMED

21. 1975 PILLAR OF FIRE AND OTHER PLAYS

22. 1976 LONG AFTER MIDNIGHT

23. 1977 WHERE ROBOT MICE AND ROBOT MEN RUN ROUND IN ROBOT TOWNS

24. 1978 THE MUMMIES OF GUANAJUATO

25. 1979 THIS ATTIC WHERE THE MEADOW GREENS

[NanceXToo]

My current "current" is Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner, which:

 

"tells the story of a young mother's move to a postcard-perfect Connecticut town and the secrets she uncovers there.

 

For Kate Klein, a semi-accidental mother of three, suburbia's been full of unpleasant surprises. Her once-loving husband is hardly ever home. The supermommies on the playground routinely snub her. Her days are spent carpooling and enduring endless games of Candy Land, and at night, most of her org*sms are of the do-it-yourself variety.

 

When a fellow mother is murdered, Kate finds that the unsolved mystery is one of the most interesting things to happen in Upchurch since her neighbors broke ground for a guesthouse and cracked their septic tank. Even though Kate's husband and the police chief warn her that crime-fighting's a job best left to professionals, she can't let it go.

 

So Kate launches an unofficial investigation -- from 8:45 to 11:30 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, when her kids are in nursery school -- with the help of her hilarious best friend, carpet heiress Janie Segal, and Evan McKenna, a former flame she thought she'd left behind in New York City.

 

As the search for the killer progresses, Kate is drawn deeper into the murdered woman's double life. She discovers the secrets and lies behind Upchurch's placid picket-fence facade -- and the choices and compromises all modern women make as they navigate between independence and obligation, small towns and big cities, being a mother and having a life of one's own.

 

Engrossing, suspenseful, and laugh-out-loud funny, "Goodnight Nobody" is another unputdownable, timely tale; an insightful mystery with a great heart and a narrator you'll never forget."

 

I'm also STILL working my way through Ahab's Wife, so that's a "current," too. I really better get moving on them if I ever hope to finish them, considering my husband just ordered me the Shades of Grey trilogy AND the latest book in Laurel K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series, Kiss the Dead, from Amazon, and the library called that the Anne Bishop book I ordered through ILL came in and is waiting for me there!

 

Complete:

 

1. Envy, by J.R. Ward (Fallen Angels series)

 

2. Kiss of the Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series)

 

3. The Ramayana, A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic, by R.K. Narayan (with my daughter for school reading)

 

4. Dark Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series)

 

5. The Immortal Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series)

 

6. Spell of the Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series)

 

7. 11/22/63, by Stephen King

 

8. The Traveler, by John Twelve Hawks (Fourth Realm Trilogy, Book 1)

 

9. Into the Dreaming, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series)

 

10. A Judgement In Stone, by Ruth Rendel

 

11. The Dark River, by John Twelve Hawks (Fourth Realm Trilogy, Book 2)

 

12. The Golden City, by John Twelve Hawks (Fourth Realm Trilogy, Book 3)

 

13. Forbidden Pleasure, by Lora Leigh

 

14. Relic, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

 

15. House Rules, by Jodi Picoult

 

16. Midwives, by Chris Bohjalian

 

17. Wind Through the Keyhole, by Stephen King

 

18. The High Flyer, by Susan Howatch.

 

19. Daughter of the Blood, by Anne Bishop (The Black Jewels Trilogy, Book 1)

 

20. Heir to the Shadows, by Anne Bishop (The Black Jewels Trilogy, Book 2)

 

21. The Host, by Stephenie Meyer

 

22. Queen of the Darkness, by Anne Bishop (The Black Jewels Trilogy, Book 3)

[Violet Crown]

Finished

 

5. William Faulkner, Absalom, Absalom!

 

Yes, taking another break from City of God. Absalom, Absalom! is fantastic, but has Faulkner writing his densest prose. An excerpt:

Oh yes, I watched him, watched his old man's solitary fury fighting now not with the stubborn yet slowly tractable earth as it had done before, but now against the ponderable weight of the changed new time itself as though he were trying to dam a river with his bare hands and a shingle: and this for the same spurious delusion of reward which had failed (failed? betrayed: and would this time destroy) him once; I see the analogy myself now: the accelerating circle's fatal curving course of his ruthless pride, his lust for vain magnificence, though I did not then. And how could I? turned twenty true enough yet still a child, still living in that womb-like corridor where the world came not even as living echo but as dead incomprehensible shadow, where with the quiet and unalarmed amazement of a child I watched the miragy antics of men and women--my father, my sister, Thomas Sutpen, Judith, Henry, Charles Bon--called honor, principle, marriage, love, bereavement; death; the child who watching him was not a child but one of that triumvirate mother-woman which we three, Judith Clytie and I, made, which fed and clothed and warmed the static shell and so gave vent and scope to the fierce vain illusion and so said, 'At last my life is worth something, even though it only shields and guards the antic fury of an insane child.'

 

Note that that was two sentences, and included three invented words. The time shifts back and forth, sometimes without alerting you, throughout, covering a hundred years through memories and retellings of events. Probably not the best choice for one's first Faulkner; As I Lay Dying was much more accessible.

 

The 50th anniversary of Faulkner's death is coming right up, if that prompts anyone to dip into his work a little.

[aggieamy]

Wait! Jim Dale has narrated Sherlock Holmes?! Must find them.

 

They are abridged for children but you can find the CD here. I haven't listened to them but DD loves them.

[TravelingChris]

Two more finished.

 

36. The Man Who Was Thursday= G. K. Chesterton- not exactly the type of book I usually read but it was okay. Nowhere as funny as my dh thought it was.

 

37. The Forgotten Affairs of Youth- Alexander McCall Smith-- now this I liked. A little philosophy is okay, but not very much

 

I started a new one this morning but can't remember the name now. Since I am going to a swim meet today, I will probably finish it.

[Storm Bay]

This week I read a lovely novel,

I totally forgot that I also read The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald last week. It wasn't even on my to-read list but I was stuck on vacation and didn't feel like reading something to heavy so I gave it a try and really enjoyed it. I'm planning on doing it as a read aloud for DD sometime next year now.

 

We're one chapter into The Hounds of the Baskervilles and I don't know how that's going to go as a read aloud for an eight year old. She loves the Enola Holmes books and the Jim Dale audio stories of Sherlock Holmes so I think she'll like the story but the language is pretty advanced in the book. I found myself stumbling over pronunciation of the words a lot. I asked her if she wanted to keep reading it and she did so we'll see how it goes.

 

In progress:

 

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien

The Hounds of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (read aloud)

The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien (for bookclub)

Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome (audiobook)

 

2012 finished books:

 

69. The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald (****)

68. The School Story by Andrew Clement - read aloud (****)

67. The Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald (*)

66. Free-Range Kids by Lenore Skenazy (***)

65. Red Sails to Capri by Ann Weil -read aloud (***)

64. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglass Adams (*****)

63. Death of a Cad by MC Beaton (**)

62. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood (***)

61. The Year of Living Biblically by AJ Jacobs (***)

60. A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie (***)

59. The Secret Adversary (Tommy and Tuppence) by Agatha Christie (****)

58. Tales of Robin Hood by Tony Allan - read aloud (****)

57. Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace (*****)

56. The Beekeepers Apprentice by Laurie R. King (****)

55. Death of a Gossip by MC Beaton (***)

54. The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett (**)

53. On Writing by Stephen King (*****)

52. Maus by Art Spiegelman (****)

51. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (***)

50. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (****)

49. The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffinegger (*)

48. Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson (***)

47. Casino Royale - James Bond by Ian Fleming (**)

46. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson - Audiobook (***)

45. The Lucky Shopping Manual by Kim Lenitt (*****)

44. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (****)

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

 

)

 

2. Kiss of the Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series)

 

 

4. Dark Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series)

 

5. The Immortal Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series)

 

6. Spell of the Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series)

 

7. 11/22/63, by Stephen King

 

9. Into the Dreaming, by Karen Marie Moning (Highlander series)

 

 

Are these books related to the movie and/or TV show Highlander?

[VeganCupcake]

I finished I'm a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson. It was kind of a last-minute fill-in book after my original choice proved unreadable. I'm a Stranger Here Myself was pretty good, but it wasn't fabulous. I giggled a few times, though.

 

I'm finishing up listening to Factory Girls and I've just started reading Overtreated, which was recommended by someone on the board--wish I could remember who.

[Kareni]

I recently got on the bandwagon and read Fifty Shades of Grey by E L James. I enjoyed it, but it's certainly not literature.

 

Just finished A Night Like This by Julia Quinn which I enjoyed (but not as much as her previous book Just Like Heaven).

 

Currently rereading The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne, an excellent historical romance.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Mom-ninja.]

They are abridged for children but you can find the CD here. I haven't listened to them but DD loves them.

 

Those are narrated by Jim Weiss not Jim Dale. Once you hear Jim Dale in action you'll know that Jim Weiss is not the same. Jim Dale reading Sherlock would have been awesome.

[laughing lioness]

I finished Susan Howatche's High Flyer. I didn't like it. It was dark and ominous, full of decadance. I can see the draw to her writing- lots of Englishisms, but overall I didn't like her style and her charcters, well maybe it's because I'm not really that up to speed on English-ims but the word useage bugged me, as did the attitude of the protagonist- her responses didn't ring true.

 

Back to Dorothy (Sayers). I dont' know what I'll do about Red Herrings- the brogue is difficult, but I found Busman's Honeymoon at B&N. Harriet and Peter are married and solving a mystery. sigh.

 

Given that the Englishisms in Howatch and the brogue in Sayers both bug me-maybe it's me?

[Jane in NC]

I finished Susan Howatche's High Flyer. I didn't like it. It was dark and ominous, full of decadance. I can see the draw to her writing- lots of Englishisms, but overall I didn't like her style and her charcters, well maybe it's because I'm not really that up to speed on English-ims but the word useage bugged me, as did the attitude of the protagonist- her responses didn't ring true.

 

Back to Dorothy (Sayers). I dont' know what I'll do about Red Herrings- the brogue is difficult, but I found Busman's Honeymoon at B&N. Harriet and Peter are married and solving a mystery. sigh.

 

Given that the Englishisms in Howatch and the brogue in Sayers both bug me-maybe it's me?

 

Hmmm...Howatch fan here but I have yet to read High Flyer. If you want to try her again, you might look at the Starbridge series. This is what SWB had to say about the series on her blog:

 

Howatch, Susan. The Church of England series: Glittering Images, Ultimate Prizes, Glamorous Powers, Scandalous Risks, Mystical Paths, Absolute Truths. New York: Crest, paperbacks, various dates. Howatch’s six Church of England novels present reality from six different perspectives, so that the same story changes slightly with each novel. Even though these novels annoy me (they’re a little heavy on the psychobabble), I’ve reread them several times because Howatch is dealing with a serious question: can you speak of faith in the languages of psychology, science, and mysticism without altering its nature? And they’re just plain fun.

[Negin]

Actually, I can't take credit for it. It's a pic I found on Google images.

Oh, thank you anyway. I do wish they had similar images for many book covers. :lol:

 

And, for some fun reading, I just picked up & started Pink Boots and a Machete: My Journey from NFL Cheerleader to National Geographic Explorer by Mireya Mayor.

This looks very interesting.

 

I really didn't care for the LotR books either?

I enjoyed the movies, but still have no desire to go back & try reading the books.

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree:

[laughing lioness]

Hmmm...Howatch fan here but I have yet to read High Flyer. If you want to try her again, you might look at the Starbridge series. This is what SWB had to say about the series on her blog:

 

Thanks Jane! I'll check out this series. I just picked up what came up on my queue at the library first.

[ladydusk]

Hmmm...Howatch fan here but I have yet to read High Flyer. If you want to try her again, you might look at the Starbridge series. This is what SWB had to say about the series on her blog:

 

:iagree: I wouldn't start with the St. Benet's books. Starbridge, yes, but absolutely read them in order.

[Shawneinfl]

Finished

 

5. William Faulkner, Absalom, Absalom!

 

Yes, taking another break from City of God. Absalom, Absalom! is fantastic, but has Faulkner writing his densest prose. An excerpt:

 

Oh yes, I watched him, watched his old man's solitary fury fighting now not with the stubborn yet slowly tractable earth as it had done before, but now against the ponderable weight of the changed new time itself as though he were trying to dam a river with his bare hands and a shingle: and this for the same spurious delusion of reward which had failed (failed? betrayed: and would this time destroy) him once; I see the analogy myself now: the accelerating circle's fatal curving course of his ruthless pride, his lust for vain magnificence, though I did not then. And how could I? turned twenty true enough yet still a child, still living in that womb-like corridor where the world came not even as living echo but as dead incomprehensible shadow, where with the quiet and unalarmed amazement of a child I watched the miragy antics of men and women--my father, my sister, Thomas Sutpen, Judith, Henry, Charles Bon--called honor, principle, marriage, love, bereavement; death; the child who watching him was not a child but one of that triumvirate mother-woman which we three, Judith Clytie and I, made, which fed and clothed and warmed the static shell and so gave vent and scope to the fierce vain illusion and so said, 'At last my life is worth something, even though it only shields and guards the antic fury of an insane child.'

 

Note that that was two sentences, and included three invented words. The time shifts back and forth, sometimes without alerting you, throughout, covering a hundred years through memories and retellings of events. Probably not the best choice for one's first Faulkner; As I Lay Dying was much more accessible.

 

The 50th anniversary of Faulkner's death is coming right up, if that prompts anyone to dip into his work a little.

 

Oh my.

Reading this made me think of a song by Eric Whitacre that my daughter sang in college. "When David Heard". Might make good background music for this. Trust me, it's long but worth the listen:

[aggieamy]

Still plugging away at LoTR but it has gotten better. It's more story now than just Hobbit historical text. What is with all the songs though? Strange.

 

Those are narrated by Jim Weiss not Jim Dale. Once you hear Jim Dale in action you'll know that Jim Weiss is not the same. Jim Dale reading Sherlock would have been awesome.

 

Now I'm intrigued. I'll have to make a point of getting a Jim Dale audiobook from the library so I'll know what I'm talking about next time. :tongue_smilie:

[Stacia]

Now I'm intrigued. I'll have to make a point of getting a Jim Dale audiobook from the library so I'll know what I'm talking about next time. :tongue_smilie:

 

Jim Dale did the Harry Potter books. He also has done a version of Around the World in 80 Days. Plus, he's recently done The Night Circus (loved reading the book; I imagine his oral version must be fabulous too).

 

I am *not* an audio book person at all. Really, I can't stand them. I tune out almost all of them immediately. However, Jim Dale is the only narrator that I've enjoyed & actually make it through the books.... (Well, he & Neil Gaiman, who was reading his own book, "The Graveyard Book". But, I had the video to watch Gaiman w/, so that made it easier for me to concentrate as well.)

[Mom-ninja.]

I have the biggest crush on Jim Dale.

 

The Peter Pan series and spin offs are great for kids.

[KidsHappen]

1 The Hunger Games

2 Catching Fire

3 Mockingjay

4 The Hunger Games Companion

5 The Naked Lady Who Stood on Her Head

6 Spontaneous Happiness

7 The New Bi-Polar Disorder Survival Guide.

8 New Hope for People with Bipolar Disorder

9 The Giver

10 Unnatural Selection

11 Breaking Dawn (again)

12 Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them

13 Trick or Treatment

14 Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making US Sicker & Poorer

15 Sybil Exposed

16 How to Never Look Old Again

17 How to Never Look Fat Again

18 Style on a Shoestring

19 Underneath it All

20 Oh No She Didn't

21 Nina Garcia's Look Book

22 Underneath is All

23 The Pocket Stylist

24 What Not to Wear for Every Occasion

25 What you Wear Can Change Your Life

26 What Not to Wear

27 Dress Your Best

28 Wear This, Toss That

29 Nothing to Wear

30 What Should I Wear

31 The Style Checklist

32 Style Clinic

33 11 22 63

34 Haunted Heart: Life and Times of Stephen King

35 Just After Sunset

 

ETA: Currently reading Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Beyond the Pyramids plus one whole tons of healthy heart books.

Edited June 16, 2012 by KidsHappen

[Guest]

I finished The Bone House last night by Stephen Lawhead. It is #2 in his Bright Empires series. I didn't like it as much as #1 - The Skin Map. I don't know that I'll continue with the series.

 

I just started The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession by Allison Hoover Bartlett.It sounds interesting!

 

From Amazon: Unrepentant book thief John Charles Gilkey has stolen a fortune in rare books from around the country. Yet unlike most thieves who steal for profit, Gilkey steals for love-the love of books. Perhaps equally obsessive is Ken Sanders, the self-appointed "bibliodick" who's driven to catch him. Following this eccentric cat-and-mouse chase with a mixture of suspense, insight and humor, Allison Hoover Bartlett plunges the reader deep into a rich world of fanatical book lust and considers what it is that makes some people stop at nothing to posses the titles they love.

[Stacia]

This looks very interesting.

Negin, I'm about 1/3 through the book Pink Boots and a Machete. It's fun & interesting, just right for summer reading for my frazzled brain. Some of her comments are making me laugh.... For example, when she was in Madagascar (tracking Perrier's sifakas),

 

"Each day began at 5 a.m. with a bowl of mushy rice doused with sugar, which mimicked the texture and taste of oatmeal, and coffee sifted through Bendanalana's sock. I convinced myself it was a new, unused sock."

 

:lol: And later,

 

"Apart from our food dramas and encounters with miners and scorpions, camp life could be pretty mundane. You get up, you drink sock coffee, you chase lemurs, you eat rice, and you go to sleep, that that you're rested and ready to do it all over again in the morning."

 

I just started The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession by Allison Hoover Bartlett.It sounds interesting!

It does sound interesting -- looking forward to your review of it. I think I heard an interview about this book a year or two ago on NPR (maybe on the Bob Edwards show?).

Edited September 11, 2014 by Stacia

[Stacia]

Oops. Double-post. This darn lag on the board is a pest....

[Mom-ninja.]

I just started The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession by Allison Hoover Bartlett.It sounds interesting!

 

From Amazon: Unrepentant book thief John Charles Gilkey has stolen a fortune in rare books from around the country. Yet unlike most thieves who steal for profit, Gilkey steals for love-the love of books. Perhaps equally obsessive is Ken Sanders, the self-appointed "bibliodick" who's driven to catch him. Following this eccentric cat-and-mouse chase with a mixture of suspense, insight and humor, Allison Hoover Bartlett plunges the reader deep into a rich world of fanatical book lust and considers what it is that makes some people stop at nothing to posses the titles they love.

 

May have to check that one out. Be sure to let us know what you think.

[VeganCupcake]

I finished the audio book of Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China. It was great. The author also wove her own family's experience in emigrating from China to the U.S. into the book, which at first I didn't think was relevant because they certainly weren't factory workers. But she tied it all together really well.

[Storm Bay]

This week I read a lovely novel,

 

?

 

Wow, what happened to the title? No one seemed to catch this gap, either.

 

This week I read a lovely novel, The School of Essential Ingredients http://www.amazon.com/School-Essential-Ingredients-Erica-Bauermeister/dp/B002BWQ572/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339783123&sr=8-1&keywords=school+of+essential+ingredients

 

Originally I even added a photo, which also vanished.

[Stacia]

Wow, what happened to the title? No one seemed to catch this gap, either.

 

This week I read a lovely novel, The School of Essential Ingredients http://www.amazon.com/School-Essential-Ingredients-Erica-Bauermeister/dp/B002BWQ572/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339783123&sr=8-1&keywords=school+of+essential+ingredients

 

Originally I even added a photo, which also vanished.

 

I actually noticed that & meant to post a :confused: post. It's nice that you solved the mystery for us! :001_smile:

[Storm Bay]

I actually noticed that & meant to post a :confused: post. It's nice that you solved the mystery for us! :001_smile:

 

Thanks--I figured that someone noticed, actually, but was surprised to hear not a word since it was quite a blooper :).

[Negin]

Negin, I'm about 1/3 through the book Pink Boots and a Machete. It's fun & interesting, just right for summer reading for my frazzled brain. Some of her comments are making me laugh

Stacia, those comments are funny. :lol: :D :lol:

[Stacia]

I finished Pink Boots and a Machete today.

 

For writing, I'd probably give it 3 stars (it's a bit jumpy between chapters), but for her guts in pursuing her dream, plus her funny & practical "Vain Girl's Survival Checklist" packing guide at the end of chapter 12, I'm giving her book 4 stars. (Did you know a certain feminine product is good for starting fires or that Windex works for neutralizing flesh-eating fish bacteria?)

 

Mayor is a fun, inspiring author & provides a nice mix of detail, drama, wonder, mishaps, & laughter about her adventures, as well as including information about critically-endangered species. There's a nice balance of stories which make this a book to appeal to a wide range of people -- from teens looking for an inspirational leader to adventure readers to armchair travelers who vicariously enjoy extreme exploits from the comfort of home. Entertaining & inspiring, Mayor makes me (almost) want to jump into the leech- & croc-infested swamps with her.

[Robin M]

Link to week 25 - please continue conversation in new thread