Book a Week in 2012 - week 35

[Robin M]

Good Morning, Dolls! Today is the start of week 35 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.

52 Books Blog - Something Wicked This Way Comes: Highlighting Ray Bradbury's book with an chapter excerpt.

 

PW Best New Books for the week of August 27

 

Latest low priced nook book offers

 

Kindle's Daily Deal - Keeper of Lost Causes

 

What are you reading this week?

 

 

 

 

Link to week 34

[Robin M]

Finished The Last Refuge (Dewey Andreas novel) by Ben Coes. Excellent - along the lines of Clancy and Gresham. Action packed thriller with Dewey trying to stop Iran from sneaking a nuclear bomb into the middle of Tel-Aviv.

 

Can't make up my mind right now whether want to read "Unending Devotion" by Jody Hedlund or "The Raw Shark Texts" by Steven Hall. Have read first couple chapters of both. Should settle on one but brain is occupied with lesson planning and kids reading material.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

.

[duckabell]

I just read Journey to the Fringe which was a fun, fantasy read with great characters and a twist at the end. It was actually written by a friend of mine, but I would still give it a great review even if I didn't know the author. This next week I'll read Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card. I am also reading "Teach like your Hair is on Fire" and have really enjoyed it so far.

[Just Robyn]

Good Morning, Dolls! Today is the start of week 35 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.

52 Books Blog - Something Wicked This Way Comes: Highlighting Ray Bradbury's book with an chapter excerpt.

 

PW Best New Books for the week of August 27

 

Latest low priced nook book offers

 

Kindle's Daily Deal - Keeper of Lost Causes

 

What are you reading this week?

 

 

 

 

Link to week 34

 

Ooh! Bukowski books are on sale for the Nook. Thanks for the tip! I'm reading Post Office by him right now. It's pretty fun, and I think my husband would love it. My library only has that one book by him (and only because I recommended it), so maybe I'll buy a few while they're cheap. Just wish I knew which titles my library is more or less likely to purchase...

 

 

I finished 64.) The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Some parts felt a little slow, or I guess partly because I don't fish at all, let alone for giant fish in the ocean, I wasn't really able to picture some descriptions. That was pretty minor though. I really enjoyed the novella; so much going on there.

[prairiegirl]

I finished The Nine Tailors last week and will be reading the rest of Sayers' books. Nine Tailors was so good! I love Sayers' writing.

 

I finished 'Dark Objects" by Gillian Flynn. I am waiting for her 'Gone Girl' book from the library, in the meantime I am reading her other books. 'Dark Objects' was a bit rough and vulgar for my taste but I had to find out how it ended.

 

I am now reading 'The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland.' The jury is still out on this one.

[Stacia]

Earlier this week, I started The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. I first heard about it because it's on this year's longlist for the Booker Prize. However, I'm about halfway through & am stopping. For me, it borders between tedious & deeply profound, shot through w/ a pretty big streak of melancholy. With certain things going on in my life right now, the melancholic parts are just stepping on a few raw nerves for me & it's making me sad. I'm just not in the mood to deal w/ sad right now. I think it's pretty good overall & many may enjoy it, it's just not my cup of tea at this point in my life.

 

Today, I started Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi. I'm already halfway through & love, love it. It's by turns fascinating, magical, creepy, bizarre, funny, & uttery enchanting. If you care about a standard narrative, this is not the book for you. It's a morphing through time & reality of various fairy & folk tales. Hard to describe. And wonderful.

 

 

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

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 & #26 on my list).

 

My rating system: 5 = Love; 4 = Pretty awesome; 3 = Decently good; 2 = Ok; 1 = Don't bother (I shouldn't have any 1s on my list as I would ditch them before finishing)...

 

2012 Books Read:

Books I read January-June 2012

37. Clutter Busting Your Life by Brooks Palmer (3 stars)

38. The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje (5 stars)

39. The Colors of Infamy by Albert Cossery (3 stars)

40. Osa and Martin: For the Love of Adventure by Kelly Enright (3 stars)

 

41. Hexed by Kevin Hearne (4 stars)

42. Soulless by Gail Carriger (3 stars)

43. The Hoarder in You by Dr. Robin Zasio (3 stars)

44. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty (3 stars)

45. The Rook by Daniel O'Malley (5 stars)

46. The Nazi Séance by Arthur J. Magida (2 stars)

[Negin]

I read:

 

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) - 3 Stars - very funny at first and in some parts, but faded off a bit after a while.

 

The Hammer of Eden - 2 Stars - I usually love Ken Follett. This one was just okay.

 

Life Recipes from My Mother: Timeless Lessons for Living a Contented Life - 3 Stars - Fairly good. I'm just quite happy and relieved that my mother wasn't like hers. :lol: ;) A bit too strict for my liking.

 

 

MY RATING SYSTEM

5 Stars

Fantastic, couldn't put it down

4 Stars

Really Good

3 Stars

Enjoyable

2 Stars

Just Okay – nothing to write home about

1 Star

Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

[eaglei]

This week I finished:

 

#45 - The Accidental Tourist, by Anne Tyler. My second book by this author and she did it again - just drew me right in to the story and the lives of the characters. I found the ending sad but not at all surprising.

 

Currently reading:

 

#46 - Songbird, by Lisa Samson.

 

Not sure what will be next but it will either be Christian fiction, Hollywood bio, or an older novel. I finally made it back to the library this week and had no clue what I wanted to read. Since the library would be closing in just over an hour, I couldn't dally as along as I wished, but I did manage to meander most of the stacks from the 200's through fiction. (Not sure how I missed the pre-200's . . .) I was a little annoyed at myself that NOTHING seemed to be of interest. The four books I *chose* were of the frantic ilk: *oh-no-the-library-is-about-to-close-and-I-have-no-books-so-hurry-and-grab-something*!!!

[Kelly1730]

 

Can't make up my mind right now whether want to read "Unending Devotion" by Jody Hedlund or "The Raw Shark Texts" by Steven Hall. Have read first couple chapters of both. Should settle on one but brain is occupied with lesson planning and kids reading material.

 

I loved Jody Hedlund's two previous books, didn't know a new one was out. I just read her bio, she homeschools! I'll be putting this one on my library list, thanks!:)

[Stacia]

"The Raw Shark Texts" by Steven Hall. Have read first couple chapters of both. Should settle on one but brain is occupied with lesson planning and kids reading material.

 

I loved The Raw Shark Texts. But, imo, it's one that requires some concentration (so not sure it's a great pick if you're concentrating on lesson planning, etc...).

 

Now reading #55 The Lost City of Z by David Grann, the true story of Colonel Percy Fawcett who went looking for El Dorado in the Amazon jungle and was never seen again.

 

I read that a couple of years ago & thought it was fairly interesting. NO WAY would I want to be a jungle explorer! :lol: (I think I'd be a better arctic explorer.)

 

#45 - The Accidental Tourist, by Anne Tyler

 

I've never read this one but remember seeing the movie a long time ago. Didn't Geena Davis (or someone else in the movie) get nominated for her performance in it?

[Rosie_0801]

I re-read 'The Einstein Syndrome.' I read it last year with dd in mind, and this time with ds in mind. He fits the profile quite well.

 

Rosie

[Ali in OR]

Finished reading The Hobbit with the girls. Still working on All Creatures Great and Small. The next Jane Austen mystery is waiting when I finish that (I think it's Jane and the Prisoner of Wool House).

[Pink and Green Mom]

I cannot remember the last time I posted so here are my last 3 books:

 

#40 - Tell The Wolves I'm Home, by Carla Rifka Brunt. Loved it - richly told story about a girl and her relationship with her uncle and also her deteriorating relationship with her sister.

#41 - On the Island, by Tracey Garvis Graves. Finished this one in a few hours and had the sudden urge to be stranded on a deserted island with a 19 year old guy...

#42 - Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn. I'm not sure that I liked the ending but a great thriller read.

 

Am now reading Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert Massie. But I enjoyed the above mentioned fiction so much I am not really getting into it.

[Heather in Neverland]

This week...

 

Started Reading:

Alone With God by John MacArthur

 

 

Still reading:

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

Frankenstein

 

 

Completed:

30. The Lotus and the Cross

29. Desiring God

28. Blood Feud: The Hatfields and the McCoys

27. Among the Gods

26. The Deadliest Monster

25. Faith of My Fathers

24. A Good American

23. They Say/I Say:The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing

22. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

21. Insurgent

20. Stand: A Call for the Endurance of the Saints

19. The Strength of His Hands

18. The Meaning of Marriage

17. Funny in Farsi

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

[aggieamy]

Finished reading The Hobbit with the girls. Still working on All Creatures Great and Small. The next Jane Austen mystery is waiting when I finish that (I think it's Jane and the Prisoner of Wool House).

 

I've got All Creatures Great and Small on my nightstand. Are you enjoying it? I loved his treasury of stories for children so I hope I enjoy his adult stories as well.

 

ETA: "Adult" as in "his intended audience is not children" not *ahem* ADULT STORIES. I can't imagine James Herriot writing a racy story. I'd probably like it better than most other racy stories out there because you know it'd have a happy ending and be set in rural England.

[LostSurprise]

89. Crossing by Jan Yoors~memoir, WWII, Resistance, Gypsies/Rom. This was an interesting memoir by a man whose parents let him travel with the Gypsies every summer as a boy. By the late '30s he was trying to figure out which world he wanted to live in. When France was occupied he was recruited by Resistance forces to assemble and organize the Gypsies to work against the Germans. Later on he also ran an escape route from France and Germany to Spain. Interesting. A personal look at a very young man responding to a very frightening and confusing time. Not especially action-based, a bit more psychological, but an interesting addition to a junior high/high school curriculum.

 

88. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll~fan fiction, romance, drama, Austen. I was surprised by this one. I just randomly got a book using the subject tag Darcy because I'm all out of Mr. & Mrs. Darcy mysteries. The first 125 pages were mostly sex. The next 200 or so are soap opera drama involving Mr. Darcy's sexual past, Jane's marriage problems, and Elizabeth's miscarriages. Then things go a little crazy and several characters end up at the Battle of Waterloo. I didn't hate it, in fact I found the author's sesquipedalian language and pre-Victorian sexual euphemisms un/intentionally hilarious, but this book suffers from multiple personality syndrome...too raunchy to be serious, not enough sex after the first quarter to be erotica, not quite enough like the characters to appeal to the purists. Eh.

 

87. My French Kitchen by Joanne Harris~non-fiction, cookbook, French, family. I had to order this at the library because I enjoyed Four Quarters of the Orange so much this year. It was okay. Lots of fish, mesclan, etc. Not really easy for me to use personally. I did enjoy the short pages between sections where she remembered cooking with her grandmothers and great-aunts. I may make some of the sweets before I return this.

 

Best of the Year

*Top 5

**Number 1

 

86. Swedish Cakes and Cookies, Melody Favish, translator~cooking, baking, Swedish/Scandinavian.

85. Doc by Mary Doria Russell~historical fiction, American plains, Doc Holliday.

84. Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card~science fiction, children, war, politics.

83. Fruit Trees in Small Places by Colby Elderman~gardening, fruit, pruning strategies.

82. Landscaping with Native Plants of Minnesota by Lynn Steiner~gardening, native plants.

81. The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa~mathematics, friendship, family, baseball.

79. Half Broke Horses by Jeannette ~memoir, biography, southwest

78. The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder~science fiction, alternate history, Richard Burton, steampunk.

68. The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall~children's fiction, sisters, adventure. *

61. The Poisoner's Handbook by Deborah Blum~non-fiction, forensic science, chemistry, New York, Prohibition. *

59. The Green Mile by Stephen King~supernatural, prison, 1930s. *

51. North by Northanger by Carrie Bebis~Jane Austen, mystery

50. The Essential Garden Design Workbook by Rosemary Alexander~non-fiction, gardening, landscape design.

47. The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi~memoir, Italy, criminal case, serial killer.

41. Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris~fiction, France, WWII, food. *

36. Superfudge by Judy Blume~fiction, classic children's book.

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

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

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

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

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

11. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson~mystery

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

2. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton~Fiction

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

 

Working on:

Blood Meridian (McCarthy) ~I will finish this, I will.

The Zookeeper's Wife (Ackerman)

The Penderwicks of Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall

Delta Wedding (Welty)

[Ali in OR]

I've got All Creatures Great and Small on my nightstand. Are you enjoying it? I loved his treasury of stories for children so I hope I enjoy his adult stories as well.

 

ETA: "Adult" as in "his intended audience is not children" not *ahem* ADULT STORIES. I can't imagine James Herriot writing a racy story. I'd probably like it better than most other racy stories out there because you know it'd have a happy ending and be set in rural England.

 

I am enjoying it. His descriptions are wonderful and many/most of his anecdotes are pretty humorous. It's one of the books in Lightning Lit 7 which my dd is finishing this fall; I'm not sure if I would have picked it up on my own, but I'm enjoying it now that I'm reading it. It's also my treadmill book, so I'm not getting through it very fast.

[ariasmommy]

I finished three more books in the past week:

 

#38 Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I did this as a read-aloud with dd. I think I had an abridged version growing up - really abridged! :lol: I enjoyed it overall, despite Alcott's tendency to get a bit preachy in parts.

 

#39 Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit by Terri Maxwell

I found this convicting, encouraging and quite practical, and I appreciated her honesty in sharing her struggles

 

#40 Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas

This was a great bio of an amazing man who stood against the evil of the Nazis during WWII. One of my top books for the year so far.

[Mothersweets]

Post Captain book 2 in the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian. I ordered book 3 last week and it still isn't here - waaaaaahh! I'm trying really hard to put this series out of my head until it arrives and am finding it very difficult. To help fill the void I borrowed A Sea of Words: A Lexicon and Companion to the Complete Seafaring Novels of Patrick O'Brian by Dean King.

 

I also found a good book blog exlibrismagnis. He is a big fan of Patrick O'Brian and has some great posts on the novels - AND a fun quiz. But I only got 3 right - gotta work on that vocab...

 

I did manage to finish From This Moment On by Shania Twain. I had no idea her early years were filled with so much neglect and abuse. She had to take on quite a lot of responsibility at an early age. She seems like a really nice person and I'm glad things have worked out for her now.

 

and at the moment I'm reading another gothic romance - Merlin's Keep by Madeline Brent. This author's storylines are basically all the same but they are well-written and are clean with some romance and mystery thrown in there. I enjoy them. :)

 

Has anyone read any Victoria Holt novels? Will anyone admit to reading Victoria Holt novels? :tongue_smilie: I am wondering if they are clean - no sex scenes or lots of swearing. I've read through some of the reviews on amazon and can't quite tell if they are or not.

Edited August 27, 2012 by Mothersweets

[CAMom]

I don't know what is wrong with me! I can't stay focused and can't seem to finish a book!:glare:

 

I am still working on Middlesex. I really do love the narrator and like the book. I'm just going so slowly!

 

I also started Mozart's Last Aria. I've been reading that one by the pool while my ds has swim practice. Really liking it so far!

[dangermom]

I started reading A Distant Mirror, but that's a giant and dense book about the 14th century, so I'm not quite a third into it. To make myself feel like I'm accomplishing something, I'm on a play kick. This week I read 3 Euripides plays and The School For Scandal. Instead of linking 4+ times, here's the link to my blog if you really want to read about drama. :)

[aggieamy]

I don't know what is wrong with me! I can't stay focused and can't seem to finish a book!:glare:

 

I am still working on Middlesex. I really do love the narrator and like the book. I'm just going so slowly!

 

I also started Mozart's Last Aria. I've been reading that one by the pool while my ds has swim practice. Really liking it so far!

 

This has been me lately too. Maybe we aren't picking awesome books. Either that or I'm developing some sort of readers ADD. If you figure out a solution let me know.

[dangermom]

I've got All Creatures Great and Small on my nightstand. Are you enjoying it? I loved his treasury of stories for children so I hope I enjoy his adult stories as well.

 

ETA: "Adult" as in "his intended audience is not children" not *ahem* ADULT STORIES. I can't imagine James Herriot writing a racy story. I'd probably like it better than most other racy stories out there because you know it'd have a happy ending and be set in rural England.

 

The stories for children are just selected stories from his big books, probably simplified a bit. All Creatures Great and Small is hilarious and wonderful. You'll enjoy it. There is a LOT of cow anatomy. There is no raciness, but a considerable amount of beer at some points.

[dangermom]

 

I read that a couple of years ago & thought it was fairly interesting. NO WAY would I want to be a jungle explorer! :lol: (I think I'd be a better arctic explorer.)

 

I want to read the Lost City of Z. Someday...meanwhile, I'm not much on extreme climates. I think I'd be a good explorer of, say, Europe.

[Negin]

This has been me lately too. Maybe we aren't picking awesome books. Either that or I'm developing some sort of readers ADD. If you figure out a solution let me know.

I've been suffering from the same problem quite a bit in the past year. I don't like it one bit.

[Rosie_0801]

This has been me lately too. Maybe we aren't picking awesome books. Either that or I'm developing some sort of readers ADD. If you figure out a solution let me know.

 

Winter is probably the cure. :)

 

Rosie

[NanceXToo]

I'm still working my way through Anne Bishop's books. I've finished the Black Jewels series, and now I'm reading Sebastian, the first in the Ephemera series. I'm also still reading The Neverending Story to my son.

 

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)

 

23. The Invisible Ring, by Anne Bishop (The Black Jewels series)

 

24. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E.L. James

 

25. Fifty Shades Darker, by E.L. James

 

26. Fifty Shades Freed, by E.L. James

 

27. Dreams Made Flesh, by Anne Bishop (The Black Jewels series)

 

28. Tangled Webs, by Anne Bishop (The Black Jewels series)

 

29. Goodnight Nobody, by Jennifer Weiner

 

30. Kiss the Dead, by Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series)

 

31. The Shadow Queen, by Anne Bishop (The Black Jewels series)

 

32. The Read-Aloud Handbook, by Jim Trelease

 

33. Ahab's Wife, by Sena Jeter Naslund

 

34. Shalador's Queen, by Anne Bishop (The Black Jewels series)

 

CURRENT

 

35. The Neverending Story, by Michael Ende, translated by Ralph Manheim, aloud to my son.

 

36. Sebastian, by Anne Bishop (Ephemera, Book 1)

[ladydusk]

Has anyone read any Victoria Holt novels? Will anyone admit to reading Victoria Holt novels? :tongue_smilie: I am wondering if they are clean - no sex scenes or lots of swearing. I've read through some of the reviews on amazon and can't quite tell if they are or not.

 

I love Victoria Holt. Of course I started reading them in high school, so there's a nostalgia factor. But they're great. And, yes, quite clean. No s3x and no swearing (at least as far as I remember).

 

My favorite is Pride of the Peacock.

 

I also read a lot of Phyllis Whitney (at least the early PW, she gets a little weird in the mystical sense later in her career) in high school and would say that they're comparable, with one being British and one American.

 

Susan Howatch (not to beat an old drum) early career includes a number of mystery-romances in this strain and Mary Stewart as well. Just don't read any of Howatch's long stuff.

[ladydusk]

#40 Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas

This was a great bio of an amazing man who stood against the evil of the Nazis during WWII. One of my top books for the year so far.

 

I keep trying to read this, it just hasn't caught me yet. He's still a small child where I am reading ...

[AllSmiles]

I finished three more books in the past week:

 

#38 Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I did this as a read-aloud with dd. I think I had an abridged version growing up - really abridged! :lol: I enjoyed it overall, despite Alcott's tendency to get a bit preachy in parts.

 

This book gave me one more reason to love homeschooling my kids. I had never read this book in school, and I don't think it would have been a book I just picked up myself. I read it two years ago with my oldest and I fell in love with it. My other son is reading it this year, and I'm getting the chance to enjoy it all over again :)

[laughing lioness]

I'm reading Quinn Cummings The Year of Learning Dangerously about homeschooling. She writes ala Anne Lamott- extremely funny, random musings; memoir style; but nothing new. Actually, I am finding myself skimming MUCH of each chapter. While her writing is very entertaining, it actually gets rather ho-hum sentence after sentence of laughs with no substance (king of like Shauna Niequist- GREAT writing style, not much to say).

 

I have Topol (Chiam Topol's autobio - Tevya from Fiddler on the Roof) and Provocations on queue from ILL. Waiting...Meanwhile I'm planning my art class for co-op. I've tweaked it to do Figure Drawing and then we are going to create Graphic Novels. Any great titles on learning to create Graphic Novels out there?

[Jen in PA]

Last week I finished

 

#86. Broken Harbor by Tana French. I had been looking forward to this for so long, and was not disappointed! French remains one of my favorite authors.

 

#87. I am Morgan le Fay -- YA fantasy by Nancy Springer. This was good, although I preferred I am Mordred by the same author. This story was interesting, but I found the protagonist less sympathetic than I probably was meant to.

[Lady Florida.]

I read Midnight in Austenland. It wasn't planned, but was the Kindle Deal of the Day one day last week, so for $1.99 I decided to grab it. It was a quick read. A little mystery, a little romance, and just the right amount of Austen.

 

I'm thoroughly enjoying Anna Karenina. Don't know how I made it this far without reading it. I've read 27 chapters yet my Kindle says I'm only 11% finished! I expect to work slowly through this one so I can savor it.

 

 

 

 

Goodreads

 

Books read in 2012 - in no particular order because I didn't join goodreads until a few months ago, and hadn't kept track of when I read each one

37. Midnight in Austenland, Shannon Hale

36. To Kill a Mockingbird (re-read it because I assigned it to ds and wanted it to be fresh in my mind).

35. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer

34. The Poet and the Murderer, Simon Worrall

33. Nearly Departed in Deadwood, Ann Charles

32. Swan Song, Lee Hanson (not the famous one of the same title, but a mystery set in the Orlando area)

31. The Broken Token, Chris Nickson

30. The Count of Monte Cristo

29. I'd Listen To My Parents If They'd Just Shut Up: What to Say and Not to Say When Parenting Teens, Anthony E. Wolf

28. Gone, Michael Grant

27. Murder in Mykonos, Jeffrey Siger

26. The Hanover Square Affair, Ashley Gardner

25. Murder Behind the Scenes: A Victorian Mystery, Isabella Macready

24. Uneasy Spirits: A Victorian San Francisco Mystery, Louisa Locke

23. Murder in a Mill Town, P.B. Ryan

22. The Sign of the Four (Sherlock Holmes)

21. Accomplished in Murder, Dara England

20. Maids of Misfortune, Louisa Locke

19. The Butterfly Forest, Tom Lowe

18. Chasing China: A Daughter's Quest for Truth, Kay Bratt

17. Immortal in Death, J.D. Robb

16. Rapture in Death, J.D. Robb

15. The Well Educated Mind, SWB

14. Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living, Tsh Oxenreider

13. Castle Cay, Lee Hanson

12. The Cater Street Hangman, Anne Perry

11. Callander Square, Anne Perry

10. Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague, Geraldine Brooks

9. Cold Cruel Winter, Chris Nickson

8. Watching Jeopardy, Norm Foster

7. To the Grave: A Genealogical Mystery, Steve Robinson

6. Florida Heat, Rainy Kirkland

5. A Regimental Murder, Ashley Gardner

4. The One Minute Organizer, Donna Smallin

3. In the Blood, Steve Robinson

2. The Hangman's Daughter, Oliver Potzsch

1. Etsy 101 Sell Your Crafts on Etsy, Steve Weber

[Lady Florida.]

I am waiting for her 'Gone Girl' book from the library,

 

If I want to read this anytime soon, I'm going to have to break down and request a physical copy from the library. There's still going to be a wait, but at least they have several copies. They only have one copy (license) for the Kindle version.

[Mothersweets]

I love Victoria Holt. Of course I started reading them in high school, so there's a nostalgia factor. But they're great. And, yes, quite clean. No s3x and no swearing (at least as far as I remember).

 

My favorite is Pride of the Peacock.

 

I also read a lot of Phyllis Whitney (at least the early PW, she gets a little weird in the mystical sense later in her career) in high school and would say that they're comparable, with one being British and one American.

 

Susan Howatch (not to beat an old drum) early career includes a number of mystery-romances in this strain and Mary Stewart as well. Just don't read any of Howatch's long stuff.

 

Thank you! I'm so glad to hear this and will look for the other authors, too.

[Kim in Appalachia]

I just finished In the Name of Wind, the Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss. The book was OK. It is an epic fantasy, and if you have a child who likes that sort of thing, this one decent and clean. But I can't say it's great. I finished this book (there is a second out and a third coming), and I don't care what happens to the characters. Oh well. I did finish it, which says something.

 

I'm currently reading, Until Thy Wrath be Past by Martinsson. It's a mystery/thriller with a fantasy element. Not bad so far.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

. 

 

[JennW in SoCal]

I just finished In the Name of Wind, the Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss. The book was OK. It is an epic fantasy, and if you have a child who likes that sort of thing, this one decent and clean. But I can't say it's great. I finished this book (there is a second out and a third coming), and I don't care what happens to the characters. Oh well. I did finish it, which says something.

 

Patrick Rothfuss is quite the rock star in the fantasy fiction world at the moment. He is a hoot at conventions and signings and I've enjoyed his books and read his blog.

 

BUT -- I want to warn you and any one else who is lulled into thinking this is a safe series for young teens because of the innocence of the first book. The 2nd book is rather raunchy!! Not graphic but holy cow there is a huge section all about hot fairy *ahem* "hook ups". My 17 yo has read it but I wouldn't have handed it to him when he was 13 or 14!!

[JennW in SoCal]

I really enjoyed Lost City of Z. It is fascinating reading and I even assigned it to my younger ds back in 10th grade. We followed it up with Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World.

 

I loved all the James Herriot books and they my son has read them over and over since he was 12 or 13. Another good memoir involving animals is Gerald Durrell's My Family and Other Animals. It is about a few blissful years the of the naturalists childhood spent on the island of Corfu.

[JennW in SoCal]

I am just about finished with a really fun non-fiction book, Maphead by Ken Jennings, the Jeopardy champion. It is all about geography nuts from collectors of rare maps to geography bee competitors, and about the history of cartography and the spatially challenged. It is very readable -- interesting yet breezy.

 

I finished the entire Bartimeaus trilogy by Jonathon Stroud -- Amulet of Samarkand, Golem's Eye and Ptolemy's Gate. I really enjoyed all 3, much to the delight of my younger son who has loved them since he read them 5 years ago or so. I haven't finished the prequel, Ring of Solomon, as the plot isn't quite as clever and unpredictable as the trilogy. But a fun author and definitely good books for young teens.

 

I also finished Seraphina, a very unusual and good dragon fantasy book.

 

That brings me up to a grand total of 28 for the year...

[Jane in NC]

Hello everyone!

 

Books recently finished include (#38) A Planet of Viruses by Carl Zimmer. Excellent science writer! This would be a good add in to a high school biology course.

 

#39 was the book Strapless on painter John Singer Sargent and the story behind his most famous painting. Favorite factoid from the book: the etymology of the word "silhouette". Yes, it is named after a person (no surprise) but not for the reason one might think. Etienne de Silhouette was an 18th century French finance minister who devised a less than popular austerity scheme. Anything that was "cheap" was called "silhouette". The wealthy could afford portraits; the rest of society silhouettes.

 

A delightful mystery kept me occupied over the weekend. Sidney Chambers and The Shadow of Death by James Runcie consists of six intertwined short stories set in !950's Britain. Sidney Chambers is an unconventional canon/vicar who rubs elbows with various elements of society. My favorite line from the book: "My dear Mrs Macguire, I am quoting Shakespeare. It's bawdy rather than vulgar." This is a fairly "clean" book for those who try to avoid seedy scenes or language.

 

Despite my love of Susan Howatch, I put Penmaric aside temporarily. I'll finish it--just could not handle another scoundrel of a man at the moment. I am also going to read another Carl Zimmer book, Microcosm: E. Coli and the New Science of Life. Yeah, a book on E. Coli. Something humorous about reading a tale of another scoundrel intertwined with chapters on E. Coli.....

[Lady Florida.]

I finished 64.) The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Some parts felt a little slow, or I guess partly because I don't fish at all, let alone for giant fish in the ocean, I wasn't really able to picture some descriptions. That was pretty minor though. I really enjoyed the novella; so much going on there.

 

I applaud you for reading anything by Hemingway. I had to read The Old Man and the Sea in high school and hated it. Over the years I tried to re-read it and tried to read some of his other writing. I. Just. Can't.

[Mom-ninja.]

I'm reading The Best of James Herriot right now. I found it at a library sale for 50 cents. I love it. Nothing in it that a child couldn't read unless you object to alcohol consumption.

 

I finished reading The Talking Earth to the older boys. They enjoyed the book. We had some good discussions.

 

 

 

 

 

I started reading A Distant Mirror, but that's a giant and dense book about the 14th century, so I'm not quite a third into it.

 

I tried reading that. Oh the boredom.

Edited August 28, 2012 by Kleine Hexe

[LostSurprise]

#39 was the book Strapless on painter John Singer Sargent and the story behind his most famous painting. Favorite factoid from the book: the etymology of the word "silhouette". Yes, it is named after a person (no surprise) but not for the reason one might think. Etienne de Silhouette was an 18th century French finance minister who devised a less than popular austerity scheme. Anything that was "cheap" was called "silhouette". The wealthy could afford portraits; the rest of society silhouettes.

 

 

 

Interesting. :) I read I Am Madame X a few years ago (@ the woman from that painting). I thought it was interesting that Sargent felt he had to paint in the straps later on (because the dress in the painting was so shocking).

[Zebra]

I've got less than 100 pages left of The History of the Ancient World. I am hoping to finish it in the next few days.

[Jane in NC]

Interesting. :) I read I Am Madame X a few years ago (@ the woman from that painting). I thought it was interesting that Sargent felt he had to paint in the straps later on (because the dress in the painting was so shocking).

 

Part of Strapless discussed the family background and Parisian lifestyle of Amelie Gautreau. The strap issue is quite fascinating, isn't it? To think a fallen strap more provocative than a nude...

[Stacia]

I finished Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi. Love, love. Wow. A wonderful tapestry of overlapping stories based on folk & fairy tales (Bluebeard/fox tales), morphing between reality & imagination & back again. Lyrically written. It's by turns fascinating, magical, creepy, bizarre, funny, & utterly enchanting. Hard to describe. Amazing. And wonderful.

 

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

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 & #26 on my list).

 

My rating system: 5 = Love; 4 = Pretty awesome; 3 = Decently good; 2 = Ok; 1 = Don't bother (I shouldn't have any 1s on my list as I would ditch them before finishing)...

 

2012 Books Read:

Books I read January-June 2012

37. Clutter Busting Your Life by Brooks Palmer (3 stars)

38. The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje (5 stars)

39. The Colors of Infamy by Albert Cossery (3 stars)

40. Osa and Martin: For the Love of Adventure by Kelly Enright (3 stars)

 

41. Hexed by Kevin Hearne (4 stars)

42. Soulless by Gail Carriger (3 stars)

43. The Hoarder in You by Dr. Robin Zasio (3 stars)

44. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty (3 stars)

45. The Rook by Daniel O'Malley (5 stars)

46. The Nazi Séance by Arthur J. Magida (2 stars)

47. Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi (5 stars)

Edited September 11, 2014 by Stacia

[Stacia]

...meanwhile, I'm not much on extreme climates. I think I'd be a good explorer of, say, Europe.

 

:smilielol5:

 

(Hey, I'd be willing to go explore French bakeries and Belgian chocolate shops with you. :D)

[Negin]

(Hey, I'd be willing to go explore French bakeries and Belgian chocolate shops with you. :D)

Can I join in? :D

I love France and I know that I would love Belgium even more. :) Barely a day goes by that I don't dream of visiting Brugges.