Jump to content

Menu

Book a Week in 2012 - week 38


Recommended Posts

Good Morning, my lovelies! Today is the start of week 38 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 - John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress: Highlighting the 2nd book on SWB's fiction list in Well Educated Mind along with an excerpt. My challenge to you is to read The Pilgrim's Progress at least once at some point in your life. I'm not quite ready to pose a readalong because it is just one of those books that you have to read when it is the right time. It's one of those books I have to digest a few pages at a time, otherwise my brain will explode. LOL!

 

October is scary reads month. I've already read Frankenstein and Dracula so help me come up with a list of scary reads and we'll pick one (or two) to read for a spooktacular October. Doesn't necessarily have to be horror, but can be scary, spooky, chilling, psychological thrillers type of stories.

 

What I currently have on the shelves:

 

Bram Stoker's Snakes Pass

Dean Koontz Odd Thomas

T.L. Hines The Dead Whisper On

Dan Simmons The Hollow Man

Ted Dekker's The Priest's Graveyard

 

Edited by Mytwoblessings
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm currently reading The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall. Engaging so far.

 

Eric Sanderson wakes up in a house he doesn’t recognize, unable to remember anything of his life. All he has left are his diary entries recalling Clio, a perfect love who died under mysterious circumstances, and a house that may contain the secrets to Eric’s prior life. But there may be more to this story, or it may be a different story altogether. With the help of allies found on the fringes of society, Eric embarks on an edge-of-your-seat journey to uncover the truth about himself and to escape the predatory forces that threaten to consume him. Moving with the pace of a superb thriller, The Raw Shark Texts has sparked the imaginations of readers around the world and is one of the most talked-about novels in years.

 

 

 

Listening to Innocent in Death by J.D. Robb and have downloaded Picnic at Hanging Rock to listen to while Rosie and others read along.

 

Writing wise, reading Writing from the Inside Out by Dennis Palumbo to get myself back in the writing mood. Just discovered (thanks to 52 books reader on the Nanowrimo board) Writing Begins with the Breathing and can't wait for it to arrive to begin reading.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Robin, thanks for this thread, as always. :grouphug: :) :grouphug:

 

Finished Unbroken. Liked it a lot at first, but then just got bored by all the details. Maybe it was the timing and I'm simply not in the mood. :confused: - 2 Stars

 

Just started Mary: Mrs. A. Lincoln.

 

9780156033473.jpg

 

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.

Edited by Negin in Grenada
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I finally finished All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot which was my 52nd book of the year so I'm done! Actually I'll keep reading, but feels good to hit the goal so early this year. All Creatures Great and Small is beautiful and I really enjoyed how well Herriot describes the people of Yorkshire. I could picture each individual after just a short paragraph description. After realizing how well this was done on my own, I felt good about opening up dd's Lightning Lit 7 section on this book and finding that that is what they point out too! Yay! I got it!

 

I also enjoyed The Rook by Daniel O'Malley this week. Was it Stacia who first mentioned it here? That was fun and fast reading.

 

I have another Jane Austen mystery going for treadmill reading--Jane and the Prisoner of Wool House. Next up: our book club pick for October is The Orphan Sister by Gwendolen Gross. Haven't started it yet. But I think now that we're back into our school year schedule with lots of kid activities I might have a little more time for reading.

 

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

53. The Rook-Daniel O’Malley

52. All Creatures Great and Small-James Herriot

51. The Hobbit-J.R.R. Tolkien

50. Jane and the Stillroom Maid-Stephanie Barron

49. Jane and the Genius of the Place-Stephanie Barron

48. Jane and the Wandering Eye-Stephanie Barron

47. The Power of Habit-Charles Duhigg*

46. Anna Karenina-Leo Tolstoy*

45. Jane and the Man of the Cloth-Stephanie Barron

44. The House of the Seven Gables-Nathaniel Hawthorne

43. Mockingjay-Suzanne Collins

42. The Vitamin D Solution-Michael F. Holick

41. Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor-Stephanie Barron

40. Suspense and Sensibility-Carrie Bebris

39. Catching Fire-Suzanne Collins

38. Pride and Prescience-Carrie Bebris

37. The Night Circus-Erin Morgenstern*

36. Houskeeping-Marilynne Robinson

35. Death Comes to Pemberley-P.D. James

34. The Language of Flowers-Vanessa Diffenbaugh*

33. The Peach Keeper-Sarah Addison Allen

32. 11/22/63-Stephen King*

31. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer-Mark Twain

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not doing well on reading lately; it's very frustrating. I am getting at least a little poetry read because that is something I can read in two or three page portions. *sigh* Hopefully I will make more time for reading this week.

 

Things I have started and would like to say I'm currently reading: Emily Dickinson, William Carlos Williams, Thinking About Memoir, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I finished The God Delusion and am glad I kept going through the dry parts.

 

I dropped Anna Karenina for now, and started Don Quixote. Read a few more stories in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and started The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived The Great American Dust Bowl. Some of the reviews called it dry and boring, and I can see how it would be if you aren't interested in The Dust Bowl years. It fascinates me, so I'm not at all bored.

 

Hey, Packing for Mars looks fun.

 

This does look fun and I'm adding it to my TBR list. I don't think I'd be interested in either Bonk or Stiff though.

 

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. I probably forgot some and will add to the list as I remember them.

 

38. The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've got a bunch this week--they were easy reads!

 

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey--a lovely history of the Carnarvon family whose manor served as a model for the soap opera. But they are WAY nicer in real life, and I hope this book will be published again after the show is over--it can stand on its own. Also, King Tut--because this is THAT Lord Carnarvon.

 

K Blows Top--In 1959, Khrushchev toured the US for two weeks. It's a pretty mind-blowing story. Good book.

 

Toying With God--an academicky analysis of religious games and dolls from all over the world. The first couple of chapters were really interesting, but there was too much filler. I skimmed the second half. I still want a stuffed Ganesh though.

 

The Penguin Book of Russian Short Stories -- a great collection of 20 stories starting with Pushkin and ending with Solzhenitsyn. At last, I read The Nose!

 

Things Fall Apart--the seminal African novel. What can I say about such an important book?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, I *just* finished One Hundred Years of Solitude. I made myself finish before posting! :lol:

 

Overall, I can say I enjoyed it & am glad to have read it. Parts were entertaining/interesting/funny; I found more of it to be somewhat sad/depressing than not. My favorite characters were Úrsula & Melquíades. I also LOVED the ending -- brilliant & wonderful. I can see how, esp. when it was first published (1967), it made a big spash & was a grand introduction to a fairly new way of writing (magical realism). Some passages were completely magical (no pun intended ;)) & lyrical, but a few sections did drag a bit for me (mostly the war-related sections); perhaps I would have appreciated some sections more if I had a better knowledge of Columbian &/or South American history in general. The book partly reminds me of the great epics, tackling the age-old topics of family, love, time, generations, war, peace, prosperity, loss, etc....; it is a book of big, important themes told in the context of a multi-generational family. In the meantime, since magical realism & surrealism in writing have become more popular & prevalent during my lifetime, I think there are other works in the genre that I prefer more than this one. (I know some will consider it sacreligious for me to say that about the grandfather of magical realism.) Even so, One Hundred Years of Solitude should be on 'must read' lists, imo, as it is a modern classic; I see this one being around for many generations to come, just like the Buendía family....

 

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 (2 stars)

45. The Rook by Daniel O'Malley (4 stars)

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

47. Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballentine & Tee Morris (3 stars)

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

49. Thud! by Terry Pratchett (4 stars)

50. Wide Open by Nicola Barker (3 stars)

 

51. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez (4 stars)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This week I finished:

 

#50 - Jacob's Ladder, by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.

 

#51 - That Quail, Robert, by Margaret A. Stanger. This was one of the most delightfully enjoyable, heartwarming books I've read in awhile!

 

Currently reading:

 

#52 - Buggies, Blizzards, and Babies, by Cora Frear Hawkins. Written by the daughter of a late-1800's doctor in Iowa. Pleasant reading; some historical, medical tidbits included. Glad I stumbled upon it.

 

I'll finish #52 later today, then will start a novel by either Karen Kingsbury, Anne Tyler, or Jessamyn West. I was in a super hurry when I stopped by the library and the only name I could think of was Tyler, so I grabbed one of her books at random. On my way to Tyler, Jessamyn West caught my eye. I've never read her, so I took the *culprit* that first caught my attention! (Kingsbury is an old book that's been in my stack to read for some time).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice to know that you seem to be deriving pleasure from ecards :D. Ecards and pinterest have become my joy.

 

This was from last week's thread.... But, I didn't even know those were ecards, lol. I just see them posted once in awhile as status updates on Goodreads.

 

October is scary reads month. I've already read Frankenstein and Dracula so help me come up with a list of scary reads and we'll pick one (or two) to read for a spooktacular October. Doesn't necessarily have to be horror, but can be scary, spooky, chilling, psychological thrillers type of stories.

 

What I currently have on the shelves:

 

Bram Stoker's Snakes Pass

Dean Koontz Odd Thomas

T.L. Hines The Dead Whisper On

Dan Simmons The Hollow Man

Ted Dekker's The Priest's Graveyard

 

Yay. I enjoy the October spooky reading (as long as it's not too spooky). :tongue_smilie: I started a separate thread about books for October reading, if anyone is interested:

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?t=424055

 

I haven't decided yet what I will be reading in October. For sure, Dracula will be one as my book club is reading it. (It will be a re-read for me.) Another one I already have on request from the library (because I wanted to read it last year & just ran out of time) is John Dies at the End. (Funny story about that one. I requested it last year & even went to pick it up. When I got it, the librarian got really upset, thinking someone had written all over/defaced the cover. I had to tell her that it was just the cover art, not vandalism. :lol: You'll see what I mean if you look at the cover in the link.)

 

I'm currently reading The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall. Engaging so far.

 

I really enjoyed that one & thought it was a very cool, unique book.

 

I also enjoyed The Rook by Daniel O'Malley this week. Was it Stacia who first mentioned it here? That was fun and fast reading.

 

:iagree: For it being a long book, I found it pretty riveting & the pages sped by. I really enjoyed the mix of fantasy & spy w/ a great female main character.

 

Things Fall Apart--the seminal African novel. What can I say about such an important book?

 

One I need to read. Is it terribly depressing?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Toying With God--an academicky analysis of religious games and dolls from all over the world. The first couple of chapters were really interesting, but there was too much filler. I skimmed the second half. I still want a stuffed Ganesh though.

 

I read that last year. I was excited to find the Dancing Goddess Dolls listed in there and bought a beautiful doll for a friend. The creator said she remembered having been interviewed for the book but hadn't known it have ever been published.

 

:)

Rosie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children;

2. Celestially Auspicious Occasions

3. The Mysterious Benedict Society

4. The Invention of Hugo Cabret

5. The Picture of Dorian Gray

6. Wuhu Diary

7. The Secret Life of the Dyslexic Child

8. Kingdom of Children

9. Values: Lighting the Candle of Excellence : A Practical Guide for the Family by Marva Collins

10. Natural Medicine Guide to Bipolar Disorder, The: New Revised Edition by Stephanie Marohn

11. Ordinary Children, Extraordinary Teachers by Marva Collins

12. Marva Collins' Way

13. Parenting a Child With Asperger Syndrome: 200 Tips and Strategies by Brenda Boyd

14. Tales from Shakespeare by Tina Packer

15. Parenting Your Asperger Child: Individualized Solutions for Teaching Your Child Practical Skills by Alan T. Sohn

16. Hitchhiking through Asperger Syndrome by Lise Pyles

17. Be Different: Adventures of a Free-Range Aspergian (John Elder Robison)

18. Quirky, Yes---Hopeless, No (Cynthia La Brie Norall)

19. Bringing Up Bebe: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting

20. The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome by Tony Attwood

21. ADD/ADHD Drug Free: Natural Alternatives and Practical Exercises to Help Your Child Focus by Frank Jacobelli

22. Create Your Own Free-Form Quilts: A Stress-Free Journey to Original Design by Rayna Gillman

23. The Shut-Down Learner Helping Your Academically Discouraged Child by Richard Selznick, PhD

24. Pretending to be Normal: Living With Asperger's Syndrome by Liane Holliday Willey

25.Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies: The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders by Kenneth Bock

26. Look me in the eye by John Elder Robison

27. Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs

28. Atypical - Life with Asperger's in 20 1/3 Chapters by Jesse Saperstein

29. Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet

30. The Fire Within by Chris D'Lacey

31. Slouching Toward Adulthood ... Observations from the Not-So-Empty Nest by Sally Koslow

32. Creating Innovators by Tony Wagner

33. Outliers

34. I just finished reading Shadow of Night. That took a long time and now I'm behind ! Wah ! I skimmed through the Dyslexic Advantage but won't count it as read until I read it more thoroughly.

Edited by laundrycrisis
Link to comment
Share on other sites

For anyone doing spooky reads in October, I'm hosting a Gothic in October celebration with another blogger. There will be readalongs and spooky fun--come join up!

 

Cool. I don't blog, but will follow along w/ the postings...

 

I read that last year. I was excited to find the Dancing Goddess Dolls listed in there and bought a beautiful doll for a friend. The creator said she remembered having been interviewed for the book but hadn't known it have ever been published.

 

Rosie, that link doesn't seem to work...?

 

Also, I just remembered another 'scary' book I have on my shelf, so I'm going to get a jump on my October reading (esp. since I will start Dracula again soon too): The Merciful Women by Federico Andahazi. I figure this will be enjoyable for me because I've previously read Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Monsters (a bio of Mary Shelley & many details about the writing contest the group did that produced both Frankenstein & Polidori's The Vampyre). I've also read Poe's The Gold Bug, which is also apparently referenced in this book.

From Publishers Weekly:

"Argentine writer Andahazi (The Anatomist) fictionalizes, tongue in cheek, the legendary beginnings of the gothic novel in this slender, winningly erudite volume. In the Swiss Alps, where Percy Bysshe and Mary Shelley, Mary's stepsister and Lord Byron live in the summer of 1816, the writers contend with the ambitions of John Polidori, Byron's gloomy secretary, who winds up shocking everyone with the first masterful gothic tale, The Vampyre, but only because he's struck a Faustian deal with a devilish woman. Arch, but never smug or precious, Andahazi's tale centers on the disgruntled Polidori, a brooding, self- important scrap of a man who feels "a delicious pleasure in self-pity," and whose foul mood only improves when he receives a strange series of missives, penned by an enigmatic pariah who refers to herself as Annette Legrand. Readers swiftly learn that Annette is a hideously misshapen but preternaturally intelligent freak of nature, formed from the membranous excrescence that linked her two sisters, Colette and Babette, in utero. Vampirishly dependent upon "the essential fluid that only... men possess," Annette has heretofore relied upon her gorgeous sisters' seductions to provide her with sustenance. Now desperate for the "elixir" that her aging siblings can no longer easily obtain, Annette suggests a bizarre arrangement to the ambitious, fame-seeking Polidori: if he provides her with his seed, she will provide him with an unpublished manuscript of rare depth and inventiveness, which he can pass off as his own creation. Written entirely in a cleverly modulated mock-Gothic style, encompassing references from Edgar Allan Poe's The Gold-Bug to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Andahazi's well-researched tale succeeds as an elegant, clever deconstruction of authorship, imagination and the writing process. This is a short, tricky novel, peopled almost exclusively by broadly limned caricatures and with a plot hinging on a few well-placed double-crosses. As a piece of mock-scholarly, wickedly ironic entertainment, it is an utter delight."

I also just downloaded Polidori's The Vampyre from Project Gutenberg (free).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rosie, that link doesn't seem to work...?

 

Of course it doesn't. The link posted onto the forum address which, naturally, my laptop added because it has a mind of its own. :glare: In solo: http://www.dancinggoddessdolls.com/

 

I bought the Austeja doll for my Baltic studies friend and will buy an Athena doll for dd who officially starts K in January. That's her middle name, and I'm sure we will work harder with a goddess of wisdom and buttkicking staring down at us, lol.

 

Rosie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Of course it doesn't. The link posted onto the forum address which, naturally, my laptop added because it has a mind of its own. :glare: In solo: http://www.dancinggoddessdolls.com/

 

I bought the Austeja doll for my Baltic studies friend and will buy an Athena doll for dd who officially starts K in January. That's her middle name, and I'm sure we will work harder with a goddess of wisdom and buttkicking staring down at us, lol.

 

Those are cool dolls. My dd would love them (esp. the Celtic ones since she does Irish Dancing). Will have to keep these in mind...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Of course it doesn't. The link posted onto the forum address which, naturally, my laptop added because it has a mind of its own. :glare: In solo: http://www.dancinggoddessdolls.com/

 

I bought the Austeja doll for my Baltic studies friend and will buy an Athena doll for dd who officially starts K in January. That's her middle name, and I'm sure we will work harder with a goddess of wisdom and buttkicking staring down at us, lol.

 

Rosie

 

Those are awesome !!!! And they come in pocket sizes !!!!! Wow....I want several for myself !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those are awesome !!!! And they come in pocket sizes !!!!! Wow....I want several for myself !

 

She only sells around the pagan holidays and that happens to be right now! The shop opened only this morning. I think she keeps it open for about a week at a time. The Celts are for sale atm, no pocket sized dolls though. http://www.etsy.com/shop/DancingGoddessDolls You could email and ask when they will be on offer again. She's very nice and even changed her website so I didn't have to wrap my Southern hemisphere brain into pretzels to work out what month she was planning to sell which dolls, because she had them listed by northern holidays instead of by month.

 

No, I don't get commission. They are just really nice dolls. :auto:

 

:)

Rosie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

94. Delta Wedding by Eudora Welty~fiction, deep South, family. Oh how I love this book...and get driven crazy by this book. Its like Virginia Woolf wrote a novel about Scout (from To Kill a Mockingbird) visiting Finch's Landing for a big wedding with all the class consciousness, Southern insults under perfectly polite conversation, nostalgic love of childhood, race relations, stream of consciousness, meta-symbolism, hyper-complex family relationships, and varying points of view from multiple characters. :lol: I used it in my senior thesis 15 years ago, but I got more out of it this time. Its not for everyone, but if you like novels where every little thing seems to have meaning (sometimes too much meaning piled upon meaning) and minimal plot drama...you may like this too. I know, I'm weird. **

 

*Top 10

**Best of the Year

 

93. All the Presidents' Pastries: 25 years in the White House by Chef Roland Mesnier~memoir, pastry, White House.

92. Wasp Factory by Iain Banks~fiction, horror, psychopath, coming of age.

91. True Grit by Charles Portis~western, coming of age, humor/irony. **

90. The Penderwicks of Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall~children's fiction, sisters, adventure.

89. Crossing by Jan Yoors~memoir, WWII, Resistance, Gypsies/Rom.

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

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. *

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 **

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 Gypsies (Yoor)

Moonwalking with Einstein (misplaced)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I finally finished All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot which was my 52nd book of the year so I'm done! Actually I'll keep reading, but feels good to hit the goal so early this year. All Creatures Great and Small is beautiful and I really enjoyed how well Herriot describes the people of Yorkshire. I could picture each individual after just a short paragraph description. After realizing how well this was done on my own, I felt good about opening up dd's Lightning Lit 7 section on this book and finding that that is what they point out too! Yay! I got it!

 

 

Yay! Congrats on finishing. I also just finished All Creatures Great and Small. Loved it! James Herriot's writing is so descriptive I felt like I was sitting there in the farm houses watching everything happen. My favorite story in the book was when he was comparing the daughter of the rich man and the daughter of the poor man - his characters are so well done that's its hard to imagine that he was a vet and not a professional writer.

 

 

In progress:

 

Time and Again by Jack Finney (recommended by DH)

Very Good, Jeeves by PD Wodehouse (ladies book club)

Carry on, My Bowditch by Jean Lee Lantham (read aloud)

 

2012 finished books:

 

99. All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot (*****)

98. How to Get Your Child to Love Reading by Esme Codell (*****)

97. Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen (***)

96. The Cat Who Played Brahms by Lillian Jackson Braun (****)

95. Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman (**)

94. Surviving Hitler by Andrea Warren (****)

93. The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler (***)

92. Playful Learning by Mariah Bruehl (***)

91. The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern by Lillian Jackson Braun - audiobook (****)

90. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie (***)

89. Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman - YA (****)

88. The Mirror Cracked Side to Side by Agatha Christie (***)

87. The Princess Bride by William Goldman (*****)

86. Crocodiles on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters (***)

86. The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues by Ellen Raskin - YA (***)

84. Supermarket by Satoshi Azuchi (**)

83. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (*****)

82. Stein on Writing by Sol Stein (****)

81. Order from Chaos by Liz Davenport (**)

 

Books 41 - 80

Books 1 - 40

 

Amy's Rating System:

 

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

**** - Very good

*** - Enjoyable but nothing special

** - Not recommended

* - Horrible

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I read a YA Ghost novel, Never Gone by Laurel Garver. So not my genre - I don't do YA and I never do ghosts ... I'm a total scardey cat. But, a blog friend wrote and self published it and I was curious. I really enjoyed it, couldn't put it down until 1 AM. Definitely a Christian novel, it explores grief and faith. I bought it on Kindle.

 

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

15. The Rich Are Different by Susan Howatch

16. The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer

17. Sylvester by Georgette Heyer

18. Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher (great read aloud)

19. Sins of the Fathers by Susan Howatch (wow!)

20. Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls (very good)

21. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (favorite)

22. The Toll Gate by Georgette Heyer

23. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (audio book)

24. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (audio book)

25. Penmarric by Susan Howatch

26. Cashelmara by Susan Howatch

27. The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer

28. Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings

29. Queen of Sorcery by David Eddings

30. Magician's Gambit by David Eddings

31. Castle of Wizadry by David Eddings

32. Enchanter's End Game by David Eddings

33. Persuasion by Jane Austen

34. Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber (phenomenal)

35. A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L'Engle

36. My Man, Jeeves by PG Wodehouse

37. Right Ho, Jeeves by PG Wodehouse

38. The Summer of the Great-Grandmother by Madeleine L'Engle

39. Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer

40. Never Gone by Laurel Garver

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

One I need to read. Is it terribly depressing?

 

It's sad over all. However, it's so thought provoking. Other books I read in school like Black Boy and A Day No Pigs Would Die were disturbing to me. Those books messed up my head in a bad way, but Things Fall Apart messed with my head in a good way.

 

 

 

Love that sign! I wonder if it's real cause that would be awesome.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I read two mysteries this past week (#43 and 44 for the year). Beastly Things by Donna Leon is another in her series set in Venice. Not one of her best but not a disappointment.

 

The other mystery was a stinker which I so wanted to be better. Death at Woods Hole by Frances McNamara involves 19th century female scientists. I thought I would be in for a thrill. Unfortunately the author uses overwrought yet mundane dialogue to move the story along--painfully at times.

 

Next up, a biography of Depression era photographer, Dorothea Lange.

9780393057300_198.jpg

 

Let's enlarge the image of her iconic photograph, Migrant Mother:oshinsky-190.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tonight, I finished The Merciful Women by Federico Andahazi. It was a very quick, easy read. It's a semi-erotic, gothic mash-up of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Gold Bug, and the story of the summer when both Shelley's Frankenstein & Polidori's The Vampyre were written. If you're familiar w/ most or all of those stories/events, you'd probably get a kick out of this book. The tone veers between creepy/gothic, semi-erotic, and campy send-up of the various books & events. It's also a bit of a statement on literature & authorial inspiration/creativity. I'd rate it a relatively fun (early) entry for my October 'spooky' reading....

 

FYI, I got this book from Paperbackswap. When I received it, it turned out that the previous owner had underlined/circled things in about half of the book. Since books aren't supposed to be sent in that condition, I can't post it back on PBS. So, if anyone here is interested in reading it, please PM me & I'll mail it to you. :001_smile:

 

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

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 (2 stars)

45. The Rook by Daniel O'Malley (4 stars)

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

47. Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballentine & Tee Morris (3 stars)

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

49. Thud! by Terry Pratchett (4 stars)

50. Wide Open by Nicola Barker (3 stars)

 

51. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez (4 stars)

52. The Merciful Women by Federico Andahazi (3 stars)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I want to thank you guys. I have been reading some of the books you guys have been talking about. It has really helped me get back in to a forgotten passion. Bonus it has caused my first grader who is reading above level to try and beat me in getting books done (she is doing Little House and Because of Winn Dixie and Narnia books). She use to drag when it came to reading. Mom I can just watch the movie it faster.

I use to be an avid reader and stopped due to well life. I am not up to 38 but we are catching up. Reading all these books have caused us to have great talks about what we are reading and why things are happening. So thank you for getting reading back in to our lives and some great descriptions and feed back of why you thought what you thought!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I finished two books this week and reviewed them: Rob Roy by Scott and Understood Betsy by Fisher. I'm currently halfway through Pilgrim's Progress, just started The Rescuers with my 8yo, and have Lassie Come Home and Ivanhoe waiting on my pile.

 

Books for 2012:

23. Understood Betsy by Fisher

22. Rob Roy by Scott

21. The Story of Dr. Doolittle by Lofting

20. The Indian in the Cupboard by Banks

19. The Time Machine by Wells

18. Richard III by Shakespeare

17. Inkheart by Funke

16. Henry V by Shakespeare

15. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Tolkien

14. Drumbeats in Williamsburg by Lawrence

13. A Spy in Williamsburg by Lawrence

12. The Boggart and the Monster by Cooper

11. MacBeth by Shakespeare

10. The Boggart by Cooper

9. The History of the Kings of Britain by Monmouth

8. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Aiken

7. Winning His Spurs by Henty

6. The Song of Roland by Sayers

5. Sink Reflections by Cilley

4. A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare

3. Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Verne

2. Beowulf by Heaney

1. Cut Your Grocery Bills in Half by Economides

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Completed:

Book #51 - "The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains" by Nicholas Carr. Wow! I need to spend more time reading and less time on here! :) I really enjoyed this. He talked a lot about how different media through time has changed our way of thinking. I'm now determined to make sure my kids memorize things "just because" and read more. (I don't think they need any help being more internet savvy.)

 

Book #50 - "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen.

Book #49 - "Gulliver's Travels" by Jonathan Swift.

Book #48 - "No Regrets: How Homeschooling Earned me a Master's Degree at Age Sixteen" by Alexandra Swann.

Book #47 - "What to Read When" by Pam Allyn.

Book #46 - "60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Salt Lake City" by Greg Witt.

Book #45 - "Freeing Your Child From Anxiety" by Tamar Chansky.

Book #44 - "A Nation Rising" by Kenneth C. Davis.

Book #43 - "The Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan.

Book #42 - "The School for the Insanely Gifted" by Dan Elish.

Book #41 - "The Eye of the Sun - Part One of Blackwood: Legends of the Forest" by Les Moyes.

Book #40 - "The Fallacy Detective" by Nathaniel Bluedorn and Hans Bluedorn.

Book #39 - "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes. Translated by John Ormsby.

Book #38 - "Organizing Solutions for People with Attention Deficit Disorder" by Susan C. Pinsky.

Book #37 - "Growing Up: A Classic American Childhood" by Marilyn vos Savant.

Book #36 -"A Young People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn.

Book #35 - "Organizing the Disorganized Child: Simple Strategies to Succeed in School" by Martin L. Kutscher & Marcella Moran.

Book #34 - "Turn Right at Machu Picchu" by Mark Adams.

Book #33 - "The Lightening Thief" by Rick Riordan.

Book #32 - "Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, And the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero" by Michael Hingson.

Book #31 - "America's Hidden History" by Kenneth C. Davis.

Book #30 - "The Diamond of Darkhold†by Jeanne DuPrau.

Book #29 - "The People of Sparks†by Jeanne DuPrau.

Book #28 - "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins.

Book #27 - "Well-Educated Mind" by Susan Wise Bauer.

Book #26 - "The Prophet of Yonwood" by Jeanne Duprau.

Book #25 - "City of Ember" by Jeanne Duprau.

Book #24 - "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch.

Book #23 - "Who Moved My Cheese" by Spencer Johnson.

Book #22 - "Deconstructing Penguins" by Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone.

Book #21 - "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli.

Book #20 - "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins.

Book #19 - "Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins.

Book #18 - "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer.

Book #17 - "Frozen Assets: Cook for a Day, Eat for a Month" by Deborah Taylor-Hough.

Book #16 - "Miserly Moms: Living Well on Less in a Tough Economy" by Jonni McCoy.

Book #15 - "The Highly Sensitive Person" by Elaine N. Aron, Ph.D.

Book #14 - "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking" by Susan Cain.

Book #13 - "Chasing Vermeer" by Blue Balliett.

Book #12 - "The Highly Sensitive Person" by Elaine N. Aron, Ph.D.

Book #11 - "Extraordinary, Ordinary People" by Condoleezza Rice.

Book #10 - "The Pig in the Pantry" by Rose Godfrey.

Book #9 - "The Virgin in the Ice" by Ellis Peters.

Book #8 - "The Leper of St. Giles" by Ellis Peters.

Book #7 - "St. Peter's Fair" by Ellis Peters.

Book #6 - "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" by Amy Chua.

Book #5 - "Monk's Hood" by Ellis Peters.

Book #4 - "Flash and Bones" by Kathy Reichs.

Book #3 - "Spider Bones" by Kathy Reichs.

Book #2 - "One Corpse Too Many" by Ellis Peters.

Book #1 - "A Morbid Taste for Bones" by Ellis Peters.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I want to thank you guys. I have been reading some of the books you guys have been talking about. It has really helped me get back in to a forgotten passion. Bonus it has caused my first grader who is reading above level to try and beat me in getting books done (she is doing Little House and Because of Winn Dixie and Narnia books). She use to drag when it came to reading. Mom I can just watch the movie it faster.

 

I use to be an avid reader and stopped due to well life. I am not up to 38 but we are catching up. Reading all these books have caused us to have great talks about what we are reading and why things are happening. So thank you for getting reading back in to our lives and some great descriptions and feed back of why you thought what you thought!

 

 

Yeah! Happy to hear it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Recently finished:

 

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy: The searing, postapocalyptic novel destined to become Cormac McCarthy's masterpiece.A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food-—and each other.The Road is the profoundly moving story of a journey. It boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, but in which the father and his son, "each the other's world entire," are sustained by love. Awesome in the totality of its vision, it is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation.

 

Currently reading:

 

Impact, by Douglas Preston: Wyman Ford is tapped for a secret expedition to Cambodia... to locate the source of strangely beautiful gemstones that do not appear to be of this world. A brilliant meteor lights up the Maine coast... and two young women borrow a boat and set out for a distant island to find the impact crater. A scientist at the National Propulsion Facility discovers an inexplicable source of gamma rays in the outer Solar System. He is found decapitated, the data missing. High resolution NASA images reveal an unnatural feature hidden in the depths of a crater on Mars... and it appears to have been activated. Sixty hours and counting.

 

 

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)

 

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

 

36. The Devil Wears Prada, by Lauren Weisberger

 

37. The Good Sister, by Drusilla Campbell

 

38. The Lost Boy, by David Pelzer

 

39. Little Children, by Tom Perotta

 

40. Her Fearful Symmetry, by Audrey Niffenegger

 

41. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

CURRENT

 

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

 

43. Smiles to Go, by Jerry Spinelli, aloud with my daughter.

 

44. Impact, by Douglas Preston, to myself

Link to comment
Share on other sites

#57 The Mists of Avalon - Marion Zimmer Bradley - a retelling of the Arthur/Camelot legend from the womens' POV. Started this 1,000+ page brick waaay back in March and have been dipping into it from time to time. Finally finished it sitting on the beach last week :) Thoroughly enjoyable read, but I am not familiar enough with Arthurian myths to know where the author took liberties. Need to read more.

 

#59 Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer - a re-read for me. Nonfiction account of the deadly day in 1996 where 6 climbers died after being caught in a storm on Mt Everest.

 

 

I think my dh might like Into Thin Air.

 

I read Mists several years ago and liked it. I never read the sequels though. They are on my list.

 

 

I finished Raising Freethinkers finally. I've had it on my kindle for awhile. I liked it. I bookmarked a lot of things to check into.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am totally in the mood for a scary read! I've already started re-reading Dracula with an eye towards a re-read of The Historian. Then possibly Frankenstein followed by The Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein. I love a classic followed by a well-written spin-off :001_wub: Anyone else have ideas in this vein?

 

Sounds like we're doing similar things w/ the scary reading. :001_smile: (I loved The Historian. Maybe I should consider a reread of it....) I just finished both The Merciful Women and The Vampyre; reading both to go along w/ Dracula (my book club book, which I just started rereading). You might enjoy The Merciful Women as it ties in to both Dracula & Frankenstein. Have you read Dracula the Un-Dead by one of Bram Stoker's relatives? I thought it was an ok spin-off from the original. Any other great vampire spin-offs to recommend???

 

A few years ago when I read Frankenstein, I also read The Monsters: Mary Shelley and the Curse of Frankenstein by the Hooblers. It, like the story of Frankenstein, was fascinating but sad.

 

FYI, about The Vampyre by John William Polidori.... I finished it last night & am very glad I read it. (It is available as a free download through Gutenberg.) Polidori was not a writer by profession & it shows; however, reading from the historical context (that it was written the same time/place/event where Frankenstein was written) & the fact that it was the first vampire story written in English make it pretty interesting. Plus, the common opinion seems to be that Lord Ruthven (the vampire in the story) is a thinly veiled version of Lord Byron (Polidori's boss). I find it quite amusing that Polidori created a cunning, charismatic entity of pure evil that's based off of Lord Byron (the gossip page star of his day). These days, if someone wants to complain about his boss, he posts a rant on FB or something. I think Polidori's way is much classier (and long-lasting). ;) I'd love to know what Byron thought of it. If he was even partly as evil as Lord Ruthven is, I think Byron must have taken a certain amount of gleeful pride in being the basis for such a magnetic devil. :lol:

 

Hey, if you haven't voted in the scary reading poll I posted yesterday, please do. :D

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?t=426500

 

#59 Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer - a re-read for me. Nonfiction account of the deadly day in 1996 where 6 climbers died after being caught in a storm on Mt Everest.

 

Loved this book. One of my favorite non-fiction books....

 

Also looking forward to your review of The Disappearing Spoon. I've seen it recommended here a few times & I keep wondering if I would enjoy it....

 

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

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 (2 stars)

45. The Rook by Daniel O'Malley (4 stars)

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

47. Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballentine & Tee Morris (3 stars)

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

49. Thud! by Terry Pratchett (4 stars)

50. Wide Open by Nicola Barker (3 stars)

 

51. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez (4 stars)

52. The Merciful Women by Federico Andahazi (3 stars)

53. The Vampyre by John William Polidori (3 stars)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Complete list here.

 

#98 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Tom Stoppard; play)

This was my second time through this absurd wonder. We recently saw a marvelous production of Hamlet at the Writers' Theatre. (Reviews here, here, and here. We loved it.) In advance of the play, we saw the Branagh film and read and studied the text. Serendipity / synthesis / synchronicity led us to watch Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1990) before the performance, so the Misses arrived feeling well versed in "antic dispositions." Like me, they tend to have a deep appreciation for what we call the "Modern Wing of literature" (akin to the Modern Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago), so they really poured something of themselves into our oral interpretation of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.

ROS:
Half of what he said meant something else, and the other half didn't mean anything at all.

 

GUIL:
Thwarted ambition—a sense of grievance, that's my diagnosis.

 

ROS:
Six rhetorical and two repetition, leaving nineteen, of which we answered fifteen. And what did we get in return? He's depressed! Denmark's a prison and he'd rather live in a nutshell, some shadow-play about the nature of ambition, which never got down to cases, and finally one direct question which might have led somewhere, and led in fact to his illuminating claim to tell a hawk from a handsaw.

#97 Are You Liberal? Conservative? Or Confused? (Richard J. Maybury; non-fiction)

 

After a long drought over at Mental multivitamin, I just posted about our literature studies, if you're interested in that sort of thing. Otherwise, it looks as if Waiting for Godot (Samuel Beckett) will be #99.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I haven't read anything in a few weeks! The weather is too nice to read right now :001_smile:.

 

I did finish book #60 The Bronze Bow. I am currently trying to pre-read some books for school. A few weeks ago I picked up Roots secondhand and am currently reading that. It's more interesting than I thought it would be.

 

I have to stop reading this thread. Every week I write down all these wonderful sound books you guys are reading, and my list is getting so long I have to stop for awhile ;)!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you to everyone who mentioned Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. I really, really enjoyed it.

 

I'm still reading Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader. Whew. More than you thought there was to know about North Korea. It's fascinating, though.

 

I'm looking for a good audio book now and I feel a bit lost without one. A friend of mine texted me this morning to say she's listening to David McCullough's Truman and it's 47 discs! :svengo:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After a long drought over at Mental multivitamin, I just posted about our literature studies, if you're interested in that sort of thing. Otherwise, it looks as if Waiting for Godot (Samuel Beckett) will be #99.

 

I tried commenting on your site, but the word verification defeated me. What an amazing month you all have had. I wish my son loved literature that much, but alas. I am introducing him to The Hobbit this year. Think it's time. Glad you guys are having so much fun learning.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay, I read another YA novel, this time by an Aussie author who spends Aussie winters in Canada, The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie. http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Bindy-Mackenzie-Ashbury-Brookfield/dp/0439740525 There it has 4.2 stars, but I'd probably give it a bit less. I'm going to be reading Ken Follett's second book in is newest trilogy (Century Trilogy), which is just out. I was about 35th in line at the library, but got it first, which means I must have been first at my local library (they always give their patrons first dibs at new books, particularly when muliple copies are bought throughout the network, which would have been the case with Follett.) Hopefully there will be a bit less going on & on about the causes of WW II than there was about WW I (of course, if you're into all of that historical detail, etc, go for it). I liked the first one enough to want to read the second.

 

39. Life Between the Keys: the (Mis)Adventures of the Five Browns

40. Summer at Tiffany

41. Thursday’s Child

42. Genesis Bernard Beckett

43. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

44. A Conspiracy of Friends by Alexander McCall Smith

45. Jefferson’s Sons

46. The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie

 

 

funny,literature,signs-cd8329d1f15f5d7f1e68aece51a14532_h.jpg

 

:lol::lol::lol:

 

The other mystery was a stinker which I so wanted to be better. Death at Woods Hole by Frances McNamara involves 19th century female scientists. I thought I would be in for a thrill. Unfortunately the author uses overwrought yet mundane dialogue to move the story along--painfully at times.

 

 

 

Too bad, because I've taken my dc to Wood's Hole a few times & might have enjoyed reading a novel set there, but not if it's painfully mundane & overwrought anywhere.

 

Complete list here.

 

#98 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Tom Stoppard; play)

This was my second time through this absurd wonder. We recently saw a marvelous production of ...

 

Whoops, I accidentally cut out too much. How good is this? I saw Stoppard's play Travesties live when I lived in San Francisco for a year in high school (dating myself here as the play was only a couple of years old). I think my sister might have mentioned this once.

 

I tried commenting on your site, but the word verification defeated me. What an amazing month you all have had. I wish my son loved literature that much, but alas. I am introducing him to The Hobbit this year. Think it's time. Glad you guys are having so much fun learning.

 

My ds, who doesn't love literature, is currently listening to The Hobbit & loving it; I don't think he would have read far enough to get to the action he likes otherwise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Recently finished:

 

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

 

I enjoyed that one, as well as No Country For Old Men. I really like the movie (not usually my type but something about it...) and the movie was very true to the book, almost verbatim.

 

Anyway, my latest was #48 - Rasputin's Daughter, by Robert Alexander. I enjoyed it, but I think I liked The Kitchen Boy better.

 

My current read is Beach People, by Brian Groh. I'm about half way done but I spend almost as much time looking at my selection of books to read next as I do reading this one, so I guess I'm not loving it...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...