Book a Week in 2012 - Week 49

[*Inna*]

#95 Take this bread by Sara Miles. Loved it. Some language, but the book really spoke to me.

 

#96 Help, Thanks, Wow. by Anne Lamott Loved it just as I thought I would.

 

#97 Torch by Cheryl Strayed. Just started reading. Too early to decide.

 

Excited about the 2013 challenge. Maybe I'll re-read Anne of Green Gables series. :001_wub:

[Robin M]

Inspirational Reading???

 

Okay that works.

 

I'm loving all these challenge ideas. Maybe we can have a master list somewhere?

Is there a link to all the challenges?

 

I'm working on updating the 52 Books blog which has links to the pages in the link bar. I've updated to show C.S. Lewis Mini Read, Dusty and Chunky Books, Well Educated Mind and Mind Voyages so far. A to Z will be coming down. Canadian Reads is on the list to work on next. We will also have a miscellaneous or weekly challenges category where the list of all different will go and which we can draw from through out the year. A master list of sorts. Many of the suggestions fall within the Non Fiction Reading arena so I'll probably set up a Non Fiction Reads page. Happy to see you are inspired by the 5/5/5 idea.

 

Today's Audible Deals include The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and The Grapes of Wrath (as well as others) for $5.95 each. Robin (MyTwoBlessings), you never said you were giving yourself a timeout from Audible.... :tongue_smilie:

 

Temptation... Temptation.....

 

 

 

Speaking of which, our charter school is have a scholastic book sale today and they give us $50 to spend out of our school budget. Free books - yeehah! I'll probably find more for me than James but I get to use him as the excuse to get the books. James Dashner and Riordan here I come. :laugh:

[Mom-ninja.]

Fifty Shades of Chicken :smilielol5:

[Storm Bay]

Canadian Challenge

Here's my dad's list. Note that he appears to have completely missed or ignored my request for titles!! Comments and links are all mine, either because I've read the authors, saw them lying around the house or found something interesting in my search (I hadn't heard of all of them or else just forgot them). Most of these are very Canadian writers some writing about very Canadian things.

 

 

Farley Mowatt http://www.amazon.com/Farley-Mowat/e/B000AP93DK He's most well known for Never Cry Wolf, but some of his books are humourous, such as the kids' book Owls in the Family and the adult book (not adult content, but not written expressly for dc) The Dog Who Wouldn't Be

 

Pierre Burton nonfiction, including books on the building of the Canadian transcontinental railroad (The Last Spike was a huge best seller in Canada, I think) http://www.amazon.com/Pierre-Berton/e/B000APJK3I I've never read him, but my dad has read many of his books.

 

Stuart McLean I agree-he’s a brilliant story teller, his stories are sometime funny and sometimes poignant, but are all best listened to when he reads them (but there are collections in print). Even if you don't do this for the challenge (or skip the Canadian challenge) it's worth listening to some of these with your dc. http://www.cbc.ca/vinylcafe/about.php

 

Mordecai Richler I read The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz many years ago, but don't remember much--that's not to say it's not good, but I read a LOT of books and remember very few of them decades later. http://www.iblist.com/author1930.htm

 

Jane Urquart http://www.amazon.com/Jane-Urquhart/e/B000AQ3MRM

 

Rudy Wiebe http://canadian-writers.athabascau.ca/english/writers/rwiebe/biblio_by.php http://www.amazon.com/Rudy-Henry-Wiebe/e/B001HP4W7O

 

June Callwood http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/search/?keywords=June%20Callwood

 

Miriam Toews darkly comic stories http://www.amazon.com/Miriam-Toews/e/B001JP1NJW

 

Carol Shields my favourite by her is The Republic of Love, but it’s not her biggest seller http://www.carol-shields.com/books.html http://www.carol-shields.com/biography.html died of breast cancer 2003

 

Robertson Davies doesn’t always set his stories in Canada, apparently--I've never read him that I can recall, but didn't look at his older titles http://www.amazon.com/Robertson-Davies/e/B000APOR1I

 

W.O. Mitchell http://www.amazon.com/W.-O.-Mitchell/e/B000APSC0U http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=W.O.+Mitchell&sts=t

 

Ooh, there could be an awesome atheist/ skeptic/ freethinker version of the reading challenge, too! Lucretius, Voltaire, Diderot, Shaw.... ETA: One could extend the category to "humanist" and bring in Jefferson.

 

Or we could do a faith challenge and a separate atheist/skeptic version. I wouldn't put freethinker there, because there are people with faith who are very much free thinkkers. :001_smile:

Okay that works. I'm working on updating the 52 Books blog which has links to the pages in the link bar. I've updated to show C.S. Lewis Mini Read, Dusty and Chunky Books, Well Educated Mind and Mind Voyages so far. A to Z will be coming down. Canadian Reads is on the list to work on next. We will also have a miscellaneous or weekly challenges category where the list of all different will go and which we can draw from through out the year. A master list of sorts. Many of the suggestions fall within the Non Fiction Reading arena so I'll probably set up a Non Fiction Reads page. Happy to see you are inspired by the 5/5/5 idea. Temptation... Temptation..... Speaking of which, our charter school is have a scholastic book sale today and they give us $50 to spend out of our school budget. Free books - yeehah! I'll probably find more for me than James but I get to use him as the excuse to get the books. James Dashner and Riordan here I come. :laugh:

 

Excellent. Hopefully my mother gets her Canadian list done soon as it's sure to be a good one, or at least a very thought provoking one. My dad's having surgery next week, so hopefully she works on it anyway. My mother is one of those Very Busy People with Tons of Friends, many of them close to her, and she's not a very busy person because she's not introspective or a deep thinker, if you know what I mean.

[laughing lioness]

 

 

#96 Help, Thanks, Wow. by Anne Lamott Loved it just as I thought I would.

 

 

 

 

Adding to list. I could use some gritty, hard core laughs right now.

 

The kids and I finished R. Maybury (Uncle Eric) WWI for ds 18 20c hx studies. Wow, he's such an isolationist. WWII is coming thru ILL anyday now.

[eaglei]

#96 Help, Thanks, Wow. by Anne Lamott Loved it just as I thought I would.

 

Checking my library for this immediately - and requesting it if they don't have it! :-)

[Just Robyn]

I had mentioned doing a non fiction reading project and Faithr brought up in another thread about doing a Catholic reading challenge. Since already planned on having a C.S. Lewis mini challenge and half the books I planned on reading are faith based thought I'd see if anyone else is interested. Faith came up with some categories that sound pretty good to me. Biography of a Saint Contemporary Theology - ie Peter Kreeft, Scott Hahn, etc. Book written by a pope Well known Catholic authors-Chesterton, Flannery O'Conner, Waugh, Grahame Greene, etc One Old testament book One New testament book I currently have on my list

• Echoing Silence: Thomas Merton on the Vocation of Writing
• Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week (#2 Jesus of Nazareth series) - Pope Benedict XVI
• Life of Prayer - St Teresa
• Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis
• Mother Teresa, Come Be My Light
• Seeds of Contemplation - Thomas Merton
• The Apostles - Pope Benedict XVI
• Three Philosophies of Life - Peter Kreeft

Even if you aren't Catholic, Pope Benedict is a great theologian (imho) whose insights and explanations give the Bible and the life of Jesus whole new meaning. His explanation into the symbolical meanings and history of and in the Bible are so clear and mind-expanding. It made me see the bible in a whole new light. If you have ideas for any other categories, let me know. I don't want to limit it to catholic. It will be all encompassing so let's just called it a Faith Reading Challenge and if any of the categories inspire you, that's a plus.

 

Anybody have a clue what books would go on the Quaker version of this?

[eaglei]

Anybody have a clue what books would go on the Quaker version of this?

 

The only Quaker author I am familiar with is Daisy Newman.

 

Some time ago, I read these fiction novels:

 

~I Take Thee, Serenity (My introduction to this author)

~Diligence in Love

~Autumn's Brightness

~Indian Summer of the Heart

~Mount Joy (If I recall, I think this novel was based on a trip that Daisy actually took...)

 

I think the first four books interrelate, though each can stand alone - I don't recall for sure . . .

 

I also read her memoir:

 

~A Golden String

 

Here is a sight dedicated to Quaker authors:

 

http://www.quakerbooks.org/

 

 

This is from wikipedia:

Daisy Newman (1904 - 1994) was born in Britain to American parents. She wrote novels and non-fiction about Quakers (the Society of Friends) in America. Ms. Newman was educated at Radcliffe College, Barnard College, and Oxford University. She married George Selleck late in life. Both were elders at Friends Meeting in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

[edit]Works

 

Daisy Newman's novels include: Now That April's There (1945), Diligence in Love (1951), The Autumn's Brightness (1955), I Take Thee, Serenity(1975), Indian Summer of the Heart (1982), and A Golden String (1986). She wrote a history of American Quakers entitled A Procession of Friends. Published in 1972, it is about the active position of Friends in opposing slavery, in relations with the native peoples of North America, in opposing war and capital punishment, and in supporting the humane treatment of the mentally ill and prisoners.

 

 

OH! Isn't Philip Gulley a Quaker writer of both fiction and non-fiction? I think he wrote the Harmony fiction series.

 

Hope this helps!

[Lady Florida.]

Ditto on the surprise with JK Rowlings book.

 

I'm on the waiting list for both the e-book and the physical book, and figured I'd take whichever one comes in first. However after reading so many negative reviews, I'm not sure I even want to read it. I have several IRL friends who read it and the reviews for them are mixed but even the ones who liked it didn't love it. I'm not cancelling my holds yet because I just can't decide if I want to give it a try.

 

 

I count them, but only if I make at least one recipe from them!

 

I don't count cookbooks or craft books, because I usually just flip through them and look at what interests me. I can't really call it reading the book.

 

I'm working on updating the 52 Books blog which has links to the pages in the link bar.

 

So far the only place I wrote down my challenge goals is here. I suppose I should copy and paste so I actually remember what I said I want to read. :D

[Giraffe]

So far the only place I wrote down my challenge goals is here. I suppose I should copy and paste so I actually remember what I said I want to read. :D

 

Me too!

[Jane in NC]

So far the only place I wrote down my challenge goals is here. I suppose I should copy and paste so I actually remember what I said I want to read. :D

As an added note... There have been some year end comments on how 2012 reads fit into various challenges. Some of us (ahem--that would be me) can hardly remember what I read this year. I always start the year with a list in a computer file but then quit adding to it. Going through a year of old posts here on TWTM to find my 2012 titles is too much work.

 

Anyway I stand in awe of the organized.

[Storm Bay]

Okay, my dad came back with some titles. All typos in the quote are his :). Doctors didn't have to know how to type when he went to school or for most of his working years. Here is what he wrote:

 

Mowat, Burton, Urquhart, McLean Davies Callwood, ------- any book

Toews, ---- A Complicated Kindness, ----- about fundimental Mennonites in a Manitoba town

Richter, ------The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz

Shields, -----The Stone Diaries

Mitchell, -----Who has seen the Wind

Wiebe, ---- The Trial of Big Bear ( something like that )

[Paisley Hedgehog]

. 

 

[Storm Bay]

As an added note... There have been some year end comments on how 2012 reads fit into various challenges. Some of us (ahem--that would be me) can hardly remember what I read this year. I always start the year with a list in a computer file but then quit adding to it. Going through a year of old posts here on TWTM to find my 2012 titles is too much work.

 

Anyway I stand in awe of the organized.

 

I agree, which is why I'm soooooo happy that there will be a list on the book a week blog (what's it called again, and why isn't there a smile with a wink anymore??? this ;) doesn't bring up an emoticon anymore). ETA i stand corrected!

[Jane in NC]

 

Goodreads is a lifesaver in this department. Easy to keep track of Read, Currently Reading, and Want To Read. Before I had a Goodreads account (free, btw), I kept a running list in one of those cheap-ish blank journals of what I was reading each week. No thoughts or commentary; just a big list. It seemed silly at first, but now I have three years's record of books that I read or books that I tried to read. It is pretty cool to look back and see what my own patterns are.

 

Is the account public or private? Is one inundated with advertising?

 

Sorry to be such a dummy...

[ladydusk]

Is the account public or private? Is one inundated with advertising?

 

Sorry to be such a dummy...

 

 

Mine's public.

 

I don't remember seeing any advertising on GoodReads, but I use the Firefox browser with the AdBlockPlus extension installed. (I don't see ads on Facebook either ... it always throws me off-kilter when someone complains about the ads there!)

 

Here's the privacy settings options:

 

Privacy

 

You control who can see your profile. Your profile includes your information on the profile tab, your bookshelves, your friend list, and other Goodreads members’ comments on your profile. Your profile image thumbnail and your name will always be visible in some areas of the site, but you can hide your last name using the setting on the profile tab. Book reviews are always public and will appear on book pages throughout the site regardless of privacy setting.

Who can view my profile:

anyone (including search engines) (?)

Goodreads members

just my friends

 

 

so you can lock it down some by setting to "just my friends" and having no friends. ETA, you can also decide how much personal information is posted.

[Jane in NC]

Mine's public.

 

I don't remember seeing any advertising on GoodReads, but I use the Firefox browser with the AdBlockPlus extension installed. (I don't see ads on Facebook either ... it always throws me off-kilter when someone complains about the ads there!)

 

Here's the privacy settings options:

 

 

so you can lock it down some by setting to "just my friends" and having no friends. ETA, you can also decide how much personal information is posted.

 

Thanks.

 

By the way, I finished The Waiting Sands. What shall we call this--Gothic romance? Well done but the characters were not as deeply drawn as we see in Howatch's later works. I loved the physical description of the remote Scottish castle without modern amenities.

[ladydusk]

Thanks.

 

By the way, I finished The Waiting Sands. What shall we call this--Gothic romance? Well done but the characters were not as deeply drawn as we see in Howatch's later works. I loved the physical description of the remote Scottish castle without modern amenities.

 

 

I agree with Gothic Romance. I think her early work is very reminiscent of Victoria Holt and some Mary Stewart. You can definitely see her as a developing author in these earlier novels. I like them, though. I like that genre - quick reads, nice, clean, romantic, with a little mystery or suspense. Her characters aren't as deeply drawn (no room to do it), but they are still very "real" as people I think.

 

I find it interesting to compare her "three periods" of writing. They're so very different, yet the progression in style is very obvious.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

. 

 

[Jane in NC]

The accounts are defaulted to public, I think. I signed up with not-my-real-name and not-my-real-picture and I really don't care who knows what I am reading, so privacy on that site is not a big deal to me. It's not like Facebook where your account info is widely available to all your friends and neighbors with your real name and picture attached. Blech.

 

As far as ads, there are some in sidebars, but they are mostly about books and stuff that appeals to book lovers, so I don't mind them. Again, it is not like FB where you get ads because your friends "Liked" something. Double blech.

That is helpful. Thanks.

 

On another note, would Death for the Archbishop qualify for the religious/theological challenge? ;)

 

Another silly question from Jane who prefers her non-fiction in well-written magazine articles and, for some reason, has been thinking about Willa Cather's landscapes.

[Stacia]

Goodreads is a lifesaver in this department. Easy to keep track of Read, Currently Reading, and Want To Read. Before I had a Goodreads account (free, btw), I kept a running list in one of those cheap-ish blank journals of what I was reading each week. No thoughts or commentary; just a big list. It seemed silly at first, but now I have three years's record of books that I read or books that I tried to read. It is pretty cool to look back and see what my own patterns are.

 

I could have written this post. I kept a list in a notebook for quite a few years -- just titles w/ the author & a star rating. Now, I mostly track on Goodreads.

 

Jane, I think you'd like Goodreads. I really enjoy it & don't mind being on it. (Otoh, I have no interest in FB & am not on it.)

 

My Goodreads page is public, but I have it set so that only friends can leave comments, etc.... Also, on Goodreads, you can adjust your settings about getting emails from them (things like a monthly newsletter w/ info about newly released books, author interviews, etc...), emails to notify you if someone has commented on your page or a recommendation, an so forth. Just go in & disable all of it if you don't want any emails.

[Stacia]

I use the Firefox browser with the AdBlockPlus extension installed.

 

Thanks for mentioning that! I've been meaning to install it, but never had. Instantaneous relief! I've already noticed a difference in 2 or 3 websites (including the little ad always at the top right of my Goodreads page). Love it. Thanks!

[Jane in NC]

I could have written this post. I kept a list in a notebook for quite a few years -- just titles w/ the author & a star rating. Now, I mostly track on Goodreads.

 

Jane, I think you'd like Goodreads. I really enjoy it & don't mind being on it. (Otoh, I have no interest in FB & am not on it.)

 

My Goodreads page is public, but I have it set so that only friends can leave comments, etc.... Also, on Goodreads, you can adjust your settings about getting emails from them (things like a monthly newsletter w/ info about newly released books, author interviews, etc...), emails to notify you if someone has commented on your page or a recommendation, an so forth. Just go in & disable all of it if you don't want any emails.

 

One more dumb question: Does the friends feature of Goodreads work like the one here on TWTM?

[Robin M]

Barnes and Noble Free Nook Friday Book - Protector by Laurel Dewey

 

Amazon Kindle Daily Deals - Ascent of George Washington and more

 

Audible.com - 50% off Neil Gaiman audiobooks

 

C.S. Lewis Space Trilogy - limited special price at Christianbooks.com

 

Sourcebooks 25 Days of Christmas Day 7 special - Miss Lavigne's Little White Lieby Samantha Grace (Regency Romance) for .99 (Bare chested man cover alert - :drool:

 

 

ETA: I keep forgetting to let you all know about Literary Escapism's lists - urban fantasy / paranormal book reviewer. She keeps up with all the latest. Latest holiday Kindle Deals.

 

and check out her November newsletter of new releases and book news

[Robin M]

So far the only place I wrote down my challenge goals is here. I suppose I should copy and paste so I actually remember what I said I want to read. :D

Me too!

As an added note... There have been some year end comments on how 2012 reads fit into various challenges. Some of us (ahem--that would be me) can hardly remember what I read this year. I always start the year with a list in a computer file but then quit adding to it. Going through a year of old posts here on TWTM to find my 2012 titles is too much work. Anyway I stand in awe of the organized.

 

Besides Goodbooks, I keep a running list on my blog. You can make your blog private and keep a running list on a page or in a post. It's easy especially if you come on line every day. I never remember to update Goodbooks (but that's me)

 

Okay, my dad came back with some titles. All typos in the quote are his :). Doctors didn't have to know how to type when he went to school or for most of his working years. Here is what he wrote: Mowat, Burton, Urquhart, McLean Davies Callwood, ------- any book Toews, ---- A Complicated Kindness, ----- about fundimental Mennonites in a Manitoba town Richter, ------The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz Shields, -----The Stone Diaries Mitchell, -----Who has seen the Wind Wiebe, ---- The Trial of Big Bear ( something like that )

 

Awesome - thanks

 

I agree, which is why I'm soooooo happy that there will be a list on the book a week blog (what's it called again, and why isn't there a smile with a wink anymore??? this ;) doesn't bring up an emoticon anymore). ETA i stand corrected!

 

Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks - link is in my signature

 

That is helpful. Thanks. On another note, would Death for the Archbishop qualify for the religious/theological challenge? ;) Another silly question from Jane who prefers her non-fiction in well-written magazine articles and, for some reason, has been thinking about Willa Cather's landscapes.

 

Fictional theological similiar to pilgrim's progress so it would count for the fictional aspect. I also have Death Comes for the Archbishop in my stacks. One of my dusty books to read for 2013. Idea for another readalong......

 

Thanks for mentioning that! I've been meaning to install it, but never had. Instantaneous relief! I've already noticed a difference in 2 or 3 websites (including the little ad always at the top right of my Goodreads page). Love it. Thanks!

 

Firefox's adblocker is absolutely wonderful. I don't ever see ads on facebook or anyplace else. I was looking something up online using my nook the other day and got frustrated with the pop up ads. It will definitely make life online so much better. I hate, hate, hate ads. #1 reason why didn't like Kindle. I don't even watch ads on tv - record everything. They are all so stupid these days..... so glad I can fast forward through them. A rant for another day.

[Stacia]

One more dumb question: Does the friends feature of Goodreads work like the one here on TWTM?

 

Ummm...??? I don't know.

 

On Goodreads, you can click on a recent updates link & it will show you posts that have been made by friends or people you're following. That's all I've ever really figured out about it. LOL.

 

I'm not sure what the friend feature on this board even does, other than to show that someone is your friend. Anyone else know? Maybe some other Goodreads users can answer too?

[Jane in NC]

Besides Goodbooks, I keep a running list on my blog. You can make your blog private and keep a running list on a page or in a post. It's easy especially if you come on line every day. I never remember to update Goodbooks (but that's me)

 

 

Fictional theological similiar to pilgrim's progress so it would count for the fictional aspect. I also have Death Comes for the Archbishop in my stacks. One of my dusty books to read for 2013. Idea for another readalong......

 

 

Thanks for the alternate idea. I have been meaning to start a blog for about a year now...

 

Any Nebraskans here who could host our Well Trained travel group to visit those Cather-esque landscapes? Maybe not in January...

[Kareni]

Any Nebraskans here who could host our Well Trained travel group to visit those Cather-esque landscapes? Maybe not in January...

 

 

For Death Comes for the Archbishop, you can travel to New Mexico. It might be a tad warmer there than in Nebraska in January .... Death Comes for the Archbishop was the first Willa Cather novel I ever read.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Jane in NC]

For Death Comes for the Archbishop, you can travel to New Mexico. It might be a tad warmer there than in Nebraska in January .... Death Comes for the Archbishop was the first Willa Cather novel I ever read.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

Thank you for the correction. I obviously have not read this novel but really loved O Pioneers, The Song of the Lark and My Antonia--the Prairie Trilogy.

 

The Archbishop is now on my 2013 reading list.

[Just Robyn]

The only Quaker author I am familiar with is Daisy Newman.

 

Some time ago, I read these fiction novels:

 

~I Take Thee, Serenity (My introduction to this author)

~Diligence in Love

~Autumn's Brightness

~Indian Summer of the Heart

~Mount Joy (If I recall, I think this novel was based on a trip that Daisy actually took...)

 

I think the first four books interrelate, though each can stand alone - I don't recall for sure . . .

 

I also read her memoir:

 

~A Golden String

 

Here is a sight dedicated to Quaker authors:

 

http://www.quakerbooks.org/

 

 

This is from wikipedia:

Daisy Newman (1904 - 1994) was born in Britain to American parents. She wrote novels and non-fiction about Quakers (the Society of Friends) in America. Ms. Newman was educated at Radcliffe College, Barnard College, and Oxford University. She married George Selleck late in life. Both were elders at Friends Meeting in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

[edit]Works

 

Daisy Newman's novels include: Now That April's There (1945), Diligence in Love (1951), The Autumn's Brightness (1955), I Take Thee, Serenity(1975), Indian Summer of the Heart (1982), and A Golden String (1986). She wrote a history of American Quakers entitled A Procession of Friends. Published in 1972, it is about the active position of Friends in opposing slavery, in relations with the native peoples of North America, in opposing war and capital punishment, and in supporting the humane treatment of the mentally ill and prisoners.

 

 

OH! Isn't Philip Gulley a Quaker writer of both fiction and non-fiction? I think he wrote the Harmony fiction series.

 

Hope this helps!

 

 

Thanks for the suggestions! A Procession of Friends looks good - just 20 pages short of counting as a chunkster :glare:

[eaglei]

Thanks for the suggestions! A Procession of Friends looks good - just 20 pages short of counting as a chunkster :glare:

 

 

Does it come in a large print edition? :D

 

Your welcome for the suggestions! :)

[Violet Crown]

As an added note... There have been some year end comments on how 2012 reads fit into various challenges. Some of us (ahem--that would be me) can hardly remember what I read this year. I always start the year with a list in a computer file but then quit adding to it. Going through a year of old posts here on TWTM to find my 2012 titles is too much work.

Anyway I stand in awe of the organized.

My low-tech method: I use an index card as a bookmark, write each finished book on it, and transfer it to the next book.

 

On another note, would Death for the Archbishop qualify for the religious/theological challenge? ;)

Another silly question from Jane who prefers her non-fiction in well-written magazine articles and, for some reason, has been thinking about Willa Cather's landscapes.

I loved that book. Beautiful landscape scenes aplenty, in the most enchanting area of the country. At the risk of giving away my Secret Identity, this is my great-great-grandfather -

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Author:LeBaron_Bradford_Prince

- who, having a lot of time on his hands, traveled around the territory taking photos of the crumbling Spanish mission churches for his book.

[Violet Crown]

Finished

 

18. Nikolai Gogol, Dead Souls

 

"All these discussions, opinions, and rumours for some unknown reason produced their greatest effect on the poor public prosecutor. They had such an effect on him that on returning home he began to think and think and suddenly, without rhyme or reason, as they say, dropped dead. Whether he had a stroke or some other sort of seizure, but, as he was sitting on a chair, he flopped down and fell on his back. As is usual on such occasions, they threw up their hands and cried, 'Good God!', sent for the doctor to bleed him, but soon saw that the public prosecutor was just a soulless corpse. It was only then that they realized with regret that the late public prosecutor really had a soul, though, being a modest man, he had never shown it."

 

What next? I am in the mood, after all these challenges for something both musty and chunky. Let's see what's been sitting on the shelf, dusty with good intentions....

[JennW in SoCal]

About Death Comes for the Archbishop.....

 

 

I loved that book. Beautiful landscape scenes aplenty, in the most enchanting area of the country. At the risk of giving away my Secret Identity, this is my great-great-grandfather -

http://en.wikisource...Bradford_Prince

- who, having a lot of time on his hands, traveled around the territory taking photos of the crumbling Spanish mission churches for his book.

 

I grew up in New Mexico, never read the book, but remember my mom and her friends discussing it. In fact I don't believe I've read any of Willa Cather's books!! I think I'll have to rectify that next year, starting with this, especially if my college friend and I follow through on our reunion plans in Santa Fe during opera season!

 

And Violet Crown -- how cool to have connections back to the territorial period of New Mexico!! Just the words "crumbling Spanish mission churches" evokes beautiful scenic memories for me. Very different from the California crumbling missions...

[Just Robyn]

Does it come in a large print edition? :D

 

 

:laugh: Ha ha - right! The thought crossed my mind, too.

[Storm Bay]

Well, I'm now on the third Thursday Next book, even though I'm somewhat ambivalent about them. It's The Well of Lost Souls. I'm also reading a y/a novel my dds wanted to take out, but I'm not sure how good it is or if I'll finish it yet.

 

As for the challenges, I have nothing organized. I am going to bookmark the 52 Books in 52 weeks blog (I thought I had before, but that must be on the other browser that we don't use much anymore--at first I thought it must be the old computer, but this one is 2 years old now and I know I had it bookmarked within the last 2 years.

 

I have a Goodreads account, but have never used it.

[Storm Bay]

Thanks. By the way, I finished The Waiting Sands. What shall we call this--Gothic romance? Well done but the characters were not as deeply drawn as we see in Howatch's later works. I loved the physical description of the remote Scottish castle without modern amenities.

I agree with Gothic Romance. I think her early work is very reminiscent of Victoria Holt and some Mary Stewart. You can definitely see her as a developing author in these earlier novels. I like them, though. I like that genre - quick reads, nice, clean, romantic, with a little mystery or suspense. Her characters aren't as deeply drawn (no room to do it), but they are still very "real" as people I think. I find it interesting to compare her "three periods" of writing. They're so very different, yet the progression in style is very obvious.

 

Aha, so now when I say I read some romance in high school I can be more specific and say that I read some gothic romance, because those are the two romantic authors I used to read.

 

What would you say is Victoria Holts' best book written before 1978??? I want to reread one for fun, but don't even remember which ones I read when I see the titles.

[Kareni]

What would you say is Victoria Holts' best book written before 1978??? I want to reread one for fun, but don't even remember which ones I read when I see the titles.

 

 

It's been a long time since I read Victoria Holt, so I can't give you any first hand recommendations. However, this blog post from HeroesandHeartbreakers.com might be of interest to you as it has recommendations in the text and in the comments.

The Many Facets of Victoria Holt by Janga

 

Regards,

Kareni

[ladydusk]

Aha, so now when I say I read some romance in high school I can be more specific and say that I read some gothic romance, because those are the two romantic authors I used to read.

 

What would you say is Victoria Holts' best book written before 1978??? I want to reread one for fun, but don't even remember which ones I read when I see the titles.

 

 

My favorite is Pride of the Peacock (which was in 1976). The Shivering Sands is good too. :)

 

ETA: that blog post is interesting. The Wiki site is too.

 

Here's my secret ... I found Susan Howatch by looking down a shelf from the Victoria Holt books in my high school library.

[Robin M]

Speaking of Willa Cather - Looked at the Willa Cather foundation and Willa Cather Archive and found Mapping a Writer's World: A Geographic Chronology of Willa Cather's Life. Plus a few of her books online.

 

 

And Wildmoobooks - who has been into all things Willa Cather this year posts about a new book that features Willa Cather and her partner Edith as sleuths in On The Rocks coming out in 2013.

[SunnyDays]

I love Goodreads! I resisted for a long time, LOL, but I do find that it's a great source of ideas. I'm a geek enough, though, that I also keep a spreadsheet of all my books read... one tab for each year, keeping track of titles, authors, month read, and this year, I added pages read. :)

[Lady Florida.]

In fact I don't believe I've read any of Willa Cather's books!!

 

The only Willa Cather book I've read is My Antonia, and I loved her writing in that one. I've been meaning to read O Pioneers, and will probably add Death Comes to the Archbishop (like I need more books on my TBR list lol). I wonder why that one doesn't get as much attention as her others. Reviews I read make it sound as though the writing is lovely.

[Giraffe]

I'm on an iPad and therefore can't access the emoticons - I need the beats head against wall one. Picture it applied liberally throughout this post.

 

Y'all have increased my TBR list so much it's flying out of control! I'm up to 250+ books on my Kindle, most of them unread, and it just keeps growing as I read your posts. "Oh, that looks good!" "Mustn't forget that book, oh look, it's free on Kindle!"

 

Now picture willy nilly running around in circles here.....

[Lady Florida.]

Y'all have increased my TBR list so much it's flying out of control! I'm up to 250+ books on my Kindle, most of them unread, and it just keeps growing as I read your posts. "Oh, that looks good!" "Mustn't forget that book, oh look, it's free on Kindle!"

 

 

 

 

I know! I think I'll blame these women (along with my Kindle reading group) for making me have to take up the Dusty Books Challenge. :rofl:

[Robin M]

[Giraffe]

 

Ain't that the truth!!!

 

[Robin M]

 

 

This was just too cute and had to share. Canadian author Julie Bruck's book of poetry.

[Stacia]

I finished "Let's Pretend This Never Happened". Hilarious, profanity-filled, stream-of-consciousness writing that had me rolling with laughter. Definitely a fun humor read.

 

I'm now starting The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Though it has been years since I read "The Shadow of the Wind" (& I never read the sequel "The Angel's Game"), I am happy to see one of my favorite characters (Fermín) taking a leading role in the story. Plus, it's always great when books pay homage to The Count of Monte Cristo... you just can't go wrong with that.

 

 

 

"The internationally acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Carlos Ruiz Zafon takes us into a dark, gothic Barcelona and creates a rich, labyrinthine tale of love, literature, passion, and revenge in which the heroes of The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game must contend with a nemesis that threatens to destroy them.

Barcelona, 1957. It is Christmas, and Daniel Sempere and his wife, Bea, have much to celebrate. They have a beautiful new baby son named Julian, and their close friend Fermin Romero de Torres is about to be wed. But their joy is eclipsed when a mysterious stranger visits the Sempere bookshop and threatens to divulge a terrible secret that has been buried for two decades in the city's dark past. His appearance plunges Fermin and Daniel into a dangerous adventure that will take them back to the 1940s and the early days of Franco's dictatorship. The terrifying events of that time launch them on a search for the truth that will put into peril everything they love and ultimately transform their lives.

Full of intrigue and emotion, The Prisoner of Heaven is a majestic novel in which the threads of The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game converge under the spell of literature and bring us toward the enigma hidden at the heart of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a collection of lost treasures known only to its few initiates, and the very core of Carlos Ruiz Zafon's enchanting fictional world."

[Paisley Hedgehog]

.

[Robin M]

Link to week 50 - please continue conversation in new thread