Book a Week in 2013 - week one

[laughing lioness]

O.k. I took the King book back to the library and am reading "What They Don't Teach You at Film School" by Landau and White for a class I'm teaching at co-op this spring. It's a great writing/slap therapy/put on your big girl panties/film school book. I'm not sure I'm learning a whole lot about teaching the kids about film making, but I am learning more about "story" -which is the point of film anyway. It's a fun read!

 

And I wimped out/ran out of time on finishing Love and Respect (the author just irritates me) and Moby Dick. I think part of it is that reading is one area where I don't feel like I have to reign in my random globalness and try to be organized, linear and sequential- kwim? I can give in to what I want to read when. Trying to "do the list" sucks some of the joy out of it for me.

[LostSurprise]

I found that The Hobbit might not be a straight through read for me. I was getting bogged down so I took a break and started Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card and finished it in one (admittedly quite long) sitting :001_tt1: I'm not sure I want to start on the rest of the series, the ending felt a bit rushed and I'm not personally a fan of stuck-on cliffhangers since the sequels tend to disappoint. Anyone read them and had a different experience?

 

 

I like the sequels, but they are not like Ender's Game. Ender's Game is a youth novel that runs on a tight plot. The Ender sequels are much more philosophical/ethical and the plots are rather slow.

 

There are several Bean novels, Ender's Shadow being the first. It retells Ender's Game from Bean's point of view and I found that interesting. The Bean novels are more plot oriented but are not as well written as Ender's Game. Still, there's a lot of action and a lot of time spent with characters from EG.

[Storm Bay]

*GASP* This means war. :boxing_smiley: :laugh: :laugh:

Karin - I believe this is the first time we've ever really truly disagreed on someting but boy oh boy do we ever disagree. :)

:rofl: :rofl: All I can say is that we can agree to disagree, but you can't pass a true judgement unless you've watch both miniseries in question :). Here is a great comparison of the two from someone else who has seen both, and I mostly agree with this reviewer http://www.amazon.co...DiscussionsNRPB and here is a link to the series that predates the Colin Firth one and first got me to read Pride & Prejudice and Jane Austen in the first place http://www.amazon.co...ejudice Rintoul

 

Bear in mind that I am a baby boomer, so do come to this with a different perspective. I also really, really liked that first one--I watched it the first year it came out, and the next year watched all but one episode twice as it aired twice a week. When I read P & P, tha's who I picture, because he did a fabulous acting job in that role. Also, I have really looked at Colin Firth, and he just doesn't do it for me. I rewatched Mama Mia and still think Pierce Brosnan, who can't sing worth beans, is better looking, too.

 

Who says we remember what we read? I'm sure that's not in the rules! :eek:

 

 

You don't have to, and I didn't the first year or two, either. This will be my third year keeping track because I decided I wanted to be able to go back and remember, plus to see how many I've read that I've counted. I didn't bother putting in the last book I readin 2012 or posting about it.

[bobbeym]

I love the idea of reading a book a week, but how do you all make it work? I love to read, but rarely find the time. I have a hard time finishing a book a month for the book club I attend. I am currently reading Les Miserables (Kindle version) and there is no way I could read that in 1 week! Please tell me, how do you all do it? And remember what you read?

 

I know there will be books I don't finish in a week, but there are shorter ones I can finish in a day. In the long run it'll average out. I'm also reading multiple books in multiple formats, which I think helps. I have kindle apps on my phone, tablet, and pc, often with a different book pulled up on each one. Chunky books are often left as audio books to listen to while I'm alone in the car, esp during the afternoon commute home. But there's no way I'll remember everything I read, and I'm okay with that.

 

Just finished An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. My school librarian reviewed this during one of our book chats. Loved it! If you ever wondered what goes on in the mind of a gifted, quirky teenage boy, this is it...

 

This looks like a good read. I put it on hold at the library and might add it to DS's reading list too. He's unknowingly participating in the 52 Books this year too. :leaving:

 

I'm currently reading The Outlander series again (for the 4th time!). I'm on #3 Voyager.

 

Me too! I'm 6:xx hours away from finishing the unabridged audio version of Outlander. Does it count towards this year if we started it last year?

 

Have you read either of the new novellas she just published? They're both good, but I really preferred A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows (Roger's parents' story set during Echo I think), over The Custom of the Army (Lord John set during Voyager). I like Lord John, but not enough to read him as the main character. One nice thing about Army though was that Diana included a complete timeline of all the books, novellas, and short stories at the end of the Kindle version. I also got The Scottish Prisoner for Christmas and am looking forward to reading it once I catch up to Voyager.

 

I invoke the 50 Page Rule all the time with no guilt whatsoever! :D My most recently abandoned is What Alice Knew (Paula Marantz Cohen), historical mystery pitting the William & Henry James (The Bostonians, Turn of the Screw) against Jack the Ripper. It got five star reviews by a couple of the mystery bloggers I follow, but I just cannot get into it. I am setting it aside for when I need a fluff read.

 

I love the 50 Page Rule. Can't believe I've never heard of it before! I usually follow a Chapter 1 Rule. If it doesn't capture my interest by then, unless it's a very slow paced book, then it's out.

 

Finished #1 for the year, The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett) which seems to need no review since so many have read it already. I enjoyed it but I am not sure I'd have made it through if I hadn't already seen the miniseries. That knocks one dusty book and one chunkster off my stack.

 

On to Canada ...

 

Since we have so many Newbies with us right now, I was wondering if it was appropriate to share how-to's or tips from those of us who've completed the challenge? For me, the heart of the challenge is not necessarily about reading 52 books, it is about reading intentionally, for an entire year. I was thinking that this was my 3rd year for the challenge, but actually it is my 4th. I started in 2010 and was one of those who dropped out after a couple of months. What made the difference? It was keeping track of what I read. There are lots of ways to do this: a blank notebook, a document in your word processor, a digital list at Goodreads or Library Thing (both free!).

 

I am in complete agreement with the bolded. I'm not worried about the numbers, although once I sat down and started listing out the things I knew were coming up, I realized how quickly I can hit 52 decent books, not counting the romantic fluff I normally read.

 

Also, it is important to keep posting or lurking in this thread even when you feel you are "behind." If you stay with us, you will notice that many of the regulars don't always make the numbers and no one cares :001_cool: . This is just one big support group meeting for book-a-holics.

 

My smilies stopped working for some reason, so just imagine the ROLF one right here because I can't remember the code for it off hand.

 

I am currently reading several books. I have a chance of finishing Poor Folk by Dostoevsky this week. I did finish A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows, a novella by Diana Gabaldon. Does that count? Not sure how long it is, but it was pretty short.

 

Amazon says the print length is 54 pages, if that helps you decide whether to count it or not. I finished it last week and enjoyed it, and was jaw-dropped surprised at the twist. What did you think? I finished Custom of the Army last night, her newest Lord John novella. Print length is 82 pages according to Amazon, so it counts for me as far as I'm concerned.

[Storm Bay]

 

 

Me too! I'm 6:xx hours away from finishing the unabridged audio version of Outlander. Does it count towards this year if we started it last year?

.

 

Yes--we count it the year we finish it. I have a few books I plan to finish this year. Someone else posted that one of their categories in the 5/5/5 challenge is finishing partly read books :).

[Nakia]

I am currently reading several books. I have a chance of finishing Poor Folk by Dostoevsky this week. I did finish A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows, a novella by Diana Gabaldon. Does that count? Not sure how long it is, but it was pretty short.

 

 

 

 

 

I loved that story!!!!

[Nakia]

 

 

 

Me too! I'm 6:xx hours away from finishing the unabridged audio version of Outlander. Does it count towards this year if we started it last year?

 

Have you read either of the new novellas she just published? They're both good, but I really preferred A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows (Roger's parents' story set during Echo I think), over The Custom of the Army (Lord John set during Voyager). I like Lord John, but not enough to read him as the main character. One nice thing about Army though was that Diana included a complete timeline of all the books, novellas, and short stories at the end of the Kindle version. I also got The Scottish Prisoner for Christmas and am looking forward to reading it once I catch up to Voyager.

 

I am pretty sure I've read everything she's written. :D

 

The Scottish Prisoner is really good, but it took me a while to get in to it. I loved it once I got in to it!

[ladydusk]

OOOH! Free today for Kindle: The Complete Sherlock Holmes

 

Book Description:

The complete collection of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes tales, both long and short, compiled together for the first time by Simon & Schuster for free!

This fantastic collection is accompanied by an exciting new introduction from Robert Ryan, a writer who's own book has been fully endorsed by the Conan Doyle Estate. A big Holmes fan himself, he will undoubtedly provide a fascinating new look at the detective and his bizarre ability to read both people and objects, in order to discover who dunnit.

[aggieamy]

I finished my first. It's pretty short (96 pages) so I almost feel bad counting it but I most likely would have packed it away until next Christmas but for this challenge. We are huge Tomie DePaola fans here and this is a book of essays he wrote "for all ages" on, well, Christmases he remembers.

 

1. Christmas Remembered, Tomie DePaola

 

There goes my resolution to put nothing new on my to-read list until I got ten things off of it. I'm a huge Tomie DePaola fan also and this sounds really interesting.

[Luckymama]

OOOH! Free today for Kindle: The Complete Sherlock Holmes

 

Book Description:

 

 

Thanks---just got it! I haven't read Sherlock Holmes in decades :)

[Giraffe]

OOOH! Free today for Kindle: The Complete Sherlock Holmes

Book Description:

 

 

Does acquiring a free book violate my no new books until April 1st buying ban?

 

Can someone please enable/give permission? :tongue_smilie:

 

ETA: I have no willpower. I got it. At least it was free.

[4kidlets4me]

Does acquiring a free book violate my no new books until April 1st buying ban?

 

Can someone please enable/give permission? :tongue_smilie:

 

 

 

If it's free you're not buying anything. Permission granted :thumbup:

[Stacia]

Also, it is important to keep posting or lurking in this thread even when you feel you are "behind." If you stay with us, you will notice that many of the regulars don't always make the numbers and no one cares http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/001_cool.gif . This is just one big support group meeting for book-a-holics.

Great post! I'm one of the oldies on here http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/wink.gif & what she says is true.

 

And, here, I'll show how it's done. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/tongue_smilie.gif I'm in the middle of Wolf Hall (loving it, actually), but it was due at the library yesterday. However, my life is a zoo for this weekend & well into next week, so I won't have much time to tackle reading. At all. So, Wolf Hall goes back to the library & I'll go back on the waitlist for it & finish it when I get it again quite a few weeks from now.

 

In the meantime (at a vet appt. this morning), I started one of the two books I plan to read for the Canadian challenge: Women of the Klondike by Frances Backhouse. There is a short foreword by Pierre Berton (who wrote Klondike, the other book I plan to read for the Canadian challenge). The cool thing is that Berton said that he personally knew some of the women who are covered in Women of the Klondike.

 

I have known several of the major figures -- such remarkable women as Emilie Tremblay, Martha Black, Belinda Mulrooney, Sadie Stringer, and Klondike Kate Rockwell. I bought my first mechanical toy in Madame Tremblay's famous emporium, now preserved as a heritage site by Parks Canada. I drank my first glass of ginger ale in Mrs. Stringer's kitchen. Martha Black was a regular visitor in our home. I interviewed Belinda Mulrooney at the end of her life in her house on the outskirts of Seattle. Kate Rockwell and her third husband were my shipmates on the Princess Louise, steaming down the panhandle of Alaska.

Makes me really look forward to reading Berton's book too!

 

Anyway, I won't even have a finished book to post for the first week & I'm not even sure that I'll manage to finish something by the end of week two. However, I have plenty of plans, as well as being open to reading serendipity, & will be reading lots in 2013!

[aggieamy]

Would everyone please pop over to a thread I just started:

 

Recommend books for Amy's sister

 

It's a long involved sad story and I've put details over on the other thread. I need book suggestions and I know you gals are the ones that can help me. I didn't want to ask here and clutter up this thread so go to my new thread and suggest away.

[Just Robyn]

Can someone please link the goodreads thread??? I can't find it and need more books on my list to read and reserve at library.

 

 

The Hive's 52 in 52 and WTM Readers

[bobbeym]

 

I am pretty sure I've read everything she's written. :D

 

The Scottish Prisoner is really good, but it took me a while to get in to it. I loved it once I got in to it!

 

 

Good to know, thanks for the heads up. I'd probably have been very worried that I wouldn't end up liking it if it started off slow. :laugh:

[bobbeym]

OOOH! Free today for Kindle: The Complete Sherlock Holmes

 

Book Description:

 

Sweet. One of my 5/5/5 is to read some of the old mysteries. This will certainly help.

[UrbanSue]

Here's my thoughts on Wuthering Heights, from when I read it a year or so ago:

 

Earlier this year I posted that I had read Jane Eyre, and that back in high school when I first read Wuthering Heights, I hated it, so my teacher had told me not to bother reading Jane Eyre. However, I really liked Jane Eyre, so I wanted to reread Wuthering Heights and see if I still hated it.I didn’t – I actually loved it! I really couldn’t put it down.Perhaps when I read it back then, I thought I was supposed to see Heathcliff as a romantic hero,but in reality he’s about one step away from being a serial killer.He doesn’t love Cathy in the true sense of the word – he’s obsessed, and the obsession leads only to hatred. The writing is good, and the characters are vivid. I also found it interesting because I wrote my MA thesis on Thomas Mann’s Dr. Faustus, which is a story told by a narrator who is one of the characters. My thesis questioned if he was a reliable narrator (most critics seemed to accept him at face value; I thought he had strong motive to not be a reliable narrator).Since Wuthering Heights is told through a narrator (the housekeeper Nelly), I wondered if she was reliable. There aren’t many stories told in this fashion. I really liked the feel of this book and the way it ended. The entire book was like a roller coaster, with steep hills to climb and then swooping down to the bottom of the drop, and then just coasting to a stop at the end, feeling like the Earnshaws and the Lintons can now heal from the malevolent presence of Heathcliff.

 

This is interesting. I'm embarassed to admit that I never questioned the reliability of Nelly. Though I did sometimes wonder at her various loyalties and whatnot. I think that is probably a servant-class thing? Maybe?

 

I'm so bothered by my reaction to this book that I may read it. I have only done the Audible which was fantastic but I wonder if I might have taken it in differently if I could have paused more easily on my own terms.

 

Thanks for your insight!

[gingersmom]

I just finished Escape from Camp 14. It was amazing!!!

[Luckymama]

 

 

In the meantime (at a vet appt. this morning), I started one of the two books I plan to read for the Canadian challenge: Women of the Klondike by Frances Backhouse. There is a short foreword by Pierre Berton (who wrote Klondike, the other book I plan to read for the Canadian challenge). The cool thing is that Berton said that he personally knew some of the women who are covered in Women of the Klondike.

 

 

 

Just requested Women of the Klondike from the library :) I LOVE gold rush era/western expansion books about women. I picked up a few last time we toured western national parks---I should give those a reread!

[Giraffe]

I need a library.

 

Seriously, ladies, my TBR queue and wish list are a mile long already and you all are not helping. I have a (partially) self-imposed buying ban in place until April 1st and my resolve is already shaking.

 

Slinking off to read Herodotus jabber on about Egypt, or about dystopian America, or something else I already own....

[I.Dup.]

I need a library.

 

Seriously, ladies, my TBR queue and wish list are a mile long already and you all are not helping. I have a (partially) self-imposed buying ban in place until April 1st and my resolve is already shaking.

 

Slinking off to read Herodotus jabber on about Egypt, or about dystopian America, or something else I already own....

 

 

You don't have a library?!?!? :eek: I'm really thankful for our library system...we live in a small-ish town but I have found almost every book I've looked for. 80% of the time I would say. That would be terrible not to have a library!

[MomtoCandJ]

Thanks for the links :) Now I'm off to reserve some books on my phone through Library Any Where :)

[Giraffe]

I live in Izmir, Turkey. I'm sure there's a library, but it's not going to do me much good (my reading Turkish is poor).

 

On the plus side I've actually seen the Siren Rocks, Ephesus, Phokaia, and Izmir is the home of Homer.

 

I'm headed back to the states for a month and will see what my local library has in terms of Overdrive. It appears they've started, but I can't tell how it works from a distance. And my library card expired over the summer somehow. Until then, it's me and my Kindle....

[Giraffe]

Thanks for the links :) Now I'm off to reserve some books on my phone through Library Any Where :)

 

Library anywhere? What is this?! Do you have a link?

 

:drool:

[Lady Florida.]

I think you started at the same time I did.

 

We were newbies together and now we're both regulars. This group is so welcoming.

 

Here's my thoughts on Wuthering Heights, ...Perhaps when I read it back then, I thought I was supposed to see Heathcliff as a romantic hero,but in reality he’s about one step away from being a serial killer.He doesn’t love Cathy in the true sense of the word – he’s obsessed, and the obsession leads only to hatred.

 

This makes sense. I hated Wuthering Heights and have never had a desire to re-read it. Maybe I should give it a try. Quite a few books look different through adult eyes, and that's one I read as a very young woman.

[SunnyDays]

Okay, I think I'm going to do the 5/5/5 challenge. :) Here are the categories I chose:

 

1. Cozy Mysteries - must be from five different series!

 

2. YA Dystopian Novels (Hunger Games Trilogy, 3rd Divergent Novel, and one more)

 

3. Classics (The Great Gatsby, The Sun Also Rises, Little Women, two more)

 

4. Health Related Books (can have a wide range of what falls here, still considering)

 

5. Amish Fiction (think Beverly Lewis, Wanda Brunstetter, etc. - love these and have several on the shelf!)

 

I'm also going to try the CS Lewis and Inspirational Challenges!! :)

 

 

Question: can books count for two categories? For instance, if I read "Mere Christianity" by Lewis, does that count for both the CS Lewis and the Inspirational challenges??

[Excelsior! Academy]

Thank goodness for audiobooks! I have a horrible case of the flu. Being able to hole up in my room and put on an audio allowed me to finish my first book quickly.

 

Book 1 was Shanghai Girls. Having never studied much about Chinese history I was very interested in the culture. Sisters Pearl and May (Mei) start out as wealthy, carefree girls in Shangai and end up becoming Chinese brides in America during a time when America did not encourage Chinese immigration.

 

I will have to look into Handmaid's Tale. It looks very interesting.

 

Current reads are Odessey, Don Quixote, and The Cat Who Saw Red.

[Robin M]

Can someone please link the goodreads thread??? I can't find it and need more books on my list to read and reserve at library.

 

The Goodreads Well Trained Mind group is the active thread

 

Does acquiring a free book violate my no new books until April 1st buying ban? Can someone please enable/give permission? :tongue_smilie: ETA: I have no willpower. I got it. At least it was free.

 

If it's free go for it. Even though I have a buying ban in affect, nook has free friday's and most of their books are really good. And for those who don't have a buying ban I'll be posting links to various freebies and good deals when I come across them.

 

Okay, I think I'm going to do the 5/5/5 challenge. :) Here are the categories I chose: 1. Cozy Mysteries - must be from five different series! 2. YA Dystopian Novels (Hunger Games Trilogy, 3rd Divergent Novel, and one more) 3. Classics (The Great Gatsby, The Sun Also Rises, Little Women, two more) 4. Health Related Books (can have a wide range of what falls here, still considering) 5. Amish Fiction (think Beverly Lewis, Wanda Brunstetter, etc. - love these and have several on the shelf!) I'm also going to try the CS Lewis and Inspirational Challenges!! :) Question: can books count for two categories? For instance, if I read "Mere Christianity" by Lewis, does that count for both the CS Lewis and the Inspirational challenges??

 

Yes, books can count for two categories.

 

 

 

Barnes and Noble Free Friday Book historical fiction Married in Haste by Cathy Maxwell

 

Harper's 75% off ebook deals through 1/7 - I took advantage before the end of the year. :)

 

Legendary author and Twitter maven Margaret Atwood is making a play of independence of her own. She'll be serializing a new novel called Positron serially on a site called Byliner. (via The Millions)

 

Literary Escapisms New and Update release newsletter for all things urban fantasy and paranormal.

 

Have fun!

[MomtoCandJ]

It's an iPhone app :) not sure is all libraries use it but my little library district does :) and best of all it's free!!! You can reserve books, renew them, find out when reserved ones are in and a handy list to see which books you might have to dig out from under your kids beds :) oh and use overdrive

[shanvan]

Here's my thoughts on Wuthering Heights, from when I read it a year or so ago:

 

Earlier this year I posted that I had read Jane Eyre, and that back in high school when I first read Wuthering Heights, I hated it, so my teacher had told me not to bother reading Jane Eyre. However, I really liked Jane Eyre, so I wanted to reread Wuthering Heights and see if I still hated it.I didn’t – I actually loved it! I really couldn’t put it down.Perhaps when I read it back then, I thought I was supposed to see Heathcliff as a romantic hero,but in reality he’s about one step away from being a serial killer.He doesn’t love Cathy in the true sense of the word – he’s obsessed, and the obsession leads only to hatred. The writing is good, and the characters are vivid. I also found it interesting because I wrote my MA thesis on Thomas Mann’s Dr. Faustus, which is a story told by a narrator who is one of the characters. My thesis questioned if he was a reliable narrator (most critics seemed to accept him at face value; I thought he had strong motive to not be a reliable narrator).Since Wuthering Heights is told through a narrator (the housekeeper Nelly), I wondered if she was reliable. There aren’t many stories told in this fashion. I really liked the feel of this book and the way it ended. The entire book was like a roller coaster, with steep hills to climb and then swooping down to the bottom of the drop, and then just coasting to a stop at the end, feeling like the Earnshaws and the Lintons can now heal from the malevolent presence of Heathcliff.

 

 

I agree with everything you have posted and I still would need a wad of cold hard cash as an incentive to read it again. My life is enough of a roller coaster and I detest watching (or in this case reading) a bunch of characters headed for a train wreck that I can do nothing to stop. It makes me want to scream.

[Storm Bay]

Does acquiring a free book violate my no new books until April 1st buying ban? Can someone please enable/give permission? :tongue_smilie: ETA: I have no willpower. I got it. At least it was free.

 

Agreed with the other poster who gave you permission--if it's free, you're not buying it.

[The Governess]

I finished my first book of the year! I read How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster. It started out very simplistically but got better around 60-70 pages in. Not the best book on literary analysis, but easy to read and I got a few things out of it. The author was a bit repetitive, which was annoying after a while. 3.5/5 stars.

 

Next up:

 

Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande

Outliers by Gladwell (need to finish)

 

[Mom-ninja.]

Just requested Women of the Klondike from the library :) I LOVE gold rush era/western expansion books about women. I picked up a few last time we toured western national parks---I should give those a reread!

 

Oh! I'm going to dig through my book list of previously read books. I read one about a young woman during the gold rush, and I still think of that books years later. Off to look.....

[LifeLovePassion]

I am almost done with Getting Things Done by David Allen. I am loving that I got the audio book. So easy to pop it on while doing other tasks!

[readinmom]

Finished How We Decide, Jonah Lehrer. I didn't expect it to be as "meaty" as it was. I'm waiting for Imagine to show up at the library.

[PollyOR]

I never make it very far with this challenge but I'm hoping to improve this year. ^_^

 

First book this year - Vampire Forensics. For those who are truly interested in the walking dead, I can only recommend borrowing it from the library. I didn't mind reading the history though he jumped all over the place in time, but I was greatly disturbed by descriptions of how humans torture one another (modern and ancient).

 

Next up, Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card.

[Jane in NC]

OOOH! Free today for Kindle: The Complete Sherlock Holmes

 

Book Description:

 

Thanks from my husband who downloaded this after I noted your timely alert.

 

You are a darling.

 

Jane

[Aurelia]

I'll give it a shot this year. I found out about it too late to make up lost ground last year, so we'll see how it goes.

 

I started The Mermaid Chair on my own, and am reading Little Lord Fauntleroy to DD. Since I got several gift cards to bookstores for Christmas, I've got The Kite Rider, The Hunger Games (I know, but I haven't read it), Red Sorghum, Mirror, Mirror, Cloud Atlas, Angela's Ashes, The Nibelungenlied, Galieo's Daughter, and C.S. Lewis' Poems on the shelf waiting to be read.

[SJ.]

I finished my first audiobook of the year last night. A big thank you to last year's thread which introduced me to the idea that I may enjoy audiobooks. I found listening makes chores much more pleasant. I learned very quickly that any audiobooks I choose must be fluffy and a bit mindless otherwise I can't follow along while cleaning and it makes it easier to know what is going on even after interruptions from my boys. The nice thing is my library carries audiobook playaways which are contraptions that play one audiobook. Their only drawback is that you can't skip through a track so if you miss a part you must start the track over again.

 

The book I finished was one of the Jack Reacher novels, which my dh explained to me is being made into a movie with Tom Cruise. The novel I read was The Hard Way. It was just OK and I gave it 2 stars. I think I could have enjoyed it more if I read it myself because it would have been easier to skim through certain parts. Hearing it aloud was a bit tedious because the sentences seemed short and choppy. There were also some corny parts similar to something like this, read dramatically of course - Jack Reacher. All alone. He was armed. He was dangerous. There were a few sections like that. I didn't think anything of it the first time but the subsequent times I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

 

Today I started The Great Gatsby and so far I am pleasantly surprised. I hated Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise and I was hoping The Great Gatsby wouldn't be too similar. I almost to the halfway point and I am not finding it overly exciting but I'm not hating it either. Bonus - it has been sitting on my shelf since last year waiting for me to read it.

 

2. The Hard Way, Lee Childs (Audiobook) **

1. Oryx and Crake, Margaret Atwood, Continental - Canada ****

[thessa516]

Great post! I'm one of the oldies on here ;) & what she says is true. And, here, I'll show how it's done. :tongue_smilie: I'm in the middle of Wolf Hall (loving it, actually), but it was due at the library yesterday. However, my life is a zoo for this weekend & well into next week, so I won't have much time to tackle reading. At all. So, Wolf Hall goes back to the library & I'll go back on the waitlist for it & finish it when I get it again quite a few weeks from now. In the meantime (at a vet appt. this morning), I started one of the two books I plan to read for the Canadian challenge: Women of the Klondike by Frances Backhouse. There is a short foreword by Pierre Berton (who wrote Klondike, the other book I plan to read for the Canadian challenge). The cool thing is that Berton said that he personally knew some of the women who are covered in Women of the Klondike. Makes me really look forward to reading Berton's book too! Anyway, I won't even have a finished book to post for the first week & I'm not even sure that I'll manage to finish something by the end of week two. However, I have plenty of plans, as well as being open to reading serendipity, & will be reading lots in 2013!

 

This sounds so interesting. I'm adding it to my list. Be sure to give a review when you're finished!

 

 

I just finished Escape from Camp 14. It was amazing!!!

 

Oh yeah!!! I read this one last year, too. Oh my - it was so good! C-Span did an interview with the author, just in case anyone wants to preview the book. It really opened my eyes to North Korea - it started me on some great rabbit trails.

[WiseOwlKnits]

OOOH! Free today for Kindle: The Complete Sherlock Holmes

 

Book Description:

 

 

Thanks!!!

[Trillian]

Just finished my first, Three Mile Island. It was dense and at times repetitive, but overall I enjoyed it. There were a couple of chapters of intro material, the bulk of the book was a chapter a day of the crisis, and then a couple of chapters of wrap up. What I found most fascinating was how much miscommunication could have been avoided by cell phones. I was 6 at the time; I take our current technology for granted that it's strange and sobering to read about a time when there was no cell phones, no personal computers, but nuclear power plants and rockets.

[ChrisB]

(King)...I LOVE how he writes...

 

...I've never read King because I always felt his books would creep me out too badly.

 

Have you ever tried King's The Green Mile? They made a film based on the book, but as it is in many cases, the book was much better than the film. It's been over a decade since I've read it, but I remember it being very enjoyable and not creepy. He wrote it as a serial novel and it was quite the page-turner.

[Heather in Neverland]

 

 

You don't have a library?!?!? :eek: I'm really thankful for our library system...we live in a small-ish town but I have found almost every book I've looked for. 80% of the time I would say. That would be terrible not to have a library!

 

 

No library for me here either. It is tough and I spend way too much money on kindle books but I am ever so grateful that ebooks exist!

[ChrisB]

Here's my thoughts on Wuthering Heights, from when I read it a year or so ago:

 

Earlier this year I posted that I had read Jane Eyre, and that back in high school when I first read Wuthering Heights, I hated it, so my teacher had told me not to bother reading Jane Eyre. However, I really liked Jane Eyre, so I wanted to reread Wuthering Heights and see if I still hated it.I didn’t – I actually loved it! I really couldn’t put it down.Perhaps when I read it back then, I thought I was supposed to see Heathcliff as a romantic hero,but in reality he’s about one step away from being a serial killer.He doesn’t love Cathy in the true sense of the word – he’s obsessed, and the obsession leads only to hatred. The writing is good, and the characters are vivid.

I had pretty much the same experience with Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. In high school I read both and I loved Jane and hated WH. After college I decided to reread both just to see if my tastes had changed, and have a good Jane read. I was shocked to discover that I liked Wuthering Heights and was frustrated with Jane.

[Giraffe]

No library for me here either. It is tough and I spend way too much money on kindle books but I am ever so grateful that ebooks exist!

 

 

I am grateful too. I don't know what I'd do without my Kindle - pay outrageous overweight charges on my luggage, I reckon. And when I am in the US, I appreciate my library ever so much!!!

[DaffodilDreams]

I'm reading and loving Norh and South by Elzabeth Gaskell.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

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[Storm Bay]

I had pretty much the same experience with Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. In high school I read both and I loved Jane and hated WH. After college I decided to reread both just to see if my tastes had changed, and have a good Jane read. I was shocked to discover that I liked Wuthering Heights and was frustrated with Jane.

 

I liked Wuthering Heights in high school, but won't touch it now because I'm sure I'll hate how dark Heathcliff is. I didn't mine Jane as an adult, but do have to say that I find Jane Eyre much more melodramatic than I did when in high school. As an adult, my favourite Bronte is Anne, whom I had never read until Eliana recommended her once on a different thread a few years ago. I read her books in order, which was a good idea since her second one was better written.