Book a Week in 2013 - week four

[VeganCupcake]

I gave up on my first book of the year today. I was listening to In Sunlight and In Shadow and just could not continue. I am a little bit curious about the characters, but overall, the writing just is not to my taste. And the reader was a bit like listening to my dentist read me a book.

[Robin M]

Arriving late to the 2013 version of this party. As an introvert, I just needed the crowds to abate a little. *wry grin*

 

Nine books to date. Here goes:

 

â–  Life after Death (Damien Echols; 2012. 416 pages. Non-fiction.) Two decades ago, in West Memphis, Arkansas, three second-grade boys were murdered; their mutilated bodies were found on the bank of a watery ditch. About a month after the gruesome discovery, three local teens were arrested. The murders were determined to be part of a satanic ritual in which they had allegedly participated.

 

Anyone with a little legal knowledge (or a sometimes diet of "Law & Order") knows that an accused person is entitled to acquittal if, in the minds of the jury, his guilt has not been proved beyond a "reasonable doubt" — that is, if the jury lacks an abiding conviction as to the truth of the charge. That the jury in the trial of Jesse Misskelly and the trial of Damien Wayne Echols and Jason Baldwin did not doubt is both baffling and profoundly disturbing.

 

Arguably the most recognizable face of the so-called "West Memphis 3," Damien Echols received a death sentence for his crime. In Life after Death -- part memoir, part stream-of-consciousness, part self-indulgence, part horror story, part existential tract -- he describes his childhood, the days leading up to his arrest, his imprisonment, his relationship with his wife, his eventual release from prison, and life since that time. Although the writing is, at best, uneven, the narrative is compelling enough to remain through most tiresome bits.

 

My interest in the West Memphis 3 developed after seeing the documentaries Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills and Paradise Lost 2: Revelations. (Yes, Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory is on my TBW (to be watched) pile, and Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three (Mara Leveritt) has been loaded onto the Kindle.)

 

Reviews of Echols' memoir can be found here and here.

 

p. 49

My mother denied later that they treated me like this. She has a very convenient way of forgetting and rearranging the past to fit whatever view she currently wishes to promote, much like the history changers in George Orwell's 1984. She now knows very little about me, but makes up stories so as to seem closer to me that she truly is. It gains her more attention.

 

p. 60

 

 

I'm now at a point in my life where I look back on both of them [his parents] with mingled feeling of love, disgust, affection, resentment, and sometimes hatred. There's too much betrayal to ever be completely forgiven. I am not like my mother, who may argue with you one day and go back to life as usual the next. The best I can do is say that their good deeds may have softened the blow of the bad ones.

 

â–  Daddy Love (Joyce Carol Oates; 2013. 240 pages. Fiction.) The jacket copy appears to "give it all away": Chester Cash abducts five-year-old Robbie Whitcomb and runs the boy's mother down with his van as he flees the scene, leaving her for dead. But this is JCO; the jacket copy has given us nothing. Like Zombie, Daddy Love features a particularly depraved character committing horrifying acts of physical and emotional brutality, and the message is neither hopeful nor life-affirming. Still, there is much to admire here, particularly the first five chapters, which narrate a pivotal sequence of events over and over, with increasing urgency (and blame? insight? remorse?), an exercise both frustrating and mesmerizing. And the conclusion haunts: "Hi, Mom."

 

Reviews of this novel can be found here and here.

 

â–  Fatal Friends, Deadly Neighbors (Ann Rule; 2012. 544 pages. Non-fiction.) The casebook opens with two novella-length investigative reports: the disappearance of Susan Powell in 2009 and the deaths of billionaire Jonah Shacknai's son and girlfriend in 2011. Seven other cases are given chapter-length explorations.

 

â–  Don't Turn Around (Michelle Gagnon; 2012. 320 pages. Fiction.) Oh, how I wanted to love and recommend this novel. As addictive as movie theater popcorn, it went down in mindless fistfuls until I reached the bottom of the bag and wondered why I was so unsatisfied. Billed as "a teen soul mate to Lisbeth Salander," the protagonist awakens on a gurney with a healing incision on her chest and no memory of an illness or accident that would have required surgery. A sixteen-year-old hacker and victim of the foster care system, Noa flees the makeshift hospital and performs computer wizardry. And flees and performs computer wizardry. For the rest of the novel. At the 35 percent completed mark on the Kindle, the point of all of the flight and hacking remains stubbornly vague. More, the hacking descriptions are poorly executed. (See Cory Doctorow's Little Brother for an excellent example of taut computer-related suspense.) The character development is weak, the plot devices contrived.

 

But someone likes it: In a Beast interview, Gagnon reveals that Don't Turn Around is the first of a trilogy.

 

â–  Julius Caesar (William Shakespeare (1599); Folger ed. 2003. 288 pages. Drama.) How does the play weather a fourth reading? Excellently. It was wasted on my teenaged self, but it was a revelation when I taught it to my son in 2003 and again when I brought it to my daughters in 2009. The Chicago Shakespeare Theater will stage the play beginning next month, so in preparation, the Misses and I decided to revisit it. Still relevant. Still memorable. Still amazing.

 

Act I, scene ii

 

 

Would he were fatter! But I fear him not:

Yet if my name were liable to fear,

I do not know the man I should avoid

So soon as that spare Cassius. He reads much;

He is a great observer and he looks

Quite through the deeds of men: he loves no plays,

As thou dost, Antony; he hears no music;

Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort

As if he mock'd himself and scorn'd his spirit

That could be moved to smile at any thing.

Such men as he be never at heart's ease

Whiles they behold a greater than themselves,

And therefore are they very dangerous.

I rather tell thee what is to be fear'd

Than what I fear; for always I am Caesar.

Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf,

And tell me truly what thou think'st of him.

 

Act IV, scene iii

 

 

“All this� Ay, more. Fret till your proud heart break.

Go show your slaves how choleric you are

And make your bondmen tremble. Must I budge?

Must I observe you? Must I stand and crouch

Under your testy humor? By the gods,

You shall digest the venom of your spleen,

Though it do split you. For from this day forth,

I'll use you for my mirth, yea, for my laughter,

When you are waspish.

 

■ La Bohème: Black Dog Opera Library (2005. 144 pages. Libretto, history, and commentary.) To prepare for the Lyric Opera of Chicago's staging of La Bohème, the Misses and I read this entry in the Black Dog Opera Library collection. Each book in the series features a history and summary of the opera and the complete libretto in both the original language and English, as well as recording of the opera with accompanying commentary.

 

â–  Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness (Susannah Cahalan; 2012. 288 pages. Non-fiction.) This is the most frightening book I've read since Howard Dully's My Lobotomy. You'll find an excerpt at Scientific American and reviews here and here.

 

p. 43

 

 

We are, in the end, a sum of our parts, and when the body fails, all the virtues we hold dear go with it.

 

â–  The 13 Clocks (James Thurber (1950); 2008. 136 pages. Fiction.) In his lectures for the Teaching Company, Peter Saccio says of Iago that he, like "cold, agressive Duke" of Thurber's blend of fairy tale and parable, may be bad for no other reason than that is simply who and how he is.

 

p. 114

 

 

"We all have flaws," he [the Duke] said, "and mine is being wicked."

 

The reference sent the Misses and I in search of the source late last summer, but as sometimes happens, the book ended up in a TBR stack. When I came upon it this morning, however, I remembered precisely why it was there. And then I came across this:

 

p. 93

 

"I do not trust him," growled the Duke. "I like a spy that I can see. Let me have men about me that are visible."

 

Oh, how I love synchronicity / serendipity / synthesis! From Julius Caesar, Act I, scene ii:

 

 

Let me have men about me that are fat;

Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o' nights:

Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look;

He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.

 

â–  Saga, Vol. 1 (Brian K. Vaughan; 2012. 160 pages. Graphic fiction.)

The conclusion of Sweet Tooth (sad, fitting, if a bit predictable) left a graphic fiction gap for me to fill. Saga was recommended by the the elves behind that big online retailer's website. Given how much I adored Vaughan's Y: The Last Man and appreciated his Ex Machina, it's unsurprising how engrossing I found his latest effort.

____________________________

 

I haven't decided which, if any, of the challenges I will complete, although I have a gradually moving bookmark in Les Miserables (Victor Hugo), which, if completed, would satisfy both the dusty and the chunky challenges. And the Misses and I have completed 32 chapters of Moby-Dick (Herman Melville), which would also satisfy both of those challenges.

 

My key challenge this year is to continue my quest to slooooow down. Looking over the last five years, I can see that I was most successful in doing this in 2012, a reading year during which I tried to relish the book I was with, so to speak, rather than always looking ahead to the next one (or two or five).

 

Robin, as always, thank you for hosting. I've got your site in the M-mv sidebar.

 

There you are. Was just wondering where you wandered off too. My pleasure from one old woman reading to another! You make me feel special since you rarely put links in your side bar. :001_cool:

 

You've had a interesting start to the reading year. I'll have to check out Brain on Fire. I loved Michelle Gagnon's other thrillers and have Don't Turn Around but yet to read it. Hmm! Sounds like it may not be up to par with the rest of her stuff. Shame - I'll try not to go in with any preconceived notions. Happy year of reading mindfully!

[melmichigan]

You know, I haven't read any of Kim Harrison's books yet. Don't know why. Will have to take another look. Here's a few other paranormal and urban fantasy suspense romances authors to check out:

 

 

Lara Adrian - Midnight Breed series Yes!

Christine Feehan - Ghost Walkers and Sea Haven series.

Marjorie M. Lui - Dirk and Steele series

Nalini Singh - Guild hunter series

J.R. Ward - Fallen Angel Series Yes, although I have yet to finish Rapture. You can't forget the Black Dagger Brotherhood either

Laurell K. Hamilton - Anita Blake Vampire Hunter / Merry Gentry (heavy duty) Yes! The Kalayna Price Alex Craft books remind me of the Merry Gentry series to some degree

Lora Leigh - Breed series (heavy duty)

 

 

I still have Delusions in Death by J.D. Robb waiting on my Kindle, otherwise I will look at checking out these authors. The hard part will be choosing where to start. :)

 

A few more of the paranormal/fantasy urban suspense l authors I follow:

 

Kim Harrison - Hollows Series (mentioned above)

Patricia Briggs - Alpha and Omega and Mercy Thompson Series

Jeaniene Frost- Night Huntress (Cat and Bones), Night Huntress World and Night Prince novels

Jacqelyn Frank - Nightwalkers, Shadowdwellers, and The Three Worlds novels

Faith Hunter- Rogue Mage and Jane Yellowrock Series

Lynn Viehl - Darkyn, Kyndred, and Lords of the Darkyn novels

Lori Handeland - Phoenix Chronicles and Nighcreature Novels

Karina Cooper - Dark Mission Novels

 

And some of the others have been mentioned lately so they are all in one thread for reference:

 

Jennifer Ashley- Shifters

Eileen Wilks- Lupi Novels

Kelley Armstrong- Otherworld, Nadia Stafford, and Darkest Power (YA) Novels

Jennifer Estep - Elemenatal Assassin

Kalayna Price- Alex Craft Novels

 

Any others out there I should know about? ;) (I know I'm missing a few off the top of my head.)

[Just Robyn]

Just saw info about World Book Nightat the library yesterday. Anybody else participating?

 

I'm so glad you posted this! I'm not sure how long this has been going on, but I just heard about it last year. I think I had only read one of the 2012 books, so I decided not to apply. I definitely wanted to check the 2013 books though. I went ahead and applied for this year. My choices were The Handmaid's Tale, Fahrenheit 451 and The Phantom Tollbooth.

[Kareni]

Any others [paranormal/fantasy urban suspense] out there I should know about? ;) (I know I'm missing a few off the top of my head.)

 

I'll add Thea Harrison's Elder Races series which begins with Dragon Bound

 

and Ilona Andrew's Kate Daniel's and The Edge series.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

I still have Delusions in Death by J.D. Robb waiting on my Kindle, otherwise I will look at checking out these authors. The hard part will be choosing where to start. :)

 

A few more of the paranorma/fantasy urban suspense l authors I follow:

 

Kim Harrison - Hollows Series (mentioned above)

Patricia Briggs - Alpha and Omega and Mercy Thompson Series

Jeaniene Frost- Night Huntress (Cat and Bones), Night Huntress World and Night Prince novels

Jacqelyn Frank - Nightwalkers, Shadowdwellers, and The Three Worlds novels

Faith Hunter- Rogue Mage and Jane Yellowrock Series

Lynn Viehl - Darkyn, Kyndred, and Lords of the Darkyn novels

Lori Handeland - Phoenix Chronicles and Nighcreature Novels

Karina Cooper - Dark Mission Novels

 

And some of the others have been mentioned lately so they are all in one thread for reference:

 

Jennifer Ashley- Shifters

Eileen Wilks- Lupi Novels

Kelley Armstrong- Otherworld, Nadia Stafford, and Darkest Power (YA) Novels

Jennifer Estep - Elemenatal Assassin

Kalayna Price- Alex Craft Novels

 

Any others out there I should know about? ;) (I know I'm missing a few off the top of my head.)

 

Kareni "I'll add Thea Harrison's Elder Races series which begins with Dragon Bound

 

and Ilona Andrew's Kate Daniel's and The Edge series."

 

 

 

Oh - great lists. I've read Briggs, Frost, Armstrong and Estep. None of the others.

 

A few more:

 

Larissa Ione - Lords of Deliverance Series.

Diana Rowland - Demon's and Zombies

Carrie Vaughn - Kitty Norville plus other series

Charlaine Harris - Sookie Stackhouse (mild compared to all the rest)

Keri Arthur - riley Jensen series

[melmichigan]

I'll add Thea Harrison's Elder Races series which begins with Dragon Bound

 

and Ilona Andrew's Kate Daniel's and The Edge series.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Yes, I forgot Ilona Andrews. I have just started the Kate Daniels series, I downloaded Magic Bites a while ago and forgot about it, but have read all The Edge series to date.

 

I added Thea Harrison to my list. :)

[Robin M]

Just saw info about World Book Nightat the library yesterday. Anybody else participating?

 

Not participating, but an interesting group of books. Some I'm adding to my wishlist. If I were to pick one and given that they are being given to folks who generally don't read much - I'd say hit them with the classic Fahrenheit 451. I really wish could say my alternate choice would be Nora Roberts since I love her books but Montana Sky is not one of her particularly best ones - just mediocre for her. Two other picks would be Phantom Tollbooth or Good Omens.

[Violet Crown]

Sorry to have missed the first few weeks. My first book of the year, and apparently the only one I'll finish in January:

 

1. Balzac, Père Goriot.

 

He went to dress, full of the most gloomy and depressing reflections. He saw society as an ocean of mire into which one only had to dip a toe to be buried in it up to the neck. 'The only crimes committed there are petty ones!' he said to himself. 'Vautrin was a bigger man than that.' He had seen the three major manifestations of society: Obedience, Struggle, and Revolt; Family, the World, and Vautrin, and he was afraid to choose.

 

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

 

Currently reading volume 2 of Orlando Furioso. Even wilder than the first half, with a trip to the moon, to the terrestrial paradise, and to hell, which last is chiefly inhabited by women who have spurned the men who loved them - what greater crime?

 

ETA: Jane in NC - I swear I'll get on board the Fielding train, if we can just stop having family crises around here.

[PollyOR]

I think I may have hit my first "ditch" of the year. This is the second time I've attempted The Great Influenza and I can't seem to get past the first chapter.

[MomtoCandJ]

I've made to page 210 in the Great Influenza, I'm liking it but then again medical and pharmaceutical history is my thing :)

[Stacia]

Lots of Thomas Hardy books free in the Kindle store right now. Do a search for his name....

 

(Maybe lots of his works for Kindle are usually free? Not sure, but thought I'd post anyway....)

[Giraffe]

Giving How We Decide one more chance and then ditching. Can't get into it.

[Robin M]

Lots of Thomas Hardy books free in the Kindle store right now. Do a search for his name....

 

(Maybe lots of his works for Kindle are usually free? Not sure, but thought I'd post anyway....)

 

 

Cool! Picked up Return of the Native which is #13 after all on SWB's fiction list of Well Educated Mind. :)

[Stacia]

 

 

Cool! Picked up Return of the Native which is #13 after all on SWB's fiction list of Well Educated Mind. :)

 

 

Well, you know that's an extra cool book because Eustacia is one of the characters. ;) :D

[tammyw]

I can't believe it, but I'm actually sticking with it!!! I'm really, really happy to be doing this. After starting out, I decided to try and focus on a historical non-fiction theme. It's working really well, and I couldn't be happier about reading so much.

 

I just finished reading an illustrated version of Seabiscuit. I chose this because I absolutely adored Laura Hillenbrand's other book Unbroken, which I read first. Seabiscuit started out a little bit slower, but halfway through, I was completely hooked and couldn't get enough of him. I am pretty happy that I chose the illustrated version, because I am a very visual person, and it allowed me to get really attached to the people within the story, particularly Seabiscuit's jockey, Red Pollard. A very satisfying read!

 

My next book to read is Infidel. I'm sure it will be emotional, yet eye opening.

[Kareni]

Currently reading Julia Ann Walker's Black Knight series. Read the first one and broke my buying ban (gasp!) to read the other two.

 

I just read the third book in the series, Rev it Up, which I happened to have on the shelf here at home. (Incidentally, the author's first name is Julie, not Julia.) I enjoyed it and look forward to reading more in the series.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[PollyOR]

Forgot I put this (Hounded) on hold at the library. DH made a trip to the library this evening and picked up my books for me. I can't imagine what he must be thinking. Lol!
 

No, I didn't! Gosh, that cover is awful.


I'll try to ignore the boy/man who looks like a model for The Gap and keep this in mind.

[Rosie_0801]

Ah... I finished the Abhorsen series by Garth Nix, reading the last chapter aloud to my mother as she drove us home. The world was about to be DESTROYED and she interrupted because she couldn't get the car in gear! I didn't even care about the melting Tim Tams; how could I care about gear changes? :svengo: What's wrong with the woman? I must be a changeling. :svengo:

[Jane in NC]

For me, the issue with PD James isn't so much suspensefullness as the insights into some of the darker parts of the human soul and psyche. That one year of mystery reading, I read everything of hers, including her memoir, but after that year, they moved to a top shelf in the back of a closet... and even that was too much, so I got rid of them.

 

Cover Her Face (the first Adam D.) is less squicky, it isn't one of her masterpieces, but those tend to be darker, as I recall.

 

The two Cordelia books were my favorite less-squicky ones - An Unsuitable Job for a Woman is the first.

 

In her memoir, James talks briefly about the appeal of mysteries... the desire to make order out of chaos, to understand the hows and, more compellingly the whys... and her skill at exploring the 'whys' is amazing... but, except for that one year, I am not able to go there.

 

The analytic part of my brain has always enjoyed the puzzle of the mystery but P.D. James is not someone I read often. "Squicky" is a good word, Eliana. Many of her books are too dark for me!

 

I wanted to mention that the PBS Mystery/Masterpiece productions of An Unsuitable Job for a Woman are good escapes.

 

That scene leapt off the page for me this reread...

 

I hope the performance is stellar! I've seen it done so many, many different ways... completely straight with togas, etc; in the Middle East (a heart-stopping, mind-blowing production); in a wild, weird pseudo ancient Britain-esque setting (a dreadful production despite some first rate actors), and, most recently in a Japanese-ish setting which brought out aspects of the play and characters that are central, and powerful, but harder to see when done traditionally... I hope yours grabs you by the thoat and heart and offers new insights...

 

We had the pleasure of seeing a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Julius Caesar--set in a recent decade of Russia. Instead of togas the conspirators wore cheap leather jackets. A newer RSC production sets the play in Africa. Which just goes to show how adaptable and poignant the play is.

 

I must confess to a little chagrin... savoring is not where I am at right now, and I feel a little like an uncouth yokel swigging from the bottles at a high-tone wine tasting. :blushing: There are a few things I am reading slowly, studying rather than consuming, but, for the most part, I am diving in with both hands... I can blame some of that on the... edge, the urgency I've felt since I got my brain back near the end of the year (super short version: I hemorrhaged and was anemic enough I couldn't sit up unaided... and, worse, couldn't read at all for a little while. ...worse than starvation.), but my default mode is unfettered exuberance... reading without a net, immersion. I slow down when I translate, when I go back for close reading to explore a theme, or to argue a point, but, otherwise, slowing down is *painful*.... though each type of reading has its own natural-for-me pace... I read Galileo much more slowly than I do Tacitus, which is slower than Eliot, which is slower than a work of popular fiction....

Oh my! Indeed we are glad to have you back with us!

[Paisley Hedgehog]

.

[Heather in Neverland]

My next book to read is Infidel. I'm sure it will be emotional, yet eye opening.

 

 

I really, really liked that book!!

[Paisley Hedgehog]

.

[The Governess]

 

You're right, her books (all of them!) need an editor - not in the dreadfully cringeworthy way some books do, but to even things up. ...but, for me, the connection was there, and everything else, uneveness, the tidy wrap-up, the accented diversity was secondary because the protaganist was so real for me and the heart of the story... I don't know how to describe it... as if it were a bell whose chime resonated on my harmonic pathway. All her books have some moments that ring clear and true for me like that, but this one most of all.

 

...but if a story doesn't resonate like that, than its imperfections can kill a reader's engagement. And even if it has no obvious imperfections, reading something that leaves me cold is vastly unsatisfactory!

 

 

 

I completely understand what you mean about the resonating bell.... I have read many books that have given me that feeling, as if the author is speaking directly into my soul. The best sort of reading experience!

 

I actually did like the main character. I liked that she was an artist and was so good at noticing people - something that I am trying to be better at, honestly. :). I was also refreshed by the fact that even though her strength and ultimate importance in the outcome of the story was purely accidental, she stepped up to it without a huge inner monologue of self-doubt. Thank goodness for non-whiny female protagonists. :). She was a well-written character, and my favorite part of the book.

[luvnlattes]

I finished listening to Reinventing Yourself by Steve Chandler. This was the perfect book for me after being disappointed in Becoming Fearless. A lot of it discussed the self-talk that goes on in our heads. The author's premise is that you portray yourself as "a victim" or "an owner" depending on your thought life, and the impact this has on your daily life. The book is encouraging and the author has a sense of humor, so it surprised me that the reader they chose for the audio version sounded like a hypnotist trying to put you to sleep! Despite that, I enjoyed it.

 

Next I'll be listening to Overcoming Dyslexia by Dr. Sally Shaywitz.

[tammyw]

I really, really liked that book!!

 

Are you a non-fiction lover also? Always looking for more ideas, if so! Although I've been pouring over goodreads.com for recommendations with ratings over 4.0. I love that site. It's a wealth of information!

[Hoot]

This week I've started Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine, a book about the authors' expeditions to find some of the world's most endangered species.

 

 

Completed So Far

 

1. Best Friends by Samantha Glen

2. Wesley the Owl by Stacey O'Brien

3. The Gift of Pets: Stories Only a Vet Could Tell by Bruce Coston

4. Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human by Elizabeth Hess

[Mnemosyne]

Just finished Redwall, thanks to the wonderful people here who informed me it was free on the Kindle. ;)

 

3. Redwall, by Brian Jacques

2. Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie, by Andrew Carnegie

1. 4 Hour Chef, by Tim Ferriss

[laughing lioness]

Just finished Redwall, thanks to the wonderful people here who informed me it was free on the Kindle. ;)

 

3. Redwall, by Brian Jacques

2. Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie, by Andrew Carnegie

1. 4 Hour Chef, by Tim Ferriss

 

My kids never tire of Redwall.

Did you read Ferrriss' 4 Hour Body?

[Susan in TN]

I finished Catching Fire and Mockingjay, and am ready for something a more substantial but not so emotionally charged. It seems to me that last year about this time I found that Wodehouse was the kind of winter reading I needed.

 

Whoa - Redwall is free on Kindle? Hope I didn't miss it!

[Mnemosyne]

 

My kids never tire of Redwall.

Did you read Ferrriss' 4 Hour Body?

 

Yes, I got that one right when it came out. Ferriss has a very fun style of writing, I've read each of his books many times. :)

[VeganCupcake]

This week I'm trying to finish Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would be Human by Elizabeth Hess.

 

Ahh, I want to hear how you like this.

[SJ.]

I finished Oryx and Crake. I didn't like the end. At all. Grrrr...... I'm reading The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe now to talk about it with Lily. It's her mom-daughter bookclub pick this month and I haven't read it so there ya go. :)

 

What didn't you like about it? There is a sequel, The Year of the Flood, that ties up the ending a little but not much. I anticipate the story to have a more fulfilling ending in the last book of the trilogy that hasn't been released yet. I read The Year of the Flood before reading Oryx and Crake and enjoyed it. I feel like both can be read alone but read together you will find overlapping characters and greater depth to the story.

[laughing lioness]

 

Yes, I got that one right when it came out. Ferriss has a very fun style of writing, I've read each of his books many times. :)

 

 

Ferris is crazy! I like him! Are you doing it the diet?

[SJ.]

Over the last week I finished three books, one an audiobook.

 

The audiobook was Cause of Death by Patricia Cornwell. It is book 7 of a series that follows a medical examiner, Dr. Kay Scarpetta. It was decent but not great, perhaps it would have been better if I read it. It left me wondering if a medical examiner really is that involved in solving crimes.

 

The 13th Tribe was an ok book with an interesting premise. The idea behind the book is that at Mt. Sinai God cursed some of the idolaters with immortality, thus keeping them from ever being with God in heaven. This group bands together doling out their own form of justice throughout the world believing they can win God's favor. As I said I think this is an interesting premise for a book but it could have been written better. I'd recommend it for a quick read if you have nothing else to do but I don't know if I would recommend searching for it or purchasing it.

 

The Handmaid's Tale - wow, this book is powerful! I'm so glad I saw it recommended so many times here at WTM, otherwise I probably would never have read it. As I was reading I couldn't help but ask myself what I would do in the face of such injustices. Would I do anything or would I just go along with it, turning a blind eye, to protect my family? I can see how easy it could be to become complacent, to feel helpless. In the end would you really be protecting your family while tragedies unfurl around you, standing by while the world changes for the worse?

 

Another thing that struck me while reading The Handmaid's Tale were the parallels to Agenda 21. I couldn't help but wonder if Harriet Parke had read The Handmaid's Tale and been influenced by it. Perhaps there are bound to be similarities when writing about a dystopian society where the birthrate has fallen precipitously? Comparing the two my final thought is that Atwood writes with such depth and beauty that she made Parke's writing seem flat and unremarkable.

 

I am still working on Babylon: Mesopotamia And The Birth Of Civilization and have finally found a rhythm, I am 34% finished and feel like I will actually make it through the entire book. If this time period interests you I would recommend this book, it is well written in an interesting manner.

 

I am also reading Mrs Lincoln's Dressmaker. Historical fiction is not usually a genre I gravitate to but I am really enjoying it. I'll be honest that I don't know enough about the Civil War era to know how well the author is sticking to facts. Perhaps I will read more about it in the future, the main character of the book wrote a memoir that looks interesting.

 

Another book I plan to start soon is The Last Runaway, another historical fiction novel set in the same period. They were next to each other on the shelf at the library, how could I resist? :)

 

I think I'll join everyone in reading Dickens next month with A Tale of Two Cities, I have been meaning to reread it for years.

 

8. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood, Continental - Canada *****

7. The 13th Tribe, Robert Liparulo ***

6. Cause of Death, Patricia Cornwell (Audiobook) ***

5. Time Untime, Sherrilyn Kenyon * and a half

4. Agenda 21, Glenn Beck & Harriett Parke ***

3. The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald, Dusty *****

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

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

[Mnemosyne]

 

Ferris is crazy! I like him! Are you doing it the diet?

 

 

I'm not doing SC, but I'm doing Paleo (with some extra starchy carbs during pregnancy). I've been Paleo for years, and it's been very valuable and has greatly improved my health. Though, the one cheat day a week that he recommends is very tempting at times. ;)

[Just Robyn]

I finished listening to Reinventing Yourself by Steve Chandler. This was the perfect book for me after being disappointed in Becoming Fearless. A lot of it discussed the self-talk that goes on in our heads. The author's premise is that you portray yourself as "a victim" or "an owner" depending on your thought life, and the impact this has on your daily life. The book is encouraging and the author has a sense of humor, so it surprised me that the reader they chose for the audio version sounded like a hypnotist trying to put you to sleep! Despite that, I enjoyed it.

 

 

Is this like internal versus external locus of control, or different?

[Maus]

Ahhh, what did I do?! My half-done post just went away!

 

Anyway...

 

Completed:

Still working on Anna Karenina; at 81% (Thanks, eReaders for the new way to talk about progress through a book! :p )

 

Book #10 - "The Sunday Philosophy Club" by Alexander McCall Smith. First of the Isabel Dalhousie Series. Set in Edinburgh, Scotland.

 

Book #9 - "The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection" by Alexander McCall Smith. The last one in this series. Not quite as well done as the others, and a character is suddenly missing with no explanation of where he went. That does make eight books set in Africa, though.

 

 

Book #8 - "The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party" by Alexander McCall Smith.

Book #7 - "The Double Comfort Safari Club" by Alexander McCall Smith.

Book #6 - " Tea Time for the Traditionally Built" by Alexander McCall Smith.

Book #5 - "Crime and Punishment" by Fydor Dostoevsky.

Book #4 - "The Miracle of Speedy Motors" by Alexander McCall Smith.

Book #3 - "The Good Husband of Zebra Drive" by Alexander McCall Smith.

Book #2 - "Blue Shoes and Happiness" by Alexander McCall Smith.

Book #1 - "In the Company of Cheerful Ladies" by Alexander McCall Smith.

[Mom-ninja.]

I'll come back to read other posts. For now I want to subscribe and post the book I finished, The Frozen Deep by Wilkie Collins. I discovered Collins a year ago. Love his writing. One can tell that Dickens and he were friends.

[Kareni]

I just finished SEALed with a Ring by Mary Margret Daughtridge. It's a romance featuring (you guessed it!) a SEAL, and I enjoyed the story line. I'll be looking for more by this author.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[PollyOR]

I'll come back to read other posts. For now I want to subscribe and post the book I finished, The Frozen Deep by Wilkie Collins. I discovered Collins a year ago. Love his writing. One can tell that Dickens and he were friends.

 

 

Oh goodness! Another book to add to my list. How does it rate compared to The Moonstone and The Woman in White?

[mumto2]

Over the last week I finished three books, one an audiobook.

 

The audiobook was Cause of Death by Patricia Cornwell. It is book 7 of a series that follows a medical examiner, Dr. Kay Scarpetta. It was decent but not great, perhaps it would have been better if I read it. It left me wondering if a medical examiner really is that involved in solving crime.

 

 

 

Have you read the other Kay Scarpetta books or was this your first? I loved the first five or so in the series. Things went downhill rapidly from there. I still read them but more for the ongoing storyline -- I enjoyed the current one sort of. Once again this series really needs to be read in order.IMO

[SJ.]

Have you read the other Kay Scarpetta books or was this your first? I loved the first five or so in the series. Things went downhill rapidly from there. I still read them but more for the ongoing storyline -- I enjoyed the current one sort of. Once again this series really needs to be read in order.IMO

 

No, I haven't but that is good to know I should have read the others first! For audiobooks I generally browse the Playaway section and just pick anything that looks interesting.

[prairiegirl]

I finished "Emily and Einstein" by Linda Francis Lee as well as 'Appointment With Death' by Agatha Christie. I have now started Book #9--Island of the World by Michael O'Brien. It's good thing that I read a lot this month because this book is going to take me awhile to get through. It's huge!

[ladydusk]

I have now started Book #9--Island of the World by Michael O'Brien. It's good thing that I read a lot this month because this book is going to take me awhile to get through. It's huge!

 

 

You might be surprised. I read the bulk of it in a day ... everything else in the world ended ...

[Mom-ninja.]

 

I saw an ecard somewhere recently that nailed it for me: "I don't really feel like I'm forty years old until I hang out with some twenty year olds. Then I'm like ... yeah, I'm definitely forty." :lol:

 

:smilielol5: :smilielol5:

 

 

Oh goodness! Another book to add to my list. How does it rate compared to The Moonstone and The Woman in White?

 

I haven't read The Woman in White yet but it's on my list. The Frozen Deep is short and predictable after you read to a certain point. However, I like his writing and it was a romantic story. The Moonstone had me on edge the whole time.

[Robin M]

I just finished SEALed with a Ring by Mary Margret Daughtridge. It's a romance featuring (you guessed it!) a SEAL, and I enjoyed the story line. I'll be looking for more by this author. Regards, Kareni

 

I read her Sealed with a Kiss last year. It was quite good. Nice beach romance story.

[TN Mama]

Well, I abandoned Finale AND When the White House Was Ours. I rarely stop reading books, but I have so many on my TBR list that I'm not going to force myself to read something I'm just not enjoying.

 

Finale is the 4th in a series that I didn't really enjoy in the first place. I only wanted to see what happened to the characters, but I've decided that enough in enough. I did stop reading about 10 pages in.

 

I was about 40 pages deep in the other book, but 40 pages over several days? Yeah. No. So, I returned them to the library, and picked up The Violets of March by Sarah Jio and Confessions of a Prairie Bitch. Looking forward to reading both of those.

[luvnlattes]

Is this like internal versus external locus of control, or different?

 

 

Possibly. I'm not familiar with either of those terms but after Googling them, there could be some similaritites. One site I went to had this tip for developing internal locus of control:

 

 

"Phase out phrases like, ‘

I have no choice’

, and,

‘I can’t

…†You can replace them with, ‘I choose not to,’ or, ‘I don’t like my choices, but I will…’ Realizing and acknowledging that you always have choice (even if the choices aren’t ideal) can help you to change your situation, or accept it more easily if it really is the best of all available options."

 

That tip would be in agreement with things Chandler discussed in the book. He talked a lot about emotions being to tied to words. So from the above tip someone might be thinking they have a problem, and because the word problem has negative connotations, they may use internal dialogue similar to the bolded. Or they may start a dialogue about how this is just another problem in a long list of problems in their life, go through and review those past problems, and come to the conclusion that life is just one big problem. This would be what he would call "victim" thinking.

 

However, problems have solutions (if not, they're a fact of life in his opinion) and if you think of them more in that fashion, you can often come up with one or more solutions. He attributes this to the fact that your brain is like a computer and that it likes to search for answers/solutions. This would be what he calls "owner" thinking.

 

I'm probably over-simplifying some of his points but that's the idea.

[Kareni]

A few more of the paranormal/fantasy urban suspense l authors I follow:

 

...

 

Any others out there I should know about? ;) (I know I'm missing a few off the top of my head.)

 

There is also Michelle Sagara's Chronicles of Elantra series which starts with Cast in Shadow.

 

Regards,

Kareni