Book a Week in 2013 - week sixteen

[Robin M]

Good Morning, dear hearts! Today is the start of week 16 in our quest to read 52 books in 52 weeks. Welcome back to all our readers, to all those who are just joining in and to all who are following our progress. Mr. Linky is all set up on the 52 Books blog to link to your reviews. The link is below in my signature.

 

52 Books Blogs - Judge a book by its cover: A few years back, a blogger friend of mine posed a challenge to pick a book based on its cover. The catch however was not to read the synopsis or reviews or anything else that would tell you what the book is about. Pick the book, blog what you think the book is about, then read it and find out if your supposition was correct. I've actually come across some very interesting books picking a book based on its cover. So yesterday I went on Amazon and looked at the new releases and chose books by authors I've never read and whose covers and titles interested me. And the hard part was not looking at the book description. Easier said than done especially when you are as nosy as I am. Scroll down 4 messages for the photos or Click over to 52 books, check out the book covers and then let me know which one you think I should read? (I tried copying and pasting the images, but it killed my entire post.) Which one intrigues or tickles your interest. I'll read the one that receives the most votes and let you know what I think the story is about and what it ended up really being about. Join in the fun. Go to the library, bookstore or online and pick a book based on its title or cover.

 

 

 

1Q84 Readalong - Last week began our readalong of Haruki Muakami's 1Q84. What do you think so far?

 

What are you reading this week?

 

 

 

 

Link to week 15

[Robin M]

I'm currently on chapter 12 of 1Q84 and enjoying it so far. Also listening to audiobook of Patricia Briggs Silver Borne.

 

 

Finally got around to watching Blade Runner after reading Phillip Dick's Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep. Hubby and I watched the digitally remastered director's cut and thoroughly enjoyed it. Could see many of the elements from the book and changes made to make to movie a bit more dramatic. Next week we'll watch the original version and compare to director's cut. The last time either one of us watched the movie was back in the 80's so couldn't remember a lot of the movie.

[Murmer]

Finished: Charlie Bone and the Shadow by Jenny Nimmo, The Man Who Loved Jane Austen by Sally Smith O'Rourke, Daughters in My Kingdom, and Science Play by Jill Franker Hauser

 

Currently Working On:

Downstairs: Marriage and Family Relations by BYU

Upstairs: Molly Moon, Minky Minus and the Mind Machine by Georgia Byng

Kindle: The Sari Shop Widow by Shobhan Bantwal

IPhone: A Flower Blooms in Charlotte by Milam McGraw Propst

Sweet Boy Read Aloud: The Yellow Fairy Book

Angel Girl Read Aloud: The Wind In The Willows

WTM: Don Quixote

IPad: The Purple Land by W. H. Hudson (South America)

 

Total Finished in 2013: 36

[Negin]

Good morning Robin, and thank you, as always for this wonderful thread. :grouphug:

 

Bit of a slow reading week for me. I finished Tell No One and give it 3 Stars. I felt a bit nostalgic since much of the story took place where I lived during grad school. I mean, the exact same places. :)

 

 

 

MY RATING SYSTEM

5 Stars

Fantastic, couldn't put it down

4 Stars

Really Good

3 Stars

Enjoyable

2 Stars

Just Okay – nothing to write home about

1 Star

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

[Paisley Hedgehog]

.

[Robin M]

Hope this works - here they are for those who don't like to click out of the forum

 

 

[Kim in Appalachia]

I'm just about done book 2 of The Wind up Bird Chronicle, by Murakami. I read 1Q84 last year, loved it. Murakami just pulls me into his surreal world, and I can't get my head out. I read After Dark earlier this year. I may read 1 or 2 more of his books this year too. It's going to be a Le Guin and Murakami year. :)

[Lizzie in Ma]

I finished plowing through the Kitty Norville series, fun, brainless. Avoiding Nixonland, I don't care how many good reviews it had, it is a bear to read and I hate it. In the meantime, reading The Looming Tower, which is excellent so far and extremely well written.

[Diann]

I didn't get much reading done this week due to the fact I was on jury duty. However, I did manage to begin reading Dark Star, an Alan Furst novel.

 

Diann

[zillymom]

I'm just about done book 2 of The Wind up Bird Chronicle, by Murakami. I read 1Q84 last year, loved it. Murakami just pulls me into his surreal world, and I can't get my head out. I read After Dark earlier this year. I may read 1 or 2 more of his books this year too. It's going to be a Le Guin and Murakami year. :)

 

 

There's a Murakami Reading Challenge going on this year, too!

 

http://murakamichallenge.blogspot.com/

[Robin M]

Good morning Robin, and thank you, as always for this wonderful thread. :grouphug:

 

Bit of a slow reading week for me. I finished Tell No One and give it 3 Stars. I felt a bit nostalgic since much of the story took place where I lived during grad school. I mean, the exact same places. :)

 

 

 

 

Love the cover, but also like Coben. Sounds like a good book so adding to my wishlist.

 

I'm just about done book 2 of The Wind up Bird Chronicle, by Murakami. I read 1Q84 last year, loved it. Murakami just pulls me into his surreal world, and I can't get my head out. I read After Dark earlier this year. I may read 1 or 2 more of his books this year too. It's going to be a Le Guin and Murakami year. :)

 

 

Adding Wind Up to my wishlist as well. Enjoying Murakami's writing.

 

 

I finished plowing through the Kitty Norville series, fun, brainless. Avoiding Nixonland, I don't care how many good reviews it had, it is a bear to read and I hate it. In the meantime, reading The Looming Tower, which is excellent so far and extremely well written.

 

 

Yes, Kitty Norville is fun, brainless and addictive.

 

I didn't get much reading done this week due to the fact I was on jury duty. However, I did manage to begin reading Dark Star, an Alan Furst novel.

 

Diann

 

 

Think I'm in a neat cover mode. Story sounds good too so adding to my wishlist to pick up at B&N next time I'm in the store.

 

 

 

 

New Nora Roberts book coming out April 16th - Whiskey Beach. Contemporary Romance, but she is one of my go to authors for anything she writes. Thank you for amazon's pre order mode. Almost forgot about it.

[Pawz4me]

I haven't read a lot this week. The sleepies have been winning out over the desire to read. I did manage to finish (15) Simply Jesus by N. T. Wright. I believe next I'll start The Misremembered Man.

[Giraffe]

Lots of family drama, not much reading. Hoping this week is better.

[Ali in OR]

Finished two good ones this week.

 

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman is my pick for May for our book club. I enjoyed it and thought it was well-written. It takes place in Western Australia (author born and raised there) in the 1920s. A WWI veteran and his wife man the lighthouse on Janus Rock, 100 miles west of the mainland. She suffers three pregnancy losses before a boat washes ashore with a dead man and a live baby. They don't tell anyone and decide to raise the child on their own, then learn of the baby's mother on a rare visit home to the mainland and begin to face consequences of their choice.

 

Pandora's Lunchbox by Melanie Warner is newly released; I think I was the 2nd person to get the library's copy which I put on hold after hearing about it on NPR. The author is a journalist who has spent years researching what goes in to our industrial food supply. I've read a lot of the information in other sources, but found it interesting and I want to try to make a few adjustments in our eating patterns. It's scary that food manufacturers are able to put in just about any additive they want just by telling the FDA that it is "generally regarded as safe." No oversight. The best thing I got out of the book was a reference to Whole Foods list of ingredients that don't belong in food and aren't allowed in the items they sell. We don't have a Whole Foods so I had never heard of this. Here's a copy of the list I found online:

 

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/about-our-products/quality-standards/unacceptable-ingredients-food

 

Up next: I had Code Name Verity on hold at the library--can't remember when I put a hold on it, but know it must have been from a recommendation found here! Haven't started it yet.

[mlbuchina]

1Q84 Readalong - Last week began our readalong of Haruki Muakami's 1Q84. What do you think so far?

 

 

I think I am beginning to enjoy it. Now that things are starting to link together, I am becoming much more interested in how it is going to turn out. I'm still trying to get used to the matter-of-fact way he has with some subjects, but I'm carrying on!

 

 

Hope this works - here they are for those who don't like to click out of the forum

 

 

[edited to remove picture] [edited to remove picture] [edited to remove picture] [edited to remove picture]

 

None of these covers really grab me, but I like the title of The Atlantis Gene, so that's my vote!

 

 

I have put Don Quixote to the side for the moment while I read 1Q84, so I don't have any progress on it this week. We are listening to Farmer Boy in the car, and I still can't get over how much they ate!! LOL

 

The Round Up:

 

24. 1984

23. This Book is Full of Spiders

22. Little House on the Prairie

21. Evolutionism and Creationism

20. John Dies at the End

19. Much Ado About Nothing

18. Little House in the Big Woods

17. Hooked

16. Anne of the Island

15. Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen

14. Anne of Avonlea

13. Anne of Green Gables

12. The Invention of Hugo Cabret

11. The Swiss Family Robinson

10. Little Women

9. How We Get Fat

8. The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye

7. Outlander

6. The New Atkins for a New You

5. A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows

4. Liberty and Tyranny

3. Corelli's Mandolin

2. The Neverending Story

1. The Hobbit

[mlbuchina]

Lots of family drama, not much reading. Hoping this week is better.

 

 

:grouphug: Family stuff is so hard. I hope you have a better week this week!

[Just Robyn]

I have been scoring exams for Pearson, so I'm slow-reader girl right now. I've only read 100 pages of 1Q84.

 

I did manage to finish James Scott Bell's Plot and Structure, and I have a question for Robin - and anyone else who may have read that one. Have you done the exercise he suggests at the end of the book - taking a bunch of novels and, for each of them, writing every scene in the book on an index card? If yes, can you tell me about your experience with that? How long did it take you? Did you find it helpful? Do you go back to your stacks of cards for help while you're writing?

[Onceuponatime]

I just finished Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale. I like her juvenile fiction better than her adult books. I would have loved this book as a girl.

 

I'm also reading The Upside of Irrationality by Dan Ariely and still reading The God We Never Knew. I've also started on The Narrative of Gordon Pym by Poe in preparation for reading the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft (this is Antarctica for the Continental challenge.)

[Kareni]

Hope this works - here they are for those who don't like to click out of the forum

 

 

Book covers one through three all look rather chilly. I'll vote for book four, Buried, though with that title it hardly sounds cheery!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Giraffe]

I vote for Buried based on cover alone. Those eyes!

[Shawneinfl]

Well the one I would pick is The Boy from Reactor 4 so that's my vote. Actually, none of these covers intrigued me so I think I picked based on the title.

 

I finished Life of Pi which I'm glad I finally read. I am now starting into my preparation to teach Challenge A with CC next year so I'll be pre-reading some of the literature. I just started The Bronze Bow.

[Laura Corin]

This week I finished Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, which I finally decided was important rather than good. I also completed Lady Almina and the real Downton Abbey for book group - just okay. I'm finishing Seven Years in Tibet - which I laid aside when things became busy - and listening to An Honourable Man. I don't know how far I'll get with the latter - I need to listen to our choir pieces on my commute, as the concert is in two weeks.

 

1: Mr Briggs' Hat

2: Busman's Honeymoon (re-read) - Dorothy Sayers

3: Notwithstanding (re-read for book group) - Louis de Bernieres

4: Bad Pharma - Ben Goldacre

5: The Pages - Murray Bail

6: Great Tales From English History.

7: Unnatural Causes - PD James (re-read)

8: Behind the Scenes at the Museum - Kate Atkinson (re-read)

9: Jack Maggs - Peter Carey

10: Why - Everyday Answers to Scientific Questions - Joel Levy

11: Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

12: Mad World: Evelyn Waugh and the Secrets of Brideshead - Paula Byrne

13: Evelina - Frances Burney

14: To The Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf

15: Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe

16: Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey - Carnarvon

 

Laura

[mumto2]

I vote for Brothers and Bones. It looks rather Da Vinci Code like to me.

 

I am on Book 2 chapter 3 in 1Q84. It definately is not my normal choice but I think I am enjoying it. I definately am becoming very interested in what is going to happen next in the plot. I am not so sure about the mystical portions. I hope to understand these elements better at the end.

[melmichigan]

My, this year is going quickly. Anyone else reading more because of rainy, dreary weather? That always encourages me to curl up with something fun to read and a warm drink.

 

As for voting on a book cover, I downloaded The Atlantis Gene. ;)

 

 

Week 15

79. Kitty Raises Hell (Kitty Norville) by CarrieVaughn.

80. Kitty's House of Horror (Kitty Norville) by CarrieVaughn.

81. Kitty Goes to War ( Kitty Norville) by Carrie Vaughn.

82. Kitty Steals the Show (Kitty Norville) by CarrieVaughn.

83. Kitty Rocks the House (Kitty Norville) by CarrieVaughn.

84. Heart of Danger: A Ghost Ops Novel by Lisa Marie Rice.

85. Heir Untamed (Royals Book 1) by Danielle Bourdon.

86. King and Kingdom (Royals Book 2) by Danielle Bourdon.

87. Heir in Exile (Royals Book 3) by Danielle Boudon.

[Robin M]

I did manage to finish James Scott Bell's Plot and Structure, and I have a question for Robin - and anyone else who may have read that one. Have you done the exercise he suggests at the end of the book - taking a bunch of novels and, for each of them, writing every scene in the book on an index card? If yes, can you tell me about your experience with that? How long did it take you? Did you find it helpful? Do you go back to your stacks of cards for help while you're writing?

 

I haven't done that yet and really should. Various stresses threw me for a loop and haven't done any writing or craft study this year at all. Really need to get back into it. This would be the perfect way. Think I need to revisit Plot and Structure and do all the exercises again. I have my son bugging me to finish writing Green Cross, especially since I told him would write him a scene including a bikini clad fembot doing gymnastics on the beach. :lol: Plus my hubby bugging me to finish editing Eyes so he can read it. Time to quite procrastinating and get my creativity a boost.

[mumto2]

Lots of family drama, not much reading. Hoping this week is better.

 

:grouphug: I hope that next week is more peaceful!

[Jane in NC]

There is the temptation to say that Susan Howatch's novel The Devil on Lammas Night is just a weird little book. It was published in 1970 about the time Rosemary's Baby was published and the subsequent film made. Were devil worship and demonic possession literary fads of the day? The Exorcist stems from the same time period.

 

But this is Susan Howatch, a great writer and tale spinner. Her later books take on philosophical and theological themes in deep and non-subtle ways. So I was willing to stay with a story like The Devil on Lammas Night despite the satanic cult which is not my usual sort of reading. This is the book published before Penmarric and the later sweeping familial sagas that often parallel historic families and relationships (the Plantagenets or Caesar/Cleopatra/Antony). Not the best of Howatch but certainly not a bad read if you are a fan.

 

I have started reading Nature Wars by Jim Sterba, a book that comes recommended by an ecologist friend. It is an examination of how the American relationship with nature has changed leading to huge problems like over population of deer and Canada geese.

 

Thumbs up to Diann who is reading Alan Furst, an author I enjoy.

[aggieamy]

A week ago I posted that I was doing horribly on the challenges this year and then I realized that I didn't initially plan on doing this challenge but I seem to be in the thick of it anyway. I have books read from 4/6 continents. I'm going to focus on getting those last two done so I can have on successful challenge completed. :) It's pretty interesting to look and see where my interests lie. Some with Japanese Lit because I have friends that love that but mostly I love Brit Lit.

 

North America

about ten

 

South America

need to come up with something here

 

Asia

Two

 

Europe

20+

 

Australia

none yet

 

Africa

one

[BigMamaBird]

I finished Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams and it was hilarious!! I'd seen both movie versions but had never actually read the book. I didn't care for the abrupt ending and would have liked another 100 pages or so.

 

1 - All The King's Men – Robert Penn Warren

2 - A Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert Heinlein

3 - A Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

4 - Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger

5 - Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

6 - The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck

7 – Murder on the Orient Express – Agatha Christie

8 – The Illustrated Man – Ray Bradbury

9 – The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald

10 – The Hiding Place – Corrie Ten Boom

11 – The Square Foot Garden – Mel Bartholomew

12 - Catch-22- Joseph Heller

13 - Heart of Darkness- Joseph Conrad

14 - Partners in Crime - Agatha Christie

15 - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

[melmichigan]

A week ago I posted that I was doing horribly on the challenges this year and then I realized that I didn't initially plan on doing this challenge but I seem to be in the thick of it anyway. I have books read from 4/6 continents. I'm going to focus on getting those last two done so I can have on successful challenge completed. :) It's pretty interesting to look and see where my interests lie. Some with Japanese Lit because I have friends that love that but mostly I love Brit Lit.

 

North America

about ten

 

South America

need to come up with something here

 

Asia

Two

 

Europe

20+

 

Australia

none yet

 

Africa

one

 

It's funny how that happens isn't it? :)

[Lady Florida.]

I finished The Scorch Trials and am sorry I wasted my time on it. I liked The Maze Runner, but didn't love it. I thought I'd try to finally read the rest of the series. Ugh. The only reason I finished is because I was hoping some things would make sense if I read the whole book. Nope. At this point there's nothing Dashner could do with the final book that would make the things in this book make sense. This is the first time in ages that I can say I hated a book.

 

I'm currently on chapter 12 of 1Q84 and enjoying it so far.

 

I finished chapter 12 (Book 1) this afternoon, and it definitely has my interest now. I have 2 confessions.

1. I looked at pictures of Sean Connery. I don't know why Murakami decided one of his characters would be obsessed with Connery's head shape, but I can't find anything special about it. :)

2. I looked up and listened to Sinfonietta. It is good "something's happening" music.

 

I finished Tell No One and give it 3 Stars.

 

I'm working my way through the Myron Bolitar series, but haven't read any of Coben's stand-alone books. This one has been on my TBR list for a while.

 

Lots of family drama, not much reading. Hoping this week is better.

 

:grouphug: I hope things are better for you this week.

 

Anyone else reading more because of rainy, dreary weather? That always encourages me to curl up with something fun to read and a warm drink.

 

 

I love reading on rainy days. Forecasters have been promising us rain all weekend, but we barely got any clouds. The three of us each spent time reading this afternoon anyway. Rain finally is getting here, but it's just not as cozy reading on a rainy night as on a rainy afternoon.

[mumto2]

You can always read the next 4 books! Ds is working his way through them -- #2 The Restaurant at the End of the Universe received high ratings from him(and was finished in 3 days). He has slowed his pace now.........I can only assume they aren't as good.

 

I finished Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams and it was hilarious!! I'd seen both movie versions but had never actually read the book. I didn't care for the abrupt ending and would have liked another 100 pages or so.

 

1 - All The King's Men – Robert Penn Warren

2 - A Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert Heinlein

3 - A Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

4 - Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger

5 - Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

6 - The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck

7 – Murder on the Orient Express – Agatha Christie

8 – The Illustrated Man – Ray Bradbury

9 – The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald

10 – The Hiding Place – Corrie Ten Boom

11 – The Square Foot Garden – Mel Bartholomew

12 - Catch-22- Joseph Heller

13 - Heart of Darkness- Joseph Conrad

14 - Partners in Crime - Agatha Christie

15 - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

 

[MelAR05]

I just had to drop in and say with the day I have had I think the Little People may be after me. ;)

[eaglei]

Slow reading week for me as it was a busy week. Managed to finish:

 

#21 - Raney, by Clyde Edgerton. Hilarious! I loved his realistic portrayal of the characters, and Raney herself is just plain lovable with her own quirks and foibles that, of course, she doesn't see at all. Couldn't put this book down! Will definitely be seeking out more of this author's books. Any recommendations? In last week's thread, someone suggested Walking Across Egypt. The library doesn't have this one (I may check the library selections through Kindle at a later time for it).

 

#22 - For One More Day, by Mitch Albom. A typically easy reading book in style and writing. Poignant and sad. Not recommended for anyone whose recently grieving the loss of a mother . . . (Do we ever really stop missing our mothers . . . I think not . . . so it's a hard book to read in some places . . .)

 

Am currently reading three books right now - two nonfiction and one fiction, but too tired to go get them and list them tonight. Just got home from celebrating my birthday today - my birthday was actually yesterday, but, not only did I work yesterday, but it was also much more convenient and saved on traveling to go where I wanted to go today after church. Long but nice day!

[Stacia]

Had a really busy spring break week with traveling & sightseeing, so not much reading time.

 

Managed to get partway into 1Q84 & I'm really enjoying it so far. Hoping to find more reading time this week.

 

Also, need to get back to the Pink Carnation book (for my book club).

 

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

My Goodreads Page

My PaperbackSwap Page

Working on Robin's Dusty &/or Chunky Book Challenge.

Working on Robin's Continental Challenge.

Working on LostSurprise's Dewey Decimal Challenge. Complete Dewey Decimal Classification List here.

 

My rating system:

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

 

2013 Books Read:

01. Women of the Klondike by Frances Backhouse (3 stars). Challenges: Dusty; Continental – North America (Canada); Dewey Decimal – 900s.

02. Equator by Miguel Sousa Tavares (3 stars). Challenges: Dusty; Continental – Europe (Portugal) & Africa (São Tomé and Príncipe).

03. UFOs, JFK, & Elvis by Richard Belzer (2 stars). Challenge: Dewey Decimal – 000s.

04. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (4 stars). Challenge: Continental – North America (USA).

05. The Twelve Rooms of the Nile by Enid Shomer (3.5 stars). Challenge: Continental – Africa (Egypt).

06. The Hard Way by Lee Child (2 stars).

07. The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy (3 stars).

08. Daughters of Copper Woman by Anne Cameron (3.5 stars). Challenge: Continental – North America (Canada).

09. A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes (3.5 stars).

10. The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye by A.S. Byatt (4 stars).

 

11. Our Lady of Alice Bhatti by Mohammed Hanif (4 stars). Challenge: Continental – Asia (Pakistan).

12. Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr (4 stars). Challenge: Dewey Decimal – 600s.

13. The Stockholm Octavo by Karen Engelmann (4 stars). Challenge: Continental – Europe (Sweden).

14. A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif (4 stars). Challenge: Continental – Asia (Pakistan).

15. Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley (4 stars).

16. Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell (2.5 stars). Challenge: Dewey Decimal – 900s.

17. Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote (4 stars). Challenge: Continental – North America (USA).

18. Hopscotch by Julio Cortázar (3 stars). Challenges: Dusty & Chunky; Continental – South America (Argentina).

19. The Tenth Circle by Mempo Giardinelli (3 stars). Challenge: Continental – South America (Argentina).

20. Nick & Jake by Jonathan Richards and Tad Richards (3.5 stars). Challenge: Dusty.

 

21. A Funny Dirty Little War by Osvaldo Soriano (3 stars). Challenge: Continental – South America (Argentina).

22. Winter Quarters by Osvaldo Soriano (4 stars). Challenge: Continental – South America (Argentina).

23. The Fifty Year Sword by Mark Z. Danielewski (3.5 stars).

24. Wheat Belly by William Davis M.D. (2.5 stars). Challenge: Dewey Decimal – 600s.

25. Secret Societies by Kelly Knauer (2 stars). Challenge: Dewey Decimal – 300s.

[Stacia]

52 Books Blogs - Judge a book by its cover:

 

...

 

1Q84 Readalong - Last week began our readalong of Haruki Muakami's 1Q84. What do you think so far?

 

Yay. Judge a book by its cover is one of my favorites. Will have to find time to troll the library in the next week or two.

 

I'm enjoying 1Q84. Looking forward to seeing where this book is going.

 

Good morning Robin, and thank you, as always for this wonderful thread. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/grouphug.gif

 

Bit of a slow reading week for me. I finished Tell No One and give it 3 Stars. I felt a bit nostalgic since much of the story took place where I lived during grad school. I mean, the exact same places. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/smile.gif

 

Echoing Negin -- thanks, Robin!

 

Negin, how cool about visiting all your familiar places in the book. (I haven't read that book, but really enjoyed the French version of the movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0362225/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 )

 

Lots of family drama, not much reading. Hoping this week is better.

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/grouphug.gif

 

in preparation for reading the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft (this is Antarctica for the Continental challenge.)

 

Neat idea for the Antarctica book. Please post your review!

 

I'm finishing Seven Years in Tibet - which I laid aside when things became busy

 

How do you like this one?

[Stacia]

I finished chapter 12 (Book 1) this afternoon, and it definitely has my interest now. I have 2 confessions.

1. I looked at pictures of Sean Connery. I don't know why Murakami decided one of his characters would be obsessed with Connery's head shape, but I can't find anything special about it. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/smile.gif

2. I looked up and listened to Sinfonietta. It is good "something's happening" music.

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/lol.gif about number 1.

 

I've been meaning to do number 2 myself. (Just didn't have the time &/or computer access this past week to do so.) I know Murakami is a huge music fan & often includes many musical references in his books.

 

I just had to drop in and say with the day I have had I think the Little People may be after me. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/wink.gif

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/laugh.gif

[beaners]

I've been reading, but I haven't been posting or keeping track at all! Some of the recent books I've finished:

 

1491 by Charles Mann

Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

Frindle by Andrew Clements (my daughter kept pestering me to read it, haha)

Once and Future Giants by Sharon Levy

 

Things I'm reading now:

 

The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman (the writing is killing me, but the story is fascinating)

History of the Ancient World by SWB

The Last Lost World by Lydia and Stephen Pyne

some Charlotte Mason

some classical education theory

 

 

I've been reading a lot of prehistory and early history, and there are so many rabbit trails those books are leading to. I want to follow them all, but there just isn't enough time right now.

[Violet Crown]

1. I looked at pictures of Sean Connery.

No apology nor explanation ever need be made for looking at pictures of Sean Connery.

 

Lots of family drama, not much reading. Hoping this week is better.

I hear that. This week will be better.

[Violet Crown]

Finished The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It's not a full book, of course, but I've got it as part of a collection of Stevenson stories, so I'll read the rest of them before I count the book. (This is one of those lovely, crisp, cloth-bound editions I got from our library discard store.)

 

If you just stepped off the cargo transport from Mars, then CAUTION: SPOILERS!!!

 

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

 

He put the glass to his lips and drank at one gulp. A cry followed; he reeled, staggered, clutched at the table and held on, staring with injected eyes, gasping with open mouth; and as I looked there came, I thought, a change - he seemed to swell - his face became suddenly black and the features seemed to melt and alter - and the next moment I had sprung to my feet and leaped back against the wall, my arm raised to shield me from that prodigy, my mind submerged in terror.

"O God!" I screamed, and "O God!" again and again; for there before my eyes - pale and shaken, and half fainting, and groping before him with his hands, like a man restored from death - there stood Henry Jekyll!

 

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

 

Or, see the Bugs Bunny version:

http://www.supercartoons.net/cartoon/698/hyde-and-hare.html

[Robin M]

Am currently reading three books right now - two nonfiction and one fiction, but too tired to go get them and list them tonight. Just got home from celebrating my birthday today - my birthday was actually yesterday, but, not only did I work yesterday, but it was also much more convenient and saved on traveling to go where I wanted to go today after church. Long but nice day!

 

 

Happy Birthday! :hurray: :grouphug: :party: :cheers2:

[Laura Corin]

 

How do you like this one?

 

 

So far I'm enjoying Seven Years in Tibet. I visited Tibet in 1986; despite thirty-five years of Chinese control, the Tibet of the book is somewhat recognisable from my memories, so I'm enjoying piecing it together.

 

Laura

[Butter]

I'm up to 21 books I think because I finished a bunch of shot ones this week (pre-reading books my 5th grader is reading over the next few weeks of school). I finished Round Ireland With a Fridge, Call it Courage, Sing Down the Moon, and Number the Stars. Now I am reading Lord of the Flies (my 9th grader is reading that one for school right now).

[ladydusk]

I'm still working on Leonardo and the Last Supper. It is very good but I cant seem to read as much when I go to bed as late as I have been ...

[BigMamaBird]

You can always read the next 4 books! Ds is working his way through them -- #2 The Restaurant at the End of the Universe received high ratings from him(and was finished in 3 days). He has slowed his pace now.........I can only assume they aren't as good.

 

 

Oh wow! I didn't know there were more! My library is pathetic though, I doubt they'd have any of them, but I could try inter-library loan. Sounds like fun, thanks!

[Heather in Neverland]

Started Reading:

The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner (American author, DD class 900)

 

 

Still Reading:

God's Big Picture: Tracing the Story-Line of the Bible by Vaughan Roberts (British author, DD class 200)

The Conviction to Lead: 25 Principles for Leadership that Matters by Albert Mohler (American author, DD class 300)

The God Who is There: Finding Your Place in God's Story by D.A. Carson (Canadian author, DD class 200)

 

Finished:

14. Prodigy by Marie Lu (Chinese author, DD class 800)

13. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand (American author, DD class 900)

12. The Disappearing Spoon: And Other Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean (American author, DD class 500)

11. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman (American Author, DD class 600)

10. A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul Miller (American author, DD class 200)

9. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick (American author, DD class 300)

8. Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald (American author, DD class 100)

7. The Bungalow by Sarah Jio (American author, DD class 800)

6. The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen (American author, DD class 800)

5. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen (American author, DD class 800)

4. The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion by Tim Challies (Canadian author, DD class 600)

3. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton (Australian author, DD class 800)

2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (English author, DD class 800)

1. The Dark Monk: A Hangman's Daughter Tale by Oliver Potzsch (German author, DD class 800)

[Lady Florida.]

I'm adding The Outsiders to my list of currently reading. I've assigned it to ds, but it's been too long since I read it. I'll be reading it along with him, and we're going to watch the movie next week (the revised one in which Coppola added back some deleted scenes).

[Stacia]

Finished The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It's not a full book, of course, but I've got it as part of a collection of Stevenson stories, so I'll read the rest of them before I count the book. (This is one of those lovely, crisp, cloth-bound editions I got from our library discard store.)

 

If you just stepped off the cargo transport from Mars, then CAUTION: SPOILERS!!!

 

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

 

He put the glass to his lips and drank at one gulp. A cry followed; he reeled, staggered, clutched at the table and held on, staring with injected eyes, gasping with open mouth; and as I looked there came, I thought, a change - he seemed to swell - his face became suddenly black and the features seemed to melt and alter - and the next moment I had sprung to my feet and leaped back against the wall, my arm raised to shield me from that prodigy, my mind submerged in terror.

"O God!" I screamed, and "O God!" again and again; for there before my eyes - pale and shaken, and half fainting, and groping before him with his hands, like a man restored from death - there stood Henry Jekyll!

 

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

 

Or, see the Bugs Bunny version:

http://www.supercart...e-and-hare.html

 

 

I so wish I could have read Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde when it was first written (& before I knew the story). I loved it & thought it was a perfectly-written novella. Just wish I could have truly enjoyed the 'surprise' of the story.

 

LOL about Bugs Bunny. (Btw, I can't get any cartoons to show on that website. Is anyone else having that problem?)

 

 

So far I'm enjoying Seven Years in Tibet. I visited Tibet in 1986; despite thirty-five years of Chinese control, the Tibet of the book is somewhat recognisable from my memories, so I'm enjoying piecing it together.

 

 

How very neat. I have always wanted to visit Tibet (& Mongolia & Nepal).

 

I'm adding The Outsiders to my list of currently reading. I've assigned it to ds, but it's been too long since I read it. I'll be reading it along with him, and we're going to watch the movie next week (the revised one in which Coppola added back some deleted scenes).

 

 

I haven't read that book since I was a middle-schooler. But, when I was in 7th/8th grades, that was my absolute favorite book & I read it so many times, it fell to pieces (& I had to buy replacement copies a few times). I never saw the movie (partly because I was afraid it wouldn't live up to the book). I should read the book again, but I'm a little afraid I may not even like it as an adult & that would ruin my good memories of the book, kwim?

[Vida Winter]

I can't remember the ground rules - can we count long read-alouds in our book tally?

[aggieamy]

I can't remember the ground rules - can we count long read-alouds in our book tally?

 

 

Yes. Lots of us do it.