Book a Week in 2013 - week seventeen

[Kareni]

I finished The Wanderer (Thunder Point) by Robyn Carr which is the start of her new contemporary romance series.

I enjoyed it.

 

"Nestled on the Oregon coast is a small town of rocky beaches and rugged charm. Locals love the land's unspoiled beauty. Developers see it as a potential gold mine. When newcomer Hank Cooper learns he's been left an old friend's entire beachfront property, he finds himself with a community's destiny in his hands.

 

Cooper has never been a man to settle in one place, and Thunder Point was supposed to be just another quick stop. But Cooper finds himself getting involved with the town. And with Sarah Dupre, a woman as complicated as she is beautiful.

With the whole town watching for his next move, Cooper has to choose between his old life and a place full of new possibilities. A place that just might be home."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[aggieamy]

Time for a book-a-week confession. I haven't opened a book in three days. :( I'm on the last book of a series I'm loving and the book is boring and slow moving. Almost as if it were written by a different author than the previous books. I'm about 250 pages in and am ready to give up. I probably won't because I read some online reviews and many people said that the book really picks up on the last 150 pages. I gotta finish it so I can pick up something else.

[Lady Florida.]

I finished 1Q84. Meh. At least the ending did not disappoint. I don't feel like my time spent reading it was wasted. But really. Meh. I think I'm done with magical realism for a while. I've read 2 books in that genre this year, and that's more than enough for me in such a short time.

[Storm Bay]

I finished 1Q84. Meh. At least the ending did not disappoint. I don't feel like my time spent reading it was wasted. But really. Meh. I think I'm done with magical realism for a while. I've read 2 books in that genre this year, and that's more than enough for me in such a short time.

 

 

I just read a review from the NYT a few years ago that wasn't very good, but I have it here in case. I'm not much on magical realism, so I'm not sure if I'll like it or not.

[Narrow Gate Academy]

It's been a couple of weeks since I checked in last, but I have been reading. I've finished and reviewed 3 books: #15 - The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Aiken, #16 - Getting Things Done by Allen, and #17 - Captains Courageous by Kipling.

 

Aiken's book was a read aloud for my 9yob. Thanks to whoever recommended Getting Things Done, my desk is clean now and I knocked out a bunch of calls yesterday that I've been meaning to get around to doing.

 

BOOKS TO READ

still working through my stack of library books and Kindle downloads

 

BOOKS IN PROGRESS

The One Year Bible

A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Stevenson

 

BOOK COMPLETE

14. The Neverending Story by Ende

13. The Coral Island by Ballantyne

12. The Magician's Nephew by Lewis

11. The Children of Green Knowe by Boston

10. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Twain

9. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Fleming

8. Oliver Twist by Dickens

7. The Lightning Thief by Riordan

6. Children of the New Forest by Marryat

5. The Black Cauldron by Alexander

4. Anne of Avonlea by Montgomery

3. Anne of Green Gables by Montgomery

2. Talking Money by Chatzky

1. Pride and Prejudice by Austen

[Stacia]

I've finished book 2 of 1Q84.

 

One comment I have about it re: magical realism.... In this book, the characters know they are in a strange setting &/or that different/weird things are happening. In that respect, it is quite different than say, Latin American style magical realism (where strange/different things are obvious to the reader, but not to the characters in the story). So, is this book magical realism? Or something else? (Maybe surrealism?)

[Lady Florida.]

Stacia, (or anyone) what was the mystery that either takes place or begins in a bookstore? Is that the Flavia de Luce you mentioned in the other thread? I remember some of you talking about it last year, but didn't save the titles. I'm in need of a mystery now. It's been a while.

 

Editing: I'm reading the description of the de Luce book on Amazon, and that wasn't it. For some reason I think it was set in Spain.

[JennW in SoCal]

Interesting reading all your varied reactions to 1Q84. I haven't quite felt like diving into it -- guess I'm not feeling too adventurous in my reading this year.

 

I read a sweet and moving memoir last week,The Little Way of Ruthie Lemming, by Rod Dreher. At first glance it looks like it could be a sappy/sweet tear jerker as it is about his sister's battle with cancer, but it is so much more than that. The book really is about life choices, and the value in choosing to live a simple life, the importance of connections and family and all the little things that add up to make for a rich life. The author is honest about his difficult relationship with his sister and with his small home town and he is an engaging writer. He is an active blogger who I found several years ago through this board, and he and his wife homeschool their 3 kids.

 

I've just started The Geography of Bliss, by Eric Weiner and The Map That Changed the World by Simon Winchester. Anyone else see a theme here?! I've of course managed to read two more Peter Robinson mysteries. I'm almost finished with the series, though there are some short story collections to track down, too.

[Stacia]

Stacia, (or anyone) what was the mystery that either takes place or begins in a bookstore? Is that the Flavia de Luce you mentioned in the other thread? I remember some of you talking about it last year, but didn't save the titles. I'm in need of a mystery now. It's been a while.

 

Editing: I'm reading the description of the de Luce book on Amazon, and that wasn't it. For some reason I think it was set in Spain.

 

I'm guessing you mean The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. It's kind of a gothic-toned mystery set in 1940s Spain. That is actually the first of a series; I've read the first & third books. Love the writing, the story, & the Spanish setting. Sometimes the first book got a little too gothic-y for me, but it fit w/ the story. Really enjoyed the third book because it focused on one of my favorite characters (Fermin) from the first book, as well as being an homage to The Count of Monte Cristo (one of my favorite books).

 

http://www.carlosrui...o.uk/index.html

 

Also, talking about setting being a bookstore, you might also want to look into Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan.

 

http://www.robinsloan.com/penumbra/

 

Flavia is a different series, written by Alan Bradley. Those are mysteries set in 1950s England w/ a precocious 11yo Flavia as the protagonist. Flavia is an awesome character.

 

ETA: I rarely read books in a series, but the Flavia series is one of the very few series where I've read all the books (that have been released so far). Very fun. My 12yo ds is very much like me in reading tastes & I got him hooked on the Flavia books earlier this year.

[Stacia]

One other mystery book I've read in the past couple of years is a Japanese one called The Devotion of Suspect X. I thought it was interesting in the way it was written because you know at the outset who the murderer is; it is just a matter of seeing how everything plays out afterward.

 

http://www.npr.org/b...on-of-suspect-x

[zillymom]

I've finished book 2 of 1Q84.

 

One comment I have about it re: magical realism.... In this book, the characters know they are in a strange setting &/or that different/weird things are happening. In that respect, it is quite different than say, Latin American style magical realism (where strange/different things are obvious to the reader, but not to the characters in the story). So, is this book magical realism? Or something else? (Maybe surrealism?)

 

Oh, I think it's definitely surreal, too. I sort of think it doesn't fit into one category.

[Stacia]

Now for a serious question -- how are you going to "count" 1q84 on your reading lists? I had been planning to count it as 1 book for all three parts but I looked at goodreads and discovered all sorts of variations. The one that attracted me was using part 1 and 2 as one book because the cover is the copy I read. Nothing matches my part 3. Anyway how do you plan to list this chunky book on your 52 books list?

 

I have the whonking big hardback version that has all 3 books in one, so I'm planning to count it as one book on my lists. I think I could do strength-training exercises with this book too. ;)

 

Cock-a-doodle-do?

 

:smilielol5:

 

Time for a book-a-week confession. I haven't opened a book in three days. :(

 

:sad:

[Stacia]

Oh, I think it's definitely surreal, too. I sort of think it doesn't fit into one category.

 

I've always thought of him more as a surrealist than a magical realist.

 

I also agree that this book doesn't fit into just one category... surrealism, fantasy, modernized version of folk/fairytales, thriller, drama, etc....

[Lady Florida.]

I'm guessing you mean The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

 

Thank you. This is the one. I also have Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore on my library wishlist, but forgot about that one.

[MelAR05]

Last week I finished 1Q84 and read Homeschooling Our Children Unschooling Ourselves. I look forward to discussing 1Q84. This week I finished 1984 and will start Strong-Willed Child or Dreamer.

 

I thought 1984 was pretty amazing, in a scary way. What was strange was I started reading it on April 4th, the same day (April 4, 1984) Winston writes in his diary . :scared:

 

I just noticed the books I read in the same week looks pretty odd. My poor children.

 

In Process:

The Pilgrim’s Progress

 

Completed:

18.) 1984

17.) Homeschooling Our Chidren Unschooling Ourselves

16.) 1Q84

15.) The Handmaid’s Tale

14.) How to Eat a Cupcake

13.) Rome Sweet Rome

12.) Don Quixote

11.) Simplicity Parenting

10.) The Well-Educated Mind

9.) Gone Girl

8.) Last Child in the Woods

7.) East of Eden

6.) The $100 Start Up

5.) A Christmas Carol

4.) Dracula

3.) The Night Circus

2.) Switch

1.) Getting Things Done

[TN Mama]

I've been reading, but haven't been posting. I look forward to getting caught up on what everyone is reading!

 

#15 Gifted Hands - Ben Carson

#16 Why Can't I Be You - Allie Larkin

#17 Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World - Bob Goff

#18 Save Me - Lisa Scottoline

#19 A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty - Joshilyn Jackson

#20 Growing Up Amish: A Memoir - Ira Wagler

#21 Garden Spells - Sarah Addison Allen

 

Just started #22 The Storyteller - Jodi Picoult

[Just Robyn]

I've finished book 2 of 1Q84.

 

One comment I have about it re: magical realism.... In this book, the characters know they are in a strange setting &/or that different/weird things are happening. In that respect, it is quite different than say, Latin American style magical realism (where strange/different things are obvious to the reader, but not to the characters in the story). So, is this book magical realism? Or something else? (Maybe surrealism?)

 

From wikipedia:

 

 

 

and also:

 

 

 

I thought I had also previously read that European magic realism tends to stem from surrealism and Latin American magical realism tends to stem from myth and fantasy, but at this time, I can no longer find that. Maybe someone decided it was bogus and deleted it, or....

 

ETA: Okay, I found this sentence on the wikipedia page:

 

 

[Jane in NC]

I feel that I have been AWOL for a while. My life seems filled with distractions, good distractions for the most part, at least this week. Things are just getting in the way of my reading!

 

52 Books Blog - Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary: Highlighting book # 10 in SWB's list of great fiction in Well Educated Mind. Madame Bovary was Gustave's first published novel which he began writing in 1851 and worked on it for 5 years before having it published in the Paris Review in serialized form. The content was considered shocking and vulgar and Gustave, the publisher and the printer were put on trial for insulting public and religious morality. He was cleared due to the support from folks in both the political and artistic arena and the book soon became a bestseller. The story about Emma Bovary, an unhappily married woman, who indulges in a number of forbidden relationships in order to escape the emptiness of provincial life. Gustave is said to have been strongly inspired and influenced by French novelist Honore De Balzac’s writings. Click over to 52 books to read an excerpt from the first chapter.

 

 

I may not get to it until May, but I think I'll join the group reading Madame Bovary which I have not read since college. After slogging through Balzac's Droll Stories last year, revisiting Flaubert might be interesting.

 

I know I've seen some Laurie R King fans here. She's the author of the Mary Russell / Sherlock Holmes series that starts with The Beekeeper's Apprentice. BBC 4 has done a radio production of Beekeepers Apprentice, the first episode of which will be available for free streaming for the next 5 days. I listened this morning and thought it was pretty well done (and I don't usually like audio books / radio dramas).

 

Happy reading :)

 

 

I am a huge fan of BBC Radio 4 Ex! I read several volumes in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series a while ago, but lost interest. That said, I have been enjoying the radio production.

 

BBC Radio 4 Ex is also airing a dramatization of the P.D. James novel Cover Her Face for you Adam Dagleish fans.

 

I read a sweet and moving memoir last week,The Little Way of Ruthie Lemming, by Rod Dreher. At first glance it looks like it could be a sappy/sweet tear jerker as it is about his sister's battle with cancer, but it is so much more than that. The book really is about life choices, and the value in choosing to live a simple life, the importance of connections and family and all the little things that add up to make for a rich life. The author is honest about his difficult relationship with his sister and with his small home town and he is an engaging writer. He is an active blogger who I found several years ago through this board, and he and his wife homeschool their 3 kids.

 

I've just started The Geography of Bliss, by Eric Weiner and The Map That Changed the World by Simon Winchester. Anyone else see a theme here?! I've of course managed to read two more Peter Robinson mysteries. I'm almost finished with the series, though there are some short story collections to track down, too.

 

 

Jenn, I added Rod Dreher's book to my very long library list. And what are you going to do after you finish Peter Robinson? The only thing I can recommend is Peter Lovesey's Peter Diamond series set in Bath.

 

One other mystery book I've read in the past couple of years is a Japanese one called The Devotion of Suspect X. I thought it was interesting in the way it was written because you know at the outset who the murderer is; it is just a matter of seeing how everything plays out afterward.

 

http://www.npr.org/b...on-of-suspect-x

 

 

Robert van Gulik wrote a great series of mysteries set in the Ming Dynasty with detective Judge Dee. Before developing the series, he translated a Chinese novel involving the non-fictional judge. The Chinese detective novel formula always told who the murderer at the beginning. The story then follows how the wise detective discovers and entraps the transgressor--and usually gives a grisly reckoning of the punishment imposed.

[Heather in Neverland]

 

I've just started The Geography of Bliss, by Eric Weiner and The Map That Changed the World by Simon Winchester. Anyone else see a theme here?! I've of course managed to read two more Peter Robinson mysteries. I'm almost finished with the series, though there are some short story collections to track down, too.

 

I just finished "The Geography of Bliss" and I LOVED it!!! I actually miss it. I will read it again for sure.

[Jane in NC]

I am giving five stars to Jim Sterba's engaging book Nature Wars on urban sprawl and wildlife mismanagement. It is hard for most of us on the East coast to imagine a land denuded of trees--which is what things looked like here in the mid to late 19th century as most people were engaged in farming. Theodore Roosevelt was among those who began the modern conservation movement that helped regrow the Eastern forests. Then came the suburbs with turf grass, shrubs and manmade ponds for stormwater--precisely the environment enjoyed by white tailed deer, Canada geese, etc., animals with out of control populations in many communities.

 

The dynamics of wildlife biology are complex. It is impossible to isolate one population without considering the effects on another. Add to this the anthropomorphism many associate with wildlife and we have problems without commonly agreed to solutions. Sterba has researched the topic and approaches it rationally and without romance--which seems brutal at times for generations raised on Bambi. But I think that he is paving the way for new discussions that many communities must have. There are public health issues here as urban reservoirs are contaminated by geese, migratory bird populations are decimated by feral cats, and coyotes are moving in everywhere.

 

I am currently reading Leighton Gage's Blood of the Wicked, a police procedural set in Brazil. A bishop has been murdered and detective Mario Silva investigates the tension between wealthy land owners and a group involved in Liberation Theology. The Continental Challenge continues...

 

Rating system: 5 = Love; 4 = Pretty awesome; 3 = Decently good; 2 = Ok; Not bothering with 1's...

Chunksters (500+ pages) in purple.

 

Personal challenges: Old Friends, Dusty Books, Sustainability, Dorothy Dunnett, the Continental Challenge

 

1) Gillespie and I (Jane Harris) 3.5 stars

2) The Feast Nearby (Robin Mather) 3 stars--Sustainability (1)

3) The View from Castle Rock (Alice Munro) 4 stars--Dusty Book (1), Canadian author in the Continental Challenge

4) The Good Food Revolution (Will Allen with Charles Wilson) 2.5 stars--Sustainability (2)

5) Red Brick, Black Mountain, White Clay (Chris Benfey) 4 stars

6) Tom Jones (Henry Fielding) 5 stars--Old Friend (1), Dusty Book (2)**This remains one of my favorite novels of all time!**

7) Uneasy Money (P.G. Wodehouse, audio book) 3 stars

8) Wolf Hall (Hilary Mantel)--4 stars

9) A High Wind in Jamaica (Richard Hughes)--3.5 stars

10) Too Many Cooks (Rex Stout, audio book) 3.5 stars

11) Excellent Women (Barbara Pym) 4.5 stars--Old Friend (2)

12) An Awakening Heart (Barbara Dowd Wright) 3 stars--Dusty Book (3)

13) The Swerve (Stephen Greenblatt) 3.5 stars

14) Das Kapital: A Novel of Love and Money Markets (Viken Berberian) 4 stars

15) Aleph (Paulo Coelho) 1.5 stars Brazilian author in the Continental Challenge

16) Niccolo Rising (Dorothy Dunnett) 5 stars--Dorothy Dunnett personal challenge (1)

17) The Devil on Lammas Night (Susan Howatch) 3.5 stars--Dusty Book (4)

18) Nature Wars (Jim Sterba) 5 stars

[ladydusk]

I read a sweet and moving memoir last week,The Little Way of Ruthie Lemming, by Rod Dreher. At first glance it looks like it could be a sappy/sweet tear jerker as it is about his sister's battle with cancer, but it is so much more than that. The book really is about life choices, and the value in choosing to live a simple life, the importance of connections and family and all the little things that add up to make for a rich life. The author is honest about his difficult relationship with his sister and with his small home town and he is an engaging writer. He is an active blogger who I found several years ago through this board, and he and his wife homeschool their 3 kids.

 

I love his blog and am hold #2 at my library. Waiting impatiently. I've only seen glowing reviews ...

[Paisley Hedgehog]

. 

 

[aggieamy]

The Devil in Music by Kate Ross – finally finished this. I almost abandoned this book a number of times and the only reason I didn’t is because I had loved her other three books so much. I’ve decided to make a checklist of all the literary things I hate that this book included. *Warning I am going to post some very mild spoilers.*

 

Five things aggieamy hated in this book:

5. Surprise twists at the end that were never hinted at or had clues to earlier in the book

4. Love at first sight between main characters when you are never given any reason to believe that there is any “chemistryâ€

 

Example I just made up to illustrate this point:

 

“Oh I just love Lydia. She is so beautiful and personality-less. And beautiful. And has nice manners. Those two times where we’ve made boring small talk were the best moments of my life,†thinks John.

 

Lydia give John a coy smile and then flirts with someone else. “John is so handsome. I’m in love with him. I’m so glad I met him three days ago,†Lydia thinks. “I’m going to play hard to get for the next three hundred pages and flirt with other men right in front of him. The few times we do talk I will make sure it’s about nothing important or interesting.†She smiles coyly again.

 

“Sigh. Lydia has the most amazing ironic coy smile. I wonder if she loves me as much as I love her. And she’s beautiful. And mysterious.†Thinks John as he fixes his cravat.

 

Gag.

 

3. Surprising background added at the last minute to a well developed character

2. 350 pages of dialog between boring, flat characters who should be off solving a murder

1. Unreliable narrator. This was a pretty mild case of it but still made me angry when I figured it out.

 

Summary – Read her other three books but skip this one.

 

In Progress:

 

Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery (read aloud)

Eiger Dreams by Jon Krakauer

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

Dumb Witness (Poirot) by Agatha Christie (audiobook)

 

2013 finished books:

 

36. The Devil in Music by Kate Ross (**)

35. The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (****)

34. The Catholic Home: Celebrations and Traditions by Meredith Gould (***)

33. Whom the Gods Love by Kate Ross (*****)

32. The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino (***)

31. Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie (****)

30. A Broken Vessel by Kate Ross (****)

 

Amy's Rating System:

 

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

**** - Very good

*** - Enjoyable but nothing special

** - Not recommended

* - Horrible

[ladydusk]

The Devil in Music by Kate Ross – finally finished this. I almost abandoned this book a number of times and the only reason I didn’t is because I had loved her other three books so much. I’ve decided to make a checklist of all the literary things I hate that this book included. *Warning I am going to post some very mild spoilers.*

 

Five things aggieamy hated in this book:

5. Surprise twists at the end that were never hinted at or had clues to earlier in the book

4. Love at first sight between main characters when you are never given any reason to believe that there is any “chemistryâ€

 

Example I just made up to illustrate this point:

 

“Oh I just love Lydia. She is so beautiful and personality-less. And beautiful. And has nice manners. Those two times where we’ve made boring small talk were the best moments of my life,†thinks John.

 

Lydia give John a coy smile and then flirts with someone else. “John is so handsome. I’m in love with him. I’m so glad I met him three days ago,†Lydia thinks. “I’m going to play hard to get for the next three hundred pages and flirt with other men right in front of him. The few times we do talk I will make sure it’s about nothing important or interesting.†She smiles coyly again.

 

“Sigh. Lydia has the most amazing ironic coy smile. I wonder if she loves me as much as I love her. And she’s beautiful. And mysterious.†Thinks John as he fixes his cravat.

 

Gag.

 

3. Surprising background added at the last minute to a well developed character

2. 350 pages of dialog between boring, flat characters who should be off solving a murder

1. Unreliable narrator. This was a pretty mild case of it but still made me angry when I figured it out.

 

Summary – Read her other three books but skip this one.

 

You write the best negative reviews! I think you should only read bad books and tell us about them LOL Love it!

[mumto2]

 

I haven't had a chance to read the first one yet so I refuse to read this beyond the first couple of sentences! My first thought was maybe she was already ill when this one was published so trying to resolve a few things maybe? Back when you first recommended her I read a few articles and I remember one saying that there is quite a bit of foreshadowing that never wraps up. Apparently the series was planned over either 7 or 9 books. I just moved it towards the top of my pile earlier today. Of course my pile is about 20 books high so not sure what that means in terms of when it will be read. Dd is pestering me to read a few books first to see if she will like them! I am glad she wants me to before someone lectures me.

 

 

The Devil in Music by Kate Ross – finally finished this. I almost abandoned this book a number of times and the only reason I didn’t is because I had loved her other three books so much. I’ve decided to make a checklist of all the literary things I hate that this book included. *Warning I am going to post some very mild spoilers.*

 

Five things aggieamy hated in this book:

5. Surprise twists at the end that were never hinted at or had clues to earlier in the book

4. Love at first sight between main characters when you are never given any reason to believe that there is any “chemistryâ€

 

Example I just made up to illustrate this point:

 

“Oh I just love Lydia. She is so beautiful and personality-less. And beautiful. And has nice manners. Those two times where we’ve made boring small talk were the best moments of my life,†thinks John.

 

Lydia give John a coy smile and then flirts with someone else. “John is so handsome. I’m in love with him. I’m so glad I met him three days ago,†Lydia thinks. “I’m going to play hard to get for the next three hundred pages and flirt with other men right in front of him. The few times we do talk I will make sure it’s about nothing important or interesting.†She smiles coyly again.

 

“Sigh. Lydia has the most amazing ironic coy smile. I wonder if she loves me as much as I love her. And she’s beautiful. And mysterious.†Thinks John as he fixes his cravat.

 

Gag.

 

3. Surprising background added at the last minute to a well developed character

2. 350 pages of dialog between boring, flat characters who should be off solving a murder

1. Unreliable narrator. This was a pretty mild case of it but still made me angry when I figured it out.

 

Summary – Read her other three books but skip this one.

 

In Progress:

 

Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery (read aloud)

Eiger Dreams by Jon Krakauer

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

Dumb Witness (Poirot) by Agatha Christie (audiobook)

 

2013 finished books:

 

36. The Devil in Music by Kate Ross (**)

35. The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (****)

34. The Catholic Home: Celebrations and Traditions by Meredith Gould (***)

33. Whom the Gods Love by Kate Ross (*****)

32. The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino (***)

31. Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie (****)

30. A Broken Vessel by Kate Ross (****)

 

Amy's Rating System:

 

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

**** - Very good

*** - Enjoyable but nothing special

** - Not recommended

* - Horrible

[aggieamy]

double post

[aggieamy]

 

You write the best negative reviews! I think you should only read bad books and tell us about them LOL Love it!

 

Thank you Dawn! You're comment made my day. :001_wub:

[aggieamy]

I haven't had a chance to read the first one yet so I refuse to read this beyond the first couple of sentences! My first thought was maybe she was already ill when this one was published so trying to resolve a few things maybe? Back when you first recommended her I read a few articles and I remember one saying that there is quite a bit of foreshadowing that never wraps up. Apparently the series was planned over either 7 or 9 books. I just moved it towards the top of my pile earlier today. Of course my pile is about 20 books high so not sure what that means in terms of when it will be read. Dd is pestering me to read a few books first to see if she will like them! I am glad she wants me to before someone lectures me.

 

I think you're right and I'll try to comment on it without giving away anything specific. If she had been able to finish the series then she would have been able to naturally let the main character's background develop but instead it seemed like she added on a final chapter that felt like it was a brief history of him but didn't match what we already knew about him. Maybe she was planning on adding additional information in the later books that would make that information feel appropriate but right now it feels like she added the final chapter of book 7 to the end of book 4.

[JennW in SoCal]

Jenn, we seem to be sharing a brain!

 

That explains so many things, like why it seems my mind isn't all there. You! Give it back!!

 

 

I adore Simon Winchester and am surprised to have missed The Map That Changed The World.

 

I can't get over how Simon Winchester can take an obscure topic, research it thoroughly then find a compelling narrative to tell about it. And write about it so well. He studied geology at Oxford, and writes a thank you in his acknowledgement section of The Map That Changed The World to his tutor Harold Reading. He writes that Harold..

 

 

"...hammered geology into my head with the same energy that, in the field, he hammered fossils of of limestones......It is with the deepest gratitude for his wisdom, kindness and friendship, that I dedicate this book to him -- the longest of all my essays, and thirty-five years late, but well meant all the same."

 

 

 

 

 

[Lady Florida.]

For those reading 1Q84 -

 

I just took the dog out and noticed a big, bright, almost full moon. It looks like someone hung it there. My mind went right to the book. Fortunately I only saw one moon. :)

[MelAR05]

For those reading 1Q84 -

 

I just took the dog out and noticed a big, bright, almost full moon. It looks like someone hung it there. My mind went right to the book. Fortunately I only saw one moon. :)

 

I've been looking at the moon too. I keep hoping there will be more than one. ;)

[Kareni]

I just moved it towards the top of my pile earlier today. Of course my pile is about 20 books high so not sure what that means in terms of when it will be read.

 

Only 20? I must have several hundred books waiting to be read.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

For those reading 1Q84 -

 

I just took the dog out and noticed a big, bright, almost full moon. It looks like someone hung it there. My mind went right to the book. Fortunately I only saw one moon. :)

I've been looking at the moon too. I keep hoping there will be more than one. ;)

 

Go out and take a picture with your iphone or digital camera. Every time I do it, the moon has a shadow hanging around. :tongue_smilie:

[Stacia]

For those reading 1Q84 -

 

I just took the dog out and noticed a big, bright, almost full moon. It looks like someone hung it there. My mind went right to the book. Fortunately I only saw one moon. :)

 

Fortunately? Or unfortunately? ;)

 

(Yes, the moon has been really lovely these past few nights!)

[mumto2]

 

 

Only 20? I must have several hundred books waiting to be read.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Unfortunately these are just the books that I intend to read soon. Checked out of library etc. I feel guilty everytime I look at them. So many books so little time.:)

[Jane in NC]

After reading a stinker by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, I felt compelled to revisit Brazil in the Continental Challenge. Leighton Gage is American by birth but he has lived in Brazil for a couple of decades and is married to Brazilian woman. His series featuring detective Mario Silva is published by Soho Press, an imprint known for its mysteries set in international and exotic locations. Blood of the Wicked is a gritty police procedural--not for those who prefer cozy mysteries. There is corruption among governmental, police and church officials but a satisfying resolution at the end.

[Kareni]

Yesterday, I finished Wild Invitation: A Psy/Changeling Anthology by Nalini Singh; the book contains four novellas, two of which are new. I enjoyed it.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[VeganCupcake]

I finished Food in Jars and immediately bought a water bath canner. :lol: Suggestible much?

 

I'm now reading The FastDiet and I'm fasting today. See above comment. :laugh: I also started Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I also have Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes on the iPod Shuffle but I lost my place yesterday and I'm having the worst time figuring out where I was.

[Kareni]

I finished Food in Jars and immediately bought a water bath canner. :lol: Suggestible much?

 

I'm now reading The FastDiet and I'm fasting today. See above comment. :laugh: I also started Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

 

 

Have you had a cholera vaccine recently? I fear for you.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[VeganCupcake]

I finished The FastDiet yesterday and the book had some tidbits that were helpful, but overall, it was kind of a disappointment.

[zillymom]

I posted my thoughts on 1Q84 on my blog today.

 

Finished reading an advance copy of Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and The People Who Play It by David M. Ewalt (due out in August). It was part history of RPGs with a focus on D&D of course, and part memoir of the author's experiences playing them. I'm a pretty new RPG player, started playing a sci-fi one called MegaTraveller with some friends a couple years ago (we don't get to meet terribly often). So I found the book pretty fascinating, especially the evolution of this open-ended, creative type of gaming.

[Stacia]

I finished 1Q84! Murakami has written a masterpiece, I think. Zillymom, I enjoyed reading your review on your blog.

 

Let me gather my thoughts a bit & then I'll post some of my comments about it.

[Giraffe]

While all y'all have been wallowing and delving into 1Q84 and other masterpieces, I have read....

 

The Writing Road to Reading

 

Sigh......

[zillymom]

I finished 1Q84! Murakami has written a masterpiece, I think. Zillymom, I enjoyed reading your review on your blog.

 

Let me gather my thoughts a bit & then I'll post some of my comments about it.

 

Thanks, it was a really hard one to write coherently about. Everything was a huge swirl in my head. LOL

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, too!

[ladydusk]

I finished The Devil on Lammas Night by Susan Howatch. Thanks to Jane in NC for sending it to me! Jane, I did recognize it as I got into it, but was still happy to finish the story as I didn't remember all the details. It is not my favorite Howatch (actually, one of the lesser-so), but I couldn't remember if I'd read it and really wanted to read it for sure. Plus, I knew I could get through it and I'm really really behind ... I've several things in the works, but not finishing anything.

 

Book Reviews

 

1. The White Horse King: The Life of Alfred the Great by Benjamin Merkle

2. Publish and Perish by Sally S Wright

3. Pride and Predator by Sally S Wright

4. Pursuit and Persuasion by Sally S Wright

5. Out of the Ruins by Sally S Wright

6. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

7. Watches of the Night by Sally S Wright

8. Code of Silence by Sally S Wright

9. Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi

10. The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield (excellent)

11. Unnatural Death by Dorothy Sayers

12. Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kästner

13.The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy Sayers

14. The Devil on Lammas Night by Susan Howatch

[Lady Florida.]

Finished:

 

The Outsiders - I only read it because I assigned it to ds and wanted a refresher. I'm glad it was short. :tongue_smilie:

 

The Necklace Affair - A short "between the novels" book in the Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries.

[aggieamy]

I finished The Devil on Lammas Night by Susan Howatch. Thanks to Jane in NC for sending it to me! Jane, I did recognize it as I got into it, but was still happy to finish the story as I didn't remember all the details. It is not my favorite Howatch (actually, one of the lesser-so), but I couldn't remember if I'd read it and really wanted to read it for sure. Plus, I knew I could get through it and I'm really really behind ... I've several things in the works, but not finishing anything.

 

 

I've been seeing Susan Howatch's name on this board for years and now I've decided I need to read her. Dawn and Jane (and anyone else!) - What do y'all recommend for me to read out of all her books?

[mumto2]

I finished 65) Death Comes to Pemberly by PD James which I enjoyed. Good comforting read for Pride and Prejudice fans.

 

Last weekend dd and I watched "Lost in Austin" a made for TV adaption where a modern fan switches places with Elizabeth. It has been around for awhile but I have never managed to watch all four parts. Just managed the last 3 this time but saw the ending. ;) It was great for a girly day with dd and PD James was a perfect follow up.

[Lady Florida.]

I finished 65) Death Comes to Pemberly by PD James which I enjoyed. Good comforting read for Pride and Prejudice fans.

 

I have this on my Kindle, but can't seem to get into it. I'm not giving up though, and plan to try again. Sometimes I'm not in the right mood, and can get into a book later when the time is right.

 

Last weekend dd and I watched "Lost in Austin" a made for TV adaption where a modern fan switches places with Elizabeth. It has been around for awhile but I have never managed to watch all four parts. Just managed the last 3 this time but saw the ending. ;) It was great for a girly day with dd and PD James was a perfect follow up.

 

 

I love Lost in Austen. It's just plain fun. :)

[Hoot]

Finished 10th Anniversary by James Patterson today. I'm going to read the next one in the series since I already have it from the library, but then I need to move on to something else a bit more thought provoking. I can physically feel my brain disintegrating.

 

 

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

5. Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams & Mark Carwardine

6. Confessions of a Prairie Bitch by Alison Arngrim

7. Beowulf by Seamus Heaney

8. The Odyssey by Homer (Fagles translation)

9. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

10. The Year of Learning Dangerously: Adventures in Homeschooling by Quinn Cummings

11. Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson

12. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

13. Tales of an African Vet by Dr. Roy Aronson

14. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

15. The Romanovs: The Final Chapter by Robert K. Massie

16. Kisses From Katie by Katie Katie Davis

17. Iguanas for Dummies by Melissa Kaplan

18. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

19. Zoo by James Patterson

20. St. Lucy's School for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell

21. Russian Tortoises in Captivity by Jerry D. Fife

22. Leopard Geckos for Dummies by Liz Palika

23. The 8th Confession by James Patterson

24. Leopard Geckos: Caring for Your New Pet by Casey Watkins

25. The Ultimate Guide to Leopard Geckos by Phoenix Hayes Simmons

26. 9th Judgement by James Patterson

27. 10th Anniversary by James Patterson