Book a Week in 2013 - week twenty one

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday, dear hearts! Today is the start of week 21 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 Blog - Literary Birthdays: Highlighting birthdays of several authors this week including Lorraine Vivian Hansberry who wrote Raisin in the Sun, Honore De Balzac, Dante, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to name a few. Links may be found on the blog. Consider adding one or more of these authors to your reading wishlists.

 

 

Check out five books celebrating Dante's The Divine Comedy's rich poetics.

 

 

 

 

What are you reading this week?

 

 

 

Link to week 20

[Robin M]

I'm halfway through N0S4A2 by Joe Hill. Good, good, good. Also listening to audiobook Rising Tides by Nora Roberts

[Onceuponatime]

Still working on the Murders of Richard the III by Elizabeth Peters. It's an old E. P. Mystery.

 

Update:

Finished above. Now reading Murder in the Library of Congress by Margaret Truman.

[Jane in NC]

I finished two very different books this week: Madame Bovary and The Bucolic Plague.

 

Robin gave me the nudge to reread Flaubert's classic, a book to which I was first introduced in a History of the Novel class as an undergrad. Amazing that I can remember most of the books we read that semester although I honestly don't remember what I thought about this particular one then.

 

Here is the thing about Bovary: It is easy to blame the fallen woman for her adulterous sins, but there is not a redeeming person in the novel except for perhaps some minor servants. Page after page of despicable characters can make for a slog--especially for those of us who are reading a translation and are thus not inspired directly by Flaubert's writing which is supposed to be exquisite.

 

All of us know some variation of Ms. Bovary--not necessarily the adulterous woman but someone who is never satisfied with life as it is. Bovary enters into serious debt for her bits and bobs. Neither her marriage nor her child bring her satisfaction. Nor do the affairs--after a while. There is always the need for more, for greater thrills. I suppose that I met people like this as a college student but life has certainly brought more than a few my way since then. Particularly when it comes to people who are never satisfied with their comfortable material lots.

 

Here is a glimpse into Emma's thoroughly self engrossed mind: The Bovarys travel to Rouen to see a performance of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. Madame Bovary is captivated by a singer but then it is all about Emma. She is always central stage.

 

The outraged lover brandished his naked sword: his lace ruff twitched up and down, to the heaving of his chest, and he went to the left and the right, striding out, jangling across the boards with the silver-gilt spurs on his soft boots, the kind that flare out at the ankles. There must be in him, she thought, a prodigious love, to be lavished upon the crowd in such great helpings. Her every mocking impulse vanished as the poetry of the role took possession of her, and, drawn to the man by the mirage of the character, she tried to imagine his life, that life of dazzling extraordinary splendour, the life that could have been hers, if only fate had willed it so. They would have met, they would have loved! With him, through all the kingdoms of Europe, she would have journeyed from capital to capital, sharing his weariness and his triumph, gathering the flowers thrown for him, embroidering his costumes herself; every evening, at the back of a box, behind the gold mesh screen, she would have savoured, ravenously, each effusion of the soul that was singing for her alone; from the stage, as he sang, she would be looking at her. A mad idea came to her: he was looking at her, she was sure of it.

 

Potential rabbit trail. Donizetti's opera is based on Sir Walter Scott's The Bride of Lammermoor. Has anyone read it? The only Scott novel that I have read is Ivanhoe which I enjoyed. Should Lammermoor be my next classic book?

 

The Bucolic Plague was given to me as an airplane book. It is a good distraction for a plane--lightweight content with some laugh out loud moments. But this modern memoir is not really my cuppa.

 

I plan on reading two books this week, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, which was certainly popular in these threads, and Cop to Corpse, a recent Inspector Peter Diamond mystery by Peter Lovesey that I happened to miss.

 

This list so far for 2013:

 

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

19) Blood of the Wicked (Leighton Gage) Continental Challenge (Brazil) 3.5 stars

20) A Ghost in the Machine (Catherine Graham) 3.5 stars --Dusty Book (5)

21) All Natural (Nathanael Johnson) 5 stars

22) Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert) 4 stars

23) The Bucolic Plague (Josh Kilmer-Purcell) 2..5 stars

[Jane in NC]

Another point to ponder, courtesy of Gustave Flaubert, is a comment from the small town pharmacist:

Besides, dear friend, consider by urging Madame to study, you are economizing on the future musical education of your child. Personally, I believe that mothers ought to educate their children themselves. It's one of Rousseau's ideas, still rather new perhaps, but it will triumph eventually, I'm quite sure, just like maternal breast-feeding and vaccinations.

 

(Like women of her class in her day, M. Bovary sent her child to a wet nurse.)

 

So here we are, 200 years after Rousseau, with those issues resolved! :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Murmer]

Finished: My Fairy Grandmother by Aubrey Mace, Germs, Genes, & Civilization: How Epidemics Shaped Who We Are Today by David Clark, Habits: The Mother's Secret of Success by Charlotte Mason, Smooth and Easy Days by Sonya Shafer, and The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

 

Currently Working On:

Downstairs: Marriage and Family Relations by BYU

Upstairs: A Fresh Start in Fairhaven by Sharon Downing Jarvis

Kindle: Gone to Green by Judy Christie

IPhone: A Flower Blooms in Charlotte by Milam McGraw Propst

Sweet Boy Read Aloud: The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh and the World of Christopher Robin by A. A. Milne

Angel Girl Read Aloud: The Wind In The Willows

WTM: Don Quixote

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

Personal Enrichment: 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life by Crystal Paine

 

Total Finished in 2013: 55

[mumto2]

Just finished "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn while it was certainly anything but predicable I can't honestly say I enjoyed it. Generally I love psycholigcal suspense type books but after boring me for the first 50%(It was an ebook so I kept checking) it did get interesting but not in a good way. For lack of a better description it was disturbing without being fascinating and so popular I expected fascinating.

 

If it hadn't been for the fact that I waited through an eighty some person hold list for this book I would have stopped at 20%. Which would have been fine. Well at least it definately is not easy to guess the ending of this one.

[JennW in SoCal]

Robin gave me the nudge to reread Flaubert's classic, a book to which I was first introduced in a History of the Novel class as an undergrad. Amazing that I can remember most of the books we read that semester although I honestly don't remember what I thought about this particular one then.

 

Ah, now see. I remember nothing about Madame Bovary from my college lit class except what I thought about it. I hated it! I had read Anna Karenina the previous summer and was impatient and fed up with unhappy women. Perhaps this reaction is because before I read either of those I had read Sister Carrie where the woman protagonist seemingly does what she wants with impunity while the men helplessly flounder about.

 

My list of books for the year is very light on classic literature, and this week proves no better. But it was fun reading! I did get into Hounded, the first of the Iron Druid series. As several of you wrote last week it picked up after 50-70 pages and the rest of the book was fun, well paced and action packed. I wonder if the author's work as a comic book writer helped in his pacing of the story. They have to write with an eye towards how the story will break down visually, and I certainly felt like I could see what was happening. I very often find my eyes glazing over during the final epic battle in most fantasy novels, and that didn't happen with this one. Don't know if I feel compelled to get the next books in the series right away, but will certainly turn to them when I want a beach read or airplane book. *

 

I haven't quite finished Bitch in a Bonnet simply because the last Austen book he covers is Mansfield Par, and well, yuck! I find myself instead switching to What Matters in Jane Austen by John Mullan. (Both titles are on my iPad). Mullan devotes each of 20 chapters to a topic such as money, servants and the seaside and gives some historical and cultural context to what we read in all the books and often miss with our 21st century perspective.

 

*ETA I was just reading the author's biography on his website, and he is NOT a comic book writer, but a huge fan and collector of comics. Visual storytelling really has permeated his consciousness, though!

[eaglei]

Wow! You all are doing heavy reading! So here's the *reading-lite* entry! :D

 

This week I finished:

 

#27 - Tish, by Mary Roberts Rinehart. I always thought this author was strictly a mystery writer, but not so. This book is about the (mis)adventures of three *older* (for that time in history) single women who are close friends. Delightful! Funny! Entertaining! And yes, somewhat predictable. Tish, the acknowledged and fearless leader, can be exasperating at times since she is always *right*, but Aggie and Lizzie provide charming balance. Published in 1916, common thought and vocabulary of that day are to be expected; it's definitely not politically correct!

 

Currently reading:

 

#28 - The Church Ladies, by Lisa E. Samson. Christian fiction. If the opening four lines are any indication, this should be realistically funny with a few *ouches* tossed in! Here's the opening:

 

"Many mornings I awaken thinking how much easier the men have it. Their Monday through Friday rolls by on well-worn ruts in a convoy of monosyllabic tasks. Wake, eat, work, eat, work, eat, sleep. Saturdays pass much the same with an extra 'sleep' included in the afternoon."

[Stacia]

You know when you have those kind of weeks where there's just a bunch of stuff going on & it gets in the way of your reading? Well, that's the kind of week I seem to be having lately.

 

So, I'm still working on:

 

Absalom, Absalom by William Faulkner

 

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

 

The Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose

[melmichigan]

I cheated this week. I skipped three books from the Virgin River series and went right to the ending. Gotta love those Riordan brothers! Can you tell I'm partial to men in the armed forces. ;) I imagine I'll go back and finish out the series sometime this week. I also have to go back and finish the latest J.R. Ward The Fall Angels series.

 

Week 20

Running on Empty by L.B. Simmons.

Promise Canyon (Virgin River) by Robyn Carr.

Wild Man Creek (Virgin River) by Robyn Carr.

Harvest Moon (Virgin River) by Robyn Carr.

Bring Me Home for Christmas (Virgin River) by Robyn Carr.

Vittorio' Lover by Kimberley Reeves.

My Kind of Christmas (Virgin River) by Robyn Carr.

[Rosie_0801]

I finished reading The Family Conspiracy by Joan Phipson to the kidlets last night. :)

[Diann]

I'm working on the A Song of Fire And Ice series; I finished the first book and have started on the second. These books are long, and I haven't had much reading time lately, so it's slow going. However, when I do get time to read, it's enjoyable.

 

Diann

[Robin M]

Well, I guess I was more than half way through N0S4A2. I finished it a few minutes ago, despite the many interruptions from my guys. Psychological thriller/horrorish which was intense, scary, icky, action packed with really disturbing characters. Unputdownable, even though it made me squeamish at time.

[PaulainTx]

I've finished:

 

Supremes at Ed's All You Can Eat by Edward Kelsey Moore

Stretch Marks: A Novel by Kimberly Stuart

Ready or Not by Chautona Havig

Let Them Eat Cake by Sandra Byrd

No Regrets by Alexandra Swann

Looking Backward by Joyce Swann

 

Total so far: 64

[Ali in OR]

Finished Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers and enjoyed it very much. I think I would get even more out of her books if I had had a classical education. I can sometimes make out some of the Latin phrases she throws in. The letters in French and French song lyrics I don't understand much at all! But I do feel smarter just reading her books. I have another Lord Peter Wimsey book from the library, but I suspect I've read it before, so not really sure what I'll be reading this week.

[Tullia]

I'll be continuing to re-read The Silmarillion and follow up with i-Tunes U podcasts.

[Stacia]

Hey, has anyone on here seen The Great Gatsby movie yet?

 

I went to see it tonight. I both liked it & didn't like it. (The book is better.) Overall, I thought the acting was well-done & really solid; great job by the actors. A couple of scenes were really great (Gatsby fixing up Nick's house in prep of meeting Daisy again; the scene where Tom & Gatsby square off over Daisy -- Joel Edgerton & Leonardo DiCaprio played off each other beautifully in that scene). Carey Mulligan did well, but I feel like she wasn't the right choice for the role. Maybe she was too plain? It was a little hard to believe that all of Gatsby's aspirations & works would have been focused on her. She just wasn't the grandiose southern belle like I think she should have/would have been.

 

Liked some of the way the story was portrayed, yet there were other things that were not done so well &/or they bugged me (like Gatsby standing on the end of his pier physically reaching toward the green light -- that was overkill, imo; didn't like the look of the industrial area of town & the way that most every character from that section looked dirty all the time; didn't like that Nick was institutionalized while telling his story). The sets & costuming were over-the-top (to be expected) in places, too garish in others, & some obviously CGI-effects were distracting (hazy at the edges -- I suppose it's to give an edge of unreality to the scene). I went w/ my mom & a friend of mine (who works in film & tv, so it's always fun to get her take on movies because she notices the really tiny details like scene cuts & of course the CGI effects, lol... which she didn't care for either).

 

Funnily enough, my teenaged nephew had seen it & was also on the fence -- thought it was so-so. His biggest complaint, though, seemed to be the rap music (& he loves rap). I thought I would find the music distracting, but I found that part to be perfectly ok for the movie (& so did my mom & friend). Funny that the 'modern' music in parts bothered the teen, but not us old(er) folks. :lol:

 

 

So, I guess I'm on the fence on this one. Parts were great. Other parts were not. I'm glad I saw it, but I think the book is much better.

[mlbuchina]

I finally finished reading 1Q84. I find that I liked it, but thought that the ending was so simplistic compared to the build up of the rest of the book. Also, there were a lot of unanswered questions. Makes me almost wish for a Book 4.

 

I am about half way through Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion. This is turning out to be a very quick read, and I am enjoying it immensely. I really want to see the movie, too. It looks like it will be cute.

 

We are listening to These Happy Golden Years, and I am going to be so sad when we have finished listening to all the Little House books. :( I have discovered that Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote a lot of nonfiction things, as well, and am looking forward to reading those, too.

 

The Round Up:

 

34. Little Town on the Prairie

33. 1Q84

32. The Long Winter

31. Amglish, in Like, Ten Easy Lessons: A Celebration of the New World Lingo

30. The Call of the Wild

29. By the Shores of Silver Lake

28. Pippi Longstocking

27. On the Banks of Plum Creek

26. Hiroshima

25. Farmer Boy

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

[Jane in NC]

Hey, has anyone on here seen The Great Gatsby movie yet?

 

I have been on the fence about going! Given that I love the novel and thought that Redford was good in the title role of the '70's film, I have my doubts. Doubts not only because of the remake in general but why 3-D?? The frenzy of 3-D films in which the technology serves more as a distraction than a device to improve the story telling has just annoyed me.

 

Perhaps one of these rainy afternoons I'll surprise myself and just go see it!

[twoplustrips]

:party: I am halfway done! Just finished book 26 this weekend! Here's the list for the year:

 

26. The Sacred Way by Tony Jones

25. Beyond Belief by Jenna Miscavige HIll

24. The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin

23. Life Unworthy of Life by Derek Elkins

22. Hostage by Nancy Mankins

21. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

20. The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

19. Forgotten Country by Catherine Chung

18. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

17. Animal Farm by George Orwell

16. Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

15. Scarlet Feather by Meave Binchy

14. The Aviator’s Wife by Melanie Benjamin

13. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

12. The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn

11. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

10. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

9. Hind’s Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard

8. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

7. The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian

6. The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe

5. No Easy Day by Mark Owen

4. The Blind Contessa’s New Machine by Carey Wallace

3. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

2. This isn’t What it Looks Like by Pseudonymous Bosch

1. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

 

My favorite so far was The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton.

 

I just started The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani yesterday. Not sure what to expect there. Anyone read it?

 

Kathy

[Just Robyn]

Having laptop issues, so I will keep it short. After finishing Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, I read Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes by an anonymous author and A Coney Island of the Mind by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. I am currently reading Hamlet.

[Jane in NC]

:party: I am halfway done! Just finished book 26 this weekend! Here's the list for the year:

 

 

 

3. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

 

 

Congrats for reaching the halfway mark!

 

What did you think of Barbery's book? Wondering if it might satisfy my next inner Francophile craving...

[Heather in Neverland]

Started Reading:

The Infernal Devices #3: The Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare (American author, DD class 800)

 

 

Still Reading:

Having Hard Conversations by Jennifer Abrams (American author, DD class 300)

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:

21. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (American author, DD class 800)

20. Why Revival Tarries by Leonard Ravenhill (British author, DD class 200)

19. The Infernal Devices #2: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare (American author, DD class 800)

18. The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (American author, DD class 800)

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

16.The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag: A Flavia de Luce Mystery by Alan Bradley (Canadian Author, DD Class 800)

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

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)

[Butter]

I've finished, I think, 27 books now. I finished reading A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes by Annette Funicello. She was amazing. So sweet. She didn't have an unkind word to say about anyone, not even her ex-husband. If someone hadn't been nice to her or she didn't get along with them, she always had a reason and it certainly wasn't their fault. I read Cybill Disobedience by Cybill Shepherd earlier in the year and those two books are in such contrast to each other. As nice and sweet Annette was, Cybill was nasty and conniving (and rather proud of it). The world lost a special lady last month when Annette died.

 

Now I'm reading Witch, a true crime book. We're in the middle of moving so I'm not reading anything taxing right now lol

[Stacia]

The frenzy of 3-D films in which the technology serves more as a distraction than a device to improve the story telling has just annoyed me.

 

I agree that it's a distraction. Realistically, I think 3D is the rage among movie-making companies because they then charge more per ticket -- a clever way to increase box office take. I don't like most 3D movies, plus they usually give me headaches. So, being cheap, not fond of headaches, & anti-3D in general, I always choose to see the 2D version (which is what I did w/ Gatsby).

[Stacia]

Sounds like a fun contest to win an autographed copy of Kevin Hearne's Hunted:

 

Still Life with Beer & Book

 

:D

[JennW in SoCal]

I wasn't going to see Gatsby until I read this essay in a recent edition of the Los Angeles Times, "Accepting Gatsby on its own terms". The writer's main point is nicely summed up in this paragraph:

 

This latest cinematic crack at "Gatsby" certainly gives us much to criticize, but the way in which reviewers have impatiently dismissed the film, adopting the tone of aggrieved consumers sold a phony bill of goods, is disappointing. Blinded by the superficial glitz of the movie, they have given short shrift to the depth of engagement with the novel that informs even the bad choices Luhrmann has made with his screenwriting collaborator, Craig Pearce.

 

 

Not that I've gone to see it yet. Family priorities being what they are, we had to see Iron Man and Star Trek first :D

[twoplustrips]

Congrats for reaching the halfway mark!

 

What did you think of Barbery's book? Wondering if it might satisfy my next inner Francophile craving...

 

 

I really enjoyed The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I read it because I had seen others here were reading it, so I'm sure there are others who can chime in, too. I gave it 4 of 5 stars. I loved the challenging vocabulary - I like I book that you need to pay attention, look up words, etc. So, for me, I actually read the book and the e-book on my Kindle at the same time so I could easily look up words, yet still spend most of my time with the lovely feel of a book in my hands :001_smile: The book also made me realize that I know nothing of the study of philosophy...oh, how I long for the days when I can study whatever topic strikes my fancy - but now, off to chase the 5 kids!

 

Kathy V.

[Mom-ninja.]

Finished Mating in Captivity

 

Still working on Dracula. At this point it's dragging.

[Kim in Appalachia]

I finished Wool Omnibus this week. It was a good story, but I thought the ending was too hopeful. :laugh: The whole book was this great dystopia, then such an upbeat ending. The writing was good, not excellent, just good, but the story was very engaging. I haven't decided what I'm going to read next. Probably either something by Le Guin or Anderson.

[Stacia]

What did you think of Barbery's book? Wondering if it might satisfy my next inner Francophile craving...

 

Well, you weren't asking me, but I'll post my opinion too, lol. I love Europa's books, but I didn't love this one. In fact, I loved it so little that I didn't even finish it. The characters just didn't engage me & I wasn't willing to put in the effort to see if I actually liked them later, so I gave up on it. I think I read about 1/3 of the way before stopping.

 

I wasn't going to see Gatsby until I read this essay in a recent addition of the Los Angeles Times, "Accepting Gatsby on its own terms". The writer's main point is nicely summed up in this paragraph:

 

This latest cinematic crack at "Gatsby" certainly gives us much to criticize, but the way in which reviewers have impatiently dismissed the film, adopting the tone of aggrieved consumers sold a phony bill of goods, is disappointing. Blinded by the superficial glitz of the movie, they have given short shrift to the depth of engagement with the novel that informs even the bad choices Luhrmann has made with his screenwriting collaborator, Craig Pearce.

 

 

Not that I've gone to see it yet. Family priorities being what they are, we had to see Iron Man and Star Trek first :D

 

Thanks for the link. I'd agree w/ much of what he said. I have no problem w/ movies adapting books (I love books AND I love movies too). Imo, there was good & bad in this movie, but that's personal preference. I like/agree with this quote from the article:

 

Beyond DiCaprio's Gatsby, the standout performance in the film is Edgerton's Tom, the gruff incarnation of aristocratic masculinity. Mulligan has been faulted for being a little too earthbound for ethereal Daisy, but of course her idealization exists principally in Gatsby's mind.

 

What both Edgerton and Mulligan bring to their roles, particularly in the climactic scene at the Plaza Hotel, where Gatsby confronts Tom with the news of his rekindled love affair with Daisy, is a lucidity into the way the weaknesses of their "careless" characters interact with their class privilege. Here the psychology of Fitzgerald's plot is granularly delineated.

 

LOL about your family priorities. What did you think of Iron Man & Star Trek? We saw Iron Man this weekend too & I thoroughly enjoyed it. (I was expecting not to because I loved the first one, really disliked the second one, & thought The Avengers was boring.) This was a fun return to the meat & fun of the series, imo. Ben Kingsley was awesome -- you know what I mean. We were trying to get to Star Trek, but didn't make it. Need to see it this week!

[luvnlattes]

I finished Mudbound by Hillary Jordan. I really liked this book. It's one of my favorites so far this year.

 

I'm currently reading The Round House by Louise Erdrich and listening to The Virgin Diet by JJ Virgin.

[Guest]

I finished a book called Healing your Church Hurt. While there were a few highlight-worthy lines in it, it didn't hit me where I needed it to; I found it's scope a bit narrow. And then I didn't agree with all the theology, so that was really what ruined it for me. But, no loss, I received a free copy of it.

 

I can't wait to see Gatsby!

[Mom-ninja.]

Germs, Genes, & Civilization: How Epidemics Shaped Who We Are Today by David Clark,

 

This looks interesting.

 

 

As for the movie Great Gatsby it'll be awhile before I see it. We always wait until the movie is out on dvd and watch at home. I've found I don't like going to movie theaters anymore. It's too loud, too cold, too sticky, people who insist on talking during the movie, and too expensive. I like being able to cuddle on my couch with my blanket and hot tea. :lol:

[Stacia]

As for the movie Great Gatsby it'll be awhile before I see it. We always wait until the movie is out on dvd and watch at home. I've found I don't like going to movie theaters anymore. It's too loud, too cold, too sticky, people who insist on talking during the movie, and too expensive. I like being able to cuddle on my couch with my blanket and hot tea. :lol:

 

 

If I wait for the dvd, I'll never see it, lol. (I rarely watch anything on tv, even dvds.)

 

In spite of the loudness, the coldness, the stickiness, & the other people (who bug me w/ their texting screens), I love the theater experience -- the big screen, the big sound, the big audience, & the experience of the whole audience reaction to things. So, in that way, I even like fairly crowded theaters, just for the reaction vibe. As an example, we saw The Wedding Crashers in a packed theater & that was so funny because everyone was laughing hysterically. I saw Wayne's World in a theater packed w/ teen guys & that somehow perfected the movie, I think. I still remember seeing M. Night Shyamalan's The Village; there was a big/tough/scary looking dude sitting down the row from me. At one point, that guy jumped about a foot out of his chair & yelled out loud in surprise. :smilielol5: I thought it was funny & it made me even more impressed w/ the shock/surprise of the scene because if it could scare that guy, Shyamalan should feel pretty proud of himself -- if you can draw your audience in that much, that's great storytelling, imo. LOL.

[Outdoorsy Type]

I finished Wool Omnibus this week. It was a good story, but I thought the ending was too hopeful. :laugh: The whole book was this great dystopia, then such an upbeat ending. The writing was good, not excellent, just good, but the story was very engaging.

 

The story continues in the next installment, Shift. There are three in that set, and they finish telling the backstory of the Silos. There is going to be one last book to complete the series, but I don't remember the name, or when it will be published. I have enjoyed the series. They are interesting and quick reading.

[Jane in NC]

I agree that it's a distraction. Realistically, I think 3D is the rage among movie-making companies because they then charge more per ticket -- a clever way to increase box office take. I don't like most 3D movies, plus they usually give me headaches. So, being cheap, not fond of headaches, & anti-3D in general, I always choose to see the 2D version (which is what I did w/ Gatsby).

 

 

Thanks for the reminder that 2D still exists! I checked my local theater and noted that there is one 2-D showing daily!

I wasn't going to see Gatsby until I read this essay in a recent addition of the Los Angeles Times, "Accepting Gatsby on its own terms". The writer's main point is nicely summed up in this paragraph:

 

 

This latest cinematic crack at "Gatsby" certainly gives us much to criticize, but the way in which reviewers have impatiently dismissed the film, adopting the tone of aggrieved consumers sold a phony bill of goods, is disappointing. Blinded by the superficial glitz of the movie, they have given short shrift to the depth of engagement with the novel that informs even the bad choices Luhrmann has made with his screenwriting collaborator, Craig Pearce.

 

 

Not that I've gone to see it yet. Family priorities being what they are, we had to see Iron Man and Star Trek first :D

 

 

Interesting essay. Thanks for the link.

 

College Boy went off to see Star Trek with friends. Between his comments, the NPR review, etc., I think there is only one reason to go: Benedict Cumberbatch.

 

Susan tweeted a link to an article in Atlantic on the death of Chick Lit and the rise of Farm Lit.

 

http://www.theatlant...arm-lit/275643/

[Jane in NC]

Well, you weren't asking me, but I'll post my opinion too, lol. I love Europa's books, but I didn't love this one. In fact, I loved it so little that I didn't even finish it. The characters just didn't engage me & I wasn't willing to put in the effort to see if I actually liked them later, so I gave up on it. I think I read about 1/3 of the way before stopping.

 

 

Quite the statement, Stacia!

 

One of the libraries I visit has a bunch of copies since a reading group is or has discussed the book. This will give me a chance to at least do a thumb through.

[Stacia]

Quite the statement, Stacia!

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/lol.gif Well, you know me....

 

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

 

P.S. (Don't let me put you off the book. I know many loved it. Perhaps you will too. I was just giving my ornery, opinionated book review. LOL.)

[JennW in SoCal]

...thought The Avengers was boring...

 

Wait -- what?!! Really? You're the first person I've "met" who didn't like Avengers!

 

As for Iron Man and Star Trek. My husband and I were just comparing them last night. He liked Trek better and I can't decide which I like better. They are both fun popcorn movies. I'm more "invested" in Star Trek just because I grew up with the franchise, being old enough to remember when the original series first aired :eek: I liked the characters in Star Trek -- I really like the actors and how this movie focused on the characters and their relationships. Benedict Cumberbatch is especially yummy. But the plot....well....it was all over the place. Iron Man had a much tighter plot, and Robert Downey Jr is always fun.

 

Apparently the true comic book geeks are unhappy with the liberties taken with the villain, that it deviates from "canon". I guess it is to them what Gatsby is to literature nerds!

 

I, too, enjoy a good crowd at the movies. I fondly remember the movie crowd cheering wildly in the first Star Wars when the Death Star explodes. I remember everyone else gasping at Darth Vader being Luke's dad, but I didn't gasp because some lousy small-town newspaper reviewer spoiled it. I'm bitter to this day!

[Storm Bay]

I finished book number 49, . Kiki Strike: The Darkness Dwellers Kirsten Miller . Kiki Strike: The Darkness Dwellers Kirsten Miller, and give it 3 stars. I liked the first two quite a bit better, but I'm not sure if it's because this one wasn't as good, or because after a few years of waiting we've moved on in our reading tastes. DD, 18, thought it as good as the others. I still recommend the series to girls as it has fun, action, strong female characters (with a nice surprise on the hero of this book), no sex or swearing.

 

Potential rabbit trail. Donizetti's opera is based on Sir Walter Scott's The Bride of Lammermoor. Has anyone read it? The only Scott novel that I have read is Ivanhoe which I enjoyed. Should Lammermoor be my next classic book?

 

 

 

I'd like to know this, too. Lucia's aria when she's mad is absolutely amazing (saw it once years ago with my parents.)

 

Jane, I think you might like The Elegance of the Hedgehog since you like philosophical books and don't require a plot or action based book to be satisfied, and I think you might like it better than I did. If nothing else, you'll enjoy the language of the concierge.

[Stacia]

Wait -- what?!! Really? You're the first person I've "met" who didn't like Avengers!

 

As for Iron Man and Star Trek. My husband and I were just comparing them last night. He liked Trek better and I can't decide which I like better. They are both fun popcorn movies. I'm more "invested" in Star Trek just because I grew up with the franchise, being old enough to remember when the original series first aired http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/eek.gif I liked the characters in Star Trek -- I really like the actors and how this movie focused on the characters and their relationships. Benedict Cumberbatch is especially yummy. But the plot....well....it was all over the place. Iron Man had a much tighter plot, and Robert Downey Jr is always fun.

 

Apparently the true comic book geeks are unhappy with the liberties taken with the villain, that it deviates from "canon". I guess it is to them what Gatsby is to literature nerds!

 

I, too, enjoy a good crowd at the movies. I fondly remember the movie crowd cheering wildly in the first Star Wars when the Death Star explodes. I remember everyone else gasping at Darth Vader being Luke's dad, but I didn't gasp because some lousy small-town newspaper reviewer spoiled it. I'm bitter to this day!

 

Dare I admit that I'm not a Trekkie nor am I a comic book fan? Dh & dd (to a certain extent) have watched & love the various Star Trek tv series. (Since I don't watch much tv, I don't get around to watching much Star Trek.) I know/recognize a lot of the characters, but can't tell you which ship/series had which crew, for example. When this newest version of Star Trek came out at the movies a couple of years ago, I absolutely loved it. I loved how they 'updated' the original one (but since I wasn't a die-hard Trekkie about the original series, I could probably be more forgiving of any changes they made). I actually haven't seen or read much about this newest Star Trek movie, but regardless, I want to see it because I enjoyed the characters from the first movie so much.

 

Iron Man is similar for me. I've never read the comics (though I've read plenty of reviews by comic lovers trashing this latest Iron Man movie), so I can be pretty flexible about whatever liberties they take w/ the story. I can see, especially, how some people might not like the Mandarin thing. However, I thought it was brilliant & think it is a scathing & spot-on assessment of our consumer, media-driven society. Touche, Iron Man writers. Plus, isn't it fun to have an Oscar-winning actor being the bad guy in a comic book movie? Loved it. And, as you said, RD Jr. is always fun. (Except in Avengers where he was relatively boring like everyone else in the movie, including the plot. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/001_tt2.gif The only redeeming thing I can remember about that movie was Jeremy Renner; I still don't know what arrow/archer guy he was playing though. LOL.)

 

Not cool about the Star Wars spoiler!

 

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Please note: Any & all advice & opinions given are posted by ornery, opinionated woman. Follow at your own risk. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/sneaky2.gif http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/wink.gif

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Now back to your regularly scheduled book programming....

[Jane in NC]

Jane, I think you might like The Elegance of the Hedgehog since you like philosophical books and don't require a plot or action based book to be satisfied, and I think you might like it better than I did. If nothing else, you'll enjoy the language of the concierge.

 

Is there a name for novels with minimal plot and action?

 

You are right. Many of my favorite books have a lean explicit plot--more seems to go on within the characters' heads. And I love comedies of manners in which not much happens but everyday life (authors like Jane Austen and Angela Thirkell). So I think I should give the Hedgehog a try.

 

Thanks for the nudge!

[Kim in Appalachia]

The story continues in the next installment, Shift. There are three in that set, and they finish telling the backstory of the Silos. There is going to be one last book to complete the series, but I don't remember the name, or when it will be published. I have enjoyed the series. They are interesting and quick reading.

 

 

 

I didn't know that. I will have to get it. Thanks!

[Narrow Gate Academy]

It's been a few weeks since I last checked in again due to sporatic trouble with our phone and internet. I have finished three more books in that time: Book 18 - Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Book 19 - The Sea of Monsters by Riordan, and Book 20 - The Hound of the Baskervilles by Doyle.

 

Upcoming Reads

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by Lewis (in preparation for our Narnia themed VBS next month)

The Titan's Curse by Riordan (because my brain needs something light)

Redwall by Jacques (as a preview for dd)

 

In Progress

The One Year Bible

The History of the Ancient World by Bauer

 

Completed this year

17. Captains Courageous by Kipling

16. Getting Things Done by Adler

15. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Aiken

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

[-M-]

 

Number of books read in 2013: 43

 

 

 

Complete list of books read in 2013 can be found

here.

 

 

 

Number of books read since

last "reading life review" post: 7

_____________________________

 

 

 

â–  The 5th Wave (Rick Yancey; 2013. 480 pages. Fiction.) The comparisons to The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins) and The Road (Cormac McCarthy) caused me to hope for much more than this novel could deliver.

 

â–  Very Good, Jeeves (P.G. Wodehouse; ed. 2006. 304 pages. Fiction.) Precisely the palette-cleanser that was needed.

 

â–  Animal Man, Vol. 1 (Jeff Lemire; 2012. 144 pages. Graphic fiction.) Not sure I quite grasp the significance of "The New 52" (being still rather new to graphic works), but Lemire (the genius behind Sweet Tooth) brought me to this.

 

â–  Saga, Vol. 2 (Brian Vaughn; 2013. 144 pages. Graphic fiction.) Since it collects Issues 7 through 12, I'm giving myself credit for this one. The local comic shop persuaded me I couldn't / shouldn't wait for Vol. 2. Heh, heh, heh.

 

â–  Life Itself (Roger Ebert; 2011. 448 pages. Memoir.) I had meant to read it sooner... personal, folksy, insightful, rambling, poetic, and poignant.

 

â–  So Much for That (Lionel Shriver; 2011. 480 pages. Fiction.) All but the glittering rich are a health crisis away from financial ruin. This excellent novel -- about marriage, friendship, illness, death, and "The Afterlife" (no, not that one) -- ably explores this fundamental truth. Highly recommended.

 

â–  Richard III (William Shakespeare ((1592); Folger ed. 2005. 352 pages. Drama.) With the Misses.

 

Act I, Scene iii

 

And thus I clothe my naked villany

 

With old odd ends stolen out of holy writ,

 

And seem a saint when most I play the devil.

 

[-M-]

Hey, has anyone on here seen The Great Gatsby movie yet?

 

The novel figured prominently in our studies last term; in fact, Miss M-mv(i) is still knee-deep in the author's collected letters, and Mellow's biography of the Fitzgeralds is on my nightstand. Because we love the book and because we thoroughly enjoyed Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, we were beyond excited about the new film, so Mr. M-mv took us to the first show in our area when it was released. As we exited the theater, Miss M-mv(ii) dubbed it "Gatsby for Dummies," and for the most part, our assessment goes downhill from there: The color palette was distracting; the computer-generated effects (e.g., Nick's garden path) were obvious and often silly, as was the text on the screen; for that matter, the narrative framing device did not work (i.e., Nick is changed, matured, resigned by his experiences -- not broken). And so on. None of us expected the movie to be the book, but we expected... better. Two bright spots: the anachronistic soundtrack worked for us, and Leonardo DiCaprio was, as always, magnetic.

[-M-]

So I think I should give the Hedgehog a try.

 

The Elegance of the Hedgehog was one of the best books I read in 2009. Here's but one reason why:

 

p. 53

I have read so many books.

 

And yet, like most autodidacts, I am never quite sure of what I have gained from them. There are days when I feel I have been able to grasp all there is to know in one single gaze, as if invisible branches suddenly spring out of nowhere, weaving together all the disparate strands of my reading -- and then suddenly the meaning escapes, the essence evaporates, and no matter how often I reread the same lines, they seem to flee ever further with each subsequent reading, and I see myself as some mad old fool who thinks her stomach is full because she's been attentively reading the menu. Apparently this combination of ability and blindness is a symptom exclusive to the autodidact. Deprived of the steady guiding hand that any good education provides, the autodidact possesses nonetheless the gift of freedom and conciseness of thought; where official discourse would put up barriers and prohibit adventure.

[Stacia]

"Gatsby for Dummies,"

 

 

I guess the overuse of the green light at the end of Daisy's dock, including Gatsby's physical reaching for it would get its own chapter, huh? :lol:

 

The color palette was distracting; the computer-generated effects (e.g., Nick's garden path) were obvious and often silly, as was the text on the screen; for that matter, the narrative framing device did not work (i.e., Nick is changed, matured, resigned by his experiences -- not broken). And so on. None of us expected the movie to be the book, but we expected... better. Two bright spots: the anachronistic soundtrack worked for us, and Leonardo DiCaprio was, as always, magnetic.

 

 

Agree on all counts.

 

The Elegance of the Hedgehog was one of the best books I read in 2009. Here's but one reason why:

 

 

Aw, man. I didn't even like the book & you're making me want to try it again! :willy_nilly: