Book a Week in 2013 - week twenty seven

[mlbuchina]

 

LOL. Yep, I know that stuff comes w/ vampire stories. (Hey, even "The Night Circus" had a sign that said "Trespassers Will Be Exsanguinated". I know that because I have it marked as one of my fave book quotes over on Goodreads.) I don't know why I can usually manage vampire stories, but usually not other 'scary' types. I think I'll put The Passage on my list of books to read during my 'scary' October reading month.

 

 

I think I got The Historian from last year's Book a Week from you. Did you read that for October last year? I had started reading it last year, but got side tracked. Maybe I'll pick it back up again in October.

[melmichigan]

Well, I'm at 60% on the Dark Prince: Author's Cut Special Edition. I think if I had a choice I would have liked the original more. From one of the amazon reviews the extra 100 pages are "sexual padding but they also provide deeper insight into the Carpathian culture". I'm thinking I could have done without the padding and insight, I keep wanting something to happen already.

[Stacia]

I finished Altazor or A Voyage in a Parachute (1919): A Poem in VII Cantos by Vicente Huidobro.

 

The book's blurb about Huidobro is:

Vicente Huidobro was born in Chile in 1893, and spent most of his adult life in Paris and Barcelona. He was, among other things, a bilingual poet, novelist, screenplay writer, war correspondent, painter, political and aesthetic propagandist, founder of newspapers and literary magazines, and candidate for President of Chile. He worked closely with Apollinaire, Reverdy, Gris, Arp, Robert Delaunay, Picasso, and the young Borges, and was the perennial enemy of Pablo Neruda. He died in Chile in 1948.

 

Here's the review I posted on Goodreads about the poem:

 

I have read very little poetry, so I’m quite a novice at even describing & understanding it. Altazor leaves me questioning, reinterpreting the images, the meanings. And I know I love it. Beautiful. Strange. Lyrical.

 

When I fell into Altazor, it’s as if I…

 

Transformed a Dali into words, a dictionary of letters

Etched a Philip Glass resonance into a crystalline cloud lining

Drew a teardrop of sadness through a breath

Waved a ribbon of mythology, terra, aqua, ignis, aer

Flew to the heights of the sea

Swam to the depths of the universe

Plucked the strands of string theory, sibilating

Simultaneously drank the suns, the moons, the stars, the astrals

While clutching the seed of a tree.

 

I’m awed and in debt to Eliot Weinberger for even attempting to translate this art, visionary art from the 1930s. Breathtaking translation. Even though my Spanish is thoroughly oxidized, I’m reading it aloud to myself in Spanish now to hear the beauty.

 

Wow. This blew me away. And, I think it may have spoiled me for any future poetry reading I had planned….

 

So glad that Mike Puma posted a quote from this poem on his page. I saw the quote, fell in love with it, & read the poem. Thank you, Mike, for reviewing & posting about this work.

 

“The four cardinal points are three: South and North.†– Vicente Huidobro, Altazor

[ladydusk]

I finished Brat Farrar. I ended up liking it very well by ignoring the whole DNA testing thing ... The mystery isn't overly satisfying, but as a piece of literature I was very pleased.

 

I will keep an open eye at used book sales for Inspector Grant books. I think you will enjoy them!

 

Jane! Looky what I found! I found a website that has all of Tey's books available as free downloads. For Kindle. Yippee!

 

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

15. The Pemberley Chronicles by Rebecca Ann Collins

16. The Little Way of Ruthie Leming by Rod Dreher (very very good)

17. The Exact Place: a memoir by Margie L Haack

18. Lord Peter Views The Body by Dorothy L Sayers

19. Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers

20. Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym

21. Men of Iron by Howard Pyle (audio book)

22. Runaway Ralph by Beverly Cleary (audio book)

23. No Fond Return of Love by Barbara Pym

24. How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare by Ken Ludwig

25. Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey

[-M-]

At the midpoint of the 52 in 52, I have completed 52 books. One of my goals for the year has been to read more slowly, when appropriate. Doing so enabled me to marvel at the deep sadness of this passage in Macbeth. How did it not impress itself on my readerly imagination before now?

 

 

I have liv'd long enough: my way of life

 

Is fall'n into the sear, the yellow leaf;

 

And that which should accompany old age,

 

As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends,

 

I must not look to have; but, in their stead,

 

Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath,

 

Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not.

 

Next up? A Comedy of Errors and Wicked (Gregory Maguire). We'll be seeing Macbeth and Errors at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, and we just saw Wicked. The Misses and I are at the midpoint of Letters to a Young Scientist (E.O. Wilson) and Moby-Dick (Herman Melville). I am also halfway through The Dinner (Herman Koch).

 

I continue to acquire books at a rate that outstrips my reading pace, especially in this "year of reading slowly." (*wry grin*) The Interestings (Meg Wolitzer) and The Execution of Noa P. Singleton (Elizabeth L. Silver) seem enticing, but so do 573 other books. Heh, heh, heh. We'll see which book wins my attention. Until next time, here's my list:

 

â–  We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves (Karen Joy Fowler; 2013. 320 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Macbeth (William Shakespeare ((1606); Folger ed. 2003. 272 pages. Drama.) *

â–  Run, Brother, Run: A Memoir of a Murder in My Family (David Berg; 2013. 272 pages. Non-fiction.)

â–  NOS4A2 (Joe Hill; 2013. 704 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Shakespeare Saved My Life: Ten Years in Solitary with the Bard (Linda Bates; 2013. 304 pages. Non-fiction.)

â–  Cast of Shadows (Kevin Guilfoile; 2006. 319 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Letters to a Young Poet (Rainer Maria Rilke; ed. 1986. 128 pages. Non-fiction.)

â–  Much Ado about Nothing (William Shakespeare ((1599); Folger ed. 2003. 246 pages. Drama.)

â–  Animal Man, Vol. 2 (Jeff Lemire; 2012. 176 pages. Graphic fiction.)

â–  So Much for That (Lionel Shriver; 2011. 480 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Life Itself (Roger Ebert; 2011. 448 pages. Memoir.)

â–  Saga, Vol. 2 (Brian Vaughn; 2013. 144 pages. Graphic fiction.)

â–  Animal Man, Vol. 1 (Jeff Lemire; 2012. 144 pages. Graphic fiction.)

â–  Very Good, Jeeves (P.G. Wodehouse; ed. 2006. 304 pages. Fiction.)

â–  The 5th Wave (Rick Yancey; 2013. 480 pages. Fiction.)

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

â–  Give Me Everything You Have: On Being Stalked (James Lansdun; 2013. 224 pages. Non-fiction.)

â–  Harvest (A.J. Lieberman; 2013. 128 pages. Graphic fiction.)

â–  The Guilty One (Lisa Ballantyne; 2013. 480 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Two or Three Things I Forgot to Tell You (Joyce Carol Oates; 2013. 288 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Dare Me (Megan Abott; 2012. 304 pages. Fiction.)

â–  The Gaslight Effect: How to Spot and Survive the Hidden Manipulation Others Use to Control Your Life (Robin Stern; 2007. 288 pages. Non-fiction.)

â–  Henry VIII (William Shakespeare (1613); Folger ed. 2007. 352 pages. Drama.)

â–  The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald; 1925/1980. 182 pages. Fiction.) *

â–  Attachments (Rainbow Rowell; 2011. 336 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Reconstructing Amelia (Kimberly McCreight; 2013. 400 pages. Fiction.)

â–  The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers (Margaret George; 1998. 960 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Picasso and Chicago: 100 Years, 100 Works (Stephanie D'Alessandro; 2013. 112 pages. Non-fiction.)

â–  Measure for Measure (William Shakespeare (1603); Folger ed. 2005. 288 pages. Drama.)

â–  Wave (Sonali Deraniyagala; 2013. 240 pages. Memoir.)

â–  The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death (Jean-Dominique Bauby; 1998. 131 pages. Autobiography.)

â–  The Undead: Organ Harvesting, the Ice-Water Test, Beating-Heart Cadavers (Dick Teresi; 2012. 368 pages. Non-fiction.)

â–  Human .4 (Mike A. Lancaster; 2011. 240 pages. YA fiction.)

â–  Warm Bodies (Isaac Marion; 2011. 256 pages. Fiction.)

â–  The Underwater Welder (Jeff Lemire; 2012. 224 pages. Graphic fiction.)

â–  After Visiting Friends: A Son's Story (Michael Hainey; 2013. 320 pages. Non-fiction.)

â–  Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (Philip K. Dick; 1968. 256 pages. Fiction.) *

â–  Accelerated (Bronwen Hruska; 2012. 288 pages. Fiction.)

â–  The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger; 1951. 288 pages. Fiction.) *

â–  Flowers for Algernon (Daniel Keyes; 1966. 324 pages. Fiction.) *

â–  Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (Jamie Ford; 2009. 301 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (Dai Sijie; 2002. 104 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Revival, Vol. 1 (Tim Seeley; 2012. 128 pages. Graphic fiction.)

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

■ La Bohème: Black Dog Opera Library (2005. 144 pages. Libretto, history, and commentary.)

â–  The 13 Clocks (James Thurber (1950); 2008. 136 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness (Susannah Cahalan; 2012. 288 pages. Non-fiction.)

â–  Julius Caesar (William Shakespeare (1599); Folger ed. 2003. 288 pages. Drama.) *

â–  Don't Turn Around (Michelle Gagnon; 2012. 320 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Fatal Friends, Deadly Neighbors (Ann Rule; 2012. 544 pages. Non-fiction.)

â–  Daddy Love (Joyce Carol Oates; 2013. 240 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Life after Death (Damien Echols; 2012. 416 pages. Non-fiction.)

 

* Denotes a reread.

[melmichigan]

Ok, I finished Dark Prince. I will chalk all the extra pages up to world building with a first book (even though it was cut in the original first book). I can see why it was cut. It's an interesting take on vampires, not quite like any others that I have read, but not scary by my standards. I have downloaded the second book to see if the series improves. It will have to wait, I have to follow up on some other series first. Which to choose? Affliction (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter) by Laurell K Hamilton, MacRieve (Immortals After Dark) by Kresley Cole, and I Dream of Danger: A Ghost Ops Novel by Lisa Marie Rice all released today. Happy Reading!

[mlbuchina]

Ok, I finished Dark Prince. I will chalk all the extra pages up to world building with a first book (even though it was cut in the original first book). I can see why it was cut. It's an interesting take on vampires, not quite like any others that I have read, but not scary by my standards. I have downloaded the second book to see if the series improves. It will have to wait, I have to follow up on some other series first. Which to choose? Affliction (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter) by Laurell K Hamilton, MacRieve (Immortals After Dark) by Kresley Cole, and I Dream of Danger: A Ghost Ops Novel by Lisa Marie Rice all released today. Happy Reading!

 

Wow, melmichigan, that was fast! I'm only at the beginning of chapter 3, and the use of one or two word sentences is already driving me nuts. LOL

 

Those other books all look good. I'll have to add the authors to my TBR list. *sigh* It's just getting longer and longer... I love it!

[Robin M]

Ok, I finished Dark Prince. I will chalk all the extra pages up to world building with a first book (even though it was cut in the original first book). I can see why it was cut. It's an interesting take on vampires, not quite like any others that I have read, but not scary by my standards. I have downloaded the second book to see if the series improves. It will have to wait, I have to follow up on some other series first. Which to choose? Affliction (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter) by Laurell K Hamilton, MacRieve (Immortals After Dark) by Kresley Cole, and I Dream of Danger: A Ghost Ops Novel by Lisa Marie Rice all released today. Happy Reading!

I would say Affliction because I am about to break my rule of paying more than $10 for an ebook. Haven't read anything by Rice or Cole yet. Off to check them out on amazon.

[Heather in Neverland]

Started Reading:

The Millionaires by Brad Meltzer (American author, DD class 800)

 

Still Reading:

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

 

Finished:

30.Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter (American author, DD class 800)

29.The Sherlockian by Graham Moore (American author, DD class 800)

28. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (American authors, DD class 800)

27. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (American author, DD class 900)

26. The Last Camellia by Sarah Jio (American author, DD class 800)

25. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (Ethiopian author, DD class 800)

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

23.The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe (American author, DD class 600)

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

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)

 

[mumto2]

 

Sounds like you had a truly fabulous weekend. Glad it all went well.

 

My library request for "The Thief" just appeared yesterday. It came marked as a teen book and I could not remember why I had requested it, to be really honest. I have already handed it over to dd to read but she won't start it for a few days at least. I just read the uncomfortable parts words in your review of the sequel and am wondering if I should be reading it first? She won't be upset if I put it in my pile, should I?

 

 

I have emerged here on the other side of our long weekend of wonderful celebrations (our eldest daugher's engagement celebration was on Shabbos, the twins' bas mitzvah were on Sunday, & the wedding shower was on Monday and all through it our house was overflowing with friends and family - Sunday night was like a massive slumber party!)

 

I finished Conspiracy of Kings - the fourth book in the Attolia series I was reading the week before. I liked it better than the first time I read it, but I remain uncomfortable with some parts of it. If the next book (whenever it is finally finished) builds the right way on it, I might end up loving it, but without the follow-up some parts are very uncomfortable.

 

I am reading:

 

In the Narrow Places: Daily Inspiration for the Three Weeks by Erica Brown which has been moving and inspiring. The three weeks, which began last Tuesday, are a period of gradually increasing mourning for the destructions of the Beis HaMikdash, our Holy Temple, which culminate in the fast day of Tisha B'Av. Having this little book with a section for each day of this period has helped me, especially this year in the middle of so much personal happiness, to focus on this part of our calendar in a meaningful way.

 

Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones - a comfort re-read.

 

....and a number of other books I am chipping away at rather inconsistently.

 

[Jane in NC]

Confession: I am a foodie of the Pollan School--and I was such a foodie long before Michael Pollan published his first book. So of course I excited to read his latest book; and, of course, I loved it!

 

Cooked examines cooking techniques through the four elements: fire (barbecue), water (braising), air (bread baking) and earth (fermentation). At times, the author wears the hat of the anthropologist, for example, in his discussion of cooking over fire. But he is also a cultural geographer who brings us the history of Eastern North Carolina barbecue, a ritualistic method of whole pig cooking that was once tied to the tobacco harvest where I live.

 

We follow him on his adventures in learning classic cooking techniques and while growing his sour dough starter. My favorite section though is the last on fermentation. Pollan makes sauerkraut, brews beer and has his hands in the curds with famous cheesemaker Sister Noella Marcellino, all the while giving us side bar lectures on microbes--their coexistence in our bodies and in food processes. I can't wait to talk to my favorite microbiologist (while drinking wine, the gift of microbes) about Pollan's book.

 

Another confession: I tried but I just cannot get into Junot Diaz's latest, This is How You Lose Her. That is going back to the library.

 

And now for something entirely different. Before my son left for his summer adventures, he placed two books in my hands. I do not read graphic novels often and I have never read manga. Looks like I will now. He handed me two volumes in the long running cooking manga Oishinbo . The premise of the series is that a food journalist and his partner are on a quest to create the ultimate Japanese meal. In my hands at the moment is the volume on Ramen and Gyoza.

 

Happy Reading everyone!

[Paisley Hedgehog]

. 

 

[Stacia]

I've started two more books....

 

One is another one for my African reading: Maps by Nuruddin Farah. (The link is to a short Washington Post article about Farah.)

 

From Kirkus Reviews:

Originally published in 1986, this is the first installment in Farah’s abovementioned trilogy (its concluding volume, Secrets, appeared here alone in 1998). One senses autobiographical resonance in the story’s concentration on Askar, a Somalian boy orphaned by his mother’s death when she bore him and the loss of his father, a combat soldier serving in Somalia’s (1977—78) war against Ethiopia. Askar’s dilemma—whether to “belong†to his loving (Ethiopian) foster mother Misra or join the Somalian Liberation Front and emulate his father’s selfless courage—is subtly explored in a tense narrative alive with local color that’s both an affecting character study and a dramatic allegory of the confusions still plaguing a wounded and deeply conflicted society. One of the best novels out of Africa in some time.

The other one is (perhaps) for my European reading (but maybe not because it's an American author, even though it is set in France): The Fan-Maker's Inquisition: A Novel of the Marquis de Sade by Rikki Ducornet. The link is to the LA Times review of the book when it was first published.

 

From Goodreads:

Rikki Ducornet's boldest imaginative act yet-a brilliant novel about the Marquis de Sade that will forever change the way we regard one of history's most notorious men.

 

Picture a dramatic courtroom scene: during the French Revolution a fan-maker is on trial because of a manuscript seized in her rooms and her friendship with the Marquis de Sade, the notorious author of Justine, who has already been condemned and imprisoned by the same court for his sexual transgressions. Not only has she made exquisite and sexually provocative fans for her friend, but she has also coauthored with the Marquis a book about the infamous Spanish missionary, Bishop Landa, accusing him of massacres and other hideous abuses against the native population of the New World. The men of the court are so consumed with punishing the authors of this scandalous book that they are blinded to the folly of their own accusations against the Marquis.

 

The Fan-Maker's Inquisition is a novel about books and the reveries that engender them, about the intrinsic necessity of the sovereign imagination, and about the risks of passionate living and thinking.

[Jane in NC]

 

I have avoided Pollan because I feared he would be too political for me. I am fine with people's food decisions -- vegeterian, vegan, peanut / gluten / carb / antibiotic / whatever- free -- but I don't appreciate when folks try to shame or scare me into a particular POV. Cooked sounds like something I would like, though. I put it on hold.

 

Personally I don't find Pollan to be political although he has written extensively about how the American food system changed because of the policies of Earl Butz during the Nixon administration. He does question much of the processed food that Americans typically eat.

 

In his section on bread baking, he spends time with an artisan baker, someone whose bread we would all appreciate but would probably find to be over the top for our every day lives. Then Pollan pays a visit to the Wonder Bread factory. Whole grains gum up the works in a commercial factory bakery so he explains how Wonder can produce a whole grain bread (basically white bread with bran added back in later). I found this to be interesting but then I once toured the factory where Poptarts are made and found that to be interesting too.

[Hoot]

Today I finished Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl. Normally, the very idea of fictional 15 year olds finding their one true love makes me cringe and vomit a little. However, I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised that I really loved this book. The pacing was fantastic without being either rushed or stalling out and I never felt bored with it at all. The fact that it was a teen romance but from the point-of-view of the male lead was interesting as well. I'll definitely be reading the others in the series.

 

Right now I'm also about halfway through A Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela, which is fantastic, and trying to pretend that I didn't start The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin. I wanted to read it along with DS14 but it is oh. so. NOT. my cup of tea.

 

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

28. 11th Hour by James Patterson

29. 12th of Never by James Patterson

30. Chasing Science at Sea: Racing Hurricanes, Stalking Sharks, and Living Undersea With Ocean Experts by Ellen J. Prager

31. Dolphin Mysteries: Unlocking the Secrets of Communication by Kathleen M. Dudzinski & Toni Frohoff

32. The Greeening by S. Brubaker

33. No Touch Monkey! by Ayun Halliday

34. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

[Hoot]

 

Have you read Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife ?

 

Loved that book!

[melmichigan]

I would say Affliction because I am about to break my rule of paying more than $10 for an ebook. Haven't read anything by Rice or Cole yet. Off to check them out on amazon.

 

 

Well, since DH is out of town I went with Affliction. ;) I liked it better than the last few books although I didn't realize when I started that it was so long. That will teach me to check page counts before I start something.

[mumto2]

I finished James Paterson's "Private Down Under". It could have been so much better with not that much work. Imo. Really glad it came from the library. :lol:

[6packofun]

I just started Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier and am enjoying it quite a bit.  Previous book was The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey and I thought it was a great plot, bogged down just a tad in a teen/young adult romance that didn't quite do it for me.  lol  I really like the alien invasion take, though, so I will read the next one.  :)

[Violet Crown]

I finished The Wasp Factory, one of dh's books. Will I never learn?

[zillymom]

I'm excited because I just started book 52 tonight!! Silhouette of a Sparrow by Molly Beth Griffin, which I won in a giveaway.

 

I just finished an advance copy of Aimee Bender's new book, The Color Master, a collection of short stories. Gosh I love her writing, there's nobody quite like her.

[Kareni]

I just finished Almost Like Being in Love: A Novel by Steve Kluger. 

 

"A high school jock and nerd fall in love senior year, only to part after an amazing summer of discovery to attend their respective colleges. They keep in touch at first, but then slowly drift apart.

 

Flash forward twenty years.

 

...  Told in narrative, letters, checklists, and more, this is the must-read novel for anyone who's wondered what ever happened to that first great love."

 

I'd call this a modern epistolary novel.  It features a romance in which the main characters are both male.  I enjoyed it.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

 

 

[Hoot]

Today I finished Beating Dyspraxia with a Hop, Skip, and a Jump: A Simple Exercise Program for Home and School by Geoff Platt.  Unfortunately, I was sorely disappointed in this book.  The "simple exercise program for home and school" amounted to about 5 of its 127 content pages, most of which were pictures. The rest discussed how dyspraxia is defined in the medical community, the author's opinions on its origins, and basic make-up of the human musculoskeletal system. The pages that did detail the "exercise program" were weak and lacking in any depth. The exercises themselves were useful but there was no direction on where to take the program. It only gives a very basic starting point with no other instruction on how to enhance it once the child has maxed out on the listed skills. It gives the false impression that any child following the program will have caught up to his peers in about 6 weeks time. Additionally, the author states that many children even without intervention catch up to their peers, thus negating the dyspraxia, once they enter their pre-teen, teen, and adult years. If this is true, should then the sum total of a program be to let children be more free in their play to begin with? And, what about these older students who don't fit the mold and still have movement issues well into their teens? What activities would be helpful for them? The author never addresses these issues. Unfortunately, what could have been a very helpful book did not even come close to delivering what it promised.   

 

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
28. 11th Hour by James Patterson
29. 12th of Never by James Patterson
30. Chasing Science at Sea: Racing Hurricanes, Stalking Sharks, and Living Undersea With Ocean Experts by Ellen J. Prager
31. Dolphin Mysteries: Unlocking the Secrets of Communication by Kathleen M. Dudzinski & Toni Frohoff
32. The Greeening by S. Brubaker
33. No Touch Monkey! by Ayun Halliday
34. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

35. Beating Dyspraxia with a Hop, Skip, and a Jump by Geoff Platt

[Chocolate Rose]

I just finished a very sweet book that was recommended on one of these threads by I don't remember who. It's Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. It is a fluffy rom-com and a very quick read. Great summer read.
(Why do I not have any choice of font, emoticons, etc.?)

Here is my very short book list so far for 2013. I'm doing more along the lines of the Book Every Other Week version of this theme. ;) 

Insurgent by Roth, Veronica
The Passage by Cronin, Justin ;)
Warm Bodies by Marion, Isaac
On Gold Mountain by See, Lisa
The Paris Wife by McClain, Paula
1Q84 by Murakami, Haruki
Heart Shaped Box by Hill, Joe
Replay by Grimwood, Ken
The Twelve by Cronin, Justin
And the Mountains Echoed by Hosseini, Khaled
Ender's Game by Card, Orson Scott
Joyland by King, Stephen
The Raw Shark Texts by Hall, Steven
Attachments by Rowell, Rainbow

 

Edited - because I could. I read the other thread and "flipped the switch".

[aggieamy]

The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories by Agatha Christie (audiobook) – I think I prefer Dame Christie’s longer stories to her short ones.  These were entertaining but there’s not enough time for her to throw us those twists that she does so well. 

 

Entertaining is Fun: How to be a Popular Hostess by Dorothy Draper – I imagine that Dorothy Draper was the Martha Stewart of the 1930’s and 40’s - throwing fantastic parties and doing everything more beautifully than the rest of the women on earth.  I loved everything about this “how to†book and frequently found myself reading sections of it aloud to my husband.  (“Dear, why don’t we invite all your gentlemen friends over sometime so you can all listen to the big fight on the radio?â€)  Some of the information was dated and funny to read from a 21^st Century perspective like how many and what type of ash trays to have at your parties or bringing your weekend guests breakfast in bed.  I’d like to try it but I’m afraid that the few weekend guests I have will think I’ve gone crazy and will not be interested in enjoying my hospitality again.

 

Reading this book also made me feel sentimental because this is EXACTLY how my grandmother would entertain and I wonder if she read this book as a new bride.  On my last visit to her the week she died she still offered my husband a cocktail as soon as he came in the door.  (Dorothy mentions that it’s okay to do this since the Repeal.) 

 

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in daily life before WWII, entertaining, or housekeeping.  And if anyone knows a good butler looking for work, please contact me by telegraph.

 

 

In Progress:
 

Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery (read aloud)

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves by PG Wodehouse (audiobook)

What to Eat by Marion Nestle

 

2013 finished books:
 

51. Entertaining is Fun: How to be a Popular Hostess by Dorothy Draper  (*****)

50. The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories by Agatha Christie (audiobook) (***)

49. Eiger Dreams by Jon Krakauer (****)

48. A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh (**)

47. Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer (****)

46. Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams (audiobook) (****)

45. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan (***)

44. A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie (***)

43. Hungry Monkey: A Food Loving Father’s Quest to Raise an Adventurous Eater by Matthew Amster-Burton (**)

42. 1-2-3 Magic: Effective Discipline for Children by Thomas Phelan

41. After the Funeral by Agatha Christie (***)

40. A Spell for Chameleon by Piers Anthony  (****)

 

Amy's Rating System:

***** - Fantastic, couldn't put it down
**** - Very good
*** - Enjoyable but nothing special
** - Not recommended
* - Horrible

[mlbuchina]

I gave up on Dark Prince.  I just.  Could.  Not.  Stand.  All.  The.  One.  Word.  Sentences.  Her writing, to me, was just so choppy I couldn't get into the story she was trying to tell.  I'm giving her other series a try with Shadow Game.  I have noticed one one-word sentence so far, but the flow of this book seems much smoother.  I have hopes.

[melmichigan]

I gave up on Dark Prince.  I just.  Could.  Not.  Stand.  All.  The.  One.  Word.  Sentences.  Her writing, to me, was just so choppy I couldn't get into the story she was trying to tell.  I'm giving her other series a try with Shadow Game.  I have noticed one one-word sentence so far, but the flow of this book seems much smoother.  I have hopes.

 

 

Did you try to author's cut, or the original edition?  I do not care for all the extra wording in the author's cut at all.  Let us know how the other series goes.  I'm trying out the Maya Banks KGI series with The Darkest Hour.

[mlbuchina]

Did you try to author's cut, or the original edition?  I do not care for all the extra wording in the author's cut at all.  Let us know how the other series goes.  I'm trying out the Maya Banks KGI series with The Darkest Hour.

 

No, I didn't have the author's cut.  I'll keep you posted on the other series.  It was more highly recommended than the Dark series.

 

I'm also wondering if I am just not in the mood for "romance" novels right now.

[Kareni]

I read with pleasure Goliath by Tom Gauld; it's a graphic novel and a somewhat different take on the David and Goliath story.

 

"A master of striped-down, powerful storytelling reworks the David-and-Goliath myth

Goliath of Gath isn’t much of a fighter. Given half a choice, he would pick admin work over patrolling in a heartbeat, to say nothing of his distaste for engaging in combat. Nonetheless, at the behest of the king, he finds himself issuing a twice-daily challenge to the Israelites: “Choose a man. Let him come to me that we may fight. If he be able to kill me then we shall be your servants. But if I kill him, then you shall be our servants.†Day after day he reluctantly repeats his speech, and the isolation of this duty gives him the chance to banter with his shield-bearer and reflect on the beauty of his surroundings.

This is the story of David and Goliath as seen from Goliath’s side of the Valley of Elah. Quiet moments in Goliath’s life as a soldier are accentuated by Tom Gauld’s drawing style, which contrasts minimalist scenery and near-geometric humans with densely crosshatched detail reminiscent of Edward Gorey. Goliath’s battle is simultaneously tragic and bleakly funny, as bureaucracy pervades even this most mythic of figures. Goliath displays a sensitive wit, a bold line, and a traditional narrative reworked, remade, and revolutionized."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Also recently re-read The Darkest Hour (A KGI Novel) by Maya Banks; this is the first of a romantic suspense series.  I enjoyed it again.

 

From Publishers Weekly

"In an intriguing mix of military action and sizzling romance, this latest of the KGI series features ex-Navy Seal Ethan Kelly's fight to reclaim the life and love of his wife Rachel, who had gone missing and had been presumed dead a year earlier. He enlists the members of his family in his struggle, who run a special operations group known as Kelly Group International, or KGI. Ethan's emotional and physical resources are put to the test rescuing Rachel, who proves to be a tough cookie in her own right, at one point eluding kidnappers by swimming through a lake at night, all while nursing a broken arm. Their battle to reclaim Rachel's lost memories and solve the problems raised by the reappearance of those memories is engaging and entertaining. While well-paced throughout, its final pages reveal an author in too much of a hurry to bring her tale to a conclusion.
© Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

I gave up on Dark Prince.  I just.  Could.  Not.  Stand.  All.  The.  One.  Word.  Sentences.  Her writing, to me, was just so choppy I couldn't get into the story she was trying to tell.  I'm giving her other series a try with Shadow Game.  I have noticed one one-word sentence so far, but the flow of this book seems much smoother.  I have hopes.

 

Exactly and the whole thing seemed ridiculous to me from the very beginning.  It had come so highly recommended to me that  I read the whole book hoping it would get better, it didn't. Hopefully you enjoy Shadow Game.  The whole series just kept getting better.  I just read Robyn Carr's 2nd book in her Thunder Point Series The Newcomer. -  A contemporary romance involving a group of characters much like her Virgin River series but set in Oregon.  Nice fluffy read.

 

Started Laurell K. Hamilton's Affliction, the latest in her Anita Blake series and its unputdownable. 

[Robin M]

At the midpoint of the 52 in 52, I have completed 52 books. One of my goals for the year has been to read more slowly, when appropriate. Doing so enabled me to marvel at the deep sadness of this passage in Macbeth. How did it not impress itself on my readerly imagination before now?

 

I have liv'd long enough: my way of life

Is fall'n into the sear, the yellow leaf;

And that which should accompany old age,

As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends,

I must not look to have; but, in their stead,

Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath,

Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not.

 

I continue to acquire books at a rate that outstrips my reading pace, especially in this "year of reading slowly." (*wry grin*) The Interestings (Meg Wolitzer) and The Execution of Noa P. Singleton (Elizabeth L. Silver) seem enticing, but so do 573 other books. Heh, heh, heh. We'll see which book wins my attention. Until next time, here's my list:

 

 

â–  NOS4A2 (Joe Hill; 2013. 704 pages. Fiction.)

 

That is a sad quote and thanks for sharing it.   I have the same issue with more books than have time to read.  Lots of enticing ones, many heavy duty which my brain just can not handle right now for some reason.    What did you think of N0S4A2?  It was creepy good to me and I've been very remiss in writing a review.  I've been in a blogging slump so prefer to wait until get my brain back and can say something more than I liked it. 

 

Thanks for the reminder to read slowly and not devour my books. 

[Mom-ninja.]

I finished Hounded the other day based on recommendations here. Wish I'd gotten to it sooner. It was fun. Looking forward to book 2.

 

On a side note can someone tell me why I'm not able to print book lists from goodreads? When I hit the print option all it does is open another window but nothing happens. If I hit print in that window it opens the exact same page over and over. It doesn't print. I see no other print button.

[VeganCupcake]

I'm reading Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born. Does anyone have any recommendations on more books like this?

Have you read Birth as an American Rite of Passage by Robbie Davis-Floyd? Or Pushed by Jennifer Block?

[Mom-ninja.]

Okay, I just looked at the Iron Druid series. What the heck is book #0.4 or #0.5 mean? In other words, what is the order I should read this series?

[Stacia]

Okay, I just looked at the Iron Druid series. What the heck is book #0.4 or #0.5 mean? In other words, what is the order I should read this series?

I think the ones with the funky numbers are more like short stories he has written. For now, I would skip those and just read the regular novels:

Hounded

Hexed

Hammered

Tricked

Trapped

Hunted

[melmichigan]

Also recently re-read The Darkest Hour (A KGI Novel) by Maya Banks; this is the first of a romantic suspense series. I enjoyed it again.

From Publishers Weekly

"In an intriguing mix of military action and sizzling romance, this latest of the KGI series features ex-Navy Seal Ethan Kelly's fight to reclaim the life and love of his wife Rachel, who had gone missing and had been presumed dead a year earlier. He enlists the members of his family in his struggle, who run a special operations group known as Kelly Group International, or KGI. Ethan's emotional and physical resources are put to the test rescuing Rachel, who proves to be a tough cookie in her own right, at one point eluding kidnappers by swimming through a lake at night, all while nursing a broken arm. Their battle to reclaim Rachel's lost memories and solve the problems raised by the reappearance of those memories is engaging and entertaining. While well-paced throughout, its final pages reveal an author in too much of a hurry to bring her tale to a conclusion.

© Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved."

 

Regards,

Kareni

The Darkest Hour was good, No Place to Run was pretty good, now I just have to decide if I'm going to buy the next few books or try and get them ILL, which is such a pain. :)

[Stacia]

A Goodreads friend highly recommended Rikki Ducornet’s novel, The Fan-Maker’s Inquisition. Having never previously read Ducornet’s works, I find that she writes very luscious, provocative prose, which seems especially fitting as the subtitle of the book is “A Novel of the Marquis de Sadeâ€. Partly, it’s a historical fiction novel based around a fan-maker (of scandalous fans, writings, friendships, & liasions) being tried during the Reign of Terror while also weaving a tale of an earlier reign of terror, that of Bishop Landa’s Inquisition & auto-da-fé of Mayans in the 1500s. Ducornet excels with her alternating transcripts of the court proceedings, personal letters, and various documents used to tell the overlapping stories. Her skillful hand exposes the irony, hypocrisy, and zealotry that drive humans to various extremes – acts from destroying different cultures, destroying individuals, destroying minds – whether done by groups or people on the outside or whether the decay begins from within. It takes an adroit author to create simultaneous plotlines that cover different time periods, while entwining the similar threads of the undoing of both men & civilizations. We certainly repeat the past, don’t we?

 

{Note: Some spoilers ahead…}

 

I especially liked Ducornet’s parallels between Bishop Landa’s destruction of Mayan books/knowledge & the Reign of Terror’s destruction of materials deemed inappropriate. Censorship & fanaticism are timeless topics & this book gave a somewhat lesser-known historical look at topics that still haunt us today. (Looking up Bishop Landa, I found irony in the fact that while he destroyed so much knowledge, he also was one of the most knowledgeable about Mayan learning & his notes & information are still being used today to help decipher the Mayan language.) These are not the only parallels that shine through the text; the topics may be rooted in the past yet are so relevant to each other as well as to today.

 

On a small side note, I enjoyed the fan-maker descriptions because fans had prominence in a different book (The Stockholm Octavo) I read earlier this year. And, the Marquis also figured in another historical fiction I read set during the French Revolution, Madame Tussaud. Certainly, the Marquis de Sade is a notorious figure, but after reading so much about the Reign of Terror, I imagine it must have been an incredible feat for anyone to stay sane during those times, especially if imprisoned for years, much of the time within seeing/hearing distance of the guillotine during its daily use surrounded by baying crowds.

 

{End of spoilers.}

 

Historical fiction that’s both exquisite & sharp, while pointing out issues that plague society today, especially if you’re concerned with freedom of speech/expression & censorship – what more can you ask for in a novel? The Fan-Maker’s Inquisition provides some savory fodder for discussions & pondering -- & perhaps the dream of learning & growing from our past. Highly recommended. 4.5 stars.

What are books but tangible dreams? What is reading if it is not dreaming? The best books cause us to dream; the rest are not worth reading. – Rikki Ducornet, The Fan-Maker’s Inquisition

[nrg]

I am doing a summer Newbery Award catch-up thing, so this week I read: Moon Over Manifest and When You Reach Me.

[Robin M]

Link to week 28 - please continue conversation in new thread