Book a Week in 2013 - week twenty eight

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday, dear hearts!  Today is the start of week 28 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 - Christy Awards: Highlighting the Christy award winners and nominees. More books to add to your wishlist.

 

Flavorwire highlights what they think is the 10 best works of 2013 so far - I've heard of some of the authors, haven't read any of the books and not so sure I'd want to.  For those who read more non fiction than anything else, the best so far.

 

NPR Summer Adventures lists 5 Thrilling reads, as well as romantic and non fiction.  

 

What are you reading this week?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to week 27
 

 

 

 

[Robin M]

I just finished Affliction, Laurell K Hamilton's latest in the Anita Blake series.  Hot flash worthy love scenes and lots of zombie fights - unputdownable.  Still in the middle of Map of Bones by James Rollins.  Started reading it on an airplane and haven't picked it up since I got home. Wonder if I'll remember any of it or will have to start over again.  Don't you love travel brain. 

[Heather in Neverland]

Started Reading:

Bill Bryson's African Diary by Bill Bryson (American author, DD class 900)

 

Still Reading:

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

 

Finished:

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

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)

[Kim in Appalachia]

I'm half way through The Innkeeper's Song.  So far, I'm enjoying the book. I just got from the library The Dinner.  I've been on the wait list for 3 or 4 months for this book.  I got it this morning.  I hope it's a fun read. 

[Ali in OR]

I finished The Definitive Edition Anne Frank: the Diary of a Young Girl. I know there was a thread a couple of months ago on whether this edition is okay for kids. I think it will be fine for my 13 year old dd. I love Anne. I still can't get over how close they were to making it when they were caught and arrested. I need to take a little break from WWII, but I'll be back. More good books to read on that. In the meantime, I've started My Antonia--another one I want to read with my girls this year. We have some Bohemian ancestors in the family tree, and they actually started out in Nebraska before settling in Idaho. I also downloaded The Hound of the Baskervilles to my kindle, and I think I'll start The Giver on the treadmill tomorrow.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

.

[Narrow Gate Academy]

It's been three weeks since I lasted posted, but I have managed to read 3 more books so I'm still on track for the year!  YEAH!!  I finished The Battle of the Labyrinth by Riordan (book 25), The Last Olympian by Riordan (book 26), and The Well-Educated Mind by Bauer (book 27) so it wasn't all fluff.  The links go to the reviews on my blog.  My 12yo DD was thrilled when I handed her the first Percy Jackson book at the library Saturday.  She's already read it twice and is badgering me to loan her my Kindle so she can read the rest of the series.  My current excuse is that it is charging. Now that I've finished the Bauer book I can get started on my ancient book list for the upcoming year.

 

Books to Read

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Redwall (to preview for kids)

 

Ongoing books

The One Year Bible

The History of the Ancient World by Bauer (I need to make some major progress in this one this week)

 

Completed books

24.  How to Read a Book by Adler

23. The Titan's Curse by Riordan
22. The Horse and His Boy by Lewis
21. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by Lewis
20. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Doyle
19. The Sea of Monsters by Riordan
18. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Stevenson
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
 

[Just Robyn]

Stacia - Xala and So Long a Letter (from last week) look great, especially when read together as you did, and a local university library has them both, so they're going on the to-read list.

 

I got through a bunch of shorter books last week: Candide by Voltaire - very funny, loved it!

 

Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg - She combined her experience with Zen Buddhism and writing to create a book similar to Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird. I thought this was a great book about generating content, but she doesn't talk much about what to do next. I can't imagine too many people are going through last month's free-writing and finding a perfect poem or complete short story. She doesn't talk much about revision or what makes a poem or prose piece good.

 

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan - This was actually not as good as I thought it would be. I thought the prose quality was below the level of the Ranger's Apprentice books, but it was quick and fun, and my ds is reading it, too.

 

The Conceptual Dialectic by Michael Clay Thompson - With regard to page count, this barely counts as a book, but it was interesting and, imo, a worthwhile read for educators. Bonus: I now have a better understanding of Moving Beyond the Page and the division of their curriculum into concepts.

 

Macbeth - I will be going to a performance of this at the end of the week. There are some parts I'm itching to see performed.

 

2013 Books

*dusty book

77. Macbeth – William Shakespeare

76. The Conceptual Dialectic – Michael Clay Thompson*

75. The Lightning Thief – Rick Riordan

74. Writing Down the Bones – Natalie Goldberg

73. Candide – Voltaire

72. The Kings of Clonmel – John Flanagan

71. 2012 Family Guide to Groceries under $250 a Month – Melissa Burnell*

70. The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack – Mark Hodder

69. Bird by Bird – Anne Lamott*

68. Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint – Nancy Kress

67. The Fugitive Philosopher – Timothy Leary

66. Poet in New York – Federico Garcia Lorca

65. The Tale of the Babmboo Cutter – Anonymous

64. Chocolat – Joanne Harris

63. Woodsong – Gary Paulsen

62. A Mathematician’s Lament – Paul Lockhart

61. Sister Bernadette’s Barking Dog: The Quirky History and Lost Art of Diagraming Sentences – Kitty Burns Florey

60. Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe

59. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - Anonymous

58. The Song of Roland - Anonymous

57. Waiting for Godot – Samuel Beckett

56. The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Master and Man – Leo Tolstoy

55. Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad

54. Parents and Children – Charlotte Mason*

53. Hamlet – William Shakespeare

52. The Just Bento Cookbook – Makiko Itoh

51. A Coney Island of the Mind – Lawrence Ferlinghetti*

50. The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes – Anonymous

49. Oedipus the King – Sophocles

48. Northanger Abbey – Jane Austen

47. The Saga of the Bloody Benders – Rick Geary

46. The Siege of Macindaw – John Flanagan

45. Requiem and Poem Without a Hero – Anna Akhmatova

44. The Fifty Year Sword – Mark Z. Danielewski

43. The Castle of Otranto – Horace Walpole

42. Thieves of Paradise – Yusef Komunyakaa

41. Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card*

40. The Borden Tragedy – Rick Geary

39. Jack the Ripper – Rick Geary

38. 1Q84 – Haruki Murakami

37. Civil War Poetry and Prose – Walt Whitman

36. The Mystery of Mary Rogers – Rick Geary

35. X’ed Out – Charles Burns

34. The Case of Madeleine Smith – Rick Geary

33. Plot and Structure – James Scott Bell

32. Robinson Crusoe – Daniel Defoe

31. Little Brother – Cory Doctorow

30. Hopscotch – Julio Cortázar

29. The Martian Chronicles - Ray Bradbury

28. The Summer of the Black Widows – Sherman Alexie

27. A Midsummer Night’s Dream – William Shakespeare

26. Herland – Charlotte Perkins Gilman

25. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Other Poems – Samuel Taylor Coleridge*

24. The Country of the Blind and Other Science-Fiction Stories – H. G. Wells

23. The Island of Dr. Moreau - H. G. Wells

22. Leaves of Grass (1855 edition) - Walt Whitman*

21. Poems and Poetics - Edgar Allen Poe

20. The Invisible Man - H. G. Wells

19. Young Goodman Brown and Other Short Stories - Nathaniel Hawthorn

18. Like Water for Chocolate - Laura Esquivel*

17. The Gold-Bug and Other Tales - Edgar Allan Poe

16. Poetics - Aristotle

15. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

14. Etiquette and Espionage - Gail Carriger

13. Principia Discordia - Malaclypse the Younger*

12. The Power of Half - Kevin and Hannah Salwen

11. The Story of the Stone - Barry Hughart*

10. The Reading Promise - Alice Ozma

9. Factotum - Charles Bukowski*

8. Dracula - Bram Stoker*

7. Nine Princes in Amber - Roger Zelazny

6. The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin

5. Jennifer Government - Max Barry

4. Apocrypha - Catherynne M. Valente*

3. Funniest Verses of Ogden Nash*

2. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood

1. Good Omens - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

[Onceuponatime]

Still reading Will in the World. Finished reading Kabbalah: A Love Story by Rabbi Lawrence Kushner.  This book really spoke to me where I am at spiritually right now. I didn't realize that Jewish mystics were panentheists.

[Stacia]

Still working on Maps by Nuruddin Farah for my African reading. (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.

 

For the European part of the challenge, I started (but am ditching) The Most Beautiful Book in the World: Eight Novellas by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt. I'm not hugely into short stories to begin with; I've read the first three in the book & they were ok at best, nothing outstanding, imo. I'm disappointed, especially because this is a Europa editions book & Schmitt is apparently a popular French author; I had high hopes. Others may like it though. For some reason, it strikes me that if you have read & enjoyed The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, you might like this book. I don't really know why I say that, though. Just intuition.

 

I have some other fiction books sitting here & more on request at the library, so I'm not sure which I'll start next.

 

I'm still working on Periodic Tales (which I keep setting aside in favor of fiction) and have just dipped my toe into the fairly promising chapter zero of Here's Looking at Euclid (another non-fiction), so we'll see if I can stay the course on some non-fiction this week. :tongue_smilie:

--------------------------
My Goodreads Page
My PaperbackSwap Page
Working on Robin's Dusty &/or Chunky Book Challenge.
Working on Robin's Continental Challenge.  
Working on LostSurprise's Dewey Decimal Challenge. Complete Dewey Decimal Classification List here.

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

2013 Books Read:
01. Women of the Klondike by Frances Backhouse (3 stars). Challenges: Dusty; Continental – North America (Canada); Dewey Decimal – 900s.
02. Equator by Miguel Sousa Tavares (3 stars). Challenges: Dusty; Continental – Europe (Portugal) & Africa (São Tomé and Príncipe).
03. UFOs, JFK, & Elvis by Richard Belzer (2 stars). Challenge: Dewey Decimal – 000s.
04. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (4 stars). Challenge: Continental – North America (USA).
05. The Twelve Rooms of the Nile by Enid Shomer (3.5 stars). Challenge: Continental – Africa (Egypt).
06. The Hard Way by Lee Child (2 stars). 

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

26. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig (2 stars).

27. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami (5 stars). Challenges: Dusty & Chunky; Continental – Asia (Japan).

28. The Iron Will of Shoeshine Cats by Hesh Kestin (4 stars). Challenges: Dusty; Continental – North America (USA).

29. Sacré Blue by Christopher Moore (3 stars).

30. A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki (5 stars). Challenge: Continental – Asia (Japan) & North America (Canada).

 

31. Phoebe & the Ghost of Chagall by Jill Koenigsdorf (3 stars).

32. I Will Have Vengeance by Maurizio de Giovanni (3 stars). Challenge: Continental – Europe (Italy).

33. Lost on Planet China by J. Maarten Troost (3 stars). Challenge: Dewey Decimal – 900s.

34. Hammett Unwritten by Owen Fitzstephen (4 stars). Challenge: Continental – North America (USA).

35. All Men Are Liars by Alberto Manguel (5 stars). Challenges: Continental – South America (Argentina) & Europe (Spain); Pick A Book By Its Cover

36. This Book is Full of Spiders by David Wong (3 stars).

37. Xala by Ousmane Sembène (3.5 stars). Challenge: Continental – Africa (Senegal).

38. So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ (4 stars). Challenge: Continental – Africa (Senegal).

39. Altazor or A Voyage in a Parachute (1919): A Poem in VII Cantos by Vicente Huidobro (5 stars).

40. The Fan-Maker’s Inquisition by Rikki Ducornet (4.5 stars).

[Kareni]

For those who might be interested, there is a new edition of Jim Trelease's The Read-Aloud Handbook!

 

The Read-Aloud Handbook: Seventh Edition by Jim Trelease

 

One of the reviewers comments that at least 40% of the book contains new content.  This is a wonderful book for any parent; it's also a favorite baby shower gift that I like to give.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Hoot]

Today I finished Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela.  My God!  This book was amazing and moved me in ways I didn't expect.  I cried countless times, particularly when he and Winnie divorced and during his speech at the end.  *sigh*  I'm sad the book is over and I'm sad to see what's happening now with his children as he teeters in this place between life and death.  What an amazing and beautiful man.

 

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

36. Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela

[Stacia]

Flavorwire highlights what they think is the 10 best works of 2013 so far - I've heard of some of the authors, haven't read any of the books and not so sure I'd want to.  For those who read more non fiction than anything else, the best so far.

 

I had seen some of those linked previously when I checked out Flavorwire a few weeks ago. A few actually sound interesting to me, but I don't think my library has any of them. Need to check out what Donna Tartt is working on, though, since they mentioned that....

 

ETA: Looks like Donna Tartt's new book The Goldfinch will be out in October. :thumbup1:  I really enjoyed both of her previous books.

 

slow going since dh and I used most of my mental and physical energy car shopping last week.  :willy_nilly:  :wacko:

 

None of the books on either of those summer reading lists appeals to me. In fact, apart from the Kate Atkinson and Vampires in the Lemon Grove, I've never even heard of any of them.   :confused:   I guess that's a good thing as my TBR stack already  overfloweth.

 

Ah, funny. We were car shopping last week too. Did you get anything? I made a very quick decision because I've had so much stress in the last year, I just didn't have the cajones to deal w/ extensive shopping. (But, dh & I have been thinking/mulling over car choices for a couple of years now, figuring one of our vehicles would bite the dust.... What I got is not what I had ever considered, though. :lol: )

 

Books to Read

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Redwall (to preview for kids)

 

Redwall (& the entire series) has always been one of my dd's favorite series.

 

Stacia - Xala and So Long a Letter (from last week) look great, especially when read together as you did, and a local university library has them both, so they're going on the to-read list.

 

I got through a bunch of shorter books last week: Candide by Voltaire - very funny, loved it!

 

...

 

Macbeth - I will be going to a performance of this at the end of the week. There are some parts I'm itching to see performed.

 

 

I hope you enjoy your peek into Senegalese life & polygamous marriages in those books. I did. It was really new territory for me & I'm glad I found those books to read. (And, not that they're African, but I think you'd also really enjoy the last two books I read: Altazor and The Fan-Maker's Inquisition.)

 

Love Candide too.

 

Enjoy the Macbeth performance!

[Stacia]

Today I finished Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela.  My God!  This book was amazing and moved me in ways I didn't expect.  I cried countless times, particularly when he and Winnie divorced and during his speech at the end.  *sigh*  I'm sad the book is over and I'm sad to see what's happening now with his children as he teeters in this place between life and death.  What an amazing and beautiful man.

 

Sounds great (& like a great book for the African part of the challenge).

[Mom-ninja.]

I just got from the library The Dinner.  I've been on the wait list for 3 or 4 months for this book.  I got it this morning.  I hope it's a fun read. 

 

I heard about that book on NPR. Let us know how you like it.

[Stacia]

I just got from the library The Dinner.  I've been on the wait list for 3 or 4 months for this book.  I got it this morning.  I hope it's a fun read. 

Oh, that's the one that's on the Flavorwire list Robin linked. (D'oh. I realized that after looking it up on amazon, lol.) I look forward to hearing your review on it.

 

On a completely different note (but looking up the book on amazon made me think about it)... one change on Goodreads that I don't like (now that amazon has taken over) is that there is no longer the 'google book preview' option for most of the books. So, if you want to get a quick glimpse at the first page or two of the book, you have to switch over to a different page. Argh. Hate that.

[Kareni]

NPR Summer Adventures lists 5 Thrilling reads, as well as romantic and non fiction.  

 

Thank you (I think) for sharing this link.  (I've now spent way TOO much time browsing the NPR site!)

 

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

I finished "Glamorous Powers" by Susan Howatch. It's the second in the Church of England series. They are good just never what I anticipate!

 

I started a new vampire series. I don't think I have seen it mentioned here, the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost. I am about halfway through the first called "Halfway to the Grave". Fun and fast moving so far. Main character is a half vampire who becomes a slayer, parts remind me of Buffy. :)

[mlbuchina]

Well, I didn't get anything finished this week.  I started a couple, ditched a couple, and am now making myself stick with Shadow Game.  Robin, you are right about the writing being better in this book.  If the series continues to get better, I think I'll end up really liking it.  Staying with it is hard, though, as I have some other stuff calling my name.  :)

 

The Round Up
42. The Girl Who Chased the Moon
41. The Sugar Queen
40. 1Q84
39. The Long Winter
38. Warm Bodies
37. Garden Spells
36. The Peach Keeper
35. The Memory Keeper's Daughter
34. The First Four Years
33. These Happy Golden Years
32. Little Town on the Prairie
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.  Why 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

[MomtoCandJ]

I am also reading Periodic Tales :)

[Jane in NC]

Was it all a dream?

 

Last night I slept briefly, maybe an hour or so, and then woke suddenly, unable to return to sleep. It seems to me that it was around midnight when I went out to the living room, turned on my tablet and saw a thread about 25 books to read before one dies. (Ugh--I didn't like the title!) Stacia had a provocative list with a number of Latin American titles. Violet Crown had a list of classic titles. I "liked" some posts then went off to bed to think about my list and (joy of joys!) fell back to sleep.

 

This morning there was no such thread. So am I now dreaming about the WTM forums? Scary!

 

The dessert course to Michael Pollan's latest, Cooked, was some Japanese manga, a first for me. I loved Oishinbo: Ramen & Gyoza by Kariya and Hanasaki. The manga has a story line focusing on a rivalry between a journalist and an artist, both foodies as well as son and father, each creating the ultimate Japanese menu. Within the comic panels are discussions on gluten in noodle making, on what type of dashi should be used with what kind of noodle dish, on how to properly crimp gyoza when making them from scratch. Regional Japanese dishes are analyzed and the influence of Chinese cuisine on Japanese is discussed.

 

The weird thing about manga is not just reading from back to front but also right to left. It was easy to adjust to the right page before the left but I can't tell you how many times I read the left panel before the right.

 

I am following the Ramen and Gyoza book with another Oishinbo volume, this one on Fish, Sushi and Sashimi.

 

And just to prove that I have eclectic reading taste I am also rereading a small volume by Gertrude Stein, Paris France. This one qualifies as an old friend. It was published the day that Paris fell to the Germans in WWII and focuses on what makes the French so, well, French--at least in Stein's eyes.

[melmichigan]

I just finished Affliction, Laurell K Hamilton's latest in the Anita Blake series.  Hot flash worthy love scenes and lots of zombie fights - unputdownable.  

 

:iagree: Affliction was one I read straight through too.

 

Week 27

164. Surrender Your Love by J.C. Reed.

165. Conquer Your Love by J.C. Reed.

166. Dark Prince (Dark Series) by Christine Feehan. 

167. Affliction (Anita Blake,Vampire Hunter) by Laurell K. Hamilton. 

168. I Dream of Danger: A Ghost Ops Novel by Lisa Marie Rice. 

169. MacRieve (Immortals After Dark) by Kresely Cole. 

170. The Darkest Hour (A KGI Novel) by Maya Banks. 

171. No Place to Run (A KGI Novel) by Maya Banks.

 

[Stacia]

turned on my tablet and saw a thread about 25 books to read before one dies

 

Here you go:

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/479267-25-books-you-want-to-read-before-you-die/

 

Are you going to post your dream list too?

[Stacia]

Was it all a dream?

 

 

Oh, and here's a perfect book to start your list of 25...  :D

 

Life is a Dream/La Vida es Sueño (a book I read so long ago in Spanish) by Pedro Calderón de la Barca. Maybe I'll have to put it on my list of 25+.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

. 

 

[Paisley Hedgehog]

.

[Onceuponatime]

Have any Book-a-Weekers done a Coursera class?  They have a cool one starting in October on Fantasy/Science Fiction that I am interested in, but I must be missing something .... are these really free?  What's the catch?  And what's this about written assignments??

 

yes, they are free. You can be involved as much or as little as you want. To get a certificate of completion you must do all the assigned work and pass any exams. There really is no catch. It is a wonderful thing.

[mumto2]

Maisie Dobbs by Violet Winspear is my new favorite find. I just finished the first and it was a perfect fit for dd. Completely different but very much another Flavia type of book. Adult book suitable for younger. Honestly reminded me of a more troubled Cherry Ames. Some of the WWI descriptions were very sad but imagination was needed to fill in many bits. So sad without being too detailed. Thank you to whoever recommended this as a good series for dd. I know she will enjoy them.

[luvnlattes]

I finished The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton. I wasn't crazy about the characters in this book so I had a hard time connecting with them. I liked the way it ended though, which redeemed things for me a bit.

 

I've started Gallows View by Peter Robinson but it's been slow going for me.

 

On a side note, I got a Kindle last week! It's taking a bit of getting used to. I love the feel of a book and turning the actual pages so the first day I couldn't seem to get absorbed in what I was reading. I read a little on it yesterday and it seemed better so maybe I just need to adjust. There I'm reading It All Begins with Food by Dallas & Melissa Hartwig.

[Stacia]

 

Yes, we finally did settle down on something, but all this work was for his car.  I was just there to make sure we stayed on budget.  I drive the 13yo, 200,000+ mile clunker.   :thumbup1:

 

Re: Donna Tartt,  The Goldfinch was supposed to be released in May but got pushed back.  I've not heard a whole lot of press about it yet so I am not sure what the delay is about.  It is pretty interesting that the lady can only produce two novels in twenty years and folks still get excited about a new one.  I loved, loved, loved The Secret History, but thought The Little Friend was awful. 

 

Jane, that's so funny about your dream / not dream.   :D

 

 

LOL. Well, my dh drives the 15yo, 200k+ clunker. Mine had less than half the miles of his but has been a needs-one-repair-after-another type thing for over a  year now, so we decided that it was time to move on.

 

I really liked The Little Friend, but I know/have heard of very few who did like it. I'm curious about The Goldfinch just because it has been so long between books.

 

Jane, maybe you were stuck in the Inception movie? ;)

 

Have any Book-a-Weekers done a Coursera class?  They have a cool one starting in October on Fantasy/Science Fiction that I am interested in, but I must be missing something .... are these really free?  What's the catch?  And what's this about written assignments??

 

I need to check out Coursera sometime....

 

Maisie Dobbs by Violet Winspear is my new favorite find. I just finished the first and it was a perfect fit for dd. Completely different but very much another Flavia type of book. Adult book suitable for younger. Honestly reminded me of a more troubled Cherry Ames. Some of the WWI descriptions were very sad but imagination was needed to fill in many bits. So sad without being too detailed. Thank you to whoever recommended this as a good series for dd. I know she will enjoy them.

 

I wonder if my ds would like some of these? He loves the Flavia books, but a large part of it is the style of humor in them.

[Just Robyn]

Have any Book-a-Weekers done a Coursera class?  They have a cool one starting in October on Fantasy/Science Fiction that I am interested in, but I must be missing something .... are these really free?  What's the catch?  And what's this about written assignments??

 

I did the SF/Fantasy course earlier this year. To get the certificate you have to write 7 essays, but you can also choose to just read along and watch the videos and not worry about the certificate (which is a digital one that you can print). Most of the books for the course are available for free online. I think the essays were supposed to be between 250 and 320 words long.

 

I did the Modern Poetry course last year. Loved it!

[mumto2]

Stacia-- I hate to sound discouraging but I am not sure that he would like them because my ds definately would not! He has not tried Flavia but I could imagine him liking her. These are probably a bit too feminine without the humour. The girl here is very bright and changes her entire future by having a fabulous work ethic and a caring personality. Kitchen maid to Cambridge back then. I don't want to do a spoiler for anyone but a definate romance strain to the storyline. Great for dd not so much ds. Now if you want him to read it to put a bit of a human face to England during WWI this might be an good way with easy reading. Rather like Lord Peter Wimsey and the horrors he suffered with more detail given.

[Stacia]

Stacia-- I hate to sound discouraging but I am not sure that he would like them because my ds definately would not! He has not tried Flavia but I could imagine him liking her. These are probably a bit too feminine without the humour. The girl here is very bright and changes her entire future by having a fabulous work ethic and a caring personality. Kitchen maid to Cambridge back then. I don't want to do a spoiler for anyone but a definate romance strain to the storyline. Great for dd not so much ds. Now if you want him to read it to put a bit of a human face to England during WWI this might be an good way with easy reading. Rather like Lord Peter Wimsey and the horrors he suffered with more detail given.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I agree -- the don't sound like something he would like. Two of his favorite book series have female main characters (Flavia and also Tiffany Aching from The Wee Free Men books), but those are both strong, feisty girls & books w/ some snappy humor.

[Violet Crown]

This week I'm dual-reading Five Hundred Years of Printing and Faust: Part Two. But in a surprise book completion, I realized that I have just the other day finally read to Wee Girl the entirety of My Book House (1920) Volume 2: In the Nursery ( http://books.google.com/books?id=yYgXAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false ), all 432 pages of it. There's quite a variety of writing in there, including some odd little pieces by Harriet Beecher Stowe and Anatole France.

[Just Robyn]

I hope you enjoy your peek into Senegalese life & polygamous marriages in those books. I did. It was really new territory for me & I'm glad I found those books to read. (And, not that they're African, but I think you'd also really enjoy the last two books I read: Altazor and The Fan-Maker's Inquisition.)

 

Love Candide too.

 

Enjoy the Macbeth performance!

 

Thanks for the recommendations! None of the libraries around me have The Fan-Maker's Inquisition, but I *am* interested in reading more fiction that involves de Sade, so I'm glad that one's on my radar. They do have Altazor at one of them, so I'm sure I'll get to that one.

[mumto2]

Dd just gave me her list so I could update for her.

 

38) Walden by Henry David Thoreau

39) The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde

40) The Moonspinners by Mary Stewart

41) I am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley

42) City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

43) The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

44) Theodore Boone:The Accused by John Grisham

45) Beowulf:An Anglo Saxon Epic Poem by John Hall

46) Thrones, Dominations by Jill Paton Walsh

47) Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley

48) Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde

49) Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie

50) Manalive by G.K. Chesterton

51) The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart

[ladydusk]

I finally finished Vigen Guroian's Tending the Heart of Virtue.  Wonderful book.  Ariasmommy lent me A Landscape with Dragons on the same theme, so I'm going to read it and compare and contrast :)

 

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
26. Tending the Heart of Virtue by Vigen Guroian

[JennW in SoCal]

I'm still engrossed in The Count of Monte Cristo.  It is really an extraordinary novel, but my oh my is it long!   I've been alternately listening and reading and yet am only on chapter 77 with another 25 to go.   Here I had been sailing through the 52 book challenge with mystery novels I could devour in a day or two, and now I'm in week 3 of Monte Cristo.   But it is well worth the time.

 

 

I picked up a book at Costco yesterday that I've been wanting to read.  The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe is about the books he and his mother shared during the two years she was dealing with terminal cancer.  He describes it as a kind of book club:  

 

Books had always been a way for my mother and me to introduce and explore topics that concerned us but made us uneasy, and they had also always given us something to talk about when we were stressed or anxious....  [Over the course of her illness] Mom and I read dozens of books of all different kinds.  We didn't read only "great books, " we read casually and promiscuously and whimsically. ...You could say that the book club became our life, but it would be more accurate to say that our life became a book club.

 

I was drawn to this book because one of my sons and I have had an informal book club for years, and now that he is away at college our best phone conversations are about books.  I'm looking forward to learning about the books this author and his mom shared.

[Storm Bay]

Wow, it's been a few weeks! I haven't forgotten you or stopped reading, just been very busy with June & early July. However, 2 of my dc flew off to camp for a few days and my eldest is reading, so the house is quiet. My list may not be accurate as I haven't been adding books for a while, and one title is missing (have to find the book; someone may have decided to read it). I'm really enjoying the humourous Mrs. 'Arris books after learning about the first one from the 1001 Books list. When I went to find more books by this author I not only found 2 sequels but learned that he also wrote The Poseidon Adventure, which I saw with my dad in the theatre when I was a kid & just rewatched with my dc (not a stellar movie & somewhat dated, but not as bad as the remake apparently is). The Mrs.'Arris books are very different from The Poseidon Adventure.

 

I'm also reading a couple of nonfiction books. These are my latest additions (may be missing a book besides the Klavan with no title.)

 

62. Crossed Ally Conde y/a

63. Reached Ally Conde y/a

64.  y/a book by  Andrew Klavan

65. Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris

66. Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to New York

 

 

 

 

[Storm Bay]

I 

I hope you enjoy your peek into Senegalese life & polygamous marriages in those books. I did. It was really new territory for me & I'm glad I found those books to read. (And, not that they're African, but I think you'd also really enjoy the last two books I read: Altazor and The Fan-Maker's Inquisition.)

 

 

What's the best of these that you read? A couple of years ago or so I read two nonfiction books by an American woman who escaped a bad polygamous marriage (Carolyn Jessop), but haven't read much else on this.

[Jane in NC]

Ahoy there Paisley Hedgehog!

 

My neighborhood Little Free Library had a copy of Fever of the Bone by Val McDermid that I grabbed. My thought was that it would be a great airplane book. Or will it keep me awake for days on end? How creepy is it?

[Stacia]

What's the best of these that you read? A couple of years ago or so I read two nonfiction books by an American woman who escaped a bad polygamous marriage (Carolyn Jessop), but haven't read much else on this.

 

The two that I read that had to do with polygamous marriage were both Senegalese books:

Xala (my description/review of book is here)

So Long a Letter (my description/review of book is here)

 

Of the two, So Long a Letter was better written & more beautiful. But, I thought it was interesting to read both books back-to-back because Xala is from a male viewpoint, while So Long a Letter is from a female viewpoint. There are plenty of other topics covered in the books, but the polygamous aspect does take a leading role in both novellas.

 

I don't think I've read any other books that have to do with polygamous marriage. (Sorry if my previous post was confusing or misleading because I also mentioned two other books in it -- Altazor and The Fan-Maker's Inquisition -- but neither has anything to do with polygamous marriage.)

[Stacia]

Blah. I've got like seven or eight books underway, none of which I really want to read right now. That is such an aggravating feeling. I think I'm going to stop all of them for now & try to find something new to start.

 

Any fun summer recommendations for books?????

[Paisley Hedgehog]

. 

 

[eaglei]

Not sure where I left off with posting - just that I missed posting at least last week and maybe the last two weeks, though I did read the thread - wouldn't miss reading this thread!!!  

 

Here's the latest:

 

#37 - New Passages:  Mapping Your Life Across Time, by Gail Sheehy.  I don't think I ever took so long to read a book as I did this one.  I found parts of *me* in it, as it pertains to the aging process and how one perceives it.  I liked the positive aspects and stories she highlighted.  She also had a good mix of research.  Some of the language was off-putting as well as her non-essential political jabs.  This book came recommended; otherwise, I would never have pulled it from the library shelf.  I stuck with it because after I had invested x-amount of time, I didn't want it wasted!  Had I to do it over again, I probably wouldn't.

 

#38 - Virginia Reel, by Virginia Gilbert.  Enjoyed this immensely.  I'm not sure why the library had this catalogued as fiction; it appears to be non-fiction, written by the eldest daughter of a small-town family, and revolving around the creative ways her mother devised to carry on the household following her husband's untimely death not long after the Depression. Some laugh out-loud funny parts.  (The author, an aspiring actress, married Edwin Gilbert, an author).

 

Currently reading:

 

#39 - Hidden (Series:  Sisters of the Heart, Book One), by Shelley Shepard Gray.  My introduction to this author.  So far, so good.

 

Also have books two and three of this series waiting in the wings, as well as another novel (one-third read) and a biography.

[Jane in NC]

McDermid is one I place firmly in the disturbing camp.  Very violent and usually quite graphic, similar to Mo Hayder or Stuart Macbride.  McDermid is a great writer if you like a sort of British CSI type thing.  I am pretty sure Fever of the Bone is one from the Carol Jordan / Tony Hill series, and I think I've read it (can't remember specifics).  Have you ever watched Wire in the Blood on BBC or Netflix?  That series is based on these books and is pretty true to form.

Hmmm...I think that disturbing is not what I want in an airplane book. Thanks for the heads up!

 

(And no I have not seen Wire in the Blood. Not sure I want to!)

[Rosie_0801]

I finished Tamil Tigress by Niromi de Soyza last night.

[-M-]

57 to date; here are those I've recently completed:

 

â–  The Comedy of Errors (William Shakespeare (1594); Folger ed. 2004. 272. pages. Drama.)
â–  The Metamorphosis (Franz Kafka (1915); Bantam ed. 1972. 201 pages. Fiction.)
â–  The Storyteller (Jodi Picoult; 2013. 480 pages. Fiction.)
â–  Kill Shakespeare: Volume 2 (Conor McCreery; 2011. 148 pages. Graphic fiction.)
â–  The Dinner (Herman Koch; 2013. 304 pages. Fiction.)

 

 

[Stacia]

we'll see if I can stay the course on some non-fiction this week. :tongue_smilie:

 

Well, to do the hideous thing & quote oneself.... I gave up on all the books I had been reading, including my non-fiction choices. I guess my answer of staying my course on non-fiction was... I lasted until Tuesday. LOL. I will probably continue those books later; I'm just not in the mood for them right now. Apparently, I'm not in the mood for various books because I've probably started & stopped about eight different ones in the past few days.

 

However, today, I picked up a copy of Italo Calvino's If on a winter's night a traveler at the library & have started it.

 

This one, so far, is pleasing me. :001_smile:

 

 

[Stacia]

I finished Tamil Tigress by Niromi de Soyza last night.

 

This sounds quite fascinating. What did you think of it?