Book a Week in 2014 - BW5

[shukriyya]

Following rumors that the Loch Ness Monster has migrated to a fjord, I am arming myself with a camera & a bag of green usufructs to lure Nessie to me. (I've heard that Nessie just can't get enough of gummy candies, especially the green ones.) Getting in my kayak now.... Wish me luck!

 

 

 

:lol:

 

:smilielol5:

 

This is as far as I'm willing to go with my visual definition :eek: and unfortunately both the word and the aural interpretation are now lodged in my mind. Very unrefined, I know, but I'm having a strange kind of day.

 

 

 

[Robin M]

Since it's the last day of the month & BaWers are posting their January reads, here are mine:

 

 

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (5 stars). Around the World – North America (USA).

This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper (3 stars).

Aiding and Abetting by Muriel Spark (3 stars). Challenge: Around the World – Europe (England).

Sunjata by Bamba Suso & Banna Kanute (5 stars). Challenge: Around the World – Africa (Gambia & Mali).

The Lunatic by Anthony C. Winkler (4 stars). Challenge: Around the World – Caribbean (Jamaica).

The Joke by Milan Kundera (4 stars). Challenge: Around the World – Europe (Czech Republic).

I've added The Lunatic to my stacks. 

 

Flavorwire has an interesting list of 50 Books by Women Authors to Read for #ReadWomen2014.

 

I've read some of these (books &/or authors), but must say that my own reading lists lean much more heavily to the side of male authors. There are some female authors I've enjoyed but they seem few & far between.

 

What about you? Do you tend to read male or female authors more often?

Last year looks about 25% male. But my TBR stacks are 50/50.  I also tend to read more male authors for non fiction. Wonder why that is?

 

I want to join in on the Dante's Inferno read-a-long.  What is the best translation available for Kindle?

 

Also, who are your favorite Italian authors?  I need some suggestions for our next country.   :bigear:

 

 

 

Hm...  This post seems a bit austere.  This calls for fluffy kittens!

 

 

 

 

ETA:  I found a translation by John Ciardi, Allen Mandelbaum, and Mark Musa.  Are any of these good?

I heard Eliana say Mandelbaum was her favorite so I got that translation. Looks good.    As far as other italian authors - Umberto Eco, Italo Calvino, and Machiavelli are the only three I can think of at the moment.  Will be coming up with a list in the week after next Sunday post.  Check out these links for some names - Italians R Us,   Italian Mysteries, and  Good reads

[marbel]

I've added The Lunatic to my stacks. 

 

Last year looks about 25% male. But my TBR stacks are 50/50.  I also tend to read more male authors for non fiction. Wonder why that is?

 

I heard Eliana say Mandelbaum was her favorite so I got that translation. Looks good.    As far as other italian authors - Umberto Eco, Italo Calvino, and Machiavelli are the only three I can think of at the moment.  Will be coming up with a list in the week after next Sunday post.  Check out these links for some names - Italians R Us,   Italian Mysteries, and  Good reads

 

Italian authors?  Try Lampedusa's The Leopard.  It's been years since I read it, so I don't really remember much about it.  I don't even know why I read it.  But anyway, there's an Italian author for you.

[prairiegirl]

Flavorwire has an interesting list of 50 Books by Women Authors to Read for #ReadWomen2014.

 

I've read some of these (books &/or authors), but must say that my own reading lists lean much more heavily to the side of male authors. There are some female authors I've enjoyed but they seem few & far between.

 

What about you? Do you tend to read male or female authors more often?

 

I have not really thought about this before.  I have only read 3 of the authors on this list but when I think about it I read more women authors than men.  Of the books that I have read in the last year, I think that about 10 % are written by men.  I do not why that is.  Hmmm.  I will have to give that some thought.

Thank you - I'm happy to be here!

 

I picked up Cinnamon and Gunpowder after reading about it here. I liked the whole premise of the book - lady pirate and the chef. Some parts dragged a bit but overall, I enjoyed it.  I could imagine it being a movie. 

 

A Tale for the Time Being bounces back and forth between a 16 year old Japanese girl and a writer living in Canada.  I liked reading Nao's story more than Ruth's, even though it was heartbreaking most of the time.  My girls are into Japanese pop-culture and I found the descriptions of Nao's life so interesting.  I didn't care for some of the more mystical elements towards the end of the book.  I like stories to be reality or fantasy but not mixed together.  That said, my book club has selected this as their February book and I'm looking forward to the discussion and finding out how others interpret what happened.

 

 

edited to add that I liked Nick Hornby's About a Boy better than I'm liking this one.  It's the only other book I've read of this author.

 

Margie

I have  A Tale for the Time Being  on my TBR list.  I am looking forward to reading it.   I have read one Nick Hornsby book,  I cannot remember the title,  but I did not like it.  That was  a few years ago and my tastes have changed since them so maybe I should try it again....or, at least, a different one.

 

Lady Dusk,  I have  Howards End is on the Landing sitting on my nightstand.  It waits impatiently for me to finish the book that I am reading now.  I have heard so much about this book that I am looking forward to reading it.

[Violet Crown]

Just in under the wire for completed January reads. I threw in some Shakespeare that Middle Girl and her friend are studying, so we can be all ready for this summer's performance in the park by our local troupe.

 

6. Shakespeare, As You Like It

5. Maupassant, "Le Horla"

4. Irving, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories

3. Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables

2. Frederick Rolfe, Hadrian VII

1. Mann, Death in Venice & Other Stories

 

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

 

It was a lover and his lass,

With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonny-no,

That o'er the green cornfield did pass,

In spring-time,

The only pretty ring-time,

When birds do sing;

Hey ding-a-ding, ding

Sweet lovers love the spring.

 

-As You Like It

 

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

 

Back to St Hildegarde.

[shukriyya]

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

 

It was a lover and his lass,

With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonny-no,

That o'er the green cornfield did pass,

In spring-time,

The only pretty ring-time,

When birds do sing;

Hey ding-a-ding, ding

Sweet lovers love the spring.

 

-As You Like It

 

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

 

Oh my, I'm having a little trip back in time to our 70's living room and record player! I can see this album...a cheesy looking guy in tight pants and a flowing white Elizabethan shirt (opened to expose some chest hairs) draped over a barstool looking 'winningly' right at you. The whole album was a medley of Shakespeare's various songs, of which 'lover and his lass' was one. :lol:

 

[Guest]

NM

[Kareni]

Oh my, I'm having a little trip back in time to our 70's living room and record player! I can see this album...a cheesy looking guy in tight pants and a flowing white Elizabethan shirt (opened to expose some chest hairs) draped over a barstool looking 'winningly' right at you.

 

Since we're having flashbacks, yesterday I was in a thrift store and saw this record which I remember my parents owning.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Onceuponatime]

"I set out on this ground, which I suppose to be self evident, "that the earth belongs in usufruct to the living": that the dead have neither powers nor rights over it."

 

 

 

One place we never looked was in cemeteries. :blink:

[Onceuponatime]

 

It was a lover and his lass,

With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonny-no,

That o'er the green cornfield did pass,

In spring-time,

The only pretty ring-time,

When birds do sing;

Hey ding-a-ding, ding

Sweet lovers love the spring.

 

-As You Like It

 

 

Um, I thought Willie Wonka said that. :blushing:

 

Since we're having flashbacks, yesterday I was in a thrift store and saw this record which I remember my parents owning.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 We had that one too!

[shukriyya]

Since we're having flashbacks, yesterday I was in a thrift store and saw this record which I remember my parents owning.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

They just don't make album cover artwork like that anymore!

[Violet Crown]

Blackadder: Don't say 'Beshrew me', Percy. Only stupid actors say 'Beshrew me'.

Percy: Oh, how I would love to be an actor! I had a great talent for it in my youth; I was the Man of a Thousand Faces!

Blackadder: How'd you come to choose the ugly mug you've got now, then?

Percy: Tush, my lord!

Blackadder: And don't say 'Tush', either. It's only a short step from 'Tush' to 'Hey nonny nonny', and then I'm afraid I shall have to call the police.

[Robin M]

Since we're having flashbacks, yesterday I was in a thrift store and saw this record which I remember my parents owning.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

We still have that record and were just listening to it the other day!  :coolgleamA:

[Onceuponatime]

The quality isn't great but it was the only one I could find.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guLweHSnKgc

[Robin M]

I just found the free kindle ebooks for fiction and non fiction genres.   Found some freebies on Theodore Roosevelt.   Going back in......

[Angel]

My January reads:

 

1 – The Women of Christmas by Liz Curtis Higgs

2 – Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans

3 – The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis

4 – Michael Vey:  The Rise of the Elgin by Richard Paul Evans

5 – Soulless by Gail Carriger

6 – Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley

7 – A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters

 

 

I picked up a copy of Dante's Inferno at the thrift store today.  Translation by someone whose last name begins with a C.  I thought I might join in with that next month.  

 

[Robin M]

21 Cats Who are Secretly Excellent Readers

 

"I would never run away like the cat in this book. Never!"     :lol:

 

 

[Stacia]

Big fan of Joanne Harris here! What is the Goodreads newsletter and why do I not get it?!?

Go under your account settings on Goodreads. Click on the email tab. Scroll down to the bottom of the page & it shows various emails newsletters you can get. I think I heard about the new Joanne Harris book in the newsletter that tells about new/upcoming releases by authors I've previously read.

[SunnyDays]

Big fan of Joanne Harris here! What is the Goodreads newsletter and why do I not get it?!?

Go under your account settings on Goodreads. Click on the email tab. Scroll down to the bottom of the page & it shows various emails newsletters you can get. I think I heard about the new Joanne Harris book in the newsletter that tells about new/upcoming releases by authors I've previously read.

Oh, I was going to explain about the super secret password and the special ritual with the pixies who guard the newsletters. But your way sounds easier, I guess... ;)

 

I can't believe it's February! I don't know if I'm doing the Inferno read... I just started The Goldfinch, which is long, plus I'm going to try reading Wuthering Heights with a group from another site. That with a side of nonfiction and a light dessert of fluff... Well, I think my reading month may be full!! I've always wanted to read it though, so we will see....

[Stacia]

...

[Stacia]

I find it fascinating that many of you read primarily works by female authors and, if you read male authors, those tend to be non-fiction works.

 

Why do you tend to enjoy/select works by female authors more often? Is it a conscious or unconscious choice? Just curious....

 

Am I the anomaly? (Surely there must be someone else here who reads predominately male authors for fiction?)

[shukriyya]

I find it fascinating that many of you read primarily works by female authors and, if you read male authors, those tend to be non-fiction works.

 

Why do you tend to enjoy/select works by female authors more often? Is it a conscious or unconscious choice? Just curious....

 

Am I the anomaly? (Surely there must be someone else here who reads predominately male authors for fiction?)

 

I, too, find this a fascinating question and one that I've returned to over the years without much resolution.

 

It's late right now but I'll think on it some more and see if I can organize my thoughts around it and come back with some kind of response.

[Robin M]

I think for me it's a subconscious thing and like shukriyya, have to give it some more thought.  I'm off for the night.  Pleasant dreams!

[SunnyDays]

I think it's subconscious for me as well. I also read several series that happen to have women authors... That automatically adds several to the female side each year.

 

Stacia, I know, I have heard similar reviews of Wuthering Heights. That wasn't the one I voted for, LOL! We shall see... if I hate it, I will feel no guilt ditching it!

[Stacia]

Stacia, I know, I have heard similar reviews of Wuthering Heights. That wasn't the one I voted for, LOL! We shall see... if I hate it, I will feel no guilt ditching it!

But... hey -- female author. Lol.

[SunnyDays]

Well, there is that. :) Maybe I should read Dante instead just to mix things up a bit!

[Rosie_0801]

I find it fascinating that many of you read primarily works by female authors and, if you read male authors, those tend to be non-fiction works.

 

Why do you tend to enjoy/select works by female authors more often? Is it a conscious or unconscious choice? Just curious....

 

Am I the anomaly? (Surely there must be someone else here who reads predominately male authors for fiction?)

 

Men don't write fluffy gardening mysteries.

[mumto2]

For me at least the low percentage of male authors is related to a fairly high percentage of fluffy mysteries, paranormals, and historical romances. Those areas seem to be dominated by female authors which makes my 25% male author almost inevitable since those genres are always a part of my stack.

[marbel]

I find it fascinating that many of you read primarily works by female authors and, if you read male authors, those tend to be non-fiction works.

 

Why do you tend to enjoy/select works by female authors more often? Is it a conscious or unconscious choice? Just curious....

 

Am I the anomaly? (Surely there must be someone else here who reads predominately male authors for fiction?)

 

I've never given it a moment's thought.   I choose books that look or sound interesting and I don't really think about the sex of the author.  It  never occurred to me that it would matter!  I'm suddenly recalling an American Lit professor who tried to beat that out of me, but she did not succeed.  I do note that among my paltry 26 books read (or at least recorded, I hope there were others) last year, 12 were by female authors. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Violet Crown]

Looking over my last year's books (nearly 50), only two were by women - Eudora Welty and Nancy Mitford. Oh dear. I'd never even thought about the sex of the writers as I went.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

.

[Jane in NC]

 

ETA:  As I think about it more, I tend to *majorly* dislike books by women marketed to women.  Even if you throw out romance, and romantic paranormal, and romantic family drama, and romantic cozy, and the dreaded "chick lit", female authors whose books are talked up and get major pre-publication publicity rarely interest me.  I'm thinking of books like Wild, Night Film, The Lifeboat.  (The most recent I can think of is The Goldfinch, but I can't comment on that one since I haven't read it yet.)  I used to think that I'm just onery and hate whatever's popular, but now I think that publishing houses have an idea of what women readers want and I simply don't fit into the traditional 'female reader' mold.  Shrug.  Whatever.

 

I agree with much of Paisley's comment, but I know that I can be quite ornery--and judgmental.  This is one reason that I decided to list publication dates with my books this year.  When all is said and done, I am curious to see how many newish  books I read.

 

A quick tally of last year's reading shows that I am more evenly divided than many with respect to gender.  Last year I read 28 books by women, 37 by men, although seven of the eight I have read this year are by men. 

 

 

[shukriyya]

ETA: As I think about it more, I tend to *majorly* dislike books by women marketed to women. Even if you throw out romance, and romantic paranormal, and romantic family drama, and romantic cozy, and the dreaded "chick lit", female authors whose books are talked up and get major pre-publication publicity rarely interest me. I'm thinking of books like Wild, Night Film, The Lifeboat. (The most recent I can think of is The Goldfinch, but I can't comment on that one since I haven't read it yet.) I used to think that I'm just onery and hate whatever's popular, but now I think that publishing houses have an idea of what women readers want and I simply don't fit into the traditional 'female reader' mold. Shrug. Whatever.

This! While most of the fiction I read is by women little of it is in the popular category. Those books on Amazon that have 2,134 reviews don't grab me for whatever reason, try as I might to want to like them. The exception has been my recent discovery of Susanna Kearsley. I was all prepared to dislike the book because it had a romantic theme and was very popular. I surprised myself by thoroughly enjoying it.

 

I like reading about women more than I like reading about men and I think part of the reason for that is that I'm trying to understand the female experience within a male-dominated world. The questions that arise as I read often reflect either my own experience or else themes and trajectories that are still unfolding me as a woman.

 

I came of age with the great women visionary writers like like Doris Lessing, Margaret Atwood, Margaret Lawrence, Germaine Greer, Margaret Drabble. The Golden Notebook loomed large in the atmosphere of our home. My mom's friends would gather with their white wine and their restlessness and discuss these books and these themes. As a young girl on the verge of womanhood I would sit outside the door and listen and I had the sense of a fresh breeze, a wild wind blowing through the room and over me. These authors were writing unapologetically about the realities and inner lives of women. That's the kind of author I still gravitate towards.

[Jane in NC]

This! While most of the fiction I read is by women little of it is in the popular category. Those books on Amazon that have 2,134 reviews don't grab me for whatever reason, try as I might to want to like them. The exception has been my recent discovery of Susanna Kearsley. I was all prepared to dislike the book because it had a romantic theme and was very popular. I surprised myself by thoroughly enjoying it.

 

I like reading about women more than I like reading about men and I think part of the reason for that is that I'm trying to understand the female experience within a male-dominated world. The questions that arise as I read often reflect either my own experience or else themes and trajectories that are still unfolding me as a woman.

 

I came of age with the great women visionary writers like like Doris Lessing, Margaret Atwood, Margaret Lawrence, Germaine Greer, Margaret Drabble. The Golden Notebook loomed large in the atmosphere of our home. My mom's friends would gather with their white wine and their restlessness and discuss these books and these themes. As a young girl on the verge of womanhood I would sit outside the door and listen and I had the sense of a fresh breeze, a wild wind blowing through the room and over me. These authors were writing unapologetically about the realities and inner lives of women. That's the kind of author I still gravitate towards.

 

Many of my favorite writers are women:  Barbara Pym, Angela Thirkell, Susan Howatch, Dorothy Dunnett, E.M. Delafield, Olivia Manning.  Only one of these women is still alive (Howatch).  It was delightful to discover Jane Gardam last year.  I adored her Old Filth Trilogy. 

 

Currently I am reading an Alan Furst espionage thriller set in Paris, 1942.  I enjoy his books as well as those by John LeCarre.

 

Several mysteries series that I really enjoy are by men.  Peter Robinson, for example.

 

I am often drawn to books that withstand the test of time. George Eliot's novels come to mind but many there are male authors too.

 

Admittedly though I cannot say there are any female playwrights that I adore.  My favorite plays include a number by Shakespeare and Shaw, as well as fun things like She Stoops to Conquer or dramas like Death of a Salesman.  There seems to be a gaping hole here.

 

Shukriyya:  I suspect your mother and her friends may have been reading Colette, too.

[shukriyya]

Shukriyya: I suspect your mother and her friends may have been reading Colette, too.

Yes, and lots of Anais Nin as well, both of whom I went on to read and enjoy also.

[Jane in NC]

Yes, and lots of Anais Nin as well, both of whom I went on to read and enjoy also.

I have no desire to reread Nin but I have been thinking about Colette.  It has been a long time...  So imagine my surprise when I googled her this morning and learned that the director of Call the Midwife will direct a revamped stage version of Gigi!

[Robin M]

Link to week 6  -   please continue conversation in new thread