Lady Florida. Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Happy Birthday welovetoread. What a great present! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 Finds of the day: Since our armchair travels are taking us into France next week: Barnes and Noble daily find - Somewhere in France set during WWI The Sheltering Sky - available through Harper Collins for $1,99 Check out the story of told by his brother (yes it involves books). Speaking of stories with animals: Check out Brainpickings The Big New Yorker Book of Cats And a really fun book to read, especially aloud if you like to do voices - The Ark, The Reed and the Firecloud by Jenny Cote Happy Birthday, We Love to Read. Woohoo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welovetoread Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I tried turning off the wi-fi on my kindle. My heart started racing and then Robin posted all of those books. Its no use :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Hello to all my BaW friends. Some friends from the Midwest were escaping their brutal winter on Saint Simon's Island (GA) and they invited me to join them. What an exquisite place! The live oaks draped with Spanish moss are magnificent! Saturday we biked for several hours on Jekyll Island; yesterday we biked up to Fort Frederica on Saint Simon's. In between the biking, I was able to stroll along the beach and sit on the front porch and read. Temperatures were often comfortable (60's to 70's)--particularly in a sunbeam with a cup of tea. Books were discussed and I returned with a list of authors to investigate. Because I Am Insane, I listened to The Red Badge of Courage on I-95. My first thought was "Why was I assigned this in 8th grade?" Of course, I was taught by people who were profoundly influenced by WWII and many of my peers had family members or neighbors in Vietnam at the time. So perhaps this was the backdrop. Having finished the audiobook today, I find the novel to be interesting beyond the war story. Like the Finnish/Estonian novel Purge, Red Badge is about self preservation. Frankly I think that most people become quite high and mighty about the lines they would draw in the sand, but when situations happen, lines are hard to draw. There are rarely only two sides to a story because of the dynamical flow of life. Both Purge and the Red Badge describe the complexity of decisions and outcomes. Nothing is simple. Since our armchair travels are taking us into France next week: Barnes and Noble daily find - Somewhere in France set during WWI :001_tt1: France? Did someone say France? Currently reading My Year of Meats. Even books that are supposed to be humorous seem to have their depressing side. Maybe I need a good dose of Wodehouse or Delafield to lighten my soul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Thanks to shukriyya, I went and dug out my copy of Mary Stewart's This Rough Magic. It is still my favorite Mary Stewart. Fantastic Gothic Romance. Book Reviews 1. The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L Sayers 2. A To Z with C.S. Lewis by Louis A Markos 3. Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis 4. Perelandra by C.S. Lewis 5. The Magic Apple Tree by Susan Hill 6. Why Kill a Butler? by Georgette Heyer 7. When the Sirens Wailed by Noel Streatfield (Family Read Aloud) 8. Howard's End is on the Landing by Susan Hill 9. This Rough Magic by Mary Stewart I just put This Rough Magic on reserve at my library. I don't know that I've read any Gothic romances ... what makes something Gothic? In a few weeks' time, I will need to find a book with non-human characters - any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :) I second Pam in CT's recommendation of Maus. It falls in the category of sad books I enjoyed. It's a pretty short list so it's a good recommendation to be on there. FINISHED: The Winter Wedding by Joan Smith - Ah ... to be young and in love in Regency England ... sigh. If that's your thing then add this book to you to-read list because it was filled with witty dialog, likable characters, and a happy ending. READING: One Corpse Too Many by Ellis Peters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I just put This Rough Magic on reserve at my library. I don't know that I've read any Gothic romances ... what makes something Gothic? Hmmm ... I looked up "Gothic Romance" on Wiki (that source of all sources LOL) and it wasn't particularly helpful. I think of the genre as one where there is a mystery or suspenseful plot, a love story (generally "clean"), confusion, a dark or confusing setting and some mythical/imaginative solution. The first big one was The Mystery of Udolpho which Jane Austen parodies in Northanger Abbey. The helpful part of the Wiki article lists some mid-century authors who write in the style: "Gothic Romances of this description became popular during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, with authors such as Phyllis A. Whitney, Joan Aiken, Dorothy Eden, Victoria Holt, Barbara Michaels, Mary Stewart, and Jill Tattersall. Many featured covers depicting a terror-stricken woman in diaphanous attire in front of a gloomy castle, often with a single lit window. Many were published under the Paperback Library Gothic imprint and were marketed to a female audience." I don't like the sentence I italicized. Perhaps that's true, but I don't think that's a defining character of the genre. I would've never read that kind of book when I was younger; my rule was that I read romances that I wouldn't be embarrassed to show the cover to my mom. Susan Howatch's early work would also be Gothic Romance, IMO. Generally, I find the mystery/suspense as engaging but not frightening or scary. (I don't do thrillers or Stephen King style books) In this This Rough Magic, there is a Castello with hidden passages and caves beneath and some other unbelievable plot devices. In my favorite Victoria Holt book, Pride of the Peacock, has an English Manor House complete with spinet built in the Australian wilderness ... and poisonings. Fun! Many of them are set in the past; particularly Victoria Holts, but not all authors wrote historically, and all of Stewart's that I've read were contemporary when written. I read lots of Phyllis Whitney (she got a little too new-agey for me toward the end of her career) and Victoria Holt when I was in high school. I don't know about some of these other authors. They are different from, say, Georgette Heyer's mystery Why Shoot a Butler? because there's no mystical, supernatural-old haunted (but not ghosts!) element to that. For me, they're fluffy fluff ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Back from commutes, classes, quick turnaround at home, out again for piano then library and store for sushi and finally home.Jane, I like the image of a lilliputian you sitting inside a sunbeam with an even daintier cup of tea. Your holiday sounded wonderfully restorative.Welovetoread, Happy Birthday!I'm wondering where Michelle is. She hasn't posted in a week or more. For more musings on Gothic novels, this is a book I read at uni and am thinking I'll reread, 'The Madwoman in the Attic by Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar. I love their "revolutionary realization in the 1970s that "the personal was the political, the sexual was the textual." I read a lot of Victoria Holt in high school, 'Mistress of Mellyn' being most memorable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 When I think of Gothic novels, the eighteenth century and Ann Radcliffe come to mind. (And of course, Jane Austen's parody of her work.) Two of my favorite authors! :001_wub: :svengo: Fainting...one mustn't forget fainting or swooning in a Gothic novel post... :svengo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 For more musings on Gothic novels, this is a book I read at uni and am thinking I'll reread, 'The Madwoman in the Attic by Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar. I love their "revolutionary realization in the 1970s that "the personal was the political, the sexual was the textual." I read a lot of Victoria Holt in high school, 'Mistress of Mellyn' being most memorable. I also really like Holt's The Shivering Sands. Some of her later books were better than the earlier: The Silk Vendetta, The India Fan. Well written and engaging. I have a box in the basement with a bunch of Holt, Whitney, Howatch, and Stewart books ... But I'm reading C S Lewis this year. I *am*. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 For those among us who have 'food' as one of our 5/5/5 categories, and I think there are more than a few of us, myself included, how about Dinner with Mr. Darcy : Recipes from Jane Austen's Novels and Letters. Pigeon pie, anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiegirl Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I read lots of Phyllis Whitney (she got a little too new-agey for me toward the end of her career) and Victoria Holt when I was in high school. I don't know about some of these other authors. They are different from, say, Georgette Heyer's mystery Why Shoot a Butler? because there's no mystical, supernatural-old haunted (but not ghosts!) element to that. For me, they're fluffy fluff ;) I was a big fan of both Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt when I was a teen. I often wonder if I would enjoy them now. I think I also read Susan Howatch as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 For those among us who have 'food' as one of our 5/5/5 categories, and I think there are more than a few of us, myself included, how about Dinner with Mr. Darcy : Recipes from Jane Austen's Novels and Letters. Pigeon pie, anyone? Sounds like fun but I am going to try for five food novels. If all else fails, I'll go to memoir (Colwin or David for example). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I was a big fan of both Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt when I was a teen. I often wonder if I would enjoy them now. I think I also read Susan Howatch as well. The ones I re-read as an adult because I liked them as a teen have held up pretty well, I think ... and I don't think it's just nostalgia. I think I've understood more of the mystery and enjoyed the romance as much. You should choose one you remember liking and give it a try; they're quick reads and will pad your totals if nothing else ;) If you haven't read Howatch since being a teen, try out her later series work; it's fantastic! Hey, Jane in NC, another Howatch reader :) (I found Susan Howatch because she was on the shelf below Victoria Holt in the high school library; the titles drew me like a moth to flame: Penmarric, Cashelmara ...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I was a big fan of both Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt when I was a teen. I often wonder if I would enjoy them now. I think I also read Susan Howatch as well. Ladydusk has read more of the earlier Howatch stuff but there is a later change from the Gothic romance to family sagas that parallel historical events or people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Ladydusk has read more of the earlier Howatch stuff but there is a later change from the Gothic romance to family sagas that parallel historical events or people. Phone post while I sit in the car waiting for ds to finish piano lessons so I can't bold your last bit but any recs on those family sagas paralleling historical events? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Ladydusk has read more of the earlier Howatch stuff but there is a later change from the Gothic romance to family sagas that parallel historical events or people. True, although I did read the family sagas first. I'm convinced that I *did* *not* understand certain scenes in Cashelmara [shudder] as a teen and wonder that it was on the high school shelves at all. Sometimes, though, once I find an author I like, I read whatever I can get my hands on by that author ... and her earlier work is definitely good. I notice, also, that I like British authors of gothic romance - only Phyllis Whitney is American - I think that attraction is added to by the exotic foreignness ... and the Brits write so well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 This talk about Susan Howatch, etc., puts me in mind of MM Kaye's The Far Pavilions and Elizabeth Goudge's Green Dolphin Street - not gothics, but romantic novels st in exotic places I read when young. I turned my ancient edition of Green Dolphin Street over to my daughter, but she is disinterested... sigh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Phone post while I sit in the car waiting for ds to finish piano lessons so I can't bold your last bit but any recs on those family sagas paralleling historical events? Wiki - redeems itself on Susan Howatch. I've read all of these at one point or another: The Rich are Different and The Sins of the Fathers are based on the plot structure of the lives of Julius Ceasar and Mark Antony and Octavian and Cleopatra. They're set in the 1920s-1960s Wall Street, New York City. Fantastic Probably my favorite of the historical family sagas. Penmarric is based on the early Plantangenets and set in 1860s Cornwall. Next favorite The Wheel of Fortune is some later Plantangenets. I don't remember its setting, also Cornwall-ish? but later, 1910s Cashelmara is based on Edward I and II set in 1800s Ireland - but I can't in good conscience recommend it. There are some very very dark, disturbing, sordid scenes in that book that I wish I could erase from memory. The Starbridge and St Benet's books are great and set in the Anglican Church. These are listed by SWB as some of her favorite fiction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 This talk about Susan Howatch, etc., puts me in mind of MM Kaye's The Far Pavilions and Elizabeth Goudge's Green Dolphin Street - not gothics, but romantic novels st in exotic places I read when young. I turned my ancient edition of Green Dolphin Street over to my daughter, but she is disinterested... sigh... Neither in my library :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Phone post while I sit in the car waiting for ds to finish piano lessons so I can't bold your last bit but any recs on those family sagas paralleling historical events? The Rich are Different and The Sins of the Fathers are very satisfying novels, but the Starbridge series swept me away. When I have told people that I highly recommend a series of chunkster novels describing the 20th century history of the Anglican Church, eyebrows are raised. These books can be read as a saga of a group of characters over time--the various movements within the church can certainly be ignored. But the backdrop adds such a richness to my mind. Same with The Rich and Sins. We know the Shakespearean plays but to have them "performed" in a modern context reminds us that greed and those who seek power for power's sake remain with us. Howatch is such a fine writer and storyteller. Ladydusk and I are groupies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 This talk about Susan Howatch, etc., puts me in mind of MM Kaye's The Far Pavilions and Elizabeth Goudge's Green Dolphin Street - not gothics, but romantic novels st in exotic places I read when young. I turned my ancient edition of Green Dolphin Street over to my daughter, but she is disinterested... sigh... I see that The Far Pavillions is a 1000 pager. Let's assign this to Stacia! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 This talk about Susan Howatch, etc., puts me in mind of MM Kaye's The Far Pavilions and Elizabeth Goudge's Green Dolphin Street - not gothics, but romantic novels st in exotic places I read when young. I turned my ancient edition of Green Dolphin Street over to my daughter, but she is disinterested... sigh... The Far Pavilions was a book that was always around and referred to off and on when I was growing up, partly I think, because of my father's early years in India. I've not read it but I did read some Elizabeth Goudge as a girl and loved it. I'm remembering in particular, The Little White Horse. Thanks for all the Howatch recs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladydusk Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 The Rich are Different and The Sins of the Fathers are very satisfying novels, but the Starbridge series swept me away. When I have told people that I highly recommend a series of chunkster novels describing the 20th century history of the Anglican Church, eyebrows are raised. These books can be read as a saga of a group of characters over time--the various movements within the church can certainly be ignored. But the backdrop adds such a richness to my mind. Same with The Rich and Sins. We know the Shakespearean plays but to have them "performed" in a modern context reminds us that greed and those who seek power for power's sake remain with us. Howatch is such a fine writer and storyteller. Ladydusk and I are groupies. I should clarify that I think of the Historical/Family Sagas as just as separate entities from the Gothic Romances as from the Starbridge/St. Benet's books. I wouldn't recommend them in place of the Starbridge books - I just found them first and didn't read the Starbridge books until I was an adult (with a newborn LOL). Anyway, Howatch, IMO, has three distinct eras to her writing - Gothic Romances, Family Sagas/Historicals, Starbridge/St. Benet's. They are all intriguing on their own merits. Where the reader starts depends upon their interests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I'm loving the detail and specifics you and Jane are going into wrt Susan Howatch. I've followed various of your links and was intrigued enough to check my library which sadly doesn't have any of her work in ebook form. They do however have almost a dozen of her books in hard copy so that's the route I'll go. Still, I've got a fair number of Mary Stewart's I'd like to get through first and while I was waiting for ds to choose his books today I saw her Merlin trilogy. Because I enjoy her writing so much I think this will also go into the tbr pile... ..Gah, the 80s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Jane, I'm wondering if you've read any of Delderfield's books. I'm thinking particularly of God is an Englishman which is part one of the Swann Saga and To Serve them All My Days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Jane, I'm wondering if you've read any of Delderfield's books. I'm thinking particularly of God is an Englishman which is part one of the Swann Saga and To Serve them All My Days. No but do I get partial credit for watching Masterpiece Theater dramatizations of To Serve them All My Days and A Horseman Riding By? The latter has really stuck with me which is a good suggestion that I should put it on my list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 No but do I get partial credit for watching Masterpiece Theater dramatizations of To Serve them All My Days and A Horseman Riding By? The latter has really stuck with me which is a good suggestion that I should put it on my list. Credit duly given with extra points for remembering A Horseman Riding By :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 The Far Pavilion appears to be available at my library. I added it to my wish list and will give it a try later in the year. Sounds intriguing. I want to third the Howatch Starbridge series. I am part way through and enjoying them. I enjoyed Shrouded Walls, one of the gothics also. I am almost done with my GM Malliet reading fest. I finished A Fatal Winter and am almost done with Pagan Spring. Really like the main character and the village characters. The next one is coming soon.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 For more musings on Gothic novels, this is a book I read at uni and am thinking I'll reread, 'The Madwoman in the Attic by Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar. I love their "revolutionary realization in the 1970s that "the personal was the political, the sexual was the textual."Oh my, Gilbert and Gubar! It's been a very long time. The further I read in Don Juan, the more impressed I am that Eliana took it on as a teenager. I would never have been able to get anything out of it at that age, in my pristine suburban ignorance having read nothing of Wordsworth, knowing nothing of Coleridge or Southey or blue stockings, and being completely unaware of Greek political history and Byron's relation to it. All the amusing parts would have gone right over my head. The best stanzas are those where Byron takes on the topic of poets and poetry, delivered in the deliberately unwieldy (in English) structure of ottava rima that forces him into stretched-for rhymes and absurd couplets. A famous stanza: ------------------- When amatory poets sing their loves In liquid lines mellifluously bland, And pair their rhymes as Venus yokes her doves, They little think what mischief is in hand; The greater their success the worse it proves, As Ovid’s verse may give to understand; Even Petrarch’s self, if judged with due severity, Is the Platonic pimp of all posterity. --------------------- Now there's alliteration for you. Finished The Quest for Corvo, which I am convinced is a necessary companion volume to Hadrian VII, but which I wouldn't recommend to someone who hasn't read the latter. And as a lark, A Confederate General from Big Sur, which, while it had its moments - the scene with marijuana, tiny alligators, and the guy chained to a log is notable - was inferior to Brautigan's more experimental classic Trout Fishing in America. Afraid there's not much for me to offer on the challenge. I might re-read Oroonoko, which is in my Works of Aphra Behn, Vol. V; shall I count that for a number in the title? No progress on Dante, as there is no sign of Purgatorio anywhere. Maybe the Protestants are right. 10. Richard Brautigan, A Confederate General from Big Sur 9. A.J. Symons, The Quest for Corvo 8. Austen, Mansfield Park 7. St Hildegard von Bingen, Scivias 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted February 26, 2014 Author Share Posted February 26, 2014 Another Victoria Holt fan from way back in the 70's/ 80's. Big harlequin reader before I segued into Science Fiction/Fantasy. I have one favorite will never forget - Hunter's Green. Read it over and over. Surprisingly don't have in my shelves. Not quite willing to pay $15.00 just to have a copy for memories sake. Unfortunately Gothic romance leaves me cold these days, except for Mary Stewart. I have her whole Merlin series and all this talk about her, makes me want to read Crystal Cave. Interestingly enough, I glanced at my shelves in the bedroom this afternoon and there it sits. Must have pulled it out of the boxes the last time I perused through. I finished The Road to Rome by Ben Kane. Big dusty book that author sent to me a couple years back and I just never got around to it, even though I loved the first two books. Interesting traveling back to the days of Julius Caesar in 46BC. Remarkably it's kept my mind off my throbbing sinuses and finished it much sooner than expected. Tomorrow will jump back into James Rollins Amazonia. Hoping to finish Inferno in the next couple days! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawneinfl Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Hello to all my BaW friends. Some friends from the Midwest were escaping their brutal winter on Saint Simon's Island (GA) and they invited me to join them. What an exquisite place! The live oaks draped with Spanish moss are magnificent! Saturday we biked for several hours on Jekyll Island; yesterday we biked up to Fort Frederica on Saint Simon's. In between the biking, I was able to stroll along the beach and sit on the front porch and read. Temperatures were often comfortable (60's to 70's)--particularly in a sunbeam with a cup of tea. Books were discussed and I returned with a list of authors to investigate. I love Jekyll and St. Simon's! In fact we will be driving up to Jekyll for a Chess tournament this weekend - they are all day so hopefully I'll get lots of reading in. Were you able to visit the Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center? It's a great field trip if you get there again. Glad you were able to enjoy the bike ride and the weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Robin, hope you feel better soon! Jane, sounds like a fab trip! (And, no, I'm not interested in another 1000 pager right now. :lol: ) Thought you gals would enjoy this: 25 Literary Opening Lines Diagrammed on One Giant Poster ETA: Another cool link... The Shapes of Stories, a Kurt Vonnegut Infographic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Pride and Prejudice on BBC 4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 It's late, I've just come back from a long rehearsal and the half hour drive back home. Can I just give a blanket like to the Victoria Holt/gothic romance threadlet from earlier this evening? I'm not quite sure I should be driving while under the influence of listening to the Aubrey/Maturin series. I get so caught up in the sea battles, trying to picture where the ships are relative to one another, focusing on the strategy of the Captain, waiting for the smoke to clear to find out what damage has been done... I got home in one piece tonight, but my memory of the drive is of a short battle in the English channel.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I finally finished reading the Little Women quartet to the kids, and we finished listening to Treasure Island in the car. Then the sound system blew a fuse. Wasn't it polite of it to wait until the story was finished? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 No progress on Dante, as there is no sign of Purgatorio anywhere. Maybe the Protestants are right. :lol: I'm not quite sure I should be driving while under the influence of listening to the Aubrey/Maturin series. I get so caught up in the sea battles, trying to picture where the ships are relative to one another, focusing on the strategy of the Captain, waiting for the smoke to clear to find out what damage has been done... I got home in one piece tonight, but my memory of the drive is of a short battle in the English channel.. Audiobooks have that effect, don't they. I've missed exits... :crying: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I finished The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag. I find Flavia wickedly clever, but 11yo? I think of each of my own children at 11, then swallow hard. I'm concentrating on The Inferno now, wanting to finish before the end of February. Gothic romances were some of my favorites when younger also: Mary Stewart, Phyllis Whitney, and a sprinkling of Victoria Holt. Phyllis Whitney even had stories for young girls. I read a few in Junior High. Thinking about them, I realize now how location driven they are and that was part of the appeal for me, traveling to distant lands. The romance helped. :) Does DuMaurier count as gothic? There are many of the elements in her stories, but they are more dysfunctional and the endings are not as satisfying. I've read Far Pavilions, twice. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I love Jekyll and St. Simon's! In fact we will be driving up to Jekyll for a Chess tournament this weekend - they are all day so hopefully I'll get lots of reading in. Were you able to visit the Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center? It's a great field trip if you get there again. Glad you were able to enjoy the bike ride and the weather. I left the Turtle Rehab Center for another time, but loved exploring Driftwood Beach! (My friends are already talking about returning next year.) Forgot to mention this yesterday: In the preface to the audio book version of The Red Badge of Courage, it was said that Stephen Crane died of "typhus and reckless living". The latter certainly seems to take its toll... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Robin or was it Stacia, or perhaps another BaWer...who had an interest in Shackleton's expedition and read up on it? This book is a gorgeous depiction of it with really lovely colored-pencil drawings. Perhaps it would be of interest. I'm tempted just by the artwork alone... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 This book is a gorgeous depiction of it with really lovely colored-pencil drawings. Perhaps it would be of interest. I'm tempted just by the artwork alone... That does look lovely. Some of the art reminds me of that of Piero Ventura. You can see some of his work here. (After about the 13th row of that link, some of the images are not his.) Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 It was a re-read for me last night ~ Love Irresistibly (Fbi/Us Attorney) by Julie James. "From the New York Times bestselling Julie James--a smart, sexy novel that brings together a former football star turned prosecutor and a beautiful restaurant executive who's been burned one too many times by romance. For fans of Susan Mallery and Rachel Gibson.HE’S USED TO GETTING WHAT HE WANTS... A former football star and one of Chicago’s top prosecutors, Assistant U.S. Attorney Cade Morgan will do anything to nail a corrupt state senator, which means he needs Brooke Parker’s help. As general counsel for a restaurant company, she can get a bug to the senator’s table at one of her five-star restaurants so the FBI can eavesdrop on him. All Cade has to do is convince Brooke to cooperate—and he’s not afraid to use a little charm, or the power of his office, to do just that.AND WHAT HE WANTS IS HERA savvy businesswoman, Brooke knows she needs to play ball with the U.S. Attorney’s office—even if it means working with Cade. No doubt there’s a sizzling attraction beneath all their sarcastic quips, but Brooke is determined to keep things casual. Cade agrees—until a surprising turn of events throws his life into turmoil, and he realizes that he wants more than just a good time from the one woman with whom he could fall terrifyingly, irresistibly in love. . . " Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 That does look lovely. Some of the art reminds me of that of Piero Ventura. You can see some of his work here. (After about the 13th row of that link, some of the images are not his.) Regards, Kareni Very nice! Actually the Shackleton art reminded me a lot of the exquisite work of mystic-peacmaker-artist-philosopher Nicholas Roerich. Thank you for your link, Kareni. It prompted me to take a little trip through Roerich's world revisiting his art and his presence as one would a wise, old friend. And one of his more well known pieces... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-M- Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Hello, BaWers! 'haven't been here since Week Four. Since then, I've added the following to my list: ■Lexicon (Max Barry; Folger ed. 2013. 400 pages. Fiction.)■The Circle (Dave Eggers; 2013. 504 pages. Fiction.)■The Good Sister (Drusilla Campbell; 2010. 352 pages. Fiction.)■The Two Gentlemen of Verona (William Shakespeare (1589/92); Folger ed. 2006. 304 pages. Drama.) *■Hedda Gabler (Henrik Ibsen; 1890. Drama.) *■Labor Day (Joyce Maynard; 2009. 256 pages. Fiction.)■The Living (Matt De La Peña; 2013. 320 pages. Fiction.) Some notes: The Circle is a provocative (perhaps prescient?) look at our lives online. Many have criticized the writing style (its lack of character development, its plot-driven nature, in particular), but I understood it as a reflection of the often shallow and run-on nature of online "connectedness." It's this generation's 1984, I think. Has anyone else read it? Lexicon (by the same author who gave us the splendid Jennifer Government) served as a completely unplanned but wonderfully perfect complement to the Eggers novel. It is a thriller that deals primarily with linguistics -- specifically, mass manipulation through language. A thumpin' good read, if ever there were one. Highly recommended. The Good Sister was constructed well but possessed something of an elevated Lifetime for Women vibe. It passed a lazy afternoon -- as did Labor Day, which also had a Lifetime for Women vibe, I suppose, although it felt as if it were gamely reaching higher than that. We read The Two Gentlemen of Verona in anticipation of seeing a Shakespeare Project of Chicago reading. It was a reread for me: I last visited the play with my oldest more than a decade ago. And, yes, it was as if time were folding in upon itself as I watched the production with my husband and daughters this past weekend. When my son and I attended in the fall of 2003, his sisters were so young; Mr. M-mv took them to the park while we were at the play. And now they are completing their high school studies. And they have their driver licenses. And he is gone... The experience was the definition of bitterly sweet and sweetly bitter. And Hedda Gabler. I've read this play three times now, and I am still just as unsure about her. We have studied it in anticipation of seeing the incomparable Kate Fry next month in an exceedingly well reviewed Writers' Theatre production. I suspect Fry will define Hedda for me, once and for all. Oh, and The Living. Heavy sigh. A terrific premise that was YAed into silliness. Books read in 2014: ■Lexicon (Max Barry; Folger ed. 2013. 400 pages. Fiction.)■The Circle (Dave Eggers; 2013. 504 pages. Fiction.)■The Good Sister (Drusilla Campbell; 2010. 352 pages. Fiction.)■The Two Gentlemen of Verona (William Shakespeare (1589/92); Folger ed. 2006. 304 pages. Drama.) *■Hedda Gabler (Henrik Ibsen; 1890. Drama.) *■Labor Day (Joyce Maynard; 2009. 256 pages. Fiction.)■The Living (Matt De La Peña; 2013. 320 pages. Fiction.)■Henry V (William Shakespeare (1599); Folger ed. 2004. 294 pages. Drama.) *■Henry IV, Part II (William Shakespeare (1599); Folger ed. 2006. 400 pages. Drama.) *■Henry IV, Part I (William Shakespeare (1597); Folger ed. 2005. 336 pages. Drama.) *■The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (L. Frank Baum; 1895 / 2008. 224 pages. Juvenile fiction.)■Cartwheel (Jennifer duBois; 2013. 384 pages. Fiction.)■The Wicked Girls(Alex Marwood; 2013. 384 pages. Fiction.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I finished The Hero of Ages last night and I actually enjoyed it. I got into a rut about 3/4 way through the book, but I'm glad I finished it. I started The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Gaiman before bed, and started the audiobook of Elantris by Sanderson on my car trip. I will probably just get the book to finish, though, as I'm not fond of the narrator. and way too impatient to listen to 27+ hours over a few months of trips! 1. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher2. Grave Peril by Jim Butcher3. Death Masks by Jim Butcher4. Blood Rites by Jim Butcher5. French Kids Eat Everything by Karen Le Billon6. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman 7. Dead Beat by Jim Butcher 8. Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher 9. Teaching Children Compassionately 10. Hyperbole and a Half 11. Stardust (the Author's Preferred Edition) by Neil Gaiman 12. The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiegirl Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 The ones I re-read as an adult because I liked them as a teen have held up pretty well, I think ... and I don't think it's just nostalgia. I think I've understood more of the mystery and enjoyed the romance as much. You should choose one you remember liking and give it a try; they're quick reads and will pad your totals if nothing else ;) If you haven't read Howatch since being a teen, try out her later series work; it's fantastic! Hey, Jane in NC, another Howatch reader :) (I found Susan Howatch because she was on the shelf below Victoria Holt in the high school library; the titles drew me like a moth to flame: Penmarric, Cashelmara ...) I read a lot of garbage when I was a teen, things that I should never have read so I am glad to see that Whitney might not be in the garbage category. The teen years were oh-so-long ago so I don't really remember the content of the books very well. I think that I will peruse the library catalogue and see if I can find some of her books. This talk about Susan Howatch, etc., puts me in mind of MM Kaye's The Far Pavilions and Elizabeth Goudge's Green Dolphin Street - not gothics, but romantic novels st in exotic places I read when young. I turned my ancient edition of Green Dolphin Street over to my daughter, but she is disinterested... sigh... I have never read Elizabeth Goudge. I always hear such good things about her books that she is on my 'author to read' list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiegirl Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Some notes: The Circle is a provocative (perhaps prescient?) look at our lives online. Many have criticized the writing style (its lack of character development, its plot-driven nature, in particular), but I understood it as a reflection of the often shallow and run-on nature of online "connectedness." It's this generation's 1984, I think. Has anyone else read it? We read The Two Gentlemen of Verona in anticipation of seeing a Shakespeare Project of Chicago reading. It was a reread for me: I last visited the play with my oldest more than a decade ago. And, yes, it was as if time were folding in upon itself as I watched the production with my husband and daughters this past weekend. When my son and I attended in the fall of 2003, his sisters were so young; Mr. M-mv took them to the park while we were at the play. And now they are completing their high school studies. And they have their driver licenses. And he is gone... The experience was the definition of bitterly sweet and sweetly bitter. I have The Circle lying on my nightstand, waiting for me to finish Ann Patchett's This is the Story of a Happy Marriage. I have read the criticisms of The Circle and was a bit wary on starting it but after reading your thoughts on it I am eager to get started. And regarding The Two Gentlemen of Verona-- I have tears in my eyes as I send :grouphug: to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted February 26, 2014 Author Share Posted February 26, 2014 Hello, BaWers! 'haven't been here since Week Four. Since then, I've added the following to my list: ■Lexicon (Max Barry; Folger ed. 2013. 400 pages. Fiction.) ■The Circle (Dave Eggers; 2013. 504 pages. Fiction.) ■The Good Sister (Drusilla Campbell; 2010. 352 pages. Fiction.) ■The Two Gentlemen of Verona (William Shakespeare (1589/92); Folger ed. 2006. 304 pages. Drama.) * ■Hedda Gabler (Henrik Ibsen; 1890. Drama.) * ■Labor Day (Joyce Maynard; 2009. 256 pages. Fiction.) ■The Living (Matt De La Peña; 2013. 320 pages. Fiction.) Some notes: The Circle is a provocative (perhaps prescient?) look at our lives online. Many have criticized the writing style (its lack of character development, its plot-driven nature, in particular), but I understood it as a reflection of the often shallow and run-on nature of online "connectedness." It's this generation's 1984, I think. Has anyone else read it? Lexicon (by the same author who gave us the splendid Jennifer Government) served as a completely unplanned but wonderfully perfect complement to the Eggers novel. It is a thriller that deals primarily with linguistics -- specifically, mass manipulation through language. A thumpin' good read, if ever there were one. Highly recommended. The Good Sister was constructed well but possessed something of an elevated Lifetime for Women vibe. It passed a lazy afternoon -- as did Labor Day, which also had a Lifetime for Women vibe, I suppose, although it felt as if it were gamely reaching higher than that. We read The Two Gentlemen of Verona in anticipation of seeing a Shakespeare Project of Chicago reading. It was a reread for me: I last visited the play with my oldest more than a decade ago. And, yes, it was as if time were folding in upon itself as I watched the production with my husband and daughters this past weekend. When my son and I attended in the fall of 2003, his sisters were so young; Mr. M-mv took them to the park while we were at the play. And now they are completing their high school studies. And they have their driver licenses. And he is gone... The experience was the definition of bitterly sweet and sweetly bitter. And Hedda Gabler. I've read this play three times now, and I am still just as unsure about her. We have studied it in anticipation of seeing the incomparable Kate Fry next month in an exceedingly well reviewed Writers' Theatre production. I suspect Fry will define Hedda for me, once and for all. Oh, and The Living. Heavy sigh. A terrific premise that was YAed into silliness. Books read in 2014: ■Lexicon (Max Barry; Folger ed. 2013. 400 pages. Fiction.) ■The Circle (Dave Eggers; 2013. 504 pages. Fiction.) ■The Good Sister (Drusilla Campbell; 2010. 352 pages. Fiction.) ■The Two Gentlemen of Verona (William Shakespeare (1589/92); Folger ed. 2006. 304 pages. Drama.) * ■Hedda Gabler (Henrik Ibsen; 1890. Drama.) * ■Labor Day (Joyce Maynard; 2009. 256 pages. Fiction.) ■The Living (Matt De La Peña; 2013. 320 pages. Fiction.) ■Henry V (William Shakespeare (1599); Folger ed. 2004. 294 pages. Drama.) * ■Henry IV, Part II (William Shakespeare (1599); Folger ed. 2006. 400 pages. Drama.) * ■Henry IV, Part I (William Shakespeare (1597); Folger ed. 2005. 336 pages. Drama.) * ■The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (L. Frank Baum; 1895 / 2008. 224 pages. Juvenile fiction.) ■Cartwheel (Jennifer duBois; 2013. 384 pages. Fiction.) ■The Wicked Girls(Alex Marwood; 2013. 384 pages. Fiction.) Hugs! Understand completely. You had the strength to go which honors him. That you could share the experience with the misses is wonderful. Funny, I was just reading today, that our lives are strewn with memory buttons and hopefully at some point, the memories don't make us sad, but happy because we had the chance to experience it with them. Thank you for sharing. Back to books - Lexicon has been on my radar for a while. Added it to my get it list the next time am in the bookstore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted February 26, 2014 Author Share Posted February 26, 2014 Whoops! Double post. Will post something interesting in its place later. Okay, here you go. Literary Birthdays: Victor Hugo ~To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.~ Kindle Daily Post - Notable women authors of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Nook Daily Find - Jeffrey Archer's Clifton Chronicles. Boston Reviews: Threat Level - Poetry Poetry is the water, the planetary pull, the sky’s embrace, and the song of oars; it is the potential of all that is human, which is comprised of atoms from farthest reaching stars, and will not cease until, perhaps, the last person no longer knows words, says the Romantic humanist in me. It is in the margins, the fray, and the common places too. World Literature Today - New Translations in February Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I just returned from spending a peaceful two hours at a large library while the dc's played chess in a meeting room. It dawned on me during the drive home that I can't remember the last time I just browsed at the library. I generally just present myself at the desk and pick up our holds, maybe pick up a couple predetermined topicwise books off the shelves. Do the rest of you still browse and get to enjoy your library trips or do you pick up and go? I came home with a few new cozy mystery series to try. Mostly bookstore and quilting related. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 And now they are completing their high school studies. And they have their driver licenses. And he is gone... The experience was the definition of bitterly sweet and sweetly bitter. Hugs... Some notes: The Circle is a provocative (perhaps prescient?) look at our lives online. Many have criticized the writing style (its lack of character development, its plot-driven nature, in particular), but I understood it as a reflection of the often shallow and run-on nature of online "connectedness." It's this generation's 1984, I think. Has anyone else read it? Lexicon (by the same author who gave us the splendid Jennifer Government) served as a completely unplanned but wonderfully perfect complement to the Eggers novel. It is a thriller that deals primarily with linguistics -- specifically, mass manipulation through language. A thumpin' good read, if ever there were one. Highly recommended. Haven't read The Circle yet, but I had it in my huge library pile I recently returned. I do plan to read it (& really want to read it), but figured I needed to be in the mood to tackle dystopia (which I wasn't at the time); your comments confirm that for me. Lexicon sounds wonderful; hopefully my library has it. I love the idea of reading them together. David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest is also popping into my head as one that might be a good rounding-out for this reading trek. I think I'll plan to read all 3 together sometime later this year.... :coolgleamA: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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