Book a Week in 2014 - BW9

[Pam in CT]

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. :)

 

I pretty much exclusively browse audio.  Almost never do I go in looking for anything particular on audio.  I listen to a lot of books, but not all books I enjoy reading are listen-able to me... they need to be engaging, but not overly descriptive (or my mind wanders) or overly deep (or I get frustrated that I can't back up a paragraph, or re-read one sentence, to make sure I'm following).  So I tend to take 5 or more out (!), and listen to the first chapter or so of each, and decide whether or not it's an audio keeper, and then returning (or swapping out for a hard copy) of the ones that don't work on audio... so I end up wandering the shelves.  I also take out a very high percentage of the library staff's "top audio picks."

 

My library e-books are exclusively predetermined.  I have a couple of running lists in a couple of areas, and my first stop (if I don't know I'm going to want to own them) is to see if I can get them (instantly! free! without leaving my sofa!) from the e-library network.

 

My hard books... it varies.  I don't always pre-order; sometimes I like to look up the DDN and then peruse around the area and see what's up in related fields... yesterday I went to the shelves to get The Free World, by David Bezmozgis, and while I was there my glance fell upon The Sly Company of People Who Care, next in alphabetical order, by Rahul Bhattacharya.  I liked the title and I liked the cover, and I liked the serendipity of not knowing one blessed other thing about it, so I checked that out too.

 

A life without serendipity would be a mighty narrow life!

[Stacia]

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?

 

Often I just run in to pick up books on hold. But, I do browse sometimes too; part of it depends on the day (schedule/busy), part on who is with me (dd loves to disappear in the non-fiction stacks & browse until she has a horse-cart's worth of books so that's always a great time for me to browse too), & part depends on how many things I've already got checked out & in my to-read pile ( :tongue_smilie:).

[Jane in NC]

 

 

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. :)

 

I maintain a lengthy library list but still love browsing.  My browsing can be intentional, that is, a search for books or authors mentioned on this thread or by friends; or it can involving strolling down the aisles hoping for the right book to fall into my hands.

 

A life without serendipity would be a mighty narrow life!

 

Indeed!

 

Pumpkin chocolate chip bread is about ready to come out of the oven. C'mon over y'all!

[Stacia]

 

 

This looks completely wonderful.

 

I've never read Shackleton's account. I do love adventure reading & this is one that has long been on my to-read list.

[Violet Crown]

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 get dragged by the hand (can't be too careful, mommies get lost...) to the children's section, shown to a comfy chair in which I will spend my entire library visit, and brought a large stack of reliably dreadful books to read aloud. But it's worth it for the cuddling.

[shukriyya]

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. :)

 

My browsing self has thinned considerably since getting a kindle. I do a lot of my browsing online now and generally get the sample chapters sent to my kindle if a book looks interesting. If it's only available as a hard copy and our library has it then I put it on hold. As a result serendipitous browsing happens less and less frequently and I don't get those wonderful find-moments that Pam referred to.

 

Of course none of this is a surprise as browsing belongs to that family of slow, uninterrupted, leisurely, agendaless non-activities which are becoming increasingly rare in this day and age of high speed internet, multi-tasking and various other anti-slow-down-your-breath pursuits. I'm not complaining much though as I do *love* my kindle and am reading more now than I have in the last couple of years.

 

Pumpkin chocolate chip bread is about ready to come out of the oven. C'mon over y'all!

 

Well! I am in!! And I'll bring a couple of thermoses of good, strong hot tea.

[shukriyya]

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...

 

 

I am a newcomer to this thread and can only assume sorrow beyond naming lies at the heart of this oblique reference to your son's absence. As insubstantial as they feel in the face of this my newcomer hugs are gently offered to you :grouphug:

[-M-]

I am a newcomer to this thread and can only assume sorrow beyond naming lies at the heart of this oblique reference to your son's absence. As insubstantial as they feel in the face of this my newcomer hugs are gently offered to you :grouphug:

 

Thank you. Not insubstantial, at all. I appreciate your kindness and that of all who think of me and mine.

[prairiegirl]

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?

 

 

We have 2 libraries that we frequent.  The one library, well, it doesn't have much in it to browse so it is just a 'go in and pick up' kind of library.  The other one is where I do all of my browsing.  We go there about twice a month just to browse.

[Robin M]

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. 

 

 

: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.

St.Simon's and Jekyll Island!  So jealous. I would so love to go back there someday.  I went with my folks on a business trip back when I was 20ish and his client had a daughter my age. We spent the days hanging out on the beach, exploring by motorbike. Got a heck of a sunburn, but it was so much fun. 

 

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?

Here's an interesting one for a food memoir which I read a couple years back.  Keeping the Feast by Paula Butturini: One Couple Story of Love, Food and Healing.  Quite good but sad too.

 

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...

 

 

How neat!  It could have been me, I'm not sure.  We have a couple books on the subject - Alfred Lansing's Endurance and Roland Huntford's Race for the South Pole. 

 

A life without serendipity would be a mighty narrow life!

Absolutely! Big believer in serendipity.

 

Pumpkin chocolate chip bread is about ready to come out of the oven. C'mon over y'all!

Yummy!

 

 

Anyone still trying to do a buying ban?  I was pretty good until Hubby asked me to get him the history books  The Last 100 Days and The Rising Sun, both by John Toland.  Added two more Bodie Thoene books: Eleventh Guest and When Jesus Wept and one Eliana talked about that I couldn't resist Sacred Reading.  Also the 2nd book in Master in Commander series, Post Captain and Rick Riordan's Son of Neptune for my son.  

 

 

 

[marbel]

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. :)

 

I still like to browse at the library.  It's true that most of our trips are just quick "pick up the holds and run" trips, but we are all browsers when we have the time.  We have several libraries in our county system; some are better than others for browsing but we like to vary our locations.   My daughter volunteers for a few library programs so we are at our closest library a lot, which is not too large but still has a good selection.  A library a bit farther away is a bit larger but it's also newer, and so nice and bright and airy, that it's nice to visit over there too.   The chairs are more comfortable too, though sometimes I prefer to sit in the study carrels to ease distraction and there are more of those at our "home" library.

[shukriyya]

After stumbling part of the way through the kindle version I gave in and ordered a hard copy of TWEM which arrived in the mail today :hurray:

 

Since I decided awhile ago to jump in with histories rather than novels or autobios, Robin Waterfield's translation of Herodotus's 'The Histories' is now winging its way to me as I write...

 

 

 

 

[Mom-ninja.]

 and brought a large stack of reliably dreadful books to read aloud.

You too? I just had to read a book to my youngest about all the different types of armor Iron Man has. I wanted to poke my eyes out.

[Stacia]

...

[Kareni]

 

 Do the rest of you still browse and get to enjoy your library trips or do you pick up and go?

 

 

I do some of both.  Often I go in to the library for the sole purpose of collecting my holds before I catch the bus home.  Other times though I enjoy browsing the new books shelf.

 

Of course, when on vacation, I do have a tendency to wander in to every library I see.  A few years ago my husband and I spent some time in New Zealand while our daughter did a study abroad there.  We traveled from the North to the South island on the bus and ferry and stopped in at least four libraries.  More recently, when visiting our daughter in South Korea, I accompanied her to the library nearest her.  I do this domestically, too!  It's always fun to see how various libraries are set up and whether or not they have a copy of the WTM!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Onceuponatime]

You too? I just had to read a book to my youngest about all the different types of armor Iron Man has. I wanted to poke my eyes out.

 

I don't know whether I should be happy or sad,  but at least I don't have to read Bionicles any more.  Book cuddles are rare around here now.  I do get to revisit The Berenstain Bears and Doctor Seuss when my grandson comes for a visit.

[Shawneinfl]

Hello, BaWers! 'haven't been here since Week Four. Since then, I've added the following to my list:

 

â–  Lexicon (Max Barry; Folger ed. 2013. 400 pages. Fiction.)

â–  The Circle (Dave Eggers; 2013. 504 pages. Fiction.)

â–  The Good Sister (Drusilla Campbell; 2010. 352 pages. Fiction.)

â–  The Two Gentlemen of Verona (William Shakespeare (1589/92); Folger ed. 2006. 304 pages. Drama.) *

â–  Hedda Gabler (Henrik Ibsen; 1890. Drama.) *

â–  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.

 

It's good to see you back MMV. Lexicon and The Circle sound intriguing.

Reading of your experience at the Shakespeare play put a lump in my throat. Virtual hugs to you. :grouphug:

[mommymilkies]

 

 

 

After stumbling part of the way through the kindle version I gave in and ordered a hard copy of TWEM which arrived in the mail today  :hurray:

 

Since I decided awhile ago to jump in with histories rather than novels or autobios, Robin Waterfield's translation of Herodotus's 'The Histories' is now winging its way to me as I write...

 

 

I have the Landmark Edition.  I really love it.  I had a very old battered copy I pretty much memorized in high school, and then a friend accidentally kidnapped it forever.  So the Landmark edition was a present to myself a few years ago.  I admit I still haven't finished it this time through, though.  

 

I feel sad I don't have more to contribute here.  You all are reading such deep stuff and I'm still in fluff land.  :lol:

 

I just finished Ocean at the End of the Lane.  I loved it!  Really, truly loved it.  I think this now takes the place of my #1 favorite book that isn't part of a series.  Or at least tied for top 10. It's just a beautiful, deep, dark book.  Wonderful.  Just wonderful.  Now tonight I'm going to pick up in Elantris where the audio left off. I'm also reading Rosemary Gladstone's Medicinal Herbs which I just stole back from my eldest daughter. 

 

1. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

2. Grave Peril by Jim Butcher

3. Death Masks by Jim Butcher

4. Blood Rites by Jim Butcher

5. French Kids Eat Everything by Karen Le Billon

6. 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

13. Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

[Negin]

Negin -- when you posted your question about books with animal characters these http://www.cozy-mystery.com/Rita-Mae-Brown.html came to mind. I used to enjoy them but haven't read the last 10 or so. Took me awhile to remember the name. That got me thinking about some other cat mysteries. Not sure if Lillian Jackson Braun would qualify but Carole Nelson Douglas with Midnight Louie as the narrator would imo. http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2012/06/cat_mysteries_lilian_jackson_braun_rita_mae_brown_and_sheila_rousseau_murphy_books_.html

Thank you for these. :)

 

Well, Maus is a serious and worthwhile book; despite the comic book format, which I confess put me off before I actually read it.

 

But... truly... not to nag, but... consider giving Conference a shot.  You're looking specifically for animals and you're Persian?  Come on!  When will your stars align better than that?  Get with the program, Negin!

 

 

Pam, Maus looks really good. 

I might give Conference of the Birds a try. My dh read it and a major hurricane blew our copy away (along with lots of other books). I'll see if it's something I'd like. Dh doesn't think so. Unfortunately, I haven't really and truly loved any of the books I've read in 2014. This Bingo Challenge is not helping and I may soon give up on it.  :glare:

 

I asked much the same question last week.

 

This is one I have read ~ Dog on It: A Chet and Bernie Mystery  by Spencer Quinn - dog narrator

 

 

Kareni, this looks good. I loved "The Art of Racing in the Rain" - read that a few years ago. 

 

If anyone is in Seattle:

Stacia, you are truly made for the Pac NW. :)

[Pam in CT]

You too? I just had to read a book to my youngest about all the different types of armor Iron Man has. I wanted to poke my eyes out.

 

I get wistful at how old my kids have gotten....  Until I remember these moments.  

 

(How do you you get that icon with the head banging against the wall?)

[Jane in NC]

I do some of both.  Often I go in to the library for the sole purpose of collecting my holds before I catch the bus home.  Other times though I enjoy browsing the new books shelf.

 

Of course, when on vacation, I do have a tendency to wander in to every library I see.  A few years ago my husband and I spent some time in New Zealand while our daughter did a study abroad there.  We traveled from the North to the South island on the bus and ferry and stopped in at least four libraries.  More recently, when visiting our daughter in South Korea, I accompanied her to the library nearest her.  I do this domestically, too!  It's always fun to see how various libraries are set up and whether or not they have a copy of the WTM!

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Personally, I love to visit libraries and locally owned grocery stores when I travel.  Both allow me to get a sense of the community.

I get wistful at how old my kids have gotten....  Until I remember these moments.  

 

(How do you you get that icon with the head banging against the wall?)

See the smiley at the top of the reply box?  Click on it.  Now click on the right hand arrow to bring up even more smileys. Repeat. There are several groups from which you can choose your appropriate smiley, either :banghead: or :biggrinjester: or :ph34r:  as your whim dictates.

[mumto2]

Kareni -- when we first moved to the UK we lived in a small flat near city center and actually learned the area via library visits to most of the 20+ libraries that make up the borough library system. These visits played a huge role in where we settled and ultimately bought a home. So much can be learned about a community by a visit to the library.

 

After reading everyone's responses I need to make an effort to find a library where browsing is enjoyable while we are in the UK. The small library in the village is probably too much of a personal social hub for serious book contemplation no matter what happens to it. FYI the future of that library and most of the others I visited long ago is still unknown, I will update as soon as decisions are actually made.

[Uff Da!]

Ds fell asleep returning from the history museum yesterday.  I seized the opportunity to finish listening to "Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry" and am glad I excluded the kids from listening to this one.  It is powerful and violent towards the end.   I did enjoy this book but it's heart wrenching enough that it left me feeling drained at the end.

[Pam in CT]

How many of the rest of you have ever gotten THIS error message: 

 

"You have posted a message with more emoticons than this community allows. Please reduce the number of emoticons you've added to the message."

 

Yeah, so, I'm feeling pretty special.  I'd done a beautiful string of my twelve favorites, now that I've learned how to get to them.  (Weren't we talking about the Power of Twelve a few days ago? Turns out, twelve has too much power.)

 

I did a little experiment, reducing them one at a time to see the maximum I could get away with.  Turns out it's...

 

  :thumbup1:  :smash:  :smilielol5:  :seeya:  :willy_nilly:  :p  :cheers2:  :biggrinjester:  :banghead:  :p

 

 

 

ETA:   TEN!

 

Who knows ten?  Ten are the Commandments in the tablets...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shukriyya]

I finished up Susanna Kearsley's, The Rose Garden. About 50% of the way through I was done but I slogged on to the end. I wonder how much of my disinterest in it had to do with the book itself and how much had to do with all the other, better books that are spilling out of my virtual shelves. The discussion earlier in the week of Mary Stewart's books and that gothic offshoot along with the glowing recs for Susan Howatch's, 'Starbridge' series and old Father Herodotus winging his way for a visit definitely induced a 'grass is greener...,' feeling. Must.Stay.The.Course.Shukriyya.

 

I'm posting from the iPad in the early morning before everyone is up. A long day out for us with a writing class, a Shakespeare class and later this evening, kathak class. So there'll be knitting, reading, some audio book listening-- we are into book two of Cooper's, 'The Dark is Rising' series. We finished book one earlier in the week. Ds is so taken with the series he's both reading it and listening. There'll be thermoses of tea, chocolate and decisions required on my part as to where next to focus my reading lens...Conference of the Birds, TWEM, Blackout, Untold, A Little History of the World, This Rough Magic...with the exception of the last these are all ongoing. If I were on the computer I'd use the 'googly guy running helter-skelter' smilie so just insert him into your inner viewfinder right here.

 

ETA Perhaps Pam would like to step in and do the honors with her new-found smilie skill :lol:

[mumto2]

My best friend has been reminding me that I needed to read "The Anatomist 's Wife" by Anna Lee Huber https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/anna-lee-huber/anatomists-wife/ since last summer. I didn't want to buy it since the library here had it, so I waited. It rates as a top ten fluff book for her, not so high for me but it was good.

 

I read a pretty scathing review of it just after starting the book and have to say I don't agree with much of what they said. I don't want to link because it did hugely influence me while reading rather unfairly. For instance the foreshadowing was actually rather limited considering that the author was writing the first book in an intended series.

 

Definately a worthwhile read for some here. It does have a bit of a trigger in it regarding pregnancy/miscarriage which bothered me but not as badly as some books.

[mumto2]

Shukriyya -- I completely understand the grass is greener feeling. I have accumulated a huge stack and have roughly 20 days to read them all. Not likely but it is humorous that dh thinks I can! As soon as I start a new book I start wondering if __________ would not have been a better choice, that leads to google, there went my reading time! :lol:

[Angel]

:seeya:

 

Just poppin' in to say Hi!  These past two weeks have been  :willy_nilly:   3 co-op weeks in a row, 1 Shakespeare play (and trip to Ikea), 1 teen event,  1 sleepover at our house, 2 extra kids for 5 days and an all day yearbook club work day. Shukriyya how the heck to you keep up your schedule?  Do you do any school at home  :D  I'm exhausted and still in my pajamas today.

 

I haven't finished anything new  :(  My real life has been dark and a little hellish for the last week so I did not spend any time there with Dante.  I think Inferno is going to have to carry over to March for me.  I'm ready for dark days to be over.  I did start Etiquette and Espionage this week.  I might finish it tomorrow.  Cute book though I may not be cut out for the Steampunk-ish theme.  I'm loving the story but could do without the mechanical aspects.  Is that what makes a Steampunk and Steampunk?  I'm still unsure.  

 

I read some Whitney and Holt in my teen years too, however, I was already into bodice rippers by that time  :eek:  and was reading a lot of Garwood, McNaught, and Woodweis ... really loved their historical romances.  I learned more history from those books than in my history class at school.  Now I don't read such R rated things LOL.  But Garwood's Almost Heaven is still one of my favorite books of all time.

[shukriyya]

:seeya:

 

Just poppin' in to say Hi!  These past two weeks have been  :willy_nilly:   3 co-op weeks in a row, 1 Shakespeare play (and trip to Ikea), 1 teen event,  1 sleepover at our house, 2 extra kids for 5 days and an all day yearbook club work day. Shukriyya how the heck to you keep up your schedule?  Do you do any school at home  :D  I'm exhausted and still in my pajamas today.

 

 

Ha, when I read the description of your schedule the past couple of weeks I felt all :willy_nilly: also. The Ikea trip alone merits pajamas all day! My schedule seems easy-peasy in comparison. To answer your question we have two full weekdays and one weekend day when we school at home. The rest of the days are pretty chock full but the classes are wonderfully nourishing for ds on many levels so I'm grateful for all the outside commitments we have despite all the  :driving:  Though I definitely have my days when this energy :willy_nilly: is running the show.

 

 

 

I haven't finished anything new  :(  My real life has been dark and a little hellish for the last week so I did not spend any time there with Dante.  I think Inferno is going to have to carry over to March for me.  I'm ready for dark days to be over.

 

:grouphug:

[marbel]

Just sharing my ironic moment of the day (it is book-related).

 

I've been going through Smart but Scattered Teens, a book about helping teens strengthen weak executive skills.  At least one of my two children needs a lot of help in this area. 

 

Apparently I am in need too, because I discovered this morning....

 

I've lost the book. 

[JennW in SoCal]

:seeya:

 

Just poppin' in to say Hi!  These past two weeks have been  :willy_nilly:   3 co-op weeks in a row, 1 Shakespeare play (and trip to Ikea), 1 teen event,  1 sleepover at our house, 2 extra kids for 5 days and an all day yearbook club work day. Shukriyya how the heck to you keep up your schedule?  Do you do any school at home  :D  I'm exhausted and still in my pajamas today.

 

 

Ha, when I read the description of your schedule the past couple of weeks I felt all :willy_nilly: also. The Ikea trip alone merits pajamas all day! My schedule seems easy-peasy in comparison. To answer your question we have two full weekdays and one weekend day when we school at home. The rest of the days are pretty chock full but the classes are wonderfully nourishing for ds on many levels so I'm grateful for all the outside commitments we have despite all the  :driving:  Though I definitely have my days when this energy :willy_nilly: is running the show.

 

 

The annual mileage I put on my car has dropped significantly since I became an empty nester!   I can't say I miss driving, but I do miss the long conversations and glimpses into their minds, hearing their excitement and satisfaction from their activities. Of course there were also many very quiet drives when their young teenage minds were locked shut against accidental contact or undue influence from mom.   

 

Just sharing my ironic moment of the day (it is book-related).

 

I've been going through Smart but Scattered Teens, a book about helping teens strengthen weak executive skills.  At least one of my two children needs a lot of help in this area. 

 

Apparently I am in need too, because I discovered this morning....

 

I've lost the book. 

 

LOL!!  I have misplaced books-in-progress so many times.  Sometimes I've left it in the car, or in the tote bag that had been in the car or it is buried under the detritus next to the couch.  Worst of all,  is when I can't find it because it got put on a bookshelf!  Heaven sakes alive. Bookshelves are for all those books I've bought but haven't read yet, right?  Not for books I'm actually reading.

[Kareni]

... "The Anatomist 's Wife" by Anna Lee Huber https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/anna-lee-huber/anatomists-wife/

 

 

This does sound interesting.  This line from the review you linked amused me as I was expecting a body part for the last word.

 

"After 16 peaceful months, Alana invites a diverse group of titled friends to a house party only to find one of them, Lady Godwin, stabbed in the garden."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[shukriyya]

The annual mileage I put on my car has dropped significantly since I became an empty nester!   I can't say I miss driving, but I do miss the long conversations and glimpses into their minds, hearing their excitement and satisfaction from their activities. Of course there were also many very quiet drives when their young teenage minds were locked shut against accidental contact or undue influence from mom.   

 

 

:sad: :ohmy:

[Lady Florida.]

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...

 

:grouphug: MMV :grouphug:

[Lady Florida.]

mumto2, on 26 Feb 2014 - 2:05 PM, said:

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?

There are several reasons why I don't browse as much as I used to. Part of it has to do with ds getting older. In his grade school years, much of our "curriculum" inlvolved living books from the library. We'd spend hours there, the two of us, picking out books for subjects to study. Sometimes I'd leave him in the children's area while I looked at books for myself (it's perfectly safe where we live, and the librarians knew us) . As he got older we went to more a more schoolish way of homeschooling, plus he began taking Florida Virtual School classes.

 

When my library system went online, my browsing slowed down even more. I could browse online even looking at the cover of books. This saved a lot of time. Finally, I got a Kindle and that cut down my in-library browsing even more. I browse both ebooks and physical books at my library's website, so I do still browse just not often in person.

 

Most of my trips to the library these days are just to pick up a book I ordered or to drop off what's due. However, I sometimes get in the mood to just look around like I used to. These days when I browse, it's usually to look at/for recipe books, craft books, or gardening books. I rarely browse fiction anymore. I do that almost exclusively online.

[Lady Florida.]

Of course there were also many very quiet drives when their young teenage minds were locked shut against accidental contact or undue influence from mom.   

 

 

 

:lol:  I am so there these days.

[Kareni]

Last night I read Laura Griffin's One Wrong Step which is one of the author's early romantic suspense novels.  I enjoyed it.

 

"SHE NEVER PLANNED TO GET INVOLVED WITH HER EX AGAIN, ESPECIALLY NOT IN HIS MURDER....

But that's just what happens when Celie Wells has an encounter with her former husband, and he turns up dead an hour later. Now, after working hard to distance herself from his crooked ways and shady connections, she finds she's smack dab in the middle of his murder investigation. And it isn't just the police who have their eye on her, but an enraged drug lord who is seeking payback.

The only person who seems to be on her side is old acquaintance John McAllister. But the sexy reporter has a nose for news, as well as a reputation as a playboy. Is he helping Celie out because he wants a story...or a one-night stand? She knows John's interest is potentially hazardous to her heart. But not accepting his help could put her life at even greater risk -- and she can't afford one wrong step."

 

 

I first read one of Laura Griffin's books last April and since then I've read a number of her dozen or so books.  I have a few more in my library stack at home and will be mentioning more here soon.

 

And, hey, the book has the number one in the title, Robin!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Maus]

13. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. (Read-aloud)

12. "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein.
11. "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card.
10. "With Healing in His Wings" ed. by Camille Fronk Olson & Thomas A. Wayment (LDS).
9. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" by J.K. Rowling.
8. "The Good Knight" by Sarah Woodbury.
7. "Speaking From Among the Bones" by Alan Bradley.
6. "The Continuous Conversion" by Brad Wilcox (LDS).
5. "The Continuous Atonement" by Brad Wilcox (LDS).
4. "Finding Hope" by S. Michael Wilcox (LDS).
3. "When Your Prayers Seem Unanswered" by S. Michael Wilcox (LDS).
2. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling. (Read-aloud)
1. "The Peacegiver: How Christ Offers to Heal Our Hearts and Homes" by James L. Ferrell (LDS).

It was a tough year for us last year (steadily worsening mental health issues in DH and DS), and it doesn't look to be over yet, so at least for the beginning of the year, I'll be reading not so much for intellectual challenge or entertainment, but more for, um, I don't know, emotional and spiritual recentering. I don't know what else to call it. Also for information needed to understand what's going on. I don't plan to sum up what I'm reading for a while, just list the title and author, and since many will probably be by authors from my faith (LDS), I'll put that in parenthesis when it applies as well.

[Narrow Gate Academy]

Walter Moers has two that spring to mind:

The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear

The City of Dreaming Books

 

Negin, I know you've said you're on the fence about reading Bluebear (I found it utterly delightful), but for some reason I'm thinking you would really enjoy The City of Dreaming Books (another wonderful book & truly a book for lovers of books) much more. It's a bit darker than Bluebear, but I think you might like this quirky story. (Even though these are all part of a series, you don't need to read the whole series, nor do you need to read them in order. Imo, each book stands on its own just fine.)

 

 

 

 

Read this blog post to get a real flavor for the story: http://gatheringbooks.wordpress.com/2012/11/15/meet-optimus-yarnspinner-in-walter-moers-the-city-of-dreaming-books/

 

Here is the warning in the beginning of Moers' book:

 

 

:lol:  Just reading that makes me want to read the book again!

Love the book excerpt and added it to my list.  Thanks.

 

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.

I tried the Starbridge series last year and just wasn't in the mood at the time.  Thanks for reminding me of the book.  Perhaps I'll have another go at them this year.

 

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. :)

I generally browse for fiction online, but for non-fiction I often just find the appropriate call number and go look on that section of the shelf.  I may eventually get back to browsing the fiction section if I successfully read all the great books recommended on these threads that made it onto my tbr list and pile.

 

I'm posting from the iPad in the early morning before everyone is up. A long day out for us with a writing class, a Shakespeare class and later this evening, kathak class. So there'll be knitting, reading, some audio book listening-- we are into book two of Cooper's, 'The Dark is Rising' series. We finished book one earlier in the week. Ds is so taken with the series he's both reading it and listening.

I thoroughly enjoyed these books when I read them a couple of years ago.  I also enjoyed her books The Boggart and The Boggart and the Monster, which are more humorous.

Just sharing my ironic moment of the day (it is book-related).

 

I've been going through Smart but Scattered Teens, a book about helping teens strengthen weak executive skills.  At least one of my two children needs a lot of help in this area. 

 

Apparently I am in need too, because I discovered this morning....

 

I've lost the book. 

:laugh:   :lol:

LOL!!  I have misplaced books-in-progress so many times.  Sometimes I've left it in the car, or in the tote bag that had been in the car or it is buried under the detritus next to the couch.  Worst of all,  is when I can't find it because it got put on a bookshelf!  Heaven sakes alive. Bookshelves are for all those books I've bought but haven't read yet, right?  Not for books I'm actually reading.

  :laugh: That reminds me of last week when I was looking all over the house for my coat only to finally remember it was in the coat closet.

[Pam in CT]

I finished up Susanna Kearsley's, The Rose Garden. About 50% of the way through I was done but I slogged on to the end. I wonder how much of my disinterest in it had to do with the book itself and how much had to do with all the other, better books that are spilling out of my virtual shelves. The discussion earlier in the week of Mary Stewart's books and that gothic offshoot along with the glowing recs for Susan Howatch's, 'Starbridge' series and old Father Herodotus winging his way for a visit definitely induced a 'grass is greener...,' feeling. Must.Stay.The.Course.Shukriyya.

 

I'm posting from the iPad in the early morning before everyone is up. A long day out for us with a writing class, a Shakespeare class and later this evening, kathak class. So there'll be knitting, reading, some audio book listening-- we are into book two of Cooper's, 'The Dark is Rising' series. We finished book one earlier in the week. Ds is so taken with the series he's both reading it and listening. There'll be thermoses of tea, chocolate and decisions required on my part as to where next to focus my reading lens...Conference of the Birds, TWEM, Blackout, Untold, A Little History of the World, This Rough Magic...with the exception of the last these are all ongoing. If I were on the computer I'd use the 'googly guy running helter-skelter' smilie so just insert him into your inner viewfinder right here.

 

ETA Perhaps Pam would like to step in and do the honors with her new-found smilie skill :lol:

 

:willy_nilly:

 

But really, why stop at just one??!!

:hurray:  :thumbup:  :thumbup1:  :party:  :rolleyes:  :001_tt2:  :biggrinjester:  B)

[Jane in NC]

:willy_nilly:

 

But really, why stop at just one??!!

:hurray:  :thumbup:  :thumbup1:  :party:  :rolleyes:  :001_tt2:  :biggrinjester:  B)

 

Every group has a drama queen--or emoticon queen as the case may be.  I fear that the inner Pam has been unleashed.

 

[Kareni]

I finished another Laura Griffin book this morning and enjoyed it also.  (I'm not sure 'enjoyed' is the correct word when characters in a book are being murdered, but I will assume you take my meaning.)

 

Unspeakable by Laura Griffin

 

"ELAINA MCCORD WANTS TO FIND A KILLER. BUT HE’S ALREADY FOUND HER.

Elaina McCord’s dream of being an FBI profiler is threatened by her very first case—investigating a string of murders near a Texas beach resort. The victims, all young women, were drugged and brutally murdered, their bodies abandoned in desolate marshland. Elaina’s hunch—met with disbelief by local police—is that these are only the latest offerings from a serial killer who has been perfecting his art for years, growing bolder and more cunning with each strike.

True-crime writer Troy Stockton has a reputation as an irresistible playboy who gets his story at any cost. He’s the last person Elaina should trust, let alone be attracted to. But right now Troy, along with the elite team of forensics experts known as the Tracers, is her only ally in a case that’s turning dangerously personal. A killer is reaching out to Elaina, taunting her, letting her know how ruthless he is and how close he’s getting. Now it’s not just her career that’s in jeopardy—it’s her life. . . ."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[shukriyya]

I have a few moments between class commitments. While ds was at Shakespeare I got the grocery shopping done and things put away. Dishes await me in the sink. Coffee has been consumed. And I've been thinking about Angel's question of, just exactly when do we get time for school??? and Jenn's comments about her sons' excitement after classes and their now more subdued teenage selves.

 

So much 'education' for us takes place in those in between moments. The classes are solid, the home curriculum is solid but the gems often arise around the dinner table discussing the merits of Ram and Krishna, their deep friendship, the loyalties and lineages, or a particularly amusing speech of Malvolio's or just who exactly is this 'Gummery' character in the audio book we're listening to as we cruise along the freeway and why are the books so good, what is it about the writing that makes them good and hey, look at that red-tailed hawk and why is that billboard so silly, all the billboards displaying the less savory aspects of our culture or, mama let's try and identify the composer of this music on the radio right now or mama, tell me the 50th digit of pi, I bet you don't know....and so on....and then there is the wonderful, active silence....

 

I know y'all can relate, are there, have been there but it's something I need to remind myself of from time to time when my bookish self wants to lean a little more heavily into structure and form, into the tangibles of learning which are wonderful and necessary but which sometimes override the other more subtle learning that is taking place, said this many-leaved teacher-mama.

 

And she's off... :driving:

[Onceuponatime]

The annual mileage I put on my car has dropped significantly since I became an empty nester!   I can't say I miss driving, but I do miss the long conversations and glimpses into their minds, hearing their excitement and satisfaction from their activities. Of course there were also many very quiet drives when their young teenage minds were locked shut against accidental contact or undue influence from mom.   

 

 

 

Last night I had them trapped in the car with me so I read Poem Stew out loud. Yesterday, I had been perusing the book shelves looking for books to pass on to my grandson and realized that the two youngest had not been subjected to a couple of the children's poetry collections. I got groans from the 14yo and snickers from the 9yo, but it was worth it. They've both gone back to the book to commit a few of the most disturbing poems to their prodigious memories. This morning I heard echoes of "Jellyfish Stew" and "Herbert Glerbert." An Arkful of Animals is next.

[shukriyya]

A little amusement...

[Jane in NC]

A little amusement...

 

You offered the link but for those who may not be inclined to click on links, see what you are missing!

 

 

[aggieamy]

Just sharing my ironic moment of the day (it is book-related).

 

I've been going through Smart but Scattered Teens, a book about helping teens strengthen weak executive skills.  At least one of my two children needs a lot of help in this area. 

 

Apparently I am in need too, because I discovered this morning....

 

I've lost the book. 

 

LOL.  I'm reading the Smart but Scattered for younger kids and I haven't found the time to sit down and focus on it.  What does that say about me?!?!?  :laugh:

[mumto2]

Angel -- The term steampunk is one that I have had an extremely hard time wrapping my mind around. Mechanical devices do seem to be a must. Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway is not steampunk because not Victorian but it does use the mechanical devices in a way I loved. Totally different than the Gail Carriger you are currently reading. This list is interesting too. http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2010/02/collection-development/steampunk-20-core-titles/

 

 

:seeya:

 

 I did start Etiquette and Espionage this week.  I might finish it tomorrow.  Cute book though I may not be cut out for the Steampunk-ish theme.  I'm loving the story but could do without the mechanical aspects.  Is that what makes a Steampunk and Steampunk?  I'm still unsure.  

 

I read some Whitney and Holt in my teen years too, however, I was already into bodice rippers by that time  :eek:  and was reading a lot of Garwood, McNaught, and Woodweis ... really loved their historical romances.  I learned more history from those books than in my history class at school.  Now I don't read such R rated things LOL.  But Garwood's Almost Heaven is still one of my favorite books of all time.

[shukriyya]

Once more unto the breach, dear friends :driving:

[Onceuponatime]

I'm finally out of Hell! Good bye, Inferno. I don't promise to ever darken your doors again.