Book a Week in 2014 - BW15

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday, dear hearts! Today is the start of week 15 in our quest to read 52 Books. Welcome back to all our readers, to all those who are just joining in and to all who are following our progress. Mr. Linky is all set up on the 52 Books blog to link to your reviews. The link is below in my signature.
 
52 Books Blog - Armchair Traveling through 15th Century England:  Are you ready to dive into the 15th Century (1401-1500) with me and Sir Thomas Malory.  I was perusing my shelves the other day and ran across an old copy of Le Morte D'Arthur inherited from my late mother-in-law.  I love the front cover which states it is  'the Heroic and Lusty epic of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table.'  The pages are quite yellow and the print is very small, so much so that I think I'll let it continue to languish in its glory on the shelves and download a version to read on my ipad.   I also found a wonderful site  ~ Arthurian Legends ~ with fine art drawings created in the 40's by belgian artist Francoise Taylor, plus links to many informative arthurian websites.

Since I'm also armchair traveling over to England this month, I've discovered a wealth of historical fiction at historicalnovels.info and the always informative Goodreads list of 15th Century popular literature.   

And my backpack is overflowing with a wide variety of books set in England from Elizabeth Chadwick's historical The Greatest Knight to Margaret Frazer's 15th century first book in her Dame Frevisse's series - The Novice's Tale to Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway,  Jacqueline Winspeare's A Lesson in Secrets and Suzanna Clark's Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel.  I may just end up settling down in a cozy cottage on the heath for a month or two or three.  *grin*   We'll see. 
 
 
 
History of the Ancient World Readalong: Fascinating reading about the different flood stories and now it's time to move on to Chapters 3 and 4.
 

Poet in my pocket today:  Pablo Neruda - The Book of Questions, III

Tell me, is the rose naked
or is that her only dress?

Why do trees conceal
the splendor of their roots?

Who hears the regrets
of the thieving automobile?

Is there anything in the world sadder
than a train standing in the rain?

 

 

What are you reading this week?

 

 

 

 

Link to week 14

[Robin M]

Reading Robyn Carr's latest in her Thunderpoint series - The Chance.  She's one of the few contemporary romance authors I read and enjoyed so far.

 

Hubby borrowed my Ipad last night so I started reading "Blood Gospel" by James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell.  I think he's starting to go the way of Tom Clancy and just putting his name on the title page in order to get the other author some attention. I haven't read anything by Cantrell yet.  I met her around the same time I met Rollins, so have one of her books in my stacks.  Hoping it will be good.  As far as Blood Gospel is concerned, about 100 pages in and although the premise of the book is interesting, I keep getting thrown out of the story by weird phrasing and badly worded sentences.  I'll probably keep reading in hopes it gets better, but I can already see it is the beginning of the end for Rollins for me if he continues to 'collaborate'.

 

Think my brain is ready for some steak now after so way too many hamburgers.  Too much fluff, plus I've come to the end of the C.E. Murphy's Walker Paper series until the newest book comes out in June.  So I pulled out Sharon Kay Penman's Falls the Shadow in her Welsh Trilogy. 

 

[prairiegirl]

I am still reading  'The Luminaries'  by Eleanor Catton. I am a bit worried.  I am really liking the story but I am only on page 200 of this 800 page book, can the 'likeness'  continue for 600 pages?  I'm a bit wary about that.   Who do authors write such long stories?      It will probably take me awhile to finish this baby because the kids and I are also reading Medea and researching this play is taking up a lot of my reading time.   

[shukriyya]

This week I listened to the wonderful, 'Warming the Stone Child' read by the author, Clarissa Pinkola Estes. I finished the first two chapters of SotAW. I enjoyed the descriptions of the Earth's body forming and reshaping itself, moving with whatever elements were offering themselves to the moment. And SWB's comment, "The historian can't ignore the Great Flood; it is the closest thing to a universal story that the human race possesses.", struck a chord with me. Something about us all being bound by an effluence of water but deeper than that, that we all begin as fish, swimming in that watery betwixt and between realm, lulled for nine months by an inner inter-tidal sway such that liquid literally shapes our bones, lungs, emotions, heart...

I'm 2/3 of the way through 'The Birth House' by Ami McKay and am thoroughly enjoying it. Alas there are several books that I've abandoned along the way. They are *shoulds* I just don't want to read right now so they're heading down the off-ramp for a spell. Hoping to restart them when the winds of interest are kindled. On the roster for this week, chapters 3 & 4 of SotAW, The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich and another as yet undecided title by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. I imagine some of you read her wonderful book Women who Run with the Wolves. I read that back in the 90s and then lent it out to a bunch of different friends and never saw it again. I'm thinking it may be time for a reread of it sometime soon.

[Narrow Gate Academy]

It's good to be back after missing the last two weeks of discussions.  We took the kids down to Disney in Florida for a few days, and the chief upside to driving all the way down to Florida and back is that is gave me time to finish reading six books (and since it was vacation I could justify making them all fun fiction).  Now if I can just catch up on the laundry, so I can start reading again...  The books I finished include:

 

Book 17 -  W.A.R.P. Book 1 The Reluctant Assassin by Colfer (reviewed here) - I was looking for some new authors for my Riordan lovers and pulled this title from one of Riordan's blog posts about an upcoming event he is doing with three other authors including Colfer.  I liked it enough to go pick up the first book in his previous series Artemis Fowl to try as well.

 

Book 18 - Map of Bones by Rollins (reviewed here) - I didn't want to read just books for the kids, so I picked up the second Sigma series book purely for my own enjoyment.

 

Book 19 - Monk's Hood (reviewed here) and Book 20 - St. Peter's Fair (reviewed here) by Peters continue my journey in the 12th century.  I think I'm finally ready to move on to the 13th century and take a break from Brother Cadfael for a little while although I continue to enjoy the series.

 

Book 21 - The Prince of Mist by Zafon  (reviewed here) - This was another title I pulled from Riordan's blog as a preread.  This particular book was once that he had just finished reading.  I'm not big on supernatural thrillers, and I don't my girls will enjoy it but the story is very well written.

 

Book 22 - Gregor the Overlander by Collins (reviewed here) -  After an array of very dark villains, it was great to take a break and zip through this children's story as a preread for my 9yo. 

 

To be read:

It's back to work as I need to start (and can no longer procrastinate reading) Histories by Herodotus and Till We Have Faces by Lewis to discuss with DD14.

 

In progress:

Bible - finished Joshua through 1 Samuel and working through 2 Samuel, as soon as I finish today's reading I'm back on track

History of the Ancient World by Bauer - no chapters the last three weeks, definitely going to work on this week

Urchin and the Heartstone by McAllister - reading aloud with DS 9 and still enjoying

 

Finished:

 

22.  Gregor the Overlander by Collins

21.  The Prince of Mist by Zafon

20.  St. Peter's Fair by Peters (12th century, England)

19.  Monk's Hood by Peters (12th century, England)

18.  Map of Bones by Rollins (BaW rec, Italy/Germany/France)

17.  W.A.R.P. Book 1 The Reluctant Assassin by Colfer

16.  Getting Things Done by Allen (non-fiction 646.7)

15.  Urchin of the Riding Stars by McAllister

14.  Agamemnon by Aeschylus (ancient lit, Greece, 882)

13.  One Corpse Too Many by Peters (12th century, England)

12.  Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles (ancient lit, Greece, 882)

11.  Oedipus the King by Sophocles  (ancient lit, Greece, 882)

10.  The Week That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Bradley (BaW rec, England)

9.  Quiet:  The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Cain (non-fiction 155)

8.  Sandstorm by Rollins (BaW rec, Oman)

7.  The War of the Worlds by Wells (classic lit, Great Britain)

6.  A Morbid Taste for Bones by Peters (12th century, Great Britain)

5.  Anitgone by Sophocles (ancient lit, Greece, 882)

4.  Secrets of an Organized Mom  by Reich (non-fiction 648.5)

3.  Phantastes by MacDonald (classic lit)

2.  The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Bradley (BaW rec, Great Britain)

1.  The Odyssey by Homer (ancient lit, Greece 883.1)

[Onceuponatime]

Still working on The Camelot Caper by Elizabeth Peters. I've got some more books set in England waiting for me to pick them up tomorrow.

[Ali in OR]

Finished The Golem and the Jinni and enjoyed it. Currently reading Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen by Laurie Colwin which is fine, but I'm not finding any recipes I want to try! They seem from a different era to me (book was written in 1988), and don't really fit the way we eat (pot roast, shepherd's pie, etc.) And I was sad to find out she passed away just a few years after the book was written.

 

The girls and I will finish Animal Farm in a day or two. My older dd and I read Albert Marrin's Stalin recently which is a good way to go into reading Animal Farm. I think I would have gotten more out of it in high school if I had known more history. We'll be moving on to To Kill a Mockingbird this week--our last read-aloud for the school year.

 

I'm at 20 books for 2014. Here's the list:

1. The Nine Tailors-Dorothy Sayers

2. The Monuments Men-Robert Edsel

3. Bad Monkeys-Matt Ruff

4. All Quiet on the Western Front-Erich Maria Remarque

5. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

6. Paper Towns-John Green

7. After the Quake-Haruki Murakami

8. Rabbit-Proof Fence-Doris Pilkington

9. The Dead in their Vaulted Arches-Alad Bradley

10. Too Much Happiness-Alice Munro

11. Murder on the Orient Express-Agatha Christie

12. Lost Lake-Sarah Addison Allen

13. Dear Life-Alice Munro

14. The Chaperone-Laura Moriarty

15. The Grand Sophy-Georgette Heyer

16. Winter Garden-Kristin Hannah

17. Hollow City-Ransom Riggs

18. The Fault in our Stars-John Green

19. The Rosie Project-Graeme Simsion

20. The Golem and the Jinni-Helene Wecker

[mumto2]

Last week I ended up "abandoning" two books partway through.  I thought of our discussions here about how far you should read before making the decision to quit because of a speaker I recently listened to, who apparently leads very popular library based book clubs.  She recommends page 19, apparently for all books.  One book I quit at roughly page 19 :lol: simply because I am not in the mood for that style,  with the other I made it to page 100 before I admitted to myself that the subject matter was depressing me greatly.  That one was good at page 19.  IMO no hard and fast rule. ;)

 

I did finish the latest Elly Griffiths forensic mystery "Outcast Dead" and enjoyed it.  Her main character is a forensic archaeologist working in Norfolk England.  Most of her sites are fictional  but the stories are good. 

 

I also did my 15th century read "The Flowering of the Rose" which is the first half of We Speak No Treason by Rosemary Hawley Harman.  I did not realize it was a two part story when I requested it and can not get the second half quickly and have decided to skip the rest.  It was a rather detailed account of the backstory surrounding King Edward and his Queen with Richard as more of the focus.  Not bad but not enthralling, 3*.  I have a couple more that I am waiting for by other authors for the same period.

 

Currently reading JD Robb's Concealed in Death and Murder in the Marais by Cara Black.

[Kareni]

I read -- and very much enjoyed -- a book that is definitely outside my usual reading choices.  I recommend it.

 

The Martian: A Novel by Andy Weir

 

I'd call this book a blend of (thinking movies here) Castaway meets Apollo 13.  I shared a number of snippets with my husband, and now he's interested in reading it, too, even though he only rarely reads fiction.

 

"Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.

Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first.

But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?"

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

[Just Robyn]

I finished The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms, which I have been reading for about a year, and I read Buddha, Vol. 3: Devadatta by Osamu Tezuka and The Romance of Tristan by Beroul.

 

I am still working on The Devil in the White City and How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare, and I started The History of the Ancient World.

 

Here's one of the shorter poems from the anthology.

 

Miracle Glass Co. by Charles Simic

 

Heavy mirror carried

Across the street,

I bow to you

And to everything that appears in you,

Momentarily

And never again the same way:

 

The street with its pink sky,

Row of gray tenements,

A lone dog,

Children on rollerskates,

Women buying flowers,

Someone looking lost.

 

In you, mirror framed in gold

And carried across the street

By someone I can't even see,

To whom, too, I bow.

 

[Murmer]

Finished: The Reader as a Learner by NZ Ministry of Education (wishing I lived in NZ...I just feel like they really get the not all kids on the same level thing....but they are obviously not perfect either)

Arianna: A Gift Most Precious by Rachel Ann Nunes (meh...it was fine)

 

Working on:

Fiction: Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Kindle: Shatter by Elizabeth C. Mock 

Non-fiction: FIAR through the Seasons by Jane C. Lambert

Phone: The Anvil of the World by Kage Baker

Computer: Don’t Just Do by Richard Eyre

Well Education Mind: Gulliver Travels by Johnathan Swift

Angel Girl: Water Babies by Charles Kingsley

Sweet Boy: Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales Book

Audiobook: Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Berry and Ridley Pearson

 

Total Read for 2014: 50

[JennW in SoCal]

... I thought of our discussions here about how far you should read before making the decision to quit because of a speaker I recently listened to, who apparently leads very popular library based book clubs.  She recommends page 19, apparently for all books.  

 

Page 19 seems awfully quick for putting down a book, although I suppose there are times when you know you just aren't in the mood for a particular story.  Somehow that seems like a different category from when you decide to give up on a book much further along and have invested more in the story. 

 

I am listening to the next Aubrey/Maturin title, Treason's Harbor.  And in honor of all our talk of zombie books recently, I've just started Strange Bodies, by Marcel Theroux.  It isn't exactly zombies, but something of a Dr. Frankenstein story.  From the book cover "In a locked ward of a notorious psychiatric hospital sits a man who insists that he is Dr. Nicholas Slopen, failed husband and impoverished Samuel Johnson scholar."  Seems the man was killed but his consciousness has been transplanted into another body.  I love Theroux's writing -- it is intelligent, transporting, quotable and his stories memorable.  

 

In other news, my missing copy of Hare with the Amber Eyes was hiding on my nightstand under a stack of, I kid you not, Superman comic books.  I didn't see Angel's missing science textbook in the stack, however  :laugh:

[ariasmommy]

The girls and I will finish Animal Farm in a day or two. My older dd and I read Albert Marrin's Stalin recently which is a good way to go into reading Animal Farm. I think I would have gotten more out of it in high school if I had known more history.

I'm glad you mentioned this, as I am planning to read Animal Farm to my dd soon. I read Marrin's bio of Hitler and his book about D Day a couple of years ago, and thought they were quite well written and informative (enjoyed wouldn't be the right word here!). Unfortunately the Stalin bio isn't at our library or ILL, so I'll have to buy a copy.

 

I finished two books in the past few weeks: Norms and Nobility by David Hicks, and The Call of the Wild by Jack London. Not getting a whole lot of reading done lately. :(

[Negin]

I read Faizi - 5 Stars - this is a Baha'i book and I imagine it being of interest only to Baha'is or to those who had the bounty of knowing him. A delightful biography. I really didn't want this to end. He was, without a doubt, an absolute angel, and they just don't make folks like that anymore. I'm quite sure that I was born in the wrong time period. 

 

MY RATING SYSTEM

5 Stars

Fantastic, couldn't put it down

4 Stars

Really Good

3 Stars

Enjoyable

2 Stars

Just Okay – nothing to write home about

1 Star

Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

 

 

 

 

[Melinda in VT]

I am still reading  'The Luminaries'  by Eleanor Catton. I am a bit worried.  I am really liking the story but I am only on page 200 of this 800 page book, can the 'likeness'  continue for 600 pages?  I'm a bit wary about that.   Who do authors write such long stories?      It will probably take me awhile to finish this baby because the kids and I are also reading Medea and researching this play is taking up a lot of my reading time.   

 

If you're liking it at page 200, I'd keep reading. It really picks up around page 500. Pages 500 to 700 or so were very gripping. :lol:

 

[prairiegirl]

Last week I ended up "abandoning" two books partway through.  I thought of our discussions here about how far you should read before making the decision to quit because of a speaker I recently listened to, who apparently leads very popular library based book clubs.  She recommends page 19, apparently for all books.  One book I quit at roughly page 19 :lol: simply because I am not in the mood for that style,  with the other I made it to page 100 before I admitted to myself that the subject matter was depressing me greatly.  That one was good at page 19.  IMO no hard and fast rule. ;)

 

 

I think page 19 is a bit too early to give up on a book.  If I gave up that early, I wouldn't  be finishing up many books.  My standard is not so much page number but time; If I have difficulty in picking up  a book to read it,  if I find other things to do instead of reading that book then I know that I should probably ditch it.

 

If you're liking it at page 200, I'd keep reading. It really picks up around page 500. Pages 500 to 700 or so were very gripping. :lol:

 

Ooooh,  thank you for that incentive to keep going.  

[Stacia]

 

Am about halfway through Boxer, Beetle by Ned Beauman & am really enjoying it. Interesting backstory, lots of neat historical tidbits, and some pretty dark humor (which appeals to me). The link I just gave is to the author's website, where he gives some info, the first chapter, & such from his book. I especially like perusing his bibliography for this novel.

 

Even though this is fiction, I always enjoy reading fiction that has a good amount of historical truth/background to it & I think this book has a fair amount. For example, one thing mentioned was the Thule Society, which after reading about it on Wikipedia, is about the same as described in the book -- an early German mystical, occult-ish group that ended up later morphing into the Nazi Party. This type of info ties into other books I've read which mention Nazi ties to the occult, including Erik Larson's In the Garden of Beasts & Arthur Magida's The Nazi Seance (as well as movies such as Raiders of the Lost Ark showing that angle as well). Also, the fact that one of the main characters in this book is a Jewish boxer pulls me back to Markus Zusak's The Book Thief. Even though I've never read more than the first few pages of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, this book makes me think of it too. (I do plan to read K&C one day, just managed a few pages once when my nephew's copy was sitting here at my house one day.)

 

The review from The Independent starts out with:

This novel throws political correctness on to a bonfire before fandangoing gleefully all over the ashes.

and ends with:

Beauman skips with panache between his dreadful version of the present and the macabre absurdities of a period when cock-eyed science and rabid anti-Semitism provided a toxic cocktail for the upper classes. His killer irony evokes early Evelyn Waugh, and his lateral take on reality Will Self at his unsettling best. This is humour that goes beyond black, careening off into regions of darkness to deliver the funniest new book I've read in a year or two.

To read the rest of the review...

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/boxer-beetle-by-ned-beauman-2083737.html

 

If you're in the mood for a unique, irreverent book with some very dark humor & satire, this may be a book for you. Will keep you posted as I finish it too....

 

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

My Goodreads Page

My PaperbackSwap Page

 

My rating system:

5 = Love; 4 = Pretty awesome; 3 = Good/Ok; 2 = Meh; 1 = Don't bother

 

2014 Books Read:

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

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

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

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

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

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

07. One Hundred Years of Vicissitude by Andrez Bergen (3 grudging stars). Around the World – Asia (Japan).

08. The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley (5 stars).

09. The French Connection by Robin Moore (4 stars). Around the World – North America (USA).

10. The Way Through Doors by Jesse Ball (4 stars).

 

11. Eat for Health by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. (4 stars).

12. Lotería by Mario Alberto Zambrano (1 star).

13. Fantômas by Pierre Souvestre & Marcel Allain (3 stars). Around the World – Europe (France).

14. The Ways of White Folks by Langston Huges (5 stars). Around the World – North America (USA).

15. Asleep in the Sun by Adolfo Bioy Casares (3 stars). Around the World – South America (Argentina).

16. Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett (5 stars).

17. Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi (5 stars).

[Shawneinfl]

I finished Hidden by Catherine McKenzie. This was a book I accidentally purchased on my Kindle. I thought I was looking at more info but apparently I pressed the "buy now" button. I thought "what the heck?" Not bad though.

 

I'm looking to stock up my Kindle with some good books to read sitting by the pool. My hubby has to speak at a convention in Orlando and guess who gets to come along and sit around the resort for three days? :coolgleamA:  Looking for some thrilling books that grab you early on and move quickly - nothing too heavy - drama or murder mysteries would be good.

[MicheleinMN]

I finished The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and Carved in Bone, and  I started Flesh and Bone by Jefferson Bass. :)

 

Edited:

 

I could NOT get past the soapbox in Flesh and Bone!  I am so disappointed.  I will try the third book, but I could NOT do that last one.

[Stacia]

I'm looking to stock up my Kindle with some good books to read sitting by the pool. My hubby has to speak at a convention in Orlando and guess who gets to come along and sit around the resort for three days? :coolgleamA:  Looking for some thrilling books that grab you early on and move quickly - nothing too heavy - drama or murder mysteries would be good.

 

Not sure if they'd be exactly your style or not, but some possibilities...

 

Bad Monkeys

 

Angelmaker

 

mysteries by Kinky Friedman

 

The Enchanted April

 

The Year of Living Biblically

 

Phoebe and the Ghost of Chagall

 

Have fun on your trip!

[Stacia]

Ooooohhh. Lots of cool bookshelves:

http://www.boredpanda.com/creative-bookshelves/

 

(I actually have #8 in red in my house! Totally love it though it's completely overloaded right now.)

 

I love #14 & #19. Absolutely would love to have them in my house.

 

Which are your favorites?

[Kareni]

Ooooohhh. Lots of cool bookshelves:

http://www.boredpanda.com/creative-bookshelves/

 

Which are your favorites?

 

Wow, those are seriously neat.  I rather like the Equation Bookshelf (number 18) and the Yule Bookshelf (number 31), but they all have appeal!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Negin]

 Looking for some thrilling books that grab you early on and move quickly - nothing too heavy - drama or murder mysteries would be good.

Before I Go to Sleep

The Racketeer - or any of the good John Grisham books. 

The Snowman by Jo Nesbo - but might be a bit gruesome

When She Woke

 

Ooooohhh. Lots of cool bookshelves:

http://www.boredpanda.com/creative-bookshelves/

 

(I actually have #8 in red in my house! Totally love it though it's completely overloaded right now.)

 

Which are your favorites?

I love #8! :D

 

I like #6 for the organized/anal-retentive side of me  :lol:.

 

#21 is my dream at the moment, since we're lacking good lighting. 

 

It's hard to choose a favorite. I'd take any of them at the moment. 

 

 

[mumto2]

I finished Hidden by Catherine McKenzie. This was a book I accidentally purchased on my Kindle. I thought I was looking at more info but apparently I pressed the "buy now" button. I thought "what the heck?" Not bad though.

 

I'm looking to stock up my Kindle with some good books to read sitting by the pool. My hubby has to speak at a convention in Orlando and guess who gets to come along and sit around the resort for three days? :coolgleamA:  Looking for some thrilling books that grab you early on and move quickly - nothing too heavy - drama or murder mysteries would be good.

I loved Angelmaker and Before I go to Sleep.  Grisham is always good. ;)

 

Some other ideas:       The Secret Keeper

                                        The Rosetti Letter

                                         The Expendable Man -- Dorothy Hughes

                                         Now you see me --SJ. Bolton

                                         The Husband's Secret

                                          The Rosie Project

[mumto2]

Ooooohhh

 

(I actually have #8 in red in my house! Totally love it though it's completely overloaded right now.)

 

I love #14 & #19. Absolutely would love to have them in my house.

 

 

 

Which are your favorites?

So many fun ones to choose from. 14 and 16 are probably my favourites partly because they hold the most! :lol: My bookshelves are crammed full but I think 16 could hold even more.

 

My question about #8 is what shape do you have it in? Really a fun concept. Was it really easy to shape?

[mumto2]

I had one of my awake nights.  I finished Murder on the Marais http://murderbytype.wordpress.com/2011/10/06/murder-in-the-marais-cara-black/ by Cara Black.  It was probably way too intense for middle of the night reading and gave me rather disturbing dreams when I finally fell back to sleep.  To be honest it was a disturbing book to read anytime,  filled with Nazi hatred and WWII horror that carried forward into our time.  Not my typical murder mystery. I would read more by the author but not for awhile. 

[Heather in Neverland]

Started reading:

The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman

 

Still reading:

Falls the Shadow by Sharon Kay Penman

 

Finished reading:

1. The Curiosity by Stephen Kiernan (AVERAGE)

2. The Last Time I Saw Paris by Lynn Sheene (GOOD)

3. Unwind by Neal Shusterman (EXCELLENT)

4. The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty (EXCELLENT)

5. The Rage Against God: How Atheism Led Me to Faith by Peter Hitchens (AMAZING)

6. Champion by Marie Lu (PRETTY GOOD)

7. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink (INCREDIBLE)

8. Cultivating Christian Character by Michael Zigarelli (HO-HUM)

9. Detroit: An American Autopsy by Charlie LeDuff (um...WOW. So amazing and sad)

10. Pressure Points: Twelve Global Issues Shaping the Face of the Church by JD Payne (SO-SO)

11. The Happiness Project: Or Why I spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun. by Gretchen Rubin (GOOD)

12. Reading and Writing Across Content Areas by Roberta Sejnost (SO-SO)

13. Winter of the World by Ken Follet (PRETTY GOOD)

14. The School Revolution: A New Answer for our Broken Education System by Ron Paul (GREAT)

15. Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen (LOVED IT)

16. Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning by Sugata Mitra (GOOD)

17. Can Computers Keep Secrets? - How a Six-Year-Old's Curiosity Could Change the World by Tom Barrett (GOOD)

18. You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You're Deluding Yourself by David McRaney (GOOD)

19. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs (OK)

20. Follow Me by David Platt (GOOD)

21. The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burkeman (SO-SO)

[Pam in CT]

 

Am about halfway through Boxer, Beetle by Ned Beauman & am really enjoying it. Interesting backstory, lots of neat historical tidbits, and some pretty dark humor (which appeals to me). The link I just gave is to the author's website, where he gives some info, the first chapter, & such from his book. I especially like perusing his bibliography for this novel.

 

Even though this is fiction, I always enjoy reading fiction that has a good amount of historical truth/background to it & I think this book has a fair amount. For example, one thing mentioned was the Thule Society, which after reading about it on Wikipedia, is about the same as described in the book -- an early German mystical, occult-ish group that ended up later morphing into the Nazi Party. This type of info ties into other books I've read which mention Nazi ties to the occult, including Erik Larson's In the Garden of Beasts & Arthur Magida's The Nazi Seance (as well as movies such as Raiders of the Lost Ark showing that angle as well). Also, the fact that one of the main characters in this book is a Jewish boxer pulls me back to Markus Zusak's The Book Thief. Even though I've never read more than the first few pages of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, this book makes me think of it too. (I do plan to read K&C one day, just managed a few pages once when my nephew's copy was sitting here at my house one day.)

 

 

 

Wow.  Shudder.  OK, I'm looking forward to hearing what you think by the time you get all the way through...

[Pam in CT]

Ooooohhh. Lots of cool bookshelves:

http://www.boredpanda.com/creative-bookshelves/

 

(I actually have #8 in red in my house! Totally love it though it's completely overloaded right now.)

 

I love #14 & #19. Absolutely would love to have them in my house.

 

Love this one too (#6):

 

 

Which are your favorites?

 

How fun!  Fun, too, that #8, the one that seems to have generated the most interest on this thread thus far, is the one that features wine interspersed amongst the books...   :laugh:

 

I finished Hidden by Catherine McKenzie. This was a book I accidentally purchased on my Kindle. I thought I was looking at more info but apparently I pressed the "buy now" button. I thought "what the heck?" Not bad though.

 

 

Not that this has ever happened to me (snort)...

[Stacia]

My question about #8 is what shape do you have it in?  Really a fun concept.  Was it really easy to shape?

 

We have it hung in a spiral shape. NO, it was not easy to shape, nor to hang. (Of course, that was many years ago when we were young, new homeowners & hadn't a clue about many things like that, so perhaps something like that would be easier now that we have [plenty] of age & experience.) You definitely need a minimum of two people to do it.... LOL.

 

One of the supports is actually cracked a bit now & hangs slanted, so I sometimes ponder taking it down, trying to repair it & put it back up, but the whole process is daunting so I instead ignore it & try not to load too many books on that side. :tongue_smilie:

 

I still remember when one of my dd's friends came to our house for the first time. I think she was around 6yo & she busted out laughing & saying what a strange & weird bookcase we had on our wall. She couldn't help giggling every time she looked toward the bookcase. :lol:

 

Pam, no wine on ours, though. ;)

[Stacia]

Wow.  Shudder.  OK, I'm looking forward to hearing what you think by the time you get all the way through...

 

So far, I like it. Like the end paper art I posted, I have to agree that there are deplorable characters, yet somehow the dark satire/humor pulls me in & keeps me entertained. (Entertained is not really the word I'm looking for, yet I can't think of the right one right now.) It's highlighting some (obviously) very serious & extremely disturbing stuff, yet the author's very dark satire certainly makes scathing impressions of those people/events/thought processes he is highlighting.

 

Maybe what is pulling about it is that these deplorable thoughts, acts, beliefs were not done by some weird, alien race of super-monsters, but by humans whose thinking & outlook got so warped that they thought they could actually justify their actions. To me, the dark, harsh (&, at times, absurdly funny) humor further underlines the extremeness. It seems almost crazy to have something humorous in relation to this, yet sometimes humor points out the most base extremes of human depravity in a way that makes it accessible so that others (can hopefully) learn a lesson not to repeat history. Does that make sense?

 

Not that this is like Vonnegut, but it's kind-of like a manic Vonnegut with a razor blade. Or an ax.

 

So. Yeah. Just my pre-coffee ramblings this morning....

[Pam in CT]

Well, so, this week I breezed through librarian Nancy Pearl's Book Lust to Go: Recommended Reading for Travelers, Vagabonds and Dreamers, which was very fun, and among its sequel in our library, and I surely wish I'd come across it before our year of traveling, but oh well, better late than never.  It generated a whole new Vagabond Dreamer wish list of its own -- my advice about Book Lust would be, don't go near it if your TBR list is already causing angst...

 

I also finished Ruhama Veltfort's Promised Land, which shukriyya had recommended.  I am doing a little mini-unit on books set in Israel, and it is perhaps a testimony to my inattentive state of mind, that I got this and was 1/3 into it before I said to myself, "wait -- if these people are leaving the Polish shtetl and heading off for America, how in the world will they ever make their way back to Zion??" and actually looked at the description.  Lovely book.  Not set in Israel, despite the title (!)...

 

What is set in Israel is Like Dreamers: The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation, by Yossi Klein Halevi.  This follows the stories of the young men in a paratrooper division in the 1967 war, through to Rabin's assassination.  I had mixed feelings about this one; in a sense the whole was less than the sum of its parts.  Several of the individual stories were fascinating, heartbreaking, deeply informative insights into the challenges and strengths and potential in Israeli society.  But the whole did not cohere, imo...

 

And last night I read Mary Zimmerman's play Metamorphoses, revisiting Ovid.  My eldest performed in this years ago, but I'd never read it -- a pleasure.

 

 

And for works-in-progress, my youngest and I are still reading Betty Smith's classic coming-of-age A Tree Grows in Brooklyn... I'm still plowing doggedly through the 26 hour audio version of David Grossman's To the End of the Land (more than half, less than 2/3, done...).  This book truly is lovely, dark and deep, with all sorts of insights into connection and alienation, marriage, motherhood, loss and pain.  It is set in Israel, but thus far the setting really is more backdrop than character; although the two main characters are hiking into the Golan, the "end of the land" in the title thus far seems to refer more to existential and interior terrain (haven't reached the end, though).  I fear that listening to it in panicked bursts while driving around is not really doing it justice.  Oh well.  And last night I started The Tain, recommended here, as my next Dusty....

[Kim in Appalachia]

I've  been super busy, but I've tried to keep up on reading.  I finished The Return of the Prodigal, by Henri Nouwen.  It's an excellent book, and I can tell I'll be buying more of his books in the future.  

 

I'm 75% through The Son, by Phillip Meyer, which means I have about 200 pages to go. :)  I have enjoyed this novel a lot, and I will get his first one, American Rust, at some point.  That's a much shorter book.

 

I have a lot of books on my to read shelf, now I want to read The Luminaries.  I had wanted to read it before, but was put off by some bad reviews.  Maybe I'll get to it.  Boxer, Beetle looks good too.  So many books..........................:D

[Pam in CT]

So far, I like it. Like the end paper art I posted, I have to agree that there are deplorable characters, yet somehow the dark satire/humor pulls me in & keeps me entertained. (Entertained is not really the word I'm looking for, yet I can't think of the right one right now.) It's highlighting some (obviously) very serious & extremely disturbing stuff, yet the author's very dark satire certainly makes scathing impressions of those people/events/thought processes he is highlighting.

 

Maybe what is pulling about it is that these deplorable thoughts, acts, beliefs were not done by some weird, alien race of super-monsters, but by humans whose thinking & outlook got so warped that they thought they could actually justify their actions. To me, the dark, harsh (&, at times, absurdly funny) humor further underlines the extremeness. It seems almost crazy to have something humorous in relation to this, yet sometimes humor points out the most base extremes of human depravity in a way that makes it accessible so that others (can hopefully) learn a lesson not to repeat history. Does that make sense?

 

Not that this is like Vonnegut, but it's kind-of like a manic Vonnegut with a razor blade. Or an ax.

 

So. Yeah. Just my pre-coffee ramblings this morning....

 

Re deplorable thoughts/beliefs/acts incorporated into satire: I get it.  This is what Mel Brooks based a career on, right?  It's not for everyone, for sure, and that's fine; but there is a place for it on this earth.

[Uff Da!]

#26 cracked me up as far as bookshelves go.  I've been debating putting a towel hanging/bookshelf thing in the bathroom.  Would that be gross?  I know a lot of people have unofficial reading material in bathrooms but this would make it official.  

 

Last night I started Gulliver's Travels again and it went better.  Before I picked it up, I was musing whether my issues with it stem from being a woman and I really can't appreciate all the talk about peeing on things.  Now I think it's just not a great book for me and I think, when I finish it, I will simply have to reward myself with some light fun reading material to celebrate spring.

[prairiegirl]

Ooooohhh. Lots of cool bookshelves:

http://www.boredpanda.com/creative-bookshelves/

 

(I actually have #8 in red in my house! Totally love it though it's completely overloaded right now.)

 

I love #14 & #19. Absolutely would love to have them in my house.

 

Love this one too (#6):

 

 

Which are your favorites?

Okay,  I liked quite a few so we will see if I can remember them all.  I liked #5 ( very whimsical and cute,) #6 (I have this same concept in my house but they are cardboard boxes, not shelves,)  #16, # 20 (I like shelves to have heft to them, what is the point of having shelves if you can only put 10 books on them?)  and #32 (I can't remember what 32 was.  Oh, wait!  That was the chair/shelf.  Yes!  I really liked that one.  It would look so cute next to a window.  If it came in a different color I would like it more.)

[MicheleinMN]

Ooooohhh. Lots of cool bookshelves:

http://www.boredpanda.com/creative-bookshelves/

 

(I actually have #8 in red in my house! Totally love it though it's completely overloaded right now.)

 

I love #14 & #19. Absolutely would love to have them in my house.

 

Love this one too (#6):

 

 

 

Which are your favorites?

 

My favorite is #16, but I also really like #2. :)

[Kareni]

So far, I like it. Like the end paper art I posted, I have to agree that there are deplorable characters, yet somehow the dark satire/humor pulls me in & keeps me entertained. (Entertained is not really the word I'm looking for, yet I can't think of the right one right now.)

 

Given the beetles, I'd vote for the word 'engrossed', but I'm not a big fan of creepy, crawly things!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Looking for some thrilling books that grab you early on and move quickly - nothing too heavy - drama or murder mysteries would be good.

 

I'd recommend the book I mentioned upthread which proved quite gripping --  The Martian: A Novel by Andy Weir.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Shawneinfl]

 

Not that this is like Vonnegut, but it's kind-of like a manic Vonnegut with a razor blade. Or an ax.

 

So. Yeah. Just my pre-coffee ramblings this morning....

 

Yikes!

 

[Shawneinfl]

Ooooohhh. Lots of cool bookshelves:

http://www.boredpanda.com/creative-bookshelves/

 

(I actually have #8 in red in my house! Totally love it though it's completely overloaded right now.)

 

I love #14 & #19. Absolutely would love to have them in my house.

 

Love this one too (#6):

 

 

Which are your favorites?

 

I actually like # 1 (the invisible), #18 (the equation) and #22 (The Cat-Library) which would definitely be the most functional one for my house since we now have a plethora of both cats and books.

[Onceuponatime]

I started Maisie Dobbs this morning. I'm enjoying it so far, but I didn't expect tears to be leaking by page 30.

[Shawneinfl]

I'd recommend the book I mentioned upthread which proved quite gripping --  The Martian: A Novel by Andy Weir.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

I loved Angelmaker and Before I go to Sleep.  Grisham is always good. ;)

 

Some other ideas:       The Secret Keeper

                                        The Rosetti Letter

                                         The Expendable Man -- Dorothy Hughes

                                         Now you see me --SJ. Bolton

                                         The Husband's Secret

                                          The Rosie Project

 

 

Before I Go to Sleep

The Racketeer - or any of the good John Grisham books. 

The Snowman by Jo Nesbo - but might be a bit gruesome

When She Woke

 

 

 

Not sure if they'd be exactly your style or not, but some possibilities...

 

Bad Monkeys

 

Angelmaker

 

mysteries by Kinky Friedman

 

The Enchanted April

 

The Year of Living Biblically

 

Phoebe and the Ghost of Chagall

 

Have fun on your trip!

 

Thanks everyone, I'm furiously downloading samples.

[aggieamy]

Ooooohhh. Lots of cool bookshelves:

http://www.boredpanda.com/creative-bookshelves/

 

(I actually have #8 in red in my house! Totally love it though it's completely overloaded right now.)

 

I love #14 & #19. Absolutely would love to have them in my house.

 

Love this one too (#6):

 

 

Which are your favorites?

 

I love the equation one but really ... I want the staircase one in my house.  

 

READ:

 

DD and I finished The Last of the Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews.  Loved loved loved it.  Fantastic read aloud.  It's kinda set the bar high for read alouds for awhile.  *****

 

For one of my book clubs I finished Stardust by Neil Gaiman.  I had been meaning to read him for years because everyone seems to adore him.  I enjoyed the story but was suprised by it's adult situation and the ending was sad.  Not in a bittersweet way ... just sad.  ****

 

CURRENTLY READING:

 

A Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt by Coco De Young - our new read aloud.  It was a Sonlight suggestion.  I'm holding out judgement until the end.  

 

What Angels May Fear by CS Harris - recommended by mumto2.  About 50 pages in and enjoying it so far.  

 

 

[Stacia]

I am doing a little mini-unit on books set in Israel,

Have you read Second Person Singular by Sayed Kashua? I read that last year & recommend it. I would like to read his book Dancing Arabs too.

 

Re deplorable thoughts/beliefs/acts incorporated into satire: I get it. This is what Mel Brooks based a career on, right? It's not for everyone, for sure, and that's fine; but there is a place for it on this earth.

You know, less than an hour after I wrote my post, I thought of Mel Brooks (& the Inquisition -- probably because I posted a photo of that last week). But, yes. Exactly.

[Stacia]

Last night I started Gulliver's Travels again and it went better.  Before I picked it up, I was musing whether my issues with it stem from being a woman and I really can't appreciate all the talk about peeing on things.  Now I think it's just not a great book for me and I think, when I finish it, I will simply have to reward myself with some light fun reading material to celebrate spring.

 

:lol:

 

I made it most of the way through Gulliver's Travels a few years ago, but never completely finished it. I don't remember the peeing incidents, but I did get tired of the political talk (which seemed to become heavier & heavier as the book went along).

 

No wonder you want something lighter to read!

 

[Murmer]

:lol:

 

I made it most of the way through Gulliver's Travels a few years ago, but never completely finished it. I don't remember the peeing incidents, but I did get tired of the political talk (which seemed to become heavier & heavier as the book went along).

 

No wonder you want something lighter to read!

 

 

you all are scaring me....I just started Gulliver's Travels...and I really do want to finish it....but now I am scared that it will be like don quio...which I gave up on after the 1st part

[Stacia]

...

[Stacia]

Jenn,

 

Pop Up Tee has some Terry Pratchett based tees for sale. Looks like the sale ends in an hour, though...

http://popuptee.com/

 

(I love The Hogfather & the Unseen University ones.)

[aggieamy]

In addition to buying a stack of reading material, I found some 1950's and 1960's knitting pattern books at our library sale.  What a hoot!  The one below cracks me up because of the styling.  Apparently men have to hold things.  The models are posed with cigarettes, pipes, skis, rifles, golf clubs, steering wheels....

 

 

Jane -  I really want to see the image of the man with the steering wheel in his knitted sweater.  Could you please scan the whole book for us to look through?  Please.   :lol: