Book a Week in 2014 - BW15

[Tress]

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. :(

 

But....but....you finished Norms and Nobility!!  :hurray: 

 

I think that's quiet an accomplishment :D, I haven't managed to finish reading it, no matter how ofter I have tried.

 

[prairiegirl]

But....but....you finished Norms and Nobility!!  :hurray:

 

I think that's quiet an accomplishment :D, I haven't managed to finish reading it, no matter how ofter I have tried.

 

:iagree:  That is an accomplishment.  It took me three times to actually get through the book.  With the recent thread on N&N, I have been thinking about re-reading it  but I am afraid that it will take me three times to read it through again.  :huh:

 

Robin,  that book about Lazurus being a vampire:  that was a James Rollins'  book?  Are all of his books like that?   I was thinking of reading one of his books but if they are like that, well,  I don't  think I want to start one.

 

Stacia,  I am sorry that the beetle book fizzled for you.  I have to say that the graphic you posted when you were talking about the book did me in but I know that you had high hopes for the book and it is always disappointing when a book does not reach our expectations.

 

I am still slogging through  The Lumiinaries. Slogging is probably not the right word to use as I am enjoying the story but I think of how much more I have to read to finish the book and of all the library books (9 to be exact) I have on my shelf waiting for me to read and slogging is the word that comes up.   I am now on page 375.  I have 460 pages to go.   I think I can.  I think I can.

[Pam in CT]

 

Finished Boxer, Beetle. Eh. I guess reading the rave reviews & the initial dark humor/strange premise pulled me in, but the book did not sustain the pace, imo. So, it was ok overall but not quite what I had hoped for.

 

Oh come on.  Did you try the Monty Python trick?  Assigning different voices for the different characters, with over-the-top accents; imagining them in goofy costumes, with cardboard props and coconut bras?  

[Kim in Appalachia]

I finished Philipp Meyer's The Son last night.  What an amazing read.  The book is over 800 pages, but it kept me engaged the entire time.  It was well writen and so fasinating.  I may need a day or two before moving on to a new book. I keep picturing Texas; the big open sky, the open ranges, the hot, relenteless sun (it's southern Texas).  I keep thinking about the incredible sweep and pace of history.  At one point one of the characters mentions JFK being shot, and how there were still people in Texas (on the day of the shooting) who could remember their parents being scalped.  

 

I believe I have The Way of the Kings, by Sanderson, as my next book to read.  It will be a huge mental shift. :)

[Murmer]

I just finished Shatter by Elizabeth Mock and it was interesting...I may someday read the others in the series...it did take about 50% to figure out what was happening in the story but do wonder what will happen in the next book.

 

Now to start The Fearful Rise of Markets by John Authers....this make take me a while to get through lol.

[shukriyya]

I finished The Birth House by Ami McKay. Very enjoyable read similar to The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harman both in subject matter and writing style. Today I pick up The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich at the library and I'm hoping to get another Ami McKay book, The Virign Cure. As well I'm just a few chapters into Untie the Strong Woman by Jungian anaylyst-storyteller Clarissa Pinkola Estes.

 

 

 

I am still slogging through  The Lumiinaries. Slogging is probably not the right word to use as I am enjoying the story but I think of how much more I have to read to finish the book and of all the library books (9 to be exact) I have on my shelf waiting for me to read and slogging is the word that comes up.   I am now on page 375.  I have 460 pages to go.   I think I can.  I think I can.

 

 

 

[Guest]

I'm still reading what I was last week: I think I am on Chapter 7 or 8 of HotAW. I'm enjoying it a little more as I move into the more concrete history. I am also slogging through Cutting for Stone. Whenever I'm not reading it, I don't really want to pick it back up, but when I do read it, I am finding it interesting. I am almost halfway through and hope to finish it this week. There was a scene that I read last night between two of the children that really bothered me and I was tempted to put the book down for good. I guess I'm just hoping that everything comes together in a neat package at the end.

[Stacia]

Stacia,  I am sorry that the beetle book fizzled for you.  I have to say that the graphic you posted when you were talking about the book did me in but I know that you had high hopes for the book and it is always disappointing when a book does not reach our expectations.

 

Yeah, that end paper graphic was quite the thing, huh? But, I think it was the epitome of the initial tone of the story, the Mel Brooks-esqe style of telling horrible history with a wicked grin, a cheeky remark, and a blade between the ribs. But, the story got more somber (& a bit more brutal & more gross) as it moved along (no surprise, I suppose), but I found the ending kind of weird & disappointing in relation to the start of the book. I really enjoyed the wicked humor. The rest, not so much. And, really, it just lost its momentum. Plus, with a story like this, I feel like I should come away with a stronger moral from the story, or a stronger feel of the stupidity of man, or something... but, that's not really there either. It just, sort-of, ended.

 

I don't have a bug phobia, but if you do, I'll put the caveat out there that you probably don't want to read this book (though you would probably avoid it on the title & cover art alone).

 

Oh come on.  Did you try the Monty Python trick?  Assigning different voices for the different characters, with over-the-top accents; imagining them in goofy costumes, with cardboard props and coconut bras?  

 

You know, that would have worked perfectly for the first half of the book. (That's why I was enjoying it so.) Super-bred killer (?) beetles, brutal beatings, & rough relations (of the interpersonal kind -- just wording it differently to keep certain search engines from looking here) just don't lend themselves as easily to that though (which are the things that dominated the second half of the book). :tongue_smilie:

 

I finished Philipp Meyer's The Son last night.  What an amazing read.  The book is over 800 pages, but it kept me engaged the entire time.  It was well writen and so fasinating.  I may need a day or two before moving on to a new book. I keep picturing Texas; the big open sky, the open ranges, the hot, relenteless sun (it's southern Texas).  I keep thinking about the incredible sweep and pace of history.  At one point one of the characters mentions JFK being shot, and how there were still people in Texas (on the day of the shooting) who could remember their parents being scalped.  

 

The Son sounds wonderful. It also sounds like the scope of the book that I was reading, A Moment in the Sun. I still really do want to read it, but will need a time when I can really immerse myself in it.

[Stacia]

Julia, you can do it w/ The Luminaries! (I really want to read it too.) Of course, I'm nobody to talk since I put my huge chunkster book aside the other week. :tongue_smilie: 

 

Monica, re: Cutting for Stone -- I tried that one years ago & quit at about page 75. I didn't like the story, didn't like the style of storytelling (whoever was telling it was telling things he/she could *not* have known) & I don't know why the storytelling style stuck out like a sore thumb for me, but it really did & it bugged me a lot. Just couldn't get into that one. Otoh, I've known quite a few people who have read & loved that story.

[Guest]

 

Monica, re: Cutting for Stone -- I tried that one years ago & quit at about page 75. I didn't like the story, didn't like the style of storytelling (whoever was telling it was telling things he/she could *not* have known) & I don't know why the storytelling style stuck out like a sore thumb for me, but it really did & it bugged me a lot. Just couldn't get into that one. Otoh, I've known quite a few people who have read & loved that story.

 

Yeah, the way the two sons are connected and some of the things they think and do lend almost a fantasy element to the story, but I don't know that it's intended to be that way. I guess I'm still trying to place what the story is - I think (hope!) that it's all going to come together here in the end. I feel like he's painting a picture that could end beautifully or just leave me scratching my head. We will see!!!!

[ariasmommy]

 

Apparently, it's fluff week. However, I did start Moonwalking with Einstein on audio. This has been on my tbr list forever. I promptly fell asleep.

  

 

When I read it, I started it as an audiobook, but ended up borrowing a copy from the library to finish it - couldn't take the narrator anymore.

 

But....but....you finished Norms and Nobility!!  :hurray: 

 

I think that's quiet an accomplishment :D, I haven't managed to finish reading it, no matter how ofter I have tried.

 

Thanks :) I will confess that this was my second try and that I often had to read a paragraph or passage multiple times in order to begin to understand what he was saying! But it was VERY much worth it, and I highly recommend it! Part of the motivation for me to get through it this time was that my dd will be in 7th grade in the fall (yikes!). Both his proposed curriculum and Ambleside Online's House of Education (based on his ideas) start in 7th grade.

[Kareni]

I am also slogging through Cutting for Stone. Whenever I'm not reading it, I don't really want to pick it back up, but when I do read it, I am finding it interesting. I am almost halfway through and hope to finish it this week. There was a scene that I read last night between two of the children that really bothered me and I was tempted to put the book down for good. I guess I'm just hoping that everything comes together in a neat package at the end.

 

This is what I wrote back in February when I read the book for my book group.

 

"If I had not committed to reading this for the group, I would almost certainly have put it down when I was fifty or a hundred pages into it.  The book is some 650 pages long, and it was not until about the halfway point that I was truly invested in it.  Now that I'm finished, I will state that it was an excellent story, and I'm happy to add it to my (mental) books read list."

 

I hope you'll find it was a worthwhile read when you are finished.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

While writing a friend, I was reminded of a poem she once shared with me that had us both laughing uproariously.  It's Victoria's Secret by Billy Collins.  I'll copy the poem which I found at this link.  Enjoy!

 

Victoria's Secret 

by Billy Collins

The one in the upper-left-hand corner
is giving me a look
that says I know you are here
and I have nothing better to do
for the remainder of human time
than return your persistent but engaging stare.
She is wearing a deeply scalloped
flame-stitch halter top
with padded push-up styling
and easy side-zip tap pants.

The one on the facing page, however,
who looks at me over her bare shoulder,
cannot hide the shadow of annoyance in her brow.
You have interrupted me,
she seems to be saying,
with your coughing and your loud music.
Now please leave me alone;
let me finish whatever it was I was doing
in my organza-trimmed
whisperweight camisole with
keyhole closure and point d'esprit mesh back.

I wet my thumb and flip the page.
Here, the one who happens to be reclining
in a satin and lace merry widow
with an inset lace-up front,
decorated underwire cups and bodice
with lace ruffles along the bottom
and hook-and-eye closure in the back,
is wearing a slightly contorted expression,
her head thrust back, mouth partially open,
a confusing mixture of pain and surprise
as if she had stepped on a tack
just as I was breaking down
her bedroom door with my shoulder.

Nor does the one directly beneath her
look particularly happy to see me.
She is arching one eyebrow slightly
as if to say, so what if I am wearing nothing
but this stretch panne velvet bodysuit
with a low sweetheart neckline
featuring molded cups and adjustable straps.
Do you have a problem with that?!

The one on the far right is easier to take,
her eyes half-closed
as if she were listening to a medley
of lullabies playing faintly on a music box.
Soon she will drop off to sleep,
her head nestled in the soft crook of her arm,
and later she will wake up in her
Spandex slip dress with the high side slit,
deep scoop neckline, elastic shirring,
and concealed back zip and vent.

But opposite her,
stretched out catlike on a couch
in the warm glow of a paneled library,
is one who wears a distinctly challenging expression,
her face tipped up, exposing
her long neck, her perfectly flared nostrils.
Go ahead, her expression tells me,
take off my satin charmeuse gown
with a sheer, jacquard bodice
decorated with a touch of shimmering Lurex.
Go ahead, fling it into the fireplace.
What do I care, her eyes say, we're all going to hell anyway.

I have other mail to open,
but I cannot help noticing her neighbor
whose eyes are downcast,
her head ever so demurely bowed to the side
as if she were the model who sat for Correggio
when he painted "The Madonna of St. Jerome,"
only, it became so ungodly hot in Parma
that afternoon, she had to remove
the traditional blue robe
and pose there in his studio
in a beautifully shaped satin teddy
with an embossed V-front,
princess seaming to mold the bodice,
and puckered knit detail.

And occupying the whole facing page
is one who displays that expression
we have come to associate with photographic beauty.
Yes, she is pouting about something,
all lower lip and cheekbone.
Perhaps her ice cream has tumbled
out of its cone onto the parquet floor.
Perhaps she has been waiting all day
for a new sofa to be delivered,
waiting all day in stretch lace hipster
with lattice edging, satin frog closures,
velvet scrollwork, cuffed ankles,
flare silhouette, and knotted shoulder straps
available in black, champagne, almond,
cinnabar, plum, bronze, mocha, 
peach, ivory, caramel, blush, butter, rose, and periwinkle.
It is, of course, impossible to say,
impossible to know what she is thinking,
why her mouth is the shape of petulance.

But this is already too much.
Who has the time to linger on these delicate
lures, these once unmentionable things?
Life is rushing by like a mad, swollen river.
One minute roses are opening in the garden
and the next, snow is flying past my window.
Plus the phone is ringing.
The dog is whining at the door.
Rain is beating on the roof.
And as always there is a list of things I have to do
before the night descends, black and silky,
and the dark hours begin to hurtle by,
before the little doors of the body swing shut
and I ride to sleep, my closed eyes
still burning from all the glossy lights of day.

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

Robin,  that book about Lazurus being a vampire:  that was a James Rollins'  book?  Are all of his books like that?   I was thinking of reading one of his books but if they are like that, well,  I don't  think I want to start one.

 

No..This is something new he did in collaboration with Rebecca Cantrell and in my opinion, is a big fail.  His sigma force series and other books are excellent, full of action, full of historical, religious and scientific mysteries.  Judas Strain is the first book I read of his which hooked me on reading all of his books. 

[Kim in Appalachia]

"The Son sounds wonderful. It also sounds like the scope of the book that I was reading, A Moment in the Sun. I still really do want to read it, but will need a time when I can really immerse myself in it."

 

Stacia, I had to go look up Moment in the Sun, and now it's on my to read list.  It looks amazing. I almost clicked the Buy Now button, but since I have another epic sitting on my Kindle, I decided I could wait, but this is a book I really want to read. :D

[Stacia]

Stacia, I had to go look up Moment in the Sun, and now it's on my to read list. It looks amazing. I almost clicked the Buy Now button, but since I have another epic sitting on my Kindle, I decided I could wait, but this is a book I really want to read. :D

When you read it, be sure to follow-along with the web info for each chapter. Love that he puts so much historical info & photos out there to peruse.

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/books/amomentinthesun/bonus

 

I have actually contemplated getting a hard copy of this (rather than the library copy), so I can read this gorgeous book at my leisure.

[Hoot]

Did you watch the movie Adaptation? (I think it's worth it for seeing Chris Cooper's performance alone.)

 

I haven't seen it yet but I plan to.

[NoseInABook]

Prepare yourself about Divergent. The first book was good. The second was meh. The third had me going, "WHYYY?! Y U DO DIS TO ME?! Aaaaarrrg, do I have to finish?"

 

Gone Girl is going s-l-o-w-l-y. I wanted to like it because a good friend recommended it. So far I think the lead female is a pretentious bitch. (Can I say that here? :p)

[JennW in SoCal]

 

[it had been a photo of The Little Engine that Could cover]

 

 

 

 

This makes my day!!

[Stacia]

So, for my reading this week, am I jumping out of the pot & into the fire???

 

...

 

Note at the beginning of the book I just started:

If your ears, eyes, and sensibilities are easily offended, this book is not for you. If you want a romance novel, this book is not for you. And if it strikes you odd that vampires, werewolves, demons, ghouls, and the people who spend time in their company would be a foulmouthed, unpleasant, unhappy lot, this book is not for you. In fact, if you're the sort who believes books should come with warning labels, this book's not for you. Also, please note: Siobhan Quinn is not a very good writer. Fair notice.

 

To paraphrase Ursula K. LeGuin, this is me taking back the language of the night. If only for myself.

 

The Author

Do I :eek: or :lol: ? In my case, the answer is :lol: because I've already read the first few pages & the note is entirely accurate & this is quite darkly, profanely, funny so far -- as long as you have a warped sense of humor & like paranormal stuff. (It's labeled as 'dark fantasy'.) Plus, it has blurb notes on the back from both Neil Gaiman & Peter Straub, so how can this not be good? ;)

 

...

 

(So, do you want to know what I'm reading?)

[Pam in CT]

 

I finished The Birth House by Ami McKay. Very enjoyable read similar to The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harman both in subject matter and writing style. Today I pick up The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich at the library and I'm hoping to get another Ami McKay book, The Virign Cure. As well I'm just a few chapters into Untie the Strong Woman by Jungian anaylyst-storyteller Clarissa Pinkola Estes.

 

 

 

You are woman, hear you ROAR!

 

:laugh:

[Hoot]

Prepare yourself about Divergent. The first book was good. The second was meh. The third had me going, "WHYYY?! Y U DO DIS TO ME?! Aaaaarrrg, do I have to finish?

I've hard that. I felt the same way about The Hunger Games series.

[shukriyya]

You are woman, hear you ROAR!

 

:laugh:

Preach it, sister!

 

:lol:

[aggieamy]

 

 

(So, do you want to know what I'm reading?)

 

Tell me!  The suspense is killing me!   :laugh:

[Stacia]

...

[Stacia]

Gone Girl is going s-l-o-w-l-y. I wanted to like it because a good friend recommended it. So far I think the lead female is a pretentious bitch. (Can I say that here? :p)

 

Well, I can't speak for others, but it doesn't bother me.

 

However, the dichotomy between your statement & your innocent-looking avatar have me :smilielol5: .

 

:D

[Onceuponatime]

I finished Maisie Dobbs. It had me leaking tears at the end, too. In spite of that, I liked it very much and would like to keep going with the series. Right now, I'm starting on Thou Art That, a collection of short works (lectures, I think) by Joseph Campbell. He's been on my "to read" list for a while.

[mumto2]

 

Gone Girl is going s-l-o-w-l-y. I wanted to like it because a good friend recommended it. So far I think the lead female is a pretentious bitch. (Can I say that here? :p)

It is fine with me too!  If memory serves me right you probably are not halfway through yet.  It does get better when you cross the halfway mark.  Not much to be honest but better.  It is hard not getting a book everyone else loves.  That was Gone Girl for me too.  It was a book, nothing special.

 

I finished Maisie Dobbs. It had me leaking tears at the end, too. In spite of that, I liked it very much and would like to keep going with the series. Right now, I'm starting on Thou Art That, a collection of short works (lectures, I think) by Joseph Campbell. He's been on my "to read" list for a while.

Dd and I both love Maisie and have been reading them slowly in order to savour them.  They always seem to be tear jerkers but in the best way.  I think the first one is the saddest.  I don't think I really grasped the situation young British women were facing during WWI until I read that book.  Things like Downton Abbey still keep it glamorous and maybe Maisie's story isn't typical because her background is still a bit glamorous but it is so sad and it felt real.  After reading that I have paid much better attention to what is around me and have learned much.

[LostSurprise]

Did you watch the movie Adaptation? (I think it's worth it for seeing Chris Cooper's performance alone.)

 

 

 

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH. Love Chris Cooper. Love Meryl Streep. Enjoy Charlie Kaufman. Oh how I didn't like that movie. Other than the one scene with Cooper and a very high Meryl Streep talking about ants. That was hilarious. 

 

Prepare yourself about Divergent. The first book was good. The second was meh. The third had me going, "WHYYY?! Y U DO DIS TO ME?! Aaaaarrrg, do I have to finish?"

 

 

Shhhh. DS bought this one on Kindle when it came out and I was trying to start it this week. I need to pretend it will be worthwhile. 

 

 

I'm working on a book of essays by David Foster "the essence of '90s intellectualism" Wallace called A Supposedly Fun Thing I Will Never Do Again. They are advertised as being hilarious and brilliant. Just what I need, I said. 

 

Well...I do think Wallace was a very intelligent man, and I enjoy the wordplay he creates and the tangents he goes on and the names he drops. I can really enjoy his criticism (even when I don't agree with it) on an intellectual plane. But I don't find him very funny. Sure, there are funny moments which stem more from general living life and meeting a wide variety of people. However, IMO, most of the humor comes from DFW's own sense of alienation, his perceived/real differentness.  It makes me uncomfortable...and a little sad...I can't read the irony because I'm too focused on that.  

 

DH says part of the appeal is that he makes you feel smart. There's a mixture of intellectual and casual, wordplay and deeper thought. I say a male of the species can only refer to the color pink as "menstrual" once before I start wondering if he knows what the world 'menstrual' means. 

 

 

[Stacia]

 

 

When I saw Adaptation, I *knew* Chris Cooper would (should) win an Oscar for his performance in that role (& he did). I mean, in the movie he's a plain-looking dude w/ no front teeth & still can convince Meryl Streep (& the audience) of his sex appeal. I told dh when we walked out after the movie that CC would win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar that year. I actually enjoyed Adaptation better than some of Kaufman's other movies.

 

I've had a similar experiences w/ DFW. I can see the intelligence & humor, but to me it's not all that humorous, more sad & alienating, & sometimes just strange like you're describing. I'd still like to read Infinite Jest someday, though (I think).

[prairiegirl]

 

 

 

 

 

 

:laugh:   thank you for that.  It made me giggle.

 

Julia, you can do it w/ The Luminaries! (I really want to read it too.) Of course, I'm nobody to talk since I put my huge chunkster book aside the other week. :tongue_smilie:

 

 

 

 

Thank you,Stacia, for the encouragement.

No..This is something new he did in collaboration with Rebecca Cantrell and in my opinion, is a big fail.  His sigma force series and other books are excellent, full of action, full of historical, religious and scientific mysteries.  Judas Strain is the first book I read of his which hooked me on reading all of his books. 

Thank you for clarifying.  Once I work my way through my literary Mount Olympus,  I will look into Rollins.

[shukriyya]

I feel culturally illiterate right now with all the above references to various movies, actors and contemporary writers. And to further anachronisticize (?) myself, at the library today (along with The Midwife of Venice) I picked up Freya Stark's, A Winter in Arabia which I'd forgotten I'd put on hold. Hopefully it won't have too much of a 'colonial' overtone.

 

Okay, carry on with the convo I'll be sitting here sipping tea and knitting...

 

 

[shukriyya]

And btw energy has been low this week so just assume I  :001_wub:  all your posts because I don't have the vim to go back and do that for three pages.

[Jane in NC]

Quick note to Winter Wonderland: My then 8th grade son adored Gulliver's Travels because of its similarity to Monty Python. I have often recommended GT as the perfect 8th grade book, followed by the argumentative Republic (Plato) in 9th. These books resonate with developmental stages!

[shukriyya]

Okay, ladies, this takes the cake for over the top knitting. I think you'll agree that it leaves men knitting on horseback and knitting while drinking in the dust :lol: Yeah, baby...

 

 

[Uff Da!]

Quick note to Winter Wonderland: My then 8th grade son adored Gulliver's Travels because of its similarity to Monty Python. I have often recommended GT as the perfect 8th grade book, followed by the argumentative Republic (Plato) in 9th. These books resonate with developmental stages!

 

I can see this.  I've been thinking that some of my old high school friends would love this but, then again, maybe they've grown up since then.

 

And this is the knitting project that always comes out during nanowrimo for some reason.  So just in case anyone has not been exposed to this loveliness- the knitted turkey hat....

 

http://iget2work.com/2011/11/turkey-hat/

[Jane in NC]

My knitting book find has set off a firestorm! I need to start a basic pair of socks--not a suit of armor or a turkey hat, thank you very much.

 

Is there a term for absurd knitting projects? Abknits? Knitwits? Never gonna knit that thang!

[Onceuponatime]

Oh,my. That knitted jumpsuit almost competes with the picture I posted of the BeeGees in Gold Lamé.

[Stacia]

For the kids & the dude in the full knit suits, isn't snagging a problem???

[shukriyya]

For the kids & the dude in the full knit suits, isn't snagging a problem???

 

Among other things.... :lol:

 

[Kareni]

 

Anyway, any essay recommendations? Books of essays or just single essays found on the Internet?

 

Another thought ~ are you familiar with these books?  New editions come out each year.

 

The Best American Essays 2013

 

The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2013

 

The Best American Travel Writing 2013

 

The Best American Sports Writing 2013

 

The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2013

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

[aggieamy]

I finished Maisie Dobbs. It had me leaking tears at the end, too. In spite of that, I liked it very much and would like to keep going with the series. Right now, I'm starting on Thou Art That, a collection of short works (lectures, I think) by Joseph Campbell. He's been on my "to read" list for a while.

 

I found the Maisie Dobbs books to have a sad undertone also.  I've only read the first two though.  I wonder if they get happier.

 

My knitting book find has set off a firestorm! I need to start a basic pair of socks--not a suit of armor or a turkey hat, thank you very much.

 

Is there a term for absurd knitting projects? Abknits? Knitwits? Never gonna knit that thang!

 

I don't know ... I bet if you get started now you could make Mr. Jane in NC a nice knitted suit of armor for Christmas.  I suspect it's a gift all men would love.  

 

READ:

 

What Angels Fear by CS Harris - I read this in about two days.  A gripping mystery set in the days of the beginning of the Regency.  *Sidenote - If the Doctor ever shows up and wants to take me to a time period I'm going to go with Regency England because with all my reading I'm pretty sure I could blend in now.  Yeah.  That's it.  I've doing RESEARCH in case I ever time travel to that period.   :ph34r:*  Back to the review.  I enjoyed this but could tell it was written by a first time author.  The story was great but the characters didn't have much depth and they had so much potential - tell me more about Tom and Paul Gibbons!  I look forward to reading more of her novels.  

 

Mumto2 - Is it the same love interest throughout the books?  I kinda hated her.  Does she become more likable or am I an old boring curmudgeon?  You can be honest ... we're friends!  

 

Lady Hathaway's House Party by Joan Smith - Flufflerton Abbey.  Enough said.  

 

CURRENTLY READING:

 

Murder in Grub Street by Bruce Alexander - I had to get it through ILL but it's here now and I'm going to start it tomorrow.  Loved the first one in the series.  I better get some sleep tonight because I'm probably going pull an all nighter with this one tomorrow.  

 

There's also a book I should be reading for my book club but I can't remember what it was or where I put it ...  Darn.  Oh well.  Back to murder in Regency England!  

[mumto2]

 

Okay, ladies, this takes the cake for over the top knitting. I think you'll agree that it leaves men knitting on horseback and knitting while drinking in the dust :lol: Yeah, baby...

 

 

 

Knitters -- Just think of how long it took to make that suit!!!

I found the Maisie Dobbs books to have a sad undertone also. I've only read the first two though. I wonder if they get happier.

 

Some sad bits stay but Maisie was really starting to find her way as a modern woman by the fourth or fifth one. -- that's how far I have gotten in the series.

 

READ:

 

What Angels Fear by CS Harris - I read this in about two days. A gripping mystery set in the days of the beginning of the Regency. *Sidenote - If the Doctor ever shows up and wants to take me to a time period I'm going to go with Regency England because with all my reading I'm pretty sure I could blend in now. Yeah. That's it. I've doing RESEARCH in case I ever time travel to that period. :ph34r:* Back to the review. I enjoyed this but could tell it was written by a first time author. The story was great but the characters didn't have much depth and they had so much potential - tell me more about Tom and Paul Gibbons! I look forward to reading more of her novels.

 

Mumto2 - Is it the same love interest throughout the books? I kinda hated her. Does she become more likable or am I an old boring curmudgeon? You can be honest ... we're friends!

 

 

 

 

I don't want to do a huge spoiler. The third book has a rather shocking twist. Things get interesting in the fourth. By the fifth you will most likely be really pleased with the love interest. I don't care for her in number one either. ;) I think her role in the second is minimal but honestly can't remember.

[shukriyya]

Knitters -- Just think of how long it took to make that suit!!!

I agree. And it fits him perfectly too, from the broad, manly shoulders right down to the, ahem, manly crotch--if wearing cabled knitting on one's crotch could be called manly. But seriously I think the incongruency between the studly pose he's striking--the slightly clenched fists and the swagger-stand--with the outfit itself is what makes the whole image so compelling. Ladies, this dude is rocking a knitted cable jumpsuit! How many could pull that off? :lol:

 

Okay, enough nonsense. Back to the subject at hand...books!

[LostSurprise]

Clearing my palate today with some Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: a Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China by Fuchsia Dunlop. I think 70% of why I picked up this book was the devestatingly fabulous cover photo. 

 

 

 

Doesn't that make you want to eat? She looks somewhat crazed and definitely immersed. (In case you haven't heard of her, Fuchsia Dunlop is the British author of a few very well regarded Chinese cookbooks. This memoir covers her immersion in China and Chinese food in the early '90s. first as an editor for the BBC news in Asia and then under a student visa in Sichuan.)

 

So far it's the kind of stranger-in-a-strange-land cultural memoir I really enjoy. Someone who never forgets that they are not of that culture, but who is not shy about wandering about and having stray conversations with anyone. The kind of person who gets invited home to dinner by near-strangers, but who also realizes  that by being a foreigner everything around her is (subtly or not so subtly) changed by her very presence. Great fun. Plus she's not afraid to admit when she's scared to eat things, but she seems blessed by a very gracious (or reckless) willingness to do the polite thing. 

 

Anyway, loving it right now. Hopefully it will get me through the last two essays by DFW. The one about writers and television should be intriguing, but I've already put his Illinois State Fair one down once already. Somehow he comes off as awkwardly superior, which is odd considering he's from downstate IL himself.

[Negin]

"A little library, growing larger every year, is an honourable part of a man's history. It is a man's duty to have books. A library is not a luxury, but one of the necessaries of life." ~ Henry Ward Beecher

[aggieamy]

 

 

"A little library, growing larger every year, is an honourable part of a man's history. It is a man's duty to have books. A library is not a luxury, but one of the necessaries of life." ~ Henry Ward Beecher

 

 

I want to live in that room.  And enjoy that view.  Wait a second.  I think that might be Flufferton Abbey.  

[Angel]

 

 *Sidenote - If the Doctor ever shows up and wants to take me to a time period I'm going to go with Regency England because with all my reading I'm pretty sure I could blend in now.  Yeah.  That's it.  I've doing RESEARCH in case I ever time travel to that period.   :ph34r:* 

 

We truly are kindred spirits!  

[Angel]

I have finished two more books!  After spending last year with the Wheel of Time series I had forgotten what it was like to devour books.  What a pleasant feeling!

 

Yesterday morning I finished The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen.  My 3rd 5 star book in a row, and all for totally different reasons!  That rarely happens to me.  Maybe I'm growing up  :D  I don't know why I felt some sort of connection to this book.  But I couldn't put it down.  I stayed up late reading it and picked it up first thing in the morning and didn't get out of bed till I finished it.  As always, I loved Allen's descriptions in the book of the candies and sweets, as well as the way she compares them to other things or uses them to describe the surroundings.  One of my favorite descriptive quotes was, "The world outside looked like it was coated in a thick layer of white cake frosting, like it would stick to the roof of your mouth."  But beyond the descriptions, I loved the connections that Josey made with Chloe and Della Lee.  I enjoyed watching the bond form and the emergence of Josey's character.  And on a lighter note, I loved how one of the magic things in this book was the appearance of just the right book at just the right time happened to Chloe.  I'm still pondering on this book, as well as The Last Battle and The Dead in their Vaulted Arches, another reason that I know for sure that they are 5 stars.  Delightful!  

 

Another favorite descriptive quote,  "Snow flurries began to fall and they swirled around people's legs like house cats."  

 

And a favorite book quote, "Books can be possessive, can't they?  Your'e walking around in a bookstore and a certain one will jump out at you like it had moved there on its own, just to get your attention.  Sometimes what's inside will change your life, but sometimes you don't even have to read it.  Sometimes it's a comfort just to have a book around."  Exactly!

 

I also took a quick jaunt to Flufferton Abbey today with The Mysterious Marquis by Eileen Ainsworth Ramsay.  A nice little Regency romance that I picked up at the library book sale two years or so ago.  A quick and fun read.  It was a tad choppy between chapters in a couple places, I could have used a few more pages to make the transitions a little smoother, but I felt like the author did a good job developing the three main characters so I was able to not be too annoyed.  A sweet little book at 4 stars.

 

I now realize, looking back, that almost every bodice ripper that I used to read was set in Regency England!  I came to Jane Austen late, so I thought my love of all things Regency began with her.  Now I know differently!  I've been hooked on Regency England since my early teens  ;)

 

I have also finished the book of John and read Jude.

 

*1 – The Women of Christmas by Liz Curtis Higgs (Isarel)

*2 – Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans (USA)

*3 – The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis (Dusty, Narnia)

*4 – Michael Vey:  The Rise of the Elgen by Richard Paul Evans (USA/Peru)

*5 – Soulless by Gail Carriger (England, BaW rec)

*6 – Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley (England)

*7 – A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters (12^th Century, England/Wales,BaW rec)

*8 – Michael Vey: Battle of the Ampere by Richard Paul Evans (Peru)

*9 - Divergent by Veronica Roth (USA)

*10 - Anna of Byzantium by Tracy Barrett (Turkey, 11th/12th Century, Dusty Book)

*11 – Austenland by Shannon Hale (England, Dusty Book)

*12 – The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis (Narnia)

*13 – Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger (England, BaW rec)

*14 – The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis (Narnia)

*15 – Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury (England)

*16 – Imprudent Lady by Joan Smith (England, BaW rec)

*17 – Beorn the Proud by Madeleine Polland (Denmark, 9^th Century)

*18 – The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan (audiobook) (USA/Italy)

*19 – The Dead in their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley (England)

*20 – The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis (Narnia)

*21 - The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen (USA, dusty book)

*22 - The Mysterious Marquis by Eileen Ainsworth Ramsay (England/Scotland, dusty book)

[Negin]

I want to live in that room.  And enjoy that view.  Wait a second.  I think that might be Flufferton Abbey.  

Me too. :)