Book a Week in 2014 - BW18

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday dear hearts! Today is the start of week 18 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 - The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton:   Highlighting the 18th novel The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton  from Susan Wise Bauer's list of fiction reads in The Well-Educated Mind.  The story was published in 1905, serialized first in Scribner's Magazine.  She wrote over 40 books in 40 years and was the first woman awarded the Pulitzer prize for fiction.
 
History of the Ancient World Readalong:  Chapters 9 and 10
 
A fond farewell to April and the end of National Poetry Month: 
 
An April Day by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
When the warm sun, that brings
Seed-time and harvest, has returned again,
'T is sweet to visit the still wood, where springs
The first flower of the plain.

I love the season well,
When forest glades are teeming with bright forms,
Nor dark and many-folded clouds foretell
The coming-on of storms.

From the earth's loosened mould
The sapling draws its sustenance, and thrives;
Though stricken to the heart with winter's cold,
The drooping tree revives.

The softly-warbled song
Comes from the pleasant woods, and colored wings
Glance quick in the bright sun, that moves along
The forest openings.

When the bright sunset fills
The silver woods with light, the green slope throws
Its shadows in the hollows of the hills,
And wide the upland glows.

And when the eve is born,
In the blue lake the sky, o'er-reaching far,
Is hollowed out and the moon dips her horn,
And twinkles many a star.

Inverted in the tide
Stand the gray rocks, and trembling shadows throw,
And the fair trees look over, side by side,
And see themselves below.

Sweet April! many a thought
Is wedded unto thee, as hearts are wed;
Nor shall they fail, till, to its autumn brought,
Life's golden fruit is shed.
 
 
What are you reading this week?
 
 
 
Link to week 17

[Robin M]

Welcome back to everyone from your lenten or traveling journeys. Have missed your smiling faces!

 

Currently reading The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (with dictionary in hand  :laugh: ) and enjoying the story.  About a 1/3 of the way in and it's slow going.  Thankful I've been reading other historicals within the same time frame because have a better sense of what is going on with regards to conversations.  Can tell rabbit trails a plenty are going to be springing up before my eyes.

 

 

[ChrisB]

Last week I finished Exiles by Ron Hansen about Gerard Manley Hopkins, his poem the Wreck of the Deutschland, and five nuns who perished in the sinking.  He tries to parallel Hopkins' exile from his family and others due to his conversion and oddities to the nuns' exile from Otto von Bismarck's Germany for their Catholic faith.  It is a biography of sorts.  Hansen's writing mechanics are good, but his story was a little all over the place.  All-in-all, I'm glad I read the book.  I found it very informative, yet sad.

 

Next up, Dorothy Day's The Long Loneliness.    

 

1. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, Bk 1, Lauren Willig

2. The Masque of the Black Tulip, Bk 2, Lauren Willig

3. The Deception of the Emerald Ring, Bk 3, Lauren Willig

4. The Seduction of the Crimson Rose, Bk 4, Lauren Willig

5. The Temptation of the Night Jasmine, Bk 5, Lauren Willig

6. The Betrayal of the Blood Lily, Bk 6, Lauren Willig

7. The Orchid Affair, Bk 8, Lauren Willig

8. The Garden Intrigue, Bk 9, Lauren Willig

9. The Hobbit, J.R.R Tolkien

10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte

11. No Good Duke Goes Unpunished, Sarah Maclean

12. Exiles, Ron Hansen

[shukriyya]

I seem to be keeping up with the bare minimum these days, one book a week. This week's completion was The Midwife of Venice which I spoke about in last week's thread so I won't go into detail again. Current read is The Night Circus which I am loving! So many layers to this book. The writing is extremely visual and even the book itself has lovely little whimsical black and white shadings and designs that appear periodically at chapter headings. What is so interesting to me is that none of the characters are particularly fleshed out, each of them is sparely drawn, almost like poetry or haiku even, no extraneous word, just lovely terse but lush, senuous descriptives. For example this description of the contortionist ::

 

"She is small but not tiny. Long midnight-black hair is artfully knotted in elaborate braids upon her head...She wears a thin wisp of a gown that would likely be considered scandalous in other company, but this gathering is not easily scandalized. It is more a delicate swathe of red silk held in place by a tightly laced corset than a proper dress...At first, it is difficult to discern what it is, the shower of black marks that curls around her shoulder and neck, ending just above her cleavage in the front and disappearing behind the laces of her corset in the back. It is impossible to tell how far beyond that the tattoo travels. 

 

And upon closer look it can be discerned that the swirl of the tattoo is more than simple black marks. It is a flowing waterfall of alchemical and astrological symbols, ancient marks for planets and elements all emblazoned in black ink upon her fair skin. Mercury. Lead. Antimony. A crescent moon sits at the nape of her neck; an Egyptian ankh near her collarbone. There are other symbols as well: Norse runes, Chinese characters. There are countless tattoos, and yet they meld and flow into one design gracefully adorning her like an elegant, unusual piece of jewelry."

 

And despite the lack of bulk the characters manage to remain compelling. Magic or illusion is as much a character as the flesh and blood ones, sliding in and out of the prose like smoke, vanishing and then reappearing sometimes with a flare, sometimes with a hush. And then there's the eponymous circus itself...all black and white, beginning at nightfall and ending at dawn, filled with oddity and delight and something slightly, un-nameably dark.

 

The premise is too convoluted for me to go into in any great depth ( perhaps another BaWer with more earth than my firey-ether self could probably flesh it out succinctly) but it is gathering momentum as I continue to read and I'm very curious about what direction the author is going to take things. Nothing is obvious. The book is written sometimes in present tense, sometimes in past tense. Often a chapter will be just a few pages of description and then we're off to another aspect of things. This doesn't feel disjointed at all which may be a function of the quasi-non-linear subject material or it may be the author's skill. I'm not sure because normally, as a reader, I find that kind of jumping around jarring but in this book it actually lends itself beautifully to the overall flow. All in all, I am thoroughly enjoying this peculiar foray into half magic, parallel universes, ephemera and beauty. 

 

PS -- Is anyone else having issues viewing the site on Firefox? With that as my browser I get a very incomplete view and lots of blank space. With Safari though it's fine  :confused1:

[Guest]

NM

[Just Robyn]

I read The Tempest by Shakespeare and I'm half way through The Once and Future King.

 

The Once and Future King is rich in references and allusions to other work (in addition to the obvious connection to other Arthurian literature). When King Pellinore was bumbling through "One for Sorrow," I was all Oh, that's not just a

? I have read plenty of nursery rhymes with my children, but I had never heard that one (outside of the song). And the reference to the legend of the bear licking its babies into shape stuck out for me because I had recently read Galway Kinnell's The Bear.

 

I'm still working on How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare.

[Guest]

Current read is The Night Circus which I am loving! So many layers to this book. The writing is extremely visual and even the book itself has lovely little whimsical black and white shadings and designs that appear periodically at chapter headings. What is so interesting to me is that none of the characters are particularly fleshed out, each of them is sparely drawn, almost like poetry or haiku even, no extraneous word, just lovely terse but lush, senuous descriptives.

 

PS -- Is anyone else having issues viewing the site on Firefox? With that as my browser I get a very incomplete view and lots of blank space. With Safari though it's fine  :confused1:

 

I absolutely LOVED that book when I read it a few years ago. You all are making want to pull it down and read it again...I just might. I agree that it was just so beautifully written.

 

I haven't had any trouble with Firefox today...sorry!

[Mothersweets]

I completely forgot to do the History of the Ancient World reading for last week - I'll be sure to catch up.

 

I'll Never Be French (no matter what I do): Living in a Small Village in Brittany - I loved this! The author is charming and funny. One of my favorite "American living in France" books.

 

Gunn's Golden Rules: Life Little Lessons for Making It Work - Ok, so Project Runway is my most recent guilty pleasure. I have been getting the dvds from the library and watching each season in a few days - so far I have watched season 7 and seasons 1 through 3. I saw this book at the library and picked it up thinking it might be interesting to see what Tim thought of some of the contestants and was pleasantly surprised. Mr. Gunn is just so nice. He stresses in the book how important it is to be fair, kind, and to take the high road when dealing with difficult people. Good read!

[Kim in Appalachia]

I've been busy and my reading has suffered for it.  I decided I didn't want to jump into another epic length book, so I got Aleph, by Paulo Coelho from the library (they didn't have The Alchemist).  I didn't finish the book.  I hated it.  It was really not my thing.  It felt flakey and bizarre.  So now I'm back to my opic length book, The Way of the Kings.  

[Uff Da!]

I'm still in the beginning of Herodotus's Histories.  A harpist jumping ship and riding on a dolphin, a man accidentally killing his brother and then accidentally killing the son of the man who gives him refuge- This is more fun than I thought it would be. 

[shukriyya]

I'm still in the beginning of Herodotus's Histories.  A harpist jumping ship and riding on a dolphin, a man accidentally killing his brother and then accidentally killing the son of the man who gives him refuge- This is more fun than I thought it would be. 

 

Ooh, this sounds fun. It's sitting in my tbr pile but I have yet to crack it. My non-fiction reading has fallen by the wayside for the moment. Hoping to pick it up again. Need to catch up on my HotAW too!

[Murmer]

Finished: The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim (It was super interesting...It was for my book club and we had a great conversation about the universal themes in the story)

 

Working on:

Fiction: Nappily Faithful by Trisha Thomas

Kindle: Meant to Be by Terri Osburn

Non-fiction: Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Phone: The Anvil of the World by Kage Baker

Computer: Life Balance by Linda and 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: 57

[MomtoCandJ]

I'm reading the Weekend Homesteader. I like this one since its more my speed. Minifarming- self suffiency on 1/4 Acre. I like this one too since it about the space we have right now, we have 2 acres but most of it is trees and swampy.

[JadeOrchidSong]

Reading Christianity, Islam, and Atheism now.

Has anyone read this book?

 

 

2014 books read

Harry Potter 7 books

The Cuckoo's Calling

Anna Karenina

Waking Up in Heaven

My Time in Heaven

Do Hard Things

The Pillars of the Earth

Daily Life in Jesus' Time

The Story of Rome

Flames of Rome

Atlantis Rising

[Stacia]

Another week & still nothing finished. I am, however, close to finishing Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen. I'm really enjoying it, though it might not be everyone's cup of tea. It's odd & unpredictable enough to keep me quite happy.

When Dr. Leo Liebenstein’s wife disappears, she leaves behind a single, confounding clue: a woman who looks, talks, and behaves exactly like her—or almost exactly like her—and even audaciously claims to be her. While everyone else is fooled by this imposter, Leo knows better than to trust his senses in matters of the heart. Certain that the original Rema is alive and in hiding, Leo embarks on a quixotic journey to reclaim his lost love.

 

With the help of his psychiatric patient Harvey—who believes himself to be a secret agent who can control the weather—Leo attempts to unravel the mystery of the spousal switch. His investigation leads him to the enigmatic guidance of the meteorologist Dr. Tzvi Gal-Chen, the secret workings of the Royal Academy of Meteorology in their cosmic conflict with the 49 Quantum Fathers, and the unwelcome conviction that somehow he—or maybe his wife, or maybe even Harvey—lies at the center of all these unfathomables. From the streets of New York to the southernmost reaches of Patagonia, Leo’s erratic quest becomes a test of how far he is willing to take his struggle against the seemingly uncontestable truth he knows in his heart to be false.

 

Atmospheric Disturbances is at once a moving love story, a dark comedy, a psychological thriller, and a deeply disturbing portrait of a fracturing mind. With tremendous compassion and dazzling literary sophistication, Rivka Galchen investigates the moment of crisis when you suddenly realize that the reality you insist upon is no longer one you can accept, and the person you love has become merely the person you live with. This highly inventive debut explores the mysterious nature of human relationships, and how we spend our lives trying to weather the storms of our own making.

Also, I started The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason. It's an advanced reader copy I received a few months ago & never got around to starting. It's YA & is supposedly the start of a new series starring a niece of Sherlock Holmes & the younger sister of Bram Stoker in a steampunky, Victorian era London as they fight crime & paranormal happenings.

Evaline Stoker and Mina Holmes never meant to get into the family business. But when you're the sister of Bram and the niece of Sherlock, vampire hunting and mystery solving are in your blood, so to speak. And when two young society girls disappear—one dead, one missing—there's no one more qualified to investigate. Now fierce Evaline and logical Mina must resolve their rivalry, navigate the advances of not just one but three mysterious gentlemen, and solve a murder with only one clue: a strange Egyptian scarab. The pressure is on and the stakes are high—if Stoker and Holmes don't figure out why London's finest sixteen-year-old women are in danger, they'll become the next victims.

I'm about halfway through & it might be a good book for those looking to read something steampunk but who want something that's pretty tame & quite clean (imo). YA is not really my genre of choice, but this book is fine (if a little tame for my tastes) & (so far), I'd consider it a much better offering for the teen market than books like those in the Twilight series.

I decided I didn't want to jump into another epic length book, so I got Aleph, by Paulo Coelho from the library (they didn't have The Alchemist). I didn't finish the book. I hated it. It was really not my thing. It felt flakey and bizarre.

I really didn't like The Alchemist. Uck. To me, it felt like a marketing team wrote a new-agey fable that 'hits all the right notes' guaranteed to make it popular. Definitely not my type of book.

[Jane in NC]

Working from my tablet so multiquoting is problematic but here goes:

 

Kim in Appalachia: Aleph was indeed horrible. Why did I ever bother to finish it?

 

Mothersweets: Project Runway is also my most guilty pleasure. My excuse is that I sew.

 

I am behind in HoAW. I should not have any trouble getting caught up later in the week.

 

The Return of Captain John Emmett by Elizabeth Speller was a great airplane book and a fairly satisfying mystery overall for me. Far from perfect but with sufficient character development and complexity to interest me. I plan on buying the sequel.

 

Sending everyone best wishes,

Jane

[Negin]

I just finished Duma Key for the Bingo Reading Challenge - "a book that scares you" - 3 Stars. 

 

 

I kept wondering why it was taking me so long to complete (other than the fact that the past week has been unbearably stressful). I just realized that the book is over 700 pages long. I can't tell how many pages in a book when it's on my Kindle. 

 

 

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.

 

 

Thought to share this quote. :)

 

 

[ChrisB]

I completely forgot to do the History of the Ancient World reading for last week - I'll be sure to catch up.

 

I'll Never Be French (no matter what I do): Living in a Small Village in Brittany - I loved this! The author is charming and funny. One of my favorite "American living in France" books.

 

Gunn's Golden Rules: Life Little Lessons for Making It Work - Ok, so Project Runway is my most recent guilty pleasure. I have been getting the dvds from the library and watching each season in a few days - so far I have watched season 7 and seasons 1 through 3. I saw this book at the library and picked it up thinking it might be interesting to see what Tim thought of some of the contestants and was pleasantly surprised. Mr. Gunn is just so nice. He stresses in the book how important it is to be fair, kind, and to take the high road when dealing with difficult people. Good read!

 

I like watching Project Runway, too!  I sew and love to think about what I would create.  I might have to take a look at that book.  Thanks!

[mumto2]

I completely forgot to do the History of the Ancient World reading for last week - I'll be sure to catch up.

 

I'll Never Be French (no matter what I do): Living in a Small Village in Brittany - I loved this! The author is charming and funny. One of my favorite "American living in France" books.

 

Gunn's Golden Rules: Life Little Lessons for Making It Work - Ok, so Project Runway is my most recent guilty pleasure. I have been getting the dvds from the library and watching each season in a few days - so far I have watched season 7 and seasons 1 through 3. I saw this book at the library and picked it up thinking it might be interesting to see what Tim thought of some of the contestants and was pleasantly surprised. Mr. Gunn is just so nice. He stresses in the book how important it is to be fair, kind, and to take the high road when dealing with difficult people. Good read!

I haven't had a chance to look for I'll never be French but really want to read it. Very curious about his struggles.....

 

 

 

Also, I startedy Colleen Gleason. It's an advanced reader copy I received a few months ago & never got around to starting. It's YA & is supposedly the start of a new series starring a niece of Sherlock Holmes & the younger sister of Bram Stoker in a steampunky, Victorian era London as they fight crime & paranormal happenings.

 

 

I'm about halfway through & it might be a good book for those looking to read something steampunk but who want something that's pretty tame & quite clean (imo). YA is not really my genre of choice, but this book is fine (if a little tame for my tastes) & (so far), I'd consider it a much better offering for the teen market than books like those in the Twilight series.

.

This one sounds like something both Dd and I would enjoy. Not a fan of Twilight either, not just for Dd because I read before they were appropriate for her in any way -- honestly did not particularly like and you know I generally like paranormal s mixed with romance! ;)

 

Still working on The Winter Garden. Should manage to return it tomorrow. That and Black Rose are very good together but doubt I would like this book by itself. So glad I tracked Black Rose down to go with it when I realized the author had written a previous book with the same main character.

[NoseInABook]

I'm enjoying The Night Circus. I was bummed that I didn't have the time to sit down and get lost in it today but it's a really fun story. Maybe I'll get to finish it tomorrow!

[Pam in CT]

I've been busy and my reading has suffered for it.  I decided I didn't want to jump into another epic length book, so I got Aleph, by Paulo Coelho from the library (they didn't have The Alchemist).  I didn't finish the book.  I hated it.  It was really not my thing.  It felt flakey and bizarre.  So now I'm back to my opic length book, The Way of the Kings.  

 

Oh dear.  I just picked up both Aleph and Alchemist at my excellent library's very excellent annual book sale.  Hmmm.

 

ETA: And then I see that Stacia, you didn't care for it either.  Well, at least they were only $1 each...

[JennW in SoCal]

I finished The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie yesterday. I adored it!  I'm still not yet done with Strange Bodies. It is one of those books that I actually really like but am not quite compelled to finish as there isn't a "who dunnit" to solve and there isn't that page-turning beach read quality to the book. But it is so very good!  I am also listening to Raising Steam, the most recent Terry Pratchett book, and of course I'm loving it.  I should be starting Night Circus in the next day or 2.

 

For those of you who missed it in last week's thread, we are at the organizing stage of a BaW postcard exchange and a separate flat-librarian project.  For the post card exchange yours truly will compile and send out a list of addresses to everyone who is interested in receiving literary or touristy post cards. The flat librarian is going to be modeled on the flat-stanley exchanges.  I will start by sending a small box that has a book, perhaps a goody or two and some sort of BaW mascot.  I will take a picture of the mascot sitting on my bookshelves, and perhaps sitting someplace literary.  The person who receives the box can keep the book or goodies and place a different title and goody in the box, take some photos of the mascot then send the box to the next person on the list.  

 

So far I have heard from:

Phoenix

Winter Wonderland

Robin

Stacia

Shukriyya

melissamatthews

floridamom

Jane in NC

Eliana

mlbuchina

Angel

Pam in CT

 

PM me if you'd like to join in!  Rosie and Mumto2 and our other overseas BaWers please join in!   

[JennW in SoCal]

Last week, I did finish Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. I know someone posted last week that it was read in a book club with mixed reviews. I will say that I really enjoyed it! I thought it was an interesting - real - look at the relationship of women. I also enjoyed how the author drew me into certain characters and then was able to change my view of them very quickly - it kind of illustrated one of her themes of how fickle women can be. I was initially drawn into the story because of the descriptions of foot binding. Wow! Talk about fascinating. Awful, but fascinating. The ideal size foot was 3" long. Searched for pictures of these shoes and I was amazed at how exquisite their embroidery was.

 

 

 

 

I enjoyed Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, too, and I thought it was true to what I learned of Chinese culture back in my grad school days.  I actually met some elderly women whose feet had been bound (this was almost 30 years ago during those grad school days) and they just looked like it was still so very painful to be hobbling around.  

 

 

The Once and Future King is rich in references and allusions to other work (in addition to the obvious connection to other Arthurian literature). When King Pellinore was bumbling through "One for Sorrow," I was all Oh, that's not just a Counting Crows song? I have read plenty of nursery rhymes with my children, but I had never heard that one (outside of the song). And the reference to the legend of the bear licking its babies into shape stuck out for me because I had recently read Galway Kinnell's The Bear.

 

 

I loved Once and Future King but missed some of those connections.  I loved King Pellinore regardless!

 

 

I'll Never Be French (no matter what I do): Living in a Small Village in Brittany - I loved this! The author is charming and funny. One of my favorite "American living in France" books.

 

Gunn's Golden Rules: Life Little Lessons for Making It Work - Ok, so Project Runway is my most recent guilty pleasure. I have been getting the dvds from the library and watching each season in a few days - so far I have watched season 7 and seasons 1 through 3. I saw this book at the library and picked it up thinking it might be interesting to see what Tim thought of some of the contestants and was pleasantly surprised. Mr. Gunn is just so nice. He stresses in the book how important it is to be fair, kind, and to take the high road when dealing with difficult people. Good read!

 

Ahhh, more compelling book titles to add to my list..

[Shawneinfl]

I'm still in the beginning of Herodotus's Histories.  A harpist jumping ship and riding on a dolphin, a man accidentally killing his brother and then accidentally killing the son of the man who gives him refuge- This is more fun than I thought it would be. 

 

Which version are you reading?

 

[Robin M]

Did you know that there isn't any point in having a quodlibertical with a tatterdemalions?  I love being a fly on the wall for theological discourses, weird as they may be.

[Shawneinfl]

I'm 3/4 of the way through Game of Thrones and, now that I have most of the main characters down, I am hooked. If I don't move right on to the second book I may take up The Once and Future King next. I'm also tempted to check out The Night Circus again since so many of you are enjoying it. I must not have been in the right frame of mind the last time I tried to read it. I never got past my Nook sample. I have never been into the fantasy genre and am surprised at myself for reading so much of it this year. You ladies keep moving me out of my comfort zone.

 

BTW, a new independent bookstore is opening five minutes away from my house tomorrow. I can't wait to check it out. I hope it survives.

[Just Robyn]

Isn't that neat?  White does such an amazing job of weaving in all these little bits and pieces...

 

...but what is stunning is when a book uses those references and allusions to give a context and emotional weight to a pivotal part of the story... Jo Walton calls it a spear-point.. just a sec, let me find one of her articles...  ah.. here...   Hmm... she is talking about something a little different that what I was remembering... perhaps it was in a discussion somewhere...

 

 She doesn't seem to specifically mention using literature and mythology as your spear-shaft, but I think I know what you mean. She says:

 

 

 

 

But we could (happily) replace "hurting children" - something that will make most of us sympathetic, with mythology and literature - stories that most of us know that create certain feelings or some sort of understanding.

[Robin M]

Was I that incomprehensible?  I'm sorry. :blushing:

 

 Oh my gosh, no darlin'.  This wasn't directed at you at all.  It all has to do with Name of the Rose and all the weird words I'm learning.   :grouphug:   I was being silly.   I love hearing your thoughts about everything.

[CAMom]

Finally finished Orphan Train.

 

I'm going to do a quick read...UnWholly by Neal Shusterman. It's the sequel to Unwind.

[shukriyya]

I'm also tempted to check out The Night Circus again since so many of you are enjoying it. I must not have been in the right frame of mind the last time I tried to read it. I never got past my Nook sample. I have never been into the fantasy genre and am surprised at myself for reading so much of it this year. You ladies keep moving me out of my comfort zone..

I would describe 'The Night Circus' more along the lines of magical realism than fantasy.

[Violet Crown]

Still climbing up Mann's Magic Mountain....

[Stacia]

That does sound fascinating... but very much not my cup of tea, I suspect.

 

**********************

Cue snark: that isn't saying very much, honey!  Especially not given how you (and I) feel about that particular series....

 

Re: Atmospheric Disturbances -- I agree; I think you would not particularly care for the book, Eliana.

 

Re: The Clockwork Scarab -- lol. I guess you caught me in my backhanded compliment of it.  ;)  True, I have no love (& lots of venom) for the Twilight series. So, in that respect, probably most things are better fare for the YA market, imo. The Clockwork Scarab is fine, but I don't really read a lot of YA, so I don't have a very big basis for comparison. It's obviously not super-complex, nor nearly as interesting/different/literary as I tend to like, but I don't want to unfairly compare it w/ things outside of its genre either. (I guess that even though for me it's 'fine', others might think more highly of it. Kwim?) One thing I sometimes hear people mention is that they want 'clean' YA & this, so far, fits that description (imo). Plus, it seems like a very minor entry/foray into the steampunk world (it's there, but isn't overly mentioned in the storyline), in case someone was interested in trying steampunk but perhaps felt put-off by dipping his/her toe in. (Does that even make sense??? I guess I sometimes see people mentioning that they would like to try steampunk, but don't know where to start, etc.... So, this might be a fun place for a pre-teen/teen to start....)

 

[shukriyya]

We spent a lovely couple of hours this afternoon watching Julie Taymor's, 'The Tempest', starring Helen Mirren in the role of Prospera. She realized this role in such a compelling way, somehow balancing the masculine and feminine perfectly. Ariel was magical and poignant, the way flute music might look if it had a body, and Caliban was chthonically amazing. What a wonderfully fantastical rendering, and delightfully in keeping with the atmosphere of 'The Night Circus'.

[Negin]

I would describe 'The Night Circus' more along the lines of magical realism than fantasy.

Although it wasn't amongst my favorite books and I didn't love it per se, I enjoyed it greatly. I will always remember the beautiful descriptions and wish that I could step into that world. :)

 

 

 

 

[Onceuponatime]

Oh dear.  I just picked up both Aleph and Alchemist at my excellent library's very excellent annual book sale.  Hmmm.

 

ETA: And then I see that Stacia, you didn't care for it either.  Well, at least they were only $1 each...

 

Sometimes I dip into books just to be able to understand what everyone else is talking about. Even starting a book and tossing it aside has value, because then I know for sure that it isn't my cup of tea, and why.

[Onceuponatime]

I'm still reading The Believing Brain and getting a lot out of it that I need right now.

[Rosie_0801]

 Rosie and Mumto2 and our other overseas BaWers please join in!   

 

It costs me $4 minimum to send a single postcard, so I'm only sending to people who *earn* them.   :gnorsi:

 

 

(Sorry to be tight, but I must not get too carried away…)

[Rosie_0801]

Rosie, your comment about how interesting it must be to have so much to read about one's faith has been echoing in my mind lately.  Thank you.  I have been mindful of that as I've been reading and studying... we're a talkative people and I could spend a whole year just reading commentaries on a single text (I was gazing longingly at the stack of commentaries a speaker brought on Shabbos for a discussion about one verse from Pirkei Avos (a section of the Mishnah we reread every year between Pesach and Shavuous))  It is a Jewish variant on the classical idea of the Great Conversation - there is such a wealth of 'voices' to hear on every topic... and from such a range of perspectives.

 

That's just delicious. :)

 

 

 

...though, perhaps, with the amazing range of traditions that have each given a piece to your spiritual journey, you might be able to find work which speak to you?  ...but then I imagine that weeding out all the ones which don't connect to those pieces would be complicated.  I admire your courage and tenacity - and wonder if I could be as brave and innovative.  My heart and soul are deeply contented rooted in my people... but (cv"s), if they weren't, could I walk away from this centuries old network of family and community to forge my own path?

 

There's nothing brave about my spiritual path. We are from very different places. :) For me it's as brave as wandering through a paddock making daisy chains.

 

Oddly enough, though my spiritual self is comprised from a lot of ideas from a lot of places, I haven't yet found "going to the source," any particular source, fulfilling. The threads I pick up are mine, but the cloth I take them from isn't. I'm wondering if I'm more motivated by nationalism than religion at present, though the line is pretty blurry. I set myself a pagany reading challenge this year, but so far the two most pagany motivated books I've read are on Islamic food laws and I'm counting them for my Islam challenge. But I think you are inspiring me to do a Jewish reading challenge next year. I have to go down to the Jewish bookshop later in the year for school supplies.

 

Anyway...

 

:)

[Pam in CT]

Sometimes I dip into books just to be able to understand what everyone else is talking about. Even starting a book and tossing it aside has value, because then I know for sure that it isn't my cup of tea, and why.

 

You know, this is interesting.  I find it very difficult to bail on a book -- I tend to plow doggedly through no.matter.what, as if my ninth grade honors English teacher Miss Veith were peering disapprovingly down her aquiline nose at me -- no matter how not-my-cuppa it is.  Sometimes this persistence pays off in the end, but often not... but what it does do is, makes me think long and hard about starting something in the first place.  Embracing your idea might have the effect of making me more willing to dip into more farflung or less-well-reviewed books...

 

 

It costs me $4 minimum to send a single postcard, so I'm only sending to people who *earn* them.   :gnorsi:

 

OK, darlin', you set the price.  I'll meet your price, and raise you by all the Candy Corn you can eat.

 

 

<snip>

 

Oddly enough, though my spiritual self is comprised from a lot of ideas from a lot of places, I haven't yet found "going to the source," any particular source, fulfilling. The threads I pick up are mine, but the cloth I take them from isn't. I'm wondering if I'm more motivated by nationalism than religion at present, though the line is pretty blurry. I set myself a pagany reading challenge this year, but so far the two most pagany motivated books I've read are on Islamic food laws and I'm counting them for my Islam challenge. But I think you are inspiring me to do a Jewish reading challenge next year. I have to go down to the Jewish bookshop later in the year for school supplies.

 

 

 

Not to hijack, but...   :laugh: ... in my own spiritual journey, which has been enriched and deepened by relationships with people from various traditions, formal interfaith discussion groups, and lots and lots of reading... I have very often found that "the source" is not the most accessible starting point in understanding other traditions... for me the best starting point is a friendship with a real person who lives a tradition deeply and is willing to talk (not evangelize) about it...  If that's not at hand, next best for me are those gentle interpreters/translators of the tradition, like Thich Nhat Hanh or Michael Sells, who are explicitly and intentionally writing to an audience whom they understand not to have groundwork...

[Shawneinfl]

The Landmark Herodotus is a nice choice (not the one I grew up with, but I think I've been converted...)

 

This was the one I've been looking at. I wonder if the new bookstore in town will have it in stock, haha. They describe themselves as a "classic" bookstore which surely doesn't mean they will have "classical" materials. I wonder what they will do when they are bombarded by homeschool moms this week?

 

[Uff Da!]

Ooh, this sounds fun. It's sitting in my tbr pile but I have yet to crack it. My non-fiction reading has fallen by the wayside for the moment. Hoping to pick it up again. Need to catch up on my HotAW too!

 

He packs a lot of information in a simple paragraph and many of his paragraphs could be used as outlines for novels.  At best, I can only read about 10 pages at a time.  

Which version are you reading?

 

The translation is by George Rawlinson and William Benton is listed as the publisher with the University of Chicago having a hand in the editing.  It's the version my library had.  I have a terrible free version on my nook that I couldn't flounder through.

[Heather in Neverland]

Now that I am half-way through the 52 books challenge, I looked at my other challenge... To buy less books and use more free options. I was aiming for 50% of each. Well, so far I have bought 16 and checked out 10.

 

Darn.

 

I can't help it! There are so many books I want to read and sometimes I'm just not in the mood for whatever is available through the library! And I hate audiobooks and it seems like all the good titles I want are only available in audiobook from the library.

 

How is that for justification? :). So to make my goal I can only buy 10 more books out of the next 26. Somehow I think I am going to fail this challenge.

 

 

Started reading:

Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

 

Still reading:

The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman

 

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)

22. Falls the Shadow by Sharon Kay Penman (OK)

23. A Neglected Grace: Family Worship in the Christian Home by Jason Helopoulos (GOOD)

24. The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan (DEPRESSING)

25. No Place Like Oz by Danielle Paige (SO-SO)

26. 84 Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff (DELIGHTFUL)

[Jane in NC]

The yummy vanilla latte that I am currently enjoying comes courtesy of a dear BaWer who sent a Starbucks giftcard to me. What a treat as I wait for the airplane that will take me home! I have been gone for ten days and look forward to seeing my husband. There is even a rumor that the first strawberries of the season have arrived.

 

It was good to see family, great fun for this non-quilter to travel to the big quilt conference and quilt museum in Paducah, KY, with two girlfriends whom I have known since high school. More on that later....

 

But now let me publicly thank my BaW friend for her kindness.

 

Jane

[mumto2]

It costs me $4 minimum to send a single postcard, so I'm only sending to people who *earn* them.   :gnorsi:

 

 

(Sorry to be tight, but I must not get too carried away…)

Rosie -- For the most part my postcards will be arriving in the US  with US postage -- a whole variety of circumstances and timing.  So don't feel bad,  I knew when I made the offer that I would be able to contain my costs to a reasonable level. 

[Heather in Neverland]

Loved Night Circus, Unwind, The Alchemist, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. :)

 

Looking forward to a review on Unwholly!

[Heather in Neverland]

I finished The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie yesterday. I adored it! I'm still not yet done with Strange Bodies. It is one of those books that I actually really like but am not quite compelled to finish as there isn't a "who dunnit" to solve and there isn't that page-turning beach read quality to the book. But it is so very good! I am also listening to Raising Steam, the most recent Terry Pratchett book, and of course I'm loving it. I should be starting Night Circus in the next day or 2.

 

For those of you who missed it in last week's thread, we are at the organizing stage of a BaW postcard exchange and a separate flat-librarian project. For the post card exchange yours truly will compile and send out a list of addresses to everyone who is interested in receiving literary or touristy post cards. The flat librarian is going to be modeled on the flat-stanley exchanges. I will start by sending a small box that has a book, perhaps a goody or two and some sort of BaW mascot. I will take a picture of the mascot sitting on my bookshelves, and perhaps sitting someplace literary. The person who receives the box can keep the book or goodies and place a different title and goody in the box, take some photos of the mascot then send the box to the next person on the list.

 

So far I have heard from:

Phoenix

Winter Wonderland

Robin

Stacia

Shukriyya

melissamatthews

floridamom

Jane in NC

Eliana

mlbuchina

Angel

Pam in CT

 

PM me if you'd like to join in! Rosie and Mumto2 and our other overseas BaWers please join in!

Me! Me! Me! Even in Malaysia?

 

PMing you

[Pam in CT]

Loved Night Circus, Unwind, The Alchemist, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. :)

 

Looking forward to a review on Unwholly!

 

Oh good, I'm glad someone liked Alchemist!!

[Mom-ninja.]

 

 

The ideal size foot was 3" long. Searched for pictures of these shoes and I was amazed at how exquisite their embroidery was.

 

 

 

 

 

I can't get past the horror of foot binding to appreciate the embroidery. I'm close minded I guess.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gunn's Golden Rules: Life Little Lessons for Making It Work - Ok, so Project Runway is my most recent guilty pleasure. I have been getting the dvds from the library and watching each season in a few days - so far I have watched season 7 and seasons 1 through 3. I saw this book at the library and picked it up thinking it might be interesting to see what Tim thought of some of the contestants and was pleasantly surprised. Mr. Gunn is just so nice. He stresses in the book how important it is to be fair, kind, and to take the high road when dealing with difficult people. Good read!

 

I read his book a few years ago. Love him. I find myself saying, "Make it work," a lot.

 

 

 

I've been busy and my reading has suffered for it.  I decided I didn't want to jump into another epic length book, so I got Aleph, by Paulo Coelho from the library (they didn't have The Alchemist).  I didn't finish the book.  I hated it.  It was really not my thing.  It felt flakey and bizarre.  So now I'm back to my opic length book, The Way of the Kings.  

I just started a book you might be interested in seeing how you and I are both fitness enthusiasts. Outdoor Fitness I'm hoping my knee heals quickly so I'm able to start incorporating her program.

 

 

 

 

 

Political (modern, not Tudor):

 

The only one I've finished so far is: Thirteen Days by Robert Kennedy - it is a spare, well written account of the Cuban Missile Crisis from w/in the Kennedy administration.  Not at all the objective, dispassionate account of, frex Woodward, definitely partisan and written to impart a specific message, but gripping and compelling all the same.

 

 

 

 

 

I don't think one would expect Robert Kennedy to write something to be non-partisan or without a specific message especially considering that it was a personal memoir. What politician writes anything without a specific message? :lol:

 

[MicheleinMN]

I read Dead Cat Bounce (by Sarah Graves) this weekend.  It was good, but not great. ;)

[Mom-ninja.]

Oh, I forgot to post the book I just finished. I was too excited to link the fitness book for Kim. :laugh:

 

Here I Go Again which was pure fun. Seems I've been on a fluff kick lately. The last 5 books have been for complete brain candy.  So I think a fitness book is appropriate to follow all that. :lol:

 

 

This is not my normal pattern. I'm usually a non-fiction freak and have to force myself to read fiction. Although, some of my fluff books are non-fiction like funny memoirs.