Book a Week in 2014 - BW19

[Jane in NC]

Kareni,

 

Thank you for the travelogue!  Many years have passed since I have been to Brussels or Amsterdam!  My friend with whom I traveled ages ago spent a month last autumn in the Netherlands. She loved the accessible biking throughout the country.

 

How lovely that your mother was able to accompany her daughters on this trip!

 

 

[Robin M]

Ah!  So many posts and so little time this week.  Too many to quote so here goes:

 

 

Thank you for the warm welcome back!  I was asked to share a few details of my recent trip with my sister and mother.

 

We flew to London and then traveled directly to East Grinstead where my mother's sister and brother-in-law live; I hadn't seen them in some twenty years or my adult cousins in (cough, cough) thirty-five years.  While my mother and her sister talk almost daily, they hadn't been face to face in a dozen or so years, so it was a fun reunion.  After staying a few days, my sister and I moved on to London while my mother remained there.  In London, we visited Westminster Abbey  where we stood by Newton's memorial as well as the tombs of other great scientists, writers, poets, and rulers.  It's both amazing and daunting to walk by and/or over tombs and markers that are up to a thousand years old. 

 

I think that one of the most noticeable things when traveling in England and Europe is the sheer age of one's environs.  It's nothing to be having hot chocolate in a book store and be told that the building has been there since the 1600s or even earlier.  It makes one aware of what a young country the US is.  (And I'm sure someone who has visited the pyramids in Egypt might chuckle at the idea of 1000 years being old!)

 

We also rode the London Eye (a very large ferris wheel) and toured the British Museum where we saw the Rosetta Stone along with other wonders.  My mother rejoined us several days later and we indulged in a rather contemporary Mad Hatter's high tea.  Scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream -- definitely!

 

We then rode the EuroStar train, under the British Channel, to Brussels.  We were there only two days and most of that time was spent with family (a cousin of my father's that I'd never met along with her husband).  We did make the time to walk from our hotel to see Manneken Pis.  I'd seen the statue once before as a teen and once again I was struck by just how small it is.

 

Then we traveled on to Amsterdam where we met my cousin, her husband, their children and grand-children.  This cousin I last saw in 1978; it's safe to say that we've all aged!  We happened to be in Amsterdam during their first King's Day celebration in over 100 years.  The three prior monarchs had been women and on Queen's Day last year, Queen Beatrix abdicated in favor of her son, Willem-Alexander.  This was a rather wild day of celebration, and as we were in the city center we experienced it all first hand.  (There was no public transportation that day and taxis could not operate in the city center.)  My sister and I strolled about since my mother was not capable of navigating the crowds.  While out, we indulged in some poffertjes (tiny pancakes) that we remembered from a previous trip. As the day progressed, crowds were everywhere and the canals swelled with boats filled with dancing and drinking celebrants.  Curiously, all but the die hard partiers went home at nightfall.  The city cleaners had a tremendous job on their hands the next day, but within 24 hours at least 95% of the trash had been picked up. 

 

While in Amsterday, we visited Keukenhof with its tremendous displays of tulips.  Since Spring came early to the Netherlands, we'd been told that the display was past its prime; however, we found it phenomenal. While there, we revisited the past by eating croquettes, and we also had some delicious strawberries with slagroom (whipped cream).  On other days, we visited the Rijksmuseum (Rembrandt) and Van Gogh museums with their tremendous art works.  Tremendous is the correct word to use as some of Rembrandt's canvases are enormous -- the Night Watch is over eleven by fourteen feet. We also got to tour a working windmill in Sloten.

 

So, those were the highlights of what was a wonderful trip.  I think all three of us had some reservations about traveling together, but overall it was a positive time with lots of new memories to enjoy.

 

Regards,

Kareni

Sounds like an awesome trip and wonderful memories to bring home.   Thank you for the paranormal links. Quite a few authors I've already read and some haven't heard of, so adding to my wishlist.  Loved the link of paranormal romance vs urban fantasy. Discovering I'm leaning more towards Urban Fantasy these days.  

 

Happy Birthday Angel - hope you had an awesome day!

 

Speaking of delving intensively into other countries, I'm leaning towards the Middle East as have lots of historical stories pre 12 century and going back to the time of Christ. So if someone wants to do a Pakistan read, that will fit right in in the next month or so. 

 

I'm adding Night Circus to my list for Reread month (july or august or both)

 

Prairegirl :grouphug:  Glad your dad is doing better!

 

For all things urban fantasy, paranormal fantasy, fantasy and science fiction check out literary escapism - lots of resources.

 

 

 

Sometimes when you have too many books on the shelves and can't decide to read, something fun to do is take your list of books or number your books, go to random.org and let it choose the number, then read that book.  Try it once or twice and see what happens.

 

 

 

[Stacia]

Love your trip update, Kareni. Sounds like it was an absolutely wonderful time! Thanks for sharing with us!

 

Robin, re: Pakistan read.... I had already looked at that list of Pakistani authors & picked another one (which my library has -- yay). So, I may do that & the timing would probably work out as I have too much to read now so next month will perhaps be a better time to fit it in. Lol.

 

 

[mumto2]

Thank you for the travel details Kareni and the link to the free copy of Hanover Square! Your trip sounds delightful.  What a wonderful time to visit Amsterdam, plus you got to see the tulips! :) 

 

I finished Jonathon Kellerman's latest Alex Delaware book called Killer and liked it overall.  The wrap up was a bit quick and came a bit out of the blue but the build to it was very well done.  So many of the long running series that I tend to follow are very dependant on the reader knowing the history of the characters and this particular book pretty much got rid of that.  Relatively few references to past events and the supporting characters were there and very comfortable for returning readers but I suspect accessible for first time reading his books also.  Found it very interesting from that angle.  I gave it a 4* just because of that aspect so this isn't my favourite psychological thriller ever just a well done addition to a very long running series.

 

Currently reading Classified as Murder by Miranda James on my kindle.  It is the next in the Cat in the Stacks series.  I am enjoying it as much as I did the first one. Adorable kitty,  really starting to want a manx coon cat again -- almost adopted one many years ago, we would have but we were on vacation in Alaska when I fell in love with him,  travel home was complicated and someone local wanted him too.

 

I am going to read a bit and hopefully fall back asleep......

[shukriyya]

Thank you for the warm welcome back! I was asked to share a few details of my recent trip with my sister and mother.

 

We flew to London and then traveled directly to East Grinstead where my mother's sister and brother-in-law live; I hadn't seen them in some twenty years or my adult cousins in (cough, cough) thirty-five years. While my mother and her sister talk almost daily, they hadn't been face to face in a dozen or so years, so it was a fun reunion. After staying a few days, my sister and I moved on to London while my mother remained there. In London, we visited Westminster Abbey where we stood by Newton's memorial as well as the tombs of other great scientists, writers, poets, and rulers. It's both amazing and daunting to walk by and/or over tombs and markers that are up to a thousand years old.

 

I think that one of the most noticeable things when traveling in England and Europe is the sheer age of one's environs. It's nothing to be having hot chocolate in a book store and be told that the building has been there since the 1600s or even earlier. It makes one aware of what a young country the US is. (And I'm sure someone who has visited the pyramids in Egypt might chuckle at the idea of 1000 years being old!)

 

We also rode the London Eye (a very large ferris wheel) and toured the British Museum where we saw the Rosetta Stone along with other wonders. My mother rejoined us several days later and we indulged in a rather contemporary Mad Hatter's high tea. Scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream -- definitely!

 

We then rode the EuroStar train, under the British Channel, to Brussels. We were there only two days and most of that time was spent with family (a cousin of my father's that I'd never met along with her husband). We did make the time to walk from our hotel to see Manneken Pis. I'd seen the statue once before as a teen and once again I was struck by just how small it is.

 

Then we traveled on to Amsterdam where we met my cousin, her husband, their children and grand-children. This cousin I last saw in 1978; it's safe to say that we've all aged! We happened to be in Amsterdam during their first King's Day celebration in over 100 years. The three prior monarchs had been women and on Queen's Day last year, Queen Beatrix abdicated in favor of her son, Willem-Alexander. This was a rather wild day of celebration, and as we were in the city center we experienced it all first hand. (There was no public transportation that day and taxis could not operate in the city center.) My sister and I strolled about since my mother was not capable of navigating the crowds. While out, we indulged in some poffertjes (tiny pancakes) that we remembered from a previous trip. As the day progressed, crowds were everywhere and the canals swelled with boats filled with dancing and drinking celebrants. Curiously, all but the die hard partiers went home at nightfall. The city cleaners had a tremendous job on their hands the next day, but within 24 hours at least 95% of the trash had been picked up.

 

While in Amsterday, we visited Keukenhof with its tremendous displays of tulips. Since Spring came early to the Netherlands, we'd been told that the display was past its prime; however, we found it phenomenal. While there, we revisited the past by eating croquettes, and we also had some delicious strawberries with slagroom (whipped cream). On other days, we visited the Rijksmuseum (Rembrandt) and Van Gogh museums with their tremendous art works. Tremendous is the correct word to use as some of Rembrandt's canvases are enormous -- the Night Watch is over eleven by fourteen feet. We also got to tour a working windmill in Sloten.

 

So, those were the highlights of what was a wonderful trip. I think all three of us had some reservations about traveling together, but overall it was a positive time with lots of new memories to enjoy.

 

Regards,

Kareni

Thank you, Kareni, for the vicarious trip! 'Slagroom' is my new favorite word of the week.

[Stacia]

10 Works of Literature That Were Really Hard to Write:

http://mentalfloss.com/article/26601/10-works-literature-were-really-hard-write

 

#2 has been on my tbr list for awhile, now I want to read Gadsby, & I loved #5.

 

ETA: Ah, here's a free copy of Gadsby (in case anyone else is interested in reading it too).

[JadeOrchidSong]

I just learned that J. K. Rowling wrote a sequel to Cuckoo's calling. I really enjoyed CC, so I reserved the sequel, The Silkworm just now from the library. It is on order and I am # 246 in line. I like the detective and his assistant very much. I can't wait to see them again. I also reserved The Casual Vacancy, which has over 1000 5-star rating and over 1000 1-star rating, very polarized.

Right now I am enjoying The Count of Monte Cristo, a by great read.

[mumto2]

10 Works of Literature That Were Really Hard to Write:

http://mentalfloss.com/article/26601/10-works-literature-were-really-hard-write

 

#2 has been on my tbr list for awhile, now I want to read Gadsby, & I loved #5.

 

ETA: Ah, here's a free copy of Gadsby (in case anyone else is interested in reading it too).

Loved these......I have"read" number 5 before.  Number 2 and 10 sound list worthy.  Can't wait to hear your review of Gadsby,  my stack calls along with Monuments of Men.......but if you really love it .......

 

I just learned that J. K. Rowling wrote a sequel to Cuckoo's calling. I really enjoyed CC, so I reserved the sequel, The Silkworm just now from the library. It is on order and I am # 246 in line. I like the detective and his assistant very much. I can't wait to see them again. I also reserved The Casual Vacancy, which has over 1000 5-star rating and over 1000 1-star rating, very polarized.

Right now I am enjoying The Count of Monte Cristo, a by great read.

I just tried to reserve Silkworm, can't find it in my system.  I will look more later.  The assistant was my favourite.

[Rosie_0801]

I read 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats' to the kids. Then discovered the boy has ruined the dvd player. I need to find a safer place for the next new one I buy.  :cursing:  I'm reminding myself I didn't want to watch a dvd anyway, but   :cursing: anyway.

[Jane in NC]

10 Works of Literature That Were Really Hard to Write:

http://mentalfloss.com/article/26601/10-works-literature-were-really-hard-write

 

#2 has been on my tbr list for awhile, now I want to read Gadsby, & I loved #5.

 

ETA: Ah, here's a free copy of Gadsby (in case anyone else is interested in reading it too).

 

#2, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, is indeed a remarkable memoir.

 

Agreeing with you on number five (she says in six words).

 

The Monuments Men has been on my to-be-read list, but I won't be joining the read-along since I decided that it was time to work on a neglected 5/5/5 challenge:  Dorothy Dunnett. 

 

Scales of Gold, like the other books in the House of Niccolo series (this is the fourth), is set in the fifteenth century. You may raise an eyebrow if I tell you that these chunksters concerning the world of Renaissance trade and banking are thumping good reads.  The tales are fun with memorable fictional characters cast against many historical ones.  (The dramatis personae at the beginning of each book is several pages long.) For me they also offer a banquet of rabbit trails concerning history, geography and literature. 

 

The Niccolo series begins in Bruges (Niccolo Rising)where we are introduced to a likeable but apparently reckless assistant in a dye shop, the young and charming Claes whose parentage is of course questionable.  As the tale unfolds, we see that Claes, i.e. Nicholas or Niccolo, is man for the times: numerate, mechanically minded, a polyglot and willing to gamble. His rise from the dye vats to the head of his business enterprise takes him farther afield in search of the materials needed in a dye shop.  And this is where Dunnett is remarkable.  Who knew that the rise of the Medici family was in part due to an alum cartel, alum being a mineral used in setting dyes?  This is the kind of history that is always present in the background of a Dunnett tale.

 

The political intrigue of the 15th century hinges on the changing economy.  Henry the Navigator has opened doors to new worlds for Portugal with others following; the Ottoman Empire has closed doors previously opened.  Dunnett paints a world of detail large and small. 

 

One of the rabbit trails that I pursued yesterday concerned an item she mentions in passing.  Nicholas is sailing from Venice to Portugal. In a paragraph or two regarding some stops along the way, we see that Nicholas trades for gum arabic.  Why I ask?  Gum arabic is sold in art supply stores--what is this stuff anyway?  Off to Google where I learn that yes gum arabic is used for setting inks but that in the modern world gum arabic is a necessary ingredient in soda pop to emulsify sugar.  Most of the world's supply of gum arabic comes from acacia trees in Sudan--which the US has had sanctions against since 1997.  (Remember Darfur?) But here is the sad irony:  American soda companies get around this by purchasing Sudanese gum arabic not from Sudan directly but from European suppliers.

 

The point here is the Renaissance shenanigans of which Dunnett writes bear a strong resemblance to modern day shenanigans although the names and political boundaries have changed. 

 

But don't feel intimidated. It really is not necessary to stop the action and look everything up (although if you feel inclined someone has written a two volume handbook to accompany Dunnett's Lymond and Niccolo series for quick reference).

 

(By the way, if you the thought of gum arabic in soda is not sufficiently off putting, have you read about brominated vegetable oil in soda and sports drinks? :ack2: )

[Mom-ninja.]

Mo Willems is one of my favorite authors to read when it comes to picture books. For those who want a good chuckle read Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs. Even just the inside cover had me laughing.

[shukriyya]

I read 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats' to the kids. Then discovered the boy has ruined the dvd player. I need to find a safer place for the next new one I buy. :cursing: I'm reminding myself I didn't want to watch a dvd anyway, but :cursing: anyway.

Love the OPBOPC! It was a fixture in my childhood and I can see it now sitting on our white Danish modern coffee table, the decorating style that was all the rage way back then. I'd regularly pick it up to dip into curling up in our non-Danish modern loveseat...

 

"The Invention of Wings" has gotten the attention of my lens. I'm not too far in but I'm enjoying it thus far.

[Lady Florida.]

Mo Willems is one of my favorite authors to read when it comes to picture books. For those who want a good chuckle read Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs. Even just the inside cover had me laughing.

 

That looks hilarious. Ds loved funny picture books when he was little. I want to buy that book for myself. Fortunately I have a grandson and another on the way, so I can make excuses to buy it. :D

 

Mo Willems was on CBS Sunday Morning not long ago. He seemed like a nice guy who really enjoys writing children's books.

[Guest]

Kareni - glad you had such a lovely trip! I'm slightly alright - very - envious!

 

 

I just learned that J. K. Rowling wrote a sequel to Cuckoo's calling. I really enjoyed CC, so I reserved the sequel, The Silkworm just now from the library. It is on order and I am # 246 in line. I like the detective and his assistant very much. I can't wait to see them again. I also reserved The Casual Vacancy, which has over 1000 5-star rating and over 1000 1-star rating, very polarized.
Right now I am enjoying The Count of Monte Cristo, a by great read.

 

Oh, I had totally forgotten that I wanted to read The Casual Vacancy. Adding that to my list. I didn't realize that she had collaborated on other projects, as well. I will have to look into those!

[Lady Florida.]

I just learned that J. K. Rowling wrote a sequel to Cuckoo's calling. I really enjoyed CC, so I reserved the sequel, The Silkworm just now from the library. It is on order and I am # 246 in line. I like the detective and his assistant very much. I can't wait to see them again. I also reserved The Casual Vacancy, which has over 1000 5-star rating and over 1000 1-star rating, very polarized.

Right now I am enjoying The Count of Monte Cristo, a by great read.

 

Ooh, I really liked The Cuckoo's Calling and was hoping we'd get more of Cormoran Strike. I just called my library and I can only do advance reserves in person. I wish I had known about this yesterday when I was there picking up some holds. I have no desire to read The Casual Vacancy. Based on the reviews and some comments from friends who read it, it isn't something I'd like.

 

The Count of Monte Cristo is one of my favorite books. 

 

Book club went well last night. We're a very small group, and out of 8 total members 4 of us were there. A few others did read it, but couldn't make the meeting. Everyone enjoyed Ru and the food at the Vietnamese restaurant where we met was delicious. Which reminds me - I have leftovers and it's lunch time. :D Our next book is Tisha. The woman who chose it spent some childhood years in Alaska (she didn't live there, but her parents have a cabin and they went there every year). The book looks good. I'm surprised I never heard of it bu that's what I like about book clubs - getting introduced to books I might never have heard of or chosen to read on my own.

[aggieamy]

Hello friends!  I've ventured out of the safe and cozy walls of Flufferton Abbey to start on a few books for bookclub.  

 

Currently Reading:

 

Watery Grave by Bruce Alexander

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

The Winged Watchman by Hilda van Stockum (Read Aloud)

 

Finished:

 

Gather Ye Rosebuds by Joan Smith - This was supposed to be mystery and romance but the book was so short that both felt rushed.  Not one of my favorite of her books. ***

Cousin Cecilia by Joan Smith - Great characters.  Fun story.  An enjoyable afternoon.  ****

Telling Lies for Fun and Profit by Lawrence Block - I highly recommend this for anyone interested in writing.  Lots of great information in here.  It's a bit disjointed because it's a collection of his essays published in a book but that was my only complaint.  ****

 

 

Does anyone have any fantastic early childhood or board books to recommend?  I'm a little bored with the same ones I've been reading over and over.  

[Angel]

Hello friends!  I've ventured out of the safe and cozy walls of to start on a few books for bookclub.  

 

Does anyone have any fantastic early childhood or board books to recommend?  I'm a little bored with the same ones I've been reading over and over.  

 

What have you been reading?  And how old is Chews on Books now  :laugh:

[Jane in NC]

 

Does anyone have any fantastic early childhood or board books to recommend?  I'm a little bored with the same ones I've been reading over and over.  

 

I always give Amy Wilson Sanger's World Snacks board books as gifts.

 

 

 

 

 

Other favorite board books include a couple of titles in the Baby Lit series, namely:

 

 

The latter because every toddler vocabulary needs the word "harpoon"!

 

My real problem with children's books these days are all of the licensed characters. I prefer not buying counting books with Disney characters!

 

[mumto2]

Sandra Boynton was our favourite.  We had ( and still have) a huge stack of hers.  Dogs, was Dd favourite and Ds was Barnyard Dance but there are lots of great ones.  Used to do Panama Time nightly..... There were music cds that she had produced also. Lots of fun!  

 

I think I saw Chicka Chicka Boom Boom as a board book somewhere.  Loved that but not by Boynton.

 

Hope you enjoy Winged Watchman.  I remember liking that one.

Hello friends!  I've ventured out of the safe and cozy walls of to start on a few books for bookclub.  

 

Currently Reading:

 

Watery Grave by Bruce Alexander

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

The Winged Watchman by Hilda van Stockum (Read Aloud)

 

Finished:

 

Gather Ye Rosebuds by Joan Smith - This was supposed to be mystery and romance but the book was so short that both felt rushed.  Not one of my favorite of her books. ***

Cousin Cecilia by Joan Smith - Great characters.  Fun story.  An enjoyable afternoon.  ****

Telling Lies for Fun and Profit by Lawrence Block - I highly recommend this for anyone interested in writing.  Lots of great information in here.  It's a bit disjointed because it's a collection of his essays published in a book but that was my only complaint.  ****

 

 

Does anyone have any fantastic early childhood or board books to recommend?  I'm a little bored with the same ones I've been reading over and over.  

 

[Angel]

Other favorite board books include a couple of titles in the Baby Lit series

 

The latter because every toddler vocabulary needs the word "harpoon"!   :lol:

 

My real problem with children's books these days are all of the licensed characters. I prefer not buying counting books with Disney characters!

 

 

I was coming back to post about these.  Dd bought them for the little boy she is a nanny to.  She has Sense & Sensibility and Romeo & Juliet

 

And though we didn't have this when dd's were growing up, I really LOVE this color book by Baby Einstein Windows to Color.  It's SO bright that I bought it to use as examples in my art room.  And you introduce Chews on Books to good art  :D

 

I assume you are reading Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny and The Very Hungry Caterpillar  ;) Dd's loved Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, too.  

 

Another favorite from dd19's very early years was Jamberry

 

And both dd's loved the Touch and Feel books.  Not great literature but interactive.

 

 

[Kareni]

Does anyone have any fantastic early childhood or board books to recommend?  I'm a little bored with the same ones I've been reading over and over.  

 

 

A big favorite here were books by Ellen Stoll Walsh such as Mouse Paint and Mouse Count.  (These are also available as board books.)  I see the author also wrote Mouse Shapes, but I'm not familiar with it.

 

Tana Hoban wrote one of our favorite books for the very young -- Red, Blue, Yellow Shoe.

She also has some more recent black and white books that look good.  See here.

 

For toddlers and up, I recommend The Piggy in the Puddle  by Charlotte Pomerantz and James Marshall.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Last night I stayed up way too late finishing Armed & Dangerous (Cut & Run) by Abiail Roux.  This is the fifth book in a mystery series that was originally written by Roux and Urban; however, Urban retired from writing after book four.  I enjoyed the book.  (Note: the book features two male FBI agents who have a romantic and physical relationship.)

 

 

"Left alone in Baltimore after his unpredictable lover bails, Special Agent Zane Garrett takes his frustration out on everything in his path until he is ordered to Chicago to back up an undercover operative. When he gets there, though, he finds himself face to face with his wayward partner, Special Agent Ty Grady. They have to deal with the uncertainty lingering between them while they work to retrieve their intended mark, a retired hit man and CIA wet-works operative named Julian Cross.

 

Ty, once a Marine and now an FBI hotshot, has a penchant for being unpredictable, a trait Zane can vouch for. Zane is a man who once lived for his job but has come to realize his heartbreaking past doesn’t have to overshadow his future. They're partners, friends, lovers, and the go-to team for unusual cases. With Cross and his innocuous boyfriend, Cameron Jacobs, in tow, Ty and Zane must navigate the obstacles of a cross-country trek, including TSA pat-downs, blizzards, their uncooperative prisoners, CIA kill teams, a desperate lack of sleep and caffeine, and each other. Ty and Zane are determined to get Julian Cross to DC in one piece, but it’s starting to look like it might be the last thing they do."

 

I'll continue to read more in this series.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[JennW in SoCal]

I already wrote this post out once today and it disappeared into the void when I clicked "post".  It is likely on the BaW thread in that alternate universe somewhere...

 

Anyhow, I finished Night Circus last night, taking Shukriyya's advice and making sure I read the last chunk all in one sitting.  I loved it!  It was the perfect book for me at the moment, not too intellectually taxing, but interesting and smart with good characters in a very vivid setting.  I'm amused by several of you writing that you had bought a copy after having read a library copy, but amused because I see myself in that action. I just bought a copy of The Last Unicorn because I want to be able to reread it again and again.

 

Now I have to find something else that hits the literary sweet spot at the moment.  Do I go with the Jo Walton novel I just bought, Farthing?  Or do I pull out a Jasper Fforde Thursday novel?  Or start the Rosie Project that is on my Kindle App??  I also have to pick a new audio book to keep me company in the car.

 

It isn't the right time this week (or likely next) to start Monuments Men as I'm just a little too busy and distracted by the tasks at hand to focus on anything deeper than fluff.  If I have time I'll be stopping by the library to grab something Flufferton Abby. (Although, I seem to remember I have on my shelves, somewhere, a Georgette Heyer title or two I inherited a while back...)

[aggieamy]

What have you been reading?  And how old is Chews on Books now  :laugh:

 

We read a lot of Sandra Boyton, Kevin Henkes, Karma Wilson, and Mo Willems.  He is 6 mos old!  I can't believe it.

 

I always give Amy Wilson Sanger's World Snacks board books as gifts.

 

 

 

 

Other favorite board books include a couple of titles in the Baby Lit series, namely:

 

 

The latter because every toddler vocabulary needs the word "harpoon"!

 

My real problem with children's books these days are all of the licensed characters. I prefer not buying counting books with Disney characters!

 

 

I perfer books without the characters also.  And the older I get the less of the characters I even know.  Thanks for the recommendations!

[aggieamy]

And just because I love showing off.  Here's Little Librarian and Chews on Books.  She's almost ten and he's six months.  

 

 

 

[Guest]

Amy! Adorable kiddos!

 

I already wrote this post out once today and it disappeared into the void when I clicked "post".  It is likely on the BaW thread in that alternate universe somewhere...

 

Anyhow, I finished Night Circus last night, taking Shukriyya's advice and making sure I read the last chunk all in one sitting.  I loved it!  It was the perfect book for me at the moment, not too intellectually taxing, but interesting and smart with good characters in a very vivid setting.  I'm amused by several of you writing that you had bought a copy after having read a library copy, but amused because I see myself in that action. I just bought a copy of The Last Unicorn because I want to be able to reread it again and again.

 

Now I have to find something else that hits the literary sweet spot at the moment.  Do I go with the Jo Walton novel I just bought, Farthing?  Or do I pull out a Jasper Fforde Thursday novel?  Or start the Rosie Project that is on my Kindle App??  I also have to pick a new audio book to keep me company in the car.

 

It isn't the right time this week (or likely next) to start Monuments Men as I'm just a little too busy and distracted by the tasks at hand to focus on anything deeper than fluff.  If I have time I'll be stopping by the library to grab something Flufferton Abby. (Although, I seem to remember I have on my shelves, somewhere, a Georgette Heyer title or two I inherited a while back...)

 

Re: the bolded - you know what's terrible? I went out and bought a hard copy after reading it from the library. I got it out this last week to read again, but am I reading the hard copy that I bought?!? No! I borrowed it again from the library to read on my Kindle. The hard copy, that I own, is collecting dust on my nightstand. :rolleyes:

[Jane in NC]

Oh Amy!  What beautiful children!  :001_wub:

[shukriyya]

Does anyone have any fantastic early childhood or board books to recommend?  I'm a little bored with the same ones I've been reading over and over.  

 

These are wonderful--a series of four board books, one for each season, with lovely illustrations and no words so that you can make up the story as you go along. And I'll add to the consensus here, your children are beautiful!

 

 

 

 

 

[shukriyya]

Okay, I had to share this literary moment with y'all. As I mentioned yesterday ds is reading TNC. This morning he came and got into bed with me to show me a passage that he *loved* from the book and had highlighted on the kindle. I found it so poignant, this seamless intersection of technology and book love in my tween, that where I, as a child, might have copied out the passage because I loved it he makes use of technology and yet the motivation remains the same, love of words. I agree it was a particularly wonderful description of the magical clock that forms an integral part of the circus. He had me read it aloud and it was so fun to revisit the atmosphere of this book having so recently and reluctantly left it behind :D

[Angel]

Look at all that cuteness, Amy!! :001_wub:  I'm so glad you shared an updated picture!  

 

Why can I not upload a picture  :confused:    I was going to share my "babies" lol.  But it won't work.  What am I doing wrong?

[Angel]

Ok, so I will forget about my frustrations in posting a picture and post about books instead.

 

The week before we went on our road trip I finished The Convenient Marriage by Georgette Heyer.  It was so very stressful getting ready for an unexpected road trip and my three co-op classes that I couldn't handle anything else.  It was my least favorite Heyer to date.  There was an overabundance of Regency detail in this book which put me off a little.  Also, though I thought I knew where she was going with the story, it just took too long to get there.  I could have used just a few more substantial hints because I was getting annoyed with the heroine.  I found myself thinking how I would have rewritten certain scenes.   It's possible that having just read The Grand Sophy, which I adored, any other Heyer would have fallen short. That said, the heroine's brother had me in stitches numerous times.  Their attempt at being highwaymen could have saved even the worst book.  I would give it 3 stars.

 

Today I finished Mr. Knightley's Diary by Amanda Grange.  It was a book I picked up at the library book sale a year or two ago and had been sitting in a pile on my bedroom floor.  I think that qualifies it for a "dusty book."  Ok, let's be honest, I hate to dust and have dust EVERYWHERE.  I, therefore, KNOW that it is a "dusty book." :lol:  Anyway, I enjoyed Mr. Darcy's Diary a few years ago.  Not very complex books but I do like having another perspective on some of my favorite stories.  It was enjoyable but not amazing.  I liked how this author handled Miss Bates.  One of my other favorite Austen spin-off's by Carrie Bebris had Miss Bates in an interesting story line as well.  I also enjoyed the inclusion of John and Isabella's children in more scenes.  I would say 3 stars for this one as well.

 

I have now made it halfway to 52 books!   :hurray:  

 

*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)

*23 – Agenda 21 by Harriet Parke and Glen Beck (USA)

*24 – Persuasion by Jane Austen  (audiobook, England, re-read)

*25 – The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer (England, dusty book)

*26 - The Convenient Marriage by Georgette Heyer (England)

*27 - Mr. Knightley's Diary by Amanda Grange (England, dusty book)

[Robin M]

Can everybody say Aw!!!!!   Amy!  6 months already... Wow!  Both your kids are so adorable. Thank you for sharing.

[Violet Crown]

20. Thomas Mann, The Magic Mountain

 

I hardly know what to say about this book. It's about an ordinary young German man, Hans Kastorp, who goes to visit his cousin in a tuberculosis sanatorium on a mountain and ends up staying seven years. It's about time, love, disease, death, extreme philosophies, and the way they're all somehow tied together. And I think it's trying to say something about Europe on the eve of the first World War. And it's 700 pages long.

 

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

 

Time--not the sort that train station clocks measure with a large hand that jerks forward every five minutes, but more like the time of a very small watch whose hands move without our being able to notice, or the time grass keeps as it grows without our eyes' catching its secret growth, until the day comes when the fact is undeniable--time, a line composed of elastic turning points (and here the late, ill-fated Naphta would presumably have asked how purely elastic points can ever begin to form a line), time, then, had continued to bring forth changes in its furtive, unobservable, secret, and yet bustling way. The boy named Teddy, to take just one example, was no longer a boy one day--though of course that did not happen "one day," but emerged out of some quite indefinite day. The ladies could no longer set him on their laps on those occasions when he left his bed, exchanged his pajamas for a sporty outfit, and came downstairs. The tables were turned, and no one had noticed. He now set them on his lap on such occasions, which both parties found just as delightful, even more so. He had--we won't say blossomed, but rather--sprouted into a young man. Hans Castorp had not seen it happen, but then he saw it. Time and sprouting, by the way, did not agree with the young man Teddy, he was not made for such things. Time proved no blessing--in his twenty-first year of life he died of the illness to which he had been susceptible. They fumigated his room. We can relate all this quite calmly, since there was no significant difference between his new condition and his previous one.

[prairiegirl]

I just learned that J. K. Rowling wrote a sequel to Cuckoo's calling. I really enjoyed CC, so I reserved the sequel, The Silkworm just now from the library. It is on order and I am # 246 in line. I like the detective and his assistant very much. I can't wait to see them again. I also reserved The Casual Vacancy, which has over 1000 5-star rating and over 1000 1-star rating, very polarized.

Right now I am enjoying The Count of Monte Cristo, a by great read.

I am glad that a few of you have liked CC. It is sitting very pretty on my TBR pile.  I have two more books to read first then, hopefully, can get to it.  I did not know there was a sequel, either.   I did not like Casual Vacancy, I didn't  get too far in it  before I ditched it.  That is why I was a bit nervous about CC.

 

 

 

Does anyone have any fantastic early childhood or board books to recommend?  I'm a little bored with the same ones I've been reading over and over.  

I was going to suggest Sandra Boynton--we are big Boynton fans here--but I see you already have these.   Also,  the pictures of your kids  are beautiful.  Thanks for sharing them.

[LostSurprise]

Bumbling, jumbling around with The Elegance of a Hedgehog and will probably be finished later today. Greatly enjoying and amused by its forays into Art and Philosophy (capital letters for each of them). There is a certain irony to my reading as well. The 2 main characters have so many assertions about other people that seem limited to me despite the characters' great intelligence. So I am as amused and patronizing of their own inner thoughts as they are amused and patronizing to others. Mirror neurons.  

 

I bet this was written by a grown up Paloma with a PhD in Philosophy (ironically Colombe's degree...I'm sure she's met a few Colombes in academia). 

 

Also, I have no idea how they could turn this into a movie. Wouldn't that remove all the best bits and leave us with some interesting, but rather bereft, characters? 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bLq4ehVo7c 

 

 

[LostSurprise]

Books our boys liked when little: 

 

Sandra Boynton (Blue Hat, Green Hat; Doggies)

Big Dog and Little Dog books (Dav Pilkey)

Moompa, Toby, and Bomp (my youngest was obsessed with this book)

Olivier Dunrea's books (Ollie the Stomper, Gossie and Gertie)

The Carrot Seed

Is Your Mama a Llama?

the Spanish version of Good Night, Gorilla (Buenas Noches, Gorila)...for some reason saying it in Spanish made it funny

 

We had board book versions of all of these except Moompa, Toby, and Bomp which is obviously a toddler book but hasn't come out as a board book. 

[JadeOrchidSong]

I like to post here because I get so many "like"s. I enjoy this warm, fuzzy feeling when I come to Book a Week.

 

I read on J. k. Rowling's Facebook news that Casual Vacancy will be made into a movie. I have not read it but read lots of reviews on Amazon about the book. I am getting it in a day or two from my library and will see for myself.

[mumto2]

Amy -- Your pictures are adorable!  Beautiful children!!!

 

I thought of another board book that Ds loved,  Hug http://m.barnesandnoble.com/w/hug-jez-alborough/1100832752?ean=9780763615765

[mumto2]

I still don't actually do much on my new kindle other than post here -- that is why I frequently like posts and comment hours later.  I like on the old kindle and have to post on new, all other activities still work on the old one just fine.   Since I just posted I clicked on my next library book planning to read a chapter or two before getting a cup of tea and looked down at the bottom of the first page -- the kindle is telling me it will take me 1 hour and 21 minutes to complete my book.  Can't believe that a machine is now estimating how long for ME to read an entire book.  This is one of those things that makes me feel like my 92 year old mother who frequently comments on the miracles she has seen in her life time,  not up there with cures for disease but think of the compulsive planning this knowledge can lead too !  :)

 

Please note it is a short cozy mystery not something overly serious so this estimate is close.  I figured it was under 2 hours. I read fast but not that fast.  ;)

[Onceuponatime]

I like to post here because I get so many "like"s. I enjoy this warm, fuzzy feeling when I come to Book a Week.

 

 

 

Me too. :blushing:

[Stacia]

Amy, your children are beautiful & exude joy & happiness! Love Chews On Books' cow lick.

 

I finished Kamila Shamsie's Broken Verses & found it heartbreakingly lovely. It is so nice to 'see' another side of Pakistan (rather than how it is often depicted in the US news). It shows the families, the poets, the artists, the activists, the grandiose, & the mundane from their hopes & dreams to their disappointments & heartbreaks. This book had me crying by the end (something I normally don't like but was ok within this story world that I was visiting). Pam & shukriyya, I think you would both enjoy this book very much.

[Kareni]

I finished with enjoyment two more books in the Cut and Run series (now solely) authored by Abigail Roux ~

 

Stars & Stripes (Cut & Run)

and

Touch & Geaux (Cut & Run)

 

I see there is an additional book to read which came out a few months ago as well as a spin off book.  I'll be requesting that my library purchase them both.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[Murmer]

Just finished Unknown Enemy by Karl Goodman...it is religious fiction and I was worried it would be rather cookie cutter...but I ended up totally enjoying it!  Fun story!

 

Now on the Anderson's Fairy Tales.

[Stacia]

I am now reading I Served the King of England by Bohumil Hrabal. Loving its amusing & touching moments so far...

 

From Kirkus Reviews:

Starred Review -- A poetic-symbolic narrative--woven as if with bright threads of Beckett, Dylan Thomas, and Kafka--tells the rags-to-riches (and back to rags) life-story of a Czech hotel waiter from the mid-30's to the near present. From Czech writer Hrabal, who wrote Closely Watched Trains (made into a 1967 movie) and The Death of Mr. Baltisberger, 1975. Known to the reader only by his last name, Ditie, the narrator here gets his start by selling frankfurters to passengers at the train station (and keeping the change as the trains pull out, taking his customers with them). Becoming busboy at a country hotel, then at another, then waiter at a grand hotel in Prague, Ditie is immersed in the flow of life around him (including sex), is fascinated by money and by accumulating it ("And so I tested the power of pure money"), and is trained in the high style of the waiter's calling by various maitre d's, including the remarkable Skrivanek, whose distinction is that he once served the King of England (as for Ditie, he once serves the Emperor of Ethiopia). As WW II gathers, Ditie falls in love with a passionately political German girl, and the story of this doomed and misled love between Slav and Teuton provides both grimly farcical anti-German comedy and historical allegory. After the war, from which he profited, Ditie opens his own hotel and becomes a millionaire (John Steinbeck, as a guest, once offers to buy it) but still feels that he is not accepted by the highest social classes: when millionaires are rounded up to be interned, Ditie is passed by, and (in one of the book's funniest parts) is reduced to special pleading in order to be arrested with the very wealthy. By end, Ditie's hotel is in ruins (it's been seized by the state), and, in a simple and poetic shower of symbols, Ditie lives in an abandoned inn far off in the hills, on a road seldom traveled (he's the keeper of the road), accompanied only by his small horse, his goat, and his cat. There, Ditie tells us, he wishes only "to be a world citizen after death," and, on long, snowbound winter nights, watched by his three patient animals, he embarks upon the writing of this book. By an unpretentious European master, a gem-like rollick through vast (and political) themes in a way that manages to touch both head and heart.

Interesting article about Hrabal: http://www.radio.cz/en/section/czechs/bohumil-hrabal-a-few-notes-on-the-writers-style

 

Apparently this book was also made into a movie (which looks pretty good, I think):

 

 

[Stacia]

Kind-of fun for those of us who love seeing movie versions of books too...

25 Movie Cameos by the Authors of the Original Books

 

I did know that John le Carré (father of Nick Harkaway who wrote Angelmaker) was in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (excellent movie, btw); reminds me that I still need to read the book because I had a nagging question about the motivation of a particular character & I'm hoping the book provides that framework (which was too open for me to figure out in the movie). I guess the bonus of the Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy movie is that it has both Colin Firth (Mr. Darcy, anyone?) and Benedict Cumberbatch (for all the Sherlock fans here). :lol:

 

 

[Violet Crown]

A recent thread caused me to reach for my John Stuart Mill, and I've accordingly shoved aside my teetering TBR pile for On Liberty, a book which once excited me in my idealistic youth and now just makes me want to cry over the cold, stiffening corpse of what used to be Liberalism.

 

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

 

Like other tyrannies, the tyranny of the majority was at first, and is still vulgarly, held in dread, chiefly as operating through the acts of the public authorities. But reflecting persons perceived that when society itself is the tyrant - society collectively, over the separate individuals who compose it - its means of tyrannizing are not restricted to the acts which it may do by the hands of its political functionaries. Society can and does execute its own mandates: and if it issues wrong mandates instead of right, or any mandates at all in things with which it ought not to meddle, it practises a social tyranny more formidable than many kinds of political oppression, since, though not usually upheld by such extreme penalties, it leaves fewer means of escape, penetrating much more deeply into the details of life, and enslaving the soul itself.

 

Protection, therefore, against the tyranny of the magistrate is not enough: there needs protection also against the tyranny of the prevailing opinion and feeling; against the tendency of society to impose, by other means than civil penalties, its own ideas and practices as rules of conduct on those who dissent from them[.]

[Jane in NC]

Stacia--

 

Quick note about Hrabel: His novel Closely Watched Trains was made into a movie that won an Oscar.  

 

Also, I think I have a copy of Tinker Tailor lying about that I can mail you. Shall I check?

 

XXOO

[Robin M]

A recent thread caused me to reach for my John Stuart Mill, and I've accordingly shoved aside my teetering TBR pile for On Liberty, a book which once excited me in my idealistic youth and now just makes me want to cry over the cold, stiffening corpse of what used to be Liberalism.

 

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

 

Like other tyrannies, the tyranny of the majority was at first, and is still vulgarly, held in dread, chiefly as operating through the acts of the public authorities. But reflecting persons perceived that when society itself is the tyrant - society collectively, over the separate individuals who compose it - its means of tyrannizing are not restricted to the acts which it may do by the hands of its political functionaries. Society can and does execute its own mandates: and if it issues wrong mandates instead of right, or any mandates at all in things with which it ought not to meddle, it practices a social tyranny more formidable than many kinds of political oppression, since, though not usually upheld by such extreme penalties, it leaves fewer means of escape, penetrating much more deeply into the details of life, and enslaving the soul itself.

 

Protection, therefore, against the tyranny of the magistrate is not enough: there needs protection also against the tyranny of the prevailing opinion and feeling; against the tendency of society to impose, by other means than civil penalties, its own ideas and practices as rules of conduct on those who dissent from them[.]

I'm at work right now so kind of distracted but found this very interesting.  Especially the bolded. Lot of food for thought.

 

[prairiegirl]

I like to post here because I get so many "like"s. I enjoy this warm, fuzzy feeling when I come to Book a Week.

 

 

 

lol   I understand.  I always  have a Sally Field moment when I see all of the 'likes.'  (They like me!  They really, really like me!)

[JennW in SoCal]

Speaking of mailing things.  I have yet to compile and send out the list of addresses!  Argh!  I got caught up in some work, have had the adult son here with his cat for the week with them leaving in time for the college boy to return.  Next week may hold some promise for the time...