Book a Week in 2014 - BW22

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday, dear hearts!  Today is the start of week 22 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 - Virginia Woolf and the Art of Reading:  I love Virginia Woolf's essay on the art of reading  and come back to it time and again.  We've already covered #19 The Great Gatsby in SWB's WEM and since # 20 in her list of great fiction is Mrs. Dalloway, decided to reprise the essay once again. Also Brainpicking's has a wonderful article on how to read a book which also highlights Woolf's essay on  How to Read a Book which can be found in The Second Common Reader.  And don't forget to check out her preceding book - The Common Reader highlighting her essays on Defoe, Montaigne and Austen to name a few.  

 

At this late hour of the world's history books are to be found in every room of the house - in the nursery, in the drawing room, in the dining room, in the kitchen. And in some houses they have collected so that they have to be accommodated with a room of their own. Novels, poems, histories, memoirs, valuable books in leather, cheap books in paper - one stops sometimes before them and asks in a transient amazement what is the pleasure I get, or the good I create, from passing my eyes up and down these innumerable lines of print? Reading is a very complex art - the hastiest examination of our sensations as a reader will show us that much. And our duties as readers are many and various. But perhaps it may be said that our first duty to a book is that one should read it for the first time as if one were writing it.

One should begin by sitting in the dock with the criminal, not by mounting the bench to sit among the Judges. One should be an accomplice with the writer in his act, whether good or bad, of creation. For each of these books, however it may differ in kind and quality, is an attempt to make something. And our first duty as readers is to try and understand what the writer is making from the first word with which he builds his first sentence to the last with which he ends his book. We must not impose our design upon him; we must not try to make him conform his will to ours. We must allow Defoe to be Defoe and Jane Austen to be Jane Austen as freely as we allow the tiger to have his fur and the tortoise to have his shell. And this is very difficult. For it is one of the qualities of greatness that it brings Heaven and earth and human nature into conformity with its own vision.

Read the rest of the essay on the blog here

 

 

History of the Ancient World:  Chapters 17 and 18

 

What are you reading this week?

 

 

 

Link to week 21

 

[Robin M]

I'm currently reading Monuments Men and have to say I'm totally enjoying it.  Don't usually read any nonfiction related to war or politics but have to say the book is quite engaging and interesting.  

[Heather in Neverland]

I got Dengue Fever and I was so sick for two weeks that I couldn't even read (shocking, I know!). But I finally managed to finish one book and I am feeling better now so I am back at it!

 

Started reading:

Mere Christianity by CS Lewis

 

Still reading:

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

 

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)

27. The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman (WORST ENDING EVER)

28. Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor (SO-SO)

[Jane in NC]

I got Dengue Fever and I was so sick for two weeks that I couldn't even read (shocking, I know!). But I finally managed to finish one book and I am feeling better now so I am back at it!

 

 

Heather,

 

I cannot "like" your post because there is nothing to like about Dengue Fever!  Sending you good wishes for a complete recovery.

 

Jane

[Kareni]

In addition to reading new books during the day, I've continued my rereading at bedtime.  I finished the last of the Alpha and Omega series, Fair Game by Patricia Briggs, and have moved on to rereading some Kristen Ashley books. 

 

Mystery Man (Dream Man)

and

Law Man (Dream Man)

 

These last have definite adult content, so they are not for all readers.  I find them addictive reading.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Onceuponatime]

I'm still reading Girl Reading. I find it far heavier on the fictional side than the historical side, plus it tries to slip in some mysticism and it falls a little flat, IMO. Since I'm 3/4 of the way through, I will finish it.

[Kareni]

Due to Robin sending me to Brain Pickings to look at Woolf's article on how to read a book, I ended up browsing the site and found this intriguing piece ~

 

A Visual History of Typewriter Art from 1893 to Today by Maria Popova

 

I'm constantly amazed at the creativity people display.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Ali in OR]

I was just updating my "books read" list. Here's the two-week update (never found time to check in last week).

 

Loved loved loved All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr--WWII fiction about a blind French girl living with her uncle who is still shell-shocked from WWI and their efforts to help the resistance AND a young German boy with a talent for radios and all things tech. Beautifully written. This will go on my "favorites" list for 2014.

 

Read "Becoming Jane Eyre" which was one of the books I picked up at the library book sale. It was just okay. I liked learning more about Charlotte Bronte--this book is kind of a fictionalized biography. I wasn't crazy about the writing style/author's choices. But it did inspire me to start Jane Eyre with the girls. We finished To Kill a Mockingbird a couple of weeks ago and they loved that.

 

Just finished another Georgette Heyer last night--Cotillion. Enjoyable reading.

 

Up next: Neil Gaiman's Stardust finally came up from my library hold list. I also picked up a Jo Walton--can't remember the name, haven't started it yet.

 

Heather, praying you wil be completely better soon.

[Chocolate Rose]

I just finished a couple of good books due to recommendations from these threads. Code Name Verity was one that was very emotional, but very enjoyable. The day after it arrived and before I even had cracked it open, my dd called to say that she had just read a book that she really wanted me to read so that we could discuss it. It was Code Name Verity.  :001_smile:

The second book I just finished was The Martian by Andy Weir. LOVED this book and have been recommending it to everyone at work. And, coincidentally it is on my dd's "to be read" list as well. I was a little worried that I wouldn't like this one as I usually don't like a "journal" format, but I was totally fine with this one. The main character had a great sense of humor. Also, I was worried that there would be too much scientific jargon/explanations for me, but I actually enjoyed all the science background. Amazing. For me, this was one of those books I didn't want to put down as I wanted to know what was going to happen to this poor guy next and what he would do to solve the problem. 

Right now, I'm in the middle of a book that a co-worker gave me (his wife doesn't like having books around the house -  :eek: ). It's one I normally wouldn't have chosen to read, but I am enjoying it. Invisible Prey by John Sandford.

After this one, I'll have to choose from my several stacks of books on and around my night stand/bed that I've bought due to the recommendations here. Thank you!

[Jane in NC]

Jean Rhys created one of the more provocative examinations of racial identity that I have read in Wide Sargasso Sea.  The term "victim"  seems to apply to both Antoinette and Rochester in this pre-quel to Jane Eyre.  Known later to us as the mad woman Bertha, Antoinette is introduced to us as a Creole living in Jamaica's changing world after the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833.  Her father had been a cruel slave owner left impoverished after abolition.  He subsequently drank himself to death leaving a wife, daughter and mentally disabled son on a crumbling estate surrounded by the people whom he formerly abused.  The European whites view white Caribbeans (i.e. Creoles) as inferior while the black Jamaicans were not inclined to associate with former slave masters. The family's monetary problems are later solved when her mother remarries.  In fact, it is her step-father who leaves Antoinette half of his estate, assuring her future financial stability--if only life were that simple then.

 

Rochester (a name that does not enter the book although part of the story is told through his eyes) is a second son. Because of primogeniture, he must find his way in the world financially.  Behind the scenes machinations pair him with Antoinette--under the law of "feme covert" her property became her husband's.  Love or respect did not enter into the relationship; he performs the act of a dutiful son and marries the woman selected for him.  Later he learns that madness runs in the family, that his wife's father seems to have a bevy of mixed race children on several islands, children of his slaves who were then abandoned.

 

Rochester does not redeem himself--nor would we expect him to when we see the picture that Bronte created of him.  We might understand him a tad better through the speculations of Rhys.  We certainly see the complexity behind the mad woman in the attic. 

 

Rhys made this statement on colonial abuse in 1966.  It is not a particularly comfortable book to read but certainly worthwhile.  Should your high schooler who loves Jane Eyre attempt it?  Maybe--I would say that it might depend on your student's maturity and historical knowledge base.  The reactions to the patriarchal society which enslaved humans are raw.  Sensitive readers beware!

 

On the literary craft front...  A few weeks ago, the Sew Mama Sew website featured an Etsy embroidery pattern shop, Little Dorrit & Co., a shop name that I certainly like.  A free Alice's Garden embroidery pattern was featured as well.  In their shop are some fairy tale patterns which are delightful!

 

 

 

I also need to add that I finished week 21 being caught up on HoAW!

 

[Kareni]

 

The second book I just finished was The Martian by Andy Weir. LOVED this book and have been recommending it to everyone at work. And, coincidentally it is on my dd's "to be read" list as well. I was a little worried that I wouldn't like this one as I usually don't like a "journal" format, but I was totally fine with this one. The main character had a great sense of humor. Also, I was worried that there would be too much scientific jargon/explanations for me, but I actually enjoyed all the science background. Amazing. For me, this was one of those books I didn't want to put down as I wanted to know what was going to happen to this poor guy next and what he would do to solve the problem. 

 

I enjoyed The Martian very much also when I read it last month.  I kept thinking that it would make an excellent movie as it's Castaway meets Apollo 13. 

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

And another find on Brain Pickings (shame on you, Robin, for making me spend so much time there) for lovers of poetry and art:

 

Whitman Illuminated: “Song of Myself,†in Breathtaking Illustrations by Artist Allen Crawford by Maria Popova

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Just Robyn]

I finished The Read-Aloud Handbook and read Julius Caesar. I've started Life of Pi and am enjoying all the bits about animal behavior. I loved the defense of zoos at the beginning of the book.

 

I also started The Film Club by David Gilmour - a memoir about letting his son drop out of high school on the condition that they watch three movies together each week. It doesn't seem like enough to demand, but his thought was that it's pointless to let him stop doing one thing he hates just to make him do something else he hates just as much. That makes sense to me. At that age, it's easy to be so crowded by all the things you're forced to do that you don't have enough space to figure out what you want to do. I can't see myself not demanding some amount of reading, but still - I think I get why he did what he did. He's letting him deschool and crossing his fingers - a tough thing to do, and I hope I never feel like it's my only option because I'm way to anal for all that. I haven't read very much yet and don't know how it turned out for them.

[Chocolate Rose]

I enjoyed The Martian very much also when I read it last month.  I kept thinking that it would make an excellent movie as it's Castaway meets Apollo 13.

 

Regards,

Kareni

I thought the same thing about it making an excellent movie!! Hopefully the people who can make something like that happen realize it, too.

[Jane in NC]

And another find on Brain Pickings (shame on you, Robin, for making me spend so much time there) for lovers of poetry and art:

 

Whitman Illuminated: “Song of Myself,†in Breathtaking Illustrations by Artist Allen Crawford by Maria Popova

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Wow!!

[Mothersweets]

Do cookbooks count? 'cause I've read three of them this week (and I'm supposed to be dieting).

 

My Paris Kitchen: Recipes and Stories by David Lebovitz. I love his writing. I haven't tried any of his recipes yet (again, supposed to be dieting) but the croque-monsieur is calling to me. His other book - The Sweet Life in Paris - is a great read, too.

 

Keepers: Two Home Cooks Share Their Tried-and-True Weeknight Recipes and the Secrets to Happiness in the Kitchen - yum! and lots of good, basic kitchen advice.

 

The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman. I've tried two recipes so far and everyone has liked them!

 

noncookbook reads:

 

The Joy Luck Club- by Amy Tan. Yes, I am probably the last person on the planet to read this and I haven't seen the movie either. Sad but still a good read.

 

and I am in the middle of reading Madam, Will You Talk? by Mary Stewart. I read the great bio that Robin (not Stacia, sorry!) linked last week and found it very interesting (in light of the recent bullying thread)  that Ms. Stewart was bullied as a child at school. Iirc, she said it impacted her greatly and affected her to the present day. :(

 

 

 

[Violet Crown]

I've fallen into the trap of reading too many books simultaneously. In progress this week:

 

The Poetic Edda (halfway done)

Dmitri Merezhkovsky, The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci (very good, but alas left it at home accidentally)

François Mauriac, The Life of Christ (very good, but basically devotional reading - best done in chunks)

Robin Jenkins, The Cone-Gatherers (a good read, and must return to the library pretty soon)

Robert Louis Stevenson, The Merry Men and Other Stories (title story is more of a novelette, and gripping - sort of Stevenson-does-Poe - but the Scots dialogue is occasionally indecipherable)

 

I did finish 22. Henry James, Washington Square. A very nice little novel, and Catherine Sloper may now be one of my favorite James characters. Minor, but satisfying.

 

Books read so far in 2014:

22. Henry James, Washington Square

21. James Hogg, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner

20. John Stuart Mill, On Liberty

19. Thomas Mann, The Magic Mountain

18. Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ

...?

16. Colette, Music-Hall Sidelights

15. Colette, Gigi

14. Colette, Claudine at School

13. Byron, Don Juan

12. Aphra Behn, Oroonoko, Or The Royal Slave

...?

10. Richard Brautigan, A Confederate General from Big Sur

9. A.J. Symons, The Quest for Corvo

8. Austen, Mansfield Park

7. St Hildegard von Bingen, Scivias

6. Shakespeare, As You Like It

5. Maupassant, "Le Horla"

4. Irving, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories

3. Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables

2. Frederick Rolfe, Hadrian VII

1. Mann, Death in Venice & Other Stories

 

Somehow I've missed two books, and my numbers don't work. My complete list is at home. Darn.

[Mothersweets]

Still struggling with The Brothers Karamazov (page 300+ already)

So to compensate I read both Charlie books from Roald Dahl, deciding that reading Life of Fred (Trig) is more fun then Karamazov.

 

I started reading the Bleak House (Dickens) last night to have something enjoyable to read besides Karamazov...

 

Bleak House is a fabulous story! I've not really been a Dickens fan until now. I listen to a podcast -CraftLit and the host does some discussions before and after each chapter so it has made it  1) understandable to modern ears and 2) much more fun as a virtual read-a-long. This is the version we are listening to- Bleak House read by Mil Nicholson .

 

Roald Dahl is another favorite of mine. Gosh, you have good taste.  ;)

[Lady Florida.]

I missed last week's thread. We were in NC, then I was busy when we got back. I have been reading though.

 

Finished (I might have posted that I finished these, but I don't remember):

 

Tisha - a book club book. I really enjoyed this though the ending was a bit anticlimactic. It surprised me that there were more than a few non-prejudiced people in the 1920's (though most weren't so forward thinking). For all the sadness within, it was still a very uplifting book.

 

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie - Fun. I'm going to like this series.

 

How to Write a Nonfiction eBook in 21 Days - That Readers Love - Meh. This was a  Kindle Owner's Lending Library book and worth the "price".

 

Audio Book:

Gulliver's Travels - Although I knew this wasn't a children's book, the only version of the story I was familiar with is the 1960's children's version which mostly focuses on Lilliput. Wow. This is so not a children's book. I had no idea Swift was so...crude.  :lol:  I imagine it was quite scandalous when it was published. The humor and political satire is rather fun and I look forward to even more of that.

 

Currently reading (all on Kindle):

 

I'm coming into the home stretch on Les Miserables. We are supposed to finish June 1st and I'm about a week behind. I don't know if I'll finish on time, but I won't be far behind the deadline. I'm glad i stuck this one out. 

 

The God Virus, Darrel Ray - I know this isn't everyone's cuppa, but Mom-ninja based on your previous reads I think you'd like this one as much as I do.

 

A Game of Thrones (Book One) - The series, which I watch, is way ahead of this first book. So far, the producers of the show seem to have stayed fairly close to the book.

 

 

[Jane in NC]

A question for Violet Crown:  I have not read Colette since my 20s.  Did you find her an author whom one can revisit decades later or were you reading her for the first time?

[Murmer]

So I got a bunch of books finished this week (this is what happens when lots of books are being read at the same time...some weeks only 1 book gets finished but then along comes a week when everything gets finished).

 

Finished: Spiritual Stewardship by Richard Eyre

Gulliver Travels by Johnathan Swift - coming around to this one more when I went to do the WEM outline and realized that if I just focused on a couple chapters in each section for the real meaty parts and understand the rest is more the travelogue in order to get to the more important points I was better able to see the political satire and the way he built it up starting with just a little bit of stuff in Lilliput to the huge amount of commentary in the last couple of chapters. 

Han Cristian Anderson Fairy Tales

Dancing in the Low Country by James Villas AWFUL!!!!

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Doyle Conan Interesting and different from what I expected...this was my first experience with Sherlock Holmes and I found it interesting...it lost me a bit in the middle (right when CD 2 stopped and CD 3 started it started the story within the story and it really confused me) but once it went back to Sherlock it all made sense...I hope to get the next one from the library on Tuesday

Life Before Life by Richard Eyre

 

Working on:

Fiction:  Secrets of the Heart by JoAnn Jolley

Kindle: Spinning Forward by Terri DuLong

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

Phone: The Anvil of the World by Kage Baker

Computer: Empty Nest by Richard and Linda Eyre

Well Education Mind: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Angel Girl: Water Babies by Charles Kingsley 

Audiobook: Next Sherlock Holmes hopefully

 

Total Read for 2014: 70

[shukriyya]

Do cookbooks count? 'cause I've read three of them this week (and I'm supposed to be dieting).

 

 

That's actually a law, you know, called the law of inverse propportions...as the body takes in less food the mind takes in more food by reading about it...even stevens :lol:

 

I'm loving all the links to Maria Popova's site. She's got some wonderful offerings and I love to her visit her site for the visuals as well.

 

Heather, sending wishes for a speedy recovery. IIRC Dengue is often characterized by an excruciating headache that no pain meds can touch. No wonder you couldn't read.

 

This week it's been lots and lots of fairy tales. I downloaded some of the Lang color fairy books which are free on kindle. And I downloaded the complete Grimm's and the complete HCA as well as immersing myself in some lovely fairy tale illustrations. As a result I've been punting through the land of witches and princesses, spells and enchantments, talking lions, frogs that grant wishes, noble princes and winds that carry young girls to castles far away.

 

Amidst all that ephemera has been a glimpse into domestic court life in ancient Egypt. I finished The Sekhmet Bed which is the story of Hatshepsut's mother's childhood, marriage, motherhood and regency. I'm now in book two, The Crook and the Flail, which is an account of Hatshepsut's ascension to the throne, the only female Pharaoh in history.

 

I'm being fairly strict in relation to my 5/5/5 challenge and have mostly averted my eyes from the various and enticing links y'all have posted with the exception of one mumto2 posted which happened to be a kindle daily deal. I've read 27 books to date. For my 5/5/5...I'm 2/5 with ancient history from women's perspective, 3/5 for midwifery fiction, 1/5 for magical realism, 1/5 with fairy tales and I haven't decided what the last category will be yet though I have several in mind, one of which might be Mary Stewart as she passed so recently and I've read several of hers already with a few more brand new ones in my tbr pile.

[Violet Crown]

A question for Violet Crown:  I have not read Colette since my 20s.  Did you find her an author whom one can revisit decades later or were you reading her for the first time?

Those were my first dip into Colette. I'm disappointingly un-well-read. I do think I would have appreciated her more in my younger years. Much of the interest in Claudine at School for me was seeing how the French education system worked a century ago.

[Jane in NC]

Those were my first dip into Colette. I'm disappointingly un-well-read. I do think I would have appreciated her more in my younger years. Much of the interest in Claudine at School for me was seeing how the French education system worked a century ago.

 

Interesting.  At one point, my younger self adored Colette.  Envision Midwestern college girl reading Colette during winter blizzards..

 

ETA:  You, my dear, are anything but "un-well-read"!

[mumto2]

Do cookbooks count? 'cause I've read three of them this week (and I'm supposed to be dieting).

 

My Paris Kitchen: Recipes and Stories by David Lebovitz. I love his writing. I haven't tried any of his recipes yet (again, supposed to be dieting) but the croque-monsieur is calling to me. His other book - The Sweet Life in Paris - is a great read, too.

 

Keepers: Two Home Cooks Share Their Tried-and-True Weeknight Recipes and the Secrets to Happiness in the Kitchen - yum! and lots of good, basic kitchen advice.

 

The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman. I've tried two recipes so far and everyone has liked them!

 

noncookbook reads:

 

The Joy Luck Club- by Amy Tan. Yes, I am probably the last person on the planet to read this and I haven't seen the movie either. Sad but still a good read.

 

and I am in the middle of reading Madam, Will You Talk? by Mary Stewart. I read the great bio that Robin (not Stacia, sorry!) linked last week and found it very interesting (in light of the recent bullying thread)  that Ms. Stewart was bullied as a child at school. Iirc, she said it impacted her greatly and affected her to the present day. :(

You aren't the last one on the planet because I haven't read or seen! ;)

 

Jane, Thank you for the detailed review.  I think she is probably mature enough and she has expressed a resize to read it because it arrived here last week.  Because it had the classic look she immediately thought it was hers and was highly disappointed and a bit incredulous when I told her that Jane needed to finish it first before a mom potential decision happened! :lol: She doesn't even know the Jane Erye connection!

 

I am still behind on HotAW and somewhat stalled on Monuments Men.  Plan to catch up this week.

 

I finished a couple of books that I haven't posted about so....

 

Ru by Kim Thúy which was a Floridamom recommendation.  Really fascinating.  Very worthwhile read.  It also did great things for my geography challenge!

 

To Shield a Queen by Fiona Buckley on my kindle. This is a 16th century cosy type mystery series set in the midst of Elisabeth's court.  Lots of intrigue and a flowing read.  I will be reading more.  The SJ Parrish thrillers are meatier but this was also enjoyable.

 

I haven't picked a new paper book yet but have refilled my night stand.  I was actually close to empty - only 4 books!  I started the next Chicagoland Vampire series book on my kindle.

[Jane in NC]

Jane, Thank you for the detailed review.  I think she is probably mature enough and she has expressed a resize to read it because it arrived here last week.  Because it had the classic look she immediately thought it was hers and was highly disappointed and a bit incredulous when I told her that Jane needed to finish it first before a mom potential decision happened! :lol: She doesn't even know the Jane Erye connection!

 

 

Autocorrect giggle moment!  The resize is probably needed by older eyes! ;)

 

[JennW in SoCal]

Gah!  Too many posts to read, links to click and PMs to answer!!  I'll come back and catch up with y'all when I've got more time!

 

I've got an hour before we leave the house and am soooo close to finishing my chunky fantasy tome, The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson.  It's a fun read, very typical Sanderson with an amazing world filled with simplistic characters who move along a fairly interesting plot.   

 

By the way, are any of you other BaW ladies heading to the movies this weekend to see X-Men?  Days of Future Past is actually a story arc I read in comic book form many years ago!!  (I'm such a nerd....)

 

Back to my book..

[NoseInABook]

Heather, that is awful. I hope you make a full recovery soon.

 

Funny, I downloaded the fairy books to read with my kids over the summer. We started Matilda last night so we're doing some Roald Dahl too!

 

I finished Amanda Blake Soule's The Rhythm Of The Family instead of cleaning my house. I had grand plans to declutter, clean, and put my school room back to beginning of the year status. Haha. Nope. The coffee wasn't kicking in for me so I read while my husband did a ton of yardwork. I should feel guilty buuut, I don't. However, part of me wants to learn how to knit after checking out the cool cowls in the book.

 

Hope to finish Down The Darkest Road tonight. It's an easy, fast read so it should be doable.

[Violet Crown]

Envision Midwestern college girl reading Colette during winter blizzards.

 

:) I read Colette in matronly maturity, while in the Chihuahuan Desert. I wonder how different our subjective experiences were.

 

Heather, I "liked" your post because (1) you're better! (2) you're getting lots read! and (3) having had dengue fever is a lot awesomer sounding than having had a stomach bug. I do hope you're much better.

[Jane in NC]

:) I read Colette in matronly maturity, while in the Chihuahuan Desert. I wonder how different our subjective experiences were.

 

Heather, I "liked" your post because (1) you're better! (2) you're getting lots read! and (3) having had dengue fever is a lot awesomer sounding than having had a stomach bug. I do hope you're much better.

 

Is there a Parisian state of mind that washes over various geographies?

 

[Kareni]

Gulliver's Travels - Although I knew this wasn't a children's book, the only version of the story I was familiar with is the 1960's children's version which mostly focuses on Lilliput. Wow. This is so not a children's book. I had no idea Swift was so...crude.  :lol:  I imagine it was quite scandalous when it was published. The humor and political satire is rather fun and I look forward to even more of that.

 

For another satiric (shorter) piece by Swift consider "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift. See here for more information.

 

By the way, are any of you other BaW ladies heading to the movies this weekend to see X-Men?  Days of Future Past is actually a story arc I read in comic book form many years ago!!  (I'm such a nerd....)

 

I'm not much of a movie viewer (though my daughter just saw the movie in South Korea and my husband will doubtless see it in due course), but I thought I'd let you know you weren't alone in reading the orginal X-men comics.  I read them too in college and grad school due to a fantasy loving cadre of friends (all Physics majors who befriended a romance loving Chemistry major).

 

 

...  more of a Nancy Drew, Cherry Ames, and Trixie Beldon fan myself.

 

 

That's what I love about this list. IRL, only one other person I know has heard of Cherry Ames. One! I loved the first 3 books of that series when I was 11-12. 

 

Here's another one who read Cherry Ames all those years ago ....

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

 

 

[Onceuponatime]

I finished Girl Reading. The last story helped justify the rest of the book for me. It was a science fiction type look into the future divide of technology and reality, with the appearance of a technological innovation that created itself and is able to look back on the 6 pictures of girls reading and take participants into their stories in individual ways.  Still, the book had no quotation marks for dialogue and multiple fragmented sentences, which irritated me.

 

 

I am back to Joseph Campbell, who is now discussing the Muslim influence on Dante.

 

 

I never read Cherry Ames, but I read lots of Nancy Drew. Trixie Belden was my favorite, but harder to find. She was more down to earth than Nancy. In the 70's, it was far easier to relate to a bike riding teenager than one who got a new car every other book.

 

 

[Robin M]

I got Dengue Fever and I was so sick for two weeks that I couldn't even read (shocking, I know!). But I finally managed to finish one book and I am feeling better now so I am back at it!

 

 

Oh dear, so glad you are on the mend.

 

Quote system is being very finicky so doing it my way:

 

Chocolate Rose:  Right now, I'm in the middle of a book that a co-worker gave me (his wife doesn't like having books around the house -  :eek: ). It's one I normally wouldn't have chosen to read, but I am enjoying it. Invisible Prey by John Sandford.

 

Can't imagine not liking books around the house. They are my main source of decoration. :laugh:   I've read a couple of the Prey books in Sandford's series and very intense, but good.  Currently have Buried Prey on the shelves.

 

 

Kareni:  And another find on Brain Pickings (shame on you, Robin, for making me spend so much time there) for lovers of poetry and art:

 

Love that site, so addicting, just have to drag you all along with you.

 

And speaking of which:

 

Umberto Eco on Greatest Maps of Imaginary Places.  Have added the book to my want list.

[Onceuponatime]

 

And speaking of which:

 

Umberto Eco on Greatest Maps of Imaginary Places.  Have added the book to my want list.

 

Oh my. :drool5:

[shukriyya]

Is there a Parisian state of mind that washes over various geographies?

 

 

Bien sur, cherie...

 

 

 

 

 

[Mothersweets]

I have to admit I read Dickens in Dutch :blushing: We bought several titles as cheap 1 euro pocket editions at a thrift shop.

The fun part is, it has the original prents (pictures) I LOVE that.

 

I read Dahl in English, but needed something fun and light as contrast to the monologues and descriptions of Karamazov.

DH keeps telling me: 'it will become fascinating'...

It did when I read 'Fathers and Sons', so I'm still hoping....

 

But I will bookmark your links, I can Imagine I will reread Dickens in English some day...

 

No no no! You have no reason to be using the embarrassed smiley. I bow to your bilingual awesomeness! :thumbup:

[shukriyya]

2 literature:

 

The Garden of the Finzi-Continis by Giorgio Bassani:  This was a little like an Italian Jewish Brideshead Revisited... elegiac, complex, with an element of detachment, and more than a smidgen of mixed feelings from the narrator.

 

 

I remember seeing this as a movie in the 80s?/90s? and *loving* it.

 

May all be easeful for the mama-to-be and her babe.

[Mom-ninja.]

 

 

Audio Book:

Gulliver's Travels - Although I knew this wasn't a children's book, the only version of the story I was familiar with is the 1960's children's version which mostly focuses on Lilliput. Wow. This is so not a children's book. I had no idea Swift was so...crude.  :lol:  I imagine it was quite scandalous when it was published. The humor and political satire is rather fun and I look forward to even more of that.

 

Currently reading (all on Kindle):

 

 

 

The God Virus, Darrel Ray - I know this isn't everyone's cuppa, but Mom-ninja based on your previous reads I think you'd like this one as much as I do.

 

 

My first exposure to Swift was in college and my little naive self was shocked.

 

 

I have that book on my tbr list. Will get to it some time.

[Mom-ninja.]

 

 

I'm caught up (at last!) on History of the Ancient World... and I'm waiting patiently (b'shaah tovah, may it be in a good time) for my grandbaby... who is due any minute now!   The intersection of counting to Shavuous (the holiday that commemorates the giving of the Torah) with awaiting this little one has been an interesting one for me this year - the awe and wonder, the desire to focus inward on spiritual growth... the strong emotions around transmission from generation to generation...

 

Already?! How in the world did her pg go by so fast?

[Kareni]

Okay, okay ~ one last Brain Pickings post for shukriyya and other lovers of illustrated fairy tales.

 

How Hans Christian Andersen Revolutionized Storytelling, Plus the Best Illustrations from 150 Years of His Beloved Fairy Tales by Maria Popova

 

Regards,

Kareni

[NoseInABook]

I loved Trixie Belden as a kid. We named one of our dogs Honey after Honey Wheeler.

 

Finished Down The Darkest Road. Now I'm going to crack open Aunt Dimity's Death! 

[shukriyya]

Okay, okay ~ one last Brain Pickings post for shukriyya and other lovers of illustrated fairy tales.

 

How Hans Christian Andersen Revolutionized Storytelling, Plus the Best Illustrations from 150 Years of His Beloved Fairy Tales by Maria Popova

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Oh, so beautifully captured, the expression on the tin soldier's face...a mixture of love and sacrifice...the ballerina's longing...sniff

 

 

 

And this piece of underwater ephemera is the perfect send off to the land of dreams...

 

 

 

[Violet Crown]

Bien sur, cherie...

 

 

Cette demoiselle-là would not fare well in either a midwestern blizzard nor a southwestern desert.

[shukriyya]

Cette demoiselle-là would not fare well in either a midwestern blizzard nor a southwestern desert.

 

Ah oui, mon amie, c'est tout a fait probable, mais en fait states of mind generally remain untouched by geographical conditions so our Jane in NC could easily find herself wandering le boulevard Montparnasse of her heart all the while sweltering at home on her porch with a tall glass of iced tea...

 

 

 

[Heather in Neverland]

 

Heather, sending wishes for a speedy recovery. IIRC Dengue is often characterized by an excruciating headache that no pain meds can touch. No wonder you couldn't read.

 

 

That's only sort of true. It was more like every inch of me hurt and no pain meds could touch it. Even my eyelashes hurt. They call it "break-bone" disease here because that's what it feels like...all your bones are broken. It was brutal. We are having an epidemic of Dengue in this area right now. :( 

[mumto2]

That's only sort of true. It was more like every inch of me hurt and no pain meds could touch it. Even my eyelashes hurt. They call it "break-bone" disease here because that's what it feels like...all your bones are broken. It was brutal. We are having an epidemic of Dengue in this area right now. :(

:grouphug:  Glad you are on the mend.

[Onceuponatime]

That's only sort of true. It was more like every inch of me hurt and no pain meds could touch it. Even my eyelashes hurt. They call it "break-bone" disease here because that's what it feels like...all your bones are broken. It was brutal. We are having an epidemic of Dengue in this area right now. :(

 That's awful! Do you develop immunity?

[Jane in NC]

 

Ah oui, mon amie, c'est tout a fait probable, mais en fait states of mind generally remain untouched by geographical conditions so our Jane in NC could easily find herself wandering le boulevard Montparnasse of her heart all the while sweltering at home on her porch with a tall glass of iced tea...

 

 

 

 

Shukriyya understands me well! 

 

Last night as I considered what to read next, it was clear that I had to go to Eastern Europe with a stop first in Paris.  Alan Furst will take me on this journey in Kingdom of Shadows.

 

The illustrations in the link Kareni last provided are amazing!  I particularly loved this Japanese one:

 

 

[Heather in Neverland]

That's awful! Do you develop immunity?

There are 4 types of dengue fever. You develop an immunity only to the type you were infected with but not the other 3. Also, if you get one of the other 3 then it is likely your symptoms will be more severe. The Mosquitos are out of control around here!

[mumto2]

There are 4 types of dengue fever. You develop an immunity only to the type you were infected with but not the other 3. Also, if you get one of the other 3 then it is likely your symptoms will be more severe. The Mosquitos are out of control around here!

I liked your post, then realized what I had liked.  Consider it to be a sympathetic yuk!  Four separate types,  wow!