Book a Week in 2014 - BW22

[Lady Florida.]

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. :(

 

 

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!

 

Oh Heather!  :(

 

I hope you stay well, and that the mosquito situation doesn't last.

[JennW in SoCal]

Loving all the links.  My Grimms Fairy Tale connection this summer is going to be a musical one as I'm playing in the pit orchestra for a production of Into The Woods.

 

 

Jean Rhys created one of the more provocative examinations of racial identity that I have read in Wide Sargasso Sea.  

 

 

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!

 

I'm adding Wide Sargasso Sea to my wish list.  It's a title that has been stuck in my mind for years and I had no idea what it was, and for years I didn't even know what the actual Sargasso Sea was (being a west coast gal who grew up in the land-locked desert).   LOVE the embroidery patterns.  Haven't done embroidery in 30 years, but these are mighty tempting!  

 

 

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).

 

Yes!  I started reading X-men comics while dating my dh.  He picked X-men because it had the most soap-opera like story line, lol!  He would give me his comics in their nice little plastic sleeves and I had instructions on how to handle the books since they were part of his collection and he wanted them to stay pristine.  Of course now that he's been in the biz for almost 30 years, he couldn't care less how the books are handled!!

 

It's a good movie, btw -- a good summer-blockbuster, popcorn munching kind of movie.

 

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

 

I'm going to drop some big, obvious hints to my family that I want this.  That it would be the perfect birthday gift for their favorite mother.

 

 

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...

 

Your dd has a trove of BaW aunties waiting for this baby, too.  What a special time, Eliana.

 

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. :(

 

Good heavens, Heather!  How absolutely awful. I'm very glad you are on the mend!  I don't suppose this is any consolation, but it sounds so exotic that you have a great cocktail party conversation "back when I had Dengue Fever in Indonesia....."   I hope your kids have avoided it so far.

[shukriyya]

 

I'm adding Wide Sargasso Sea to my wish list.  It's a title that has been stuck in my mind for years and I had no idea what it was, and for years I didn't even know what the actual Sargasso Sea was (being a west coast gal who grew up in the land-locked desert).   LOVE the embroidery patterns.  Haven't done embroidery in 30 years, but these are mighty tempting!  

 

This is my experience as well. It first bubbled up on my horizon in my teens and something about the title with its intimations of spaciousness and sway, water and earth lodged itself somewhere in my psyche. However despite that poetry I never read it. From Jane's description I'm not sure it's a realm I want to venture into but I imagine its evocative title will continue to float up occasionally to inform my musings. Funny how one can develop a relationship with the title of a book and never read it. I'm sure there are more like that in a grouping of their own.

[Kareni]

Loving all the links.  My Grimms Fairy Tale connection this summer is going to be a musical one as I'm playing in the pit orchestra for a production of Into The Woods.

 

My husband and I attended a local performance of Into the Woods a couple of weeks ago.  What a fun production and what catchy music and lyrics.  Enjoy!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[JennW in SoCal]

My husband and I attended a local performance of Into the Woods a couple of weeks ago.  What a fun production and what catchy music and lyrics.  Enjoy!

 

 

The pit music isn't catchy, unfortunately.  Rogers and Hammerstein is fun to play, for instance, but this is another beast entirely. The singers have all the good stuff supported by an orchestral scaffolding of rhythmically repetitious chords.  It would be boring if it weren't for the sheer terror of keeping up with all the key and meter changes.  But I do love the show!

[Kareni]

The pit music isn't catchy, unfortunately. 

 

Well, drats!

 

The singers have all the good stuff supported by an orchestral scaffolding of rhythmically repetitious chords.  It would be boring if it weren't for the sheer terror of keeping up with all the key and meter changes. 

 

Reptetition and terror ... that sounds like life in a nutshell.

 

 

But I do love the show!

 

Yay!  Will your family get to attend a performance?

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[Kareni]

Yesterday I read Jaded by Anne Calhoun.  It's the second romance in a series though it stands alone well.  I enjoyed it, but be warned that it does contain adult content. 

 

"After life as a cop in Denver leaves him burned-out, Lucas Ridgeway returns to Walkers Ford, South Dakota, to serve as their chief of police. He’s hoping to start over with a clean slate and avoid any emotional entanglements—even after his next-door neighbor kisses him senseless. Alana is passionate, dedicated, and most importantly leaving town soon. So why not have some fun?

Alana Wentworth comes from a larger-than-life political family, yet all she wanted was to be a librarian. Then after an embarrassing marriage proposal from Mr. Not-For-Her, she jumps at the chance to live her dream for a few months. She wasn't supposed to get involved with the community—or sexy, troubled Lucas. But when the time comes for Alana to put Walkers Ford behind her, she’s not ready. And Lucas may not be ready for her to go…"

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Onceuponatime]

Literary Embroidery? Me!  Here are two pictures I did a couple of years ago, redwork (burgundy red) on mustard linen. You might recognize the subject of the first.  It is Van Gogh (picture taken before framing), the second is Alexandre Charpentier. They are both framed the same way and hang in my diningroom/library.

 

 

 

 

[Jane in NC]

Onceuponatime--your work is exquisite and inspirational!  Thank you for sharing this.

[mumto2]

Beautiful embroidery Onceuponatime!  

[Guest]

Onceuponatime - beautiful work!

 

JennW - enjoy your summer - we love Into the Woods here. What a fun experience!

 

Heather - so glad to hear that you are feeling better, that sounds absolutely awful. :(

 

I didn't let myself post this week until I got caught up on HotAW, which I now am. I am thinking this is about the time I put the book aside last time I tried to read it. :D  Glad we are going through it together at a nice slow pace...I think it will get a little more interesting to me here soon.

 

I am reading Winter's Tale. I am about 160 pages in. So far, it's okay. Some pages I'm really feeling it, and some pages I'm not. It's really bothering me that some people's whole names are used and some aren't. Why is Peter Lake always Peter Lake and not just Peter? Beverly is always just Beverly. I'm hoping that will make more sense to me as I read on.

 

I might be cheating when it comes to The Monument's Men - I still haven't re started it, and we rented the movie to watch tonight.

 

This is our first week of summer break - I'm hoping to get a nice amount of reading done this summer.

[mumto2]

Phoenix-- I have been very good up until now and not looked up Winter's Tale.  I am trying really hard to slow the flow of books into the house until several are read!  Well I just looked and discovered in the UK the title is A New York Winter's Tale which set off a connection. Yep already in the pile thanks to the rather oddly erratic search engines at one of my libraries.  I typed in tale as part of another title a few weeks ago and got 3 fabulous sounding books, not what I wanted but they looked so good I requested all of them.  This was one of them and the first to arrive.  The original appeared with author...so now I have to read it.  ;)

[Robin M]

Finished reading Monuments Men and thoroughly enjoyed it, learned much and had fun discussing it with hubby. Now to watch the movie. 

[Robin M]

I didn't let myself post this week until I got caught up on HotAW, which I now am. I am thinking this is about the time I put the book aside last time I tried to read it. :D  Glad we are going through it together at a nice slow pace...I think it will get a little more interesting to me here soon.

 

I am reading Winter's Tale. I am about 160 pages in. So far, it's okay. Some pages I'm really feeling it, and some pages I'm not. It's really bothering me that some people's whole names are used and some aren't. Why is Peter Lake always Peter Lake and not just Peter? Beverly is always just Beverly. I'm hoping that will make more sense to me as I read on.

 

I might be cheating when it comes to The Monument's Men - I still haven't re started it, and we rented the movie to watch tonight.

 

This is our first week of summer break - I'm hoping to get a nice amount of reading done this summer.

To me HOTAW is interesting in bits and pieces. There are nuggets mixed in that grab my attention and stay with me, while other stuff, I scratch my head wondering. 

 

Winter's Tale - After a bit of time, the name thing will blend and hopefully won't bother you so much as you get into the story. 

 

Enjoy the movie - debating on whether we are going to watch tonight since we just watch Gravity a couple nights ago.  Too many movies in a row just makes me nervous and can't enjoy. 

 

This is our last week of lessons for 8th grade - yahoo!  I've already started researching for 9th when I really should be letting it all go for two, three weeks. We've reached the high school years and yep, we're still at it, much to my husband's chagrin. "One year at a time, honey." That's how we gotten this far.  :lol:

[shukriyya]

Am I the only one here who finds watching a movie in the theater too overwhelming? The noise level, the trailers, the whisperers, the cloying smell of popcorn that you know isn't "buttery", the massive screen with all those impressions coming at you in full technicolor with stereophonic sound...no can do. I used to go happily in my younger days not so long ago but I think it's been 7 or 8 years since I've been to the actual movies.

[Robin M]

Am I the only one here who finds watching a movie in the theater too overwhelming? The noise level, the trailers, the whisperers, the cloying smell of popcorn that you know isn't "buttery", the massive screen with all those impressions coming at you in full technicolor with stereophonic sound...no can do. I used to go happily in my younger days not so long ago but I think it's been 7 or 8 years since I've been to the actual movies.

I'm right there with you and my son, being an aspie with sensory issues, can't handle it at all.  We happily wait until movies come out on dvd or watch them through ondemand.  Especially now that I've gotten so used to using closed captioning with all our shows.

[Mom-ninja.]

Yep, can't handle theaters. I wait until the movie is on Netflix.

[NoseInABook]

Heather, I am cringing for you. That sounds horrendous.

 

Jenn, what instrument do you play? I love Into The Woods so I'm all giddy over here for you.

 

Onceuponatime, those are beautiful. Definitely my style. ;) 

 

I haven't picked up a book to read once today. It feels so bizarre but I spent the entire day decluttering and deep cleaning my house. I dug the school room out from last year's work and tucked it away because the kids unanimously wanted to keep it to look back on later. My husband had the kids outside for most of the day and dug out my strawberry patch then planted. My mother in law came in the afternoon to go perennial flower shopping with me so I could fill in my front garden again as plenty of the plants didn't make it through this particularly bitter winter. I also filled in a little garden on the side of my garage while my mother in law planted a few ground plants along the other side of my house. It feels like we're planting ALL the things this year because we did a veggie garden last weekend. I'm going to have to curl up in bed with one soon because a day without reading at least a chapter of a book is just too terrible to imagine. :p

[Shawneinfl]

Just finished The Martian. Thanks to whoever recommended it to me last month. It started out slow but by the end it had me on the edge of my seat. I could really see this one as a movie.

 

Heather - I can't even imagine Dengue fever. Prayers that you are back to full health soon.

[mumto2]

We don't go to theatre's for movies often.  We saw the last Harry Potter opening day which was our last movie out.  Much of that is because Dh falls asleep and it seems pointless to pay more than the cost of the DVD and still need to buy him the DVD later. :lol:  He sleeps through rentals too,  we always just buy so he can watch and watch ..........which is why I am on here complaining occasionally.  I end up watching a movie many times frequently so Dh can find out what happens!

 

Not sure how Instruments of Darkness found its way into my stack but it is a suspense series book set in the 1780's in Surrey.  It took me awhile to really start enjoying it because it switches between two locations in 1780's and Revolutionary War Boston.  After I had the characters sorted I started liking it.  The team of sleuths was different Harriet, who is the wife of a sea captain and resides on his Surrey estate, and Crowther, a mysterious anatomist  who is obviously gentry.  

 

Edited:  another interesting correctional by my spell check :lol:

 

 

 

[Kim in Appalachia]

Elianna, Thanks for your review of Walton's book.  I looked at it, but I was unsure about wanting to read it.  Now I'll have to get a hold of it. :)

 

Laura, I haven't read Joy Luck Club either, or seen the movie.  I have read The Kitchen God's Wife, which I enjoyed.  

 

 

 

I finished Ken Follett's Winter of the Worlds.  It was ok.  I enjoy the history, but I wish he didn't oversimplify it.  The characters are 2 dimentional, but still when the 3rd book comes out I will get on the wait list at the library to read it. :)  It's like a soap opera, and I can't seem to get the characters' story lines out of my head.  

 

The Dog Stars, by Peter Heller, just came available to me from my library.  I also bought Natchez Burning, by Greg Iles.  I haven't read him before, and I don't normally buy books like that, but it looked like a good mystery/thriller and I was in the mood.  

 

Last Friday, I was supposed to go for a 6 mile run then go out for the day.  A thunderstorm prevented me from running, so I spent 30 minutes on the computer looking at books. :D  I put at least 8 books on hold at the library and bought 1 book.  That's what happens when I can't get out to run. 

 

 

[shukriyya]

I'm sitting in the car waiting for the library to open. It's a beautiful sunny day here. A thermos of coffee sits by my side, chocolate has been consumed already setting me nicely on my path for the rest of the morning :D

 

I'm continuing with my read of Hatshepsut's contentious ascension to the throne. We've just experienced a rather graphic and violent demonstration of her 'manhood' by her own hand in front of various priests and nobles at the temple of Amun. She's making her case for Pharaoh-ship and it isn't going smoothly despite the earlier dedication when she was a young girl. My ds who's rather keen on the Egyptians informed me that she was very good with trade and not so good with battles. We'll see how she fares.

[Mom-ninja.]

I'm becoming intrigued as you continue talking about Hatsheput. What book is it again?

[shukriyya]

I'm becoming intrigued as you continue talking about Hatsheput. What book is it again?

 

It's the second in a four-book series with the rather jarring and ungainly title, 'She-King'. The book I'm reading is called The Crook and the Flail. The first book was called The Sekhmet Bed. They're by L.M. Ironside.

[shukriyya]

We don't go to theatre's for movies often.  We saw the last Harry Potter opening day which was our last movie out.  Much of that is because Dh falls asleep and it seems pointless to pay more than the cost of the DVD and still need to buy him the DVD later. :lol:  He sleeps through rentals too,  we always just buy so he can watch and watch ..........which is why I am on here complaining occasionally.  I end up watching a movie many times frequently so Dh can find out what happens!

 

 

Complaining is not an adjective I'd use to describe you, mumto2. :D

 

I'm like your dh and tend to doze off if the conditions are fatigue and a slow movie. The other night dh and I watched a very peculiar film called, 'Dean Spanley'. I'd had a glass and a half of wine and even though it was early dh and I were snuggled in bed watching the movie as ds was at an overnight camp-out. The wine, the coziness of being tucked into bed with my beloved and the slow pace of the movie all worked to drift me off to a gentle 'doze'. When I came to it didn't seem to matter that I'd missed a chunk of the movie. I won't even begin to describe the bizarre and compelling plot but Peter O'Toole was magnificent. And the movie was touching in the midst of such oddity.

[shukriyya]

Though I said I wouldn't peruse anything more until I was well into my 5/5/5 this one caught my eye yesterday...The Fourteen Sisters of Emilio Montez O'Brien by Oscar Hijuelos. It came up as a kindle daily deal and I downloaded the sample and enjoyed it but the 500 page length put me off. However it remained in my psyche and today is still a daily deal so onto the kindle it went. Not sure when I'll read it but it looks to be influenced by GGM in tone and subject somewhat. Stacia, perhaps you'd like this one?

[Robin M]

Eaglei has another update on her son #437 and news continues to be good.

 

I'm currently into 16th century read - Grania, She King of the Irish Seas.  Interesting and full of history for that era.   Also slowly making my way through Toward God: The Ancient Wisdom of Western Prayer by Michael Casey. Especially since have read the first chapter 2 times now, not quite ready to move on because giving so much to think about.   Especially the concept that discontent is a good thing and the driving force that keeps us moving forward.

 

 

[Lady Florida.]

When dh and I were dating (early 90's) our standing Friday night date was dinner and a movie. After ds was born we stopped going out much at all. When ds was little he wasn't able to sit still or quietly through even a movie he liked, so we didn't take him. We also didn't do a lot of babysitters (we didn't know about his ADHD yet, we only knew we had a hard time keeping a sitter), so we didn't go on movie dates either. After a while it just became normal for us to wait for a movie to come out on video. These days we occasionally will go see one we think will be better on the big screen, or when we just feel like going out. There isn't much to do around here and we aren't bar/club people, so if we go out it's to a movie. For the most part though, we're happy to watch movies at home.

 

Ds is 16 (17 in a few months) and is at an age where going to a movie with a group of friends is a fun outing for him. He sees more movies at the theater in a year that dh and I do.

[mumto2]

Complaining is not an adjective I'd use to describe you, mumto2. :D

 

I'm like your dh and tend to doze off if the conditions are fatigue and a slow movie. The other night dh and I watched a very peculiar film called, 'Dean Spanley'. I'd had a glass and a half of wine and even though it was early dh and I were snuggled in bed watching the movie as ds was at an overnight camp-out. The wine, the coziness of being tucked into bed with my beloved and the slow pace of the movie all worked to drift me off to a gentle 'doze'. When I came to it didn't seem to matter that I'd missed a chunk of the movie. I won't even begin to describe the bizarre and compelling plot but Peter O'Toole was magnificent. And the movie was touching in the midst of such oddity.

Dh is still trying to manage to watch all the Harry Potter's because he is a sweetheart and takes us to the studio tour at least once a year http://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/en/tour/tv-advert which is pretty boring if you don't "get" things like the Night Bus, Dumbledore's office,..........I think it took at least 20 attempts for me to get him through the Sorcerers Stone.  We cuddle up with me on the computer or crafting and try to keep him awake through the next bit.  I can't let myself sleep because I have rather odd dreams when I sleep with the tv on and the second I turn it off Dh wakes. :lol:  So if I am feeling nice I occupy myself and try to enjoy the film.

 

I am really enjoying quilting my Japanese Bag.  I don't know if I will ever finish knitting that baby sweater but the bag is fun.  Sort of exciting because I have no idea how the colours will come together.  Each hexagon is so much fun to study when I am done.  The fabric I am using has very rich tones with a Japanese print and some metallic gold going through it.  Very not my normal.  Now that sweater has been done for at least three other babies in the same exact yarn.  Not exactly exciting.  Anyway a Harry Potter fest with Dh is fine. I can get a few more hexagons done!

[6packofun]

Just finished The Martian. Thanks to whoever recommended it to me last month. It started out slow but by the end it had me on the edge of my seat. I could really see this one as a movie.

 

Oooh, I'm anxiously awaiting this one to be available at my library! 

 

I finished Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer, 1st in the Southern Reach trilogy.  I wanted to like it so badly from the jacket blurb, and I ignored the review that said it's part Kubrick, part Lovecraft.  *sigh*  It was just too surreal and odd for me.  Or, maybe more accurately, it wasn't surreal done WELL. The writing just was not superb as it alternated between banal description and weirdness.  Alas.  lol  It seems as if writers who want to go for surreality must be very careful that the hallucinatory-feeling bits actually do not contradict one another at every turn.  Not sure I can explain it, but I think it needed more editing.

 

Now I'm onto a nice chick lit selection, The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty.  LOL

[Jane in NC]

There were a couple of articles in the Guardian that intrigued me.  Apparently the English literature GSCE is dumping some American classics.  I found the discussion to be rather fascinating and reminiscent of what we hear on this side of the pond when a school curriculum drops Shakespeare or Dickens for someone more contemporary. 

 

If you are interested in reading about why To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men and The Crucible are being dropped for a more British-centric curriculum, there is an article here.

 

There is also a proposed list of ten American writers that British students should read.  Do I fear that many American students graduate high school without having read more than one or two on the list? (Confession:  I have read the poetry of William Carlos Williams but am completely unfamiliar with In the American Grain.)

[Violet Crown]

Pinterest is giving me ideas - love this

The room (deck?) with the swing is beautiful ... but wouldn't it take out those windows on the backswing? My girls would definitely be finding out.

 

Finished #23, or maybe 22 or even 21 ... Robin Jenkins, The Cone-Gatherers, which was really excellent. Supposedly it's the most important post-war Scottish novel. Similar to Of Mice and Men, but with apologies to Steinbeck, much better. A quiet exploration of good and evil, the erosion of British class-based society, and human brotherhood against the backdrop of the distant war. Heartily recommended.

 

The librarian was surprised I'd never heard of it, but pleased I was following it up with Rob Roy, and plans to extend my national literary education with some Buchan novels when I bring back the Scott. Oh and I learned that Buchan is not BYOO-can but BUKH-an, with that soft "ch" as in "loch." Middle Girl pleased the librarian by having already read Buchan's The Thirty-Nine Steps, and even more by reading Conan Doyle's lesser-known "Brigadier Gerard" stories. Apparently Churchill was a big fan of Gerard.

[Onceuponatime]

I am currently pausing  in my perusal of Creative Mythology, after reading some of the disturbing aspects of religious history. Right now, I am indulging in  more of Elizabeth Peter's zany mystery with Night Train to Memphis, a Vickie Bliss story. It popped up when I did a library catalog search of art theft fiction.

[Jane in NC]

The room (deck?) with the swing is beautiful ... but wouldn't it take out those windows on the backswing? My girls would definitely be finding out.

 

Finished #23, or maybe 22 or even 21 ... Robin Jenkins, The Cone-Gatherers, which was really excellent. Supposedly it's the most important post-war Scottish novel. Similar to Of Mice and Men, but with apologies to Steinbeck, much better. A quiet exploration of good and evil, the erosion of British class-based society, and human brotherhood against the backdrop of the distant war. Heartily recommended.

 

The librarian was surprised I'd never heard of it, but pleased I was following it up with Rob Roy, and plans to extend my national literary education with some Buchan novels when I bring back the Scott. Oh and I learned that Buchan is not BYOO-can but BUKH-an, with that soft "ch" as in "loch." Middle Girl pleased the librarian by having already read Buchan's The Thirty-Nine Steps, and even more by reading Conan Doyle's lesser-known "Brigadier Gerard" stories. Apparently Churchill was a big fan of Gerard.

 

Words of praise indeed for a contemporary novel from Violet Crown!  What's in the water in Scotland? Unfortunately this book is not available from my library but I have placed it in my Amazon cart.

 

The Thirty-Nine Steps is an old favorite of mine.  Interesting about the pronunciation of Buchan.

 

Reading my latest Alan Furst novel earlier in the day led me to pull out maps and Lonely Planet travel guides.  Trying to understand the redrawing of political borders in Eastern/Middle Europe makes my head hurt. 

[shukriyya]

The room (deck?) with the swing is beautiful ... but wouldn't it take out those windows on the backswing? My girls would definitely be finding out.

 

 

What an eminently practical observation, one that was entirely obscured by the dreamy lenses I seemed to have donned when viewing that pic :lol:

 

Words of praise indeed for a contemporary novel from Violet Crown!  What's in the water in Scotland? Unfortunately this book is not available from my library but I have placed it in my Amazon cart.

 

The Thirty-Nine Steps is an old favorite of mine.  Interesting about the pronunciation of Buchan.

 

Reading my latest Alan Furst novel earlier in the day led me to pull out maps and Lonely Planet travel guides.  Trying to understand the redrawing of political borders in Eastern/Middle Europe makes my head hurt. 

 

Wait, is VC in Scotland? I seemed to have missed that piece of geographical info. Scotland?

[shukriyya]

 

I finished Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer, 1st in the Southern Reach trilogy.  I wanted to like it so badly from the jacket blurb, and I ignored the review that said it's part Kubrick, part Lovecraft.  *sigh*  It was just too surreal and odd for me.  Or, maybe more accurately, it wasn't surreal done WELL. The writing just was not superb as it alternated between banal description and weirdness.  Alas.  lol  It seems as if writers who want to go for surreality must be very careful that the hallucinatory-feeling bits actually do not contradict one another at every turn.  Not sure I can explain it, but I think it needed more editing.

 

What I like about this is that it demonstrates vividly how a reader can innocently amble into the pages of a book with what appears to be a wide open canvas and then find an inner worldview subject to various laws and ordinances that are completely unbeknownst to the reader until something jars the order of things and suddenly there is an articulation of some trajectory one knew or felt but didn't realize. I love this, love that we contain worlds, multitudes even, that we're totally unaware of :D

[LostSurprise]

I read Annihilation, and I have private thoughts about what's going on in Area X so I didn't think of it as being surreal...just...alien. I liked it well enough. 

 

How do you feel about thrillers in general? Does the feeling start to wear on you after awhile? I could only make it through 1 season of Lost so while I generally would be annoyed at the stretched out trilogy, 200 pages was about as much paranoia as I can stand in one sitting. 

 

 

 

VanderMeer has been on one of those 'X number of authors you should be reading' lists recently that Stacia & Co. publish. I was like, 'yayy, I've actually heard of 2 of these people.' 

[Guest]

Did a bunch of you read Winter's Tale earlier in the year? I am so bored by it.... :( to continue or to move on???

[Guest]

As for movie theaters - we haven't gone too much since the kids were born, maybe once a year on dh's birthday. Funny this is mentioned, though, because the kids are just getting to the age where they want to go and we got summer movie passes ($5 for like 10 movies!) and we went to our first one yesterday. My first thought when the movie started was, geez, turn it down! lol. I also have plans to go see a movie with friends this weekend, so I'm not going to say I have an aversion to theaters, I just don't get out much. :)

[Robin M]

Did a bunch of you read Winter's Tale earlier in the year? I am so bored by it.... :( to continue or to move on???

 

If it bores you move on.  I can tell you that peter and Beverly's story will segue into someone else's story for a while but if you are hating the couple, you probably won't like the ones to come either.  

[shukriyya]

My first thought when the movie started was, geez, turn it down! lol.

Yep! I was constantly trotting back to the sound booth to ask the teens who were manning it if they would kindly crank it down a notch or two. Most of the time it only went down one notch and back I'd trot feeling, oh about 100 years old :lol:

[Guest]

If it bores you move on.  I can tell you that peter and Beverly's story will segue into someone else's story for a while but if you are hating the couple, you probably won't like the ones to come either.  

 

I just read a little spoiler and now that I can see where it is going, I may be able to persevere a bit more....it's not that I don't like them, they aren't there! ;)

[Violet Crown]

Words of praise indeed for a contemporary novel from Violet Crown!  What's in the water in Scotland?

 

 

It must be the Irn-Bru. :D

 

 

 

Wait, is VC in Scotland? I seemed to have missed that piece of geographical info. Scotland?

Or, as Wee Girl put it on the flight over, "the place with tea and jaffa cakes."

[ElaineJ]

  Also slowly making my way through Toward God: The Ancient Wisdom of Western Prayer by Michael Casey. Especially since have read the first chapter 2 times now, not quite ready to move on because giving so much to think about.   Especially the concept that discontent is a good thing and the driving force that keeps us moving forward.

 

Ah, I see that Toward God is by the author of Sacred Reading! I will have to pick that one up. Thanks!

Elaine

 

[mumto2]

 

It must be the Irn-Bru. :D

 

 

Or, as Wee Girl put it on the flight over, "the place with tea and jaffa cakes."

VC- I hope you have a lovely time on this year's Scottish Adventures.  May the wee girl eat many Jaffa Cakes (my Dd loves them dearly) and skip the Iron Bru( yuk!).  If you journey in my direction.........

[Mom-ninja.]

I finished The Sunny Side by A.A. Milne. Loved it. Absolutely loved it. I can't recommend this little treasure enough. Perfect for light, cheery reading. I read it slowly to savor it.

 

Looks like it's on sale for Kindle at the moment so snap it up. It'll be a lovely little book to reread the stories and poems when you need a smile.

[Kareni]

Yesterday I finished Fate's Edge (The Edge, Book 3) by the husband and wife writing team known as Ilona Andrews.  I enjoyed it.  I had read book four in the series recently on a trip and realized that I had somehow missed this volume.  I'd recommend reading the books in order for best understanding.  They are probably categorized as urban fantasy.

 

"Audrey Callahan left behind her life in the Edge, and she's determined to stay on the straight and narrow. But when her brother gets into hot water, the former thief takes on one last heist and finds herself matching wits with a jack of all trades...

 

Kaldar Mar-a gambler, lawyer, thief, and spy-expects his latest assignment tracking down a stolen item to be a piece of cake, until Audrey shows up. But when the item falls into the hands of a lethal criminal, Kaldar realizes that in order to finish the job, he's going to need Audrey's help..."

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[shukriyya]

Or, as Wee Girl put it on the flight over, "the place with tea and jaffa cakes."

 

 May the wee girl eat many Jaffa Cakes (my Dd loves them dearly)

 

 

 

And for those in the dark about these delectable (as I remember them) sweets...

 

 

 

I finished The Sunny Side by A.A. Milne. Loved it. Absolutely loved it. I can't recommend this little treasure enough. Perfect for light, cheery reading. I read it slowly to savor it.

 

Looks like it's on sale for Kindle at the moment so snap it up. It'll be a lovely little book to reread the stories and poems when you need a smile.

 

Would this be suitable for a tween? Ds has read all of Milne's stories, poems and listened countless times, too. If this were appropriate he'd enjoy it.

[shukriyya]

:smilielol5:

 

 

[Lady Florida.]

Did a bunch of you read Winter's Tale earlier in the year? I am so bored by it.... :( to continue or to move on???

 

I almost decided to read it when everyone was discussing it earlier in the year. I kept going back to the description though, and I realized it just isn't my type of book. 

 

My first thought when the movie started was, geez, turn it down! lol. I

 

We recently rented Gravity for a family movie (ds is 16, so our "family" movies are on the mature side these days). I had trouble watching it because it was such a loud movie. I actually put on headphones to muffle the sound and it was still too loud for me. I kept thinking of how awful it would have been to see it in the theater. If it was that loud on our home tv it must have been roaring on the big screen. 

 

I probably ended up being among the very few people who didn't think that movie was awesome. Editing to say dh and ds loved it.