Book a Week in 2014 - BW25

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday, dear hearts!  Today is the start of week 25 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 - Happy Father's Day:  Let's celebrate the dad, papa, pop, daddy, father, old man, poppa, sir, or pa or whatever you call him.  My dad is 83 years young and still going strong. He's out today at Six Flags with another one of my sisters having fun riding the roller coasters.  I found this great poem entitled What Makes a Dad  and just had to share:

 

What Makes a Dad
God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it ... Dad

 

 

In honor of fathers, let's read a book with Father or any derivative in the title.  Check out Goodreads humongous list of books with father in the title or about fathers and have fun picking out a book to read.  It is interesting that if you do a search for literary dads, the common denominator is King Lear, Atticus Finch, and Prospero.    One of my favorite dads in literature is Arthur Weasley. Who is yours?

 

History of the Ancient World Readalong:  Chapters 22 and 23

 

What are you reading this week?

 

 

 

 

Link to week 24

[Robin M]

In between books at the moment. Thinking, however that my next read will have to have something that includes blue, cocktails, cockatiels, humor, scotland, a puzzle, amazing scents and  a shower.  Now why am I reminded of Outlander and Sean Connery?  Make that a cold shower.  :lol:

[Violet Crown]

So I'm thinking, So late in the day, and Robin hasn't posted the new thread yet? And then I thought, Oh right.

 

Retrieved from Middle Girl, and finished on the train from Edinburgh last night, Mauriac's Life of Jesus. The "Life of Christ" genre has always been popular among Catholics, and they generally range from the treacly pious to the disturbingly overwrought (*cough*Emmerich*cough*). Mauriac, a Nobel Prize-winning novelist, contributed a fresh and deeply human account to the genre. Apparently he got a lot of flack for it, too.

 

I was interested also to learn that Mauriac encouraged Elie Wiesel to publish Night, and wrote the introduction to it. I am very much looking forward to reading Thérèse Desqueyroux now.

 

Meanwhile, getting in some Boccaccio. Reading The Decameron was a lot like eating through a box of tiny, exquisite chocolates. It's very hard to stop; even the trifling ones are small enough to be forgiven their fluffiness; and they're all enjoyably different. Re-reading Boccaccio is like getting the same box again from a friend. "Oh yes, I enjoyed that one very much last time, too!"

[Onceuponatime]

In between books at the moment. Thinking, however that my next read will have to have something that includes blue, cocktails, cockatiels, humor, scotland, a puzzle, amazing scents and  a shower.  Now why am I reminded of Outlander and Sean Connery?  Make that a cold shower.  :lol:

 

Last Tuesday, I tread on the same ground Sean Connery once walked. We visited the town of Jim Thorpe in PA. The historic jail there was the site of part of a movie called The Molly McGuires. That was the only good thing about that jail.

 

I'm in between books now too. Creative Mythology is being read until I decide what to do next. That book is going to qualify as "chunky" maybe extra chunky.

[Kareni]

Last night I finished Faith & Fidelity by Tere Michaels.  I enjoyed it, but be aware that it contains serious adult content.

 

"New York City Vice Detective Evan Cerelli has lost his wife, the only person he ever loved and slept with. He's trying to get on with his life, build a life for his children. Former Homicide Detective Matt Haight is a ladies' man, all sex/no commitment. He's depressed, having a midlife crisis, and not sure where his life is headed.

The two find friendship in the bottom of a shared bottle. When the friendship turns to love, it shakes two straight men to the core and flips their lives inside out. Kids, families, careers that are not gay-friendly -- can all the love in the world overcome the obstacles to faith and fidelity?"

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Stacia]

Haven't read The Decameron in ages. Violet Crown, your post reminded me of how much I enjoyed it when I read it so long ago. Maybe I need to revisit it.

 

I have been so sick this past week that I accomplished almost no reading -- just didn't have the concentration for it. Ugh & argh.

 

Speaking of fathers, Mink River has a variety of them in the story, so that's a possibility if you want to do Robin's challenge this week.

 

The few times I have dipped into Mink River this week, I fall in love with it again every single time I open its pages. I also (barely) started Ru early in the week, but decided I needed to just finish one & then get to the other. Interestingly, both Mink River & Ru are told in very, very short chapters/snippets; both create quite a wonderful kaleidoscope effect of many thoughts/memories/scenes overlapping to give you a multi-faceted story.

[Stacia]

...

[Jane in NC]

Somerset Maugham's tale The Narrow Corner gave me considerable food for thought.  Set in the South Pacific as the sun descends on European colonial empires, the novel brings together a cast of fascinating characters--most immoral or amoral--who have chosen to remove themselves to island archipelagos for adventure, fortune or to escape consequences of past deeds.

 

This quote sums up the main character, Dr. Saunders:  "I have never had any sympathy with the ascetic attitude. The wise man combines the pleasures of the senses and the pleasures of the spirit in such a way as to increase the satisfaction he gets from both. The most valuable thing I have learnt from life is to regret nothing. Life is short, nature is hostile, and man is ridiculous; but oddly enough most misfortunes have their compensations, and with a certain humour and a good deal of horse-sense one can make a fairly good job of what is after all a matter of very small consequence."

 

New word of the day from The Narrow Corner:  Rhodomontade, a variation of rodomontade, of course!  It means boastful words or to boast, from the French via a character in the fifteenth century Italian epic poem Orlando Innamorato by Matteo M. Boiardo.

 

Speaking of classics, one of Maugham's characters is obsessed with The Lusiads or Os Lusiadas, a 16th century Portuguese epic poem by Luis Vaz de Camoes describing that nation's voyages of discovery.  (Why have I never heard of either of these?  I feel so ignorant...)

 

Putting The Razor's Edge on my TBR list.

 

Still reading David McCullough's examination of Americans in Paris, The Greater Journey.  The chapter on early 19th century French medicine which was probably the most advanced of any of the Western nations at the time completely fascinated me.

 

Feel better Stacia.  Safe travels VC.

[Stacia]

...

[Stacia]

Putting The Razor's Edge on my TBR list.

 

That is on my list too. Has been ever since I read Nick & Jake.

 

 

[Negin]

I have been so sick this past week that I accomplished almost no reading -- just didn't have the concentration for it. Ugh & argh.

 

 

Hope that you're feeling better  :grouphug: . 

Love the etsy sniff book image :D. And the e-card: dd and I use that logic here in the tropics  :lol:. 

[Robin M]

I have been so sick this past week that I accomplished almost no reading -- just didn't have the concentration for it. Ugh & argh.

 

 

 

 

Aw! Hope you feel better soon!

[Stacia]

Thanks for the well-wishes everyone. :grouphug:

 

P.S. Morticia Addams! Love the Addams Family, Negin. Morticia & Gomez -- one of the best couples ever!

[NoseInABook]

Finished The Space Between and A Leaf On The Wind Of All Hallows, the Outlander Novellas. Definitely interesting and so far I'm enjoying Written In My Own Heart's Blood. I don't feel like I have to sit down and race through until the book is finished but it's fun to read about the characters again. 

 

I'm almost through with Cleaning House and am loving it! I'm definitely stealing her idea of putting $30 in a mason jar or another container that the kid decorates. Every day that a chore isn't done that month, she took a dollar out. The first month was making beds and picking up their floors. If the beds weren't made and the floors were unclean, she'd take a dollar out. If they were, she'd leave the dollar in and the kids got the money at the end of the month.  I might do quarters instead for my kids because uh, $120 per month is a chunk of change and my kids are young enough to think a quarter per day is amaaaazing. ;) 

[Robin M]

So I'm thinking, So late in the day, and Robin hasn't posted the new thread yet? And then I thought, Oh right.

 

Retrieved from Middle Girl, and finished on the train from Edinburgh last night, Mauriac's Life of Jesus. The "Life of Christ" genre has always been popular among Catholics, and they generally range from the treacly pious to the disturbingly overwrought (*cough*Emmerich*cough*). Mauriac, a Nobel Prize-winning novelist, contributed a fresh and deeply human account to the genre. Apparently he got a lot of flack for it, too.

 

I was interested also to learn that Mauriac encouraged Elie Wiesel to publish Night, and wrote the introduction to it. I am very much looking forward to reading Thérèse Desqueyroux now.

 

Meanwhile, getting in some Boccaccio. Reading The Decameron was a lot like eating through a box of tiny, exquisite chocolates. It's very hard to stop; even the trifling ones are small enough to be forgiven their fluffiness; and they're all enjoyably different. Re-reading Boccaccio is like getting the same box again from a friend. "Oh yes, I enjoyed that one very much last time, too!"

 

I slept in today because the cats were all outside and my son nicely didn't let them in to wake me up for once when he got up. I'll have to live vicariously through you with Mauriac and Boccaccio. Just not something I can wrap my head around quite yet.

 

Last Tuesday, I tread on the same ground Sean Connery once walked. We visited the town of Jim Thorpe in PA. The historic jail there was the site of part of a movie called The Molly McGuires. That was the only good thing about that jail.

 

I'm in between books now too. Creative Mythology is being read until I decide what to do next. That book is going to qualify as "chunky" maybe extra chunky.

How neat! Joseph Campbell is an author I really need to read. Every time I turn around, someone is mentioning him, so you'd think I'd get the hint.

 

Another summertime (sorry, Rosie, & anyone else in the southern hemisphere) & reading picture:

 

 

I love it. Would make a great book mark or book cover.

[Negin]

I read: I Can Make You Hate - 4 Stars. The title makes it sound far more hateful than the book really is. This is a collection of articles/blogs by Charlie Brooker who writes for The Guardian. He’s smart, funny, possibly offensive to many, and thought-provoking. I would only recommend this to the ultimate Anglophile and those who truly appreciate British sarcasm and humor. Many of the chapters are about British politicians and celebrities.

This picture of him always makes my daughter and I giggle - so British and a look of absolute disgust and just plain yuck  :lol:. 

 

 

I also read Life After Death - 3 Stars - A painful memoir about a young man who spent almost two decades on Death Row in Arkansas for a crime he did not commit. My only complaint is that much of his writing is quite slow at times and he tends to wander off and give far more details than necessary. Nonetheless, this is a book that one does not easily forget. Much of it was so sad and frustrating. I almost gave up on it a few times , since I couldn’t endure any more sadness and misery. My heart pains for all those who are in prison and are wrongly accused throughout the world. False accusations and corruption really and truly get to me.  We began watching the documentary today and I already started weeping. 

 

 

 

I wish that there was a library near me, any library in fact, but for now I'm enjoying admiring this one:

 

 

Please excuse all the change in fonts. I find it highly annoying. Can anyone please tell me what the standard font is here and how I can possibly make it all be as one and uniform? I don't like mess. 

[mumto2]

I am very behind on HotAW,  hoping to have a chance to get at least partially caught up later this week.  We are taking an overnight trip tomorrow so will hopefully get through a few from the stack dd and I are sharing.  Still reading Monuments Men.  I don't think it has ever taken me so long to finish something I like.  I finally got it on kindle Friday because the paperback I was reading was driving me nuts.  It had been cracked and was perfectly fine but because of the picture section felt like it was falling apart.  Anyway only could stand it a few pages at a time.

 

Currently reading The Collected Works of A.J. Fikroy by Gabrielle Levin.  I believe the US title is a bit different.  Roughly 50 pages in and loving it.  Should work for the Father theme,  a baby was just abandoned in the bookstore which I think will be kept by the widowed bookstore owner unless the cover is leading me astray.

 

Finished: Clandestine in Chile by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.  Really liked it, BaW recommended by Eliana I think.  Great for my geography challenge,  before this I had no South Amercan books. 

 

Also finished Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovich.  This is another one with two titles.  It was interesting.  The main character is drafted into the special branch of the London police department,  dealing with paranormal types. Not sure how to describe it beyond it was the first thing I managed to sustain the reading of this week.  My pile of partial reads is high this week.  Completely rejected several.  I kept thinking things like that idea is like Chicagoland Vampires and that is Harry Potter.  Just a huge mish mash. Sometimes good and sometimes so so.   I will read more but not in a rush.

 

Shukriyya,  if you need me to try the pictures again I will after we return.  I need dh to help.

 

 

[Negin]

P.S. Morticia Addams! Love the Addams Family, Negin. Morticia & Gomez -- one of the best couples ever!

 

 

Love it :). 

 

[shukriyya]

It's been a light reading week for me. I finished only one book and an audiobook at that, CPE's, The Joyous Body. I'm continuing with Bradley's The Firebrand which I'm enjoying but am taking my time getting into. I started Promises Promises :: Essays on Psychoanalysis and Literature by Adam Phillips. His writing is accessible and intriguing.

 

Stacia, I hope you're on the mend now.

[Negin]

Sounds like a warning I might need. LOL. I am careful what books I read in public places for this very reason...

 

 

Crying in public places while reading has happened to me several times. 

[Violet Crown]

Hope you feel better soon, Stacia. But we love the pictures, too.

 

P.S. Morticia Addams! Love the Addams Family, Negin. Morticia & Gomez -- one of the best couples ever!

 

 

Have you seen the episode where the truant officer comes by to see why Wednesday and Pugsley aren't in school? Gomez explains why he doesn't believe in school: "Why have children, just to get rid of them?" And the children are acting out the French Revolution by beheading Wednesday's dolls.

 

I slept in today because the cats were all outside and my son nicely didn't let them in to wake me up for once when he got up.

Ah - I assumed it was just my failing to take the time zones into account.

 

One of my favorite parts is when he describes his first experience with Hershey’s chocolate. I have to admit that my experience was rather similar. To this day, I really don’t care much for American chocolate at all. Love all the other food (far too much, mind you! – ice cream, pizza, coffee, you name it), but not the chocolate at all – and especially not Hershey’s. British TV and chocolate are the best for me. Sorry to offend those who may not agree.

 

I agree. Cadbury's makes you unable to go back to Hershey's. And sticking those little 99 flake chocolates into ice cream is a very civilized custom.

 

Love that library. Dh is often annoyed that zoning regulations make his dreamed library tower unbuildable.

[shukriyya]

I agree. Cadbury's makes you unable to go back to Hershey's. And sticking those little 99 flake chocolates into ice cream is a very civilized custom.

 

 

Oh, Flake 99 ice cream on the Eastbourne pier...childhood memories...

 

 

 

 

[shukriyya]

 

Shukriyya,  if you need me to try the pictures again I will after we return.  I need dh to help.

 

I tried again as well as on the kindle and the ipad but couldn't see them. No worries I'm happy to imagine them :D

 

[shukriyya]

Stacia, I was reading through this month's edition of Orion magazine and came across an article by Brian Doyle. I thought of you and your delight in Mink River and given the recent avian discussions here it seems appropriate to link it.

[mumto2]

VC -- Have you tried Crunchy bars?  My personal favorite.  Cadbury chocolate coating on honeycomb. YUM

[Ali in OR]

Thanks to those of you who mentioned The Martian by Andy Weir. Apparently I had put it on hold after reading about it here and just got it on Friday. And just finished it today--that is fast for me! Amazingly fast considering I had to keep prying it out of dh's hands. This is an Apollo 13-like story that will appeal to problem solvers/engineers and those that love them. The protagonist, presumed dead and left behind on Mars, has a great sense of humor. Dh and I both giggle a bit while reading and read funny lines to each other. Highly recommend.

 

Still reading Ha'penny by Jo Walton. It works perfectly on the treadmill, so I'm trying not to remove it and read it elsewhere, otherwise I could have been done with that one by now too. Good read. Still reading Possession too--that one is a longer project I think.

 

Perhaps my biggest accomplishment--all caught up on HOTAW!

[Jane in NC]

Stacia, I was reading through this month's edition of Orion magazine and came across an article by Brian Doyle. I thought of you and your delight in Mink River and given the recent avian discussions here it seems appropriate to link it.

 

As one of the "raptorous" sort (although my favorite bird might be a non-raptor, the gannet which would be all to happy to use its serrated beak to poke out the eyes of anyone getting too close), I really enjoyed the article. 

 

Because of our volunteer work with the local bird rehabber, we (my husband, son and me) have been up close and personal with many raptors.  In fact, the conclusion of my son's personal statement on his Common App was something along the lines of how he has learned more by holding an osprey than from reading a book about ospreys. 

 

Recently, while watching a Cooper's Hawk pluck the feathers off of a mocking bird while sitting on my neighbor's deck rail, I thought about those Redwall books in which an owl eats grain instead of mice.  I don't think the Coop would have been interested in my morning oatmeal that day or any!

 

Here is a photo that my husband took of one of the gannets in rehab:

 

 

The photo of the barred owl in my avatar was taken by my son when it was in rehab after being hit by a car.

[Kareni]

 

One of my favorite parts [of I Can Make You Hate] is when he describes his first experience with Hershey’s chocolate....

 

 But the moment the product itself hit my tongue I was plunged mouthwards into an entire universe of yuk. .… everything tastes nice when it’s swaddled in Dairy Milk chocolate. Which it does.  

 

 

I shared that passage with my husband (an American) who describes Hershey's chocolate as all packaging and no substance; "... akin to shooting blanks," he said.  I'd brought home a bar of Cadbury's milk chocolate from my trip for my husband, and he says that nothing tops it.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

[Kareni]

VC -- Have you tried Crunchy bars?  My personal favorite.  Cadbury chocolate coating on honeycomb. YUM

 

Ah, mumto2, I knew you were a woman with good taste.  Crunchie bars are also my favorite.  Something markedly similar is sold as Violet Crumble which amuses me given VC's initials at the start of your post.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Jane in NC]

My son has also noted that a Kit Kat or Mars bar in the UK is not equivalent to the product of the same name in the US.

 

 

[Shawneinfl]

As one of the "raptorous" sort (although my favorite bird might be a non-raptor, the gannet which would be all to happy to use its serrated beak to poke out the eyes of anyone getting too close), I really enjoyed the article. 

 

Because of our volunteer work with the local bird rehabber, we (my husband, son and me) have been up close and personal with many raptors.  In fact, the conclusion of my son's personal statement on his Common App was something along the lines of how he has learned more by holding an osprey than from reading a book about ospreys. 

 

Recently, while watching a Cooper's Hawk pluck the feathers off of a mocking bird while sitting on my neighbor's deck rail, I thought about those Redwall books in which an owl eats grain instead of mice.  I don't think the Coop would have been interested in my morning oatmeal that day or any!

 

Here is a photo that my husband took of one of the gannets in rehab:

 

 

The photo of the barred owl in my avatar was taken by my son when it was in rehab after being hit by a car.

 

I am in love with this picture. Stunning. Love your avatar too. We have had a family of barred owls in our backyard for a while now.

 

[shukriyya]

VC -- Have you tried Crunchy bars?  My personal favorite.  Cadbury chocolate coating on honeycomb. YUM

 

Oh my, another childhood fave. In fact, so good that I might even enjoy one now should I come across such a beast. Mumto2, did you suck them until the sponge dissolved or crunch them right up?

 

 

 

As one of the "raptorous" sort (although my favorite bird might be a non-raptor, the gannet which would be all to happy to use its serrated beak to poke out the eyes of anyone getting too close), I really enjoyed the article. 

 

Because of our volunteer work with the local bird rehabber, we (my husband, son and me) have been up close and personal with many raptors.  In fact, the conclusion of my son's personal statement on his Common App was something along the lines of how he has learned more by holding an osprey than from reading a book about ospreys. 

 

Recently, while watching a Cooper's Hawk pluck the feathers off of a mocking bird while sitting on my neighbor's deck rail, I thought about those Redwall books in which an owl eats grain instead of mice.  I don't think the Coop would have been interested in my morning oatmeal that day or any!

 

Here is a photo that my husband took of one of the gannets in rehab:

 

The photo of the barred owl in my avatar was taken by my son when it was in rehab after being hit by a car.

 

Jane, glad you enjoyed the article and love hearing about your avian adventures. I've always wondered about your avatar, being an owl lover myself. We've had the good fortune of being able to observe a Great Horned with her young. She has returned to the same tree each year for several years. And several years ago I watched with much anticipation the hatching of barn owls thanks to a fellow who installed owl boxes and then put video cameras in them. He waited several seasons before a barn owl finally claimed one of the houses as her nest. The video camera was hooked up online and also had infra-red abilities so we were able to observe much of the behavior that normally wouldn't be seen. Each evening the mate swoop in with various mice and voles for the nesting mother. She would devour them, bones and all. Later she'd regurgitate them to feed the hatchlings, Each evening she'd take her nightly constitutional, a swoop around the neighborhood. There was always much anticipating her return with a great rush of feathers and a thump she'd land on the box and head inside for the night. The camera was on the outside of the box with its lens aimed through a small hole in the outside of the box so fairly non-invasive physically. It was so cool!

 

 

[Negin]

I agree. Cadbury's makes you unable to go back to Hershey's. And sticking those little 99 flake chocolates into ice cream is a very civilized custom.

Yes. And I am crazy about 99 flake ice creams :D. 

 

 

Oh, Flake 99 ice cream on the Eastbourne pier...childhood memories...

 

 

 

Did you grow up there? That image has me all nostalgic and hungry! 

 

VC -- Have you tried Crunchy bars?  My personal favorite.  Cadbury chocolate coating on honeycomb. YUM

One of my top favorites! 

 

I shared that passage with my husband (an American) who describes Hershey's chocolate as all packaging and no substance; "... akin to shooting blanks," he said.  I'd brought home a bar of Cadbury's milk chocolate from my trip for my husband, and he says that nothing tops it.

 

Regards,

Kareni

So true. :)

 

Ah, mumto2, I knew you were a woman with good taste.  Crunchie bars are also my favorite.  Something markedly similar is sold as Violet Crumble which amuses me given VC's initials at the start of your post.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

My son has also noted that a Kit Kat or Mars bar in the UK is not equivalent to the product of the same name in the US.

 

[Jane in NC]

I am in love with this picture. Stunning. Love your avatar too. We have had a family of barred owls in our backyard for a while now.

 

 

 

This gannet eye serves as my avatar on another site. (Continuing with the blue theme from last week?)

[shukriyya]

Ah, mumto2, I knew you were a woman with good taste.  Crunchie bars are also my favorite.  Something markedly similar is sold as Violet Crumble which amuses me given VC's initials at the start of your post.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Very similar but I think that Violet Crumble is the Australian version...

 

 

 

Yes. And I am crazy about 99 flake ice creams :D. 

 

Did you grow up there? That image has me all nostalgic and hungry! 

 

One of my top favorites! 

 

So true. :)

 

In a way I did. My father was British, the type that never really left Britain. He retained his accent even 30 years after leaving England and my childhood was filled with anglophilia. I didn't grow up there but it was very much a part of the atmosphere and we spent several summers with my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins in Sussex. My grandparents lived in a lovely little village on the edge of the South Downs reminiscent of Miss Read and Eastbourne was a frequent destination for various fun and games and comestible delights.

[Violet Crown]

VC -- Have you tried Crunchy bars? My personal favorite. Cadbury chocolate coating on honeycomb. YUM

Not yet. The guy who runs the chip shop is badgering me to try the fried Mars Bar.

[shukriyya]

Not yet. The guy who runs the chip shop is badgering me to try the fried Mars Bar.

 

:ack2:

[Stacia]

Well, I guess I must admit my American-ness because I grew up w/ Hershey's (esp. Hershey's Kisses, which my grandfather ate all the time & called Silver Points -- I love, love, love this memory of him) & have always liked it just fine. Cadbury's is almost too sweet for me. :leaving:  Of course, my dh was appalled when he met me that I actually ate (& liked) Hershey's. In spite of my failures in the chocolate arena, he married me anyway. I've since become a connoisseur of Belgian chocolates. (And, yet, I'll still eat Hershey's if I'm at my parents' house.)

 

Jane, the photos are stunning. Shukriyya, thanks for the link to the article.

 

And, like the post-it pic I posted, dh & I were at the coffee shop this afternoon & I had to stop reading Mink River because part of it was making me tear-up. Good thing I always carry a bunch of books with me for just such emergencies.

[-M-]

Hello BaWers!

 

Here's what I've read since I last checked in (Week 21):

 

â–  Burial Rites (Hannah Kent; 2013. 336 pages. Fiction.)
â–  The Other Side of Sadness (George A. Bonanno; 2010. 240 pages. Non-fiction.)
■ The Blue Fox (Sjón; 2013. 128 pages. Fiction.)
â–  The Dance of Death (August Strindberg (Conor McPherson, trans.); 1900 (2012). Drama.)
â–  We Were Liars (E. Lockhart; 2014. 240 pages. Fiction.)

 

That puts me at thirty-seven to date, which, even in this, another "Year of Reading Slowly," is really, really slow for me. *shrug* That's fine. Perhaps I'll catch up during some of our mornings at the lake or while the Misses are in class. (More in a moment.) I'm about a third of the way into Jane Eyre (among a stack of other books). This my fourth or fifth time reading it, and I still find both the book and its heroine compelling and beautiful. Originally, only the Girls Rule! Book Club was going to tackle this, but, thanks to audiobooks, Mr. M-mv is joing us, too. Both he and Miss M-mv(ii) describe it as "heart-poundingly exciting." *wry grin* Miss M-mv(i) and I maintain that Jane redefines wisdom and morality (in positive ways).

 

Much has changed in the four weeks since my last BaW post. The Misses attended registration and orientation at the local college and decided to take two summer courses, too, which utterly upended all of our study plans -- in what is turning out to be a good, good way. While I am sorry to see our home education journey conclude, adventures continue to abound here.

 

On that note, if you're in the area, "Kandinsky: A Retrospective" at the Milwaukee Art Museum is superb. We attended this past weekend. And a couple of weekends back, we visited the Civil War Museum in Kenosha, WI. Excellent! We Chicagoans tend to think that we have all of the museums and activities, but there are other treasures out there. *smile*

[Uff Da!]

So I'm thinking, So late in the day, and Robin hasn't posted the new thread yet? And then I thought, Oh right.

 

Retrieved from Middle Girl, and finished on the train from Edinburgh last night, Mauriac's Life of Jesus. The "Life of Christ" genre has always been popular among Catholics, and they generally range from the treacly pious to the disturbingly overwrought (*cough*Emmerich*cough*). Mauriac, a Nobel Prize-winning novelist, contributed a fresh and deeply human account to the genre. Apparently he got a lot of flack for it, too.

 

I was interested also to learn that Mauriac encouraged Elie Wiesel to publish Night, and wrote the introduction to it. I am very much looking forward to reading Thérèse Desqueyroux now.

 

Meanwhile, getting in some Boccaccio. Reading The Decameron was a lot like eating through a box of tiny, exquisite chocolates. It's very hard to stop; even the trifling ones are small enough to be forgiven their fluffiness; and they're all enjoyably different. Re-reading Boccaccio is like getting the same box again from a friend. "Oh yes, I enjoyed that one very much last time, too!"

Elie writes about Mauriac a bit in his memoir.  I finished it today and, while I enjoyed it thoroughly, I think if I had read more of the authors he spoke of I would have enjoyed it more.  It's a book that I could come back to after reading some of those authors and get more out of it.  Interestingly, Dh needed to add on to an Amazon order so my Klezmer violin book arrived a couple months early and I started a free Hebrew class online (just for fun!).  Seems to be a theme here...

 

I carried T.S. Elliot about with me today but didn't delve into the plays- just carried the book around.  I also finished Chronicles and I'm not sure what is next to read on the Bible list.  In the wee morning hours, I am listening to "Surprised by Joy" while flopping around on the floor pretending to exercise and stretch.

 

As for birds:  There is a barred owl that sits outside our windows.  The moment he sees me, he turns his back to me and then spins his head around to stare at me as if to say, "What are you looking at?"

[Negin]

I didn't grow up there but it was very much a part of the atmosphere and we spent several summers with my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins in Sussex. My granparents lived in a lovely little village on the edge of the South Downs reminiscent of Miss Read and Eastbourne was a frequent destination for various fun and games and comestible delights.

How nice! I grew up in Wales. Went to Sussex once and loved it. 

 

Not yet. The guy who runs the chip shop is badgering me to try the fried Mars Bar.

I have yet to try that! 

 

Well, I guess I must admit my American-ness because I grew up w/ Hershey's (esp. Hershey's Kisses, which my grandfather ate all the time & called Silver Points -- I love, love, love this memory of him) & have always liked it just fine. Cadbury's is almost too sweet for me. :leaving:  Of course, my dh was appalled when he met me that I actually ate (& liked) Hershey's. In spite of my failures in the chocolate arena, he married me anyway. I've since become a connoisseur of Belgian chocolates. (And, yet, I'll still eat Hershey's if I'm at my parents' house.)

 

I always remember you saying that your dh got you into Belgian chocolates. I'm crazy about any kind of Belgian chocolate also - Belgian, Swiss, and British - love them all! 

[Just Robyn]

I finished the Nathanael West book I was reading with Miss Lonelyhearts and The Day of the Locust. It was interesting, but violent and sometimes too slow. I finished Keeping a Nature Journal today by the pool. It was a mixture of obvious filler and good ideas. I'll definitely keep it on the shelf because of the recommended books list. And I started Pride and Prejudice.

 

My favorite dad is not from literature; he's from television. 

 

However, now that they have Veronica Mars books, I assume he's in them too.

[shukriyya]

How nice! I grew up in Wales. Went to Sussex once and loved it.

 

 

Both Wales and Scotland are on my list of places where I'd like to do a trekking holiday. I imagine them to be rugged, the natural landscape subtly beautiful and the inhabitants full of restraint and terse wit :lol: Plus the musicality of the respective dialects makes the linguist in me swoon.

[Zebra]

I have been reading this year, but haven't been posting much. I do feel compelled by this thread to share a book that I read earlier this year, and enjoyed very much The Emperors of Chocolate - Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars.    It was fascinating.   I picked it up at Goodwill because the cover looked delicious  :lol:!   The book is (something like) 15 years old, but still relevant.   These companies are both very secretive and competitive, and it was an interesting look into the whole candy industry.  The book did touch on some things like how candy bars are different in Europe, some even have different names, and how gross Hershey bars are to Europeans(I agree!), also how much the English like hazelnut and the Americans like peanut butter.   The Mars children(who are now running the company, or were when the book was written) were raised in England and love hazelnuts, and despite being told otherwise they kept introducing hazelnut products that bombed in the US.   Meanwhile, Hershey was having real success with things like Reese PB cups/pieces.   Mars finally decided to introduce PB M&M's and had a lot of success with them.   It was interesting to me that the Mars children hated peanut butter and took a long time to accept the fact that Americans as a group like peanut butter.   

 

An interesting book about business, if you like chocolate as much as I do!

[Onceuponatime]

Well, I guess I must admit my American-ness because I grew up w/ Hershey's (esp. Hershey's Kisses, which my grandfather ate all the time & called Silver Points -- I love, love, love this memory of him) & have always liked it just fine. Cadbury's is almost too sweet for me. :leaving:  Of course, my dh was appalled when he met me that I actually ate (& liked) Hershey's. In spite of my failures in the chocolate arena, he married me anyway. I've since become a connoisseur of Belgian chocolates. (And, yet, I'll still eat Hershey's if I'm at my parents' house.)

 

Jane, the photos are stunning. Shukriyya, thanks for the link to the article.

 

And, like the post-it pic I posted, dh & I were at the coffee shop this afternoon & I had to stop reading Mink River because part of it was making me tear-up. Good thing I always carry a bunch of books with me for just such emergencies.

 

I also grew up on Hershey's and don't mind it. I must admit that taking the free "factory" tour at Hershey Park was another thing we did last week. It was so cheesy and very American-- merchandising, merchandising. We travelled in hyper reality for a while and it was mildly entertaining.

 

I didn't know there was significantly better chocolate until a few years ago when I branched out into Lindt truffles and Ferrero Rocher. Then my daughter-in-law bought me some Harry and David chocolates. They were a revelation. Since then I've become a little more selective, but I'll still eat Hershey's now and then without complaining. The chocolate covered honeycomb sounds awesome.

[prairiegirl]

Stacia,  I'm sorry that you are still feeling icky.  I hope that you start feeling better this week.  There is only one thing worse than being sick and that is not wanting to read when you are sick.

 

I love Crunchy bars.  I didn't  like them much when I was a kid but they are the ones  I always swipe first from my kids'  Hallowe'en bags.  I am a suck-er  too, btw.

 

Crstarlette,  I didn't  know that he was the dad from Veronica Mars.  I know him from Flashpoint.

 

I am still reading  Cruel Beauty  by Rosamund Hodges.  I am liking this book so far.  I am a bit confused by her waffling between the two male characters  so I'm not sure if this will be cleared up at the end or not.  

[mumto2]

My son has also noted that a Kit Kat or Mars bar in the UK is not equivalent to the product of the same name in the US.

They are far from my favorites either country but will eat both in UK if hungry. Actually kit kats are growing on me.

 

Thought I had the fried Mars bar quote. They only serve them at chippy's in Scotland apparently. I actually had to try them at the fish and chip at Downtown Disney. Couldn't get them in this area. It was forgettable...probably cheaper in Scotland. :lol:

 

Oh my, another childhood fave.

 

 

Jane, glad you enjoyed the article and love hearing about your avian adventures. I've always wondered about your avatar, being an owl lover myself. We've had the good fortune of being able to observe a Great Horned with her young. She has returned to the same tree each year for several years. And several years ago I watched with much anticipation the hatching of barn owls thanks to a fellow who installed owl boxes and then put video cameras in them. He waited several seasons before a barn owl finally claimed one of the houses as her nest. The video camera was hooked up online and also had infra-red abilities so we were able to observe much of the behavior that normally wouldn't be seen. Each evening the mate swoop in with various mice and voles for the nesting mother. She would devour them, bones and all. Later she'd regurgitate them to feed the hatchlings, Each evening she'd take her nightly constitutional, a swoop around the neighborhood. There was always much anticipating her return with a great rush of feathers and a thump she'd land on the box and head inside for the night. The camera was on the outside of the box with its lens aimed through a small hole in the outside of the box so fairly non-invasive physically.

 

Incredible owl picture. I try to savour them, occasionally I manage it. :lol:

Well, I guess I must admit my American-ness because I grew up w/ Hershey's (esp. Hershey's Kisses, which my grandfather ate all the time & called Silver Points -- I love, love, love this memory of him) & have always liked it just fine. Cadbury's is almost too sweet for me. :leaving: Of course, my dh was appalled when he met me that I actually ate (& liked) Hershey's. In spite of my failures in the chocolate arena, he married me anyway. I've since become a connoisseur of Belgian chocolates. (And, yet, I'll still eat Hershey's if I'm at my parents' house.)

 

Jane, the photos are stunning. Shukriyya, thanks for the link to the article.

 

And, like the post-it pic I posted, dh & I were at the coffee shop this afternoon & I had to stop reading Mink River because part of it was making me tear-up. Good thing I always carry a bunch of books with me for just such emergencies.

I grew up with Hershey but never loved it. Each time my mil dropped in when the dc's were little she brought a bag of Hershey's kisses. In those days I was very anti sugar, one or two pieces max a day. Many sugar free days. I kept trying to tell her no more...anyway I had a very high rather deep shelf that was essentially useless so I tossed the bags of kisses up there after each visit. I gave many away over the years but never looked at my accumilation. When cleaning to move dh was shocked to discover I had garbage bag full of ancient chocolate stashed up there, I was too. Obviously she drove by frequently......

How nice! I grew up in Wales. Went to Sussex once and loved it.

 

I have yet to try that!

 

I always remember you saying that your dh got you into Belgian chocolates. I'm crazy about any kind of Belgian chocolate also - Belgian, Swiss, and British - love them all!

Snowdon is tomorrow's destination. I will think of you if we are able to climb. Sunny weather predictions. :lol:

[Stacia]

Mental multivitamin, how did you like The Blue Fox?

 

I picked up Sjón's The Whispering Muse when I was in Canada a couple of weeks ago. Then, today, when I was picking up (yet) more holds at the library, I lucked out to find Sjón's From the Mouth of the Whale on the 'Friends of the Library' sale shelf & picked it up for $1.50. (Score!) So, now I have two of three w/ just The Blue Fox missing from my set.

 

Love the cover art on these.... Simple but striking.

[Robin M]

Mental multivitamin, how did you like The Blue Fox?

 

I picked up Sjón's The Whispering Muse when I was in Canada a couple of weeks ago. Then, today, when I was picking up (yet) more holds at the library, I lucked out to find Sjón's From the Mouth of the Whale on the 'Friends of the Library' sale shelf & picked it up for $1.50. (Score!) So, now I have two of three w/ just The Blue Fox missing from my set.

 

Love the cover art on these.... Simple but striking.

 

Not Melissa, but the Blue Fox was short, interesting, but odd. I'll send you my copy, then you'll have the whole set.

[JennW in SoCal]

I like to think of the raptors that swoop into my life now again as omens.  I always want to call out, "Get the Augur!" as they did in the old I, Claudius series, because I want to know what it portends!   And the sound of a Great Horned Owl outside my room at night is so very magical, especially here in the suburban sprawl.  Some years I wish the area coyotes, hawks and owls would do a better job of keeping the rats and rabbits from getting out of control in my garden. Nothing worse than waiting for that first tomato to ripen only to find it had been gobbled up over night!

 

I'm feeling so left out at not having eaten any of these wonderful chocolates and candies you all are talking about.  I like good dark chocolate, as a treat just for me, but have to confess that plain m&ms are like crack cocaine to me.  Can't stop eating them, so they are not allowed in the house!!  Hershey's kisses are meant for those peanut butter blossom cookies.  

 

Ali in OR and I are reading the same books!  I read The Martian 2 weeks ago, and this morning I finished Jo Walton's Farthing trilogy.  The 2nd book, Ha'penny is the best of the 3, but they are all fun page turners with good characters and an interesting premise.  Ali -- you are on your own with Possession, though, as I've got others on my stack that need my attention.

 

I'm continuing with Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks, about music and the brain.  It is the perfect kind of non-fiction as each chapter is its own stand alone article so you can just read one over lunch then put the book down til you're in the mood for it again.  It is fascinating and is a nice complement to the lecture series I'm watching on math and music.  

 

My tbr stack has Wide Sargasso Sea, Mr. Fox and the 2nd Flavia title.  The college boy and I are impatiently waiting for the next Robert Galbraith (aka JKRowling) mystery to be released this week.  We'll probably be listening to it while doing a jigsaw puzzle together...

 

Hope everyone had a fun father's day!  We're about to put together a large spread of appetizers and watch the season finale of Game of Thrones.  Nothing says father's day like graphic violence and nudity, right?!