prairiegirl Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Okay, I'll be over with tea and chocolate or wine and a washed rind cheese depending on your need. Shoulder massages are nice but foot massages are divine. I'll give you one of those. We can talk books and birds and whatever else takes our fancy. I may bring my knitting but with your weather I'll likely be disinclined to associate with wool :grouphug: Prairiegirl, you're welcome to join us as it sounds like you've had some interpersonal unpleasantness, too. Actually any of the BaWers who need some TLC feel free to join right in :D Oooooh! That sounds/looks so lovely. I am on my way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Can I come too? I feel quilty for posting this because I am sure to shatter some Miss Read illusions but my car was stolen out of my driveway during the night. Very unexpected. We were the lucky people with the common car apparently. I was working in the garden when I noticed the car missing, assumed dh had dropped it off for service or moved it for a neighbour's delivery. Anyway when I eventually went in the house and calmly said "Dear, where have you put the car?" (The British way of phrasing has rubbed off obviously) to a speechless dh, which is not easy to achieve. He had simply locked it after removing the luggage last night and most likely it is on a lorry someplace. Jane, don't worry my walking polls are safe! :lol: We are car shopping......I loved that car. ;( I read a few chapters of Sacrilege this morning but none since my discovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted June 18, 2014 Author Share Posted June 18, 2014 Can I come too? I feel quilty for posting this because I am sure to shatter some Miss Read illusions but my car was stolen out of my driveway during the night. Very unexpected. We were the lucky people with the common car apparently. I was working in the garden when I noticed the car missing, assumed dh had dropped it off for service or moved it for a neighbour's delivery. Anyway when I eventually went in the house and calmly said "Dear, where have you put the car?" (The British way of phrasing has rubbed off obviously) to a speechless dh, which is not easy to achieve. He had simply locked it after removing the luggage last night and most likely it is on a lorry someplace. Jane, don't worry my walking polls are safe! :lol: We are car shopping......I loved that car. ;( I read a few chapters of Sacrilege this morning but none since my discovery. Oh my goodness. How horrible to come home from vacation and immediately have your car stolen. Hope it was just some kids out for a joy ride and they find it soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted June 18, 2014 Author Share Posted June 18, 2014 I have decided to give up on The History of the Ancient World for now. I'm having a hard time keeping up with my two coursera classes. I tried taking one last year to prep for Ancient history and I just couldn't take the monotone of the instructor, so this year I'm trying Greek and Roman Mythology. I enjoy listening to Peter Struck, but it's an intense course that should prepare me well for TOG Y1 Rhetoric this coming fall. It covers most of the literature my DD will be doing. It's hard when it's overlapping for a few weeks with The Bible's Prehistory, Purpose and Political Future, which is ramping up as we hit the half way mark this week. I did manage to read Dead Spots (A Scarlett Bernard Novel) by Melissa Olsen, and of course my scheduled reading of Shield of Winter (A Psy/Changeling Novel) by Nalini Singh. I think it would be hard to top Heart of Obsidian, but this one was a good read. I enjoyed Vasic's story and I wonder where things could go next. I'm finally getting around to the second book of Marie Force's Green Mountain series since that just came in at the library, and I have started A Touch of Midnight by Lara Adrian, the Midnight Breed Prequel novella. Is this also book 1 in other series? I couldn't quite understand what amazon was getting at with the label, nor have I found the time to look into it myself. The Midnight Breed Series reading order: Book 0.5: A Touch of Midnight (prequel novella) Book 1: Kiss of Midnight Book 2: Kiss of Crimson Book 3: Midnight Awakening Book 4: Midnight Rising Book 5: Veil of Midnight Book 6: Ashes of Midnight Book 7: Shades of Midnight Book 8: Taken by Midnight Book 9: Deeper Than Midnight Book 9.5: A Taste of Midnight (ebook novella) Book 10: Darker After Midnight The Midnight Breed Series Companion Book 11: Edge of Dawn Book 11.5: Marked by Midnight (on sale Jun 30, 2014) Book 12: Crave the Night (on sale Aug 5, 2014) Book 12.5: Tempted by Midnight (on sale Oct 14, 2014) I just finished reading Singh's first book in the Psy Changeling series Slave to Sensation which was very good so looking forward to reading the rest of the series. Of course as soon as I finished it, had to download Visions of Heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Can I come too? I feel quilty for posting this because I am sure to shatter some Miss Read illusions but my car was stolen out of my driveway during the night. Very unexpected. We were the lucky people with the common car apparently. I was working in the garden when I noticed the car missing, assumed dh had dropped it off for service or moved it for a neighbour's delivery. Anyway when I eventually went in the house and calmly said "Dear, where have you put the car?" (The British way of phrasing has rubbed off obviously) to a speechless dh, which is not easy to achieve. He had simply locked it after removing the luggage last night and most likely it is on a lorry someplace. Jane, don't worry my walking polls are safe! :lol: We are car shopping......I loved that car. ;( I read a few chapters of Sacrilege this morning but none since my discovery. Oh gosh, I liked your post then wondered where my head was! Celebrating that your polls are safe? Indeed my Miss Read illusions are completely shattered. Thievery in Fair Acre usually ran along the lines of an item missing from a wash line or the misdeeds of Joe Coggs' father. My unpleasant neighbors almost seem pleasant at the moment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Can I come too? I feel quilty for posting this because I am sure to shatter some Miss Read illusions but my car was stolen out of my driveway during the night. Very unexpected. We were the lucky people with the common car apparently. I was working in the garden when I noticed the car missing, assumed dh had dropped it off for service or moved it for a neighbour's delivery. Anyway when I eventually went in the house and calmly said "Dear, where have you put the car?" (The British way of phrasing has rubbed off obviously) to a speechless dh, which is not easy to achieve. He had simply locked it after removing the luggage last night and most likely it is on a lorry someplace. Jane, don't worry my walking polls are safe! :lol: We are car shopping......I loved that car. ;( I read a few chapters of Sacrilege this morning but none since my discovery. Oh no! I'm sorry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 This morning I finished listening to The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett while editing pictures. What a fun book! I will have to read it at some point because I'm still training my audio book skills and I'm sure that I missed a few things. Overall, though, it was full of good chuckles and belly laughs! I want to walk around all day talking like the Nac Mac Feegle's! :D There was a small part in the middle that got a little bogged down for me. I'm always a little annoyed with books when the same plot line goes on for a bit too long (like Inkheart...I don't get the love for that book! How many times can one escape and get recaptured?? move on with a different plot point already, not to mention the swearing...but I digress) and I felt that way a bit with Tiffany and the Queen. But those Nac Mac Feegle's certainly made up for the slow parts. I will be encouraging dd's to listen to this one! The guy who did the audio was terrific at the voices! I can't remember what number that puts me at as my list is on my other computer! Maybe #29? I'm more than halfway through The Lost Sisterhood and am having trouble putting it down now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Oh gosh, I liked your post then wondered where my head was! Celebrating that your polls are safe? Indeed my Miss Read illusions are completely shattered. Thievery in Fair Acre usually ran along the lines of an item missing from a wash line or the misdeeds of Joe Coggs' father. My unpleasant neighbors almost seem pleasant at the moment! Our illusions have been a bit shattered also. Many years in a big US city and no stolen vehicles ( several radios) but never the entire car! Per police outlying rural village is where you get this type of crime-- they think it went directly onto a flat bed outside our gate on a one way walled lane. Seriously boggles my brain. Very quiet thieves apparently. We have heard many stories of theft in a village today. Our neighbor actually once had her favorite shirt stolen off the wash line. Several cars over many years have been stolen. Although ours was common, not the brand new BMW we kept hearing about. Imagine google eyes. A couple of glasses of wine have made the world easier and we are now planning to drive our new car to Germany. Something good needed to come out of this. By the way Jane, glad your ds is enjoying Spain. I was actually pretty happy to discover my polls and favorite sweatshirt are still in my possession! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 The Midnight Breed Series reading order: Book 0.5: A Touch of Midnight (prequel novella) Book 1: Kiss of Midnight Book 2: Kiss of Crimson Book 3: Midnight Awakening Book 4: Midnight Rising Book 5: Veil of Midnight Book 6: Ashes of Midnight Book 7: Shades of Midnight Book 8: Taken by Midnight Book 9: Deeper Than Midnight Book 9.5: A Taste of Midnight (ebook novella) Book 10: Darker After Midnight The Midnight Breed Series Companion Book 11: Edge of Dawn Book 11.5: Marked by Midnight (on sale Jun 30, 2014) Book 12: Crave the Night (on sale Aug 5, 2014) Book 12.5: Tempted by Midnight (on sale Oct 14, 2014) I just finished reading Singh's first book in the Psy Changeling series Slave to Sensation which was very good so looking forward to reading the rest of the series. Of course as soon as I finished it, had to download Visions of Heat. I've read all the rest of the series, but I missed that the prequel novella had come out since it was published out of order. I have Marked by Midnight pre-ordered. I hope you enjoy the Psy/Changeling series. I also love her Guild Hunter series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 \ Okay, I'll be over with tea and chocolate or wine and a washed rind cheese depending on your need. Shoulder massages are nice but foot massages are divine. I'll give you one of those. We can talk books and birds and whatever else takes our fancy. I may bring my knitting but with your weather I'll likely be disinclined to associate with wool :grouphug: Prairiegirl, you're welcome to join us as it sounds like you've had some interpersonal unpleasantness, too. Actually any of the BaWers who need some TLC feel free to join right in :D Wait for me! I'm coming too, though after a tedious 5 hour rehearsal today I feel like I'd be dragging myself in -- like a cartoon version of the man crawling out of the desert in search of water. Not sure I can muster the energy to use the cork screw to open a bottle of wine! Can I come too? I feel quilty for posting this because I am sure to shatter some Miss Read illusions but my car was stolen out of my driveway during the night. Very unexpected. We were the lucky people with the common car apparently. I was working in the garden when I noticed the car missing, assumed dh had dropped it off for service or moved it for a neighbour's delivery. Anyway when I eventually went in the house and calmly said "Dear, where have you put the car?" (The British way of phrasing has rubbed off obviously) to a speechless dh, which is not easy to achieve. He had simply locked it after removing the luggage last night and most likely it is on a lorry someplace. Jane, don't worry my walking polls are safe! :lol: We are car shopping......I loved that car. ;( Where the heck are they taking the car? To some illegal shop to strip it for parts? I'm so used to living on the Mexican border where the assumption is that anything lost, whether it be cars or people, are taken to the other side of the border never to be seen again. It seems so odd that something can disappear on an island, you know?! Miss Read land is still safe, though, as I picture everyone in their tweeds and sensible shoes. About reading book descriptions. My college boy last night posted a rant on facebook about spoilers in book descriptions. I haven't seen him yet today (he was still asleep when I left) to ask him which book got spoiled for him. I do read descriptions, and especially like independent bookstores where employees recommend books or write their own blurbs to promote a favorite. I've enjoyed many of the books recommended here, though I can't keep up with my growing list from these threads! I also am an avid reader of the Sunday book reviews in the LA Times. Once I'm done with a book, and occasionally when I'm in the middle of one, I'll go searching for reviews and essays and enjoy the perspective those bring me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Oh no, mumto2! Can't believe your car got stolen! Did you check to make sure it didn't roll out of the driveway into a divot or ditch? ;) I say that half in jest because of something that happened to me when I was college-age. Met my mom out for lunch, then we were heading back to her house. I drove her car back (I like driving & she definitely had the nicer car, so she took pity on me & let me drive her car), while she drove mine. I got there first & pulled her car into her garage for her. As I was getting some stuff out of the car, she pulled in the driveway & then walked by me to go into the house. I got out of her car & as I walked around back, I didn't see my car in the driveway. :confused: I'm thinking, "I know I saw her pull in & walk right past me." So, I go in & ask where she parked. She said the driveway. I said the car is not in the driveway. Turns out, she forgot to put it in park & it had rolled a good ways into the back yard. Fortunately, they had a pretty big divot back there (affectionately known as 'the sinkhole') that caught the car before it could hit trees or plummet off a 10-15 drop into a creek behind their property. :tongue_smilie: Anyway, just wishing that story had been the case for you rather than actual car theft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Can I come too? I feel quilty for posting this because I am sure to shatter some Miss Read illusions but my car was stolen out of my driveway during the night. Very unexpected. We were the lucky people with the common car apparently. I was working in the garden when I noticed the car missing, assumed dh had dropped it off for service or moved it for a neighbour's delivery. Anyway when I eventually went in the house and calmly said "Dear, where have you put the car?" (The British way of phrasing has rubbed off obviously) to a speechless dh, which is not easy to achieve. He had simply locked it after removing the luggage last night and most likely it is on a lorry someplace. Jane, don't worry my walking polls are safe! :lol: We are car shopping......I loved that car. ;( I read a few chapters of Sacrilege this morning but none since my discovery. Of course! You can sit in the middle of the circle while you get foot and shoulder massages along with lots of wine and other comestibles. I'm so sorry to hear about your lack of car :grouphug: Wait for me! I'm coming too, though after a tedious 5 hour rehearsal today I feel like I'd be dragging myself in -- like a cartoon version of the man crawling out of the desert in search of water. Not sure I can muster the energy to use the cork screw to open a bottle of wine! Crawl on in, Jenn. We are all here having a rollicking good time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 I feel quilty for posting this because I am sure to shatter some Miss Read illusions but my car was stolen out of my driveway during the night. Very unexpected. Oh, no! I sympathize. We came home once from a camping trip to find that our home had been robbed. Such things shake one's sense of security. I hope that the new car will carry you about in safety and take you on some fun jaunts. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Finished: It was okay. Liked the chemistry. Found Flavia manipulative and lacking empathy. Was distracted when non-Brit terms were used. Probably won't read more. I thought the same when I read Flavia but I am told that they books get much much better. DD listened to them on audiobook and loved them but she's not much of a critic. Can I come too? I feel quilty for posting this because I am sure to shatter some Miss Read illusions but my car was stolen out of my driveway during the night. Very unexpected. We were the lucky people with the common car apparently. I was working in the garden when I noticed the car missing, assumed dh had dropped it off for service or moved it for a neighbour's delivery. Anyway when I eventually went in the house and calmly said "Dear, where have you put the car?" (The British way of phrasing has rubbed off obviously) to a speechless dh, which is not easy to achieve. He had simply locked it after removing the luggage last night and most likely it is on a lorry someplace. Jane, don't worry my walking polls are safe! :lol: We are car shopping......I loved that car. ;( I read a few chapters of Sacrilege this morning but none since my discovery. Whoa. That's crazy. I once had a car stolen when I was in my early twenties and living with my Mommo (that's what I called my grandmother). It was stolen from the driveway around back of our house. The funniest part was that my car was an old truck with over 300k miles and it always had mechanical problems. That's the one they stole. Not my grandmother's super nice brand new car. Then one day Mommo and I were out driving and my car passed us going the other direction! The car was such a unique beater that I recognized it instantly. It was like something out of a movie. Mommo told me to turn around and follow them and we called the cops and they stopped the car on the highway with those tire piercing thing the cops use. It was very exciting. And the best part was the vehicle was so trashed that my insurance company totaled it and wrote me a check for more than I could ever dream of selling it for. I guess my happy car-stolen story isn't probably what you want to hear right now. I'm sorry your car was stolen. It suck to think that people are that mean. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 my car was stolen out of my driveway during the night. So sorry. Our car was stolen while we were in the library in San Diego many years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Stacia-- we have walked all the backroads hoping the electronic key sensor lock thing kicked in, no luck. Stolen for parts very likely. Jenn, ds is having a great time imagining in to be like Top Gear in Albania. I think it is this episode but don't have the patience to watch right now. http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=2OA9mA176mA. Ds watches them all! For my favorite Top Gear see this one. http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=QQh56geU0X8. Absolutely cracks me up. Negin, were there many 3 wheelers where you grew up? Still a few around here. General fyi--they were hugely popular because considered to be an equivalent to a motorcycle. No car driver's license needed. A friend, my age, grew up with his dad driving one. Hilarious stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 I bought this book at B&N yesterday on a whim because it was on sale, Founding Mothers. Yes, I know I have a problem with non-fiction. I can't help. I just don't like fiction as much. There's just SO much interesting topics I want to learn about. I want to know everything. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiegirl Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Can I come too? I feel quilty for posting this because I am sure to shatter some Miss Read illusions but my car was stolen out of my driveway during the night. Very unexpected. We were the lucky people with the common car apparently. I was working in the garden when I noticed the car missing, assumed dh had dropped it off for service or moved it for a neighbour's delivery. Anyway when I eventually went in the house and calmly said "Dear, where have you put the car?" (The British way of phrasing has rubbed off obviously) to a speechless dh, which is not easy to achieve. He had simply locked it after removing the luggage last night and most likely it is on a lorry someplace. Jane, don't worry my walking polls are safe! :lol: We are car shopping......I loved that car. ;( I read a few chapters of Sacrilege this morning but none since my discovery. Oh, this is horrible! I am so sorry. Yes, you definitely need chocolate, wine, tea, cheese, full body massage--the whole works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Five a.m. found me staring at the plush silhouette of a large and impertinent raccoon running briskly along the neighbor's roof. The sky was rather lovely at that hour but the dog, who ds decided to let out(!), was breathing heavily and bark-growling obviously affronted by the audacity of the masked one who apparently took all that canine kvetching as a cue to end his revels. Needless to say I didn't get back to sleep though I'm sure both ds and the dog did. Instead I listened to Terry Gross's interview with Hillary Clinton and a review of a book that might appeal to some of the BaWers called, 'The Rise and Fall of Great Powers' by Tom Rachman. It got a fairly decent review...As for my own reading I've been perplexed by my more-than-usual plodding pace with 'The Firebrand' as it's really very accessible and fairly engaging. Besides the fact that I'm likely having a slow reading patch, I'm also aware that I'm feeling the weight and pace of centuries and centuries that have unfolded since the telling of the story such that it looms large in the collective psyche. I feel like I'm wading through all that as I read along not to mention the way the tale itself is lodged somewhere in our unconscious.It's a beautiful day here, BaWers. Wishing you all lots of Thursday fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Good gravy, Mumto2 -- what a thing. Malediction upon the thieves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Greetings from the Into the Woods pit. I'm going to try to write this during brief breaks in rehearsal. I just had to share the book I started over a pre-rehearsal second breakfast. The opening line in Charlie Lovett's The Bookman's Tale is "Wales could be cold in February". It opens in a rare book store in Hay. "He closed his eyes for a moment, imagining the cocoon of books shielding him from all danger, inhaling deeply that familiar scent of cloth and leather and dust and words." Isn't that scrumptious?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Just taking a moment here to say what a great group we've got. Ladies, I adore you. This thread is the reason I get on my computer every day -- just to check in on your reading, your comments, your lives. I've received a few postcards now (THANK YOU!), plus the book Robin just sent me (THANK YOU!) & I was mulling over how very cool it is that we have an online book group that has become such a great group of friends, having fun discussions & debates, & sending books & postcards hither & yon. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 P.S. I will send some postcards in July. I have an idea for cards, but need to go get them.... :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uff Da! Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 I hope you are feeling better Stacia! And mumto2- That is horrible. :grouphug: I think I'm surrendering T.S. Eliot for the time being. The reading I want to do for the prehistory class is a lot and, while I didn't plan to do an intense Bible study, it is what it is. I was speaking with a friend about it today and she piled more materials on me and she's sending me links to more academic lectures. I had to pause C.S. Lewis today just when he said he dabbled in the occult. It surprised me, partially because Eli Wiesel spoke so much about the kabbalah in his memoir and it's ill effects on his friends. It's an interesting parallel and I didn't get to hear anything beyond that statement from C.S. Lewis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Thursday is CSA box pick up day for me. Inevitably I finish whatever other errands I have and enjoy an iced coffee and a book while waiting for my farmer to pull up at the co-op. Today I packed water, shopping lists, a weird dead button battery that needed replacing--everything but a book. Have I lost my mind? Well it meant that I needed to borrow a book from the library. Otherwise what would I do? Sit and think? The book that said "Smell me, smell me" "Borrow me, borrow me" was Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar's The Time Regulation Institute, a classic novel from Turkey. Early on I read this provocative tidbit: "I fear that those who see freedom solely as a political concept will never fully grasp its meaning. The political pursuit of freedom can lead to its eradication on a grand scale — or rather it opens the doors to countless curtailments. It seems that freedom is the most coveted commodity in the world: for just when one person decides to gorge upon it those around him are deprived." The back cover describes this as is a novel on "the collision of tradition and modernity, of East and West.". By the way, I skipped the intro, read four chapters, then decided I needed to read the intro. Glad I did. But I am reading two other books at the moment too. Yikes! Must add hours to the day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Ah, Jane, The Time Regulation Institute is one I considered buying at a bookstore in Seattle, but I already had a few I had picked, so left it there. I know Eliana read it earlier this year because I asked her about it. Looking forward to your review of it because I still very much want to read it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 I finished Dodger. It didn't end the way I thought it would. He wasn't a famous personage, but it was still a lot of fun in a disgusting, smelly kind of way. I've decided to give up on Creative Mythology. It was becoming a chore to read, and I feel as though it kept covering the same ground over and over again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Aha -- vindicated in my position on Cadbury's.... I was re-reading the first chapter of Cooking with Fernet Branca (a funny book I read & enjoyed a few years ago) & came across the Cadbury's statement on page 15 of the book (or page 8 of the .pdf file of the first chapter). So, go read the chapter.... I'll wait. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Started reading: The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer Still reading: all caught up! 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) 29. Mere Christianity by CS Lewis (BRILLIANT) 30. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker (WONDERFUL) 31. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (CAN'T-PUT-IT-DOWN-READ-IT-ALL-IN-ONE-SITTING BOOK) 32. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (SUPER CREEPY BUT REALLY GOOD) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted June 20, 2014 Author Share Posted June 20, 2014 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 :lol: , Robin! (What happened to your avatar??? It's so confusing to see you without your avatar!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted June 20, 2014 Author Share Posted June 20, 2014 Aha -- vindicated in my position on Cadbury's.... I was re-reading the first chapter of Cooking with Fernet Branca (a funny book I read & enjoyed a few years ago) & came across the Cadbury's statement on page 15 of the book (or page 8 of the .pdf file of the first chapter). So, go read the chapter.... I'll wait. :D Chocolate covered mussels..... :eek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted June 20, 2014 Author Share Posted June 20, 2014 :lol: , Robin! (What happened to your avatar??? It's so confusing to see you without your avatar!) Huh! What did happen to it. Off to investigate. Hmm! Good time to change it I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Chocolate covered mussels..... :eek: Completely agree. Robin -- your new avatar picture is lovely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 For my favorite Top Gear see this one. http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=QQh56geU0X8. Absolutely cracks me up. Negin, were there many 3 wheelers where you grew up? Still a few around here. General fyi--they were hugely popular because considered to be an equivalent to a motorcycle. No car driver's license needed. A friend, my age, grew up with his dad driving one. Hilarious stories. When I tried the link, it didn't seem to work. I don't remember many 3-wheelers, but maybe that's just me not paying much attention at the time. Malediction upon the thieves. Love this :D. I need to remember this and use this phrase more often. Stealing it for future reference, if you don't mind. Robin -- your new avatar picture is lovely. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Just a quick message to let everyone know that the car has been found. It appears to be OK. Parked with another car stolen the same night from our village several miles away. Now part of a police operation so being left there for a few more days because it appears that they plan to return. Anyway thank you everyone for your kind words and well wishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawneinfl Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Just a quick message to let everyone know that the car has been found. It appears to be OK. Parked with another car stolen the same night from our village several miles away. Now part of a police operation so being left there for a few more days because it appears that they plan to return. Anyway thank you everyone for your kind words and well wishes. How exciting. I hope your car helps to get the bad guys. Started reading: The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer Still reading: all caught up! A friend just handed me The Interestings yesterday. I'm almost finished with Sweetness At the Bottom of the Pie. So that one is next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Sigh. I lack discipline. I'm woefully behind in Bible reading again. Will catch up this weekend! That's the goal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Spent a good chunk of time reading yesterday and am finding my groove with 'The Firebrand'. Today is the last day of ds's music day camp. It's been a lovely five days, a combination of some down time for myself in which I was able to tackle various long-standing house projects and an enriching, exciting week for ds. No commute involved either which puts it in the category of fantastic. I'm plodding along with Adam Phillips's, 'Promises, Promises'. I changed my approach and decided to read random chapters which interested me as there's no trajectory, really, at least not a chronological one. The book is more accessible this way, and interesting but I won't be reading it in its entirety so it won't be counted as one of my 52 in 52. Stacia, I'm wary of opening a link that involves chocolate covered mussels :lol: Mumto2, <insert the dancing party guys with balloons smile here> I would if I could but I'm on my tablet. I never get a chance to use that smilie and it's one of ds's favorites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Robin, love the new avatar. Heather & Shawne, I'd love to hear your comments on The Interestings when you've finished it. Mumto2, hope they catch the bad guys & that your car remains unscathed. If/when you get your car back, you should name it Edie Banister (after the octogenarian spy in Angelmaker). ;) :001_smile: Then you can have your traveling adventures around the British countryside with Edie. shukriyya, sounds like a great week. You might enjoy the passage about chocolate-covered mussels. It's that dry British wit/satire of the travel memoirs & foodie books out there. Of course, the character who is making the mussels also talks later in the book about using food as an offensive weapon (trying to get rid of a neighbor he doesn't like). :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 shukriyya, sounds like a great week. You might enjoy the passage about chocolate-covered mussels. It's that dry British wit/satire of the travel memoirs & foodie books out there. Of course, the character who is making the mussels also talks later in the book about using food as an offensive weapon (trying to get rid of a neighbor he doesn't like). :lol: Okay, I checked it out...pretty amusing but the recipe for the mussels :ack2: Really, mussels, soy sauce, olive oil, rosemary and chocolate shouldn't be read in the same sentence unless it's a grocery list :willy_nilly: Apparently I'm part of the gastronomically unadventurous club :smilielol5: I am sitting here with a lovely, strong cup of coffee and some good dark chocolate though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Jane, I meant to reply to your comment on my question about The Mabinogion. I got ds a copy of The Mountain of Marvels which he plowed through in a short sitting. He loved it and is interested in a lengthier version. Do you have any versions you might recommend for a tween who's not put off by slightly archaic language but is not quite ready for the full text? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Padraic Colum wrote a young person's Mabinogion back in the twenties, now republished by Dover under a different title: http://store.doverpublications.com/0486440613.html I like Colum. Poets make the best children's book writers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Padraic Colum wrote a young person's Mabinogion back in the twenties, now republished by Dover under a different title: http://store.doverpublications.com/0486440613.html I like Colum. Poets make the best children's book writers. Wonderful! Thanks so much, VC. Ds is a big Colum fan so he'll be thrilled with this :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Jane, I meant to reply to your comment on my question about The Mabinogion. I got ds a copy of The Mountain of Marvels which he plowed through in a short sitting. He loved it and is interested in a lengthier version. Do you have any versions you might recommend for a tween who's not put off by slightly archaic language but is not quite ready for the full text? I turned to my husband with your question since he is both the student of fairy tales and myths in this household as well as a fan of the fantasy genre. He feels that the Lloyd Alexander series The Chronicles of Prydain does a good job with the Welsh myths. He also noted that he read the Evangeline Walton retellings when he was about 12 or 13. On a related note, he suggests a series that has a similar feel but is not directly taken from Celtic myth: Patricia McKillip's Riddle Master trilogy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Thank you, Jane. Chronicles of Prydain have all been read and thoroughly enjoyed. I'll look into the Walton retellings. As for Patricia McKillip's trilogy we have just, as a family, discovered her so your suggestion to seek her out holds promise. I'm now off with dh to hear ds's culminating music camp performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Busy week, and haven't had much time for reading, but I wanted to check in. I decided that Coursera class isn't going to work right now. I was supposed to read Books 1-8 of The Odyssey and I'm done with 3, plus I haven't even went on the website to view the video lectures yet. Plenty of time for that stuff later on. So, I have to tell you guys - my kids saw me writing out and sending all the postcards for our postcard exchange and so they've been writing postcards back and forth to my mom. It is so cute and I love that they're doing this! On the not-so-cute side - we went to the grocery store this morning and intended to buy some postcards for their Nana. Well, they thought they were being funny and put them under the flap in the cart (where the babies sit) and not only did we not pay for them, but they forgot about them until we got home. So, somewhere there are postcards rolling around, hiding in a grocery cart. :001_rolleyes: Shukriyya - have you made progress on Longitude? I am about 30% into it. I think it's really interesting, but it is making me feel a little dumb as some of those people in the past - even the ones who didn't get the right answers - were SO smart! So much that we take for granted today. Mumto2 - glad your car was found, I hope that it comes back without damage! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiegirl Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Just a quick message to let everyone know that the car has been found. It appears to be OK. Parked with another car stolen the same night from our village several miles away. Now part of a police operation so being left there for a few more days because it appears that they plan to return. Anyway thank you everyone for your kind words and well wishes. Wahoo! This is great news! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Shukriyya - have you made progress on Longitude? I am about 30% into it. I think it's really interesting, but it is making me feel a little dumb as some of those people in the past - even the ones who didn't get the right answers - were SO smart! So much that we take for granted today. No, it's not even on my radar but instead sitting in my kindle library waiting for the right moment along with a lot other books. I'm being fairly intentional about my 5/5/5 challenge at this point so am mostly sticking to the books for that with a few exceptions. I've been having fun on Amazon for ds. He's a lover of the classics and has run through all the usual children's retellings over the years. I think he's ready for Graves :hurray: and will start him off with 'The Anger of Achilles' since he's currently interested in going more deeply with the Trojan war after years of Odysseus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Busy week, and haven't had much time for reading, but I wanted to check in. I decided that Coursera class isn't going to work right now. I was supposed to read Books 1-8 of The Odyssey and I'm done with 3, plus I haven't even went on the website to view the video lectures yet. Plenty of time for that stuff later on. So, I have to tell you guys - my kids saw me writing out and sending all the postcards for our postcard exchange and so they've been writing postcards back and forth to my mom. It is so cute and I love that they're doing this! On the not-so-cute side - we went to the grocery store this morning and intended to buy some postcards for their Nana. Well, they thought they were being funny and put them under the flap in the cart (where the babies sit) and not only did we not pay for them, but they forgot about them until we got home. So, somewhere there are postcards rolling around, hiding in a grocery cart. :001_rolleyes: Shukriyya - have you made progress on Longitude? I am about 30% into it. I think it's really interesting, but it is making me feel a little dumb as some of those people in the past - even the ones who didn't get the right answers - were SO smart! So much that we take for granted today. Mumto2 - glad your car was found, I hope that it comes back without damage! I love the postcard story, Monica! Being the science/math geeks that we are, we had to go to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich during our trip to England last year. The story of the quest to measure longitude is told well there (although we had both read Longitude before this trip). Before writing this update, I looked at the Royal Observatory's website and saw they are presently having a Steampunk show. Not sure what to think! Here is an article from the Guardian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.