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Book a Week in 2014 - BW25


Robin M
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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.

Did he now?!? How have I not known this? We have many Colum books in our home library and they are beloved by all. I foresee a book purchase in my fairly near future.

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Mumto2, Oh my gosh, that's terrible. I'm so glad it was found! Both my mother and brother had their vehicles stolen in the past. Both were more common vehicles, my brother's was a total junker but the police said they are more likely to steal junkers because it doesn't look as suspicious? People are crazy.
 
Robin, love the new avatar!
 
Shukriyya, mmm, good coffee and chocolate? Toss in a book and life doesn't get any better.

I have a feeling I'm going to be reading The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks and Written In My Own Heart's Blood for-ev-er. ;) This baby is sweet but his presence makes it possible to read about three pages before crashing out! With all of the added appointments, there's no time during the day to sit and read either. Hopefully it'll calm down a little next week and I can use his visits to read. Found out today that he'll likely only be here for a few weeks until the courts can approve a relative which stinks for us but family is important if they're safe.
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Just posting a quick note to the group from Eliana -- she's back home after a wonderful visit with her beautiful grandbaby, dd, & sil. She says hi & will get back to the BaW thread after catching back up at home.

 

Eliana, looking forward to hearing more about your trip & (of course) any reading you do in the meantime!

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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!

 

FYI-  I can see every lecture from every class I've taken on my phone app.  so you could just move slower at your own pace if the access to lectures stays the same.

What does that mean? 

 

I wondered the same thing Rosie as the term seems broad to me but I never really pondered it before (and I was left to wonder what in the world he meant until I could start up the audio again).  When I looked up occult, this is what wikipedia had:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occult and I noticed Kabbalah under the occult domain.  When I started the audio up again, CS Lewis was talking about Wagner, The Ride of the Valkyries and an obsession with them.  I'm not sure what C.S. Lewis experienced and what Wiesel experienced are comparable beyond that neither thought that what they experienced was healthy.  Obsession maybe is the key word for both.  I am struggling a bit with his memoir as an audio simply because what he says flies past before I can really process it.  Perhaps the telling of a life needs to be taken more slowly than what an audio book allows. 

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Latest update -- 3 arrests so far.  Happy dance!!!!!  By the way Stacia,  the car's name is Amy because she is silver.  My kids decided long ago blue cars are Sam and silver cars Amy.  We never seem to get anything else.  My family ended up buying our cars that dh and I had in the US which are still known as Sam and Amy.  :lol:  So I doubt that anyone would agree to new names unless we get a different color.

 

 

Haven't read much.  Trying to get The Shivering Sands by Victoria Holt going but I just seem to be unable to really engage with what I am reading right now.  I have abandoned 6 books this week.  At between 10 and 120 pages that is a book all by itself.  This really is not normal for me. 

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Latest update -- 3 arrests so far.  Happy dance!!!!!  By the way Stacia,  the car's name is Amy because she is silver.  My kids decided long ago blue cars are Sam and silver cars Amy.  We never seem to get anything else.  My family ended up buying our cars that dh and I had in the US which are still known as Sam and Amy.   :lol:  So I doubt that anyone would agree to new names unless we get a different color.

 

Yay. Hope Amy gets home to you soon.

 

I guess if you ever get a Vespa (or a Harley), you can name it Edie. That seems more like Edie's style anyway. ;) :lol:

 

Finished Strange Bodies by Marcel Theroux last night. I liked it -- seemed like a smart, fast-paced thriller (I guess that's the category it might be in?). It had some serious overtones of Frankenstein throughout, including the same melancholic tone pervading the story, imo. It raised some interesting philosophical questions about the nature of self & what makes a person. I think I'd recommend it to a: fans of thrillers, b: fans of Frankenstein, c: fans of Samuel Johnson, &/or d: people who are interested in being cryogenically preserved. :laugh:  (No, the book is not about cryogenics, but if you're interested in cryogenics & those types of advances in science, I think this storyline would be intriguing to you.)

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Yay. Hope Amy gets home to you soon.

 

I guess if you ever get a Vespa (or a Harley), you can name it Edie. That seems more like Edie's style anyway. ;) :lol:

 

Finished Strange Bodies by Marcel Theroux last night. I liked it -- seemed like a smart, fast-paced thriller (I guess that's the category it might be in?). It had some serious overtones of Frankenstein throughout, including the same melancholic tone pervading the story, imo. It raised some interesting philosophical questions about the nature of self & what makes a person. I think I'd recommend it to a: fans of thrillers, b: fans of Frankenstein, c: fans of Samuel Johnson, &/or d: people who are interested in being cryogenically preserved. :laugh:  (No, the book is not about cryogenics, but if you're interested in cryogenics & those types of advances in science, I think this storyline would be intriguing to you.)

We are waiting for Amy's keys to arrive back from the insurance company.  They had already processed her as gone.  We would have received a bank transfer this morning.   Incredibly quick service.

 

I had already requested Strange Bodies thanks to Jenn's? review.  Looking forward to it.

 

Did someone here read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke?  Dh brought it home with my requests today.  Looks intriguing but not sure why I requested it.  Potentially from a Steampunk list but it doesn't really seem right.  Early 1800s with inventions per cover, so close.    

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Did someone here read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke?  Dh brought it home with my requests today.  Looks intriguing but not sure why I requested it.  Potentially from a Steampunk list but it doesn't really seem right.  Early 1800s with inventions per cover, so close.    

 

I've read it and found it fascinating.

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We are waiting for Amy's keys to arrive back from the insurance company.  They had already processed her as gone.  We would have received a bank transfer this morning.   Incredibly quick service.

 

I had already requested Strange Bodies thanks to Jenn's? review.  Looking forward to it.

 

Did someone here read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke?  Dh brought it home with my requests today.  Looks intriguing but not sure why I requested it.  Potentially from a Steampunk list but it doesn't really seem right.  Early 1800s with inventions per cover, so close.    

 

I think you'll enjoy Strange Bodies.

 

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell has been on my want-to-read list for years. I really need to get the library copy & buckle down & read it. I think quite a few ladies on here have read it....

 

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It's Stacia's birthday today!!! I'm on my phone at the park for an event of ds's wearing a down vest and ds's fleece-lined hoodie with the hood up, I might add, otherwise I'd post a nice birthday gif. That will have to wait for later but right now I can wish you the very happiest of birthdays, Stacia :D

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Wow! Happy birthday, Stacia!

 

A one, and a two...

 

FOR -- she's a jolly good fel-low

For she's a jolly good FEL-low,

For she's a jolly good fel-LOWWWWW...

 

WHICH NOBODY CAN DENY!

 

Hip, hip....

I'm singing along!  ;)

 

Stacia -- Hope you have a very Happy Birthday with lots of really good chocolate!

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We are waiting for Amy's keys to arrive back from the insurance company.  They had already processed her as gone.  We would have received a bank transfer this morning.   Incredibly quick service.

 

I had already requested Strange Bodies thanks to Jenn's? review.  Looking forward to it.

 

Did someone here read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke?  Dh brought it home with my requests today.  Looks intriguing but not sure why I requested it.  Potentially from a Steampunk list but it doesn't really seem right.  Early 1800s with inventions per cover, so close.    

I have Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell in the stacks but have yet to read it.  Soon though.   Let's see - English author, alternative historical fantasy, set in the 19th century story which won the hugo award in 2005. All that is why I have it in my stacks.  Maybe we'll have to do a readalong so Stacia, you better get your copy.

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I have Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell in the stacks but have yet to read it.  Soon though.   Let's see - English author, alternative historical fantasy, set in the 19th century story which won the hugo award in 2005. All that is why I have it in my stacks.  Maybe we'll have to do a readalong so Stacia, you better get your copy.

I'm willing.  :)  

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For a lark I read a satirical novel by a very local writer, Last Lesson of the Afternoon by Christopher Rush. It had some good points but it was so deeply flawed, and in so many ways, as to leave me unable to recommend it. I post it here on a Saturday evening (my time) so that it can disappear with the week's thread. Back to Boccaccio.

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I also have not read Jonathan Strange and Dr. Norrell but own a copy. 

 

 

 

I read The Little Book at the beginning of this year. There were things I liked about it and things I didn't. I think the time-travelling was a bit more mystical than Back to the Future, but there's lots of interesting Vienna in it's golden age stuff. 

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Did someone here read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke? 

 

I looked back to what I wrote back in February 2013 when Paisley Hedgehog was discussing the book. 

 

"I read the book shortly after it came out when it was the latest hot thing. I did finish it, but I never loved it. I found it fairly slow going throughout."

 

Regards,

Kareni

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I finished The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier late Thursday night! She did not disappoint with her second book.  Using the same writing style as her first book, Fortier seamlessly wove the story of Diana, a modern day Oxford professor, with the history of Myrina, Queen of the Amazons.  Their tales unfold as we follow Diana and Myrina around the Mediterranean coasts of Africa, Crete, Greece, and Turkey revealing the "history" of the Amazons while solving the mystery of Diana's beloved grandmother.  Taking bits of history, bits of myth, and then filling in the gaps, we see a new telling of Paris, King Priam, and the Trojan War.  One, I have to say, that I thoroughly enjoyed imagining.  I find it fascinating that the author can take a story like Romeo and Juliet or the Trojan War and keep me turning pages voraciously even though I know what is ultimately going to happen.  It's her way of getting us there, never knowing just what might change and always hoping for the happily ever after instead of the tragedy, that makes it a 5 star book for me.  I don't always recommend books but I highly recommend this book and her first, Juliet.  

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Well, looks like the 3rd time is the charm. I finally finished Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley after two false starts. I really enjoyed Flavia and will look forward to the rest of the series. My husband adores British crime shows: especially Sherlock and Midsomer Murders. I would love to see Flavia one the small screen.

 

BTW, happy birthday Stacia!

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Well, looks like the 3rd time is the charm. I finally finished Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley after two false starts. I really enjoyed Flavia and will look forward to the rest of the series. My husband adores British crime shows: especially Sherlock and Midsomer Murders. I would love to see Flavia one the small screen.

 

BTW, happy birthday Stacia!

 

The Midsomer Murder shows are based on books by Caroline Graham.  I have really enjoyed her Chief Inspector Barnaby mysteries.

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I finished The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier late Thursday night! She did not disappoint with her second book. Using the same writing style as her first book, Fortier seamlessly wove the story of Diana, a modern day Oxford professor, with the history of Myrina, Queen of the Amazons. Their tales unfold as we follow Diana and Myrina around the Mediterranean coasts of Africa, Crete, Greece, and Turkey revealing the "history" of the Amazons while solving the mystery of Diana's beloved grandmother. Taking bits of history, bits of myth, and then filling in the gaps, we see a new telling of Paris, King Priam, and the Trojan War. One, I have to say, that I thoroughly enjoyed imagining.

I've been hanging with the Amazons, too :D

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Happy Birthday Stacia!

 

Latest update -- 3 arrests so far.  Happy dance!!!!!  By the way Stacia,  the car's name is Amy because she is silver.  My kids decided long ago blue cars are Sam and silver cars Amy.  We never seem to get anything else.  My family ended up buying our cars that dh and I had in the US which are still known as Sam and Amy.   :lol:  So I doubt that anyone would agree to new names unless we get a different color.

 

 

Haven't read much.  Trying to get The Shivering Sands by Victoria Holt going but I just seem to be unable to really engage with what I am reading right now.  I have abandoned 6 books this week.  At between 10 and 120 pages that is a book all by itself.  This really is not normal for me. 

 

Sounds like a great name for a car!

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Well, looks like the 3rd time is the charm. I finally finished Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley after two false starts. I really enjoyed Flavia and will look forward to the rest of the series. My husband adores British crime shows: especially Sherlock and Midsomer Murders. I would love to see Flavia one the small screen.

 

BTW, happy birthday Stacia!

I know I read back in January when I read the latest in the series that BBC was making a series based on the books.  Sounded like that may have prompted Bradley to write a few more.  Can't wait for both the show and the new books! :)   If I hunt for the article my quotes will disappear.

 

I finished The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier late Thursday night! She did not disappoint with her second book.  Using the same writing style as her first book, Fortier seamlessly wove the story of Diana, a modern day Oxford professor, with the history of Myrina, Queen of the Amazons.  Their tales unfold as we follow Diana and Myrina around the Mediterranean coasts of Africa, Crete, Greece, and Turkey revealing the "history" of the Amazons while solving the mystery of Diana's beloved grandmother.  Taking bits of history, bits of myth, and then filling in the gaps, we see a new telling of Paris, King Priam, and the Trojan War.  One, I have to say, that I thoroughly enjoyed imagining.  I find it fascinating that the author can take a story like Romeo and Juliet or the Trojan War and keep me turning pages voraciously even though I know what is ultimately going to happen.  It's her way of getting us there, never knowing just what might change and always hoping for the happily ever after instead of the tragedy, that makes it a 5 star book for me.  I don't always recommend books but I highly recommend this book and her first, Juliet.  

 

 

The Midsomer Murder shows are based on books by Caroline Graham.  I have really enjoyed her Chief Inspector Barnaby mysteries.

I have requested both Juliet and the first Inspector Barnaby.  Due to some unexpected events in my library saga I need to keep the request numbers up. :)   I normally remember why I requested each one and think of all of you as they appear. :)  Still wonder why I put the request in for Jonathan Stange but there has obvviously been enough chatter here to prompt me to be curious.  I suspect it must have been on a list that was linked.  Anyway glad I did.  It is always fun when several of us attempt to do a read along! 

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