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Book a Week in 2014 - BW45


Robin M
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Happy Sunday, dear hearts!  Today is the start of week 45 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 - Nonfiction November:  It seems appropriate that while I'm doing NaNoWriMo and working on a story to also be reading about The Making of a Story by Alice LaPlante.  I joined a group of writers a few months back to study the book and we are working through the book, one chapter a month.  It's been quite enlightening as the exercises has sparked quite a few ideas for the story I'm currently editing.  

I'm more of a fiction type of gal, reading probably 95% fiction to 5% non fiction which is why declaring this month, Non Fiction November.   I have a tendency to buy a non fiction book because it sounded really interesting...at the time I bought it.  Then it gets relegated to the shelf and forgotten until I have a need for it.  This month I'm going to make an attempt to read a couple of those books.  

We've been doing a readalong of Susan Wise Bauer's History of the Ancient World  and supposed to be on chapters 62 and 63 this week and I'm woefully behind, so will do my level best to catch up this month.  

Also in my stacks is The Cave and The Light: Plato versus Aristotle by Arthur Herman which has been calling my name. I always bite off more than I can chew so going to limit myself to these three books for the month and dive in with both feet. 

For those who have been reading their way through books listed in Bauer's Well Educated Mind, now would be a good time to tackle one of the recommended reads in the history or  autobiography categories.

If non fiction isn't your thing, then my challenge to you this month is to read at least one non fiction book.

 

 

History of the Ancient World:    Chapters 62 and 63

 

 

What are you reading this week? 

 

 

 

Link to week 44

 

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Good morning - did you gals (for those who live in states who do so) remember to set your clocks back an hour?  I'm happy my body is back in sync and get my extra quiet hour in the morning for writing. 

 

Currently reading and studying chapter 4 in The Making of a Story about writing short stories.   Also in the middle of Father of the Church, Expanded edition by Mike Aquilina
 
In the midst of two fiction stories and reading on my ipad - Jim Butcher's Storm Front (!st time read and enjoying it so far) and the paperback Blood Magick, #3 in Nora Roberts Cousins ODwyer series

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I just finished an Agatha Raisin - The Quiche of Death. I enjoyed it for the humour. I've read other Agatha Raisins and didn't like them as well. I think this is number one in the series and that might be why it was more fun. As Jane pointed out, sometimes series deteriorate after the umpteenth book. So my question to everyone is:

 

Is there a magic number before which a mystery series is more fun?

 

For those wanting very readable non-fiction, you might look at Bill Bryson. : )

 

Nan

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Flipping the calendar to November, I started making a list of gifts to be knitted and sewn before year's end.  Those of you who love Jan Brett books as much as I may smile when hearing that I am knitting mittens for my nephew, his wife and young son who will also be the recipient of Brett's book The Mitten (even if it does have a new cover--these things disconcert me!)

 

mitten_anniversary_jacket_300.jpg

 

Last week's thread reminded about my 5/5/5s. Dusties, Foodies, Eastern/Middle European authors: check, check, check.  Shaw Plays?  Just three and I don't know if I will read more before year's end.  Possibly.  Dorothy Dunnett novels?  Only one!  There is no way that I'll read four of her chunksters before December 31! 

 

At the library yesterday, I found myself staring at Dunnett's works when it hit me that I while I should carry on with the Niccolo books, I have never read any of her shorter (and what Eliana calls silly and fun books) in the Johnson Johnson series.  So I borrowed The Photogenic Soprano (previously published as Dolly & the Singing Bird) and made the promise to myself that I will read the fifth Niccolo, The Unicorn Hunt, before years end. 

 

I also came home from the library with names that have entered this thread (Freya Stark, Patrick "Paddy" Leigh Fermor) who also enter Durrell's memoir on Cyprus, Bitter Lemons.  I view this type of convergence as a nudge from the universe.  Who am I to ignore it?

 

My library bag was weighted down with cookbooks, I must confess.  While I enjoy cooking in general, this is a time of year when I particularly enjoy experimentation. Not that I am doing any today.  Bread dough is rising but my husband is cooking dinner. 

 

Now off to read and then knit.

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I just finished an Agatha Raisin - The Quiche of Death. I enjoyed it for the humour. I've read other Agatha Raisins and didn't like them as well. I think this is number one in the series and that might be why it was more fun. As Jane pointed out, sometimes series deteriorate after the umpteenth book. So my question to everyone is:

 

Is there a magic number before which a mystery series is more fun?

 

For those wanting very readable non-fiction, you might look at Bill Bryson. : )

 

Nan

 

Agatha Raisin is one of those series that proved to be an entertainment that didn't require much work on my part; but I too lost interest.  Same formula grows tiresome?

 

One of the issues that I have had with several mystery writers whom I like (Martha Grimes, Peter Robinson, Elizabeth George) is that the crimes became too gruesome or involved killing off characters emotionally close to the detective which cast such a depressing pall over the books. It was more than I could bear. 

 

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Flipping the calendar to November, I started making a list of gifts to be knitted and sewn before year's end.  Those of you who love Jan Brett books as much as I may smile when hearing that I am knitting mittens for my nephew, his wife and young son who will also be the recipient of Brett's book The Mitten (even if it does have a new cover--these things disconcert me!)

 

mitten_anniversary_jacket_300.jpg

 

Last week's thread reminded about my 5/5/5s. Dusties, Foodies, Eastern/Middle European authors: check, check, check.  Shaw Plays?  Just three and I don't know if I will read more before year's end.  Possibly.  Dorothy Dunnett novels?  Only one!  There is no way that I'll read four of her chunksters before December 31! 

 

At the library yesterday, I found myself staring at Dunnett's works when it hit me that I while I should carry on with the Niccolo books, I have never read any of her shorter (and what Eliana calls silly and fun books) in the Johnson Johnson series.  So I borrowed The Photogenic Soprano (previously published as Dolly & the Singing Bird) and made the promise to myself that I will read the fifth Niccolo, The Unicorn Hunt, before years end. 

 

I also came home from the library with names that have entered this thread (Freya Stark, Patrick "Paddy" Leigh Fermor) who also enter Durrell's memoir on Cyprus, Bitter Lemons.  I view this type of convergence as a nudge from the universe.  Who am I to ignore it?

 

Love the Jan Brett books & illustrations. What a fun gift set, Jane. Hope you post some mitten photos for us before you wrap them up for your nephew & his family.

 

I didn't do any 5/5/5 challenges this year. My main challenge was an around-the-world one (Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, North America, & Oceania). I've read all of the areas except for Antarctica. Not sure if I'll get to something Antarctic before the end of the year or not. We will see what, if anything, pulls my interest there.

 

Seeing the mention of Freya Stark reminds me of a biography I read many, many years ago about her, Passionate Nomad. I remember it being an excellent bio & it might be an interesting & fun book for some of you wanting to take on Robin's non-fiction challenge. Robin, I'll try to take you up on your November non-fiction challenge. I need to peruse my stacks & pick something. Like you, I lean much more toward fiction overall.

 

I just started a spooky read (only a month late! :lol: ), Jules Verne's The Castle in Transylvania (which predates Stoker's Dracula). I still think affectionately of Verne as Felix Unger after my cozy reading travels last year with him & Poe, so I'm curious to see how Felix Unger will handle the undead. :laugh:

 

Before Bram StokerĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s Dracula, Jules Verne, master of science fiction, wrote this eerie tale of the supernatural set in a forgotten valley in the mountains of Transylvania.

 

In a tiny village, cut off from the outside world, unnatural events are menacing the populace. Apparitions of vampires and zombies terrorize the townsfolk, and they come to believe that the Devil occupies the abandoned castle looming over their town. A visitor to the region, a young count, vows to liberate the town from this thrall-pitting his reason against the forces of evil and superstition. Yet he too must confront the limits of reason when he views, in the depths of the castle, his long-dead loveĂ¢â‚¬Â¦

 

I really like the soft lavender color of the cover with the almost art deco font, along with what I guess is a lovely undead woman...

 

The-Castle-In-Transylvania-235x282.jpg

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Reposting this for those who might have missed it yesterday ....

 

Literary Starbucks

 

From the About section: 

 

"This page is run by two English majors and one History major who have WAY too much time on their hands.

One day we thought, what would all of historyĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s famous authors and characters order if they lived in modern times and went to Starbucks?"

 

Some of my favorite entries include

 

Marius Pontmercy

 

Noah Webster

 

Homer

 

Alcott

 

It's easy to spend way TOO much time at this site!

 

Regards,

Kareni

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Oh, and my musing on Nan's question about books in a series -- I don't tend to enjoy series books because I quickly find them to be too repetitive (in style, description, characters, etc...). That bores me to tears. I like Dan Brown books ok (beach reads, imo), but I have to space them out with years, many years, in between them because they're so formulaic that it makes me twitch. Lol. There are very, very few books where I've read the entire series -- Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce books are the ones that spring to mind where I can say I've read them all & will continue to read them. I've read quite a few Terry Pratchett books, but am nowhere near done with his (there are so many!), but I do enjoy his books when I read them. Even for authors that write stand-alone books (my faves), I try not to repeat reading a certain author's work too often because, again, they often have too many style similarities. I don't know why that bothers me so much, but it does. I've read all three of Donna Tartt's books (& loved them all). She seems to put out a book about every dozen years or so & that timetable seems to work for me. :lol:

 

So, if it comes down to it, I will always, always pick a stand-alone book over a book in a series.

 

ETA: And, as always, I write stuff & then turn around & completely contradict myself. I read Jules Verne last year (An Antarctic Mystery) & am (already!) reading him again, just a year later.

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I'm in the midst of an intriguing romance which I actually bought (when it went on sale for a whopping 99 cents on my Kindle) after having read so many good reviews of it.  I forced myself to put it down at the half way point at midnight for fear that I'd read it to the end and it would suddenly be 2:00am.

 

Transcendence by Shay Savage

 

"ItĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s said that women and men are from two different planets when it comes to communication, but how can they overcome the obstacles of prehistoric times when one of them simply doesnĂ¢â‚¬â„¢t have the ability to comprehend language? EhdĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s a caveman living on his own in a harsh wilderness. HeĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s strong and intelligent, but completely alone. When he finds a beautiful young woman in his pit trap, itĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s obvious to him that she is meant to be his mate. He doesnĂ¢â‚¬â„¢t know where she came from, sheĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s wearing some pretty odd clothing, and she makes a lot of noises with her mouth that give him a headache. Still, heĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s determined to fulfill his purpose in life Ă¢â‚¬â€œ provide for her, protect her, and put a baby in her. Elizabeth doesnĂ¢â‚¬â„¢t know where she is or exactly how she got there. SheĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s confused and distressed by her predicament, and thereĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s a caveman hauling her back to his cavehome. SheĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s not at all interested in EhdĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s primitive advances, and she just canĂ¢â‚¬â„¢t seem to get him to listen. No matter what she tries, getting her point across to this primitive but beautiful man is a constant Ă¢â‚¬â€œ and often hilarious Ă¢â‚¬â€œ struggle. With only each other for company, they must rely on one another to fight the dangers of the wild and prepare for the winter months. As they struggle to coexist, theirs becomes a love story that transcends language and time."

 

Regards,

Kareni

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I finished a book of poetry by Adrienne Rich - Telephone Ringing in the Labyrinth . I really, really did not like most of this book, but there were three poems I liked a lot.

 

Today I read a book of short stories - graphic novel style. Through the Woods by Emily Carroll. I heard about it on the radio and found it in the YA graphic novel section of my library. These are creepy; my almost-eleven-year-old boy loved it. Here is the author's website, which includes one of the stories in the book: "His Face All Red."

 

I am currently working on Tom Sawyer, which I'm reading with my oldest ds, Moscow in the Plague Year by Marina Tsvetaeva - a really lovely book of poetry that surprised me when it came in the mail - Thank you again, Jane! - and Farewell, My Lovely, which is funnier than I remember the first Philip Marlowe book being (though I liked that one too). With NaNoWriMo on my mind, I also picked up Stephen King's book On Writing but haven't gotten to it yet.

 

One of the Adrienne Rich poems I liked:

 

HUBBLE PHOTOGRAPHS: AFTER SAPPHO

 

It should be the most desired sight of all

the person with whom you hope to live and die

 

walking into a room, turning to look at you, sight for sight

Should be yet I say there is something

 

more desirable: the ex-stasis of galaxies

so out from us there's no vocabulary

 

but mathematics and optics

equations letting sight pierce through time

 

into liberations, lacerations of light and dust

exposed like a body's cavity, violet green livid and venous, gorgeous

 

beyond good and evil as ever stained into dream

beyond remorse, disillusion, fear of death

 

or life, rage

for order, rage for destruction

 

Ă¢â‚¬â€œ beyond this love which stirs

the air everytime she walks into the room

 

These impersonae, however we call them

won't invade us as on movie screens

 

they are so old, so new, we are not to them

we look at them or don't from within the milky gauze

 

of our tilted gazing

but they don't look back and we cannot hurt them

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I just finished an Agatha Raisin - The Quiche of Death. I enjoyed it for the humour. I've read other Agatha Raisins and didn't like them as well. I think this is number one in the series and that might be why it was more fun. As Jane pointed out, sometimes series deteriorate after the umpteenth book. So my question to everyone is:

 

Is there a magic number before which a mystery series is more fun?

 

For those wanting very readable non-fiction, you might look at Bill Bryson. : )

 

Nan

 

The only series I've read all of is The Isabel Dalhousie mystery series by Alexander McCall Smith. I'm awaiting the next installment, too.

 

Flipping the calendar to November, I started making a list of gifts to be knitted and sewn before year's end.  Those of you who love Jan Brett books as much as I may smile when hearing that I am knitting mittens for my nephew, his wife and young son who will also be the recipient of Brett's book The Mitten (even if it does have a new cover--these things disconcert me!)

 

Now off to read and then knit.

 

Ha! I just spent some time on Ravelry searching for the perfect slouch beanie hat (inspired in part by Phoenix's thread of a few days ago) which I found. And I recently pulled out the shawl I began last year and would like to finish this year. I feel the pull to pick up the needles again and settle in with the click and slide of their rhythm.

 

Book-wise I finished Girl in Hyacinth Blue. It reminded a bit of the movie, The Red Violin, which traces the journey a beautiful red violin makes through the different hands that own it over the course of three centuries. Replace hands with eyes and you've got a similar trajectory going on with GiHB. It was a good read but I never felt fully drawn into the story. I plodded with it at times and times drifted with it, much like the two modes of transport depicted back then, walking in the klompen or speeding across the water in a skiff. My read was very much like that. Despite the rather slow pace I particularly liked the quote below. Vermeer is advising his wife who is helping arrange the tableau for the eponymous painting...

 

' "No, leave it Catharina. Right there in the light. It makes the whole corner sacred with the tenderness of just living." In the arranging of these things he felt a pleasure his selfishness surely didn't deserve. He stepped back and breathed more slowly, and what he saw, lit by warming washes of honey and gold, was a respite in stillness from the unacknowledged acts of women to hallow home. That stillness, he thought, might be all he would ever know of the Kingdom of Heaven.'

 

In non-book related news I spent most of the week getting to know the newest member of the Shukriyya family--a one year-old adorable canine bundle of love and delight who has kept me busy all week. She loves it when I read because it means I'm still, either in a chair so she can be in my lap or better lying down where she can snuggle up beneath my chin and sleep. I get to practice my attachment parenting skills all over again.

 

Once I finish my 5/5 my next literary challenge will be to read all the unread books in my kindle library. I've amassed rather a lot and that should keep me busy well into next year. But this week it'll be The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman and Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart. I had originally wanted to read The Gabriel Hounds but our library doesn't carry it.

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In non-book related news I spent most of the week getting to know the newest member of the Shukriyya family--a one year-old adorable canine bundle of love and delight who has kept me busy all week. She loves it when I read because it means I'm still, either in a chair so she can be in my lap or better lying down where she can snuggle up beneath my chin and sleep. I get to practice my attachment parenting skills all over again.

 

Awww....   :001_wub:  :001_wub:  :001_wub: Congratulations!!  Dogs have much to teach us re: unconditional love!  

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I finished The Historian, and actually finished it before Halloween, which feels like a deadline for spooky reads (just my personal deadline--carry on, Stacia!). I liked The Historian a lot--very interesting--but I would have loved it even more if it had been a bit shorter!

 

Currently reading a couple of non-fiction books--just in time for the November challenge! I find myself more attracted to non-fiction than I ever thought I would as a young adult. I enjoy learning new things. So, on the treadmill I'm reading I am Malala by Malala Yousefzai and a ghost writer. The day she won the Nobel a news clip showed her on stage with an I am Malala poster decorating the stage. So I looked it up in our library system and put a hold on it. I am learning a lot about life in Pakistan and a little about their history. I think it helps that it was written by a 16/17 yo--it's definitely on a level I can understand!

 

I also picked up The Gatekeepers mentioned in last week's thread, a 10 year old book that follows Wesleyan admissions officer Ralph Figueroa and the admissions process at highly selective schools. As I mentioned last week, I went to school with Ralph, but I don't remember hearing about this book 10 years ago. Anyway, dh got to the book before me, so I was not able to get very far this week.

 

As for books in a series, how much is too much? I thought Harry Potter (7 books) was perfect. One that became too much for me was Sue Grafton's A is for Alibi, etc, books. I think I made it to K and never got past that. Not really interested in diving in again. I do sometimes read many/all books by a particular author (Austen, Christie's Poirot mysteries), but I guess I don't really seek out book series, other than some kid series I share with the girls.

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As for books in a series, how much is too much? I thought Harry Potter (7 books) was perfect. One that became too much for me was Sue Grafton's A is for Alibi, etc, books. I think I made it to K and never got past that. Not really interested in diving in again. I do sometimes read many/all books by a particular author (Austen, Christie's Poirot mysteries), but I guess I don't really seek out book series, other than some kid series I share with the girls.

 

I love series which is probably a statement of the level of emotional involvement that I often feel for characters. 

 

Having written that, I realize there are series and then there are Settings.  Angela Thirkell's exquisite Barsetshire novels (more than 30 I think written over several decades) follow a large number of characters in a variety of towns whose lives intersect.  We watch children grow and marry, we bury the elderly and those who fall during WWII.  New people move in, young people leave for university and may return to live in Barsetshire or may only return for holidays.  Thirkell's books reflect life of a large community.  Perhaps because she is not focusing on a single character, one is less likely to be bored. 

 

The absolutely amazing Starbridge series written by Susan Howatch tells a story over several decades but each book offers a different perspective from a different character in the saga.  So while we are not reliving the previous book in the next, we see how circumstances influenced other characters.

 

I thought of another problem with series.  When Bernard Cornwall first wrote his Sharpe series, there were eleven engrossing stories. Due to the success of the televised dramatizations of the books (starring Sean Bean), Cornwall added to the series, building on to the background offered in passing in the original books.  These newer books (and his Saxon and Grail Quest series) are horribly formulaic.  I liked the initial Sharpe series well enough to try these others but they fell flat.  No more Cornwall for me.

 

Alan Furst's novels all take place during WWII in Europe. There is an occasional recurring character but his amazing historic fiction captures the work of spies and the drama and fear of those just trying to live their lives.  This is not a series due to the change in focus of character and time period, but there is a common denominator to all of his books.

 

I guess that many authors tend to stay within a particular genre and/or time period or geography but we don't call their books series.

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I read The Winner - 1 Star - This was a very predictable book. I'm glad that I didn't pay money for it and picked it up in our hotel lobby. I had no sympathy for the protagonist and did not care much for her at all. This was one of the very rare instances, where I couldn't believe that I was actually rooting for the villain. I thought that was quite funny, since that's so unlike me. 

 

9780446606325.jpg

 

MY RATING SYSTEM

5 Stars

Fantastic, couldn't put it down

4 Stars

Really Good

3 Stars

Enjoyable

2 Stars

Just Okay Ă¢â‚¬â€œ nothing to write home about

1 Star

Rubbish Ă¢â‚¬â€œ waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if theyĂ¢â‚¬â„¢re that bad. 

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I read The Winner - 1 Star - This was a very predictable book. I'm glad that I didn't pay money for it and picked it up in our hotel lobby. I had no sympathy for the protagonist and did not care much for her at all. This was one of the very rare instances, where I couldn't believe that I was actually rooting for the villain. I thought that was quite funny, since that's so unlike me. 

 

9780446606325.jpg

 

MY RATING SYSTEM

5 Stars

Fantastic, couldn't put it down

4 Stars

Really Good

3 Stars

Enjoyable

2 Stars

Just Okay Ă¢â‚¬â€œ nothing to write home about

1 Star

Rubbish Ă¢â‚¬â€œ waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if theyĂ¢â‚¬â„¢re that bad. 

 

I'm just impressed that you finished a 1 star book. I don't think I've been able to accomplish that yet.

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Sadie, I meant to tell you last week that I love the Tana French books I have read thus far but all of them in two days.....my brain aches just thinking about it. Just wow!

 

Shukriyya, Congratulations on your furbaby. Looking forward to a picture when you have a chance.

 

Nan, Regarding series....well I really like to read series. I have several that I started reading back in the 80's and keep reading each new one. I even reread. Personally I think most good series that have many (as in 20+ books) make it through the first 5 or so before the occasional clunker hits. Maybe 2 out of three good. Somewhere in upper teens things go bad for 3 or 4 in a row then hopefully correct.

 

The latest Agatha Raison, Something Borrowed Something Dead, was better than the 3 or 4 before. There is one being released any day now that I am waiting for. Curious if it will be good or not.

 

I recently listened to a popular chick lit author discuss the difficulty in writing the second and third book after you write a popular book and have a contract. I wonder if that is what separates popular series from ones that fade. She doesn't write series for that reason but does have cross over charactors. It sounded really hard to get the second book right. I think the first few need to be really good....

 

For non fiction I think I will just try to catch up on HotAW. Made it through chapter 40 earlier today. That was before Robin posted. ;)

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I am not good with series.  After about three I start to get tired of them.  The series of Flavia de Luce and Harry Potter  are exceptions.   I couldn't  even get to the third book of the Hunger Games or the Divergent trilogy.

 

I am still reading  Astonish Me  by Maggie Shipstead.  It's an okay read but the only thing that is going to get me through is determination. I am tired of ditching a book a third of the way through so I am determined to finish this one.

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The only series I've read all of is The Isabel Dalhousie mystery series by Alexander McCall Smith. I'm awaiting the next installment, too.

 

 

Ha! I just spent some time on Ravelry searching for the perfect slouch beanie hat (inspired in part by Phoenix's thread of a few days ago) which I found. And I recently pulled out the shawl I began last year and would like to finish this year. I feel the pull to pick up the needles again and settle in with the click and slide of their rhythm.

 

Book-wise I finished Girl in Hyacinth Blue. It reminded a bit of the movie, The Red Violin, which traces the journey a beautiful red violin makes through the different hands that own it over the course of three centuries. Replace hands with eyes and you've got a similar trajectory going on with GiHB. It was a good read but I never felt fully drawn into the story. I plodded with it at times and times drifted with it, much like the two modes of transport depicted back then, walking in the klompen or speeding across the water in a skiff. My read was very much like that. Despite the rather slow pace I particularly liked the quote below. Vermeer is advising his wife who is helping arrange the tableau for the eponymous painting...

 

' "No, leave it Catharina. Right there in the light. It makes the whole corner sacred with the tenderness of just living." In the arranging of these things he felt a pleasure his selfishness surely didn't deserve. He stepped back and breathed more slowly, and what he saw, lit by warming washes of honey and gold, was a respite in stillness from the unacknowledged acts of women to hallow home. That stillness, he thought, might be all he would ever know of the Kingdom of Heaven.'

 

In non-book related news I spent most of the week getting to know the newest member of the Shukriyya family--a one year-old adorable canine bundle of love and delight who has kept me busy all week. She loves it when I read because it means I'm still, either in a chair so she can be in my lap or better lying down where she can snuggle up beneath my chin and sleep. I get to practice my attachment parenting skills all over again.

 

Once I finish my 5/5 my next literary challenge will be to read all the unread books in my kindle library. I've amassed rather a lot and that should keep me busy well into next year. But this week it'll be The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman and Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart. I had originally wanted to read The Gabriel Hounds but our library doesn't carry it.

 

Congratulations on your furbaby. Look forward to seeing some pictures.  Have you child proofed your house yet?  Getting down on one's  hands and knees to hang out with kittens when they became very mobile was an eye opening experience.  And 8 years later, they still manage to find some interesting places to hide in.

 

 

 

Week 45! How can it be week 45 already??? I need more time. It can't be only seven more weeks until we start over again!

I know, this year has gone by way too fast.   And yes, I'm already thinking of new challenges to torture, err entice you all with next year.

 

 

I love series and get very invested in the characters and their worlds.  One offs are hard for me, because when they end and if I loved the characters, well boo hoo.  Series gather me in -  well good or enticing series.   I much prefer the paranormal and romantic suspense type in which there is a group of people and each novel concentrates on that couple or a particular person. And there has to be growth in the characters and how their world evolves and revolves.   If you take a basic mystery series and all the character does is solve a mystery and nothing much else happens, well then that gets boring.  I just recently finished rereading the entire J.D. Robb In Death series which took me about 3 months to read 30+ books and loved every minute of it. 

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Slow reading for me. I'm just exhausted. I had a very busy week which ended with me hosting a party and an ER trip for a broken wrist (not me...my ds). Just plugging away in the Bible, finished Snuff, and I'm in the middle of a book but can't think of the title at the moment. Told you I was tired. I've been stumbling around all day. 

 

 

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Slow reading for me. I'm just exhausted. I had a very busy week which ended with me hosting a party and an ER trip for a broken wrist (not me...my ds). Just plugging away in the Bible, finished Snuff, and I'm in the middle of a book but can't think of the title at the moment. Told you I was tired. I've been stumbling around all day. 

 

Sounds like you need a virtual hug.  Sleep well and have a better week! And I hope your son heals quickly.

 

Jane

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I am not good with series.  After about three I start to get tired of them.  The series of Flavia de Luce and Harry Potter  are exceptions.   I couldn't  even get to the third book of the Hunger Games or the Divergent trilogy.

 

I am still reading  Astonish Me  by Maggie Shipstead.  It's an okay read but the only thing that is going to get me through is determination. I am tired of ditching a book a third of the way through so I am determined to finish this one.

 

I still haven't read the third book in the Divergent series either, and I am usually pretty good with series books.  It doesn't help that my 14 yo dd really didn't like it at all.

 

I'm still waiting to finish the Sue Grafton series, but I only get her books from the library because to me they aren't worth owning. :)

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Slow reading for me. I'm just exhausted. I had a very busy week which ended with me hosting a party and an ER trip for a broken wrist (not me...my ds). Just plugging away in the Bible, finished Snuff, and I'm in the middle of a book but can't think of the title at the moment. Told you I was tired. I've been stumbling around all day. 

 

Wishing you a better week this week!

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Michele, you reminded me that I have The Goldfinch on my Kindle waiting. Should I dive into it after I finish the Nora Roberts waiting?

 

Robin, I'm with you. I love series. I fall in love with the characters and enjoy watching them grow and change as the series moves on. I'm all about the paranormal/romantic suspense too. I also am going to crack open Blood Magick tonight because it was waiting for me to finish The Historian.

 

Mom-ninja, oh no! Your poor DS. I hope this week is smoother for you.

 

I finished The Historian which I enjoyed very much but I agree, it could have been shorter than it was. My husband said something about checking it out himself. It should be interesting to see what he thinks about it because he's been on a huge sci-fi/fantasy kick with lots of Patrick Rothfuss, George R.R. Martin, and The Wheel Of Time books. 

 

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Slow reading for me. I'm just exhausted. I had a very busy week which ended with me hosting a party and an ER trip for a broken wrist (not me...my ds). Just plugging away in the Bible, finished Snuff, and I'm in the middle of a book but can't think of the title at the moment. Told you I was tired. I've been stumbling around all day. 

 

:grouphug:  It's always hard on us when our children get sick or break something.  Hope all of you get some rest tonight. 

 

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Making good progress this week on F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night. So far my favorite part: after a duel and two fatal shootings, I thought to myself, Are all the Americans in this book just going to be shooting each other all the time? And then a few lines on, a character asks, "Do all the Americans in Paris just shoot at each other all the time?"

 

Regarding series: I enjoyed O'Brien's Aubrey/Maturin series to the end, and also Trollope's Barsetshire Chronicles (not Jane's Barsetshire series!). But I got two-and-a-half books through Galsworthy's Forsyte Chronicles and realized I did not in the least care what happened to any of the characters or how the plot might develop, and stopped. I liked The Man of Property (the first book) well enough, however.

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Michele, you reminded me that I have The Goldfinch on my Kindle waiting. Should I dive into it after I finish the Nora Roberts waiting?
 
Robin, I'm with you. I love series. I fall in love with the characters and enjoy watching them grow and change as the series moves on. I'm all about the paranormal/romantic suspense too. I also am going to crack open Blood Magick tonight because it was waiting for me to finish The Historian.
 
Mom-ninja, oh no! Your poor DS. I hope this week is smoother for you.
 
I finished The Historian which I enjoyed very much but I agree, it could have been shorter than it was. My husband said something about checking it out himself. It should be interesting to see what he thinks about it because he's been on a huge sci-fi/fantasy kick with lots of Patrick Rothfuss, George R.R. Martin, and The Wheel Of Time books. 

 

 

I had it on my ipod (audio book), my Kindle, and as a brand new HB.  It is good; it gets long because it IS long, but if you are going to read it, now is as good a time as any, right? :lol:   I do love how her characters become real to me.

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Non-fiction month

 

 

I tend to read primarily fiction; however, I do read non-fiction from time to time.  This evening, I read a very short non-fiction piece (it's that short) that I enjoyed.

 

 

Neil Gaiman's 'Make Good Art' Speech

 

"In May 2012, bestselling author Neil Gaiman delivered the commencement address at PhiladelphiaĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s University of the Arts, in which he shared his thoughts about creativity, bravery, and strength. He encouraged the fledgling painters, musicians, writers, and dreamers to break rules and think outside the box. Most of all, he encouraged them to make good art."

 

Regards,

Kareni

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Add me to the series loving crew. Like Robin I love losing myself in a world and getting to know the characters.

 

I was off Wednesday-Sunday and the weather has been pretty misserable so I've gotten loads of reading done. Mostly cotton candy Susan Mallery Fool's Gold Romance. The newest book came out on Tuesday and after having read it I had to go back and read some of my favourites. I've also read some from my non-fiction book (Henrietta Lacks), I can't remember when I finished HP Chamber of Secrets but I have started The Prisoner of Azkaban. I'm also reading an absolutely aweful book for my work book club. I am trying to get to page 50 because that is my "rule" for giving up on books, but MAN is it not my type of book. Our librarian who is also in the book club described it as Stockholmspretto which is a phrase that means that it is pretentious and well far to full of navelgazing that big city intelligencia sometimes do. Yucky. (This might be another reason for reading all that cotton candy :lol: )

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Making good progress this week on F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night. So far my favorite part: after a duel and two fatal shootings, I thought to myself, Are all the Americans in this book just going to be shooting each other all the time? And then a few lines on, a character asks, "Do all the Americans in Paris just shoot at each other all the time?"

 

Regarding series: I enjoyed O'Brien's Aubrey/Maturin series to the end, and also Trollope's Barsetshire Chronicles (not Jane's Barsetshire series!). But I got two-and-a-half books through Galsworthy's Forsyte Chronicles and realized I did not in the least care what happened to any of the characters or how the plot might develop, and stopped. I liked The Man of Property (the first book) well enough, however.

 

It has been ages since I read Tender is the Night. After you finish, let me know if you think I should reread it.

 

I never made it through O'Brien's series but I adore the Forsyte Chronicles.  So there.  ;)

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Started reading:

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck

 

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)

33. A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout (WONDERFUL)

34. The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty (PRETTY GOOD)

35. The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez (HEART-BREAKING)

36. One Last Thing Before I Go by Jonathan Tropper (REALLY, REALLY GOOD)

37. The Glory of Heaven by John MacArthur (INTERESTING)

38. Big, Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (AWESOME)

39. Crazy Busy: A Mercifully Short Book About a Really Big Problem by Kevin DeYoung (SPOT ON)

40. Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels by J. Warner Wallace (SUPER INTERESTING)

41. Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg Mckeown (AWESOME)

42. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins (ROMANTIC)

43. A Dream So Big: Our Unlikely Journey to End the Tears of Hunger by Steve Peifer (TEAR-JERKER)

44. Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Gilbraith (MEH)

45. The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle (SUPER INTERESTING)

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Flipping the calendar to November, I started making a list of gifts to be knitted and sewn before year's end.  Those of you who love Jan Brett books as much as I may smile when hearing that I am knitting mittens for my nephew, his wife and young son who will also be the recipient of Brett's book The Mitten (even if it does have a new cover--these things disconcert me!)

 

mitten_anniversary_jacket_300.jpg

 

Last week's thread reminded about my 5/5/5s. Dusties, Foodies, Eastern/Middle European authors: check, check, check.  Shaw Plays?  Just three and I don't know if I will read more before year's end.  Possibly.  Dorothy Dunnett novels?  Only one!  There is no way that I'll read four of her chunksters before December 31! 

 

At the library yesterday, I found myself staring at Dunnett's works when it hit me that I while I should carry on with the Niccolo books, I have never read any of her shorter (and what Eliana calls silly and fun books) in the Johnson Johnson series.  So I borrowed The Photogenic Soprano (previously published as Dolly & the Singing Bird) and made the promise to myself that I will read the fifth Niccolo, The Unicorn Hunt, before years end. 

 

I also came home from the library with names that have entered this thread (Freya Stark, Patrick "Paddy" Leigh Fermor) who also enter Durrell's memoir on Cyprus, Bitter Lemons.  I view this type of convergence as a nudge from the universe.  Who am I to ignore it?

 

My library bag was weighted down with cookbooks, I must confess.  While I enjoy cooking in general, this is a time of year when I particularly enjoy experimentation. Not that I am doing any today.  Bread dough is rising but my husband is cooking dinner. 

 

Now off to read and then knit.

 

I love that book.  DS has it beside his bed ... old cover though, of course!  I also dislike it when they change the cover.  

 

Week 45! How can it be week 45 already??? I need more time. It can't be only seven more weeks until we start over again!

 

I know!  There's no way it's going to feel right to write 2015 on anything.

 

Slow reading for me. I'm just exhausted. I had a very busy week which ended with me hosting a party and an ER trip for a broken wrist (not me...my ds). Just plugging away in the Bible, finished Snuff, and I'm in the middle of a book but can't think of the title at the moment. Told you I was tired. I've been stumbling around all day. 

 

Hope he has a fast recovery!

 

The first voting round for Goodreads best books of 2014 is up:

https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-books-2014

 

I love voting so I hurried over to the site to discover ...

 

I might be more familiar with the best books of 1914! 

 

Guess who won't be voting?

 

 

Me too, Jane.  Me too. 

 

VC probably laughs at all our modern books though.  She'd have to vote in best book of 1814.  

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Amy - Wodehouse is a great favourite here.  The Adventures of Sally got me through a bad patch a few years ago.  I'd never read it before.  Have you read Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome?  If not and you like Wodehouse, you might like to try it.  You also might like Angela Thirkell, if you like that style of writing.

 

 

Thank you for the recommendation.  I have read Three Men in a Boat and loved it.  I haven't read Angela Thirkell but I will add her to my to-read list.  I love it when I get book suggestions.  One of my two biggest fears is running out of books to read.  The other is snakes.  

 

 

 

I read Ella Enchanted, a book I've been meaning to read ever since my niece told me I had to several years ago.  For the same reason, I am now in the middle of Fairest.  She's probably outgrown them by now.

 

 

If you like fairy tales then I can't recommend Beauty by Robin McKinley enough.  It was fantastic.  I think it was my personal book of the year a few years ago.  It's a book that was suitable for a child to read but great for an adult also.  

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Now for what I've been reading:

 

DD has had a crazy number of sleepovers lately so we're still reading through Ronia, the Robber's Daughter.  So far it gets high marks from both of us.  

 

Did I ever post that I finished the Ivy Tree?  I can't find that I did.  Well, I did.  I thought it was great.  I will happily read more Mary Stewart.  And as for the surprise twist that everyone saw coming ... I didn't see it coming.  Not at all.  I sat there and literally thought, "WOW,  I had NO idea.  Whoa!"  Sometimes I'm a bit obtuse.

 

On the audio front I finished The Foundling by Georgette Heyer.  I was expecting a romance and it wasn't.  More of an adventure story/comedy of errors.  Still enjoyed listening to it though.

 

I just downloaded the second Flavia book.  I read the first and didn't enjoy it much but it's been recommended to me here and from DD so I'll try listening to is as an audiobook.  I'm trying to pace myself on listening to all the Georgette Heyer audiobooks so I don't run out.  

 

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Making good progress this week on F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night. So far my favorite part: after a duel and two fatal shootings, I thought to myself, Are all the Americans in this book just going to be shooting each other all the time? And then a few lines on, a character asks, "Do all the Americans in Paris just shoot at each other all the time?"

Regarding series: I enjoyed O'Brien's Aubrey/Maturin series to the end, and also Trollope's Barsetshire Chronicles (not Jane's Barsetshire series!). But I got two-and-a-half books through Galsworthy's Forsyte Chronicles and realized I did not in the least care what happened to any of the characters or how the plot might develop, and stopped. I liked The Man of Property (the first book) well enough, however.

I consider Forsyte to be a Saga not a series. Pretty much the story of one family over decades. I generally do not like that type and really didn't care for Forsyte. My Bf's mother, who I loved dearly, bought a set each for the 3 of us shortly after ds was born. Sort of her own bookclub.....bf and I really really tried but could not finish. Not sure if I made it into number 3 or not. She had it all tied in with watching it on PBS which made it worse for me timewise.

 

I actually started a new to me series today by Charlaine Harris. Not sure what the proper name for the series is but it starts with Grave Sight. The main character, Harper Connelly, was struck by lightning and now senses the dead. I will find a link when I have a chance. I have it for my spooky reads and am actually excited about it because I have never been able to find it at a library before. Didn't really want to own it. So far I like it.

 

I have returned a couple of stacks of serious books to the library today. Ds joined me and gave up a good portion of his stack too...he is busy with programming projects. My urge to read fluff is not going away so might as well start getting rid of the heavy topics. I also seem to just be reading on my kindles.

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I actually started a new to me series today by Charlaine Harris. Not sure what the proper name for the series is but it starts with Grave Sight. The main character, Harper Connelly, was struck by lightning and now senses the dead. I will find a link when I have a chance. I have it for my spooky reads and am actually excited about it because I have never been able to find it at a library before. Didn't really want to own it. So far I like it.

 

 

I liked that series also.  Here's a link for others who might be interested:

 

Grave Sight (Harper Connelly Mysteries, Book 1)

 

Charlaine Harris also has a series of mysteries which I enjoyed; that series started with

Shakespeare's Landlord (Lily Bard Mysteries, Book 1).

 

Regards,

Kareni

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I liked that series also. Here's a link for others who might be interested:

Grave Sight (Harper Connelly Mysteries, Book 1)

 

Charlaine Harris also has a series of mysteries which I enjoyed; that series started with Shakespeare's Landlord (Lily Bard Mysteries, Book 1).

 

Regards,

Kareni

Thank you! I like the Shakespeare one also. That one is on my reread list. Would like to read them in order.
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I consider Forsyte to be a Saga not a series. Pretty much the story of one family over decades. I generally do not like that type and really didn't care for Forsyte. My Bf's mother, who I loved dearly, bought a set each for the 3 of us shortly after ds was born. Sort of her own bookclub.....bf and I really really tried but could not finish. Not sure if I made it into number 3 or not. She had it all tied in with watching it on PBS which made it worse for me timewise.

 

I actually started a new to me series today by Charlaine Harris. Not sure what the proper name for the series is but it starts with Grave Sight. The main character, Harper Connelly, was struck by lightning and now senses the dead. I will find a link when I have a chance. I have it for my spooky reads and am actually excited about it because I have never been able to find it at a library before. Didn't really want to own it. So far I like it.

 

I have returned a couple of stacks of serious books to the library today. Ds joined me and gave up a good portion of his stack too...he is busy with programming projects. My urge to read fluff is not going away so might as well start getting rid of the heavy topics. I also seem to just be reading on my kindles.

 

A good term, "saga".  I like a good saga.  Probably because I am so sagacious.  :lol:

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VC probably laughs at all our modern books though.  She'd have to vote in best book of 1814.

 

I never laugh at anybody's choice of books. Le coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaĂƒÂ®t point.

 

Best book of 1814? Of those I've read, the choice is between Scott's Waverley and Austen's Mansfield Park; and I definitely choose the former.

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Did I see something about another Flavia book coming? I can't find the post.

 

My non-fiction for November is Freedom Evolves by Daniel Dennett. He's one of those authors that I can't thoroughly understand but I am determined to try.(That's kind of a little pun, considering the subject matter. ) Maybe exposure will increase my knowledge base. Of course, it's just the book for someone whose head isn't feeling quite steady to begin with. :lol:

 

When that gets mind bogging, I will be dipping into a compilation called The 50 Greatest Mysteries Of All Time. I'll be skipping the ones I've read in the past.

 

 

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Did I see something about another Flavia book coming? I can't find the post.

 

My non-fiction for November is Freedom Evolves by Daniel Dennett. He's one of those authors that I can't thoroughly understand but I am determined to try.(That's kind of a little pun, considering the subject matter. ) Maybe exposure will increase my knowledge base. Of course, it's just the book for someone whose head isn't feeling quite steady to begin with. :lol:

 

When that gets mind bogging, I will be dipping into a compilation called The 50 Greatest Mysteries Of All Time. I'll be skipping the ones I've read in the past.

 

I think the Flavia post was on last week's thread.  If I remember correctly (and that is unlikely) I believe it's coming out January 6th.  I remember telling DD about it and she was very excited.

 

Will you please post a link to The 50 Greatest Mysteries Of All Time?  That seems like something I would be very interested in doing also.  Maybe that can be my personal challenge next year.  

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Wipe out day here, out for almost 12 hrs with a very long commute. Getting two dogs, a tween and myself out the door in good order early is no mean feat--leashes, kibble, poop bags, beds, towels, breakfasts, lunches, thermoses, mugs, snacks, kindles, knitting, water, hiking shoes and jacket, grocery list and bags and on and on...However I did get a chunk of reading in by beginning The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman. Enjoying it so far and her twisty-turny style brings back familiar memories of the meandering-with-purpose trajectory of her previous books.

 

Dogs have been fed, humans haven't. My immediate task is clear :lol:

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