Book a Week in 2014 - BW 52 Wrap it up with a bow

[Loesje22000]

I finished the Bronse Bow in Dutch last night.

I am not fond about fiction in Biblical settings.

Nevertheless it might be a good book for dd.

 

Somehow I think 'Svenne' from Per Nilsson might be a good book after this one.

Time to visit the library tomorrow I think.

 

I also finished 'Reinhart' (Pureheart) a Flemish book about a boy in the Middle Ages who is supposed to be the heir from a loan. He wants to be knight and to travel and got permission from his christian bookloving father.

A lot happens, but the boy becomes a convinced muslimman.

Very intriguing story.

 

The only con I have is the bedscenes.

I am not sure I understand why Flemish authors think you can only sell history to YA with certain bedscenes.

It is in all flemish historical fiction I read so far.

These were pretty 'decent' and 'only' 3 times.

But this one will be put on the 'later' list.

 

Still working on my medical ethics book, but I can only read so much pages a day of this book.

A lot to think about it, but I am glad I found it.

[Robin M]

Well, I caught the beginning of the Movie Cloud Atlas and made it no further than the guy going splat off the balcony.  Too gross, too icky and totally put me off reading the book.  Been perusing the 1001 list again and can't decide between Invisible Cities by Calvino or A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth.    Yes, I know. One's tremendously long and the other equally short.    F.I.L. gave us a amazon gift certificate for Christmas so doing a last minute buy before the end of the year and my buying ban begins

 

So, I got the two mentioned above along with Ben Kane's Spartacus (Loved his Forgotten Legion Trilogy)

 

 

[Mom-ninja.]

Is it just me or has paperbackswap really slowed over the past year? Is it due to e-readers? 

 

Anyway, I have books that need new homes so I thought I'd post them here, and if anyone is interested in 1,2,3 or more I'll send them. Kind of like our own book swap but without tallying up points. Just the passing of books from one friend to another.  Or maybe this is unfair to everyone not living in the US? 

[Robin M]

Is it just me or has paperbackswap really slowed over the past year? Is it due to e-readers? 

 

Anyway, I have books that need new homes so I thought I'd post them here, and if anyone is interested in 1,2,3 or more I'll send them. Kind of like our own book swap but without tallying up points. Just the passing of books from one friend to another.  

Good idea!

[Rosie_0801]

Is it just me or has paperbackswap really slowed over the past year? Is it due to e-readers? 

 

Anyway, I have books that need new homes so I thought I'd post them here, and if anyone is interested in 1,2,3 or more I'll send them. Kind of like our own book swap but without tallying up points. Just the passing of books from one friend to another.  Or maybe this is unfair to everyone not living in the US? 

 

Is it unfair to everyone not living in my house that we're eating salad when most of you probably can't get decent tomatoes at this time of year? :lol:

[NoseInABook]

Ooh, book swap sounds great to me! 

 

I finished up Every Which Way But Dead and dove into A Fistful Of Charms. If I can finish this one by the end of the year, I'll have read 85 and that's good 'nuff for this year! Loving the series even if it's pure fluff. :) 

[shukriyya]

Sitting here drinking hot mint tea in an effort to restore my voice which is fast disappearing and soothe my left ear which is filled with the sound of the ocean.

 

I finished 'I am Livia' and very much enjoyed it. A fascinating and detailed account of life with Caesar Augustus as told through the voice of his wife, Livia Drusilla. Their relationship was as complex as they were as she states..."If his oddity and mine did not take precisely the same form, still the edges of one seemed to fit those of the other, like two sides of a split piece of pottery." It was a compelling read. Mulling over some of the reviews I realized that there is an art to writing a good review, the ability to succinctly lay out the characters and their trajectory as it unfolds within the plot lines along with one's own various impressions and opinions. To do so concisely and yet still keep it informative and relevant is not such an easy thing to do. So rather than try I found this review here did a nice job of giving a bit of context to the historical woman, Livia, as well as situating her within the pantheon of Graves's 'I Claudius' where she is depicted as a 'scheming, she-wolf'--quite a different perspective than that found in this book. All in all I found this book to be a satisfying end to my 5/5 challenge.
 

[mumto2]

Is it just me or has paperbackswap really slowed over the past year? Is it due to e-readers?

 

Anyway, I have books that need new homes so I thought I'd post them here, and if anyone is interested in 1,2,3 or more I'll send them. Kind of like our own book swap but without tallying up points. Just the passing of books from one friend to another. Or maybe this is unfair to everyone not living in the US?

I think it is a great idea! You should definitely exchange books.

[Sarah CB]

I love Watership Down! If I leave out the mythical First Bunny stories. They are too annoying.

 

Glad to hear you say that!  I'm about halfway through reading it to my nine year old and so far we're both really enjoying it.  I was getting worried about all the bad reviews.  

[Just Robyn]

Sitting here thinking about my inspirational read for 2015 and musing on the one year bible read I did this year. Mixed feeling to be honest because didn't really like the Old Testament. My dad once said he didn't like God in the Old Testament, but loved him in the New Testament. Having never fully read the old, I can now see what he means. Anecdotal - Dad had planned on being a priest until he reached his late teens and decided he liked sex. Tmi but grateful or I wouldn't be here. Anyway, it lead him to a lifetime of theological studies and fun and educational discussions with the family and our parish priests.  So for those who said their least favorite book of the year was the bible, I totally understand. 

 

So for 2015 I'm going to stick with the New Testament, plus I want to do a concentrated or Lectio divina of Luke. Has anyone ever read Michael Card's Biblical Imagination?  I'm considered getting his book on Luke. 

 

I usually don't get involved in other threads that could be considered controversial but had to stick my nose into The Misunderstood and Translated bible discussion.  50 lashes with a wet noodle for that as it was probably stupid.  However, the article mentioned was interesting and I like this quote at the end of the article.

 

 

 

Just started looking at the article. It actually keeps going for quite a while after the paragraph you quoted. 

 

 

I finished Anna Karenina by Tolstoy and What Narcissism Means to Me by Tony Hoagland. Then I started in on The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - something fun and silly to cleanse the palate after Tolstoy and before Murakami.

 

My favorite poem from the Tony Hoagland book:

 

America

 

Then one of the students with blue hair and a tongue stud

Says that America is for him a maximum-security prison

 

Whose walls are made of RadioShacks and BurgerKings, and MTV episodes

Where you can't tell the show from the commercials,

 

And as I consider how to express how full of sh*t I think he is,

He says that even when he's driving to the mall in his Isuzu

 

Trooper with a gang of his friends, letting rap music pour over them

Like a boiling Jacuzzi full of ballpeen hammers, even then he feels

 

Buried alive, captured and suffocated in the folds

Of the thick satin quilt of America

 

And I wonder if this is a legitimate category of pain,

or whether he is just spin doctoring a better grade,

 

And then I remember that when I stabbed my father in the dream last night,

It was not blood but money

 

That gushed out of him, bright green hundred-dollar bills

Spilling from his wounds, and -- this is the weird part --,

 

He gasped, "Thank god -- those Ben Franklins were

Clogging up my heart -- 

 

And so I perish happily,

Freed from that which kept me from my liberty" -- 

 

Which is when I knew it was a dream, since my dad

Would never speak in rhymed couplets,

 

And I look at the student with his acne and cell phone and phony ghetto clothes

And I think, "I am asleep in America too,

 

And I don't know how to wake myself either,"

And I remember what Marx said near the end of his life:

 

"I was listening to the cries of the past,

When I should have been listening to the cries of the future."

 

But how could he have imagined 100 channels of 24-hour cable

Or what kind of nightmare it might be

 

When each day you watch rivers of bright merchandise rush past you

And you are floating in your pleasure boat upon this river

 

Even while others are drowning underneath you

And you see their faces twisting in the surface of the waters

 

And yet it seems to be your own hand

Which turns the volume higher?

[Sarah CB]

I had a goal of 52 books and only read about 28.  We did move across the country, so that's my excuse.  A lot of what I did read was fluff.  

 

My favourite book of the year was The Orenda by Joseph Boyden.  It dealt with the relationships between the Huron, the Iroquois and a Jesuit missionary.  Probably one of the most disturbing books I've ever read, but also one of the most fascinating.  

 

I also enjoyed a few short story collections:

 

The Stone Mattress by Margaret Atwood

What We Talk About When We Talk About Ann Frank by Nathan Englander.

Civil War in Bad Decline by George Saunders

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

 

My least favourite book was Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk which really bugged me because I loved his novel, Snow.  Museum of Innocence was really stupid.

 

I read all of John Green's novels as my 14 year old is interested in them.  

 

Most surprising enjoyable reads were JK Rowlings detective books - she writes as Robert Galbraith.  They were fluff, but the stories were compelling, the characters were interesting, and I enjoy the way she writes.  

[Jane in NC]

 

Just started looking at the article. It actually keeps going for quite a while after the paragraph you quoted. 

 

 

I finished Anna Karenina by Tolstoy and What Narcissism Means to Me by Tony Hoagland. Then I started in on The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - something fun and silly to cleanse the palate after Tolstoy and before Murakami.

 

My favorite poem from the Tony Hoagland book:

 

America

 

Then one of the students with blue hair and a tongue stud

Says that America is for him a maximum-security prison

 

Whose walls are made of RadioShacks and BurgerKings, and MTV episodes

Where you can't tell the show from the commercials,

 

And as I consider how to express how full of sh*t I think he is,

He says that even when he's driving to the mall in his Isuzu

 

Trooper with a gang of his friends, letting rap music pour over them

Like a boiling Jacuzzi full of ballpeen hammers, even then he feels

 

Buried alive, captured and suffocated in the folds

Of the thick satin quilt of America

 

And I wonder if this is a legitimate category of pain,

or whether he is just spin doctoring a better grade,

 

And then I remember that when I stabbed my father in the dream last night,

It was not blood but money

 

That gushed out of him, bright green hundred-dollar bills

Spilling from his wounds, and -- this is the weird part --,

 

He gasped, "Thank god -- those Ben Franklins were

Clogging up my heart -- 

 

And so I perish happily,

Freed from that which kept me from my liberty" -- 

 

Which is when I knew it was a dream, since my dad

Would never speak in rhymed couplets,

 

And I look at the student with his acne and cell phone and phony ghetto clothes

And I think, "I am asleep in America too,

 

And I don't know how to wake myself either,"

And I remember what Marx said near the end of his life:

 

"I was listening to the cries of the past,

When I should have been listening to the cries of the future."

 

But how could he have imagined 100 channels of 24-hour cable

Or what kind of nightmare it might be

 

When each day you watch rivers of bright merchandise rush past you

And you are floating in your pleasure boat upon this river

 

Even while others are drowning underneath you

And you see their faces twisting in the surface of the waters

 

And yet it seems to be your own hand

Which turns the volume higher?

 

 

Dear Crstarlette,

 

Earlier I made the note that I would read more poetry in the new year.  The poem you shared leads me to underline that note to self.

 

Just wow.

 

Best regards,

Jane

 

 

[MicheleinMN]

Sitting here drinking hot mint tea in an effort to restore my voice which is fast disappearing and soothe my left ear which is filled with the sound of the ocean.

 

I finished 'I am Livia' and very much enjoyed it. A fascinating and detailed account of life with Caesar Augustus as told through the voice of his wife, Livia Drusilla. Their relationship was as complex as they were as she states..."If his oddity and mine did not take precisely the same form, still the edges of one seemed to fit those of the other, like two sides of a split piece of pottery." It was a compelling read. Mulling over some of the reviews I realized that there is an art to writing a good review, the ability to succinctly lay out the characters and their trajectory as it unfolds within the plot lines along with one's own various impressions and opinions. To do so concisely and yet still keep it informative and relevant is not such an easy thing to do. So rather than try I found this review here did a nice job of giving a bit of context to the historical woman, Livia, as well as situating her within the pantheon of Graves's 'I Claudius' where she is depicted as a 'scheming, she-wolf'--quite a different perspective than that found in this book. All in all I found this book to be a satisfying end to my 5/5 challenge.

 

 

 

I finished I Am Livia and enjoyed it very much as well!   :)

 

I also finished A Fatal Grace and The Cruelest Month both by Louise Penny.  (I am really enjoying this series!) 

[prairiegirl]

I tried to read The Martian by Andy Weir but I just could not get into it.  I am hoping that I will try it again later and see if it will sit better with me at a later date.   I am now reading  After Her by Joyce Maynard.  I'm not sure about this one either.

[Mom-ninja.]

Ok, then I'll come back with a list of books that need to fly away to a new home. 

[Stacia]

Dear Crstarlette,

 

Earlier I made the note that I would read more poetry in the new year.  The poem you shared leads me to underline that note to self.

 

Just wow.

 

Best regards,

Jane

 

 

 

Even though I do not necessarily plan to read more poetry in the new year, I must echo Jane -- Wow. Just wow.

 

Thanks for posting it, crstarlette. That is poetry I can relate to & that gets under my skin.

[mumto2]

I retreated to my bed yesterday when it became obvious I was actually sick not just stressed from lack of sleep...

 

Today the headache is gone so I have been busy finishing the books that I have already started in order to start the New Year fresh. Dh has been having a blast cooking with the kids, doing laundry, and is currently transferring the school books onto the new bookshelf he picked up this morning. He really is having fun. Dd is helping with yhe books....I don't think dh knew how much we actually get through.

 

Finished:

 

Gentlemen Undone by Cecilia Grant....the second in the Blackshear trilogy, a respectable read but not as good as the first. This author does tend to pick unconventional characters so they are a bit different which is fun.

 

Waiting for You by Kristan Higgins.....the third in the Blue Heron series.

 

A Darker Domain by Val McDermid......this was a good mystery. It took me a while to really get into it. I also had to shift it to my kindle to get it finished! It centered on two unsolved cases that originated during Thatcher's mining strikes of the mid 1980shttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2573867-a-darker-domain

 

Eta...I fixed a couple of typos and added my link

[Stacia]

Mumto2, hope you feel better soon.

 

[Nan in Mass]

This was a very booky Christmas for us.  To my relief, my extra child loved her skinny bird book (I love mine, too - you can look at every page until you find the bird and it only shows you birds you might see, not the weird migrant from Antarctica), and the square yard garden book I gave her.  The latter is a little full of writing for this non-reader, but it is so much what she needs that I risked it anyway.  I think she also like the book my middle one gave her - Anna Karenina.  She gobbled down Lolita.  The aquarium books were a hit.  So was the merchant mariner C.S.Forster and the zentangles book.  Youngest's of course were a success, since he had given me the list.  I got some books I wanted, too, which is nice.

Back later. : )

Nan

[shukriyya]

Is anyone having trouble accessing the site? I cannot access it on my laptop nor on dh's laptop nor on my tablet only on my phone. I'd like to post my wrap-up but it looks like it'll have to wait.

 

Nan, I've got a zentangles book in my cart. Are they fun?

[Stacia]

Seems like there are some periodic issues with the board right now. For awhile there, I couldn't pull up any of the forums, but I can now.

[Kareni]

Last night I read a young adult fantasy novel which I enjoyed; it's Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White.

 

 

"Dive into a world of enchantment and romance in this lush fantasy, which Stephanie Perkins, international bestselling author of Anna and the French Kiss, called "an absolute delight—a magical, sparkling, dangerous world with witty repartee and a romance that will light your heart on fire." Fans of Libba Bray and Cassandra Clare will fall in love with this captivating stand-alone novel from Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of the Paranormalcy trilogy.

 

Jessamin has been an outcast since she moved from her island home of Melei to the dreary country of Albion. Everything changes when she meets the gorgeous, enigmatic Finn, who introduces her to the secret world of Albion's nobility, a world that has everything Jessamin doesn't—power, money, status . . . and magic. But Finn has secrets of his own, and the vicious Lord Downpike will do anything to possess them. Unless Jessamin, armed only with her wits, can stop him."

 

The book had a twist near the end which surprised me, but on consideration I could see that it was not unrealistic (if one can say that about a book of fantasy!).

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[Robin M]

I started reading Nicole Zoltack's Woman of Honor, the first book in her Kingdom of Ahern series and really enjoying it.  

 

Aislinn of Bairbhe dreams of becoming a lady knight to honor the death of her fallen brother. To her mother's horror, King Patrick grants Aislinn's wish.
Despite the mockery of the other pages and the disdain of Prince Caelen, who also trains to be a knight, Aislinn commits herself to her training and embarks on a journey of self-discovery and bravery. Through the years, Aislinn and Caelen grow from sparring classmates to good friends. Honor, bravery, and yes, love are worth fighting for even when they both know that someday Caelen will have to marry for the sake of the kingdom.

[Robin M]

 

Just started looking at the article. It actually keeps going for quite a while after the paragraph you quoted. 

 

 

I finished Anna Karenina by Tolstoy and What Narcissism Means to Me by Tony Hoagland. Then I started in on The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - something fun and silly to cleanse the palate after Tolstoy and before Murakami.

 

Are we starting out the year with Haruki Murakami?  I have Hard Boiled Wonderland coming in tomorrow. 

[shukriyya]

Okay, the forums seem to be back on track and I finally have some time to sit down and reflect on the literary year as it rolls to its calendar end. I have to admit I'm exceedingly thrilled to have met my goal of reading 52 books and completing my 5/5 challenge. The latter took some effort as I found my wandering, rambly self chomping at the bit to just be able to read what it wanted when it wanted. It was a good exercise in, if not disicpline, then at least learning to stay the course and I read and stayed with books I might not have had I not been working to meet my 5/5 goals. And in the end I read 53 books.

I can't say I had a most thrilling, oh my goodness, I want to read it again book though my top favorites danced around the edges of that. They were 'The Golem and the Jinni', 'The Night Circus', 'Some kind of Fairy Tale' and 'The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye'. All of these were magical realism which I rediscovered as a favorite genre. Not top fives but notables included The Moonspinners, The Shadowy Horses, The Midwife of Hope River, The Sekhmet Bed, I am Livia, Mother Night and Radical Acceptance. Perhaps there were a few more but because I didn't keep notes on them they all seem to have blended together in a lovely watercolor of delight. I'm hoping to keep notes on GR this year for my reads.

Just 7% of my books were written by men--4 out of 53. No big surprise there. And the male authors I did read wrote with what I would call a female lens. Our discussion early in the year around the feminine vs masculine voice was in my mind as I consistently picked female authors in a choice somewhere between intention and intuition. Does that make sense?  I found myself wondering what quality, tone, language, tempo, adornment, focus is it that makes them so different? I didn't really come up with much of a resolution beyond the simplistic and unsatisfying character-driven vs. plot driven. So there's more to explore there.

I'm intrigued to see how many countries I explored--Egypt, Austria, England, Greece, Italy, Holland, Afghanistan, Japan, Scotland, France and several more. As a result of my Ancient History from Womens' POV I spent a chunk of time in those early centuries but seen through the female lens. This lens seems to accommodate more detail, domestic minutiae, emotional shading and a slower pace.

Lots of authors were new to me this year but one I want to read more of is Graham Joyce. One of his books made it to my top five, Some Kind of Fairy Tale. And I rediscovered A. S. Byatt who I read in my thirties and enjoyed. One of hers also made it onto my top five, The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye. I did only one mini challenge, Steampunk month. Fun! I read the first in a series, Lady of Devices, and liked it well enough to get the second book though I've yet to read it. I stayed away from books that might make me cry.

As for singing and dancing the one that stood out was 'Urchin of the Riding Stars' because it was the book my ds gave me for an Xmas gift and I read it through his eyes. The joys and the slings of the characters I felt through his tween heart and further I was quizzed every step of the way as to where I was, what was happening and whether I was enjoying it. If that kind of enthusiasm doesn't make a mama's heart sing and dance then what does?!

Ten of my books were non-fiction, mostly Jungian oriented with a couple on mindfulness meditation. In years past non-fiction was my go to reading experience and I wondered if I'd lost the ability to read fiction. This year I wanted to read more fiction and that I did! Eight of my books were audio, all but one of those non-fiction.

I'm excited to step into the stream again with all you wonderful women. And I concur, heart-felt thanks, Robin! This group changed my year and like Prairegirl's experience it was often a place of refuge and solace when I needed that, a comfortable, reliable inspiring nook to visit whenever I wanted. These wrap-up questions have provided a very useful container and context for a year of great reading. My goals are to read 52 books again, to read along with HotMW and to explore a few different-to-me genres in more depth, particularly fantasy and cozy mystery. I'd like to reread a few more of my favorite classics, too. I am considering participating in an IRL book club for the first time. It meets monthly to discuss books written by women one would love to sit down and have a meal with. Sounds fun! Now if only you all could join me...
 

[mumto2]

Are we starting out the year with Haruki Murakami? I have Hard Boiled Wonderland coming in tomorrow.

Crstarlette and I are starting with Kafka on the Shore. I have had it sitting in the stack for ages. I hope you decide to read Hard Boiled Wonderland with us. It looks intriguing. Not sure if anyone else is joining us.

 

I read a fun book cover to cover in one sitting today. I really don't get to do that often. Gone with the Woofhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17214435-gone-with-the-woofby Laurien Berenson. It is one of the latest instalments in a cozy series that I have read for many years and as far as I remember loved each one. In order to like these you have to enjoy dogs and have a vague interest in the world of dog shows. My best friend loves both therefore quite a bit of her interest has rubbed off on me! :lol: The breed of choice in these are Standard Poodles but other breeds receive mention in most books.

[shukriyya]

And here is my list of books...

 

The Forgotten Affairs of Youth by Alexander McCall Smith
The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds by same
Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by same
Decoding Anorexia by Carrie Arnold
Mid-Life Eating Disorders by Cynthia M. Bulik
Incarnadine by Mary Szybist
The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley
The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley
Mariana by Susanna Kearsley
A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar by Susanne Joinson
The Moonspinners by Mary Stewart 5/5
The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley
This Rough Magic by Mary Stewart 5/5
My Brother Michael by Mary Stewart 5/5
Unbearable Lightness :: A Story of Loss and Gain by Portia de Rossi
Seize the Day by Annette de Burgh
Wasted by Marya Hornbacher
The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harman 5/5
Warming the Stone Child by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
The Red Shoes by CPE
The Birth House by Ami McKay 5/5
The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich 5/5
Untie the Strong Woman :: Blessed Mother's Immaculate Love for the Wild Soul by CPE
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern 5/5
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
Mother Night : Myths, Stories and Teachings for Learning to See in the Dark by CPE
The Sekhmet Bed by Lavender Ironside 5/5
The Crook and the Flail by same 5/5
The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye by A.S. Byatt 5/5
The Lady of Devices by Shelley Adina
The Firebrand by MZB 5/5
The Joyous Body : Myths and Stories of the Wise Woman Archetype by CPE
The Golem and the Jinni by Helen Wecker 5/5
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier 5/5
The Lady and the Unicorn by same 5/5
My Notorious Life by Kate Manning 5/5
Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth 5/5
Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
Picking Bones from Ash by Marie Mutsuki Mockett
Maids of Misfortune by M. Louisa Locke
Gemini by Carol Cassella
Radical Acceptance : Embracing your Life with the Heart of a Buddha by Tara Brach
True Refuge : Finding Peace and Freedom in your Own Awakened Heart by Tara Brach
Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce 5/5
The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart 5/5
The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman 5/5
The Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland 5/5
Lavinia by Ursula LeGuin 5/5
The Lady in Gold by Anne Marie O'Connor 5/5
Airs above the Ground by Mary Stewart 5/5
The Matisse Stories by A. S. Byatt 5/5
Urchin of the Riding Stars by Margaret McAllister
I am Livia by Phyllis Smith 5/5


 

[mumto2]

As for the goals for 2015....definitely no 5/5. Whenever I declare something a 5/5 my interest quickly disappears. I want to read things that I enjoy which is part of why I have avoided real life book clubs. I suspect I would languish for days over books that I felt I had to read but no longer wanted to. Too embarrassed to admit I didn't want to read it.

 

Some goals for the next year.....

 

Read and reread some Bronte because I still haven't made it to Haworth and I have a friend who lives there. I don't want to go until I can trully appreciate it. :lol:

 

CS Lewis has been a 5/5 both years. The reality is I want to read Prelandra, so my new goal is Prelandra. Maybe that can be achieved.

 

While I love Jane Austen's stories I have only actually read one cover to cover. Blush. Hoping to get through a couple of those this year.

 

I have several fun series started that I would like to finish reading so I can start some of the many I have bookmarked.

 

I am excited about the foreign translation book challenge that Robin is planning to incorporate. Last year I discovered several mystery writers that I really enjoyed when I was working hard on my countries challenge.

 

That is all I can think of right now but I am sure I have more! ;)

[Mom-ninja.]

Thinking about challenges and whether I should set one up for myself. I didn't last year but have in the past. 

 

I am one who almost never rereads a book. Should I do a challenge to reread a certain number of books in 2015? If yes, how many? One a month? 

[Angel]

I really enjoy the Old Testament!  Ok, not so much the prophetic books, though I have to admit that I was absolutely blown away when I reread Jeremiah this year.  To me there is so much hope in the Old Testament, hope that though we all stray from the path, we can have redemption.  The OT is full of real people with real sin living in the real world.  The accounts of Rahab, David, Ruth, Esther, and many others just prove that God doesn't use perfect people (because we certainly are not!)  And yet, God loves those who trust Him and turn back to Him.  Some of my favorite historical accounts are in Judges and I and II Samuel.  

 

The poetry lost me at the swearing  :lol:  I'm having trouble reconciling "sh*t" and poetry in the same sentence  :lol:   I, like Jane, want to read more poetry this year.  It's something I did a lot of in my teens and early 20's.  I'm glad that you you all share poetry on the board, but I'm having trouble reconciling some of the modern poetry that you all read with my Shakespearean Sonnet poetry.  I need to broaden my horizons a bit on this point and see if I really dislike modern poetry or if I just haven't given it it's fair chance  ;)

 

I haven't started my wrap up yet, but you all counting up your female vs male authors has me curious.  I don't really care whether I read a guy or a gal, so I have no idea how that ratio will come out.  

[Stacia]

Thinking about challenges and whether I should set one up for myself. I didn't last year but have in the past. 

 

I am one who almost never rereads a book. Should I do a challenge to reread a certain number of books in 2015? If yes, how many? One a month? 

 

Interesting question.

 

Like you, I rarely reread books. I'm not sure I'd want to set a challenge like that to myself, lol. I have too many never-read books on my list....

 

[Angel]

CS Lewis has been a 5/5 both years. The reality is I want to read Prelandra, so my new goal is Prelandra. Maybe that can be achieved.

 

While I love Jane Austen's stories I have only actually read one cover to cover. Blush. Hoping to get through a couple of those this year.

 

 

I want to read Prelandra this year too!!  Let me know when you are going to read it and I will read it with you.  Though I'll have to have time to order it from the library.

 

If you need someone to read an Austen with you this year, I'll volunteer LOL!  :laugh:

[shukriyya]

As for the goals for 2015....definitely no 5/5. Whenever I declare something a 5/5 my interest quickly disappears. I want to read things that I enjoy which is part of why I have avoided real life book clubs. I suspect I would languish for days over books that I felt I had to read but no longer wanted to. Too embarrassed to admit I didn't want to read it.

 

Some goals for the next year.....

 

Read and reread some Bronte because I still haven't made it to Haworth and I have a friend who lives there. I don't want to go until I can trully appreciate it. :lol:

 

CS Lewis has been a 5/5 both years. The reality is I want to read Prelandra, so my new goal is Prelandra. Maybe that can be achieved.

 

While I love Jane Austen's stories I have only actually read one cover to cover. Blush. Hoping to get through a couple of those this year.

 

I have several fun series started that I would like to finish reading so I can start some of the many I have bookmarked.

 

I am excited about the foreign translation book challenge that Robin is planning to incorporate. Last year I discovered several mystery writers that I really enjoyed when I was working hard on my countries challenge.

 

That is all I can think of right now but I am sure I have more! ;)

 

I'm with you on the book club aversion, mumto2. My aperture is too small and I have too many conditions in place about what I will and won't read. However I've recently come upon a book club at a bookstore that is basically read it if you like and show up to discuss or skip the month if you don't like the book. Perfect :D

 

Bronte is on my tbr list of favorite classic re-reads. Currently reading Jane Eyre but am keen to re-read Wuthering Heights and my favorite, Villette. Shall we do a Bronte read along? Says the snail to the hare ;)

 

Ds is about to embark on Perelandra as well. He thoroughly enjoyed 'Out of the Silent Planet.' I read the trilogy years ago but don't feel moved to reread it at this point.

[Jane in NC]

I had not previously analyzed how many male to female authors I read, figuring it would be about a 1:1 ratio. It was.  Male authors: 44; Female: 42. 

 

A further analysis revealed a bit of a surprise.  I had no idea that I read so many "contemporary" books.  So much for my idea that I tend to read dead authors!

 

The breakdown: 

• <1850 : 2
• 1851- 1900: 4
• 1901 - 1950: 20
• 1951 - 2000: 27
• >2000: 33

Well, well.  As I look ahead, I think I should issue myself a challenge beyond reading from the growing dusty stacks.  Fewer 21st century books!

 

 

 

[Just Robyn]

Crstarlette and I are starting with Kafka on the Shore. I have had it sitting in the stack for ages. I hope you decide to read Hard Boiled Wonderland with us. It looks intriguing. Not sure if anyone else is joining us.

 

I read a fun book cover to cover in one sitting today. I really don't get to do that often. Gone with the Woofhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17214435-gone-with-the-woofby Laurien Berenson. It is one of the latest instalments in a cozy series that I have read for many years and as far as I remember loved each one. In order to like these you have to enjoy dogs and have a vague interest in the world of dog shows. My best friend loves both therefore quite a bit of her interest has rubbed off on me! :lol: The breed of choice in these are Standard Poodles but other breeds receive mention in most books.

 

:iagree:  Especially the bolded! The more Murakami the merrier. I checked Kafka on the Shore out from the library a couple days ago, so I'm ready to go! It feels comfortingly cyclical to start another year with Murakami. Although I didn't read 1Q84 until April in 2013, I'm counting it as close enough to the beginning of the year - making this the third year in a row.

[mumto2]

I'm with you on the book club aversion, mumto2. My aperture is too small and I have too many conditions in place about what I will and won't read. However I've recently come upon a book club at a bookstore that is basically read it if you like and show up to discuss or skip the month if you don't like the book. Perfect :D

 

Bronte is on my tbr list of favorite classic re-reads. Currently reading Jane Eyre but am keen to re-read Wuthering Heights and my favorite, Villette. Shall we do a Bronte read along? Says the snail to the hare ;)

 

Ds is about to embark on Perelandra as well. He thoroughly enjoyed 'Out of the Silent Planet.' I read the trilogy years ago but don't feel moved to reread it at this point.

Well one of my multiquotes appeared tonight, so things are improving.

 

Angel and Shukriyya, I would be happy to do read alongs for any or maybe all of the books mentioned. Just so you know if my life goes according to plan my internet connection could be limited for February and March. I won't know until I am actually on site. Dh and the dc's school have to take precedence over me. Sometimes McDonald's is my best friend! Because of that I am up for a couple in January but lets wait til April to start more. I normally manage to read the thread but sometimes am pretty spotty about posting. I want to read all three in the Perelandra series so would prefer to wait until April at least. All three are on dd's shelf so I can start when the reserves arrive.

 

Shukriyya, Jane Eyre is on the kindle already so will try to start it after the first. It might make a good other book to read with Kafka on the Shore.....should be very different, plus I have read that one a few times!

 

Until January 1 I plan to read complete fluff. Just started another Amish Mystery.

[Angel]

 

Ds is about to embark on Perelandra as well. He thoroughly enjoyed 'Out of the Silent Planet.' I read the trilogy years ago but don't feel moved to reread it at this point.

 

Ooops!  I got them mixed up.  I guess I need to read Out of the Silent Planet first!  I think I will go now to the library website and order it  ;)

 

ETA:  I can wait till April!  I would like to read all three as well.

[mumto2]

Ooops! I got them mixed up. I guess I need to read Out of the Silent Planet first! I think I will go now to the library website and order it ;)

Just wanted to say I will read these with you whenever. I know that my overdrive has them so as long as I have a bit of notice I can download. The positive when I am without internet is the kindle library books aren't taken way, of course the negative is they don't download either.

 

I did read most of Out of a Silent Planet a few years ago as a read aloud. I enjoyed it and would love to finish it!

 

Eta: Posting together. April would be so much easier! :)

[Angel]

Eta: Posting together. April would be so much easier! :)

 

Lol!  April it is!!

[Just Robyn]

I really enjoy the Old Testament!  Ok, not so much the prophetic books, though I have to admit that I was absolutely blown away when I reread Jeremiah this year.  To me there is so much hope in the Old Testament, hope that though we all stray from the path, we can have redemption.  The OT is full of real people with real sin living in the real world.  The accounts of Rahab, David, Ruth, Esther, and many others just prove that God doesn't use perfect people (because we certainly are not!)  And yet, God loves those who trust Him and turn back to Him.  Some of my favorite historical accounts are in Judges and I and II Samuel.  

 

The poetry lost me at the swearing  :lol:  I'm having trouble reconciling "sh*t" and poetry in the same sentence  :lol:   I, like Jane, want to read more poetry this year.  It's something I did a lot of in my teens and early 20's.  I'm glad that you you all share poetry on the board, but I'm having trouble reconciling some of the modern poetry that you all read with my Shakespearean Sonnet poetry.  I need to broaden my horizons a bit on this point and see if I really dislike modern poetry or if I just haven't given it it's fair chance  ;)

 

I haven't started my wrap up yet, but you all counting up your female vs male authors has me curious.  I don't really care whether I read a guy or a gal, so I have no idea how that ratio will come out.  

 

My modern poetry starting point was the Coursera course Modern & Contemporary American Poetry. The Coursera site doesn't give a date for a future session, but the University of Pennsylvania MOOCs site says "coming soon."

[Nan in Mass]

The zentangles book - I can't find it to have a good look at it. I remembered seeing books of zentangles last year at Christmas, looked at B+N this year, couldn't find any, ordered two rather randomly online, glanced quickly through them to see if they would be suitable for the people I had in mind, and then wrapped them. One is now in Canada with a niece I don't know well but is about the age at which I found doodling to be very absorbing. I don't know if the absorbtion had to do with the fact that I was stuck in classes all day long or whether it was something about the latish teens. I just took my best guess and sent the book off. I will probably never even know if she received it. Another unknown niece received This is Not a Book. I won't know if she likes it but again, she is the right age (early teen). Guessing is hard.

 

The second zentangle book went to my middle son, who makes lovely designs sometimes, for his own amusement. His, as far as I can remember, was a workbook for doodling as a form of meditation. I suggested he skip the writing and just copy the pictures. When he comes back, I'll ask him for it and have a better look at it. I am now interested in looking at it because I just got done reading my present from my sister and her husband - The Zen of Seeing. There were four zen books involved in our Christmas. The fourth involved was a little book of stories that I lent to my mother that she has been keeping on the table by her chair to mull over. Her wine glass tipped over onto it. I had my usual Buddhist books reaction to The Zen of Seeing and semi-wished the wine had chosen to include The Zen of Seeing in its spill. Sometimes, people explain something Buddhist to me and my reaction is hmm...I guess I sort of knew that but it is useful to have it pointed out (or have the reasoning behind it explained or have it put into words or be reminded of it or whatever). At other times, I don't know how to react because the person is explaining something oh so carefully and lovingly, obviously convinced that if I could just be brought to believe this, it would radically change my life, and it turns out to be something that my mother taught me when I was about two. (I've decided this must be one of those Buddhist paradoxes lol.) Anyway, this book was like that. Lovely drawings. At one point, I got all excited because in the section in the middle where he gives a few simple hints about drawing specific things, on a page with a lovely, elephany elephant drawing, the author, Frederick Franck says, "How, I am asked, does one draw animals - cows, horses, birds?" But then he goes on to say what I sadly concluded a long while ago, "Since for me each new drawing is an adventure for which I cannot predict the outcome, always - in a sense - my very first one, I can give no recipe." Sigh. He says, "In the how-to books you will find horses reduced to their 'basic forms,' to systems of ellipses or rectangles. In its own way this may be useful for a picture manufacturer, but it deprives you of kowing what a horse really looks like. In order to draw a horse, draw horses until you practically become a horse - not 'horses in general,' but always that particular horse you are drawing at a given moment. Until you feel the tense curving of its neck in your own neck!" This would, I suppose, be useful advice if I hadn't already decided that was probably the way people who draw particularly good animals draw them. The rest of the book had me nodding and saying - yes, of course you have to look at something and draw just what is there, if you want to really draw it and not stylize it or commercialize it, and of course looking at it very carefully, in the way that lets you see what it really looks like, gives you a profound appreciation of it, and yes, of course when you are doing this, you are so absorbed in the task that nothing else exists - I've known that since I was small - doesn't everyone? This may be profound information but I don't happen to think it is. I learned to do this first when I got frustrated trying to draw a doorway and my mother pointed out it wasn't a rectangle that I was seeing, it was a paralellagram, and tipped her coffee cup so I could see the rim change from a line to an ellipse to a circle and back. I was probably eight or ten at the time. You can sort of pop your eyes into a different mode so you can see what something really looks like and then pop them back and go back to seeing Plato's idea horse instead of this horse looks like at this specific moment from this angle. Can I draw animals well? No. But then, I haven't drawn my thousand cats badly yet. I'm only on about 20. Or 50. And most of those weren't drawn properly, just doodled. There were a bunch of passages that sounded like our conversation about souls, not anything new to me. I went along reading the book saying yes of course, yes of course, and then when I hit page 120 (out of 130), he began to lose me. "...beyond words and beyond silence..." Beyond words, yes, but beyond silence? And then the next page (121) he says: "The sense perception, the activity of the reflex eye-heart-hand, is still, as in Lascaux, the leap from a platitudinous world to one of mystery. All is suddenly suffused with meaning. Once this leap has been made, once wonder and awakening have flashed upon us, we inevitably fall back into our half-sleep - but with a difference, for a radical change in perception and feeling has taken place. Through the multiplicity of forms and appearences the Structure of Reality was mirrored, and disclosed itself, unconfused by concepts, opinions, labels, and predudices. The relatedness between Self and the universe has been restored. But the ego cannot WILL this to happen: its shell has to be broken through first." Hmm... We're back to something that I take for granted being described as life changing. Which probably means I don't have any idea what he is talking about afterall, since what I thought he was talking about wasn't a life-changing thing for me. Of course a cat is a wondrous thing. Or a tree. Or whatever. What is so wondrous about that lol? This is giving me a better appreciation of my Nipponzan Myohoji one. At least that one, as hard as it is to read, appears to be talking about things I haven't thought about, like bringing Buddhism back to India and how hard it is to leave one's mother behind in the process.

 

Moving on... My new year started with Christmas. That only puts me a little out of sync with the rest of you. The first book I read this year is the Zen of Seeing one. The second was a Sharon Shinn light escape novel, Royal Airs. It focuses on Josetta from Troubled Waters. I liked Troubled Waters, mostly. A bit Harlequinny in spots. Very much a variation of the romance novel formula but I liked the left turn it took. Kareni, have you read it? I started The Outback Stars today. It is a reread. Futuristic Australian ghost story. Sort of.

 

I'll post my review of my old year in a different post, since this has turned into a book.

 

Nan

[Nan in Mass]

The past year-

 

I probably read about a book a week. The one year I counted, that was about what I read, without trying particularly.

 

My main goal this past year, a conscious decision, was to go back to reading for escape, now that I'm not homeschooling any more (youngest is a university sophomore this year). Escaping into a book at intervals throughout my day was how I survived going to school and I think it is what I will have to do again for the the next stage of my life, losing my parents and in-laws. It is the only way I can think of to survive. That escape didn't come as easily when I was homeschooling and supposed to be doing all sorts of more important reading. I did manage to recapture it. I still don't always think to hop into the book while I'm waiting for the kettle to boil, and I still feel guilty when I am doing it, but I can drop in and out easily again, which is what I wanted.

 

Since I didn't keep track of what I read, it is hard to say what my favourite five were. One new-to-me thing that stands out - A Door into Ocean. That would be my oh-my-gosh book for the year. I am looking forward to reading Daughter of Elysium, which my mother gave me for Christmas.

 

Things I really don't like, I don't finish, so it is hard to talk about things that I hated. I can't say I loved Dolciani Algebra II. It was just what we needed and I appreciate it very much, but I wouldn't really have chosen to read it, left to my own devices. It was the last book I finished in the year. We did the last lesson the night before Christmas Eve day. Yippee!

 

Goals for the next year - to draw 100 cats. LOL. Book goals - to go back to sharing books with my sisters. I thought it was going to happen this past fall. It started to. I always feel that they are holding out on me when I find out years later that they have a book that they just love and they didn't tell me about it. That isn't really a reading goal, I guess. I want to continue reading my Nipponzan Myohoji book. I want to read more painting books. I want to keep reading for escape. I have a lovely stack of unread books waiting for me, and a nice list from you all. : )

 

Nan

[Jane in NC]

Does anyone need an exercise in seeing?  I have a copy of The Private Eye: (5X) Looking/Thinking by Analogy that can go to a good home.  You'll need to provide your own loupe. 

 

 

[Nan in Mass]

I haven't read Wuthering Heights. Isn't it pretty grim? I haven't read Out of the Silent Planet, either. Your other read-alongs I haven't even heard of. Are they funny and light?

 

Nan

[Kareni]

... a Sharon Shinn light escape novel, Royal Airs. It focuses on Josetta from Troubled Waters. I liked Troubled Waters, mostly. A bit Harlequinny in spots. Very much a variation of the romance novel formula but I liked the left turn it took. Kareni, have you read it? I started The Outback Stars today. It is a reread. Futuristic Australian ghost story. Sort of.

 

 

I'm familiar with Sharon Shinn's name since I volunteer at the library and frequently reshelve her books.  I looked through a list of her published works, but I don't see any that I've read.  I'll keep her in mind. 

 

Sandra McDonald's The Outback Stars looks intriguing.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[NoseInABook]

I can't do Wuthering Heights. I tried. I swear, I tried. I threw it across the room never to pick it up again! :p This was when I was about 15.

 

Today was the big 3-0 for me! I celebrated with the family and now I'm about to head out to see Into The Woods with my best friend. Super excited! I hope that when I return,there will be just enough time left in the day to curl up with a good book under a warm blanket. :)

[Angel]

 

Today was the big 3-0 for me! I celebrated with the family and now I'm about to head out to see Into The Woods with my best friend. Super excited! I hope that when I return,there will be just enough time left in the day to curl up with a good book under a warm blanket. :)

 

Happy Birthday!  :party:

[Nan in Mass]

Does anyone need an exercise in seeing?  I have a copy of The Private Eye: (5X) Looking/Thinking by Analogy that can go to a good home.  You'll need to provide your own loupe. 

 

What is this?

[Stacia]

NoseInABook...

 

Happy Birthday!

 

[Stacia]

Nan, I think people are pretty divided on Wuthering Heights. Some consider it a great love story or a great classic. Others hate it.

 

I'm in the category of "it's one of my favorite books to hate".

 

I read it as a teen & again a few years ago. I totally despised it & all the characters. On Goodreads, I rated it one star. Here's what I wrote about it at the time...

 

I did not care for the story or characters -- a full complement of angry, mean, soulless, raving, spiteful, whiny, &/or lunatic characters. What a stressful book to read.

Originally, I thought I would give it three stars for the writing, but I have decided that the horrible characters & the long, somewhat boring plot lower the overall score.

 

Not that I'm opinionated or anything. ;) :lol:

 

Ymmv....