shukriyya Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 ... until one spends the night awake and scared for one's life... :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Nope, sorry. Can't keep up. Finished Long Live the King and I don't think I'll read the third book. I was too bored with this one. Plus, there was a disturbing scene that I was NOT expecting. Came out of nowhere. It wasn't as good as the first book so I think I'm done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 An aside: Are we supposed to have read 4 by this past Sunday, or be reading our 4th this week? The perfectionist inside of me wants to know. ;) Invite the perfectionist for a nice cup of tea and some chocolate. Enjoy camaraderie and conversation, admire her intrepidness in embarking on such project. Sip tea, nibble chocolate, breathe in, breathe out and tell her she's doing just exactly what she needs to be doing with a great group of women :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 We still have power! Yeah! It is fluffy snow so it hasn't,t brought down trees, at least by us. Pretty wild offshore. The bouy off Boston has 22ft seas every 11seconds (that is a vertical measurement, for any of you who are land lubbers) and 47 knot (it would be a bit more in mph) winds with gusts in the 50s. Yikes! Add freezing spray and low visibility and you have pretty wild situation. We,re fine here except that the wind is pretty much blowing through the walls of our old house. This is why we heat with wood. At least it is warm by the fire. The faucet ran slush when we went to fill the kettle this morning, but it ran. The window at the head of our bed developed a moo last night. Anyone south of Boston? Are you ok? It is wilder there... Nan Thank goodness! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 I just read in the paper about a woman in NY who was stocking up on "macaroni & cheese, frozen pizza, and milk" :lol: Yeah, if I were contemplating being stuck at home for several days, potentially without power, I think I'd have a different shopping list . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaughingCat Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 I read your review. I keep wondering what sort of life the author leads? Last time I winnowed my clothes, I winnowed them down to just ones I loved, thinking it was stupid to waste space on things I didn't. Then I had to go paint the bottom of our boat. Oops. I had to borrow work clothes from my son. I NEED clothes I don't care about. And dishes I don't care about. And books I don't care about. I have to be able to send the last two off with my kids. The author's life must be much calmer than mine. : ) Nan I have plenty of clothes I love that are 'painting' type clothes :leaving: I will add to my mini review that the last time I winnowed down to 3 outfits - I did not winnow so deeply into 'bed' clothes or 'at home' clothes or 'painting' clothes (it was due to watching too much "What Not to Wear" not from a decluttering jag ). The other day after reading this book, I did include all those clothes - and still have plenty left. However I found when doing so much at once - that at the end I had trouble telling what I 'love' and what I don't -- and we're talking maybe I spent an hour at it not all day or anything. So I'm not sure I agree with her "do all like items at once" philosophy. I do love her axiom that you should store things where it is easiest to put them away rather than easiest to get them out though. That alone might be worth having read the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Warm thoughts to our Yankee friends caught in this storm! It was actually a little guilt-inducing yesterday to go out in the first warm, mild day we've had in a long time. Great Girl sent me the link below, which I forward for your reading pleasure and challenge: W. H. Auden's syllabus for one of his college courses. They sure don't make undergraduates the way they used to. http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/pageviews/w-h-auden-syllabus-college-courses-piece-cake-blog-entry-1.1639980 Your mention of Auden reminds me of an undergraduate experience in my Shakespeare class. The professor stormed in and wrote on the board an Auden quote: "Intellectual disgrace Stares from every human face." He then proceeded to glare at us in silence. Gulp. In retrospect, our wide eyed stares and open mouths must have been something to witness from his point of view. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 I have plenty of clothes I love that are 'painting' type clothes :leaving: I will add to my mini review that the last time I winnowed down to 3 outfits - I did not winnow so deeply into 'bed' clothes or 'at home' clothes or 'painting' clothes (it was due to watching too much "What Not to Wear" not from a decluttering jag ). The other day after reading this book, I did include all those clothes - and still have plenty left. However I found when doing so much at once - that at the end I had trouble telling what I 'love' and what I don't -- and we're talking maybe I spent an hour at it not all day or anything. So I'm not sure I agree with her "do all like items at once" philosophy. I do love her axiom that you should store things where it is easiest to put them away rather than easiest to get them out though. That alone might be worth having read the book. In the heart of mid-winter I'm enjoying the agrarian feeling the word 'winnow' evokes. It's a word that seems to have gone out of use. A quick glance at the dictionary yields several meanings the first of which is... 1. blow a current of air through (grain) in order to remove the chaff. remove (chaff) from grain. "women winnow the chaff from piles of unhusked rice" Though a lot of the country is under snow I'm imagining golden fields of grain swaying as a great wave, times past when there was an actual collective and seasonal alchemy of hand to earth, and the way a body might have bent and knelt into the landscape making of its work a kind of somatic prayer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Last night I enjoyed reading a new adult romance, Make It Count: A Bowler University Novel by Megan Erickson. (Adult content.) "Kat Caruso wishes her brain had a return policy, or at least a complaint hotline. The defective organ is constantly distracted, terrible at statistics, and absolutely flooded with inappropriate thoughts about her boyfriend's gorgeous best friend, Alec . . . who just so happens to be her brand-new math tutor. Who knew nerds could be so hot? Kat usually goes through tutors like she does boyfriends—both always seem to bail when they realize how hopeless she is. It's safer for her heart to keep everyone at arm's length. But Alec is always stepping just a little too close. Alec Stone should not be fantasizing about Kat. She's adorable, unbelievably witty, and completely off-limits. He'd never stab his best friend in the back . . . But when secrets are revealed, the lines of loyalty are blurred. To make it count, Alec must learn that messy human emotions can't be solved like a trigonometry function. And Kat has to trust that he may be the first guy to want her for who she is, and not in spite of it." Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 In the heart of mid-winter I'm enjoying the agrarian feeling the word 'winnow' evokes. It's a word that seems to have gone out of use. A quick glance at the dictionary yields several meanings the first of which is... 1. blow a current of air through (grain) in order to remove the chaff. remove (chaff) from grain. "women winnow the chaff from piles of unhusked rice" Though a lot of the country is under snow I'm imagining golden fields of grain swaying as a great wave, times past when there was an actual collective and seasonal alchemy of hand to earth, and the way a body might have bent and knelt into the landscape making of its work a kind of somatic prayer. My closest encounter with actual winnowing was not exactly poetic. When I was at summer school in China in 1981, virtually all the agriculture was done in the back breaking, old fashioned way without any modern machinery. In the area around the city of Nanjing, where I was, they plant and harvest 3 crops a year!! There isn't a quiet winter break for resting up. On a bus trip in June to a rural town we went through clouds of winter wheat that was being winnowed -- they were literally on the dirt road, throwing huge scoops of wheat up into the air, and stepping back to let our bus pass by as we DROVE over the wheat and chaff!! I don't know if that was how they milled the grain, but it was quite something to see. It gave me pause as I contemplated the wheat in my steamed buns at breakfast.... Thinking of all of you in the winter snow, as I look out on sunny skies and palm trees. My family in NYC is scoffing at the weather forecasters because it was rather mild there, but clearly the forecast wasn't amiss for those of you further north. Can the state of Massachusetts maybe ship some of that snow to the reservoirs of California? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 I finished reading After the War is Over by Jennifer Robson last night. Another good book about the aftermath of the war. I did think the resolution was quite odd though. It was very much a whip lash ending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Am reading & enjoying The Secret History of the Mongol Queens by Jack Weatherford. I really loved his easy, narrative style in his Genghis Khan book & this one has it too. Do you think of Genghis Khan as a feminist (at least by the standards of his time)? No? Perhaps this is the book for you. (Weatherford's Genghis Khan book also goes into this somewhat.) Fascinating stuff. In the meantime, I picked up a fiction book that I grabbed at the library the other week. My mistake was opening the cover so late last night & then I got immediately, completely sucked into the story & stayed up way too late reading. (Why, oh why, are the books that end up being so compelling are the ones you pick up when you really don't have time to read them? :laugh: ) Loving it so far. The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen. Publishers Weekly, starred review: Mullen (The Last Town on Earth) explores the ethical implications of time travel in this excellent thriller set in the near future. After a megadisaster known as the Great Conflagration devastates the world as we know it, "the Government" creates the Department of Historical Integrity to prevent historical agitators (or hags), who are able to travel through time, from trying to change the past. The DHI assumes that such horrific events as the Holocaust, the 9/11 attack, and the Great Conflagration are necessary evils to bring about "the Perfect Present," an era of no world problems. One DHI agent, known simply as Zed, travels back in time to Washington, D.C., shortly before the Great Conflagration to ensure that nothing interferes with the murder of an investigative journalist, Karthik Chaudhry, about to meet an important source. Meanwhile, hags try to prevent Chaudry's death. The complex concatenation of events that follows make this book a one-sitting read despite its length. Hope all the NE BaWers are ok & warm. Nan, I loved the description of your mooing window. Your description made perfect sense to me & I could just picture the wind howling outside & pressing its way in around the panes, leading to varied-pitch mooing & lowing as the storm traveled through.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Finished: A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny - This was the second in the Armand Gamache series and I listened to is as an audiobook. The narrator just does a remarkable job. If you like books where the setting is as important at the characters you would love these books. I highly recommend to anyone that likes cozy mysteries. Try the audiobook! It is a joy to listen to. Next up is the second book in the Amelia Peabody series (audiobook) and a Jeeves book. *sigh* I just love Jeeves! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Am reading & enjoying The Secret History of the Mongol Queens by Jack Weatherford. I really loved his easy, narrative style in his Genghis Khan book & this one has it too. Do you think of Genghis Khan as a feminist (at least by the standards of his time)? No? Perhaps this is the book for you. (Weatherford's Genghis Khan book also goes into this somewhat.) Fascinating stuff. In the meantime, I picked up a fiction book that I grabbed at the library the other week. My mistake was opening the cover so late last night & then I got immediately, completely sucked into the story & stayed up way too late reading. (Why, oh why, are the books that end up being so compelling are the ones you pick up when you really don't have time to read them? :laugh: ) Loving it so far. The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen. Publishers Weekly, starred review: Hope all the NE BaWers are ok & warm. Nan, I loved the description of your mooing window. Your description made perfect sense to me & I could just picture the wind howling outside & pressing its way in around the panes, leading to varied-pitch mooing & lowing as the storm traveled through.... M'dear it looks like you are over your reading slump! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 I just finished Blue Sun, debut novel of Tracy Abrey. I really enjoyed it! YA science fiction with an "Outlander" flavor. I look forward to the sequel. An engaging, quick read that some of your teens might also enjoy. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/s/ref=is_s?k=blue+sun+abrey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 M'dear it looks like you are over your reading slump! Yes, I think so! :thumbup: It's interesting to note that the Mongol Queens book starts out with... On an unknown day late in the thirteenth century, an unidentified hand clumsily cut away part of the text from the most politically sensitive section of The Secret History of the Mongols. The censored portion recorded words spoken by Genghis Khan in the summer of 1206 at the moment he created the Mongol Empire and gave shape to the government that would dominate the world for the next 150 years. Through oversight or malice, the censor left a single short sentence of the mutilated text that hinted at what had been removed: "Let us reward our female offspring." while the fiction thriller I'm reading reflects its title (The Revisionists) in the premise that a future, 'perfect' society was only created because of the history (good & bad) that led up to it; the main character is a 'Protector', who is tasked with traveling back in time to ensure various historic, horrific events do occur & are not thwarted by other time travelers who seek to alter history by preventing atrocities (&, thus, the future, 'perfect' society too). Anyway, interesting juxtaposition & overlapping of themes re: history, our perception of it, & the changing of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 I'm really enjoying The Mongol Queens, too! I had no idea that there was this much equality and power for women in the Mongol culture. I will definitely be checking out some of his other books - he's a very readable writer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 To all our BAWers in the Northeast U.S. - stay warm, dry, and cozy! Use your time to read if you can. I hope none of you lose power. I decided since I'm starting a few new reads next week, including Austen and Bronte, that I'll use this week to tidy up. I have a number of unfinished books on my Kindle. I'll choose one or two and concentrate solely on trying to finish them. I have too many loose bookends. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 After my comment last week on names for winds, I found an interesting note in chapter 10 of the HoMW. Susan writes about the appropriately named Battle of Frigidus: [T]hree different Christian historians record that a divine wind blew up and rammed the arrows of the western army back into their own bodies. The footnote reads: The battlefield may have been blasted by a wind known as the "bora" formed when cold air is sucked into a low-pressure area over the Adriatic. Frederick Singleton notes that the bora can gust up to 100 mph and can cause a rapid temperature drop of 40 degrees Fahrenheit. After Nan's update, I shall forever think of howling north winds as "moos" even though that is what the window did (as opposed to the wind). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 I've put a lot of books on hold after reading of order, I know). I've done the same thing! But then they all come due before I can finish every one! I've started reading these threads with my memo app open. I bounce back and forth between them, copying titles over to my "Book Rec" list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 I finished The Princess Bride by William Goldman last weekend. Finally! I don't know if I'm disappointed in the book or in the fact that it took such a long time! Days later I still have mixed feelings. While I enjoyed the actual story of The Princess Bride, I did not enjoy Goldman's narrator voice. No matter how many times I told myself that Goldman's interruptive narrations were fictional, I still found myself thinking they were real. Ugh. That was so annoying. I also found Buttercup a little vague and insipid. Robin Wright did a great job of giving her balance and spunk in the movie. I love princesses and fairy tales, and happily ever after, but some of the interactions between Buttercup and Westley were over the top. On a positive note, as far as the fairy tale goes, it was a fun read. I liked getting the back story on Fezzig and Inigo. The Zoo of Death was an interesting, and intense, part that they left out of the movie. Although I'm glad I read it, the movie was far superior to the book! I would categorize this as an OK read but I'm not sure I would recommend it. Skip to the movie! *01. As You Wish by Cary Elwes (non fiction) *02. The Strange Library by Haruki Murukami (January Author, BaW rec, Japan) *03. The Princess Bride by William Goldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 I finished The Princess Bride by William Goldman last weekend. Finally! I don't know if I'm disappointed in the book or in the fact that it took such a long time! Days later I still have mixed feelings. While I enjoyed the actual story of The Princess Bride, I did not enjoy Goldman's narrator voice. No matter how many times I told myself that Goldman's interruptive narrations were fictional, I still found myself thinking they were real. Ugh. That was so annoying. I also found Buttercup a little vague and insipid. Robin Wright did a great job of giving her balance and spunk in the movie. I love princesses and fairy tales, and happily ever after, but some of the interactions between Buttercup and Westley were over the top. On a positive note, as far as the fairy tale goes, it was a fun read. I liked getting the back story on Fezzig and Inigo. The Zoo of Death was an interesting, and intense, part that they left out of the movie. Although I'm glad I read it, the movie was far superior to the book! I would categorize this as an OK read but I'm not sure I would recommend it. Skip to the movie! *01. As You Wish by Cary Elwes (non fiction) *02. The Strange Library by Haruki Murukami (January Author, BaW rec, Japan) *03. The Princess Bride by William Goldman We read it for our book club a few years ago and everyone thought the same thing. There were parts that were funny but overall we found it to be strange and not nearly as wonderful as the movie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Jane in NC, you've reminded me that I've got a bottle of Pimm's No. 1 in the cabinet. And I remembered to pick up some cucumbers at the grocery. So I will happily enjoy a cup along with a few chapters of Amelia Peabody this evening! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Jane in NC, you've reminded me that I've got a bottle of Pimm's No. 1 in the cabinet. And I remembered to pick up some cucumbers at the grocery. So I will happily enjoy a cup along with a few chapters of Amelia Peabody this evening! I'm guessing you too are not in the blizzard zone. Cheers from the coast, Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 I finished The Princess Bride by William Goldman last weekend. Finally! I don't know if I'm disappointed in the book or in the fact that it took such a long time! Days later I still have mixed feelings. While I enjoyed the actual story of The Princess Bride, I did not enjoy Goldman's narrator voice. No matter how many times I told myself that Goldman's interruptive narrations were fictional, I still found myself thinking they were real. Ugh. That was so annoying. I also found Buttercup a little vague and insipid. Robin Wright did a great job of giving her balance and spunk in the movie. I love princesses and fairy tales, and happily ever after, but some of the interactions between Buttercup and Westley were over the top. On a positive note, as far as the fairy tale goes, it was a fun read. I liked getting the back story on Fezzig and Inigo. The Zoo of Death was an interesting, and intense, part that they left out of the movie. Although I'm glad I read it, the movie was far superior to the book! I would categorize this as an OK read but I'm not sure I would recommend it. Skip to the movie! *01. As You Wish by Cary Elwes (non fiction) *02. The Strange Library by Haruki Murukami (January Author, BaW rec, Japan) *03. The Princess Bride by William Goldman Agreed. I abandoned this book a few years ago because of the annoying narrator. I was considering trying again since so many of y'all are reading it, but now I'm feeling justified in not doing so! :D Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I finished The Princess Bride by William Goldman last weekend. Finally! I don't know if I'm disappointed in the book or in the fact that it took such a long time! Days later I still have mixed feelings. While I enjoyed the actual story of The Princess Bride, I did not enjoy Goldman's narrator voice. No matter how many times I told myself that Goldman's interruptive narrations were fictional, I still found myself thinking they were real. Ugh. That was so annoying. I also found Buttercup a little vague and insipid. Robin Wright did a great job of giving her balance and spunk in the movie. I love princesses and fairy tales, and happily ever after, but some of the interactions between Buttercup and Westley were over the top. On a positive note, as far as the fairy tale goes, it was a fun read. I liked getting the back story on Fezzig and Inigo. The Zoo of Death was an interesting, and intense, part that they left out of the movie. Although I'm glad I read it, the movie was far superior to the book! I would categorize this as an OK read but I'm not sure I would recommend it. Skip to the movie! Saying "a little vague and insipid" is giving her a compliment. She's a total helpless, brainless flake. But that's my opinion. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I was running hither and yon today doing errands and using the bus as my transportation. My bus book was a pleasant read; it's a contemporary romance ~ Kara Braden's The Deepest Night (Longest Night). It's the second in a series of connected characters; however, the connection is mild, and this book stands alone. The first book had a more interesting story line in that the heroine of that book, The Longest Night, was dealing with PTSD. This book, however, had an intriguing setting. "When everything you love is on the line... The Isles of Scilly off the coast of England are remote, windswept and wild. They're the perfect place for Ray Powell to recuperate after the toughest Afghanistan mission the military contractor has ever run. Except instead of the peace and quiet he so desperately needs, he's faced with a beautiful American woman who instantly challenges his iron control. It's best to proceed with caution... Seeking her own safe haven, Michelle Cole is intrigued and flustered by the intensely compelling and irresistible man. As their cautious friendship slowly builds into simmering attraction, their hearts and souls are about to be broken open...if they'll allow it." Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Alright, I'm reluctantly abandoning a book I'd actually like to read, but my head just isn't in it right now. It's The Cave and the Light by Arthur Herman, the philosophy book about Plato & Aristotle. I'm keeping it on my to-read list, but maybe when we study Ancients again. I'm way more into my Mongol Queens book and right now it's just a distraction! I feel kinda bad, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SophiaH Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Invite the perfectionist for a nice cup of tea and some chocolate. Enjoy camaraderie and conversation, admire her intrepidness in embarking on such project. Sip tea, nibble chocolate, breathe in, breathe out and tell her she's doing just exactly what she needs to be doing with a great group of women :D I'd take you up on that offer in a second! ...But you would tell me the correct answer eventually, right?? Maybe after the first cuppa? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 Since our reading in HoTMW this week is taking us through India, Roman and Persian Empire, here are a few books to supplement your readings: Medieval Constantinople and Byzantium Jaipur Literary Festival and list of authors Popular Ancient Persian books The Last Pagan: Julian the Apostate and the Death of the Ancient World Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 An aside: Are we supposed to have read 4 by this past Sunday, or be reading our 4th this week? The perfectionist inside of me wants to know. ;) For your perfectionist side - this is book week 4 so should be reading 4th book this week. For your fun side - enjoy and have fun and it will all average out in the end. :thumbup1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clear Creek Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I finished Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers this week; it was good, but not one of her best. It did make me cry, though; which was slightly embarrassing since I was in public (waiting at my daughter's all-region choir audition). I also finished The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - a reread, but it was for school. I had an interesting discussion with my 7th graders (we discuss lit with a bonus 7th grader) about the book. Read so far this year... 1. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand 2. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 3. Without a Trace by Colleen Coble 4. Tempest's Course by Lynette Sowell 5. Freefall by Kristen Heitzmann 6. In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut Opdyke 7. Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers 8. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Openhearted Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I love learning about what everyone is reading and what they think. I now have a wish list almost a mile long, I think. :) Last week I read a German translation about glassblowers, British midwives, and an American grandmother. Then Sunday/Monday I read American Sniper by Chris Kyle which mostly took place in the Middle East. Thank goodness for books because you can see so much of the world. Within a week I have been to Germany, East London, the United States, Iraq and more. American Sniper was very enlightening. I was moved by his patriotism and devotion to "his boys". I was very saddened by his death, but the book didn't explain how. So I had to look it up online then I vaguely remembered hearing about it in the news. I was impressed by his wife as well. She wrote several small parts in the book which really helped my understanding. This book has caused me to have a greater appreciation for veterans and think more about, well, a lot of things. I am still processing..... I have not seen the movie and not sure I will. Also, my DH was disappointed with me for reading the book because he had heard the movie had a lot of bad language so he figured the book did too (which it did, but not as bad as some). So my question is: when you are reading, do you hear the bad language words or do you just see them, but not say them in your mind? Or do you not read a book because it has that kind of language? As you can tell this book has given me many things to think about. Not sure what I will tackle next.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 ****Flufferton Alert**** Back in 2012 I read the first in the Grantchester Mysteries and reported the following: A delightful mystery kept me occupied over the weekend. Sidney Chambers and The Shadow of Death by James Runcie consists of six intertwined short stories set in !950's Britain. Sidney Chambers is an unconventional canon/vicar who rubs elbows with various elements of society. My favorite line from the book: "My dear Mrs Macguire, I am quoting Shakespeare. It's bawdy rather than vulgar." This is a fairly "clean" book for those who try to avoid seedy scenes or language. Currently you can watch dramatizations of the some of the Grantchester stories on the PBS Masterpiece website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 ****Flufferton Alert**** Back in 2012 I read the first in the Grantchester Mysteries and reported the following: A delightful mystery kept me occupied over the weekend. Sidney Chambers and The Shadow of Death by James Runcie consists of six intertwined short stories set in !950's Britain. Sidney Chambers is an unconventional canon/vicar who rubs elbows with various elements of society. My favorite line from the book: "My dear Mrs Macguire, I am quoting Shakespeare. It's bawdy rather than vulgar." This is a fairly "clean" book for those who try to avoid seedy scenes or language. Noted and added to my to-read list! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Noted and added to my to-read list! Two more books have been published in the series since I reported on the first. I'm glad that the PBS program jogged my memory since I'll be adding these two to my list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 This week I'm Reading The Kings and Queens of Roam, and The Halfling's Gem. I hated Son. The reader knows too much and I dreaded every page. The ending wrapped up the series reasonably and made me forgive it a little, but really, reading it felt like torture. I wish I would have stopped after The Giver. Reading the sequels lessened the memory of the original which I loved at the time. So for this year I've read: Streams of Silver Son Messenger The Familiars The Crystal Shard Songmaster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderchica Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Hi ladies! I'm not a regular in this thread, but wanted to pop in to ask a question! I feel like I've struggled the past few months to really get into a book. Most are ok, but quite a few I've stopped a third of the way in. Life's too short to waste time reading an un-enjoyable book! I'm looking for some of your favorite page turners, the book you know most people will love. I like to read a variety of styles and genres, usually enjoying an "escape" the most (nothing too literary or difficult!). Some past favorites include I Capture The Castle, The Other Boleyn Girl, Gone Girl, GOT, Pride and Prejudice, etc. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 This week I'm Reading The Kings and Queens of Roam, and The Halfling's Gem. I hated Son. The reader knows too much and I dreaded every page. The ending wrapped up the series reasonably and made me forgive it a little, but really, reading it felt like torture. I wish I would have stopped after The Giver. Reading the sequels lessened the memory of the original which I loved at the time. So for this year I've read: Streams of Silver Son Messenger The Familiars The Crystal Shard Songmaster Well, that settles it. I will not be reading the sequels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Hi ladies! I'm not a regular in this thread, but wanted to pop in to ask a question! I feel like I've struggled the past few months to really get into a book. Most are ok, but quite a few I've stopped a third of the way in. Life's too short to waste time reading an un-enjoyable book! I'm looking for some of your favorite page turners, the book you know most people will love. I like to read a variety of styles and genres, usually enjoying an "escape" the most (nothing too literary or difficult!). Some past favorites include I Capture The Castle, The Other Boleyn Girl, Gone Girl, GOT, Pride and Prejudice, etc. Any ideas? The Night Circus Bitch in a Bonnet The Book Thief Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 ****Flufferton Alert**** Back in 2012 I read the first in the Grantchester Mysteries and reported the following: Currently you can watch dramatizations of the some of the Grantchester stories on the PBS Masterpiece website. As I was watching the first two episodes I wondered if anyone here had read the originals. Didn't even have to ask -- Jane, naturally, has provided the answer! Speaking of mysteries, last night I finished an early PD James mystery, Shroud for a Nightingale, and wasn't blown away by it. If it wasn't for the fact that it was written by PD James, one of the grand dames of British mystery writing, I might not have finished it. I never got to know the detective, Dalgleish, and learned too much about all the possible suspects in this closed room mystery. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for it? Wonderchica (sorry I couldn't multiquote...) I just read I Capture the Castle last year for the first time and loved it. Here are some other recent reads I'd recommend: I second the Night Circus as a good page turner of a book. It's really unusual. A Town Like Alice by Neville Shute If you like mysteries, the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny are quite good. The Martian by Andy Weir was a popular hit with many of us last year! Quite the page turner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Hi ladies! I'm not a regular in this thread, but wanted to pop in to ask a question! I feel like I've struggled the past few months to really get into a book. Most are ok, but quite a few I've stopped a third of the way in. Life's too short to waste time reading an un-enjoyable book! I'm looking for some of your favorite page turners, the book you know most people will love. I like to read a variety of styles and genres, usually enjoying an "escape" the most (nothing too literary or difficult!). Some past favorites include I Capture The Castle, The Other Boleyn Girl, Gone Girl, GOT, Pride and Prejudice, etc. Any ideas? the Flavia de Luce books by Alan Bradley (starts with The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie) A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki Phoebe and the Ghost of Chagall by Jill Koenigsdorf Lexicon by Max Barry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Hi ladies! I'm not a regular in this thread, but wanted to pop in to ask a question! I feel like I've struggled the past few months to really get into a book. Most are ok, but quite a few I've stopped a third of the way in. Life's too short to waste time reading an un-enjoyable book! I'm looking for some of your favorite page turners, the book you know most people will love. I like to read a variety of styles and genres, usually enjoying an "escape" the most (nothing too literary or difficult!). Some past favorites include I Capture The Castle, The Other Boleyn Girl, Gone Girl, GOT, Pride and Prejudice, etc. Any ideas? Georgette Heyer - Start with The Grand Sophy or Cotillion Kate Ross' mysteries are superb My DH keeps recommending everything that Patrick Rothfuss writes so that's what he'd recommend to you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Any ideas? In the light classic vein, you might like The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy. If you'd like a historical romance, I'd recommend: Joanna Bourne's The Spymaster's Lady and others in The Spymaster Series. Lisa Kleypas' Secrets of a Summer Night and the others in The Wallflowers series. LaVyrle Spencer's Morning Glory. Are you a conservative reader? If not, you might try Sarina Bowen's new adult series which starts with The Year We Fell Down. Stick around and tell us what you decide to read. There's no need to read a book a week; everyone has different goals. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 This week I'm Reading The Kings and Queens of Roam, and The Halfling's Gem. I hated Son. The reader knows too much and I dreaded every page. The ending wrapped up the series reasonably and made me forgive it a little, but really, reading it felt like torture. I wish I would have stopped after The Giver. Reading the sequels lessened the memory of the original which I loved at the time. So for this year I've read: Streams of Silver Son Messenger The Familiars The Crystal Shard Songmaster Totally agree with your assessment of Son. I disliked all the books after The Giver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guilfordlake Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Also, my DH was disappointed with me for reading the book because he had heard the movie had a lot of bad language so he figured the book did too (which it did, but not as bad as some). So my question is: when you are reading, do you hear the bad language words or do you just see them, but not say them in your mind? Or do you not read a book because it has that kind of language? As you can tell this book has given me many things to think about. Not sure what I will tackle next. :) For me, the story has to be really, really, really engaging for me to overlook a *lot* of foul language. An occasional word here and there doesn't bother me. If there is a lot of language to overlook, however, it distracts me from the story. I keep thinking of alternate ways the author could've worded things so as to be more creative without resorting to cursing. At the risk of sounding terribly snobby, it doesn't take much effort to use four letter words. Finding other language to get your point across takes more talent. And to answer your original question, yes, I see them and I can't help but to say them in my mind. Edited to add (because I'm afraid I sound so superior about the use of 4 letter words) that in my day-to-day speech, I may, on occasion, slip and let loose with some bad words :closedeyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 The Cave and the Light: Plato vs. Aristotle and the struggle for the soul of western civilization, by Arthur Hermann. It's very interesting, although I suspect might be looked down on by "real" philosophers. Mostly I suspect this because I can actually understand it! I do not enjoy reading philosophy as a rule. But this book is very readable, and it's explaining a lot of the source of conflict in my early life - I am an Aristotelean raised in a Platonic family, religion, school, etc. Philosophy isn't my strong point, so I must ask what this means. It sounds most learned! Kathy, if you want a postcard from Shepparton, let me know. :) I was going to finish a chapter of HoMW and possibly polish of the rest of my other book, but we're listening to Billy Joel with rather a lot of enthusiasm instead. :huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 For me, the story has to be really, really, really engaging for me to overlook a *lot* of foul language. An occasional word here and there doesn't bother me. If there is a lot of language to overlook, however, it distracts me from the story. I keep thinking of alternate ways the author could've worded things so as to be more creative without resorting to cursing. At the risk of sounding terribly snobby, it doesn't take much effort to use four letter words. Finding other language to get your point across, takes more talent. And to answer your original question, yes, I see them and I can't help but to say them in my mind. Edited to add (because I'm afraid I sound so superior about the use of 4 letter words) that in my day-to-day speech, I may, on occasion, slip and let loose with some bad words :closedeyes: For me it depends a bit on context and the character using the 4 letter words, a soldier fighting a battle can say many 4 letter words before I am bothered but a fluffy shoe designer (read one) gets only a couple before I dislike her a bit even if it is her character to have a potty mouth. A few books are so good I overlook like the Erye Affair. Where I really overlooked and handed it off to dd. Yes, I tend to say them in my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Well, we turned Billy off and I finished reading chapter 4 of HoMW and did indeed polish off my other book. 'I Wanna Take Me a Picture' by Wendy Ewald and Alexandra Lightfoot. I would *love* to be able to set dd up for a Literacy through Photography unit in about two years time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiegirl Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Openhearted, if there is a swear word every now and then in what I am reading it does not bother me but if it is all through the book then I cannot continue to read it. The book that comes to mind is Eleanor and Park. I could not get past the second page due to the language. It distracted me from the story and I just didn't want those words in my brain. I do not consider myself conservative but, for some reason, excessive swearing/bad language bothers me. And, yes, I do say the words in my head. Jane, I didn't realize (though I probably should have) that Grantchester was based on a book. I have watched the first episode and enjoyed it immensely. The title is now going on my TBR list. Thanks for the heads up. Wonderchica, I second Stacia's recommendation of the Flavia books. I enjoy her immensely. I would also suggest the newly released Girl on the Train. I haven't read it yet (it is on my hold list) but I have heard that it is similar to Gone Girl. Also Silent Wife (can't remember the author) comes to mind. I couldn't finish it but it is also put in the same category as Gone Girl. As far as my reading I have finished "The Breathing Room" by Leeana Tankersley (Christian non-fiction.) This was a much needed read for me right now. Loved this book. I have also finished The Inferno and am starting The Purgatoria. I am in the middle of "The Weight of Blood" by Laura McHugh as well as "Notorious" by Alison Brennan. I read and enjoy the author's blog but have never read her books so I decided to try one now. I don't think I will read anymore of her books. I have also started "A Grace Revealed" by Jerry Sittser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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