TeacherZee Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 I also have some of those obsessive traits with keeping track of my current bookmarks. Which, when I read in bed becomes a problem since my sheets are white as are my index cards. :D 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 TeacherZee, I enjoyed seeing the photo of your bookstore! Glad to see that some of my fellow BaWers are also fans of Thug Notes! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guilfordlake Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 I've got the stack of books by Regina Vega, the person with the stripy shirt clutching the moon by Andreea Dache, and "Reading Here" by Ana Ferreira. :) I love the Regina Vega one! And the 'Reading Here" is my second favorite! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted February 26, 2015 Author Share Posted February 26, 2015 And a fun post ~ 24 Clever And Cute Bookmarks Every Bookworm Needs And none for Kindle owners. So, do you use a bookmark? I have a vast collection, but many are prosaic and I'm known to use any scrap of paper or a tissue when needs must. Regards, Kareni I want almost all of them and would get a few of them except for the fact my cats would love them as well. Less than flat bookmarks have a tendency to disappear from my books. :lol: I have two old leather book marks from my late mil that I've managed to keep out of everyone's hands and paw, but otherwise I'll use whatever comes to hand if don't have anything else handy. And yes, I have to know where my book mark is at every moment. Something to fiddle with while I read. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoseInABook Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Angel, funny that you say that you could never give them up again. That was totally my stance too! We kind of landed in fostering after saying that we'd never do it though we planned to adopt. *laugh* They're worth it though. How can I not love them when they need it and deal with the heartbreak (and oh boy, it's a doozy) when they return to bio family? Anyway, I have a feeling that this one will return and possibly permanently but it's not going to be the straightfoward path that I'd prefer. ;) Mellifera, we did square foot gardening when we first moved into our home. My husband l-o-v-e-d them but I'll admit I like crawling around in the dirt of a garden so it wasn't as fun for me. Mom-ninja, go for the Austen! Ooh, Rose, YAY! Karini, I use little drawings my kids make me as bookmarks... or, ah, *shame face* if it's a cheap paperback... I may dog ear them... *shifty eyes* I'm caught up on HotMW and am enjoying Miramont's Ghost! I'd love a block of time to just sit and drink it in... I might have to sneak off to the bath when my husband gets home from work. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Look away, Jane .... Kareni, I use little drawings my kids make me as bookmarks... or, ah, *shame face* if it's a cheap paperback... I may dog ear them... *shifty eyes* Don't feel lonely -- you're not the only one who dog ears books. Regards, Kareni 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 I've finally finished reading 'The Story Book of Science' by Jean Henri Fabre to dd. It is fun to read old science books from before electric trains were invented :) 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 A couple of you mentioned Fahrenheit 451--just finished it. This is another one assigned to my dd this semester in her English class and I had never read it before. Loved it. I think it's perfect for high school freshmen. There was so much in there that so closely fits our culture that I'm amazed Bradbury wrote it in 1953. Television wasn't even that pervasive yet (compared to what it would become), but he saw that people would be willing to let books go, that they just want to be entertained, even if that entertainment is meaningless. Or especially if that entertainment is meaningless. What Mildred watches reminded me of reality t.v. I guess this falls in the category of dystopia, but unlike say 1984, I found the ending hopeful. I kept expecting "them" to get Montag, but he lives to continue to grow and learn. Good read. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maus Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I'm on a roll this week! :tongue_smilie: More time in a waiting room, and lots of books started weeks ago and due tomorrow! 12. "My Louisiana Sky" by Kimberly Willis Holt. Another that I'm previewing before my son tackles it. I think this will be okay. Never am sure with him. He got really worked up about "Once Upon a Mattress" when we went to see a neighbor girl as "Fred" last weekend. OCD panic about the height of the bed she had to jump around on. "Into the Woods" last summer left him bawling for the rest of the evening because of the characters that died. It would be so much easier to stick with homeschooling and continue to hand pick his reading, but he wants to attend a local STEM dual enrollment charter for High School, so he can get his associates. (Two of his cousins have done this.) So we need design Middle School so that he's prepared for that environment. We are probably going to use BYU online next year so that he's accountable to someone other than me, and is responsible for his own work. This is one of the books from their syllabus. 11. "Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself" by Alan Alda. Follow up to his memoir, which I've not read yet. I liked it. I love his suggestions that scientists need to make themselves/their work more accessible, so that non-scientists can get excited about their work, too. I would love to see "QED," his play about Richard Feynman. It sounds cool. 10. "When I Was Your Age" edited by Amy Ehrlich. 9. "Freak the Mighty" by Rodman Philbrick. 8. “Broken Things to Mend†by Jeffrey R. Holland (LDS) 7. “When You Can't Do It Alone†by Brent Top. (LDS) 6. “What to Do When You Worry Too Much†and “What to Do When Your Temper Flares†by Dawn Huebner, Ph.D.†5. “Tales of a Female Nomad†by Rita Golden Gelman. 4. “Heaven is for Real†by Todd Burpo. 3. "Your Happily Ever After" and "The Remarkable Soul of a Woman" by Dieter F. Uchtdorf. (LDS) 2. "Cliff-Hanger" by Gloria Skurzynski and Alane Ferguson. 1. "Rage of Fire" by Gloria Skurzynski and Alane Ferguson. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Jane, have you read any of Jakob Arjouni's books? (Published by Melville International Crime.) (Striking cover art, no?) Even though I'm still working on Maugham's The Razor's Edge, I just picked up & started one of Arjouni's books, Kismet (featuring detective Kemal Kayankaya), translated by Althea Bell. Not far enough into it yet to know whether you'd like it or not, but it sounds like something that would be right up your alley. I was looking up some info about it & see that, sadly, the author passed away in 2013 at the young age of 48. Looks like he wrote five of the detective Kemal Kayankaya books, as well as others. His obituary (linked) mentions both Raymond Chandler & Georges Simenon as literary heroes of his. As a Turkish immigrant raised by Germans, he’s regularly subjected to racism in the gritty, working-class city, and getting work isn’t easy. So when his friend Romario asks Kayankaya to protect him against thugs demanding protection money from his restaurant business, the down-and-out Kayankaya takes the job. Except these are no ordinary thugs. They turn out to be battle hardened Croatian nationalists looking to take over the rackets in Frankfurt, and they do not take kindly to Kayankaya’s interference with their plans. But try as he might, Kayankaya just can’t seem to stay out of their way… What ensues is a brilliant novel about organized crime, immigration, the fallout from the Balkan wars, and the madness of nationalism from one of Europe’s finest crime writers. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Jane, have you read any of Jakob Arjouni's books? (Published by Melville International Crime.) (Striking cover art, no?) Even though I'm still working on Maugham's The Razor's Edge, I just picked up & started one of Arjouni's books, Kismet (featuring detective Kemal Kayankaya), translated by Althea Bell. Not far enough into it yet to know whether you'd like it or not, but it sounds like something that would be right up your alley. I was looking up some info about it & see that, sadly, the author passed away in 2013 at the young age of 48. Looks like he wrote five of the detective Kemal Kayankaya books, as well as others. His obituary (linked) mentions both Raymond Chandler & Georges Simenon as literary heroes of his. This looks fantastic, Stacia! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Oh good grief! MULTIPLE posts! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I was so excited I had to say it three times. Must be kismet at work... 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I was so excited I had to say it three times. Must be kismet at work... :lol: 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 P.S. Jane, check & see if your library carries some of Arjouni's books. Mine does. (Yay!) 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 P.S. Jane, check & see if your library carries some of Arjouni's books. Mine does. (Yay!) Hmmm...My library has one going back to the '90s entitled One Death to Die. I wonder if there has been some title changes with the new translations. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Hmmm...My library has one going back to the '90s entitled One Death to Die. I wonder if there has been some title changes with the new translations. Looks like it is one of the series. And, on the Melville House website, I found... Jakob Arjouni’s first novel—Happy Birthday, Turk!—was published when he was just eighteen. The book and its beleaguered hero, Turkish P.I. Kemal Kayankaya, instantly found an adoring audience throughout Europe, and three more bestselling Kayankaya novels quickly followed. Now, more than twenty-five years later—after publishing a string of critically acclaimed literary novels—Arjouni returns to his most beloved character, Kayankaya … So, perhaps the one your library carries is one of the very early ones. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Does anyone here listen to podcasts? I've listened to a few of the Read Aloud Revival ones and am feeling re-inspired to get back into the habit of reading every night with DD. The last few months I have been letting that slide ... which is really a shame since I have such a delightful list of books that y'all recommended. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I've listened to a few of the Read Aloud Revival ones and am feeling re-inspired to get back into the habit of reading every night with DD. The last few months I have been letting that slide ... which is really a shame since I have such a delightful list of books that y'all recommended. Ohhhh Amy! They grow up and leave for college then you can't read aloud to them any more!! Last read aloud was during an epic city-wide black out when college boy was 15 or 16 and we read HP Lovecraft aloud to each other by candlelight. Not that I'm trying to play the guilt card on you or anything..... 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Well, they haven't moved out yet, but now they have activities that run until 8:00 at night and then have homework. We can still read aloud in summer, and I still have home school read alouds with youngest. We share more books on CD in the car driving to all of their activities than we read aloud! 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 All right ladies can I have a show of hands? How many of you would think, "I'm going to be at Universal all day tomorrow. That will give me a chance to catch up on my reading."? Well, that's me. We have passes and will not be going for the first time. I'm taking ds and his girlfriend one more time before the spring break crowds descend on the theme parks. Of course I'll go on a few rides, watch a show or two (Beetlejuice and The Blues Brothers most likely), spend a good bit of time at both Harry Potter worlds, and probably eat at The Three Broomsticks. But we'll be there for 7 hours. While the teens are going on roller coasters for the umpteenth time, I'll find a place to sit and read. :) 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 double post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 double post Kismet at work? or some disenchanted muggle? Regards, Kareni 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 All right ladies can I have a show of hands? How many of you would think, "I'm going to be at Universal all day tomorrow. That will give me a chance to catch up on my reading."? Well, that's me. We have passes and will not be going for the first time. I'm taking ds and his girlfriend one more time before the spring break crowds descend on the theme parks. Of course I'll go on a few rides, watch a show or two (Beetlejuice and The Blues Brothers most likely), spend a good bit of time at both Harry Potter worlds, and probably eat at The Three Broomsticks. But we'll be there for 7 hours. While the teens are going on roller coasters for the umpteenth time, I'll find a place to sit and read. :) Raising my hand! I totally understand! I used to do that at Disneyland. I'd take the Disney obsessed kid, do a few fun things, but would disappear to a favorite spot where I could sit quietly while sipping a beverage and reading. The Three Broomsticks is fabulous! Hope it is quiet and empty and enough for you to find and keep a good spot for reading. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I just looked at my Goodreads newsletter for March and there are some much anticipated books being released next month for the series readers among us so look before you delete! To name a few: Prudence by Gail Carrigerhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12799420-prudenceWe are finally going to learn more about the baby....all grown up! Dead Heat by Patricia Briggshttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18941694-dead-heatwhich I know Kareni is waiting for :) Vision in Silver by Anne Bishop https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21457243-vision-in-silverwhich dd and I are looking forward to. Stacia, did your dd try this series? She might really like it. I saved the best for last.....the next St. Cyr historical mystery https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18590094-who-buries-the-dead. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Dead Heat by Patricia Briggshttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18941694-dead-heatwhich I know Kareni is waiting for :) I am indeed! Vision in Silver by Anne Bishop https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21457243-vision-in-silverwhich dd and I are looking forward to. Stacia, did your dd try this series? She might really like it. I enjoyed book one in this series and am on the library's list awaiting book two. I'll have to investigate the St. Cyr books at some point. Regards, Kareni 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Ohhhh Amy! They grow up and leave for college then you can't read aloud to them any more!! Last read aloud was during an epic city-wide black out when college boy was 15 or 16 and we read HP Lovecraft aloud to each other by candlelight. Not that I'm trying to play the guilt card on you or anything..... Well, they haven't moved out yet, but now they have activities that run until 8:00 at night and then have homework. We can still read aloud in summer, and I still have home school read alouds with youngest. We share more books on CD in the car driving to all of their activities than we read aloud! Okay. I'm gonna go smooch my little kids while they sleep and tomorrow they'll get double board book/read aloud time! I saved the best for last.....the next St. Cyr historical mystery https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18590094-who-buries-the-dead. Hip hip hooray! 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Raising my hand! I totally understand! I used to do that at Disneyland. I'd take the Disney obsessed kid, do a few fun things, but would disappear to a favorite spot where I could sit quietly while sipping a beverage and reading. The Three Broomsticks is fabulous! Hope it is quiet and empty and enough for you to find and keep a good spot for reading. Yay! Glad I'm not so alone. That will be me - finding a spot to sip a beverage and read. Often an outside table at The Three Broomsticks is a good place if the weather is nice. It's a bit cool, breezy, and cloudy this morning but it should be nice enough. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I finished Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson last night, and I'm now waiting patiently (not) for Shannon to finish the sequel, Firefight, so I can read it. It was awesome! I guess it's a YA dystopia, as the protagonist is 18, but the rest of the characters are full-grown adults, so I don't know if it really deserves the YA label. Either way, it was such a more satisfying read than any other YA dystopia I've tried in a while! This guy can actually write. My apologies to fans of the Hunger Games series, but I thought those books were so badly written (I hate present tense in narratives) and just got darker and more unredeeming as the series continued. This one was dark, too - being a dystopia and all - but it has interesting characters and wow, what a suspenseful and exciting climax! Mommymilkies, thank you so much for the recommendation! Shannon and I are both hooked and impatiently waiting for more of this series. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I finished Northanger Abbey today and it was as deliciously snarky and satirical as I remember it. Although I have to say that I find the beginning the strongest. The ending is sort of abrupt and the middle a bit middling. I think I've said it before but this is my favourite Austen and it is one I like to start my students off with simply because I think it is easy for them to understand it. Catherine is silly in a way teenagers, with the right guidance, can understand and relate to. It is easy to show students how Austen, like grown-ups today, criticises the choices of entertainment of the young, at the same time as she says that we all need to be silly at times. In addition, she isn't afraid to criticize adults as vain and silly too. I also feel that Catherine's parents lack of understanding at the end is something the teens can really relate to. I also like it because there is a very good movie version of it, that stays quite faithful to the book. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 All right ladies can I have a show of hands? How many of you would think, "I'm going to be at Universal all day tomorrow. That will give me a chance to catch up on my reading."? Well, that's me. We have passes and will not be going for the first time. I'm taking ds and his girlfriend one more time before the spring break crowds descend on the theme parks. Of course I'll go on a few rides, watch a show or two (Beetlejuice and The Blues Brothers most likely), spend a good bit of time at both Harry Potter worlds, and probably eat at The Three Broomsticks. But we'll be there for 7 hours. While the teens are going on roller coasters for the umpteenth time, I'll find a place to sit and read. :) :eek: No show of hands here!! Though maybe, MAYBE, if we had passes I would feel that way. Well, probably not. :D We have passes to our local amusement park, and I don't ever take a book. And it's not because I ride - nope I :ack2: I can't concentrate with all the noise and bustle, AND, confession, I'm too nosy :lol: I prefer to watch people and enjoy the kids enthusiasm. We are, this weekend, hopefully finalizing our plans for our second trip to Universal in May. We can't wait! I loved soaking it all in the first time we went and can't wait to see Diagon Alley. Have fun, even if you do read!! Oh, and have a Butterbeer for me :cheers2: 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Yesterday I read and enjoyed Tammara Webber's Easy (Contours of the Heart). "Rescued by a stranger. Haunted by a secret Sometimes, love isn't easy... He watched her, but never knew her. Until thanks to a chance encounter, he became her savior... The attraction between them was undeniable. Yet the past he'd worked so hard to overcome, and the future she'd put so much faith in, threatened to tear them apart. Only together could they fight the pain and guilt, face the truth - and find the unexpected power of love. A groundbreaking novel in the New Adult genre, Easy faces one girl's struggle to regain the trust she's lost, find the inner strength to fight back against an attacker, and accept the peace she finds in the arms of a secretive boy." Trigger alert: There are two rape attempts that occur during the story; there is also recounting of other rapes and violence. Regards, Kareni 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Some shirts I want to buy 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Some shirts I want to buy RE: "Prone to crushes on boys in books" My first boy-in-book crush was Laurie in Little Women which I read in 6th grade. I was so upset that he and Jo did not end up together! Trying to remember who else...certainly Mr. Darcy. Maybe Prince Caspian. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Popping in for a minute before getting back to work... holidays, wedding planning, medical stuff, a possible (wonderful!) major change, anatomy and physiology study, other school work... I'm tired, so tired, but for (mostly) good reasons. Last week and the week before I read: An Unneccesary Woman - Stacia and Pam, you might like this. It's set in Lebanon and isn't all sunshine and unicorns, but the glimpse into time & place + glimpses of light and transcendence (including and ending that was a little too Hallmark, perhaps, but that resonated for me). Another draw is the role of literature/reading in the protagonist's life. Walpurgis Night - Jane, have you seen/read this play? It has that grim Stalin-era edge to it, and reminds me a bit of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Endgame - Also grim, and (unsurprisingly, given this is Beckett) is from the Theater of the Absurd realm... which is not my favorite place to be.. but powerful, haunting even in places. ...and Act Without Words (included in my edition of the play) is heartbreaking. It left me wondering what it would like to experience life that way - my experience of life has been one of light and love... not always easy, not free of grief and pain, but never anything that gives me cause to doubt that the world is a wonderful, loving place, that caring and trying matter and are worthwhile. ...but perhaps those feelings/experiences are ones of privilege? Nigerians in Space - Thank you, Stacia! This is an African set and flavored thriller (specifically South African, despite the Nigerians in the title). it's a crazy ride, action packed and intriguing. There's an oddly mystical/surrealistic piece to the story that didn't quite click for me (but magical realism generally doesn't, so the problem is me not the book!), and I have mixed feelings about the depiction of women here - nothing major, and probably reflective of the cultures being shown. This intersected in interesting ways for me with the African reading I did the other year... and I think it expanded my still very nascent understanding. Live on the Boundary: This book looks at education (especially college education) and disadvantaged/at risk kids in ways that can be interesting and that at times offer unexpected insights. It is, however, a hodgepodge - personal memoir, teaching experiences, data dumps about aspects of education, discursions on educational philosophy... I am glad I read it, but I can't unreservedly recommend it. Two comfort rereads: Year of the Griffin & Enchanted Glass both by DIana Wynne Jones - YotG is a favorite... there are ways in which is reminds me of Pamela Dean's Tam Lin - college and reading and thinking - while having the frothy silliness of Jones's fun books. Enchanted Glass I've only read twice now, and I still don't love it. I'm not sure why the pieces never really came together for me... Okay, now I have to go make challah and write a psych paper and study muscles (muscle practical on Monday! Eeek!) and make my Purim shopping list... I am promising myself a long session of chatting here once we're past the wedding and have had our seders... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 An Unneccesary Woman - Stacia and Pam, you might like this. It's set in Lebanon and isn't all sunshine and unicorns, but the glimpse into time & place + glimpses of light and transcendence (including and ending that was a little too Hallmark, perhaps, but that resonated for me). Another draw is the role of literature/reading in the protagonist's life. <snip> Nigerians in Space - Thank you, Stacia! This is an African set and flavored thriller (specifically South African, despite the Nigerians in the title). it's a crazy ride, action packed and intriguing. There's an oddly mystical/surrealistic piece to the story that didn't quite click for me (but magical realism generally doesn't, so the problem is me not the book!), and I have mixed feelings about the depiction of women here - nothing major, and probably reflective of the cultures being shown. This intersected in interesting ways for me with the African reading I did the other year... and I think it expanded my still very nascent understanding. <snip> Okay, now I have to go make challah and write a psych paper and study muscles (muscle practical on Monday! Eeek!) and make my Purim shopping list... I am promising myself a long session of chatting here once we're past the wedding and have had our seders... I've had An Unnecessary Woman on my want-to-read list, so I'm glad to hear you recommending it to me. :thumbup1: Thank you. Nigerians in Space was an interesting mix, I agree, & definitely had some unusual aspects (vs. a 'traditional' thriller here in the US). I've actually just picked up a few more African books from the library (now we'll see if I am able to get around to them in time) & I think Nigerians in Space is what set me on an African track at the beginning of this year. (I've read three African books so far this year: Rue du Retour, Nigerians in Space, & Akata Witch.) Enjoy all the busyness & congrats again to you & your family. :) :grouphug: 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 ...sneaking back because you're all talking about such interesting things! ...and *multiquote is back! :party: Copying over my post from the last thread. I stumbled through Oxen of the Sun, Episode 14 of Ulysses and finished last night. I am somewhat worse for wear. In this Episode, Joyce takes the reader through a history of English styles. In a letter from Joyce to Frank Budgen, dated March 20, 1920 (bolding mine): :hurray: I am very behind on Ulysses - enjoying it when I can find times where my brain in is the right space to connect with it, but there haven't been enough of those lately. Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino - This is a book of short stories. I think Calvino calls them science fairy tales or something like that. From the back: "During the course of these stories Calvino toys with continuous creation, the transformation of matter, and the expanding and contracting reaches of space and time." But they are also about love, fear, human nature. Bluets by Maggie Nelson - This is labeled on the back as Essay/Literature, but I would add prose poetry and memoir to the list. It is written as 240 small (numbered) statements or musings, separate but linked. Some random examples: These both look fascinating - I've added them to my TBR list... thank you! OH, and from last week's thread. My son LOVED Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court! He was about 12 or 13 when he read it. dd#3 enjoyed the opening chapters, but hated the rest of it. (she did find the connections she saw between the book and its time period fascinating) I read it as a teen an abhorred it. Intensely. I'm not sure if it was the grimness or the use of the Matter of Britain - my tolerance for use of stories I am invested in is highly variable, I can't figure out a pattern... Lotr movies = absolutely not Austen movies (even ones that get the heart of the story all wrong) = love... Shakespeare adaptations = fabulous... getting British faerie flavors wrong = nails on chalkboard. Middlemarch movie = impossible, can't even go there (but Daniel Deronda movie = marvelous). I don't make any sense! ...but I do know that Twain's use of Arthur's court grated for me. I couldn't accept it. I wonder how the book would read to me now? I stayed up too late last night reading the second half of The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. I was interested in reading it 1) because Hemingway seems to evoke pretty strong reactions from readers (either for or against) I'm in the against camp - though not very intensely. Hemingway's prose is just, for me, hollow. Not spare, but empty. Lacking connection, character, all the aspects of story I read for. I don't hate it - it doesn't rouse enough emotion for that. I just don't connect with it. I'm probably just (still) not old enough for it! Maybe someday (in the magical, mythical future in which I become a Murakami fan and love magical realism) I will be able to appreciate his writing... but in the meantime, hearing reports from those who do helps me remember that the flaw is in me not the books! I did pick up Woolf's The Common Reader after reading that Hemingway interview last week where the interviewer mentioned some of the books stacked around Hemingway's room & The Common Reader was one of them. It probably already has a couple of strikes against it, even before starting, as I'm leery of reading Woolf, plus I rarely enjoy reading essays. :tongue_smilie: So, if I do successfully read her, I may need to select a different book. Her essays aren't my favorites (though Death of the Moth is amazing (and only a couple pages long!). ...and I don't think that would be the best starting place for you... hmm.. Orlando is a bit surrealistic, perhaps you'd like that? The London Scene is interconnected (very short) atmospheric essays on walking through areas of London. Flush is the story of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's dog, and is, perhaps, the most accessible Woolf story I've read (though not at all her best). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Nan, I didn't get to reply to your question from last week before the switch over today, so... I would probably just convert our den. Big, overstuffed chair in front of the window, bottomless mugs of coffee and tea, walls lined with shelves, books stacked on the floor, kitties on my lap, dog at my feet. Nan, we do have a library room, but it isn't my dream library... it's the size of a den/family room and I love having it, but I'd like something 3X the size and with room for lots of alcoves with comfy chairs... and good lighting. But even then, I couldn't imagine confining the books to one area, however large (and even 3X wouldn't begin to fit all our books)... I would feel so bereft living, working, existing in rooms that weren't filled with books... (though I don't want any in either the kitchen or the bathrooms...) I have read Daughter of Time and although I finished it, I did not like it. It was way too confusing for me. This experience has caused me to stay clear of other Tey books. As I am typing this out a light bulb has clicked on. My kids and I are doing our own reading challenge that my sister found online Anyway, one of the challenges is to read a book by an author who has the same initials as me--J T--Josephine Tey! I hope her other books are better. I enjoyed Daughter of Time, but it is far from Tey's best. I think her best mystery is Brat Farrar (it is certainly my favorite!) But my favorite Tey isn't a mystery at all: The Expensive Halo... it's a bit like a cross between Middlemarch and a LM Alcott book (not as good as either, but shares many of the things I love in each of them). It's been a long month full of troubles so I'm hoping that I can get a couple more books read and then shut the door on February for good! We had a carbon monoxide fiasco on Thursday which led to the baby having to stay overnight at his parents' house for the first time while we replaced our furnace. It didn't go so well for him but he'll be staying there more frequently as he needs to adjust before he moves back in mid-March. Good thoughts and prayers for his safety would be awesome. :grouphug: Oh, love. Wishing you a March filled with joy and laughter and well-being for you and all your loved ones. Read this week: A Natural History of Dragons (BaW recommendation) Now that I'm reading more widely (thanks to BaW'ers) -- I am finding that I have read the 1st in several series - almost all that I like enough to read the rest BUT none of which I really like enough to zoom through the rest. I have put some '2nd books' on hold - but I'm not really ready for them yet. How do you guys keep track of your 'to be read maybe someday' list? I have Amazon wish lists for books my library systems have - sorted by library and then by subject. The second Brennan book was, for me, quite different from the first. The series is intended as a light-hearted romp, but the first book had more depth and nuance than that. The second is more in keeping with the spoofy intentions... and was quite fun once I got past my expectations (and the nails on chalkboard irritation of the opening sections. I wish she'd found a less cliched way to set things up...) Attention all Flufferton gals! I just finished The Curse of the Pharoahs (Amelia Peabody #2) as an audiobook. I'm a mean old woman and dislike books with overly precocious children. The first quarter of this book had the most incredibly precocious child imaginable AND he had an quaint speech impediment. NOOOOOO! I almost gave up on it but the kid went to go stay with an aunt and we got down to mystery and excitement. All very enjoyable. Based on my personality defect towards precocious children I read a few descriptions of the next books in the series and discovered that the kid has a much bigger role so I probably won't read any more of them. As I remember, Ramses doesn't stay that irritating (and he does, eventually, grow up) You might consider skipping forward... or moving over to the equally silly (but unencumbered by preocious children) Vicky Bliss novels... Can I post? So glad to see you again, love! ...and to hear that things are a little better for you. Hoping that trend continues (and accelerates!) and you can have peace of mind and heart...and lots of time to read! :grouphug: I just had to share the very first sentence I read this morning - it's priceless: "Good sense is, of all things among men, the most equally distributed; for every one thinks himself so abundantly provided with it, that those even who are the most difficult to satisfy in everything else, do not usually desire a larger measure of this quality than they already possess." - Rene Descartes, Discourse on Method (from Harvard Classics in a Year) I love this quote! Thank you for sharing it with us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 It reminded me of something I once heard a somewhat wise man tell the parents of graduates. He said that "all change brings grief." As I prepare for dd#'s wedding, that resonates very strongly for me. Change, even amazing, wonderful, joyful, much wanted change, means loss. Sometime the things being lost are unwanted things (I found this with leaving some health issues behind), but the fact that things are changing is a stress in an of itself. Letting myself feel (and acknowledge) that grief, in the midst of my joy, has been a very positive thing to do. After giving up on the last Lord Peter Wimsey book I tried (Five Red Herrings) I'm happy to report that I'm LOVING LOVING LOVING Have His Carcase. You gals told me it was going to be wonderful and you were right. I wish I had more time to read this week because I want to just get a cuppa tea and get lost in that book. Isn't it fun! I don't have to be in the right mood for this (unlike FRH, which I also like, but can't always enjoy and don't love) All right ladies can I have a show of hands? How many of you would think, "I'm going to be at Universal all day tomorrow. That will give me a chance to catch up on my reading."? Well, that's me. We have passes and will not be going for the first time. I'm taking ds and his girlfriend one more time before the spring break crowds descend on the theme parks. Of course I'll go on a few rides, watch a show or two (Beetlejuice and The Blues Brothers most likely), spend a good bit of time at both Harry Potter worlds, and probably eat at The Three Broomsticks. But we'll be there for 7 hours. While the teens are going on roller coasters for the umpteenth time, I'll find a place to sit and read. :) I would! ...though I'd probably do everything I could to avoid being the one to take people (and then I could stay home and read!) I finished Northanger Abbey today and it was as deliciously snarky and satirical as I remember it. Although I have to say that I find the beginning the strongest. The ending is sort of abrupt and the middle a bit middling. I think I've said it before but this is my favourite Austen and it is one I like to start my students off with simply because I think it is easy for them to understand it. Catherine is silly in a way teenagers, with the right guidance, can understand and relate to. It is easy to show students how Austen, like grown-ups today, criticises the choices of entertainment of the young, at the same time as she says that we all need to be silly at times. In addition, she isn't afraid to criticize adults as vain and silly too. I also feel that Catherine's parents lack of understanding at the end is something the teens can really relate to. I also like it because there is a very good movie version of it, that stays quite faithful to the book. I think my favorite part of NA is the depiction of the way our lives and perceptions can be shaped by our reading. Most of us don't tend to go to Catherine's extremes, but what we read becomes part of who we are and how we see the world... though not always in linear ways (especially as we get older). Okay, I'm really leaving this time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 RE: "Prone to crushes on boys in books" My first boy-in-book crush was Laurie in Little Women which I read in 6th grade. I was so upset that he and Jo did not end up together! Trying to remember who else...certainly Mr. Darcy. Maybe Prince Caspian. Mine was Gilbert in Anne of Green Gables. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Year of the Griffin & Enchanted Glass both by DIana Wynne Jones - YotG is a favorite... there are ways in which is reminds me of Pamela Dean's Tam Lin - college and reading and thinking - while having the frothy silliness of Jones's fun books. Enchanted Glass I've only read twice now, and I still don't love it. I'm not sure why the pieces never really came together for me... Okay, now I have to go make challah and write a psych paper and study muscles (muscle practical on Monday! Eeek!) and make my Purim shopping list... I am promising myself a long session of chatting here once we're past the wedding and have had our seders... I love Year of the Griffin. I like Dark Lord of Derkholm better, but I still love Year of the Griffin. It reminds me of Tam Lin, too. Not just the setting, but something about the pacing and the acceptance by their friends given to some of the characters who are behaving sillily? Maybe? Best of luck with all your planning and studies! Nan 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I fell in love with Aragorn. And Ken in My Friend Flicka. I transfered the Aragorn love to my husband. And then I had a son who is just about identical to Ken lol. Even though I had a library, I would still have books in all my other rooms. How would I read while I was waiting for the teakettle to boil otherwise? And rooms without books seem bare to me, like hotel rooms. Not warm enough to live in. I like Josephine Tey. Brat Farrar and the one set in the girl's school are my favourites, but I also liked Daughter of Time. It is different than the others. Jenn, I get deeply sucked in with Sanderson, too. : ) Nan ETA - The Ken I fell in love with, of course, wasn't the little boy in Flicka, but the young man in Green Grass of Wyoming. : ) 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 RE: "Prone to crushes on boys in books" My first boy-in-book crush was Laurie in Little Women which I read in 6th grade. I was so upset that he and Jo did not end up together! Trying to remember who else...certainly Mr. Darcy. Maybe Prince Caspian. Mine was Gilbert in Anne of Green Gables. All wonderful young men for a girl to be in love with. I think mine was probably Almanzo from Farmer Boy or Frank Hardy. You guys know how I get with my crushes though. :blushing: I've always been a big fan of Sherlock too but I wouldn't want to date or marry him! Doctor Watson would be a good husband though. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I enjoyed Daughter of Time, but it is far from Tey's best. I think her best mystery is Brat Farrar (it is certainly my favorite!) But my favorite Tey isn't a mystery at all: The Expensive Halo... it's a bit like a cross between Middlemarch and a LM Alcott book (not as good as either, but shares many of the things I love in each of them). Did you know I was just sitting here wondering what Tey book to read for Mystery March?!?! Brat Farrar it will be. Also, I spent an hour at least going through your juvenile books list on Goodreads and added a bunch to my to-read-aloud list. You had some really interesting books on there that I wasn't familiar with! 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 DH is going away for a weekend boardgaming thing with a few of his friends. When his friend got here to pick him up this morning, DH made the guy wait because he had three pages left to finish in Daughter of Time. I haven't been able to get his opinion on it yet though. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 There are many posts I want to reply to but I have trouble quoting, and especially multi quoting, on my phone. It's cold in Orlando today! Well cold for Orlando anyway, and a bit cold for being outdoors at a theme park. Doesn't bother the teens a bit. :) I've given up and found a warm (but yes, noisy) place to hide out. I finished Northanger Abbey and the relevant section of Bitch in a Bonnet. Teacher Zee, yours is one of the posts I would have quoted. The park closes in a hour and a half so I'm trying to decide what else to read. I downloaded a mystery before I left this morning and might start it. I can't read anything serious with all the conversations going on around me. I'll try and catch up tonight, but I think dh is going to want me to start watching Season 3 of House of Cards, which is supposed to be available today. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawneinfl Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Just popping in to say hello. I spent the early part of this week in sunny south Florida training to be a summer practicum book rep for Classical Conversations. The perfect summer job for me. I've been working hard on the weight loss and exercise program and my numbers were all NORMAL when my labs came back last week. I still have a ways to go before I reach my goal but it's working. That being said, I need some more ideas for audio books for the treadmill. I haven't been reading the posts for the last month so what are the new finds that everyone is talking about? I need something with a quick moving story but not too off the wall. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Just popping in to say hello. I spent the early part of this week in sunny south Florida training to be a summer practicum book rep for Classical Conversations. The perfect summer job for me. I've been working hard on the weight loss and exercise program and my numbers were all NORMAL when my labs came back last week. I still have a ways to go before I reach my goal but it's working. That being said, I need some more ideas for audio books for the treadmill. I haven't been reading the posts for the last month so what are the new finds that everyone is talking about? I need something with a quick moving story but not too off the wall. First of all being a "summer practicum book rep for Classical Conversations" sounds fabulously interesting. I have no idea what it means, of course, but it sounds cool. (I know of Classical Conversations, just not what a practicum book rep would do...) As to audio books. Am looking through my audible library, where most of the titles are completely off the wall :p, but found some titles I would recommend: As You Wish by Cary Elwes (assuming you are a fan of the movie Princess Bride) I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith A Town LIke Alice by Nevil Shute The Martian by Andy Weir If you like mysteries, the 2 books by JK Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith are good listens: The Silkworm The Cuckoo's Calling Bill Bryson's books A Walk in the Woods (the abridged is actually fine -- heresy I know, but it is a tighter book.) In a Sunburned Country At Home (a history of all things domestic in Western Civilization...meanders, but I liked it) Other engaging non-fiction Geography of Bliss The Know it All -- the author, AJ Jacobs, reads the entire Encyclopedia Britanica in a year. All his books are good Map Head by Ken Jennings The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester If you like epic fantasy, then perhaps Brandon Sanderson's Way of Kings followed by Words of Radiance, If you like a little sci fi, but want it light and funny, then Red Shirts by John Scalzi, or Agent to the Stars These books are not off the wall, but may seem like a far fetched idea -- The Master and Commander series as read by Patrick Tull. I love them!! You could start with the 3rd book, HMS Surprise, where the author has found his stride. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawneinfl Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 First of all being a "summer practicum book rep for Classical Conversations" sounds fabulously interesting. I have no idea what it means, of course, but it sounds cool. (I know of Classical Conversations, just not what a practicum book rep would do...) As to audio books. Am looking through my audible library, where most of the titles are completely off the wall :p, but found some titles I would recommend: As You Wish by Cary Elwes (assuming you are a fan of the movie Princess Bride) I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith A Town LIke Alice by Nevil Shute The Martian by Andy Weir If you like mysteries, the 2 books by JK Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith are good listens: The Silkworm The Cuckoo's Calling Bill Bryson's books A Walk in the Woods (the abridged is actually fine -- heresy I know, but it is a tighter book.) In a Sunburned Country At Home (a history of all things domestic in Western Civilization...meanders, but I liked it) Other engaging non-fiction Geography of Bliss The Know it All -- the author, AJ Jacobs, reads the entire Encyclopedia Britanica in a year. All his books are good Map Head by Ken Jennings The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester If you like epic fantasy, then perhaps Brandon Sanderson's Way of Kings followed by Words of Radiance, If you like a little sci fi, but want it light and funny, then Red Shirts by John Scalzi, or Agent to the Stars These books are not off the wall, but may seem like a far fetched idea -- The Master and Commander series as read by Patrick Tull. I love them!! You could start with the 3rd book, HMS Surprise, where the author has found his stride. Well Jenn, as book rep I get to order books, open boxes of new books, set up a bookstore, then recommend and sell books to homeschool moms at about 6 or 7 three day events during the summer in my area. How fun is that! BTW, your selections sound great. I've already listened to A Walk in the Woods and Know it All which were both hilarious, and I read The Martian last year but I bet I would love the Master and Commander series and I'm a huge Princess Bride fan so I'm going to look for the one by Cary Elwes. Those will be a good start at least. Thanks for all the recommendations. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen. Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 This week I read "His Excellency: George Washington" by Joseph Ellis. I read this book a few years back and wanted to revisit it for Washington's birthday. My 8yo read "Meet George Washington" by Joan Heilbroner. I checked out the Amazon books for a cover I liked best - The Turnip Princess. It's a book of fairy tales. The cover is a simple black and white wood carving. Our library has it On Order, so I'll be reading it soon. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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