Book a week 2015: wk 12 - Happy Spring!

[Robin M]

Good morning, my lovelies.  We are on week 12 in our quest to read 52 books.  Welcome back to our regulars, anyone just joining in, and to all who follow our progress. Mr. Linky is all set up on the 52 books blog to link to your reviews. The link is also in my signature.  

 

52 Books Blog:  Happy Spring: 

 

 

 

The year’s at the spring
And day’s at the morn;
Morning’s at seven;
The hillside’s dew-pearled;
The lark’s on the wing;
The snail’s on the thorn;
God’s in His heaven -
All’s right with the world!

~Robert Browning

Happy Spring! In keeping with our mystery theme this month, I looked up books with spring in the title and found several interesting mystery titles.

 

How about something hard boiled: Poodle Springs by Raymond Chandler

 

or a bit British:  G.M. Malleit's Pagan Spring      

 

 

Maybe a psychological thrill: Clifford Irving's The Spring

 

Or gut wrenching suspense: Rick Riordan's Cold Springs

 

or a step back in time: Charles O'Brien's Death in Saratoga Springs

 

 

Find something with Spring in the title to read this season. And no, you don't have to stick with mysteries.  *grin* 

 

**********************************************************************

 

History of the Medieval World - Chapter 15 (pp 100 - 105)

Northern Ambitions (China 420 - 464 AD)

 

*********************************************************************

 

The issue with our locked threads hasn't been resolved yet, so keep your fingers crossed, good thoughts, prayers, lots of cheer leading and maybe a bottle of wine or two to OtherJohn will help.  ;)

 

What are you reading this week? 

 

 

 

 

Link to week 11, part two.

[Negin]

Robin, I love that poem and this time of year. Although we don't have spring here, the days start to get slightly longer and there are some differences. 

 

I didn't get as much reading done as I would have liked, not books anyway, but lots of articles. I read Why Israel is the Victim - 4 Stars - This was a very well-written and short read. For those who are interested, this month’s cover story of The Atlantic is riveting and I recommend it highly. It's lengthy and since I cannot sit at a computer for that long, I printed it out. 

 

MY RATING SYSTEM

5 Stars

Fantastic, couldn't put it down

4 Stars

Really Good

3 Stars

Enjoyable

2 Stars

Just Okay – nothing to write home about

1 Star

Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

[Robin M]

Just finished reading Cleo Coyle's cozy mystery - Billionaire's Blend (Coffeehouse mystery series) and even though I don't drink coffee, the recipes and blends sound so delicious, I may just have to break down and try one or two. :drool5:

 

Up next is Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time, then perhaps Elizabeth Kostova The Swan Thieves.

 

In the middle of a short story class comparing Proust and Flaubert.  Read the Madeleine Episode from In Search of Lost Time (Swann's Way volume) and it brought up lots of food for thought.  One of my classmates pointed me in the direction of Jane Smalley's article Reading in Search of Lost Time and her 70 day reading challenge.   I think my brain would explode if I tried to read the whole thing in 70 days but perhaps if it was spread out over a longer period.   Anybody up for a Proust read in the future?  

[Chrysalis Academy]

Let's see, this week I finished:

 

43. Darkness At Noon - Arthur Koestler - this was an excellent book, a nice complement to 1984 and The Case of Comrade Tulayev. 

42. The Casebook of Victor Franenstein - Peter Ackroyd

41. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - Philip K. Dick

 

I'm working on:

The Glorious Adventure - Richard Halliburton

Rhetoric in the Classical Tradition - Horner

Restoration Agriculture - Mark Shepard

Weight - Jeanette Winterson

The Scarlet Letter (audio)

 

And ongoing reads, mostly with the girls:

From Then Till Now: A Short History of the World

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

Taran Wanderer

The Forest Unseen

Trout Reflections

A Little History of the World

HotMW

 

I'm trying to celebrate spring by spending more time out in my garden, so reading pace will slow down, but I can still listen to audiobooks!

[Robin M]

Robin, I love that poem and this time of year. Although we don't have spring here, the days start to get slightly longer and there are some differences. 

 

I didn't get as much reading done as I would have liked, not books anyway, but lots of articles. I read Why Israel is the Victim - 4 Stars - This was a very well-written and short read. For those who are interested, this month’s cover story of The Atlantic is riveting and I recommend it highly. It's lengthy and since I cannot sit at a computer for that long, I printed it out. 

 

 

Thanks, Negin. I downloaded Why Israel, but the Atlantic's article isn't coming up.  Timing out. What's the name of the article???

 

[LaughingCat]

Didn't read too much this week -- too much other going on.

 

I, Robot -- a re-read from many, many years ago, due to a thread on the boards here -- liked it about as much as previously which is not much. Definitely more dated than when I first read it.   Also, it was interesting how I could see a 'style' that I missed when I read it previously matching some other sci fi by other authors from the same era-- it's kinda like when I have watched several older movies with the kids that have nothing in common except they were all made in the same time frame, you can see certain 'style' of that time frame that they all have in common.   

First Frost -- I really enjoyed Garden Spells and have read it a couple times.  None of Sarah Addison Allen's other books have lived up to it IMO.   So  I was a little worried about this sequel 'ruining' Garden Spells for me.   But it was enjoyable.

[Kareni]

I read and enjoyed the contemporary romance The List by Anne Calhoun.  (Significant adult content.)

 

"Matchmaker and stationery shop owner Matilda Davies brings people together. For those on her list, Tilda will find the man or woman of their dreams—whether it’s for an hour or a lifetime. But due to a painful past, the British expat has never put her own name on the list. Instead, she limits herself to emotionless and commitment-free hookups. Then she meets Daniel, who wants not just her body, but also her heart…
 
Daniel Logan hides the soul of a poet under the suit and tie of an FBI agent. Specializing in financial crimes, he pieces together stories of greed and ensures justice is done. He plays by the rules—until he meets Tilda. He’s drawn in by her passion as well as her mysteriousness. Daniel knows that no matter her secrets, he’s the perfect match for Tilda. But even pleasure doesn’t come with a guarantee…"

 

Regards,

Kareni

[TeacherZee]

I had typed up a whole long reply and then the internet gremlings ate it. I'll be back tomorrow I have a splitting headache (I am calling the doctor in the morning this is getting silly) and I just want to go to bed. Good night all.

[Robin M]

I had typed up a whole long reply and then the internet gremlings ate it. I'll be back tomorrow I have a splitting headache (I am calling the doctor in the morning this is getting silly) and I just want to go to bed. Good night all.

 

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

 

[Jane in NC]

Waving to my BaW friends while mumbling under my breath what I think of our book thread gremlin. I am about to start Bring Up the Bodies which I would like to read before Wolf Hall airs on PBS.

[mumto2]

Teacherzee :grouphug:

 

I started Obsession in Death this morning because I have really been looking forward to it! :) I still have a stack of books that I need to read quickly or not read for another year. Big sigh......

[Stacia]

I finished Patrick Modiano's Missing Person today. After WWII, an amnesiac tries to piece together the people & events of his past. A lyrical, yet spare, examination of identity & history. Modiano is the French author who won the 2014 Nobel for Literature. This particular book was originally published in 1978 in France & won the Prix Goncourt, France's premier literary prize. I love his simple, spare writing style & the hazy, indistinct noir feel the book gives to the mystery of our protagonist finding himself. It fits well for mystery month, but this is not necessarily a book for the fan of standard mysteries as this is an existential examination with images popping into focus, then quickly fading away again. There's no neat resolution, nor are we (as readers) sure of what is true or not, remembered or not, of the events we see as snapshots. Recommended for literature lovers; doubly-recommended for Jane.

 

The book starts,

I am nothing. Nothing but a pale shape, silhouetted that evening against the café terrace, waiting for the rain to stop; the shower had started when Hutte left me.

 

-------------------------------------

2015 List of Books Read...
 

5 stars:

• The Good Lord Bird by James McBride. (USA)
• The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham. (France)

4 stars:

• The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami. (Japan)
• Extraordinary Renditions by Andrew Ervin. (Hungary)
• Rue du Retour by Abdellatif Laâbi. (Morocco)
• Nigerians in Space by Deji Bryce Olukotum. (South Africa & Nigeria)
• The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire by Jack Weatherford. (Mongolia)
• The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. (France & Spain)
• Kismet by Jakob Arjouni. (Germany)
• Gassire’s Lute: A West African Epic, trans. & adapted by Alta Jablow. (West Africa, incl. Ghana & Burkina Faso)
• Orlando by Virginia Woolf. (England)
• Missing Person by Patrick Modiano. (France)

3 stars:

• The Affinity Bridge by George Mann. (England)
• Goat Days by Benyamin. (Saudi Arabia)
• The Duppy by Anthony C. Winkler. (Jamaica)
• Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor. (Nigeria)
• Cat Out of Hell by Lynne Truss. (England)
• Under the Frangipani by Mia Couto. (Mozambique)

2 stars:

• The Jerusalem File by Joel Stone. (Israel)

 

[Ali in OR]

I finished Sheri Cobb South's A Dead Bore, the follow up to In Milady's Chamber. Good enjoyable fun. My library doesn't have the third book--I'm going to have to decide if I want them to order it or if I should just get the kindle version. I finally picked up Moriarty which has been on my to be read pile since December and I am enjoying that.

 

It's our spring break here--maybe I'll pick up an Agatha Christie next. I'm excited for my dd--on Tuesday we should be getting the fourth Penderwicks book from Amazon. She doesn't know I ordered it so it will be a nice spring break surprise for her. We've also been listening to Riordan's House of Hades in the car and I think we're all getting a little tired of him. Every book feels the same; this one also feels way too long. We would have edited out much of it.

[Just Robyn]

I finished Orlando by Virginia Woolf. I didn't like this one quite as much as the other books I've read by her (To the Lighthouse and Mrs. Dalloway), but it was still a four star read for me.

 

I got a small start on Bad Behavior by Mary Gaitskill, and I read a little more from No Matter the Wreckage by Sarah Kay.

 

I also have two novels sitting here: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair and Prudence by Gail Carriger.

[Stacia]

Not sure if I'm up for the brutality of it, but I've started No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. (I have not seen the movie.)

 

From Publishers Weekly:

Starred Review. Seven years after Cities of the Plain brought his acclaimed Border Trilogy to a close, McCarthy returns with a mesmerizing modern-day western. In 1980 southwest Texas, Llewelyn Moss, hunting antelope near the Rio Grande, stumbles across several dead men, a bunch of heroin and $2.4 million in cash. The bulk of the novel is a gripping man-on-the-run sequence relayed in terse, masterful prose as Moss, who's taken the money, tries to evade Wells, an ex–Special Forces agent employed by a powerful cartel, and Chigurh, an icy psychopathic murderer armed with a cattle gun and a dangerous philosophy of justice. Also concerned about Moss's whereabouts is Sheriff Bell, an aging lawman struggling with his sense that there's a new breed of man (embodied in Chigurh) whose destructive power he simply cannot match. In a series of thoughtful first-person passages interspersed throughout, Sheriff Bell laments the changing world, wrestles with an uncomfortable memory from his service in WWII and—a soft ray of light in a book so steeped in bloodshed—rejoices in the great good fortune of his marriage. While the action of the novel thrills, it's the sensitivity and wisdom of Sheriff Bell that makes the book a profound meditation on the battle between good and evil and the roles choice and chance play in the shaping of a life.

 

[JennW in SoCal]

I finished Daughter of Time a few days ago.  (Robin -- possible spoiler alerts ahead....)  Not sure what I think about it.  On the one hand I like the characters, and I liked the unusual mystery and how it was solved.  On the other hand, the solving of the mystery also made my eyes glaze over more than once or twice!  All those Richards and Edwards and Henrys and the nitty gritty about the War of the Roses. It is quite the timely book though, what with Richard III's body arriving in Leicester to be reinterred this week.  I'd gladly read some more Josephine Tey.

 

Next up?  Well, I've got both Razor's Edge and Extraordinary Renditions ready to go, and I'm slowing making my way through a couple of non-fiction titles, Stuff Matters and Crack at the Edge of the World about the great San Francisco earthquake in 1906.  But at the moment I'm thinking a nap is in order!!

[Chrysalis Academy]

I'll be interested to hear what you think of it, Stacia.  I haven't read it, but I have seen the movie. It's not the kind of movie I usually like - or even sit through - but I thought it was excellent.  I did read The Road, and also found it to be excellent, but difficult.  I don't think I could have watched the movie of that one, though.

 

I just finished Weight by Jeanette Winterson.  It's another in the Canongate Myth series.  It's definitely R-rated, like all of her books are.  I'm not quite sure what I think of it yet.  Interesting melding of myth and science, of ancient story and autobiography.  Thought-provoking.  A couple of interesting quotes:

 

"That's why I write fiction - so that I can keep telling the story.  I return to problems I can't solve, not because I'm an idiot, but because the real problems can't be solved.  The universe is expanding. The more we see, the more we discover there is to see."

 

"As a character in my own fiction, I had a chance to escape the facts. There are two facts that all children need to disprove sooner or later; mother and father.  If you go on believing in the fiction of your own parents, it is difficult to construct any narrative of your own."

 

As I'm being forcibly required to let go of the fiction of my parents right now, that one was particularly sucker-punching.

[Negin]

Thanks, Negin. I downloaded Why Israel, but the Atlantic's article isn't coming up.  Timing out. What's the name of the article???

 

Robin, I noticed that the Atlantic article was giving problems earlier. Hopefully it will work now. The article (excellent, yet lengthy, as most of their cover stories usually are) is called "Is It Time for the Jews to Leave Europe?" Just one of the many things I highlighted and thought to share: Last year, the president of Turkey made this stupid remark, “Those who condemn Hitler day and night have surpassed Hitler in barbarism.†Excuse me? Sir, do you even have a brain :huh:?

[Stacia]

Well, I ended up sitting down & reading Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men in one sitting (& that's a great way to read it). From the landscape to the interior lives of men -- spare & brutal. Hard & beautifully-crafted. I thought it was great, but it's not a book for everyone.

 

I was always curious about the movie, though a little apprehensive about seeing it. After reading the book, I'd definitely like to see the movie. 

 

 

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

Well, I ended up sitting down & reading Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men in one sitting (& that's a great way to read it). From the landscape to the interior lives of men -- spare & brutal. Hard & beautifully-crafted. I thought it was great, but it's not a book for everyone.

 

I was always curious about the movie, though a little apprehensive about seeing it. After reading the book, I'd definitely like to see the movie. 

 

Spare and brutal pretty well describes the movie, too.

[Stacia]

Spare and brutal pretty well describes the movie, too.

 

From the preview, it looks like the movie captures the book fairly well.

 

 

P.S. I knew the movie had been critically acclaimed & I thought Javier Bardem won a Oscar for his role (he did), but I didn't realize it won 4 Oscars. (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay)

[Butter]

I read Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale last week.  I loved it.  It was way better than the first (Austenland).  I was a bit disappointed by that one because I liked the movie.  The book just wasn't as good.  So I was very happy Midnight was as good as it was (and you definitely don't have to read the first to read the second - they are marginally related through location and four characters).

 

I've read a few more percent of Les Mis.

 

I'm reading Hybrid now.  It looks like it'll be a good book based on the first couple chapters (I just started it last night).

[Kareni]

Yesterday I read and enjoyed In Some Other World, Maybe: A Novel by Shari Goldhagen.

 

I'm not sure where I first saw mention of this novel, but I'm glad I did and that I requested the book.  Looking at the Amazon page, I see it has a boat load of praise.

 

"A fully self-possessed novelist, in command of large figurations, shrewd intelligence and wit, and a fine eye for the world and the American sentence." (Richard Ford)

"In Some Other World, Maybe beguiled me so much during recent flights that I forgot I was in the air! Engaging, entertaining, saucy, and poignant, this ingenious six-degrees-of-separation novel is one you'll be so happy you read. So much fun."-Jenna Blum, New York Times bestselling author of Those Who Save Us and The Stormchasers

"In Some Other World, Maybe is a beautiful, haunting, insightful novel woven masterfully together. Goldhagen writes about the struggles of growing up, of relationships, of fame, celebrity and the merging of the inner and outer worlds in a narrative so bullet-train fast, it's nearly impossible to put down. And her characters are real and complex and subtly defined. How does Goldhagen juggle these many elements, while still managing to make the book as funny as she does? You'll just have to read it to find out. Because In Some Other World, Maybe is funny as hell (and deeply profound." –Nic Sheff, New York Times bestselling author of Tweak and We All Fall Down)

 

Here's the book blurb:

 

"In December 1992, three groups of teenagers head to the theater to see the movie version of the famed Eons & Empires comic books. For Adam it's a last ditch effort to connect with something (actually, someone, the girl he's had a crush on for years) in his sleepy Florida town before he leaves for good. Passionate fan Sharon skips school in Cincinnati so she can fully appreciate the flick without interruption from her vapid almost-friends--a seemingly silly indiscretion with shocking consequences. And in suburban Chicago, Phoebe and Ollie simply want to have a nice first date and maybe fool around in the dark, if everyone they know could just stop getting in the way.

 

Over the next two decades, these unforgettable characters criss-cross the globe, becoming entwined by friendship, sex, ambition, fame and tragedy. A razor-sharp, darkly comic page-turner, In Some Other World, Maybe sheds light on what it means to grow up in modern America."

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[JennW in SoCal]

No doubt all of you hard core audible.com fans already saw this in your e-mail in box, but there is a $6.95 sale on about 100 titles that ends tonight.  The best deal is the complete and total Sherlock Holmes collection, as in the novels and ALL the short stories, read by Simon Vance.  It's too good to pass up! 

 

The Ghegis Khan book that Stacia has recommended is also on sale as are some other popular sci fi and romance titles.  No classic literature, though (other than Holmes...).

[Lady Florida.]

I'll be interested to hear what you think of it, Stacia.  I haven't read it, but I have seen the movie. It's not the kind of movie I usually like - or even sit through - but I thought it was excellent.  I did read The Road, and also found it to be excellent, but difficult.  I don't think I could have watched the movie of that one, though.

 

 

 

I could have written this. I read The Road for book club. I liked it and it was a great one for book club discussion, but a movie would have been difficult to watch. Dh and I watched No Country for Old Men not long after it won its award. After it was over we looked at each other and said, "That won Best Picture?" I've never read the book.

 

 

I started reading The Razor's Edge on Stacia's recommendation. While I liked it I kept feeling like I needed to know the author better first. Then I realized, "Hey! I've never read ANY W. Somerset Maugham." Fortunately my library had a Kindle copy of Of Human Bondage available. I started reading it over the weekend and really love the writing. 

[Onceuponatime]

I finished This Rough Magic and am now reading Encore Provence by Peter Mayle. It is just as wonderful as A Year in Provence, which I read last year.

[Maela]

I finished Catcher In the Rye today. I don't know what I expected, but it was different. I made myself wait until I was finished until I allowed myself to research it a little. I knew nothing about it except that it was a famous book.

 

I went through a short phase of not feeling like reading this past week. No idea why, but I'm back to it.

 

I don't know what I'm going to read next. Probably the library book that's due the soonest - I'll have to look it up. Right now I have to start thinking in Spanish as I meet with my tutor in a few minutes.

 

Still reading La Casa de Los Espíritus and enjoying it.

[Kareni]

Today I read Lisa Kleypas' Where Passion Leads which is, I believe, the author's earliest book.  It's an old school romance in that the hero rapes the heroine within the first few pages.  I suspect that the author would make different choices today.  Lisa Kleypas is a favorite author of mine, so it was interesting to read one of her early works.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

And last night I stayed up late re-reading a book I read a number of years ago.  It's a fantasy that received some very positive reviews when it was published.  I recommend it.

Poison Study (Study, Book 1) by Maria V. Snyder

 

From Publishers Weekly

 

Starred Review. "Shivers, obsession, sleepless nights—these are the results not of one of the milder poisons that novice food-taster Yelena must learn during her harrowing job training but of newcomer Snyder's riveting fantasy that unites the intelligent political focus of George R.R. Martin with a subtle yet potent romance. Through a stroke of luck, Yelena escapes execution in exchange for tasting the food of the Commander, ruler of Ixia. Though confined to a dank prison cell and doomed to a painful death, Yelena slowly blooms again, caught up in castle politics. But some people are too impatient to wait for poison to finish off Yelena. With the help of Valek, her steely-nerved, cool-eyed boss and the Commander's head of security, she soon discovers that she has a starring role to play in Ixia's future—a role that could lead to her being put to death as a budding magician even if she hits each cue perfectly. The first in a series, this is one of those rare books that will keep readers dreaming long after they've read it."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

 

and here's the book blurb:

 

"About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace- and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.
And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dusté and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.
As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear—."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

I'm going to post just to hopefully get us started today! It makes me nervous to see no new posts now. :lol:

 

Anyone know when Shukriyya will be back? Pam? Others are missing for Lent but I think those two are on holiday but I could be wrong. Anyway I miss everyone who hasn't been posting lately.

 

 

Eta. Kareni posted at the same time! :lol: Thread is definitely working. :)

[Stacia]

I'm here, so I'll post. :lol:  I am also missing our BaW members that are off the ranch!

 

Yesterday, while I was waiting at dance, I read more of Wolf in White Van (even though it's still the ebook & I said I was going to wait for the hardcopy). On one hand I like it, on the other hand, I'm finding it too sad &/or too stressful to read. So, even though I'm more than halfway through it at this point, I think I'm going to stop. The Guardian's review of the book ends with the sentence,

Darnielle has crafted a book that is as sad as it is beguiling.

And, I would agree. But beguiling as it is, I just can't take the sadness right now.

 

Not sure what book I'll pick up at this point. I want something completely riveting (like No Country for Old Men was) or something completely fun.

 

And, on an unrelated note, ds & I will get to see The Godfather on a big screen tonight as it is retro movie night at a nearby movie theater.  :thumbup1:  He's never seen it & wants to see it... and it is one that all good movie buffs should see, imo.

[Maela]

I'm starting Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke. No idea why I ordered it from the library (that seems to happen a lot), but I'm going to give it a try. So far, at page 15, I'm liking it. Not usually the type of book I'd read.

 

But that's what I love about this challenge: I'm reading (and actually finishing!) all sorts of books. :-)

[Stacia]

No idea why I ordered it from the library (that seems to happen a lot)

 

:lol:  I do that ALL the time!

 

[Lady Florida.]

Anyone know when Shukriyya will be back? Pam? Others are missing for Lent but I think those two are on holiday but I could be wrong. 

 

It seems like those two have been missing for a while, but then it's hard to tell with our (no longer a) mystery issue from last week. If they're on holiday I hope they're having a lovely time and getting lots of reading in.

 

As for those taking a break for Lent I look forward to seeing them back here after Easter, which is...when?. I know, I can look it up. I probably will as soon as I leave here. :)

[Robin M]

Hey gang! Appreciate your concern for our missing sister bawers. I heard from Shukriyya and she isn't ready to come back yet. Dealing with a family health issue which is taking up all her time and energy. I haven't heard from Pam. The rest are on Lent Break. Robyn ( Cstarlette ) is in the same mfa classes as me which is taking up a lot of time.

 

Then we had the mystery thread killer.

 

Easter is April 5. things should pick up after that.

[Lady Florida.]

 I heard from Shukriyya and she isn't ready to come back yet. Dealing with a family health issue which is taking up all her time and energy. 

 

If you have contact with her again please send her our love (I don't think I'm being presumptuous by speaking for all BAWers, as I'm sure the sentiment is shared).

[Robin M]

Hi! Do y'all ever do a book club type thing, where everyone is reading the same book and you discuss it? Does anything like that exist on wtm? I'd love to participate if you do. If you don't but start one up in the future, I'm in! Thanks! :)

 

Yes, we do.  I've come up with monthly themes and author flavors of the month. Next week is devoted to Virginia Woolf. We'll be reading C.S. Lewis in April and Dante's Purgatorio in May. 

 

Sometimes several folks decide they want to read a certain book at the same time and go for it.  This year we are doing a group read of  History of the Medieval World.  Several folks are working their way through Susan Wise Bauer's Well Educated Mind.  

 

Dive in anytime. 

 

[Robin M]

A few things to wet your reading whistle today:

 

Man Book International 2015 Finalists announced

 

Brainpickings:  Umberto Eco's Antilibrary (we have Black Swan on our shelves. I bought it for hubby to read which he did. I probably should read it now)

 

Here's one for Stacia - Did Thomas Pynchon predict parallel universes, mini black holes and death of the big bang theory

 

New York Review of Books- Prometheus Bound  (release today)

[Chrysalis Academy]

I finally finished Richard Halliburton's Glorious Adventure.  It was lovely, such a fun read! My dd will enjoy reading it next year when we do The Odyssey.  I found it humorous and entertaining.  It makes me want to go to Greece & Italy so much! 

[Uff Da!]

I'm almost done with Oliver Twist and am enjoying Rose Cohen's "Out of the Shadows".  She talks about her grandfather showing off a carrot and divying it between the kids with flourish.  I feel spoiled as there's a whole bag of carrots waiting to be used in some way in the fridge.

[Maus]

For both books this week, my own conclusion is, it is so much easier to ask for help, divine or human, when you aren't fighting the little voice in your head that says "this is something you *should* be able to do by yourself."  Whether that involves a little prayer before a writing lesson asking, "How do I reach this child?" or whether it's saying to a friend who dropped by, "You know, actually, it would make my day if you'd help me finish folding the basket of laundry that's been sitting over there all week," for some reason, that's so much harder than praying when you just hit black ice, and your car is sliding directly toward that really big truck, or asking a friend to babysit your kids while you go in for surgery, or calling 911 when the house is on fire.

 

It's like having a broken toe and a bottle of pain meds, and hobbling around without taking any.  Which I do for nearly every injury.  "I can make it without any pain meds."  Well, yes. Yes, you can, but you'd be sooo much happier, and you'd get more done, if you'd just take one already.  

 

20. "Amazed by Grace" by Sheri Dew (LDS).

 

19. "Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler's Guide to Unshakable Peace" by Sarah Mackenzie.

 

18. "How to Become a Straight-A Student" by Cal Newport.

17. "Eight Plus One" by Robert Cormier.

16.  "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand.

15. "How to Train Your Dragon" by Cressida Cowell.

14.  "As You Wish" by Cary Elwes.

13. "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. 

12. "My Louisiana Sky" by Kimberly Willis Holt. 

11. "Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself" by Alan Alda.  

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.â€

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.

[Kareni]

Yesterday had me finishing two re-reads both of which I enjoyed.  The first is a paranormal romance by Jennifer Ashley who also happens to write historical romance and regency mysteries (as Ashley Gardner).

 

Bodyguard: Shifters Unbound by Jennifer Ashley

 

"Elizabeth Chapman is saved from an armed robber by a giant Kodiak bear who shifts into a large, well-muscled, and fully naked human male. But when it's revealed that the robber is the brother of a dangerous criminal, Elizabeth finds herself the target of a vendetta.

 

Ronan, the Bear Shifter, takes her to Shiftertown for safety, where Elizabeth learns that the mateless Ronan, alone in the world, takes care of Shifters who have also been left on their own. Having grown up in foster care, Elizabeth can only admire how protective Ronan is.

 

But Ronan will only let Elizabeth leave the confines of Shiftertown if he becomes her 24/7 bodyguard. Elizabeth chafes at the restriction, but agrees. The trouble is, the sassy human Elizabeth is triggering Ronan's long-buried need to find himself a mate."

 

 

Having recently read a Lisa Kleypas novel had me reading another one, this one a re-read. 

Lady Sophia's Lover by Lisa Kleypas

 

"Lady Sophia Sydney would do anything to ensnare the unattainable Sir Ross Cannon. Her goal—to ruin his reputation and cause a scandal that would be the talk of all London. So she insinuates herself into his life by gaining his trust and living in his house.

 

Every morning, her lush presence tempts him beyond all reason...the way she bends over the table to serve him the meals she has prepared...the way her hands oh, so gently—yet sensuously—brush against him. Every night, she promises with her eyes—and her body— that the hours before dawn could be spent in unbridled passion instead of restless sleep—if only he'd let her share his bed.

 

She knows he is falling more in love with her each day. But she never counted on falling in love with him. And she never dreamed he might very respectably ask for her hand in marriage..."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[MicheleinMN]

I just finished book 9 in Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series.  Ralph Cosham, who narrates all her books, died last fall.  I have the last one on my ipod now.   (She has a new book due out this summer; I think I will have to actually READ that one.)

 

I am about ready to give up on Orlando and Night and Day by Virginia Woolf.  I don't think I am going to make it as a member of the Woolf Pack. 

[melmichigan]

Wow, I haven't check in since week 9!  I've been trying to make decisions for next school year while dealing with all those little curve balls life likes to throw at us.  ;)  We've been dealing with natural gas leaks outside (one emergency repair and one yet to be done this week), so we've had every utility in and out this week while they prepare to dig up the gas main out front.  At the same time they were trying to find the origins of the gas leak my MIL called, she broke her ankle while on vacation.  She had to have surgery and is now in rehab out of state until she can be moved back to Michigan. I feel  :willy_nilly: trying to get school done these last few days, so I haven't started reading anything new.  Since I last updated I've read the following:

 

Crazy Little Things (Bell Harbor) by Tracy Borgan

First and Only by Abbie Zanders

Mine to Take (Nine Circles) by Jackie Ashenden

Full Throttle (Black Nights) by Julie Ann Walker

Written in Red (The Others) by Anne Bishop

Murder of Crows (The Others) by Anne Bishop

Spell Blind by David Coe

The Immortal Who Loved Me (Argeneau #21) by Lynsay Sands

Born of Night (The League) by Sherrilyn Kenyon

 

The two that stand out are Written in Red and Born of Night both were very good.  I didn't really care for Spell Blind and The Immortal Who Loved Me was ok, but not my favorite in the series.  

 

I'm so glad that next week is our spring break!

 

 

[Angel]

 

First Frost -- I really enjoyed Garden Spells and have read it a couple times.  None of Sarah Addison Allen's other books have lived up to it IMO.   So  I was a little worried about this sequel 'ruining' Garden Spells for me.   But it was enjoyable.

That's funny, Garden Spells was my least favorite of the three I've read, but saying that I still enjoyed it.  The Sugar Queen was my favorite so far.  First Frost is on my TBR list.  A couple friends have already read it and enjoyed it.  

 

 We've also been listening to Riordan's House of Hades in the car and I think we're all getting a little tired of him. Every book feels the same; this one also feels way too long. We would have edited out much of it.

Totally felt the bolded in this last series.  We didn't finish it.  Blah.

 

I read Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale last week.  I loved it.  It was way better than the first (Austenland).  I was a bit disappointed by that one because I liked the movie.  The book just wasn't as good.  So I was very happy Midnight was as good as it was (and you definitely don't have to read the first to read the second - they are marginally related through location and four characters).

 

I'm glad to hear this!  I, too, liked the movie Austenland better than the book and so decided not to pursue Midnight in Austenland.  I'll have to give it a try now.

 

Wow, I haven't check in since week 9!  I've been trying to make decisions for next school year while dealing with all those little curve balls life likes to throw at us.  ;)  We've been dealing with natural gas leaks outside (one emergency repair and one yet to be done this week), so we've had every utility in and out this week while they prepare to dig up the gas main out front.  At the same time they were trying to find the origins of the gas leak my MIL called, she broke her ankle while on vacation.  She had to have surgery and is now in rehab out of state until she can be moved back to Michigan. I feel  :willy_nilly: trying to get school done these last few days, so I haven't started reading anything new.  Since I last updated I've read the following:

 

:grouphug:

[idnib]

I'm here, on the other side of my move.

 

I haven't done much reading at all for the past week. First we were slammed at the end getting everything packed, then we moved Friday and spent the weekend unpacking a few essentials and cleaning the place we're leaving. School has been reduced to reading, history, an hour of math each day, and watching educational DVDs. It's been so disruptive: a guy who saved our lemon tree but knocked out earthquake gas shut-off valve and we had to have the utility out, a furniture delivery, a plumber, finishing some construction, etc. We're still only 25% unpacked and I want to reconfigure the homeschool area. Again.

 

I can't believe we're on the last chapter for Ulysses. I'm reluctant to finish it. I have this bad habit of not finishing books (and sometimes TV series) when I get near the end. I don't know why. I have several books with ~20 pages, left, and I watched all but the the last episodes of Lost, The Killing, and House of Cards Season 1. Anyone else do this?

[Angel]

Here's my round-up for last week.  I'm a little behind  ;)

 

Our book club challenge for this month was to pick a book by its cover.  My pick was The Dress Shop of Dreams by Menna van Praag.  I chose it from my Amazon wish list.  I believe it was a BaW recommendation.  It was a lovely book, very reminiscent of Sarah Addison Allen.  I’m definitely a fan of this magical realism genre!  The book was not only about dresses that could transform a girl, there was also a mystery, which surprised me!  It was a delightful blend of the magical, romance, mystery and misunderstandings.  I have another of her books in my TBR pile, The House at the End of Hope Street.  I look forward to reading another of her books.  TOTALLY ENJOYABLE!

 

The following contains CC...

 

I also finished my devotional book 101 More Devotions for Homeschool Moms, which I have been slowly reading through since August.  I’ve had this book for a long time and have read bits and pieces but never read it all the way through.  This book really met a need for me last fall, funny enough, it wasn’t a need for encouragement on the homeschool front, but life and my walk with God and getting me back into my Bible regularly.  There were many nuggets to be had in her book.  And, as always, there were some things that I definitely didn’t agree with (I’m very conservative but not that conservative).  I found it HELPFUL ON MANY FRONTS.

 

One of my Favorite Quotes:  “Courage to persevere does not come from doing our work in our own power.  Our flesh is not strong enough.  God’s strength is what keeps us daily serving Him in the tasks we are called to do.â€

 

That puts me at 13 for the year!

[beckster]

I haven't been doing much reading, as we got hit with a curve ball this week.  My dh was laid off from his job on Monday.  So... that has been the focus!

 

finished last week

38.  Backyard Birds of California

39.  No More Dirty Looks

40.  North and South

41.  Secrets of the Heart

 

currently reading

History of the Ancient World

History of the Medieval World

East of Eden

[Stacia]

Beckster, :grouphug: . Job loss is scary & stressful.

 

Melissa, :grouphug: .

 

Maus, :grouphug: .

 

Idnib, :grouphug: .

 

TeacherZee, :grouphug: . (Hope you are finding some relief from your headaches.)

 

Shukriyya, :grouphug: .

 

Kim (because I saw a mention on a different thread), :grouphug: .

 

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

[Stacia]

Man Book International 2015 Finalists announced

 

<snip>

 

Here's one for Stacia - Did Thomas Pynchon predict parallel universes, mini black holes and death of the big bang theory

 

I need to check on the Man Booker guidelines. I know they changed it in the past year or two to be authors from anywhere (not just British subjects), but the list leads me to believe it's by author, not specifically for an individual book. I've read two of the authors listed -- Cesar Aira (a book I bought from Munro's bookstore in Canada last year) & Mia Couto (the book from Mozambique that I recently read). Anyway, based on the list, I picked up some books the library had on the shelf by Cesar Aira, Amitav Ghosh, & Maryse Conde. Maybe I will start one soon.

 

Thanks for the Pynchon article. I haven't yet read Gravity's Rainbow. Hope I can understand it when I do get around to reading it! :lol:

 

I am about ready to give up on Orlando and Night and Day by Virginia Woolf.  I don't think I am going to make it as a member of the Woolf Pack. 

 

Well, at least you gave it a shot. Even though I ended up liking Orlando, I did have to make myself push through some parts. And, like I said, I'm not in any hurry to read more of her work.

 

natural gas leaks outside (one emergency repair and one yet to be done this week),

 

We had something similar recently too. At least ours fell under a non-emergency heading (which is good since it took them about a month to come make the repair).