Robin M Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Happy Easter dear hearts: We are on week 14 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 - April Alliteration: Welcome to April Alliteration and our author flavor of the month, C.S. Lewis. April is National Poetry Month and there will be multiple events taking place in the blogosphere during the month sponsored by the National Poetry Foundation.Check out their website for more information and different ways to celebrate the art of poetry.Poetry can take many forms, from Acrostic to Sonnets to Ballads to Dirges to Free Verse to Odes to Couplets. A variety of rhythms and meter from Iambic to Alcaic to Blank Verse to Rhyme. And the techniques are numerous from C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia Allegories to the Neologism of Lewis Carrol's Jabberwocky.For the month of April, we'll be highlighting various poets and forms, as well as doing a readalong of C.S. Lewis Space Trilogy which includes Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength. C.S Lewis has written over 60 books about multiple subjects including literary history, literary criticism, theology, philosophy, biblical studies, sermons, essays, shorts stories, poetry as well as fantasy and science fiction. He is best known for his Chronicles of Narnia which I read as a teen and again as an adult, getting different things out of them each time. It's probably time for another reread, this time with my son and it will be interesting to see how he perceives them. I also have Mere Christianity in my stacks.Tyndale Seminary has created the C.S. Lewis Reading Room and made some of C.S. Lewis's writing available online as well as the Online Books Page.Join me this month is reading poetry, maybe trying your hand at creating your own poetry and reading C.S. Lewis. ***************************************************************************** History of the Medieval World - Chapter 17 Attila (pp 115 - 119) ***************************************************************************** What are you reading this week? Link to week 13 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 C.S Lewis has written over 60 books about multiple subjects including literary history, literary criticism, theology, philosophy, biblical studies, sermons, essays, shorts stories, poetry as well as fantasy and science fiction. Happy Easter, Robin & Happy Easter to all! Thank you for the reminder to read more C.S. Lewis. I keep telling myself to read more of his books. I've read a few of the Narnia books, which I love, but not all, and not any of his books for adults. I read Diary of a Mad Diva - 3 Stars - This was funny and offensive, not offensive to me, but I know that most would not like it at all. It wasn’t as good as the other book I’ve read by her – “I Hate Everyone Starting with Me†(which I would also not recommend to everyone). 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. My GoodReads page if anyone's interested in adding me as a friend. 18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Happy Easter All! As noted in last week's thread, I finished Bring up the Bodies in time for the PBS dramatization of this novel with its predecessor, Wolf Hall, which I read last year or the year before. Bring up the Bodies has been sitting in the dusty stacks for a while. Thanks go to Rose for introducing me to the Canongate Myths Series. My library has a few of the volumes. This weekend I read Girl Meets Boy, Ali Smith's retelling of Ovid's story of Iphis, the girl who is turned into a boy. The new version of the myth not only deals with gender bending, but there is a back story on myth itself concerning modern day advertizing, namely the marketing of bottled water. Beautifully written little tale. Still reading Eric Kaplan's Does Santa Exist?, a book about philosophy and comedy. I'm enjoying it but non-fiction is always slow going for me. I am in need of a comfort read. Angela Thirkell is my go-to author for this sort of thing; I am reading County Chronicle. My poetry selection for April will be the Selected Poems of Corsino Fortes, a recent Archipelago edition offering a first major English translation of this Cape Verdean poet. It has been a while since I have updated my list: HoMW (bookmarked at chapter 25 of 85 chapters)The Golden Legend (bookmarked at chapter 39 of 182 chapters) Chunksters 27) Girl Meets Boy, Ali Smith, 2007 26) Bring up the Bodies, Hillary Mantel, 2012 25) The Glass Key, Dashiell Hamett, 1931, audio 24) The Strange Adventures of Mr Andrew Hawthorn & Other Stories, John Buchan, stories originally published 1896-1932 23) Sidney Chambers & the Perils of the Night, 2013 22) Every Man for Himself, Beryl Bainbridge, 1996 21) The Good Lord Bird, James McBride, 2013 20) A Shilling for Candles, Josephine Tey, 1936 19) Spies of the Balkans, Alan Furst, 2010; audio book 18) A Test of Wills, Charles Todd, 1996 17) Extraordinary Renditions, Andrew Erwin, 2010 16) The Light of Day, Eric Ambler, 1962 15) Interesting Times, Terry Pratchett, 1994; audio book14) Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte, 184713) The Return of Martin Guerre, 1984, Natalie Zemon Davis12) The Letter Killers Club, Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky, 1925 or so; translated by Joanne Turnbull, 201111) Murder in the Round, Dorothy Dunnett, 197010) The Secret Adversary, Agatha Christie, 19229) Twenty Thousand Saints, Fflur Dafydd, 20088) After Dark, Haruki Murakami, 2004; translated from the Japanese by Jay Rubin, 2007; audio book7) A Short Walk: A Preposterous Adventure, Eric Newby, 19596) A Useless Man, selected stories, Sait Faik Abasiyank written in the first half of the 20th century, translated from Turkish by Alexander Dawe and Maureen Freely, 20155) Absolute Truths, John le Carré, 2003, audio book (leftover from 2014)4) Lost, Stolen or Shredded: Stories of Missing Works of Art and Literature, Rick Gekoski, 20133) The Unicorn Hunt, Dorothy Dunnett, 1994 (leftover from 2014)2) History of the Ancient World, Susan Wise Bauer, 2007 (leftover from 2014)1) Women's Work: The First 20000 Years, Elizabeth Wayland Barber, 1994 (leftover from 2014) 18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted April 5, 2015 Author Share Posted April 5, 2015 I am on the last book of the Irin Chronicles: The Secret by Elizabeth Hunter. Also started Out of a Silent Planet. In the car, listening to 10th anniversary dramatized edition of Neil Gaiman's American Gods. Monthly edition of what am I reading: Non fiction wise - knee deep in writing craft study: This month in Method and Madness Focus group - Chapter 9 in The Making of a Story by Alice Le Plante is all about plot. For MFA studies - This week is all about metaphors in Narrative Design, preposition in Sin and Syntax and flash fiction in Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Flash Fiction. Enjoying my one year bible read. Not doing so well with History of the Medieval world :leaving: so applause applause for those still plugging away James is almost finished with Post Captain in the Master and Commander series and wants me to buy the next one in the series 'right now' John is ankle deep in The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Happy Easter!!!!! I am so glad to see VC reappear :) . Now I am waiting for the rest of the missing BaWers to reappear. You have all been missed. I read a really good YA novel yesterday, Paper Towns by John Green. I found it on one of those books to movies lists that we were all looking at. Here is the youtube for the movie preview. All the lines are directly out of the book. I actually may watch this one! :lol: http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&source=android-browser&hl=en-GB&q=paper+towns 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 I love the space triology, I mean I love part 1 and 3. The Venus book is long winded in my opinion. I bought last month 'Studies in Medieval and Renaissence literature' from Lewis. It isn't translated in Dutch :( 19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Happy Easter to those who celebrate. I missed the entire thread last week. It was one of those weeks where I kept meaning to post but then the thread got so big I knew I'd never catch up on what everyone was doing/reading, so I just let it go. My game weekend with friends last weekend was nice. There were 8 of us who stayed in the hotel, and another 4 who came for the day on Saturday. Kareni was interested in the games we played so: Phase 10 Five Crowns Bohanza (which we all call The Bean Game) Rummikub Canasta Werewolf - this is a bit of a role playing game but it didn't go over well. We only played a few rounds. Many of us brought other games, but those are the ones we ended up playing. I'm not sure if you can read the sign, but the hotel where we stayed was first owned by the original seven astronauts. I don't know what the original name was, but I seriously doubt it was La Quinta. It wasn't fancy, but was nice, and perfect for our needs. I was thrilled when we all went to bed and all 3 of my roomies pulled out a book, Kindle, or tablet to read before going to sleep. I wasn't surprised that they like to read, but was glad they read before bed so I didn't have to feel like I was keeping anyone awake by reading. I started reading Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City last week, and finished it last night. It was fascinating to me. The entire city was built for one purpose: entertainment of visitors, and "entertainment" was always a wide open term from the start. At one point the author talked about the city leaders trying to rebrand Atlantic City as a family vacation destination but people knew better. It was a light bulb moment for me. While I was growing up in NJ we always went to either Seaside Heights or Park (farther north of AC), or Wildwood (farther south) for our shore vacations. I used to ask my parents why we never went to Atlantic City because I knew it was famous and they would say "we just don't go there". Now I know why not (and this was long before the casinos). :) I'm not sure what I want to read next, but the next book club choice is Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. It doesn't sound like my kind of book, but I'll be a good club member and give it a try. In the meantime I still need to finish Of Human Bondage. Audio books: I was in the mood for another Austen and since I didn't have a current audio book, I got Persuasion from my library and listened to it last week. Today I used one of my Audible credits for Wolf Hall. I have the ebook from the library, but 1. I have other things to read first. and 2. I needed my next audio book. Once I started listening to audio books, I got hooked and hate when I don't have one in progress. I had been catching up on the public radio show This American Life while deciding on my next book, so it wasn't all bad. :) 18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 My GoodReads page if anyone's interested in adding me as a friend. I added you Negin, and sent a little note to let you know who I am. As noted in last week's thread, I finished Bring up the Bodies in time for the PBS dramatization of this novel with its predecessor, Wolf Hall, which I read last year or the year before. Bring up the Bodies has been sitting in the dusty stacks for a while. I'm going to see if I can read the books first. I'm hoping that by the time I finish, the adaptation will be available on one of the streaming sites. I read a really good YA novel yesterday, Paper Towns by John Green. I I'm not a big fan of YA but I keep wanting to read this one simply for the somewhat local back drop. John Green and his brother lived in the Orlando area for a while and I know I'll recognize a lot in the parts that take place in Central Florida. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 My game weekend with friends last weekend was nice. There were 8 of us who stayed in the hotel, and another 4 who came for the day on Saturday. Kareni was interested in the games we played so: Phase 10 Five Crowns Bohanza (which we all call The Bean Game) Rummikub Canasta Werewolf - this is a bit of a role playing game but it didn't go over well. We only played a few rounds. ,,, I was thrilled when we all went to bed and all 3 of my roomies pulled out a book, Kindle, or tablet to read before going to sleep. I wasn't surprised that they like to read, but was glad they read before bed so I didn't have to feel like I was keeping anyone awake by reading. I'm glad to hear that you had a good time with your friends on the game weekend. Thanks for sharing the games you played. I hadn't heard of the Werewolf game previously. Is it this one ~ Are You A Werewolf? So, now I'm wondering if you know what books your roommates were reading! Regards, Kareni 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 I re-read a couple of Sarina Bowen's works yesterday ~ her new adult novel The Year We Fell Down (The Ivy Years) and her novella Blonde Date (Ivy Years 2.5). I enjoyed revisiting them both. (Adult content) Curiously, my library has books one and three in the Ivy Years series. I keep waiting for them to buy book two as I'd like to read it, but no luck so far. Regards, Kareni 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 I'm glad to hear that you had a good time with your friends on the game weekend. Thanks for sharing the games you played. I hadn't heard of the Werewolf game previously. Is it this one ~ Are You A Werewolf? So, now I'm wondering if you know what books your roommates were reading! Regards, Kareni Yes, that's the one. We had the minimum number of players (the others were playing something else) and I think that had an effect. It seems like it would be more fun to have a lot of players. Plus, only the woman who brought the game knew how to play. All the rest of us were learning. I know one was reading the book club book (When I Found You) but don't know what the others were reading. I suspect the one on a tablet kept going off book to browse online. It's one of the reasons I prefer a dedicated ereader. I can't go play online on my Kindle Paperwhite. All I can do is read. I can also shop for books but I rarely do that from my Kindle. I prefer to shop and buy on my computer then send the books to my Kiindle. 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 I love the space triology, I mean I love part 1 and 3. The Venus book is long winded in my opinion. This was interesting to hear. I liked Out of the Silent Planet very much, but I'm not enjoying Perelandra so much. It kind of peeves me that in the dedication he says "this is not an allegory." Um, yes it is? Either that or it's entirely too derivative of the Eden story, and Maledil=Jesus is almost as obvious as Aslan=Jesus. I don't know, I'm not clicking with this one so much. What I liked so much about OotSP is the allegory of colonialism & conquest. It's a little heavy handed, maybe, but depressingly believable. But I will slog on, and hope to complete the trilogy. I'm also planning to read Till We Have Faces, as it's a nice tie-in to our mythology studies planned for next year. I only completed two books last week, Out of the Silent Planet and Carmilla, but they were 49. and 50., so I'm halfway to my goal with plenty of time left. I don't know what I'm reading right now, my book stack is a messy overflowing pile. I'm working on Perelandra, and reading The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym and Rue du Retour thanks to Stacia. That's all I'm sure about, everything else is rotating in and out of making progress. I know that 4 books at a time is the right number for me to have going, and my stack is considerably higher than that at the moment. 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 I'd thought the other thread was the new thread! I'm just going to re-post my list of recent and current reads here. Pretend you haven't seen this before. -------------- 11. Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass 12. J. Frank Dobie, Coronado's Children 13. Henry James, The Golden Bowl 14. Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky, The Letter Killers Club (thank you Jane! Dh has it on his tbr stack now) 15. Poems of Dante Gabriel Rossetti 16. Conrad, Lord Jim Currently reading: A dear pious older lady of our community lent me a devotional book that I must finish skimming for duty's sake but am not really enjoying. A review on the back cover calls it "a modern-day Introduction to the Devout Life." Which only made me want to re-read the actual Introduction, which is vastly superior. So St. Francis de Sales is my current Easter reading. And also Our Man in Havana, because Graham Greene. --------------- Added: One thing that makes Francis de Sales such good reading is that, like any good public speaker (he had quite a reputation for oratory), he always went straight for the vivid example or anecdote. And all of his are medieval. Confessed sin is like a poisonous scorpion reduced to oil and used as a salve to cure scorpion stings. People who refrain from sinning reluctantly are like men ordered by their doctors to abstain from melons; always longing for what they know will kill them. It really puts spiritual progress in a new light to think of it as leaving behind forbidden melons and advancing to puree of scorpion. My favorite bit of Salesian advice: if you have trouble with humility, cast your mind to some moment when you committed a grotesque social faux pas. That should do it. 19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 This was interesting to hear. I liked Out of the Silent Planet very much, but I'm not enjoying Perelandra so much. It kind of peeves me that in the dedication he says "this is not an allegory." Um, yes it is? Either that or it's entirely to derivative of the Eden story, and Maledil=Jesus is almost as obvious as Aslan=Jesus. I don't know, I'm not clicking with this one so much. What I liked so much about OotSP is the allegory of colonialism & conquest. It's a little heavy handed, maybe, but depressingly believable. But I will slog on, and hope to complete the trilogy. I'm also planning to read Till We Have Faces, as it's a nice tie-in to our mythology studies planned for next year. onsiderably higher than that at the moment. I read them in Dutch, and they have different titels in Dutch, not a translation. I liked part 3, because it is more a thriller type of novel, and there is a lot of action in the novel :) The Venus book is the odd one in the triology ( imo). 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Here are a few books that are currently free to Kindle readers. (This can change at any time. The free book I posted last night is no longer free.) Note: I haven't read any of these so can't speak to content. Strength (Mark of Nexus Book 1) by Carrie Butler -- paranormal new adult How I Found the Write Path: A Compilation of Letters by Carrie Butler and P.K. Hrezo -- advice to writers from their younger selves The Korean Word For Butterfly by James Zerndt -- fiction (the author has another free book today and tomorrow ~ Brailling For Wile) Evensong (Meratis Trilogy Book 1) by Krista Walsh -- debut fantasy novel (an author becomes trapped in his own novel) Cover Me Boxed Set: The Complete Trilogy by L.A. Witt -- male/male romantic thriller Regards, Kareni 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Violet Crown, it is good to see you again. I'm also happy to see Pam, Loesje, & Nan starting to come back in the thread again. Still no reading going on for me. I don't know why, nothing is appealing (even though I have the book Girl Meets Boy, among others, sitting here; like Jane's mention of Girl Meets Boy up-thread, it's one I picked up along w/ various others from the series of rewriting/retelling various myths). And I have oodles of unread books on my shelves, so it's not like I'm short of reading material. :leaving: Maybe the reading bug will hit me again soon. I've read 20 books so far this year. Still trying to figure out why I've completely stalled out in my reading. (Otoh, I've been massively cleaning out closets, dressers, etc... so maybe I'm on a Spring Cleaning/Get Rid of Junk spree instead.) I felt almost like reading last night when dh & I were at B&N, picking up a few books for the dc for gifts. (Ds: King of the Comics & Terry Pratchett's A Blink of the Screen; dd: Throne of Glass, The Scorpio Races, & a survivalist type book from one of the bargain tables because she likes reading non-fiction about how to build shelters, start fires from scratch, etc... Lol.) 2015 Books Read: Africa: Rue du Retour by Abdellatif Laâbi, trans. from the French by Jacqueline Kaye, pub. by Readers International. 4 stars. Morocco. (Poetic paean to political prisoners worldwide by one who was himself in prison for “crimes of opinionâ€. Explores not only incarceration but also readjusting to a ‘normal’ world after torture & release.) Nigerians in Space by Deji Bryce Olukotum, pub. by Unnamed Press. 4 stars. South Africa & Nigeria. (Scientists lured back home in a ‘brain gain’ plan to start up Nigerian space program. But, things go awry. Is it legit, a scam, or something more sinister?) Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor, pub. by Viking (Penguin Group). 3 stars. Nigeria. (YA fantasy lit in the vein of HP but with a West African base of myth & legend.) Under the Frangipani by Mia Couto, trans. from the Portuguese by David Bookshaw, pub. by Serpent’s Tail. 3 stars. Mozambique. (Murder mystery that ultimately examines the things that kill a people, a country, a place; told through a magical realism lens of the living & the dead, traditions vs. modern mores, colonization against freedom, & war facing off against peace.) Gassire’s Lute: A West African Epic, trans. & adapted by Alta Jablow, illus. by Leo & Diane Dillon, pub. by Dutton. 4 stars. West Africa, incl. Ghana & Burkina Faso. (Children’s poetic book [part of the epic of Dausi], telling of Gassire who gives up his noble lineage & warrior life to become a bard/griot.) Asia: The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami, a Borzoi book pub. by Alfred A. Knopf. 4 stars. Japan. BaW January author challenge. (Creepy campfire style story; thought-provoking ending made me rethink the entire story.) The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire by Jack Weatherford, pub. by Crown Publishers. 4 stars. Mongolia. (Non-fiction. Even with gaps, fascinating pieces of lost &/or censored history.) Caribbean: The Duppy by Anthony C. Winkler, pub. by Akashic Books. 3 stars. Jamaica. (A duppy [ghost] relates ribald & amusing anecdotes of Jamaican heaven.) Europe: The Affinity Bridge by George Mann, a Tor book pub. by Tom Doherty Associates. 3 stars. England. (Entertaining steampunk with likeable characters.) Extraordinary Renditions by Andrew Ervin, pub. by Coffee House Press. 4 stars. Hungary. (Triptych of stories in Budapest touching on the Holocaust, racism, corruption, the power of music,…) The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, pub. by Scribner Classics. 4 stars. France & Spain. (Lost generation of post-WW1 expats living, loving, & arguing in France & Spain.) Kismet by Jakob Arjouni, trans. from the German by Anthea Bell, pub. by Melville House (Melville International Crime). 4 stars. Germany. (Tough Turkish-German PI in the middle of a turf war as a Croatian organized crime group tries to take over territory of Albanian & German mobs in Frankfurt. Darkly funny & nicely paced.) The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham, pub. by Penguin Books. 5 stars. France. (Interlinked stories of friends in post-WWI France as they move through life & each finds his or her own version of success.) Cat Out of Hell by Lynne Truss, pub. by Melville House. 3 stars. England. (Creepy, frivolous fun horror/mystery mash-up… and a cat who wants Daniel Craig to voice him if there’s a movie version.) Orlando by Virginia Woolf, pub. by Harcourt Brace & Company. 4 stars. England. (Woolf’s love letter to Vita Sackville-West; story of man/woman Orlando spanning over 300 years of English history. Wordy but redeemed by flashes of profound beauty & brilliance.) Missing Person by Patrick Modiano, trans. from the French by Daniel Weissbort, pub. by David R. Godine (a Verba Mundi Book). 4 stars. France. (After WWII, an amnesiac tries to piece together the people & events of his past. A lyrical, yet spare, examination of identity & history.) Middle East: The Jerusalem File by Joel Stone, pub. by Europa editions. 2 stars. Israel. (Noir detective tale re: jealousy. Ambiguous, unsatisfactory ending.) Goat Days by Benyamin, trans. from Malayalam by Joseph Koyipally, pub. by Penguin Books. 3 stars. Saudi Arabia. (Simple tale of enslaved Indian forced to herd goats in the Saudi Arabian desert.) North America: The Good Lord Bird by James McBride, pub. by Riverhead Books (Penguin Group). 5 stars. USA. (Sharp satire, historical fiction & folly, standing on top of heart, soul... & freedom.) No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, pub. by Vintage International. 4 stars. USA. (Spare & brutal tale of stolen drug money in Texas. Classic themes which are hard & beautifully-crafted.) 18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Happy Easter all! This week I finished The Geography of You and Me, a sweet YA novel that was a quick and easy read. Then I started Terry Pratchett's Dodger which I'm finding very enjoyable. It's an entertaining story told with his usual wit and I particularly appreciate that I feel no stress when I read it. I'm a few chapters into Out of the Silent Planet and am immediately loving Lewis' use of the English Language. He just says everything so richly and perfectly. This one should be the fastest read of the three but I'm still barely into it. I remember that Perelandra was the favorite of a very inspirational college friend. She helped me appreciate it better, but I think it was with respect to particularly Christian ideas. I'm probably most interested in re-reading That Hideous Strength, but I may not even get to it this month. It had the most challenging ideas for me of the three books. One small detail that always stuck with me was that there was an inherit evil in pictures hung slightly crookedly--close to right, but not. I'm eager to re-read that with a little more life experience now. I have a ton of books coming available at the library. I picked up both of the tree books from last week's thread. I'm planning on just looking at the pictures for Seeing Trees--more a coffee table book for my current busy season. The Trees of Paradise is thicker than I expected, but I'll at least skim it. On a different thread here at WTM someone mentioned Ungifted, another thickish book. And I now have Mort (thankfully thinner) for when I finish Dodger. I'm number one on the wait list for a few more books--Reaper Man, the Laura Ingalls Wilder biography--can't remember what else. You all have to stop mentioning so many interesting books! Off to go read. Or nap. 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uff Da! Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 I'm reading Le Guin's "Searoad: The Chronicles of Klatsand" and realizing I forgot to order Mere Christianity. "In one of her most deeply felt works of fiction, Le Guin explores the dreams and sorrows of the inhabitants of Klatsand, Oregon, a beach town where ordinary people bring their dreams and sorrows for a weekend or the rest of their lives, and sometimes learn to read what the sea writes on the sand. Searoad is the story of a particular place that could be any place, and of a people so distinctly drawn they could be any of us." This is one of my favorite short story collections to curl up with. Here's the opening that sets the scene for the stories: Foam Women, Rain Women The foam women are billowy, rolling, tumbling, white and dirty white and yellowish and dun, scudding, heaving, flying, broken. They lie at the longest reach of the waves, rounded and curded, shaking and trembling, shivering hips and quivering buttocks, torn by the stiff, piercing wind, dispersed to nothing, gone. The long wave breaks again and they lie white and dirty white, yellowish and dun, billowing, trembling under the wind, flying, gone, till the long wave breaks again. The rain women are very tall, their heads are in the clouds. Their gait is the pace of the storm-wind, swift and stately. They are tall presences of water and light walking the long sands against the darkness of the forest. They move northward, inland, upward to the hills. They enter the clefts of the hills unresisting, unresisted, light into darkness, mist into forest, rain into earth. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Poking my head briefly to say hi and welcome back to VC. Nothing much to report on the book front here. Finished Elantris (or if I were writing this in the style of the author, "she finished the audiobook with disbelieving ears) skimmed a bit in the Trees in Paradise, but no new books, fluffy or serious to recommend or share. 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Not much to report. I finished the latest Jack Reacher book, Personal. I like the series but I didn't really like this one. It started off with a lot of potential but then Lee Child got lazy. I've started The Most Dangerous Book and I'm really enjoying it. On Politics continues. I've got to make it past the Herodotus chapter but cannot find the time. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelaboord Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Hello everyone, My name is Angela, and I'm very happy to have stumbled on the BaW threads a few weeks ago. I've put several suggested titles on hold at my library already, so I figured that I ought to introduce myself. I signed up for the 52 book challenge with my blog this year for the second time, but I never seem to get around to posting reviews in a timely manner. I had no idea that there was also a Book a Week thread here! (Mostly I have just used these forums to research specific curricula over the years, but I just downloaded the Tapatalk app and it shows new content, so it was a bit of serendipity that led me here. I've been missing some good book conversation lately; compulsively checking on my Goodreads feed just isn't the same for some reason. *cough*) I'm a fairly eclectic reader, but I especially like SFF, memoir, science writing, and gardening/homesteading/nutrition, and I also read some YA. For the past few years I got into a non-fiction rut where I read very little fiction, so now I'm trying to ease back into reading fiction with novels that are on the lighter side as opposed to big heavy classics. Last week I read _The Last Policeman_ by Ben Winter and finished up _The Power of Habit_ by Charles Duhigg (which wasn't a novel, but I can't cut nonfiction out entirely). I also recently finished _Station Eleven_, so I'm kind of feeding my interest in all things post-apocalyptic right now, I suppose... although technically, _The Last Policeman_ is pre-apocalyptic. I'm eagerly waiting on the other two books in the series to come in at the library. I'm also about halfway through _First Impressions: A Novel of Old Books, Unexpected Love, and Jane Austen_ by Charlie Lovett. I'm finding it sort of... well, not as good as I had hoped, but it's keeping me reading at least. His characterization just doesn't seem very deep to me, and big things happen and they're just sort of emotionally glossed over, kind of clumsily. But the books/Jane Austen angle is interesting. My list for the year: 1. Boy, Roald Dahl (YA, memoir) 2. Going Solo, Roald Dahl (YA, memoir) 3. She is Not Invisible, Marcus Sedgwick (YA, science mystery) 4. The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat, and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet, Nina Teicholz (non-fiction, health) 5. The Autoimmune Solution, Amy Myers (non-fiction, health) 6. The Everyday Catholic's Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours, Dari Sockey (non-fiction, religion) 7. It Starts with Food, Dallas and Melissa Hartwig (non-fiction, health) 8. Treason: A Catholic Novel of Elizabethan England, Dena Hunt (historical fiction) 9. Old Roses, Leslie Gordon (gardening) 10. The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains, Nicholas Carr (non-fiction) 11. Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman (non-fiction) 12. Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel (SFF, probably my favorite read so far this year) 13. Landline, Rainbow Rowell (mainstream fiction with a bit of a speculative element) 14. Eleanor and Park, Rainbow Rowell (YA, with 80's music) 15. Fangirl, Rainbow Rowell (YA, got on a bit of a Rainbow Rowell jag there for a week or so) 16. 33 Days to Morning Glory, Michael Gaitley (non-fiction, religion) 17. The Last Policeman, Ben H. Winters (mystery/SFF, also one of my favorite reads of the year so far) 18. The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg (non-fiction) Very happy to have found these threads! :hurray: --Angela My Goodreads 20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Happy Easter! We were up ridiculously early for our church's sunrise service. It was a busy morning as dh spoke for the sunrise service and Skye sang during the main service. I watched rugrats in the nursery and have consumed WAY too much sugar today! But, for all you Protestants out there, the fun part is that my bluegrass gospel band is going to bluegrass up Christ the Lord is Risen Today! The praise leader for the contemporary services had the audacity to call it a "lame old hymn". We've been giving him grief about it ever since. I would love to hear that! :D a survivalist type book from one of the bargain tables because she likes reading non-fiction about how to build shelters, start fires from scratch, etc... Lol.) Do you mind sharing the title? Dh and Aly like this kind of stuff! We did snag one from the bargain table a while ago so it's possible it's the same one. I'll check in tomorrow with book related stuff. I have not started Out of the Silent Planet yet, so make sure you keep away from the spoilers!! ;) 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 My name is Angela, and I'm very happy to have stumbled on the BaW threads a few weeks ago. Welcome, Angela! I look forward to hearing more about your future reads. Regards, Kareni 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Today I read with pleasure Patricia Briggs' latest book in her Alpha and Omega series ~ Dead Heat. You'll definitely want to read this series in order. This is book four. "For once, mated werewolves Charles and Anna are not traveling because of Charles’s role as his father’s enforcer. This time, their trip to Arizona is purely personal--or at least it starts out that way...Charles and Anna soon discover that a dangerous Fae being is on the loose, replacing human children with simulacrums. The Fae’s cold war with humanity is about to heat up—and Charles and Anna are in the cross fire."Regards,Kareni 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 I finished No Matter the Wreckage by Sarah Kay. I wanted to read this because I think it was the winner in the poetry category of the Goodreads Choice Awards last year, but I wasn't too fond of it. It was very cute, but not particularly deep or moving. I did manage to start The Jungle by Upton Sinclair and I am about 1/3 of the way through it. I had read several reviews that said it was dry and boring. Well, I guess my tastes are just at odds with those of other Goodreadsians right now, because I am enjoying it. April poetry - I started Lyric Poems by Keats and I asked the library to purchase Blood Lyrics by Katie Ford. I don't think I've posted my list since January, so here it is. 21. No Matter the Wreckage Sarah Kay 20. Bad Behavior Mary Gaitskill 19. After Midnight various authors 18. Orlando Virginia Woolf 17. The Diary of a Young Girl Anne Frank 16. The Art of Description Mark Doty 15. Henry IV, Part 1 William Shakespeare 14. Bluets Maggie Nelson 13. Cosmicomics Italo Calvino 12. The Art of the Poetic Line James Logenbach 11. Citizen: An American Lyric Claudia Rankine 10. Sense and Sensibility Jane Austen 9. Dynamic Characters Nancy Kress 8. Kraken: The Curious, Exciting, and Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid Wendy Williams 7. Henni Miss Lasko-Gross 6. Lyrical Ballads William Wordsworth 5. Richard II William Shakespeare 4. Why Read Moby-Dick? Nathaniel Philbrick 3. Kafka on the Shore Haruki Murakami 2. Crow: From the Life and Songs of the Crow Ted Hughes 1. Sonnet Lindsey Rodgers 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 I did manage to start The Jungle by Upton Sinclair and I am about 1/3 of the way through it. I had read several reviews that said it was dry and boring. Well, I guess my tastes are just at odds with those of other Goodreadsians right now, because I am enjoying it. If you enjoy Upton Sinclair's writing, you might enjoy one of my father's two favorite series. The series is eleven books long and all feature the character Lanny Budd. The first book is World's End. Here's a great review of the entire series: Revisit to Old Hero Finds He's Still Lively by Julie Salamon (My father's other favorite series was Winston Churchill's six volume The Second World War (book series)). Regards, Kareni 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyD Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Welcome Angela! And hello all. I just typed out a post which got eaten, sigh. In any event, I have not had much focus for reading over the past few weeks. Between work demands, Passover prep, and oh yes, that whole pesky homeschooling thing, I just keep picking up books and putting them down. I did read one novel: Us, by David Nicholls. It boasted rave reviews and was longlisted for the Man Booker prize, but I just couldn't get excited about it. Some excellent turns of phrase and a few really funny passages, but on the whole, meh. I'm still casting about for an absorbing novel, but in the meantime I'm reading Sue Fishkoff, The Rebbe's Army: Inside the World of Chabad-Lubavitch, which is somewhat unexpectedly terrific. 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Oh gosh, I read the space trilogy when I was in college. I liked it a lot. I had taken a class on Milton and another on science fiction that semester, so it was a natural choice for summer reading. It was a great read after spending a semester deep in Paradise Lost. 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted April 6, 2015 Author Share Posted April 6, 2015 Hello everyone, My name is Angela, and I'm very happy to have stumbled on the BaW threads a few weeks ago. I've put several suggested titles on hold at my library already, so I figured that I ought to introduce myself. I signed up for the 52 book challenge with my blog this year for the second time, but I never seem to get around to posting reviews in a timely manner. I had no idea that there was also a Book a Week thread here! (Mostly I have just used these forums to research specific curricula over the years, but I just downloaded the Tapatalk app and it shows new content, so it was a bit of serendipity that led me here. I've been missing some good book conversation lately; compulsively checking on my Goodreads feed just isn't the same for some reason. *cough*) I'm a fairly eclectic reader, but I especially like SFF, memoir, science writing, and gardening/homesteading/nutrition, and I also read some YA. For the past few years I got into a non-fiction rut where I read very little fiction, so now I'm trying to ease back into reading fiction with novels that are on the lighter side as opposed to big heavy classics. Last week I read _The Last Policeman_ by Ben Winter and finished up _The Power of Habit_ by Charles Duhigg (which wasn't a novel, but I can't cut nonfiction out entirely). I also recently finished _Station Eleven_, so I'm kind of feeding my interest in all things post-apocalyptic right now, I suppose... although technically, _The Last Policeman_ is pre-apocalyptic. I'm eagerly waiting on the other two books in the series to come in at the library. I'm also about halfway through _First Impressions: A Novel of Old Books, Unexpected Love, and Jane Austen_ by Charlie Lovett. I'm finding it sort of... well, not as good as I had hoped, but it's keeping me reading at least. His characterization just doesn't seem very deep to me, and big things happen and they're just sort of emotionally glossed over, kind of clumsily. But the books/Jane Austen angle is interesting. My list for the year: 1. Boy, Roald Dahl (YA, memoir) 2. Going Solo, Roald Dahl (YA, memoir) 3. She is Not Invisible, Marcus Sedgwick (YA, science mystery) 4. The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat, and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet, Nina Teicholz (non-fiction, health) 5. The Autoimmune Solution, Amy Myers (non-fiction, health) 6. The Everyday Catholic's Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours, Dari Sockey (non-fiction, religion) 7. It Starts with Food, Dallas and Melissa Hartwig (non-fiction, health) 8. Treason: A Catholic Novel of Elizabethan England, Dena Hunt (historical fiction) 9. Old Roses, Leslie Gordon (gardening) 10. The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains, Nicholas Carr (non-fiction) 11. Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman (non-fiction) 12. Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel (SFF, probably my favorite read so far this year) 13. Landline, Rainbow Rowell (mainstream fiction with a bit of a speculative element) 14. Eleanor and Park, Rainbow Rowell (YA, with 80's music) 15. Fangirl, Rainbow Rowell (YA, got on a bit of a Rainbow Rowell jag there for a week or so) 16. 33 Days to Morning Glory, Michael Gaitley (non-fiction, religion) 17. The Last Policeman, Ben H. Winters (mystery/SFF, also one of my favorite reads of the year so far) 18. The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg (non-fiction) Very happy to have found these threads! :hurray: --Angela My Goodreads Hi Angela, Glad you found us and look forward to hearing about your reads. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Hello everyone! I spent the long Easter weekend at my parents reading, eating and playing with the nieces and their cousins. It was a very very enjoyable weekend. I discovered a new (to me) romance series titled Portland Storm and I have read several of those books. I've also made some progress in To the Lighthouse which I hope to continue with this week as I am off. I read quite a few Bamse comics to the kids on Saturday, my sister's best friend's (who also happens to be bil's cousin) son wanted some quality cuddle time with me and for me to read, and what can I say I am a sucker for a kid who wants to listen to books. Kareni I just found out that the next Ivy League series book is out in 10 days (from yesterday I think). I plan on getting caught up on my Medieval World reading this week. So far this year I've read: Read so far this year:1. The Child Catchers by Kathryn Joyce2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling3. The Understatement of the Year by Sarina Bowen4. The Year We Fell Down by Sarina Bowen5. The Year We Hid Away by Sarina Bowen6. Blond Date by Sarina Bowen7. A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift8. Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson9. After the War is Over by Jennifer Robson10. With Every Letter by Sarah Sundin11. Falling from the Sky by Sarina Bowen12. Obsession in Death by J.D. Robb13. Murphy's Law by Rhys Bowen14. Än finns det hopp by Karin Wahlberg15. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen16. Shooting for the Stars by Sarina Bowen17. The Deal by Elle Kennedy18. Coming in from the Cold by Sarina Bowen19. The Hook Up by Kristen Callihan 20. All Lined Up by Cora Carmack 21. All Broke Down by Cora Carmack 22. On the Fly by Catherine Gayle 23. Breakaway by Catherine Gayle 24. Taking a Shot by Cathrine Gayle 25. Light the Lamp by Catherine Gayle 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Welcome, Angela! Stacia, I hope the reading bug bites you very soon. :) 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoseInABook Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Welcome, Angela! I finished Cry Wolf (also the Alpha and Omega series). I think I'll continue these. They seem like good warm weather reads that I can flip through while half watching my kids play outside. Starting Kevin Hearne's Hammered which is the third in the Iron Druid Chronicles. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 If you enjoy Upton Sinclair's writing, you might enjoy one of my father's two favorite series. The series is eleven books long and all feature the character Lanny Budd. The first book is World's End. Here's a great review of the entire series: Revisit to Old Hero Finds He's Still Lively by Julie Salamon (My father's other favorite series was Winston Churchill's six volume The Second World War (book series)). Regards, Kareni Hey, thanks! Those do look good (The Lanny Budd books - Churchill's books just look big and looming). And it looks like they are available at the library of a local private college that makes their books available to the public. It's quite good to know these exist. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Welcome Angela! Noseinabook -- Patricia Briggs also writes the Mercy Thompson series which you will probably want to read also. The two series are intertwined for lack of a better description with a few crossovers. Alpha and Omega stands on its own, so does MT but it is fun when the characters mix. Also Kevin Hearne -- I know you had problems with one of these, I have read them all. I always stall roughly 50 pages in, bored to almost quitting the next 100, and adore the rest. The beginning and endings have been good enough to keep me reading. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 I discovered a new (to me) romance series titled Portland Storm and I have read several of those books. Ah, that's good to hear. I've yet to read it, but I have the first book on my Kindle since it's currently free to Kindle readers. Here's the link if others are interested: Breakaway (Portland Storm) (Volume 1) by Catherine Gayle. Books one through four are currently in a special sale for $0.99: Portland Storm: The First Period Kareni I just found out that the next Ivy League series book is out in 10 days (from yesterday I think). pant, pant .... Regards, Kareni 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Sorry, I've been distracted. Is this also the Dante month? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Here's my update: Still in the middle of 1Q84; ended part 1 but haven't resumed this book yet. Nearly done with Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers. Started Wool because of you all; enjoying that too. It might cause a longer delay to resuming 1Q84. Just finished a re-listen of HP Deathly Hallows. Current read-aloud with dd is Rage of Fire by Gloria Skurzynski. The plots in the series are rather contrived but dd enjoys them and the reading goes by quickly. Our next book will be the next Penderwicks book which my library still hasn't put into circulation. :glare: 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Thanks, Kathy. I hope the reading bug bites me soon too. Welcome, Angela! :seeya: Love your list. What did you think about The Last Policeman? It's one I've had on my to-read list.... Angel, the book for dd is Extreme Survival. I had to dig out the receipt to find the title as dd left yesterday afternoon for a few days of Spring Break w/ my parents; I guess she took it with her because I didn't see it in her room. (It's possible that it's hidden in her multiple, towering book stacks, but I figured it would be on the top of the piles & it's not, so I'll assume she tossed it in her bag to take with her. :lol: ) 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted April 6, 2015 Author Share Posted April 6, 2015 Sorry, I've been distracted. Is this also the Dante month? Next month in May. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Thanks Kareni and Teacherzee, I just "bought" Breakaway. I also finished A Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2241722.A_Royal_Pain. It is the second in a cozy mystery series set between the wars. The heroine is a distant member of the royal family who is being sent on errands by Queen Mary to hinder Edwards romance with Mrs. Simpson. Overall a fun series, I liked this one better than the first. This can stand alone. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIch elle Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Small Victories, Anne Lamott - excellent The Air We Breathe, Christa Parrish - good Shakespeare Saved My Life, Laura Bates - excellent I don't know if I'll be able to get through The Court-Martial of Paul Revere for my book club next week. It's so dry, and I like reading history! Next up: The Boston Girl I'd like to read some of C.S. Lewis' later works. Maybe I'll try Surprised by Joy 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 DH is currently reading a biography about C.S. Lewis. According to this book Lewis liked Perelangra, The Horse and his Boy and Until we have Faces best, from his novels. We were wondering if we were missing something, as we like these books the least? Is something lost in translation? Dd already read the Screwtape Letters, we will try the Great Divorce this month with her. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Angel, the book for dd is Extreme Survival. I had to dig out the receipt to find the title as dd left yesterday afternoon for a few days of Spring Break w/ my parents; I guess she took it with her because I didn't see it in her room. (It's possible that it's hidden in her multiple, towering book stacks, but I figured it would be on the top of the piles & it's not, so I'll assume she tossed it in her bag to take with her. :lol: ) Awesome! Actually, that is not the one we bought last time at B&N. I will pass this on to dh. Thanks ;) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Uff Da - I love the Le Guin quote! It strikes me as so so true. Jenn - I thought of you as we sang the sun up with Christ the Lord is Risen Today at the town Easter sunrise service, and then sang it again in church with sanitized words lol. I hope your bluegrass version went well. Jane - Thank you for the post card. It was timed nicely. Guess what I saw today while walking the dog - red skunk cabbage sprouts! My yard is still all snow but it is greatly diminished in depth, at least, and in the woods, where it was less snowy, there are bare patches. It has been a long winter but I'm not feeling ready to deal with the rush of spring activities so I'm not complaining. Angela - Welcome! Happy Easter, all who celebrate Easter. : ) And happy holy days to anyone else with a celebration about now. I read Ngaio Marsh's When in Rome. I am reading another Ngaio Marsh now. I think I will reread Dawn Treader for my Lewis. I haven't read it for a few years. It and The Horse and His Boy are my favourite Narnia books. Nan 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Not a book post but a post on "The Boy", i.e. the archaeologist whom homeschooling did not completely warp! He is returning to projects in the Midwest where he worked through December. Things were then suspended because of weather--no surprise. My role in this was to deliver him to offices in Chapel Hill from where the company crew trucks were leaving his morning. He had gone to check in, then came back to my car to pick up his luggage. The grin on his face was priceless. I'll miss him of course, but I revel in his happiness. 18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Not a book post but a post on "The Boy", i.e. the archaeologist whom homeschooling did not completely warp! He is returning to projects in the Midwest where he worked through December. Things were then suspended because of weather--no surprise. My role in this was to deliver him to offices in Chapel Hill from where the company crew trucks were leaving his morning. He had gone to check in, then came back to my car to pick up his luggage. The grin on his face was priceless. I'll miss him of course, but I revel in his happiness. I love being the one to see my boys off. They talk on the way to the airport or ship. It is nice to share the excitement and help with the difficulties of transitioning. The down side is the journey back home. The passenger seat feels extra empty. I hope you had a nice audiobook to keep you company, Jane. Nan 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 I love being the one to see my boys off. They talk on the way to the airport or ship. It is nice to share the excitement and help with the difficulties of transitioning. The down side is the journey back home. The passenger seat feels extra empty. I hope you had a nice audiobook to keep you company, Jane. Nan I continued to listen to the Terry Pratchett novel that we began listening to last week on our return drive from Isle of Palms. It was one that The Lad had selected for us. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 I am so not ready for my boys to leave home. Will I be ready when the time comes? Cause right now the thought makes me hyperventilate and feel a bit queasy. I've been reading my notes and textbook. Also reading about different schools (college level), majors, requirements, tests, etc. Not that I am obsessively researching college options for my oldest or anything. I finished a homeschooling high school book, and now need to read that section in the WTM. I should probably also figure out my next move for the classes I still need as well. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Oh! I almost forgot. I need you all to come through for me. We are leaving (in one day!) for a camping trip. We will be driving 15 hours (add extra for all those unexpected stops when traveling with children) each way. So I need audio books. I figure I can get some that are for the whole family and then for individual listening. So recs for 6, 11, and 14 yr old and then for all of us..... Youngest loved Farmer Boy and Paddington, 11 yr old loves the Menagerie series, Percy Jackson, and Harry Potter, 14 yr old also loves Percy Jackson (and other books by author), Harry Potter, and Cornelia Funke. We all just finished Christopher Healy's trilogy and enjoyed it. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Jane and Nan, I am so glad your boys are able to work in the field they love. Watching them go off must be hard but at the same time really fulfilling. Sort of the ultimate mom graduation. I have to admit I am dreading it myself and it is getting closer every day. Preparing for all the entrance exams this spring. I am far more worried than she is. Mom ninja-- I can only think of some series ds enjoyed, Charle Bone (we all loved those), Artemis Fowl, and Rangers Apprentice. We or he read them in book form so I have no idea how the narration is. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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