Book a Week 2015 - W15: Haiku for you

[Jane in NC]

Hello everyone and welcome Junie.

 

Good grief, I am swimming in a sea of books!  I have at least fifty things on my library list to be read; I don't want to count the number of volumes in the dusty stacks or even think about the old friends who lure me in with their siren song, "Pick me for a reread!"

 

Sigh.

 

I went to the library today where I exchanged Terry Pratchett's second TIffany Aching novel on CD (A Hat Full of Sky) for the first (The Wee Free Men).  When The Boy and I were looking for the latter, it was unavailable, hence we went with the second.  But after listening to A Hat Full of Sky, I decided I needed to backtrack.

 

For some reason I am compelled to read a sustainability (i.e. Preaching to the Choir) book periodically.  This morning I started Lentil Underground:  Renegade Farmers and the Future of Food in America.

 

Still enjoying my walk through Barsetshire with Angela Thirkell.  Talk about world building! 

[Jane in NC]

Oh, lord, there are so, so many other people better to make recommendations about Roth than I am. I say, start with either "Goodbye Columbus and Five Short Stories",  or Portnoy's Complaint.

 

I read these in college and wonder what I would think about them today.

 

[Robin M]

Once again, I haven't posted in weeks. In fact, when I went back to find my last post it was in week 11.  :leaving:

 

I may have missed a few books in my list, but I did my best to get my list caught up. Currently I am reading The Shadowmask. I threw my back out Monday when I was trying to steam clean the carpets and went to lift the steam cleaner down a stair and I have been stuck in bed the last two days. I finished a book and started a new on Monday, finished that and started a new one yesterday and I expect I'll finish that one today, which will then be followed by The Sentinels. My back is improving though (I'm in the recliner instead of bed now) and I'm going to have to start accomplishing more than reading again soon.

Owie, so sorry but glad your back is improving.

 

 

I finished Thulcandra last night ( part 3 of Lewis' Space Triology)

It is still my favorite :blush:

I also like the books of Peretti ( in the Netherlands known as theological thrillers) and Thulcandra reminds me to his books.

 

But I can absolutely see why others won't like them.

 

I'm not sure I dare to try Dante.

I might be biased but I've never met someone 'normal' who has read Dante.

 

I am also not sure why this book is so important.

( I'm questioning other great books too recently , so maybe I'm just in a recalcitrant fase)

Love well written theological thrillers.  If you are talking about Frank Peretti, love his books.  His Present Darkness had me sleeping with the lights on for a few days.  Another one equal to him is Ted Dekker.  Scary good

 

Dante reader here.  Me normal, never claimed to be.  :lol:

 

New here.

 

Most of my reading is actually pre-reading books for my dc -- checking for appropriateness.  They are 14, 12, 10, 8, 7, and 4 -- a wide range of maturity, ability, and interest.

 

This week I am reading The Once and Future King (at least trying to make it through part one) and Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None.

Hi Junie. Glad you found us.  Happy reading!

[Kareni]

New here.

 

Welcome, Junie!

 

Most of my reading for the last couple of days has been online.  I've been looking through seven years of accumulated emails and chats since my email provider ceases service after today.   It's been interesting revisiting the past and being reminded of things about which I've forgotten.

 

I did manage to finish a short regency romance.  It's an older book by Mary Balogh which I had not previously read namely Tempting Harriet.  It was an interesting read; however, I would not describe it as a favorite.

 

"Now a wealthy widow, Lady Harriet Wingham faces a passionate temptation in the person of Lord Tenby, the man whose scandalous seduction she had once resisted and who now wants her again--but as a mistress, not a wife."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Mom-ninja.]

Quick read, Free Will by Sam Harris. 

[Loesje22000]

Love well written theological thrillers. If you are talking about Frank Peretti, love his books. His Present Darkness had me sleeping with the lights on for a few days. Another one equal to him is Ted Dekker. Scary good

 

Dante reader here. Me normal, never claimed to be. :lol:

!

Yes, I was talking about Frank Peretti, and I have read one Ted Dekker.

The Peretti I can't read too often is the Visitation.

Very intrigued by that one.

 

Maybe I should trying to find a Dante translation.

Some dutch translations are in proza others in rhyme.

Any recommandations?

[Uff Da!]

Well, I don't know why I can't seem to just cut my losses and back slowly away from Lewis, but I'm persisting with That Hideous Strength and it's taken some . . . interesting? twists.  I don't know if anybody is still reading this, so I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but I grew up in a cult, and I know what cult leaders look like, and Ransom? Dude? You're there.  Complete with very odd advice to couples.  (The eroticism of obedience?  Wait, did I just stumble into 50 Shades of Grey?)    :huh:  ;)  :D

 

I've been thinking about sociopaths and how a church can turn cultish.  If anyone has books to recommend on this, I would be interested.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Well.  I finished That Hideous Strength in a bout of coughing-and-feverish insomnia.  I definitely went back and forth between enjoying a gripping story, and exasperated eye-rolling.  The story was gripping, in the sense that I wanted to read on and find out what would happen next. I thought the scene from inside Mark's head was the best part of the book - looking through the eyes of a man who is weak, insecure, and slightly silly, watching him be manipulated and then slowly starting to see himself.  There were creepy evil characters - or should I say caricatures - that were fun to read.  I liked the twist with Merlin, that felt psychologically real to me too.  The whole mythology of the eldils was interesting, very Tokien-esque, very much like the Simarillion.  But I like Tolkien much better.  He tells a story that creates a world and communicates a world-view without being heavy-handed in a religious way. I don't think Lewis ever really achieves this.

 

The religious parts and the relationship advice parts were my least favorite.  I found myself skimming there - kind of like reading over a Romantic author's endless descriptions of scenery or nature.  I get why they are there, but if I try and read every word with attention, I will die of tedium.

 

Re: the relationship stuff -  I read in his bio that he didn't marry till he was in his late 50s.  It doesn't surprise me if the book reflects his views on marriage and women. He seems like kind of an odd bird.

 

I picked up a book - somebody here must have suggested it - The Magician's Book, a Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia.  I started it yesterday, I think I might enjoy it. The author is a non-Christian who loved Narnia as a child and grew up to be a literary critic. She's going to talk about how books affect one throughout one's life, about Lewis, and about the Narnia books, but not focus on his Christianity or the Christian themes of the books - she feel like that's been done thoroughly.  Besides sounding interesting, this book might help me come to terms with my mixed feelings about Lewis and all his books I've read so far?

 

So, besides The Magician's Book, I think my dance with Lewis is over for now.  I'm glad I read the trilogy.  And I'm glad I'm done.

[mumto2]

Welcome Junie! :)

 

Momto2n's :grouphug: ouch!

 

Loesje -- Your mention of Peretti made me feel like I should be reading thrillers last night. Since I couldn't find your recommendation on overdrive I ended up checking out several others. Like I really needed more books in my stack, even if it is a virtual stack! :lol:

[Pam in CT]

Halcyon-

I'm sorry. :grouphug:

 

I'm reading Acedia and Me by Kathleen Norris. It's very interesting but, half way through, the book is beginning to depress me.

I really appreciated -- "enjoyed" isn't quite right -- Acedia as well.  Speaks powerfully to the form of depression where you can with great effort haul yourself out of bed and force yourself through the minimally-necessary motions, but there's no joy and no hope that it ever will return.  

 

And once you feel better  :grouphug: , Norris' poetry is also exquisite.

 

 

 

I have started Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi, finally published this year after years of legal wrangling.

Honestly, I'm afraid of that book.  I'm not sure I have the courage to face it.

 

 

 

... that,s what I get for hanging out on the college thread for a week instead of here. Like many others, though, we were waiting for application results and that board was where my thoughts were. One of my extras was wait listed but then accepted to her program. It has been a long hard journey getting to this point and we feel she is well suited to the career she has chosen. Everyone is very happy and excited for her. Now if only she can manage the academics. She has to get through chemistry. That makes four older clan college students we are holding in the light. Good thing there is lots of light. : ) And one who took to college like a duck to water. Fortunate duckie. : )

 

____

You,ve probably already discussed this upthread, but trying to write taught me that working within stringent parameters forces me to keep working past where I would normally stop to a much better place. It was probably one of the most important things about art I have ever learned.

Nan

Good news!  And yes to lots of light...

 

_____

 

This is such a marvelous, and marvelously concise, insight....

 

 

 

Well, I don't know why I can't seem to just cut my losses and back slowly away from Lewis, but I'm persisting with That Hideous Strength and it's taken some . . . interesting? twists.  I don't know if anybody is still reading this, so I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but I grew up in a cult, and I know what cult leaders look like, and Ransom? Dude? You're there.  Complete with very odd advice to couples.  (The eroticism of obedience?  Wait, did I just stumble into 50 Shades of Grey?)    :huh:  ;)  :D

:lol: Rose, one of these days I'd really love to meet up for a glass of wine.  Or coffee.  Or peppermint tea.  Or carrot juice.  Or whiskey.  Your call.

 

 

...Check out the seal for the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. Yes, the seal actually has book burning depicted on it. The book has a photo of the founder of the society, Anthony Comstock. He has a big knife scar on his left cheek, given to him by a pornographer. 

Comstock spent much of his life around here, along with his 57869 extended family; we've got Comstock Roads and Lanes and Avenues and community centers all over the place.  Complicated man, with checkered history, to say the least...

 

 

I think the reason I like Narnia and LOTR so much is because I am more about the story than the world building.  Give me a story that pulls me in and I can forgive (and skim) a multitude of faults (including the windbag-edness of LOTR and the sermonizing of Narnia).   Lewis' space trilogy though, only the first one came even close to a good story.  Both 2 & 3 were more about sermonizing than story imo.

 

Re: LOTR movies vs. book -- I might even agree with you except they mutilated one of my favorite minor characters in the movies -- and for what? to add another action scene?  Poor poor Faramir.  

Oh now that's interesting.  Faramir's my favorite minor character too, yet I feel as though -- although his scenes are so frustratingly truncated -- the movie does a remarkable job in staying true to the essential psychological narrative of his character...

[Chrysalis Academy]

 

 

 

 

:lol: Rose, one of these days I'd really love to meet up for a glass of wine.  Or coffee.  Or peppermint tea.  Or carrot juice.  Or whiskey.  Your call.

 

 

 

 

Right back at you.  I enjoy all of those beverages!  :cheers2:

[idnib]

I've decided to go with Mandelbaum for Inferno. I like reading his translations and I'm glad I was able to get some clarity on this thread. As I mentioned earlier, there's some confusion on Amazon about labelling translations correctly and different versions on paper vs. Kindle. I saw quite a few complaints about Kindles not being able to handle having the Italian and English together and that causing confusion as well, so my suggestion is paper if someone else is getting this version. Here's Robin's link to the correct one.

[Angel]

I'm in a town in coastal northern California and have found heaven in a single block! Not one but 2 used book stores, a fabric shop, a knitting shop AND a custom chocolate and coffee shop. Oh and a kitschy vintage dress shop with dress patterns and knick knacks from the 50s and 60s. All in one block!!!!! Be still my heart!!

Oh, Wow!  That sounds like so much fun!  Dd20 would LOVE the vintage dress shop.  She's very Audrey Hepburn in her dress lol.  

 

External adventures dictated my next choice. When out hiking one morning, my desert-dwelling relative decided we would leave the boring trail and go straight up to a rocky outcropping. As we picked our way through the ocotillo and prickly pear, I noticed Wee Girl in front of me had just passed or stepped over a flattish gray patch. I thought, Huh, how oddly round OHMYGOD RATTLESNAKE!!!!!!1111!!!!

 

!!!!!!!!!!!11111111!!!!!!!!! RATTLESNAKE !!!!!!!!! and running in tight little circles inside my skull.

 

Now and then I still get a clear mental image of the critter and Wee Girl's chubby little legs right by it, in easy striking distance, and then I don't feel so good.

 

 

:svengo: :eek:   :svengo:  :willy_nilly:

 

 

 

Feeling the pressure

Of a haiku gone missing.

Count those syllables.

 

:001_smile:

:lol:

[Angel]

I can’t believe how little time I have had to read in the last few weeks!  It took over two weeks to finish Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets!  There were less hints of things to come in this book than book 1.  Though there is a big clue near the end!  I love Harry freeing Dobby, and him pulling the sword of Gryffindor out of the hat.  And who cannot love Ron’s wand and the ridiculous Gilderoy Lockhart LOL!  He just cracks me up.  I’m disappointed that I’m not going to make it through all the books before vacation, but so it goes.  ANOTHER GREAT HARRY POTTER BOOK! 

 

Favorite Quote:  “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.† --Dumbledore

[idnib]

Adding...I'm of course not saying that everyone reading Inferno next month has to read the same translation! IOW, I'm not choosing for the group of people who've mentioned an interest. I'm just mentioning what I decided for myself after researching and reading excerpts from various translations.  :)

[Pam in CT]

...Favorite Quote:  “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.† --Dumbledore

There's a chance, when I was doing my teacher certification program (back before Book 7 had even come out) that I might have done a final paper on the different educational philosophies / pedagogical approaches of the different Hogwarts teachers...  :leaving:

 

... and that this quote has quite seriously informed my personal theology...

[Stacia]

Re: the Canongate Myth series mentioned the other week (I'm putting this here as much for my own reference as everyone else's... :lol: ).

 

Here is a list of all the books, the myths on which they were based, etc...

 

I had planned to read some of these now, but with my book blahs that lasted a couple of weeks, other books calling me right now (plus plenty of library holds to pick up), I'm going to set the idea aside with the intention of reading at least some of them later this year.

 

Btw, Pam, so far, I think you could handle Guantanamo Diary. And, so far, my opinion is that it should be required reading for Americans.

[Kareni]

Since we're all about haikus this week, I'll share this link from Tor containing Godzilla haikus ~

These Existential Godzilla Haikus Make Him King of the Feels

 

and, if you're a Godzila fan ~

Jo Walton Writes Amazing Godzilla Sonnets

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Pam in CT]

Hey ladies - I just saw that Nick Kristoff's and Sheryl WuDunn's last book, Half the Sky (not the most recent), Half the Sky, is $1.99 on Kindle at the moment.  I used this quite successfully with my son (then 13 or 14) as a stepping-off-point to launch into development, trade and aid issues -- highly recommended.

[TeacherZee]

There's a chance, when I was doing my teacher certification program (back before Book 7 had even come out) that I might have done a final paper on the different educational philosophies / pedagogical approaches of the different Hogwarts teachers... :leaving:

 

... and that this quote has quite seriously informed my personal theology...

Do you still have that paper? I would LOVE to read it.

[Angel]

I finished rereading Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury yesterday.  It was Aly’s co-op pick for the month.  I didn’t finish it by our co-op discussion, but thankfully remembered enough to have a really good discussion with the girls.  On reading it the second time with more of a bent to discussion, I was pleased to find that our heroine was strong without having crazy feminist tendencies.  She was also independent yet respectful.  I’m appalled at some of the heroines that make their way into YA books these days, and Agnes was a bit of a breath of fresh air.  And she loved “A Lady†(Jane Austen) and quoted her often and in multiple languages!  Lots of good discussion about girls’ roles in the 1800’s, the difference between what you might read (or watch) and reality, and what you would do for your country (which was kind of funny as we sat there and listened to our very rule-minded girls say that they would lie and sneak around if it meant the chance to serve their country).  Considering that I thought this would be more of a “fluff†book for the girls, I was so pleasantly surprised that they pulled so much from it.  A true YA book (nothing inappropriate at all) GREAT FOR GIRLS WHO LOVE ADVENTURE with a little dash of romance. 

 

Favorite quote: “Still, perhaps a Darcy in fiction was better than one in reality.  Because life with such a man as that could be hard, despite its pleasures.â€

 

Aly and her friend’s favorite quote:  “But when I found my time coming,  I wanted little more than to be left alone with half a rack of bacon.† :lol:

 

As for C.S. Lewis, I began Out of the Silent Planet, but I found it way too distracting to try and read it with so many people chatting about it (especially with all the negative energy) and giving away little bits and pieces.  So I think I will wait a bit and restart it with a fresh frame of mind.  I enjoy Lewis and his moralizing, so I want to form my own opinion of the trilogy.  I've read along with the group before, I don't know why this time has been so difficult, well, maybe I do know, but so it goes. :rolleyes:  I'm disappointed as I was really looking forward to reading this but I'll catch it later at a better time.

 

I'm still listening to Eragon while exercising (I hate exercising).  I've read it before but I'm really enjoying listening to it.  I've also started Treasure Island, which is our last co-op read of the year.  I also plan to begin Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

 

My IRL book club meets tonight.  I was supposed to pick a book to read that got bad reviews, and there were quite a few classics that fell under that category, but I just haven't had time to read lately and so I've dropped the ball there.   :glare:

 

[Pam in CT]

Do you still have that paper? I would LOVE to read it.

Huh.  Perhaps Jane's son might want to swing by Connecticut for an archaeological dig?

 

I dunno.  Will rummage around the next time I (ahem) haul myself away from the interwebs...

[Jane in NC]

Re: the Canongate Myth series mentioned the other week (I'm putting this here as much for my own reference as everyone else's... :lol: ).

 

Here is a list of all the books, the myths on which they were based, etc...

 

I had planned to read some of these now, but with my book blahs that lasted a couple of weeks, other books calling me right now (plus plenty of library holds to pick up), I'm going to set the idea aside with the intention of reading at least some of them later this year.

 

Btw, Pam, so far, I think you could handle Guantanamo Diary. And, so far, my opinion is that it should be required reading for Americans.

 

About the Canongate Myth series:  After really enjoying Girl Meets Boy, I placed a CD of David Grossman's Lion's Honey in the car player only to find not a retelling but an analysis of the biblical tale of Samson.  It was not what I was expecting. I think that I need to be in a different frame of mind for this one, hence I swapped out the Lion's Honey CD for The Wee Free Men, easier for my wee brain to digest. 

 

[idnib]

Re: the Canongate Myth series mentioned the other week (I'm putting this here as much for my own reference as everyone else's... :lol: ).

 

Here is a list of all the books, the myths on which they were based, etc...

 

 

Oooh, I had forgotten about these. Off to check my library. Thanks for the list.

 

ETA: My nearby library has all but 4, one of which has not been translated from Polish, but only if I search individually. Canongate seems to not mean anything to the catalog.

[Violet Crown]

Robin will have to decide if this constitutes cheating but my huge thick collection of Pre-Raphaelite poets is divided conveniently by author into respectably book-length sections; and so I'm counting each section as a book. Because reading 100 sonnets by D. G. Rossetti took as long as a normal book. For me.

 

Thus 20. Poems of Christina Georgina Rossetti. Here we go:

 

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

AMOR MUNDI

 

“Oh where are you going with your love-locks flowing

On the west wind blowing along this valley track?â€

“The downhill path is easy, come with me an it please ye,

We shall escape the uphill by never turning back.â€

 

So they two went together in glowing August weather,

The honey-breathing heather lay to their left and right;

And dear she was to dote on, her swift feet seemed to float on

The air like soft twin pigeons too sportive to alight.

 

“Oh what is that in heaven where gray cloud-flakes are seven,

Where blackest clouds hang riven just at the rainy skirt?â€

“Oh that’s a meteor sent us, a message dumb, portentous,

An undeciphered solemn signal of help or hurt.â€

 

“Oh what is that glides quickly where velvet flowers grow thickly,

Their scent comes rich and sickly?â€â€”“A scaled and hooded worm.â€

“Oh what’s that in the hollow, so pale I quake to follow?â€

“Oh that’s a thin dead body which waits the eternal term.â€

 

“Turn again, O my sweetest,—turn again, false and fleetest:

This beaten way thou beatest I fear is hell’s own track.â€

“Nay, too steep for hill-mounting; nay, too late for cost-counting:

This downhill path is easy, but there’s no turning back.â€

[Robin M]

Yes, I was talking about Frank Peretti, and I have read one Ted Dekker.

The Peretti I can't read too often is the Visitation.

Very intrigued by that one.

 

Maybe I should trying to find a Dante translation.

Some dutch translations are in proza others in rhyme.

Any recommandations?

 

I don't know of any dutch translations.  The best translation in english I think is Mandelbaum.

 

Yes, The Visitation is one that has stuck with me as well.

[Robin M]

Welcome Junie! :)

 

Momto2n's :grouphug: ouch!

 

Loesje -- Your mention of Peretti made me feel like I should be reading thrillers last night. Since I couldn't find your recommendation on overdrive I ended up checking out several others. Like I really needed more books in my stack, even if it is a virtual stack! :lol:

Well, are you going to share which ones you got?

 

Since we're all about haikus this week, I'll share this link from Tor containing Godzilla haikus ~

These Existential Godzilla Haikus Make Him King of the Feels

 

and, if you're a Godzila fan ~

Jo Walton Writes Amazing Godzilla Sonnets

 

Regards,

Kareni

:lol:   Love them all.  Had me laughing out loud. Thanks!

 

 

As for C.S. Lewis, I began Out of the Silent Planet, but I found it way too distracting to try and read it with so many people chatting about it (especially with all the negative energy) and giving away little bits and pieces.  So I think I will wait a bit and restart it with a fresh frame of mind.  I enjoy Lewis and his moralizing, so I want to form my own opinion of the trilogy.  I've read along with the group before, I don't know why this time has been so difficult, well, maybe I do know, but so it goes. :rolleyes:  I'm disappointed as I was really looking forward to reading this but I'll catch it later at a better time.

 

 

Ah doll, I'm sorry.  Kind of a different dynamic this year.  It seems Lewis is either a love him or hate him guy.  We may have to plan on holding thoughts and conversations til the last week in the month with group reads. 

 

Robin will have to decide if this constitutes cheating but my huge thick collection of Pre-Raphaelite poets is divided conveniently by author into respectably book-length sections; and so I'm counting each section as a book. Because reading 100 sonnets by D. G. Rossetti took as long as a normal book. For me.

 

Thus 20. Poems of Christina Georgina Rossetti. Here we go:

 

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

AMOR MUNDI

 

“Oh where are you going with your love-locks flowing

On the west wind blowing along this valley track?â€

“The downhill path is easy, come with me an it please ye,

We shall escape the uphill by never turning back.â€

 

So they two went together in glowing August weather,

The honey-breathing heather lay to their left and right;

And dear she was to dote on, her swift feet seemed to float on

The air like soft twin pigeons too sportive to alight.

 

“Oh what is that in heaven where gray cloud-flakes are seven,

Where blackest clouds hang riven just at the rainy skirt?â€

“Oh that’s a meteor sent us, a message dumb, portentous,

An undeciphered solemn signal of help or hurt.â€

 

“Oh what is that glides quickly where velvet flowers grow thickly,

Their scent comes rich and sickly?â€â€”“A scaled and hooded worm.â€

“Oh what’s that in the hollow, so pale I quake to follow?â€

“Oh that’s a thin dead body which waits the eternal term.â€

 

“Turn again, O my sweetest,—turn again, false and fleetest:

This beaten way thou beatest I fear is hell’s own track.â€

“Nay, too steep for hill-mounting; nay, too late for cost-counting:

This downhill path is easy, but there’s no turning back.â€

Sorry, the bolded amused me.  You can count it any way you want. If all the poems are similar to the one highlighted I can see why they take time to read.

[Kareni]

Earlier today I finished a contemporary romance that I enjoyed ~ Going the Distance by Julianna Keyes.  (Adult content)  I was drawn to read the book because my daughter (like the heroine) went abroad to teach English.  The author note mentions that the she taught English to children in China, so I suspect that aspect of the book may have been quite accurate.

 

"Olivia Clarke’s fall from pretty, perfect, and popular happened in an instant. With her life in tatters, she impulsively accepts a teaching job in the small city of Lazhou, China. Three months in, she’s ready to admit she made a huge mistake. She doesn't speak Mandarin, the teachers at her school refuse to include her in anything, and she spends her nights watching counterfeit DVDs in her twin bed. Alone.

Jarek McLean is a loner. He’s not looking for friends, and he’s definitely not looking for love. The former army interrogator now works as a carpenter for a small construction company rebuilding a travel office in Lazhou. When he meets Olivia he knows immediately she’s too wholesome to be his type, but when he discovers the pretty kindergarten teacher is hiding a secret, his inquisitive side rears its nosy head and demands answers.

Olivia isn't interested in a one-sided interrogation, and makes her position clear: if Jarek wants to ask questions, he’ll have to answer some, too. Jarek’s never let anyone in—not into his apartment, not into his life, certainly not into his heart. But the closer he gets to Olivia, the more he falls for her, and suddenly the man who doesn't do relationships finds himself in a most unexpected one. When he reluctantly admits that this could be love, he’s faced with the most terrifying question of all: What the hell does he do now?"

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

One of my favorite historical romance authors has once again posted one of her titles for free to Kindle readers.  (This title was free for a short while about a month ago.)

 

My Steadfast Heart (The Thorne Brothers Trilogy, Book 1) by Jo Goodman

 

"Colin Thorne finds his way out of a London workhouse but at the cost of losing his two younger brothers. With an uncertain future ahead of him, Colin makes seafaring his life until the inexorable pull of revenge draws him back to London. The debt owed to him by the Earl of Weybourne will be paid.

Weybourne Park has been Mercedes Leydon's home her entire life. Now serving as the estate's manager and caretaker of her uncle's two children, Mercedes knows the earl's frequent absences are what make Weybourne Park a home.

But the earl's gaming has taken its toll and she and her young cousins are faced with losing everything to a devil-of-a-stranger calling in a debt that can't be paid.

Casting caution aside, Mercedes will make a new bargain with this devil. If it's her soul he wants—or her body—she will give it to him and stake her own claim on his steadfast heart."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

One of my favorite historical romance authors has once again posted one of her titles for free to Kindle readers. (This title was free for a short while about a month ago.)

My Steadfast Heart (The Thorne Brothers Trilogy, Book 1) by Jo Goodman

 

"Colin Thorne finds his way out of a London workhouse but at the cost of losing his two younger brothers. With an uncertain future ahead of him, Colin makes seafaring his life until the inexorable pull of revenge draws him back to London. The debt owed to him by the Earl of Weybourne will be paid.

 

Weybourne Park has been Mercedes Leydon's home her entire life. Now serving as the estate's manager and caretaker of her uncle's two children, Mercedes knows the earl's frequent absences are what make Weybourne Park a home.

 

But the earl's gaming has taken its toll and she and her young cousins are faced with losing everything to a devil-of-a-stranger calling in a debt that can't be paid.

 

Casting caution aside, Mercedes will make a new bargain with this devil. If it's her soul he wants—or her body—she will give it to him and stake her own claim on his steadfast heart."

 

Regards,

Kareni

I was going to happily report that the book is still free and my download worked great this morning, then I realized that in real time I downloaded it ten minutes after you posted. :lol:

[Rosie_0801]

I think I need more romance novels in my life. I'm about to run a bath. Do I want to luxuriate in there with SWB's history book? Or a volume on Jewish food laws?

 

:mellow:

[mumto2]

Well, are you going to share which ones you got?

 

Ah doll, I'm sorry. Kind of a different dynamic this year. It seems Lewis is either a love him or hate him guy. We may have to plan on holding thoughts and conversations til the last week in the month with group reads.

 

 

 

Robin, Since you asked.....

 

John Verdon's Peter Pan Must Die is the one I am reading first. He is the author of one of my all time favourite thrillers. Think of a Number is a book I found to be really clever. I absolutely loved the concept behind the title and it was action packed. I will be honest and say the other person I convinced to read it did not love it, though it was a bit like an episode of Castle. :lol: I have gone on to read his other books, and enjoyed them, so finding a new one was a bit of a thrill!http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/25/AR2010072502460.html

 

Meg Gardiner's Phantom Instinct, a stand alone apparently. She is the author of a series of books that I call China Lake, really has another name which I will link after I post the bulk of this. I was downright obsessive about the China Lake https://www.goodreads.com/series/41155-evan-delaney several years ago so a new to me one by that author is a good thing.

 

Erica Spindler's Bone Cold. Simply a doesn't sound like I have read it and normally like her books.

 

Val McDermid's Report for Murder. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/634419.Report_For_Murder She is an author that I have recently found and like. What I have read so far have been superior. This is simply the first in an older series by her that is completely available at my overdrive library. I started my book search hunting for another of hers that I picked up in hardcover yesterday. I will edit that one in. It is called Vanishing Point https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13590744-the-vanishing-point

 

Angel, just wanted to say that I am sorry. I still love Narnia (all of them) and I really really prefer the LotR books to movies. I read and watched close together way back when, my frustration with the good bits almost all missing when the cinema version was huge. Overall I liked OoaSP, just not nearly as much as Narnia which is what I wanted it to be. I have started Perelandra and so far am enjoying it. Not sure if I will continue or wait for you, at this point it can stay beside my bed.

[Violet Crown]

Sorry, the bolded amused me. You can count it any way you want. If all the poems are similar to the one highlighted I can see why they take time to read.

Yes, there's a certain Poe-esque quality to some of her work, and not always in a good way, isn't there? Though it was her brother's sonnet sequence which I read a few weeks ago that was such slow going. Sorry, my post was confusing.

[Pam in CT]

I think I need more romance novels in my life. I'm about to run a bath. Do I want to luxuriate in there with SWB's history book? Or a volume on Jewish food laws?

 

:mellow:

:lol: Curious minds want to know: which did you pick?

[Rosie_0801]

:lol: Curious minds want to know: which did you pick?

 

I dug through my stack and found 'A Sunday at the pool in Kigali.' Not fluffy reading, but at least it was a paperback. :)

[Violet Crown]

A quick look through older threads didn't turn this up, but forgive me if this got posted and I just missed it. From April 1, The Paris Review of Books for Young Readers.

 

http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2015/04/01/the-paris-review-for-young-readers/

 

It's all great, but my favorite is Goofus and Gallant Read Poetry.

 

http://www.theparisreview.org/goofus-and-gallant

 

ETA: Or perhaps the Bret Easton Ellis lunchroom scene. Ha! I'm only sorry they didn't really have a Where's Wodehouse? puzzle. Or "Richard Scarry: The Lost Years."

[Jane in NC]

A quick look through older threads didn't turn this up, but forgive me if this got posted and I just missed it. From April 1, The Paris Review of Books for Young Readers.

 

http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2015/04/01/the-paris-review-for-young-readers/

 

It's all great, but my favorite is Goofus and Gallant Read Poetry.

 

http://www.theparisreview.org/goofus-and-gallant

 

ETA: Or perhaps the Bret Easton Ellis lunchroom scene. Ha! I'm only sorry they didn't really have a Where's Wodehouse? puzzle. Or "Richard Scarry: The Lost Years."

 

:smilielol5:

 

Oh my word is this hysterically funny!!  Thank you!

 

ETA:  Book 4 of Knausgaard's My Struggle arrived in the mail this week, courtesy of my Archipelago subscription.  I have not read the first three books and the parody on the above link has me wondering if I will even care about Knausgaard's struggle. 

[redsquirrel]

Apparently Louise Erdrich's book The Round House can best be described as 'gripping' because I zipped through the whole thing in two days. Even when I wanted to draw it out, because it was just that good, I could not stop.  Two nights of late night reading and I am tired, lol. But, man, oh man, was that good!  It had a little bit of everything that I like. It was a coming of age story, the main character is a 13 year old boy, it took me to a different world than the one I know, there was a bit of legal stuff in there, deep and satisfying relationships between the characters, beautifully written, it made me think...it just had a lot going on. And, yes, Roth was correct when he named her 'a powerhouse'.

 

The book reminds me most of another book I like "A Boy's Life", but it is much more sophisticated. It is also set in 1988 on an indian reservatin, not in the 1950s segregated south. 

 

I know someone here said they had read "A Plague of Doves" and one of the characters in that book (He's a judge) is the father of the main character in this one. I want to read a LOT more Erdrich!

 

After The Orphan Master's Son and The Round House, I needed something a little lighter. So, today I will start with Lena Dunham's "Not That Kind of Girl."

[Stacia]

A quick look through older threads didn't turn this up, but forgive me if this got posted and I just missed it. From April 1, The Paris Review of Books for Young Readers.

 

http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2015/04/01/the-paris-review-for-young-readers/

 

It's all great, but my favorite is Goofus and Gallant Read Poetry.

 

http://www.theparisreview.org/goofus-and-gallant

 

ETA: Or perhaps the Bret Easton Ellis lunchroom scene. Ha! I'm only sorry they didn't really have a Where's Wodehouse? puzzle. Or "Richard Scarry: The Lost Years."

 

Oh, I wish they had included the Richard Scarry piece, lol!

 

:smilielol5:

 

Oh my word is this hysterically funny!!  Thank you!

 

ETA:  Book 4 of Knausgaard's My Struggle arrived in the mail this week, courtesy of my Archipelago subscription.  I have not read the first three books and the parody on the above link has me wondering if I will even care about Knausgaard's struggle. 

 

I will be curious to hear your review comparing the two pieces, Jane!

 

I have heard so much about Knausgaard's series & have wondered over & over about buying the books. Are you planning to read all of them or just the fourth one or ...? When I was in B&N, I noticed a different set of his books (published by a different publisher than Archipelago).

 

Apparently Louise Erdrich's book The Round House can best be described as 'gripping' because I zipped through the whole thing in two days. Even when I wanted to draw it out, because it was just that good, I could not stop.  Two nights of late night reading and I am tired, lol. But, man, oh man, was that good!  It had a little bit of everything that I like. It was a coming of age story, the main character is a 13 year old boy, it took me to a different world than the one I know, there was a bit of legal stuff in there, deep and satisfying relationships between the characters, beautifully written, it made me think...it just had a lot going on. And, yes, Roth was correct when he named her 'a powerhouse'.

 

The book reminds me most of another book I like "A Boy's Life", but it is much more sophisticated. It is also set in 1988 on an indian reservatin, not in the 1950s segregated south. 

 

I know someone here said they had read "A Plague of Doves" and one of the characters in that book (He's a judge) is the father of the main character in this one. I want to read a LOT more Erdrich!

 

After The Orphan Master's Son and The Round House, I needed something a little lighter. So, today I will start with Lena Dunham's "Not That Kind of Girl."

 

Oh, great review. I've definitely got to try Erdrich. Looking forward to your review of Dunham's book too.

 

ETA: When I say a different set of Knausgaard's, I do mean his "My Struggle" series. In addition to Archipelago publishing it, it is also apparently being published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

[Jane in NC]

 

I will be curious to hear your review comparing the two pieces, Jane!

 

I have heard so much about Knausgaard's series & have wondered over & over about buying the books. Are you planning to read all of them or just the fourth one or ...? When I was in B&N, I noticed a different set of his books (published by a different publisher than Archipelago).

 

 

I don't know what I'll do. One thought that I had was this:  last year when I started my Archipelago subscription, I could choose an additional book from their catalog as a bonus. I don't know if they offer this freebie to renewing subscribers but if they do I might get Book One in the series.  Then I'll see from there if I want to continue.

 

 

[Jane in NC]

On another note...

 

I decided to do a thorough dusting (i.e. remove books from shelves, reconfigure if need be, toss a few items to giveaway pile) of a rather large bookcase in our home, the one containing several linear feet of Fitzgerald and Hemingway novels, biographies, collected letters and notebooks--not that I am a fanatic or anything.  It seemed appropriate to pull up BBC Radio 4's dramatization of The Great Gatsby while doing this.  And let me just say that I continue to believe this is one of the finest novels ever written.  Anyone who says otherwise is a chowderhead--AND DON'T MESS WITH ME.

 

Whew. Got that off my chest.

 

The BBC link is here.

[NoseInABook]

Aunt Dimity's Good Deed was good fun and just what I needed for a few days. I started Alex Marwood's The Killer Next Door. I enjoyed The Wicked Girls so I hope I like this one as much. I'm also going through All In Orphan Care before leading my foster/adoption group tonight. I forgot to read the chapter until today so I'm making copies for everyone and reading it myself! 

[Chrysalis Academy]

Jane, I'm right there with you!  When I was in high school I dated a boy whose last name was Baker. I decided I must marry him, so that we could have a daughter named Jordan Baker.  :lol:

[Jane in NC]

Jane, I'm right there with you!  When I was in high school I dated a boy whose last name was Baker. I decided I must marry him, so that we could have a daughter named Jordan Baker.  :lol:

 

On most days I could probably have a reasonable discussion of the book.  But after listening to the dramatization on the BBC today, I stood speechless.  I continue to believe that The Great Gatsby is a perfect novel. 

 

They were careless people, Tom and Daisy--they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back to their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made...

 

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Oh, pardon me... I was looking for the Book A Year thread. In other words....still reading Don Quixote.  ;) 

 

I've read pesky college admission books and the like too, but alas, those aren't fun to chat about...

 

:seeya:  I've missed you guys...

[Stacia]

Oh, pardon me... I was looking for the Book A Year thread. In other words....still reading Don Quixote.  ;)

 

You're tilting at windmills, honey.

 

:lol:

 

(Sorry. Please excuse my completely cheesy joke. At least I'm not a chowderhead!)

 

Miss seeing you too! How are DQ & Sancho...?

[Stacia]

Anyone who says otherwise is a chowderhead--AND DON'T MESS WITH ME.

 

I agree with you about the Gatsby love.

 

In a way I'm kind of sorry about that as it would have been really fun to when you post a challenge like that! :lol:

[Kareni]

A quick look through older threads didn't turn this up, but forgive me if this got posted and I just missed it. From April 1, The Paris Review of Books for Young Readers.

 

http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2015/04/01/the-paris-review-for-young-readers/

 

 

That was entertaining. I can't help but wonder how many will unwittingly purchase it believing it is indeed intended for children! "Daddy, Daddy! What is this word?"

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Jane in NC]

"Chowderhead" just happens to be one of my favorite terms of endearment. ;)   I looked up its derivation online and saw that it is actually a corruption of the word "cholterhead" or "jolthead" neither of which sound as amusing to me as "chowderhead".

[TeacherZee]

I was not a great fan of Gatsby when reading it in high school, but then we analyzed it, now I am with Jane.