Nan in Mass Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Jane - forgot to say that I love your library story. I remember getting mine when I was 4. I was grateful that our library had the same tradition so my children will have similar memories. Glad you are just a bit soggy and twiggy and it wasn't,t worse. I thought this was supposed to be a light hurricane season? It is off to an early start. Nan 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Bird and beach report: Ana blew bunches of babies out of nests. Fledglings are not a concern since mom keeps an eye but birds without flight feathers are taken in at the shelter if nests cannot be located. One of the babies is a mourning dove. As I was sitting at the desk doing my Monday morning paperwork, a woman walked in with an adult mourning dove that had an eye injury. It had slammed into a sliding glass door. Voila! A mentor for the baby dove was found. I suspect that a number of shore birds will wash in over the next few days. We lost a lot of sand to this storm. And the amount of styrofoam bits washed into the sea oats disgusted me! A week ago I spent more than two hours padding under a bridge in a kayak picking up trash, mostly styrofoam. That stuff breaks up and then is ingested by fish, sea turtles, ocean mammals. Rant, rant, rant. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Oh no! I,m glad the mourning dove baby has a mentor. I have a flock in my garden and love them dearly. Go Jane! Nan 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Are you still enjoying it? Re: 1Q84. Yes, I'm still really enjoying it. Even though I've been going slowly through it, part one really drew me in. And now I feel invested in the characters and want to know the rest of the story. So I keep plugging along. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Oh no! I,m glad the mourning dove baby has a mentor. I have a flock in my garden and love them dearly. Go Jane! Nan I love mourning doves too but they make the worst nests. We had a nesting pair that lost its nest in a strong breeze. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted May 11, 2015 Author Share Posted May 11, 2015 Checking in quick: big day today, Wee Girl's First Communion! A/k/a "the day I get to whear a pretty white dress and veil and everyone will be paying attention to me but not expecting me to say anything." Then cake and champagne and barbecue. And it looks like the rain's stopped and the sun is out. Almost done with Sayers' Inferno. Middle Girl is finishing up Sayers' Purgatorio so that next. Congrats to Wee Girl and many blessings! Happy Mother's Day to you all! I can't recall my mother reading to me/us when we were growing up, but I distinctly remember my grandmother (Oma) doing so. One book that had a powerful impact was Anne Holm's I Am David (also sometimes titled North to Freedom). "David's entire twelve-year life has been spent in a grisly prison camp in Eastern Europe. He knows nothing of the outside world. But when he is given the chance to escape, he seizes it. With his vengeful enemies hot on his heels, David struggles to cope in this strange new world, where his only resources are a compass, a few crusts of bread, his two aching feet, and some vague advice to seek refuge in Denmark. Is that enough to survive? David's extraordinary odyssey is dramatically chronicled in Anne Holm's classic about the meaning of freedom and the power of hope." My grandmother was Hungarian and was born in 1905. She lived through both World War I and (with her daughters, in the Netherlands) World War II. My mother told stories of them eating tulip bulbs during the war when food was hard to come by. "... the meaning of freedom and the power of hope" were things Oma knew well. Regards, Kareni What a great book. I've put it on my wishlist. This will be perfect to read with James I've been working on two this week, so nothing completed. But I really like the two I'm working on. Ricochet River by Robin Cody is one my daughter is reading for lit class. Well, she's done reading it, but the lit class will be working on it for a couple of weeks. This is a beautifully written story that takes place in a fictional town in the Cascades east of Portland. Lots of regional flavor--logging, salmon runs, huckleberries. The story, told by Wade, is a reminiscence of his senior year in high school and an Indian boy who moved to town that year who had a big impact on Wade. My other read is The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro. Robin mentioned it early in the year as a potential pick for its cover. I ended up putting it on hold after reading a review in Time magazine. I've never read anything by Ishiguro; his best known book is probably Remains of the Day. What grabbed my attention in the article is that he wanted to explore the idea of how a country or people group recovers and heals after some catastrophic experience, like Germany recovering from the Holocaust and the evil committed in their land by their citizens. But he didn't use a modern country--he sets the book in post-Arthur England and he includes fantasy elements like ogres and dragons. There is a mist of forgetfulness over the land as we follow the elderly couple Axl and Beatrice who try to remember their past lives. This book is beautifully written and captivating. I'm more drawn into the novel having read the Time magazine piece--I'm not sure I would have generalized the story to apply to other peoples otherwise. And knowing that there were forgotten horrible events in the history Axl and Beatrice are trying to recover, I'm intrigued by Ishiguro's courteous, gracious language in most every conversation. This will definitely be on my best of 2015 list. I hope to finish it today. Coincidentally, dd and I are reading Roger Lancelyn Green's King Arthur, so I was already back in Arthurian England anyway, and we've read a little non-fiction on Saxons and Britons. I like such serendipitous reading convergences! Now I want to read Buried Giant sooner than later. Glad you are enjoying it. I don't remember my mom reading to me. She must have done when I was very small, but I remember her saying that she had a lot of bad reading habits - she hadn't learned to read until she was 8 or 9 - and she was afraid of passing them on to me. My dad read me the Bible - the KJV - the whole thing, even Leviticus! :lol: What I do remember was my mom reading *with* me - reading side by side, all the time I was growing up. She shared her favorite books with me, she was the one who introduced me to Georgette Heyer and Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt and Mary Stewart and Daphne DuMaurier - those were the books I grew up reading. We'd both read them separately, then talk about them. Good memories. She stopped reading at some point, I don't know when. I think it was after I left home. She stopped reading and started having the TV on all the time. Now, she really can't read, her memory and substance abuse issues have gotten in the way. Sometimes I wonder if she had kept reading, if she might have staved off the dementia a little longer. I treasure the memories I have of reading with my mom. I read with my girls, too, but I'm going to keep reading *to* them till they till me to quit! Yes, to the bolded. These are all authors I loved to read in my teens. My mother must have introduced me to them. That's cool! I've been wondering how scary Mr. Wicker is...? I'll let you know once I read it. I have it in the stacks Recently someone asked for suggestions on newer books about writing -- here's a site with many reviews that might prove helpful. Writing Slices Reading the Books that Teach You to Write Regards, Kareni Thank you, Karen. So many neat books. I love K.M. Weiland and the Emotion Thesaraus (they have a website) and James Scott Bell. There are quite a few mentioned I haven't heard of. Bookmarking her site to go back too. Loving all your stories about childhood and being read to (or not) Honestly, I can't stand being read too - if I can't see the words, I end up tuning out. I much prefer to be the one reading aloud. Which is probably why the audiobooks I'm listening to are books I've already read. Happy Monday! 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted May 11, 2015 Author Share Posted May 11, 2015 Bird and beach report: Ana blew bunches of babies out of nests. Fledglings are not a concern since mom keeps an eye but birds without flight feathers are taken in at the shelter if nests cannot be located. One of the babies is a mourning dove. As I was sitting at the desk doing my Monday morning paperwork, a woman walked in with an adult mourning dove that had an eye injury. It had slammed into a sliding glass door. Voila! A mentor for the baby dove was found. I suspect that a number of shore birds will wash in over the next few days. We lost a lot of sand to this storm. And the amount of styrofoam bits washed into the sea oats disgusted me! A week ago I spent more than two hours padding under a bridge in a kayak picking up trash, mostly styrofoam. That stuff breaks up and then is ingested by fish, sea turtles, ocean mammals. Rant, rant, rant. Aren't you awesome!!! We currently have a mockingbird who decided to nest in our laurel bushes in the back yard and has been screeching at the cats and me for the past two weeks. It's probably the one we saved a couple years back and now think she has the right to take over the yard. She's brave and sweeps in to sit on our patio chairs and talk to the cats. Melvin just takes it all in stride and rolls over on his belly and chatters back at her. Gracie is the one we have to watch out for because she's fast enough to catch hummingbirds. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Checking in quick: big day today, Wee Girl's First Communion! A/k/a "the day I get to whear a pretty white dress and veil and everyone will be paying attention to me but not expecting me to say anything." Then cake and champagne and barbecue. And it looks like the rain's stopped and the sun is out. Congratulations to Wee Girl, and a big :thumbup: to cake and champagne AND barbecue. Sounds utterly Texan!! My other read is The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro. Robin mentioned it early in the year as a potential pick for its cover. I ended up putting it on hold after reading a review in Time magazine. I've never read anything by Ishiguro; his best known book is probably Remains of the Day. What grabbed my attention in the article is that he wanted to explore the idea of how a country or people group recovers and heals after some catastrophic experience, like Germany recovering from the Holocaust and the evil committed in their land by their citizens. But he didn't use a modern country--he sets the book in post-Arthur England and he includes fantasy elements like ogres and dragons. There is a mist of forgetfulness over the land as we follow the elderly couple Axl and Beatrice who try to remember their past lives. This book is beautifully written and captivating. I'm more drawn into the novel having read the Time magazine piece--I'm not sure I would have generalized the story to apply to other peoples otherwise. And knowing that there were forgotten horrible events in the history Axl and Beatrice are trying to recover, I'm intrigued by Ishiguro's courteous, gracious language in most every conversation. This will definitely be on my best of 2015 list. I hope to finish it today. Coincidentally, dd and I are reading Roger Lancelyn Green's King Arthur, so I was already back in Arthurian England anyway, and we've read a little non-fiction on Saxons and Britons. I like such serendipitous reading convergences! Add me to the list of people who now want to read The Buried Giant. She in anxiously awaiting the second Seraphina bookhttp://rachelhartmanbooks.com/. She loved the first one and really wants me to read it. Just requested it so will give it a try, this way I should be able to read the second one while we have it from the library if I want to. I really enjoyed Seraphina and am happy to hear a second one is coming out. Not great literature but a fun, light fantasy. Oh no! I,m glad the mourning dove baby has a mentor. I have a flock in my garden and love them dearly. Go Jane! Nan Mourning doves are some of the most delightful creatures on earth. Dumb as doornails, but I do adore them. How do they manage to survive as a species when they are such stooooopid nest builders? I watched one trying to build a nest on the lattice roof over our patio. The twigs would fall through the holes, and I'd see a little beady dove eye watching it fall, then doing it all over again. Not sure how long it took for him (her?) to give up and try someplace else. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 I finished The Graveyard Book last night. I'm so glad you guys introduced me to Neil Gaiman! I really enjoyed this book, too. It wasn't up there on the same level as The Ocean at the End of the Lane, but it was a very satisfying book, and just exactly the right kind of coming of age story that I like. I'll definitely be putting this on Shannon's stack, although she's so engrossed in David Eddings right now I don't know when she'll be coming up for air! I've decided to chuck a bunch of things I feel I ought to read, and focus on things I actually want to read for awhile. So I put A Clash of Kings on hold. I decided Littlefinger will be my Machiavellian May character! ;) I also put The Cuckoo's Calling by Galbraith/JK Rowling on hold, because it jumped out at me from my to-read shelf. Anybody read that? I really enjoyed The Casual Vacancy so I thought I might like it. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 I'm going to have to get this one for my ds. It's hard to keep him in new books, but he always loved Psych, so this book would probably be a big hit with him! I finished it this afternoon. It was great. Silly, hilarious, and full of delicious flavor. A must read for any true Psycho. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Lots of short works again (though I am almost done Ulysses, which I finally picked back up post-wedding!): 4 plays: Othello is playing at our local Shakespeare company (always a hard play to see, but this production ripped my heart out of my chest - especially Emilia.) so I read Toni Morrison's play Desdemona (interwoven with songs/poems by Rokia Traore). It was interesting, but didn't have the weight or intensity to match its source material. Since this is Machiavellan May, I paged through some Machiavelli collections and found a play he'd written (who knew?) The Mandrake. It is a slight play, rather farcical, though lacking in side plots. Apparently some scholars have tried to contort it into a political allegory, but there's really no evidence for it being anything other than a light diversion. Then I wanted a proper absurd farce so I reread Noises Off (thank you whoever read it recently and reminded me of it!). Utterly absurd, but with delightful pacing and enough strands of reality to balance the silliness. And I (finally!) got my hands on a copy of Howard Brenton's Anne Boleyn. The entrancing thing about this version of the Anne story is the focus on the theological. I think it overstates its case, but it is a relief to see Anne given excess credit for her intelligence and faith rather than far too little. I'm trying to type this while doing several other things, so I'm going to post this and try to come back and add the rest later... ETA links Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Last week's reading part 2... more to come. :) 4 novellas: The Brothers by Asko Sahlberg (Finland): This seemed as if it were going to be a grim, sordid story where lives only got worse. ...and it might have been a better literary work if it had, but I appreciated it more with a glimmer of hope and slivers of redemption. The Blue Room by Hanne Orstavik (Norway): Like Beside the Sea this gives us a glimpse into the mind of a profoundly mentally unwell woman. It lacks the coherence or sense of progression of Beside the Sea, and without any sense of growth (or even decline! *movement*) or purpose or grounding of sanity, the glimmers of insight grew less satisfying and made the random-seeming insertions of sickening sexual images and thoughts feel exploitative rather than purposeful. Under the Tripoli Sky by Kamal ben Hamada: I almost liked this. It has many elements I usually like and the young man's viewpoint on various women in his life could have been an interesting one. I found the abusive sexual incidents the narrator witnessed or heard about off-putting and, in the context of the narrator and his development, they felt at times almost voyeuristic. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark: I thought I might appreciate this more now that I am older. ...but I don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 The rest of last week's completed reading: My Life in Middlemarch: I was excited about this before it came out, but when it was published, I was reluctant to try it after all. I needn't have been. It was okay. I don't like biographical analysis of writer's works, but if I pretended it was just random information, I didn't mind the glimpses of Eliot's life. The memoir bits were tolerable, but not very interesting. ...but the snippets of talking about the characters I enjoyed (though I didn't always agree with her). I wish there were more of a market for gossiping about fictional characters and their lives and backgrounds and less for analyzing their creator's life or trying to frame a more significant connection between the memoirist's own life and the book. ...and now I'm fighting the urge to indulge in another reread of Middlemarch. Micrograms by Jorge Carriera Andrade (Ecuador): These were delightful little poems! ...and the supplement of some of Andrade's translations of Japanese haiku translated directly from his Spanish versions was also very enjoyable. This Lamentable City by Polina Barskova (Russia): These were interesting poems, but most of them didn't reach my heart. Birds for a Demolition by Manoel de Barros (Brazil): These were fascinating. Some were too weird for me to connect to, others didn't make sense, but had compelling language and/or images, and a few clicked for me and had both sense and fascination and griping language and image. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Since I've been so off in my reading, I decided to pick up something different today to read. I just finished Duplex by Kathryn Davis. It's weird & compelling, chilling & disorienting. I'm not even sure how to describe it other than being similar to a sometimes interconnected waking dream: sometimes nightmarish, sometimes magical, sometimes pedestrian snapshots of regular life. The writing is quite nice & might be enjoyed by those who don't want a traditional narrative or story & who enjoy magical/horror/surreal feelings underpinning the weirdness. From Booklist *Starred Review* Characters do occupy duplexes in the latest mind-bending novel from the ever-provocative Davis (The Thin Place, 2006). But because this is a wildly imaginative tale of dualities, the seemingly simple concept of “duplex†is, like blown glass, superheated and stretched into astonishing shapes and dimensions. Humans and robots live together on an orderly suburban street. The robots look human by day but turn back into little needle-like entities at night. Large gray rabbits are everywhere. Miss Vicks, a teacher, regularly walks her dachshund and sometimes finds herself traversing a bizarrely morphing landscape. Everyone adores the neighborhood sweethearts, pretty Mary and baseball star Eddie; then strange and sinister things happen to them in encounters with a man known as Sorcerer. An older girl bewitches the younger girls with alarming stories involving a prophecy about a half-human, half-robot child and a catastrophic flood. Shrewd, wizardly, archly funny, and emotionally fluent Davis recasts fairy tales, warps time and space, illuminates the inner dynamics of robots, takes us to the beach and a creepy girls’ boarding school, and subtly envisions the perils global warming will bring. The result is an intricately fashioned, wryly stylized, through-the-looking-glass novel of forewarning about the essence of being human, endangered souls and “ancestral memory,†and how stories keep us afloat. --Donna Seaman I like the write-up from The Austin Review. I think I first heard about this book on Flavorwire; it has has appeared more than once on their booklists, including 25 Genre Novels That Should be Classics. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark: I thought I might appreciate this more now that I am older. ...but I don't. I always thought I would/should like Muriel Spark's writing... but I don't. (I haven't read the one you mention.) Lol. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Mourning doves are some of the most delightful creatures on earth. Dumb as doornails, but I do adore them. How do they manage to survive as a species when they are such stooooopid nest builders? I watched one trying to build a nest on the lattice roof over our patio. The twigs would fall through the holes, and I'd see a little beady dove eye watching it fall, then doing it all over again. Not sure how long it took for him (her?) to give up and try someplace else. If I recall correctly the male gathers the materials and the female build the nest. They survive by laying lots of eggs; I think about 6 sets of 2 eggs every season. It's like they know it's not going to work out well! When our doves lost their nest the kids were outside crying, looking at the broken shells and yolks (with embryo) on the ground. While they were watching, right under their noses, a crow strutted up and ate the remains. DD used to love eating eggs but not anymore. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Loving all your stories about childhood and being read to (or not) Honestly, I can't stand being read too - if I can't see the words, I end up tuning out. I much prefer to be the one reading aloud. Which is probably why the audiobooks I'm listening to are books I've already read. I don't do audiobooks at all. (Though I wish I could, it would beguile the commuting hours so nicely!) I can listen to Teaching Company lectures and I enjoy hearing teachers or speakers talk... but stories are too private for me now, I can only rarely endure having a reader inserted between me and the book. ...it's like being married by proxy. (Not that I've ever experience that personally!) Sometimes I can enjoy having my husband read me a chapter of something - and I think if our lives had more space in them, I could go back to our shared reading again - we used to pick a work of literature we'd never read and take turns reading to each other. Checking in quick: big day today, Wee Girl's First Communion! A/k/a "the day I get to whear a pretty white dress and veil and everyone will be paying attention to me but not expecting me to say anything." Then cake and champagne and barbecue. And it looks like the rain's stopped and the sun is out. Congratulations! I hope the barbecue was a joyful success. ...and that you are experiencing only the sweetness in the bittersweet process of seeing your baby getting so big. May you have so much joy and nachas from her! (I'm not sure how to translate nachas... parental pride isn't quite right... though that's part of it... its the amazing feeling as you get another glimpse of the incredible, beautiful way your child's soul is manifesting in the world.) My other read is The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro. Now I want to read this too! I adored Remains of the Day (like Stacia I see it as a nearly perfect book) and was shaken and moved by Never Let Me Go... and then I bounced off of a very surrealistic work of his, and I haven't ventured back to his books since. ...but this sounds very appealing indeed. ..and I am very intrigued by his use of the 'matter of Britain'... When I was really young, my favorite book was A Mouse to Be Free. It's truly a wonderful book and I have read my copy to my kids. Oh! I love that book! ...and you are the first person I've met who has even heard of it! It is one of my mother's favorites, and something that was important to her to share with us when we were little. As I believe she hoped, it shaped some of my perception of other beings and their experiences of the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Oh! I love that book! ...and you are the first person I've met who has even heard of it! It is one of my mother's favorites, and something that was important to her to share with us when we were little. As I believe she hoped, it shaped some of my perception of other beings and their experiences of the world. Wow, I've never met anyone who heard of this book before! It was given to me in the 1970s as a gift. It had a similar effect on me as it did you. Do you know what happened to your copy? 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Took the day off from any and all responsibilities and all I did was read, waste time on the internet and nap. It was glorious. I finally read Extraordinary Renditions which Stacia sent to Jane who sent it to me. It is three loosely intertwined novellas, and the writing is lovely. As Stacia wrote in her review of it, the author truly makes you feel you are in Budapest. It's a mixed bag, though, with the three separate stories. I loved the first story -- it truly is extraordinary. The 2nd and the 3rd were not as successful for me. The ending especially went into a fantastical place that just didn't work mostly because it was something almost magical that happened to bring about a happy ending. It annoyed me especially as it is about something I live and know -- playing in the back of a string section -- and it is an entirely improbable, tv movie kind of ending. The book was too good to give up and go there. I've been hesitating to write this review for several hours now since Stacia and Jane both wanted me to read it, and I believe both loved it! I'm sorry to have anything negative to say! I wish the first novella had been fleshed out to a full length novel because I was totally entranced. May I pass the book along to someone else? It is definitely worth reading. PM me and I'll get it sent along this week! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22708696-unbound I finished the third book in Jim Hines Libriomancer series and really enjoyed it. Unbound was a fun book that relied pretty heavily on past events in the storyline but I love the main characters. One of my favorites is a spider named Smudge who catches on fire whenever magic is coming. He was accidentally removed from a book and can't be returned. Me really liking a spider is pretty amazing...... 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I'm currently about half way through The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz which my book group will be discussing on Thursday. It's an interesting book that won the 2008 Pulitzer prize. From the title, I'd assumed that the book dealt with Asian characters; however, I was wrong. The title character is an American born to a Dominican mother, and the book is set in both the Dominican Republic and in America. "Oscar is a sweet but disastrously overweight ghetto nerd who—from the New Jersey home he shares with his old world mother and rebellious sister—dreams of becoming the Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien and, most of all, finding love. But Oscar may never get what he wants. Blame the fukú—a curse that has haunted Oscar’s family for generations, following them on their epic journey from Santo Domingo to the USA. Encapsulating Dominican-American history, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao opens our eyes to an astonishing vision of the contemporary American experience and explores the endless human capacity to persevere—and risk it all—in the name of love." I also recently re-read Lisa Kleypas' historical romance Someone to Watch Over Me (Bow Street, Book 1). "Someone to Watch Over Me is a classic tale from New York Times bestselling author Lisa Kleypas. In this Regency romance, Kleypas, the author of Seduce Me at Sunrise, tells the story of a scandalous beauty with no memory of who she is and the man determined to unravel the secrets of her past." Regards, Kareni 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Took the day off from any and all responsibilities and all I did was read, waste time on the internet and nap. It was glorious. I finally read Extraordinary Renditions which Stacia sent to Jane who sent it to me. It is three loosely intertwined novellas, and the writing is lovely. As Stacia wrote in her review of it, the author truly makes you feel you are in Budapest. It's a mixed bag, though, with the three separate stories. I loved the first story -- it truly is extraordinary. The 2nd and the 3rd were not as successful for me. The ending especially went into a fantastical place that just didn't work mostly because it was something almost magical that happened to bring about a happy ending. It annoyed me especially as it is about something I live and know -- playing in the back of a string section -- and it is an entirely improbable, tv movie kind of ending. The book was too good to give up and go there. I've been hesitating to write this review for several hours now since Stacia and Jane both wanted me to read it, and I believe both loved it! I'm sorry to have anything negative to say! I wish the first novella had been fleshed out to a full length novel because I was totally entranced. May I pass the book along to someone else? It is definitely worth reading. PM me and I'll get it sent along this week! Don't feel bad about posting what you didn't like about it. Re: the 3rd section -- that's the section that made me think most of you since the character played in an orchestra. Otoh, since you're 'in the trenches' yourself, I guess I can see where the fantastical ending didn't work as well for you (while it worked perfectly well for me). I actually laughed when you pointed that out as it reminds me of my best friend (who works in tv editing) when I go see movies with her. Since I'm not in the industry, I can get swept away more by the effects, etc..., whereas she's sitting there 'seeing' all the background work & edits, so she's watching it in an entirely different manner. Many times we hold two entirely different opinions about movies, lol. I do agree with you that the first section was my favorite; the most moving & the most powerful, imo. (And, I think that was originally Pam's copy, which is now making its way around the BaW reader circuit. I read a library copy.) ETA: I decided to give up on Stuffocation. I read a few more chapters of it last night, but it's too wordy & I don't necessarily agree with the way he does his analysis. If you read blogs about minimalism & choosing experiences over things, my advice is to count yourself as good, stick w/ the blogs, & skip the book. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I'm currently about half way through The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz which my book group will be discussing on Thursday. It's an interesting book that won the 2008 Pulitzer prize. From the title, I'd assumed that the book dealt with Asian characters; however, I was wrong. The title character is an American born to a Dominican mother, and the book is set in both the Dominican Republic and in America. "unted Oscar’s family for generations, following them on their epic reni[journey from Santo Domingo to the USA. Encapsulating Dominican-American history, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao opens our eyes to an astonishing vision of the contemporary American experience and explores the endless human capacity to persevere—and risk it all—in the name of love." /quote] I will be curious to hear what you think of Oscar Wao. I read about half the book a couple of years ago during our house move. I set it down because I was too busy to concentrate on it and had problems getting back into it. Gave up and returned it. I read a book today that may have been one of your recommendations or I found it hunting for one of your books. Can't remember. It was by G.A. Aiken from her Dragon Kin series called Dragon Actually. This was a book that I never should have enjoyed that I really did enjoy. A warrior Princess wakes up after a battle in a shapeshifting Dragon's cave. It was oddly sweet with interesting characters....enough so I suspect all the Dragon's brother's and sister's will have their own books. Pure escapism with some adult scenes. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I also put The Cuckoo's Calling by Galbraith/JK Rowling on hold, because it jumped out at me from my to-read shelf. Anybody read that? I really enjoyed The Casual Vacancy so I thought I might like it. I read both of the books and enjoyed them. The third one is due out this fall. Negin also read the first one (she posted on goodreads). I didn't read The Casual Vacancy because everything I read about it told me it wasn't something I'd enjoy. Then friends who also read it confirmed it for me. I decided to give The Cuckoo's Calling a try and really liked it. I'm a fan of all types of mysteries. This series is the classic hard-boiled detective with a soft center. I'm currently reading Fatal Shadows, recommended by Kareni a week or two ago. I'm almost a third of the way in and not able to figure out the murderer yet. I also downloaded the sample of In Milady's Chamber after AggieAmy mentioned it, and it looks like something I'll want to read. I still need to start The Good Earth for book club but am just in the mood for fluff lately (mysteries are my fluff books). 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Don't feel bad about posting what you didn't like about it. Re: the 3rd section -- that's the section that made me think most of you since the character played in an orchestra. Otoh, since you're 'in the trenches' yourself, I guess I can see where the fantastical ending didn't work as well for you (while it worked perfectly well for me). I actually laughed when you pointed that out as it reminds me of my best friend (who works in tv editing) when I go see movies with her. Since I'm not in the industry, I can get swept away more by the effects, etc..., whereas she's sitting there 'seeing' all the background work & edits, so she's watching it in an entirely different manner. Many times we hold two entirely different opinions about movies, lol. I do agree with you that the first section was my favorite; the most moving & the most powerful, imo. (And, I think that was originally Pam's copy, which is now making its way around the BaW reader circuit. I read a library copy.) ETA: I decided to give up on Stuffocation. I read a few more chapters of it last night, but it's too wordy & I don't necessarily agree with the way he does his analysis. If you read blogs about minimalism & choosing experiences over things, my advice is to count yourself as good, stick w/ the blogs, & skip the book. Yes, the book was Pam's copy. I hope it makes the rounds just to pick up as many BaWer vibes as possible. Agreeing with both of you that the first section was the strongest. I did not care for the second but, like Stacia, felt the third part worked in bringing about resolution. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Don't feel bad about posting what you didn't like about it. Re: the 3rd section -- that's the section that made me think most of you since the character played in an orchestra. Otoh, since you're 'in the trenches' yourself, I guess I can see where the fantastical ending didn't work as well for you (while it worked perfectly well for me). I actually laughed when you pointed that out as it reminds me of my best friend (who works in tv editing) when I go see movies with her. Since I'm not in the industry, I can get swept away more by the effects, etc..., whereas she's sitting there 'seeing' all the background work & edits, so she's watching it in an entirely different manner. Many times we hold two entirely different opinions about movies, lol. I do agree with you that the first section was my favorite; the most moving & the most powerful, imo. (And, I think that was originally Pam's copy, which is now making its way around the BaW reader circuit. I read a library copy.) Yes, the book was Pam's copy. I hope it makes the rounds just to pick up as many BaWer vibes as possible. Agreeing with both of you that the first section was the strongest. I did not care for the second but, like Stacia, felt the third part worked in bringing about resolution. The book will be winging its way up the coast to Eliana, whose opinion and insights I'm looking forward to! I find many books set in our real, modern world just don't work for me. Either the tone is too cynical, or the characters are too detached from one another, the conflicts and resolutions are often hollow to me -- either too simplistic or too convoluted. I loved the beginning of Extraordinary Renditions because it all worked, and the writing was a breath of fresh air after my diet of adequate genre writing. The 2nd part depressed me and the third was great til the unrealistic end. I read both of the books and enjoyed them. The third one is due out this fall. Negin also read the first one (she posted on goodreads). I didn't read The Casual Vacancy because everything I read about it told me it wasn't something I'd enjoy. Then friends who also read it confirmed it for me. I decided to give The Cuckoo's Calling a try and really liked it. I'm a fan of all types of mysteries. This series is the classic hard-boiled detective with a soft center. My college boy and I loved both of the Galbraith/Rowling detective books, and I'm thrilled to hear a third is coming out. HBO recently did an adaptation of Casual Vacancy that got really good reviews. Never read the book but am tempted to watch the HBO version. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Agreeing with both of you that the first section was the strongest. I did not care for the second but, like Stacia, felt the third part worked in bringing about resolution. The book will be winging its way up the coast to Eliana, whose opinion and insights I'm looking forward to! I find many books set in our real, modern world just don't work for me. Either the tone is too cynical, or the characters are too detached from one another, the conflicts and resolutions are often hollow to me -- either too simplistic or too convoluted. I loved the beginning of Extraordinary Renditions because it all worked, and the writing was a breath of fresh air after my diet of adequate genre writing. The 2nd part depressed me and the third was great til the unrealistic end. Of course, it has been quite a few months since I read this book. From what I remember, I loved the first section (found it beautiful & inspiring), liked the second part even though it was the harshest in a way & found it (unfortunately) realistic, & I didn't care for the way the third part started but loved the (unexpected, for me) ending. Lol. And, I liked the way the third section brought the story back around to the original one. Eliana, it will be fun to hear your comments too. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 If you like reading historical western romances, you might enjoy this post ~ The Magnificent 7: Top Western Historicals Not To Be Missed (An Opinionated Opinion) Regards, Kareni 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsWeasley Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I finally, finally finished The Invention of Wings, which I thought was pretty awesome. Next up: Still Alice! 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 After reading a wonderful review of it in the NY Times, I downloaded the Audible version of I Will Always Write Back. I think my boys will love it. We're still reading Ender's Game and also listening to The Skeptic's Guide to American History (a Great Courses book)...does that count as a book LOL? 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 The Crown of Ptolemy (short story combining Percy, Annabeth, Carter, and Sadie) by Rick Riordan came out today. I read it while I was waiting for my 13 year old at the dentist. I used to love Rick Riordan. I've kind of grown weary of his writing, or maybe I'm just done with Percy after the Heroes of Olympus series (which I think would have been better if he stopped at 3 like the Kane Chronicles). Of course, I'll still totally read the Asgard book that is coming out in the fall (already have it pre-ordered). Next up: Dangerous by Shannon Hale. The main character is homeschooled so that's pretty awesome. I bought the ebook a couple days ago and my mom called me today and asked if I'd read it yet (our Kindles are all on one account from when we lived in the same house - and we will be again within the next few months - so she gets anything I buy and vice versa). She said it was excellent and to hurry up and read it! (And the love interesting is, apparently, Lucas from Girl Meets World in her mind.) 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 The Crown of Ptolemy (short story combining Percy, Annabeth, Carter, and Sadie) by Rick Riordan came out today. I read it while I was waiting for my 13 year old at the dentist. I used to love Rick Riordan. I've kind of grown weary of his writing, or maybe I'm just done with Percy after the Heroes of Olympus series (which I think would have been better if he stopped at 3 like the Kane Chronicles). Of course, I'll still totally read the Asgard book that is coming out in the fall (already have it pre-ordered). James and I are currently listening to the Red Pyramid during car trips. I have yet to read the books myself except for Lightning Thief but James devoured them all and we've listened to them all in the car. They opened up a new world of mythology for him. Something he didn't understand at all when he was younger. We're presently reading tales from Iliad and the Odyssey and thanks to the books, he and I are both recognizing all the characters. I just finished a marathon read of J.R. Wards Lover Eternal #2 in the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Once I started it, couldn't put it down. It's been a while since I read the first book so didn't remember all the vampires as being emotionally as well as physically scarred. Or maybe they are just revealing that. Entertaining and sexy read. About 1/3 of the way through Swann's Way by Marcel Proust. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 The rest of last week's completed reading: My Life in Middlemarch: I was excited about this before it came out, but when it was published, I was reluctant to try it after all. I needn't have been. It was okay. I don't like biographical analysis of writer's works, but if I pretended it was just random information, I didn't mind the glimpses of Eliot's life. The memoir bits were tolerable, but not very interesting. ...but the snippets of talking about the characters I enjoyed (though I didn't always agree with her). I wish there were more of a market for gossiping about fictional characters and their lives and backgrounds and less for analyzing their creator's life or trying to frame a more significant connection between the memoirist's own life and the book. ...and now I'm fighting the urge to indulge in another reread of Middlemarch. Hmm! I'll have to check it out. I'll be taking a Middlemarch literature class in June , so will be diving at the end of the month. Unless I chicken out. We'll see how it goes with Swann's way. I may be saturated at the point. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I just finished a BBC reading of Kafka's Metamorphosis by Benedict Cumberbatch. It was really quite good. I wasn't planning to listen to it but someone sent me a link and it's only about 1:40 long. Apparently Cumberbatch has been reading quite a few things for the BBC. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 What I do remember was my mom reading *with* me - reading side by side, all the time I was growing up. She shared her favorite books with me, she was the one who introduced me to Georgette Heyer and Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt and Mary Stewart and Daphne DuMaurier - those were the books I grew up reading. We'd both read them separately, then talk about them. Good memories. She stopped reading at some point, I don't know when. I think it was after I left home. She stopped reading and started having the TV on all the time. Now, she really can't read, her memory and substance abuse issues have gotten in the way. Sometimes I wonder if she had kept reading, if she might have staved off the dementia a little longer. :grouphug: Hoping the happy memories can outweigh the pain of the present nightmare. Dementia is so scary and heart-breaking. It robs you of your loved one, but leaves you not even able to grieve properly. hang in there, love. Happy Mothers Day to my BaW friends. I'm sitting in the airport cell phone lot and just watched the plane carrying my youngest as it landed. Now waiting to hear that he has his luggage and is ready. It's like old times, sitting and listening to an audio book, waiting on a kid. Enjoy your kid! ...isn't it fun to welcome them home again! :party: For my actual reading this week, not much happened. Too much irl stuff going on to have time to stop & read &/or to concentrate even when I did have a bit of time. :grouphug: Wishing for healing and well being for your father-in-law (don't you wish we could just freeze time for our parents?) and peace and serenity for Robin, to answer your questions, I wasn't read to when I was little. *small, sad smile* ******************* College decisions had been made and scholarship offers declined, and I had a moment to breathe and appreciate that it had all gotten done and done well -- and that all of us were still happy, healthy, and sane. *wry grin* Graphic works were the answer to many weeks of perpetual motion. ************ I read Lillian Hellman's disturbing play The Little Foxes in anticipation of seeing the Goodman Theatre production later this month. :grouphug: Your courage and perseverance in finding your way through the (relative) deprivations of your childhood and to the beautiful life you have built for your self and your children has always filled me with awe... and an awareness of my own unmerited blessings. I wish I could hug the little MFS and invite her to curl up with me and my little guy and an enormous pile of books. **************** :party: :party: (two parties for launching two amazing daughters - and for being past the nail biting, slow, careful breathing stage,) ***************** I haven't revisited Hellman in a long time, but, in my memory at least, all of the plays I read were powerful, intense, harrowing experiences. Toys in the Attic is the one that has stayed with me the longest... now I am tempted to pick one up again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I came across this (currently) free to Kindle readers novella tonight. While I haven't read this, I have enjoyed several other books by this author. Come Home to Me: A Homefront Novella by Jessica Scott "From USA Today Bestselling author Jessica Scott comes an all new novella about a woman who came back from war changed and the man who loves her enough not to let her go.All Major Patrick MacLean wanted was Christmas with the woman and child who were his family in everything but name. But Captain Samantha Egan has come back from the war a different woman than the one who left - and she doesn't know if she can love him anymore.But neither of them counted on the determination of a little girl they both call daughter and if Natalie has her wish, her parents may have no idea what's coming for them. It's going to take Christmas miracle to bring these two wounded warriors back from the edge of a broken heart." Regards, Kareni 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I really can't remember what books I read with my mother when I was a child. Probably Dr. Seuss since I have a picture of me at 7 reading one of his books to my little brother. I think the 50's / 60's generation probably all grew up on Dr. Seuss. What was your favorite book growing up? I remember my mother reading Umbrella to me, and The Maggie B, and A Mouse to be Free, but the reading experiences themselves are a little fuzzy. ...the first Swallows and Amazons book I remember more clearly (though I'm fairly sure I read most the rest to myself)... and I vividly remember her reading Thorin's death in the Hobbit. Of the books I loved as a child, Shakespeare's Richard III was a cornerstone. I read it when I was about 7 and ended up memorizing it from start to finish. It isn't his best play (and it isn't my favorite now), and, for me, it was Margaret's play, not Richard's... and her story had an importance to me I still can't explain. When I read Pride and Prejudice (at 9 or 10) it became my other memorized favorite... again, I'm not sure why. I read my copy literally to pieces. Alcott's Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom were a more understandable favorite - though I never read them to the point of memorization - and I can still see the ways in which Alcott's books have shaped me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Nyssa Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 My mom taught me French when I was little by reading to me a little textbook from her childhood called Totor et Tristan, Deux Soldats du Bois. She felt sorry for Totor because one line was [something like this, but French speakers please excuse the errors] "Tristan est inteligent, mais Totor est stupide!" Poor Totor! I can't speak French beyond a couple of words, but when I hear it spoken i can follow a bit... I never studied it formally. This week I've finished up my reading of the poet Adrienne Rich-- very interesting and strong. I've continued my series of plays-within-plays with Sheridan's The Critic. I think this book was mentioned somewhere in Jane Austen but I can't quite remember where. It is funny! I enjoyed it very much... but in the end it did not really go anywhere. The playwright and the critic have some good discussion, then they go see a rehearsal... then it just kind of ends. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 The book will be winging its way up the coast to Eliana, whose opinion and insights I'm looking forward to! Thank you, Jenn!! I'm looking forward to reading it. I can promise opinions (I always seem to have an abundant supply), but not insights... Wow, I've never met anyone who heard of this book before! It was given to me in the 1970s as a gift. It had a similar effect on me as it did you. Do you know what happened to your copy? It should be on one of the picture book shelves in our library... now I want to go put my hands on it and read it to my little guy. Who gave it to you? ...and I should ask my mother how she found it... I always thought I would/should like Muriel Spark's writing... but I don't. (I haven't read the one you mention.) Lol. I had hoped I'd appreciate it now, but I am in no hurry to try anything else of hers again (though if someone here has one they loved and can assure me it's nothing like The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, I might be willing to try... I'm often a sucker for an enthusiastic review.) I think I first heard about this book on Flavorwire; it has has appeared more than once on their booklists, including 25 Genre Novels That Should be Classics. What a fascinating assortment... of content, style, and (imho) classic-worthiness. (and there are some authors there I'd agree belong on the list, but not the books chosen for them... ) ...now I'm tempted to come up with my own genre books that should be classics list... Thank you, love. A list I want to argue with and quibble over is so very satisfying and much more amusing and productive than one to which I have a blander reaction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Nyssa Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Re the 25 Novels list, I've read Kindred and thought it extremely good-- she brings you into the world of slavery in the American South in a very compelling way. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 VC congratulations to your daughter I finished The Graveyard Book last night. I'm so glad you guys introduced me to Neil Gaiman! I really enjoyed this book, too. It wasn't up there on the same level as The Ocean at the End of the Lane, but it was a very satisfying book, and just exactly the right kind of coming of age story that I like. I'll definitely be putting this on Shannon's stack, although she's so engrossed in David Eddings right now I don't know when she'll be coming up for air! I've decided to chuck a bunch of things I feel I ought to read, and focus on things I actually want to read for awhile. So I put A Clash of Kings on hold. I decided Littlefinger will be my Machiavellian May character! ;) I also put The Cuckoo's Calling by Galbraith/JK Rowling on hold, because it jumped out at me from my to-read shelf. Anybody read that? I really enjoyed The Casual Vacancy so I thought I might like it. I love hearing of people being engrossed in Eddings. One of my cousins credits my brother and Eddings with getting her middle son to be a book lover. Before my brother staid with them J never read. M introduced him to Eddings and voila he is as a voracious reader as the rest of us. I've been away at a conference for three days so I haven't read much but now I am off for four days so I am planing on some reading. My favourite books as a child obviously changed as I grew older but some highlights are Sagan om den lilla lilla gumman (The story of the little little lady) by Elsa Beskow, Kajsa Kavat and then Madicken and Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren, and finally The Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Sagan om den lilla lilla gumman was a story I knew by heart at age two. I still made my parents read it over and over and over again. 32 years later and I STILL know it by heart :lol: . My mom wasn't the only woman who read to me growing up, both my grandmothers, and my two aunts, as well as countless cousins influenced my reading as a child (and still do as we recommend books to each other). 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Last night I finished Carla Kelly's Christmas Collection which is a collection of four of her historical romance novellas. Her stories always make for a lovely read. Conservative readers would also enjoy these. Regards, Kareni 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 VC congratulations to your daughter I love hearing of people being engrossed in Eddings. One of my cousins credits my brother and Eddings with getting her middle son to be a book lover. Before my brother staid with them J never read. M introduced him to Eddings and voila he is as a voracious reader as the rest of us. I've been away at a conference for three days so I haven't read much but now I am off for four days so I am planing on some reading. My favourite books as a child obviously changed as I grew older but some highlights are Sagan om den lilla lilla gumman (The story of the little little lady) by Elsa Beskow, Kajsa Kavat and then Madicken and Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren, and finally The Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Sagan om den lilla lilla gumman was a story I knew by heart at age two. I still made my parents read it over and over and over again. 32 years later and I STILL know it by heart :lol: . My mom wasn't the only woman who read to me growing up, both my grandmothers, and my two aunts, as well as countless cousins influenced my reading as a child (and still do as we recommend books to each other). Eddings is the guy that got me into fantasy as a genre. It was suggested to me by a prof in college. I had read Narnia, Tolkien, etc. but didn't think I liked fantasy/sci fi as a genre until I read Eddings. Now when I look at my goodreads "to read fiction" category it's mostly fantasy & sci fi. It's been fun to introduce my girl to The Belgariad. She's enchanted. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 "I would stop by the table, where the kitchen- maid had shelled them, to inspect the platoons of peas, drawn up in ranks and numbered, like little green marbles, ready for a game; but what fascinated me would be the asparagus, tinged with ultramarine and rosy pink which ran from their heads, finely stippled in mauve and azure, through a series of imperceptible changes to their white feet, still stained a little by the soil of their garden- bed: a rainbow- loveliness that was not of this world. I felt that these celestial hues indicated the presence of exquisite creatures who had been pleased to assume vegetable form, who, through the disguise which covered their firm and edible flesh, allowed me to discern in this radiance of earliest dawn, these hinted rainbows, these blue evening shades, that precious quality which I should recognise again when, all night long after a dinner at which I had partaken of them, they played (lyrical and coarse in their jesting as the fairies in Shakespeare's Dream ) at transforming my humble chamber into a bower of aromatic perfume." For anyone who has ever eaten asparagus and knows the after affects. A truly poetical rendering by Proust has me giggling. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I need fluff so I just finished a recent acquisition: The Dead Mountaineer's Inn by Boris & Arkady Strugatsky. A hilarious spoof on the classic country-house murder mystery, from the Russian masters of sci-fi—never before translated When Inspector Peter Glebsky arrives at the remote ski chalet on vacation, the last thing he intends to do is get involved in any police work. He’s there to ski, drink brandy, and loaf around in blissful solitude. But he hadn’t counted on the other vacationers, an eccentric bunch including a famous hypnotist, a physicist with a penchant for gymnastic feats, a sulky teenager of indeterminate gender, and the mysterious Mr. and Mrs. Moses. And as the chalet fills up, strange things start happening—things that seem to indicate the presence of another, unseen guest. Is there a ghost on the premises? A prankster? Something more sinister? And then an avalanche blocks the mountain pass, and they’re stuck. Which is just about when they find the corpse. Meaning that Glebksy’s vacation is over and he’s embarked on the most unusual investigation he’s ever been involved with. In fact, the further he looks into it, the more Glebsky realizes that the victim may not even be human. In this late novel from the legendary Russian sci-fi duo—here in its first-ever English translation—the Strugatskys gleefully upend the plot of many a Hercule Poirot mystery—and the result is much funnier, and much stranger, than anything Agatha Christie ever wrote. It was entertaining & hit the spot for what I needed right now. -------------------------- 2015 Books read: 5 stars: The Good Lord Bird by James McBride. (USA) The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham. (France) Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi. (USA) 4 stars: The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami. (Japan; BaW January author challenge.) Extraordinary Renditions by Andrew Ervin. (Hungary) Rue du Retour by Abdellatif Laâbi. (Morocco) Nigerians in Space by Deji Bryce Olukotum. (South Africa & Nigeria) The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire by Jack Weatherford. (Mongolia) The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. (France & Spain) Kismet by Jakob Arjouni. (Germany) Gassire’s Lute: A West African Epic, trans. & adapted by Alta Jablow. (West Africa, incl. Ghana & Burkina Faso) Orlando by Virginia Woolf. (England; BaW March author challenge.) Missing Person by Patrick Modiano. (France) No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. (USA) Going Postal by Terry Pratchett. (Other/fantasy world of Ankh-Morpork) 3 stars: The Affinity Bridge by George Mann. (England) Goat Days by Benyamin. (Saudi Arabia) The Duppy by Anthony C. Winkler. (Jamaica) Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor. (Nigeria) Cat Out of Hell by Lynne Truss. (England) Under the Frangipani by Mia Couto. (Mozambique) Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood. (Australia) Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis (Other/Malacandra) Duplex by Kathryn Davis. (USA) The Dead Mountaineer’s Inn by Boris & Arkady Strugatsky. (Russia) 2 stars: The Jerusalem File by Joel Stone. (Israel) 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Well, she,s gone. Sniff sniff. Another elder clan member died this morning. In many ways we are very happy because she was in great pain, getting weaker every day, and hated being a burden. And it was managed so she died at my sister,s house. Bless hospice. She was such a strong lady. Iit isn't,t like this is a surprise. We,ve been expecting her to go any day. But I am going to miss her very much. I played recorder with her and we had dinner together once a week and did yoga with her twice a week... to say nothing of the numerous family events. She made a long illness look doable. My sister made her a nest in the corner of the library/dining room, and there she lay, all cuddled up under bookcases with the cat comforting her legs and a view of the lovely big trees and her garden (it used to be her house). For a lifelong book lover, it looked ideal. Nan 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: , Nan. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Well, she,s gone. Sniff sniff. Another elder clan member died this morning. In many ways we are very happy because she was in great pain, getting weaker every day, and hated being a burden. And it was managed so she died at my sister,s house. Bless hospice. She was such a strong lady. Iit isn't,t like this is a surprise. We,ve been expecting her to go any day. But I am going to miss her very much. I played recorder with her and we had dinner together once a week and did yoga with her twice a week... to say nothing of the numerous family events. She made a long illness look doable. My sister made her a nest in the corner of the library/dining room, and there she lay, all cuddled up under bookcases with the cat comforting her legs and a view of the lovely big trees and her garden (it used to be her house). For a lifelong book lover, it looked ideal. Nan :grouphug: :grouphug:, Nan. I am so sorry. A close friend worked for many years as a hospice social worker, and we've talked quite a bit about what makes a "good death". Sounds like your clan member had a good death, in her old house, snuggled in a cozy corner with a good view. You, your sister, your clan and hospice all are to be credited with giving her a lovely place where she could let go of this world. Many comforting hugs to you and your tight knit clan. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Hugs Nan 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Hugs Nan 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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