Book a Week 2015 - BW21: g.k. chesterton

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday dear hearts:  We are on week 21 in our quest to read 52 books.  Welcome back to our regulars, anyone just joining in, and to all who follow our progress. Mr. Linky is all set up on the 52 books blog to link to your reviews. The link is also in my signature.

 

52 Books Blog - G.K. Chesterton:  Happy Birthday to G.K. Chesterton, an English writer who was born on May 29, 1874 and died at the age of 62 on June 14, 1936. He has written many essays on democracy, religion, philosophy and religion as well as writing.  Today I'll leave you with his essay "The Ideal Detective Story " originally printed in Illustrated London News October 25, 1930

 

There has been some renewal of debate on the problem of the problem story; sometimes called the police novel, because it now consists chiefly of rather unjust depreciation of the police. I see that Father Ronald Knox has written a most interesting introduction to a collection of tales of the kind; and Mrs. Carolyn Wells, the author of an admirable mystery called “Vicky Van, †has reissued a study on the subject. There is one aspect of the detective story which is almost inevitably left out in considering the detective stories. 

That tales of this type are generally slight, sensational, and in some ways superficial, I know better than most people, for I have written them myself. If I say there is in the abstract something quite different, which may be called the Ideal Detective Story, I do not mean that I can write it. I call it the Ideal Detective Story because I cannot write it. Anyhow, I do think that such a story, while it must be sensational, need not be superficial. In theory, though not commonly in practice, it is possible to write a subtle and creative novel, of deep philosophy and delicate psychology, and yet cast it in the form of a sensational shocker.

The detective story differs from every other story in this: that the reader is only happy if he feels a fool. At the end of more philosophic works he may wish to feel a philosopher. But the former view of himself may be more wholesome – and more correct. The sharp transition from ignorance may be good for humility. It is very largely a matter of the order in which things are mentioned, rather than of the nature of the things themselves. 

The essence of a mystery tale is that we are suddenly confronted with a truth which we have never suspected and yet can see to be true. There is no reason, in logic, why this truth should not be a profound and convincing one as much as a shallow and conventional one. There is no reason why the hero who turns out to be a villain, or the villain who turns out to be a hero, should not be a study in the living subtleties and complexities of human character, on a level with the first figures in human fiction. 

It is only an accident of the actual origin of these police novels that the interest of the inconsistency commonly goes no further than that of a demure governess being a poisoner, or a dull and colourless clerk painting the town red by cutting throats. There are inconsistencies in human nature of a much higher and more mysterious order, and there is really no reason why they should not be presented in the particular way that causes the shock of a detective tale. There is electric light as well as electric shocks, and even the shock may be the bolt of Jove. 

It is, as I have said, very largely a matter of the mere order of events. The side of the character that cannot be connected with the crime has to be presented first; the crime has to be presented next as something in complete contrast with it; and the psychological reconciliation of the two must come after that, in the place where the common or garden detective explains that he was led to the truth by the stump of a cigar left on the lawn or the spot of red ink on the blotting-pad in the boudoir. But there is nothing in the nature of things to prevent the explanation, when it does come, being as convincing to a psychologist as the other is to a policeman.

For instance, there are several very great novels in which characters behave with what might well be called a monstrous and terrible inconsistency. I will merely take two of them at random. By the end of the book we are successfully convinced that so very sympathetic a woman as Tess of the D’Urbervilles has committed a murder. By the end of the book we are (more or less) convinced that so very sympathetic a woman as Diana of the Crossways has betrayed a political secret. I say more or less, because in this latter case I confess to finding it, so far as I am concerned, an example of less. 

I do not understand what Diana Merion was doing in the TIMES office I do not understand what Meredith meant her to be doing; but I suppose Meredith understood. Anyhow, we may be certain that his reason was, if anything, too subtle, and not, as in the common sensational story, too simple. In any case, broadly speaking, we follow the careers of Tess of the D’Urbervilles and Diana of the Crossways until we admit that those characters have committed those crimes. 

There is no sort of reason why the story should not be told in the reverse order; in an order in which those crimes should first appear utterly inconsistent with those characters, and be made consistent by a description that should come at the end like a revelation. Somebody else might first be suspected of betraying the secret or slaying the man. I suppose nothing would have turned Hardy aside from hounding Tess to the gallows, though it might have been some gloomy comfort to him to have hanged somebody who had not murdered anybody.

But many of Meredith’s characters might have betrayed a secret. Only it seems possible that they might have told the secret in such an ingenious style of wit that it remained a secret after all. I know that there has been of late a rather mysterious neglect of Meredith, to balance what seems to me (I dare to confess) the rather exaggerated cult of Hardy. But, anyhow, there are older and more obvious examples than either of these two novelists.

There is Shakespeare, for instance: he has created two or three extremely amiable and sympathetic murderers. Only we can watch their amiability slowly and gently merging into murder. Othello is an affectionate husband who assassinates his wife out of sheer affection, so to speak. But as we know the story from the first, we can see the connection and accept the contradiction. But suppose the story opened with Desdemona found dead, Iago or Cassio suspected, and Othello the very last person likely to be suspected. 

In that case, “Othello†would be a detective story. But it might be a true detective story; that is, one consistent with the true character of the hero when he finally tells the truth. Hamlet, again, is a most lovable and even peaceable person as a rule, and we pardon the nervous and slightly irritable gesture which happens to have the result of sticking an old fool like a pig behind a curtain. 

But suppose the curtain rises on the corpse of Polonius, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern discuss the suspicion that has immediately fallen on the First Player, an immoral actor accustomed to killing people on the stage; while Horatio or some shrewd character suspects another crime of Claudius or the reckless and unscrupulous Laertes. Then “Hamlet†would be a shocker, and the guilt of Hamlet would be a shock. But it might be a shock of truth, and it is not only sex novels that are shocking. 

These Shakespearean characters would be none the less coherent and all of a piece because we brought the opposite ends of the character together and tied them into a knot. The story of Othello might be published with a lurid wrapper as “The Pillow Murder Case.†But it might still be the same case; a serious case and a convincing case. The death of Polonius might appear on the bookstalls as “The Vanishing Rat Mystery,†and be in form like an ordinary detective story. Yet it might be The Ideal Detective Story.

Nor need there be anything vulgar in the violent and abrupt transition that is the essential of such a tale. The inconsistencies of human nature are indeed terrible and heart-shaking things, to be named with the same note of crisis as the hour of death and the Day of Judgment. They are not all fine shades, but some of them very fearful shadows, made by the primal contrast of darkness and light. Both the crimes and the confessions can be as catastrophic as lightning. Indeed, The Ideal Detective Story might do some good if it brought men back to understand that the world is not all curves, but that there are some things that are as jagged as the lightning-flash or as straight as the sword.

 

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

 

History of the Medieval World

Chapter 24 Resentment pp 165 - 171

 

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

 

What are you reading this week?

 

 

 

Link to week 20

 

 

[Robin M]

I'm busy writing, writing, writing to complete short story for class workshop.  However, I did start Lover Avenged #7 in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward. 

[Jane in NC]

Eliana dear, I have another book for you. Time Ages in a Hurry is a short story collection by Italian writer Antonio Tabucchi, yet another interesting translation brought to us by Archipelago books. I loved the story Clouds. More in an online review I found:

 

http://www.consequencemagazine.org/book-reviews/now-everything-is-clear/

 

Anyone familiar with the Portuguese poet Pessoa who Tabucchi translated into Italian?

[Kareni]

I brought home Ella Frances Sanders' Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World  and have been enjoying sharing parts of it with my husband.  We also had a fun discussion (via Skype) with our daughter on the one Korean word that is featured in the book since she's in South Korea studying the language as is my husband at home. 

 

This is a good book to borrow from the library as one could read it through in about half an hour.

 

 

"An artistic collection of more than 50 drawings featuring unique, funny, and poignant foreign words that have no direct translation into English.

Did you know that the Japanese language has a word to express the way sunlight filters through the leaves of trees? Or that there’s a Finnish word for the distance a reindeer can travel before needing to rest? 

Lost in Translation brings to life more than fifty words that don’t have direct English translations with charming illustrations of their tender, poignant, and humorous definitions. Often these words provide insight into the cultures they come from, such as the Brazilian Portuguese word for running your fingers through a lover’s hair, the Italian word for being moved to tears by a story, or the Swedish word for a third cup of coffee.

In this clever and beautifully rendered exploration of the subtleties of communication, you’ll find new ways to express yourself while getting lost in the artistry of imperfect translation."

 

There is a lovely review on Brain Pickings which alerted me to the fact that the book was published right before the author/illustrator turned twenty-one.  So young!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Onceuponatime]

I've finished Darwin's Ghosts and enjoyed it very much. Now I'm starting Giant by Edna Ferber for my book club.

 

In the past I thoroughly enjoyed Chesterton's Father Brown stories. I've been a little disappointed in the PBS series. They don't seem as benign and philosophical as the original stories.

[Stacia]

Jane, I read a different collection of Tabucchi from Archipelago a year or two ago (enjoyed it). (And guess what? I sent the book to Eliana.)

 

I have not read Pessoa yet, but I have "The Book of Disquiet" sitting on my shelf.

 

I am glad you read Guantanamo Diary. I enjoyed your comments.

[Just Robyn]

I brought home Ella Frances Sanders' Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World  and have been enjoying sharing parts of it with my husband.  We also had a fun discussion (via Skype) with our daughter on the one Korean word that is featured in the book since she's in South Korea studying the language as is my husband at home. 

 

This is a good book to borrow from the library as one could read it through in about half an hour.

 

 

"An artistic collection of more than 50 drawings featuring unique, funny, and poignant foreign words that have no direct translation into English.

 

Did you know that the Japanese language has a word to express the way sunlight filters through the leaves of trees? Or that there’s a Finnish word for the distance a reindeer can travel before needing to rest? 

 

Lost in Translation brings to life more than fifty words that don’t have direct English translations with charming illustrations of their tender, poignant, and humorous definitions. Often these words provide insight into the cultures they come from, such as the Brazilian Portuguese word for running your fingers through a lover’s hair, the Italian word for being moved to tears by a story, or the Swedish word for a third cup of coffee.

 

In this clever and beautifully rendered exploration of the subtleties of communication, you’ll find new ways to express yourself while getting lost in the artistry of imperfect translation."

 

There is a lovely review on Brain Pickings which alerted me to the fact that the book was published right before the author/illustrator turned twenty-one.  So young!

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Oh, I came upon this person's blog when I was looking for the meaning of the word komorebi. One of these days I'll get this book, maybe two copies of it, one for myself and one for the family gift exchange. (Then again, I'm probably the only person in the family who would like it. Do I force it on them?)

[idnib]

I finished Inferno, having read it before in high school but not remembering much of that reading. I get so much more out of books now. When I was 17, some of the things I would have regarded as facts I needed to remember for a paper I would have to write. Now, with no paper looming and more living behind me, I feel the tragedy and fear more deeply.

 

One of the things I really loved was how much art has been inspired by Commedia. Amazing pieces of art, especially by Gustav Dore´ and Dali. Looking at the art was my favorite part of the reading. I normally don't like to look at depictions while I read because they are different from what I'm imagining, but Dore´was exactly what I was thinking. Here's his (public domain) depiction of the forest at the beginning of the book:

 

 

The main thing I didn't enjoy about the book were all the references to local Italian politics. Dante placed a lot of people with whom he didn't agree into Hell. Many of them were local Florentine people who would have been know to readers at the time, and I'm sure with research I could read more about who they were and why they were included, but I didn't care, nor did I have the time.

 

Thank you for suggesting the Mandelbaum translation. Some of the language really was beautiful. I loved Dante's addresses directly to the reader and his similes and metaphors:

 

 

   In that part of the young year when the sun

begins to warm its locks beneath Aquarius

and nights grow shorter, equaling the days,

   when hoarfrost mimes the image of his white

sister upon the ground—but not for long,

because the pen he uses is not sharp—

   the farmer who is short of fodder rises

and looks and sees the fields all white, at which

he slaps his thigh, turns back into the house,

   and here and there complains like some poor wretch

who doesn't know what can be done, and then

goes out again and gathers up new hope

   on seeing that the world has changed its face

in so few hours, and he takes his staff

and hurried out his flock of sheep to pasture.

   So did my master fill me with dismay

when I saw how his brow was deeply troubled,

yet then the plaster soothed the sore as quickly;

   for soon as we were on the broken bridge,

my guide turned back to me with that sweet manner

I had first seen along the mountain's base.

 

 

 

[idnib]

H52 Books Blog - G.K. Chesterton:  Happy Birthday to G.K. Chesterton, an English writer who was born on May 29, 1874 and died at the age of 62 on June 14, 1936. He has written many essays on democracy, religion, philosophy and religion as well as writing.  Today I'll leave you with his essay "The Ideal Detective Story " originally printed in Illustrated London News October 25, 1930

 

This is a good place to read Chesterton mysteries.

[Just Robyn]

I finished The 2015 Rhysling Anthology, The Boy Who Lost Fairyland and Narrative Design. I still have some writing books going, and I'm trying to get some literary magazines read, too. And I've got a stack forming of to-read next: Karate Chop (short stories), Selected Poems of Corsino Fortes (Thank you, Jane!), and To Kill a Mockingbird (Really, I've never read this.).

[Kareni]

Oh, I came upon this person's blog when I was looking for the meaning of the word komorebi. One of these days I'll get this book, maybe two copies of it, one for myself and one for the family gift exchange. (Then again, I'm probably the only person in the family who would like it. Do I force it on them?)

 

"Do I force it on them?"

 

I vote yes! 

 

 

I was unfamiliar with the maptia blog that your link took me to.  Thank you (ahem) for helping me spend some time browsing an intriguing site.  Here's a fun post on books ~  What's on your bookshelf?

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Chrysalis Academy]

Hmm, things I finished but didn't post about before - I finished  Dangerous by Shannon Hale. I liked this book, but I wasn't as enraptured by it as my dd was.  She's the right demographic, after all! I liked most of the characters, especially the protagonist, who was a strong, smart, scrappy 15 year old homeschooler, half Latina and one-armed.  What's not to love?  I didn't like the romance part or the love interest character, nor the whiplash-inducing plot twists that were required to keep him as a love interest.

 

I also finished Hacking Your Education by Dale Stephens of Uncollege fame.  I didn't care for it. While I'm sympathetic to many of his points and feel like higher ed in the US is an overpriced, underperforming nightmare in a lot of ways, I think Dale's plan is only a solution for those very extroverted techie-types looking to launch a startup or break into a gig in Silicon valley. I don't feel like it offers much, other than general common-sense advice, for other types of students.

 

My reading stack is in a bit of flux as we're trying to narrow down selections in science and history for next year, so I won't post about anything unless I commit to it and finish it! I am reading A Storm of Swords.

 

Books completed in May:

76. Dangerous - Shannon Hale

75. Much Ado About Nothing - Shakespeare

74. A Clash of Kings - George R R Martin

73. Hacking Your Education - Dale Stephens

72. The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman

71. A Game of Thrones - George R R Martin

70. Persuasion - Jane Austen

69. The End of College - Kevin Carey

68. The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman

 

 

[Ali in OR]

Finished Unbroken and love it. Started The Daughter's Walk by Jane Kirkpatrick--our June book club pick. She bases this work of historical fiction on true characters--a Norwegian mother and daughter who walked from eastern Washington to NYC as a publicity stunt to earn money to save the family farm. They didn't finish in the time allotted by the sponsors, so didn't get the money. I think that much is based on real facts, then the rest of the book imagines the daughter's path. I think I have a little trouble reading books that are part truth, part fiction. I'm always wondering what is "real". With non-fiction, it's all real; with fiction, it's real for the world of the story. A mix of both is hard for me--I spend too much time analyzing what the author is doing.

 

[6packofun]

I just finished I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes and it was awesome.  It's a spy thriller with some gritty parts (a few depictions of torture, mentions of violence against women) but the overall story hooked me and had great pacing and intrigue.  Hayes has written for tv and film and that came through in the novel's structure.  Very good!

 

Next up: The Night Circus.

[mumto2]

I just finished I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes and it was awesome. It's a spy thriller with some gritty parts (a few depictions of torture, mentions of violence against women) but the overall story hooked me and had great pacing and intrigue. Hayes has written for tv and film and that came through in the novel's structure. Very good!

 

Next up: The Night Circus.

I read I am Pilgrim last summer and enjoyed it. I don't remember it as well as I should but remember the timing as being paced really well.

 

i had to laugh at Kareni's What's on your book shelf? link, I saw that and all I could think is NOT what is supposed to be. When the new bookshelves arrived last winter I was sick in bed. Dh and Dd reorganized all the school books for me, overall a great job--aesthetically much nicer than ever before. Now dd has a German exam in two weeks and wants a series of German books that we own and expects me to find them. Dh has tried to be fair. Ordered a couple others in the series to start on, Prime is my friend. :lol: Searching the boxed books in the garage tomorrow.

 

I have been reading a romatic suspense novel by Dee Henderson called Full Disclosure. Overall an enjoyable read. My one complaint is I have serveral books by this author to chose from and picked this one because it was not part of a series. Well that isn't quite true, not dependant on a seies but populated by characters from other books by this author. I love series books but really don't like to be out of order. I was curious about the suspense aspect by the time the series issue raised it's head. Next time I just need to stop reading.

[Little Nyssa]

I love, love, love GKC!

 

This week I am reading T.S.Eliot. I enjoyed rereading Prufrock and the poems in that group. I could not at all get into Murder in the Cathedral, but the play The Cocktail Party was interesting and a little weird. I enjoyed it but I'm not sure what to make of it!

Then I read up on his life and his first wife Vivian. How disturbing and sad. Must a poet have a "muse" who upsets them and makes them suffer and write great poetry? I am also thinking of Brodsky and his Marina, Nabokov and his lost Russia, etc.

I will try the Wasteland next.

[Robin M]

I have been reading a romantic suspense novel by Dee Henderson called Full Disclosure. Overall an enjoyable read. My one complaint is I have several books by this author to chose from and picked this one because it was not part of a series. Well that isn't quite true, not dependent on a series but populated by characters from other books by this author. I love series books but really don't like to be out of order. I was curious about the suspense aspect by the time the series issue raised it's head. Next time I just need to stop reading.

 

I have her O'Malley Family series and thoroughly enjoyed them.  I got thoroughly caught up in the stories and positively sobbed when a character in the series died.  I love Henderson's writing.

 

[mumto2]

I have her O'Malley Family series and thoroughly enjoyed them. I got thoroughly caught up in the stories and positively sobbed when a character in the series died. I love Henderson's writing.

 

I think she used to write for Love Inspired but haven't investigated yet. The O'Malley series is what keeps getting referred to. I could have easily read the first book first! There is sort of an unusual wrap up to it in this book, a bit of an unusual twist, that would have been fun to read after those. If you haven't read Full Disclosure you would like it. The part with the O'Malleys is different. Interesting.....

[TeacherZee]

In the last week I have read national tests, Cambridge practice tests, and M/M romances by A. M. Arthur. I finished Getting it Right, No Such Thing and Maybe This Time. They are all set in the same "universe" but the first one is part of a new trilogy covering adults (aka my age) and the other two are NA books. I am almost done with the third book in this series but I got to the point were the words were blurring so I had to stop. I've also read a big chunk of The Girls of Atomic City

[Jane in NC]

I love, love, love GKC!

 

This week I am reading T.S.Eliot. I enjoyed rereading Prufrock and the poems in that group. I could not at all get into Murder in the Cathedral, but the play The Cocktail Party was interesting and a little weird. I enjoyed it but I'm not sure what to make of it!

Then I read up on his life and his first wife Vivian. How disturbing and sad. Must a poet have a "muse" who upsets them and makes them suffer and write great poetry? I am also thinking of Brodsky and his Marina, Nabokov and his lost Russia, etc.

I will try the Wasteland next.

Thank you for the inspiration. I am such a fan of Eliot's poetry but must sheepishly confess that I have not read any of his plays. Must do something about this.

[Mesamin]

I'm still working on Mansfield Park and added Treasure Island into the mix (Why did I do that?).  I might add some poetry if I can find something suitable on our shelves.  I'm trying hard to read what's in the house for the moment and not raid the used bookstore knowing full well there isn't time currently to read what I carry out. 

[idnib]

This week I am reading T.S.Eliot.

 

I'm reading The Waste Land and Four Quartets in June. Have you seen this very cool (but expensive) app? I'm thinking about buying it.

[Kareni]

Yesterday I read with enjoyment Maria V. Snyder's Shadow Study.  This book features characters whose story began in Poison Study and continued on in several other books.  The author has a note in the back of the book indicating that a preliminary reader enjoyed the book without having read any of those other books; I think a new reader would enjoy the book far more having read those that came before.

 

"Once, only her own life hung in the balance… 

Oddly enough, when Yelena was a poison taster, her life was simpler. But she'd survived to become a vital part of the balance of power between rival countries Ixia and Sitia. Now she uses her magic to keep the peace in both lands—and protect her relationship with Valek. 

Suddenly, though, they are beset on all sides by those vying for power through politics and intrigue. Valek's job and his life are in danger. As Yelena tries to uncover the scope of these plots, she faces a new challenge: her magic is blocked. She must keep that a secret—or her enemies will discover just how vulnerable she really is—while searching for who or what is responsible for neutralizing her powers. 

Yes, the days of tasting poisons were much simpler. And certainly not as dangerous…"

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Lady Florida.]

Book club is just a week away, so I've had to drop my other books and read only The Invention of Wings. Well, except for when I crochet or work around the house. Then I listen to my audio book of Wolf Hall.

[Little Nyssa]

Idnib, what a great app! I am just using a volume of his Collected Works from the library-- but I was thinking of getting something I could buy & write notes on. That app has a wealth of info, and I have to say that hearing a recording of Prufrock as a teen really made it accessible for me.

[shukriyya]

Bridging two of my worlds here...

 

Austen lovers

 

Shakespeare Lovers

 

Rosie, do you read playing cards?

[mumto2]

Bridging two of my worlds here...

 

Austen lovers

 

Shakespeare Lovers

 

Rosie, do you read playing cards?

What fun! Definite gift potential for my best friend.

[mumto2]

Bridging two of my worlds here...

 

Austen lovers

 

Shakespeare Lovers

 

Rosie, do you read playing cards?

What fun! Definite gift potential for my best friend.

[shukriyya]

What fun! Definite gift potential for my best friend.

 

It's a fun site. They also have a gorgeous deck of Wagner's Ring Cycle as seen through the eyes of Victorian illustrator Arthur Rackham. It's dreamy and ethereal for such a visceral opera.

[Rosie_0801]

Rosie, do you read playing cards?

 

Nope. I like the pretties. :)

 

Those ones you've linked are pretty though!

[Caroline]

Summer, summer, summer... Many of you know that I am a public school teacher. During the school year, I have very little time to read anything that isn't school related. I teach math, but I try to at least skim what my students are reading for English and history class. But I spent the weekend at the pool with my kids and read Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver. Not my favorite of her books, but better than Poisonwood Bible. Now I have started Fire and Rain by David Browne. It starts the day before I was born. I have started this book before, but never finished, so this time I am reading it at the beginning of summer.

[NoseInABook]

Super foggy headed still after wisdom teeth removal. Also, a wee bit sleepy because we welcomed a 2 month old baby girl into our home on Thursday evening (yes, the day before wisdom teeth removal). I finally finished Changeless which took me for-ev-er. I just had to force myself to read it and am not pleased with how it ended. I'm starting Patricia Briggs' Dead Heat even though I didn't read the book before it.. It's late for the library so I can't wait any longer, it's read it now or check it out later. 

[Kareni]

Today I read C. S. Pacat's Captive Prince: Book One of the Captive Prince Trilogy.  I'd heard a lot of praise for this book so was curious to read it.  I enjoyed it.  It has triggers galore, so it is not for the conservative reader.

 

"Damen is a warrior hero to his people, and the rightful heir to the throne of Akielos. But when his half brother seizes power, Damen is captured, stripped of his identity, and sent to serve the prince of an enemy nation as a pleasure slave.

Beautiful, manipulative, and deadly, his new master, Prince Laurent, epitomizes the worst of the court at Vere. But in the lethal political web of the Veretian court, nothing is as it seems, and when Damen finds himself caught up in a play for the throne, he must work together with Laurent to survive and save his country.

For Damen, there is just one rule: never, ever reveal his true identity. Because the one man Damen needs is the one man who has more reason to hate him than anyone else…"

 

Here's a starred review from Publisher's Weekly and a chattier review from Fresh Fiction.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Halcyon]

We are listening to Jane Eyre in the car--the boys surprisingly really like it. I am reading Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner, having finished Want Not by Jonathan Miles which I really enjoyed. I am going to read his Dear American Airlines soon...i have so many books on my To Read List! I have also been inspired to sign up for an online fiction writing class, just for my own enjoyment. It will start mid June.

 

Here's my book list so far:

 

1 The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

2 The Motivation Manifesto by Burchard

3 The Magic Art of Tidying

4 The One and Only by Giffin

5 One Way Love: Inexhaustible Grace for an Exhausted World

6 Not that Kind of Girl by Dunham

7 The Search for Significance by McGee

8 10% Happier

9 To Kill A Mockingbird--audio book.

10 Unbroken with DS-audio

11 Mastering Tung's Acupuncture--for work

12 You Are A Badass

12 Coming up for Air by George Orwell

13. The Westing Game-audio

14. The Hole in our Holiness by Kevin DeYoung

15. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen-audio

16. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson-audio

17. The Girl on the Train-audio

17. Emma by Jane Austen-current

18. Ender’s Game-audio-current

19. Prayer by Timothy Keller

18 Arcadia by Lauren Groff

19 We are All Completely Beside Ourselves

20 One Thousand Gifts

21 ordinary light by tracy k smith

22 the storied life of aj fikkry by Gabrielle Zevin

23 Want not by jonathan miles

24 Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner-cuurent

 

[Halcyon]

Here's one of my more favorite quotes from Want Not. 

"Scooping the water in his cupped palms and lowering his face into its warmth, he wondered if this was the way lives crumbled: swiftly, within the flickering span of a night: one unfortunate, ill-considered decision leading to another, and then another, followed by another, until it was impossible to see where the logic had forked, where rationality had dissolved—until all traces of sense and sensibility were scrubbed clean, like the minor stars from the skies over New Jersey, and you were left with a mid-life professor attempting to explain, to a crowd of livid, orey-eyed neighbors wearing bathrobes and snowboots, and perhaps accompanied by a pair of cops, and maybe even by a graveyard-shift reporter mulling a Satanism angle, why Bambi’s pink-nippled mother was dangling from his fire escape at 2-something A.M., her eviscerated organs steaming inside a recycling bin."

[Mom-ninja.]

I finished The 2015 Rhysling Anthology, The Boy Who Lost Fairyland and Narrative Design. I still have some writing books going, and I'm trying to get some literary magazines read, too. And I've got a stack forming of to-read next: Karate Chop (short stories), Selected Poems of Corsino Fortes (Thank you, Jane!), and To Kill a Mockingbird (Really, I've never read this.).

I have not read To Kill a Mockingbird. So you beat me to it. 

[aggieamy]

Bon voyage friends.  I will see you guys when I return on the 11th!  

 

Please pray that everyone has a happy trip and that DH and I remember to pack our patience because we're traveling with an 18 month old.  I will post pics when I return!

 

*waves*

 

No worries :) Your commet about the cruise jogged my memory. I'm about two hours outside of Stockholm. When is it you will be here?

 

We will be in Stockholm on June 7th.  Will you be anywhere near there on the 7th?  I would be so much fun to meet you IRL.

[Kareni]

Bon voyage friends.  I will see you guys when I return on the 11th!  

 

 

Have a wonderful trip!  I'll look forward to hearing details upon your return.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Angel]

Sounds like so much fun.  We were just talking about Fox in Socks the other day.  James used to torture me with it years ago, reading it aloud to him all the time and now he hardly remembers it.   :laugh:   I think I'll dig it out and make him read it to me.   :lol:

 

Definitely!!   :laugh:

 

 Instead I'm thoroughly enjoying Far From the Madding Crowd, the book I originally wanted to choose. I'm having a hard time putting it down.

I am very interested in this book!  Unfortunately I am feeling the weight of my TBR list :rolleyes: and wonder if I'll get to it this year.  I can't wait to hear your review. 

[Kareni]

I just found a (currently) free to Kindle readers copy of  The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie.

 

"In their very first adventure, Tommy and Tuppence uncover an audacious plot to destroy Great Britain

In postwar London, childhood friends Tommy Beresford and Prudence “Tuppence†Cowley are having a grand old time—except for the fact that they can barely afford a pot of tea between them. With no jobs to be had and no rich relations to bankroll them, they decide to form a joint venture: Young Adventurers, Ltd. They’re willing to go anywhere and do anything so long as the pay as right. Maybe, suggests Tuppence, a clergyman’s daughter, they’ll even get to steal a diamond necklace.

Before Tommy can place their first advertisement, Tuppence gets a job offer. Mr. Whittington wants to send her to Paris for three months, all expenses paid. The catch is that she has to pretend to be someone else—an American—and she can’t talk to anyone she knows while she’s there. It sounds too good to be true, and when Tuppence tries to protect herself with a pseudonym—“Jane Finn,†an odd name that Tommy recently overheard—Whittington’s reaction is equal parts anger and admiration. Accusing Tuppence of blackmail, he gives her fifty pounds and disappears.

Of course, the Young Adventurers refuse to leave it at that. Setting out to find the mysterious Jane Finn, they stumble into a deadly conspiracy that stretches all the way back to the sinking of the Lusitania and now threatens to undo everything England won in the Great War.

By transforming two of London’s bright young things into fearless detectives, Agatha Christie’s second novel revolutionized the mystery genre."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

And given the G. K. Chesterton information that Robin mentioned above, here's one of his works free for Kindle readers ~

 

The Innocence of Father Brown

 

I see that there are many more currently free:

 

The Wisdom of Father Brown

 

The Man Who Was Thursday, a nightmare

 

A Short History of England

 

The Ball and the Cross

 

What I Saw in America

 

Eugenics and Other Evils

 

Look here for more titles; there are almost three pages of titles.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[Little Nyssa]

The Secret Adversary is IMHO Agatha Christie's best book! I love the adventure and the love story. :)

[Robin M]

Bon voyage friends.  I will see you guys when I return on the 11th!  

 

Please pray that everyone has a happy trip and that DH and I remember to pack our patience because we're traveling with an 18 month old.  I will post pics when I return!

 

*waves*

 

 

We will be in Stockholm on June 7th.  Will you be anywhere near there on the 7th?  I would be so much fun to meet you IRL.

 

Bon voyage, doll! Have oodles and boodles of fun!  :grouphug:

[TeacherZee]

Bon voyage friends.  I will see you guys when I return on the 11th!  

 

Please pray that everyone has a happy trip and that DH and I remember to pack our patience because we're traveling with an 18 month old.  I will post pics when I return!

 

*waves*

 

 

We will be in Stockholm on June 7th.  Will you be anywhere near there on the 7th?  I would be so much fun to meet you IRL.

 

I could be in Stockholm on June 7th. I'll send you a pm with my e-mail and we can get details sorted.

[TeacherZee]

Summer, summer, summer... Many of you know that I am a public school teacher. During the school year, I have very little time to read anything that isn't school related. I teach math, but I try to at least skim what my students are reading for English and history class. But I spent the weekend at the pool with my kids and read Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver. Not my favorite of her books, but better than Poisonwood Bible. Now I have started Fire and Rain by David Browne. It starts the day before I was born. I have started this book before, but never finished, so this time I am reading it at the beginning of summer.

 

Caroline I am a bit envious of you right now, I still have two and a half weeks and MANY essays/tests/lab raports left to go before I get to have summer break.

[mumto2]

Aggieamy, Have a great time!

 

 

Super foggy headed still after wisdom teeth removal. Also, a wee bit sleepy because we welcomed a 2 month old baby girl into our home on Thursday evening (yes, the day before wisdom teeth removal). I finally finished Changeless which took me for-ev-er. I just had to force myself to read it and am not pleased with how it ended. I'm starting Patricia Briggs' Dead Heat even though I didn't read the book before it.. It's late for the library so I can't wait any longer, it's read it now or check it out later.

I just looked at Goodreads and I rated Chageless lower than the rest of the series. I don't remember that one very well because it was a bit boring. The next in the series is more entertaining but be warned I spent a large portion of it absolutely furious with Lord Macon. I rated it 5 in the end, so just need to get through the upsetting bits.

 

You do such a wonderful job with all the babies. They are so lucky to have you come into there lives. Everytime you post about one arriving I want to come and cuddle it. I love babies, nothing like having a little one sound asleep in my arms. Although a new baby a couple days after having wisdom teeth out leaves me really amazed. I never could of handled that!

[mumto2]

Caroline I am a bit envious of you right now, I still have two and a half weeks and MANY essays/tests/lab raports left to go before I get to have summer break.

I feel like I am joining you in your job a bit this year, I will be done June 6. Dd and these exams is all I can handle. I can't imagine having to deal with a large group of overly dramatic teens losing their belongings constantly. We are picking her up from the exams and heading off to the Harry Potter Studios as a well deserved surprise.

[TeacherZee]

I feel like I am joining you in your job a bit this year, I will be done June 6. Dd and these exams is all I can handle. I can't imagine having to deal with a large group of overly dramatic teens losing their belongings constantly. We are picking her up from the exams and heading off to the Harry Potter Studios as a well deserved surprise.

 

I feel that at least I get to go home at the end of the day and close the door and there is silence. No drama. No "can I turn in my paper next week my cat's dog's rabbit ate it". I teach one of my colleague's sons. He is a great kid. But having him and his friends around every evening and weekend (an extreamly close knit group of friends) would drive me up the wall. She is a saint. As I think are all parents of teens.

[Kim in Appalachia]

I've been away on a family vacation, which we got back from this weekend.  I didn't do much reading.  I think I'm going to shelve The Devil in the White City for now.  It's well written, and intriguing, but just not grabbing me.  The Water Knife, by Paolo Bacigalupi arrived today and I'm looking forward to that.

[Butter]

I think I'm going to shelve The Devil in the White City for now.  It's well written, and intriguing, but just not grabbing me.

 

I read that book several years ago.  It was hard for me to get through it.  It was interesting, but it didn't grab me either.