Book a Week 2015 - BW23: Legal Thrillers

[-M-]

It's always fun to see posts about books.  Here's one from BuzzFeed ~

 

27 Seriously Underrated Books Every Book Lover Should Read

 

Now I want to read Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

This post cost me about $40 and a major reshuffling of my TBR and "read from the shelves" piles. ;) (Is that the wink emoticon?)

 

[Kareni]

For Kareni and her husband, I offer a link to today's xkcd.

 

(This comic offers a link for embedding but I worry about doing so given Susan's legal warning.)

 

That was fun, Jane!  And it describes our reactions to the Martian pretty well.  I saw mention of the trailer yesterday and was telling my husband that the movie is due out in November.  While I very (VERY) rarely watch movies, I expressed an interest in going to the theater to see this one.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Yesterday I read a hugely enjoyable new fantasy.  The book comes with a plethora of positive reviews from respected authors ~

 

“The magic in Uprooted, with its realistic moral dimension, is so vividly believable that it almost seems you could work the spells. But the book will do that for you.â€â€”Ursula K. Le Guin, award-winning and bestselling author of The Earthsea cycle
 
“Every so often you come upon a story that seems like a lost tale of Grimm newly come to light. Uprooted is such a novel. Its narrative spell is confidently wrought and sympathetically cast. I might even call it bewitching.â€â€”Gregory Maguire, bestselling author of Wicked
 
“Magical and practical, otherworldly and planted in the real, I could not stop reading this book and neither will you!â€â€”Tamora Pierce, New York Times bestselling author of Trickster’s Choice and Trickster’s Queen

 

“Uprooted is one of those tales you come back to over and over again because it’s just that enchanting. The adventure builds with such tension that you are peeking through your hands at the end, hoping it will all be okay, and Naomi Novik delivers a conclusion that’s deeply satisfying, earning a permanent space on my bookshelf that I’ll revisit often.â€â€”Kevin Hearne, New York Times bestselling author of Shattered

 

 

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

 

"“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.â€
 
Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.
 
Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.
 
The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.
 
But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose."

 

 

Naomi Novik is known for her Napoleonic era Temeraire fantasy series in which Britain and France do battle with the assistance of intelligent dragons.  The first book of that series is His Majesty's Dragon.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

When my daughter was studying the medieval time period, we read Tim Severin's book The Brendan Voyage which is described here ~

 

"It has been described as the greatest epic voyage in modern Irish history.

Tim Severin and his companions built a boat using only techniques and materials available in the sixth-century A.D, when St Brendan was supposed to have sailed to America.

The vessel comprised forty-nine ox hides stitched together in a patchwork and stretched over a wooden frame. This leather skin was only a quarter of an inch thick. Yet Severin and his crew sailed Brendan from Brandon Creek in Dingle to Newfoundland, surviving storms and a puncture from pack ice.

"The Brendan Voyage" is Tim Severin's dramatic account of their journey. Brilliantly written and impeccably researched, "The Brendan Voyage" is a classic of modern exploration and has been translated into 27 languages. It conveys unforgettably the sensation of being in a small, open boat alone in the vastness of the North Atlantic, visited by inquisitive whales, reaching mist-shrouded landfalls, and receiving a welcome from seafaring folk wherever the crew touched land."

 

 

I see that the author has re-issued his first book (initially published in the 1960s) and that it is currently free to Kindle readers.  I suspect it might interest some here.

 

Tracking Marco Polo by Tim Severin

 

"Marco Polo was one of the greatest explorers of all time.

After the best-selling The Brendan Voyage and The Sinbad Voyage, Tim Severin took up the challenge of following in his footsteps.

Using the great explorer’s journals as a route guide, Severin followed him all the way from Venice to Afghanistan — on a motorbike.

This is his witty and enthralling account of a latter-day caravan through Armenia and Persia, across deserts and mountains, as Severin and his companions overcome crashes, floods, sandstorms and linguistic muddles with zest and ingenuity.

Ancient and modern jostle for attention in the bustling towns and panoramic landscapes of Turkey and Afghanistan. Seeking out thirteenth-century Asia, they pass through the Valley of the Assassins to find the village of the Magi. And even with his foot in plaster, Severin takes a camel ride high into the Deh Bakri Pass in search of the famed ‘apples of paradise’.

The excitement, the discomfort, and the sheer magic of this epic journey are brought vividly to life by one of Britain’s finest travel writers."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Violet Crown]

Finished Gibbon's Sunset Song and Antoine Saint-Exupéry's Southern Mail, a nice little philosophical novel, and now into E. F. Benson's As We Were, the memoirs of his Victorian boyhood. Full of interesting detail. Now I know about bandoline, and epergnes, and candied angelica.

 

David Copperfield arrived at the library and Middle Girl took it immediately, so it may be a while before I'm back to Dickens. Overheard some American tourists looking for Scottish literature in the bookshop and sold them on Brigadier Gerard, which made the bookseller and them quite happy. Literary street-corner evangelism!

[Halcyon]

Well, i started a book on audible called The Royal We--not a thriller at all, but it caught my eye when i was browsing. Nice light fare, and a great reader. :)

[idnib]

Still working on TS Eliot's poetry: looking up allusions in The Waste Land and also moving on to other poems.

 

I'm still working on The Waste Land. I'm glad I read Inferno last month, as I caught those allusions. Most other allusions have gone over my head.

 

For Kareni and her husband, I offer a link to today's xkcd.

 

(This comic offers a link for embedding but I worry about doing so given Susan's legal warning.)

 

It's fine to copy xkcd. It uses a Creative Commons license and is copyable but not sellable.

[LostSurprise]

I have posted in a long time but I had to jump in to say how much I  :wub:  :wub:  :wub: Brad Meltzer!  At least his earliest novels.  I haven't enjoyed his more recent books as much.  I think it is The Zero Game that has the completely unexpected plot twist right at the beginning of the book and I thought, "Oh my gosh, this man is a genius!  I've never seen a writer do that right at the beginning!"  (I can't remember for certain, it might be a different title.  Now I want to find out which book it was and reread it :) )

 

 

Given the mention of knitting in a reading thread, it would be remiss of me not to give a nod to Elizabeth Zimmerman's books. I was just flipping through Knitter's Almanac yesterday, and so many memories came flooding back...

 

 

From Amazon:

Elizabeth Zimmerman once wrote, "So please bear with me, and put up with my opinionated, nay, sometimes cantankerous attitude. I feel strongly about knitting." Perhaps her passionate opinions, as well as her love of wool craft and her delightful style, hark back to her English upbringing or long residence in the Wisconsin woods; in any case, the "Busy Knitter," as she calls herself, is one of the most charming and informative, as well as "un"ventive (her word) knitter-authors anywhere. This book gives full scope to her tireless imagination through a year's worth of projects, fitted to the seasons, moods, and needs of knitters who would like to design their own work.

The year begins with an Aran sweater and proceeds to February baby things, a March Shetland, April blanket, May mittens, and so on through the months, completing the zodiac with November moccasin socks and a December last-minute wishbone sweater. Projects are completed in the midst of canoe trips, fishing expeditions, travel, and snowstorms. The author continuously comments on the project, its history, other ancient and modern customs, and personal beliefs.

Mrs. Zimmerman works step by step with the reader, suggesting alternative methods and ideas as she goes. Her patterns are "classic," historically suited to wool, thus remaining ever-fashionable as well as tasteful and attractive. The knitter may easily adapt the designs at will, creating new, individual projects. Mrs. Zimmerman's hints (such as how to measure gauge when working a pattern and tips for baby's items) help ease the way and will instruct even the most experienced knitter. This corrected edition of the Knitter's Almanac will provide at the very least a year's worth of knitting pleasure to intermediate and advanced knitters and may even help stimulate a knitting passion.

 

 

That was fun, Jane!  And it describes our reactions to the Martian pretty well.  I saw mention of the trailer yesterday and was telling my husband that the movie is due out in November.  While I very (VERY) rarely watch movies, I expressed an interest in going to the theater to see this one.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Today I read a western historical romance by a favorite author of mine.  For the most part it's set in 1876 in Fort Laramie, Wyoming Territory, and it features a school teacher and an army surgeon.  This book would not offend any reader (well, there is gore since the hero is a surgeon).  I recommend it.

 

Her Hesitant Heart by Carla Kelly

 

"On the frontier of a new life…

Tired and hungry after two days of traveling, Susanna Hopkins is just about at the end of her tether when her train finally arrives in Cheyenne. She's bound for a new life in a Western garrison town. Then she discovers she doesn't even have enough money to pay for the stagecoach! Luckily for her, the compassionate Major Joseph Randolph is heading in the same direction.

As a military surgeon, Joe is used to keeping his professional distance. But, despite Susanna's understated beauty, he's drawn to this woman who carries loss and pain equal to his own and has a heart that is just as hesitant and wary…."

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

[6packofun]

I love those small world, happy coincidences that sometimes happen in one's reading life!  I just finished Love at the Speed of Email by Lisa McKay because it was mentioned here and when I read the acknowledgments at the end, discovered that she wrote My Hands Came Away Red (2007) an intriguing story about a missionary trip that goes horribly wrong.  That book was written more obviously from a Christian perspective, but not heavy-handed, IMO, especially considering it focuses on some Christian-Muslim conflicts in Indonesia and I really enjoyed it at the time.  I waited for another novel by McKay and never saw one.  I enjoyed her little memoir this week!  :)

[Shawneinfl]

Good morning all! I'm off to do another book event today in FL - this one right around the corner from my house - Yay! While I am looking at, touching, and organizing lots of books, it has severely affected my ablity to get any actual reading done. I went to the library yesterday and came home with a bagfull of books recommended by this group. The one I started was more summer fluff for me - Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies, which I am enjoying. It feels like I'm reading an episode from the show Desperate Housewives (anyone remember that?) I almost wish it were on my Kindle because there is no way I can be caught reading that in the corner at my  event focused on classical education books for homeschoolers, lol. :blush:

[Violet Crown]

From current read As We Were: A Victorian Peep-Show, by E. F. Benson:

 

[Mother] was also very daring (for a clergyman's wife) in her open advocacy of George Eliot's novels, in spite of all that was known about her life. She read "The Mill on the Floss" aloud to her children and she thrust "Adam Bede," which had some very shocking passages in it, into the hands of canons' wives and told them not to mind. I think indeed that she must have read "Adam Bede" to us as well, for an acquaintanceship with Mrs. Poyser seems to date from then, and she would certainly have been ready with some adroit answer if any inquisitive creature had asked why Hetty and Arthur Donnithorne should not meet and talk in the wood. And she was equally up to the mark when one of her children publicly demanded to know the difference between a bull and an ox, for she at once said that the bull was the father and the ox the uncle.

[6packofun]

The one I started was more summer fluff for me - Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies, which I am enjoying. It feels like I'm reading an episode from the show Desperate Housewives (anyone remember that?) I almost wish it were on my Kindle because there is no way I can be caught reading that in the corner at my  event focused on classical education books for homeschoolers, lol. :blush:

 

LOL  It *did* remind me of Desperate Housewives!  I think Moriarty is pretty good for "fluff".  (But I always do feel like I need to make the disclaimer that I'm just reading fluff between my "regular reading".  LOL ;) )

 

Next for me is a Ruth Rendell, The Girl Next Door.  Dh is reading The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde and really enjoying it!  He will pass it along to me when he's done and I'll fit it in somewhere.  lol

[Nan in Mass]

Jane - Well, that was a very successful ad for the movie in my family.  We'll have to keep our eyes out for it.

 

I've seen four movies recently, two on airplanes, two in the theatre.  (And we rewatched The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, after having seen Second Best.  We loved both.)  The airplane ones were Interstellar and the one about Steven Hawkins.  I guess I enjoyed them?  Sort of?  The two in theatres were Far from the Madding Crowd and Ex Machina.  I loved Ex Machina.  Far from the Madding Crowd was a mistake.  My wonderful husband "thoroughily" researched it, including spoilers, to see if it was something that I would consider entertaining.  It was NOT entertaining.  It was horrible horrible horrible.  I had my doubts when I saw what the movie was, but having successfully avoided Hardy all my life, I didn't know enough to nix it when we were on the doorstep.  It probably was a "good" movie.  I avoid good movies.  They are NOT my idea of entertainment.  I'm not sure how I would classify Ex Machina.  I guess I'm not very consistent lol.

 

I read more Japanese grammar and Ngaio Marsh's Last Ditch.

 

Nan

[Kareni]

Last night (well, early this morning), I finished Lorraine Heath's The Duke and the Lady in Red which is a historical romance.  I enjoyed it, even when it did make me cry.

 

"When Rosalind Sharpe gains the attention of the deliciously wicked Duke of Avendale, she’s torn between her distracting attraction to the notorious rogue and the knowledge that he—rich as Croesus—is the perfect target for a deception that will put her swindling days behind her.

 

However, Avendale is no fool. After he discovers the tantalizing lady packing up to leave London with his coins in tow, he confronts her with a scandalous proposition: she can have all the money she requires…for a week in his bed.

 

Desperate for the funds, Rose agrees, but on one condition: he must never question her motives. Avendale quickly sees beneath her mask and discovers she is more than passion and pleasure—she is everything he has ever desired. But claiming her requires he unveil her secrets and lose her forever. Unless he can put his own dark past aside and risk everything for a chance at love."

 

It's evidently the last in a series, but it does stand alone well.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

I'm glad to hear that Lisa McKay's Love At The Speed Of Email has found some happy readers since I first mentioned it.  (Sadly, it's no longer free to Kindle readers.)

 

Another book I read and recommended recently, Naomi Novik's Uprooted, is going to be made into a movie ~ Warner Bros and Ellen DeGeneres to Adapt Naomi Novik’s Uprooted.  You can read a review of the book here ~ Naomi Novik’s Uprooted Isn’t The Book I Expected — It’s Better.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[JennW in SoCal]

I, too, enjoyed Lisa McKay's Love at the Speed of E-mail.  I googled her after finishing the book, found her blog on the Lisa McKay Writing website, and have it book marked so I can continue to check in with her. (She's on Vanuatu with her husband and 2 kids!)  What an interesting life!   I started reading Heather Lende's blog after reading her memoir, If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name.  She and her husband unexpectedly decided to stay and live in Haines, Alaska and she started working as an obituary writer, slowly getting to know the people of her town and valley.  

 

The end of the school year left all my violin students last week zoned out either from excitement or too many finals and projects. I cancelled everything this week, the last week of school -- no need for the torture!  Went to Disneyland the other day mostly to see all the projects my oldest has been working on, but also to have some fun.  Today I've got the sewing machine out to tackle some projects, fabric spread all about, with the floor accumulating a layer of lint, threads and scraps.  

[Rosie_0801]

I just finished reading the final book in the quartet, "The Willows and Beyond" by William Horwood, to dd. And had a sniffle over it too, I did.   :crying:

[Junie]

I haven't posted in a while.  Somehow homeschooling takes precedence over reading?  :)

 

However, I was administering Stanford tests to my kiddos, so I had plenty of time to read while they filled in circles with #2 pencils.

 

 

 

The Time Machine -- H.G. Wells  -- I liked this better than I expected to.  However, I didn't expect to like it at all. ;)

 

Treasure Island -- Robert Louis Stevenson --  a great story, but it seemed so slow.  Maybe it was because it was mixed with:  "Put your pencils down.  Please turn to page whatever.  Now we are going to do a different activity.  Please read the directions to yourself as I read them aloud..."

 

My Antonia -- Willa Cather  -- I had not read this book since I was in high school, but I remembered that I loved it.  I had forgotten why.  Now, I remember.  Such a lovely story, such beautiful language.

 

Crispin:  The Cross of Lead -- Avi   -- pretty good, but very predictable

 

 

[Kareni]

Yesterday I finished Before I Fall  by Jessica Scott.  I've read a number of books by the author, and I've enjoyed them all.  She is (according to her author bio) a career Army officer who is married to a career NCO.  All of her books have characters who are or have been in the military, and their experiences seem to ring true.  She shows their camaraderie, boredom, and exhilaration; their certainty or doubts; the physical and mental damage that afflicts some; and the drug and alcohol abuse that some suffer.  (Not all of those in one book!)

 

This particular book is a new adult novel thus the main characters are in their early twenties.  (Some adult content.)

 

 

"Beth Lamont knows far too much about the harsh realities of life her gilded classmates have only read about in class. She'll do whatever it takes to take care of her father, even if that means tutoring a guy like Noah - a guy who represents everything she hates about the war, soldiers and what the Army has done to her family.

Noah Warren doesn't know how to be a student. All he knows is war. But he's going to college now to fulfill a promise and he doesn't break his promises. Except he doesn't count on his tutor being drop dead gorgeous and distracting as hell. One look at Beth threatens to unravel the careful lies Noah has constructed around him.

A simple arrangement turns into something neither of them can deny. And a war that neither of them can forget could destroy them both."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

Hello dolls, I'm still here. My allergies have lead to blocked Eustachian tubes and I feel like I'm permanently on a airplane as it changes altitude. I broke down and went to the doctor today when I couldn't understand any of our customers on the phone yesterday. Doesn't help that half were mumblers or English wasn't their first language. We'll blame their cell phones and ATT's new lousy connection for the premature hang ups. Nudge, Nudge, Wink, Wink. Will be on prednisone for the next week and had to sign my life away to get some Sudafed. So much fun getting older. mumble, mumble, roar.

 

Not reading much as I'm in the last 4 days of my classes and busy doing feedback for everyone's exercises. Yesterday, while at the homeschool store  I did pick up IEW's World Literature survey workbook for myself to study over the summer. Woohoo!  We'll see how that goes.

[Pink and Green Mom]

May I join?  I don't think I've been on this thread since last year.  I am currently way behind in my reading.  This year my 14 year old son turned completely hormonal and things were, to put it nicely, hideous.  #17 was strictly a quick read to get a book done - The Birds, by Aristophanes.  Is a 50 page book cheating?  What if it is a classic?  :lol:

 

I just started book #18 - Where Woman Are Kings, by Christie Watson.  It is about a young boy born to a Nigerian immigrant in England, who had been abused by his birth mother.  He is sent to a series of foster homes and is finally placed with an English woman and her Nigerian husband.  He believes he is possessed by a wizard that makes him do evil things.  I am all the way on page 3.

 

Favorite books of the year:

 

A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman

A History of Loneliness, by John Boyne

One Night in Winter, by Simon Sebag Montefiore

 

Least favorites:

 

The Girl on the Train

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Strangers on a Train (I loved the Alfred Hitchcock movie but the book just dragged on and on)

 

[melmichigan]

I just finished up the Riley Jensen Guardian Series by Keri Arthur.  I enjoyed it and have requested the Dark Angels Series from my library.  Right now I'm reading Independence Day (Dewey Andreas #5) by Ben Coes.

 

I don't remember reading anything by Brad Meltzer in the past.  I'll have to add him to my list of TBR.  

 

I'm also reading TOG Y2 Rhetoric.  :willy_nilly: Currently I'm working on Roman de Brut and Norse Mythology.  I know the point of TOG is to be prepared without reading everything, and I can do that with history, but I just can't discuss something in literature that I haven't read.

[Kareni]

Welcome back, Pink and Green Mom.

 

Hope you feel better soon, Robin.

 

 

Today, I re-read Sarina Bowen's The Understatement of the Year which is third in the Ivy Years series.  I'm awaiting the day my library gets book number two in the series.  I really do like this series and enjoyed the re-read.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Ausmumof3]

Can I join in?

 

Just to say that two out of three books on pink and green Mums list are on hold for me right now... Are you saying I shouldn't rush to get them? (;

 

Currently reading "where song began".

[Stacia]

Good to see you again, Pink and Green Mom. Two of your faves for this year (A Man Called Ove and One Night In Winter) have both been on my to-read list. I think I've even got Ove on hold at the library, but suspended the hold until I finish up some other books first. Of course, by the time I end up receiving it, I'll have no clue where I heard about it, what it's about, or why I wanted to read it. :lol: Reading is always an adventure (for me anyway)!

 

Robin, :grouphug:  & hope you're feeling better soon! Somehow it seems especially unfair to have to be on strong meds in the summertime!

 

I overcame the digital library loan issue of The Infatuations by going & just checking out the hard copy of the book, lol. I've made a little more progress but am still just at about halfway through. I'm also still working on In Other Rooms, Other Wonders. I also realized that I was more than halfway through Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency before I left for Hawaii, but now I don't know where I put that book. Want to get back to it because I was really enjoying it, then had to completely abandon it to pack in a hurry. So, three books in progress for me (with one of the books MIA) as my current status update...

[Stacia]

Welcome, Ausmumof3! :seeya:

[Little Nyssa]

I've put a hold on The Brendan Voyage, thank you Kareni!

 

I also put a hold on a book called Latin for Bird Lovers! I heard the author interviewed on How to do Everything and I thought, I will enjoy reading this person.

 

Still reading Alcott's thrillers. Finding them quite engaging and fun, but wishing she could have combined her two genres into one spectacular one.

[Stacia]

Hi Junie,

 

Good to see you popping in again too.

 

I, too, liked The Time Machine more than I expected. I don't know what I thought prior to reading it & had no real expectation going into it. Ds ended up really liking it (he thought the writing was great even if the story is a bit unsettling).

 

Treasure Island was actually a dud for me when I read it quite a few years ago w/ my dc. I thought I would enjoy it & just found it rougher & meaner than I expected, I guess. I really ended up not enjoying that book at all. Otoh, I love Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde; to me, it's a perfectly-written novella.

[Ausmumof3]

Welcome, Ausmumof3! :seeya:

Thank you!

 

Treasure island is another of my started but never finished...

[mumto2]

Robin, I hope you start feeling a bit better soon. For some reason my allergies just seem to be getting worse as I get older. Sudafed is my when everything else fails treatment also, well that and Benadryl. Strange how there are all these fancy new boxes lining the shelves at drug stores and it is the drugs that were around when we were kids that bring relief sometimes.

 

Welcome to all of the new and returning people who have been visiting BaW. Glad to see you and I love reading your posts. :)

 

We went down to London for a couple of days to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Dh and I honeymooned there many years ago. We had a good time taking the kis to some new to all of us sights. We rode the Emirates Air Line https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirates_Air_Line_(cable_car)for the first time. Enjoyed it so much we got back in line and did it again! Great views. I highly recommend it to those spending a few days in London.

 

I haven't finished anything of interest. I seem to be much better at checking books out then at reading them lately!

[Pink and Green Mom]

Can I join in?

 

Just to say that two out of three books on pink and green Mums list are on hold for me right now... Are you saying I shouldn't rush to get them? (;

 

Currently reading "where song began".

 

Um...well...... :lol:

 

I was number two hundred something on the hold list at the library for Girl on the Train and three hundred something for the tidy up one.  So lots of people must love them (just not me)....

 

Thanks to everyone for the welcome back!

 

I add myself to the list of people who surprisingly enjoyed Time Machine.  I did read Treasure Island as well about 15 years ago and vaguely recall liking it.  My younger son has it on his reading list for his co-op literature class this year so I expect to be re-reading it soon.

 

Looking forward to checking out lots of the books mentioned here.  I have lots of catch up reading to do.

[Rosie_0801]

Thank you!

 

Treasure island is another of my started but never finished...

 

I enjoyed the Librivox download. I wouldn't like to read it for myself though.

[Rosie_0801]

Just finished reading Terry Pratchett's 'Feet of Clay.' My life needs more Terry Pratchett. I have two more sitting here waiting for me.

[Ausmumof3]

Just finished reading Terry Pratchett's 'Feet of Clay.' My life needs more Terry Pratchett. I have two more sitting here waiting for me.

I just finished making money... Every time I think one Terry Pratchett character is my favourite another takes over.

 

First Nanny Ogg and Granny weather wax, then Sam Vines, now Moist and Spike...

[Junie]

 

Still reading Alcott's thrillers. Finding them quite engaging and fun, but wishing she could have combined her two genres into one spectacular one.

 

Louisa May Alcott wrote thrillers?!  How could I not know this?  Oh, yeah.  Public school. :)

 

Could you give me some title suggestions?

[Chrysalis Academy]

I read Treasure Island as a kid, and don't remember what I thought of it at the time, but our family listened to the audio version, read by Alfred Molina, on a long road trip a couple of years ago, and we really loved it.  He did the voices so well, and it was the rare book that engaged everyone from 6 year old dd to 40-something year old dad on a very, very long drive up the coast.  So, a Treasure.  ;)

[Kareni]

Can I join in?

 

Welcome!  It's truly a case of the more, the merrier.

 

 

I just finished making money...

 

You know, there's a danger that they can arrest you for that ....

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Chrysalis Academy]

I just finished The Clockwork Universe: Isaac Newton, The Royal Society & the Birth of the Modern World by Edward Dolnick.  This was a pre-read for dd's history of science course for next year.  It's a definite keeper.  It does a great job of examining, well, the history of science in the late Renaissance to the Early Modern period, but it takes a really refreshing approach - instead of just focusing on the scientists and their discoveries, it really tries to examine the shifting world views, philosophies, assumptions, and ways of thinking that went into this major world shift.  It helps you see inside the medieval mind, the early enlightenment mind, and that odd in-between stage where Newton and many of the scientists that shaped the early modern world lived, often in an uncomfortable shifting universe they were trying to explain.  I think we'll have lots of great discussions of this book. It will be a nice lead-in to studying modern science and surveying the current "state of the art" of science.  

 

Also, from a practical point of view, it's very well written, concise, clear, interesting, with short chapters, nice easy to understand diagrams. A little stretch, but doable for a 13 year old. It's definitely written for an adult audience, but so clearly written that I think she'll be able to follow it.  I love good science writers!  

[Little Nyssa]

Julie, I am reading a volume called Behind a Mask- the Unknown Thrillers of LMA. It is 4 novellas. But there must be lot of other books out there- she was very prolific.

[Caroline]

Just finished Hostile Witness by Rebecca Forster. Someone on here recommended it. I enjoyed. It. So thank you to... I will probably order the next couple to read at the beach in a couple of weeks.

 

Next I have Brad Metzler's first book or Judy Blume's latest about plane crashes in her hometown in the 50's. I have been reading and enjoying Judy Blume since I was in elementary school. My dd and I will probably read Are you there God, It's me, Margaret soon.

 

I need to finish a commission quilt I am working on. I spent last week putting together goodie bags for a bridal shower for a co-worker yesterday, and a house warming gift for another co-worker. So I made vanilla and lemon sugar scrubs, fun pillowcases, and a t-shirt throw pillow. So this week I will finish a tshirt quilt for a friend's son who has had a tough year.

[Jane in NC]

I too had my sewing machine out today, a great way of escaping the heat!  I did mock ups of some projects for my 4-Hers.

[Ausmumof3]

Welcome! It's truly a case of the more, the merrier.

 

 

 

You know, there's a danger that they can arrest you for that ....

 

Regards,

Kareni

Lol... I probably should be arrested for not using correct punctuation!

[Kareni]

Here's a neat article I came across today ~

 

World's Largest Book at Kuthodaw Pagoda

http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/world-s-largest-book-at-kuthodaw-pagoda

 

It's definitely not a book you'll be carrying in your backpack!  It reminds me of the money from Yap in that it's on a similar scale ~ http://www.slate.com/blogs/atlas_obscura/2013/10/15/cash_card_or_car_sized_stone_payment_options_on_the_island_of_yap.html

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Chrysalis Academy]

Today is my day for finishing books I've been working on for awhile - I finished Age of Opportunity: Lessons from the New Science of Adolescence.  It was good. Mostly preaching to the choir, but I appreciated his focus on brain science and on the fact that the most important skill for adolescents - self-regulation - also requires a lot of self-regulation/self-control by the adults in their life.  Parenting, go figure.

 

And I read Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant.  It was a very touching and poignant memoir about her parents' decline and death. Our situations are different, but I related to so much of what she wrote, in particular the heavy responsibility of an only child, and the guilt you feel when you actually need to go ahead and live your own life, too.

[6packofun]

 

Least favorites:

 

The Girl on the Train

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Strangers on a Train (I loved the Alfred Hitchcock movie but the book just dragged on and on)

 

I wanted to burn The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up because it gave me no joy.

 

And, welcome!  LOL

[Kathleen.]

I read "The Turnip Princess" by Franz Xaver von Schonwerth and my 9yo read one of her favorites "Older Than the Stars" by Karen Fox.

:)

[Robin M]

May I join?  I don't think I've been on this thread since last year.  I am currently way behind in my reading.  This year my 14 year old son turned completely hormonal and things were, to put it nicely, hideous.  #17 was strictly a quick read to get a book done - The Birds, by Aristophanes.  Is a 50 page book cheating?  What if it is a classic?  :lol:

Welcome aboard. Glad you decided to drop in.

 

I just finished up the Riley Jensen Guardian Series by Keri Arthur.  I enjoyed it and have requested the Dark Angels Series from my library.  Right now I'm reading Independence Day (Dewey Andreas #5) by Ben Coes.

 

I don't remember reading anything by Brad Meltzer in the past.  I'll have to add him to my list of TBR.  

 

I'm also reading TOG Y2 Rhetoric.  :willy_nilly: Currently I'm working on Roman de Brut and Norse Mythology.  I know the point of TOG is to be prepared without reading everything, and I can do that with history, but I just can't discuss something in literature that I haven't read.

Love Keri Arthur.  Gee thank for the mention of TOG's Y2. Just went to their site and can see where I'll be spending my time for a few hours.  Lots of books to choose from. 

 

Can I join in?

 

Just to say that two out of three books on pink and green Mums list are on hold for me right now... Are you saying I shouldn't rush to get them? (;

 

Currently reading "where song began".

Jump right in, the water's fine. 

 

Robin, I hope you start feeling a bit better soon. For some reason my allergies just seem to be getting worse as I get older. Sudafed is my when everything else fails treatment also, well that and Benadryl. Strange how there are all these fancy new boxes lining the shelves at drug stores and it is the drugs that were around when we were kids that bring relief sometimes.

 

Welcome to all of the new and returning people who have been visiting BaW. Glad to see you and I love reading your posts. :)

 

We went down to London for a couple of days to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Dh and I honeymooned there many years ago. We had a good time taking the kis to some new to all of us sights. We rode the Emirates Air Line https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirates_Air_Line_(cable_car)for the first time. Enjoyed it so much we got back in line and did it again! Great views. I highly recommend it to those spending a few days in London.

 

I haven't finished anything of interest. I seem to be much better at checking books out then at reading them lately!

Happy Anniversary and thank you.    Actifed was my go to growing up and they changed it, weakening it so I was lost after that.  Just found Wal-Act which is Walgreen's Original version of Actifed....  Yesterday I took sudafed during the day and was sleepy for most of the day.  Took it again just before I went to bed and laid awake all night.   :svengo:    I've been busy researching books for 10th grade, more than reading books.  So much fun.  Off to do a bit of reading, then hopefully a good night's sleep.  

 

 

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

[Robin M]

Link to book week 24 - please continue conversation in new thread