Book a Week 2015 - BW25: Summer is here!

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday Dear hearts:  We are on week 25 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 - Summer is here:   Welcome to Summer and happy Father's day to all our dads.  I love Ella Fitzgerald and just had to share her rendition of

.  Enjoy! 

 

Summer is a time to be lazy, rest and relax. Enjoy the beach, take a hike along the water or along a forest trail.  Maybe hit the road and explore or perhaps fly somewhere special with your special someones.  Or, we can just stay home and curl up with a good book or two or three.   I've had a couple weeks of my kid's summer lazies and already working up some summer lessons to keep us all from going crazy.  

 

So my task for you this week is to pick out one word that represents summer, get out your rusty, trusty thesaurus for a synonym and see if you can find a book in your stacks to match.  Have fun! 

 

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History of the Medieval World - Chapter 29 Pestilence pp 203 - 214

 

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What are you reading this week?

 

 

 

 

Link to week 24

 

[Robin M]

I'm inbetween books at the moment and haven't the slightest idea what I want to read.  Swann's way is on deck waiting.  Plus Lisa Cron's Wired for Story.

 

Totally wrapped up in researching 10th grade curriculum - dithering on Excellence in Literature and trying to decide what going to use for Art history.  Decisions, decisions.  :tongue_smilie:

 

[Jane in NC]

Hello my friends.

 

Let us hope we have a better week than the last.  My personal hope is that I can demonstrate a sliver of the grace shown by members of the Mother Emmanuel community in Charleston. "(T)hey lived in love and their legacies will live in love, so hate won't win." Amen.

 

Trumpet fanfare!  I have read 52 books this year!  The last was a slim novella, The Lady who Liked Clean Rest Rooms, by J.P. Dunleavy, a ribald and, well, odd little book that I bought for a friend because of the title :lol: (but had to read first).

 

With the oppressive heat and who knows what swimming in the water, I think my best strategy for coping is to hunker down with chunksters.  Thus I am getting a head's start on the Smollett readalong that VC and I said we'd do in July. 

 

Those of you who are interested in the history of the novel might want to join us or choose to read another of the great 18th century novelists. The primary list usually includes Defoe (Robinson Crusoe, Moll Flanders), Smollett (Robert Random, Humphrey Clinker), Fielding (Tom Jones, Joseph Andrews), Sternes (Tristram Shandy), Richardson (Pamela, Clarissa). 

 

Fielding is a personal favorite of mine from my late teens/early twenties.  In recent years, I was so thrilled to realize that Tom Jones was as great as I remembered it being from college days.

 

For years I had been intending to read Smollett's picaresque novel Peregrine Pickle.  How fortuitous to find a two volume set from 1895 with Cruikshank illustrations!  I have dipped my toe in.

 

I am also resolving to move forward in two chunksters started in January:  HoMW and that 13th century best seller on saints, The Golden Legend.  At the moment my bookmarks are at chapter 39 of 85 in the former, vignette 63 of 182 in the latter.

 

Given the events of the past week, it seems appropriate to pull out a volume from my dusty stacks, Scarlet Sister Mary, the Pulitzer Prize winning novel of 1929 that shocked the masses with its portrayal of a strong black woman in South Carolina's Low Country, i.e. the area near Charleston.  I'll add that to the mix too.

 

After reading an article on Scarlet Sister Mary's author, Julia Peterkin, I changed my sig line to her favorite Bible verse.  Stacia and Eliana, the article may interest you as well.

[-M-]

Hello! I was late to last week's thread, so I figured I'd repaste my post here (in case anyone is looking for book suggestions).

 

*trumpet fanfare* With a beach-read thriller this afternoon, I officially passed the halfway point in my quest to read at least 104 books in 2015.

 

The last five read:

 

â–  The Inner Circle (Brad Meltzer; 2011. 464 pages. Fiction.)
â–  Half Bad (Sally Green; 2014. 416 pages. Fiction.)
â–  Private Peaceful (Michael Morpurgo; 2003. 202 pages. Fiction.)
â–  Somewhere Towards the End: A Memoir (Diane Athill; 2009. 192 pages. Non-fiction.)
â–  Parenting Out of Control: Anxious Parents in Uncertain Times (Margaret Nelson; 2010. 276 pages. Non-fiction.)

 

Meltzer and Green deserve more than a meh from me, but I think I may be losing my taste for escape reading. Whoever linked the list of underappreciated books last week or the week before owes me three boxes of tissue for Private Peaceful... *weep, sniff, sob* A beautiful book. Athill's memoir tops my list of best books read this year (to date). (Her Stet is in my mental "The One Hundred Best Books I've Ever Read" list, so I arrived at Somewhere with high hopes.) And the parenting book, well, I picked it up nearly five years ago thinking it would offer some sociological insights into what I was observing about other parents. At this point, though, the subject no longer interests me much, and the book, as they say, told but didn't show.

 

Speaking of best books read this year, here's a mid-year assessment:

 

â–  Somewhere Towards the End: A Memoir (Diane Athill; 2009. 192 pages. Non-fiction.)

â–  All My Puny Sorrows (Miriam Toews; 2014. 330 pages. Fiction.)

â–  The Water Knife (Paolo Bacigalupi; 2015. 384 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Private Peaceful (Michael Morpurgo; 2003. 202 pages. Fiction.)

■ So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed (Jon Ronson; 2015. 304 pages. Non-fiction.)

â–  The Psychopath Test (Jon Ronson; 2011. 288 pages. Non-fiction.)
â–  The Subprimes (Karl Taro Greenfeld; 2015. 320 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Afterparty (Daryl Gregory; 2014. 304 pages. Fiction.)

 

Honorable mention:

 

â–  The Shining Girls (Lauren Beukes; 2013. 400 pages. Fiction.)
â–  Anne Boleyn (Howard Brenton; 2011. Drama.)

â–  Abroad (Katie Crouch; 2014. 304 pages. Fiction.)

â–  My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece (Annabel Pitcher; 2015. 224 pages. Fiction.)

[Jane in NC]

I mentioned in the new Opera Club thread that I would share the link, knowing that some of you do not venture much outside of this thread on the chat board.  La Traviata is the first opera to which the group will listen.  Opera Club moderator CaffeineDiary plans on posting history and introductory notes as well as links to Youtube videos.  What a great opportunity!

 

 

[-M-]

Family M-mv has enjoyed a number of adventures over the last month or so, including seeing two plays, touring Yerkes Observatory and Argonne National Laboratory, visiting our favorite museums, returning to the archery range, and taking an introductory fencing lesson. (Well, Mr. and the Misses did that last; I took photos of them taking an introductory fencing lesson. I'd like my knees to last a little longer, thankyouverymuch.) I often think of the folks who contribute to these threads while out and about -- especially when I'm seeing plays and visiting museums -- because I think (I hope not mistakenly) that these are things you would enjoy, too, and I think you'd have much of interest to say. Does that make sense? To be clearer, I deeply appreciate the conversation here, and my family and I would love to have similar conversations with you about plays and museum exhibits. (I hope that came out as kindly and enthusiastically as I intended.)

 

Anyway... Miss M-mv(i) and I are hardcore introverts with a real aversion to crowds. During a behind-the-scenes event at the Field Museum last month, we ducked into a doorway in search of a respite from the madding crowd and found ourselves in the Marie Louise Rosenthal Library. It. Was. Amazing. And I thought you folks might understand why.

 

(The following images were taken by this poster.)

[-M-]

This bit from the Athill memoir I read last week may interest you:

 

Back to books. I am puzzled by something which I believe I share with a good many other oldies: I have gone off novels. When I was young I read almost nothing else, and all through fifty years of working as a publisher fiction was my principal interest, so that nothing thrilled me more than the first work of a gifted novelist. Of course there are many novels which I remember with gratitude -- and some with awe -- and there are still some which I admire and enjoy; but over and over again, these days, even when I acknowledge that something is well written, or amusing, or clever, I start asking myself before I have gone very far into it, 'Do I want to go on with this?' and the answer is 'No.'

 

She goes on to say that this "could never apply to the giants: Tolstory, Eliot, Dickens, Proust, Flaubert, Trollope." Later she adds, "I no longer feel the need to ponder human relationships -- particularly not love affairs -- but I do still want to be fed facts, to be given material which extends the region in which my mind can wander."

 

I've been experiencing various degrees of this dissatisfaction with "newer" novels, and after reading Athill, I wonder if it's me, not them. Is anyone else seeing a shift in his/her reading preferences with age?

[mumto2]

This afternoon I finished the book I mentioned last night, The Half Brother, a novel by Holly Lecraw. Overall I liked it. It won't make my 10 best but it was a good read. A few parts dragged for me and the ending was incomplete. It just needed something more, and I am not sure what, so probably shouldn't criticize. :lol: The book centers around life at a posh New England boarding school over a couple of decades. The narrator is the new Literature teacher and the story is essentially about his struggle to feel rooted. He is a southerner by birth who through his mother's marriage into a prominent family found himself attending Harvard and eventually with his job. The poor man/boy doesn't quite feel he fits anywhere. The book is a series of flashbacks interspersed with the current which was done well. The book had some surprises which I had already guessed, possibly thanks to a review which I probably shouldn't have read. The story wasn't ruined because I wanted to see if I was right but this knowledge might be why I felt the need for more.

 

As I said yesterday when they add the novel part to the title I seem to feel the need to become a critic!

[Stacia]

M-mv, love your posts & I miss you & your posts on the weeks you are so busy. What gorgeous photos from the library & what a treat to stumble onto....

 

Jane, I agree with you on hoping this week is a better one for everyone, everywhere. Happy Summer, everyone (in the Northern Hemisphere)! Happy Winter to everyone in the Southern Hemisphere! It is oppressively hot where I am too (like Jane has mentioned) & I'm mostly avoiding the outdoors except late at night or unless I can be in the shade at all times. Lol.

 

Thanks, Jane, for the mention of Scarlet Sister Mary. I will have to look that one up. A more modern Low Country story is one I read many years ago & recommend: Gal: A True Life by Ruthie May Bolton. It is non-fiction & I can say that if you need trigger warnings (domestic violence, etc...), keep that in mind before deciding to read it. It's a great story, though.

 

Mentioned in last week's thread that I read & finished Chad Taylor's Departure Lounge. It arrived at such a nice time, including that today is my birthday so it was an early little treat. (Thanks again, Jane!) If anyone is interested in reading it, let me know & I'll get it in the mail to the next BaWer.... :)

 

I also mentioned in last week's thread that I downloaded a copy of Pope Francis' Laudato si encyclical to read. (You can read it here or download the English pdf here.) I haven't yet started it, but hope to read it sometime this week.

 

Last night I started (& am loving) Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard. I had it on my want-to-read list for a couple of years, then Kareni recommended it earlier this year (which jogged my memory about it). It used to be that my library had the second book in the series, but not the first. After Kareni's post talking about both she & her dh enjoying it, I checked the library & was shocked & happy to find that they do indeed have the first one, which I am now reading. The writing style reminds me a lot of Terry Pratchett, but with more of a horror bent. It is dark, cynical, sarcastic, intelligent, & immensely funny (imo). Jenn, if you haven't read this one yet, I think it's one you would enjoy (along w/ your ds).

 

A charmingly gothic, fiendishly funny Faustian tale about a brilliant scientist who makes a deal with the Devil, twice.

Johannes Cabal sold his soul years ago in order to learn the laws of necromancy. Now he wants it back. Amused and slightly bored, Satan proposes a little wager: Johannes has to persuade one hundred people to sign over their souls or he will be damned forever. This time for real. Accepting the bargain, Jonathan is given one calendar year and a traveling carnival to complete his task. With little time to waste, Johannes raises a motley crew from the dead and enlists his brother, Horst, a charismatic vampire to help him run his nefarious road show, resulting in mayhem at every turn.

 

[Stacia]

Jane, congrats on reaching 52! :hurray: I may join the Smollett read-along next month. I downloaded an e-copy of Peregrine Pickle back when you first mentioned it.

 

M-mv, congrats on passing your halfway mark for the year! :hurray:  I enjoyed seeing your list of faves so far (& I have All My Puny Sorrows sitting here on my shelf, so I really need to get around to it).

 

My faves so far this year are:

• The Good Lord Bird by James McBride
• The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham
• Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi
• No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
• Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams

I suspect Johannes Cabal may also join this list.... To give you a flavor of the book, here's something from the opening chapter.... :lol:

 

“Lo!" cried the demon. "I am here! What dost thou seek of me? Why dost thou disturb my repose? Smite me no more with that dread rod!" He looked at Cabal. "Where's your dread rod?"
"I left it at home," replied Cabal. "Didn't think I really needed it."
"You can't summon me without a dread rod!" said Lucifuge, appalled.
"You're here, aren't you?"
"Well, yes, but under false pretences. You haven't got a goatskin or two vervain crowns or two candles of virgin wax made by a virgin girl and duly blessed. Have you got the stone called Ematille?"
"I don't even know what Ematille is."
Neither did the demon. He dropped the subject and moved on. "Four nails from the coffin of a dead child?"
"Don't be fatuous."
"Half a bottle of brandy?"
"I don't drink brandy."
"It's not for you."
"I have a hip flask," said Cabal, and threw it to him. The demon caught it and took a dram.
"Cheers," said Lucifuge, and threw it back. They regarded each other for a long moment. "This really is a shambles," the demon added finally. "What did you summon me for, anyway?â€

 

 

[Kareni]

In honor of Father's Day, would any one care to share favorite books of one or more of their favorite fathers?

 

 

Some favorites of my father (who died several years ago) ~

 

Herman Wouk's Don't Stop the Carnival

 

Upton Sinclair's  Lanny Budd series.  The first book is World's End.

 

Winston Churchill's six volume The Second World War (book series)

 

 

 

Some favorites of my husband (another favorite father of mine!) ~

 

an all time favorite: The Patrick O'Brian Aubrey-Maturin books

 

an old favorite: Anne Rice's The Mummy or Ramses the Damned

 

a recent favorite: Andy Weir's The Martian

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Violet Crown]

Hello my friends.

 

Let us hope we have a better week than the last. My personal hope is that I can demonstrate a sliver of the grace shown by members of the Mother Emmanuel community in Charleston. "(T)hey lived in love and their legacies will live in love, so hate won't win." Amen.

 

Trumpet fanfare! I have read 52 books this year! The last was a slim novella, The Lady who Liked Clean Rest Rooms, by J.P. Dunleavy, a ribald and, well, odd little book that I bought for a friend because of the title :lol: (but had to read first).

 

With the oppressive heat and who knows what swimming in the water, I think my best strategy for coping is to hunker down with chunksters. Thus I am getting a head's start on the Smollett readalong that VC and I said we'd do in July.

 

Those of you who are interested in the history of the novel might want to join us or choose to read another of the great 18th century novelists. The primary list usually includes Defoe (Robinson Crusoe, Moll Flanders), Smollett (Robert Random, Humphrey Clinker), Fielding (Tom Jones, Joseph Andrews), Sternes (Tristram Shandy), Richardson (Pamela, Clarissa).

 

Fielding is a personal favorite of mine from my late teens/early twenties. In recent years, I was so thrilled to realize that Tom Jones was as great as I remembered it being from college days.

 

For years I had been intending to read Smollett's picaresque novel Peregrine Pickle. How fortuitous to find a two volume set from 1895 with Cruikshank illustrations! I have dipped my toe in.

 

I am also resolving to move forward in two chunksters started in January: HoMW and that 13th century best seller on saints, The Golden Legend. At the moment my bookmarks are at chapter 39 of 85 in the former, vignette 63 of 182 in the latter.

 

 

Congratulations on 52! Other favorites of mine from the 18th century are Mrs Radcliffe and her gothics, Jonathan Swift, Samuel Johnson and James Boswell, William Blake, Cleland (Fanny Hill), Rousseau, and Voltaire.

 

Still on David Copperfield, with a little distraction from T. H. White and Grassic Gibbon.

[Jane in NC]

This bit from the Athill memoir I read last week may interest you:

 

Back to books. I am puzzled by something which I believe I share with a good many other oldies: I have gone off novels. When I was young I read almost nothing else, and all through fifty years of working as a publisher fiction was my principal interest, so that nothing thrilled me more than the first work of a gifted novelist. Of course there are many novels which I remember with gratitude -- and some with awe -- and there are still some which I admire and enjoy; but over and over again, these days, even when I acknowledge that something is well written, or amusing, or clever, I start asking myself before I have gone very far into it, 'Do I want to go on with this?' and the answer is 'No.'

 

She goes on to say that this "could never apply to the giants: Tolstory, Eliot, Dickens, Proust, Flaubert, Trollope." Later she adds, "I no longer feel the need to ponder human relationships -- particularly not love affairs -- but I do still want to be fed facts, to be given material which extends the region in which my mind can wander."

 

I've been experiencing various degrees of this dissatisfaction with "newer" novels, and after reading Athill, I wonder if it's me, not them. Is anyone else seeing a shift in his/her reading preferences with age?

 

I am an unabashed novel lover but age has brought out the fussbudget in me.  One of my problems with modern novels (and journalism for that matter) is the lack of editing.  It seems that everyone is in such a hurry to produce that a thoughtful end product can be lost. 

 

Something that surprised me when looking at my reading lists for the past few years has been the number of modern novels that I have read, having thought that I was more of a "I read dead authors" type of gal.  There was a part of me that thought I should purposely move away from newer publications--but that was before I discovered Archipelago Press.  May I suggest to MMV that you consider a number of the fine modern writers in translation that the small presses are now bringing to us?  The New York Review of Books is also publishing a number of classics that may otherwise not end up in the hands of Americans.

 

We have had discussions before on the change in the young adult novel which was formerly so appealing to those of us looking for thoughtful reads.  In more recent years, Dystopia has ruled.  And not particularly interesting Dystopian stories for that matter.

[JennW in SoCal]

I've been experiencing various degrees of this dissatisfaction with "newer" novels, and after reading Athill, I wonder if it's me, not them. Is anyone else seeing a shift in his/her reading preferences with age?

 

Thank you for sharing the beautiful books from the Field Museum. (In my perfect, imaginary "other" life, I'd be a Victorian lady naturalist who would sketch or paint stunning watercolors of nature.) I love stumbling upon lost corners of libraries and museums, especially when a curator has bothered to set up something worth lingering over.  

 

As for reading preferences, definitely shifting for me, some of it coming from deepening insight and maturity that comes with aging, some of it developing as I read more.  I've never read so much or so broadly as I have in the last few years -- though my penchant for murder mysteries and Terry Pratchett sort of undermines any pretense of my being a refined and intelligent reader!! 

 

 

Last night I started (& am loving) Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard. I had it on my want-to-read list for a couple of years, then Kareni recommended it earlier this year (which jogged my memory about it). It used to be that my library had the second book in the series, but not the first. After Kareni's post talking about both she & her dh enjoying it, I checked the library & was shocked & happy to find that they do indeed have the first one, which I am now reading. The writing style reminds me a lot of Terry Pratchett, but with more of a horror bent. It is dark, cynical, sarcastic, intelligent, & immensely funny (imo). Jenn, if you haven't read this one yet, I think it's one you would enjoy (along w/ your ds).

 

:lol:   I just read this aloud to my college boy as he passed by.  He said, "Well, ok then. I see what we'll be reading next!"

 

If I leave the bookmark in his spot in Dirk Gentley's Holistic Detective Agency, I can go ahead and read it this week.  He is currently engrossed in  The Fold, but isn't as enamored with it as Peter Clines' older book 14, which my ds devoured.

 

I finally finished Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell through a combination of listening and reading.  Great book!  The ending wasn't totally satisfying, but overall it was worth 800 pages of storytelling. The writing is just stunning. The BBC adaptation which is showing this summer on BBC America isn't bad, but I'm not sticking with it as they've ruined, for me, one of the best villainous characters I've encountered on the page in quite a while, the "gentlemen with the flaxen hair", a smooth talking, dark hearted, faerie king. 

[Stacia]

I am an unabashed novel lover but age has brought out the fussbudget in me.  One of my problems with modern novels (and journalism for that matter) is the lack of editing.  It seems that everyone is in such a hurry to produce that a thoughtful end product can be lost.

 

:iagree:  Lack of editing drives me nuts!

 

But, as you mention, there are plenty of great modern novels out there & some of the small & independent presses are publishing some wonderful works. As everyone already knows, I'm a huge fan of modern novels; so, in that respect, my reading tastes haven't changed.

 

[JennW in SoCal]

In honor of Father's Day, would any one care to share favorite books of one or more of their favorite fathers?

 

It makes me a little sad to say that I have no idea what my father enjoyed reading for pleasure. He passed away when I was just a teen, but my mental image of him on summer vacations is of sitting in a lounge chair in the shade and reading -- other than the Wall Street Journal, I have no idea what books he read. It's just so different than the way we've raised our kids -- books (and movies and some tv) are things we enjoy and share. My parents, not so much.  Part of it may be a generational thing, they were raising their family in the 50s and 60s when parents had a separate life from their kids.

 

And, its kind of funny.  My own dh who works in the fictional world of super heros, does not read fiction for pleasure.  He is almost a strictly non-fiction kind of guy -- Bill Bryson, Simon Winchester and David McCullough.

 

Anyway, Kareni, I've been meaning to share this link with your dh, and with anyone else who is a fan of both Mythbusters and of The Martian.  Here is Adam Savage interviewing Andy Weir.  It is an delightful, hour long geek fest.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Wow, I didn't finish a single book this week.  I'm close on a few- two more chapters of A Wind in the Willows with Morgan, one more chapter of Sapiens with Shannon, and I'm in the midst of a bunch of pre-reads for next year, including Story of Science: Einstein, The Subtle Knife, and Brave New World.  The girls and I are also reading aloud The Dark is Rising series, and really enjoying that very much.  I feel like I did a ton of reading last week, but didn't get anything finished.  A Dance with Dragons is partly to blame for that, for sure, although I'm reading it more slowly and less obsessively as the first 4 books in the series.  I definitely get the criticism, I feel like the author has kind of lost control of his story at this point, there are more subplots popping up all over, some of which are good but many of which are just kind of distracting and confusing.

 

 

Books Read in June:

88. Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? - Roz Chast

87. Age of Opportunity: Lessons from the New Science of Adolescense - Laurence Steinberg

86. The Clockwork Universe: Isaac Newton, The Royal Society, and the Birth of the Modern World - Edward Dolnick

85. A Feast for Crows - GRR Martin

84. String, Straightedge and Shadow: The Story of Geometry - Julia Diggins

83. The Golden Compass - Phillip Pullman

82. The Adoration of Jenna Fox - Mary Pearson

81. Letters to a Young Scientist - E O Wilson

80. The Science of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials - Mary Gribbin

79. From Then Till Now: A Short History of the World - Christopher Moore

78. A Storm of Swords - GRR Martin

[Kareni]

Anyway, Kareni, I've been meaning to share this link with your dh, and with anyone else who is a fan of both Mythbusters and of The Martian.  Here is Adam Savage interviewing Andy Weir.  It is an delightful, hour long geek fest.

 

 

Thank you, Jenn!  I'll share the link with my husband.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Ali in OR]

Happy Birthday Stacia!

 

I finished the first of my kids' assigned reading--Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart for my rising sophomore's World Lit class (summer reading assignment). This is a book I would probably never have picked up on my own, but I am glad that we crossed paths--my dd's reading lists have been good for me. I thought it was wonderful. The first half went slowly for me as I was immersed in Nigerian tribal culture of the late 19th century. I read the second half in one sitting as this culture clashes with the Victorian English culture of the white missionaries who enter this world with some disastrous results. But the Nigerian culture is not all good and the Victorian culture is not all bad; I appreciated Achebe's nuance.

 

My library has a "lucky" shelf with books on display that typically have a long wait on the usual hold list. It's your "lucky" day if you find a book you've been wanting to read on that shelf. I picked up The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up mostly because I need some inspiration to attack my linen closet. I'm maybe a third of the way through and finding the author neurotic and annoying, but I will continue. She seems to love to throw things away just to throw them away. I even get the impression that she has to throw things away to make room for the new things she's buying where maybe there is more virtue in keeping what you already own and finding satisfaction with it. So anyway, not in love with her personality but will keep reading to see if she can help with the linen closet!

 

My dad will often share when he's reading something interesting. We share a love of Willa Cather; I just read Death Comes for the Archbishop because he sent it along to me. Which reminds me that I need to give him a call today to wish him a happy Father's Day and tell him how much I enjoyed the book!

[Onceuponatime]

I put aside The Pluto Files to read Dead as a Dodo by Jane Langton. Up next is Rebecca by Du Maurier, which I don't really feel like reading but is my book club assignment.

 

Speaking of changing reading habits as we age, I used to love gothic romances. I've read Rebecca multiple times, now it no longer appeals to me. It makes me want to open the windows, turn on all the lights and say,"See, there is no boogy man here." I stil like my cozy mysteries, though. They have such interesting every day ordinary people in them, even if they do attract dead bodies. But, yes I do like all my books better if I learn something or am enriched in some way.

 

As for my father, the books I remember him reading the most when I was growing up are Agatha Christie novels. He also enjoyed DuMaurier's Rule Brittania, which is different from her standard fare. A few years back I gave him a Patrick McManus book for Christmas, because of a recommendation from someone on the boards. He raved about it and swore it was just what he experienced growing up, hilarity and all.

[Jane in NC]

Happy Birthday, Stacia! 

 

The Andy Weir interview that Jenn linked is playing for my husband as I write.

 

My father died two years ago but he lives on in one of his most precious possessions that now lives with me:  his bookcase of Great Books.  My father was self educated and took great pride in these books. I have noted previously that one of my favorite memories of Dad is seeing him sitting in his chair in the living room, tears streaming down his cheeks as he laughed uproariously while reading Don Quixote, his favorite book. 

 

And now for a delightful thought, most appropriately on Stacia's birthday.  In the first episode of BBC Radio 4 Ex's series called On the Map, the artist/musician/(wackadoo?) Bill Drummond talks about this idea of a Cake Circle.  This is how it was described in an interview in the Guardian:

 

 

I have been constructing cake circles for more than 10 years now. What you do is take a map, draw a circle on the map. The centre of the circle has to be somewhere that you can bake cakes. Each cake you bake there, you then take to the edge of the circle, knock on a door; when it is answered you say: "I have baked you a cake, here it is." Now most people might love the idea of someone baking them a cake, but when you have this strange man standing in your doorway trying to give you a cake, you will undoubtedly have a lot of things going through your head. It may be all cosy in the Guardian offices when you are baking each other cakes, but out there in Bootle or the Dingle, as in when I was constructing the Liverpool Cake Circle last autumn, it can get quite confrontational.

 

That said, there have been parts of the world where I have constructed a cake circle and every door you knock on they invite you in for a meal and they get their neighbours in to meet you as well. Based on my experience, I would say that the Lebanese are the most friendly and welcoming people in the world.

 

I told my husband about this who said that I would be delivering a lot of cake to fish should I choose to do it!

 

 

[Negin]

Stacia, Happy, Happy Birthday!  :grouphug:

 

I read 84, Charing Cross Road & its sequel The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street - 3 Stars - I’d probably give this 3 1/2 stars, but 3 is fine also. This was an entertaining, easy, and quick read, based on a series of letters written between a woman in New York and the people who run a book shop in England. 

 

MY RATING SYSTEM

5 Stars

Fantastic, couldn't put it down

4 Stars

Really Good

3 Stars

Enjoyable

2 Stars

Just Okay – nothing to write home about

1 Star

Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

 

[Onceuponatime]

double post.

[Onceuponatime]

Stacia, Happy, Happy Birthday! :grouphug:

 

I read 84, Charing Cross Road & its sequel The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street - 3 Stars - I’d probably give this 3 1/2 stars, but 3 is fine also. This was an entertaining, easy, and quick read, based on a series of letters written between a woman in New York and the people who run a book shop in England.

 

MY RATING SYSTEM

5 Stars

Fantastic, couldn't put it down

4 Stars

Really Good

3 Stars

Enjoyable

2 Stars

Just Okay – nothing to write home about

1 Star

Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

I love this book.

[Chrysalis Academy]

My dad was a voracious reader of nonfiction - mostly religious and psychology/counseling type texts.  He later became a pastor, and had sort of been training for it his whole life.  I don't remember ever seeing him read a fiction book.  I learned a lot from books on his shelves - I remember reading I'm OK/You're OK as a kid, that was something I pulled off his shelves.  Oh, he had a pretty good dose of humor books, too - things like Pogo and Art Linkletter's Kids Say the Darndest Things.  I think he probably turned me on to The Screwtape Letters when I was a teenager. I know he's been reading a lot of C.S. Lewis lately, since he has retired, and he did mention having read the Space trilogy, but that's about the only fiction I can remember him talking about.

[mumto2]

Last night I started (& am loving) Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard. I had it on my want-to-read list for a couple of years, then Kareni recommended it earlier this year (which jogged my memory about it). It used to be that my library had the second book in the series, but not the first. After Kareni's post talking about both she & her dh enjoying it, I checked the library & was shocked & happy to find that they do indeed have the first one, which I am now reading. The writing style reminds me a lot of Terry Pratchett, but with more of a horror bent. It is dark, cynical, sarcastic, intelligent, & immensely funny (imo). Jenn, if you haven't read this one yet, I think it's one you would enjoy (along w/ your ds).

What an odd coincidence, I read the first chapter in Johannes Cabel this afternoon while hunting for my next book. Still haven't decided what I want to do. I did enjoy the first chapter but had decided to return it to the list. Now you have me thinking I should continue since you are reading it. Decisions......

 

MMV -- I love the pictures. Dd and I always spend the majority of our time looking at the books when we visit historic houses. It is fascinating to see what the families read, what languages, and how that ties in with the overall feel of the place.

 

Father's in my life and their reading habits....

 

Dh is mainly factual/current events and does a majority of his reading online.

 

My father loved the outdoors and subscribed to a huge number of magazines. Everything from Mother Earth News to National Geographic, including a huge geographical range of hunting and fishing periodicals. I grew up surrounded by stacks magazines. He also had a huge collection of Western novels. Loved Louis L'amour.

 

My fil loved to read books, the chunkier the better. He adored anything by Michael Creighton. He loved historical books like Rutherford's Sarum which is on my list of planned books for the year in honour of fil. He always had a quote from one of his favourite books for most occasions.

[mumto2]

Stacia, Happy Birthday!

 

Jane, I can't imagine a cake circle working. Even in this country I can't believe it works. While people love home baked cakes and happily dig in at social events I don't think they would react well to a stranger at their door with a cake. Generally you always know who baked what you are eating even if you don't know the person. Occasionally I get a compliment from someone I don't know for something dd or I baked that they ate months ago. People pay attention. Although if he is making really nice Victoria Sponges it might work. :lol: I wonder if people are so shocked they take the cake so the crazy person goes away......

[Just Robyn]

Congrats Jane and M-MV on reaching 52, and Happy Birthday Stacia!  :party:

 

I finished several books over the last week.

 

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee which my ds is still reading. I'm so glad I finally read this. Love how the pace of the story reminds me of a southern drawl (without boring me). 

 

Karate Chop by Dorthe Nors. This is a collection of short stories, not flash but on the shorter side of short. They had a poetic feel, were character-focused. They all interested me, but none of them got to me emotionally.

 

Blood Lyrics by Katie Ford. This book of poems was hit and miss. Some poems I loved, others I read a few times wondering what I was missing, but never found anything to like. Here are a couple of shorter poems that I really liked.

 

Song of the Thimble

 

Here is the whiskey taken down from my cupboard.

It tastes of caramel and heat and miners and sea.

Maybe a mother with love long on the brink

will knock at my door to talk of tubes, taps, fusions,

to say yes-mine-lived-yours-might-too.

But there's no such knock tonight.

 

I pour just a thimble

(clean milk is due the nurse by dawn)

and drink what will not grow thin.

Again in my mind

I pour it, I pour it, I drink.

 

 

Choir

 

I once believed in heavenly clarity -- 

do you know how good it is to sing

of certainty, the wild apricot

of the heart orange, large, full of reach

at day's unlatch?

Inside the mouth, certainty

is a fruit breaking apart.

That is how good it feels:

we would have despised anyone

to keep our song.

 

___________________________

 

I also read The Complete Poems of Sappho. I love this fragment, which the translator titles "Dancers at a Kritan Altar."

 

Kritan women once danced supplely

around a beautiful altar with light feet

 

crushing the soft flowers of grass

 

____________________________________

 

And I enjoyed her line breaks in poems in which she used what we now call Sapphic Stanzas. For example:

 

Some say cavalry and others claim

infantry or a fleet of long oars

is the supreme sight on the black earth

     I say it is

 

the one you love. And easily proved.

Didn't Helen, who far surpassed

all in beauty, desert the best of men

     her husband and king

 

...

 

_________________________________-

 

Then today I read Medea by Euripides. And I am currently reading Letters to a Young Poet by Rilke. 

 

My father's favorite books. He died when I was very young, so I don't know much, but I know he had a copy of The Bible (KJV) and a copy of Slaughterhouse-Five. It was finding the second book in the basement that started my love of Vonnegut. 

 

[Robin M]

Hello my friends.

 

Let us hope we have a better week than the last.  My personal hope is that I can demonstrate a sliver of the grace shown by members of the Mother Emmanuel community in Charleston. "(T)hey lived in love and their legacies will live in love, so hate won't win." Amen.

 

Trumpet fanfare!  I have read 52 books this year!  The last was a slim novella, The Lady who Liked Clean Rest Rooms, by J.P. Dunleavy, a ribald and, well, odd little book that I bought for a friend because of the title :lol: (but had to read first).

 

With the oppressive heat and who knows what swimming in the water, I think my best strategy for coping is to hunker down with chunksters.  Thus I am getting a head's start on the Smollett readalong that VC and I said we'd do in July. 

 

Those of you who are interested in the history of the novel might want to join us or choose to read another of the great 18th century novelists. The primary list usually includes Defoe (Robinson Crusoe, Moll Flanders), Smollett (Robert Random, Humphrey Clinker), Fielding (Tom Jones, Joseph Andrews), Sternes (Tristram Shandy), Richardson (Pamela, Clarissa). 

 

Fielding is a personal favorite of mine from my late teens/early twenties.  In recent years, I was so thrilled to realize that Tom Jones was as great as I remembered it being from college days.

 

For years I had been intending to read Smollett's picaresque novel Peregrine Pickle.  How fortuitous to find a two volume set from 1895 with Cruikshank illustrations!  I have dipped my toe in.

 

I am also resolving to move forward in two chunksters started in January:  HoMW and that 13th century best seller on saints, The Golden Legend.  At the moment my bookmarks are at chapter 39 of 85 in the former, vignette 63 of 182 in the latter.

 

Given the events of the past week, it seems appropriate to pull out a volume from my dusty stacks, Scarlet Sister Mary, the Pulitzer Prize winning novel of 1929 that shocked the masses with its portrayal of a strong black woman in South Carolina's Low Country, i.e. the area near Charleston.  I'll add that to the mix too.

 

After reading an article on Scarlet Sister Mary's author, Julia Peterkin, I changed my sig line to her favorite Bible verse.  Stacia and Eliana, the article may interest you as well.

Amen, dear heart!   Congratulation on 52 books so far.  My poor brain has not been in a classic mood unfortunately so will leave you in charge of leading the charge with the Smollett read for July.   I might dive in. We'll see how my writing classes go.  Thank for you for link to the article.

 

Hello! I was late to last week's thread, so I figured I'd repaste my post here (in case anyone is looking for book suggestions).

 

*trumpet fanfare* With a beach-read thriller this afternoon, I officially passed the halfway point in my quest to read at least 104 books in 2015.

 

The last five read:

 

â–  The Inner Circle (Brad Meltzer; 2011. 464 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Half Bad (Sally Green; 2014. 416 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Private Peaceful (Michael Morpurgo; 2003. 202 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Somewhere Towards the End: A Memoir (Diane Athill; 2009. 192 pages. Non-fiction.)

â–  Parenting Out of Control: Anxious Parents in Uncertain Times (Margaret Nelson; 2010. 276 pages. Non-fiction.)

 

Meltzer and Green deserve more than a meh from me, but I think I may be losing my taste for escape reading. Whoever linked the list of underappreciated books last week or the week before owes me three boxes of tissue for Private Peaceful... *weep, sniff, sob* A beautiful book. Athill's memoir tops my list of best books read this year (to date). (Her Stet is in my mental "The One Hundred Best Books I've Ever Read" list, so I arrived at Somewhere with high hopes.) And the parenting book, well, I picked it up nearly five years ago thinking it would offer some sociological insights into what I was observing about other parents. At this point, though, the subject no longer interests me much, and the book, as they say, told but didn't show.

 

Speaking of best books read this year, here's a mid-year assessment:

 

â–  Somewhere Towards the End: A Memoir (Diane Athill; 2009. 192 pages. Non-fiction.)

â–  All My Puny Sorrows (Miriam Toews; 2014. 330 pages. Fiction.)

â–  The Water Knife (Paolo Bacigalupi; 2015. 384 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Private Peaceful (Michael Morpurgo; 2003. 202 pages. Fiction.)

■ So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed (Jon Ronson; 2015. 304 pages. Non-fiction.)

â–  The Psychopath Test (Jon Ronson; 2011. 288 pages. Non-fiction.)

â–  The Subprimes (Karl Taro Greenfeld; 2015. 320 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Afterparty (Daryl Gregory; 2014. 304 pages. Fiction.)

 

Honorable mention:

 

â–  The Shining Girls (Lauren Beukes; 2013. 400 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Anne Boleyn (Howard Brenton; 2011. Drama.)

â–  Abroad (Katie Crouch; 2014. 304 pages. Fiction.)

â–  My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece (Annabel Pitcher; 2015. 224 pages. Fiction.)

Yeah for reaching your halfway point and taking it slowly this year, reading with deliberation and enjoying your reads.  Something I need to try to do.  I always love reading your lists - more books to add to my wishlist.

 

Family M-mv has enjoyed a number of adventures over the last month or so, including seeing two plays, touring Yerkes Observatory and Argonne National Laboratory, visiting our favorite museums, returning to the archery range, and taking an introductory fencing lesson. (Well, Mr. and the Misses did that last; I took photos of them taking an introductory fencing lesson. I'd like my knees to last a little longer, thankyouverymuch.) I often think of the folks who contribute to these threads while out and about -- especially when I'm seeing plays and visiting museums -- because I think (I hope not mistakenly) that these are things you would enjoy, too, and I think you'd have much of interest to say. Does that make sense? To be clearer, I deeply appreciate the conversation here, and my family and I would love to have similar conversations with you about plays and museum exhibits. (I hope that came out as kindly and enthusiastically as I intended.)

 

This bit from the Athill memoir I read last week may interest you:

 

Back to books. I am puzzled by something which I believe I share with a good many other oldies: I have gone off novels. When I was young I read almost nothing else, and all through fifty years of working as a publisher fiction was my principal interest, so that nothing thrilled me more than the first work of a gifted novelist. Of course there are many novels which I remember with gratitude -- and some with awe -- and there are still some which I admire and enjoy; but over and over again, these days, even when I acknowledge that something is well written, or amusing, or clever, I start asking myself before I have gone very far into it, 'Do I want to go on with this?' and the answer is 'No.'

 

She goes on to say that this "could never apply to the giants: Tolstory, Eliot, Dickens, Proust, Flaubert, Trollope." Later she adds, "I no longer feel the need to ponder human relationships -- particularly not love affairs -- but I do still want to be fed facts, to be given material which extends the region in which my mind can wander."

 

I've been experiencing various degrees of this dissatisfaction with "newer" novels, and after reading Athill, I wonder if it's me, not them. Is anyone else seeing a shift in his/her reading preferences with age?

 

Yes to the bolded and always love the rabbit trails the discussions lead us on, so chat away.  

 

My reading repertoire has expanded with age or maybe as I've gain wisdom, although I do tend to go through periods of reading only fluff, depending on what's going on in life.  Right now fluff is all about it can handle, but yearning for more depth. 

 

 

Jane, I agree with you on hoping this week is a better one for everyone, everywhere. Happy Summer, everyone (in the Northern Hemisphere)! Happy Winter to everyone in the Southern Hemisphere! It is oppressively hot where I am too (like Jane has mentioned) & I'm mostly avoiding the outdoors except late at night or unless I can be in the shade at all times. Lol.

 

 

Mentioned in last week's thread that I read & finished Chad Taylor's Departure Lounge. It arrived at such a nice time, including that today is my birthday so it was an early little treat. (Thanks again, Jane!) If anyone is interested in reading it, let me know & I'll get it in the mail to the next BaWer.... :)

 

I also mentioned in last week's thread that I downloaded a copy of Pope Francis' Laudato si encyclical to read. (You can read it here or download the English pdf here.) I haven't yet started it, but hope to read it sometime this week.

 

Happy, happy birthday, darlin'   -  hope you have had an awesome day.   Happy summer solstice. We're working on sprinklers today.   Yes, I bookmarked the encyclical and will be reading a bit at a time.

[Kareni]

Anyway, Kareni, I've been meaning to share this link with your dh, and with anyone else who is a fan of both Mythbusters and of The Martian.  Here is Adam Savage interviewing Andy Weir.  It is an delightful, hour long geek fest.

 

It was indeed a delightful way to spend an hour.  My husband and I watched the interview with pleasure this afternoon.  Thanks again, Jenn!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Butter]

80% through Les Mis.  I still dislike Marius.  He just annoys the heck out of me.  Eddie Redmayne made me dislike him a little less by his portrayal of him in the movie version, but I've determined Marius is just plain annoying.

[Pink and Green Mom]

What a great idea to talk about father's reading for Father's Day!  My dad reads Tom Clancy and Vince Flynn.  In the 20 years I have known him, my husband has read exactly 0 (zero) books.  My younger son issued a challenge to him - he has to read one book this summer.  With chapters.  And it has to be at least 100 pages and it has to be fiction.  We'll see how this goes.

 

I'm still behind but did finish the 500 page # 20 - The Truth According to Us, by Annie Barrows.  It was one of those books where you felt like you were sitting face to face with the characters in their living room.  I like that in a book.

 

I have started reading The Rise and Fall of Great Powers, by Tom Rachman. So far I am enjoying it, but the chapters alternate between time periods and I really hate it when books do that. 

[Stacia]

Thanks for the b-day wishes, everyone. It was a very low-key day.

 

Re: 'father' reading....

 

My dad has always really liked Stephen King, Tom Clancy, & any kind of military history books. He also sometimes enjoys classics like works by Twain, Dickens, & Stoker. He reads the newspaper too, as well as reading quite a few articles online.

 

My dh likes to read books by Lee Child & is currently reading Brad Thor's books. He's also read some horror/fantasy books that our local barista published, even though that's definitely not his genre of choice. He likes books by Le Carre & other 'spy' type novels. He likes magazines like Time & the newspaper too.

 

My fil reads quite a bit of modern fiction, some non-fiction, as well as a wide variety of other books, newspapers, & magazines. For example, years ago, he was the one who recommended Sarah Dunant to me after he read Birth of Venus. He read all the Harry Potter books (because my nephew, the oldest grandchild, was the perfect age when they originally came out; my fil really enjoyed them because he knows Latin & Greek & found all the names & spells in there quite fun). Lately, I know he's read Life After Life & some others.

 

I don't remember either of my grandfathers reading much, though my maternal grandfather always read the paper, Reader's Digest, & the Bible. My paternal grandfather read the newspaper.

[Chrysalis Academy]

My dh has been reading the Master and Commander series for a couple of years now.  He is more of a doer than a sit-and-read kind of guy, but he has really enjoyed this series and I like that the girls have seen him reading more, since he's started this series.  It's good for that to be on their unconscious list of things good men do, IMHO. 

[SKL]

I finished Go Tell it On the Mountain.  It was pretty good, though the ending kind of left me hanging.

 

Now I'm starting The Sea Wolf by Jack London.  It started out good, but it's starting to feel like more of a social commentary than a story, so we'll see how it goes.

[Kareni]

Last night I finished Fall With Me  by Jennifer L. Armentrout

 

"Eleven months ago, bartender and weird-shirt-wearing extraordinaire Roxy and Officer Reece Anders had a one night stand. Well, kind of. She's been in love with him since she was fifteen, and he wishes that night they shared never happened. She's sworn him off forever, but the past and future collide, forcing her to rely on the one man who broke her heart not once, but twice.

 

Her best friend since birth has been in a long-term care facility since he became a victim of a hate crime years ago, and the person who put him in there is out of prison and wanting to make amends with him and Roxy. She's not sure she has room for forgiveness in her and when she begins to receive frightening messages and is on the receiving end of escalating violence, she thinks she knows who is to blame. The man who already destroyed one life already.

But Reece isn't convinced. The threats are too personal, and even if Roxy doesn't believe him, he's not willing to let anyone hurt her. Including himself. He's already messed up more than once when it comes to Roxy and he's not going to let history repeat itself."

 

 

It was a pleasant enough read, but .... 

 

I see this starred review "Bestseller Jennifer L. Armentrout shines with this tight, suspenseful new adult tale, the fourth in her Wait for You saga...Readers will speed-read to find out what happens next to Armentrout’s powerfully appealing characters." (Publishers Weekly (starred review)), and I think that reading two books (in a row) featuring serial killers might be too much.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kim in Appalachia]

I finished The Water Knife, by Paolo Bacigalupi 2 weeks ago. I enjoyed it, a lot.  He does a good job creating a world and building characters.  I liked, Wind Up Girl, more than The Water Knife, but I think that's because Wind Up Girl's world was more expansive. But I still loved The Water Knife.Water, as a limited resource, has always facinated me.  I was fortunate enough in college to have a geology professor who specialized in it, and I loved going to his class and hearing his lectures, even though I was a Bus Admin/finance major. :)  And Bacigalupi's book was a great exploration of the consequences of our misuse of water as a limited resource, especially in regards to the Colorado River.  

 

I just started a book 2 days ago called, Solo Faces, by James Salter.  Somehow, I had not heard of this great American writer until his passing. I immediately went to my library's "Unbounded" website and borrowed one of his books.  It's a short novel, about a rock climber. He does write well.  His sentences are beautifully crafted.  

 

When I finish that book I will probably start in on another Kate Atkinson novel.  

[Kim in Appalachia]

I forgot to add that my favorite book I've read this year has to be The Painter, by Peter Heller.  The Water Knife, as well as All the Light we can not See are also in tops spots.

 

It's been a slow reading year.  I've read 11 books so far. I normally read between 25 to 30 books a year, so I need to get going. 

[Chrysalis Academy]

Kim, I'm impatiently waiting for my hold of The Water Knife to come through. I'm glad you enjoyed it!  I bet it and Station 11 will arrive on the same day, and I'll have a hard time deciding which to read first.

[idnib]

Checking in...

 

I didn't finish any books last week. 

 

I'm currently working on Four Quartets, Insight Out, The Zero Game (almost done), and Suspended Sentences.

 

Has anyone read Suspended Sentences? I'm really enjoying it. It's the kind of writing that makes me imagine the light in the scene, whether it's dim lighting for cocktails or bright light pouring into a photographer's studio.

 

I picked up the book Rose recommended last week re: history of humans. I was in the bookstore to get a Father's Day present for FIL and there it was! I can't remember the name. (It's in my trunk and my car is parked on the next block for street sweeping.) As an aside, I love the paper stock they chose.

 

June was supposed to be my month to read education-related stuff (educational philosophy, teaching Shakespeare, etc) but it's not happening. Maybe late-July to August will be better so it's fresh in my mind.

 

Re: DH's reading: He likes Tom Clancy, Lee Child, Patrick O'Brien,Neil Stephenson, Neil Gaiman, computer and technology books, non-fiction books about the intersection of society and technology, and any books about the Golden Age of Sail. He also reads The Economist cover-to-cover each week. He's a voracious reader and very fast too. I'm a bit jealous about his speed.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Is it Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind?

 

http://www.amazon.com/Sapiens-Humankind-Yuval-Noah-Harari/dp/0062316095/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1434996077&sr=8-1&keywords=sapiens+a+brief+history+of+humankind

 

We're going to finish that book this week. We've really enjoyed it, extremely thought-and-discussion provoking.

[idnib]

Is it Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind?

 

http://www.amazon.com/Sapiens-Humankind-Yuval-Noah-Harari/dp/0062316095/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1434996077&sr=8-1&keywords=sapiens+a+brief+history+of+humankind

 

We're going to finish that book this week. We've really enjoyed it, extremely thought-and-discussion provoking.

 

Yup, that's the one! I'm not sure where to fit it into our studies. We're doing a 4-year cycle and just finishing up the ancients. I think I might just work on it outside of school as a fun type of a book. Did you do it as a read aloud?

[Chrysalis Academy]

Yes, we did it as a read aloud.  It's really meaty, with lots to discuss.  We read it over several months, it was a nice capstone to our Big History studies this year.  It was really a little over her head as a 7th grader, or would have been had we not discussed the content a lot, it's more of a high school/adult level read really.  And it's definitely a challenge to *whatever* worldview you might hold - whether it's religious, scientific, capitalist, liberal, or whatever.  Like I said, it's very thought provoking.

[idnib]

Yes, we did it as a read aloud.  It's really meaty, with lots to discuss.  We read it over several months, it was a nice capstone to our Big History studies this year.  It was really a little over her head as a 7th grader, or would have been had we not discussed the content a lot, it's more of a high school/adult level read really.  And it's definitely a challenge to *whatever* worldview you might hold - whether it's religious, scientific, capitalist, liberal, or whatever.  Like I said, it's very thought provoking.

 

Hmm. I'm thinking I should wait then to read it together. I've only got a 5th grader and then if it works well, I'll be re-reading it with DD later.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Hmm. I'm thinking I should wait then to read it together. I've only got a 5th grader and then if it works well, I'll be re-reading it with DD later.

 

That sounds like a smart plan.

[Kareni]

My library has different summer reading programs for children, teens, and adults.  I'm enjoying the adult reading program which has a bingo type board; one of the squares requires that a graphic novel be read.  (Other squares require that one read a work of non-fiction, a book set in the future, a poem by my state's poet laureate, a work to learn something new, and so on.)

 

Today I read the graphic novel A Game for Swallows: To Die, to Leave, to Return   by Zeina Abirached.  I enjoyed it and recommend it for young readers and others.

 

"When Zeina was born, the civil war in Lebanon had been going on for six years, so it's just a normal part of life for her and her parents and little brother. The city of Beirut is cut in two by bricks and sandbags, threatened by snipers and shelling. East Beirut is for Christians, and West Beirut is for Muslims. When Zeina's parents don't return from a visit to the other half of the city, and the bombing grows ever closer, the neighbors in her apartment house create a world indoors for Zeina and her brother, where they can share cooking lessons and games and gossip. Together they try to make it through a dramatic evening in the one place they hoped they would always be safe—home. Zeina Abirached, born into a Lebanese Christian family in 1981, has collected her childhood memories of Beirut in a warm story about the strength of family and community."

 

And from School Library Journal

 

Gr 5 Up- "Zeina and her younger brother are growing up in Beirut, where civil war is a part of daily life. To protect against strikes and sniper fire, the family's living space has been reduced to the relative security of their apartment foyer, where a rug hanging on the wall, depicting Moses and the Hebrews fleeing Egypt, figures predominantly as a story background. This account chronicles one day in their lives, as the siblings await their parents' return and neighbors come and spend time with them, building an island of sanctuary for the children during this time of uncertainty. Bold, graphic, black-and-white images are visually and emotionally striking. Excellent use of maps and diagrams provides reference points and enhances understanding of spatial relationships. Unique panel placement includes several sequences of horizontal strips, read as columns. Images portray elapsed time, such as repeated smoking and countdown panels, and control pacing while revealing mounting tension. Excruciating wait time is depicted with cumulative "tic" and "toc" filling successive panels. Circular images of an embracing family contrast with the stark linear images of a war-torn country. Warmth and humor of daily life is shown in baking and storytelling, and wedding-dress close-ups touchingly highlight a mother's worry over soiling the hem, masking her worry over sniper fire. This superb memoir is destined to become a classic." -Babara M. Moon, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, NY뱩 Copyright 2011.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

I also finished a contemporary romance today -- A Little Too Much which I enjoyed.  It's second in the A Little Too Far series though it could stand alone.  (Adult content.)

 

"In the follow-up to Lisa Desrochers' explosive new adult novel A Little Too Far, Alessandro Moretti must face the life he escaped and the girl he left behind.

 

Twenty-two-year-old Hilary McIntyre would like nothing more than to forget her past. As a teenager abandoned to the system, she faced some pretty dark times. But now that's all behind her. Hilary has her life on track, and there's no way she'll head down that road again.

 

Until Alessandro Moretti—the one person who can make her remember—shows up on her doorstep. He's even more devastatingly gorgeous than before, and he's much too close for comfort. Worse, he sees right through the walls she's built over these last eight years, right into her heart and the secrets she's guarding.

 

As Hilary finds herself falling back in love with the man who, as a boy, both saved and destroyed her, she must decide: Past or future? Truth or lies?"

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

Kareni, our library is doing a similar thing, but our bingo categories are different - we are supposed to read a book about a hero, a banned book, a book we should have read in high school, a book set in another country, a book of poetry, a biography, and a couple of other categories. It's kind of fun.  I'm reading Brave New World for my banned book, and enjoying it very much - way more than I did in high school.

 

I'm starting to wonder if it's a good idea to have kids read the classics.  Seriously - I read a fair number of them in my tweens, teens, and twenties, but I swear each one I revisit now has so much more going on than I even had the slightest clue of at the time.  And they are so connected, which I mostly went over my head at the time, too.  I feel like I'm just starting to be equipped to eavesdrop in the Great Conversation.

 

I mean, I guess you have to read them at some point to start having something to make connections with, right?  I guess the key is to never, ever let a kid think that they are reading these books to check them off, like they will somehow be "done" with them.  Ever.  But so much is wasted on the young . . . 

[Kareni]

Kareni, our library is doing a similar thing, but our bingo categories are different - we are supposed to read a book about a hero, a banned book, a book we should have read in high school, a book set in another country, a book of poetry, a biography, and a couple of other categories. It's kind of fun. 

 

A book set in another country is one of the bingo squares on my card, too.  I do like some of your other choices.  Other squares on my library's card have to do with the community in which I live.  For example, visit the museum in our town, read in one of the local community parks for an hour, attend a local art event, and so on. 

 

Does your library offer prizes?  The grand prize here is a Kindle and there are lesser prizes of gift certificates to a few local restaurants and to the local recreation department.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Pink and Green Mom]

Kareni, our library is doing a similar thing, but our bingo categories are different - we are supposed to read a book about a hero, a banned book, a book we should have read in high school, a book set in another country, a book of poetry, a biography, and a couple of other categories. It's kind of fun.  I'm reading Brave New World for my banned book, and enjoying it very much - way more than I did in high school.

 

I'm starting to wonder if it's a good idea to have kids read the classics.  Seriously - I read a fair number of them in my tweens, teens, and twenties, but I swear each one I revisit now has so much more going on than I even had the slightest clue of at the time.  And they are so connected, which I mostly went over my head at the time, too.  I feel like I'm just starting to be equipped to eavesdrop in the Great Conversation.

 

I mean, I guess you have to read them at some point to start having something to make connections with, right?  I guess the key is to never, ever let a kid think that they are reading these books to check them off, like they will somehow be "done" with them.  Ever.  But so much is wasted on the young . . . 

 

I agree with you 100 percent.  I remember in high school the absolute worst book I ever, ever, EVER had to read was A Tale of Two Cities.  Thought it was horrendous.  I believe tears were involved at some point because I just didn't get it.  Then, as a grown up (or at least in my late 20s) I subscribed to the Easton Press' 100 Greatest Books Ever Written and promised myself I would read every single one.  The second book I received was - you guessed it - A Tale of Two Cities.  I have since read about 60 of those 100 books as an adult and A Tale of Two Cities is one of my favorites (if not the favorite).