Book a Week 2015 - BW25: Summer is here!

[Chrysalis Academy]

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

 

Yep, gift certificates to local restaurants mostly.  The Kindle is a prize in the Teen Read, but not the adult one.  I just remembered the other categories - a book that was turned into a movie, and a book you can read in one day.  Not bad choices.  There seems to be a big Hero theme.  I haven't decided what I'll read for my book about a Hero.

[idnib]

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 . . . 

 

Yes! I am now able to listen to the Great Conversation from around the corner with a tin can and a string. I had to live so much life before I started to get it.

 

I think it's good to not approach classics as checklist items. Maybe for our children, we should give them permission to drop classics that don't speak to them and focus deeply on a few that do.

[Rosie_0801]

My mum fed me a steady diet of kids classics when I was young. I didn't grow up "knowing" there was a difference between classics and "normal" books. I think it is good to have kids read classics so they don't compartmentalise them and become intimidated.

[Kareni]

There seems to be a big Hero theme. 

 

My two local libraries also have a Heroes theme.  It might be an ALA thing.

 

Does anyone's library have a different theme?

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Ali in OR]

We don't have anything for adults at our library, but there was a picture in the paper of the opening day celebration for the kids' program and the theme was heroes. They included firemen, policemen, and soldiers in their opening celebration.

 

My dd's freshman honors English course this year had an overarching theme of "what makes a hero" for spring semester. And they read books like To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men, so heroes were not super heroes, war heroes, etc. I know dd argued in an essay that George was a hero in Of Mice and Men. I personally think Atticus Finch makes a good hero.

[mumto2]

My mum fed me a steady diet of kids classics when I was young. I didn't grow up "knowing" there was a difference between classics and "normal" books. I think it is good to have kids read classics so they don't compartmentalise them and become intimidated.

I agree. I will say it depends on the child on the outcome. Telling dd "It's a classic and you might like it" means she checks it out of the library and is reading it within the week. With ds I can literally see the book being scratched off his mental list's of books. Not sure what the difference regarding early exposure could be because we did literature together for years....perhaps the ages, with ds being younger when we read things? He loved all books, even classics, until he hit the sleepy boy teen stage. Hoping things change in the future.

 

Our summer reading challenge is nationwide. Titled Record Breakers as in Guinness Book. Tons of activities planned. Hoping to attract boys.http://readingagency.org.uk/children/news/record-breakers-announced-as-2015-summer-reading-challenge-theme.html. Dd will be working at the events locally. She had the interview and it went well, maybe too well. The ball ended up in her court with her needing to figure out how much she can handle because they would like her at other area libraries also.....honestly, the answer is she can easily work on what she started wanting to do, the events in our village library, maybe a couple of others. Things have a bad habit of growing.

[Loesje22000]

I finished:

http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Ark-Anne-Provoost-ebook/dp/B005ES454A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1435054210&sr=8-1&keywords=Anne+provoost

 

This week.

i will put it on dd's readinglist next year.

 

And I read 'Red snow in december':

http://www.amazon.com/sneeuw-december-Dutch-Simone-vlugt-ebook/dp/B00O10Z67M/ref=sr_1_28?ie=UTF8&qid=1435054334&sr=8-28&keywords=Simone+van+de+vlugt

 

Also for dd's booklist next year.

The Dutch list is done, now for French, German and English...

[Rosie_0801]

I bought a new Terry Pratchett book. Healthier than chocolate, isn't it?

[Jane in NC]

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.

 

:blushing:  VC, should our gentle readers receive a warning?  ;)

 

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......

 

Jane envisions the BAW cake circle in which I ring your door bell and say, "I wanted to bake you a cake but traveling the distance to your door prevented it.  But here I am."

 

Of course, we could press books into strangers' hands. 

 

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.)

 

 

Hero theme for kids at my library; no adult summer reading programs. 

 

 

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 . . . 

 

Which reminds me of the WEM approach:  the first read through is the "grammar stage" introduction to plot and character.  Analysis begins with the second reading, i.e. the "logic stage". It is not until the "rhetoric stage" that we readers truly join the Great Conversation.

 

It seems with classics or any piece of art for that matter, one is not really rereading the book, etc. but encountering it anew with fresh eyes from the experience that life brings us. 

 

There is a parallel with travel. Some people approach travel as a check off list--seven countries in ten days.  Check, check, check.  Others return to Rome or Yosemite regularly to see seasonal variations or discover new allies and pathways.  I am the latter sort of personality but I know several people who are very much the former.

[Kareni]

Last night I finished Lisa Desrochers' A Little Too Hot  which is the third book in her A Little Too Far series; I enjoyed it.  (Adult content.)  Sometimes books in a series have a tendency to retread the same ground, but the three books in this series have different settings (Rome, NYC, and the San Francisco bay area) and tell very different stories.

 

"If you play with fire …

 

Tossed out of college and cut off by her parents, Samantha West is in pretty dire straits. So when her rocker best friend hooks her up with a job dancing at a gentlemen's club, who is she to turn it down? Plus, there are rules to dancing at Benny's: No touching, keep your clothes on at all times, and never get closer than three feet. Unfortunately for Sam, her first private client makes her want to break every single one of them.

 

Harrison Yates is scorching hot, but he's got a past that involves being left at the altar not too long ago. Sam is determined to make him forget about his ex, but when she makes her move, it flings her life into a spiral of chaos she never saw coming. Because Harrison Yates isn't who he seems to be. And his secret will probably get her killed."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Fans of Jane Austen might enjoy this post by a woman who set up dating profiles for four of Jane Austen's heroines ~

 

If Jane Austen's Leading Ladies Tried OkCupid: I Set Up Profiles for Marianne, Lizzie, Catherine, And Anne by Emma Oulton

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Violet Crown]

:blushing: VC, should our gentle readers receive a warning? ;)

 

What, that it's one of what Rousseau called des livres à lire d'une seule main? Some of the lit of the eighteenth century makes Fifty Shades of Yawn look like John Bunyan. What am I saying, some.

 

Which reminds me, still in a Victorian mood, I picked up yesterday an old Pelican edition of Pearsall's The Worm in the Bud. The problem with this place is the booksellers are overflowing with things I want to read, but the beautiful and castle-y countryside keeps me from having enough time with a book.

[Butter]

My two local libraries also have a Heroes theme.  It might be an ALA thing.

 

Does anyone's library have a different theme?

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Nope, heroes here, too.

[Jane in NC]

What, that it's one of what Rousseau called des livres à lire d'une seule main? Some of the lit of the eighteenth century makes Fifty Shades of Yawn look like John Bunyan. What am I saying, some.

 

 

:lol:

 

That made my afternoon!

[Stacia]

What, that it's one of what Rousseau called des livres à lire d'une seule main? Some of the lit of the eighteenth century makes Fifty Shades of Yawn look like John Bunyan. What am I saying, some.

 

Google translate to the rescue and...

 

Oh la la!

 

:lol:

[aggieamy]

Hello all!  I want to check in and say hello after my trip.  We're back.  Mostly well.  I'm kinda caught up on emails I missed.  My physical inbox is still overflowing but I'll get to it eventually.  

 

Should I add my dozen pictures and update here or start another thread?  I'd prefer to do it here among friends but I don't want to clog up the BAW thread.

 

 

[Kareni]

... des livres à lire d'une seule main...

 

I'm impressed that my high school French still enabled me to translate that phrase after some (cough, cough) thirty five years.  The things one learns on the book a week thread!

 

 

Should I add my dozen pictures and update here or start another thread?  I'd prefer to do it here among friends but I don't want to clog up the BAW thread.

 

Welcome back!  Clog away, I'd love to see your pictures and hear your update.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Stacia]

Hello all!  I want to check in and say hello after my trip.  We're back.  Mostly well.  I'm kinda caught up on emails I missed.  My physical inbox is still overflowing but I'll get to it eventually.  

 

Should I add my dozen pictures and update here or start another thread?  I'd prefer to do it here among friends but I don't want to clog up the BAW thread.

 

Welcome back, Amy! I love to see photos & hear about your trip. I understand what you mean about wanting to post here vs. the entire board. I vote for posting here.

[aggieamy]

We had a great time and are delighted to be home.  I think 17 days was too long for DS (19 mos) but he was a trooper.  By day 12 he really wanted to be home in his own bed and at one point I thought about stealing a lifeboat and heading for shore but I think that's just normal for my family's vacations.

 

The trips was 3 days in London (my favorite place in the world!) and then a cruise in the Baltics - Copenhagen, Tallinn, St Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm, and Dansk (a small resort town in Denmark).  We went with a few friends of our and the two kids.  My triumph was that we managed the whole trip with only three backpacks and a diaper bag so you'll see that DD and I shared a few outfits in the pictures.  We got really good at doing wash in the sink of the cruise ship.  

 

London was fabulous.  As always.  We're already talking about our next trip there and then doing a tour of the Lakes District and then up to Scotland.

 

Around London:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aggieamy]

Shaun the Sheep at the Tower!  Yay!

 

 

This is the EXACT spot I was standing when I got the phone call saying that we had an adoption match for DS.  He was born 6 days later.  

 

 

Fancy people.  This was the first formal dinner night on the cruise.  It was also the only time DS allowed us to leave him in the nursery.

 

 

We had to stop and go inside my favorite grocery store of all times when we saw it in Copenhagen.

 

 

We didn't take a stroller so the carrier was DS's only form of transportation.  This picture was taken at the coolest outdoor market in Helsinki.  

 

 

I don't know how many steps we climbed but every tower we found we went into it.  My friend's ankle was bothering her because she stepped on it wrong walking around London on our first day.  On the last day of the trip we found out she had sprained it.  That's pretty impressive because we were walking at least 10 miles a day.

 

 

St Petersburg was fascinating.  The ship was there two days but I only got off one because DD and I got the stomach flu.  I was lucky.  I was sick before we got off the ship on the second day.  She got sick on the tour bus going to the Hermitage.  Our tour guide basically said ... too bad.  You have to stay with the tour group.  I think she looks pretty good in this picture considering she was barfing only 30 minutes earlier.

 

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

Wow, Amy!  Looks like a fantastic trip. And may I say, you and dd have some *serious* family resemblance going on. Beautiful!

 

 

i finished a very disappointing audio book just now - The Fox Inheritance, which was a sequel to The Adoration of Jenna Fox - which I loved.  I posted that I think I liked it even more than if I had read it, because the narrator on the audiobook was so skilled.  The narrator on this one was not great, I probably liked the book less having listened to it.  Although the character was just annoying - kind of whiny, immature, naive, wishy washy, and totally oblivious to the obvious plot that was going on around him.  Total bummer. I'm just going to pretend that Adoration was a stand-alone novel and forget about this one, and ignore the 3rd in the trilogy.

[Jane in NC]

 

 

 

This is the EXACT spot I was standing when I got the phone call saying that we had an adoption match for DS.  He was born 6 days later.  

 

 

Oh Amy.  This brought a tear to my eye.  How fortunate you all are to have found each other!!

 

[Kareni]

What wonderful photos of a lovely family, Amy!  Thanks for sharing them.

 

 

I read another summer reading program bingo square book ~ this one is entitled This Is Ireland by M. Sasek.  It's a re-issue of a children's book originally published in the 1960s. 

 

"Like the other Sasek classics, This is Ireland is a facsimile edition of his original book from the 1960s and is still timely and current in every way. The brilliant, vibrant illustrations have been meticulously preserved, remaining true to his vision more than 40 years later and, where applicable, facts have been updated for the twenty-first century, appearing on a "This is...Today" page at the back of the book. The stylish, charming illustrations, coupled with Sasek's witty, playful narrative, makes for a perfect souvenir that will delight both children and their parents, many of whom will remember this book from their childhood.

This is Ireland, first published in 1964, brings the Emerald Isle to life, where the shamrock grows and a leprechaun stands at the end of every rainbow, guarding a crock of gold. There's Dublin with its bustling crowds, tall steeples, and Trinity College; there's Clonmacnois, the burial place of kings; there's the Blarney Stone to kiss for eloquence, and much, much more in this verdant, friendly land filled with enchanted lakes and mountains that fall steep to the sea."

 

 

I learned from the book where the term lynching arose!

 

 

I read about this series of books on a mostly young adult book blog when the author traveled to Prague and found the companion book This is Prague.  The blog author has some wonderful posts showing photos from her trip.  If you're an armchair traveler, take a look at these posts ~

 

Europe 2015: Kutna Hora Update (if you only look at one post, look at this one; you'll not soon forget that chandelier!)

 

Europe 2015: Cesky Krumlov Update

 

Europe 2015: Prague Update

 

Regards,

Kareni

[idnib]

Amy, I love the pics. Thanks for sharing!

[Jane in NC]

I read about this series of books on a mostly young adult book blog when the author traveled to Prague and found the companion book This is Prague.  The blog author has some wonderful posts showing photos from her trip.  If you're an armchair traveler, take a look at these posts ~

 

 

Europe 2015: Kutna Hora Update (if you only look at one post, look at this one; you'll not soon forget that chandelier!)

 

Europe 2015: Cesky Krumlov Update

 

Europe 2015: Prague Update

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

These are the three cities in the Czech Republic that we visited last year.  I am so glad that the author saw more than the ossuary in Kutna Hora.  Unfortunately for some, that is the only stop in the town they make!

 

Thanks for letting me relive the memories.

 

[Violet Crown]

Great pictures. Poor dd with the stomach bug; what tenacity though.

[mumto2]

Amy, What lovely pictures. I have to say a formal dinner, where you looked good , on that small amount of luggage is a triumph. Totally impressed! Thanks for sharing. :)

[redsquirrel]

I haven't checked in for weeks and weeks. I am sorry.  My reading is a bit of a hot mess and I have multiple books going so have patience with me. 

 

I finished The Narrow Road to the Deep North.  Of all the books I have read this year, this is the one I want to come back to in a few years. First of all, there were sentences of such beauty that I had to just put the book down and think for a bit. Second, I feel like there were so many things happening between the several plots, that I might have missed some of it, or missed some connections. There was a..depth to the book that makes me want to go back when I have gained some distance and see it with new eyes. There was one plot thread I didn't find as compelling, but it ended up all working for me in the end.

 

Ok, now for the hot mess, lol.  I am currently working my way through the following;

 

The Sixth Extinction (not to be confused with the 6th extinction, which is a different book.)

Bad Feminist

The Golden Notebook (This one is going to take a while, but it is growing on me....300 pages in)

The Story of a New Name by Elene Ferente (the second in the "My Brilliant Friend" series, because what is one more 400+ page book?)

 

I am also coming to the top of the list for "All the Light We Cannot See". I've had it on hold since May. Hopefully I will get done with the first two books on that list before a new one gets added. 

[Kareni]

These are the three cities in the Czech Republic that we visited last year.  I am so glad that the author saw more than the ossuary in Kutna Hora.  Unfortunately for some, that is the only stop in the town they make!

 

Thanks for letting me relive the memories.

 

I'd wondered why the blogger's pictures had looked strangely familiar, so I looked and found this post of yours from last year.  I'm happy to have brought back some good memories!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Maela]

Just finished book #16 - The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia recommended by someone here, I believe. Loved it! So interesting. Now I want to read the books (or at least the first one). Dh thought it was funny I could enjoy a book about a book I'd never read.

[Kareni]

This afternoon I finished Against the Tide by Elizabeth Camden; this was an enjoyable inspirational historical romance set in Boston in 1891.  It won several prizes:

 

2013 RITA Winner for Inspirational Romance

2013 Christy Award Winner for Historical Romance

2013 Daphne du Maurier Award Winner for Inspirational Romantic Mystery/Suspense

 

"After a childhood rampant with uncertainty, Lydia Pallas has carved out a perfect life for herself. She spends her days within sight of the bustling Boston Harbor, where her skill with languages has landed her an enviable position as a translator for the U.S. Navy.

Lydia's talents bring her to the attention of Alexander Banebridge, a mysterious man in need of a translator. Driven by a campaign to end the opium trade, Bane is coolly analytical and relentless in his quest. He cannot afford to fall for Lydia and must fight the bittersweet love growing between them.

When Bane's enemies gain the upper hand, he is forced to turn to Lydia for help. Determined to prove her worth, Lydia soon discovers that carrying out Bane's mission will test her wits and her courage to the very limits."

 

You can read a good review here ~ Against the Tide by Elizabeth Camden.

 

Angel, I think you'd enjoy this book.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Negin]

Amy, loved seeing all your pictures. Thank you so much for sharing them. 

[Ausmumof3]

Wow. gorgeous travel pics and more names of books to put on hold or order.

 

Currently attempting to read "if on a winter's night a traveller". I find some of the individual stories absorbing. The overall way the book is out together seems to be a little annoying to me. It is like reading the start of 20 different novels and just as you get absorbed it starts a new one again. But I think it will be worthwhile for the stories within the story.

 

I've also read a couple of light chick lit type things on iTunes, a book of short stories, part of the nesting place, and still working through where song began plus the kids books as well. Oh and did I mention that I'm listening to Smart but Scattered on audiobook. I think I need it!

 

Has anyone read the terry pratchett Steven Baxter combo series that starts with the long earth?

[Chrysalis Academy]

Just finished book #16 - The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia recommended by someone here, I believe. Loved it! So interesting. Now I want to read the books (or at least the first one). Dh thought it was funny I could enjoy a book about a book I'd never read.

 

So glad you liked it too! I discovered that book while exploring Lewis back in March-April and it helped me crystallize my thoughts about reading experiences, past and present.

 

When I first start seriously reading again a few years ago, after discovering WTM/WEM and starting to think about homeschooling, I got so much enjoyment from reading books about books, written by passionate readers.  Michael Dirda was really inspiring.  It's like these people get me, KWIM?

[Onceuponatime]

So, I'm cruising through this thread and I come across a French phrase. Being somewhat adept at figuring out patterns in Romance languages, even ones I don't know, I'm dtermined to guess what it means on my own. So, after about three minutes of rolling the words around in my mind, I think I must be wrong. It can't mean that, can it? You learn something new every day.

 

😳

[Stacia]

Gorgeous photos, Amy. What a fabulous itinerary. Sorry you & your dd were sick & that you ended up missing one day of St. Petersburg. What did you get to see there the other day? I would love to hear more about it -- it's a city I dream of visiting someday.

 

ETA: You all look like a travel brochure & I'm impressed with the minimalist packing! (I like to travel light too.)

[Stacia]

One of the books I received this past weekend is Thug Kitchen. (I asked for it.) It is basically a foul-mouthed vegan cookbook. Partially, I'm posting this for Amy because it was mentioned in another thread & she mentioned the language in it. And, there is *a lot* of language in it. I don't mind it because the way in which it's written is funny (in relation to the whole book, though it gets a bit tiresome in every single recipe), imo, but I can see how not everyone would see it that way. (Kareni, did you mention that your sister got this book for Christmas? How does she like it?)

 

Anyway, just mentioning it for those that like cookbooks. I made the Coconut-Lime Rice with Red Beans & Mango last night (alongside fish) & it was quite tasty. And, since I'm definitely not a kitchen & chef type (I can rock a frozen pizza but have rudimentary kitchen skills otherwise), I was thrilled that this was an easy-for-me-to-make recipe. Looking forward to making more recipes from this book.

 

If you're interested in the style of recipes, check out the recipe archive on the Thug Kitchen blog. Note: The actual recipes themselves are filled w/ R-rated levels of swear words.

[Jane in NC]

One of the books I received this past weekend is Thug Kitchen. (I asked for it.) It is basically a foul-mouthed vegan cookbook. Partially, I'm posting this for Amy because it was mentioned in another thread & she mentioned the language in it. And, there is *a lot* of language in it. I don't mind it because the way in which it's written is funny (in relation to the whole book), imo, but I can see how not everyone would see it that way. (Kareni, did you mention that your sister got this book for Christmas? How does she like it?)

 

Anyway, just mentioning it for those that like cookbooks. I made the Coconut-Lime Rice with Red Beans & Mango last night (alongside fish) & it was quite tasty. And, since I'm definitely not a kitchen & chef type (I can rock a frozen pizza but have rudimentary kitchen skills otherwise), I was thrilled that this was an easy-for-me-to-make recipe. Looking forward to making more recipes from this book.

 

If you're interested in the style of recipes, check out the recipe archive on the Thug Kitchen blog. Note: The actual recipes themselves are filled w/ R-rated levels of swear words.

 

I bought Thug Kitchen for my college grad son as a Christmas gift since it sounded like it covered basic kitchen skills in a "colorful" manner.  What I did not realize is that it is a vegan cookbook which did not appeal to him.  He is not a mega carnivore but I think a couple of radical vegans in his college suite annoyed him.  Nonetheless I think it is a good cookbook for a young adult to have on hand since many young people are vegetarian/vegan.

 

The language is over the top though. 

 

[Kareni]

Re: Thug Kitchen.

 

(Kareni, did you mention that your sister got this book for Christmas? How does she like it?)

 

 

My sister was delighted when she received the book at Christmas (she'd requested it) and mentioned that great hilarity ensued as snippets were read aloud.  I haven't heard mention of the book since.  I'll have to try to remember to ask when next we chat.  I'm glad to hear that you're having success with the recipes themselves.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Last night I read Mary Jo Putney's historical romance Not Always a Saint (Lost Lords); I enjoyed it.  While it's part of the Lost Lords series, I think it could be read as a stand alone.
 
"After the death of his sweetheart when he was at university, Daniel Herbert buried his grief in medical studies and his passion for healing. Viewed as a saint by those who know him, in his own mind he never quite manages to live up to his own high standards. 
Most men would be thrilled to learn they've inherited a title and estate from a distant relative, but Daniel is appalled because the burden of wealth will interfere with his medical calling.  Warily he accepts that he must enter society and seek a wife—a sensible woman who can oversee his properties, leaving him free to continue his work. He does not expect to become intoxicated by a woman called the Black Widow, who is as mysterious as she is shockingly beautiful…
 
Jessie Kelham’s looks have always been a curse. Now alone with a young daughter and a perilous secret, she is in need of protection. But dangerously attractive Daniel Herbert is not the kind of husband she has in mind. If he recognizes her, the demons of her past will surely erupt. Yet they cannot keep apart—and soon they are drawn into a union that may bring joy—or shattering danger…"
 
This is the rare historical romance in which -- SPOILER --  the hero is a virgin.

Regards,
Kareni

[Stacia]

I think a couple of radical vegans in his college suite annoyed him.

 

My sister has this same problem w/ a vegan she knows (but I think it has crossed the threshold to more than annoyance). She had her own choice, thug words to describe the situation. ;)

 

[JennW in SoCal]

My sister has this same problem w/ a vegan she knows (but I think it has crossed the threshold to more than annoyance). She had her own choice, thug words to describe the situation. ;)

 

 

Once upon a time at a "not back to school" potluck party, a homeschool mom was carefully inspecting all the dishes because, she explained, she "eats raw".  Before I could stop myself, I nodded understandingly and said, "We eat processed."  

 

She wasn't offended and wound up rather good buds that year! 

[Violet Crown]

It can't mean that, can it?

Whatever it means, since it's in French, one knows the sentiment must be sophisticated, n'est-ce pas?

[Jane in NC]

Whatever it means, since it's in French, one knows the sentiment must be sophisticated, n'est-ce pas?

 

Sans doute.

 

[aggieamy]

Gorgeous photos, Amy. What a fabulous itinerary. Sorry you & your dd were sick & that you ended up missing one day of St. Petersburg. What did you get to see there the other day? I would love to hear more about it -- it's a city I dream of visiting someday.

 

ETA: You all look like a travel brochure & I'm impressed with the minimalist packing! (I like to travel light too.)

 

Day 1 in St Petersburg -

 

The Hermitage - which is basically Catherine the Great's huge place in town.  Words can't describe the opulence and beauty.  It also makes you realize that if the czars were spending like that there might have been a good reason for revolution.  

Cathedral of the Spilled Blood

St Isaac's Cathedral

 

We also did a driving tour but it only took us down a few streets.  We weren't allowed to be there unescorted so I have a feeling we saw what they wanted us to see.  On the way into town from the boat we saw a huge apartment complex that was exactly how I pictured Soviet era architecture.  It must have taken up a whole city block and could hold 10k people.  Impressive but at the same time stark and industrial.  Also, surprisingly run down.  I can't comment on the food as I was feeling too poorly to eat.  Catherine the Great was quite a character.  She was almost a one woman show and soap opera in one.

 

Day 2 -

 

DH and the kids went to the outskirts of town to look at the summer palace of Catherine the Great.  He said it was fantastic.   

 

 

One of the books I received this past weekend is Thug Kitchen. (I asked for it.) It is basically a foul-mouthed vegan cookbook. Partially, I'm posting this for Amy because it was mentioned in another thread & she mentioned the language in it. And, there is *a lot* of language in it. I don't mind it because the way in which it's written is funny (in relation to the whole book, though it gets a bit tiresome in every single recipe), imo, but I can see how not everyone would see it that way. (Kareni, did you mention that your sister got this book for Christmas? How does she like it?)

 

Anyway, just mentioning it for those that like cookbooks. I made the Coconut-Lime Rice with Red Beans & Mango last night (alongside fish) & it was quite tasty. And, since I'm definitely not a kitchen & chef type (I can rock a frozen pizza but have rudimentary kitchen skills otherwise), I was thrilled that this was an easy-for-me-to-make recipe. Looking forward to making more recipes from this book.

 

If you're interested in the style of recipes, check out the recipe archive on the Thug Kitchen blog. Note: The actual recipes themselves are filled w/ R-rated levels of swear words.

 

I didn't realize it was vegan and vegetarian.  Interesting.  A few IRL vegans I know are a bit over the top so that normally turns me off.  I have bookmarked a few recipes from the website and I'm excited to try them out.  I'll report back after I do.  

[Onceuponatime]

Whatever it means, since it's in French, one knows the sentiment must be sophisticated, n'est-ce pas?

Sophisticated? I assume you mean definition 2: having worldly knowledge or experience. 😉 I sppose one can be vulgar and sophisticated at the same time.

 

Or as Professor Higgins would say,"The French don't care what they do, as long as they pronounce it correctly."

[Ausmumof3]

I made the mistake of googling it instead of using the google translate...

[Stacia]

I made the mistake of googling it instead of using the google translate...

 

Uh-oh...

[Chrysalis Academy]

Ok, I had enough French in high school to translate on my own, and it's been long enough since high school that I knew what it meant, but context please????  Which 18th century novel are we talking about? Clearly I am not well-read enough in this era, I'm fascinated by the idea of 18th century p@rn, but I can't search for it on my computer because I don't want to activate *those* sites on a machine my innocent children use . . . but enquiring minds do want to know what they're missing.  :toetap05:   ;)

[Stacia]

Ok, I had enough French in high school to translate on my own, and it's been long enough since high school that I knew what it meant, but context please????  Which 18th century novel are we talking about? Clearly I am not well-read enough in this era, I'm fascinated by the idea of 18th century p@rn, but I can't search for it on my computer because I don't want to activate *those* sites on a machine my innocent children use . . . but enquiring minds do want to know what they're missing.  :toetap05:   ;)

 

I think they were referencing Fanny Hill by John Cleland.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanny_Hill

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cleland