Onceuponatime Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Nobody does smart and sarcastic like Mark Twain. 😄 ETA: Isaac Asimov's foundation trilogy, and the Mouse That Roared also came to mind. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Here's a post I hope others might enjoy ~ 11 Adult SF Novels to Turn Teens into Genre Die-Hards Regards, Kareni 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Thanks for all the ideas for my ds. Please keep them coming. He didn't try Johannes Cabal. The witty style would probably appeal. But, it's pretty dark in a couple of places. His imagination is wild & he has a vivid dreaming life, so often dark sections like that don't work for him because he ends up in strange & nightmarish dreams. I think that's why it's so tricky for him to find things that work for him. Once you read something, you can't 'unsee' it &, unfortunately, that has not turned out pleasantly for him a couple of times. I can sympathize because I've always been that way too, to a certain extent. And, from what I remember, it was worse during my teen years. Seemingly, he follows a similar path. He does enjoy Mark Twain (but found the ending of Connecticut Yankee sad) -- need to have him look up & try some more Twain books or short stories. He read Huckleberry Finn a long time ago, I know. Re: Girl with a Pearl Earring. I tried that so many years ago. Got partway through & didn't finish it. Wonder if I would like a different book of hers instead? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I'm also almost finished listening to Bring up the Bodies, then I can try to find the BBC/PBS show. I wanted to read the books first. My non-fiction reading is to concurrently read The Wreck of the Whaleship Essex and In the Heart of the Sea. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Re: Girl with a Pearl Earring. I tried that so many years ago. Got partway through & didn't finish it. Wonder if I would like a different book of hers instead? A lot of people really enjoy her books, but that's the only one of hers I ever read. I too, wondered if I should try a different one. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Here's a post I hope others might enjoy ~ 11 Adult SF Novels to Turn Teens into Genre Die-Hards Regards, Kareni Looky there, The Foundation Trilogy. Love that story. Did you know it was supposed to be Robin Williams' favorite? 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Looky there, The Foundation Trilogy. Love that story. Did you know it was supposed to be Robin Williams' favorite? I hadn't known that. It's a nifty piece of trivia. Regards, Kareni 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoseInABook Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Jane, I'm impressed! HoMW has fallen to the side for me. I should pick it back up again.. Caroline, mine is 6.5 but he loves Freddie Fernortner, Captain Awesome, Calvin and Hobbes, and Encyclopedia Brown. Henry and Ribsy too but it takes him a while to get through it. I finished Girl On The Train and was meh about it. I saw it coming halfway through. Yesterday, I read Black Magic Sanction which was fun. Started Pale Demon too but only got the first couple of pages read before crashing for the night. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Stacia, thinking about recommendations for your son: Has he read The Belgariad by David Eddings? Very smart writer, and there is one deliciously sarcastic character, Silk - Shannon's favorite. Lots of snappy sarcastic repartee, in fact. It's Shannon's new all time favorite series, even better than Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. Does he like mysteries? What about The Maltese Falcon? It's dark, but not disturbing. More sardonic than sarcastic. Shannon really liked it. Other series she has read and really enjoyed this year include The Copernicus Legacy, Mister Max, The Tapestry, and the Here There Be Dragons series .(she's just read the first two so far but really likes them). Nonfiction she has really enjoyed this year were The Omnivores Dilemma for young people, The Third Chimpanzee for young people, and Eyes Wide Open: Going Behind the Environmental Headlines 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Ds & I were just out running errands & he asked if we can buy a copy of Outcasts United because he's liking it so much. (We have a library copy right now.) I pulled a big Sherlock Holmes treasury I have off the shelves for him, plus my copy of Born to Run. Making a list of all the other great suggestions & we'll be requesting from the library.... 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 From my shelves, he's read (& enjoyed) the non-fiction one about the kids who spent many summers of their youth remaking the Raiders of the Lost Ark movie, What book is this? Sounds interesting! Stacia, thinking about recommendations for your son: Has he read The Belgariad by David Eddings? Very smart writer, and there is one deliciously sarcastic character, Silk - Shannon's favorite. Lots of snappy sarcastic repartee, in fact. It's Shannon's new all time favorite series, even better than Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. I was just going to post this! Eddings is truly brilliant with some of the best characters in fantasy. I would also recommend the Dragonlance series. Starting with Dragons of Autumn Twilight. Another set of engaging characters. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 my other books from last week: The Wedding by Dorothy West: This looks at a different set of consequences of slavery, and further down the time stream. It leaned a little too much into soap opera territory for me - especially the framing challenge, which felt so absurdly contrived... but the unfolding of family history, the gentle pace (except for the forced denouement), and the exploration of each character I found fascinating. I think I might try another West novel. The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor: This was even more into soap opera land... and the contrivances irked me much more... especially the graphic assault near the end of the book and its poorly developed aftermath. ...but there were glimmers of insight, some moving moments, and, mostly powerfully, a sense of history... the roots that led to this struggling, urban neighborhood, and a strain of homage to the strengths of African American women under unbelievable pressure. The Philosopher Kings by Jo Walton: I beta read this last year and adored it then. ...so much that I put off reading it for a few days after it came out, despite how eagerly I'd been looking forward to it. I was afraid a disappointing reread would leach the sparkle from my memories of the first read. Fortunately there were no disappointments. It didn't have the magic of first discovery, but I usually only get one first read of a favorite book (less favored book can actually snag more than one first read if enough years elapse between readings and the book didn't make a significant impression the first time around). Nan, it has one section I'm not sure you'd be okay with (and there are more, though less intense ones in the book which precedes this), but I think you might love these too. ...and, Pam, if the SFF elements don't throw you, I think these might be right up your alley. I could see you loving Arete, both the quality and the character, as much as I do. Tough Winter - read aloud with my little guy. The Sabbath - reread of a favorite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 the other is Of Human Bondage. Some of you might remember that I started the latter but didn't finish it. I'm hoping that I can get through the rest with the help of a book group. I didn't dislike it, it's just that there were other books that grabbed my interest, then it had to go back to the library. I started it a few weeks ago, but also had the set-aside-for-other-books phenomenon occur and am hoping to pick it back up. I appreciated it very much, but the pacing meant in was easy to set aside. Looking this up, I just realized it is written by Matt Ruff. He also wrote Bad Monkeys, a book I read last (?) year & totally loved the wild, wacky ride. Set This House in Order doesn't have much of the wild & wacky thrills - there is more action in the less cohesive final third, but the focus is more inward. (Though it has been so many years since I've read this that I could be misremembering the weighting of the book.) ...but its depiction of multiple personality disorder is brilliant and has stayed with me strongly in the decade since I read it. I didn't see the movie of WWZ, so I don't know how similar they are. What I really liked about the book is that it is written like an investigative journalism report - interviews of lots of different characters, each of whom tell a unique story from their own POV. It was surprisingly effective. The format sound awfully enticing... but I've steered clear of horror all my reading life (with an exception for McKinley's Sunshine which was originally shelved as horror - before the vampires invaded SFF so thoroughly). How horror-y is it? Oh, I agree and sympathized with Hyde in Hyde very deeply - I was referring to how reading Hyde affected my reading of the original. It made me more critical of Dr J without necessarily making me "like" Hyde. OTOH, I thought Hyde in Hyde was a sympathetic-to-the-point of likeable character, weirdly. This is hard to be clear about in writing, isn't it? Oh! That makes so much more sense. Thank you for clarifying. One of the things that made Hyde (the book) work as well as it did for me was that my reading of Jekyll (in the original) was less than sympathetic. Not exactly the way he is in Hyde (the book), but close enough that when Hyde (the character in Hyde the book) is thinking/hoping that Utterson sees through J, I believe it to be very possible given my own reading of J (in the original) and my perception of U's thoughts (in the original). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I read a few forgettable mysteries. One was really disappointing only because it was the Library Big Read for June. Eyes on You is a mystery that reads like a tv or movie-of-the-week script. It wasn't awful and was an easy read while we were away for a few days, but the fact that libraries across the country were pushing this book is what bothered me. I guess I expected better of libraries. I guess I shouldn't have. The Library Big Read, for those who don't know, is when participating libraries become part of an ebook club (with Overdrive) and guarantee that the Big Read choice will be available in electronic form for anyone who wants to borrow it. http://biglibraryread.com/ . I checked the Big Read choice out and was also disappointed. I read the first few pages and decided the it was OK but I had several books I was looking forward to in my virtual stack. The first Big Read was the first book in one of my favourite cozy series so I expected much better. The first book was A Pedigree to Die For https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48058.A_Pedigree_to_Die_For. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 From my shelves, he's read (& enjoyed) the non-fiction one about the kids who spent many summers of their youth remaking the Raiders of the Lost Ark movie, as well as reading Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie. I think there are others too, but I can't think of which ones he's read. If he likes books about young people creating things, he might like The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. (The link is for the young reader's version.) There's a TED talk with the author here. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Does anyone have other suggestions for him? He likes smart, often sarcastic writing. His faves are Terry Pratchett's Discworld, Harry Potter, & the Flavia de Luce books. (But he has read all of those so many times, he practically has all of the books memorized.) He also really liked the 100 Year Old Man book, along with the other one the author put out (Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden or something like that). He didn't like The Eyre Affair, but did like Jasper Fforde's two Nursery Crimes books. For non-fiction, he's pretty sensitive to topics, but does enjoy ones written more in a 'story' format & that are positive, uplifting, &/or fun. Overall, he's not into dark/creepy/scary books (so war/dystopian/etc... are definitely not his thing) & he's not really into paranormal stuff (even though Discworld is populated w/ all kinds of fantasy characters). He hasn't really been interested in a lot of the books sitting on the YA shelves at the bookstores (just not topics or plotlines that seem appealing to him). From my shelves, he's read (& enjoyed) the non-fiction one about the kids who spent many summers of their youth remaking the Raiders of the Lost Ark movie, as well as reading Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie. I think there are others too, but I can't think of which ones he's read. Someone on here mentioned the Psych books (was it Butter? or someone else?) & I'm planning to get him some of those. Would love more suggestions for his own fun reading (vs. required school reading). He & I would both really, really appreciate any ideas! Has he read the Bartimeaus Triology by Jonathan Stroud? My ds LOVED these as a teen, and I finally read them when he was heading to college and loved them too. Smart, sarcastic writing featuring a smart sarcastic Jinni and a not too predictable plot. Tell him a fellow Pratchett fan highly recommends it and tell him my ds is reading books based on YOUR recommendations!! (The college boy is almost finished with that Necromancer book....) My ds also hated most of the YA stuff and stuck to non-fiction instead for a while. Bill Bryson was his absolute favorite, though he also enjoyed My Family and Other Animals (Gerrald Durrell), the James Herriot books and Temple Grandin's books on animals. ETA: Ds also recommends The Martian -- with the caveat that there are lots of F-bombs and other colorful language, and the author John Scalzi -- Red Shirts, for instance. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 The format sound awfully enticing... but I've steered clear of horror all my reading life (with an exception for McKinley's Sunshine which was originally shelved as horror - before the vampires invaded SFF so thoroughly). How horror-y is it? One of the things that made Hyde (the book) work as well as it did for me was that my reading of Jekyll (in the original) was less than sympathetic. Not exactly the way he is in Hyde (the book), but close enough that when Hyde (the character in Hyde the book) is thinking/hoping that Utterson sees through J, I believe it to be very possible given my own reading of J (in the original) and my perception of U's thoughts (in the original). Re: WWZ - it isn't horror-y at all, although many horrible things happen. It isn't occult or paranormal, the zombie-ness is caused by some kind of a virus, though that isn't delved into very deeply. There is no zombie jumping out of a closet kind of scariness. There is an almost analytical, scientific description of the physical aspects of zombieness. The POV charcters - the interviewees - are all survivors of the zombie attacks who are telling about the experiences that they lived through. That's where the horrible part comes in, horrible things did happen. But the book is really about the human spirit, and about how all different kinds of people - some admirable, some not admirable - dealt with the situation in which they found themselves. It's also about how different cultures, countries, leaders etc. dealt with the disaster, and that was very thought provoking reading as well. Re: Jekyll & Hyde. I understand what you are saying. I think when I initially read Jekyll & Hyde - many years ago - I was insufficiently critical of Jekyll, and it was actually a much more enjoyable read this time, reading him critically. I got much more out of the story. This is yet another example of a story I may have read too soon to really understand, the first time! That seems to have happened to me a lot. I do wonder if my dd is having the same experience with some of the books I have her read, although when we read Markheim & Jekyll & Hyde together last year, she seemed to "see" a lot more in them than I did at that age. But then, we read together and discussed, so maybe I "helped" more than I realize. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 If he likes books about young people creating things, he might like The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. (The link is for the young reader's version.) There's a TED talk with the author here. Good book. Thumbs up to this one for being inspirational! Has he read the Bartimeaus Triology by Jonathan Stroud? My ds LOVED these as a teen, and I finally read them when he was heading to college and loved them too. Smart, sarcastic writing featuring a smart sarcastic Jinni and a not too predictable plot. Tell him a fellow Pratchett fan highly recommends it and tell him my ds is reading books based on YOUR recommendations!! (The college boy is almost finished with that Necromancer book....) My son loved the Bartimeaus Trilogy too. I listened to a couple of the volumes while driving with him back in the day. Freakonomics was a big hit for my then teenage son. A book that Nan and I found to be a hit with our teen boys: Plato's Republic. There is something about an argumentative nature at a certain phase of life that resonates here. (Read it aloud together.) Also: I remember reading Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest with my son--we both took parts. It was really fun! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Angel, the Raiders book is Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made. I haven't read it yet, but ds thought it was really fun. Raiders of the Lost Ark is my favorite movie & I swear, I needed to have known these kids when I was young. I could have totally made the fan film with them. I saw the movie so many times, I had most every line memorized, knew every scene cut, etc.... I recently saw the movie again on the big screen & it was fun to see how much I still had memorized! (A lot.) Eliana, I think you'd be ok w/ WWZ. I loved the analysis part of it, looking at how different countries & groups of people responded to the virus. The only part I remember that was 'zombie' like was a section where an American soldier is talking about troops fighting against the zombies. From memory, that part had a lot of profanity, more description of the zombies themselves, just some of the grosser zombie stuff in general (more like what I would assume the standard 'zombie' book is like). But, overall, that's a small part of the book & not overbearing among the entire whole. I'm really not into zombie stuff myself or even horror, but a friend kept insisting that I would enjoy WWZ & she was right. The book was enjoyable. I don't want to see the movie, however. Angel, Rose, idnib, & Jenn, thanks for the additional recommendations. (Thanks, everyone, actually! He's thrilled to have a big list of possibilities!!!) :lol: about Jenn's ds getting recs from me. I'll have to remind my own ds that I have excellent book taste. ;) (Let me know what he thinks of Johannes Cabal, Jenn.) Re: Bartimeaus -- no, he hasn't read those. My dd tried those years ago (her cousin loved them), but she didn't like it. Which means it may well be a very likely candidate for ds as he & his sister have pretty different taste in books. ETA: Thanks, Jane. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Stacia, My ds recently read When Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and I think really liked it. He somehow found it on his own and had to read it, suspect it was mentioned in his programming class. I just tried to get him to discuss it...me: Would you recommend it. ds: Well, I finished it. me: I guess that says it all. ds: nods wisely. From him finishing it is actually a recommendation! :lol: Has you ds read Hitchhickers Guide to the Galaxy? Ds begged to read that and loved it. Has it close to memorized. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Stacia, My ds recently read When Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and I think really liked it. He somehow found it on his own and had to read it, suspect it was mentioned in his programming class. I just tried to get him to discuss it...me: Would you recommend it. ds: Well, I finished it. me: I guess that says it all. ds: nods wisely. From him finishing it is actually a recommendation! :lol: Has you ds read Hitchhickers Guide to the Galaxy? Ds begged to read that and loved it. Has it close to memorized. Apparently he did try Hitchhikers Guide at some point but didn't finish because he didn't like it. And he's still not too keen on giving Dirk Gently another try either. I guess Douglas Adams is not his cup of tea? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoseInABook Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 DH brought me 4 out of the 6 books on my library list. Guantanamo Diary, Helen Oyeyemi's Mr. Fox, Charlaine Harris' Day Shift, and Chase Novak's Brood which is going to have to wait until they get Breed in. Yay! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I finished E. L. James' Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian this afternoon. My thoughts ~ if you enjoyed reading Fifty Shades of Grey, you'd probably enjoy reading this, too. If you didn't, you won't. Regards, Kareni 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I just finished Heinlein's Starship Troopers. I guess I kind of enjoyed it. It was a weird read. I have seen the movie several times, and really enjoyed it - I think it's great satire. So I was expecting the book to be satire too. And then I realized it wasn't, and then I thought maybe it was, subtly so. Now I'm really not sure. It's not my kind of book, I'm not into military stories at all, and some of the endless discussions about the organization of a military batallion were eye-glazing. But some of the philosophy stuff was interesting, and I guess I enjoyed it more than I didn't. I can't see dd enjoying this book, though. I think in generally Heinlein isn't really my cuppa. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Any way I can get you to share about that? Most entertaining? Most interesting? Gladly. ...though I'm not sure how to rank any of them. ... or where to start. Versions I strongly recommend: Wingless Victory by Maxwell Anderson: This version was heartbreaking and is probably the only one where Medea's choice made any real 'sense' to me. It is frustratingly hard to find an affordable copy, but perhaps you could find it via ILL? Jason and Medea by John Gardner: This version is done as an epic poem. I found it powerful and brilliant. Christa Wolf's Medea is a novel with several points of view. Like her Kassandra it draws on alternate versions of the story and feminist-infused readings of ancient history. Fascinating and very moving. Goncz sets his Medea behind the Iron Curtain (probably in his native Hungary) as a one-woman show... my favorite Goncz play (though not my favorite Medea). The only source I know of is this two play collection. Anouilh's Medea (can be found in this collection, and at least one other) has the most moving Jason-Medea relationship and seeing them as WWII partisans together, and the impact of that on each of their psyches was illuminating. Grillparzer has a three play series that starts in Colchis and follow the story all the way through. I think you would appreciate this one too. All three are in this Grillparzer collection: Plays on Classic Themes Versions that were also strong, but didn't stand out from the crowd as much: Jeffers (beautiful, poetic), Cullen (like Jeffers, sticks fairly close to Euripides, but the notes assert he is reading Medea as black (an explicit plot point in the Anderson above). I have it in this Cullen collection: My Soul's High Song), Lochhead (highlights gender issues), Kennelly (like the other 3 follows Euripides, but drew on experiences in an Irish mental health facility. Also in this collection.) & Seneca - doesn't follow Euripides as closely, Wendy Wasserstein and Christopher Durang did a very short take off of Medea - it is in this collection of one act plays by Durang. Nothing impressive, but it was silly, and I read it in a week of many Medeas and have a humorous one was a much needed change of tone. I feel as if I'm missing something.... if I figure out what it is, I'll try to update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 I finished The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova tonight. Wow! What an intriguing book! I enjoyed reading Bram Stoker’s Dracula a few years ago, quite a creepy Dracula. I also enjoyed The Twilight series, even with its sparkling vampires. The Historian’s story, however, was so unique. I found that it was kind of like Jaws where we don’t actually “see†the “villain†of the story until much later in the book. But the anticipation is there. I found myself comparing it to what I find in Michael Crichton’s writing, that desire to know what truly is fact and what is only fiction. I found it a truly marvelous weaving of all the parts to bring about a climatic whole. My only fuss would be that almost all of the book was undated. I would rather the author have given me dates to each event so that I could have better understood where in history we were at. Part of that may be that I read the book kind of choppily over two weeks. A REFRESHING AND UNIQUE take on Dracula. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted July 7, 2015 Author Share Posted July 7, 2015 Hi all, You may have heard about the passing of eaglei's son. I know before her son became ill she was in BaW more often. I have permission from her to share her address with boardies who PM me for it, and Jane in NC thoughtfully reminded me to post in this thread as well. Please let me know if you'd like the address. Thanks Doll. Do you all want to do a group thing and I'll send her something from all of us??? Flowers, plant, food gift certificate of some kind. Let me know. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 I pulled a big Sherlock Holmes treasury I have off the shelves for him, Apparently he did try Hitchhikers Guide at some point but didn't finish because he didn't like it. Ds was given nice volumes of both Sherlock Holmes and Hitchhiker's Guide. I'm not sure he ever read the Sherlock stories but he's not a big mystery fan. He read most of Hitchiker's Guide and then just stopped. He said he lost interest in it. Hopefully yours will like at least some of Sherlock Holmes. He's not alone on the latter though. It seems everyone loves Hitchhiker's Guide so he felt bad, like he was supposed to like it because everyone does. I started it a few weeks ago, but also had the set-aside-for-other-books phenomenon occur and am hoping to pick it back up. I appreciated it very much, but the pacing meant in was easy to set aside. Yes to the bolded. It's a good book but there's nothing about it that makes you say, "I just have to read one more chapter." 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Ds was given nice volumes of both Sherlock Holmes and Hitchhiker's Guide. I'm not sure he ever read the Sherlock stories but he's not a big mystery fan. He read most of Hitchiker's Guide and then just stopped. He said he lost interest in it. Hopefully yours will like at least some of Sherlock Holmes. He's not alone on the latter though. It seems everyone loves Hitchhiker's Guide so he felt bad, like he was supposed to like it because everyone does. Yeah, I'm hoping he'll enjoy Sherlock, but I don't know. Even though he likes the Flavia books, I'm not sure I'd really say he's much of a mystery fan. I agree w/ the guys about Hitchhiker's Guide. I know it's well-loved by many & I thought it was ok but nothing special or even especially funny. I could see that it would have been a hit at the time it was first released & was a very new & different type book, but now it's just one of many that is a mash-up of humor/sci-fi/fantasy, I guess, & it doesn't completely stand the test of time, imo. I read it only a few years ago but barely remember anything about it (other than it was 'ok'). I really did like Dirk Gently so much more! 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Thanks Doll. Do you all want to do a group thing and I'll send her something from all of us??? Flowers, plant, food gift certificate of some kind. Let me know. I'll PM you. Gladly. ...though I'm not sure how to rank any of them. ... or where to start. Wow. We should do a Medea theme one of these months! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 So within the novel of The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle we have essentially a novella, the 125 page Memoirs of a Lady of Quality. This is a first person account of the life of Frances Vane, a notorious woman of her day known for her adultery, relationships that she did not try to hide. She married young and happily but found herself widowed and depressed after the birth of a stillborn child. Her first husband had been a second son and hence had no fortune of his own. Frances is then persuaded to marry Lord Vane, a man she grows to despise. He relentlessly pursues her throughout Europe as she attempts to escape him and deal with the legalities of a woman who cannot leave a marriage. She takes comfort and financial assistance from a list of male admirers. At one point, she rejoins her husband and is in residence at a country home with visitors Dr. and Mrs. S--. Her arrangement with her husband is that she will live under his roof but he is not to expect any conjugal rights. Nonetheless he enters her sleeping chamber one night, sword in hand.She immediately is taken ill which then disconcerts Lord Vane who tells the tale to his houseguest, Mrs. S--, then herself in bed. As Lady Vane describes it: This lady (Mrs. S--) was so startled at his information, than she ran into my apartment half naked, and as she went downstairs, asked what reason could induce him to have carried his sword with him? Upon which he gave her to understand that his intention was to kill the bats. Some of you may recall that a few years ago I had a series of encounters with bats while in residence in a summer cottage and consequently I live in fear and dread of these animals (whom I love philosophically since they eat mosquitoes). We have used assorted fishing nets to chase bats but have not tried swords, something that I imagine my son at age twelve or so would have imagined to be a dandy solution to the problem. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Gladly. ...though I'm not sure how to rank any of them. ... or where to start. Versions I strongly recommend: Eliana, thank you, thank you, thank you. You are a librarian-muse - that is, both informative and inspiring bookwise. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 ... Her arrangement with her husband is that she will live under his roof but he is not to expect any conjugal rights. Nonetheless he enters her sleeping chamber one night, sword in hand. ... On the heels of the conjugal rights remark, I initially thought sword was a metaphor! Some of you may recall that a few years ago I had a series of encounters with bats while in residence in a summer cottage and consequently I live in fear and dread of these animals (whom I love philosophically since they eat mosquitoes). We have used assorted fishing nets to chase bats but have not tried swords, something that I imagine my son at age twelve or so would have imagined to be a dandy solution to the problem. "En guarde, Bat!" Hmm, maybe that would work best with a foil rather than a sword. Regards, Kareni 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 This lady (Mrs. S--) was so startled at his information, than she ran into my apartment half naked, and as she went downstairs, asked what reason could induce him to have carried his sword with him? Upon which he gave her to understand that his intention was to kill the bats. :lol: 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 So within the novel of The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle we have essentially a novella, the 125 page Memoirs of a Lady of Quality. This is a first person account of the life of Frances Vane, a notorious woman of her day known for her adultery, relationships that she did not try to hide. She married young and happily but found herself widowed and depressed after the birth of a stillborn child. Her first husband had been a second son and hence had no fortune of his own. Frances is then persuaded to marry Lord Vane, a man she grows to despise. He relentlessly pursues her throughout Europe as she attempts to escape him and deal with the legalities of a woman who cannot leave a marriage. She takes comfort and financial assistance from a list of male admirers. At one point, she rejoins her husband and is in residence at a country home with visitors Dr. and Mrs. S--. Her arrangement with her husband is that she will live under his roof but he is not to expect any conjugal rights. Nonetheless he enters her sleeping chamber one night, sword in hand.She immediately is taken ill which then disconcerts Lord Vane who tells the tale to his houseguest, Mrs. S--, then herself in bed. As Lady Vane describes it: Some of you may recall that a few years ago I had a series of encounters with bats while in residence in a summer cottage and consequently I live in fear and dread of these animals (whom I love philosophically since they eat mosquitoes). We have used assorted fishing nets to chase bats but have not tried swords, something that I imagine my son at age twelve or so would have imagined to be a dandy solution to the problem. Jane, this is hysterical! I keep reading it again and giggling. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 I read El Deafo in the early hours of this morning when I couldn't sleep. More potty humor in this book than I like to give to my kids, but it has less than the Wimpy Kid diaries. I took 3 of my dc to the library this week (instead of 1), so I have more books than usual waiting for me... 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Nyssa Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 I began to read Why Homer Matters, but then I realized I haven't read the Odyssey, ever, except Bulfinch's version, so I am now waiting for a library copy, so I have no book to read right now! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 I began to read Why Homer Matters, but then I realized I haven't read the Odyssey, ever, except Bulfinch's version, so I am now waiting for a library copy, so I have no book to read right now! Reported. :lol: 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Okay, thank goodness I'm not the only one who found a certain kind of humor in the sword story. Earlier I thought it was just me, especially having read about literary analysis lately. Everything doesn't have to mean something, right? Unless it does, of course. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 It's So hard to keep up with you all! Love the bats. Which autocorrect changes to bags? And then bangs? Apparently loving bats is not in iPhones vocab. I got sidetracked from any really serious reading as I'm on a Discworld binge right now. We had Jingo and Night Watch. I am currently nearly through "Buy me the Sky" - a book about China's only children generation which is quite interesting. Some of her insights are quite perceptive, other times the advice seems odd but I think it's to do with cultural differences. Overall it's definitely readable with quite a chatty tone. I still need to finish where song began. I have a lot of books to go back to the library that I haven't got to. I hate that. I'm not sure if it's because my reading time is more limited or if I'm really reading slower these days. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Nyssa Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Woodland Mist LOL!! Yes it is reprehensible, isn't it? Do I get a special WTM badge now? 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beckster Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Am I the only one in this group who is carrying on with HoMW? Progress is being made on this front. At the moment I am ahead of Robin's schedule at chapter 50. My idea of pairing HoMW with the 13th century classic The Golden Legend was a good one although this book does seem to take me on many rabbit trails. The latest concerned Pope Leo and the Council of Calcedon, an event that marked a turning point in the Christological debates. Who knew? From Wikipedia to backtracking in HoMW. From today's perspective, the directive concerning the nature of Christ as man and god was the critical point to come out of the Council. From Jacobus de Voragine's 13th century perspective, the Council's critical decree was that "virgins alone could take the veil". Apparently Pope Leo was a reluctant participant in the Council of Caldedon but de Voragine gives him full credit for calling the conference. Now many more rabbit trails open up as I consider the political and theological battles surfacing between Rome and Constantinople, all of this building to the Great Schism. And I am thinking to myself "This is really exciting stuff", having noted to my husband that if history had been taught to me as a series of heresies (in the larger philosophical sense) rather than militaristic timelines, I might have spent more time on this subject. Peregrine Pickle remains a fun read. I am at a story within the story, the scandalous memoir of "A Lady of Quality" which is inserted into the novel. This is when I could use an English prof on call to guide me. According to the Internet, the notorious courtesan Frances Vane paid Smollett to include her memoir into his text--which Smollett did without judgment. So no new books finished again this week, just continued work on three chunksters. I am also reading HoMW. I am right behind you, on chapter 47. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinchick Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Yesterday I also finished Ride Steady (Chaos) which is author Kristen Ashley's latest contemporary romance. She's a favorite author of mine, and I enjoyed this book. While it's the most recent in a series, it can also stand alone. (Not for conservative readers.) "The ride of her life . . . Once upon a time, Carissa Teodoro believed in happy endings. Money, marriage, motherhood: everything came easy---until she woke up to the ugly truth about her Prince Charming. Now a struggling, single mom and stranded by a flat tire, Carissa's pondering her mistakes when a vaguely familiar knight rides to her rescue on a ton of horsepower. Climb on and hold tight . . . In high school, Carson Steele was a bad boy loner who put Carissa on a pedestal where she stayed far beyond his reach. Today, he's the hard-bodied biker known only as Joker, and from the way Carissa's acting, it's clear she's falling fast. While catching her is irresistible, knowing what to do with her is a different story. A good girl like Carissa is the least likely fit with the Chaos Motorcycle Club. Too bad holding back is so damned hard. Now, as Joker's secrets are revealed and an outside threat endangers the club, Joker must decide whether to ride steady with Carissa---or ride away forever . . ." I read this one this week, too. Love Kristen Ashley! This one wasn't my favorite of hers, but it still was very good. I think she needs her own rating system because IMHO, these Chaos books aren't nearly as good as the Rock Chick series, but still so much better than a lot of the contemporary romances that are out these days. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 I read this one this week, too. Love Kristen Ashley! This one wasn't my favorite of hers, but it still was very good. I think she needs her own rating system because IMHO, these Chaos books aren't nearly as good as the Rock Chick series, but still so much better than a lot of the contemporary romances that are out these days. Her books are decidedly addictive! It's funny how individual taste is. My favorites of hers are the Dream Man and Colorado Mountain series; I also like the 'Burg books. The only book of hers that I read that left me feeling rather ho hum was Mathilda, SuperWitch. Regards, Kareni 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Yesterday I read Elle Luna's book The Crossroads of Should and Must: Find and Follow Your Passion which could be considered an inspirational self-help book. It was a quick read. I suspect this is a book that some would find life changing while others would go, "Hmm." I fall into the latter camp but enjoyed the book. "Who hasn’t asked the question “How can I find and follow my true calling?†Elle Luna frames this moment as “standing at the crossroads of Should and Must.†“Should†is what we feel we ought to be doing, or what is expected of us. “Must†is the thing we dream of doing, our heart’s desire. And it was her own personal journey that inspired Elle Luna to write a brief online manifesto that, in a few short months, has touched hundreds of thousands of people who’ve read it or heard Elle speak on the topic. Now Ms. Luna expands her ideas into an inspirational, highly visual gift book for every recent graduate, every artist, every seeker, every career changer.The Crossroads of Should and Must has a universal message—we get to choose the path between Should and Must. And it gives every reader permission to embrace this message. It’s about the difference between jobs, careers, and callings. The difference between going to work and becoming one with your work. Why knowing what you want is often the hardest part. It gives eye-opening techniques for reconnecting with one’s inner voice, like writing your own obituary (talk about putting life in perspective). It talks about the most common fears of choosing Must over Should—money, time, space, and the ultimate fear: total vulnerability—and shores up our hesitation with inspiring stories of and quotes from the artists and writers and thinkers who’ve faced their own crossroads of Should and Must and taken the leap. It explains the importance of mistakes, of “unlearning,†of solitude, of keeping moving, of following a soul path.Presented in four chapters—The Crossroads, The Origin of Should, Must, and The Return—inspired by the hero’s journey outlined by Joseph Campbell, The Crossroads of Should and Must guides us from the small moment, discovering our Must, to the big moment—actually doing something about it, and returning to share our new gifts with the world." Regards, Kareni 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 I also re-read with pleasure a long ago favorite. I saw mention of this book recently and went digging through my shelves thinking I still owned this book. If I do, it's well hidden, so I ended up checking out a library copy. The book was written in 1998, and it was interesting to see a main character speculating as to how Y2K might impact the stock market. It's a romantic suspense novel with some paranormal elements. Now You See Her by Linda Howard From Library Journal"When artist Paris Sweeny starts seeing ghosts on the street, guessing the Jeopardy answers before the clues are shown, and making street lights turn green every time she approaches, she thinks her life couldn't get any stranger. Then she goes into a trance and paints a graphic murder scene the night it happens. When she starts painting another partial murder scene, she finds that the only person she can trust is Richard Worth, the wealthy and powerful ex-husband of the woman who has made Sweeny's career as an artist successful. ..." Regards, Kareni 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 I finished E. L. James' Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian this afternoon. My thoughts ~ if you enjoyed reading Fifty Shades of Grey, you'd probably enjoy reading this, too. If you didn't, you won't. Regards, Kareni Well that left me none the wiser :D I didn't enjoy it but I compulsively read all three books once I started. I can't decide if I want to read it. I might just wait until I move. I should be able to get it once I move to a larger library system. I continue reading romance and pack books. Still no place to live (other than my grandparents). For those of you who enjoy m/m romances I can recommend In Front of God and Everyone by Nealy Wagner, The Last Thing He Needs by J.H. Knight (writing is a bit choppy in places but story is good) and Wild Pitch by Sloan Johnson. Stacia all the books I was going to recommend have already been recommended, showing, once again the good taste of this group. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Re: Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian Well that left me none the wiser :D I didn't enjoy it but I compulsively read all three books once I started. I can't decide if I want to read it. I might just wait until I move. I should be able to get it once I move to a larger library system. I'm glad to have been of ... help. I've read rave reviews as well as exceedingly negative ones. I'm guessing that two more books from Christian's viewpoint are forthcoming. If so, you might just want to wait so you can compulsively read them all. I continue reading romance and pack books. I interpreted this first as if you were saying that you'd been reading romance books and pack books. Perhaps I've read too many werewolf shifter books since werewolves frequently live in packs! I hope that your move goes well and that you're soon in housing that makes you happy. Regards, Kareni 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Re: Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian I'm glad to have been of ... help. I've read rave reviews as well as exceedingly negative ones. I'm guessing that two more books from Christian's viewpoint are forthcoming. If so, you might just want to wait so you can compulsively read them all. I interpreted this first as if you were saying that you'd been reading romance books and pack books. Perhaps I've read too many werewolf shifter books since werewolves frequently live in packs! I hope that your move goes well and that you're soon in housing that makes you happy. Regards, Kareni LOL no werewolf books here :D 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Some intriguing titles are listed in this post from BookRiot ~ The Best Books of 2015 So Farhttp://bookriot.com/2015/07/08/the-best-books-of-2015-so-far/ Regards, Kareni 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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