mumto2 Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Speaking of Werewolves and packs I finished Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs. I love her books and I really think Teacherzee might too! ;) 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Speaking of Werewolves and packs I finished Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs. I love her books and I really think Teacherzee might too! ;) I had the same thought. Patricia Briggs writes my favorite werewolf story (the Alpha and Omega series); I also like her Mercy Thompson series. Regards, Kareni 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 I just finished an interesting book. The Mysteries by Lisa Tuttle https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7155085-the-mysteriestells a story of missing girls set against missing person cases historically, mainly in Scotland. I love the cover which is why I started reading it. These stories were all compared to retellings of a couple of myths, Persephone and another of Celtic origin, The Wooing of Etainehttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tochmarc_%C3%89ta%C3%ADne. It was interesting on so many levels, the basic one being how difficult it is for the people left not knowing what happened to their loved one (this is a situation familiar, unfortunately, because a good friend doesn't know what happened to someone close, likely murdered, but the small chance that they are out there is hard) or a mythical fate. This is one of those books that had me hooked but no idea why. I can't honestly recommend it unless the myth fascinates you but I did read the whole thing. :lol: 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Nyssa Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Ok, I got my copy of Homer!!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 :seeya: I've been thinking of you all, particularly you regulars from last year...Robin, Stacia, mumto2, Jane in NC, jenn, Kareni, Rosie, Pam, Eliana, Nan, Angel and I know I'm missing a bunch more of you wonderful women so please feel yourselves included in my hellos. I'm currently reading Catherine the Great and am intrigued enough to be contemplating 'War and Peace' though I feel quite picky about which version having looked at several. This one is the one that I'm most drawn to. No, it's not the famous and much lauded Maud translation but it retains the original French and thus feels more accessible and...'sparkly' than the other versions. Has anyone read W&P cover to cover? Massie's other book, Nicholas and Alexandra looks interesting, too, and I recall watching it as a BBC miniseries, decades ago I believe. Do you see a theme emerging here? Combine this with my two current Tarot decks, the Byzantine Tarot and the Golden Tarot of the Tsar and I'm feeling the need for blini, pickled beets and sour cream :D 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 :seeya: Welcome back, shukriyya, and happy Russian reading! Regards, Kareni 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Currently free to Kindle readers ~ The Price of Desire (The House of Light and Shadow Book 1) by P. J. Fox From an Amazon review by Ms. Lane: "... the British Raj in space" All In My Head by Kristen James "Wouldn't it be great to hear men's thoughts? Well, not so much when one takes up residence inside your head. Avery would do about anything to shut Marcus up!" Olivia, Mourning (The Olivia Series Book 1) by Yael Politis "Historical fiction at its best" -- D.Donovan, Senior eBook Reviewer, Midwest Book Review Regards, Kareni 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 NoseInABook, I can't wait to hear your comments on Mr. Fox and Guantanamo Diary. Angel, glad you enjoyed The Historian. Kareni, thanks for the BookRiot list. TeacherZee, I agree -- our BaW group does have excellent reading taste & suggestions! Thanks again, everyone. Shukriyya, hi! Glad to see you again. I think I read that Nicholas & Alexandra book so many years ago that it seems like another lifetime. I found the Russian royals quite fascinating. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Speaking of Werewolves and packs I finished Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs. I love her books and I really think Teacherzee might too! ;) Ooooh I have to take a look at it! I'm working on some reviews for my blog today (since I am horribly behind on them!) And I have a new book waiting on my kindle (Bury the Hatchet a spin off series from Cathrine Gayle, sports romance). 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 :seeya: I've been thinking of you all, particularly you regulars from last year...Robin, Stacia, mumto2, Jane in NC, jenn, Kareni, Rosie, Pam, Eliana, Nan, Angel and I know I'm missing a bunch more of you wonderful women so please feel yourselves included in my hellos. I'm currently reading Catherine the Great and am intrigued enough to be contemplating 'War and Peace' though I feel quite picky about which version having looked at several. This one is the one that I'm most drawn to. No, it's not the famous and much lauded Maud translation but it retains the original French and thus feels more accessible and...'sparkly' than the other versions. Has anyone read W&P cover to cover? Massie's other book, Nicholas and Alexandra looks interesting, too, and I recall watching it as a BBC miniseries, decades ago I believe. Do you see a theme emerging here? Combine this with my two current Tarot decks, the Byzantine Tarot and the Golden Tarot of the Tsar and I'm feeling the need for blini, pickled beets and sour cream :D Shukriyya!!! What a joy to awaken to your post this morning. I have missed you. The translation of W&P that you linked is in my dusty stacks as well as their Anna Karenina. Hmmm..maybe in the fall or winter I'll read W&P. At the moment I am lost in chunksters and will need to come up for air before resubmerging. Let me know if you need a reading buddy on this one. I will certainly consider doing this with you. VC and I are reading Smollett together this month. Since I amused everyone with the quote concerning a sword and bats the other day, let me offer another choice bit. Our hero, Peregrine Pickle, disappointed in love, precedes Professor Higgins by taking in his own Pygmallion, cleaning her up, teaching her elocution and the niceties of society, and eventually taking her out as the supposed niece of his brother in law. The Beau Monde are charmed until... But one evening, being at cards with a certain lady whom she (Pickle's project) detected in the very fact of unfair conveyance, she taxed her roundly with the fraud, and brought upon herself such a torrent of sarcastic reproof, as overbore all her maxims of caution, and burst open the floodgates of her own natural repartee....as she quitted the room, applied her hand to that part which was the last of her that disappeared, inviting the company to kiss it, by one of its coarsest denominations. This Pygmallion does not enter into a romance with our hero but does find a beau. We do not hear of the relief that must have been felt by the woman who was cheating to have her sin deflected by the apparently greater one of our hero who brought a woman of another class into society by his own fraudulent means. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 I'm currently reading Catherine the Great and am intrigued enough to be contemplating 'War and Peace' though I feel quite picky about which version having looked at several. This one is the one that I'm most drawn to. No, it's not the famous and much lauded Maud translation but it retains the original French and thus feels more accessible and...'sparkly' than the other versions. Has anyone read W&P cover to cover? It took me 18 months. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Ooooh I have to take a look at it! I'm working on some reviews for my blog today (since I am horribly behind on them!) Patricia Briggs' books are best read in order. The series that mumto2 mentioned that includes Bone Crossed starts with Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, Book 1). My favorite of her series begins with a novella in this anthology ~ On the Prowl (Alpha and Omega) by Patricia Briggs, Eileen Wilks, Karen Chance and Sunny. VC and I are reading Smollett together this month. .... QuoteBut one evening, being at cards with a certain lady whom she (Pickle's project) detected in the very fact of unfair conveyance, she taxed her roundly with the fraud, and brought upon herself such a torrent of sarcastic reproof, as overbore all her maxims of caution, and burst open the floodgates of her own natural repartee....as she quitted the room, applied her hand to that part which was the last of her that disappeared, inviting the company to kiss it, by one of its coarsest denominations. So, either Smollett is behind (pun intended!) the expression "Kiss my a^^", or it was already well known in his time. Funny! Regards, Kareni 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 One of the bingo squares for my library's adult summer reading program requires that I read a book set in the future. I chose to re-read an old favorite which is set in New York City in 2058. This is the first book in a series that now numbers forty; it could be categorized as futuristic romantic suspense with a strong mystery component. Naked in Death (In Death, Book 1) by J. D. Robb "In a world of danger and deception, she walks the line--between seductive passion and scandalous murder... Eve Dallas is a New York police lieutenant hunting for a ruthless killer. In over ten years on the force, she's seen it all--and knows her survival depends on her instincts. And she's going against every warning telling her not to get involved with Roarke, an Irish billionaire--and a suspect in Eve's murder investigation. But passion and seduction have rules of their own, and it's up to Eve to take a chance in the arms of a man she knows nothing about--except the addictive hunger of needing his touch." Regards, Kareni 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 One of the bingo squares for my library's adult summer reading program requires that I read a book set in the future. I chose to re-read an old favorite which is set in New York City in 2058. This is the first book in a series that now numbers forty; it could be categorized as futuristic romantic suspense with a strong mystery component. Naked in Death (In Death, Book 1) by J. D. Robb "In a world of danger and deception, she walks the line--between seductive passion and scandalous murder... Eve Dallas is a New York police lieutenant hunting for a ruthless killer. In over ten years on the force, she's seen it all--and knows her survival depends on her instincts. And she's going against every warning telling her not to get involved with Roarke, an Irish billionaire--and a suspect in Eve's murder investigation. But passion and seduction have rules of their own, and it's up to Eve to take a chance in the arms of a man she knows nothing about--except the addictive hunger of needing his touch." Regards, Kareni I love the In Death series. I am listening to some of them as I fall asleep right now (love my audible app). They are just comforting in a weird way (and on occasion give me seriously trippy dreams). 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Patricia Briggs' books are best read in order. The series that mumto2 mentioned that includes Bone Crossed starts with Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, Book 1). My favorite of her series begins with a novella in this anthology ~ On the Prowl (Alpha and Omega) by Patricia Briggs, Eileen Wilks, Karen Chance and Sunny. Regards, Kareni Teacherzee, Alpha and Omega is my favourite series of hers also. Order is truly needed with these, not just me being picky. Eventually the Alpha characters do some crossing over to Mery Thompson which would have driven me nuts if I hadn't read most of the Alpha and Omega series first! Shukriyya, Hi! We've missed you. I woke up to no internet today. Horrors!!! The dc's are very happy that we were already going away on a short trip because it's doubtful we will have working internet at our house for a few days. They are thrilled to be staying somewhere where they can go online! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 I finished reading A Potent Spell: Mother Love and the Power of Fearhttp://amzn.com/0618063498 Such a powerful beginning, such a disappointing end. A Confused Noise, as Pooh would say. Reading the flap now, I see I should have known what to expect. What started out as a passionate literary journey into the depths of maternal grief, coupled with observations of a psychotherapist who retells the experiences of many bereaved mothers, somehow in the end left me feeling like I was a bewildered bystander holding a picket sign at a protest. (Better working conditions for mothers, more rights for working mothers, etc) All that for this? THIS is where you were going? This set of pat answers and ideas that in and of themselves don't really address the issues entirely, nor do they give any glimpse into the process by which this plan could realistically be carried out... I notice the author's other books deal with different issues. Apparently her goal was not to address this long term and to make the changes she so clearly thought need to be made. But that's the hard part, isn't it? The doing. So, mixed review. I wish she would have finished the book she started. Or the book that could have been. It seems that somewhere she lost her way. Or perhaps she didn't realize the vastness of the journey she undertook, or perhaps I expected too much -- or just something very different. I'm keeping it though. There is much to revisit. I'm just glad I read it now and not several years ago when I first bought it. Maybe it bothers me that it gives the sense there is an answer. False assurances of child survival. No policy can ever give that assurance. But progress, perhaps. I will give her that. Potential for progress... 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 I picked up Station Eleven at the library yesterday afternoon . . . and finished it this morning. What a great book. Have we talked about it? Are people still waiting to read it? I don't want to spoil it for anyone. I will say that I've spent the past two days working outside and listening to Great Expectations, and so when everything in Station Eleven started coming together - all the connections between characters - I didn't know whether to be enchanted or annoyed. It was very Dickens-ish in a way? But by the end I decided it was very deftly done. This was a really remarkable road/dystopia novel, I thought of The Road, if Cormac Mcarthy were on antidepressants. It managed to really make you think about the collapsed world, but managed to be hopeful at the same time. Really touching, great characters. I enjoyed it a lot. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 I picked up Station Eleven at the library yesterday afternoon . . . and finished it this morning. I picked it up at our library this week too! It was on the Lucky shelf--high demand books that you usually have to wait a long time for. But I only finished chapter 1. I also picked up another 14-day book that I had had on hold for awhile on college admissions (long name, can't remember, by Frank Bruni), and I'm just about done with that. Then I'll head back to Station Eleven. Glad to hear it's good. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Shukriyya!!! What a joy to awaken to your post this morning. I have missed you. The translation of W&P that you linked is in my dusty stacks as well as their Anna Karenina. Hmmm..maybe in the fall or winter I'll read W&P. At the moment I am lost in chunksters and will need to come up for air before resubmerging. Let me know if you need a reading buddy on this one. I will certainly consider doing this with you. VC and I are reading Smollett together this month. Since I amused everyone with the quote concerning a sword and bats the other day, let me offer another choice bit. Our hero, Peregrine Pickle, disappointed in love, precedes Professor Higgins by taking in his own Pygmallion, cleaning her up, teaching her elocution and the niceties of society, and eventually taking her out as the supposed niece of his brother in law. The Beau Monde are charmed until... This Pygmallion does not enter into a romance with our hero but does find a beau. We do not hear of the relief that must have been felt by the woman who was cheating to have her sin deflected by the apparently greater one of our hero who brought a woman of another class into society by his own fraudulent means. I've thought of you often, dear Jane. Re, the bolded, yes!! And it definitely feels like a Fall/Winter read. I laughed into the quiet darkness this morning upon reading your Smollett quote :lol: It took me 18 months. I shall take encouragement from this ;) 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 :seeya: I've been thinking of you all, particularly you regulars from last year...Robin, Stacia, mumto2, Jane in NC, jenn, Kareni, Rosie, Pam, Eliana, Nan, Angel and I know I'm missing a bunch more of you wonderful women so please feel yourselves included in my hellos. :seeya: We've missed having you around! Angel, who is disappearing again in the attempt to plan Aly's 9th grade year...who was it that reminded me that school started in 5 weeks :scared: :glare: :leaving: 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 I did finish a book during today's journey, The Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissnerhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22400697-secrets-of-a-charmed-life. It happens to be another of my choices based more upon the cover. Gorgeous green dress with gloves. I just took a peek at the reviews on Goodreads and overall agree. The story flowed very well.....a young American student studying at Oxford interviews an elderly woman about her experiences during the London Blitz. It sounds rather simple but the story is rather complicated and dramatic. As the interview starts the 93 year old announes that her name is not really her name and she is not 93, she continues on to tell a pretty interesting tale of what happened to a 15 year old girl during the blitz. It was a good somewhat fluffy read. One of the reviews really complained about Americanism's creeping into the book which is set in England. They really weren't that bad or that frequent.....much of the book was accurate in terms of atmosphere so the complaint was a bit unfair. Imo I will admit that I knew the author was American not British long before I looked. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I haven't yet read Station Eleven even though I've heard nothing but good things about it. Maybe I can get to it sometime this year? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I came across this article today James Rebanks, Twitter’s favourite shepherd: ‘Sheep farming is another form of culture, just like Picasso or punk’ in which a shepherd is interviewed about his life. Rebanks is the author of this book which has received acclaim ~ The Shepherd's Life: A Tale of the Lake District. The interview article above mentions the book Cold Comfort Farm about which I just read a review yesterday ~ Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons. I'm guessing there might be a few here who would like (or have liked) this book. Regards, Kareni 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Day 1 of Comic-con is over and I'm sitting here in a stunned fatigue from the crowds and mayhem -- and today was a tad emptier than previous years. So far no new book or author discoveries, which is a little sad, but I caught the last half of the Doctor Who panel and sat through 3 other panels -- one on the resurgence of sci-fi, and the other 2 on NASA. I'll try to post something coherent and interesting about them later. Its a shame the big media companies don't cover some of the smaller panels such as the NASA one which had 700 people standing and cheering at the end. (Yes, that is "small" compared to the 8000 people at Doctor Who!) If you are A Whovian, you can read all about that panel here. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Day 1 of Comic-con is over and I'm sitting here in a stunned fatigue from the crowds and mayhem -- and today was a tad emptier than previous years. So far no new book or author discoveries, which is a little sad, but I caught the last half of the Doctor Who panel and sat through 3 other panels -- one on the resurgence of sci-fi, and the other 2 on NASA. I'll try to post something coherent and interesting about them later. Its a shame the big media companies don't cover some of the smaller panels such as the NASA one which had 700 people standing and cheering at the end. (Yes, that is "small" compared to the 8000 people at Doctor Who!) If you are A Whovian, you can read all about that panel here. Fun Stuff! Wow....8000 people at Dr. Who. Our one Dr. Who event had maybe 500. The article makes next season look like it will be good, we shall see. I have never really made it past David Tennant, although I like this Doctor. Dh and I feel like we are in California......lots of surfer dudes around. It looks like northern California with the occasional thatched house/pub. Very odd. We are on the north coast of Devon. Just about cracked up when a surfer yelled Cheers at us last night with a posh British accent. Did not seem right but could get used to it. :lol: 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Stacia all the books I was going to recommend have already been recommended, showing, once again the good taste of this group. TeacherZee, I agree -- our BaW group does have excellent reading taste & suggestions! Thanks again, everyone. I can't even remember how many books I've enjoyed that wouldn't have been on my radar if not for this group. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Yesterday I finished the regency romance Miss Jacobson's Journey by Carola Dunn; I enjoyed it. I don't believe it contains content that would offend any readers here. I've only rarely read any regencies containing Jewish characters, so the book was of added interest in that regard. Here's a good Amazon review by bookjunkiereviews: "If you like road trip romances, love triangles (one heroine facing two suitors), a bit of adventure, and an unusual theme, try this book. Heroine Miriam Jacobson is Jewish but a British subject. She is asked by a Rothschild in Paris to help two fellow Britons out with a dangerous but patriotic attempt to get gold to Wellington's armies in Spain. During the trip, Miriam learns more about herself and the two men who soon begin vying for her attention. This is a rare Regency with a Jewish heroine. Others in this genre are Star Sapphire by Rebecca Danton (Fawcett 1979), although the heroine of that book marries a Gentile (a marquess) at the beginning, and the recently published A Question of Honor by Nita Abrams. Carola Dunn treats the situation of Jews in British society and on the continent with sensitivity, and her heroine (and one of the suitors who is Jewish) act in consistency with their upbringing." Regards, Kareni 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Here's something entertaining ~ Extremely Accurate Charts for Book Nerds I'm guessing we can all identify with at least some of these charts. Regards, Kareni 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Day 1 of Comic-con is over and I'm sitting here in a stunned fatigue from the crowds and mayhem -- and today was a tad emptier than previous years. So far no new book or author discoveries, which is a little sad, but I caught the last half of the Doctor Who panel and sat through 3 other panels -- one on the resurgence of sci-fi, and the other 2 on NASA. I'll try to post something coherent and interesting about them later. Its a shame the big media companies don't cover some of the smaller panels such as the NASA one which had 700 people standing and cheering at the end. (Yes, that is "small" compared to the 8000 people at Doctor Who!) If you are A Whovian, you can read all about that panel here. I was at my parents last weekend and my mom, my brother, my brother's girlfriend, and I sat around discussing out bucket lists. Comic-con is on my mom's and my list, so I am insanely jealous of you right now. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Oh my gosh, I just went to the library, and all the things I've been putting on hold, willy-nilly, for the last few weeks arrived, all at once. I sit here surrounded by a murder of books. Let's see, shall I start with Set This House in Order, recommended by Eliana? Or The Best of All Possible Worlds or ®evolution, from one of Kareni's great posted lists? Or Flash Forward, Timeline, Replay, Time and Again, Jumper, which Kareni suggested when I asked for Time Travel books? Or Remarkable Creatures, from our author flavor of the month? Or Here There Be Dragons which my dd is bugging me to read? I'm overwhelmed with great choices! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I was at my parents last weekend and my mom, my brother, my brother's girlfriend, and I sat around discussing out bucket lists. Comic-con is on my mom's and my list, so I am insanely jealous of you right now. Well, this little introvert is staying home today and reading a book. I've had house guests all week, spent Wednesday at Disneyland, all day Thursday at Comic-con, and just couldn't face more people today! Comic-con is a whole lot of fun, but it is wall to wall people and wall to wall advertisements with nowhere quiet to escape. The trolleys are packed (and wrapped in advertisements), and parking your car downtown is no better -- you are likely to get trapped in the zombie walk! I'm missing a panel on the science of HP Lovecraft's Mountains of Madness, but that's a price I'm willing to pay today! 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Oh my gosh, I just went to the library, and all the things I've been putting on hold, willy-nilly, for the last few weeks arrived, all at once. .... I'm overwhelmed with great choices! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Better a feast than a famine! I'm in much the same boat as my husband picked up seven books for me yesterday, and today I see there are nine more awaiting my presence. An enjoyable visual treat ~ The 20 Best Book Covers of 2015 (So Far) by Frannie Jackson. And if you like history as told by bunnies (!), take a look at this new book ~ The Sage of Waterloo: A Tale by Leona Francombe "The most beguiling and distinctive debut novel of the season: the Battle of Waterloo…as told by a rabbit. On June 17, 1815, the Duke of Wellington amassed his troops at Hougoumont, an ancient farmstead not far from Waterloo. The next day, the French attacked—the first shots of the Battle of Waterloo—sparking a brutal, day-long skirmish that left six thousand men either dead or wounded. William is a white rabbit living at Hougoumont today. Under the tutelage of his mysterious and wise grandmother Old Lavender, William attunes himself to the echoes and ghosts of the battle, and through a series of adventures he comes to recognize how deeply what happened at Waterloo two hundred years before continues to reverberate. “Nature,†as Old Lavender says, “never truly recovers from human cataclysms.†The Sage of Waterloo is a playful retelling of a key turning point in human history, full of vivid insights about Napoleon, Wellington, and the battle itself—and a slyly profound reflection on our place in the world." Some of Robert Lawson's books come to mind .... Regards, Kareni 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 (Shakes fist at Kareni) You keep doing it! Who could resist Shakespeare meets Star Wars? 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I picked up Station Eleven at the library yesterday afternoon . . . and finished it this morning. What a great book. Have we talked about it? Are people still waiting to read it? I don't want to spoil it for anyone. I will say that I've spent the past two days working outside and listening to Great Expectations, and so when everything in Station Eleven started coming together - all the connections between characters - I didn't know whether to be enchanted or annoyed. It was very Dickens-ish in a way? But by the end I decided it was very deftly done. This was a really remarkable road/dystopia novel, I thought of The Road, if Cormac Mcarthy were on antidepressants. It managed to really make you think about the collapsed world, but managed to be hopeful at the same time. Really touching, great characters. I enjoyed it a lot. I really liked it! I'm so glad to hear such an eloquent, positive description of the book because everyone to whom I recommended it hated it!! LOL 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Day 1 of Comic-con is over and I'm sitting here in a stunned fatigue from the crowds and mayhem -- and today was a tad emptier than previous years. So far no new book or author discoveries, which is a little sad, but I caught the last half of the Doctor Who panel and sat through 3 other panels -- one on the resurgence of sci-fi, and the other 2 on NASA. I'll try to post something coherent and interesting about them later. Its a shame the big media companies don't cover some of the smaller panels such as the NASA one which had 700 people standing and cheering at the end. (Yes, that is "small" compared to the 8000 people at Doctor Who!) If you are A Whovian, you can read all about that panel here. In the 1980s my brother was big into comic books. We used to drive to San Diego and drop him off and go do other things and come back and pick him up. That was back when you could drop off a 10 year old at a 5000 person convention and not have someone call the police. :D Oh my gosh, I just went to the library, and all the things I've been putting on hold, willy-nilly, for the last few weeks arrived, all at once. I sit here surrounded by a murder of books. Let's see, shall I start with Set This House in Order, recommended by Stacia? Or The Best of All Possible Worlds or ®evolution, from one of Kareni's great posted lists? Or Flash Forward, Timeline, Replay, Time and Again, Jumper, which Kareni suggested when I asked for Time Travel books? Or Remarkable Creatures, from our author flavor of the month? Or Here There Be Dragons which my dd is bugging me to read? And you just reminded me I went to the library, got distracted, and forgot to pick up my holds. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 In the 1980s my brother was big into comic books. We used to drive to San Diego and drop him off and go do other things and come back and pick him up. That was back when you could drop off a 10 year old at a 5000 person convention and not have someone call the police. :D That reminded me -- in the late 1970s my mother dropped my brother (12?) and me (14?) off at a Star Trek convention in San Francisco. No way was she coming inside! :lol: 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted July 10, 2015 Author Share Posted July 10, 2015 Hello my lovelies. I finished The Girl with the Pearl Earring. I enjoyed it, although I would have preferred a more happier ending rather than leaving me with the feeling, she settled. Although I guess she really didn't have many choices. Reading one of James books he picked up at B& N the other day - Unlikely Warrior: A Jewish Soldier in Hitler's Army by Georg Rauch. Proving to be an interesting memoir. Also dove into Karen Moning's BloodFever, # 2 in her Fever series. :seeya: I've been thinking of you all, particularly you regulars from last year...Robin, Stacia, mumto2, Jane in NC, jenn, Kareni, Rosie, Pam, Eliana, Nan, Angel and I know I'm missing a bunch more of you wonderful women so please feel yourselves included in my hellos. I'm currently reading Catherine the Great and am intrigued enough to be contemplating 'War and Peace' though I feel quite picky about which version having looked at several. This one is the one that I'm most drawn to. No, it's not the famous and much lauded Maud translation but it retains the original French and thus feels more accessible and...'sparkly' than the other versions. Has anyone read W&P cover to cover? Massie's other book, Nicholas and Alexandra looks interesting, too, and I recall watching it as a BBC miniseries, decades ago I believe. Do you see a theme emerging here? Combine this with my two current Tarot decks, the Byzantine Tarot and the Golden Tarot of the Tsar and I'm feeling the need for blini, pickled beets and sour cream :D Hi Doll. I loved War and Peace, Anthony Briggs translation, very user friendly. Devoured it in two or three weeks - however I read nothing else and loved the rabbit trails it sent me on. Well worth a re-read at some point. One of the bingo squares for my library's adult summer reading program requires that I read a book set in the future. I chose to re-read an old favorite which is set in New York City in 2058. This is the first book in a series that now numbers forty; it could be categorized as futuristic romantic suspense with a strong mystery component. Naked in Death (In Death, Book 1) by J. D. Robb "In a world of danger and deception, she walks the line--between seductive passion and scandalous murder... Eve Dallas is a New York police lieutenant hunting for a ruthless killer. In over ten years on the force, she's seen it all--and knows her survival depends on her instincts. And she's going against every warning telling her not to get involved with Roarke, an Irish billionaire--and a suspect in Eve's murder investigation. But passion and seduction have rules of their own, and it's up to Eve to take a chance in the arms of a man she knows nothing about--except the addictive hunger of needing his touch." Regards, Kareni La la la la. Covering my eyes. Don't get me started. If I read Naked Death again, it will get me rereading the whole series once again. I picked up Station Eleven at the library yesterday afternoon . . . and finished it this morning. What a great book. Have we talked about it? Are people still waiting to read it? I don't want to spoil it for anyone. I will say that I've spent the past two days working outside and listening to Great Expectations, and so when everything in Station Eleven started coming together - all the connections between characters - I didn't know whether to be enchanted or annoyed. It was very Dickens-ish in a way? But by the end I decided it was very deftly done. This was a really remarkable road/dystopia novel, I thought of The Road, if Cormac Mcarthy were on antidepressants. It managed to really make you think about the collapsed world, but managed to be hopeful at the same time. Really touching, great characters. I enjoyed it a lot. I so agree! Wonderful, lovely book that captures your imagination, gets you thinking about what you'd do in their place and also pulls you into the characters lives. Here's something entertaining ~ Extremely Accurate Charts for Book Nerds I'm guessing we can all identify with at least some of these charts. Regards, Kareni So cute, thanks for the giggles. Oh my gosh, I just went to the library, and all the things I've been putting on hold, willy-nilly, for the last few weeks arrived, all at once. I sit here surrounded by a murder of books. Let's see, shall I start with Set This House in Order, recommended by Eliana? Or The Best of All Possible Worlds or ®evolution, from one of Kareni's great posted lists? Or Flash Forward, Timeline, Replay, Time and Again, Jumper, which Kareni suggested when I asked for Time Travel books? Or Remarkable Creatures, from our author flavor of the month? Or Here There Be Dragons which my dd is bugging me to read? I'm overwhelmed with great choices! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Follow me dear and take a breath, now another. :lol: Me I'd start with Here There Be Dragons, which I just happen to have in my stacks. :) 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I finished Enchantress for the Stars - that was another wonderful book that will lead to meaty discussions with dd. So many great books I want to read with her next year! And Robin, yes! I picked Here There Be Dragons and Set This House in Order to take along as my weekend camping trip reads. For nonfiction, I'm reading How To Raise an Adult, which is a bracing breath of fresh air so far. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen. Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 I read the first book of "The Land of Stories - The Wishing Well" by Chris Colfer and my 9yo read "Thea Stilton and the Missing Myth: A Geronimo Stilton Adventure." :) 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 I'm still plugging away at GKC's autobiography (I'm halfway through and loving it!). I'm also halfway through his book The Man Who Knew Too Much -- a slim volume that I took with me on my recent trip to NYC (b/c it was slim & easy to carry!). Also, I just finished How Starbucks Saved My Life, which was a good beach read and spoke to me where I am in my life right now -- although the beaches we visited this week in CA and OR were foggy and 59º, haha, so probably not what most people imagine when they think of a summer beach. :) 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Well, this little introvert is staying home today and reading a book. I've had house guests all week, spent Wednesday at Disneyland, all day Thursday at Comic-con, and just couldn't face more people today! Comic-con is a whole lot of fun, but it is wall to wall people and wall to wall advertisements with nowhere quiet to escape. The trolleys are packed (and wrapped in advertisements), and parking your car downtown is no better -- you are likely to get trapped in the zombie walk! I'm missing a panel on the science of HP Lovecraft's Mountains of Madness, but that's a price I'm willing to pay today! This little introvert went to a Lego Con yesterday and nearly cried when she realised she would have to go into town to get a few things today, so I completely understand staying home. :D I got the ARC for Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy's latest book HIM late last night, so when I am not braving town, washing windows (moving prep) or taking the recycling to the recycling centre I will be reading that today. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tress Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Hi ladies, It's the first day of our summer break here (finally! Let's just say that reading on this forum with everyone on break since May is not exactly helpful for a strong end of the schoolyear :D) and I hope I will be able to post on this thread again. I'm still reading HoMA, chapter 40. I'm also reading Robinson Crusoe, so that's good for Jane and VC's 18th century novelist plan :). I'm looking forward to six summer weeks of READING! 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 i have been reading less as i have been knitting more, and binge watching Scandal :)_ I still am reading Americanah which I am enjoying, but stopped listening to The Royal We--it got really annoying, despite the rave reviews on Audible. I just started The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles. I am going to start reading some of the "maybe" books for my son's 8th grade literature list next year. Some I have already read, but many I have not, so I better get going. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 I am also reading HoMW. I am right behind you, on chapter 47. Hi ladies, It's the first day of our summer break here (finally! Let's just say that reading on this forum with everyone on break since May is not exactly helpful for a strong end of the schoolyear :D) and I hope I will be able to post on this thread again. I'm still reading HoMA, chapter 40. I'm also reading Robinson Crusoe, so that's good for Jane and VC's 18th century novelist plan :). I'm looking forward to six summer weeks of READING! Brava to us for hanging in there with HoMW!! And hats off to Tress for dipping her toes into the 18th century. Trumpet fanfare, please! I have finished the delightful Peregrine Pickle, all 800+ pages. The second half was particularly good not only for the inclusion of the Memoirs of a Lady of Quality but also when we find our hero confined in Fleet, a notorious debtors' prison. (Prior to this incident, we read of Peregrine's humble generosity to friends and the needy but also see how hustlers of his day persuaded investors into schemes that led to financial downfall.) Modern readers are probably familiar with the idea of Victorian debtors' prison from Dickens. Hogarth's 18th century illustrations reflect a painful reality as his father was in residence at Fleet, although I don't know if he was with the Commoners or if he could afford to pay rent to live on the Gentleman's side of the prison. All of the debtors living at Fleet had to pay for rent and food--or to have their leg irons removed. I don't know how the destitute without families were able to eat! So things resolve with a happy ending and I shelve Peregrine Pickle with a sigh of satisfaction. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 I picked up Station Eleven at the library yesterday afternoon . . . and finished it this morning. What a great book. Have we talked about it? Are people still waiting to read it? I don't want to spoil it for anyone. I will say that I've spent the past two days working outside and listening to Great Expectations, and so when everything in Station Eleven started coming together - all the connections between characters - I didn't know whether to be enchanted or annoyed. It was very Dickens-ish in a way? But by the end I decided it was very deftly done. This was a really remarkable road/dystopia novel, I thought of The Road, if Cormac Mcarthy were on antidepressants. It managed to really make you think about the collapsed world, but managed to be hopeful at the same time. Really touching, great characters. I enjoyed it a lot. I would love to read Station Eleven :) Thank you 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Finished two books ~ I enjoyed the new adult romance All Lined Up: A Rusk University Novel by Cora Carmack. I'll be reading more in this series. "In Texas, two things are cherished above all else—football and gossip. My life has always been ruled by both. Dallas Cole loathes football. That's what happens when you spend your whole childhood coming in second to a sport. College is her time to step out of the bleachers, and put the playing field (and the players) in her past. But life doesn't always go as planned. As if going to the same college as her football star ex wasn’t bad enough, her father, a Texas high school coaching phenom, has decided to make the jump to college ball… as the new head coach at Rusk University. Dallas finds herself in the shadows of her father and football all over again. Carson McClain is determined to go from second-string quarterback to the starting line-up. He needs the scholarship and the future that football provides. But when a beautiful redhead literally falls into his life, his focus is more than tested. It's obliterated. Dallas doesn't know Carson is on the team. Carson doesn't know that Dallas is his new coach's daughter. And neither of them know how to walk away from the attraction they feel." I also read Bengal's Quest (A Breed Novel) by Lora Leigh. This is book 14 in this paranormal romance series. It was a pleasant read (best read in order), but I think I'm losing my momentum with this series. Regards, Kareni 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Oh my gosh, I just went to the library, and all the things I've been putting on hold, willy-nilly, for the last few weeks arrived, all at once. I sit here surrounded by a murder of books. Let's see, shall I start with Set This House in Order, recommended by Eliana? Or The Best of All Possible Worlds or ®evolution, from one of Kareni's great posted lists? Or Flash Forward, Timeline, Replay, Time and Again, Jumper, which Kareni suggested when I asked for Time Travel books? Or Remarkable Creatures, from our author flavor of the month? Or Here There Be Dragons which my dd is bugging me to read? I'm overwhelmed with great choices! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! A similar thing happened to me, only with library ebooks. There's Brideshead Revisited and Of Human Bondage, both of which I'm trying to read with Goodreads groups, A Thousand Splendid Suns, In the Heart of the Sea (non-fiction) and Death in Devil's Acre (part of an historical mystery series I'm reading). I'm going to have to leave my Kindle's wifi turned off for quite a while. Well, this little introvert is staying home today and reading a book. I've had house guests all week, spent Wednesday at Disneyland, all day Thursday at Comic-con, and just couldn't face more people today! Comic-con is a whole lot of fun, but it is wall to wall people and wall to wall advertisements with nowhere quiet to escape. The trolleys are packed (and wrapped in advertisements), and parking your car downtown is no better -- you are likely to get trapped in the zombie walk! That reminded me -- in the late 1970s my mother dropped my brother (12?) and me (14?) off at a Star Trek convention in San Francisco. No way was she coming inside! :lol: Ds' dream is to someday go to Comic-con. We have Mega-con in Orlando which is a small Comic-con wannabe, but the best we can get. This year I stayed in a hotel attached to the convention center with several other moms. We read, talked, crocheted or knitted, went to the pool, and played board games while our teens went to the con. It was the perfect compromise. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 I finished The Wreck of the Whaleship Essex, by Owen Chase. He's the first mate who wrote his account shortly after rescue. Now I can dive into In the Heart of the Sea and will be able to compare as the author of the latter brings several accounts into his book, including one written by a young boy years after the rescue. He also gets into the culture of Nantucket at the time when whaling was huge. Argh! I messed up the quote and code still won't work for me, so below is shukriyya's post in blue. I'm currently reading Catherine the Great and am intrigued enough to be contemplating 'War and Peace' though I feel quite picky about which version having looked at several. This one is the one that I'm most drawn to. No, it's not the famous and much lauded Maud translation but it retains the original French and thus feels more accessible and...'sparkly' than the other versions. Has anyone read W&P cover to cover? Massie's other book, Nicholas and Alexandra looks interesting, too, and I recall watching it as a BBC miniseries, decades ago I believe. Do you see a theme emerging here? Combine this with my two current Tarot decks, the Byzantine Tarot and the Golden Tarot of the Tsar and I'm feeling the need for blini, pickled beets and sour cream :D Both of those look good, and I've added them to my Want to Read list. I have the translation of W&P that you linked. I haven't read it but I keep thinking this is the year I will read it. I read their translations of both Anna Karenina and Crime and Punishment. People have their favorite translations, and if you read up on them, every translation is disparaged by someone in academia. I like the idea that this is a husband and wife team, and that the wife is Russian. That was my main reason for choosing them as translators of anything Russian. I then found reviews of their translations that confirmed my bias. ;) Reading one of James books he picked up at B& N the other day - Unlikely Warrior: A Jewish Soldier in Hitler's Army by Georg Rauch. Proving to be an interesting memoir. Also dove into Karen Moning's BloodFever, # 2 in her Fever series. I devoured the original series when it ended (or appeared to end) with #5, Shadowfever. I had heard she wrote more but can't decide if I want it to end where I thought it did or see where it goes from there. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted July 11, 2015 Author Share Posted July 11, 2015 I also read Bengal's Quest (A Breed Novel) by Lora Leigh. This is book 14 in this paranormal romance series. It was a pleasant read (best read in order), but I think I'm losing my momentum with this series. Regards, Kareni I didn't know there was another book out. Have read the whole series but it's been a while. Just pleasant? That doesn't sound good. Worth reading or will I be totally confused? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Packing for a camping trip; finished listening to Great Expectations. Now there is a nice story. Dickens had something going on, didn't he? I appreciate the satire more and more in my old age. The audio book was fantastic, I think I posted before at how well the reader did all the different accents. It really added so much to my enjoyment of the story. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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