Robin M Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Happy Sunday Dear hearts: We are on week 32 in our quest to read 52 books. Welcome back to our regulars, anyone just joining in, and to all who follow our progress. Mr. Linky is all set up on the 52 books blog to link to your reviews. The link is also in my signature. 52 books blog - Spell your name challenge: I have a challenge for you and the goal is to complete it by the end of the year. The challenge is to spell your first name using the first letter of the title. And no, you can't pick a book with your name in the title. *grin* One book per letter. We can't count books we have already read since the beginning of the year. You can pick from your current stacks or pick out something completely new. I decided to stick with my current stacks and surprisingly found I didn't have any hard bound books to spell my name. So perused my ebooks. I'm notorious for downloading stories. However I take forever to read them and archive many so I have fewer choices pick from. Or archive because I changed my mind and can't fathom why I ever picked the book in the first place. I had a few 'what was I thinking?' titles which are a complete mystery. Some I had forgotten and had 'oh my gosh, I really wanted to read that one' moments. My picks are: ***************************************************************** History of the Medieval World - Chapter 36 Persian Crusade pp 261 - 272 ****************************************************************** What are you reading? Link to week 31 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted August 9, 2015 Author Share Posted August 9, 2015 Still immersed in Kate Daniel series and reading Magic Rises # 6. Writing wise - have two more chapters to go in The Making of a Story by Alice Le Plante, working through Lisa Cron's Wired for Story and Dinty Moore's Field Guide to Flash Non Fiction. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Still reading in Germinal (Zola) and Emile (Rousseau). I looooooooove Germinal, just as I did 'Au bonheur des Dames'. I can't help it. So pity that not all parts of the serie are translated into Dutch. Are they complete translated in English? I googled this afternoon to find some naturalist dutch authors, but they are complete unknown to me. The first part of Emile is about babies and toddlers, and what he wrote about that stage is general accepted in these days, so that was recognizable..' But the second part is about the elementary years, and his view on education differs from mine. In such way that it was odd to me. So now looking some for strength to continue :) 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Hmm, I have a short name! Let's see, how about: R - Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier - from Shannon's to read list, and I never got around to reading her last month O - Overloaded and Underprpared - Denise Pope S - the Strangled Queen - Maurice Druon E - Excellent Sheep - William Dershowitz That was kind of fun! A different way to search my goodreads list. I'm currently reading The Magus, trying to finish it by the end of the month for my book group. It's . . . interesting. I'm desperately trying to finish reading/creating a study guide for Story of Science: Einstein, with school starting in a week!!! And I'm reading The Iron King and Your Child's Strengths. Books completed in August: 111. The War of the Worlds: Fresh Perspectives on the H G Wells Classic 110. A History of God - Karen Armstrong 109. March - Geraldine Brooks 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Yesterday I finished a different book by this author which I enjoyed ~ Dead Spots (Scarlett Bernard) by Melissa F. Olson. I think that melmichigan and mumto2 have read these. "Scarlett Bernard knows about personal space: step within ten feet of her, and anything supernatural is instantly neutralized—vampires and werewolves become human again, and witches can’t cast the slightest spell. Scarlett uses her status as a null to cover up crime scenes for Los Angeles’s three most powerful magical communities, helping them keep humanity, and the LAPD, in the dark. One night Scarlett gets caught at the scene of a grisly murder by the all-too-human LAPD cop Jesse Cruz, who blackmails her into a deal: he’ll keep quiet about the supernatural underworld if she helps him crack the case. Their pact doesn’t sit well with Dashiell, the city’s chief vampire, who fears his whole empire is at stake. And when the clues start to point to Scarlett herself, it’ll take more than her unique powers to catch the real killer and clear her name." I thought I had the sequel in my library pile, but it's actually the book you pictured, Robin. I've now put in a purchase suggestion to my library to buy books two and three in the Scarlett Bernard series. Regards, Kareni 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 No idea what I will be reading this week. I start my new job tomorrow, a bit nervous. All my books are still in boxes but I'll try and get a list together 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I had fun yesterday reading some BookRiot posts and thought that others might enjoy them, too. The Book I’ve Read More Than Any Other by Josh Hanagarne I'm an avid re-reader, but I'd have a hard time pinpointing precisely which book I've read more than any other. *** and an older post by the same writer: Confessions Of A 5th Grade Sneak-Reader Were you ever forbidden to read a book? I can recall my mother finding me reading one of her Angelique books (author Sergeanne Golon) when I was about ten or eleven. She told me that I could read it at age 16; I immediately commenced reading it the next time she left the house! *** If you liked reading these columns by Josh Hanagarne, you might be interested to know that he has written a memoir that sounds fascinating ~ The World's Strongest Librarian: A Book Lover's Adventures "A funny and uplifting story of how a Mormon kid with Tourette’s found salvation in books and weight lifting Josh Hanagarne couldn’t be invisible if he tried. Although he wouldn't officially be diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome until his freshman year of high school, Josh was six years old when he first began exhibiting symptoms. When he was twenty and had reached his towering height of 6’7â€, his tics escalated to nightmarish levels. Determined to conquer his affliction, Josh tried countless remedies, with dismal results. At last, an eccentric, autistic strongman taught Josh how to “throttle†his tics into submission using increasingly elaborate feats of strength. What started as a hobby became an entire way of life—and an effective way of managing his disorder.Today, Josh is a librarian at Salt Lake City’s public library and founder of a popular blog about books and weight lifting—and the proud father of five-year-old Max. Funny and offbeat, The World’s Strongest Librarian traces this unlikely hero as he attempts to overcome his disability, find love, and create a life worth living." Regards, Kareni 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Hmmm. The name challenge could be interesting. Not sure if I'll complete it, but here are some ideas I have (from looking through my stacks).... S -- Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih T -- Tail of the Blue Bird by Nii Ayikwei Parkes A -- Against Nature by J.-K. Huysmans C -- Congo Solo: Misadventures at Two Degress North by Emily Hahn I -- Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino A -- Autonauts of the Cosmoroute by Julio Cortazar I have done absolutely no reading this week. So, nothing to report there. Am in progress (ha ha -- not sure that's true since I haven't been reading) on the Marco Polo books, as well as The Distant Marvels. Just picked up Between the World and Me at the library too & I would like to get to that one soon. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Okay so my name list. I've got a long name. Stressed-out Girls: Helping Them Thrive in the Age of Pressure by Roni Cohen-Sandler The Fifteenth Minute by Sarina Bowen Emperor of All Maladies (The) by Siddhartha Mukherjee Flying too High by Kerry Greenwood For the Love of Mike by Rhys Bowen Anzac Girls by Peter Reese Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai Extraordinary Renditions by Andrew Ervin 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I have been going through my stacks and what I have on hold and can spell my name. What a relief. :lol: It's a fun challenge, thanks Robin. There is no way that I am capable of doing the book cover display. Wish I could. I finished reading the first book in Susan Mallory's Fool's Gold series. Really enjoyed it, Teacherzee and someone else reads these. I started reading Armada. This is the new book by the author of Ready Player One. I am only a chapter in but so far it is a keeper. I found the opening paragraph of Ready Player One to be really compelling. I had to keep going. This one doesn't pull me the same way but is interesting thus far. Teacherzee--Good luck on your first day! :) 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Wow, there is not a single book in my stacks that begins with one of the letters of my name. Still reading The Last Bookaneer. It is more wordy than action packed, but I'm enjoying it nevertheless. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Well, I'll be darned if I can remember all the titles I've read this year. And there haven't been very many. :P Scary. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Hi all. I've been MIA on this thread for a few weeks. I hope everyone is doing well. 1 The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty 2 The Motivation Manifesto by Burchard 3 The Magic Art of Tidying 4 The One and Only by Giffin 5 One Way Love: Inexhaustible Grace for an Exhausted World 6 Not that Kind of Girl by Dunham 7 The Search for Significance by McGee 8 10% Happier 9 To Kill A Mockingbird--audio book. 10 Unbroken with DS-audio 11 Mastering Tung's Acupuncture--for work 12 You Are A Badass 12 Coming up for Air by George Orwell 13. The Westing Game-audio 14. The Hole in our Holiness by Kevin DeYoung 15. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen-audio 16. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson-audio 17. The Girl on the Train-audio 17. Emma by Jane Austen-audio 18. Ender’s Game-audio 19. Prayer by Timothy Keller 18 Arcadia by Lauren Groff 19 We are All Completely Beside Ourselves 20 One Thousand Gifts 21 ordinary light by tracy k smith 22 the storied life of aj fikkry by Gabrielle Zevin 23 Want not by jonathan miles 24 Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner 25 The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell 26 What She Left Behind by Ellen Marie Wiseman 27 Jane Eyre-audible 28 Don’t Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight by A Fuller 29 Dear American Airlines -audible by Jonathan Miles 30 The Royal We-current audible 31. Unravel by Celia Read 32. Younger by Suzanne Munshowe 33. Americanah by Ngozie Adiche 34. Over the Edge by Jonathan Kellerman 35. Unsaid by Neil Abramson-current 36. The Sheltering Sky-current 37. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 The highlight of my week was my annual museum get together with Nan. This is the fourth summer we have met up in Boston, this year at the Museum of Fine Arts. Our timing could not have been better since we were able to see the stunning woodcuts of Hokusai, best known for his views of Mount Fuji, including the well known Great Wave that seems to define Japanese art. As we were leaving the museum we stumbled upon some large panels of layered paper cuttings that were like nothing I had ever seen. Blew us both away. http://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/hokusai Of course, art is fun but the conversation is why I make these pilgrimages. We did discuss books at one point but more time is spent getting caught up on our families. Funny thing: we knew each other virtually for years before meeting in real life. Our relationship would never had happened had it not been for homeschooling, the WTM and these boards. Books! I finished Jane Gardam's short story collection, The People of Privilege Hill. I favor her novels but I have a definite preference for the novel over the short story as an art form. Hidden on the shelves of the old family cottage is an early Mary Stewart, My Brother Michael, set in Delphi. What a pleasant diversion! The name challenge is, well, challenging. Time needed to mull this over. 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 and an older post by the same writer: Confessions Of A 5th Grade Sneak-Reader Were you ever forbidden to read a book? I can recall my mother finding me reading one of her Angelique books (author Sergeanne Golon) when I was about ten or eleven. She told me that I could read it at age 16; I immediately commenced reading it the next time she left the house! *** I wasn't forbidden but that's probably because my mother was unaware of what I was doing. :) She tended to read the trash of the day, and I wasn't happy with the teen books of my time (late 60's early 70's). She kept her current book by her bedside and I would sneak in after school while she was still at work and read whatever she was reading. I'd make sure I knew exactly how the book was positioned, and I left her bookmark where she had it. I would read for a bit, then make a note of what page I left off on and put her book back. The books I read that way were: Rosemary's Baby The Valley of the Dolls - I didn't understand it but I didn't care. I was reading something only adults read and that was exciting. Peyton Place - another one I didn't understand Airport The Godfather Yes, she read a lot of pop culture books before they became movies. Years later during one of those parent/adult child confession types of conversations I confessed. I was sure she would say she knew, but it turns out she had no idea I was reading her books. She said if I wanted meatier reading I should have asked and she would have helped me find something. But probably not any of those books. :lol: Good luck with the new job Zee. You'll be great. I can tell by previous posts you're a good teacher (I was a teacher before becoming a SAHM and homeschool mom). I think you can be excused from reading during a big life change. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Stand-outs in the horde of books I finished last week: The Leopard by Lampedusa: Delicious prose, slow, elegiac tone... it mourns a vanishing past without actually seeing it as "better", a rich evocation of time and place. The Scapegoat by Du Maurier: without the unreliable narration or pseudo-Gothic romance elements or Rebecca, and set very much in the post-war embers of occupied France... It is a double identity story - like Tey's Brat Farrar or Hope's Prisoner of Zenda. I didn't enjoy it exactly, but I couldn't put it down, and I suspect I will want to come back to it. Some Boys by Patty Blout: (thank you, Kareni!) Unlike the previous two, this isn't well written, and the lack of nuance bothered me deeply (especially because it looked, briefly, as if we might get some), but despite all its flaws, this captures something powerful, and deeply uncomfortable. It is a YA book about the aftermath of a rape, from the alternating perspectives of the victim and a friend/teammate of the perpetrator. Other BaW inspired reads: Thank you, Jane! : Diary of a Superfluous Man (Turgenev) and Hero of Our Time (Lermontov) which made me pull Eugene Onegin (in a new-to-me translation) off the shelf again as well. Reading all three of these in close succession brought out both similarities and some sharp contrasts, and all of them made me toy with the idea of more Russian reading... Onegin is the most beautiful and captivating of the stories, though it also has the least depth (the format alone would make that probable), the Turgenev wasn't my favorite of his stories, but made me think of Maupassant, and the Lermontov was, despite its episodic structure, the most gripping (especially the penultimate story), and the most complex. A very early anti-hero, but with much more insightful writing than many such have been blessed with.... Thank you MMV: Dept of Speculation by Jenny Offill: the unusual narrative tone brought an interesting angle to this look at the growth, decline, and gradual rebuilding of a marriage. I'll try to come back to type up the other half of my list later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Titles in bold are on my to-read list. The rest are ones that either came to mind or I went looking for. With both an A and a T in my name, I decided not to go with anything starting with the articles A or The. It wasn't easy and knocked a lot of good possibilities out of the running but I wanted to see if I could do it. K -- Katherine - My name is Kathleen not Katherine, so I'm not cheating. :) A-- Absalom Absalom T-- Things Fall Apart H-- Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet Y-- You Can't Go Home Again, Thomas Wolfe I'm not actually going to do the challenge, but I wanted to see what I could find, and if I could find any I actually wanted to read. I was surprised at how many I already read that begin with one of the letters of my name. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I finished Among Others. I did enjoy this. The countryside, rain and train rides were relaxing. The magic and fairies were represented in a way that appealed to me, that was believable and made sense. Though there were many books discussed and referenced that I have not read (some on my to-read list, others by authors I've tried and am not likely to try again), I thought these discussions added depth, made the book interesting - not just entertaining. I feel like this could be shelved in YA and checked my library's catalog to see where they've got it. Several copies, none of them in the teen section. Has anybody seen this in the YA section? I am over half way through The Travels of Marco Polo, and I started What We See When We Read (not as in depth as I had hoped, was thinking this would be more science-y, but it's easy to read and mildly interesting). I also intend to begin reading Jane Eyre with ds. I'm considering the name challenge. Some possibilities are R - The Robber Bride (Atwood) - or - The Red Badge of Courage (Crane) O - On the Road (Kerouac) B - Bartleby, the Scrivener (Melville) Y - Have thought of several options, but nothing that I might truly consider reading this year. Will continue thinking/looking. N - The Night Circus (Morgenstern) - or - Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 The other half of my reading from last week: Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison: I really hated this book... with an intensity that has been growing the more I think about it. It felt like the writing that Everett was satirizing in Erasure (a book I abandoned because I wasn't up for the satire story at the center, but I really should come back to it some day). The folklore elements in Beloved worked, despite my innate lack of appreciation for magical realism in general, and it was very powerful. Here it felt puerile and pointless while trying to be profound. ...and the way women were used (both literally and figuratively) in this story made me ill (despite the protagonist's theoretical token realization at the end). What probably bothers me the most is that I saw, underneath all the silliness, the potential for a real, powerful, moving story. /rant. A Bend in the River by VS Naipaul: This is the book I expected to be ranting about. Achebe has some scathing things to say about Naipaul's depictions of Africa in general, and this book in specific, and now that I've read the book I have to say he is right in many ways... and I would argue strongly that neither this nor Heart of Darkness should be on a high school or undergraduate syllabus (until/unless we revise our reading lists to have African viewpoints on those lists). ...but I think this is an important, thought-provoking work. One small, but striking thing that has been haunting me: the narrator was born and grew up on the east coast of Africa, like his parents before him, yet he sees himself, and is described by others as "Asian" (iow: Indian), and other characters of Indian extraction are similarly described. ...and characters of Arab heritage are described as Arabs... both in contrast to the label "African" which is not applied to either of the above groups. Under a Red Sky by Haya Leah Molnar: gives a glimpse of Romania in the 1950's through the eyes of an elementary aged Jewish girl. It is a reconstructed memoir, not very polished, with rather bland prose style, but fascinating and at times very moving. 4 other books: Ah Wilderness by O'Neill (Blech! I remembered liking this, but I find it more disturbing now than his overtly tragic plays), House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones (not one of my favorites, but diverting), mark of the Midnight Manzanilla by Lauren Willig (I'm not sure why I keep reading these... but there is something comforting about their imitation Heyer-ness), and The Jewish Year from Nissan to Av by Rabbi Hirsch (the second volume of his essays on the Jewish months with 6 essays/month. I have enjoyed going through the year with these... and wish there were a fresh set for the upcoming beginning of the Jewish year!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I finished Among Others. I did enjoy this. The countryside, rain and train rides were relaxing. The magic and fairies were represented in a way that appealed to me, that was believable and made sense. Though there were many books discussed and referenced that I have not read (some on my to-read list, others by authors I've tried and am not likely to try again), I thought these discussions added depth, made the book interesting - not just entertaining. I feel like this could be shelved in YA and checked my library's catalog to see where they've got it. Several copies, none of them in the teen section. Has anybody seen this in the YA section? I've seen it there. I have mixed feeling about it as a YA. Although the protagonist is a teen, I shelve this in my mind with books that are more appreciated by readers who have more distance from those years. One of the most vividly real things to me was the way she used books to figure out the world and how to act - the most terrifying of those was the way she applied that to the sickening behavior of an adult. Using Heinlein as a guide was scary and believable - not that I had such applications in my own life, but I can see, looking back on myself as a teen, that I used books in a similar way. (mercifully it was Alcott and Austen to whom I was looking). ...and I think an adult reader is more likely to see the squickiness of the seemingly romantic guy. Not that a teen couldn't enjoy the book anyway (and from what I've heard, many have), but I think we do teens a disservice by shelving most books with teen narrators/protagonists as YA. Yes, I think the books were core to the narrator's development - and I suspect that is the appeal that drove this book to the top of the Hugo list that year. I should try rereading and see if I can feel it viscerally, not just intellectually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I'm not sure if I will follow through with the challenge, but I'm having fun playing with it! ...and I have far too many books either in process or waiting to read asap. E - Everyman or Erasure or Every man Dies Alone or Elul L - The Last Spike or Looking Backward or Labor and Freedom I - Intolerable or Irretrievable or Independent People A - Absalom, Absalom or As I Lay Dying (I am determined to try Faulkner again soon...) N - New Grub Street or Native American Songs and Poems or Nostromo A - Amongst Women or Austerlitz ..and with my middle name I can add even more of these neglected books to the list: R - Radetzky March or Rise of David Levinsky or The Roosevelt I Knew U - Under the Volcano or Upon the Head of the Goat S - The Sea, The Sea or Suspended Sentences or Seasons of Majesty Robin, do we need to finish them in order? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 the most terrifying of those was the way she applied that to the sickening behavior of an adult. This is the one thing that made my mother-self not want to see Among Others in the teen room, though I'm sure my teen-self would have been fine with it, but the teen narrator, the low reading level (which I'm not saying is necessary, just common), and the issues the book deals with (s*x, divorce, fitting in) made me think it might go there. But then while the issues are there, perhaps they don't cause enough conflict for the narrator, and can you have a teen narrator without these things coming up at least a little? I guess I can be thankful that I don't have to choose which shelf/shelves to put it on. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I perused my want-to-read lists and came up with some of the letters of my name. I also discovered I want to read a lot of books that start with "the." A- Ajax Penumbra 1969 N- North and South G- Gaslight Grimoire E- Ella Minnow Pea L- Little Big A- Arctic Dreams 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Teacherzee, good luck tomorrow. If I'm doing the name challenge I can't do them in order. I have the book Neverwhere here now and it's a 14 day non-renewable loan. I can just read this one and start back at the beginning of my name. ;) I read Freaking Fabulous on a Budget by Clinton Kelly. He makes me chuckle, sticks up for manners and self-respect, and his books are fun. Now, I need to NOT start Neverwhere until I force myself to first to a bit of homework. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I wasn't forbidden but that's probably because my mother was unaware of what I was doing. :) She tended to read the trash of the day, and I wasn't happy with the teen books of my time (late 60's early 70's). She kept her current book by her bedside and I would sneak in after school while she was still at work and read whatever she was reading. I'd make sure I knew exactly how the book was positioned, and I left her bookmark where she had it. I would read for a bit, then make a note of what page I left off on and put her book back. The books I read that way were: Rosemary's Baby The Valley of the Dolls - I didn't understand it but I didn't care. I was reading something only adults read and that was exciting. Peyton Place - another one I didn't understand Airport The Godfather Books I can recall reading between ages 10 and 14 include three on your list, Kathy, ~ The Valley of the Dolls, Airport, and The Godfather. I also remember reading Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex, but Were Afraid to Ask Once Is Not Enough (another Jacqueline Susann title) and a slew of Harold Robbins titles. Curiously, I read all of these quite openly; it's only that Angelique book I ever remember being forbidden. I read voraciously. I was also reading Georgette Heyer, Agatha Christie, Mary Stewart, Mary Renault, James Michener, and the perhaps more age appropriate series featuring Cherry Ames, the Bobbsey Twins, the Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew. Regards, Kareni 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I finished Gone With the Wind today. I loved it! I can see why so many people still claim it as their favorite book 79 years later. Scarlett is so annoying, but I still cared so much what happened to her and somehow ended up loving her just like Melanie. As for my name using a random 7 of the 360 books in my To Read folder on my Kindle... Honeymoon by James Patterson Edgewood by Karen McQuestion All the Way From Texas by Carolyn Brown Timebound by Rysa Walker Heir to the Everlasting by Janice Daugharty Elusive by Sara Rosett Rupee Millionaires by Frank Kusy My next book is Zoo City by Lauren Beukes. I'm putting it under the category of a book at the bottom of my to read pile. I don't really have a to read pile, just a folder with all the books I haven't read yet. The only order they are in is alphabetical, so I went with the last book alphabetically. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 52 books blog - Spell your name challenge: I have a challenge for you and the goal is to complete it by the end of the year. The challenge is to spell your first name using the first letter of the title. I have no idea if I'll continue with this challenge, but ... K A -- Angels Fall by Nora Roberts R E N I I read Angels Fall some years ago; it's a romantic suspense novel. I enjoyed re-reading it. "The sole survivor of a brutal crime, Reece Gilmore has been on the run, desperately fighting the nightmares and panic attacks that haunt her. She doesn't intend to stay in the sleepy town of Angel's Fall one second longer than she needs to, despite its friendly - if curious - inhabitants, and the irresistible attraction of local writer Brody. However, on a hike into the mountains she witnesses a couple having a vicious argument that culminates in murder. By the time Reece finds Brody and brings him to the scene, both killer and victim are gone. Faced with a lack of evidence, the authorities in Angel's Fall find it hard to believe Reece's story. After all, she's a newcomer in town and yet has already gained a reputation for being jumpy - maybe even a little fragile. But when a series of menacing occurrences makes it clear that someone wants her out of the way, Reece must put her trust in Brody - the one person who does believe her - to find the murderer before it's too late" Regards, Kareni 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 R- Rich Kid, Smart Kid, Robert T. Kiyosaki O- Ozma of Oz S- Song of Roland I- I Wanna Take Me a Picture, Wendy Ewald and Alexandra Lightfoot E- Eric, Terry Pratchett *Phew* what an effort. :lol: 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Confessions Of A 5th Grade Sneak-Reader Were you ever forbidden to read a book? I can recall my mother finding me reading one of her Angelique books (author Sergeanne Golon) when I was about ten or eleven. She told me that I could read it at age 16; I immediately commenced reading it the next time she left the house! *** Oh, I was a big-time sneak reader. There were lots of unacceptable things in our world. I can remember our teachers coming around, while we were working, and reading the back of books on our piles and confiscating them if they seemed too risque. My dad got mad when my mom gave me Georgette Heyers to read - he didn't get that they were different from Harlequins, which she also read. I think she must have explained it, or I just learned to hide from him for awhile. The books I actually sneaked were the ones in a special box under my mom's bed. The Harlequins I just read a couple of, but I remember devouring the Calder books by Janet Daily and then the Texas books by Fern Michaels. They were so titillating, they made me feel things in places I didn't know got stimulated by reading books! ;) I also remember that one of my friends got ahold of a copy of Sex: A User's Manual and was afraid she'd get caught with it and busted, so she gave it to me. I read it avidly, cover to cover, and was after that the expert, ready with a clinical answer to my friends sex questions! I didn't get a chance to put my knowledge into practice for quite awhile, but I had the clinical explanation for how it all worked. Which I think is a good thing. Later I snuck the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. Other things too, I'm sure, but those are the memorable ones. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Name, eh? I could do Vathek; I, Claudius; O! Pioneers; Les Liasons Dangeureuses; Eclogues; Three Lives. Unfortunately none of those are in my to-read-again-soon pile, and I just finished Three Lives, by Edith Stein. So this three-part collection of novellas was supposedly inspired by this portrait-- http://www.wikiart.org/en/paul-cezanne/portrait-of-madame-cezanne-1881 --though I can't fathom what it has to do with any of them--and is written in a modernist style that, to be frank, wears very thin very quickly, particularly in the central story, "Melanctha," which could easily have had thirty pages cut with no damage to the story. Stein's deliberately repetitive and naively simple style becomes quickly tedious, though to be fair she seems to be trying to convey the tedium of her subjects' lives. (The repetition was also inconvenient when I lost my place; it was very difficult to figure out what I'd read already.) An excerpt from the best of the three stories, "The Gentle Lena": ------------ Old Mr. Kreder kept on saying to him, he did not see how Herman could think now, it could be any different. When you make a bargain you just got to stick right to it, that was the only way old Mr. Kreder could ever see it, and saying you would get married to a girl and she got everything all ready, that was a bargain just like one you make in business and Herman he had made it, and now Herman he would just have to do it, old Mr. Kreder didn’t see there was any other way a good boy like his Herman had, to do it. And then too that Lena Mainz was such a nice girl and Herman hadn’t ought to really give his father so much trouble and make him pay out all that money, to come all the way to New York just to find him, and they both lose all that time from their working, when all Herman had to do was just to stand up, for an hour, and then he would be all right married, and it would be all over for him, and then everything at home would never be any different to him. ------------ I had a bit of a personal soft spot for this last story, as Lena's life is quite like that of my German maiden great-aunt's, who was also from Mainz. But it's not enough to make me re-read Three Lives, except possibly "The Gentle Lena." Still reading in A History of Private Life. While it's not a scholarly work, the writers of each section assume the reader is already quite familiar with the history involved, including relevant literature, philosophy, art, etc. I notice that the set is almost untouched except for the first thirty pages of the first volume, which are heavily read and falling out; I think this sat on our public library's shelf looking more accessible than it is for quite a while. So I'm frequently having to look up references (uh, when exactly was the Antonine era?). But it's paying off. Dh has been re-watching the HBO series "Rome" in the evenings, and I get to look up from my book and kibitz. No! That prostitute would have been wearing a brassiere! .. But that makes no sense, Verenus would just make sure everyone knew his wife had thought he was dead and adopted the child, and the whole adultery subplot would go away! ... No no, a young woman of her station wouldn't be praying at a private shrine in her bedroom! Dh is putting up with it admirably. What to read next. I'm torn between what I want to read, and what I ought to be reading for Middle Girl's academic year. (Aeneid again and a bio of Charles Dickens. Yawn.) 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Jane & Nan, so lovely that you two got to catch up & meet again! The Hokusai exhibit sounds great too -- I would love to see that; I have long been a fan of Hokusai's work. When I heard the interview with Simon Winchester a few weeks ago (about his new children's book) he discussed tsunamis a bit & mentioned Hokusai's artwork w/ big waves. I haven't looked to see if, indeed, Hokusai's Great Wave (or other work) is actually showing tsunami waves or just stormy seas, but it was something I had never considered. (I had always assumed it was just showing 'regular' seas around the islands of Japan.) ETA: Jane, I immediately thought you could look at Archipelago's alphabetical list of book titles for Robin's spell your name reading challenge. :laugh: 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Finished another segment of homework so I am allowed to start the new Neil Gaiman and not feel guilty. At least not too much because I'm falling behind in planning lessons. But come on, Gaiman in one hand or plan out science lessons in the other, which would you choose? I rest my case. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 A -- Against Nature by J.-K. Huysmans Au Rebours is buried somewhere on my To Read shelf, so let me know if you pick it up and I'll dig it out. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Au Rebours is buried somewhere on my To Read shelf, so let me know if you pick it up and I'll dig it out. Will do. Will you be reading it in French? 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Will do. Will you be reading it in French? Bwahahaha.... no. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Bwahahaha.... no. :lol: (Well, I won't be either.) 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto4inSoCal Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 I re-read To Kill a Mockingbird today and put Go Set a Watchman on hold. It's funny I think I read To Kill a Mockingbird in high school but re-reading it, it felt like yesterday. It's interesting that when a book really speaks to you, the characters feel like family to you no matter how long it's been. I also watched a lecture from Tracy Lee Simmons (Author of Climbing Parnassus) about education in humanities and he said that you should read books that change you and when we read we are developing self and morals. I really liked that. My kids have asked me why it is so important to me that they read quality literature and that sort of summed it up for me. Ok so for the name challenge I am going to use the Mensa list since I'm trying to check off some more boxes. A - Animal Farm M - Madame Bovary B - Beowulf (any suggestions on a translation?) E - Emma (not on the list but it should be) R - Rabbit, Run 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Emile / Rousseau Sleuteloog / Hella Haasse Te veel verdriet voor een hart / Ed Franck Hans Brinker Eilandgasten / Vonne van der Meer Rode Letter / Hawthorne 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Ok so for the name challenge I am going to use the Mensa list since I'm trying to check off some more boxes. B - Beowulf (any suggestions on a translation?) I enjoyed this dual-language translation that retains the alliterative verse. (But it's not like I've tried any other versions.) Is there a Mensa reading list for adults or are you doing the high school list? I mean, I guess the high school list is a pretty good adult list for people like me who didn't read all those books in hs. Just curious if there's another list I don't know about. I like lists. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Amazon has a deal on a Simon Winchester book we discussed here a week or two ago - The Map That Changed the World http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SR2QD2?ref_=pe_1663260_146265200_kdd_2_img_3 I got it from the library and previewed it this weekend, and added it to Shannon's read-aloud list, so I was happy to get the Kindle version! 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 I read my first Overdrive title! Woohoo -- I've joined y'all in the 21st century! The overdrive title was the first of the Shetland mysteries by Ann Cleeves, Raven Black. I really like her writing: It was the colours which had caught her attention. Often the colours on the islands were subtle, olive green, mud brown, sea grey and all softened by mist. In full sunlight of early morning, this picture was stark and vibrant. The harsh white of the snow. Three shapes, silhouetted. Ravens. In her painting they would be angular shapes, cubist almost. Birds roughly carved from hard black wood. And then that splash of colour. Red, reflecting the scarlet ball of the sun. Mumto2 and Kareni will be happy to know I succumbed to another Romance genre title, thanks to the NPR list of the best Romance novels. I read The Duchess War by Courtney Milan. Total fun, nice plot, the right kind of summer read. I've started Neil Gaiman's Ocean at the End of the Lane -- not sure when I will have a nice long chunk of reading time for it this week as it seems like a book that will draw me in til the last page. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 ETA: Jane, I immediately thought you could look at Archipelago's alphabetical list of book titles for Robin's spell your name reading challenge. :laugh:This would require that I buy even more books since my library does not have many Archipelago titles. Towering stacks are one thing; toppling another! 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 The book that stands out in my head that I "sneaked" would be my mom's copy of Shanna by Kathleen Woodweis. I've been thinking about the book(s) that I have reread the most. The first that popped into my head was The Belgariad by David Eddings. I started reading that series, and the subsequent The Mallorean, in the 90's and have continued to do so these past 25 years. The first couple books of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Tiime series also have quite a few rereads on them, at least 14 or 15. My brain is too tired to think about the name game right now but I'll be keeping it in the back of my mind. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 The book that stands out in my head that I "sneaked" would be my mom's copy of Shanna by Kathleen Woodweis. I had to be very careful checking things out of my library because the librarian had serious standards but between my mom and sister-in-law I pretty much read what I wanted. I was welcome to what they had. I loved Kathleen Woodweis and had my own copy of Shanna....bought with babysitting money. I read Valley of the Dolls too. I got more eyebrow raising info from their magazines than their books. Lol Redbook etc had some really illuminating articles. Yeah Jenn!!!! Glad you were able to get the overdrive books sorted. It is so easy. The Courtney Milan is a good one I think. I managed to check Raven Black out from a library in hardcover recently. It is sitting by my bed unread. I need to read it soon. We are spending a copy of nights by the sea and I just brought my kindles. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 I read my first Overdrive title! Woohoo -- I've joined y'all in the 21st century! The overdrive title was the first of the Shetland mysteries by Ann Cleeves, Raven Black. I really like her writing: It was the colours which had caught her attention. Often the colours on the islands were subtle, olive green, mud brown, sea grey and all softened by mist. In full sunlight of early morning, this picture was stark and vibrant. The harsh white of the snow. Three shapes, silhouetted. Ravens. In her painting they would be angular shapes, cubist almost. Birds roughly carved from hard black wood. And then that splash of colour. Red, reflecting the scarlet ball of the sun. Welcome to the modern world. :D I've had that series in my tbr list for a while but wanted the ebooks (without having to buy them). My library system didn't have them, but after I read your post I checked to see if that has changed. Guess what? All are now available in Overdrive. Yay! All of them also have waiting lists, so I placed a hold on the first one. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Hmm, this is tough with my current challenge! lol L - Lathe of Heaven (Ursula K. Le Guin) E - Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card) I - Into the Darkest Corner (Elizabeth Haynes) G - God's Crime Scene (J.Warner Wallace) H - Howard's End is on the Landing: A Year of Reading from Home (Susan Hill) A -Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall (Milligan) N - Nemesis (Agatha Christie) N - 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 The book that stands out in my head that I "sneaked" would be my mom's copy of Shanna by Kathleen Woodweis. I've been thinking about the book(s) that I have reread the most. The first that popped into my head was The Belgariad by David Eddings. I started reading that series, and the subsequent The Mallorean, in the 90's and have continued to do so these past 25 years. The first couple books of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Tiime series also have quite a few rereads on them, at least 14 or 15. My brain is too tired to think about the name game right now but I'll be keeping it in the back of my mind. Same here! i got started on the Wheel of Time in the 90s, and each time a new book was published I'd re-read the whole series. So the first few I've read multiple times! I've also read The Grand Sophy over and over, that's a comfort book for sure. I've read most of my mom's Georgette Heyer books multiple times. When I was really young, I can remember a few I re-read obsessively - The Empire Strikes back and The Hundred and One Dalmations are two. Go figure. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto4inSoCal Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 I enjoyed this dual-language translation that retains the alliterative verse. (But it's not like I've tried any other versions.) Is there a Mensa reading list for adults or are you doing the high school list? I mean, I guess the high school list is a pretty good adult list for people like me who didn't read all those books in hs. Just curious if there's another list I don't know about. I like lists. No, it's the high school list. I told my girls if they would read the list for their age I would read the high school list. I checked off the ones I had already read and it totaled up to about 10. Pretty sad. I also wanted read them all before they hit high school so we could discuss them. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 I snuck popular books borrowed from friends that I knew my parents wouldn't want me to read, like Coma and Flowers in the Attic. ( blech)I also would read from my mom's Harlequin stash when she wasn't home. I didn't hide my fascination with fairy tale type stories and magical tales, until my dad saw me reading a library book that was clearly about a witch. I didn't see the big deal but he tried to convince me it would harm me in some way and forbade reading novels with witches as main characters. It was strange to me that I was not actually forbidden to read any other genre, but I don't think they realized how much "worse" stuff I had read. I still read fairy tales from around the world, especially Ireland and Scotland. My dad didn't seem to have problem with that, but I don't think it occurred to him that some of those had witchy people in them. My father actually handed me the first book I ever read with an " f bomb " in it, Rule Brittania by DuMaurier. Yes, my parents did confuse me at times. That is normal isn't it? 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Yes, my parents did confuse me at times. That is normal isn't it? I suspect it is normal, indeed. (I should ask my now adult daughter how I confused her. Hmm, a topic for for the next Skype session!) A few links of interest ~ These Tiny Food Bookmarks Made Out Of Fabric Are The Future, And The Future Is Adorable 15 Books As Enchanting As The Harry Potter Series, Since You've Already Read Them A Million Times An Epic Chart of 162 Young Adult Retellings Regards, Kareni 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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