Robin M Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Happy Sunday Dear hearts: We are on week 33 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 - Bookish birthdays and bookish news: It is time for another installment of bookish birthdays and book news. Authors celebrating birthdays this week are:August 16 Hugo Gernsback- Father of Science Fiction (1884 - 1967) Georgette Heyer - Regency Romance (1902 - 1974)August 17 Charlotte Forten Grimke- African American Poet and essayist ( 1837 - 1914 )John Hawkes - American novelist (1925 - 1998) August 18 Elsa Morante - Italian Author (1912 - 1985)Alain Robbe-Grillet - French novelist (1922 - 2008)August 19 Minna Canth - Finnish novelist and social activist ( 1844 - 1897) James Gould Cozens - American novelist and Pulitzer Prize Winner (1903 - 1978) August 20H.P. Lovecraft - Horror fiction (1890 - 1937) Salvatore Quasimodo - Italian poet and Nobel Prize Winner (1901 - 1968)August 21Gennady Agyi - Russian Poet (1934 - 2006) Lucius Shepard - American Sci fi/Fantasy (1943 - 2014)August 22Ray Bradbury - American Science Fiction novelist (1920 - 2012)Colm Toibin - Irish novelist (1955 - 60th Birthday)Bookish NewsMicromegas - Voltaire's rare children's book (Brain pickings) Guardian's 2015 Longlist NYT Sunday Book Review - Why do we always proclaim that the Novel is dead?Get your colored pencils - Fantastic Cities is here ******************************************************************** History of the Medieval World Chapter 37 - The Prophet pp 273 - 281 ******************************************************************** What are you reading this week? Link to week 32 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 I'm diving back into Swann's Way and am determined to finish it. Especially since I'm suppose to be leading the MFA class discussing the book on WVU starting in a week or so. I just finished Dead Spots by Melissa Olson. It was entertaining but lacking somehow. The characters seemed a bit immature and parts implausible. I guess reading back to back vampire stories isn't a good idea because I was comparing to Ilona Andrews and Karen Moning, so Olson's writing fell short. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 I finished Germinal, but also finished Illusion from Frank Peretti, a different book again! 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Still reading the same things for now: O. Henry and volume 1 of A History of Private Life. Enjoying the return of Great Girl, who got to experience the collegiate rite of passage of spending the night in an airport. Apparently these days they give you a bottle of water and a granola bar and point you at the stack of cots. I'll see what she's reading this week if she wakes up. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 I'm still reading Son of Neptune but mostly preparing myself for the new school year by reading teaching guides. :) 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 I finished Germinal, but also finished Illusion from Frank Peretti, a different book again! Love Frank Peretti. I've read all his books. So good. I just wish he'd write more quickly. :lol: MommyMilkies - Are you enjoying it? James and l listened to the entire series in the car while going to and from wherever. After a while, I really felt sorry for these kids. They kept going from one fire to the next without any respire. Exhausting just listening to it. I have yet to read them and probably should. They are quite entertaining. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 Still reading the same things for now: O. Henry and volume 1 of A History of Private Life. Enjoying the return of Great Girl, who got to experience the collegiate rite of passage of spending the night in an airport. Apparently these days they give you a bottle of water and a granola bar and point you at the stack of cots. I'll see what she's reading this week if she wakes up. We have Volumes 1 and 2 of A History of Private Life on our shelves (inherited from hubby's mom). They are on my 'I'll get around to it someday' list. Glad to hear Great Girl finally made it home. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 I read: East of Eden - 5 Stars - I’ve only read one other book by Steinbeck (The Pearl) and that was many years ago in secondary school. I remember that I loved The Pearl. Now looking back, I cannot figure out why I didn’t read any other Steinbeck books since. It’s possible that I felt they may be too much like a high school literature course. For whatever reason, they simply didn’t appeal to me. I’d now like to catch up and read more by him. East of Eden was an extremely powerful read. There were a few characters (Samuel Hamilton and Lee) whom I just loved. They were good-hearted and realistic. For me, being able to emotionally connect with some of the characters is essential to my enjoying a novel. Overall, this was beautifully written, well-structured, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. and A Friendly Universe - 1 Star (and, mind you, 1 Star is extremely generous!) - This book is the worst form of rubbish ever. I should have known better when purchasing this as well as another book by Katie. I honestly don’t know what I was thinking. Both are now in the garbage. I wouldn’t even give this book away to anyone, not in the monthly book swap that my daughter and I go to, not anywhere. The funny thing is that my husband and I were lying in bed, reading. He wanted me to read a short article. Since I’d just started this book, I picked up his article and handed him this book. He read a page or two, rolled his eyes, and commented that there’s no way that I’ll like this book. Yes, he was right, as he so often is. He knows that I hate this sort of pop-psych nonsense. Thankfully, it was a quick and short read. Her basic philosophy is: “Everything is your fault. You are just projecting your thoughts onto others.†I read, and please excuse me for paraphrasing here, how in her other book (that I was planning to read soon), she was in therapy with a woman who’d been raped as a child from the time she was nine. Katie told her that she had abused both herself, and the step-father who raped her, because it’s hard to be a child rapist. She had the gall to tell her to step into the rapist’s shoes! Here are some other rather questionable excerpts (please excuse my comments to her in parentheses: “A lover of what is looks forward to everything: life, death, disease, loss, earthquakes, bombs, anything the mind might be tempted to call ‘bad’.†“If I lose all my money, good. If I get cancer, good. If my husband leaves me, good. If he stays, that’s good too.†(Thanks for the clarity). “There are no physical problems, only mental ones.†(Try that with some folks suffering from the former. There most certainly are physical problems). She then adds: “(Love) embraces all, everything from the murderer and the rapist to the saint to the dog and cat.†“Nothing you believe is true.†“You are the cause of all the suffering that exists in this world.†(Really? All of it? Thanks ever so much, Katie, thank you. :lol: “I’m very clear that everyone in the world loves me. I just don’t expect them to realize it yet.†(Umm. Okay. If you say so.) MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Tell Great Girl that she is lucky they had cots! People were sleeping all over the floor of LaGuardia the other night with all of the weather related cancellations and delays. I am one of the fortunate few who made it on to an outgoing flight (arriving seven hours later than originally scheduled). Back to books: In need of an airplane book, a friend recommended The Boys in the Boat, the improbable Depression era tale of some scrappy kids in Washington state who shape themselves into world class rowers and then go on to Hitler's Berlin to compete for the gold. It is an inspirational story as my friend promised. She also said that I will want to buy a copy of the book for everyone I know. Hmmm...that is where she and I part ways. While the story is compelling and the research clearly well done, the quality of the writing is annoying me. Too many pat phrases and overused adverbs. I will finish the book though and probably pass it along to the brother in law who will truly love it. Yesterday I scoured the stacks of the big downtown library in the nearby city for things that have been recommended by some of my BaW friends. Eliana mentioned novelist Elizabeth Taylor's Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont a few weeks ago. (I suspect that writer Elizabeth Taylor is always labeled as writer or novelist E.T. to distinguish her from that other Elizabeth Taylor.) After only a page or two, I felt that I had discovered a kindred spirit to one of my favorite authors, Barbara Pym. Which leads me to wonder why in the world I have never read any of her work before. I also left the library with the audio version of A String in the Harp. While in the juvenile section of the library, I crossed paths with the head children's librarian who is among those who cheered on my son through his years of homeschooling in part because of their shared passion of the Classics. She grinned when I reported that The Boy is living The Dream as a working archaeologist. (Although The Boy's mother was not too happy to see his eye swollen from poison ivy when Skyping over the weekend. Archaeology is not for wimps. Yes he did listen to his Mommy and go to the ER.) 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Enjoying the return of Great Girl, who got to experience the collegiate rite of passage of spending the night in an airport. Apparently these days they give you a bottle of water and a granola bar and point you at the stack of cots. Wow, she got a cot?! I was never so fortunate. I seem to remember spending a night in Logan (Boston) while in graduate school. My daughter spent a night in the airport at Salt Lake City while on a spring break college tour. (We'd foolishly booked her home on the last flight of the day from SLC but her connecting flight came in late.) I remember she finished The Historian while there. She also received the happy news that she'd been accepted into her first choice college. Glad that Great Girl/Sapientia is now safely home! Regards, Kareni 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 I Friendly Universe - 1 Star (and, mind you, 1 Star is extremely generous!) - This book is the worst form of rubbish ever. I should have known better when purchasing this as well as another book by Katie. I honestly don’t know what I was thinking. Both are now in the garbage. I wouldn’t even give this book away to anyone, not in the monthly book swap that my daughter and I go to, not anywhere. The funny thing is that my husband and I were lying in bed, reading. He wanted me to read a short article. Since I’d just started this book, I picked up his article and handed him this book. He read a page or two, rolled his eyes, and commented that there’s no way that I’ll like this book. Yes, he was right, as he so often is. He knows that I hate this sort of pop-psych nonsense.Thankfully, it was a quick and short read. Her basic philosophy is: “Everything is your fault. You are just projecting your thoughts onto others.†I read, and please excuse me for paraphrasing here, how in her other book (that I was planning to read soon), she was in therapy with a woman who’d been raped as a child from the time she was nine. Katie told her that she had abused both herself, and the step-father who raped her, because it’s hard to be a child rapist. She had the gall to tell her to step into the rapist’s shoes! Here are some other rather questionable excerpts (please excuse my comments to her in parentheses: “A lover of what is looks forward to everything: life, death, disease, loss, earthquakes, bombs, anything the mind might be tempted to call ‘bad’.†“If I lose all my money, good. If I get cancer, good. If my husband leaves me, good. If he stays, that’s good too.†(Thanks for the clarity). “There are no physical problems, only mental ones.†(Try that with some folks suffering from the former. There most certainly are physical problems). She then adds: “(Love) embraces all, everything from the murderer and the rapist to the saint to the dog and cat.†“Nothing you believe is true.†“You are the cause of all the suffering that exists in this world.†(Really? All of it? Thanks ever so much, Katie, thank you. :lol: “I’m very clear that everyone in the world loves me. I just don’t expect them to realize it yet.†(Umm. Okay. If you say so.) Don't blame you at all for throwing it in the trash. Looked her up and it seems like one day she woke up with an epiphany and without any education at all on the matter, decided to become an expert on life and how to think and go out and share it. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 I also left the library with the audio version of A String in the Harp. While in the juvenile section of the library, I crossed paths with the head children's librarian who is among those who cheered on my son through his years of homeschooling in part because of their shared passion of the Classics. She grinned when I reported that The Boy is living The Dream as a working archaeologist. (Although The Boy's mother was not too happy to see his eye swollen from poison ivy when Skyping over the weekend. Archaeology is not for wimps. Yes he did listen to his Mommy and go to the ER.) Always a good thing when our kids actually listen. :) Let me know what you think of A String in the Harp. Looks quite interesting. James and I will need an new story to listen too once we're done with The Throne of Fire. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 (Although The Boy's mother was not too happy to see his eye swollen from poison ivy when Skyping over the weekend. Archaeology is not for wimps. Yes he did listen to his Mommy and go to the ER.) Ouch! I hope that the Boy's eye is soon better, Jane. Since I have at least twenty five library books calling for my attention, I read an old favorite from my own book shelf. LaVyrle Spencer's Morning Glory is a wonderful historical romance set in the early 1940s in small town Georgia. It features a reclusive pregnant mother of two and a drifter who has served five years for murder. I also began Alice Hoffman's The Museum of Extraordinary Things which my book group will be meeting to discuss on Thursday. I reached page 91 last night a few minutes before midnight and considered reading one more chapter. I considered this until I realized that those 90 pages amounted to only two chapters! It's an interesting read thus far. Regards, Kareni 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Love Frank Peretti. I've read all his books. So good. I just wish he'd write more quickly. :lol: I'm just glad they still translate him. last spring I discovered Illusion was translated, I bought the book and saved it until now... I think I have read all his adultbooks... 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 I finally finished Armada by Ernest Cline this morning. It took me a week to read this book compared to Ready Player One (his first book) which I did my best to read in one sitting. That statement says it all. The book was fine but the story a bit familiar and like a movie. It was a let down after his first book. Please note I started and finished several books while reading a bit of this one each day..... Here is a review that echoes my feelings pretty well.http://www.dallasnews.com/lifestyles/books/20150724-science-fiction-review-armadaby-ernest-cline.ece I will say I think a teenager might really like the book, especially one who doesn't know all the old video games. At some point I will check it out and see if either dc reads it. This book concentrated on a couple of video games that I am not sure if even exist and no desire to google. Mentions of Dungeons and Dragons but not back to back trip through my past. Essentially a teenage gamer discovers that his obsession with a video game qualifies him to help save the world....the game was a training module. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Always a good thing when our kids actually listen. :) Let me know what you think of A String in the Harp. Looks quite interesting. James and I will need an new story to listen too once we're done with The Throne of Fire. Robin, A String in the Harp is one of my favorites! My son and I listened to it when he was in middle school. I read the book several years later having enjoyed the audio version so much. On Saturday, I went to the shelf containing Nancy Bond's books to borrow Another Shore which Eliana recommended. I also enjoyed Bond's Country of Broken Stone years ago. In fact, we purposely went to Hexham near Hadrian's Wall when my son was 12 because of Country of Broken Stone. We had planned to hike along part of Hadrian's Wall but it was Bond's book and the Minimus Latin curriculum that led us to particular sections and ruins along or near the wall. Listening to and reading A String in the Harp may inspire you to travel to Wales! 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 I might not be around as much for a little bit - my eldest daughter and her husband (and my precious grandaughter!!) are moving here this week, and staying with us for a while. ...so we've been rearranging and trying to get things ready for them. ...I have been excited about this since their tickets were purchased, I've watched eagerly as the boxes began arriving, but now that it is so very, very soon, it is hard to believe it is real. Once again, I am going to break my list up, so I actually post it today! Three powerful, but disturbing books: Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry: Rich, evocative prose, heart-breaking, murky at times, but nothing extraneous. Tinges of the surreal. Glimpses of an interior experience of end-stage alcoholism. A modern "classic" that deserves its reputation, but isn't easy to read. Stacia, I am wondering if you might enjoy this? ...for the depiction of place and time as much as anything else... I am now feeling strongly my own ignorance of the 'feel' of Mexican history.... Disgrace by JM Coetzee: I picked this up literally moments after finishing the Lowry and the contrast was striking. Coetzee's prose is literary, but not as dense and lush as Lowry's and the shadows and complexities are not in the prose at all. Immensely readable (I read it in one sitting), but deeply disturbing on many levels... especially the depictions of women and intimacy, of rape, statutory and non. Despite the many interesting things the book did, I couldn't shake a feeling of objectification of women... I wanted to believe it was the protagonist not the author, but I am not convinced. A very, very uncomfortable book written in very comfortable (to me) prose. Irretrievable by Theodor Fontaine: I am still accepting that this not the book I wanted it to be from the description I read. It *is* a masterfully written book on every level. Its slow pace, careful observations, and focus on character and relationships made me think of Pym and Gardam (and want to share this with you, Jane!) while its understated use of political/historical topics/themes deepened the personal level view. What I found so disturbing, however, was the criticism leveled at the Christine, the wife in the story, and the blame laid on her for, essentially, being herself - too high minded, too traditional - and the way reconciliation (or a sorts) wasn't achieved by any discussion or mediation, but by sweeping things under the rug of 'forgiveness'... with all the real 'give' being (I felt) hers. It is still, however, a small masterpiece... which offers glimpses of (another!) time and place not as familiar to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Robin, A String in the Harp is one of my favorites! My son and I listened to it when he was in middle school. I read the book several years later having enjoyed the audio version so much. On Saturday, I went to the shelf containing Nancy Bond's books to borrow Another Shore which Eliana recommended. I also enjoyed Bond's Country of Broken Stone years ago. In fact, we purposely went to Hexham near Hadrian's Wall when my son was 12 because of Country of Broken Stone. We had planned to hike along part of Hadrian's Wall but it was Bond's book and the Minimus Latin curriculum that led us to particular sections and ruins along or near the wall. Listening to and reading A String in the Harp may inspire you to travel to Wales! Nancy Bond was a favorite of mine growing up, and some of her books remain very dear to me now. Another Shore and Voyage Beyond are my absolute favorites (if you can find the latter, Jane, I think you would love it too), but Country of Broken Stone, String in the Harp, and Best of Enemies (though not its sequels) are all outstanding. Jane, I am so pleased your library has some of her books still! Mine only has String in the Harp (thanks to its award winner status)... and the county library has a few of her other titles in Central Storage (the last stop before being discarded).... I get so sad seeing first rate books discarded to make room for a million copies of the latest best sellers... I'm still hoping these will make it to ebook and be preserved and findable for another generation... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Charlotte Forten Grimke- African American Poet and essayist ( 1837 - 1914 ) Elsa Morante - Italian Author (1912 - 1985) Minna Canth - Finnish novelist and social activist ( 1844 - 1897) Guardian's 2015 Longlist What an interesting list of authors! Thank you, love! I have Charlotte Forten's journal on my TBR stacks and a children's biography I, Charlotte Forten... I should dig them out soon... Morante's History is the only one my library has, but it looks more intense than I am ready to face right now.. but she's represented in this collection of short fiction by Italian women... I can't see any translations of Canth's most acclaimed plays, but her first two plays are available in this volume and she is represented in this anthology of Finnish short stories. I don't seem to be in a very positive frame of mind toward modern literary fiction right now... the only book on the Guardian list that piqued my interest was Mrs Engels. I should probably look at it again when I'm in a more favorable mindset. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Jane, hope the Boy feels better soon! As I recall you were the one who sold me on getting The String in the Harp for Middle Girl, who loved it. Sounds like DFW may be the luxury suite of airports! :D 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Irretrievable by Theodor Fontaine: I am still accepting that this not the book I wanted it to be from the description I read. It *is* a masterfully written book on every level. Its slow pace, careful observations, and focus on character and relationships made me think of Pym and Gardam (and want to share this with you, Jane!) while its understated use of political/historical topics/themes deepened the personal level view. What I found so disturbing, however, was the criticism leveled at the Christine, the wife in the story, and the blame laid on her for, essentially, being herself - too high minded, too traditional - and the way reconciliation (or a sorts) wasn't achieved by any discussion or mediation, but by sweeping things under the rug of 'forgiveness'... with all the real 'give' being (I felt) hers. It is still, however, a small masterpiece... which offers glimpses of (another!) time and place not as familiar to me. The author and the title are completely unfamiliar to me, Eliana. Looks like New York Review of Books deserves another "huzzah!" for keeping another classic alive. Unfortunately Country of Broken Stone is no longer on the library shelf. The only other Bond titles that they have besides A String in the Harp and Another Shore are A Place to Come Back To and The Love of Friends. But the library in my summer community appears to have maintained all of her books! I suspect I know which librarian there deserves credit. Next summer, I will be sure to borrow (and read) Nancy Bond in order to help her maintain a well deserved place on the library shelves. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Tell Great Girl that she is lucky they had cots! People were sleeping all over the floor of LaGuardia the other night with all of the weather related cancellations and delays. I am one of the fortunate few who made it on to an outgoing flight (arriving seven hours later than originally scheduled). ********************************* Yesterday I scoured the stacks of the big downtown library in the nearby city for things that have been recommended by some of my BaW friends. Eliana mentioned novelist Elizabeth Taylor's Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont a few weeks ago. (I suspect that writer Elizabeth Taylor is always labeled as writer or novelist E.T. to distinguish her from that other Elizabeth Taylor.) After only a page or two, I felt that I had discovered a kindred spirit to one of my favorite authors, Barbara Pym. Which leads me to wonder why in the world I have never read any of her work before. My one experience with extreme flight delays was coming home from my grandmother's funeral. I'd left my grandparents' home in Pennsylvania later than I should have and, distracted by grief, took missed my turnoff for Dulles and headed off south... and then went the wrong way on the beltway when I turn around. I think I was the only passenger who waited those hours with intense gratitude! ...though it was more than a little boring for my then 1 year old daughter. ...but if we'd missed the flight, she and I would have been stuck there over a long-weekend... and my other children were all waiting eagerly for us to come home! Since then, I've tried to imagine someone being grateful for the delays that annoy me (which has been relatively easy since I have yet to experience any major hassles of that sort!)...and hope it is making someone happy. ********************** I am so glad you are enjoying the Taylor! It seemed just your sort of book. Someday I plan to try another of hers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Robin, thank you for last week's name challenge! I have been drowning in books-in-process, and this gave me an easy way to narrow the field. E - Everyman: I last read this in high school and felt 'meh' about it. I appreciated it more this time around. It still isn't something I'd press on anyone, but it has more interest and appeal than I gave it credit for before, and few absolutely charming bits. L - Labor and Freedom by Eugene V Debs: There were a few charming bits in this too, but it was hard to get past some of the dated terminology with associations Debs wouldn't have intended. I - Intolerable by Kamal Al-Solaylee: I had trouble with this book for a while. I was expecting, and the book tried to offer, insights into the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in a culture that was, for a while, engaging very positively with "Western" culture. ...but the author has so little understand of or appreciation for the culture he came from that he can't really offer any such insights. And I was feeling uncomfortable with the strands of narrative that focused on the development of the author's sexual identity. They felt out of place in the type of book I though I was reading. And then, well into the book, I learned that the author's major start as a writer was for gay magazines... and then my genre expectations shifted, and the attempts at political commentary became the intrusions, and a far more interesting, more personal story lurked in the background. In many ways the most interesting aspect of this was that I felt Al-Solaylee was an unreliable narrator, and there were aspects of his story, of his relationship with his family and culture, in his development, which seemed invisible to him, or barely glimpsed. One aspect that left me heart-sore, and which I have encountered in other gay memoirs, is the early exploration of sexuality being in contexts I would label as exploitative (purely physical, with an older partner). ...and the harm I saw this as causing the narrator, the challenges he later experienced in figuring out lasting relationships seemed not unconnected. ...and I was left with the hope that a culture where there is less stigma (and no threat of jail) will leave/is leaving more healthy options for young men today... at least here in the States. [However anyone might feel about those shifts - and I don't want to start any political debates!] It isn't an angle of view I've explored at all before. Also interesting was the glimpses of life in Beirut and Cairo and some very brief glances at Yemen. A - Amongst Women by John McGahern: Jane, this is another one I think you might like. I was afraid at first that we'd veer into stereotypes, but this is too observant, too living a narrative to fall into stale ruts. The beginning gives some glimpses of historical context, but the rest is worthy of a Pym in its personal focus and never-unkind, but at times unsparing descriptiveness... often leavened with a touch of humor. N - Native American Songs and Poems: This slim Dover anthology has a wild mixture of traditional songs and very modern poems. As with most anthologies, there were selections I loved mixed with ones I merely tolerated, but overall this is an adequate starting point for improving my familiarity with native poets. ...but I have a long, long way to go! A - Aias by Sophocles: a new-to-me translation.... out of time, will try to to finish later.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 .. Disgrace by JM Coetzee: I picked this up literally moments after finishing the Lowry and the contrast was striking. Coetzee's prose is literary, but not as dense and lush as Lowry's and the shadows and complexities are not in the prose at all. Immensely readable (I read it in one sitting), but deeply disturbing on many levels... especially the depictions of women and intimacy, of rape, statutory and non. Despite the many interesting things the book did, I couldn't shake a feeling of objectification of women... I wanted to believe it was the protagonist not the author, but I am not convinced. A very, very uncomfortable book written in very comfortable (to me) prose. I agree, this was a very well-written book that bothered me a lot. I know that man, I've met him many times in my life. I bet a lot of women have. It's interesting that he can only begin to become likable as his world falls apart. His daughter's story, and her choices, were incredibly disturbing. I don't pretend to understand what it must be like to be a South African, white or black. This book was just searing in its look at the relations between the two and the choices people make to try and create, recreate, or retain a sense that they belong in a place. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 I'm trying to stay focused, and finish reading and making a study guide for Story of Science, with school starting Monday! I'm also working on Your Child's Strengths by Jennifer Fox. I'm liking it a lot and it's helping me think through the philosophical shift I'm trying to make in teaching (and parenting) my younger dd. For fiction, I'm reading The LIbrary on Mount Char and listening to People of the Book (thanks, Stacia!) Books Read in August: 114. The Iron King - Maurice Druon 113. The Magus - John Fowles 112. A History of God - Karen Armstrong 111. War of the Worlds: Fresh Persepctives on the HG Wells Masterpiece 110. March - Geraldine Brooks None of which work for the spell your name challenge, unfortunately! But I'm looking forward to Remarkable Creatures as my next audio book, just waiting for it from the library. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 My brother once sat in the plane in NY for hours before they let them take off. It was bad weather. He was on his way home from two years in Germany. He thought he'd never get home. That was back in the early 90s when you could meet the arrivals at the gate. BWI is an interesting place at 1 in the morning! We walked all over that almost completely deserted airport. My brother's plane arrived at 2:30 in the morning. They were supposed to have arrived about 7. I have fun memories of that night, though. Like my sister doing cartwheels down a long hallway and dancing with strangers as we got more and more loopy the later it got. Don't you love it when you recommend a book to a friend and they love it so much? A week and a half ago I was talking to a friend and for some reason I brought up Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. She had never heard of it so last Wednesday I gave her that one and Hollow City. She gave me Miss Peregrine back this morning at church and she's partway through Hollow City. She is loving them. She said she kept totally losing track of time (I pointed out there is time travel in them, so...) and she'd be eating dinner with her husband and kids and Ransom Rigg's world would be pulling at her. It just made me (and my daughter since her current favorite book is Miss Peregrine) just so happy that my friend is enjoying the books as much as I did. She'll be on vacation when Library of Souls comes out, but I told her she can borrow that one, too, as soon as she gets back. I'm reading Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson. It's the first book my 13 year old will be reading when we go back to school. I figure since that's a week from Tuesday I'd better get this book read. I'm not loving it. I'm finding it really hard to pay attention to it. It's just not my thing. I do think my son will enjoy it. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Some interesting links ~ 10 Works of Literature That Were Really Hard to Write *** Loree Griffin Burns and Great Nonfiction for Children One of the featured books is The Hive Detectives: Chronicle of a Honey Bee Catastrophe which seems appropriate for us here. *** Read This, Then That: UPDRAFT by Fran Wilde and Five Novels of Flight & Fantasy One of the books, Unwrapped Sky by Rjurik Davidson, features minotaurs! *** A fun shirt for fans of Rowling's Hermione and of Hugo's Les Miserables ~ look here. Regards, Kareni 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 I am very glad that Great Girl made it home. I also feel tremendous sympathy for The Boy and poison ivy around the eyes. I once had poison ivy on my earlobes...I had an ear infection and didn't scrub there after knowing I had been exposed. The eyes must be worse and the ears were pretty miserable! I have made progress on spelling my name. Thus far... S....Sister of the Bride by Susan Mallery, a Fool's Gold story, which I really enjoyed. A....Armada by Ernest Cline N....No Good Duke Goes Unpunished by Sarah MacLean, Rule of Scoundrels series, good. :) D.... not completed....Duke's Disaster by Grace Burrowes, BF loved it R....not completed...Raven Black by Ann Cleeves, good so far A....Almost Perfect by Susan Mallery, Fool's Gold again,read several of these this week Now for my reading plans for the next week, I have several more Fool's Gold books downloaded and I also have several more of the Ann Cleeves Shetland books so I plan to be busy! 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Posted at the end of the last thread that I finally finished a book after a couple weeks of practically no reading. I do think quite a few of you gals would like Chantel Acevedo's The Distant Marvels. Hoping to get back into my Marco Polo reading this week, if I do manage to read. It's been awhile since I posted my list, so I'll put it here. I'm at 38 books this year, which is definitely behind the curve for me. I think I'll be doing well to eke out the full 52 this year. Please send me good reading karma! Glad Great Girl made it safely home & hope The Boy recovers quickly from his poison ivy! Eliana, thanks -- I will have to look up Under the Volcano. 2015 Books Read (my favorites are in green): Africa: Rue du Retour by Abdellatif Laâbi, trans. from the French by Jacqueline Kaye, pub. by Readers International. Morocco. Nigerians in Space by Deji Bryce Olukotum, pub. by Unnamed Press. South Africa & Nigeria. Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor, pub. by Viking (Penguin Group). Nigeria. Under the Frangipani by Mia Couto, trans. from the Portuguese by David Bookshaw, pub. by Serpent’s Tail. Mozambique. Gassire’s Lute: A West African Epic, trans. & adapted by Alta Jablow, illus. by Leo & Diane Dillon, pub. by Dutton. West Africa, incl. Ghana & Burkina Faso. Memoirs of a Porcupine by Alain Mabanckou, pub. by Soft Skull Press, an imprint of Counterpoint. Congo Republic. Antarctica: Asia: The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami, a Borzoi book pub. by Alfred A. Knopf. Japan. BaW January author challenge. The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire by Jack Weatherford, pub. by Crown Publishers. Mongolia. Caribbean: The Duppy by Anthony C. Winkler, pub. by Akashic Books. Jamaica. The Distant Marvels by Chantel Acevedo, pub. by Europa Editions. Cuba. Europe: The Affinity Bridge by George Mann, a Tor book pub. by Tom Doherty Associates. England. Extraordinary Renditions by Andrew Ervin, pub. by Coffee House Press. Hungary. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, pub. by Scribner Classics. France & Spain. Kismet by Jakob Arjouni, trans. from the German by Anthea Bell, pub. by Melville House (Melville International Crime). Germany. The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham, pub. by Penguin Books. France. Cat Out of Hell by Lynne Truss, pub. by Melville House. England. Orlando by Virginia Woolf, pub. by Harcourt Brace & Company. England. BaW March author challenge. Missing Person by Patrick Modiano, trans. from the French by Daniel Weissbort, pub. by David R. Godine (a Verba Mundi Book). France. The Dead Mountaineer’s Inn by Boris & Arkady Strugatsky, pub. by Melville House. Russia. The Infatuations by Javier MarÃas, pub. by Alfred A. Knopf. Spain. Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams, pub. by Gallery Books. England. The Travels of Daniel Ascher by Déborah Lévy-Bertherat, pub. by Other Press. France. Latin America: Heliopolis by James Scudamore, pub. by Europa Editions. Brazil. Middle East: The Jerusalem File by Joel Stone, pub. by Europa editions. Israel. Goat Days by Benyamin, trans. from Malayalam by Joseph Koyipally, pub. by Penguin Books. Saudi Arabia. North America: The Good Lord Bird by James McBride, pub. by Riverhead Books (Penguin Group). USA. No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, pub. by Vintage International. USA. Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi, pub. by Little, Brown and Company. USA. Duplex by Kathryn Davis, pub. by Graywolf Press. USA. No Cause for Indictment: An Autopsy of Newark by Ronald Porambo, pub. by Melville House. USA. Petroglyphs of Hawaii by L. R. McBride, pub. by Petroglyph Press. North America & Oceania: USA/Hawaii. Yesterday in Hawai’i by Scott C. S. Stone, pub. by Island Heritage Publishing. North America & Oceania: USA/Hawaii. Glimmerglass by Marly Youmans, pub. by Mercer University Press. USA. Oceania: Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood, pub. by Poisoned Pen Press. Australia. Departure Lounge by Chad Taylor, pub. by Europa Editions. New Zealand. Other: Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis, pub. by Scribner. Malacandra. Going Postal by Terry Pratchett, pub. by Corgi Books. Ankh-Morpork. Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard, pub. by Anchor Books, a Division of Random House, Inc. Fantasy England, most likely. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 I finished What We See When We Read by Peter Mendelsund. I was hoping for some readable but interesting science, but this turned out to be lighter than I had imagined. I did enjoy the author's graphic representation of the ideas discussed in the book, and it's not like it was boring, exactly. It was a nice, light read for while I was sitting in the park while my youngest ds was at soccer practice. I also finished The Travels of Marco Polo. A combination of snoresville and incredible/horrifying/amazing. Pass through a few boring places, then get to somewhere with an interesting story, then a few more boring places. I felt it was worth reading, and would be worth reading again with a pen in hand and a mind to mine it for good ideas to expand upon. What got me most, though, was in the... afterward maybe, where it told that people didn't believe his tall tales of such things as coconuts and paper money, etc. They nicknamed him Marco of the Millions, and at carnivals there were sort of clowns named after him who sat and told stories and exaggerations. His friends and family begged him, on his death bed, to recant for the sake of his soul, and he refused saying he had only told half of what he saw. Still reading Jane Eyre with ds and started reading Invisible Cities by Calvino. For poetry, I have been reading a back issue of Rattle magazine. In each issue, half the poems are related to a theme or tribute (scientists, feminist poets, etc.). The theme for this particular issue is speculative poetry. Here's a poem. Elemental by Jeannine Hall Gailey The titanium staple the surgeon left in your stomach is just the beginning: it's the strontium-90 in your baby teeth, (The dust of New Mexico, the echoes of tests of implosion triggers fifty, sixty years ago.) Note the Americium in your smoke detector. Note the rate of decay per second. The trees drink Cessium click click click The bees weave particles into their nests click click click The traces around you of other people's experiments linger in your veins, lungs, eggs linger in your femur and kidney. Carbon-based structures, we absorb from the water, from the air, from our food, from our walls from our parks and fishing ponds. We absorb and our body says: it is good. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Hello All! Missed you last week as we were on the road for a soccer tournament and then down to CA for a family reunion. Good times, little sleep, and even less reading time! My only completion was Chevalier's The Lady and the Unicorn before we left (which I enjoyed). I started The Philosopher Kings but haven't finished it and I have to return it to the library tomorrow. If I were closer to the end I'd just keep it an extra day or two, but I think I will just put it on hold again. I also started Americanah which I need to have done by the 25th for book club, so that is what I'll be focusing on this week. Just a few chapters in, but I'm liking it. And if I try to do the name challenge, it will be my start. If I run out of time (the norm around here), I can do A,L,I (have to find books for L and I); if I have more time I'll add the S, O, N. Oooh, still need to get back to S., so maybe that will be my inspiration. Loved String in the Harp--must have heard of it here. Will have to see if the library has others by her. Still have GlimmerGlass and Go Set a Watchman ready to go (if only my name was Gigi...). No reading this weekend--need to get back to painting the girls room. Busy week ahead. Have a good week, everyone. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Forgot to mention that we started listening to Rebecca on our long drive home Thursday. I'm enjoying it (loved it as a teen)--not sure if anyone else in the family is hooked! I think they liked The Wee Free Men earlier in the trip. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 I'm still reading A Walk in the Woods.. I don't think I'll be getting much reading done this week. We start school on Tuesday which will mean acclimating everyone, myself included, to a new schedule. We have had a very lazy summer. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 A currently free Kindle book that might be of interest to some. The Last Will of Moira Leahy: a novel by Therese Walsh "[W]rapped in luscious, dark atmosphere. A magical debut . . .â€â€“ Sarah Addison Allen, New York Times bestselling author of Garden Spells From Publishers Weekly Walsh's satisfying novel follows Maeve Leahy, a brilliant young professor, in her pursuit for answers about her family and herself. When she impulsively bids on a keris—an ancient Javanese dagger—at an auction house, Maeve's orderly life spins out of control. Anonymous notes appear on her office door, with provocative hints about the origins of the keris, unleashing memories of Maeve's onetime musical ambitions and the loss of her twin, Moira. When a note urges Maeve to visit Rome, her best friend, Kit, persuades her to go. There she finds Noel, her rakish love interest, who is trying to solve his own family's mysteries. He helps Maeve navigate the bewildering questions and characters in Rome while making his romantic ambitions clear, much to Maeve's indignation and secret fascination. Walsh ably shifts between Maeve's current quest and flashbacks showing the twins as children, revealing little by little the story behind Maeve's grief. While Maeve sometimes comes across as self-involved—even for a woman on a personal quest—Walsh's pleasing blend of mystery, romance and the supernatural is enough to keep readers rooting for the heroine. (Oct.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. *** ALSO, there are a number of books by Grace Livingston Hill that are available free to Kindle readers. Hill was a prolific writer of Christian stories. From Wikipedia: "Her characters were most often young female Christian women or those who become so within the confines of the story." See here. *** And The Complete Jane Austen Collection by Jane Austen is also free. Regards, Kareni 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 I finished Lord of the Flies. That was interesting, but the ending was kind of abrupt. Now I have started The Ides of March. It seems rather slow-going so far. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maela Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 I'm still here! Book #18 - The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella Nice, fun and easy read. There's obviously no way I'm making it to 52. :001_rolleyes: I'll just keep chugging along though and hope that next year I'll do better. 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Finally finished The Men Who United the States by Simon Winchester, an audio book started back in April. I never reloaded it when I got a new phone but found myself with a commute and nothing to listen to and decided it was time to finish it. I still think it would be a good addition to a high school American History course as it is readable, interesting and provides a different perspective on so many facets of our lives. He overreaches at times in trying to make profound observations and conclusions, and his organizing device -- basing the different stories on the 5 Chinese elements -- is a bit jarring and conceited, but overall it works. I finished and enjoyed Death in Elysium, a title Mumto2 had recommended. It is the first Jodie Welsh mystery, but it read more as a novel than a standard mystery. Not sure how it's supposed to continue as a mystery series, but the town and its politics seem fertile ground for many more stories! And Stacia, I have started listening to Johannes Cabal: The Necromancer! So far so good. I like the dry, dark humor. With 4 more days of performances to go next weekend, and a 40 minute drive to the theater, I should make good progress on it! (Haven't wanted to listen to anything driving home, preferring the quiet after a 3 hour show....) 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoseInABook Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 I'm failing at keeping up with you ladies lately. I've read Kass Morgan's The 100 which had a great story and could have been awesome buuuut... the writing is terrible. I also finished Kay Hooper's Haven which was meh. Going to crack open Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits today. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 I'm failing at keeping up with you ladies lately. I've read Kass Morgan's The 100 which had a great story and could have been awesome buuuut... the writing is terrible. Keep reading the series. Her writing got better and better. Most authors do. It comes with practice. That series is awesome (but I cannot watch the TV show because, clearly, making a show from a synopsis doesn't work - the characters are so wrong). 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 I finished Alice Hoffman's The Museum of Extraordinary Things which my book group will be meeting to discuss on Thursday. It was an interesting and enjoyable read. From Booklist: *Starred Review* ...Hoffman breathes fiery life into an enrapturing fairy tale and historical fiction mash-up. Professor Sardie, a fanatic with a secret past and a Dr. Frankenstein aura, runs the Museum of Extraordinary Things on Coney Island in 1911, showcasing “living wonders,†including his motherless daughter, web-fingered Coralie, who performs in a tank as the Mermaid. Ezekiel Cohen, a motherless Orthodox Jewish immigrant from Russia, abandons his tailor father and his faith, calls himself Eddie, and devotes himself to photography. As Coralie’s father puts her at grave risk to perpetuate what he hopes will be a profitable hoax, Eddie documents the shocking and tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and tries to solve the mystery of a young woman’s disappearance. Both Coralie and Eddie end up experiencing unnerving epiphanies in the glorious and imperiled wilderness on the northern coast of Manhattan. With a Jewish mystic and a distinguished Wolfman, ravishing evocations of the rapidly transforming city and the tawdry yet profoundly human magnetism of Coney Island, dramatic perspectives on criminal greed and the coalescence of the labor movement, and keen appreciation for the new clarity photography fostered, Hoffman unveils both horror and magic in this transfixing tale of liberation and love in a metropolis of lies, yearning, and metamorphosis. --Donna Seaman “The year 1911 had an apocalyptic feel in New York City as fire devastated the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in Greenwich Village and destroyed the amusement park Dreamland that rose above Coney Island. Manhattan wasn’t yet entirely tamed by concrete and people still believed in the fantastical. Alice Hoffman, whose brand of magic realism really should have a patent pending, makes lovely work of the era in her new city-centric novel, The Museum of Extraordinary Things.†(Sherryl Connelly New York Daily News) Regards, Kareni 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 I'm back from what turned out to be a crazy vacation with large groups of people, family obligations, and cultural misunderstandings. The day following my return a close family friend passed away. Finally, this morning I was awoken by an earthquake, which is a bit of a big deal to me because I still have some moderate PTSD from the 1989 Loma Prieta quake. Anyway, my nerves are jangled and any relaxation I may have managed to squeeze from my trip has been erased. :glare: Before leaving for my vacation I read The Silver Chair (still trying to finish these from March), The Elephant Whisperer, and The Sparrow. The Elephant Whisperer is an excellent read. I love elephants and feel a connection to them and this book solidified that for me. That someone with no experience would take in an entire herd of elephants in order to save their lives was touching. The subsequent events, ranging from hilarious to rage inducing, were both fascinating and educational. Stacia, you were right: I greatly enjoyed The Sparrow, although I agree with Rose it was harrowing. I've thought about why that was and I think it's because of the high degree of character development. I really felt like I knew them and I was an invisible, silent observer who was actually present throughout the book. Not many books have done that to me. Usually I do feel like they are in their own world and I'm understanding their story from the outside. I did warn my sci-fi loving DH that he would probably be too sensitive for it. Any other Russell books people would recommend? I finished Lord of the Flies. That was interesting, but the ending was kind of abrupt. I agree the ending was abrupt. For this I was grateful. :) 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Finished another book: Margaretha, a book about Margarethe from Parma when she 'reigned' about the Netherlands. I didn't like the tone of the book. So disappointing after reading much greater books about the same era... 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 idnib :grouphug: I get so sad seeing first rate books discarded to make room for a million copies of the latest best sellers... :iagree: I get so annoyed going into the library anymore. Every time I go looking for a classic, I can guarantee they don't have it but they have shelves of YA crap and Manga books. :rolleyes: Jane - glad ds went to the ER. Aly had poison ivy on the face once. It was alarming how quickly she swelled. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 There is a reason I did not read The Red Badge of Courage in high school :glare: :ack2: 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 I finished the second in The Maze Runner trilogy, The Scorch Trials. This one was less enjoyable than the first book. I really don’t like it when there is so much deception that you have no idea what is real and what is not real. It kind of made me grumpy. Also, I am still not connecting with the characters. It’s unusual for me to keep reading a book when the characters are just meh. However, I do want to know how it’s going to end. On a side note, the Cranks remind me of World War Z. JUST OK. And then I finished up the trilogy with The Death Cure. I will admit to being a little frustrated with the beginning of this book. More of the same was what I kept thinking. About halfway through, the story started coming together, and I admit to being fully engaged. This book brought out some emotions in me that ran a wide gamut. In the end, I thought that it was a strong close to the series. (Though I admit I wondered early on if they were headed in that direction for the conclusion, it just went a crazy unexpected path to it). GOOD ENOUGH TO RECOMMEND TO A YOUNGER AUDIENCE, one who wouldn’t get annoyed by the lack of vocab and character development. :D 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 idnib :grouphug: I have been having problems posting today. I finished The Duke's Disaster which is the first in a new series by Grace Burrows. It was good and a bit different than the normal historical romance but a portion of that difference is a trigger for some, r#pe scene. The next in the series is due out soon. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 I might not be around as much for a little bit - my eldest daughter and her husband (and my precious grandaughter!!) are moving here this week, and staying with us for a while. ...so we've been rearranging and trying to get things ready for them. Eliana, Enjoy the return of your daughter and her family. Will they be settling near you or are they simply in transition? I recall that you're a fan of both Tam Lin retellings and of Jo Walton, so I thought of you when I saw mention of this today. It's an older post, so it may well be old news. Tam Lin, a Barrayaran Shakespeare Play by Jo Walton Regards, Kareni 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 idnib, so sorry you've had such a difficult time! Virtual hugs. :) 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Thanks for the hugs! I was feeling a bit better until a seismologist said there's "only" a 5-10% chance this is a pre-cursor to a larger quake in the next few weeks. Is it me, or does that seem really high? I forgot in my original post to mention my current read. I'm trying to catch up to the Western Canon goodreads group on Faust. I knew it would be useless to try and read it while on holiday and they started while I was gone. So far I am enjoying it! 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maela Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 I'm failing at keeping up with you ladies lately. I've read Kass Morgan's The 100 which had a great story and could have been awesome buuuut... the writing is terrible. I also finished Kay Hooper's Haven which was meh. Going to crack open Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits today. I'm really enjoying The House of Spirits in Spanish! Still. :o Someday I'll actually finish it. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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