Book a Week 2015 - BW36: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

[Angel]

I just knew you would like it! You were on the top of my BaWer's who would like this kental list. Jenn is at the top of the list too. Angel, Robin, and Noseinabook, would also enjoy it I think.

 

 

 

We are finally hopefully off on our short holiday. It has been cancelled so many time I hate to say it. No one has announced they are sick (we have had a nasty virus that has forced cancellation for the past month) so crossing my fingers and getting dressed to go!

 

Is it by Daniel O'Malley?  I'll add it to my TBR list, thanks!

 

I hope you have a great holiday!

[Guest]

I agree and neither do I :).

 

I've been reading and re-reading your post and am not sure as to your intent and meaning. Are you trying to gently remind me in a rather roundabout way to stay quiet and to stifle how I feel about a book in order to possibly avoid offending others? I'm not sure. Please clarify. I feel that your tone may have been mildly condescending. Just maybe, but I'm sure that I'm mistaken, since, as you know, online conversations are so often misunderstood :grouphug: . Please help me out here and say it like it is, since it's often hard to read between the lines without eye-to-eye and person-to-person contact! :D  :grouphug:

 

I don't think that this thread is one where we should feel hushed in any way or asked to politely shut ourselves up. That's not my understanding. Maybe I'm mistaken. There were no personal attacks. I was merely summarizing quotes that were taken from the book and my thoughts on them. To ask us to not share things like that is like censorship, I believe.  

 

My intent was to share the rush of thoughts I feelings I had in response to your post. To share, with love for everyone here, with respect for how many different ways we can see and experience the world, with trust that your heartfelt response was not meant to be hurtful to anyone.

 

No, I don't think any of us should stifle our genuine responses to what we read.  Your voice, all of our voices, are valuable and important. 

 

I don't have any answers to how we (as individuals or a group) walk the tightrope of candid self expression with respect for different perspectives and experiences.  

 

...except, maybe, to keep talking and listening and each sharing, while trusting that we're all trying to walk that tightrope together.

 

So, I shared my not very coherent responses based on my own readings and experiences... and I tried to imagine a comparable review here of Unorthodox - a woman's story of escaping from her Satmar chasidic world. 

 

I have neither the right nor the desire to say how you should respond, dearest.  And I am so sorry that my hastily typed sharing leaves you feeling stifled.  That was not my intention at all.   :grouphug:

[Negin]

I have neither the right nor the desire to say how you should respond, dearest.  And I am so sorry that my hastily typed sharing leaves you feeling stifled.  That was not my intention at all.   :grouphug:

Eliana, I'm equally very sorry to have misunderstood. Thank you for being so sweet.  :grouphug:  You're always one of the kindest souls that I know. Thank you.  :grouphug:

[Butter]

...when dd#3 and I saw Phantom together this spring, Raoul was played as such a self-centered, clueless (in a jerky rather than endearing way) guy that one of the best moments in a very well done production was when Christine slapped him.... (not that I am ordinarily a fan of assault!)

 

 

I wonder if the actor and/or director had read the book.  He played Raoul pretty much how he's written.  Where I am now he's being such a jerk since he's decided Christine is clearly taking up in secret with some attractive tenor and must no longer be a "good girl" and has compromised herself.  I mean, why else would she be rejecting Raoul?!?!

[Stacia]

Angel, happy belated birthday to your dd!

 

[idnib]

Hmmm....

 

I'm not going to express myself well, I can already tell.

 

I appreciated Negin's book review. As a Muslim I found I didn't agree with a lot of what was written and found it a somewhat painful, particularly the conflation of pre-Islamic cultural views and practices with Islam itself. While I certainly don't embrace hurt, I am not a person who would prefer censored views and comfort to honest evaluations of real experiences and books, ever. 

 

Who am I to say what someone else's experience has been?

 

I absolutely have faith this is a safe place and moreover, I believe having this faith is a necessity for the safety itself to manifest. BaW is safer when people can give their honest experiences with books and others give them the benefit of the doubt and believe those are their true experiences of reading the book, and that the author also was shaped by their experiences enough to write and tell the world about them. That's real safety, to me.

 

I can't speak for anyone else.  :)

[Guest]

Now I am intrigued!

 

Do you like reading plays?  ...and, have you read or seen Importance of Being Earnest?

 

If yes... then, I do think you would enjoy this one.  

 

I am so glad I didn't read this before reading Ulysses... the only Stoppard I'd read before the other year was Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, which is amazing, but with more surreal elements than I usually enjoy.   The other Stoppard's I've been reading have much in common with each other, but only The Real Inspector Hound feels related to R &G.... and after reading Arcadia I was lamenting having missed out on Stoppard for all of these years.  ...but I am now reconciled to it.

 

Gaah,  It is late, and I am being self-indulgent hanging out here....

[idnib]

Do you like reading plays?  ...and, have you read or seen Importance of Being Earnest?

 

If yes... then, I do think you would enjoy this one.  

 

I am so glad I didn't read this before reading Ulysses... the only Stoppard I'd read before the other year was Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, which is amazing, but with more surreal elements than I usually enjoy.   The other Stoppard's I've been reading have much in common with each other, but only The Real Inspector Hound feels related to R &G.... and after reading Arcadia I was lamenting having missed out on Stoppard for all of these years.  ...but I am now reconciled to it.

 

I do like reading plays, but I don't do it very often. I have not read or seen Importance of Being Earnest, but you had me at "Ulysses." The Stoppard book containing Arcadia is checked in at the library so I'll stop by tomorrow after the holiday.

[Guest]

I do like reading plays, but I don't do it very often. I have not read or seen Importance of Being Earnest, but you had me at "Ulysses." The Stoppard book containing Arcadia is checked in at the library so I'll stop by tomorrow after the holiday.

 

I think you'd enjoy Travesties more if you see/read TIOBE first.  Travesties is the Ulysses riffing one, Arcadia is my favorite Stoppard, but unconnected to JJ.  

[Lady Florida.]

I just finished Infidel - 5 Stars -

 

Infidel is an amazing book, the first one I’ve read by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. I definitely plan on reading more. I cannot say that it’s a book that I enjoyed reading, far from it. There were parts that extremely disturbing and painful (regular beatings and genital mutilation – I had to skip those details, since it was just too much for me). She takes us through her childhood in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, and Ethiopia. She ends up in the Netherlands where she escapes an arranged marriage.

 

 

I saw your review on Goodreads and 'liked' it. Thank you. This book has been on my TBR list for a while. I just might have to move it closer to the top.

[Kareni]

Last night I read the contemporary romance Miss Match by Laurelin McGee.  It's probably more accurate to say that I read about 200 pages and then skimmed the final 100 or so pages.  I was sufficiently invested that I wanted to see the happy ending, but I wasn't interested at that point in carefully reading each page. 

 

"Welcome to the sexy, crazy, wildly unpredictable world of modern matchmaking, where fixing up strangers is part of the job--but falling in love is an occupational hazard…

 

HE'S THE PERFECT CATCH.
Blake Donovan is tall, handsome, rich, and successful--so why would a guy like him need a matchmaker? Andrea Dawson has no idea, but a job is a job. After being blackballed from a career in marketing, Andrea agreed to use her unique profiling skills to play matchmaker out of pure desperation. But when she meets her highly eligible--and particular--first client face to face, she wonders what she's gotten herself into…

IS SHE HIS PERFECT MATCH?
Blake knows exactly the kind of woman he's looking for--and it's the total opposite of Andrea. Though smart and undeniably sexy, she is simply too headstrong for a man who's used to being in charge. Still, Blake's blood pressure rises whenever she's near him. How can he explain the smoldering attraction that sizzles between them? And how can Andrea deny she's feeling it, too? Maybe, just maybe, they've finally met their match…"

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[JennW in SoCal]

I just knew you would like it! You were on the top of my BaWer's who would like this kental list. Jenn is at the top of the list too. Angel, Robin, and Noseinabook, would also enjoy it I think.

 

 

Adding The Rook to my list of "want to read".  I've bookmarked The Guardian article, too, for future reference. Thanks! And enjoy your trip!

 

 

I don't have any answers to how we (as individuals or a group) walk the tightrope of candid self expression with respect for different perspectives and experiences.  

 

...except, maybe, to keep talking and listening and each sharing, while trusting that we're all trying to walk that tightrope together.

 

I love the bolded as it encapsulates what is special about this thread in particular and the WTM boards in general. My Facebook feed, in comparison, has become especially depressing read.  I love the different perspective each of you bring, and the books you bring to my attention. I may be wedded to my murder mysteries and fantasy epics, but reviews of books like Infidel inspire me to read more broadly. I've added it to my TBR list, too.

 

All the talk of Reader's Digest has me chuckling to myself. My mother, perhaps the most judgmental and narrow-minded person I've ever known (she rivaled Joan Crawford in Mommy Dearest), despised RD, and would dismiss anyone who read it as an illiterate low life, not fit for friendship or any social interaction! It delights me to no end that all you wonderful, well read, and intelligent women have fond memories of reading it or still read it!!  I'm going to have to finally find a copy to read, see what I've missed all these years...

[Angel]

Angel, happy belated birthday to your dd!

 

Thanks!  We took down her bunk bed today.  She is getting her room redone for her birthday.  No more Pepto Bismol pink bedroom.  :laugh:  She's going gray walls and red and black accents.

 

the only Stoppard I'd read before the other year was Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, which is amazing, but with more surreal elements than I usually enjoy.   

 Ok, I'm trying to see what I missed here!  I read Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead right after reading Hamlet a few years back.  I found it utterly chaotic and confusing, far from the amazing that you described it.  I double checked to make sure we were talking about the same book  :laugh:.  So what am I missing?  I didn't enjoy it at all.

[Negin]

I appreciated Negin's book review. As a Muslim I found I didn't agree with a lot of what was written and found it a somewhat painful

Thank you and I am so sorry to have caused hurt and pain. 

 

I saw your review on Goodreads and 'liked' it. Thank you.

Thank you. I'm trying to remember what your name is on Good Reads. Sorry to sound a bit off, but it's hard to remember everyone's names when they're not the same here!

[Lady Florida.]

Thank you and I am so sorry to have caused hurt and pain. 

 

Thank you. I'm trying to remember what your name is on Good Reads. Sorry to sound a bit off, but it's hard to remember everyone's names when they're not the same here!

 

Kathy Chumley. Since I've given you all my Goodreads link there's no need to pretend to hide my last name here. :)

[mumto2]

Angel, I was typing fast this morning and didn't have a chance to wish your dd a Happy Birthday. For some reason 15 seems so much more mature at my house than 14.

 

Didn't get much more of The Rook read. I started a Regency because too many distractions while in the car. I need to go back and click on the links and investigate the thread better. I did get a couple of Kareni's freebies. So Thank You.

[Negin]

Kathy Chumley. Since I've given you all my Goodreads link there's no need to pretend to hide my last name here. :)

Earlier today, coincidentally, I was going through your books there. :D

[Pam in CT]

I finished The Return of Martin Guerre, by Natalie Zemon Davis.  As it is a scholarly historical review of 16th century primary sources, which also (implausibly) manages to be funny, I presume the recommendation came from Violet Crown.  Kareni will confirm or deny.  Thoroughly enjoyed.

 

Also, How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents, by Julia Alvarez, which chronicles the experiences of four sisters born into Trujillo's Dominican Republic, first on "The Island" and then, after they flee, their gradual adjustment to/ coming of age in the US.  Nice.

 

 

I have launched into Brothers Karamazov -- hold me in the light, please.  Also, in a doubtless overdue recognition of my theoretical goal to read two books in Spanish, I started Coleccion de Cuentos by Jose Elgueta, a collection of Guatemalan short stories.  So far I have doggedly plowed through two of them.  They may be infused with magical realism or, alternatively, I may need more grammar work. 

[Pam in CT]

..I remember reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance in college (early 80's). Though I don't plan to re-read it, I'd probably have quite a different take on it in my more mature years.

:iagree: (all the way to 'early 80's,' LOL...)

 

 

..

 

Today is my baby's 15th birthday.  She has brought such joy and laughter into our lives, and we are so thankful for her.  She has reminded me that she is not her sister.  She wants to take Driver's Ed and is counting down the days till she can get her temps.  (Though that is six months away).  We've celebrated with bang bang shrimp and pavlova, and I'm totally stuffed!

 

Aw, happy birthday, Aly!  I love the way you put the bolded... my younger daughter is soooooo different from my older, and manifests it so often in so many ways, and yet it keeps astonishing me anew...

 

 

This evening I finished Purgation and Purgatory/ The Spiritual Dialogue, by St. Catherine of Genoa. There's a lengthy introduction by Fr. Benedict Groeschel who became something of a celebrity among conservative Catholics in the '90s and '00s, but this edition is from the '70s and his introduction is endlessly preoccupied with psychoanalytic defenses of St. Catherine's visions and ecstasies, which today seems both quaintly dated and confusingly beside the point.

 

Catherine was a fifteenth-century mystic, a married woman who worked tending the poor and sick during an outbreak of plague that killed four-fifths of Genoese who remained in the city. Both writings were in Italian, in verse (mostly). From The Spiritual Dialogue, an oblique account of her spiritual journey through a dialogue among her Spirit, Body, and Self-Love:

-----------------

 

The Soul then said to Self-Love:

 

In meeting your needs,

I notice that bit by bit my own convictions are weakening.

Are you not getting more than your due?

And in following you am I not going to be badly hurt?

Indeed not I alone, but all three of us?

You are the arbiter. What do you think?

 

Self-Love answered:

 

It is because you were aiming so unreasonably high

That you feel as if you are debasing yourself

To come down to our level.

With time, though, you will learn to moderate yourself,

To be more sensible.

Our company is not so bad as you seem to think at this point.

Fear not, God will provide.

You are to love God fully, not in this world but in the next.

Take what you can get, and on the best available terms.

 

---------------------

The reader is often left to judge for herself to what extent Body and Self-Love are offering temptations, judicious corrections, or innocent but self-interested obstacles to the progress of the Soul.

 

Liked.

Wow.  See, this is why I'm so glad you take the time to type out the extended quotes.  Cuz if you'd just said "an oblique account of the spiritual journey of a 15th century woman," I'm not sure that would've done the trick!

[Violet Crown]

I finished The Return of Martin Guerre, by Natalie Zemon Davis. As it is a scholarly historical review of 16th century primary sources, which also (implausibly) manages to be funny, I presume the recommendation came from Violet Crown. Kareni will confirm or deny. Thoroughly enjoyed.

 

 

Not me; haven't read it. Saw the movie, though.

[idnib]

I thought The Rook seemed familiar so I asked DH about it. He said we have it on the shelf and it's "the mutant spawn of J.K Rowling and Charles Stross."  :D

[Jane in NC]

I finished The Return of Martin Guerre, by Natalie Zemon Davis.  As it is a scholarly historical review of 16th century primary sources, which also (implausibly) manages to be funny, I presume the recommendation came from Violet Crown.  Kareni will confirm or deny.  Thoroughly enjoyed.

 

 

Well Stacia mailed me her copy and I forwarded it to ???  Eliana, maybe?

 

I saw the film ages ago; yes, the book is fascinating.

[Kareni]

I finished The Return of Martin Guerre, by Natalie Zemon Davis.  As it is a scholarly historical review of 16th century primary sources, which also (implausibly) manages to be funny, I presume the recommendation came from Violet Crown.  Kareni will confirm or deny.  Thoroughly enjoyed.

 

I can tell you that Jane in NC has read it.  She got her copy from Stacia who read it in August 2014.  Eliana appears also to have read it at some point.  And then there are those of us who have seen the movie ....

 

ETA: Hmmph, all of you speedy posters are stealing my thunder!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Jane in NC]

I can tell you that Jane in NC has read it.  She got her copy from Stacia who read it in August 2014.  Eliana appears also to have read it at some point.  And then there are those of us who have seen the movie ....

 

ETA: Hmmph, all of you speedy posters are stealing my thunder!

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Wow, it appears that I still have some memory function. ;)

 

[Pam in CT]

Well Stacia mailed me her copy and I forwarded it to ???  Eliana, maybe?

 

I saw the film ages ago; yes, the book is fascinating.

 

ACKK.  Oh dear.

 

I am THE WORST. :leaving:

 

 

(I have a stack of things to take to the post office, including White Masks to pass on to Eliana, and I've been postponing in the doubtless futile hope that Strange Adventures of Andrew Hawthorne somehow gets read without my actually picking it up... and I did have a gnawing anxiety that there was something else, as well, in that package from you...

 

good grief.  I'm so sorry!!)

 

THANKS JANE -- REALLY LIKED IT!

[JennW in SoCal]

I can tell you that Jane in NC has read it.  She got her copy from Stacia who read it in August 2014.  Eliana appears also to have read it at some point.  And then there are those of us who have seen the movie ....

 

ETA: Hmmph, all of you speedy posters are stealing my thunder!

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

Kareni, I bow in humbled awe before your superpower. I shall call you  Super Memory Woman!  Or perhaps you are a a different manifestation of the Flash, your power being super fast thread-searches.  In either case, wow.

 

Now can you tell me where I last put the vacuum cleaner attachment for dusting?

[Kareni]

Now can you tell me where I last put the vacuum cleaner attachment for dusting?

 

Since dusting is definitely not my superpower, I remain ignorant on that front.  And, somehow, Raiders of the Lost Vacuum Cleaner Attachment lacks a certain panache!

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[Lady Florida.]

Also, How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents, by Julia Alvarez, which chronicles the experiences of four sisters born into Trujillo's Dominican Republic, first on "The Island" and then, after they flee, their gradual adjustment to/ coming of age in the US.  Nice.

That looks interesting. I read one of her other books, In the Time of the Butterflies, and enjoyed the writing.

 

 

I have launched into Brothers Karamazov -- hold me in the light, please.

Here's hoping you're better at it than I was. I couldn't finish it. I did make it through Crime and Punishment. I think Dostoyevsky was a bit, um, insane.  :lol:

[Violet Crown]

I am not doing well on my friend's novel. A boatload of characters are introduced very quickly, and without enough description beyond stating who they are for them to stick in my head. So I'm back to the beginning with an index card to keep them sorted.

 

Meanwhile, I finished the Prologue to Piers Plowman, and my reading speed is accelerating as my Middle English comes back to me. It's like that muscle you haven't used much recently and it hurts a bit to stretch it and get it working for you.

 

Here's a fun little section. Recognize this?

---------------

A raton of renoun, moost renable of tonge,

Seide for a sovereyn salve to hem alle,

"I have yseyen segges," quod he, "in the Cite of Londoun

Beren beighes ful brighte abouten hire nekkes,

And somme colers of crafty work; uncoupled they wenden

Bothe in wareyne and in waast where hem leve liketh,

And outher while thei arn elliswhere, as I here telle.

Were ther a belle on hire beighe, by Jesus, as me thynketh,

Men myghte witen wher thei wente and awey renne.

And right so," quod that raton, "reson me sheweth

To bugge a belle of bras or of bright silver

And knytten it on a coler for oure commune profit

And hangen it upon the cattes hals--thanne here we mowen

Wher he ryt or rest or rometh to pleye;

And if hym list for to laike, thanne loke we mowen

And peeren in his presence the while hym pleye liketh,

And if hym wratheth, be war and his wey shonye."

Al the route of ratons to this reson assented;

Ac tho the belle was ybrought and on the beighe hanged

Ther ne was raton in al the route, for al the reaume of France,

That dorste have bounden the belle aboute the cattes nekke,

Ne hangen it aboute his hals al Engelond to wynne,

Ac helden hem unhardy and hir counseil feble,

And leten hire laboure lost and al hire longe studie.

-------------

[Angel]

Angel, I was typing fast this morning and didn't have a chance to wish your dd a Happy Birthday. For some reason 15 seems so much more mature at my house than 14.

 

Thanks!  Aly is more mature at 15 than Skye was.  Part of that is that Skye has Asperger's and struggled in some of those social areas, and part of it is the fact that having a sister six years older matures you faster  :rolleyes:

 

 

Aw, happy birthday, Aly!  I love the way you put the bolded... my younger daughter is soooooo different from my older, and manifests it so often in so many ways, and yet it keeps astonishing me anew...

 

I am an only child.  I knew when I had kids that they would be different.  I had no idea just how different they would be!!!!  It's crazy!  But so fun!

 

Ok, I'm embarking on a crazy home project week!   :willy_nilly:   We bought new furniture for our basement (tri-level) today and I just can't let it come into the house without finally doing something about these white walls.  Sooo, I'm going to paint our family room tomorrow morning so it will look nice with the new furniture.  I really STINK at painting so this is going to be a crazy endeavor.  One I hope I can pull off.  I also have Aly's room to paint this week!  I must be crazy!!

[Butter]

I finished Phantom of the Opera.  Raoul continued to annoy me.  Erik and Christine's relationship got even more abusive.  And, yet, I am left feeling sorry for Erik.  And also left feeling... I don't know... really, really sad I guess.  Kind of empty.

[Robin M]

Eliana:  Lastly, I know you wouldn't want to make an of our Islamic BaW friends, either active or lurking, feel unsafe or uncared for here... and I wanted to mention that I'm not sure I would feel okay, personally, if it had been my faith you were responding to.    ...again, not to in any way devalue your experiences or perspectives, love. (And I know you've had some hard ones.) Reacting from our hearts and truest selves is part of what makes this group special.

 

 

Negin:  I don't think that this thread is one where we should feel hushed in any way or asked to politely shut ourselves up. That's not my understanding. Maybe I'm mistaken. There were no personal attacks. I was merely summarizing quotes that were taken from the book and my thoughts on them. To ask us to not share things like that is like censorship, I believe.  

 

 

Eliana:  My intent was to share the rush of thoughts I feelings I had in response to your post. To share, with love for everyone here, with respect for how many different ways we can see and experience the world, with trust that your heartfelt response was not meant to be hurtful to anyone.   

 

No, I don't think any of us should stifle our genuine responses to what we read.  Your voice, all of our voices, are valuable and important. 

 

I don't have any answers to how we (as individuals or a group) walk the tightrope of candid self expression with respect for different perspectives and experiences.  

 

 

Idnib:  I absolutely have faith this is a safe place and moreover, I believe having this faith is a necessity for the safety itself to manifest. BaW is safer when people can give their honest experiences with books and others give them the benefit of the doubt and believe those are their true experiences of reading the book, and that the author also was shaped by their experiences enough to write and tell the world about them. That's real safety, to me.

 

 

 

Hello my lovelies.  

 

The thing I love about our group is the openness in which we all share our thoughts about the books we read and in turn, the honesty of our reactions.  We have a unique intimacy within our little BaW thread in which no one is afraid to bare their opinions of what they read, and in turn revealing a piece of themselves.  We have become more than just ladies talking about their reads, but friends supporting each other, in thick and thin.  We accept each other unconditionally, even though we may not think the same or share the same beliefs.   We are open minded, engaging in intellectual debate, without strife, without harm, because we are all adults who care about each other and appreciate our diversity.  We respect each others viewpoints.   I have learned so much through all of you, which wouldn't have been possible, if one or many censored their reactions to stories and how it affects them personally.   I appreciate that we have managed to stay away from  'i'm right, you're wrong, and I'll prove how wrong you are', debates as I've seen out in the forum.    I don't think we walk a tightrope when it comes to candid self expression.  We have found a balance that works and there will always be a safety net beneath to catch us if we fall.   :grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

I finally had a reading day! We spent it at the beach, it was a long drive because the local beaches were all packed, so we had to drive aaaaalllll the way out to Pt. Reyes seashore, but it was lovely. We stayed till the sun went down, waiting for the green flash as it disappeared over the horizon.  Morgan and I built Stonehenge and she dug the deepest beach-hole ever.  Just what the dr. ordered.

 

And . . . I finished The Castle in Transylvania. I was skeptical at first - a gothic horror ghost story by Jules Verne? But it did not disappoint - it ended just like a gothic horror ghost story written by the father of sci fi should end!  Eat your heart out, Edgar Allan Poe!  If anybody else is interested in reading this, let me know and I will pass it along.

 

I also read Itch by Simon Mayo - an adventure story about a 14 year old kid who collects the elements - yep, The Elements - and ends up with more than he bargained for.  I read all 400 pages sitting on the beach today, so it clearly wasn't a deep or meaningful read, but it was entertaining, although the end did stretch my suspension of disbelief muscles pretty much to the breaking point. But it's a book my dd will enjoy reading when we get to Chemistry later in the year.

[Jane in NC]

I finally had a reading day! We spent it at the beach, it was a long drive because the local beaches were all packed, so we had to drive aaaaalllll the way out to Pt. Reyes seashore, but it was lovely. We stayed till the sun went down, waiting for the green flash as it disappeared over the horizon.  Morgan and I built Stonehenge and she dug the deepest beach-hole ever.  Just what the dr. ordered.

 

 

Point Reyes!  We once saw a gray whale and her calf from atop the cliff at the lighthouse there. What a magical place.

 

Glad you had such a lovely day.

 

It was a pleasant and quiet weekend on this end of the continent.  While a number of tourists were at the beach here for their last hurrahs, it was less crowded than the other summer holidays.  We did our usual beach walking and swimming. 

 

On a rainy Sunday we went to see A Walk in the Woods which everyone probably knows by now is not really Bryson's book.  The reviews were not promising but we went to see the film for one reason:  the cinematography of the trail.  We had read somewhere that Bryson noted while on the Appalachian Trail one mostly just sees trees so that the helicopter shots in the film are quite remarkable. Basically this is an old guy buddy film with a number of crude moments that may not make it family friendly.  So many things were just wrong though.  But the scenery (mostly Georgia, a little of North Carolina) was what we went to see.

 

And now for a look at the other end of the trail (the AT, that is).  Here is a photo of my son taken eight years ago at Katahdin's Knife Edge (Baxter State Park in Maine):

 

 

After seeing the film on Sunday, we stopped at a farm where we bought a load of heirloom tomatoes and eggplants.  After our swim yesterday we grilled the eggplants and made baba ganouj--a lot of it.  That and tomatoes are the featured menu items this week.

 

[Kim in Appalachia]

I know that I've been AWOL from the reading group.  I've been working on learning Excel, plus school stuff has kept me busy.  But this weekend I had to travel far for a wedding and got to listen to Life After Life, by Kate Atkinson.  Loved it.  I gave it 4 stars, because I do feel like she dropped a bit around 3/4 of the way through the book, but overall I loved it. I loved how it made me think through some what if's as well as gain in a greater appreciation of England (mostly London) though WW2.  The book ended with a lot of questions, but it had to, because of the nature of the book.  It was a bit surreal, listening to it in the car, then stopping and getting out and just seeing people casually walking around.  My head was filled with scenes of smoke, crumbling buildings, and dead bodies.  Then I would step out of my van and it was sunny and hot and people were just milling around.  A very odd feeling.  I do love how a good book transports you.  It's an out of body experience.

 

I had also read In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware.  It was Ok, I gave it 3 stars.  I bought it on impulse.  I got the sample from Amazon and was instantly hooked.  I found the book to be like a fun ride.  I knew exactly where it was going, but I enjoyed it anyway.  It's a great beach read or rainy day read.  I finished it in 2 days. It was a pleasant change from financial worksheets. :)  

 

I'm currently reading Kate Atkinson's, One Good Turn.   I read Case Histories awhile back, and I thought it was a good mystery.  After my "easy to predict the ending" book I decided to go back to her series.  This one is starting off more slowly than Case Histories did, but that could be because my head is still in Life After Life.  I need to get back to my Excel stuff, but I hope to read more this week.  

[Kareni]

I've now read a fifth book that fits into the spell your name challenge ~

 

K

A -- Angels Fall  by Nora Roberts

R --A Regency Christmas: Scarlet Ribbons\Christmas Promise\A Little Christmas by Lyn Stone, Carla Kelly, and Gail Ranstrom

E -- Entreat Me by Grace Draven

N -- Not My 1st Rodeo  by Donna Alward, Sarah M. Anderson, and Jenna Bayley-Burke

I --  I Want You to Want Me (A Rock Star Romance) by Erika Kelly

 

 

I bought A Regency Christmas: Scarlet Ribbons\Christmas Promise\A Little Christmas by Lyn Stone, Carla Kelly, and Gail Ranstrom because it contains a novella by Carla Kelly who is one of my favorite historical romance authors.  Her novella was my favorite in the collection though the others were enjoyable also.

 

"Scarlet Ribbons by Lyn Stone

Captain Alexander Napier is battle scarred—from war and from life. For him, yuletide is just a reminder of all that he's lost. Can enchanting Amalie Harlowe restore light into the festive season…and reignite the passion in his heart?

Christmas Promise by Carla Kelly

Now that peace has broken out, Captain Jeremiah Faulk is at odds over what to do this Christmas, let alone with his life. Until a simple act of charity reunites him with his lost love—Ianthe Mears.

A Little Christmas by Gail Ranstrom

Tending to a houseful of grieving relatives isn't Viscount Selwick's idea of a merry Christmas. But one stolen kiss under the mistletoe with spirited Sophia Pettibone is about to change everything!"

 

 

I will likely not be much of a presence here in the next few days as my sister and her husband are visiting us.  I'll catch up when I can.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[idnib]

I finally had a reading day! We spent it at the beach, it was a long drive because the local beaches were all packed, so we had to drive aaaaalllll the way out to Pt. Reyes seashore, but it was lovely. We stayed till the sun went down, waiting for the green flash as it disappeared over the horizon.  Morgan and I built Stonehenge and she dug the deepest beach-hole ever.  Just what the dr. ordered.

 

Sounds so nice. We had houseguests here and I tried to get them to go to Pt. Reyes during their visit but it was not to be. They are regular visitors but always arrive with a list of the same things to do and it's difficult to break them out of their rut. There are so many beautiful things they haven't seen. Still I keep trying. One year I'll just have to tell them we are heading to <insert regular restaurant they have to go to> and take them to Pt. Reyes instead. I should check the legal definition of kidnapping first.

[JennW in SoCal]

Very fond memories of stopping for oysters and beer outside Point Reyes last April.  And I don't even like oysters! But I liked these....

 

 

 

[idnib]

EDITED TO ADD:

Have you been to Broadway on Screen, Fathom Events, and/or Live at the National Theatre? I ask because my family has enjoyed Driving Miss Daisy (Lansbury, Jones), Giulio Cesare and Aida (the Met), and Frankenstein (Cumberbatch, Miller), and Cumberbatch's Hamlet is coming up next month. This seems like a group that might really want tickets for that. (And, yes, we already have ours.)

 

Reporting back to say we got 2 tickets (one adult, one child) for Hamlet. We couldn't see our way to taking the 7 yo who really enjoys youth Shakespeare productions but would fall asleep with a screen version of Hamlet that starts half an hour before her usual bedtime. She's satisfied she's going to see a matinee of King Lear later this month.  :)

 

As for the accompanying adult, we both like Cumberbatch but I think I'll win here. I simply have to.

[mumto2]

I thought The Rook seemed familiar so I asked DH about it. He said we have it on the shelf and it's "the mutant spawn of J.K Rowling and Charles Stross." :D

I haven't read Charles Stross yet. He has been someone that I am aware of so will have to add him to the list.

 

Has your dh read any of the Peter Grant series by Ben Aaronovich? ....Rivers of London.https://www.goodreads.com/series/51937-peter-grant. I really like them, humorous like The Rook but more violent possibly. Something huge always happens which in my mind ends up as gory. Not sure the description in the book really justifies my vision but the event has to be gory so that is what I imagine.

 

Still plugging along on The Rook. This morning a seal joined my kids for their ocean swim. He just watched from a safe distance. He was so cute! He stayed with them the whole time. We were shocked, not expecting a seal. Scared dh and I when he showed up, dark thing swimming in the water...watched Jaws 2 last week. We are in France near the Bay of Somme.

 

Speaking of Jaws, I read the Reader's Digest version of that book many years ago while no one was paying much attention. Yes, I also read Reader's Digest along with their book collection.

[Lady Florida.]

I started reading a mystery yesterday and finished it today. A Share in Death is a series that was recommended on a Kindle forum and I thought I'd give it a try. It dragged a bit and the resolution was rather sudden in the last few pages, but I'm willing to give it another book or two before I decide whether or not to stick with the series. I think there are 17 books so far. I do like the two main characters, a Scotland Yard Superintendent and his sergeant. 

 

 

Still reading:

 

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman - My fascination with Russian history probably started when I saw the movie Doctor Zhivago on late night tv as a teen. Of course I had a romanticized version of that country's history in my head for years, but I still find it an interesting country with both a colorful and tragic history. This book is well written and easy to read, even IMO, for someone who might not have the same interest I do.

 

Shadow Country  - a mostly true tale of outlaws in the early days of Florida, and one specific outlaw who was murdered. Few people think of outlaws and pioneers when they think of Florida, but the only thing the early days of my state was missing as far as the "Wild West" days was actually being located in the west. The book begins with the murder, then goes back in time and leads up to it. The author originally wanted it to be one book but his publisher made him split it into three. He eventually rewrote it, shortening some passages, adding or fleshing out characters, and condensed it into one book again.

 

Wives and Daughters - because I'm not a happy reader if I don't have at least one classic on my currently reading list. 

 

 

[shukriyya]

I know that I've been AWOL from the reading group.  I've been working on learning Excel, plus school stuff has kept me busy.  But this weekend I had to travel far for a wedding and got to listen to Life After Life, by Kate Atkinson.  Loved it.  I gave it 4 stars, because I do feel like she dropped a bit around 3/4 of the way through the book, but overall I loved it. I loved how it made me think through some what if's as well as gain in a greater appreciation of England (mostly London) though WW2.  The book ended with a lot of questions, but it had to, because of the nature of the book.  It was a bit surreal, listening to it in the car, then stopping and getting out and just seeing people casually walking around.  My head was filled with scenes of smoke, crumbling buildings, and dead bodies.  Then I would step out of my van and it was sunny and hot and people were just milling around.  A very odd feeling.  I do love how a good book transports you.  It's an out of body experience.

 

 

I just finished listening to a podcast from CBC with this author being interviewed for this very book. I have to say that, unlike Ali Smith's interview for her book Being Both, I didn't feel compelled to run out and get Kate Atkinson's book. She spoke about her intense fascination with WW2, with Eva Braun and that whole era and how this was her way of working that out.

 

Very fond memories of stopping for oysters and beer outside Point Reyes last April.  And I don't even like oysters! But I liked these....

 

 

Doggie wants his on the half-shell, too. Woof!

[shukriyya]

Still reading:

 

 

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman - My fascination with Russian history probably started when I saw the movie Doctor Zhivago on late night tv as a teen. Of course I had a romanticized version of that country's history in my head for years, but I still find it an interesting country with both a colorful and tragic history. This book is well written and easy to read, even IMO, for someone who might not have the same interest I do.

 

Got about 2/3 of the way through this and lost steam. Will be interested to hear how you like it. First part was great.

[mommymilkies]

Some of you might be interested in this book that is currently free to Kindle readers.  It's described as being of interest to those who like The Dresden Files or The Iron Druid Chronicles.

 

Justice Calling (The Twenty-Sided Sorceress Book 1) by Annie Bellet

Got it.  Thank you!

 

I'm trying to catch up here. We just got done moving all of our things to storage, then driving to live with family two states away (five cats in the car with five kids, don't even get me started), so I've not been reading a lot.  I gave up on whatever stressful barely readable book I had been reading and I picked up The 8th Day which is a fun new(ish) kids book.  

 

I'm happy to see Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance for this week.  I would pick it up to reread, but my copy is packed and in storage!

[idnib]

I haven't read Charles Stross yet. He has been someone that I am aware of so will have to add him to the list.

 

Has your dh read any of the Peter Grant series by Ben Aaronovich? ....Rivers of London.https://www.goodreads.com/series/51937-peter-grant. I really like them, humorous like The Rook but more violent possibly. Something huge always happens which in my mind ends up as gory. Not sure the description in the book really justifies my vision but the event has to be gory so that is what I imagine.

 

DH is de-lurking to answer!

[spudboy]

I haven't read Charles Stross yet. He has been someone that I am aware of so will have to add him to the list.

 

Has your dh read any of the Peter Grant series by Ben Aaronovich? ....Rivers of London.https://www.goodreads.com/series/51937-peter-grant. I really like them, humorous like The Rook but more violent possibly. Something huge always happens which in my mind ends up as gory. Not sure the description in the book really justifies my vision but the event has to be gory so that is what I imagine.

 

No, I haven't read anything by Ben Aaronovich. Will put "Rivers of London" on my list.

 

If you like The Rook, you might want to check out the "Laundry" series by Stross. (Yes, I am married to idnib and we read some but not all of the same books). Supernatural spy fiction, mostly from the POV of a computer nerd/government agent who "levels up" in magic as the series progresses. Complex magic/supernatural system, well-done characters for speculative fiction. Some gory stuff.

 

Stross also writes some mind-blowing Singularity/post-Singularity fiction that you will probably like if you like early Bruce Sterling. "Glasshouse" is the best of those books IMHO.

 

The Laundry books are complicated enough that it's probably best to read them in order -- http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2011/01/laundry-reading-order.html.

[mumto2]

No, I haven't read anything by Ben Aaronovich. Will put "Rivers of London" on my list.

 

If you like The Rook, you might want to check out the "Laundry" series by Stross. (Yes, I am married to idnib and we read some but not all of the same books). Supernatural spy fiction, mostly from the POV of a computer nerd/government agent who "levels up" in magic as the series progresses. Complex magic/supernatural system, well-done characters for speculative fiction. Some gory stuff.

 

Stross also writes some mind-blowing Singularity/post-Singularity fiction that you will probably like if you like early Bruce Sterling. "Glasshouse" is the best of those books IMHO.

 

The Laundry books are complicated enough that it's probably best to read them in order -- http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2011/01/laundry-reading-order.html.

Thanks for de lurking. My husband and I don't read the same books at all.

 

Travel day for us so I can't look things up until tomorrow.

 

I had the Landry series from the library at one point I think and had to return it. I think the Glasshouse looks more to my taste.

 

The Rivers of London need to be read in order I think. Continuing storyline and characters popping in and out. Therd is a new one coming in January and I may actually reread the series before the release. Yes, I really like these. Good Harry Potter references also.

[Kareni]

Having recognized the name from our mentions of the Martian, my daughter sent a link this morning to a short story by the author.  (Unless, it's someone with the same name!)

 

Access by Andy Weir

 

http://sixpenceee.com/post/111222023149/access-by-andy-weir-holding-a-cup-of-coffee-in

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kim in Appalachia]

I just finished listening to a podcast from CBC with this author being interviewed for this very book. I have to say that, unlike Ali Smith's interview for her book Being Both, I didn't feel compelled to run out and get Kate Atkinson's book. She spoke about her intense fascination with WW2, with Eva Braun and that whole era and how this was her way of working that out.

 

 

 

 

it's funny, cause the while Eva Braun is certainly there, I think that's the weak part of the book.  It puts it a bit over the top, though I can see wanting to do it.  She does spend time on Eva Braun as a person, and it feels forced.  That section is why I didn't give the book 5 stars, because it seemed to go off the rails as far as the book went.  Her writing is very good, and the concept she explores is well done (It's a very difficult concept to write).  

 

Off to check out, Being Both......

 

[Onceuponatime]

I'm currently reading a non- fiction, Packing for Mars by Mary Roach. Just learning about what astronauts go through is anxiety inducing. I was reading the book while crossing a river on a ferry boat and had to open all my van windows because I felt claustrophobic.