Book a Week 2015: BW43 - jack o'lantern & tale of stingy jack

[Jane in NC]

Really? How could I have missed that? And I read it not too many years ago.

 

Chapter 17

 

 

     The Controller, meanwhile, had crossed to the other side of the room and was unlocking a large safe set into the wall between the bookshelves. The heavy door swung open. Rummaging in the darkness within, "It's a subject," he said, "that has always had a great interest for me." He pulled out a thick black volume. "You've never read this, for example."      The Savage took it. "The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments," he read aloud from the title-page.      "Nor this." It was a small book and had lost its cover.      "The Imitation of Christ."      "Nor this." He handed out another volume.      "The Varieties of Religious Experience. By William James."      "And I've got plenty more," Mustapha Mond continued, resuming his seat. "A whole collection of pornographic old books. God in the safe and Ford on the shelves." He pointed with a laugh to his avowed library–to the shelves of books, the rack full of reading-machine bobbins and sound-track rolls.      "But if you know about God, why don't you tell them?" asked the Savage indignantly. "Why don't you give them these books about God?"      "For the same reason as we don't give them Othello: they're old; they're about God hundreds of years ago. Not about God now."      "But God doesn't change."      "Men do, though."       "What difference does that make?"     "All the difference in the world," said Mustapha Mond. He got up again and walked to the safe. "There was a man called Cardinal Newman," he said. "A cardinal," he exclaimed parenthetically, "was a kind of Arch-Community-Songster." He opened the book at the place marked by a slip of paper and began to read. "'We are not our own any more than what we possess is our own. We did not make ourselves, we cannot be supreme over ourselves. We are not our own masters. We are God's property. Is it not our happiness thus to view the matter? Is it any happiness or any comfort, to consider that we are our own? It may be thought so by the young and prosperous. These may think it a great thing to have everything, as they suppose, their own way–to depend on no one–to have to think of nothing out of sight, to be without the irksomeness of continual acknowledgment, continual prayer, continual reference of what they do to the will of another. But as time goes on, they, as all men, will find that independence was not made for man–that it is an unnatural state–will do for a while, but will not carry us on safely to the end …'"

 

ETA:  Apology for the above.  Paragraphs are lost in translation.

[Jane in NC]

For those of us (<ahem>... me) not familiar with Cardinal Newman, could you provide some explanation as to why he might have been grouped in the "pornographic" writers in BNW?

 

Now I'm thinking I just need to go back & re-read BNW. I think I missed *a lot* of references & knowledge in there!

 

:blushing:

 

The quote I gave above groups Cardinal Newman with Shakespeare, the Bible, William James.  Certainly not "pornographic" using our definition, but authors or works that present an opposing view point of the BNW collective and the lack of emotion one is to feel within that society.  Specifically we hear the Savage asking why God cannot be included within society to help give meaning to an individual's life.

 

I find it interesting that Mustapha Mond notes that independence is not a natural state for man.  I am leaning in that direction these days as I see interdependence to be the natural state--despite claims to the contrary.

 

I mentioned Newman since VC had noted that she is currently reading one of his works.

[Violet Crown]

Well! I must have been skimming at that point. Stacia, the books listed in Jane's excerpt (the Imitation of Christ, William James' Varieties of Religious Experience, Newman's Parochial and Plain Sermons) would have been classics of religious writing familiar to an educated Englishman of the early twentieth century. The Imitation focuses on withdrawal from worldly things and development of an interior devotional life; James (Henry's brother!) proposed scientific inquiry into religious experience; and Newman's sermons emphasize the emptiness of pleasure sought for its own sake and the human need to turn away from consideration of one's own feelings in religion and toward contemplation of Christ--which paradoxically produces right emotions and genuine pleasure. You could see them as being the exemplars of the affective, the contemplative, and the scientific Anglican approaches to the spiritual life, united by their rejection of the vain pursuit of earthly pleasures. Which presumably is what qualifies them as "pornography" in the Controller's world.

[Kareni]

I read a short young adult novel today while I was bussing around town going to and from my colored pencil art class (self-education!).  It was quite enjoyable and does not contain any offensive material.  It takes place in Alaska and contains quite a bit of Alutiiq (a Native Alaskan people) mythology.  It was definitely a quick read.

 

 

Edge of Nowhere by John Smelcer

 

"More psychological depth than Robinson Crusoe."—Frank McCourt

 

"Sixteen-year-old Seth and his dog fall off his father's commercial fishing boat in Prince William Sound. They struggle to survive off land and sea as they work their way home from island to island in a three-month journey. The isolation allows Seth to understand his father's love, accept his Native Alaskan heritage, and accept his grief over his mother's death."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Stacia]

Thank you, Jane and Violet Crown. I still have so much to learn in this world. I appreciate you expanding my knowledge a bit!

 

On a different note, I just heard a review (on NPR's All Things Considered) of Stacy Schiff's new book "The Witches" (about the Salem witch trials).

 

Here is a tidbit I found interesting & didn't know...

 

Almost immediately after the witch hunts happened, Salem did its best to forget them. No official records of any of the sessions of the witchcraft court survived. Salem diaries of the time are mum on the months of mid-1692.

 

[Jane in NC]

Thank you, Jane and Violet Crown. I still have so much to learn in this world. I appreciate you expanding my knowledge a bit!

 

On a different note, I just heard a review (on NPR's All Things Considered) of Stacy Schiff's new book "The Witches" (about the Salem witch trials).

 

Here is a tidbit I found interesting & didn't know...

Stacy Schiff is one of the authors Robin mentioned for November's non-fiction theme; however I think I will give LeDuff's book on Detroit a go.

[Stacia]

I have LeDuff's book waiting on me at the library too.

 

I better start speed reading to get through my stacks! Lol.

 

For those that are fans of Gail Carriger's Finishing School series, a new one will be released Nov. 3: Manners & Mutiny. Dd will be thrilled.

[Kareni]

A historical romance that I've read and enjoyed is currently free to Kindle readers ~

 

The Lion's Daughter (Scoundrels Book 1) by Loretta Chase

 

"Gorgeous, stubborn Esme Brentmor, daughter of a disgraced lord, is used to a wild, dangerous life among the tribes of Albania, to whom her father is the legendary, controversial Red Lion whose death she's courageously vowed to avenge –even if it leads to her own. Instead, her quest finds her rescued by the most unlikely (and very reluctant) hero!

Lazy and spoiled, Lord Varian St. George has gambled away his heritage and lives on his considerable looks, charm and wits. All he wants is the good life, and instead, he finds himself in rough country, with a tempestuous whirlwind of a female who's as savage as he's civilized. How did this termagant become his responsibility? And how can he escape?! Yet as he and Esme plunge headlong into even more peril, he may surprise even his own jaded self and become the man that Esme (foolishly) believes he is!"

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Stacia]

Well, as October is wrapping up, you just know I had to read at least one vampire story. As far as supernatural horror creatures go, vampires are still my favorites.

 

This book is a novella I stumbled across in the library's search engine: I Travel by Night by Robert McCammon. It was a fun read about a gunslinging vampire. What I would term a 'beach read' -- a frivolous, entertaining way to spend an hour or two. Happy that I've gotten my October vampire fix!

 

There’s a good reason Civil War veteran Trevor Lawson travels by night: he’s a vampire. Wounded at the Battle of Shiloh, he was bitten by the vampire LaRouge, and now, a quarter century later, he lives a tortured life, the humanity slowly draining out of him. His only hope: find LaRouge and kill her before he has completely turned from man to vampire. When a man begs Lawson to ransom his daughter from the clutches of a madman (a madman who, by the way, specifically required that Lawson deliver the ransom), Trevor hopes this is his chance to save himself. McCammon demonstrates once again—not that any proof was needed at this point—that he is one of the masters of the horror genre. The novel is brief but not thin. Lawson is a tragic hero, and his story is hauntingly sad. Subtext counts for a lot here: McCammon knows his readers will be familiar with vampire lore, and he knows that our imaginations will provide the dark atmosphere and the creeping terror, with only a few, well-chosen words to get us in the right frame of mind. A must for horror fans.

 

[Rosie_0801]

I just finished 'Indigenous Australia for Dummies, ' by Larissa Behrendt. It was well worth the read.

[Nan in Mass]

Rosie -

 

Did it talk about the uranium mining?

 

Nan

[Stacia]

I often get books from the library & don't get around to reading them before I need to return them. Lol. I'm guessing others do that too?

 

Anyway, I'm just getting ready to return a few (because I have quite a few others waiting) & will try to get back to them at a later date. I did want to mention one (that I haven't yet read) because it seems like one that might appeal to some of you (I'm thinking mumto2, aggieamy, Angel, maybe others...?): The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price, Purveyor of Superior Funerals by Wendy Jones. I picked it up because it's published by Europa Editions.

 

 

The year is 1924, and Wilfred Price is a naïve, kind-hearted funeral director who has just come of age in a small Welsh town. His business is prospering, and he reckons he will soon need a wife. At a spring picnic with Grace, a girl he barely knows, he is overcome by the beauty of the day and impulsively asks her to marry him. She accepts, and before he can explain his foolish mistake, she rushes off to tell her parents. What begins as a delightful tale of romantic mishap soon becomes a complex comedy of manners that addresses of the nature of love, the demands of duty, and the consequences of secrecy. Wilfred is caught between his sense of responsibility to Grace, whom he neither loves nor wishes to marry, and his growing attraction to the mysterious Flora. Using blended humor to unveil its multifaceted characters, Wendy Jones allows her character-driven novel to expand from whimsy to responsibility while avoiding sentimentality. Things are never straightforward when it comes to love or the fundamental human question: How can we fully and honestly live our lives without hurting other people? Optioned for a mini-series by the company that produces Downton Abbey for the BBC and PBS, this novel is populated with compelling characters whose choices have consequences. Its humor is generous, never mean spirited, and the awkward all-too-human quest for love is depicted with emotional honesty.

 

[aggieamy]

I often get books from the library & don't get around to reading them before I need to return them. Lol. I'm guessing others do that too?

 

Anyway, I'm just getting ready to return a few (because I have quite a few others waiting) & will try to get back to them at a later date. I did want to mention one (that I haven't yet read) because it seems like one that might appeal to some of you (I'm thinking mumto2, aggieamy, Angel, maybe others...?): The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price, Purveyor of Superior Funerals by Wendy Jones. I picked it up because it's published by Europa Editions.

 

 

Oh that sounds just lovely!  I just requested it from my library.  Thank you.

[Kareni]

A Tor article that might interest some ~

 

Five Books Containing Traces of Witches by Angela Slatter

 

***

 

Last night I finished Laura Florand's newest contemporary romance, A Wish Upon Jasmine.  While this is the latest in a series, I think it could be read as a standalone.  I enjoyed it.  (Adult content)

 

"Ruthless. That was what they said about Damien Rosier. Handsome. Wealthy. Powerful. Merciless. No one messed with his family, because to do so they would have to get through him. No one thought he had a heart. Not even the woman he gave his to.

Cynical. That was what they said about Jasmin Bianchi. A top perfumer of her generation, Jess had achieved commercial success by growing a protective shell over a tender heart. The one time she cracked it open to let Damien in, he crushed it--after a night of unbelievable passion.

Lovers. That one magical night couldn't survive the harsh light of dawn. When Jess woke up to discover the man in bed beside her had stolen her company, she fled.

Enemies. Now she's come to the south of France with something of his. If he wants to reclaim both his family heritage and the woman who walked away from him, he's going to have to fight as dirty as only Damien can.

But Jess knows how to fight dirty, too. And these days, she has nothing left to lose.

Certainly not her heart."

 

 

You can read a free prequel scene at the author's website ~ http://lauraflorand.com/be-careful-what-you-wish-for/

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Butter]

One step closer to surgery!  I saw my doctor for pre-op this morning.  The urodynamics test showed my bladder problems are even worse than he thought.  In addition to the transobturator tape, when she gets in there I might need a little extra tightening by my urethra.  Everything will be done vaginally.  I'll be in the hospital one night.  The next morning they'll get me up to pee and walk and eat and what not before sending me home.  I told her how much pain I am in, particularly the lower back.  The ligaments that hold the uterus in place are also attached in the back and those are all stretched and my uterus is actively trying to escape my body with gravity's assistance so those ligaments pull on my back and that causes all the pain.  She said that means I need the surgery sooner rather than later.  Now I'm waiting for a call from Susie the surgery scheduler (nice alliteration there).  She'll call sometime today or tomorrow to get me on the schedule.  The doctor isn't concerned about what is left of my cough so that won't delay my surgery thank goodness.

[Jane in NC]

Where is the "Raising fist in the air, cursing Stacia" emoticon?

 

Not really, Stacia.  You know I love you. It is just that your post with the Wendy Jones novel sent me to my library website, where her book was non-existent, then off to the Europa website where I entered into extreme book lust.  I want All the Books!  All of Them!

 

Yours sincerely of the dusty stacks,

Jane

 

P.S. to Heather: glad to hear that things are moving along--in a good way!

[Guest]

Also, re: Pam's questions in re: to Gassire's Lute. This story is apparently just a small part of the larger epic of Dausi. I now would like to read the epic but can't find a version to read. Anyone have ideas of where/how to locate a version?

 

It is my understanding that (like the Balinese epic I was trying to track down the other month) the Dausi was a connected grouping of oral epics of which we have fragments (with GL being one of the best preserved bits).

 

I believe there was a German ethnologist who recorded some (in English notes rather than in the original language) and who wrote a fair bit about African culture... those works were inspirational to the founders of the 'negritude' movement (such as Cesaire and Senghor).  It is weird to me that I learned these things in a French class, btw.... 

 

I don't think there is a collection of what we have (at least not in English, I wonder if there is in German?). 

[Stacia]

Heather, glad to hear the appointment confirmed that you need surgery sooner rather than later. Hope it comes soon, goes well, & you recover quickly! :grouphug:

 

Where is the "Raising fist in the air, cursing Stacia" emoticon?

 

Will this one do?

 

 

 

:smilielol5:

 

(Your request made my day!)

 

I kwym. The newly-designed Europa site works because it's just so darn appealing that I want all the books too. (Two are already on my Christmas list. :thumbup:  And I have others in my library queue.)
 

[Stacia]

It is my understanding that (like the Balinese epic I was trying to track down the other month) the Dausi was a connected grouping of oral epics of which we have fragments (with GL being one of the best preserved bits).

 

I believe there was a German ethnologist who recorded some (in English notes rather than in the original language) and who wrote a fair bit about African culture... those works were inspirational to the founders of the 'negritude' movement (such as Cesaire and Senghor).  It is weird to me that I learned these things in a French class, btw.... 

 

I don't think there is a collection of what we have (at least not in English, I wonder if there is in German?). 

 

Thanks, Eliana. I wish there were easier access to some of these stories. Even though so many things are available & translated these days, quests like these show how many holes there are in the world storytelling fabric too.

 

Speaking of books in other languages, I picked up a book in Spanish today at the library used book store. It's the Tales of Count Lucanor. I know I said I didn't want archaic language & then I go & pick up a book from the 1300s. :lol: But, it looked do-able to me when I sat there & looked through a couple of pages. It may take me all of 2016 to get through it, though. You gals will have to hold me to it now!

[Stacia]

Oops. Jane may start cursing me again. I just got an email from NYRB & it is about the 50th Anniversary Edition of Stoner (mentioned by Negin earlier this week).

 

And, Rose & Jane & anyone else contemplating the The Winter's Tale/The Gap of Time read-along, I picked up copies of both from the library today. I may not get to them for a week or two though.

 

 

[Tress]

Oops. Jane may start cursing me again. I just got an email from NYRB & it is about the 50th Anniversary Edition of Stoner (mentioned by Negin earlier this week).

Maybe a negative review of Stoner would be helpful? :D

I read it last year because it was a huge hit in the Netherlands at that time. Actually my parents had read it and were wondering what all the fuss was, so they asked me to read it too. We were all 'meh'. Could have been the translation as we read it in Dutch. It could have been too American, I don't know. If you would have asked me then I would probably have told you that I thought I was too young to appreciate it (which doesn't explain my 75+yo parents not liking it :lol:), but I don't think Negin and I are that far apart in age. Maybe I just read to many somber books in a row, I think it was the same month I read The Bell Jar and Herzog.

 

And, Rose & Jane & anyone else contemplating the The Winter's Tale/The Gap of Time read-along, I picked up copies of both from the library today. I may not get to them for a week or two though.

Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale? I actually own that :D, I bought it 1 (2?) years ago for a read along here at BaW, but it arrived too late. Now I'm on time!

[Chrysalis Academy]

Oops. Jane may start cursing me again. I just got an email from NYRB & it is about the 50th Anniversary Edition of Stoner (mentioned by Negin earlier this week).

 

And, Rose & Jane & anyone else contemplating the The Winter's Tale/The Gap of Time read-along, I picked up copies of both from the library today. I may not get to them for a week or two though.

 

It's ok, mine haven't even come in yet.  I won't get to them for a week or two either.

[Rosie_0801]

Rosie -

 

Did it talk about the uranium mining?

 

Nan

 

Not a lot. Mining (of anything) continues to be a point of contention, so it folded into the rest of it.

[Jane in NC]

Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale? I actually own that :D, I bought it 1 (2?) years ago for a read along here at BaW, but it arrived to late. Now I'm on time!

 

Hmmm..I thought we were reading Shakespeare not Helprin.  Clarification needed!

 

Also, I plunged into Detroit: An Autopsy.  What a juxtaposition with Henry James as I am also reading Poynton.  LeDuff is, for lack of a better term, a "hardboiled" journalist--no sentimentality, colorful language.  His narrative is engaging as is James of course.   But wow--talk about different styles!

 

[Tress]

Hmmm..I thought we were reading Shakespeare not Helprin. Clarification needed!

 

Woops! It's entirely possible that everybody was talking about Shakespeare while I alone was thinking Helprin, I have used way too much migraine-medication this week, my head is still spinning.

[Pam in CT]

Woops! It's entirely possible that everybody was talking about Shakespeare while I alone was thinking Helprin, I have used way too much migraine-medication this week, my head is still spinning.

Not "liking" the migraine.  Hope you feel better soon.  

 

The Helprin/Shakespeare mistaken identities is a bit... well, Shakespearean. :lol:

[Stacia]

Yep, this time it's the Shakespeare version of The Winter's Tale, along w/ reading Jeanette Winterson's The Gap of Time (her modern take on Shakespeare's work).

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/books/review/the-gap-of-time-by-jeanette-winterson.html

 

I meant to do the Helprin book back when all the BaWers were reading it a year or two ago, but I never did. Now I'm wondering if it has any similarity to the Shakespeare one??? I would like to read the Helprin one someday, but I don't know that I'll get to it in November.

 

:grouphug:  on the migraines, Tress.

 

It is so good to see you popping in here more!

 

Interesting comments about Stoner. Now I'm more curious to read it to see if it's too American. Lol. I know my dh (Belgian) often gets frustrated by what he sees as still too much of a Puritan attitude being pervasive in American society, even today. Don't know if that factors into Stoner or not, but your comment made me think of that.

[mumto2]

I often get books from the library & don't get around to reading them before I need to return them. Lol. I'm guessing others do that too?

 

Anyway, I'm just getting ready to return a few (because I have quite a few others waiting) & will try to get back to them at a later date. I did want to mention one (that I haven't yet read) because it seems like one that might appeal to some of you (I'm thinking mumto2, aggieamy, Angel, maybe others...?): The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price, Purveyor of Superior Funerals by Wendy Jones. I picked it up because it's published by Europa Editions.

 

This does sound good. It is on my list until I have a chance to return some. My account is full. I did a big return of my hard cover books yesterday....I was so afraid someone would ask me about one of them and I hadn't read any of them. I few I switched to kindle holds and will hopefully read them when they arrive, as for the rest?????? My list :lol:

 

:grouphug: Tress, I was hoping your headaches were improving

 

Butter, Glad you are getting closer to your surgery.

[Kareni]

 Now I'm waiting for a call from Susie the surgery scheduler (nice alliteration there).

 

Heather, I hope that Susie will speedily schedule your surgery for sometime soon.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Nan in Mass]

Not a lot. Mining (of anything) continues to be a point of contention, so it folded into the rest of it.

 

Ah.

 

Butter - I am glad you are finally being scheduled.  Hope it is soon.

 

Tess - Sorry about the migraine.  They are no fun at all.

 

Nan

[Robin M]

Yep, this time it's the Shakespeare version of The Winter's Tale, along w/ reading Jeanette Winterson's The Gap of Time (her modern take on Shakespeare's work).

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/books/review/the-gap-of-time-by-jeanette-winterson.html

 

I meant to do the Helprin book back when all the BaWers were reading it a year or two ago, but I never did. Now I'm wondering if it has any similarity to the Shakespeare one??? I would like to read the Helprin one someday, but I don't know that I'll get to it in November.

 

I think I'll be diving in as well. Just read the excerpt on Amazon of Winterson's book.  I'm hooked.  So when do you all want to begin reading these and I'll schedule it in.?  

[Stacia]

I think I'll be diving in as well. Just read the excerpt on Amazon of Winterson's book.  I'm hooked.  So when do you all want to begin reading these and I'll schedule it in.?  

 

Cool!

 

I will probably get to them after a week or so, so sometime w/ in the next 3-4 weeks works for me. Not sure how soon others may be able to get Winterson's book if getting it through the library as it is a new book so it might not yet be in or there might be a waitlist for it. If others need more time, that is fine by me. I'll read them & hold my comments until everyone is ready to discuss.

[Jane in NC]

My library has The Gap of Time on order. I have no idea how long it takes to process the book once it arrives. This does give me time to read The Winter's Tale first though.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Cool!

 

I will probably get to them after a week or so, so sometime w/ in the next 3-4 weeks works for me. Not sure how soon others may be able to get Winterson's book if getting it through the library as it is a new book so it might not yet be in or there might be a waitlist for it. If others need more time, that is fine by me. I'll read them & hold my comments until everyone is ready to discuss.

 

 

I think I'll be diving in as well. Just read the excerpt on Amazon of Winterson's book.  I'm hooked.  So when do you all want to begin reading these and I'll schedule it in.?  

 

 

My library has The Gap of Time on order. I have no idea how long it takes to process the book once it arrives. This does give me time to read The Winter's Tale first though.

 

 

Ok, I just picked up The Winter's Tale, and I'm in 5th place for Gap of Time. So yes, sometime during November! And I promise no spoilers, too.  

[Onceuponatime]

I just finished Aunt Dimity and The Village Witch, fun fluff with just a pinch of history referring to witch trials in England.

[Ali in OR]

I'm second in line for the one copy our library has of Winterson's book, and it's probably a 14 day book so I'm guessing I'll be getting it in the second half of November. I have my college edition of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare--not sure about the font size, but I do have Winter's Tale!

[Butter]

I finished The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot tonight (fulfilled the special book challenge category of a book set in high school).  I discovered floating in the bathtub is a great way to relieve the lower back pain.  I also discovered bathwater kind of burns on a uterus.  This is something I really could have lived my life without ever knowing.  It makes sense, though.  Same reason you'd never use plain water in a Neti Pot.  That would burn, too.  Anyway, I read half of the book in the bathtub because the pain relief was so nice I could ignore the minor burning.  I liked it. It was a bit repetitive which is realistic for a 14 year old girl's diary I am sure, but a bit boring to read.  Most little girls dream of finding out they are really a princess so that made the story fun.  It was definitely made nicer, though, for the movie.  I just can't imagine Julie Andrews ever behaving like the Grandmere in the book.  It's like they had to make the character sweet for the movie because, well, Julie Andrews!

[Guest]

One step closer to surgery!  I saw my doctor for pre-op this morning.  The urodynamics test showed my bladder problems are even worse than he thought.  In addition to the transobturator tape, when she gets in there I might need a little extra tightening by my urethra.  Everything will be done vaginally.  I'll be in the hospital one night.  The next morning they'll get me up to pee and walk and eat and what not before sending me home.  I told her how much pain I am in, particularly the lower back.  The ligaments that hold the uterus in place are also attached in the back and those are all stretched and my uterus is actively trying to escape my body with gravity's assistance so those ligaments pull on my back and that causes all the pain.  She said that means I need the surgery sooner rather than later.  Now I'm waiting for a call from Susie the surgery scheduler (nice alliteration there).  She'll call sometime today or tomorrow to get me on the schedule.  The doctor isn't concerned about what is left of my cough so that won't delay my surgery thank goodness.

 

:grouphug: I remember how excruciating round ligament pain could be just from pregnancy.... Oh, love, I hope they can get you in and feeling better soon!  (And that your family can just cope and let you stay down!  ...I know, that isn't always realistic, it is?) 

 

 

 

I often get books from the library & don't get around to reading them before I need to return them. Lol. I'm guessing others do that too?

 

 

 

All the time... though part of that is that by the time they come in, I'm not always still in the right space to actually read them, so they sit and wait until I am...   the other part, of course, is that I want to read more books at once than is humanly possible... 

 

 

I read a short young adult novel today while I was bussing around town going to and from my colored pencil art class (self-education!).  It was quite enjoyable and does not contain any offensive material.  It takes place in Alaska and contains quite a bit of Alutiiq (a Native Alaskan people) mythology.  It was definitely a quick read.

 

 

I think one of my kids would be very interested in this... thank you!

 

 

I finished reading The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson this morning.  It's a really sweet book.  Gilly is thoroughly unlikable and hates being a foster kid, but she learns to love because others who don't have to love her.  The ending isn't pretty.  It's not nice.  But it's probably very real.

 

Paterson does *real* very well indeed.  It can make some of her books uncomfortable to read (or less likely to be reread), but there is such insight and compassion and integrity in her writing.... 

 

 

 

Eliana,  :party: What a beautiful girl and what an inspiring story! So glad she is home with you all.

 

I'm also delighted by your review of Ancillary Mercy. I'm waiting for my copy to come in at the library, but really enjoyed the first two books of the series and I'm glad that it held up for you. I'm also intrigued by your review of Speak and have added that to my TBR list. 

 

 

I have had the second and third books the day the came out... but then couldn't bring myself to actually start them because I was so nervous they would ruin the first one for me.  (Much more nervous with the second than the third)

 

I am looking forward to rereading these in few years in one fell swoop and seeing how the story feels that way.... but, yes, I do heartily recommend it.

 

Speak... is harder to talk about.  I didn't feel it was particularly well written, but I did appreciate the structuring of the story and the ideas it was exploring.  ymmv.

 

Feel free to grab a copy and try with us. We can all hold hands in the dark!

 

I think I have a copy around here somewhere.  (The number of books I've thought about reading and picked up a cheap or free copy of and then shelved is a little embarrassing)  ...I think I might try... companionship is very encouraging.  (One of the many ways in which you guys are so good for me!)

[Guest]

Just beginning Far From the Madding Crowd. Far more readable than I remember from a failed attempt some years back. I think Tess of the d'Urbervilles had soured me on Hardy.

 

Tess and (even more so) Jude stunned me - Hardy is an incredibly talented writer - but left me so traumatized I too steered clear of Hardy for a long time afterwards.  (With the exception of his poetry, which is a completely different experience, his Darkling Thrush was a favorite of mine:

 

I leant upon a coppice gate 

    When Frost was spectre-gray,

And Winter’s dregs made desolate

    The weakening eye of day.

The tangled bine-stems scored the sky

    Like strings of broken lyres,

And all mankind that haunted nigh

    Had sought their household fires.

 

The land’s sharp features seemed to be

    The Century’s corpse outleant,

His crypt the cloudy canopy,

    The wind his death-lament.

The ancient pulse of germ and birth

    Was shrunken hard and dry,

And every spirit upon earth

    Seemed fervourless as I.

 

At once a voice arose among

    The bleak twigs overhead

In a full-hearted evensong

    Of joy illimited;

An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,

    In blast-beruffled plume,

Had chosen thus to fling his soul

    Upon the growing gloom.

 

So little cause for carolings

    Of such ecstatic sound

Was written on terrestrial things

    Afar or nigh around,

That I could think there trembled through

    His happy good-night air

Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew

    And I was unaware.

 

I've had FFtMC on my TBR list for a while and the discussions here were very encouraging.  I'm not expecting Wodehouse, but I am feeling confident that it won't be a traumatic encounter.

 

 

 

The idea of the word rutabaga being in the title makes me laugh. :lol:  I'm not even sure I know what a rutabaga actually is. :leaving:

 

 

Rutabagas are a neat root vegetable - a bit like turnips, but smoother texture and sweeter.  I like to use them in a number of root vegetable based dishes.  I think they're called "swedes" everywhere other than the States, but I could be confusing them with something else.

 

When I think of Rutabaga in a title I think of Carl Sandburg's Rootabaga Stories (which I hadn't realized had an (intentionally) misspelled 'rutagaba' in the title

 

 

 

Tess of the d'Urbervilles. was my only Hardy for a long time and my reason for not wanting to read anything else of his. Far From the Madding Crowd, while not exactly uplifiting, is nowhere near depressing. There are even some chuckles along the way, thanks to the villagers.

 

I don't think I'll read anything else of his though. As far as I can tell the rest are just as depressing as Tess and I'd rather stop on what (for Hardy) might be considered a high note. 

 

 

Under the Greenwood Tree is the lightest Hardy I've read (or heard tell of).  It isn't his most representative work - for either the quality of his writing or its flavor, but it is his cheeriest, I believe, and I do recommend it.

[mumto2]

Eliana, I don't have the patience to quote and reduce to the right part this morning. Rutabagas are a Swede here. Commonly served mashed or cut in small cubes after having been cooked. I don't know if by cooked I mean boiled or baked (not roasted brown). If roasted they are mixed with parsnips and carrots, yum. Frequently the yellow veg at a carvery restaurant in the winter. Obviously I don't normally cook them although I do eat them. I am more of a parsnip preparer!

[Jane in NC]

Obviously PBS is following our discussion!  Last night's episode of A Chef's Life focused on rutabagas!

 

A Chef's Life revolves around Vivian Howard, an award winning chef who has put the small eastern NC town of Kinston on the map because her two restaurants, Chef and the Farmer and the more casual oyster/burger joint, the Boiler Room.  We are huge fans of both restaurants and the television show which focuses on a single ingredient from this part of the world in every program. 

 

As a locovore/seasonal eater, I have become a fan of the rutabaga--both root and greens.  This is what happens when you subscribe to a CSA--you try all sorts of things in all sorts of ways.  Otherwise you are just feeding your compost bin.

 

I usually roast rutabaga chunks with other roots.  As Mumto2 said, Yum!

 

The Rutabaga episode of A Chef's Life is not yet available online.  Once it is, I'll be happy to link it for those interested in odd roots.

 

 

[KathyBC]

Eliana, thanks for sharing Darkling Thrush. I am so enjoying Hardy's descriptions right now.

[redsquirrel]

Wait, I missed a conversation about rutabagas? My town has an annual rutabaga curl competition!  There is a song and there is a performance by the rutabaga chorus.  Why yes, we do revel in our weirdness.

 

http://www.rutabagacurl.com/

 

This  year's competition is Dec 22.

 

 

I am 3/4 done with Ferrante's "Those who leave and those who stay", the third book in the Neapolitan series. As with the previous two, there are parts that are tedious, but man, when she grabs you, she grabs you hard.  And, because it is me, I have trouble keeping all the characters straight, which is a feature of the story and not a bug.  It is meant to be complicated and sprawling.  If you want to read the series, and I highly recommend it, and you prefer or don't mind paper books, I think I suggest this one not be a e-book. If I had a paper book, I would be keeping one finger on the list of characters and relationships at the front of the book and be flipping back and forth constantly. Or I would do like my friend does and make little notes in the margins of who is who. It is more difficult for me to do on an ebook, to flip to the character chapter, and get back to my place, so I don't do it enough. Sometimes it doesn't matter, but there have been a few chapters where some went over my head because I just can't remember who belongs to which family and why that makes this particular thing important.

 

As soon as I finish, I will move on to The Martian.  After that, who knows?  Someone gave me a copy of, of all things, an autobiography of Alan Alda, and told me it was really excellent and that I should read it.  I did want to read an autobiography this year, but somehow, I hadn't thought of Alan Alda, lol.  But, she was insistent that is is really interesting and worth reading, so I might give it a whirl. 

 

 

[Kareni]

Bookish things ~

 

Literary Looks: Bookish Tights and Leggings

 

Regards,

Kareni

[idnib]

We had a death in the family so we are flying to the upper Midwest today.

 

I was prepared last night to go get some cold weather clothing and saw the weather is going to be almost identical to the Bay Area. Strange for November.

 

I hope I'll get to check in with BaW this week but I'm not sure. It's all very last minute. Wishing you all a good week, just in case.

[Jane in NC]

We had a death in the family so we are flying to the upper Midwest today.

 

I was prepared last night to go get some cold weather clothing and saw the weather is going to be almost identical to the Bay Area. Strange for November.

 

I hope I'll get to check in with BaW this week but I'm not sure. It's all very last minute. Wishing you all a good week, just in case.

 

Safe travels.  May your family find peace.

 

Jane

 

[Jane in NC]

Bookish things ~

 

Literary Looks: Bookish Tights and Leggings

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

This link needs to be posted on the thread concerning Fox News commentators who think that leggings are inappropriate.  Censorship!  ;)

 

[Stacia]

idnib, condolences to your family. :grouphug:

[mumto2]

We had a death in the family so we are flying to the upper Midwest today.

 

I was prepared last night to go get some cold weather clothing and saw the weather is going to be almost identical to the Bay Area. Strange for November.

 

I hope I'll get to check in with BaW this week but I'm not sure. It's all very last minute. Wishing you all a good week, just in case.

I am sorry.

[Chrysalis Academy]

I think I'm going to curl up in bed with a book for the rest of the day. And that is the last book-related comment in my post. I just got back from an unplanned visit to the dermatologist - long story, but serendipitous - in a desperate attempt to figure out the source of my chronic itchy rash. She think it is dermatitis herpetiformis, which means I probably have celiac's disease.  So, hm. I guess getting a diagnosis will be a relief, and I should be grateful that the allergen is actually something I have power to remove, rather than a nonspecific environmental sensitivity.  At the same time, I'm feeling a little bit stunned and sorry for myself - not to mention sore from 3 biopsies now that the novacain is wearing off.  So, yeah, maybe I can make a dent in my book stack. I don't think I'm really good for anything else today.