Book a Week 2015 - BW44: Nonfiction November

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday dear hearts.  Did you all remember to set your clocks back?  We are on week 44 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 in my signature.

 

52 Books blog - Nonfiction November:  Welcome to Non Fiction November.  Are you ready for a month of reading diaries, dissertations and dramas as well as anecdotes, adventures and autobiographies. Our author flavors of the month are Truman Capote, Stacy Schiff and Bill Bryson.  Yes, a rather eclectic grouping and it just so happens that  I have those authors on my shelves.  :laugh:

 

I'm actually not a huge fan of reading non fiction, except for writing books,  Which makes it all the more interesting that I'm now leading a flash non fiction writing class utilizing Dinty's Moore's Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Non Fiction.  I've stepped way outside my box and well as comfort zone with the writing exercises.  Which has lead to my wanting to read more non fiction.   

 

I've gathered quite a collection of world war history books as well as spy craft, thanks to my husband and son. Thanks to numerous recommendations, I now have Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, Stacy Schiff's Cleopatra, Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods, Susan Cain's Quiet as well as Erik Larson's Dead Wake and In the Garden of Beasts waiting in my stacks to be read.   We'll see how far I get. 

 

Also, thanks to Stacia and Rose,  we have in the works for this month: a comparison reading of Shakespeare's The Winter Tale along with Jeanette Winterson's modern retelling The Gap of Time.

 

Join me in a game on Non Fiction Bingo, made especially for you all, and see how many bingo's you can complete, vertically, horizontally or diagonally.  And if you want to get really creative, try a T or an L or an E.  

 

 

 

Happy Reading! 

 

 

*********************************************************************

 

History of the Medieval World 

Chapter 56:  The Vikings -- pp  427 - 436

Chapter 57:  Long Lived Kings -- pp 437 - 441 

 

********************************************************************

 

What are you reading this week? 

 

 

 

 

Link to week 43

[Robin M]

in my facebook feed this morning ----  His Joy,His Life by Stacy Schiff in New York Review of Books

 

 

I finished Julie Ann Walker's Too Hard to Handle. # 8 in her Black Knight series.  Booyah! 

 

James and I started listening to The Lost World in the car and he's fascinated. 

 

Not sure which non fiction book I'm going to start with.     eeney meeney miney mo.......

 

meanwhile---- There's a most interesting rain cloud over Sacramento today.  Once I picked myself up off the floor from laughing so hard, I tried to think - how would you creatively and cleanly caption this.  

 

 

 

 

 

[Kareni]

Some bookish things ~

 

 

Something I'd enjoy finding in a book at a used bookstore:

FOUND: A Map of Middle Earth, Annotated by Tolkien Himself

 

***

 

The New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2015

***

 

Book Art Is Awesome: Fashion Edition

***

 

and a currently free Kindle book by Georgette Heyer:  The Black Moth

***

 

And, yes, Robin -- that's quite the manly cloud!

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[Just Robyn]

After finishing Plath's Ariel, I read two more poetry books: Perfectly Normal by Wyatt Townley and The World Doesn't End by Charles Simic. I had never heard of Townley, just pulled her book off the shelf at the library, but I looked her up, and she's the current poet laureate of Kansas. Of the three poetry books, I liked Townsley's the best, but each had a few keepers.

 

I also started The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien since I had already read (and loved) the first story in The Making of a Story. 

 

Here's a poem from Wyatt Townley's book.

 

Collision

 

the tulips are swerving

all over the parlor

purple red yellow

brakeless, careening

 

from vase to table

and onto the sofa

where accidents happen

they lose their sweet

 

heads, tumble off

the white cliff of

the antimacassar

all over the carpet

 

a bright stain of petals

[Jane in NC]

Robin has given me the giggles. But first let's talk books!

 

The Spoils of Poynton certainly offers a case study in manipulation. And it raises the observation that the world of literature would certainly be poorer without primogeniture and entail.

 

My favorite quote comes near its end when Mrs. Gareth tells her young friend and protege Fleda, "(Y)ou'll at any rate be a bit of furniture." You really have to read the story to understand.

 

I started my November non-fiction choice, Detroit: An Autopsy, earlier in the week.

 

As I also plan on joining Rose and Stacia reading The Winter's Tale, I pulled my beloved Complete Works of Shakespeare off the shelf. This volume came into my life when I was 17. I had talked my way into a college Shakespeare class for which this was the text. We read a play a week. These plays and others read since are marked with pencil notations so that rereading brings a lovely pleasure of seeing what I thought was interesting or important previously. The Winter's Tale is so marked.

 

VC--still plugging away at The Golden Legend. Did you notice that Bartholomew is credited with giving the people of India "the Gospel according to Matthew written in their own language"? The compilation of the Legend occurs a century or so before Wycliffe so this really jumped out at me.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Oh, what fun! I love the nonfiction bingo. I read a lot of NF, but not in many of those categories, so this will be a fun stretch.

 

In Cold Blood came in from the library so it's made it as far as the stack, as has The Winter Tale. I haven't started either yet. Still trying to finish my anthology of climate fiction and working on The Gospel According to Jesus Christ - does this count as nonfiction/theology, I wonder? and The Selfish Gene - which could count either as Scientific of 1970's on the Bingo! And I started The Sellout by Paul Beatty. It's a recent release that I have had on hold forever. I think it would fit with a theme some of you are reading, race relations in the US.  It is absolutely biting satire, I'm thinking that it's leaning toward the tragicomic at this point. I'm not very far in, but I think that you would like it, Stacia, based on what I've read so far.

 

Books completed in October:

160. The Secret Chord - Geraldine Brooks

159. The Man in the High Castle - Philip K Dick

158. The Grey King - Susan Cooper

157. The Sleeper and the Spindle - Neil Gaiman

156. Solaris - Stanislaw Lem

155. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot

154. An Appetite for Wonder - Richard Dawkins

153. The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch - Philip K Dick

152. The Book of Chameleons - Jose Eduardo Agualusa

151. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon - Grace Lin

150. Ender in Exile - Orson Scott Card

149. The Year of the Turtle: A Natural History - David Carroll

148. Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut

147. The Time Machine - HG Wells

146. The Story of my Teeth - Valeria Luiselli

145. Roadside Picnic - A & B Strugatsky

144. A Handful of Dust - Evelyn Waugh

143. Fairy Tales for Computers

 

ETA: looks like I read 3 nonfiction books in October - can I use them for the bingo, or are we starting fresh as of November?

[Chrysalis Academy]

 

 

I also started The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien since I had already read (and loved) the first story in The Making of a Story. 

 

 

 

 

I'll be interested to hear what you think of this book, it's been on my TBR list for a long time.

[Kareni]

I finished several books lately ~

 

The Shameless Hour (The Ivy Years Book 4)  by Sarina Bowen

 

I've enjoyed all of the books in this new adult series thus far.  I will say though that this one was the most poignant/painful to read as it showed the cruelty that some people exhibit.  That said, I do recommend it.

 

"She's not looking for a hero. He's not looking for a hookup.

For Bella, the sweet-talking, free-loving, hip-checking student manager of the Harkness men’s hockey team, sex is a second language. She’s used to being fluent where others stutter, and the things people say behind her back don’t (often) bother her. So she can’t understand why her smoking hot downstairs neighbor has so much trouble staying friends after their spontaneous night together. She knows better than to worry about it, but there’s something in those espresso eyes that makes her second guess herself.

Rafe is appalled with himself for losing his virginity in a drunken hookup. His strict Catholic upbringing always emphasized loving thy neighbor—but not with a bottle of wine and a box of condoms. The result is an Ivy League bout of awkwardness. But when Bella is leveled by a little bad luck and a downright nasty fraternity stunt, it’s Rafe who is there to pick up the pieces.

Bella doesn’t want Rafe's help, and she’s through with men. Too bad the undeniable spark that crackles between the two of them just can't be extinguished."

 

 

***

 

I also read and enjoyed Heidi Cullinan's contemporary male/male romance Dance With Me.  [it was quite different from the author's new adult book Carry the Ocean that I read last week and highly recommend.]  This story features two adult men, one of whom is a dancer, the other an ex-football player.  The cover art is definitely noteworthy.  I saw a link recently to more of the photographer's works, and have spent the last half hour unsuccessfully trying to find it again.  I can't even locate the photographer's name ... sigh.

 

"Sometimes life requires a partner.

Ed Maurer has bounced back, more or less, from the neck injury that permanently benched his semipro football career. He hates his soul-killing office job, but he loves volunteering at a local community center. The only fly in his ointment is the dance instructor, Laurie Parker, who can’t seem to stay out of his way.

Laurie was once one of the most celebrated ballet dancers in the world, but now he volunteers at Halcyon Center to avoid his society mother’s machinations. It would be a perfect escape, except for the oaf of a football player cutting him glares from across the room.

When Laurie has a ballroom dancing emergency and Ed stands in as his partner, their perceptions of each other turn upside down. Dancing leads to friendship, being friends leads to becoming lovers, but most important of all, their partnership shows them how to heal the pain of their pasts. Because with every turn across the floor, Ed and Laurie realize the only escape from their personal demons is to keep dancing—together."

 

***

 

I also re-read with pleasure a favorite paranormal romance ~ Thea Harrison's Oracle's Moon (A Novel of the Elder Races).

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Loesje22000]

Setting the clock back this weekend would a little weird, as we did that last weekend :)

This week is fall break so I hope I'll have time to read.

I have read something this week, I thought 2 books.

But I can't even remember now which ones....

 

 

[Onceuponatime]

I'm planning on finally getting around to reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance this month, but first I have to read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall for my book club on Thursday.

[Butter]

Setting the clock back this weekend would a little weird, as we did that last weekend :)

 

I have to keep track of the time change both here and in Ireland since we call my MIL over there on Sundays.  For 3 weeks in March and a week in October our times are off and we're either 5 or 7 hours different instead of 6 like we usually are.

 

I finished The Red Badge of Courage.  Here's what I wrote on my book review blog: The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane is a horrible book. It is boring. The writing style is dreadful. The conversations are all written in dialect which gets annoying. In short, I hated the book more than I’ve ever hated a book before. The only positive about it is it is pretty short.

[Stacia]

 Once I picked myself up off the floor from laughing so hard, I tried to think - how would you creatively and cleanly caption this. 

 

Well, I can think of one or two but am not sure that I should post them. :blushing: :lol:

 

The New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2015

 

Even though I'm old, I still love picture books. Thanks for the link. Such fun to look at & add to my library request list.

 

I also started The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien since I had already read (and loved) the first story in The Making of a Story.

 

I have been wanting to read this because dd read it last year in high school. Considering that so much of the assigned high school reading has been books she has not liked, I was intrigued when she said this one was not completely terrible. (High praise, I know.) She actually kind of liked it & war books are definitely not her thing.

 

I started my November non-fiction choice, Detroit: An Autopsy, earlier in the week.

 

As I also plan on joining Rose and Stacia reading The Winter's Tale, I pulled my beloved Complete Works of Shakespeare off the shelf.  This volume came into my life when I was 17.  I had talked my way into a college Shakespeare class for which this was the text.  We read a play a week.  These plays and others read since are marked with pencil notations so that rereading brings a lovely pleasure of seeing what I thought was interesting or important previously.  The Winter's Tale is so marked.

 

I have all these sitting here but haven't started any of them yet. Please post any insight for The Winter's Tale as I often feel clueless when reading Shakespeare.

 

And I started The Sellout by Paul Beatty. It's a recent release that I have had on hold forever. I think it would fit with a theme some of you are reading, race relations in the US.  It is absolutely biting satire, I'm thinking that it's leaning toward the tragicomic at this point. I'm not very far in, but I think that you would like it, Stacia, based on what I've read so far.

 

I had actually checked this out a month or two ago & even read the beginning but ended up returning it the library unfinished because I was leaving town. I'll have to request it again...

 

Another non-fiction I have lined up is Yes, Please! by Amy Poehler (my book club's recent choice).

 

[Butter]

 how would you creatively and cleanly caption this.  

 

There was a bit of excitement in the air above Sacramento today...

[Chrysalis Academy]

 

 

 

I have all these sitting here but haven't started any of them yet. Please post any insight for The Winter's Tale as I often feel clueless when reading Shakespeare.

 

 

This is a totally new play to me, so I'm going to do what I usually do for reading Shakespeare with the girls - read a picture book version, then watch the movie, then read the real thing. In fact, maybe we will do the first two this afternoon, it's a rainy day!

[Ali in OR]

Not much reading time. I got a little more than halfway through How Not To Be Wrong before I had to return it to the library. I'll give it my most frequent assessment--"could have been shorter". He explained interesting everyday scenarios (like how some MIT students figured out how to make a lot of money off the MA lottery) but then went on and on and on analyzing it. I won't check it out again to finish it--I think I got enough.

 

Currently reading Rose Under Fire and enjoying it, but I'm not finding too much reading time. I'm up for the Winter's Tale x 2 read-along. I'm not really up for non-fiction November. Perhaps How Not To Be Wrong burned me out, but I'm in the mood for cozy, easy-on-the-brain reading. Anyone want to suggest something for me to try? Something along the lines of Georgette Heyer, Agatha Christie, Sarah Addison Allen, Andrea Host, etc. I want to read for the story during this busy season.

 

Jane, I also got my Complete Works of Shakespeare off the shelf. Is yours red? I took a Shakespeare class my freshman year in college, but it doesn't look like we read The Winter's Tale--no notes there but I do have some for The Tempest. For the plays I've read with my kids I've been getting the OUP ones that have all of the nice notes in the margins. This giant, heavy tome has footnotes but all in all seems a bit harder to use than the OUP ones. I'll have to read sitting up as I'll never be able to prop up the book in my usual lying on the couch routine. 

[Jane in NC]

This is a totally new play to me, so I'm going to do what I usually do for reading Shakespeare with the girls - read a picture book version, then watch the movie, then read the real thing. In fact, maybe we will do the first two this afternoon, it's a rainy day!

 

Movie?  I did not know that there is a film version of The Winter's Tale. Please report back!

 

[Jane in NC]

Jane, I also got my Complete Works of Shakespeare off the shelf. Is yours red? I took a Shakespeare class my freshman year in college, but it doesn't look like we read The Winter's Tale--no notes there but I do have some for The Tempest. For the plays I've read with my kids I've been getting the OUP ones that have all of the nice notes in the margins. This giant, heavy tome has footnotes but all in all seems a bit harder to use than the OUP ones. I'll have to read sitting up as I'll never be able to prop up the book in my usual lying on the couch routine. 

 

Mine is yellow.

 

We read The Tempest in class too.  I believe I read The Winter's Tale at some point in my 20's after encountering a reference to it. Obviously it has been a while since I have read it.  In retrospect, I wish I that I made note of the dates that I had read the plays. 

 

There are a number of plays that I should read or reread.  Perhaps this is a good idea for 2016.

 

[mumto2]

I don't think I will be joining in the Winter's Tale read along. I will try to do something non fiction but I am not promising anything! I still have my banned book to read.

 

I finished a couple more Sue Grafton alphabet books today. Dd has somehow gotten ahead of me so I have to read those I guess.

 

Butter, I leave my kindle set to my mom's time zone. That way I know what time it is in terms of her schedule when I call.

[Kareni]

There was a bit of excitement in the air above Sacramento today...

 

Very clever!  One might even say "Upstanding!"

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Today I finished the young adult novel Walk on Earth a Stranger (Gold Seer Trilogy) by Rae Carson.  It's not fair to say that I 'read' it, since I read the first fifty pages, skimmed the next 150 or so, and then solidly read the final 200 pages.  So, it lost then recaptured my interest; the book is a curious mix of historical (1849) fiction with a paranormal element.  This author is, I believe, best known for her Girl of Fire and Thorns series which I have not read.  Have you?

 

"Lee Westfall has a secret. She can sense the presence of gold in the world around her. Veins deep beneath the earth, pebbles in the river, nuggets dug up from the forest floor. The buzz of gold means warmth and life and home—until everything is ripped away by a man who wants to control her. Left with nothing, Lee disguises herself as a boy and takes to the trail across the country. Gold was discovered in California, and where else could such a magical girl find herself, find safety?"

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

Movie?  I did not know that there is a film version of The Winter's Tale. Please report back!

 

 

We're in the middle of watching a filmed version of the theatrical production of the Royal Shakespeare Co. produced in 1999. We got it through Netflix.  It's really good.

[Robin M]

 

ETA: looks like I read 3 nonfiction books in October - can I use them for the bingo, or are we starting fresh as of November?

Officially, we're starting fresh. And it's given me a few ideas for 2016 now that I know how to make them.  

 

 

I also started The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien since I had already read (and loved) the first story in The Making of a Story. 

 

Here's a poem from Wyatt Townley's book.

 

Collision

 

the tulips are swerving

all over the parlor

purple red yellow

brakeless, careening

 

from vase to table

and onto the sofa

where accidents happen

they lose their sweet

 

heads, tumble off

the white cliff of

the antimacassar

all over the carpet

 

a bright stain of petals

 

Neat poem. All kinds of symbolism.   I also have O'brien's book on my wishlist.  

 

I'm planning on finally getting around to reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance this month, but first I have to read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall for my book club on Thursday.

Wildfell Hall was an interesting read, very literary, with much to get the reader thinking about. Look forward to hearing what you think about it. 

 

 

I have to keep track of the time change both here and in Ireland since we call my MIL over there on Sundays.  For 3 weeks in March and a week in October our times are off and we're either 5 or 7 hours different instead of 6 like we usually are.

 

I finished The Red Badge of Courage.  Here's what I wrote on my book review blog: The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane is a horrible book. It is boring. The writing style is dreadful. The conversations are all written in dialect which gets annoying. In short, I hated the book more than I’ve ever hated a book before. The only positive about it is it is pretty short.

My dad keeps 4 clocks in his home office set to the different time zones for me and my sisters.  And since he's in AZ where they don't have the time change and is  just across the Colorado River from NV where he goes to church, he has to keep track of their time changes. 

 

Not much reading time. I got a little more than halfway through How Not To Be Wrong before I had to return it to the library. I'll give it my most frequent assessment--"could have been shorter". He explained interesting everyday scenarios (like how some MIT students figured out how to make a lot of money off the MA lottery) but then went on and on and on analyzing it. I won't check it out again to finish it--I think I got enough.

 

Currently reading Rose Under Fire and enjoying it, but I'm not finding too much reading time. I'm up for the Winter's Tale x 2 read-along. I'm not really up for non-fiction November. Perhaps How Not To Be Wrong burned me out, but I'm in the mood for cozy, easy-on-the-brain reading. Anyone want to suggest something for me to try? Something along the lines of Georgette Heyer, Agatha Christie, Sarah Addison Allen, Andrea Host, etc. I want to read for the story during this busy season.

 

Jane, I also got my Complete Works of Shakespeare off the shelf. Is yours red? I took a Shakespeare class my freshman year in college, but it doesn't look like we read The Winter's Tale--no notes there but I do have some for The Tempest. For the plays I've read with my kids I've been getting the OUP ones that have all of the nice notes in the margins. This giant, heavy tome has footnotes but all in all seems a bit harder to use than the OUP ones. I'll have to read sitting up as I'll never be able to prop up the book in my usual lying on the couch routine. 

Our complete works of Shakespeare is red.  We bought a copy for hubby's mom a long time ago and inherited it back when she passed 20+ years ago.  It's buried in the bedroom. I'll have to find it now. 

[-M-]

Was Branagh's production mentioned re: The Winter's Tale project? Our family already has tickets. *grin* http://www.fathomevents.com/event/the-winters-tale

 

I will join this challenge, as I'm always up for a rereading of Shakespeare and a good reimagining of his stories. If you haven't already indulged, consider complementing your project with Saccio's lectures on the play.

[-M-]

Over the last week or so, I've completed the following:

 

â–  Hermine (Maria Beig; 1984 (2004 translation). 186 pages. Fiction.)
â–  The Blue (Lucy Clarke; 2015. 336 pages. Fiction.)
â–  A Head Full of Ghosts (Paul Tremblay; 2015. 304 pages. Fiction.)

 

This article/post set me on the Beig novel. Highly recommended. I also really enjoyed Head Full: psychological horror, mental illness, possession, and the meltdown of the middle-class through the lens of a reality television camera. Haunting. The narrator was beguiling, too -- damaged but funny and smart. Recommended.

 

Among other things, I'm (re)reading 1984, Agamemnon, and Schiff's The Witches.

[Stacia]

Another option that some might enjoy for non-fiction November: Gloria Steinem's My Life on the Road.

 

An Amazon Best Book of November 2015: To women “of a certain age†– a euphemism the author of this book would surely abhor – the idea that Gloria Steinem is a revolutionary thinker, a wonderful writer and a practical activist is not, perhaps, news. (But there is something joyful in the rediscovery of same.) To those who didn’t know or don’t remember the Steinem story – founding Ms. Magazine, fighting for reproductive rights, waiting to marry until she was in her 60s! -- it might be a revelation. Long before Sheryl Sandberg leaned in at work, Steinem was preaching the gospel of empowered women by, among other things, travelling the country and the world listening to people, gathering stories and insights, offering support of the intellectual and emotional kind. From the very first page – in which she dedicates her book to the British doctor who ended Steinem’s pregnancy, illegally, in 1957 – to the tales of a supposedly shy woman who admitted she wanted to nail their sloppy husband’s tossed-anywhere underwear to the floor, Steinem recounts a life well-travelled in every sense. Now 81, the woman who at 40 replied to a compliment about her appearance with “this is what 40 looks like,†Steinem can still raise consciousnesses, including her own.

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

We're in the middle of watching a filmed version of the theatrical production of the Royal Shakespeare Co. produced in 1988. We got it through Netflix.  It's really good.

 

And it was wonderful! We really enjoyed it. Here is the one we watched, it was actually produced in 1999:

 

https://www.ovguide.com/the-winter's-tale-9202a8c04000641f8000000009008473

[Stacia]

Dh & I saw the movie The Intern this afternoon. It was a cute, feel-good type movie.

 

 

 

 

Also, Jane, you're reading Detroit by Charlie LeDuff, right? I've started it but it is not meshing with me at all. I'm probably going to set it aside unless you tell me that I should persevere...???

[Jane in NC]

Also, Jane, you're reading Detroit by Charlie LeDuff, right? I've started it but it is not meshing with me at all. I'm probably going to set it aside unless you tell me that I should persevere...???

I can see why LeDuff may not mesh. He is what I call a cowboy--charging in and full of himself. The Midwest/rust belt politics interest me but this is certainly not a book that I can recommend all around. The friend who suggested I read it lives in Michigan.

 

You can leave this one behind after you look at the photos in the back of the book.

[Stacia]

I can see why LeDuff may not mesh. He is what I call a cowboy--charging in and full of himself. The Midwest/rust belt politics interest me but this is certainly not a book that I can recommend all around. The friend who suggested I read it lives in Michigan.

 

You can leave this one behind after you look at the photos in the back of the book.

 

I already looked at the photos, so I guess I'm good. Lol.

 

I don't mind a cowboy or even an arrogant narrator, but his style just isn't pulling me in. I wish I could find it more interesting, but I'm going to pass on this one. Too bad because it's probably an important story to hear; I'd rather hear it from a different storyteller.

 

P.S. Thanks for the input, Jane.

 

[Kareni]

There's nothing quite like quoting oneself!  Regarding Heidi Cullinan's Dance With Me, I wrote earlier today:

 

 The cover art is definitely noteworthy.  I saw a link recently to more of the photographer's works, and have spent the last half hour unsuccessfully trying to find it again.  I can't even locate the photographer's name ... sigh.

 

I'm happy to say that I finally located the name of the photographer of the stunning cover; it's Alexander Yakovlev.  Take a look --

 

Explosive Dance Portraits By Alexander Yakovlev

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Guest]

It has been so lovely having dd and dsil and our itsy-bitsy grandbaby home!  ...and my little guy is finally almost better from his not-sure-if-its-pneumonia-but-the-abx-for-the-nasty-ear-infection-should-help-if-it-is that sent us to the ER last week.

 

The most outstanding things I read last week were adaptations of Greek tragedies - my mother saw the productions in London while visiting my sister & brought the scripts back for me (isn't she wonderful?).:

 

Medea by Rachel Cusk: this is a modern-day Medea, brilliantly done, and heartbreaking in a very different way than most Medeas are. [Only available on Kindle in the US right now]

 

Oresteia by Robert Icke: Wow.  Very powerful, very thought provoking. Highly recommended. [Kindle copy available now, hardcopy not until 4/2016]

 

 

Inspired by the latter, I read Euripides' Iphigenia in Tauris (which I don't remember reading before) - this was another one done by the Greek Tragedies in New Translations series I keep enjoying.

 

 

I pulled out another play from my shelves, completely unconnected: Park Your Car in Harvard Yard by Israel Horovitz: amusing in places, moving in others, but I think this would work best (for me) in production rather than read as a script.

 

I read Anne Tyler's Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant and hated it. The combination of Tyler's storytelling style and the material didn't work for me at all.  (I had been wondering if my dislike of Accidental Tourist was because I read it 20+ years ago at a time when I liked very little modern lit, but now I am thinking it might not just have been where I was then.)

 

When planning for this year's reading, one of my goals was to read more work by women (not counting kids/YA or SFF, because most of what I read & like in those genres is by women).  I didn't make an actual goal list of which women to read, but I did look around my shelves and my TBR lists and various book lists and get a sense of some possibilities.  One of these was Rebecca Solnit.  I still haven't tried her fiction, but I have her collection of essays Men Explain Things to Me, so I decided to read it this last week.  There was much that I liked here (though the titular essay was not my favorite), and now I am eager to try one of her novels.  Recommendations?

 

 

...and we finished another readaloud: The Foundling and other tales by Lloyd Alexander - which delighted my little guy as the Prydain series was an enormous favorite.  Now we're reading Sandburg's Rootabaga Stories (thank you, Robin for the inspiration!)

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

 

 

Join me in a game on Non Fiction Bingo, made especially for you all, and see how many bingo's you can complete, vertically, horizontally or diagonally.  And if you want to get really creative, try a T or an L or an E.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love the Bingo!  How do you envision the continents and decades working?  For example: would "Africa" be NF about Africa, NR written by an African author?  Would it include plays or poetry by/about Africa/Africans? 

 

 

! And I started The Sellout by Paul Beatty. It's a recent release that I have had on hold forever. I think it would fit with a theme some of you are reading, race relations in the US.  It is absolutely biting satire, I'm thinking that it's leaning toward the tragicomic at this point. I'm not very far in, but I think that you would like it, Stacia, based on what I've read so far.

 

 

 

 

This looks very interesting!  Let us know what you think as you continue with it.  (please!)

 

 

...first I have to read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall for my book club on Thursday.

 

This is one of my favorites.  It has a slower-paced start, but the story within the story grabs me by the throat every time I read it. 

 

I finished The Red Badge of Courage.  Here's what I wrote on my book review blog: The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane is a horrible book. It is boring. The writing style is dreadful. The conversations are all written in dialect which gets annoying. In short, I hated the book more than I’ve ever hated a book before. The only positive about it is it is pretty short.

 

:grouphug:   I'm sorry you had such an awful experience with RBoC.   :grouphug:   I'm a fan, but I've heard enough people venting during and after a read to realize I am, perhaps, in the minority... 

 

 

 

This article/post set me on the Beig novel. Highly recommended. 

 

Among other things, I'm (re)reading 1984, Agamemnon, and Schiff's The Witches.

 

 

The Beig intimidates me a little....but looks amazing.

 

I think you would love the adaptations of Medea and the Oresteia my mother just brought me from London - the Oresteia might be especially apt since you are already reading Agamemnon... 

[JennW in SoCal]

I was so looking forward to the new Robert Galbraith (aka JKRowling) book, but I won't be able to read it.  Almost put it down after the 1st chapter, finally gave up somewhere in the 3rd.  It's a thriller rather than a procedural as the last 2 were, featuring a psychopathic serial killer with lots of s*xual violence. Most unfortunately, lots of chapters are from the viewpoint of the psychopath. Can't. go. there. 

 

It made for a night of jarring extremes.  I started listening to it in the car on the way to an evening rehearsal, and had to switch it off because it was so disturbing. But then I spent the next 2 hours in that rehearsal playing Mozart's Requiem, and was transported to a place of transcendent beauty. Take a few minutes and immerse yourself in the Benedictus movement... 

[Guest]

 

 

Currently reading Rose Under Fire and enjoying it, but I'm not finding too much reading time. I'm up for the Winter's Tale x 2 read-along. I'm not really up for non-fiction November. Perhaps How Not To Be Wrong burned me out, but I'm in the mood for cozy, easy-on-the-brain reading. Anyone want to suggest something for me to try? Something along the lines of Georgette Heyer, Agatha Christie, Sarah Addison Allen, Andrea Host, etc. I want to read for the story during this busy season.

 

:grouphug:   Yes, sometimes safe, cozy books are essential.  

 

SOme of my favorite comfort reads/authors:

 

Jane Austen, Robin McKinley, Sherwood Smith, Dorothy Sayers, Diana Wynne Jones, Connie Willis (not all of each of these is a comfort read, and each has at least one work I don't love, but, overall, they are well loved)

 

Freedom and Necessity, Voyage Begun (YA), Tam Lin, Swordspoint, Izzy Willy Nilly (YA), Bujold's Vorkosigan series (beginning with the omnibus Cordelia's Honor)

 

Some other ideas:

 

Alexei Panshin: Villers series (his Rite of Passage is amazing, but not cozy)

Doris Egan: Ivory trilogy

Conor Kostick: Epic (YA)

Vivian Vande Velde: Heir Apparent  (YA)

Emerald House Rising (YA)

 

Madeleine Robins has some pseudo-Heyers (My Dear Jenny and others) and a mystery solving at-Regency series (beginning with Point of Honor), the latter isn't comfort reading for me, but that could be the mystery genre-ness of it.

 

Max Gladstone's series (beginning with Three Parts Dead) isn't comfort reading exactly, but it comes close in some ways

ditto Marie Brennan's series beginning with Midnight Never Come

 

Jane Aiken Hodge (yes, Joan Aiken's sister!) wrote a slew of historical fiction/romance books.  I read them so many years ago that they all run together, but I remember there being some set in a Ruritanian-like setting that were the coziest.

I think Goblin Emperor will be a comfort read some day, we'll see.

 

3 suggestions of things I wouldn't pick, but others might like:

At one point in time, I could read some Sharon Shinn as comfort reads, but that only worked briefly. Summers at Castle Auburn is the only one I've kept.

 

Lee & Miller's Liaden series is a light read. (link to Goodreads list of the series - I don't think you need to start in any particular place)

 

Shades of Milk and Honey is a SFF Austen takeoff.  It didn't work for me, but it was a light read and is very popular.

 

Joan Slonczewski and Jo Walton stretch me to much to be real comfort reads, but a few come close (Daughter of Elysium and Tooth and Claw respectively, frex)

 

Firebrand by Ankaret Wells is a steampunk romance novel that borrows unabashedly from Bronte juvenilia 

 

More literature-y (not all of these are favorites of mine, but they're here b/c they were safe & amusing):

 

Prisoner of Zenda, Old Fashioned Girl, Glimpses of the Moon, Consequences, The Brontes Went to Woolworths, Under the Net, Miss Buncle's Book, Christmas Pudding & Pigeon Pie, Nightingale Wood, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Nightmare Abbey, The Hollow Land

 

 

 

I know I am forgetting lost of wonderful books... 

 

I've tried to leave off kids' books & some of my more idiosyncratic comfort reads...

 

[mumto2]

I suspect there may be a couple of Asterix fans here or parents of fans. Dd was thrilled when her Daddy bought her a copy of the just released Asterix Le Papyrus de Cesar last weekend. I think it is only available in French at this point but it does appear to be availiable on kindle. Here is a linkhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-eu-34606597to a fun article.

[mumto2]

I was so looking forward to the new Robert Galbraith (aka JKRowling) book, but I won't be able to read it. Almost put it down after the 1st chapter, finally gave up somewhere in the 3rd. It's a thriller rather than a procedural as the last 2 were, featuring a psychopathic serial killer with lots of s*xual violence. Most unfortunately, lots of chapters are from the viewpoint of the psychopath. Can't. go. there.

 

It made for a night of jarring extremes. I started listening to it in the car on the way to an evening rehearsal, and had to switch it off because it was so disturbing. But then I spent the next 2 hours in that rehearsal playing Mozart's Requiem, and was transported to a place of transcendent beauty. Take a few minutes and immerse yourself in the

movement...

I have been looking forward to the Galbraith new book also so am sad to read this. I know I am near the top of the list. I think the writing or maybe I should call it storytelling in this series is uneven. I read the first and was a bit ambivalent (I loved the sidekick but thought the main character was a jerk....a good series imo means you love the main character faults and all!). Now the second book was great but I honestly don't know if I would have read it if a couple of you hadn't loved the first. So am sad to hear she has changed the "formula" yet again.

 

Eliana, I just wanted to say thank you for all the great suggestions. I plan to spend some time later today with all my library tabs open searching for some of those books.

 

Ali, a couple of series I have enjoyed recently:

 

C.S. Harris and the Sebastian St.Cyr serieshttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39149.What_Angels_Fear. These require the order. Aggieamy loves these too. Others have read these also and I can't remember if you have. These are more intense than a Heyer but contain a good mystery too. There are violent crimes....

 

Lauren Willig and her Pink Carnation series. These are fun. I am part way through and savoring them. Her new book The Other Daughter was great!https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23014679-the-other-daughter?from_search=true&search_version=service

 

Mary Baloghhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24563495-only-a-kisshas many great books. I am currently reading the latest in her Survivors series.

 

Julia Quinn, absolutely wonderful fluff. I read many of her series last winter when I was really upset. Great continuing characters so they are fun in order but the series intertwine also....pick a series and start. This is one of my favoriteshttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/110391.The_Duke_and_I?ac=1.

[Jane in NC]

I suspect there may be a couple of Asterix fans here or parents of fans. Dd was thrilled when her Daddy bought her a copy of the just released Asterix Le Papyrus de Cesar last weekend. I think it is only available in French at this point but it does appear to be availiable on kindle. Here is a linkhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-eu-34606597to a fun article.

 

Thanks for the link which I forwarded to both my husband and son for their amusement.

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

I'm planning on finally getting around to reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance this month, but first I have to read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall for my book club on Thursday.

 

I enjoyed that book as well. It was an enlightening look at what life might really be like for a woman with an abusive/alcoholic husband in the 1800s. Not a topic that got a lot of coverage at the  time.

 

Not much reading time. I got a little more than halfway through How Not To Be Wrong before I had to return it to the library. I'll give it my most frequent assessment--"could have been shorter". He explained interesting everyday scenarios (like how some MIT students figured out how to make a lot of money off the MA lottery) but then went on and on and on analyzing it. I won't check it out again to finish it--I think I got enough.

 

 

 

I had the exact same experience with this book - lots of good info, but I had to return it when I was about halfway through, and wasn't motivated to check it out again to finish it.

 

I love the Bingo!  How do you envision the continents and decades working?  For example: would "Africa" be NF about Africa, NR written by an African author?  Would it include plays or poetry by/about Africa/Africans? 

 

I'm also curious about the Drama category - would this be a play? or can you give me an example of what NF drama would be?

 

 

This looks very interesting!  Let us know what you think as you continue with it.  (please!) - referring to The Sellout by Paul Beatty

 

 

 

 

Well, I will confess that I am not really enjoying The Sellout, but I'm going to keep reading it anyway. At this point it's kind of like taking medicine.  It's very well written, bitingly satirical and sometimes funny, but very, very dark.  There is a lot of anger, rage, frustration beneath the surface, totally justified but it makes for a disturbing and dark read.  It's hard to characterize, because it's often very funny, but with such a dark undercurrent that you almost feel guilty for laughing.  It's not a polemic against white people, his satire takes on everything in recent American society with equal venom.  

 

It's actually extremely skilled writing - I am rather astounded at how many examples of institutional, cultural racism he can throw in, to practically every sentence or paragraph, sometimes in an offhand way but it really hits you like a gut-punch.  This is what our culture looks like. From a certain point of view.  Given that it's not a point of view I would naturally see, I think it's really good for me to read it.  But not a pleasure read, KWIM?

[Stacia]

Well, I will confess that I am not really enjoying The Sellout, but I'm going to keep reading it anyway. At this point it's kind of like taking medicine.  It's very well written, bitingly satirical and sometimes funny, but very, very dark.  There is a lot of anger, rage, frustration beneath the surface, totally justified but it makes for a disturbing and dark read.  It's hard to characterize, because it's often very funny, but with such a dark undercurrent that you almost feel guilty for laughing.  It's not a polemic against white people, his satire takes on everything in recent American society with equal venom.  

 

It's actually extremely skilled writing - I am rather astounded at how many examples of institutional, cultural racism he can throw in, to practically every sentence or paragraph, sometimes in an offhand way but it really hits you like a gut-punch.  This is what our culture looks like. From a certain point of view.  Given that it's not a point of view I would naturally see, I think it's really good for me to read it.  But not a pleasure read, KWIM?

 

Good to read your comments, Rose. I didn't get terribly far in the book before I had to return it to the library, but my impression was similar in that it is dark & full of rage. I had originally requested it because it was reviewed as a funny satire. I love satire, but this was very bleak humor from the part I did read. I guess it must continue in that vein throughout....

 

I did read Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale & enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. Imo, this was much more entertaining to read than The Tempest.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Good to read your comments, Rose. I didn't get terribly far in the book before I had to return it to the library, but my impression was similar in that it is dark & full of rage. I had originally requested it because it was reviewed as a funny satire. I love satire, but this was very bleak humor from the part I did read. I guess it must continue in that vein throughout....

 

I did read Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale & enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. Imo, this was much more entertaining to read than The Tempest.

 

And with an absolutely hilarious and brilliant "fool" character! Autolycus was our favorite character.

[Jane in NC]

Having now read Act One of The Winter's Tale, there is a comment that I want to share on this passage:

 

 

Turn then my freshest reputation to
A savour that may strike the dullest nostril
Where I arrive, and my approach be shunn'd,

 

In that medieval bestseller that I am slogging through, The Golden Legend (which I keep calling The Golden Notebook--totally different work!) there are regular descriptions on how the saints and martyrs had sweet odors even after their deaths.  Living as we do in the world of artificial scents masking anything slightly offensive, I find this to be revealing. 

 

Have any of you toured the Jorvik Viking Center?  One of the things that I remember from the place is that they tried to replicate the smell.

 

Anyway Polixenes' note that his reputation may be tainted using the word "savor" or "savour" which now has a positive connotation strikes me as interesting.

 

 

 

[Kareni]

Thanks for your lengthy list of titles, Eliana.  I'll be writing a few titles down to carry with me the next time I go to a used book store or thrift store, as I think my adult daughter would like some of them.

 

 

Lee & Miller's Liaden series is a light read. (link to Goodreads list of the series - I don't think you need to start in any particular place)

 

 

For those who are interested in this series, I see that two of the titles are currently available for free to Kindle readers.

 

Agent of Change (Liaden Universe Book 9) by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

 

and

 

Fledgling (Liaden Universe Book 12) by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

 

 

I suspect there may be a couple of Asterix fans here or parents of fans. Dd was thrilled when her Daddy bought her a copy of the just released Asterix Le Papyrus de Cesar last weekend. I think it is only available in French at this point but it does appear to be available on kindle. Here is a linkhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-eu-34606597to a fun article.

 

That was an interesting article; thanks for posting the link, mumto2!  My daughter enjoyed reading Asterix titles in Latin. In case others are interested, here are some that are in print:

 

Asterix Olympius (Latin Edition of Asterix at the Olympic Games)

 

Asterix Gallus (Latin Edition)

 

Asterix Legionarius

 

You can see more titles here.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

 

Have any of you toured the Jorvik Viking Center? One of the things that I remember from the place is that they tried to replicate the smell.

 

 

We have had a membership there sporadically for years. Dh loves to take dc's and friends through the Jorvik ride. I normally skip his group tours because of the smell and kindly give someone else my pass....I go and have coffee with another mom. I usually go through once an annual membership.

 

If you really want to go to a smelly exhibit the Victorian Street at the Thackeray Museum in Leeds is really awfulhttp://www.thackraymedicalmuseum.co.uk/learning-outreach/ We went through once and our family agreed never ever again. I have no idea what ds did (or if he did anything other than try to breathe) but he had the worst nose bleed dwhile walking though that museum. The trip was such a disaster, naturally we were with a new home ed group to us. I am so grateful not to have lived on that Victorian Street. Considering my love of Victorian romances that is a bit humorous. ;)

[Jane in NC]

If you really want to go to a smelly exhibit the Victorian Street at the Thackeray Museum in Leeds is really awfulhttp://www.thackraymedicalmuseum.co.uk/learning-outreach/ We went through once and our family agreed never ever again. I have no idea what ds did (or if he did anything other than try to breathe) but he had the worst nose bleed dwhile walking though that museum. The trip was such a disaster, naturally we were with a new home ed group to us. I am so grateful not to have lived on that Victorian Street. Considering my love of Victorian romances that is a bit humorous. ;)

 

No Smell-o-rama on the computer, but the Thackeray Museum does have a virtual tour.  Click to see how the water supply is adjacent to the overflowing privy.

 

Michelle Martin, weekend host of All Things Considered on NPR, had an interesting commentary on memories yesterday.  She noted on romanticizing the past:

 

 

One of the most popular tourist sites in the Smithsonian Institution here in Washington, D.C. is the American History Museum's exhibition of First Ladies gowns. Whenever I go, I am always amused by the number of mothers who point to the huge ball gowns and ask their daughters, "Wouldn't you have liked to have lived back then to wear those pretty dresses?"

 

I am always floored by this comment, because I always wonder why they assume they would have been the dress-wearer and not the dress-sewer or -cleaner, or even the cotton-grower or fabric-weaver or -dyer — none of whose lives were particularly pretty.

 

[Kareni]

A goodly number of Georgette Heyer's books are currently priced as $1.99 for Kindle readers.   You can see the list here.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

 

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

Having now read Act One of The Winter's Tale, there is a comment that I want to share on this passage:

 

 

In that medieval bestseller that I am slogging through, The Golden Legend (which I keep calling The Golden Notebook--totally different work!) there are regular descriptions on how the saints and martyrs had sweet odors even after their deaths.  Living as we do in the world of artificial scents masking anything slightly offensive, I find this to be revealing. 

 

Have any of you toured the Jorvik Viking Center?  One of the things that I remember from the place is that they tried to replicate the smell.

 

Anyway Polixenes' note that his reputation may be tainted using the word "savor" or "savour" which now has a positive connotation strikes me as interesting.

 

I often think about how horrific the smells must have been in the days before regular sanitation. And I always have to laugh when movies, etc. portray people as perfectly clean, well coiffed, fresh and spotless white clothes, etc. I'm sure we'd all be quite shocked were we plunked down in the past.  A few books have really portrayed this well; Michael Chricton's Timeline was one of them. And I always admired the LOTR movies because the characters were dirty, really dirty - dirt in the fingernails, etc. That struck me as a particularly realistic feature.

[Robin M]

I love the Bingo!  How do you envision the continents and decades working?  For example: would "Africa" be NF about Africa, NR written by an African author?  Would it include plays or poetry by/about Africa/Africans? 

 

Yes, all those ideas work.  

 

 

I hadn't really given it any thought.  :blush:   However you want to do it is fine with me. I'm sure everyone is going to have different ideas. Have fun with it!

[Stacia]

I often think about how horrific the smells must have been in the days before regular sanitation. And I always have to laugh when movies, etc. portray people as perfectly clean, well coiffed, fresh and spotless white clothes, etc. I'm sure we'd all be quite shocked were we plunked down in the past.  A few books have really portrayed this well; Michael Chricton's Timeline was one of them. And I always admired the LOTR movies because the characters were dirty, really dirty - dirt in the fingernails, etc. That struck me as a particularly realistic feature.

 

I agree. I have always thought I would have struggled living in extremely smelly times. :tongue_smilie:

 

I'm about halfway through Winterson's The Gap of Time (basically to the break where the story will shift forward by 16 years). I've enjoyed seeing how she has modernized Shakespeare's work & I think this will be a fun combo for discussion. Great idea, Rose.

 

ETA: If you are on Goodreads & live in the US, there is currently a drawing for a give-away of Winterson's book The Gap of Time. The drawing ends in 3 days.

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/157457-the-gap-of-time

 

[Ali in OR]

Eliana, thank you so much for the amazing list! I have copied and pasted it into a Word document so I can refer back to it whenever I need a cozy book. And mumto2, thank you also! I added your recs to the bottom of Eliana's list. Now off to the library to see what they have...

 

Incidentally, does anyone know how to print 1 post? I thought I had done it before but can't find anything obvious.

[-M-]

I often think about how horrific the smells must have been in the days before regular sanitation. And I always have to laugh when movies, etc. portray people as perfectly clean, well coiffed, fresh and spotless white clothes, etc. I'm sure we'd all be quite shocked were we plunked down in the past.  A few books have really portrayed this well; Michael Chricton's Timeline was one of them. And I always admired the LOTR movies because the characters were dirty, really dirty - dirt in the fingernails, etc. That struck me as a particularly realistic feature.

 

Dreiser's Sister Carrie and Willis' Doomsday do this, too -- depict conditions so realistically that a reader wrinkles his nose in disgust. Oh, and the non-fiction work Close to Shore, too.