BW47: Happy Thanksgiving

[Stacia]

34 Of The Most Beautiful Book Covers of 2015  

[Jane in NC]

I have pulled my copy of A Moveable Feast off the shelf with a plan to reread it before year's end in honor of Paris. Great story on NPR. 

 

Anyone else interested in joining me on a walk through Hemingway's Paris?

[Kareni]

I was introduced to Don Camillo by Kareni over on the high school board back when my darling son was of that age (which means that she has been recommending these books for years now.)  Were you sleeping in class again, VC?  Looks like you are staying after school to clean the chalkboard erasers.  :D

 

I was curious to see just how long I've been recommending these books, so I did a search.   Naturally!

 

From 2008: Movies/books to lighten my mood?

 

The first Book a Week recommendation I can find was Book a Week in 2012 - Week 6

 

I'm definitely a proselytizer when it comes to the Don Camillo books.

 

 

And, Jane, these days one might stay after school to clean the whiteboard erasers!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Jane in NC]

And, Jane, these days one might stay after school to clean the whiteboard erasers!

 

Regards,

Kareni

Or would that be the Smart Board?

 

I thought VC might enjoy a nostalgic remembrance of a punishment bestowed by Sister Vincent de Paul...back in the day.

[Kareni]

Or would that be the Smart Board?

 

I thought VC might enjoy a nostalgic remembrance of a punishment bestowed by Sister Vincent de Paul...back in the day.

 

Sadly, I'm not as au courant as I'd thought!  (I was taught by a Sister Optata back in my day.)

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Pam in CT]

Carrying over from last week re: Between the World and Me, Racecraft, and many others...

 

 

 

re: roots of racism and focus on individual kavanah / intent 

I think we have to look at the systemic origins separately from the origins within an individual, or even group.  

 

Since reading The New Jim Crow, I am tentatively convinced that racism in this country didn't just happen and was quite probably a.. manufactured seems a little too strong, but only a little, anyway, a manufactured wedge to divide groups that otherwise were uniting to challenge the existing social and economic structure.

 

...and the book on my shelf now The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism will probably further support the interpretation "systemic plunder of black bodies"

 

...*but*  I don't see in Coates (which I devoured yesterday) or the other reading I've been doing, justification for identifying the origin of racism *in an individual* as rooted in a kavanah (intention) of plundering or domination.  

Yeah, the interior experience of "people who believe themselves to be white" is definitely not an area of particular interest to Coates (!).  And FWIW I mostly agree with you that what (if I can extend his language) "we believe to be racism" is mostly not arising out of individual kavanah.

 

I think there's a risk, though, of making something of an idol out of the notion of kavanah...  that if individual kavanah isn't present, then whatever problem under investigation -- death under police custody, disproportionate response to classroom incident, racially unequal housing treatment, whatever  -- isn't racism. (I know you aren't yourself arguing this, but this idea that it didn't "count" as racist unless individuals could somehow be proven to be motivated by individual animus, emerged in a big way in the response to the Ferguson DOJ findings -- also interesting reading in this little mini-unit we're doing  :laugh: ... 

 

I think it is quite rare that any individual looks in the mirror and says, yeah, I'm monstrous, and I'm good with that... And yet, demonstrably racial patterns of "plunder" do continue to exist...  so I get worried when the term "racism" is conflated with kavanah.  

 

 

...and, on an individual level, I see focus on intention as potentially very harmful.  

 

____

 

I do think naming the origins of our systems, seeing that, as Coates describes over and over again, my security, my life, my version of the American dream are all built on the "systemic plunder of black bodies"... and the system I live in today continues to destroy black lives.   ...but that doesn't make me a racist (not that either you or Coates are saying it does).  If I were to feel/think/act in a racist way it might originate in a culture that was about domination, but what (G-d forbid) might lead me to adopt and maintain that feeling/thinking/acting doesn't have to have that intention to be racist.

 

I am in complete agreement that the *concept* of race is a social construct that is used to create and/or support systemic inequalities and I think Coates does a beautiful job of presenting that.  I also love his realization that within this artificial construct a sense of peoplehood has developed and is a real and beautiful many-branched thing... 

 

I see the focus on individual intent as unhelpful, because it so often elicits such defensiveness.  So if that is what you mean, I agree.  (I think that is why the relatively recent emergence of the concept of "privilege" is so fraught with fury, even if it is also analytically helpful...)

 

But at some level, or maybe at some distance, separating out individual kavanah from systemic plunder becomes pretty goofy.  With the distance of time, it is pretty hard to argue that no individuals intended to exploit the unpaid labor of black slaves, or that in the post-Reconstruction era no individuals intended to disenfranchise blacks so as to retain white majorities, or that in the sharecropping South or the industrializing North no individuals intended to keep black wages suppressed.  No doubt people of those eras had justifying stories they told to themselves so as to be able to look themselves in the mirror and not see themselves as monstrous... but with the distance of time, those stories sound fairly disingenuous.  At some level, silly rabbit, systems don't have intentions, people do... 

 

(Somewhat as an aside,  I expect that the no-kavanah justifications we tell ourselves today, about racially skewed mass incarceration patterns and below-legal migrant wages on which whole industries depend and what happens behind the supply chain of $5 shirts in big box stores and racially uneven public school investments that frame the next generation to the limitations of yesterday... will sound pretty disingenuous 200 years from now...)

 

So while that Stephen Covey :rolleyes:   adage that we judge ourselves by our intentions, and others by their actions is maybe true, I'm coming around to believing that there's work to be done in the difference.

 

 

Which then comes around to the Expanding Circles:

 

I cannot assert that it represents the natural future of humanity, but I do believe we can actively work to expand those circles... the way we do with our children.  We help them learn to use their inborn empathy, to connect it intellectually to their observations and experiences, to *listen* to that still small voice of compassion.

 

We can also teach them to suppress it (G-d forbid)... 

 

We help them realize that their sibling has feelings to and also wants that toy... and help that awareness expand beyond the family to the community - finding the shared ground while learning that there are so many ways we can express and experience the world... 

 

I don't think it is wrong that my children are more precious to me than anyone else's children... but I need to use that to see that on some level as the protagonist in Arthur MIller's amazing play says "they were all my sons".  

I fully concur with of this, especially the bolded, and I think Singer would as well (he's a biologist, and starts with the primacy of the genetically linked family as a biologically driven empirical fact).

 

In addition to teaching empathy and compassion as means for expanding outward on the circles, I have come to believe (and I think I largely derived this from reading Singer's book, though Pinker's also hit on some of the same ever-more-abstract sets of tools) that we need to explicitly teach our kids concepts like "defensiveness" and "blind spots" and "confirmation bias"... and to talk (and talk and talk and talk) about how often it happens, that two people have two stories, very different and both true; and teach them the capacity to recognize and *hold* cognitive dissonance and its discomforts...

 

 

I also don't think it is intrinsically wrong that I do have a measure of tribalism - I have an intense love and loyalty for our people.  But I have to use that.  I have to use the horror I feel reading about people, our people, not able to get out of Nazi Germany because no one would take us as refugees, and see that in every refugee today.  I have to use my grief and horror at the death of  Ezra Schwartz yesterday and be able to see how those same emotions would be there for the the people of another tribe's slain teen.

 

It doesn't happen automatically.  It is *hard*, it hurts, it is scary... and I am so far from where I would like to be.... but each situation offers us the chance to actively choose to expand our horizons... to read, to think, to empathize, 

 

..and, oh yes, there are many things, good, valuable, positive things, which can make it very easy to plateau... 

The last few weeks have been pretty unremittingly grim, but one spot of light amongst the darkness has for me been the numbers of Jews and Jewish organizations who have drawn connections between the fear-fueled instinct to slam the door on refugees now, to the circumstances of European Jews in the 1930s... and between calls for a registry of Muslims now to the registries in Europe then.  

 

And that's one of the mechanisms for moving out the circles -- drawing analogies between similar-but-not-identical stories.  Because Jewish kids are a lot more likely than other kids to be familiar with the story of the St Louis.

 

 

 

 

...I do think tribalism is not an intrinsically harmful tendency, but I do think it has to be stretched beyond.  ...and that stretching isn't a natural developmental shift, it goes against our drive for security.

 

When we teach our kids to protect themselves but look with compassion at those who mistreat them, we are teaching them a less comfortable approach, a less secure approach... when we can see the world in stark blacks and whites (literally or figuratively) there's a certainty there... and on a larger scale, if we see the people who kill our children as faceless evil monsters whom we can hate, revile, and try to obliterate we have more certainty than if we look at the complexities.  

 

I tried today to imagine being the mother of Slahi (author of Guantanamo Diary), to imagine having my son kidnapped and held without trial... my innocent son.  ..and how it would feel to be part of a world and culture where that vulnerability was widespread.  Might I view the attacks in Paris differently from that lens than I do being from a culture where children (and others) are the victims of such terrorist attacks?  I can't imagine being a person who would murder a fellow human, but I can imagine having some fairly complicated feelings about an attack on a power that had bombed areas my friends and family were in, for example.

 

I think one of the ways to expand those circles for our children, is to provide them with a wide range of reading material.... and to talk and talk and talk... about the books, about the world, about the humans we encounter... and to strive for compassion, to strive to see other viewpoints, other worlds, and to help them share our striving.

 

...and when we can see more, care more, share more, I believe a wider range of possible solutions to our problems becomes visible... and maybe even achievable.

 

... and to not be so overwhelmed, as TBH I sort of have been recently, by the daunting magnitude of the difficulties as to want to RUN AWAY AND HIDE.  Sometimes I think the wisest and most empowering message in the whole the Jewish tradition is you are not expected to complete the work, but neither may you desist from picking it up and beginning...

 

:grouphug: Thanks, Eliana...

[Violet Crown]

Or would that be the Smart Board?

 

I thought VC might enjoy a nostalgic remembrance of a punishment bestowed by Sister Vincent de Paul...back in the day.

Life story now deleted. :)

 

Happy to scrape the palimpsests after class....

Edited November 24, 2015 by Violet Crown

[Stacia]

Movie interruption for a minute.

 

Can I just complain about the new James Bond/Spectre movie? The script was a confusing, awful mess, imo. It still has some of the cool James Bond touches, enough helicopters (I like helicopters so movies that have them score extra points in my book, lol), & awesome scenery, but partway through I was whispering to dh that I had absolutely no idea what was going on. It's not like Bond movies are supposed to be so complex that they're hard to follow, you know? :tongue_smilie:

 

Dh had seen it a week ago w/ dd & he & I went tonight. I think he was surprised about how vehement I was about the mess of a script. He told me that I read the weirdest books w/ really complex plots, etc..., but then I can't follow what's going on in the James Bond movie??? :lol:  Yeah. Well. That just shows what a mess it was. I mean, by the end, I had it mostly figured out but don't try to go back & actually think about it because there are so many inconsistencies that you'll be sorry that you tried to think at all. I started pointing out some of them to him & he just quit talking to me about the movie at all. :smilielol5:

 

And don't even get me started about all the talk ahead of the movie about Bond finally hooking up w/ a woman his own age, etc.... I thought she might be an actual figure or character in the movie, but she was there & gone w/in about 5 minutes, never to be seen or heard from again in the movie. What a shame. With a decent script, she could have been made into a good character. Bond, of course, spent most of his time w/ a much younger woman for the bulk of the movie. (Not that I'm against that -- he's Bond after all & that is totally what his character is. But then don't hype an age-appropriate woman for him when you relegate her to the sidelines & mere passing in the story. That was some false advertising, imo.)

 

If you go, just go because Daniel Craig is eye candy or you like the cool scenery. Don't go for the story.

 

Harumph. Bah humbug indeed.

 

 

[Stacia]

Jane, I'm a Hemingway fan & a Paris fan. I will gladly join you in reading A Moveable Feast. (I just requested it from the library.)

[Angelaboord]

I finished The Rook on Sunday and enjoyed it quite a bit. There were some clunky bits in the middle, I thought, but overall very entertaining. It reminded me of Agents of SHIELD, if Shield was more humorous and also British. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel (Stiletto) when it comes out next year. And I did manage to find my copy of The Greengage Summer! Actually, it just suddenly appeared on the coffee table again; I don't know where it went or who picked it up, but I read the rest of it right away before it could disappear again. I really wish I hadn't read the preface before starting in on the story, though, because it gave far too much away. I don't know why the publishers didn't include it as an afterword instead.

 

Now I'm in that place where I haven't really settled into a book and I'm not sure what to read next. I have little bits of Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Harden and A Desperate Fortune by Susanna Kearsley going (sort of at opposite ends of the spectrum, one of them, a true story of the brutality of North Korean prison camps, the other an historical romance about Jacobites in France). This is the third or fourth time I've picked up the Susanna Kearsley book; every time I read a little bit and then put it down and pick up something else. It's just not holding me as much as Winter Sea and Firebird did. The modern main character of A Desperate Fortune supposedly has Asperger's, but I'm just not sure that I'm buying the characterization. I think she picks up on way too many social cues.

 

It's going to be a busy week, what with Thanksgiving and my college freshman in his way home and my parents visiting this weekend, but at 29 weeks pregnant, I do have to sit down and put my feet up at the end of the day, regardless of what's been done and what hasn't!

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited November 24, 2015 by Angelaboord

[Chrysalis Academy]

I have pulled my copy of A Moveable Feast off the shelf with a plan to reread it before year's end in honor of Paris. Great story on NPR. 

 

Anyone else interested in joining me on a walk through Hemingway's Paris?

 

I read this last year with my book group. So I may chime in on the discussion!

[Kareni]

Heading out of town today ~ one of our invited guests had a serious fall last week, had surgery, and is now in a leg brace.  We were asked if we could travel to their place instead of them coming here.  So, we're heading off on a road trip with a couple of audiobooks.  Will report on them in due course.

 

To those celebrating Thanksgiving, enjoy the day.  Safe travels to those traveling.  And happy reading to us all.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[redsquirrel]

I am almost 1/4 of the way through A Brief History of 7 Killings. It is complex and sprawling and has different types of speech and, I think maybe 75 characters...and I admit that sometimes I am not really sure what the heck is going on, but then a sentence or a chapter will be so beautiful or funny or intense that it brings me up short.  And when I am not sure what is going on I am pretty sure that is my fault.  I don't think the author is careless in any way. For such a big book, I don't feel like there is much that is extraneous in this book.

 

It's the sort of book that makes me wish I was a smarter person, or a better reader.  I have never been good at reading and analyzing at the same time, or reading and being aware of the novel's structure at the same time.  If I want to do that I need a chapter by chapter guide that I can use as I read along. That lets me pay less attention to plot and more to structure etc as I read.  With this book there is just so much going on that I have to be very alert to all plot points or I will miss something. That isn't leaving me much space to pay attention to structure or for analysis. 

 

I remember reading a Mann Booker judge say that all the books are read by the judges multiple times. The judge said that it can be surprising how few novels can really stand up to more than one reading. After the first pass, the reader sees plot holes, or weaknesses in the structure or language etc. 

[Stacia]

Heather, thinking of you & hoping yesterday's surgery went well! :grouphug:  Hope you are feeling ok as you recover.

 

Kareni, safe travels (& to everyone else who will be traveling this week)!

 

Redsquirrel, I've been looking forward to reading A Brief History of 7 Killings & your review makes me want to read it sooner rather than later.

 

Pam, thought you might enjoy today's post from A Year of Reading the World blog. It highlights some Brazilian writers that sound interesting.

 

VC, it *is* a vacation week, so don't overwork on scraping the palimpsests. :lol:

Edited November 24, 2015 by Stacia

[Jane in NC]

Psst to Stacia...Did you see the request for Charleston recommendations?  Perhaps you would care to chime in on that thread.

[aggieamy]

Plays are tricky. 

 

I started with Shakespeare - first seeing, then memorizing sections, then reading the plays... so all my other drama reading past the elementary years was rooted in Shakespeare... and, logically enough given that starting place, my early play reading was all very pre-modern.. until my midteens.  So, my perspective is warped.   :)

 

I've also noticed with my own kids that not all of them are ready to enjoy reading scripts (even Shakespeare!) by middle school - it requires a very different set of reading skills.

 

Two playwrights whose work makes a good transition from reading prose to reading drama: Arthur Miller and George Bernard Shaw.

 

Miller's tragedies are painful, but my kids (so far) have deeply appreciated All My Sons and Incident at Vichy. (I would steer very clear of Crucible which has non-middle grade friendly content & Death of a Salesman, which is really a tragedy for grownups)

 

Shaw's only tragedy is Saint Joan, his favorite of his plays, but not where I would start for either a kid or an adult. Major Barbara has always been my favorite Shaw, but many people prefer starting with Pygmalion, ymmv. (I would avoid Man and Superman and Don Juan and be aware that in Lady Windermere's Profession the profession was prostitution - handled brilliantly and a philosophical issue rather than an on stage one, but still not where you might want to start). Arms and the Man is more farcical, but has Shaw's satirical fingerprints all over it.

 

For Shakespeare, the easiest play to start reading is, for many kids, Julius Caesar.  (Macbeth is equally straightforward, but much more disturbing a play - though my older son saw it when he was 3 and proceeded to memorize large swaths of it...but we're weird). Henry V is another popular starting point for middle grade students.  (Many schools use Romeo and Juliet, which makes no sense at all to me... ymmv)  ...but I, personally, dislike the idea of anyone encountering Shakespeare in print before having a lot of exposure to the real thing - to live productions (or, very much second best, films).

 

As I try to think about this, I'm seeing that some of the most readable plays I can think of aren't ones I'd think of as ideal for middle grades.... Edson's Wit is an amazing, immensely readable play... but its primary subject is terminal cancer.  Talley's Folly is engaging, moving, funny, and endearing, but each of the protagonists has been through some hard, tragic things (nothing explicit, but not sunshine and roses either), Not About Heroes is another gripping read, but the protagonists are WWI poets in a convalescence facility for victims of shell-shock (Owen & Sassoon), A Raisin in the Sun is very engaging and moving, but the challenges and aspirations aren't super relatable for most middle grade kids.  Trifles by Glaspell is a taut semi-mystery, but the subject is SPOILER:    [an abusive husband murdered by his wife].  Doll's House by Ibsen is a masterpiece, but I'm not sure the conflict would resonate for a middle grade kid... and the SPOILER  [mother leaving to make her own life sans children or husband could be a hard one].  Frayn's Copenhagen is a masterpiece, but I'm not sure how much the philosophising, the science, or the historical setting would grab a preteen... 

 

I think Greek tragedy (in a good translation) is immensely readable, but my perspective might be warped... and the subject matter is far from light.  Antigone is my favorite for teens (and then there's Anouilh's version and Brecht's and Heaney's).  I like the translations with Lattimore,but I've also loved the Greek Tragedies in New Translations series.

 

Humorous plays that are G-PGish  & relatively easy to read are harder to think of and tend to be older: Cyrano de Bergerac (not all translations are created equal - my favorite isn't available for purchase, it was commissioned by our local Shakespeare company and the director (with the author's permission) shared a copy with me.  I've linked the Burgess, which is my favorite of the available ones I've read, though he changes a plot piece which annoyed me.), She Stoops to Conquer, Trelawny of the Wells, Wild Oats, Importance of Being Earnest, & The Miser (Moliere) come to mind. [Though several do have sexual situations or humor implied). Or of lesser quality/appeal to age range: You Can't Take it With You, Rainmaker, Holiday (which is more family drama than comedy, really), Sabrina Fair, Ladies of the Camellias

 

Standard ones I've seen done for or handed to younger readers: Miracle Worker and I Remember Mama, neither of which have ever thrilled me, but somebody clearly loves them as they turn up so often... 

 

Hmm... Winslow Boy is an interesting one (though the film is much better.  

Twelve Angry Men is an engaging read.  (I've heard the film is also good, but I haven't seen it)

...perhaps Ibsen's Enemy of the People (or the Miller adaptation)?  It is an Ibsen and therefore tragic, but the subject matter would, I think, be more engaging for a younger person (and most Ibsen I would be very hesitant to hand to one)

The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail

 

All of the above are scripts I have out on the drama bookshelf in the library, so they are freely available to anyone who is interested.  I would not have stopped any of my kids from reading any of the above at 11, but my kids (so far) have tended to develop their strongest interest in reading plays at about 13-14 (some later, one not at all (so far)).  I'm not sure why.... 

 

I'll try to keep thinking... 

 

So much great information.  Thank you very much!  I appreciate all the thought you put into your suggestions. 

 

34 Of The Most Beautiful Book Covers of 2015  

 

This is my favorite:

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

34 Of The Most Beautiful Book Covers of 2015  

 

This is the one I most wanted to read, based just on the cover.  I like the existential dilemma implied by all the crossouts.

 

ETA: Although reading the description, it doesn't sound like my kind of book at all!  :lol:

 

Edited November 24, 2015 by Chrysalis Academy

[Stacia]

Jane, thanks. I will pop over to the other thread a little later when I have a little more time.

 

Rose, I've had Satin Island on my list to read for awhile now, just because it's written by Tom McCarthy. I loved his book C & liked Remainder. (Not sure 'liked' is the right word for Remainder as it was kind of eerie & disturbing. McCarthy is a great writer. Definitely try him if you haven't already!) I don't even know what Satin Island is about & I probably won't read anything about it ahead of time because I like diving into books knowing almost nothing about them ahead of time....

Edited November 24, 2015 by Stacia

[redsquirrel]

Redsquirrel, I've been looking forward to reading A Brief History of 7 Killings & your review makes me want to read it sooner rather than later.

 

 

I realized that what I wrote might make one think that the novel is super plot heavy. It isn't. And it doesn't seem full of twists and turns either. I could write out the entire plot that I have read so far and not take anything away from actually reading the book.  So far, it seems to be about history and relationships. There is a lot of back story mixed in with what is going on right now. Lots of people telling us their story and what they are doing and why.  One character, so far, is a ghost, and tells us what the afterlife is like and we eventually find out who he was killed by.  It's not exactly a surprise, the only trouble would be in narrowing it down from the likely suspects. There are a lot of killers in this book and a lot of killing.

 

I am suspecting that right now, all the characters are in place and we are going to be moving forward.  But, it's not a mystery type book. It just starts with a particular point in time, introduces you to the characters, places them in their cultures, brings them together for an event, and then follows them over time.

 

One joke I really have to make: The book A Brief History of Seven Killings is neither brief, nor about only 7 killings

 

 

I am feeling very, very coddled and lucky in my nice American white middle class life, that is for sure.

[mumto2]

34 Of The Most Beautiful Book Covers of 2015

What I find really fascinating about the selection of covers is I have clicked on almost every single one of them while browsing in overdrive. A good cover really does go a long way towards attracting a reader. Not sure I have a favourite. Several of those books are on wish lists. I did notice that I seem to skip the ones with a lot of red....love the horse one and the elf.

 

Safe travels to those who are traveling the next couple of days.

 

I read a fun Christmas novella last night by one of my favourite series authors, Laurien Berensonhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25387258-a-christmas-howl. This is a fun mystery series featuring the niece of standard poodle breeder and her experiences after her aunt gives her one of her award winning dogs. Lots of dogs and dog shows with a bit of murder thrown in. These are definitely cozy mysteries and clean enough so dd read a few when younger. Anyway this novella goes back to the beginning of the aunt's relationship with her niece. Loved the background on the aunt and meeting her husband who is deceased in the actual series.

[Mom-ninja.]

With all the talk about The Martian and my dad telling me I had to read it, I finally did. I liked it. Made me laugh. The language and goof off personality of the main character didn't turn me off as I personally know two engineers with similar personas. So for me it was fitting. 

[Chrysalis Academy]

Jane, thanks. I will pop over to the other thread a little later when I have a little more time.

 

Rose, I've had Satin Island on my list to read for awhile now, just because it's written by Tom McCarthy. I loved his book C & liked Remainder. (Not sure 'liked' is the right word for Remainder as it was kind of eerie & disturbing. McCarthy is a great writer. Definitely try him if you haven't already!) I don't even know what Satin Island is about & I probably won't read anything about it ahead of time because I like diving into books knowing almost nothing about them ahead of time....

 

Well, I'll take it under advisement, you always steer me to interesting places. I'm not in a postmodern mood at the moment, though, so I think I'll wait till I'm feeling more adventurous.

[JennW in SoCal]

It's really quiet around here!  I assume everyone is enjoying family, busy cooking, or perhaps reading?  I've spent some quality time with my sewing machine, making Christmas presents, and yesterday indulged in reading some light historical fluff, A Trust Betrayed by Candace Robb.  I see on GoodReads that Stacia has actually read it and gave it 3 stars. I totally agree with the rating. It was fine, mindless fluff.

 

We retrieved the college boy from the airport around midnight last night, and of course stayed up late talking! 

 

ETA:  I see on the Audible.com homepage that A Moveable Feast is an "editor's pick"! Were they snooping on our thread, looking for the latest hot trend in reading material?  

Edited November 25, 2015 by JennW in SoCal

[Robin M]

Hey gang, 

 

Having an extremely lazy day. The first one in a while that I didn't have to go out anywhere.  Yeah!

 

Even Gracie was feeling quite lazy

 

 

 

 

 

 Non fiction November is almost over and almost forgot to let you all know about a Becca's  Lost in Books non fiction roundup.  Check out her list of book pairings - fiction to non fiction.

 

If you like James Corden's humor - check out his new Book club video discussing Amber Rose How to be a bad B**ch.  (language warning) 

 

Once you've read Brainpickings:  We’re Breaking Up: Rebecca Solnit on How Modern Noncommunication Is Changing Our Experience of Time, Solitude, and Communion, consider adding your name to our BAWer's  "postcard" circle.  Pm me or Jenn with your name and address. 

 

Happy reading! 

 

 

Edited November 26, 2015 by Robin M

[Shawneinfl]

Hey gang, 

 

Having an extremely lazy day. The first one in a while that I didn't have to go out anywhere.  Yeah!

 

Even Gracie was feeling quite lazy

 

 

 

 

 

 Non fiction November is almost over and almost forgot to let you all know about a Becca's  Lost in Books non fiction roundup.  Check out her list of book pairings - fiction to non fiction.

 

If you like James Corden's humor - check out his new Book club video discussing Amber Rose How to be a bad B**ch.  (language warning) 

 

Once you've read Brainpickings:  We’re Breaking Up: Rebecca Solnit on How Modern Noncommunication Is Changing Our Experience of Time, Solitude, and Communion, consider adding your name to our BAWer's  "postcard" circle.  Pm me or Jenn with your name and address. 

 

Happy reading! 

 

Love Gracie! She's beautiful. Purrrfect cat to snuggle with while drinking chai tea latte and reading a good book. I still want to know where to find those socks.

 

[Shawneinfl]

We're having a pretty quiet Thanksgiving eve as well. This is the first year we're not having to travel. Instead, we are joining with another homeschool family to celebrate - I am providing the turkey and pie and they are doing the rest. I'm looking forward to getting to see the parades instead of driving first thing in the a.m. I am making slow progress in several books  - I'll try to share later - my youngest wants me to help her make Peanut Blossoms for tomorrow. Yum.

[Rosie_0801]

I've just started reading Pyle's 'King Arthur' to dd. How nice it is to be reading the archaic language again. But not too archaic like Shakespeare  :laugh: . It makes it difficult to read aloud, but after a few chapters, or half the book, or maybe the whole book I might get into the swing of it. :)

[Butter]

Surgery went well.  It lasted 4 hours and 3 minutes.  There was more repairwork than expected once they go in there.  They kept me an extra night to try to get on top of the pain.  I'm having severe constant bladder spasms.  Once they started back up after finally being relieved last night, I realized they missed one of the drugs they had me on when they sent me home.  They called it in and I took it a little while ago, but so far very little relief.

[Jane in NC]

Surgery went well. It lasted 4 hours and 3 minutes. There was more repairwork than expected once they go in there. They kept me an extra night to try to get on top of the pain. I'm having severe constant bladder spasms. Once they started back up after finally being relieved last night, I realized they missed one of the drugs they had me on when they sent me home. They called it in and I took it a little while ago, but so far very little relief.

I "liked" your post to show support, Heather. Glad you are home.

[Robin M]

Surgery went well.  It lasted 4 hours and 3 minutes.  There was more repairwork than expected once they go in there.  They kept me an extra night to try to get on top of the pain.  I'm having severe constant bladder spasms.  Once they started back up after finally being relieved last night, I realized they missed one of the drugs they had me on when they sent me home.  They called it in and I took it a little while ago, but so far very little relief.

Thank you for letting us know. I was just thinking about you this morning wondering how you are doing.  Glad to hear you are home and hope the meds kick in soon so you can rest and recover.  Hugs! 

[Robin M]

Love Gracie! She's beautiful. Purrrfect cat to snuggle with while drinking chai tea latte and reading a good book. I still want to know where to find those socks.

 

Amazon

[Nan in Mass]

Happy Thanksgiving, those in the US. : )

 

Butter, I am glad the surgery is over but oh do you sound uncomfortable now! Hope you feel better very very soon.

 

Nan

[Violet Crown]

Glad you're back home, Heather; and hoping you have relief soon.

[6packofun]

I am currently immersed in The Last Policeman trilogy which was included in that book list shared last week or the week before--books that restore your faith in humanity or something like that?  I'm enjoying it quite a bit so far.  What I love about the main character is that at times he can be a man of few words, sometimes very simple words, but he's not simple.  He is a listener and that could be hard to portray naturally in *writing* out a character, you know?  But it's well done.  Not mind-blowing, but I've been hooked from the beginning to see what happens to humanity!!  LOL

[Stacia]

Heather, thanks for the updates. :grouphug: :grouphug:  Hope the extra meds kick in soon & bring the relief you need. Hope you can manage to get some rest.

 

Jenn, I had to look up that Candace Robb book because I was thinking :confused1:  when you said I had read it. :lol:  I see that I read it in 2002, so I guess it's one I 'carried over' from my paper system of tracking my reading into Goodreads. Honestly, though, even after reading the description, I have no memory of this book. The cover looks vaguely familiar. Lol.

[Shawneinfl]

Surgery went well.  It lasted 4 hours and 3 minutes.  There was more repairwork than expected once they go in there.  They kept me an extra night to try to get on top of the pain.  I'm having severe constant bladder spasms.  Once they started back up after finally being relieved last night, I realized they missed one of the drugs they had me on when they sent me home.  They called it in and I took it a little while ago, but so far very little relief.

 

Heather, I know your glad this is finally all over. Hoping you heal quickly and get lasting relief. You've suffered enough this year. I pray the spasms will let us soon.

[LaughingCat]

Also sending good wishes to you Heather.

 

My book this week --- Ancillary Mercy

I had a hard time getting into this book and ended up putting it down for a while --- I only picked it up and finished because the due date was coming up.   The middle and end were better but I must admit I consider this one of my recent string of "the first book is the best" series.

[Stacia]

I just finished reading A Cure for Suicide by Jesse Ball. I've read two of his previous novels & picked this one up because it was published earlier this year. Like his other works, there are elements of uncertainty, uniqueness, & dream-like qualities woven throughout his post-modern writing. This one had me a bit uncomfortable as it felt a little like a dystopian world I was entering, but wasn't 100% sure that it was, nor was I sure where the story was going. The overall tone & style keep you at a distance. Based on his previous books, I felt safe enough going along, figuring that Ball would give some hope at the end. I'm not sure whether he did or not (maybe because the book raises many questions but answers few). I liked this book less than the others I've read by him. There were tiny snippets that gave me flashes of The Village and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (both movies), though the book is quite different from them too. Well-written & thought-provoking modern lit, but not especially something to my taste. A solid 3 stars. Ball is talented & definitely worth reading but, personally, I'd recommend Silence Once Begun or The Way Through Doors if you want to try him. 

 

***LONG-LISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD***

From the author of Silence Once Begun, a beguiling new novel about a man starting over at the most basic level, and the strange woman who insinuates herself into his life and memory.

A man and a woman have moved into a small house in a small village. The woman is an “examiner,†the man, her “claimant.†The examiner is both doctor and guide, charged with teaching the claimant a series of simple functions: this is a chair, this is a fork, this is how you meet people. She makes notes in her journal about his progress: he is showing improvement yet his dreams are troubling. One day the examiner brings the claimant to a party, where he meets Hilda, a charismatic but volatile woman whose surprising assertions throw everything the claimant has learned into question. What is this village? Why is he here? And who is Hilda? A fascinating novel of love, illness, despair, and betrayal, A Cure for Suicide is the most captivating novel yet from one of our most audacious and original young writers.

 

[Jane in NC]

Wow, wow, wow.

 

With tears in my eyes, I finished The Gap of Time this morning.  Winterson's retelling of The Winter's Tale is beautiful!

 

The play itself was a satisfying read--despite my extreme dislike of Leontes and general puzzlement over his manic reaction to his best friend Polixenes.  I was also troubled by Winterson's Leo in the first part of the book with his violent and irrational actions/reactions.

 

But The Winter's Tale is a tale about something missing from this world:  forgiveness.  And redemption.  

 

Funny, Shakespeare's original did not bring to mind (despite "Exeunt, pursued by a bear") my favorite fairy tale, East of the Sun, West of the Moon, which Winterson's novel did.  Both share a strong female heroine, fathers who dispose their daughters as chattel, girls who go on a journey to rectify errors of the past.

 

Paulina/Pauline remains my favorite character in both, although Shep is a close second in The Gap of Time.

 

Another literary work that sprang to mind while reading Winterson is Eliot's The Dry Salvages (from The Four Quartets):

 

 

Fare forward, you who think that you are voyaging;
You are not those who saw the harbour
Receding, or those who will disembark.
Here between the hither and the farther shore
While time is withdrawn, consider the future
And the past with an equal mind.

....

Not fare well,
But fare forward, voyagers.

 

Happy Thanksgiving my bookish friends for whom I am most grateful.

[mumto2]

Heather, So glad to hear that you are home for the holiday. Hopefully the the added medication has started working and you are now comfortable. I am technically not able to post a flower arrangement so pretend ;) you see one, mainly pinks. Dd is busy doing flower arrangements for a couple of family friends who have been in the hospital recently and are now at home. You would certainly be on our list of flower recipients if you weren't about 5000 miles away!

 

Happy Thanksgiving!!!! I gave in. Dh really wants a Thanksgiving dinner so doing a ham (gamen) with many of the trimmings before the village festivities kick off tonight.

Edited November 26, 2015 by mumto2

[Jane in NC]

Heather, So glad to hear that you are home for the holiday. Hopefully the the added medication has started working and you are now comfortable. I am technically not able to post a flower arrangement so pretend ;) you see one, mainly pinks. Dd is busy doing flower arrangements for a couple of family friends who have been in the hospital recently and are now at home. You would certainly be on our list of flower recipients if you weren't about 5000 miles away!

 

Happy Thanksgiving!!!! I gave in. Dh really wants a Thanksgiving dinner so doing a ham (gamen) with many of the trimmings before the village festivities kick off tonight.

 

Village festivities?  What holiday are you celebrating in the UK or your town?

 

Mentioning "pinks" reminds me of Miss Read who often writes about them in her garden.  Dianthus, right?

 

[mumto2]

Village festivities? What holiday are you celebrating in the UK or your town?

 

Mentioning "pinks" reminds me of Miss Read who often writes about them in her garden. Dianthus, right?

 

You are right, dianthus is called Pinks. I just meant dd was using pink flowers...mini carns, lisanthus, baby's breath, and a new to her green filler that has small pink flowers and smells lemony. I had planned for these to be autumn colors and my cards have envelopes to match autumn not pink. So mom is a bit irritated by the flower choice. They are turning out pretty.

 

Village festivities....the last Thursday in November is our tree lightning with carols. Streets are closed, we have shopping stalls, kiddie rides, reindeers to pet.... Big deal for a small place. People come from quite a distance to attend. The church is open with choral and handbell performances. The tower bells will play carols.....we have chimes that can be played because no way to play carols change ringing. Then normal change ringing for an hour or so. When Thanksgiving falls on the same day as the village celebrations our family is always a bit torn. We will do both this year pretty easily because we aren't doing the meal with friends...nice but way too much stress.

[KathyBC]

Couldn't wait for my library hold, managed to snag a copy of X by Sue Grafton last week. This week's book is The Rosie Project (Simsion), which is making me laugh so much. Don is a fantastic character. <3 

[Stacia]

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate. Hope you get to enjoy a day filled with your favorite things. I am thankful for you, my BaW friends!

 

Heather, hope you are feeling at least a little bit better today & that your road to recovery will be quick & easy. :grouphug:

 

Spent this morning peeling & cutting up quite a few apples for a cinnamon apple dessert later today. Watched the Macy's parade on tv w/ my dd this morning.

 

Wow, wow, wow.

 

With tears in my eyes, I finished The Gap of Time this morning.  Winterson's retelling of The Winter's Tale is beautiful!

 

The play itself was a satisfying read--despite my extreme dislike of Leontes and general puzzlement over his manic reaction to his best friend Polixenes.  I was also troubled by Winterson's Leo in the first part of the book with his violent and irrational actions/reactions.

 

But The Winter's Tale is a tale about something missing from this world:  forgiveness.  And redemption.  

 

Funny, Shakespeare's original did not bring to mind (despite "Exeunt, pursued by a bear") my favorite fairy tale, East of the Sun, West of the Moon, which Winterson's novel did.  Both share a strong female heroine, fathers who dispose their daughters as chattel, girls who go on a journey to rectify errors of the past.

 

Paulina/Pauline remains my favorite character in both, although Shep is a close second in The Gap of Time.

 

Another literary work that sprang to mind while reading Winterson is Eliot's The Dry Salvages (from The Four Quartets):

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving my bookish friends for whom I am most grateful.

 

It's so nice to hear your comments. I like Winterson's version of the story better than Shakespeare's. Somehow, she made the wonky, hard-to-believe parts seem realistic. And I loved Winterson's own story as to why & how she chose this particular Shakespeare work to rewrite.

 

Like you, I loved Pauline & Shep. You can't help but love them. Maybe because they are the rocks; the dose of reality; the steadying influence; the conscience for all the characters...?
 

Edited November 26, 2015 by Stacia

[Nan in Mass]

Jane - i am typing this as I wait for mum to find out what happens to the little alligator so I can help her into bed. She tripped and landed in the bucket of gardening tools, and is so stiff now that she skipped Thanksgiving. Instead, she read your book. Thank you!

 

Nan

[Nan in Mass]

Ok. She,s done. And laughing aloud over the ending. : )

 

Nan

[6packofun]

. 2015 has been a wonderful year reading-wise, since I’ve had the joy of reading all of Jennifer Worth’s books

 

I really want to get my mom the boxed set of Worth's books, but she has seen every episode of the television shows.  Would she still enjoy them, in your opinion?

[Negin]

I really want to get my mom the boxed set of Worth's books, but she has seen every episode of the television shows.  Would she still enjoy them, in your opinion?

I haven't seen the TV series, so I don't know, but according to others, yes, she would still enjoy them. Personally, I think it would be a lovely gift. :)

[Rosie_0801]

On the train this evening, I finished 'To Heal A Fractured World: The Ethics of Responsibility' by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, a present from our lovely Eliana last year.

[Butter]

I really want to get my mom the boxed set of Worth's books, but she has seen every episode of the television shows.  Would she still enjoy them, in your opinion?

 

Yes.  There are more details to the stories in the books compared with what was on TV.