Robin M Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 (edited) Happy Sunday dearhearts! We are on week 50 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 - Best of 2015: (Courtesy of CatFineart.com) You knew it was coming,didn't you! :001_smile: I've been perusing all the best of 2015 book lists and finding many good books to add to my ever teetering stacks. Some I am familiar with and others seemed to have flown beneath my reading radar...until now. Since it is time to start thinking about next year, thought I'd spark your appetites and pocketbooks as well as mine. The Atlantic's editor and writers share the Best Book I Read This Year. I've already added several to my wishlist. The Wall Street Journal's compilation Best Books from the best of 12 sources lists. They tried to do all the work for me. *grin* Explore Brainpicking's Best Art Books as well as Best Science Books of 2015.Check out Bill Gates Best Of and his video of short reviews.Bookriot's crew took a vote and came up with their best of the best. Bethane Patrick of the Literary Hub offers her 10 Great Books by Women Overlooked in 2015.Have fun exploring! ******************************************************************** History of the Medieval World Chapter 72 The Hardship of Sacred War Chapter 73 Basil the Bulgar Slayer Chapter 74 Defending the Mandate ***Note - We'll finish up in January and start History of the Renaissance World in February *** ******************************************************************** What are you reading this week? Link to week 49 Edited December 13, 2015 by Robin M 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted December 13, 2015 Author Share Posted December 13, 2015 (edited) Today is a winnie the pooh day - rainy and blustery. I'll be curling up with a book for a while, before doing some online christmas shopping. Our tree is all decorated and now, we need prezzies to put underneath it. I finally read The Rosie Project this past week and thoroughly enjoyed it. Last night I started reading Elizabeth Kostova's The Swan Thieves. Andrew Marlow, a psychiatrist, has a perfectly ordered life--solitary, perhaps, but full of devotion to his profession and the painting hobby he loves. This order is destroyed when the renowned painter Robert Oliver attacks a canvas in the National Gallery of Art and becomes Marlow's patient. When Oliver refuses to talk or cooperate, Marlow finds himself going beyond his own legal and ethical boundaries to understand the secret that torments this silent genius, a journey that will lead him into the lives of the women closest to Robert Oliver and toward a tragedy at the heart of French Impressionism. Moving from American museums to the coast of Normandy, from the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth, from young love to last love, THE SWAN THIEVES is a story of obsession, the losses of history, and the power of art to preserve human hope. Edited December 13, 2015 by Robin M 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Reading Out of Africa; almost done. This was in my TBR sub-pile of "books I need to read because it would just be embarassing to die without having read it." Of course it's very good; certainly not a novel, rather a collection of short--some, very short--stories, set on or near the narrator's African coffee plantation at the beginning of the 20th century. Strikingly, the narrator's femaleness feels entirely irrelevant to the stories, to the point that the reader is through a great part of the book before she can definitely identify the narrator as female. And one must wait even longer to find out her name. This part, "The Swaheli Numeral System", is one of the few stories where one has a sense that the fact of being a woman has come into play: ------------- At the time when I was new in Africa, a shy young Swedish dairy-man was to teach me the numbers in Swaheli. As the Swaheli word for nine, to Swedish ears, has a dubious ring, he did not like to tell it to me, and when he had counted: “seven, eight,†he stopped, looked away, and said: “They have not got nine in Swaheli.†“You mean,†I said, “that they can only count as far as eight?†“Oh, no,†he said quickly. “They have got ten, eleven, twelve, and so on. But they have not got nine.†“Does that work?†I asked, wondering. “What do they do when they come to nineteen?†“They have not got nineteen either,†he said, blushing, but very firm, “nor ninety, nor nine hundredâ€â€”for these words in Swaheli are constructed out of the number nine,—“But apart from that they have got all our numbers.†The idea of this system for a long time gave me much to think of, and for some reason a great pleasure. Here, I thought, was a people who have got originality of mind, and courage to break with the pedantry of the numeral series. ... It happened that I had at that time a houseboy, Zacharia, who had lost the fourth finger of his left hand. Perhaps, I thought, this is a common thing with Natives, and is done to facilitate their arithmetic to them, when they are counting upon their fingers. When I began to develop my ideas to other people, I was stopped, and enlightened. Yet I have still got the feeling that there exists a Native system of numeral characters without the number nine in it, which to them works well and by which you can find out many things. I have, in this connection, remembered an old Danish clergyman who declared to me that he did not believe that God had created the Eighteenth Century. 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 (edited) Book windfall! Dh, who is always joking about my disproportion of books to shelf space, just bought from a retiring colleague nearly one hundred books: all of them Loeb and Oxford Classical Texts, for under a dollar apiece. He shamelessly pushed himself to the front of the queue by pointing out that his homeschooled daughters were studying Latin and Greek. Like he doesn't want them for himself. I think these are going to have to go in his office. And this will have to be our Christmas present to each other. At least Loebs are red and green! ETA: Behold, seasonal book decorating: https://www.flickr.com/groups/loeb-library-devotees/pool/with/590664824/lightbox/ Edited December 13, 2015 by Violet Crown 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 VC: I feel the exact same way about Out of Africa. I really should get around to it. I finished A Brief History of Seven Killings last night. It was amazing. It is a long book (over 700 pages) and I didn't begrudge the author a single page. I actually found myself having to take breaks from reading because it was so exciting...not always in a good way....usually not in a good way. Way more than 7 people die in that book. If you like a big book with a lot of characters and scope and don't mind a bit of violence and some CIA involvement, you should check it out. It is well crafted and the characters are people, no stand-ins, no shortcuts, and no easy answers. The author put his whole heart into this one. And in keeping with my theme this year of 'what is she thinking?" I immediately had to start on Purity by Johnathan Franzen. It came in last week and I haven't been able to touch it, what with my other big book. I also have "My Life on the Road" by Gloria Steinem on my kindle. I should be able to get through both before the end of December. I also plowed through some easy-peasy health related books while waiting for rehearsals to end. Nutcracker ends today so I will have more reading time in the next few weeks. Yay! 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 (edited) I enjoyed the Best Of links, particularly the Atlantic one, which covers the best book read this year, not the best book published. I'm usually a couple of years behind anyway, being too cheap to buy the books, and with library wait lists running 100+ people. A couple of those mentioned are on my best read list for the year too: The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Sapiens, In Cold Blood, and I've just started The Invention of Nature. I added a few to my TR lists, too. The Atlantic editors have good taste. ;) Looking at my own best-of list for 2015, I seem to have had a good reading year. Out of 177 books completed to date, I ranked 16 as 5-stars. Eleven of those were fiction. I'd say The Gap of Time was probably the best of the best for fiction, and Sapiens the best of the best for nonfiction. But that's a tough call. And the year isn't over yet! I just started listening to Between the World and Me. I'm reading various versions of Gilgamesh as prep for next year, as well as my birthday present The Year of Lear, Winterson's The Passion, and Being Mortal by Atul Gawande. Books completed in December: 177. The Turn of the Screw - Henry James 176. The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century - Steven Pinker 175. The Sense of Wonder - Rachel Carson 174. Anno Dracula - Kim Newman 173. Journey to the River Sea - Eve Ibbotson Edited December 14, 2015 by Chrysalis Academy 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 The holiday hubbub is cutting into reading time. But that's OK. I continue to read The Good Soldier Švejk by Czech author Jaroslav Hašek--and it continues to amuse and amaze. The humor translates beyond the time period in which it was written (almost a century ago) and beyond the military protocols that it mocks. Hašek understands human nature which has not changed. The medieval mindset via The Golden Legend also continues to amuse and amaze. I can predict now that this book will be consulted in future whenever I view medieval/Renaissance art. If you ever wonder about paintings like those shown in this blog post concerning the transplantation of the Moor's leg (Saints Cosmas and Damian), The Golden Legend is the book for you! H is for Hawk arrived for me at the library. It may take a week or so before I have a chance to crack it open. This is one that is appearing on numerous Best of 2015 lists. And here is the view of today's very calm waters. There are two dolphins at a distance. 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 It looks like the people at NPR don't read many cozy mysteries or Flufferton Abbey novels ... regardless this looks to be an interesting list also. NPR Best of 2015 Looking at my own best-of list for 2015, I seem to have had a good reading year. Out of 177 books completed to date, I ranked 16 as 5-stars. Eleven of those were fiction. I'd say The Gap of Time was probably the best of the best for fiction, and Sapiens the best of the best for nonfiction. But that's a tough call. And the year isn't over yet! That was fun to look at the statistics. In 2015 I've read (so far) 62 books. 19 Five Star books 1 One Star book - that was the Harper Lee nonsense 4 Abandoned books 25% were audiobooks 25% were non-fiction 15% were read alouds for DD 2014 - 95 books 2013 - 100 books 2012 - 148 books 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 What I'm reading now: The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum - I attended a writers workshop that my local library presented and Lisa was a speaker there. DD and DH's ex-wife both read it and loved it before I even got to read it. (That makes our relationship seem strange. We're all still friendly so she borrowed the book from DD before I got to borrow it from her. :)) Wings of Fire (Inspector Ian Rutledge #2) by Charles Todd - I'm listening to this as an audiobook. A few of us read the first book in the series earlier in the year (Jane and Sandy - mumto maybe?) and were lukewarm on it. I promised to read the second one and report back. I'm sure everyone thought I wasn't going to take six months for me to get around to it. The narrator isn't so great - he sounds like he's 80 and I picture Rutledge as a much younger man. I will report back when I finish though. Should be soon because I listen when I'm working on I'm on a deadline today! 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 My 9 year old son asked me to get The Lemonade Trick from the library for him after reading an excerpt in Writing With Ease. He read it in 3 sittings and loved it. I'm reading Son, the last of the Giver books. I don't know why it took me so long to read the three after The Giver. I've had them for ages since my daughter wanted to read them. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 I'm happy to see Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead getting a lot of love in these lists. That was my top MG/YA book for the year. (I'm not sure which category it falls into, exactly - the protagonists were 8th graders, and a 9th grader. So not MG as in 5th-6th grade, but not YA in that it didn't deal with sex, suicide, or drugs.) 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Amy, The NPR link had a book cover that reminds me of you ;) : The NPR list also nudged me to place The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin on my list for 2016. I heard an interview with the author that was quite fascinating. Somebody tell me to walk away from Internet! I should be reading! 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 It's a Pooh day here, too. My husband and I will be heading out soon to print out copies of our holiday letter and also to stop by the fair at the Greek Orthodox Church to pick up some holiday goodies (baklava, yummm....). We intend to decorate our tree this evening. Yesterday I re-read with pleasure Joanna Bourne's historical romance My Lord and Spymaster. While it's one of a series, it can stand alone well. From Publishers Weekly "Bourne's latest espionage-based series historical (following The Spymaster's Lady) entices with subtle subterfuge and heated romance. Jess Whitby, daughter of suspected spy Josiah Whitby, is doing everything in her power to exonerate her imprisoned father. In order to free him, she must prove that someone other than her father is the Cinq, a notorious mole. But Jess has met her match in Capt. Sebastian Kennett, wealthy bastard son of an English nobleman, equally as clever at keeping tabs on Jess as she is at tracking him. Sebastian is responsible for Josiah's arrest; Jess believes that Sebastian may be the Cinq; their mutual attraction proves a lovely foil for their suspicious minds. Glimpses of the leads' sordid pasts add depth, and Bourne's consummate way with a story line and an explosive denouement do the rest." (July)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Regards, Kareni 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 I read Columbine - 4 Stars - This book is an objective and compelling look at the events surrounding Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold's massacre at Columbine High School. Before I became a parent and when our children were very young, I remember always blaming the parents any time that a child or teenager had problems or didn’t turn out as perfectly as possible, whatever that’s supposed to mean. When the attack on Columbine happened in 1999, I was a mother of a toddler girl and we were expecting our second child. Like many, I was quick to judge and blame the parents. Now, that both my children are teenagers and as time has passed, I realize that always blaming the parents is not so simple and clear-cut. A few years ago, I laughed when I saw a title in a bookstore that I could fully relate to: “I Was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kidsâ€! Oftentimes, parents of younger children (and even individuals without children) have a little bit of smugness about them when it comes to judging how other kids, mainly teens, turn out. I’m embarrassed to say that I was that way. The brilliant book, “Yes, Your Teen is Crazy†describes this smugness far better than I ever could: “As the parent of a young child, you got used to winning control skirmishes. You usually could out-talk, out-think, and out-run your child whenever you wanted to. This was very bad. It gave you a feeling of control that created a false pride, particularly as you saw the abuse that other parents were taking from their adolescents. Outwardly, you were sympathetic. Inwardly, you were smug: ‘My kid will never act like that when she's a teen.’ Mother Nature, God, or fate hates smugness, and the payback is called adolescence.†So much of what most of us knew about the incident and the killers wasn’t in fact true. The killers were not Goths or picked on. They were the bullies. Dylan Klebold was an easily-influenced suicidal manic-depressive. Eric Harris was a cunning psychopath. His parents, like most, would not have known how to deal with that. Most parents can’t even diagnose it, never mind know what to do. I loved the detailed section describing psychopaths. Here is a quote from that section: “A correlation exists between psychopaths and unstable homes--and violent upbringings seem to turn fledgling psychopaths more vicious. But current data suggests those conditions do not cause the psychopathy; they only make a bad situation worse. It also appears that even the best parenting may be no match for a child born to be bad. Symptoms appear so early, and so often in stable homes with normal siblings, that the condition seems to be inborn. Most parents report having been aware of disturbing signs before the child entered kindergarten. Dr. Hare described a five-year old girl repeatedly attempting to flush her kitten down the toilet. ‘I caught her just as she was about to try again,’ the mother said. ‘She seemed quite unconcerned, maybe a bit angry--about being found out.’ When the woman told her husband, the girl calmly denied the whole thing. Shame did not register; neither did fear. Psychopaths are not individuals losing touch with those emotions. They never developed them from the start.†Both boys had seemingly normal family lives. Eric’s was one with traditional family roles, Dylan’s emphasized education, diversity, and nonviolence. The author spent ten or so years researching and writing this thought-provoking book. There is no answer as to why Eric and Dylan carried out such an evil act. If you’re looking for that, I wouldn’t bother with this. However, if you want to know what really happened, this is well worth a read. MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad. 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 I'm still working on the Earthsea trilogy and enjoying it. I keep casting sideways glances at the Zen and Art of Motorcycle Maintenace book. I may abandon it half read. I've been busy crocheting the cutest little winter hats for a friend's baby, one is an elf hat, the other a bear beanie with ears. Plus, I finished a mermaid tail afghan for my daughter in law. Yay, me! 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 What I'm reading now: The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum - I attended a writers workshop that my local library presented and Lisa was a speaker there. DD and DH's ex-wife both read it and loved it before I even got to read it. (That makes our relationship seem strange. We're all still friendly so she borrowed the book from DD before I got to borrow it from her. :)) Wings of Fire (Inspector Ian Rutledge #2) by Charles Todd - I'm listening to this as an audiobook. A few of us read the first book in the series earlier in the year (Jane and Sandy - mumto maybe?) and were lukewarm on it. I promised to read the second one and report back. I'm sure everyone thought I wasn't going to take six months for me to get around to it. The narrator isn't so great - he sounds like he's 80 and I picture Rutledge as a much younger man. I will report back when I finish though. Should be soon because I listen when I'm working on I'm on a deadline today! I think Jenn read it but I never did. I have checked it out of the library twice but never managed to start A Test of Wills...... I finished a historical romance today that was only semi fluffy. ;) A Sinful Deception by Isabella Bradford https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19288184-a-sinful-deception is the story of a titled? young lady who was born in India but raised in England after a fever kills her entire family including her half sister who was the father's legitimate daughter. The lady was mistaken as her sister when rescued and has protected her true identity every since due to her fear of being rejected, thereby made destitute. I couldn't resist starting the first Tessa Dare in the series Kareni recommended a couple of days ago https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18052985-romancing-the-duke. A fun fluffy book that ibam finding hard to resist. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Wings of Fire (Inspector Ian Rutledge #2) by Charles Todd - I'm listening to this as an audiobook. A few of us read the first book in the series earlier in the year (Jane and Sandy - mumto maybe?) and were lukewarm on it. I promised to read the second one and report back. I'm sure everyone thought I wasn't going to take six months for me to get around to it. The narrator isn't so great - he sounds like he's 80 and I picture Rutledge as a much younger man. I will report back when I finish though. Should be soon because I listen when I'm working on I'm on a deadline today! I'm in that group too. I told a friend about the series and she's already read several. She said pretty much the same thing as you did - that it gets better. I do plan to read the next one, and maybe more. I just haven't been able to get around to it yet. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 It's been a whole Pooh weekend here, literally and figuratively. Blustery, windy, and rainy - and my girls' Winnie the Pooh Christmas show opened this weekend! Morgan is Piglet, Shannon is Kanga. They did such a nice job. Both of them are having allergic reactions to the whole-face makeup and mic tape, they both have raw patches on their cheeks where the mic tape ripped skin off. But they powered through and did a lovely job, I'm so proud of them! 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 I finally read The Rosie Project this past week and thoroughly enjoyed it. PM me if you want a postcard from Shepparton. :) 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Pooh weekend here too (just the weather, not the play). And like Jane, holiday things are pushing aside reading--and like Kareni, we're processing the annual holiday letter this weekend. So much Christmas stuff to do in the next few days (cookie baking for gift giving at dd's school, get the letter in the mail, make the holiday cards for niece and nephews and get them in the mail--I think there's a lot more to do too). I will be analyzing my 2015 reading list but that will wait until after Christmas I think. I'm reading Infinite Home which I found from a Best of 2015 list Stacia posted. I'm enjoying it enough to consider giving it to Dad's wife for Christmas--she's usually read any book I think of getting for her, but this one is new enough she may not have. It's about a group of people all broken in some way who live in an apartment building together. The writing is beautiful but I particularly like how they look after one another and are like a family--a more functional family than they should be able to put together. Welcome to Braggsville is waiting for me when I get this one finished. Then I need to find a (short) book that begins with S to finish my name challenge--it was serendipitous that Infinite Home gets me another missing letter. Oh, I may need N too--can't remember. I'm not even going to click on the Robin's 2015 lists right now--got enough on my hands! 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Helen Humphreys gives a nod to Orlando in The Frozen Thames which is simply an exquisite book. Crstarlette, you may want to see if your library as a copy too. Breathtakingly beautiful writing. The Frozen Thames is a series of very short stories written in the first person over time. Most of the stories are based on historic incidents occurring on or near the frozen Thames, something that we shall never see due to the re-engineering of the Thames and climate change. It offers a meditation on ice, on how the transformation of liquid to a solid leaves its mark on people and history. That does look like a lovely book, Jane. Thank you for mentioning it! 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 I guess this is two weeks in a row with me not finishing a book. I wanted to start Library of Souls, but I just have not felt like I had time to get into a novel. I haven't felt like I had long enough reading periods to sit and get immersed. I read a few chapters of Metaphors We Live By, which I've been neglecting for a week or two, and started in on Ficciones by Borges. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 A couple of fun bookish posts from BookRiot: Literary Imbibing: Great Bookish Flasks ** Bookish Wrapping Paper For Your Holiday Gifts Regards, Kareni 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 :seeya: It's been crazy, crazy here! I can't believe I've missed two weeks worth of posts :scared: but I haven't had time to think! Summing up ... a young lady at our church is due to have her 5th child any day and not in a great situation right now. I kept her 4 kiddos (7, almost 5, 3.5, and 15 months) all week last week as she thought she was being induced and they just found out she has cancer (again) so it was supposed to be an extended stay in the hospital. She wasn't induced, baby still hasn't come, so the kiddos went home Friday evening. Having 4 extra kids in the house 7 and under was challenging, crazy, tiring and absolutely fun. I am certain now that I could not foster. Loving on those kids all week and then seeing them go home was hard! My only reading time was at night while the baby was falling asleep on my lap, and when he was out, I was out soon after!! Question for you all...I would like to buy my cousin (and best friend) a book for Christmas. She is a huge James Patterson and Robert Galbraith (I think that's J.K. Rowling's other pen name) fan. Would she like Tana French? Or do you have any other suggestions? She is not prudish like me :lol: she'll read anything! Looking forward to catching up! 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 I remember loving Out of Africa when I read it years ago. I had seen the movie first, loved it, loved the cinematography, and thought the book was as beautiful to read as the movie was to watch. Hi back, Angel! I was wondering where you'd been. You are generous and kind to open your house to four youngsters! Will they be back when the baby does come along? About your question -- I think Tana French is an excellent option. My recommendation is based after only reading one of her books, but it was excellent, and I'm looking forward to reading everything else she's written. I'm one of those who read 2 or 3 of the Todd Rutledge books, and didn't think they got better. There was only so much of his inner-Scotsman psychosis I could take. Perhaps things improve several books later? Nothing inspired me to try. After 3 concerts this weekend (plus church services and holiday party entertainment) it's couch potato night, with a glass of wine and the last Hobbit movie on tv. Pizza has been ordered by my dh and we will stay snug inside and hope the promised rain storm actually delivers! 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 No new reading progress to report here. Not sure there will be much over the next couple of weeks either. 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Book windfall! Dh, who is always joking about my disproportion of books to shelf space, just bought from a retiring colleague nearly one hundred books: all of them Loeb and Oxford Classical Texts, for under a dollar apiece. He shamelessly pushed himself to the front of the queue by pointing out that his homeschooled daughters were studying Latin and Greek. Like he doesn't want them for himself. I think these are going to have to go in his office. And this will have to be our Christmas present to each other. At least Loebs are red and green! :party: And here is the view of today's very calm waters. There are two dolphins at a distance. Wow, what a place to live! Just beautiful. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 (edited) :seeya: It's been crazy, crazy here! I can't believe I've missed two weeks worth of posts :scared: but I haven't had time to think! Summing up ... a young lady at our church is due to have her 5th child any day and not in a great situation right now. I kept her 4 kiddos (7, almost 5, 3.5, and 15 months) all week last week as she thought she was being induced and they just found out she has cancer (again) so it was supposed to be an extended stay in the hospital. She wasn't induced, baby still hasn't come, so the kiddos went home Friday evening. Having 4 extra kids in the house 7 and under was challenging, crazy, tiring and absolutely fun. I am certain now that I could not foster. Loving on those kids all week and then seeing them go home was hard! My only reading time was at night while the baby was falling asleep on my lap, and when he was out, I was out soon after!! Question for you all...I would like to buy my cousin (and best friend) a book for Christmas. She is a huge James Patterson and Robert Galbraith (I think that's J.K. Rowling's other pen name) fan. Would she like Tana French? Or do you have any other suggestions? She is not prudish like me :lol: she'll read anything! Looking forward to catching up! Tana French is great! Probably the most similar to Galbraith imo. Personally I would go with French but in order to provide choice a couple of other similar authors that I have enjoyed are Val McDermidhttps://www.goodreads.com/series/138123-inspector-karen-pirieand Ann Cleeves https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/644655.Raven_Black?ac=1&from_search=1. This is a McDermid/Galbraith interview that I watched ages ago if anyone is interested. https://m.youtube.com/watch? v=TbvJbbgFhrQ unfortunately the audience wanted Harry Potter. A friend attended and said people were so disappointed. For a slightly lighter series I like Judith Cutler's Fran Harmonhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/130399.Life_Sentence?ac=1&from_search=1. Not sure that you would but you might like some of her other books. Eta.....Forgot to say :grouphug: to both you and your friend. I will he praying that all goes smoothly for her in the coming weeks. You and your whole family are stars for taking 4 littles into your home. Edited December 14, 2015 by mumto2 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 No new reading progress to report here. Not sure there will be much over the next couple of weeks either. Stacia, :grouphug: 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim in Appalachia Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 I'm halfway through Kate Atkinson's Started Early, Took my Dog. It's the last book in her Jackson Brodie series. There have been so many characters and she is not linear with time, so it's been hard to keep track of it all, but her writing is brilliant, so I'm still enjoying it. I just wish I had a character tree to keep track of it all. :) Redsquirl, can't wait to hear about Purity. The History of Seven Killings has also intrigued me, but it's length has been keeping me away. We'll see. Maybe I jump in. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 No new reading progress to report here. Not sure there will be much over the next couple of weeks either. :grouphug: Stacia, you're in my thoughts. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 No new reading progress to report here. Not sure there will be much over the next couple of weeks either. :grouphug: to Stacia, mom-ninja, and others who are coping with difficulties. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 No new reading progress to report here. Not sure there will be much over the next couple of weeks either. I'm sorry. Please take care of yourself during these hard times. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 I'm happy to see Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead getting a lot of love in these lists. That was my top MG/YA book for the year. (I'm not sure which category it falls into, exactly - the protagonists were 8th graders, and a 9th grader. So not MG as in 5th-6th grade, but not YA in that it didn't deal with sex, suicide, or drugs.) Loved your description!! Hi back, Angel! I was wondering where you'd been. You are generous and kind to open your house to four youngsters! Will they be back when the baby does come along? About your question -- I think Tana French is an excellent option. My recommendation is based after only reading one of her books, but it was excellent, and I'm looking forward to reading everything else she's written. If we are not out of town, yes they will probably be back. I'm actually working with the 7yo three times a week as she wanted to homeschool but is a bit overwhelmed right now. And I'm thinking that Tana French might be on the list for my dear cousin. Thanks! Tana French is great! Probably the most similar to Galbraith imo. Personally I would go with French but in order to provide choice a couple of other similar authors that I have enjoyed are Val McDermidhttps://www.goodreads.com/series/138123-inspector-karen-pirieand Ann Cleeves https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/644655.Raven_Black?ac=1&from_search=1. This is a McDermid/Galbraith interview that I watched ages ago if anyone is interested. https://m.youtube.com/watch? v=TbvJbbgFhrQ unfortunately the audience wanted Harry Potter. A friend attended and said people were so disappointed. For a slightly lighter series I like Judith Cutler's Fran Harmonhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/130399.Life_Sentence?ac=1&from_search=1. Not sure that you would but you might like some of her other books. Eta.....Forgot to say :grouphug: to both you and your friend. I will he praying that all goes smoothly for her in the coming weeks. You and your whole family are stars for taking 4 littles into your home. Thanks! I will check into the others as well! Her reading tastes and mine are so radically different but I'm always on the lookout here for books she might enjoy! Aww, thanks. I always wanted a large family so I simply LOVE having them here. Aly not so certain :tongue_smilie: 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Stacia, :grouphug: my friend! Check out this link...if I was a millionaire, it would be winging it's way to you, but alas, I can only share the link! http://store.bookriot.com/collections/jewelry/products/slaughterhouse-five-necklace?variant=959847387 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brehon Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Book windfall! Dh, who is always joking about my disproportion of books to shelf space, just bought from a retiring colleague nearly one hundred books: all of them Loeb and Oxford Classical Texts, for under a dollar apiece. He shamelessly pushed himself to the front of the queue by pointing out that his homeschooled daughters were studying Latin and Greek. Like he doesn't want them for himself. I think these are going to have to go in his office. And this will have to be our Christmas present to each other. At least Loebs are red and green! ETA: Behold, seasonal book decorating: https://www.flickr.com/groups/loeb-library-devotees/pool/with/590664824/lightbox/ I am beyond jealous. Wow! How breathtakingly wonderful! 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Author Charles Todd was mentioned up thread. I see that a set of the first four of his Ian Rutledge books are on sale for $1.99 for Kindle readers ~ The Ian Rutledge Starter: A Test of Wills, A Long Shadow, A False Mirror, and A Pale Horse Regards, Kareni 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted December 14, 2015 Author Share Posted December 14, 2015 No new reading progress to report here. Not sure there will be much over the next couple of weeks either. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: It's time for a tea party. What is your favorite tea? 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 My reading veered off on a tangent last week. I finished SWB's Story of Science and was inspired to pull some science writing off the shelves. I found this delightful to read and think she did a beautiful job presenting the various works. ...I was fond enough of it to order our own copy of it when I finished the one from the library... The two I finished (both very short): Galielo's Sidereus Nuncius (Starry Messenger) and The Sand Reckoner by Archimedes. Robin, I think I'd like us to consider doing this together in 2017. If we did roughly a chapter every two weeks, we could read it over the year... and I could write up a paragraph or two about the work(s) covered and suggest some related reading... if there's interest. (I was thinking 2017 since we have HOTRW for next year...) Also read: Beyond the Horizon by Eugene O'Neill: I should probably stop reading/rereading O'Neill for right now. His female characters are really, really bothering me. Loretta Mason Potts: a juvenile portal fantasy. Sherwood Smith has often mentioned it was a childhood favorite of hers, so when our library got a (reissued) ebook, I decided to try it. I think I would have appreciated it more as a child, but as an adult I found it more disturbing than diverting... and the simple fixes didn't convince me. ...but a child's eye perspective would be rather different, I imagine. Who Are You Looking For by Amy Lukau: A very slim chapbook from a set entitled Eight New Generation African Poets... but Lukau is an American - born and raised, as I understand it. Her *parents* are from Angola and she describes herself as a "poet of Angolan descent". Although I think her poetry worth encountering, it bothers me to see it labled "African".... Here is a (disturbing + not G-rated, in language or content): i always wanted to work on a cotton plantation. you know, somewhere in the deep south. close to cajun town but deeper toward the mouth of the void: Georgia North Carolina Mississippi or Tennessee. i want to get toward the heart of darkness —experience the voodoo of Louisiana: enlightenment. rock babies to sleep in a cradle: like President Obama. i want my bottle of 40 i want my food stamps i want my guns, i want my weed my coke my molly i want [ ] … i want all of that. back to cotton. as i said i always wanted to work on a cotton plantation. you know, get real working experience because i need something to do. i need to be productive. need that protestant work ethic working hard. working with cotton. on a plantation. i need my fingers to be calloused. i need my sweat to soak my face my clothes. i need to be beat. i need to be called a [ ]. i need to be reminded of my place. that subaltern— towards the mouth of the void. where blood flows. from the legs of women violated over & over & over again… It’s officially nigger season… Black bodies stringing in the summer breeze the confederate flag, that’s my flag. you didn’t get the news homie. kanye said it. man, kanye’s so dope, that’s my nigga. for real yo. man, kanye’s doing things B.I. G. mad props man, mad props to that nigga, like for real yo. you see Kanye is right. somewhere between the mouth & the void we existed. became present. Black bodies stringing in the summer breeze that’s the rallying cry of folk (black & white) in the south. doesn’t matter what side you on you good cuz you gotta pick a side. you’re forced to pick a side. No rhetorical bullshit here. No subaltern speaking here. No academics here. No justice here. No peace here. No life here. just death here. Black bodies stringing in the summer breeze that is me. that is my history. why can’t it be my flag? Yeezus said it was. (aka Kanye) wha’d up with that? Gotta keep them separated I call that apartheid fuck apartheid. it ain’t got dibs on that shit. i got a white cloak too. just because them fools ridin’ on horses n’shit setting fire to crosses in my front yard doesn’t mean they got dibs. that’s some bullshit for real yo. Kanye’s right we upgraded on them fools like for real yo. fuck horses we got cars with them big ass rims, like the one’s in Flo Rida’s video. & we got some fine ass women too. like damn! And what the people say? We wanna live it up And what the people want? Please deliver us And what the people need? see, we upgraded. we kill in cars, them fools went through all that trouble—dressing in cloaks n’shit. riding on horses in groups just to kill a nigga. man, that’s whack. like for real yo. we upgraded on them fools like for real. if i’m going kill a nigga, i’ll just drive by that fool’s hood and start shooting—fuck horses. & see, this is our problem. somewhere between picking cotton in the mouth of the void (aka deep south) we learned to resist to subvert. & yet we do voodoo with the angels of death. I’m reaching through the fire.—please deliver us I’m preaching to the choir—please deliver us The truth is hard to swallow it’ll leave you scared tomorrow we kill. all of us. Til death but do your part Unholy matrimony That flag is my flag too. [italics are in reference to Talib Kweli’s song, “Hostile Gospel, Pt.1†(Deliver Us) and Kanye West’s song “Blood on the Leavesâ€] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 From last week: Heather: I am so happy to hear that you are healing so well! (And so proud of you for taking such good care of yourself!) I hope your healing continues (quickly!) and you can be up and about soon. :grouphug: Mom-Ninja & Stacia: :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: I am sad and scared too... and wishing we had that magic button (and Rosie, love, we'd send it to you, too! ...a much needed variant on our post card exchanges!) Sending all three of you love... and hoping we all have much joy to share together.... Shawneinfl: I've used Book Collectorz before, but haven't switched it to the current computer.... I have a fair bit of catch up cataloging work to do (someday!). I found it easy to use and felt it worked well for me. I downloaded their trial verision (and those of a few other cataloging softwares) and played around a bit with them to see which would meet my needs *and* be easy to use. LadyFlorida: I love those East of Eden quotes! ...now I want to add it to next year's list! (Robin, any chance of getting Steinbeck on? ...I want to read his Sea of Cortez, too. I've read excerpts, but never the whole thing... and it fits with our seafaring theme!). I don't linger over most books, but I don't skim over them lightly either... I inhale them, take them into my being... and then I spend years absorbing them into my deepest layers, mixing them with other books, other ideas, other stories.... Amy: happy (belated!) birthday! I hope this next year is full of joy and blessing (and many, many wonderful books!) VC: You said: "I've finished The Good Soldier Å vejk, which I imagine is what Catch-22 would have been like if written by Rabelais. In Czech." This has been on my 'ought to be reading' list for a while... but you've helped me integrate it into a plan! ...I've been nibbling at my Don Quixote reread for a long time now, with the intention of rereading Gargantua and Pantagruel afterwards... and a few things after that, so this slots into that thread of reading.... thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 It's time for a tea party. What is your favorite tea? Fermented. Kombucha made from Dilmah Rose and French Vanilla tea is delicious. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Robin: I would love to volunteer! My first impulse is to ask if I could do an African-American related write-up for the week of MLK Day and an Indigenous Peoples write-up for the week of Indigenous Peoples' Day, as those are two topics near the top of next year's goal list for me... Perhaps for 2017 we could toss around ideas for regular "columns", so to speak, and we could rotate who would cover the given topics each month/week. ...they could be time periods, or genres, or geographical regions, or topics... ...and someone who might not want to commit to a full post, might feel more ready to contribute a paragraph on dancing or physics or mysteries.... Rose: I'd love to talk about Turn of the Screw! I reread it about a year ago... I will try to type up some thoughts about ancient lit/history soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Apparently I missed the tail end of last week's thread. I was sorry to see that a couple of you are sad and distressed. I hope your troubles have a way to iron themseves out. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Thanks, everyone. :grouphug: We just found out that my dh is losing his job next month. This will be the third lay-off we've gone through since my ds was born. I feel stressed, old, & tired. Hopefully 2016 will work out ok for us. We have survived before but it's certainly no fun. Just last week I felt happy & like we had finally emerged from the two holes created by the previous lay-offs. I am now beginning to wonder if I have pissed off the universe in some previous life. Anyway, lots to tackle in the upcoming times & just feeling no concentration for reading right now. Angel, thanks for the necklace link. Made me smile! I will try to keep Vonnegut's slogan in mind over the next many months.... Tea party? I'm good with Earl Gray. Heather, hoping your healing is still going well! Funny that everyone is mentioning Pooh weather. It is like Spring around here & feels very weird & wrong for December. I think we are supposed to finally get some colder weather in the next week or so. Enjoyed the 'best of' lists, Robin. Out of Africa was mentioned in Hemingway's "A Moveable Feast". Jane, lovely photo. 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Stacia, I'm sorry. Hope he finds a new (and better) job soon 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Stacia :grouphug: I'm sorry. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 How very frustrating, Stacia. I hope that better days and good choices are in the future. Regards, Kareni 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Stacia, I'm sorry. I hope a new opportunity opens for you all soon. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Stacia, Sending you and your family best wishes for the new year. One thing is certain: you won't lack for books. Your BaW sisters will see to that! About Out of Africa. Jenn wrote: I remember loving Out of Africa when I read it years ago. I had seen the movie first, loved it, loved the cinematography, and thought the book was as beautiful to read as the movie was to watch. That was 1985 when the film was released. (Cough, cough.) I did the same: saw the film, read the book...then went on to read African authors like Amos Tutuola and Wole Solyinka. I should revisit both the film and the novel in 2016. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 From last week: LadyFlorida: I love those East of Eden quotes! ...now I want to add it to next year's list! (Robin, any chance of getting Steinbeck on? ...I want to read his Sea of Cortez, too. I've read excerpts, but never the whole thing... and it fits with our seafaring theme!). We traced part of Steinbeck's trip on the Sea of Cortez (including the land based burro ride) on our vacation in November. Ricketts annoyed me in the book. Funny, I was less annoyed with him as camouflaged as Doc in Cannery Row. Once There was a War and Travels with Charlie are on my TBR list so I too vote for a Steinbeck month. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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