BW52: 2015 Year End Wrap Up!

[aggieamy]

I'll try to get my year's summary pulled together but time eludes me. Meanwhile I read another comedy by Terence, "The Mother-in-Law," for a total of 60 books this year unless I finish my abridged Samuel Pepys' Diary (unlikely) before the New Year.

 

CAUTION: MAJOR TRIGGER WARNING FOR EVERYTHING.

"The Mother-in-Law" may be the most culturally inaccessible thing I have ever read. The humor hangs on the plot device of a wife whose husband left her untouched for the first two months of the marriage because he was still in love with his favorite prostitute, but then he fell in love with his wife; but then she flees his family's house and won't see him or any of her in-laws, because she's PREGNANT! And the child can't be his because it was conceived at the beginning of their marriage! Ha! Because she was raped by a stranger one night and it was dark so nobody knows whose it is so her husband will have to expose the baby, but if he does that everyone will know it's NOT HIS! Disaster! Ho ho! But then through this madcap series of misadventures, his ex-prostitute figures out that it was THE HUSBAND who raped his wife while coming drunk to see his mistress one night, without knowing it was his wife! And so all's well that ends well in this rape/infanticide comedy. Oh those zany Romans. I think I will take a substantial break from Terence and go back to Pepys.

 

I don't think that word (comedy) means what you think it means ...

 

Whew boy.  That sounds like the worst plot ever.  

[Violet Crown]

I don't think that word (comedy) means what you think it means ...

 

Whew boy. That sounds like the worst plot ever.

Yeah. Makes you wonder what kind of a civilization thought that kind of thing so very funny. The past sure is a foreign country.

[mumto2]

Ok guys, I need a version judgment: Robin Hood - Howard Pyle or Roger Lancelyn Green? Or other? or neither? This would be for a read aloud with the girls, 9 and 13.

I feel sort of obligated to weigh in on Robin Hood. First off I really do live in Sherwood Forest and actually live really close to one of King John's hunting lodges. So the legend of Robin Hood is pretty strong around here. When we first moved here locals were occasionally tell the kids they were related to RH. ;) I suspect most really are......

 

I just wanted to give you a couple of links to explore when you read Robin Hood. This wesite is one of my favouriteshttp://www.robinhoodlegend.com/

and this one just has lots on our myths in general http://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams with I think you might find helpful for your overall project.

 

Remember (my opinion but pretty common one here) RH is a myth but he was really many men. The poachers who kept the villagers alive because of lack of land due to the huge hunting grounds. Villages existed where hunting grounds adjoined. Not much space for common people. Every group had their own poacher. There is a descriptive word for poacher or similar term (maybe VC can help here because google is failing me) in Middle English (maybe Saxon)that when pronounced is awfully close to Robin Hood.

 

Fwiw, my kids read Pyle. We did the Usbourne as a read along when young. Later Pyle individually.

[Jane in NC]

I finished H is for Hawk and am still uncertain about how I feel with regards to training a wild animal for hunting.

 

Click at your own peril

In the afterword we read that MacDonald's endearing goshawk dies of Aspergillosis, a fungal infection that is fatal unless treated with antibiotics at an early stage. I attended a necropsy of a loon with Asper. Ugh. The animal's lungs were weighted by this fungus. It is a fate I do not wish on anything.

 

[Just Robyn]

That would be yours truly. Glad to hear you enjoyed it!

 

Thank you! I'm so glad you mentioned it. It was perfectly written to both inform and entertain, imo. I hope I can eventually get my kids to read it

[Chrysalis Academy]

I feel sort of obligated to weigh in on Robin Hood. First off I really do live in Sherwood Forest and actually live really close to one of King John's hunting lodges. So the legend of Robin Hood is pretty strong around here. When we first moved here locals were occasionally tell the kids they were related to RH. ;) I suspect most really are......

 

I just wanted to give you a couple of links to explore when you read Robin Hood. This wesite is one of my favouriteshttp://www.robinhoodlegend.com/

and this one just has lots on our myths in general http://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams with I think you might find helpful for your overall project.

 

Remember (my opinion but pretty common one here) RH is a myth but he was really many men. The poachers who kept the villagers alive because of lack of land due to the huge hunting grounds. Villages existed where hunting grounds adjoined. Not much space for common people. Every group had their own poacher. There is a descriptive word for poacher or similar term (maybe VC can help here because google is failing me) in Middle English (maybe Saxon)that when pronounced is awfully close to Robin Hood.

 

Fwiw, my kids read Pyle. We did the Usbourne as a read along when young. Later Pyle individually.

 

Awesome info, thank you!

[Just Robyn]

This is probably my end-of-the-year list. I have started Sputnik Sweetheart by Murakami, and it's short and easy enough that I could finish it before the end of the year, but I don't think I will.

 

Reading 2015

*dusty book

 

 

85. Signs Preceding the End of the World Yuri Herrera (novella)

84. Metaphors We Live By George Lakoff and Mark Johnson (nonfiction)

83. Ficciones Jorge Luis Borges (short stories)

82. Hollow City Ransom Riggs (novel)

81. Henry V William Shakespeare (play)

 

80. The Things They Carried Tim O’Brien (short stories)*

79. Sleepyhead Assassins Mindy Nettifee (poetry)

78. Racing Hummingbirds Jeanann Verlee (poetry)

77. The World Doesn’t End Charles Simic (poetry)

76. Perfectly Normal Wyatt Townley (poetry)

75. Ariel Sylvia Plath (poetry)

74. Carrie Stephen King (novel)

73. The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Prose Poetry McDowell/Rziczneck (eds.) (poetry, nonfiction)

72. Horrorstör Grady Hendrix (novel)

71. Jesus’ Son Denis Johnson (short stories)

 

70. This Won’t Take But a Minute, Honey Steve Almond (nonfiction, short stories)

69. The Time Machine H. G. Wells (novella)*

68. Wired for Story Lisa Cron (nonfiction)

67. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Jean-Dominique Bauby (nonfiction)

66. Tales of Whimsy Stacie Sugioka (short stories)

65. To See the Queen Allison Seay (poetry)

64. Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte (novel)

63. Easy Math Lauren Shapiro (poetry)

62. Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience William Blake (poetry)*

61. The Legacy of Luna Julia Butterfly Hill (nonfiction)

 

60. Invisible Cities Italo Calvino (difficult to classify)*

59. The Travels of Marco Polo Marco Polo (nonfiction)

58. What We See When We Read Peter Mendelsund (nonfiction)

57. Among Others Jo Walton (novel)*

56. The Three Musketeers Alexandre Dumas (novel)

55. The Dead Wrestler Elegies W. Todd Kaneko (poetry)

54. Duino Elegies Rainer Maria Rilke (poetry)

53. A Room of One’s Own Virginia Woolf (nonfiction)*

52. Whatcha Mean, What’s a Zine? Mark Todd (nonfiction)

51. Daisy Miller Henry James (novella)

 

50. Love’s Labour’s Lost William Shakespeare (play)

49. the meatgirl whatever Kristin Hatch (poetry)

48. Fight Club Chuck Palahniuk (novel)

47. Jason and the Golden Fleece Apollonius of Rhodes (epic poem retold in prose)

46. Monday or Tuesday Virginia Woolf (short stories)

45. Letters to a Young Poet Rainer Maria Rilke (nonfiction)

44. Medea Euripides (play)*

43. The Complete Poems of Sappho Sappho, Willis Barnstone (poetry)

42. Karate Chop Dorthe Nors (short stories)

41. Blood Lyrics Katie Ford (poetry)

 

40. To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee (novel)

39. Selected Poems Corsino Fortes (poetry)

38. A People’s History of the U.S. Howard Zinn (nonfiction)*

37. Glitter in the Blood Mindy Nettifee (nonfiction)

36. Diaries of Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (nonfiction)*

35. Maps of the Imagination Peter Turchi (nonfiction)

34. Sin and Syntax Constance Hale (nonfiction)

33. Narrative Design Madison Smartt Bell (nonfiction and short stories)

32. The Boy Who Lost Fairyland Catherynne M. Valente (novel)

31. The 2015 Rhysling Anthology various authors (poetry)

 

30. Repossession (iZombie, Vol. 4) Chris Roberson (graphic novel)

29. Purgatorio Dante Alighieri (poetry)

28. Six Feet Under and Rising (iZombie, Vol. 3) Chris Roberson (graphic novel)

27. uVampire (iZombie, Vol. 2) Chris Roberson (graphic novel)

26. Dead to the World (iZombie, Vol.  1) Chris Roberson (graphic novel)

25. Henry IV, Part 2 William Shakespeare (play)

24. The Jungle Upton Sinclair (novel)

23. How to Haiku Bruce Ross (nonfiction)

22. Lyric Poems John Keats (poetry)

21. No Matter the Wreckage Sarah Kay (poetry)

 

20. Bad Behavior Mary Gaitskill (short stories)

19. After Midnight various authors (graphic short stories)

18. Orlando Virginia Woolf (novel)

17. The Diary of a Young Girl Anne Frank (nonfiction)*

16. The Art of Description Mark Doty (nonfiction)

15. Henry IV, Part 1 William Shakespeare (play)

14. Bluets Maggie Nelson (poetry/essay/memoir)

13. Cosmicomics Italo Calvino (short stories)

12. The Art of the Poetic Line James Logenbach (nonfiction)

11. Citizen: An American Lyric Claudia Rankine (poetry/essay)

 

10. Sense and Sensibility Jane Austen (novel)

9. Dynamic Characters Nancy Kress (nonfiction)

8. Kraken: The Curious, Exciting, and Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid Wendy Williams (nonfiction)

7. Henni Miss Lasko-Gross (graphic novel)

6. Lyrical Ballads William Wordsworth (poetry)*

5. Richard II William Shakespeare (play)*

4. Why Read Moby-Dick? Nathaniel Philbrick (nonfiction)

3. Kafka on the Shore Haruki Murakami (novel)

2. Crow: From the Life and Songs of the Crow Ted Hughes (poetry)

1. Sonnet Lindsey Rodgers (graphic novel, poetry)

 

Nonfiction: 25

Poetry: 22

Fiction: 33

Plays: 6

 

(The total, after breaking them down, comes to higher than my actual total because a few books go in two categories, for instance, books that were half short stories/half essays were put in both fiction and nonfiction.)

 

Male Authors: 49 (57%)

Female Authors: 33 (39%)

Multiple Contributors: 3 (4%)

Edited December 29, 2015 by crstarlette

[Nan in Mass]

Oh no! I read it to the kids and was similarly inspired.

Maybe it is still ok? Maybe it is beyond people to be strong and good every second of their lives. Maybe the book Henry is the person the real Henry wishes he were strong enough and good enough to be, or that he was happy that he managed to be for a period of time, in which case, the book Henry is still worthy of admiration.

 

Nan

[Nan in Mass]

...yet we act against ourselves, contrary to our interests and desires, sometimes secretly, deceiving ourselves as to what we know and do...

 

 

Maybe the Bible as well as modern science?

 

Nan

[Chrysalis Academy]

Maybe the Bible as well as modern science?

 

Nan

 

Maybe it's the oldest, as well as the newest, question? And is investigated through art, poetry, literature, religion and philosophy as well as through science. I know that reading a book like this makes it more real, and personal, for me than reading an article in a scientific journal or even a nonfiction popular science treatment.

[Nan in Mass]

...

Share your top 5 (or more) favorite books.... Angela Thirkell, and PG Wodehouse.

 

Which books or authors you thought you'd never read and were pleasantly surprised to like them? Dodger by Terry Pratchett. He doesn't write in any of my usual genres. I liked his writing though and will pickup more books by him.

 

One book that touched you - made you laugh, cry, sing or dance! Can't we talk about something more pleasant? Aging parents is such a hard topic.

 

Share your most favorite character, covers and/or quotes? Well, well, well. Are you really giving me a change to share quotes when you know I read PG Wodehouse and every word he writes is quotable?!?! I will try to limit myself but basically I suggest you start at page 1 and read to page 256 to get a few good quotes.

 

“I'm not absolutely certain of the facts, but I rather fancy it's Shakespeare who says that it's always just when a fellow is feeling particularly braced with things in general that Fate sneaks up behind him with the bit of lead piping.â€

- Bertie Wooster

 

...

 

What books would you recommend everybody read? Everything that PG Wodehouse wrote.

...

Aging parents ... definitely cry-worthy...

 

I read both Wodehouse and Thirkell this year. Old standby comfort books in my family. I am not surprised you were ok with Terry Pratchett. He writes Pooh style, too. Heyer and Ibotson do in spots, as well, I think. And Douglas Adams. I always say I read for plot, not writing, but looking at the list of my favourite books, I guess that is clearly not the case. (McKillip is right up there with Pooh and Wodehouse.) Maybe it is character development that I don,t read for lol. So... Who else have you found that writes like Wodehouse?

 

Love that quote. : )

 

Nan

[Nan in Mass]

I recommend instead The Song of Robin Hood: http://www.amazon.com/Song-Robin-Hood-Anne-Malcolmson/dp/0618071865

--compiled by Anne Malcolmson and beautifully illustrated by Virginia Lee Burton, whom you will remember from Mike Mulligan and his Steam shovel, etc. These are the original Robin Hood ballads which form the source material for the story versions of Robin Hood, with the language modernized just enough, and traditional English music provided for the ballads. (One of the tunes in fact is seventeenth-ventury recorder music composed by Samuel Pepys whose Diary I'm now reading.) Besides being More Authentic--high on the list of all WTMers, I know--the songs are a lot of fun.

Oh oh oh! I wish I,d found this when my sons were small. I know a few old Robin Hood songs and sang them, but not many. And we love Virginia Lee Burton. I try to follow her rules for her women,s artists group - old fashioned but practical.

 

Nan

 

PS we did the Pyle version and liked it. It wasn,t a read aloud.

[Nan in Mass]

Oh, and I would like to recommend Spotter,s Guide to North American Birds by Burton to any very new Birders. It is a quarter of an inch thick and only contains the birds you actually see. Or a pamphlet from your local nature center, for similar reasons. I also want to second Jane,s advice to think about whether you want to bird by sight or by ear. By ear is more practical if you live in the woods, but takes some training. Peterson has a tutorial. You probably need a tutorial rather than a guide, unless your ears are already well trained. Something else to remember is that some people find photos easier for id,ing, while others do better with a drawing. Check out Audubon prints. Their strangeness is explained when you actually try to use them as a guide. Just my very unknowledgable beginners advice...

 

Nan

[Mom-ninja.]

 

 

 

 I  googled this and have come up with a bunch of possibilities. Is the book called The Time in Between and the show on Netflix called Between? I wanted to read what it's about but I'm either coming up with the book, different series with the same name from various countries, or "Watch online free" results.

 

 

 

The show on Netflix is called "The Time in Between". If you go to Netflix just type that in the search bar. It's instant play. It's about a young woman's life before and during the Spanish civil war and the beginning of WWII. She starts out a very innocent girl and through circumstances ends up a spy for the Allies. Through choices and consequences her life takes turns she would never have imagined. It's the story of her survival and determination along with a few other female characters. She's the main one but the show illustrates how women are survivors and often stronger than believed to be. It is NOT gruesome and gory like so many movies now. There is a small amount of blood in some scenes but nothing I couldn't handle and I am a HUGE wimp when it comes to gore and disturbing scenes. Nothing like that at all. Just the right amount of suspense. The costumes are amazingly gorgeous. It's in Spanish with English subtitles. 

[Mom-ninja.]

Now books...finished two short books last night. Choosing Home is a collection of essays from SAHMs. I also read Letters from Earth and this makes Richard Dawkins look tolerant. :lol:  Sarcasm does not drip in this short book but pours, floods out. Makes me wonder how it was received back in his day. I know what the backlash and fury would be today if he were alive. 

 

Both very fast reads. 

 

 

Oh, can someone tell me how audible works? You pay a monthly fee and get.....? 

Edited December 29, 2015 by Mom-ninja.

[Onceuponatime]

Now books...finished two short books last night. Choosing Home is a collection of essays from SAHMs. I also read Letters from Earth and this makes Richard Dawkins look tolerant. :lol: Sarcasm does not drip in this short book but pours, floods out. Makes me wonder how it was received back in his day. I know what the backlash and fury would be today if he were alive.

 

Both very fast reads.

 

 

Oh, can someone tell me how audible works? You pay a monthly fee and get.....?

Have I mentioned before that I love Twain?

[Lady Florida.]

:party:  :party:  :party:

 

I finished War and Peace!!!

 

:party:  :party:  :party:

[idnib]

Maybe it is still ok? Maybe it is beyond people to be strong and good every second of their lives. Maybe the book Henry is the person the real Henry wishes he were strong enough and good enough to be, or that he was happy that he managed to be for a period of time, in which case, the book Henry is still worthy of admiration.

 

Nan

 

Yes, it would still be okay. Thank you for injecting some "gray" into my response. Feet of clay and all that...

 

Oh, can someone tell me how audible works? You pay a monthly fee and get.....? 

 

You pay a monthly fee and for that fee you get credits, the number depending on the price you're paying. You trade in credits for audiobooks and I always try and choose more expensive books. There are audiobooks that cost less than a credit, especially if there's a sale, so if you can afford to pay more each month it's better to pay cash for the cheaper ones and save your credits. If you build up 6 credits (at least at my level) they stop selling them to you until you use at least one. Occasionally they have big sales and also free audiobooks. It's a great way to get audio versions of some of The Great Courses. They use your Amazon password if you have one.

 

They have apps for iPhone and iPad and I'm assuming Android and some other platforms. The books stay in your library and you download them to listen. After that I usually delete them from my device to make room. There's also a way to burn them to CDs but I've never done that. The only downside is that you cannot purchase from within their apps, at least the Apple ones. I think Apple had some kind of beef with that. So you must purchase from a browser, but after that they will show up in the app.

Edited December 29, 2015 by idnib

[idnib]

I finished War and Peace!!!

 

:hurray:  :hurray:  :hurray:

[Lady Florida.]

How many books did you read this year and did you meet or beat your own personal goal? 
My goal was 60, and I read 67. That number might go up by one since I'm reading a short historical mystery and will probably finish it soon. I kept my goal low because I knew I wanted to read a few long, and possibly difficult books this year. 
 
I'm not sure how to count re-reads. I listened to the first Harry Potter book, and might finish the second one before the ball drops Thursday night, but I've read and listened to the entire series so many times that I don't feel right counting them in my yearly total. Do you count re-reads? Even very familiar ones?
 
Share your top 5 (or more) favorite books. 
In no particular order -
            
 
The Remains of the Day, East of Eden, Death Comes for the Archbishop, Good Omens, Boardwalk Empire
 
Which books or authors you thought you'd never read and were pleasantly surprised to like them? 
Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. I've tried to read each author in the past, and just wasn't interested. Someone in my book club chose this. We had read several "heavy" books and she felt we needed a light month. I loved it!
 
One book that touched you - made you laugh, cry, sing or dance! 
All three of the Call the Midwife books made me cry. Good Omens made me laugh many times, as did some parts of As You Wish (Cary Elwes' book about the making of The Princess Bride).. 
 
Share your most favorite character, covers and/or quotes? 
I'm not big on either quotes or covers. I suppose Crowley in Good Omens was a favorite character. Also, both Samuel Hamilton and Lee the Chinese-American servant from East of Eden.
 
One book you thought you'd love but didn't? 
I don't know if I thought I'd love them, but ones I thought I'd like better than I did are The Phantom of the Opera, Station Eleven, Unbroken, and The Martian. Still, I liked them enough to finish them. I never feel guilty about abandoning a book. There are too many good books to be read and I'm to old to waste my time on a book I'm not enjoying. Even when I say there were things I disliked about a book, if I finished it that means it had more things I liked than disliked about it.
 
What countries or centuries did you explore? 
Countries/Continents, if I'm not forgetting any -
England, Scotland, Republic of Ireland, Norway, Russia, Germany, Spain, France, China, Italy, Australia, Japan, the U.S., Canada,  parts of South America, Afghanistan, parts of the Middle East, and the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
 
Centuries -
The oldest book written that I read was Don Quixote, early 17th century. The oldest time period I visited was the 16th century and the time of Henry VIII. I spent a good deal of time in the 19th century, either by historical fiction or books published at that time. Second place goes to the 20th century, however I was surprised at how many 21st century books I read this year.
 
What books would you recommend everybody read? 
Some years I read a book or two that I think everyone should read. 2015 was not one of those years. Everyone has different taste in books. There are some I'd recommend to friends whose taste I'm familiar with. I can't say that this year I read any book I think everyone should read. The closest I could come is The Remains of the Day, for its message that we should seize the day, but even then not everyone will like the writing style of that book.
 
What was your favorite part of the challenge? 
The same as most others are posting - this great group of readers! I've read books I never would have considered, thanks to the ladies in this group. I've also read books I would have read but might not have discovered (I can't count how many mysteries AggieAmy and others pointed me towards, that I otherwise might not have found).
 
 

No matter what we read, whether it's fiction or nonfiction, literary or contemporary, historical or futuristic, a chunky book or a cozy, the most important thing is the reading.  For me, reading is as necessary as breathing. It is an escape or should I call it a decampment from the real world. I get rather crotchety without my books.  How about you?

 

Yes, yes, yes! I can't imagine being without something to read.

 

 

If anyone is interested in my full list, here's my 2015 Goodreads page.

[Jane in NC]

:party:  :party:  :party:

 

I finished War and Peace!!!

 

:party:  :party:  :party:

 

Yet another volume that is hanging out in my dusty stacks.  Brava! 

[JennW in SoCal]

 

You pay a monthly fee and for that fee you get credits, the number depending on the price you're paying. You trade in credits for audiobooks and I always try and choose more expensive books. There are audiobooks that cost less than a credit, especially if there's a sale, so if you can afford to pay more each month it's better to pay cash for the cheaper ones and save your credits. If you build up 6 credits (at least at my level) they stop selling them to you until you use at least one. Occasionally they have big sales and also free audiobooks. It's a great way to get audio versions of some of The Great Courses. They use your Amazon password if you have one.

 

They have apps for iPhone and iPad and I'm assuming Android and some other platforms. The books stay in your library and you download them to listen. After that I usually delete them from my device to make room. There's also a way to burn them to CDs but I've never done that. The only downside is that you cannot purchase from within their apps, at least the Apple ones. I think Apple had some kind of beef with that. So you must purchase from a browser, but after that they will show up in the app.

 

Yep -- a nice explanation of the nuts and bolts.  Now for the fun stuff  :D  

 

I just looked at my audible account and was blown away that I've had a subscription for 10 years now!! My college boy and I share our two monthly credits so we can each choose a book we want, though quite often we want to listen to the same titles anyway.  He can download titles to his iPhone from our shared library and my dh downloads a few books also, but I'm not sure how many devices at a time can use my library.

 

The app is a whole lot of fun.  There are statistics of how much you've read (though it didn't transfer when I got a new phone), and badges to earn  such as "the stack" for having a huge library or "weekend warrior" for when you've powered through a book. There is a way to bookmark and write notes about what you're listening to, and there is a sleep timer for those times you want to read at bedtime but know you'll fall asleep. You can choose the audio to fade out and stop after 15 minutes, 30 or 60.  When my ds and I are each reading the same title the app somehow keeps track of where each of us is. It must do that for people who listen on multiple devices, but for my ds and I it winds up creating a friendly competition to see who finishes first! 

 

The sales and member perks are quite good.  I generally buy a book or two per year.  

 

There is a nice, long, sample of each title to listen to before you choose a book. Many classic titles have been recorded multiple times so you can listen and decide whose voice you want to listen to for 20 or 30 hours. There are some really awful ones out there! But there are also many wonderful readers, and sometimes a reader can bring a book to life that I'd never have gotten through in print. 

[Butter]

In case you were wondering, I have decided that folding laundry while standing in the laundry room totally counts as aerobic exercise.  I am apparently the only person in my house who can successfully fold laundry so I've been doing it sitting down since my surgery.  A few minutes ago I folded a load right out of the dryer like I before prolapse.  And now I am in a bit of pain.  There's a lot of bending and twisting to folding laundry.

 

I finished reading History of the Ancient World this morning.  I really do like SWB's writing style.  She makes even deep history accessible.  Man, that was long.  I learned some stuff.  I liked it.

[Stacia]

Jane, I am afraid to even open your hidden section re: H is for Hawk. I think it's a book not for me.

 

Kathy, on finishing War & Peace! I agree w/ you about recommending The Remains of the Day. I remember once reading a review of it that described it as "pitch-perfect" & I think that sums up my feelings about it too.

[Lady Florida.]

The only downside is that you cannot purchase from within their apps, at least the Apple ones. I think Apple had some kind of beef with that. So you must purchase from a browser, but after that they will show up in the app.

 

Yes, that's an Apple thing, not Audible. I can purchase from the app on my android phone.

 

I'm going to go in a different direction with my info. You don't have to have a subscription to be a member. Of course you don't get credits that way, and you don't get discounts on audio books, but depending on how many audio books you actually buy, that might not be a bad thing. You can have an account without a subscription and only buy the occasional book if that works for you.

 

I get a lot of audio books (and ebooks) from the library, and have gone back and forth on Audible membership over the years. Sometimes, after cancelling my subscription they send me "we miss you" specials if I rejoin, and sometimes I take them up on it. I'm currently a member at the lowest level ($14.95 a month and one credit per month) because I want to get all 7 Harry Potter audio books. It's cheaper for me to pay the membership fee and buy them with my credits. The cheapest ones, the first three, are $20.99 for members and $29.99 for non-members. I'd rather pay the subscription and get each one for the $14.95 membership fee.  After 7 months (5 more really because I'm down 2 months already) I'll decide if I want to keep the subscription.

 

They have a lot of free and inexpensive older books/classics too. Whether or not it's worth paying for a subscription is totally based on how much you would ordinarily spend on audio books.

Edited December 29, 2015 by Lady Florida

[Melinda in VT]

I just finished Zorba the Greek. I do not see why people consider this a classic. It's the most anti-female book I have ever read.

[Chrysalis Academy]

I just finished Zorba the Greek. I do not see why people consider this a classic. It's the most anti-female book I have ever read.

 

I abandoned that book very shortly after starting it. I don't get the appeal either.

[Melinda in VT]

I abandoned that book very shortly after starting it. I don't get the appeal either.

It's our current book for my IRL book club, and I forced myself to finish it so I could rant from an informed position. [emoji6]

[Lady Florida.]

I just finished Zorba the Greek. I do not see why people consider this a classic. It's the most anti-female book I have ever read.

 

I haven't tried to read that one, but I've read several classics that after I finished them had me scratching my head and wondering why they're considered classics.

[Chrysalis Academy]

It's our current book for my IRL book club, and I forced myself to finish it so I could rant from an informed position. [emoji6]

 

I hear you. All my one-star reads are things I read for my book group. Otherwise, I'd never finish a book that is heading down that road. It is fun to be the dissenting voice, a position I am in quite often as the rest of my IRL book group is over 65.  Some well over. And a number of them are religious, although in a very mild NoCal way, so we get along all right.  But I do try to filter so I don't say anything offensive. Sometimes that can be quite a dance.

 

I keep editing this post because I'm not trying to sound like I find it difficult to get along with religious people!!! Far from it. But I was raised long enough ago that I try and be respectful to my elders, KWIM? So it can be tricky to be the dissenting voice, disliking something they like, and express it vehemently, yet politely. I feel more of a need to be polite as they are not my peers. If that makes sense.  Ok I'll stop talking now . . .  :leaving:

Edited December 29, 2015 by Chrysalis Academy

[Jane in NC]

Jane, I am afraid to even open your hidden section re: H is for Hawk. I think it's a book not for me.

 

 

Stacia, given the current state of things right now, you may want to avoid H is for Hawk.

 

The book is about several things:  a woman overcoming her grief after the death of her father, falconry and T.H. White.  White had a wretched childhood and sought solace as Helen MacDonald did in falconry.  But falconry is a bloody sport.  Frankly that part of the book did not bother me--but it may not be the sort of thing you will want to read at the moment.

 

I don't think that I was as taken by H is for Hawk as many of the reviewers were but I think it is because I am not convinced that falconry is noble. Falcons are not domesticated animals yet they have been trained for human use.  The shelter where I volunteer has a glove trained hawk, an animal that cannot be released into the wild because of a wing injury.  It goes on educational visits to schools and environmental fairs where it rests on a perch or a person's arm.  The shelter has a permit from the feds to use the bird in this type of educational venture.  But even though it is somewhat acclimated to humans, it spends most of its life in a pen where people cannot see it.  Essentially it is still a wild bird.  The idea of having a bird like this in a living room while watching television (as the author does) rather appalls me.

 

The author describes the symbiotic relationship of a falcon and its human.  I want to honor cultural traditions where falconry is a part of life--but I am just not sure that this is the best for a wild creature that will never become domesticated. 

 

That is my issue, Stacia.  I would be interested in how others in this thread read the book.

 

[Kareni]

Last night I finished the contemporary romance Revealed to Him by Jen Frederick; I enjoyed it even if it does strain credulity.  It does contain significant adult content.

 

"Handsome and tough Jake Tanner, a veteran and the owner of a successful security firm, never lets his past hold him back. Despite his prosthetic hand and foot, women swoon over him—and with him between the sheets. Yet Jake feels bored and restless…until he’s hired to protect a beautiful writer whose life is in terrible danger.

 

Self-imprisoned by the fear of the anonymous stalkers who threaten her life, video-game writer Natalie Beck now only dreams of the world outside her pink-bedecked apartment. Trusting people again is off-limits. But the more time Jake spends with her, the more his professional commitment evolves from simple duty to scorching desire. While deeply sensual sparks ignite between the two, the danger outside circles closer. Will Jake’s intense devotion be enough to save Natalie? Or will she turn away from the one man willing to do anything to save her?"

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

[Robin M]

Well, my goodness.  I just took a look at my grand reading plans for 2015 and discovered I only read one of the books in my five categories of Dusty, Chunky, Luke, Translated and Philosophical.  I usually don't plan out what I'm going to read and this is exactly the reason why.  My year took off and I never looked back, too busy with writing and classes and reading whatever books called my name. Yes, I'm a mood reader so don't know why I bothered to make any plans.  Unfortunately, I didn't keep very good track of what I read when but managed to put together the list.    I'll post it later for those who don't click outside the forum. 

I'm reminded of Robert Burn's poem To the Mouse in which he says  "The best laid plans of mice of men often go awry."

I did end up reading more nonfiction thanks to my writing studies as well as historical books with James.  Which lead to discovering some very interesting creative nonfiction writers and opening up a whole new world.   Writing studies took a front seat this year and finished my writing group's reading of The Making of a Story: A Norton Guide to Creative Writing by Alice LePlante.  Also completed

Charles Baxter – The Art of Subtext
Constance Hale -  Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wicked Good Prose
Dinty Moore  -  Rose Press Field Guide to Flash Fiction
Madison Smart Bell – Narrative Design
Peter Turchi – Maps of the Imagination

Statistics wise, I read 110 books and listened to 17 audiobooks out of which 36 are female authors, 15 male authors and 15 new to me authors.  I reread 5 different series including Ilona Andrews Kate Daniels, Anne Bishop's Others, Keri Arthur'sDark Angels,  Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter and Karen Marie Moning's Fever series.   Pretty sure I ended up reading more e-books than physical books because my stacks haven't shrunk at all. In fact, my books had babies and the babies had babies.  I leaned toward more comfort reads with the majority being paranormal, urban fantasy, or military romances with a few suspense novels thrown in for good measure. 

Hard to say what my top five favorites are. However I fell in love with Karen Marie Moning this year and read the Feverseries twice and listened to all the stories on audiobook as well.  Anne Bishop's Other series comes in a close second with J.R. Ward's Black Dagger brotherhood series right behind. 

An author and book that I'd never thought I'd ever read is Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time.  I read Volume 1: Swann's Way this year and liked it enough to continue with Vol 2: In the Shadow of Young Girls in 2016. 

The book that made me cry - Dean Kootnz last book in his Odd Thomas series, Saint Odd.  I'll miss Odd.  Also Hampton Sides true life adventure In the Kingdom of Ice. The book that made me laugh  - it's a tie between the men of  Black Dagger Brother hood and M.L. Buchman's fire fighters in his Firehawks series.  The book that was most  touching - Carrie Ann Noble's The Mermaid's Sister. The series that has me spellbound - Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. I finished # 4 Shadow Rising and #5 Fires of Heaven and look forward to reading the next two in the series during 2016

Where did my armchair travels take me this year:  The Arctic ocean and frozen tundra to Russia, Europe, England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, Netherlands, Japan, China, as well as the United States. It's possible I hit South America at some point, but the visit was very fleeting.  *grin*

 

 What is my favorite part of the challenge - All of you of course!   :grouphug: and  :wub:  :cheers2:

[Robin M]

Here's the List:

 

Non Fiction - Writing Studies

 

1. Alice La Plante -  The Making of the Short Story
2. Charles Baxter – The Art of Subtext 
3. Constance Hale -  Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wicked Good Prose 
4. Dinty Moore  -  Rose Press Field Guide to Flash Fiction
5. Dorothea Brand -  Becoming a Writer 
6. Madison Smart Bell – Narrative Design
7. Peter Turchi – Maps of the Imagination
8. Ray Bradbury  -   Zen in the Art of Writing

 

Non Fiction - Other

 

1. George Rauch  - A Jewish Soldier in Hitler's Army 
2. Hampton Sides - In the Kingdom of Ice
3. Joachim Fest - Inside Hitler's Bunker 
4. Temple Grandin  - The Way I See it 

Fiction

 

1. Agatha Christie -  Murder on the Orient Express,  #10 Poirot
2. Anne Bishop – Written in Red,   #1 Others 
3. Anne Bishop - Murder of Crows,  #2 Others
4. Anne Bishop - Vision in Silver,   #3 Others
5. Beverley Swerling -   Bristol House 
6. C.S. Lewis – Out of the Silent Planet
7. Carrie Anne Bishop - The Mermaid's Sister
8. Cassandra Clare - The Clockwork Angel,   #1 in infernal devices series
9. Cindy Gerard  -  Running Blind,   #2 One Eyed Jacks
10. Cleo Coyle  -  Billionaire Blend,  #13 Coffee House Mystery 
11. Dashiell Hammet  -   Maltese Falcon 
12. Dean Koontz - Frankenstein: The Dead Town,  #5 Frankenstein
13. Dean Koontz - Saint Odd,  # 7 Odd Thomas
14. Dean Koontz - Dark Rivers of the Heart
15. Dean Koontz – Ice Bound
16. Devon Monk – Infinity Bell, # 2 House Immortal 
17. Devon Monk – Crucible Zero, # 3 House Immortal
18. Diana Gabaldan -  Voyager,  #3 Outlander Series 
19. Diana Rowland – Vengeance of the Demon, # 7 Kara Gillian
20. Elizabeth Hunter -  Irin Chronicles: The Secret 
21. Emily St John Mandel -  Station Eleven 
22. Faith Hunter – Dark Heir, # 9 Jane Yellow Rock 
23. Grady Hendrix  - Horrostor 
24. Haruki Murakami -  Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World 
25. Ilona Andrews - Magic Bites, #1 Kate Daniels) (Reread 1 – 6)
26. Ilona Andrews – Magic Burns #2
27. Ilona Andrews – Magic Strikes #3
28. Ilona Andrews – Magic Bleeds #4
29. Ilona Andrews – Magic Slays #5
30. Ilona Andrews – Magic Rises #6
31. Ilona Andrews – Magic Breaks # 7
32. Ilona Andrews - Magic Shifts #8
33. Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities
34. J.D. Robb - Obsession in Death, #40 In Death 
35. J.D. Robb - Devoted in Death, #41 In Death
36. J.R. Ward - Dark Lover,  #1 Black Dagger Brotherhood
37. J.R. Ward - Lover Eternal, #2
38. J.R. Ward - Lover  Awakened, #3
39. J.R. Ward - Lover Revealed, #4
40. J.R. Ward - Lover Unbound,  #5
41. J.R. Ward - Lover Enshrined, #6
42. J.R. Ward - Lover Avenged, #7
43. J.R. Ward - Lover Mine, #8
44. J.R. Ward – Lover Unleashed, #9
45. J.R. Ward - Lover Reborn, #10
46. J.R. Ward – Lover at Last, #11
47. J.R. Ward – The King, #12
48. J.R. Ward – The Shadows,  #13
49. Jayne Castle - The Hot Zone
50. Jennifer Estep - Spider's Trap, #16 Elemental Assassin  
51. Jim Butcher - Fool Moon, #2 Dresden Files
52. Julie Ann Walker -  Hell or High Water,   # 1 Deep Six 
53. Julie Ann Walker -  Too Hard to Handle, # 8 Black Knight series
54. Karen Marie Moning-  Darkfever - #1 Fever series 
55. Karen Marie Moning - Bloodfever, # 2 
56. Karen Marie Moning – Faefever #3
57. Karen Marie Moning – Dreamfever #4
58. Karen Marie Moning -  Shadow Fever, # 5
59. Karen Marie Moning  - Iced, # 6 
60. Karen Marie Moning -  Burned # 7 
61. Kat Richardson -  Greywalker, #1 Greywalker
62. Kate Morton – The Forgotten Garden 
63. Kay Hooper – Sleeping with Fear, # 9 Bishop SCU 
64. Keri Arthur -  Memory Zero,  #1 SpookSquad
65. Keri Arthur  - Generation 18,  #2 
66. Keri Arthur -  Penumbra,  #3 
67. Keri Arthur – Darkness Unbound #1 Dark Angels Series (reread 1 – 6) 
68. Keri Arthur – Darkness Rising # 2
69. Keri Arthur – Darkness Devours #3
70. Keri Arthur – Darkness Hunts #4
71. Keri Arthur – Darkness Unmasked #5
72. Keri Arthur – Darkness Splintered #6
73. Keri Arthur - Darkness Falls # 7
74. Keri Arthur – Fireborn,  #1 Souls of Fire 
75. Keri Arthur - Wicked Ember's, #2  Souls of Fire.  
76. Kevin Hearne - Hounded  
77. M.L.Buchman – Hotpoint, #1 Firehawks
78. M.L.Buchman - Wildfire at Dawn,  #2 Firehawks
79. M.L.Buchman – Wildfire at Larch Creek,  #7 Firehawks 
80. M.L.Buchman – Wildire at the Skagit, # 9 Firehawks
81. M.L.Buchman - Light up the Night,  #11 Night Stalkers
82. M.L.Buchman - Bring on the Dusk, #15 Night Stalkers
83. M.L.Buchman – Target of the heart, # 17 Nightstalkers
84. Marcel Proust - Swann’s Way
85. Mariah Stewart – Moon Dance, #3 Enright 
86. Marjorie Liu - Labyrinth of Stars 
87. Marliss Melton – Show No Fear, # 7 Navy Seals
88. Melinda Leigh -  She Can Run
89. Melissa Olson -  Dead Spots
90. Nalini Singh - Angels Blood, #1 Guild Hunter (reread 1-5)
91. Nalini Singh - Archangel's Kiss, #2
92. Nalini Singh - Archangel''s Consort, #3
93. Nalini Singh - Archangel's Blade, #4
94. Nalini Singh - Archangels Storm, # 5  
95. Nalini Singh - Archangel's Legion,  #6 
96. Nalini Singh - Archangel's Shadows.  #7 
97. Nalini Singh - Archangel’s Enigma,  # 8 
98. Nalini Singh - Shield of Winter, #13 Psy Changeling
99. Nalini Singh - Shards of Hope, #14 Psy Changeling 
100. Nora Roberts -  Stars of Fortune,  #1 Guardian
101. Qiu Xiaolong -  A Case of Two Cities 
102. Robert Jordan - The Shadow Rising,   #4 Wheel of time
103. Robert Jordan - Fires of Heaven, #5 Wheel of time
104. Robert Lewis Stevenson - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
105. Robin Carr – The Promise, # 5 Thunder Point
106. Robin Sloan - Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore
107. Roxanne St. Claire – Barefoot with the Bodyguard, # 1 Barefoot Bay Undercover
108. Sarina Bowen -  The Year we Fell Down
109. Tracy Chevalier - The Girl with The Pearl Earring
110. Vicki Petterson -  The Lost

 

Audiobooks

1. Arthur Conan Doyle - The Lost World
2. Benjamin Hoff - Tao of Pooh  
3. Karen Marie Moning - Fever Series
4. Rick Riordan - Red Pyramid, #1 Kane Chronicles
5. Rick Riordan - Throne of Fire, #2
6. Rick Riordan - Serpent's Shadow, #3
7. Rick Riordan - Mark of Athena, #3 Heroes of Olympus
8. Rick Riordan - House of Hades, #4
9. Rick Riordan - Blood of Oympus, #4
10. Rick Riordan - Percy Jackson's Greek Gods

 

[Robin M]

Quotes deserved their own post!

 

 

Shield of Winter #13 in Psy/Changeling series by Nalini Singh

 

 

"We all have to live with our past, but it doesn't have to define us."

 

 

 

Vengeance of the Demon # 7 in Kara Gillian series by Diana Rowland

 

"No" I said with force.  "No,that's total hogwash.  You can't compare your trauma or grief to anyone else's.  Telling yourself that you have to smile through your pain because the guy next to you has it worse is as dumb as refusing to be happy because the other guy is having a better day."  I stabbed a finger at him.  "Don't invalidate your own feelings."

 

 

Raising Cain, #1 Key Guardian's by Kelli Ireland

 

 

"Remember that faith never abandons hope, particularly in its darkest hour."

[aggieamy]

Thanks to MMV who reminded me that Amy asked this question last week:

 

 

You received some really good advice already.  I want to second buying a local bird book.  When I first became interested in birds, I was using one of the general guides and was often dismayed when I would identify a bird in my backyard that was not found east of the Mississippi.  My mother in law, an accomplished natural scientist, gave me a book on the birds of the Carolinas.  It continues to be a useful guide.

 

Some serious birders may turn you off.  I don't keep a life list.  I am amazed by people who can recognize hundreds of birds on the basis of their calls. Finding people who want to share their love of birds with you is not too hard.  Perhaps some of the nature preserves or gardens near you have bird walks. This is a great place to start as they may have spotting scopes and know the right places and right time of year to see certain birds.

 

The Golden Guides are wonderful for children!  Buy Chews on Books the Golden Guide to birds and then go to a park.  Learn together.

 

Your local resources may include a natural history museum.  Winter visitors to my island home include a number of terns. I can tell a tern from a seagull but was unable to tell the various terns apart despite staring at drawings and photos in books.  So I went to the "hands on" room at the Natural Science Museum in Raleigh where they have stuffed birds in drawers.  I took out every tern so I could really see them, touch them.  The curator taught me a chestnut:  The sandwich tern has mustard (splash of yellow) on his beak.  He did me a good turn.  ;)

 

Thank you Jane (any everyone else!) for all the advice.  Right now in the midwest we're a little bit light on birds but I think we'll have some local bird books in the Easter baskets this year.  I can't wait!

 

Aging parents ... definitely cry-worthy...

 

I read both Wodehouse and Thirkell this year. Old standby comfort books in my family. I am not surprised you were ok with Terry Pratchett. He writes Pooh style, too. Heyer and Ibotson do in spots, as well, I think. And Douglas Adams. I always say I read for plot, not writing, but looking at the list of my favourite books, I guess that is clearly not the case. (McKillip is right up there with Pooh and Wodehouse.) Maybe it is character development that I don,t read for lol. So... Who else have you found that writes like Wodehouse?

 

Love that quote. : )

 

Nan

 

Looks like I'm adding Ibotson and McKillip on my list of authors to read in 2016 because I'm not familiar with them. 

 

I haven't found anyone that can hold a candle to the humor I find in Wodehouse.  Some of the zany situations (aka the end scene in Unknown Ajax) that GH writes can be funny but it's not the same.  Then I have friends who will read his books and tell me, "Meh.  I guess I did chuckle a few times."  I'm absolutely amazed because they'll be talking about the same book that when I read it I was laughing so hard I had tears running down my face.

 

I hear you. All my one-star reads are things I read for my book group. Otherwise, I'd never finish a book that is heading down that road. It is fun to be the dissenting voice, a position I am in quite often as the rest of my IRL book group is over 65.  Some well over. And a number of them are religious, although in a very mild NoCal way, so we get along all right.  But I do try to filter so I don't say anything offensive. Sometimes that can be quite a dance.

 

I keep editing this post because I'm not trying to sound like I find it difficult to get along with religious people!!! Far from it. But I was raised long enough ago that I try and be respectful to my elders, KWIM? So it can be tricky to be the dissenting voice, disliking something they like, and express it vehemently, yet politely. I feel more of a need to be polite as they are not my peers. If that makes sense.  Ok I'll stop talking now . . .  :leaving:

 

I have to laugh a little bit about this.  My calmest most laid back group of friends are the ones I'm in book club with.  The loudest and angriest arguments I've had with my friends have been in book club.  We don't go fist to cuffs or cuss at each other but anything else goes!

[Mom-ninja.]

I read 18 fiction books and 34 non fiction. I am always heavy on the non fiction. It's an issue I have. 

 

Guess what I found on accident? A book (by Pratchett) that is a book referenced in one of his books. The book Snuff the main character reads a children's book to his son written by Ms. Beedle. The book is The World of Poo and I am going to read it.  :laugh:

[Mom-ninja.]

Yes, that's an Apple thing, not Audible. I can purchase from the app on my android phone.

 

I'm going to go in a different direction with my info. You don't have to have a subscription to be a member. Of course you don't get credits that way, and you don't get discounts on audio books, but depending on how many audio books you actually buy, that might not be a bad thing. You can have an account without a subscription and only buy the occasional book if that works for you.

 

I get a lot of audio books (and ebooks) from the library, and have gone back and forth on Audible membership over the years. Sometimes, after cancelling my subscription they send me "we miss you" specials if I rejoin, and sometimes I take them up on it. I'm currently a member at the lowest level ($14.95 a month and one credit per month) because I want to get all 7 Harry Potter audio books. It's cheaper for me to pay the membership fee and buy them with my credits. The cheapest ones, the first three, are $20.99 for members and $29.99 for non-members. I'd rather pay the subscription and get each one for the $14.95 membership fee.  After 7 months (5 more really because I'm down 2 months already) I'll decide if I want to keep the subscription.

 

They have a lot of free and inexpensive older books/classics too. Whether or not it's worth paying for a subscription is totally based on how much you would ordinarily spend on audio books.

This is what I'm wondering. I have an account (through) Amazon. I was wondering what the deal was with a subscription. We also get all of our audio books from libraries. However, every now and then I can't get one. 

[Stacia]

I couldn't end the year on 71 books; I had to make it to 72. Lol.

 

I sat down & read José Eduardo Agualusa's A General Theory of Oblivion this evening. (This is by the author of another favorite of mine, The Book of Chameleons.)

 

Loved it. A compelling & circular tale set during the years from Angola declaring independence from Portugal & the ensuing decades of civil war. A gem of a story. This goes on my list of favorites for 2015.

 

On the eve of Angolan independence, an agoraphobic woman named Ludo bricks herself into her Luandan apartment for 30 years, living off vegetables and the pigeons she lures in with diamonds, burning her furniture and books to stay alive and writing her story on the apartment’s walls.

Almost as if we’re eavesdropping, the history of Angola unfolds through the stories of those she sees from her window.

 

Because both Pam & my dh gave me copies of this, I have an extra one to share. If any of you would like a copy of it, please let me know & I'll get it in the mail to you!

Edited December 30, 2015 by Stacia

[-M-]

How many books did you read this year?

I completed 137 books this year. I actually read many, many more (I am an unrepentantly promiscuous reader, bouncing from one book to another, leaving a trail of only just begun, unfinished, and nearly finished books in my wake), but for the purposes of the “Book a Week†program, I listed only books read cover-to-cover. Of those 137 books, 57 were novels (excluding graphic works), nine were plays, 30 were non-fiction titles (again, excluding graphic works), and 41 were graphic works – three of which were non-fiction.

 

 

Did you meet or beat your personal goal? 

My chief goal for 2015 was to read from the shelves of my home library. Although I’ve certainly reduced my, ahem, acquisition habit, I have much room for improvement. Enough said. 

 

 

Share your top five (or more) favorite books read in 2015. 

Best Fiction Read in 2015:

â–  Did You Ever Have a Family (Bill Clegg; 2015. 304 pages. Fiction.)

â–  The Other Side of the Mountain (Michel Bernanos; 1967 (2007 edition). 116 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Hermine (Maria Beig; 1984 (2004 translation). 186 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Fates and Furies (Lauren Groff; 2015. 400 pages. Fiction.)

â–  The One and Only Ivan (Katherine Applegate; 2012. 336 pages. Fiction.)

â–  My Wish List (Gregoire Delacourt; 2014. 176 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Passing (Nella Larsen; 1929 (2003). 160 pages. Fiction.)

â–  The Expendable Man (Dorothy B. Hughes; 1963 (2012). 264 pages. Fiction.)

 

Best Play Read in 2015:

â–  Marjorie Prime (Jordan Harrison; 2013. Drama.)

 

Best Non-fiction Read in 2015:

â–  Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End (Atul Gawande; 2014. 304 pages. Non-fiction.)

â–  Somewhere Towards the End: A Memoir (Diane Athill; 2009. 192 pages. Non-fiction.)

 

Best Graphic Work Read in 2015:

â–  The Collected Essex County (Jeff Lemire; 2009. 512 pages. Graphic Fiction.)

 

Honorable Mention in Fiction:

â–  The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson; 1884 (2012). 144 pages. Fiction.)

â–  Private Peaceful (Michael Morpurgo; 2003. 202 pages. Fiction.)

â–  The Water Knife (Paolo Bacigalupi; 2015. 384 pages. Fiction.)
â–  The Subprimes (Karl Taro Greenfeld; 2015. 320 pages. Fiction.)

 

Honorable Mention in Non-fiction:

â–  The Psychopath Test (Jon Ronson; 2011. 288 pages. Non-fiction.)
■ So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed (Jon Ronson; 2015. 304 pages. Non-fiction.)

 

Honorable mention in Graphic Work:

â–  Killing and Dying (Adrian Tomine; 2015. 160 pages. Graphic Fiction.)

 

 

Did you read any books that you thought you would never read? Were you pleasantly surprised? 

It’s not so much that I thought I’d never read Naked Statistics: Stripping the Dread from the Data; it’s more that statistics is not a topic that appeals to me. This book was really quite terrific, though – informative, accessible, and interesting. Charles Wheelan’s gift is presenting difficult material in a “sticky†manner: Long after I had read Naked Statistics, I remembered concepts and examples.

 

 

List a book that touched you, that made you laugh, cry, sing or dance.

Quite simply, Maria Beig’s 1984 novel Hermine is perfect.

 

 

Share favorite characters, book covers, and/or quote(s).

From page 154 of that book:

Earlier, years earlier, she had tried to tell that kind of story, to explain that kind of experience to other people and herself. In the best cases she had reaped incomprehension for her trouble, more usually disapproval, ridicule most often of all. Inside of her she had a secret chamber for such things. What had happened to her today was already within, and the door shut tight.

 

 

List a book you thought you would love but didn’t.

Ah. That would be Roger Rosenblatt’s slim volume, Kayak Morning: Reflections on Love, Grief, and Small Boats. It is said that each of us experiences grief differently. Agreed. No judgment. Let’s just say that I had thought Rosenblatt and I would have more in common than we actually do.

 

 

What countries or centuries did you explore? 

I didn’t participate in this aspect of the challenge.

 

 

What book(s) would you recommend everybody read? 

If this question refers to books read this year, I’d like to recommend that any reader who has decided graphic works are not for her must read one or both of the following two books:

 

â–  The Collected Essex County (Jeff Lemire; 2009. 512 pages. Graphic Fiction.)

â–  Killing and Dying (Adrian Tomine; 2015. 160 pages. Graphic Fiction.)

 

Folks who already appreciate graphic works but missed these two titles are also urged to add them to their library holds.

 

What was your favorite part of the challenge? 

Reading, of course, but also listening in on the virtual discussion.

Edited December 30, 2015 by M--

[Robin M]

You all are amazing.

 

Kudos to everyone for meeting or exceeding their own goals.  I seem to recall when we first started back in what 2009, several saying they'd never be able to read 52 books.  :thumbup:

 

:hurray: Rose, Rosie, Jane for finishing History of the Medieval World  and Butter for finished History of the Ancient World.  

 

Beautiful poem, idnib

 

Eliana - For me, reading Khora was an extreme sport.  I was glued to the page, I was stretched to my limits and beyond, I was straining to contain a world of allusions and connections and reflections... and when I finished I experienced and intense exultation.

 

For all these years I've asserted that I don't do risk, I don't get a thrill from adreniline rushes... and all this time I've been lying to myself because my form of risk taking, my extreme sport is all in my head.

 

...and now I get it.  If that is what a racer, a gambler, a spy, a mountian climber experience, *no wonder* they do it. 

 

 

What a great epiphany!  

 

 

Carol in Cal - Glad you decided to join in 2016

 

 

Kathy  :hurray: Congratulations on finishing War and Peace!  

I'm not sure how to count re-reads. I listened to the first Harry Potter book, and might finish the second one before the ball drops Thursday night, but I've read and listened to the entire series so many times that I don't feel right counting them in my yearly total. Do you count re-reads? Even very familiar ones?

 

Kind of,sort of, may be.  I don't count it after I've read twice.  By that time it has become a comfort read.  

 

 

Jane:  The app is a whole lot of fun.  There are statistics of how much you've read (though it didn't transfer when I got a new phone), and badges to earn  such as "the stack" for having a huge library or "weekend warrior" for when you've powered through a book. There is a way to bookmark and write notes about what you're listening to, and there is a sleep timer for those times you want to read at bedtime but know you'll fall asleep. You can choose the audio to fade out and stop after 15 minutes, 30 or 60.  When my ds and I are each reading the same title the app somehow keeps track of where each of us is. It must do that for people who listen on multiple devices, but for my ds and I it winds up creating a friendly competition to see who finishes first! 

 

The sales and member perks are quite good.  I generally buy a book or two per year.  

 

There is a nice, long, sample of each title to listen to before you choose a book. Many classic titles have been recorded multiple times so you can listen and decide whose voice you want to listen to for 20 or 30 hours. There are some really awful ones out there! But there are also many wonderful readers, and sometimes a reader can bring a book to life that I'd never have gotten through in print. 

 

 

What Jane said. Definitely listen to the samples and make sure you are getting the unabridged versions as well. 

 

 

Melinda in VT:  I just finished Zorba the Greek. I do not see why people consider this a classic. It's the most anti-female book I have ever read. 

 

 

Uh oh!  It's in my stacks. Good to know. 

 

I'm in awe at all your booklists.  My wishlist is going to expand exponentially 

 

[Rosie_0801]

Did you meet or beat your personal goal? 

My chief goal for 2015 was to read from the shelves of my home library. Although I’ve certainly reduced my, ahem, acquisition habit, I have much room for improvement. Enough said. 

 

Me too! And somehow the stacks are still taller than they were at the beginning of the year. I really don't know how this happens! *  :Angel_anim:

 

 

 

*​Oh, I remember now. There was a book sale. They were selling books that had been on my wish list for years. I really can't blame me for that.

[Robin M]

I failed with WEM reads this past year so my interest in reading Margery Kempe's autobiography has been renewed with this article from Atlas Obscura. 

 

Since we were just talking about audiobooks - bookriots favorites of 2015

 

 

For those who like fantasy/sci fi - tor has Books to look forward to the first half of 2016 which includes Marie Brennan's latest in her Lady Isabella Trent's series.

 

And you'll be interested to hear that my son has discovered Dr. Who and I watched it for the first time the other day.  Yes, where have I been?   :lol:

[Robin M]

Did you meet or beat your personal goal? 

My chief goal for 2015 was to read from the shelves of my home library. Although I’ve certainly reduced my, ahem, acquisition habit, I have much room for improvement. Enough said. 

 

I tried this past year, but they do have a habit of reproducing, kind of like tribbles!  

 

 

 

ETA! 

 

16 New Year's Resolutions only book nerds can relate to

Edited December 30, 2015 by Robin M

[Rosie_0801]

I failed with WEM reads this past year so my interest in reading Margery Kempe's autobiography has been renewed with this article from Atlas Obscura. 

 

And you'll be interested to hear that my son has discovered Dr. Who and I watched it for the first time the other day.  Yes, where have I been?   :lol:

 

Wild mystic? What a romantic way to say she was suffering postpartum psychosis and needed drugs that wouldn't be invented for centuries.

 

Need this? http://www.whoclass.com

[Jane in NC]

Small correction to one of Robin's posts above: Jenn is our Audible gal, not me.

[redsquirrel]

I will do a run down tomorrow or by the end of the week/year. But, I wanted to note that I finished Purity by Franzen. It actually flew by.  It might be because it was suspenseful or because, while over 500 pages, it was still shorter than A Brief History of Seven Killings, lol.

 

I am finishing up Gloria Steinam's My Life on the Road very soon. I don't want it to end, I am just loving this book! I have had the pleasure of hearing Gloria Steinam speak a couple times and have participated in a small group discussion with her, and even got into a mild debate with her over Bill Clinton, lol. She is very smart and warm and it comes across in her writing.

[idnib]

I'm going to go in a different direction with my info. You don't have to have a subscription to be a member. Of course you don't get credits that way, and you don't get discounts on audio books, but depending on how many audio books you actually buy, that might not be a bad thing. You can have an account without a subscription and only buy the occasional book if that works for you.

 

I didn't even know you could get books without a subscription. I'll keep mine but that's good info to know.

 

 

 

*​Oh, I remember now. There was a book sale. They were selling books that had been on my wish list for years. I really can't blame me for that.

 

If you're looking for someone to blame you, I'm pretty sure you'll find you're in the wrong place. :-)

[Kareni]

Earlier this evening I finished the contemporary romance The Muse (An Irresistible Novel) by Anne Calhoun.  This book has a lot of erotic content, but it also has depth.  I enjoyed it.

 

"Arden MacCarren can’t afford to lose control. Her family’s investment house has failed, their professional reputation is all but destroyed, and it’s up to Arden to hold the line. The only distraction she allows herself is a weekly drawing class where she can forget everything. Then she meets Seth Malone. When he poses in her class, strong, mysterious, and unbearably sexy, she can’t resist him. The only thing she can do is keep it purely physical—no emotions, no strings, and definitely no telling.

Seth understands responsibilities, both Arden’s and his own. During his last tour as a Marine he lost his best friends to an IED. He has a duty to look after his buddies’ survivors. All he allows himself is the stolen moments with Arden. But as he’s drawn into Arden’s battle with her demons, he comes face-to-face with his own. Seth will have to choose between a duty he can’t ignore and the longing to inspire Arden’s every desire—mind, soul, and body…"

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

[Nan in Mass]

Thank you Jane (any everyone else!) for all the advice. Right now in the midwest we're a little bit light on birds but I think we'll have some local bird books in the Easter baskets this year. I can't wait!

 

 

Looks like I'm adding Ibotson and McKillip on my list of authors to read in 2016 because I'm not familiar with them.

 

I haven't found anyone that can hold a candle to the humor I find in Wodehouse. Some of the zany situations (aka the end scene in Unknown Ajax) that GH writes can be funny but it's not the same. Then I have friends who will read his books and tell me, "Meh. I guess I did chuckle a few times." I'm absolutely amazed because they'll be talking about the same book that when I read it I was laughing so hard I had tears running down my face.

 

 

I have to laugh a little bit about this. My calmest most laid back group of friends are the ones I'm in book club with. The loudest and angriest arguments I've had with my friends have been in book club. We don't go fist to cuffs or cuss at each other but anything else goes!

Just so you are warned, McKillip isn,t funny. Just writing that amazes me. It,s actually pretty plain writing, if you look at only a bit, but the bits put together ...

 

Nan