Book a Week 2016 - W1: Happy New Year!!!!

[idnib]

I finished Between the World and Me yesterday. Anyone want to discuss? I know Jane is reading it, anyone else? I think there's one or two more people....

Edited January 8, 2016 by idnib

[Butter]

Happy birthday Rosie!

[Chrysalis Academy]

I finished Between the World and Me yesterday. Anyone want to discuss? I know Jane is reading it, anyone else? I think there's one or two more people....

 

I read it (actually listened to it) just a couple of weeks ago, so I'm in.

[Robin M]

Happy birthday Rosie.

 

Hugs and cheers and best wishes!

 

Hope you had (have) an awesome day!

[Lady Florida.]

In case you haven't ventured out to the Chat Board -

 

Happy Birthday Rosie!  :party:  (even though it's not your birthday anymore where you live  :laugh: )

[MaeFlowers]

 First, Happy Birthday, Rosie! I hope you have a wonderful birthday full of love and joy.

 

 

I think one of the difficulties with the story is because its quite early, you don't get the more modern ways of conveying thoughts like inner diologue, or even just letting the reader figure things out based on teh action.  Everything that the author wants the reader to see is spoken aloud.  CHristian is as much a literary device as a real person.

 

I think I realized this as I moved through the story. I thought there was more underlying the story but as I progressed, it really wasn't that deep. He wanted to get his beliefs across, nothing more.

 

 

[Kareni]

Happy (belated) birthday, Rosie!!!

 

I hope the coming year will bring you joy and peace of mind.

 

 

***

 

Last night I finished Abigail Roux's Cross & Crown (Sidewinder Book 2) which I enjoyed.  It's the second in a spin off series from the Cut and Run series, and I think you'd be wise not to start with this book as you'd miss out on a lot.  (Adult content.)

 

"When Nick O'Flaherty arrives at the scene of a double homicide to find he has a witness to the crime, he thinks it’s his lucky day. But when he realizes his witness is suffering from amnesia and can’t even remember his own name, Nick wishes he’d gone with his gut and put in for vacation time.

Then Nick’s boyfriend and former Recon teammate, Kelly Abbott, joins him in Boston, and Nick finds his hands a little too full as the case and his personal life collide. The witness he’s dubbed “JD†is being tailed by Julian Cross, a retired CIA hitman. To complicate matters further, JD forms an attachment to Nick that Nick struggles not to respond to as they search for the key to JD’s identity.

Trying to determine whether JD is friend or foe as they investigate the crime puts them on the trail of a much older mystery. When multiple attempts are made on their lives, Nick is forced to turn to old enemies and new allies to solve a centuries-old crime before he and Kelly get added to the history books."

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

[Bluegoat]

 First, Happy Birthday, Rosie! I hope you have a wonderful birthday full of love and joy.

 

 

 

I think I realized this as I moved through the story. I thought there was more underlying the story but as I progressed, it really wasn't that deep. He wanted to get his beliefs across, nothing more.

 

I think it's one of those books that can really benefit from a commentary.

 

 

 

Also - Happy birthday Rosie!

[SKL]

Hi guys.  I just finished Sycamore Road by John Grisham, so now I'm back to Rabbit, Run by John Updike

 

Sycamore Road was a good read for those who like that type of novel.  I like to buy this kind of book when I'm traveling as it tends to be a relatively quick read.  This book is a sequel to A Time to Kill.

 

I also started a spreadsheet to keep track of my reading this year.

[Stacia]

Happy Birthday, Rosie.

 

[idnib]

I think it's one of those books that can really benefit from a commentary.

 

My copy (Oxford World Classics) had extensive commentary, and I read it with a guided discussion group. I definitely got something out of reading the book and I'm glad I read something rather foundational, but my opinion of Bunyan's motivation remains the same. Just curious, did you have a different interpretation?

[purpleowl]

I set aside the two books I was in the middle of so that I could read one from the library - As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of the Princess Bride, by Cary Elwes.  It was a fun, light read, and it makes me want to both watch the movie again and read the book again.  So I might do that.  And this is why I haven't finished that J. I. Packer book despite starting it months ago - I keep picking other things to read in the meantime, lol!

[Mesamin]

I finished Mansfield Park and loved it.  I relate to Fanny perhaps a little too much in not wanting to draw attention to myself but still be useful.  LOL  I've known Brusts for most of my life and so am going to finally read a Steven Brust novel- the one he wrote when he was 19(I think), To Reign in Hell. I haven't a clue if I'll like it or not.

[Lady Florida.]

I think one of the difficulties with the story is because its quite early, you don't get the more modern ways of conveying thoughts like inner diologue, or even just letting the reader figure things out based on teh action.  Everything that the author wants the reader to see is spoken aloud.  CHristian is as much a literary device as a real person.

 

Also, I don't think Bunyan really understood what an allegory is. He beats you over the head with his "allegory".

[PeacefulChaos]

OMG I made it!!  Whew!!

 

I hadn't even attempted to read through this since I last posted, like, 5 days ago.  :lol:  I knew I'd want to be looking up books at the same time, etc, so yeah.  I think I was last on about page 4-5.  :D

 

 

This thread moves so fast and it's hard to keep up with all the conversations!

 

I finished A Pilgrim's Progress last night. I was slightly frustrated with this book. Okay, a lot frustrated with this book and, in particular, the main character, Christian. I guess I should state that I come from an Episcopalian family. Actually, a half Episcopalian, half Baptist family. Either way, the fundamentalist/evangelical tone rides roughshod against my personal belief system. Given that Bunyan was an adversary of the CoE, I was expecting this.

 

Anyway, that's actually not why I struggled with the book. I am hoping that someone here has read it, studied it, and can give me more insight into Bunyan's intentions. I struggled with Christian. I struggled with how he dealt with other pilgrims he came across, specifically those who were also Christian. He was quick to point out the ways in which they were "wrong" and had no problem chastising them for their faults. He was not kind, nor gracious and often did nothing more than rebuke them. Oft times, he gossiped about them with the companions he deemed worthy. Then, he would fall into the same sin in which he rebuked them for. He would be woeful of his sin, and be saved by something or someone but he did not seem to learn from it. Instead, he seemed to become only more self-righteous with time. I kept thinking this was intentional by Bunyan. That Christian would meet Humility before he was able to enter into the Celestial City but that time never came. He made it into the city without humility. He made it into the city with that giant log in his eye. So, did Bunyan intend this? I honestly don't think he did. I think he wholeheartedly believed Christian was truly in the right in all that he did.

Pilgrim's Progress is on my list for this year.  I've actually never read it before and wanted to give it a go.  I've heard the above about it a lot, it'll be interesting to read it, at least, to see what I think . 

 

Okay, Star Wars fans I need some help. Dh is interested in reading some of the Star Wars books. We both tried to look them up and were overwhelmed. Anyone know where he should start? I thought I'd ask here first, and if there aren't enough SW geeks on BaW I'll post on the wider Chat board.

 

The Thrawn trilogy is decent.

Beyond that... well.

There's one book that is pretty much universally hated because it was. so. bad.  The Crystal Star, I think it is?  It's just really terribly done.

 

Aside from those, if you get into some of the later stuff, the New Jedi Order, etc, there are a lot of books out there but they aren't all that well written or interesting, tbh.  The overarching story is decent but sometimes it gets lost in the details of the books.  Link has asked to read all of them sitting on my shelves and I was like, look, first finish the other stuff on the shelves lol... then if you want to try a SW book you can, but be aware that they can get reeeeeaalllly boring.  :lol:

 

 

Whew.  SO MANY BOOKS ADDED TO MY LIST!!!  This is so exciting!  :lol: :D  :party:

 

 

 

I'm still on Captivating.  Sigh.  :lol:  No, really, I do want to finish it.  It just isn't nearly as exciting as some of my other books are.  :D  

 

Oh, speaking of, my gift card kerfuffle got all fixed and my Gma sent me the new gift card on Tuesday?  Or so?  And I bought LOTS OF BOOKS and ALL BUT TWO CAME TODAY!!!!  YAY!!!  :D

 

So yeah, I'm excited.  :lol:

[Rosyl]

I finished my first book of the year.  1.  Crucial Conversations

[Robin M]

How did your day go?   My husband and I just finished having a meeting with our At&T (now called YP) advertising rep.  They have a new program where they make up fake phone #'s for both the phone book and internet ads so they can track how and where your businesses phone calls and internet traffic is coming from. And hey, they've spent millions of dollars so they know what they are doing and they know best. 6 phones books with 6 different numbers, all on the internet as well along with a fake website with two different numbers showing up.  

 

Um...   What don't you understand about phone books being out there forever with a fake number that will disappear after a year. Err....   What don't you understand about people who call using their cell phone, who store the number, then hey the number has been disconnected because we decided not to continue the add next year. Um.... What don't you understand about the landing page, now a website with our address, except ending in biz, showing up on google search, now competing with our real website. (which works perfectly well).    We've had the same phone # for 28 years and it's basically part of our identity and you want to destroy that.   Thanks, but no thanks.  We're stuck on one small town phone book, but for the rest we managed to stop the idiocy,   I'll relax when she provides us with the corrected ad copy.    

 

 

 
I hope Jenn and Robin are safe in their unexpected torrential rain.

Thank you, dear.  We had a dry day today, quite crisp and cold, with more rain in store for tonight and tomorrow.   

 

I've reached page 258 in A Suitable Boy.  Took a break and read Jayne Castle's (aka Jayne Ann Krentz) Deception Cove, part of her Rainshadow paranormal series.  

 

 

 

And just because I finished reading Proust -- David Bowie Answers the Famous Proust Questionaire.

 

 

Edited January 9, 2016 by Robin M

[Nan in Mass]

Happy Birthday, Rosie. We listened to part of Snuff in the car today and I thought of you and your mum. Maybe I should save a few Pratchetts to read aloud to mine when we get to that stage instead of giving them to her to read to herself now. I,d enjoy reading them aloud and I alrady know she,d like it.

 

Nan

[Violet Crown]

I will take you up on your challenge. I am having a hard time getting started on any book at the moment. I've got an extra child at home starting this week, a one year old, and I think somehow my brain is a little fried. I can't seem to settle on anything. So - a challenge is a good thing.

 

I'll have to find the book - I suspect I can probably borrow it from my parish library, otherwise it may be an ILL. (Or, I can bite the bullet and spring for a university library card.)

A one year old! An extra one? Fostering? Well anyway that would indeed cut down on reading time.

 

I'm envious that you have a parish library. What a civilized thing. We have a little gift store....

 

Just now reading Sermon 5, "Self-Denial the Test of Religious Earnestness." While stuffing myself with leftover King's Cake. On a Friday.

[Angelaboord]

Can I just say that I have been enjoying checking in with this thread periodically at night when I am too tired to read an actual book? The only problem with that is I am also usually too tired to write any coherent replies.

 

Jane, I have not been able to bring myself to pick up H is for Hawk again to finish it. Instead I am in the middle of Ancillary Justice and also On Immunity by Eula Biss. I'll probably talk myself into finishing H is for Hawk soon, though; I think my problem is that I've mostly decided how I feel about it 3/4 of the way through.

 

Also, Kareni (I think it was you!) thank you for posting the 2016 titles from Fantasy Cafe. I was surprised to see a friend of mine, Karin Lowachee, mentioned. I knew she was working on another book in the Warchild universe, but I didn't know it was that close to being released! Warchild was my favorite of the series, and I think Warboy loops back to that one. I am also planning to catch up with Robin Hobb's Fitz and the Fool series shortly. Fitz has always been one of my favorite characters in fantasy fiction, but I haven't read the first two books in her new series and now I guess #3 will be coming out this year.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[idnib]

Ok, y'all, Between the World and Me. I must admit I've been reluctant to discuss it because who am I to comment on the black experience, you know?

 

I found this to be a very powerful and moving book but also an unfulfilling one. I agree with 95% of what Coates says, so if the below sounds critical, I am only focusing on the areas of the book that gave me pause, perhaps because I am a child of Asian immigrants.

 

While Coates gave more than a passing nod to the diversity of places like NYC and Paris, he ignored the increasing numbers of Asians, Hispanics, etc. as a percentage of the population, across the entire country and not only in metro areas, and what impact they may or may not have on the race discussion. (Although to be fair, he says he doesn't really talk about race, that it is white people who brought race into it.) Regardless...that same wonder he felt about those "melting pot" cities years ago doesn't seem to have moved forward and been applied to our increasingly diverse country. He talks about the need for whites to change while not giving any ideas, which is fine, as I suspect he has some ideas but wanted to be true to the "letter to his son" format and laying out "to do" items doesn't really fit into that. But I do wish he had addressed the increasingly multi-cultural country in which his son finds himself. What are the obligations and roles of newly arrived immigrants? Refugees? I don't believe it's as clear-cut as he wants it to be. I wish it were.

 

 

 

Overall it was a fantastic book and I cried through much of it. The most intense and vivid part for me, in a book full of those types of moments, was the following passage:

 

 

Here's what I would like for you to know: In America, it is traditional to destroy the black body —it is heritage. Enslavement was not merely the antiseptic borrowing of labor—it is not so easy to get a human being to commit their body against its own elemental interest. And so enslavement must be casual wrath and random manglings, the gashing of heads and brains blown out over the river as the body seeks to escape. It most be rape so regular as to be industrial. There is no uplifting way to say this. I have no praise anthems, nor old Negro spirituals. The spirit and soul are the body and the brain, which are destructible—that is precisely why they are so precious. And the soul did not escape. The spirit did not steal away on gospel wings. The soul was the body that fed the tobacco, and the spirit was the blood that watered the cotton, and these created the first fruits of the American garden.

 

I was also deeply affected by another passage:

 

 

Slavery is not an indefinable mass of flesh. It is a particular, specific enslaved woman, whose mind is active as your own, whose range of feeling is as vast as your own; who prefers the way the light falls in one particular spot in the woods, who enjoys fishing where the water eddies in a nearby stream, who loves her mother in her own complicated way, thinks her sister talks too loud, has a favorite cousin, a favorite season, who excels at dressmaking and knows, inside herself, that she is as intelligent and capable as anyone.

 

[Butter]

I saw my doctor this afternoon.  I've healed really well.  Everything looks great in there.  She removed four or five stitches that were barely hanging on and said there are two left still, but they should come out before long.  6 weeks is on the long side for stitches to still be there, but it happens sometimes.  She was thrilled that I've done two taekwondo classes with no trouble.  I can now do anything I want as long as it doesn't hurt and just listen to my body.

[Lady Florida.]

I saw my doctor this afternoon.  I've healed really well.  Everything looks great in there.  She removed four or five stitches that were barely hanging on and said there are two left still, but they should come out before long.  6 weeks is on the long side for stitches to still be there, but it happens sometimes.  She was thrilled that I've done two taekwondo classes with no trouble.  I can now do anything I want as long as it doesn't hurt and just listen to my body.

 

Great news!

[JennW in SoCal]

There are 2 more hours left in your birthday, Rosie, at least here on the eastern rim of the Pacific!  So I'm adding my Happy Birthday to the chorus, just under the wire!  You international gal -- getting a full 24 hours of birthday greetings from across the globe!

 

                                                           :party:  :party:  :party:   

[Rosie_0801]

I just finished reading 'Shadow of a Dark Queen' by Raymond E. Feist. I haven't read any of his in years and I like them. :) I have the second one ready and waiting, but I'm going to have to see if the librarians can order the third and fourth volumes in from somewhere for me. It'd be just agonising if I couldn't get a hold of them!

[TeacherZee]

Happy Birthday Rosie!

[linders]

This short read is a gem!!! I picked it up one afternoon this week, done the next morning, even with interruptions.

 

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, by Gabrielle Zevin. Sort of a love story, about people, about books. When I finished I wanted so much to go to the fictional Alice Island and meet the characters!

[Ellesmere]

I have always been intimidated by these book a week threads. And I have always wanted to join.

 

Started and finished a book this week (The Greenglass House by Kate Milford) - - it is a middle grade book, so it was easy. But it felt long. I was reading it ahead of giving to my oldest to see how it handled a sensitive family topic.

 

I have two other books going, one almost finished and one just started. Between this and Project366 (photography), I am not sure how I will keep up with either. But I learn so much on these threads and try to check in on them. :)

[Shawneinfl]

Anyone else excited that tomorrow is Sunday and the start of a new thread? Whew.

[Butter]

Anyone else excited that tomorrow is Sunday and the start of a new thread? Whew.

 

Yes!  I was wondering if this was the longest BAW thread ever.

[Nan in Mass]

I finished Mansfield Park and loved it. I relate to Fanny perhaps a little too much in not wanting to draw attention to myself but still be useful. LOL I've known Brusts for most of my life and so am going to finally read a Steven Brust novel- the one he wrote when he was 19(I think), To Reign in Hell. I haven't a clue if I'll like it or not.

I identify with Fanny, too. I like that she is clearsighted, humble, and passive, just trying to make herself the best she can be. I know this is not a popular way of changing the people around you, but it sometimes seems like the only ethical and practical way of doing it. Sara Mitter talks about this in Darma,s Daughters. She quotes an unnamed European woman married to an Indian and observing teenage Hindi brides adjusting to their new lives: "Two things were bound to happen. The greater the girl's innate but undeveloped capacity for individual choice, volition, and action - all tendencies sharply deprecated . . . By those who surround her - the deeper the sublimation of these qualities and the more intensely did she finally throw herself into forms of expression of exactly opposite characteristics: unquestioning obedience, total abnegation of self-will, tireless service, lack of iniyiative. The greater her frustrated urge to outer freedom and independence, the fuller her escape into spiritual submission." Mitter goes on to say, "for the child-wife in India of the 1930s, Sita-like behavior was a way of coping with an inexorable real-life situation, accommodating to what one could not change." I haven,t read widely enough to know how well respected Darma's Daughters is, so I don,t know how true this comment is, but the section of the book on Sita-like behavior stuck with me through the years (i read the book when it first came out, in the early 90s) because I could see so many parallels in other places. My mother-in-law is always quoting the AA advice of changing your own behavior because it is really the only thing you can change. My Buddhist brother-in-law says something very similar. I think of the many christian wives here practising Sita-like behavior in just as extreme a way as the Hindu child brides. Obviously, the emphasis on obeying the authority figures around you even when they are being idiots isn,t something that is always a good idea, but how much choice did Fanny have? And her willingness to try to do what people wanted did allow her to influence them, in the end. I can,t say I would want to be married to Edward, but of all the men in her life, at least he actually listened to her and tried to help her, occasionally.

 

Next up for me is The Martian. My husband finally finished it. : )

 

Nan

[JennW in SoCal]

For our new members who wonder how on earth to get to 52 books in a year, and for all of us who are continually stunned with Eliana's book a day, or Kareni's 2 per day, here is a timely and interesting article from the BBC magazine:

 

How Could I Read More Books?

 

I can post this link again tomorrow when the new thread starts up. I'm not sure how many of us will make it to page 10 of this thread today!

[Runningmom80]

Ok, y'all, Between the World and Me. I must admit I've been reluctant to discuss it because who am I to comment on the black experience, you know?

 

I found this to be a very powerful and moving book but also an unfulfilling one. I agree with 95% of what Coates says, so if the below sounds critical, I am only focusing on the areas of the book that gave me pause, perhaps because I am a child of Asian immigrants.

 

While Coates gave more than a passing nod to the diversity of places like NYC and Paris, he ignored the increasing numbers of Asians, Hispanics, etc. as a percentage of the population, across the entire country and not only in metro areas, and what impact they may or may not have on the race discussion. (Although to be fair, he says he doesn't really talk about race, that it is white people who brought race into it.) Regardless...that same wonder he felt about those "melting pot" cities years ago doesn't seem to have moved forward and been applied to our increasingly diverse country. He talks about the need for whites to change while not giving any ideas, which is fine, as I suspect he has some ideas but wanted to be true to the "letter to his son" format and laying out "to do" items doesn't really fit into that. But I do wish he had addressed the increasingly multi-cultural country in which his son finds himself. What are the obligations and roles of newly arrived immigrants? Refugees? I don't believe it's as clear-cut as he wants it to be. I wish it were.

 

 

 

Overall it was a fantastic book and I cried through much of it. The most intense and vivid part for me, in a book full of those types of moments, was the following passage:

 

 

I was also deeply affected by another passage:

 

I felt this too, but then I decided it's how he sees it, and that's all this book really is.  I think we want it to be something more, because he so beautifully and forcefully conveys the pain of his black experience. I felt like for me, a white woman, who did want the answers to fixing this mess, it is unfair to ask for more, I need to just take it as his feelings on the page.  I was also discouraged that he seems to think it really can't be fixed, that we will just move on to a different "lower class" to step on, but upon really lingering on that, I wonder if he's right.

 

I am going to re read it in a week or two because there are parts I want to dissect.

[Nan in Mass]

I finished my first book of the year. 1. Crucial Conversations

I read that. What did you think?

 

Nan

[Nan in Mass]

I saw my doctor this afternoon. I've healed really well. Everything looks great in there. She removed four or five stitches that were barely hanging on and said there are two left still, but they should come out before long. 6 weeks is on the long side for stitches to still be there, but it happens sometimes. She was thrilled that I've done two taekwondo classes with no trouble. I can now do anything I want as long as it doesn't hurt and just listen to my body.

That,s great!

[Nan in Mass]

Pilgrim,s Progress - My totally uneducated opinion was that although I personally found things like LoTR more inspirational growing up, if my only access to a story which turned the struggle to be good into a quest was Pilgrim,s Progress, I probably would have loved it, unsubtle and judgmental as it is. Anything that made the long weary struggle to good more fun would be nice. And if my whole family had read it, we could have used it as a nice short way of telling each other what we were struggling with and that it would be worth it in the end. After I finished reading the book, it would have lived on in my imagination and any places where it didn,t match my own beliefs would have fallen away and been forgotten. So would the heavyhandedness. It might have been one of the only imaginative books I had access to. The rest might have been more like that giant book of sermons you guys are trying to read through.

 

Nan

Edited January 9, 2016 by Nan in Mass

[Mesamin]

I identify with Fanny, too. I like that she is clearsighted, humble, and passive, just trying to make herself the best she can be. I know this is not a popular way of changing the people around you, but it sometimes seems like the only ethical and practical way of doing it. Sara Mitter talks about this in Darma,s Daughters. She quotes an unnamed European woman married to an Indian and observing teenage Hindi brides adjusting to their new lives: "Two things were bound to happen. The greater the girl's innate but undeveloped capacity for individual choice, volition, and action - all tendencies sharply deprecated . . . By those who surround her - the deeper the sublimation of these qualities and the more intensely did she finally throw herself into forms of expression of exactly opposite characteristics: unquestioning obedience, total abnegation of self-will, tireless service, lack of iniyiative. The greater her frustrated urge to outer freedom and independence, the fuller her escape into spiritual submission." Mitter goes on to say, "for the child-wife in India of the 1930s, Sita-like behavior was a way of coping with an inexorable real-life situation, accommodating to what one could not change." I haven,t read widely enough to know how well respected Darma's Daughters is, so I don,t know how true this comment is, but the section of the book on Sita-like behavior stuck with me through the years (i read the book when it first came out, in the early 90s) because I could see so many parallels in other places. My mother-in-law is always quoting the AA advice of changing your own behavior because it is really the only thing you can change. My Buddhist brother-in-law says something very similar. I think of the many christian wives here practising Sita-like behavior in just as extreme a way as the Hindu child brides. Obviously, the emphasis on obeying the authority figures around you even when they are being idiots isn,t something that is always a good idea, but how much choice did Fanny have? And her willingness to try to do what people wanted did allow her to influence them, in the end. I can,t say I would want to be married to Edward, but of all the men in her life, at least he actually listened to her and tried to help her, occasionally.

 

Next up for me is The Martian. My husband finally finished it. : )

 

Nan

I could seriously kiss you for this Nan.  I liked Edward in the movie better than in the book.

[Nan in Mass]

This short read is a gem!!! I picked it up one afternoon this week, done the next morning, even with interruptions.

 

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, by Gabrielle Zevin. Sort of a love story, about people, about books. When I finished I wanted so much to go to the fictional Alice Island and meet the characters!

Adding this to my to-read list. : )

 

Nan

[Nan in Mass]

I could seriously kiss you for this Nan. I liked Edward in the movie better than in the book.

I,ve been afraid to watch the movie. The reviews made it sound like they had un-passive-ized Fanny, thereby taking away the whole reason I liked the book.

 

Nan

[mumto2]

I have always been intimidated by these book a week threads. And I have always wanted to join.

Started and finished a book this week (The Greenglass House by Kate Milford) - - it is a middle grade book, so it was easy. But it felt long. I was reading it ahead of giving to my oldest to see how it handled a sensitive family topic.

I have two other books going, one almost finished and one just started. Between this and Project366 (photography), I am not sure how I will keep up with either. But I learn so much on these threads and try to check in on them. :)

No one should ever feel intimidated on BaW. We talk about everything here....last spring we discussed rhubarb once, intensely. :lol: We definitely are a group with really varied interests and the threads are a fun read. The more the merrier!!!!

 

  

Anyone else excited that tomorrow is Sunday and the start of a new thread? Whew.

  

Yes!  I was wondering if this was the longest BAW thread ever.

 

 

I just looked up 2015's New Year's thread http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/537918-book-a-week-in-2015-happy-new-year/page-18 It is 18 pages long. We were still at 7 or 8 in February I believe. So this one is short. For the new people we normally settle down to about 3 pages a week. I generally check in over a cup of tea each morning because I like to see what everyone was up to while I was asleep.

 

 

For our new members who wonder how on earth to get to 52 books in a year, and for all of us who are continually stunned with Eliana's book a day, or Kareni's 2 per day, here is a timely and interesting article from the BBC magazine:

 

How Could I Read More Books?

 

I can post this link again tomorrow when the new thread starts up. I'm not sure how many of us will make it to page 10 of this thread today!

That is a great article! Eliana seems to be able to read quickly with amazing retention through most things. Personally I read some types of literature far quicker than others. I noticed one suggestion for faster reading was an e reader. When I get completely bogged down in a paper book I switch to a kindle version if I still want to read the book.

[Nan in Mass]

I have always been intimidated by these book a week threads. And I have always wanted to join.

 

Started and finished a book this week (The Greenglass House by Kate Milford) - - it is a middle grade book, so it was easy. But it felt long. I was reading it ahead of giving to my oldest to see how it handled a sensitive family topic.

 

I have two other books going, one almost finished and one just started. Between this and Project366 (photography), I am not sure how I will keep up with either. But I learn so much on these threads and try to check in on them. :)

Personally, I will not be joining those who are reading the book of sermons grin. Or probably those who are studying geology. Or trying to read more about the drug cartels in South America. My goal is to go back to reading to for escape, the way I did before I got to the homeschooling high school struggle. I am not listing my reading. I am not trying for a specific number of books. Robin,s general suggestions for this year do line up with my goals (more nautical books -YES) but last year they didn,t. People are nice here and will still talk to me. : )

 

Nan

[Nan in Mass]

For our new members who wonder how on earth to get to 52 books in a year, and for all of us who are continually stunned with Eliana's book a day, or Kareni's 2 per day, here is a timely and interesting article from the BBC magazine:

 

How Could I Read More Books?

 

I can post this link again tomorrow when the new thread starts up. I'm not sure how many of us will make it to page 10 of this thread today!

So I want to know how to memorize whole pages. I am so sievebrained.

 

Nan

[Tawlas]

I finished The Man in the High Castle. It dragged a little and at first I wondered what was the point. The story sped up toward the end and finished on a semi- philosophical note. Still I was left wondering what I had just read. My questions were kind of answered when I read the Wikipedia articles on Philip K. Dick and The Man in the High Castle. It helps to know something about the author's personal life and the background behind the writing of the book. One word: drugs. Anyway, in the final analysis, it is a kind of literary "inception" with layers of reality that extend beyond the book.

 

I'm now reading Tisha, the story of a teacher in the Alaskan wilderness, circa 1927. It is an old fashioned story, based on a real person, about a young woman who was ahead of her time, especially regarding the treatment of all people with the same human kindness, regardless of ethnicity. It is dismaying to read about the rampant prejudice against native Americans at the time.

 

Oh! I've read Tisha, such a good book.  I seem to have a penchant for books like this that help me understand the downtrodden.  I read it many years ago, but I've kept it, which I do with very few fiction books.  Only those I think I may read again!  Enjoy!

 

AFM, I've finished When the Moon is Low.  Another book (although this one is pure fiction) that has opened my eyes to the jouretl (literal and figurative in this book!) of downtrodden people - this time refugees. I'm starting Art of Communicating by Thich Nhat Hanh.  At least I'm going to try.  I have a hard time with books that are too vague or "new agey" but this one could be neither lol.  I'm also going to try and finish Pride and Prejudice - it's moving up from the back burner to take When the Moon is Low's place.

 

PS Glad to hear the threads usually get shorter lol  The same thing happens on the accountability thread in General Education.   I enjoy reading what everyone is up to, and I want to keep motivated and inspired, but it cuts in to my book-reading time lol!

Edited January 9, 2016 by Tawlas

[Chrysalis Academy]

I finished Queen of the Conqueror: The Life of Matilda, Wife of William I.  This was a generally clearly written and easy to read account of the life of Matilda. I was particularly interested to read it after finishing The Conqueror, which stopped in 1066, to learn about what happened in William & Matilda's life and family after that.  It fulfilled that purpose. But what I didn't like about the book was the author's use of appositives and other asides to characterize the character of her characters (hee hee) in a way that didn't seem supported by the evidence she presented. For example, in discussing Matilda's support of her son Robert's rebellion against William, the author says "After a quarter century of playing the dutiful wife and consort, Matilda had at last shown her true colors." Wait, what?? This is an overly dramatic characterization not supported by the evidence-why assume that she had been playing dutiful for 25 years, when she was secretly against William all along? It seems much more likely that Matilda's support for her favorite son was a terribly gut-wrenching choice. She sought her husband's forgiveness and did her best to reconcile son and husband, successfully until her death. So in what sense was sending money to Robert showing her "true colors?" Melodramatic quotes and statements such as this really detracted from the quality of the book as a history. This kind of thing was common throughout the book, and disappointing. It had good historical information, and filled the need for which I read it, but I didn't think it was very good history writing. 

 

I also abandoned a historical fiction book from the same period, Jean Plaidy's The Lion of Justice.  I read a lot of Jean Plaidy in my younger years, but she doesn't hold a candle to Georgette Heyer! I found myself too impatient with the book to continue.

 

This is all part of my goal this year to do more read-alongs to complement HotRW.  I'm going to try to read histories or historical fiction, especially about or by female figures, as we read through this time period.  We'll see how it goes.

Edited January 9, 2016 by Chrysalis Academy

[Mesamin]

I,ve been afraid to watch the movie. The reviews made it sound like they had un-passive-ized Fanny, thereby taking away the whole reason I liked the book.

 

Nan

There are changes to alot of the characters and the way the story unfolds but I still like the movie.  Mr Crawford looks absolutely wretched in the movie at one point.  The acting is well done but it is different from the book.

[Angel]

No, it wasn't at all what I expected and yes, I was amazed at what a whiny so and so, the doctor turned out to be.  My husband got an earful while I was reading it.  

 

Aly hasn't finished it yet so I was not able to rant.  :glare:

 

  Victor was a totally irresponsible creator who failed to give the basic iota of consideration to his creation

 

 

But my biggest problem with the book is - I'm not sure that Mary Shelley is as critical of Victor as we are.  I get the sense that she sees him as a heroic figure, and someone to be pitied, which I don't.  

 

Victor doesn't love his creation, doesn't provide him a mate, doesn't fight for his well being.

 

I don't see Victor as having Prometheus-like suffering - he flies from those consequences, and over and over other people suffer, and die, for his cowardice.  (I am not a fan.)

 

As I was reading the first part of the novel, Victor Frankenstein was the epitome of Dr. Ian Malcolm's quote in Jurassic Park, "Um, I'll tell you the problem with the scientific power that you're using here, it didn't require any discipline to attain it. You read what others had done and you took the next step. You didn't earn the knowledge for yourselves, so you don't take any responsibility for it. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could ...  your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should."   Frankenstein never stopped to consider if he "should" take this step.  And then afterwards there is such an utter lack of taking responsibility for his actions!  He is a coward.  Oh, frequently he talks about what he has done, but never to any degree of responsibility.  And I agree with Rose, Shelley seems enamoured with Victor Frankenstein.  I think she goes to great lengths to have other characters in the book praise him.  It's cloying, especially in Walton whose "affections increase every day" for Victor.  He's known him all of 13 days at that point.  Then 43 days from meeting Frankenstein, and after hearing the whole of Victor's abominable tale Walton has this to say, " ...the untimely extinction of this glorious spirit." Truly!?!  Clerval, Elizabeth, his father, all know nothing of Victor's crimes and horrors and cowardice, but Walton, Walton has the full tale!  And he has this to say!  Horrifying!  I find nothing to be pitied in Victor Frankenstein.  All his horrors were brought on completely by his own doing.  I do find pity for the monster, to be left alone with no prospect of companionship.  On a side note, I admit to wanting more of the story of what exactly Victor did to create him.  In the Island of Dr. Moreau we are at least allowed to "see" the horrors he is creating and visualize the story.  A green monster with bolts sticking out the side of his head is so far from the truth here that I wanted more.  

 

Ugh!

 

Here is my quilt!!

It's beautiful!

 

 

As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of the Princess Bride, by Cary Elwes.  It was a fun, light read, and it makes me want to both watch the movie again and read the book again.  

I laughed my way through that book last year!  I did read The Princess Bride afterwards but it fell short for me.

 

I just finished reading 'Shadow of a Dark Queen' by Raymond E. Feist. I haven't read any of his in years and I like them. :) I have the second one ready and waiting, but I'm going to have to see if the librarians can order the third and fourth volumes in from somewhere for me. It'd be just agonising if I couldn't get a hold of them!

I haven't read Feist in years!  Maybe I need to revisit him this year!

[Angel]

There are changes to alot of the characters and the way the story unfolds but I still like the movie.  Mr Crawford looks absolutely wretched in the movie at one point.  The acting is well done but it is different from the book.

 

Be careful of which movie you watch!  The one with Billie Piper is a better adaptation of the story, though Billie Piper may not be the best Fanny.  Not because I don't like her, but she doesn't come across meek enough for me.  I'm not sure where they got some of the scenes for the movie with Frances O'Connor, maybe their imagination!

[mumto2]

I finished Queen of the Conqueror: The Life of Matilda, Wife of William I.  This was a generally clearly written and easy to read account of the life of Matilda. I was particularly interested to read it after finishing The Conqueror, which stopped in 1066, to learn about what happened in William & Matilda's life and family after that.  It fulfilled that purpose. But what I didn't like about the book was the author's use of appositives and other asides to characterize the character of her characters (hee hee) in a way that didn't seem supported by the evidence she presented. For example, in discussing Matilda's support of her son Robert's rebellion against William, the author says "After a quarter century of playing the dutiful wife and consort, Matilda had at last shown her true colors." Wait, what?? This is an overly dramatic characterization not supported by the evidence-why assume that she had been playing dutiful for 25 years, when she was secretly against William all along? It seems much more likely that Matilda's support for her favorite son was a terribly gut-wrenching choice. She sought her husband's forgiveness and did her best to reconcile son and husband, successfully until her death. So in what sense was sending money to Robert showing her "true colors?" Melodramatic quotes and statements such as this really detracted from the quality of the book as a history. This kind of thing was common throughout the book, and disappointing. It had good historical information, and filled the need for which I read it, but I didn't think it was very good history writing. 

 

I also abandoned a historical fiction book from the same period, Jean Plaidy's The Lion of Justice.  I read a lot of Jean Plaidy in my younger years, but she doesn't hold a candle to Georgette Heyer! I found myself too impatient with the book to continue.

 

This is all part of my goal this year to do more read-alongs to complement HotRW.  I'm going to try to read histories or historical fiction, especially about or by female figures, as we read through this time period.  We'll see how it goes.

I am glad it's not just me. I read several Jean Plaidy historical novels when younger and liked them now I hunt for something else when I see she has written one for my desired time period.

[PrairieSong]

For our new members who wonder how on earth to get to 52 books in a year, and for all of us who are continually stunned with Eliana's book a day, or Kareni's 2 per day, here is a timely and interesting article from the BBC magazine:

 

How Could I Read More Books?

 

I can post this link again tomorrow when the new thread starts up. I'm not sure how many of us will make it to page 10 of this thread today!

Thank you so much for this...but, but, Kareni reads TWO per day? Is one of them Richard Scarry or Dr. Seuss? I am gobsmacked. Off to read the article...

[Lady Florida.]

Thank you so much for this...but, but, Kareni reads TWO per day? Is one of them Richard Scarry or Dr. Seuss? I am gobsmacked. Off to read the article...

 

Those who participate in the BaW threads are at different stages in life and our children are at different ages and different homeschooling stages (or in ps, in college, or beyond now). Some have more time to read than others. Some make more time to read. Some read lightly when they get a chance. Some read the heavy stuff but only when they get a chance.

 

I think what so many of us love about these threads is that it doesn't matter if you read a book a week as the title suggests you should aim for, a book or more a day, or a book every other month. It doesn't matter if you read all classics, all non-fiction, a bunch of romance novels, a bunch detective or cozy mystery novels (many of us, including myself fit this category), literary fiction, sci-fi, a mix of many kinds of books and on and on. Some of us participate in all or some of the challenges, others don't at all.

 

There is truly no judgement regarding the number or types of books any of us read. We're just a bunch of people who like to read*, encourage each other to read, and offer and ask for suggestions. 

 

We also cheer each other on and give hugs where needed in the non-reading aspects of our lives.

 

Do I love these threads or what? :)

 

Thank you, Robin! Thank you everyone who participates!  :001_wub:  :001_wub:  :wub:

 

*Even though we all read what we want to, a lot of us have read books we never heard of or would never have considered, if a BaWer hadn't posted about it and recommended it.