Chrysalis Academy Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Arghhh! I'm somehow out of likes, and it's only 9:30!!! I think this is a glitch in the system, surely I wasn't that liberal with my praise already today! But, consider yourselves all liked by me for the rest of the day. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Sweet! Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs was already on my list, as was Shylock is My Name, At the Existentialist Cafe, Zero K, Vinegar Girl, I've now added Homo Deus - super excited about this followup to Sapiens! I notice there was no word about the next George R R Martin Game of Thrones book . . . :toetap05: I saw something today that said he admitted he hasn't written the 6th book yet. That's he's missed deadlines. I read the first couple of books in the series before finding out it wasn't done. Since I always seem to have to reread the older books whenever a new book comes out in a series AND I found out how far behind and long between books this series tended to run, I decided I wasn't going to read anymore until it was finished. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purpleowl Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Here is the pdf file for 52 Books Bingo. Eventually I'll figure out why Word is preventing me from saving it as a picture. :unsure: When I click the link for the pdf, I get an error message saying I don't have permission to view the file. It sounds like other people are able to access it - is anyone else having the same problem as I am? 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Nan, hope your pain abates soon! :grouphug: Heather, how are you doing??? Hoping 2016 is starting off pain-free for you. :grouphug: Ah, but I really do want to join in after lurking! Stacia--I have relied on your book recommendations many times. So thank you for that. Aww, thanks! :blushing: Looking forward to hearing about what you're reading since our reading tastes must overlap some. I've started The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Gabriel Vásquez. (Thank you, idnib! :grouphug: ) This fits in with some of my cartel reading from last year, along with more that I'm planning to read this year. And, it's nice to be starting 2016 with a South American book. I feel like I've neglected South American writers in the past year or two & really wanted to remedy that, so this is perfect. * National Bestseller and winner of the 2014 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award* Hailed by Edmund White as "a brilliant new novel" on the cover of the New York Times Book Review* Lauded by Jonathan Franzen, E. L. Doctorow and many others An Amazon Best Book of the Month, August 2013: Juan Gabriel Vasquez will draw comparisons to other major Latin American icons. But while the influence of Roberto Bolaño, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez are present throughout his second novel, The Sound of Things Falling, he is a unique literary talent. Translated from Spanish (and exceptionally well, at that), Vasquez moves swiftly and subtly, opening in Bogota, Colombia, reflecting on the mid-’70s when the country was being taken over by drug lords and cartels (fueled by the U.S.’s hunger for cocaine). Law professor Antonio Yammara finds his fate intertwined with that of a shady ex-pilot named Laverde. But Things Falling is so much more than a drug story. This is a sensory novel. Antonio wrestles with the way he interprets by his surroundings, by how the external world affects the internal. “t’s always disconcerting to discover, when it’s another person who brings us the revelation, the slight or complete lack of control we have over our own experience.†The Sound of Things Falling does so much at once: it’s a novel about how the U.S. dangerously influences Latin America, how the present never escapes the past, and how fragile our relationships--romantic and familial--can be. --Kevin Nguyen --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 When I click the link for the pdf, I get an error message saying I don't have permission to view the file. It sounds like other people are able to access it - is anyone else having the same problem as I am? I am able to open it without problem. Do you have the latest version of Adobe Reader on your computer? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Hello everyone! I just finished book 1 of the new year - Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami. For those familiar with his work, this is your typical Murakami - alternate universes, doppelgangers, wells, cats, ears.... You know, all that. It was a nice, comforting book to start with. I've started on The Tunnel, a book of poetry by Russell Edson, and I've got a bunch of other books sitting here for me to choose from: The Blue Fox by Sjon, which I'm thinking I might return to the library to check out again later The Fellowship of the Ring by Tolkien, which my eldest ds is going to read with me You Animal Machine by Eleni Sikelianos, recommended by Stacia The Language Instinct by Stephen Pinker, a nice and easy first book as part of my linguistics goal (below) and one I already own My reading goals for this year: BINGO and some of the monthly authors, definitely including Moby Dick a return to linguistics, including some of my old books from college and some books that look at it from an alternate POV (I saw The Language Animal on the 2016 literary calendar posted by Sadie, so maybe that one will make it in there.) lit. mags and books on writing plenty of short stories and poetry, and some specific novels I'd like to get to I hope you post about your linguistics reading. I have been intrigued by linguistics ever since I took a college linguistic anthropology course. Nan 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 The Blue Fox by Sjon, which I'm thinking I might return to the library to check out again later I have this on my list to read this year (along w/ his other two books too). Also, everyone, I'm already out of likes for right now, so I'll try to catch up on them later when the system lets me be more generous again! Lol. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I have no idea what rabbit rabbit means grin. It is just what you try to remember to say first thing every month and especially first in the new year. Probably if I asked, I would be told "for luck". Except for a few odd things like knocking on wood and throwing salt, which were definitely linked to scary fairies, most of our family traditions have deteriorated into "for luck". Navy beans. Cheap and available and innocuous. My family tends to be suspicious of coloured beans, except for the shell beans in succotash. Even lima beans are viewed with suspicion . : ) Nan 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 (edited) Alrighty. I've put away all the Christmas decorations, cleaned the house and reclaimed my cozy reading and writing spot. Just waiting for the pork chops to defrost and hubby to get back from his 10k walk. Tomorrow will officially be a lazy day and I'll be able to dive into A Suitable Boy. :svengo: Poor Harry! Yep, you'll be waiting awhile. As scotty would say "I'm givin her all she's got, captain." I mean that in the most loving and nurturing way :laugh: Truly, though, Harry has no guidance for book 5, and I suppose some of book 4 as well. Hermione is the only rational influence he gets, and funny enough, Luna. With Dumbledore distancing himself and Sirius wanting to be more of a best friend than a father figure, it is no wonder that Harry is guided by his own interests. It is truly a recipe for disaster, one that, I believe, Dumbledore cannot take total credit for as he tries to do in the book. It kind of wraps back around to that quote of Negin's. People, even fictional heroes, need to take responsibility for their own actions. Now, in Harry's defense, he does ... finally ... but the disasters of being left to his own devices without mature guidance are evident. Love the Star Trek quote! I know you'll persevere! Maybe by the time you are nearing the end, I'll be ready for a reread ;) Meanwhile, who has kids that are attempting 52 books with them? My 21yo dd does it with me. The 15yo kept track of her books in 2015 but wasn't striving for 52. She is starting to show some interest, though, as older dd and I have been discussing our wrap-ups. Angel, thank you. I agree with you completely. It's very frustrating to have to deal with that sort of victim mentality. Living like that and thinking like that is a complete waste of energy. What a sad way to live. I agree! I read the Wheel of Time series years ago. Before the last book came out. One of my goals this year is to reread the entire series so I can finally read that last book. :laugh: If you liked Wheel of Time you might also like the Sword of Truth series. That's what I did when the final book came out, I reread the whole series. I believe that was in 2013. That was pretty much the only reading I did that year :D but is WAS a lot of pages ;) I just added Sword of Truth to my TBR list, thank you. Arghhh! I'm somehow out of likes, and it's only 9:30!!! I think this is a glitch in the system, surely I wasn't that liberal with my praise already today! But, consider yourselves all liked by me for the rest of the day. Me too!!!! I think I got a few in before the error message! I wondered if mine had not replenished completely from yesterday or if there was a glitch. ETA: mum2 - dd kept track of her states this year as well as her countries. I'll try to remember to get the link for you! Edited January 2, 2016 by Angel 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I finally got around to doing my wrap up last night! Luckily the desktop computer had Office :hurray: First the stats... I read 53 books, my goal was 52 so I beat it by one! 47 Fiction books 6 Non-fiction books (which included two biographies) 10 classics 18 rereads 7 Book a Week recommendations 22 male authors (read Dashner more than once) 22 female authors (read Austen, Rowling, and Christie more than once) 20 of my books were set in England :laugh:, with USA and random fantasy worlds the next most visited. I also visited Japan, Greece, Canada, the Caribbean, Turkey, Hungary, Bulgaria, France, The Netherlands, the South Pacific, Iran, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Israel, Egypt, and the Middle East region. I visited the 1st century, the 3rd, the 16th, and then spent the rest of my time in the 19th or 20th. 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Favorite book(s) of 2015 - probably To Kill a Mockingbird and Dear Mr. Knightley Least favorite book - Brave New World Top 6 favorites - Dear Mr. Knightley To Kill a Mockingbird The Historian The Best Christmas Pageant Ever Sense and Sensibility Be Committed Top 2 least favorites - Brave New World The Red Badge of Courage One book you thought you'd love but didn't - The Princess Bride - the actual story of Buttercup and Westley was good, trying to figure out all the extraneous writing, not so much. A book that touched you - As You Wish made me laugh out loud, a lot! So did Arabella, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, and Pawn of Prophecy Dear Mr. Knightley touched me though I can't articulate why To Kill a Mockingbird moved me as well as the book mockingbird, a fictional tale of a girl with Asperger's. New to me author - Menna van Praag - a style similar to Sarah Addison Allen and one I'm looking forward to reading more of Longest books I read - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire The Historian Shortest books - Pygmalion and The Strange Library Most unputdownable book - Dear Mr. Knightley - read it in less than 24 hours Books that had the greatest impact - To Kill a Mockingbird mockingbird Be Committed The New Testament (KJV) I recommend everyone should read To Kill a Mockingbird Favorite characters - Flavia, as always Hermione, as always Atticus Finch and The Herdman's Best new series - I didn't really read any new series this year, except for The Maze Runner trilogy, and it certainly wasn't what I would call "best" :laugh: Best book out of my comfort zone - probably The Wave or The Strange Library Book I'm looking forward to the most - the newest Flavia Favorite part of challenge - having somewhere to discuss books! and accountability! and new books to explore! and making some great new friends! and Stacia and Rose would say the very few times that I was stretched out of my comfort zone :lol: 18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Best book out of my comfort zone - probably The Wave or The Strange Library Book I'm looking forward to the most - the newest Flavia Favorite part of challenge - having somewhere to discuss books! and accountability! and new books to explore! and making some great new friends! and Stacia and Rose would say the very few times that I was stretched out of my comfort zone :lol: I didn't read The Wave, but my ds did (& even did a school English project on it). I agree about The Strange Library. I'm a Murakami fan anyway, but this one was strangely compelling for being so short. Is there another Flavia book on the horizon??? (I need to go look.) At this point, I know of the first seven books.... Lol re: stretching out of your comfort zone. Gee, would you have ever imagined that you would like Vonnegut better than Huxley? So it goes, eh? 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Favorite part of challenge - having somewhere to discuss books! and accountability! and new books to explore! and making some great new friends! and Stacia and Rose would say the very few times that I was stretched out of my comfort zone :lol: :hurray: Hear, hear! I read way more contemporary fiction last year, and here I am already looking ahead to a bunch of 2016 releases! That is very new ground for me. And I guess I have to read at least one experimental/postmodern/magical realism thing each year, it must be good for me! :laugh: 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SereneHome Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Oh my goodness, you ladies move fast with the thread. I started Memory Man by David Baldacchi on New Year's Eve - bc who wouldn't want to read a murder mystery? I have Predictably Irrational: The hidden forces that shape our decisions by Dan Ariely and When we were orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro also. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Welcome to all the newcomers! I'm another one who is already out of likes after using about fifteen. Typically I have an almost unlimited supply. Last night I read Anna Bradley's historical romance A Wicked Way to Win an Earl (Sutherland Scandals). It was okay, but it's not a book I'd be likely to re-read. "England, 1811. Delia Somerset despises the privileged ton, but her young sister, Lily, is desperate to escape their family’s scandalous past and join high society. Unwilling to upset her sister, Delia reluctantly agrees to attend a party at the Sutherland estate—and avoid the gossip at all costs.Alec Sutherland is known as a hot-headed scoundrel, but nothing gets a rise out of him as much as the news that his brother desires Delia’s hand in marriage. She is, after all, the daughter of the London belle who soiled their family name. He’s determined to ruin her reputation as well, in the most delicious way possible. It’s only a matter of time before he can woo her with his irresistible advances.As Delia devilishly plays along in Alec’s game, determined to prove the joke is on him, they inch ever closer to repeating history. And in this game of seductive glances, scandalous whispers, and old debts, the outcome might be much more than either of them anticipated…" Regards, Kareni 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 (edited) I finished my first book of 2016, and it's my first (hopefully not last) five-star book of the year. Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe's magnum opus about the effect white men and missionaries had on an African village in Nigeria. Currently Reading: The Age of Reason - Thomas Paine along with the more famous Thomas - Jefferson - are my favorite U.S. founding fathers. In Cold Blood - still, from December A Suitable Boy - actually haven't started yet, but plan to today or tomorrow Swann's Way - I'll be reading Proust with a Goodreads group. Or trying anyway. I couldn't find a link to a Kindle version of the Moncrieff translation. This link is the Lydia Davis translation but I'm reading Moncrieff. I'm finding it less difficult and more enjoyable than I expected. Hercule Poirot, The Complete Short Stories - another holdover from 2015 and one I'm reading slowly. The Fishermen - Reading for an around the world challenge with a Goodreads group. I haven't decided on a number of books I want to read. There are 50 definite books I'm hoping to read. All but 12 are actual titles, and those 12 will be from my IRL book club. I have several long and/or difficult books on my list so I don't want to go overboard and not meet my goal. OTOH, I don't want to set a goal that's too easy for me. I'm thinking I might go with 75 books. While I won't be joining the around the world plan here at BAW, I do plan to join in some of the authors or topics of the month. My main Goodreads group is reading A Suitable Boy as their current chunkster (they call it a door-stopper), so that works out for here too. That same group is doing an ATW challenge of their own, starting in Northern/Western Africa, hence my choices of Things Fall Apart and The Fishermen. Edited January 2, 2016 by Lady Florida 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 (edited) On a different note, my ds has read & really recommends two of the books he received for Christmas. (Fyi, these are adult, not YA, books. He generally doesn't enjoy YA books.) Humans of New York: Stories by Brandon Stanton. He really enjoyed this one & said it ranged from touching & sad to sweet & outright funny.http://time.com/4070556/hony-stories/ A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka by Lev Golinkin. He enjoyed the whole thing & especially liked that it had a happy ending. He's also currently reading My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman. He's enjoying but also says it is a bit sad too. Edited January 2, 2016 by Stacia 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 The Fishermen - Reading for an around the world challenge with a Goodreads group. I saw this on various 'best of' lists for 2015. I even had it from the library at one point but didn't get around to reading it at the time. Looking forward to your review of it. Hoping to get to it myself in 2016. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I hope you post about your linguistics reading. I have been intrigued by linguistics ever since I took a college linguistic anthropology course. Nan Most definitely! I haven't touched the stuff in years, no need and no desire, I guess, but reading Metaphors We Live By at the end of 2015 sucked me back in. Didn't someone need the last three Earthsea books? Trying to clear some shelves here... 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I have this on my list to read this year (along w/ his other two books too). If I see that you've started it, I might join you then. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purpleowl Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I am able to open it without problem. Do you have the latest version of Adobe Reader on your computer? It's not that I can't open the file, it's that I can't GET the file. It's a WTM forum error saying I don't have permission to access the attachment. Is it inside a social group I need to join, or something like that? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Yes! :hurray: Another year, another Murakami. It's a T-shirt waiting to happen. http://www.redbubble.com/people/homework/works/12627557-murakami?grid_pos=4&p=t-shirt https://www.etsy.com/shop/theantianti/search?search_query=murakami&order=date_desc&view_type=gallery&ref=shop_search http://www.amazon.com/Murakami-Japan-Japanese-Unisex-T-shirt/dp/B00HQO1YKS http://www.redbubble.com/people/novalac3/works/18809660-murakami?grid_pos=14&p=t-shirt http://www.zazzle.com/i_read_murakami_t_shirt-235606800434239164 http://www.redbubble.com/people/louweasely/works/12567853-haruki-murakami-book-fan?grid_pos=26&p=t-shirt I think one could amass quite a collection! :thumbup1: 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 It's not that I can't open the file, it's that I can't GET the file. It's a WTM forum error saying I don't have permission to access the attachment. Is it inside a social group I need to join, or something like that? Not sure why you'd be having a problem. Robin did post it on her blog too. Maybe you can grab it/download a copy from there? http://www.read52booksin52weeks.com/p/blog-page_20.html 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted January 2, 2016 Author Share Posted January 2, 2016 When I click the link for the pdf, I get an error message saying I don't have permission to view the file. It sounds like other people are able to access it - is anyone else having the same problem as I am? Let me know if you continue to have issues downloading and I'll email you a copy. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Welcome to all the newcomers! I'm another one who is already out of likes after using about fifteen. Typically I have an almost unlimited supply. I got to give one more like, I was so excited, but now I'm out again. Stupid glitchy likes. I no like! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 http://www.redbubble.com/people/homework/works/12627557-murakami?grid_pos=4&p=t-shirt https://www.etsy.com/shop/theantianti/search?search_query=murakami&order=date_desc&view_type=gallery&ref=shop_search http://www.amazon.com/Murakami-Japan-Japanese-Unisex-T-shirt/dp/B00HQO1YKS http://www.redbubble.com/people/novalac3/works/18809660-murakami?grid_pos=14&p=t-shirt http://www.zazzle.com/i_read_murakami_t_shirt-235606800434239164 http://www.redbubble.com/people/louweasely/works/12567853-haruki-murakami-book-fan?grid_pos=26&p=t-shirt I think one could amass quite a collection! :thumbup1: Oh my! Thank you! I particularly like the shirts on Etsy. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I didn't read The Wave, but my ds did (& even did a school English project on it). I agree about The Strange Library. I'm a Murakami fan anyway, but this one was strangely compelling for being so short. Is there another Flavia book on the horizon??? (I need to go look.) At this point, I know of the first seven books.... Lol re: stretching out of your comfort zone. Gee, would you have ever imagined that you would like Vonnegut better than Huxley? So it goes, eh? I assumed there was another Flavia book...maybe I'm wrong as I can't find it in the January new releases!!! I'm going to be bummed if there is not. And yes, who knew! As crude as Vonnegut was, and though I was full of "why?" questions at the end of the story, it didn't seem pointless. Brave New World was crude, scary, with an ending that was truly pointless and excessive. Shiver. Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe's magnum opus about the effect white men and missionaries had on an African village in Nigeria. I am now intrigued! I didn't know that this was what the book was about. Our friends are currently missionaries in Kenya. They have been horrified by the amount of problems the missionaries and white people that have come before them have caused in the Kenyan society. I am going to put this book on my TBR list. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minerva Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I just joined this group yesterday but am finding myself with book stress. So much to read, so little time! Thanks all for getting me really excited about our year in books. 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I just joined this group yesterday but am finding myself with book stress. So much to read, so little time! Thanks all for getting me really excited about our year in books. :grouphug: Reading for pleasure should never be stressful. Pick one book you'd like to read. Maybe have a back-up in mind in case you don't like the one you chose. Don't feel guilty about abandoning one you aren't enjoying. Pour yourself a cup of tea or coffee, or glass of wine, or whatever is your beverage of choice, then relax and read. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I am going to join you all this year. I am planning on 52 books which I think is doable if I don't fart around. I was planning to start with a biography of Elizabeth May my uncle gave me, but I've managed to misplace it. My other goal is to read quite a few books that I own but have not read, so instead I'm going to start with The Wars by Timothy Findley. I'm not sure where it came from, it may have come along with my dh. It's not long which is nice since I have a cold and am out like a light in the evening. I've made an account at Goodreads under the name Bluegoat if anyone is looking for friends there. I'm off to make squash soup for supper now, with rosemary croutons! 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purpleowl Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Not sure why you'd be having a problem. Robin did post it on her blog too. Maybe you can grab it/download a copy from there? http://www.read52booksin52weeks.com/p/blog-page_20.html Oh, thank you! I took a screenshot of that so I have it on hand. :thumbup1: Let me know if you continue to have issues downloading and I'll email you a copy. Thanks for the offer! I did get it from the blog, but I remain perplexed as to why I can't download. One of the mysteries of life, I guess! ;) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tress Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Let me know if you continue to have issues downloading and I'll email you a copy. I'm having the same problem, 'no permission to access'. Can you email me a copy, too, Robin? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Ambling in to say :seeya: I have no articulated goals for reading this year other than to, you know, do it :lol: Three books on the roster for now...a Charles Lennox mystery (really like this author), The Firebird and the latest Isabel Dalhousie mystery by Alexander McCall Smith. Jane, you know I love your food descriptions and I've enjoyed many a virtual meal with you as a result. I made my mom's tourtiere over the holidays, a French Canadian tradition, spiced meat pie served with a tomato aspic or chutney. It was a big hit and as the spices filled the air I sailed back several decades to the family kitchen and the moist memories it held. We're out of town right now at an annual meditation retreat. Lots of time for reading, hiking, knitting and the like. 20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawneinfl Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I have started a massive cataloging project since I went ahead and downloaded the full version of collectorz.com book collector software. I'm scanning in all the books in my house while listening to SWB's History of the Ancient World on Audible.com. Let's see if I can get the whole project done before the end of the book. :001_smile: :blink: 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I am now intrigued! I didn't know that this was what the book was about. Our friends are currently missionaries in Kenya. They have been horrified by the amount of problems the missionaries and white people that have come before them have caused in the Kenyan society. I am going to put this book on my TBR list. I read Things Fall Apart a couple of years ago as a pre read for dd. We both enjoyed it overall. I learned a great deal from a whole new perspective. Some things I found a bit disheartening from the missionary perspective but I needed to learn them, I think. My dd also does the challenge. She doesn't always post but plans to try to update here a few times this year. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 (edited) A nice list from the Financial Times re: up & coming books for 2016. Lots of great looking books to anticipate! http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/04775680-a508-11e5-97e1-a754d5d9538c.html#axzz3w7vYYH2P ETA: Now, of course, it's tossing me out & telling me I need to subscribe to the site. Wish I would have copied & pasted the list first! Ugh. So, I don't know if any of you will be able to access it or not.... Edited January 2, 2016 by Stacia 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted January 2, 2016 Author Share Posted January 2, 2016 I'm having the same problem, 'no permission to access'. Can you email me a copy, too, Robin? Tress, PM me your email address and I'll send you a copy. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I am now intrigued! I didn't know that this was what the book was about. Our friends are currently missionaries in Kenya. They have been horrified by the amount of problems the missionaries and white people that have come before them have caused in the Kenyan society. I am going to put this book on my TBR list. It takes a long time to get there. Much of the novel is spent showing that there was a thriving society with traditions and rules before the white people arrived. From Wikipedia's page on the author: (Note: I keep trying to increase the font size, but it stays small.) Before Things Fall Apart was published, Europeans had written most novels about Africa, and they largely portrayed Africans as savages who needed to be enlightened by Europeans. Achebe broke apart this view by portraying Igbo society in a sympathetic light, which allows the reader to examine the effects of European colonialism from a different perspective.[6] He commented, "The popularity of Things Fall Apart in my own society can be explained simply... this was the first time we were seeing ourselves, as autonomous individuals, rather than half-people, or asConrad would say, 'rudimentary souls'. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Three books on the roster for now...a Charles Lennox mystery (really like this author), I'll be reading more of this series in 2016. I enjoyed the first one, even with its mildly annoying inaccuracies. Jane, you know I love your food descriptions and I've enjoyed many a virtual meal with you as a result. I made my mom's tourtiere over the holidays, a French Canadian tradition, spiced meat pie served with a tomato aspic or chutney. It was a big hit and as the spices filled the air I sailed back several decades to the family kitchen and the moist memories it held. I enjoy Jane's food posts very much, as well as the responses her posts inspire. We're out of town right now at an annual meditation retreat. Lots of time for reading, hiking, knitting and the like. That sounds like a dream; my idea of a wonderful retreat. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I do like the bingo challenge though as I can do that in Dutch too :) Which most (or all?) the rest of us can't, so you look cool doing it. :laugh: 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 That was one of my mother's favorite books. Every few years I try to read it, and just can't get into it. Maybe I'll try again this year. I may still have her old thrift-store mass market paperback copy around. :-) Maybe you need to spend some time listening to Aussie accents on youtube to get you in the groove. :lol: 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 (edited) I am way behind in the thread because instead of thinking "January 1st" I was thinking of yesterday as "Saturday." Imagine when I checked in this morning for the new thread and it was already so long! I'm going to reply to a few things and catch up later. Welcome all who are joining. :seeya: I joined last year for the first time and it made a difference in the quality of my life. When I was younger I was a voracious reader but with small children and some serious health issues, I was in "survival mode" for several years and not taking as much time to read as I had previously. Then my children grew older and my health issues were better, but I was out of practice and the inertia kept me on the same track. Enter this thread, and I've expanded my horizons, spent much more time (for myself!) in bookstores and libraries again, and found caring souls. So if you're hesitating to join, please don't! I'm so happy I jumped in. I'm starting the year off with The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf. I bought it the day it came out last fall, started it, didn't get very far before I had to set it aside (reluctantly). I loved her book The Brother Gardeners, and enjoyed Chasing Venus. I've been waiting till I can give this one the attention it deserves, and I think it's finally time. A couple of us have The Invention of Nature on our lists. It sounds like a great way to start the year! OK, so I started The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature yesterday. Blatantly copying Chrysalis Academy and planning to read it through the year. Convinced dh to order some copies in to the bookstore. Very happy Jan 1 entry talked about lichen; lichen is very readable to me :) I am also blatantly copying Rose. We went to the beach earlier and looked at the trees and rocks and took pictures of the (sparse) lichen we found. It was mostly on the large rocks the district has placed on the edge of the walking path to separate it from the beach. I think it's too arid to find much lichen around here and if we had more time we would have headed to the forest where I'm sure we would have found more. Ship Fever is by Andrea Barrett whose short story collection, Archangel, was read by a couple of us last year. Her characters are often scientists. Rose and Idnib, you might want to check her out! Thank you Jane, I will. No Country for Old Men (loved the movie) Several of us read this last year and I think we would all recommend it. The writing, while simple, paints a phenomenal picture of ruthlessness on a landscape of West Texas. This has got to be my least-favorite genre. lol I was sad when I ordered my copy of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and it came with an Oprah Book Club stamp. Maybe I'm a bit of a snob about it. I am so liking this idea, but just wanted to double check - we don't have to read the books from the OP list, correct? I already have 5 other different lists going. LOL If you have 5 other lists going, you'll fit right in. Edited January 2, 2016 by idnib 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 (edited) Darlin, know exactly how you feel. The majority of my books are chunksters as well. Small books of 200 pages just don't do for me since I read so quickly. Couple hours and poof, all over. Rather sink my teeth into something longer. Poor Don Quixote - give him more love and you'll finish sooner. He's worth it. Really! :grouphug: OK....I'll do my best.... Thanks for the encouragement! Oh my gosh I hate that book. :leaving: Sorry. I tried starting it a couple years ago and barely made it a few chapters in. Some friends and I tried to start a book club of WEM books and started with that, of all things!! Only one actually read it. I think I ended up skimming the cliff notes version. :D It's not that I hate him, I'm just not sure I love him either. Our relationship? Well....It's complicated.... ;) I finally finished Sense and Sensibility. It was my "on the phone" book and also my "book with antonyms in the title." It truly is a favorite. I identify with Marianne in so many ways and therefore appreciate her growth and maturity through the story so much more. On this second or third reading (can't remember lol), I found so many little tidbits that I appreciated and so many quotes. But I'll only give you my most favorite, "Marianne could never love by halves; and her whole heart became, in time, as much devoted to her husband, as it had once been to Willoughby." :wub: I should have a book cover on Don Quixote that says: I'd rather be reading Sense and Sensibility. Hello! I'm back after hanging out here for about 6 months one year, then disappearing for a while. I still get stuck on "52 books in a year" which I cannot pull off at this stage of life. I know in my head it's not a hard and fast rule but, guess I am a rule follower. :lol: I know the feeling. I tell myself that breaking the "rules" on this thread is my one and only chance to live with reckless abandon... :coolgleamA: It took me forever to finish that book! According to Goodreads I started reading it in 2012 and finished in 2015. :lol: I kept putting it aside for long periods, then I'd forget what I already read and would have to start over. Last year (I typed this year, then realized I needed to change that lol) I was determined to finish it. I'm not sorry I read it but it honestly is one of those classics that had me scratching my head to figure out what's so great about it. I admit I saw some devices that are still used today, and I understand it was the first modern novel, but the story itself? :confused1: That wasn't intended to put you off finishing it, I was just commiserating. I appreciate your thoughts! I only have 100 pages or so left, so I hope to finish it soon. I'm glad I read it, but I'm not sure how many people I would recommend it to. Not many people I know would like it.at.all. The more widely the hive reads, the stronger and wiser the hive mind is, so don,t worry about not reading where everyone else is, either. Outliers make us bigger. : ) Nan Well said! :cheers2: Edited January 2, 2016 by Woodland Mist Academy 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I was sad when I ordered my copy of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and it came with an Oprah Book Club stamp. Maybe I'm a bit of a snob about it. Ah, then it's good that I kept my ancient copy from before Oprah was famous and had a book club! :-) I admit I am a snob about it too. I need to reread that; I have fond memories of it but it's been a very long time. I think I handed it off to my daughter but am pretty sure she hasn't touched it... 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 It takes a long time to get there. Much of the novel is spent showing that there was a thriving society with traditions and rules before the white people arrived. From Wikipedia's page on the author: (Note: I keep trying to increase the font size, but it stays small.) Before Things Fall Apart was published, Europeans had written most novels about Africa, and they largely portrayed Africans as savages who needed to be enlightened by Europeans. Achebe broke apart this view by portraying Igbo society in a sympathetic light, which allows the reader to examine the effects of European colonialism from a different perspective.[6] He commented, "The popularity of Things Fall Apart in my own society can be explained simply... this was the first time we were seeing ourselves, as autonomous individuals, rather than half-people, or asConrad would say, 'rudimentary souls'. I'll have to read the book before I comment further, but our friends are struggling with the stigma that the "white man" will take care of all their wants and needs. Something I guess the British(?) occupation and former missionaries in the area have perpetuated. :wub: I should have a book cover on Don Quixote that says: I'd rather be reading Sense and Sensibility. :001_wub: a kindred spirit!! 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Okay, I'm in. Until a few years ago, I never made any attempt to count or track the books I read in a year. I've always read "a lot." Then I started tracking and was pleased to see the number of titles on my lists grow each year . . . until 2015. I've been working a lot more and dealing with transitioning from SAH(Homeschooling)Mom to empty nester, which is eating a lot of emotional energy. So, I've found myself using more of the time I used to spend reading on watching mindless stuff on screens. I'm determined to reverse the trend in 2016. Last year, I read 51 books. This year, I'm aiming for at least 60, which is not as many as I used to read, but would at least be a step in the right direction for me. I've chosen two challenges to keep me moving forward and, I hope, prevent me from getting "stuck" when I finish one book and can't seem to think of what to read next. I'm doing this one: http://www.popsugar.com/love/Reading-Challenge-2016-39126431 And also this one: http://karensbooksandchocolate.blogspot.com/2015/12/back-to-classics-2016.html There are actually a few items on the two lists that line up or are at least close enough that I will feel okay about checking off both with a single, well-chosen book. With that overlap in mind, I think it works out to 43 categories, which leaves me a nice number of "freebies" to read whatever strikes my fancy and still make my numeric goal. (I know that there are a few books coming out in series I read that don't fit any of the categories on either list.) At the moment, I'm listening to Amy Snow, by Tracy Rees [ http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/amy-snow-tracy-rees/1122858597?ean=9781501128370] from Audible. The reviews compare it to Dickens, Austen and Bronte, and I think those comparisons are apt to a certain extent. It's not a perfect book, but I'm enjoying it very much. I'm also re-reading Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein [ http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stranger-in-a-strange-land-robert-a-heinlein/1100171693?ean=9780441790340]. I remember loving it so much when I read it in my 20s, but I'm finding it pretty dated this time around. 19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 ...... I'm also re-reading Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein [ http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stranger-in-a-strange-land-robert-a-heinlein/1100171693?ean=9780441790340]. I remember loving it so much when I read it in my 20s, but I'm finding it pretty dated this time around. I hate it when this happens. Last year I was looking to significantly edit my books, and so I reread all my Charles DeLint collection, which I loved in high school. It was so disappointing - they all ended up in the book sale. They weren't bad, but they weren't keepers. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted January 3, 2016 Author Share Posted January 3, 2016 (edited) Like everyone else I'm out of likes for the moment so considered yourself liked. I think we get 50 in a 24 hour period so depending on when you use your likes, you get a few back at a time. Waving hello to all our newbies and welcome back to all jumping in again! If you have a blog or website and would to be linked on the sidebar on 52 Books Blog, please let me know. I just spent the afternoon dusting off My Two Blessings with a bit of grumbling thrown in for microsoft retiring picture manager which made it so easy to crop pictures and post them quickly. Speaking of pictures, it's okay to post book covers, but no pictures of cupcakes, celebrities, or kilts unfortunately :thumbdown: Unless you drew or took them yourself. :thumbup1: Still learning the ins and outs of windows 10 and figuring out where it keeps hiding my jpeg files. :svengo: Thanks to windows picture gallery, I'm getting the hang of it. :wub: Edited January 3, 2016 by Robin M 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tawlas Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Haha! Didn't think to say rabbit rabbit. It's a custom I'm aware of, but haven't really been part of (it's good luck to say it in the first of the month - especially before anyone else in your home, and especially on the first day of the first month). Also, I'm in Canada and it's hard to find collards. I can grow them (but have had insect troubles) and I adore them. Especially if made with bacon and a splash of apple cider vinegar and maple syrup. I used to work in an organic produce delivery service and we would get them in every couple of months. Since I've moved, I've had them only once or twice. Gonna put it on my To Grow list right now! 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 (edited) I'm not a snob about Oprah at all - dh and I have had several heated conversations about this :) I'm all for anyone who encourages people at large to read. I agree with you, Sadie. Maybe it helps that I've never watched Oprah? I think she's helped get a lot of people who might not pick up books to do so & that's all good, imo. I don't really keep track of what is or is not an Oprah pick, but I do know I've read some (when I pick up the book at the library, I see the Oprah seal on it). I don't derive my lists from her recs, but I also don't discount something just because she recommended it. I do know one of the Oprah picks I read years ago was Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. It's a fabulous book & has remained one of my favorite books ever. Even though I cull my bookshelves regularly, Middlesex is one book that has always remained firmly on my shelves. Cal/Callie (the protagonist) is one of the best, most well-written characters ever. I truly loved Cal/Callie's "voice" in this book. With all the strides made in the past couple of years re: gender identity, Middlesex would actually be a timely & wonderful book to recommend now. (It was originally published in 2002 & won the Pulitzer Prize in 2003.) For those still compiling reading lists, I would strongly recommend Middlesex! It's a fabulous book. "I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974." And so begins Middlesex, the mesmerizing saga of a near-mythic Greek American family and the "roller-coaster ride of a single gene through time." The odd but utterly believable story of Cal Stephanides, and how this 41-year-old hermaphrodite was raised as Calliope, is at the tender heart of this long-awaited second novel from Jeffrey Eugenides, whose elegant and haunting 1993 debut, The Virgin Suicides, remains one of the finest first novels of recent memory. Eugenides weaves together a kaleidoscopic narrative spanning 80 years of a stained family history, from a fateful incestuous union in a small town in early 1920s Asia Minor to Prohibition-era Detroit; from the early days of Ford Motors to the heated 1967 race riots; from the tony suburbs of Grosse Pointe and a confusing, aching adolescent love story to modern-day Berlin. Eugenides's command of the narrative is astonishing. He balances Cal/Callie's shifting voices convincingly, spinning this strange and often unsettling story with intelligence, insight, and generous amounts of humor: "Emotions, in my experience aren't covered by single words. I don't believe in "sadness," "joy," or "regret." … I'd like to have at my disposal complicated hybrid emotions, Germanic traincar constructions like, say, "the happiness that attends disaster." Or: "the disappointment of sleeping with one's fantasy." ... I'd like to have a word for "the sadness inspired by failing restaurants" as well as for "the excitement of getting a room with a minibar." I've never had the right words to describe my life, and now that I've entered my story, I need them more than ever." When you get to the end of this splendorous book, when you suddenly realize that after hundreds of pages you have only a few more left to turn over, you'll experience a quick pang of regret knowing that your time with Cal is coming to a close, and you may even resist finishing it--putting it aside for an hour or two, or maybe overnight--just so that this wondrous, magical novel might never end. --Brad Thomas Parsons Edited January 3, 2016 by Stacia 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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