Lady Florida. Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 The Diary I just read is abridged. I don't have it in me to slog through all the volumes. While it's full of fascinating and engaging narrative, Pepys didn't write it for publication, and so there's a lot of very abridgeable content also. (The editor btw is the poet Richard Le Gallienne, best known in this house as the father of actress Eva Le Gallienne, who wrote Flossie and Bossie, the best children's book ever.) ETA: I read Journal of the Plague Year last year, and it would be a great companion book for Diary as Pepys lived in London during the Plague and ensuing Great Fire, and writes about them. Thanks. I wasn't sure if I would be missing out on anything with an abridged version, but it sounds like I won't. I'll probably schedule the two as concurrent reads so I can get the most out of both. The Journal of the Plague Year is on my shelf as I just reread Moll Flanders after a 30 year break and since you have been offering tantalizing snippets of Pepys diary, I think these both will definitely have to go on my 2016 list. Thank you. I just read Moll Flanders late in 2015. It was a bit of a let down, though I don't know what I was expecting. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Peeking in... I set an ambitious goal of 100 books this year. My oldest (Sacha -- age [almost] 7) and I just finished the Blackthorn Key. It had good reviews, but I wasn't super into it. Middle grade mystery/historical fiction. We are finishing up All of a Kind Family and beginning The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. I started listening to Fates and Furies on Audible, and quickly realized that this is a book that I want to savor with a physical copy. So, I have set it aside while I am waiting for a copy from the library. I picked up All the Light We Cannot See, and am a good 75 pages into it already. I have enjoyed lurking here for awhile and will do my best to contribute. If you want to friend me on Goodreads, feel free: https://www.goodreads.com/zakoh02 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Thanks. I wasn't sure if I would be missing out on anything with an abridged version, but it sounds like I won't. I'll probably schedule the two as concurrent reads so I can get the most out of both. I just read Moll Flanders late in 2015. It was a bit of a let down, though I don't know what I was expecting. I enjoyed it more the second time around, but I think that is because I am older, a bit more jaded and I am tired of a female protagonist's only options to be either patient, virtuous compliance (Fanny - Mansfield Park) or death under a train. I think of my youngest's outrage at the end of Taming of the Shrew, but I think he has settled for his own ambiguous interpretation. :D Can you put your finger on what made you feel let down? 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Well, my husband pinched my book today, which I was about 1/4 of the way through, and now tells me the last page is missing. Off to the library, I guess. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I've been thinking about it lots lately too. I've decided not to choose many of my teen's books. It's so personal - I have no idea how she will react - now or later. There are a few must reads, but very, very few. I'm trying to give options or leave it entirely up to her. The other day we arrived at the bookstore and went our separate ways. When we met again she had Crime and Punishment in her hands. I would never have chosen that for her holiday reading, yet she read it in 3 days and was captivated. She knew much better than I what she needed at that moment. I read The Little Guide to Your Well-Read Life several years ago. It may be time for me to read it again as high school weighs heavily and the walls of various lists begin to close us in.. My mother could be quite prudish about many things, but she is a reader and never, ever, censored my choices. She put good books in my hands and let me loose. I am grateful for that. I will occasionally tell one of my kids that they may want to read a particular book when they are older, but the choice is up to them. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeacefulChaos Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Just checking in! I don't have time to read through the thread since I was last on here but wanted to say I did finish This Present Darkness yesterday, so that's one down. And I still have several days of Week 1 left! Woohoo! :lol: Seriously, though, those older books of Peretti's are some that are nearly impossible to put down once you get started. So it's not surprising that I finished in a couple days. I started re-reading Captivating tonight. I have always had to take the book with a grain of salt - this time I'll be deciding if it's a keep it or sell it book. :lol: 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 Good evening. Just doing a quick drive by before I close up shop and head home for the day. Powerful conversations - :grouphug: Brainpickings once again has me adding to my wishlist and thought I'd share the wealth. Much to think about with this post - 16 Elevating Resolutions inspired by some of humanities Great Minds. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 (edited) :grouphug: There are over 300 responses in this thread that talk primarily about how words move us, change us, help us grow, help us grieve, and help us become one step closer to our truer selves. I think I am stating the obvious, but Eliana, sweetheart, I see you making a difference through your words. Yours is such a unique, lovely, and moving voice. I look forward to reading your posts even when you are just talking young adult books written half a century ago or which translation to read for The Iliad. When the conversations go deeper, your words often touch the raw nerve and I somehow feel soothed, more at peace. But then I only know you through the board and perhaps you are already an accomplished novelist. That wouldn't surprise me at all given that you are a woman of many talents. In a nation and a world of angry, thoughtless, fear-driven soundbites, a voice like yours is a rare gift. Perhaps words are the means for you to address social injustice more directly. I agree 100%. Eliana, your thoughts & the way you express them are like flashing ideas sparkling off the page while simultaneously being a balm for the mind & a warm embrace for the soul. Edited January 5, 2016 by Stacia 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 re the developing self, reading: Oh, yes. The older I get the more I am realizing how much my reading experience is shaped by who I am right now today - so each time I read a book, there are ways in which it is an entirely different book than the previous times... This is more true of books with depth... with various layers to experience, but I have found it to be true of some comfort reads as well. And, **YES** re the different empathy experiences for Woolf vs Joyce. Comparing the third (?I think) section of Ulysses with its maximum stream of consciousness to Woolf's The Waves - which also dispenses with narrative markers - the latter was an immersible, deeply moving experience & the former and very cerebral one... Do you have a particular Faulkner you might recommend? Mmm. I've probably been most affected by Absalom, and I'd expect you'd appreciate the riff off the David story (though it makes most sense back-to-back with Sound and Fury and the two together are a bit of a marathon)... I read Light in August for the first time a couple of years ago and was *blown away* -- I guess it's rated less of a Classic than the others but I thought it was remarkable. (Violent, but not gratuitous, content) re: next stage, and bringing light into the world ....what I am struggling with now is in a different realm. ...it is how to be me, how to take the next steps in my personal journey to bring my light into the world... in ways that feel fully *me*, while having a body that doesn't work very well and a life full of other, very treasured, very important, commitments. ...but I am seeing that if I live the rest of my life only as a mother, a grandmother, a member of my shul, even an intellectual with my own head space... even going back to teaching or some other work... and I do not take action that feels real enough... action beyond phone banking for a candidate or writing a letter... something that addresses social injustice more directly, then, right now at least, I will feel I have failed... failed at being myself. How I address that I do not know. ...but it burns behind every moment of my life right now. Yes. I'm feeling that myself these days, though I think you are confronting/articulating it more frontally than perhaps I am... ...and while I wholly concur with Jane: My dear, you are spreading the light from your corner of the world through our discussions and book recommendations. Please keep that in mind. Dreamer that I am, I hope that some of our silent followers of this thread are influenced. ... and am keenly conscious of how very much you (as well as many other BAWers, but we're talking about YOU, here :laugh: ) have affected not just my reading selections but also how I approach them, ... I'm with Lisa, here-- :grouphug: There are over 300 responses in this thread that talk primarily about how words move us, change us, help us grow, help us grieve, and help us become one step closer to our truer selves. I think I am stating the obvious, but Eliana, sweetheart, I see you making a difference through your words. Yours is such a unique, lovely, and moving voice. I look forward to reading your posts even when you are just talking young adult books written half a century ago or which translation to read for The Iliad. When the conversations go deeper, your words often touch the raw nerve and I somehow feel soothed, more at peace. But then I only know you through the board and perhaps you are already an accomplished novelist. That wouldn't surprise me at all given that you are a woman of many talents. In a nation and a world of angry, thoughtless, fear-driven soundbites, a voice like yours is a rare gift. Perhaps words are the means for you to address social injustice more directly. Yes, you are legendary as a reader even here, amongst a large host of avid readers... but your voice as a writer is Yet More rare, and powerful. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Two chapters into Michelle Alexander's New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Sure do wish I'd done it last fall when y'all were talking about it... :huh: 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Two chapters into Michelle Alexander's New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Sure do wish I'd done it last fall when y'all were talking about it... :huh: That's one I wanted to read a couple of months ago (& even had out from the library) but didn't get to it in time before returning it. Would like to get to it, so maybe we can discuss it down the road.... 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 (edited) Violet Crown, I saw this article & thought the book might interest you. (Actually, it might interest quite a few readers here on the WTM BaW thread....) Earliest-known biography of Ethiopian woman features religious struggle and same-sex love From the article: In seventeenth-century Ethiopia, a religious noblewoman named Walatta Petros (1592–1642) left her husband to lead the struggle against the Jesuit conversion of Ethiopian Christians to Roman Catholicism. Eventually elevated to sainthood for these efforts, Petros lived the rest of her life in what is thought to have been a romantic, if celibate, relationship with a fellow-nun. Thirty years after her death, her disciples wrote her biography. This month, Princeton University Press published the book in its first English translation. The text—the earliest-known, book-length biography of an African woman—has only previously been translated from the GÉ™ËÉ™z language into Amharic and Italian. That is, until Wendy Laura Belcher, an associate professor at Princeton University, stumbled upon a mention of the book and decided to undertake its English translation. Apparently the translator/editor became fascinated with powerful Ethiopian women after reading/studying Samuel Johnson's A Voyage to Abyssinia. Edited January 5, 2016 by Stacia 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 re the developing self, reading: Mmm. I've probably been most affected by Absalom, and I'd expect you'd appreciate the riff off the David story (though it makes most sense back-to-back with Sound and Fury and the two together are a bit of a marathon)... I read Light in August for the first time a couple of years ago and was *blown away* -- I guess it's rated less of a Classic than the others but I thought it was remarkable. (Violent, but not gratuitous, content) Pam, what do you think of "Pantaloon in Black" for initiating a new Faulkner reader? It gives one a feel for his style and language without some of his more "challenging" traits and it has the added benefit of being a short story. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 My dear, you are spreading the light from your corner of the world through our discussions and book recommendations. Please keep that in mind. Dreamer that I am, I hope that some of our silent followers of this thread are influenced. Something that has been in the back of my mind for a while...Whatever happened to the collective societal memory of influential figures like Jane Addams? When I was in elementary school, she was my hero. The school library had a number of biographies of famous Americans (standard series that was probably everywhere). I borrowed, read and reread the Jane Addams book regularly. Her biography by Louise Knight has been on my (very long) library list for a few years now. Your comment pulled the book onto my radar again. What a role model! I'll try to stop at the library this week to borrow Jane Addams: Spirit in Action. Thanks for the nudge--across the ethers. Jane, I remember a set of biographies from elementary school that introduced me to Elizabeth Blackwell, Clara Barton, Meriwether Lewis, William Penn, and Daniel Boone, and yes, Jane Adams. I can still see their covers in my mind's eye after over 40 years. Childhood of Famous Americans? 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I just finished an enjoyable fantasy novel ~ The Paper Magician (The Paper Magician Series) by Charlie N. Holmberg. The book been mentioned on past Book a Week threads (Stacia and Shukriyya), but I'm not sure if anyone here has actually read it. While the book has some gore, I don't think that anyone would find the content troubling. (Hmm, unless they find magic troubling.) I recommend it. "Ceony Twill arrives at the cottage of Magician Emery Thane with a broken heart. Having graduated at the top of her class from the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined, Ceony is assigned an apprenticeship in paper magic despite her dreams of bespelling metal. And once she’s bonded to paper, that will be her only magic…forever. Yet the spells Ceony learns under the strange yet kind Thane turn out to be more marvelous than she could have ever imagined—animating paper creatures, bringing stories to life via ghostly images, even reading fortunes. But as she discovers these wonders, Ceony also learns of the extraordinary dangers of forbidden magic. An Excisioner—a practitioner of dark, flesh magic—invades the cottage and rips Thane’s heart from his chest. To save her teacher’s life, Ceony must face the evil magician and embark on an unbelievable adventure that will take her into the chambers of Thane’s still-beating heart—and reveal the very soul of the man." Regards, Kareni 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 For Christian books (reformed Protestant flavor) I go to Westminster Bookstore. novels!). Thanks! I didn't know that one! 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 but what I am struggling with now is in a different realm. ...it is how to be me, how to take the next steps in my personal journey to bring my light into the world... in ways that feel fully *me*, while having a body that doesn't work very well and a life full of other, very treasured, very important, commitments. ...but I am seeing that if I live the rest of my life only as a mother, a grandmother, a member of my shul, even an intellectual with my own head space... even going back to teaching or some other work... and I do not take action that feels real enough... action beyond phone banking for a candidate or writing a letter... something that addresses social injustice more directly, then, right now at least, I will feel I have failed... failed at being myself. How I address that I do not know. ...but it burns behind every moment of my life right now. Doesn't Judaism have a tradition of croning? 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Violet Crown, I saw this article & thought the book might interest you. (Actually, it might interest quite a few readers here on the WTM BaW thread....) From the article: Apparently the translator/editor became fascinated with powerful Ethiopian women after reading/studying Samuel Johnson's A Voyage to Abyssinia. Thanks! Looks intriguing. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 (edited) I just finished an enjoyable fantasy novel ~ The Paper Magician (The Paper Magician Series) by Charlie N. Holmberg. The book been mentioned on past Book a Week threads (Stacia and Shukriyya), but I'm not sure if anyone here has actually read it. While the book has some gore, I don't think that anyone would find the content troubling. (Hmm, unless they find magic troubling.) I recommend it. I read this one a couple of years ago. I think it was a "Kindle First" offering. Free, in any case. :-) It was enjoyable. Yes, a little gore but nothing horrible. A fun book, though I never got around to the next in the series! Edited January 5, 2016 by marbel 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I finished my 3rd book of the year, The Procedure by Harry Mulisch - translated from Dutch! So I hit another square in Bingo. That's about all it was good for. I saw it on one of the "Best books I read this year" lists from a week or two back, and it seemed like it might fit in with Frankenstein themes (we're studying that book next) so I got it. It was a weird book. Early parts of it I liked ok - there was a fascinating section on the creation of a golem by a rabbi in Prague in the 1500s - but overall it was unsatisfying. The last 2/3 of the book were spent inside the head of a narcissistic man having a midlife crises - reminded me a little bit of Amsterdam or The Remains of the Day, two books I read and disliked last year. Anyway, I guess the best I can say is that I'm glad I am finished with it. I'm not a huge fan of Harry Mulish, but of the 'required authors after WW2', he is one of the more readable authors imo. I don't know this book though :) 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Pam, what do you think of "Pantaloon in Black" for initiating a new Faulkner reader? It gives one a feel for his style and language without some of his more "challenging" traits and it has the added benefit of being a short story. I don't think I've ever read it! Thank you. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Jane, I remember a set of biographies from elementary school that introduced me to Elizabeth Blackwell, Clara Barton, Meriwether Lewis, William Penn, and Daniel Boone, and yes, Jane Adams. I can still see their covers in my mind's eye after over 40 years. Childhood of Famous Americans? I read a bunch of bios in some sort of series in elementary school, too. Here,s to Elementary school librarians! Don,t you wish you could tell your? 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Jane, I remember a set of biographies from elementary school that introduced me to Elizabeth Blackwell, Clara Barton, Meriwether Lewis, William Penn, and Daniel Boone, and yes, Jane Adams. I can still see their covers in my mind's eye after over 40 years. Childhood of Famous Americans? Yes, I believe that is the series. I too still see their covers. Perhaps they were hokey but I loved them as a child! I read a bunch of bios in some sort of series in elementary school, too. Here,s to Elementary school librarians! Don,t you wish you could tell your? The lack of bios in the children's section of our local library (sports figures only--ugh) led me to pay the fee to use the system in a nearby city. The head children's librarian had a profound influence on my son's reading and has always cheered him on. I stop in now about once a year to give her an update on The Boy. I have told this story before, but it is one of my favorites in praise of librarians. When my son was 12 and we were going to London (where we stayed at a hotel she suggested!), I was chatting with her about my son's first requested stop, the Natural History Museum because of his desire to see the fossils there. She pulled a book off the shelf on the dinosaur models designed by Richard Waterhouse Hawkins for the Crystal Palace exhibit of 1854. We learned from the book that these sculptures of extinct mammals are in a park in Bromley, a borough of London that is not hard to find but not on the tourist path. We went there and it was by far my son's favorite London experience at age 12. She is a wonderful librarian who opened so many doors for the two of us. I paid a visit to her last year to borrow Nancy Bond books. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelaboord Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I finished my first book of the year yesterday: Shirley Jackson's Life Among the Savages. I'm actually almost done with H is for Hawk, but I just had to take a break. Some of it is undoubtedly to do with my own state of mind - I'm 34 weeks pregnant with #9 and we are supposed to have work done in our kitchen this month that is starting about a week later than we thought it would -- but I don't think that my stress and distraction are totally responsible for my response to the book. H is for Hawk seems somewhat... overly dramatic to me, I think, even though I am trying to be sympathetic because clearly, the author had great difficulties in coping with the loss of her father. Everything seems to carry so much weight, so much psychoanalysis and angst. I feel like I'm being terribly unfair, but it does seem like she can't so much as eat a cookie without the action having some kind of deep, double meaning. Also, I don't think I really wanted to know all those things about T.H. White. The blood doesn't bother me, but I do find myself wondering about the ethics of hawking in the 21st century... In the past, I believe that people would eat the quarry caught by the birds, but from what I can tell from this book, hawks are kept only to catch and eat their own food, except that they can't be allowed to eat the way they would in the wild. I'm not sure yet what I think about this. In any case, Life Among the Savages --Shirley Jackson's memoir about life with her kids -- was a welcome break. I found myself longingly contemplating the idea of 10 days in the hospital after a baby's birth, though. I have C-sections and they're always trying to kick me out at 2 days. "Don't you want your own bed?" they say. The problem is my bed comes with a bunch of little boys who want to jump on me! I did get a kick out of the book, though. I'd like to read Raising Demons (the sequel) next, but I still owe my firstborn to the library and have used up all my gift cards from Christmas. So I will probably just go on to Ancillary Justice, which was also part of Christmas, and I'll finish H is for Hawk because I'm so close to being done. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I finished my first book of the year yesterday: Shirley Jackson's Life Among the Savages. I'm actually almost done with H is for Hawk, but I just had to take a break. Some of it is undoubtedly to do with my own state of mind - I'm 34 weeks pregnant with #9 and we are supposed to have work done in our kitchen this month that is starting about a week later than we thought it would -- but I don't think that my stress and distraction are totally responsible for my response to the book . H is for Hawk seems somewhat... overly dramatic to me, I think, even though I am trying to be sympathetic because clearly, the author had great difficulties in coping with the loss of her father. Everything seems to carry so much weight, so much psychoanalysis and angst. I feel like I'm being terribly unfair, but it does seem like she can't so much as eat a cookie without the action having some kind of deep, double meaning. Also, I don't think I really wanted to know all those things about T.H. White. The blood doesn't bother me, but I do find myself wondering about the ethics of hawking in the 21st century... In the past, I believe that people would eat the quarry caught by the birds, but from what I can tell from this book, hawks are kept only to catch and eat their own food, except that they can't be allowed to eat the way they would in the wild. I'm not sure yet what I think about this. Yes, yes and yes! I am truly surprised that this book made so many top ten lists. MacDonald's visceral reactions to her father's death are understandable. It sounds as though he was a remarkable man. But I too did not need to know so much about T.H. White. As I stated in another thread, I am also troubled by the ethics of manipulating a wild animal for the purpose of hunting. But I wondered if my issue stems from my volunteer work with raptors at a rehab center. One of the others rehabbers in my region is also a falconer. Several of us in the local bird world have had trouble with the reconciliation. Reading H is for Hawk has not brought me closer to an understanding; in fact, I think I am less certain how one keeps a foot in both worlds. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I just finished Between the World and Me. I will need a few days to formulate my thoughts, but I highly recommend it! 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I just finished Between the World and Me. I will need a few days to formulate my thoughts, but I highly recommend it! I too am reading this book but am taking it at a slow pace in order to digest it. Pam, Stacia, Eliana and others have recommended it as well--for good reason. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Can you put your finger on what made you feel let down? This is referring to Moll Flanders. No, not really. I think I was expecting a rollicking, romping, something-or-other-good time gal in Moll. That's probably because it's how Moll Flanders has been portrayed in various movies and even the musical. Once I read it, I realized how far they strayed from the actual story, but the story was still a let down. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Violet Crown, I saw this article & thought the book might interest you. (Actually, it might interest quite a few readers here on the WTM BaW thread....) Earliest-known biography of Ethiopian woman features religious struggle and same-sex love From the article: Apparently the translator/editor became fascinated with powerful Ethiopian women after reading/studying Samuel Johnson's A Voyage to Abyssinia. That looks rather interesting, and would even fit with the Around the World challenge. My library doesn't have it in any form though and I'm not sure I'm willing to pay the cost even of the Kindle version (which is almost $15 less than the hardcover). I'm going to keep an eye out for it though, and maybe even suggest it to my library. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Sounds like a plan. Anyone else interested in sparse Scandinavian fiction? No. :D 12 years of Swedish education has left me with an allergy to sparse Scandinavian fiction. It is reason number 2 as to why I am resisting getting certified to teach Swedish (reason number 1 is because the world lit course I would have to take would put me up against my literary nemesis Heart of Darkness again (3rd time the charm? I think not)) Two chapters into Michelle Alexander's New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Sure do wish I'd done it last fall when y'all were talking about it... :huh: That's one I wanted to read a couple of months ago (& even had out from the library) but didn't get to it in time before returning it. Would like to get to it, so maybe we can discuss it down the road.... I've been wanting to read that as well so I might be up for a discussion As to where I get my books, I participate in Amazon Smiles so I consider each purchase my charitable donation for the...month (possibly day but I try not to think about it, someone evil on this board made me look at how many orderes I had made last year...it wasn't pretty). Also my dad and I share an Amazon family thingy so I have access to the books he buys 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 (edited) Not at all familiar with the author, Lisa. And unfortunately not available at my library. :( My complete Shakespeare has been a part of my life since I took at college class in Shakespeare at age 17. I love encountering my marginal comments or pencil slashed passages that I thought were interesting. Another thing about rereading my books is finding the stuff that I stuffed within them. There are postcards, small pieces of art, sometimes newspaper articles. Jane, no problem about The Sibyl not being available at the library. Since your post made me think of the book, which then inspired me to reread it last night, I can send my copy on to you if you are interested along with a certain geometry book that is long overdue in returning to your home. It does have pencil underlining - The Sibyl, not your geometry book! Please pm me your address again. The Sibyl was one of the books for A Day's Read from the Great Courses. Par Lagerkvist was Swedish and won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1951. Here's the blurb from Amazon: In this powerful, poetic, and moving parable, the Wandering Jew of medieval Christian legend journeys to Delphi to consult the famed oracle of the pagans. He is turned away but not before learning that one of the most adept of the old priestesses, or sibyls, lives in disgrace in the mountains above the temple. In her rude goat-hut he seeks the meaning of his disastrous brush with the son of God. She reveals that she, too, has been touched by the son of a god, a very different son, not quite human, born of her own body. He dwells with her as a constant reminder of the betrayal of her mystical and erotic union with the divine, her punishment, and—perhaps—her redemption. Lagerkvist's writing is simple and clean, a bit along the lines of Hemingway, but more lyrical. It's one of those deceptive books where the words on the page aren't complex, but the thoughts I was left to contemplate at the end of the book were labyrinthian. I would be very curious to hear your thoughts if you decide to read it. After I finished The Sibyl, I had to order Lagerkvist's Barabas. When I placed the order, Knut Hamsun was in my recommendations. I've never read Knut Hamsun. Hmmm, he's Norwegian. Hey, Sigrid Undset is Norwegian and I am rather fond of Kristin Lavransdatter and that reminds me that I am missing the last two volumes of The Master of Hestviken series and I must have those. I feel like that children's book, If You Give Lisa a Book Recommendation... Edited January 5, 2016 by swimmermom3 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 ... After I finished The Sibyl, I had to order Lagerkvist's Barabas. When I placed the order, Knut Hamsun was in my recommendations. I've never read Knut Hamsun. Hmmm, he's Norwegian. Hey, Sigrid Undset is Norwegian and I am rather fond of Kristin Lavransdatter and that reminds me that I am missing the last two volumes of The Master of Hestviken series and I must have those. I feel like that children's book, If You Give Lisa a Book Recommendation... :lol: Welcome to the Dark Side, dear. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I read a bunch of bios in some sort of series in elementary school, too. Here,s to Elementary school librarians! Don,t you wish you could tell your? Before homeschooling, I volunteered a lot in the kids' schools, as room parent and as an instructor for Art Literacy classes. After several years I burned out and took myself off to library at Sailor Dude's elementary school. I loved my time volunteering there and watching the librarian work with the kids. So many children and she always seemed to remember what types of books they were interested in and could make brilliant recommendations. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I finished my first book of the year. For some reason I don't think to count the books I read for homeschooling. My son and I are reading Annals of the Fallen World by John McPhee (the boy is doing a half-credit in Geology for an elective and I like to read what he's reading) but it's really 6 books put together in one volume. I finished the first, Basin and Range today. Like all John McPhee books, it is excellent. I have such a crush on him. He can make any topic interesting. If there is a better general non-fiction writer out there, I'd like to know who it is. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 (edited) I too am reading this book but am taking it at a slow pace in order to digest it. Pam, Stacia, Eliana and others have recommended it as well--for good reason. I took it slow as well, I wanted to internalize every word. I will definitely re-read it. Edited January 5, 2016 by Runningmom80 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I finished my first book of the year. For some reason I don't think to count the books I read for homeschooling. My son and I are reading Annals of the Fallen World by John McPhee (the boy is doing a half-credit in Geology for an elective and I like to read what he's reading) but it's really 6 books put together in one volume. I finished the first, Basin and Range today. Like all John McPhee books, it is excellent. I have such a crush on him. He can make any topic interesting. If there is a better general non-fiction writer out there, I'd like to know who it is. Margaret, could you please link for the book/books? I am not sure if I found the right one/ones. Anything entitled Basin and Range intrigues me as we were just in the amazing Steens Mountain area in October. We are focusing on geology and marine biology for ds's senior year for science and trying to get out into "the field" as much as possible. My dh might enjoy these books more than a text. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Margaret, could you please link for the book/books? I am not sure if I found the right one/ones. Anything entitled Basin and Range intrigues me as we were just in the amazing Steens Mountain area in October. We are focusing on geology and marine biology for ds's senior year for science and trying to get out into "the field" as much as possible. My dh might enjoy these books more than a text. Sure. All the titles are Amazon links. Basin and Range In Suspect Terrain Rising from the Plains Assembling California These 4, plus Crossing the Craton (which I can't find as a standalone) are published together in Annals of the Former World I was wrong in my earlier post; there are 5 books altogether, not 6. Annals (the whole shebang) is available on Kindle for $5.99. We are reading it that way, though we've owned the book for years... Love it. Love all McPhee. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawneinfl Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I finished my first book of the year. For some reason I don't think to count the books I read for homeschooling. My son and I are reading Annals of the Fallen World by John McPhee (the boy is doing a half-credit in Geology for an elective and I like to read what he's reading) but it's really 6 books put together in one volume. I finished the first, Basin and Range today. Like all John McPhee books, it is excellent. I have such a crush on him. He can make any topic interesting. If there is a better general non-fiction writer out there, I'd like to know who it is. Marbel, I'm a huge fan of non-fiction so I'll have to check this author out. :) 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Sure. All the titles are Amazon links. Basin and Range In Suspect Terrain Rising from the Plains Assembling California These 4, plus Crossing the Craton (which I can't find as a standalone) are published together in Annals of the Former World I was wrong in my earlier post; there are 5 books altogether, not 6. Annals (the whole shebang) is available on Kindle for $5.99. We are reading it that way, though we've owned the book for years... Love it. Love all McPhee. Assembling California is on my TR list - I scored it at a recent library book sale. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 So, today I got a surprise postcard with a quote by Charles Baudelaire that contained the words " hearts" and "balloons." The first thing thought that popped into my head was,"How did Lemony Snicket get my Address?" 😃 Thanks to a BAW friend. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Sure. All the titles are Amazon links. Basin and Range In Suspect Terrain Rising from the Plains Assembling California These 4, plus Crossing the Craton (which I can't find as a standalone) are published together in Annals of the Former World I was wrong in my earlier post; there are 5 books altogether, not 6. Annals (the whole shebang) is available on Kindle for $5.99. We are reading it that way, though we've owned the book for years... Love it. Love all McPhee. Thank you so much! What is your favorite book by McPhee? 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 (edited) Thank you so much! What is your favorite book by McPhee? Favorite? Oh, I don't know! I think my first McPhee was Looking for a Ship, which is about the US Merchant Marine. I don't even know why I picked it up, as I have never had any interest in the topic. But it was so good! Ransom of Russian Art was fascinating. I read The Control of Nature to my kids as part of Environmental Science last year, and read The Pine Barrens because we moved to Pennsylvania and thus are near New Jersey (though we have still not ventured into the Barrens). I have not read yet but my husband would highly recommend The Founding Fish which is about the American Shad, and The Crofter and the Laird, about the Hebrides Islands of Scotland. AFAIC, McPhee can make any topic interesting. He has written a vast number of books; I've only scratched the surface. Just go to your library and get one, seriously. Edited January 5, 2016 by marbel 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I finished my first book this afternoon. Frankenstein. I am still processing it and will have to come back to write my full thoughts. My gut reaction is what an abhorrent and deplorable man Victor Frankenstein was. Is it the writing that leads me to feel a disgust of this character that at this moment I cannot remember ever feeling before about any other character? I am uncertain. It was not at all what I was expecting! One could make a whole vocabulary book out of this one novel! On a positive note, I found Death Comes for the Archbishop and Things Fall Apart at the thrift store this morning. Though they were winging their way to me via ILL, I picked them up anyway :laugh: My next book will probably be Snow Treasure. The challenge for January for my IRL book club is a winter theme with either winter, snow, or ice, or something that reminds us of winter in the title. Snow Treasure has been sitting on my shelf unread for years. I also have First Frost waiting for me at the library. I'm feeling ambitious this month! 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethel Mertz Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I've finished my light murder mystery - A Crane Christmas by Anne Hagan - and now have the following in progress: Treasure Island (with DS) Viva Mama Rossi - another light mystery by Anne Hagan Animal, Vegetable, and Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Prophet, Martyr, Spy - Eric Metaxas The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas - Gertrude Stein (as soon as I pick it up from the library) My to-read list has tripled since I wandered into this thread... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 (edited) I finished my first book this afternoon. Frankenstein. I am still processing it and will have to come back to write my full thoughts. My gut reaction is what an abhorrent and deplorable man Victor Frankenstein was. Is it the writing that leads me to feel a disgust of this character that at this moment I cannot remember ever feeling before about any other character? I am uncertain. It was not at all what I was expecting! One could make a whole vocabulary book out of this one novel! On a positive note, I found Death Comes for the Archbishop and Things Fall Apart at the thrift store this morning. Though they were winging their way to me via ILL, I picked them up anyway :laugh: My next book will probably be Snow Treasure. The challenge for January for my IRL book club is a winter theme with either winter, snow, or ice, or something that reminds us of winter in the title. Snow Treasure has been sitting on my shelf unread for years. I also have First Frost waiting for me at the library. I'm feeling ambitious this month! I have fond memories of reading Snow Treasure with my oldest son. Enjoy! ETA: Post 352 has no like button that I can use. How does that happen? Edited January 5, 2016 by swimmermom3 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I have fond memories of reading Snow Treasure with my oldest son. Enjoy! ETA: Post 352 has no like button that I can use. How does that happen? Because that poster is a moderator with super powers that the rest of us lack. Consequently, she lacks "likes"! 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Because that poster is a moderator with super powers that the rest of us lack. Consequently, she lacks "likes"! Ah, I guess the little colored "moderators" note under the avatar would have been a clue. :tongue_smilie: 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethel Mertz Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Because that poster is a moderator with super powers that the rest of us lack. Consequently, she lacks "likes"! Yeah, my super power is deleting spam. No one likes me anymore. Sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Yeah, my super power is deleting spam. No one likes me anymore. Sigh. Oh, but we love moderators that delete spam! :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: We like your posts too! :D That's a long string of hearts as apparently I have used more emoticons than the community allows. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Yeah, my super power is deleting spam. No one likes me anymore. Sigh. Oh, but we love moderators that delete spam! :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: We like your posts too! :D That's a long string of hearts as apparently I have used more emoticons than the community allows. What she said. We love you Super Spam Deleting Woman!! 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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