Book a Week 2016 - Rabindranath Tagore

[Lady Florida.]

This place has taken a serious turn this month.  Um.  I'm holed up in Flufferton Abbey.  I'll currently have three books going.  When I've finished one I'll come back and report on what silliness I've been up to. 

 

I noticed. This is usually my safe place on WTM. I do participate in serious and/or controversial threads "out there", but here it's all about the books for me. I'm not completely living in Flufferton Abbey right now thanks to Swann's Way and A Suitable Boy, but I do have the 2nd Charles Lenox mystery in progress to meet my fluff needs. 

 

The conversations are important I agree, and I'm not trying to say they shouldn't take place. I do understand. Just saying that, like Amy, I'm off to read and will return later. :)

 

And speaking of The September Society, didn't you say you read it? Or was that another of our historical mystery lovers? If it was you, did you like it? I'm only two chapters in and the first one was a prologue, so I'm not yet far enough to say how I feel about it.

[Lady Florida.]

 

 

I spent yesterday in a haze of painkillers and ice packs after some oral surgery. Read for a bit, but mostly zoned out on Netflix and have a movie recommendation for you all that ties in tangentially on this week's India theme.  It is Meet the Patels, a documentary of a year in the life of actor Ravi Patel as he agrees to let his parents help arrange a marriage for him. It is filmed by his sister, so all the family scenes are open and honest, and more often than not, very funny. It captures the challenges of a first generation Indian/American torn between American and Indian culture. 

 

I just watched the trailer and it looks like fun. Dh works second shift Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so I might watch it tonight or tomorrow. I'm among those reading A Suitable Boy. 

 

I was expecting the 3rd episode of War and Peace to be available on Amazon, but it isn't. I don't know when it airs on PBS, but I'm guessing it hasn't aired yet and that's why I don't have it in my library. 

 

ETA: War and Peace is not on PBS. I just assumed it was because so many BBC shows are on PBS here. Apparently it's on A&E, Lifetime, and The History Channel

Edited January 26, 2016 by Lady Florida

[mumto2]

I really appreciate your thoughtful comments on this book. I wasn't bothered by Wilfred, didn't particularly like him or root for him, but just enjoyed his story as it unfolded. I totally understand the problems you had with the book. There have been books with characters that rubbed me the wrong way, and books where the details were so wrong that it jarred me out of the story as it this one did for you. The book wasn't particularly Welsh, was it? It is supposed to be set in Wales, but it could have been rural Nebraska, well, except for the beach scenes!

 

I spent yesterday in a haze of painkillers and ice packs after some oral surgery. Read for a bit, but mostly zoned out on Netflix and have a movie recommendation for you all that ties in tangentially on this week's India theme. It is Meet the Patels, a documentary of a year in the life of actor Ravi Patel as he agrees to let his parents help arrange a marriage for him. It is filmed by his sister, so all the family scenes are open and honest, and more often than not, very funny. It captures the challenges of a first generation Indian/American torn between American and Indian culture.

Jenn, Thanks for understanding. You are right the book could have been set anywhere with a beach. My timing was poor.

 

I haven't managed to read a book set in India either. I did watch The Indian Doctor BBC series which I really enjoyed, but it was set ironically in Wales.

[aggieamy]

I noticed. This is usually my safe place on WTM. I do participate in serious and/or controversial threads "out there", but here it's all about the books for me. I'm not completely living in Flufferton Abbey right now thanks to Swann's Way and A Suitable Boy, but I do have the 2nd Charles Lenox mystery in progress to meet my fluff needs. 

 

The conversations are important I agree, and I'm not trying to say they shouldn't take place. I do understand. Just saying that, like Amy, I'm off to read and will return later. :)

 

And speaking of The September Society, didn't you say you read it? Or was that another of our historical mystery lovers? If it was you, did you like it? I'm only two chapters in and the first one was a prologue, so I'm not yet far enough to say how I feel about it.

 

I did read it and instantly requested the third one in the series.  My quibbles are minor.  A few historical inaccuracies that if I hadn't been a fan of the period I might not have realized.  Great plot.  Lots of twists.  Spend an afternoon in the Abbey reading so we can discuss when you are done!

[idnib]

I've been reflecting all morning on the factors that lead people to vote against their own interests.  Ignorance is a huge one, as is an inability to forsee the implications of actions, as is fear, as is the desire on the part of politicians to pander to fear for the sake of power, as Bluegoat posted.

 

Another important reason is that people have particular principles, not always based in fear, which override their own personal interests. I think this is often overlooked, particularly when the voter is economically disadvantaged. Who are we to say that a voter is voting against their own interests, especially if we only examine economic factors? 

 

This place has taken a serious turn this month.  Um.  I'm holed up in Flufferton Abbey.  I'll currently have three books going.  When I've finished one I'll come back and report on what silliness I've been up to. 

 

I'm feeling a bit guilty I ditched my heavier books last night after intense reading and the discussion in this thread. I was too tempted by A Confederacy of Dunces. This honestly may be the funniest book I've ever read.

[marbel]

I'm in Flufferton Abbey with you.  Besides homeschool books (mainly American History but also a little bit of economics and the ever-present geology) I'm listening to Jamaica Inn and reading the 2nd of the Monk books by Anne Perry.   Maybe gothic potboilers and mysteries don't really seem like fluff (can dark books be fluff?), but in comparison to most of the books being read...   :-)

Edited January 26, 2016 by marbel

[mom22es]

My reading has pretty much come to a ground halt.  My father collapsed and was rushed to hospital with an aneurysm.  He had an angiography with the coil procedure and had another rupture during the procedure.  So, even though I’ve been at the hospital with him day and night I have had little time for reading.  The worst of his recovery is supposed to be the first 7-10 days, so I think I should be able to start killing time by reading books, but I think I’ll just stick to re-reads due to the constant interruptions in his hospital room.

 

I did finish The Rook and The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax before all of the above happened.  I enjoyed both, but I wouldn’t call either of them favorites.  

 

I haven’t read the thread yet, but I look forward to reading it tonight.

 

 

[Lady Florida.]

I'm in Flufferton Abbey with you.  Besides homeschool books (mainly American History but also a little bit of economics and the ever-present geology) I'm listening to Jamaica Inn and reading the 2nd of the Monk books by Anne Perry.   Maybe gothic potboilers and mysteries don't really seem like fluff (can dark books be fluff?), but in comparison to most of the books being read...   :-)

 

I consider them fluff. To me, fluff books are not literary, not classics (though many now-classics were considered fluff or twaddle in their day), I don't learn anything from them, and I don't become a better person for having read them. Most genre fiction fits in the fluff category by my definition. So, yes, dark mysteries can be fluff. If it's brain candy or a comfort food book to you, then you can call it fluff if you want to. :)

 

I haven't read any of the Monk books, but I've read ten of the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series (also by Perry). I'd be reading #11 now if the Charles Lenox mystery hadn't become available at my library.

 

After posting that I don't have any new episodes of W&P, I checked my email a few minutes ago and the next two are available. I think because it's shown in 2 hour blocks, 2 episodes become available at a time. It's odd though because usually when I subscribe to a season, the episodes become available by midnight on the day they were aired. These were not available earlier today when I checked, and the email is time-stamped 2:22 PM. 

[Negin]

I'm finding Cold Comfort Farm wickedly funny. So wicked that it feels guilty to laugh. 

 

We saw the movie years ago and I remember that we loved it. I barely remember it and definitely plan on reading it, hopefully soon. 

[mumto2]

Mom22es,

 

:grouphug: I can't like your post. I hope his recovery goes smoothly and you are soon able to do many rereads!

 

 

I finished the first in an interesting mystery series today, The Herring Seller's Apprentice by L.C. Tyler. This one is cozy in nature but not really a tradional cozy. The main character is a popular mystery writer who leads a rather boring life that suddenly turns exciting when his ex wife disappears. His mystery solving companion s his literary agent. It is rather tongue and cheek and filled with red herrings. Overall I liked it and most likely will continue the series later this year.

[Lady Florida.]

My reading has pretty much come to a ground halt.  My father collapsed and was rushed to hospital with an aneurysm.  He had an angiography with the coil procedure and had another rupture during the procedure.  So, even though I’ve been at the hospital with him day and night I have had little time for reading.  The worst of his recovery is supposed to be the first 7-10 days, so I think I should be able to start killing time by reading books, but I think I’ll just stick to re-reads due to the constant interruptions in his hospital room.

 

 

 

:grouphug: I hope he gets past the worst stage soon, and that the procedure (had to look it up and it looks quite scary) leads to recovery .

[Nan in Mass]

My reading has pretty much come to a ground halt. My father collapsed and was rushed to hospital with an aneurysm. He had an angiography with the coil procedure and had another rupture during the procedure. So, even though I’ve been at the hospital with him day and night I have had little time for reading. The worst of his recovery is supposed to be the first 7-10 days, so I think I should be able to start killing time by reading books, but I think I’ll just stick to re-reads due to the constant interruptions in his hospital room.

 

I did finish The Rook and The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax before all of the above happened. I enjoyed both, but I wouldn’t call either of them favorites.

 

I haven’t read the thread yet, but I look forward to reading it tonight.

I,m so sorry. Hugs. I hope your rereading brings you some escape from the trauma.

 

Nan

[Stacia]

My reading has pretty much come to a ground halt.  My father collapsed and was rushed to hospital with an aneurysm.  He had an angiography with the coil procedure and had another rupture during the procedure.  So, even though I’ve been at the hospital with him day and night I have had little time for reading.  The worst of his recovery is supposed to be the first 7-10 days, so I think I should be able to start killing time by reading books, but I think I’ll just stick to re-reads due to the constant interruptions in his hospital room.

 

I did finish The Rook and The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax before all of the above happened.  I enjoyed both, but I wouldn’t call either of them favorites.  

 

I haven’t read the thread yet, but I look forward to reading it tonight.

 

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

 

(ETA: I 'liked' your post in solidarity as I send good thoughts to your dad & you & your family.)

 

Edited January 27, 2016 by Stacia

[Butter]

My reading has pretty much come to a ground halt.  My father collapsed and was rushed to hospital with an aneurysm.  He had an angiography with the coil procedure and had another rupture during the procedure.  So, even though I’ve been at the hospital with him day and night I have had little time for reading.  The worst of his recovery is supposed to be the first 7-10 days, so I think I should be able to start killing time by reading books, but I think I’ll just stick to re-reads due to the constant interruptions in his hospital room.

 

I am so sorry :(  My father-in-law collapsed from an abdominal aortic aneurysm when my husband was 16.  They said it was a miracle he survived.  He was in the ICU long enough that people got heart *transplants* and spent less time in the ICU than my FIL.  He got more units of blood than is in the human body times two or three.  It was a very scary time.  While he did ultimately die from complications stemming from the aneurysm (basically - after they moved to Ireland his doctors there were extra twitchy about it and jumped the gun on insisting he have surgery and he contracted a hospital-acquired infection and that's really what ended his life), but that didn't happen until 2005.  He got an extra 14 years of life thanks to excellent hospital care back in 1991.  Aneurysms terrify me.

[Pam in CT]

:grouphug: mom22es.  Holding your dad and you in the light.

[Nan in Mass]

I saw the movie Cold Comfort Farm long before I discovered the book. I think the lightness came through better in the book. I liked the main character,s take on manners and tidiness, and the way she rolls up her sleeves and alters her world to suit her rather than settling for being decorative. I can see why my sister loved the movie. She remakes her world the same way.

 

Nan

 

Eta I forgot to add that I finished The Martian : ( I would have happily continued to read it for another few weeks. Oh well.

Edited January 26, 2016 by Nan in Mass

[Nan in Mass]

It always seems so awful to post reading info in the middle of the sympathy posts. So jarring when you are reading through the threads. Sorry, mom22es.

nan

[aggieamy]

My reading has pretty much come to a ground halt.  My father collapsed and was rushed to hospital with an aneurysm.  He had an angiography with the coil procedure and had another rupture during the procedure.  So, even though I’ve been at the hospital with him day and night I have had little time for reading.  The worst of his recovery is supposed to be the first 7-10 days, so I think I should be able to start killing time by reading books, but I think I’ll just stick to re-reads due to the constant interruptions in his hospital room.

 

I did finish The Rook and The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax before all of the above happened.  I enjoyed both, but I wouldn’t call either of them favorites.  

 

I haven’t read the thread yet, but I look forward to reading it tonight.

 

Oh my goodness.  How scary.  I am so sorry your father is going through that.  ((HUGS))

 

When my dear wonderful grandmother had her heart attack I grabbed the only book next to my bed to read at the hospital that night ... All Quiet on the Western Front. In a macabre way it gave us all a laugh because there was no book more inappropriate to try to read at the hospital. 

[Kareni]

My reading has pretty much come to a ground halt.  My father collapsed and was rushed to hospital with an aneurysm.

 

I'm sending good thoughts for your father; I hope that all goes smoothly.

 

My mother fell two days ago and broke her humerus; she was in the hospital overnight and is now at my sister's.  Her vision seems to be failing, so it's a worrying time.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[aggieamy]

I'm sending good thoughts for your father; I hope that all goes smoothly.

 

My mother fell two days ago and broke her humerus; she was in the hospital overnight and is now at my sister's.  Her vision seems to be failing, so it's a worrying time.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

I'm sorry Kareni.  ((HUGS))

[Violet Crown]

My reading has pretty much come to a ground halt. My father collapsed and was rushed to hospital with an aneurysm. He had an angiography with the coil procedure and had another rupture during the procedure. So, even though I’ve been at the hospital with him day and night I have had little time for reading. The worst of his recovery is supposed to be the first 7-10 days, so I think I should be able to start killing time by reading books, but I think I’ll just stick to re-reads due to the constant interruptions in his hospital room.

 

I did finish The Rook and The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax before all of the above happened. I enjoyed both, but I wouldn’t call either of them favorites.

 

I haven’t read the thread yet, but I look forward to reading it tonight.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your parents, mom22es and kareni.

[Onceuponatime]

Hugs to Kareni and mom22es.

[Jane in NC]

Sending lots of hugs and good thoughts to those who need them.  Hard to like some of these posts but you know that there is a positive intention.

[marbel]

:grouphug: :grouphug: Kareni and mom22es. 

[idnib]

My reading has pretty much come to a ground halt.  My father collapsed and was rushed to hospital with an aneurysm.  He had an angiography with the coil procedure and had another rupture during the procedure.  So, even though I’ve been at the hospital with him day and night I have had little time for reading.  The worst of his recovery is supposed to be the first 7-10 days, so I think I should be able to start killing time by reading books, but I think I’ll just stick to re-reads due to the constant interruptions in his hospital room.

 

I did finish The Rook and The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax before all of the above happened.  I enjoyed both, but I wouldn’t call either of them favorites.  

 

I haven’t read the thread yet, but I look forward to reading it tonight.

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

 

How scary that must have been! I am glad to hear he is on the mend, even if the early days are difficult.

 

I'm sending good thoughts for your father; I hope that all goes smoothly.

 

My mother fell two days ago and broke her humerus; she was in the hospital overnight and is now at my sister's.  Her vision seems to be failing, so it's a worrying time.

 

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

 

That is worrying. It's nice that she can be with your sister.

[Lady Florida.]

:grouphug: Kareni

[melmichigan]

:grouphug: :grouphug: Kareni and mom22es.

[Stacia]

Kareni, :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:  for you & your mom (& the rest of your family too).

[shage]

My leisure reading last week alternated between The Martian, seed catalogues, and various cookbooks.  The cookbook which was the most interesting yet also the most unhelpful was Burma: River of Flavors.  It is a lovely book to read and ponder, full of pictures and texts that nicely complement and explain the recipes.  But I am not running out to purchase fish sauce and chickpea flour to toast any time soon given my limited energy and time.

 

It is so symptomatic of where I am domestically:  in a rut, needing to slow down, seeking practical ways to simplify and provide, oh wait, let's escape to Mars! No, Burma!  Back to home, I'm in a rut, how can I slow down... 

 

Maybe I should read the domesticity book.

 

On a more serious note, I read The Doll House by Ibsen with my homeschooling teens.  I expected my daughter's positive reaction, more surprising was the fun my son had playing Torvald.  This was a nostalgia read for me, but the first Ibsen for them.  We may do Enemy of the People.  Haven't decided yet.

[Mesamin]

Hugs Kareni and mom22es.

 

I'm in the easy reading crowd with Jodi Picoult's "Nineteen Minutes."  I keep putting it down to search the web for poems that are read aloud and recipes.  It's cold out and I want to eat warm food and have someone tell me a story).

[mom22es]

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your kind words.  It certainly makes a hard situation a little brighter.

 

Of all the books I picked up to reread I picked Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  At first I thought it might be too depressing,since the parts about Snape make me cry.  But so far it is proving to be a good choice since it's my favorite of the series and it's like having an old friend with me while I sit with my dad.

[Nan in Mass]

That,s good, mom22es. Holding your family in the light.

 

Kareni, i,m sorry. I just spent at weeks at my mum,s after she fell. You always worry about it them not bouncing back...

 

Shage, I have an idea for simplifying your life. You should eat just potatoes. : )

 

Nan

[shage]

Shage, I have an idea for simplifying your life. You should eat just potatoes. : )

 

Nan

Lol.

 

Martian astronaut minus the botany skills. I would totally be stoked if NASA sent me directions on how to live my life.

[Pam in CT]

No worries folks, books this time!   :laugh:

 

A Long Walk to Water, by Linda Sue Park - (YA; recommended by ETA Alice and dsmith) This is two intertwined stories, both based on the lives of real people, the first a Lost Boy of Sudan whose village was massacred in the opening chapter and his ensuing flight, ultimately to an Ethiopian refugee camp after making his way all the way across war-torn Sudan by foot; the other of a more current young girl who spends up to 7 hours a day traveling to haul water.  Well done (as all the books I've read by Park have been).  I read it with my 12 yo daughter.  There is a good deal of violence (not gratuitous); and one scene, in which the Ethiopian army abruptly announces that the refugees have to return to Sudan, and they drive them to the river at the point of machine guns and force the Sudanese refugees into the water (many can't swim; the current is strong; the river is full of crocodiles; fewer than a quarter make it across) is particularly awful.

 

The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger, by Kate Picket and Richard Wilkinson.  This is essentially an extended literature review of data sets from various studies over the last 15 years investigating the relationship between inequality measures and dimensions such as mental health, physical health, drug use, obesity, educational performance, teenage birth, violence etc.  The authors are British (though the scope of the book is global) sociologists.  While they covered a wide scope of material and drew some intriguing insights out of the amalgamation, there were enough instances of sloppy statistics (a pet peeve) that I ended up pretty frustrated.

 

The Great Escape: Health, Wealth and the Origins of Inequality, by Angus Deaton, is, in contrast, #BRILLIANT.  Deaton (a professor of mine in a different century) won the Nobel in economics last year; in addition to teaching at Princeton he has done a lot of work with the World Bank over the last decades.  The metaphor of the title, that he maintains throughout, is based on the plot of the movie of a band of Commonwealths escaping from a German POW camp -- some manage to escape and vastly improve their lot, but others are Left Behind, and some of the escapees are rounded up and executed: clear winners, some left in the dust, and clear losers whose lot is actually worsened by the Escape of the ones who got away.  He uses this image to bring our attention to various facets of a wide range of global issues, including health and mortality, living standards, the effectiveness (or not) of aid efforts, and what other approaches might in his view do better.  He puts a tremendous, relentless focus on measurement -- "how little we can say without it, and how important it is to get it right" -- what measures are used, how they are calculated, what the strengths of particular metrics are and where and how they fail us.  He also writes... with a narrative flair you don't necessarily expect from a Nobel economist:

 

(on dubious links between highest tranches of compensation and productivity delivered to respective economies): "Another group that is well represented among the highest-paid is the senior management of banks and of hedge funds.  They too are very highly trained, and they have also used their training and creativity to produce new products. There is no unanimity among economists on the extent to which these new financial instruments have a social value that matches the profits that they generate for their inventors.  It is not hard to sympathize with Paul Volcker's statement that the last truly useful financial innovation was the ATM machine..."  :lol:

 

Anyway.  Highly recommended.

 

 

Edited January 28, 2016 by Pam in CT

[Kareni]

Many thanks for the kind words and thoughts for my mother; they are much appreciated.

 

**

 

I've posted this before, but since we have newcomers ~ a currently free Kindle book which might be of interest to some ~

 

Times Tables the Fun Way Book for Kids: A Picture and Story Method of Learning Multiplication  by Judy Liautaud

 

 

**

 

Also currently free for Kindle readers ~  Stone Guardian: Gargoyle Urban Fantasy Romance  by Danielle Monsch

 

"Gryphons flying past skyscrapers? Wizards battling it out in coffeehouses? Women riding motorcycles with large swords strapped to their backs? All normal sights since the Great Collision happened twenty-six years ago.

Well, not normal for everyone. Larissa Miller may have been born after the Great Collision, but as a history teacher who lives in the human-only city, she has never come into contact with any other race or species, nor has she wanted to. Her life is as ordinary as it gets - that is, until one day she walks out of her apartment and is attacked by a mob of Zombies, only to be saved by a Gargoyle.

Gargoyles trust no one outside their Clan, but due to a cryptic prophecy, Terak, Leader of the Gargoyles, has been watching over the human woman for months. While he can find no reason why the woman has been singled out, something about her stirs every protective instinct within him. When the attack confirms that the threats against her exist and are real, he convinces Larissa that though their races have never been allies, the best chance of discovering why she has been brought into his world is by working together.

In the course of their investigation Terak becomes entranced by his little human. But when he discovers why Necromancers want her and the great reward that awaits him if he betrays her, he must choose between the welfare of his Clan and not only Larissa's life, but the fate of this New Realm as well."

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:   Mom22es and Kareni 

 

Lots of prayers, good thoughts and hugs winging your way.

[mumto2]

:grouphug: Kareni

 

Kareni, Thanks for the free kindle links also. When I went to download Stone Guardian I discovered the second in the series Stone Embrace was also free on kindle.https://www.goodreads.com/series/106982-entwined-realms

[mumto2]

I just read a very short (7 pages) Agatha Raisin story called Hell's Bellshttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17376015-agatha-raisin?ac=1&from_search=1which appropriately takes place partly in a bell tower. :) It is availiable free on Kindle.

 

Kareni, Several months ago you recommended Jayne Castle's Harmony books. I finally read the first novellahttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/614866.Bridal_Jittersand liked it. I plan to continue the series.

[Butter]

(((HUGS))) kareni

[Bluegoat]

Mom22es and Kareni , I'll keep your family in my prayers.

 

 

No worries folks, books this time!   :laugh:

 

A Long Walk to Water, by Linda Sue Park - (YA; recommended by dsmith) This is two intertwined stories, both based on the lives of real people, the first a Lost Boy of Sudan whose village was massacred in the opening chapter and his ensuing flight, ultimately to an Ethiopian refugee camp after making his way all the way across war-torn Sudan by foot; the other of a more current young girl who spends up to 7 hours a day traveling to haul water.  Well done (as all the books I've read by Park have been).  I read it with my 12 yo daughter.  There is a good deal of violence (not gratuitous); and one scene, in which the Ethiopian army abruptly announces that the refugees have to return to Sudan, and they drive them to the river at the point of machine guns and force the Sudanese refugees into the water (many can't swim; the current is strong; the river is full of crocodiles; fewer than a quarter make it across) is particularly awful.

 

The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger, by Kate Picket and Richard Wilkinson.  This is essentially an extended literature review of data sets from various studies over the last 15 years investigating the relationship between inequality measures and dimensions such as mental health, physical health, drug use, obesity, educational performance, teenage birth, violence etc.  The authors are British (though the scope of the book is global) sociologists.  While they covered a wide scope of material and drew some intriguing insights out of the amalgamation, there were enough instances of sloppy statistics (a pet peeve) that I ended up pretty frustrated.

 

The Great Escape: Health, Wealth and the Origins of Inequality, by Angus Deaton, is, in contrast, #BRILLIANT.  Deaton (a professor of mine in a different century) won the Nobel in economics last year; in addition to teaching at Princeton he has done a lot of work with the World Bank over the last decades.  The metaphor of the title, that he maintains throughout, is based on the plot of the movie of a band of Commonwealths escaping from a German POW camp -- some manage to escape and vastly improve their lot, but others are Left Behind, and some of the escapees are rounded up and executed: clear winners, some left in the dust, and clear losers whose lot is actually worsened by the Escape of the ones who got away.  He uses this image to bring our attention to various facets of a wide range of global issues, including health and mortality, living standards, the effectiveness (or not) of aid efforts, and what other approaches might in his view do better.  He puts a tremendous, relentless focus on measurement -- "how little we can say without it, and how important it is to get it right" -- what measures are used, how they are calculated, what the strengths of particular metrics are and where and how they fail us.  He also writes... with a narrative flair you don't necessarily expect from a Nobel economist:

 

(on dubious links between highest tranches of compensation and productivity delivered to respective economies): "Another group that is well represented among the highest-paid is the senior management of banks and of hedge funds.  They too are very highly trained, and they have also used their training and creativity to produce new products. There is no unanimity among economists on the extent to which these new financial instruments have a social value that matches the profits that they generate for their inventors.  It is not hard to sympathize with Paul Volcker's statement that the last truly useful financial innovation was the ATM machine..."  :lol:

 

Anyway.  Highly recommended.

 

 

I'm so disappointed to hear about sloppy statistics.  Several people have recommended that book to me, but I share your pet peeve.  I once did a silly online thing to tell the "hell" for your Myers-Briggs type - mine read "You are eternally condemned to research an extremely vapid topic using wildly inaccurate methods

[Onceuponatime]

Ok. Out of Africa has me in a bit of a panic. I've started reading and the language and imagery is beautiful. But... I don't think I have what it takes to discuss things that already have popped into my mind because of this thread. Things like big game hunting, preservation of natural resources, fair trade coffee, land and water usage, colonialism, treatment of indigenous peoples, and on and on. I haven't even finished chapter one!

 

Can I admit here that I was just kind of expecting to bask in a nice story in a natural setting without having to think too much?

Edited January 27, 2016 by Onceuponatime

[Soror]

 

Finished The Lost Art of Walking,  I found parts unbelievably boring and some parts oddly interesting, it was not at all what I expected.

 

I started on Outlander, I travel 3 hrs a week for Silks so I bought the audio version for the trip. I had tried to read it on vacation but never got into it, two hours into listening to it, I'm hooked. I'll be doing both the print and audio versions. Considering the length who knows when I'll finish it.

 

 

 

1. The Crystal Cave- Stewart

2. The Hollow Hills- Stewart

3. The Last Enchantment- Stewart

4. The Wicked Day- Stewart

5. Younger Next Year for Women

6. Very Good Lives- Rowling- very, very, extremely short

7. Sword in the Stone (White)

8. The Lost Art of Walking

[idnib]

I once did a silly online thing to tell the "hell" for your Myers-Briggs type - mine read "You are eternally condemned to research an extremely vapid topic using wildly inaccurate methods

 

:lol:

 

I guess we are twins!

[Ellesmere]

:grouphug: Mom22es and Kareni

The article about thrift stores from Kareni reminded me of how I got so many books growing up. Books were a priority for my parents but the budget wasn't always there. I remember my mom getting a lot of my books at yard sales. They would also leave me at a book thrift store near a lake and let me browse for hours. I thought about finding some books from that store and reading those this week. Or reading some of the suggestions from recent BaW threads. But first I found the stack of books my mom brought over, old book club selections. I really need to get through them and give them back.

At the end of last week I read The Alchemist and The Book Thief. I still have three left from the book club pile to get through. But I already have started seven others so I should commit. Commitment is hard.

I just joined Goodreads if anyone wants to connect there. :)
 

[Pam in CT]

re not having to think too much:

Ok. Out of Africa has me in a bit of a panic. I've started reading and the language and imagery is beautiful. But... I don't think I have what it takes to discuss things that already have popped into my mind because of this thread. Things like big game hunting, preservation of natural resources, fair trade coffee, land and water usage, colonialism, treatment of indigenous peoples, and on and on. I haven't even finished chapter one!

Can I admit here that I was just kind of expecting to bask in a nice story in a natural setting without having to think too much?

:lol:

 

Oh, toughen up, woman.  You're up for it!

[Robin M]

Ok. Out of Africa has me in a bit of a panic. I've started reading and the language and imagery is beautiful. But... I don't think I have what it takes to discuss things that already have popped into my mind because of this thread. Things like big game hunting, preservation of natural resources, fair trade coffee, land and water usage, colonialism, treatment of indigenous peoples, and on and on. I haven't even finished chapter one!

 

Can I admit here that I was just kind of expecting to bask in a nice story in a natural setting without having to think too much?

Please no panicking. Enjoy the book and bask in the imagery.

I may end up limiting the conversation and ask that we avoid the more contentious issues like hunting, politics, etc. we'll have to play it by ear. And there is always the possibility of taking a conversation off thread into private messaging if have strong feelings and need to work through it.

[Robin M]

Many thanks for the kind words and thoughts for my mother; they are much appreciated.

 

**

 

I've posted this before, but since we have newcomers ~ a currently free Kindle book which might be of interest to some ~

 

Times Tables the Fun Way Book for Kids: A Picture and Story Method of Learning Multiplication by Judy Liautaud

 

 

**

 

Also currently free for Kindle readers ~ Stone Guardian: Gargoyle Urban Fantasy Romance by Danielle Monsch

 

"Gryphons flying past skyscrapers? Wizards battling it out in coffeehouses? Women riding motorcycles with large swords strapped to their backs? All normal sights since the Great Collision happened twenty-six years ago.

 

Well, not normal for everyone. Larissa Miller may have been born after the Great Collision, but as a history teacher who lives in the human-only city, she has never come into contact with any other race or species, nor has she wanted to. Her life is as ordinary as it gets - that is, until one day she walks out of her apartment and is attacked by a mob of Zombies, only to be saved by a Gargoyle.

 

Gargoyles trust no one outside their Clan, but due to a cryptic prophecy, Terak, Leader of the Gargoyles, has been watching over the human woman for months. While he can find no reason why the woman has been singled out, something about her stirs every protective instinct within him. When the attack confirms that the threats against her exist and are real, he convinces Larissa that though their races have never been allies, the best chance of discovering why she has been brought into his world is by working together.

 

In the course of their investigation Terak becomes entranced by his little human. But when he discovers why Necromancers want her and the great reward that awaits him if he betrays her, he must choose between the welfare of his Clan and not only Larissa's life, but the fate of this New Realm as well."

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

Sounds quite a bit like C.E. Murphy's Negotiator series - one of the main character's was a gargoyle and became the love interest.

[Nan in Mass]

Robin- So were we wrong to talk about the New Jim Crow so much? Should we not do that? Too close to politics? -Nan

[Robin M]

Robin- So were we wrong to talk about the New Jim Crow so much? Should we not do that? Too close to politics? -Nan

I'm not saying you all were wrong to talk about it.

 

In fact your conversations was a great example of how to politely have a discourse, without rancor and without attacking each other's opinions on a strong subject. I applaud you for that. However, there comes a point when the discussion starts circling that it should come to an end, or if you want to continue can be done so in private messaging. There is a fine line with the political issue which again was handled well. Make sense?

[Onceuponatime]

Please no panicking. Enjoy the book and bask in the imagery.

 

Thanks. Still, thinking about what others might read into certain passages is heightening my own awareness to issues I might otherwise have missed or dismissed, if I was merely reading for my own enjoyment.