Book a Week 2016 - BW5: February Safari

[Chrysalis Academy]

Just thought of something since a few of you have recently mentioned reading Frankenstein....

 

You might want to check out Strange Bodies by Marcel Theroux. I read it a few years ago (after a suggestion from JennW) & enjoyed it.

 

That does indeed look like a book I would enjoy. As does his Far North. Thanks for the suggestion! I love to read down a themed rabbit trail.

Edited February 3, 2016 by Chrysalis Academy

[Stacia]

I am also not sure what to write about The Angel's Game. I enjoyed the first book in the series and I did stay up all night to read this one, but was a bit frustrated with the ending. I don't mind when an author takes certain liberties as long as he doesn't take them too far.  I will probably have to talk about it with our Spaniard's mom for a different perspective. I would  rate it "fun, but not necessarily highly skilled."

 

I read the first & third one in that series, but not the second one (The Angel's Game). In case anyone is interested, it looks like it is just $1.99 for the kindle version right now.

 

I enjoyed The Prisoner of Heaven, partly because it's a riff on The Count of Monte Cristo (one of my favorite books). Here's what I wrote about The Prisoner of Heaven back when I read it in 2012...

 

Quite enjoyable. Now I may have to go back and read The Angel's Game (which I haven't read yet). Also wondering if the next book will be the last & final chapter...?

 

It has been quite a few years since I read The Shadow of the Wind. Yet, when reading The Prisoner of Heaven, I felt a pretty strong sense of déjà vu. I'm not sure if this stems from things I remembered from the first book or because of strong parallels to The Count of Monte Cristo or what.... So, for a good portion of the book, I felt like I knew what was going to happen w/ just the final parts being 'new' to me. Still, it was a decent, quick read. I'd rate it similar to The Shadow of the Wind, but w/ less gothic horror.

 

After mulling over The Prisoner of Heaven, I remembered one thing I wanted to say about it.... The POV bothered me in parts & here's why -- Fermin is recounting his past & it's like you're transported to that time/place. However, at times, there is much detail about people (mainly a person named Valls) & events going on w/ that person, but Fermin was not there, so how can he know to that level of detail? I guess I found the shift between 1st person & 3rd person POVs not great in parts of the book. Not a big deal, but more of a nagging feeling going on in my head when I was reading....

 

I wonder if Carlos Ruiz Zafón ever did a fourth book in that series?

Edited February 3, 2016 by Stacia

[Mom-ninja.]

Does Kindle still do Lending Library for prime members. It says so under my prime account, but I don't know how to locate lending library books. 

[Kareni]

And I've now finished book seven in the Cut and Run series that I've been re-reading; I enjoyed it once more.

 

Touch & Geaux (Cut & Run Series Book 7) by Abigail Roux

 

"After having their faces plastered across the news during a high-profile case, FBI Special Agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett have become more useful to the Bureau posing for photo ops than working undercover. Just as Zane is beginning to consider retirement a viable option, Ty receives a distress call from a friend, leading them to a city rife with echoes from the past.

New Orleans wears its history on its streets, and it’s the one place Ty’s face could get him killed. Surrounded by trouble as soon as they land, Ty and Zane are swiftly confronted with a past from which Ty can’t hide — one with a surprising connection to Zane’s.

As threats close in from all directions, both men must come to terms with the lives they’ve led and the lies they’ve told. They soon discover that not all their secrets are out yet, and nothing lasts forever."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[shage]

Last week I finished The Martian and it was a fine reminder of how far I have gotten away from escapist reads and how badly I need to get back to them. Such fun! I think I could overlook every single flaw simply because it was a rip-roaring adventure story and the protagonist was so dang likeable.

 

My family entertained ourselves on a long car ride writing Mark Watney philosophy of life haikus. Really bad ones. As in:

 

Dangerous mishap.

Swear, swear, swear. Oh wait. Duct tape.

Life is beautiful.

 

With the younger kids I wrapped up 2 Revolutionary war fiction books: Johnny Tremaine and My Brother Sam is Dead. We also started a third, Mr.Revere and I. Three very different presentations of the war back to back: patriotic and inspirational, gritty and sober, more light hearted and funny. Personally I am ready to move on to a different topic but one child is stuck play acting as a Minute Man and wants more, more, more.

 

Also, on a very quick trip to Portland, OR, I got to spend several hours in the legendary bookstore, Powell's. I picked up several offbeat books I figured I would never read otherwise. Because escapism. It is a wonderful thing.

Edited February 3, 2016 by shage

[Stacia]

Also, on a very quick trip to Portland, OR, I got to spend several hours in the legendary bookstore, Powell's.  I picked up several offbeat books I figured I would never read otherwise.  Because escapism.  It is a wonderful thing.

 

I would love to visit Powell's someday! Sounds great that you found some offbeat books.

 

Glad to hear you enjoyed The Martian. Definitely rip-roaring escapist fun.

 

[Momto4inSoCal]

I started on this thread in the summer and fell off the wagon when school started so 6 months later... I'm starting up again. I just read Moonlit Garden (free book of the month amazon prime). It was somewhat predictable but I enjoyed it and it was a nice break from the self-help and more difficult reads I've been trying to stick too. I finished Abolition of Man and I loved it. I read it after listening to Circe Institutes "Is American Education a bad Joke" and it seemed to go hand in hand. It was not the easiest book to read and I had to re-read several parts to really get what CS Lewis was talking about but it really cemented many of my thoughts on why we are trying to homeschool the way we are (won't even claim classical haha). I am now reading War and Peace but I'm only 150 pages into an 1800 page book so I think I will be on that book for awhile. I am hoping to watch the mini series but I like to read a book without my images of scenery and characters being tainted by the show. A Passage to India sounds great I will have to add that to my list.

Edited February 3, 2016 by Momto4inSoCal

[Pam in CT]

...

Pam: How did the bas mitzvah go  (or is it yet to come)?

...

 

_______

 

Pam, You are (as always) inspiring.  Thank you, love.

 

I loved BtWaM, but only liked Beautiful Struggle.  (Though I am very, very glad I read it).  The latter gave me a glimpse of a foreign world, the former helped me see it a bit through his eyes... and to connect it to my own experiences, questions, struggles, and hopes.

 

The Art of Waging Peace is on my TBr list (and my shelves), but I wasn't sure it is what I am looking for right now... but I am intrigued by your description and, also, looking for things from a similar orientation, I think.

 

I've bookmarked An Uncertain Peace, but am almost afraid to revisit Latin American issues from that angle again.  ...that was one of my areas of passion and volunteerism pre-kids (and a bit when my eldest was a baby - she was such a *portable* child, very eager to ride along with me everywhere.  My other babies, especially my youngest, would not have made it feel so, relatively, easy, to keep doing all of those things with baby-in-tow... )

...

Stella's big day is March 5.  She's pretty much set on her part.  I still have, um, a few details left on the party planning front.

 

Beautiful Struggle moved me more than I frankly expected it to.  It's a... smaller book than Between the World and Me, in scope and ambition... I expect that BtWaM will be on high school curricula in 25 years, and probably not Struggle.  But there's a poignancy in Struggle that really touched me... it's so terribly different from the "precocious narrator" of so many coming of age memoirs, the way Coates keeps coming back and describing his bafflement, and his tenderness towards his younger self.  Now that I've had a few days to digest it, I think there's something about hip-hop, a party to which I never really arrived, that slid a bit into place for me.

 

lol re: portable babies and not so much.  My eldest as well.  I was all, what's the big deal, this motherhood business?  Bunch of complain-o-heads, these people.  Just take the kid with you, no problem!  Then the next one arrived.  God laughs.

 

 

 

Last week I finished The Martian and it was a fine a fine reminder of how far I have gotten away from escapist reads and how badly I need to get back to them.  Such fun!  I think I could overlook every single flaw simply because it was a rip-roaring adventure story and the protagonist was so dang likeable. 

 

My family entertained ourselves on a long car ride writing Mark Watney philosophy of life haikus.  Really bad ones.  As in:

 

Dangerous mishap.

Swear, swear, swear. Oh wait.  Duct tape.

Life is beautiful.

 

....

:lol:

[Ethel Mertz]

I finished Eric Metaxas' book Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. I love the way Metaxas writes, drawing the reader into the angst of the times. What stunning prose and what insights into the times. I am now about to read a cozy mystery before I go back to more serious reading. Next up: Tapas, Carrot Cake, and a Corpse (Charlotte Denver Mystery #1) by Sherri Bryan and Ronnie Gilbert: A Radical Life in Song.

[idnib]

I finished On the Nature of Things (De rerun natura), an epic poem about Epicureanism. It was really interesting to read and it made me realize how much can be gleaned from simple observation of daily phenomenon. Lucretius, the author, we now know was wrong on many ideas, but it was a bit shocking exactly how modern and correct he was much of the time, particularly about atomism, which later fell out of favor for far too long.

 

I also was able to learn a lot more about Epicureanism, about which I knew very little, previously. At some point this year I'd like to read The Swerve: How the World Became Modern. An excerpt from the Wikipedia page for the book:

 

 

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern is a book by Stephen Greenblatt and winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction and 2011 National Book Award for Nonfiction.

 

Greenblatt tells the story of how Poggio Bracciolini, a 15th-century papal emissary and obsessive book hunter, saved the last copy of the Roman poet Lucretius's On the Nature of Things from near-terminal neglect in a German monastery, thus reintroducing important ideas that sparked the modern age.

 

The title and the subtitle of the book are explained in the author's preface. "The Swerve" refers to a key conception in the ancient atomistic theories according to which atoms moving through the void are subject to clinamen: while falling straight through the void, they are sometimes subject to a slight, unpredictable swerve. Greenblatt uses it to describe the history of Lucretius' own book: "The reappearance of his poem was such a swerve, an unforeseen deviation from the direct trajectory—in this case, toward oblivion—on which that poem and its philosophy seemed to be traveling." The recovery of the ancient text is seen as its rebirth, i.e. a "renaissance". Greenblatt's claim is that it was a 'key moment' in a larger "story.. of how the world swerved in a new direction"

 

For a shorter version, there's a good article (The Answer Man) about Lucretius and the history of the poem in the August 8, 2011 issue of The New Yorker by Stephen Greenblatt, the author of The Swerve.

Edited February 3, 2016 by idnib

[shage]

I finished Eric Metaxas' book Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. I love the way Metaxas writes, drawing the reader into the angst of the times. What stunning prose and what insights into the times. I am now about to read a cozy mystery before I go back to more serious reading. Next up: Tapas, Carrot Cake, and a Corpse (Charlotte Denver Mystery #1) by Sherri Bryan and Ronnie Gilbert: A Radical Life in Song.

I found the Bonhoeffer book both fascinating and disturbing.

 

Not long after I finished reading it, one of my children was hospitalized for a week. On one of my wanderings through the hallways, I found the "meditation room" deep in the basement. It was cramped, no windows, with decor best described ad retro-institutional. Holy books objects from the many faiths in our local community were lined up haphazardly: Sikh scriptures, candles, a cross, Jewish prayer book, Muslim prayer beads, lamps. Then there was a folder filled with photocopied prayers. I found one by Bonhoeffer and took it back to my son's room and taped it to a wall. It's a rather ordinary prayer, but knowing his life, I found it moving.

 

Since then, I have collected several prayer books and like to learn about the people who wrote them. Simple prayers and extraordinary life, or simple life and extraordinary prayer: Either way would satisfy.

Edited February 3, 2016 by shage

[Jane in NC]

Idnib--you inspire me!  One of these days I truly will read On the Nature of Things. 

 

And yes to The Swerve!

 

In my initial post on this thread, I offered my list of January reading.  The discussion on sci fi reminded me that I had failed to include Roadside Picnic on that list (despite having much to say on it!)  So here is the corrected list. 

 

8) Along the Ganges, Ilija Trojanow, 2011; translated from the German by the author with Ranjit Hoskote; Non-fiction (travel)

7) Mr. Gwyn & Three Times at Dawn, Alessandro Baricco, 2014; translated from the Italian by Ann Goldstein; Fiction

6) Roadside Picnic, Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, 1971; translated from the Russian by Olena Bormashenko; Fiction

5) Jar City, Arnaldin Indridasen, 2004; translated from the Icelandic by Bernard Scadder; Fiction (police procedural)

4) The World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates, 2015; Non-fiction

3) Come, Tell Me How You Live, Agatha Christie Mallowan, 1946; Non-fiction (memoir)

2) Unincorporated Persons in the Late Honda Dynasty, Tony Hoagland, 2010; Poetry

1) To Siberia, Per Petterson, 1996; translated from the Norwegian by Anne Born; Fiction.

[Onceuponatime]

I spent about half an hour on a rabbit trail yesterday, instigated by Out of Africa. At one point, the author compares a kikuyu mother and son to Uraka and Laskaro. I went," huh?" After some searching, I found that it is a reference to the poem " Atta Troll" by a German writer, Heinriche Heine. Uraka was a witch and her son was a zombie of sorts, brought back from the dead by his mother.

 

More info here: http://www.schillerinstitute.org/educ/aesthetics/2014/heine-romanticism/buendler-romanticism.html

Edited February 3, 2016 by Onceuponatime

[Butter]

Does Kindle still do Lending Library for prime members. It says so under my prime account, but I don't know how to locate lending library books. 

 

Yes.  You can only get there via a device (Kindle ereader, Fire, or Fire phone).  http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200757120

 

Dangerous mishap.

Swear, swear, swear. Oh wait. Duct tape.

Life is beautiful.

 

That is awesome.  I read it to my (huge Martian fan) 14 year old son and he laughed and laughed.

[Jane in NC]

Y'all need a quote from Private Life by Josep Maria de Sagarra to start your day:

 

Even more than a man, an old woman who has lived a full life retains the imprint of the past and the sensible permanence of memory.  Women have more passive nerve receptors, and more receptive souls, so they do not consume themselves nor do they expend all their energy in action as men do.  Women are both more covetous and more foresightful.  Between the folds of their wrinkled skin, they have the good faith to collect dreams, to gather up adventures, and to preserve there what cannot be seen and can only be sensed:  the perfume of history.

 

[Kareni]

... My family entertained ourselves on a long car ride writing Mark Watney philosophy of life haikus. Really bad ones. As in:

 

Dangerous mishap.

Swear, swear, swear. Oh wait. Duct tape.

Life is beautiful.

 

 

 

What fun!  I found myself in bed last night trying to write one of my own.

 

 

Idaho and Mars

We're known for our potatoes

Mark wants condiments.

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

[idnib]

I spent about half an hour on a rabbit trail yesterday, instigated by Out of Africa. At one point, the author compares a kikuyu mother and son to Uraka and Laskaro. I went," huh?" After some searching, I found that it is a reference to the poem " Atta Troll" by a German writer, Heinriche Heine. Uraka was a witch and her son was a zombie of sorts, brought back from the dead by his mother.

 

More info here: http://www.schillerinstitute.org/educ/aesthetics/2014/heine-romanticism/buendler-romanticism.html

 

My family and I thank you for saving me from more research down (yet another) another rabbit trail.  ;)

 

Y'all need a quote from Private Life by Josep Maria de Sagarra to start your day:

 

Thank you Jane! I'm looking forward to reading the book.

[aggieamy]

Finished A Lonely Death by Charles Todd as an audiobook.  (It's #13 in the Inspector Ian Rutledge series.)  I'm having a tough time rating this book so I'll just do a string of consciousnesses review and see how it goes. 

 

Amy 1:  "I skipped ahead to #13 after reading #1 and #2 in the series because I had heard they get better and this book was far better than the previous books.  Tighter plot.  The author did a better job of describing the characters so I was able to tell them apart - in book #2 I was 75% done with it and would wonder who was so and so again.  The setting was fantastic.  At one point in listening to the book I told my DH that it was so unfair in life that I couldn't just for a day go to 1920's England and walk around because the book described it so perfectly that I felt as though I was homesick for somewhere I hadn't even been before."

 

Amy 2:  "Wow, Amy!  That sounds great!  So you loved it, right?"

 

Amy 1:  "I did ENJOY reading it but at one point during the book something happened and I though, 'I'm not reading anymore of these books.  This is too stressful'.  I'm still not sure if I'll continue with the series."

 

Amy 2:  "Is that because it was too dark and gritty for a gal that prefers her murders to only happen at grand manor houses and to be solved by old ladies who knit?"

 

Amy 1:  "Maybe.  It was a little dark and a little gritty but I think what bothered me the most was that poor Ian can never catch a break."

 

Amy 2:  "Fiction is boring if it's all roses and sunshine and knitting for our heroes."

 

Amy 1:  "But the guy NEVER catches a break.  Every book so far has been like this.  Ian is unlucky in love.  Ian's boss is out to get him.  Ian is thinking about committing suicide.  Ian is being framed.  Ian has no friends.  Wait, he has one friend but then that friend dies.  C'mon!  At least let the guy have a tiny tiny bit of happiness.  Something.  Otherwise you read the book and just feel depressed at the end.  Again.  Every book ends feeling depressed." 

 

Well.  That little internal discussion didn't help.  I still don't know what to rate it.  Either 3 or 4 stars.  I'll err on the side of being nice and say 4 stars. 

 

 

Also, this article was fascinating about detective mysteries. 

 

http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/what-makes-great-detective-fiction-according-to-t-s-eliot

 

 

[Jane in NC]

Thanks for the New Yorker link, Amy.

 

Jane (fan of T.S. Eliot and detective novels)

[redsquirrel]

Hi all!

 

It's been a busy January, so I am glad February has started. We've been ill, and I had to leave town for about a week and attend a funeral with my mom (It was to lend her emotional support, and the right thing to do, not a funeral that meant much to me) and I had to finish up a big knitting project...all of which cut into my reading time :toetap05:

 

But, here we are at the beginning of Feb and I can only claim 2 books.

 

I have finished Salman Rushdie's 2 years, 8 months, 28 days and today I will finish Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury.

 

In fact, I need to hustle and figure out what I am going to start tomorrow! Both books were a first with each author and I enjoyed both tremendously. I will be reading more from both, that is for sure. But, maybe not my next book....

 

I need a better word than enjoyed. What is the word I can use for a book that I did enjoy, but wasn't a 'fun' experience? They were both challenging reads in their own ways and I enjoyed the challenge? You would think for someone who reads a lot, I would have better words to describe the experience. I guess that explains why I am a reader and not a writer.

[Bluegoat]

I'm plodding on with Small Is Beautiful.  I've just finished a chapter which talks a little about the nature of work and what makes it satisfying.  He feels that increasingly the type of work people are doing is unsatisfying to them - work that requires craft and skill has largely been automated, leaving people with much less satisfying jobs - one step in a 20 step process for example. 

 

He's been really influenced by Ghandi in his views on work, and what he seems to be suggesting is that rather than having so many people in unsatisfying, automated work that actually involves concentrated production, it would be better to have people use low-tech tools for more satisfying, skilled work, and something closer to full employment.  He says some jobs would no longer pay for themelves but these would be better lost anyway.

 

There is also a rather interesting bit about the beatitudes where he looks at them as a direction for how to have a satisfying, ethical, and sustainable economy.

 

It makes me think somewhat about what I think the author of Homeward Bound was trying to figure out when she wanted to know why people were finding the work of the domestic life more satisfying. 

[Kareni]

I need a better word than enjoyed. What is the word I can use for a book that I did enjoy, but wasn't a 'fun' experience? They were both challenging reads in their own ways and I enjoyed the challenge?

 

I'd call that a valuable read.

 

***

 

Last night I finished the contemporary romance Level Up: A Geek Romance Rom Com by Cathy Yardley; it was a pleasant read.  This book is currently free to Kindle readers.

 

"Geeky introvert Tessa Rodriguez will do whatever it takes to get promoted to video game engineer– including create a fandom-based video game in just three weeks. The only problem is, she can't do it alone. Now, she needs to strong-arm, cajole, and otherwise socialize with her video game coworkers, especially her roommate, Adam, who’s always been strictly business with her. The more they work together, though, the closer they get…

 

Adam London has always thought of his roomie Tessa as “one of the guys†until he agreed to help her with this crazy project. Now, he’s thinking of her all the time… and certainly as something more than just a roommate! But his last girlfriend broke up with him to follow her ambitions, and he knows that Tessa is obsessed with getting ahead in the video game world.

 

Going from friends to something more is one hell of a challenge. Can Tessa and Adam level up their relationship to love?"

 

Regards,

Kareni

[JennW in SoCal]

Finished A Lonely Death by Charles Todd as an audiobook.  (It's #13 in the Inspector Ian Rutledge series.)  I'm having a tough time rating this book so I'll just do a string of consciousnesses review and see how it goes. 

 

Amy 1:  "I skipped ahead to #13 after reading #1 and #2 in the series because I had heard they get better and this book was far better than the previous books.  Tighter plot.  The author did a better job of describing the characters so I was able to tell them apart - in book #2 I was 75% done with it and would wonder who was so and so again.  The setting was fantastic.  At one point in listening to the book I told my DH that it was so unfair in life that I couldn't just for a day go to 1920's England and walk around because the book described it so perfectly that I felt as though I was homesick for somewhere I hadn't even been before."

 

Amy 2:  "Wow, Amy!  That sounds great!  So you loved it, right?"

 

Amy 1:  "I did ENJOY reading it but at one point during the book something happened and I though, 'I'm not reading anymore of these books.  This is too stressful'.  I'm still not sure if I'll continue with the series."

 

Amy 2:  "Is that because it was too dark and gritty for a gal that prefers her murders to only happen at grand manor houses and to be solved by old ladies who knit?"

 

Amy 1:  "Maybe.  It was a little dark and a little gritty but I think what bothered me the most was that poor Ian can never catch a break."

 

Amy 2:  "Fiction is boring if it's all roses and sunshine and knitting for our heroes."

 

Amy 1:  "But the guy NEVER catches a break.  Every book so far has been like this.  Ian is unlucky in love.  Ian's boss is out to get him.  Ian is thinking about committing suicide.  Ian is being framed.  Ian has no friends.  Wait, he has one friend but then that friend dies.  C'mon!  At least let the guy have a tiny tiny bit of happiness.  Something.  Otherwise you read the book and just feel depressed at the end.  Again.  Every book ends feeling depressed." 

 

Well.  That little internal discussion didn't help.  I still don't know what to rate it.  Either 3 or 4 stars.  I'll err on the side of being nice and say 4 stars. 

 

 

Also, this article was fascinating about detective mysteries. 

 

http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/what-makes-great-detective-fiction-according-to-t-s-eliot

 

Thank you both, Amy 1 and Amy 2, for the discussion of the Ian Rutledge books.  I think Amy 1 has hit the nail on the head -- the guy NEVER catches a break. It is a hook for the first book, an annoyance in the 2nd book and by the time you get to the third you just can't take it any more.  And yes -- the countryside descriptions are so beautiful and vivid that you want so much to like the books because you want to be there some more. 

 

Will have to come back for the New Yorker article later today...

[idnib]

I need a better word than enjoyed. What is the word I can use for a book that I did enjoy, but wasn't a 'fun' experience? They were both challenging reads in their own ways and I enjoyed the challenge? You would think for someone who reads a lot, I would have better words to describe the experience. I guess that explains why I am a reader and not a writer.

 

Appreciated?

[shage]

What fun! I found myself in bed last night trying to write one of my own.

 

 

Idaho and Mars

We're known for our potatoes

Mark wants condiments.

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

Love it!

 

Another one:

 

I am McGyver

I don't cry in nuthin' tea

Except when head hurts.

[aggieamy]

Thank you both, Amy 1 and Amy 2, for the discussion of the Ian Rutledge books.  I think Amy 1 has hit the nail on the head -- the guy NEVER catches a break. It is a hook for the first book, an annoyance in the 2nd book and by the time you get to the third you just can't take it any more.  And yes -- the countryside descriptions are so beautiful and vivid that you want so much to like the books because you want to be there some more. 

 

Will have to come back for the New Yorker article later today...

 

Have you abandoned the series?  I know we have similar tastes in books so I'm interested if you'll continue reading any of his adventures or not. 

[aggieamy]

I have to join in the hakui-ing.  I can't think of one for the Martian so I'll attempt to do my review of Catch-22.

 

I must be too dumb

There was no levity found

Can I burn this book

 

 

 

[Ali in OR]

Can I burn this book

 

 

Aack! No! No book burning! (sorry--working with dd on her Fahrenheit 451 essay today...)

[shage]

I have to join in the hakui-ing. I can't think of one for the Martian so I'll attempt to do my review of Catch-22.

 

I must be too dumb

There was no levity found

Can I burn this book

Lol.

 

Pretty sure one of my teens reviewed Augustine's Confessions in haiku form with the phrase, "He's a whiny mamma's boy."

[aggieamy]

Aack! No! No book burning! (sorry--working with dd on her Fahrenheit 451 essay today...)

 

But it would provide warmth and if there are marshmallows then we could roast them and that would provide happiness. 

 

ETA:  There were no actual books burned during the writing of the previous haiku.  It was a library book and I don't think the library system would be pleased with my rating system. 

 

***** - return book to library in pristine shape so other can enjoy this piece of fine literature

*** - try to keep the cracker crumbs out of the book because it's okay

* - BYOM - Bring your own marshmallows!  Amy's got a bonfire started. 

Edited February 3, 2016 by aggieamy

[Chrysalis Academy]

I finished On the Nature of Things (De rerun natura), an epic poem about Epicureanism. It was really interesting to read and it made me realize how much can be gleaned from simple observation of daily phenomenon. Lucretius, the author, we now know was wrong on many ideas, but it was a bit shocking exactly how modern and correct he was much of the time, particularly about atomism, which later fell out of favor for far too long.

 

I also was able to learn a lot more about Epicureanism, about which I knew very little, previously. At some point this year I'd like to read The Swerve: How the World Became Modern. An excerpt from the Wikipedia page for the book:

 

 

For a shorter version, there's a good article (The Answer Man) about Lucretius and the history of the poem in the August 8, 2011 issue of The New Yorker by Stephen Greenblatt, the author of The Swerve.

 

 

The Swerve is my next planned audiobook, so I'm up for a discussion of that for sure!

[SEGway]

DH finished Ancillary Justice, so I got to, too! :)

 

It reminded me a lot of Starship Troopers (Heinlein), but maybe just because the core message...no, more accurately, the core question resonated with other thoughts I'd already been thinking. I think I'd like to reread it now that the confusing style/setup/pronouns make more sense to me.

 

Thanks, again, for the recommendation!

 

ETA: I tried just googling. How else would I find last year's discussion about this book? Or does anyone wish to repeat themselves and tell me, again? :) TIA!  

Edited February 4, 2016 by SEGway

[prairiegirl]

I don't really have time to read these threads on my computer but I don't like to post on my phone so I lurk on my phone.  But there was just too much for me to say this week that I can't just sweep it under the proverbial rug.  Also, the multi-quote thing-y messed up for me so I will  do my best to reply sans multi-quote.

 

Jane, I want to thank you for introducing me to Forster.  I had heard of him before, of course, but always in passing and I had never read any of his books.  After reading your blurb about him and his books, I zipped on over to ibooks and downloaded A Passage to India.  Oh. My. Goodness!  What a beautiful writer!  I am so into this story that we didn't do school this morning so that I could just moon over all of his descriptions (Shh!  Please don't tell anybody!)  Thank you again for such a gift!

 

Chris,  I totally understand your worries about reading deep.  I have been there many a time but, oh, I have become such a different person because I sucked in my breath and forged on.  I know how much this hurts, but I want to encourage you to keep on at your own speed.  If you need a break then read some fluff, or a different genre, then when you feel stronger, go back to it.   We are all here as your personal cheering squad.

 

Angela, my prayers are with you as you welcome your little one.

 

Melissa, I am so thankful that your primary care doctor has his wits about him.  I am praying for you and hugging you in my heart.

 

Stacia,  I know that life is not the greatest right now but please know that I am hugging you tightly in my heart as well.

 

 

I have recently read  Life After Life  by Kate Atkinson (absolutely loved it!),  Lake House  by Kate Morton (it started out good but there were so many sub-plots and I was discouraged by the ending) and Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf (what a beautifully written story!  The lack of punctuation through me for a loop, though.  Does he write all of his books like that? )

 

As I gushed above, I am deep into A Passage to India.  As well I am reading  A Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning  and Eragon by Christopher Paolini.

 

 

 

 
 
 

[Narrow Gate Academy]

I've finished two books so far this week:

 

6.  Tartuffe by Moliere - I actually finished this up Sunday night but didn't get a chance to review it until today.  Although I read this to discuss with DD16, I enjoyed it enough that I will read "The Misanthrope"  soon and possible some others in the future.  Does anyone know of a good stage version that we could watch on tv.  I think I would enjoy it even more as a live production. 

 

Favorite humorous quote:  Dorinne to Tartuffe

"It's strange that you're so easily excited;
My own desires are not so soon ignited,
And if I saw you naked as a beast,
Not all your hide would tempt me in the least."

 

Favorite thoughtful quote:  Cleante to Orgon

"Learn to distinguish virtue from pretense,
Be cautious in bestowing admiration,
And cultivate a sober moderation.
Don't humor fraud, but also don't asperse
True piety; the latter fault is worse,
And it is best to err, if err one must,
As you have done, upon the side of trust"

 

7.  Written in Red by Bishop - I actually finished this one yesterday because I stayed up until midnight reading it on Monday night.  You know it's a keeper if you stay up to the wee hours reading and it's a reread.  My review is here .  5 stars excellent read even if fantasy is not your usual preference.  The characters are extremely well-written.

 

Favorite humorous quote:

       "'Sam gave him an incredulous look. ' If I don't wear the harness, how am I supposed to pull Meg out of a snowbank when she falls in?'
        Simon kept his eyes on the road. The boy had said when, not if. Just how often did Meg fall into a snowbank? Was she clumsy, or was it play? Or did she end up in the snow after getting tripped up by a puppy?"

 

I started the updated version of Getting Things Done by Adler released last year.  The content seems basically the same as the first version with some editing changes so far, although the tone seems a little more approachable and understanding than the previous edition.  I also have Passage to India loaded on my Kindle to start reading tomorrow.

[idnib]

The Swerve is my next planned audiobook, so I'm up for a discussion of that for sure!

 

That would be great! I'm not as fast as you so I probably won't be done until March. I've got 5 books going right now so I need to whittle down, then it will take me a couple of weeks to read The Swerve. Although you've tempted me into getting the audiobook instead.

[Kareni]

An enjoyable bookish post from the New York Times ~

 

‘Blooks: The Art of Books That Aren’t’ Explores the World of Fake Books

This is a display I'd enjoy visiting.

 

***

 

For all those who've mentioned the Kondo book ~

I Kondo'd The Heck Out Of My Bookshelves

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

[idnib]

We finally joined a private library. I felt a bit guilty, but it is in SF so we will definitely be using our local libraries the most. We wanted access to the events, classes, book groups, and database access more than the actual reading materials, plus DH often has time in the area between meetings and would love a quiet place to read or work without having to jostle for room at an overcrowded cafe. The children are excited too because they have  a robust chess program.

 

If you live in the area, check out the Mechanics' Library and Chess Room.

 

Anyone else belong to a private library?

 

 

[Stacia]

We finally joined a private library. I felt a bit guilty, but it is in SF so we will definitely be using our local libraries the most. We wanted access to the events, classes, book groups, and database access more than the actual reading materials, plus DH often has time in the area between meetings and would love a quiet place to read or work without having to jostle for room at an overcrowded cafe. The children are excited too because they have  a robust chess program.

 

If you live in the area, check out the Mechanics' Library and Chess Room.

 

Anyone else belong to a private library?

 

That's cool.

 

I've never belonged to a private library. I visited one in Charleston, SC, & thought that if I ever lived there, it would be neat to become a member.

[Kareni]

I know that some here enjoy reading M. C. Beaton's mysteries.  Here's a currently free Kindle book that is one of her romances ~

 

The Flirt (The Regency Intrigue Series Book 1)  by  M. C. Beaton

 

"Tongues were set wagging when Elizabeth Markham's glamorous young parents were killed, leaving their only child to the unspeakable class of poor relation. Forced to live with her cruel, miserly uncle Julius, Elizabeth was forbidden to participate in the season's festivities. Elizabeth realized that marriage was her only escape, and she decided on a daring plan: she would trick her way into the Duke of Dunster's exclusive house party and snare one of the eligible bachelors sure to be happy to dance with her.

Elizabeth's plan succeeded swimmingly, as she flirted with everyone with the exception of the arrogant Lord Charles Lufford, who was considered by those in the know to be quite a catch. She ignored Charles thoroughly until her uncle discovered her deception and it was, of all people, Charles who saved her - by announcing their engagement!

But Elizabeth's troubles were far from over. In her absence she had come into an inheritance and her uncle, along with another sinister party, would rather see her dead than receive."

 

***

 

A currently free historical saga ~ 

The Guardian of Secrets by Jana Petken

 

"A suspenseful, Compelling Historical Fiction" Kirkus Reviews

 

"A historical family saga spanning four generations, from 1912, Kent, England, to Spain and its 1936–39 civil war.

Celia and Ernesto’s two sons march under opposing banners, whilst their daughters take different paths, one to the Catholic Church and the other to the battlefields, and in the shadow of war, an evil ghost from the past watches and waits for an opportunity to destroy the entire family. In exile, Celia and Ernesto can only wait and pray for their children and their safe return home.."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

I just finished the fantasy The Seat of Magic  which is the second book in the Golden City series by J. Kathleen Cheney; I enjoyed it.  I do recommend beginning with the first book in the series, The Golden City.

 

"The Golden City series continues, and humans and nonhumans alike are in danger as evil stalks the streets, growing more powerful with every kill…

It’s been two weeks since Oriana Paredes was banished from the Golden City. Police consultant Duilio Ferreira, who himself has a talent he must keep secret, can’t escape the feeling that, though she’s supposedly returned home to her people, Oriana is in danger.

Adding to Duilio’s concerns is a string of recent murders in the city. Three victims have already been found, each without a mark upon her body. When a selkie under his brother’s protection goes missing, Duilio fears the killer is also targeting nonhuman prey.

To protect Oriana and uncover the truth, Duilio will have to risk revealing his own identity, put his trust in some unlikely allies, and consult a rare and malevolent text known as The Seat of Magic…"

 

I see there's a third book already out ....

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

Hey my darlin's. Busy week with class stuff and finally have time to breath. Finished The Martian.  Perhaps a Haiku tomorrow. Now I want to see the movie.  Speaking of Movies, we watched Jurassic World last night.  Pretty good and intense, despite the pitiful acting.   :lol:

 

J.D.Robb's latest in the In Death series arrived -  Brotherhood in Death.  Nuff said.  I'll check in tomorrow. 

 

:grouphug:

[Ausmumof3]

To whoever mentioned Mr Penumbra's 24-hour bookstore thank you. I managed to borrow the digital version from the library. It was such a fun read and the ending was very sweet. I haven't enjoyed a light reading book so much in ages.

 

Still going through the Discworld novels although I'm starting to get that feeling you get with very prolific authors, that although the books are still enjoyable you've read and understood most of the authors viewpoint or perspective. The characters are still fun but it's more rearranging and playing with them than anything really new. Still they are fun for light reading.

 

Im about to start "the sound of things falling" by Juan Gabriel so will see how that goes. Also I have the story of science by SWB but I plan to skim read to see if I will use it later.

[Melinda in VT]

I don't really have time to read these threads on my computer but I don't like to post on my phone so I lurk on my phone. But there was just too much for me to say this week that I can't just sweep it under the proverbial rug.

 

<snipped>

 

I have recently read Life After Life by Kate Atkinson (absolutely loved it!), Lake House by Kate Morton (it started out good but there were so many sub-plots and I was discouraged by the ending) and Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf (what a beautifully written story! The lack of punctuation through me for a loop, though. Does he write all of his books like that? )

 

As I gushed above, I am deep into A Passage to India. As well I am reading A Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning and Eragon by Christopher Paolini.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm an iPad lurker.

 

But I had to jump on the comment on Our Souls at Night. I loved this book. So quiet and yet, as you said, beautifully written.

 

This was my second Haruf novel, and both had a lack of quotation marks.

[Chrysalis Academy]

That would be great! I'm not as fast as you so I probably won't be done until March. I've got 5 books going right now so I need to whittle down, then it will take me a couple of weeks to read The Swerve. Although you've tempted me into getting the audiobook instead.

 

I may not get to it for awhile either, so no worries. I'm in the middle of The Plantagenets audiobook, and I'm determined to finish Aristotle's Children before I start the Swerve.  The audiobook tempted me, too, I knew I'd get to it much sooner if I go that route, I have a ridiculous number of books either started or planned at the moment!

[Jane in NC]

The painter is finished with the kitchen/dining area of the house so I am returning cookbooks to their bookcase. You'll be happy to know that the Alice B. Toklas Cookbook (copyright 1954) lives next to the Pooh Cookbook (1969--pre-Disney!)  We seem to have working cookbooks (Moosewood, Bayless, Julia Child) and then art or literary or odd little cookbooks (like the Smoke Seafood cookbook or the Traditional Portuguese Recipes from Provincetown cookbook).  I am pulling out some in the hope that we can shed them. I really do need to run the titles by my husband though since we each seem to have our favorites and our specialties.  He has the Chinese and the grilling cookbooks while I lay claim to the baking books.  Do I really need the Donvier ice cream cookbook since we haven't made ice cream in years?  Well, for that matter, do we need the Donvier ice cream maker any longer?

 

Having moved a lot of stuff to accommodate the painter, I am hoping to do some sorting as opposed to returning stuff to former locations.

[idnib]

I may not get to it for awhile either, so no worries. I'm in the middle of The Plantagenets audiobook, and I'm determined to finish Aristotle's Children before I start the Swerve.  The audiobook tempted me, too, I knew I'd get to it much sooner if I go that route, I have a ridiculous number of books either started or planned at the moment!

 

My car is 14 years old so I have to put a tape dealie into the tape slot and connect that to my phone for audiobooks in the car, if I want them to come over the speaker. The radio died last month and DH showed DD how to change the fuse. It died again this month and she changed the fuse (on her own!) and that didn't fix it. Luckily I drive very little so it's not taking away too much from my listening time, but still. I need to take it in.

 

I also have the Plantagenets audiobook, lurking around from last year. Keep meaning to get to that.... 

[idnib]

Do I really need the Donvier ice cream cookbook since we haven't made ice cream in years?  Well, for that matter, do we need the Donvier ice cream maker any longer?

 

No, you need to swap it out with the Zuni Cafe Cookbook, if you don't have it already.  :p I think you would enjoy it, and I'm not just saying that because it's my favorite.

[Jane in NC]

No, you need to swap it out with the Zuni Cafe Cookbook, if you don't have it already.  :p I think you would enjoy it, and I'm not just saying that because it's my favorite.

 

This is not the first time that you have mentioned this cookbook. But I am going to resist--at least temporarily.  Apparently my library has a copy.  Sigh.  Adding it to my list.

 

[Pam in CT]

Jane, I'm envisioning now a BAW tag sale.  We actually have *two* ice cream makers somewhere in the basement.  Because the second time my husband saw how cheap they are! how could I resist!  at Costco, he plum forgot about the first time five years prior.   :willy_nilly:

[mumto2]

We have a couple of unused ice cream makers also. :lol: Great intentions but I never do it.

 

Jane, when we moved I had to leave behind stacks of cookbooks, most given away but a small box lives in storage of sentimental ones made by groups I belonged to. When going through them I realised that many of them were being kept for one or two really favourite recipes. I went to work with a photocopier and kept the favourites that way. They are stored in a box under my couch now!