Book a Week 2016 - BW8: r.i.p. umberto eco and harper lee

[aggieamy]

Stacia - I'm hoping life calms down for you.  It seems like you've got a lot going on right now.  ((HUGS))

 

 

Finished - All Things Bright and Beautiful by James Herriot as an audiobook. Splendid.  Just splendid.  My literary crush on the 1930's veterinarian continues.  *sigh*  :001_wub: :001_wub: :001_wub:  

[Kareni]

I finished a number of short works today -- two graphic novels and some more Zentangle books.

 

 

I liked this one: Essex County Volume 1: Tales From The Farm (Essex County) by Jeff Lemire

 

"Xeric-Award-winning cartoonist Jeff Lemire (Lost Dogs) illustrates the tale of Lester, an orphaned 10-year-old who goes to live on his Uncle's farm. Their relationship grows increasingly strained and Lester befriends the town's gas station owner, and damaged former hockey star Jimmy Lebeuf. The two escape into a private fantasy world of super-heroes, alien invaders and good old-fashioned pond Hockey. Tales from the Farm is the first volume in a trilogy of graphic novels set in a fictionalized version of Lemire's hometown of Essex County, Ontario."

 

**

 

I found this one confusing: Pretty Deadly Vol. 1 by Kelly DeConnick and Emma Rios

 

From Booklist:

Badass women populate the swirly, sunset-colored pages of this new series, a stirring, brutal, and macabre combination of classic western and a skewed Orpheus and Eurydice tale. Little heterochromatic Sissy and her guardian, the blind Fox, travel through canyons and frontier towns telling the mythical tale of death-faced Ginny, a vengeance reaper who has a personal score to settle—with Fox. When Sissy finds out, she demands to know the rest of the story of death-faced Ginny, but she gets far more than she bargained for. DeConnick’s slow-burn tale releases captivating details and secrets about Ginny, Fox, and Sissy at a bewitching pace as the scope of the quest grows to legendary proportions. It’s a perfect match for the gorgeous, dizzying artwork in a sumptuous palette—overlaid panels add intricate choreography to fight scenes, and detailed, whirling splash pages beg for long-lingering looks. Couple that, along with a handful of Eisner nominations, with a multicultural cast of tough-as-nails women who all fight for their own honor, and this is a series to watch out for. --Sarah Hunter

 

**

 

The following were all worth reading.

 

Zentangle Basics  by Suzanne McNeill CZT

 

Zentangle 6, Expanded Workbook Edition: Making Cards with Stencils  by Suzanne McNeill CZT

 

Zentangle 9, Workbook Edition by Suzanne McNeill CZT

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

[Ellesmere]

Forgot to post last week but I enjoyed Karen's post about romance. I haven't read anything that was listed but I probably should give it a try someday.

Glad you got mostly good news, Stacia. Eye issues can be so tricky. I'm dreading my next exam this spring.

 

Last week, I mostly took it easy. I  read another play in my book of Agatha Christie plays but I didn't re-read the novel (Appointment With Death) this time.

 

I also finished The Late Age of Print by Ted Striphas and am glad I read it. I was reading the chapter about Harry Potter, publisher control, and piracy just after the next HP book was announced. Looking at the list of what I've read so far, I'd rank it highly among the books I've finished this year.

 

Now, I have to figure out what to finish or start next. Since Good Omens was mentioned, I might finish that since I was enjoying it up until I got distracted and forgot to go back to it. We are all down with fevers and coughs and general yuck. And it's been yet another dreadful (but not tragic) week, so I may just dig out an old favorite that I haven't read in years.

 
 

 

[Stacia]

Thanks again for all the kind words & wishes, everyone. :grouphug:  This group is, hands down, just the best!

 

8. The Boys in the Boat - I saw this one recommended here so many times, I had to read it even though 1930's rowing isn't my normal reading cup of tea. I loved it! It was so well written and I became very interested in the stories of each man. And then I may have gotten unreasonably sad when I got to the end of the book.

 

My ds really loved that one too. If you end up reading something else that you think would appeal to someone who loved it, please post. I'm always on the lookout for more books for my (14yo) ds. He can be kind of a picky reader at times, though he can also be diverse in his reading.

 

In the Garden of Beasts was meh. Like the one about the Chicago World's Fair, this one really seemed broken into 2 subjects which intersected but didn't always work together. I got a bit tired of Martha Dodd's lovelife. 

 

I totally agree. I've read two of Larson's books now & have decided that I just don't like his writing style. At all. His topics are interesting, but the manner in which he writes is so unappealing to me that I just don't care about reading his books. Imo, there are plenty of other great non-fiction writers out there that I enjoy so much more.

 

I did finish A Confederacy of Dunces, which was a hilarious book, although I was sad to read that it was published after the author committed suicide and it was his mother who took up the effort after his death. The novel also gave me such a strong sense of place. The author was a native of New Orleans and set the book there; by the time I was done reading I was Googling about moving to The Big Easy.

 

What a blast from the past to hear about that book again. I read it so many years ago. I remember finding it somewhat amusing, but it struck me more as sad than anything (at least based on my very old memories).

 

Finished - All Things Bright and Beautiful by James Herriot as an audiobook. Splendid.  Just splendid.  My literary crush on the 1930's veterinarian continues.  *sigh*  :001_wub: :001_wub: :001_wub:

 

He & Paul Hogan in shorty-shorts (sorry, can't remember the Aussie name for the shorts now) are irreplaceable man hunks! :laugh:

[Jane in NC]

I just received an email letting me know Aridjis and his daughter Chloe will be at City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco tomorrow night at 7:00. Here's hoping DH can watch the kids!

 

If anyone else is in the Bay Area and wants to try and meet up and attend, PM me!

Jealous! I knew that I should have gone to SF after Denver!

[Stacia]

Jealous! I knew that I should have gone to SF after Denver!

 

Me too. Jane, we should hop on a plane to SF!

[Kareni]

Forgot to post last week but I enjoyed Karen's post about romance. ...

 

And it's been yet another dreadful (but not tragic) week, so I may just dig out an old favorite that I haven't read in years.

 

Thanks for the kind words.  And I hope that the days to come will not be dreadful.

 

 

Stacia, glad to hear that your eye issue is not terrible.

 

**

 

I just finished the third book in the Captive Prince Trilogy.  I found it to be a gripping fantasy series, and I'd recommend it to the adventurous reader.  This series should be read in order.

 

Kings Rising: Book Three of the Captive Prince Trilogy by C. S. Pacat

 

"Damianos of Akielos has returned.

 

His identity now revealed, Damen must face his master Prince Laurent as Damianos of Akielos, the man Laurent has sworn to kill.

 

On the brink of a momentous battle, the future of both their countries hangs in the balance. In the south, Kastor's forces are massing. In the north, the Regent's armies are mobilising for war. Damen's only hope of reclaiming his throne is to fight together with Laurent against their usurpers.

 

Forced into an uneasy alliance the two princes journey deep into Akielos, where they face their most dangerous opposition yet. But even if the fragile trust they have built survives the revelation of Damen's identity—can it stand against the Regents final, deadly play for the throne?"

 

Regards,

Kareni

[idnib]

DH can watch the kids! Now I just have to figure out how early I should arrive.

 

Jealous! I knew that I should have gone to SF after Denver!

 

 

Me too. Jane, we should hop on a plane to SF!

 

Yes, both of you hop on planes and come! We'd love to have you. :seeya: Or, head the other direction: he will be in Paris on March 16, in London March 17.

[Stacia]

Angela, I've been thinking of you & hoping all is going well with your new baby daughter & family.

 

[Lady Florida.]

Finished another one! Two finished in two days. Of course I've been reading them for quite some time but that's okay. Finishing something felt good. Finishing two felt really good.

 

The one I finished today is The Moor's Account and I really liked it. There will be plenty to discuss at our book club meeting next week. Now I can concentrate more on A Passage to India. I want to finish that one by the end of this month too.

 

I'm still listening to Bleak House. There comes a point whenever I'm reading or listening to a Dickens novel that I find it to be a real slog and I consider giving up. However, every time I finish one I'm glad I persevered, because he always makes it worth it. 

 

I plan to take it easy in March and read some light mysteries, then get ready for The Voyage of the Beagle in April. I also plan to try and finish On The Origin of the Species at the same time. 

 

[TechWife]

I'm behind in writing reviews! The review I just completed is for North of Here by Laurel Saville. In the end, this book conflicts so completely with my world view that I can't recommend it to anyone. 

 

Hoping for a light read, I read Tapas, Carrot Cake and a Corpse by Sherri Bryan. Although it certainly wasn't a difficult read, It wasn't my kind of book due to a weak plot. 

 

I am still reading The New Jim Crow. I also read The Good Goodbye, Carla Buckley's latest novel. It is very good and I'll write a review on it soon. 

 

 

[PeacefulChaos]

I need a consensus.

 

I'm trying to decide whether or not to drop a book.  :svengo:

 

 

 

I'm not sure I've ever just stopped reading a book.  Well, I take that back, maybe once or twice in my entire life.  But now, I'm strongly considering dropping the Star Wars book I picked up at the library.

 

SW books are never great.  They don't have awesome writing, and a lot of times the plots drag - in my high school days I began reading TONS of SW Expanded Universe books and I knew it then, but liked the overall story arcs of the books, so I kept with it.  I own many of the books that were supposed follow-ups of the movies (though never considered canon, and now obviously even less so).  I don't dislike the stories, but sometimes getting through these books can be a bit dull.  I've read each of them once.  

So it was maybe almost out of habit that I picked up the SW book at the library.  I read SW books - it's what I do.  But... I'm about 10 chapters in (short chapters), and I'm kind of just... bored.  On one hand, I'd really like to know the stories in between 6 and 7, and how everything happens, but on the other hand, I just kind of don't want to have to slog through a book to get there.  

 

Part of it makes me kind of sad.  I'm a Star Wars geek... it's what I do.  :lol:  But now, in my life, I'm feeling like but I have so many other books I could be reading and I'm not really enjoying this.  It's almost like a pride thing with me - I've always known more about SW than most others (what a title!!  lol :D ), and I know it doesn't matter, but it was kind of just a funny little side note to my personality.  And so I guess I just don't really want to admit that I'm just not feeling it.  I still love SW, still love the movies, and still want to know the basics of what happens in these books, but I'm kind of thinking I'd rather just read a synopsis online instead.  :lol:

 

So tell me.  Should I just drop it?  

 

Why do I feel so guilty?  :lol:

[Stacia]

Well, I vote for you remaining "PeacefulChaos, Queen & Knower of All Things Star Wars" AND for dropping the book. (We'll let you keep your title anyway. ;) :lol: )

 

Maybe it's boring because you know so much about SW that you actually already know everything there is in the book, even if you don't read it.

[idnib]

Part of it makes me kind of sad.  I'm a Star Wars geek... it's what I do.   :lol:  But now, in my life, I'm feeling like but I have so many other books I could be reading and I'm not really enjoying this.  It's almost like a pride thing with me - I've always known more about SW than most others (what a title!!  lol :D ), and I know it doesn't matter, but it was kind of just a funny little side note to my personality.  And so I guess I just don't really want to admit that I'm just not feeling it.  I still love SW, still love the movies, and still want to know the basics of what happens in these books, but I'm kind of thinking I'd rather just read a synopsis online instead.   :lol:

 

Did you know there are 4000 books published each day? Drop the book! (Although I also feel guilty when I don't finish books, so I know where you're coming from.)

[Soror]

(hugs Stacia)

 

I did it! I finished a Jane Austen book and actually thoroughly enjoyed it (I stayed up past 10 to finish it, which is quite the compliment from me). Now I have 2 decisions, which screen version should I watch and what Austen book do I want to start next? I need to be disciplined and finished Lies My Teacher Told Me first as I have little hope of finishing it if I keep on getting sucked into other books (ok so I just downloaded Sense and Sensibility- we'll see if I can resist starting it).

 

 

Now, I have to figure out what to finish or start next. Since Good Omens was mentioned, I might finish that since I was enjoying it up until I got distracted and forgot to go back to it. We are all down with fevers and coughs and general yuck. And it's been yet another dreadful (but not tragic) week, so I may just dig out an old favorite that I haven't read in years.

 

Get well soon. I found Good Omens an enjoyable read, nice Brittish humor and fabulous fantasy.

 

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. The Once and Future King- White

8. The Lost Art of Walking

9. Move Your DNA-Bowman

10. The Wild Trees- Preston

11. The Magician's Elephant- diCamillio

12. Wild- Strayed

13. The Last Child in the Woods- Louv

14. Good Omens- Pratchett and Gaiman

15. Beauty- McKinley

16. Pride and Prejudice- Austen

[Kareni]

When I was younger, I would never stop without finishing a book; I'd persevere and continue on to the bitter end.  Now, I give a book fifty to a hundred pages and, if it's not grabbing me or for my book group, I put it down.   Life's too short and there are too many other potentially good books to slog through an unrewarding book.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Negin]

 except I don't like to skip bits. 

Eliana, me neither. I will give up on a book if it doesn't engage me, but I seldom skip parts. 

 

Am at an eye dr. for a possible cornea issue. Yikes.

Eye problems are awful.  :grouphug:

 

I can only see out of one of my eyes, and I am super protective of it. 

Oh my. I don't want to seem intrusive/insensitive or anything, but is that hard? 

 

I will hold you personally responsible for my liking or not liking the book. ;)

:lol:  

[Negin]

Now, I give a book fifty to a hundred pages and, if it's not grabbing me or for my book group, I put it down.   Life's too short and there are too many other potentially good books to slog through an unrewarding book.

:iagree:   :iagree:   :iagree:

 

Life is too short to read a book that one doesn't at the very least like. That's my motto anyway. 

[aggieamy]

I need a consensus.

 

I'm trying to decide whether or not to drop a book.   :svengo:

 

 

 

I'm not sure I've ever just stopped reading a book.  Well, I take that back, maybe once or twice in my entire life.  But now, I'm strongly considering dropping the Star Wars book I picked up at the library.

 

SW books are never great.  They don't have awesome writing, and a lot of times the plots drag - in my high school days I began reading TONS of SW Expanded Universe books and I knew it then, but liked the overall story arcs of the books, so I kept with it.  I own many of the books that were supposed follow-ups of the movies (though never considered canon, and now obviously even less so).  I don't dislike the stories, but sometimes getting through these books can be a bit dull.  I've read each of them once.  

So it was maybe almost out of habit that I picked up the SW book at the library.  I read SW books - it's what I do.  But... I'm about 10 chapters in (short chapters), and I'm kind of just... bored.  On one hand, I'd really like to know the stories in between 6 and 7, and how everything happens, but on the other hand, I just kind of don't want to have to slog through a book to get there.  

 

Part of it makes me kind of sad.  I'm a Star Wars geek... it's what I do.   :lol:  But now, in my life, I'm feeling like but I have so many other books I could be reading and I'm not really enjoying this.  It's almost like a pride thing with me - I've always known more about SW than most others (what a title!!  lol :D ), and I know it doesn't matter, but it was kind of just a funny little side note to my personality.  And so I guess I just don't really want to admit that I'm just not feeling it.  I still love SW, still love the movies, and still want to know the basics of what happens in these books, but I'm kind of thinking I'd rather just read a synopsis online instead.   :lol:

 

So tell me.  Should I just drop it?  

 

Why do I feel so guilty?   :lol:

 

I realized that I will only be able to read a certain number of books for the rest of my life and that has helped me be comfortable in dropping books.

 

I am 34.  I read between 50-150 books a year.  My grandparents all lived into their mid to late 80's. 

 

85-34 = 51 years until I die

51 X 50 books per year = 2,550 books

51 X 150 books per year = 7,650 books

 

That means I'll only be able to read between 2,550 to 7,650 books more in my lifetime.  I simply don't have time to read books that don't interest me!

[Mom-ninja.]

 

I plan to take it easy in March and read some light mysteries, then get ready for The Voyage of the Beagle in April. I also plan to try and finish On The Origin of the Species at the same time. 

Wait, we have a Darwin month, right? I can't remember. Maybe I will finally read Origin as well. It's been on my tbr list for about how 7 years.....

[Lady Florida.]

Wait, we have a Darwin month, right? I can't remember. Maybe I will finally read Origin as well. It's been on my tbr list for about how 7 years.....

 

April, if I'm not mistaken. If I am, someone please correct me. I've been trying to read it for a few years too.

[Mom-ninja.]

Negin, you may exhale now. I liked Mrs. Bridge. I will admit that it blew my happy nostalgic image of the 30s/40s out of the water. Not that I was ignorant of the horrible trouble during those times, but I think we tend to look at the past with rose colored lenses sometimes. I know I do. I watch Cary Grant and Tracy Spencer movies and sigh with romantic longing of "better" times. (Minus the rampant racism and sexism and war. My idea of better times equates to the lovely fashion of the day and good looking Mr.Grant) This book  reminded me that things don't change much. There is always stress, sadness, depression, uncertainty, etc. in life. 

 

I don't know if I will read Mr. Bridge not because I wouldn't enjoy it but because I have so many other books to read. I need to rein myself in every now and then, and I still need to work in a romance lest I disappoint Kareni. 

Edited February 23, 2016 by Mom-ninja.

[aggieamy]

 

 

He & Paul Hogan in shorty-shorts (sorry, can't remember the Aussie name for the shorts now) are irreplaceable man hunks! :laugh:

 

:lol:  

 

I'm eclectic in my taste in men! 

[idnib]

April, if I'm not mistaken. If I am, someone please correct me. I've been trying to read it for a few years too.

 

Yes, it's April. I think I checked up on this last week or the week before.

 

For anyone who is interested, I purchased a book someone (Rose?) mentioned a couple of months ago. It's an illustrated version of Voyage of the Beagle. It also contains some modern photos of the locations Darwin visited. I do think some people are reading Origin, but I can't remember who.

[Mom-ninja.]

There's an illustrated Origin as well. I plan on buying that one. 

[Stacia]

I finished Anne Morrow Lindbergh's North to the Orient.

 

Until I saw a Smithsonian exhibit a few years ago, I never realized that Anne Morrow Lindbergh flew with her husband on various trips, acting as his radio operator, navigator, & general Jack (or Jill) of all trades.

This is her account of their trip of trying to map new routes to Asia by flying northward. It's not so much of a technical account (although there are some technicalities discussed); rather, it's more of a diary-like smattering of some of her impressions of places they visited, people they met, & the landscapes they saw. She has a particularly beautiful chapter discussing rivers -- their importance to pilots, their majesty, their strength, & their destructiveness.

I found it rather bittersweet when A.M.L. talked about some of the Russian ladies she met & how they loved the photos of her baby (knowing that less than a year after this particular journey in 1931, the Lindbergh's baby would be kidnapped & later killed).

I have to give props to Charles Lindbergh too for being ahead of his time (imo), being willing to have his wife as his 2nd in command, deferring all questions re: radio operations & such to her, as well as for reminding some naysayers ("I wouldn't take my wife there") that she was not just his wife but also his crew.

This is a small, nice, & inspirational glimpse of their trip. I will definitely be looking into more books & accounts of the travels & lives of both of the Lindberghs.

The appendix includes various equipment lists, as well as their itinerary. I wish the itinerary had been included in the front. A map or maps marking their route would have also been most welcome (though Google came to the rescue as I was busy looking up the stops she discussed).

 

--------------------------------------------

A couple of nice quotes from the book:

 

Rivers perhaps are the only physical features of the world that are at their best from the air. Mountain ranges, no longer seen in profile, dwarf to anthills; seas lose their horizons; lakes have no longer depth but look like bright pennies on the earth's surface; forests become a thin impermanent film, a moss on the top of a wet stone, easily rubbed off. But rivers, which from the ground one usually sees only in cross sections, like a small sample of ribbon -- rivers stretch out serenely ahead as far as the eye can reach. Rivers are seen in their true stature.

They tumble down mountain sides; they meander through flat farm lands. Valleys trail them; cities ride them; farms cling to them; roads and railroad tracks run after them -- and they remain, permanent, possessive. Next to them, man's gleaming cement roads which he has built with such care look fragile as paper streamers thrown over the hills, easily blown away. Even the railroads seem only scratched in with pen-knife. But rivers have carved their way over the earth's face for centuries and they will stay.

 

and

 

“For Sayonara, literally translated, 'Since it must be so,' of all the good-bys I have heard is the most beautiful. Unlike the Auf Wiedershens and Au revoirs, it does not try to cheat itself by any bravado 'Till we meet again,' any sedative to postpone the pain of separation. It does not evade the issue like the sturdy blinking Farewell. Farewell is a father's good-by. It is - 'Go out in the world and do well, my son.' It is encouragement and admonition. It is hope and faith. But it passes over the significance of the moment; of parting it says nothing. It hides its emotion. It says too little. While Good-by ('God be with you') and Adios say too much. They try to bridge the distance, almost to deny it. Good-by is a prayer, a ringing cry. 'You must not go - I cannot bear to have you go! But you shall not go alone, unwatched. God will be with you. God's hand will over you' and even - underneath, hidden, but it is there, incorrigible - 'I will be with you; I will watch you - always.' It is a mother's good-by. But Sayonara says neither too much nor too little. It is a simple acceptance of fact. All understanding of life lies in its limits. All emotion, smoldering, is banked up behind it. But it says nothing. It is really the unspoken good-by, the pressure of a hand, 'Sayonara.â€

 

--------------------------------------------

This year, I'm trying to read some 'female adventurer' books & this is one from that category. And, I just love the cover. Both the Lindberghs look beautiful, healthy, & happy. Plus, I always wanted to be a pilot, so just the idea of them doing the trekking they did is fun for me.

 

 

If any BaWers would like this book, please contact me through a PM & I'll put it in the mail to you. :) (Has been requested.)

Edited February 24, 2016 by Stacia

[marbel]

Re:  Heart of Darkness:

 

 

How is it as a re-read? I read it in high school, along with watching Apocalypse Now. My SIL read it last year and that got me thinking.

 

 

I finished it this morning.  When I read it the first time (high school or college, not sure), I'm sure I gave it a very superficial reading and any analysis would have come directly from the teacher.  I had few memories of it.  I'd never seen Apocalypse Now.  So, it was pretty fresh for me. 

 

I enjoyed it, as much as one enjoys such a grim book.  The treatment of the Africans by the Belgians was just appalling.  I still need to read Chinua Achebe's essay, "An Image of Africa:  Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness" which I think, from the little bit I've gathered without yet reading it, claims that Conrad was racist, but I saw the book as a harsh criticism of the racism of the time.   But, I should read the essay before I start disagreeing with it.  :-)

 

The edition I have includes some short stories, including "The Secret Sharer" which I vaguely recall reading in a "Myth in Literature" course in college. So I plan to read that too. 

 

I'm trying to plan my reading about my kids' community college schedule. Since neither of them drives yet (a source of irritation to me even as I understand why they aren't, or at least why one of them isn't), I have to take them, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8am - 11:30am.  If all goes right the day before, and the early morning of, their classes, I can pack up my books and stay at the school.   It's a good way to get my homeschool-related reading done, and a little fun reading too. It's a 20-minute drive each way, so saving 40 minutes for the drive back home, then back to campus, is worth it most of the time.  I'm starting My Antonia to discuss with my daughter - that's another book I have fond but vague memories of.

 

I love the atmosphere of a college, even a small community campus.  I sometimes imagine myself getting a job there after our homeschooling is done (and one or both can drive!).  I will be 61 when that happens though, and may not be employable at that point. But a (n old) girl can dream a little, right?  :-)

[mom22es]

I finished The Martian.  It was just what I needed since life has through me another crappy curveball.  I went to my dr. with chest pains last Wed.  I had an EKG and an abdominal ultrasound that showed a large mass on my kidney.  I go in for a CT scan tomorrow.  Try as I might not to, I'm driving myself crazy with worst case scenarios.  I'm planning on finishing A Passage to India, but I'm also going to just focus on reading fluffy books with happy endings for a while.  I need to take my mind off of this.  I'm not really enjoying 2016 very much...  

[Kareni]

I finished The Martian.  It was just what I needed since life has through me another crappy curveball.  I went to my dr. with chest pains last Wed.  I had an EKG and an abdominal ultrasound that showed a large mass on my kidney.  I go in for a CT scan tomorrow.  Try as I might not to, I'm driving myself crazy with worst case scenarios.  I'm planning on finishing A Passage to India, but I'm also going to just focus on reading fluffy books with happy endings for a while.  I need to take my mind off of this.  I'm not really enjoying 2016 very much...  

 

I'm sorry to hear about this curveball.  Sending positive thoughts your way. 

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Stacia]

mom22es, :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: .

 

Keep us posted. I'm sending good vibes. Fluff reading sounds like the perfect rx right now.

 

How is your dad doing? Hope he's still doing as well (or better) as when you last updated us.

[mom22es]

mom22es, :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: .

 

Keep us posted. I'm sending good vibes. Fluff reading sounds like the perfect rx right now.

 

How is your dad doing? Hope he's still doing as well (or better) as when you last updated us.

Thanks for good vibes and hugs.  My dad is doing really well.  His doctors are super impressed with his progress.  Thanks so much for asking.

[idnib]

Re:  Heart of Darkness:

 

 

I finished it this morning.  When I read it the first time (high school or college, not sure), I'm sure I gave it a very superficial reading and any analysis would have come directly from the teacher.  I had few memories of it.  I'd never seen Apocalypse Now.  So, it was pretty fresh for me. 

 

I enjoyed it, as much as one enjoys such a grim book.  The treatment of the Africans by the Belgians was just appalling.  I still need to read Chinua Achebe's essay, "An Image of Africa:  Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness" which I think, from the little bit I've gathered without yet reading it, claims that Conrad was racist, but I saw the book as a harsh criticism of the racism of the time.   But, I should read the essay before I start disagreeing with it.  :-)

 

The edition I have includes some short stories, including "The Secret Sharer" which I vaguely recall reading in a "Myth in Literature" course in college. So I plan to read that too. 

 

Thanks for posting your experience and the link to the essay. I'll check it out! I think it's always tricky when a non-native author attempts, even sympathetically, to write about what he or she hasn't personally experienced from the "other side" even when they have actually seen it through their own eyes, and have good intentions.

 

I finished The Martian.  It was just what I needed since life has through me another crappy curveball.  I went to my dr. with chest pains last Wed.  I had an EKG and an abdominal ultrasound that showed a large mass on my kidney.  I go in for a CT scan tomorrow.  Try as I might not to, I'm driving myself crazy with worst case scenarios.  I'm planning on finishing A Passage to India, but I'm also going to just focus on reading fluffy books with happy endings for a while.  I need to take my mind off of this.  I'm not really enjoying 2016 very much...  

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

 

I'm sorry this is happening. Read fluffy stuff! And I'm happy to hear your dad is doing so well.

[mumto2]

Ack. I am sitting at a dr. appt. & I was so rattled before I left, I forgot to bring my book! Harrumph!

Sending hugs....

 

  

I realized that I will only be able to read a certain number of books for the rest of my life and that has helped me be comfortable in dropping books.

 

I am 34.  I read between 50-150 books a year.  My grandparents all lived into their mid to late 80's. 

 

85-34 = 51 years until I die

51 X 50 books per year = 2,550 books

51 X 150 books per year = 7,650 books

 

That means I'll only be able to read between 2,550 to 7,650 books more in my lifetime.  I simply don't have time to read books that don't interest me!

 

 

You have done this analysis before...I always think of you when I abandon a book!

 

 

I finished The Martian.  It was just what I needed since life has through me another crappy curveball.  I went to my dr. with chest pains last Wed.  I had an EKG and an abdominal ultrasound that showed a large mass on my kidney.  I go in for a CT scan tomorrow.  Try as I might not to, I'm driving myself crazy with worst case scenarios.  I'm planning on finishing A Passage to India, but I'm also going to just focus on reading fluffy books with happy endings for a while.  I need to take my mind off of this.  I'm not really enjoying 2016 very much...

 

Sending hugs to you also. My brother has been having a mass on one of his kidneys monitored for several years now. No change. Sending good thoughts and prayers.

 

Currently reading and enjoying Brotherhood in Death.

 

BTW my likes aren't working all the time but I am attempting to keep up. Everyone seems s liked!

 

Happy Birthday to Kim!

[Ali in OR]

I finished The Martian.  It was just what I needed since life has through me another crappy curveball.  I went to my dr. with chest pains last Wed.  I had an EKG and an abdominal ultrasound that showed a large mass on my kidney.  I go in for a CT scan tomorrow.  Try as I might not to, I'm driving myself crazy with worst case scenarios.  I'm planning on finishing A Passage to India, but I'm also going to just focus on reading fluffy books with happy endings for a while.  I need to take my mind off of this.  I'm not really enjoying 2016 very much...  

 

Glad you enjoyed The Martian, but so sorry about everything else you're going through! I pray that you'll receive excellent medical care that will resolve this issue perfectly.

[marbel]

Thanks for posting your experience and the link to the essay. I'll check it out! I think it's always tricky when a non-native author attempts, even sympathetically, to write about what he or she hasn't personally experienced from the "other side" even when they have actually seen it through their own eyes, and have good intentions.

 

 

That's true.  I also know nothing of Conrad the writer/person so don't know where he was coming from. 

 

The Europeans were portrayed as an incompetent, avaricious, condescending, lazy, larcenous gang.   Brussels was called the "sepulchre city" and Marlowe has nothing but contempt for the residents when he returns from Africa.   There was really no sympathetic white character.  

 

But then again, the Africans were somewhat seemed to be caricatured too.  Nameless victims, mostly.  Weak, helpless.  But they were in those circumstances, weren't they?

 

It's a complex book.  Which is why people are still reading it, eh?

Edited February 23, 2016 by marbel

[Kareni]

Last night I finished Act Like It which was a very enjoyable contemporary romance by Lucy Parker; I'd recommend it.

 

"Renowned London actor Richard Troy's reputation has taken a beating. Given Richard's stoic, icy, some might even say rude demeanour, combined with rumors of his temper and rich-boy status, the British tabloids are having a field day that only his stage presence can repel. Even his talents can't stop the gossip, and when his agent suggests a solution to his sullied reputation--a fake relationship with the theater world's sweetheart Lainie Graham--Richard reluctantly agrees. Lainie wants no part of this ploy and certainly no extra time with ornery Richard Troy, but then she's offered a deal she can't resist, and they'll both be in for the most difficult roles of their careers--acting like they're in love. Yet when real affection and a fragile closeness grow, Lainie and Richard understand a grain of truth in their ruse and must decide whether their tempestuous love is worth the fight... Well written, with very human characters and an entertaining plot, this debut novel is highly recommended for romance lovers who enjoy gratifying, hilarious stories... - Library Journal.

 

 

I'd previously enjoyed another book by this author written under a different name.  That book is currently on sale to Kindle readers for 99 cents ~  Artistic License  by Elle Pierson

 

Regards,

Kareni
 

 

 

[Stacia]

For the Don Quixote readers here...

Did Miguel de Cervantes Invent Fiction With ‘Don Quixote’?

[Lady Florida.]

Re:  Heart of Darkness:

 

 

I finished it this morning.  When I read it the first time (high school or college, not sure), I'm sure I gave it a very superficial reading and any analysis would have come directly from the teacher.  I had few memories of it.  I'd never seen Apocalypse Now.  So, it was pretty fresh for me. 

 

I enjoyed it, as much as one enjoys such a grim book.  The treatment of the Africans by the Belgians was just appalling.  I still need to read Chinua Achebe's essay, "An Image of Africa:  Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness" which I think, from the little bit I've gathered without yet reading it, claims that Conrad was racist, but I saw the book as a harsh criticism of the racism of the time.   But, I should read the essay before I start disagreeing with it.  :-)

 

 

 

It's not a long read. 

 

http://kirbyk.net/hod/image.of.africa.html

[Narrow Gate Academy]

I've been busy cleaning before my mom came to visit, so I missed checking in last week.

 

Finished

Book 9 - City of Bones by Cassandra Clare - meh... I read it to see if one of the girls might find it interesting, but I was disappointed. Potentially good idea, mediocre development. Here's my review.

 

Currently Reading

ESV Bible - almost finished Numbers

Getting Things Done by Allen - first two sections finished

City of Dark Magic by Flyte - having trouble getting into the story after 10 chapters, but not quite ready to abandon

 

I decided to drop Passage to India to have time for other projects (upcoming consignment sale, some furniture rearranging, and taxes). I also dropped Jesus Calling. I liked the concept, but it was getting repetitive. The first person was annoying me, and I was just zipping through it to call it done.

 

I'll also be adding Murder of Crows at some point this week, so I'll have time to finish the third book before the new one comes out next month.

[Rosyl]

Hey, Everyone.

Here's what I finished. 

11. In the Time of the Butterflies Julia Alvarez   

 

   I don't know how I feel about this one.  The story is compelling, but  the author embellished the personal lives of the girls too much.  I prefer the facts.  I wandered down the rabbit hole of Dominican history, and I am sad because I don't know if what happened to them was worth it.  Has anyone else read this?  I have tried to ask my parents who were alive at this time what they remember and they don't remember anything.  The author is coming to my town and I am looking forward to hearing what she has to say.

 

From the authors notes about the story, One of the first things that happens in a dictatorship is that books are confiscated, people are not permitted to congregate and share ideas and stories.  There is one official story, one reason to gather together, and that is for indoctrination.

 

12.  The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho 

 

Read this for the library book club.  the ladies didn't like it.  I enjoyed it, but I really enjoyed how the others didn't like it. 

 

13.  Five Miles South of Peculiar by Angela Hunt    A nice story. 

 

 

and I am still working on History of the Renaissance World, Trolley Car Days, The Triumph of William McKinley, and Passage to India.  

 

 

10.  The Sound of Things Falling  by Juan Gabriel Vásquez

9.  DIY Succulents:  From Placecards to Wreaths by Tawni Daigle

8.  The Scarlett Thread by Francine Rivers on audio.

7. Travels with Casey by Benoit Denizet-Lewis

6.  The Rescuer Suzanne Woods Fisher

5.  A Town Like Alice  by Nevil Shute

4.  Jackson Bog by Michael Witt.  
3.  Toward the Sunrise by Elizabeth Camden     

2.  Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin

1.  Crucial Conversations by Patterson and Grenny

 

[marbel]

Re:  Heart of Darkness:

 

 

I finished it this morning.  When I read it the first time (high school or college, not sure), I'm sure I gave it a very superficial reading and any analysis would have come directly from the teacher.  I had few memories of it.  I'd never seen Apocalypse Now.  So, it was pretty fresh for me. 

 

I enjoyed it, as much as one enjoys such a grim book.  The treatment of the Africans by the Belgians was just appalling.  I still need to read Chinua Achebe's essay, "An Image of Africa:  Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness" which I think, from the little bit I've gathered without yet reading it, claims that Conrad was racist, but I saw the book as a harsh criticism of the racism of the time.   But, I should read the essay before I start disagreeing with it.  :-)

 

<snip>

 

Quoting myself....  I read the essay by Achebe.  Compelling. 

 

So, I had said that perhaps Conrad was not racist, but rather was criticizing racism.  Achebe addresses that notion here:

 

 

 

It might be contended, of course, that the attitude to the African in Heart of Darkness is not Conrad's but that of his fictional narrator, Marlow, and that far from endorsing it Conrad might indeed be holding it up to irony and criticism. Certainly Conrad appears to go to considerable pains to set up layers of insulation between himself and the moral universe of his history. He has, for example, a narrator behind a narrator. The primary narrator is Marlow but his account is given to us through the filter of a second, shadowy person. But if Conrad's intention is to draw a cordon sanitaire between himself and the moral and psychological malaise of his narrator his care seems to me totally wasted because he neglects to hint however subtly or tentatively at an alternative frame of reference by which we may judge the actions and opinions of his characters. It would not have been beyond Conrad's power to make that provision if he had thought it necessary. Marlow seems to me to enjoy Conrad's complete confidence -- a feeling reinforced by the close similarities between their two careers.

 

He goes on with more evidence of Conrad's own racism.

This also stood out to me:

 

 

 

Whatever Conrad's problems were, you might say he is now safely dead. Quite true. Unfortunately his heart of darkness plagues us still. Which is why an offensive and deplorable book can be described by a serious scholar as "among the half dozen greatest short novels in the English language." And why it is today the most commonly prescribed novel in twentieth-century literature courses in English Departments of American universities.

 

If the book reflects attitudes toward Africa and African peoples, shouldn't it still be taught?   I don't see the book as glorifying or excusing racism or stereotyping.  I think properly taught it should be very sobering to American students.  Again, the Europeans are not shown as superior (though they think they are) to the African people.  They are horrid people. 

 

This made me think of Idnib's comment:

 

Conrad saw and condemned the evil of imperial exploitation but was strangely unaware of the racism on which it sharpened its iron tooth. But the victims of racist slander who for centuries have had to live with the inhumanity it makes them heir to have always known better than any casual visitor even when he comes loaded with the gifts of a Conrad.

 

Much food for thought here. 

 

ETA:  My Goodreads friends will see that I've added yet another book to the pile:  King Leopold's Ghost:  A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa.  My edition of Heart of Darkness made a few references to it.   From the Wikipedia page:

 

 

 

Hochschild devotes a chapter to Joseph Conrad, the famous Anglo-Polish writer, who captained a steamer on the Congo River in the first years of Belgian colonization. Hochschild observes that Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness, despite its unspecific setting, gives a realistic picture of the Congo Free State. Its main character, Kurtz, was inspired by real state functionaries in the Congo, notably Leon Rom. While Heart of Darkness is probably the most reprinted and studied short novel of the 20th century, its psychological and moral truths have largely overshadowed the literal truth behind the story. Hochschild finds four likely models for Kurtz: men who, like Kurtz, boasted of cutting off the heads of African rebels and sometimes displaying them.

 

Edited February 23, 2016 by marbel

[prairiewindmomma]

I finally finished my 14th book for the year: Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson.

 

His books are WAY too long to listen to in any sort of a reasonable period of time (43 hours!), but I enjoyed this series more than some of his other series.  My boys are not far behind me in finishing the book in paper format.  I'm in cue for Words of Radiance, the next in the series.

[Jane in NC]

 

ETA:  My Goodreads friends will see that I've added yet another book to the pile:  King Leopold's Ghost:  A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa.  My edition of Heart of Darkness made a few references to it.   From the Wikipedia page:

 

This book has been on my library list since my son's senior year of high school (ahem--he is now a college grad!) when I reread Heart of Darkness and read Things Fall Apart.  I have not had the strength to face it.

[idnib]

For the Don Quixote readers here...

Did Miguel de Cervantes Invent Fiction With ‘Don Quixote’?

 

I have Don Quixote on my radar a bit. Having set aside Kipling's Kim a couple of years ago, I'm thinking of starting it over and then following it with D.Q., which when combined with the recently completed A Confederacy of Dunces, would form a sort of picaresque novel triad. As if I have the time!

 

If the book reflects attitudes toward Africa and African peoples, shouldn't it still be taught?   I don't see the book as glorifying or excusing racism or stereotyping.  I think properly taught it should be very sobering to American students.  Again, the Europeans are not shown as superior (though they think they are) to the African people.  They are horrid people. 

 

This made me think of Idnib's comment:

 

Well I'm of the opinion that nothing should stop being discussed, so I agree with you. Historical attitudes towards cultures different from one's own are among the most important things to examine and usually have a profound effect on the current state of things. Literature seems to be a much better way to examine than textbooks and other non-fiction pieces with the exception of autobiographies, but that could just be my personal preference.

 

The comment you quoted wasn't mine, though.  :)

[marbel]

 

The comment you quoted wasn't mine, though.  :)

 

Yes, right, I did that badly!  You had said:

 

 

 

Thanks for posting your experience and the link to the essay. I'll check it out! I think it's always tricky when a non-native author attempts, even sympathetically, to write about what he or she hasn't personally experienced from the "other side" even when they have actually seen it through their own eyes, and have good intentions.

 

And I was reminded of that comment when I read this from Achebe's essay:

 

 

 

Conrad saw and condemned the evil of imperial exploitation but was strangely unaware of the racism on which it sharpened its iron tooth. But the victims of racist slander who for centuries have had to live with the inhumanity it makes them heir to have always known better than any casual visitor even when he comes loaded with the gifts of a Conrad.

 

 

 

 

[shage]

Re: Heart of Darkness:

 

 

I finished it this morning. When I read it the first time (high school or college, not sure), I'm sure I gave it a very superficial reading and any analysis would have come directly from the teacher. I had few memories of it. I'd never seen Apocalypse Now. So, it was pretty fresh for me.

 

I enjoyed it, as much as one enjoys such a grim book. The treatment of the Africans by the Belgians was just appalling. I still need to read Chinua Achebe's essay, "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness" which I think, from the little bit I've gathered without yet reading it, claims that Conrad was racist, but I saw the book as a harsh criticism of the racism of the time. But, I should read the essay before I start disagreeing with it. :-)

 

The edition I have includes some short stories, including "The Secret Sharer" which I vaguely recall reading in a "Myth in Literature" course in college. So I plan to read that too.

 

I'm trying to plan my reading about my kids' community college schedule. Since neither of them drives yet (a source of irritation to me even as I understand why they aren't, or at least why one of them isn't), I have to take them, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8am - 11:30am. If all goes right the day before, and the early morning of, their classes, I can pack up my books and stay at the school. It's a good way to get my homeschool-related reading done, and a little fun reading too. It's a 20-minute drive each way, so saving 40 minutes for the drive back home, then back to campus, is worth it most of the time. I'm starting My Antonia to discuss with my daughter - that's another book I have fond but vague memories of.

 

I love the atmosphere of a college, even a small community campus. I sometimes imagine myself getting a job there after our homeschooling is done (and one or both can drive!). I will be 61 when that happens though, and may not be employable at that point. But a (n old) girl can dream a little, right? :-)

I just finished HoD with my son. The Achebe essay (speech) is well worth it because of the different perspective. I ordered Apocalypse Now from Netflix but have put off watching it because I have recollections of gore and I am a gore wimp these days. Should I? Shouldn't I?

 

 

ETA Oh wait. A day late and a dollar short. That's what happens when I get behind on a thread.  :lol:

 

Edited February 24, 2016 by shage

[shage]

I finished Anne Morrow Lindbergh's North to the Orient.

 

Until I saw a Smithsonian exhibit a few years ago, I never realized that Anne Morrow Lindbergh flew with her husband on various trips, acting as his radio operator, navigator, & general Jack (or Jill) of all trades.

 

This is her account of their trip of trying to map new routes to Asia by flying northward. It's not so much of a technical account (although there are some technicalities discussed); rather, it's more of a diary-like smattering of some of her impressions of places they visited, people they met, & the landscapes they saw. She has a particularly beautiful chapter discussing rivers -- their importance to pilots, their majesty, their strength, & their destructiveness.

 

I found it rather bittersweet when A.M.L. talked about some of the Russian ladies she met & how they loved the photos of her baby (knowing that less than a year after this particular journey in 1931, the Lindbergh's baby would be kidnapped & later killed).

 

I have to give props to Charles Lindbergh too for being ahead of his time (imo), being willing to have his wife as his 2nd in command, deferring all questions re: radio operations & such to her, as well as for reminding some naysayers ("I wouldn't take my wife there") that she was not just his wife but also his crew.

 

This is a small, nice, & inspirational glimpse of their trip. I will definitely be looking into more books & accounts of the travels & lives of both of the Lindberghs.

 

The appendix includes various equipment lists, as well as their itinerary. I wish the itinerary had been included in the front. A map or maps marking their route would have also been most welcome (though Google came to the rescue as I was busy looking up the stops she discussed).

 

--------------------------------------------

A couple of nice quotes from the book:

 

 

and

 

 

--------------------------------------------

This year, I'm trying to read some 'female adventurer' books & this is one from that category. And, I just love the cover. Both the Lindberghs look beautiful, healthy, & happy. Plus, I always wanted to be a pilot, so just the idea of them doing the trekking they did is fun for me.

 

 

If any BaWers would like this book, please contact me through a PM & I'll put it in the mail to you. :)

 

Oh goodness.  Adding this to my to-read list..  I found her Gifts from Sea to be very moving and would probably love this one.

 

As far as female adventurer books, one of my favorites is Beryl Markham's West with the Night. There is some controversy over it--as in, did she even write it--but the prose is lyrical and the story fantastic.  (I read it to my kids, and my then 11 or 12 year old daughter decided to research and write a biographical essay about Markham and present to a very conservative homeschool group.  The fact that she had a gajillion lovers and husbands did not go over well.  Oops.)

[Stacia]

Oh goodness.  Adding this to my to-read list..  I found her Gifts from Sea to be very moving and would probably love this one.

 

As far as female adventurer books, one of my favorites is Beryl Markham's West with the Night. There is some controversy over it--as in, did she even write it--but the prose is lyrical and the story fantastic.  (I read it to my kids, and my then 11 or 12 year old daughter decided to research and write a biographical essay about Markham and present to a very conservative homeschool group.  The fact that she had a gajillion lovers and husbands did not go over well.  Oops.)

 

I have Markham's book on my 'to read' list -- hopefully this year.

 

I've spent the evening going through a library pile & trying out various books....

 

The Ghost Network by Catie Disabato. I've read good reviews of it but once I started reading it, I had a love/hate relationship with it. It's too gimmicky & I'm just plain tired of modern books that have too many product placement mentions in them. (I'm looking at you, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series; Where'd You Go, Bernadette?; and even Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore.)  Sure, sometimes the product mentions fit the story, but they were well-overused in the 75 pages I read in this particular book. The concept sounded neat, but I found the writing clunky & repetitive. Pynchon can pull weird, disparate, & modern things together for a rollicking read & this isn't that. Not by a long shot. Oh well. Not my style, though reviews seem to suggest that it would certainly be liked by many. Giving up w/out finishing & returning this one to the library.

 

Speak by Louisa Hall. This one seems good & the writing is lovely so far. But, I get the vibe that this may end up being too sad or heart-tugging for me right now, so it's one I'm putting on my list to revisit at a later time perhaps. I see that Eliana read it last year. Eliana, do you think this is one I'd ultimately like?

 

The Lost Time Accidents by John Wray. Enjoyed the first 30 or so pages that I read of this, but it's a long (& possibly complex) novel, so I will see how I feel about tackling it. I have another very busy week right now so I'm not sure it's the right book at the right time for me. Possibly now, possibly later. Stay tuned.

 

A History of Weapons: Crossbows, Caltrops, Catapults & Lots of Other Things that Can Seriously Mess You Up by John O'Bryan. If you like humor that would appeal to teen guys, this is the book for you. It has short 1-2 page entries about various weapons from the beginning of time (starting with a rock) up through the middle ages or so. Not for those who are easily offended by cuss words or extreme sarcasm about pain. Lol. Obviously not entirely accurate but fun, mindless reading, imo, & one I'll finish over the next week or two. My ds is also planning to read this one.

 

An Exaggerated Murder by Josh Cook. Am about 60 pages in & having immense fun reading it (even though I've never read James Joyce's Ulysses). It has a starred review from Kirkus, but it looks like many readers on amazon & Goodreads don't like it. I can see why they don't -- even though you might think it's a murder mystery, it's more of a modern, sarcastic, noir detective book that wouldn't fit into the traditional format of a 'standard' mystery. Will definitely continue this one. It's completely irreverent fun, imo. Kathy, I think this is one you might also enjoy.

 

And, I need to get back to finishing I Am a Japanese Writer by Dany Laferrière.

Edited February 24, 2016 by Stacia

[PeacefulChaos]

Well, I now feel better about it, so I've dropped the Star Wars book.  

 

 

I finished out Piercing the Darkness (old reread) today and started Between the World and Me.  

 

Between the World and Me.... wow.  I've only just started it but it's already heavy.  And dare I say I already have felt a bit uncomfortable?  Perhaps a bit too easily - dare I say it? - defensive, because 'not every kid outside the city has the life he's describing... and lots of kids in the city, regardless of skin color, have the life he speaks of...'

(Please don't hate me for those thoughts.  I'm not exactly sure what to think of them, either!)

 

It's definitely going to be a journey.  

I may read it some but pick up The Scarlet Letter (which I've never read before) for something that isn't as heavy when I just need time to mull over what I've read.  It's a good one.

 

 

So far this year:

 

1. This Present Darkness (Peretti)

2. Captivating (Eldredge)

3. The Heavenly Man (Yun)

4. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up (Kondo)

5. The Case of the Missing Marquess/Enola Holmes (Springer)

6. Woman of Influence (Farrel)

7. Piercing the Darkness (Peretti)

[Angelaboord]

Angela, I've been thinking of you & hoping all is going well with your new baby daughter & family.

 

 

Thank you, Stacia, and everyone else, too, for your well wishes [emoji18]. I am dealing with some kind of infection on my incision site now, but fortunately it only seems to be a surface infection, maybe not even bacterial, so it's just keeping me from recovering as fast as I'd like. The baby, on the other hand, is doing pretty well. We've found out that the large hole in her heart isn't quite as big as originally thought and it does have tissue partially blocking it, so there is some hope it will close on its own without surgery. Her weight gain has not been great so far, but we're just kind of keeping an eye on that.

 

I have been reading memoirs written by parents of kids with Down Syndrome while I nurse. I like reading memoirs rather than the guides because I can get a better sense of what life is really like. And it helps to know that the process of coming to grips with the initial diagnosis seems to be about the same for everyone.

 

The two memoirs I've read in the past week are An Uncomplicated Life by Paul Daugherty and Road Map to Holland by Jennifer Graf Groneberg. Daugherty writes from the perspective of a father whose daughter with ds is now in her 20's (and spends a lot of time detailing their battles for inclusion in the public schools), while Groneberg writes about her son's first two years. I could identify much more with Groneberg's book, but I liked getting the far perspective from Daugherty as well.

 

Another memoir came in the mail today (The Shape of an Eye by George Estreich) along with a bunch of books about motor skills and speech. I am almost to the point where I need to take a break and read something else just to let everything sink in, though.

 

--Angela

 

 

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