Book a Week 2016 - BW10: bicycles, beaches and books

[aggieamy]

Another one bites the dust ... another audiobook that is.  I've been super busy with work lately and that's my audiobook time.

 

A Rule Against Murder by Lousie Penny.  (Armand Garmache series #4) The series is just splendid.  This was my least favorite of the four but the others were so fantastic that it doesn't take away from this book at all.  Great cozy mystery series set in small town Canada.  I love the setting as much as I love the characters.  There's also a mystery in there but that's a distant third to loving the story and characters. 

 

Next up on audiobooks will be an Ellis Peters book.

[Ali in OR]

 

I was just telling hubby this morning, it would be neat if we could put together a 52 books cruise. Probably take a year or more to plan and coordinate.  :lol:

 

I have this picture in my head of us all sitting in deck chairs reading our books...

[Kareni]

I have this picture in my head of us all sitting in deck chairs reading our books...

 

while eating chocolate bonbons or drinking ...  go ahead and fill in the blank

 

Regards,

Kareni

[aggieamy]

Got to do a fun thing with ds tonight. For Christmas, I had gotten tickets to my favorite radio show, Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me.

 

Ds & I went to tonight & had a fabulous time. Great crowd there tonight. So funny. Probably a few things they will be editing out.  :lol:  Panelists were Paula Poundstone, Roy Blount, Jr., and Faith Salie. Tricia Yearwood was the guest. Loads of fun. I think the recording from tonight will be the one they broadcast this Saturday.

 

My terrible iphone photo of the stage:

IMG_0896.JPG

 

ETA: And, it was at the Fabulous Fox Theatre, so that's always a win. It's such a gorgeous venue & a must-visit if you're ever in Atlanta.

 

I'm a bit delayed on my comments but YAY!  I love Wait Wait.  It's so funny.  I've always wanted to go to one of the live shows and I'm envious of your experience.

 

And I'm happy to hear good news on the employment front.

 

I was just telling hubby this morning, it would be neat if we could put together a 52 books cruise. Probably take a year or more to plan and coordinate.  :lol:

 

My family would be interested.  Seriously.  That would be so much fun. 

 

Possibly something that could take us up to Prince Edward Island.  (If only there was a book we could read set there ...)

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruises?destinationRegionCode_ATLCO=true

[Stacia]

A BaW cruise would be awesome.

 

Another idea (just tossing out possibilities) is to do a group meet-up in Washington D.C. & see things like the Library of Congress & head over to Baltimore to visit the George Peabody Library. Maybe like a Thursday through Sunday trip or something...???

Edited March 7, 2016 by Stacia

[aggieamy]

A BaW cruise would be awesome.

 

Another idea (just tossing out possibilities) is to do a group meet-up in Washington D.C. & see things like the Library of Congress & head over to Baltimore to visit the George Peabody Library. Maybe like a Thursday through Sunday trip or something...???

 

Just a bunch of wild and crazy ladies out on the town ... checking out libraries.  

[Stacia]

Possibly something that could take us up to Prince Edward Island.  (If only there was a book we could read set there ...)

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruises?destinationRegionCode_ATLCO=true

 

Well, not Prince Edward Island, but the northern Newfoundland coastal area features in the book Galore by Michael Crummey. I thought it was a great book (and only $3.99 on kindle right now).

 

Amazon Best Books of the Month, April 2011: Out of the belly of a whale, Michael Crummey pulls the marvelous story of Paradise Deep, a remote settlement on the northern Newfoundland coast, a place "too severe and formidable, too provocative, too extravagant and singular and harrowing to be real," teeming with fierce rivalries, affections, and loyalties spanning five intertwined generations. His tale opens in a hungry winter, when a beached humpback arrives as an unexpected gift and the townspeople convene to claim their piece. From a slit in its gut spills a man--white, mute, and eerily alive--who assumes a central role in the lineage of the Divine family. Alternately feared as a devil and revered as a healer, Judah fathers a fish-scented son with the raven-haired Mary Tryphena. Their family comprises the heart of the town's rich mythology, with all its ghosts, mermaid trysts, strange accidents, miraculous babies, and impossible loves, rendered in language so gorgeously raw, it will transport you to a land whose sky is "alive with the northern lights, the roiling seines of green and red like some eerily silent music to accompany the suffering below." --Mari Malcolm

 

From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. Crummey (River Thieves) returns readers to historic Newfoundland in his mythic and gorgeous latest, set over the course of a century in the life of a hardscrabble fishing community. After a lean early-19th-century winter, a whale beaches itself and everyone in town gathers to help with the slaughter. But when a woman known only as Devine's Widow—when she's not called an outright witch—cuts into the belly, the body of an albino man slides out. He eventually revives, turns out to be a mute, and is dubbed Judah by the locals. Judah's mystery—is his appearance responsible for the great fishing season that follows?—is only one among many in this wild place, where the people are afflicted by ghosts and curses as much as cold and hunger. Crummey's survey eventually telescopes to the early 20th century, when Judah's pale great-grandson, Abel, sequesters himself amid medical debris in an old hospital where his opera singer cousin, Esther Newman, has returned and resolved to drink herself to death. But before she does so, she shares with him the family history he never knew. Crummey lovingly carves out the privation and inner intricacies that mark his characters' lives with folkloric embellishments and the precision of the finest scrimshaw. (Apr.)

© Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Edited March 7, 2016 by Stacia

[Stacia]

Just a bunch of wild and crazy ladies out on the town ... checking out libraries.  

 

:lol:

 

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/29/04/83/29048386cc8aa6c365819422d274351c.jpg

 

(I mean, Kareni said we could bring drinks, right?)

 

And: http://static2.quoteswave.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/I-do-things-like-get-in.jpg?31a535

 

See? Fun! :hurray:

 

Edited March 7, 2016 by Stacia

[Lady Florida.]

From last week's thread:
 

I didn't get as much read this week because I was busy gathering all of the baby's belongings and getting things in line for court. It was a good plan because this time, after 6 months and 1 day, his grandmother was awarded direct placement of him and he moved first thing Thursday morning. It's honestly one of the only times I've seen the court rule in the actual best interest of the child so I am happy for him even if we're sniffly and missing him on our end.

 
:grouphug: That is a wonderful thing that you and your family does. I'm happy that the baby is going where he should be going, even though it's hard for you to see him leave.
 

I was just telling hubby this morning, it would be neat if we could put together a 52 books cruise. Probably take a year or more to plan and coordinate.  :lol:

 
Dh was just saying tonight that he'd like us to think about considering (he takes a long time to warm up to vacations) a cruise next year. A BaW cruise would be awesome!
 

Cough, cough ~ that would be me.  I see I read it first in May 2015 and you read it a week later.

 
Well I enjoyed it, so thanks for the recommendation. I started reading the second one but never finished it. It wasn't because I didn't like it, but there were other books I was trying to read or finish, and I just never got back to it. I do plan to read more in the series.
 

And, thanks again, all my BaW friends. :grouphug:  You have all been so kind, so supportive, & so wonderful as my life has been chaos for awhile. I'm happy to report that my dh is starting a new job tomorrow. (Unfortunately, it is in another state & pays a bit less than his previous job. We are not planning to relocate the family, but will need to find him an apartment or other accommodations.) But, still, it's an improvement. And, it's with a company he loves & really wanted to get into. There are quite a few other crazy & stressful things going on now too, so I'd certainly appreciate any continued good thoughts as 2016 progresses. But, thanks again, my friends. You all, you guys, y'all, or all y'all (or however you want to say it)  have been a tremendous help, support, & encouragement to me. I am humbled & grateful for the kindness of this group. Sending much love to each & every one of you.  :grouphug:  :001_wub:  :grouphug:

 
Thanks for that heads up on Love in the Time of Cholera. I'm going to give it a try at least.
 
I'm so glad things are looking up for you. It will be an adjustment, but hopefully you'll find your rhythm soon,  :grouphug: 
 

[JennW in SoCal]

Just a bunch of wild and crazy ladies out on the town ... checking out libraries.  

 

And we can all be wearing matching t shirts such as these: http://library-of-congress-shop.myshopify.com/products/banned-book-t-shirt (who knew the library of congress has a shop?!)

 

or these http://www.outofprintclothing.com/collections/t-shirts/products/library-stamp-womens-tee

 

or these http://www.amazon.com/Shirts-By-Sarah-Banned-T-Shirt/dp/B00O1B8RAO

[KathyBC]

Well, not Prince Edward Island, but the northern Newfoundland coastal area features in the book Galore by Michael Crummey. I thought it was a great book (and only $3.99 on kindle right now).

That was a strange, mystical book. Worth the read.

[Loesje22000]

@stacia:

:hug: & many positive thougts for you and your family!

 

@Chrystal Academy

We are interested in your Environental Science too!

 

@momto2

We are heading to the UK (again) at the end of May.

So far we visited the Lake District.

Now we are heading south.

[mumto2]

@stacia:

:hug: & many positive thougts for you and your family!

 

@Chrystal Academy

We are interested in your Environental Science too!

 

@momto2

We are heading to the UK (again) at the end of May.

So far we visited the Lake District.

Now we are heading south.

I was going to pm you but remembered your pm box doesn't work. Are you coming via Hull or using a different entry point? If coming through Hull it would be easy to meet on your way south.

 

Dh is ill so I have been up much of the night. Basic cold with a cough but trying contain it. I jeed to go to my mom's one more time and hard to go if I get sick. I read another Lynsay Sands vampire book.......easy to put down and go to sleep with.

[Negin]

And, thanks again, all my BaW friends.   

:grouphug:   :grouphug:   :grouphug:   :grouphug:   :grouphug:

[marbel]

It's fun to get up early on a Monday morning and read the entire thread in one sitting.  Boy does the conversation go all over the place.

 

But it also  makes it hard to remember who said what.  Need to make use the multi-quote button next time.

 

Stacia, I do remember about your husband's new job.  Great news, and I hope you'll work out the details of long-distance living quickly (and that the time for that is short). 

 

My big accomplishment this week was finishing David Copperfield.  Oh how I love Dickens for all his marvelous characters!  It happened that a local high school presented this book for their spring play last weekend; I took my daughter as she had a couple of friends in it.  They did pretty well!  The girl who played Aunt Betsy Trotwood absolutely stole the show. 

 

Not sure what to read for fun next.  I'm still working on My Antonia with my daughter for school, and Anna Karenina for my church book group.  The next few weeks are going to be busy, with a short family trip to Gettysburg, then a college open house with my daughter and maybe a friend of hers.   I don't tend to get much reading done on vacation.  My husband and son are amenable to spending some time hanging out in the hotel reading, but my daughter wants to go! see! stuff! when we are away from home.  Poor girl is an extrovert trapped in a family of introverts; an adventurer stuck with a bunch of homebodies. That's why even though her homeschool work suffers a bit, we are happy for her to have a part-time job.  (She manages her CC classes just fine.) 

 

2016 Reading:

1.  Basin and Range, John McPhee

2.  Austenland, Shannon Hale

3. The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, Gabrielle Zevin

4. The Lady in the Van, Alan Bennett

5. In Suspect Terrain, John McPhee

6. Jamaica Inn, Daphne duMaurier

7. A Dangerous Mourning, Anne Perry

8. Girl in Hyacinth Blue, Susan Vreeland

9.  Defend and Betray, Anne Perry

10. Economics in One Lesson, Henry Hazlitt

11. The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson

12. Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad

13. A Test of Wills, Charles Todd

14. The Original Miss Honeyford, Marion Chesney

15.  David Copperfield, Charles Dickens

 

[Negin]

Finished Stoner.  Wow. That's just about all that I can say. Wow.  Thanks for the review, Negin.

Happy to hear that you liked it. :)

[Onceuponatime]

DC is only 3 hours away and I get sea sick...

[Alice]

It's fun to get up early on a Monday morning and read the entire thread in one sitting.  Boy does the conversation go all over the place.

 

But it also  makes it hard to remember who said what.  Need to make use the multi-quote button next time.

 

 

 Yep. 

 

I ended February by reading all of this year's Newbery award winners and honor books. I really loved Roller Girl and The War that Saved My Life.  

 

I also read Jar City, a mystery set in Reykjavik, which I heard about here from someone. We are headed to Iceland in the fall for vacation so it was fun to read. Although the setting in the book was a little more dark, gloomy, rainy and ominous that I'm hoping for our vacation. :)

 

I went downtown by myself this weekend for my annual birthday retreat. (My birthday was about a month ago, this was just the first free weekend.) I go to museums, check into a hotel and read. It's blissful. I caught up on my stack of New Yorkers, read some of the new The Well-Educated Mind, started the new Inspector Lynley mystery and read some of Kim, which ds and I are reading and discussing together. 

 

I also just finished listening to Unfinished Desires by Gail Godwin as an audiobook in the car. I really enjoyed it. I like the way she writes about faith and it was interesting to think about what it would be like to be a nun in an order dedicated to education or anyone who lives a life primarily of the mind. 

 

And I think everyone should come to DC! I'm in the NoVa suburbs, I can pack a few of you into our guest room. :) It's where we keep the overflow bookshelves so you'll be very comfy. 

Edited March 7, 2016 by Alice

[Loesje22000]

I was going to pm you but remembered your pm box doesn't work. Are you coming via Hull or using a different entry point? If coming through Hull it would be easy to meet on your way south.

 

.

Normally we pick Hull, but this time we will take Dover - Dunkerque.

[Jane in NC]

 

I also read Jar City, a mystery set in Reykjavik, which I heard about here from someone. We are headed to Iceland in the fall for vacation so it was fun to read. Although the setting in the book was a little more dark, gloomy, rainy and ominous that I'm hoping for our vacation. :)

 

I went downtown by myself this weekend for my annual birthday retreat. (My birthday was about a month ago, this was just the first free weekend.) I go to museums, check into a hotel and read. It's blissful. I caught up on my stack of New Yorkers, read some of the new The Well-Educated Mind, started the new Inspector Lynley mystery and read some of Kim, which ds and I are reading and discussing together. 

 

I also just finished listening to Unfinished Desires by Gail Godwin as an audiobook in the car. I really enjoyed it. I like the way she writes about faith and it was interesting to think about what it would be like to be a nun in an order dedicated to education or anyone who lives a life primarily of the mind. 

 

And I think everyone should come to DC! I'm in the NoVa suburbs, I can pack a few of you into our guest room. :) It's where we keep the overflow bookshelves so you'll be very comfy. 

 

Jenn originally recommended Jar City and then I mentioned reading it too.

 

Alice, you are a doctor, aren't you?  I am wondering how you reacted to the ethical question in the background of Jar City, namely that we condemn the illegal substance abuser but do not shame those who refuse to care for their own health via diet, exercise or proper medical care.  I thought it was a valid point given the rise of diseases that we as a society must pay for (diabetes, obesity).

 

And your birthday retreat sounds divine!

 

About a BaW get together:  I am game!  DC sounds fab although I am open to other ideas as well. 

[JennW in SoCal]

About a BaW get together:  I am game!  DC sounds fab although I am open to other ideas as well. 

 

Or we could do something totally incongruous and meet in Las Vegas!

 

The Las Vegas tourism bureau had the funniest ad campaign going in London...

 

[Ethel Mertz]

I have this picture in my head of us all sitting in deck chairs reading our books...

That would be wonderful! Sign me up!

[Lady Florida.]

 

 

The Las Vegas tourism bureau had the funniest ad campaign going in London...

 

 

LOL! That reminds me of the scene in Love Actually where the English guy Colin comes to the U.S. and gets a group of gorgeous girls because of his "adorable" accent. 

 

This scene.

 

 

[Kareni]

Two enjoyable posts ~

 

7 Recent Time-Travel Adventures (I haven't read any of these, but several sound quite appealing.)

 

This next one is about writing/life ~

 

Party Like a Writer; or, Why Are You Screaming at Your Cheetos? by Brian Staveley

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Pam in CT]

:seeya: Hi ladies, I'm back!

 

We celebrated the bat mitzvah of my youngest, Stella, over the weekend.  She did a marvelous job and it we all greatly enjoyed catching up with the many family and friends who gathered to be with her.

 

We were thrown a substantial curve ball when the restaurant at which the reception was to be held called me last Monday afternoon -- five days before the event -- and announced that the owner had died and they were CLOSING, effective IMMEDIATELY.  We muddled through and it all worked out fine but it certainly made for five  :willy_nilly: crazy-making days.

 

The last of my houseguests left this morning and now I am staring at the whiteboard in the kitchen, which for weeks has held two columns of To Do lists, the one on the left hand titled Bat Mitzvah and the one on the right titled Rest of Life... and thinking maybe I'll just go off now and read a book... and tackle the right hand side tomorrow.

 

 

 

noseinabook, once again: You are my hero.  Hugs.

 

Stacia: I'm so glad to hear about your husband.  We've lived through the weekly commuting thing as well, and though it is suboptimal, we eventually got to a routine that worked.  

 

Marbel: congrats re Dickens!  Before kindles, Dickens was my go-to travel reading.  Words per ounce, most efficient reading material to be found... :laugh:

 

 

I have picked up The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker. It's on the third and last library renewal, so it has to be read or go back. The size of the book and density of the text is daunting, but the writing style seems readable so far. Maybe I'll make it all the way through without giving up. There are so many other fun books waiting for me...

I loved this.  Loved, loved, loved.  It is indeed a brick of a book, but it infused me with concrete evidence-based hope for human redemption that I keep dipping back into.  I will try to embed a Ted talk he gave that speaks to some of the ideas he later elaborated in the book...

 

 

 

After a hiatus of almost a year, I'm back aboard the HMS Surprise with Captain Aubrey and Dr. Maturin in the 16th Master and Commander title, The Wine Dark Sea.  It's like meeting up with dear old friends -- comfortable, familiar and just as delightful as I remembered.  Once again I'm listening to it because, for me at least, the books and Patrick Tull's narration are inseparable. 

 

Because of my obsession with the Master and Commander series, I dragged my dh to the Maritime Museum in Greenwich so I could take in the large exhibit on Nelson's navy.  It was everything I had hoped for, with display cases of the kinds surgical instruments Dr. Maturin uses in the books (fascinating in a horrifying kind of way) and of weapons and the different kinds of shot used in canons, and of Nelson's coat that he was wearing when he was received the fatal shot.  

 

And yes, we walked up the hill to the Royal Observatory to see the Prime Meridian and the Harrison Clocks -- the timepieces built to solve the problem of determining longitude on sea voyages.  (Pictures soon, I hope!)

 

......

 

Aw, I've wanted to do this ever since Jane recommended it..

 

Because of my obsession with measuring devices and dh's obsession with problem solving, we galloped up the hill to the Royal Observatory to see the Harrison Clocks.  Truly interesting stuff!

 

I have not been to Bletchley. I think another trip to the UK is in order.

 

:laugh: I'm in, UK or RV cross country or WDC.  Just lemme know....

 

 

I read, like, two books in the many weeks I've been AWOL, but I don't remember them at the moment.  Off to finish the one on my bedside and I'll be back, eventually.

[Kareni]

 

We celebrated the bat mitzvah of my youngest, Stella, over the weekend.  She did a marvelous job and it we all greatly enjoyed catching up with the many family and friends who gathered to be with her.

 

Pam, I'm glad to hear that it was a great occasion in spite of the restaurant issues.  Now on to the rest of life!

 

 

Stacia, I'm so happy to hear that your husband has found an appealing job.  I hope that the distance issues will prove manageable and that you'll have lots of happy reunions.

 

**

 

Yesterday, I read a new to me author.  Her book is a combination of urban fantasy, mystery, and romance; it had some unusual elements, and I enjoyed it.

 

Deadly Remains: Book One of A Clairvoyant's Complicated Life by Katherine Bayless

 

"THERE ARE DAYS WHEN LIRE DEVON WOULD KILL TO BE CONVENTIONAL.

 

Espresso at Peabody's. Lunch with friends. Quiet evenings at home with someone special... Sometimes she'd give anything to be that girl. But nothing is ever that simple when you're the most talented clairvoyant in Seattle.

 

Now there's a murder, as baffling as it is horrifying, and the police want Lire to help them flush out the killer. Well at least some of them do. Detective Sgt. Vanelli seems a lot more interested in picking a fight than enlisting her aid.

 

This first book in a delicious new contemporary fantasy series from Katherine Bayless is a fresh mix of mystery and romance with a heady dash of the supernatural."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Angel]

Last week was a very busy week here!  March is fairy tale month for my IRL Book Club.  Skye has plenty of fairy tale retellings in her bookshelf, but I ordered some from the library anyway.  I started a modern retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses but it wasn't any good, and I abandoned it!  Instead I pulled Beauty by Robin McKinley off  Skye's shelf.  It was my favorite read of the year so far!  So simple, but so sweet and beautiful.  Although I knew the ending, I felt some anxiety as to how it was all going to unfold.  I loved each facet of how McKinley chose to tell the tale.  Truly worth reading!

 

I started The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry over the weekend.  My cousin loved this book and brought it to me to read.  I'm not loving it so far.  In fact I would have stopped reading it already but said cousin did read Juliet when I recommended it so I feel I should keep going with it.  The swearing is what's throwing me off.  Why is it that when you read modern fiction, they feel swearing is a must. Not everyone talks that way!  Maybe that is why I like fantasy and Regency fluff.  Sigh.  A friend of mine also enjoyed this book so maybe it will pick up.

[Lady Florida.]

 

 

 

Kathy, you and your dh might enjoy that series of essays, too, but beware that there are spoilers!

 

AND, if either on of you are ever in the San Diego area, our little Maritime Museum has the replica of HMS Surprise that was built for and used in the movie.  Most of that movie was filmed in the area and at a studio south of the border. A homeschool dad I know landed a role as one of the Surprise crew members, but he would have had to quit his job which didn't seem like the prudent thing to do.  

 

Oh, and wasn't it you, Kathy, that pointed out the Kindle mystery freebie Talking to the Dead?  I downloaded it and started it earlier today.  So far so good....

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think I'll skip the essays but save them for after I've read the series. That museum sounds fun. Dh and I have been talking about travel lately. He hopes to retire in 1-1/2 to 2 years and we really would like to do some traveling when he does retire. Neither of us have been to the west coast and going there is something we'd like to do.

 

Yes, that was me. I also recommended it to a local friend who said she likes it so far too. I haven't started it yet myself.

 

 

 

I also read Jar City, a mystery set in Reykjavik, which I heard about here from someone. We are headed to Iceland in the fall for vacation so it was fun to read. Although the setting in the book was a little more dark, gloomy, rainy and ominous that I'm hoping for our vacation. :)

 

 

 

 

Jenn originally recommended Jar City and then I mentioned reading it too.

 

 

 

I added it to my TBR list after it was recommended too, but don't know when I'll get around to reading it. I saw that the movie is on Hulu, but will wait until I read the book before watching it.

Edited March 7, 2016 by Lady Florida

[Lady Florida.]

I finished The Expatriates today. Loved it. Four stars. 

 

Here's my Goodreads review.

[Stacia]

Free shipping from Powell's today if you order by 5pm est (or 2pm pst).

 

Economy shipping.

 

Code is: FREEMONDAY

[Lady Florida.]

:seeya: Hi ladies, I'm back!

 

We celebrated the bat mitzvah of my youngest, Stella, over the weekend.  She did a marvelous job and it we all greatly enjoyed catching up with the many family and friends who gathered to be with her.

 

We were thrown a substantial curve ball when the restaurant at which the reception was to be held called me last Monday afternoon -- five days before the event -- and announced that the owner had died and they were CLOSING, effective IMMEDIATELY.  We muddled through and it all worked out fine but it certainly made for five  :willy_nilly: crazy-making days.

 

The last of my houseguests left this morning and now I am staring at the whiteboard in the kitchen, which for weeks has held two columns of To Do lists, the one on the left hand titled Bat Mitzvah and the one on the right titled Rest of Life... and thinking maybe I'll just go off now and read a book... and tackle the right hand side tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

Oh my! I've only been to one Bat Mitzvah but knowing everything the family did to get ready for the occasion, I can imagine how that news must have hit you. I'm glad it worked out.

 

It is definitely okay to read a book before tackling the Rest of Life list.

[aggieamy]

It's fun to get up early on a Monday morning  <snip>

 

You know what I love about this place?  That we have so many diverse people on here.  For instance, I have never uttered the ten words marbel just said in that order and yet I don't judge marbel harshly or think she's some kind of early morning crazy lady.  I just think that it's nice to have a different opinion on things.

 

 

Last week was a very busy week here!  March is fairy tale month for my IRL Book Club.  Skye has plenty of fairy tale retellings in her bookshelf, but I ordered some from the library anyway.  I started a modern retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses but it wasn't any good, and I abandoned it!  Instead I pulled Beauty by Robin McKinley off  Skye's shelf.  It was my favorite read of the year so far!  So simple, but so sweet and beautiful.  Although I knew the ending, I felt some anxiety as to how it was all going to unfold.  I loved each facet of how McKinley chose to tell the tale.  Truly worth reading!

 

 

 

Is The Twelve Dancing Princesses that you gave up on the one by Elizabeth Day George?  My book club almost picked that to read next month and I have it on my nightstand thinking I might read it anyway.  Or not now! 

 

I love Beauty!  One of my favorite retellings!

[MaeFlowers]

I finished The Painter, by Peter Heller, today. I'm not sure what to say about this book. The book started slow for me. I had difficulty adjusting to the writing. I didn't like the descriptions of scenery or of his paintings. But, at some point, my feelings about the book shifted. In the end, I think I loved it. I loved the underlying story about forgiveness and hope and grace. I wish someone else had read it and could talk with me about it.

[Guest]

2 weeks of updates (we've been battling a nasty cough/cold here):

 

BaW recommended:

 

Sound of Things Falling: [Thank you, Stacia!]: a beautifully crafted, poignant little story which offers a rich, personal look at the rise of the cartels in South America.

 

The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House [Thank you, Amanda, though, no, I have no yearning to try Johnson's shower!] I wish this had been arranged chronologically rather than thematically, but either way it was an interesting glimpse from a different angle.

 

Man in the High Castle: [Thank you, OUAT!]: Not at all what I expected given the premises, and there were some decidedly weird bits, but the alt-history aspects were fascinating and there was one character who touched my heart.

 

Boy, Snow, Bird [Thank you, Stacia!]: Some very disturbing content in the set-up, and the twist near the end did not work for me *at all* in that context, not at all.  But I found the book as a whole very engaging and thought provoking.

 

Gratitude by Oliver Sacks: [Thank you, Pam]:  Deeply moving slim collection of essays written in his last years.  Amazing.

 

Footsteps in the Dark by Heyer [Thank you, Rose, I've never read a Heyer mystery before]: This was very silly, with no realism at all to the central plot, but it was an amusing read and just what I needed on a feverish evening.

 

Art of Political Murder [Thank you, Pam.  I don't think you mentioned this title, but the author wrote the afterward for the Oscar book you did recommend].  I am not sure I wanted to step into the heartbreak and ugliness of Latin American politics again...

 

Columbine [Thank you, Negin] This is, I think, a well done piece of popular journalism which offers both details and some perspective.

 

Kindle First free book this month: The Queen's Poisoner: Rose, you might enjoy this.  It riffs (extensively) off Richard III, beginning after Bosworth Field, but with Richard triumphant.  (Different names for both the field and the king).  There are some silly plot bits and the writing is imperfect in places, but I found it engaging and loved the ways it played with the history... 

 

4 plays & a poetry volume:

 

Voyage of the Sable Venus: On some best of 2015 lists and it connects to our racial discussions. Not my usual poetry style (though I am not sure when was the last time I indulged myself in that territory?), but powerful and interesting.

 

A Peasant of El Salvador: more than a bit cliched and very intended to make a point, but if I'd been writing a play in the '80's about Central America I would have done the same...

 

Zoo Story and American Dream by Albee: I think I have confirmed that I still find Albee very depressing...

 

Invasion: I had hoped to find this moving or thought provoking or at least interesting... maybe a good production would redeem it?

 

2 Rereads:

 

Mixed Magics: short stories by Diana Wynne Jones.  I have never loved her short stories and this reread didn't change that, but they were diverting on a very feverish afternoon.

 

Fellowship of the Ring: This I love. ...and will probably always love.  A read aloud with my little guy.  I had not expected him to appreciate this, but we'd finished rereading the Hobbit (which he has memorized in sections) and he had so many questions, questions that led straight to LOTR.  ...and he has been mesmerized, so we're on to the Two Towers!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Angel]

 

Is The Twelve Dancing Princesses that you gave up on the one by Elizabeth Day George?  My book club almost picked that to read next month and I have it on my nightstand thinking I might read it anyway.  Or not now! 

 

I love Beauty!  One of my favorite retellings!

No, it wasn't!  In fact, I think this is on Skye's shelf, and she really liked it! (Duh, it's on her shelf  :laugh: ).  I believe she likes Elizabeth Day George overall.

 

The book I had from the library was The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine.  I didn't like the flow of the story nor the direction one of the story lines was taking.  

[Nan in Mass]

Something that leaves from Boston, goes north, and involves boats sounds good to me. I,m not sure about boats big enough to fit a mall into but other than that...

 

Nan

[Kareni]

I just finished reading Sarina Bowen's The Fifteenth Minute (The Ivy Years Book 5); it wasn't my favorite of her books, but I enjoyed it.

 

"Freshman Lianne Challice is known to millions of fans as Princess Vindi. But sometimes a silver screen sorceress just wants to hang up her wand, tell her manager to shove it, and become a normal college student. Too bad that’s harder than it looks.

She’s never lived a normal life. She hasn’t been to school since kindergarten. And getting close to anyone is just too risky — the last boy she kissed sold the story to a British tabloid.

But she can’t resist trying to get close to Daniel "DJ" Trevi, the hot, broody guy who spins tunes for hockey games in the arena. Something's haunting his dark eyes, and she needs to know more.

DJ's genius is for expressing the mood of the crowd with a ten second song snippet. With just a click and a fade, he can spread hope, pathos or elation among six thousand screaming fans.

Too bad his college career is about to experience the same quick fade-out as one of his songs. He can't get close to Lianne, and he can't tell her why. And the fact that she seems to like him at all? Incredible."

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Stacia]

I started reading Tina Fey's Bossypants today & am finding it entertaining. Enjoyable fluff.

[Stacia]

Hold the presses!  I might have (accidentally) made a Bingo! :svengo:

 

:lol:

 

Top row, across:

Female author: We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo

Published 2016: What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi (although I thought about saving this one for the Fairy Tale Adaptation space)

Number in the Title (thanks OUAT!): Ajax Penumbra 1969 by Robin Sloan

Dusty: The Three Trials of Manirema by Jose J. Veiga

Picked by a Friend (thanks to my friend idnib!): The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Gabriel Vasquez

[Stacia]

26 Bookshelves That Will Give You Serious Goals

[Stacia]

On our wild-women BaW library tour, we must go here:

Here’s The Story Behind Orkney Library’s Hilarious Twitter Account

 

Amy, you can't say that visiting libraries isn't wild. One of the tweets is:

Don't forget - it's National Visit The Library Dressed As A Member Of Whitesnake Day tomorrow

 

:smilielol5:

[Lady Florida.]

On our wild-women BaW library tour, we must go here:

Here’s The Story Behind Orkney Library’s Hilarious Twitter Account

 

Amy, you can't say that visiting libraries isn't wild. One of the tweets is:

Don't forget - it's National Visit The Library Dressed As A Member Of Whitesnake Day tomorrow

 

:smilielol5:

 

That was fun!

[Kareni]

I know we've all been wondering ...

What books were taken to the Antarctic 100 years ago?  by Paul Kerley

 

"When Sir Ernest Shackleton set off for Antarctica on his ship Endurance, he made sure he had plenty of reading material. But details of precisely what books he took have remained hidden in this photograph - until now.

 

The image from the ill-fated South Pole expedition - taken in early March 1915 by Australian photographer Frank Hurley - has been digitised by the Royal Geographical Society in London...."

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Onceuponatime]

I know we've all been wondering ... What books were taken to the Antarctic 100 years ago? by Paul Kerley

 

"When Sir Ernest Shackleton set off for Antarctica on his ship Endurance, he made sure he had plenty of reading material. But details of precisely what books he took have remained hidden in this photograph - until now.

 

The image from the ill-fated South Pole expedition - taken in early March 1915 by Australian photographer Frank Hurley - has been digitised by the Royal Geographical Society in London...."

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

I found the list fascinating and looked up a few titles and authors. Herbert Flowerdew the author of A Woman's View was particularly interesting. You can read more about him and the book here: http://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095824929

 

I also found this in a digitized copy of the 65th volume of The Academy and Literature written in 1904:

 

"Suggestions have been made by certain of the reviewers that "Mr. Herbert Flowerdew," the author of "A Woman's View," is a lady. This, I am authorized to state is not the case. The somewhat feminine flavor of Mr. Flowerdew's name and work has probably been responsible for this mistake, but the name is his own. Also, it is not at all an unknown name in East Anglia, where Mr. Flowerdew's forbears have lived for more than two hundred years. Mr. Flowerdew was educated in Nottingham and began to write at the age of twenty. His earlier efforts appeared in well known magazines. It was the editor of a magazine for girls, for which Mr. Flowerdew had written some short stories, who urged him to write a novel for use in the magazine aforesaid. When "A Celibate's Wife" resulted, the editor found himself unable to use it. The story subsequently found success in book form. "A Woman's View," Mr. Flowerdew's latest publication, took two years to think of and six months to write. The author's stories are produced under somewhat quaint circumstances. He composes directly on the typewriter and finds it very helpful to have some mechanical work (preferably a clock to mend) by his side while writing. "

 

😃

[Kim in Appalachia]

I finished The Painter, by Peter Heller, today. I'm not sure what to say about this book. The book started slow for me. I had difficulty adjusting to the writing. I didn't like the descriptions of scenery or of his paintings. But, at some point, my feelings about the book shifted. In the end, I think I loved it. I loved the underlying story about forgiveness and hope and grace. I wish someone else had read it and could talk with me about it.

 

 

I loved that book, even more than The Dog Stars.  But I also loved all of the descriptions.  The entire book felt like a work of beauty, like a painting telling a story.  

 

I read it a year ago, so some of the details of fuzzy for me.  I don't often reread books, but I may reread that one.  I had bought it when Amazon had it cheap. :)  I would like to read his other books, but the library doesn't have them for Kindle.  I may have to get the hard copies from there this summer.  

 

I really want him to come out with a new book.:D

[Jane in NC]

I know we've all been wondering ...

What books were taken to the Antarctic 100 years ago?  by Paul Kerley

 

"When Sir Ernest Shackleton set off for Antarctica on his ship Endurance, he made sure he had plenty of reading material. But details of precisely what books he took have remained hidden in this photograph - until now.

 

The image from the ill-fated South Pole expedition - taken in early March 1915 by Australian photographer Frank Hurley - has been digitised by the Royal Geographical Society in London...."

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

How interesting!  Thanks for the link.

 

I found the list fascinating and looked up a few titles and authors. Herbert Flowerdew the author of A Woman's View was particularly interesting. You can read more about him and the book here: http://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095824929

 

I also found this in a digitized copy of the 65th volume of The Academy and Literature written in 1904:

 

"Suggestions have been made by certain of the reviewers that "Mr. Herbert Flowerdew," the author of "A Woman's View," is a lady. This, I am authorized to state is not the case. The somewhat feminine flavor of Mr. Flowerdew's name and work has probably been responsible for this mistake, but the name is his own. Also, it is not at all an unknown name in East Anglia, where Mr. Flowerdew's forbears have lived for more than two hundred years. Mr. Flowerdew was educated in Nottingham and began to write at the age of twenty. His earlier efforts appeared in well known magazines. It was the editor of a magazine for girls, for which Mr. Flowerdew had written some short stories, who urged him to write a novel for use in the magazine aforesaid. When "A Celibate's Wife" resulted, the editor found himself unable to use it. The story subsequently found success in book form. "A Woman's View," Mr. Flowerdew's latest publication, took two years to think of and six months to write. The author's stories are produced under somewhat quaint circumstances. He composes directly on the typewriter and finds it very helpful to have some mechanical work (preferably a clock to mend) by his side while writing. "

 

😃

 

In addition to the serious stuff, there were some interesting entertainments of the day on the shelf.  Raffles the gentleman thief popped off the list as did The Grand Babylon Hotel which I heard dramatized on BBC radio.  Should I be going on such an expedition, I think that I too would want to travel with Shaw. 

 

Thanks for the research on Herbert Flowerdew--what a great name!

[Mom-ninja.]

Looking at those bookshelves mine looks mostly like #16

 

 

and I want that book nook!

Edited March 8, 2016 by Mom-ninja.

[JennW in SoCal]

Looking at those bookshelves mine looks mostly like #16

 

 

and I want that book nook!

 

#2 and #9 are clearly not bedrooms in earthquake country.  I would never sleep with my head below a bookshelf!  

[mumto2]

Just finished Death on the Downs by Simon Bretthttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1912523.Death_on_the_Downs. It was a good village cozy but one of the clues left me scratching my head.

 

If you had been previously married to someone who left you and wasn't the parent of your children would you display a framed photograph of your wedding in your home? When that was mentioned in the book I had a "seriously" moment...... Oddly enough that is the subject of a family joke. A couple of years ago dh and i finally got our wedding photos out of storage so a formal one is now displayed with the other pictures in our living room. Dh had hair in the wedding photo but you can still tell it's him. One of the kids good friends came over and took a look at the photo and seriously commented to dh that it was a nice picture of me and my first husband. Well, it is because dh is my first husband but that wasn't what she meant. We have had several chuckles over her comment but both of us wonder why anyone would display a photo of a first husband, prom date etc unless they continued to be significant.

[Alice]

Jenn originally recommended Jar City and then I mentioned reading it too.

 

Alice, you are a doctor, aren't you?  I am wondering how you reacted to the ethical question in the background of Jar City, namely that we condemn the illegal substance abuser but do not shame those who refuse to care for their own health via diet, exercise or proper medical care.  I thought it was a valid point given the rise of diseases that we as a society must pay for (diabetes, obesity).

 

And your birthday retreat sounds divine!

 

About a BaW get together:  I am game!  DC sounds fab although I am open to other ideas as well. 

 

I am a doctor. I have to admit I didn't really pick up on that background ethical question in Jar City. At all. I'll chalk it up to being a bit sick as I was reading it instead of being really unobservant. 

 

In general on the ethical question, I'm not sure it's true. I think there is a fair amount of shame for people who are smokers or very obese. It depends a bit on where you are and the circumstances but we call alcoholism and drug addiction diseases and generally support treatment in ways that we wouldn't for a smoker. Or for someone who struggles with overeating. I'm a pediatrician so these aren't really issues I deal with as a doctor. Kids rarely if ever have disease that are a result of their lifestyle (can be because of familial lifestyle but we as a society don't blame a 7 year old for obesity in the same way we would blame a 27 year old). But I know in training that as a doctor we were taught to try to treat the disease and not focus on the choices that a person might have made to get to the point of the disease. That doesn't mean that you don't advise an overweight person to change their diet or a smoker to give up smoking. But it means that a person with lung cancer who smoked isn't somehow less deserving of sympathy, care and compassion than a person with lung cancer who never smoked.