Book a Week 2016 - BW12: Vernal Equinox

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday dear hearts!  This is the beginning of week 12 in our quest to read 52 books. Welcome back to all our readers, to those just joining in and all who are following our progress. Mr. Linky is all set up on the 52 Books blog to link to your reviews. The link is also below in my signature.

 

52 Books Blog - Vernal Equinox and bookish news:  Spring has arrived in the northern half of the hemisphere and Autumn has already come out to play at the beginning of the month in the southern half.  Whether you are experiencing flowers blooming or leaves turning all shades of yellow, red and orange, nature is putting on quite a show right now.  It's also time to pull out your trusty thesauruses or thesauri, which ever you prefer saying  and start plotting out your spring or autumn reading lists.  Or maybe take a look at Synonyms.com and see what you can find. Perhaps a book with capriole or galumph or caper in the title!  :laugh:

 

I think I'm going to take a different tack with Spring this year since the season is all about beginnings, growth, discovery and blossoming. A new copy of  Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way just arrived. I signed up to join a group of folks in my online writing community who will be diving in on April 7th. I read it a few years back and since then my original, very marked up, well used copy disappeared into the garage, boxed up along with numerous other books while we deep cleaned our bedroom. So I splurged on another copy - it is, after all, a new beginning...again.  :tongue_smilie:   

 

Also in the offing is the annual April challenge -  Blogging from A to Z - created by Arlee Bird, and is now in its 7th year.  This will be my first time participating and I'm looking forward to it with excitement as well as trepidation.  As of March 21st, My Two Blessings will be nine years old and as my posting has become rather sporadic lately, so I'm attempting to get back into the groove.  Come join me and all the riotous fun. Come up with a theme and talk about books, life, homeschooling, clowns, engineering, maps or whatever your clever and intriguing minds can think up.  

Still need some ideas for Spring or Autumn read -- Check out The Millions Most Anticipated: The Great 2016 Book Review or  for something completely different - The 18 Books that investors will be reading over Spring Break!

Happy Reading! 

 

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History of the Renaissance World - Chapters 15 and 16

 

 

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What are you reading this week?

 

 

 

 

Link to week 11

Edited March 20, 2016 by Robin M

[Robin M]

Yeah - Spring Break!  Cowabunga!

 

I just finished Joan Didion's Slouching Towards Bethlehem for class and rereading M.L.Buchman's The Night is Mine, # 1 in his night stalkers series. 

[Jane in NC]

I finished two books this weekend--and got caught up with HoRW. 

 

Something Will Happen, You'll See is a collection of short stories by Greek writer Christos Ikonomou.  Archipelago published this timely collection of glimpses into the lives of the working poor in a troubled economy.  The title story is particularly gripping as is the story entitled Charcoal Mustache.  Ikonomou really captures something here.  The lack of income is one thing, the loss of dignity is another. Eliana--I plan on sending this book your way.

 

I also finished a cozy mystery, Dying in the Wool by Frances Brody.  This is one of those books you would discover if you are reading a list entitled "If you like Maisie Dobbes, you might like..."  To be honest, Maisie bored me after three or four books. And I am not sure I'll read any more of Brody's Kate Shackleton mysteries although that should not deter my cozy friends.

 

Dying in the Wool is a good story but Brody's writing was problematic for me. Maybe this is more of an issue with novels that are first in a series.  It is not that the book has an overly complex plot, rather the author included too much ancillary information that did not necessarily move the plot along.  I also thought it odd that in a first person novel the author needed to include the occasional third person narratives from the past, essentially providing the reader with additional information not immediately available to our detective.  As a reader, I found this to be more confusing than helpful.

 

That said, I can see why the series might be enjoyable as an escape for Flufferton friends.  Set in the post-WWI era, detective Kate Shackleton has pluck.  You can wear your cute hat and drink tea as you read this one.

 

Next up is a book that Eliana suggest I read, Amongst Women by John McGahern.  My library copy came with interesting ephemera:  Newspaper clippings with a review of a book of short stories (Karen Bender's Refund), a cookbook notice (A Real Southern Cook by Dora Charles) and a postcard of the Castles of Ireland.  In case you were wondering "Everywhere you look there are sheep and cows."  

 

McGahern is an Irish author and the book has a green cover.  As usual, I am late to the party.

[Jane in NC]

On the spring theme this week, let me share a small bouquet of tulips with you.  These photos were taken by my husband as we strolled in a public garden.

 

 

Edited March 20, 2016 by Jane in NC

[JennW in SoCal]

A quick visit to wave hello.  I seem to be running a bed and breakfast these days. The college boy left a couple of hours ago and my nephew and girlfriend are arriving in the next hour, so I've been washing sheets and towels and vacuuming all morning.

 

Finished Wine Dark Sea.  Loved it.  Love the Master and Commander series!!

 

And here is a photo I took while hiking in the desert last week with the college boy -- a little spring, desert style!

 

]

[NoseInABook]

I sucked at reading last week and only finished Shifting Shadows. I cracked open Gail Carriger's Timeless today and didn't realize it was the last Lady Alexia Maccon book. I hope it wraps up the series well! 

[Ali in OR]

Spring Break! Looking forward to some good reading time. We'll head to the coast for a couple of days, but it is supposed to be raining the whole time. I'm currently enjoying Written in Red. I would never have thought that paranormal fantasy would be something I would like, but it's well-written and I'm enjoying the storyline. I already checked out the next, Murder of Crows, to jump into when this one is done.

 

I finished C.S. Harris' newest, When Falcons Fall, and enjoyed it. I liked that it took place somewhere other than London. Dd and I finished Johnny Tremain as a read-aloud, one of my favorites. We're reading Longitude, and as she is having trouble keeping up with assigned reading, Carry On Mr. Bowditch will also become a read-aloud I think (another one of my favorites).

 

Too much driving, so I got a couple of books to listen to. Dd and I are listening to Shannon Hale's Book of a Thousand Days (I think that's the title) and in the other car I have Twelve Years a Slave, but I'm mostly listening to that when the kids aren't in the car.

[Negin]

I read The Japanese Lover - 4 Stars - I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that I enjoyed this book, since I was disappointed with her last few books. This one reminded me slightly of her older books, which are among my all-time favorites. She’s a wonderful storyteller and I easily connected with most of the characters. They were deep and rich, as they usually are with Allende, but again, not as good as her earlier books.

 

My favorite quote:

“There are a lot of good people, Irina, but they keep quiet about it. It’s the bad ones who make a lot of noise, and that’s why they get noticed.â€

 

I recently read an interview with her. She wrote this book as her marriage of 27 years fell apart. This sentence remained with me. I can't begin to imagine the pain that she and her husband went through. “Between him and me, we have lost three children. Very few couples survive the death of one child, let alone three.†

 

 

MY RATING SYSTEM

5 Stars

Fantastic, couldn't put it down

4 Stars

Really Good

3 Stars

Enjoyable

2 Stars

Just Okay – nothing to write home about

1 Star

Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

[Chrysalis Academy]

I already mentioned most of the books I finished this week, but I did want to give a shout out to The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert. I listened to the audiobook. I had been avoiding this book ever since it was published because I feared it would be too depressing. It was, kind of, but so engaging, fascinating, and well written that it was worth it. I had serious life envy!  If I had it all to do over again, I'd want to be a science journalist or a popular science writer. i love well-written science for the masses.  On that note, I'm now listening to Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs by Lisa Randall, a particle physicist, and it's equally engaging. This would be a perfect book to read alongside the Big History project. Fascinating stuff, and the personality of the author really comes through - she's someone I'd love to meet and have an actual conversation with some day.

 

My currently reading stack has swollen again. I'm still working on Shylock Is My Name, and loving it, despite my earlier mentioned dislike of what he's done with Portia's character. But the rest is so brilliant all is forgiven.  I'm reading Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses, Shards of Honor, and still working on The Road from Coorain. The writing is lovely, but it's dragging a little bit for me in the middle. I'll get back to it when I finish some of the more fascinating books I'm currently reading or listening to.

 

Books finished in March:

54. The Dead Mountaineer's Inn - Strugatsky brothers

53. The She-Wolf of France - Maurice Druon

52. The Sixth Extinction - Elizabeth Kolbert

51. Ransom - David Malouf

50. Writing with a Thesis: a Rhetoric and Reader - Sarah Skwire

49. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

48. The Merchant of Venice - William Shakespeare

47. A Short History of Myth - Karen Armstrong

46. Stoner - John Williams

45. The Wars of the Roses - Dan Jones

44. The Royal Succession - Maurice Druon

43. The Soil Will Save Us - Kristin Ohlson

42. Shroud for a Nightingale - PD James

41. Men Explain Things to Me - Rebecca Solnit

[mumto2]

 

re vacations without kids...

 

Us too -- I really like doing things with the kids, and I do feel like we're running out of time; the scheduling of getting everyone at the same time is already difficult -- but we're coming up on our 25th anniversary and we have decided we do want to mark it ALONE, to the shock and dismay of my eldest, who recently chirped, so, what are we doing for the big anniversary??  to which I answered, oh honey, we decided to leave you in charge of the dog...  :lol:

My dd would be horrified at that response! I think she plans to vacation with us for life.

 

 

Jane, I had wondered if you would like Dying in the Wool because of the similarity to Maisie Dobbs, which I thought you weren't a fan of. I find them more hopeful. Btw, I am currently sitting in an airport in a city you know well. Flying back from a visit with family in to to my mom's. She has made good progress recovering from her fall a few weeks ago. Which leads me to....

 

Kareni, Have a great time with your mom.

 

Jenn, Pretty spring picture. Very different from Jane's Tulips.

 

I did finish a Kate Daniel's Magic Strikes? book in the car today. It was good. I started Moonshifted from a different paranormal series.

[Jane in NC]

My dd would be horrified at that response! I think she plans to vacation with us for life.

 

 

Jane, I had wondered if you would like Dying in the Wool because of the similarity to Maisie Dobbs, which I thought you weren't a fan of. I find them more hopeful. Btw, I am currently sitting in an airport in a city you know well. Flying back from a visit with family in to to my mom's. She has made good progress recovering from her fall a few weeks ago. Which leads me to....

 

 

Safe travels.  I will be sitting in that same airport probably in the fall.  Glad to hear that your mum is on the mend.

 

I was initially really charmed by Maisie Dobbs but found that my interest was not sustained.  Was it the author or my mood?  Who knows. But I wanted to read Dying in the Wool because of the textile mill aspect of the story.  I love all things fiber and really appreciated the textile references in the chapter subtitles. 

 

There is a Ngaio Marsh in the dusty stack that may be my next mystery.  Her books are usually quite satisfying. 

 

 

[Loesje22000]

I read the music score of the St. john passion today.

Twice.

 

ETA:

And I sung parts of it with our choir

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Mostly misreading recipes today...Somehow I grabbed the coconut flour instead of the almond flour. The spring cod and herbed potatoes had a slightly tropical flair...

 

I started a Daphne du Maurier novel... Drizzly spring days whisper of du Maurier and of England...

[6packofun]

I read The Japanese Lover - 4 Stars - I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that I enjoyed this book, since I was disappointed with her last few books. This one reminded me slightly of her older books, which are among my all-time favorites. She’s a wonderful storyteller and I easily connected with most of the characters. They were deep and rich, as they usually are with Allende, but again, not as good as her earlier books.

 

 

 

My mom recommended this book to me and said she'd like to try some other books by Allende...I'll tell her to try earlier ones!

[Ali in OR]

Have now finished Written in Red...loved it.

[Stacia]

McGahern is an Irish author and the book has a green cover.  As usual, I am late to the party.

 

I am late to the green cover party too. I'm about halfway through a book I found through Archipelago's International Women's Day list: The Expedition to the Baobab Tree by Wilma Stockenström, translated from the Afrikaans by J.M. Coetzee.

 

 

Translated by Nobel Laureate J.M. Coetzee.

 

In J.M.Coetzee’s stunning translation: a powerfully symbolic story in the voice of a slave that explores the depths of imagination, isolation, fear, and love. A slave woman is the only survivor of a failed expedition into the depths of Southern Africa. She shelters in the hollow trunk of a baobab tree where she relives her earlier existence in a state of increasing isolation. We are the sole witnesses to her moving history: her capture as a young child, her life in a harbor city on the eastern coast as servant to various masters, her journey with her last owner and protector, and her life in the baobab tree.

 

It's a haunting, stream-of-consciousness tale & I wish I had time to read it all in one sitting as I think that is what it is best suited for. The language in it is just lovely.

 

This afternoon, my mom, dd, & I went to see Tina Fey's movie Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Although the trailers make it seem like a comedy, it is not (though it does have a few amusing moments). It's really a war reporter story. I enjoyed it. Apparently it is based on a true story/book called The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan by Kim Barker. I definitely want to read the book now. Deciding whether to buy a hard copy or wait for the ebook version that it looks like one of my libraries is in the process of getting....

 

 

Edited March 21, 2016 by Stacia

[Alice]

I love all the spring photos, especially that gorgeous cactus! 

 

I read Lit Up!: One Reporter, Three School and Twenty-Four Books that Change Lives by David Denby this week. He spends a year with an English class in a public magnet high school in NYC. The overall theme of the book is that if you engage teens young enough that you can turn them into readers or at least convince them that literature is important to their lives. He goes to 10th grade classes with the idea that 15 year olds are still young enough to turn into readers if they aren't already. He also visits two other schools just to get a broader view of how English teachers engage and inspire kids about literature. For the most part I enjoyed it. It's not really a "how to" book other than the very general idea that teachers who are passionate about literature can get kids excited about reading. And it's not really an in depth study of any of the 24 books he mentions. 

 

I am also reading Kim by Kipling along with my 7th grader. We are reading it separately and then meeting each week to discuss a few chapters at a time. I'm enjoying it. 

 

I just started 10 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad. I read some reviews that were glowing and intrigued me. I'm not sure yet what I think. The first story was a little more sexually graphic than I expected. We'll see how it goes. 

[Lady Florida.]

From last week, in reference to not counting a book towards my goal because it's a reread.

 

 

 

Ok, I just have to say it...I don't get it when you all say this!   :laugh:   You read the book.  It's still a book.  No matter how many times you read it doesn't change the fact that it is still so many pages of text!!  Sorry I just had to say it!  If it's a book, and I've read it then I count it! 

 

 

 

I obviously could count it if I wanted to. However, in the case of any of the Harry Potter books (the one I mentioned is HP3) or anything by Jane Austen, I can practically recite the books by heart because I'm so familiar with them. We listen to the entire HP series at least once a year (it's a family thing, we listen together in the car) and I read at least one of the books each year.  And now that I'm collecting them with Audible credits I'm listening to them on my own as well. Austen is an author I've been reading and rereading for years and I'm intimately familiar with all of her novels. It feels like cheating if I count any of the above towards a reading goal. To me, it's like saying I'm going to set a goal to run a mile a day when I've been running five miles a day for years (which I most certainly haven't because I hate running lol).

 

Now if I haven't read something repeatedly I count it. For example, I'm thinking of rereading Middlemarch this year and if I do I'll count it. I only read it once, and I'm sure I'll pick up on things I missed on the first go round.

[Just Robyn]

I read The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami. It was pretty meh, for me. It lacked characterization. Something weird and terrifying happened to someone, and it didn't affect him at all. The last paragraph was a start towards complexity of character. It made me wonder what the story would be like if we met this guy as an adult, but that story is not told.

[Mom-ninja.]

Discovered that Kevin Hearne wrote little novellas between the main Iron Druid novels. So I read the one between book 6 and 7 which is Two Ravens and a Crow. It actually explained a couple things in book 7. So I will be catching up on these novellas before reading book 8. 

 

Yes, I am addicted to the series. Favorite character is now Owen Kennedy who was introduced in book 7. 

[Runningmom80]

Just started The Girls from Corona del Mar. It's really good so far. http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-rufi-thorpe-20140720-story.html

 

Rising Strong by Brene Brown was wonderful. I highly recommend it.

 

1. The Alchemist

2. Between the World and Me

3. The Whole-Brain Child

4. Dream Work

5. The Help

6. We Should All Be Feminists

7. 10% Happier

8. Better than Before

9. Rising Strong

10. The Girls from Corona del Mar

Edited March 21, 2016 by Runningmom80

[Runningmom80]

I am late to the green cover party too. I'm about halfway through a book I found through Archipelago's International Women's Day list: The Expedition to the Baobab Tree by Wilma Stockenström, translated from the Afrikaans by J.M. Coetzee.

 

 

 

It's a haunting, stream-of-consciousness tale & I wish I had time to read it all in one sitting as I think that is what it is best suited for. The language in it is just lovely.

 

This afternoon, my mom, dd, & I went to see Tina Fey's movie Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Although the trailers make it seem like a comedy, it is not (though it does have a few amusing moments). It's really a war reporter story. I enjoyed it. Apparently it is based on a true story/book called The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan by Kim Barker. I definitely want to read the book now. Deciding whether to buy a hard copy or wait for the ebook version that it looks like one of my libraries is in the process of getting....

 

https://youtu.be/2V8V6-VjnWw

I'm glad to hear the movie was good, and now that I know there is a book, I need to read it. I really like Tina Fey, I've been wanting to see her in a more cerebral role. Edited March 21, 2016 by Runningmom80

[Chrysalis Academy]

I finished Shylock Is My Name. This is the second offering under the Hobart Shakespeare label, a division of Penguin dedicated to commissioning and publishing modern retellings of Shakespeare plays by prominent modern authors. Some of us read the first publication, The Gap of Time, Jeanette Winterson's retelling of The Winter's Tale. The second volume of the series, a retelling of The Merchant of Venice, did not disappoint.  Well, it did a little, because it turned Portia into a vapid character, but it wasn't about her, it was firmly and completely focused on The Jewish Question.  I'm not really in a position to say whether it examined issues relevant to all Jews for all time, or those particular to being a wealthy secular Jewish male in modern London, but it really tackled Jewish fatherhood, and fatherhood in general, in a timeless manner. The plot of the play was cleverly modernized, I don't want to say too much about that in case others will read it, but I will say that the discussions between Shylock (yep, he's a character) and his modern counterpart were wonderful and they really did deepen my understanding of and appreciation of the play. I've mentioned before that reading MoV right after a re-read of Frankenstein gave me new appreciation of, and sympathy for, Shylock's character. A well done, highly recommended retelling.  You will definitely want to refresh your memory of the play before you tackle it, But it did what a good retelling will do: it deepened my appreciation of the original, as well as offering more food for thought and a connecting relevance to the modern world. Shakespeare is for always, man!

Edited March 21, 2016 by Chrysalis Academy

[Ellesmere]

Happy Spring! I am freezing. I spent the weekend either running around, trying to get chores & errands done or freezing under many blankets, with books. I found out that borrowing books actually motivates me to finish them, so maybe I should see if tricking myself and borrowing all the books on my "currently reading" list lights a fire under me.

 

Finished yesterday, from the library: Moonwalking With Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer and The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

 

I had these on my to-read list and they were at the library, so I grabbed them last week. I had no idea that memory was a theme in The Buried Giant -- I picked it because of the cover, had no idea if I'd even bother with it, and had no idea what it was about. I was halfway through Foer's book when I read the beginning of The Buried Giant (and was tempted to ditch, glad I pushed ahead with it) when I realized what it was about and figured I just had to read them both. I am no good at checking out books for the kids to match up with their lessons and I'm even worse at following themes for myself or getting to books when I mean to, so I thought the luck of getting two books related to memory at the same time was not to be ignored.

[marbel]

Thanks for the spring photos!   It still feels like winter here in southeastern PA.  Ice on the windshield this morning.  But all too soon I'll be complaining of heat and humidity.

 

It was a terrible reading week for me.  I feel like I wasted a lot of precious reading time on books that I didn't really enjoy.  I know many of you (and others I know) enjoy the Sebastian St Cyr novels, but I read the first and won't go on with the series.  The combination of sordid crime mingled with romance just wasn't my thing.  I also started The Sparrow, which I know is beloved by many.  I knew it was going to be disturbing, but as I went on I felt like it was going to be more than I was willing to read.  I stopped a little over halfway through, after reading a few reviews with spoilers, which told me I shouldn't go on. 

 

It's too bad because Mary Doria Russell's A Thread of Grace is one of the best books I've ever read.  As a World War II novel, it has plenty of disturbing content, of course.  But somehow it's different to me.

 

I'm going to be focusing on homeschool books and Anna Karenina (for a book group) for the next few weeks!

 

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

16. What Angels Fear, C. S. Harris

 

[Lady Florida.]

Love the spring photos.

 

We're in St. Augustine until Thursday (taking a short break at the bed and breakfast right now). I'll probably finish Wickedly Charming since it's a light, easy read. I had put it aside but started reading it again last night.

Edited March 21, 2016 by Lady Florida

[Stacia]

Thought of Jenn since she enjoys the South sometimes....

 

31 Iconic Books About The South You Need To Read In Your Lifetime

[mumto2]

Love the spring photos.

 

We're in St. Augustine until Thursday (taking a short break at the bed and breakfast right now). I'll probably finish Wickedly Charming since it's a light, easy read. I had put it aside but started reading it again last night.

I love St. Augustine. We used to go for the day frequently when the dc's were little. Dolphins always seemed to be playing right off the fort. We also stopped at Marineland on the way. Fun memories.

[shage]

Listened to The Crossover by Kwame Alexander, 2015 Newberry winner, with the kids. Two thumbs up. The kids loved the basketball story, I enjoyed the language and the rhyme.

[Stacia]

Finished The Expedition to the Baobab Tree. Achingly & heartbreakingly beautiful. A haunting, stream-of-consciousness story of slavery, survival, solitude, strangeness, & strength. The language is lovely.

 

2016 Books Read:

5 stars:

• The Beast: Riding the Rails and Dodging Narcos on the Migrant Trail by Óscar Martínez (Mexico)
• What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi (Europe: Various)

4 stars:

• The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Gabriel Vásquez (Columbia)
• Good Morning Comrades by Ondjaki (Angola)
• An Exaggerated Murder by Josh Cook (USA)
• The Expedition to the Baobab Tree by Wilma Stockenström (South Africa)

3 stars:

• Gnarr! How I Became Mayor of a Large City in Iceland and Changed the World by Jón Gnarr (Iceland)
• A Quaker Book of Wisdom by Robert Lawrence Smith (USA)
• The Three Trials of Manirema by José J. Veiga (Brazil)
• Necropolis by Santiago Gamboa (Israel)
• North to the Orient by Anne Morrow Lindbergh (Asia: Various)
• Smile as they Bow by Nu Nu Yi (Myanmar)
• Ajax Penumbra 1969 by Robin Sloan (USA)
• Bossypants by Tina Fey (USA)

2 stars:

• We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo (Zimbabwe)

Edited March 22, 2016 by Stacia

[Stacia]

And, for a completely different kind of story, I'm now reading A Kim Jong-Il Production: The Extraordinary True Story of a Kidnapped Filmmaker, His Star Actress, and a Young Dictator's Rise to Power by Paul Fischer.

 

"The 1978 abductions of the South Korean actress Choi-Eun-hee and her ex-husband, the director Shin Sang-ok, in Hong Kong is the true crime at the center of Paul Fischer's gripping and surprisingly timely new book."
-The New York Times

Before becoming the world's most notorious dictator, Kim Jong-Il ran North Korea's Ministry for Propaganda and its film studios. Conceiving every movie made, he acted as producer and screenwriter. Despite this control, he was underwhelmed by the available talent and took drastic steps, ordering the kidnapping of Choi Eun-Hee (Madam Choi)-South Korea's most famous actress-and her ex-husband Shin Sang-Ok, the country's most famous filmmaker.

Madam Choi vanished first. When Shin went to Hong Kong to investigate, he was attacked and woke up wrapped in plastic sheeting aboard a ship bound for North Korea. Madam Choi lived in isolated luxury, allowed only to attend the Dear Leader's dinner parties. Shin, meanwhile, tried to escape, was sent to prison camp, and "re-educated." After four years he cracked, pledging loyalty. Reunited with Choi at the first party he attends, it is announced that the couple will remarry and act as the Dear Leader's film advisors. Together they made seven films, in the process gaining Kim Jong-Il's trust. While pretending to research a film in Vienna, they flee to the U.S. embassy and are swept to safety.

A nonfiction thriller packed with tension, passion, and politics, author Paul Fischer's A Kim Jong-Il Production offers a rare glimpse into a secretive world, illuminating a fascinating chapter of North Korea's history that helps explain how it became the hermetically sealed, intensely stage-managed country it remains today.

 

[SEGway]

We finished our read-aloud Taran Wanderer today. I think it's my favorite piece of the Prydain series. It's a really fun one to share with the kids.

 

I started a while back and only came back this week to read E.M. Forster's A Room with a View. I read it on my phone, so I couldn't highlight the quotes that I thought made the book worth the time. By the end, I didn't really like the characters. (Except maybe Freddie?) But, since the characters were the reason the quotes were written....well, I did read the whole thing. :)

 

Now I just have to go back and find the diamonds in the rough.

 

 

 

 

[shage]

And, for a completely different kind of story, I'm now reading A Kim Jong-Il Production: The Extraordinary True Story of a Kidnapped Filmmaker, His Star Actress, and a Young Dictator's Rise to Power by Paul Fischer.

What in the world?

 

We need a movie version. Lol

[Angelaboord]

Not much real reading has happened over the course of the past couple weeks as lack of sleep is making it hard for me to pay attention and I can't seem to settle in and choose a book anyway. Mostly I end up surfing Pinterest, Facebook, and food blogs on my iPad mini while I nurse. This is not a good since I'm usually starving but have no time to cook anything I see.

 

I did pick up a new cookbook this week -- Sarah Ballantyne's The Healing Kitchen -- an autoimmune Paleo cookbook. It comes with a lot of rave reviews, but a depressing number of the recipes contain coconut, which upsets my stomach. Continuing the Pinterest theme, I also have The Complete Book of Home Organization, which is full of pretty pictures but I'm not sure how many of them would stand up to my boys.

 

I have also been slowly making my way through The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything and Shirt of Flame, a book about a former alcoholic writer's journey through a year with the Little Way of St. Therese. This book has been on my kindle at about 30% complete for about 4 years, and now I think I have gotten it up to 60%. I felt kind of meh about it when I first started it, but am liking it a little better now. And I also recently downloaded Food, Genes, and Culture: Eating Right for Your Origins, which I am enjoying except that I don't think I am catching a lot of it in my present state. It's about nutrigenomics, or how differing genetics interact with the food people eat. The author is an ethnobotanist.

 

I am happy to report that the baby is doing well. She's gaining weight a little slowly but steadily and her heart doesn't seem to be causing her too many problems right now. We go back to the cardiologist tomorrow to see if any more progress has been made on the large hole in her heart.

 

Also, I was happy to discover BaW mail in my mailbox... The joys of physical mail! [emoji5]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[aggieamy]

Finished:

 

The Hollow City by Dan Wells.  I loved the first 75% of the book.  I was up late reading it and just couldn't wait to see what happened next.  It was a FIVE STAR book.  Then I finished it.  Meh.  There was a twist that was kinda lame.  Overall probably FOUR STARS. 

 

Still plugging away on the Agatha Christie autobiography.  My goal is to finish it in 2016. 

 

I also read and enjoyed two cozy mysteries:

 

A Nice Class of Corpse (Mrs Pargeter) by Simon Brett

St Peter's Fair (Cadfael #4) by Ellis Peters

 

[Onceuponatime]

I finished Reaper Man and I've started on Yann Martel's new book, The High Mountains of Portugal. No opinion yet. Expectations though. 😊

[mumto2]

Loesje, Just wanted to send some :grouphug: I "saw" you on another thread this morning so know you are fine.

 

I finished Moonshifted by Cassie Alexander

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13539457-moonshiftedwhich is the second in the Eddie Spence series. These are good if you like paranormal books. Not particularly special like Kevin Hearne but they seem to be rather engaging even if I do hate the covers with the white nurse uniform (the character wears scrubs in the books). I probably wouldn't be willing to be seen reading them without my Kindle! The stories originate in a world/city where there is a significant population of paranormal creatures who are unknown to the general population. They need medical care which is provided on a special floor of the inner city hospital by human employees who are protected by the shades (paranormal being who feed off emotion so like hospitals). All the floor employees have to be there because the shades have obligated them via a loved one.....Eddie is there because the Shades keep her drug addict brother alive for her). This book was essentially the story of a very old werewolf king hit by a care and the widespread effects.

[Chrysalis Academy]

I started and then abandoned another Canongate Myth series book: The Helmet of Horror by Victor Pelevin, a retelling of the Theseus & the Minotaur myth. It just didn't grab me, a little too postmodern. Kind of a cross between Ready Player One and Borges' Labyrinths. Anyway, if anyone is interested let me know and I'll send it to you, otherwise it's going in the library donation bag.

 

I started Girl Meets Boy by Ali Smith, and it's much more promising - a retelling of the Myth of Iphis from Ovid.

 

Shannon has oral surgery today, so I should have time to read while she's under the knife . . . 

[Mom-ninja.]

So I settled into bed totally intent on doing some of my classwork then reading for a bit before sleeping. I *quickly* jumped onto Netflix to make sure the next dvd is A Midsummer Night's Dream which I will be watching with ds as he's taking a Shakespeare class at the moment. Somehow I ended up watching Chocolat on the computer. I couldn't help it. It's on my list of movies to watch, I noticed it was streaming, and Mr. Depp's countenance was staring at me with that sultry Depp look. Great movie. 

 

No homework. No reading. I must repent today. 

[JennW in SoCal]

Loesje, Just wanted to send some :grouphug: I "saw" you on another thread this morning so know you are fine.

 

 

First of all  :grouphug: to Loesje for living too close to yet another awful attack. Good to have confirmation that you are fine.

 

I often stop by this thread while the coffee is brewing first thing in the morning, before looking at the news headlines, so was scrolling up thread to figure out what I had missed in Loesje's post yesterday.  Was she sick or something? It finally occurred to me to check the news.  I had a similar experience on 9/11 when my brother left me a voice message that he was fine, hadn't gone into work that morning.  Couldn't figure out why on earth my brother would be calling just to tell me he hadn't gone to work. Then I turned on the news.

 

:grouphug: to us all, living in this crazy world.  This thread is my happy refuge away from the terrible news, away from the political vitriol that is taking over my fb feed.  

[Loesje22000]

Thank you!

 

Yes, I'm fine, DH is fine (had a meeting last night in Brussels...), dd is exam free for the moment, so she is also fine :)

 

 

But we are shocked...

[Onceuponatime]

So I settled into bed totally intent on doing some of my classwork then reading for a bit before sleeping. I *quickly* jumped onto Netflix to make sure the next dvd is A Midsummer Night's Dream which I will be watching with ds as he's taking a Shakespeare class at the moment. Somehow I ended up watching Chocolat on the computer. I couldn't help it. It's on my list of movies to watch, I noticed it was streaming, and Mr. Depp's countenance was staring at me with that sultry Depp look. Great movie.

 

No homework. No reading. I must repent today.

I watched last week. It was better than I expected.

[Onceuponatime]

isn't Stacia's husband Belgian?

[Stacia]

Oh no, I hadn't seen or heard news today but when I saw mumto2's post, my heart sank.

 

My in-laws just flew home from Brussels airport Saturday. Relieved they were not traveling today, but horrified for everyone who was. I have traveled in & out of that airport myself quite a few times.

 

Have not heard any reports of injuries or worse from dh's extended family. But, they also do not live in Brussels. At this point, I am assuming they are safe.

[Jane in NC]

Loesje, Just wanted to send some :grouphug: I "saw" you on another thread this morning so know you are fine.

 

Relieved for you personally, Loesje, but sorry for all in and around Brussels.

 

I started and then abandoned another Canongate Myth series book: The Helmet of Horror by Victor Pelevin, a retelling of the Theseus & the Minotaur myth. It just didn't grab me, a little too postmodern. Kind of a cross between Ready Player One and Borges' Labyrinths. Anyway, if anyone is interested let me know and I'll send it to you, otherwise it's going in the library donation bag.

 

I started Girl Meets Boy by Ali Smith, and it's much more promising - a retelling of the Myth of Iphis from Ovid.

 

Shannon has oral surgery today, so I should have time to read while she's under the knife . . . 

 

Best wishes to Shannon!  My son had several oral surgeries with varying recovery times.  I am hoping that she has smooth sailing all around.

 

I liked Girl Meets Boy, thought it was a lovely retelling.

Edited March 22, 2016 by Jane in NC

[Loesje22000]

 but sorry for all in and around Brussels.

 

 

We agree!!

[Jane in NC]

While running errands this morning, I finished listening to Terry Pratchett's Making Money, a book recommended by my son since he knew I loved The Truth.  (In the former, we get Pratchett's take on banking and monetary policy whereas in the latter he goes after journalists.)  This led me to remember that someone had compiled a graphic of the Discworld novels with their connections.  Order is not particularly important for me.  In fact, since I prefer to listen to the Terry Pratchett, I tend to grab what is available from my library.

 

The chart for those of you who want to see the Discworld novels mapped out can be found here.

[Nan in Mass]

Rose - I hope the surgery goes ok.  My oldest son's wisdom teeth surgery was my worst non-death-related personal experience ever.  May you have better luck.  Middle one's was a non-event.  That is what you want. : )  I am dreading youngest's, who tends to react to things more the way his oldest brother does.)

 

Jenn - I had a similar 9/11 experience.  My brother-in-law called me to tell me he was ok (he flew to DC that morning), was staying out of the subways and walking to his hotel instead, and eventually it dawned on him that I had no idea what he was talking about.  All the phones but mine were busy as people tried to find out if he was ok.  I had to hop in my car and drive to my sister's to tell her he was still alive.

 

Loesje - I am so glad to hear that you and your kin are ok.  I grieve for everyone affected by the tragedy.  Many hugs.

 

Nan

[Stacia]

Loesje, :grouphug: .

 

Rose, hope Shannon's surgery goes smoothly & without a hitch. And I hope she has a quick & painless (or relatively painless) recovery!

[Nan in Mass]

I read "Shared Security: Re-imaging the US Foreign Policy".  All I can say is wow.  Actually, that isn't all I can say.  I am now going to sit down and write a million letters to UU churches and anyone else I can think of, urging everyone to write to their congressmen asking them to go or send an aide to a presentation of the paper in DC, hosted by Congressman Jim McGovern.  It is arranged by the Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist monks, whom I have just been walking with.  I was struck by how sensible the paper is.  I was also struck by how some of its content echos my conservative New England neighbors, who tend to blame the current state of the federal government for everything from weird weather and fishing difficulties to the high cost of living.  In a way, it was encouraging to find the liberals and the conservatives saying the same thing.  Here's the blurb about the paper:

 

'“Shared Security: Re-imaging the US Foreign Policy†is a working paper published by the American Friends Service Committee in 2013. It was developed by a diverse group including former Pentagon personnel, members of the American Friends Service Committee and the Friends Committee on National Legislation at the Friends’ Pendle Hill retreat center.  Together they created a working paper that is a framework for reimagining US Foreign Policy.  The paper is online at sharedsecurity.org.  Its message is practical and hopeful, based on years of experience working in foreign places.  It says that in our highly interdependent world, “security in this country depends on advancing global security for allâ€, and presents concrete suggestions.  Among other things, it focuses on sustainability in order to build resilience to the impact of climate disruption; better funding and training for civilian institutions such as the State Department; cooperating with existing global organizations; strengthening rule of law rather than rule by force; developing peace agreements based upon shared resources; and small scale, local peace-building, reconciliation, and trauma healing in order to strengthen communities and build resistance to violent conflict.'

 

On a lighter note, I am still listening to Terry Prachett's Unseen Academicals.  On its simplest level, the book is about what happens when a group of university professors decide to form a football team.  There is a lot of social commentary, as usual.  I think this would be a lot funnier if I were more involved with football, but I am at least finding the university aspect to be funny.  I am hoping to pass this along to my husband's uncle, who was a geology professor at UMass Amherst for years and still maintains an office there.  I think it would amuse him. : )  I am also listening to the third Tiffany Aching Terry Pratchett.  This one hits me much deeper, I think because the setting is rural.  The terrain is different from my own New England woods and water, but much of the attitude about land and water are the same and the people are more familiar.  There is more silence in the book.

 

I just heard some poems performed.  Two, especially, struck me.  They are unpublished and I don't know the woman's last name, so i can't share them with you.  They were about being mixed - white mother, African American father.  Lots of pain.  Pam, we had a pretty interesting discussion about race and other-ness afterwards.  I thought of you and Eliana. : )

 

Nan