Book a Week 2016 - BW 18: Mediterranean May

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday dear hearts!  This is the beginning of week 18 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 - Mediterranean May:  Welcome to Mediterranean May and continuing our armchair travels east of the Prime Meridian.  

 

 

 

 

While some continue their voyage with Darwin on the HMS Beagle, I'll be disembarking and sailing through the Straits of Magellan to cruise the Mediterranean. The sea is bordered by 3 continents and 22 countries as well as a variety of islands. .  We'll spend the next couple months exploring which will give those traveling with Darwin a chance to catch up. You can dive into history, plunge into mysteries,scale the highest peaks or dip into the valleys and submerse your palate in the fine wines and various cuisines offered by the different countries.  The sea is your oyster.

Currently in my backpack are several non fiction books including Rod Dreher's How Dante Can Save Your Life in preparation for reading Dante's Divine Comedy during Philosophical June. 

 

 

 

 

As well as Stacy Schiff's Cleopatra 

 

 

as well as historical fiction including Ben Kane's Spartacus the Gladiator

 

 

 

Have fun exploring! 

 

 

 

 

*********************************************************************

 

History of the Renaissance World - Chapters 27 and 28 

 

 

*********************************************************************

 

What are you reading this week?

 

 

 

Link to week 17 

 

[Robin M]

I was a slug this morning and slept in.  Started reading Dreher's How Dante Can Save Your Life and enjoying it so far. 

 

Writing studies - currently reading Jack Hart's A Writer's Coach and Dinty Moore's Crafting the Personal Essay.

 

Quite successful with A to Z blogging Challenge, since fortunately had a lot of essay's written from my classes.  Although I did have fun making up poetry! 

Edited May 1, 2016 by Robin M

[Chrysalis Academy]

I really enjoyed Stacy Shiff's Cleopatra when I read it a few years ago.  I'm all in with the Mediterranean theme: still pre-reading for Ancient history, so almost everything fits. I'm listening to SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome and reading The Travels of Marco Polo: The Illustrated Edition which is to Marco what the Illustrated Beagle is to Darwin. He starts out in the Mediterranean, at least!

 

Last week I read Eurpides' Iphigenia at Aulis and Racine's Iphigenie - it was interesting to compare the two, and to compare those to Unsworth's Songs of the Kings. I really like seeing how stories change over time, and how authors take these most ancient tales and transform them for the sensibilities of the "modern" audience and how that all looks to  us now. This will be a main theme of our Lit and Drama studies next year.

 

Books completed in April:

81. Iphigenie - Jean Racine

80. The Last Colony - John Scalzi

79. Iphigenia at Aulis - Euripides

78. Ghengis Khan and the Making of the Modern World - Jack Weatherford

77. Mourning Becomes Electra - Eugene O'Neill

76. The Songs of the Kings - Barry Unsworth

75. Lit Up - David Denby

74. The Darker Face of the Earth - Rita Dove

73. The Ghost Brigades - John Scalzi

72. The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who LIved Before Achilles - Padraic Colum

71. A Masque of Reason - Robert Frost

70. Necropolis - Santiago Gamboa

69. Jane Steele - Lyndsay Faye

68. Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics and the Future of Food - Pamela Ronald

67. The Children's Homer - Padraic Colum

66. Oedipus the King - Sophocles

65. Lion's Honey: The Myth of Samson - David Grossman

64. Old Man's War - John Scalzi

[Onceuponatime]

Yesterday I finished And So To Murder by Carter Dickson, AKA John Dickson Carr. A few years ago I read as many of his books as I could find, and just recently realized I hadn't checked our latest library. This was the only one they had that I hadn't read. It was a quick, amusing cozy. (It always feels odd to call murder cozy.)

 

I just checked my stacks and couldn't find anything Mediterranean. I'm going to finish Don't Look Now, which no longer feels depressing after Catcher in the Rye.

[Jane in NC]

Lorraine Hansberry's play Les Blancs is at the National Theatre in London until June 2 but unfortunately London is not on my itinerary for the weeks ahead.  So instead I decided to read some Hansberry.  The author's well known play, A Raisin in the Sun, opened on Broadway in 1959.  It was the first play written by an African American woman to have appeared there--and she won the NY Drama Critics Circle Best Play award for it.  Before reading the play, I wondered if it would be dated--haven't we come a long way in half of a century?  The answer for Raisin, like all good literature, is no.  But given the recent discussions that we as a country are having on race, the play seemed particularly poignant.

 

I am planning on reading Les Blancs in mid to late May.  Anyone else want to join me?  Reading that is--although I'd love to meet up in London to see the play.  Sigh.

 

BBC Radio 3 has a nice documentary on Hansberry. 

 

Wilfred Price is lovely and fun fluff.  I am savoring the poetry in Absolute Solitude.  And I have been listening over the last several weeks to Wild in the car, a book that appeared on the memoir list, but not one that I think I could sit down and read.  Perhaps my problem with the modern memoir is that I really don't care about all of the details of a stranger's life--particularly the unsavory bits.  Silly me.  I thought Wild would be about the Pacific Crest Trail but I should have known that any trek is also an internal quest.

[idnib]

I'm just dropping in to say hello after being gone for many weeks. I've had a lot of things going on and have been way behind in any sort of reading. It's whack-a-mole around here and I feel perpetually behind. I am trying to plan a trip to London for next month, plus a couple of other trips. My dad fell ill last month and there's been issues to do with that as well.

 

After buying that nice illustrated copy of Voyage of the Beagle I haven't cracked it open. Books I'm supposed to be reading are piling up! I did manage to finish read-alouds to the kids, including The Fellowship of the Ring. And I've been working my way through Geology of the San Francisco Bay Region as part of planning out some trips for the kids. (The author, Doris Sloan, used to give amazing walk around the area but she is getting older and slowing down.) I suppose I'll be adding a guide to the UK to my reading pile, maybe Rick Steves?

 

Jane, I don't recall hearing what you though of the Zuni Cafe Cookbook. Maybe you posted and it was during a time I wasn't reading the threads?

 

 

Anyway, I miss you all and I've committed myself to at least keeping up with this week's thread! 

Edited May 1, 2016 by idnib

[Kareni]

Yesterday I read Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire; it looks like a young adult novel, but it isn't.  It's a short book though and a quick read.

 

 

"Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests

 

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else.

 

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

 

Nancy tumbled once, but now she's back. The things she's experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West's care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

 

But Nancy's arrival marks a change at the Home. There's a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it's up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of things.

 

No matter the cost."

 

 

The book has garnered quite some praise:

 

"A jewel of a book that deserves to be shelved with Lewis Carroll's and C. S. Lewis' classics, even as it carves its own precocious space between them." ―NPR

"McGuire's lyrical prose makes this novella a rich experience." ―Library Journal starred review

"This gothic charmer is a love letter to anyone who's ever felt out of place." ― Publishers Weekly

"This gothic novel is ideal for fantasy fans who have longed for a world of their own, as well as readers looking for books with diverse casts." ―Bookish

 

It was an interesting story but not one that really spoke to me.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Violet Crown]

Despite its being not too long, I'm only halfway through The Raven: A Biography of Sam Houston, by Marquis James. On the other hand, I finished reading Charlotte's Web to Wee Girl! It was hard to not let my voice crack at the end of the penultimate chapter (Charlotte dies) or last one ("Charlotte was both"). Wee Girl was thoughtful at the end; and after thinking, announced the mathematical series of how many spiders there would be if each had babies at the end of each year, of which three stayed with Wilbur, assuming the mother spiders died after laying the eggs. So a very touching moment all around.

 

The Raven is interesting but a little cringe-making sometimes, probably inevitable for a biography written in the '20s about a very multicultural place and time. The author is clear however that part of Houston's greatness was his lifelong intense interest in obtaining justice for the native tribes, particularly his adoptive Cherokee Nation. An effect of the book I hadn't predicted: it's a man magnet. No fewer than three dads have struck up discussions with me on the basis of my reading the biography of Houston in public. One actually apologized for having only arrived recently in Texas and presuming to have (extensive) opinions on Houston's personal life. One mom looked at what I was reading, and commented "Okay, whatever."

Edited May 1, 2016 by Violet Crown

[Faithr]

I usually only participate in Read 52 at Robin's blog but I thought I'd try out this thread as well!  I really want to read Dreher's How Dante Can Save Your Life.  I recently read a book he wrote with Wendell Pierce which was really excellent.  And I read his Crunchy Con book years ago.  I find Dreher a little too gloomy in terms of his columns, but his books are good!

 

I am not in a Mediterranean mood right now. (Well, I am reading the Bible set largely in countries that lie on the Eastern Mediterranean Sea!).  At the beginning of the year I decided to make a fun New Year's resolution for once, so instead of dieting, etc I decided I was going to try to read all the Lord Peter Wimsey books by Dorothy L. Sayers.  I am really enjoying it!  Just finished a collection of short stories by her.  I love how much impact a short story can have.  I think they are under appreciated anymore.  Now I'm on to Murder Must Advertise.  

[Violet Crown]

Welcome to the thread Faithr! There are plenty of Sayers fans here. Someday I have to give the Lord Peter Wimsey books a try.

[Mom-ninja.]

Does it count as reading if the book is next to my bed and I look at the cover every now and then? 

[Jane in NC]

I'm just dropping in to say hello after being gone for many weeks. I've had a lot of things going on and have been way behind in any sort of reading. It's whack-a-mole around here and I feel perpetually behind. I am trying to plan a trip to London for next month, plus a couple of other trips. My dad fell ill last month and there's been issues to do with that as well.

 

After buying that nice illustrated copy of Voyage of the Beagle I haven't cracked it open. Books I'm supposed to be reading are piling up! I did manage to finish read-alouds to the kids, including The Fellowship of the Ring. And I've been working my way through Geology of the San Francisco Bay Region as part of planning out some trips for the kids. (The author, Doris Sloan, used to give amazing walk around the area but she is getting older and slowing down.) I suppose I'll be adding a guide to the UK to my reading pile, maybe Rick Steves?

 

Jane, I don't recall hearing what you though of the Zuni Cafe Cookbook. Maybe you posted and it was during a time I wasn't reading the threads?

 

 

Anyway, I miss you all and I've committed myself to at least keeping up with this week's thread! 

 

We have missed you, idnib!  I hope your dad is on the mend.

 

I have an embarrassing confession to make about the Zuni Cafe Cookbook:  After giving it a cursory look, the book was placed on a table and covered with several magazines.  When the library sent a notice that it was due, I was puzzled since the book was not living in the library bag.  Sigh.  I found it and decided that I had better return it--this before we left for the Shenandoah. The title remains on my library list since I clearly need to take a closer look.  And I promise I will!

[idnib]

Does it count as reading if the book is next to my bed and I look at the cover every now and then? 

 

If that's the case then it turns out I'm reading.

 

We have missed you, idnib!  I hope your dad is on the mend.

 

I have an embarrassing confession to make about the Zuni Cafe Cookbook:  After giving it a cursory look, the book was placed on a table and covered with several magazines.  When the library sent a notice that it was due, I was puzzled since the book was not living in the library bag.  Sigh.  I found it and decided that I had better return it--this before we left for the Shenandoah. The title remains on my library list since I clearly need to take a closer look.  And I promise I will!

 

 

No problem. Was just curious what you thought, but I have also been known to cover library books with other stuff and then dig them up when the notice appears.  :laugh: That's why I don't send the kids on those fun archeology digs for kids; I can just have them find the library books and it's all good.

[Minerva]

I am still reading For Whom the Bell Tolls. Last time I read it I loved everything about it. This time, not so much. I am reading it slowly, probably because I am having a hard time feeling invested in the characters. I wish Robert Jordan's character would develop more. I am waiting to like him, to relate to him, to feel something for him. The one thing I didn't remember noticing before is how well Hemingway writes the Spanish speaking dialogue. I can actually hear the Spanish even though he is writing in English. 

 

I am still reading Echo with my kids. It is a page turner. I also finished reading Around the World in 80 Tales to my son, an excellent book of international fables. I started reading It's Perfectly Normal with my dd as part of my resolution to talk about sex with my kids more after reading Girls and Sex last week. I am pleasantly surprised at how much easier it has become to talk about sex with my dd in just one week. She knows a lot and also has a lot of questions. She  told me yesterday that puberty is "kind of scary." She has no idea...

 

 

[Jane in NC]

I am still reading For Whom the Bell Tolls. Last time I read it I loved everything about it. This time, not so much. I am reading it slowly, probably because I am having a hard time feeling invested in the characters. I wish Robert Jordan's character would develop more. I am waiting to like him, to relate to him, to feel something for him. The one thing I didn't remember noticing before is how well Hemingway writes the Spanish speaking dialogue. I can actually hear the Spanish even though he is writing in English. 

 

I am still reading Echo with my kids. It is a page turner. I also finished reading Around the World in 80 Tales to my son, an excellent book of international fables. I started reading It's Perfectly Normal with my dd as part of my resolution to talk about sex with my kids more after reading Girls and Sex last week. I am pleasantly surprised at how much easier it has become to talk about sex with my dd in just one week. She knows a lot and also has a lot of questions. She  told me yesterday that puberty is "kind of scary." She has no idea...

 

Kind of??

 

For Whom the Bell Tolls has been on the reread list for a while now.  I too loved everything about it when I read it--but I was in my twenties.  Was this the case for you too?  It can also be "kind of scary" revisiting those old favorites...

 

[Negin]

I read Dawn - 3 Stars - This is a follow-up to Night, which I found to be a bit odd. It’s not that I didn’t like “Dawnâ€, I did and it definitely affected me emotionally, but “Night†is much better. It’s the only book in the trilogy that’s a memoir, so obviously the styles are different. I wonder what “Day†will be like. I plan on reading that soon.

 

 

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.

[fastweedpuller]

Hellooo!  May I join...?  I have been lurking for a while, and wondered, frankly, if I could read 52 books in a year...but then I checked my list and bingo I am above 17 books so far on the 17th week (yay me!)

 

We've got a singleton dd, 12, 6th grade; we're accidental homeschoolers.  I'm an architect, working full time, but partially at home (otherwise the homeschooling wouldn't happen).  Hubs is an artist.  We live on a hobby farm and I run a CSA for 5 families.  So...reading time is kind of a challenge but I have always been a voracious reader. 

 

I'm in a book club and it influences my choices in books, kind of.  Today I will finish Amongst Women (thanks to BaW!) by John McGahern and wonder if bipolar Irish fathers are universal or if that's just my own history creeping in?  And I totally am rocking William Finnegan's Barbarian Days.  Maybe I can finish that before Overdrive sucks it back.  Next up for my book club is Girls and Sex.  I don't count audiobooks or books I read aloud with kiddo; maybe I should?  Mostly the reading is just, selfishly, my me-time.

 

Happy to be here and pick up new suggestions, magpie (magenpie) style!

 

18. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

17.  The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel

16.  Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

15.  Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Ofill

14.  The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante (did so not want the series to end wah)

13.  Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier (reread; book club)

12.  Dream Land by Sam Quinones

11.  Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

10.  1Q84 by Hakuri Murakami

9.  Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew Crawford (reread; book club)

8.  Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein (horrid book to read after below)

7. M Train by Patti Smith

6.  A Little Life by Hanya Yanangihara

5.  The Clockwork Universe by Edward Dolnick

4.  Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks

3.  The Turner House by Angela Flournoy (book club)

2.  Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

1.  Neanderthal Man by Svante Paabo

[Kareni]

I'm just dropping in to say hello after being gone for many weeks.

 

Welcome back, idnib.  And best wishes for your father.

 

 

Hellooo!  May I join...?  I have been lurking for a while....

 

And welcome, fastweedpuller ~  the more the merrier.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Jane in NC]

I usually only participate in Read 52 at Robin's blog but I thought I'd try out this thread as well!  I really want to read Dreher's How Dante Can Save Your Life.  I recently read a book he wrote with Wendell Pierce which was really excellent.  And I read his Crunchy Con book years ago.  I find Dreher a little too gloomy in terms of his columns, but his books are good!

 

I am not in a Mediterranean mood right now. (Well, I am reading the Bible set largely in countries that lie on the Eastern Mediterranean Sea!).  At the beginning of the year I decided to make a fun New Year's resolution for once, so instead of dieting, etc I decided I was going to try to read all the Lord Peter Wimsey books by Dorothy L. Sayers.  I am really enjoying it!  Just finished a collection of short stories by her.  I love how much impact a short story can have.  I think they are under appreciated anymore.  Now I'm on to Murder Must Advertise.  

 

Welcome aboard, Faithr!  And enjoy your year with Lord Peter!

 

Hellooo!  May I join...?  I have been lurking for a while, and wondered, frankly, if I could read 52 books in a year...but then I checked my list and bingo I am above 17 books so far on the 17th week (yay me!)

 

We've got a singleton dd, 12, 6th grade; we're accidental homeschoolers.  I'm an architect, working full time, but partially at home (otherwise the homeschooling wouldn't happen).  Hubs is an artist.  We live on a hobby farm and I run a CSA for 5 families.  So...reading time is kind of a challenge but I have always been a voracious reader. 

 

I'm in a book club and it influences my choices in books, kind of.  Today I will finish Amongst Women (thanks to BaW!) by John McGahern and wonder if bipolar Irish fathers are universal or if that's just my own history creeping in?  And I totally am rocking William Finnegan's Barbarian Days.  Maybe I can finish that before Overdrive sucks it back.  Next up for my book club is Girls and Sex.  I don't count audiobooks or books I read aloud with kiddo; maybe I should?  Mostly the reading is just, selfishly, my me-time.

 

Happy to be here and pick up new suggestions, magpie (magenpie) style!

 

18. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

17.  The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel

16.  Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

15.  Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Ofill

14.  The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante (did so not want the series to end wah)

13.  Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier (reread; book club)

12.  Dream Land by Sam Quinones

11.  Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

10.  1Q84 by Hakuri Murakami

9.  Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew Crawford (reread; book club)

8.  Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein (horrid book to read after below)

7. M Train by Patti Smith

6.  A Little Life by Hanya Yanangihara

5.  The Clockwork Universe by Edward Dolnick

4.  Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks

3.  The Turner House by Angela Flournoy (book club)

2.  Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

1.  Neanderthal Man by Svante Paabo

 

Amongst Women was initially recommended to me by Eliana who thought that as a fan of Barbara Pym I would enjoy McGahern's style.  Which brings up an important point:  Eliana is MIA.  Anyone know anything?

 

Shop Class As Soulcraft is an excellent volume to revisit as an accidental homeschooler. I started homeschooling our one and only at age 12.  He is now a college grad--with the help of participants on this board.

 

Welcome, welcome!

[Onceuponatime]

Someone asked about Eliana last week, too, I think. Her goodreads account appears to have been inactive for the last month, which seems unusual. I hope everything is okay.

[Ethel Mertz]

Wilfred Price is lovely and fun fluff.  I am savoring the poetry in Absolute Solitude.  And I have been listening over the last several weeks to Wild in the car, a book that appeared on the memoir list, but not one that I think I could sit down and read.  Perhaps my problem with the modern memoir is that I really don't care about all of the details of a stranger's life--particularly the unsavory bits.  Silly me.  I thought Wild would be about the Pacific Crest Trail but I should have known that any trek is also an internal quest.

 

Glad you enjoyed Wilfred Price. Quirky book, that! We must have an identical "to read" list. I have Wild on my list too, though I probably won't get to it for awhile.

 

I finished Joan Clark's Latitudes of Melt. This was a delicious novel about 4 generations of the same family - Newfoundland based - centered around the rescue of a baby from an iceberg after the sinking of the Titanic. Four plus stars. After that involved novel, I read the next in the series of Bob White Birder Murder mysteries (A Bobwhite Killing) by Jan Dunlap. Fun, quick, cozy read.

 

I just requested Daniel Berrigan's autobiography, To Dwell in Peace, from the library, am dipping into Joan Dye Gussow's This Organic Life (well-timed as we just got our garden plot at the community gardens), and The Flower of May by Kate O'Brien (a book that has the name of this month in it). I've also got to start SWB's The History of the Ancient World as prep for next fall's ancient history rotation for DS, so I'll be paddling about the Mediterranean with some of you.

[Stacia]

I have had so little reading time lately & life has been so crazy that I decided to give myself the luxury of a full reading day yesterday. I pretty much did nothing but read all day long. And some this morning too.

 

I decided to drop Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde. This was for my book club (& I'm wondering when I should get to the point of being embarrassed about dropping book club books because I've certainly dropped quite a few through the years :leaving: ). I love Fforde's world-building in this one. It is so amazingly creative. However, I got to the halfway point & he just spends so long mucking around in the descriptions of his world that the story is barely creeping forward. And then I started avoiding it. My ds did read this one about a month ago & he thought it was ok; he also agreed that it moves very slowly (very, very) & doesn't pick up pace (in his opinion) until the last 60-80 pages. He also felt that the ending was unsatisfying, probably because this is (or will be?) part of a series, which, to a certain extent, necessitates a cliffhanger or leaving some threads of the story unfinished. Anyway, I wanted to like this one & did to a certain extent, but not enough to slog through descriptions forever. (I am a little bummed because I had planned to use this on my bingo sheet for "Color in the Title". Oh well.)

 

On a side note, my ds read Narconomics after I finished it & he, like me, thought it was a great piece of non-fiction. He is now into the Iron Druid series, a set the rest of us in the family have been recommending to him for awhile now. He's speeding through & is on the 3rd book now.

 

I have an Advance Reader Copy of The Mirror Thief by Martin Seay, due to be released in a week or two by Melville House. I read the entire thing yesterday, a feat of a certain sort since it clocks in at just under 600 pages. (So, I get to fill in the "Over 500 Pages" on the bingo square.) Melville House is quoting lots of indie booksellers & reviewers giving high praise to this one so I was anticipating a lot, I think. This is Seay's first novel &, as that, it is quite impressive. However, some of the descriptions are comparing it to David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas & I found that to be misleading (& a bit disappointing as I absolutely love Cloud Atlas). The Mirror Thief has three interwoven stories over multiple time periods & places (late 1500s Venice, Italy; 1950s Venice Beach, CA; present day Las Vegas, NV, w/ the "place connection" being The Venetian Hotel there). It's a bit of a mix of thriller, historical fiction, alchemy/magic, & philosophy. It was enjoyable enough & obviously kept me interested enough (otherwise I wouldn't have read 588 pages of it in one day), but it could have been more tightly told & edited, imo. I guess I was hoping for something deeper w/ more connections (a la Cloud Atlas), but I found it to be a lighter than that. For me, this is something akin to beach reading perhaps. A decent way to spend my reading day, though.

 

I also made time to finish the remarkable West with the Night by Beryl Markham. Even Ernest Hemingway (who was not necessarily prone to handing out praise to fellow writers) gave it very high praise, saying "it is really a bloody wonderful book". I can see why he likes it -- in a way, she writes like he does, in a straightforward manner that is so descriptive, yet tightly told. This is easily 5-stars & if you haven't already read it, I highly recommend doing so. My friend has listened to the audiobook of West with the Night a couple of times & highly recommends it too. This also falls into my category of "female adventurer" reading. I think my dd is planning to read it now.

 

Not sure what I'll plan to read next or even when I'll find my next clump of reading time.....

 

2016 Books Read:

01. The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Gabriel Vásquez, trans. from the Spanish by Anne McLean, pub. by Riverhead Books. 4 stars. Latin America: Columbia. (Brilliant & bittersweet story showing the impact of the rise of the Colombian drug cartels on an entire generation of people growing up during the violent & uncertain times of the drug wars.) [baW Bingo: Picked by a friend – idnib]

02. Gnarr! How I Became Mayor of a Large City in Iceland and Changed the World by Jón Gnarr, trans. by Andrew Brown, pub. by Melville House. 3 stars. Europe: Iceland. (A quick, easy, fun, & inspiring read with an emphasis on being nice & promoting peace. Just what I needed this week.) [baW Bingo: Non-fiction]

03. We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo, pub. by Reagan Arthur Books/Little, Brown and Company. 2 stars. Africa: Zimbabwe. (Child’s-eye view of life in post-colonial Zimbabwe & as a teen immigrant to the US. Choppy & hard to connect with the characters. Disappointed.) [baW Bingo: Female Author]

04. The Beast: Riding the Rails and Dodging Narcos on the Migrant Trail by Óscar Martínez, trans. from the Spanish by Daniela Maria Ugaz & John Washington, pub. by Verso. 5 stars. North America: Mexico. (Front-line reporting of the dangers migrants face – from physical challenges, terrain, kidnappings, robberies, murders, rapes, & more – when crossing Mexico while trying to reach the US. Required reading.) [baW Bingo: Library Free Space]

05. A Quaker Book of Wisdom by Robert Lawrence Smith, pub. by Eagle Brook/William Morrow and Company. 3 stars. North America: USA. (A quiet & inspiring look at basic tenets of living a life of love & service. Nice little book with valuable & thoughtful ideas for today's world.)

06. Good Morning Comrades by Ondjaki, trans. from the Portuguese by Stephen Henighan, pub. by Biblioasis. 4 stars. Africa: Angola. (Simple & charming child’s-eye view of life in Angola during revolutionary changes & civil war in the 1990s. Semi-autobiographical.) [baW Bingo: Set in Another Country]

07. The Three Trials of Manirema by José J. Veiga, trans. from the Portuguese by Pamela G. Bird, pub. by Alfred A. Knopf. 3 stars. Latin America: Brazil. (A mix of rural-life naturalism & the Kafkaesque in an allegory of life under [brazilian] military rule; captures the underlying fear & dread of a town. A serendipitous find.) [baW Bingo: Dusty]

08. What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi, pub. by Riverhead Books. 5 stars. Europe: Various. (Exotic, surreal, & magical collection of slightly interlinked short stories. Slightly sinister, fun, compelling, & completely delightful.) [baW Bingo: Fairy Tale Adaptation]

09. Necropolis by Santiago Gamboa, trans. from the Spanish by Howard Curtis, pub. by Europa editions. 3 stars. Middle East: Israel. (Chorus of stories, mainly based around an author attending a conference in Jerusalem. One attendee commits suicide. Or did he?)

10. North to the Orient by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, pub. by Harvest/Harcourt Brace & Co. 3 stars. Asia: Various. (A.M. Lindbergh served as her husband’s radio operator during their trek to try mapping new air routes to Asia by travelling north. Diary-like observations of some stops.) [baW Bingo: Historical]

 

11. An Exaggerated Murder by Josh Cook, pub. by Melville House. 4 stars. North America: USA. (Super-fun mash-up as if Pynchon met Sherlock Holmes & they had a few too many beers while sparring with Poe & Joyce. Entertaining, untraditional, modern noir detective romp.) [baW Bingo: Mystery]

12. Smile as they Bow by Nu Nu Yi, trans. from the Burmese by Alfred Birnbaum & Thi Thi Aye, pub. by Hyperion East. 3 stars. Asia: Myanmar. (Fiery & feisty natkadaw [spirit wife] Daisy Bond performs during a nat festival while dealing with the wandering heart of his assistant & love Min Min.) [baW Bingo: Banned (in Myanmar)]

13. Ajax Penumbra 1969 by Robin Sloan, pub. by Atlantic Books. 3 stars. North America: USA. (Mini-novella prequel to Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. Pleasant, nice, light reading about tracking down the single-surviving copy of a very old book.) [baW Bingo: Number in the Title]

14. Bossypants by Tina Fey, pub. by Little, Brown and Company. 3 stars. North America: USA. (Light & laugh-out-loud funny in places as Fey shares her life & fame. It’s easy to tell that she started as a writer -- her writing skill shines.)

15. The Expedition to the Baobab Tree by Wilma Stockenström, trans. from the Afrikaans by J.M. Coetzee, pub. by Archipelago Books. 4 stars. Africa: South Africa. (A haunting, stream-of-consciousness story of slavery, survival, solitude, strangeness, & strength. The language is lovely.) [baW Bingo: Translated]

16. 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, pub. by Flatiron Books. 4 stars. Asia: North Korea. (Fascinating & sometimes depressing look at the cult of personality & power of propaganda & film in North Korea, based around the 1970s kidnappings of two of South Korea's most famous movie personalities.)

17. Narconomics: How to Run a Drug Cartel by Tom Wainwright, pub. by PublicAffairs. 4 stars. Various: mainly Latin & North America. (Interesting look at illegal drugs & cartels through an economist’s eyes, analyzing them like any other large global corporation.) [baW Bingo: Published 2016]

18. The Mirror Thief by Martin Seay, ARC copy, pub. by Melville House. 3 stars. North America: USA; Europe: Italy. (Interwoven stories linking “Venice†from the 1500s, 1950s, & present day. Mix of thriller, historical fiction, magic/alchemy, & philosophy.) [baW Bingo: Over 500 Pages]

19. West with the Night by Beryl Markham, pub. by North Point Press. 5 stars. Africa: Kenya. (Markham’s amazing & wonderful tales of her life growing up in Africa & her adventures as a pilot.)

Edited May 2, 2016 by Stacia

[mumto2]

I noticed Eliana's Goodreads also. I have been trying to remember if she was absent last spring for awhile or not. I hope all is well.

 

Welcome to Faithr and fastweedpuller! I am one of the Dorothy Sayers fans. Murder Must Advertise was a good one but a bit different. I had to laugh about the Overdrive comment, my Dh (he is generally library rules oblivious) actually told me just to turn the wifi off this morning because Overdrive was going to reclaim my current book momentarily. Can't believe he knew that! :lol: I am still reading the latest Faith Hunter, only a third of the way through with the wifi off.

 

I am also finishing Crocodile on a Sandbank as an audiobook. I am enjoying it while quilting. I find it a bit odd to know exactly how long I have left to read. My kindle tells md by estimation but is always wrong because I leave it on frequently while doing other things. I am used to it's time left being sort of a worst case with lots of interruptions.

 

I did read and finish a couple of Grace Burrowes novellas. Good fluff.

 

Before I forget....Welcome back idnib. You were missed. If part of your vacation includes a trip north let me know. ;)

[Minerva]

Kind of??

 

For Whom the Bell Tolls has been on the reread list for a while now.  I too loved everything about it when I read it--but I was in my twenties.  Was this the case for you too?  It can also be "kind of scary" revisiting those old favorites...

 

 

Yes, I read it in my twenties. I loved it. have always liked fiction that was written my journalists, spare and to the point, leaving out just enough details for my imagination to fill in, but not over telling. I am not completely scared off by the book yet, but kind of scratching my head as to why I loved it so much before. I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it when you dust it off. 

[Minerva]

Hellooo!  May I join...?  I have been lurking for a while, and wondered, frankly, if I could read 52 books in a year...but then I checked my list and bingo I am above 17 books so far on the 17th week (yay me!)

 

We've got a singleton dd, 12, 6th grade; we're accidental homeschoolers.  I'm an architect, working full time, but partially at home (otherwise the homeschooling wouldn't happen).  Hubs is an artist.  We live on a hobby farm and I run a CSA for 5 families.  So...reading time is kind of a challenge but I have always been a voracious reader. 

 

I'm in a book club and it influences my choices in books, kind of.  Today I will finish Amongst Women (thanks to BaW!) by John McGahern and wonder if bipolar Irish fathers are universal or if that's just my own history creeping in?  And I totally am rocking William Finnegan's Barbarian Days.  Maybe I can finish that before Overdrive sucks it back.  Next up for my book club is Girls and Sex.  I don't count audiobooks or books I read aloud with kiddo; maybe I should?  Mostly the reading is just, selfishly, my me-time.

 

Happy to be here and pick up new suggestions, magpie (magenpie) style!

 

18. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

17.  The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel

16.  Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

15.  Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Ofill

14.  The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante (did so not want the series to end wah)

13.  Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier (reread; book club)

12.  Dream Land by Sam Quinones

11.  Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

10.  1Q84 by Hakuri Murakami

9.  Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew Crawford (reread; book club)

8.  Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein (horrid book to read after below)

7. M Train by Patti Smith

6.  A Little Life by Hanya Yanangihara

5.  The Clockwork Universe by Edward Dolnick

4.  Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks

3.  The Turner House by Angela Flournoy (book club)

2.  Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

1.  Neanderthal Man by Svante Paabo

 

Welcome Fastweedpuller (I love your name). I just finished reading Girls and Sex and think it is a great read for a book club. It was recommended by Pam (Where are you Pam?) on another thread about pornography. It has really influenced me to ramp up the sex talk with my kids. I bought the premise of the book and am really grateful I read it. I look forward to your thoughts. 

[JennW in SoCal]

Aloha, y'all! I'm sitting at the main stage of the Hawaii Book and Music Festival, new books on one side, delicious plate lunch on the other and hula dancers performing!

 

Will give a full report when we get back home in a few days--books read, food eaten. In the meantime behave yourselves!

[Mothersweets]

This past week I finished:

 

Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye - loved it, couldn't hardly put it down!

 

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman - liked it, loved the part with Ove's father.

 

Haven't read through the thread yet but will tonight!

 

 

[Ali in OR]

Got two finished this week. I enjoyed Frances Brody's third Kate Shackleton mystery--definitely my favorite so far. We meet Kate's biological family and I think this book had more characters I actually cared about. I'll pick up the 4th mystery at the library tomorrow. I also finished my book club book for June, Christina Hernandez' The Book of Unknown Americans about a group of Spanish speaking Americans/immigrants all living in the same apartment building in Delaware. This was sweet, beautiful, sad--very well-written. A good book club book.

[Ali in OR]

On the other hand, I finished reading Charlotte's Web to Wee Girl! It was hard to not let my voice crack at the end of the penultimate chapter (Charlotte dies) or last one ("Charlotte was both"). Wee Girl was thoughtful at the end; and after thinking, announced the mathematical series of how many spiders there would be if each had babies at the end of each year, of which three stayed with Wilbur, assuming the mother spiders died after laying the eggs. So a very touching moment all around.

 

 

I'm always crying at the end of emotional books and I don't think my kids have ever teared up. Charlotte definitely got me. Most recently was Johnny Tremain--me choking up as I read "that a man can stand up", my dd watching me and wondering what is wrong with me.

[Kareni]

I usually only participate in Read 52 at Robin's blog but I thought I'd try out this thread as well!  I really want to read Dreher's How Dante Can Save Your Life.  I recently read a book he wrote with Wendell Pierce which was really excellent.  And I read his Crunchy Con book years ago.  I find Dreher a little too gloomy in terms of his columns, but his books are good!

 

Welcome, Faithr!

 

My husband is a Rod Dreher fan; he enjoyed the Dante book as well as Crunchy Con, and I'm pretty sure he likes those gloomy columns, too.

 

**

 

This afternoon I finished the graphic novel An Age Of License by Lucy Knisley.  I've read several other books by this author; this one might be the lightest of those I've read thus far, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

 

"Acclaimed cartoonist Lucy Knisley (French Milk, Relish) got an opportunity that most only dream of: a travel-expenses-paid trip to Europe/Scandinavia, thanks to a book tour. An Age of License is Knisley’s comics travel memoir recounting her charming (and romantic!) adventures. It’s punctuated by whimsical visual devices (such as a “new experiences†funnel); peppered with the cute cats she meets along the way; and, of course, features her hallmark―drawings and descriptions of food that will make your mouth water. But it’s not all kittens and raclette crepes: Knisley’s experiences are colored by anxieties, introspective self-inquiries, and quotidian revelations―about traveling alone in unfamiliar countries, and about her life and career―that many young adults will relate to. An Age of License―which takes its name from a French saying―is an Eat, Pray, Love for the alternative comics fan."

 

Regards,

Kareni 

[Violet Crown]

I'm always crying at the end of emotional books and I don't think my kids have ever teared up. Charlotte definitely got me. Most recently was Johnny Tremain--me choking up as I read "that a man can stand up", my dd watching me and wondering what is wrong with me.

Gosh yes. I still remember reading Tomie DePaola's picture book The Clown of God to Great Girl when she was little, and her being disgusted that I couldn't read the last page. Children are literarily heartless creatures.

[Stacia]

Rose, re: last week's thread. I'm so glad you enjoyed Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. I agree that it's a great book. Loved it.

 

idnib, so nice to see you again. :grouphug:  & sending speedy recovery wishes to your dad.

 

Heather, congrats to your ds!

 

Yes, where is Eliana??? I'm worried.

 

Pam, I see you on other threads but not here. :toetap05:

 

:lol:

 

 

I usually only participate in Read 52 at Robin's blog but I thought I'd try out this thread as well! 

 

Yay! Welcome! :seeya:

 

Does it count as reading if the book is next to my bed and I look at the cover every now and then? 

 

Gosh, that would be great. I love that idea!

 

Hellooo!  May I join...?  I have been lurking for a while, and wondered, frankly, if I could read 52 books in a year...but then I checked my list and bingo I am above 17 books so far on the 17th week (yay me!)

 

We've got a singleton dd, 12, 6th grade; we're accidental homeschoolers.  I'm an architect, working full time, but partially at home (otherwise the homeschooling wouldn't happen).  Hubs is an artist.  We live on a hobby farm and I run a CSA for 5 families.  So...reading time is kind of a challenge but I have always been a voracious reader. 

 

I'm in a book club and it influences my choices in books, kind of.  Today I will finish Amongst Women (thanks to BaW!) by John McGahern and wonder if bipolar Irish fathers are universal or if that's just my own history creeping in?  And I totally am rocking William Finnegan's Barbarian Days.  Maybe I can finish that before Overdrive sucks it back.  Next up for my book club is Girls and Sex.  I don't count audiobooks or books I read aloud with kiddo; maybe I should?  Mostly the reading is just, selfishly, my me-time.

 

Happy to be here and pick up new suggestions, magpie (magenpie) style!

 

18. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

17.  The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel

16.  Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

15.  Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Ofill

14.  The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante (did so not want the series to end wah)

13.  Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier (reread; book club)

12.  Dream Land by Sam Quinones

11.  Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

10.  1Q84 by Hakuri Murakami

9.  Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew Crawford (reread; book club)

8.  Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein (horrid book to read after below)

7. M Train by Patti Smith

6.  A Little Life by Hanya Yanangihara

5.  The Clockwork Universe by Edward Dolnick

4.  Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks

3.  The Turner House by Angela Flournoy (book club)

2.  Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

1.  Neanderthal Man by Svante Paabo

 

And another yay! Welcome! :seeya: I would love to hear your comments on A Little Life. That's on my to-read list. And, I see you enjoyed Elena Ferrante's series. (I haven't read it yet.) Did you know that she was included as one of Time's 100 Most Influential People this year?

 

Aloha, y'all! I'm sitting at the main stage of the Hawaii Book and Music Festival, new books on one side, delicious plate lunch on the other and hula dancers performing!

Will give a full report when we get back home in a few days--books read, food eaten. In the meantime behave yourselves!

 

Ohhhhh! Aloha, Jenn! Have fun. Can't wait to hear your report.

 

I'm always crying at the end of emotional books and I don't think my kids have ever teared up. Charlotte definitely got me. Most recently was Johnny Tremain--me choking up as I read "that a man can stand up", my dd watching me and wondering what is wrong with me.

 

Yep. (Generally, I was pretty bad at read-alouds for this very reason. Lol. My dc, esp. my dd, always looked at me like I was nuts.)

 

And...

 

Gosh yes. I still remember reading Tomie DePaola's picture book The Clown of God to Great Girl when she was little, and her being disgusted that I couldn't read the last page. Children are literarily heartless creatures.

 

Yep.

Edited May 2, 2016 by Stacia

[Faithr]

I would occasionally tear up but my dh is really a softie and often cries when reading out loud!   But I'll never forget reading Peter Pan (the original one, I think) and every single one of us starting sobbing.  For years my kids would ask me:  why did you read us such a depressing book!

[Stacia]

Since some of us have read not only Ta-Nahesi Coates recently, but also James Baldwin, I thought this article from the NY Review of Books might be of interest to some of you:

James Baldwin & the Fear of a Nation

[KathyBC]

A quick catch-up on books recently read:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Sherman). This young adult book is described as semi-autobiographical, if that helps some readers here.

Still Life (Penny). Thanks to the BaWer who recommended this Canadian cozy mystery series. While I didn't love everything about it, it was an engrossing, fluffy, quick read. Loved the food and the locale.

Laughing All the Way to the Mosque (Nawaz). I never watched an episode of this author's Canadian comedy TV series, Little Mosque on the Prairie, but I did enjoy her humorous memoir (of sorts).

[Just Robyn]

I read Distant Light by Antonio Moresco. This is a novella, published by Archipelago, and sent to me by Jane. (Thank you!) As she said, it's poetic. The way the author would repeat and expand - sort of like "The House That Jack Built," but not childish/cute/annoying-ish - helped create the slow, calm, isolated winter atmosphere. I loved it until the last chapter, which confused me. I thought I'd see what interpretations the Internet would give for the book/ending, but what I found was more confused people. Kirkus Reviews says, "Though the ending is appropriately inscrutable, it is somewhat disappointing in its tampered uncertainty."

 

I am going very slowly with The Beagle, partly because it is so big I don't want to bring it with me anywhere. I am still reading Reading Like a Writer and enjoying it. Of course, my to-read list just keeps growing as a result of that one. And I started listening to a David Sedaris book in my car - Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls. It's pretty perfect for driving. It's entertaining, but not so interesting that I feel like I really ought to be reading it attentively or that I need to rewind if I miss a few words. Unfortunately, not all the essays are things I want to play with my kids in the car.

[Robin M]

Despite its being not too long, I'm only halfway through The Raven: A Biography of Sam Houston, by Marquis James. On the other hand, I finished reading Charlotte's Web to Wee Girl! It was hard to not let my voice crack at the end of the penultimate chapter (Charlotte dies) or last one ("Charlotte was both"). Wee Girl was thoughtful at the end; and after thinking, announced the mathematical series of how many spiders there would be if each had babies at the end of each year, of which three stayed with Wilbur, assuming the mother spiders died after laying the eggs. So a very touching moment all around.

 

 

Yes, I think everyone chokes up at Charlottes demise. One very cool side affect of reading the book was actually getting to see baby spiders helicoptering through the sky one afternoon a few years back. It was quite exciting.

[Robin M]

I'm just dropping in to say hello after being gone for many weeks. I've had a lot of things going on and have been way behind in any sort of reading. It's whack-a-mole around here and I feel perpetually behind. I am trying to plan a trip to London for next month, plus a couple of other trips. My dad fell ill last month and there's been issues to do with that as well.

 

After buying that nice illustrated copy of Voyage of the Beagle I haven't cracked it open. Books I'm supposed to be reading are piling up! I did manage to finish read-alouds to the kids, including The Fellowship of the Ring. And I've been working my way through Geology of the San Francisco Bay Region as part of planning out some trips for the kids. (The author, Doris Sloan, used to give amazing walk around the area but she is getting older and slowing down.) I suppose I'll be adding a guide to the UK to my reading pile, maybe Rick Steves?

 

Jane, I don't recall hearing what you though of the Zuni Cafe Cookbook. Maybe you posted and it was during a time I wasn't reading the threads?

 

 

Anyway, I miss you all and I've committed myself to at least keeping up with this week's thread!

Hi Idnib, great to see you. If you come through or close to,Sacramento while visiting San Francisco, we could arrange a meet.

 

 

I usually only participate in Read 52 at Robin's blog but I thought I'd try out this thread as well! I really want to read Dreher's How Dante Can Save Your Life. I recently read a book he wrote with Wendell Pierce which was really excellent. And I read his Crunchy Con book years ago. I find Dreher a little too gloomy in terms of his columns, but his books are good!

 

I am not in a Mediterranean mood right now. (Well, I am reading the Bible set largely in countries that lie on the Eastern Mediterranean Sea!). At the beginning of the year I decided to make a fun New Year's resolution for once, so instead of dieting, etc I decided I was going to try to read all the Lord Peter Wimsey books by Dorothy L. Sayers. I am really enjoying it! Just finished a collection of short stories by her. I love how much impact a short story can have. I think they are under appreciated anymore. Now I'm on to Murder Must Advertise.

Yeah, glad to see you Faith. Welcome to the club.

 

Hellooo! May I join...? I have been lurking for a while, and wondered, frankly, if I could read 52 books in a year...but then I checked my list and bingo I am above 17 books so far on the 17th week (yay me!)

 

We've got a singleton dd, 12, 6th grade; we're accidental homeschoolers. I'm an architect, working full time, but partially at home (otherwise the homeschooling wouldn't happen). Hubs is an artist. We live on a hobby farm and I run a CSA for 5 families. So...reading time is kind of a challenge but I have always been a voracious reader.

 

I'm in a book club and it influences my choices in books, kind of. Today I will finish Amongst Women (thanks to BaW!) by John McGahern and wonder if bipolar Irish fathers are universal or if that's just my own history creeping in? And I totally am rocking William Finnegan's Barbarian Days. Maybe I can finish that before Overdrive sucks it back. Next up for my book club is Girls and Sex. I don't count audiobooks or books I read aloud with kiddo; maybe I should? Mostly the reading is just, selfishly, my me-time.

 

Happy to be here and pick up new suggestions, magpie (magenpie) style!

 

18. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

17. The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel

16. Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

15. Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Ofill

14. The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante (did so not want the series to end wah)

13. Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier (reread; book club)

12. Dream Land by Sam Quinones

11. Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

10. 1Q84 by Hakuri Murakami

9. Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew Crawford (reread; book club)

8. Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein (horrid book to read after below)

7. M Train by Patti Smith

6. A Little Life by Hanya Yanangihara

5. The Clockwork Universe by Edward Dolnick

4. Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks

3. The Turner House by Angela Flournoy (book club)

2. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

1. Neanderthal Man by Svante Paabo

Hi fast weed puller. Welcome and dive right in.

 

Aloha, y'all! I'm sitting at the main stage of the Hawaii Book and Music Festival, new books on one side, delicious plate lunch on the other and hula dancers performing!

 

Will give a full report when we get back home in a few days--books read, food eaten. In the meantime behave yourselves!

So jealous. Have loads of fun.

 

 

 

 

I'll email Elaine and see what she is up to. Sure she and Pam have both gone silent over Passover.

Edited May 2, 2016 by Robin M

[Loesje22000]

I try to read ' The malay archipelago' from A.R. Wallace

As I don't have a particular interest in Biology I don't care for the book very much.

 

I gave war and peace a break but will try to pick it up.

[Jane in NC]

I read Distant Light by Antonio Moresco. This is a novella, published by Archipelago, and sent to me by Jane. (Thank you!) As she said, it's poetic. The way the author would repeat and expand - sort of like "The House That Jack Built," but not childish/cute/annoying-ish - helped create the slow, calm, isolated winter atmosphere. I loved it until the last chapter, which confused me. I thought I'd see what interpretations the Internet would give for the book/ending, but what I found was more confused people. Kirkus Reviews says, "Though the ending is appropriately inscrutable, it is somewhat disappointing in its tampered uncertainty."

 

I am going very slowly with The Beagle, partly because it is so big I don't want to bring it with me anywhere. I am still reading Reading Like a Writer and enjoying it. Of course, my to-read list just keeps growing as a result of that one. And I started listening to a David Sedaris book in my car - Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls. It's pretty perfect for driving. It's entertaining, but not so interesting that I feel like I really ought to be reading it attentively or that I need to rewind if I miss a few words. Unfortunately, not all the essays are things I want to play with my kids in the car.

 

Well I sent you Distant Light so that you could explain that last chapter to me!  Truly puzzling.  Welcome to Club Confusion.

[Jane in NC]

Since some of us have read not only Ta-Nahesi Coates recently, but also James Baldwin, I thought this article from the NY Review of Books might be of interest to some of you:

James Baldwin & the Fear of a Nation

 

And to connect some dots...

 

The linked article has a photo of Baldwin with Nina Simone whose song "To be Young, Gifted and Black" was written in memory of her friend, the playwright Lorraine Hansberry who was lost to cancer at a young age (34).

 

I see that one of Hansberry's lesser known plays, The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, is opening in Chicago. 

 

[fastweedpuller]

Thank you for the warm welcomes!!

Too Monday for me to figure out Multiquote, many pardons.  Some quick thoughts:

 

Overdrive/e-readers:  admittedly very late to the party as a Paperwhite was a Christmas present for our daughter.  I realized the extreme utility of the toy and soon thereafter purchased my own (was wrangling with her for hers...never a good idea).  So yes I did figure out the airport function quickly too.  But I seem to forever be in a bit of a juggling-chainsaws habit of trying to get my Next Latest Greatest Read (Girls and Sex, The Invention of Nature) on the Holds list coincide with the last page turned of my Almost Overdue Current Fabulous Read.  Also, goodness, my reading choices of late have also been...limited by the extreme weeny teeny list of books available in the communal e-library group.  So I am thinking about ponying up the $50/yr for a Brooklyn library card, even though I am a Michigander.

 

Re:  Elena Ferrante.  Maybe it is because I tend to read/like memoirs and fiction, the fiction mostly lets me down in its lack of verisimilitude.  Granted, most lives, daily lived, are not terribly exciting (and thus not happy fodder for either medium) but this story of two friends across decades in a very culturally hidebound time and place was extremely "real" to me.  Helps that I spent time in southern Italy and remember well running into my own cultural roadblocks while there.  I did not want the story to end.

 

Re:  Ta-Nehisi Coates (and James Baldwin etc.):  I had been a fan of his for years and really could not wait for this book. But it took me a while to read it, it was so freshly painful.  My mom was a high school teacher in the Chicago public schools and it was tough, the problems brought on by systemic racism (redlining, those public schools, the gangs, crime, etc.). 

 

Re:  A Little Life.  I had a hard time with the author's voice.  The story was gripping, almost pornographically so, in its torments to one of the characters.  I would not recommend it to...everyone, I would have to know you well.  Its characters are (mostly) gay males and it did not necessarily jibe with my experience with the educated professional NYC gays that I know...there was a prurience in the writing; not nearly so libidinal and free and (dang it) consensual as what I understand it can be (gay or straight in that class). 

 

Re:  Shop Class for Soulcraft.  It was a re-read.  It's so...male DIY.  Disappointingly so.  Females can DIY.  Homeschooling is an awesome example of it...!

 

Ok!  back to work, and happy Monday.  Looking forward to picking your collective brains soon :D

[Lady Florida.]

Welcome Faithr and fastweedpuller, and welcome back idnib!
 

On the other hand, I finished reading Charlotte's Web to Wee Girl! It was hard to not let my voice crack at the end of the penultimate chapter (Charlotte dies) or last one ("Charlotte was both").

 

Yes, I think everyone chokes up at Charlottes demise.

 
When ds was quite small we went with our playgroup to a local production of Charlotte's Web. We had already read the book so he knew Charlotte dies.. However, he was very concerned that the actor playing Charlotte was dead even though we talked about it being pretend. At the meet and greet in the lobby after the play, he kept going up to Charlotte saying, "I'm glad you're not really dead". 
 
 

I am still reading For Whom the Bell Tolls. Last time I read it I loved everything about it. This time, not so much. I am reading it slowly, probably because I am having a hard time feeling invested in the characters. I wish Robert Jordan's character would develop more. I am waiting to like him, to relate to him, to feel something for him.

 
That's how I felt the first and only time I read it, which was only a few years ago. The characters were so very flat IMO.

Edited May 2, 2016 by Lady Florida.

[Kareni]

A post from the Tor site that I enjoyed about a book to be released this month ~

 

World Building like a Historian  by Ada Palmer

 

"My first novel, Too Like the Lightning, is set 400 years from now in an exciting future of flying cars, enhanced lifespans, globe-spanning super-nations, and a Moon Base. But people still use Latin and there’s still a King of Spain. If this feels like an odd mix of SF golden age and antiquarianism, it’s because I’m a historian, and I go about my world building from a different starting point: the deep past. ..."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Lady Florida.]

I hope all is well with Eliana and that she's just not been around because she's busy.

 

fastweedpuller - I meant to tell you that I do count audio books. We're well past the read-aloud days and I didn't count my books when we were there, but I'd count it if the book is meaty enough for adults and if I hadn't read it multiple times myself already. I don't count very familiar rereads (like Jane Austen or Harry Potter) but I do count if I haven't read a book in years or only read it once or twice. Personally I think everyone should count how they want to in a way that works for them. Well okay, not picture books ;)  but other than that do it your way.

 

I've read 23 books this year and according to Goodreads am 2 books behind schedule to meet my personal goal of 75. I'm not worried. :)

 

I finished two books since last week -

 

Dead Simple, Peter James - I liked it enough to read the next one, then will see from there if I'll continue with the series

 

Missionary Position: Mother Theresa in Theory and Practice, Christoper Hitchens - Even if you didn't know the publication date it's obvious it was written before her death. I freely admit to confirmation bias when I chose this book.

 

Currently reading:

 

-Still working my way slowly through The Voyage of the Beagle, The House of Mirth, and Master and Commander.

-Almost finished with Candide.

-Listening to Angela's Ashes, which I bought with one of my audible credits. 

 

A Movable Feast - I don't know why I keep trying to read Hemingway, but I thought this one might be different since it's non-fiction. So far it is but it's kind of funny too. I keep 'hearing' Corey Stoll's Hemingway from Midnight in Paris. It was so perfect. In fact, the first chapter made me want to watch it again, so I did. It's turning out to be one of those movies I can watch over and over. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpGDkO95KhI

 

 

[Kareni]

Some recently finished books ~

 

Starflight by Melissa Landers  

 

This was an enjoyable young adult novel.

 

"Solara Brooks needs a fresh start, someplace where nobody cares about the engine grease beneath her fingernails or the felony tattoos across her knuckles. The outer realm may be lawless, but it's not like the law has ever been on her side. Still, off-world travel doesn't come cheap; Solara is left with no choice but to indenture herself in exchange for passage to the outer realm. She just wishes it could have been to anyone besides Doran Spaulding, the rich, pretty-boy quarterback who made her life miserable in school. The tables suddenly turn when Doran is framed for conspiracy on Earth, and Solara cons him into playing the role of her servant on board the Banshee, a ship manned by an eccentric crew with their own secrets. Given the price on both Doran and Solara's heads, it may just be the safest place in the universe. It's been a long time since Solara has believed in anyone, and Doran is the last person she expected to trust. But when the Banshee's dangerous enemies catch up with them, Solara and Doran must come together to protect the ship that has become their home—and the eccentric crew that feels like family."

**

 

A Gentleman's Position (Society of Gentlemen) by K. J. Charles  

 

This is the third book in an enjoyable historical romance series.  Each book features two male leads; I recommend starting with the first book in the series.  (Adult content.)

 

"Among his eccentric though strictly principled group of friends, Lord Richard Vane is the confidant on whom everyone depends for advice, moral rectitude, and discreet assistance. Yet when Richard has a problem, he turns to his valet, a fixer of unparalleled genius—and the object of Richard’s deepest desires. If there is one rule a gentleman must follow, it is never to dally with servants. But when David is close enough to touch, the rules of class collide with the basest sort of animal instinct: overpowering lust.
 
For David Cyprian, burglary and blackmail are as much in a day’s work as bootblacking—anything for the man he’s devoted to. But the one thing he wants for himself is the one thing Richard refuses to give: his heart. With the tension between them growing to be unbearable, David’s seemingly incorruptible master has left him no choice. Putting his finely honed skills of seduction and manipulation to good use, he will convince Richard to forget all about his well-meaning objections and give in to sweet, sinful temptation."

**

 

I re-read with pleasure Peanut Goes to School: A Short Story of the Elder Races by Thea Harrison.  This would most be enjoyed by someone already familiar with the Elder Races series.

**

 

And several books that didn't really speak to me: (Adult content)

 

C791 (Cyborgs: More Than Machines) by Eve Langlais

 

Dangerous Curves by Marysol James

 

You Don't Know Me: A New Adult Romance by Faleena Hopkins

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

Another interesting story re charlotte's web.  We watched the bonus features of the live movie version. Most of the crew thought the helicoptering baby spiders was made up. During the filming, they happened to catch the real thing occurring over the barn. So touching seeing a bunch of men getting misty eyed, choked up and awed over the sight.  Think it was the one with Dakota Fanning playing the little girl. 

[Mom-ninja.]

I love Midnight in Paris. I finished The Paris Wife recently so I've been wanting to watch it again. 

[Kareni]

This evening I finished the contemporary romance Dirty: A Dive Bar Novel by Kylie Scott; it was an enjoyable read with some laugh aloud moments.  (Adult content)

 

"The last thing Vaughan Hewson expects to find when he returns to his childhood home is a broken hearted bride in his shower, let alone the drama and chaos that come with her.

 

Lydia Green doesn't know whether to scream or cry in a corner. Discovering the love of your life is having an affair on your wedding day is bad enough. Finding out it's with his best man is another thing all together.

 

Just when this runaway bride has nowhere left to turn, a handsome stranger offers her a broad, muscular shoulder to cry on. Vaughan is the exact opposite of the picture perfect, respected businessmen she's normally drawn to. This former musician-turned-bartender is rough around the edges and is facing his own crossroads. But Lydia's already tried Mr. Right and discovered he's all wrong--maybe it's time to give Mr. Right Now a chance."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[idnib]

Thank you everyone for welcoming me back! It feels good to confess I haven't been reading much. One more book to add: I finished a guilty pleasure, Make Me, a Jack Reacher book. I started that while my dad was in the hospital. It was nice to have easy reading when I couldn't sleep or was sitting in the hospital cafeteria.

 

 

18. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

17.  The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel

16.  Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

15.  Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Ofill

14.  The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante (did so not want the series to end wah)

13.  Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier (reread; book club)

12.  Dream Land by Sam Quinones

11.  Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

10.  1Q84 by Hakuri Murakami

9.  Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew Crawford (reread; book club)

8.  Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein (horrid book to read after below)

7. M Train by Patti Smith

6.  A Little Life by Hanya Yanangihara

5.  The Clockwork Universe by Edward Dolnick

4.  Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks

3.  The Turner House by Angela Flournoy (book club)

2.  Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

1.  Neanderthal Man by Svante Paabo

 

I like you list! The first time I joined this BaW last January, the first book I read from suggestions was 1Q84 and I loved it. Welcome!

 

 

Before I forget....Welcome back idnib. You were missed. If part of your vacation includes a trip north let me know. ;)

 

Thank you! I am still trying to get stuff planned but if I come north I'll let you know.

 

Hi Idnib, great to see you. If you come through or close to,Sacramento while visiting San Francisco, we could arrange a meet.



I'll email Elaine and see what she is up to. Sure she and Pam have both gone silent over Passover.

 

I'm not visiting, I live in the Bay Area. :-) We should definitely get together! And thank you for emailing Eliana. I only have an address and was thinking I would send a letter to check in but this is much faster.

Edited May 3, 2016 by idnib