Book a Week 2016 - BW 18: Mediterranean May

[Minerva]

If it weren't for you Jenn, I would never go anywhere. I love armchair traveling with you--food, music, nature, mojitos and books! We do know how to have fun. 

[Minerva]

I am disguising it as excersize. I hop in the car when my husband goes to work, he drops me after 5 miles, and I walk home "reading" an audiobook. It takes me about an hour and 20 minutes, a bit more if I do part of it on trails rather than tar. I make a big mug of real cocoa when I get home and since I am well ensconced in the book by then, putter around picking up, switching laundry, watering plants, and other stuff like that, and get more reading done. I discovered I can belong to the Boston Public Library. They have lots of audiobooks that I can download. The funny part is that it doesn,t impact my day much at all. It turns out that since I retired from homeschooling, I haven,t gotten much done during the first hour or so of the day anyway. I just sort of meandered aimlessly for awhile. I just replaced that with reading, excersize, and being outdoors - a win/win/win situation. Depending on the day, I arrive home at 8:30 or 9:30.

 

Nan

 

Eta - The one down side is that I ran low on magnesium and started having to take a magnesium supplement. Fortunately it worked quickly.

 

This is absolutely genius!

 

And on a slightly related note, is it ironic that I can never spell the word genius correctly? 

 

Hahaha: Edited to add that I just mentioned the genius glitch to my husband who pointed out to me that I also never spell the word diarrhea right. :huh:

Edited May 6, 2016 by Minerva

[Mom-ninja.]

This is absolutely genius!

 

And on a slightly related note, is it ironic that I can never spell the word genius correctly? 

 

Hahaha: Edited to add that I just mentioned the genius glitch to my husband who pointed out to me that I also never spell the word diarrhea right. :huh:

 

Diarrhea is a freaking hard word! I hate both having it and spelling it. 

[Angel]

Jenn:  Awesome photos!  It looks so beautiful.  And fun!!

 

 Dd turns 18 today so we have a girly day planned until they get home. Planning to surprise her with lunch at a local favourite carvery of hers before the guys return.
 

Happy Birthday to your dd!  I'm trying to remember if I knew we shared a birthday!

 

I'll be traveling next week for a family wedding and will be staying with my sister who invited me to accompany her to her book group.  They will be discussing The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry: A Novel by Gabrielle Zevin which a number of you have already read.  Several years ago I enjoyed the author's young adult novel, Elsewhere, so I was happy to read this book also.  It was a lovely book, and I quite enjoyed it.  I recommend it.

 

"A. J. Fikry’s life is not at all what he expected it to be. He lives alone, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. But when a mysterious package appears at the bookstore, its unexpected arrival gives Fikry the chance to make his life over--and see everything anew."

 

I read this just a couple months ago.  My friend and my cousin, like you, both quite enjoyed it and thought for sure I'd love it too.  For me it just fell short.  

[Kareni]

 

Happy Birthday to your dd!  I'm trying to remember if I knew we shared a birthday!

 

and a belated happy birthday to you, Angel.  I hope it was happy.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

 

Happy Birthday to your dd! I'm trying to remember if I knew we shared a birthday!

 

 

Happy belated Birthday Angel! I think we both knew but forgot.

 

 

Jenn, Thanks for the fun photos. Glad you had a good trip! :)

 

 

I read Ajax Penumbra 1969 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22481409-ajax-penumbra which was a fun quick read. Dd has taken custody of the library book. Yes, I was lucky enough to find it at the libray.

 

Currently reading several books. I started the latest in the Hangman's Daughter series which a few BaWers have read some of after looking at a travel brochure for Germany which mentioned visiting the village upon which the series is based. Not sure I would really want to go because my picture of the village is ancient and the reality probably has a McDonald's, but the thought is fun. Who knows.....

[Angel]

:seeya: Hey there everyone!  I think it's been a couple weeks!  Theater is finally over.  Whew!  What an experience!  Aly love love loved it, though, so I'm guessing we'll be doing this craziness again next year.  Though I will be more prepared for it!  I will post of picture of Aly in her costume (that her sister made) when I get them onto my computer.  

 

There hasn't been a whole heck of a lot of time for reading lately.  After recouping from theater, we are now trying to finish up school.  

 

I'm counting the last book I read in April for my "Mediterranean May."  ;)   It certainly fit the category!  The Night Villa by Carol Goodman has actually been sitting on my shelf for years, ever since finding it at the library's book sale.  I'm trying to read more of the books this year that I've picked up at the book sales and thrift stores.  At first I wasn't sure I was going to like it.  I prefer a fantasy or historical setting.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only did we get the story of Sophie Chase but we also went back in time to hear the story of a young slave girl in Herculaneum in 79 AD, which had me looking up some history and geography!  It was a wonderful story filled with ancient history and mythology.  Funny enough I had unknowingly picked up another Carol Goodman book at the book swap store.  I can only hope it is as good.  

 

A couple days ago I realized  that Magician's Gambit was going off my Overdrive.  Fortunately  it was on my shelf.  When I realized that I only had around 55 pages left, I picked it up and just finished it.  All along as I've been listening to it, I've thought how I've only ever read these in my book club Collector's Edition.  They kind of all read as one book that way.  Listening to it separately, I realized that this was one of my least favorite of the series.  It's still good but not great, really feeling like just a bridge or transition book.  Funny how that happens.  Anyway, I'm thankful that the library has the next one on audio.  I'm actually enjoying listening to them.  

 

 Our pastor's wife gave us two more bookshelves  :hurray:  Then Pastor promptly gave dh a laundry basket full of history and church books  :lol:  My house is a total disaster zone!  In fact I really wanted to spend my birthday yesterday in my pj's reading but I ran away from my house instead  :tongue_smilie: and went shopping.  I need to find a place for the new bookshelves and get all these books & curriculums sorted and put away!  A daunting task indeed!

[Angel]

and a belated happy birthday to you, Angel.  I hope it was happy.

 

Regards,

Kareni

Thanks!  I didn't have to cook a thing and OBVIOUSLY didn't clean  :laugh:  and then had Vanilla Bean cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory.  Yep it was good!

[Lady Florida.]

I finished Candide. Loved it!

[Stacia]

Happy Belated Birthday, Angel!

 

 

And, Happy Belated Birthday to mumto2's dd!

 

Jenn, love the pictures! (Ds has that same swimming book, lol.)

 

Lol about late-night library requesting & being surprised when it comes in. Working the library now, I definitely see some people who are surprised by the books they are picking up. :lol:

 

I finished A Dark Redemption by Stav Sherez. I don't usually read a lot of crime fiction. This was quite good, imo, a nice mix of gritty crime/thriller, a good detective duo, & some nice twists involving international politics/rebel groups in Africa. Really well done & I'd definitely recommend it if you like crime fiction. I think this is supposed to be the start of a series with these detectives, so I will have to look & see if others have come out yet. I'd definitely read another one. (Ok, I just popped over to Europa's website & see that there is another one: Eleven Days. These are part of Europa's "World Noir" series.)

 

From The New Yorker:

When Jack Carrigan, a mercurial police inspector, is sent to investigate the sadistic murder of a young Ugandan woman in her West London apartment, he senses “how the past could come crashing up against the substrate of your consciousness like some unstoppable thing.†Years earlier, as a postgraduate student, he travelled to Kampala and had a run-in with armed forces that ended in tragedy. Now, teamed up with a bright female detective (who has been ordered to spy on him for their mutual boss), Jack enters a world of atrocities wrought by East African warlords. “Where do we fit in between one madman armed with the ten commandments and a machete and another armed with U.N. resolutions?†one émigré asks. Sherez keeps ratcheting up the action in this masterly thriller, which, with its complicated and compelling detective duo, sets the stage for a sequel.

 

ETA: If any of you BaW gals would like this, please let me know through a PM. I'll be happy to send it to you, but I can't promise how soon I'll get to the post office.

 

Edited May 7, 2016 by Stacia

[Kathleen.]

I read "Measure for Measure" by W.S. and my 10yo read "Twelfth Night A Shakespeare Story" by Andrew Matthews. The Matthews books are great for kids.

:)

[Kareni]

I recently finished the contemporary romance Carolina Dreaming: A Dare Island Novel by Virginia Kantra.  It's the fourth fifth book in a series, but it stands alone well.  I enjoyed it.

 

"After escaping a disastrous marriage, bakery owner Jane Clark has convinced herself that she has everything she needs—her precious son, a thriving business, and a roof over her head. But the arrival of a handsome stranger on the island shows her exactly what she’s been missing...   

The only home Gabe Murphy ever had was the Marine Corps. He's working hard to rebuild his life. It will take a special place, and a special woman, to make him want to stay.   

Now Gabe is determined to prove that he's worthy of Jane’s trust—and her love. But when her past reappears, that trust will be tested, and Jane and Gabe will have to fight hard to hold onto their love and make their dreams a reality..."

**

 

I also finished a re-read of Michele Diener's science fiction romance Dark Horse (Class 5 Series Book 1)  which I enjoyed once more.

 

"Some secrets carry the weight of the world.

Rose McKenzie may be far from Earth with no way back, but she's made a powerful ally--a fellow prisoner with whom she's formed a strong bond. Sazo's an artificial intelligence. He's saved her from captivity and torture, but he's also put her in the middle of a conflict, leaving Rose with her loyalties divided.

Captain Dav Jallan doesn't know why he and his crew have stumbled across an almost legendary Class 5 battleship, but he's not going to complain. The only problem is, all its crew are dead, all except for one strange, new alien being.

She calls herself Rose. She seems small and harmless, but less and less about her story is adding up, and Dav has a bad feeling his crew, and maybe even the four planets, are in jeopardy. The Class 5's owners, the Tecran, look set to start a war to get it back and Dav suspects Rose isn't the only alien being who survived what happened on the Class 5. And whatever else is out there is playing its own games.

In this race for the truth, he's going to have to go against his leaders and trust the dark horse."

**

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Maus]

Had some reading time waiting for my daughter's theater rehearsal...

 

16. "The Collapse of Parenting" by Leonard Sax.  Very thought provoking.  I'm one who wavers between too soft and just right.  I need to work on consistancy.

 

15. ""Flying Too High: A Phyrne Fisher Mystery" by Kerry Greenwood.

14. "Cocaine Blues: A Phyrne Fisher Mystery" by Kerry Greenwood.  DH and I have been watching the TV series on Netflix, and I've read one of Ms. Greenwood's Corinna stories, so I thought I'd give it a go.  Deep and meaningful it was not, but a nice diversion.

13. "Let It Go" by Chris Williams.  True story of how Mr. Williams was able to forgive the drunk teenager who t-boned them in Salt Lake City, killing his pregnant wife and two of their children.  This story was recently turned into a movie called "Just Let Go." but I haven't seen it yet.

12. "Writing From Personal Experience" by Nancy Davidoff Kelton.

11. "Writing the Memoir" by Judith Barrington.

10.  "Boys Adrift" by Leonard Sax.

9. "Girls on the Edge" by Leonard Sax.  

8. "Christ and the Inner Life" by Truman G. Madsen. (LDS)  

7. "Gaze into Heaven" by Marlene Bateman Sullivan. (LDS)

6. "To Heaven and Back" by Mary C. Neal, MD.

5. "When Will the Heaven Begin?" by Ally Breedlove.

4. "Four" by Virginia Roth.

3. "Allegiant" by Virgina Roth.

2. " Insurgent" by Virginia Roth.

1. "Divergent" by Virginia Roth.

[Kareni]

Last night I read Ruth's Bonded (Ruth & Gron Book 1) by V.C. Lancaster which is an alien romance.  Once again, this is a book about which I'd heard much praise, and the reality did not meet my high expectations.  (Adult content)

 

 

"When Ruth finds herself abducted and thrown into a cell with a big scary alien, naturally she's terrified. At first. But when she's forced to get along with her furry, tailed cellmate (and her clothes get stolen) things slowly start to change between them. After they escape onto an unknown alien planet, they're finally free to explore their feelings and each other, but can they survive with only each other to rely on and no way of communicating?

Gron is from a matriarchal society where the males obey their Queens, so when a beautiful but strange female is dropped into his cell, he doesn't know what to think. Is she a victim like him, or is she being used by his captors to control him? Either way, he knows he must control his instincts or he will end up inescapably Bonded to her. The delicate Queen needs his help to survive, and it is his duty to serve her, but can he do it without losing his heart?"

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Onceuponatime]

I finished First Impressions. The writing felt a little sloppy, but the story was mostly engaging. The Jane Austin parts were better than the modern parts. The modern parts felt sort of young adultish, if you know what I mean. Next, I plan on reading The Confidential Agent by Graham Greene, which I just picked up at a Friends of the Library book sale.

Edited May 7, 2016 by Onceuponatime

[NoseInABook]

Is that the same book that was originally Praying While You Work? I keep meaning to re-read it. What were your thoughts?

 

Apparently yes! I didn't know that it had been published earlier with a different title. I found it on someone's blog, I can't remember whose exactly... maybe Sarah Mackenzie's? I'll be honest, I ordered it without doing much research about it and was surprised to find that it was aimed at Catholic women and written by a Benedictine man. See, I told you I didn't do much, scratch that, ANY research.

 

However, I thought the book was beautiful. It had a lot of practical suggestions and then backed it up with reasons why it would be intelligent to follow those suggestions. It has four chapters that are sectioned off by titles like "Learn the two ways to pray and work" or "Seek holiness for the right reasons". The second half of the book is a bunch of written prayers that have sections like prayers to begin your day, prayers to end your day, and prayers for special needs. My personal favorites were titled Prayer for when exhausted by housework and the one that I snapped a picture of and sent to several friends, Prayer in time of exasperation. :p 

 

Honestly, I'm terrible at waking up early before my children are up to pray or designating a certain time period only for prayer so I loved this as it was a lot of, "Hey, it is okay to pray while doing the dishes. You can seek God wherever you are and it is OKAY to do that." I also struggle finding the right words to pray so the written prayers will help, I believe. 

 

This is definitely one of those books that I intend to revisit probably once a year to have a fresh reminder that being a housewife, or a homeschooling mama of many littles, is a holy and worthwhile vocation. 

[Kareni]

I'm not the only one here who has read and enjoyed Kristen Ashley's books (Robin, trinchick). I see that two of her books are currently available for 99 cents.

 

Wild and Free (The Three Series Book 3)

 

"Abel Jin and Delilah Johnson have lived their lives with a hole in their soul, yearning for something they don’t understand.

Until one night Delilah is in mortal danger and a man who’s otherworldly strong and supernaturally fast saves her. Delilah is then cast into a world where fiction comes to life in the form of Abel, her destined mate, a vampire/werewolf hybrid who claims her at first breath as his.

But Abel knows the danger isn’t done. He’s dreamed for centuries that his mate will perish and he will stop at nothing to keep her safe.

For Delilah, she’s not only coping with fantasy come to life, but a mingling of very different families. Not to mention, she has on her hands a man who doesn’t understand his true nature and has lived his long life thinking he’s a monster.

Abel and Delilah together fills the hole that has been clawing at them for decades. But finally finding each other, it also tips their destinies as the last of The Three. They must unite with the other destined lovers, who with Abel and Delilah, are fated to save the world.

Or die trying."

 

and

Lacybourne Manor

 

"In 1522, the very night they were wed, Royce Morgan and his new bride, Beatrice Godwin, were murdered on their way home to Lacybourne Manor. After the cruel deed was done, a local witch came across their bodies, witnessing firsthand the tragedy of star-crossed lovers. Vowing that Royce and Beatrice would someday uncross those stars, using magic mixed with murder as well as true love, she linked their spirits together with hers (because someone had to protect them) forever… or until their reincarnated souls find happily ever after.

Now arrogant, forbidding Colin Morgan lives at Lacybourne, knowing, from lore (as well as the portraits of Royce and Beatrice that hang in Lacybourne’s hall and the small fact that he looks exactly like Royce Morgan), that he is the reincarnated soul of his ancestor. One stormy night, flighty, free-spirited, scarily kind-hearted Sibyl Godwin comes to Lacybourne and it doesn’t escape Colin’s notice that Sibyl is the spitting image of Beatrice. However murder, magic, a warrior’s heart beating in a modern man’s chest, a woman bent on doing good deeds even if they get her into loads of trouble, a good witch whose family has vowed throughout the centuries to protect true love, distrust and revenge make a volatile cocktail.

This means the path to happily ever after is paved with tranquiliser darts, pensioners on a rampage, Sibyl’s bad morning moods, heartbreaking misunderstandings and all kinds of magic, good… and bad."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Mom-ninja.]

I finished Candide. Loved it!

I'm glad! I was a bit nervous you'd come back and tell me you were never going to listen to my opinion about a book again. ;) Were you surprised at how much you liked it? I know I was. 

 

I'm in the middle of Sam Harris's Moral Landscape and I might not finish it. I like Harris and his books. My one complaint is that I really wish he would omit the graphic detailed accounts of ghastly, nausea inducing crimes. Blech. I realize this happens in the world, but man, I don't want to read/hear the details. It keeps me up at night feeling horrible that I brought children into the world. So I don't know. I love the science and philosophy parts in his books, but have a hard time with other parts. It's an audio book so maybe I'll get the book and then I can skip over the disturbing stuff.   

Edited May 8, 2016 by Mom-ninja.

[Lady Florida.]

I'm glad! I was a bit nervous you'd come back and tell me you were never going to listen to my opinion about a book again. ;) Were you surprised at how much you liked it? I know I was.

I was surprised that the more I kept reading the more I liked it.

[idnib]

Jenn, those photos are great! I think my favorite is the surf one because the color of the ocean is so iconic. 

 

I managed to finish reading aloud Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale so the kids would be up to speed when we go see it tomorrow. They really like Shakespeare but between the language, the disguises, and the soap opera twists, they lose the plot if I don't prep them ahead of time.

 

DH is out of town all week and when that happens, I barely get the basics done around here. Not sure I'll get much reading done outside of Minn of the Mississippi, with which we're doing a geography project.

[Jane in NC]

This may need to be bumped to the new thread. Eaglei update:

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/498232-urgent-prayer-request-for-ds/page-42?do=findComment&comment=6988101

[mumto2]

Jane, Thank you to the link to Eaglei's post.

 

 

Jenn, those photos are great! I think my favorite is the surf one because the color of the ocean is so iconic.

 

I managed to finish reading aloud Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale so the kids would be up to speed when we go see it tomorrow. They really like Shakespeare but between the language, the disguises, and the soap opera twists, they lose the plot if I don't prep them ahead of time.

 

DH is out of town all week and when that happens, I barely get the basics done around here. Not sure I'll get much reading done outside of Minn of the Mississippi, with which we're doing a geography project.

We loved Minn of the Mississippi. Have you done Pagoo yet? https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/937198.Pagoo book was fabulous, as in top ten home ed experiences. We did a huge biology classification study based on that book which was so much fun. We talk about it whenever we go to the beach or see a hermit crab. ;)

[Jane in NC]

Another fan of Holling's books although my favorite is Paddle to the Sea.

[mumto2]

Another fan of Holling's books although my favorite is Paddle to the Sea.

Do you remember the Paddle to the Sea movie at school? I loved Paddle to the Sea as a child but my kids just didn't get it. It was just another school book/geography lesson(s) for them which their mom was somehow really invested in. :lol: I think the pressure to really like it was great.

 

Pagoo and Minn were books we all loved. They both made the journey over recently.

[Robin M]

Link to week 19 - please continue conversation in new thread