Book a Week 2016 - BW24: philosophical rabbit trails

[shage]

I have a book related question that someone here might be able to help with.

 

I am looking for a book which covers the neurology of adolescence to use in a human development class for high school students. I read The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist's Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults. Loved the information. But the tone: Ouch. The author geared it to parents and I found it condescending. I am concerned the students will find it patronizing and respond with snark rather than learning the material.

 

Anyone have a better suggestion?

Edited June 14, 2016 by shage

[Guest]

I finished The Evermen Saga books this week.

 

I really enjoyed it! Coherent throughout, NOT scary, not overly-predictable, no sappy sappy love story arc.

 

I am very much on the look-out for a similar series, if anyone is familiar?

[Stacia]

Does this fit in w/ philosophical June? Reanimating a dead author (on the 100th-year-anniversary of his death) to lecture at a university...

 

Android version of literary giant Natsume Soseki to return to alma mater to lecture 

 

Reading the article made me realize I've never read Soseki, even though he is considered one of Japan's most famous modern writers. I requested his book Kokoro from the library (though I did suspend my request because I already have so many books sitting here). Here's hoping I remember why I'm reading Soseki when I finally get around to getting his book! :laugh:

[Kareni]

Reading the article made me realize I've never read Soseki, even though he is considered one of Japan's most famous modern writers. I requested his book Kokoro from the library ...

 

My daughter and I read  Botchan by Soseki Natsume (Tr. Umeji Sasaki) when she was in ninth grade. It was not a heavy book, but I recall few of the details because that was more than a few years ago now (cough).

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

I finished my (non-book group) book earlier today and enjoyed it.  It is science fiction and features a heroine who is decidedly gifted in math but whose morals are questionable.  Be warned that there is a lot of killing in this book.  This is the first book in a series, and I'd read more.

 

Zero Sum Game (Russell's Attic) (Volume 1) by SL Huang

 

"Cas Russell is good at math. Scary good.

 

The vector calculus blazing through her head lets her smash through armed men twice her size and dodge every bullet in a gunfight. She can take any job for the right price and shoot anyone who gets in her way.

 

As far as she knows, she’s the only person around with a superpower . . . but then Cas discovers someone with a power even more dangerous than her own. Someone who can reach directly into people’s minds and twist their brains into Moebius strips. Someone intent on becoming the world’s puppet master.

 

Someone who’s already warped Cas’s thoughts once before, with her none the wiser.

 

Cas should run. Going up against a psychic with a god complex isn’t exactly a rational move, and saving the world from a power-hungry telepath isn’t her responsibility. But she isn’t about to let anyone get away with violating her brain -- and besides, she’s got a small arsenal and some deadly mathematics on her side. There’s only one problem . . .

 

She doesn’t know which of her thoughts are her own anymore."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Mom-ninja.]

I finished The Evermen Saga books this week.

 

I really enjoyed it! Coherent throughout, NOT scary, not overly-predictable, no sappy sappy love story arc.

 

I am very much on the look-out for a similar series, if anyone is familiar?

Well, you just described my favorite kind of books.

 

 

 

I'm in the middle of Founding Mothers and I am blown away with the lives of these women. The incredible suffering and hardship they endured is amazing. Seriously, who ever started the whole "women are the weaker sex" idea was an idiot. These women did things and experienced things that I can not ever imagine myself going through. Strong, independent, courageous, selfless, and enduring are only a few tributes of their character. 

 

My husband is currently away for an extended business trip for several months, and I consider that to be a long time. Geesh, three months was the time it took a FAST traveling letter to arrive from her husband, if it even ever arrived as a lot of mail was intercepted by the British. Three months separation is NOTHING compared to the separation during the American revolutionary times. Abigail Adams saw John three times during EIGHT years. One of the short visits left her pregnant. She not only ran the farm, his law business, sold what she could to make money, raised the little kids she had, helped soldiers, helped advise men in Congress, dealt with smallpox and dysentery, but she also went through a pregnancy and birth of her stillborn baby by HERSELF.  She once spent an entire year not hearing anything from her husband or oldest son who was with him. A freaking year. Nothing. 

 

So I don't feel like I'm going through any difficulty with my dh being gone until Sept-Oct. We can text, email, call, and Skype every single day. And unlike John Adams, who was not earning income, my dh continues to deposit his pay into our account, and I don't have to worry about feeding my kids. 

 

It wasn't just Adams either. All these women went through what she did more or less. Yeah, my life is gravy. 

Edited June 14, 2016 by Mom-ninja.

[Kareni]

This isn't a rabbit trail, but it does involve animals and writing ....

 

Here's a post from the Word Wenches site that I think some here will enjoy ~ 

 

Regency Write Stuff by Cara Elliott and Andrea Pickens

 

"“I am afraid you do not like your pen. Let me mend it for you. I mend pens remarkably well.â€â€¨ —Caroline Bingley, Pride and Prejudice

Andrea/Cara here, These days, the clack, clack of a keyboard has replaced the feathery whisper of a pen dancing over paper for many of us writers. But in my current WIP, the heroine is a satirical cartoonist, and she sees the world through the cutting-edge strokes of her pen. She’s constantly drawing, and all the constant attention to detail—the fine cross-hatchings, the clever commentary—demands a dexterity that is a dying art in our day. I found myself thinking of the rhythm of Regency writing, and as she needs to occasionally sharpen her quill, both literally and metaphorically, I wondered, “How does she do that?â€...."

 

There are some interesting comments as well.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Here are several currently free Kindle books that might be of interest ~

 

 

The author of the first book is a Brigham Young University graduate and several of the reviews mention that it is a clean read.

Kilenya Series Books One, Two, and Three  by Andrea Pearson

 

"Jacob Clark is a typical 14-year-old. At least, until a pack of wolves chases him out of our world and into Eklaron. There, he discovers he has special powers—ones that can help the people in his new world. As long as the covetous Lorkon don’t catch up with him first.

 

To save himself and his new people, Jacob must go on a potentially deadly quest. With no one to trust and no way to return home, Jacob has to make a choice: risk his life or do nothing and put Earth and Eklaron in grave danger."

 

**

 

"[The Witching Elm] is what we would have had if Joss Whedon wrote Harry Potter!" 

--Kate (If These Books Could Talk Blog)

 

The Witching Elm (The Memento Mori Witch Trilogy Book 1) by C.N. Crawford

 

"Seventeen-year-old sorcerer Tobias Corvin tumbles through a blizzard and arrives—half frozen and half dead—in another world. Our world. Trapped in Boston, he tries to blend in at an old boarding school while secretly plotting to save his home.

But if anything can distract him from his mission, it's the wild-haired and intriguing Fiona. She is determined to learn the dangerous truths about his magic.

When a spectral army from Tobias's world begins slaughtering Bostonians, he and Fiona must stop the carnage. They face unspeakable dangers while unearthing the dark secrets of New England's past—a past that holds the key to saving both worlds from destruction."

 

**

 

House of Blades (The Traveler's Gate Trilogy Book 1) by Will Wight

 

"Simon can only watch, helpless, as his family is killed and his friends captured by enemy Travelers—men and women who can summon mystical powers from otherworldly Territories. To top it off, another young man from Simon's village discovers that he's a savior prophesied to destroy evil and save the realm.

Prophecy has nothing to say about Simon. He has no special powers, no magical weapons, and no guarantee that he'll survive. But he sets off anyway, alone, to gain the power he needs to oppose the Travelers and topple their ruthless Overlord. It may not be his destiny, but Simon's determined to rescue his fellow villagers from certain death.

Because who cares about prophecy, really?"

 

Regards,

Kareni

[NoseInABook]

I.... don't even remember what I was reading the last time I popped in here. Oops. Bad, bad boardie. I am currently about to finish Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children which a friend brought for me along with the other two in the series. 

[Nan in Mass]

This isn't a rabbit trail, but it does involve animals and writing ....

 

Here's a post from the Word Wenches site that I think some here will enjoy ~ 

 

Regency Write Stuff by Cara Elliott and Andrea Pickens

 

"“I am afraid you do not like your pen. Let me mend it for you. I mend pens remarkably well.â€â€¨[/size] —Caroline Bingley, Pride and Prejudice[/size]Andrea/Cara here, These days, the clack, clack of a keyboard has replaced the feathery whisper of a pen dancing over paper for many of us writers. But in my current WIP, the heroine is a satirical cartoonist, and she sees the world through the cutting-edge strokes of her pen. She’s constantly drawing, and all the constant attention to detail—the fine cross-hatchings, the clever commentary—demands a dexterity that is a dying art in our day. I found myself thinking of the rhythm of Regency writing, and as she needs to occasionally sharpen her quill, both literally and metaphorically, I wondered, “How does she do that?â€...."

 

There are some interesting comments as well.

 

Regards,

Kareni

What is the title of this book?

[Kareni]

What is the title of this book?

 

Ah, it's actually not a book.  The Word Wenches are a group of authors who host a joint blog; here's a link to the main page.  Many of their posts detail historical research.  The one I posted above, Regency Write Stuff by Cara Elliott and Andrea Pickens, is about quills.

 

Here are a few others posts to give you a taste of the site:

 

The Ritual of Tea ...

 

Getting around

 

Old Bailey—the "supreme court" of London

 

Buttons and Bows

 

We Need to Talk - The Art of Conversation

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Nan in Mass]

Now I am having trouble remembering what I read when. Did I mention that I read Deep Work by Cal Newport and am wondering how it fits in with the information in Drawing on the Artist Within? There isn,t really a lot of new-to-me information in the book, but it was nice seeing it all collected together into something cohesive, and the how-to-apply-this section was good, in my opinion. I know from previous books that his methods suit me. I listened to some more Daisy Dalrymple mysteries. I tried Terry Pratchett,s Dodger and quickly stopped. Too much gritty city. I,m sure it is a great book but I guess not for me. I stopped at the first mention of dead cats, anticipating more. I listened to the play Art. Not much plot. Grin. I listened to Buddha Boy. This showed up in Overdrive,s "recommended for you" section and I picked it for it,s cover, which is red and black with a lion. It turned out to be an example of philosophy in children,s books. I enjoyed it. Now I am listening to What I Think About When I Run, which continues with the "Pain is unavoidable. Suffering is optional." theme. And I am listening to The Judgement of Paris, about the impressionists, and The Water Mirror, another recommended for you young adult book.

 

About being able to sink deeply into books as an adult - that has been my reading goal the last few years. This is why I don,t review and discuss much, or make a list. It took awhile to get it back but I have. Listening doesn,t get me as escaped as reading does, but I can still walk miles without seeing anything. I can,t do it with all books, but I never could, even as a child. I think perhaps some of the reason adults struggle with this has to do with the books they are reading. Instead of reading simpler books with absorbing plots, adults who love to read tend to choose "well written" books which to appreciate fully require one to be aware of the both the writing and the story as one reads, making the escape incomplete.

 

Nan

[Nan in Mass]

Ah, it's actually not a book. The Word Wenches are a group of authors who host a joint blog; here's a link to the main page. Many of their posts detail historical research. The one I posted above, Regency Write Stuff by Cara Elliott and Andrea Pickens, is about quills.

 

Here are a few others posts to give you a taste of the site:

The Ritual of Tea ...

Getting around

Old Bailey—the "supreme court" of London

Buttons and Bows

We Need to Talk - The Art of Conversation

 

Regards,

Kareni

But she says "in my current WIP, the heroine ...". What is a WIP? I assumed it was a book she was reading and thought the book sounded interesting.

 

Nan

[Ali in OR]

But she says "in my current WIP, the heroine ...". What is a WIP? I assumed it was a book she was reading and thought the book sounded interesting.

 

Nan

 

I'm guessing "work in progress".

[Nan in Mass]

I'm guessing "work in progress".

Ah. So it is a book but not one that is available for me to read. Oh well.

 

Nan

[Robin M]

Ah. So it is a book but not one that is available for me to read. Oh well.

 

Nan

It means you'll just have to wait patiently until she is finished writing the story and publishes it.  :toetap05:  

 

 

 

Meanwhile,  took a break from Swan Song to start rereading Julie Ann Walker's Black Knight Series. Love the characters and the humor.  Although ----  Nora Robert's latest  Bay of Sighs, # 2 in her Guardian's Trilogy just arrived. :hurray:  

 

Nalini Singh's latest in the psy changeling series released today - #15 Allegiance of Honor.  Think I'll wait until the kindle price goes down (13.99 a bit steep) or for the paperback to come out.  

[Kareni]

What is the title of this book?

 

Ah, I see now that I had misunderstood your question.  Yes, WIP is work in progress.  If you're interested, here's a link to the author's published works.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

My search ability is not working tonight, so I'm not able to learn who originally recommended this book as one of their favorite children's books.  It was posted recently when the discussion of mermaids arose.  It was an enjoyable book though the subtitle is clearly very tongue in cheek.  And, yes, I see what you (the original poster) meant when you said that the mermaid was anatomically correct.

 

The Mermaid and the Major: The True Story of the Submarine  by Francisco Melendez

 

From School Library Journal

Grade 4 Up-- Major Michelangelo Monday, inventor of ingenious military machines, retires to his family estate on the Mediterranean Sea. One day while wandering along the shore he spies a bare-breasted mermaid who captures his heart. Inspired, the major and his faithful aide-de-camp, Corporal Tuesday, devise a submarine of sorts. The venture into the mermaid's realm is a failure, so the major, still desperately in love, converts himself into a merman. He marries, only to discover within a few months that passion has cooled, his in-laws are quarrelsome, and it's a bother swimming to the surface for air. The major returns to land--with his tail still attached. This sardonic and cynical tale is embellished with illustrations of comically thin, brilliantly costumed figures that are masterpieces of European graphic art. The pages are further decorated with calligraphic designs and delicate drawings that are a pleasure to behold. This sophisticated fable is a cross between Don Quixote's mad passion and Baron von Munchausen's fantastic adventures, and although it has the appearance of a picture book, its appeal is to older readers with a taste for the artfully absurd. --Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River,
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

 

From Kirkus Reviews

A Spanish aristocrat, Major Michelangelo Monday, has spent a lifetime devising clever war machinery. In retirement, his creative urge persists, spurred by love for a skinny, bare- bosomed mermaid who points out that they're incompatible. Undeterred, the major contrives first a submarine (``How are we going to get married if you are locked up inside a tin can?''), then some innovative surgery that enables the match, which proves to be unhappy. This very European, and rather adult, satirical fable received ``the national prize for illustration by Spain's Ministry of Culture''; the art, which makes sly references to Spanish greats from Vel zquez to Dali, is skillfully executed, including both intriguing calligraphic drawings and whimsical surreal paintings of the many fantastical inventions. A handsome, offbeat volume for a few special readers. (Fiction. 8+) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[mumto2]

Ah, it's actually not a book.  The Word Wenches are a group of authors who host a joint blog; here's a link to the main page.  Many of their posts detail historical research.  The one I posted above, Regency Write Stuff by Cara Elliott and Andrea Pickens, is about quills.

 

Here are a few others posts to give you a taste of the site:

 

 

The Ritual of Tea ...

 

 

Getting around

 

 

Old Bailey—the "supreme court" of London

 

 

Buttons and Bows

 

 

We Need to Talk - The Art of Conversation

 

Regards,

Kareni

Well, I definitely got a taste for their site and a longer book list too! Have you tried Patricia Rice, her Magic series looks interesting........

[Jane in NC]

My search ability is not working tonight, so I'm not able to learn who originally recommended this book as one of their favorite children's books.  It was posted recently when the discussion of mermaids arose.  It was an enjoyable book though the subtitle is clearly very tongue in cheek.  And, yes, I see what you (the original poster) meant when you said that the mermaid was anatomically correct.

 

The Mermaid and the Major: The True Story of the Submarine  by Francisco Melendez

 

From School Library Journal

Grade 4 Up-- Major Michelangelo Monday, inventor of ingenious military machines, retires to his family estate on the Mediterranean Sea. One day while wandering along the shore he spies a bare-breasted mermaid who captures his heart. Inspired, the major and his faithful aide-de-camp, Corporal Tuesday, devise a submarine of sorts. The venture into the mermaid's realm is a failure, so the major, still desperately in love, converts himself into a merman. He marries, only to discover within a few months that passion has cooled, his in-laws are quarrelsome, and it's a bother swimming to the surface for air. The major returns to land--with his tail still attached. This sardonic and cynical tale is embellished with illustrations of comically thin, brilliantly costumed figures that are masterpieces of European graphic art. The pages are further decorated with calligraphic designs and delicate drawings that are a pleasure to behold. This sophisticated fable is a cross between Don Quixote's mad passion and Baron von Munchausen's fantastic adventures, and although it has the appearance of a picture book, its appeal is to older readers with a taste for the artfully absurd. --Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River,

Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

 

From Kirkus Reviews

A Spanish aristocrat, Major Michelangelo Monday, has spent a lifetime devising clever war machinery. In retirement, his creative urge persists, spurred by love for a skinny, bare- bosomed mermaid who points out that they're incompatible. Undeterred, the major contrives first a submarine (``How are we going to get married if you are locked up inside a tin can?''), then some innovative surgery that enables the match, which proves to be unhappy. This very European, and rather adult, satirical fable received ``the national prize for illustration by Spain's Ministry of Culture''; the art, which makes sly references to Spanish greats from Vel zquez to Dali, is skillfully executed, including both intriguing calligraphic drawings and whimsical surreal paintings of the many fantastical inventions. A handsome, offbeat volume for a few special readers. (Fiction. 8+) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

While the search engine may not be working, my memory is functioning in this case!  It was Idnib who mentioned the book in the course of a rather long discussion on mermaids, a discussion that I thoroughly enjoyed.  Idnib's post is found here.  For those of you who missed the mermaids (from the mermaid poems to Weeki Wachee to Mercon), find it all in BaW Week # 22.

 

In fact, that conversation came to mind while I was at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix where I saw regalia for a Mermaid Dance.  I took a photo but uploading photos from my phone to this site poses a problem for me.  If I figure out a way to post it, I will.

 

I think I may be lost in my version of escape fiction (murder mysteries) for a while. After not finding any satisfying mysteries for a while (complex without gore), I am really enjoying books by Ann Cleeves and Arnaldur Indridason.  I finished Hidden Depths, one of Cleeves books in the Vera Stanhope series.  Nicely done. 

 

 

[Mom-ninja.]

I finished The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry. Very funny and highly recommend. 

[fastweedpuller]

Getting ready for a trip next week AND preparing for upcoming school year, so last night, DD and I finished *listening* to Stephen King's On Writing:  A Memoir of the Craft.  Funny stuff.  Somehow I thought it would be much more of a primer on, you know, writing!  Silly me.  We're planning on using it alongside Writing with a Thesis and The Lively Art of Writing in our magpie method of homeschooling lit and writing (all the shinies all the time) and the King book should be helpful with this child who tends to freeze up when something is hard (math and writing), though her abilities are fairly solid.  She's entering 7th this fall.

 

We're also gathering audiobooks for the drive.  It's a mere 7ish hours to Mammoth Caves from here, which is enough time to do some damage on a book or two

 

I'm in the middle of Founding Mothers and I am blown away with the lives of these women. The incredible suffering and hardship they endured is amazing. Seriously, who ever started the whole "women are the weaker sex" idea was an idiot. These women did things and experienced things that I can not ever imagine myself going through. Strong, independent, courageous, selfless, and enduring are only a few tributes of their character. 

 

My husband is currently away for an extended business trip for several months, and I consider that to be a long time. Geesh, three months was the time it took a FAST traveling letter to arrive from her husband, if it even ever arrived as a lot of mail was intercepted by the British. Three months separation is NOTHING compared to the separation during the American revolutionary times. Abigail Adams saw John three times during EIGHT years. One of the short visits left her pregnant. She not only ran the farm, his law business, sold what she could to make money, raised the little kids she had, helped soldiers, helped advise men in Congress, dealt with smallpox and dysentery, but she also went through a pregnancy and birth of her stillborn baby by HERSELF.  She once spent an entire year not hearing anything from her husband or oldest son who was with him. A freaking year. Nothing. 

 

So I don't feel like I'm going through any difficulty with my dh being gone until Sept-Oct. We can text, email, call, and Skype every single day. And unlike John Adams, who was not earning income, my dh continues to deposit his pay into our account, and I don't have to worry about feeding my kids. 

 

It wasn't just Adams either. All these women went through what she did more or less. Yeah, my life is gravy. 

Ah yes, historical perspective!  I am sure you'll miss your dh horribly but you're right we have it so much easier in many, many ways.  Have you read either David McCulloch's John Adams or Jill Lepore's excellent Book of Ages:  The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin?  Both do definitely discuss the hardships of the women associated with some of our founding fathers.  Jane Franklin was Benjamin's sister; she endured the loss of 11 of her 12 children, and extreme poverty too...makes her brother seem like a pigheaded jerk (which maybe he was).

[Kareni]

Well, I definitely got a taste for their site and a longer book list too! Have you tried Patricia Rice, her Magic series looks interesting........

 

One could spend a lot of time on that site!  And one of the advantages of it being written by writers is that it's well written.

 

As to Patricia Rice, I'm fairly certain I've read some of her books and shorter pieces in the past; however, no one title is coming to mind. 

 

 

Regarding The Mermaid and the Major: The True Story of the Submarine  by Francisco Melendez:

While the search engine may not be working, my memory is functioning in this case!  It was Idnib who mentioned the book in the course of a rather long discussion on mermaids, a discussion that I thoroughly enjoyed.  Idnib's post is found here. 

 

Thank you, Jane.  I'm glad to hear that someone's memory is working!

 

Last night, after reading a chunk of my book group book, I re-read with great pleasure an old favorite ~

Yesterday's Son (Star Trek: The Original Series Book 11) by A. C. Crispin.  Any other Star Trek fans here who enjoy novels pertaining to the Original series?  I'm always happy to hear recommendations.

 

"The Romulans attack the planet Gateway, where Federation scientists are studying the Guardian of Forever -- the mysterious portal to the past.

 

The Starship Enterpriseâ„¢ must protect the Guardian -- or destroy it. But Spock has already used the portal to journey to the past. On the planet Sarpedion, 5,000 years ago, Spock knew a beautiful, primitive woman. Now he has gone back to meet his son!"

 

Regards,

Kareni

[-M-]

Hello, BaWers! It has been a while (Week 19!) since my last post, but I attempt to keep my list current, even when I haven’t enough time to write. With forty-nine books, I am (slightly) exceeding my (modest) goal of two books per week. As I’ve mentioned before, I am a promiscuous reader, loving, leading on, leaving in various states of undress many, many more books than that number would indicate, but I generally include only the cover-to-covers in my list; hence, forty-nine.

 

Random reading notes:

 

■ How is it possible that two decades have passed since I first read The Sparrow and breathlessly pressed it on my husband? Twenty years. Well, Russell’s unusual and wonderful novel — with its astronomy-, music-, language-, relationship-, anthropology-, and religion-infused discussions — was the first selection for the summer session of our family book club, and the novel was even better on rereading.

 

p. 278
Standing in the hallway, John Candotti and Edward Behr could hear half of the conversation taking place inside the Father General’s office quite clearly. It was not necessary to eavesdrop. It was only necessary not to be deaf.

 

“None of it was published? You are telling me that not one article we sent back was submitted–â€

 

“Maybe we shouldn’t have told him,†John whispered, rubbing the bump on his broken nose.

 

“He was bound to find out eventually,†said Brother Edward placidly. Anger, he believed, was healthier than depression.

 

Amen, Brother Edward. Amen.

 

■ Last year, Roger Rosenblatt’s Kayak Mornings left me cold, but this year, Making Toast, his earlier memoir about loss and grief, seemed to meander less and, therefore, mean more to me.

 

p. 39
Because I could not understand why she died, I sought to make other things less confusing. I cleaned out junk-closets, gave order to a chaotic shelf of CDs, and cleared an ivy-choked area of the yard.

 

■ Has anyone else picked up Joe Hill’s The Fireman? It would have been a passable beach read had it not been too long by four hundred pages and had it not suffered so much in (inevitable) comparison to Stephen King’s The Stand. The parallels to his father’s novel were, apparently, intentional:

 

Two-thirds into writing the book, it suddenly hit me how much The Fireman parallels The Stand. There were some strong threads connecting the two. So, do you run from that? I think it’s more fun to embrace your influences than to try to bury them.

 

Read the complete interview here. Our family book club’s “reach goal†for last summer was to finish The Stand, a reread for me and for my husband. Only he succeeded, but he does listen to audiobooks while commuting, so he has an advantage over the rest of us. The remaining members have recommitted to finishing by mid-August.

 

â–  I think all of my favorite lines from Cardenio belong to the (wrongfully) much maligned Doris. Early on:

 

To be honest, I’ve never understood
Why I shouldn’t tell the truth.
I mean the assumption that this is beneficial to the world,
to be nice, to be pleasant,
is just unproven.

[is she suddenly close to tears?]

Difficult people are always the ones who advance civilization.

 

And much later:

 

Well, there’s a mature decision!
What are the odds, Anselmo,
that your second marriage will last as long as your first?

 

It’s a comment on the excellence of the Shakespeare Project of Chicago that they made this rather tedious work so watchable. For more information about “Shakespeare’s lost work,†visit The Cardenio Project.

 

■ I have read five more graphic collections since my last post, for a total of ten, to date. While, I am enjoying all of the series, none is a “gateway†volume. If you seek one, though, it’s Brian K. Vaughan’s Y: The Last Man or Jeff Lemire’s Sweet Tooth.

 

■ A Good School is, quite possibly, the best book I’ve read this year — which may have been the same thing I said about Richard Yates’ Revolutionary Road eight years ago. In “The Lost World of Richard Yates†(Boston Review, October/November 1999), Stewart O’Nan wrote:

 

Once the most vaunted of authors–praised by Styron and Vonnegut and Robert Stone as the voice of a generation–he seems now to belong to that august yet sad category, the writer’s writer. Andre Dubus, who was his student at Iowa, revered him, as does Tobias Wolff, and the jackets of Yates’s books are adorned with quotes by the likes of Tennessee Williams and Dorothy Parker, Ann Beattie and Gina Berriault. When authors talk his name pops up as the American writer we wish more people would read, just as Cormac McCarthy’s used to. In the acknowledgments section of his novellas, Women With Men, Richard Ford makes it plain: “I wish to record my debt of gratitude to the stories and novels of Richard Yates, a writer too little appreciated.â€

 

With his insightful and ranging appreciation, O’Nan — also a writer too little appreciated (if you are not familiar with his work, begin with A Prayer for the Dying and Last Night at the Lobster) — all but ensured that Yates would be revisited: Many of Yates’ books are, of course, back in print, and his “painful and sad†first novel received big-screen treatment in 2008. In fact, I finally saw the film last week, which led to the mentally intoned assertion, “The book was better,†and to the shelves, where several Yates titles awaited me. By the way, fans of John Williams' Stoner will also appreciate A Good School.

 

From Revolutionary Road:

 

p. 59-60
And even after politics had palled there had still been the elusive but endlessly absorbing subject of Conformity, or The Suburbs, or Madison Avenue, or American Society Today. “Oh Jesus,†Shep might begin, “you know this character next door to us? Donaldson? The one that’s always out fooling with his power mower and talking about the rat race and the soft sell? Well, listen: did I tell you what he said about his barbecue pit?†And there would follow an anecdote of extreme suburban smugness that left them weak with laughter.

 

“Oh, I don’t believe it,†April would insist. “Do they really talk that way?â€

 

And Frank would develop the theme. “The point is it wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t so typical. It isn’t only the Donaldsons—it’s the Cramers too, and the whaddyacallits, the Wingates, and a million others. It’s all the idiots I ride with on the train every day. It’s a disease. Nobody thinks or feels or cares any more; nobody gets excited or believes in anything except their own comfortable God damn mediocrity.â€

 

Milly Campell would writhe in pleasure. “Oh, that’s so true. Isn’t that true, darling?â€

 

They would all agree, and the happy implication was that they alone, the four of them, were painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.

 

p. 128-129
“This whole country’s rotten with sentimentality,†Frank said one night, turning ponderously from the window to walk the carpet. “It’s been spreading like a disease for years, for generations, until now everything you touch is flabby with it.â€

 

“Exactly,†she said, enraptured with him.

 

“I mean isn’t that really what’s the matter, when you get right down to it? I mean even more than the profit motive or the loss of spiritual values or the fear of the bomb or any of those things? Or maybe it’s the result of those things; maybe it’s what happens when all those things start working at once without any real cultural tradition to absorb them. Anyway, whatever it’s the result of, it’s what’s killing the United States. I mean isn’t it? This steady, insistent vulgarizing of every idea and every emotion into some kind of pre-digested intellectual baby food; this optimistic, smiling-through, easy-way-out sentimentality in everybody’s view of life?â€

 

“Yes,†she said. “Yes.â€

 

More later. Until then, a photo for those who enjoy books.

 

Edited June 15, 2016 by M--

[mumto2]

A cozy mystery about a little library https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26240858-a-most-curious-murder?ac=1&from_search=true. It won't be available until July.

[Butter]

Book #59: Kids of Kabul by Deborah Ellis.  This book is a collection of stories of a couple dozen Afghan children in their own words.  A little more information is given before each story, sometimes clarifying what they were talking about or where they live, sometimes telling why they could be in the situation they are in (such as a child who lived in a jail with her mother or another girl, just 15, serving a jail sentence for escaping from her elderly husband and his abusive family or the daughter of a parliament member so she lives most of the time in a very secure hotel).  Some of the stories are very sad.  Most are extremely hopeful.  These kids are really looking to the future and are determined to make Afghanistan into a country they can be proud of.

[SEGway]

It's been a while for me. But, I got on a role. So, I have to write it down or I'll forget. :) No real reading for weeks. Then....marathon-time!

Starting with the weekend, I read through Austen's Persuasion, then Emma. They were both first-time reads for me. I enjoyed several of the obnoxious characters in Persuasion. I think the hypochondriac sister, Mary, was especially realistic. Or maybe, recognizable is a better word? I figured out where Emma was headed pretty early on, but there were characters worth finishing the story for. I didn't really like Emma, herself, but I identified with her from time to time. So sure of her interpretation of other people's actions/motives. And, so wrong, mostly. Ha. It's embarrassing, really. :)

Pride and Prejudice is still my favorite in terms of the combination of cast of characters and plot. (I listened to that as an audiobook, too. Last week, I think. It's what started me on my Austen-kick.) 

Then, (oh, this might have been last week...oops!), The Murder of Mary Russell by Laurie R. King. It was less a mystery for Holmes/Russell, and more (mostly) telling the backstory of Mrs. Hudson. I'm not sure what I thought of the way she turned out in the end. But, it was an enjoyable read.

And, finally, the YA selections, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Son of Charlemagne, and I'm finishing up If All the Swords in England.

Miss Peregrine was grittier than I expected, but seemed believable with that particular narrator. I really liked the grandpa. I think I'll read the next books at some point.

Son of... and If All the Swords... are both by Barbara Willard, I think, and I'm pre-reading for my dd's history list for next year. I liked them a lot better than most children's historical fiction. But, I'm still not sure what I think of the genre in general. I think there was a long thread a couple of years ago about chronological bias (and spinoffs about anachronistic attitudes/actions) that really interested me. I've steered away (personally) from historical fiction for a while because I was trying to sort through those thoughts. I'm still not sure. Any one else have ideas? I think my conclusion is/was that the most authentic historical fiction isn't actually written as historical fiction. (I'm thinking Dickens.) It's more just fiction written in a specific time period (separate from one's own). But, then, there are all those things that a contemporary author can assume his audience will just understand because. But, I think there are some really talented writers who do their homework and come up with some really well-done stories. I wonder if those are easier to evaluate when they are written in a time that is also not one's own. (Like me reading someone from the early 1900's writing about ancient times.) Would that make it easier to see their blind spots, because they're probably different blind spots than mine? This is devolving into something so vague as to be unhelpful.

All that to say, I'm thinking about the merits/pitfalls peculiar to historical fiction. (again) Especially as it relates to the study of actual history vs. just enjoying a good story.

Edited June 15, 2016 by SEGway

[aggieamy]

Can I just hide out here and ignore the world?  I think I must be suffering from some sort of "the world is such a sad place" depression.  I have been mopey and crying all week.  Luckily I see that there have been lots of great books to read posted in this thread. 

 

Right now I'm slowly reading a Lord Peter Wimsey book. 

 

 

The Bird and The Sword by Amy Harmon – Fantasy Romance. A mute witch, who works magic with words, helps the king fight invaders, but she wonders: does he only care for her magic?  An easy read, light on both romance and fantasy, rated 4.5 on Goodreads and 5 on Amazon. I’d been racing to finish a few library books before they were due, but I was tired of the slog. I wanted to read something quick and fun which this book delivered. If your library has a copy or you're willing to spend $5, I recommend it.

 

Thanks for the recommendation!

 

 

I have some time for reading this afternoon and for the better part of the day tomorrow. On Friday I have to have a spinal tap and then lay flat on my back for a couple of days, so I am hoping to be able to read during that time.

 

Do you like audiobooks?  They might help pass the time and you woulnd't have to hold them over your head.  ((HUGS)) Hope all goes well Friday. 

 

Now I know who was reading the Miss Julia books. I put one on hold during my Overdrive issues. When I checked my account Saturday morning everything had been restored plus my new activity was merged. So thrilled. An unofficial wedding anniversary surprise.

 

 

Yay.  Happy Anniversary!

 

I've been doing a LOT of reading about books, reading through the current summer book lists, etc. but not much actual reading OF books.

 

I did manage to read a thoroughly delightful YA book - Jackaby by William Ritter. Did someone read this last week?  from Goodreads:

 

“Miss Rook, I am not an occultist,†Jackaby said. “I have a gift that allows me to see truth where others see the illusion--and there are many illusions. All the world’s a stage, as they say, and I seem to have the only seat in the house with a view behind the curtain.â€

Doctor Who meets Sherlock in William Ritter’s debut novel, which features a detective of the paranormal as seen through the eyes of his adventurous and intelligent assistant in a tale brimming with cheeky humor and a dose of the macabre.

 

Really enjoyed this, handed it off to one of my teens and can't wait to hear what she thinks.

 

How appropriate would this be for a 12 yo girl?  Basically if you could sum up her favorite genre it would "Doctor Who meets Sherlock".  If there are some feisty Victorian heroines in there ... WIN. 

 

Ah, it's actually not a book.  The Word Wenches are a group of authors who host a joint blog; here's a link to the main page.  Many of their posts detail historical research.  The one I posted above, Regency Write Stuff by Cara Elliott and Andrea Pickens, is about quills.

 

Here are a few others posts to give you a taste of the site:

 

The Ritual of Tea ...

 

Getting around

 

Old Bailey—the "supreme court" of London

 

Buttons and Bows

 

We Need to Talk - The Art of Conversation

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Did you know I needed something wonderful to distract me today?  Thank you for posting this cool list.

 

I finished The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry. Very funny and highly recommend. 

 

Adding it to DD's read aloud list. 

[NoseInABook]

Robin, you'll have to let me know if Bay of Sighs is any good. I put a hold on it but I think I'm like number 35 for ONE COPY. Oof. 

 

Mom-ninja, I just put a hold on Founding Mothers too because it sounds so fascinating. On a semi-related note, Eliza killed me in Hamilton (the musical) so it made me want to read the book even more. 

 

(((Amy)))

 

I finished Miss Peregrine and have moved on to attempting to finish Sally Clarkson's The Lifegiving Home today. I've been slowly reading it for months now and feel like it's just time to finish it up so that's my goal for today. Then I'll start Hollow City by Ransom Riggs unless my husband brings home some books from the library for me... then I'll read whatever I put on hold and forgot about! 

[mumto2]

 

 

 

How appropriate would this be for a 12 yo girl? Basically if you could sum up her favorite genre it would "Doctor Who meets Sherlock". If there are some feisty Victorian heroines in there ... WIN.

 

 

Dd read Jackaby last winter and liked it. I asked her if it would be OK and she thinks it's fine.

 

:grouphug: I keep thinking about how many walks we took around that lake when my kids were small. That beach was where we watched fireworks frequently.

[Butter]

I read the Breadwinner series and Kids of Kabul to my almost 10 year old.  He's a gentle little soul.  He's still outraged over slavery and that women were not allowed to vote for so long.  He doesn't understand why people hurt other people.  It just makes no sense to him because he, naturally, loves everyone.  Learning about what has been happening in Afghanistan makes his little heart for these women.

 

Meanwhile, he's recently started saying he thinks he wants to become an oncologist.  His grandfather recently finished chemo for cancer (the second, unrelated, cancer my dad has had).  That and surgery worked and my dad is one of the incredibly few to survive pancreatic cancer.  He's at a year from diagnosis and many don't make it that long.  And he hasn't just survived, his cancer is gone.  Fritz is thinking he wants to do cancer research.  He wants to save more people like his grandfather.  He'd be a great hands-on oncologist, too, though.  He'd cry along with his patients at diagnosis.  He just cares so much and wants to help everyone.

 

So I told him about Doctors Without Borders and other such groups that provide aid to people in camps like were described in the Breadwinner series.  And now he thinks that might be the job for him.  Who knows if he'll actually end up doing any of what he's talking about.  He's only 9 after all.  But it's just amazing what reading a few books can do to a kid.  The whole world can be opened up to them.  Things they never knew existed.  (And, sometimes, they get to escape into a whole new world.  Same kid is reading the Harry Potter series, in Azkaban currently.  His mind was totally blown when he discovered Sirius Black was a good guy.  Now I can't wait for him to find out about Snape.  Books are awesome.  Watching your kid enjoy books and learn and grow from reading them is even more awesome.)

[Mom-ninja.]

 

Ah yes, historical perspective!  I am sure you'll miss your dh horribly but you're right we have it so much easier in many, many ways.  Have you read either David McCulloch's John Adams or Jill Lepore's excellent Book of Ages:  The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin?  Both do definitely discuss the hardships of the women associated with some of our founding fathers.  Jane Franklin was Benjamin's sister; she endured the loss of 11 of her 12 children, and extreme poverty too...makes her brother seem like a pigheaded jerk (which maybe he was).

Yes, this book does not show Mr. Franklin in a very polite light either. He seems to have been quite, um, self centered. I don't think he loved his wife at all. But in those days one didn't really divorce so instead he choose to live in Europe with his mistress. A sad life his wife led. 

 

Yes, so many babies/children died. I was surprised at how often women left their babies and young children with relatives to join their husbands elsewhere. I just can't wrap my mind around that. I love my dh very much, but there is no way I would have left my infant (for months) to travel with him. I wouldn't even leave them now to be with my husband. Children were sent to relatives or off to school at such young ages. Again, Adams sent her son (John Quincy)when he was 10 to Europe with her husband. She didn't see him again until after he was an adult. He was even sent to Russia as an apprentice and she had no idea. Eliza Pickney left her sons in England at school and didn't see them for 10 years. It boggles the mind. Makes one think again about "traditional American family" model because it was not mom, dad, and kids living in the same house. Far from it. Kids were sent off or left behind and that was the norm.  

 

 

Last night, after reading a chunk of my book group book, I re-read with great pleasure an old favorite ~

Yesterday's Son (Star Trek: The Original Series Book 11) by A. C. Crispin.  Any other Star Trek fans here who enjoy novels pertaining to the Original series?  I'm always happy to hear recommendations.

 

"The Romulans attack the planet Gateway, where Federation scientists are studying the Guardian of Forever -- the mysterious portal to the past.

 

The Starship Enterpriseâ„¢ must protect the Guardian -- or destroy it. But Spock has already used the portal to journey to the past. On the planet Sarpedion, 5,000 years ago, Spock knew a beautiful, primitive woman. Now he has gone back to meet his son!"

 

Regards,

Kareni

So are there vulcan adult scenes in this book? Spock s*x! Trying to picture that.....

[Rosie_0801]

I bought some books about Ukraine and Poland since we are going there this summer.  They are middle-school level books, but so what?  :p

 

Where in Poland are you going?

[Kareni]

Can I just hide out here and ignore the world?  I think I must be suffering from some sort of "the world is such a sad place" depression.  I have been mopey and crying all week.

 

I hope that happier days are ahead.

 

 

Regarding Yesterday's Son (Star Trek: The Original Series Book 11) by A. C. Crispin:

So are there vulcan adult scenes in this book? Spock s*x! Trying to picture that.....

 

Nope, sorry to disappoint you.  (Or am I reassuring you?  One wonders.)  We're basically just informed that in going back in time, Spock reverted back in behavior to the Vulcans of that time who were not yet trained in logic and emotional control.  So, he had sex, ate meat, and expressed emotion.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Chrysalis Academy]

Your moment of Zen:

 

"She discovered with great delight that one does not love one's children because they are one's children, but because of the friendship formed while raising them."

 

-Gabriel Garcia Marquz, Love in the Time of Cholera

[aggieamy]

It's been a long week so I'm skipping out on the work I have to get done and I'm going to bed with Dave Barry.  That is sure to cheer me up.  His columns make me laugh so much that I embarrass myself if I read them in a public place. 

 

DH is working on going through our 1000 pictures of our trip and I'll post a few of the literary ones when he finished whatever editing voodoo that he does.  INCLUDING ME AT JAMES HERRIOT'S HOUSE!  *fangirl scream*  *silly fangirl dancing* 

 

Really.  I don't know why you gals put up with me.  I'm an embarrassment. 

 

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

 

 

 

[shage]

It's been a long week so I'm skipping out on the work I have to get done and I'm going to bed with Dave Barry. That is sure to cheer me up. His columns make me laugh so much that I embarrass myself if I read them in a public place.

 

DH is working on going through our 1000 pictures of our trip and I'll post a few of the literary ones when he finished whatever editing voodoo that he does. INCLUDING ME AT JAMES HERRIOT'S HOUSE! *fangirl scream* *silly fangirl dancing*

 

Really. I don't know why you gals put up with me. I'm an embarrassment.

 

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Life is too short not to be an embarrassment.

 

😆

[Loesje22000]

 

Steinz is a Dutch Guide to World Literature, with more focus on Dutch literature then an American one would do.

Steinz als shows what books / authors influenced a piece of work or author, but also what other books wher influenced by him.

It has nice diagrams to show that.

And it has nice maps for those who wants to read 'geographically'.

A book that makes me very happy (thank you Tress for notifying me!!)

 

 

Based on Steinz I read the 'Countrygirls' Triology of Edna o'Brien.

The setting is in Catholic Ireland.

The book is about 2 girls who work their way out of 'boardingschool' to live a free life in Dublin.

Too free probably for the age when the book was written, but compared to modern Dutch Literature, the book has been written pretty decent .

Book three, is the one I liked less.

Many fragmented sentences, not always logically after each other.

This book is the book where one of the girls get mental health problems, but it was has hard to follow the line of the book therefore.

 

I don't think it is a 'must have read', I don't recommend it to dd for now,

but if you have read 'too much of the same' it might be a nice book :)

[Mom-ninja.]

I just saw that Founding Mothers is also in a picture book version for kids. I will be picking it up today at the library. Perfect timing

[Minerva]

 

About being able to sink deeply into books as an adult - that has been my reading goal the last few years. This is why I don,t review and discuss much, or make a list. It took awhile to get it back but I have. Listening doesn,t get me as escaped as reading does, but I can still walk miles without seeing anything. I can,t do it with all books, but I never could, even as a child. I think perhaps some of the reason adults struggle with this has to do with the books they are reading. Instead of reading simpler books with absorbing plots, adults who love to read tend to choose "well written" books which to appreciate fully require one to be aware of the both the writing and the story as one reads, making the escape incomplete.

 

Nan

 

So well said, Nan. 

 

 

Can I just hide out here and ignore the world?  I think I must be suffering from some sort of "the world is such a sad place" depression.  I have been mopey and crying all week.  Luckily I see that there have been lots of great books to read posted in this thread. 

 

 

 

:grouphug: For all of us. 

 

Your moment of Zen:

 

"She discovered with great delight that one does not love one's children because they are one's children, but because of the friendship formed while raising them."

 

-Gabriel Garcia Marquz, Love in the Time of Cholera

 

:001_wub:

 

 

Not to brag or anything, but I just figured out how to multi quote. 

[Chrysalis Academy]

I finished Marquez's Chronicle of a Death Foretold last night.  It gets points because it was soooooooo much easier to read than The Autumn of the Patriarch!  Which I'm still slogging through. I'm in the last chapter.  Yesterday I had a little reading time while the girls were riding, and I thought, "I'll just read till I get to a period." 40+ pages later . . . I was still waiting for the period.  But enough about that book, I'll have more to say when I (finally) finish it.  

 

Chronicle also gets points with me, because it's told in a more straightforward journalistic style, not a dreamlike, magical-realism style, which I prefer. I also find it disturbingly timely, on several dimensions, as it is about an honor-killing where a cultural/ethnic outsider is scapegoated. it's about , on some level, the moral bankruptcy of crowdthinking: How when humans get together in groups, they can easily push aside responsibility - surely somebody else will do something?

 

Presciently? Ironically? Disturbingly - the outsider is a mixed Latin/Arab man with an Arab last name, who is an outsider on a few levels (though not at all a nice person, so your sympathy for him is somewhat muted). Sound like a familiar scenario? Though it seems clear that he wasn't actually guilty of the "crime" of which he was accused, but was named by the girl whose "honor was violated" (I have to put that in quotes too, because it was clear that she was a willing participant) in order to protect her actual lover. 

 

Despite the fact that I didn't "enjoy" this book a ton, or find it the most amazing thing I've ever read, I do think it illustrates what makes a classic a classic, on some level - a book that highlights themes that humanity has always struggled with, and still is to this day.  

 

Ok, I just talked myself into giving it an extra star.  I'm looking forward to checking out the FutureLearn lectures and seeing what I missed.

 

ETA:  Ah yes, the elements of classical tragedy.  I did not see that when I read it, but it's clear once the presenters mention it.  Though they seem to be giving more weight to Fate whereas I think that it's more an indictment of the lack of action by those who *could* have prevented the tragedy, but chose not to. Is it really fate if people could have acted but choose not to act? Not fate in the Oedipal sense, I don't think.  Oedipus's actions led to his fate, certainly, but here it's the lack of action that leads to the "Death Foretold" - which is a choice.

Edited June 16, 2016 by Chrysalis Academy

[Maus]

Just joined audible and I don't know how one exercises any restraint when shopping there!  We'll be listening to books on CD for some 70 hours on our upcoming road trip.

 

23.  "The Power of Vulnerability" by Brene Brown.  From Audible.  I don't think this one is available as an actual print book, but I listened while walking all week, and loved it.

 

22.  "My side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George.  Oldie, but goodie.  Listened with my kids in the car, AND still had it in the car when I drove my cub scouts to day camp this week.  I've never had a batch that stayed so quiet on that 45 minute drive before!

 

21. "Cheaper By the Dozen" by Frank Butler Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.

20. "Murder on the Ballarat Train" by Kerry Greenwood.

19. "Over See, Under Stone" by Susan Cooper

18. "Sing Down the Moon" by Scott O'Dell.

17. "Soft Rain" by Cornelia Cornelissen.

16. "The Collapse of Parenting" by Leonard Sax.

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

14. "Cocaine Blues: A Phyrne Fisher Mystery" by Kerry Greenwood.

13. "Let It Go" by Chris Williams

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.

[mumto2]

I just finished Me Before You by JoJo Moyles and am feeling a bit depressed. I should have found a spoiler and read it. I shouldn't have been curious about what the big deal was. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15507958-me-before-you. It wasn't a bad book, just not a happy story with a topic I really don't want to spend my reading time on because it's sad. The first portion was just like a Harliquin romance, I knew something had to twist, it did. Sigh. I don't think I can do the white writing on my device. Trust me read one of the low rated reviews before you get sucked in.

 

I also finished another in the Inspector Singh series. He's sweet.

[Mothersweets]

 

 

How appropriate would this be for a 12 yo girl?  Basically if you could sum up her favorite genre it would "Doctor Who meets Sherlock".  If there are some feisty Victorian heroines in there ... WIN. 

 

 

'Doctor Who meets Sherlock' is very popular around here, too. :) I was planning on handing it off to my 11yo dd after her older sisters are done with it but she isn't bothered by blood/murders/etc. in books and there is a good amount of all that in this story.

[Kareni]

I did finish my book group book.  I'll say more tomorrow after tonight's meeting.

 

Last night I finished a re-read of A. C. Crispin's Time For Yesterday, the sequel to Yesterday's Son which I recently mentioned. I enjoyed it once more.

 

"Time For Yesterday

Time in the galaxy has stopped running its normal course. That can only mean one thing -- the Guardian of Forever is malfunctioning. To save the universe, Starfleet command reunites three of its most legendary figures -- Admiral James T. Kirk, Spock of Vulcan, and Dr. Leonard McCoy -- and sends them on a desperate mission to contact the Guardian, a journey that ultimately takes them 5,000 years into the past. They must find Spock's son Zar once again -- and bring him back to their time to telepathically communicate the Guardian.

But Zar is enmeshed in troubles of his own, and soon Kirk, Spock and McCoy find themselves in a desperate struggle to save both their world -- and his!"

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

A few bookish posts of interest ~

 

“Stories Will Help You Understand Yourselfâ€: An Interview About Censorship with Kate Messner by Kelly Jensen

 

"Renowned and award-winning middle grade author Kate Messner’s latest book, The Seventh Wish , hit shelves this month. But it wasn’t without controversy — the week of her release, she was disinvited from a school talk, had her books sent back from the school, and she heard from a librarian at another school that she would not be putting that book in her collection.

 

To say she was surprised would be an understatement.

 

The Seventh Wish follows the story of twelve-year-old Charlie. During one of the coldest winters, she begins to ice fish with her neighbor Drew and his grandmother. Catching fish means cashing in a little bit — she can sell those fish and earn more money toward purchasing a really fancy Irish Dancing dress. She’s gotten a little money for one, but certainly not enough for the fancy, sparkly dress of her dreams.

 

On one of the fishing adventures, Charlie reels in a fish that she swears talks to her. It offers her a wish in exchange for the fish being released back into the water. Charlie doesn’t believe it could be real, but she makes a wish anyway. And it’s from here Charlie begins to understand magic, wishes, and that life doesn’t always go the way you think it might...."

**

 

I haven't decided whether to congratulate these people or think that they have way too much time on their hands! 

 

#Bookface and #Corpuslibris: Be One With Book Cover by Jamie Canaves

**

 

Five Books Riddled with Holes by Jeremy P. Bushnell

**

 

Dialogue You’d Sell Your Firstborn For: Terry Pratchett’s Lords and Ladies by Genevieve Cogman

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Shawneinfl]

In book to movie news: The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin is being made into a movie starring Kate Winslet and Idiris Elba. http://variety.com/2016/film/news/kate-winslet-idris-elba-mountain-between-us-1201791718/

 

I know the author's sister and they are very excited to say the least. I'd better get crackin' and actually read one of his novels. Luckily Kindle has Mountain for $1.99 right now.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Finally!  I finished The Autumn of the Patriarch. It was a thoroughly unpleasant and extremely difficult read, but I'm strangely proud of myself for having finished it.

 

It's magical realism, stream of consciousness, shifting POV/narrators, shifting times, and a dictator novel, with all the unpleasant things (torture, rape, etc.) that that entails. It's a novel about power - the exercise of power, the illusion of power, and the loss of power with old age - and about exploitation. I've rarely enjoyed a book less, and it was almost entirely unreadable.  Essentially no punctuation besides commas, hard to pick up the thread when you put it down and came back to it.  It's almost like Marquez intentionally made it as unreadable as humanly possible. It's a similar technique as used by Saramago and other Latin American writers, but taken to such an extreme that it's almost incomprehensible.  

 

This essentially sums it up:

 

"he had tried to compensate for that infamous fate with the burning cultivation of the solitary vice of power, he had made himself victim of his own sect to be immolated on the flames of that infinite holocaust, he had fed on fallacy and crime, he had flourished in impiety and dishonor and he had put himself above his feverish avarice and his congenital fear only to keep until the end of time the little glass ball in his hand without knowing that it was an endless vice the satiety of which generated its own appetite until the end of all times general sir, he had known since his beginnings that they deceived him in order to please him, that they collected from him by fawning on him, that they recruited by force of arms the dense crowds along his route with shouts of jubilation and venal signs of eternal life to the magnificent one who is more ancient than his age, but he learned to live with those and all the miseries of glory as he discovered in the course of his uncountable years that a lie is more comfortable than doubt, more useful than love, more lasting than truth, he had arrived without surprise at the ignominious fiction of commanding without power, of being exalted without glory and of being obeyed without authority when he became convinced in the trail of yellow leaves of his autumn that he had never been master of all his power. . ."

 

So yeah, there's my rousing review of this book! Skippable unless you have specific literary/historical interest.  Won't be showing up on my kid's book lists . . . but I'm not sorry I

read it.

Edited June 16, 2016 by Chrysalis Academy

[Robin M]

Can I just hide out here and ignore the world? I think I must be suffering from some sort of "the world is such a sad place" depression. I have been mopey and crying all week. .

Yes, I'll join you. Hugs darlin'

 

Check out this video- Australian librarians singing to Bohemian Rhapsody tune.

 

https://youtu.be/YLaWsjv92E0

[Stacia]

Amy re: Jackaby. My dd read that one as well as the sequel & said she thinks they would be totally fine for a 12yo. She says there are supernatural creatures (werewolf, ghost, banshee, & a red cap) but no romance that she remembers. She enjoyed them when she read them.