Robin M Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 (edited) Happy Sunday dear hearts! This is the beginning of week 25 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 - Summer and Winter Solstice: Happy Father's Day to all our dads and welcome to the beginning of Summer for those in the northern hemisphere and Winter for those located in the southern hemisphere. It is time for a bit of seasonal reading and/or revisiting old friends. You'd think with all the time I have, now that lessons are done for a while, I'd be reaching for all those new books waiting on my shelves. Summer busyness is different from all the other busy activities we're involved with during the year. Don't you think? So my mind turns to all things fluffy and light. Mind candy! Chick-Lit Romances and cozy mysteries or a visit to flufferton abby!Flufferton is a term coined by one of our Well Trained Mind mom's in relation to all things regency, both classic and modern. Regency stories revolve around romance, mysteries, and the Napoleonic war. Modern fiction is set in the regency era and can run the gamut from historical romance fiction to horror to paranormal.Here are a few lists to spark your reading taste-budsBest Beach Reads for a Summer GetawayGoodreads Popular Light and Fluffy ReadsSummer Themed Coziesand for my friends in the Southern Hemisphere Fall into Winter: Ten Coziest Cozy Mystery seriesSo check your shelves or even the library's shelves and settle in with a beverage of your choice and enjoy! *************************************** History of the Renaissance World - Chapters 41 and 42 ************************************** What are you reading this week? Link to week 24 Edited June 19, 2016 by Robin M 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted June 19, 2016 Author Share Posted June 19, 2016 (edited) I'd taken a break from Swan Song but dug back in to last night. Scary, creepy, good. Offsetting it with a reread of Julie Ann Walker's Black Knight series. Just starting # 3 Rev It Up. Finished reread of the first book in Nora Robert's newest Guardian Trilogy Stars of Fortune (just as good the 2nd time) and the 2nd book Bay of Sighs which is Stewart and Annika's (a mermaid by the way) portion of the story. Excellent! Started Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods and the jury is out on whether I'll finish the book. Not sure I'm appreciating his sarcastic wit. Edited June 19, 2016 by Robin M 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted June 19, 2016 Author Share Posted June 19, 2016 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Hello my friends. Robin--I loved A Walk in the Woods, the book that is. The movie is a stinker. It was a week of escape reading. Both Angel and Nan have commented on a juvenile novel that they love, Baby Island. I had never heard of it so ages ago I put it on my list. This was a good week to read a delightful escape by Carol Ryrie Brink, whose award winning novel Caddie Woodlawn I had previously read. Baby Island is one of those 1930's adventure books involving clever children who just get on and deal with it--in this case a shipwreck with--you guessed it--a boatload of babies. And my library will have to thank me. Baby Island has not been borrowed in a while, I suspect, and it was misshelved. (One of my roles in this world is to borrow books from libraries that have not seen the light of day for a while.) Other PBS watchers like me may have discovered Ann Cleeves through the mystery series Shetland. So while I have watched the dramatization of Raven Black, I still enjoyed reading Cleeves' well written novel. There were differences between the television program and the book--enough to leave me second guessing. Still reading Steinbeck's WWII dispatches in Once There Was a War. And I think I'm keeping my head in the sand with mysteries for a while. I borrowed The Bishop's Wife, a mystery involving Mormons and written by a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Mette Ivie Harrison. So far so good. 18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 While I don't know how to attach photos from my phone to posts here, I can copy photos from my husband's online photo files. Here is a glimpse of our rambles in the Phoenix area. In the first photo I am with one of my husband's colleagues in what I called "the wienie walk". My husband and another of his colleagues did a longer walk in the Sonoran Desert Preserve. In the second you can see a Saguaro cactus in bloom--this at a higher elevation since they were past blooming in Phoenix. And the last is at the wonderful Boyce Thompson Arboretum. 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Here is a glimpse of our rambles in the Phoenix area. .... What wonderful photos, Jane. Thanks for sharing with us. And a happy Father's Day to all who are celebrating. I just realized that the assortment of gifts I gave my husband did not contain a book. I hope you won't disown me. Regards, Kareni 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Definitely just reading mindless brain candy this week. I loaded up a bunch of Captain Lacey regency mysteries on my kindle, supposedly for next month's vacation, but I already read the first two. Not sure I will even get the names right, but the first was The Hanover Square Affair (usually a kindle freebie) and the second I think was A Regimental Murder. I was thinking toward the end of the second that it's not the highest level of writing--too many characters, some introduced for no apparent reason, repetitive at times--but easy reading and mostly enjoyable for me. For this week I'm going to try to stay off the kindle and go back to real books. The second Elena Ferrante Napoli series book is waiting for me at the library. I tried to find Jackaby at the library last week after reading about it here but it wasn't where it was supposed to be--same with a kid book I was looking for too--so I put holds on them while I was at the library and later in the day I got a notice that they were waiting for me. So I'll pick those up too. Hoping to start Pride and Prejudice with my dds now that school is out. My rising junior also has some assigned summer reading for her Am Lit class next fall that I'll borrow--Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks (I've enjoyed several of her works) and the Pulitzer prize winning A Midwife's Tale. And then there is always Kristin Lavransdatter 3. Jane, Baby Island was a big favorite of my now junior when she was 6 or 7--one of the first books she really read on her own. She's read it so many times that it is falling apart! 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Jane, Baby Island was a big favorite of my now junior when she was 6 or 7--one of the first books she really read on her own. She's read it so many times that it is falling apart! :001_wub: She was a precocious reader! But I can see why children would fall in love with this book. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Lovely photos Jane! I love the desert. For father's day we took dh for pizza, pasta, e gelato, admired the frescos in la Basilica di Santa Maria ad Martyres, aka the Pantheon, and walked along the Tiber. Books read this week: J. H. Newman, Verses on Various Occasions Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep Currently reading: Absolutely nothing. Too much to do. 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 I read The Caged Virgin - 4 Stars - As you may already know, I love Ayaan Hirsi Ali. She’s courageous and oh, so clever. I believe that this collection of essays was her first book. Although it was eye-opening and is definitely worth a read, it’s not as incredible as her other three books, which are far more powerful and absolute must-reads. Those books are: “Infidelâ€, “Nomadâ€, and “Heretic†– and they should be read in that specific order. In order to prevent author and subject overload, it's best to not read them back-to-back! 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. 18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Lovely photos, Jane. But as I look at them all I can think is you wouldn't want to be out hiking in the Phoenix area this weekend. Or among the cacti and scrub of Southern California, either, as it is stinking hot!! Violet Crown, you win for best father's day activities! I've got a small stack at the ready for the few days I have off later this week, including Station Eleven, which, as I recall, several of you enjoyed, and one of the Icelandic mysteries, Jar City, which is the only title from the series at any of my nearby libraries. There are several titles calling me from my "dusty" stack, too. In the meantime I'm still listening to my epic fantasy/bildungsroman, Dawn of Wonder which, good as it is, could use a little editing, a little tightening up of the story. In other words, it could be a little less epic, by say, a few hundred pages or so!! One of the things I like about the book is how it well it handles the young hero as he copes with his flashbacks and trauma from having an abusive father. I believe the book is self published through Amazon, and it is, by the way, totally appropriate for any BaW teen looking for an immersive summer read. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 (edited) I really enjoyed Mary Jo Putney's slightly supernatural historical A kiss of Fate. It is the first in her Guardian series. My imagination library ved the thought of a handsome Scottish Laird standing on headlands controlling storms while Bonnie Prince Charlie wages war. Total fluff. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/614712.A_Kiss_of_Fate I also read Margaret Mayhew's latest Colonel cozy, Bitter Poison. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26515227-bitter-poison Edited June 19, 2016 by mumto2 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Love the photos, Jane. Thanks for posting them. Just got back from doing 'retro' movie day at the theater w/ my dad. We saw Raiders of the Lost Ark in a very packed theater. Lots of fun. Love that movie. And that it elicits applause at the end. I'm between books right now, I guess. I mentioned that I think I'm going to stop reading The Mystery of Rio. It's interesting in some ways & definitely unique, but I just don't feel a pull to pick it back up. I also started The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher (start of a new series, I think) & liked the first 50 pages well enough, but I'm not sure I'm feeling committed to over 600 pages of book at this point. However, I knew my dd would like it, so she has now carried it off & has started reading it. Also, from my stacks posted the other week, ds read about half of the non-fiction book Playing by the Rules but has now stopped. At first he found it interesting, but said it was starting to bog down & he just wasn't interested in finishing. So, I'm on the fence about it myself. Maybe I'll check it out in the future. I do need to start Uprooted for my book club. (And my dd wants to read it too.) And, I also have The Plover sitting here & I think that's the one I really want to start. The Plover is by Brian Doyle & I read his book Mink River a couple of years ago & absolutely loved it. (Btw, if you are looking for a great read, pick up Mink River. Nan, I think you would enjoy it.) I think some more of Doyle's wonderful writing might just be the ticket for me these days. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawneinfl Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 (edited) My daughters and son were in a ballet production of The Hiding Place this weekend. It. Was. Amazing! Here are some pics I thought you all would like to see. BTW, almost every dancer was a homeschooler. Edited June 19, 2016 by Shawneinfl 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 (edited) . Edited November 8, 2016 by ErinE 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-M- Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Added the following to my list since the last thread: ■The Girls (Emma Cline; 2016. Fiction.)■Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders (Vincent Bugliosi; 1974. Non-fiction.) And here is my list: January■The Heir Apparent (David Ives; 2011. Drama.)■Neighbors (Jan T. Gross; 2001. Non-fiction.)■Our Class (Tadeusz Słobodzianek (adaptation by Ryan Craig); 2009. Drama.)■Scored (Lauren McLaughlin; 2011. Fiction.)■Ready Player One (Ernest Kline; 2011. Fiction.)■Arcadia (Tom Stoppard; 1993. Drama.)■Purge (Sofi Oksanen; 2008. Fiction.)■Revival, Volume 6: Thy Loyal Sons & Daughters (Tim Seeley; 2016. Graphic fiction.) February■The Shawl (Cynthia Ozick; 1990. Fiction.)■The Book of Jonas (Stephen Dau; 2012. Fiction.)■The Bunker, Volume 3 (Joshua Hale Fialkov; 2015. Graphic fiction.)■The Squirrel Mother (Megan Kelso; 2006. Graphic fiction.)■The Silence of Our Friends (Mark Long; 2012. Graphic fiction.)■Lazarus, Volume 4: Poison (Greg Rucka; 2016. Graphic fiction.)■Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World (Cal Newport; 2016. Non-fiction.)■When Breath Becomes Air (Paul Kalanithi; 2016. Non-fiction.)■The Invaders (Karolina Waclawiak; 2015. Fiction.)■A Mother’s Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy (Sue Klebold; 2016. Non-fiction.) March■In a Dark, Dark Wood (Ruth Ware; 2015. Fiction.)■What She Left Behind (Ellen Marie Wiseman; 2013. Fiction.)■Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town (Jon Krakauer; 2015. Non-fiction.)■Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore (Robin Sloan; 2013. Fiction.)■Othello (William Shakespeare; 1603. Drama.)■The Cold Song (Linn Ullmann; 2014. Fiction.)■The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry (Gabrielle Zevin; 2014. Fiction.)■Pax (Sara Pennypacker; 2016. Fiction.)■The Call of the Wild (Jack London; 1903. Fiction.)■The Life of Galileo (Bertolt Brecht; 1940. (Trans. John Willett; 1994.) Drama.) April■The First Time She Drowned (Kerry Kletter; 2016. Fiction.)■Shelter (Jung Yun; 2016. Fiction.)■The Nest (Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney; 2016. Fiction.)■Cardenio (William Shakespeare and John Fletcher; 1613. (Adapted by Charles Mee and Stephen Greenblatt; 1994.) Drama.)■Long Day’s Journey into Night (Eugene O’Neill; 1956. Drama.)■Richard III (William Shakespeare; 1592. Drama.) May■Imaginary Girls (Nova Ren Suma; 2011. Fiction.)■The Vanishing Neighbor: The Transformation of American Community (Marc J. Dunkelman; 2014. Non-fiction.)■The Odd Woman and the City: A Memoir (Vivian Gornick; 2015. Non-fiction.)■The Walking Dead, Volume 25: No Turning Back (Robert Kirkman; 2016. Graphic fiction.)■Paper Girls, Volume 1 (Brian K. Vaughan; 2016. Graphic fiction.)■They’re Not Like Us, Volume 2: Us Against You (Eric Stephenson; 2016. Graphic fiction.)■Sleeping Giants (Sylvain Neuvel; 2016. Fiction.)■Symmetry, Volume 1 (Matt Hawkins; 2016. Graphic fiction.)■Letter 44, Volume 3: Dark Matter (Charles Soule; 2016. Graphic fiction.)■Who Do You Love (Jennifer Weiner; 2015. Fiction.)■Making Toast: A Family Story (Roger Rosenblatt; 2010. Non-fiction.) June■The Sparrow (Mary Doria Russell; 1996. Fiction.)■Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad; 1899. Fiction.)■The Fireman (Joe Hill; 2016. Fiction.)■A Good School (Richard Yates; 1978. Fiction.)■The Girls (Emma Cline; 2016. Fiction.)■Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders (Vincent Bugliosi; 1974. Non-fiction.) 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Added the following to my list since the last thread: â– The Girls (Emma Cline; 2016. Fiction.) How did you like The Girls? It was reviewed in the paper a couple of weeks ago and I put it on hold, but I think I'm number 85 so it will be a little while. I'd love a thumbs up/thumbs down kind of non-spolery review! 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 (edited) I think I reviewed all the books I finished last week as I finished them. Still working on The Sunne in Splendor. Reading Homegoing, a multigenerational epic novel about two strands of a family that originated in the Gold Coast in the early 1700s, tracing the family members down to the present. It's quite amazing, but hard to read in places, most of the stories have tragedy and horror in them. I'm also reading Love in the Time of Cholera and listening to 100 Years of Solitude, which is a little weird to be doing at the same time. It's very interesting to be immersed in one author through so many books and short stories, I'm definitely picking things up from Marquez that I wouldn't have done had I read his books on their own. In non-book news, I spent the morning passing our new bamboo flooring through the window to dh so it could acclimate inside the house before we install it. Luckily it was only 90 here today, not 100+ like y'all in So Cal are getting. The flooring looks beautiful, I think we'll be so happy with it. But now in addition to having all my books in boxes or stacked on the living room (sub) floor, I have a 6'x6' pallet of floor boards taking up most of my dining room floor, so the table is shoved into the space between the doorways, leaving only a narrow space between the table and the new dishwasher (still in its box) to get through the room. Home improvement? Maybe someday. Edited June 19, 2016 by Chrysalis Academy 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Love the photos, Shawne! Thanks for sharing. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Shannon finished Jackaby, and loved it! She said it was a perfect meld of Sherlock (aka Benedict Cumberbatch) and the 11th Doctor. Apparently that will mean something to those of you in the know . . . 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Great photos, Shawne! Looks like they had great costuming & staging too. How did you like The Girls? It was reviewed in the paper a couple of weeks ago and I put it on hold, but I think I'm number 85 so it will be a little while. I'd love a thumbs up/thumbs down kind of non-spolery review! I'm curious too. I'm also on the waitlist for this at my library; I think I'm in the 30s on the list. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 FYI, ErinE, my dd is loving the Jim Butcher book you mentioned last week. She was also just texting her friend telling her about it (because she thinks her friend will love it too). 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted June 20, 2016 Author Share Posted June 20, 2016 Jane - Great pictures. I'll be going to Arizona next Sunday to visit my dad for the week. I'm trying to talk him into going to Sedona for a day. Karen - I didn't give my hubby any books for father's day either so you are clear. He got breakfast cooked by James and he's getting a roast with yorkshire pudding for dinner. Stacia - Glad you had fun watching Raider's with your dad and love that everyone still claps at the end. So cool! Shawne - Love photos of your kids in the play! Melissa - Thank you for sharing your list. Every time I read through, I find something else new I want to read! Rose - I have Sunne in Slender on my shelves along with a few of her other books. The Reckoning is next up in my list of things I want to read most. Contemplating bringing it with me to AZ. Although I do need a fluffy read for the airplane! 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelaboord Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 The only books I seem to be finishing lately are the Ramona books which I'm reading to my 6 year old. I thought Ramona might be a little bit of a hard sell just because she's a girl, but as it turns out, he loves all the books. We finished Ramona and Her Mother this week, and we're almost done with Ramona and Her Father. I have no idea why we are reading them in reverse order. It was a pretty stressful week because the baby was sick (nebulizer treatments, antibiotic for ear infection, doing better now) and my 19 year old is having a hard time at the Scout camp he's working at 3 hours away. By the end of the day most days, I was just collapsing in my chair. But I did read some more of Crooked Heart. It's a quirky book, and has an underlying optimism about people that I find refreshing. I think every character in the book has some sort of scam going on, but at heart most of them want to be good... They're just all a little "crooked". It's a good book. I like it more the more I read. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Although I do need a fluffy read for the airplane! You might consider this currently free Kindle book which I read some time ago. Level Up: A Geek Romance by Cathy Yardley "Geeky introvert Tessa Rodriguez will do whatever it takes to get promoted to video game engineer– including create a fandom-based video game in just three weeks. The only problem is, she can't do it alone. Now, she needs to strong-arm, cajole, and otherwise socialize with her video game coworkers, especially her roommate, Adam, who’s always been strictly business with her. The more they work together, though, the closer they get… Adam London has always thought of his roomie Tessa as “one of the guys†until he agreed to help her with this crazy project. Now, he’s thinking of her all the time… and certainly as something more than just a roommate! But his last girlfriend broke up with him to follow her ambitions, and he knows that Tessa is obsessed with getting ahead in the video game world. Going from friends to something more is one hell of a challenge. Can Tessa and Adam level up their relationship to love?" My daughters and son were in a ballet production of The Hiding Place this weekend. It. Was. Amazing! Here are some pics I thought you all would like to see. BTW, almost every dancer was a homeschooler. What lovely photos! Thanks for sharing, Shawne. It was a pretty stressful week because ... Hoping that next week will be better. Regards, Kareni 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethel Mertz Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 (edited) Thinking of you, Ethel, and hoping you are well. Ethel, hope you are doing well! :grouphug: Hey, everyone -- a mermaid parade! Mermaid Parade makes a splash! World's largest parade has 3,000 marchers and half a million spectators celebrating in colorful costumes on New York's Coney Island Thanks for the good vibes, folks. I'm finally sitting up! Spinal tap was weird and uncomfortable. It took them three tries: the 1st two were made by the Fellow and he totally bumbled it and didn't know what he was doing. The department head came in and took over and she was wonderful. (This is what happens in teaching hospitals.) The 3 hour ride home was way too long as we're getting into prime tourist season here, though I reclined my seat the entire way (this meant I couldn't tell my spouse how to drive. Very frustrating for me). At any rate, I did not get the dreaded headache so common after this procedure. I had all these grand reading plans, but wound up with light reading and read the next 4 "Miss Julia" books (by Ann B. Ross). For those who don't know the series, Miss Julia is of the "Steel Magnolia" variety and winds up in all sorts of unlikely situations. Am currently slogging through A Cast of Falcons (a birder murder mystery by Steve Burrows). His writing is particularly dense and slow moving, but I'm 55% of the way through the book, so I will finish it. PS I learned to multiquote! Edited June 20, 2016 by Ethel Mertz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Today I finished The Captain's Daughter (Star Trek: The Original Series) by Peter David. I used to own many, many Star Trek Original series novels, but I missed this when it came out in 1995. In the hunt for a few of my daughter's favorite titles (so that my husband might schlep them), I came across this book and it followed me home. It was an interesting read but not a book that will live on my shelf. It will be going to Korea, too. "When Demora Sulu, an exemplary young Starfleet officer, suddenly attacks her commanding officer, who kills her in self-defense, everyone is stunned. No one is more grief-stricken than her father, Captain Hikaru Sulu of the U.S.S. Excelsior. Determined to learn the truth behind his daughter's bizarre death, Sulu goes to the planet where she was killed, and finds himself confronted by an old enemy eager to destroy Sulu's reputation and his life!" Regards, Kareni 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 ... I'm finally sitting up!... I did not get the dreaded headache so common after this procedure. That is good news indeed. PS I learned to multiquote! And yay! Regards, Kareni 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothersweets Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Hello everyone! I finally sat down and finished The Hobbit this week. It's such a great story. I got a little weepy at the end when Thorin dies. The other book I read was Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum. I liked it! Here's the blurb from Goodreads: Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son.In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved? 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-M- Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 How did you like The Girls? It was reviewed in the paper a couple of weeks ago and I put it on hold, but I think I'm number 85 so it will be a little while. I'd love a thumbs up/thumbs down kind of non-spolery review! I was *just* posting about The Girls elsewhere. The fact that I swallowed the novel whole is a recommendation, I suppose. *wry grin* The fact that I then went in search of my copy of Helter Skelter and finally read it may be another. Cline nailed the idea of a girl’s search for self-definition in the measuring looks / glances of others, particularly men. One reviewer took the novelist to task for not immersing Evie in the cult’s horror, but to me, that was the point: [Highlight to read closing thought] She was defined by her association, however brief or peripheral. p. 27 Back then, I was so attuned to attention. I dressed to provoke love, tugging my neckline lower, settling a wistful stare on my face whenever I went out in public that implied many deep and promising thoughts, should anyone happen to glance over. As a child, I had once been part of a charity dog show and paraded around a pretty collie on a leash. How thrilled I'd been at the sanctioned performance: the way I went up to strangers and let them admire the dog, my smile as indulgent and constant as a salesgirl's, and how vacant I'd felt when it was over, when no one needed me anymore. I waited to be told what was good about me. I wondered later if this was why there were so many more women than men at the ranch. All that time I had spent readying myself, the articles that taught me life was really just a waiting room until someone noticed you -- the boys had spent that time becoming themselves. p. 99 The possibility of judgment being passed on me supplanted any worries or questions I might have about Russell. At that age, I was, first and foremost, a thing to be judged, and that shifted the power in every interaction onto the other person. p. 103 There are those survivors of disasters whose accounts begin with the tornado warning or the captain announcing engine failure, but always much earlier in the timeline: an insistence that the noticed a strange quality to the sunlight that morning or excessive static in their sheets. A meaningless fight with a boyfriend. As if the presentiment of catastrophe wove itself into everything that came before. Did I miss some sign? Some internal twinge? p. 351 It was a gift. What did I do with it? Life didn't accumulate as I'd once imagined. [...] I paid bills and bought groceries and got my eyes checked while the days crumbled away like debris from a cliff face. Life a continuous backing away from the edge. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 The other book I read was Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum. I liked it! Here's the blurb from Goodreads: This sounds interesting. My guess (highlight to see) is that her pretentious step-brother is SN. Regards, Kareni 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Mothersweets....I agree with Kareni. Are we right? I also added myself onto a waitlist for The Girls. I think it might be this summer's Girl on the Train. I am number 126. I just finished the third in a cozy series that I have been loving but this one had some glaring inaccuracies. Evanly Choir https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1332944.Evanly_Choirs by Rhys Bowen started driving me nuts because all the suspicious characters said they were someplace else in the EU, mainly Italy. Then the book would state you don't need a passport to enter the UK from Italy etc. which meant they could have done it. Well, you certainly do! I can go to Ireland without carrying a passport but that is it! Our upcoming vote (Brexit) has made me have to listen to so much misleading information that I really took my feelings out on this poor book. Although it had a few other oddities that by themselves I would have ignored :lol: I looked up the author who is British but lives in California. I suspect she hasn't visited here in years. The book itself centered around the famous Welsh music festivals. Those parts seemed accurate, good friends go annually. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patriciatx Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 I read Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen by Alison Weir last week. I loved it and totally cried at the end. Because I'm sappy that way. I'm following it up by reading The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawneinfl Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 I also added myself onto a waitlist for The Girls. I think it might be this summer's Girl on the Train. I am number 126. I just reserved my own copy, though I have no idea where I am on the waitlist, In non-fiction news, I'm almost finished with the audio version of Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World and, as the honorary winner of the "rebellion" badge at our last AHG campout, I am liking it enough to buy the paperback or Kindle version. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto4inSoCal Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 I haven't posted on here in awhile but I've kept up my reading. I took a break from the school geared books and read the Prequel to the Maze Runner series. My daughter has been reading them and I picked up the prequel for her and ended up reading it in a day. I really enjoyed it. I'm debating on reading the first two books of the series or giving into my curiosity and reading the final book since I've seen the movies for the first two books. I have finally realized I need to give a little on the books I let my kids read during free time and it's been so awesome to see them really get into books and spend hours reading even if the books they are reading aren't on my list. I sat down and listed all my books for the year and I think I should be able to read the 52 books this year! 2016 1- War and peace 2 - Of Love and other demons 3- Moonlight Garden 4- Ratio Studiorum 5-The Art Courses at Medieval Universities 6-The Schoolmaster 7- The Abolition of Man 8-Is Public Education Necessary? 9- A Great Idea at the Time, The rise and Fall of the Great Books 10-Left Back: A Century of School Reform 11-The Core - Leigh Bortins 12-Homeschooling a Parent's Guide to Teaching Children - Samuel Blumenfeld 13-Emile - Rousseau 14- Great Books a Panacea or what? 15-The light of the Fireflies 16-How to Read a book - Mortimer Adler 17-Herbert Spencer and Scientific Education 18-Ten ways to destroy the imagination of your child 19-How to conduct Recitation - Charles Mcmurray 20-Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis 21-A History Of Education in Antiquity 22-Montessorie in the Elementary Years 23-Prequel Maze Runner 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 I just reserved my own copy, though I have no idea where I am on the waitlist, In non-fiction news, I'm almost finished with the audio version of Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World and, as the honorary winner of the "rebellion" badge at our last AHG campout, I am liking it enough to buy the paperback or Kindle version. AHG?? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawneinfl Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 AHG?? American Heritage Girls - apparently camping with other moms brings out the rebel in me ;) 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 American Heritage Girls - apparently camping with other moms brings out the rebel in me ;) Ah...not a parent of a daughter so this one escaped me. But I suspect that they'd toss me in the time out corner with you. :cheers2: 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyBC Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 I finished the Divergent trilogy - Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant. Much lovely escapism, I enjoyed the first title best. Now on to slightly more grown-up titles, which this week will be our book club's latest selection, Broken for You. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRAAB Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 I can't remember where I left off, but I think it's been several weeks so hopefully I'm not repeating something. I finished the last two books in Miss Reads' Fairacre series, Changes at Fairacre and Farewell to Fairacre. I know the issue of domestic violence has come up in a couple of the earlier ones, but this time the cavalier attitude towards it really struck me: such as, why bother the police since they have much more serious issues to attend to. I can usually chalk that attitude up to the time period when the book was written, but these I believe were written in the early 90s. Still, I love anything situated in an English village centered around the local parish and all those interesting village characters. I read Wintersmith and am a huge fan of Tiffany Aching. After that pulled North from Rome by Helen MacInnes off the shelf and was occupied for a few days. Dh and I spent a week on the Oregon coast with our dd and her dh. I packed a bag with books and made sure I had new reading material on my Kindle. Normally it's a time for me to lay back and read without interruption, but I found it hard to get interested in anything. I tried both The Light Fantastic and Life, The Universe and Everything, but just couldn't get past the first few pages. Just way too quirky for me right now. Simon Brett's latest Fethering book is out, The Killing in the Cafe. It felt slow and boring without much going on, but I did finish it. I also had another mystery, The Chinese Shawl. Murder and English manor houses go together so well. My dd gave me Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones; she knows me so well. Right now I'm reading A Farewell to Arms, which I'm really enjoying, and another Helen MacInnes book, The Hidden Target. I'm on page 25, and so far, so good. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 I just reserved my own copy, though I have no idea where I am on the waitlist, In non-fiction news, I'm almost finished with the audio version of Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World and, as the honorary winner of the "rebellion" badge at our last AHG campout, I am liking it enough to buy the paperback or Kindle version. Shawne, the rebel. Simply not how I imagine you irl. ;) Hopefully I'll get to meet you someday because you live near a good friend that I hope to go visit eventually. Regarding the holds list, I just went back in to show ds a book I thought he might like that I had reserved and I'm now at 10. Obviously more copies have been purchased. So you might be in far better shape than you imagine. I reserved it in Overdrive btw. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Simon Brett's latest Fethering book is out, The Killing in the Cafe. It felt slow and boring without much going on, but I did finish it. I also had another mystery, The Chinese Shawl. Murder and English manor houses go together so well. My dd gave me Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones; she knows me so well. Right now I'm reading A Farewell to Arms, which I'm really enjoying, and another Helen MacInnes book, The Hidden Target. I'm on page 25, and so far, so good. I saw the Feathering book but have several left to read before I get to it. The Chinese Shawl is a Miss Silver that I don't think I have read. I need to start those again in order because my overdrive has most if not all of them. I have picked them and Christies up and read them as I found them. Maybe a goal for next year would be for me to read these series in order. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Maybe a goal for next year would be for me to read these series in order. But then you wouldn't be a rebel, and you couldn't sit in the time out corner with Shawne and Jane (and me and ....) Regards, Kareni 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 I haven't posted on here in awhile but I've kept up my reading. I took a break from the school geared books and read the Prequel to the Maze Runner series. My daughter has been reading them and I picked up the prequel for her and ended up reading it in a day. I really enjoyed it. I'm debating on reading the first two books of the series or giving into my curiosity and reading the final book since I've seen the movies for the first two books. The Maze Runner book and The Maze Runner movie diverge a bit near the end. The Scorch Trials book and The Scorch Trials movie diverge a LOT. I'd read at least The Scorch Trials before reading The Death Cure (which was my favorite of the series). I didn't like The Kill Order (the prequel book) nearly as much as I liked the three of the main trilogy. A second prequel (The Fever Code) will be released the end of September. I got glutened on Friday. My fault. Jamie and I went to Orange Leaf and I usually stick to just yogurt and fruit, but I wanted almonds and I knew that was probably a bad idea because they were right next to the crushed graham crackers so potential for cross contamination was ridiculously high. It takes so little gluten to make me sick. Anyway, because of that I was in bed all day Saturday and Sunday so in between naps I did a lot of reading and ended up finishing 4 books yesterday. #60: History of the Medieval World by Susan Wise Bauer. I love how she writes those books. They are fascinating and packed with information and sometimes rather funny. #61: Johnny Cakes by Paisley Ray. That's the fifth book of the Rachael O'Brien Chronicles. I always enjoy those books. They are silly but fun mind vacations. #62: The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff. I hated it. That's the third of the Roman Britain trilogy. I hated the first book, liked the second, and hated the third more than I hated the first. I hope my son enjoys them when he reads them next year. #63: Tik-Tok of Oz by L. Frank Baum. The 8th Oz book. Some word play (Queen Ann Soforth) and a lot of action. It introduced more characters to add to the Oz collection, too. Father's Day at our house was all about Mr. Adrian turning 8. He loved everything about the day and loved every present he got. He really loved the pasta, butter, and parmesan we had for lunch. When I asked what special food he wanted on his birthday, that was his answer! He's got Celiac, too, but Barilla gluten free is exactly like we remember regular pasta tasting like. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 Last night I re-read a favorite historical romance novella. It's a very well done novella which is not something I often say. The Governess Affair (The Brothers Sinister) by Courtney Milan "Hugo Marshall earned the nickname "the Wolf of Clermont" for his ruthless ambition--a characteristic that has served him well, elevating the coal miner's son to the right hand man of a duke. When he's ordered to get rid of a pestering governess by fair means or foul, it's just another day at work.But after everything Miss Serena Barton has been through at the hands of his employer, she is determined to make him pay. She won't let anyone stop her--not even the man that all of London fears. They might call Hugo Marshall the Wolf of Clermont, but even wolves can be brought to heel..." This novella is currently priced at 99 cents. (I've posted this before.) If you'd like to sample the author's writing, her The Duchess War (The Brothers Sinister Book 1) is currently free to Kindle readers. The novella above starts this series, but it need not be read as book one stands alone well. Regards, Kareni 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 Last night I re-read a favorite historical romance novella. It's a very well done novella which is not something I often say. The Governess Affair (The Brothers Sinister) by Courtney Milan "Hugo Marshall earned the nickname "the Wolf of Clermont" for his ruthless ambition--a characteristic that has served him well, elevating the coal miner's son to the right hand man of a duke. When he's ordered to get rid of a pestering governess by fair means or foul, it's just another day at work. But after everything Miss Serena Barton has been through at the hands of his employer, she is determined to make him pay. She won't let anyone stop her--not even the man that all of London fears. They might call Hugo Marshall the Wolf of Clermont, but even wolves can be brought to heel..." This novella is currently priced at 99 cents. (I've posted this before.) If you'd like to sample the author's writing, her The Duchess War (The Brothers Sinister Book 1) is currently free to Kindle readers. The novella above starts this series, but it need not be read as book one stands alone well. Regards, Kareni You are a bad influence! I aleady had the Governess Affair from some prior offer apparently so downloaded it again. I hsd the Duchess War also. Hopefully I will read these this time! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 So darn proud of The Boy that I started a separate thread. We are grinning from ear to ear on this end! 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothersweets Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 This sounds interesting. My guess (highlight to see) is that her pretentious step-brother is SN. Regards, Kareni You'll have to read it to find out!! :) 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothersweets Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 Mothersweets....I agree with Kareni. Are we right? I also added myself onto a waitlist for The Girls. I think it might be this summer's Girl on the Train. I am number 126. I just finished the third in a cozy series that I have been loving but this one had some glaring inaccuracies. Evanly Choir https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1332944.Evanly_Choirs by Rhys Bowen started driving me nuts because all the suspicious characters said they were someplace else in the EU, mainly Italy. Then the book would state you don't need a passport to enter the UK from Italy etc. which meant they could have done it. Well, you certainly do! I can go to Ireland without carrying a passport but that is it! Our upcoming vote (Brexit) has made me have to listen to so much misleading information that I really took my feelings out on this poor book. Although it had a few other oddities that by themselves I would have ignored :lol: I looked up the author who is British but lives in California. I suspect she hasn't visited here in years. The book itself centered around the famous Welsh music festivals. Those parts seemed accurate, good friends go annually. Well.....I don't want to give it away if you do read it :) but I can say...it's not who you think. You 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 (edited) Angela, hang in there. :grouphug: Ethel, glad you're through your procedure & moving around more now. :grouphug: Shawne: the rebel! :cheers2: I was *just* posting about The Girls elsewhere. The fact that I swallowed the novel whole is a recommendation, I suppose. *wry grin* The fact that I then went in search of my copy of Helter Skelter and finally read it may be another. I also added myself onto a waitlist for The Girls. I think it might be this summer's Girl on the Train. I am number 126. I don't tend to read a lot of summaries or reviews of books ahead of time because I prefer the surprise. I've seen The Girls mentioned on various lists lately & it piqued my interest. However, reading these comments has me wondering... is this a creepy story? (Fwiw, I couldn't read very much of Helter Skelter many years ago because it creeped me out so badly.) Edited June 21, 2016 by Stacia 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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