Book a Week 2016 - BW25: summer and winter solstice

[Mothersweets]

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. 

 

I listen to a podcast called The History Chicks. They had a series of episodes they did about each of Henry VIII's wives and they were super interesting - Katherine was my favorite! I recently bought one of their shirts - Team Aragon tshirt

 

And welcome to the forums!

[Stacia]

Welcome, patriciatx! :seeya:

 

I loved it and totally cried at the end. Because I'm sappy that way. 

 

No worries. I'm like that for sure! I have to pre-screen books for myself if I plan to read them in a public place so that I don't end up bawling all over the place! :lol:

[Kareni]

Today I both found (yay for thrift stores!) and read the second Star Trek novel that my daughter had requested.  I enjoyed revisiting it.

 

Ishmael (Star Trek, No 23) by Barbara Hambly

 

"The U.S.S. Enterpriseâ„¢ is on a peaceful mission at Starbase 12 when a bizarre cosmic phenomenon causes a Klingon ship to suddenly vanish -- with Spock aboard for the ride. Spock's last message from the Klingon ship is cryptic and frightening. The Klingons are traveling into the past, searching for the one man who holds the key to the furure. If they can kill that man, the course of history will be changed -- and the Federation will be destroyed!"

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Momto4inSoCal]

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 guess I'll read the first two before reading The Death Cure. I didn't realize the movie strayed from the books. I wish I had read them before watching the movie but I hadn't originally planned on reading the series. It was such a nice break from the books I've been reading. I need to do more just for fun reads.

[mumto2]

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

:lol: I put it on hold. I really enjoy YA romances (per overdrive) so might as well indulge to find my answer.

 

  

 

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.)

Now I am wondering too. From MMV's last quote from The Girls I assumed it wouldn't upset me long term. ;) I hadn't heard of it until the BaW talk. Given the long wait lists I was surprised not to find it available at any of my local libraries, not on order either. Overdrive to my rescue!

[Just Robyn]

I finished Collected Stories by Gabriel Garcia Marques, which brings together three of his short story collections. There is a big difference between the first stories, which were much darker and more surreal and often reminded me of David Lynch, and the last stories, which leaned a little more towards magical and whimsical. I prefer the latter, partly because of the tone, but partly because some of the earlier stories felt incomplete to me. 

 

I've now started on The Two Towers. It's nice to read by the pool while my youngest is in swimming lessons. 

[Chrysalis Academy]

I finished Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.  This was a remarkable book, following the two strands of a family of a Ghanian woman in the 1700s. One daughter stayed in Africa, one was enslaved and sent to America. You get a vignette of the life story of the descendants of each, down to the present.  Boy, that two-sentence summary really doesn't do it justice.  This book is about colonialism, slavery, and exploitation.  As broadly as those topics can be covered in a single book, from European colonialism in Africa to African enslavement of other Africans to American slavery to post-slavery exploitation and subjugation going on into the present. It covers all kinds of relationships, from all points of view with the use of multiple characters, some male & some female, some from the child's POV and some from the adults.  It brought to life, through story, the themes many of us have been exploring this year in books like Between the World & Me and The New Jim Crow. It's a truly remarkable accomplishment, both a pleasure and a pain to read - painful stories, but so lucidly written.  You want to know more about each of the characters, but you learn just enough for the book's purpose, and to carry the story along. It definitely leaves you wanting more.I'm quite stunned that she managed to do all this in just 300 pages.  Not an easy read, but an important one.

 

A taster:

p. 242 "What I know now, my son: Evil begets evil. It grows. It transmutes, so that sometimes you cannot see that the evil in the world began as the evil in your own home. . . When someone does wrong, whether it is you or me, whether it is a mother or father, whether it is the Gold Coast man or the white man, it is like a fisherman casting a net into the water. He keeps only the one or two fish that he needs to feed himself and puts the rest in the water, thinking that their lives will go back to normal. No one forgets that they were once captive, even if they are now free."

 

p. 295 "For all they knew, they were standing on top of what used to be a coal mine, a grave for all the black convicts who had been conscripted to work there. It was one thing to research something, another thing entirely to have lived it. To have felt it. How could he explain to Marjorie that what he wanted to capture with his project was the feeling of time, of having been a part of something that stretched so far back, was so impossibly large, that it was easy to forget that she, and he, and everyone else existed in it - not apart from it, but inside of it.

 

How could he explain to Marjorie that he wasn't supposed to be here? Alive. Free. That the fact that he had been born, that he wasn't in a jail cell somewhere, was not by dint of his pulling himself up by the bootstraps, not by hard work or belief in the American Dream, but by mere chance. . . They had been products of their time, and walking in Birmingham now, Marcus was an accumulation of these times.  That was the point."

 

[aggieamy]

 

 

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. 

 

Bill Bryson.  I want to love him.  Some of his stuff is so witty and clever and I like it.  The stuff that I don't like though I really hate.  The book did make me interested in trying to walk the Appalachian trail and completely fearful of running out of food all at the same time.   

 

 

 

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.)

 

Thanks to all these great book recommendations Little Librarian is going to have a summer reading list that will take years to finish. 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

Well, that's a timely mention of the Captain Lacey books.  I finished the first one as an audiobook yesterday.  I flew through it but I don't know that I would consider it a good novel.  I see a ton of potential in the author but there were some pretty annoying things about our hero that took me out of the story.  Basically every horrible thing that could happen to a person had happened to him in his past and he wants to tell you all about it.  I'm sure the author wanted to give us a troubled hero with a dark past but that needs to be done subtly and not as a non-stop barrage of 1001 horrible things that have happened to Captain Lacey. 

 

I will read on with the series but I might skip book two and try a later one in the series.  Then again I listened to it in a 24-hour period so I obviously enjoyed it.  Possibly I'm an old curmudgeon. 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

Now that's the way to do Father's Day!  How long are you in Rome? 

 

 

 

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 beginning to think that that era was the golden age of movies for my generation.  So many classics that hold up even today were made then. 

 

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.

 

I'm having a hard time picturing The Hiding Place as a ballet.  The Corrie Ten Boom novel?

 

 

 

What a little cutie!  Chews on Books likes his shirt.  He loves choo-choos.  :laugh:

 

So darn proud of The Boy that I started a separate thread.

 

We are grinning from ear to ear on this end!

 

Wow.  That's impressive.  Beyond impressive!  I bet he has some great stories to tell after that adventure.

[Kareni]

 

... the Captain Lacey books.  ...

 

I will read on with the series but I might skip book two and try a later one in the series. 

 

It may or may not change your plan, but one advantage of reading the books in order is that you see a significant relationship build over the course of the books. 

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Mom-ninja.]

Butter, sorry you got sick. That is exactly why I am too scared to even attempt to eat out.

 

I am still listening to Vanity Fair. This book will be my 500+ spot on BINGO. I had not idea it was this long when I started. I can't wait to watch the movie on Netflix when I'm done.  

[Shawneinfl]

 

I'm having a hard time picturing The Hiding Place as a ballet.  The Corrie Ten Boom novel?

 

 

 

Yes, it was the Corrie Ten Boom novel. And yes, it was very sad and moving. There were many scenes that brought me to tears: like when Corrie's sister Betsie dies in the concentration camp. My kids are in a Christian Dance Ministry with an amazingly talented young director. I posted some pics in post #14.

 

[Robin M]

Oh my!  I got a dollar and some change from Amazon from the Ebook apple settlement so wasn't expecting much from Barnes and Noble.  Shocker of the day -  $248  which I have a year to spend.  

 

Bigger gulp!  We just made an offer on a property to move our business into.  Prayers, good vibes and thoughts, fingers crossed and all that appreciated.   

[Robin M]

Angela -- hugs and hope the baby is feeling better and things are easing up for your son!

 

Karen - Thanks, you are awesome, downloaded Level Up!

 

Ethel - Yeah for multiquote.  Glad you didn't get the dreaded headache.  I had spinal tap during knee surgery when I was 16.  Had no clue why everyone wanted me to keep my head down but was the ever obedient patient.  How are you feeling now?

 

Jane - Woot Woot!  That's on my bucket list but don't think I'll ever have the time to try it.  

 

Butter - Hugs!

 

Patrica - Welcome! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ali in OR]

I finished Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.  This was a remarkable book, following the two strands of a family of a Ghanian woman in the 1700s. One daughter stayed in Africa, one was enslaved and sent to America. You get a vignette of the life story of the descendants of each, down to the present.  Boy, that two-sentence summary really doesn't do it justice.  This book is about colonialism, slavery, and exploitation.  As broadly as those topics can be covered in a single book, from European colonialism in Africa to African enslavement of other Africans to American slavery to post-slavery exploitation and subjugation going on into the present. It covers all kinds of relationships, from all points of view with the use of multiple characters, some male & some female, some from the child's POV and some from the adults.  It brought to life, through story, the themes many of us have been exploring this year in books like Between the World & Me and The New Jim Crow. It's a truly remarkable accomplishment, both a pleasure and a pain to read - painful stories, but so lucidly written.  You want to know more about each of the characters, but you learn just enough for the book's purpose, and to carry the story along. It definitely leaves you wanting more.I'm quite stunned that she managed to do all this in just 300 pages.  Not an easy read, but an important one.

 

 

I've had a hold on this for awhile--it's going to be my "epic" bingo square. In fact, you read a lot of books I hope to get to--I think you read 3 or 4 books for every 1 I read! Glad to hear it's worthwhile, and I did read BTWAM and TNJC, so hope to get a lot out of it. When it eventually comes up for me (I think I'm next--only 1 copy at my library).

[Ali in OR]

 

Well, that's a timely mention of the Captain Lacey books.  I finished the first one as an audiobook yesterday.  I flew through it but I don't know that I would consider it a good novel.  I see a ton of potential in the author but there were some pretty annoying things about our hero that took me out of the story.  Basically every horrible thing that could happen to a person had happened to him in his past and he wants to tell you all about it.  I'm sure the author wanted to give us a troubled hero with a dark past but that needs to be done subtly and not as a non-stop barrage of 1001 horrible things that have happened to Captain Lacey. 

 

I will read on with the series but I might skip book two and try a later one in the series.  Then again I listened to it in a 24-hour period so I obviously enjoyed it.  Possibly I'm an old curmudgeon. 

 

 

Yeah, I complain about the writing but then keep reading! I think the author self-publishes. Does that mean no editor? For the second book (that I flew through), I think a good editor could have really helped her. But it seems there is now a level of book-writing/marketing/selling that allows a lot of sloppiness and writing problems to "get the next one out" as quickly as possible. And perhaps they're all self-publishing or going through a publisher that doesn't employ editors. Still, I have the next four on my kindle and plan to get to them when we're on vacation!

[Kareni]

I read a very short work that has been highly praised.  It was an easy read and the Australian setting was of interest; that said, it did not speak to me, and I'm bemused at all the praise it has garnered.  I'm clearly not the intended audience.

 

Springtime: A Ghost Story by Michelle de Kretser

 

“This is a gorgeous, delicately surprising piece of writing. . . . It's like spirit photography, all fuzzy outlines and unaccountable light: a snapshot of something that may or may not exist.†—Terrence Rafferty, The New York Times Book Review

"De Kretser, author of four well-received novels, is a writer who other writers admire. Hilary Mantel, no less, has praised de Kretser for her 'sharp, almost hallucinatory detail.'" —Sarah Murdoch, The Toronto Star

“Each bite-sized chapter of this charming book is punctuated by a revelation, whether mundane or otherworldly, that reminds us that we all inhabit not just space, but time. It's a fast and captivating read, leaving us to wonder what we might be missing as we wander through the landscapes of our own lives.†—Ginny Greene, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

"A young scholar is haunted by literal and metaphorical ghosts. . . Frances is adjusting to her new life not only as a Sydney resident, but as the lover of Charlie, who's left his marriage and his young son, Luke, to live with her. To mitigate against her disorientation—particularly when Luke comes to visit—Frances walks her dog through her new neighborhood. When she keeps glimpsing a woman no one else can see, wearing "an old-fashioned dress" and standing in a lushly landscaped backyard, she feels unsettled. . . De Kretser has crafted a story that is somewhere shy of novella, but the brevity suits not only the abruptness of the intrusions in Frances' life, but also de Kretser's knack for focusing on just a few charged details. Indeed, this is a story about perception as much as it is a kind of ghost story. . . A subtle and intellectual take on the supernatural." —Kirkus Reviews

"All the traditional pleasures of a ghost story are revived, and cleverly transformed, in de Kretser’s taut, nimble, atmospheric short novel. . . Readers will retain the precise, startling images powering de Kretser’s prose—azaleas growing 'as big as fists'—rendering even loved ones as unknowable as the world beyond." —Publishers Weekly

“De Kretser's prose is as lush and evocative as the plantlife surrounding and intoxicating her protagonist.†—Christopher Shultz, LitReactor

“A serious international novelist of the first rank.†—The Economist

"A dark gem of a book . . . .One reads Springtime not for its shock value--this tale is much more subtle than that--but for the way De Kretser explores the nature of ambiguity and for her deliciously unsettling descriptions." —Andrew Wilson, The Independent

“[Springtime is] a wonderful reminder of the good things that can happen when publishers take on shorter works….It’s a ghost story, albeit a thrillingly self-aware and lightfooted one….While Springtime is preternaturally alert to its antecedents--despite the bell-like clarity of de Kretser’s prose the story suggests something of a thrilling sublimation of Henry James’s supernatural fiction--it is also exquisitely modern.†—James Bradley, The Australian

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Shawneinfl]

Oh my!  I got a dollar and some change from Amazon from the Ebook apple settlement so wasn't expecting much from Barnes and Noble.  Shocker of the day -  $248  which I have a year to spend.  

 

Bigger gulp!  We just made an offer on a property to move our business into.  Prayers, good vibes and thoughts, fingers crossed and all that appreciated.   

 

Wow! Congrats on the settlement money and good luck on the business property. Sounds like a lucky day for you. I'm supposed to get a credit too but I'm not expecting much.

[Mom-ninja.]

Robin, have fun buying books!

[Chrysalis Academy]

I've had a hold on this for awhile--it's going to be my "epic" bingo square. In fact, you read a lot of books I hope to get to--I think you read 3 or 4 books for every 1 I read! Glad to hear it's worthwhile, and I did read BTWAM and TNJC, so hope to get a lot out of it. When it eventually comes up for me (I think I'm next--only 1 copy at my library).

 

Yep, I've noticed we read a lot of the same books! I hope it comes in soon. I put it on hold as soon as I heard about it, but still it seems like I waited forever (I guess it was on order). It was worth the wait.

[Ethel Mertz]

Ethel - Yeah for multiquote.  Glad you didn't get the dreaded headache.  I had spinal tap during knee surgery when I was 16.  Had no clue why everyone wanted me to keep my head down but was the ever obedient patient.  How are you feeling now?

 

 

 

Much better, thanks! In book news, my spouse and son are going out of town for 5 days (with our only car), so I am busy lining up book requests at the library to pick up before they leave and seeing what I can get on Overdrive. 

[Kareni]

Yesterday I re-read Mary Balogh's historical romance The Secret Mistress.  I liked it better this time than when I had read it initially; however, it is not among my favorites of her books.

 

"While Lady Angeline Dudley’s pedigree dictates that she must land a titled gentleman, the irrepressible beauty longs for a simple, ordinary suitor. So when Edward Ailsbury, the new Earl of Heyward, defends her honor with unmatched civility, Angeline thinks that she has found true love. Persuading the earl is another matter entirely. From her unconventional fashion sense to her hoydenish antics, Angeline is the last woman on earth for Edward. And yet a stolen kiss awakens something primal within him. Naturally, being a gentleman, he does the right thing after compromising a lady: He offers marriage. The proposal is born of duty, but will Angeline cause Edward to forget about decorum behind closed doors, where sensuality and seduction play wicked games? For a proper wife by day can become a husband’s secret mistress by night, when delicious desire rules."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Hmm, I created a long post last night with multiple free Kindle books, but now I don't see it.  It either disappeared into the ether or I posted it to another thread.  I'll mention a few of the titles here but without the blurbs.  These are all currently free:

 

Neither Present Time   by Caren J. Werlinger

 

Dark Desires (Dark Gothic Book 1)  by Eve Silver

 

Wait for Me (Montgomery Brothers Book 1)  by Samantha Chase

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

 

[Butter]

Book #64: Shave My Spider! by Tony James Slater.  I love his books so much.  He travels around (now along with his wife) and then writes about it and publishes it himself (pretty cheap - this book is $3.99) on Amazon.  Crazy stuff happens to him and his has this amazing way of telling a story that makes me laugh so hard.  He's British and his wife is Australian and he has the ultimate British sense of humor (so many things he says remind me of my MIL).  In this book (his 5th), they traveled around six countries in Asia (Borneo, Vietnam, Mongolia, China, Laos, and Cambodia) over the course of 6 months back in 2013.  He weaves in history of what he is talking about among his anecdotes.  This book is long (almost 600 pages).  I enjoyed my virtual vacation from start to finish.  It got to the point that if I was reading and laughing my kids or husband would ask if I was reading Shave My Spider! (I usually read bouncing between several books on my Kindle).

 

In a weird twist, last night my husband said I should e-mail Tony and tell him if he ever comes to the US and wants to visit San Antonio, we have a bed for him and his wife.  I kind of laughed and said visiting America is a heck of a lot more expensive than touring Asia.  Well, then this morning I finished the book and at the end he said they were planning to visit the USA and couchsurf their way across the country and to let him know if you'd be willing to provide a place to sleep and maybe dinner.  So I e-mailed him.  As it turns out they bought their tickets Sunday.  They are arriving in LA mid-July and going from west to east.  South Texas is a place they want to hit so we'll see if they take us up on our offer.  That would be so weird.  And cool.  (I've read 3 of his 5 books and have the other two waiting to be read.  I'm surprised to be quite a fan considering I'd never do that sort of traveling myself.  I just love reading his books.)

[Kareni]

Book #64: Shave My Spider! by Tony James Slater. 

 

.. They are arriving in LA mid-July and going from west to east.  South Texas is a place they want to hit so we'll see if they take us up on our offer.  That would be so weird.  And cool. 

 

He sounds like a wonderfully entertaining author.  I've just put in a purchase suggestion that my library buy one of his earlier books.  (Shave My Spider! isn't available in paper right now.)

 

I hope you'll end up hosting Slater and his wife; I suspect he'd be a fine addition to the dinner table.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

Robin, sending good vibes your way. I hope your property offer gets accepted!

 

Butter, one of my friends hosts many couch surfers. You need to keep us updated! :)

 

Shawne, the photos are lovely!

 

 

I finished the latest in a cozy series that I have been enjoying overall. A killer Ball at Honeychurch Hall by Hannah Dennison was great in the sense that a priest's hole complete with a murder mystery was discovered. There are odd bits about these books that are just plain odd character wise but I keep reading them so I can't complain too much.

 

I am currently reading another in Jenn's Amish series by Linda Castillo. I read for about a half hour last night before falling asleep an had really scary dreams involving Amish women being kidnapped. My mom keeps telling me she can't watch crime shows in the evening or she dreams them. I really really hope this isn't happening to me. I don't want to dream my books or my TV.

[Violet Crown]

Now that's the way to do Father's Day! How long are you in Rome?

 

A week, while we wait out Graduation Week (for which someone else rented the UK place we're staying at).

 

Jane, congratulations to The Boy!

 

Robin, fingers crossed for a successful outcome.

Edited June 22, 2016 by Violet Crown

[Onceuponatime]

Hi, we just got home from the mountains of western NC. My family and a brother's family stayed in a cabin within driving distance of my father (who lives with my other brother) and surprised him for Father's Day. While there, we visited an antique bookstore in the little town of Tryon. It looked like it was part of Hogwarts library. History boy coveted a 9 volume hand tooled leather bound history of Europe, published in 1830 something, which I told him must be out of his price range. Yep $625.

 

I meant to take the book I had been reading with me, Steeplechase by Jane Langton. Somehow it got left behind. So I started on the extra I had brought: Dreaming Spies, a Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes story by Laurie King. I had been disappointed by the two books in the series before this one, but so far I'm enjoying it a lot more, like I did with the first few. Now that I'm back, I guess I'll try to finish up both books as quickly as possible. I've got The Darling Buds of May waiting. It is my book club's next pick.

[Kareni]

Reading BookRiot, I came across this interesting post ~

 

What Would You Do If You Found $200 In An Old Book? by James Wallace Harris

 

"While at The Friends of the Library book sale, I spotted a copy of Time and Again by Jack Finney, a novel my friend Mike wanted. I grabbed it. Flipping through the pages to check its condition, I saw a $100 bill. I slammed the book shut, and looked around.

 

Should I tell someone, I said to myself. Then put the book on the pile I was buying. Amused paranoia made me wonder if hidden cameras were watching. Could I be in an ABC-TV candid camera sting to test people’s honesty?..."

 

 

So, have you ever found money in a book?  And, if so, what did you do?

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Ethel Mertz]

Reading BookRiot, I came across this interesting post ~

 

What Would You Do If You Found $200 In An Old Book? by James Wallace Harris

 

"While at The Friends of the Library book sale, I spotted a copy of Time and Again by Jack Finney, a novel my friend Mike wanted. I grabbed it. Flipping through the pages to check its condition, I saw a $100 bill. I slammed the book shut, and looked around.

 

Should I tell someone, I said to myself. Then put the book on the pile I was buying. Amused paranoia made me wonder if hidden cameras were watching. Could I be in an ABC-TV candid camera sting to test people’s honesty?..."

 

 

So, have you ever found money in a book?  And, if so, what did you do?

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

This brought back memories of going through every single book in my grandparents' house because they had put money between pages of books rather than depositing their money in the bank. We are talking thousands of dollars here. In their defense, they were in their thirties with two kids to feed during the Great Depression. Did I mention they were both educators and so had a very large personal library?

[Stacia]

I decided to start Warlock Holmes: A Study in Brimstone by G.S. Denning.

 

 

I'm 100 pages in & finding it delightful & funny. It's a smart & amusing twist on Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson. For Sherlock lovers who don't mind a playful retake with supernatural tendencies, I think this one would definitely be recommended. It's proving to be some fun summer reading.

 

From Kirkus:

In a debut novel that cheerfully pokes fun at the Holmes-ian canon, Denning introduces readers to Warlock Holmes, a supernaturally gifted counterpart to the famous consulting detective of 221B Baker St.
 

When an acquaintance introduced Dr. John Watson to a tall, thin, and very strange man with the surname of Holmes, an endless world of famous cases and archetypal details stretched out from their meeting. Spinoffs and pastiches are numerous, but Denning’s take on these beloved characters is unusual and charming. This Holmes and Watson inhabit a gleefully weird Victorian London and work their way through six cases including a bizarre version of A Study in Scarlet called “A Study in Brimstone,†in which the identification of a murderer hinges on an abandoned pastry wrapper and the reader is introduced to Inspector Vladislav Lestrade, a detective at Scotland Yard and a vampire. Though Warlock Holmes shares some of the trappings of his famous progenitor, he is a spectacularly incompetent detective. He relies on occult powers, exchanges with demons, and the cryptic speeches of the mysterious, disembodied Moriarty, who occasionally possesses him. Watson is the one who revels in skills of observation and deduction, discovering a passion for reason and a love of the chase. The characters are so likable that they can pause their absurd antics to contemplate prejudice and privilege without missing a beat or falling out of their outrageous world. Denning has a knack for smooth writing that carries the action along and a keen sense for how to set up a joke. He imagines his world with gusto, lavishing the reader with hilarious details like Holmes’ accordion playing and a gang of Baker Street Irregulars made up of horrifying were-rats.
 

A reimagining of Sherlock Holmes that is often very silly but consistently funny, clever, and entertaining.

 

[Stacia]

Here's a cute library patron story for you.

 

I had to work earlier this week on my birthday. (I work part-time at the circulation desk at my local library.)

 

A 5yo boy was there registering to get his own library card. As his mom was filling out the form, she asked him if he knew when his birthday was. (He didn't.) She told him & then he started talking about his birthday to me. I asked him to guess when mine was & then told him it was that day. He then so sweetly said to me, "Since it is your birthday, would you like me to get you something from the vending machine?"

 

:laugh: :001_wub:

 

What a sweetie! It put a smile on my face for the rest of the afternoon.

[Momto4inSoCal]

So 2 days after I said I was going to do more fun reads.... I finished Vittorino Da Feltre and other Humanistic Educators: Essays and Versions. An Introduction to the History of Classical Education. I loved this book. I've read books about Ancient education methods (Greek and Roman), Medieval methods and 1800's through today's methods. This was the first book on the Renaissance Era and it talks about some of the educators who founded the revival of classical education. One question on my mind as I read books from the Medieval Era was that some of the methods are very much like classical education. They often talked about the trivium and they all learned Latin. I finally feel like I understand what makes classical education different from the Medieval methods. Classical methods created a passion for culture which medieval methods lacked. Medieval schools were more about the mechanics of learning. It lacked the desire to create a whole man. A man who was cultivated in 3 parts: physical, mental and moral. The humanist wanted to study the spirit of the books not just the mechanics of it. In a way classical education added a "soul" to education. 

 

Now I'll get back to Maze Runner. BTW I looked up the release date of the next movie and found out the actor who plays Tomas was injured and the movie got pushed back to 2018. I guess I have a while to read the book...

Edited June 23, 2016 by Momto4inSoCal

[mumto2]

Happy Belated Birthday to Stacia!!!!!!!

[Jane in NC]

Yes, Happy Belated Birthday, Stacia! 

 

Loved your library story.  I remember getting my first library card. What a monumental occasion! 

[Chrysalis Academy]

I decided to start Warlock Holmes: A Study in Brimstone by G.S. Denning.

 

 

I'm 100 pages in & finding it delightful & funny. It's a smart & amusing twist on Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson. For Sherlock lovers who don't mind a playful retake with supernatural tendencies, I think this one would definitely be recommended. It's proving to be some fun summer reading.

 

From Kirkus:

 

Nice!  My library didn't have it in the catalog, so I requested a purchase, and they wrote me back that it was on order.  It's still not showing up, I have to remember to put it on hold. Sounds like something Shannon and I would both enjoy.

 

And, happy birthday!!

[JennW in SoCal]

 

I had to work earlier this week on my birthday. (I work part-time at the circulation desk at my local library.)

 

A 5yo boy was there registering to get his own library card. As his mom was filling out the form, she asked him if he knew when his birthday was. (He didn't.) She told him & then he started talking about his birthday to me. I asked him to guess when mine was & then told him it was that day. He then so sweetly said to me, "Since it is your birthday, would you like me to get you something from the vending machine?"

 

:laugh: :001_wub:

 

What a sweetie! It put a smile on my face for the rest of the afternoon.

 

First of all, Happy Birthday!  I'm sorry we all missed it!  I love your story -- it is sweet moments like that which make service jobs tolerable.  It reminded me of my own little story from retail days...

 

Once upon a time, an epoch or so ago, I was a manager at a teacher/curriculum supply store. One afternoon a cute little one was at the register with his mom, talking excitedly about his upcoming birthday. I asked him when the big day was and it turned out it was the same day as my birthday. Thinking that was a really cool coincidence and expecting him to feel the same, I told him it was going to be my birthday, too. Umm. No. Bad choice. He paused a beat, screwed up his little face and starting crying, wailing "But it's MY birthday!"  He was just devastated -- it never occurred to him that he would have to share his "special day"! :laugh:  

 

Yesterday afternoon I milked a procedure at the oral surgeon for all it was worth. While my dh went to the grocery store for ice cream and other soft-to-chew foods, I lounged for hours reading Jar City, one of  Arnaldur Indridason's Reykjavic mysteries. It has everything I want in a police procedural: good mystery, evocative moody setting, complex detective.  I'll have to request holds on all the other titles that are scattered across my very large county.

[Shawneinfl]

Just got my B&N ebook credit. $21.71. I won't have as much fun as Robin but it is a nice little surprise. :)

 

[Kareni]

This brought back memories of going through every single book in my grandparents' house because they had put money between pages of books rather than depositing their money in the bank. We are talking thousands of dollars here. In their defense, they were in their thirties with two kids to feed during the Great Depression. Did I mention they were both educators and so had a very large personal library?

 

Thanks for sharing your story, Ethel.  I know that my mother has also hidden money around the house.  When my husband and I were visiting recently and helping her sort through old papers, we were carefully looking to make sure we didn't shred any money.

 

I've found money a couple of times in used books.  Once I found three five dollar bills and another time a couple of dollar bills.  My husband once found two twenty dollar bills.  I've also found money in used clothes.  Oh, and recently I found twelve dollars in a parking lot.  I've yet to find a hundred dollar bill; perhaps today!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Jenn, enjoy your ice cream and reading while recovering from your dental procedure.

 

And a belated  Happy  birthday!, Stacia.

 

**

 

Yesterday I re-read A Solitary Man  by Shira Anthony and Aisling Mancy.  I'd caution prospective readers that this book deals with the trafficking of children for sexual exploitation.  That said, it was a good read.  (Otherwise I wouldn't have been re-reading it!)  Adult content.

 

 

"Sparks fly when Chance meets tall, sexy Xav at a Wilmington bar and they have the hottest one-nighter of their lives. But Chance doesn’t do repeats, Xav seems detached, and they go their separate ways without a word. Later, when closeted Assistant District Attorney C. Evan “Chance†Fairchild meets Dare's Landing's newest deputy sheriff, Xavier “Xav†Constantine, Evan isn’t only wary. He’s irritated as hell.

Xavier is a former FBI agent turned deputy sheriff who is hot on the trail of a South American child prostitution ring. Evan is fighting to put an end to rampant cocaine trafficking and chafing under the thumb of an election-hungry boss. When someone tries to kill the eleven-year-old witness who holds the key to both their investigations, they’re forced to work together as they put their lives on the line to protect him. As Chance and Xav collide in the heat of a sweltering North Carolina summer, dodging bullets and chasing bad guys isn’t the only action going on."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

A few book-ish pieces ~

 

 

From the New Yorker:  The Book by Hisham Matar

 

"My earliest memory of books is not of reading but of being read to. I spent hours listening, watching the face of the person reading aloud to me. Sometimes I rested my head on the chest or the stomach of the reader and could feel the resonance of each vowel and consonant. I encountered many books this way: “One Thousand and One Nightsâ€; the mischievous and brilliant writings of al-Jahiz; the poetry of Ahmed Shawqi and his peers from the period of al-Nahda, the Arabic literary renaissance that took place at the turn of the twentieth century; several books on the lives of the Sahabah; and the works of a long line of historians who tried to explain how and why a war or an epoch had started or ended. It never occurred to me then to question why there were hardly any books for children in the house; none that I can remember, anyway...."

**

 

a book and book review for those interested in cooking ~  The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt by Carrie S.

 

"The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science is a nerd’s dream. I find it hopelessly intimidating yet utterly fascinating, like watching a King Cobra go about its business (it’s hard to tell, but that’s a compliment)...."

**

 

a currently free Kindle book that is described as space opera ~  The Star King (The Star Series Book 1)  by Susan Grant

 

"He will cross time and space to find her again…

Shot down over the desert, wounded fighter pilot Jas Boswell encounters a heroic golden-eyed stranger from another world—one that’s light years away. He saves her life, but before she can find out who he is, she loses consciousness. Long after she’s rescued, dreams of the enigmatic man haunt her and nearly derail her life.

On the desolate planet Balkanor, Crown Prince Rom B’kah has lost everything. Then he encounters a beautiful pilot who gives him what no one else can—the will to live. Once destined to rule a vast empire, Rom now lives in exile, carving out a life as an intergalactic smuggler, until his travels bring him to Earth…and back to the mysterious black-haired woman he’s never forgotten.

Together they embark on an adventure of a lifetime. But soon old enemies threaten to tear them apart and leave their worlds in ruins."
 

Regards,

Kareni

[Jane in NC]

Yesterday afternoon I milked a procedure at the oral surgeon for all it was worth. While my dh went to the grocery store for ice cream and other soft-to-chew foods, I lounged for hours reading Jar City, one of  Arnaldur Indridason's Reykjavic mysteries. It has everything I want in a police procedural: good mystery, evocative moody setting, complex detective.  I'll have to request holds on all the other titles that are scattered across my very large county.

 

Sorry to hear that you needed oral surgery, Jenn.  Hope you are on the mend.

 

You and I have similar tastes in mysteries. Since you turned me on to Arnaldur Indridason, let me mention Mette Ivie Harrison to you.  Her first Soho Crime Imprint mystery is The Bishop's Wife which I found to be engrossing and ultimately satisfying. 

 

Soho Crime novels usually have exotic foreign settings.  The Bishop's Wife is set in Mormon Utah which in some respects is a different country for me.  I had to google various terms not being familiar with "sealings" and "temple garments".  Harrison gives us a good story as well into a glimpse of a different religious culture.  Jenn, I think you'd like this book.  You can check out the NPR review here.

 

Also, I finished listening to Cards on the Table which might be my least favorite Agatha Christie to date.  Alas I am not a Bridge player and  Bridge scores figure into the plot early on. I confess that I listened a second time to the first quarter of the book after acknowledging that I tuned out Poirot's ramblings on bridge scores.

[Robin M]

Happy Birthday, Stacia! A bit belated but never the less, contains lots of love and hugs and balloons!!!!

 

 

[Angel]

Hi everyone! It's been busy here with a church-wide garage sale for the youth history trip that we take our teen group on and various DIY projects (painting mostly) around the house.  I've barely been able to pick up the computer!  I refrained from multi-quoting 3 weeks back.   :tongue_smilie:

 

Amy - I have a lovely postcard on my kitchen bulletin board!  Thanks!

 

Stacia -  :grouphug:  and I picked up The Unattractive Vampire today at the library!

 

Ethel - glad your procedure went well!

 

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.)

 

Jane - so glad you enjoyed Baby Island!!  It brings back such great memories for me!

 

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!

My copy is falling apart, too!  I had recommended this to a friend of mine for her 10yo dd but told her she'd have to find her own copy because mine was too beat up to loan.

 

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.

I've only been painting and tearing old cabinets off the wall in my little teeny tiny bathroom and everything about home improvement seems to take 10x longer than it should.  I'm beginning to see why some people change houses so frequently :laugh:   I hope you see the light at the end of the tunnel soon, and bamboo floors sound beautiful!

 

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 . . .  

I had just placed a hold on this when I read your post.  I am betting Aly will love it too!  The 11th Doctor is my favorite and hers, too, I think!  We've only made it through Season 1 of Sherlock, though.

 

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.

 

:lol: to the bolded...I think I'll steal that phrase...really, it just followed me home, there was nothing I could do about it  :rolleyes: 

 

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.

 

:iagree: I enjoyed The Maze Runner book better than the movie because you actually got some backstory, but you DEFINITELY should read The Scorch Trials.  That movie was WAY off, in my opinion!  I have not read the prequel yet, and I didn't know he was releasing another book in September.  Aly will be thrilled.

[SKL]

I finished Devil at my Heels.  It was pretty good.  Now I'm starting Unbroken, about the same guy.  After reading a page or 2, I feel I like the guy's writing better than the woman's, but I'll give her a fair chance.  :)

 

On audiobook in the car, we're hearing the kids' next middle school book selection - Hold Fast.  It was a little weird to get into, but we stuck it out and now the kids are hooked.  But it's a pretty depressing book so far.  Between poverty in Chicago and the last book's poverty in Zimbabwe, I begin to wonder if depressing content is a requirement of teen literature.  :P

 

Only two more chapters to go on The Black Stallion read-aloud, and then we watch the movie.  Unfortunately this is a super busy time work-wise and we are flying away on vacation next Tuesday, so it will be a tight squeeze.

 

We started The Penderwicks, as it's the required reading for the kids' Brain Chase book elective.  We started it as a read-aloud, but since the girls are supposed to read it, I think I will have them either read it silently or take turns.

[Lady Florida.]

I keep getting behind because I plan to respond to someone's post, then another one and another one pops up I want to respond to, and before I know it I haven't posted at all. 
 
 
My reading has been pretty much all BaW inspired lately. 
 
-I read An Unattractive Vampire this past week. It was fun, and I especially enjoyed the footnotes. :) I have to say I didn't understand the ending (spoiler tags because I know some of you are planning to read it) 

I don't really know what they did to Vermillion. And after pointing out that Simon is Erasmus reincarnated, nothing more was really said about it. If you read it and can enlighten me, please do.

 

 

-Battling the Gods: Atheism in the Ancient World finally made it back to me and I'll pick up where I left off last time I had to return it to the library. This time I'm making sure I read enough chapters per day so I can finish before it's due back again and I have to go back on the waiting list. 

 

-Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation   - Thanks Mom-ninja, I'm enjoying this one. And I'm going to confess something to you all. I've often wanted to write non-fiction and I love history, especially American History. About ten years ago (having no idea this book existed for a year already) I wanted to write a book about the women of the Founding Fathers. My title was going to be Revolutionary Women. Obviously I never got to it, and after reading Cokie Robert's front matter about the difficulty she had tracking down primary source documents I know I wouldn't have been able to do it anyway. I'm glad someone did though. 

 

-Jar City - I remember checking my library when this was first mentioned here quite a while back, and they do have it. I put it on my Overdrive wish list and promptly forgot about it. I then watched the movie on Hulu. This time when it was brought up here again, I checked it out and have started reading it. 

 

The Voyage of the Beagle - yes, I'm still plodding through and am determined to finish. I still haven't even made it to the earthquake yet. 

 

 

I've read all of the Captain Lacey books. The author writes (mostly historical) romances under her real name, Jennifer Ashley, paranormal and urban fantasy under Allyson James, and historical mysteries as Ashley Gardner. I've only read the mysteries as the other genres don't interest me. Anyway, they're never going to be literature but they're my escape mysteries. You can read them out of order, but there is a progression with the characters that you'll miss if you do. 

 

Edited June 24, 2016 by Lady Florida.

[JennW in SoCal]

 

 

My reading has been pretty much all BaW inspired lately. 

 

 

 

-Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation   - Thanks Mom-ninja, I'm enjoying this one. And I'm going to confess something to you all. I've often wanted to write non-fiction and I love history, especially American History. About ten years ago (having no idea this book existed for a year already) I wanted to write a book about the women of the Founding Fathers. My title was going to be Revolutionary Women. Obviously I never got to it, and after reading Cokie Robert's front matter about the difficulty she had tracking down primary source documents I know I wouldn't have been able to do it anyway. I'm glad someone did though. 

 

-Jar City - I remember checking my library when this was first mentioned here quite a while back, and they do have it. I put it on my Overdrive wish list and promptly forgot about it. I then watched the movie on Hulu. This time when it was brought up here again, I checked it out and have started reading it. 

 

The Voyage of the Beagle - yes, I'm still plodding through and am determined to finish. I still haven't even made it to the earthquake yet. 

 

 

I've read all of the Captain Lacey books. The author writes (mostly historical) romances under her real name, Jennifer Ashley, paranormal and urban fantasy under Allyson James, and historical mysteries as Ashley Gardner. I've only read the mysteries as the other genres don't interest me. Anyway, they're never going to be literature but they're my escape mysteries. You can read them out of order, but there is a progression with the characters that you'll miss if you do. 

 

BaW inspired reads are the best cause we're a cool bunch of ladies.  :coolgleamA:

 

Just finished Jar City, and loved it. I agree with calling Captain Lacey a good escape mystery though I've only read the first one!  I'll likely use my whopping $6.31 Amazon credit to buy the next few titles.

 

But get the smelling salts!!  I thought I'd use an audible credit for Founding Mothers .... BUT it is only available abridged!!  :svengo:  Cokie, Cokie, Cokie.  What the heck?  (She is the reader of this abridged edition...)  I know you, Lady Florida, would never have allowed your non-fiction history to be abridged!! 

[Kareni]

My husband and daughter are together in Korea now having fun, and I'm having a good time with friend one in the wine country in California. Read Mary Balogh's historical romance Longing.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

[Robin M]

Hey gang. I'm taking off for Arizona in the a.m. to see my dad so will be posting tomorrow's thread late tonight.  Appreciate it if one of you earlier risers would bump it for me in the morning. 

 

:seeya:

 

 

 

  

 

[mumto2]

Wishing safe journeys to both Robin and Kareni. I hope you both have great visits. I will give things a bump in the morning if it needs it.

 

I spent my entire afternoon serving tea and cakes at a Garden Party that had been moved to our church this year. The positive was no one got wet and the crowd seemed longer than normal. All of dds cakes sold so she is pleased. Standing on stone for hours is not good for my back. I am already feeling it.

 

I did manage to finish a fun fluff book I started last night. Nannyland https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27408127-nannyland by Jaje Elizabeth Hughes was a book that was hard to put down. It was a romance about an American margin trader who flees Wall Street for the Cotswolds and finds herself renting a cottage owned by the descendants of Lady Jane Gray of nine days a Queen fame. It took some fun turns and rewrote a bit of history in a speculative way (haven't had a chance to research those bits yet). It was an easy read and I needed one.

[Lady Florida.]

Safe travels Robin. Enjoy your friend time, Kareni.

 

I forgot to mention my current audio book - Ready Player One. I stayed away from it because of the hype and because some negative reviews I read said the author just wanted to list as many 80s references as he could. I finally gave in and used an Audible credit. I think the 80s reference criticism is warranted, and I'm only 8 chapters into this 30+chapter novel. However, the choice to have Wil Wheaton narrate was brilliant. I can't think of a better voice for the main character than the minor league child star turned self-described geek. He makes the story worth listening to. :)