Book a Week 2016 - BW32: bookish birthdays and news

[Chrysalis Academy]

I read Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (Wayward Pines trilogy) and was highly disappointed.  I feel he simplified the multiverse aspect of the story so much that it was ridiculous and the writing was very amateurish.  SO many 5-10 word sentences, one upon another...ugh.  I read a review on NPR's site that said to stick with it for a twist, but it turned out exactly as I predicted.

 

 

 

Well, that review inspired me to remove it from my TR list - the reasons you cited were the reasons I usually dislike/reject books - more for the writing than for the subject matter.

[Chrysalis Academy]

I was looking at my list of books I've read this year (46 so far).

 

From those:

30 were library books

16 were books that I had (either they were given to me by others or they were ones I bought). Of the 16, I have passed on 14 of them to others or have donated them to the library.

 

So, I've kept two. I may give one of them away. Maybe both. In the meantime, I bought one that I originally read as a library check-out. (Guess which one... The Plover. I just had to have a copy for my own shelves because I loved it & found it beautiful. :D )

 

I like to keep my bookcases moving, I guess (which is partly why I use the library so much). Part stems from the fact that I don't often re-read books (so I don't feel as much need to hang onto them if they are just going to sit forever) & part stems from the fact that I like to share the book love with others. Kind of interesting to do a self-check shelf-check once in awhile.

 

 

:)

 

 

Hm, I own about 30% of the books I've read so far this year. That's higher than I thought it would be, given how aggressively I use the library, but a lot of the books I read were pre-reads for the kid's school, so I bought copies.

 

I love having books around. I have fond memories of raiding my dad's shelves as a kid. But my kids mostly read library books, and hardly ever pull things off their groaning shelves. Or my big "classics" shelf. I know my dh would be happy if I gave up owning more books. But it's hard to let go . . . I do feel like I donate almost as many books as I buy, but there are still piles everywhere.

 

I'm determined to leave the books I read on vacation at various places along the way. Unless I fall in love with them, want Shannon to read them, or . . . ?  :001_rolleyes:

[Onceuponatime]

I finished The Murder of Mary Russell. Now I've started Following the Equator by Mark Twain. It is rambling reminiscences of a trip around the world, starting with a voyage across the Pacific. The story is full of wit and sarcasm, of course. Each chapter begins with a maxim from "Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar." The Maxim before chapter three is "It is more trouble to make a maxim than it is to do right."

[Jane in NC]

Swimming in a sea of words and also in ocean waters...

 

Hello my friends.  Home again from summer travels which means I have piles of things to sort through. Amazing how this happens.

 

Reading.  On one of my flights, I started reading Somerset Maugham's novel Theatre but it was bumped aside for some library books.  I plan on finishing it this week although I find myself pulled into Clash of Civilizations which happens to be a library book from a system about 900 miles away.  This is not the first time I have flown home with a library book which I then drop in the mail to return.  Fortunately the librarians know me. 

 

Before departing on my travels, my son placed a book of essays by George Watsky (How to Ruin Everything) in my hands.  I feel honored when The Boy does this.

 

And remember that magazine subscription service that was mentioned a month or so ago?  Stack sends subscribers a different independent magazine periodically.  I did not subscribe but ordered a back issue of Boat, a travel magazine from the UK.  Specifically, I ordered the Reykjavik issue because this girl needs to go to Iceland.  What a lovely magazine though! Beautifully produced.

 

Before the day is gone I'll try to update and post my book list for the year.  It has been a while.

[Just Robyn]

I finished listening to First Bite: How We Learn to Eat by Bee Wilson. This was more descriptive than prescriptive. It talked about how we feed children, the history of school lunches and what was fed to children, eating disorders, including extreme pickiness, methods that have been successfully used to help people relearn how to eat. 

 

I re-read Hamlet and dh and I saw it performed last night at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. It was a wonderful performance with Hamlet played by a woman.

 

I started listening to Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk and re-reading Howl and Other Poems, and I'm trying to catch up a little bit on my pile of literary magazines. I've got some spring issues sitting here... 

[mumto2]

I also finished Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I think both dds finished it the day it arrived. I don't get as much reading time so it took me two days! I think we all liked it, but don't even try to compare it to the original series. I would love to see the production. Maybe in another 20 years a touring production will come to Oregon.

 

 

Dd and I have now both read it. I agree about don't even try to compare it to the series. It isn't a a bad tale just different. We both fell in love with a new character which sort of made it worthwhile. Such a sweetheart! It didn't have much to it in reality, dh wanted the quick version which was easily provided. The summary was when I realized how short it really was.

 

The play, well, it will bring many tourists to London. Always a good thing! If dh decided we all needed to go we would certainly be happy to join him. ;) That being said dd doesn't show any sign of breaking out her own cash to go with friends. :lol:

[Onceuponatime]

A quotable quote about quotes from Mr. Twain: "it is my belief that nearly any invented quotation, played with confidence, stands a good chance to deceive. There are people who think that honesty is always the best policy. This is a superstition; there are times when the appearance of it is worth six of it."

 

One wonders what marvelous things he would have had to say about social media.

 

ETA: (Mr. Twain had just extricated himself from an argument with two Scots by inventing a quote by Robert Burns.)

Edited August 11, 2016 by Onceuponatime

[Chrysalis Academy]

I just picked up a used copy of O Pioneers to take along on vacay.  Unfortunately Mink River didn't come in in time to bring, but I am taking The Plover along to finish, as my one and only library book!

 

I may have sporadic email access for the next couple of weeks, and will probably sneak on here if I can, but officially bye for now, and I hope school starts well for everyone who is or has kids involved in that! We're going to enjoy our homeschool vacation, hopefully we'll have the place mostly to ourselves.  :seeya: 

 

Although I guess they start school later in Oregon & Washington than they do here.  My girls are eager to post pictures of themselves on the kayak on Facebook, to go with all their friends' back-to school pictures!

Edited August 11, 2016 by Chrysalis Academy

[Mothersweets]

 

Neil Gaiman on Why We Read and What Books Do for the Human Experience.

 

 

Robin, this was an excellent read. Thank you so much for posting it.

[Lady Florida.]

Finished -

 

The Warden, Anthony Trollope. I was really enjoying this but it got pushed aside for some other books. I finally got back to it and finished it. Now on to the next Baretshire novel, which I think is Barchester Towers.

 

The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien. Amazing book, highly recommended but with the caveat that it's not easy. There are hard truths all through the book but important truths - especially for those who think war is honorable. If I had it to do over I would have read it rather than listened to it, as I already pointed out. I also recommend it for older teens or college students but would suggest any parent pre-read before letting (or requiring as we hs moms tend to do) their under 18 teen read it. 

 

At the end of the book was the essay The Vietnam in Me, this read by O'Brien rather than by the narrator of The Things They Carried. If you read a physical copy of the book I recommend getting one that also contains this essay. Or you can read the essay online. In the essay O'Brien talks about his return to Vietnam among other things. On one leg of that trip he goes to My Lai. The unit involved in the My Lai Massacre was in the same division as his unit (though his unit was not involved).

 

The first time my mother asked my opinion about something adults talk about, it was what I thought of Lt. Calley, his court marital, and the My Lai Massacre. I remember it as the first time she recognized me as someone with adult (or young adult ) opinions even though I was just 15-16 as it was becoming public. I was somewhat confused, only knew what little I heard on the news (though the coverage was constant), yet I was so impressed that she wanted my opinion that it caused me to actually think and learn more about it so I could offer an opinion.

 

You ladies are always messing up my reading plans. ;)  Thanks to Stacia and Rose, I downloaded a sample of The Plover to my Kindle and after reading the sample, I promptly bought it. My library didn't have the ebook, otherwise I would have borrowed it. I've had trouble putting it down, I'm loving it so much!

 

After The Things They Carried  I needed to listen to a brain candy book, so I borrowed the third Amelia Peabody audio book from the library - The Mummy Case. I listened to the first two a few years ago, then forgot all about the series until it was mentioned here recently.

 

Finally, I LOVE my IRL book club. Our book for this month is Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

 

 

[Maus]

I have a whole stack of library books to get through before I can indulge in TWTM 4, which just arrived.  And some of them I had to wait on the hold list for, so I don't want to return them unread.

 

39. "The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History" by Thomas E. Woods.  Interesting.  A different perspective on history than I've read before, and I like the writing style.

 

38. "A Buffet of Sensory Interventions: Solutiona for Middle and High School Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders" by Susan Culp.  Really directed at classroom teachers, but there's one good chapter I can apply to my kids, I think.

 

37. "Thinking in Pictures" by Temple Grandin.

36. "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" by Jack Thorne, et al

35. "The Wizard of Oz" by Frank Baum. 

34. "Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain.  (We listened as we traveled in Missouri!)

33. "Blue Fairy Book" by Andrew Lang.

32. "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing" by Judy Blume.

31. "Greenwich" by Susan Cooper.

30. "Dark is Rising" by Susan Cooper.

29. "Clash of Cultures" by Christopher and James Lincoln Collier.

28. "The Story of US: First Americans" by Joy Hakim.

27. "Freak the Mighty" by Rodman Philbrick. 

26. "The Mouse and the Motorcycle" by Beverly Cleary.

25."Caddie Woodlawn" by Carol Ryrie Brink.

24. "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George.

23.  "The Power of Vulnerability" by Brene Brown.

22.  "My side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George.

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

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

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

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

17. "Soft Rain" by Cornelia Cornelissen.

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

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

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

13. "Let It Go" by Chris Williams

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

11. "Writing the Memoir" by Judith Barrington.

10.  "Boys Adrift" by Leonard Sax.

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

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

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

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

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

4. "Four" by Virginia Roth.

3. "Allegiant" by Virgina Roth.

2. " Insurgent" by Virginia Roth.

1. "Divergent" by Virginia Roth.

 

 

[Stacia]

I've started Tram 83 by Fiston Mwanza Mujila. The style of writing is almost like jazz -- &, for me, it's hard to follow. Not sure how I feel about it yet, but I'm still reading....

 

 

"An exuberantly dark first novel." — NPR's Fresh Air w/ Terry Gross

**Nominated for the Man Booker International Prize 2016**

**Shortlisted for the 2015 Etisalat Prize for Debut African Fiction**
 

Two friends, one a budding writer home from abroad, the other an ambitious racketeer, meet in the most notorious nightclub—Tram 83—in a war-torn city-state in secession, surrounded by profit-seekers of all languages and nationalities. Tram 83 plunges the reader into the modern African gold rush as cynical as it is comic and colorfully exotic, using jazz rhythms to weave a tale of human relationships in a world that has become a global village.
 

**One of Flavorwire's 33 Must-Read Books for Fall 2015**
 

Fiston Mwanza Mujila (b. 1981, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo) is a poet, dramatist, and scholar. Tram 83 is his award-winning and much raved-about debut novel that caused a literary sensation when published in France in August 2014.

 

[JennW in SoCal]

Oh Stacia...

 

I'm on only on page 80 or so of Mat Johnson's Pym, and I'm hooked. It is wickedly funny, in an intellectual, academic kind of way.  

 

 

[Stacia]

You ladies are always messing up my reading plans. ;)  Thanks to Stacia and Rose, I downloaded a sample of The Plover to my Kindle and after reading the sample, I promptly bought it. My library didn't have the ebook, otherwise I would have borrowed it. I've had trouble putting it down, I'm loving it so much!

 

<snip>

 

Finally, I LOVE my IRL book club. Our book for this month is Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

 

So glad The Plover is being read!

 

Looking forward to your review of the RBG book.

 

Oh Stacia...

 

I'm on only on page 80 or so of Mat Johnson's Pym, and I'm hooked. It is wickedly funny, in an intellectual, academic kind of way.  

 

Cool! (Did you read Poe's Pym yet?)

[JennW in SoCal]

 

Cool! (Did you read Poe's Pym yet?)

 

Oh yes.  And Lovecraft's Mountains of Madness.  And Into the Kingdom of Ice about the expedition to find the northern passage at a time when they truly thought there was a tropical paradise inside the arctic and antarctic circles if they could only get past the ice. 

 

Pym's been on my list of books to find for a few years now, and my library finally has it.

[Stacia]

Oh yes.  And Lovecraft's Mountains of Madness.  And Into the Kingdom of Ice about the expedition to find the northern passage at a time when they truly thought there was a tropical paradise inside the arctic and antarctic circles if they could only get past the ice. 

 

Pym's been on my list of books to find for a few years now, and my library finally has it.

 

Into the Kingdom of Ice sounds really good. I'll have to keep that in mind for a non-fiction read for myself.

 

Don't forget to read Jules Verne's companion book too: An Antarctic Mystery. Between the Poe book, Verne's version (in which he proves to be the Odd Couple's Felix to Poe's Oscar), Lovecraft's spin on it (the only Lovecraft I've ever read & I enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would), & Johnson's sharply funny & bitter tale, they make a great set of reading.

 

Glad your library finally has it.

[Jane in NC]

Don't forget to read Jules Verne's companion book too: An Antarctic Mystery. Between the Poe book, Verne's version (in which he proves to be the Odd Couple's Felix to Poe's Oscar), Lovecraft's spin on it (the only Lovecraft I've ever read & I enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would), & Johnson's sharply funny & bitter tale, they make a great set of reading.

 

Stacia's recommendation for keeping cool in the heat of summer: Pyms as opposed to Pimm's!

[mumto2]

Yum, Pimm's. What a great idea Jane!

 

Now for books, I finished a rather fluffy historical romance within hours of overdrive delivering it to my Kindle. The Earl Takes All by Lorraine Heath was an interesting read, slightly different if you read a lot of historical romances. I have been waiting for this book ever since I read the first in the series and wasn't disappointed. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26029545-the-earl-takes-all?ac=1&from_search=true

[Jane in NC]

 

Hats off to Crstarlette for recommending this book!  The author, Amara Lakhous, has penned his novel in Italian but get this--that is his fourth language.  He grew up in Algiers mastering Berber, French and Arabic.  Lakhous is a man of words--literally and figuratively. Nice interview entitled "Scheherazade, C'est Moi?" here.

 

Clash of Civilizations  was published in 2008 but it seems out of the year's headlines with refuge and immigrant stories.  Everyone thinks they know "the truth" but as Lakhous demonstrates with humor, grace and a few twists of the knife that "the truth" may be neither as simple nor as complicated as people believe.

 

Lakhous also demonstrates how immigrants merge into cultures.  A Neapolitan in Rome is an immigrant to some.  Or should many of us just call ourselves Romans considering the magnitude of the former empire?

 

There is so much going on in this little book.  It is rich and wonderful.

 

And it is my 52nd book of the year. Fanfare, please!  (I noticed when updating the list this morning that I had missed an Arnaldur Indridason book which I added out of order.  This has me wondering what else I forgot!)

 

52) Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio, Amara Lakhous; translated from the Italian by Ann Goldstein

51) Hyperbole and a Half, Allie Brosh, 2013; graphic memoir

50) Zinky Boy, Svetlana Alexievich, 1990; translated from the Russian by Julia and Robin Whitby

49) The Plover, Brian Doyle, 2014

48) The Unquiet Dead, Ausma Zehanat Khan, 2014; Fiction, Crime=Police Procedural

47) House-Bound, Winifred Peck, 1942; Fiction

46) Four Fish, Paul Greenberg, 2010, Non-Fiction

45) Oishinbo: Pub Food, 2005; Tetsa Kariya and Akira Hanasabi; Japanese graphic novel

44) The Alligator Report, W.P Kinsella, 1985

43) Once There was a War, John Steinbeck, 1958

42) The Optimist's Daughter, Eudora Welty, 1972

41) The World is a Wedding, Wendy Jones, 2014

40) Silence of the Grave, Arnaldur Indridason, 2001; translated from the Icelandic by Bernard Scadder; Fiction, Crime-Police Procedural

39) Voices, Arnaldur Indridason, 2003; translated from the Icelandic by Bernard Scadder; Fiction, Crime-Police Procedural

38) Cards on the Table, Agatha Christie, 1936, audio

37) Raven Black, Ann Cleves, 2006; Fiction, Crime

36) Baby Island, Carol Ryrie Brink, 1937; Juvenile Fiction

35) Hidden Depths, Ann Cleves, 2007; Fiction, Crime

34) The Draining Lake, Arnaldur Indridasen, 2004; translated from the Icelandic by Bernard Scadder; Fiction, Crime-Police Procedural

33) Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, Helen Simpson, 2010, audio; Fiction

32) A Dark Redemption, Stav Sherez, 2012; Fiction, Crime

31) Stoner, John Williams, 1965; Fiction

30) Blood of Victory, Alan Furst, 2002; Fiction, Espionage

29) The Dead Mountaineer's Inn, Boris and Arkady Strugatsky, 1968; translated from the Russian by Josh BIllings; Fiction, Soviet Sci-fi (?)

28) Absolute Solitude, Dulce Maria Loynaz, 1953, 1977; translated from the Spanish by James O'Connor; Poetry

27) The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price, Purveyor of Superior Funerals, Wendy Jones, 2012; Fiction

26) Wild, Cheryl Strayed, 2012 (audio); Non-fiction, memoir

25) A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry, 1959; play

24) Voyage of the Beagle, Charles Darwin, 1839: Non-fiction

23) Death in a White Tie, Ngaio Marsh, 1938; Fiction, Mystery

22) Distant Light, Antonio Moresco, 2013; translated from the Italian by Richard Dixon; Fiction

21) The Foundation Pit, Andrey Platonov, finished 1930, first published in USSR 1987; translated from the Russian by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler and Olga Meerson; Fiction, Dystopia

20) Amongst Women, John McGaham, 1990; Fiction

19) Making Money, Terry Pratchett, 2007; Audio book--Fiction

18) Dying in the Wool, Frances Brody, 2009; Fiction

17) Something Will Happen, You'll See, Christos Ikonomo, 2010; translated from Greek by Karen Emmerich; Fiction--short stories

16) The 6:41 to Paris, Jean Philippe Blondell, 2013; translated from the French by Alison Anderson; Fiction

15) Leaving Berlin, Josesh Kanon, 2015; Fiction

14) A Gathering of Old Men, Ernest J. Gaines, 1983; Audio book--Fiction

13) The Child Poet, Homero Aridjis, 1971, 1972; translated from the Spanish by Chloe Aridjis; Non-fiction (memoir)

12) The Underdogs, A Novel of the Mexican Revolution, Mariano Azuela, 1915, 1920; translated from the Spanish by Sergio Waisman; Fiction

11) Lucinella, Lore Segal, 1976; Fiction

10) A Passage to India, E.M. Forster, 1924; Fiction

9) Private Life, Josep Maria de Sagarra, 1932; translated from the Catalan by Mary Ann Newman

8) Along the Ganges, Ilija Trojanow, 2011; translated from the German by the author with Ranjit Hoskote; Non-fiction (travel)

7) Mr. Gwyn & Three Times at Dawn, Alessandro Baricco, 2014; translated from the Italian by Ann Goldstein; Fiction

6) Roadside Picnic, Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, 1971; translated from the Russian by Olena Bormashenko; Fiction

5) Jar City, Arnaldur Indridasen, 2004; translated from the Icelandic by Bernard Scadder; Fiction, Crime-Police Procedural

4) The World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates, 2015; Non-fiction

3) Come, Tell Me How You Live, Agatha Christie Mallowan, 1946; Non-fiction (memoir)

2) Unincorporated Persons in the Late Honda Dynasty, Tony Hoagland, 2010; Poetry

1) To Siberia, Per Petterson, 1996; translated from the Norwegian by Anne Born; Fiction

[JennW in SoCal]

 

Hats off to Crstarlette for recommending this book!  The author, Amara Lakhous, has penned his novel in Italian but get this--that is his fourth language.  He grew up in Algiers mastering Berber, French and Arabic.  Lakhous is a man of words--literally and figuratively. Nice interview entitled "Scheherazade, C'est Moi?" here.

 

Clash of Civilizations  was published in 2008 but it seems out of the year's headlines with refuge and immigrant stories.  Everyone thinks they know "the truth" but as Lakhous demonstrates with humor, grace and a few twists of the knife that "the truth" may be neither as simple nor as complicated as people believe.

 

Lakhous also demonstrates how immigrants merge into cultures.  A Neapolitan in Rome is an immigrant to some.  Or should many of us just call ourselves Romans considering the magnitude of the former empire?

 

There is so much going on in this little book.  It is rich and wonderful.

 

 

 

I bookmarked the linked article to finish later, but read enough to want to find this book! What an extraordinary man.

 

And congrats on reaching 52! 

[Stacia]

Jane, on 52!

 

So, out of your list, which five would you most recommend?

 

(And, I'll put that question out there to everyone on the thread. Out of all that you've read this year, what would be your top five recommendations?)

[mumto2]

Jane, Congratulations on 52!

 

Staci, I will play the favourite 5. I really haven't read any stand out single novels this year. Partly because it's been a stressful year and then there was my British Cozy obsession. When I look back over my list there were many enjoyable books but these stand out as good fluff!

 

 

I am anxiously awaiting the next in Anna Lee Huber's series and the last instalment in the series was great!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23398824-a-study-in-death

 

Because I love C.S. Harris and St. Cyr is perhaps my favourite leading man in books......great series

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25258226-when-falcons-fall

 

Anne Bishop's The Others series is always great. I shouldn't like these but I love them!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22062202-marked-in-flesh

 

This series was just so sweet and fun!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/248889.A_Rather_Lovely_Inheritance

 

My audiobook obsession. I don't like these in book form but love Amelia Peabody when someone reads the books to me!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9811296-crocodile-on-the-sandbank

 

Not the mostst intellectual list but they are good series. I recommend reading these series in order.

[Jane in NC]

Jane, on 52!

 

So, out of your list, which five would you most recommend?

 

(And, I'll put that question out there to everyone on the thread. Out of all that you've read this year, what would be your top five recommendations?)

 

That is a tough question, Stacia, acknowledging that not everyone here enjoys the same sorts of books. What I think I would like to do is give kudos to some that moved me for various reasons.

 

My favorite book of the year so far is probably The Child Poet, by Mexican poet Homero Aridjis.  There was something so touching about this memoir of how a boy becomes a poet, a book that is translated by his daughter with an intimacy produced by their familial relationship.

 

As far as fiction is concerned, The Plover is certainly notable.  Brian Doyle crafts a tale that is on the edge of magical realism, I suppose.  What a voyage!

 

Two books should be mentioned because of how they contributed to the necessary conversation on race.  In Between The World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates may have moved some readers to uncomfortable places. It certainly inspired me to have some blunt conversations that I may not have had otherwise.  On a similar note, Lorraine Hansberry's play Raisin in the Sun created needed conversations after it opened on Broadway in 1959.  I found the play to be relevant today.

 

The best "feel good" book that I have read is Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simpson.  I do not require that books make me feel good. In fact, I often seem to read books that make me uncomfortable or push me into some unexpected places.  But Major Pettigrew was a delight that I believe our gentle readers would enjoy.

 

Finally, I am love with the series featuring Icelandic detective Inspector Erlendur by Arnaldur Indridason.  These are not for readers who prefer cozy mysteries although they are not gory.  They are dark.

[Ethel Mertz]

If I had to choose 5 from my list so far:

 

1. I agree with Jane about Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. I loved it.

 

2. In the light, humorous, and somewhat addictive fiction category: Ann B. Ross's Miss Julia series.

 

3. In nonfiction: $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America by Kathryn Edin. Very revealing about the depth of poverty in the US.

 

4. Fiction. The Mandibles: A Family, 2029-2047 by Lionel Shriver. Riveting, intergenerational story about what happens after an economic collapse.

 

5. Biography. Jane Addams: Spirit in Action by Louise Knight. This brilliantly written biography earned a permanent place on my bookshelves (which is not easy to do as we are down-sizing our vast personal library).

[Jane in NC]

If I had to choose 5 from my list so far:

 

1. I agree with Jane about Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. I loved it.

 

2. In the light, humorous, and somewhat addictive fiction category: Ann B. Ross's Miss Julia series.

 

3. In nonfiction: $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America by Kathryn Edin. Very revealing about the depth of poverty in the US.

 

4. Fiction. The Mandibles: A Family, 2029-2047 by Lionel Shriver. Riveting, intergenerational story about what happens after an economic collapse.

 

5. Biography. Jane Addams: Spirit in Action by Louise Knight. This brilliantly written biography earned a permanent place on my bookshelves (which is not easy to do as we are down-sizing our vast personal library).

I want to "like" your post, Ethel. Instead all I can do is thank you for keeping the Jane Addams bio on my radar. One of these days...

[felicity]

I joined in again this year in January and promised that I'd keep posting here and of course I didn't. But I have peeked in here and there and follow several of you on Goodreads, so I've gotten quite a few of my book recommendations this year from this group. I also didn't feel like I've read that much this year but according to Goodreads, I'm right where I should be. So that's cool.

 

One of the best recommendations from this group, and I'm sorry I don't remember who mentioned it, was The Source by James Michener. I happened to be heading to Israel and Jordan about a week after it was mentioned so I got it from the library. It was interesting to read it while walking around Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, then go to Petra and think about all of the people that had lived there for so many generations and what religion brought to the region. So, thank you for that recommendation.

 

At the airport bookstore I was pointed to Frederik Backman and his book, My Grandmother Asked Me to Say She's Sorry. It was a great counterpoint to the heaviness that was The Source. This was a quick read while sitting on a Greek beach, to complete the 180 degree turn from Michener. Most of it was fun and the characters eccentric, but not so eccentric to be annoying. I went on to read Brit-Marie Was Here and finished with his first book and my favorite, A Man Called Ove. Backman seems to have a way with his characters--they are exasperating in just the right way for me. And he's Swedish so you can get a feel for how that society runs and how it's different from ours. (Plus I love Sweden and am tempted to relearn my college Swedish so I can read them in the original. We'll see about that.)

 

Anyway, those have been the highlights of my reading year so far and my thanks for letting me follow along with you even if I haven't posted.

[Stacia]

If I answer my own question, I think the five I'd recommend so far are:

 

   

 

1. The Plover by Brian Doyle

2. Sergio Y. by Alexandre Vidal Porto

3. West with the Night by Beryl Markham

4. Narconomics: How to Run a Drug Cartel by Tom Wainwright

5. The Beast: Riding the Rails and Dodging Narcos on the Migrant Trail by Óscar Martínez

 

Oddly for me (since I'm a fan of fiction), three of those are non-fiction.

 

A couple of runner-ups (because I'm having a hard time following my own limit of five :lol: ):

 

   

 

1. The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Gabriel Vásquez

2. What is Not Yours is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi

3. Good Morning Comrades by Ondjaki

Edited August 14, 2016 by Stacia

[Kareni]

I arrived home last night from a fun camping trip with longtime friends and have not yet had a chance to read the thread. 

 

 

I did want to mention this currently free Kindle book that might interest some; it's one of the books I read while away.  I'll post more in next week's thread.

 

Wild Things: Shifters Unbound by Jennifer Ashley

 

"Wolf Shifter Mason McNaughton is tired of the crazy feral living in his house, endangering him, his brothers, and his sweet auntie Cora. Ferals are Shifters who’ve reverted to the wild stage, forgetting all about the joys of pizza and satellite TV. Not to mention, Mason is sick of waking up to the feral’s rampages, one of which nearly killed him. The feral has been given sanctuary, so Mason can’t throw him out—the only thing to do is to find a way to cure him.

The problem is, Shifter healers—elusive, Goddess-touched Shifters who have the healing gift—are few and far between. Mason volunteers to go in search of one, and is sent to a psychic in New Orleans who might have an idea of where to start looking.

Mason doesn’t believe in psychics, but Jasmine, the psychic in question, seems to at least put on a good show. Jasmine believes in Shifters all right, but she vowed to never have anything to do with them.

The easiest way to get rid of the growly Lupine, Mason, is to help him, but Jasmine never dreams what that help will drag her into.

A short novel of the Shifters Unbound series."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Okay, I've now read the thread.

 

 

Am I the only one who didn't know what a Mary Sue is?

 

I had known the term but hadn't known it originated from a Star Trek story.  Thanks for the link.

 

 A bout of food poisoning from Saturday's bridal shower left me hammock-bound with dd yesterday

 

I hope you're now improved and that the bridal shower was otherwise enjoyable.

 

...Specifically, I ordered the Reykjavik issue because this girl needs to go to Iceland.  

 

As I write this, my sister and her husband are flying to Iceland.  I hope to hear details of their trip.

 

 I may have sporadic email access for the next couple of weeks, and will probably sneak on here if I can, but officially bye for now, and I hope school starts well for everyone who is or has kids involved in that! We're going to enjoy our homeschool vacation, hopefully we'll have the place mostly to ourselves.  :seeya:

 

Safe and happy travels!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Stacia]

Kareni, welcome back!

 

Rose, hope you're having a great trip. Can't wait to hear more about it when you return.

 

Felicity, good to see you popping in again!

 

So, I think I've decided to abandon Tram 83. I've tried to get into it & tried to like it. I've given it almost 80 pages & I still don't like it. Hmmm. Wonder if this part of the description ("much raved-about debut novel that caused a literary sensation when published in France in August 2014") should have clued me in that I might not like it. :leaving: :lol:  Anyone else want to give it a try? If so, let me know & I'll send it on to you.

[Kareni]

 

Neil Gaiman on Why We Read and What Books Do for the Human Experience.

 

What a great article, Robin!  Thanks for sharing the link.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Lady Florida.]

Welcome back! Glad you had a nice time.

 

 

I arrived home last night from a fun camping trip with longtime friends and have not yet had a chance to read the thread.  I did want to mention this currently free Kindle book that might interest some; it's one of the books I read while away.  I'll post more in next week's thread.

 

Wild Things: Shifters Unbound by Jennifer Ashley

 

 

 

I'm not a fan of paranormal stories (neither romance nor horror nor anything else paranormal) but I just wanted to say I enjoy Jennifer Ashley's historical mysteries that she writes under the name Ashley Gardner. The main series is Captain Lacey but she has a few new ones she's working on. She wrote some short stories with new characters and the new characters are going to be part of a new historical mystery series.

[Kathleen.]

My 10yo read "Story Thieves" by James Riley and I read Mark Twain's "The Prince and the Pauper."

☺

[Kareni]

I'm not a fan of paranormal stories (neither romance nor horror nor anything else paranormal) but I just wanted to say I enjoy Jennifer Ashley's historical mysteries that she writes under the name Ashley Gardner. The main series is Captain Lacey but she has a few new ones she's working on. She wrote some short stories with new characters and the new characters are going to be part of a new historical mystery series.

 

 

Yes, I like her Ashley Gardner books, too.  For those who might like to try it, the first book in the series is currently free.

 

The Hanover Square Affair (Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries Book 1)

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

Link to week 33 - please continue conversation in new thread