Book a Week 2016 - BW38: september equinox

[Kareni]

  Enjoy your time with your mom.

 

Thanks so much!

 

I hope you'll enjoy The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie.  I look forward to hearing your thoughts.,

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

[Lady Florida.]

I finished two more books -

 

Tricky Business

 

Die Trying

 

I enjoyed both.

 

 

 

Okay, just found out that I was right. I knew who the book burning devil man was shortly in. The twisted love plot thing was a surprise though. I had everything figured out except that part concerning the relationship between those Julian and Penelope 

 

I forgot about that. After your last WOW post, I had to go look up spoilers to find out what you were referring to. I figured that was it. :)

[Jane in NC]

Kareni--glad that you are able to spend some time with your sister and your mum.  Enjoy!

 

Regarding the plane turbulence you experienced:  Like all travelers I have experienced spots of turbulence, but last July I was literally thrown into the guy sitting next to me.  He and I looked at each other wide eyed, simultaneously commenting that we had never experienced anything quite like that.  Nor do I care to again. Wishing this country had better rail service...

 

I finished listening to The Turkish Gambit by Boris Akunin, a book on CD that I started perhaps in July.  Obviously I have not done much driving this summer with travels by air and such.  I grabbed this book from the library not realizing that it was the second in the series of historical fiction featuring Erast Fandorin, although it was the third translated into English.  Unfortunately my library lacks the other Fandorin books (audio or otherwise) but I noticed that they do have Akunin's Sister Pelagia series.  These books feature a Russian Orthodox nun taking on the roll of detective around the end of the 19th century, beginning of the 20th.  I believe that I read the third in that trio but not the first two.

 

Books in translation are sometimes a bit challenging to find...

 

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

I finished Necessity, the final book in Jo Walton's Thessaly trilogy. I had some mixed feelings about this series at various times throughout the trilogy, but now that I've reached the end, I love it. It was . . . heartwarming? Sounds corny, but there it is. I didn't want it to end.

 

"The overwhelming presumption is that you who read this are human, and that among the confused goals of your mortal life you want to be the best self you can. Know yourself. Bear in mind that others have equal significance. . . . The third and final volume ends with hope, always the last thing to come out of any box."

 

Hear, hear.

[Chrysalis Academy]

and, I finished Heat & Light by Jennifer Haigh (my picked based on the cover challenge book).  It was really good. It was about fracking, but was a very evenhanded coverage in the sense that while there were plenty of villains, there were no saints or blameless victims. It felt like a sadly realistic portrayal of life in a small town in Pennsylvania, one that is quickly becoming a ghost town due to mines closing, but which is then "revitalized" by fracking.  Huge cast of characters, from the boardrooms to the bars to the fracking rigs.  Very thought provoking.

[Kareni]

Books read here ~  

 

Unsuitable by Ainslie Paton.  This was an enjoyable contemporary romance (some adult content).  The two main characters were a business person (female) and her nanny (male).

 

I also re-read a favorite novella ~ 

 

Peanut Goes to School: A Short Story of the Elder Races

  by Thea Harrison

 

My sister is leaving today and I move over to my mother's house.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[Stacia]

Kareni, hope you are enjoying your time with your mom & that you made it through tough turbulence ok.

 

I finished a book! <happy dance>

 

 

My reading time & concentration has been so off lately. Then, last week, I realized I had book club this week (last night) so I needed to get started on The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Even for non-science-y people (like me), this is a fascinating (& sometimes horrifying & sad) look at Henrietta Lacks & the rise of HeLa cells in the emerging & ever-changing medical research field. Raises many questions about medical ethics, race, patents, & human tissue/parts property-rights, among others.

I love how the author very gracefully & intelligently closed the disconnect between something just being cells ("it" or "they") under a microscope to creating a heartfelt & personal link to an individual person, her family & friends, & the impact on all of them.

Recommended.

 

ETA: A week or two ago, I stumbled across a book that looks interesting & might be a nice tie-in with the Henrietta Lacks story: Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor's Reflection on Race and Medicine by Damon Tweedy.

Edited September 23, 2016 by Stacia

[Kareni]

I enjoyed this post from the Word Wenches site.  It made me think of you, Jane in NC.

 

Peregrinations by Susan King

 

"Susan here, researching a new novel, looking through my bookshelves and files for research notes and books on falconry and hawking--I'm returning to those scribbled handwritten notes, books on falconry and now some new books on the subject, putting together a plot spin for my newest novel. I love revisiting old research and adding new to it, wandering a bit to see where it goes--so I've been, uh, peregrinating through the falconry notes. <groan>

 

And I came across some photos taken several years back when a friend and I flew hawks for a day, and when I visited a local falconer to meet his trained goshawk. The photos brought back the feeling of what it's like, even briefly, to fly hawks and be around birds of prey. The research filled out the story for my Laird of the Wind and other medievals, and later added detail to Lady Macbeth and Queen Hereafter. Experiential research is a great way to add layers to the writing of a story--I've flown hawks, shot arrows (and caught them!), trained with swords and weapons, taken harp lessons and more. I love the chance to try for myself what I'm researching for characters and story, discovering details I might not learn otherwise...."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Stacia]

Kind-of fun:

 

16 Books That Perfectly Match New York Fashion Week Looks

[Ethel Mertz]

As for banned picture books, I am picking up Walter the Farting Dog for my youngest. Actually, I'm getting the series. Apparently, Walter farted in many places and it warranted more than one book. 

 

For my middle ds I'm thinking Sign of the Beaver and I need to decide with my high schooler want he would like to read. Perhaps Fahrenheit 451 

 

I always get them each a banned book. Last year we did In the Night Kitchen, Tom Sawyer, and Brave New World. 

 

 

Oh, and I picked up Julie of the Wolves the other day and didn't realize that it was a banned book. There are some Dr. Seuss books on the list. That can be read with only 2 brain cells. Although, Seuss can run deep if you really ponder. 

 

 

Are any of your children studying Latin?  My daughter had fun reading Walter Canis Inflatus: Walter the Farting Dog (Latin Edition)  by William Kotzwinkle and Glenn Murray.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Walter farts in Spanish too! We're using Walter the Farting Dog for copywork in both Spanish and Latin. Now there's a sentence I never thought I'd type!

 

Stressful week here from several standpoints all at once. I hate being an adult sometimes. In the spirit of denial, I'm burying myself in Rosamunde Pilcher's book September.

[Kareni]

Walter farts in Spanish too! We're using Walter the Farting Dog for copywork in both Spanish and Latin. Now there's a sentence I never thought I'd type!

 

Stressful week here from several standpoints all at once. I hate being an adult sometimes. In the spirit of denial, I'm burying myself in Rosamunde Pilcher's book September.

 

I had my daughter use J. K. Rowling's  Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal  for her Spanish copywork many moons ago.

 

Even more moons ago, I read that Rosamunde Pilcher book along with many other of her books.  I hope that your stress level decreases, Ethel.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Violet Crown]

All these cool foreign language books. I almost feel guilty about forcing Middle Girl through Caesar. (Almost.)

 

I finished a re-read of Richard III, and took Great, Middle, and Friend of Middle to see it last nght, performed by Notre Dame's troupe, Actors From the London Stage. It was five people and very minimal props; a challenge with a cast-heavy piece like Richard. There was considerable gender-mixing, inevitably, and the title role was played by a woman considerably older than the other actors: very successfully, it seemed to me, as advanced age and experience (guile) became both Richard's deformity (dramatically) and his tactical advantage.

 

Halfway through Wouk's The Caine Mutiny, which I recall some earlier discussion of. Very readable, but such a Man's book! I'm going to pass it on to my dad if he hasn't read it yet.

[Kareni]

Halfway through Wouk's The Caine Mutiny, which I recall some earlier discussion of. Very readable, but such a Man's book! I'm going to pass it on to my dad if he hasn't read it yet.

 

Wouk was another of my father's favorite authors.  His favorite book was one of Wouk's comedic titles,  Don't Stop the Carnival, in which the main character moves to the Caribbean and becomes a hotel keeper.  It resonated with my father since he was a hotel manager.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

And another post from the Book Wenches site that may interest some here ~

 

Laying the Foundations by Susanna Kearsley

 

"Susanna here.

 

I credit Dame Agatha Christie for inspiring one of my more obsessive writerly habits: the drawing of floor plans.

I think I own every book Agatha Christie wrote, and I loved when she put in the floor plans of houses to show us what rooms were where, and how impossible it was for anyone to have committed the murder in question.

My own stories didn’t really call for such elaborate measures, but the more I wrote the more I saw the advantage of using a floor plan as a writing tool. As clearly as I saw some scenes and settings in my mind, I could get turned around sometimes, so I got into the habit of sketching out rough plans of houses my characters lived in. Just a few lines on a page, really, so I didn’t have someone walking into a cupboard when they were supposed to be in the kitchen...."

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[JennW in SoCal]

Halfway through Wouk's The Caine Mutiny, which I recall some earlier discussion of. Very readable, but such a Man's book! I'm going to pass it on to my dad if he hasn't read it yet.

 

I first read The Caine Mutiny in high school and really liked it, and handed it to at least one of my sons to read during the homeschool years. My dad who served in WWII really liked the book, too, and even though he wasn't in the Navy, he thought it perfectly captured military life.

 

Its funny that you call it a "Man's book".  I distinctly remember having a hard time finding YA WWII fiction that would appeal to a young male teen as everything on the library shelves was borderline chick-lit.  I know we as a culture are still catching up on offering fiction with strong female characters, but it was frustrating that I could only find historical fiction about WWII from a female perspective -- the girlfriend left behind in the states, the brave girl hiding Jewish refugees in Europe. All the older rah-rah WWII fiction (the old titles are escaping me at the moment) had been purged from the town's library system. I was grateful to have Caine Mutiny to hand to my teen son.

[Onceuponatime]

I'm almost halfway through Arrowsmith. I didn't realize it was going to be an epic journey through an entire life. Arrowsmith has finally finished medical school and his internship, and has move to the Midwest. There are many hints that he won't be content to just be a practicing physician. He has a heart for experimental research. Sinclair's writing style is excellent, but I do find myself wishing we didn't have to have ALL the details of Arrowsmith's life.

[Jane in NC]

And another post from the Book Wenches site that may interest some here ~

 

Laying the Foundations by Susanna Kearsley

 

"Susanna here.

 

I credit Dame Agatha Christie for inspiring one of my more obsessive writerly habits: the drawing of floor plans.

I think I own every book Agatha Christie wrote, and I loved when she put in the floor plans of houses to show us what rooms were where, and how impossible it was for anyone to have committed the murder in question.

My own stories didn’t really call for such elaborate measures, but the more I wrote the more I saw the advantage of using a floor plan as a writing tool. As clearly as I saw some scenes and settings in my mind, I could get turned around sometimes, so I got into the habit of sketching out rough plans of houses my characters lived in. Just a few lines on a page, really, so I didn’t have someone walking into a cupboard when they were supposed to be in the kitchen...."

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

I am a huge fan of the old Dell paperback books which had maps or house plans on the back covers.  You can see some of them here.

[Butter]

#91: The Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum.  I loved it.  I have truly enjoyed reading the Oz books.  They are fun and so imaginative.  I've only got one or two more left to read.

[mumto2]

I finished the latest book by Ruth Ware today. I thought her In a Dark, Dark, Wood was a great book in the sort of elusive category of suspense novel for women. ;) It was good. Her latest is The Woman in Cabin 10 was interesting and quite good. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28187230-the-woman-in-cabin-10. Great vacation read but not as good as her first book.

[mumto2]

#91: The Lost Princess of Oz by L. Frank Baum. I loved it. I have truly enjoyed reading the Oz books. They are fun and so imaginative. I've only got one or two more left to read.

I read them all out loud to the dc's twice I liked them so much! We went on to read a few of the Ruth Plumley Thompson sequels which were a bit uneven quality wise but I remember liking the first two one this list. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28187230-the-woman-in-cabin-10

[Kareni]

I recently finished Damaged Goods (Sidelined Book 2) by Ainslie Paton.  (Adult content)

 

And I am currently reading the author's  White Balance.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[Lori D.]

My current read is Confessions of X by Suzanne Wolfe. DH gave it to me for our recent anniversary, so does that count towards the mini-challenge of "pick a random book"? It was randomly picked FOR me by someone else.  ;) I'm about 1/3 of the way in. Absolutely beautiful, lyrical, poetic writing. And a very powerful, nuanced, likable, richly-drawn female protagonist.

 

The only "downside" is that it is based on historical characters, so I know going into the novel what happens to them relationally. That is always super-hard for me -- I end up reading with a slight edge of dread, anticipating when the "bad things" will happen. lol.But I am really loving it, and reading it slowly to savor it. Beautiful writing doesn't come along as often as one might wish...

 

I just finished Longitude: The True Story of the Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time (Dava Sobel) -- I think it might qualify as a sort of "September Equinox" book, since time, or rather, the accurate measure of time, played a huge role in the book. Very interesting and entertaining, and definitely better-written than most of the non-fiction along these lines that I've been trying to get through in the past few years. ;) Years back, I saw the PBS Nova episode: "Lost at Sea: The Search for Longitude" which was based on Sobel's book. BTW -- that's a great NOVA episode, if you ever have the chance to catch it. ;)

 

-----------------

 

 

... I'm also reading The Taming of the Shrew with Shannon, and I have to say, I'm enjoying it a lot more than I have in the past. I think I'm able to see nuances in how Shakespeare wrote his characters, particularly Katherine and Petruchio, which I wasn't able to see in the past. Essentially, this is because I'm starting with the premise that Shakespeare knew what he was doing, and he didn't write stupid, stereotypical characters, so what is actually going on here? And I'm enjoying the farce... 

 

Glad you are enjoying it! I know it's not "politically correct"  :tongue_smilie: of me to like Taming of the Shrew, but... I do! :laugh:  I find the verbal sparring to be almost as sparky and witty as Much Ado About Nothing (my favorite comedy), and parts of it are just laugh-out-loud funny. Sometimes it's good just to laugh. :)

 

 

... I did *not* enjoy the Zefferelli film (the Taylor/Burton production) which I think did a terrible job with both Kate and Petruchio... We'll be watching other versions (including Kiss Me, Kate) and hope to find one we like better!

 

Also not a fan of the Taylor/Burton film.

 

While it is very "spare" in sets/props/costuming, I liked the 1980 BBC TV version, starring John Cleese and Sarah Badel. It is more like a video recording of straight-through TV studio performance of the play. It's been many years since I saw it, but at the time, I felt like Cleese's Petruchio genuinely LOVED Kate. And there is a moment or two where he has a hint of Monty Python-esque humor. ;)

 

10 Things I Have About You was a disappointment to me. Too much unnecessary bad language, and too much NOT Shakespeare. sigh. I was looking forward to performances from the then-young Heath Ledger and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but just not enough there for them to work with. (Now, A Knight's Tale is a very different story...! ;) )

 

Looking forward to your review of Kiss Me Kate -- I haven't seen that version! :)

 

Edited September 24, 2016 by Lori D.

[Kareni]

Currently free to Kindle readers ~

 

The Vital Principle (A Second Sons Inquiry Agency Regency Mystery Book 1)  by Amy Corwin

 

"When Lord Crowley sends for him, cynical inquiry agent Knighton Gaunt is more than happy to accept the simple assignment. All he must do is attend a séance and expose the spiritualist, Prudence Barnard, as a charlatan taking advantage of Crowley's mother.

Unfortunately, instead of proving Miss Barnard is a fraud, Gaunt is made to look like a fool when Crowley is murdered after the séance. Apparently, the attractive spiritualist is not the only guest who has mastered the art of sleight-of-hand. Whoever killed Crowley managed to poison his brandy without anyone noticing and to act with appropriate concern afterwards.

The terrified guests immediately close ranks against Miss Barnard and accuse her of the murder. She is the only stranger in the house, except for Gaunt, and she'd argued with Crowley the previous day. It sounds reasonable to everyone except Miss Barnard. And Gaunt.

Then the murderer strikes again, and Gaunt must use all of his skill to expose the truth before another member of their house party dies."

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

Lori! So nice to "see" you on this thread!

 

As an update to our Taming of the Shrew adventures . . . we finished reading the play yesterday, and I actually have to eat my earlier words about it. I read this play first in my early 20s, after having been raised in a very patriarchal subculture, and I disliked it immensely, because I couldn't see past the "taming" bit, and Kate's capitulation felt not only forced but it felt like a personal affront to me, as a young woman just escaping the heel of parental/religious domination by men.  Reading it now, older and wiser, and having read enough Shakespeare to know that he doesn't write stereotypical, status-quo supporting characters, and trusting that something interesting must be going on, I read through different lenses.  I now see Kate as a shrew not constitutionally, but as a reaction to the pain of betrayal by her father, being less favored than her sister (who isn't nearly as sweet and "white" as everyone thinks), and the mockery of the people around her.  Petruchio is unconventional, but I think he truly admired her, and in him she found the first person who was ever willing to stand up for her and protect her from the mockery of her "friends" and family.  The whole thing becomes more understandable, and more psychologically "real" with that kind of a reading.  And the language! The witty repartee!  It's actually now one of my very favorite Shakespeare plays - so clever, and it moves at a much quicker pace than some of his plays. We thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

 

As far as the film versions & remakes:

 

The Burton/Taylor version was by far the worst, as I said before.  I agree that 10 Things I hate about you was very crass and very PG-13 - I actually had to pause it in the middle and go read a more thorough plot description, because I was worried where they were going with one story line, and my 10 year old was watching it with us. It turned out ok, and it did motivate both Kate and Patrick's characters well.  We liked it ok, but definitely not a lot of Shakespeare in there.

 

We loved Kiss Me, Kate, the musical. It also did a nice job motivating Kate's "shrewishness" and had some very funny songs and dance numbers, and my kids love watching films about the making of musical theater.

 

The Shakespeare Retold version - Kate is an MP who is about to stand for the leadership, and needs to get married to soften her image - was wonderful too, in this one it's Petruchio who has some mental issues and needs the love of a good woman.  Very funny and great acting.

 

The BBC version is sitting on the table, it's the last one we have to watch. I'm glad you liked it, and we'll look forward to seeing it. I'm happy to have a new almost-favorite Shakespeare play and glad I gave it another chance. I thank Anne Tyler's Vinegar Girl for inspiring me to revisit the play.

[mumto2]

Lori D., So nice to see you on BaW!

 

name="Kareni" post="7208035" timestamp="1474394975"]

 

 

I hope you'll enjoy The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.,

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

I really enjoyed this one! I have the next in the series on hold so hopefully will enjoy those too. I know this author is a favourite of Kareni's but I haven't read many of her books. The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie represents my favourite type of series book, be it a romance or mystery. I think there is a balance that achieves a certain amount of success as long as the author has a decent storyline and the characters are likeable. For a comfort read that is perfectly acceptable. But to be a favourite it needs to be different, outside the formula......

 

The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie is filled with characters who don't fit the typical mold. Lord Ian is autistic long before anyone has ever thought of the diagnosis. His brothers love him and work very hard to protect him in a world where his degree of differentness could easily lead to his being in an institution. The heiress he is fascinated by doesn't fit society's mold either, she certainly has scandal potential. The main characters aren't typical which is what made this book really good.

Edited September 24, 2016 by mumto2

[Lady Florida.]

From last week -

 

 

 

* The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman. Historical Fiction. The reigns of the Yorkist kings Edward IV and Richard III. Many, many thanks to all those who read this book and recommended it. After a string of disappointing books, I devoured this book over the weekend and loved it. I was so close to finishing at one point that I woke up at 3 AM thinking about it and started reading before the family woke up. Highly recommended.

 

I don't remember this being discussed in earlier threads but it caught my eye in Erin's post last week. I downloaded the sample, which was quite substantial compared to the usual sample size you get with ebooks. I immediately bought it and am really enjoying it.

 

Thank you to those who originally recommended it and to ErinE for reviving it.

[Chrysalis Academy]

From last week -

 

 

I don't remember this being discussed in earlier threads but it caught my eye in Erin's post last week. I downloaded the sample, which was quite substantial compared to the usual sample size you get with ebooks. I immediately bought it and am really enjoying it.

 

Thank you to those who originally recommended it and to ErinE for reviving it.

 

:hurray: I can't remember who first suggested it to me, I suspect it was Eliana, but I enjoyed it immensely and raved about it earlier this year. I also appreciate whoever turned me on to it. I often find myself with a book from the library or in my TR list on goodreads, but with no memory of how it got there - was it a suggestion from one of you guys? or from a link that Kareni posted? and I always want to thank whoever got me there, but so rarely remember exactly who.  Unless it was Stacia, the books she suggests are enough different from what I'd pick on my own, I usually remember that she was the suggester!  ;)  :D  :thumbup:

[Butter]

10 Things I Have About You was a disappointment to me. Too much unnecessary bad language, and too much NOT Shakespeare. sigh. I was looking forward to performances from the then-young Heath Ledger and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but just not enough there for them to work with. (Now, A Knight's Tale is a very different story...! ;) )

 

We liked 10 Things I Hate About You so much we named our second child Cameron lol

[Kareni]

I really enjoyed this one! I have the next in the series on hold so hopefully will enjoy those too. I know this author is a favourite of Kareni's but I haven't read many of her books. The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie represents my favourite type of series book, be it a romance or mystery. I think there is a balance that achieves a certain amount of success as long as the author has a decent storyline and the characters are likeable. For a comfort read that is perfectly acceptable. But to be a favourite it needs to be different, outside the formula......

 

I'm so pleased that you enjoyed it.  I did enjoy the other books in the series, but I'll freely admit that the first one is my favorite.  I'll be interested to learn if that is the case for you as well.  Ian and Beth do show up in the other books, so it's fun to see their relationship continue on.

 

Jennifer Ashley (the author of the series) also writes regency mysteries as Ashley Gardner.  If you haven't read those, I think you'd enjoy them, too.  The first volume of that series,  The Hanover Square Affair (Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries Book 1), is available free to Kindle readers.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Also currently free to Kindle readers ~

 

Anne of Green Gables Collection  by Lucy Maud Montgomery

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kathleen.]

We read a bunch of poetry this week. My 10yo really likes Jack Prelutsky - so do I.

☺

[mumto2]

 

Jennifer Ashley (the author of the series) also writes regency mysteries as Ashley Gardner. If you haven't read those, I think you'd enjoy them, too. The first volume of that series, The Hanover Square Affair (Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries Book 1), is available free to Kindle readers.

 

Regards,

Kareni

That is one of the series that is on my list. Naturally I have the free one on my well stocked Kindle but haven't actually read it because that will lead to buying the rest. ;) Not really a huge problem but I try to do most of my reading via library cards, sort of a personal challenge. I occasionally pick up a missing series book but try not to buy a whole series. My libraries keep surprising me with new purchases so I fully expect for this series to appear one day or to buy it at the point where library book returns via kindle will be hard for a few weeks due to internet challenges.

 

It does fascinate me how different our libraries are. We both have fairly large systems at our disposal and I am pretty confident we could both easily get any best seller we wanted or at least be on a hold list. Books in translation are a bit more difficult but I can get a respectable number of those. It's the fluff that is hard, seriously. Maybe because there is so much out there. I almost always go looking for your fluffy books and am amazed at the number of times I strike out. I frequently find the right author, wrong series....

[Ausmumof3]

Kind-of fun:

 

16 Books That Perfectly Match New York Fashion Week Looks

Very cute

[Ausmumof3]

I finished "chocolate" a history of chocolate which has me fascinated to try cocoa in various different contexts now, unsweetened etc. I'm still working my way through "are we mart enough to know how smart animals are" as well as hanging out with mMa Ramotswe and Isabel Dalhousie when I need something lighter. The kids objected to Gulliver's travels as an audio though we got most of the way through it. I enjoyed it somewhat though it does seem a bit laboured or something. We are not doing well with the classic audios as they vetoed moby dick as well... As does spell check apparently. We are also tackling hobbit and the little princess as read alouds so a nice trip down memory lane for me.

[Nan in Mass]

I,ve read The Flame Trees of Thika. I liked it. I don,t know why it didn,t occur to me to look for her other books. When I went sailing for six weeks this summer, I was really worried about leaving Mum for so long. My two sisters are in the area, but they were going to be on vacation here and there, too, and Mum melts in the heat and doesn,t move around as much as usual and I worried that her house would get depressing without my family and animals descending on her all the time, so I went to the library and took out enough books that she,d have a new one every other day. It was a huge success. But she ran through all the books I knew she,d like. Jane, it sounds like she,d enjoy your safari mystery?

 

My boys, who loved Treasure Island, couldn,t read Kidnapped. Way too scary, they said. I had the same problem so we gave up on it.

 

Jenn, I love Kipling. I think for his times, he was pretty good at recognizing the perils of colonization. Some of his stories are cautionary tales, like the one where the Englishman falls in love with young Indian woman. The Indians in his book are complex people from complex cultures. I,ve reread Kim every few years ever since my mother read it to me as a child and I read it aloud to my children. Kim is why I let my precious 11 year old go walking with the Nipponzan Myohoji. They walked through our town and my 11yo made friends with them at lunch and they offered to take him with them for the rest of their walk to the UN in NY. I couldn,t tell if my son knew what he was getting into and warned him that it wasn,t going to be a grand free escape like Tom Sawyer. He said no, it would be like Kim, and he was so exactly right that we let him go. Lol Kim is a dangerous book. You read it and next thing you know you are following gentle bald headed monks in a saffron robes hundreds of miles lol. Beware!

 

Nan

[Nan in Mass]

Next up is a thriller by John Farrow who writes the Emile Cinq-Mars series and I'm stumped as to where to begin with this author. Technically, his first novel with this character is from 1999, but The Storm Murders (which I just got from the library) starts a trilogy to sort of restart the series? Maybe? lol Our library doesn't have any of his earlier works, surprisingly. I'm getting into Canadian authors because I'm trying to brush up on my French, focusing on the Quebecois dialect. Perhaps I'll finally figure out how to type letters with their proper accent marks, too. LOL

Are you doing your Canadian reading in French?

 

I switched the keyboard on my laptop to international, which lets me easily do accents. It is a little inconvenient for quotes but not bad. On my ipad, I have a little globe next to the mike which allows me to switch from the Roman alphabet to Hirigana. I bet there are other keyboard options that would give me accents, too, but I haven,t investigated them.

 

Nan

[Jane in NC]

I,ve read The Flame Trees of Thika. I liked it. I don,t know why it didn,t occur to me to look for her other books. When I went sailing for six weeks this summer, I was really worried about leaving Mum for so long. My two sisters are in the area, but they were going to be on vacation here and there, too, and Mum melts in the heat and doesn,t move around as much as usual and I worried that her house would get depressing without my family and animals descending on her all the time, so I went to the library and took out enough books that she,d have a new one every other day. It was a huge success. But she ran through all the books I knew she,d like. Jane, it sounds like she,d enjoy your safari mystery?

 

My boys, who loved Treasure Island, couldn,t read Kidnapped. Way too scary, they said. I had the same problem so we gave up on it.

 

Jenn, I love Kipling. I think for his times, he was pretty good at recognizing the perils of colonization. Some of his stories are cautionary tales, like the one where the Englishman falls in love with young Indian woman. The Indians in his book are complex people from complex cultures. I,ve reread Kim every few years ever since my mother read it to me as a child and I read it aloud to my children. Kim is why I let my precious 11 year old go walking with the Nipponzan Myohoji. They walked through our town and my 11yo made friends with them at lunch and they offered to take him with them for the rest of their walk to the UN in NY. I couldn,t tell if my son knew what he was getting into and warned him that it wasn,t going to be a grand free escape like Tom Sawyer. He said no, it would be like Kim, and he was so exactly right that we let him go. Lol Kim is a dangerous book. You read it and next thing you know you are following gentle bald headed monks in a saffron robes hundreds of miles lol. Beware!

 

Nan

 

Nan, I do think your mother would like the Huxley mysteries.  The one that I read (Murder on Safari) was an interesting take on the country house mystery.  The murderer has to be one of the people on safari. Despite being in the wide open, there are limitations on movement so the suspects form a minimal list. Of course, she'll have to see beyond the inherent racism of the time period.

 

I would say that I would send you Murder on Safari but I placed the book in the Wee Free Library while on my morning walk this morning.  If it is there tomorrow, I'll grab it and mail it out.  I had purposely placed it in the Wee Free because there are so many retirees in my neighborhood who I presume are the ones grabbing the classic mysteries that I place in the box.  But your mum may luck out.

 

I borrowed the audio version of Kim from the library yesterday after Jenn sang its praises.  Frankly, I may need to follow gentle monks in saffron robes in the days ahead--but I'll keep politics out of this thread.

 

 

[Jane in NC]

Nan, I do think your mother would like the Huxley mysteries.  The one that I read (Murder on Safari) was an interesting take on the country house mystery.  The murderer has to be one of the people on safari. Despite being in the wide open, there are limitations on movement so the suspects form a minimal list. Of course, she'll have to see beyond the inherent racism of the time period.

 

I would say that I would send you Murder on Safari but I placed the book in the Wee Free Library while on my morning walk this morning.  If it is there tomorrow, I'll grab it and mail it out.  I had purposely placed it in the Wee Free because there are so many retirees in my neighborhood who I presume are the ones grabbing the classic mysteries that I place in the box.  But your mum may luck out.

 

I borrowed the audio version of Kim from the library yesterday after Jenn sang its praises.  Frankly, I may need to follow gentle monks in saffron robes in the days ahead--but I'll keep politics out of this thread.

Update:  I rode my bike down to the Wee Free and grabbed the book.  I'll mail it to you this week.

 

XXOO

 

[Nan in Mass]

I read way too much the last few weeks when I was supposed to be picking up the threads of our life instead. I always slow to a crawl when I go from the bright double light of a month or so living outside on the water to my life inside or outside in the woods. Among other things, Jenn, I finished The Aeronaught,s Windlass... and discovered it is a series. Mostly, I am glad. I am in love with Rauool (audiobook so I have no idea how to spell that) and I enjoyed the shippy bits.

 

I am halfway through I Will Fear No Evil because my youngest says I have to reassess Heinlein. I,m not sure this was a good choice. I picked it randomly. It,s pretty yucky and I,m having trouble getting through it. I think probably Heinlein was trying to break down gender barriers but a lot of it comes across as fantasy for dirty old men. The anthropologist bit of me thinks it is rather interesting to read it right now, in the light of the more recent LGBTQ struggles and arguements overand is interested in untangling how much far he managed to go and where he was too much a product of his times to go and how much of what he says is really true, but the woman bit of me is grossed out, not by the lgbtq stuff but by how much it comes across as soft porn. How much is stuck in as bait to get men to absorb the ideas? How much does he really believe? Would my son like this book and say he is being tongue in cheek and be less bothered by the yuckiness because he is male and another generation away from some of those male attitudes? I have no idea and I am NOT going to suggest my son read it to find out. I may give up on the book. Have Spacesuit Will Travel might be a better choice. I seem to remember liking that in college.

 

Also read some fluff.

 

Nan

[Nan in Mass]

Update: I rode my bike down to the Wee Free and grabbed the book. I'll mail it to you this week.

 

XXOO

Ooo thank you so much! We are going to be away for a few days soon and it will be really nice to have it to give to her. One of the problems with vanishing for six weeks is that you have lots of family visiting to do when you return. I don,t mind the visiting but it does mean less time with Mum.

 

Nan

[Robin M]

Link to week 39 - please continue conversation in new thread