Book a Week 2016 - BW44: November Notions

[Stacia]

I just finished my 52nd? Book:

 

 

[Stacia]

Sadie, continuing to send :grouphug:  for you, your dd, & your family.

 

My impression as a "not Southerner" is that he captured very well what I perceive as typical Southern characters, but in a way that (barely) didn't cross the line and caricature them. Unfortunately I am having trouble articulating it because I think the Southern components were woven in so finely by McDowell it would be difficult to pull on a thread. I suppose what he did best was just explain the story in such a way that the Alabama-based family members just accept strange things without question, so the reader alternates between thinking they are plum crazy and just accepting weirdness as a given. Once the reader just starts accepting the goings-on as well, who are they to judge these people? As the reader, perhaps this attitude could be summed it up as, "Well, we're all in it together now!" The precociousness and forthrightness of the NY contingent makes the Alabama folks seem more sane than they are by balancing the load in the other direction, and the setting sounds so dreamy I found myself thinking I could stay there and avoid the creepy house as long as I was swimming in the Gulf and had no way to be reached by modern technology.

 

Thanks for your comments, idnib.

 

Yes, I agree that he might have been close to caricature, but also not really. His characters were just so real. I know people who would say those very things, act the very same way.

 

I think Southern Gothic, as a rule (?), has weirdness/creepy/eerie things taken/accepted as a given. It's not that Uncle Elliott is crazy; Uncle Elliott is eccentric. :lol:  Nothing wrong or odd with that &, really, it makes him a great storyteller or dinner companion. Ghosts? Of course. Nothing odd; it just is. It's just a given, a way of seeing the world, community, family; not sure if other geographic areas have the same outlook or not. (The magical realist outlook of some Latin American authors is perhaps an apt comparison...???)

 

And, I loved the NY contingent because I think it shows the adaptability of Southerners, as well as an intelligence not always ascribed to them (in books, movies, tv). I could totally appreciate McDowell's obvious love, respect, & portrayal of his cast of characters.

 

I got The Vampire In New York in the mail from our lovely Stacia and it's been sitting on my nightstand as I read some of the Roald Dahl Ghost Stories. Not much reading got done this week as the twins were sick and took most of my energy. 

 

:grouphug:  Hope your twins are feeling better!

Edited November 1, 2016 by Stacia

[Stacia]

Something a little devilish since Halloween's not over quite yet...

 

11 Of The Most Savage Burns In Literature

 

:lol:

[Kareni]

Something a little devilish since Halloween's not over quite yet...

 

11 Of The Most Savage Burns In Literature

 

:lol:

 

Whoa ... Martial was quite savage!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Lady Florida.]

I thought I'd share a photo of our grandsons on their ToT adventure tonight. ETA: Click on it for a larger view.

 

Edited November 1, 2016 by Lady Florida.

[ErinE]

So post Halloween thoughts, DH and I were talking about hubris the other day. I thought hubris was a character's downfall through his or her own tragic flaw, but DH thought it was specifically excessive pride. Turns out, he was right, but I wondered what was the term for a character's flaw causing his downfall. Do any literary gurus know? I've found hamartia, but I'd never seen the term before an internet search.

 

Does anyone have any good books where the character's flaw (not necessarily pride) leads to her downfall?

Edited November 1, 2016 by ErinE

[Just Robyn]

Sadie,  :grouphug: to you and your dd.

 

My introduction to studying poetry in school was so upsurd that I have to tell you all about it.  I think I was in fifth grade and the teacher decided we should study poetry by studying song lyrics.  Okay, that could really be good, right?  After all, the Nobel Prize committee awarded Bob Dylan a literature nobel and there certainly are a lot of poetic lyrics with good themes to discuss.  But this older teacher was completely clueless. So we got songs like I Don't like Spiders and Snakes and Smoking in the Boys Room.  I was not impressed.    But that was typical of the school I went to and just one of many reasons I self educated myself  because I knew I wasn't getting a good education.  So I would find old textbooks that had been discarded and read those.    (My poetry unit hadn't come from any textbook, just what the teacher thought up).  

 

I like poetry.  I also liked to hear Poetry corner on NPR when I was driving my dd to co-op or activities.  W. B. Yeats is probably my favorite poet.

 

I had a similar "education." We listened to the Beastie Boys in class one year, another year we "wrote" diamante poems. 

 

I *love* Dover Beach. I had very few decent teachers at my parochial high school, but my English teacher was wonderful (had him 3 of 4 years) and he introduced us to Victorian poetry, and to carpe diem/Elizabethan poetry, and those are among my favorites to this day. It's interesting how with poetry, in particular, the poetry we read in our youth really sticks with us. I think that's a common experience, I've read others saying so. Do BAW-ers find that to be true? Is your favorite poetry the poetry you read when you were a teenager? What are some of your favorites?

 

When I was in high school, I loved A Night Without Armor by Jewel. I re-read it as an adult and liked it. I could see why I loved it as a teen. My favorite poem in the book as an adult was different from my favorite poem in the book as a teen, and none of the poems would be in my top ten or twenty or ? (not sure how far down it would be) today, but I have read far more poetry now than I had then, so all that means is that the more you read, the more poems you will find that stick with you.

 

Now that we're talking about poetry, I'm going to be brave enough to post a link to a poem I like very much... I found it online when I was looking for something else.

http://citylore.org//wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Georgia_Poetry_21st-century.pdf

On page 4 the poem I love is "Lucky Love" by Giorgi Lobjanidze- the alternate pages are in Georgian and in English, so scroll down to see the whole thing. I love his description of Nefertiti making the house 'into a gallery' and specially the idea that love changes geography: 'the Nile river flows into the Mtqvari' (the main river flowing through Georgia's capital city). Hope you enjoy it.

 

That was lovely, and I had just recently been wishing for more good examples of ekphrastic poetry (other than "Ode to a Grecian Urn"). Thank you for sharing.

 

I listened to Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. I felt like I agreed with her on some general level (things worth doing are difficult), but not completely (and I'd rather not elaborate and start some sort of conversation about parenting styles and beliefs). I also wished she would acknowledge the financial and geographical barriers that many (most?) families have that she did not and explain what her POV would be if she could not afford to get better and better instructors for her daughters as they improved (or if she could not afford music lessons, or any private lessons, at all) and if she could not work with her daughters nights and weekends (due to working two jobs, or perhaps due to some other family obligation, or?) since she says her method only works if the child continues to experience success (defined by her (it seems) as always being the best or at least amazing, not defined as being happy or pretty darn good). (Not wanting to hear her speak on this matter so that I can employ her methods, and not looking for how others have used or adapted her methods, only pointing out what I consider an issue with her book.)

 

I listened to two hours (1/5) of The Lost City of Z, then abandoned it. It was too meandering for me. Next I'll try listening to The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and I am currently reading Stephen King's The Body, which will be my BaW BINGO book for published in birth year.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

I'm putting Elementals on my list to read next October. This one is almost over!

 

 

Pulling this over from last week's thread (it's also technically from last month, but at least the year is still current... ;) )

 

I'm trying to decide where on my list to put Elementals. (The one written by McDowell -- I think two books by the same title have been mentioned.)  Would anyone be so kind as to let me know if the seasons change in the book or if it is always summer?

[Just Robyn]

So post Halloween thoughts, DH and I were talking about hubris the other day. I thought hubris was a character's downfall through his or her own tragic flaw, but DH thought it was specifically excessive pride. Turns out, he was right, but I wondered what was the term for a character's flaw causing his downfall. Do any literary gurus know? I've found hamartia, but I'd never seen the term before an internet search.

 

Does anyone have any good books where the character's flaw (not necessarily pride) leads to her downfall?

 

The Sorrows of Young Werther

Madame Bovary

Inferno  :laugh: (Not the main character, just all the others.)

Fight Club sort of

 

How about books where the character's flaw brings him success? (Here one might also put "Fight Club sort of.")

[Stacia]

I'm trying to decide where on my list to put Elementals. (The one written by McDowell -- I think two books by the same title have been mentioned.) Would anyone be so kind as to let me know if the seasons change in the book or if it is always summer?

It takes place over the summer months only.

Edited November 1, 2016 by Stacia

[Stacia]

Re: character flaws leading to downfall...

 

The Stranger by Camus

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Hyde by D. Levine

Against Nature by Huysmans (maybe)

Edited November 1, 2016 by Stacia

[Chrysalis Academy]

So post Halloween thoughts, DH and I were talking about hubris the other day. I thought hubris was a character's downfall through his or her own tragic flaw, but DH thought it was specifically excessive pride. Turns out, he was right, but I wondered what was the term for a character's flaw causing his downfall. Do any literary gurus know? I've found hamartia, but I'd never seen the term before an internet search.

 

Does anyone have any good books where the character's flaw (not necessarily pride) leads to her downfall?

 

Any of the great tragedies - Hamlet, Macbeth, Richard III, King Lear, Othello.  Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. The Picture of Dorian Gray, Frankenstein, The Great Gatsby, Things Fall Apart. Flannery O'Connor's short story A Good Man is Hard to Find. 

 

Right after I read your post, I sat down with my Thornton Wilder - loving this book - and read the following (in an essay about Oedipus Rex):

 

"The consideration of Oedipus's guilt brings us to another element in the play, an idea in regard to human behavior so deeply imbedded in the Greek mind that its understanding requires of us a particular exercise of the historical imagination. Any exceptional endowment, they believed, or any responsible position which a man might hold constituted a moral danger and rendered him liable to a state of pride, of excessive self-confidence, of hubris. Under hubris a man lost his spiritual discernment. All exceptional achievement was a provocation to arrogance, and the Greeks watched the kings and heroes of their epic poems and tragedies with a particular excitement for signs of this moral blindness. It was in the light of this law that they saw Achilles withdraw from the battle, Agamemnon sacrifice his daughter and later accept the treacherous flattery of his wife, Creon condemn Antigone, and Oedipus at the opening of this play insult Creon and the priest of Apollo, Tiresius. The Greek distrust of the exceptional did not apply only to the possession of notable advantages, however; it constituted a rule for behavior in the daily life of the average individual as well. Of the two inscriptions on the temple doors at Delphi, "Know thyself" has become the more famous, but the other, "Nothing too much," was more characteristically Greek. The idea recurs with particular frequency in the work of Sophocles. When he came to treat the subject of Electra, the whole play became a study in perilous excess and rings with such admonitions as "Weep not too much," "Rejoice not too much," and "Love not too much."

Edited November 1, 2016 by Chrysalis Academy

[Woodland Mist Academy]

It takes place over the summer months only.

 

Thanks! I'll add it to my summer reading list! I was envisioning reading it during midnight summer thunderstorms, but perhaps poolside in the warm sunlight would be better.  ;)

 

Although... currently the sights, sounds, and scents of the pool conjure up scenes from â€‹The Glimpses of the Moon, my favorite poolside read from this summer. Maybe I don't want those connections replaced by whatever horrors await in The Elementals!   :zombiechase:

[Stacia]

Thanks! I'll add it to my summer reading list! I was envisioning reading it during midnight summer thunderstorms, but perhaps poolside in the warm sunlight would be better:

Ideally, you should read it on a white sand beach along the Gulf while basking in the sun.

[Chrysalis Academy]

I just finished Replay.  Wow, I really enjoyed that book.  I wasn't sure about it at the beginning, and I was half convinced he wouldn't be able to pull off a good ending, but he did. I'm glad I persisted. I think it was serendipitous that I was reading it while reading Our Town. I think the themes were exactly the same: how we don't stop and see life, feel life, grasp the moments while we're in it. We don't really realize it while we're living it. Maybe it takes 8 tries to get it right? I don't know, but I have hope for the characters. 

 

"It had seemed as if they would have forever, an infinity of choices and second chances. They had squandered far too much of the priceless time that had been granted them, wasted it on bitterness and guilt and futile quests for nonexistent answers - when they themselves, their love for each other, had been all the answer that either of them should have ever needed."  

 

Don't we all do this?

 

 

[Kareni]

Ideally, you should read it on a white sand beach along the Gulf while basking in the sun.

 

... and keeping watch for alligators.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[idnib]

I think Southern Gothic, as a rule (?), has weirdness/creepy/eerie things taken/accepted as a given. It's not that Uncle Elliott is crazy; Uncle Elliott is eccentric. :lol:  Nothing wrong or odd with that &, really, it makes him a great storyteller or dinner companion. Ghosts? Of course. Nothing odd; it just is. It's just a given, a way of seeing the world, community, family; not sure if other geographic areas have the same outlook or not. (The magical realist outlook of some Latin American authors is perhaps an apt comparison...???)

 

And, I loved the NY contingent because I think it shows the adaptability of Southerners, as well as an intelligence not always ascribed to them (in books, movies, tv). I could totally appreciate McDowell's obvious love, respect, & portrayal of his cast of characters.

 

I know exactly what you mean and I really think I have never seen this particular type of eccentricity elsewhere, not that I've come close to reading literature from all over the world or anything. Magical realism or something like Murakami touch on it, I think, in that the characters come to accept strange goings-on as they occur, but these Southern eccentrics seem to have been born that way!

 

Thanks! I'll add it to my summer reading list! I was envisioning reading it during midnight summer thunderstorms, but perhaps poolside in the warm sunlight would be better.  ;)

 

Although... currently the sights, sounds, and scents of the pool conjure up scenes from â€‹The Glimpses of the Moon, my favorite poolside read from this summer. Maybe I don't want those connections replaced by whatever horrors await in The Elementals!   :zombiechase:

 

Agreeing it should be a beach read. 

 

"It had seemed as if they would have forever, an infinity of choices and second chances. They had squandered far too much of the priceless time that had been granted them, wasted it on bitterness and guilt and futile quests for nonexistent answers - when they themselves, their love for each other, had been all the answer that either of them should have ever needed."  

 

Don't we all do this?

 

 

Absolutely. This sounds exactly my ongoing search for the perfect homeschooling materials and experiences!  :tongue_smilie:

Edited November 1, 2016 by idnib

[Chrysalis Academy]

 

 

Absolutely. This sounds exactly my ongoing search for the perfect homeschooling materials and experiences!  :tongue_smilie:

 

 

:lol:  :lol:  :lol:

[fastweedpuller]

I am not a Southerner, but I think there's a fair amount of expected eccentricity in all kinds of subgroups.  (The British aristocracy?  Check.  Old ladies wearing purple?  Check.  Freaks and Geeks?  Check.) 

 

But yeah I...don't know if you're *expected* to be gothic if you're from the South?  Maybe it's more a manners thing, in the "bless your heart" vein instead of "if can't say anything nice about anybody, come sit by me!" (but who doesn't appreciate Steel Magnolias?).  So so so many books and short stories and movies and plays that I enjoy are set in the South or are by decidedly Southern authors, and all were rife if not with gothicisms then for sure with plays on manners or an acceptance of the quirky.  All good things!

 

I will tell you, though:  I couldn't abide Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.  I remember tossing that book across the floor.

[Stacia]

But yeah I...don't know if you're *expected* to be gothic if you're from the South? Maybe it's more a manners thing, in the "bless your heart" vein instead of "if can't say anything nice about anybody, come sit by me!" (but who doesn't appreciate Steel Magnolias?). So so so many books and short stories and movies and plays that I enjoy are set in the South or are by decidedly Southern authors, and all were rife if not with gothicisms then for sure with plays on manners or an acceptance of the quirky. All good things!

 

I will tell you, though: I couldn't abide Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. I remember tossing that book across the floor.

Who are our Southerners in this group? (Just curious.)

 

As a Southerner, I do feel that I've seen my share of quirky stuff. Maybe I'm quirky -- never really thought about it from that angle, lol.

 

What you're saying re: gossiping is exactly what had me laughing in the funeral scene at the start of The Elementals.

 

Why didn't you like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil?

 

P.S. I think I'm going to start using the alligator theory every time I can't figure out something in a book. What??? It was the alligators. The butler didn't do it? It was the alligator. Etc. ;-p

Edited November 1, 2016 by Stacia

[Mom-ninja.]

Started Neil Gaiman's Trigger Warning  on audio. I love listening to him narrate. Although, there is not enough pause between stories so sometimes I don't catch that it's a new story right away.  

[Kareni]

Last night I finished an enjoyable inspirational romance which happens to be currently free to Kindle readers ~ 

 

Not by Sight (Stone River) by Kay Lyons Stockham

 

"Can you love someone and still be free?

Emma Wyatt agrees to tutor a recently blinded, embittered soldier because of the $50,000 paycheck his brother offers. The job is an answer to many prayers. Blind herself, Emma dreams of independence and freedom away from her overprotective family. Tutoring Ian in all things “blind†isn’t easy, especially when the biggest challenge is helping him walk by faith.


Protect someone you cannot see?

Good soldiers show no weakness. Ian MacGregor holds his battle with claustrophobia close to his chest, unsuccessfully trying to cope on his own, too angry with God to seek comfort. Ian knows duty, honor, serving his country. So why is he being punished with this very personalized hell?

As Ian struggles to strong-arm his phobia and let go of his anger, his growing feelings for Emma are overshadowed by the danger lurking around them. Emma would be better off with someone else. Someone sighted.

Someone able to protect her from the person determined to keep them apart..."

 

 

Interestingly, I now see that the same book but written for a secular audience is also currently free.  I'd be interested to read it too to see what differences exist ~ 

 

Blind Man's Bluff (Stone Gap Mountain Series Book 2)  by Kay Stockham

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[mumto2]

Who are our Southerners in this group? (Just curious.)

 

As a Southerner, I do feel that I've seen my share of quirky stuff. Maybe I'm quirky -- never really thought about it from that angle, lol.

 

What you're saying re: gossiping is exactly what had me laughing in the funeral scene at the start of The Elementals.

 

Why didn't you like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil?

 

P.S. I think I'm going to start using the alligator theory every time I can't figure out something in a book. What??? It was the alligators. The butler didn't do it? It was the alligator. Etc. ;-p

Not a Southerner by birth but BF is. Therefore my other mother was. I have spent years with their traditions. I understand Southern pretty well. ;)

 

I love Midnight.....my BF's mom gave us both a copy days after the release. I have read it a few times.

 

My alligator story from yesterday......We started our journey home at the Orlando aiport which has several retention ponds. While on the monorail a British dad yelled out "There's an alligator!" I looked. Sure enough a snout was poking up catching some rays in the middle of a nearby pond. His family was busy having a go at him because they hadn't found an alligator their entire vacation. Apparently they had tried hard. I'm his new favourite person because I interrupted (I know, not polite but I felt bad for the guy) and verified his sighting. He was totally chuffed with himself and his sons were so disappointed they hadn't looked where he was pointing!

[Kareni]

Two books that I finished recently ~

 

A Reason To Breathe (Reason Series Book 1)  by CP Smith.  (Adult content)  The author's style reminded me of that of Kristen Ashley.  I probably won't read on in this series.

 

"Love at first sight was never so dangerous.

Jack Gunnison has a problem, well, two, actually. One stands 5'5" and the other? . . . A killer.

Jennifer Stewart needs a change after losing her husband and sending her daughter off to College. Jenn moves to the high country of Colorado to start her life over and follow her dreams. Unfortunately, she gets more than she bargained for when she attracts the eye of a killer.

Together, Jack and Jenn must figure out his identity before he strikes again."

**

SHIFT (Mackenzie Grey Book 1)  by Karina Espinosa.  This was a pleasant read, but I doubt I'll continue on with the series.

 

"It's hard enough being an undergraduate student, an intern at Downtown Manhattan's police station, and a bouncer at a local bar. Add her now ex-boyfriend who recently dumped her for the school's resident bimbo—oh, and she's a werewolf.

 

Mackenzie Grey meets her match when she is kidnapped by the Brooklyn Pack and tossed between Sebastian and Jonah—the Alpha and the Beta. Being a lone-wolf in the city is dangerous, and now that the Pack has found her, so can every supernatural being in the Tri-State area. And not even her sarcastic, smart mouth can get her out of this.

 

When a string of kidnappings involves Mackenzie in supernatural politics, she questions her new acquaintances and finds unlikely allies. Can she escape Pack law and keep her freedom—or will she be condemned to an unwanted path?"

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Penguin]

I have never posted in this thread before, but I am feeling brave today :) I don't read nearly the volume that most of you manage but I am setting myself a goal to read more. I used to read all the time, and I have to rebuild the habit.

 

Last week, I finished The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers. I read that because I wanted to.

 

I am about half-way through Tolstoy's The Cossacks. Reading that one for homeschool.

 

I am about half-way through Odinsbarn (reading it in Danish), a young adult novel that is not yet available in English. It was originally written in Norwegian, and has won several Nordic awards. The main character is a 15 year old girl, and the story is rooted in Norse mythology. It is wonderful, but I am a really slow reader in Danish.

 

We have been listening to The Disappearing Spoon for school, and I am really enjoying it. It is a great mesh of chemistry and history.

Edited November 2, 2016 by Penguin

[Kareni]

Welcome, Penguin!

 

Given your posting name, it seems particularly appropriate to say: Come on in; the water's fine!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Stacia]

Welcome, Penguin! :seeya:

 

Glad you decided to post. I tried looking & it seems like Odins Barn is not available in English? Asking because it sounds like something my dd might enjoy.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Penguin, yay!  :seeya:  Good to see you here.

[idnib]

I have never posted in this thread before, but I am feeling brave today :) I don't read nearly the volume that most of you manage but I am setting myself a goal to read more. I used to read all the time, and I have to rebuild the habit.

 

Last week, I finished The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers. I read that because I wanted to.

 

 

Welcome! This year I have found myself unable to keep up the pace of one book/week as well.

 

How was The Member of the Wedding? I read The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter earlier this year (or was it late last year?) and I loved it.

[Stacia]

Well, I think I've petered out on The Ark Sakura. It's mildly interesting, but I've read over 100 pages now & am not feeling a huge draw to continue it.

 

I also gave up awhile ago on the book of vampire short stories. I read a few, but generally speaking, short story collections aren't my thing unless they're all great. Another 'spooky' book I had picked up was The Dreamwalker's Child. I think it's YA; I read a bit, but again, I'm not that interested. Sigh.

 

So, now I'm without a book. Will have to poke around & find something else to read....

[Loesje22000]

I have never posted in this thread before, but I am feeling brave today :) I don't read nearly the volume that most of you manage but I am setting myself a goal to read more. I used to read all the time, and I have to rebuild the habit.

 

Last week, I finished The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers. I read that because I wanted to.

 

I am about half-way through Tolstoy's The Cossacks. Reading that one for homeschool.

 

I am about half-way through Odinsbarn (reading it in Danish), a young adult novel that is not yet available in English. It was originally written in Norwegian, and has won several Nordic awards. The main character is a 15 year old girl, and the story is rooted in Norse mythology. It is wonderful, but I am a really slow reader in Danish.

 

We have been listening to The Disappearing Spoon for school, and I am really enjoying it. It is a great mesh of chemistry and history.

Glad to see you here!

 

Good from you to improve your Danish to that level, you can read in it!

It goes up and down with me with reading in English.

[Loesje22000]

The Sorrows of Young Werther

Madame Bovary

Inferno :laugh: (Not the main character, just all the others.)

Fight Club sort of

 

How about books where the character's flaw brings him success? (Here one might also put "Fight Club sort of.")

I read madame Bovary last year.

Modern Dutch books tend to be raw / rude in their language use,

So I enjoyed the polishedness? Of the writing in madam Bovary

[Chrysalis Academy]

I started Connie Willis's new book, Crosstalk, last night. It's very funny so far, I kept laughing out loud and reading bits of it to Shannon, which she found annoying but made her want to read it when I'm done. It's so very au courant that I'm a little afraid it won't hold up well - references to email and Facebook and Instagram and Snapchat are all great, but what about in 6 months when the kids have moved on to the next new thing? In fact, she fell into one of those holes already - a major plot device is that the technology has developed to allow couples, through minor outpatient surgery, to feel each other's emotions and thus increase empathy and intimacy.  The protagonist is so lucky to be going to the doctor who did the procedure on Brad and Angelina!  Because they are the ultimate couple. Right. Oops. 

[Lady Florida.]

It's time to talk politics ladies. No, not U.S. politics. Icelandic politics.

 

Did anyone else besides Stacia and me read Gnarr! How I Became Mayor of a Large City in Iceland and Changed the World?

 

If you did, you might be interested to learn that the Pirate Party did rather well in the most recent election.

[Kareni]

A book-ish post ~

 

Spin by Robert Charles Wilson is the Tor.com Ebook Club Pick for November

 

 

SPIN is available for download from November 1st through November 7th

"Once you download the book it is yours to keep! But the download window itself is only open from November 1st to the end of day EST November 7th."

**

 

Also from Tor.com ~  (Do read the comments for additional suggestions.)

 

5 Funny Books About Very Bad Witches by Tina Connolly

 

and

 

The Offbeat Infernal: 5 Books with Unusual Demons and Devils  by Sarah Porter

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[Penguin]

Welcome, Penguin! :seeya:

 

Glad you decided to post. I tried looking & it seems like Odins Barn is not available in English? Asking because it sounds like something my dd might enjoy.

Thanks for the welcome. I am sure Odinsbarn (Odin's Child) will eventually come out in English. Only the first book of the trilogy is out in Danish so far, but the books are coming out in various languages. They are wildly popular in the YA Scandinavian market.

 

The 15 yr old protagonist, Hirka, lacks a tail. This sets her apart as an other. She grows up thinking that she lost her tail to a wolf, but discovers that she is actually a foundling with mysterious origins. There are powerful ravens, stone circles with secret entrances, and all sorts of appealing fantasy elements.

Edited November 2, 2016 by Penguin

[Lady Florida.]

Welcome Penguin!

 

 I read that because I wanted to.

 

 

That's the best reason to read a book, imo. :D

[Stacia]

It's time to talk politics ladies. No, not U.S. politics. Icelandic politics.

 

Did anyone else besides Stacia and me read Gnarr! How I Became Mayor of a Large City in Iceland and Changed the World?

 

If you did, you might be interested to learn that the Pirate Party did rather well in the most recent election.

 

I saw that & wondered how much this party had common or origins with Gnarr's party...?

 

The Offbeat Infernal: 5 Books with Unusual Demons and Devils  by Sarah Porter

 

Well, I've read 2 of the 5. Guess I should seek out the others.

 

Thanks for the welcome. I am sure Odinsbarn (Odin's Child) will eventually come out in English. Only the first book of the trilogy is out in Danish so far, but the books are coming out in various languages. They are wildly popular in the YA Scandinavian market.

 

The 15 yr old protagonist, Hirka, lacks a tail. This sets her apart as an other. She grows up thinking that she lost her tail to a wolf, but discovers that she is actually a foundling with mysterious origins. There are powerful ravens, stone circles with secret entrances, and all sorts of appealing fantasy elements.

 

Thanks. I will have to keep my eyes open for it. Dd loves fantasy & especially anything that involves mythology too.

[Kareni]

I read a fun book yesterday; I enjoyed it.   There is no graphic content, so this would likely be fine for all readers.

The Matchmakers of Minnow Bay: A Novel  by Kelly Harms

 

"Lily Stewart has reached a crossroads in her life. Her painting career hasn't taken off, her best friend has changed beyond recognition, her relationship is a constant disappointment, and now she can't keep up with the rising cost of living in the city. With no one to turn to, Lily is forced to move from her beloved apartment, but while packing she comes across a piece of mail that had slipped to the back of her junk drawer: a letter detailing further action needed to finalize the annulment of a quickie Vegas wedding. From ten years ago!

 

Lily decides it's time to gather up the pieces of her life, and the first item on her list of things to fix is that annulment... but you can't just send a text ten years later reading, "Hey BTW we are still married." This is something that must be addressed in person, so Lily decides to track down her husband - the charming, enigmatic man she connected with all those years ago.

Ben Hutchinson left a high-profile dot-com lifestyle behind to return home to his family and the small lake town he loves, Minnow Bay. He's been living off the grid with the express purpose of making it hard to be found―so the last thing he expects is a wife he didn't know he had making her presence known.

 

By chance, Lily finds her way to the magical Minnow Bay Inn. There she will discover not just a place to lay her head, but new friends, new inspiration, and maybe even a new chance to fall in love.

 

Kelly Harms lights up the page in this story of the surprising beauty of past mistakes and the unexpected pleasures of correcting them."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

I also enjoyed Out of Nowhere (Middle of Somewhere Book 2)  by Roan Parrish which is a contemporary romance featuring two men.  I'd read the first book in this series in which one of the leads in this book made an appearance; it did not present him in a good light, so I was interested to see how he would be redeemed in his own book.  (Adult content).  This is a book I'll likely re-read; it's also made me want to re-read the first book.

 

"The only thing in Colin Mulligan’s life that makes sense is taking cars apart and putting them back together. In the auto shop where he works with his father and brothers, he tries to get through the day without having a panic attack or flying into a rage. Drinking helps. So does running and lifting weights until he can hardly stand. But none of it can change the fact that he’s gay, a secret he has kept from everyone.

Rafael Guerrera has found ways to live with the past he’s ashamed of. He’s dedicated his life to social justice work and to helping youth who, like him, had very little growing up. He has no time for love. Hell, he barely has time for himself. Somehow, everything about miserable, self-destructive Colin cries out to him. But down that path lie the troubles Rafe has worked so hard to leave behind. And as their relationship intensifies, Rafe and Colin are forced to dredge up secrets that both men would prefer stay buried."

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

[Penguin]

Welcome! This year I have found myself unable to keep up the pace of one book/week as well.

 

How was The Member of the Wedding? I read The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter earlier this year (or was it late last year?) and I loved it.

I have been wanting to read McCullers for years (maybe decades). I really loved it, but Flannery O'Connor and Eudora Welty are two of my favorite authors, so I would have been surprised to not like Carson McCullers. Edited November 2, 2016 by Penguin

[Stacia]

Interesting article by Emily St. John Mandel (author of Station Eleven):

 

The Gone Girl With The Dragon Tattoo On The Train: Why are there so many books with “girl†in the title?

[6packofun]

Interesting article by Emily St. John Mandel (author of Station Eleven):

 

The Gone Girl With The Dragon Tattoo On The Train: Why are there so many books with “girl†in the title?

 

I'm curious about why there are so many titles with The (insert man's occupation)'s Wife.  Can't the woman just be her own darn self??  (I do get why there are some titles like that for the very reason I'm intimating.  LOL)

Edited November 3, 2016 by 6packofun

[Kareni]

... The (insert man's occupation)'s Wife ....

 

This sounds like a great title for a snarky satiric work of fiction.  Any writers here willing to take on the challenge?

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Just Robyn]

I finished The Body by Stephen King, which completes a blackout on my BINGO card. Here's my list of BINGO books, by column.

 

B

 

Female Author - Gutshot by Amelia Gray

Historical - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Pick Based on the Cover - Driving Without a License by Janine Joseph

Translated - Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami

Epic - The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

 

I

 

Published 2016 - The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home by Catherynne M. Valente

Revisit an Old Friend - Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg

Over 500 Pages - Dune by Frank Herbert

Banned - A Separate Peace by John Knowles

Nautical - The Island of Last Truth by Flavia Company

 

N

 

Number in the Title - 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

Fairy Tale Adaptation - The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter

Library Free Space - We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Mystery - Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio by Amara Lakhous

18th Century - The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

 

G

 

Dusty - Salt Water Amnesia by Jeffrey Skinner

Written in Birth Year - The Body by Stephen King

Classic - The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

Color in the Title - The Blue Fox by Sjon

Aurthurian - The Book of Merlyn by T.H. White

 

O

 

Picked by a Friend - Distant Light by Antonio Moresco

Play - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard

Nonfiction - Born Standing Up by Steve Martin

Nobel Prize Winner - Demian by Hermann Hesse

Set in Another Country - A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

 

 

I'm curious about the fairy tale adaptations others chose. What did you read and what did you think of it?

[Stacia]

crstarlette,

 

 

on finishing the Bingo card!

 

 

I'm curious about the fairy tale adaptations others chose. What did you read and what did you think of it?

 

I read Helen Oyeyemi's What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours. Loved it. (Also, her books Mr. Fox and Boy, Snow, Bird would also fit for that category.) I was actually surprised in your link from earlier re: fairy tale adaptions that some of her books were not listed. Of the three I've read of hers, Mr. Fox is still my favorite.

[aggieamy]

Jan 2013. However, I prune the list at the end of every year. 

 

 

I do not like Curious George. At all. I simply do not like that little monkey (where is his tail? there are arguments that is an ape....just sayin') and I really don't like the man in the yellow hat. However, my youngest loved that darn primate and I read, listened to, and watched WAY more Curious George than I care to think about. 

 

Glorious was the day when I convinced him to listen to Winnie the Pooh in the car. Also, Paddington the Bear is also a great alternative that didn't make me want to jump out the car window while driving. 

 

You may not mind the obnoxious know it all man in the yellow hat, but it's still nice to have some variation if your child will allow it.  

 

I actually dislike the newer ones less than the original one.  I never noticed as a kid but the original book basically has poor little George being stolen from his home.  Maybe I'm just a bit on the sensitive side but that made me sad.

 

I will be delighted to switch to something new but right now I'll just be happy he loves audiobooks. 

 

Thank you! And happy birthday to AggieAmy's littlest one.

 

And Happy (belated) Birthday to you!

 

 

 

 

I didn't realize (or maybe I just don't remember) that I share a birthday with your little guy. :D

To bring this post back to bookishness, we both share a birthday with Dostoyevsky.

 

And also a Happy belated Birthday to Dostovevsky!  :coolgleamA:

 

I just finished my 52nd? Book:

https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/5224903

 

Thanks for all the tips about 'Remarkable Creatures',

I liked the book (and could manage the English :) )

 

Yay!  Now you can just stop reading for the year and catch up on daytime tv  ... or not.  (Just kidding!)

 

I thought I'd share a photo of our grandsons on their ToT adventure tonight. ETA: Click on it for a larger view.

 

inthebatmobile.jpg

 

I love it!  What a wonderful picture!

 

Not a Southerner by birth but BF is. Therefore my other mother was. I have spent years with their traditions. I understand Southern pretty well. ;)

 

I love Midnight.....my BF's mom gave us both a copy days after the release. I have read it a few times.

 

My alligator story from yesterday......We started our journey home at the Orlando aiport which has several retention ponds. While on the monorail a British dad yelled out "There's an alligator!" I looked. Sure enough a snout was poking up catching some rays in the middle of a nearby pond. His family was busy having a go at him because they hadn't found an alligator their entire vacation. Apparently they had tried hard. I'm his new favourite person because I interrupted (I know, not polite but I felt bad for the guy) and verified his sighting. He was totally chuffed with himself and his sons were so disappointed they hadn't looked where he was pointing!

 

And that is about as close as you should be to an alligator!

 

I started Connie Willis's new book, Crosstalk, last night. It's very funny so far, I kept laughing out loud and reading bits of it to Shannon, which she found annoying but made her want to read it when I'm done. It's so very au courant that I'm a little afraid it won't hold up well - references to email and Facebook and Instagram and Snapchat are all great, but what about in 6 months when the kids have moved on to the next new thing? In fact, she fell into one of those holes already - a major plot device is that the technology has developed to allow couples, through minor outpatient surgery, to feel each other's emotions and thus increase empathy and intimacy.  The protagonist is so lucky to be going to the doctor who did the procedure on Brad and Angelina!  Because they are the ultimate couple. Right. Oops. 

 

I read I Am Princess X a few days ago and it was a lot of fun but so much technology that it was already feeling dated.  Everyone was on a phone and on whatever apps and those apps will now be silly history.  I wonder how authors that right modern stuff will deal with that.  If I read a book from the 50's through the 80's then sometimes I don't know exactly when it took place because everyone was writing letters or calling on a phone for such a long stretch of time.  

 

LOL.  I feel bad for poor Connie WIllis.  She must have just been devastated to hear about the split.  Really.  She's the real victim in that breakup.   :laugh:    

 

I finished The Body by Stephen King, which completes a blackout on my BINGO card. Here's my list of BINGO books, by column.

 

 

Yay!  That is a great accomplishment.

[Kareni]

A very meaty post from Tor.com.  Do read the comments as many additional titles mentioned there.

 

19 Positive Approaches to Religion in Sci-Fi and Fantasy  by Leah Schnelbach

 

"Of all the genres, science fiction and fantasy are the ones where humans can tackle their deepest societal problems and thought experiments. Because of this, it’s a natural place for people to explore ideas about religion, faith, and the meaning of life…

 

Religion can also be an emotional and contentious topic for people. For people who choose to leave a religious tradition, science and science fiction can become the home they didn’t find in a church or temple, and can also provide a way to critique the life they left. For others, the flexibility of the genre allows them to express their faith, or their questions about their faith, in deeper ways than any other medium would allow.

 

I thought it would be interesting to look at some examples of books and short stories that have tackled religious questions in respectful and positive ways. While these stories sometimes go to uncomfortable places, they each take faith seriously, and would be worthy additions to the TBR stacks of believers and non-believers alike...."

**

and for fans of Ginny Weasley from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series:

 

Women of Harry Potter: Ginny Weasley Is Not Impressed  by Sarah Gailey

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Just Robyn]

 

Women of Harry Potter: Ginny Weasley Is Not Impressed  by Sarah Gailey

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

That was great, thanks!

[Butter]

I listened to Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. I felt like I agreed with her on some general level (things worth doing are difficult), but not completely (and I'd rather not elaborate and start some sort of conversation about parenting styles and beliefs). I also wished she would acknowledge the financial and geographical barriers that many (most?) families have that she did not and explain what her POV would be if she could not afford to get better and better instructors for her daughters as they improved (or if she could not afford music lessons, or any private lessons, at all) and if she could not work with her daughters nights and weekends (due to working two jobs, or perhaps due to some other family obligation, or?) since she says her method only works if the child continues to experience success (defined by her (it seems) as always being the best or at least amazing, not defined as being happy or pretty darn good). (Not wanting to hear her speak on this matter so that I can employ her methods, and not looking for how others have used or adapted her methods, only pointing out what I consider an issue with her book.)

 

A book group I used to be in read that book.  I never read it (though I have it still) because I ended up no longer being available the nights they have book group.  From what I heard, that was a CRAZY conversation.  Everyone had an opinion about it, and there were many.  One of these days I'll get around to reading it.  It's been over 2 years since I was supposed to read it.

 

#108 and 109: Uprising and Renaissance (second and third books of the Emerge trilogy) by Heather Sunseri.  I read the three books in one day each.  I don't usually do that, but I couldn't put them down (the other two series I read like that were Hunger Games and The 100 - guess I really like young adult dystopian, huh?).  I loved them.  Exciting, a little bit of romance, not especially predictable, and they really drew me into the world.  I am so glad I game that (self-published) author a chance when I read the first Mindspeak series book a while back.  She's a good writer.

 

Speaking of that author, I always tweet a link to my reviews and she responded to one of my tweets today saying that I made her heart sing.  It's always so fun to get a response like that.  She made me happy by writing books I enjoy and I made her happy by letting her know I enjoyed them.  It's a really awesome thing about reading books today that didn't exist just a few years ago.

 

The author that stayed with us in September (Tony James Slater) is just about done his trip around the country and getting ready to head back to Perth.  They had a great trip.  He said he discovered that Americans aren't quite what he expected.  He found that we are really great people and very friendly.  And we drive huge vehicles, but he kind of expected that part.

 

21 years ago today my husband and I started dating.  We met in theater class (I should've been a senior in high school, but I was homeschooled and went to college early).  We helped one morning backstage for a traveling theater performance of Frankenstein or something like that (Halloweenish play anyway).  And then we went to Burger King.  And we've been together ever since.  I was 17 and he was 19 (well, about 2 weeks from 20).

 

Last night we discovered that tomato juice really does neutralize skunk spray.  Our dog was not impressed by the spraying or the extra long bath.