Book a Week 2016 - BW45: bookish babble

[Nan in Mass]

I will be back to catch up. I just got back from a 4 day trip to NYC. It was an anniversary present to go to a New York Comedy Festival show.

 

 

I'm still listening to Trigger Warning and I'm reading Sleights of Mind and started the first Harry Potter book in German. It takes me a lot longer to read in German. ;) However, the story still sucks me in despite it requiring more work for me to read. I guess it's good practice for me to remind myself what's it like to read when you have dyslexia. It helps me remember what the struggle feels like so that I have more patience and guidance for my boys.

When I read HP in French, I compared it eating dessert on novocaine lol. Still sucked me in, but...

 

Nam

[Angel]

Needing a distraction from the mountain of laundry that is setting on the end of my sectional, I decided to check and see where I am on the BaW BINGO.  I have three columns of BINGO!

 

Across:

Female Author - Squashed by Joan Bauer

Published in 2016 - The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling

Number in the Title - Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd by Alan Bradley

Dusty - The Night Villa by Carol Goodman

Picked by a Friend - The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

 

Down:

Published in 2016 - The Cursed Child

Old Friend - Queen of Sorcery by David Eddings

Over 500 Pages - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Banned - A Wrinkle in Time

Nautical - Jaws 

 

and Down:

Number in Title:  Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd

Fairy Tale Adaptation - Beauty by Robin McKinley

Free Space - The Lost Empire by Clive Cussler

Mystery - Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs

18th Century - Frankenstein

 

I don't have A Book in my Birth Year, A Play (I might get to King Lear), Translated (was hoping Things Fall Apart was but no), Color in Title (will have this one by next Monday as I'm reading Anne of Green Gables), Noble Prize Author, and Epic.  I'm surprised I haven't read an Epic!!  Usually one of my favorites!  

[Woodland Mist Academy]

 

 

I don't have A Book in my Birth Year, A Play (I might get to King Lear), 

 

I had to read this twice. I thought it said, "I don't have A Book in my Birth Year. I might read King Lear."  :huh:   

 

Proof positive that the Book a Week thread welcomes readers of all ages!  ;)

[Angel]

I had to read this twice. I thought it said, "I don't have A Book in my Birth Year. I might read King Lear."  :huh:   

 

Proof positive that the Book a Week thread welcomes readers of all ages!  ;)

 

:lol: I look pretty good for my age  ;)

[mumto2]

Angel, The Cursed Child is my play. ;)

[Kareni]

Some luxurious book-ish gifts ~

 

Faux Leather Book Bags

 

Leather Book Bags

**

 

Currently free to Kindle readers ~

 

The Marriage Mart  by Teresa DesJardien  (reader comments describe this as a clean historical romance)

 

 

A Dangerous Nativity (The Dangerous Series) by Caroline Warfield  (this one is described as a sweet regency novella)

 

and a couple of what are described as fantasy romance novelettes:

 

Swords and Scimitars (Alaia Chronicles: Legends, #1) by Cate Rowan

 

Sword and Lute  (Alaia Chronicles: Legends, #2) by Cate Rowan

 

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

I just finished The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21416690-the-invisible-library. Someone here read it first and recommended it.....it was great! :) I wish I could remember who!

 

Librarians travel between alternate worlds collecting books for a master library. It was a bit of a paranormal, steampunk, sci fi mash up. I think a pretty wide variety of BaWer's might like it.......Jenn, Robin, Noseinabook, Kareni, Sadie, and maybe even Angel come to mind. Yes, pretty broad spectrum....... Jane would not like it. ;) I am waiting for the next one.

[Kareni]

I just finished The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21416690-the-invisible-library. Someone here read it first and recommended it.....it was great! :) I wish I could remember who!

 

It may have been me:

 

 

Today I finished Genevieve Cogman's The Invisible Library (The Invisible Library Novel) which I had started last week. 

 

but I'm not the only one who has read it:

 

 

Right now I'm about halfway through The Invisible Library byGenevieve Cogman. (I have to try novels about libraries.)It took me a couple of chapters to get immersed, because of the "young adult" feel to the writing, but I am enjoying the story and wondering how it will end. Since it appears to have sequels, I hope the author doesn't leave too much hanging.

 

It was a fun read.  I've yet to read the sequel; if you do, I'll be interested to hear what you think.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Angel]

Angel, The Cursed Child is my play. ;)

 

Argh!  I didn't think of that!!  Oh well, I only had two books published this year, and the Alan Bradley book has a number, and the other number book is the only book I picked because of the cover.  I need a "K" for my A to Z challenge so maybe I'll get to King Lear  ;)

[Kareni]

Mom-ninja,

 

Perhaps this will be of interest as a German read.  It's a parallel reader in German and Dutch of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince; I imagine you can ignore the Dutch.  It's currently free to Kindle readers.

 

Der Kleine Prinz - De Kleine Prins

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

[Angel]

I just finished The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21416690-the-invisible-library. Someone here read it first and recommended it.....it was great! :) I wish I could remember who!

 

Librarians travel between alternate worlds collecting books for a master library. It was a bit of a paranormal, steampunk, sci fi mash up. I think a pretty wide variety of BaWer's might like it.......Jenn, Robin, Noseinabook, Kareni, Sadie, and maybe even Angel come to mind. Yes, pretty broad spectrum....... Jane would not like it. ;) I am waiting for the next one.

 

Sorry, forgot to multi-quote!  This does look like something I'd like!  And Aly, too, if it's fairly clean!  I'll put it on my list.

[Just Robyn]

From the New York Times ~ Natalie Babbitt, 84, Dies; Took On Immortality in ‘Tuck Everlasting’ by Sam Roberts

 

"Natalie Babbitt, a celebrated children’s author and illustrator whose ruminative novel “Tuck Everlasting,†about a family’s immortality, found a fervent readership and inspired two films and a Broadway musical, died on Monday at her home in Hamden, Conn. She was 84...."

 

 

Do you have favorites of her books?  In my house, we enjoyed Tuck Everlasting and The Search for Delicious.

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

Dh and I watched the movie of Tuck Everlasting on a plane once and thought it was boring, then middle DS read the book a couple years ago and he thought that was boring, but I still have hope that it's a book I'd enjoy and intend to read it at some point. Maybe I'll listen to it. 

[Nan in Mass]

I think I am going to draw on animal whiskers every morning for awhile.

 

I finished The Friday Night Knitting Club. It seemed like it was supposed to be a cozy, comforting read, and it was, in spots, but in other spots failed miserably at that.

 

Today I am listening to my long time comfort read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

 

Nan

[aggieamy]

I hope this isn't too controversial but ...

 

I really do love you ladies!  I'm so happy that I have this place to hang out with such intelligent and diverse ladies who get along. 

 

Look at me and Stacia ... you can't get much different tastes in books than the two of us and we are still good friends.  :laugh:

[Lady Florida.]

I finished The Sunne In Splendor last night. Loved it. Here's my Goodreads review.

[Kareni]

I just finished The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman....

 

I just saw that this is on sale for Kindle readers for $1.99; I think this may be a one day sale.

 

The Invisible Library  by Genevieve Cogman

 

"One thing any Librarian will tell you: the truth is much stranger than fiction...

 

Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, a shadowy organization that collects important works of fiction from all of the different realities. Most recently, she and her enigmatic assistant Kai have been sent to an alternative London. Their mission: Retrieve a particularly dangerous book. The problem: By the time they arrive, it's already been stolen.

 

London's underground factions are prepared to fight to the death to find the tome before Irene and Kai do, a problem compounded by the fact that this world is chaos-infested—the laws of nature bent to allow supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic to run rampant. To make matters worse, Kai is hiding something—secrets that could be just as volatile as the chaos-filled world itself.

 

Now Irene is caught in a puzzling web of deadly danger, conflicting clues, and sinister secret societies. And failure is not an option—because it isn’t just Irene’s reputation at stake, it’s the nature of reality itself..."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

I've finished two more books by Laura Florand over the last couple of days.  This is a linked pair of books, so do not read the second without reading the first.  The second book is about a challenging time that occurs for the couple after their happy ending.  (Adult content)

 

The Chocolate Heart by Laura Florand

 

"Mille-Feuilles can't buy you love. . .

No one hates Paris--except Summer Corey. The moody winters. The artists and their ennui. The inescapable shadow of the Tour Eiffel. But things go from bad to worse when Summer stumbles into brooding, gorgeous chef pâtissier Luc Leroi and indecently propositions the hero of French cuisine. . .

Luc has scrambled up from a childhood panhandling in the Paris Métro to become the king of his city, and he has no patience for this spoiled princess, even if she does now own his restaurant. Who cares if she smiles with all the warmth of July? She doesn't eat dessert!

There is only one way to tempt her. A perfect, impossibly sweet seduction. . ."

 

 

Shadowed Heart by Laura Florand

 

"Three words, to shake a man's existence.

Three words, to call on all a man's strength, all his courage, all his love, and all his ability to hope and dream...and trust.

Three words, to wake up every fear a man has ever had.

"I'm pregnant, Luc."

Now how could a man be perfect enough for that?"

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

I hope this isn't too controversial but ...

 

I really do love you ladies!  I'm so happy that I have this place to hang out with such intelligent and diverse ladies who get along. 

 

Look at me and Stacia ... you can't get much different tastes in books than the two of us and we are still good friends.  :laugh:

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

[Stacia]

I hope this isn't too controversial but ...

 

I really do love you ladies!  I'm so happy that I have this place to hang out with such intelligent and diverse ladies who get along. 

 

Look at me and Stacia ... you can't get much different tastes in books than the two of us and we are still good friends.  :laugh:

 

Cheers, my friend! :cheers2:

 

Let us be examples of love, respect & good will for all. :)

 

:grouphug:

[Stacia]

Spending time waiting around at various appointments today gave me time to complete yet another block in the BaW bingo: 18th Century.

 

I decided to read Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto. I'm glad I read it because it's an early (or perhaps the first?) "gothic" book. However, the action is so high camp & silly, I didn't actually enjoy reading the story. I can appreciate that Walpole was trying to add in some supernatural elements & suspense, but they were so clunky & weirdly inserted that the story felt blocky, ridiculous, & dull. Plus, women get the short end of the stick throughout the story.

I am glad that later writers of gothic literature followed some of Walpole's ideas & used them to create something better & expand the genre.

I would give it 2 stars for readability & interest, but I'll bump it to 3 stars for Walpole being innovative enough to create something new for the time.

Edited November 10, 2016 by Stacia

[Kareni]

Those of you who like to craft might enjoy this post:

 

2016 SBTB Gift Guide, Part 3: Crafty Business

 

Some of the books mentioned include ~

 

The Best of Jane Austen Knits

 

Literary Knits: 30 Patterns Inspired by Favorite Books

 

Austentatious Crochet: 36 Contemporary Designs from the World of Jane Austen

 

Geeky Lego Crafts: 21 Fun and Quirky Projects, by David Scarfe

 

and more.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Stacia]

I've run into this problem. DH and I were binge-watching a show and I found myself, well into season 3, thinking, "I could be doing something else right now." I gave up on the show and feel better for it. I don't find watching television relaxing.

 

Re: the bolded...

 

Exactly!

 

Back when "old" tvs were around, they emitted a high-pitched screech that absolutely drove me bonkers. It would literally drive me from the room (or even nearby rooms). Even though newer flat screens don't have the picture tube that emits that sound, I still associate watching tv w/ extreme discomfort.

 

These days, even if I'm watching something I enjoy, I still feel completely stressed when watching tv. It is not relaxing in any way, shape, or form for me. I'd rather stare at a blank wall in complete silence.

 

If I lived alone, I wouldn't even own a tv. I wouldn't miss it either.

 

[Angelaboord]

So having decided to play along with Bingo after all... I just finished my Nautical read, which I had begun over the summer, The Cruise of the Arctic Star by Scott O'Dell. This book tells the story of a journey O'Dell, his wife (whom he endearingly calls "the navigator" throughout the book), his friend Del, and a difficult deckhand named Rod took up the coast of California and Oregon, from San Diego to the Columbia River. Along the way, he tells interesting little stories from California's history and natural history that relate to the ports along the way. I enjoyed it; I'm not sure why I had to be nudged to pick it up again and finish it, other than that I put it down when Abby went into the hospital for her surgery in July. But I'm happy I read it and happy it fit in the Bingo square and now I'm going to pass it along to dh to read to the boys, I think.

 

I also read, start to finish, the book Blackout:Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget by Sarah Hepola. This fits in the "color in the title" square. It's a memoir of Hepola's drinking and finally, of her struggle to get sober. A lot of adult content and bad language, but there was a lot to think about in this book, regarding women and girls and drinking in general, and also the ends of a certain kind of feminism. I am at the moment sitting in a hotel room on a college visit with my 17 yo dd, and I confess that this is an issue that worries me, even though the university we are looking at it is a religious institution that is supposed to be pretty tame. Anyway, I gave the book 4 stars and do recommend it, but in some ways, it is a book that makes you sometimes feel as if you are watching a train wreck.

 

I wanted to start She Stoops to Conquer for my 18th century square, but I have misplaced my copy in the van somewhere. [emoji53] So now I'm just floating around because I don't have the books I was going to read for the Nobel and Arthurian squares. (I do, of course, have other books with me. But I wanted to read that one!)

 

--Angela

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Stacia]

I have three columns of BINGO!

 

 

Yay!

 

(That's supposed to be a high-five, even if it looks a little odd. :lol: )

[Stacia]

Sorry for posting so many separate times. I'm starting to get sick & feel very run-down, so my brain is working on slo-mo -- every time I click "post", I then think of something else I wanted to respond to or mention. :tongue_smilie:

 

I have also started Snake Agent by Liz Williams & am enjoying it. Not super-far into it, but I'm thinking you might like it also, mumto2.

[Stacia]

 

2.     Underground Airlines – Ben H. Winters - 5 stars. 

 

 

<snip>

 

Speaking of Bingo, I have two more categories before I score a black out.

 

Glad to see you enjoyed Underground Airlines too.

 

And, a high-five to you too re: the Bingo card!

 

[Stacia]

I finished my listen to The Secret History this morning. Finally. Whew.  I really liked it. No bad deed goes unpunished indeed.  I feel so grateful to have survived my years in institutions of higher learning. 

 

Have you read Tartt's other two books? I love her stuff. I've actually read all three of her books!

 

 I also read another of Laurie King's Mary Russell series, The God of the Hive.  It was followed the cliff hangar ending of the previous book, but I didn't like this one nearly as much, especially because the story suddenly changed, and the true bad guy of the previous book wasn't really the baddest bad guy. Turns out it was all part of a large conspiracy.  **groan** My biggest pet peeve with long running mystery series is the trope of the "large secret government conspiracy" where our heros are the lone wolves fighting for good while seemingly every one else, long time character or not, is caught up by or influenced by the evil conspirators.

 

I need to try another one in this series sometime. I read the first one years ago & loved it.

 

I'll probably get back to Love in the Time of Cholera at some point--I'm planning to make it one of the books that leaves my house in 2017, but I have to read it first.

 

No. No you don't.

 

My advice: donate w/out reading it first. ;)  (I really didn't like that book!)

[Lady Florida.]

 

I decided to read Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto. I'm glad I read it because it's an early (or perhaps the first?) "gothic" book. However, the action is so high camp & silly, I didn't actually enjoy reading the story. I can appreciate that Walpole was trying to add in some supernatural elements & suspense, but they were so clunky & weirdly inserted that the story felt blocky, ridiculous, & dull. Plus, women get the short end of the stick throughout the story.

 

 

 

I read it a few years ago mainly because I was following a rabbit trail. I wanted to read the novel Catherine was reading in Northanger Abbey and when I did research I read that I should start with Walpole then work my way to Ann Radcliffe (Catherine's favorite). I thought it was melodramatic and silly too and because of that I never made it further in my attempts to read the novels Catherine would have read. I suppose it was scary in its time.

[Kareni]

Anyone still looking for a book written in the 1800s?  Here's a currently free classic available to Kindle readers ~

 

The Country of the Pointed Firs  by Sarah Orne Jewett

 

The Beauty of a Decaying Seaport

 

“In the life of each of us, I said to myself, there is a place remote and islanded, and given to endless regret or secret happiness; we are each the uncompanioned hermit and recluse of an hour or a day; we understand our fellows of the cell to whatever age of history they may belong.†- Sarah Orne Jewett, The Country of the Pointed Firs

 

"A Bostonian decides to spend the summer in a small seaport in Maine to finish her book. She doesn’t find the peace in Mrs. Todd’s house so she goes to an abandoned schoolhouse where she can meditate and concentrate. There she discovers the unique beauty of the decaying seaport."

**

 

Some book-ish posts ~

 

10 Fascinating Books for Animal Lovers   by Kate Scott

 

There was much discussion of Stephen King a few weeks ago.  Now
Stephen King’s The Shining Is Now an Opera: Hear a Recording of the Entire Production (for a Limited Time)

 

This one is fun but contains language that some might find offensive ~ A Bookstore Owner Discovers Delightfully Grumpy Reviews Inside Donated Books by Sarah Nicolas

 

And some truly nifty book-ish gifts ~  5 Pricey (but Amazing) Customised Literary Goodies  by Jen Sherman

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

[Kareni]

Earlier today I finished Shifter Planet by D.B. Reynolds.  It was a pleasant read, but I'd hoped that the heroine's special talent would have played a larger role in the story.  I'd describe this book as a futuristic science fiction paranormal romance.

 

"Specialist Amanda Sumner is one of the first to make contact on the Earth-like planet Harp and discovers she's the only Earthling, who can hear the trees sing in the strange forest. Determined to remain and learn more of the planet's secrets, Amanda sets out to become part of the elite Guild there... But there is a secret involving some Guild members-one that could get her killed. Shifter Rhodry de Mendoza wants the Earthlings off his planet before they destroy it--even if that means denying what he feels for the fierce and lovely Amanda. The pair is thrown together in what becomes a fight for their lives. And they might just lose everything-including each other-in their battle for the right to live in peace."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Chrysalis Academy]

Have you read Tartt's other two books? I love her stuff. I've actually read all three of her books!

 

 

 

 

No. No you don't.

 

My advice: donate w/out reading it first. ;)  (I really didn't like that book!)

 

I haven't read Tartt's other two books, but I plan to.

 

Re: Love in the Time of Cholera - here's one Stacia and I disagree on - I think this is the best Marquez book I've read (and I read a bunch of them earlier this year for a MOOC), but I can't stand 100 Years of Solitude.   :001_tt2:

 

Kareni, thanks for the bookish posts! Some entertaining reads there, and I put a whole slew of those animal books on hold so Morgan can choose our next read-aloud. we just finished reading Jane Goodall's bio together, and it was wonderful.

[aggieamy]

Stacia - Hope you get feeling better soon!

 

I finished The Sunne In Splendor last night. Loved it. Here's my Goodreads review.

 

Yay!  I'm slowly chugging away at it now.  I rarely read books with that much heft to them so we'll see how long it takes me!

[mumto2]

Spending time waiting around at various appointments today gave me time to complete yet another block in the BaW bingo: 18th Century.

 

I decided to read Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto. I'm glad I read it because it's an early (or perhaps the first?) "gothic" book. However, the action is so high camp & silly, I didn't actually enjoy reading the story. I can appreciate that Walpole was trying to add in some supernatural elements & suspense, but they were so clunky & weirdly inserted that the story felt blocky, ridiculous, & dull. Plus, women get the short end of the stick throughout the story.

I am glad that later writers of gothic literature followed some of Walpole's ideas & used them to create something better & expand the genre.

I would give it 2 stars for readability & interest, but I'll bump it to 3 stars for Walpole being innovative enough to create something new for the time.

  I actually read the Castle of Ortrano a couple of days ago for my square. Great minds......;) in my case it looked the most palatable of my choices. It was not the greatest.

 

Sorry for posting so many separate times. I'm starting to get sick & feel very run-down, so my brain is working on slo-mo -- every time I click "post", I then think of something else I wanted to respond to or mention. :tongue_smilie:

 

I have also started Snake Agent by Liz Williams & am enjoying it. Not super-far into it, but I'm thinking you might like it also, mumto2.

I can't find that one but did find another by that author which I might try. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/317445.Nine_Layers_of_Sky

[idnib]

DD is much better. Thanks for the well wishes!

 

I am also cramming tonight.  Hubby started reading the measures as soon as it arrived, providing plenty of input, gripping, commentary, whatever you want to call it.   I always put it off to the last weekend before, having no desire to dive in until absolutely necessary.    It will be the attack of the   :zombiechase: for the next few days!  :lol:

 

I have found I can sometimes double my vote by studying deeply and early. Many years DH will be sent on a last-minute trip for work and running out of time, will ask me, "How are we voting on this proposition?"  :sneaky2:

 

Sorry for posting so many separate times. I'm starting to get sick & feel very run-down, so my brain is working on slo-mo -- every time I click "post", I then think of something else I wanted to respond to or mention. 

 

 

Feel better and get some rest! 

[Stacia]

Thanks for the feel better wishes. After taking ds to school today, I crawled back into bed & slept a few more hours. That helped a little bit, but I still don't feel great. Hoping to take it easy the rest of the day & do a bunch of nothing.

 

Re: The Castle of Otranto...

 

I thought it was melodramatic and silly too and because of that I never made it further in my attempts to read the novels Catherine would have read. I suppose it was scary in its time.

 

  I actually read the Castle of Ortrano a couple of days ago for my square. Great minds...... ;) in my case it looked the most palatable of my choices. It was not the greatest.

 

Ok, glad to know I'm not the only one who thought it was silly. That giant helmet -- no explanation, really. Just... huh?!?

 

(And remember -- I LIKE weird, unusual, or surreal stuff in my stories. Usually. And still I was mystified....)

 

Re: Love in the Time of Cholera - here's one Stacia and I disagree on - I think this is the best Marquez book I've read (and I read a bunch of them earlier this year for a MOOC), but I can't stand 100 Years of Solitude.   :001_tt2:

 

(Pssssst, Ali.... . Rose is wrong. Don't listen to her.)

 

;)  (Just because I'm winking doesn't mean I like Love in the Time of Cholera.)

 

:lol:

Edited November 10, 2016 by Stacia

[Woodland Mist Academy]

I read it a few years ago mainly because I was following a rabbit trail. I wanted to read the novel Catherine was reading in Northanger Abbey and when I did research I read that I should start with Walpole then work my way to Ann Radcliffe (Catherine's favorite). I thought it was melodramatic and silly too and because of that I never made it further in my attempts to read the novels Catherine would have read. I suppose it was scary in its time.

 

:ohmy:

 

So then you didn't read Radcliffe's Mysteries of Udolpho?  :svengo:

 

It has misty moors and crumbling castles! What's not to love?!?!   ;)

[Woodland Mist Academy]

 

Anyone still looking for a book written in the 1800s?  Here's a currently free classic available to Kindle readers ~

 

The Country of the Pointed Firs  by Sarah Orne Jewett

 

The Beauty of a Decaying Seaport

 

“In the life of each of us, I said to myself, there is a place remote and islanded, and given to endless regret or secret happiness; we are each the uncompanioned hermit and recluse of an hour or a day; we understand our fellows of the cell to whatever age of history they may belong.†- Sarah Orne Jewett, The Country of the Pointed Firs

 

"A Bostonian decides to spend the summer in a small seaport in Maine to finish her book. She doesn’t find the peace in Mrs. Todd’s house so she goes to an abandoned schoolhouse where she can meditate and concentrate. There she discovers the unique beauty of the decaying seaport."

**

 

 

 

:001_wub:   This was such a perfect summer read! My advice is to get it now while it's free and save it for summer!

[fastweedpuller]

A couple of book-ish reads:

 

Angela, you got me thinking about Scott O'Dell, I ate his books UP as a kid.  This article gives a bit of the backstory to Scott O'Dell's Island of the Blue Dolphins, and links it to recent girl-power apocalyptic fiction:

Island of the Blue Dolphins and the Dream of Loneliness

 

Admittedly I was completely ignorant of the very existence of fan fiction prior to the release of 50 Shades of Gray (and nope, never read that either).  This article questions the chasm between "real" literature and books read for pleasure...and how, maybe, semesters spent on literary criticism might kill one's love of, you know, FEELING something about what you're reading.  So genre writing, which one loves, cannot be serious writing, which one can only admire and criticize.  This woman argues against that: (warning: it discusses a female mystic in the early middle ages who really liked Jesus)

Full-Body Reading:  How a Medieval Mystic was the First Creator of Fan Fiction

Considering it's NaNoWriMo time, I'd think fanfic might have some adherents in your houses??  The author of that article used fanfic to bridge her own loneliness as a queer teenager. 

[Ali in OR]

Re: Love in the Time of Cholera - here's one Stacia and I disagree on - I think this is the best Marquez book I've read (and I read a bunch of them earlier this year for a MOOC), but I can't stand 100 Years of Solitude.   :001_tt2:

 

My 16 yo saw the book and said, "I hate that guy. We read some of his stuff in lit last year and I bombed everything we did with him!" I was telling her about someone on BAW who had read a lot of his works and said some were better than others and I suggested to her that magical realism isn't for everyone! I kind of feel like if she's had to read some of his stuff, I should too. Glad to hear I picked one of the better ones. I'm now holding at page 22 while I read my other library books--gotta admit that The Girl on the Train is a much faster read!

[Kareni]

...

Full-Body Reading:  How a Medieval Mystic was the First Creator of Fan Fiction

...

 

What an intriguing article, fastweedpuller.  Thanks for sharing the link!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Lady Florida.]

:ohmy:

 

So then you didn't read Radcliffe's Mysteries of Udolpho?  :svengo:

 

It has misty moors and crumbling castles! What's not to love?!?!   ;)

LOL no but I keep meaning to. It's just not high on the priority list. :D

[Kareni]

Some currently free Kindle books ~

 

This first one is factual: Last Plane Out of Saigon by Richard Pena

 

"LAST PLANE OUT OF SAIGON is a faithful reproduction of the journal of a draftee working in the operating room of Vietnam's largest military hospital during the final year of the war. Supporting historical and political context is provided by award-winning scholar, John Hagan.

Richard Pena’s entries were written in real time and, as they chronicle the last desperate year of this tragic war, present readers with a better understanding of the complicated final year of the Vietnam War from the inside, looking out. A year that tragically remains unfamiliar to most Americans.

This landmark book describes, in part, the hasty departure of American troops from Vietnam but is timely now as America again is challenged with multiple global conflicts. It is a gripping real-time account of the anger, resistance and resilience forged in one man by the horrors of Vietnam witnessed up close, in graphically human terms, touching on mistakes that were made then and which our country continues to make today. All Americans should read this important piece of history, bound to leave them with chills."

**

 

In the Midnight Rain by Barbara Samuel/Ruth Wind

 

"A RITA award finalist for Best Contemporary Romance from Romance Writers of America. Barbara Samuel's first women's fiction, writing as Ruth Wind.

LOOKING FOR THE PAST…

Ellie Connor is a biographer with a special talent for piecing together fragments of the past. Her latest project, though, promises to be her most challenging–and personal. Not only is she researching the life of a blues singer who disappeared mysteriously forty years ago, but Ellie is also trying to find the truth about the parents she never knew. The love child of a restless woman who died young and an anonymous father, Ellie has little to go on but a faded postcard her mother sent from a small East Texas town–the hometown of her latest subject.

COULD MEAN FINDING HER FUTURE

It is there that Ellie meets Blue Reynard, a man with deep roots and wide connections who may help her find answers. With a piercing gaze and cool grin, Blue is as sultry and seductive as the Southern night air. Beneath his charming surface, however, lies a soul damaged by loss. Despite her better judgment, Ellie finds herself irresistibly drawn to Blue’s passion–and his pain. But Ellie’s been lured by sweet talk and hot kisses before. How can she possibly stay with Blue when every instinct tells her to run?"

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Onceuponatime]

I finished up The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise today. The front cover says it is hilarious. I didn't find it so. It was mildly amusing, except for the fact that the memory of a horrible personal tragedy runs like thread through the whole story dampening any humor. Also, the book needed an editor. The author used a couple of phrases repeatedly that made it sound like she hadn't given much thought at being original with her words. Three times people "collapsed into a deck chair."

 

Next up, Aunts Aren't Gentlemen by P.G. Wodehouse. I need some humor while I'm blowing my nose, which is pretending it is a faucet.

[Stacia]

I finished up The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise today. The front cover says it is hilarious. I didn't find it so. It was mildly amusing, except for the fact that the memory of a horrible personal tragedy runs like thread through the whole story dampening any humor.

 

I read this years ago & remember thinking the same thing. Overall, it was nice enough, slightly amusing, but really tinged with sadness.

 

Hope you feel better quickly! :grouphug:

[Jane in NC]

"The wheel is just."  Just the words I needed today, words that I heard as I finished listening to Kim.  I truly wish that I had read this book many years ago and had assigned Kipling's novel to my son.  One wonders if the wheel of life truly is just but the reassurance was comforting.

 

Those of you looking for holiday gift suggestions might want to consider the cookbook Soup for Syria. Gorgeous photos in the book as well as delicious recipes--and a good cause.  My thoughtful sister in law sent this one my way.

[Nan in Mass]

I am listening to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and just about died when I got to the description of Zaphrod Beeblebrox (sp?). I don,t know whether it is funny or scarily prescient.

 

Nan

[Kareni]

Riptide Publishing which publishes LGBTQ fiction is currently giving away four ebooks; you can choose PDF, ePUB or MOBI formats.  I don't know how long this offer will last.

 

 

Roller Girl by Vanessa North (a female/female romance)
Lead Me Not by Ann Gallagher (a male/male romance)
Pickup Men by LC Chase (a male/male romance)
When to Hold Them by GB Gordon (a male/male romance)

 

http://giveaway.riptidepublishing.com

 

Regards,

Kareni

[shukriyya]

Popping back in to say hi. 

 

Ds and I finished reading The Paper Magician. It's been likened to The Night Circus but I don't see the similarity, really. Night Circus was written to an older audience, too. I'm currently reading The Sisters Weiss. It's middling. Listening to The Miniaturist. It's good. 

 

Feeling Leonard Cohen right now. What a heart!

[Little Nyssa]

Chrysalis, I've enjoyed the New Yorker, but I am on hiatus from it right now- every so often I get fed up with its political/cultural worldview- I always go back to it, because to my mind it's the most intelligent literary magazine out there, but there it is: if you don't happen to be from the same world, it can be a bit wearing. Also, of course it depends on your own family, but I would not recommend it for someone who is a young teen- there can be violence, nudity, S&M references, etc... and some of the non-fiction investigative articles can be quite disturbing. They investigate things that really need to be paid attention to, and something done about-- journalism at its best-- but they can be painful to read about. For example, they broke the story of Abu Ghraib. But you can read a lot of it online at their website and see for yourself what you think. (I also have to say that I have a personal relative who writes for them- she is a genius!)

 

On the recommendation of some of you, I've been reading The Madwoman in the Attic, and googling so many authors & stories they mention. This book is a fantastic and very erudite explication of SO MANY works of literature, from a feminist point of view. I do not always agree with their interpretations, but they definitely have made me think. (For example, I thought I understood Austen very well and could not learn anything more about her!) About how stories define women and how women/men authors use story to define things/themselves/the other sex. Tremendously compelling work.

[Nan in Mass]

Waving, shukriyya!

Nan