Book a Week 2016 -BW46: Flufferton Abbey

[Woodland Mist Academy]

That's ok, we all have our flaws. 

 

 

;)

 

:lol:  :laugh:

[JennW in SoCal]

Before I had even finished reading the linked article, I knew I had to post about it here as it is tailor made for our BaW mystery/foodies (Jane). I also discovered to my delight that the first title in the series is at my branch library.  The article itself is about a cookbook which has just come out with the recipes from this series of an Ottoman era detective in Istanbul who loves to cook.  It is the "Yashmin the eunich" sereis, written by Jason Goodwin. The author has several non-fiction works, too, including some travel books.

 

Culinary Adventures in the Ottoman Kitchen

[Butter]

#112: Powerless: The Synthesis by Jason Letts.  It was just okay.  The premise is in the book's universe (still on earth), kids are born with some sort of power.  Some show quickly, some don't, some are useful, some aren't, some even kill the child.  For 15 years, Mira's parents have kept her hidden behind the mist her father can create with his power.  All of a sudden they reverse this decision and decide to send her to school for the last school year.  And then they become, literally, the worst parents on the planet.  Instead of helping her navigate the confusion of how the school works and dealing with not having a power while the others do, they just kind of leave her to it and become ridiculously hands off, except when a mirror that belonged to Mira's grandmother gets broken accidentally.  That's like the end of the word.  There's a game that is apparently the worst thing ever according to parents, but is really just truth or dare with pictoral dice.  In school, the teacher is a complete idiot, teaching them that things like a watched pot takes longer to boil than one that isn't being watched are facts.  The students are nearly as stupid, but Mira knows everything because her parents taught her at home all those years.  Sometimes Mira seems fine and communicates with others well and other times she is just completely naive and weird.  All that really matters in school is winning three trials set up throughout the year. They have to use their powers on each other to win so the kid that sweats oil or the kid that senses other people's powers are at a serious disadvantage to the kid who can jump far distances or the kid who can control gravity.  The winner of the final trial is the leader of their class forever and ever.  The final trial is like Hunger Games without the killing.  It's the first in a series.  I will not be reading any more.

[aggieamy]

I'm still early on in Stolen Lives.  It's interesting so far.

 

The kids' new middle school audiobook is Masterminds, which I hadn't heard of before.  It's also interesting so far.

 

Still haven't gotten back to reading Little Women (Book 2).

 

Your school assigns some great kids books.  DD loved Masterminds when she read it earlier this year. 

 

I could use some time in Flufferton this week as I've finally succumbed to the insidious cold virus that's been circulating around the last few weeks. But which Flufferton? I started the Susan Branch book last winter and it is still on my shelves. I've never read Anne of Green Gables, nor any Anna Thirkell. 

 

 

I hope you get feeling better quickly.  I would recommend Anne of Green Gables.  It's such a classic and wonderfully written.  It's one of those books that I feel add to our cultural literacy (culture points ... LOL) and gives you a warm feeling in your heart. 

 

Hugs to everyone. I also very much appreciate this space as I contemplate an other-than-here media blackout for awhile.

 

((HUGS)) I saw this posted on facebook and it sums up how I feel ... Election 2016 is like watching your friends divorce. 

 

Nice list, Amy! I,ve read all but the last two authors. Cadell (sp?) is like a less good version of D E Stevens. My fluff is usually Heyer, Stevens, Austen, Wodehouse, Thirkell, or various favourite fantasy books. Another element, I think, is people you like to dislike who get their come-up-ance.

 

Nan

 

Yes!  That is such a good point about the come-up-ance and one of my favorite parts of a Flufferton book.  It is so satisfying to see the jerk finally get what is coming to them.  I enjoy it so much that it makes me question if I'm a good person or not!

 

Amy, thanks for your Flufferton post, I very much enjoyed it & it made me smile when reading it, so it seems as if you perfectly embody all the wonderful aspects of Flufferton!

 

Maybe I need to dip into some more Flufferton. I don't visit it often & think I might do me good if I did. The only book I can think of right now that might fit on the Flufferton list is Elizabeth von Arnim's The Enchanted April. It's just a lovely delight of a book.

 

Not sure my current book fits the Flufferton mold since it came from a list of books with unusual demons and devils. The blurb below does say it has one of the cutest literary hellspawn -- would that give it Flufferton status? :lol:  :D

 

Snake Agent by Liz Williams:

 

I think mumto2 & Jenn would enjoy this one.

 

LOL!

 

M--, the more I think about it, the more I think you really threw down the gauntlet by sullying the Vonnegut pics with the King Arthur books & chessboard.

 

Really. Really!?!

 

 

 

;) :001_tt2: :lol:

 

You two need a "Tea Summit"! 

 

I finished two books last week!

 

The Woman in Black: A Ghost Story by Susan Hill. Loved it and loved the dog!  I bet this would be good on audio.

 

The Winter Sea  by Susanna Kearsley. Liked the premise and was enjoying it until about halfway through, then I found myself skimming by the end.

 

 

I love love love Flufferton Abbey! I haven't read anything from Angela Thirkell or Stella Riley so am excited to have some new authors to read. Thanks, Amy!

 

I know you also enjoy audiobooks so I'll recommend Stella Riley's audiobooks to you.  Very well done.  I haven't listened to any Angela Thirkell yet. 

 

I'm not sure I actually love Wodehouse...  :blushing:  :ph34r:  Maybe I've just not read the right books yet. Or maybe I've just not read one at the right time. I do enjoy the gardening books of his contemporary, Beverley Nichols. Perhaps because they had a bit more substance? I usually read them with gardening catalogs nearby.  During the pauses in laughter, I try to look up the flowers he's mentioned. 

 

I've only tried one Jeeves book -- maybe I picked a bad one. I've not heard of the others you've mentioned; I'll look into them. Thanks! 

 

Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves is the I read. Is it one of the better ones, or not? (I'm hoping not. ;) ) I didn't dislike it, I just didn't like it as well as I had hoped.

 

I wouldn't exactly call it a character flaw but there are some people that don't have a deep appreciation for British humor.  Some of us can read PG Wodehouse and laugh so hard that the room starts going black and we have to warn ourselves not to go towards the light.  Others can read the exact same book and get through it with just an occasional smirk.  I don't know why science hasn't investigated the causes of this yet.  How do feel about Blackadder?  I find that if you love Blackadder then you have a high likely hood of loving Wodehouse.

 

“And she's got brains enough for two, which is the exact quantity the girl who marries you will need.â€

― P.G. Wodehouse, Mostly Sally

 

“Freddie experienced the sort of abysmal soul-sadness which afflicts one of Tolstoy's Russian peasants when, after putting in a heavy day's work strangling his father, beating his wife, and dropping the baby into the city's reservoir, he turns to the cupboards, only to find the vodka bottle empty.â€

― P.G. Wodehouse, The Best of Wodehouse: An Anthology

 

“I know I was writing stories when I was five. I don’t remember what I did before that. Just loafed, I suppose.â€

― P.G. Wodehouse

Edited November 15, 2016 by aggieamy

[aggieamy]

I'm slowly chugging through The Sunne in Splendor.  Wow.  I've already recommended it to DH and DD.  It is exactly their type of book. 

 

I did have a bit of a fan moment when they were mentioning York and Micklegate since we had just been there in May. 

 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2016 by aggieamy

[Woodland Mist Academy]

 

I wouldn't exactly call it a character flaw but there are some people that don't have a deep appreciation for British humor.  Some of us can read PG Wodehouse and laugh so hard that the room starts going black and we have to warn ourselves not to go towards the light.  Others can read the exact same book and get through it with just an occasional smirk.  I don't know why science hasn't investigated the causes of this yet.  How do feel about Blackadder?  I find that if you love Blackadder then you have a high likely hood of loving Wodehouse.

 

“And she's got brains enough for two, which is the exact quantity the girl who marries you will need.â€

― P.G. Wodehouse, Mostly Sally

 

“Freddie experienced the sort of abysmal soul-sadness which afflicts one of Tolstoy's Russian peasants when, after putting in a heavy day's work strangling his father, beating his wife, and dropping the baby into the city's reservoir, he turns to the cupboards, only to find the vodka bottle empty.â€

― P.G. Wodehouse, The Best of Wodehouse: An Anthology

 

“I know I was writing stories when I was five. I don’t remember what I did before that. Just loafed, I suppose.â€

― P.G. Wodehouse

 

Oh dear. I had to google Blackadder. This is just getting worse and worse... :blushing:   :ph34r:

 

It's not that I don't find Wodehouse funny. I do remember laughing and even dreaming about the book. I think I just find Nichols more funny. Sort of like, why read Wodehouse when you can read Nichols?  ;)

 

I'm really wondering if I just haven't read the right Wodehouse yet... 

[Kareni]

Culinary Adventures in the Ottoman Kitchen

 

Thanks for an enjoyable article, Jenn.  I'll await with interest your review of Goodwin's detective stories; fortunately, both of my libraries carry the series.  The cookbook looks good, too, and I've suggested my library purchase it.  The pumpkin soup and fig pudding look delicious, but I'll pass on the steak tartare with the raw egg.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

I am going to admit that I have never read Wodehouse but that is because I really enjoy Jeeves and Wooster and haven't wanted the worlds to meet.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tk7pk58Bq4Q. Jeeves and Wooster is occasionally used as stress relief.......I own them all.

[Kareni]

I just finished The Transcriptionist: A Novel  by Amy Rowland which my book group will be discussing on Thursday.  It was an interesting and quick read.  I suspect we'll have a lively discussion as three of the members in my group have worked for a newspaper.  I like the cover art better on the copy I read; you can see it here.

 

 

"Once, there were many transcriptionists at the Record, a behemoth New York City newspaper, but new technology has put most of them out of work. So now Lena, the last transcriptionist, sits alone in a room--a human conduit, silently turning reporters’ recorded stories into print--until the day she encounters a story so shocking that it shatters the reverie that has become her life.

This exquisite novel, written by an author who spent more than a decade as a transcriptionist at the New York Times, asks probing questions about journalism and ethics, about the decline of the newspaper and the failure of language. It is also the story of a woman’s effort to establish her place in an increasingly alien and alienating world."

“The Transcriptionist is suffused with prescient insight into journalism, ethics, and alienation . . . A thought provoking, original work.†—New York Journal of Books

“Rowland seems that rare thing, the naturally gifted novelist . . . [she] deftly maps a very specific kind of urban loneliness, the inner ache of the intelligent, damaged soul who prefers the company of ideas and words to that of people . . . That urge--to make words holy--is at the heart of this novel’s strange, sad beauty.†—The Washington Post

“The Transcriptionist holds many pleasures . . . [and] can be read through many lenses . . . Rowland plays with the notions of truth and reliability . . . Sharp and affecting.†—The New York Times Book Review

“A strange, mesmerizing novel . . . about the decline of newspapers and the subsequent loss of humanity—and yes, these are related.†—Booklist, starred review

“Ambitious and fascinating . . . Disturbing and powerful.†—Library Journal

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

I am going to admit that I have never read Wodehouse...

 

I'm also a member of the Never-Read-Wodehouse club. I think, in my case, it's because my parents liked Wodehouse.  Perhaps I have a child's fear of becoming like my parents ....

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Jane in NC]

Before I had even finished reading the linked article, I knew I had to post about it here as it is tailor made for our BaW mystery/foodies (Jane). I also discovered to my delight that the first title in the series is at my branch library.  The article itself is about a cookbook which has just come out with the recipes from this series of an Ottoman era detective in Istanbul who loves to cook.  It is the "Yashmin the eunich" sereis, written by Jason Goodwin. The author has several non-fiction works, too, including some travel books.

 

Culinary Adventures in the Ottoman Kitchen

 

Jenn knows me well!  This series looks fantastic.  My library compares the first of the Yashim novels to the historical thrillers of Arturo Perez-Reverte.  Wow!  Added to my list...

 

Yum, I love Turkish food. 

 

About Wodehouse:  Black Adder is just too much for me but I adore Wodehouse.  As noted earlier, Jeeves and Wooster are not my favorites though. I could see why people might not enjoy these books though.  Ill behaved and idiotic gentry?  Take them for what they are--great entertainments. 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2016 by Jane in NC

[Lady Florida.]

I've never read Wodehouse. I love Austen but what I love about her novels is her social satire so I don't know if that's Flufferton.

 

 

 

[Ethel Mertz]

Just in case anyone needs a Yale study to support a reading habit... 

 

People Who Read Live Longer

[aggieamy]

Finished:

 

Some Danger Involved (Baker and Llewelyn #1) by Will Thomas - If a Sherlock Holmes story and a mostly-historically accurate Victorian cozy mystery ran off an eloped then this would be their child.  It was a fun read and I plan to read more in the series. 

[Laura in CA]

 

 

 

 

 

Ooh, the Lewis chessmen! :001_wub: We just have the miniature set ... Someday! .... 

 

And I love both Wodehouse and Beverley Nichols  :001_wub: . Oh, and Blackadder. :)

 

Plenty of banter in Korea, especially if you go to the open-air markets, or the vendors in the subterranean passageways (which are extensive) in Seoul. Haggling is expected, also. Koreans are very boisterous! :) "The Italians of the Orient" ... but yeah, tons of bowing. 

 

This week I finished an Agatha Christie (inspired by a WTM thread – I hadn't read any AC since early high school. It was enjoyable, but I think I will stick with GKC and Dorothy Sayers; they take more mental energy but are ultimately more rewarding) and started Seamus Heaney's translation of Aeneid Book VI. I wish this translation had been available when I was toiling over the Latin verse in high school – which I loved, but for which I did not see the big picture, while scanning each line laboriously :) ... Unfortunately I just missed the BBC radio version read by Ian McKellen:

 

Seamus Heaney was working on a translation of Book VI of Virgil's Aeneid in the last months of his life. In this five-part series, actor Sir Ian McKellen reads the poet's posthumously published final work, in which Aeneas travels into the underworld to meet the spirit of his father. 

It's a story that captivated Heaney from his schooldays. But the work took on a special significance for him after the death of his own father, becoming a touchstone to which he would return as an adult. His noble and moving translation of Book VI bears the fruit of a lifetime's concentration upon it – he began translating passages in the 1980s, and was finalising the work right up until the summer of his death. Given the themes of Book VI, there is an added poignancy in this final gift to his readers – a work which marks the end of Heaney's poetic journey.

Please find an excerpt from Seamus Heaney's Aeneid Book VI below:

Then as her fit passed away and her raving went quiet,

Heroic Aeneas began: 'No ordeal, O Sibyl, no new

Test can dismay me, for I have foreseen

And foresuffered all. But one thing I pray for

Especially: since here the gate opens, they say,

To the King of the Underworld's realms, and here

In these shadowy marshes the Acheron floods

To the surface, vouchsafe me one look,

One face-to-face meeting with my dear father.

Edited November 15, 2016 by Laura in CA

[Nan in Mass]

Amy, I know what you mean about feeling like you are a bad person. Me, too. It IS pretty mean and always worries me.

 

Jane, you'll have to let me know if those Yasmin books are something you think I would like, or Mum. I can,t remember if I told you that she enjoyed the Elspeth Huxley mystery? She did! Thank you!

 

I just finished Simon Armitage's Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

 

"They scrambled up bankings where branches were bare

Clambered up cliff faces crazed by the cold"

 

Yummy! But as usual, I skipped the graphic animal killing bits.

 

Nan

Edited November 15, 2016 by Nan in Mass

[Kareni]

When my daughter was in high school, I assigned her The Scarlet Pimpernel to read.  She very much enjoyed it and went on to read about half a dozen of the sequels.  I see a number of those and other books by the author are currently (permanently?) free to Kindle readers.  You can see a list of the author's works listed by price; I think that all on the first page of this link are free.

 

Books by Baroness Emmuska Orczy

 

Regards,

Kareni

[JennW in SoCal]

I am going to admit that I have never read Wodehouse but that is because I really enjoy Jeeves and Wooster and haven't wanted the worlds to meet.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tk7pk58Bq4Q. Jeeves and Wooster is occasionally used as stress relief.......I own them all.

 

Oh my -- Hugh Laurie is so very young!!

 

Then again, I too was much younger 25 years ago....

[JennW in SoCal]

Just in case anyone needs a Yale study to support a reading habit... 

 

People Who Read Live Longer

 

 

"This is a novel finding..."  

 

:lol:  :smilielol5:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(It really says that in the article, the pun was apparently unintentional!!)

[Little Nyssa]

Rereading Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm- it's like Anne of Green Gables, in that you have an imaginative child living with dull, strict adults, she has a best friend who is dull, and she wants to be a writer... set in Maine... I've read this book many times, starting in childhood, and until I read it out to DD, I never realized how FUNNY it is: DD has been laughing out loud!

[Nan in Mass]

Rereading Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm- it's like Anne of Green Gables, in that you have an imaginative child living with dull, strict adults, she has a best friend who is dull, and she wants to be a writer... set in Maine... I've read this book many times, starting in childhood, and until I read it out to DD, I never realized how FUNNY it is: DD has been laughing out loud!

I like (and liked) RofSF much better than AofGG. I didn't much like AofGG until I was much older. Too scary.

 

Nan

 

Eta RofSF is a favourite if my mother's and mine. Very funny! Comfort food. : )

Edited November 16, 2016 by Nan in Mass

[Kareni]

Currently free to Kindle readers ~

 

a cozy mystery: Bought The Farm (A Rainy Day Mystery Book 1)  by Jeff Shelby

 

I see the author has two more free books: The Murder Pit (A Moose River Mystery Book 1)

 

and  the not cozy: Thread of Hope (The Joe Tyler Series Book 1)

 

**

The Christmas Bargain: (A Sweet Victorian Holiday Romance)  by Shanna Hatfield  (this is a historical western set in Oregon)

**

 

a young adult duo: Saving Mars Series Books 1-2  by Cidney Swanson

 

KIRKUS REVIEWS (Saving Mars, Book 1)

 

A 17-year-old pilot with a history of crashing her craft holds a planet's fate in her hands when a human settlement on Mars runs low on food. Flight-obsessed Jessamyn Jaarda faces the biggest mission of her life ... Fired from pilot training for crashing one craft and praised for doing the same to another, Jess inspires unpredictable reactions in people. Maybe that's because Jess lives, as she flies, by pure instinct, and no one knows whether that trait will enable her tosave her planet when ... she must fly to Earth on a food raid. Along with her brother ... the red-haired teenager has the courage to attempt the mission and stick with it when it goes terribly wrong. Swanson paces this story beautifully, weaving exposition tightly into the plot as disaster interrupts everyday routines. Despite the strangeness of the Martian environment, the novel quickly establishes the humanity of Jess and other characters, as when Jess tries and fails to help her brother resist a bout of claustrophobia or when she first locks eyes with her planet's only dog and feels something... "A something that reminded her of taking her craft toward breaking day or of watching Phobos as the swift moon zipped across the night sky. The dog was...wondrous."... Jess sees everything through the lens of her obsession with flight, but she becomes far too multifaceted, distractible and passionate to be mistaken for an archetype. Watching her grow and struggle to survive makes this book hard to put down. A sci-fi novel that soars along with a teenage heroine whose imperfections help make her believable and endearing. -Kirkus, starred

**

 

and not quite sure how to categorize this one: When Women Were Warriors, Book 1: The Warrior's Path  by Catherine M. Wilson

 

Regards,

Kareni

[ErinE]

Is anyone interested in the unopened DVDs for Writing Great Fiction from the Great Courses? The disks would probably only work in the US. I received it as a gift, but I already had the Audible copy. This would be good for a novice writer, especially one who hasn't read many books on writing craft. I'm happy to send it to whoever wants it.

[Nan in Mass]

...

 

a young adult duo: Saving Mars Series Books 1-2 by Cidney Swanson

 

KIRKUS REVIEWS (Saving Mars, Book 1)

 

A 17-year-old pilot with a history of crashing her craft holds a planet's fate in her hands when a human settlement on Mars runs low on food. Flight-obsessed Jessamyn Jaarda faces the biggest mission of her life ... Fired from pilot training for crashing one craft and praised for doing the same to another, Jess inspires unpredictable reactions in people. Maybe that's because Jess lives, as she flies, by pure instinct, and no one knows whether that trait will enable her tosave her planet when ... she must fly to Earth on a food raid. Along with her brother ... the red-haired teenager has the courage to attempt the mission and stick with it when it goes terribly wrong. Swanson paces this story beautifully, weaving exposition tightly into the plot as disaster interrupts everyday routines. Despite the strangeness of the Martian environment, the novel quickly establishes the humanity of Jess and other characters, as when Jess tries and fails to help her brother resist a bout of claustrophobia or when she first locks eyes with her planet's only dog and feels something... "A something that reminded her of taking her craft toward breaking day or of watching Phobos as the swift moon zipped across the night sky. The dog was...wondrous."... Jess sees everything through the lens of her obsession with flight, but she becomes far too multifaceted, distractible and passionate to be mistaken for an archetype. Watching her grow and struggle to survive makes this book hard to put down. A sci-fi novel that soars along with a teenage heroine whose imperfections help make her believable and endearing. -Kirkus, starred

**

 

...

Regards,

Kareni

Kareni, do you know if anything awful happens to the dog?

Nan

[Chrysalis Academy]

I finished reading I Will Send Rain. I really enjoyed this book - sort of a cross between The Grapes of Wrath and Anna Karenina, but very modern in the writing and the sensibility. It's about a family of farmers in OK during the dustbowl, who stay on their farm even as it blows away underneath them. Spare yet beautiful descriptions. Focused on the really real. The characters were well drawn and relatable.  All about loving, and losing, and leaving, and finding what matters. Each family member had a crisis, yet the space to work through that crisis. How rare is it to actually allow each other that kind of space?

[fastweedpuller]

In disbelief I stayed up late last Tuesday until even my numbed self understood the outcome of this election.  Then I climbed into bed and picked up The Mandibles:  A Family, 2029-2047.  Nothing like a little light dystopic reading on economic collapse!  And I piled on, of course, and did a paired reading with The Rise and Fall of Nations:  Forces of Change in the Post-Crisis World, which is all about world economics post 2008.  You know, because not only am I a masochist at heart, I'd always been attracted to "the dismal science."  Moreso than my art degree ever let on.

 

Anyway, I know you've read the former, Rose.  Anyone else?  It was funny, my discussing my post-election reading with a friend:  "So what is that, a comedy?"  "Yes," I demurred, "a deeply dark one."

 

But I do want to tell you about How Not to Be Wrong:  The Power of Mathematical Thinking, by Jordan Ellenberg.  It's exactly one of those kinds of books WTMers like for their kids.  I can completely see using this book (as both its audible and paged form) for understanding math's many highways and cul-de-sacs.  None of the math is "high" and all of it could be done with one piece of paper per chapter.  He is amusing, and only every once in a while did I drift off...anyway I do recommend it.  I will be using it with DD once she hits high school.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

I've never read Wodehouse. I love Austen but what I love about her novels is her social satire so I don't know if that's Flufferton.

 

I agree. I wouldn't consider Austen Flufferton. 

[Woodland Mist Academy]

 

And I love both Wodehouse and Beverley Nichols  :001_wub: . Oh, and Blackadder. :)

 

 

Are there Wodehouse books you like better than others? I'm thinking I need to try another one. 

 

When my daughter was in high school, I assigned her The Scarlet Pimpernel to read.  She very much enjoyed it and went on to read about half a dozen of the sequels.  I see a number of those and other books by the author are currently (permanently?) free to Kindle readers.  You can see a list of the author's works listed by price; I think that all on the first page of this link are free.

 

Books by Baroness Emmuska Orczy

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Thank you!!

[aggieamy]

Is anyone interested in the unopened DVDs for Writing Great Fiction from the Great Courses? The disks would probably only work in the US. I received it as a gift, but I already had the Audible copy. This would be good for a novice writer, especially one who hasn't read many books on writing craft. I'm happy to send it to whoever wants it.

 

Has anyone claimed this?  Send me a PM with your email address and I'll paypal you what you want for it!

[Kareni]

Regarding the still free Saving Mars Series Books 1-2  by Cidney Swanson:

 

Kareni, do you know if anything awful happens to the dog?

 

I haven't read the books, Nan, so I can't speak from experience.  However, I did some sleuthing and found mention of the planetary dog in book six of the series, so I'm guessing that nothing awful happens to it.  (You can see what I found here by searching for planetary dog.)

 

Regards,

Kareni

[ErinE]

Has anyone claimed this?  Send me a PM with your email address and I'll paypal you what you want for it!

 

 

Done. No payment needed (it was free to me). PM me your address. 

[aggieamy]

Re:  Sunne in Splendor

 

Ladies -  I'm having "long book problems".  I have been reading for 25 minutes and I'm still at 10%.  That's what it was at when I started reading this afternoon. Good thing it's interesting.  I sure like this Richard kid ... can't wait to see how this ends.  He becomes one of the most popular and celebrated kings of England, right?!?!  :crying:

[Mom-ninja.]

Stacia, (sighing) I am very sorry. Sorry indeed. However, I have decided to stop listening to Breakfast of Champions at this time. Perhaps, maybe, there is a slight chance I will finish it at some later time. As of now I am stopping. Maybe it's because of the charged emotional and political atmosphere right now that makes this book hit too close to my frazzled nerves. The audio version is a bit over 5 hours and I've listened to 3.5 but I can't anymore. He has now started giving the phallic measurements of all the male characters and I'm just  :huh:  :ohmy:  :blink:  and then  :001_unsure:  :bored:  :( about all the rest. I can appreciate his writing style, recognize a strong literary voice, and agree with all his satire and the many points he is making. The book makes me want to cry because it is all so real. 

 

Vonnegurt = not flufferton. I didn't expect him to be, but I'm not ready to complete the book. 

 

So my verdict is that I think Vonnegurt is an amazing writer. So good in fact that he has hit my emotions a bit too much this week. I will set him reverently aside. 

[aggieamy]

Stacia, (sighing) I am very sorry. Sorry indeed. However, I have decided to stop listening to Breakfast of Champions at this time. Perhaps, maybe, there is a slight chance I will finish it at some later time. As of now I am stopping. Maybe it's because of the charged emotional and political atmosphere right now that makes this book hit too close to my frazzled nerves. The audio version is a bit over 5 hours and I've listened to 3.5 but I can't anymore. He has now started giving the phallic measurements of all the male characters and I'm just  :huh:  :ohmy:  :blink:  and then  :001_unsure:  :bored:  :( about all the rest. I can appreciate his writing style, recognize a strong literary voice, and agree with all his satire and the many points he is making. The book makes me want to cry because it is all so real. 

 

Vonnegurt = not flufferton. I didn't expect him to be, but I'm not ready to complete the book. 

 

So my verdict is that I think Vonnegurt is an amazing writer. So good in fact that he has hit my emotions a bit too much this week. I will set him reverently aside. 

 

I think it's so amazing how we can react to some books so differently at different times of life.  I think it's a sign of amazing writing that we can become so emotionally connected to a story.  I'm hoping (praying!) that life calms down so there isn't so much panic.  It saddens me so much. 

[Jane in NC]

Coming in to say that the kindness, generosity and open mindedness of the BaW group should serve as a demonstration of the Possible to the rest of the universe.

 

Nan, I am so glad that your Mum enjoyed the Elspeth Huxley mystery.  We both need to thank OnceUponATime for passing it along in the first place.  As a result, I was led to read Huxley's memoir The Flame Trees of Thika which I really enjoyed.  So double thanks to OnceUponATime!

 

Nan, would your Mum like Hamlet, Revenge!, a classic mystery by Michael Innes? It is a cerebral country house mystery, lots of Shakespearean references, but a slow go-er for me.

 

[Maus]

Hey, I made it to 52 already!  And I am definitely on a memoir kick.

 

52. "The Terrorist's Son: A Story of Choice" by Zak Ebrahim with Jeff Giles.  Perfect timing, given the recent "protests."  Based on his Ted Talk, this is the story of how Z came to choose a life of peace, even though he was the son of a man who helped plan the World Trade Center garage bombing.  It's a quick read, just shy of 100 pages.

 

51. "Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival" by Joe Simpson.

50. "Why We Write About Ourselves: Twenty Memoirists on Why They Expose Themselves (and Others) in the name of Literature" ed. by Meredith Maran.

49. "Write Your Memoir: The soul work telling your story" by Dr. Allan G. Hunter.

48.  "Shimmering Images: A Handy Little Guide to Writing Memoir" by Lisa Dale Norton.

47. "The Story of Science" by Susan Wise Bauer

46. "The Kids' Guide to Staying Awesome and in Control" by Lauren Brukner. 

45. "Freaks, Geeks & Asperger Syndrome" by Luke Jackson.

44.  "Seven Miracles That Saved America" by Chris Stewart and Ted Stewart (LDS). 

43. "The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared" by Alice Ozma.

42. "Unsolved Mysteries of American History" by Paul Aron.

41. "The Out-of-Sync Child Grows Up" by Carol Stock Kranowitz. 

40. "Look Me in the Eye: my life with asperger's" by John Elder Robison.

39. "The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History" by Thomas E. Woods.

38. "A Buffet of Sensory Interventions: Solutions for Middle and High School Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders" by Susan Culp. 

37. "Thinking in Pictures" by Temple Grandin.

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

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

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

33. "Blue Fairy Book" by Andrew Lang.

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

31. "Greenwich" by Susan Cooper.

30. "Dark is Rising" by Susan Cooper.

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

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

27. "Freak the Mighty" by Rodman Philbrick. 

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

25."Caddie Woodlawn" by Carol Ryrie Brink.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

17. "Soft Rain" by Cornelia Cornelissen.

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

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

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

13. "Let It Go" by Chris Williams

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

11. "Writing the Memoir" by Judith Barrington.

10.  "Boys Adrift" by Leonard Sax.

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

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

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

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

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

4. "Four" by Virginia Roth.

3. "Allegiant" by Virgina Roth.

2. " Insurgent" by Virginia Roth.

1. "Divergent" by Virginia Roth.

Edited November 16, 2016 by Maus

[Mom-ninja.]

Oh, forgot to include the book I did finish which was Sleights of Mind. It's about the neuroscience behind magic. In other words why are we tricked by magic tricks. Why do we see things that are not there and so forth. Very interesting book. The two scientists who wrote the book now use magic tricks to help study neurology. 

[Onceuponatime]

I just finished Inferno. I like the way the author wrote like a tour guide through the historical places the characters visited. There were quite a few surprise twists by the end of the story, some I foresaw, others not. All in all, I enjoyed the story, even though the premise was disturbing.

 

Next up I'm going to try Charity Girl by Georgette Heyer in honor of flufferton week. It is not my usual fare. I've only read Heyer's mysteries. I found this one in a thrift store some months ago.

[Nan in Mass]

Onceuponatime, thank you for passing along the Elspeth Huxley mystery! My mum enjoyed it and it is in my stack now.

 

Jane, good guess about the Michael Innes. She has a whole shelf of them and that is one of her favourites. I,ve read it a number of times. My husband agreed with you about the slowness, though. I just finished a big saltmarsh painting and thought of you, island girl that you are.

 

Nan

[Jane in NC]

Onceuponatime, thank you for passing along the Elspeth Huxley mystery! My mum enjoyed it and it is in my stack now.

 

Jane, good guess about the Michael Innes. She has a whole shelf of them and that is one of her favourites. I,ve read it a number of times. My husband agreed with you about the slowness, though. I just finished a big saltmarsh painting and thought of you, island girl that you are.

 

Nan

Nice! I saw two wood storks in the salt marsh last week. It is only the third time I have seen wood storks here (whereas they are common at Saint Simons Island, GA). It was funny because a fellow I knew was telling me that he had seen wood storks recently and I said I had only seen them twice--about ten years ago and then last year. We parted ways and I continued on my bike ride. Lo and behold--a mile down the road were two wood storks!

[Nan in Mass]

Thank you, Kareni! I think I might try these, then. Eventually. When I work my way though my currenr pile.

 

Nan

[Nan in Mass]

Nice! I saw two wood storks in the salt marsh last week. It is only the third time I have seen wood storks here (whereas they are common at Saint Simons Island, GA). It was funny because a fellow I knew was telling me that he had seen wood storks recently and I said I had only seen them twice--about ten years ago and then last year. We parted ways and I continued on my bike ride. Lo and behold--a mile down the road were two wood storks!

That's fun! We seem to have a bunch of swans on the lake. Swans themselves are not unusual here, but they usually aren't on our lake, or if they are, it is a just a couple for a few days. They are SO noisy when they fly! Big wings!

 

Nan

[Jane in NC]

That's fun! We seem to have a bunch of swans on the lake. Swans themselves are not unusual here, but they usually aren't on our lake, or if they are, it is a just a couple for a few days. They are SO noisy when they fly! Big wings!

 

Nan

Lake Mattamuskeet here in NC is the winter home to Tundra Swans. What a racket they make along with the snow geese! I need to make a trip up that way again for the squawk fest.

[Ethel Mertz]

In disbelief I stayed up late last Tuesday until even my numbed self understood the outcome of this election.  Then I climbed into bed and picked up The Mandibles:  A Family, 2029-2047.  Nothing like a little light dystopic reading on economic collapse!  And I piled on, of course, and did a paired reading with The Rise and Fall of Nations:  Forces of Change in the Post-Crisis World, which is all about world economics post 2008.  You know, because not only am I a masochist at heart, I'd always been attracted to "the dismal science."  Moreso than my art degree ever let on.

 

Anyway, I know you've read the former, Rose.  Anyone else?  It was funny, my discussing my post-election reading with a friend:  "So what is that, a comedy?"  "Yes," I demurred, "a deeply dark one."

 

l.

I read the Mandibles as well. I really "liked" the book - if one can say that about a book that is so grimly realistic. Characters were drawn well - the dementia of the step mother added a piece that folks with elderly parents could recognize. And, yeah, what a book for you to read post-election!

[Little Nyssa]

1. Help! How did I miss this?Elspeth Huxleywrote a mystery?

2. I like Wodehouse... I've never heard of Blackadder but I looked it up and it doesn't seem at all the same kind of thing- can anyone explain?

Thanks!!

[aggieamy]

1. Help! How did I miss this?Elspeth Huxleywrote a mystery?

2. I like Wodehouse... I've never heard of Blackadder but I looked it up and it doesn't seem at all the same kind of thing- can anyone explain?

Thanks!!

 

 

I don't think Wodehouse and Blackadder are quite the same thing just that they both has a similar sort of humor.  A bit irreverent, poking fun at British society, and some of the most absurd characters ever written.  Most of the people I know in real life that like Wodehouse are huge Blackadder fans.  I

[Stacia]

Mom-ninja, I have never read Breakfast of Champions (even though it is one of his most famous books). Lol. I get what you mean about certain stories hitting too hard, especially at certain times. If & when you feel ready to try him sometime in the future, you might try Deadeye Dick or Timequake. I think you might like either of those. No worries, though. I know Vonnegut is often an acquired taste. And, his social satire is so sharp & on-point that it is easy to be touched (or even devastated) by what he writes. And, of course, I always recommend Slaughterhouse-Five. (I avoided reading it for years, just from the title alone.)

 

You can add me to the never-read-Wodehouse club too, sort-of. I tried/started one once, but couldn't get into it. I think it was a Wooster & Jeeves one.

 

On my reading front, I finished Liz Willams' Snake Agent, the first book in her Detective Inspector Chen novels. (Unfortunately, I have had too much time spent lately at appointments, today's being one of our beloved cats starting chemo for lymphoma.) I liked the book & enjoyed the setting (which moves between Earth & Hell). Detective Inspector Chen works with a demon inspector from Hell, Seneschal Zhu Irzh, to solve a crime starting with stolen ghosts & ending with a conspiracy. The setting is in a near-future "Singapore Three" (cities are franchised). I would consider reading the next book in this series when I'm looking for something of this style (crime/fantasy) down the road. And, I still think mumto2 & Jenn would like it too. Thanks again, Kareni, for all the neat links you find for us; one of your links is how I found this book in the first place.

 

(ETA: Even with a very cute hellspawn in the story, I think this is definitely not Flufferton material. ;)  Not really fluffy at all -- more of ghosts, demons, hellfire, pestilence, etc.... At least the "bad guys" get their come-uppance.)

 

Oh, and Angel, I finally got to read Nasreen's Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan for our picture books banned books reading. Lol. While heartbreaking, it's also inspiring, & hopeful. I'd definitely recommend it for kids. I also liked the style of the illustrations and the layout of the pages -- almost like a book within a book.

 

 

Young Nasreen has not spoken a word to anyone since her parents disappeared.

In despair, her grandmother risks everything to enroll Nasreen in a secret school for girls. Will a devoted teacher, a new friend, and the worlds she discovers in books be enough to draw Nasreen out of her shell of sadness?

Based on a true story from Afghanistan, this inspiring book will touch readers deeply as it affirms both the life-changing power of education and the healing power of love.

 

Edited November 17, 2016 by Stacia

[aggieamy]

 

Bonus:  A young Hugh Laurie!

 

Captain Blackadder: Do you mean "How did the war start?" 

Lieutenant George: The war started because of the vile Hun and his villainous empire- building. 

Captain Blackadder: George, the British Empire at present covers a quarter of the globe, while the German Empire consists of a small sausage factory in Tanganiki. I hardly think that we can be entirely absolved of blame on the imperialistic front.

Edited November 17, 2016 by aggieamy

[Kareni]

 Thanks again, Kareni, for all the neat links you find for us; one of your links is how I found this book in the first place.

 

You are quite welcome!

 

**

 

Today I finished a re-read of Roan Parrish's In the Middle of Somewhere.  I'd been inspired to revisit this book after recently reading the second book in the series.  I enjoyed it once again.  Now I'd like to read third book.  (Adult content)

 

"Daniel Mulligan is tough, snarky, and tattooed, hiding his self-consciousness behind sarcasm. Daniel has never fit in—not at home in Philadelphia with his auto mechanic father and brothers, and not at school where his Ivy League classmates looked down on him. Now, Daniel’s relieved to have a job at a small college in Holiday, Northern Michigan, but he’s a city boy through and through, and it’s clear that this small town is one more place he won’t fit in.

 

Rex Vale clings to routine to keep loneliness at bay: honing his muscular body, perfecting his recipes, and making custom furniture. Rex has lived in Holiday for years, but his shyness and imposing size have kept him from connecting with people.

 

When the two men meet, their chemistry is explosive, but Rex fears Daniel will be another in a long line of people to leave him, and Daniel has learned that letting anyone in can be a fatal weakness. Just as they begin to break down the walls keeping them apart, Daniel is called home to Philadelphia, where he discovers a secret that changes the way he understands everything."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Laura in CA]

Are there Wodehouse books you like better than others? I'm thinking I need to try another one. 

 

 

Thank you!!

 

 

I haven't actually read all that many (but I own several, and I intend to read all of them someday!), but the ones I have read (and listened to as audio books) I have enjoyed immensely, even the early ones. Oh, and I also own the complete Fry/Laurie series. :) I'm sure some of the other folks in this group can recommend their favorites.  :lurk5:  :bigear:  

I shelve my Wodehouse books near my Evelyn Waugh books – somehow they strike me as similar, with humor, absurd characters, witty observations of the British at work and at leisure ... btw did you know that Wodehouse is pronounced Wood-house, and Evelyn is pronounced Eve-elyn? and that Mr Waugh married a woman named Evelyn?  :lol: