Book a Week 2016 - BW47: Happy Thanksgiving

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday dear hearts!  This is the beginning of week 47 in our quest to read 52 books. Welcome back to all our readers, to those just joining in and all who are following our progress. Mr. Linky is all set up on the 52 Books blog to link to your reviews. The link is also below in my signature.

 

 52 Books blog - Happy Thanksgiving:   We are celebrating Thanksgiving here in the U.S. and personally I am very thankful we have the whole week off.   :lol:   Simple pleasures!   So this week, let's talk about what we are thankful for...books and family and friends and love.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm Thankful for You

 

By 

 

Joanna Fuchs

 

 

 

Thanksgiving is the appointed time

for focusing on the good in our lives.

In each of our days,

we can find small blessings,

but too often we overlook them,

choosing instead to spend our time

paying attention to problems.

We give our energy

to those who cause us trouble

instead of those who bring peace.

Starting now,

let's be on the lookout

for the bits of pleasure in each hour,

and appreciate the people who

bring love and light to everyone

who is blessed to know them.

You are one of those people.

On Thanksgiving,

I'm thankful for you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

 

 

******************************************************

 

History of the Renaissance World -Chapters 83 and 84 (10 more chapters to go after this and you'll be done) 

 

******************************************************

 

What are you reading this week?

 

 

 

Link to week 46

Edited November 20, 2016 by Robin M

[KathyBC]

Bingo card: I had thought I was going to be able to match all the categories, but now I see there are some I have nothing for (adapted fairy tale; 2016 publication date); is it possible I was looking at some other, older version?

 

 

I'm not following the bingo card too closely, but thought the 2016 publication date would be a difficult square for me as well. Then the library miraculously sent me Barkskins by Annie Proulx before 2017, so I may just make that category, at least.

[Robin M]

I'm in the middle of Lee Child's Never Go Back in his Jack Reacher series.   Just finished Jayne Castle (aka Jayne Krentz), Amaryllis which is the 1st book in her St Helen's series.  Nice fluffy read.  

 

We watched The Martian last night which was awesome, yet intense and not the best thing to watch right before you go to bed.   :lol:  

 

 

[mumto2]

My Flufferton book is done and it was lovely. That being said I discovered Mrs. Tim of the Regiment is actually Stevenson's own real life diary dressed up for publication. It was so interesting. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10211428-mrs-tim-of-the-regiment

 

I am still reading the new Ben Aaronovith and listening to The Twelve.

[Lady Florida.]

I missed a good part of last week's thread.

 

Stacia, I'm sorry about your pup.  :grouphug:

 

This past week I finished The Plantagenets and The Queen's Man. I gave up on both Grantchester and Cover Her Face. Grantchester (actually called Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death) was okay but I think I just wasn't in the mood. Cover Her Face was taking too long to get anywhere. 

 

I'm back to reading Alexander Hamilton (it's the same bio Lin-Manuel Miranda read that inspired him to write the musical) and trying to decide on my next mystery/thriller/suspense novel. Not sure where I want to go with that.

[Negin]

I read The Book of Ebenezer Le Page - 2 Stars - Boooring :lol:. I’m amazed that I actually managed to finish this. The book got rather mundane and I thought that it would never end. I remember that it was a discounted e-book and the reason that I got it was that it was recommended for those who liked "Stoner" (a book which I loved). For me, this wasn't a good recommendation at all. 

 

 

MY RATING SYSTEM

5 Stars

Fantastic, couldn't put it down

4 Stars

Really Good

3 Stars

Enjoyable

2 Stars

Just Okay – nothing to write home about

1 Star

Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

[Chrysalis Academy]

I missed a good part of last week's thread.

 

Stacia, I'm sorry about your pup.  :grouphug:

 

This past week I finished The Plantagenets and The Queen's Man. I gave up on both Grantchester and Cover Her Face. Grantchester (actually called Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death) was okay but I think I just wasn't in the mood. Cover Her Face was taking too long to get anywhere. 

 

I'm back to reading Alexander Hamilton (it's the same bio Lin-Manuel Miranda read that inspired him to write the musical) and trying to decide on my next mystery/thriller/suspense novel. Not sure where I want to go with that.

 

Kathy, how did you like The Queen's Man?

[Just Robyn]

I finished listening to Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. As one would assume from the title and the author, this is a good book for anyone who likes running, writing, and Murakami. I enjoyed it, but it's not for everyone. This isn't one of those books that spends so much time on universal themes that most people will like it whether or not they have an interest in the surface topic.

 

Then I listened to Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I appreciated seeing how the author's worldview changed and grew as he studied, observed, met new people, traveled, etc. ETA: And the ways in which it remained the same - what things stuck with him and may stick with him forever (and, of course, some of those things are positive).

 

I just started listening to Fairy Tale as Myth/Myth as Fairy Tale by Jack Zipes, and I've been reading Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce. I found SKoFT on this list of books to read around Christmas time. I like it so far. It's easy to read, has a nice setting, has magical elements without necessarily belonging in the SF/F section of the library. 

Edited November 20, 2016 by crstarlette

[Lady Florida.]

Kathy, how did you like The Queen's Man?

 

I enjoyed it, but I'm a fan of historical mysteries anyway. 

[Angel]

For my book club's November's Mysterious Book I read The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman.  I thought it was a cozy mystery, and though there was a little bit of mystery, I'm not sure it was a mystery.  In fact, I'm not sure what I would categorize this book.  I enjoyed it nonetheless!  Mrs. Pollifax was hilarious, and I loved her character with her propensity to not only look for adventure but to persevere when the going got rough.  This book also fulfilled my "U" book :)  I'd read more Mrs. Pollifax if the time allowed.

 

Mrs. Pollifax was my 50th book of the year!  I'm excited about that :)

 

I started Venetia by Georgette Heyer last night.  It's a reread but I'm still loving it :)

 

My girls and my nephews and the bunny went to my parents for the week (we will join them later), so it's been a quiet two days.  That'll all change in about an hour, though. I'm babysitting the kids Skye nanny's for while she's gone, and they are coming to spend the night tonight with Miss Angel.  Fun times!

[Mothersweets]

Last week I read Brooklyn by Colm Toibin. I'd watched the movie a few months ago and really liked it. The book was so very good but I'm kind of wondering if watching the movie first helped me to enjoy the book more? Quick read for me and now I have several other books that I should finish.

 

Angel, Venetia is one of my favorite Georgette Heyer books. I have it on audio, too - the abridged version with RIchard Armitage reading - swoon! :001_wub:

 

[KathyBC]

For my book club's November's Mysterious Book I read The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman.  I thought it was a cozy mystery, and though there was a little bit of mystery, I'm not sure it was a mystery.  In fact, I'm not sure what I would categorize this book.  I enjoyed it nonetheless!  Mrs. Pollifax was hilarious, and I loved her character with her propensity to not only look for adventure but to persevere when the going got rough.  This book also fulfilled my "U" book :)  I'd read more Mrs. Pollifax if the time allowed.

 

 

A cozy spy novel?

[Jane in NC]

Last week I read Brooklyn by Colm Toibin. I'd watched the movie a few months ago and really liked it. The book was so very good but I'm kind of wondering if watching the movie first helped me to enjoy the book more? Quick read for me and now I have several other books that I should finish.

 

Angel, Venetia is one of my favorite Georgette Heyer books. I have it on audio, too - the abridged version with RIchard Armitage reading - swoon! :001_wub:

 

I watched the film Brooklyn while flying to Seattle in October, a perfect distraction for a cross country flight. 

 

Still lost in Iceland as I read Butterflies in November. What is it about bleak landscapes?  I am also enjoying the latest season of Shetland that is airing on my local PBS station.

 

My husband and I are talking about what outdoor activity should engage us on Black Friday to #OptOutside.  Anyone else?

[Kareni]

  Just finished Jayne Castle (aka Jayne Krentz), Amaryllis which is the 1st book in her St Helen's series.  Nice fluffy read.  

 

I read that series when it first came out.  A nice fluffy read, indeed.

 

We watched The Martian last night which was awesome, yet intense and not the best thing to watch right before you go to bed.   :lol:  

 

But are you craving potatoes?

 

 

 52 Books blog - Happy Thanksgiving:   We are celebrating Thanksgiving here in the U.S. and personally I am very thankful we have the whole week off.   :lol:   Simple pleasures!   So this week, let's talk about what we are thankful for...books and family and friends and love.  

 

 

And a happy Thanksgiving to all reading who celebrate the holiday.  I'm thankful for my loving family, for good friends, for my good health, for good books and for this fun venue in which to share them.  I'm thankful for you, Robin, for hosting this thread and for Susan Wise Bauer for so generously providing this space for us all.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Nan in Mass]

Thanks, Stacia. I will look at the beginning and end if my library has it, and ignore the rest. : )

 

Nan

[Kareni]

A couple of recent books read ~

 

Hope(less) (Judgement Of The Six Book 1) by Melissa Haag 

 

This was an enjoyable light read.  It's currently free to Kindle readers either by itself (see the link above) or as one of the books in this collection:  Gods and Mortals: Eleven Novels Featuring Thor, Loki, Greek Gods, Native American Spirits, Vampires, Werewolves, & More

 

Here's the blurb for Hope(less):

 

"Our world is being judged, and we remain unaware.

In a world filled with people, Gabby is uniquely alone. The tiny glowing sparks that fill her mind and represent the people around her, confirm it.

Clueless regarding the reason behind her sight, Gabby struggles to find an explanation. A chance encounter leads her closer to the answers she has struggled to find and into a hidden society where fur is optional. There she meets Clay, the intense werewolf delusional enough to think he has a chance with her.

Gabby escapes back into her old life, but not quite alone. Clay follows her and silently makes a place for himself in her world. As if that isn’t enough to deal with, problems compound when other werewolves, ones with abnormally colored sparks, begin to stalk her.

Instead of gaining answers, her list of questions is growing. What do the other uniquely colored sparks mean? Is she not as alone as she thought?

Judgement has begun..."

 

I'm looking forward to reading the companion book which is written from the viewpoint of Clay.  That book is also currently free to Kindle readers:   Clay's Hope: Judgement of the Six Companion Series, Book 1.

 

**

 

I also re-read Laura Florand's Once Upon a Rose (La Vie en Roses Series Book 1) which I enjoyed once more.

 

"She stole his roses.

Fleeing the spotlight, burnt out rock star Layla—“Belleâ€â€”Dubois seeks refuge in the south of France. That old, half-forgotten heritage in a valley of roses seems like a good place to soothe a wounded heart. She certainly doesn’t expect the most dangerous threat to her heart to pounce on her as soon as she sets foot on the land.

He wants them back.

Matt didn’t mean to growl at her quite that loudly. But—his roses! She can’t have his roses. Even if she does have all those curls and green eyes and, and, and…what was he growling about again?

Or maybe he just wants her.

When an enemy invades his valley and threatens his home, heart, and livelihood, Matthieu Rosier really knows only one way to defend himself.

It might involve kissing.

And that might be just the start."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Ali in OR]

I have a few going right now. American Pastoral is my book club's November pick, and at the moment I only have time to read it on the treadmill. I think it's well-written, but not grabbing me enough to make me want to read it when I'm not on the treadmill. At the library, Helen Oyeyemi's What is Not Yours Is Not Yours became available. Stacia, I want to like this but I have to say it's just not fitting me. This is for the fairy tale square for Bingo. I like the idea of reading some short stories--that usually fits well with my attention span and lack of reading time. But these are just weird. I think I'm too left-brained for this author. Stories jump and jerk in new directions, some characters are introduced who don't really seem to play much of a role, I think the author twists and turns plots just to twist and turn plots (doesn't need to make sense), and I can't seem to remember what gender a narrator is, what country they are in, etc. I think it would be interesting to analyze this in a class but it's starting to feel like a chore to try to read it for fun. I have a few more stories to go to finish it up. Dd and I made good progress in Grapes of Wrath this week--will continue working on these three this next week, though I expect to be done with What Is Not Yours in the next day or two.

[Stacia]

 

My book club is reading Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman. I have not read his previous books & started this one in semi-skeptical mode, expecting to tolerate the book more than actually like it.

 

I've read about a third of it. In the beginning, I was skeptical, but it's growing on me, just like the character & town are also growing, I suppose. From what I've read so far, I'd characterize this as modern Flufferton.

 

The bestselling author of A Man Called Ove returns with this heartwarming story about a woman rediscovering herself after a personal crisis. Sixty-three-year-old Britt-Marie is a gentle, extremely straightforward and believably flawed protagonist who, after walking out on her husband of 40 years, gets a job as the caretaker of the almost-defunct Recreational Center in the fictional European town of Borg. Here she meets several characters including two young children—Vega and Omar, whose off-beat personalities and lifestyles contribute to her growing self-confidence and growth. Backman reveals Britt-Marie’s need for order and her obsession with bicarbonate soda and Faxin—a cleaning agent—with clear, tight descriptions. The true highlight is Backman’s exposition of Britt-Marie’s subtle actions—like the way she rubs her ring finger—and thoughts. These details of Britt-Marie’s character, what her husband cited as her being “socially incompetent,†increasingly endear her to the reader. Insightful and touching, this is a sweet and inspiring story about truth and transformation. Fans of Backman’s will find another winner in these pages.

 

 

[Stacia]

Ali, sorry to hear that you're not enjoying Oyeyemi's short stories very much.

[ErinE]

I'm in the middle of Lee Child's Never Go Back in his Jack Reacher series.   Just finished Jayne Castle (aka Jayne Krentz), Amaryllis which is the 1st book in her St Helen's series.  Nice fluffy read.  

 

We watched The Martian last night which was awesome, yet intense and not the best thing to watch right before you go to bed.   :lol:  

 

I love The Martian. As it always does, xkcd explains it so well:

 

https://xkcd.com/1536/

 

Books read:

 

• The Silk Road by Valerie Hansen. Nonfiction-History. Hansen argues the Silk Road wasn't actually an high activity trade route, and once Chinese government support waned, the cities along the route returned to subsistence living. Though it wasn't as in-depth as I'd hoped, it was still an interesting insight into the people who traded and lived along the Silk Road.
• Hangman by Stephan Talty. Murder Mystery. A convict escapes from police custody and people start dying.  
• The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemison. Fantasy. A woman with powerful magic navigates a post apocalyptic world. Jemison's The Fifth Season was the 2016 Hugo award winner; The Obelisk Gate is the sequel (of an expected trilogy). The main character still leaves me cold; she seems too casual about great personal loss, but I'll admit it could be me projecting. The mystery and worldbuilding kept me interested and it's a rare fantasy with most of the characters people of color. An enjoyable read.
• Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel. Magical realism. A woman's lover marries her sister. I actually read this book two weeks ago, but forgot to add it to last week's list. I was enthralled by the descriptions of the food preparation and the magical effects on the people who consume it. I couldn't help but laugh at certain scenes. A great book.

I'm ready for 2016 to be done. I jokingly told my husband two weeks ago that I hope we can go one month without a child needing medical care. Well, November's out. Five hours in the emergency room to stitch up a deep cut for DS3 (he's fine now). Extended family picked a fight the next day and said some hurtful things. I'm frantically getting the house ready for company. I'm struggling to find thankfulness right now.

 

I hate ending on a negative note so here's my gratitude for today: I'm grateful for a wonderful group who love to talk about books and share their passion for great reads. Many, many thanks to the BAW people.

 

ETA: I forgot to share one of my favorite Jemison short stories : Non-Zero Probabilities *warning: adult content and language*

Edited November 21, 2016 by ErinE

[Violet Crown]

I finished Dostoevsky's Devils (sometimes translated as Demons or The Possessed). Powerful and moving story of a Russian town overtaken by a group of Nihilists, two of whom are sons of important personages and aging radicals. Moves gently for several hundred pages before exploding into a fast-moving account of rape, murder, suicide, mob violence, arson, and a catastrophically failed party.

 

For something completely different I've started A Prayer For Owen Meany. Good storytelling occasionally marred by sudden bursts of (now dated) political haranguing.

[6packofun]

I think someone here mentioned Vassa in the Night and although bizarre, I'm kind of into it.  Very unique, urban fantasy sort of take on a Russian folktale.

[Angelaboord]

I'm ready for 2016 to be done. I jokingly told my husband two weeks ago that I hope we can go one month without a child needing medical care. Well, November's out. Five hours in the emergency room to stitch up a deep cut for DS3 (he's fine now). Extended family picked a fight the next day and said some hurtful things. I'm frantically getting the house ready for company. I'm struggling to find thankfulness right now.

 

I hate ending on a negative note so here's my gratitude for today: I'm grateful for a wonderful group who love to talk about books and share their passion for great reads. Many, many thanks to the BAW people.

*

Hope your ds is ok, Erin! (Also, I need to tell you how much I enjoy reading your book reviews each week!)

 

I'm right there with you as far as 2016 goes, This year has been a tough one, and I'm looking forward to a fresh start in 2017. Of course I am thinking about my reading goals first. But that is mostly stress relief, I think.

 

This week I finished Pygmalion for the Play Bingo square. I liked it, but I guess I was expecting My Fair Lady and it... isn't. Instead it's like social commentary wrapped up in a little humor. Still chewing on it.

 

I also started Last Testament, the new book of Peter Seewald's interviews with Pope Benedict XVI. The interviews were done just before and after Pope Benedict's resignation and cover his decision to resign, his childhood, WWII, what it was like to be pope... lots of ground. I'm enjoying it.

 

-Angela

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[shukriyya]

 

I just started listening to Fairy Tale as Myth/Myth as Fairy Tale by Jack Zipes, and I've been reading Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce. I found SKoFT on this list of books to read around Christmas time. I like it so far. It's easy to read, has a nice setting, has magical elements without necessarily belonging in the SF/F section of the library. 

 

I read Some Kind of Fairy Tale a couple of years ago and really enjoyed both the story and his writing. I went on to read, The Limits of Enchantment. And am currently making my way through The Facts of Life also by Joyce. Still on the roster, The Sisters Weiss and the audio version of The Miniaturist. 

 

I listened to a charming interview with Muriel Barbary, she of The Elegance of the Hedgehog fame. Stacia, I believe you read this a few years ago, yes? And enjoyed it? She has another book out, The Life of Elves, and I was so taken with the creative way her mind operated that I've put both of these on the tbr list. And lastly, I just bought book two of The Steerswoman series. I read book one a few years ago and have been meaning to get back to it. Rose, I think you might like this. 

[Chrysalis Academy]

I finally finished Children of Time.  Amazing book, highly recommended. Among the questions it ponders: What does it mean to be human? Not homo sapiens, but a person? What is it that homo sapiens are missing, that if we had, we would know how to be truly human?  Along with science, religion, evolution, equality, compassion, tolerance and empathy. An excellent, thought provoking book that might help us figure out how to live together on this planet.

Edited November 21, 2016 by Chrysalis Academy

[Stacia]

Erin, :grouphug: . (Count me in the group ready to see the end of 2016!)

 

Hi, shukriyya! Glad to see you popping in more!

 

Actually, I tried reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog & didn't like it enough to finish it. (The joke being that if it's a French book, I'm probably not going to like it. :tongue_smilie: ) But, lots of people loved that one. I think it was one of the most popular ones that Europa published. If you read The Life of Elves, let me know what you think....

 

I'm still getting over being sick & spent this afternoon reading & dozing w/ my sick kitty on top of me. So, I finished Britt-Marie Was Here. It was a nice bit of fluff until it got to a very emotional part (that made me bawl). I hate crying when reading books (end up w/ a terrible migraine) but the crying part made me think of The Outsiders a bit (my favorite book from my middle school years). But still. Why? Overall good; a nice book that gets more serious in the last third; probably can't be exactly classified as Flufferton because of the crying bit.

 

Started out skeptical, then got charmed (& thinking that fluffy & nice was exactly what I needed), then got sucker-punched so I was bawling. I would have preferred for it to stay more fluffy & not take quite such a serious turn, I guess. It could have still had depth w/out plunging so deep, imo. I think I'm just grumpy from crying. A decent 3 stars for a book that was generally better & more charming than I thought it would be.

Edited November 21, 2016 by Stacia

[Jane in NC]

I read Some Kind of Fairy Tale a couple of years ago and really enjoyed both the story and his writing. I went on to read, The Limits of Enchantment. And am currently making my way through The Facts of Life also by Joyce. Still on the roster, The Sisters Weiss and the audio version of The Miniaturist. 

 

I listened to a charming interview with Muriel Barbary, she of The Elegance of the Hedgehog fame. Stacia, I believe you read this a few years ago, yes? And enjoyed it? She has another book out, The Life of Elves, and I was so taken with the creative way her mind operated that I've put both of these on the tbr list. And lastly, I just bought book two of The Steerswoman series. I read book one a few years ago and have been meaning to get back to it. Rose, I think you might like this. 

Mon dieu, what is it with Stacia not appreciating French novels?

 

I rather liked The Elegance of the Hedgehog but was less impressed with Gourmet Rhapsody. Let us know what you think.

[Just Robyn]

I read Some Kind of Fairy Tale a couple of years ago and really enjoyed both the story and his writing. I went on to read, The Limits of Enchantment. And am currently making my way through The Facts of Life also by Joyce. Still on the roster, The Sisters Weiss and the audio version of The Miniaturist. 

 

I listened to a charming interview with Muriel Barbary, she of The Elegance of the Hedgehog fame. Stacia, I believe you read this a few years ago, yes? And enjoyed it? She has another book out, The Life of Elves, and I was so taken with the creative way her mind operated that I've put both of these on the tbr list. And lastly, I just bought book two of The Steerswoman series. I read book one a few years ago and have been meaning to get back to it. Rose, I think you might like this. 

 

Great to know Joyce's other books are good too! I was looking at them on Goodreads, already thinking I'd like to try more of his books and surprised by how many there are. I started out just going to look into The Silent Land, which is mentioned on the cover of SKoFT, saw the list of books he's written and thought, When is Christmas break?

 

I'm another who enjoyed The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I'm interested in The Life of Elves, but I read in some reviews that there will be a sequel, so I thought I'd wait until the second book was out. I'm interested in hearing what you think of it.

[JennW in SoCal]

I'm up to 67 books so far this year, a tie for my all time record of books read since Book a Week started waaaay back in 2009.  I'm right chuffed over my reading year, even if the total includes a few books abandoned 1/2 way thru.

 

The most recent book completed was In the Bleak Midwinter, the first of the Julia Spenser-Fleming series of mysteries featuring the Rev. Clare Fergusson. I thought Spenser-Fleming did a great job of keeping the focus on the rather smart mystery while not bludgeoning the reader with added elements of romance or the fact that the main character is an Episcopalian minister.  The romantic fluff thrown in was just a soupçon of romantic tension. You are getting to know the characters and see the chemistry between the two, but it isn't standard romance-novel fare. I especially appreciated having a Christian character who is not fanatical kook, and having a church be a place full of complex people, but not something dark and corrupt. I equally appreciated that the book could feature a minister without being preachy -- it is decidedly NOT a "Christian" book. The main character is simply a minister. It defines who she is and her world view, but she is still a flawed human character. Thank you to mumto2 for reminding me to find it, and to Ethel Mertz for chiming in about the series. I'm pleased to see the second book is at my branch library.

 

I started The Janissary Tree yesterday, the first of the mystery series set in the 1830s of the Ottoman Empire. It definitely draws you in, and I must say that Ottoman era-Istanbul is as alien a setting as can be found in any fantasy or sci-fi epic. A scene of mouth-watering cooking has already appeared, and I'm barely 50 pages into it!

 

ETA

 

I clicked "post" before remembering to add a warm hello to shukriyya! It is lovely to see you here again. And :grouphug: to all of you who've had a rough 2016. May 2017 be full of light for you all.

Edited November 21, 2016 by JennW in SoCal

[Chrysalis Academy]

I finished listening to Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania.  I did not love the reader's voice, but the book was very well done. It really brought you inside the minds of those who experienced the events. It was interesting, the book both highlighted the randomness of events - how small choices can lead to momentous outcomes, how small different choices might have led to totally different outcomes - and it showed to what degree we can and cannot rely on conspiracy-type theories to explain (or explain away) big events. Very interesting listen, recommended.

[mumto2]

Jenn, Glad you enjoyed the Claire Ferguson book! :) I am in line with Ethyl waiting for the next book to be released...

 

I read a good cozy today. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19228141-trouble-in-the-town-hall. Trouble in Town Hall is the second book in Jeanne Dams series. It features a retired American widow who has moved to England following the death of her husband. Nice and fluffy.

[Kareni]

I finally finished Children of the Stars. Amazing book, highly recommended. Among the questions it ponders: What does it mean to be human? Not homo sapiens, but a person? What is it that homo sapiens are missing, that if we had, we would know how to be truly human?  Along with science, religion, evolution, equality, compassion, tolerance and empathy. An excellent, thought provoking book that might help us figure out how to live together on this planet.

 

This does sound excellent.  Be aware though that  your link goes to a book titled Children of Time.  Is that the book you're discussing?

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Chrysalis Academy]

This does sound excellent.  Be aware though that  your link goes to a book titled Children of Time.  Is that the book you're discussing?

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Oh, thank you. Yes, the link is the correct book, I don't know how I screwed up the title. I'll fix that in my post.

[fastweedpuller]

I am thankful for many things, and especially thankful I found (and found the bravery to speak up on) this lovely space on the internet.  Cheers to all, be ye Thanksgiving-eating Yanks or no!  And I have learned so much (flufferton, Amish adult content novels...) that well I may never read the same again!

 

DD and I finished reading Eleanor and Park this weekend.  This was a tough book, but I think it did quite a few things very well, like capture the obsessiveness of a teenaged-level love, and the parents of the boy were very lovingly and realistically detailed.  Eleanor is in an abusive household.  I have always thought books to be one of the safest venues to learn about humanity's dark side...it was an eye-opener for sure for dd.  We discussed abuse and neglect in specifics while reading it.  Considering the last book we read aloud was Jo's Boys (Little Women), err...

 

Likewise this weekend, I finished another dark book, and I am not quite sure how I feel about it.  How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything:  Tales from the Pentagon, by Rosa Brooks.  It's a complicated book with a shifting focus, but then again, so was its subject and so is its author (a law professor, child of Barbara Ehrenreich, wife of a Green Beret)...I suppose I was looking for something prescriptive and instead I received, untangled, about 3 skeins of yarn that had been quite knotted in my mind.  I am thankful for that...but I do kind of wish I read this book way before the election.

[Kareni]

I finished several books.

 

The Taking Tree: A Selfish Parody by Shrill Travesty with art by Lucy Ruth Cummins

 

This was a short book that I read aloud to my husband; it made us both laugh.  It's best suited to those (like me) who dislike Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree.

 

"We all know the story of the “selfless†tree that gave all she had just to make sure a young boy was “happy.†This is a different tree. This is a different boy. This is a very different book. The Taking Tree is not pleased when the boy takes her twigs to pick on his sister, or when he cuts off her branches to build a house that he burns for insurance money. And the boy is not sorry at all. Ever. In fact, he’s kind of a jerk. So what happens when the tree finally gets fed up? Let’s just say the story doesn’t end sweetly with an old man sitting on a stump."

 

**

 

I quite enjoyed Amanda Bouchet's  A Promise of Fire (The Kingmaker Chronicles Book 1)  and look forward to reading the follow on book(s).  I'd describe the book as fantasy romance.  (Some adult content)

 

"A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2016!

 

KINGDOMS WILL RISE AND FALL FOR HER...

BUT NOT IF SHE CAN HELP IT

 

Catalia "Cat" Fisa lives disguised as a soothsayer in a traveling circus. She is perfectly content avoiding the danger and destiny the Gods-and her homicidal mother-have saddled her with. That is, until Griffin, an ambitious warlord from the magic-deprived south, fixes her with his steely gaze and upsets her illusion of safety forever.

 

Griffin knows Cat is the Kingmaker, the woman who divines the truth through lies. He wants her as a powerful weapon for his newly conquered realm-until he realizes he wants her for much more than her magic. Cat fights him at every turn, but Griffin's fairness, loyalty, and smoldering advances make him increasingly hard to resist and leave her wondering if life really does have to be short, and lived alone."

 

**

 

I also finished the currently free Clay's Hope: Judgement of the Six Companion Series, Book 1 by Melissa Haag which was the companion to the book I mentioned yesterday (also free), Hope(less) (Judgement Of The Six Book 1).  I think yesterday's book had a slightly more interesting story to tell; however, this one was also a pleasant light read.

 

"Clay is a man of few human talents. As a wolf, he hunts well and can fight off a grizzly twice his size, but has no aspirations. The idea of a Mate isn’t something he has ever seriously entertained. Dreamed about, maybe, but he knows the chances are nearly non-existent.

Then he meets Gabby, a human girl. She hates him at first sight, yet he can’t let her go. Who he was is no longer important. Now, who he needs to become to win her over is the only thing that matters."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

Howdy ladies.  Happy Monday!  Stacia, Robyn and all those who have completed a Bingo, pm your  email address to me, please. 

 

Flavorwire's round  up of 20 literary quotes about gratitude 

 

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.†Marcel Proust

 

 

Going with all things fluffy (sort of) and free (almost)  today:

 

Book Riot's Deal of the Day

 

Pixel of Ink's Free and Bargain Kindle books

 

Top 10 Kurt Vonnegut Books

 

Ten best Haruki Murakami

 

Calgon take me away -   list of top 50 romance blogs

 

 

 

[Loesje22000]

No thanksgiving here :)

But where I grew up we had a 'dankdag voor gewas en arbeid' (thanks -prayer - day for harvest and work), but that is most often a month earlier then Thanksgiving. We also had a comparable day to pray in spring, at the start of the planting season.

It is part of the Dutch Bible Belt.

 

Flanders has different customs so churches here collect food for the foodbank, or work around 'operation shoebox' during October/November

 

++++

 

Today I finished book 2 of my Flufferton triology.

The books are nice but not great.

And I think it is misleading to say it is a book for Austen lovers.

(As the dutch cover says)

[Stacia]

A couple of things I meant to mention with my earlier posts....

 

In My Best Friend's Exorcism (set in & around Charleston) there is one point where the teens are running around after dark, near the docks/marshy areas & guess what is mentioned? Alligators! (Figured this was of great importance to mention here.)

 

Also, I raved about the attention to detail in My Best Friend's Exorcism. After that, I started Britt-Marie Was Here. Above each chapter number in Britt-Marie, there is a line drawing that relates somehow to the chapter. Chapter 1 starts out, "Forks. Knives. Spoons. In that order." Yet the line drawing in the book I was reading was of a knife, a fork, & a spoon (in that order). Wrong. Just so wrong (especially since OCD Britt-Marie makes such a big deal of things like that). Of course, I looked on amazon now (because I've already returned the library book) & the line drawing is in the correct order. Wonder if I had an earlier version or was just hallucinating? Anyway, those tiny details can make all the difference. 

Edited November 22, 2016 by Stacia

[SKL]

The second half of "Stolen Lives" is riveting.  I may finish it tonight.

 

We just finished the audiobook "Masterminds."  It totally left us hanging.  My kid said there is a second book, so we drive right to the library to ask for it - but had to put it on order.  Meanwhile, I just received Rush Revere and the Presidency today, so the timing works out.

 

Finally got back into our Little Women read-aloud.  I hope we finish it before Christmas, so I can then read the Christmas story that follows it.

[ErinE]

Audible has Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man for free. He actually wrote part of it while staying at Shirley Jackson's home in Vermont (as a tie in to one of my favorite books this year). I read the book many years ago when I was working through a list of American classics, but I don't remember much about it. I went searching for a quote and liked this one:
 

"Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat."

Edited November 22, 2016 by ErinE

[Mothersweets]

 

Howdy ladies.  Happy Monday!  Stacia, Robyn and all those who have completed a Bingo, pm your  email address to me, please. 

 

Flavorwire's round  up of 20 literary quotes about gratitude 

 

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.†Marcel Proust

 

 

Going with all things fluffy (sort of) and free (almost)  today:

 

Book Riot's Deal of the Day

 

Pixel of Ink's Free and Bargain Kindle books

 

Top 10 Kurt Vonnegut Books

 

Ten best Haruki Murakami

 

Calgon take me away -   list of top 50 romance blogs

 

 

 

 

 

Love these links - thank you!

 

[Stacia]

From the A Year of Reading the World Blog:

Turkmen book published in English

 

Partial quote...

However, there has been some good news this summer when it comes to the book I read from Turkmenistan, the whimsical novel The Tale Aypi by exiled writer Ak Welsapar. This has found an English-language home with Slavic literature press Glagoslav Publications and is on sale now. 

This means that Welsapar’s novel, the first book to be translated directly from Turkmen into English, is now accessible in the world’s most-published language. Great news for its author – who lost so much when his work was blacklisted in his home nation – and for curious readers everywhere.

 

Pretty cool. May have to put this one on my Christmas list.

[Kareni]

Currently free to Kindle readers ~

 

Described as young adult fantasy:

Alice Will: Dreams of Chaos Book 1 by Ashley Chappell

 

"Fourteen year-old Trotter was still just trying to get the hang of the demi-godding business when the apocalypse began. In a world where the gods have withdrawn from humanity, leaving mortals bitter toward magic, she finds herself constantly torn between her human and goddess sides. When the world begins to fade away and she becomes the prime suspect, her search to find the cause and prove her innocence ends up revolving around a mysterious little girl named Alice. Then Trotter discovers that not all of the gods had been as distant as they seemed...

Now, with everyone against her and the gods fighting amongst themselves, Trotter is on her own to save her world and stop a vengeful god from using Alice to destroy everything."

 

**

Described as space opera/adventure:

The Reluctant Adventures of Fletcher Connolly on the Interstellar Railroad Vol. 1: Skint Idjit  by Felix R. Savage

 

"Fletcher Connolly hasn’t got a lot to lose. Since he, and half the galaxy, signed on to the rat race of the technological relics trade, Fletch has long since come to terms with the idea that he will join the ranks of the unlucky explorers that perish lightyears from home without a dime to his name.

 

As the first mate of an old, decrepit exploration ship--the Skint Idjit--things can't get much worse. As if that isn’t enough, he has a hard time convincing himself his luck is bound to change when he finds himself stranded on the planet Suckass, on a remote branch of the Interstellar Railroad. With his new assignment an unlikely candidate to hide alien treasures, true to his personality, Fletch settles down to work on his tan.

 

But when disaster strikes and a member of his crew is killed, Fletch finds himself torn between loyalty to the surviving crew and the siren song of an unsuspected trove of A-tech.

 

Can Fletch save the Skint Idjit and her crew from a horrible death? Or will he ignore their dying screams and laugh all the way to the bank?"

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

My guys really know how to spoil me for my birthday!  

 

 

 

 

[JennW in SoCal]

My guys really know how to spoil me for my birthday!  

 

 

You deserve to be spoiled!!

 

Happy Birthday, Robin -- hope the wine and dessert were as wonderful as they look, and that you have time to savor your books over the next few days.

[mumto2]

Robin, Happy Birthday!!!! The dessert looks wonderful!

 

I cannot resist saying that Remarkable Creatures was one of my favourites last year.

[Jane in NC]

Happy Birthday Robin!  Looks like you had a terrific one with a dessert that was over the moon.

 

Remarkable Creatures has been on my "to be read" list since Lyme Regis is one of my favorite places.  Not sure why I have not gotten around to it.

 

 

[Just Robyn]

From the A Year of Reading the World Blog:

Turkmen book published in English

 

Partial quote...

 

Pretty cool. May have to put this one on my Christmas list.

 

That is pretty cool! Thanks for sharing.

 

Happy birthday, Robin!

[Stacia]

Happy Birthday, Robin!

[Mothersweets]

Happy Birthday, Robin! :party: