Book a Week 2016 - BW50: Best of 2016

[aggieamy]

Stacia -  You are right.  I did read a lot of books with faces on them this year.  I never noticed that before you mentioned it.

 

Thanks for the report, Husband of Jane.  (I'm thinking of movie titles here such as Bride of Frankenstein.  Perhaps I should address you as Groom of Jane, Jane's DH, but that brings horses and stables to mind.)  Please give Jane my good wishes.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

I thought Groom of Jane sounded like a western romance.  :laugh:    

 

 

 

I love looking through all the Goodreads Year-in-Reviews.  It's interesting that our average ratings are all about the same ... 3.7ish. 

[Stacia]

Stacia -  You are right.  I did read a lot of books with faces on them this year.  I never noticed that before you mentioned it.

 

And, I laugh because that cheesy cover of The Blue Castle is one the software decided to enlarge as a highlighted book! :lol:

 

Erin, I think your link is still wonky. I can get to your page, but I have to cut & paste the unique number at the end of the generic year in review link.

Edited December 15, 2016 by Stacia

[mumto2]

I finished the second Invisible Library book, The Masked Cityhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25761086-the-masked-city. I am eagerly awaiting third.

 

I gave up finishing my remaining knitting project before Christmas. Somehow that decision led to reading for most of the day. I also finished a Marie Force Fatal book. Great fluff. :)

[Kareni]

I finished the second Invisible Library book ...

 

I want to ask, "Are you sure? How can you tell if you can't see it?" 

 

Since you're eagerly awaiting the third in the Invisible Library series, I'll assume you liked The Masked City.  I enjoyed the first in the series but have yet to read the second.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

I want to ask, "Are you sure? How can you tell if you can't see it?" 

 

Since you're eagerly awaiting the third in the Invisible Library series, I'll assume you liked The Masked City.  I enjoyed the first in the series but have yet to read the second.

 

Regards,

Kareni

:lol: Yes, I enjoyed it. That is actually quite a compliment because the second book had several fae characters and they were a huge part of the storyline. Since I suspect I abandon more books with fae characters than I actually read liking a book with fae is not guaranteed. This was more of a continuation than a stand alone. Since you did read the first you might like it. The third comes out in January.

[ErinE]

And, I laugh because that cheesy cover of The Blue Castle is one the software decided to enlarge as a highlighted book! :lol:

 

Erin, I think your link is still wonky. I can get to your page, but I have to cut & paste the unique number at the end of the generic year in review link.

I hope it works now. For some reason, the code for the link didn't have the number.

[Lady Florida.]

 

I feel like returning all my books to the library.

 

I've done that more than once. Often when I get to the library I have grand visions of reading everything I pull off the shelf that looks interesting. Then they sit in my library bag until they're due back - or more often - until they're overdue and the library is sending me emails. 

[Stacia]

I hope it works now. For some reason, the code for the link didn't have the number.

 

Yes. Yes it does! :thumbup1:

[Kareni]

I always enjoy articles such as this:

 

10 Holiday Book Gifts that Even The Pickiest Person On Your List Will Love

 

Regards,

Kareni

[shukriyya]

Interesting and eclectic best of list from Maria Popova of Brainpickings fame. From the same site, Susan Sontag on reading as an act of rebirth.

 

Glad to hear our Jane is faring well. Sending good strong tea and ginger shortbread of the virtual kind her way  :grouphug:

 

[Onceuponatime]

Now I realize why, in the last five years, I have bought myself an electric blanket, wool socks, and a fleece vest, to wear in the house.

 

My good reads list for the year is here...but I'm not done yet.

 

https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2016/19798175

 

Feel free to add me to your reading friends.

[Just Robyn]

Currently free on Kindle:

 

Some Faces in the Crowd: Short Stories by Budd Schulberg

 

I read one of these stories in a recent issue of Zoetrope. The story is called "Your Arkansas Traveler" and is about a man with a big personality who gets on radio and charms and influences the country. It was turned into a movie called

. Based on the trailer, it looks to me like they made the story less realistic by exaggerating the Lonesome Rhodes (Andy Griffith) character into someone too flatly evil.

 

You should read instead his early collection Will You Please Be Quiet. Please--which I read earlier this year--and compare them so I will know if I should read What We Talk About. ;)

 

I intend to pick it up from the library today.

 

 

ETA: Also free - Tourists by Lisa Goldstein 

 

This one is on the Mythic Reading List I linked to before. 

 

 

 

In a city whose streets are nameless, a scholar searches for an ancient sword

The manuscript is more than one thousand years old. Written in a forgotten tongue of the Near East, it gives directions to a place across the desert where the mythic Jewel King hid his famous sword. When Dr. Mitchell Parmenter discovers the sheaf of faded pages, he knows that if it is authentic, it is one of the greatest anthropological finds of the century. For the sake of his research, he uproots his family and moves them to Amaz—an ancient land whose mysteries are as endless as the desert itself.

An earthquake struck Amaz some years back, and the city’s nameless streets still seem to move in the night. As Parmenter delves into the story of this fabulous relic, his family uncovers other mysteries, exploring Amaz in search of answers to questions no traveler was meant to ask.

 

 

And another - Typical: Stories by Padgett Powell

 

 

Twenty-three surreal fictions—stories, character assassinations, and mini-travelogues—from one of the most heralded writers of the American South

 

There are many things that repulse “Dr. Ordinary.†“Kansas†is notable for its distinct lack of farmland. “Wayne’s Fate†is most unfortunate, not merely for Wayne but for the roofer pal who stands by watching his good buddy lose his head. “Miss Resignation†simply cannot win at Bingo. And there is nothing “Typical†about the unemployed steelworker and self-described “piece of crud†who strides through this collection’s title story.

Welcome to the world of Padgett Powell, one of the most original American literary voices in recent memory. Typical is both a bravura demonstration of Powell’s passion for words, and an offbeat, perceptive view of contemporary life—an enthralling work by a one-of-a-kind wordsmith, and a redefinition of what short fiction can be. 

 

Edited December 16, 2016 by crstarlette

[Mom-ninja.]

 

Dd and I listened to Neil Gaiman reading The Ocean at the End of the Lane on a road trip and enjoyed it. I have to say that I think I would enjoy listening to Neil Gaiman reading a grocery list. Such enunciation, the way he stresses words, that English pronunciation...swoon!

 

That's it for now. Back to freezing rain that we hope will become snow soon.

 

He does have a dreamy voice. I wonder if his wife has him read random things to her. "Honey, would you read the instructions on my medicine? Could you read the shampoo bottle while I shower? Would you read the care label for my socks?" 

 

 

 

My book finally came in! Now I can read the last book on my BINGO

[Mom-ninja.]

So guess what I did. I purchased the gift for my secret santa recipient, and guess what showed up at *my* house yesterday? Um, yeah. I absentmindedly had it shipped to my house. Oops. 

 

So I just reordered it because I realized that would probably be faster than waiting for me to make it to the p.o.  :o

[JennW in SoCal]

So guess what I did. I purchased the gift for my secret santa recipient, and guess what showed up at *my* house yesterday? Um, yeah. I absentmindedly had it shipped to my house. Oops. 

 

So I just reordered it because I realized that would probably be faster than waiting for me to make it to the p.o.  :o

 

:lol: Holiday induced ADHD is rapidly spreading, I fear.  

 

Squirrel!

[Penguin]

So guess what I did. I purchased the gift for my secret santa recipient, and guess what showed up at *my* house yesterday? Um, yeah. I absentmindedly had it shipped to my house. Oops. 

 

So I just reordered it because I realized that would probably be faster than waiting for me to make it to the p.o.  :o

 

Yesterday, I was fretting over Netflix DVDs that never showed up...then I realized that the last shipping address on my account was the hotel that we were stuck in for temporary housing in October. Oops.

 

I read Persepolis this week.

 

Odinsbarn: 424 pages done, 200 to go.

 

Goodreads: I shamelessly request that you add me as your Goodreads friend. One of my goals for 2017 is to really start using the site. I have not kept up my page very well...I'm pretty darn sure I read more than six books this year lol...but it is here.

 

 

Edited December 16, 2016 by Penguin

[Kareni]

Currently free on Kindle: ....

 

Thanks for those links.  I shared one with my daughter and all three links with the members of my book group.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Jane in NC]

:seeya: Hi everyone.  I am back in the cyberworld although perhaps the better emoticon would be :coolgleamA: since I was seen sporting some spiffy protective shades over the last couple of days.  Thanks for all of the good wishes.

 

Yeah, I am a little young for cataracts, but some of us are just special, I guess.

 

When grabbing audio books for my convalescence, I found myself drawn to Edith Wharton and borrowed two audio novels, one of which I started immediately in the car.  But I also recognized that I probably wanted something lighter, some entertainments.  P.G. Wodehouse fit the bill but that proved to be a mistake.  I really disliked the reader on this particular one. So it goes. Thus I turned to Jasper Fforde who has been highly recommended on this thread.  While it was an error not to start with the first of the Thursday Next books, I also recognized that ultimately it would not matter.  I would start listening to First Among Sequels while recovering from anesthesia, so odds were that if I really liked it I could probably reread it and discover parts I missed on the first go around.

 

Confession:  For about the first half of the book I thought there was no plot, just lots of puns and terrific world building.  So those brief cat naps didn't matter much since I did apparently did not miss much.  As I near the end, there is more action.  I'll see this one through, but I can't say that this is my cup of tea.  For one thing, I am not drawn to fantasy as a genre.  I do like to listen to the occasional Terry Pratchett who is also a terrific world builder but there seems to be more plot with Pratchett.

 

Fforde does his enjoy his word play and novel twists (by which I mean actual twists to existing novels).  That aspect is fun.  And, as I said, it was probably a mistake to jump in mid-series but in all honesty I saw the name "Fforde" and associated it with entertainment in my mind.  Not every series needs to be read in order.

 

I can't tell you how lovely it was to return to my real (i.e. paper) books this morning.  The first thing I read this morning was another chapter in HoRW. 

 

There are some restrictions on my life over the next couple of weeks, but they won't affect my reading.  Whew!

 

 

[JennW in SoCal]

Welcome back, Jane!

 

I've been thinking of you post op as being like a kitten or puppy with eyes finally open. So glad you can sit back, relax and read a bit during this most hectic time of year. Hope there are some good mysteries in your pile of books, or perhaps the Miss Read Christmas stories.

 

 

[Just Robyn]

RE: free Kindle books

 

I recommend typing in open road media and sorting by price: low to high

 

For whatever reason, there are many free books today by that publisher. Perhaps some of them are always free, but I know the three I linked above are not usually free (or even 1.99). They have been on my private wishlist at regular price for one to several months now.

Edited December 16, 2016 by crstarlette

[Jane in NC]

Welcome back, Jane!

 

I've been thinking of you post op as being like a kitten or puppy with eyes finally open. So glad you can sit back, relax and read a bit during this most hectic time of year. Hope there are some good mysteries in your pile of books, or perhaps the Miss Read Christmas stories.

 

I had holiday packages sent before the surgery (due to restrictions on what I can lift for a bit) but I have barely begun Christmas cards. That is the next project.  Favorite card received so far is from aged relatives who ask that we visit, sooner than later, as they will be 90 and 88 respectively this year!

 

Miss Read is an excellent idea!  Thanks Jenn.  While resting my eyes, I had visions of sewing, embroidery and knitting projects for the months ahead.  One Christmas knitting project is yet to be finished but that is for a local friend so I am not worried if it is a week or two later.  She'll understand.

 

What I'll truly enjoy most this holiday season is having The Boy home for some rousing rounds of Dominion.  Everything else is just icing on the cake...

 

 

 

 

[Stacia]

Jane, good to see you back & hear you are healing!

 

Ok, this is not book-related, but I know so many of you are fans of British humour. My ds played this rap song for me in the car today & I was :lol: . Just had to rofl at the polite British fighting rap: Fighting Trousers. (A key line is, "I don't like your tweeds, sir...".)

 

So here's your silly laugh for the day:

 

 

[Penguin]

The Guardian view on Moomintroll

I recommend her books for adults as well. The Summer Book is spare and achingly lovely.

 

Again, from The Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/jul/12/fiction.alismith

[Penguin]

It is hauntingly beautiful, I agree.

Sadie, have you read anything else by her? I haven't, but I've thought about reading The Sculptor's Daughter.

 

Tove Jansson :001_wub:

[Kareni]

RE: free Kindle books

 

I recommend typing in open road media and sorting by price: low to high

 

I'm up to page thirty-five and have spotted some big names.  For example,

 

Death in the Castle: A Novel  by Pearl S. Buck

 

The Moneychangers: A Novel  by Upton Sinclair

 

Letters to Alice: On First Reading Jane Austen  by Fay Weldon

 

The Time of the Angels  by Iris Murdoch

 

Reflections on a Marine Venus: A Companion to the Landscape of Rhodes  by Lawrence Durrell

 

Ellison Wonderland by Harlan Ellison

 

The New Meaning of Treason  by Rebecca West

 

Guided Tours of Hell: Novellas  by Francine Prose

 

A Rose for Winter: Travels in Andalusia (Vintage Classics)  by Laurie Lee

 

Purposes of Love: A Novel  by Mary Renault

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Last night I finished The Goal by Elle Kennedy which I enjoyed.  (Adult content)  While this is the fourth book in a series, it could be read as a standalone.

 

"She’s good at achieving her goals…

College senior Sabrina James has her whole future planned out: graduate from college, kick butt in law school, and land a high-paying job at a cutthroat firm. Her path to escaping her shameful past certainly doesn’t include a gorgeous hockey player who believes in love at first sight. One night of sizzling heat and surprising tenderness is all she’s willing to give John Tucker, but sometimes, one night is all it takes for your entire life to change.

But the game just got a whole lot more complicated

Tucker believes being a team player is as important as being the star. On the ice, he’s fine staying out of the spotlight, but when it comes to becoming a daddy at the age of twenty-two, he refuses to be a bench warmer. It doesn’t hurt that the soon-to-be mother of his child is beautiful, whip-smart, and keeps him on his toes. The problem is, Sabrina’s heart is locked up tight, and the fiery brunette is too stubborn to accept his help. If he wants a life with the woman of his dreams, he’ll have to convince her that some goals can only be made with an assist."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Tress]

I finished Medea (Play) and O'Brian's Master & Commander (Nautical), which completes my Bingo blackout :hurray: .

I will spend some time this weekend typing up all my titles.

 

We started our Christmas break today. The Dutch schools still have one week to go, so it feels very luxurious to be on break already :D . My husband is home too.

 

2016 has been a very difficult year migraine-wise. In November the neurologist started me on Topamax and I managed to get through the first month without any of the weird side effects Topamax is known for. This month I could double the dose and things have been going very well. I'm starting to get cautiously optimistic for 2017.

[mumto2]

I finished Medea (Play) and O'Brian's Master & Commander (Nautical), which completes my Bingo blackout :hurray: .

I will spend some time this weekend typing up all my titles.

 

We started our Christmas break today. The Dutch schools still have one week to go, so it feels very luxurious to be on break already :D . My husband is home too.

 

2016 has been a very difficult year migraine-wise. In November the neurologist started me on Topamax and I managed to get through the first month without any of the weird side effects Topamax is known for. This month I could double the dose and things have been going very well. I'm starting to get cautiously optimistic for 2017.

:grouphug: I'm so glad your new medication is working! Also congratulations on your Bingo!!!!

 

 

Jane, It's great to have you back. Glad the surgery was successful. Now that your surgery is done any surprises? One of my quilting buddies (also young for cataracts) was pretty irritated with us a few months ago after her surgery because her sense of color is back to normal and her then new coat is very purple (in her opinion). She thought one of us should have told her just how purple it is....actually it looks good on her so it never would of occurred to anyone, plus who am I to say your clothing is brighter than you normally wear! My tower friend is doing well also.

 

I finished a couple of books yesterday while accompanying dh and his journeys. Malice in Miniature by Jeanne Dams

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/659498.Malice_In_Miniature was the next one in the Dorothy Martin series for me. This one took me a very long time. I have to admit I am not a particular fan of doll house collections so perhaps the interest isn't there. I will try the next book....

 

 

Also read The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12687572-the-raven-prince. The first in her Princes series which has a new book being released soon. To be honest I put myself on the hold list about a month ago thinking the new one was part of a different series. I decided to suffer ;) :lol: through and read the rest of a new series rather than cancel my hold! It was an enjoyable, some adult content. One of the unusual storylines in this book is the Duke was a smallpox survivor, the only person in his family who survived. It made the book a bit different. Planning to continue with the series.

[Jane in NC]

Jane, It's great to have you back. Glad the surgery was successful. Now that your surgery is done any surprises? One of my quilting buddies (also young for cataracts) was pretty irritated with us a few months ago after her surgery because her sense of color is back to normal and her then new coat is very purple (in her opinion). She thought one of us should have told her just how purple it is....actually it looks good on her so it never would of occurred to anyone, plus who am I to say your clothing is brighter than you normally wear! My tower friend is doing well also.

 

 

I had a fast growing cataract on my dominant eye removed three years ago.  There was a notable effect on my presurgical vision then which I think is less noticeable with normal, slower growing cataracts.  With slow growers, one adjusts to the change in color--although I don't think double vision is adapted by anyone.

 

Having already had cataract surgery and with the start of a cataract underway in my other eye, I have been making regular visits to the eye doc--and giving myself my own eye tests when driving on the highway for example.  I predicted accurately when the optometrist would tell me to return in six months and when I would have a referral for surgery.

 

The result is that my vision loss for this second eye wasn't as severe as it is for people who have been adapting to a "new normal" slowly over time. For example, I did not realize that my dad's vision was as bad as it was until we were playing Uno and he could not distinguish between green and blue.  In my case, the affected eye saw whites with a tinge of yellow.

 

After my first eye was done, I was appalled by marks on white walls and the number of corner cobwebs I had been missing!

Edited December 17, 2016 by Jane in NC

[Mom-ninja.]

 

After my first eye was done, I was appalled by marks on white walls and the number of corner cobwebs I had been missing!

 

This is why I don't like wearing my contacts in the shower because then I see all the soap scum or mold that is there.  :laugh:

 

 

I am spending the morning with my recovering kitty near me to keep an eye on him. He can't shouldn't jump for the next 10 days at least. However, it seems he did not hear or understand the vet when this was explained. He is sleeping now thank goodness. Taking care of a cat post op is a wee bit stressful. (Yes, I'm listening to the third Tiffany Aching book. Why do you ask?) 

 

Three more Nutcracker performances to go. Two today and one tomorrow. 

[Maus]

When I grow up, I want to be Sheri Dew, just sayin'.  She is a remarkable, intelligent, well-spoken woman.  If I did half so well at expressing my beliefs, I would be thrilled.  

 

And to any other LDS peeps, yes, that is next year's manual on the list.  I just felt the need to read it, okay?  It actually works very well paired with Sheri Dew's books, since she was his biographer.

 

61. "Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Gordon B. Hinckley" (LDS).

 

60. "If Life Were Easy, It Wouldn't Be Hard" by Sheri Dew (LDS).

 

59. "Beginning of Better Days" by Sheri Dew and Virginia H. Pearce (LDS).

 

58. "Covenant Keepers" by Wendy Watson Nelson (LDS).

 

57. "Accomplishing the Impossible" by Russell M. Nelson (LDS).

 

56. "Promptings or Me?" by Kevin Hinckley (LDS).

 

55. "God Wants a Powerful People" by Sheri Dew (LDS).

54. "Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Howard W. Hunter" (LDS).

53. "Women and the Priesthood" by Sheri Dew (LDS).

52. "The Terrorist's Son: A Story of Choice" by Zak Ebrahim with Jeff Giles.

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.

 

[aggieamy]

Jane - glad you and your eyes are back!

 

 

 

Ok, this is not book-related, but I know so many of you are fans of British humour. My ds played this rap song for me in the car today & I was :lol: . Just had to rofl at the polite British fighting rap: Fighting Trousers. (A key line is, "I don't like your tweeds, sir...".)

 

So here's your silly laugh for the day:

 

 

LOL!  "I don't like your tweed."

 

One of my quilting buddies (also young for cataracts) was pretty irritated with us a few months ago after her surgery because her sense of color is back to normal and her then new coat is very purple (in her opinion). She thought one of us should have told her just how purple it is....actually it looks good on her so it never would of occurred to anyone, plus who am I to say your clothing is brighter than you normally wear! My tower friend is doing well also.

 

 

And how would you even bring that up tactfully?!?!

 

"Excuse me dearie but I couldn't help but notice your new coat is just a bit too bright.  I hate to say anything but normally your coat is more of a mud color instead of a flower color.  You probably should return it for a nice dull beige coat."

 

 

 

An interesting cross between Doctor Who and Agatha Christie for fans of both - 10 Things You May Not Know About the Unicorn and the Wasp Episode

 

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

I finished Friday's Child. Delightful as always! But I was mixing Hero up with another Georgette Heyer heroine, and now I can't figure out which book she is in - maybe Amy or Nan can help me remember? It's a heroine who stutters, and who has very thick eyebrows. Ridiculous that this is the only thing I can remember about her!  But there it is.

 

 

[mumto2]

An interesting cross between Doctor Who and Agatha Christie for fans of both - 10 Things You May Not Know About the Unicorn and the Wasp Episode

Fun! I ned to rewatch that episode now. It is a favourite of mine. I knew about the Cluedo and had caught most of the book references. I emailed dd the link. It dawned on me after that I could just go show it to her because she is in the next room! Technology makes us lazy.

[aggieamy]

I finished Friday's Child. Delightful as always! But I was mixing Hero up with another Georgette Heyer heroine, and now I can't figure out which book she is in - maybe Amy or Nan can help me remember? It's a heroine who stutters, and who has very thick eyebrows. Ridiculous that this is the only thing I can remember about her!  But there it is.

 

The Convenient Marriage? 

[Angel]

I've been busy with Christmas parties all week so not much time to read.  I did manage to finish listening to Emma.  I'm so excited about that!  I listened to all 6 Austen novels this year!  I was a little surprised by how snobby Emma was and surprised by my reaction to her.  I have always enjoyed Emma but this time around I was mostly annoyed.  Once again, listening gave it a different dimension!  Emma does grow and reform during the course of the book and becomes properly contrite, but wow to her character at the beginning.  

 

I'm about halfway through The Pearl by John Steinbeck, which is the last book I'll read for Bingo.  Now that I'm done with all the Austen's and my library doesn't have any more David Eddings books on audio  so I need to find something else to listen to.  For now I picked Etiquette and Espionage.  I have read this once, so kind of familiar, and the reader is really great.  I'm also reading Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.  Not getting much done today, though, as dh and Aly shared their colds with me.

 

I've enjoyed seeing everyone's Goodreads lists.  I'm more visual, and I love seeing the covers of the books!  When I get to feeling better I'll try and figure out how to post mine.

[Angel]

The Convenient Marriage? 

 

This is the one I was thinking of too!  

[Chrysalis Academy]

The Convenient Marriage? 

 

That must be it! I must have conflated the names Horatia and Hero. Hmm, I'm not sure if I have that one, will have to check the stash.  I don't remember anything about the plot, just the stuttering and the eyebrows!

[Violet Crown]

Glad to have you and your recovering eye back, Jane! I hadn't known that cataracts affected color vision. Nobody in my family has ever had cataracts, come to think on it; thus my ignorance.

 

Middle Girl once again took away the book I was reading, so instead of continuing Flannery O'Connor I'm reading more Anthony Trollope, The American Senator. Is there a fox hunting scene in every single Trollope novel? I think there might be.

 

We're all enjoying reading together right now, dh and the girls and me, listening to the moaning racket outside as a blue norther blows in. A couple hours ago it was 77 degrees; already dropped by thirty, and it'll be down another twenty by morning. Bring in the dogs and horses, Mabel!

Edited December 18, 2016 by Violet Crown

[Stacia]

Sadie, hope your healing goes well & smoothly. Can you delete the cookies & such on your computer & see if the amazon link will give you different prices if you're not logged in?

 

I finally finished The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. I say finally because I had little time to read when first starting it (so probably not the ideal time to start a 400-page book) & read it in fits & starts. Late last night, I sat down & finished it.

 

I went in expecting to love this book & can say that I ended up solidly liking it. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting, but it was different in some ways & easily predictable in others. I enjoyed some of the thought experiments within the book & some of the variations between his lives; other parts were more repetitive & could have, perhaps, been trimmed down a bit. Overall, mostly interesting, good, & recommended for those who enjoy time travel books.

 

 

[aggieamy]

Just finished the audiobook Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea - Wonderful children's book. I alternated between sobbing from sadness and sobbing from such heartwarming situations.  Lovely.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Sadie, hope your healing goes well & smoothly. Can you delete the cookies & such on your computer & see if the amazon link will give you different prices if you're not logged in?

 

I finally finished The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. I say finally because I had little time to read when first starting it (so probably not the ideal time to start a 400-page book) & read it in fits & starts. Late last night, I sat down & finished it.

 

I went in expecting to love this book & can say that I ended up solidly liking it. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting, but it was different in some ways & easily predictable in others. I enjoyed some of the thought experiments within the book & some of the variations between his lives; other parts were more repetitive & could have, perhaps, been trimmed down a bit. Overall, mostly interesting, good, & recommended for those who enjoy time travel books.

 

I just decided to abandon this book for now. It seems like a pretty good book, but like you I have little time to read, and so reading a few chapters over the past few days, I find that . . . I don't really care what comes next. So, since I have a big stack of recently arrived books I want to check out, I decided to let it go.

 

I did wake up in the middle of the night grappling with the paradox of time travel last night, but at the moment, I think I'd rather sleep!

[Kathleen.]

I read "Moon Over High Street" by Natalie Babbitt and my 10yo read "Emily Prickleback's Clever Idea" by Daisy Meadows.

 

:)

[Stacia]

I just decided to abandon this book for now. It seems like a pretty good book, but like you I have little time to read, and so reading a few chapters over the past few days, I find that . . . I don't really care what comes next. So, since I have a big stack of recently arrived books I want to check out, I decided to let it go.

 

I did wake up in the middle of the night grappling with the paradox of time travel last night, but at the moment, I think I'd rather sleep!

 

Yeah, there were parts that were rather slow & that sometimes made it hard to pick up the book again, imo. I did think the second half was faster/better/more varied & interesting than the first half. Otoh, there were times I predicted what would happen & that must mean it was obvious because I tend to flow with the text & see where it will take me. If I was predicting what would be coming, it was very clearly spelled out, imo. Lol.

 

I didn't think super-deeply about the time paradox (I know many will dismiss books for any anomaly that enters the text) as I tend to read these types of books for enjoyment vs. analyzing the math/science behind the actual time travel or events that occur.

 

So, <shrug>, it was fine -- a good book, but not a great book.

[Stacia]

Tress, congrats on finishing the Bingo!

 

 

:grouphug:  and hopes that 2017 brings you a year with fewer/no/or at least manageable migraines.

[LostSurprise]

Ted Chiang's The Story of Your Life and Others. 

 

I was so happy (and befuddled) to see they'd made this into a movie! I have it listed as one of my favorite books of 2013. 

 

Gaudy Night. 

 

 

My first Sayers book and my favorite so far. 

 

 

I finished 52 Week BINGO as well, although I may have stretched it a bit on a few. I found myself fitting things I've read into the formula rather than reading things to check off the square. I think the only one I can think of that I read just for the BINGO card was the book from my birth year. 

 

Female Author: Call the Midwife: Farewell to the East End

2016: The Swan’s of Fifth Avenue

Number in the Title: Station Eleven

Dusty:The French Lieutenant's Woman

Picked by a friend~The Fabulous Clipjoint

 

Historical: Skunk Hill: a Native Ceremonial Community

Revisit of an old friend: Ocean at the End of the Lane

Fairy Tale Adaptation: Uprooted

Birth year: An Unsuitable Job for a Woman

Play: Trifles

 

Picked based on cover: Euphoria

Over 500 pages: Wolf Hall

Free

Classic: The End of the Affair

Nonfiction: Zoobiquity

 

Translated (French-Canadian): The Song of Roland

Banned: (Contested) Eleanor & Park

Color in the title: Blood Meridian: or the Evening Redness in the West

Mystery: Crocodile on the Sandbank

Nobel prize (Rudyard Kipling): Puck of Pook's Hill

 

Epic: These Is My Words

Nautical: The Soul of an Octopus

18th century: The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World

Arthurian: Rewards & Fairies

Set in another country: Strange Things Sometimes Still Happen

 

 

Edited December 18, 2016 by LostSurprise

[Robin M]

Link to week 51 - please continue conversation in new thread