Book a Week 2016 - BW51: Happy Winter Reading Wonderland

[Chrysalis Academy]

For a western, I second Louis L'Amour.   I received your package today which made me day.  Did you do the embroidery?  Thank you so much, Angela!  

 

 

No official definitions for any of the squares since I figured leaving it vague will leave open for more choices.  

 

You all are making this Bingo too easy.   :toetap05:   Maybe I should make you spell out your name. A title for each letter. Hmmm!

 

 I do appreciate your enthusiasm!  Now let's see what you do with the birthstone bookology.

 

Hmmm, let's see:

 

Great Tales from English History

Antony and Cleopatra or Anne of Windy Poplars or Aspects of the novel (all in progress)

Richard II

The North Water

An Ember in the Ashes

Tail of the Blue Bird

 

Is skipping A/ns and Thes kosher?

[Robin M]

Hmmm, let's see:

 

Great Tales from English History

Antony and Cleopatra or Anne of Windy Poplars or Aspects of the novel (all in progress)

Richard II

The North Water

An Ember in the Ashes

Tail of the Blue Bird

 

Is skipping A/ns and Thes kosher?

Great!   Yep, no a's, an's or the's included 

[Violet Crown]

VC's usual read (something from the 3rd-6th century AD) 

 

 

 

This year I acquired a secondhand Sonlight Book of Time, and have been entering my reading lists of the last several years, so I actually have a visual now of the chronology. It turns out that my most crowded page is the 1930s: since 2014, twenty of my books came from that decade. (Interestingly, there's an almost unbroken eight-year hiatus after that, due to the WWII paper shortages.)

 

Robin - seriously, I think it would be fun to read books with first letters spelling out my name; the very book I wanted to start the New Year with is a "V." That is my new goal.

[Mom-ninja.]

Question for Rose, Mom-ninja, and others who plan your BaW bingo -

 

How do you find books in the categories you don't normally read? A search on Goodreads? A general web search? 

As Rose replied I also search on Goodreads mostly and try google as well. 

 

 

 

 The western is the one for which I haven't got a clue. Any suggestions?

 

I'm going to choose between True Grit or O' Pioneers; one could also use those for the Female Adventure square instead.

[Lady Florida.]

Hmmm, let's see:

 

Great Tales from English History

Antony and Cleopatra or Anne of Windy Poplars or Aspects of the novel (all in progress)

Richard II

The North Water

An Ember in the Ashes

Tail of the Blue Bird

 

Is skipping A/ns and Thes kosher?

 

Great job!

 

Mine's almost too easy.

 

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Persuasion

And Then There Were None

Life After Life or Little Women

 

I don't plan to read/reread any of the above. Just wanted to give it a try.

[Lady Florida.]

As Rose replied I also search on Goodreads mostly and try google as well. 

 

 

 

 

I'm going to choose between True Grit or O' Pioneers; one could also use those for the Female Adventure square instead.

 

Oh, good point.

[-M-]

Happy night before jólabókaflóð!

[Kareni]

 This year I acquired a secondhand Sonlight Book of Time, and have been entering my reading lists of the last several years, so I actually have a visual now of the chronology. It turns out that my most crowded page is the 1930s: since 2014, twenty of my books came from that decade. (Interestingly, there's an almost unbroken eight-year hiatus after that, due to the WWII paper shortages.)

 

What a neat idea, VC.  (If I were to do such a record, my reading would almost all be post-1970.)

 

Now I'm wondering what books were published during the WWII era.

 

And here's an intriguing article on the subject ~

Publishers Gave Away 122,951,031 Books During World War II

 

Regards,

Karnei

[Kareni]

This evening I finished the male/male romance Friendly Fire by Cari Z; I enjoyed it.  (Adult content)

 

 

"Elliot McKenzie is the king of reinvention. Five years after losing his job and his lover and almost going to prison, his self-help program, Charmed Life, is more successful than he’d ever dreamed. He thinks he’s put his sordid past firmly behind him, until he starts receiving cryptic threats . . . and realizes it might not be as over as he’d hoped.

 

Security expert Lennox West has been lost since a deadly skirmish in Afghanistan led to his forced retirement from the Army. His PTSD makes helping his ex raise their daughter a challenge. When his ex’s sister asks him to set her boss up with a security system, Lennox isn’t expecting anyone like Elliot McKenzie—a man who captures his attention and makes him feel relaxed for the first time since leaving the service.

 

But Elliott is dangerously stubborn. Even as the threats against him escalate, he refuses to involve the police, and Lennox fears that stubbornness could kill him. A battle of wills ensues that brings them closer to each other than either man expected. But if the threats turn real, they might not live long enough to get their future together."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Rosie_0801]

I finished Wintersmith and thoroughly enjoyed it. This are my favorite Pratchett books so far. Well, I love Hogfather too.

 

'Tis the season...

 

We watch the first half of the movie version on Dec 22 and the second half on Dec 23. This year I had the pleasure of introducing my young cousin to it. I think I'll buy him 'Wee Free Men' for Christmas next year. :D

[LaughingCat]

You all are making this Bingo too easy.   :toetap05:   Maybe I should make you spell out your name. A title for each letter. Hmmm!

Ha Ha -- I for one am quite grateful for some leeway -- because I sure thought that name square would be an impossible task.  It was quite amazing to me to find that  Amazon had a single book with my name in the title.  And to my shock, Goodreads managed to produce 2 more, with my name in the subtitle.   OTOH Goodreads came up with over 7000 titles with my middle name in them (obviously a much more common name LOL).  

 

OTOH my name is short -- so spelling it out would quite doable :laugh:

 

 

Edited December 24, 2016 by LaughingCat

[mumto2]

This year I acquired a secondhand Sonlight Book of Time, and have been entering my reading lists of the last several years, so I actually have a visual now of the chronology. It turns out that my most crowded page is the 1930s: since 2014, twenty of my books came from that decade. (Interestingly, there's an almost unbroken eight-year hiatus after that, due to the WWII paper shortages.)

Robin - seriously, I think it would be fun to read books with first letters spelling out my name; the very book I wanted to start the New Year with is a "V." That is my new goal.

 

 

What a neat idea! I have a Sonlight Book of Time that we only used for a couple of years. I read your post and felt great enthusiasm for a few short minutes when I decided my reading even using setting would hugely concentrate in a few time periods.

 

Gormenhast is pretty good. I read most of the first book on a holiday a few years ago. I enjoyed it but the book I was reading from was a challenge...teeny, tiny print and incredibly chunky with all the trilogy in one. I saw it on overdrive recently and I have considered trying again.

 

 

 

 

Happy night before jólabókaflóð!

 

Thank you for the link. Dd's best friend will enjoy it, loves anything Iceland related.

 

I am so impressed with everyone's Bingo lists. I have a few books on wish lists for some categories. A few that fit a square that happen to be in the stack won't be read until next year. I found some garnet books.....I feel like such an underachiever! ;) :lol:

[Loesje22000]

Just finished Anne Bronte's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. (I read it because it was referred to in Madwoman in the Attic, which I heard about here!) Super, super wonderful book. About a mysterious woman- suspenseful as the author waits and waits to reveal the mystery to you... The story of a loving idealistic girl who falls in love and marries. Not to give it away too much, but this is the best fictional portrayal of a troubled marriage that I have ever read... and I wonder how on earth Anne knew so much about it. Wonderfully done. I really don't like her sisters' work at all- can't stand Wuthering Heights, and don't like Jane Eyre (i dislike reading about a crazy hidden wife, due to sad family history) :(But Anne is in an entirely different category: there is so much light, and apt, specific description, that I was really surprised!

On the other hand, the connection with Madwoman in the Attic was that the main character is a painter, who has to disguise her work-- I wish that The Tenant had had more about her art.

I love your review!

I am very fond of her books too, so I bought my self this book as december present:

https://www.amazon.com/Search-Anne-Brontë-Nick-Holland/dp/0750965258/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482572072&sr=1-8&keywords=anne+bronte

 

I can't tell anything about the content yet as it is not given yet (officially) :)

[Jane in NC]

Last night's post dinner entertainment consisted of several rounds of Unspeakable Words. There were just the three of us but up to eight people can play. I suspect this game would work well for a larger, social group.

 

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/172207/unspeakable-words-deluxe-edition

[Onceuponatime]

I finished The Watchmaker of Filigree Street. Here is my review:

 

I enjoyed this book much more than expected. It is a combination of steampunk lite and magical realism. I shed tears twice and gasped a few times. To get the most out of the story you must completely suspend disbelief and just accept what comes next. There are more twists than one can count. It starts out feeling disconnected, but after the parts are joined, it flows quickly, sometimes too quickly. The day after I finished it I realized that from one perspective the story is sweet, from another it is very creepy and disturbing. It's probably best not to dwell on it.

 

Who knows if I'll get any reading done in the next two days.

[Shawneinfl]

My recent college grad is a girl after my own heart. She just asked for more classic books for Christmas to help round out her collection. :)

[ErinE]

Let me know if you have any additions or suggestions or alternates.

 

Scifi July: Ruby / Science Fiction / Author Flavor ???

 

 

For Sc-Fi July, how about a woman sci-if author? Maybe Octavia Butler or Connie Willis (Oxford Time Travelers). I haven't read much older sci-fi from women so I'm working on building a list.

 

ETA: This looks like a great list.

 

http://best-sci-fi-books.com/23-best-science-fiction-books-female-authors/

 

I forgot LeGuin and Bujold. P.D. James wrote Children of Men; I've seen the movie though I haven't read the book.

Edited December 24, 2016 by ErinE

[Shawneinfl]

Here's what I've come up for 2017 so far and will work on it some more next week.  All the stones lead back to ancients and middle ages so lots of opportunity for books during that time period.  Plus if look at where they are found on map, more opportunity for translated books. 

 

Let me know if you have any additions or suggestions or alternates.

 

Jubilant January:  Garnet / Ancients /  Haruki Murakami

 

Festive February:   Amethyst /  Literary Women's Festival 

 

Mystery March:  Aquamarine / Scandinavian authors

 

Artistic  April:   Diamond / National Poetry Month / Somerset Maughan Razer’s Edge

      

Eastward May - Emerald / Eastern European authors  

 

Fanciful June:   Pearl / 20th Anniversary of Harry Potter

 

Scifi July:   Ruby /  Science Fiction  / Author Flavor ???  

 

Adventurous August:   Sardonyx  /  Dorothy Dunnett

 

Stifled September:  sapphire / Banned Books / 

 

Spooky and Spectacular October:  Opal / 100th Anniversary Russian Revolution? Russian reads  or prefer something different  

 

Nonfiction November:  Topaz /  Non Fiction 

 

Decidedly December:  - Turquoise /  Winter   / Author flavor? 

 

 

 

I may have missed the original post. Are we just supposed to do our birth month or do we try to accomplish each stone in the appropriate month?

I'm doing my best to catch back up with the group and hoping next year is a good year of reading for me. Here's to a year of good intentions in 2017!

 

[Jane in NC]

Very interesting book review my husband forwarded my way:

 

http://warontherocks.com/2016/12/high-times-with-narcotized-nazi-warfare/

 

Blitzed by Normon Ohler examines how Nazi soldiers were fueled by meth. Who knew?

[Lady Florida.]

Happy night before jólabókaflóð!

 

Thank you for that link. I'm currently reading Icelandic crime fiction. 

 

Ha Ha -- I for one am quite grateful for some leeway -- because I sure thought that name square would be an impossible task. 

 

I'm glad for it too. It looks quite doable this year. Last year I had only one row I could (or was willing to) complete. This year I have several choices. My name has plenty of titles for both Kathy and Kathleen. The problem is none look like good books. There is a mystery/suspense series I've been wanting to try, and the first one is free on Kindle, so I might go with it - the Kathleen Turner series. The name isn't actually in the title but it is listed on the cover of every book. I don't know if that counts.

[Chrysalis Academy]

 

 

This year I acquired a secondhand Sonlight Book of Time, and have been entering my reading lists of the last several years, so I actually have a visual now of the chronology. It turns out that my most crowded page is the 1930s: since 2014, twenty of my books came from that decade. (Interestingly, there's an almost unbroken eight-year hiatus after that, due to the WWII paper shortages.)

 

Robin - seriously, I think it would be fun to read books with first letters spelling out my name; the very book I wanted to start the New Year with is a "V." That is my new goal.

 

That's cool! Goodreads has a function that shows your reading by era, although it's much less detailed. Here, I'll try and link to mine although sometimes linking to your own pages in goodreads in wonky.  If you go to your profile page, under the list of your bookshelves there is a link to "stats" and you can show graphs with number of books read each year, number of pages read, and a graph of year read vs. year published.  You can't get decade-level detail, but I can see that I've not read anything published between 180 and 975 CE, or 975 and 1478.   :D

Edited December 24, 2016 by Chrysalis Academy

[Ethel Mertz]

At the moment, I'm streaming Lessons & Carols from Kings College, Cambridge while I catch up on this thread. Our boy wept when he heard the boy soprano sing the first verse of Once in Royal David's City as his voice changed this year and he is no longer a soprano and can't sing that solo any more. Poor baby. He sings his first baritone solo tonight.

 

I'm going to have to google "steampunk." I have no idea what it is. I'm going through my TBR list for 2017 Bingo and will post later. 

 

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!

[Jane in NC]

Knitting and occasionally scrolling the boards as Lessons and Carols airs in the background.

 

More Christmas cheer from BBC Radio 4 Extra:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008j05h

 

The link takes you to a dramatization of Poirot's The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding.

 

ETA: Hugs to your lad, Ethel.

Edited December 24, 2016 by Jane in NC

[Chrysalis Academy]

For Sc-Fi July, how about a woman sci-if author? Maybe Octavia Butler or Connie Willis (Oxford Time Travelers). I haven't read much older sci-fi from women so I'm working on building a list.

 

ETA: This looks like a great list.

 

http://best-sci-fi-books.com/23-best-science-fiction-books-female-authors/

 

I forgot LeGuin and Bujold. P.D. James wrote Children of Men; I've seen the movie though I haven't read the book.

 

I like that idea! Left Hand of Darkness by LeGuin is one of my favorite books of all time.  Children of Men - the book - is much better than the movie. I've been thinking of a re-read of that one. The Ann Leckie Imperial Radch series is fantastic. I've read all of Octavia Butler in my youth, but not picked her back up in recent years. I've never been able to finish a Connie Willis book, I've tried a couple.

 

Some other authors on my list that I haven't read include Nancy Kress and Joan Slonczewski (recommended by Eliana)

 

From that linked list, I added Beholder's Eye, Sarah Canary (which could be a Western, a Sci Fi, or a Debut author for Bingo!  and your name if anybody here is secretly named Sarah in real life), Shadow over Avalon (why do I keep trying with Arthurian books?) 

[shukriyya]

At the moment, I'm streaming Lessons & Carols from Kings College, Cambridge while I catch up on this thread. Our boy wept when he heard the boy soprano sing the first verse of Once in Royal David's City as his voice changed this year and he is no longer a soprano and can't sing that solo any more. Poor baby. He sings his first baritone solo tonight.

 

I'm going to have to google "steampunk." I have no idea what it is. I'm going through my TBR list for 2017 Bingo and will post later. 

 

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!

 

 

Knitting and occasionally scrolling the boards as Lessons and Carols airs in the background.

 

More Christmas cheer from BBC Radio 4 Extra:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008j05h

 

The link takes you to a dramatization of Poirot's The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding.

 

 

Thanks to my 'more British than the British' father, my childhood Christmases involved Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, the Queen's message on Christmas day, mince pies, turkish delight, Christmas crackers and my grandmother's Christmas pudding and her rich, dark fruitcake made in England in October, laced with brandy through the next two months and sent over to Canada in time for Christmas. The Christmas crackers contained particularly bad-good puns and for some reason this one has stayed with me decades later, What is the difference between a phrase and a cat? One has claws at the end of its paws and the other has a pause at the end the clause  :smilielol5:

[Jane in NC]

Thanks to my 'more British than the British' father, my childhood Christmases involved Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, the Queen's message on Christmas day, mince pies, turkish delight, Christmas crackers and my grandmother's Christmas pudding and her rich, dark fruitcake made in England in October, laced with brandy through the next two months and sent over to Canada in time for Christmas. The Christmas crackers contained particularly bad-good puns and for some reason this one has stayed with me decades later, What is the difference between a phrase and a cat? One has claws at the end of its paws and the other has a pause at the end the clause :smilielol5:

Crackers ready to go here. One set for just the three of us; concerto crackers with whistles if friends stroll in.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Oh, anybody who is doing Robin's Gem challenge should check out The Elenium by David Eddings:  The Diamond Throne, The Ruby Knight, The Sapphire Rose! Shannon has been after me to re-read these. Maybe this is the year!

[mumto2]

Thank you for that link. I'm currently reading Icelandic crime fiction. 

 

 

 

I'm glad for it too. It looks quite doable this year. Last year I had only one row I could (or was willing to) complete. This year I have several choices. My name has plenty of titles for both Kathy and Kathleen. The problem is none look like good books. There is a mystery/suspense series I've been wanting to try, and the first one is free on Kindle, so I might go with it - the Kathleen Turner series. The name isn't actually in the title but it is listed on the cover of every book. I don't know if that counts.

Personally I think a series title should count. I have also found a mystery series which has my name in the series title which I am planning to try. In my case there are lots of titles with sandy beaches etc but not people named Sandy.

 

If anyone doesn't think a series title should count please let me/us know....I can read one of the others easily.

 

 

  

At the moment, I'm streaming Lessons & Carols from Kings College, Cambridge while I catch up on this thread. Our boy wept when he heard the boy soprano sing the first verse of Once in Royal David's City as his voice changed this year and he is no longer a soprano and can't sing that solo any more. Poor baby. He sings his first baritone solo tonight.

 

I'm going to have to google "steampunk." I have no idea what it is. I'm going through my TBR list for 2017 Bingo and will post later. 

 

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!

 

 

Steampunk as a genre was something I spent quite awhile trying to get my mind wrapped around. Definition wise it's a bit wibbly wobbly because there can always be exceptions but in general they are set in the Victorian era and are filled with wondrous steam powered devices. Many of these books have paranormal elements. I did a quick google search and these lists probably offer the widest range. Soulless by Gail Carriger is a favourite and you would probably like it. Lots of choice. ;) Some of these lists have classics like Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues and Frankenstein.

 

https://www.bustle.com/articles/173944-8-steampunk-novels-every-reader-will-love

 

http://www.flashlightworthybooks.com/Best-Steampunk-Books/403

 

http://www.torbooks.co.uk/blog/2014/11/12/ten-essential-steampunk-novels

 

 

I may have missed the original post. Are we just supposed to do our birth month or do we try to accomplish each stone in the appropriate month?

I'm doing my best to catch back up with the group and hoping next year is a good year of reading for me. Here's to a year of good intentions in 2017!

 

The aim is to try and do something for each months stone. Rather like the Around the World challenge of past years. Robin has thought of many variations which should make this challenge a good one for all.

[Stacia]

Very interesting book review my husband forwarded my way:

 

http://warontherocks.com/2016/12/high-times-with-narcotized-nazi-warfare/

 

Blitzed by Normon Ohler examines how Nazi soldiers were fueled by meth. Who knew?

 

Hmmm. That is interesting.

 

Yeas ago, when I read C, part of it was set during WW1. The main character was a spotter in an airplane, trying to assess enemy movements & staging. In the book, he would rub cocaine in his eyes to sharpen his vision. It is a fictional book, but that tiny tidbit seemed probable to me & I wondered if it was based on historical fact. I tried googling & looking it up a bit & never really found anything to verify or dismiss it one way or the other.

 

I find this subject interesting. Anyone know of other books related to these topics? I'm not even sure what topic I'm really asking about, but I guess it would somehow be related to using drugs to fuel war performance or similar instances.

[Stacia]

Jane & crstarlette, I have Multiple Choice sitting on my shelf. I picked it up last week (I think after seeing it on NPR's list). Haven't read it, but I did flip through it. Figured I needed to be in the right mood to tackle it, especially the first sections of multiple choice questions.

 

I certainly feel like the thread underachiever as I haven't planned anything for the 2017 Bingo yet. I will surprise even myself if I manage to get a full Bingo blackout two years in a row. :lol:  But, who knows?

 

For fun, though, any of my friends here want to recommend a book for me to read for the "recommended by a friend" block? I think that will probably complete the extent of my planning at this point! :tongue_smilie:

[JennW in SoCal]

My but you all have been busy! I'm thinking everyone must be stuck indoors due to bad weather leaving you nothing to do but make reading lists! I'm just going to continue letting the currents carry my reading journey.

 

My big accomplishment for the week is capturing a decent photo of a plover to share with y'all when I get back home to my laptop. (In honor of everyone who read The Plover this year.). Other than that it's been a week of food and extended family, and doing little else but reading. That all this takes place in Hawaii is just a nice bonus!

 

We had a long video chat with my boy in Japan who is now staying thru 2018, and hope to catch up with my other ds tomorrow. In the meantime, Aloha!!

[Robin M]

I may have missed the original post. Are we just supposed to do our birth month or do we try to accomplish each stone in the appropriate month?

I'm doing my best to catch back up with the group and hoping next year is a good year of reading for me. Here's to a year of good intentions in 2017!

 

The intent is to try and accomplish each stone each month. Birthstone Bookology Reading adventure will take us around the world and through different time periods from the ancients to the present.  You can go a variety of directions with this challenge. Explore the myth and lore of each stone and then read a book with one or more of the following. (but not limited to) Use your imagination and see where it takes you.  

 

 

One book per letter in the birthstone of the month. 

 

The birthstone name in the title.

 

The color of the stone in the title.

 

Set in the time period where the birthstone was discovered

 

The mythological figure or lore surrounding the stone

 

Set in the place where the birthstone is currently found

 

For example - Garnet time period is ancients in egypt, greece and rome which will also match with Bingo square of reading a book from Ancients (bc) up to 100 Ad.   For example I've got Ben Kane's Spartacus: The Gladiator which is is for G.  Totally liked his Forgotten Legion series.    And the Garnet is sourced or found  in Russian, Iran, Thailand, India and Africa so a variety of countries to explore.

[Kareni]

Jane, I'm happy to hear that you're enjoying the Boy's company and having fun playing games.

 

We had a long video chat with my boy in Japan who is now staying thru 2018 ....

 

We're looking forward to chatting with our daughter in South Korea in a few hours; we'll be opening gifts together courtesy of Skype. 

 

Is your son planning on staying in the same location for his second year?  Our daughter is thinking of renewing her contract in March.  If so, she'll be starting her fourth year in Korea at that point (though not all at the same place).

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Currently free to Kindle readers ~

 

Pensées by Blaise Pascal

 

"An illuminating exploration of the nature of faith from one of history’s greatest thinkers

Blaise Pascal was not a gambler, but he posited one of the most famous wagers of all time: Every man’s life is a bet against God. It is a wager that any man can win, however. Sacrifice earthly pleasures—drink, lust, sin, etc.—and a lifetime of happiness awaits, in this world or the next. Live every day as if God exists, and you can’t lose.
 
Pascal devised his wager in the seventeenth century, but the lessons written by this brilliant man ring true today. In this collection of fragments intended as a defense of Christianity, everything is up for debate. From the nature of love to the relationship between scientific inquiry and religious faith, Pascal shows that skepticism and devotion go hand in hand."

**

a novella:  The Impossible Quest Of Hailing A Taxi On Christmas Eve (God Complex Universe) by George Saoulidis

 

"Scrooge Is Looking For A Taxi

 

Dickens meets I, Robot in this sci-fi retelling of a classic story.

In this modern retelling of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," Scrooge is looking for a taxi to get home on Christmas Eve. But he will get the ride of his life, as he is walked through his past, his present and his future to end up a changed man.

Set in modern day Athens, this science-fiction version of the classic ghost story is guaranteed to bring shivers down your spine and a smile to your face."

**

 

and something totally different

 

The Use (Changing  Magic Book 1)  by D.L. Carter

 

"The Throne of the High King stands empty.

… and so are the nurseries of the High Court Elves.

A solution to both must be found before the magic of the Empire fails.

Eioth, Lord of the North West, has found a very odd book sitting openly in a library. The Use and Complexity of Sex Magic is a scholarly study of that most obscure, frequently derided and almost unknown branch of magic.

For an Elemental Scholar of Eioth’s rank and ability the exploration of Sex Magic begins as a simple exercise in curiosity … soon it may become the solution to all the problems of the Empire.

But first he needs to find one special woman."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Ethel Mertz]

Steampunk as a genre was something I spent quite awhile trying to get my mind wrapped around. Definition wise it's a bit wibbly wobbly because there can always be exceptions but in general they are set in the Victorian era and are filled with wondrous steam powered devices. Many of these books have paranormal elements. I did a quick google search and these lists probably offer the widest range. Soulless by Gail Carriger is a favourite and you would probably like it. Lots of choice. ;) Some of these lists have classics like Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues and Frankenstein.

 

https://www.bustle.com/articles/173944-8-steampunk-novels-every-reader-will-love

 

http://www.flashlightworthybooks.com/Best-Steampunk-Books/403

 

http://www.torbooks.co.uk/blog/2014/11/12/ten-essential-steampunk-novels

 

 

Thanks for the links, Sandy!

[Ethel Mertz]

My preliminary Bingo 2017 choices (with a few gaps and subject to change):

 

B Column

Prime Number in title (I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives – Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda)

Flufferton

Eastern Europe, (The Unbearable Lightness of Being – Milan Kandera, set in Prague)

Bestseller written in 1947 (Mrs. Mike (Mrs. Mike #1) – Benedict Freedman) Steampunk (The Martian Ambassador – Alan K. Baker)

 

I Column

Science Fiction (Out of the Silent Planet (Space Trilogy #1) – C.S. Lewis)

“Anne” in the title (Darcy & Anne – Judith Brocklehurst) or (To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn – Sandra Byrd)

Collection of Short Stories (The Complete Stories – Flannery O’Connor)

Seaworthy (The Plover – Brian Doyle)

Middle Ages (Aristotle’s Children: How Christians, Muslims, and Jews Rediscovered Ancient Wisdom and Illuminated the Middle Ages – Richard E. Rubenstein)

 

N Column

Western (Lonesome Dove)

Ancient (up to 100 CE) – Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome (Cicero #1) – Robert Harris

Free Space

Dystopian (Station Eleven – Emily St. John Mandel)

Mystery - to be chosen later

 

G Column

Translated (Women of Sand and Myrrh, Hanan Al-Shaykh)

Outer Space

Finance (Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right – Jane Mayer

One Word Title (Cataloochee – Wayne Caldwell)

Debut Author

 

O Column

Over 500 pages (The Dovekeepers – Alice Hoffman)

Local Author (The Outermost House: A Year of Life on the Great Beach of Cape Cod – Henry Beston)

Female Adventure – Two Women in the Klondike – Mary E. Hitchcock (thanks to whomever suggested that!)

Classic (The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings #1) – J.R.R. Tolkien)

Selected by a friend

[Violet Crown]

Last night's post dinner entertainment consisted of several rounds of Unspeakable Words. There were just the three of us but up to eight people can play. I suspect this game would work well for a larger, social group.

 

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/172207/unspeakable-words-deluxe-edition

I like the looks of that. Too late for Christmas Day. Maybe for New Year's or Twelfth Night.

[Robin M]

For Sc-Fi July, how about a woman sci-if author? Maybe Octavia Butler or Connie Willis (Oxford Time Travelers). I haven't read much older sci-fi from women so I'm working on building a list.

 

ETA: This looks like a great list.

 

http://best-sci-fi-books.com/23-best-science-fiction-books-female-authors/

 

I forgot LeGuin and Bujold. P.D. James wrote Children of Men; I've seen the movie though I haven't read the book.

 

 

I like that idea! Left Hand of Darkness by LeGuin is one of my favorite books of all time.  Children of Men - the book - is much better than the movie. I've been thinking of a re-read of that one. The Ann Leckie Imperial Radch series is fantastic. I've read all of Octavia Butler in my youth, but not picked her back up in recent years. I've never been able to finish a Connie Willis book, I've tried a couple.

 

Some other authors on my list that I haven't read include Nancy Kress and Joan Slonczewski (recommended by Eliana)

 

From that linked list, I added Beholder's Eye, Sarah Canary (which could be a Western, a Sci Fi, or a Debut author for Bingo!  and your name if anybody here is secretly named Sarah in real life), Shadow over Avalon (why do I keep trying with Arthurian books?) 

 

Agree we should go with female author as I'm trying to alternate this year rather than have both male and female each month.  It'll probably work out to half and half for the year.  All great suggestions are great.  I'm leaning towards Octavia Butler since I want to read Dawn, the first book in the xenogenesis series.  It's available on kindle unlimited right now as well.  

[Nan in Mass]

Crstarlette

 

It arrived!!!!! Thank you so much!!!!

 

Merry Christmas!

Nan

[Little Nyssa]

I love your review!

I am very fond of her books too, so I bought my self this book as december present:

https://www.amazon.com/Search-Anne-Brontë-Nick-Holland/dp/0750965258/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482572072&sr=1-8&keywords=anne+bronte

 

I can't tell anything about the content yet as it is not given yet (officially) :)

Thank you! I will look into this!

[CindyH in NC]

Hi everyone, I've been super busy this month, with dance and music recital's and my daughter's college graduation (Yay!!!).

 

Anyway, my daughter told me now that she's free from schoolwork she's doing the Rory Gilmore Book Challenge. Thought the Gilmore Girls fans on here might like this book list. I love how diverse it is.

http://www.listchallenges.com/rory-gilmore-reading-challenge/checklist/2

 

Fun Quiz.  My dd likes the Gilmore Girls, but I haven't seen many episodes.

 

I will show her the quiz.  I scored 77 out of 339, so I guess I could read more classics.  :hurray: 

And that makes me happy.

[Stacia]

My bil got a very nice Vonnegut collection tonight as a gift.

 

:thumbup1:

[Kathleen.]

I read a silly, fun book "Julius Zebra: Rumble with the Romans!" by Gary Northfield and my 10yo read lots of Christmas picture books.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone.

☺

[Chrysalis Academy]

We read A Child's Christmas in Wales by  Dylan Thomas tonight, which was a nice addition to our christmas eve traditional reads. Unfortunately dh's back has gone out, so he has spent xmas eve in bed. So it was just the girls and I, and hoping devoutly that he will be back on his feet tomorrow. As it is, I have to pull off Santa-ing all on my own. Luckily I wrapped presents earlier, but I have no idea where all the stocking stuffers are. It may be a long night. Happy holidays who all who are celebrating. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's gift book stacks!

[Lady Florida.]

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate. We opened gifts this morning. Ds 19 made out best of all, but I was happy with an Instant Pot accessory (glass lid) and a book of crochet wrap patterns that had been on my wish list for a while. We're off to dss and ddil's for dinner and family time. Grandson gifts are in the car, and Nonna, Pop-pop, and Uncle Dennis (aka Lady Florida's crew) are on the way.

 

Rose, I hope your dh is feeling better today. 

[mumto2]

Merry Christmas to all that celebrate!!!

 

It's odd to think that my day is winding down. Presents have been opened and inspected. Christmas breakfast and dinner have been cooked, eaten, and cleaned up after. We are getting ready to go and visit with friends this evening and attend a church service.

[Jane in NC]

Hi everyone!  Yes, Happy Christmas and Happy Book Reading to all!

 

I am waiting to report more in the new thread but let me state here that my Secret Santa has Blown.Me.Away. 

 

We opened gifts then enjoyed our traditional Christmas breakfast of Moravian Sugar Cake (a yeast risen coffee cake) and what we call "Hakuna Frittata", a potato and smoked fish frittata that we have eaten on Christmas morning for over 20 years now.  It was a new recipe coinciding with the year that Lion King was released, hence the name we have given the dish.  After enjoying our breakfast, we packaged up frittata and sugar cake slices for the volunteers at the bird shelter doing Christmas duty.  There were few beach walkers this morning despite the pleasant weather. That will change.  Lots of people like celebrating the new year at the beach.

[Onceuponatime]

Merry Christmas!

 

I forgot to put baking soda in our traditional Christmas morning cranberry nut bread. Nevertheless, it turned out sweet, fragrant, dense and chewy. The kids dubbed it fruitcake and ate it anyway. It went well with the sausage, egg, and cheese casserole. Christmas is our day to relax, play games, eat leftovers and chocolate. Tonight my mom is taking the whole family to see Rogue One. Hope your day is great!

Edited December 25, 2016 by Onceuponatime

[Just Robyn]

Crstarlette

 

It arrived!!!!! Thank you so much!!!!

 

Merry Christmas!

Nan

 

You're welcome!

 

Merry Christmas, everyone!

 

Sadie, nice haul. 

 

Last night we had our annual family get-together for my mother's side of the family and enjoyed oyster stew made by my grandmother. This morning we ate kolaches (also made by my grandmother), then we opened presents and played Alhambra. We also intend to play Zombie Dice sometime today, and...? We'll be bringing games over to my mil's and we'll see what we feel like playing, if anything. 

 

Here are the books I received this year.

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate. We opened gifts this morning. Ds 19 made out best of all, but I was happy with an Instant Pot accessory (glass lid) and a book of crochet wrap patterns that had been on my wish list for a while. We're off to dss and ddil's for dinner and family time. Grandson gifts are in the car, and Nonna, Pop-pop, and Uncle Dennis (aka Lady Florida's crew) are on the way.

 

Rose, I hope your dh is feeling better today. 

 

A bit better, thank you.

 

Merry Christmas!

 

I forgot to put baking soda in our traditional Christmas morning cranberry nut bread. Nevertheless, it turned out sweet, fragrant, dense and chewy. The kids dubbed it fruitcake and ate it anyway. It went well with the sausage, egg, and cheese casserole. Christmas is our day to relax, play games, eat leftovers and chocolate. Tonight my mom is taking the whole family to see Rogue One. Hope your day is great!

 

We went and saw that yesterday. They did a nice job making this into a true prequel for A New Hope, it was fun for us old-timers to see all the references to the Star Wars universe that we know well.

 

We don't usually include grownups in the gift exchange, but Shannon surprised us by giving us all gifts she had walked into town and bought on her own. One of mine is that pair of Jane Austen writing gloves that somebody posted here awhile back! It's funny, because I almost bought a pair of these for her.  She also got me this really funny book: WTF, Evolution? A Theory of Unintelligible Design. It's hysterical, and with great pictures! 

 

Morgan got a ukelele, and her big sister is teaching her how to tune and play it . . .  :001_wub: