Book a Week 2016 - BW51: Happy Winter Reading Wonderland

[Lady Florida.]

 

 

 

 

YOU GUYS!!!!!! I"m so excited!!!! :hurray:  I can't believe I have to wait 10 whole days to get started!!!!!!!   :biggrinjester: Torture, Robin!  ;)  :D

 

 

 

 

 

Well, you can at least start planning so you're ready to go on January 1st.  :lol:

 

 

 

 

Oh man, name in the title is an easy one. Shall I read about The Wars of the Roses? The Name of the Rose? Briar Rose? So many choices!

 

Here's a list of over 800 titles with names in them. Not all are usable - for example how many of us have the last name Karamzov, Copperfield, or Dalloway?   :laugh:

 

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4728.Novels_With_People_s_Names_in_the_Title?page=1

 

Which leads me to ask Robin - does it have to be your first name?

[Lady Florida.]

I saved the bingo card as a pdf in case anyone wants it. I think when you try to open it you'll be prompted to save it on your own device. I'm not sure how to get it to just open.

 

 

52 Books Bingo 2017.pdf

52 Books Bingo 2017.pdf

[Onceuponatime]

I second the question "does it have to be your first name?" What about last or middle names?

[Chrysalis Academy]

Well, you can at least start planning so you're ready to go on January 1st.  :lol:

 

 

Oh, you know it!  My challenge to myself is to try to find books that are already on my TR shelves for each category. I probably can't do every single one this way - I don't think I have any Steampunk or Westerns on my lists  - but I'm going to try.  For instance, Drop City is on my TR list, and TC Boyle lives right down the river.  I have 3 books with prime numbers in the title already on my list, and two that were published in 2006 (dd10's birth year).  

 

Planning what to read is almost more fun than reading it. Not unlike homeschooling!  :001_rolleyes:  ;)

[mumto2]

I saved the bingo card as a pdf in case anyone wants it. I think when you try to open it you'll be prompted to save it on your own device. I'm not sure how to get it to just open.

 

 

Thank you!

 

 

 

 

There are a lot of Melissa's out there writing books (yay, 1970's names!) but not a whole lot of books with Melissa in the title.

 

Maybe I'm googling wrong.

 

I bet there's some dodgy romances out there with a Melissa in the title.

 

I might cheat and look for something with a bee in the title.

I used the search function at Goodreads.https://www.goodreads.com/search?page=1&q=Melissa&tab=books

[Ethel Mertz]

For the "Finance" category: do books on economics count? I'm thinking of titles like:

 

The American Way of Poverty: How the Other Half Still Lives – Sasha Abramsky 

 

or

 

This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate – Naomi Klein

 

or 

 

The War on Poverty: A New Grassroots History, 1964-1980 – Annelise Orleck

 

or

 

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City – Matthew Desmond

 

or

 

 The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008 – Paul Krugman

 

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

For the "Finance" category: do books on economics count? I'm thinking of titles like:

 

The American Way of Poverty: How the Other Half Still Lives – Sasha Abramsky 

 

or

 

This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate – Naomi Klein

 

or 

 

The War on Poverty: A New Grassroots History, 1964-1980 – Annelise Orleck

 

or

 

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City – Matthew Desmond

 

or

 

 The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008 – Paul Krugman

 

I hope so! a couple of those are on my list. Evicted looks excellent.

[Just Robyn]

For the "Finance" category: do books on economics count? I'm thinking of titles like:

 

 

 

Ditto.

 

And what is a "seaworthy" book?

 

ETA: And thank you for the new BINGO card!

Edited December 22, 2016 by crstarlette

[Stacia]

I finished Complication today. Maybe my brain needs to be sharper or I need to pay better attention when reading, but I may need someone to explain it to me (just like I felt after watching the movie Memento years ago). :lol: I'm mostly on track, I think, but I'm also a bit :confused1: .

 

As you all know, I'm ok with the fantastical, the strange, the unexpected, things being off or different. But this one left me more scratching my head (like Memento) rather than in love with the story & the unclear ending (like Inception). And there were definitely some holes or gaps in the story. I think. (Or I missed them & that's why I'm somewhat confused.)

 

Certainly it is interesting as it rambles around Prague, but I had to laugh when a few later chapters were written in different fonts (after Sadie's comment), some of which were not the easiest to read.

 

It's a mix of modern crime, folk/fairy tales, urban legend, history, alchemy, & the bizarre. It was unexpected (which I liked), but got confusing at times too. I would probably need to go back & reread it to unravel everything & spot all the hints. I'm lazy so I'd rather just have someone else give me the final synopsis. Lol. In the end, I think the premise was better than the actual execution, but it was still a decent, mind-bending read. I'll give it 3 stars & say that I'm glad I read it, but I'm not sure it would be to everyone's taste.

Edited December 22, 2016 by Stacia

[Kareni]

For the "Finance" category: do books on economics count? I'm thinking of titles like ...

 

One that is my speed might be  The Buck Book: All Sorts of Things to do with a Dollar Bill-Besides Spend It

 

And what is a "seaworthy" book?

 

One that floats.  I'm now thinking of those children's books that are designed to be read in the bathtub; like this one:  Bath Time!  by Sandra Boynton

 

A book title for you, Sadie:  Sadie's Little Black Recipe Book by Josi S. Kilpack

 

 

I guess I could read Anna Karenina, but I don't feel drawn to it!

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[Robin M]

 

Which leads me to ask Robin - does it have to be your first name?

 

I second the question "does it have to be your first name?" What about last or middle names?

You may notice I didn't say your first name - just your name in the title so that leaves wiggle room for first, last and middle.  

 

 

 

For the "Finance" category: do books on economics count? I'm thinking of titles like:

 

:grouphug:    Yes, books on economics count.  Any books fiscally related whether they are non fiction or fiction like Brad Meltzer's The Millionaires.

 

Ditto.

 

And what is a "seaworthy" book?

 

ETA: And thank you for the new BINGO card!

Welcome!  Seaworthy would be books set on water 

[Robin M]

While your brains are sparking from the 52 Books Bingo ideas, you all mentioned eastern european authors,  scandinavian,  science fiction  and apocalyptic / dystopian  as ideas for books to read. What authors or particular books do you all have in mind?

 

We currently have year long readalong of Story of Western Science and Murakami in January 

Possibly Terry Pratchett in March / Dorothy Dunnet in August / 100th Anniversary Russian Revolution in October

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 22, 2016 by Robin M

[Nan in Mass]

Ditto.

 

And what is a "seaworthy" book?

 

ETA: And thank you for the new BINGO card!

A seaworthy book would, in my opinion, be one in which the author isn't being stupid about boats. The nautical language would be correct and the boats would be used properly. People wouldn't go downstairs or neglect to keep an eye on the weather unless they were supposed to be landlubbers and the boats would not just be floating bedrooms. : ) And there would be lots of descriptions of what the wind and sea were doing and the reader would be told what tack the boat was on.

 

Nan

[Kareni]

I've recently finished two books both of which I enjoyed ~

 

A Regency Christmas Feast: Five Stories  by Mary Balogh, Sandra Heath, Edith Layton, Barbara Metzger, and Patricia Rice  (Please note the use of the Oxford comma!)

 

There's a nice review here: A true gourmet's delight . . .

**

 

Short Stay (Love Lessons)  by Heidi Cullinan

 

This is a sequel to the author's Lonely Hearts; it would make little sense without having read that book. 

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

 

 

 

[Kareni]

And I just finished Death and Relaxation (Ordinary Magic)  by Devon Monk; those of you who enjoy paranormal/fantasy books might also enjoy this.  I look forward to reading more in this series; I see book two is already out.

 

"Monsters, gods, and mayhem...

 

Police Chief Delaney Reed can handle the Valkyries, werewolves, gill-men and other paranormal creatures who call the small beach town of Ordinary, Oregon their home. It’s the vacationing gods who keep her up at night. With the famous rhubarb festival right around the corner, small-town tensions, tempers, and godly tantrums are at an all-time high. The last thing Delaney needs is her ex-boyfriend reappearing just when she's finally caught the attention of Ryder Bailey, the one man she should never love. No, scratch that. The actual last thing she needs is a dead body washing ashore, especially since the dead body is a god. Catching a murderer, wrestling a god power, and re-scheduling the apocalypse? Just another day on the job in Ordinary. Falling in love with her childhood friend while trying to keep the secrets of her town secret? That’s gonna take some work."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Stacia]

I'm excited to see what everyone chooses for "female adventure!" 

 

I'm really looking forward to everyone's selection for this category too.

 

I have a Goodreads shelf for ones I've already read that fit that category.

 

Looking on my shelves here at home, I have some great options:

The Best Women's Travel Writing: Volume 10, edited by Lavinia Spalding

Anne Morrow Lindbergh: Her Life by Susan Hertog

Two Women in the Klondike by Mary E. Hitchcock

Congo Solo: Misadventures Two Degrees North by Emily Hahn

Ada Blackjack: A True Story of Survival in the Arctic by Jennifer Niven

New Wind in a Dry Land: An account of a sojourn among the nomads of Somaliland by Margaret Laurence

[Jane in NC]

While your brains are sparking from the 52 Books Bingo ideas, you all mentioned eastern european authors,  scandinavian,  science fiction  and apocalyptic / dystopian  as ideas for books to read. What authors or particular books do you all have in mind?

 

We currently have year long readalong of Story of Western Science and Murakami in January 

Possibly Terry Pratchett in March / Dorothy Dunnet in August / 100th Anniversary Russian Revolution in October

 

There are a number of Polish and Czech authors available in English translation.  For the former, The Good Soldier Å vejk by Jaroslav HaÅ¡ek is a classic. Works by Milan Kundera, Bohumil Hrabel and Vaclav Havel will be readily available in many libraries.

 

There is a particular Polish novel that I need to read, one that I think VC would also enjoy:  Ferdydurke by Witold Gombrowicz, a novel equally despised by Nazis and Stalinists, i.e. my sort of book.

 

Bruno Schultz and WiesÅ‚aw MyÅ›liwski are probably my favorite Polish authors.  Mysliwski can be challenging--definitely not for the Flufferton crowd.  Many 20th century Polish novels can be hard going though when you consider the backdrop of history as suggested by the titles alone:  This Way for the Gas by Auschwitz survivor Tadeusz Borowski or Ashes and Diamonds by Jerzy Andrzejewski.  Hmmm...I guess the latter fits in the gem theme; also Andrej Wadja made a film of the novel in 1958, a film that is still considered one of the best in world cinema.

 

A book partially set in Poland is Alan Furst's espionage thriller The Polish Officer.  Furst is not an Eastern European writer though.

 

As far as Scandanavian authors go, it seems that many of the popular books from the region are mysteries.  I have read a number of Norwegian authors over the last year or two.  Karl Ove Knausgaard comes immediately to mind and reminds me to return to his critically acclaimed six volume series My Struggle.  There something really bleak about Norwegian fiction though.  Perhaps perfect for the dark days of winter?

 

Lately I have been on an Icelandic kick--more bleak tales.  When we post our end of year summaries these books will surface.

 

[Shawneinfl]

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

 

[mumto2]

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

 

 

Thanks Shawne, Great to see you.

 

I took the test, 81 which put me in ths top 15%. Totally amazed because I hadn't read many that lots of people here have been reading and are on the list. Many of the ones I had read were read decades ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While your brains are sparking from the 52 Books Bingo ideas, you all mentioned eastern european authors,  scandinavian,  science fiction  and apocalyptic / dystopian  as ideas for books to read. What authors or particular books do you all have in mind?

 

We currently have year long readalong of Story of Western Science and Murakami in January 

Possibly Terry Pratchett in March / Dorothy Dunnet in August / 100th Anniversary Russian Revolution in October

Echoing Jane, I have several Scandinavian Mystery authors on lists that I will find in the next few days.

 

I have really enjoyed The Passage and Station Eleven this year. I would love to find some more books that are similar in the apocalyptic/dystopian category.

[Stacia]

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

 

Hi, Shawne! :seeya:

 

I've never seen the Gilmore Girls, but I still had fun going through the list. (I got 90 out of 337.) Truthfully, though, many of them seemed like the classics I read in high school, so it has been a looooooong time since I actually read them! I love that with all the classics, Isabel Allende & David Sedaris seem to be favorites.

 

ETA: And I was happy to see quite a few Hemingway books on the list, as well as Vonnegut. And that Somerset Maugham's The Razor's Edge was there too. (That is such a wonderful book & one I think almost every BaWer would enjoy.)

Edited December 22, 2016 by Stacia

[fastweedpuller]

I agree Shawne that was quite fun!  We only recently started watching The Gilmore Girls and i had to stop after 2-3 episodes and ensure my daughter (12) that this is a really smothering mother/daughter relationship, esp. mom-wise.  I think we made it to season 2 but I haven't felt like I needed to continue watching...but I will let dd decide.

But!  I did read like 123/339 of those books.  Whew.  Some of my all time faves are in it.

[aggieamy]

Oh, Jane, I saw on amazon that Stav Sherez will have a third book of the Carrigan & Miller series coming out in January. For now it looks like it may be available only on kindle (wah!) but I may break down & get it anyway.

 

I so rarely read series books, but I read the first two this year & thought they were really well-done thrillers/mysteries.

 

   

 

The books, if anyone is interested:

A Dark Redemption

Eleven Days

The Intrusions (the one coming out next month)

 

Well those are about the coolest covers!

 

 

Hello everyone!  Last week I read  A Fatal Grace (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #2) by Louise Penny. This one was set during Christmastime so it fit perfectly. :) I figured out who the killer was about halfway through (which makes me feel so very clever - ha!)but not how it was done so it was still very compelling. I'm loving this series and want to start listening to the audiobook versions so I can hear the correct pronunciation of the French names/phrases.

 

 

The audiobooks are fantastic.  I am rubbish at French so I appreciated knowing how the names were actually said.  It added so much to my enjoyment of the stories. 

 

Ds has final exams this week. He works quickly so he likes to take a book with him to read as he usually finishes early. He wanted something new that he hadn't already read.

 

I handed him The Plover this morning and told him that I loved it and had recommended it to many of you here in our book group. He said, "Mom, I think most people wouldn't read books you recommend because, well, you're you." He continued to clarify for me by saying, "Here's a list of the 99 weirdest books you've never read and you're like I read that one, and that one, and that one...."

 

Rofl. I was laughing so hard! I guess my ds knows my reading habits well.

 

(And, yes, he carried The Plover into school this morning and I feel pretty sure he's going to like it.)

 

Kids these days are just brutal!  It's funny how as they get older they start to notice more about their parents personalities and we stop being mythical undefeatable superheros. 

 

Happy Jane.  Our intrepid archaeologist (also known as The Boy) was finally able to make travel plans for the holidays.  His employer has been playing things by ear, leaving a skeletal crew in place to do bits and pieces as the weather permitted.  Tomorrow is his last day of work at this assignment with Wednesday being a paid travel day. Huzzah!  Someone is traveling home to his mommy! 

 

Many thanks to Jenn for sending me a postcard of Tintin in the Land of the Soviets from her travels to Paris last summer.  This is the first book of Tintin adventures, one that has not lived in our Tintin collection.  Somehow I missed that an American edition of this book became available in 2007. I ordered a copy for The Boy for Christmas but indulged in reading it this evening.  While I should not put this quick read on my 2016 list, I am tempted.  It might be one of my favorites for the year.

 

Favorite word in the book (with a sensitive reader alert):  Damnitski!

 

Playing in the background as I read Tintin is the Paul Winter Consort's Winter Solstice concert from the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. Thanks NPR. This brings back happy memories of the year I attended the solstice concert in person when the beat poet Ted Snyder read poems from his book Turtle Island. 

 

Filled with warm fuzziness tonight, my bookish friends.  Tomorrow is tamale Tuesday.  We're making them from scratch with friends, a mega production number.  The tree is untrimmed, many cards are unaddressed, packages to be wrapped.  But who cares?

 

I feel like the Most Fortunate Woman on Earth.  Truly blessed.  And the friendship of my bookish friends only adds to this.

 

Jane!  Thank you for my secret Santa books!  (There was no way I was going to be able to wait until Christmas to open them.  I'm worse than a kid.) 

 

I have two of the recipes marked to make this week (I'm attempting both of the banana pudding).  I love that the cookbook has such a significance for you ... that makes the gift doubly special. 

 

And Chews-on-Books thanks you for his book also.  He's loved looking at the pictures. 

 

Oh good! I,m so happy for you, Jane!

 

I only get two if mine this year. Oldest offered to trade watches with a fellow shipmate who has a small child and a new baby. No extras, either. What might be a rather flat Christmas is being enlivened by the fact that we all used Dad/husband's Amazon to do some of our Christmas shopping, since we were either unable to make or drive to buy gifts, in the throws of finals, or out of town for work. Packages keep arriving, all under the same name, and we are all afraid to open them for fear of spoiling a surprise. So... we,ve decided to put them under the tree unopenned and sort them out Christmas morning. We,ll take turns openning them randomly.

 

Nan

 

How funny.  That will make such a funny exciting Christmas. 

 

All of you waiting until Christmas have incredible will power. I have none. I opened my present right away. Thank you very much Erin! 

 

Yep.  Me too!

 

I'm a firm believer in the Oxford comma!

 

I shun people who don't believe in it. 

 

Wow, you already have the bingo done. Brava. 

 

I have a new game called "How fast will Rose have completed bingo?" The winner gets to pick her next book to read. 

 

February 7th is my guess. 

 

Prime number - in the title, but possible could be about prime numbers

 

Name in the title - if I wanted to torture everyone I could have you read one book for every letter in name. Variations of name if can't find like stacia doing Anastacia. Nope, can't find a title that just contains letters of name. Hiding in the house doesn't equal Heidi.

 

The book bingo categories this year look like so much fun.  I can't wait to get started.

 

Which friend is going to pick a book for me for the "Selected by a friend" category?  1 ...2 ... 3 .... go. 

 

I saved the bingo card as a pdf in case anyone wants it. I think when you try to open it you'll be prompted to save it on your own device. I'm not sure how to get it to just open.

 

Thank you.  Opened just fine for me. 

[aggieamy]

A seaworthy book would, in my opinion, be one in which the author isn't being stupid about boats. The nautical language would be correct and the boats would be used properly. People wouldn't go downstairs or neglect to keep an eye on the weather unless they were supposed to be landlubbers and the boats would not just be floating bedrooms. : ) And there would be lots of descriptions of what the wind and sea were doing and the reader would be told what tack the boat was on.

 

Nan

 

Swallows and Amazons?

 

It's been on my to-read list forever and I have a vague memory of someone saying that it was all about sailing. 

[aggieamy]

 

I've recently finished two books both of which I enjoyed ~

 

A Regency Christmas Feast: Five Stories  by Mary Balogh, Sandra Heath, Edith Layton, Barbara Metzger, and Patricia Rice  (Please note the use of the Oxford comma!)

 

There's a nice review here: A true gourmet's delight . . .

**

 

 

Did you read this on your Kindle or dead-tree version?  I want to read it before Christmas but can't find a downloadable version anywhere!

[aggieamy]

Finished:

 

Aunts Aren't Gentlemen by PG Wodehouse.  3 Stars.  It wasn't a bad book, in fact parts were pretty funny but most of the jokes are recycled from earlier funnier novels.  It was his latest book also and it shows.  A few of the references he made rather take you out of the story.  At one point Bertie mentions that the FIRST Queen Elizabeth had red hair and I was irrationally sad because I knew that it wasn't really a vague forever 1920's England. 

 

Diary of a Provincial Lady by EM Delafield.  4 Stars.  A difficult book to rate because there's not plot.  It's written as a daily diary of an ordinary woman.  Some parts are so charming and even though it was written in the 1930's the woman's thoughts are so relevant to today.  She worries about money, if she's spoiling her children, enjoys sharing a dislike of the local snob with her friends.  My favorite were the scenes with her friend the Vicar's Wife who was always on her way out but then they'd stand in the hall and talk for an hour.  Who hasn't done that??!

[Stacia]

 Which friend is going to pick a book for me for the "Selected by a friend" category?  1 ...2 ... 3 .... go.

 

Oh, me! Me!

 

I recommend that you read The Razor's Edge by Somerset Maugham. (Even if my ds thinks nobody takes or likes my recs! :lol: )

 

ETA: I would also recommend the following to you...

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

Lighthousekeeping by Jeanette Winterson

Sweet Dreams by Michael Frayn

Edited December 22, 2016 by Stacia

[aggieamy]

Oh, me! Me!

 

I recommend that you read The Razor's Edge by Somerset Maugham. (Even if my ds thinks nobody takes or likes my recs! :lol: )

 

Just requested it from my library.  Thank you!  I also requested a book from your Woman Adventure category ... West with the Night. 

[Stacia]

Just requested it from my library.  Thank you!  I also requested a book from your Woman Adventure category ... West with the Night. 

 

I just added a couple more suggestions to my original post. I think you would be charmed by any of them, even though they might not be your normal fare.

 

I think you will love Markham's book too. It's a great book.

[Ellesmere]

Oh, me! Me!

 

I recommend that you read The Razor's Edge by Somerset Maugham. (Even if my ds thinks nobody takes or likes my recs! :lol: )

 

ETA: I would also recommend the following to you...

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

Lighthousekeeping by Jeanette Winterson

Sweet Dreams by Michael Frayn

 

You can tell him I read The Razor's Edge only because you recommended it! It was one of my favorites from the past year.

[Jane in NC]

 

Jane!  Thank you for my secret Santa books!  (There was no way I was going to be able to wait until Christmas to open them.  I'm worse than a kid.) 

 

I have two of the recipes marked to make this week (I'm attempting both of the banana pudding).  I love that the cookbook has such a significance for you ... that makes the gift doubly special. 

 

And Chews-on-Books thanks you for his book also.  He's loved looking at the pictures. 

 

 

Delighted to hear that you and Chews are enjoying your books.  My husband is jealous. He adores banana puddin' (the way this is pronounced in the South).

 

Finished:

 

Aunts Aren't Gentlemen by PG Wodehouse.  3 Stars.  It wasn't a bad book, in fact parts were pretty funny but most of the jokes are recycled from earlier funnier novels.  It was his latest book also and it shows.  A few of the references he made rather take you out of the story.  At one point Bertie mentions that the FIRST Queen Elizabeth had red hair and I was irrationally sad because I knew that it wasn't really a vague forever 1920's England. 

 

Diary of a Provincial Lady by EM Delafield.  4 Stars.  A difficult book to rate because there's not plot.  It's written as a daily diary of an ordinary woman.  Some parts are so charming and even though it was written in the 1930's the woman's thoughts are so relevant to today.  She worries about money, if she's spoiling her children, enjoys sharing a dislike of the local snob with her friends.  My favorite were the scenes with her friend the Vicar's Wife who was always on her way out but then they'd stand in the hall and talk for an hour.  Who hasn't done that??!

 

There are five volumes in the Provincial Lady series.  Four are humorous; the one on her visit to the Soviet Union is not.

 

I own all five of these plus two of her novels.  Provincial Lady Fan Girl here!

 

Oh, me! Me!

 

I recommend that you read The Razor's Edge by Somerset Maugham. (Even if my ds thinks nobody takes or likes my recs! :lol: )

 

ETA: I would also recommend the following to you...

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

Lighthousekeeping by Jeanette Winterson

Sweet Dreams by Michael Frayn

 

I think we should have a group read along of The Razor's Edge in '17.  Stacia, you may not be up to leading it but I would volunteer--unless you really want to do it.

 

Anyone else interested?

[Mom-ninja.]

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! I love book lists. I have also never watched the show, but I love how a TV show can inspire people to read. 

 

My score was pretty sad at 52. That's ok though. So many books in the world and I happen to read others than on that list. 

[Loesje22000]

:hug: Ethel!

 

 

 

@scandanavian mysteries

I like https://www.amazon.com/Viveca-Sten/e/B00IZL3TMC/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1482432418&sr=1-2-ent

The series are on TV here, and her books are available at our library :)

Each book is filmed in three episodes. So an episode is not too long, and the storylines got its time to develop.

I like the books equally

[Mom-ninja.]

 

 

Kids these days are just brutal!  It's funny how as they get older they start to notice more about their parents personalities and we stop being mythical undefeatable superheros. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't know about you but I *am* a mythical undefeatable superhero. 

 

 

 

I'm working on getting  my books planned for bingo. I reserve the right to change books as I go. 

 

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

[aggieamy]

Fun! I love book lists. I have also never watched the show, but I love how a TV show can inspire people to read. 

 

My score was pretty sad at 52. That's ok though. So many books in the world and I happen to read others than on that list. 

 

Mine was 24 and most of those I had either read for school or were kids books.  I guess Rory and I have different tastes in books.

[Stacia]

Delighted to hear that you and Chews are enjoying your books.  My husband is jealous. He adores banana puddin' (the way this is pronounced in the South).

 

<snip>

 

I think we should have a group read along of The Razor's Edge in '17.  Stacia, you may not be up to leading it but I would volunteer--unless you really want to do it.

 

Anyone else interested?

 

I'm jealous of the banana pudding too! Love it. Can you send samples through the mail??? :D

 

I would re-read The Razor's Edge if we did a group read. And, yes, I would love for you to lead it, Jane. Thanks!

 

You can tell him I read The Razor's Edge only because you recommended it! It was one of my favorites from the past year.

 

:thumbup1:

 

I don't know about you but I *am* a mythical undefeatable superhero.

 

Hear! Hear! :hurray:

 

As I was laughing hysterically at my ds' comments, he said, "You're *proud* of this, aren't you?" And I said, "Of course! I'm proud to be different and independent and unusual. In fact, I love it."

 

I find his comments funny because they were so spot-on & his deadpan manner of delivering them. He & I are like twins in personality & humor type. And, regardless of his joking & comments, he himself has read many, many books that I have recommended. So it's all good.

[Jane in NC]

Anyone else up for reading The Razor's Edge in 2017?  If yes, perhaps you might want to suggest a month for doing so.  I know that it will take less than a month to read but this gives us the opportunity to discuss the book in sections if we are so inclined.

[Mom-ninja.]

Mine was 24 and most of those I had either read for school or were kids books.  I guess Rory and I have different tastes in books.

I wonder who picks the books for the scenes?

[Stacia]

I was ribbing ds because you have leapt (leaped?) to my defense re: book recs.

 

He then clarified that I give good recs but that if someone just randomly looked at a list of books I read, they would have a hard time going through the list finding something they might want to read. :laugh:

 

He feels sad that you gals are betraying him after he gave you Fighting Trousers!

 

;) :smilielol5:

[Chrysalis Academy]

Anyone else up for reading The Razor's Edge in 2017?  If yes, perhaps you might want to suggest a month for doing so.  I know that it will take less than a month to read but this gives us the opportunity to discuss the book in sections if we are so inclined.

 

Ok, according to my records I read this in 2012, but I can't remember anything about it. So I'm in for a guided re-read.

 

Guys, I made it to 240! I finished The Circle - which is not great literature, but I find the whole satirical utopian premise so chilling that I like the book anyway. I think it's particularly horrifying to a very private introvert like me. I also finished A Short History of Africa, which was serviceable and did I what I expected it to - gave me a brief chronological overview of major events, organized geographically. You can't go too in-depth when you're trying to cover 3000 years of history for an entire continent in 160 pages.  Then we finished reading aloud the OUP book An Age of Science and Refolutions 1600-1800.  It was good, I like the OUP series of Ancient and Early Modern histories. We've read several of them over the years.

 

Now I don't want to finish anything else for the next 9 days that I might want to use for my 2017 Bingo . . .  :leaving:  ;)

 

ETA: Oh yeah, here is my Year in Books. 

Edited December 22, 2016 by Chrysalis Academy

[Kareni]

Did you read this on your Kindle or dead-tree version?  I want to read it before Christmas but can't find a downloadable version anywhere!

 

I read an old paperback.

 

Funny story ~  I read this column Heartwarming Reads for the Holidays in which a commenter raved about Edith Layton's The Gingerbread Men.  I looked to see if either of my local libraries had the collection.  No luck.  Later that day, I remembered that I owned a regency collection of holiday stories that I had yet to read which I'd bought for its Mary Balogh story.  Lo, the book was on my shelf.

 

 

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

 

An interesting list ~ I've read 32 on the first three pages.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Chrysalis Academy]

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

 

That is a wildly diverse list of books! I found a bunch I've always been meaning to read.  I've read 127/339 of them.  Some in the far distant past, some recently. I definitely see more I'd like to read, though.

[Robin M]

Anyone else up for reading The Razor's Edge in 2017? If yes, perhaps you might want to suggest a month for doing so. I know that it will take less than a month to read but this gives us the opportunity to discuss the book in sections if we are so inclined.

April will work which will pair him with diamond and India region

[Mom-ninja.]

 

Now I don't want to finish anything else for the next 9 days that I might want to use for my 2017 Bingo . . .  :leaving:  ;)

I actually stopped listening to a book so I can hold off and make it count as one of my bingo squares. It's the steampunk square. So I downloaded the 4th Tiffany Aching book in the mean time. 

 

And I've got all my books for bingo chosen. 

Edited December 22, 2016 by Mom-ninja.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Russia counts as Eastern Europe, right?  

[Stacia]

Ok, according to my records I read this in 2012, but I can't remember anything about it. So I'm in for a guided re-read.

 

Guys, I made it to 240! I finished The Circle - which is not great literature, but I find the whole satirical utopian premise so chilling that I like the book anyway. I think it's particularly horrifying to a very private introvert like me.

 

Congrats! :hurray:  and :svengo: !

 

Do you think I'd like reading The Circle? I've had it on my mental to-read list for awhile, yet I never actually pick it up from the library to read it....

[Ellesmere]

  :grouphug:  to Ethel. And hope you are doing well, Jane.

 

I read a children's book last week called Winterfrost by Michelle Houts for a cozy, quick, and snowy book. Finished A Little History of Philosophy, too.

Looking at My Year in Books, I have 73 books but quite a few were for kids: Goth Girl by Chris Riddel, Winterfrost, When My Name Was Keoko, The War That Saved My Life, Peter and the Starcatchers, Dragon Rider, The Girl Who Drank the Moon, The Cat Who Came in Off the Roof, Greenglass House, The Apothecary, West of the Moon, Will Sparrow's Road, Escape From Baxter's Barn

I read a lot from two big short story collections (Hercule Poirot and Art of the Short Story) but definitely won't finish this year and Anna Karenina is still in that stack, unfinished. 

Too many favorites from what I read last year to list! Of my least-liked -- I was most let down by A Spool of Blue Thread, The Apothecary, & Greenglass House. There were a few others I didn't care for or would definitely not re-read but I am glad I read all of them.

One book that I have tried three times and just can't get through is Whose Body? by Dorothy Sayers. I don't know what my problem is but I keep starting it, putting it down and having to re-start. I have not gotten beyond the third chapter yet. I give up on it for this year.

[Stacia]

  Looking at My Year in Books,

 

How was the Bernie book? I keep thinking my ds might like that one...

[Chrysalis Academy]

Congrats! :hurray:  and :svengo: !

 

Do you think I'd like reading The Circle? I've had it on my mental to-read list for awhile, yet I never actually pick it up from the library to read it....

 

I think you'd like it. I think it's worth reading, anyway, because I think it raises some pretty important issues about online privacy, etc.  Plus the movie is coming out this spring, and I know you go to the movies a lot, and I usually like to have read the book first . . . so yeah, I think you should give it a shot (that can be your Selected by a Friend book, anyway!)

[Stacia]

I think you'd like it. I think it's worth reading, anyway, because I think it raises some pretty important issues about online privacy, etc.  Plus the movie is coming out this spring, and I know you go to the movies a lot, and I usually like to have read the book first . . . so yeah, I think you should give it a shot (that can be your Selected by a Friend book, anyway!)

 

Cool. Thanks. I will check it out in 2017 then.

 

My finishing the 2016 Bingo was a complete anomaly. And here you are, just dragging me back in...!

 

:smilielol5:

Edited December 22, 2016 by Stacia

[Just Robyn]

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

 

I love Gilmore Girls. Have you seen Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls, and Everything in Between by Lauren Graham? I've got it on hold at the library; I'm currently number nine on the waiting list.