Book a Week 2017 - BW1: Welcome to an adventurous prime reading new year!

[Robin M]

Happy New Year my lovelies!   Welcome to the our quest to read 52 Books in 52 weeks.  Welcome back to all our readers, to all those who are just joining in and to all who are following our progress.  Mr. Linky is all set up on the 52 Books blog to link to your reviews. The link is below in my signature.

 

 

52 Books Blog - Welcome to an adventurous prime reading new year:   Happy new year and welcome to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks. Greetings to all who are joining me for another round or jumping in for the first time for a bookish adventure.

Are you ready to go spelunking around the world?   We are going to search for hidden book gems as we excavate for new as well as old reads. Have fun and delve into one book at a time or scoop up multiple books, burrow in with a classic, dig into a chunky read or shine up one of those dusty books from your shelves.

  

The rules are quite simple. Read 52 Books. That's it. How you get there is up to you. To aid us in our reading adventures, we have several optional challenges which are listed in the link bar on the blog:  Dusty and/or Chunky,  another round of 52 Books Bingo, our perpetual Well Educated Mind challenge as well as a new year long challenge, the Birthstone Bookology Reading Adventure.   The birthstones  and authors of the month are listed in the Monthly Themes and Readalongs. Plus I'll introduce various mini challenges throughout the year to tickle your reading taste buds. As always, you may choose to travel along with me or follow your own path.  

 

In February, we will begin a year long read of Susan Wise Bauer's The Story of Western Science: From the Writings of Aristotle to the Big Bang Theory.   One of those books which will most certainly lead to many rabbit trails.  

Our Birthstone Bookology Reading Adventure begins in the times of the ancients.  Here's your chance to read a book set in Ancients through 100AD and check off one bingo square.    According to historians, the gemstones represented the twelve tribes of Israel up until the writings of Flavius Josephus in 1AD  and St Jerome in 5AD connected the 12 stones with the 12 signs of the zodiac.  It wasn't until the 18th Century in Poland when people began to wear the stone linked to their birth month. The National Association of Jewelers defined the modern list we are all familiar with in 1912.  

 

 

The birthstone of the month is Garnet.  You may choose to spell out the word, reading one book per letter or read a book with the name or the colors of the stone in the title.  Or perhaps find an author whose name is Garnet.  You may decide to find a book set in the time period where the birthstone was discovered or surrounding the myth and lore or set in countries where the birthstone is currently found.  Follow rabbit trails of thought and see where they take you.  The possibilities are limitless.

 

I plan to start the new year with Ben Kane's historical  Spartacus: The Gladiator.  Besides having a G in the title, it is also set in Roman times during 1st century BC.  I highly recommend his Forgotten Legion Trilogy which is excellent. 

 

Our author of the month is Haruki Murakami, a fan favorite whom we have started out with each year.   I'll talk more about him next week since his birthday is January 12th. Join in on a readalong of Norwegian Wood or choose one of his other books if you've already read it.

Cheers to a wonderful, adventurous, reading new year! 

 

 

What are you reading this week?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to 2016 week 52

Edited January 1, 2017 by Robin M

[Robin M]

Morning, my dears!  On my reading plate is Ben Kane's Spartacus: The Gladiator.  Love his books!   

[Jane in NC]

Robin, thank you for once again being our fearless BaW leader!

 

I would have added another title to my 2016 total if I were just reading a single book. Over the holidays though I reverted to my favorite reading style:  one book of fiction (To Lie with Lions, 6th volume in the House of Niccolo epic by Dorothy Dunnett), one of non-fiction (The Lost Art of Dress by Linda Przybyszewski--a book I first read about here) and a book of poetry (Vulture in a Cage by Solomon Ibn Gabirol, translated from the Hebrew).  And, to be honest, I have not been doing a lot of reading over the last couple of weeks.  The Boy flies out on Friday so I'd rather spend as much quality time with him as I can so these may be the three books I carry about for a while.

 

Does anyone want a copy of The Golden Legend?  I read this over the course of 2015 and had thought I might pass it on to my son but he has declined. Time to let it go.

Edited January 1, 2017 by Jane in NC

[NoseInABook]

HI ladies! Hoping to be a little more active again this year... I'm reading the latest Anita Blake book, Crimson Death. 

[Ali in OR]

I actually finished out 2016 finishing the third book of the Belgariad series while the ball dropped on the t.v.! I probably would have finished an hour or two earlier if the t.v. had been off...

 

Not sure how many challenges I'll join in this year--definitely some. I'm not purposely aiming for Bingo blackout, but if I get close enough with books I want to read I may give it a try. I'll aim for at least 52 books, but my personal challenge this year will be to read books already in my house and pass on a significant number of them. It's our last year of homeschooling, so I'm hoping to do a big purge of homeschool/kid books in the summer.

 

Up this week: the last two Belgariad books are waiting for me at the library, but I think it's closed today and tomorrow. The other two coming up soon are books already in my house--Anne Morrow Lindberg's Gift from the Sea and Love in the Time of Cholera. Happy New Reading Year everyone!

[Stacia]

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Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[Chrysalis Academy]

Happy New Year, everyone! I'm looking forward to an especially fun and challenging reading year, thanks to Stacia and friends, and also to reading along with or alongside many of you this year.

 

My goal is to read 240+1 books this year - 240 because of my amazing Bingo, and +1 so it will be a prime number! To do that I need to read 20 books a month.  That should be easy for January because I have a number of books in progress I'll log when I finish them this month. I also snapped up a few short reads for my Big Bingo to make me feel like I'm getting a good start! One of those was my first completed read of 2017 - We Should All Be Feminists by Chiminanda Ngozi Adichie.  This could fit into several of my BigBingo squares, but I think I'll use it for the Africa39 square. I know some of you guys were underwhelmed by this essay, feeling that it doesn't say anything new, that she's preaching to the choir. My first thought was ok, maybe it's not saying anything new to liberal, western culture, but she is addressing her own culture and other global cultures as well, where none of what she says is the conventional wisdom. Listening to Americanah really brought that home. Then I had to think about American culture, and as recent events have demonstrated we have far from embraced the ideals of feminism here either. Maybe what she says isn't new, but we clearly haven't gotten the message yet. 

 

Other January plans: I'm gong to read Antony & Cleopatra for the Garnet/Ancients challenge - garnets were apparently gems of choice in both Egypt and Rome. I will have to find something else for the 52Bingo square though, since no plays allowed.  I was going to pass on Murikami - I read The Strange Library last year and didn't love it - but, its a BigBingo square, so I had to revisit that plan.  I saw that he has a memoir about running, so I downloaded the audio and started listening. I love it! Not only is it inspiring me to get off the couch (again) and try to run, I also just really like him. I think we have very similar personalities and a lot in common. I'm really glad to have found this book.

 

Oh yeah, Ali's post reminded me that it is also my goal to read books from my shelves this year. To that end I pulled a stack of them that work for BigBingo squares. Fourteen so far, so if I read 1-ish a month, I should vanquish that particular stack!

 

ETA: Wow, I typed "first completed read of 2014" above.  Geez, I'm 3 years behind this morning!

Edited January 1, 2017 by Chrysalis Academy

[Negin]

Happy New Year everyone! 

 

I read Sleeping Murder - 3 Stars - I seem to prefer watching Agatha Christie rather than reading her books. This one grabbed me from the beginning and I was hooked. It was only towards the end that I thought it dragged on a tiny bit. 

 

 

MY RATING SYSTEM

5 Stars

Fantastic, couldn't put it down

4 Stars

Really Good

3 Stars

Enjoyable

2 Stars

Just Okay – nothing to write home about

1 Star

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

[Ethel Mertz]

Happy New Year, BAWers! 

 

I found a quote from one of the books I read last year that fit well with my hunger for books. In fact, I remember feeling this way when I walked into the Public Library as a child. Here goes:

 

"I'd had the idea, once, that if I could get the chance before I died I would read all the good books there were. Now I began to see that I wasn't apt to make it. This disappointed me, for I really wanted to read them all. But it consoled me in a way too. I could see that if I got them all read and had no more surprises in that line, I would have been sorry." [p. 47, Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry]

 

Happy Reading!

[Violet Crown]

Robin's birthstone challenge and Bingo name-in-title square spurred me to a sort of sub-challenge: books whose titles spell out my name. Because why not. And because for three years I've been meaning to get to Hakluyt's Voyages, all 8 volumes and 3000+ pages of it.

 

Having read volume one, I'm taking a quick break to read my "I" book; the idea being to intersperse subsequent letters between volumes. We'll see how that goes. So this week:

 

Richard Hakluyt, Voyages

St Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle.

Edited January 1, 2017 by Violet Crown

[Stacia]

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Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[Wheres Toto]

I set up my list of categories for 2017 and I think I'm going to try some of the mini-challenges too.  I did 152 books in 2016 so I'm shooting for 191 to go with the "prime" theme.  My categories should get me to at least 52, possibly more since my last category is every book in a series.  I think I'm going to avoid series like Wheel of Time or Sword of Truth which have more than 10 books, but I'll pick one with at least 4 books.  :laugh:

 

Below are the categories I went with and some book possibilities for them (with some notes about whether I was able to get them free or cheap on Kindle or already own them).  I'm going to start with something I already have until I can get to the library.  My card is on hold for some reason so I can't order books or access the ebook library.  :crying:

 

2017 Book Challenge

1. A book about a historical event – The Book Thief, Hidden Figures

2. Biography or autobiography – Hidden Figures, Shockaholic (Carrie Fisher)

3. A book about science – The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Cosmos

4. A book about religion/theology – Mere Christianity

5. A crime novel – And Then There Were None (on kindle)

6. A book with an antihero – Lord Foul’s Bane (on kindle), 

7. A post-apocalyptic book – A Canticle for Leibowitz, Life as we knew it, the fireman 

8. A book that became a movie the decade you were born – Mary Poppins (on kindle), Oliver (on kindle), 2001: A Space Odyssey, 

9. A funny book – Someone could get hurt; A walk in the woods; Lamb (Christopher Moore)

10. A book by an author your age –  The Alchemist (47), If I Loved You I would Tell You this (Robin Black-48), Single Carefree Mellow (47), 

11. A book by two or more authors - Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch; Wolfbane (Pohl &), 

12. A book about something you love - Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, Ink and Bone

13. A book about a conspiracy theory – The Einstein Prophesy (on kindle)

14. A book mentioned/recommended in a book you read – Mentioned in Inkheart (read last year): Peter Pan (on kindle), One thousand and one Arabian nights, Treasure Island, Where the Sidewalk Ends (have) 

15. A fiction book published this year – Norse Mythology (Gaiman), 

16. A non-fiction book published this year – Post Grad: Five Women.., 

17. A book about a curse or prophesy - Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch; the Dark is Rising series, The Sleeper Awakens (HG Wells), The Lost Hero (Riordin)

18. A book with a dragon in it – Eragon (have), The Fire Within

19. A book made into a tv series – The 100, Witches of East End, Vampire Dairies (steph has)

20. Re-read a book from childhood – Piers Anthony; Judy Blume (have); Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (have); Wrinkle In Time (have)

21. A book by an author with your initials – 

22. A book set outside of Earth – Across the Universe, Martian Chronicles

23. A book with pirates in it – Pirate Latitudes, Alias Hook

24. A book about time travel – Anubis Gates, The Door Into Summer

25. A book with water on the cover – The Ocean at the end of the Lane, Beast (Peter Benchley), Jaws, 

26. A book at least 100 years older than you – Count of Monte Cristo (have), Alice in Wonderland(have)

27. A book about a road trip – An Abundance of Katherines, The Road (McCarthy), American Gods, The Deadlands, Find Me

28. A book that takes place on an island – Island of Dr Moreau (on kindle), This Rough Magic, 

29. A book from a High School summer reading list – Color of Magic, Brave New World (have), Lord of the Flies (have?), 

30. A Horror book – The Haunting of Hill House; Swan Song; 

31. A collection of essays – Me Talk Pretty One Day; Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me

32. A classic you’ve never read - Little Women; The Secret Garden (have); 

33. A book with more than 900 pages – Under the Dome; Count of Monte Cristo (have); Swan Song; The Arabian Nights; Le Morte d’Arthur; Imajica; HP Lovecraft: The Complete Fiction (on kindle)

34. A book with food in the title – Fried Green Tomatoes, Big Fish, Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that changed the world

35. A book by an author with initials in their name – HG Wells (Time Machine& War of the Worlds on kindle), HP Lovecraft (on kindle), SE Hinton (have), 

36. A book about the Bible – Historical Atlas of the Bible (have)

37. A nonfiction book you own but haven’t read yet -

38. A fiction book that you own but haven’t read yet - 

39. A book about an artist – Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Club Dumas, 

40. A book about an animal – Redwall (have), The Last Unicorn, Water for Elephants (have)

41. A book set in New York City – The Goldfinch, Let the Great World Spin, City of Bones (Steph has)

42. A genre that you don’t usually read – Informational, Historical fiction, Biography/Autobiography, Western 

43. A book made into a Disney movie – Peter Pan (on kindle), Alice In Wonderland (have), The Sword in the Stone, Tuck Everlasting (have)

44. A  book that takes place in a jungle – Tarzan (on kindle), The Lost World (on kindle), Shadows Cast by Stars, Into the Forest

45. A book that involves sports or athletes – Friday Night Lights, Future Sports, Arena, Run Time

46. A book with music as a theme - -Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

47. A book with terrible reviews – The Way I See It: A Look Back at Life on Little House; Evermore, Mrs. God (Straub)

48. A book chosen by someone else

49 – 52/53 All the books in a series

 

[mumto2]

Happy New Year everyone! The start of a new Book a Week challenge is always fun. I love it when new people join us and it's wonderful to see some of our frequent posters from the past return. A huge thank you to Robin for all her hard work in keeping us going. I love our threads!

 

My goals for 2017 are to complete the Birthstone challenge. At this point I am hoping to do each month two ways, word in title and location. I have Medicus by Ruth Downie https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4278.Medicus?ac=1&from_search=true which isn't quite right, a Roman in Britannia. I will have to work on this! To be honest it's a book from my stacks that I thought would fit but didn't actually read the description before Goodreads.

 

Bingo, at this stage I'm in. We will see how it goes. I have several picked out and will see where I stand after getting the easier ones for me done.

 

Right now I am reading Norwegian Wood using both the audio version and the book. I love this method because I am able to go into the book and reread things I need to understand better. It will be slow going but enjoyable. :) This is my book to quilt by.

 

Goodreads seems to have crashed.....too many of us reading Norwegian Wood??? :lol:

 

I am also reading Hillbilly Eligy by Vance and Complication by Isaac Adamson. For me this is a distinctly serious assortment so I will start something fluffy before bed tonight. I need to have a middle of the night book that won't keep me awake!

 

Recently I have only been reading a book or two at a time but I normally (as in prior to 2016) juggle several. In order to be successful I need them to be different in setting. What I have in progress right now (extremely simplified) accomplishes my normal assortment. Hillbilly Eligy is an Ohio/Kentucky 1990ish memoir, Norwegian Wood is 1960's Tokyo, Complication is an American in Eastern Europe current for the most part. If I add in a regency or historical cozy the storylines and characters should be able to stay individual in my mind.

[EmmaNZ]

Can I join in please? (waves shyly  :seeya: )

 

I am reading Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese and The Mislabeled Child by the Eides.

 

 

[Robin M]

Happy New Year, BAWers! 

 

I found a quote from one of the books I read last year that fit well with my hunger for books. In fact, I remember feeling this way when I walked into the Public Library as a child. Here goes:

 

"I'd had the idea, once, that if I could get the chance before I died I would read all the good books there were. Now I began to see that I wasn't apt to make it. This disappointed me, for I really wanted to read them all. But it consoled me in a way too. I could see that if I got them all read and had no more surprises in that line, I would have been sorry." [p. 47, Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry]

 

Happy Reading!

Love it! 

[Robin M]

Can I join in please? (waves shyly  :seeya: )

 

I am reading Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese and The Mislabeled Child by the Eides.

Welcome Emma!  Glad you decided to join in.  

[Violet Crown]

Have you read any other books about or by St. Teresa? I ask because years ago, in Spain, I visited her convent in Avila. On display, they had one of her sandals, as well as what was purported to be her finger with a large ring on it. (Mostly it looked like a strange, moldy thing -- not identifiable as a finger -- with a ring on it.) I guess I was so startled by seeing such an item on display that I've always been curious to know more about her. Anything you'd recommend for me?

 

 

Her most important work, and probably the most interesting for most people, is her "Life" (or "Autobiography", depending on the translator). Relics are weird, aren't they? They're where the incarnational nature of the faith really hits the road. Our family trip to Rome last year really stretched my American sensibilities in that regard.

 

 

Can I join in please? (waves shyly  :seeya: )

 

I am reading Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese and The Mislabeled Child by the Eides.

Yes! Welcome! More = merrier!

[Jane in NC]

In a moment of total madness, I literally dusted the Dusty Stacks (temporarily labeled the not-so-dusty stacks).  Yet another year when I claim that I'll be making a dent in these titles.  Hah!  Says she who came home from the library on Friday with a tote bag full.

 

Oddly enough, Jane, I may be interested in The Golden Legend if nobody else speaks up for it.

 

I'm happy to be back for a new year of BaW posts. Hello & happy new year to all the regulars, the lurkers, & the new folks who want to jump in & join us. :seeya:

 

I am working on a huge, chunky book (over 700 pages): By Gaslight by Steven Price. It's dark, atmospheric, & completely riveting. Loving it. If you want a big, thick book to sink into, this is one you may want to check out. As the linked article begins...

 

 

 

I love the cover of  By Gaslight, Stacia.  Definitely intrigued.  And I will be happy to send you the medieval book of saints, i.e. The Golden Legend.  You really don't need to read this one cover to cover as I did.  Random selections should help the modern reader glimpse the medieval mindset.

 

Speaking of which, the eleventh century poet Solomon Ibn Gabirol is another of the medieval voices expressing frustration with the material world--and his contemporaries.

 

How sad!  This is an age devoid of wisdom,

full of malcontents and heretics!

I spend my life in mourning over this;

my heart howls in lament like jackals.

For no one can be trusted any more;

gone are the men of fame and dignity.

Where once was myrtle now are thorns and brambles,

briars where there once were cedars.

 

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

Starting the new year off with the obligatory resolution: to start exercising regularly! So I did Day 1 of Couch to 5K while listening to Murikami talk about running a 60+ mile ultramaration.  It sort of put my suffering into perspective!  ;)  :D

 

And welcome, Emma  :seeya:

[Penguin]

Can I join in please? (waves shyly  :seeya: )

 

I am reading Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese and The Mislabeled Child by the Eides.

:seeya: I am also a newbie, and I can't believe how excited I am! 

 

---

 

My plan is to do the Bingo and the Chunky challenge. I have most of my bingo books picked out (subject to change of course), and today I am starting with Soulless by Gail Carriger for the Steampunk category.

 

My other bookish goals:

 

Join the nonfiction book club at the local indie bookshop. I just moved to this state in November, and this particular book club is a new launch in January. So it should be easy to "break in" since it is a new group.

 

Buy most books at the aforementioned local shop.

 

Read daily in Danish.

 

I am seeking more shared book experiences with my IRL friends and family. Some of them have tastes aligned with mine...and some do not. But I am willing to branch out a bit for a select few loved ones, because the bonding is worth it. And, hey, maybe they will help out my Bingo card :)

Edited January 1, 2017 by Penguin

[Heatherwith4]

Hi! I'm going to join in. Right now I just want to read 52 books this year. My biggest goal is to read through the books I got for Christmas and the books that have been sitting on my kindle for a very long time.

 

I have the Whole30 cookbook and Peter Enns' The Bible Tells Me So on tap for this week. We'll see how far I get. :)

[Lady Florida.]

Oh ladies, what are we going to do with my husband? Here's your New Year's Day book chuckle -

 

We share a Kindle account. Sometimes we read the same books but mostly we don't, yet we started out with one account and now it would be too difficult to separate it. Even when I tell Amazon to send a book to a particular device it doesn't always listen, and sometimes my books go to dh's Kindle when he turns on the wifi. It can get annoying.

 

I usually have to help him with Kindle books. The man who launches rockets into space for a living is sadly inept at dealing with personal technology. He's been reading the Jack Reacher series and I've been telling him that this last one is it - it was published in 2016 and there are no more yet. 

 

This morning-

 

"I don't know what book I'm reading. I guess I finished Jack Reacher. This one I think is set in the 1800's in London. It's a detective or something. It's not bad."

 

I had a feeling I knew what it was, but I took a look at his Kindle anyway. It's By Gaslight - the book Stacia is reading. I read the sample and ended up buying it. Now dh is "accidentally" reading it.  :lol:  :lol:

[Stacia]

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Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[Stacia]

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Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[JennW in SoCal]

Happy New Year to all my long time book a week friends, and a warm welcome to those joining us! 

 

Just came back from the annual New Year's Day sale at my favorite independent book store, and as usual came home with a stack of books.  I completed my collection of the Rivers of London series -- I figured I needed to buy them since they aren't in my library system and I want to be able to loan them out to a friend or two.  I also bought an Arnaldur Indridason mystery, Strange Shores, a sci-fi/fantasy set in a future China, Chasing the Phoenix by Michael Swanwick, and a short Murakami work, The Strange Library.  

 

Mumto2, an audible reviewer didn't like the narrator for Norwegian Wood -- what do you think?  I think I'm going to go for a print version. 

 

Stacia, I've got By Gaslight on hold at my library. I saw it at the bookstore today -- holy cow but it is a doorstopper of a book!!!

 

My afternoon plans include listening to the 19th Master and Commander book, The Hundred Days, as I knit a scarf from a pattern in Piecework magazine. When my hands need a break I'll make some tea and pick something from my teetering TBR stack. I think my 2017 goal should be to have a couple days like this every month...

[Angelaboord]

Happy New Year!!

 

Our New Year's isn't going quite like we planned it, with a sick baby (cold) and a sick dh (probably flu). This isn't too out of the ordinary for us on New Year's Day, actually, so I'm just hunkering down in the rocking chair with the baby as much as I can. I started Lab Girl at about 1:30 AM, so I'm guessing it might become my first "new" book of 2017; the rest of my books are all carry-overs. Currently I have going:

 

I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life

Night Circus (secret Santa [emoji318] book)

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (still not sure if I want to finish or not)

The Child with Special Needs, Stanley Greenspan

 

So I guess that answers the question of do I read multiple books at a time or not. [emoji5] (Actually I have so many books to choose from right now, I'm a little overwhelmed.)

 

Her most important work, and probably the most interesting for most people, is her "Life" (or "Autobiography", depending on the translator). Relics are weird, aren't they? They're where the incarnational nature of the faith really hits the road. Our family trip to Rome last year really stretched my American sensibilities in that regard.!

I read about half of the Autobiography in 2013 and then set it aside because I had a baby and couldn't concentrate enough anymore. [emoji5] It's on my TBR list for this year, though. I imagine I will have to go back and reread. Her prose is dense but not inaccessible.

 

I actually made a list of about 50 classics that I want to read in the next 5 years, a la the Classics Club website. https://theclassicsclubblog.wordpress.com/ (Still haven't figured out how to link well on Tapatalk!) We'll see how this goes, as I'm not very good at following anybody's plans, including my own. But I'd really like to read more substantially this year, and that includes Bingo. One of the books I'm looking at for the Eastern European square is Black Lamb and Grey Falcon by Rebecca West. [emoji15]I'm not sure if I'm up for it or not. (1181 pages!)

 

I set my Goodreads challenge at 61 books for the prime number, but if I end up doing fewer books but more pages than 2016, I'll be happy. The extra 9 books will probably end up being books that won't count in my 52 anyway. (I'm Angela Boord on Goodreads, if you'd like to Friend me. [emoji2])

 

Hello to everyone who is just jumping in this year! Last year was my first year to participate in the thread and I have to say that doing so was a great decision. BaW is a wonderful place.

 

--Angela

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited January 1, 2017 by Angelaboord

[idnib]

Happy New Year, everyone, and thank you Robin for setting us up for another BaW year!

 

I sort of dropped off the plan and threads sometime in the fall, I think, but I am planning to be more diligent this year. I'm happy to be back!

 

I am currently reading The Plover and I love it. I'm not sure who mentioned it first (Jane? Nan?) but I'm grateful to all who've suggested it. It's such a poetic and lovely book. My DH and I don't overlap much in what we read, but I think he might also read it for the seafaring side.

 

 

I am also reading Night School, a Jack Reacher book I gave DH for Christmas and he finished. Reacher books are a guilty pleasure for me. I used to give DH grief about them and then got sucked in as well, so now I keep my mouth firmly shut when he passes them to me without comment.

 

 

Lastly I am reading Euphoria, a really well-written work of fiction based loosely on the life of Margaret Mead. I purchased it for a BaW "buy a book based only on its cover" challenge a couple of years ago, but am just now seriously reading it after a couple of false starts.

 

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

:seeya: I am also a newbie, and I can't believe how excited I am! 

 

---

 

My plan is to do the Bingo and the Chunky challenge. I have most of my bingo books picked out (subject to change of course), and today I am starting with Soulless by Gail Carriger for the Steampunk category.

 

 

Oh, be sure and post what you think of it! It's my Steampunk choice too.

 

I am also waiting for By Gaslight to arrive from the library. Along with 20 other books, so not sure what I'll actually tackle first.  I want to read King John this week as we have a chance to see it performed next weekend.  After that we'll read Antony & Cleopatra and also see a performance, and then jump into Richard II and the Henrys and watch The Hollow Crown.  Another year of plays! One of the perks of parenting an actor. 

 

Stacia, I haven't read that book on running, I may have to check it out. I live in a small town in NoCal, and a year or two ago a running shop opened up in town, and suddenly everyone is fanatic about running - there are ladies night runs, and family runs, and trail runs.  Often ending up with wine drinking, which seems a little weird to me, but it is wine country, after all.  Anyway, being *not* a joiner, I have been weirdly resistant to the whole movement, but I've got to get off my butt and start doing something. And running is the cheapest and easiest thing to start with, so here I go.  But I don't consider myself a runner . . . yet.

[Stacia]

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Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[Jane in NC]

Happy New Year, everyone, and thank you Robin for setting us up for another BaW year!

 

I sort of dropped off the plan and threads sometime in the fall, I think, but I am planning to be more diligent this year. I'm happy to be back!

 

I am currently reading The Plover and I love it. I'm not sure who mentioned it first (Jane? Nan?) but I'm grateful to all who've suggested it. It's such a poetic and lovely book. My DH and I don't overlap much in what we read, but I think he might also read it for the seafaring side.

 

 

I am also reading Night School, a Jack Reacher book I gave DH for Christmas and he finished. Reacher books are a guilty pleasure for me. I used to give DH grief about them and then got sucked in as well, so now I keep my mouth firmly shut when he passes them to me without comment.

 

 

Lastly I am reading Euphoria, a really well-written work of fiction based loosely on the life of Margaret Mead. I purchased it for a BaW "buy a book based only on its cover" challenge a couple of years ago, but am just now seriously reading it after a couple of false starts.

 

Wow. Euphoria does have a great cover!

 

Stacia is the person who turned us all on to The Plover. Credit where credit is due.

 

Welcome back!

[ErinE]

"I'd had the idea, once, that if I could get the chance before I died I would read all the good books there were. Now I began to see that I wasn't apt to make it. This disappointed me, for I really wanted to read them all. But it consoled me in a way too. I could see that if I got them all read and had no more surprises in that line, I would have been sorry." [p. 47, Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry]

 

Happy Reading!

 

 

For me, one of the most evocative moments in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was when Betty starts re-reading the library's books from the As because she's read through all the shelves.

 

From that time on, the world was hers for the reading. She would never be lonely again, never miss the lack of intimate friends. Books became her friends and there was one for every mood. There was poetry for quiet companionship. There was adventure when she tired of quiet hours. There would be love stories when she came into adolescence and when she wanted to feel a closeness to someone she could read a biography. On that day when she first knew she could read, she made a vow to read one book a day as long as she lived.

 

[Ellesmere]

Happy New Year! 

Thanks to Robin for the group and everyone for being so welcoming. I checked in sporadically last year and it's been so nice. Checking in here regularly is one of my few New Year challenges.

My user name was CaladwenEleniel and I just changed it -- I don't post a ton so hopefully it isn't confusing. My avatar is the same.

I started both reading Fahrenheit 451 and reading Faithful Unto Death by Caroline Graham, as my dystopian and mystery books for Bingo. I'm also listening to the Tim Robbins narration of Fahrenheit 451 and enjoying it enough that I will probably listen to all of it, too.

Last year I read a Caroline Graham mystery for the first time and liked it very much. So far, Faithful Unto Death is good. I did watch the Midsomer Murder episode and remember it mostly for Roger Allam's appearance in it and also Barnaby saying, "You really don't have a soft pedal when it comes to the English language, do you, Troy?" but other than that, I'm drawing a blank on the storyline.

Antony & Cleopatra, Lab Girl, and The Plover are on my to-read list this year. I remember reading Sleeping Murder when I was quite young and wonder if I'd like it as much now. The last version I watched of it was so different from the book but I liked it. 

Hope all are better soon, Angela!
 

[Lady Florida.]

So far I'm just reading a couple of carry-overs while I try to decide what to start next.

 

Cotillion, Georgette Heyer

Alexander Hamilton, Ron Chernow

 

I tried to start No Turning Back as the book with my name in the title (subtitle, Kathleen Turner Series Book 1), but I don't know if I can go much further. I don't care for the writing. I'll give it maybe one more chapter before I decide. I might have to search for another Kathy/Kathleen/Kat title.

 

I'm also reading the book club book - Best. State. Ever. A Florida Man Defends His Homeland, by Dave Barry. It was my pick this month and I felt like we needed some humor, as well as something to build up this state of ours. The state is full of "Florida man..." stories. This quote from the introduction says a lot:

 

"If states were characters on Seinfeld, Florida would be Kramer: Every time it appears, the audience automatically laughs, knowing it's going to do some idiot thing." I'm hoping we'll feel better about our home state after reading it. At the very least we'll have a few laughs.

 

Each year since it was published, I keep saying I'm going to read Being Mortal. FIL will turn 92 tomorrow and is still driving. There are, not surprisingly, discussions among the family about this not being a good idea. On top of that, dh and I are getting older and need to think ahead about issues we might face. This year I listed it as my top non-fiction choice. I'm not allowing myself to start any other non-fiction book until I've read this one (the ones already in progress, like Alexander Hamilton, don't count). This means I can't read Lab Girl or Eighty Days (my pick for female adventurer) until I've read Being Mortal. That should give me the motivation to read it.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I'll join in, if I may. I'm going to take advantage of having two young adults in or recently graduated from college and I'm going to select some of my first readings from the books they have used in classes. DS just finished a Japanese Lit course and speaks highly of some of the readings. I'm looking forward to reading some of those. I'll have to pick them up when I take him back to school.

 

DD completed a theater class this past semester and Fences (August Wilson) was one of the plays she read. It's short (~100 pages) but I would like to read it before going to see the movie so that will be my first book.

[Ethel Mertz]

Erin - I love that quote from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn!

[thessa516]

I love the BAW threads, even though I rarely participate. I'll try (again) this year. Currently, I'm reading:

 

Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time by Mark Adams. I appreciate how the author weaves in history with his own hike.

 

Greenglass House by Kate Milford. Juvenile mystery I'm pre-reading. It may become our next family read aloud.

 

ETA: My DH convinced me that my audiobook 'reading' counts... lol! In that case, add Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship by Robert Kurson. I may have to check out the physical book from the library because I'm interested in the photographs and maps mentioned in the book (the Look Inside feature on Amazon shows some photos and maps).

 

I also forgot that I'm reading with my older kids The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey. We're using it in conjunction with our new yearly planners.

Edited January 2, 2017 by thessa516

[Caroline]

Every year I want to try this, and every year I fail. However, this year I don't have a new job, I am not in school, and I am not teaching a new prep. So I will try again.

 

I just finished The Only Woman in the Room: Why Science is Still a Boy's Club by Eileen Pollack. I started this book several times this year and finally finished. It is a great book for those of us who toughed it out as women in STEM majors in the last century. It was all too real and validated a lot of my thoughts about those years I spent in engineering school.

 

I am currently reading Rocket Girl: The Story of Mary Sherman Morgan, written by her son. I am a little more than halfway through, having spent most of the day in the car returning from our yearly Florida Christmas.

 

For my next book I want to read about Cuba. A raft from Cuban refugees washed up on shore by our condo Christmas morning. My parents are visiting Cuba at the end of the month. I teach a student whose family has slowly been immigrating from Cuba for the last half century or so. A friend's daughter is in a Delta ad talking about wanting to visit Cuba to see where her Great Aunt and Grandmother grew up. (Neither of them has any desire to return.) I feel like Cuba should be on my list.

 

And, I am teaching myself to knit. I believe there is a lot of knitting in this group?

 

Happy New Year to all. Looking forward to hearing what you all are reading.

[Stacia]

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Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[ErinE]

Happy 2017 everyone! My goals for this year:

 

• Reading Goal: 200 books. I'm pretty certain I can meet it, but I may be burning through brain candy come November and December
• Bingo: I enjoyed the challenge of bingo so much last year that I'm determined to finish it early this year. I'm hoping to also meet the Alphabet challenge at the same time. I've got the books planned out; we'll see if I can handle it.
• Broaden My Reading: I didn't focus on the bingo goal until late in the year, but I enjoyed reading new authors from different cultural backgrounds. My goal is to read more translated books, read more literary authors, and try reading poetry. I found a poetry book about life on Mars, which is right up my alley.
• Tag Along with Rose: Rose, I hope you don't mind, but I loved the categories in the 240 book challenge so I'm hoping to start ticking off boxes as well. I've changed a few categories: Author with name of Erin, books recommended by oldest son/oldest daughter (my younger two are still in the toddler stage), but most of the blocks remain the same. I've found some awesome reads already though I doubt I'll be able to complete the full 240 by the end of the year.
• Buy Fewer Books: Use the library more, use interlibrary loans, and work through my TBR list (both physical and e-book). I have a big pile of books by my bed and my kindle is filled with unread e-books. I intend to refrain from buying books for awhile. I expect this will be the first resolution broken.

I love that the year ended on a Saturday! Books read last week:

• The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner. Nonfiction - Science. A scientist couple follow the evolutionary changes of Galapagos finches over decades. I loved this book, such an interesting insight into the lives of scientists. People often perceive scientists as Einstein or Archimedes having a eureka moment. In reality, most scientists toil away, logging numbers and analyzing them, the years of dedication and tedious data collecting worth the exciting discoveries once the data set is large enough and time lapse long enough. Thank you Robin for such a thoughtful gift.
• The Book of Chameleons by Jose Eduardo Agualusa. Magical Realism. A lizard, a reincarnated Jorge Luis Borges, watches people reinvent their past, only to find they cannot escape it. A charming, lovely novella, this was my Secret Santa gift; I'd asked for a favorite novel and I'm so grateful Stacia shared it with me. Thank you, Stacia!
• The Time Machine by H. G. Wells. Science Fiction. A time traveler recounts his adventures for a group of men gathered at his home. I've enjoyed reading science fiction and fantasy for many years, but this was my first read of this sci-fi classic. It definitely suffers from the culture of its time, but it was an interesting read. I recently finished How Great Science Fiction Works from the Great Courses and I hope to work through the course book list over time.
• 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. Magical Realism. A writer and fitness instructor realize they are living in an alternative reality. Brandon Sanderson, writer of doorstopper epic fantasies, often says new readers should not start with his Stormlight Archive books, his in-progress magnum opus, as he hasn't built up enough trust that he will tell a good story. That's how I felt throughout this book. I hadn't read any Murakami to trust he would lead me along an interesting path. This is a long book and I like long books! But it's punctuated with detailed descriptions of cooking, much reflection on women's chests and men's groins, and stilted dialogue, with a character thinking then expressing the same thought aloud or exactly echoing the phrase of another character. I ultimately ended up enjoying the book, but if you've never read Murakami before (as I hadn't), don't start with 1Q84.

Edited January 1, 2017 by ErinE

[Onceuponatime]

Happy New Year!

 

We just walked in the house about 20 minutes ago, after some time on the road visiting family and attending a wedding. I left Prague Winter behind because I knew I wouldn't be able to concentrate on it. I took A Christmas Party by Georgette Heyer with me, but I only got a couple of chapters in. This week will be time to get back into regular routines and hopefully finish both books.

 

I'm going to change my goodreads goal from 75 to 79 to join in the prime fun. I happen to have quite a few books I want to read with primes in the titles, so I will try to do that this year too, along with an attempt at completing the bingo challenge. I don't know how many other challenges I can handle. I'll look at them as they come. I'm also interested in the Story of Western Science read along.

 

Happy reading!

Edited January 1, 2017 by Onceuponatime

[Stacia]

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Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[Jane in NC]

Every year I want to try this, and every year I fail. However, this year I don't have a new job, I am not in school, and I am not teaching a new prep. So I will try again.

 

I just finished The Only Woman in the Room: Why Science is Still a Boy's Club by Eileen Pollack. I started this book several times this year and finally finished. It is a great book for those of us who toughed it out as women in STEM majors in the last century. It was all too real and validated a lot of my thoughts about those years I spent in engineering school.

 

I am currently reading Rocket Girl: The Story of Mary Sherman Morgan, written by her son. I am a little more than halfway through, having spent most of the day in the car returning from our yearly Florida Christmas.

 

For my next book I want to read about Cuba. A raft from Cuban refugees washed up on shore by our condo Christmas morning. My parents are visiting Cuba at the end of the month. I teach a student whose family has slowly been immigrating from Cuba for the last half century or so. A friend's daughter is in a Delta ad talking about wanting to visit Cuba to see where her Great Aunt and Grandmother grew up. (Neither of them has any desire to return.) I feel like Cuba should be on my list.

 

And, I am teaching myself to knit. I believe there is a lot of knitting in this group?

 

Happy New Year to all. Looking forward to hearing what you all are reading.

 

Yo Caroline!  Good to see you here!

 

Several of us see the BaW group as a place to discuss knitting projects...or travel...or birds...or food... I have a hard time staying on task obviously.

 

This may not be the sort of Cuban book you are seeking but I loved reading the Archipelago volume of translated poetry of Dulce María Loynaz.  When finished, I sent the book to a friend who is a retired Spanish teacher who also loved it.

 

 

[mumto2]

Angela, I hope your sick ones quickly become healthy and manage not to spread their germs throughout your family.

 

Lady Florida, Can't wait to find out what your dh thinks of by Gaslight. Lee Childs is an author I have never tried. After both you and Idnib mentioning him maybe reading his first book should be one of my goals.....

 

Jenn, I just have the Overdrive copy of Norwegian Woods. Is it the same as the Audible? I wouldn't class him as the best narrator ever but he does have pleasant voice that sounds like someone telling a story. The book is a man telling a story of his youth thus far so it feels appropriate. That being said the book reads easily. I will probably switch to the book when more of you start reading.

 

Before I forget it's lovely to see so many new people. Welcome! Dh is waiting for me to watch a dvd. The remote in hand and a glass of wine has been poured .....

[Narrow Gate Academy]

Happy New Year!

One of my goals for this year is to do a better job at tracking my books and checking in here regularly. I got myself a Kindle Fire for Christmas, and we should be getting wifi this week so hopefully that will help.

I've decided to start this year with Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb since it sat on my want to read list all last year.

For challenges I'm going to make my way through Bauer's History of the Ancient World over the year,and read through the basic Star Wars books covering the events in the movies (hopefully this will help playing Star Wars trivia with my 14yo from being a massacre. If I make progress on the bingo challenge I may add that in a month or so.

I'm also going to give audiobooks a try on my Kindle Fire and downloaded The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes from Overdrive for the beginning of January. My plan is to listen while folding laundry and working in the kitchen, so I'm not sure how long it will take me to get through a book.

Edited January 1, 2017 by Narrow Gate Academy

[idnib]

Wow. Euphoria does have a great cover!

 

Stacia is the person who turned us all on to The Plover. Credit where credit is due.

 

Welcome back!

 

 

Stacia, yes, of course. I couldn't remember and chose the people I know are on the water the most!

 

I do love the cover of Euphoria. Not just the oil paint, but the typeface that looks like handwritten journals from that time period and earlier.

[mumto2]

New Year's Day I read The Portable Veblen by Elizabeth McKenzie. I grabbed this one off the library shelf a few days ago, based only on it 1. not being written in present tense(!) and 2. a recommend from Karen Joy Fowler on the cover.

 

" a one of a kind adventure through capitalism, the medical industry, morality, mental health, dysfunctional families, love, war and wedding planning"

 

There are also squirrels. Lots of squirrels. 

 

Not as accomplished as something like The Mandibles, which (minus the wedding planning and the squirrels) covers similar territory, but warmer, much warmer.

 

I made it through about 80 pages of the Portable Veblen. It was one that I could have finished but felt that I would be happier with a different book. I picked it for the cover so all I can say is the squirrels, they were everywhere! ;)

[idnib]

 Lee Childs is an author I have never tried. After both you and Idnib mentioning him maybe reading his first book should be one of my goals.....

 

DH recommends starting with the first book, Killing Floor. I recommend Bad Luck and Trouble, just because that's the first one I read and it sucked me in, plus some other ancillary characters who join the series later are not there yet. Last year's Make Me was rather intense and disturbing as far as Reacher books go. Not sure I would start with that one.

[shukriyya]

 

As per the norm this thread is buzzing on the first day of this new calendar year. I received a post-card from one of our BaWers here recently and was so touched that she took time to write to me as I've posted so sporadically these past two years. It made me think back on all the snail mail I've gotten and continue to receive from you wonderful ladies and realize that this group is pretty special. So while my intention with this group is to read 52 books I'm also motivated by the friendships that continue to bloom here, by the quality of heart that characterizes our dialogue. 

 

Onto books, continuing with my audiobook, Circling the Sun and really enjoying it. I listen mainly when I'm hiking with the pup or taking my own daily constitutional. Still not quite finished with The Firebird but I'm enjoying it enough to want to finish. Next up will be the book dh is urging me to read, Holding the Lotus to the Rock. I got a couple of pages in and my mind wandered to other realms. So it's back to the beginning with that one. I have the feeling I'll quite enjoy it but getting started with it is eluding me. 

 

I've got a good list going for the upcoming year, mostly fiction but some non-fiction sprinkled throughout mostly in the form of Tarot books. And I'm lately feeling the itch to read some Eastern European authors, mainly 19th and 20th century. I'm drawn to that part of the world and Bohemia in the Czech Republic is somewhere I'd love to travel to. 

 

Looking forward to this literary journey with you all :seeya:

[Lady Florida.]

I just wanted to say Happy New Year to all!

 

And thank you Robin, for once again taking on the running of these weekly threads.

[Guest]

I watched this thread with curiousity and some envy and admiration last year. This year I decided to take a leap and join in. I will have to spend less time Hiving to reach these goals, but this is still a nice way to stay connected here and hopefully make other new friends. :)

 

I'm currently working through: Tracy Borman's Thomas Cromwell, Foundation: The History of England from Its Earliest Beginnings to the Tudors by Peter Ackroyd, and Consider This by Karen Glass.