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Book a Week 2017 - BW4: The shape of culture: past, present, and future


Robin M
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Well, I had something happen that I didn't expect: I disliked a Shakespeare play.  Shannon and I went to see the filmed version of the Stratford Festival production of Antony & Cleopatra, and I didn't like it. We've also been reading the play, and really struggling.  It doesn't read like other Shakespeare plays - there isn't really any comic relief to speak of, though Enobarbus is the best character - the language feels more stilted and convoluted, and there are fewer really magical turns of phrase. I could easily believe a claim that Shakespeare didn't write this play, or that it was a collaboration that he didn't participate much in (I haven't investigated the possibility, I'm just saying this based on how it reads). So I'm not going to force us to finish reading it.

 

As far as the story, yes, it's based on Plutarch who had it in for Cleopatra, so I knew that it would be an ahistorical hit-job, but for whatever reason it really bothered me.  I can watch or read Richard III, and think, Well, this is clearly a Tudor propaganda piece and doesn't describe historical reality, and still enjoy the play as a good story with a great villain. But I can't do that with A&C. Partly because I admire Cleopatra as a historical figure, singular in a world of solely male leaders, and I hate to see her memory denigrated in such a way.  In such a way is the key, I think: she is made to look foolish, devious, weak, and jealous, all "feminine" traits that are really focused on.  Low blows by Plutarch and by Shakespeare.  I'm kind of surprised because Shakespeare at least is usually better at villains, he makes them interesting, human, and complex.  Not so with poor Cleopatra, she's a parody of a hysterical woman.  I thought it was kind of sad.

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Currently free to Kindle readers ~ 

 

The Luck of Barry Lyndon by William Thackeray

 

"A continent-spanning adventure featuring one of literature’s greatest rogues

Redmond Barry has almost all the qualities of a gentleman: he speaks well, has learned courtly etiquette, and can hold his own with a sword in hand. But passion is his downfall—passion for life, for excitement, and unfortunately, for his cousin Nora. When he almost kills Nora’s suitor in a duel, Barry flees to Dublin, and the adventure of his life begins.
 
A consummate rake and con man, Barry finds himself on the battlefield against the Prussians in the Seven Years’ War after losing everything. But war—and life, for that matter—is not exactly what Barry wished or expected it to be. A braggart’s tale through and through, with an antihero of epic proportions, The Luck of Barry Lyndon is a brisk romp through one of literature’s most unusual lives."

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

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See, that's so interesting to me.  I form visual images copiously, and like Onceuponatime, I will see, hear, smell and feel what I'm reading about (if the writing is good) and that's what made The Underground Railroad impossible for me. It's not the brutality per se, it's how it was turned into a gripping story, experienced by a character that *felt* real to me. So I couldn't stand it, because I was feeling what she felt. No detachment possible.

 

I'm listening to The American Slave Coast - like you, I wanted to read it as a followup/background to a lot of the other things I'm reading, but was daunted by the length.  30+ hours of listening felt a bit more doable.  The problem is, the reader is really bad.  Her voice is fine, but she is obviously reading, with pauses at the ends of lines instead of at appropriate places, and she mispronounces so many words. I've been trying to overlook it but it's starting to get on my nerves. I may have to get the physical book after all.

 

 

Right now, if you asked me to form an image of an apple in my mind, I cannot do it. I can maybe get a few glimpses of parts of an apple, but they disappear quickly. We had DS evaluated by a neuropsychologist a couple of years ago and he did really badly (> 10th percentile?) on an exercise in which you look at a figure and then try to recreate it without looking.  When I got home I did the same experiment on myself, studying the image for 2 minutes and then trying to reproduce it 30 minutes later. I only did a bit better than he did because I at least figured out how to form a structure into which everything else would fit. But I knew I was going to be asked to reproduce it, and he did not. So I figured I'm pretty bad at it, and  everyone else is having a very different experience than I am. He and I are both very conceptual thinkers. That said, I do think visually when I'm looking at things. I color-code things quite a bit, etc. But mental images are a bust.

 

Thanks for the info about the reader for The American Slave Coast. I agree the book looks daunting, and I had an idea to look into an audiobook version but mispronunciations would drive me crazy.

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This week I finished The Night Circus. I loved it! It is one of those books that I am sad I can't read it again for the first time.

 

I also finished The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up. My house doesn't look any cleaner though...

 

This week I'm planning to work on some books that I need to get through.

 

Parenting with Love and Logic- I've read this one before, but it was recommended by DDs psychologist so it's time for a refresher.

 

Gut and Psychology Syndrome - We're already trying some of the recommendations from this book, but I neex to figure out if we will commit to doing the whole shebang.

 

I also just downloaded a Kindle freebie, The Abominable Mr. Darcy, so I may find time for that this week. (Sorry no link, I'm on my phone.) I'm a sucker for Jane Austen spin offs.

Edited by melbotoast
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Last night I finished reading book #5 to the little guys.  The Rabbit Ate My Flip-Flops by Rachel Elizabeth Cole.  It was good.  Not quite as good as the first The Rabbit Ate My... book.  The boys liked it and that's what's important.

 

This afternoon I officially joined the ranks of first degree black belt (as did my husband).  Apparently I did really, really well, too.  So now five of the six of us are first degrees.  Adrian is all that's left and he's on the slow path to black belt.  He's been taking class since he was 5 and we figure at this rate he'll be testing for his first degree at 14.

 

 

 

bb2.jpg

 

Awesome.  Congrat Heather!  Really an impressive feat!

 

I finished two books this week (but both were pretty light reading...) I finished Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. I don't know how applicable it is because I'm not going to dump everything out and get rid of stuff at this point. However, trying to think about things in a positive sense is useful. Also, I like the idea of "training" oneself to recognize joy by starting with easy things and then moving on to hard things. But I don't have six months to devote to reducing stuff and a lot of those principles only work if you are a single woman in a small apartment. 

 

That's pretty much how I felt about that book.  All the stuff that doesn't bring me joy are things that would make my family livid if I threw them out.  A tub of Thomas the Tank engines?  The dress up clothes that can't make it into the tub?  The million lift the flap books?  All gone ... wait.  Nope.  Guess we'll be keeping those.  

 

I liked the philosophy though and have done my best to modify it for real life.   

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I finished:

 

The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well by Meik Wiking.  Basically this was a soul warming "how to" book for adults.  An easy book to read a few minutes at a time.  Lots of fantastic ideas that are easy to implement.  I would go as far to call this the one book to read on Hygge.  Even the book is beautiful and calming to read. 

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I finished:

 

The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well by Meik Wiking. Basically this was a soul warming "how to" book for adults. An easy book to read a few minutes at a time. Lots of fantastic ideas that are easy to implement. I would go as far to call this the one book to read on Hygge. Even the book is beautiful and calming to read.

I ordered the book through IBL today,

I'm looking forward to read it!

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I finished:

 

The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well by Meik Wiking.  Basically this was a soul warming "how to" book for adults.  An easy book to read a few minutes at a time.  Lots of fantastic ideas that are easy to implement.  I would go as far to call this the one book to read on Hygge.  Even the book is beautiful and calming to read. 

 

 

Oh good! I'm happy to hear a good review from someone I trust! It's been on my library hold, but I'm down around #24 on the list. You didn't borrow it from JCL, did you? It's still showing up as On Order for me.

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Oh good! I'm happy to hear a good review from someone I trust! It's been on my library hold, but I'm down around #24 on the list. You didn't borrow it from JCL, did you? It's still showing up as On Order for me.

 

No, I bought it.  Are you a local gal?  I'm lending it to a friend right now but I don't mind passing it on to you when she's finished. 

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Gut and Psychology Syndrome - We're already trying some of the recommendations from this book, but I neex to figure out if we will commit to doing the whole shebang.

 

 

PM me if you have any questions. I've read her books and we did the whole shebang for about 3 years.

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I finished:

 

The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well by Meik Wiking.  Basically this was a soul warming "how to" book for adults.  An easy book to read a few minutes at a time.  Lots of fantastic ideas that are easy to implement.  I would go as far to call this the one book to read on Hygge.  Even the book is beautiful and calming to read. 

Awesome. I just added it to my wishlist for the next time we go to B&N~~~~

 

It's become tradition for my son and I to hang out together, go out to eat and to B&N during the super bowl.   :driving:

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Awesome. I just added it to my wishlist for the next time we go to B&N~~~~

 

It's become tradition for my son and I to hang out together, go out to eat and to B&N during the super bowl.   :driving:

 

LOL!  I love it!  That's when our book club usually meets. 

 

Tensing and Hillary have reached the top! They deserve every bit of credit for their accomplishment. Hillary told the story of the climb very well.

 

Yay!  I was hoping they'd make it this time ... :hurray: :lol: :lol: :lol:

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I finished:

 

The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well by Meik Wiking.  Basically this was a soul warming "how to" book for adults.  An easy book to read a few minutes at a time.  Lots of fantastic ideas that are easy to implement.  I would go as far to call this the one book to read on Hygge.  Even the book is beautiful and calming to read. 

 

I'll admit to buying this book just for the cover, the European cover that is. I noticed there was a difference and sourced one in England that cost about the same price as the US version and very little ship. I have yet to start it but I love seeing the artwork on the cover  :lol:

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I'll admit to buying this book just for the cover, the European cover that is. I noticed there was a difference and sourced one in England that cost about the same price as the US version and very little ship. I have yet to start it but I love seeing the artwork on the cover  :lol:

 

That's the same cover I have.  It's really a pretty nice feeling book.  Well produced.  As would be expected with a book about things hygge. 

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That's the same cover I have.  It's really a pretty nice feeling book.  Well produced.  As would be expected with a book about things hygge. 

 

Hmm, did you get it a little while ago? I think the US version just came out recently though the overseas one has been out and available for a good while. The US version is what's available on Amazon currently.

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No, I bought it.  Are you a local gal?  I'm lending it to a friend right now but I don't mind passing it on to you when she's finished. 

 

 

Yep, representin' the OP area... lol! Thanks for the offer, but I'll wait on the library. My reading list is already overflowing. :) 

 

Our family has tried to embrace the concept of hygge for a few years now. My DH works with a Danish lady and he recently traveled to Denmark and Sweden. He tells me I'd love it there, but I'm not sure I could handle the lack of sunshine. I can hygge all I want with hot chocolate, comfy blankets, and a fireplace, but there comes a time that I need to walk around outdoors in warm sunshine. 

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#6: Every Day is a Holiday by George Mahood.  He set out to celebrate at least one holiday a day for 6 months and chronicled his experience.  He has quite a lovely British sense of humor making it a very fun read.  My only complaint is he didn't include every day in the book.

 

This was my E in garnet book.

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I'll admit to buying this book just for the cover, the European cover that is. I noticed there was a difference and sourced one in England that cost about the same price as the US version and very little ship. I have yet to start it but I love seeing the artwork on the cover  :lol:

 

 

I just looked at the release date for England and have to say the book must have become instantly really popular with a home ed group ds likes to go to. I've heard quite a bit about it. Since Amy approved it I have finally requested it. :lol:

 

 

Ok, I've started down on Ponce by Fred Willard. He's a local author. I have to admit that the first few pages have me chuckling.

 

 

 

Master of cracker noir

I skimmed the link but need to go to bed, what's cracker noir? I couldn't spot the answer.....I was thinking Florida cracker but the author isn't from Florida.

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Finding it difficult to read just using the library. I guess our library isn't very good. I might splash out and buy a cheer up book, as I've just found out I will have to withdraw from my Masters due to a sudden and unexpected drop in our income, and I feel pretty devastated about the crushing of a long term plan for financial well being once I finish homeschooling ds 13.

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

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Finding it difficult to read just using the library. I guess our library isn't very good. I might splash out and buy a cheer up book, as I've just found out I will have to withdraw from my Masters due to a sudden and unexpected drop in our income, and I feel pretty devastated about the crushing of a long term plan for financial well being once I finish homeschooling ds 13.

 

Any cheer up book suggestions ?

I'm sorry. How frustrating and heartbreaking for you. 

 

 

Wodehouse and Jeeves are always perfect. Ellen's book, The Funny Thing Is was really funny.  

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Finding it difficult to read just using the library. I guess our library isn't very good. I might splash out and buy a cheer up book, as I've just found out I will have to withdraw from my Masters due to a sudden and unexpected drop in our income, and I feel pretty devastated about the crushing of a long term plan for financial well being once I finish homeschooling ds 13.

 

Any cheer up book suggestions ?

 

I automatically clicked like, but please think of it instead as a long distance hug.  I agree any Jeeves might be a fun cheer up book. My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell is a delightful book -- leaves me chuckling. And you can't go wrong with a Discworld book. 

 

Hoping you discover another path to achieving your long term plan, or perhaps a different, equally brilliant plan will become apparent. Hugs in the meantime as you weather the setback.   :grouphug:

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Sadie -  many hugs.

 

Hmm, did you get it a little while ago? I think the US version just came out recently though the overseas one has been out and available for a good while. The US version is what's available on Amazon currently.

 

I preordered through amazon here in the States.  All my friends that preordered got the same book with that cover too. 

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:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:  Sadie.   

 

 

 

Happy National Reading day, Y'all.   I probably really didn't need to remind you all of that.   :lol:

 

In my travels today around the interweb: 

 

How a Mathematician created the Interstellar Travel in Arrival in One Night - cool article 

 

Vampire Book Clubs - most anticipated books of 2017.  I absolutely love Jemisin's cover of the Stone Sky. Lots of books to add to reading lists if like paranormal. 

 

and a really neat list of The Best Books about Classical Music

 

 

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From last week:

Heather, I think we have our tale of culture, nailed down, haven't we? I've lived here in Slacker City since 1975, though born a fifth-generation New Mexican, and trucking off to the Bay Area for grad school. Dh's and my grand encounter with a non-Southwestern U.S. culture (he also grew up here) was his first job - two years in upstate New York, for our sins - and that was quite enough of that, thank you. Snowy winters are much, much less picturesque than they sound.

 

?

My husband and I did our five year tour of duty in upstate NY, too, and I sincerely hope it counted as a penance.

 

My family is originally from northeastern OH, but we moved south when I was 5 - first to AL, then to middle TN. I grew up in a little town there where I was always a Yankee, but when I grew up and began moving around the country, I realized that my background made me not an anything. I was definitely not a Northerner anymore, but I'm not sure it's possible to be a Southerner unless your granddaddy was born here. (On the other hand, I know what a holler is and I can pronounce it right.)

 

My husband is kind of the same since his family moved to Memphis from Iowa when he was 7, but west TN and middle TN ought to be different states.

 

We've now lived in northern MS for 6 years after spending the first 15 years of our marriage moving around - DC, Portland, St.Louis, and upstate NY - but I think that we've just ended up creating a bunch of kids who aren't from anywhere either. We'd be sort of generic Midwestern if it weren't for the 2nd half of our childhoods.

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Finding it difficult to read just using the library. I guess our library isn't very good. I might splash out and buy a cheer up book, as I've just found out I will have to withdraw from my Masters due to a sudden and unexpected drop in our income, and I feel pretty devastated about the crushing of a long term plan for financial well being once I finish homeschooling ds 13.

 

Any cheer up book suggestions ?

 

So sorry to hear, Sadie  :grouphug:

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I'm still catching up with the thread, but I think I'd better go ahead and report my reading for last week.

 

The Case Against Sugar, by Gary Taubes - It's a Gary Taubes book. Lots of meticulous reporting to prove his point... but some glaring absences that make you scratch your head. For instance, he reports about how the sugar industry vilified saccharin, but never even mentions aspartame, instead leading the reader to believe that sugar buried diet drinks in the 60's and 70's, which is, of course, totally wrong. Overall, though, I think he does prove his point and I've been trying to keep track of my added sugar daily using the HealthWatch 360 app. The FDA has recently revised the guidelines for added sugar to 25 g for women and that can be tough, even for someone like me who has already cut way down on sweeteners in general.

 

Now I'm floundering around with a lot of books that I've dipped into but nothing I can really settle on.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I finally finished Shift, Book #2 of the Silo trilogy. It's actually a prequel, in time, to the events in Wool.  I'd like to give this book 3 1/2 stars. It wasn't as good as Wool (which got 4 stars), but it was good. My main issue stems from how it was published. It's my understanding that it was originally published as three separate books, serially, before being published together as a single novel. And it shows. Just like Dickens serial publication just have so . . . many . . . words, this does too - too many words to say what it needs to say. What it says is great, but it could be cut, overall, by 1/3 and be a tighter, better novel.  But it's a good dystopian novel, and after a little break, I'll probably tackle Dust, book #3.

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Happy National Reading day, Y'all.   I probably really didn't need to remind you all of that.   :lol:

 

 

and a really neat list of The Best Books about Classical Music

 

Isn't every day a reading day?! 

 

This musician isn't wowed by that list of books about classical music. If you are already interested in the music, then some of those books would make good reference material but otherwise that list is taking a thing of joy and beauty and treating it as if it is dry and tedious -- a persistent stereotype that is eroding its audience. There were a couple of works of fiction that might be fun, but overall as a list for general readers --- blech! 

 

I've got a link to share for all you fans of audio books. From Sunday's Los Angeles Times: Bringing audiobooks to life in the Valley

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Isn't every day a reading day?! 

 

This musician isn't wowed by that list of books about classical music. If you are already interested in the music, then some of those books would make good reference material but otherwise that list is taking a thing of joy and beauty and treating it as if it is dry and tedious -- a persistent stereotype that is eroding its audience. There were a couple of works of fiction that might be fun, but overall as a list for general readers --- blech! 

 

I've got a link to share for all you fans of audio books. From Sunday's Los Angeles Times: Bringing audiobooks to life in the Valley

 

Wow.  That's really cool.  I find it fascinating that there has been an sharp increase in the number of audiobooks that people listen to.  Is anyone here a "new" audiobook listener? 

 

When I was just a kid my grandmother and I would go to the library and get books on tape to listen to on a trip and my hazy memories are that there were a decent number of options.  We love audible and I do appreciate what a fantastic selection they have and how easy it is to download a book.  It's also not cost prohibitive.  When DH and I went on our first trip together he busted out an audiobook for us to listen to together while traveling and well ... I didn't have any second thoughts about marrying a man that enjoyed a good audiobook. 

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Hello all. I finished a few books this week. The Violinist's Thumb was entertaining and right up my alley, although a couple chapters stretched beyond what I could recall about genetics.

 

Norwegian Wood did not disappoint. Even without the surrealist twists and turns from many of his other books, I was pulled in from the beginning. I'm not sure if I liked it more than 1Q84. It's one of those stories that needs time to "settle", I think.

 

I also took some time to read through Personal Finance for Dummies. It doesn't really count for me, though, as I was reading it quickly to see if I could recommend it to someone (with a title like that, I have to be very sure!).

 

Up next I have Hillbilly Elegy and Jonathan Franzen's The Twenty-Seventh City. The latter I picked up after searching for books set in my area (St. Louis).

 

Isn't every day a reading day?!

 

This musician isn't wowed by that list of books about classical music. If you are already interested in the music, then some of those books would make good reference material but otherwise that list is taking a thing of joy and beauty and treating it as if it is dry and tedious -- a persistent stereotype that is eroding its audience. There were a couple of works of fiction that might be fun, but overall as a list for general readers --- blech!

 

Several of those titles are giving me flashbacks to my sophomore Music Literature class. At 7:30am. With the most monotone professor they could find. We kept tally marks to count how many times he said "virtuosic" in a 90-minute lecture just to stay awake. The record was 17.

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Finding it difficult to read just using the library. I guess our library isn't very good. I might splash out and buy a cheer up book, as I've just found out I will have to withdraw from my Masters due to a sudden and unexpected drop in our income, and I feel pretty devastated about the crushing of a long term plan for financial well being once I finish homeschooling ds 13.

 

Any cheer up book suggestions ?

:grouphug:

 

I don't know your reading taste well enough, but I liked reading Remarkable Creature from Tracy Chevalier last year. (I also liked reading the books of the Bronte Sisters)

 

Just a fun one is Lady Susan from Jane Austen, the movie is called Love&Friendship.

 

And libraries with not so good collections sucks.

Is using IBL an option?

We have to pay for that service, but is still cheaper then buying all the books I want to read :)

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