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

[Penguin]

Thank you for clarifying, Robin. I am sure my newbie questions will die down by February.

 

 

[Stacia]

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Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[Chrysalis Academy]

I finished The Bridge of San Luis Rey. Lovely book. Its main premise, an investigation of the question of why bad things happen, "Some say that we shall never know and that to the gods we are like the flies that the boys kill on a summer day, and some say, on the contrary, that the very sparrows do not lose a feather that has not been brushed away by thing finger of God."

 

The conclusion? Why is not what matters. "But soon we shall die and all memory of those five will have left the earth, and we ourselves shall be loved for a while and forgotten. But the love will have been enough; all those impulses of love return to the love that made them. Even memory is not necessary for love. There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning."

[Rosie_0801]

What Rosie said.  My daughter is an extreme empath, but I don't think that has anything to do with her also being a synesthete.  The synesthesia is just an interesting thing that sounds cool.  The empathy is rough.  She feels everything from everyone.  She can take one look at a person and know how they are feeling and even what they need.  It does interfere with life sometimes.  I have a friend with a son who is also an extreme empath and he has built up walls to prevent himself from feeling others' emotions.  My daughter doesn't want to do that (he can be pretty hard sometimes because of it), but she is learning to try to control how much she feels.  On the flipside, it makes her love people so incredibly much and want to help everyone.

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug: 's to your dd. But your friend's son is right. The walls are important. Narcissists just love to prey on empaths. All the empaths I know have been in abusive relationships, except one, and she's the type not to mention it if she had. She needs to learn those boundaries before she goes off into the dating world. 

 

Not wanting to be a downer, and I well understand how weird it is to need to teach a daughter not to be too nice. But this dynamic runs in my family and I probably can't prevent it carrying on to the next generation. 

[Stacia]

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Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[Mom-ninja.]

Finished Three Men in a Boat. Very Wodehousesque which made me love it. There is a sequel I will now read. 

[Stacia]

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Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[Butter]

:grouphug:  :grouphug: 's to your dd. But your friend's son is right. The walls are important. Narcissists just love to prey on empaths. All the empaths I know have been in abusive relationships, except one, and she's the type not to mention it if she had. She needs to learn those boundaries before she goes off into the dating world. 

 

Not wanting to be a downer, and I well understand how weird it is to need to teach a daughter not to be too nice. But this dynamic runs in my family and I probably can't prevent it carrying on to the next generation. 

 

Ani's former best friend is a narcissist.  She was extremely abusive and to this day tries to make my daughter's life difficult (she goes to taekwondo where we do).  Ani learned a whole lot from her friendship with that girl.

 

I finished book #8 tonight.  Rena's Promise, the story of one of the first women to arrive in Auschwitz in 1942.  It's an inspiring and terrible story.  I thought it fitting that I finished it on Holocaust Remembrance Day.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I"m finally making headway with The Plover.

 

I had to google the word plover and listen to the pronunciation as I kept switching between plover (rhymes with lover) and plover (rhymes with clover).

I'm struggling with the time setting for the book. In my mind's eye I picture idyllic sea faring voyages of the early 1900's. That's when I want it to be. But then the author makes some comment that forces a setting change (tampons floating amid an island of garbage) and the picture jumps to the 2000's which makes my mind scream "Foul."

 

Edited: I found that missing 'y' in the word early. :D

Edited January 28, 2017 by Scoutermom

[Chrysalis Academy]

I"m finally making headway with The Plover.

 

I had to google the word plover and listen to the pronunciation as I kept switching between plover (rhymes with lover) and plover (rhymes with clover).

I'm struggling with the time setting for the book. In my mind's eye I picture idyllic sea faring voyages of the earl 1900's. That's when I want it to be. But then the author makes some comment that forces a setting change (tampons floating amid an island of garbage) and the picture jumps to the 2000's which makes my mind scream "Foul."

 

It's definitely set in the present day.  After I read The Plover, I read Mink River by the same author, and it took me till the end to realize that a minor character in Mink River is the protagonist in The Plover. It's more of an interesting connection than a sequel type thing, though. I didn't think that he really seemed the same in the two books. But it definitely helped locate the book in place and time for me.

[shukriyya]

Very much enjoying Uprooted. I'm reading it concurrently with Beauty by Sheri Tepper which I'm only partially enjoying and The Palace of Illusions which I'm almost finished listening to and enjoying so much I'm planning to read it. 

[Raifta]

Well, it has taken me until Saturday to catch up with the thread- maybe because I was too busy reading?  (That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it.)

 

I had 5 books on the go at the end of last week and have finished 3 of them.

 

Twice-Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne - this is a collection of short stories, most of which are written with the premise being that he is re-writing someone else's story or even their re-telling of a story.  I have to admit, I dragged myself through this.  I don't enjoy short stories as I just can't get invested in anything - the characters, the plot, the setting, the language etc.  There was a short section featuring stories that were all set in the old governor's mansion in Boston pre-Independence which verged on being interesting and one or two after that which I didn't mind but overall I was not a fan.  But I read it and that's my first bingo square done - short stories!  This one the last one from my Shelf project of last year and I'm going to give it away as there is no need to keep this in the house.

 

I also finished A Sense of Direction by Gideon Lewis-Kraus which is about his thoughts on life and meaning and hope as he experiences three pilgrimages - the Camino in Spain, Shikoku in Japan and Uman in Ukraine.  This was recommended and given to me by a friend, and it was a bit eye-opening in terms of our friendship as I had always suspected that the woman in question was more open to the great variety of life than her husband and the fact that she read and enjoyed this book has confirmed this for me.  Overall I thought the book was interesting, and fairly easy to read but not spectacular.  I learned things about the pilgrimages that I hadn't known before and that's always a bonus for me but I have my own opinions about travel/tourism and how that relates to finding one's self, purpose, direction etc and I'm not sure I agree with some of his ideas.  Still, overall I'm glad I read it.  Oh, and it fulfills bingo square number two - Selected by a Friend!

 

And finally I finished Imperfect Harmony by Stacy Horn which is about her experiences singing with a choir in NYC interspersed with history of choirs and musical pieces in NYC and elsewhere.  I felt much the same way about this as with the one above - learned lots of new things, fairly interesting, easy to read but somehow lacking in any real resonance which means I'll probably forget about it pretty soon.  Oh well, it was a library book so no harm, no foul.

 

Still reading Pillars of the Earth (making progress - should finish this week), Swallows and Amazons to the kids and started The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom for book club next month.

 

 

Hoping to actually keep on top of next week's thread so I'm not reading all of it next Saturday.  Off to go exercise now so I can try keeping up with the thread on Well Trained Bodies  :lol:

 

 

[Kareni]

A currently free (today only) classic ~

 

Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini

 

"A thrilling tale of piracy, justice, and honor on the high seas from the author of Scaramouche

Retired soldier Peter Blood lives a happy, comfortable life as a physician in seventeenth-century England. Yet everything changes one fateful evening when he saves the life of the wrong patient: a young rebel involved in an uprising against King James II. For doing his job and obeying the Hippocratic oath, the shell-shocked Blood is convicted of treason and sentenced to ten years in Barbados, toiling as a slave.
 
Once in the Caribbean, however, Blood has other plans. The daring doctor wins over his peers with his courage and skill, falls in love with the plantation owner’s niece, and begins to plot his escape. When a Spanish privateer attacks the plantation town, Blood seizes his chance, and with the help of his fellow slaves, pulls off a daring heist of the pirates’ ship. Based on a true story, Captain Blood is an immensely satisfying high-seas adventure for the ages."

**

 

 another free book that looks amusing:  Adventures of a Vegan Vamp: A Paranormal Cozy Mystery  by Cate Lawley

 

and a classic mystery: The Clue  by Carolyn Wells

 

Regards,

Kareni

[scrapbookbuzz]

A currently free (today only) classic ~

 

Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini

 

"A thrilling tale of piracy, justice, and honor on the high seas from the author of Scaramouche

 

Retired soldier Peter Blood lives a happy, comfortable life as a physician in seventeenth-century England. Yet everything changes one fateful evening when he saves the life of the wrong patient: a young rebel involved in an uprising against King James II. For doing his job and obeying the Hippocratic oath, the shell-shocked Blood is convicted of treason and sentenced to ten years in Barbados, toiling as a slave.

 

Once in the Caribbean, however, Blood has other plans. The daring doctor wins over his peers with his courage and skill, falls in love with the plantation owner’s niece, and begins to plot his escape. When a Spanish privateer attacks the plantation town, Blood seizes his chance, and with the help of his fellow slaves, pulls off a daring heist of the pirates’ ship. Based on a true story, Captain Blood is an immensely satisfying high-seas adventure for the ages."

**

 

 another free book that looks amusing:  Adventures of a Vegan Vamp: A Paranormal Cozy Mystery  by Cate Lawley

 

and a classic mystery: The Clue  by Carolyn Wells

 

Regards,

Kareni

Thanks to you and your book recommendations, I've added 3 more digital books to my collection. That makes four total, I've "bought" today. Yours were free. The first one was $1.99. B-)

[Ausmumof3]

Synesthesia just a weird quirk. It makes no difference to my life, except with the one person who triggers empath stuff to a much greater degree than anyone else because they mix together so not only am I feeing someone else's emotions, which is a hassle if they're unhappy, but I can see it in colour, which is weird. Perhaps it's something one gets better at with practice, but I prefer not to.

 

Empaths I know who are triggered that much by everyone have my sympathy. That sort of stuff interferes with life. The high level empaths I know all have health problems from the constant stress of bombardment.

Wow, I didn't know this was a thing. I think it provides a label for someone I know... ☹ï¸

[Lady Florida.]

I finished two more books. Both were dragging a bit so I slowed down in my reading. 

 

Doctor Thorne - I didn't enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed other Trollope novels. I'm going to take a break from him before moving on the the next Barchester novel.

 

Norwegian Wood - what the???? I really am done with Murakami.

[Ausmumof3]

I've started a book M-- mentioned on New Year's Eve (in the "Bird of the Year", a New Year's Day Game thread):

 

 

Rare Encounters with Ordinary Birds by Lyanda Lynn Haupt.

 

It's lovely so far.

What a gorgeous cover...

Wish my library hold list wasn't full.

[Kareni]

Thanks to you and your book recommendations, I've added 3 more digital books to my collection. That makes four total, I've "bought" today. Yours were free. The first one was $1.99. B-)

 

I'm always happy to help you shop!  Now, I'm curious as to the other book you bought.  Care to share?

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[Ausmumof3]

I finished "forever girl" by Alexander McCall Smith. It was quite slow moving and drawn out which is fairly typical of his style but where it works well in the Isabel Dalhousie novels it was hard to keep reading in this one. It was kind of teen romance but with those flashed of depth that you expect from this author. Probably the nicest enjoyable part of the book is the relationship between mother and daughter.

[AllSmiles]

Coming in a little late this week...

Last week I read "By Gaslight". If Goodreads had half stars I would have given it 3 1/2 stars. I loved the story but I had to constantly reread sections because I didn't know who was talking or because of awkward sentences. If I were to judge on only the story, I would give it four stars.

Thanks to Stacia for the recommendation!

 

I also finished two books by C. C. Benison. The first was "Twelves Drummers Drumming" and the second, "Eleven Pipers Piping." Both were nice little mysteries. The mysteries do not take place at Christmas. Instead, the main character is Father Tom Christmas. Both were three stars.

 

I saw the posts earlier this week about Burns Supper. I had never heard of the celebration until I read "Eleven Pipers Piping." And then lo and behold The Burns Supper celebration happened this week. It was interesting to read about.

[Stacia]

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Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[shukriyya]

I finished "forever girl" by Alexander McCall Smith. It was quite slow moving and drawn out which is fairly typical of his style but where it works well in the Isabel Dalhousie novels it was hard to keep reading in this one. It was kind of teen romance but with those flashed of depth that you expect from this author. Probably the nicest enjoyable part of the book is the relationship between mother and daughter.

 

Hmm, I've read the whole Dalhousie series and very much enjoyed it, the slow pace, attention to detail and as you say, 'flashes of depth'. I couldn't get into the No. One Ladies Detective Agency books though. And teen romance doesn't sound like a big draw either but I'm going to check this out and see if I'd like it.

[Robin M]

Thank you so much my fair ladies for sharing stories about the shape of your lives this week.  So much fun!  

 

In my interweb travels this week, I discovered  Heywood Hill Bookshop in London (Mum, you've been keeping him secret, haven't you.)   :laugh:  Now I want to sign up for their personalized subscription service.  

 

Publisher Weekly's 10 Great Westerns You've never Read.  I'll have to add Larry McMurtry to my reading list this year. I've enjoyed his stories in the past.  Fun reading as well as the Most Anticipated Books of Spring.   More books to add to the wishlist.   :drool5:

 

We were talking about steampunk up thread and I total forgot about Jeff Van Der Meer's Steampunk Bible. So very cool!

 

And of course, who can't relate to the Guardian's  Biblomania: the strange history of compulsive book buying. 

 

:thumbup1:

 

 

Edited January 28, 2017 by Robin M

[Mothersweets]

With all of our recent talk about the Hygge book I can't resist posting this crochet a long that starts soon because of the hygge title. https://itsallinanutshell.com/2017/01/25/hygge-cal-kits-now-available/

 

My friend did the Mandela one with the same person and it worked incredibly well. She was not experienced with crochet beyond the very basics. I won't be participating but it's beautiful isn't it?

 

I love that! I'm immersed in a sweater right now but will save that pattern to my favorites - so lovely!

[mumto2]

Coming in a little late this week...

Last week I read "By Gaslight". If Goodreads had half stars I would have given it 3 1/2 stars. I loved the story but I had to constantly reread sections because I didn't know who was talking or because of awkward sentences. If I were to judge on only the story, I would give it four stars.

Thanks to Stacia for the recommendation!

 

I also finished two books by C. C. Benison. The first was "Twelves Drummers Drumming" and the second, "Eleven Pipers Piping." Both were nice little mysteries. The mysteries do not take place at Christmas. Instead, the main character is Father Tom Christmas. Both were three stars.

 

I saw the posts earlier this week about Burns Supper. I had never heard of the celebration until I read "Eleven Pipers Piping." And then lo and behold The Burns Supper celebration happened this week. It was interesting to read about.

Since I suspect I am the only person here who had a Burns Night supper in their lives this year I have a bit of new knowledge to report regarding haggis. Other years our whole family has been involved actively in making the village event happen but this year dh was pretty adamant that I wasn't going to go and work clean up because of a foot injury that I have pretty much recovered from. He was right standing on a hard floor for a couple of hours would have set me back. He took my place which was sweet and did his normal heavy lifting too. So I stayed home and worked on a quilt. ;)

 

Well, my crew arrived home about eleven and the smell that came with them was pretty bad. As they walked towards me it arrived long before they did! :lol: A fatty meaty heavy yucky smell that resulted in me doing two loads of laundry before going to bed. I'm really not that picky in general but could not imagine waking up to the smell today. I never noticed it other years......

 

I finished a new book by one of my favourite mystery authors, John Verdon. Wolf Lake was a bit of a disappointment compared to the others in the series. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30644034-wolf-lake. I loved the first in the series Think of a Number which recently appeared on one of our list links, maybe a Great Books You've Never Read type of a list.

[Butter]

I finished Book #8 today: Acne, Asthma, and Other Signs You Might Be Half Dragon by Rena Rocford.  It's about a girl who learns she is half dragon and there are all sorts of other partial mythical creatures out there, too.  Some trolls kidnap some of the kin and her friend (half troll) is implicated in the disappearance of a part unicorn and will be punished for it so they chase after the kidnappers and of course find out it's all way more complicated than they thought.  It was a good book.  I liked it a lot.

 

Norwegian Wood - what the???? I really am done with Murakami.

 

Yeah... That's about how I felt.

 

Well, my crew arrived home about eleven and the smell that came with them was pretty bad. As they walked towards me it arrived long before they did! :lol: A fatty meaty heavy yucky smell that resulted in me doing two loads of laundry before going to bed. I'm really not that picky in general but could not imagine waking up to the smell today. I never noticed it other years......

 

When my husband and I were dating, my (British) MIL-to-be decided to make a haggis.  Oh, my gosh, the smell in their house.  It was horrid.  Jamie spent a lot of time at my house those two or three days it was cooking.  They invited my parents over to eat it.  My mom loved it.  I... didn't lol

[Violet Crown]

Finished Three Men in a Boat. Very Wodehousesque which made me love it. There is a sequel I will now read.

 

 

I know, isn't the book marvellous? I'd never heard of it until this year. And I didn't know there was a sequel until you mentioned it. What's the title?

 

 

 

I finished two more books. Both were dragging a bit so I slowed down in my reading. 

 

Doctor Thorne - I didn't enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed other Trollope novels. I'm going to take a break from him before moving on the the next Barchester novel.

 

Do you think you'll have any interest in the Palliser novels when done with Barchester? I put them off because Victorian politics seemed like it would be too unfamiliar to be engaging; but it wasn't so. Phineas Finn is such a fun character that he gets two novels.

 

  

Since I suspect I am the only person here who had a Burns Night supper in their lives this year I have a bit of new knowledge to report regarding haggis.

 

The timing is never right so I've been cheated of a Burns Supper and Auld Lang Syne etc., but I have had haggis & mash & neeps inflicted on me. It wouldn't have been so bad - I've had enough "this is stuff I shot" barbecue in my life not to mind what my food was doing before it arrived on my plate (tip: pass up the rattlesnake) - but the texture of all three was exactly the same, which after a few mouthfuls became intolerable.

[Violet Crown]

I enjoyed it. I am weird in that I often enjoy old books with lots of Latin and archaic words, even though sometimes it can interfere with comprehension on my part (me and little ole brain!). I have read Ivanhoe a couple of times, so maybe I knew what to expect. I was surprised by a lot of things: the humor, the gentle romantic tension that to this day is present in a lot of historical fiction, the references to American Indians (for instance when talking about the Highlanders stealth is approaching the enemy across the marshy moors) . . . somehow the novel felt very modern to me in spite of a lot of the archaic quality. If this is the first historical novel, all the elements are right there, sprung from Scott's creative genius!

 

I am not chomping at the bit to read another Scott novel though right now. But I might very well get around to reading another one at some point.

Let me know when you do: there are several I'd like to get to, and it would be nice to have a reading partner; and your take on Waverly makes me think we have similar views on Scott. Nobody else wants to read Hakluyt, despite my pushing it for a month on this thread. *snif*

 

Crstarlette, let me add my voice to the chorus of applause! What an accomplishment!

[Lady Florida.]

Do you think you'll have any interest in the Palliser novels when done with Barchester? I put them off because Victorian politics seemed like it would be too unfamiliar to be engaging; but it wasn't so. Phineas Finn is such a fun character that he gets two novels.

Yes, I'm pretty sure I will. I've yet to find a Trollope I don't like. Some are just slower than others and Doctor Thorne was one of them. It felt like he dragged some parts out but it was still good.

Edited January 29, 2017 by Lady Florida.

[Mom-ninja.]

 

I know, isn't the book marvellous? I'd never heard of it until this year. And I didn't know there was a sequel until you mentioned it. What's the title?

 

 

  

Three Men on a Brummel. It has me laughing more than the first book. 

 

 

Today is cold, rainy, and gray. I need to clean some things in the house, prepare for my class tomorrow, go to a couple stores, and do work for my practicum. Instead, I have made a second cup of chai tea and crawled back into bed with several books. I am not being very responsible. 

Edited January 29, 2017 by Mom-ninja.

[Robin M]

Link to week 5 - please continue conversation in new thread