Book a Week 2017 - BW5: festive february

[Mothersweets]

This morning I finished book #10 for the year.  Nelson Mandela: A Life Inspired by Gillian Kendall and Wyatt North.  I loved it.  I really didn't know much about Mandela or apartheid.  Now I want to learn more.  He was quite an amazing man.  The book really drew me in.  The only thing I couldn't figure out was the classification of coloured.  There were whites, blacks, Indians, and coloureds.  So, this being the Internet age and me having a friend in South Africa, I messaged my friend to ask her.  Turns out coloureds were/are mixed race people.  I also found out from this friend and a friend of hers that Japanese were labeled white and Chinese were labeled black... but only in some places and apartheid was unevenly applied across the country.  This book made me want to read Trevor Noah's Born a Crime.

 

 

 

Trevor Noah explains all the classifications really well in his book. Try to listen to it on audio, it's really great!

[Matryoshka]

This week I finished The Age of Innocence on audio and Stories of Your Life and Others in hardcopy, and since my copy of El laberinto de los espíritus refuses to arrive in the mailbox, and I didn't end up being in the mood for El poeta niño at the moment, today I started and finished The Namesake, which I had lying around and fit into last week's theme of local culture. My dd had been assigned the book in high school, which was why it was here, and she had rather strongly disliked it. I, however, quite enjoyed it, which I guess is evident since I finished it in a day. I think it's definitely a book that would not be appreciated by a teen. The main character is just about my age, and the book is set in places I've lived during the same time (well, except the later parts set in NYC), and has lots of references to places and events that evoke something for me but wouldn't for someone much younger. Dd also complained that 'nothing happened'... this is definitely a book that's about the journey, not about a lot of stuff happening.

 

I'm also continuing to very much enjoy The Palace of Illusions on audio whenever I'm driving alone in the car.

 

If El laberintu de los espíritus continues to be elusive, I have The Invisible Library coming in on ILL, which is is a pick for an IRL bookclub that I probably won't be able to attend, but it looked interesting, so I ordered it just in case.

 

In all, I've finished 12 books in January. I'm rather stunned. I decided I'd better up my Goodreads challenge from 23 to 53. All of a sudden that seems very doable, even if I don't keep up this pace. I already have 6 Bingo squares checked off. Apparently having fellow readers is very inspiring for me. :D What is the A to Z challenge I saw mentioned upthread? I don't see that on the blog? What are the rules?

 

For Amethyst, I'm thinking Brazilian author. Either Sergio Y that I've seen highly recommended by a couple of people here, or perhaps Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon by Jorge Amado. Has anyone read that one?

Edited January 30, 2017 by Matryoshka

[Loesje22000]

 

Osbourne House is one of our favourites. We go to Isle of Wight every summer because we always love it there. I had just finished watching the Victoria series http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2016/10/02/victoria-a-pregnant-pause-for-jenna-colemans-witty-queen--episod/ when we went this year. The house tour was laid out differently because Judy Dench was filming Victoria and Abdul. The show actually made a couple of rooms that I think were new on the tour more meaningful. Also the carpet was up and I was able to see some incredible mosiac floors! Yes, everyone I like mosaics and green men. I study gargoyles too! :lol: There are a couple of new Victoria books out. I had been planning on reading one of them this year but am now wondering if I should read this one.

The serie is running on Dutch television now :)

We are recording it, and we will watch it later, we just finished Victorian Slum from december ...

 

Would you mind to share some of the new Victoria books?

It will make it easier to me, to hunt for its translation :)

[Robin M]

Mum, re A to Z: no you don't have to read in Alpha Order. I always start out that way, but usually start mixing is up midway.

 

 

Matryoshka- 26 books A to Z challenge can be done totally by author name or totally by title. Or if you are brave go for both which equals 52 books. Read in alpha order to make it really challenging or mix it up and fill in as you go.

 

First couple months I usually have a tendency to get lost reading all my A and b books 📚 while clearing out dusty books. Plus it sort of keeps me from getting overwhelmed, because I have far too many books 🙀 and sometimes it's so hard to choose. Too much eye candy! 😃

 

 

💋

[Negin]

Osbourne House is one of our favourites. We go to Isle of Wight every summer because we always love it there. I had just finished watching the Victoria series http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2016/10/02/victoria-a-pregnant-pause-for-jenna-colemans-witty-queen--episod/ when we went this year. The house tour was laid out differently because Judy Dench was filming Victoria and Abdul. The show actually made a couple of rooms that I think were new on the tour more meaningful. Also the carpet was up and I was able to see some incredible mosiac floors! Yes, everyone I like mosaics and green men. I study gargoyles too! :lol: There are a couple of new Victoria books out. I had been planning on reading one of them this year but am now wondering if I should read this one.

I envy you so much (in a good way, of course!). I would love to visit the Isle of Wight. As you may recall, I grew up in Wales, but we never got to go to the Isle of Wight. It's often a challenge to convince my dh to visit the U.K. since every time we have visited, the weather has been mostly bad. My dh is a cold-weather wimp. Yes, we've loved the same exact Victoria series that you linked. 

[Joules]

 

 

Great idea. I love all Terry Pratchett books I've read, but The Wee Free Men remains one my very mostest, bestest favorites of his. Plus, I have many happy memories of doing this as a read-aloud for my kids & doing my horrible accent for the Wee Free Men themselves!

 

 

When ds was applying to colleges one of the essays was to recommend a book for the first year read (where all freshman read the same book and it can be discussed in classes.)  He wrote on The Wee Free Men.

[Joules]

 

 

I finished Lab Girl this week. I liked it, especially the science-centric chapters among the more memoir-centric chapters. Also, it really made me think about funding struggles for research scientists. Not really knowing anyone who works in any field of science, I'd naively assumed that if you worked in a university lab you had easy access to state-of-the-art everything, right? Yeah, no.

 

Thanks for reminding me of that one!  I enjoyed the memoirs of Felicia Day and Trevor Noah so much, I've been wanting another to mix in with my fiction.  

[mumto2]

The serie is running on Dutch television now :)

We are recording it, and we will watch it later, we just finished Victorian Slum from december ...

 

Would you mind to share some of the new Victoria books?

It will make it easier to me, to hunt for its translation :)

There are two books that have recently. The one by Daisy Goodwin is the one the tv script came from but the book ends before the marriage according to a Goodreads review I read this morning. I had thought by reading this one I would get a preview of the next series. :lol: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30841109-victoria?ac=1&from_search=true

 

Since the preview is apparently not happening I may go back to this one by Julia Baird. I was on the hold list for sever weeks and cancelled my hold when I realized the other book's connection with the tv show.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24423800-victoria?ac=1&from_search=true

 

Mum, re A to Z: no you don't have to read in Alpha Order. I always start out that way, but usually start mixing is up midway.

 

 

 

 

💋

Thanks, I had a bit of a panic when I saw you were reading ing alphabetical order. I am going to continue my less organized plan of seeing where I stand in the fall!

 

I envy you so much (in a good way, of course!). I would love to visit the Isle of Wight. As you may recall, I grew up in Wales, but we never got to go to the Isle of Wight. It's often a challenge to convince my dh to visit the U.K. since every time we have visited, the weather has been mostly bad. My dh is a cold-weather wimp. Yes, we've loved the same exact Victoria series that you linked.

I watch this last summer too. It must of been on Amazon Primehttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/4994692/Queen-not-amused-by-inaccuracies-in-The-Young-Victoria-film.htmlf

I liked it. It was a slightly different portrayal of Victoria. In this one she was much more attracted to Albert from the start.

 

And I envy your life in the sun. I am a sunshine girl but we don't mind cold, hate snow, especially when it measures in feet! Part of my childhood was on a small island off Florida, so sun! All of our trips to IoW have had great weather but we book at the last minute because we aren't sure what we would do in the rain there. It was raining when we left last time. We ended up joining the ferry queue early in hope of an earlier boat (achieved) and left the car there to walk around the shops in the rain. Oddly enough that's where my yarn for my green man was purchased. It all ties together!

Edited January 30, 2017 by mumto2

[Onceuponatime]

I dipped my toe into William Styron's A Tidewater Morning, and decided I was not up to it. While at the library, I grabbed The Marvels by Brian Selznick off the shelf on an impulse and am reading that right now. I had enjoyed his other similar books, and that's about all I can handle right now. Statistics class is frying my brain.

[Just Robyn]

The thing I thought was different in Fung's book vs others I've read about insulin, such as Taubes, is that it seemed like the focus was on eating less often vs just eating less/less carbs. It was one of those eye openers where I thought "I already don't ...."(eat very often in this case) only to find to find that in fact I do exactly what I thought I did not. Seems I am have turned into a snacker-- which I have been working to change since reading the book with mixed success.

 

That's true. He points out how people talk about what to eat but not when to eat. I guess the no snacking bit didn't stick out for me because snacks are incompatible with eating few enough calories anyway. If I follow a pre-made clean eating plan, I always have to take out the snacks to bring the calorie count down far enough. I did appreciate his explanation of breakfast not really being a necessary meal.

Edited January 30, 2017 by crstarlette

[Nan in Mass]

Popping in quickly to say I am painting madly while I can, before shoulder surgery, and will be back in a week or so to catch up on what everyone is reading and doing. Hugs to all! Hope everyone is ok.

 

Nan

[Chrysalis Academy]

 

For Amethyst, I'm thinking Brazilian author. Either Sergio Y that I've seen highly recommended by a couple of people here, or perhaps Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon by Jorge Amado. Has anyone read that one?

 

I loved Sergio Y, so definitely recommend it. I haven't read any Jorge Amado yet, but I have Esau & Jacob on my shelves, so I'll probably read that one, but I think Gabriela is his more frequently read work (in English at least). My dh and bil both did a lot of Latin American studies in college so I have a lot of books on my shelves I've not read, trying to slowly work my way through them. I did a massive Marquez read last year for a FutureLearn MOOC, so I'm done with him for awhile. I also like Saramago - not everything, but some things.  But I don't think I've read any Brazilian writers before Sergio Y.

[thessa516]

 

 

I enjoyed Andrew Peterson's books. They were what I was kind of hoping for when I picked up The Green Ember having heard the hype about that. I much prefer On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, North! Or Be Eaten, and The Monster in the Hollow. I haven't purchased the fourth (and final) book, yet. But, I plan to do that soon. It's not like it's in a competition with Narnia. But, it did have that _something_ that allowed me to get into a different world without being jarred by the author's close-but-couldn't-quite-manage-it. It's got lots of corniness, but in the class-clown-loveable-foolishness vibe not the trying-too-hard vein. Clear as mud?

 

 

It's wonderfully clear to me. :) You hit the nail on the head with the class-clown-loveable-foolishness corniness. Our family loved The Green Ember, but you're right, it doesn't have the same take-me-away / Narnia vibe as Peterson's books.

SaveSave

[Just Robyn]

Popping in quickly to say I am painting madly while I can, before shoulder surgery, and will be back in a week or so to catch up on what everyone is reading and doing. Hugs to all! Hope everyone is ok.

 

Nan

 

I'll bring over a pot of soup so you won't have to stop to make dinner! 

[Lady Florida.]

This book made me want to read Trevor Noah's Born a Crime.

 

 

Trevor Noah explains all the classifications really well in his book. Try to listen to it on audio, it's really great!

 

I second the recommendation to listen to the audio book. Hearing it in Noah's voice was great. 

 

Apparently having fellow readers is very inspiring for me.

When I first joined these threads I thought there's no way I'll read 52 books. It really is inspiring to hang out with other readers. Plus they help by increasing your to-read list. :)

[AppleGreen]

Finished The Underground Railroad. It was heartbreaking and beautiful.

 

I also finished Better Than Before which was interesting. Nothing particularly new for me. It was the first Gretchen Rubin book for me (and probably the last). 

 

At bedtime, the 13 year old and I are reading The Secret Life of Bees, which I read many, many years ago. The 16 year old and I are reading Just Mercy aloud at bedtime. It is a first time read for both of us and heartbreaking. I was sobbing during last night's chapter. I am also reading Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life with the 10 year old. It is a new one for me, but I am enjoying it. I need it with the weight of Just Mercy. The 8 year old and I are reading some inane Beacon Street Girls book. Even though I am only averaging a book a week for myself, including the reading at night I do with my kids, I am still managing a lot of reading. 

 

I just blazed through The Star Attraction, which fulfilled my BINGO square of a book I wouldn't want to be caught reading. It was straight up fluff and not even very good fluff, but it was a super quick read and nice escapism after some of my heavier reading. 

 

I think I may read The Tycoons next, although I also have Spark!. Maybe I will start both.  :tongue_smilie:

[Kareni]

One day only, currently free classic ~

 

Washington Square by Henry James

 

"A master of American literature presents a tragicomic, coming-of-age romance.

Set in New York against the backdrop of 1880s high society, Washington Square is one of the most beloved novels from master Henry James, and its exploration of interfamily strife and power dynamics, as well as its early take on gender issues, continue to resonate with readers today.
 
Catherine Sloper is the only child of the successful Dr. Austin Sloper, residing with the physician in an upscale home on the edge of Washington Square in New York City. Shy and plain, yet honest and good-natured, Catherine is regarded as a perpetual disappointment by her father, who becomes suspicious of her young fortune-hunting suitor, Morris Townsend. As snooping Aunt Lavinia Penniman works to push Catherine and Townsend together—and provides some much appreciated comic relief—Catherine’s father threatens to cut his daughter off if she pushes forward with the courtship and accepts Townsend’s ultimate proposal of marriage.
 
However, the dashing Townsend is willing to take the bluff, and Catherine’s future hangs on what has become a game. And while Dr. Sloper has reason to question Townsend’s intentions, the situation soon takes on an aspect of cruel sport for the good doctor.
 
Based on a true story told to the author by British actress Fanny Kemble, Washington Square has become a cherished favorite of readers everywhere. Originally serialized in magazines, it is one of the shorter novels in the Jamesian canon, but nevertheless stands as one of the writer’s most enduring tragicomedies and the perfect introduction to the novelist and his work."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Lady Florida.]

 

 

 

 

About Three Men in a Boat:

Kathy -- I seem to have also "purchased" this in 2013 but never read it. Just downloaded it onto my Paperwhite.

 

 

. 

 

Have you looked at it? The two books I'm reading were both at a slow point so I thought I'd take a look at Three Men in a Boat. This free copy reminds me of the early days of ebooks when free classics were transcribed for ebook. The formatting is okay, but none of the illustrations are there. It does however, let me know there should have been an illustration:

 

Man reading book

Man with walking stick

 

:lol:

 

The copy my library has doesn't have illustrations either, but there are several available at Amazon for only 99 cents. I did the Look Inside and they seem fine. After reading the first chapter last night I decided it was worth a dollar. ;) So far, it's hilarious and strangely enough, not outdated. People are people and some human characteristics don't change. 

Edited January 30, 2017 by Lady Florida.

[JennW in SoCal]

Have you looked at it? The two books I'm reading were both at a slow point so I thought I'd take a look at Three Men in a Boat. This free copy reminds me of the early days of ebooks when free classics were transcribed for ebook. The formatting is okay, but none of the illustrations are there. It does however, let me know there should have been an illustration:

 

Man reading book

Man with walking stick

 

:lol:

 

The copy my library has doesn't have illustrations either, but there are several available at Amazon for only 99 cents. I did the Look Inside and they seem fine. After reading the first chapter last night I decided it was worth a dollar. ;) So far, it's hilarious and strangely enough, not outdated. People are people and some human characteristics don't change. 

 

No illustrations in my kindle edition, and I'm not seeing holes where an illustration should be.  I'll be curious if you think the illustrations add anything to your reading pleasure :D

[Matryoshka]

Matryoshka- 26 books A to Z challenge can be done totally by author name or totally by title. Or if you are brave go for both which equals 52 books. Read in alpha order to make it really challenging or mix it up and fill in as you go.

 

Is it like the birthstone challenge where any word in the title (other than an article) can work for the Alphabet, or does it have to be the first non-article word in the title?

 

With author name, family name only, or could first or other count (so, for Carlos Ruiz Zafón, he'd actually be correctly alphabetized under 'R', his father's name, but could he also be counted for C or Z?)  Louisa May Alcott, just A, or also L and M? :D

 

ETA: And if for some crazy reason I tried for both, do I have to read a full 52, no double-dipping, or could I count one for author for one letter and title for another?  (And I'm assuming I can double-dip for this and Bingo, like for gemstone and Bingo??)

Edited January 30, 2017 by Matryoshka

[Robin M]

Is it like the birthstone challenge where any word in the title (other than an article) can work for the Alphabet, or does it have to be the first non-article word in the title?

 

With author name, family name only, or could first or other count (so, for Carlos Ruiz Zafón, he'd actually be correctly alphabetized under 'R', his father's name, but could he also be counted for C or Z?) Louisa May Alcott, just A, or also L and M? :D

 

ETA: And if for some crazy reason I tried for both, do I have to read a full 52, no double-dipping, or could I count one for author for one letter and title for another? (And I'm assuming I can double-dip for this and Bingo, like for gemstone and Bingo??)

Any word except for the articles - no double dipping so total of 52 books. Yes, can double dip for other challenges.

[Matryoshka]

Any word except for the articles - no double dipping so total of 52 books. Yes, can double dip for other challenges.

 

Thank you!!  And, one more question - is there a page count minimum, like for Bingo, or is it more flexible - Sergio Y, for example, is a bit under 200 pages -  - I think I can count that for birthstone?  how about A-Z?

[Violet Crown]

No illustrations in my kindle edition, and I'm not seeing holes where an illustration should be. I'll be curious if you think the illustrations add anything to your reading pleasure :D

I thought the illustrations were well worth the price of the dead-tree paperback. On the other hand that was 50 cents.

[shukriyya]

I'm also continuing to very much enjoy The Palace of Illusions on audio whenever I'm driving alone in the car.

 

For Amethyst, I'm thinking Brazilian author. Either Sergio Y that I've seen highly recommended by a couple of people here, or perhaps Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon by Jorge Amado. Has anyone read that one?

 

Isn't the narrator for PoI fabulous! She brings the characters and atmosphere alive in a way that reading it alone couldn't do. That said I'm going to go ahead and read it as there are things I know I missed this time round, names, clans, various wars. Thankfully ds knows the Mahabharat inside and out and I can stop the narrative any time to consult him.

 

I'm pretty sure I read Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon a few decades ago and enjoyed it. And possibly a few of his other books. 

[Stacia]

.

Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[Ethel Mertz]

I am so behind on everything! Got no reading done yesterday as I had 3 meetings: the first was contentious, at the 2nd one I had to speak and didn't know it until I got there, and the 3rd meeting was soporific. 

 

As to what I'm reading:

 

I just put in a library request for The Amethyst Road by Louise Spiegler.

 

I'm still reading James Cone's Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or a Nightmare? Excellent book detailing the philosophies and influences of those two remarkable men. More on that when I finish it. Anita Diamant's The Boston Girl is a lovely novel and I am nearly done with that book as well. I have another overdrive book awaiting and then a huge pile of library books to get through. I've just got to stay off the computer for a bit and get some reading done.

 

I finished The Private Life of Mrs. Sharma by Ratika Kapur. I almost abandoned it as I found the main character to be incredibly self-centered. The story did give some insights into the difficulties of people who have to leave their families to go to another country in order to make enough money to survive.

 

January Books Finished (So Far):

1. Twelve Drummers Drumming (Father Christmas #1) – C.C. Benison

2. The Kookaburra Gambit – Claire McNab

3. Miss Garnet’s Angel – Salley Vickers

4. Still Life (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #1) – Louise Penny

5. The American Way of Poverty: How the Other Half Still Lives – Sasha Abramsky (K)

6. Eleven Pipers Piping (Father Christmas #2) – C.C. Benison

7. The Quokka Question (Kylie Kendall #3) – Claire McNab

8. Family Tree – Susan Wiggs

9. The Apple Orchard (Bella Vista #1) – Susan Wiggs

10. The Beekeeper’s Ball (Bella Vista #2) – Susan Wiggs

11. The Private Life of Mrs. Sharma – Ratika Kapur (India) 

[Chrysalis Academy]

I finished The Fate of Gender: Nature, Nurture and the Human Future.  It was really interesting. He makes some (to me) obvious points about nature vs. nurture - it's both, obviously, and given all we know now about brain plasticity, how would you even distinguish between the two? Biology effects experience, experience effects biology. It's all connected. And complicated. From that basic premise, he argues that both sex (the biological category you are assigned to based on your external genitalia) and gender (your self-identity) are not simple binaries but are much more fluid, not only across people, but within a single person's experience across their lifespan. It was fascinating, really. There is a lot more acceptance of gender fluidity in the younger generation, at least where I live, and I find the kids' and familys' openness heartening. 

[Lady Florida.]

No illustrations in my kindle edition, and I'm not seeing holes where an illustration should be.  I'll be curious if you think the illustrations add anything to your reading pleasure :D

 

There isn't extra white space where the illustrations should be, just the text describing what it would have been. It took a few times for me to realize what was going on, because the comments or whatever you call them are mixed in with the text. For example it said "Man with walking stick" as the first sentence of a paragraph. 

 

I'm sure I'd enjoy the book just as much without the drawings, but I want to see what the book is supposed to look like. I was laughing through much of the chapter I read last night so it's obviously not a major drawback. :) I'm just being picky. I bought this edition. 

[Butter]

I finished book #11 of the year, Go Set a Watchman.  That's G in garnet.  I read it promising myself I would consider it on its own merits and not on the book it eventually became.  And it was still just bad.  The amount of lecturing was insane.  The point got all muddled up inside the lectures.  Somehow every character was completely unlikable.  Honestly, the only good parts were the memories from when she was a child.  Thank goodness Harper Lee listened to the advice she was given that the story she told wasn't the story she needed to tell and that she rewrote the whole thing.

[Raifta]

Finished (finally) Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.  Finally mostly because it was long - and heavy.  It actually hurt my wrist to hold the book up when I was reading for extended periods of time.  Overall I enjoyed it and found the story engaging and easy to follow despite the length of the narrative and the number of characters involved.  It was interesting but not absorbing - I didn't feel a desperate need to find out what happened to any of the characters.  It does make me want to delve further into this period of time but I'm going to have to hold off on rabbit trails for now.  It was book 2 on my new "The Shelf' project and it won't be making its way back onto the shelf - I don't think I'd ever re-read it, I don't feel a burning need for either of the kids to read it and it doesn't have any sentimental or other qualities that make me want to keep it.  I'm actually enjoying the 'letting go' aspect of reading the books on The Shelf.

 

Started the next book on The Shelf - The Sky and the Forest by C.S. Forester, and also In the Shadow of the Banyan, which is about a wealthy family during the time when the Khmer Rouge take over Cambodia - told from the perspective of a child.  And I'm reading The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom for my book club.

[JennW in SoCal]

There isn't extra white space where the illustrations should be, just the text describing what it would have been. It took a few times for me to realize what was going on, because the comments or whatever you call them are mixed in with the text. For example it said "Man with walking stick" as the first sentence of a paragraph. 

 

I'm sure I'd enjoy the book just as much without the drawings, but I want to see what the book is supposed to look like. I was laughing through much of the chapter I read last night so it's obviously not a major drawback. :) I'm just being picky. I bought this edition. 

 

Thank you for linking the edition you got. Did you get the .99 kindle version?s

[-M-]

Hello, BaWers! It looks like I will have fourteen for this month. Here are my notes.

 

â–  Pygmalion (George Bernard Shaw; 1912. Drama.)
After seeing Remy Bumppo’s Pygmalion, I needed to revisit the text. I had forgotten how much I love Shaw.

 

â–  A.D.: After Death, Book 2 (Scott Snyder; 2016. Graphic fiction.)
I came for Lemire’s art and have stayed for Snyder’s intriguing story.

 

â–  I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives (Martin Ganda and Caitlin Alifirenka; 2016. Non-fiction.)
I finished this in two sittings. It’s a simple (and utterly predictable), feel-good story framed by the correspondence between a privileged teenager and her pen pal from Zimbabwe. I’m surprised it’s not a movie.

 

â–  Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis (J.D. Vance; 2016. Non-fiction.)
After a few fits and starts, I finally finished Hillbilly Elegy. Here are my commonplace book entries:

 

p. 7
The problems that I saw at the tile warehouse run far deeper than macroeconomic trends and policy. Too many young men immune to hard work. Good jobs impossible to fill for any length of time. And a young man with every reason to work — a wife-to-be to support and a baby on the way — carelessly tossing aside a good job with excellent health insurance. More troublingly, when it was all over, he thought something had been done to him. There is a lack of agency here — a feeling that you have little control over your life and a willingness to blame everyone but yourself. This is distinct from the larger economic landscape of modern America.

 

p. 9
But I love these people, even those to whom I avoid speaking for my own sanity. And if I leave you with the impression that there are bad people in my life, then I am sorry, both to you and to the people so portrayed. For there are no villains in this story. There’s just a ragtag band of hillbillies struggling to find their way — both for their sake, and by the grace of God, for mine.

 

p. 52
Federal housing policy has actively encouraged homeownership, from Jimmy Carter’s Community Reinvestment Act to George W. Bush’s ownership society. But in the Middletowns of the world, homeownership comes at a steep social cost: As jobs disappear in a given area, declining home values trap people in certain neighborhoods. Even if you’d like to move, you can’t, because the bottom has fallen out of the market — you now owe more than any buyer is willing to pay. The costs of moving are so high that people stay put. Of course, the people trapped are usually those with the least money; those who can afford to leave do so.

 

p. 228
For kids like me, the part of the brain that deals with stress and conflict is always activated — the switch flipped indefinitely. We are constantly ready to fight or flee, because there is constant exposure to the bear, whether that bear is an alcoholic dad or an unhinged mom. We become hardwired for conflict. And that wiring remains, even when there’s no more conflict to be had.

 

â–  The Selfishness of Others (Kristin Dombeck; 2016. Non-fiction.)
This was my “reading in the theater before the show begins†book, so it was set aside several times before I finally finished it. A fascinating look at our culture’s obsession with narcissism, it included the reference to Anders Breivik that reminded me that One of Us: The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre in Norway (Åsne Seierstad; 2015) was in my collection. (One of Us was one of the best books I read last year — and I don’t say that about every book I read.) We saw several plays over the break, by the way: Cheek by Jowl’s The Winter’s Tale and King Charles III (which featured Robert Bathurst (yes, from Downton Abbey) in the title role), both at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater; Pygmalion, mentioned above; Hamilton (yes, really, and it was as wonderful as folks have maintained) at the PrivateBank Theater; and A Disappearing Number at the TimeLine Theatre. Yes, the last is a play about math, among other things, and it was the highlight of our winter break theater adventures. My youngest recently secured a spot with a high energy physics research group that is working on the ATLAS experiment, so insert a muted nerdgirl “Squeeeeee!†when Anish Jethmalani’s character, Aninda, announces that he is a physicist lecturing at CERN. The script is not a seamless one, but the production is so fabulous that one forgives the small weaknesses in the text. Highly recommended.

 

â–  So Long, See You Tomorrow (William Maxwell; 1980. Fiction.)
As much a meditation on loss and grief as it is an exploration of memory and how memory shapes (and haunts and robs from) the present, William Maxwell’s 1980 novel So Long, See You Tomorrow is as perfect a book as A Good School or Revolutionary Road (both by Richard Yates) or Olive Kittredge (Elizabeth Strout).

 

p. 9
What I didn’t say, across the few feet that separated our two beds, was that I couldn’t understand how it had happened to us. It seemed like a mistake. And mistakes ought to be rectified, only this one couldn’t be. Between the way things used to be and the the way they were now was a void that couldn’t be crossed. I had to find an explanation other than the real one, which was that we were no more immune to misfortune that anybody else, and the idea that kept recurring to me, perhaps because of that pacing the floor with my father, was that I had inadvertently walked through a door I shouldn’t have gone through and couldn’t get back to the place I hadn’t meant to leave.

 

p. 27
What we, or at any rate I, refer to confidently as memory — meaning a moment, a scene, a fact that has been subjected to a fixative and thereby rescued from oblivion — is really a form of storytelling that goes on continually in the mind and often changes with the telling. Too many conflicting emotional interests are involved for life ever to be wholly acceptable, and possibly it is the work of the storyteller to rearrange things so that they conform to this end. In any case, in talking about the past we lie with every breath we draw.

 

p. 113
In the face of a deprivation so great, what is the use of asking him to go on being the boy he was. He might as well start life over again as some other boy instead.

 

â–  King John (William Shakespeare; 1623. Drama.)
A play for our time. Really. And this for the commonplace book:

 

CARDINAL PANDULPH
You hold too heinous a respect of grief.

CONSTANCE
He talks to me that never had a son.

KING PHILIP
You are as fond of grief as of your child.

CONSTANCE
Grief fills the room up of my absent child,
Lies in his bed, walks up and down with me,
Puts on his pretty looks, repeats his words,
Remembers me of all his gracious parts,
Stuffs out his vacant garments with his form;
Then, have I reason to be fond of grief?
Fare you well: had you such a loss as I,
I could give better comfort than you do.

 

■ The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood; 1986. Fiction.)
Our family book club chose The Handmaid’s Tale for our winter selection. We listened to the audiobook for a bit during each of our drives in and out of Chicago earlier this month and then on the way back to campus. (Claire Danes does exceptional work with the narration.) My husband completed the audiobook, my daughters are reading the rest in between classes and research, and I finished by rereading my thirty-one-year-old hardback. Since I first read Tale, it has been a looming part of the landscape of my imagination, yet I was unprepared for how much more horrifying it seems now — now that I am the mother of adult daughters, now that the world appears to have gone a bit mad.

 

p. 181
No mother is ever, completely, a child’s idea of what a mother should be, and I suppose it works the other way around as well. But despite everything, we didn’t do too badly by one another, we did as well as most.

 

I wish she were here, so I could tell her I finally know this.

 

â–  Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City (Matthew Desmond; 2016. Non-fiction.)
It was the quote on p. 52 of Hillbilly Elegy that reminded me to pluck this from the shelves. Move Evicted to the top of your TBR pile. Now. Really. I’ll wait. From my commonplace book:

 

p. 256
The Hinkstons expected more of their landlord for the money they were paying her. Rent was their biggest expense by far, and they wanted a decent and functional home in return. They wanted things to be fixed when they broke. But if Sherrena wasn’t going to repair her own property, neither were they. The house failed the tenants, and the tenants failed the house.

 

p. 257
Substandard housing was a blow to your psychological health: not only because things like dampness, mold, and overcrowding could bring about depression but also because of what living in awful conditions told you about yourself.

 

p. 285
Poverty could pile on; living it often meant steering through gnarled thickets of interconnected misfortunes and trying not to go crazy. There were moments of calm, but life on balance was facing one crisis after another.

 

p. 291
The home is the wellspring of personhood.

 

â–  Bird Watching (Paula McCartney; 2010. Non-fiction.)
I picked up Bird Watching from a bargain table at the university bookstore. I want to adore McCartney’s playfulness, but I did not.

 

â–  Much Ado: A Summer with a Repertory Theater Company (Michael Lenehan; 2016. Non-fiction.)

Rick Kogan’s interview with Michael Lenehan ran while my youngest and I were working on one project or another early in our winter break. “He always says, ‘This is one of the best books I ever read!’ or ‘You’re truly one of the great writers!’ and I get duped every time,†I remarked. “What are you doing?†she asked me later. “Ordering that book about the American Players Theatre that Rick Kogan recommended,†I replied, and she chuckled. As it turns out, though, it was pretty good, if a little choppy.

 

â–  The Taming of the Shrew (William Shakespeare; 1590. Drama.)
â–  The Two Gentlemen of Verona (William Shakespeare; 1589. Drama.)
â–  Henry IV, Part 1 (William Shakespeare; 1597. Drama.)
Maybe I should have declined the invitation because I knew I would not be able to give the “Shakespeare in a Year†project my complete attention until this past weekend, but I am confident I will be completely caught up by Groundhog’s Day, so I am going for it, and I've made a great beginning by finishing the three plays listed here.

 

Edited January 31, 2017 by M--

[-M-]

I finished Rare Encounters with Ordinary Birds: Notes from a Northwest Year by Lyanda Lynn Haupt. This lovely little work reminds you to stay in touch with the outdoors, observing closely & noting details, whether you choose to watch centipedes, mushrooms, clouds, birds, or something else. A book which is balm for the soul. Beautiful & highly recommended. (M--, thanks for mentioning this book!) This is definitely a Nan book; I think plenty of others might enjoy it too, including Jane, mumto2, etc....

 

I'm currently reading In Ghostly Japan by Lafcadio Hearn. I saw the book mentioned on the One Grand Books website, where various thinkers, writers, artists, musicians, etc... create a list of their top ten books they would take to a desert island. I found In Ghostly Japan on Asif Kapadia's (documentary filmmaker) list.

 

 

P.S. I noticed that Jamie Lee Curtis' list on One Grand Books includes Stoner. Stone is on my to-read list thanks to the many here who read & highly recommended it.

 

You're welcome! And I'm a Stoner fan, too. Every time someone mentions it, I feel compelled to say, "Yes, yes! Read it!" It you like Stoner, you may enjoy Richard Yates and William Maxwell, too, btw.

 

Edited January 30, 2017 by M--

[Lady Florida.]

Thank you for linking the edition you got. Did you get the .99 kindle version?s

 

Yes, the 99 cent Kindle edition. The only thing I don't like about this kind of book with more than one novel is not knowing how much time I have left in the current one I'm reading. It shows how much time is left in the entire book, which in this case is three books.

[Caroline]

Sam and I finished up Taffy of Torpedo Junction last week. He really liked it. I have loved that book for 40 years and am glad he could enjoy it with me. We are now reading The Westing Game. I remember reading it in elementary school, too.

 

I finished the book of Robert Burns's poetry and songs. I find it fascinating that he made a living being a poet. I went to our annual Burns Night celebration. Chatting with a friend whose parents are Scottish, he said that his mother speaks the queen's English, but his dad speaks almost gibberish, which I assume is Scotts. I told him about a discussion on this board about if Scotts was a dialect or it's own language. Jon said it's gibberish and when I meet his dad later this year I'll likely need a translator. Ha ha ha. Anyway, poetry is not my favorite genre, but I'm glad I read it before our annual ode to haggis.

 

I haven't gotten very far on An Imaginary Tale. School year reading is tough. I carry it around in my purse, though.

 

I attended an Interfaith Women's Tea this past weekend at a local synagogue. I heard a rabbi, an episcopaliean priest, and a Muslim woman discuss creation and being good stewards of our earth. Very interesting. They recommended a book called The Faith Club. I grew up in a very hippie church, and have not found one down here that I have loved like my own church, but this group of women made me think I should try the Episcopal church again.

[Kareni]

I finished a re-read of Mariana Zapata's contemporary romance Wait for It  and enjoyed it once more.  It's fun to see how the characters in this book connect with characters in the author's other books.

 

"If anyone ever said being an adult was easy, they hadn't been one long enough.

Diana Casillas can admit it: she doesn't know what the hell she's doing half the time. How she's made it through the last two years of her life without killing anyone is nothing short of a miracle. Being a grown-up wasn’t supposed to be so hard.

With a new house, two little boys she inherited the most painful possible way, a giant dog, a job she usually loves, more than enough family, and friends, she has almost everything she could ever ask for.

Except for a boyfriend.

Or a husband.

But who needs either one of those?"

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Violet Crown]

Caroline, if you like biographies, can I recommend Catherine Carswell's Life of Robert Burns? It's well-written enough to be a worthy piece of literature on its own.

[Narrow Gate Academy]

I finished my 7th book yesterday and finally got a review written this evening for A Red Herring Without Mustard by Bradley.  I'm counting it for my January birthstone book as well as the Bingo mystery square. 

 

Currently 63% of the way through The Seventh Bride  and enjoying it quite a bit.

[Caroline]

Caroline, if you like biographies, can I recommend Catherine Carswell's Life of Robert Burns? It's well-written enough to be a worthy piece of literature on its own.

I will look into that. Thanks!

[LauraBeth475]

I'm thinking of a "women authors write about women's lives" theme for February. Anyone have some favorite books that meet that description?

[idnib]

Nan, I hope your surgery goes well!

 

I didn't finish any books this week. Our family and community is going through a difficult time so things are all out of kilter.

 

I am enjoying Euphoria still, and the more I read it the more interesting it becomes. There's a love triangle, but it's also interesting to see how these 1920s anthropologists are approaching different native cultures, and their desire to capture their ways before they are wiped out or assimilated. 

 

Just when I thought it was safe to read Hawaii again because a certain anger-inducing character died, we're back in bad times with the treatment of Chinese laborers. I still love the book, even though by far my favorite part was the first 20%.

[melbotoast]

I did not make much progress on my nonfiction reads this week. Everyone has been passing around a cold so I wanted something light. I finished:

 

The Abominable Mr. Darcy - it was pretty meh, but I did finish it.

 

The Moor - This is the fourth in Laurie R. King's Mary Russell series. It was about to disappear from my kindle, so I figured I should read it. It was alright, but I will take a break before reading more in the series.

 

Today I started a reread of Northanger Abbey. It's my turn for the cold, so I wanted a comfort read.

 

Next month's selection for my IRL book club selection is Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang. I've been warned that it's a tough read. Hopefully when I get the library copy I'll be in the mood to read it!

Edited January 31, 2017 by melbotoast

[theelfqueen]

Finished Thirteen: The Apollo Flight That Failed ... currently listening to So Anyway by John Clese and reading Hidden Figures.

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[melbotoast]

I'm thinking of a "women authors write about women's lives" theme for February. Anyone have some favorite books that meet that description?

These is My Words by Nancy Turner

[Chrysalis Academy]

I'm thinking of a "women authors write about women's lives" theme for February. Anyone have some favorite books that meet that description?

 

I'm doing a re-read of The Color Purple. It certainly fits that category. I have I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings waiting,too.

 

Virginia Woolf is another one who does this so well. If you want nonfiction, there is always A Room of One's Own, but Mrs. Dalloway and To The Lighthouse are superb. I couldn't appreciate either till after I was 40, but now I find them so True.

 

I've always thought Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club was one of the best books about mothers and daughters that I have ever read.

 

Looking forward to hearing other suggestions as well.

[Robin M]

Thank you!!  And, one more question - is there a page count minimum, like for Bingo, or is it more flexible - Sergio Y, for example, is a bit under 200 pages -  - I think I can count that for birthstone?  how about A-Z?

No specific page count minimum on A to Z.  I'm going to leave that up to you to decide.  As I've said on the blog - a good rule of thumb to go by "is there some complexity to the story or is it too simple?" If it's too simple, then doesn't count.  

[wendy not in HI]

This week I finished "Happier at Home"  by Gretchen Rubin.  I didn't necessarily love the book, but it makes me want to do a little better job in the small things that make a home happy, you know?  So, last week I made the effort to go out and sing with dh when he had his guitar out, and I made sure dd was able to go with me on an outing. I'm making sure to keep up the tuck-in times, even though my little kids are getting big, it's still important. Mindful Mom-ing?

 

I'm currently reading Stars Above by Marissa Meyer.  It is a collection of short stories from before the Cinder series.  It's a fun read for a cold day, and my dd highly recommended it.

 

And I just started The Charming Quirks of Others by Alexander McCall Smith.  It took me several pages to remember that I have read it before...  Again, easy, happy reading to get me through the long winter!

 

eta - the Green Man knit pattern is just adorable!!  I love it!

Edited January 31, 2017 by wendy not in HI

[Stacia]

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Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[Matryoshka]

No specific page count minimum on A to Z.  I'm going to leave that up to you to decide.  As I've said on the blog - a good rule of thumb to go by "is there some complexity to the story or is it too simple?" If it's too simple, then doesn't count.  

 

Yay.  So one more thing...  anyone have suggestions for X?  Any chance there's some kind of cheat for X... or can one only do this challenge a few times?  I mean, there can only be so many books about Xanadu or written by Xavier... or ...?  Wouldn't one run out (or at least end up reading some reaaaly weird stuff?)

Edited January 31, 2017 by Matryoshka

[Stacia]

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Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia