Book a Week 2017 - BW14: Artistic April

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday and welcome to  week 14 in our 2017 adventurous prime reading year. Greetings to all our readers and those following our progress. Mister Linky is available weekly on 52 Books in 52 Weeks  to share a link to your book reviews.

 

 

We are saying a fond farewell to March and an enthusiastic hello to Artistic April.  Not only is it National Poetry Month, it is also a time to celebrate Easter as well as Autism Awareness, and  Earth Day.  We have a variety of daily celebrations including April fool's, Children's book day, School Librarian day, national Tartan day and Scrabble day.  Plus a few wacky days such as Sorry Charlie, No housework day, Walk Around things, and National cheeseball day.

 

The Birthstone of the month is Diamond. You may choose to spell out the word, reading one book per letter or read a book with the name or the colors of the stone in the title.  Or perhaps find an author whose name is Diamond.  You may decide to find a book set in the time period where the birthstone was discovered or surrounding the myth and lore or set in countries where the birthstone is currently found.

 

Diamonds were first discovered during 4th century in India's rivers and streams and believed to be the only source for diamonds and traded along the Silk road between India and China.  Then gold miners discovered diamonds in Brazil in the 1700's and dominated the market until the 1800's when a large deposit of diamonds was found along the Orange River in Africa.  Presently, diamonds are mined in Australia, Russia, China, Africa, parts of South America and Canada.  They are a symbol of love, strength, clarity and truth and believed to have metaphysical properties of energy and vision.

 

We are going to follow the path of the diamonds so our armchair travels are taking us east of the Prime Meridian. You have a wide variety to choose from this month as you travel the trail of diamonds from Antwerp to Argyle. Follow the Silk Road, explore Africa more in depth and delve into the history of conflict diamonds,  visit Australia, or dive into historical fiction set in Russia. Have fun following rabbit trails.

 

Happy reading!

 

***************************************

 

The Story of Western Science – Chapter 9

 

**************************************

 

What are you reading this week?

 

 

Link to week 13 

[Robin M]

Thanks again to Jane and Amy for all their assistance while I was off.  I haven't finished aquamarine yet and U A R N to finish.  I seemed to be in a bit of a w mode with Jamie Beck's Worth the Wait, Robyn Carr's What We Find and Michael Ridpath's Iceland mystery Where the Shadows Lie.   Finished it all off with James Rollin's Seventh Plague. On my plate today is Jeaniene Frost's Up From the Grave.

 

 

Edited April 2, 2017 by Robin M

[Ali in OR]

Finished Andrea Host's In Arcadia this week which is the fifth in her Touchstone trilogy. Not too much plot--just a gentle love story. I'll count it as my space read for Bingo since it takes place on another planet. I've started the next John Pickett mystery, Too Hot to Handel. Both of these were part of my kindle buying spree with my birthday Amazon gift card. I have Hidden Figures here--we'll see if I get to that.

 

Finished my math class. Next up this quarter is a public speaking class (no math classes were available in my limited available time slots). This is all to collect units to renew my teaching credential. Lots of track meets and ballet recitals too and other stuff to keep life pretty busy. And I planned out the last couple months of my homeschool teaching career yesterday. I'm not sad at all--wouldn't have done it any other way, but ready to move on. I'm sure I'll get a little more sentimental in June (but not too much).

[Chrysalis Academy]

Cleaning up my book stack, I finished 4 things yesterday: Henry IV Part 2, The Tale of Paradise Lost (a retelling of the Milton poem), The Complete Guide to Fasting, and Exit West, a new novel by Mohsin Hamid. That was an unexpected pleasure. I had been expecting something more sci-fi/fantasy/dystopian, but that really wasn't what it was like at all, although it did have a magical realism element. The writing was beautiful; it was a meandering philosophical reverie about what it means to be human and what makes life worthwhile. A few quotes to give you a flavor:

 

"but that is the way of things, with cities as with life, for one moment we are pottering about our errands as usual and the next we are dying, and our eternally impending ending does not put a stop to our transient beginnings and middles until the instant when it does."

"Saeed and Nadia knew what the buildup to conflict felt like, and so the feeling that hung over London in those days was not new to them, and they faced it not with bravery, exactly, and not with panic either, not mostly, but instead with a resignation shot through with moments of tension, with tension ebbing and flowing, and when the tension receded there was calm, the calm that is called the calm before the storm, but is in reality the foundation of a human life, waiting there for us between the steps of our march to our mortality, when we are compelled to pause and not act but be."

"It has been said that depression is a failure to imagine a plausible desirable future for oneself . . . the apocalypse appeared to have arrived and yet it was not apocalyptic, which is to say that while the changes were jarring they were not the end, and life went on, and people found things to do and ways to be and people to be with, and plausible desirable futures began to emerge, unimaginable previously, but not unimaginable now, and the result was something not unlike relief."

 

Currently I'm working on the audio of Utopia (it's just as tedious in the audio version), Epitaph for Three Women, a Jean Plaidy historical fiction about the time period just after the first set of Henry plays but just before the Wars of the Roses began, and Spaceman of Bohemia, a new novel by a Czech-American author (written in English) that would work for either the Eastern Europe or the Outer Space bingo square.

Edited April 3, 2017 by Chrysalis Academy

[Jane in NC]

This week I read a classic recently reissued by the NYRB:  Grand Hotel by Vicki Baum, translated from the German by Basil Creighton and Margot Bettaur Dembo.  This novel took the world by storm in 1929, was made into a play in Berlin the same year and into a Hollywood film with Garbo and the Barrymores in 1932, a film that won the Academy Award for best picture.

 

Grand Hotel offers a glimpse into the Weimar Republic but it ultimately offers far more as we see humanity entering the Grand Hotel through its revolving door. The microcosm of rich, poor and the pretenders reflects on the modern world.  Its status is a classic is well deserved.

 

And I know that one of you BaWers will want this. Let me know.

 

As a footnote, I'd like to add that Baum and her family came to Hollywood to participate in the novel's transition to the big screen.  Her timing was excellent as her works would eventually be banned by the Third Reich.  Baum was Jewish.  In 1938 she became a US citizen.

 

[Kareni]

A one day only currently free book for Kindle readers ~

 

The Clue by Carolyn Wells

 

About the Author

Carolyn Wells, June 18, 1862 - March 26, 1942 was an American writer and poet. She was best known for her books of poetry and humor until around 1910 she read one of Anna Katherine Green’s mysteries and took up the genre. Many of her mysteries featured the detective Fleming Stone. She was married to Hadwin Houghton, heir to the Houghton-Mifflin publishing company. She was a collector of poetry by other authors, and, upon her death, she bequeathed her collection of the works of Walt Witman to the Library of Congress.

 

 

 

"An heiress has been murdered, and only Fleming Stone can see the vital evidence

Madeleine Van Norman is the most eligible young woman in the state, a beautiful young lady who is soon to come into her fortune. From her countless suitors, she makes a peculiar choice, agreeing to marry a stuffy man who loves someone else. On the eve of the wedding, Madeleine shuts herself away in a locked room to think about what she is about to do—and in the morning, she is found gruesomely murdered.

Every member of the household is a suspect, but no one understands how the killer could have slipped through the locked doors of Madeleine’s bedroom. As the town whirls into a tailspin of suspicion and fear, it falls to the brilliant detective Fleming Stone to pick out the person who stabbed Madeleine to death—a baffling mystery that hinges on the discovery of a single, all-important clue."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Loesje22000]

I finished 'The Lollipop Shoes' from Joanne Harris #2 in the Chocolat serie.

I have never read #1 but saw the movie based on #1 several times.

I got disappointed.

I liked the writing style though, but disliked the plot (2 modern 'witches' 'fighting' about the magical talents of a child)

 

I am reading 'Portrait of a Lady' from Henry James now.

[Narrow Gate Academy]

I finally got my hands on Etched in Bone Friday and declared an afternoon holiday. I did pause long enough to start the spaghetti cooking for dinner (after all, hungry kids interrupt more often), but otherwise I read start to finish.😸

In total I finished four books this week.

 

Long term reads

📚ESV Bible - finished First Samuel and am about a third of the way through Second Samuel

📚The History of the Ancient World - covered chapters 27-29 on the beginning of Egypt's New Kingdom and the Mitanni kingdom in the upper fertile crescent area

📚From the Beast to the Blond - I stepped up my pace to four chapters reading 9 through 12 this week in order to finish the book before it has to be returned. This means I've finished part one and am on to the stories. :party:

 

Finished this week (Books 30-33)

📚Etched in Bone by Bishop - a wonderful, amazing 5 star ending to the series. I will most likely read it a second time this month before returning it to the library. I love the Others.😻 (This is also my bingo sci-fi square.)

📚The Hidden Oracle by Riordan - His Greek mythology based books are my favorite, so I did a one day listening marathon to finish before Overdrive reclaimed my audiobook.

📚The Mystery of the Blue Train by Christie - Another great Hercules Poirot mystery that was also my March gemstone read

📚The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Kondo - I love her folding method. I've only cleared a few subcategories of my clothes so far, but just clothes may take a few months with the outgrown kids items I need to go through as well.

 

Currently Reading

📚The Invisible Library by Cogman - I set this aside last week, but I'm hoping to finish this week. I find it entertaining but not riveting.

📚The Golem and the Jinni by Wecker - This is my next audiobook selection, and one of many books I've marked to-read after seeing it mentioned in this board.

📚The Obesity Code by Fung - my next nonfiction read and another board discovered book

 

I have a few physical books nearing their loan limits, am waiting on the new Mercy Thompson book, and absolutely did not need to go peruse the new books now available through Prime but did anyway and added to my Kindle waiting stack as well. So many books, so little time.😜

[mumto2]

Spaceman of Bohemia, a new novel by a Czech-American author (written in English) that would work for either the Eastern Europe or the Outer Space bingo square.[/color][/font]

I've been looking at that book for the very same categories! I will be waiting to hear what you think about it.

 

Currently reading Bone Box by Faye Kellerman. It's the 31st, I think, in her Peter Decker series. So far it's good!

[Stacia]

.

Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[Negin]

I read Flirting with French: How a Language Charmed Me, Seduced Me, and Nearly Broke My Heart - 4 Stars - To me, French is the most beautiful language ever. I often laugh that if someone wants to say that they hate you in French, it sounds ever so romantic and sweet, whereas in some other languages (I can think of two), when they want to say that they love you, it sounds quite the opposite ;D!

 

Mr. Alexander describes the challenges of becoming fluent in a foreign language in one’s fifties. I can relate to that. Growing up and through most of college, French was a walk in the park for me. It only got a bit tough for me when we started studying French Literature.

 

I’ve recently started brushing up on it after more than twenty-five years. I’m in my late forties and yes, sadly, I am finding it more and more difficult to retain it the way I used to. It’s really annoying actually, since it was so easy before! Mr. Alexander describes all the things he tries: classes, software, bilingual books, a French pen pal via email, even two weeks at ans immersion retreat in Provence. 

 

He not only wants to learn French, he wants to be French. One of my favorite descriptions:

 

“Sitting at the counter of an astoundingly good restaurant alongside an elderly Frenchman and his white miniature poodle, for whom he has ordered a bifteck, rare. The server, who speaks no English, is practically begging me to order an off-the-menu special, which, as far as I can make out with my mostly forgotten high school French, is either young milk-fed pig or young pig marinated in milk, or both. The server prevails, and it is, as he knew it would be, the best meal I have ever eaten.â€

 

All in all, this was a fun and delightful read. If you’ve studied French or if you’re into French culture, you may like this entertaining memoir. You may also like it if you’re interested in learning languages overall. 

 

 

MY RATING SYSTEM

5 Stars

Fantastic, couldn't put it down

4 Stars

Really Good

3 Stars

Enjoyable

2 Stars

Just Okay – nothing to write home about

1 Star

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

Edited April 2, 2017 by Negin

[aggieamy]

I finished a book that it a HIGHLY RECOMMEND for the writing gals on this thread.

 

2k to 10k by Rachel Aaron. It's a book on writing faster, outlining, and editing. I read it on the kindle but it's a short book - about 100 pages. Her information is straight forward and seems like a great summary of about 15 other writing books I"ve read. 

 

 

[Lori D.]

Just finished a poorly-written mystery (Last Dance by Lonna Enox) only because it was given to me, and I felt obligated to read it. ;) It is of mediocre, "first-completed-fan-fiction" type of quality, so avoid. I'm pretty sure dear friend only passed this one on because we both like mysteries, and this one is set in the SW of the US, in an area she and I both know. Alas, familiar setting can't redeem a poorly-executed mystery...

 

To make up for that disappointment, I've started another book from the same friend, which is rich and subtle in the writing, and I'm just now realizing is the first of a mystery series: The Return of Captain John Emmett (by Elizabeth Speller), first in the Laurence Bartram mystery series. Thoroughly enjoying the writing, the post-WW1 setting, and the slow build up of the world. I'm 9 chapters into the 39-chapter novel, so I'm hoping this one holds up as strongly as it has started.

 

Also finishing up a re-read of The Portrait of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde) today, as I am doing that alongside several students in my film analysis class, as they will be writing essays comparing the novel and the film. I find Wilde to be both funny and maddening. He has lovely descriptive writing, and turns a witty and amusing phrase quite frequently. But his worldview is so childish, unrealistic, and selfish that it does make me want to administer what DS#1 calls "a dope-slap of reality".  :tongue_smilie: I can't help but feel that removing a wealthy person of privilege (Wilde, or his main character of Dorian Gray) from that bored, entertainment-focused, self-focused social class and placing them into a lower-middle or poverty social class where they would have to work their behinds off simply to earn that day's bread would have done them a world of good.  :laugh:

 

However, other than the big digression in chapter 11 which is a thinly-veiled pontificating about Wilde's art philosophies of Aestheticism and Decadence (forms of hedonism), Dorian Gray is a ripping good Victorian yarn. :)

Edited April 3, 2017 by Lori D.

[Ali in OR]

Okay, Spaceman of Bohemia and Midnight Riot are now officially on hold at the library. Best to read this thread with a library tab open. Is anyone else here secretly glad when there are already a couple of people in the hold line ahead of you because you really have enough to read at the moment? Hopefully they don't come available at the same time!

 

[Mothersweets]

I finished three books this week:

 

The Fairy Tale Girl by Susan Branch. Loved this and have the next one on order from the library.https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26158041-the-fairy-tale-girl

 

The Year of No Sugar by Eve O. Schaub. Interesting but got somewhat tedious about halfway through. I think the author took her no-sugar thing to extremes - refusing bread because of the teaspoon of sugar in the entire loaf - and purposefully made it hard so she would have more to write about.https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21802617-year-of-no-sugar

 

Queen of Hearts (Her Royal Spyness #8) by Rhys Bowen. Love Georgiana and the mystery was ok. She needs to either get with Darcy or look for greener pastures but hey, at least she is getting 3 squares a day now. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22911051-queen-of-hearts

 

 

[Negin]

I finished three books this week:

 

The Fairy Tale Girl by Susan Branch. Loved this and have the next one on order from the library.https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26158041-the-fairy-tale-girl

I'm happy to hear that you liked it. Your profile picture is always gorgeous and it makes sense that you'd like it. :)

[Chrysalis Academy]

I've been looking at that book for the very same categories! I will be waiting to hear what you think about it.

 

 

So far, Spaceman of Bohemia is weird. Two chapters down, and the jury's still out.

[mumto2]

I finally got my hands on Etched in Bone Friday and declared an afternoon holiday. I did pause long enough to start the spaghetti cooking for dinner (after all, hungry kids interrupt more often), but otherwise I read start to finish.😸

ished this week[/b] (Books 30-33)

📚Etched in Bone by Bishop - a wonderful, amazing 5 star ending to the series. I will most likely read it a second time this month before returning it to the library. I love the Others.😻 (This is also my bingo sci-fi square.)

📚The Hidden Oracle by Riordan - His Greek mythology based books are my favorite, so I did a one day listening marathon to finish before Overdrive reclaimed my audiobook.

 

📚The Invisible Library by Cogman - I set this aside last week, but I'm hoping to finish this week. I find it entertaining but not riveting.

📚The Golem and the Jinni by Wecker - This is my next audiobook selection, and one of many books I've marked to-read after seeing it mentioned in this board.

📚The Obesity Code by Fung - my next nonfiction read and another board discovered book

I have a few physical books nearing their loan limits, am waiting on the new Mercy Thompson book, and absolutely did not need to go peruse the new books now available through Prime but did anyway and added to my Kindle waiting stack as well. So many books, so little time.😜

 

When I looked at Anne Bishop's website it said Etched in Bone might not be the last...... let's hope it isn't! :)

 

The last Invisible Library book appeared in my Overdrive yesterday. I'll be reading it soon.

 

 

Okay, Spaceman of Bohemia and Midnight Riot are now officially on hold at the library. Best to read this thread with a library tab open. Is anyone else here secretly glad when there are already a couple of people in the hold line ahead of you because you really have enough to read at the moment? Hopefully they don't come available at the same time!

I always read Sunday posts with library tabs open!

 

 

Stacia, So glad you enjoyed Midnight Riot. :)

[Narrow Gate Academy]

Currently I'm working on the audio of Utopia (it's just as tedious in the audio version), Epitaph for Three Women, a Jean Plaidy historical fiction about the time period just after the Henry plays but just before the Wars of the Roses began, and Spaceman of Bohemia, a new novel by a Czech-American author (written in English) that would work for either the Eastern Europe or the Outer Space bingo square.

 

 

I've been looking for something to fill that Eastern Europe square as well. Thanks! 

 

Finished Ben Aaronovitch's Midnight Riot, the first book in the Peter Grant/Rivers of London series. (The book series is British & the name of the first book in the UK is Rivers of London. I don't know why they change titles for the US market, but they do.) Thanks, mumto2 & Jenn.I really enjoyed this one. It's a supernatural police procedural. I liked the various bits of history that were woven into the storyline (rivers of London, Punch & Judy history, etc...), as well as the mystery at the core of it. Very well-written & interesting with likeable characters & an occasional bit of humor thrown in. Even though I'm not a series reader, I will plan to read more in this series. Recommended.If you like Harry Potter &/or police procedural/mystery type books, this would be right up your alley.  P.S. The author has written some episodes of Dr. Who. In case that would sway you too....

Mystery and Harry Potter peeked my interest, but to throw in Doctor Who as well... (I'm currently in the last episode of season 2 through Amazon Prime.) So much for my resolution not to place any more holds.😋 

 

Okay, Spaceman of Bohemia and Midnight Riot are now officially on hold at the library. Best to read this thread with a library tab open. Is anyone else here secretly glad when there are already a couple of people in the hold line ahead of you because you really have enough to read at the moment? Hopefully they don't come available at the same time!

An open library tab is definitely a must. I put the same two on hold. I was happy to see Spaceman of Bohemia would take 3-4 weeks. I had told myself that anything without a waiting line would go on my wish list instead until I catch up with my current stack, but alas Stacia's post was too tempting to pass up. :drool: (Maybe I can manage a resolution of not picking up new holds until next Saturday.)

[Angel]

 

My reading buddy for this leg of our trip was the audio version of the first Wheel of Time book, Eye of the World. It is the perfect book for such travel as I slept through half of it but missed nothing! High praise indeed for the book, but my boy in Japan has been begging me to read the series so we can talk about it. He says he has never equally loved and hated any other books, and I can see why. Great world building, basic fantasy epic hero trope, a dark and mysterious power. There are strong female characters who are unfortunately portrayed as stubborn and shrewish.  What's not to love and hate?

 

 

Welcome home Jenn!  I've been reading Robert Jordan since the 90's, so I couldn't let this pass  :P  and I just couldn't agree  :DThere are plenty of strong female characters throughout the series portrayed with a wide range of personalities.  Not all are stubborn and shrewish. I was thinking of who you've met in the first book.  Moiraine is neither.  And she is a large part of the first book.  Nynaeve, um, yeah she is pretty stubborn, and  shrewish.  Egwene is just  a young girl in the first book, growing up trying to imitate one of her female mentors. I'm trying to think of who else you meet in the first book.  Elayne is the daughter of a queen.  I guess I only see Nynaeve as the stubborn/shrewish one. So I'm really interested in your statement ;)   In fact, one of the things that annoyed me throughout the whole entire series is how the women put the men down.   I'm pretty sure Jordan was trying to funny there but that was grating on my nerves.  It's cool that you are reading them for your boy.  I love some of the books, really disliked a few.  Will you continue on with the series?  Can't wait to see pictures of your trip!

[Mothersweets]

I'm happy to hear that you liked it. Your profile picture is always gorgeous and it makes sense that you'd like it. :)

 

Awww, thanks  :blushing:  

 

Negin, have you read all three?

[Negin]

Awww, thanks  :blushing:  

 

Negin, have you read all three?

Laura, yes, but as with most series, I spaced them out slightly. I read them out of order - the last one first, since that was the one that was first published. I will probably end up re-reading them in the future. 

[Matryoshka]

I finished two books last week, and one this morning (I was almost done!) so I'll include it. :)

 

33. Wide Sargasso Sea - this was for the Aquamarine birthstone challenge.  I was hoping I'd really like this; I tend to enjoy books written about a story I already know from a different point of view, and this is a really well-known one.  Left me kind of meh, though, to be honest.  Glad it was short. 2 stars.

 

34. The Handmaid's Tale - for dystopian bingo square.  Have been meaning to read this forever - since I saw the last movie (miniseries?) they made of it.  This one I did really like. 5 stars.

 

35. Kühl graut der morgen by Kristín Marja Baldursdóttir (translated from the Icelandic).  This apparently hasn't been translated into English, and the German title doesn't translate well, but if I mesh the meanings of the Icelandic, German and Danish titles, I'd say a good translation for the title would be The Cool Breath of Morning.  I found this when looking at Icelandic mysteries.  This is not a mystery, or at least it doesn't appear to be one at all, although there is a twist at the end.  It's told all stream of consciousness in someone's head (including random asides as her thoughts get sidetracked).  At first I wasn't sure I was going to like it, but in the end I really did.  Thórsteina is an Icelandic high school English teacher with a really high opinion of herself and a very ordered existence (lists of what to do each day with times, planning clothes a week in advance - type A+).  She's divorced, lives alone, spends all her summers in France with her French lover and where she also buys all her clothes and likes to give 8 course French meals to her four fellow-teacher girlfriends.  Her favorite thing to do is read foreign language dictionaries - she has a whole collection. A new young male math teacher (about 17 years younger than she) starts and sets some things in motion.  This did not go at all the direction I thought it would.  There was some interesting foreshadowing.  I guess can only recommend it if you read German or Danish and don't mind a story that takes its time getting there. ;)  But I ended up really enjoying it.  4 stars.

 

Currently reading:

 

- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (audio). - for Debut Author bingo square.  Enjoying this one so far.  Almost wish we could get more on each generation before jumping to the next (but then it would be huuuge... )

 

- Evicted by Matthew Desmond (ebook) - for Finance bingo square. Very compelling.   

 

 

Still reading:   :toetap05:

 

Beast to the Blonde - read the 3 Queen of Sheba chapters, so I think I'm caught up.  I hope it picks up in the second half where it talks about the stories themselves.  I'm kind of over the female narrator angle.

 

Exiles of Erin - making consistent progress.  It will end someday....

 

 

Coming up, my sci fi book club picked Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer and Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky, so I'll be reading both of those this month.  I was hoping for Station Eleven or Too Like the LIghtning or Spaceman of Bohemia (though Rose's latest update has me wondering...), but hopefully I'll be able to talk them into those later this year. :)  For birthstone Diamond, I think I'll read the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency; my BIL lent it to me and it's set in Botswana, where the world's largest diamond mine is located.  I'd like to get to something else Spanish, maybe Blindness by Saramago (I have it in Spanish) or Ficciones by Borges.  Looks like a whole bunch more Overdrive books that I've had on hold for.ever. might suddenly come in too close together, so I might have to scramble there. The next Erlendur mystery came in, too... more Iceland?

 

And now I'm interested in reading the Grand Hotel book Jane mentioned, but of course I need to hunt it down in German. :D  Where apparently it is titled People in the Hotel.  I can see why they didn't translate it as that!  But I can't think of that title without thinking of the Spanish TV miniseries by the same name (Grand Hotel, not the boring German title).  Did anyone else catch that on Netflix?  I was addicted, and then it got taken off Netflix before I was done!  Whhhhyyyyy!!  :crying:

 

ETA: And welcome back Robin, so good to have you back!  Glad you had a great time away!

 

ETA2: Just realized I totally misnumbered my books and fixed it.  I'm up to 35?

Edited April 2, 2017 by Matryoshka

[Butter]

I finished reading The Ember Gods by Andrea Pearson to the boys on Friday. That's the second Key of Kilenya book. There was a very unexpected surprise in that one. We all loved it as much as the first book.

 

I am currently reading A Man Called Intrepid and Wanderlust (second Edgewood book).

[Violet Crown]

Hello ladies! Thank you for the many expressions of sympathy last week regarding Wee Girl's illness. Excitingly, everyone in the house came down with it, falling like dominoes, and it was just as severe for everyone else. Great Girl immured herself in her room and washed her hands compulsively but it only postponed the inevitable. Now we are quite done with gastrointestinal frolics and even Great Girl has risen from her death bed, like Easter come early. Not that we quit homeschooling! Middle Girl watched the first several episodes of The World At War - and Wee Girl and I watched 36 episodes of Sarah and Duck.

 

Meanwhile I finished Volume 4 of Hakluyt's Voyages - halfway through my first book of 2017! - and the posthumously published collection of A. E. Housman's poems, More Poems. Expectedly, they were mostly about youth, death, and Kent. His brother was left with the instructions to choose from Housman's unpublished poems those that were better than the average of his published work, and to destroy the rest: quite sensibly, his brother published nearly all the completed work. So there is varying quality here.

 

Then I tried, for the Dystopia bingo square, Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast trilogy, on dh's recommendation. It's much as if Dickens had written a dystopic novel. It was intriguing, and well-written, but ultimately too cartoonish for me and I abandoned it a hundred pages in, and took up some Conrad instead.

[Violet Crown]

Jane, if you don't have a taker for Grand Hotel....

[mumto2]

I finished three books this week:

 

The Fairy Tale Girl by Susan Branch. Loved this and have the next one on order from the library.https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26158041-the-fairy-tale-girl

 

The Year of No Sugar by Eve O. Schaub. Interesting but got somewhat tedious about halfway through. I think the author took her no-sugar thing to extremes - refusing bread because of the teaspoon of sugar in the entire loaf - and purposefully made it hard so she would have more to write about.https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21802617-year-of-no-sugar

 

Queen of Hearts (Her Royal Spyness #8) by Rhys Bowen. Love Georgiana and the mystery was ok. She needs to either get with Darcy or look for greener pastures but hey, at least she is getting 3 squares a day now. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22911051-queen-of-hearts

  

Awww, thanks  :blushing:  

 

Negin, have you read all three?

  

Laura, yes, but as with most series, I spaced them out slightly. I read them out of order - the last one first, since that was the one that was first published. I will probably end up re-reading them in the future.

 

 

 

So I have put a hold on The Fairy Tale Girl....

 

 

Hello ladies! Thank you for the many expressions of sympathy last week regarding Wee Girl's illness. Excitingly, everyone in the house came down with it, falling like dominoes, and it was just as severe for everyone else. Great Girl immured herself in her room and washed her hands compulsively but it only postponed the inevitable. Now we are quite done with gastrointestinal frolics and even Great Girl has risen from her death bed, like Easter come early. Not that we quit homeschooling! Middle Girl watched the first several episodes of The World At War - and Wee Girl and I watched 36 episodes of Sarah and Duck.

 

Meanwhile I finished Volume 4 of Hakluyt's Voyages - halfway through my first book of 2017! - and the posthumously published collection of A. E. Housman's poems, More Poems. Expectedly, they were mostly about youth, death, and Kent. His brother was left with the instructions to choose from Housman's unpublished poems those that were better than the average of his published work, and to destroy the rest: quite sensibly, his brother published nearly all the completed work. So there is varying quality here.

 

Then I tried, for the Dystopia bingo square, Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast trilogy, on dh's recommendation. It's much as if Dickens had written a dystopic novel. It was intriguing, and well-written, but ultimately too cartoonish for me and I abandoned it a hundred pages in, and took up some Conrad instead.

Last year my dd banned the sick people (the rest of us) from one of the bathrooms in hopes of staying healthy. It didn't work for her either! ;) Glad you are all healthy now.

 

I made it roughly that for in Gormenghast a few years ago. I blamed not finishing it on teeny tiny print. I keep think I will read it on my Kindle.

[Jane in NC]

 

And now I'm interested in reading the Grand Hotel book Jane mentioned, but of course I need to hunt it down in German. :D  Where apparently it is titled People in the Hotel.  I can see why they didn't translate it as that!  But I can't think of that title without thinking of the Spanish TV miniseries by the same name (Grand Hotel, not the boring German title).  Did anyone else catch that on Netflix?  I was addicted, and then it got taken off Netflix before I was done!  Whhhhyyyyy!!  :crying:

 

 

 

Jane, if you don't have a taker for Grand Hotel....

 

Hah!  When I finished reading Grand Hotel, I had two thoughts:  Matryoshka should read this in German and VC needs this book. 

 

Excellent how you two read my mind!

[Matryoshka]

I made it roughly that for in Gormenghast a few years ago. I blamed not finishing it on teeny tiny print. I keep think I will read it on my Kindle.

 

I watched a few episodes of the Gormenghast series that aired on PBS.  That was one bizarro experience (and I have a really, really, high tolerance for bizarro).  Kinda put me off ever wanting to read the books.

[Violet Crown]

Hah!  When I finished reading Grand Hotel, I had two thoughts:  Matryoshka should read this in German and VC needs this book. 

 

Excellent how you two read my mind!

:D

 

  

I watched a few episodes of the Gormenghast series that aired on PBS.  That was one bizarro experience (and I have a really, really, high tolerance for bizarro).  Kinda put me off ever wanting to read the books.

Dh assures me that it's the third book - Titus Alone - that's really bizarre. I felt I could live without finding out what that meant.

[ErinE]

Happy April all! Spring has sprung for me and I guess Winter is coming for some of you. Can you tell I'm excited about the new trailer for Game of Thrones? I don't think I can stand the wait until July. If you haven't seen it, there's nothing scary in the trailer, just great music and of course, thrones.
 

 
I had a good week. Switching things up has really invigorated my brain. Stacia, you were in my thoughts while I was reading this week. I'm currently working on Super Extra Grande, a science fiction novel written by Cuban writer Yoss, about a veterinarian specializing in alien species. It opens with him exploring the gastro-intestinal cavity of a giant worm. No idea if you'd like it, but at the halfway point, I can say it's bizarre.
 
Books read last week:

• The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett. Fantasy. A failed wizard finds himself caught up in the hysteria around an impending cosmic disaster. Have you ever read a passage in a book that just raises joy in your heart? You can't suppress a smile and you're so very grateful to the author for bringing such happiness. That's this book. I spent the week reflecting on what makes Pratchett work for me and I came to a conclusion: his characters make mistakes, they mess up, they aren't brilliant. They're sometimes incompetent, they're sometimes over-confident. But in each book, the main character looks at himself (or herself) and notes there's a choice. To do the right thing, even though it's hard, or let an injustice or evil continue to stand. Pratchett writes so naturally and has such a lovely turn of phrase that it doesn't feel forced. And the series is about a flat world resting on the back of four elephants riding on the shell of a giant space turtle. I adored this book and the author. 

 

Great A'Tuin, the star turtle, shell frosted with frozen methane, pitted with meteor craters, and scoured with asteroidal dust. Great A'Tuin, with eyes like ancient seas and a brain the size of a continent through which thoughts moved like glittering glaciers. Great A'Tuin of the great slow sad flippers and star-polished carapace, labouring through the galactic night under the weight of the Disc.

• Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology by Johnjoe McFadden and Jim Al-Khalili. Science-Biology. A look at recent developments in the study of biology and quantum mechanics. This was a very good book if you're interested in both subjects. The authors are able to summarize the quirks of quantum mechanics in an approachable way as well as telling you, "This is weird, accept the weirdness, and let's explain what happens because of it." It doesn't get into the various elementary particles though protons and electrons end up doing strange things. The authors walk through suspected examples of quantum mechanics in every-day life: the migration of birds, our sense of smell, energy production by chlorophyll, copying and mutation of DNA.
• Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. Historical fiction-African diaspora. A family is torn apart by slavery and the descendants live on two continents through 300+ years. I praised this book in last week's thread, so I'll just repeat my words here. "What an amazing book. If you have it on your TBR list, I highly recommend bumping it up. Be warned it's not a single character arc. It covers 300+ years and each time period is a new character. But within a few paragraphs you can determine the relationships and settle into the story. Gyasi doesn't look away from the harsh realities of the African diaspora, but she gives it a "corner of the eye" treatment. You see what's happening without too much harshness. A fantastic book." 

I'd hoped to finish William Tecumseh Sherman's biography for this week's summary, but no luck. Ulysses Grant, recently named head of the Union army, and he have planned out the Civil War's final strategy and Sherman's beginning his "March to the Sea". I'm still working on The Red Badge of Courage, which calls to mind Hemingway's writing (who was influenced by Crane), so not my favorite style. I also have Exoplanets, an exploration of planetary possibilities. And next up from Pratchett, Soul Music. Also working on the poetry in In Praise of Defeat, a book I'm finding to be a tough emotional read.

 

Since my current library stack was dwindling, I placed a number of requests. When I approached the front desk to get them, the librarian said with a note of surprise, "You have fourteen books on the shelf. Do you want them all?"

 

Of course I want them all. What a question.

 

So I have a big stack of books to work through. Happy dance!

Edited April 3, 2017 by ErinE

[Just Robyn]

Okay, I wanted to make sure to post this week since I've missed a couple weeks. Books I have finished:

 

Witches, Midwives and Nurses by Barbara Ehrenreich. This is short (the Kindle book says 114 pages, but it felt much shorter) and informative. It argues that women were pushed out of the medical field by men at a time when women healers provided 1.) the only care many people could afford and 2.) care based on more scientific methods than that which the educated doctors were offering, then welcomed back in as passive, obedient assistants.

 

Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson. This book is written in an invented Creole dialect (made by combining two real Creoles), and that was good. I also liked learning about Carnival through the novel, which I had not previously heard of, but there were weaknesses in both plot and characterization, so I might try the author again sometime, but I don't really recommend this book.

 

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman. This was easy and fun, not the best prose, but could be listened to with children, imo.

 

The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I mostly loved this play and was caught up in the energy of it. I did not mind that the protagonist is violent and quick to anger, but I did mind that his wife blames herself for his infidelity, even if it is just for the sake of easing his mind, because I did not feel like I saw enough of her to understand her reasoning and sympathize with her. My eldest son is reading this too, and we will see a local performance on Saturday. 

 

The Pigman by Paul Zindel. I know that I read this in ninth grade, but couldn't remember anything about it other than that I liked it. Two of my children have read it and told me a little about it, and I finally re-read it. I still liked it; it felt a little like Catcher in the Rye. (The word "phonies" was used.) Definitely more realistic than the other YA novels I have read this year (The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and A List of Cages by Robin Roe).

 

Currently Reading:

 

From the Beast to the Blonde chapters 10 and 11 

 

Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales

 

Transformations by Anne Sexton (poetry based on Grimm's fairy tales)

 

Great Expectations

[Stacia]

.

Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[6packofun]

I finished a book that it a HIGHLY RECOMMEND for the writing gals on this thread.

 

2k to 10k by Rachel Aaron. It's a book on writing faster, outlining, and editing. I read it on the kindle but it's a short book - about 100 pages. Her information is straight forward and seems like a great summary of about 15 other writing books I"ve read. 

 

Thanks!  My dd17 is doing Camp NaNoWriMo right now so she might love this.

[Kareni]

Welcome back, Robin!

 

Glad to hear that your family has recovered Violet Crown.

 

And add me to the crowd that is looking forward to your pictures, Jenn.

**

 

I've been re-reading a series of science fiction romances by Michelle Diener and am pages from the end of the third and final book.  I continue to like the first one best; however, all three have been fun to revisit.

 

Dark Horse (Class 5 Series Book 1) -- my favorite

 

Dark Deeds (Class 5 Series Book 2)

 

Dark Minds (Class 5 Series Book 3)

 

Regards,

Kareni

[6packofun]

I just finished a tiny "book" of two essays/speeches by Dorthy Sayers, Are Women Human?  I love it.  Here is a treat for you...

 

Excerpted from “Are Women Human?†an address given by Dorothy Sayers to a Women’s Society in 1938.

 

Let me give one simple illustration of the difference between the right and the wrong kind of feminism.  Let us take this terrible business – so distressing to the minds of bishops – of the women who go about in trousers.  We are asked: “Why do you want to go about in trousers? They are extremely unbecoming to most of you. You only do it to copy the men.† To this we may very properly reply: “It is true that they are unbecoming. Even on men they are remarkably unattractive. But, as you men have discovered for yourselves, they are comfortable, they do not get in the way of one’s activities like skirts and they protect the wearer from draughts about the ankles. As a human being, I like comfort and dislike draughts. If the trousers do not attract you, so much the worse; for the moment I do not want to attract you. I want to enjoy myself as a human being, and why not? As for copying you, certainly you thought of trousers first and to that extent we must copy you. But we are not such abandoned copy-cats as to attach these useful garments to our bodies with braces. There we draw the line. These machines of leather and elastic are unnecessary and unsuited to the female form. They are, moreover, hideous beyond description. And as for indecency – of which you sometimes accuse the trousers – we at least can take our coats off without becoming the half-undressed, bedroom spectacle that a man presents in his shirt and braces.â€

 

So that when we hear that women have once more laid hands upon something which was previously a man’s sole privilege, I think we have to ask ourselves: is this trousers or is it braces?  Is it something useful, convenient and suitable to a human being as such? Or is it merely something unnecessary to us, ugly, and adopted merely for the sake of collaring the other fellow’s property? These jobs and professions now. It is ridiculous to take on a man’s job just in order to be able to say that “a woman has done it—yah!†The only decent reason for tackling any job is that it is your job, and you want to do it.

 

At this point, somebody is likely to say: “Yes, that is all very well. But it is the woman who is always trying to ape the man. She is the inferior being. You don’t as a rule find the men trying to take the women’s jobs away from them. They don’t force their way into the household and turn women out of their rightful occupation.â€

 

Of course they do not. They have done it already.

 

She goes on to talk about how all of the "women's jobs" have been taken out from under them and placed under the authority of men in large factories, farms, businesses, etc. And then she says that it's fine if men are better at doing any of those things so long as being the better person IS the reason that anyone does--and gets--any job.  It's very witty and wonderful coming from 1938.  hehe

Edited April 3, 2017 by 6packofun

[Angelaboord]

Last week was a tough week, so I didn't finish anything. I racked up a few more pages of Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, which I will probably still be reading next year if y'all decide to do a read-along [emoji5] and I started Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. I am enjoying Pachinko more than I thought I would. It was a Book of the Month pick for me, so it's just been sitting here on the arm of my couch making me feel guilty for not reading it. I think someone mentioned it in last week's thread so I was encouraged to pick it up. I must say that it is nice to read about characters who are nice to each other. Not in the sense that there isn't any conflict in the plot, but many of these people seem as if they are genuinely good -- which seems oddly unique in the more literary/contemporary fiction titles that I've read recently. Of course, I am only about 100 pages into the book so things could change, but for now, it's refreshing. The setting -- the Korean immigrant community in Japan before WWII -- is also quite interesting, as I knew absolutely nothing about it.

 

I guess I also read part of How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind by Dana White. This book would have been good for me when I was in my 20's. It's supposed to be written for slobs. I guess I have graduated to not quite a slob but 9 kids are hard on a house. Very few home management books are written for a family this size, but I will probably finish the book anyway.

 

My father-in-law had both knees replaced last Monday and my dh spent most of his week helping out, then jumped on a plane and was gone all weekend helping our college kid. The baby went to bed a little early last night before I settled down with my book, but instead of reading, I went to sleep, too! I'd like to finish up some of the books I've started this week, but we shall see.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Mothersweets]

Laura, yes, but as with most series, I spaced them out slightly. I read them out of order - the last one first, since that was the one that was first published. I will probably end up re-reading them in the future. 

 

The last one is the English Cottage one, right? I think that is the one I've been seeing for a couple years and have always wanted to read but just haven't gotten around to until now.  I really like how the author makes these books almost like a scrapbook - it's so appealing. :)

Edited April 3, 2017 by Mothersweets

[Onceuponatime]

Last week I started Alexander Hamilton for my library book club. It is massive. We are expected to take two months on this one. For a history book, it reads pretty smoothly, but it's over 700 pages and smaller than average print. I don't know if I can maintain that much interest in Hamilton at this time in my life.

 

I flew through an Agatha Christie short story collection called Double Sin. Every single story had been read somewhere else. That was a little disappointing.

 

I'm currently reading Madam Will You Talk by Mary Stewart, her debut novel. I think I have found the only Stewart book that I hadn't read yet. It's a quick read, but I haven't found it quite as enjoyable as some of her later stories.

Edited April 3, 2017 by Onceuponatime

[mumto2]

Amy, Ali, and other fans of CS Harris.......Where the Dead Lie https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30363074-where-the-dead-lie?ac=1&from_search=true is almost released! I just got notice that my order request is being processed and they put it in my holds. I'm number 4 so others must of requested it too. Lol

 

Since I don't think I've recommended this series recently The St. Cyr series is one of my all time favourites. The series starts with What Angels Fear https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39149.What_Angels_Fear in 1811 and although they are set in the British upper classes in London these are not Flufferton. The scenes and actions of the characters are not always easy to read but the continuing story is wonderful. One of my top 10 series.

 

Absolutely must be read in order if at all possible.

[Just Robyn]

I just finished a tiny "book" of two essays/speeches by Dorthy Sayers, Are Women Human?  I love it.  Here is a treat for you...

 

 

 

That sounds great, and thanks for the excerpts!

[Jane in NC]

I saw this lovely poem on Twitter today:

 

 

Stationery

 

The moon did not become the sun.
It just fell on the desert
in great sheets, reams
of silver handmade by you.
The night is your cottage industry now,
the day is your brisk emporium.
The world is full of paper.

Write to me.

 

Agha Shahid Ali

 

 

[ErinE]

I finished a book that it a HIGHLY RECOMMEND for the writing gals on this thread.

 

2k to 10k by Rachel Aaron. It's a book on writing faster, outlining, and editing. I read it on the kindle but it's a short book - about 100 pages. Her information is straight forward and seems like a great summary of about 15 other writing books I"ve read. 

 

I haven't read the book, but after adopting her 5-minute planning (I've seen it called "headlights" notes as in what you can see in the car headlights) coupled with the Pomodoro technique (5 minute planning/25 minutes writing), I doubled my daily writing output. Since I only get two hours in the early morning before the kids get up, her advice helped me focus and get the words out. 

[Ali in OR]

Amy, Ali, and other fans of CS Harris.......Where the Dead Lie https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30363074-where-the-dead-lie?ac=1&from_search=true is almost released! I just got notice that my order request is being processed and they put it in my holds. I'm number 4 so others must of requested it too. Lol

 

I found out about it before my library had it on order, so I got to request the purchase which put me first in line for it! However, it seems to take my library a long time to get new books processed. I was watching Etched in Bone sit "in processing" for a couple of weeks--I'm third in line for that one (2nd now that it's finally been processed). The trials of a library cheapskate--can't just buy the books!

[Kareni]

A one day only currently free classic for Kindle readers ~

 

Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T. E. Lawrence

 

"The classic account of war and adventure in the Middle East that transformed T. E. Lawrence into Lawrence of Arabia

Originally intended as a study of the great cities of the Middle East, Seven Pillars of Wisdom is T. E. Lawrence’s masterful account of the Arab Revolt of 1916–18. As a liaison officer for the British Forces in North Africa, Lawrence advised local tribesmen in their rebellion against the Ottoman Turks. He fought alongside future king Emir Faisal and played a crucial role in convincing rival Arab leaders to coordinate their efforts.
 
A fascinating blend of autobiography, military history, and adventure story, Seven Pillars of Wisdom is a towering literary achievement befitting the man known around the world as Lawrence of Arabia."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

My daughter (who is coming home for a ten day visit from Korea on Wednesday -- yay!) shared this amusing link ~

 

The perfect cooking annotations

**

 

This next piece from Tor.com contains chocolate (yes!) as well as alligators (a book a week icon) ~

 

Of Sex and Crocodiles by Brian Staveley

 

"I can never quite decide if chocolatiers are visionaries or pranksters. A glance over some of the new flavors—hand-wrapped in birch bark, one bar roughly the same price as a thoroughbred horse—makes the mind spin: Hemlock and Blood, Tears and Wisteria, Lemongrass and Cod. I used to think this was all an elaborate hoax, that a cabal of malevolent chocolatiers was hidden away somewhere, cackling over the limitlessness of human folly...."

**

 

Another author piece from the Tor.com blog ~

 

Beyond the Concrete Jungle by Marie Brennan

 

"I grew up in suburban Dallas, a land composed of sidewalks, houses, big box stores, lawns that shrivel up and die in the summer heat, and the occasional attempt at a tree. When it comes to describing nature, I’m starting from a bit of a disadvantage, because I basically only ever saw it while on vacation...."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[ErinE]

For Gatsby fans, there's a re-interpretation of the book now set in North Carolina. Here's a link to the New York Times review and here's a link to the book No One is Coming to Save Us.
 

Do we struggle through the world as it is, or do we choose our own lives? Even the ability to ask that question is a hard-won privilege for the characters in Stephanie Powell Watts’s skillful riff on “The Great Gatsby,†which revolves around a contemporary black family in a declining North Carolina town.

[Kareni]

I just finished Tiffany Snow's Follow Me (Corrupted Hearts)  which is the first in a romantic suspense series.  I enjoyed the book, but one does need to suspend disbelief fairly often.  The main character is a young highly intelligent woman who is both nerdy and quirky.

 

"Brilliant, quirky twenty-three-year-old China Mack is totally satisfied with her carefully ordered, data-driven life. A computer prodigy who landed a coveted programming job at the cutting-edge tech company Cysnet before even graduating from MIT, China is happiest when following her routine: shower before coffee, pizza only on Mondays, bedtime at ten thirty sharp.

 

But then things start to get a little…unpredictable.

 

First Jackson Cooper—Cysnet’s rich, gorgeous, genius CEO—assigns China to a dangerous and highly classified project for a government defense contractor. Her sixteen-year-old runaway niece suddenly arrives in town, begging to move in with China. And then there’s her sexy but oddly unsettling new neighbor, Clark…

 

Quickly the Cysnet assignment becomes disconcerting—and then downright scary—as key staffers turn up dead. China suspects she’s being followed and isn’t sure whom she can trust. For the first time ever, she’ll have to follow her instincts, rather than logic, if she’s going to survive."

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[Kareni]

Are you a cook book aficionado?  If so, you might enjoy this post from the Smart Bitches, Trashy Books site ~

 

Cooking with Bitches: Our Cookbook Recommendations

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Maus]

8. "A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy" by Sue Klebold.  This was a fascinating read.  As the caregiver of several mentally ill family members, I have often wondered about the families of mass shooters.  The media is always so quick to vilify them, but I'm acutely aware from personal experience that good parenting isn't always enough.   We desperately want it to be, and we want to blame bad parenting for these horrific incidents, because doing that makes us feel safe.  ("Not my kid!")  But the truth is, it could happen to any of us.   Sue Klebold also has a TEDtalk.

 

7. "Columbine" by Dave Cullen.  The author studied the journals and tapes the shooters left behind to try to write an account showing their state of mind.  Good, but I liked Mrs. Klebold's account better.

 

6. "Changed through His Grace" by Brad Wilcox.

 

5. "The Reason I Jump" by Naoki Higashida.

4. "No Doubt About It" by Sheri Dew.

3. "Amazed by Grace" by Sheri Dew.

2. "The Gifts of Imperfection" by Brene Brown.

1. "Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake" by Frank W. Abagnale.