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Book a Week 2017 - BW15: Armchair traveling through India


Robin M
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Hello! Popped in to say that with the book Monster (Walter Dean Myers) I hit 54 books. It's not that I've abandoned my "Year of Reading Slowly" approach; it's just that I have more time to read. Speaking of which, right now I'm reading a perfectly lovely book: Birds Art Life (Kyo Maclear). It's a mediation on, well, birds, art, and life, and contains gems like this:

 

"I like smallness. I like the perverse audacity of someone aiming tiny."

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We have some major hiking to do this year (for Boy Scout ds) so I am reading Grandma Gatewood's Walk by Ben Montgomery about the 67-year old Ohio grandmother who left home one day and the next her family heard, she was 800 miles into her hike of the Appalachian Trail!  She became the first woman to hike it (she did it solo WITHOUT even a sleeping bag!!) and then did it 2 more times!  She also hiked the Oregon Trail.  She was very vocal about maintaining the AT and used her "celebrity" to help get people interested in it again.  Her reasons for walking range from funny to heartbreaking and I'm enjoying her story.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Grandma-Gatewoods-Walk-Inspiring-Appalachian/dp/1613734999/

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Why Does the Other Line Always Move Faster? The Myths and Misery, Secrets and Psychology of Waiting in Line by David Andrews - quick little book. Not as much science in it as I would have liked, and I found the frequent multi-page sidebars annoying, but it had some interesting insights. It hadn't occurred to me that my dad might abhor lines so much because of the time he spent in the military. I'd also never thought about there being a time before lines, that someone had to come up with the idea for standing in line and enforce it in society.

 

When we were in China some years ago, there were no lines to get on the airplanes.  Just a big mob rushing the gate.  And of course we were near the back of the mob since we didn't realize we should push forward as soon as the door opened LOL.  On the other hand though -- my seat was separate from my DH and kids AND a middle seat to boot (youngest was a lap baby and DH is too claustrophobic to handle a middle seat), and when the stewardess saw I was sitting separately from them, she made some poor businessman give up his aisle seat and take my middle seat so I could sit with them -- can't imagine that happening here.

 

 

Have any of you ever read James Clavell's Shogun? It is a very well researched and enjoyable historical novel about an English sailor who adapts to Japanese culture and gets caught up in the battles for the unification of Japan led by the daimyo Toranaga. It was a wildly popular tv mini series back in the early 1980s starring Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune. We visited the castle built in the early 1600s by the actual founder of the Shogunate, Tokugawa Ieyasu. It is still standing, as Kyoto was spared from bombing during WWII due to its many important historical buildings.

 

 

 

I read Shogun back around that time (early 80's) but I'm afraid all I remember is it gave me nightmares about not being able to speak the language ( I guess Clavell did a good job of portraying that LOL)

 

Recently read:

Silence Fallen -- was good but felt rushed (or something), especially the ending -- this didn't really feel like middle/set up the next book to me as someone else suggested, but there was just something a bit off about it somehow -- probably won't be a re-read.   Maybe it was too Mary Sue-ish? At least, sometimes it seemed like Mercy wins the day basically through pure coyote luck.   I guess that's her real 'superpower' -- to see the little tweak that saves the day.     

 

Bear and Nightingale -- this was good .... although it almost lost me in the middle due to boredom (when he goes off to the city to marry a new wife).   And not excited about finding out it is first of a 'trilogy' either -- so I guess that says something too. 

 

Some other stuff that I actually managed to put on Goodreads (yay!) but doesn't stand out enough in my head for me to post here.

 

Have a whole pile of non-fiction that I can't seem to finish even though they're all good (otherwise they'd already be in the 'skimmed' or 'unfinished' pile LOL). 

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Hmm. Gail Carriger's books don't seem to be available in Dutch (though Danish and Swedish, sure...), nor The Invisible Library series. But The Golden Compass (Het gouden kompas) is available in Dutch - it's YA, but I liked it. It's got naptha lights and zeppelins, so Steampunky enough. :) And speaking of Philip Pullman, at least the first volume of his Sally Lockheart Steampunk mystery series is available in Dutch (Het raadsel van de robijn).

Thank you for doing this effort!

 

My library classifies the Sally Lockheart serie as historical fiction in the children section.

And as I thought Steampunk is a subgenre from science fiction I used that tag to search in the library :)

(I also searched on 'steampunk' at goodreads and tried to find books from www.steampunk.com)

Gail Carriger is not available in our library, even not in English.

 

I finally found this one:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11289294-de-kaart-van-de-tijd

Time travelling in Victorian Era :)

And we do have the Anubis Gates too.

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17.  "Beyond Belief" by Jenna Miscavige Hill.  The author is the niece of the current Scientology leader.


 


16. "Ruthless" by Ron Miscavige.  The author is the father of the current Scientology leader.    


 


I picked up these last two at the library because of December's thread about Leah Remini's series, and because the friend of my husband who was our best man was talking about how he thought he could help my husband cure his diabetes through auditing last time we saw him.  (DH turned him down.)  I've been very curious about how an intelligent person with a strong religious background (DH's friend) could end up accepting such an unusual belief system.  These two books did answer that.  Although they are both "how I escaped" books, Ron still accepts the teachings.  He just thinks his son is power hungry and has corrupted the Church of Scientology.


 


15. "Katfish: The Creature from my Closet" by Obert Skye.  DD12, my dyslexic, reluctant reader is plowing through these!  I'm trying to keep up, but she's finished all six, and I have two more to go.  The common theme to each book in the series is that the protagonist, Rob, has been shoving all the books his mom gives him as gifts into his closet, unread, along with his outgrown science kit and all his other junk.  Every once in a while, a creature escapes who is a combination of two book characters.  He finds he has to identify and read the two books involved in order to figure out how to help the creature get back to his closet before it causes more mayhem.


 


14. "Pinocula: The Creature from my Closet" by Obert Skye.


 


13. "Potterwookiee: The Creature from my Closet" by Obert Skye.


 


12. "Worth the Wrestle" by Sheri Dew (LDS).


 


11.  "Wonkenstein: The Creature from my Closet" by Obert Skye.


10. "Cub Scout Wolf Handbook". 


9. "A Little Princess" by Frances Hodgson Burnett.


8. "A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy" by Sue Klebold


7. "Columbine" by Dave Cullen.


6. "Changed through His Grace" by Brad Wilcox (LDS)>


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.


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I've always heard of Nellie Bly and now I see:

 

A one day only currently free classic for Kindle readers ~

 

Ten Days in a Mad-House by Nellie Bly

 

"A courageous female journalist’s classic exposé of the horrific treatment of the mentally ill in nineteenth-century America

In 1887, Nellie Bly accepted an assignment from publisher Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World and went undercover at the lunatic asylum on Blackwell Island, America’s first municipal mental hospital. Calling herself “Nellie Brown,†she was able to convince policemen, a judge, and a series of doctors of her madness with a few well-practiced facial expressions of derangement.

At the institution, Bly discovered the stuff of nightmares. Mentally ill patients were fed rotten, inedible food; violently abused by a brutal, uncaring staff; and misdiagnosed, mistreated, or generally ignored by the doctors and so-called mental health experts entrusted with their care. To her horror, Bly encountered sane patients who had been committed on the barest of pretenses and came to the shocking realization that, while the Blackwell Island asylum was remarkably easy to get into, it was nearly impossible to leave."

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

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I just finished Miss Dreamsville and the Collier County Women's Literary Society https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16242315-miss-dreamsville-and-the-collier-county-women-s-literary-society which is a book that Ethel recommended. It was great fun but it was also pretty fascinating. I enjoyed the nostalgia of it because fast forward not that many years and I was a little girl living pretty close by. I far as my memory goes it was pretty accurate. I saying that because the author isn't from that area and managed to write a good story and have the setting make sense too! I recently had to abandon another book set in an area I know really well. The geography (unfortunately the author felt the need to name the roads the characters were driving on which compounded things) was bad, generally wrong. It made my head hurt because for me reading frequently means a movie playing in my head and that one kept ending with lost in the woods!!!!! I couldn't get past the bad directions! :lol:

 

After reading Miss Dreamsville I sort of feel the need to read Breakfast at Tiffany's because the group discussed it!

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Stacia brought up the topic of what are children are reading.  If you have a significant other, what is he or she reading?

 

My husband just finished reading Jay Worrall's Sails on the Horizon: A Novel of the Napoleonic Wars  which he enjoyed so much that he asked me to find the two follow up books.  He is a fan of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey and Maturin series and said that there are some similarities (given the nautical setting and time frame) but that there are also differences.  The series features a trio of characters as opposed to O'Brian's focus on two major characters.  He also mentioned that Horatio Hornblower appears in the book.

 

"The year is 1797. Napoleon Buonaparte is racking up impressive wins in the field against the enemies of revolutionary France. On the seas, England is putting up a staunch resistance.

When a modest fleet of British ships off the coast of Portugal encounters a larger force of Spanish vessels on their way to rendezvous with the French, the English are quick to seize the opportunity for a victory–even at the risk of a calamitous defeat.

Twenty-five-year-old Charles Edgemont is second lieutenant aboard the HMS Argonaut, the smallest ship in the British line of battle. When orders come for the Argonaut to engage in an all-but-suicidal maneuver to cut off the escape of the Spanish ships, he leads his gun crews bravely–until the death of the captain and the first lieutenant elevates him to command of the stricken vessel. In the chaos that follows, his defiant refusal to yield under enemy fire earns him a permanent promotion.

Thanks to the purse awarded him by the Admiralty after the fight, Charles is wealthy beyond his wildest dreams. But there are challenges when he returns home after years at sea. His newfound riches will prove no help when it comes to winning the heart of Penelope Brown, the feisty Quaker with whom Charles falls in love. Even more of a hindrance is his profession, for Penelope regards war as sinful and soldiers as little better than murderers.

Changing Penelope’s mind may just be the hardest battle Charles has ever fought–at least until fresh orders send him back to sea, where he faces a more traditional and equally formidable adversary in a series of stirring battles of will and might."

 

 

My husband also listened to Karen Thompson Walker's The Age of Miracles: A Novel which he enjoyed.  I heard parts of the audio from time to time and the book had a young adult feel to me. 

 

From Booklist

*Starred Review* This is the way the world ends: by gradually slowing down. When scientists reveal that the earth’s rotation has been extended by 56 minutes, there is a minor panic. Twelve-year-old Julia doesn’t really recognize what’s happening—sure, her drama-queen mother starts hoarding food, and she loses some school friends when their families leave town, but at first, life seems to go on as usual. Until the slowdown continues, and it isn’t only by an hour anymore—the days keep stretching, with no apparent return to normal. The world’s governments agree to keep “clock time,†forcing everyone to stick to a 24-hour schedule, despite sunrise and sunset. Rebels known as “real-timers†are ostracized and harassed. Some people become afflicted with “slowing syndrome,†leaving them disoriented and prone to passing out, including Julia’s mother, who causes a fatal accident due to a fainting spell. Studies document an increase in impulsive behavior in others, and those seemingly unaffected by the slowing find themselves making bad decisions. All of this has an impact on Julia, who sees her parents, teachers, and neighbors crumbling around her. All at once a coming-of-age story and a tale of a frightening possible future, this is a gem that will charm readers as well as give them the shivers. --Rebecca Vnuk

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

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My husband is reading Krazy: George Harriman, a Life in Black and White.  From the Harper Collin's website:

 

 

About the Book

FINALIST FOR THE NBCC AWARD IN BIOGRAPHY

FINALIST FOR THE PEN/JACQUELINE BOGRAD WELD AWARD FOR BIOGRAPHY

In the tradition of Schulz and Peanuts, an epic and revelatory biography of Krazy Kat creator George Herriman that explores the turbulent time and place from which he emerged—and the deep secret he explored through his art.

 

The creator of the greatest comic strip in history finally gets his due—in an eye-opening biography that lays bare the truth about his art, his heritage, and his life on America’s color line. A native of nineteenth-century New Orleans, George Herriman came of age as an illustrator, journalist, and cartoonist in the boomtown of Los Angeles and the wild metropolis of New York. Appearing in the biggest newspapers of the early twentieth century—including those owned by William Randolph Hearst—Herriman’s Krazy Kat cartoons quickly propelled him to fame. Although fitfully popular with readers of the period, his work has been widely credited with elevating cartoons from daily amusements to anarchic art.

 

Herriman used his work to explore the human condition, creating a modernist fantasia that was inspired by the landscapes he discovered in his travels—from chaotic urban life to the Beckett-like desert vistas of the Southwest. Yet underlying his own life—and often emerging from the contours of his very public art—was a very private secret: known as "the Greek" for his swarthy complexion and curly hair, Herriman was actually African American, born to a prominent Creole family that hid its racial identity in the dangerous days of Reconstruction.

 

Drawing on exhaustive original research into Herriman’s family history, interviews with surviving friends and family, and deep analysis of the artist’s work and surviving written records, Michael Tisserand brings this little-understood figure to vivid life, paying homage to a visionary artist who helped shape modern culture.

 

My husband's father had Krazy Kat compilations in his library which my husband remembers reading as a kid. 

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"Just because you survive something does not mean you are strong."   

 

I'm listening to Bad Feminist and just heard the quote above in reference to the author talking about when she was gang-raped when she was a young teen by a group of teen boys. That quote struck me. It is the opposite of what we usually say about survival, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

 

This will have me thinking about what she said for a long time.  

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"Just because you survive something does not mean you are strong."   

 

I'm listening to Bad Feminist and just heard the quote above in reference to the author talking about when she was gang-raped when she was a young teen by a group of teen boys. That quote struck me. It is the opposite of what we usually say about survival, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

 

This will have me thinking about what she said for a long time.  

 

Yes. What is strength? A predisposition to belly aches instead of nervous breakdowns?

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Finally dove into a dusty book -  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo -  was never quite in the mood until now.  Once I started reading, couldn't put it down. Totally wasn't what I expected. So much detail which really couldn't be skimmed over or might miss some nuance or two or three.  Plenty of flawed characters, leaving me to wonder why they were or weren't taking action sometimes, but enthralling all the same.    I do want to read the rest of the series,  but my brain is quite full and needs something fluffy.

 

Hubby only reads non fiction and most recently has finished Ike's Bluff: President Eisenhower's Secret Battle to Save the World  by Evan Thomas and Thirteen Days: A memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis By Robert Kennedy. He just started Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam.   James is reading all things star wars these days and currently on Shadows of the Empire in the Legends series.

Edited by Robin M
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I was just looking at the Marie Brennan Lady Trent series and trying to decide if I would enjoy it or not. Seeing your post is one of those BaW coincidences. Since we enjoy many of the same paranormal authors I think I will give it a try! :)

 

I forgot to say congratulations on finishing Aquamarine. I found that one pretty hard too, all those vowels. I'm working on Diamond. My kids are taking an odd level of interest in this challenge. I have been advised by them to read a historical with diamond in the title since they obviously must exist, I should enjoy myself. I had picked a Sci Fi type book. My kids know me!

Thank you!  All those vowels did make it a bit tricky. Although I've collected quite a few books with A in the title.   :tongue_smilie:   I think it was one of two longest birthstone and we have a break until December's Turquoise.  Yes, I think you'd  probably enjoy Lady Trent.  I liked her voice and how she told the story.

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Finished reading The Lotterys Plus One by Emma Donoghue to the kids.  They really enjoyed it and are busy playing make believe games inspired by the book.  I found it a bit choppy myself - I liked the premise and the characters and it was fresh and very very modern (but in a way that I'm afraid might date it easily) but I couldn't really get into the characters and I didn't quite believe in some of them.  Perhaps the function of having a large family of two moms, two dads and 7 kids plus one grandfather - not enough time to get to know people.

 

For myself I read They Left Us Everything by Plum Johnson - a memoir - so for those of you who don't like that genre, be forewarned!  I, however, tend to enjoy memoirs and read this one very quickly (a 24 hour turnaround from getting it from the library to finishing it).  It was easy to read, and now that my parents are getting older, it gave me pause and sent me thinking about my relationships with them and with all the material stuff they have.

 

Still reading Wild Swans, Suite Francaise and just started Voices from Chernobyl which someone here read and recommended - the latter is likely the one I will finish first although I think I'll bring Suite Francaise to the lake this weekend to force myself to get some reading done on it (since we have no internet/tv and I can't garden yet, I will either be playing games, knitting, doing puzzles or reading for 3 days - which actually sounds lovely). 

 

DH is not reading anything these days.  He loved Terry Pratchett and we have every single book and he rereads them on occasion. His last book was a Wiilliam S. Gibson one and before that Robert Sawyer - both sci-fi.

 

One kid is reading The Strictest School in the World and the other is reading Peter Nimble's Fantastic Eyes and will move onto Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard soon.

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So, an Overdrive dilemma....  I've been waiting forever for some popular books to come in.  In the meantime, I just started Truman by David McCullough, as I'd heard so many good things about it here.  Just got through the first chapter, and it's over 1,000 pages.

 

So, of course, Hillbilly Elegy finally came in today!  And Hidden Figures looks not to be far behind.  I've had them both on hold since January.  :glare:

 

Urgh, the more I think about it, the more I think I should shelve Truman for now and get through the other two, as Truman had a comparatively tiny hold list on Overdrive...  hopefully I can take it out again without too much delay when I'm done with the other two .  It doesn't rain but it pours...

 

ETA... Some of you guys are adding what your dh's read.  LOL, I think that's where dd16 must have gotten her reading aversion from.  I don't think he reads anything much other than electrical code manuals and books on how to learn new computer languages. 

Edited by Matryoshka
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So, an Overdrive dilemma.... I've been waiting forever for some popular books to come in. In the meantime, I just started Truman by David McCullough, as I'd heard so many good things about it here. Just got through the first chapter, and it's over 1,000 pages.

 

So, of course, Hillbilly Elegy finally came in today! And Hidden Figures looks not to be far behind. I've had them both on hold since January. :glare:

 

Urgh, the more I think about it, the more I think I should shelve Truman for now and get through the other two, as Truman had a comparatively tiny hold list on Overdrive... hopefully I can take it out again without too much delay when I'm done with the other two . It doesn't rain but it pours...

 

ETA... Some of you guys are adding what your dh's read. LOL, I think that's where dd16 must have gotten her reading aversion from. I don't think he reads anything much other than electrical code manuals and books on how to learn new computer languages.

Fwiw, I would suspend Hidden Figures. If you do it before it becomes available you stay in the next place.

 

My dh reads quite a bit just not books. ;) Lots of newspapers etc. Ds is a mixture. He enjoys an occasional good book (Sci fi generally) but generally carries around computer books. Right now he is reading his Cybersecurity textbook for an upcoming class.

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What fun!

 

I'm looking forward to hearing what she picks to read. I hope she is planning to tell us!

 

I will share what she reads for the book bingo,

But she reads almost a book per day in freetime for the moment (so besides the required literature for the modern languages) and I can't keep up with posting that :)

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Yes. What is strength? A predisposition to belly aches instead of nervous breakdowns?

I think the appearence of strength it is often just lack of imagination - at best, an ability of one's brain to compartmentalize, at worst, selfishness; and that true strength comes from having enough imagination to see that horrible as what you are doing now may be, there are worse paths. I tried hard to raise my children to be strong because I think being good is useless unless it is combined with enough strength to stay good.

 

Nan

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My husband is currently reading The Exiles in Love. I am sure he will be happy when our bedtime routine reverts to something more adult. The squished hedgehog dying under the bed amused him, at least. He's had to deal with my squished squirrels and birds in the bedroom. Now that I think about it, life with me is never very grownup, which is probably why he has tolerated months of this without getting too cross.

 

Nan

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My dh, after enjoying the Aubrey Maturin series, is now working through the Horatio Hornblower series.

 

My dds are both on a Terry Pratchett kick - they are both reading the Tiffany Achung series, and dd14 is also reading some of the adult books - the Moist von Lipwig ones and the Death ones.  She loves Pratchett & Gaiman - Good Omens is probably her favorite current book.

 

I abandoned Life After Life last night. I was enjoying it, intrigued by the premise (a girl, born in 1910 England, repeatedly is born, dies, and is reborn, each time correcting a "mistake" and living a little longer. As I said, I was enjoying her repeated childhoods, and then a life came along where everyone behaved in a thoroughly implausible manner - not consistent with how they'd behaved before or how I thought they'd behave in the circumstances. The more I thought about it, the more it bugged me, and it really turned me off from continuing.  So, I'll have to find a different book with a rose on the cover  ;) .

 

I just finished reading A Man for All Seasons, which I thought was fantastic, and now I'm re-reading Wolf Hall. The "he" thing doesn't bother me. I don't like books written in the present tense, but I've found that I don't even notice now that I'm pulled into the story. I really loved these books the first time and I'm enjoying my re-read just as much.

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I just finished Miss Dreamsville and the Collier County Women's Literary Society https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16242315-miss-dreamsville-and-the-collier-county-women-s-literary-society which is a book that Ethel recommended. It was great fun but it was also pretty fascinating. I enjoyed the nostalgia of it because fast forward not that many years and I was a little girl living pretty close by. I far as my memory goes it was pretty accurate. I saying that because the author isn't from that area and managed to write a good story and have the setting make sense too! I recently had to abandon another book set in an area I know really well. The geography (unfortunately the author felt the need to name the roads the characters were driving on which compounded things) was bad, generally wrong. It made my head hurt because for me reading frequently means a movie playing in my head and that one kept ending with lost in the woods!!!!! I couldn't get past the bad directions! :lol:

 

After reading Miss Dreamsville I sort of feel the need to read Breakfast at Tiffany's because the group discussed it!

Very cool! I convinced my IRL Book Club to read this. I'll be re-reading it in the next few days. You know there's a sequel, right?

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Very cool! I convinced my IRL Book Club to read this. I'll be re-reading it in the next few days. You know there's a sequel, right?

I know, right now it isn't at any of my libraries but when you read the first Miss Dreamsville I couldn't find that one either. Sometimes with libraries a few months make a difference.

 

Have you read the second one?

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Ds isn't reading anything for pleasure and as far as I know he hasn't since he started taking college classes (first as a dual enrollment student, then as a full time college student). 

 

Dh is reading The Fleet at Flood Tide: America at Total War in the Pacific 1944-45. On deck is All the Gallant Men: An American Sailor's Firsthand Account of Pearl Harbor. He's a WWII buff. He watches endless documentaries and reads all the books he can get his hand on that have anything to do with that war.

 

So, an Overdrive dilemma....  I've been waiting forever for some popular books to come in.  In the meantime, I just started Truman by David McCullough, as I'd heard so many good things about it here.  Just got through the first chapter, and it's over 1,000 pages.

 

So, of course, Hillbilly Elegy finally came in today!  And Hidden Figures looks not to be far behind.  I've had them both on hold since January.  :glare:

 

Urgh, the more I think about it, the more I think I should shelve Truman for now and get through the other two, as Truman had a comparatively tiny hold list on Overdrive...  hopefully I can take it out again without too much delay when I'm done with the other two .  It doesn't rain but it pours...

 

ETA... Some of you guys are adding what your dh's read.  LOL, I think that's where dd16 must have gotten her reading aversion from.  I don't think he reads anything much other than electrical code manuals and books on how to learn new computer languages. 

 

I can't remember what device you're using. The nice part about a dedicated ereader (such as Kindle Paperwhite or Oasis) is you can leave the wifi turned off. With phones and tablets that kind of renders them useless. I know you already decided what to do, but if you use an ereader next time you can just leave the wifi off until you finished the book(s) whose loan ended.

 

My husband is currently reading The Exiles in Love. I am sure he will be happy when our bedtime routine reverts to something more adult. The squished hedgehog dying under the bed amused him, at least. He's had to deal with my squished squirrels and birds in the bedroom. Now that I think about it, life with me is never very grownup, which is probably why he has tolerated months of this without getting too cross.

Nan

 

Your surgery was on your shoulder, wasn't it? Dh is having rotator cuff surgery on Monday. It's his right shoulder and he's right handed, and recovery will be 4-6 weeks. It's going to be an interesting time. Sleeping will be tricky at first because he's supposed to keep the arm (in a sling) elevated. He's thinking he might need to sleep upright in the recliner for a few nights, or maybe even longer. He took one week off work but will play it by ear to see if he needs to take more time off.

 

We're trying to find him books (Kindle) that will keep him busy. The two he currently has on his device are library loans that ended, so I told him not to turn the wifi on. I can manually add more books if he wants me to, but he probably won't add more until he finishes the two he has on there now.

Edited by Lady Florida.
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Sometimes we mention books our kids are reading. Some of ds' recent reads have been:

 

11099292.jpg   13001958.jpg     

 

Okay, I need to read the Wienermobile book, just because! I think I'm going to send a copy to my brother. He has a 3 foot long stuffed Wienermobile.

 

Currently, DD is re-reading the Harry Potter series for the umpteenth time. DS is catching up to DD in the Warriors series. She keeps "accidentally" giving him spoilers about cat deaths over dinner.  :001_rolleyes:

 

DH is reading Pickett's Charge. He will read anything about the Civil War. Two years ago we did a road trip to Gettysburg and I got to leave all the planning to him. It was awesome. I am usually the one in charge of planning trips, especially anything "educational."

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A one day only currently free classic for Kindle readers ~

 

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

 

"The classic novel that inspired Apocalypse Now

A European trading concern hires Marlow to pilot a boat up the Congo River in search of Kurtz—a first-class ivory agent and the manager of the company’s highly profitable Inner Station—who is believed to be on his deathbed. With a handful of pilgrims as his passengers and a crew of cannibals, Marlow steams his way into the African interior. The terrifying discovery he makes at the end of his journey and the horrors he witnesses along the way have thrilled and disturbed readers for more than a century.
 
A searing indictment of imperialism and a haunting exposé of mankind’s savage nature, Heart of Darkness is Joseph Conrad’s masterpiece."

 

Regards,

Kareni

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Ds isn't reading anything for pleasure and as far as I know he hasn't since he started taking college classes (first as a dual enrollment student, then as a full time college student).

 

Dh is reading The Fleet at Flood Tide: America at Total War in the Pacific 1944-45. On deck is All the Gallant Men: An American Sailor's Firsthand Account of Pearl Harbor. He's a WWII buff. He watches endless documentaries and reads all the books he can get his hand on that have anything to do with that war.

 

 

I can't remember what device you're using. The nice part about a dedicated ereader (such as Kindle Paperwhite or Oasis) is you can leave the wifi turned off. With phones and tablets that kind of renders them useless. I know you already decided what to do, but if you use an ereader next time you can just leave the wifi off until you finished the book(s) whose loan ended.

 

 

Your surgery was on your shoulder, wasn't it? Dh is having rotator cuff surgery on Monday. It's his right shoulder and he's right handed, and recovery will be 4-6 weeks. It's going to be an interesting time. Sleeping will be tricky at first because he's supposed to keep the arm (in a sling) elevated. He's thinking he might need to sleep upright in the recliner for a few nights, or maybe even longer. He took one week off work but will play it by ear to see if he needs to take more time off.

 

We're trying to find him books (Kindle) that will keep him busy. The two he currently has on his device are library loans that ended, so I told him not to turn the wifi on. I can manually add more books if he wants me to, but he probably won't add more until he finishes the two he has on there now.

Same here. My surgery was February 3. I was told that I wasn't allowed to go sailing for six months after surgery. So we counted back from when we would be sailing and that left February. I was told I couldn't do anything with the arm for six weeks after surgery and it had to stay in a sling. I started physical therapy two weeks after surgery. The physical therapist said it takes three months for a tendon to heal and then I'm not allowed to do anything but dress or feed myself until the three Mark month mark with my right arm. What does your husband do for work? My physical therapist had an absolute hissy fit at the idea of me doing typing or writing or any fine motor skills until the three month mark because he said that it would diminish blood flow to the tendon and the tendon needs blood flow to heal. Tendons apparently are very slow to heal anyway. Then he scared me with the information that 50% of the people we tear within five years . So I'm following his directions. Have exercises that I have to do every day. I was told that I would be allowed to roll this summer but that I can't hold on any ropes or do anything that stresses that arm. I was told that it will be a year before it's normal again if I do my exercises. Shoulder is appear to be really slow. Some of all this depends on how badly you tore your shoulder. It also probably depends who your physical therapist is. We hunted around and found supposedly the best surgeon for this in our area and we're working with his physical therapist so I have a fairly high confidence that what he's doing is the right thing. But I also know that he's very conservative in his estimates of how long it is before he wants me to move that arm around. He wants me to move it around so it doesn't freeze up but he doesn't want me to do anything with it. Other than the exercises that he gave me. I'm gonna post this and then can get back to you because I don't want to lose what I've written so far.

 

eta row and haul. and going to, not gonna. silly microphone. the worst was when it wrote nipple instead of maple when I was talking about blossoms to my mother.

 

eta 2 i slept a lot during the day the first week. you might look for an appealing audiobook. holding up a book without being able to switch hands gets tiring

Edited by Nan in Mass
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Lady Florida-

 

Continuing...

 

How fast you recover seems to have a lot to do with how good the nursing is when you first are recovering. At least from my small sample size. It seems like the people who have spouses who are super diligent about feeding them their medicine and keeping the ice on their shoulder do better.

 

I threw up the heavy meds and the surgery messed up my stomach for 5 weeks. I hated the sling and we had to cut the foam down. I am small. I couldn't have managed a recliner even if we had one. I used my son's bunk and lots of pillows to stay upright at night. Sleeping was really uncomfortable. I still am not supposed to sleep on my back. Brushing my teeth leftie was miserable. Feeding myself was ok. I can only just now get my right arm high enough to turn the key of my car. It didn't hurt that much, all in all, but I was/am mightily uncomfortable, especially the first 5 weeks. See if you can get them to give you antinausia medicine. That was important. Surgery messes up your stomach. I know it wasn't the meds because I took the ones I didn't throw up for long after I stopped taking the nausea meds.

 

And that is probably way more ghan you wantedto know. Good luck! Keep ice on it 24hrz a day for the first few days is my best tip. And do ghe excersizes.

 

Nan

 

Sleep on my side. Sorry about all the typos. Mic is less than accurate.

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I finished a couple of books ~

 

Hamilton: The Revolution  by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter

 

I think this book would be most enjoyed by those who are already familiar with Hamilton by virtue of having heard the soundtrack (me!) or having seen the production (I'd like to).  This traced the making of the show, shared tidbits about various performers, and addressed points where the story took liberties with history.  I enjoyed reading it.

 

"Lin-Manuel Miranda's groundbreaking musical Hamilton is as revolutionary as its subject, the poor kid from the Caribbean who fought the British, defended the Constitution, and helped to found the United States. Fusing hip-hop, pop, R&B, and the best traditions of theater, this once-in-a-generation show broadens the sound of Broadway, reveals the storytelling power of rap, and claims our country's origins for a diverse new generation.

HAMILTON: THE REVOLUTION gives readers an unprecedented view of both revolutions, from the only two writers able to provide it. Miranda, along with Jeremy McCarter, a cultural critic and theater artist who was involved in the project from its earliest stages--"since before this was even a show," according to Miranda--traces its development from an improbable perfor­mance at the White House to its landmark opening night on Broadway six years later. In addition, Miranda has written more than 200 funny, revealing footnotes for his award-winning libretto, the full text of which is published here.

Their account features photos by the renowned Frank Ockenfels and veteran Broadway photographer, Joan Marcus; exclusive looks at notebooks and emails; interviews with Questlove, Stephen Sond­heim, leading political commentators, and more than 50 people involved with the production; and multiple appearances by Presi­dent Obama himself. The book does more than tell the surprising story of how a Broadway musical became a national phenomenon: It demonstrates that America has always been renewed by the brash upstarts and brilliant outsiders, the men and women who don't throw away their shot."

**

 

I also finished the contemporary romance Pretty Face (London Celebrities) by Lucy Parker which I also enjoyed.  This is second in a series, but it definitely can stand alone.

 

"The play's the fling 

 

It's not actress Lily Lamprey's fault that she's all curves and has the kind of voice that can fog up a camera lens. She wants to prove where her real talents lie—and that's not on a casting couch, thank you. When she hears esteemed director Luc Savage is renovating a legendary West End theater for a lofty new production, she knows it could be her chance—if only Luc wasn't so dictatorial, so bad-tempered and so incredibly sexy. 

 

Luc Savage has respect, integrity and experience. He also has it bad for Lily. He'd be willing to dismiss it as a midlife crisis, but this exasperating, irresistible woman is actually a very talented actress. Unfortunately, their romance is not only raising questions about Lily's suddenly rising career, it's threatening Luc's professional reputation. The course of true love never did run smooth. But if they're not careful, it could bring down the curtain on both their careers…"

 

Regards,

Kareni

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And an interesting article from the New York Times ~

 

Cultivating Serendipity: A Visit to the  New York Times ‘Morgue’ by STEPHEN HILTNER  

 

"“This is it,†Jeff Roth said as he flung open the door.

 

Three levels below ground, in a nondescript building beside The New York Times’s headquarters — and hardly a stone’s throw from Times Square, one of the most frenetic intersections on the planet — lies an unexpected and strangely quiet repository.

Quiet, that is, aside from the periodic rumble of the No. 7 subway line.

 

Mr. Roth is the caretaker of The Times’s “morgue,†a vast and eclectic archive that houses the paper’s historical news clippings and photographic prints, along with its large book and periodicals library, microfilm records and other archival material — federal directories, magazine collections and a variety of indexes.

 

Almost everything is stored in ageless steel filing cabinets — several thousand drawers’ worth — and in sturdy cardboard bankers boxes. An assortment of bookshelves lines some of the walls.

 

“They don’t make filing cabinets like this anymore,†Mr. Roth said, tapping one as he passed it. “Heck, they don’t even make steel like this anymore.â€..."

 

Regards,

Kareni

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I think the appearence of strength it is often just lack of imagination - at best, an ability of one's brain to compartmentalize, at worst, selfishness; and that true strength comes from having enough imagination to see that horrible as what you are doing now may be, there are worse paths. I tried hard to raise my children to be strong because I think being good is useless unless it is combined with enough strength to stay good.

 

Nan

 

That's a recipe for danger in my world.

 

 

So don't move here. :)

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That's a recipe for danger in my world.

 

 

So don't move here. :)

Well, it certainly wasn't the safest way to raise them grin. Nor the least expensive. It doesn't exactly lead to the safest lifestyle as an adult, either.

 

Nan

 

Eta What a conversation to have on Good Friday. : )

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Update: Ds is about 1/3 of the way through The Sisters Brothers & says he really likes it, thinks it is great writing.

 

:thumbup:

 

I just went through and slashed a bunch of books off my library hold list . . . then added on this one, and My Cousin Rachel.

 

Kareni, dh is impressed that he's getting vicarious book recommendations from my online book buddies!  :laugh:

Edited by Chrysalis Academy
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I listened to a Catherine Ryan Hyde book while driving to pick up my DS from college for his spring break. I fully enjoy listening to her stories while traveling; it makes for a pleasant trip while driving through Indiana and Ohio.

 

I signed up for a 30 day free Kindle Unlimited Trial and hope to be able to download a few audiobooks to get me through the month. 

 

I have the second Peter Grainger DC Smith book,But For the Grace, and The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton on queue.  This Peter Grainger book has the same editorial issues as the first, lots of missing articles and a few typos. 

 

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Kareni, dh is impressed that he's getting vicarious book recommendations from my online book buddies!  :laugh:

 

We aim to please!  It's worked both ways as my husband has also enjoyed some books I first heard of here on the Book a Week thread.

 

Regards,

Kareni

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A one day only currently free classic for Kindle readers ~

 

Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence

 

 

"Widely considered to be D. H. Lawrence’s finest novel, Women in Love shows this classic author at his provocative best

It is the early twentieth century, and the Brangwen sisters, Gudrun and Ursula, live in a coal-mining town in the Midlands of England.

Ursula, a teacher, and Gudrun, an artist, are on a quest for happiness and intellectual fulfillment when they meet Rupert and Gerald. Rupert is decidedly attractive, and Ursula gravitates toward him immediately; Gerald is good looking and wealthy, and his friendship with Gudrun soon becomes something more. The four bond deeply through life’s tragedies and joys, and periods of alternating intense passion and strife. They move in and out of one another’s minds, lives, and beds in unexpected ways.

Suffused with a sense of deep and compelling humanity, Women in Love is widely considered to be Lawrence’s greatest achievement—an exploration of love and sexuality in all its varied, beautiful, and devastating forms."

 

Regards,

Kareni

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I finished Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson.  I really enjoyed it.  It's historical fiction about a young slave girl sold to a nasty loyalist woman in 1776 New York.  It covers almost a year of time including the beginning of the Revolutionary War.

 

I also finished A Man Called Intrepid by William Stevenson.  It's about William Stephenson (random that the author and subject have essentially the same name) who was code named Intrepid during World War II.  It's about the stuff that happened behind the scenes working to defeat Hitler.  Sometimes it's really long-winded, but mostly it's really good.

 

And that (finally) completes March's birthstone of Aquamarine.

Alex: The Life of a Child

Queen Victoria's Children

Upstairs at the White House

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

A Man Called Intrepid

Another Saturday Night and I Ain't Got No Body

Rupee Millionaires

Into the Shadows

The Not So Secret Emails of Coco Pinchard

Edgewood

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