Book a Week 2017 - BW20: Happy Mother's Day

[ErinE]

Today, I started reading a Cuban sci-fi novel Super Extra Grande by Yoss -- I think this was a recommendation by ErinE. Thank you!

 

Funny & bizarre so far. Loving it & the weird Spanglish dialogue. (Helps to know Spanish if reading this one.)

 

 

Starred review from Kirkus:

 

I'm glad you're reading it! I immediately thought of you when I was only a few paragraphs in. These days, I often find myself asking which boardie would like the book I'm reading. I found it bizarre, but so interesting!

[ErinE]

Youngest, who homeschooled 1-12, gave me his college diploma for mother's day and said ok, anything bad that happens now is my fault not yours, or bad luck.  Best mother's day present ever!  The only problem is that I am now missing the older two like crazy.

 

How lovely! What a beautiful present! 

[Matryoshka]

I'm glad you're reading it! I immediately thought of you when I was only a few paragraphs in. These days, I often find myself asking which boardie would like the book I'm reading. I found it bizarre, but so interesting!

 

Hey Erin, do you think I'd like it?  I looked at the reviews when you read it (you know I'm a sucker for anything good in Spanish or German; I figure if it's been translated into English it must be at least somewhat good...)

 

I love a lot of SciFi, but I've never been as much of a fan of testosterone-fueled SciFi, if that makes any sense at all.  I was worried that might be too much in that direction?  I don't mind weird as long as it's good weird. ;)

[Kareni]

A one day only currently free Kindle book; this one is an early science fiction work ~

 

A Honeymoon in Space by George Griffith (1857-1906)

 

"One of the first novels about interplanetary travel, A Honeymoon in Space takes readers on a journey across the solar system

Lenox, the Earl of Redgrave, has made the greatest scientific discovery in the history of the world: a flying ship with the power to break free of Earth’s gravity and take to the stars. But before he uses it to expand humanity’s understanding of the universe, he has some personal business to attend to—namely, wooing an old flame.
 
The lady in question is Zaidie, the daughter of Lenox’s colleague Professor Rennick. With Zaidie about to be forced into a loveless marriage, Lenox knows he must do something drastic. He steals her away and takes her out of this world—literally. Griffith’s accounts of other planets are spectacularly engaging—from subterranean civilizations on the moon to the warlike Martians to the musical inhabitants of Venus. This remarkable adventure makes for a memorable honeymoon indeed."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[ErinE]

Hey Erin, do you think I'd like it? I looked at the reviews when you read it (you know I'm a sucker for anything good in Spanish or German; I figure if it's been translated into English it must be at least somewhat good...)

 

I love a lot of SciFi, but I've never been as much of a fan of testosterone-fueled SciFi, if that makes any sense at all. I was worried that might be too much in that direction? I don't mind weird as long as it's good weird. ;)

It is a bit testosterone infused, as the main character remarks on the feminine features of the people around him, but it's not like a typical US military sci-fi with guns, lasers, or warfare. I thought the xenobiology part was interesting.

[Chrysalis Academy]

I finished listening to We by Yevgeny Zamyatin.  I read this a few years ago. It was a big influence on both Huxley and Orwell. The reader did an excellent job of getting the confused, breathless, chaotic voice of the character just right. I enjoyed revisiting it. 

 

Jack London's The Iron Heel is my next-up audiobook.

[aggieamy]

Re: Razor's Edge - I'm skimming the comments for the time being because I'm only on page 2. I've got to power through some books in the next few days.

 

I see Elliot as a gay man, too. And I'm guessing you're right about not coming right out and saying it, but implying it in the character. I'm trying to think of other books published in that era with openly gay characters? Basil Hallward in the The Picture of Dorian Gray? Nick Carraway in Gatsby? Though I guess he'd be bi. Not sure that these are exactly "openly" gay characters, but you could read between the lines. And I'm always struck by the "mannish" women of the English Country Novel, many of them seem to be un-openly gay characters.

 

Whoa. I've read The Great Gatsby half a dozen times and never picked up on that. Was he crushing on Gatsby or someone else?

 

 

As an aside, is anyone else bothered by anachronisms in historical fiction? In Jackaby which is set in the late 19th century, the main character says "with all due respect" and a politician talks about falling in the polls. It completely pulled me away from the story. Another book set in the early 90s talks about McMansions, something I had to google it to confirm the term's origin. Yup, not a term in common usage then. Am I weird to find this slightly bothersome?

 

Super bothers me too. Depending on how bad it is sometimes I can't finish a book with too many anachronisms. I find historical romances to be pretty bad offenders. I love strong women in books but not ones that aren't accurate for the time period.

[ErinE]

Super bothers me too. Depending on how bad it is sometimes I can't finish a book with too many anachronisms. I find historical romances to be pretty bad offenders. I love strong women in books but not ones that aren't accurate for the time period.

I wondered what you'd say! Back when Keira Knightley's Pride and Prejudice came out, a Jane Austen expert said that Elizabeth Bennet would never stand around with her mouth open. At the time, I thought it was an odd thing to complain about, but here I am griping about McMansions, polls, and due respect.

[Matryoshka]

I wondered what you'd say! Back when Keira Knightley's Pride and Prejudice came out, a Jane Austen expert said that Elizabeth Bennet would never stand around with her mouth open. At the time, I thought it was an odd thing to complain about, but here I am griping about McMansions, polls, and due respect.

 

Gah, that movie was so full of anachronisms I pretty much couldn't watch it.

 

For some reason a passage from The Turn of the Screw has stuck with me, something about how the governess could tell that the mysterious woman she saw hanging about was disreputable because she wasn't wearing a hat while outdoors.  Oh, the horror.

 

So all through that awful movie I kept wondering why Elizabeth Bennett was acting like such a slut by constantly walking about outdoors without her hat on... 

[Kareni]

Currently free for Kindle readers ~

 

I enjoyed a different book by this author:  Playing with Fire: A Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count) by RJ Blain

 

I believe I've posted this mystery before:  Bed-Bugged by Susan J. Kroupa

 

a Christian mystery: Miranda Warning  by Heather Day Gilbert

 

travel memoir: 100 days of solitude  by Daphne Kapsali

 

vintage travel:  High Albania  by Edith Durham

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Chrysalis Academy]

 

 

 

Whoa. I've read The Great Gatsby half a dozen times and never picked up on that. Was he crushing on Gatsby or someone else?

 

 

I didn't catch it the first few times I read it either. No, it's the scene after Nick goes with Tom and his mistress to their flat in the city the first time. They party, everyone gets drunk, Nick leaves with a man . . . and later wakes up and leaves from his flat. It's subtle, but I definitely think there is something there. It's very interesting in the context of Nick's self-deception in the book more globally. What kind of a narrator is Nick? How reliable is he, actually?  

 

Funny we're talking about this in the context of The Razor's Edge - I saw some blurb saying that it's an even greater novel of that period than Gatsby.  Um, I don't *think* so!!!   :toetap05:   But y'all know how much I adore The Great Gatsby. 

[Kareni]

I finished two books ~

 

The first was a re-read of Ruth's Bonded (Ruth & Gron Book 1)  by V.C. Lancaster and the second was the sequel (a new read for me), Gron's Fated (Ruth & Gron Book 2).  These are categorized as science fiction romances and were entertaining reads.  (Significant adult content)

 

Here's the description of the first book ~

 

"When Ruth finds herself abducted and thrown into a cell with a big scary alien, naturally she's terrified. At first. But when she's forced to get along with her furry, tailed cellmate (and her clothes get stolen) things slowly start to change between them. After they escape onto an unknown alien planet, they're finally free to explore their feelings and each other, but can they survive with only each other to rely on and no way of communicating?

Gron is from a matriarchal society where the males obey their Queens, so when a beautiful but strange female is dropped into his cell, he doesn't know what to think. Is she a victim like him, or is she being used by his captors to control him? Either way, he knows he must control his instincts or he will end up inescapably Bonded to her. The delicate Queen needs his help to survive, and it is his duty to serve her, but can he do it without losing his heart?"

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

I haven't started Razor's Edge yet, but all the discussion is making me want to read it sooner, than later.   Currently deep into Dean Koontz's From the Corner of His Eye (chunky book at 700+ pages)  as well as Fierce on the Page by Sage Cohen which is inspiring me to get back into writing.  

[Kareni]

Two enjoyable book-ish posts ~

 

From the Word Wenches site:  Ask A Wench: Treasures Old and New

 

"Nicola here, introducing this month’s Ask A Wench where we are talking about old and new treasures on the bookshelf, which is a riff on the “if you like this author, you’ll enjoy this one†idea. Amazon in particular makes a point of recommending authors on the basis of the books you order from them. Sometimes their recommendations are spot on and you discover another great author in the same genre. Other times, their idea of similar authors is a bit wayward. I cherish the occasion I ordered a copy of Jo Beverley’s St Raven and Amazon recommended I also buy “Crows and Jays of the World.â€

 

My keeper shelf has some treasures that are so old they are falling to pieces: Daphne Du Maurier’s Frenchman’s Creek, Georgette Heyer's Devil’s Cub and Robert Neill’s Mist over Pendle to name but a few. These books are special, as much for the memories we associate with them – when we first read them, what was happening in our lives at the time and so on. It’s difficult to find other, more recent, authors who match. Occasionally though a new treasure comes along to take it’s place beside the old books on the keeper shelf. Perhaps the author’s voice has echoes of an old favourite or their writing reminds us of a long-ago treasure. Below the Wenches give an insight into their thoughts on treasures old and new...."

 

 

And this post from the LitHub site: Meet the 13-Year-Old Pakistani Girl on a Mission to Read the World

 

"A year ago, 12-year-old Aisha Esbhani, sitting in her home in Karachi, Pakistan, looked up at her bookshelf and realized that it was filled almost entirely with books by North American and British authors. Dissatisfied, Esbhani set herself a major challenge: to read a book from every country in the world, “as well as some extra territories.†To get help, she started a Facebook page for her project, and sent out a call for recommendations.

 

Not a usual project for a teenager, perhaps. When I asked Esbhani how she became such an avid reader, she told me that as a child, her mother would buy her books like Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella—but while she loved the movies, â€œthe books never really caught my interest. Then, my brother gave me A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. That series began my reading journey!†Well, I’m sure she’s not alone in that regard.

 

Once Esbhani got her Facebook page up and running, the recommendations came rolling in—as well as the books themselves. “I was sent an unpublished translation of The Kaafir of Karthala from Comoros, it is said to be the only book in English from the country,†she told me in an email. “Translator Allison Charette will be sending me an advanced copy of a book from Madagascar in a few weeks. Also, author Robi Gottlieb from Luxembourg and Karlis Verdins both sent me printed and e-versions of their books that weren’t commercially available in English.†Even former President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, has sent her some recommendations...."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[aggieamy]

I didn't catch it the first few times I read it either. No, it's the scene after Nick goes with Tom and his mistress to their flat in the city the first time. They party, everyone gets drunk, Nick leaves with a man . . . and later wakes up and leaves from his flat. It's subtle, but I definitely think there is something there. It's very interesting in the context of Nick's self-deception in the book more globally. What kind of a narrator is Nick? How reliable is he, actually?  

 

Funny we're talking about this in the context of The Razor's Edge - I saw some blurb saying that it's an even greater novel of that period than Gatsby.  Um, I don't *think* so!!!   :toetap05:   But y'all know how much I adore The Great Gatsby. 

 

 

I'm a fan also so it will be no hardship to reread it to see what I've missed. Too bad my to-read stack is crushing my nightstand right now.

[Stacia]

.

Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[Penguin]

Happy belated mother's day, all!

 

I can't remember what I read last week. We all survived the graduation weekend. It went really well. I managed to find my mother again after I abandonned her in a large crowd to try to find us all seats, and I managed to find my mother-in-law (who was being retrieved from Maine by middle son and meeting us there) and I managed to find my husband and oldest who were dealing with the parking, and I managed to get them all into just about perfect seats despite the fact that most of the seats in the quadrangle were already taken and various paths were blocked off with my people stuck on the wrong side of the barrier, and I managed to find youngest in the crowd of graduates only a few seats away from us, and my sisters said they didn't care that there wasn't time to even try to find them before the ceremony started because they found seats under a giant tv screen and got to hug youngest when he was marching in. I even had an extra scarf to keep my mother from freezing. And we managed to have the combined two-sons-shipping-out/other-son-college-graduation/cousin-returning-from-Denmark-and-turning-21 party the next day, despite me not being able to do any dishes or fetching and carrying or cooking. At least I could drive. I spent 6 hours in the car ferrying people to and from the party and train station while my husband and sons decorated and cooked. Mother's Day was also in there someplace. Youngest, who homeschooled 1-12, gave me his college diploma for mother's day and said ok, anything bad that happens now is my fault not yours, or bad luck. Best mother's day present ever! The only problem is that I am now missing the older two like crazy.

 

Oh - I remember what I read last week now. I finished the 5th of the Dune series (audio book) and a reread fluff book for balance - Sprigged Muslin by Georgette Heyer. And we only have a few pages left of Year of the Griffin, a reread for me which my husband is reading aloud to me before bed. Once again, I am struck by how many points about university DWJ hits.

 

I didn't read any of the last thread. I hope everyone is surviving ok.

 

Nan

Congrats on the graduation weekend. Our son also graduated from college over the weekend. This was my first experience as the parent at a college graduation, and it felt amazing :)

[Kareni]

Two book-ish posts from Tor.com ~

 

Cats In Spaaaaace!  by Corey J. White  (A commenter mentioned one of my favorite Star Trek novels ~  Janet Kagan's Uhura's Song.)

 

"The cat is on the floor, looking up at me and yelling as I type this. My original plan was for a piece on ‘Pets In Space’, but she’s threatened to vomit on my bed, under the covers, if I don’t focus solely on cats. Why? Because cats are better than dogs. I am typing this of my own free will. Please send salmon.

 

In all seriousness though, even dog lovers have to admit that cats would make better pets aboard a space craft: they don’t require as much food as any but the smallest dogs, unlike many dog breeds they don’t need a lot of space to run around, and they’re great at catching the rodents chewing on the cables of the life-support system.

 

Now, with that debate settled, let’s look at some of the best cats in space across literature, comics, film, and video games...."

 

PLUS

Five Books About Sleuths  by Gwenda Bond and Christopher Rowe

 

"Who doesn’t love a good sleuth? We both do, which is one of the reasons we ended up writing a new series together about three kids that solve mysteries together in a hotel for monsters (or, in our terminology, supernormals). In book one of the Supernormal Sleuthing Service, The Lost Legacy, we introduce readers to a secret governing body called the Octagon and culinary alchemy and the Hotel New Harmonia with floors specifically for the undead and a dragon in the basement and, of course, lots of mysteries. Meanwhile one of us (Gwenda) also writes a series of YA novels about Lois Lane as a teen sleuth/reporter. We like a sleuth, is what we’re saying.

 

What is it that fascinates us about them? It’s hard to narrow it down for the length of a post… particularly when you’re exploring it at book-length. But we’ll give it a shot. For starters, there’s something so universal about a story driven by people solving a mystery—sleuthing, as it were—that we can all identify with, even though we may not be recovering our family’s magical cookbooks, taking down villains, or solving murders (well, at least no one in our house is). What we do all do is puzzle our way through our daily lives, which are made up of endless mysteries as far as we’re concerned. Where do socks go? Why do we have a zillion bookmarks but none where we need them? Why do people eat licorice? And, of course, the heavy, existential crisis type questions: Why are we here? What are we supposed to do? How can we be good people? And though many sleuths end up enforcing the rules, just as often they break them to do it. There’s a sense of being in service to the higher calling of the truth, and so (at least in fiction, if not in life) bending the rules to find out crucial things becomes a part of the sleuth’s art. Sleuths are often outsiders. They often say and do things most of us don’t or can’t...."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[JennW in SoCal]

Congratulations to Nan and Penguin on the newest BaW college graduates!! It is a grand feeling isn't it?!  

 

I've been getting a kick out flashbacks to the 1980s thanks to the audio book Ready Player One.  Tonight I felt like I leveled up to even deeper flashbacks -- back to the early 1970s thanks to the "mix tape" soundtrack for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2.  Would anyone else here care to fess up to remembering the song "Brandy" from 1972?!  

[Kareni]

  Would anyone else here care to fess up to remembering the song "Brandy" from 1972?!  

 

Guilty.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

Raising hand! Brandy which instantly reminded me of Mandy and my old old old crush on Barry Manilow.

[mumto2]

Raising hand! Brandy which instantly reminded me of Mandy and my old old old crush on Barry Manilow.

Guilty for both Brandy and Barry Manilow.

 

Eta I actually did that typo all on my own. I'm obsessing over my quilts so guilt now starts with a q in my vocabulary. I will feel so much better when I have one done. I am really worried I won't have a single one done for the show.

Edited May 16, 2017 by mumto2

[mumto2]

During the night I finished Charming https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17333338-charming by Elliott James. This appears to be a great new paranormal series. I'm looking forward to reading more. For lack of a better way to describe it there is an interesting mix of mythologies rather like the Iron Druid series which I am finding pretty appealing. I plan to read the next one just as soon as I deal with my bulging stack problem and all the pesky things like laundry, feeding my family, and that silly quilt and craft show where I promised "a few new quilts" before I hit a spell where I just kept starting new things. Many new things both knitted and fabric with a bit of crochet thrown in.......I have some where I can't even really remember the plan was. Nothing is done. Today's rant is over.

[Mom-ninja.]

Well, mumto2, I just added that book to my list. Thanks for making my list longer. ;)

 

 

I finished Queen Lucia which is the same time frame as Wodehouse books and is slightly Wodehousesque. It was ok. However, it is no Wodehouse. I enjoyed Jerome Jerome's books better. If you looking for a light, easy, fun, fluffy read then this book fits. 

[Jane in NC]

Well, mumto2, I just added that book to my list. Thanks for making my list longer. ;)

 

 

I finished Queen Lucia which is the same time frame as Wodehouse books and is slightly Wodehousesque. It was ok. However, it is no Wodehouse. I enjoyed Jerome Jerome's books better. If you looking for a light, easy, fun, fluffy read then this book fits. 

 

I'm a fan of Benson's Lucia books.  In fact, I own a massive volume that is the complete collection of the Lucia/Mapp novels. Certainly no Wodehouse but a very different collection of characters--more women, for example.  Amy would probably enjoy these pleasant entertainments set in a small English village.

 

They were escape reading for me along with E.M Delafield when I was a graduate student.

 

[Butter]

Last night I finished Revelation by Karen McQuestion.  Loved it!  It was the fourth and final book of the Edgewood series.

 

This morning I finished reading Theras and His Town by Caroline Dale Snedeker to Adrian.  It's historical fiction about an Athenian boy who is taken to Sparta and then runs away back to Athens.  Both Adrian and I enjoyed it a lot.  Fritz did, too.  He'd do some of his school work every morning and listen in to me reading to his brother.  That's the last book of the year assigned to Adrian.  This time of year is so fun as things get finished (7 more school days).

[Chrysalis Academy]

I finished Terranauts by TC Boyle. He's my local author. Though the book jacket says he lives in Santa Barbara, my local library's local author page says Guerneville. I'm guessing he has a second home up here, which counts in my book! One of his characters in this book went to Sonoma State, though it's set in Arizona.  I enjoyed it - it's a fictional story about the crew of a Biosphere II type ecobubble. A bunch of people, in an intense situation, literally under glass - it's a great psychodrama. Believable, too. It's told from the POV of 3 different characters, only one of which is mildly likable, the other two are total jerks, but in a believable way you totally understand, given who they are, and you can even sympathize with them. Definitely a book that makes you think, what would I do? what would I be like?

 

[Mothersweets]

Hi everyone! Happy Mother's Day! I hope everyone had a relaxing Sunday. I was sick over the weekend so it wasn't exactly the Mother's Day I had hoped for but my family took good care of me and treated me like a queen. :)

 

Early last week I finished 13 Reasons Why It was ok, I didn't quite buy into the reasons and the boy - I've forgotten his name already - was irritating to me.  I've watched up to episode 4 of the Netflix version but they were dragging out and it was way too angsty for me. 

 

Also, I'm almost done with Ready Player One - I'll finish it today. What an excellent story! Wil Wheaton was so excellent. I've thoroughly enjoyed it and hope the movie lives up to the book. 

[Mothersweets]

Congratulations to Nan and Penguin on the newest BaW college graduates!! It is a grand feeling isn't it?!  

 

I've been getting a kick out flashbacks to the 1980s thanks to the audio book Ready Player One.  Tonight I felt like I leveled up to even deeper flashbacks -- back to the early 1970s thanks to the "mix tape" soundtrack for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2.  Would anyone else here care to fess up to remembering the song "Brandy" from 1972?!  

 

 

Yep, me too! We went and say Guardians of the Galaxy 2 on Wednesday and I knew about half of the songs. Enjoyed the movie, too, it was fun. :)

[Kareni]

A one day only currently free Kindle book ~

 

Carmilla by by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

 

"Before Dracula, there was Carmilla—the first seductive vampire to haunt readers’ imaginations

This classic of Gothic horror follows Laura, a woman haunted by a girlhood dream of a beautiful visitor to her bedroom. Now, a decade later, Laura finds Carmilla, who appears to be her own age, on the side of the road after a carriage accident. The two recognize each other from the same childhood dream and become fast friends. Soon after, Laura begins to experience mysterious feelings and is once again haunted by nightmares. She finds Carmilla strangely irresistible and longs to be with her.

But as the two friends grow closer, Laura’s health begins to fail. It becomes apparent that her enchanting companion is harboring a sinister secret. To free herself from Carmilla’s grasp, Laura and her family must fight for their lives."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

I finished three books recently ~

 

 

Nathan Burgoine's novella In Memoriam which I enjoyed quite a bit.  I'll be re-reading this.

 

"With one diagnosis, editor James Daniels learns that he's literally running out of time. Looking at his life, he sees one regret: Andy, the one that got away. Andy was the first man that James ever loved, but Andy has been gone for years, and might not want to be found.

But as his cancer progresses and James starts to lose his grip on time and memory, it might just be that time and memory are losing their grip on James, too.

It's the biggest and most important re-write of his life. Restoring love from nothing but memory might be possible, if the past isn't too far gone to fix."

**

 

Sarina Bowen's contemporary romance Shooting For the Stars  which I enjoyed.  (Adult content)

 

"For one night she had everything.

Pro snowboarder Stella Lazarus has always loved her brother's best friend. But the one time she tried to show him, she was shot down faster than you can say "competitor disqualified."

Until one blissful night in Tahoe, when Stella finally gets her man.

Or does she? In the morning, Stella and Bear wake up to horrible news. The sort that sends them racing back to Vermont, and straight into the arms of guilt and family obligations.

For all of Bryan “Bear†Barry’s life, three natural laws held true: his best friend Hank was destined for greatness, Hank’s sister Stella was off-limits, and Bear would always manage to negotiate the rocky paths that life threw his way. In the space of two days, that’s all shattered.

Bear can't believe he slipped up so badly with Stella. Even if his best friend wasn't lying broken in a hospital bed, it would still be unforgivable. Determined to do better, he devotes himself to his friend's recovery, denying himself the very person he loves. And the very thing he needs."

**

 

and the science fiction romance novella Jumping Barrel (Cyborg Sizzle Book 7)  by Cynthia Sax which was a pleasant read.  It would not make much sense if you haven't read other books in the series.  It's currently free for Kindle readers.  (Adult content)

 

"He requires an Expert. She needs a hero.

Barrel requires an Expert for the Tau Cetian orphans. He’s looking for a female who is willing to commit to a lifespan-long role, who is comfortable with moving off planet, and who, preferably, has the ability to speak the offsprings’ first language.

Nola wants the role Barrel is offering so badly she bends a few truths. Yes, she was born off planet but she has lived almost all of her lifespan in sheltered Academies. Yes, she has learned Tau Cetian but she has never spoken with a local. Yes, she plans to follow the rules but his deep, sexy voice tempts her to rebel.

When a fact-morphing human academic meets her battle-worn cyborg warrior, deceptions are revealed, passions flare, and circuits sizzle. Wrong seems right. Lies turn into truth. The candidate least qualified for the role becomes the one candidate Barrel can’t let go."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Mom-ninja.]

I'm a fan of Benson's Lucia books.  In fact, I own a massive volume that is the complete collection of the Lucia/Mapp novels. Certainly no Wodehouse but a very different collection of characters--more women, for example.  Amy would probably enjoy these pleasant entertainments set in a small English village.

 

They were escape reading for me along with E.M Delafield when I was a graduate student.

 

 

Yes, I did enjoy a mostly female cast of characters. Some of you were talking about subtle or open gay characters in books. I think Georgie is gay even though he thinks he's in love with a married woman. He admits he doesn't know what it feels like to be in love. At a time when coming out was not an option, I can see how people would want to convince themselves that they are perhaps in love with someone of the opposite sex. What do you think of Georgie? 

[Jane in NC]

Yes, I did enjoy a mostly female cast of characters. Some of you were talking about subtle or open gay characters in books. I think Georgie is gay even though he thinks he's in love with a married woman. He admits he doesn't know what it feels like to be in love. At a time when coming out was not an option, I can see how people would want to convince themselves that they are perhaps in love with someone of the opposite sex. What do you think of Georgie?

Georgie is either gay or asexual. He makes an excellent companion for Lucia but I doubt if he is capable of a romantic commitment.

[Butter]

I just realized I finished spelling emerald and only halfway through the month!

 

Economics Through Everyday Life by Anthony Clark

Missing Since Monday by Ann M. Martin

Entangled by Barbara Ellen Brink

Revelation by Karen McQuestion

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Let it Snow by Maureen Johnson, John Green, and Lauren Myracle

Don't Make Me Come Up There! by Kristen Welch

[Nan in Mass]

Congratulations, Penguin and family!!!!!

[Kareni]

Any fans of author Megan Whalen Turner here?  I've not read any of her books, but my daughter is a decided fan.

 

INTERVIEW: Megan Whalen Turner, Author of the Queen’s Thief Series

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Happy]

Raising hand! Brandy which instantly reminded me of Mandy and my old old old crush on Barry Manilow.

 

I know ALL the words to both Brandy and Mandy....sigh...

[Narrow Gate Academy]

I haven't had much time on the boards recently, but I did finish another five books this week putting me over the 52 mark for the year.

 

Finished This Week

📚Electric Heart by Anna Carven - The seventh book in the science fiction series from the previous week. Another 4 star book.

📚The Housewife Assassin's Handbook by Brown - I found the premise behind her being hired as an assassin ridiculous, and her lack of regard for her children made her unlikable to me. 2 stars

📚 Odd and the Frost Giants by Gaiman - Short, entertaining tale of a young crippled Viking boy who helps three displaced Norse gods. 4 stars.

📚B Is for Burglar by Grafton - Second Kinsey Millhone book where the PI takes a missing person case. I figured out the ending ahead of time but still enjoyed watching the story unfold. 4 stars.

📚Bloody Jack by Meyer - I finished this audio book for the seaworthy bingo square. 2 stars.

 

Long term reads

📚ESV Bible - currently reading Nehemiah

📚The History of the Ancient World - another three chapters mostly on Assyria, 40% done

 

Upcoming/Current readsby

📚Irresistible by Alter - just started for my nonfiction selection

📚The Dark Prophecy by Riordan - on deck for library read

📚Hounded by Hearne - on deck for audio book

📚Green Rider by Britain - on deck for ebook, also gemstone read for May

[Lady Florida.]

Yesterday I finished listening to Big Little Lies. I liked it much better than I thought I would. I have a local friend who usually loves books that get a lot of hype and that have tv or movie adaptations, yet I've rarely liked any of these books she recommended. So when she was gushing about this book I figured it would be no different. I'm glad I gave it a chance. My Goodreads review.

 

And yes, I'm plenty old enough to sing along and get the words right if I heard either Brandy or Mandy playing.

 

Narrow Gate - I've been meaning to tell you I love the little book bullets you always use. Where did you get them? They're not WTM smilies that I somehow missed are they?

Edited May 16, 2017 by Lady Florida.

[-M-]

Hello, readers!

 

Four and half months into the "Shakespeare in a Year" project, I can happily report that I am on or ahead of schedule: I've read through Sonnet 60, finished Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, and read all of the plays through Henry IV, Part 2 (May 31)... well, sort of. As I confessed earlier, I could not bring myself to reread Edward III as I *just* read it last year in advance of Chicago Shakespeare's Tug of War: Civil Strife. And although The Merchant of Venice is one of my favorites, I read it for the sixth? seventh? time last summer prior to seeing Jonathan Pryce as Shylock (also at the CST). In the spirit of the plan, though, I opted to return to Shylock Is My Name, a book I set aside after a chapter last summer but am now more than halfway through. This is a much stronger entry in the Hogarth Shakespeare series than the first title, The Gap of Time.

 

I've pasted my list to-date below. A few observations:

 

 -- Seventeen of the seventy books I've read so far this year were published in 2017.

 

-- With fifteen non-fiction titles already, I am poised to exceed my annual goal of twenty-six (minimum).

 

-- The "Shakespeare in a Year" project has guaranteed that I exceed my "Read more poetry!" goal.

 

-- The project also explains the large number of drama entries on my list (twenty-two, so far).

 

-- My graphic entries are down, I think... only fourteen at this writing.

 

-- And, if you're interested, the following represent standout reading experiences:

 

â–  So Long, See You Tomorrow (William Maxwell; 1980. Fiction.)

â–  Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City (Matthew Desmond; 2016. Non-fiction.)

■ The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood; 1986. Fiction.) REREAD

â–  Before the Fall (Noah Hawley; 2016. Fiction.)

â–  The Hard Problem (Tom Stoppard; 2015. Drama.)

â–  Lincoln in the Bardo (George Saunders; 2017. Fiction.)

â–  The Massive, Volumes 1 - 5 (Brian Wood; 2013 - 2015. Graphic fiction.)

 

 

THE LIST

January
â–  Pygmalion (George Bernard Shaw; 1912. Drama.)
â–  A.D.: After Death, Book 2 (Scott Snyder; 2016. Graphic fiction.)
â–  I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives (Martin Ganda and Caitlin Alifirenka; 2016. Non-fiction.)
â–  Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis (J.D. Vance; 2016. Non-fiction.)
â–  The Selfishness of Others (Kristin Dombeck; 2016. Non-fiction.)
â–  So Long, See You Tomorrow (William Maxwell; 1980. Fiction.)
â–  King John (William Shakespeare; 1623. Drama.)
■ The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood; 1986. Fiction.)
â–  Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City (Matthew Desmond; 2016. Non-fiction.)
â–  Bird Watching (Paula McCartney; 2010. Non-fiction.)
â–  The Taming of the Shrew (William Shakespeare; 1590. Drama.)
â–  The Two Gentlemen of Verona (William Shakespeare; 1589. Drama.)
â–  Much Ado: A Summer with a Repertory Theater Company (Michael Lenehan; 2016. Non-fiction.)
â–  Henry VI, Part 1 (William Shakespeare; 1591. Drama.)

 

February
â–  King Charles III (Mike Bartlett; 2014. Drama.)
â–  Henry VI, Part 2 (William Shakespeare; 1591. Drama.)
â–  Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (Bryan Stevenson; 2014. Non-fiction.)
â–  Henry VI, Part 3 (William Shakespeare; 1591. Drama.)
â–  Richard III (William Shakespeare; 1592. Drama.)
â–  Sun Moon Star (Kurt Vonnegut; 2016. Fiction.)
â–  Titus Andronicus (William Shakespeare; 1593. Drama.)
â–  The Comedy of Errors (William Shakespeare; 1594. Drama.)
■ Love’s Labour’s Lost (William Shakespeare; 1595. Drama.)
â–  The Futures (Anna Pitoniak; 2017. Fiction.)
â–  Books for Living (Will Schwalbe; 2016. Non-fiction.)
â–  Countdown City (Ben H. Winters; 2013. Fiction.)
â–  Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath (Ted Koppel; 2015. Non-fiction.)
â–  The Joy of Geocaching (Paul and Dana Gillin; 2010. Non-fiction.)
â–  Rhinoceros (Eugene Ionesco; 1959. Drama.)
â–  Small Admissions (Amy Poeppel; 2016. Fiction.)
â–  The Confession (John Grisham; 2010. Fiction.)
â–  The Changeling (Thomas Middleton and William Rowley; 1622. Drama.)
â–  The Little Book of Hygge (Meik Wiking; 2017. Non-fiction.)
â–  Outcast, Volume 4 (Robert Kirkman; 2017. Graphic fiction.)

 

March
■ No Man’s Land (Harold Pinter; 1974. Drama.)
â–  World of Trouble (Ben H. Winters; 2014. Fiction.)
â–  The Walking Dead, Volume 27: The Whisperer War (Robert Kirkman; 2017. Graphic fiction.)
â–  Security (Gina Wohlsdorf; 2016. Fiction.)
â–  Before the Fall (Noah Hawley; 2016. Fiction.)
â–  Richard II (William Shakespeare; 1595. Drama.)
â–  The Last One (Alexandra Oliva; 2016. Fiction.)
â–  The Massive, Volume 1: Black Pacific (Brian Wood; 2013. Graphic fiction.)
â–  The Massive, Volume 2: The Subcontinental (Brian Wood; 2013. Graphic fiction.)
â–  Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare; 1595. Drama.)
â–  The Hard Problem (Tom Stoppard; 2015. Drama.)

 

April
â–  The Massive, Volume 3: Longship (Brian Wood; 2014. Graphic fiction.)
â–  The Massive, Volume 4: Sahara (Brian Wood; 2015. Graphic fiction.)
â–  The Massive, Volume 5: Ragnarok (Brian Wood; 2015. Graphic fiction.)
â–  Class (Lucinda Rosenfeld; 2017. Fiction.)
â–  Saga, Volume 7 (Brian K. Vaughan; 2017. Graphic fiction.)
â–  Letter 44, Volume 4: Saviors (Charles Soule; 2017. Graphic fiction.)
■ A Midsummer Night’s Dream (William Shakespeare; 1595. Drama.)
â–  Venus and Adonis (William Shakespeare; 1593. Poetry.)
â–  Monster (Walter Dean Myers; 1999. Fiction.)
â–  Birds Life Art (Kyo Maclear; 2017. Non-fiction.)
â–  Lincoln in the Bardo (George Saunders; 2017. Fiction.)
â–  Revival, Volume 8 (Tim Seeley; 2017. Graphic fiction.)
â–  The Art of Practicing (Madeline Bruser; 1999. Non-fiction.)
â–  Reclaiming Conversation (Sherry Turkle; 2015. Non-fiction.)

 

May
â–  Fatale (Jean-Paul Manchette; 1977 (2011, English). Fiction.)
â–  Tenth of December (George Saunders; 2013. Fiction.)
■ The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Geocaching, (2012. Non-fiction.)
â–  Briggs Land, Volume 1: State of Grace (Brian Wood; 2017. Graphic fiction.)
â–  Those Who Wish Me Dead (Michael Koryta; 2014. Fiction.)
â–  Henry IV, Part 1 (William Shakespeare; 1597. Drama.)
â–  The Rape of Lucrece (William Shakespeare; 1594. Poetry.)
â–  Henry IV, Part 2 (William Shakespeare; 1597. Drama.)
â–  The Metamorphosis (Peter Kuper (adapting Frank Kafka); 2003. Graphic fiction.)
â–  Roughneck (Jeff Lemire; 2017. Graphic fiction.)
â–  Harvey (Mary Chase; 1944. Drama.)

Edited May 16, 2017 by M--

[Happy]

 

Long term reads

📚ESV Bible - currently reading Nehemiah

📚The History of the Ancient World - another three chapters mostly on Assyria, 40% done

 

 

I love Nehemiah. The whole concept of everyone working together in the beginning of that book is very inspiring.

 

I especially love chap 3, verse 12. where it talks about a man repairing part of the wall with the help of his daughters.

 

I would LOVE to know more about that family. :)

[Stacia]

.

Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[Stacia]

.

Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[Matryoshka]

I'm going recommend this one to two of our BaWers: M-- and Jenn. (Matryoshka, I am not sure this would be your cup of tea, though.)

 

LOL, I'm not sure either, but I'm starting to think I may have to dig up a copy of the original, because now I'm really intrigued about the language aspect - if it's been translated as Spanglish, was it written in Spanglish?  How much, then got translated?  What is the ratio of Spanish:English in the original vs. the (partial?) translation?

[Stacia]

.

Edited November 2, 2017 by Stacia

[mumto2]

I've decided that I will doubt I will ever choose to read Tom Clancy again. I've been listening forever and am so bored. I'm actually listening to The Bear and the "Dragon" not Nightingale which I think I originally posted. A best seller from one of the kids birth years. Only 35 hours to go, yawn. It's fine because I am really having to concentrate on my quilt. I have already requested it next on dh's library card. Wondering if I need to use one of the dc's cards for another hold. I hope I can get this done within a month!

[ErinE]

I've decided that I will doubt I will ever choose to read Tom Clancy again. I've been listening forever and am so bored. I'm actually listening to The Bear and the "Dragon" not Nightingale which I think I originally posted. A best seller from one of the kids birth years. Only 35 hours to go, yawn. It's fine because I am really having to concentrate on my quilt. I have already requested it next on dh's library card. Wondering if I need to use one of the dc's cards for another hold. I hope I can get this done within a month!

Tom Clancy is a long haul, with lots of technical details that I usually skim over. Kudos to you for trying the audio version. I didn't think The Bear and The Dragon was very good. I prefer The Hunt for Red October, The Sum of All Fears, or Patriot Games.

[mumto2]

Tom Clancy is a long haul, with lots of technical details that I usually skim over. Kudos to you for trying the audio version. I didn't think The Bear and The Dragon was very good. I prefer The Hunt for Red October, The Sum of All Fears, or Patriot Games.

The only reason for trying this is because the majority of best seller's for my dc's birth years are technically rereads for me, lots of James Patterson, John Grisham and Harry Potter. This was the new to me author. I thought audio would be easier because I normally am pleasantly surprised by the audio and manage to read many things this way that I never would otherwise. My fil loved Tom Clancy so I thought I would try and probably like. I now know why it took him 3 months to read a book!

[Kareni]

A one day only currently free Kindle book ~

 

The Man of Last Resort: Or, The Clients of Randolph Mason  by Melville Davisson Post

 

About the Author

Melville Davisson Post (1869 1930) was a West Virginia author and attorney best known for his stories featuring Uncle Abner, an amateur detective and backwoodsman who solves mysteries and hands out justice in the years before the Civil War. Post s other iconic creation is the amoral lawyer Randolph Mason, whose exploits on behalf of his criminal clients helped to establish the legal thriller genre.

 

 

"In New York’s Plaza Hotel, a gambler, a Virginia gentleman, and a failed lawyer named Alfred Randal come together to form a three-man political machine. Rather than contend with Tammany Hall, they set out west to take control of the Arizona statehouse. Soon Randal is governor, the Virginian is auditor, and the gambler is secretary of state. Their reach absolute, their power unquestioned, the trio has only one problem: They have robbed the treasury blind.
 
To keep himself out of prison, Randal returns to New York to beg the help of Randolph Mason, a brilliant lawyer who never hesitates to help bad men escape justice. In these classic stories, America’s most dangerous legal mind assists all manner of liars, crooks, and scoundrels—proving once again that even a master criminal is only as smart as his attorney."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

I am happy to say that I have finished Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway for my book group tomorrow.  As I mentioned previously, there is a surfeit of semi-colons.  What the book lacks, however, is chapters and even page breaks are in short supply.  At one point, I checked and there were some forty pages plus between page breaks.  I would read along and be thinking, "My kingdom for a page break!"  This was a dense read with multiple story lines and points of view.  I don't regret reading it, but I'm happy to be done.  I'll be interested to hear what the other members of my book group share.

 

 

"Heralded as Virginia Woolf's greatest novel, this is a vivid portrait of a single day in a woman's life. When we meet her, Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway is preoccupied with the last-minute details of party preparation while in her mind she is something much more than a perfect society hostess. As she readies her house, she is flooded with remembrances of faraway times. And, met with the realities of the present, Clarissa reexamines the choices that brought her there, hesitantly looking ahead to the unfamiliar work of growing old."

"Mrs. Dalloway was the first novel to split the atom. If the novel before Mrs. Dalloway aspired to immensities of scope and scale, to heroic journeys across vast landscapes, with Mrs. Dalloway Virginia Woolf insisted that it could also locate the enormous within the everyday; that a life of errands and party-giving was every bit as viable a subject as any life lived anywhere; and that should any human act in any novel seem unimportant, it has merely been inadequately observed. The novel as an art form has not been the same since.

"Mrs. Dalloway also contains some of the most beautiful, complex, incisive and idiosyncratic sentences ever written in English, and that alone would be reason enough to read it. It is one of the most moving, revolutionary artworks of the twentieth century."

--Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours

 

Regards,

Kareni