Book a Week 2018 - BW17: The Listeners by Walter De La Mare

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday and Welcome to week seventeen in our Open Roads Reading Adventure. Greetings to all our readers and to all following our progress.  Mister Linky is available weekly on 52 Books in 52 Weeks  to share a link to your book reviews.

 

The Listeners

 by

Walter De La Mare

 

“Is there anybody there?” said the Traveller,

Knocking on the moonlit door;

And his horse in the silence champed the grass

Of the forest’s ferny floor;

And a bird flew up out of the turret,

Above the Traveller’s head:

And he smote upon the door again a second time;

“Is there anybody there?” he said.

But no one descended to the Traveller;

No head from the leaf-fringed sill

Leaned over and looked into his grey eyes,

Where he stood perplexed and still.

But only a host of phantom listeners

That dwelt in the lone house then

Stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight

To that voice from the world of men:

Stood thronging the faint moonbeams on the dark stair,

That goes down to the empty hall,

Hearkening in an air stirred and shaken

By the lonely Traveller’s call.

And he felt in his heart their strangeness,

Their stillness answering his cry,

While his horse moved, cropping the dark turf,

‘Neath the starred and leafy sky;

For he suddenly smote on the door, even

Louder, and lifted his head:--

“Tell them I came, and no one answered,

That I kept my word,” he said.

Never the least stir made the listeners,

Though every word he spake

Fell echoing through the shadowiness of the still house

From the one man left awake:

Ay, they heard his foot upon the stirrup,

And the sound of iron on stone,

And how the silence surged softly backward,

When the plunging hoofs were gone.

 

 

Learn more about Walter de la Mare, British writer of novels, short stories and poems through the Walter de la Mare Society.   

 *******************************

 For our Brit Trippers, continue to follow Dere Street to Northumbria. We end the second leg of our Brit Tripping in Northumbria, previously known as Kingdom of Northumbria and has been an Angle, Danish, and Norwegian kingdom. Now it encompasses the northern tip of England and southeast of Scotland.

 Rabbit trails: Newcastle  Hadrian’s Wall  Alnwick Castle  Holy Island  Berwick Upon Tweed

 *****************************

What are you reading? 

Link to Week 16

[Robin M]

Hope you are having a good weekend and enjoying beautiful weather. Hubby's out doing his morning 10,000 steps.James is playing video games.  Today's tasks - grocery shopping and fun shopping sales at JCPenney's.       I just finished reread of Keri Arthur's Outcast series with City of Light, Winter Halo and Black Tide.  I'm still working on  Crossroads of Twilight and about to dive into Fair Game by Patricia Briggs.

[mumto2]

Brit Tripping.......I seem to have fallen off the bus a bit also but plan to hop back on this week in Northumbria and read a book from the Anne Cleeves Vera series.  I am on the second book, Telling Tales having read The Crow Trap earlier this year and am looking forward to it.  I am not a fan of the television show for some reason but found the first book to be very appealing.  I did read Aunt Dimity meets the Devil for Northumbria recently if anyone is looking for something lighter.

My recent finishes are my Iceland book which was Silence of the Gravehttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20326795-silence-of-the-grave.  I complained about being rather confused in my reading of the Erlunder series because several books are not translated into English and want to say eventually the huge knowledge gaps I was experiencing in this book were somewhat explained.  I would still love to be able to read the missing books but feel a bit less frustrated with the series.  I just need to pick up the next one soon before I forget what I have managed to figure out!  Lol

I also had read the sixth Lady Darby book before overdrive snatched it away.  Lady Darby by Anna Lee Huber is another favorite series of mine.  A Brush with Shadows was set on Dartmoor (Devon) and was very good.  I hate to say more because a couple of others here also read this series.  Which leads me to ask if Kareni has tried any books in this series?

My re-read of the Sebastian St. Cyr series continues.......I am next in line for the new release!!!!

[tuesdayschild]

My Goodreads want-to-read list is swelling with BaW shared titles....

Other than my (snail-paced) sip reading titles these are my current reads:

• The Book of Psalms   (in a standard KJV bible)  I’m hoping to count this as my ye olde “book” written before 1600 - technically it was ;-P  though it was translated and published in the English KJV bible in 1611.
• The Listerdale Mystery ~ Agatha Christie (audio) London / “Philomel Cottage”/ Merseyside/ Hampshire/ Surrey/ An “English Village”
• While We’re Far Apart ~ Lynn Austin  WWII USA-centric  I’m trying to give Penny, a key character in the book, time to get some spunk – currently she’s just irritating!

Completed (titles for my Brit Trip rebel bus):

• Miss Seeton Sings: Bk4 ~ Heron Carvic   (2)  (audiobook)  London / Italy/ Switzerland/ Paris        More violent than the other Miss Seeton books I’ve read.  A character is ruthlessly dismembered in the bath and then distributed around Paris in suitcases – oh, and Miss Seeton unknowingly brings the victims forearm home inside a wedding present for young friends.  Then the brief foray into a naked stage show, that Carvic has a concussed Miss Seeton participating in, dragged this far-fetched tale right down into a  farce for me.  I prefer Mrs. Pollifax, Miss Silver, or, Miss Marple to Carvic’s Miss Seeton any day. 
• The Gate Keeper  (Ian Rutledge #20) ~ Charles Todd   (4)  (audiobook)  London/ Suffolk /Surrey/ Essex             I enjoy this series more as randomly selected, occasional, reads as opposed to reading them one after the other in order (small shudder).  I thought this one gifted the reader with some worthy red herrings ☺
• Miss Silver Comes to Stay: Miss Silver Bk16 ~ Patricia Wentworth (4)  Nottinghamshire  (as above with random selection etc..)

[Mom-ninja.]

I'm sad that I'm done with the Parasol Protectorate series. That's the problem with binge reading a series. It's sad when you're done. I am reading Middlemarch which is fine so far but Dorothea is not Alexia. There is also no yummy Scotsman. Oh well. I'm listening to The Martian on audio as well. 

I've started reading a short story each day (or close to each day) from a collection of The Best American Short Stories. I really love short stories so I have no idea why I don't read them more often. This book will keep me reading for awhile. It was a happy find at the library book sale. 

[mumto2]

24 minutes ago, Mom-ninja. said:

I'm sad that I'm done with the Parasol Protectorate series. That's the problem with binge reading a series. It's sad when you're done. I am reading Middlemarch which is fine so far but Dorothea is not Alexia. There is also no yummy Scotsman. Oh well. I'm listening to The Martian on audio as well. 

I've started reading a short story each day (or close to each day) from a collection of The Best American Short Stories. I really love short stories so I have no idea why I don't read them more often. This book will keep me reading for awhile. It was a happy find at the library book sale. 

You might want to try The Custard Protocol series https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12799420-prudence .  I won't say it is as fun as the original Parasol Protectorate but the story does continue.  She also has a YA called The Finishing School series which I enjoyed and Dd loved this one of a prequel.

31 minutes ago, tuesdayschild said:

My Goodreads want-to-read list is swelling with BaW shared titles....

Other than my (snail-paced) sip reading titles these are my current reads:

• The Book of Psalms   (in a standard KJV bible)  I’m hoping to count this as my ye olde “book” written before 1600 - technically it was J, though it was translated and published in the English KJV bible in 1611.
• The Listerdale Mystery ~ Agatha Christie (audio) London / “Philomel Cottage”/ Merseyside/ Hampshire/ Surrey/ An “English Village”
• While We’re Far Apart ~ Lynn Austin  WWII USA-centric  I’m trying to give Penny, a key character in the book, time to get some spunk – currently she’s just irritating!

Completed (titles for my Brit Trip rebel bus):

• Miss Seeton Sings: Bk4 ~ Heron Carvic   (2)  (audiobook)  London / Italy/ Switzerland         More violent than the other Miss Seeton books I’ve read.  A character is ruthlessly dismembered in the bath and then distributed around Paris in suitcases – oh, and Miss Seeton unknowingly brings the victims forearm home inside a wedding present for young friends.  Then the brief foray into a naked stage show, that Carvic has a concussed Miss Seeton participating in, dragged this far-fetched tale right down into a  farce for me.  I prefer Mrs. Pollifax, Miss Silver, or, Miss Marple to Carvic’s Miss Seeton any day. 
• The Gate Keeper  (Ian Rutledge #20) ~ Charles Todd   (4)  (audiobook)  London/ Suffolk /Surrey/ Essex             I enjoy this series more as randomly selected, occasional, reads as opposed to reading them one after the other in order (small shudder).  I thought this one gifted the reader with some worthy red herrings ☺
• Miss Silver Comes to Stay: Miss Silver Bk16 ~ Patricia Wentworth (4)  Nottinghamshire  (as above with random selection etc..)

I am feeling too lazy to edit but I am curious about Miss Silver out of order......I read the first three recently and there was a bit of a continuing storyline going on.   The main couple from one  book carried on in terms of her knitting in the next, which I liked the awww factor of knowing they were happy together.   I think it could be ignored but I sometimes have problems with out of order.  Were there any major holes or so minor they just didn't matter. If I hadn't read close to back to back I probably would not have noticed that they were the same characters.

Btw, I totally agree with you on Ian Rutledge being better when just reading an occasional title out of order which is such an unbelievable thing for me to say.  ;).  

 

[Violet Crown]

Reading slowed down this week. Currently reading Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd for Wessex, I mean Dorset, being a little ahead on the Roman roads (but there are slow BritTrip reads coming up, so I'm working ahead).

[JennyD]

This week I read Eternal Life, by Dara Horn.  It's a novel about a woman in first century Jerusalem who -- in order to save her infant son's life -- forfeits her own death, and then over the next 2000 years marries dozens of times and has hundreds of children, all of whom of course die before her.  This sort of magical conceit usually isn't my bag, but the book got a great writeup in the NYT Book Review and so I thought I'd give it a try.  I'm glad I did -- very original and creative.

I also read Nick Hornsby, More Baths Less Talking, a collection of essays about books.

[Ali in OR]

This week I finished two that I've been reading since spring break and board break--The Economists' Diet and Anne Bishop's Lake Silence, another tale from the world of The Others, but not the same characters. I enjoyed both. I'm currently reading C.S. Harris' latest Sebastian St. Cyr, Why Kill the Innocent, which I'm also enjoying. I have Major Pettigrew's Last Stand up next, and someday hope to make it back to Middlemarch--I think I'm close to halfway on that.

[Kareni]

7 hours ago, mumto2 said:

I also had read the sixth Lady Darby book before overdrive snatched it away.  Lady Darby by Anna Lee Huber is another favorite series of mine.  A Brush with Shadows was set on Dartmoor (Devon) and was very good.  I hate to say more because a couple of others here also read this series.  Which leads me to ask if Kareni has tried any books in this series?

I have not.  Egads ~ so many good books and only so much time!

Regards,
Kareni

[tuesdayschild]

4 hours ago, mumto2 said:

I am feeling too lazy to edit but I am curious about Miss Silver out of order......I read the first three recently and there was a bit of a continuing storyline going on.   The main couple from one  book carried on in terms of her knitting in the next, which I liked the awww factor of knowing they were happy together.   I think it could be ignored but I sometimes have problems with out of order.  Were there any major holes or so minor they just didn't matter. If I hadn't read close to back to back I probably would not have noticed that they were the same characters.

Btw, I totally agree with you on Ian Rutledge being better when just reading an occasional title out of order which is such an unbelievable thing for me to say.  ;).  

 

2

My daughter, like yourself, prefers to read series in order too :-)      It depends on the series for me and Miss Silver is one that doesn't bother me to read (listen to actually) out of order;  for me it keeps the story in each book feeling fresh and newish otherwise the lack of growth in Miss Silver - she's mostly static in personality, the same from book to book, not unlike Miss Marple - starts to feel magnified, sans Ian Rutledge.  She's not like Mrs Pollifax who develops a romantic interest and gets married, now that series I tried to listen to in order.  The other characters in Patricia Wentworth's books I'm happy to encounter at any stage of their development, even out of order, and haven't noticed any major holes.  I do like it that Miss Silver knits and that Wentworth gives details of the garment being knitted.

 

[Mothersweets]

Hi everyone! Not a whole lot of steady reading going on here - I just can't seem to settle down to one book. I did manage to finish one - 

Thrush Green by Miss Read. Gentle, easy read with beautiful descriptions of the English countryside in early summer. I'd read a few of the Village School books by the same author but hadn't tried this series until now. I'll try to remember to read the one set at Christmas this fall as I bet it will get all my cozy winter feelings going. :) Also, I put this down for Oxfordshire for Brit Tripping - someone correct me if that's wrong.

[Violet Crown]

Looking ahead, if anyone is still looking for a good Hampshire book: Thomas Malory's great Morte d'Arthur, on my tbr pile since forever, is of course set in Camelot; but I'd forgotten that Malory was firmly convinced that Camelot was Winchester.

[mumto2]

12 hours ago, Kareni said:

I have not.  Egads ~ so many good books and only so much time!

Regards,
Kareni

FYI,. The series starts with The Anatomist’s Wife and it is important to start there.  I don’t think I have any other series that I enjoy and you have not tried because many of my favorites have came from you.

12 hours ago, Ali in OR said:

This week I finished two that I've been reading since spring break and board break--The Economists' Diet and Anne Bishop's Lake Silence, another tale from the world of The Others, but not the same characters. I enjoyed both. I'm currently reading C.S. Harris' latest Sebastian St. Cyr, Why Kill the Innocent, which I'm also enjoying. I have Major Pettigrew's Last Stand up next, and someday hope to make it back to Middlemarch--I think I'm close to halfway on that.

I am glad you liked Lake Silence.  For some reason I had my doubts about it and ended up loving it.   I can’t wait for the St. Cyr.  I am glad I have two readers because Dd can’t wait too!  Lol

13 hours ago, JennyD said:

This week I read Eternal Life, by Dara Horn.  It's a novel about a woman in first century Jerusalem who -- in order to save her infant son's life -- forfeits her own death, and then over the next 2000 years marries dozens of times and has hundreds of children, all of whom of course die before her.  This sort of magical conceit usually isn't my bag, but the book got a great writeup in the NYT Book Review and so I thought I'd give it a try.  I'm glad I did -- very original and creative.

I also read Nick Hornsby, More Baths Less Talking, a collection of essays about books.

Thanks for the new author idea, I can’t find Dara Horn’s Eternal Life but found another book by her that looks interesting.  The World to Come is apparently about a real life art theft and Chagall.  I think there is an Art Bingo square so I marked it.

11 hours ago, tuesdayschild said:

My daughter, like yourself, prefers to read series in order too :-)      It depends on the series for me and Miss Silver is one that doesn't bother me to read (listen to actually) out of order;  for me it keeps the story in each book feeling fresh and newish otherwise the lack of growth in Miss Silver - she's mostly static in personality, the same from book to book, not unlike Miss Marple - starts to feel magnified, sans Ian Rutledge.  She's not like Mrs Pollifax who develops a romantic interest and gets married, now that series I tried to listen to in order.  The other characters in Patricia Wentworth's books I'm happy to encounter at any stage of their development, even out of order, and haven't noticed any major holes.  I do like it that Miss Silver knits and that Wentworth gives details of the garment being knitted.

 

I have never read Mrs, Pollifax.  I probably need to remedy that!  :)

13 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

Reading slowed down this week. Currently reading Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd for Wessex, I mean Dorset, being a little ahead on the Roman roads (but there are slow BritTrip reads coming up, so I'm working ahead).

I have to admit to wondering what will slow you down!  A funny note,  Dd was very excited to discover The Day of the Triffids on my kindle.  I have to admit she was shocked to learn it was for me and Brit Tripping NOT just for her enjoyment!

Now for my Northumbria update.......I guess I missed the bus because I appear to be rather unexpectedly in DURHAM!   At this point my Vera mystery,  Telling Tales is in a small village in Durham and keeps talking about shipping in the Hull Estuary which is East Yorkshire.

[JennW in SoCal]

I'm just over an hour into the audiobook of A Gentleman in Moscow, and am loving it. Great narrator, beautiful writing. Based on my limited list of Goodreads friends, only Lady Florida (Kathy) here has read it, but I thought more of you had?  If you haven't, give it a go, especially after our War and Peace group read last summer. (Guess I ought to update my own lists on Goodreads -- I treat the site as a quick reference source, never updating it or relying on it as an accurate record of what I read.)

I spent Friday night plowing through another of the Kate Burkholder mysteries set in Ohio Amish country, Down a Dark Road. I always enjoy these books and easily forgive the author's unimaginative reliance on stupid plot devices and hackneyed tropes. 

[Kareni]

Currently free for Kindle readers ~

This looks intriguing; it's for young readers and up: Abducted: Escape From Kraile (Abducted Series Book 1)  by J. R. Cleveland

Sniffing Out Murder  by Maria Grazia Swan

Restoration: A Golden Beach Novel  by Kim Loraine

Out on the Net: A Love Story in Blog Form  by Rick S. Reed

The Arising Series Box Set: Comprising Sons of Devils and Angels of Istanbul  by Alex Beecroft

Regards,
Kareni

[Violet Crown]

3 hours ago, mumto2 said:

I have to admit to wondering what will slow you down! 

Chaucer.

Lots of other good Wyndham out there when your dd finishes Triffids! NYRB republished The Chrysalids, which is a kind of post-apocalyptic dystopia, not as dark as modern ones.

[Loesje22000]

I just had to reprint the bingo fields. After more then three times failing to find a book for ‘14th century’ thr square became unreadable...

I just discovered Peter Ackroyd is available in Dutch and has volumes set in 14th century AND 18th century :)

I finished Mistress of the Spices for Indi Author, and finished (finally!) The revelation for the music square.

[Violet Crown]

5 minutes ago, loesje22000 said:

I just had to reprint the bingo fields. After more then three times failing to find a book for ‘14th century’ thr square became unreadable...

I just discovered Peter Ackroyd is available in Dutch and has volumes set in 14th century AND 18th century :)

I finished Mistress of the Spices for Indi Author, and finished (finally!) The revelation for the music square.

Boccaccio's Decameron is a fun and easy 14th-century read. There's not a lot of medieval books you can say that about.

[Loesje22000]

 

I totally just your judgement in that! But...

the library classified Decameron as ‘erotic’ and normally I avoid to read that  classification...

The library also classified 15th and 12th century books as 14th century, so maybe they made a mistake here too?

[Violet Crown]

12 minutes ago, loesje22000 said:

 

I totally just your judgement in that! But...

the library classified Decameron as ‘erotic’ and normally I avoid to read that  classification...

The library also classified 15th and 12th century books as 14th century, so maybe they made a mistake here too?

 

Well, only by 14th-century standards; I would say "racy" by modern standards. And only a few of the hundred stories. I could give you the numbers for those stories, so you could skip them.... 

[mumto2]

2 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

 

Lots of other good Wyndham out there when your dd finishes Triffids! NYRB republished The Chrysalids, which is a kind of post-apocalyptic dystopia, not as dark as modern ones.

It took me awhile but I found that one of our libraries has a great collection of Wyndham.  I will work on getting those for her.  Is there a preferred order or just start start with The Chrysalids?  From Goodreads I see someone wrote a continuation called Night of the Triffids.

[aggieamy]

16 minutes ago, Violet Crown said:

 

Well, only by 14th-century standards; I would say "racy" by modern standards. And only a few of the hundred stories. I could give you the numbers for those stories, so you could skip them.... 

 

... or make sure and specifically read those.

*Really wish that ninja emoticon was still available.*

 

[Violet Crown]

19 minutes ago, mumto2 said:

It took me awhile but I found that one of our libraries has a great collection of Wyndham.  I will work on getting those for her.  Is there a preferred order or just start start with The Chrysalids?  From Goodreads I see someone wrote a continuation called Night of the Triffids.

LOL I don't know -- those are the only ones I've read! I'll consult dh, the sf connoisseur around here.

9 minutes ago, aggieamy said:

 

... or make sure and specifically read those.

*Really wish that ninja emoticon was still available.*

 

You and Sandy could do a joint reading project. Next, Apuleius, divided into Respectable and Naughty parts...

[tuesdayschild]

13 hours ago, mumto2 said:

I have never read Mrs, Pollifax.  I probably need to remedy that!  :)

Confession time :D    I appreciated Barbara Rosenblat's narration of Dorothy Gilman's books so much more than reading them - I've only read one Mrs Pollifax book, all the others were enjoyed via audio.   

14 hours ago, Mothersweets said:

Thrush Green by Miss Read. Gentle, easy read with beautiful descriptions of the English countryside in early summer. I'd read a few of the Village School books by the same author but hadn't tried this series until now. I'll try to remember to read the one set at Christmas this fall as I bet it will get all my cozy winter feelings going. :) Also, I put this down for Oxfordshire for Brit Tripping - someone correct me if that's wrong.

For me, Thrush Green books are what another BaWer, I think it was Jean, referred to last week as a palate cleanser.

Kathy, thanks for linking the audible 2 for 1 sale.... I can't seem to find anything I need to purchase ;)

Violet Crown, your slowing down on Chaucer comment made me laugh.

In my book reading world, I finished a sip-read yesterday.  Having initially seen the movie first – not a love match for me - I was a little resistant to reading the book.  I’m so pleased I did, the book is a gem!  

The Zookeeper’s Wife ~ Diane Ackerman    (4.5)     & my review. Ignore this link if you’re blogphobic

[Matryoshka]

4 hours ago, loesje22000 said:

I just had to reprint the bingo fields. After more then three times failing to find a book for ‘14th century’ thr square became unreadable...

I just discovered Peter Ackroyd is available in Dutch and has volumes set in 14th century AND 18th century :).

The Bear and the Nightingale and its sequel are set in the 14th century. As are Kristin Lavransdatter and La catedral del mar by Ildefonso Falcones (The latter's being made into a cool looking tv show!), to name a few on my list. :)

Hm, I just bought two books set in 12th century Spain, and no 12th century square. Boo. ;)

[Loesje22000]

9 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

 

Well, only by 14th-century standards; I would say "racy" by modern standards. And only a few of the hundred stories. I could give you the numbers for those stories, so you could skip them.... 

 

Yes thank you, I really would appreciate that.

7 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

The Bear and the Nightingale and its sequel are set in the 14th century. As are Kristin Lavransdatter and La catedral del mar by Ildefonso Falcones (The latter's being made into a cool looking tv show!), to name a few on my list. :)

Hm, I just bought two books set in 12th century Spain, and no 12th century square. Boo. ;)

 

Kristin Lavransdatter is ILL, the bear and nightingale is new in the library, so untagged yet...

Yes almost any book was tagged as 12th or 15th century if it was set in Medieval times. 14th century seemed to be impopular ;)

[Matryoshka]

49 minutes ago, loesje22000 said:

Kristin Lavransdatter is ILL, the bear and nightingale is new in the library, so untagged yet...

Yes almost any book was tagged as 12th or 15th century if it was set in Medieval times. 14th century seemed to be impopular ;)

La catedral del mar appears to be available in Dutch as De kathedraal van de zee  :)

[Loesje22000]

8 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

La catedral del mar appears to be available in Dutch as De kathedraal van de zee  :)

 

Yes, my Library has the book!

I didn’t know Spanish is that well translated before I ‘met’ you on these boards.... :)

[Matryoshka]

12 minutes ago, loesje22000 said:

 

Yes, my Library has the book!

I didn’t know Spanish is that well translated before I ‘met’ you on these boards.... :)

You´ll have to let me know how you like it.  I brought the book with me to Spain in case I ran out of reading, but I´ve been so busy I don´t think I´ll get to it before I go back, and I´ve already checked the 14th century box with The Girl in the Tower (sequel to The Bear and the Nightingale).

As to why the 14th century may be more or less popular - that was when the Plague hit, not to mention a bunch of other bad stuff.  Looks like there´s also a Dutch translation of this non-fiction book that´s on my TR list. :) A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century / De waanzinnige viertieende eeuw

And heck, I´ve got to get around to figuring out Dutch someday!  So many vowels! (is that where all of Polish´s vowels went?? ;) )

[Loesje22000]

5 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

You´ll have to let me know how you like it.  I brought the book with me to Spain in case I ran out of reading, but I´ve been so busy I don´t think I´ll get to it before I go back, and I´ve already checked the 14th century box with The Girl in the Tower (sequel to The Bear and the Nightingale).

As to why the 14th century may be more or less popular - that was when the Plague hit, not to mention a bunch of other bad stuff.  Looks like there´s also a Dutch translation of this non-fiction book that´s on my TR list. :) A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century / De waanzinnige viertieende eeuw

And heck, I´ve got to get around to figuring out Dutch someday!  So many vowels! (is that where all of Polish´s vowels went?? ;) )

 

I think I will use this book for the ‘translated square’

I think we have the same as English: A,E,I,O,U, 

but we have ‘double sounds’ like oe, ui, au, ou, ei, ij, ie

[Violet Crown]

12 hours ago, loesje22000 said:

 

Yes thank you, I really would appreciate that.

 

What's your tolerance level? Day 3, Story 10 is the only one that rises to the level of obscene (though hilarious...); I have a translation that actually leaves the crucial parts in Italian in case ladies are reading the book.

However many of the stories find their humor in someone cheating on their spouse, and mention that the illicit lovers "lie together," with nothing more graphic. Most of the Day 3 stories are of that kind.

[Loesje22000]

22 minutes ago, Violet Crown said:

 

What's your tolerance level? Day 3, Story 10 is the only one that rises to the level of obscene (though hilarious...); I have a translation that actually leaves the crucial parts in Italian in case ladies are reading the book.

However many of the stories find their humor in someone cheating on their spouse, and mention that the illicit lovers "lie together," with nothing more graphic. Most of the Day 3 stories are of that kind.

 

I can laugh when I read the Flemish retelling of Canterbury Tales for Young Adults: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18716402-slagveld-van-gebroken-harten?from_search=true he also retold Decamerone, so maybe I should start there.

My tolerence stops when the book as movie would get a 18+ rating here (= graphic description about what happens, how it happens, and vividly descriptions of sounds, smells and tastes ) 

[Kareni]

Currently free for Kindle readers ~

by a popular author of historical romance:  Thunder & Roses (Fallen Angels Book 1)  by Mary Jo Putney

recommended by Amy Harmon, an author whose books I like:  Infinite Us  by Eden Butler

contemporary romance:  The Portland Pioneers Series  by Beth Bolden

 

YA fantasy:  World Whisperer   by Rachel Devenish Ford

scifi/fantasy:  Nefertiti's Heart (The Artifact Hunters Book 1)   by A.W. Exley

Regards,
Kareni

[Kareni]

For those who have been missing them, the emojis are back!

Regards,
Kareni

[Violet Crown]

41 minutes ago, loesje22000 said:

 

I can laugh when I read the Flemish retelling of Canterbury Tales for Young Adults: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18716402-slagveld-van-gebroken-harten?from_search=true he also retold Decamerone, so maybe I should start there.

My tolerence stops when the book as movie would get a 18+ rating here (= graphic description about what happens, how it happens, and vividly descriptions of sounds, smells and tastes ) 

 

Oh! Well then you should be fine with all of the Decameron. No, I won't read that kind of thing either.

Except I guess for Genet, where there's a lot of -- content -- but it's the very opposite of titillating.

[mumto2]

2 hours ago, Kareni said:

Currently free for Kindle readers ~

by a popular author of historical romance:  Thunder & Roses (Fallen Angels Book 1)  by Mary Jo Putney

Regards,
Kareni

 Thank you!  I have not read this particular series but BF recently read and loved the series.  This is a great one to have on the Kindlefor emergencies,    Considering my emoticons haven’t worked easily on WTM in years this is great!  

[Kareni]

Some bookish posts ~

Anyone else read The Secret History? I read it years ago when it first came out.:  8 Books to Read If You Loved THE SECRET HISTORY By Donna Tartt  by Liberty Hardy

Go Medieval by Attaching a Book to Your Belt  by Sarah Laskow

8 Pride And Prejudice Sequels For The Discerning Jane Austen Fan  by Ann Foster

Inspired By Homer: 20 Pieces Of Greek Mythology Art And Swag   by Nikki VanRy

Regards,
Kareni

[Robin M]

Finished my first read of Fair Game in Patricia Brigg's Alpha and Omega series.  I want to read it again already.   Dove into Dead Heat and I'll have to get Burn Bright soon.   Have to figure out the chronology and how fits into Mercy's universe.  

Pushed my Iceland read Far North off the bus as well as England reads so need to figure out which bus stop I need to jump back on.  

Has anyone seen A Quiet Place yet?   Also came across Book Riot's 5 Books if you liked A Quiet Place. I have two in my stacks, Bird Box and The Road,  but really want to read The Silence.

 

[Kareni]

12 hours ago, Robin M said:

Finished my first read of Fair Game in Patricia Brigg's Alpha and Omega series.  I want to read it again already.   Dove into Dead Heat and I'll have to get Burn Bright soon.   Have to figure out the chronology and how fits into Mercy's universe.  

If you haven't read the Alpha and Omega novella that started the series, you'll also want to read it here (where it first appeared), here (in this anthology), or here (by itself).

Here's the timelime you're looking for.

Regards,
Kareni

[SKL]

I ordered a few books and started on Miss Manners' Guide to Domestic Tranquility.  Mostly just something easy to read as a break from the Democracy book I've been working through.  I'm maybe a third of the way through Democracy.

We haven't been listening to audiobooks lately.  We just don't spend that much time in the car together any more.  I may need to figure out another way to work them in.  We are also taking a break from their middle school book club, as it conflicts with track practice.  The timing at 3:30 Thursdays has always been a challenge.

[mumto2]

13 hours ago, Kareni said:

Some bookish posts ~

Anyone else read The Secret History? I read it years ago when it first came out.:  8 Books to Read If You Loved THE SECRET HISTORY By Donna Tartt  by Liberty Hardy

The Secret History sits with my abandoned books except it is one I was too embarrassed to put on the Goodreads shelf because it seemed like everyone else loved it.  I have to say that many of the eight books on the list look intriguing.  A few work for Brit Tripping so I will update when I get a chance.

10 hours ago, Robin M said:

Finished my first read of Fair Game in Patricia Brigg's Alpha and Omega series.  I want to read it again already.   Dove into Dead Heat and I'll have to get Burn Bright soon.   Have to figure out the chronology and how fits into Mercy's universe.  

Pushed my Iceland read Far North off the bus as well as England reads so need to figure out which bus stop I need to jump back on.  

Has anyone seen A Quiet Place yet?   Also came across Book Riot's 5 Books if you liked A Quiet Place. I have two in my stacks, Bird Box and The Road,  but really want to read The Silence.

 

Have not seen the Quiet Place.......it may be too horror visually for me.  I am watching The Tunnel on Prime currently and after the first episode of the second season am not sure about going on the Chunnel Train anymore.  Dh is going to love the fact that I only want to go at really busy times now!   Visuals freak me out far more than works on a page.

8 hours ago, Kareni said:

If you haven't read it already, you'll also want to read either here (where it first appeared), here (in this anthology), or here (by itself).

Here's the timelime you're looking for.

Regards,
Kareni

That timeline is wonderful!  I am going to have to do the reread now with as many shorts as possible worked in.

Robin, the short Kareni linked is totally worthwhile.  I remember having problems locating it several years ago but when I did ..........

[Mothersweets]

10 hours ago, Robin M said:

Finished my first read of Fair Game in Patricia Brigg's Alpha and Omega series.  I want to read it again already.   Dove into Dead Heat and I'll have to get Burn Bright soon.   Have to figure out the chronology and how fits into Mercy's universe.  

Pushed my Iceland read Far North off the bus as well as England reads so need to figure out which bus stop I need to jump back on.  

Has anyone seen A Quiet Place yet?   Also came across Book Riot's 5 Books if you liked A Quiet Place. I have two in my stacks, Bird Box and The Road,  but really want to read The Silence.

 

Yes! It was good. I don't want to say too much but try to see it IN the theater rather than waiting for it to come to dvd. 

[marbel]

2 hours ago, mumto2 said:

The Secret History sits with my abandoned books except it is one I was too embarrassed to put on the Goodreads shelf because it seemed like everyone else loved it.  I have to say that many of the eight books on the list look intriguing.  A few work for Brit Tripping so I will update when I get a chance.

<snip>

I read it years ago (pre-Goodreads) and and happy to admit that I didn't love it. I'm not even sure why I finished it - maybe because it seemed everyone else was raving about it.  I don't remember exactly what it was that I disliked so much.  Pretentious characters, maybe.

I read 2 other books on the list.  If We Were Villains, which I gave a 3-star rating to, even though much of it annoyed me.  I just looked at my review on Goodreads and notice the word "pretentious" in there...  The other is The Go-Between which I don't remember enough of to comment on; I was rather surprised to see it mentioned as a "classic" on the list.  

Also I picked up Black Chalk at the library and returned it after reading just a few pages. Guess I saw that it was going to be like The Secret History and didn't want to do that again. But of course maybe I rejected it too quickly.

I guess the take-away here is that if something is compared to The Secret History, I'm not going to like it a whole lot. 

Re: Brit-tripping, I'm still all over the place but loving it.  I finished Venetia yesterday; just a fun read (listen, actually) but I need to take a break from Georgette Heyer for a little while. I started The Language of Bees, part of the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series by Laurie R King, which I dip into from time to time. This one takes place in Sussex and London. 

I have pretty much abandoned all nonfiction. We're undergoing a bit of upheaval here at home and I need comfort reading right now. 

[Kareni]

2 hours ago, mumto2 said:

That [Mercyverse] timeline is wonderful!  I am going to have to do the reread now with as many shorts as possible worked in.

All but one of the short works can be found in the Shifting Shadows collection. I'm fortunate that my library has the graphic novels mentioned in the timeline; I'd already read one and have requested the other (of which I was previously unaware).  I've put in a purchase suggestion for the book which includes Unappreciated Gifts (short story) which I have yet to read. The timeline was informative for me, too.

Regards,
Kareni

[Kareni]

2 hours ago, marbel said:

We're undergoing a bit of upheaval here at home and I need comfort reading right now. 

Sending good thoughts your way, marbel, as well as to others who are also facing challenges.

Regards,
Kareni

[aggieamy]

6 hours ago, SKL said:

I ordered a few books and started on Miss Manners' Guide to Domestic Tranquility.  Mostly just something easy to read as a break from the Democracy book I've been working through.  I'm maybe a third of the way through Democracy.

We haven't been listening to audiobooks lately.  We just don't spend that much time in the car together any more.  I may need to figure out another way to work them in.  We are also taking a break from their middle school book club, as it conflicts with track practice.  The timing at 3:30 Thursdays has always been a challenge.

I think 6th grade is where things start to get busy busy. It's the perfect age where they can start taking care of things themselves and it's fun to pick activities.

Audiobook ideas ... can you listen together during breakfast? In the evening and do some quiet activity together like a puzzle? It's tough. We really only listen together on road trips now.

2 hours ago, marbel said:

I have pretty much abandoned all nonfiction. We're undergoing a bit of upheaval here at home and I need comfort reading right now. 

Hope things calm down soon. ((HUGS))

 

[aggieamy]

Two more done!

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson - So I'm the last person on earth to read this. It's not my genre at all ... the cozy factor and romance was zero percent. I loved it though. Splendid writing. Just a bit creepy. Great characters. Highly recommend.

Damn Fine Storytelling by Chuck Wendig - Another writing book. Useful information but so much profanity. It was too much and not necessary.

[mumto2]

3 hours ago, marbel said:

I read it years ago (pre-Goodreads) and and happy to admit that I didn't love it. I'm not even sure why I finished it - maybe because it seemed everyone else was raving about it.  I don't remember exactly what it was that I disliked so much.  Pretentious characters, maybe.

I read 2 other books on the list.  If We Were Villains, which I gave a 3-star rating to, even though much of it annoyed me.  I just looked at my review on Goodreads and notice the word "pretentious" in there...  The other is The Go-Between which I don't remember enough of to comment on; I was rather surprised to see it mentioned as a "classic" on the list.  

Also I picked up Black Chalk at the library and returned it after reading just a few pages. Guess I saw that it was going to be like The Secret History and didn't want to do that again. But of course maybe I rejected it too quickly.

I guess the take-away here is that if something is compared to The Secret History, I'm not going to like it a whole lot. 

Re: Brit-tripping, I'm still all over the place but loving it.  I finished Venetia yesterday; just a fun read (listen, actually) but I need to take a break from Georgette Heyer for a little while. I started The Language of Bees, part of the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series by Laurie R King, which I dip into from time to time. This one takes place in Sussex and London. 

I have pretty much abandoned all nonfiction. We're undergoing a bit of upheaval here at home and I need comfort reading right now

I messed up the quoting and can't seem to get out of the box........Grouphug appears to be missing from the emoticon list.  I hope your stress level decreases.

I enjoy the Mary Russell books also and need to go back and finish the series.  

 

. 

1 hour ago, Kareni said:

All but one of the short works can be found in the Shifting Shadows collection. I'm fortunate that my library has the graphic novels mentioned in the timeline; I'd already read one and have requested the other (of which I was previously unaware).  I've put in a purchase suggestion for the book which includes Unappreciated Gifts (short story) which I have yet to read. The timeline was informative for me, too.

Regards,
Kareni

Yeah!  Overdrive appears to have Shifting Shadows and some of the books are on audio.  They also have at least one graphic novel.  Anyone use Overdrive for Graphic Novels.  I have both kindle Fires and an ipad.  Will they work?  I need the Bingo square! 

25 minutes ago, aggieamy said:

Two more done!

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson - So I'm the last person on earth to read this. It's not my genre at all ... the cozy factor and romance was zero percent. I loved it though. Splendid writing. Just a bit creepy. Great characters. Highly recommend.

Damn Fine Storytelling by Chuck Wendig - Another writing book. Useful information but so much profanity. It was too much and not necessary.

You aren't the last.........

[Mothersweets]

1 hour ago, aggieamy said:

Two more done!

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson - So I'm the last person on earth to read this. It's not my genre at all ... the cozy factor and romance was zero percent. I loved it though. Splendid writing. Just a bit creepy. Great characters. Highly recommend.

 

I haven't read it either.