Book a Week 2018 - BW18: May Cruise the Fjords

[Kareni]

Currently free to Kindle readers ~

House Without Lies   by Rachel Branton

The Jade Owl (The Jade Owl Legacy Book 1)  by Edward C. Patterson

A Fistful of Evil (Madison Fox, book 1)  by Rebecca Chastain

Better Off Dead: Fantasy Series  by H.P. Mallory

Regards,
Kareni

[Kareni]

Some recent reads here ~

I've been sick and, for some  unknown reason, Andy Weir's The Martian seemed like the perfect comfort read.  So, this is probably my fifth re-read and I enjoyed it yet again.  I'm still sick though so it's not a cure-all sadly.

I also read

 The Thought Readers  by Dima Zales which is currently free to Kindle readers.  The premise was interesting, but I didn't care overmuch for the lead character.

First Touch: A Paranormal Suspense Story (Imprints Book 0)  by Teyla Branton which is currently free to Kindle readers.  I enjoyed it and would read on.

Driven to Temptation: A Romantic Comedy (Driven to Love Book 1) by Melia Alexander; this was a fun read.  (Adult content) 

The Omega's Bodyguard (The Protection of the Pack Book 1)  by Dessa Lux.  This had lots of adult content and too little story; I'd have preferred the reverse.

Regards,
Kareni

[Mothersweets]

4 hours ago, SusanC said:

I'm dipping my toes in the water here because when I've browsed the Book A Week thread it is always very friendly, and because I've just started Snowblind by Ragnar Jonasson which is set in Iceland. I see that you are just leaving there. I've read all the Jo Nesbo books that have been translated to English. I had to set the series aside occasionally because it could get so shocking, I couldn't binge read it. 

My last book was a random discovery that I had missed the most recent Flavours de Luce mystery. It was fine, there is a formula, right? but it is complicated so I don't feel compelled to suss it out. (smile)

Another reason why I don't visit regularly is that I walk away with an armload of interesting sounding recommendations. Thank you!

Welcome Susan!

[mumto2]

7 hours ago, Kareni said:

I liked the egg/rooster shirt, too.  We are friends with a family where the son's nickname is Egg and his mother's nickname is Hen.  I thought of them immediately.  While I like many of the shirts, my personal favorite is this one.

Regards,
Kareni

That was the other one I liked for Ds!

5 hours ago, loesje22000 said:

@Penguin I love your pictures!

It makes me wonder how it sounds to sing in...

I think I prefer this tshirt ? https://www.teemuzic2.com/345?var=insta&retailProductCode=FBCE9E3E12F0F7-A78EF5F8C376-GS0-TC0-PUR

Somehow I only get notifications through the site if one react on a post of myself, not a reply on the thread. I can recieve replies per mail, but not as notification on the board? Sometimes the thread is hard to find back, and I used the old notification system to find it back ?

I love the music shirt!

The way I have been keeping up with the BaW thread is via the Activity tab(upper left, second in) which has a menu that includes My Activity Streams, then Content I have posted in.  Of course this method means I try to post as soon as Robin puts the thread up on Sundays.  ?

5 hours ago, SusanC said:

I'm dipping my toes in the water here because when I've browsed the Book A Week thread it is always very friendly, and because I've just started Snowblind by Ragnar Jonasson which is set in Iceland. I see that you are just leaving there. I've read all the Jo Nesbo books that have been translated to English. I had to set the series aside occasionally because it could get so shocking, I couldn't binge read it. 

My last book was a random discovery that I had missed the most recent Flavours de Luce mystery. It was fine, there is a formula, right? but it is complicated so I don't feel compelled to suss it out. (smile)

Another reason why I don't visit regularly is that I walk away with an armload of interesting sounding recommendations. Thank you!

Welcome!  There are worse things than stacks of books and full Kindles which is definitely what this thread provides.  I have read Snowblind and really liked it.  I wasn’t as fond of the next two in the series which really means nothing because I am anxious to read the fourth in the series!  Lol

I thought the latest Flavia was sort of in the middle for the series.  My biggest fear is that it might be the last one!

Any recommendations for Jo Nesbo?  I normally prefer to read in series order which appears to indicate Cockroaches should be the first. My memory tells me I have been advised to read in a different order which means I haven’t checked any books out for our current challenge!

I am plant to get 1222 by Anne Holt which was on one of Robin’s links.  It was compared to Agatha Christie so I HAVE to!https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9743998-1222

[mumto2]

Kareni,  I hope you feel better soon!  Pretend I have a group hug emoticon here!

[Miss Tick]

22 minutes ago, mumto2 said:

That was the other one I liked for Ds!

I love the music shirt!

The way I have been keeping up with the BaW thread is via the Activity tab(upper left, second in) which has a menu that includes My Activity Streams, then Content I have posted in.  Of course this method means I try to post as soon as Robin puts the thread up on Sundays.  ?

 

Any recommendations for Jo Nesbo?  I normally prefer to read in series order which appears to indicate Cockroaches should be the first. My memory tells me I have been advised to read in a different order which means I haven’t checked any books out for our current challenge!

I was a little frustrated to find that Snowblind looks like the second book, but the first that is translated to English? I'm powering on.

From that you can tell that I'm a believer of reading in order. The Nesbo books do have those lines that clearly refer back to previous books. Plus the protagonist Harry Høle ("HOO-lee, apparently) seems to pick up a new scar on each book.

[JennW in SoCal]

6 hours ago, loesje22000 said:

@Penguin I love your pictures!

It makes me wonder how it sounds to sing in...

I think I prefer this tshirt ? https://www.teemuzic2.com/345?var=insta&retailProductCode=FBCE9E3E12F0F7-A78EF5F8C376-GS0-TC0-PUR

 

 

Are you an alto? I ask because that t-shirt would be perfect! The lead of the alto section our church used a stuffed toy owl as their mascot and referred to the section as the "Owl-toes".

Of course the clef sign on the t-shirt design is all wrong for an alto...

[JennW in SoCal]

Welcome to SusanC! And thank you for mentioning Snowblind. I see on Goodreads that Mumto2 has read it, and as it was available on Overdrive, I've just downloaded it! As if I really needed another book to read...

I'm going to have to try that "activity" tab. I'm very slow in navigating this new forum format.

Feel better, Kareni. I would think The Martian would be the perfect comfort read (or listen). 

[Robin M]

21 hours ago, Kareni said:

A bookish post from the Word Wenches site ~

What We're Reading - April

and, for fun,

38 Must-Have Awesome and Hilarious Book T-Shirts  by Kelly Jensen

Regards,
Kareni

Hope you feel better soon, Karen.

 

I love so many of the shirts -  bookworm, professional bookworm, book heartbeat, booklover, I'd rather be reading.   Going to have to do some shirt shopping soon. :)

[Robin M]

7 hours ago, SusanC said:

I'm dipping my toes in the water here because when I've browsed the Book A Week thread it is always very friendly, and because I've just started Snowblind by Ragnar Jonasson which is set in Iceland. I see that you are just leaving there. I've read all the Jo Nesbo books that have been translated to English. I had to set the series aside occasionally because it could get so shocking, I couldn't binge read it. 

My last book was a random discovery that I had missed the most recent Flavours de Luce mystery. It was fine, there is a formula, right? but it is complicated so I don't feel compelled to suss it out. (smile)

Another reason why I don't visit regularly is that I walk away with an armload of interesting sounding recommendations. Thank you!

Welcome Susan!  I'll be dipping my toes back into iceland at some point as well. I have Jo Nesbo's Redbreast in my stacks. Although I should probably start with The Bat first. 

I'm another one who likes reading series books in order.  Drop me in the middle of a series and I get confused.  I started Louise Penny's Detective Armand out of order, then had to go back and read the entire series.  And when series books are only released like once a year, I end up rereading the books that came before again.  

 

Jenn, the activity thread is helpful as well as addictive.  I've got lost in a few other threads that I probably wouldn't have under ordinary circumstances.  :)

[Robin M]

10 hours ago, Penguin said:

I'm hardly ever reading something that matches the theme of the week, so yippee that I am currently reading sipping Scandinavians: In Search of the Soul of the North.

We went to Norway in 2014. I'll upload some pictures this week. When we lived in Denmark, we actually lived along the Limfjorden. Surely I have some pictures of the Limfjorden, but I will have to hunt for them.

These are of St. Olaf's Church in Balestrand and the Norwegian Booktown of Fjæreland.  The church was the inspiration for the church in Frozen. Fjærland is one of the travel highilghts of my whole life!

 

.

Oh my goodness. Absolutely gorgeous!  Love the detail in the architecture of the church.  Thank you for sharing! 

[tuesdayschild]

5 hours ago, Kareni said:

've been sick and, for some  unknown reason, Andy Weir's The Martian seemed like the perfect comfort read.  So, this is probably my fifth re-read and I enjoyed it yet again.  I'm still sick though so it's not a cure-all sadly.

Hope you're feeling better soon. Books seem to "taste" better when you're well.

[tuesdayschild]

I'm enjoying all the links, pictures and book titles being shared.

I just did a quick tally up of books I finished reading in April, which doesn’t mean I started all of them in April ; and, most of them were audiobooks  ? I was really hoping to read more physical books in 2018,  but life’s time constraints just don’t seem to want to pander to that ‘hope’ this year either….. maybe next year ?

Listened to 16 audiobooks, read 4 books.  Other than using my audible credit each month  I don't usually purchase any books for myself again until November, so all my reading from here on out has to be achieved via the library, freebies, or out of my own cache.  I do have a collection of titles squirrelled away to keep me occupied  ;-p

Just started reading:

• How the Heather Looks ~ Joan Bodger     thank you to the BaW poster who shared this title and listed ALL the counties visited in this book.  It’s a lovely read, and one that needs my phone or computer handy so I can look up the books and authors Joan is mentioning. 
• A Fine Summer’s Day: Ian Rutledge Bk17 ~  Charles Todd (audio)  London/ Kent/ Dorset ?? /Cumbria /Yorkshire/ York/ Somerset/Buckinghamshire

[Loesje22000]

3 hours ago, JennW in SoCal said:

 

Are you an alto? I ask because that t-shirt would be perfect! The lead of the alto section our church used a stuffed toy owl as their mascot and referred to the section as the "Owl-toes".

Of course the clef sign on the t-shirt design is all wrong for an alto...

 

Ah that’s a word play I didn’t get !

I am a high soprano...

[Loesje22000]

10 hours ago, SusanC said:

I'm dipping my toes in the water here because when I've browsed the Book A Week thread it is always very friendly, and because I've just started Snowblind by Ragnar Jonasson which is set in Iceland. I see that you are just leaving there. I've read all the Jo Nesbo books that have been translated to English. I had to set the series aside occasionally because it could get so shocking, I couldn't binge read it. 

My last book was a random discovery that I had missed the most recent Flavours de Luce mystery. It was fine, there is a formula, right? but it is complicated so I don't feel compelled to suss it out. (smile)

Another reason why I don't visit regularly is that I walk away with an armload of interesting sounding recommendations. Thank you!

 

Welcome!

[Loesje22000]

5 hours ago, mumto2 said:

That was the other one I liked for Ds!

I love the music shirt!

The way I have been keeping up with the BaW thread is via the Activity tab(upper left, second in) which has a menu that includes My Activity Streams, then Content I have posted in.  Of course this method means I try to post as soon as Robin puts the thread up on Sundays.  ?

 

 

Thank you !!! That is what I was looking for.

I always was eye hawking for the new thread already, so that doesn’t have to be changed...

[Robin M]

Pooh! Faith Hunter's newest book - Dark Queen - didn't arrive today. Oh well, at least I have it on Audiobook.  I also broke down and go it on Kindle. It is a must read. 

Signing off and will check in late this week. First time in a long time I have traveled without laptop or ipad.   IPhone is a must of course.  James made audio  recordings for my niece and her soon to be hubby as well as various other members of the family.  So cute.

Will share pictures when I return.

TTFN

Love and hugs!

 

 

 

[aggieamy]

8 hours ago, Robin M said:

Pooh! Faith Hunter's newest book - Dark Queen - didn't arrive today. Oh well, at least I have it on Audiobook.  I also broke down and go it on Kindle. It is a must read. 

Signing off and will check in late this week. First time in a long time I have traveled without laptop or ipad.   IPhone is a must of course.  James made audio  recordings for my niece and her soon to be hubby as well as various other members of the family.  So cute.

Will share pictures when I return.

TTFN

Love and hugs!

Safe travels! Hope you brought enough books!

[aggieamy]

The Night the Bear at Goombbaw by Patrick McManus. About a million years ago on this board Mrs. Mungo recommended Pat McManus books. Since she's not here any longer I'm passing on the recommendation. So funny. They're clean (no cussing or s*xy-ness) which can be difficult to find in humorous books. I listened to this as an audiobook and it was just great. They're short stories and the style is very much O. Henry meets Dave Barry meets the Great Outdoors. It's a book you can listen to with kids in the car and everyone will enjoy it.

Last night I couldn't sleep. Just had a million things on my mind. Too many kids activities. Tons of work. My parents are coming in town for a visit. Normal middle aged lady stuff. So to distract my anxious mind I turned on a Dragnet radio show on my phone and listened to it. I guess I eventually went back to sleep. I had it on low so I didn't think DH could hear it. This morning he said that he had the strangest disturbing dreams and I could listen to anything BUT Dragnet again at night. Oops.

[mumto2]

19 minutes ago, aggieamy said:

The Night the Bear at Goombbaw by Patrick McManus. About a million years ago on this board Mrs. Mungo recommended Pat McManus books. Since she's not here any longer I'm passing on the recommendation. So funny. They're clean (no cussing or s*xy-ness) which can be difficult to find in humorous books. I listened to this as an audiobook and it was just great. They're short stories and the style is very much O. Henry meets Dave Barry meets the Great Outdoors. It's a book you can listen to with kids in the car and everyone will enjoy it.

Last night I couldn't sleep. Just had a million things on my mind. Too many kids activities. Tons of work. My parents are coming in town for a visit. Normal middle aged lady stuff. So to distract my anxious mind I turned on a Dragnet radio show on my phone and listened to it. I guess I eventually went back to sleep. I had it on low so I didn't think DH could hear it. This morning he said that he had the strangest disturbing dreams and I could listen to anything BUT Dragnet again at night. Oops.

I need to try Patrick McManus.  They sound perfect!

 

[Mom-ninja.]

My parents are going to Norway next week on vacation. I am jealous. I will be here watching their pets. 

I finished listening to Der Marsianer. I will try to find more audiobooks in German. I put the audio version of Middlemarch on hold. Maybe that will help me get it read faster. 

[mumto2]

 

Btw, Robin is right about Jo Nesbo.  The first book is The Bat and it is translated.  When I glanced at a Goodread’s list last night the first book’s title was not translated but all the rest were in English.  That’s the book I am attempting to listen too!

Eta......audiobooks are working are working again on Overdrive!!!!!!!

[Matryoshka]

3 hours ago, Mom-ninja. said:

My parents are going to Norway next week on vacation. I am jealous. I will be here watching their pets. 

I finished listening to Der Marsianer. I will try to find more audiobooks in German. I put the audio version of Middlemarch on hold. Maybe that will help me get it read faster. 

The Erlendur books are all on audio in German on Audible, and available in US. It actually seems to be easier (and cheaper) to find audiobooks in German than print on US Amazon. ..

As a rule I don't read things translated from one language I understand into another (like English -> German or vice versa) but from a language I don't (Icelandic), figure I might as well read it in German as English.  Have no idea why it seems so hard to find interesting books actually written in German...?

[Mom-ninja.]

I don't have an Audible membership so I usually get all my audiobooks from Overdrive or Hoopla. I was excited when I found a German audiobook on Overdrive which was Der Marsianer. 

And yes, I find plenty books written in German, but they are not interesting and I don't want to read them. I don't want to read just anything just to read German. 

[Teaching3bears]

This week I finished The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.  I was thinking it might be boring, I was scared of the length and, overall, I was just not truly looking forward to reading it.  But I really enjoyed it.  It was a page turner but what I think I liked most were the characters, how the characters overcame challenges and how the characters worked together to solve problems.  There were some scenes that were possibly too descriptive or violent.

I stated Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate.

 

 

 

[Matryoshka]

1 hour ago, Mom-ninja. said:

I don't have an Audible membership so I usually get all my audiobooks from Overdrive or Hoopla. I was excited when I found a German audiobook on Overdrive which was Der Marsianer. 

Yep, this is why I don't end up listening to books other than in English.  I'm too cheap to pay for Audible. ?  All my ebooks and audiobooks are from Overdrive.  My library has lots of Spanish ebooks (and Chinese, but that doesn't help me much!), but I've never seen anything in German.

Quote

And yes, I find plenty books written in German, but they are not interesting and I don't want to read them. I don't want to read just anything just to read German. 

This was exactly my problem, and I still didn't want to read stuff translated from English.  So I've been reading lots of Scandinavian and other Germanic-language lit in German.  For some reason they can write interesting books, but what is up with the Germans that they can't seem to write anything that isn't either ponderous and dull or pulpy Krimis and romances?  They've got a population (esp if you include Austria & German Switzerland) many times that of the Scandinavian countries, and I keep coming up almost empty.  I've found a few that are good, but it's hard. I don't mind tackling the occasional German classic, but a little goes a reaaaally long way. The Spanish also have a much smaller population and even if I don't count Latin American authors, there are tons of good books to read just from Spain.  I'm mystified.

I've got a bunch of books in German if you're interested in any - was it you I sent Menschen im Hotel to?  I keep having to buy all my German books, since unlike English or Spanish books, the library doesn't have them - especially translated works.  I own most of the "Read" books on my German shelf on Goodreads, if you want to browse... ☺️

[Kareni]

Currently free to Kindle readers ~

inspirational historical romance (set in Surrey, it seems):   The Curiosity Keeper (A Treasures of Surrey Novel)  by Sarah E. Ladd

I've enjoyed other books by author M.L. Buchman:  Daniel's Christmas (The Night Stalkers Book 3)   and   Return to Eagle Cove: a small town Oregon romance   and  Where Dreams Are Born: a Pike Place Market Seattle romance

written before Dracula:  The Snake's Pass  by Bram Stoker

THE FAR HORIZON  by Gretta Curran Browne

4 hours ago, Mom-ninja. said:

German

 

3 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

German

 

for the German readers:   

This is a brand new book that is garnering high praise in English; if this is the whole book (it says 624 pages), I'll be really surprised:  Children of Blood and Bone: Goldener Zorn (German Edition)  by Tomi Adeyemi

Voltaire's Candide: oder der Optimismus (German Edition)

Mark Twain's  Tom Sawyers Abenteuer (German Edition)

I just read this one in English:  Die Gedankenleser - The Thought Readers (Gedankendimensionen 1) (German Edition)  by Dima Zales and Anna Zaires

Kinder- und Hausmärchen (German Edition)  by Brüder Grimm

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

Since we have officially completed our first ( ?  ignore emoji, it refused to be deleted and appeared there by accident) set of Roman Roads I thought an update of what my Brit Tripping card looks like for that stage might be appropriate.  So.........I

Ermine Way

London...........Whose Body by Dorothy Sayers

Cambridgeshire..............Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin

Huntingtonshire............Treasure of Green Knows by L M Boston

Bedfordshire.............Face Down Upon the Herbal by Kathy Emerson

Northamptonshire............A Long Shadow by Charles Todd

Nottinghamshire.............A Man in the Queue by Josephine Try

East and West Riding of Yorkshire............Hangman Blind by Cassandra Clark

York.........Sovereign by CJ Sansom

Dere  Street

North Yorkshire..............Murder on a Summer's Day by Frances Brody

Durham.................At this point Wild Card

Tyne and Wear..............Wild Card again

Northumbria............Aunt Dimity Beats the Devil by Nancy Atherton

I have read the wild cards but am waiting to assign them until the end of the challenge.  I am hoping to run into books that will work along the way.  ;). 

I am still busy spelling the flowers but seem to have fallen behind on Aven probably because of the CS Harris reread.  I have the books but need to read them!

I have started listening to Nesbo's The Bat.  It's great but I seem to be in Australia not Norway!  

 

 

[Kareni]

A free book available to download (this may be today only) ~

The Great Impersonation by E. Phillips Oppenheim

"Crazed with thirst and fever, Everard Dominey staggers out of the jungle and awakens to find himself in German East Africa. His rescuer is Leopold von Ragastein, a colonial governor whose impeccable manners belie nefarious intentions. A loyal servant of the Kaiser, von Ragastein has been looking for a way to sneak into England. Discovering that his face is an exact match for the ailing Englishman’s, von Ragastein believes that he has finally found his chance. When the man calling himself Everard Dominey returns home, his loved ones recognize that something about him is different. But with Europe racing toward war and England infiltrated by saboteurs of all stripes, will the truth emerge before it is too late? Full of shocking twists, sinister intrigue, and irresistible romance, The Great Impersonation was a huge bestseller when it was first published in 1920 and is one the most entertaining spy novels of all time."

Go here.
**

Also currently free to Kindle readers ~

The Innkeeper's Daughter  by Michelle Griep
 

The Passage  by Irina Shapiro
 

Hell on Wheels (Black Knights Inc. Book 1) by Julie Ann Walker

**

A bookish post ~

The Voices of The Odyssey: Emily Wilson On Language, Translation, and Culture  by Fran Wilde

Regards,
Kareni

[tuesdayschild]

On 5/1/2018 at 9:51 AM, texasmom33 said:

The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine by Lindsey Fitzharris and it was absolutely fascinating.  It's gross and grisly and an intriguing, easy read. 

I'm also reading Caroline and so far, so good, but it's slow compared to Cornwell so it won't be much of a fair comparison. 

 

Another reviewer, amazon, thinks it could count towards a spooky October read - do you?  ?

Looking forward to your review on Caroline..... it's in our (Dd & I) highschool reads basket. 

[tuesdayschild]

7 hours ago, mumto2 said:

I have started listening to Nesbo's The Bat.  It's great but I seem to be in Australia not Norway!    

Laughing!

Thanks for sharing your Brit Trip progress mumto 2

Mine is pasted beneath.  I'm on the rebel bus....... the titles in grey are ones I have not read yet, but have assigned to those counties.  With the collection of trip reads I have on the go I'm currently jumping between Manchester, Warwickshire, Sussex, Essex, and, London.

Ermine Street

• London (Scotland Yard)       Death in A White Tie ~ Ngaio March (3)
• Cambridgeshire       Sidney Chambers & the Shadow of Death: Bk1 ~ James Runcie (2)
• Huntingdonshire      Persons of Interest: DC Smith, Bk4 ~ Peter Grainger (4)
• Bedfordshire           The Case is Closed:  Miss Silver Bk2 ~ Patricia Wentworth  
• Northamptonshire and Rutland    A Long Shadow  (I. Ian Rutledge #8) ~ Charles Todd  
• Nottinghamshire     Miss Silver Comes to Stay: Miss Silver Bk16 ~ Patricia Wentworth    
• East and West Riding of Yorkshire          Clouds of Witness ~  Dorothy L. Sayers   
• York  Venetia ~ Georgette Heyer         

Dere Street

• North Yorkshire       A Death in the Dales ~ Frances Brody  Langcliffe,  North Yorkshire
• Durham        Murder on the Flying Scotman: Daisy Bk4 ~ Carola Dunn (3) 
• Tyne and Wear       Alice in Wonderland, and, Through the Looking Glass ~ Lewis Caroll (2)
• Northumbria                     The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry ~ Rachel Joyce

[tuesdayschild]

9 minutes ago, texasmom33 said:

I think that would be a stretch! Although I guess the sanitary habits were so poor it could be considered horror, LOL, but no, it’s definitely not spooky! 

That's sad (grin)   Maybe it will be horrific enough for me though ... I was hoping this would cover that spot as I don't do horror/seriously spooky/heart-pounding suspense titles very well at all and avoid books like that like the plague.

[Kareni]

Regarding: The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine

1 hour ago, tuesdayschild said:

...avoid books like that like the plague...

That seems strangely appropriate given the subject of the book.

Regards,
Kareni

[mumto2]

1 hour ago, tuesdayschild said:

That's sad (grin)   Maybe it will be horrific enough for me though ... I was hoping this would cover that spot as I don't do horror/seriously spooky/heart-pounding suspense titles very well at all and avoid books like that like the plague.

After our homeschool field trip to the Thackray Medical Museum   https://www.thackraymedicalmuseum.co.uk  my family would all vote for horror!  It was the worst ever, we still cringe when we enter Leeds, seriously.  it was our idea of a horror museum.  That Victorian Street smelled really bad.  So bad that DS had a HUGE nosebleed.  We were used to nosebleeds but normally they were no big deal.  We left early in order to take him to a clinic.  We were noticeably thrilled to leave actually even with a bleeding kid!             Btw, it stopped as soon as we got to our car but we still drove away and did something fun.

[tuesdayschild]

1 hour ago, texasmom33 said:

dh said he'd never have been able to read it without passing out when I tried to tell him about parts of it! So, in this instance, I should say spooky is definitely subjective. 

I'll side with your DH then (-;    The latter is so true, I have an associate is 100% spooked, freaks out, over butterflies and avoids picture books centred around them.

If it gets too gross-me-out scary, I'll gift it to my DH and read the Hounds of the Baskerville instead (-:

59 minutes ago, Kareni said:

That seems strangely appropriate given the subject of the book.

Laughing!  Very clever Kareni.

32 minutes ago, mumto2 said:

After our homeschool field trip to the Thackray Medical Museum   https://www.thackraymedicalmuseum.co.uk  my family would all vote for horror!  It was the worst ever, we still cringe when we enter Leeds, seriously.  it was our idea of a horror museum.  That Victorian Street smelled really bad.  So bad that DS had a HUGE nosebleed.  We were used to nosebleeds but normally they were no big deal.  We left early in order to take him to a clinic.  We were noticeably thrilled to leave actually even with a bleeding kid!             Btw, it stopped as soon as we got to our car but we still drove away and did something fun.

That is horrible, your poor son!  And, browsing through the site online they make all appear so innocent - but we're not getting a 3D living, breathing, (awful!) smells experience like you've had. There is an earthquake assimulated room at one of our NZ museums  - visitors who went through some of the epic shakes down here avoid it: one person's entertainment is another's horror factor. 

[Kareni]

A free book available to download (today only) ~  

The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett

See here.
**

Currently free to Kindle readers ~

The Displaced: Fall of a Fortress  by Frieda Watt

Dragon Hoard and Other Tales of Faerie  by Cathleen Townsend

Kindred Spirits: A Romantic Comedy About Love, Life, and the Afterlife   by Whitney Dineen

Sanctuary (The Kate Redman Mysteries)  by  Celina Grace
**

And a bookish post ~ 

The Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy for Book Clubs  by  Feliza Casano

Regards,
Kareni

[Maus]

34. "The Grave's a Fine and Private Place" by Alan Bradley.  I love Flavia!

33. "The Read-Aloud Family" by Sarah Mackenzie.  Loved this.  I saw a lot of my old favorites, and I'm excited to have some new recommendations.

32. "Poirot Investigates" by Agatha Christie.  (London, Northamptonshire, Derbyshire, Lancashire, Sussex, Kent, Devonshire) A collection of short stories.

31.  "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" by J.K. Rowling.  (London and Surry) Continuing on in our family bedtime audio book.

• 30.  "The Skull Beneath the Skin" by P.D. James. (Dorset, London)  
• 29. "How to Be a Pirate" by Cressida Cowell.
• 28.  "Simply Classical" by Cheryl Swope
• 27. "Partners in Crime" by Agatha Christie. (London, Surrey, Sussex, Berkshire, Suffolk, Devon)
• 26. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" by J.K. Rowling. (London, Surrey, and Devon)
• 25. "Give Your Child the World" by Jamie C. Martin.
• 24. "Vanishing Girl" by Shane Peacock. (London, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, Bedforshire, and Hampshire! --  I'll have my choice, and I've finally left London on my Brit trip!)
• 23. "Honey for a Child's Heart" by Gladys Hunt.
• 22. "How to Train Your Dragon" by Cressida Cowell.
• 21. "Death in the Air" by Shane Peacock. (London) 
• 20. "Her Royal Spyness" by Rhys Bowen. (London)
• 19. "Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire" by Rafe Esquith.
• 18. "Every Falling Star" by Sungju Lee. 
• 17. "The Nature Fix" by Florence Williams.
• 16. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" by J,K. Rowling. (London and Surrey)
• 15. "Why Don't Students Like School?" by Daniel T. Willingham.
• 14. "Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd" by Alan Bradley. (London and fictional Bishop's Lacy)
• 13. "Eye of the Crow" by Shane Peacock. (London)
• 12.  "Secret Adversary" by Agatha Christie.  (London, Dorset, Kent,  and fictional England, and WWI at the beginning -- The opening scene is set on the sinking Lusitania.)
• 11.  "Mysterious Affair at Styles" by Agatha Christie.   (London, Essex,  and fictional England, and WWI -- Hastings is home from the war for convalescence.  So to go with it, I read the poem, "In Flanders Field" by John McRae, and several of the other poems on the same site.)
• 10.  "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" by J.K. Rowling. (London or Surrey)
• 9.  "An Unsuitable Job For a Woman" by P.D. James. (Mainly Cambridge, some London)
• 8. "Creative Schools" by Ken Robinson and Lou Aronica.
• 7.  "CopShock: Surviving Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)" by Allen R. Kates.
• 6. "Rethinking School: How to Take Charge of Your Child's Education" by Susan Wise Bauer.
• 5. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling.  (London or Surrey)
• 4. "Guerrilla Learning: How to give your kids a real education with or without school" by Grace Llewellyn and Amy Silver.
• 3. "Monkey Mind: A Memoir of Anxiety" by Daniel Smith.
• 2. "Mother had a Secret: Learning to love My Mother & Her Multiple Personalities" by Tiffany Fletcher.
• 1. "Life's lessons Learned" by Dallin H. Oaks. (LDS)

Agatha Christies's settings in Everyman's Guide to the Mysteries of Agatha Christie.

[Kareni]

Some recent reads ~

Given last week's discussion of Patricia Briggs started by Robin, I requested from the library the graphic novel Mercy Thompson: Hopcross Jilly  by Patricia Briggs and Rik Hoskin. I'm not sorry to have read this, but it's not what I'd call an uplifting story!
**

I also read the contemporary romance The Ones Who Got Away  by Roni Loren which is the first book in a series that takes place twelve years after a high school shooting.  I've read comments that critique the shooting scenario, but this did not seem in poor taste.  (Definite adult content)  I will definitely continue on in this series.

"It's been twelve years since tragedy struck the senior class of Long Acre High School. Only a few students survived that fateful night—a group the media dubbed The Ones Who Got Away.

Liv Arias thought she'd never return to Long Acre—until a documentary brings her and the other survivors back home. Suddenly her old flame, Finn Dorsey, is closer than ever, and their attraction is still white-hot. When a searing kiss reignites their passion, Liv realizes this rough-around-the-edges cop might be exactly what she needs…

Liv's words cut off as Finn got closer. The man approaching was nothing like the boy she'd known. The bulky football muscles had streamlined into a harder, leaner package and the look in his deep green eyes held no trace of boyish innocence."
**

I also read the historical romance Summer Campaign  by Carla Kelly.  I bought this for my Kindle a few days ago and had read a few chapters before it occurred to me that I might actually own a paperback copy of this.  Oops!  My copy looks like this.  Fortunately, Amazon refunded my money.  I enjoyed the story.

"Miss Onyx Hamilton knew the risk of going to Major Jack Beresford's isolated country estate. Surely her husband-to-be, the right Reverend Andrew Littletree, would not condone her leaving the safety of home for the perils that this place posed for so lovely and desirable a young lady. Surely tongues would wag about what she was doing with so eminently attractive and intriguingly unattached a gentleman as the major. But Onyx's worry was not what her fiancé would think or what the world would say. Rather it was what she would do if Jack Beresford took her in his arms…"

Carla Kelly is a favorite author of mine.  FYI: One of her newer books that is set in Yellowstone National Park in 1903 is currently on sale for 99 cents: Courting Carrie in Wonderland

Regards,
Kareni

[Mom-ninja.]

On 5/2/2018 at 6:48 PM, Teaching3bears said:

This week I finished The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.  I was thinking it might be boring, I was scared of the length and, overall, I was just not truly looking forward to reading it.  But I really enjoyed it.  It was a page turner but what I think I liked most were the characters, how the characters overcame challenges and how the characters worked together to solve problems.  There were some scenes that were possibly too descriptive or violent.

I stated Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate.

 

 

 

Good to hear about Pillars of the Earth as that's on my tr list. Hold on to Your Kids is the best parenting book I have ever read. Hands down. 

 

On 5/2/2018 at 8:02 PM, Matryoshka said:

Yep, this is why I don't end up listening to books other than in English.  I'm too cheap to pay for Audible. ?  All my ebooks and audiobooks are from Overdrive.  My library has lots of Spanish ebooks (and Chinese, but that doesn't help me much!), but I've never seen anything in German.

This was exactly my problem, and I still didn't want to read stuff translated from English.  So I've been reading lots of Scandinavian and other Germanic-language lit in German.  For some reason they can write interesting books, but what is up with the Germans that they can't seem to write anything that isn't either ponderous and dull or pulpy Krimis and romances?  They've got a population (esp if you include Austria & German Switzerland) many times that of the Scandinavian countries, and I keep coming up almost empty.  I've found a few that are good, but it's hard. I don't mind tackling the occasional German classic, but a little goes a reaaaally long way. The Spanish also have a much smaller population and even if I don't count Latin American authors, there are tons of good books to read just from Spain.  I'm mystified.

I've got a bunch of books in German if you're interested in any - was it you I sent Menschen im Hotel to?  I keep having to buy all my German books, since unlike English or Spanish books, the library doesn't have them - especially translated works.  I own most of the "Read" books on my German shelf on Goodreads, if you want to browse... ☺️

 

Thanks for the offer. I'll browse your shelf. Yes, you did send me that book. Thank you again! 

[tuesdayschild]

42 minutes ago, Maus said:

"The Skull Beneath the Skin" by P.D. James. (Dorset, London)  

 

42 minutes ago, Maus said:

"Secret Adversary" by Agatha Christie.  (London, Dorset, Kent,  and fictional England

 

Thanks for sharing your read list with counties included.  Not sure why but settling on a 2nd book that I really want to read, and isn't a repeat, and is set in Dorset is generating a challenge. My first title was The Remains of the Day; I've just read a Charles Todd book that had a brief stop via Dorset, but...

ETA:  opps. my post got published before I was done.  Anyone else having odd issues when they "quote"

[tuesdayschild]

It's nearly Saturday afternoon here and so I'm tossing up my week's progress now, before I get stuck into the weekend.   Wishing you all a good weekend!  (Thinking of Robin away at her niece's wedding too.)

Sip Reads that I’m making progress in:

• North and South ~ Elizabeth Gaskell     (switching between audio & e.book)       This book feels so Jane Austen-ish  which has ramped up the enjoyment factor and has me wondering, now, why it took me so long to start it, the length perhaps ;-P
• The Book of Psalms  (KJV)  I’m counting  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. 

Completed:

• Waves of Mercy ~ Lynn Austin (2.5) ( e.pukapuka )   Netherlands / USA 1800’s      If I had known this was the first in a serial I would not have started it – drawn out, serial formatted,  historical Christian romance is not a favourite genre for me to usually spend my reading time on.  The historical portion of the book was very interesting though.

Completed (Brit Trip rebel bus):

• The Listerdale Mystery ~ Agatha Christie (Collection of short stories)  (3) Merseyside
• The Foundling ~ Georgette Heyer  (4)   “Sale Park” (wildcard location) / London / /Hertfordshire/ Bedfordshire/ Lancashire / Buckinghamshire/ Somerset/ Gloucestershire.        I started out with the audio narrated by Phyllida Nash  then, as I had to wait somewhere for Dd, I switched to the book and speed read it which does wreck the enjoyment factor - even when it’s a repeat read.
• Racing the Devil: Ian Rutledge Bk19 ~ Charles Todd  (4)  (Eastbourne) East Sussex / Kent/ Surrey
• A Fine Summer’s Day: Ian Rutledge Bk17 ~  Charles Todd  (3) London/ Kent/ Surrey/ Wiltshire/ Dorset /Cumbria /Yorkshire/ York/ Somerset/ Buckinghamshire/Devon/ “wildcard” = Beecham

[Violet Crown]

13 hours ago, tuesdayschild said:

 

Thanks for sharing your read list with counties included.  Not sure why but settling on a 2nd book that I really want to read, and isn't a repeat, and is set in Dorset is generating a challenge. My first title was The Remains of the Day; I've just read a Charles Todd book that had a brief stop via Dorset, but...

ETA:  opps. my post got published before I was done.  Anyone else having odd issues when they "quote"

 

All Hardy's "Wessex" novels and stories are, as far as I can tell, set in Dorset.

[marbel]

I haven't checked in yet this week, and really don't have anything to say except I'm making progress on everything.  My Brit-Trip list is filling up nicely, though I am still all over the map and not reading in order at all.

But what I really came here this morning to say is, Far From the Madding Crowd is just a lovely book. I've owned a copy for years but for some reason never got to it, or started it and put it aside.  It's only my second Hardy novel (read Tess years ago) but I need to read more.  

[Violet Crown]

51 minutes ago, marbel said:

I haven't checked in yet this week, and really don't have anything to say except I'm making progress on everything.  My Brit-Trip list is filling up nicely, though I am still all over the map and not reading in order at all.

But what I really came here this morning to say is, Far From the Madding Crowd is just a lovely book. I've owned a copy for years but for some reason never got to it, or started it and put it aside.  It's only my second Hardy novel (read Tess years ago) but I need to read more.  

 

The happy (sort of) ending was a shocker. I checked Wikipedia to make sure his editor hadn’t forced Hardy to add it on, like with Return of the Native.

[marbel]

41 minutes ago, Violet Crown said:

 

The happy (sort of) ending was a shocker. I checked Wikipedia to make sure his editor hadn’t forced Hardy to add it on, like with Return of the Native.

Indeed.  :-)

My pastor, who is from England though I don't know what part, refers to Hardy's novels now and then.  He says they are quite realistic in that there's not always (never?) a nice, neat, happy ending. 

I think I know what put me off  Far From... for so long.  I was looking at movie trailers this morning and the 1967 Julie Christie version looks like a pot-boiler romance.  That would have come out during my formative years so my impression of the book could have been skewed. 

[Violet Crown]

1 hour ago, marbel said:

Indeed.  ?

My pastor, who is from England though I don't know what part, refers to Hardy's novels now and then.  He says they are quite realistic in that there's not always (never?) a nice, neat, happy ending. 

 

I already love your pastor. Yes, let’s have more Hardy reading this year. There are several unread ones waiting on my shelf. Any plans for your next Hardy?

[marbel]

17 minutes ago, Violet Crown said:

 

I already love your pastor. Yes, let’s have more Hardy reading this year. There are several unread ones waiting on my shelf. Any plans for your next Hardy?

My husband and I were talking about it; he said he remembers some comments about Hardy fitting his dour British personality.

Right now I want to read them all. I might ask the P tomorrow for his personal favorite.  I think I remember that it's Jude the Obscure. What do you think?

Googling around a bit, I came across  this list of Hardy novels - link to The Culture Trip, about which I know nothing. 

[mumto2]

1 hour ago, marbel said:

My husband and I were talking about it; he said he remembers some comments about Hardy fitting his dour British personality.

Right now I want to read them all. I might ask the P tomorrow for his personal favorite.  I think I remember that it's Jude the Obscure. What do you think?

Googling around a bit, I came across  this list of Hardy novels - link to The Culture Trip, about which I know nothing. 

I am starting to feel like I might want to join in.  I will admit that I believe my Hardy knowledge is confined to Return of the Native decades ago!  I will definitely be listening to mine as I think I am going to try and finish my quilt for a show this September.   It had been my planned 2019 entry.........

[Kareni]

A free book available to download (today only) ~

The War in the Air by H. G. Wells

"Modern warfare takes to the skies in this novel by a master of science fiction and fantasy. In 1907, young Bert Smallways, a brilliant mechanist and accidental aeronaut, finds himself a reluctant stowaway upon the very same airship that will begin the Great War. Soon, Smallways is swept away aboard the Vaterland, the flagship piloted by a belligerent German prince, whose mastery of technology heralds a new age of war that takes to the sky. Filled with petrol-powered war machines, ironclads, bombardments, and espionage, The War in the Air prophesied methods of warfare that would only develop later in the twentieth century. A cornerstone of early science fiction, this exciting tale is H. G. Wells at his best."

Go here.
**

Currently free to Kindle readers ~

The Tithe  by Elle Hill 

Call Off The Search (The Comyenti Series Book 1)  by Natasja Hellenthal

"A gripping psychological drama ... the realistic struggle of one woman stuck between two worlds." - Kirkus Reviews

Regards,
Kareni

[JennW in SoCal]

6 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

 

I already love your pastor. Yes, let’s have more Hardy reading this year. There are several unread ones waiting on my shelf. Any plans for your next Hardy?

 

I could easily be persuaded to listen to Alan Rickman reading Return of the Native.