Book a Week 2018 - BW22: Men who march Away

[Robin M]

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

This week we are celebrating the anniversary of Thomas Hardy's birthday 178 years ago.  His poem, Men Who March Away, was written and published in the Times on September 9, 1914.  He was inspired by Dorset soldiers marching to the train station on their way to fight in France during World War I.  

 

Men Who March Away

by

Thomas Hardy

June 2, 1840 - January 11, 1928

What of the faith and fire within us
Men who march away
Ere the barn-cocks say
Night is growing gray,
Leaving all that here can win us;
What of the faith and fire within us
Men who march away?

Is it a purblind prank, O think you,
Friend with the musing eye,
Who watch us stepping by
With doubt and dolorous sigh?
Can much pondering so hoodwink you!
Is it a purblind prank, O think you,
Friend with the musing eye?

Nay. We well see what we are doing,
Though some may not see—
Dalliers as they be—
England's need are we;
Her distress would leave us rueing:
Nay. We well see what we are doing,
Though some may not see!

In our heart of hearts believing
Victory crowns the just,
And that braggarts must
Surely bite the dust,
Press we to the field ungrieving,
In our heart of hearts believing
Victory crowns the just.

Hence the faith and fire within us
Men who march away
Ere the barn-cocks say
Night is growing gray,
Leaving all that here can win us;
Hence the faith and fire within us
Men who march away.

 

Learn more about the life and poetry and writings of Thomas Hardy through Historic UK, Poetry Foundation, and Online Literature

The poem is fitting as it is also Memorial Day weekend in the U.S. in which we honor those who died in service to our country. The earliest observance began around the time of the civil war. 

"On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, leader of an organization for Northern Civil War veterans, called for a nationwide day of remembrance later that month. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed.

The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle."

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

Our Brit Tripp on  Ichnield Way is taking us to Buckinghamshire this week: 

Situated just outside London, Buckinghamshire is known for its scenic beauty (Grand Union Canal and Chilterns) and high property values with a long and distinguished list of residents. During WWII it was the home base of the codebreaking at Bletchly Park.

Rabbit trails:  Mary and Percy Shelley,   John Milton,   Jerome K. Jerome,   T.S. Eliot,  Roald Dahl,  Enid Blyton,  Terry Pratchett,  More Chilterns,   Waddesdon Manor,  West Wycombe Park,  Cliveden House,   Chequers (PM’s country house)

What are you reading this week?

 

Link to  week 21

[Robin M]

I'm currently reading Innocence by Dean Koontz, Night by Elie Weisel with James, listening to Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire and will be dipping my toes into The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy 

[Mothersweets]

I finished 3 books this week!

Grey Mask by Patricia Wentworth - meh. It had it's best moments when Miss Silver was on the page or when two of the main characters were arguing. I complained about this book last week and even though everyone gave me permission to skip it, I went ahead and finished it. I do like the Miss Silver character and would like to read a better one of the series. 

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert - I really liked this one! It's sort of a fairy tale-ish, supernatural  YA thriller. The main character was hard for me to like but I was intrigued by her story and the author's writing style. The secondary characters were interesting, too. 

The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz - Another YA novel, this one is set in 1911 Baltimore. Fourteen year old Joan is the only girl in a farming family of three brothers and her abusive dad. She gets fed up and runs away to Baltimore to become a hired servant in a well-to-do home. We follow her story through reading her diary entries and she is so sincere and earnest and lovable. If she were an animal she would be a Golden Retriever. I was rooting for her right from the start. Her character grows through the novel and I found her situation (and situations she gets herself into) totally believable. There is some talk of religion (the family she works for is Jewish) but you aren't beat over the head with it at all. Good read - I was hooked right away. 

Well, it looks like I've stepped off the Rebel Bus for a spell and I want to get back on. I'll look through Robin's links and see what appeals. ?

[mumto2]

I have only read maybe 5 pages the last couple of days because I bought a new sewing machine with all the gadgets I dreamed of thanks to a great deal of prodding from Dh.  I have been busy learning what my new toy can do and the most miraculous thing is the needle threader really is automatic and super easy!

I am still listening to Woman in White and need to get back to it.  Fortunately I downloaded the book too so the possibility of going back and forth exists because I have 18 hours to go!  So stuck in Hampshire......

I haven’t even finished the first short story in my Mercyverse reread.  Maybe tonight.......Still reading A Talent for Murder.  I totally understand why Marbel quit but I really hope to finish it.  I actually just renewed it.  

I am planning to read the next in the GM Malliot https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34953090-in-prior-s-wood series.  It is in make believe England but has the best Vicar/detective ever.  He used to be a MI 5 agent.  I love these.

i also plan to head to Norfolk early with the latest Elly Griffith.

Back to binding a quilt with a machine.......

[JennW in SoCal]

Oooooh -- Mumto2, are you binding it completely by machine or will you finish the binding by hand?

I finished the non-fiction book, The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey. What an extraordinary adventure story! The writing is wonderful. Candace Millard puts you right in the Amazonian jungle, the sounds, the smells, the heat and rain. If you didn't get enough South American exploration with Lost City of Z, this book is for you. Or if you just want some good non-fiction.

I am almost to the middle of the delightful My Brilliant Career, except in my mind's ear Sybylla speaks with the same clipped hillbilly twang as Mattie Ross in True Grit. ?I can hear the men with a "Crocodile Dundee" Aussie accent, but Sybylla remains decidedly American.

On the audiobook front, I stil have about 3 hours left in Middlemarch and 4 hours in my Star Trek book. 

Oh -- and since I neglected to post last week, I didn't get to tell all you Sebastian St Cyr fans that I finally have read, and thoroughly enjoyed, the first title in the series, What Angels Fear. I'm looking forward to reading the other titles in the series.

[JennyD]

My oldest son became a bar mitzvah yesterday.  It was such a joyous day for our family but I read nothing all week.

[Laura in CA]

I am about to finish up Nick Hornby's Housekeeping vs. the Dirt, which (because of his recommendations) will lead to my reading, in the near future, Marilynne Robinson's Gilead and Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation. What I was planning to start (and will!) is Ron Chernow's Grant (which dovetails nicely with this week's theme) and I just finished Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders (also fitting). All highly recommended ?

I hope everyone has a nice Memorial Day weekend!

[JennyD]

Laura, I read Hornby's collection, More Baths, Less Talking some weeks ago but did not realize that there were others.  I am going to check that one out.

 

[Matryoshka]

Finished 4 books last week (most were short):

41. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid (audiobook) - An interesting story about a seemingly present-day or near-future world where somehow doors or portals to other parts of the same world open up all over, allowing free access across borders for refugees or anyone else who wants to use them.  No matter where you go, there you are.  I'm glad the end was hopeful, though. 3.5 stars.

42. The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo (ebook) - A fun bunch of fairy tales, some were riffs on older tales (Nutcracker, Little Mermaid), others had less specific references, but I did enjoy them all quite a bit. 4 stars.

43. Sommerhaus, später by Judith Hermann - Meh. Short stories pretty much all about bunch of disaffected young people (different ones in each story), mostly in Berlin, who are wasting their 20's doing not much of anything and avoiding attachment or real life. 2 stars.

44. For We Are Many (Bobiverse #2) by Dennis E. Taylor - Silly and fun book for SciFi nerds.  Bob, now a bunch of cloned AIs running a fleet of interstellar ships around the Milky Way, never loses his sense of humor or wonder even in the face of the potential demise of the human race and maybe a couple of others.  I'll just have to read the third installment to see how it comes out. 3.5 stars.

Currently reading:

- Der blaue Himmel / The Blue Sky by Galsan Tschinag - Originally written in German even though the book is by a Tuvan man from the Mongolian Steppes, as he learned German in a Soviet school and thought his memoirs would be more widely read if written in a Western language.  For some reason I hadn't realized the Tuvan people (of Tuvan throat singing fame) were from the Steppes...  I'd thought they were from somewhere in Indonesia or something.  Not that far in yet, but for some reason I always enjoy books/movies about the Mongolian Steppes and their people. :)

- Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz (audiobook) - A story within a story, from what I've been told, but at 30% in other than a short snippet from the 'outside' story introducing it, it's been the 'book' part of the story, which is a typical cozy British small-village mystery with an insightful detective.  Interested to see how the 'outside' story will mix in at some point.

- Notes on a Foreign Country: An American Abroad in a post-American World by Suzy Hansen (ebook) - Really enjoying this so far.  

Coming up:

The Golden Legend by Nadeem Aslam came in unexpectedly on Overdrive (I was thinking Heart Berries would come in next), so have to get to that.  Most of my audios have a long queue; I think The Unwomanly Face of War may come in next.

I've got The Queue and Laurus out of the library, and the next two books for SciFi book club (All Systems Red and The Ring of Swords), as well as Clandestino en Chile; las aventuras de Miguel Littín coming in soon.   And I still want to get to the first volume in The Story of the Stone aka Dream of the Red Chamber soon... So many books, so little time...

•  

[Lady Florida.]

I didn't post last week because FIL 92 had a massive stroke on Tuesday evening. The doctors said recovery was not expected and his living will states that he does not want to be kept alive artificially, so he was moved to hospice on Friday. It's been a tough week for our family. If anything good can be said it's these two things _

MIL died 4 years ago and he never stopped missing her. He mentioned more than once in recent months that he's ready to follow her
He was playing Texas Hold'em when it happened so he went doing something he enjoyed and surrounded by friends.

Oddly enough I've had a lot of time to read. There have been times when dh and his siblings were discussing matters and sometimes spouse input was wanted, other times there were things they needed to agree on among themselves. Those were the times I spent reading.

I finished my reread of Emma, one of my favorite Austen novels. Last time I posted I think I mentioned that I was burned out on true crime and wasn't going to listen to I'll Be Gone in the Dark, but I changed my mind. It was interesting to listen to mentions of possible suspects and theories knowing that they've since caught the killer.

I'm currently reading The Great Passage which will be discussed on the Chat board next week, A Moment in the Sun, by John Sayles, and I need to start on Sing, Unburied, Sing for my local book club. I haven't had a chance to listen to my audio book and I haven't read any in either of my non-fiction books. 

 

 

1 hour ago, JennW in SoCal said:

 

I finished the non-fiction book, The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey. What an extraordinary adventure story! The writing is wonderful. Candace Millard puts you right in the Amazonian jungle, the sounds, the smells, the heat and rain. If you didn't get enough South American exploration with Lost City of Z, this book is for you. Or if you just want some good non-fiction.

 

I think I heard about this book from you but it also could have been on one of my Goodreads groups. I downloaded the sample and am adding this to my to-read list. 

 

 

[Ottakee]

I just finished and am now rereading It's Not Fair: Learning to love the life you didn't choose by Melanie Dale.  It is a light easy read but meaty.  It took me almost 8 weeks to finish it as it is a good book to digest page by page, paragraph by paragraph.  It was a 5 ? book for me.  Christian based.  

I am listening to Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo but after 2 1/2 hours into the story I am not drawn in.  Book has excellent reviews though.

I have My Italian Bulldozer on my Kindle and about 20% of the way through it isn't pulling me in either.

Not sure I will finish either of these.

 

[Violet Crown]

I'm sorry to hear about your father-in-law, Kathy.

[JennyD]

Oh, Lady Florida, I am so sorry to hear that.   I hope that your FIL is comfortable and that his remaining time is peaceful.  

[Violet Crown]

Finally, some books finished. At 950+ pages the longest book I've read this year, 46. Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur, the 1485 classic from the printing press of William Caxton. So that's the BritTrip bus through Hampshire -- Berkshire already covered by 44. Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor -- my book for Buckinghamshire won't arrive until mid-July so that's going to be skipped for now -- and currently reading 47. Graham Greene's autobiography A Sort of Life, the childhood part of which was lived in Hertfordshire. With luck I'll finish that tonight and roll on to Essex with 48. Lady Audley's Secret.

In-between the many jousts of Sirs Launcelot, Tristram, Galahad, Percival, etc., I re-read 45. Abp. Marcel Lefebvre's Open Letter to Confused Catholics, the manifesto of the traditionalist movement; unlikely to be of general interest.

[Ali in OR]

I'm at the 98% mark of Middlemarch on my kindle...hoping to finish tonight! Enjoying it more and more the further I get.

[mumto2]

5 hours ago, JennyD said:

My oldest son became a bar mitzvah yesterday.  It was such a joyous day for our family but I read nothing all week.

Congratulations!

Lady Florida,  So sorry to hear about your fil.

JennW,  Yes,  binding all on the machine,  it worked but could be better.  The binding strips were 1/4 inch too narrow because I cut them before the machine purchase.  I normally do it all by hand so I saved about 8 hours which is great.  

[Kareni]

6 hours ago, JennyD said:

My oldest son became a bar mitzvah yesterday.  It was such a joyous day for our family ...

Mazel tov!

3 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

 Der blaue Himmel / The Blue Sky by Galsan Tschinag - Originally written in German even though the book is by a Tuvan man from the Mongolian Steppes, as he learned German in a Soviet school and thought his memoirs would be more widely read if written in a Western language.  For some reason I hadn't realized the Tuvan people (of Tuvan throat singing fame) were from the Steppes... 

I first heard of Tuvan throat singing when I was reading books by and about physicist Richard Feynman.  That led me to reading Tuva or Bust!: Richard Feynman's Last Journey  by Ralph Leighton.  Tuvan throat singing is truly unusual.

3 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

... FIL 92 had a massive stroke on Tuesday evening...

MIL died 4 years ago and he never stopped missing her. He mentioned more than once in recent months that he's ready to follow her
He was playing Texas Hold'em when it happened so he went doing something he enjoyed and surrounded by friends.

Thinking of you, Kathy, in this challenging time.

Regards,
Kareni

[Teaching3bears]

I read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson.  It definitely kept my attention and I didn't want to put it down.  Warning: It had some very violent and disturbing parts.

Speaking of Thomas Hardy I am now reading Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy.  I like it so far.

 

I 

[Kareni]

I finished a couple of books recently. 

First is Thea Harrison's  Planet Dragos: A Novella of the Elder Races.  I was eagerly anticipating reading this as it's the final work concerning characters I really like,  but the reality fell short of my expectations.  Oh, well.

"Pia’s latest pregnancy has become a daily challenge, her relationship with Dragos strained with argument. That hasn’t stopped them from achieving a compromise and traveling to Las Vegas to celebrate their friend Rune’s wedding to his mate Carling.

From the moment they arrive, the trip goes awry. Death walks in Vegas, and Pia is kidnapped as an ancient enemy makes a move to destroy the Great Beast once and for all.

But the Great Beast has other plans.

On Planet Dragos everything goes the way he arranges it—unless someone decides to cross him, and God help them then, because he doesn’t know how to back down, and he doesn’t ever, ever let up…."
**

I also read Beauty and the Geek (Gone Geek Book 1)  by Sidney Bristol which is a contemporary romance.  This dealt with some interesting issues (stereotypes, appearances, harassment), but I don't think it's a book I'll soon re-read. (Copious adult content). 

Regards,
Kareni

[Matryoshka]

44 minutes ago, Kareni said:

I first heard of Tuvan throat singing when I was reading books by and about physicist Richard Feynman.  That led me to reading Tuva or Bust!: Richard Feynman's Last Journey  by Ralph Leighton.  Tuvan throat singing is truly unusual.

 

I have that book on my shelf (borrowed from my brother) and have been meaning to get to it.  I think it might even have a cd. Did you like the book? 

[Kareni]

18 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

I have that book on my shelf (borrowed from my brother) and have been meaning to get to it.  I think it might even have a cd. Did you like the book? 

I found it somewhat interesting but not so much that I'd ever desire to re-read it.  How's that for helpful?

Regards,
Kareni

[Mothersweets]

5 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

I didn't post last week because FIL 92 had a massive stroke on Tuesday evening. The doctors said recovery was not expected and his living will states that he does not want to be kept alive artificially, so he was moved to hospice on Friday. It's been a tough week for our family. If anything good can be said it's these two things _

MIL died 4 years ago and he never stopped missing her. He mentioned more than once in recent months that he's ready to follow her
He was playing Texas Hold'em when it happened so he went doing something he enjoyed and surrounded by friends.

Oddly enough I've had a lot of time to read. There have been times when dh and his siblings were discussing matters and sometimes spouse input was wanted, other times there were things they needed to agree on among themselves. Those were the times I spent reading.

I finished my reread of Emma, one of my favorite Austen novels. Last time I posted I think I mentioned that I was burned out on true crime and wasn't going to listen to I'll Be Gone in the Dark, but I changed my mind. It was interesting to listen to mentions of possible suspects and theories knowing that they've since caught the killer.

I'm currently reading The Great Passage which will be discussed on the Chat board next week, A Moment in the Sun, by John Sayles, and I need to start on Sing, Unburied, Sing for my local book club. I haven't had a chance to listen to my audio book and I haven't read any in either of my non-fiction books. 

 

 

I think I heard about this book from you but it also could have been on one of my Goodreads groups. I downloaded the sample and am adding this to my to-read list. 

 

 

Hugs, Kathy. 

I'm next in line for my library's copy of I'll Be Gone in the Dark and I'm wondering if it's going to be too gruesome for me. How are you finding it?

[Laura in CA]

8 hours ago, JennW in SoCal said:

I finished the non-fiction book, The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey. What an extraordinary adventure story! The writing is wonderful. Candace Millard puts you right in the Amazonian jungle, the sounds, the smells, the heat and rain. If you didn't get enough South American exploration with Lost City of Z, this book is for you. Or if you just want some good non-fiction.

On the audiobook front, I stil have about 3 hours left in Middlemarch and 4 hours in my Star Trek book. 

 

I've been off the boards too much recently owing to travel, sickness, etc., so apparently I missed a discussion of Middlemarch ... It has been on my mind for the last few years ... I will go back and look for it in the BW archives!

I enjoyed The Rough Riders  so much, I hope to have time in the near future to read two books that have been on my shelves for several years, Through the Brazilian Wilderness by TR himself and The River of Doubt. I just can't decide which one to read first. No, that's easy – I'll read TR's first-person account first. I've peeked inside several times and been fascinated by his lists of the supplies they brought, and his list of the books they lugged along. I'll give two Teddy Roosevelt quotes, as I think the folks on this thread will appreciate his bookishness ? :

from Through the Brazilian Wilderness, p. 247: 

The things that we carried were necessities – food, medicines, bedding, instruments for determining the altitude and longitude and latitude – except a few books, each in small compass: Lyra's were in German, consisting of two tiny volumes of Goethe and Schiller; Kermit's were in Portuguese; mine, all in English, included the last two volumes of Gibbon, the plays of Sophocles, More's "Utopia," Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus ...

from The Rough Riders, p. 110:

Indeed, as long as we were under fire or in the immediate presence of the enemy, and I had plenty to do, there was nothing of which I could legitimately complain; and what I really did regard as hardships, my men did not object to – for later on, when we had some leisure, I would have given much for complete solitude and some good books.

I love that he didn't regard malarial fever, snipers in trees, torrential rain, tropical heat, wild animals, starvation rations, muddy trenches, etc. as hardships – no, it's a lack of reading material! ?

6 hours ago, JennyD said:

Laura, I read Hornby's collection, More Baths, Less Talking some weeks ago but did not realize that there were others.  I am going to check that one out.

 

Jenny, his collections seem to have been published every two years for a while. The first was The Polysyllabic Spree, then Housekeeping vs. the Dirt, then others. I guess you liked More Baths, Less Talking? Did it make you add any books to your to-read list?

[JennyD]

8 hours ago, Laura in CA said:

Jenny, his collections seem to have been published every two years for a while. The first was The Polysyllabic Spree, then Housekeeping vs. the Dirt, then others. I guess you liked More Baths, Less Talking? Did it make you add any books to your to-read list?

 

Yes!  Looking at my to-read list I cannot remember which titles I wrote down after reading More Baths, but I definitely recall adding a few.  

[Lady Florida.]

9 hours ago, Mothersweets said:

Hugs, Kathy. 

I'm next in line for my library's copy of I'll Be Gone in the Dark and I'm wondering if it's going to be too gruesome for me. How are you finding it?

I listened to the audio book. There were some gruesome parts when the murders were described but most of it covered various theories, suspects, and McNamara's search for clues. I think if you're reading rather than listening it would be easier to skim over the gruesome parts.

[Mothersweets]

1 hour ago, Lady Florida. said:

I listened to the audio book. There were some gruesome parts when the murders were described but most of it covered various theories, suspects, and McNamara's search for clues. I think if you're reading rather than listening it would be easier to skim over the gruesome parts.

I'll give it a go then! Thanks!

[Kareni]

Some currently free books for Kindle readers ~

a classic:  Vathek by William Beckford

a collection of stories:  A STITCH IN TIME: Six thought-provoking stories about time & reality by Senan Gil Senan

a contemporary romance:  Next to You  by Daisy Prescott

another romance:   Showmance  by L.H. Cosway

LGBT paranormal:  The Necromancer's Dance (The Beacon Hill…  by SJ Himes

Regards,
Kareni

 

[Robin M]

On 5/27/2018 at 1:05 PM, mumto2 said:

I have only read maybe 5 pages the last couple of days because I bought a new sewing machine with all the gadgets I dreamed of thanks to a great deal of prodding from Dh.  I have been busy learning what my new toy can do and the most miraculous thing is the needle threader really is automatic and super easy!

Have fun with your new toy!  Hubby bought me Janome Threadbanger a couple years ago. Lots of bells and whistles to play with. Which one did you get?

On 5/27/2018 at 1:45 PM, JennyD said:

My oldest son became a bar mitzvah yesterday.  It was such a joyous day for our family but I read nothing all week.

Congratulations to your son and family.  

On 5/27/2018 at 4:40 PM, Lady Florida. said:

I didn't post last week because FIL 92 had a massive stroke on Tuesday evening. The doctors said recovery was not expected and his living will states that he does not want to be kept alive artificially, so he was moved to hospice on Friday. It's been a tough week for our family. If anything good can be said it's these two things _

MIL died 4 years ago and he never stopped missing her. He mentioned more than once in recent months that he's ready to follow her
He was playing Texas Hold'em when it happened so he went doing something he enjoyed and surrounded by friends.

Oh sweetie! Hugs and love winging your way!

18 hours ago, Laura in CA said:

I've been off the boards too much recently owing to travel, sickness, etc., so apparently I missed a discussion of Middlemarch ... It has been on my mind for the last few years ... I will go back and look for it in the BW archives!

I think there may have been some discussion in one of the private social groups. However, I believe a few of our BaWers who read it or may still be reading and haven't discussed on the BaW threads yet will probably be more than happy to chat about it.  

[Robin M]

Woot Woot! Nora Robert's latest book "Shelter in Place" has arrived.  

Discovered through my internet wanderings today:

What exactly is a Cozy Mystery

Black Cat Detective

Two Hundred Years of Blue

Tana French previews new book Witch Elm

Pooh! Have to wait until November  for Louise Penny's newest Armand Gamache book

[tuesdayschild]

Whew, I've just managed to do a quick catch up reading on last weeks thread and you're all posts deep here already ? 

mumto2, thanks for the extra vote to try one of Amy's Cats Who books, and the first one I can access here in NZ is The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal.  What do you both think? Is this a good one read?

Robin, I did laugh at your mini-challenge from last week....

(& I wonder if anyone ever gets a dog in the quizz Kareni linked?)

Kareni, how did you manage to put your 'sensitive trigger' comment inside that drop down box thingy last week?  

Work and schooling are both rather busy today, I'd better post my books being read and then I'll pop back another day to read what each of you is endeavouring to navigate through, in life, and in books.

Six  time-sensitive  overdrive items came off hold much earlier than I anticipated,

• Novel Destinations: Literary Landmarks From Jane Austen's Bath to Ernest Hemingway's Key West ~ Shannon McKenna Schmidt   
• The Piper: Ian Rutledge Bk19.5  ~ Charles Todd
• The German Girl ~ Armando Lucas Correa     Biographical Fiction, parallel stories 1939 & 2014
• Astrophysics for People in a Hurry ~ Neil deGrasse Tyson    N/F Astronomy
• Judy Dench & Michael Williams: With Great Pleasure ~ BBC Radio 4 (poetry etc) repeat listen
• The Librarian of Auschwitz ~ Antonio Iturbe  Biographical Fiction, WWII.

With some of those items, I went from being 8^th in line to 1^st in two weeks -  so I now have them added to my burgeoning TBR pile.   That brings my overdrive library loans to 9, which are too many for me to want to juggle and I think I’m going to toss some back into circulation.

So now I’m wondering if anyone else would care to share….

Q:  How many items do each of you have on overdrive (other) loan?      And, do you manage to get through most of them before the expiry date snatches them off your device?

My current Brit Trip reads:

• To fill the Published Anon spot:   Evelina ~ Francis Burney  (pub. anon 1778) Dorset/London/ Bristol
• The Toll-Gate ~ Georgette Heyer (repeat listen. A favourite Heyer story even though it’s more kissy/romance-y than many of her books)  Derbyshire

Completed (includes Brit Trip rebel bus):

• False Colours ~ Georgette Heyer   (audio. Nighttime listen) (3.5)   Sussex/ London        I rather enjoy the story surrounding the twins, but with each consecutive read, I dislike their mama more and more.
• Elizabeth the Queen ~ Sally Bedell Smith (4)  (663pgs.  Chunkster)  London/ Scotland/ Norfolk/ Berkshire        The author is obviously very pro the Queen, and shows Diana in a less than favourable light – dealing with her mental health struggles in an open-handed and rather matter of fact tone.  The retelling of events became a bit formulaic after a while yet I still enjoyed this biography about The Queen.  Extra content for those that like to know about swearing before reading:  the book does have a few curse words, and, one f-bomb which is dropped by Princess Diana.
• A Red Boyhood: Growing Up Under Stalin ~ Anatole Konstantin  (3)  N/F (epukapuka)   Even though the writing quality is a little uneven the content was interesting enough to keep me reading.

 

[mumto2]

1 hour ago, Robin M said:

Have fun with your new toy!  Hubby bought me Janome Threadbanger a couple years ago. Lots of bells and whistles to play with. Which one did you get?

I actually had expected to buy a Janome but in the end decided on a Viking because I will have lots of support if needed from a local store.

1 hour ago, Robin M said:

Woot Woot! Nora Robert's latest book "Shelter in Place" has arrived.  

Discovered through my internet wanderings today:

What exactly is a Cozy Mystery

Black Cat Detective

Two Hundred Years of Blue

Tana French previews new book Witch Elm

Pooh! Have to wait until November  for Louise Penny's newest Armand Gamache book

Can’t wait to hear about the Nora Roberts.  The description worries me......will  I be able shop in a mall again if I read this?  Only half joking!

27 minutes ago, tuesdayschild said:

Whew, I've just managed to do a quick catch up reading on last weeks thread and you're all posts deep here already ? 

mumto2, thanks for the extra vote to read to try one of Amy's Cats Who book and the first one I can access here in NZ is The Cat Who Knew are Cardinal.  What do you both think? Is this a good one read?

Robin, I did laugh at your mini-challenge from last week....

(& I wonder if anyone ever gets a dog in the quizz Kareni linked?)

Kareni, how did you manage to put your 'sensitive trigger' comment inside that drop down thingy last week?  

Work and schooling are both rather busy today, I'd better post my books being read and then I'll pop back another day to read what each of you is endeavouring to navigate through, in life, and in books.

Six  time-sensitive  overdrive items came off hold much earlier than I anticipated,

• Novel Destinations: Literary Landmarks From Jane Austen's Bath to Ernest Hemingway's Key West ~ Shannon McKenna Schmidt   
• The Piper: Ian Rutledge Bk19.5  ~ Charles Todd
• The German Girl ~ Armando Lucas Correa     Biographical Fiction, parallel stories 1939 & 2014
• Astrophysics for People in a Hurry ~ Neil deGrasse Tyson    N/F Astronomy
• Judy Dench & Michael Williams: With Great Pleasure ~ BBC Radio 4 (poetry etc) repeat listen
• The Librarian of Auschwitz ~ Antonio Iturbe  Biographical Fiction, WWII.

With some of those items, I went from being 8^th in line to 1^st in two weeks -  so I now have them added to my burgeoning TBR pile.   That brings my overdrive library loans to 9, which are too many for me to want to juggle and I think I’m going to toss some back into circulation.

So now I’m wondering if anyone else would care to share….

Q:  How many items do each of you have on overdrive (other) loan?      And, do you manage to get through most of them before the expiry date snatches them off your device?

My current Brit Trip reads:

• To fill the Published Anon spot:   Evelina ~ Francis Burney  (pub. anon 1778) Dorset/London/ Bristol
• The Toll-Gate ~ Georgette Heyer (repeat listen. A favourite Heyer story even though it’s more kissy/romance-y than many of her books)  Derbyshire

Completed (includes Brit Trip rebel bus):

• False Colours ~ Georgette Heyer   (audio. Nighttime listen) (3.5)   Sussex/ London        I rather enjoy the story surrounding the twins, but with each consecutive read, I dislike their mama more and more.
• Elizabeth the Queen ~ Sally Bedell Smith (4)  (663pgs.  Chunkster)  London/ Scotland/ Norfolk/ Berkshire        The author is obviously very pro the Queen, and shows Diana in a less than favourable light – dealing with her mental health struggles in an open handed and rather  matter of fact tone.  The retelling of events became a bit formulaic after a while yet I still enjoyed this biography about The Queen.  Extra content for those that like to know about swearing before reading:  the book does have a few curse words, and, one f-bomb which is dropped by Princess Diana.
• A Red Boyhood: Growing Up Under Stalin ~ Anatole Konstantin  (3)  N/F (epukapuka)   Even though the writing quality is a little uneven the content was interesting enough to keep me reading.

 

 I just looked and I gave the Cat who Knew a Cardinal a 5 on Goodreads.  So I liked it!  The first time I read these they were all out of order and I kept reading them so I think you will be fine.   ? 

I currently have 8 books and 1 audiobook checked out on Overdrive, pretty normal for me.  I always abandon a few so I need extras. ?

I finished A Talent for Murder and it actually improved a bit as the book went along.  Not great but there were a couple of parts that made things more palatable.  I really liked the fact that Agatha was writing the Blue Train Mystery which I just read.   Obviously this is planned to be the first in a series and I am not sure I will read another.........Lots of county’s for Brit Tripping Berkshire, Surrey, Dorset, Cheshire, North Yorkshire, Hertfordshire, and London.

[Ottakee]

I took struggle with the overdrive game.

Right now I have 1 audio book  and 3 kindle books through Overdrive and then one audiobook through Hoopla.

Like you, I go from #8 to 1 instantly.....or languish as #2 for weeks.  I try to keep just 1-2 checked out and then a list of favorites through overdrive and Hoopla that I can checkout without a wait when I am between books.

 

[mumto2]

15 minutes ago, Ottakee said:

I took struggle with the overdrive game.

Right now I have 1 audio book  and 3 kindle books through Overdrive and then one audiobook through Hoopla.

Like you, I go from #8 to 1 instantly.....or languish as #2 for weeks.  I try to keep just 1-2 checked out and then a list of favorites through overdrive and Hoopla that I can checkout without a wait when I am between books.

 

On Overdrive I keep a really long wish list that can be sorted into currently available.  I love that feature!  I try really hard when reading a series to remember to put the next one on my wish list.

[Kareni]

I finished a book this evening; it would best be described as romantic suspense.  It's one in a series, so while it could be read as a stand alone, it features many characters that have been the subject of the author's earlier books.   I found it a pleasant read, but I don't see myself re-reading it.  (Adult content)

Dead By Midnight: An I-Team Christmas  by Pamela Clare

"Marc and Sophie Hunter, Gabe and Kat Rossiter, Holly Andris and the rest of the I-Team gang find themselves in the same historic Denver hotel celebrating the approach of Christmas at different holiday parties. What starts out as a fun winter evening with friends soon becomes a brutal fight to survive when the hotel is taken over by a group of ruthless narco-terrorists who will stop at nothing to get what they want.

On the outside, Julian Darcangelo, Zach McBride, Nick Andris, and others join together with the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team in a desperate bid to free their friends, knowing that if they fail, the people they love will be…

Dead by Midnight."

Regards,
Kareni

[Kareni]

1 hour ago, mumto2 said:

Kareni, how did you manage to put your 'sensitive trigger' comment inside that drop down thingy last week?   

 

 

It's a secret!

 

I type this: 

[ spoiler]witty remarks go here[/spoiler ]

but without the spaces.

Regards,
Kareni

[-M-]

This weekend, I finished reading Books 51 52 and 52 53 of the year: Thi Bui’s illustrated memoir, The Best We Could Do, and Aimee Molloy’s meh recent novel, The Perfect Mother.

In addition to meeting the 52/52 early, I’m well positioned to meet one of my reading goals: to read thirty-six non-fiction tiles in 2018; I’ve read seventeen, so far. In fact, here are my commonplace book entries for the sixteenth, Sarah Perry’s haunting memoir about her mother’s murder, After the Eclipse:

p. 136
As far back as I could remember, reading had been a perfect escape, an alternate universe where none of the problems were mine. When I was upset at home or school, I could always pull out a book, or know that one was waiting for me in the next quiet moment. In first grade, encouraged by my teacher, I began writing stories, and this was even better; I could create whatever escape I wanted, include whatever characters I wanted to spend time with. Writing gave me power.

p. 159
Sometimes, the scary thing about suicide was that it seemed inevitable, the only logical end to everything that had happened.

p. 250
Violence outpaced lab funding everywhere.

Our family book club is tackling The Aeneid this summer. We’ve already listened to the three introductory lectures in Elizabeth Vandiver’s course on the work and have decided to read one of The Aeneid’s twelve books each week, complemented by the appropriate lecture(s). The Girls Rule! Book Club has also tentatively scheduled Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert) and The Art of War (Sun Tzu), which may prove a bit ambitious with their commitments, but we’ll see.

The library’s reading program commences later this week, and frankly? My group enjoys lighter fare in the summer, so my assembled pile of fiction includes Sometimes I Lie (Alice Feeney) and Red Clocks (Leni Zumas) — perfect, I think, for reading lakeside in the early morning between birdwatching and chillaxing.

[-M-]

As I prepared this post, I discovered that I have read 53 books! Woot!

January
■ Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro; 2005. Fiction.)
■ An Enemy of the People (Henrikson Ibsen; 1882. Drama.)
■ The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning (Margareta Magnusson; 2018. Non-fiction.)
■ The Perfect Nanny (Leila Sliman; 2018. Fiction.)
■ Saga, Volume 8 (Brian Vaughan; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ Postal, Volume 6 (Bryan Hill; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ Bitch Planet: Triple Feature, Volume 1 (Kelly Sue DeConnick; 2017. Graphic fiction.)
■ Descender, Volume 5: Rise of the Robots (Jeff Lemire; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ Disappearance at Devil’s Rock (Paul Tremblay; 2016. Fiction.)
■ Fire and Fury (Michael Wolff; 2018. Non-fiction.)
■ You Deserve Nothing (Alexander Maksik; 2011. Fiction.)
■ The Woman in the Window (A.J. Finn; 2017. Fiction.)
■ Inheritors (Susan Glaspell; 1921. Drama.)

February
■ Killers of the Flower Moon (Dan Grann; 2017. Non-fiction.)
■ Shelter in Place (Alexander Maksik; 2016. Fiction.)
■ Childhood’s End (Arthur C. Clarke; 1953. Fiction.)
■ Landscape with Invisible Hand (M.T. Anderson; 2017. Fiction.)
■ Emilie (Lauren Gunderson; 2010. Drama.)
■ Memento Mori (Muriel Spark; 1959. Fiction.)
■ Alive, Alive Oh! (Diana Athill; 2016. Non-fiction.)

March
■ Briggs Land, Volume 2: Lone Wolves (Brian Wood; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ Dead People Suck (Laurie Kilmartin; 2018. Non-fiction.)
■ Instead of a Letter (Diana Athill; 1962. Non-fiction.)
■ The Walking Dead, Volume 29: Lines We Cross (Robert Kirkman; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ A Moon for the Misbegotten (Eugene O’Neill; 1947. Drama.)
■ Mary Stuart (Friedrich Schiller; 1800. (Trans. Peter Oswald; 2006.) Drama.)
■ Educated (Tara Westover; 2018. Non-fiction.)
■ Candide (Voltaire; 1759. (Trans. John Butt; 1947.) Fiction.)
■ hang (debbie tucker green; 2015. Drama.)
■ Dying (Cory Taylor; 2016. Non-fiction.)
■ The Reapers Are the Angels (Alden Bell; 2010. Fiction.)
■ Injection, Vol. 3 (Warren Ellis; 2017. Graphic fiction.)
■ Letter 44, Vol. 5: Blueshift (Charles Soule; 2017. Graphic fiction.)
■ Letter 44, Vol. 6: The End (Charles Soule; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ Exit West (Mohsin Hamid; 2017. Fiction.)

April
■ Little Fires Everywhere (Celeste Ng; 2017. Fiction.)
■ Everything I Never Told You (Celeste Ng; 2014. Fiction.)
■ Black Hammer, Vol. 1: The End (Jeff Lemire; 2017. Graphic fiction.)
■ The Female Persuasion (Meg Wolitzer; 2018. Fiction.)
■ If We Were Villians (M.L. Rio; 2017. Fiction.)
■ American Kingpin (Nick Bilton; 2017. Non-fiction.)
■ Fractured (Catherine McKenzie; 2016. Fiction.)
■ Harmony (Carolyn Parkhurst; 2016. Fiction.)
■ Lazarus X+66: The End (Greg Rucka; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ An Abbreviated Life (Ariel Leve; 2016. Non-fiction.)
■ With or Without You (Domenica Ruta; 2013. Non-fiction.)

May
■ I’m Supposed to Protect You from All This (Nadja Spiegelman; 2016. Non-fiction.)
■ I’ll Be Gone in the Dark (Michelle McNamara; 2018. Non-fiction.)
■ A Higher Loyalty (James Comey; 2018. Non-fiction.)
■ The Rules Do Not Apply (Ariel Levy; 2017. Non-fiction.)
■ After the Eclipse (Sarah Perry; 2017. Non-fiction.)
■ The Best We Could Do (Thi Bui; 2017. Graphic non-fiction.)
■ The Perfect Mother (Aimee Molloy; 2018. Fiction.)

 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Lady Florida - I'm so sorry about your FIL. 

--

I finished Turtles All the Way Down by John Green. It was an audiobook narrated by Kate Rudd. I have enjoyed a couple of her books in the past and find her narration quite enjoyable and pleasing. The story was engaging and I was drawn in immediately. The main character, Aza, suffers from debilitating anxiety and JG does a really good job of describing how the mind works as it spirals. He either knows someone with anxiety, experiences it himself, or did some seriously indepth research. Aza's anxiety is the predominate theme of the book and is scaffolded by the secondary theme of her and her best friend, Daisy, looking for a missing billionaire so they can collect a reward.The only disappointing thing about the book was how it ended. I felt like it needed something more.

#17 - Turtles All the Way Down - John Green    4/5 stars

[marbel]

@Lady Florida.So sorry to hear about your FIL.  Hope things go as well and smoothly as possible.  

[-M-]

@Lady Florida., sending good thoughts to you, your family, and your FIL.

[-M-]

Is there a Kristin Lavransdatter challenge or read-along? In catching up with BaW, I noticed some posts about the trilogy, and after last summer’s great W&P challenge/read-along, I am more than intrigued by the idea of a KL program. Let me know. ?

[mumto2]

1 hour ago, Melissa M said:

Is there a Kristin Lavransdatter challenge or read-along? In catching up with BaW, I noticed some posts about the trilogy, and after last summer’s great W&P challenge/read-along, I am more than intrigued by the idea of a KL program. Let me know. ?

I don’t think there is a challenge but it does fit really nicely with a Bingo square.  I know I am planning to read it later this summer/fall and doing it as a challenge would be even better!

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Now that someone mentioned last summer's W&P challenge, has a challenge been discussed for this summer? If so, can someone direct me to the information?

[marbel]

16 hours ago, tuesdayschild said:

<snip>

Q:  How many items do each of you have on overdrive (other) loan?      And, do you manage to get through most of them before the expiry date snatches them off your device?

<snip>

 

Ha, I just had a flurry of things come in, and now I have 7 on Overdrive:

The Silk Roads: A New History of the World (Peter Frankopan, ebook) in an attempt to get more nonfiction this year (I have read none!).  I will never get it done; I haven't started it yet and I've had it 6 days so only 15 left.

Middlemarch (George Eliot; audio) which had a long queue but appeared this weekend.

My Cousin Rachel (duMaurier, Brit-trip, Cornwall)

Murder in Thrall  (Anne Cleeland, ebook)

The Bat (Jo Nesbo, audio) I won't get to this in time, will probably let it go and get it again later.

In the Woods (Tana French, ebook), a reread because she has a new book coming out in the fall and I've been meaning to reread this. 

Just today, A Great Deliverance (Inspector Linley #1, Elizabeth George, ebook) arrived, which I thought I requested for Brit-tripping, but I see now it's Yorkshire and I've done that, so maybe I'll wait on that one.  

And just before those 2 audio books came in, I downloaded The Red Queen (Victoria Aveyard, audio) because I needed something to listen to while walking. I will probably place My Cousin Rachel and Middlemarch before this one so won't get it done before it has to go back.

I also have The Essex Serpent (Brit-tripping, Essex)  and Enigma (Buckinghamshire) in hardback from the library.  

[Lady Florida.]

16 hours ago, tuesdayschild said:

Q:  How many items do each of you have on overdrive (other) loan?      And, do you manage to get through most of them before the expiry date snatches them off your device?

Currently I don't have any but I often have 2 or 3 because my holds all tend to come in around the same time. Sometimes I get through them, sometimes I don't. The beauty of reading on a dedicated e-reader is that I just keep the wifi off until I finish. I don't usually turn it on anyway unless I'm downloading a book. Occasionally I've been known to forget and I turn it on to get a book. When that happens it's like realizing I locked the keys in the car just as the door closes. ? 

[Kareni]

1 hour ago, marbel said:

Murder in Thrall  (Anne Cleeland, ebook)

I'll look forward to hearing your thoughts on this one.  The series was one of my favorite finds last year, but I can appreciate how some have an issue with the male lead.

Regards,
Kareni

[Robin M]

2 hours ago, The Accidental Coach said:

Now that someone mentioned last summer's W&P challenge, has a challenge been discussed for this summer? If so, can someone direct me to the information?

No we haven't had a chance to talk about it yet. 

4 hours ago, Melissa M said:

Is there a Kristin Lavransdatter challenge or read-along? In catching up with BaW, I noticed some posts about the trilogy, and after last summer’s great W&P challenge/read-along, I am more than intrigued by the idea of a KL program. Let me know. ?

 

2 hours ago, mumto2 said:

I don’t think there is a challenge but it does fit really nicely with a Bingo square.  I know I am planning to read it later this summer/fall and doing it as a challenge would be even better!

 

I'm open if you all want to do a Lavransdatter read along later in the summer.  

[Matryoshka]

50 minutes ago, Robin M said:

I'm open if you all want to do a Lavransdatter read along later in the summer.  

I had been planning to read Kristin Lavransdatter this year, but it's long and I'd already checked off the 14th century square... but y'know if y'all do a read-a-long, I could fairly easily be persuaded... ?

[marbel]

1 hour ago, Kareni said:

I'll look forward to hearing your thoughts on this one.  The series was one of my favorite finds last year, but I can appreciate how some have an issue with the male lead.

Regards,
Kareni

 

Funny you should say that.  I'd come to realize something that is bothering me, and after reading a few reviews... well, I'm just not sure. But I am continuing for now. 

In the beginning, I had assumed the short paragraphs at the beginning of each chapter were the thoughts/comments of a criminal stalking Doyle, but of course very quickly it became obvious who it is. And in one review I saw a reference to "50 Shades" which is something I am so not interested in reading

[mumto2]

1 hour ago, Robin M said:

No we haven't had a chance to talk about it yet. 

I'm open if you all want to do a Lavransdatter read along later in the summer.  

 

51 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

I had been planning to read Kristin Lavransdatter this year, but it's long and I'd already checked off the 14th century square... but y'know if y'all do a read-a-long, I could fairly easily be persuaded... ?

I think it works for the Nobel Prize square also.......my plan.

41 minutes ago, marbel said:

 

Funny you should say that.  I'd come to realize something that is bothering me, and after reading a few reviews... well, I'm just not sure. But I am continuing for now. 

  Reveal hidden contents

In the beginning, I had assumed the short paragraphs at the beginning of each chapter were the thoughts/comments of a criminal stalking Doyle, but of course very quickly it became obvious who it is. And in one review I saw a reference to "50 Shades" which is something I am so not interested in reading

 

I hated the main guy and thought the girl was pathetic but I have read three of them back to back.  Just saying.....lol