Book a Week 2018 - BW39: September Equinox

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday and welcome to week thirty-nine 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.

 

Fall, leaves, Fall

by

 Emily Bronte 

Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;
Lengthen night and shorten day;
Every leaf speaks bliss to me
Fluttering from the autumn tree.
I shall smile when wreaths of snow
Blossom where the rose should grow;
I shall sing when night’s decay
Ushers in a drearier day.

Autumn is upon us here in the Northern Hemisphere. My favorite time of year. The trees painted with burnished colors of yellow, gold, purple, and oranges. Leaves crackle and crunch underfoot during our daily walks. Crisp cool breezes mix with barbecues, football games and laughter. The promise of rain. Joy is in the air.  It is the perfect time to read a foodie book or experiment with new recipes or modify an old one.  It's also time to for a mini challenge: Read a book about the season. 

Find a book with Autumn, fall, season, equinox, September, moon, night, clock or axis on the cover.  Or one with a leaf on the cover, the color of leaves, or in the title.  I think there are about 25 different types of apples including Fuji, Lady, McIntosh and Liberty. Read a book with a type of Apple in the title or one with an apple on the cover.  Even one about an apple.  This is usually the time of year I pull out How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World which has a great apple pie recipe in the back of the book. Delicious. Plus in contains lots of ideas for rabbit trails.  Have fun brainstorming and follow lots of rabbit trails as you explore the Autumn season.  Or Spring if you live in the Southern Hemisphere.  

Brit Trip

 This week we're traveling Watling Way to Sussex.  A.A. Milne lived for much of his adult life in Sussex and his Hundred Acre Woods is based upon Ashdown Forest.

 Rabbit trails: Virginia Woolf’s Suicide  Battle of Hastings   Chichester Cathedral  Arundel Cathedral Brighton  Rudyard Kipling’s Bateman  Arundel Castle

 Kristin Lavransdatter Readalong

Take this week to catch up on Book One - The Wreath. Or read ahead if you choose. Check out Penguin’s Reading Guide and discussion questions and let’s discuss what you think so far about the story, attitudes of the characters, the culture and/or the time period.

 

What are you reading this week?

 

Link to Week 38

[Robin M]

Spent more time writing and not a whole lot of time spent reading this past week.  Will catch up and finish The Wreath this week.  James and I continuing our Doctor Who watch-a-thon.

I totally forgot it's Banned Books Week, so celebrate your freedom to read this week as we do every week.  ? 

[Negin]

Happy Sunday Robin, and thank you, as always for this wonderful thread. 

I read Hand of the Cause of God: Furutan - 5 Stars - This book, being a Baha’i book, would only be of interest to Baha’is. It’s a thorough and detailed biography of an incredible man, but also a history of the Baha’i Faith during his lifetime.

I feel blessed to have met him a few times and to have sat with him for a short while. At the time, I was thinking of studying medicine. Looking back now, I know that it would have been a huge mistake. He discouraged me from doing so and I am forever grateful. Sweet, kind, humble man – what a blessing he was to Baha’is everywhere. He simply emanated love. That’s really all I have to say.

I also The Simple Faith of Mr. Rogers: Spiritual Insights from the World's Most Beloved Neighbor - 4 Stars -  Not having grown up in the U.S., I didn’t know much about Mr. Rogers, him and have never seen a complete episode of his show. We recently saw the movie about him and it brought me to tears. If you haven’t yet seen it, I highly recommend it.

 This was an enjoyable and quick read with some beautiful reminders as to how to live. The author shares what she learned from her friendship with Mr. Rogers.

 Some of my favorite quotes:

 “If you ever fall into quicksand, the most important thing to remember is this: take your time. Quicksand, unlike water, will not move out of the way to let you pass. Instead, it resists movement. Flailing about will only cause you to sink deeper. But slowly gets you safely to shore. It’s no accident that each episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood opens with a shot of a traffic light flashing in yellow caution mode.”

 “‘Now, you know prayer is asking for something, and sometimes you get a yes answer and sometimes you get a no answer,’ he carefully explained. ‘And just like anything else you might get angry when you get a no answer. But God respects your feelings, and God can take your anger as well as your happiness. So whatever you have to offer God through prayer—it seems to me—is a great gift. Because the thing God wants most of all is a relationship with you, yeah, even as a child—especially as a child. Look how Jesus loved the children who came around Him,’ he told her.”

 “‘Almost everybody gets angry once in a while, and certainly I do. There are times when maybe a light will go out, you know, or the microphone will go off, or something might happen at home. But do you know what I do when I’m angry? I like to swim, and so I swim extra hard when I’m angry. And also when I was a little boy, about five years old, I learned that I could go to the piano and play real hard on the piano, and that helped me; it really did. There are many things that you can do when you’re angry that don’t hurt you or anybody else.’”

 “And so, for me, being quiet and slow is being myself, and that is my gift.”

 “If there’s anything that bothers me, it’s one person demeaning another. That really makes me mad!”

 “There is one thing that evil cannot stand, and that’s forgiveness.”

 “If parents can remember what it was like to be a child, they are going to be much more empathic with their own children.”

and Aging Backwards - 2 Stars - I’m happy that I never paid for this book. It came free with an order of some of the DVDs. The DVD workout program is wonderful, the book not so much. I wouldn’t bother with it really. I really didn’t learn anything new.

   

MY RATING SYSTEM

5 Stars

The book is fantastic. It’s not perfect, since no book is, but it’s definitely a favorite.

4 Stars

Really Good

3 Stars

Enjoyable

2 Stars

Just Okay – nothing to write home about

1 Star

Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

 

[Mothersweets]

Hello everyone! Lovely post, Negin, I've been meaning to watch the Mr. Rogers movie and think I'll do it today.  Robin, How to Make an Apple Pie..., is one of my favorites from when my kids were younger and brings back happy memories, thanks. ?

 

I just finished a great book - The Long Haul: A Trucker's Tales of Life on the Road by Finn Murphy. I heard the author onthe author in a Fresh Air interview with Terry Gross. Super interesting and a quick read, too. 

I need to do some catching up on Kristin Lavransdatter. 

[Matryoshka]

2 hours ago, Robin M said:

 Kristin Lavransdatter Readalong

Take this week to catch up on Book One - The Wreath. Or read ahead if you choose. Check out Penguin’s Reading Guide and discussion questions and let’s discuss what you think so far about the story, attitudes of the characters, the culture and/or the time period.

 

Wait, does this mean we're not moving on to Book One of The Wife next week?  But, but...  I power-read section three of The Wreath yesterday so I wouldn't be behind!!  

[Matryoshka]

Finished 3 books this week: 

94. Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston (audiobook): This was a short book written as Hurston was working as an anthropologist/ethnographer; she interviewed the last living person brought over from Africa as a slave (which was well after it was already illegal to do so).  He recounts in his own words his life in Africa before, his capture, his transport, his 5 years as a slave and his life after emancipation.  The audio was well done, and the story is I think an important one to have on record.  About half the book was a lengthy introduction telling how Hurston came to write the book and why it had not been published in her lifetime and appendices with folktales from Africa that Kossula/Cudjo shared.  3.5 stars

95. The Wreath (Kristin Lavransdatter #1) by Sigrid Undset - finished the first volume!  Picking up the second one at the library tomorrow.  I am finding this quite readable and enjoyable in spite of the fact that Kristin is making stupid choices, and yes, Erlend seems to be an ass.  I enjoyed the third part, especially learning more about Lavrans and Ragnhild's marriage and more background on what her feelings are and why she was the way she was.  I do really enjoy how Undset seems to make the 1300's seem almost contemporary.  The people are of their time, but very relatable as people.  4 stars.

96. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie (audiobook) - another short book about two young men during their time being "reeducated" by peasants during the Cultural Revolution in China.  They manage to find a stash of forbidden western literature hidden by a fellow deportee, and are very influenced by it, as is the seamstress they befriend and share the literature with.  Both this and Baracoon were on my TR list but not near the top... but they were short and available on Overdrive while my holds kept holding...!  3.5 stars.

Currently reading:

- There, There by Tommy Orange (ebook) - interwoven stories of Native Americans who live in the city of Oakland CA.  I am about 1/4 of the way through, and so far we've just been introduced to the characters, and I think it will become more interesting as the interweaving becomes more tight and it's more obvious how these people are interrelated.  I've got a ton of hardcopy books to get through and am running out of things I really want to read on Overdrive, so I've been prioritizing other things over this.

- Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Enlightenment by Robert Wright (audiobook) - I've only listened to part of the intro so far, but it purports to show the science of how Buddhist principles can shape the mind (I think), rather than coming at things from a religious or more spiritual angle.  

- Kamchatka by Marcelo Figueras - about a family during the time of the 'desaparecidos' in Argentina in the 70's (reading this and the book set during the Cultural Revolution reminds me what a kind of horrible time the '70's were in much of the world!).  At the beginning of the book, as people begin to disappear, the family goes into hiding.  Told from the point of view of a child who doesn't really understand why he's been pulled from his life and friends, and thinks making up new names for themselves is fun.  But I have a feeling it likely doesn't end so well...

- Theory of Bastards by Audrey Schulman - Set in the near future (people have body implants to connect them with the internet as it's become, cars and doors and appliances are all voice automated, your viewscreen is in lenses in your eyes), about a chronically ill researcher studying the mating habits of Bonobos, while it appears that global warming and our then even more interconnected lives with automation are reaching a tipping point.

[Kareni]

Some books that are currently free to Kindle readers ~

a one day only classic:  Zuleika Dobson  by Max Beerbohm

an Autumnal cover for you, Robin:  Harvest Season  by Melanie Lageschulte

Australian gold rush era fiction:  Lady Bird & The Fox  by Kim Kelly

contemporary romance:  Drive Me Wild (Riggs Brothers Book 1)  by Julie Kriss

mystery:   Pineapple Puzzles: A Pineapple Port Mystery  by Amy Vansant

Regards,
Kareni

[mumto2]

38 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

 

Wait, does this mean we're not moving on to Book One of The Wife next week?  But, but...  I power-read section three of The Wreath yesterday so I wouldn't be behind!!  

? I am actually relieved to be taking a week off.  My copy of part two has been in transit for awhile and I have no idea when it will arrive at the library.  I was all worried about getting behind.  I really enjoyed the third section and am looking forward to the next!

My Mercyverse audio fest continues.  I finished Iron Kissed, the third Mercy Thompson, yesterday and have my next book ready to go but am taking a break with the first in the Rivers of London series.  It has been three years since I first read this series and I am enjoying another look at how things started......Peter just met Nightingale for the first time!

For Brit Tripping I finished the first in Charles Todd’s Bess Crawford series and really enjoyed it.  I have to admit I was was a bit afraid of theses because I find the Ian Rutledge series a bit disturbing but loved this.  It’s creepy in places but I liked it.  This book visited both Kent and Sussex....Rye, actually.  ?  I just started Heartstone by CJ Sansom which has scenes in Sussex so I am still on the bus and happy to be reading one of my new favorite series.  

i still can’t seem to finish Sayers The Five Red Herrings and plan to take it along with me tomorrow when I ride along with Dh on a business trip to Northumbria.  I hope I can make myself finish it and hope no internet will help because I seem to be easily distractable when reading this one.

Edit,  I forgot to add that this weeks Autumn challenge is fun, thanks Robin.  I actually grew up on a farm which grew apples and cherries so I am hoping to find a book with apples on the cover!?

Edited September 23, 2018 by mumto2

[Guest]

I am falling behind on my reading, as I am busting tail on loom-knitting a baby blanket for a new great niece or nephew due in November. I was in the middle of Mindset, which I was enjoying, when Bob Woodward’s Fear in the Trump White House automatically arrived due to pre-order. I am around 35% into the book. I’m getting a little bored with it, though. In some ways it is just confirming things I already suspect and it might be that I grow tired of reading about things that upset me which I cannot change. 

[-M-]

1 hour ago, Matryoshka said:

- Theory of Bastards by Audrey Schulman - Set in the near future (people have body implants to connect them with the internet as it's become, cars and doors and appliances are all voice automated, your viewscreen is in lenses in your eyes), about a chronically ill researcher studying the mating habits of Bonobos, while it appears that global warming and our then even more interconnected lives with automation are reaching a tipping point.

 

This ended up on my "recently acquired" stack after I read a review in The Economist... now where did I put that book?

EDITED: Ah! Found it!

Edited September 23, 2018 by Melissa M

[mumto2]

I found the Cozy Mystery series with apples on the covers.  The first one is One Bad Apple and I had to put a good on it.  I have always meant to read one from this series so will take advantage of the challenge! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2685034-one-bad-apple?ac=1&from_search=true

[-M-]

Hello, BaWers!

Robin, wow! Thank you again for organizing the KL readalong! I finished Part I of The Wife last night. (Edited to add: I guess I am a bit ahead... for now. Music studies, a MOOC, an ASL course, and work may, at any time, cause me to fall behind, so I am glad for a running start.) Fans of A Common Reader (R.I.P.) may remember their expression, "a thumping good read." Well, that's KL in a phrase, isn't it?

Since my last BaW appearance, I have finished nine books:

■ The Children (Lucy Kirkwood; 2016. Drama.)
■ Vox (Christina Dalcher; 2018. Fiction.)
■ The Water Cure (Sophie Mackintosh; 2018. Fiction.)
■ Dept. H, Vol. 1: Murder Six Miles Deep (Matt Kindt; 2017. Graphic fiction.)
■ The Walking Dead, Volume 30: New World Order (Robert Kirkman; 2018. Graphic fiction.)
■ His Favorites (Kate Walbert; 2018. Fiction.)
■ The Incendiaries (R.O. Kwon; 2018. Fiction.)
■ Kristin Lavransdatter: The Wreath (Sigrid Undset; 1920. (Trans. Tiina Nunnally; 1997.) Fiction.)
■ The Devoted (Blair Hurley; 2018. Fiction.)

This puts me at 103, for a year-to-date total.

My Banned Books Weeks selection is The Awakening (Kate Chopin). It has been thirty-plus years since I first read it. I wonder how it will hold up. I am thisclose to finishing The Third Hotel ( Laura van den Berg), and Fear (Bob Woodward), among other titles, is on my nightstand.

Edited September 23, 2018 by Melissa M

[Zebra]

This week I finished book #75, The Lola Quartet by author of Station Eleven.   It was ok.  I didn't notice until now that I had passed the 52 book mark.

I also started reading The Train to Crystal City.

 

[Violet Crown]

6 hours ago, Robin M said:

This week we're traveling Watling Way to Sussex.  A.A. Milne lived for much of his adult life in Sussex and his Hundred Acre Woods is based upon Ashdown Forest.

Sussex is the location of Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons's parody of the earthy, rural novel full of doomed peasantry with authentic accents, a type that Thomas Hardy fans will recognize. (Possibly the title would meet this week's challenge?)

Gibbons is lined up for when I finish John Henry Newman's Loss and Gain for Oxfordshire. Newman is best known of course for his theological and homiletical works, poetry, and autobiography, but he loved Trollope and wrote a couple of novels himself; Loss and Gain, the story of an Oxford undergraduate wrestling with questions of faith, being the most successful.

Earlier this week I finished Henry Mayhew's London Labour and the London Poor, and Wordsworth & Coleridge's 1800 edition of Lyrical Ballads, with its famous preface (enlarged in 1802) which became the manifesto of the Romantic movement.

Quote

What is a Poet? To whom does he address himself? And what language is to be expected from him? He is a man speaking to men: a man, it is true, endued with more lively sensibility, more enthusiasm and tenderness, who has a greater knowledge of human nature, and a more comprehensive soul, than are supposed to be common among mankind; a man pleased with his own passions and volitions, and who rejoices more than other men in the spirit of life that is in him; delighting to contemplate similar volitions and passions as manifested in the goings-on of the Universe, and habitually impelled to create them where he does not find them. ... [T]he Poet is chiefly distinguished from other men by a greater promptness to think and feel without immediate external excitement, and a greater power in expressing such thoughts and feelings as are produced in him in that manner. ... The Poet thinks and feels in the spirit of the passions of men. How, then, can his language differ in any material degree from that of all other men who feel vividly and see clearly?

Thus the birth of English Romanticism and the death of Neo-Classicism.

As Lyrical Ballads was my Randomly Chosen Reading, Middle Girl used the True Randomizer to pick another book for me. Her first pick was The Hundred Best Latin Hymns, which, while having much to say for itself, says it all in metrical Latin. So she picked again, and this time chose Jean d'Ormesson's The Glory of the Empire: A Novel, A History, "the rich and absorbing history of an extraordinary empire, at one point a rival to Rome" (from the cover blurb), which while detailed and scholarly is entirely fictional. Very strange and French. So we'll see how that goes.

 

[mumto2]

I just had to share.......in preparation for my ride along with Dh today I googled Costco Gateshead for potential bathroom stop hours. It is in Tyne and Wear the county I have not been able to complete.  I was so confident Gateshead was in Northumbria I never checked,  it is a suburb of Newcastle and they connect in my mind.  I think I may have had a book visit Gateshead already this year .........if not I am confident I can find something with Gateshead!

[Violet Crown]

5 hours ago, mumto2 said:

I just had to share.......in preparation for my ride along with Dh today I googled Costco Gateshead for potential bathroom stop hours. It is in Tyne and Wear the county I have not been able to complete.  I was so confident Gateshead was in Northumbria I never checked,  it is a suburb of Newcastle and they connect in my mind.  I think I may have had a book visit Gateshead already this year .........if not I am confident I can find something with Gateshead!

Very good! It's been a strange pleasure this year to discover a book takes place in a useful county. And to think I never used to much notice where exactly in England most novels were set.

Any suggestions for upcoming Worcestershire? Another read of Piers Plowman would be too much right now.

[marbel]

Hello my reading friends; it's been a couple of weeks since I have checked in but I have mostly kept up reading the thread. 

I am still reading books, but not many.  Still progressing along the Brit Trip trail, but not in any sort of order.  I just finished In Bitter Chill by Sarah Ward which was my Derbyshire read. It was OK; nothing great but enabled to me check the box.  

Also started A Morbid Taste for Bones (Cadfael) for Shropshire; this is one I've started and stopped a few times, so we'll see if I'm successful.  I'm also going through the Martha Grimes Richard Judy series; I think the next one fits a Brit Trip space.  Then I might need a break. But they are easy little books to read when I need something that doesn't require any effort. 

Looks like I have 28 counties completed or planned, and 3 wild cards.  Lots of empty spaces left!   

 

 

 

[mumto2]

I finally finished The Five Red Herrings by Dorothy Sayers and all I can say was I wish it had been condensed into a short story.  All that speculation about all those incidents and characters was just incredibly confusing and took forever. Add that to very little Whimsey and Bunter being barely there so I gave it two stars.  The deciding clue was sort of clever of Whimsey but ugg.........I have decided I love Harriet best!

Right before we got to Gateshead Dh spotted a Welcome to Tyne and Wear and happened to read it to me.  I think today was my day to finally learn that Gateshead is in Tyne and Wear! ?

VC,  Several sources say Right Ho, Jeeves is set in Worcestershire, also Lady Susan by Austen and at least one  Cadefel.  I suspect I am not overly helpful but I can confirm Piers Plowman is set in Worcestershire.........

 

[Kareni]

Some bookish posts ~

30 Sweet And Sassy Cross Stitch Patterns For Book Lovers

15 Smashingly Beautiful Agate And Geode Bookends

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

    all three above by Nikki VanRy

**

50 Must-Read Nonfiction Audiobooks   by Rebecca Hussey

 

Silvana Reyes Lopez's   Dragons, Myths and Magic: 23 Of The Best Fantasy Book Series for Adults

 

Regards,
Kareni

[Kareni]

Some recent reads here ~

I enjoyed Anne Cleeland's  Murder in Spite (The Doyle & Acton murder series Book 8).  This mystery, unlike the first seven, primarily takes place in Dublin.  This series should definitely be read in order.  If interested, start with Murder in Thrall.
**

I also read (hmm, another book eight though it's actually the third in this 20 plus book series that I've read)  Conflict of Honors (Liaden Universe Book 8)  by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. The author note I read says this book is their tribute to "Peter Wimsey, who did what duty demanded, and was never afraid to cry."  [That might mean more to me had I ever read books with Peter Wimsey!]  Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book and may read more Liaden Universe books at some point.

"Sixteen-year-old Priscilla Delacroix was declared legally dead by her mother, High Priestess of the Goddess. Banished to survive on her own, Priscilla has roamed the galaxy for ten years as an outcast—to become a woman of extraordinary skill. . . .

An experienced officer assigned to the Liaden vessel Doxflon, she's been abandoned yet again. Betrayed by her captain and shipmates, she's left to fend for herself on a distant planet. But Priscilla is not alone. Starship captain Shan yos'Galen is about to join Priscilla's crusade for revenge. He has his own score to settle with the enemy. But confronting the sinister crew will be far easier—and safer—than confronting the demons of Priscilla's own mysterious past."
**

And I enjoyed Jackie North's time travel romance Honey From the Lion: A Love Across Time Story.  Admittedly, it did leave me with some questions -- for example, I can't figure out the significance of the title.  Unlike the last book I read by this author, here a character travels back in time rather than forward. (Adult content)

"Soulmates across time. A love that was meant to be.

In present day, Laurie, tired of corporate life, takes a much-needed vacation at Farthingdale Dude Ranch.

The very first night a freak blizzard combined with a powerful meteor shower takes Laurie back to the year 1891. When he wakes up in a snowbank, his only refuge is an isolated cabin inhabited by the gruff, grouchy John Henton, who only wants to be left alone. His sense of duty prevails, however, and he takes Laurie under his care, teaching him how to survive on the wild frontier.

As winter approaches, Laurie's normal fun-loving manner makes it difficult for him to connect with John, but in spite of John's old-fashioned ways, the chemistry between them grows.

Sparks fly as the blizzard rages outside the cabin. Can two men from different worlds and different times find happiness together?"
**

And I read Sight Unseen  by Hunter Raines.  I had a few quibbles with the characters and story, but overall I enjoyed it.  (Adult content)

"Daniel Van Doren was once a renowned writer, until he was blinded in the car accident that killed his lover. Now, all he sees are ghosts in need of help. They follow him everywhere, and the only way to be rid of his ethereal visitors is to help them resolve their unfinished business here on earth so their spirits can find peace.

Ghostwriter Logan Riley is assigned to pen Daniel's biography. He plans to reveal him as a fraud, but when they meet he's struck by Danny's quiet sincerity—and a growing attraction. Which makes sticking close to Danny to find out the truth more than a little distracting.

When they are attacked by a violent poltergeist Logan begins to believe Danny's not just telling the truth, he's in grave danger. A spirit has learned how to harness the energy of the living to break through the barrier between worlds to harm Danny. And Logan may be the one to blame…"

Regards,
Kareni

[Ali in OR]

I can't remember if I checked in last week. I finished Jane Gardam's Faith Fox which I enjoyed. I'm about halfway through Lab Girl for my book club's October pick. Actually more than halfway now--maybe 100 pages left. Enjoying that too.

[JennW in SoCal]

Just a quick check in. I'm already a few chapters into The Wife part of Kristin Lavransdatter and I have a few other titles going as well.

Will try to post more later in the week, but thought I should at least say hello.

BTW, where is Amy these days? I haven't "seen" her in ages.

[Mothersweets]

8 minutes ago, JennW in SoCal said:

Just a quick check in. I'm already a few chapters into The Wife part of Kristin Lavransdatter and I have a few other titles going as well.

Will try to post more later in the week, but thought I should at least say hello.

BTW, where is Amy these days? I haven't "seen" her in ages.

I've been wondering, too - I hope everything is ok and she's just busy. 

[aggieamy]

Hello ladies! Thanks for thinking of me. I've been busy but my BaW friends have been on my mind. (And thank you to the gentle nudge ... kick in the pants ... from @mumto2 to get over here and say hello.)

I think everyone knows that the aggieamy family had a new addition in August. (Maybe not? Have I posted in September?!?!) She's 15 yo and from Madrid and will be living with us for the year. We're super excited but going from two kids to going to three kids has been like going to 800 kids! Alejandra and Sophia are both in high school together at our local Catholic school and things are going great. There's another family at the school with an exchange student and our families got together on Sunday to chat, the other mom asked me if I felt like life was at the new normal yet and I'd say it does. It will be a busy year but a great year!

She's made herself right at home. Which I love. My kids had been watching movies on a laptop on the kitchen counter because we got rid of TV at Christmas and just hadn't gotten around to getting another one yet. So when I came home from the grocery store and she was sitting there watching a show on the counter and eating nutella I knew she would fit in just fine.

And her first PB&J ever.

Edited September 26, 2018 by aggieamy

[aggieamy]

On 9/16/2018 at 2:11 PM, Negin said:

I read The Best We Could Do - 5 Stars - I loved this graphic memoir. The illustrations are gorgeous, the story grabbed me right away, and the pain of the author and her family’s past was beautifully depicted. They were refugees who moved to the U.S. after the Vietnam War, but that’s not all that the story is about. There is far more to it than that. It’s a story of a family, rather than just the Vietnam War. This has to be one of the most emotionally-gripping books that I have read in a while.

 

The mom of one of the kids my girls carpool with came from Vietnam as a refugee. I'll have to check this book out and recommend it to her. It sounds like just the type of book she'd love.

On 9/23/2018 at 1:30 PM, Robin M said:

Spent more time writing and not a whole lot of time spent reading this past week.  ?

Good for you! What are you currently working on?

I've got a post-WWII women's fiction mystery/romance hybrid that I'm editing and feeling overwhelmed with. It's my first big undertaking as far as editing goes so it should take me forever which is good because it feels like it's taking me forever.

On 9/23/2018 at 2:12 PM, Negin said:

and Aging Backwards - 2 Stars - I’m happy that I never paid for this book. It came free with an order of some of the DVDs. The DVD workout program is wonderful, the book not so much. I wouldn’t bother with it really. I really didn’t learn anything new.

I always appreciate your healthy living book reviews. I've agreed with everyone of your positive reviews to date so I know to avoid the ones you don't like as well.

On 9/23/2018 at 4:22 PM, mumto2 said:

For Brit Tripping I finished the first in Charles Todd’s Bess Crawford series and really enjoyed it.  I have to admit I was was a bit afraid of theses because I find the Ian Rutledge series a bit disturbing but loved this.  It’s creepy in places but I liked it.  This book visited both Kent and Sussex....Rye, actually.  ?  I just started Heartstone by CJ Sansom which has scenes in Sussex so I am still on the bus and happy to be reading one of my new favorite series. 

I just picked this up from the library! I too was leary of the series for the same reasons but if it gets a thumbs up from you then that's good enough for me.

On 9/23/2018 at 8:53 PM, Violet Crown said:

Sussex is the location of Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons's parody of the earthy, rural novel full of doomed peasantry with authentic accents, a type that Thomas Hardy fans will recognize. (Possibly the title would meet this week's challenge?)

That is such a great book. I remember it being really funny too. I can't say that about all parodies but this one really worked. Particularly if you like Brit Lit.

 

[aggieamy]

Read:

Like this, For Ever by Sharon Bolton - Number 3 in the Lacey Flint series. I loved books one and two. Fast paced thrilling writing. The type where you abandon your family to microwave mac and cheese for dinner because YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS AND DAMNIT KIDS LEAVE ME ALONE UNTIL I FINISH THIS BOOK! This one had the same great writing style but ... I love a good romantic subplot and these books have it EXCEPT it's never resolved. Book one ended with us sure that they were on thier way to happily ever after but then book two started and somehow everyone went wrong. Okay. Surely the author will make it up to me. Book two was awesome and it ended with us just being sure our characters were together. Yay. So when book three started and they were awkwardly not together for no good reason I was disappointed and at the end of this book when the author is pulling the same trick ... nope. I'm not in for that again. It's too artificial. Like she's just keeping them apart because she has to to keep that tension not because that's what works for the story.

My recommendation is to read the first book in the series and just assume a HEA for the FMC and MMC and stop there. London. Three Stars.

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and Birth of the FBI by David Grann - This was incredible. Sad and disturbing and a part of history I knew nothing about though I only live about four hours from all this. Not as gory as In Cold Blood but the same literary style. Highly recommend. Five Stars.

[Mothersweets]

Good to hear from you Amy! and yay! on the new family member ? I'm so glad she is fitting right in. 

[mumto2]

2 hours ago, aggieamy said:

Read:

Like this, For Ever by Sharon Bolton - Number 3 in the Lacey Flint series. I loved books one and two. Fast paced thrilling writing. The type where you abandon your family to microwave mac and cheese for dinner because YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS AND DAMNIT KIDS LEAVE ME ALONE UNTIL I FINISH THIS BOOK! This one had the same great writing style but ... I love a good romantic subplot and these books have it EXCEPT it's never resolved. Book one ended with us sure that they were on thier way to happily ever after but then book two started and somehow everyone went wrong. Okay. Surely the author will make it up to me. Book two was awesome and it ended with us just being sure our characters were together. Yay. So when book three started and they were awkwardly not together for no good reason I was disappointed and at the end of this book when the author is pulling the same trick ... nope. I'm not in for that again. It's too artificial. Like she's just keeping them apart because she has to to keep that tension not because that's what works for the story.

My recommendation is to read the first book in the series and just assume a HEA for the FMC and MMC and stop there. London. Three Stars.

I am glad you reviewed the Lacey Flint because I have been waiting to hear what you thought of the third one!  ?? I liked the first two and I think I gave up on the last one......may have quit but read the last bit.  I thought it might be just me because I know someone who liked it. ? Pretty sure you will enjoy Bess Crawford.

I rode along with Dh again today so I finished a book,  the first in Susan Mallery’s Happily Inc. series.  It was a light romance about a weddding planner that had a Y in the title.  I will be reading the rest of these and may even go back and finish the Fool’s Gold series.  It was nice to just read fluff!   I know Robin is wondering why a Y when this month is Lotus for the flower challenge.....I originally filled out my notebook with Egyptian Lotus back in December and when I went in to see if Lotus was done I discovered that all I needed was a Y and  N for Egyptian too.  So I need to read my N book next.

I finished Midnight Riot my audiobook this evening.  Loved it!  It was a reread for me and I am so glad to be reading these again.  When I first read the Rivers of London series I did it in one big gulp and I missed bits I think in my eagerness to get to the next book.  Lots of bits that I was glad to refresh my memory on because they are referred to in later books.

Kareni, Glad to hear you enjoyed the eighth Anne Cleeland.  I have to admit I am curious about the Dublin setting now!  

 

[mumto2]

For  Flavia fans I just learned that there will be a new book released in 2019!  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38763327-the-golden-tresses-of-the-dead. I really thought the series was done.  I am looking forward to the next book......

[Kareni]

I finished two books recently.

I quite enjoyed The Music of the Spheres by Chase Potter which showed the relationship of Ryan and Adam who first connected due to a high school assignment.  They become friends and then move to a deeper attachment over the course of years. The reader also gets to know Ryan's father and sister. Expect to cry if you read this. 

"An athlete and introvert from a family touched by loss, Ryan Mattson splits his life between reading and spending time with his dad and precocious younger sister. With the wounds of Ryan’s past almost healed, high school is simple, and so is everything else.

But that changes when he’s paired with Adam for a class project. Adam, the guy with birthmarks like flecks of mud and compost-brown eyes that hide behind dorky glasses. Grudgingly, the two young men work together, and as they do, an unlikely friendship is formed.

With the passing college years, their bond deepens and grows. Even Ryan’s sister and dad take a liking to Adam, and the family – always missing a voice – seems to gain another. But just as Ryan is forced to confront what Adam really means to him, his family is dragged toward crisis. And beneath the silent snows and starlit sky of a Minnesota winter, their friendship will be tested more than ever before." 
**

High Lonesome  by Tanya Chris  (which is currently free for Kindle readers) might be a bit much for most readers here though I enjoyed it.  (Adult content)

"Joe doesn’t live on top of a mountain because he loves people. A late summer snowstorm is the perfect chance to send his customers down to lower altitude and enjoy a few days of solo strolls and fireside naps.

Tanner’s not staying at a high-altitude hut to admire the scenery. He’s got a date to keep with the sort of person you don’t want to disappoint, a date that’ll result in him earning some much-needed cash in exchange for what’s left of his self-respect. But that’s OK. He gave up on self-respect when he picked up the needle anyway.

Pyotr didn’t drop into a blizzard to rescue Tanner or to drag Joe back down to the real world. His mission is a lot colder than that. People are only pawns, and spies are only heroes to those who don’t know them.

Hermit, addict, spy. Three men, one snowstorm, zero reason to trust. And someone’s coming …"

Regards,
Kareni

[Violet Crown]

7 hours ago, aggieamy said:

That is such a great book. I remember it being really funny too. I can't say that about all parodies but this one really worked. Particularly if you like Brit Lit.

Nice new family acquisition! If I were an exchange student I would want to be adopted into the Amy family. Actually I think I just want to be adopted into your family. Middle and Wee Girls do, too.

So glad to hear you've read Cold Comfort Farm. It's very witty so far.

Quote

 

It was while she was pondering over the best style in which to address the unknown and distant relatives in Sussex that she was struck by the singularity of their address:

Mrs. Judith Starkadder,
Cold Comfort Farm,
Howling, Sussex.

But she reminded herself that Sussex, when all was said and done, was not quite like other counties, and that when one observed that these people lived on a farm in Sussex, the address was no longer remarkable. For things seemed to go wrong in the country more easily and much more frequently, somehow, than they did in Town, and such a tendency must naturally reflect itself in local nomenclature.

 

 

 

Edited September 27, 2018 by Violet Crown

[Robin M]

8 hours ago, aggieamy said:

Good for you! What are you currently working on?

I've got a post-WWII women's fiction mystery/romance hybrid that I'm editing and feeling overwhelmed with. It's my first big undertaking as far as editing goes so it should take me forever which is good because it feels like it's taking me forever.

Waving hello. Great minds think alike. Mum beat me to the nudge.   I'm also editing,rewriting a present day fictional suspense story.  I lost all interest in another story I had been working on. Read through all my wips, seeking inspiration, The characters for this particular story hit me over the head and put me back into creative mode. Yes, it's taking time, however I'm enjoying every minute. After trying so many different people's suggestions on how to edit, I threw them all out the window and refuse to set any goals, other than to work on it daily.  Doing it my way and it's working wonderfully well.  Making lots of progress, albeit slow progress.. 

[Violet Crown]

Oh this is hilarious.

Quote

 

In the large kitchen, which occupied most of the middle of the house, a sullen fire burned, the smoke of which wavered up the blackened walls and over the deal table, darkened by age and dirt, which was roughly set for a meal. A snood full of coarse porridge hung over the fire, and standing with one arm resting upon the high mantel, looking moodily down into the heaving contents of the snood, was a tall young man whose riding-boots were splashed with mud to the thigh, and whose coarse linen shirt was open to his waist. The firelight lit up his diaphragm muscles as they heaved slowly in rough rhythm with the porridge.

'Well, mother mine,' he said at last, 'here I am, you see. I said I would be in time for breakfast, and I have kept my word.'

 

How did I not know about this book?

[Kareni]

35 minutes ago, Violet Crown said:

How did I not know about this book?

I don't know.  I'd tell you that I've known of it for years but that would be cold comfort, I'm sure.

Regards,
Kareni

[Kareni]

I finished two books over the past couple of days and enjoyed them both.

The first is a contemporary romance ~ The Kiss Quotient  by Helen Hoang.  I'll likely re-read this at some point.  (Some adult content)

(It's interesting to see different cover art; the cover on the copy I read is linked here.)

"Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases--a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.

It doesn't help that Stella has Asperger's and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice--with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can't afford to turn down Stella's offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan--from foreplay to more-than-missionary position...

Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but crave all of the other things he's making her feel. Their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic..."
**

I also enjoyed this London set mystery ~ Pressure Head (The Plumber's Mate Book 1)  by JL Merrow.  I hope to read more in this series.

"Tom Paretski’s not just a plumber with a dodgy hip courtesy of a schoolboy accident. He also has a sixth sense for finding hidden things. Called in by the police to help locate a body near Brock’s Hollow, he’s staggered to encounter Phil Morrison, his old school crush—and the closeted bully whose actions contributed to Tom’s accident.

Phil’s all grown up now, and Tom’s unwilling attraction to him is back with a vengeance. Phil’s now openly gay—and what’s more, he’s interested in Tom’s personal charms as well as his psychic talents. As a private investigator called in by the dead woman’s parents, Phil is sceptical about Tom’s unusual gift, but nevertheless quick to spot its potential to aid him in his work.

The further they go with the investigation, the less they can ignore their shared past, and the more the pressure and the heat build between them. But Tom isn’t certain he wants to know the secrets he’s helping to uncover, while there’s a murderer on the loose who won’t hesitate to kill again—and this uneasy couple is moving right into his sights."

Regards,
Kareni

[mumto2]

I finished my latest Matthew Shardlake historical and just plain loved it.  My favorite Tudor series ever I think......that is saying something because Tudor settings are a huge favorite!  I love how Sansom deals with very small portions of little known (or popularly cared about) Tudor history and makes them come alive.  I just experienced the sinking of the Mary Rose, yes fictionally,  but close enough for me......He also does a great job on the history of the British legal system which tends to give me the background for things I have been wondering about.  Life in the UK still holds many mysteries for me they just tend to be a bit more obscure than where to buy something I need!  Culturally I still get surprised all the time and occasially these books manage to give me the historical explanation for something in my life that I have not been able to understand.   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7027569-heartstone. This book was so good I would love to just sit down and read the next chunky (probably 700 pages) installment but my Overdrive is filled with great books right now, many returning this week! I will take a break and read some of the books I have waiting and dive into KL when it arrives!  

I also want to let my BaW friends know that in the coming year I will be posting more than normal from a different time zone.  I am trying to post this a bit discretely for our privacy so be patient. ?.  Actually I really hope I will be able to do this whole experience without blurting out to the world my house is empty right now!  My kids need to experience a bit more of life on the other side of the pond before making some big decisions and hubby’s work seems to be taking him across more frequently so we are going to embrace it. Who knows what our new normal will be!

[Kareni]

13 hours ago, mumto2 said:

I also want to let my BaW friends know that in the coming year I will be posting more than normal from a different time zone.  I am trying to post this a bit discretely for our privacy so be patient. ?.  Actually I really hope I will be able to do this whole experience without blurting out to the world my house is empty right now!  My kids need to experience a bit more of life on the other side of the pond before making some big decisions and hubby’s work seems to be taking him across more frequently so we are going to embrace it. Who knows what our new normal will be!

It sounds like exciting times are ahead, mumto2. Wishing you and your family well with upcoming changes.

Regards,
Kareni

[aggieamy]

On 9/26/2018 at 7:56 PM, Violet Crown said:

Nice new family acquisition! If I were an exchange student I would want to be adopted into the Amy family. Actually I think I just want to be adopted into your family. Middle and Wee Girls do, too.

Oh geez! What a compliment. We'd take you guys!?

[aggieamy]

I just started the Beck Diet Solution by Dr. Judith Beck and like it. Has anyone read it? @Negin It certainly seems like your type of book.

I've also abandoned Your Wicked Ways by Eliosa James. The premise is interesting but it's everything that people make fun of in poorly done romance novels. The guy's a jerk for no reason. There's "another woman" for no reason. The woman is too dumb to live. I think I've got less than 10% of the book left and I'm still going to abandon it because I've got better things to do with the twenty minute of my life it would take to finish the book. 

[Robin M]

On 9/28/2018 at 2:22 AM, mumto2 said:

I also want to let my BaW friends know that in the coming year I will be posting more than normal from a different time zone.  I am trying to post this a bit discretely for our privacy so be patient. ?.  Actually I really hope I will be able to do this whole experience without blurting out to the world my house is empty right now!  My kids need to experience a bit more of life on the other side of the pond before making some big decisions and hubby’s work seems to be taking him across more frequently so we are going to embrace it. Who knows what our new normal will be!

Sounds like you all are in for some grand adventures.  Enjoy!

[TravelingChris]

I started and finished Kazuo Ishiguro's Remains of the Day. I saw the movie when it came out so no surprises. I am not quite sure about how I feel about the book- I didn't like the characters and it was a very slow moving book. But, on the other hand, it was a great portrait of how rigidity in thinking can excuse bad behavior and curtail happiness.

[TravelingChris]

Oh and I forget to report that before Remains of the Day, I also read Pet Sematary by Stephen King. Not quite sure how I missed that one before since I am a fan of his writing. I didn't even know what the story was about before. I didn't find the story so scary as disturbing.  But I did enjoy the book.

Currently reading Robert B. Parker's Blind Spot.

[Robin M]

Link to week 39 - please continue conversation in new thread 

[Negin]

On 9/29/2018 at 7:30 PM, aggieamy said:

I just started the Beck Diet Solution by Dr. Judith Beck and like it. Has anyone read it? @Negin It certainly seems like your type of book.

Thanks, Aggieamy! It had been on my wish list a few years ago. I must have accidentally deleted it or something. I've heard about it from time to time. Going to look into it once more. Thank you for the reminder. 

[Negin]

If you like true crime/mystery, this Kindle book is on sale today.