Book a Week 2018 - BW46: Armistice Day

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday and welcome to week forty-six 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.

 

The Soldier

 by

Rupert Brooke 

 

If I should die, think only this of me:
That there’s some corner of a foreign field
That is forever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam;
A body of England’s, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

 And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

 

In honor of  all those who fought in World War I, read the poignant poetry of soldiers and volunteers who served. 

The First World War Poetry Digital Archive 

Pan Macmillan's The Poetry of the First World War

Poetry Foundation's Poetry of World War I

Poet Luke Wright pens tribute to World War One soldiers and more from BBC 

  

Brit Tripping

Our Brit Trip is taking us down Watling Way to Shropshire.

 Shropshire is one of the most rural and sparsely populated counties in England and is well known for its hills and other natural landmarks.

Rabbit trails: Caedfael Virtual Tour Barbara Pym Wilfred Owen Edith Pargeter (aka Ellis Peters)

Kristin Lavransdatter Readalong

Book Three – The Cross
Part III – The Cross  Chapter  1 – 7 (140 pages) 

 What are you reading?

 Link to week 45

[Robin M]

A bit of light reading right now with Roxanne St Claire's 8th book in her Dogfather romance series - Bark! The Herald Angels Sing.  

"With Christmas and a family wedding fast approaching, there’s happy chaos in the air at Waterford Farm. However, not everyone in the Kilcannon clan is caught up in the magic of the moment. Matriarch, octogenarian, and beloved blogger Gramma Finnie hears the clock of her long life ticking far too fast, while her great-granddaughter, teenager Pru, feels squeezed out of planning her mother’s nuptials. But when this unlikely duo is tasked with the project of producing the “Somethings” for the wedding – and only have Christmas Eve to get the job done – Gramma Finnie and Pru have a purpose and a plan. They set off to find the perfect old, new, borrowed, and blue treasures, but it doesn’t take long for things to spin out of control faster than Gramma’s Toyota in a snowstorm. Detoured by a stray border collie, thwarted by nature and an elf parade, and trapped by a rifle-toting mountain man, it will take more than the power of the Kilcannon clan to save these two from a Christmas catastrophe. It will take the luck of the Irish, a love story from long ago, and a whole lot of help from the angels to make this holiday merry and bright."

 

[Negin]

4 minutes ago, Robin M said:

A bit of light reading right now with Roxanne St Claire's 8th book in her Dogfather romance series - Bark! The Herald Angels Sing.  

Robin, that sounds like fun!

It might look as if I read a lot, but I'm actually catching up on rating and reviewing books. Two of the books were quick reads. 

The Wit and Wisdom of Oscar Wilde - 3 Stars - This was a quick read. I started and finished it while waiting in the bank the other day. There were some funny and insightful quotes and here are some of my favorites. 

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”

“When I am in trouble, eating is the only thing that consoles me. Indeed, when I am in really great trouble, as anyone who knows me intimately will tell you, I refuse everything except food and drink. At the present moment I am eating muffins because I am unhappy. Besides, I am particularly fond of muffins.”

“I don’t desire to change anything in England except the weather.”

“I only care to see doctors when I am in perfect health; then they comfort one, but when one is ill they are most depressing.”

“You believe good of everyone, Jane. It is a great fault.” 

“It is only about things that do not interest one that one can give a really unbiased opinion, which is, no doubt, the reason why an unbiased opinion is always absolutely valueless. The man who sees both sides of a question is a man who sees absolutely nothing at all.”

“Thinking is the most unhealthy thing in the world, and people die of it just as they die of any other disease. Fortunately, in England at any rate, thought is not catching.” 

The Third Target - 4 Stars - Although a bit wordy and predictable at times, this was an enjoyable thriller. I love that Rosenberg writes about such timely and relevant subjects. 

They Came Like Swallows - 4 Stars - This is the second book that I have read by William Maxwell and I have to say that I simply love his writing. If you have read and liked books such as “Stoner” and “Mrs. Bridge”, then his books may be worth looking into. These are books that are more about the beautiful and elegant prose, rather than being plot-driven. They are all books that are subtle and simply remain with you. The story here is about a family during the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1918. 

A quote about siblings:
“There was no time (no time that Bunny could remember) when Robert had not made him cry at least once between morning and night.”

An Age of License - 3 Stars - This book, the third one that I have read by Lucy Knisley, focuses on her twenties and all the angst and worrying about one’s path that often come with it. Someone described it as a sort of “Eat, Pray, Love” for that generation. I was hoping that this would be more of a travelogue than a memoir, but it wasn’t. Her illustrations are charming and the overall style is delightful. There are a few more books in the series. I’m not sure if I will continue reading them.

      

MY RATING SYSTEM
5 Stars
The book is fantastic. It’s not perfect, since no book is, but it’s definitely a favorite of mine. 
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.

[Matryoshka]

Only finished one book this week:

115. All Strangers Are Kin: Adventures in Arabic and the Arab World by Zora O'Neill - Linguistic nerd that I am, I really enjoyed this book, where the author tries to finally become conversant in Arabic that is spoken (the Arabic she took in grad school is similar to what Latin was to the vulgates in the middle ages - no one spoke Latin, no one wrote in the languages they spoke).  She travels to four different countries, all of which have wildly different spoken dialects.  Even though I don't speak any Arabic, I found her linguistic musings interesting. 4 stars.

Currently reading:

- The Crab-Flower Club (Story of the Stone vol. 2) by Cao Xueqin - still quite fun to read in spite of being about spoiled 18th century Chinese aristocrats and their maids.   

- Everything Here is Beautiful by Mira Lee (audio) - Another book I have a hard time summarizing - it's told in a few different voices (3 so far), and covers a lot of different themes (I'd say the biggest two are mental illness and immigration), and I'm enjoying it.

- Space Opera by Catherynne Valente (ebook) - Pretty much if Hitchhiker's Guide and Eurovision had a baby, this book would be the result.  So 'funny' and frenetic and over-the-top whimisical, I'm honestly kind of sick of it and am finishing it only because it's for SciFi book club.  I loved Hitchhiker's Guide when I read it years ago, but I don't feel the need to read another version of it, and I've never been a Eurovision fan.

- Der Prozess / The Trial by Franz Kafka - This is slow going.  I have never read any criticism on this book - I'm thinking the Narrator is unreliable. Things aren't lining up. I liked Metamorphosis better.  At least it's short.

[mumto2]

I had several book finishes at the end of the week that I haven’t posted.....

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan is one with an incredible cover that severalBaWers were interested in.  I listened to the audio for this particular fantasy novel and am not sure that I would have made it through if I had been reading.  The world building was a bit too based on this world for it to be interesting,  I sort wanted to scream that these are the Brits,  those are the Russians, and you all are in some Eastern European mountain village.  Story wise it was fine, although I don’t care for the main character which was a problem.  When I finished this book on Thursday I had been thinking I would listen to more since my library has them but the further I get away from that book the more I think one was enough.  I gave it 3*.

Murder in All Honour my latest in Anne Cleeland’s New Scotland Yard series was satisfying.  I really liked this one.  I am enjoying reading this series in slow sips but totally get how Kareni binge reads the whole thing occasionally.

Vicous by VE Schwab is a book by an author that @ErinE recommended about a year ago.  I quickly got hooked on the author’s Shades of Magic series but missed Vicious (different series) which was apparently published back in 2013.  I just tried to describe this book (which I totally loved ) to Dd.  My50 something self wanted to say it was Flatliners(Keiffer Sutherland and Julia Roberts) meets Marvel but knew my daughter has no Flatliners knowledge......I sold her on the milk obsessed computer nerd with a Marvel type sidekick.  This is a great anti hero romp with some really dark bits.  A new book in this series is being released soon.

Currently reading The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva and enjoying it.  It is definitely the series that I read a couple of in the past.? Also reading Donna Andrew’s Toucan Keep a Secret which is fun.  I adore her cozy mysteries.  My audiobook is Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey which is really good so far.....It’s almost 20 hours long and I am about a third done.  This is a Sci Fi trilogy that I suspect I will finish.  Interesting world and characters.

[Violet Crown]

This week I finished a re-read of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy (523 AD) for Middle Girl's home Confirmation prep. (I only made her read the 4th and 5th books.) This week I'll start Anselm of Canterbury's Proslogion (1078), with its famous Ontological Argument.

Finishing up Staffordshire with Arnold Bennett's The Old Wives Tale. Not quite managing the hundred pages a day I'd need to get it done in a timely fashion; but I hope to finish by Tuesday. For this week's BritTrip I will ditch the chunksters for Henry IV Part I, with the Battle of Shrewsbury conveniently occurring in Shropshire.

Two non-mystery Shropshire recommendations: Housman's justly famous poetry collection A Shropshire Lad, which I would have gone for if I hadn't already read it a zillion times, once rather recently; and dh's recommendation, Leave it to Psmith, by someone named Wodesomething. Also Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop apparently has an important scene in Shropshire, but I'd have to read it and I don't think I could endure the death of Little Nell.

[Mothersweets]

Didn't finish much this week and still haven't got back into Kristin Lavransdatter. 

Doll Bones by Holly Black- middle grade novel that I read along with my 12yo. Really different than your usual middle grade type novel - in turns a bit spooky, a bit growing up, a bit adventure.  I liked it!

I finished re-reading The Angry Tide and was able to borrow Stranger From the Sea by Winston Graham from the library and am almost finished with it. It's not as gripping as The Angry Tide and I find myself skimming here and there.

The last five books I've checked out from the library I have ended up reading a chapter or two and then returning as they just aren't holding my interest. I'm going to try a genre that I normally don't go for - horror - and maybe that will help me get out of this slump. I have A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay and The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware on hold for me at my library. Of the two, I'm thinking I'll enjoy Mrs. Westaway but you never know. ?

[aggieamy]

On 11/10/2018 at 2:20 PM, Robin M said:

I finished Archangel's Prophecy which of course had to end in a cliff hanger and the next book won't be out until 2019. Wah!  I think next year is going to be my year of rereads as there a few series which have 2019 releases. 

We are getting smoked out again from the fires up in Paradise. Old friend of hubby's lost his house in Paradise. Fortunately he got out okay.  Poor town is decimated.  Plus the poor folks in Malibu are being inundated. @JennW in SoCal  How are you all doing in your area?

A local friend of mine is from Paradise and her entire extended family is still there. The stories and the pictures are horrific. Like something out of a nightmare. Or a Stephen King novel. I'm glad our two SoCal BaW gals are safe.

2 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

Two non-mystery Shropshire recommendations: Housman's justly famous poetry collection A Shropshire Lad, which I would have gone for if I hadn't already read it a zillion times, once rather recently; and dh's recommendation, Leave it to Psmith, by someone named Wodesomething. Also Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop apparently has an important scene in Shropshire, but I'd have to read it and I don't think I could endure the death of Little Nell.

Hahaha. Okay. I just read that aloud to my family because it was so funny. In fact it was it's almost something out of Wooster and Jeeves novel. Clever girl!

[aggieamy]

Cadfael stuff @mumto2 One of my favorite of the series has been The Leper of St. Giles. I'm sure you've read it before but it's good enough that you could reread it. Or listen to it as an audiobook while quilting ... if that happens to be your thing. *wink*

[aggieamy]

1 hour ago, Mothersweets said:

The last five books I've checked out from the library I have ended up reading a chapter or two and then returning as they just aren't holding my interest. I'm going to try a genre that I normally don't go for - horror - and maybe that will help me get out of this slump. I have A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay and The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware on hold for me at my library. Of the two, I'm thinking I'll enjoy Mrs. Westaway but you never know. ?

Whoa. That is not a genre I was expecting from you. I hope it does get you out of your slump. Sometimes I reread old favorites to get me back in the mood for fiction.

[aggieamy]

4 hours ago, Robin M said:

 

 

The Soldier

 by

Rupert Brooke 

 

If I should die, think only this of me:
That there’s some corner of a foreign field
That is forever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam;
A body of England’s, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

 And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite poems. It's a love poem to England and such a sadness to think how many sons ended up that way.

 

 

[Mothersweets]

42 minutes ago, aggieamy said:

Whoa. That is not a genre I was expecting from you. I hope it does get you out of your slump. Sometimes I reread old favorites to get me back in the mood for fiction.

I know, right? It might end up being too scary for me but I feel like I need something really different! ?

[tuesdayschild]

From last week: 
The current CA fires: devastating!   (So good to hear that those here are okay.)

Shropshire is the county I’m still dithering around over on which book to read.  V.C’s DH’s Wodehouse idea looks tempting, as an audiobook ….  

Q: Brit Trip …. Does the Christmas in London read, need to actually be the Christmas season also, or just London?

New to my current listens/reads this week:
The Fallen Angel ~ Daniel da Silva  (I’m having another try at Silva and our library had this one available, so far the art aspect is making for interesting listening, and the mystery isn’t too bad either)

Completed:
The Lonesome Road Bk3~ Patricia Wentworth    (4+) I finished this in October and am just reviewing it now. For anyone that might want be interested it’s 10/18  on this list.
https://tuesdaysviews.blogspot.com/2018/08/miss-silver-mystery-books-patricia.html
The Autobiography of George Muller ~ George Muller   (3.5)  (audio) London/ Devon/ Bristol/ Wiltshire.   Diaried books, and those with constant ledger tallying - dry and dull, are never favourite reads, so those factors definitely affected my rating of this book. I did find it an encouragement to be more given to prayer.
The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got that Way ~ Bill Bryson    (2.5)    N/F (epukapuka) https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2588574404
 

[tuesdayschild]

@Robin M  and @aggieamy   thank you for sharing that beautiful, poignant, poem  (I'm not familiar with Rupert Brooke, off to see what else he's crafted).

Edited November 12, 2018 by tuesdayschild
typo

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, Mothersweets said:

I know, right? It might end up being too scary for me but I feel like I need something really different! ?

I felt that way when I read Dracula. And I wasn’t sorry I did read Dracula, even though that is not typical for me. 

With all the lying around I have done recently, I finished a good few books. (Still can’t compare with some of the prolific readers here!) I finished Memoirs of a Geisha for my IRL book club and gave that five stars. I really loved the word craftsmanship and the majority of the story (horrification of practices of the era notwithstanding). 

I read The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers; someone here mentioned it before. (I think perhaps @Negin.) This was a sweet book and was pleasant enough to read, but I didn’t feel it was as well-organized as it could have been. I do not think the author is an outstanding writer, per se. I wasn’t sorry I read it, though and it gave me a break from seriousness, which I needed. 

I finished Audible version of The Distance Between Us by Rayna Grande. I loved this book and happily give it five stars. As a memoir, it was outstanding. I felt that the author has produced this book at the proper juncture of her life. She endured pain that no child should from both parents and several other figures in her life, but she tells the story without excessive bitterness - a critical factor in memoirs in my view. 

I am reading the necessary What to Eat If You Have Cancer. I think this book is important and useful, but I keep passing it over for something else. I’m in the first section of the book that is explaining a lot of the biology of cancer and, at the risk of sounding like I overestimate my knowledge here, there’s nothing new in this part and I find it boring. I really just want to skip to nutrition but I sort of worry that I won’t fully get the pucture of the nutrition discussion unless I hear what the author has to say about cancer biology first. So really, I mostly bring the book from my nightstand to my sunroom sofa and then take it back up to my nightstand day after day. 

I also just started reading the shocking book Radium Girls: the Dark Story of America’s Shining Women. This book is horribly good. Every next chapter blows my mind and makes me thankful for the progress our laws and systems have made to protect people from occupational hazards, false claims and hazardous consumer goods. It also reminds me of the progress we ladies have made in a hundred years. I cannot imagine a group of modern young women employed in this manner who would go along with lip-pointing (licking, for all intents and purposes) a paintbrush with a radiant paint on it! If one woman in a group of thirty would obediently do this and think it’s safe, I would be surprised. The horrifying suffering those poor young women suffered due to this occupational abuse is just absolutely sickening. 

[JennW in SoCal]

I suddenly find I have a giant stack of sci-fi and fantasy, mostly thanks to a friend who keeps putting books in my hands. The one I picked first from the stack is the most recent she handed to me, The Three Body Problem by Liu CiXin. I see on Goodreads that Mumto2 has read it and liked it. I'm about 6 chapters in and enjoying it so far, but I haven't gotten to the juicy, truly sci-fi stuff yet. I'm just jazzed that contemporary literature from China is being translated.

Brandon Sanderson was terrific at his bookstore appearance the other night. We didn't stay to have our book signed as we would have been there til at least midnight, but bless him, Sanderson always stays to sign every book and will pose for pictures, too and answer a quick question. He talked about the writing process, specifically about failure, and how even seasoned writers like him utterly fail sometimes. Books just won't gel, and even a professional writer and a writing instructor can't always figure out what is wrong. Such a great speaker, and seemingly nice, down to earth guy. He answered questions, did a reading from an early failed version of The Way of Kings. So fun to have my ds around to geek out at events like this!

 

[Violet Crown]

11 hours ago, JennW in SoCal said:

I suddenly find I have a giant stack of sci-fi and fantasy, mostly thanks to a friend who keeps putting books in my hands. The one I picked first from the stack is the most recent she handed to me, The Three Body Problem by Liu CiXin. I see on Goodreads that Mumto2 has read it and liked it. I'm about 6 chapters in and enjoying it so far, but I haven't gotten to the juicy, truly sci-fi stuff yet. I'm just jazzed that contemporary literature from China is being translated. 

We seem to be in a golden age of good translations. Anybody have any theories about that? Anyway speaking of The Three Body Problem, dh just finished the used copy I found for him and is ready to pass it on ... so pm me anyone who wants to read it but is having trouble getting hold of it.

A trip yesterday to the Library Discard Store yielded a stack of "guy books" that I realized I'd never read and should. Sir Richard Burton, Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah & Meccah; Truman Capote, In Cold Blood; Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes; C. P. Snow, Strangers and Brothers; and Henry Miller, Tropic of Cancer. Now don't go telling me those aren't guy books because some women read them: I've read two other Snows this year and it was Jane in NC who first put me on to Snow. But nevertheless these are deeply masculine books. Welcoming now arguments over what makes a book a 'guy' book or a 'girl' book. ?

 

[mumto2]

FWIW I loved The Three Body Problem  5* which ended in a manor that forced me to continue on and was well worth the read.  The second book The Dark Forest was no where near as wonderful 3*, ending on the high note would have been a good idea. Imo

VC, totally agree that those are considered Guy books.   In my house Guy Books are lengthy books based on intricate minutiae of historical battles.   I don’t read those ever....... The good stuff with spies etc I read in spurts.  I used to trade spy books with my Fil.  We both loved Cold War themed books.  Truman Capote is definitely something I might read.......think I did in the past.  If you are in the mood for a read along, let me know.   The Tarzan movies were enough for me but I liked the Lost Worlds..........

 I think it is a matter of moods and interests.  Right now I can not handle anything heavy but like Jenn seem to be feel a bit of a pull towards Sci Fi which I would consider to be more guy if I was stereotyping.  I have no long history with Sci Fi beyond movies etc. so I am more finding my own way with lists from Kareni and recommendations from here.  

 I feel fortunate that I can read the more fluffy things with no one really commenting to much.  I am so grateful for the privacy Kindles offer when I want to read something with a scandalous cover.  There is a whole lot of great stuff that many men won’t go near.   I once borrowed an awesome stack of Kim Harrison’s from hubby’s buddy.  We frequently trade books and shows.  In my experience a paranormal loving guy is rare and this friend and I love talking books.  Btw, My husband kept referring to the stack as the wife’s the whole time I had it. ?. No dear it belongs to your friend!  

@tuesdayschild we are in consultation regarding Christmas London.?  The Cadefel list is wonderful and made me realize I don’t think I know them all.  Right now I put Morbid Bones on hold because I may want to read in order.  If I decide to go with Amy’s recommendation The Lepor of St. Giles is available.  Giving myself a couple of days before I commit.

[aggieamy]

21 hours ago, tuesdayschild said:

Q: Brit Trip …. Does the Christmas in London read, need to actually be the Christmas season also, or just London?

 

The Lonesome Road Bk3~ Patricia Wentworth    (4+) I finished this in October and am just reviewing it now. For anyone that might want be interested it’s 10/18  on this list.
https://tuesdaysviews.blogspot.com/2018/08/miss-silver-mystery-books-patricia.html

 

I think the original thought was that while it was Christmas for us (the reader) we would spend it in London. Which would be the book would be set in London but at any time period. But since Sandy and I are not cruel ruthless Brit Trip leaders we will happily allow any book set in England at Christmas OR set in London at any time period. Or you could just listen to one of the many incredible audiobooks of A Christmas Carol. Might I recommend this one? It's my favorite.

Thank you for going through the effort of listing all the Wentworth books with rating and your notes. I haven't read as many as you have so I enjoyed reading through the list and making notes of which ones to add to my audible account. Have there been any set at Christmas?

5 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

We seem to be in a golden age of good translations. Anybody have any theories about that? Anyway speaking of The Three Body Problem, dh just finished the used copy I found for him and is ready to pass it on ... so pm me anyone who wants to read it but is having trouble getting hold of it.

A trip yesterday to the Library Discard Store yielded a stack of "guy books" that I realized I'd never read and should. Sir Richard Burton, Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah & Meccah; Truman Capote, In Cold Blood; Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes; C. P. Snow, Strangers and Brothers; and Henry Miller, Tropic of Cancer. Now don't go telling me those aren't guy books because some women read them: I've read two other Snows this year and it was Jane in NC who first put me on to Snow. But nevertheless these are deeply masculine books. Welcoming now arguments over what makes a book a 'guy' book or a 'girl' book. ?

 

My DH enjoyed the Three Body Problem also. I haven't read it yet.

Guy vs Girl books. What an interesting discussion!

I'd say my views on this have morphed over the years because so many of the books that I grew up thinking were only for girls I've now seen men read and enjoy. (My DH has read all my Georgette Heyer books!)

Books focusing more on relationships and less on plot would be my consideration earlier but now I'm not so sure. Perhaps it's more of a 'can a man identify with the protagonist' and generally men can identify with other men much more easily than they could a woman?

I don't know.

I'm interested in what other people think!

[aggieamy]

Finished:

Thornyhold by Mary Stewart - This is one of her later books and was described as a gentle story with hints of fantasy and magical realism. Fifty pages into the book and nothing had happened. I almost put it down but didn't. It was fine. There was none of the interesting character development in it that I found in DE Stevensons novels which would have helped me forgive so many pages of nothing happening.

[aggieamy]

I just saw Stan Lee died. That's too bad. We were just talking about him.

[mumto2]

2 hours ago, aggieamy said:

Finished:

Thornyhold by Mary Stewart - This is one of her later books and was described as a gentle story with hints of fantasy and magical realism. Fifty pages into the book and nothing had happened. I almost put it down but didn't. It was fine. There was none of the interesting character development in it that I found in DE Stevensons novels which would have helped me forgive so many pages of nothing happening.

I started that one a couple of weeks ago when I accidentally grabbed it instead of the Mary Stewart i couldn’t put down on my way out the door to an appointment.   I had a relatively long wait and probably read the 50 pages (no bookmark and I wasn’t too fussed) and haven ‘t opened it since.  This is why a kindle is superior!  Now that I have read your review I am not sure I feel like bothering to find my place!

[Angelaboord]

Hello, everyone! It's been a long time. So long that Tapatalk doesn't work anymore? I feel obsolete... ☺️

Anyway, since I started writing again I've basically been hunkered down homeschooling, taking various kids to therapy (4 days a week), and writing. After I proved to myself that I wasn't going to quit writing again, I decided that maybe I ought to look into indie publishing, considering that my manuscripts don't quite fit what agents are looking for (I write SFF, but my books are long), and... long story short... I'm working on bringing out a book in the spring. There is A LOT of stuff to learn. It's kind of overwhelming, but also exciting. ?

For several years it was really hard for me to finish reading a novel and I read mostly non-fiction, but for some reason this year has been the complete reverse. All I've felt like reading is fiction. I've been making it a goal to read more indie SFF (at first this was just because I wanted to see what it was like, and if it was as bad as its reputation. It isn't, so now I'm reading indie works just because they're interesting) and romance, because I hadn't really read romance since the 90's. I've read some real gems in both genres this year.

My favorite romance author at this point is Meredith Duran. Duke of Shadows is an amazing book, totally blew away everything I thought I knew about what a "romance" was supposed to be like. I finished her Fool Me Twice this week and I liked it a lot, too, but the covers and blurbs always get me because they in no way make it clear how emotionally intense her books are. Lots of angst, but usually done well. (Adult content.)

As far as indie SFF authors go, one of the best I've read is KS Villoso -- a Phillipino-Canadian author who bases her worlds on Phillipino culture and history. Her Wolf of Oren-Yaro series (the second book is The Ikessar Falcon) is excellent.

This week I read the 2nd book (well, I guess technically it's 1.5) in another indie series I'm enjoying, The Wildfire Cycle by D.P. Wooliscroft. Kingshold is the first book, which I liked a lot. It was a little rough in the beginning -- and the romantic subplot needed more set-up, IMO -- but the story and characters were great. Basically, it's a fantasy novel about organizing for an election -- which sounds odd, but becomes really interesting as it goes along. Book 1.5 is Tales From Kingshold, which is a collection of short stories that fills out some of the characters and helps set up the next book. There are some rough bits, but I enjoyed the stories; they're fun but they also have heart. He writes with a fair amount of humor but it's not comic fantasy. It's probably better to read the series in order, though, the collection of short stories after Kingshold. Book 2 isn't out yet.

Now I have to figure out what to read next. I've been finding a lot of my indie reads through the SPFBO (Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off) which... I think this is the fourth one. Mark Lawrence started it a few years ago to bring attention to indie works. So it starts out with 300 titles and the participating blogs narrow it down to 1 winner.  The reviews are really helpful in sorting through the enormous amount of indie titles out there. (One of the finalists from past years was Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft, which was picked up by Orbit, and which I loved SO much.)

Of course, I think I pre-ordered Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko and that comes out... tomorrow... I think. So if that comes tomorrow, I think that's probably what I'll read.  Their book The Scar is one of my favorite books, ever.

I'm hoping to participate more going forward. I've missed the discussions!

--Angela

 

 

[JennW in SoCal]

Angela!! It is so good to see you here!  I'm don't actively use Goodreads, but have seen you there and had wondered how you are.  How's the baby (no doubt a toddler now?)

And soooo exciting that you are writing!! Good for you! I look forward to hearing more about it as you prepare to publish.

[Loesje22000]

6 exams in 3 months might have been a little too much...

It is also the travelling, the insights (so more travelling), and the stress...

This week German oral, 30/11 Dutch written, and then we have a month no exams...

I am waiting for the spring examplanning

I hope dd will pass the foreign languages this school year, so we will haven science, math and Latijn next year

[Penguin]

2 hours ago, loesje22000 said:

6 exams in 3 months might have been a little too much...

It is also the travelling, the insights (so more travelling), and the stress...

This week German oral, 30/11 Dutch written, and then we have a month no exams...

I am waiting for the spring examplanning

I hope dd will pass the foreign languages this school year, so we will haven science, math and Latijn next year

Whew. I bet you are really looking forward to that month with no exams. Good luck to your daughter (and you) with the upcoming German and Dutch. I am so impressed that she studies so many languages!

[Loesje22000]

2 hours ago, Penguin said:

Whew. I bet you are really looking forward to that month with no exams. Good luck to your daughter (and you) with the upcoming German and Dutch. I am so impressed that she studies so many languages!

 

Thank you! It is her track. she has less hours math & science. The Science & Math track has no Latin, and no German, but then she would have 6-8 hours of math per week, and seperate science exams for Physics, Chemistry & Biology. One has to pass for the main subjects of ones track so the choice was narrowed down to what subjects we think dd can pass: Latin, French, English, Math, Physics,  Biology or Economics....

 

and yes we are longing for an exam free month

 

[Penguin]

@loesje22000 Would veel succes be the right way to wish someone good luck with exams?

[Loesje22000]

Just now, Penguin said:

@loesje22000 Would veel succes be the right way to wish someone good luck with exams?

 

Absolutely!!

you can also use it when someone has a job application interview (sollicitatiegesprek) or when someone has an oral presentation to do. In artistic scenes ‘toi toi’ with two thumbs up means the same thing...

[Penguin]

Well, then:

VEEL SUCCES!!!!!!!!!!!!

The toi toi is interesting to me. In Danish, one would say pøj pøj to wish good luck on exams.

(Pøj rhymes with toy)

Edited November 13, 2018 by Penguin

[Loesje22000]

2 minutes ago, Penguin said:

Well, then:

VEEL SUCCES!!!!!!!!!!!!

The toi toi is interesting to me. In Danish, one would say pøj pøj to wish good luck on exams.

(Pøj rhymes with toy)

 

Thank you!!!

[mumto2]

Loesje,

I will wish her Toi, Toi!

[Robin M]

Toi, Toi to @loesje22000 and your daughter.  ?

@Angelaboord   Such a pleasure to 'see' you again.  I was just thinking about you the other day.  How are you and the kiddo's doing?  Happy to hear you are writing again.  I'd fallen off the wagon for a while, but rediscovered an old story and have been writing like crazy the past few months.  The indie sff books sound quite interesting and will definitely check them out.

@Violet Crown "Welcoming now arguments over what makes a book a 'guy' book or a 'girl' book"     My brother introduced me to Edgar Rice Burroughs back in the early 80's and I consumed all his books which lead me to the rest of the world of fantasy and science fiction. I never ever gave a thought to if any of the books were guy books. But I do when it comes to picking out books from James.  He has absolutely no interest in Jane Austen and other books of that sort. For him, there is a definite swing to books with male protagonists and action stories.  What makes some books more guy than girl or more girl than guy?  Forty years ago I couldn't fathom a guy reading a romance novel. There was definitely an invisible dividing line in the bookstore when it came to romances and guys wouldn't step foot in that area of the store.  So I guess what I would have considered back then as guy books would be those that are very technical and deals with war, science, facts and figures and not a whole lot of emotion.  Now I don't think there's really any  difference and it all depends on the person and whether they are drawn or entertained by emotional  versus action packed or historical stories.  

[Robin M]

2019 is coming up quick and realized it will be 52 Books 10th Anniversary.  We've come a long way, baby! ?   Lots of 2019 challenges are popping up now which got my brain percolating on a few ideas for next year.  Ten Categories - not sure what yet.  Following rabbit trails versus named destinations.  Mount TBR definitely needs to be addressed in my case.  Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue is rolling through my brain. Probably because I just finished a romance which that was the entire plot. Finding the special somethings.  ?  Time to start brainstorming. 

What would you all like to do or see more of this coming year?   

 

[Lady Florida.]

I wanted to post this on Veteran's Day but I've been online only in spurts. When dh's grandmother died in 1996 at the age of 95 the whole family went to Tennessee to clean out her house before FIL (an only child) prepared it for sale. We found her diary from the year 1918. We (dh, his parents, and 2 of 3 siblings) got chills as we took turns reading the diary aloud, especially the entry below. She was 17 when the war ended. Here is her diary entry from November 11.1918:

"This morning at 2:30 am whistles and everything that made a noise was heard. The telephone rang and it was Mr. (unreadable) Burnette telling us that the Germans had signed the Armistice. When we got in town this morning everyone was uptown celebrating and marching up and down the street. We didn't anyone want to go to school but we went. When we got there they turned us loose. We had to walk up (unreadable) from Park Street. There was the biggest crowd. Circus day could not come up to it. Everyone had horns, tin pans, and everything that would make a noise. We went to cousin Clarice's for dinner. Everything in town closed up even drug stores, grocery stores, and shoe shine parlors. After dinner we met Thelma, Edna, (unreadable), Minnie, Frances, and Ruth and Ola up town. We sure had a trick every time we tried to take a step someone threw confetti on us. Coming back down the street Claude Johnson walked with us. He left us at the (unreadable). Irene went with us as far as cousin Clarice's. After supper we went up town to see the parade walk up Gay Street. Coming home we met (unreadable). He went home with us and stayed until almost 11. It was after 11 when we went to bed tired, but happy because the war was over."

I've been meaning for years to transcribe the entire diary because the ink is fading more each year. 

 

Edited November 13, 2018 by Lady Florida.

[aggieamy]

@Angelaboord *waves* Hello hello. Nice to see you back here. It sounds like you've got a lot of cool stuff going on. I'm excited to read more about your adventures in writing!

@Lady Florida.

10 hours ago, loesje22000 said:

6 exams in 3 months might have been a little too much...

It is also the travelling, the insights (so more travelling), and the stress...

This week German oral, 30/11 Dutch written, and then we have a month no exams...

I am waiting for the spring examplanning

I hope dd will pass the foreign languages this school year, so we will haven science, math and Latijn next year

 Good luck to your daughter!

 

Edited November 13, 2018 by aggieamy

[aggieamy]

@Lady Florida. I always wonder if I'm experiencing some history that will someday fascinate others. If I am then they're a bit out of luck because I'm not keeping a journal. It's amazing to read about your great grandmother's experience on that day and think she was just an ordinary kid during this extraordinary event.

[Lady Florida.]

@Robin M, thanks for asking (was it last week?) about Nanowrimo. I'm not keeping up but I'm writing. I doubt I'll make it to 50k but I'm happy that I'm actually getting some writing done.

I'm still having trouble finding fiction I like though I've done a little better lately.  I read the second in the Rich Asians trilogy and didn't like it. Here's my Goodreads review. I won't be reading the last in the series. 

I did borrow a few Prime Reading books that were decent. I listened to The Ruin (Amazon offered the Audible version for free when you borrow the Kindle version) and read A Beautiful Poison. Both were better than I expected. A Beautiful Poison led me on a rabbit trail to a few non-fiction books that I put on my TBR list. Those are The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York, and The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History.

I'm still plugging away at Robert Massie's biography of Peter the Great. 

Edited November 13, 2018 by Lady Florida.

[aggieamy]

Finished:

Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie. I listened to this as an audiobook and forgot to check the publication date. I was strongly reminded why I have a "best before 1950" date on all AC books. There were parts I liked but it just pales in comparison to her earlier books. The pacing and the plotting were all in order but the characters were lacking and her prejudices showed through so strongly it left me with a bit of an icky feeling. Don't highlight below unless you really want spoilers because I'm not holding anything back.

Thing one:

I have adopted a child so the views towards adoption in this book are particularly ... outdated? cruel? untrue? The murder victim in the story adopted five children during the war. It's repeated throughout the book that these children she raised aren't hers. Many of the characters say things like, "We'll call her the children's mother even though that isn't what she was." Or that they weren't a real family because real families aren't formed though adoption. Or that she could never understand them because there was no blood tie. And so on. Throughout the book. Yikes. I almost put the book down a few times because I found it so offensive.

Thing two:

The comparison between the mixed race woman and a cat are strange. Almost every time she's mentioned something cat like is mentioned. She moves gracefully like a cat. Her eyes are feline like. My personal favorite was when her brother (!) rubbed her tweed jacket and said something like, "You're nice like a lap cat. I just want to stroke your fur. Nice pussy." I'm glad I was listening on headphones but I didn't want to try to explain why I found that one so funny.

Thing three:

Apparently the lap cat comment was supposed to be foreshadowing because at the end of the book the adopted brother and sister left together as a couple. Even though they had been raised as brother and sister since they were toddlers. Even though they referred to each other as brother and sister. But it's okay because adoption isn't real family. Double yikes.

And that kids is why you never read Agatha Christie books written after 1955.

 

[mumto2]

@aggieamy Just yuck! Pretty sure I never read that one and plan to skip it now!

@Lady Florida. Thank you for sharing that wonderful quote!

@Angelaboord  I am looking forward to hearing more about your Sci Fi adventures!

@Robin M I am thinking.........?

[Penguin]

@Lady Florida. Thanks for posting that diary entry. I really enjoyed reading it.

[Robin M]

Thank you @Lady Florida. for sharing your grandmother's diary entry. Fascinating as well as poignant, providing a snap shot of the day.  

[Robin M]

 From Penguin Classics, the Penguin Book of First World War Poetry.

 

Socks

Shining pins that dart and click
in the fireside's sheltered peace
Check the thoughts that cluster thick --
20 plain and then decrease.

He was brave - well, so was I --
Keen and merry, but his lip
Quivered when he said good-bye -
Perl and seam-stitch, purl and slip.

Never used to living rough,
Lots of things he'd got to learn;
Wonder if he's warm enough -
Knit 2, catch 2, knit 1, turn.

Hark! The paper-boys again!
Wish that shout could be suppressed;
Keeps on always on the strain - 
Knit off 9, and slip the rest.

Wonder if he's fighting now,
What he's done and where he's been;
He'll come out on top, somehow -
Slip 1, knit 2, purl 14.

Jessie Pope

 

[Angelaboord]

Abby is doing well! She's 2.5 now and we are on the "only visit every 2 years" plan at the cardiologist because her heart is perfectly normal. Other than her heart, which has been fixed, she's been very healthy. She's still not walking but the range for walking in kids with DS is very large -- from 13 months to 4 years. So we're still at PT every week. She likes to play Itsy-Bitsy Spider and she loves mirrors. It's hilarious to watch her check her hairbows in the mirror. She's really a girly-girl. Maybe it's because she has so many brothers. ☺️

[mumto2]

4 hours ago, Angelaboord said:

Abby is doing well! She's 2.5 now and we are on the "only visit every 2 years" plan at the cardiologist because her heart is perfectly normal. Other than her heart, which has been fixed, she's been very healthy. She's still not walking but the range for walking in kids with DS is very large -- from 13 months to 4 years. So we're still at PT every week. She likes to play Itsy-Bitsy Spider and she loves mirrors. It's hilarious to watch her check her hairbows in the mirror. She's really a girly-girl. Maybe it's because she has so many brothers. ☺️

Thank you so much for sharing the Abby update with us.  I am so very glad to hear she is doing so well!  I have a feeling she is blessed with lots of arms to carry her wherever her heart desires........

I have been busy reading my Donna Andrews series installments for this year, she seems to have a new release every fall plus a Christmas story.  They both arrived together so I got to read them back to back.......loved them.  Sad I have to wait another year!

@Robin M one thing I have been trying to do this year is wishlist interesting mystery series set around the world for next year,  pretty sure I have a good assortment but I have’t attempted to compile a master list.  These books were set aside more because they wouldn’t fit with Brit Trip than a desire for a geography tour, btw.  ?

[Kareni]

I had a wonderful time at my niece's wedding but am glad now to be home.  I'll catch up on what I've missed over the next few days.

 

Books read since I last posted ~

 

These I quite liked:

 

Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren -- this is a contemporary romance with a fun heroine.

 

Martha Well's Exit Strategy -- this is the final novella in the author's Murderbot Diaries series.

 

Fortitude Smashed by Taylor Brooke -- this is a male/male romance set in our world but with an interesting science fiction twist.

 

A Walk Between Stars by Tyler Parsons  -- this is a science fiction short story in which a man is rescued by aliens after the destruction of his space ship.  It is a mystery.

 

On Basilisk Station (which is currently free for Kindle readers) plus The Honor of the Queen (Honor Harrington books one and two) both by David Weber -- these are military science fiction novels that @Nan in Mass  mentioned recently; I'll happily read on in this series.

 

For my book group:

 

I Will Send Rain by Rae Meadows -- this was set in the depression era dust bowl and was admittedly depressing.  I'm happy to have read it though, and I'm sure we'll have a good discussion tonight.

 

These I found not terribly exciting:

 

The IT Guy by Wynter St. Vincent

 

One Broke Girl by Rhonda Helms

 

I did not finish:

 

Carrots: A Shelby Nichols Adventure by Colleen Helme -- this is the first in a cozy paranormal mystery series with an intriguing premise; however, I gave up after some thirty percent of the book as it was not speaking to me.  Too bad.

 

Regards,
Kareni

[Robin M]

19 hours ago, Angelaboord said:

Abby is doing well! She's 2.5 now and we are on the "only visit every 2 years" plan at the cardiologist because her heart is perfectly normal. Other than her heart, which has been fixed, she's been very healthy. She's still not walking but the range for walking in kids with DS is very large -- from 13 months to 4 years. So we're still at PT every week. She likes to play Itsy-Bitsy Spider and she loves mirrors. It's hilarious to watch her check her hairbows in the mirror. She's really a girly-girl. Maybe it's because she has so many brothers. ☺️

Wonderful news and love that Abby's doing so well.  I can just see her know checking herself out in the mirror. Adorable.

13 hours ago, mumto2 said:

 One thing I have been trying to do this year is wishlist interesting mystery series set around the world for next year,  pretty sure I have a good assortment but I have’t attempted to compile a master list.  These books were set aside more because they wouldn’t fit with Brit Trip than a desire for a geography tour, btw.  ?

Same here. I have an overabundance of books, both mystery and historical, that I want to get to. Things may be a bit more random next year, geography wise. I've already been asked to do another spelling challenge. Might mix it up with musicians and artists. Still thinking about it.

[Robin M]

6 minutes ago, Kareni said:

I had a wonderful time at my niece's wedding but am glad now to be home.  I'll catch up on what I've missed over the next few days.

Welcome back! Any pictures to share? 

[Kareni]

5 minutes ago, Robin M said:

Welcome back!

Thank you, Robin.

5 minutes ago, Robin M said:

Any pictures to share? 

Believe it or not, I did not take one picture at the wedding.  Oh, well.

Regards,
Kareni

[Robin M]

@Kareni   Sometimes the best pictures are those in our mind and the memories of the event. I rarely remember to take pictures. Having too much fun enjoying and experiencing the event. ?