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Book a Week 2019 - BW3: 52 Books Bingo - Something Old

Robin M

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Violet Crown

Violet Crown

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Thoughts on other books of this week. Marlowe's chronicle play Edward II (1593) is masterful; I definitely would believe him to be the author of Shakespeare's plays if he hadn't inconveniently gotten himself killed in 1593. It's as if Shakespeare had gotten rid of the prose, philosophizing, and subplots, and been willing to depict someone being murdered on stage by having a hot poker ... well never mind.

Then I read Bertolt Brecht's version of Edward II (1924), which is something like what you'd get if a German with no English watched the Marlowe play, had a friend explain what was going on, then went home and re-wrote it. While drunk. It's fantastic.

Gaveston's opening monologue, Marlowe:

Quote

Enter Gaveston, reading a letter.
"My father is deceas'd. Come, Gaveston,
And share the kingdom with thy dearest friend."
Ah, words that make me surfeit with delight!
What greater bliss can hap to Gaveston
Than live and be the favourite of a king!
Sweet prince, I come! these, thy amorous lines
Might have enforc'd me to have swum from France,
And, like Leander, gasp'd upon the sand,
So thou wouldst smile, and take me in thine arms.
The sight of London to my exil'd eyes
Is as Elysium to a new-come soul:
Not that I love the city or the men,
But that it harbours him I hold so dear,--
The king, upon whose bosom let me lie,
And with the world be still at enmity.
What need the arctic people love star-light,
To whom the sun shines both by day and night?
Farewell base stooping to the lordly peers!
My knee shall bow to none but to the king.
As for the multitude, that are but sparks,
Rak'd up in embers of their poverty,--
Tanti,--I'll fawn first on the wind,
That glanceth at my lips, and flieth away.
Enter three Poor Men.
But how now! what are these?


Gaveston's opening monologue, Brecht:

Quote

Gaveston, reading a letter from King Edward:
"My father, the elder Edward, is dead. Fly here, Gaveston, and share England with your bosom friend King Edward II."
I've come. These lines of love from you
Have whisked the brig across from Ireland.
The city of London, for this banished man,
Is Heaven to a soul that's just got there.
My father used to say to me: at eighteen
You're fat already from drinking too much ale.
My mother used to say:
Fewer people will follow your hearse
Than hens have teeth. And now a king
Grabs at a chance of friendship with her son!
Hullo, there! Reptiles!
Who is the first one, crawling in my path?
Two persons enter.

I'm sorry to be going back to Shakespeare for my chronicle plays, really.

Edited by Violet Crown
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Kareni

Kareni

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3 hours ago, Robin M said:

 Riveting Sci-Fi Reads for People Who Don’t Like Sci-Fi ,

That site is a dangerous place, Robin; it sucked me in.

More bookish posts from the same site ~

Sheroes: 15 Incredible True Stories of the Coolest Women You’ve Never Heard Of

Inside a Great Writer’s Mind -- Literally

You’ll Fall in Love with the Characters in This Utterly Charming Novel

A Bookseller Recommends 6 Books You’ll Want to Read Again and Again

Bestselling Author William Kent Krueger Recommends 10 Compelling Mystery Series... and I've even read one.

Regards,

Kareni

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Guest

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About audio books. Anyone else find American women in general to be the worst narrators?  I can think of exceptions, of course, but I've had a recent run of annoying female readers, all American.

I love listening to Anne Lamott narrate her books. She cracks me up! When I read her books, I still get the delivery just fine, but hearing her say it herself...she has great comedic timing! 

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I finished reading Property by Lionel Shriver. This is a collection of short stories and two novellas. I love Shriver’s wordcraft. Even the title was so profoundly perfect in how each story had multiple takes on property and ownership and who owns what (or whom). It was a great book. My favorite story was Domestic Terrorism about a failure-to-launch adult kid who would not move out. 

I am intrigued by the Something Old category and I have a book on standby that could go with that. It is How you can give yourself The Priceless Gift of a rich, cultural education. This is an old OOP book written by Cornelius Hirschberg in 1960. I love these old self-help kind of books. They are thrilling.

@Lady Florida., I have Becoming in my Audible que and hope to listen to that soon. 

Currently on Audible, I am listening to American Radical. It is a fascinating memoir of an undercover agent who speaks native Arabic (from Egypt) and is a Muslim. In this manner, he is able to infiltrate jihadis. The one thing I find disquieting in listening to this book is how deceptive he (obviously) needs to be in order to make this bust. It’s sad, in a way, to hear how he manipulated the terrorist’s committment to Islam to make him think he was one of them. It just makes me sort of sad to know that people can and do manipulate people this way, even though I am glad for the eventual outcome. 

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Robin M

Robin M

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@JennW in SoCal  Sorry you've had a spat of annoying female readers.  I like Susan Ericksen, Khristine Hvam, and Alexandra Harris.  I do prefer female narrators over male. I've heard far to many audio books in which the male trying to do a female voice cracks me up. 

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NewIma

NewIma

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22 hours ago, JennW in SoCal said:

 

How was David Weber in person? Sometimes I get smitten by an author just based on hearing them talk at events and I wind up reading books which I might not otherwise pick up. 

 

He seemed a lot like my dad actually! Quiet, reserved, and just a regular nice guy! He talked a lot about his wife and how she helps him which was nice. The wild thing is that there are a lot of extremely passionate fans out there that have formed the Royal Manticoran Navy. Officers of the Navy follow him around and guard/serve him as he goes about his conference functions! It is crazy! Here is their website:  http://www.trmn.org/portal/

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Kareni

Kareni

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1 hour ago, NewIma said:

The wild thing is that there are a lot of extremely passionate fans out there that have formed the Royal Manticoran Navy. Officers of the Navy follow him around and guard/serve him as he goes about his conference functions! It is crazy! Here is their website:  http://www.trmn.org/portal/

That really is funny. But does anyone arrive with a treecat?

Regards,

Kareni

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mom22es

mom22es

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I'm behind on reading everyone else's posts.  We leave for a tournament tomorrow, so I'm hoping I'll be able read through the thread tonight since I'll probably be off line until Sunday.

I finished Dreher's How Dante Can Save Your Life.  I enjoyed it.  A few times I became a little exasperated with his personal story, but I loved the ending and all the Dante bits.  I'm looking forward to starting my own Dante Journey.  I think I'll start it during Lent.

I'm still reading Alexievich's Secondhand Time.  It is so sad, borderline depressing, that I can only read it in small doses.  I'm zooming through Murder of Roger Ackroyd.  It took me a bit to get into.  I've read it before and it's not my favorite Poirot.  However, I'm enjoying it more this time. 

I'm also still reading the Benedict Option - just a few chapters a week.  Even though I'm the only one in the family reading it it has made for great dinner time discussion.

DD has finished Nature of the Beast  and A Great Reckoning.  She really liked A Great Reckoning.  I need to get busy and give her some book suggestions because she'll be done with all the Louise Penny's soon.  She's a super-fast reader.

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mumto2

mumto2

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2 hours ago, NewIma said:

 

He seemed a lot like my dad actually! Quiet, reserved, and just a regular nice guy! He talked a lot about his wife and how she helps him which was nice. The wild thing is that there are a lot of extremely passionate fans out there that have formed the Royal Manticoran Navy. Officers of the Navy follow him around and guard/serve him as he goes about his conference functions! It is crazy! Here is their website:  http://www.trmn.org/portal/

Ok, I looked at the website for a really long time then went to find the copy of the first book which I thought I had on my kindle.  I had something with a similar cover🤣. I just bought On Basilisk Station for free.  I need to learn about these books......

i finished listening to Still Life, the first Gamache book.  I loved it this time around even though I forgot it all....I did know who did it because that character no longer lives in Three Pines.  I started the second book and have forgotten it all but am pretty sure I know who did it as they no longer live in Three Pines!

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Matryoshka

Matryoshka

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39 minutes ago, mom22es said:

I'm still reading Alexievich's Secondhand Time.  It is so sad, borderline depressing, that I can only read it in small doses. 


I listened to that book on audio, and I think it is a book that lends itself really well to that format, as it's pretty much all interviews.  There were a host of narrators on the audio, many different voices - very well done.  I really liked it as an audio, but honestly I'm not sure I would have gotten through it in text form, for the reasons you mention.  As an audio, it was like sitting and listening in on her interviews.

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Matryoshka

Matryoshka

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8 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

Thoughts on other books of this week. Marlowe's chronicle play Edward II (1593) is masterful; I definitely would believe him to be the author of Shakespeare's plays if he hadn't inconveniently gotten himself killed in 1593. It's as if Shakespeare had gotten rid of the prose, philosophizing, and subplots, and been willing to depict someone being murdered on stage by having a hot poker ... well never mind.

Then I read Bertolt Brecht's version of Edward II (1924), which is something like what you'd get if a German with no English watched the Marlowe play, had a friend explain what was going on, then went home and re-wrote it. While drunk. It's fantastic.

Gaveston's opening monologue, Marlowe:


Gaveston's opening monologue, Brecht:

I'm sorry to be going back to Shakespeare for my chronicle plays, really.


LOL, I haven't read anything by Brecht in ages, but you're making me want to give that one a go... (and even give the Marlowe a try for comparison...)

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Granny_Weatherwax

Granny_Weatherwax

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Ladies~

I'm struggling with my reading. I have three books that are all awesome - I anticipate two of them will be 5 star reads. My problem is that I can't focus on one at any given time because I keep thinking I should be reading the other two. I need better book reading time management.

One book (Mindset) is through interlibrary loan and completing it is a priority. One is my sip read (the biography of Charles Dickens) and I love losing myself in it. The third is my Mother-Daughter Book Club read (The Shell Seekers) that I am dong with my mom. She is a voracious reader and I want to keep up with her. Then there's work and the house and my husband and the Australian Open and my fitness challenge, and the no spend challenge...my life is full with things I love and enjoy. I think I'm on cloud nine!

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Junie

Junie

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1 hour ago, loesje22000 said:

Somehow I missed the opening of the new week thread 😞 

I just wanted to share I met Penguin yesterday 🙂 

It was a lovely day, and this is us at the innergarden of Plantin Moretus Museum (Left me, right Penguin)....

 

So lovely!  I love Hive Meetup stories!

(I met Penguin a few years ago at a meetup in Pennsylvania.  She is so nice!)

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Penguin

Penguin

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Hi, all. I have some thread catching-up to do when I get back home! Yes,  @loesje22000 and I had a GREAT day together. We went to some bookstores, and she helped me pick out some Dutch books. And then the museum that we went to was a book lover’s dream. It was filled with rare books and early printing presses. Of course, we had great conversation as well.

My son is in grad school over here, and the week has flown by. I have managed some reading, mostly on transportation or before bed. I have been delighted by Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke. I had read part of this years ago and set it aside for some forgotten reason. But not because I disliked it. So I am quite happy to be reading it again, this time planning to reach the finish line. It sure is a chunkster - I have seen page counts ranging from around 800 to over 1000, depending on the edition. The setting is early 19th century England, and magic has returned to England after hundreds of years.

I am also reading Anne Frank’s diary in Danish (Anne Franks Dagbog). I have read this multiple times in English, so the Danish is easygoing.

@Quill I too enjoy old self-help books, and Cornelius Hirschberg’s is one of my favorites. I reread his history chapter on occasion. He can be somewhat stuffy and sexist, but I found him likeable and he sure did accomplish a lot of self-education. Do you have any others in the genre to recommend? 

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Robin M

Robin M

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About 1/4 of the way through The Source and fascinated by the history as well as the present day discussions on the Tell. Love the part about Cullinane reading Deuteronomy five times.    Now I want to read Deuteronomy five times. *grin* I have several bibles to compare including Catholic and Jewish Study Bible. Not quite up to reading in original language though. Always interesting comparing different versions and seeing how the translation change the meaning.

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2 hours ago, Penguin said:

Hi, all. I have some thread catching-up to do when I get back home! Yes,  @loesje22000 and I had a GREAT day together. We went to some bookstores, and she helped me pick out some Dutch books. And then the museum that we went to was a book lover’s dream. It was filled with rare books and early printing presses. Of course, we had great conversation as well.

My son is in grad school over here, and the week has flown by. I have managed some reading, mostly on transportation or before bed. I have been delighted by Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke. I had read part of this years ago and set it aside for some forgotten reason. But not because I disliked it. So I am quite happy to be reading it again, this time planning to reach the finish line. It sure is a chunkster - I have seen page counts ranging from around 800 to over 1000, depending on the edition. The setting is early 19th century England, and magic has returned to England after hundreds of years.

I am also reading Anne Frank’s diary in Danish (Anne Franks Dagbog). I have read this multiple times in English, so the Danish is easygoing.

@Quill I too enjoy old self-help books, and Cornelius Hirschberg’s is one of my favorites. I reread his history chapter on occasion. He can be somewhat stuffy and sexist, but I found him likeable and he sure did accomplish a lot of self-education. Do you have any others in the genre to recommend? 

I’m so glad you got to meet a fellow Hiver and BAWer. How fun! I hope you ate having a ball in The Netherlands. 

I have a very old book I “borrowed” (presumably this won’t go back to her now) from my MIL. It is called The Woman You Want to Be by Margery Wilson. My MIL’s copy was the fifth edition, probably printed in 1948, but early copyright is 1928. I grant you, a hard-core feminist might find it tough to read, but there is still loads of good advice in there about how to be a good host, how to join in a conversation, how to put others at ease. It’s a sweet book. 

 

375892BF-8019-4A47-BEDB-5C7BB8766BF9.jpeg

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Robin M

Robin M

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21 hours ago, mom22es said:

I'm behind on reading everyone else's posts.  We leave for a tournament tomorrow, so I'm hoping I'll be able read through the thread tonight since I'll probably be off line until Sunday.

I finished Dreher's How Dante Can Save Your Life.  I enjoyed it.  A few times I became a little exasperated with his personal story, but I loved the ending and all the Dante bits.  I'm looking forward to starting my own Dante Journey.  I think I'll start it during Lent.

I'm also still reading the Benedict Option - just a few chapters a week.  Even though I'm the only one in the family reading it it has made for great dinner time discussion.

Have fun and we'll see you when you get back.  I'll join you in reading Dante during Lent. I already read Inferno and have Purgatorio in my stacks.  Come share your thoughts on the Benedict Option in  Theologica Reads.  I fell like I'm a student learning quite a bit from our very wise group.   

21 hours ago, mumto2 said:

Ok, I looked at the website for a really long time then went to find the copy of the first book which I thought I had on my kindle.  I had something with a similar cover🤣. I just bought On Basilisk Station for free.  I need to learn about these books......

i finished listening to Still Life, the first Gamache book.  I loved it this time around even though I forgot it all....I did know who did it because that character no longer lives in Three Pines.  I started the second book and have forgotten it all but am pretty sure I know who did it as they no longer live in Three Pines!

 

On Basilisk Station is free on Amazon Kindle right now.  I'm still looking for my copy of Still Life. It's around here somewhere.  *grin* 

 

11 hours ago, loesje22000 said:

Somehow I missed the opening of the new week thread 😞 

I just wanted to share I met Penguin yesterday 🙂 

It was a lovely day, and this is us at the innergarden of Plantin Moretus Museum (Left me, right Penguin)....

47332294-280A-4888-B5D5-0FA6B7461036.jpeg

What a great picture and glad you two got together. Loved hearing about your time together. 

Edited by Robin M
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Kareni

Kareni

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On 1/14/2019 at 9:29 AM, JennW in SoCal said:

I did finish a book, The Space Between the Stars by Anne Corlett. It is a hopeful, quasi dystopian sci fi which was very engaging, but not terribly memorable. 

 

On 1/14/2019 at 5:23 PM, JennW in SoCal said:

The Space Between the Stars is one I think you'd enjoy and anyone else who would like a more hopeful dystopian book. A friend put it into my hands saying it was her favorite book of last year. 

I just finished The Space Between the Stars; I found it easy to read despite its subject. [I did figure out what turned out to be the big reveal.] It was overall a hopeful book and engaging; however, like you, Jenn, I doubt it will stay with me.

Regards 

Kareni

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Ravin

Ravin

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My overall reading goals are to take in a mix of fiction and nonfiction, spiritually enriching, informative, and fun selections; to keep up with the Druid book discussion/study group I'm in, to put eyes on words not related directly to work more often than last year, and to read books that I bought ages ago and still haven't read.

My currently reading list:

The Stand (unabridged) by Stephen King (on audiobook; it's over 48 hours long, so this will definitely take me more than a week, as I listen to audiobooks on my commute and when driving for work, about 6-10 hours a week). Update: I'm now on Chapter 45, 35 hours, 34 minutes to go to finish it!

The Táin translated by Ciaran Carson (have to read this one on paper, it's not available on audiobook, more's the pity since I'd like to hear the Irish names and such pronounced correctly!) Update: I've read the introduction/foreward etc. and the first chapter. This fits the Something Old challenge!

Odin: Ecstasy, Runes & Norse Magic by Diana L. Paxson (this is one of those "bought ages ago and still haven't read" books) Kindle says I have read 21% of the book.

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin (third book in the Broken Earth series) I'm 8:07 in, with 6:11 left on audiobook. 

American Like Me by America Ferrera. I checked this one out for a car ride with a co-worker. 2:56 read with 6:36 left. I'm going to finish it as soon as I'm done with The Stone Sky and before I go back to The Stand.

Books I've read for the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge this year:

The Sky-Blue Wolves by S. M. Stirling 

Next Up:

Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor (I checked it out from the library on e-book, haven't started it yet).

My 10x10 challenge categories:

1. humor

2. science (nonfiction)

3. fantasy & science fiction by new-to-me authors

4. LGBT

5. classic fiction

6. folklore (The Táin will satisfy this)

7. religion (nonfiction) (Odin: Ecstasy, Runes & Norse Magic by Diana L. Paxson will satisfy this)

8. law (nonfiction)

9. modern fiction in translation (i.e., originally published in a language other than English)

10. books by women of color (Stone Sky and Akata Warrior will both work for this)

The books must of course all be separate selections, though they may fit into more than one category, they cannot be used for more than one, so that I read 10 books for it.

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Ravin

Ravin

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If I read the same thing with DS repeatedly, even though it's short, can it count? In particular, we listened to Fortunately, the Milk twice last weekend. Once at my suggestion (he was reluctant), and then he asked for it the next night!

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mumto2

mumto2

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2 hours ago, Ravin said:

If I read the same thing with DS repeatedly, even though it's short, can it count? In particular, we listened to Fortunately, the Milk twice last weekend. Once at my suggestion (he was reluctant), and then he asked for it the next night!

I hadn’t heard of Fortunately, the Milk so looked it up on Goodreads.  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17349203-fortunately-the-milk. It sounds like a great book and have to say I am probably going to check it out myself.......the first review is cute on GR btw.  Rather you count it or not I would start a shelf on your Goodreads and keep track of the things you read with your son.  I have an old fashioned journal of book lists that I used from the time Dd was three that I love looking at.  Having it on GR would be really convenient for recommendations.

11 hours ago, Kareni said:

Some bookish posts:

Neil Gaiman Reads Ursula K. Le Guin’s Ode to Timelessness to His 100-Year-Old Cousin

10 LOVELY LITERARY CROCHET PATTERNS

ON ONLY READING NONFICTION IN 2019

BOOKISH PARENTING: EXPECTATIONS VERSUS REALITY

Regards,

Kareni

I enjoyed the links, thank you!  The bookish parenting article got me thinking........

 Did anyone read to their children in utero intentionally?  My ds was read to a whole lot because of his big sister needed her books.  I didn’t really see much of a result from ALL of those books if I am being honest in DS,  Dd loved them.  With Dd in utero I just behaved normally for a person on modified bed rest and watched a whole lot of figure skating because of the Olympic s.  I did notice  Dd seemed to react to the music the different figure skaters were using for their Olympic performances.  She would get super excited whenever Todd Eldridge skated or his music played,  she still got really excited by his music after she was born.   I did read to her after she was born from practically day one.  We did Winnie the Pooh multiple times because I keep it on the stand beside my breast feeding chair and I forgot my book frequently..........

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Lady Florida.

Lady Florida.

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8 minutes ago, ErinE said:

@Lady Florida. Kathy, prayers and thoughts for Emma, her parents, and you today.

 

1 minute ago, Junie said:

Praying for Emma...

Thank you. We're getting real time updates from ddil. Emma is currently in surgery, on the bypass machine which keeps her going during the operation, and doing great so far. It's a 4 hour surgery that began shortly after 9am Eastern, then about a 45 minute recovery time. 

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7 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

 

Thank you. We're getting real time updates from ddil. Emma is currently in surgery, on the bypass machine which keeps her going during the operation, and doing great so far. It's a 4 hour surgery that began shortly after 9am Eastern, then about a 45 minute recovery time. 

May I ask what the surgery/defect is?  I'm curious.  Two of my girls have heart defects related to birth defects, but do not require surgery.  (They have a pulmonary valve defect.)

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mumto2

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14 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

 

Thank you. We're getting real time updates from ddil. Emma is currently in surgery, on the bypass machine which keeps her going during the operation, and doing great so far. It's a 4 hour surgery that began shortly after 9am Eastern, then about a 45 minute recovery time. 

Thank you so much for the update.  I have been sending prayers all morning.

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Lady Florida.

Lady Florida.

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16 minutes ago, Junie said:

May I ask what the surgery/defect is?  I'm curious.  Two of my girls have heart defects related to birth defects, but do not require surgery.  (They have a pulmonary valve defect.)

I don't mind questions.

It's Atrioventricular Septal Defect, usually called AVSD. It's very common in babies with Down Syndrome and is usually repaired in infancy to prevent further damage, especially to the lungs. Fortunately hers is the most common type and easiest to repair, but it's still scary to know that little one is undergoing open heart surgery. 

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/heartdefects/avsd.html

https://www.mottchildren.org/conditions-treatments/ped-heart/conditions/atrioventricular-septal-defect

From the second link -

Atrioventricular septal defect is a serious heart problem that usually causes heart-related symptoms. Unlike some heart defects, the problem does not resolve with time and most children must undergo heart surgery. The good news is that this surgery is usually very successful and most children do very well.

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Robin M

Robin M

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15 hours ago, Kareni said:

Some bookish posts:

Neil Gaiman Reads Ursula K. Le Guin’s Ode to Timelessness to His 100-Year-Old Cousin

BOOKISH PARENTING: EXPECTATIONS VERSUS REALITY

Thank you for the these links. Gaiman's cousin got me all teary eyed and bookish parenting brought back many memories.  I followed the link to hear and read the letter Helen wrote about reading to kids in the Polish Ghetto during the nazi occupation. Gut wrenching and beautiful.  Now I want to read A Velocity of Being: Letters to a Young Reader if I can find it. 

I didn't read much to James in utero and the first couple months after his birth were a fog recovering from complications, so spent a lot of time, nesting with him in my arms and watching television.  Later on,I remember reading Goodnight Moon to him every night and as he got a bit older, the accumulation of books and him grabbing one after the other for me to read, much like the woman in the article.  There were times I spent in the waiting room while James had OT and the littles, waiting with their moms, would grab a book, shove it in my hand, then after a minute or two another. 

 

6 hours ago, Ravin said:

If I read the same thing with DS repeatedly, even though it's short, can it count? In particular, we listened to Fortunately, the Milk twice last weekend. Once at my suggestion (he was reluctant), and then he asked for it the next night!

Yes, it counts. I was just reading Gaimain's thoughts about the story as he wrote it in Cheap Seats. His editor had questioned if it should be a children's book since the father was the hero of the story.  Shouldn't the son, the narrator be the one to have the adventures.   "I had no rational response, mostly because the book had not been written or composed or even conceived rationally. It was a book about a father who went out for milk and came back late and related his unbelievably exciting adventures to his disbelieving and unimpressed children. It was not created rationally or otherwise. I had simply described it, as if I had stumbled across it and needed to record it for the world.  I could not have changed it because that was what it was."    Now I want to read it.   Enjoy!  

Edited by Robin M
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Lady Florida.

Lady Florida.

Posted
Posted

Thank you for all the thoughts, prayers, good vibes, etc. from the BaW group.

It went well. She was out a little before 1:00, so a good hour earlier than expected. The doctor came out shortly after 1:00 to talk to Jason and Sarah (dss, ddil) He said the operation went well and she's doing great. Now comes recovery. She could be in the hospital as long as 10 days but hopefully it won't be that long. We don't yet know when we can see her, but at this time even visits from Mommy and Daddy are limited.

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aggieamy

aggieamy

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@Lady Florida. I made a point of getting on this afternoon to see if there were any updates on Emma. Glad to hear it's over and she'd doing well. She (and you) have been on my mind all day.

Any updates from Tuesday???

 

On 1/16/2019 at 8:47 AM, loesje22000 said:

Somehow I missed the opening of the new week thread 😞 

I just wanted to share I met Penguin yesterday 🙂 

It was a lovely day, and this is us at the innergarden of Plantin Moretus Museum (Left me, right Penguin)....

47332294-280A-4888-B5D5-0FA6B7461036.jpeg

Lovely! I'm so glad you had an awesome day together.

On 1/16/2019 at 3:20 PM, Quill said:

 

I have a very old book I “borrowed” (presumably this won’t go back to her now) from my MIL. It is called The Woman You Want to Be by Margery Wilson. My MIL’s copy was the fifth edition, probably printed in 1948, but early copyright is 1928. I grant you, a hard-core feminist might find it tough to read, but there is still loads of good advice in there about how to be a good host, how to join in a conversation, how to put others at ease. It’s a sweet book. 

 

375892BF-8019-4A47-BEDB-5C7BB8766BF9.jpeg

This looks incredible. I love the story behind it too. A few years ago I read a book that's hard to find but in this genre ... the how to be a charming 1930's hostess if you are from a wealthy east coast family genre. 

Entertaining is Fun by Dorothy Draper.

I will warn that it is dated in a way that can be so charming at times (Of course, we need to invite our DH's boss over for dinner! It's necessary for his wife to be charming to further his career.) and at other times very cringe-y (be sure to hire black musicians for your parties). This is the way our grandparents would have entertained. Gin and Tonics for everybody as soon as they walk in the door. Make sure your butler knows this!

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Junie

Junie

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6 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

I don't mind questions.

It's Atrioventricular Septal Defect, usually called AVSD. It's very common in babies with Down Syndrome and is usually repaired in infancy to prevent further damage, especially to the lungs. Fortunately hers is the most common type and easiest to repair, but it's still scary to know that little one is undergoing open heart surgery. 

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/heartdefects/avsd.html

https://www.mottchildren.org/conditions-treatments/ped-heart/conditions/atrioventricular-septal-defect

From the second link -

Atrioventricular septal defect is a serious heart problem that usually causes heart-related symptoms. Unlike some heart defects, the problem does not resolve with time and most children must undergo heart surgery. The good news is that this surgery is usually very successful and most children do very well.

I'm glad that she is doing well.  Thanks for sharing the information.

When dd8 was in utero, we knew she had a 50/50 chance of having a birth defect.  We also knew that she had a hole in her heart.  She had a cardiac echo a few hours after being born and we were told that she would be fine without surgery.  I was so relieved.

I hope that your precious little one recovers quickly.  Hugs to all of you!

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purpleowl

purpleowl

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Hope little Emma has a smooth recovery.

Can someone tell me what a "sip read" is?

In the last couple of days, I finished The Prophet of Yonwood and The Diamond of Darkhold (pre-reads for kids) - didn't like book 3 at all, but book 4 was fine. I'll have the kids skip book 3 when they read the series. Next up, I'm leaving the kid lit behind and going to a Puritan: John Owen's The Mortification of Sin.

I also finished my devotional commentary, The Victory According to Mark. I disagreed with the author on a couple of things, but in general it was a pretty good book, and there were some points he made that I found really insightful. My next book for personal devotions will be 2 Samuel: Out of Every Adversity. I read the author's commentary on 1 Samuel and really liked it, so I'm looking forward to this one. 

 

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Lady Florida.

Lady Florida.

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Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, purpleowl said:

 

Can someone tell me what a "sip read" is?

 

We just heard this recently, late last year from @Robin M Hopefully she or someone else will chime in to correct what I get wrong.

A sip read, if I understand it correctly, is a book you read over a long period, a little at a time. It could be because you want to read the book slowly and absorb it a little at a time, thinking about each chapter or section before moving on. It could be because it's a really long book and you want to take your time reading it. Or it could be a difficult book that you want to read, so you read it slowly in the hope of understanding it better  So you "sip" the book. You can also take a sip of tea, coffee, wine, even water or any preferred beverage as you read.

I didn't know it but I already had a sip read shelf on Goodreads when the term first came up here. I call mine Long Term Reads but sip read sounds so much nicer. 

Edited by Lady Florida.
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mumto2

mumto2

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4 hours ago, purpleowl said:

Hope little Emma has a smooth recovery.

Can someone tell me what a "sip read" is?

In the last couple of days, I finished The Prophet of Yonwood and The Diamond of Darkhold (pre-reads for kids) - didn't like book 3 at all, but book 4 was fine. I'll have the kids skip book 3 when they read the series. Next up, I'm leaving the kid lit behind and going to a Puritan: John Owen's The Mortification of Sin.

I also finished my devotional commentary, The Victory According to Mark. I disagreed with the author on a couple of things, but in general it was a pretty good book, and there were some points he made that I found really insightful. My next book for personal devotions will be 2 Samuel: Out of Every Adversity. I read the author's commentary on 1 Samuel and really liked it, so I'm looking forward to this one. 

 

A sip read is something you plan to read over a long period of time in small bits.  There are definitely better explanations but since I was posting I thought I would give you mine.😉

I finished listening to the second Gamache A Fatal Grace and while it’s foundational to the series I understand why I stopped with this book years ago and took a multi year time out with the series.  This book sort of lacked the magic ..... dark foreshadowing for the future.  References that are somewhat unexplained.  Anyway I am going to take a break for a few days at least and listen to something different.

I am getting close to finishing spelling Hecule Poirot as I knew I needed to get it done while I still had all those vowels in my stack.  Book titles with words starting with vowels can be a challenge to find for those who haven’t tried one of Robin’s spelling challenges.  I finished The Law of Angels late last night so Hercule now has an L.  I have been enjoying this series set in Yorkshire during the reign of Richard the Second.  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9092374-the-law-of-angels. 

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Kareni

Kareni

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I read/finished two books today.

The first was an enjoyable picture book P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever by Raj Haldar and Chris Carpenter.

 "A New York Times Best Seller!

An Amazon Best Book of the Month!

A "raucous trip through the odd corners of our alphabet." ―The New York Times

Let's get real―the English language is bizarre. A might be for apple, but it's also for aisle and aeons. Why does the word "gnat" start with a G but the word "knot" doesn't start with an N? It doesn't always make sense, but don't let these rule-breaking silent letters defeat you!

This whimsical, funky book from Raj Haldar (aka rapper Lushlife) turns the traditional idea of an alphabet book on its head, poking fun at the most mischievous words in the English language and demonstrating how to pronounce them. Fun and informative for word nerds of all ages! "

**

I also finished the graphic novel  On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden; overall I enjoyed this, but there were definitely times where I had no clue what was going on.

"Two timelines. Second chances. One love.

A ragtag crew travels to the deepest reaches of space, rebuilding beautiful, broken structures to piece the past together.

Two girls meet in boarding school and fall deeply in love―only to learn the pain of loss.

With interwoven timelines and stunning art, award-winning graphic novelist Tillie Walden creates an inventive world, breathtaking romance, and an epic quest for love.

A Publisher's Weekly Best Book of 2018
One of The Washington Post's "10 Best Graphic Novels of 2018"
A School Library Journal Best Book of 2018 "

Regards,

Kareni

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