Book a Week 2019 - BW11: 52 Books Bingo - Something Borrowed

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday and welcome to week eleven in our 52 Books rambling roads reading adventure. Greetings to all our readers, welcome to all who are joining in for the first time and everyone following our progress. Visit  52 Books in 52 Weeks where you can find all the information on the annual, mini and perpetual challenges, as well as the central spot to share links to your book reviews. 

 "May I borrow your book when you are finished with it?"

 "Why certainly,' she said.

 Quite happy to share the joy of another bookish adventure with a like minded bibliophile, she wasn't surprised to find out the book traveled near and far, passed from hand to hand of young and mature minds alike, spurring discussion and differences of opinion across the land.  When finally the book came home to roost, pages worn and yellowed, she savored and pondered with a much older and wiser eye and discovered a much different story from what she read before. And the conversations started once more.

Our next 52 Books Bingo adventure is Something Borrowed and there are a variety of ways to go with this, including but not limited to:  

1.    Borrow a physical and/or ebook from a family member or friend.

2.    Borrow an ebook from the library or online source.

3.    Read a book written by an author whose name is borrowed or a derivation. 

4.    Read a book with borrowed, trade, swap, or lend  in the title.

5.    Read a book about something that gets borrowed.

6.    Read The Borrowers.

7.    Read a book by one of the most borrowed authors in OverDrive.

8.    Read one of the most borrowed books from Toronto,  United Kingdom,  Australia, and United States. 

9.    Choose three letters from borrowed such row, owe, web, bow, doe, wed, dew, etcetera and read a book with the word in the title. 

10. Choose a synonym for borrow and read a book with the word in the title or find that subject in the book.

Have fun following rabbit trails 

 

What are you reading?

 Link to week ten

[Robin M]

I went to bed really late and thanks to the time change woke up really late.  😘

I finished a read and reread of Faith Hunter's Circle of the Moon.  Nell, Occam, Witches and curses, vampires and vampire trees, blood lust and soulwood, friendship and love. All the elements that make for a really great story.  Totally enjoyed it and going back on the shelf for a series reread at some point.

Dove into Lee Child's first book in the Jack Reacher series - Killing Floor and enjoying getting to know Reacher. 

Still reading various writing books including Writers and their Journals. 

[Ali in OR]

Quick update: Recently finished Morton Stroksnes' Shark Drunk which I enjoyed because it takes place in Norway's Lofoten Islands where my grandmother was born. Also loved The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, a manor house party murder mystery with a time loop. Currently reading Ivan Doig's Last Bus to Wisdom for book club and The Tattooist of Auschwitz on the treadmill.

[purpleowl]

I'm still working my way through Martin Luther - only about 80 pages to go! I will be surprised if I don't finish it this week. 🙂 

I did finish my devotional commentary, 2 Samuel: Out of Every Adversity, by Dale Ralph Davis. I started the next book in the series, also by Davis, 1 Kings: The Wisdom and the Folly. I thought about switching over to a New Testament book but decided to stick with this section of OT history to keep it all together in my mind a little better. The series, by the way, is Focus on the Bible Commentaries (not all titles are by the same author).

Also still working on All Things Made New: John Flavel for the Christian Life, which is a one-chapter-a-month deal because I'm leading a book study on it at church. Need to spend some time with it this week!

[Negin]

it may look like I read a lot, but I'm finally caught up with all my reviews. 

Outrage, Inc.: How the Liberal Mob Ruined Science, Journalism, and Hollywood – 4 Stars - I used to read Derek Hunter’s columns quite regularly. Lately, for whatever reason, being busy, I suppose, I haven’t been doing so. This was a good reminder for me to read them once again. I enjoy his perspective and wit. Unfortunately, as is usually the case, those who need to read this sort of book won’t. Most of us are a bit guilty of reading things that reconfirm what we already believe. I know that I am! 

The conclusion is an important one. He says: “It’s not my desire that you stop consuming news, it’s my hope that you will consume more of it, from as many sources as you can from all sides.”

Here are some of my favorite quotes. I am sharing a few here since I don’t want to make it too long. There are more quotes on my Good Reads review. 

“They’re well versed on who was the first of each configuration of human being to accomplish something without ever realizing that the accomplishment itself doesn’t need the qualifier. There are 7 billion people on the planet; only a handful have ever flown on a space shuttle. Therefore, flying on the space shuttle is an amazing accomplishment in and of itself. Yet leftist professors and students look not at the accomplishment itself as something worthy of celebration but at the race of the person.
Guion Bluford was the first African American to go into space and to fly on a space shuttle. He did so in 1983, in the early years of the program. Bluford is not remarkable because he’s a black guy who went to space or flew on the space shuttle; he’s remarkable because he went into space. You haven’t flown on a space shuttle, have you? See?
To focus on a person’s race for an accomplishment is to cheapen the accomplishment. ‘See, even a (whatever type of person) can do this’ is the mentality. Well, why wouldn’t every type of person be able to do that? Why is it extra special that one person did it? SJWs don’t realize it, but the patronizing attitude of ‘You can do it, too’ toward various configurations of people implies that they believe it is special that the others did it, as if they or the world didn’t think they could. This mentality stems from college grievance majors. Many programs started decades ago, when there were real problems to be addressed. Ironically, as the problems were solved, instead of terminating the courses or refocusing them as historical studies, the departments grew even larger and more powerful. So they needed to create new problems.”

“’TMZ’ and ‘People’ magazine are expected to be fluff, ‘Time’ is expected to be news. You’d be hard pressed to spot the difference between them now.”

“… for the love of God, have some fun. Politics is important, certainly, but living beats it in a walk.”

How to Find Love in a Bookshop - 4 Stars - This book was an absolute delight. Yes, the story may have felt a bit predictable at times, but sometimes that’s what we need. This is the first book that I’ve read by Veronica Henry, and I look forward to reading more. 

It’s set in a quaint and lovely village in the Cotswolds, my favorite place in all of England – atmospheric and heavenly. We visited there a few years ago and I spent some time in a small bookshop that seemed similar to the one described in this story. I wish that there was a bookshop like that near me. I wouldn’t mind owning one. 

Some of my favorite quotes:

“After all, a town without a bookshop was a town without a heart.”

“… happy people don’t try to make other people feel bad.”

“There’s a book for everyone, even if they don’t think there is. A book that reaches in and grabs your soul.”

“You have to have cake while you’re reading. It’s the law.”

“’Books are more precious than jewels.’ She truly believed this. What did a diamond bring you? A momentary flash of brilliance. A diamond scintillated for a second; a book could scintillate forever.”

The Truth About Style - 1 Star - I feel bad for rating this one star. I like Stacy London and used to love watching her show, “What Not to Wear”. This book didn’t teach me anything useful. I was hoping for more. 

I did like one quote:
“A whole life can go by being too busy and waiting for ‘when.’ Living in the future means barely existing in the present. If you can’t enjoy things now, when will you magically develop the tools to enjoy things in the future?”

Forces of Our Time: The Dynamics of Light and Darkness - 4 Stars - This book is most suitable for Baha’is, or, at least, as the book says, “to an audience with a basic familiarity with Bahá’í scriptures and institutions.” It’s certainly not a light read. There were countless parts that had me pausing to think and going back to re-read them. Published in 2008, it’s all about the situation of the world today. While there were some parts that were rather disheartening, the more that I read, the more I was reminded that there is hope. The author is someone that I follow on You Tube. His talks are among my favorites. Many years ago, I had a friend who served at the Baha’i World Centre in Haifa, Israel. She would attend the study sessions that he held for youth. The way that she would describe these sessions, had me quite envious, wishing that I could have attended. 

Here are some of my favorite quotes. I am sharing a few here since I don’t want to make it too long. There are more quotes on my Good Reads review. 

“Far more than holy scripture to be read and left upon a page, the Word of God is the source of light and life, and separation from it is darkness and death.” 

“The life energy of every person comes from God but the choice of how to use it is left to each human soul.” 

“Just as the sun is the source of physical existence, the Word of God is the source of human life and civilization.” 

“… whoever turns towards God is blessed and whoever denies Him is beset by woe.” 

       

 

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.

[Liz CA]

I did not get to Gamache this week but getting something borrowed should be very easy for me since most new reads are borrowed through Overdrive.

Still stuck on Heyer and JT Ellison/Coulter...

Reading:

The Lost Key by Ellison/Coulter. I like their collaborative work better than just Coulter by herself.

Audiobooks:

The Entitlement Cure by John Townsend (partially work related)

Regency World by Jennifer Kloester. Kloester is drawing on Heyer's books explaining customs during that era. Interesting tidbits.

 

 

Edited March 10, 2019 by Liz CA

[Kareni]

I happily read Anne Bishop's newest book 

Wild Country (World of the Others, The Book 2) 

This book had a large cast of characters; I'd describe it as a busy book, but I enjoyed it. I'll doubtless be rereading it soon since I zipped through it on this first reading.

 "In this powerful and exciting fantasy set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Others series, humans and the shape-shifting Others will see whether they can live side by side...without destroying one another.

There are ghost towns in the world—places where the humans were annihilated in retaliation for the slaughter of the shape-shifting Others.

One of those places is Bennett, a town at the northern end of the Elder Hills—a town surrounded by the wild country. Now efforts are being made to resettle Bennett as a community where humans and Others live and work together. A young female police officer has been hired as the deputy to a Wolfgard sheriff. A deadly type of Other wants to run a human-style saloon. And a couple with four foster children—one of whom is a blood prophet—hope to find acceptance.
 
But as they reopen the stores and the professional offices and start to make lives for themselves, the town of Bennett attracts the attention of other humans looking for profit. And the arrival of the outlaw Blackstone Clan will either unite Others and humans...or bury them all. "

I'll be curious to hear what others (a pun!) think of it.

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Given the recent mentions of Milkman, some here might be interested in today's Kindle deal Milkman: A Novel by Anna Burns for $3.99. Get it here.

Regards,

Kareni

[tuesdayschild]

I’ve dropped quite a few titles in the last few days, I’m trying to have another go at reading Christian fiction for the 10 book challenge – it’s not going well. 😉  Either the writing style is simplistic, with underdeveloped characters, or, the author is using their, supposed, fiction story to preach.    

I have two of Francine River’s book on hold, she is an author I’ve enjoyed in the past, so all may not be lost in keeping us going.  (and thanks for @mumto2 suggestion a while back, I have another Terri Blackstock title waiting to be read.)

Completed: 

• Sprig Muslin ~ Georgette Heyer   268pgs (Heyer bookclub read)  (3+) As per usual, I skipped past the portions with the creepy, lecherous, Fabian Theale.  I think the story really takes off from midway through chapter 13.  Each time I go through this book I appreciate, and notice, just how witty Heyer’s writing is.
• I Will Repay: The Scarlet Pimpernel Bk3 ~ Baroness Emma Orczy, narrated by Johanna Ward  7hrs 24m (3)   https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2738522428  
• A.D. 33:  A.D. Series, Bk2 ~ Ted Dekker,  narrated by Ellen Archer  11hrs 30m  (3) (Christian historical fiction) https://tuesdaysviews.blogspot.com/2019/03/ad-33-ad-series-bk2-ted-dekker.html

Currently reading/listening to:

• Arawata Bill:  The Story of Legendary Gold Prospector William James O'Leary ~ Ian Dougherty   196pgs,  pub March 15th 2010.   N/F  NZ hist/biog  (epukapuka)
• A Grief Observed ~ C.S. Lewis  (Christian Classic)    beautiful, challenging read

Sip Reads (update):    I’m making steady, renewed,  progress through Dante’s Divine Comedy and How the Heather Looks ~ Joan Bodger      memoir

[tuesdayschild]

@Liz CA  I've had Regency World by Jennifer Kloester sitting in my book basket to read for about 3 years;  looking forward to your review of it

@Negin  I really enjoyed your goodreads review, complete with beautiful pictures, of Nicholas & Alexandra.  (ETA: hope the link works)

Edited March 10, 2019 by tuesdayschild

[Negin]

1 minute ago, tuesdayschild said:

 

@Negin  I really enjoyed your goodreads review, complete with beautiful pictures, of Nicholas & Alexandra.  

Aww, thank you! You're so sweet. 

[Negin]

11 minutes ago, tuesdayschild said:

I’ve dropped quite a few titles in the last few days,

• I Will Repay: The Scarlet Pimpernel Bk3 ~ Baroness Emma Orczy, narrated by Johanna Ward  7hrs 24m (3)   https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2738522428  
• A Grief Observed ~ C.S. Lewis  (Christian Classic)    beautiful, challenging read

 

I agree with you about dropping books that do not interest you. Life is too short to read books that don't engage or appeal. 

I LOVED "The Scarlet Pimpernel" books and read them many years ago. 

I also liked "A Grief Observed" - read that a few years ago. I look forward to reading more books by C.S. Lewis. 

So  many books to read!

[Kidlit]

Hello, all--

Last week I finished a few books, but I will list them here again so as to be more concise (a problem for me 😉.  I'll also link to the reviews I've written on my blog.  I feel like I've done something huge by dipping back into blogging again. It has been so long (too long!) since I've written about the books I've read, and I've missed it. My brain needs to do this.

• Resilient by Rick Hanson, Ph.D.--my review here
• The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton--my review here

Finished but unreviewed:

• The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall (read aloud; re-read for me) {I shared my original thoughts about it here when it first came out in 2011, if anyone is interested in going back that far.}
• The Most They Ever Had by Rick Bragg--a book of essays/articles about the textile industry in northeast Alabama and its decline and the effect on the people who worked in the mills; so good!

I also went back and started re-reading A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson, and I've decided to blog my way through it at the rate of (I hope!) a chapter a week.  Here's the first installment.  

Currently reading:

• the fourth book in the Penderwick series to my boys, The Penderwicks in Spring.  
• Code Name Verity with my 13 yo, if this super busy week will allow me a smidgen of time
• Maid:  Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land -- a memoir, very engrossing so far
• A Long Obedience, as mentioned above

Currently listening:

• Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport via Scribd--I can see how this book could create a watershed moment for me, should I let it.  

I have decided to participate in the Brit Trip Adventure challenge, even though I barely understand what I'm doing. Ha! The Clockmaker's Daughter is apparently set in Gloucestershire, so I'm attempting the Fosse Way schedule.  (Is this how this works?)  On a related note, I came across this very interesting blog while researching the counties of England.  Have you all seen it?  The Booktrail

Last, I don't think I understand the book bingo thing.  Is there somewhere for me to read up a bit more?  Sometimes I can be a bit thick-headed.  😅

[Kidlit]

@Negin , I just hopped over and read your Nicholas and Alexandra review that @tuesdayschildlinked.  (Thanks for that!) I really want to read it now!  Many long years ago, I taught world history in public school, and the Russian Revolution was one of my favorite things to introduce to my students.  So sad!

[Guest]

@hopeistheword, I loved The Penderwicks. I enjoyed that book so much I bought a copy for my sister. (We had four girls in our family and I enjoy books that have four sisters as characters.) 

I finished reading The Year of Living Danishly, by Helen Russell, which I loved. Her voice is hilarious and I was so intrigued by the cultural and political information about life in Denmark, I want to read more books like this. I also want to now discuss a bunch of things about Danish life with @Penguin! ☺️ If anyone has any rec’s for a memoire-type read that also discusses culture and political structure of a non-US country, I would be interested. I am close to downloading French Kids Eat Everything, even though I don’t need the parenting info...just that it sounds like the book is similar, with the Canadian author living in France and noticing the differences surrounding food. 

Not that I need more TBRs...I had put in several library requests which all came in at once so now I have several interesting, but heavier reads. It is doubtful I can get to them all before they must go back. I am almost finished Steven Johnson’s Farsighted, which I have enjoyed all the way to this point, but I do not love this chapter that gets bogged down in literary analysis of Middlemarch. I also have Steven Johnson’s Where good Ideas Come From. I also received from on hold Chesapeake Requiem, which I have been waiting for a while. It seems very interesting, about the disappearing life and culture of watermen on Tangier Island. I have an affinity for watermen culture, as my maternal ancestral line goes many generations back as oystering and fishing charter men on the Chesapeake (though not from Tangier Island). I find I can’t move between mutiple books on such serious topics, though. Though I am usually going on a few books at once, I usually keep them balanced between heavier and lighhter reads, and one audiobook. (I’m still chipping away at Michelle Obama’s interminable Becoming on audio.) 

[Junie]

I have been doing better about posting the books I've read.  I haven't really written any reviews, though.

Last week's reads:

The Man in the Iron Mask -- Alexandre Dumas -- Five stars -- I loved this book!  The only objection I might have is that the title character is the impetus for most of the book, but he is not a main feature. 

Also, this book is very, very long and could have possibly been separated into more than one volume.  This is a weirdly arranged series in that there are three books, but the middle book is often divided into three different volumes.  And then there's a bonus book in the middle.  I think that this saga should be sold as a book set of eight to ten books to make it more accessible.

 

Emma -- Jane Austen -- Five stars -- I loved this book, too.  I saw the movie before I read it, so there weren't really any surprises.  This is just a fun and old-fashioned romantic comedy.  I don't always like movie adaptations, but I thought that the Gwyneth Paltrow movie was really close to the book.  

 

Dd8 was aware that I finally finished my two big, fat books.  She asked which one I like more.  I really couldn't answer her because I loved them both.  Also, they are completely different and I love them for different reasons.  I am realizing, though, that for me Characters are the most important feature of a story.  If there aren't well-developed characters -- they don't even have to be likable, really -- then I'm not going to enjoy the book

A Doll's House -- a play by Henrik Ibsen -- Three stars -- Not one of my favorites, but I probably will read it again.  It was an engaging read: I wanted to know how it ended.  Thankfully, it was short.  The characters were only developed through their dialogue -- it's a play -- and there just wasn't enough there for me.  

 

This week's reads:

And Then There Were None -- Agatha Christie.  I've read this one before.  I need to give my brain a break from the large volumes I just read.

Frankenstein -- Mary Shelley.  I have never read this.  The copy that I own is large print, so this is a good choice for me while I wait for (and then adjust to) my bifocals.

[Matryoshka]

I didn't finish anything at all week before last, so while I didn't post an update, there was nothing to report. 

This week I finished two books:

22. Flights by Olga Tokarczuk (ebook) - short stories and musings about travel, or perhaps more accurately, what makes people want to travel and their state of mind while travelling, and also body and body part preservation through time and place. 3.5 stars.

23. Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger by Rebecca Traister (audiobook) - How women's anger and outrage has changed the world (even when the history is later changed to deny it).  4 stars.

Currently reading:

- Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (audio) - I am rather stunned to find that I am quite enjoying this.  I am become convinced that this book is most properly consumed with the aid of an excellent narrator who can really interpret the work.  The voices, the inflections, the delivery - all great.  He brings out the humor and the pathos and darkness equally well.  I managed to get through the cetacean chapter with only a little zoning out.  There are whole chapters that are written with like a play, with stage directions and all, which lend themselves excellently to being performed. He sings the sea shanties, all of which I was familiar with from our whaling studies and really brought me back.  And it reads like a ripping yarn this way.  The narrator is William Hootkins, in case anyone's interested. 🐳

- Patient H.M.: A Story of Memory, Madness, and Family Secrets by Luke Dittrich (ebook) - history of neurosurgery and the rather unethical things they did to find out how the brain works, especially in regards to the eponymous patient. 

- The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin - Enjoying this alternate history Chinese SciFi  - even though I'm familiar with the non-alternate Chinese history, it's still nice to have the helpful footnotes in the translation with references that the original Chinese audience would get but a Western one wouldn't.

- Patria/Homeland by Fernando Aramburu - Still reading this; all sorts of interwoven stories focused on these two families who used to be very close friends until they weren't.  Set in the Basque Country before and after the separatist terrorist group ETA was active.

Edited March 11, 2019 by Matryoshka

[KathyBC]

6 hours ago, Negin said:

it may look like I read a lot, but I'm finally caught up with all my reviews. 

Outrage, Inc.: How the Liberal Mob Ruined Science, Journalism, and Hollywood – 4 Stars - I used to read Derek Hunter’s columns quite regularly. Lately, for whatever reason, being busy, I suppose, I haven’t been doing so. This was a good reminder for me to read them once again. I enjoy his perspective and wit. Unfortunately, as is usually the case, those who need to read this sort of book won’t. Most of us are a bit guilty of reading things that reconfirm what we already believe. I know that I am! 

The conclusion is an important one. He says: “It’s not my desire that you stop consuming news, it’s my hope that you will consume more of it, from as many sources as you can from all sides.”

Here are some of my favorite quotes. I am sharing a few here since I don’t want to make it too long. There are more quotes on my Good Reads review. 

“They’re well versed on who was the first of each configuration of human being to accomplish something without ever realizing that the accomplishment itself doesn’t need the qualifier. There are 7 billion people on the planet; only a handful have ever flown on a space shuttle. Therefore, flying on the space shuttle is an amazing accomplishment in and of itself. Yet leftist professors and students look not at the accomplishment itself as something worthy of celebration but at the race of the person.
Guion Bluford was the first African American to go into space and to fly on a space shuttle. He did so in 1983, in the early years of the program. Bluford is not remarkable because he’s a black guy who went to space or flew on the space shuttle; he’s remarkable because he went into space. You haven’t flown on a space shuttle, have you? See?
To focus on a person’s race for an accomplishment is to cheapen the accomplishment. ‘See, even a (whatever type of person) can do this’ is the mentality. Well, why wouldn’t every type of person be able to do that? Why is it extra special that one person did it? SJWs don’t realize it, but the patronizing attitude of ‘You can do it, too’ toward various configurations of people implies that they believe it is special that the others did it, as if they or the world didn’t think they could. This mentality stems from college grievance majors. Many programs started decades ago, when there were real problems to be addressed. Ironically, as the problems were solved, instead of terminating the courses or refocusing them as historical studies, the departments grew even larger and more powerful. So they needed to create new problems.”

“’TMZ’ and ‘People’ magazine are expected to be fluff, ‘Time’ is expected to be news. You’d be hard pressed to spot the difference between them now.”

“… for the love of God, have some fun. Politics is important, certainly, but living beats it in a walk.”
 

I have experienced this in conversation many years prior to social media.
I fear the backlash, as the steady stream of magnification now promoted through social media has the exact opposite effect: that people no longer realize how truly bad it was in the past.

[Kareni]

Some bookish posts ~

Five Fictional Books Inside of Real Book  by K Chess

https://www.tor.com/2019/03/05/five-fictional-books-inside-of-real-books/#comment-793431

From the Word Wenches site: En Garde!

https://wordwenches.typepad.com/word_wenches/2019/03/en-garde.html

Forbes recommends ten audiobooks every entrepreneur should listen to

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alejandrocremades/2019/02/28/10-audiobooks-every-entrepreneur-must-listen-to/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Audiobooks&utm_term=BookRiot_Audiobooks_DormantSuppress#6d176ab5286c

11-Year-Old Boy Lands Book Deal About Crocheting After His Creations Go Viral

https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelkramerbussel/2019/02/26/jonah-larson-crochet-book-deal/#75670bb5f131

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

7 hours ago, Robin M said:

I went to bed really late and thanks to the time change woke up really late.  😘

I finished a read and reread of Faith Hunter's Circle of the Moon.  Nell, Occam, Witches and curses, vampires and vampire trees, blood lust and soulwood, friendship and love. All the elements that make for a really great story.  Totally enjoyed it and going back on the shelf for a series reread at some point.

Dove into Lee Child's first book in the Jack Reacher series - Killing Floor and enjoying getting to know Reacher. 

Still reading various writing books including Writers and their Journals. 

I love Faith Hunter’s Soulwood Series and am looking forward to reading the new release.  I am wondering if I should try and do a reread but I think I have enough of rereads in progress!

6 hours ago, Ali in OR said:

Quick update: Recently finished Morton Stroksnes' Shark Drunk which I enjoyed because it takes place in Norway's Lofoten Islands where my grandmother was born. Also loved The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, a manor house party murder mystery with a time loop. Currently reading Ivan Doig's Last Bus to Wisdom for book club and The Tattooist of Auschwitz on the treadmill.

I am so glad you enjoyed Evelyn Hardcastle!  I normally get a bit bored with time loop books but really enjoyed that one.

5 hours ago, Kareni said:

I happily read Anne Bishop's newest book 

Wild Country (World of the Others, The Book 2) 

This book had a large cast of characters; I'd describe it as a busy book, but I enjoyed it. I'll doubtless be rereading it soon since I zipped through it on this first reading.

 "In this powerful and exciting fantasy set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Others series, humans and the shape-shifting Others will see whether they can live side by side...without destroying one another.

There are ghost towns in the world—places where the humans were annihilated in retaliation for the slaughter of the shape-shifting Others.

One of those places is Bennett, a town at the northern end of the Elder Hills—a town surrounded by the wild country. Now efforts are being made to resettle Bennett as a community where humans and Others live and work together. A young female police officer has been hired as the deputy to a Wolfgard sheriff. A deadly type of Other wants to run a human-style saloon. And a couple with four foster children—one of whom is a blood prophet—hope to find acceptance.
 
But as they reopen the stores and the professional offices and start to make lives for themselves, the town of Bennett attracts the attention of other humans looking for profit. And the arrival of the outlaw Blackstone Clan will either unite Others and humans...or bury them all. "

I'll be curious to hear what others (a pun!) think of it.

Regards,

Kareni

I waited to post until I was done with Wild Country.....with no real time to reflect I found it to be a page turner but was a bit irritated that it runs parallel to events that we already know about in the world of The Others as opposed to moving forward with the storyline.  I agree there were many characters which made keeping who was who strait a bit tough.....too many J characters!  Now I have to admit I still gave it a five but thought it wasn’t as good as Lake Silence.  The next time I do a reread I will read it before Lake Silence as I think it belong there.

3 hours ago, hopeistheword said:

Hello, all--

Last week I finished a few books, but I will list them here again so as to be more concise (a problem for me 😉.  I'll also link to the reviews I've written on my blog.  I feel like I've done something huge by dipping back into blogging again. It has been so long (too long!) since I've written about the books I've read, and I've missed it. My brain needs to do this.

• Resilient by Rick Hanson, Ph.D.--my review here
• The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton--my review here

Finished but unreviewed:

• The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall (read aloud; re-read for me) {I shared my original thoughts about it here when it first came out in 2011, if anyone is interested in going back that far.}
• The Most They Ever Had by Rick Bragg--a book of essays/articles about the textile industry in northeast Alabama and its decline and the effect on the people who worked in the mills; so good!

I also went back and started re-reading A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson, and I've decided to blog my way through it at the rate of (I hope!) a chapter a week.  Here's the first installment.  

Currently reading:

• the fourth book in the Penderwick series to my boys, The Penderwicks in Spring.  
• Code Name Verity with my 13 yo, if this super busy week will allow me a smidgen of time
• Maid:  Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land -- a memoir, very engrossing so far
• A Long Obedience, as mentioned above

Currently listening:

• Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport via Scribd--I can see how this book could create a watershed moment for me, should I let it.  

I have decided to participate in the Brit Trip Adventure challenge, even though I barely understand what I'm doing. Ha! The Clockmaker's Daughter is apparently set in Gloucestershire, so I'm attempting the Fosse Way schedule.  (Is this how this works?)  On a related note, I came across this very interesting blog while researching the counties of England.  Have you all seen it?  The Booktrail

Last, I don't think I understand the book bingo thing.  Is there somewhere for me to read up a bit more?  Sometimes I can be a bit thick-headed.  😅

Yes, you can read one road at a time and Gloucester is on the Fosse Road.  I tried to keep o list on Goodreads of ideas for the different counties which is on a bookshelf https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/51042385?shelf=brit-tripping-ideas.  You should be able to sort. Let me know if you have other questions.

[Matryoshka]

4 hours ago, hopeistheword said:

Last, I don't think I understand the book bingo thing.  Is there somewhere for me to read up a bit more?  Sometimes I can be a bit thick-headed.  

 

The link to BaW bingo is here, and includes instructions.  Just pick a book for each category, and cross off as you go; see how many you can do, and see if you can make rows, columns, diagonals or Bingo blackout. 

[Kareni]

16 minutes ago, mumto2 said:

I waited to post until I was done with Wild Country.....with no real time to reflect I found it to be a page turner but was a bit irritated that it runs parallel to events that we already know about in the world of The Others as opposed to moving forward with the storyline.  I agree there were many characters which made keeping who was who strait a bit tough.....too many J characters!  Now I have to admit I still gave it a five but thought it wasn’t as good as Lake Silence.  The next time I do a reread I will read it before Lake Silence as I think it belong there.

When I first read Lake Silence, it struck me as pretty silly; however, with each reread I've grown to like it more. (And my husband and I routinely joke about Sproinger happy faces.) I think my feelings were also colored by the minimal connection to the first five books. 

I didn't object to the parallelism in Wild Country; I rather liked the connection to the greater world of the Others. Like you, I think I'd read Wild Country before Lake Silence when rereading all the books. To date, Lake Silence seems to be only slightly connected to the other books. 

 

Though Julian was alluded to in Wild Country.

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

9 minutes ago, Kareni said:

When I first read Lake Silence, it struck me as pretty silly; however, with each reread I've grown to like it more. (And my husband and I routinely joke about Sproinger happy faces.) I think my feelings were also colored by the minimal connection to the first five books. 

I didn't object to the parallelism in Wild Country; I rather liked the connection to the greater world of the Others. Like you, I think I'd read Wild Country before Lake Silence when rereading all the books. To date, Lake Silence seems to be only slightly connected to the other books. 

  Reveal hidden contents

Though Julian was alluded to in Wild Country.

Regards,

Kareni

Not sure what I thought about Lake Silence the first time through but I really liked my reread of it.  I was honestly surprised how much I enjoyed it considering Meg wasn’t in it.

With Wild Country I was confused for quite awhile because I didn’t catch on that it was parallel for an embarrassingly long time.  I was happy to be reading about those characters who were already familiar and liked a great many things about the book.  I do wonder if I would have enjoyed it without the recent reread.

[Mothersweets]

Didn't finish anything this week. Still working through The Poisonwood Bible with Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell and The Au Pair as back ups. 

Ali in OR - The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle sounds intriguing! I placed a hold on it at my library, thanks!

Negin - How to Find Love in a Bookshop is another hold I placed, thank you!

[Junie]

2 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

 

Currently reading:

- Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (audio) - I am rather stunned to find that I am quite enjoying this.  I am become convinced that this book is most properly consumed with the aid of an excellent narrator who can really interpret the work.  The voices, the inflections, the delivery - all great.  He brings out the humor and the pathos and darkness equally well.  I managed to get through the cetacean chapter with only a little zoning out.  There are whole chapters that are written with like a play, with stage directions and all, which lend themselves excellently to being performed. He sings the sea shanties, all of which I was familiar with from our whaling studies and really brought me back.  And it reads like a ripping yarn this way.  The narrator is William Hootkins, in case anyone's interested. 🐳

 

We have this.  Maybe I'll have to dig in ds18's room to find it.  I bought it for him when he had a concussion and was forbidden to read for several weeks.  My selling point was that the narrator was a minor character in Star Wars. :)

[Matryoshka]

10 minutes ago, Junie said:

We have this.  Maybe I'll have to dig in ds18's room to find it.  I bought it for him when he had a concussion and was forbidden to read for several weeks.  My selling point was that the narrator was a minor character in Star Wars. 🙂

Lol... now I have to know who!

[Junie]

21 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

Lol... now I have to know who!

He played an x-wing pilot named Porkins.

[Liz CA]

8 hours ago, tuesdayschild said:

I’ve dropped quite a few titles in the last few days, I’m trying to have another go at reading Christian fiction for the 10 book challenge – it’s not going well. 😉  Either the writing style is simplistic, with underdeveloped characters, or, the author is using their, supposed, fiction story to preach.    

I have two of Francine River’s book on hold, she is an author I’ve enjoyed in the past, so all may not be lost in keeping us going.  (and thanks for @mumto2 suggestion a while back, I have another Terri Blackstock title waiting to be read.)

Completed: 

• Sprig Muslin ~ Georgette Heyer   268pgs (Heyer bookclub read)  (3+) As per usual, I skipped past the portions with the creepy, lecherous, Fabian Theale.  I think the story really takes off from midway through chapter 13.  Each time I go through this book I appreciate, and notice, just how witty Heyer’s writing is.
• I Will Repay: The Scarlet Pimpernel Bk3 ~ Baroness Emma Orczy, narrated by Johanna Ward  7hrs 24m (3)   https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2738522428  
• A.D. 33:  A.D. Series, Bk2 ~ Ted Dekker,  narrated by Ellen Archer  11hrs 30m  (3) (Christian historical fiction) https://tuesdaysviews.blogspot.com/2019/03/ad-33-ad-series-bk2-ted-dekker.html

Currently reading/listening to:

• Arawata Bill:  The Story of Legendary Gold Prospector William James O'Leary ~ Ian Dougherty   196pgs,  pub March 15th 2010.   N/F  NZ hist/biog  (epukapuka)
• A Grief Observed ~ C.S. Lewis  (Christian Classic)    beautiful, challenging read

Sip Reads (update):    I’m making steady, renewed,  progress through Dante’s Divine Comedy and How the Heather Looks ~ Joan Bodger      memoir

 

Have you tried Dani Pettrey? Her books are mostly mystery similar to Blackstock. Also, the older Colleen Coble titles were more enjoyable than the more recent ones IMHO. I am thinking of the Rock Harbor series set in Michigan and the Aloha series in Hawaii. 

[Negin]

Kindle book on sale today. 

[Kidlit]

9 hours ago, Quill said:

@hopeistheword, I loved The Penderwicks. I enjoyed that book so much I bought a copy for my sister. (We had four girls in our family and I enjoy books that have four sisters as characters.) 

I finished reading The Year of Living Danishly, by Helen Russell, which I loved. Her voice is hilarious and I was so intrigued by the cultural and political information about life in Denmark, I want to read more books like this. I also want to now discuss a bunch of things about Danish life with @Penguin! ☺️ If anyone has any rec’s for a memoire-type read that also discusses culture and political structure of a non-US country, I would be interested. I am close to downloading French Kids Eat Everything, even though I don’t need the parenting info...just that it sounds like the book is similar, with the Canadian author living in France and noticing the differences surrounding food. 

Not that I need more TBRs...I had put in several library requests which all came in at once so now I have several interesting, but heavier reads. It is doubtful I can get to them all before they must go back. I am almost finished Steven Johnson’s Farsighted, which I have enjoyed all the way to this point, but I do not love this chapter that gets bogged down in literary analysis of Middlemarch. I also have Steven Johnson’s Where good Ideas Come From. I also received from on hold Chesapeake Requiem, which I have been waiting for a while. It seems very interesting, about the disappearing life and culture of watermen on Tangier Island. I have an affinity for watermen culture, as my maternal ancestral line goes many generations back as oystering and fishing charter men on the Chesapeake (though not from Tangier Island). I find I can’t move between mutiple books on such serious topics, though. Though I am usually going on a few books at once, I usually keep them balanced between heavier and lighhter reads, and one audiobook. (I’m still chipping away at Michelle Obama’s interminable Becoming on audio.) 

I had forgotten how good the Penderwicks is! I’ve been very surprised by how invested my little boys are in the story, too. 

Thanks for the recommendation on the memoir-ish book. I can’t think of any more like this immediately, but I’ll continue to ruminate on it. ☺️  I do love a good memoir!

[Kidlit]

7 hours ago, mumto2 said:

 

Yes, you can read one road at a time and Gloucester is on the Fosse Road.  I tried to keep o list on Goodreads of ideas for the different counties which is on a bookshelf https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/51042385?shelf=brit-tripping-ideas.  You should be able to sort. Let me know if you have other questions.

Thanks!

[Kidlit]

4 hours ago, Liz CA said:

 

Have you tried Dani Pettrey? Her books are mostly mystery similar to Blackstock. Also, the older Colleen Coble titles were more enjoyable than the more recent ones IMHO. I am thinking of the Rock Harbor series set in Michigan and the Aloha series in Hawaii. 

 

12 hours ago, tuesdayschild said:

I’ve dropped quite a few titles in the last few days, I’m trying to have another go at reading Christian fiction for the 10 book challenge – it’s not going well. 😉  Either the writing style is simplistic, with underdeveloped characters, or, the author is using their, supposed, fiction story to preach.    

 

I’ve all but quit reading Christian fiction, but two authors I have enjoyed (besides Rivers) are Athol Dickson and Jamie Langston Turner.  They’re very different—Dicksons are more adventuresome while Turner’s are more “cozy” with a big literary bent (she’s an English professor).

[Kidlit]

7 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

 

The link to BaW bingo is here, and includes instructions.  Just pick a book for each category, and cross off as you go; see how many you can do, and see if you can make rows, columns, diagonals or Bingo blackout. 

Thanks!

[Negin]

12 hours ago, hopeistheword said:

@Negin , I just hopped over and read your Nicholas and Alexandra review that @tuesdayschildlinked.  (Thanks for that!) I really want to read it now!  Many long years ago, I taught world history in public school, and the Russian Revolution was one of my favorite things to introduce to my students.  So sad!

Thank you. I hope that you enjoy the book. You're far more knowledgeable on all that than I am! I would have loved to have been a student in your class. We were never taught world history in any school that I attended. 

8 hours ago, KathyBC said:

I have experienced this in conversation many years prior to social media.
I fear the backlash, as the steady stream of magnification now promoted through social media has the exact opposite effect: that people no longer realize how truly bad it was in the past.

Kathy, me too. I feel the exact same way. 

7 hours ago, Mothersweets said:

Negin - How to Find Love in a Bookshop is another hold I placed, thank you!

Laura, I hope that you enjoy it. 

[Kidlit]

Added to my “am reading” list: Farewell to Manzanar, for dd13’s history studies. 

[Junie]

11 minutes ago, hopeistheword said:

Added to my “am reading” list: Farewell to Manzanar, for dd13’s history studies. 

Have you read it before?  I really enjoyed it.  

My high schoolers read it as part of their 1940s studies.  (We spend a year covering the 20th century, decade by decade.)

 

 

 

[Kidlit]

35 minutes ago, Junie said:

Have you read it before?  I really enjoyed it.  

My high schoolers read it as part of their 1940s studies.  (We spend a year covering the 20th century, decade by decade.)

 

 

 

I have not.  I’ve always wanted to, though. My dd is doing a fairly in-depth study of WWII. I’ve read chapter one and so far, so good. 

[Junie]

28 minutes ago, hopeistheword said:

I have not.  I’ve always wanted to, though. My dd is doing a fairly in-depth study of WWII. I’ve read chapter one and so far, so good. 

Farewell to Manzanar and Corrie ten Boom's The Hiding Place are the biographies that I require for WWII.  Dd14 wasn't ready for The Hiding Place, so I'll have her read it probably in her senior year.  The Hiding Place is a beautiful book about a terrible time.

 

For anyone who likes Farewell to Manzanar, another book in a similar style is Leaving Gloryland about a boy's experience leaving Cuba during Castro's rule.

[Kidlit]

1 hour ago, Junie said:

Farewell to Manzanar and Corrie ten Boom's The Hiding Place are the biographies that I require for WWII.  Dd14 wasn't ready for The Hiding Place, so I'll have her read it probably in her senior year.  The Hiding Place is a beautiful book about a terrible time.

 

For anyone who likes Farewell to Manzanar, another book in a similar style is Leaving Gloryland about a boy's experience leaving Cuba during Castro's rule.

YES!  The Hiding Place is one of my favorite books of all times! I’ve actually read it aloud to my girls, but I should have dd reread it! 

[Robin M]

23 hours ago, tuesdayschild said:

I’ve dropped quite a few titles in the last few days, I’m trying to have another go at reading Christian fiction for the 10 book challenge – it’s not going well. 😉  Either the writing style is simplistic, with underdeveloped characters, or, the author is using their, supposed, fiction story to preach.    

I have two of Francine River’s book on hold, she is an author I’ve enjoyed in the past, so all may not be lost in keeping us going.  (and thanks for @mumto2 suggestion a while back, I have another Terri Blackstock title waiting to be read.)

If you like christian historicals, check out the first book in Bodie and Brock Thoene's Zion Chronicles - Vienna Prelude set during German takeover during wwII or biblical historical fiction with their AD Chronicles - First Light.   I've read all their books.     Another good author is Dee Henderson and her Family O'Malley series.  If you are into old fashioned, inspirational romance without a lot of preachiness,  I thoroughly enjoyed Julie Lessman's Daughters of Boston series. 

22 hours ago, hopeistheword said:

Hello, all--

Last week I finished a few books, but I will list them here again so as to be more concise (a problem for me 😉.  I'll also link to the reviews I've written on my blog.  I feel like I've done something huge by dipping back into blogging again. It has been so long (too long!) since I've written about the books I've read, and I've missed it. My brain needs to do this.

Last, I don't think I understand the book bingo thing.  Is there somewhere for me to read up a bit more?  Sometimes I can be a bit thick-headed.  😅

Glad to hear you are getting back into blogging.  I'm slowly getting back into the swing of posting more often.  Book Bingo is just for fun and I forget, but I think it was Violet Crown who came up with the term cultural virtue points or something like that,  which you could earn by completing a bingo of any sort. The last couple years I gave out prizes for all who completed bingo which was practically everybody.  I loved doing it, but our house project has eaten into all our funds so unfortunately couldn't continue.     

8 hours ago, hopeistheword said:

I have not.  I’ve always wanted to, though. My dd is doing a fairly in-depth study of WWII. I’ve read chapter one and so far, so good. 

Maybe consider The Boy on the Wooden Box  which is quite good. My son and I enjoyed reading it together.  Otherwise we read a lot of books about Hitler which your daughter probably wouldn't enjoy.  But out of all the ones we read, I think Inside Hitler's Bunker: The Last Days of the Third Reich was the best. 

Edited March 11, 2019 by Robin M

[tuesdayschild]

The forums are freezing up on me, again,  today, not sure if this will 'post' or not - liking posts seems to have stopped, still tried though :) - and quoting is running at 'backwards' speed.

@Negin So true!  Life is too short to read books that don't engage or appeal.

@hopeistheword  Enjoy your Brit Tripping.  I think last year was the most 'fun' I've had in planning, and reading, since I stopped compiling reading schedules for H.Eding my Dc ;)    (Mumto2's location suggestions on her goodreads thread is so helpful)

Thank you!!!!  to those who posted author/book suggestions for us to try. ( @Liz CA  @hopeistheword,  no, I've not tried those authors.  @Robin M   I really enjoyed the Thoene's Zion series, years back …… and must revisit them; when (?) my book boxes eventually surface from storage.  But have not tried the A.D. series.   (Yes, I do like some old fashion and inspirational (not too much romance though) and definitely not preachy in my fiction reads.)

[Liz CA]

2 hours ago, Robin M said:

If you like christian historicals, check out the first book in Bodie and Brock Thoene's Zion Chronicles - Vienna Prelude set during German takeover during wwII or biblical historical fiction with their AD Chronicles - First Light.   I've read all their books.     Another good author is Dee Henderson and her Family O'Malley series.  If you are into old fashioned, inspirational romance without a lot of preachiness,  I thoroughly enjoyed Julie Lessman's Daughters of Boston series. 

 

 

Wanted to second the Dee Henderson suggestion. I am often hesitant to recommend her because some of her books are a bit out there, others are quite suspenseful and entertaining.

I liked the O'Malley series best once you get past a few "fairy-tale" elements.  I think I like Pettrey even more than Henderson so far.

I should try Thoene again. I had read one book by her that was rather graphic (WWII) and shied away from others. My SIL loved them.

Other potential authors to explore are Brandilynn Collins and Irene Hannon.

Edited March 11, 2019 by Liz CA

[tuesdayschild]

3 hours ago, Liz CA said:

 

I liked the O'Malley series best once you get past a few "fairy-tale" elements.  I think I like Pettrey even more than Henderson so far.

Thanks!! I've managed to find a few books on Overdrive to try.  (It's amazing the range of authors we don't get here in our libraries; maybe something to do with the switch from US spelling to British (NZ) spelling, which is very apparent in the children's section.  Just a random comment    no response needed.)

 

Edited March 12, 2019 by tuesdayschild

[tuesdayschild]

Book update ..

Completed Sip read and listen.    The Divine Comedy ~ Dante Alighieri, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (translator),   narrated by: Charlton Griffin Classic Chunkster  (audio 17hrs 3m)  Sip read and listen.  I’ve been chipping away at since April 2017, and happily finished it yesterday.    The Inferno is my favourite portion of this epic poem, but I’m glad I’ve at least been through the entire work once in my life, and I’m going to listen to just that portion again, another year, sometime.  ( Q:   counting for a spelling challenge would anyone count the translator (Longfellow), in an epic poetic work like this, as being an option? Or just Alighieri?)

I'm actually enjoying this next title as an audiobook, I think I may have quietly ditched it as a read though.   Da Vinci's Ghost:  Genius, Obsession, and How Leonardo Created the World in His Own Image ~ Toby Lester, narrated by Stephen Hoye     (epukapuka audio) 6hrs 20m  N/F  Art History

I've picked up a lite listen, Grace Lin's Starry River of the Sky (juvenile fiction) which is making for a nice mind rest after busy brain days  (work, and, dd's learning requirements this year)  

[mumto2]

@tuesdayschild Glad you were able to find some authors to try on Overdrive.  I know I have read Dee Henderson but do not particularly remember any titles.  When my kids were were little I had a monthly subscription to Love Inspired Suspense and I believe she was one of the frequent authors in that line.

 I have been having computer problems all day long that went way beyond the forums.  Apparently it had more to do with iPads,  because only my family’s iPads had the issues........We now have a new router......one of our credit cards was hacked last night so it’s been stressful around our household!

Books,  I have abandoned a few but seem to have settled on All Systems Red which is the first in the Murderbot series. My Dd read it over the weekend and really liked it.  I have also started a Qiu Xialong for February’s Detective Challenge.  I am not far in A Case of Two Cities so no reviews yet!

For my Louise Penny audiobookathon I am on The Nature of the Beast which is one of the books in this series that I would consider a favorite.  So enjoying......

[tuesdayschild]

39 minutes ago, mumto2 said:

I have been having computer problems all day long that went way beyond the forums.  Apparently it had more to do with iPads,  because only my family’s iPads had the issues........We now have a new router......one of our credit cards was hacked last night so it’s been stressful around our household!

2

Oh no!!!  So sorry to read that Sandy! Hoping it's not developing into an epic nightmarish mess (praying over you).  

[mumto2]

Just now, tuesdayschild said:

Oh no!!!  So sorry to read that Sandy! Hoping it's not developing into an epic nightmarish mess (praying over you).  

Thank you Tuesday.......We believe it is contained to that card.  A couple of lingering concerns but think we are fine.

[Negin]

Kindle book on sale today - the second book in the Dublin Murder Squad series

 

[Mothersweets]

On 3/11/2019 at 5:54 AM, hopeistheword said:

I have not.  I’ve always wanted to, though. My dd is doing a fairly in-depth study of WWII. I’ve read chapter one and so far, so good. 

I also want to recommend a book - No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War by Anita Lobel. She was 5 when the war began, managed to survive, and later went to America and married Arnold Lobel of Frog & Toad fame. She is a children's book illustrator and you might recognize her work  - A New Coat for Anna and Princess Furball are a couple that we've enjoyed. Her recounting of her experience during WWII is very straight-forward with no self-pitying at all. I read it 20 years ago and still think about it from time to time. 

[Kidlit]

1 hour ago, Mothersweets said:

I also want to recommend a book - No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War by Anita Lobel. She was 5 when the war began, managed to survive, and later went to America and married Arnold Lobel of Frog & Toad fame. She is a children's book illustrator and you might recognize her work  - A New Coat for Anna and Princess Furball are a couple that we've enjoyed. Her recounting of her experience during WWII is very straight-forward with no self-pitying at all. I read it 20 years ago and still think about it from time to time. 

Ooooh! Thank you!  Children’s lit is my “thing,” so I can’t wait to read this one!