Book a Week 2019 - BW21: Bookish Birthdays and News

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday and welcome to week twenty-one 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. 

It's time for a round of bookish birthdays and news. 

Herman Wouk, author of the Caine Mutiny passed away at the age of 103 last Friday.     Herman Wouk Bucks Literary Trends to Produce Best Selling Novels. Herman Wouk, 'The Jackie Robinson Of Jewish-American Fiction

I've already added the next two books to my virtual stacks: 

First Flames: An Interview Between Debut Authors Hafsah Faizal and Nafiza Azad, Language Has Magic In 'The Candle And The Flame' 

Read an Excerpt from P. Djèlí Clark’s The Black God’s Drums,   Award finalist for Hugo, Nebula, and Sturgeon.

 The Real Sherlock Holmes: The Story Behind Arthur Conan Doyle's Creation

Michael Chabon’s Advice to Young Writers: Put Away Your Phone

 

 

Author Birthdays

 May 19
Lorraine Vivian Hansberry
Jodi Picoult
Nora Ephron 

May 20
Honore de Balzac
Sigrid Undset

May 21
Dante Alighiere 
Alexander Pope

May 22
Arthur Conan Doyle
Peter Matthiessen
Herge

 

May 23
James Blish
Scott O'Dell
Margaret Wise Brown

May 24

William Trevor
Michael Chabon 
Joseph Brodsky

May 25
Robert Ludlum
John Gregory Dunne
Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Have fun exploring and following rabbit trails 

 

 

What are you reading?

Link to week twenty

[Robin M]

Finishing my marathon reread of Nalini Singh's psychangling/trinity series with Ocean Light.  The third book - Wolf Rain - will be released in June. 

 Added The Candle and the Flame and Black God's Drums to my virtual stacks.  Since I'm in the mood from something steampunk, will probably read Black God's Drums next.

 

"In an alternate New Orleans caught in the tangle of the American Civil War, the wall-scaling girl named Creeper yearns to escape the streets for the air--in particular, by earning a spot on-board the airship Midnight Robber. Creeper plans to earn Captain Ann-Marie’s trust with information she discovers about a Haitian scientist and a mysterious weapon he calls The Black God’s Drums.

But Creeper also has a secret herself: Oya, the African orisha of the wind and storms, speaks inside her head, and may have her own ulterior motivations.

Soon, Creeper, Oya, and the crew of the Midnight Robber are pulled into a perilous mission aimed to stop the Black God’s Drums from being unleashed and wiping out the entirety of New Orleans."

 

 

[Kareni]

17 minutes ago, Robin M said:

Herman Wouk, author of the Caine Mutiny passed away at the age of 103 last Friday.     

Ah, I hadn't known this. Wouk was an author that my father truly enjoyed. My father's favorite of his books was Don't Stop the Carnival (likely because the main character of the book was a hotel manager as was my father); I just learned that the book was the basis of a musical and an album by Jimmy Buffett...who knew?!

**

24 minutes ago, Robin M said:

Added ... Black God's Drums to my virtual stacks.  Since I'm in the mood from something steampunk, will probably read Black God's Drums next

I posted this previously, but if you'd like to read a short work by P. Djèlí Clark, I suggest A Dead Djinn in Cairo. It is available for FREE as part of this large collection Some of the Best from Tor.com: 2016: A Tor.com Original

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Some bookish posts ~

From the Word Wenches site: 

Ask A Wench - Men in Boots, and other favorite historical clothing!

https://wordwenches.typepad.com/word_wenches/2019/05/ask-a-wench-men-in-boots-and-other-favorite-historical-clothing.html

and The Little Matter of Chocolate Pots

https://wordwenches.typepad.com/word_wenches/2019/05/chocolate-pots-.html#comment-6a00d8341c84c753ef0240a4abd6f6200b

From Tor.com:

An older post:  It’s All in the Rigging: My Favorite Fantasy Boats  by Fran Wilde

https://www.tor.com/2016/08/15/its-all-in-the-rigging-my-favorite-fantasy-boats/

11 of Our Favorite Fantasy Pirates

https://www.tor.com/2019/05/13/11-of-our-favorite-fantasy-pirates/#comments

How Tea, History, and a Simulated Papal Election Inspired Lent by Jo Walton

https://www.tor.com/2019/05/15/how-tea-history-and-a-simulated-papal-election-inspired-lent/

From Dear Author:
Jennie’s Reading List for March and April

https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/reading-list-by-jennie-for-march-and-april/comment-page-1/#comment-896227

Regards,

Kareni

[aggieamy]

It's been a crazy week around here. I finished up my WIP book and sent it to a professional editor on Tuesday. Wednesday I drove a friend to Witchita for a doctors appointment because she's in a clinical medical trial and I ended up getting strep throat so my friend had to drive me home. Daughter-for-a-year is going home in ten days so we're trying to pack as much fun as we can in these last few days. Right now I would seriously pay someone to come over and do my laundry!

While in Witchita and sick in bed with strep throat I did read a Miss Silver book. She Came Back. It's one of her mysteries set during WWII which I just love. There's such a feeling of patriotism and believing in something so much bigger than yourself at play with the British then. I've started and abandoned a few other books. One was a DE Stevenson, who normally I just love, but this one didn't catch me at all. 

I'm behind on the challenges but I've got high hopes for this month because I just picked up the Peter Zac book from the library!

[tuesdayschild]

@aggieamy Wishing you all the best for the editing, & etc, of your WIP book!!  And thinking of you as you try to prepare for your lass to return home ( hugs and prayers!).   Can I ask for D.E. Stevenson title, we have pretty similar tastes with her, and Miss Silver, titles?

@Kareni  So lovely to reading about you enjoying your nephew's wedding, and family time together!

@Junie  Sending heartfelt thoughts, and prayer,  to you over the recent loss of your Dad.

Hello to each one here!    (Trying to go back and catch up on what you've each been reading ....   @mumto2  you sure can read. Love it😍 👍)

[tuesdayschild]

My Dh and children went to Australia – family wedding - and brought me back a copy of one of my favourite books, this year : Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.   The chunkster I’m slowing reading through,  The Luminaries, feels similar in tone/ writing style to JS&MN.

Apologising in advance for two separate posts, this one with a longish list of reads.     I’ve had time to listen to quite a few books lately  as I’m convalescing from another, unexpected, surgery – the 3^rd in 6months -  and my sweet family and I are hoping and praying it truly will be the last…. we’ve got a house build I’m itching to be hands-on involved with 😄 )    (So good to read that you're at the tidy up, post-build point @Robin M Well done!)

Completed end of April or during May: 

• Zechariah,  Malachi (KJV) 
• 57:   Move On:  When Mercy Meets Your Mess ~  Vicki Courtney, narrated by Julie Lyles Carr (cc)  (3-)  I concur with this Goodreads review. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1039360243?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1     
• 58:   The Case is Closed: Miss Silver Bk2 ~ Patricia Wentworth, narrated by Diana Bishop (4) (reread)  I found this listen through a tougher challenge - the abusive, psychotic, spouse seemed worse this time.  Time to use the skip forward button. 
• 59:   Code Name:  Lise The True Story of the Spy Who Became WWII's Most Highly Decorated Woman ~ Larry Loftis, narrated by Kate Reading (9hrs 59m) (4.5) Somerset/ London/ France https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2790420418   
• 60:   The Bone is Pointed: Inspector Bonaparte Bk 6 ~ Arthur Upfield (library CD) (3-) (Australia) 
• https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2821696307  
• 61:  Lady Susan ~ Jane Austen (3-)  Classic.   I don’t like reading diaried books or stories told via letter format at the best of times but made myself finish this  …. I did enjoy Austen’s wordcraft, but, for me, the movie was better 😉 
• 62:  Towards Zero: Superintendent Battle Bk5 ~ Agatha Christie, narrated by Hugh Fraser  (3-) https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2825809440  
• 63:  02/01 – 11/05  Jingle Bell Pop ~ John Seabrook (Music) (4)   N/F  (sip listen)   I love! Christmas hymns and carols and found this an interesting listen!
• 64:  Louisiana's Way Home ~ Kate DiCamillo, narrated by Cassandra Morris  (3)  (epukapuka audio) Juvenile fiction.  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2820415797   
• 65a:  Silas Marner ~ George Eliot,  narrated by Andrew Sachs  (4) Classic.  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2258324551  
• 65b:   The Christmas Card Crime ~ Donald Stuart , narrated by Gordon Griffin  (3-)  (Vintage mystery. Australian author)   Old fashioned, vintage, whodunit,  almost like an early Agatha Christie: a clean read with the writing of the mystery just a little blurred about the edges: it’s easy to work out who did it.  
• 66:  Sick Heart River: Sir Edward Leithin Bk5 ~ John Buchan Peter, narrated by Peter Newcombe  Joyce  (3)  Scots author/ Christian content.    Probably not the most encouraging book for me to be reading post-surgery and that factor has definitely slanted my appreciation of this book.  There is such a sad undertone to this book; it reads more as the author's own journey towards peace with God and an acceptance of his imminent demise from a terminal illness.  The story, which I found just okay, not great, is undergirded with that continual sad tone of acceptance.
• 67: The Prisoner in the Castle: Maggie Hope Bk8 ~ Susan Elia MacNeal  (epukapuka) (1) Scotland  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2824582554

Still reading/listening to:

• Started   16/05  Brother Francis: The Barefoot Saint of Assisi ~ Augustine Institute , Dr. Tim Gray, Paul McCusker   (Audible Drama)  Christian Content
• Started   20/04 The Luminaries ~  Eleanor Catton   (audible/epukapuka)  (NZ author)  Chunkster   (848pgs)  This is such a lovely read, literary-wise, that I’m purposely sip reading it.

Edited May 19, 2019 by tuesdayschild
details

[Kareni]

A month or two ago, I started reading Alex Hughes' urban fantasy series. I read the first three but then needed to wait for my library to purchase the fourth book in the series. Said book arrived a few days ago; I enjoyed it despite some picky little issues.

Vacant (Mindspace Investigations Book 4)by Alex Hughes

 

 "Nothing ruins a romantic evening like a brawl with lowlifes—especially when one of them later turns up dead and my date, Detective Isabella Cherabino, is the #1 suspect. My history with the Atlanta PD on both sides of the law makes me an unreliable witness, so while Cherabino is suspended, I’m paying my bills by taking an FBI gig.    
 
I’ve been hired to play telepathic bodyguard for Tommy, the ten-year-old son of a superior court judge in Savannah presiding over the murder trial of a mob-connected mogul. After an attempt on the kid’s life, the Feds believe he’s been targeted by the businessman’s “associates.”
 
Turns out, Tommy’s a nascent telepath, so I’m trying to help him get a handle on his Ability. But it doesn’t take a mind reader to see that there’s something going on with this kid’s parents that’s stressing him out more than a death threat…"

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Violet Crown]

Robin, keep updating on the house. We have to start repairs/renovations and are still procrastinating; you are the Good Example.
Kareni, Wouk really was a "books your dad reads" author, wasn't he? You clearly come from a family of readers.
Amy, sympathies for strep and stress! Wishing you good luck on your book.
tuesdayschild, you blow me away with how much you read. And the variety of it!

Finished William James this week. For something completely different, followed up with Evelyn Waugh's hilarious, but doubleplus un-pc, debut novel Decline and Fall, about a young man at Oxford whom Fortune pushes up and down the ladder, at one point landing him in prison at hard labor (which is easier on him than on the lower-class prisoners, as he was prepared by having attended an English public school).

Currently reading plucked-from-the-air book Volpone, Ben Jonson's most well-known comedy. It's easy to keep everyone's character straight as they're all named after appropriate animals.

[Ali in OR]

Not finding much time to read here, but I'm working on Notes on a Foreign Country while I'm on the treadmill in the morning.

[mumto2]

I have been busy adding to my stacks but haven’t actually read or listened as much as anticipated this past week.  I really don’t know what I am reading because they are all at the stage where I might abandon them.

I have started the third Dr. Peter Zaks mystery, Delusion, which appears to be heading into a multi book arc. I am trying to figure out if I wish to continue knowing that none of my libraries have the final book in the series.  For now it sits beside my bed with the bookmark in place. 😉 I hate reading too many reviews/ spoilers in order to decide if I need to read all three of these last books for the series to feel complete.

I have also started John Grisham’s The Rooster Bar which apparently is about a group of law students at a for profit sub par law school who are out for revenge.....my description. 😂  These students have borrowed a couple hundred of thousand each for a law degree and now know their odds of passing the bar and being employed are extremely slim.  Since the cost of and return on University degrees has been a constant source of discussion and research the past few months at my house I hope to enjoy this book but am only a chapter or so in.  I used to love Grisham but the last few that I have read were not favorites.  Btw, we have decisions so are thrilled to be moving forward knowing their path!

I plan to listen to my next Patricia Briggs the next time I sew.....hopefully I will get a chance this week.  I also need to finish The Magician  which I am a bit further in. 

@tuesdayschild Sending hugs and prayers.  I hope you are able to work on you new house soon!  Also your list is much more impressive than mine.😉👏

@Violet Crown naming characters after appropriate animals sounds like a great idea!  

@aggieamy Make sure you tell us which DE Stevenson!  Feel better and have fun with DfaY!

 

 

 

[Ottakee]

I have been a bit slower with reading lately.  I started a few that I then quit as they weren't my thing at this point in life.

One I just finished today is Black Man in a White Coat which is the true story of the author's time in medical school and in his early years of practice.  Lots of insight into race issues, poverty issues, etc.  Much of this applies to rural  and inner city white areas as well.

[Liz CA]

I think I missed last week's book club check-in. We are in total chaos here - six ways from Sunday, between two houses, moving. I will never do it again, I swear.

To console myself at night, (and while I wallow in a bath of epsom salt to relax my muscles) I read through two Sebastian St. Cyr books:

"Why Kill the Innocent" by C.S. Harris

I also read "When Maidens Mourn" last week.

Audiobook:

"What Darkness Brings" also a St. Cyr book by C. S. Harris

"When Gods Die" by C.S. Harris - finished last week

When this folly is over, I shall get back on some kind of schedule and have order in my reading. Ha!

 

Edited May 20, 2019 by Liz CA

[Penguin]

Hello, BaW friends. I have been away from this thread for several weeks, and I have missed all of you! I have been wrapped up in wrapping up my homeschool career. The youngest finished up on May 10, and we had our graduation party on Sunday. It has been a bit of a whirlwind. I'll try to read through the most recent threads to see what everyone has been up to.

A week ago, I went to hear Neil Gaiman speak. It was such a wonderful evening. He talked about making The Good Omens show, and he read three short stories to us. 

[Junie]

I finished Moonlight Becomes You by Mary Higgins Clark.  Neither dd16 or I were impressed.  Not much different than an Agatha Christie story, except she used about 200 times as many words.

I'm still reading through The Song of Roland.  

[Violet Crown]

13 hours ago, Penguin said:

Hello, BaW friends. I have been away from this thread for several weeks, and I have missed all of you! I have been wrapped up in wrapping up my homeschool career. The youngest finished up on May 10, and we had our graduation party on Sunday. It has been a bit of a whirlwind. I'll try to read through the most recent threads to see what everyone has been up to.

A week ago, I went to hear Neil Gaiman speak. It was such a wonderful evening. He talked about making The Good Omens show, and he read three short stories to us. 

A new time of life for everyone. I hope you're still going to be posting to BAW.

[Penguin]

11 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

A new time of life for everyone. I hope you're still going to be posting to BAW.

Yes! I should have more time to read now 🙂

[madteaparty]

@Penguin A while back I took DS to see Neil Gaiman and whoever produced American Gods. It was great though I didn’t realize (it was a last minute decision) that they would air the first episode too 😬 I got some “bad mother” looks, even at Bard.

this week I randomly finished some books I bought at the library sale. A Room of one’s own (apparently I have now permission to write as I have the two things required 🙄), Lady Chatterley’s lover (not a fan. The romance bits not great and the rest also not great. I don’t see the point of this book) and, on audio, A Man called Ove. This last one was easy and great for my long drives and okay, I think my dad in law would enjoy and there’s not many books I can say that about. I also finished Malloy on audio but in true Beckett form I couldn’t tell you a thing about it. 

I just started The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati. This mostly because I am LOVING reading his children book The Bears’ famous invasion of Sicily to DD. Why does that book not make the kiddie lists? Why?!

i also started Pale Fire bc I love Lolita but the writing is very different. I’ve tossed it in bedside limbo.

I want to plan a half credit high school class on Paris so I need to start reading on that soon. 

Edited May 22, 2019 by madteaparty

[JennW in SoCal]

What is it about May that so many of us are busy and not finding time to read?! 

I've got quite the stack of books in progress, but nothing near finished:

Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips is one I have to promote even though I've only just finished the first chapter. It is a debut novel that is getting all sorts of rave reviews. But the coolest thing about it, the reason why I'm so excited to plug it, is that the author has been my niece's BFF since elementary school!  Here is the review from NPR

An Odyssey: A father, a son and and epic, is a memoir by Daniel Mendelsohn about his father deciding to sit in on his freshman seminar course on the Odyssey. It is a memoir, it is a fabulous academic introduction and/or refresher on the Odyssey, and it is a little hard to settle into as his writing is as circuitous as Odysseus' voyage home to Ithaca. I'm listening to it, but have pulled my copy of the Odyssey off the shelf to reread sections.

Lovely War by Julie Barry was a book I purchased on a whim -- I had a gift certificate to use. It caught my eye because it is a historical romance told by Aphrodite and Ares while they are trapped by Hephaestus under his net. It is of all things set in WWII and about WWI. There is romance, of course, and jazz music, and most striking of all is that this smart, well written book is marketed as YA. I'd think it would be a great book for any of you with teen aged students.

For fun I've been revisiting the Rivers of London series but this time via audiobook. The narrator is fantastic, and best of all these books are just a delightful and funny the second time around. I'm currently on the 4th, Broken Homes.

And I'm still slowly making my way through Michelle Obama's memoir, Becoming. It isn't that I don't like it, or that it is boring, it is just an audiobook I can dip in and out of as my mood strikes. 

[mumto2]

@Penguin Congrats to you and your son!  Glad you will be around more. Are you still doing your Latin?

@madteaparty  I will admit to being curious about your Paris course.  When you decide on your booklist please share.

@JennW in SoCal  I really enjoyed Rivers on London on audio.  The narrator was perfect in my option.😉 I will look for Lovely War on audio.

I was going to skip reviewing The Rooster Bar by John Grisham but decided I needed to because I mentioned it on Sunday and am afraid someone will blame me for recommending it!  He threw out so many laws when he wrote this book (or as he puts it, his work of fiction. It was) that it made me want to throw it too!   On my kindle so I didn’t!  The college loan stuff didn’t quite track but that was fine because he needed a book and could be forgiven. But so many other things were totally wrong......immigration law.........class action lawsuits....... It was quite an irritating read because I expect better but I kept going to see if it would end in classic Grisham style.  It did....also it read really quick.  

 

 

 

 

[Penguin]

1 hour ago, mumto2 said:

@Penguin Congrats to you and your son!  Glad you will be around more. Are you still doing your Latin?

 

Thank you for the warm welcome back. Yes, my Latin class ended on May 16. We completed the first Cambridge Book. And I got a perfect paper on the NLE Intro Level exam!

[Kareni]

In March, I read and enjoyed the first two books in The Outback Stars series and then requested the third book through inter-library loan. That book arrived on the scene a few days ago, and I just finished it. This is a series that must be read in order, so I do not recommend beginning with this book. I enjoyed the entire series which was an interesting blend of science fiction, fantasy, and some aborigine myth.

The Stars Blue Yonder (The Outback Stars Book 3) by Sandra McDonald

**

I also read and enjoyed the first book in a series by a favorite author.

 American Witch by Thea Harrison

 "Power can change a person…

For months Molly Sullivan endures the inexplicable: electrical surges, car breakdowns, visions. She even wonders if she might be the cause… and wonders if she might be crazy. Then she discovers her husband has cheated on her. Again. Now Molly realizes she is a newly awakening witch and a woman pushed over the edge.

Revenge can shape a person…

Josiah Mason is a Powerful witch and the leader of a secret coven with a shared goal: to destroy an ancient enemy who has ruined many lives. Josiah lost years to this man, and his sole focus is revenge. He’s prepared for every contingency—except encountering a beautiful new witch who understands nothing of the immense Power building within her or the attraction she wields over him.

Danger can bring them together…

When divorcing her husband, Molly uncovers a dangerous secret he’s willing to kill to protect. She turns to Josiah for help, and they discover a connection between Molly’s husband and Josiah’s enemy.

As they work together, a spark ignites between them that threatens to become an inferno. But Molly is done compromising herself for any man, and Josiah’s mission is his top priority. And the enemy is cunning, cruel, and drawing ever closer.

As the danger escalates, so does the tension between them. Is a lasting relationship possible? Will either of them live long enough to try? "

I look forward to reading on in the series.

**

And I began but did not finish a book with a very curious storyline; it was a tad too weird for me!

Larque on the Wing by Nancy Springer

Regards,

Kareni

[Miss Tick]

I'm here for a pat on the back because I'm actually keeping up! This is the 21st week, and I just finished my 21st book! Yay! It was a reread off Into Thin Air, which I first read 15 years ago. Surprisingly compelling.

I'm mid-way through the Hornblower books, but I got sidetracked reading everything the library has by Gary Schmidt. We read Wednesday Wars as a read aloud and liked it so much that we followed with Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy (sad), and then I read Okay For Now on my own. (That was number 20)

So, yay! In real life people don't get the significance.

[Kareni]

Some bookish posts ~

10 Noir Protagonists in Sci-Fi & Fantasy Books Even Weirder than Detective Pikachu

8 SUBVERSIVE BOOKS ABOUT CLASSICAL MUSIC

https://bookriot.com/2019/05/17/books-about-classical-music/

FIND THE PERFECT VINTAGE REMOVABLE WALLPAPER FOR BOOK AND COMIC LOVERS

https://bookriot.com/2019/05/15/vintage-removable-wallpaper/

Female Spies and Their Secrets

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/06/female-spies-world-war-ii/588058/

10 female fantasy writers to read after Game Of Thrones ends 

(Do read the comments for more suggestions,)

https://aux.avclub.com/10-female-fantasy-writers-to-read-after-game-of-thrones-1834653149

The 50 Best Books for  11- and 12-Year-Olds

https://www.readbrightly.com/50-best-books-11-12-year-olds/

Regards,

Kareni

[Violet Crown]

20 hours ago, madteaparty said:

@Penguin A while back I took DS to see Neil Gaiman and whoever produced American Gods. It was great though I didn’t realize (it was a last minute decision) that they would air the first episode too 😬 I got some “bad mother” looks, even at Bard.

this week I randomly finished some books I bought at the library sale. A Room of one’s own (apparently I have now permission to write as I have the two things required 🙄), Lady Chatterley’s lover (not a fan. The romance bits not great and the rest also not great. I don’t see the point of this book) and, on audio, A Man called Ove. This last one was easy and great for my long drives and okay, I think my dad in law would enjoy and there’s not many books I can say that about. I also finished Malloy on audio but in true Beckett form I couldn’t tell you a thing about it. 

I just started The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati. This mostly because I am LOVING reading his children book The Bears’ famous invasion of Sicily to DD. Why does that book not make the kiddie lists? Why?!

i also started Pale Fire bc I love Lolita but the writing is very different. I’ve tossed it in bedside limbo.

I want to plan a half credit high school class on Paris so I need to start reading on that soon. 

Total agreement on Lady Chatterley. A book more important for its legal and cultural impact than for its literary quality. (It can share that stage with Uncle Tom's Cabin.)

Wee Girl just read The Bears' Famous. I think it's a little too violent to ever get on those lists, but it should get its own special list of Disturbing Children's Lit. Let's see, we can put The Spider's Palace on the list too. Which btw you might like, come to think of it. (Just don't accidentally read Hughes' A High Wind in Jamaica to a child.)

Completely agree on the Nabokov, too. Pale Fire quickly felt like Nabokov showing off his literary cleverness and I got tired. 

[madteaparty]

2 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

Total agreement on Lady Chatterley. A book more important for its legal and cultural impact than for its literary quality. (It can share that stage with Uncle Tom's Cabin.)

Wee Girl just read The Bears' Famous. I think it's a little too violent to ever get on those lists, but it should get its own special list of Disturbing Children's Lit. Let's see, we can put The Spider's Palace on the list too. Which btw you might like, come to think of it. (Just don't accidentally read Hughes' A High Wind in Jamaica to a child.)

Completely agree on the Nabokov, too. Pale Fire quickly felt like Nabokov showing off his literary cleverness and I got tired. 

How did you know about the Bears book? I wonder how many books I’m missing out on; for eg I didn’t know about it for DS, a pity.

[Violet Crown]

7 hours ago, madteaparty said:

How did you know about the Bears book? I wonder how many books I’m missing out on; for eg I didn’t know about it for DS, a pity.

New York Review of Books reprint. I am a NYRB junkie. 9 out of 10 of their reprints--adults or children's--are reliably good reads. I highly recommend checking out their children's collection (and then buying them used through Bookfinder).

 

[tuesdayschild]

On 5/22/2019 at 1:54 AM, Penguin said:

have been wrapped up in wrapping up my homeschool career. The youngest finished up on May 10, and we had our graduation party on Sunday. It has been a bit of a whirlwind. 

Well done (to you both). Hoping that you get a chance to quietly enjoy the sense of achievement ... once your whirlwind dissipates.

 

[Kareni]

I just finished Skin and Bone (Digging Up Bones Book 2) by TA Moore which I enjoyed reading despite the bloodshed. (Adult content)

"Cloister Witte and his K-9 partner, Bourneville, find the lost and bring them home. 

But the job doesn’t always end there. 

Janet Morrow, a young trans woman, lies in a coma after wandering away from her car during a storm. But just because Cloister found the young tourist doesn’t mean she’s home. What brought her to Plenty, California… and who didn’t want her to leave? 

With the help of Special Agent Javi Merlo, who continues to deny his growing feelings for the rough-edged deputy, Cloister unearths a ten-year-old conspiracy of silence that taps into Plenty’s history of corruption. 

Janet Morrow’s old secrets aren’t the only ones coming to light. Javi has tried to put his past behind him, but some people seem determined to pull his skeletons out of the closet. His dark history with a senior agent in Phoenix complicates not just the investigation but his relationship with Cloister. 

And since when has he cared about that?"

Regards,

Kareni

[tuesdayschild]

On 5/20/2019 at 2:23 PM, mumto2 said:

@aggieamy Make sure you tell us which DE Stevenson!

I wonder if it's the book I've finished a few days back, Miss Bun, the Baker's Daughter?     For me that was definitely a ho-hum read:      2-3stars Not my favourite D.E. Stevenson, the plot was a bit lacking and Sue wasn't a character I really engaged with.   Ignore spoiler beneath for anyone who wants to read The Bakers Daughter...

 

The central theme is about a young Scots girl employed by an artist's wife to housekeep for them. Wife runs away, back to the high life in London, artist and Scots girl secretly, unbeknownst to each other, fall in love, wife divorces the artist - to shorten a longish short - he then marries the Scots girl (shrug).

Edited May 24, 2019 by tuesdayschild

[tuesdayschild]

We're rapidly heading into cooler winter, wet (!) weather, months, and for some reason that makes nighttime reading so much more achievable.  JennW is right!  May has been a crazy month and I've not physically read much either - nearly all audiobook  😕 (still counting them towards my challenges though).

Challenge update for the year, so far:   Scotland/Scots Author (read 6 of 10),    Downunder Authors  (read 5 of 10),    Christian Content (read 11 of 15)  (I didn’t think I could achieve 20, I’ve dropped so many books with Christian content in them already, so made it 15 instead),     Chunkster (read 3 of 5),    Non-fiction (read 15 of 20), 

Classics (read 7 of 10)  I think this is the challenge I want to achieve the most this year .... every other year I don't quite make my hoped for target.  Here's what I've read/heard this year:

• Cranford ~ Elizabeth Gaskell  (4.5) 
• The Divine Comedy ~ Dante Alighieri, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (translator), narrated by: Charlton Griffin (4)
• A Grief Observed ~ C.S. Lewis  (5)
• Crime and Punishment ~ Fyodor Dostoevsky, Constance Garnett – translator, narrated by George Guidall (4+)
• Persuasion ~ Jane Austen, narrated by Nadia May  (4)
• Lady Susan ~ Jane Austen (3-)
• Silas Marner ~ George Eliot,  narrated by Andrew Sachs  (4)

 

 

Edited May 24, 2019 by tuesdayschild

[purpleowl]

I missed checking in for a week or two. May is crazy busy. 

Anyway, my girls have been loving the Secret Series (Pseudonymous Bosch), so I decided to read them myself. So I've read all five of those books in the last week-ish. Kid lit bumps my book count up quickly. 😉 

I also just finished Story of the World 4 with the girls, and by golly, I'm counting it, as I read that entire thing out loud. 😄 (I read the other three aloud as well but never thought to count them. I'll make sure I do that next time through - starting volume 1 with DS in a few weeks!)

Meanwhile, I'm still in the middle of the books I mentioned last time I posted - Archibald Alexander's Thoughts on Religious Experience and H. D. F. Kitto's The Greeks.

[Robin M]

@aggieamy   Hope you are feeling better and enjoying your time with your darling Alejandra.  How soon before you all plan a trip to her home town?  Awesome news that you've finished your WIP and sent it off to the editor.  Next big step. 

@tuesdayschild  Hugs and glad to see you again. Hope you don't have to have any more surgery.  Sending good thoughts and prayers for healing.  Here's a picture of the house. We are getting closer.   The stairs are being redone today in anticipation of laying the floor.  Signs went up last week and we are getting a lot of good comments from friends and customers who have driven by the place.

@Violet Crown  Thanks!  Garage clean up is ongoing and spurring me to go through other closets and cabinets to reduce and get rid of what we haven't used in forever.  Rat hunt is progressing. More holes filled up.  Sneaky little buggers.  

@Liz CA  Lots of hugs - moving is stressful and hope things smooth out for you soon.  I don't even want to think about moving our business yet.  *facepalm* 

@Penguin  Congratulations to your graduate!  It takes a little bit of time to adjust to being done.  I still get in the mood to look at curriculum and we're still addicted to Great Courses Plus.  Oh man. Neil Gaiman, love him.  Glad you got to experience him.

@JennW in SoCal  and everyone else.  Waving hello. Good to see you!

@SusanC  Yay and way to go. ~ cheers! 

I finished Patricia Briggs Storm Cursed.  So good and typically read it fast and want to read it again more slowly. Debating.  Also finished my sip book Story trumps Structure by Steven James.  Love the idea of organic writing and letting the character lead the story.  Now to get back to editing Red Thief.  Too much time away from writing! 

Prayers for my brother in law and his family would be appreciated. His dad, who is a wonderful person, passed away and the funeral is tomorrow. Gathering with the family to celebrate his life. 

 

Edited May 24, 2019 by Robin M

[mumto2]

Robin, sending prayers your way!  The building looks great!

Since so many here have teen readers I wanted to post about City of Brass https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32718027-the-city-of-brass?ac=1&from_search=true I started (listened to 3 of 19 hours) and think my kids would have loved it as early teens.  My kids adored a series called Children of the Lamp at around 10 and this struck me as a slightly more advanced version of that series.  Goodreads classes it as YA.  Going to admit I abandoned it as too many audiobooks arrived on my Overdrive.  I have started listening to Dread Nation https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38102252-dread-nation  and am loving it!  Thank you.  @Mothersweets!

I finished spelling this month’s detective.......Peter Zaks.

P.......Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs

E......Death Threads by Elizabeth Lynn Casey

T.......Spellbinder by Thea Harrison

E.......Addiction by GH Ephron

R........The Rooster Bar by John Grisham

 

Z.......Zero Day by David Baldacci

A.......Amnesia by GH Ephron

K........The Wedding Guest by Jonathan Kellerman

S........Strange Dogs by James Corey

 

@tuesdayschild Your challenges are going really well, especially classics.   I checked on my categories last weekend and am about halfway through most of mine.

Edited May 24, 2019 by mumto2

[tuesdayschild]

 

 

 

2 hours ago, mumto2 said:

I finished spelling this month’s detective.......Peter Zaks.

 I checked on my categories last weekend and am about halfway through most of mine.

Well done on both the 'tect challenge, and on your other categories too!!!   (I gave a small groan when I saw that your Zak has an 's' on the end 😄;  I missed that fact - think Peter Zak the composer - and will need to find another book to complete this months detective challenge.)

[tuesdayschild]

On 5/24/2019 at 2:29 PM, Robin M said:

Here's a picture of the house. We are getting closer.   The stairs are being redone today in anticipation of laying the floor.  Signs went up last week and we are getting a lot of good comments from friends and customers who have driven by the place.

Oh, well done!!!  Love the colour: perfect for a home and business  (Keep going, you're nearly there!)

Thank you for the healing thoughts and prayers😘  And (forgot to add)  sending prayers of comfort and support.

Edited May 25, 2019 by tuesdayschild

[mumto2]

5 hours ago, tuesdayschild said:

Well done on both the 'tect challenge, and on your other categories too!!!   (I gave a small groan when I saw that your Zak has an 's' on the end 😄;  I missed that fact - think Peter Zak the composer - and will need to find another book to complete this months detective challenge.)

@tuesdayschild  Hoping you check in here before searching for another book.  Just pulled the book out of my library return bag.........no S.  This is Dr. Peter ZAK.  So you don’t need to find the S.  I had copied it into my book with the S.  Might have been me as a childhood friend had that last name with the S.  I didn’t think about it although I had vaguely registered the no S while reading as I had the S done when transferring to my notebook.......Strange Dogs was really a really good novella and part of my Expanse series.

Btw, I am happily counting my audiobooks for all challenges.

[tuesdayschild]

@mumto2   Checked in in time.  👍 Thank you! 😄  So happy that I can carry on with making longer strides through The Luminaries ......

[Mothersweets]

20 hours ago, tuesdayschild said:

I wonder if it's the book I've finished a few days back, Miss Bun, the Baker's Daughter?     For me that was definitely a ho-hum read:      2-3stars Not my favourite D.E. Stevenson, the plot was a bit lacking and Sue wasn't a character I really engaged with.   Ignore spoiler beneath for anyone who wants to read The Bakers Daughter...

  Reveal hidden contents

The central theme is about a young Scots girl employed by an artist's wife to housekeep for them. Wife runs away, back to the high life in London, artist and Scots girl secretly, unbeknownst to each other, fall in love, wife divorces the artist - to shorten a longish short - he then marries the Scots girl (shrug).

I read this a couple years ago and had the same reaction! Sue was annoying and the plot just about beat the reader over the head with its obviousness. For some reason I gave it 3 and a half stars on Goodreads? I really should change my rating as I scowl every time I think of that book. 

[Mothersweets]

19 hours ago, mumto2 said:

Robin, sending prayers your way!  The building looks great!

Since so many here have teen readers I wanted to post about City of Brass https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32718027-the-city-of-brass?ac=1&from_search=true I started (listened to 3 of 19 hours) and think my kids would have loved it as early teens.  My kids adored a series called Children of the Lamp at around 10 and this struck me as a slightly more advanced version of that series.  Goodreads classes it as YA.  Going to admit I abandoned it as too many audiobooks arrived on my Overdrive.  I have started listening to Dread Nation https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38102252-dread-nation  and am loving it!  Thank you.  @Mothersweets!

 

Yay! Glad to hear you're enjoying it. I just finished listening to it this afternoon as I was cleaning out my garage. I liked it and the narrator did all the different voices so well. Hoping one of my daughters will want to read it, too!

Robin, I'm sorry for your family's loss. 

 

Edited May 24, 2019 by Mothersweets

[tuesdayschild]

 

 

 

2

5 hours ago, Mothersweets said:

I read this a couple years ago and had the same reaction! Sue was annoying and the plot just about beat the reader over the head with its obviousness. For some reason I gave it 3 and a half stars on Goodreads? I really should change my rating as I scowl every time I think of that book. 

This. Absolutely.    😋 You were being generous with your stars.  

[Kareni]

I just finished a mystery that I enjoyed; admittedly, I did have a few quibbles.

The Scent of Murder: A Mystery (A Jazz Ramsey Mystery)

 "The way Jazz Ramsey figures it, life is pretty good. She’s thirty-five years old and owns her own home in one of Cleveland’s most diverse, artsy, and interesting neighborhoods. She has a job she likes as an administrative assistant at an all-girls school, and a volunteer interest she’s passionate about―Jazz is a cadaver dog handler.

Jazz is working with Luther, a cadaver dog in training. Luther is still learning cadaver work, so Jazz is putting him through his paces at an abandoned building that will soon be turned into pricey condos. When Luther signals a find, Jazz is stunned to see the body of a young woman who is dressed in black and wearing the kind of make-up and jewelry that Jazz used to see on the Goth kids back in high school.

She’s even more shocked when she realizes that beneath the tattoos and the piercings and all that pale make up is a familiar face.

The lead detective on the case is an old lover, and the murdered woman is an old student. Jazz finds herself sucked into the case, obsessed with learning the truth. "

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

Week twenty Two is live - please continue conversation in new thread.