Book a Week 2019 - BW 22: Freedom is not Free

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday and welcome to week twenty-two 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. 

Yesterday during a conversation with a customer who is deploying to Afghanistan next week he said, “I'm not sure if I'll return. I never know each time they send me."  I thanked him for his service before we hung up the phone, in awe of his bravery in the face of the unknown. Sometimes you feel helpless when all you can do is offer up prayers for a safe return. Thinking of all the men and women over the centuries who haven’t returned, who have fought and died in service to our country this memorial day. 

 Memorial Day

© 2001 Ali M., 3rd Grader, Academy Elementary School, Madison, Connecticut.

"As the flowers rest on the decorated graves and the sunlight shines on the beautiful sailboats, Uncle Sam whispers in my ear about how we should care for the soldiers and remember the ones that have died. Swimming pools open, BBQs fry. Today is the day to think of what they have done for us. There are blurs of red, white and blue marching down the street and flags are lowered at half-mast. But we should always remember and never forget what set us free, from this very day on."

 

 

Freedom Is Not Free

by

Kelly Strong

 I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
and then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.

 I heard the sound of TAPS one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That TAPS had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.

 

 

What are you reading?

 Link to Week Twenty One

[Robin M]

Good Morning! I finished G.H. Ephron's first book in their Peter Zak Medical Mystery, Amnesia which was good although I figured what was going on halfway through the novel.  Don't know what I'm going to read next as I have finished my sip books and not not sure what I'm in the mood for.  Hmm?  Looking at the shelves and playing eeny meeny miny moe.

[Matryoshka]

I knew I'd missed a week, but I went back to check, and apparently I missed two!  Oops.  My excuse is that my dd asked me at the last minute to fly off to Germany for a week to help her settle in there (she's got a 6-month coop job there).  So, since I last updated, I've finished:

46. A Memory of Empire by Arkady Martine - for my SciFi book club, which will met  while I was away. 😕 Interesting world-building and story line - I really liked this one.  5 stars.

47. Atemschaukel/ The Hunger Angel by Herta Müller - So glad to be done.  If you have to read a book about Stalinist labor camps, pick The Endless Steppe.  2.5 stars.

48. The 7 1/2 Lives of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton (audio) - A very inventive murder mystery. Tons of twists and turns.  The blurb 'Gosford Park meets Groundhog Day by way of Agatha Christie and Black Mirror' is fairly apt.  3.5 stars.

49. The Lowells of Massachusetts: An American Family by Nina Sankovitch (ebook) -  I went into it rather thinking this would be mostly about the founding of Lowell, Massachusetts - that actually barely figures into the book at all!  This follows the Lowell family from its arrival to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1600s to the 1930s - and darned if someone in this family wasn't involved up to their eyeballs in just about all the major points of American history during this period - politics, arts, industry, education, religion even.  I kept thinking this would be a great book to read for US History where you could go off on tangents and explore things more deeply - sadly, no more homeschooling kids to plan that for!  Anyway, interesting and well told - and I got all kinds of new angles on many historical events.  4 stars.

50. Frostnacht/Arctic Chill by Arnaldur Indriðason - #7 in the Erlendur series. 3.5 stars.  Apparently there were a lot of complaints on GR about the English translation of this one, which included a lot of British slang and expressions (and apparently the English translators switched with this book).  British slang would bug me in a book written in and about Iceland.  Fortunately no British slang in the German translation...

51. Kälteschlaf/Hypothermia - #8 in the Erlendur series. 3.5 stars.  These are quick reads for me - I read this one in a day, mostly on the plane back.  I think I'm continuing as much to find out what's going on in the continuing lives of the main characters as the various crime plots.  I'll probably finish the three more books in the main series; I'm not sure if I'll go on and read the prequels...

52. The Warning Voice (Story of the Stone vol. 3) by Cao Xueqin - finally finished this up!  The story of course doesn't end at the end of the third volume; there are two more volumes.  I'm not sure when or if I'll continue... the next two volumes apparently have a very different tone, which is foreshadowed at the end of this volume.  I feel like I probably will finish them (I already bought vol. 4...), but take a bit of a break.  Most of this was a 5-star read for me, but I'm giving it 4.5 stars overall, maybe because the end was getting sad - the kids are growing up and moving out and things aren't often going well for them in their new adult lives, and there's tons of foreshadowing about the overall family's heading toward ruin from riches and abundance.

Hey, I hit 52 books! 😁

Currently reading:

- Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips (ebook) - I think Jenn recommended this?  I then recommended it to my library's Overdrive, and it they acquired in much more quickly than I'd expected!  So I'm reading it!

- Milkman by Anna Burns (audiobook) - I'm really enjoying this audio version.

And picking Tirante el Blanco back up, which I'd just started before heading off to Germany.  I also have Black Swan Green by David Mitchell out of the library to start.

[SKL]

I'm still roughly 140 pages from finishing the Mahabharata.

I am glad to be past the battle scenes, but I must say I'm disappointed in the dharma parts.  Apparently the translator is briefly skimming over what I would consider the meat of this part.  Like (paraphrasing), "Bhisma then lists the 8 things that block good from happening, and the 5 things that are needed for good to happen."  I actually want to know those details.  But maybe they are laid out more fully elsewhere and the translator just didn't want to repeat them numerous times.

With my kids, we just today finished Wilder's These Happy Golden Years.  I intend to start The First Four Years tomorrow, and hopefully finish that pretty quickly as I'll be driving my kid a lot over the next several days.  After that, I intend to start To Kill a Mockingbird, as the kids are signed up for a Brave Writer book club class on that book (our first Brave Writer class).

I am eagerly awaiting the announcement of the upcoming book club books for Brave Writer, so I can decide if I want to sign up for another course or not.

No recent progress on read-alouds.  We have just been too busy.

[OK I do not know why the strikeout - and it is not letting me undo that.]

Edited May 26, 2019 by SKL

[mumto2]

8 hours ago, Robin M said:

Good Morning! I finished G.H. Ephron's first book in their Peter Zak Medical Mystery, Amnesia which was good although I figured what was going on halfway through the novel.  Don't know what I'm going to read next as I have finished my sip books and not not sure what I'm in the mood for.  Hmm?  Looking at the shelves and playing eeny meeny miny moe.

I ended up setting the Peter Zak series aside also.  I enjoyed them(first two) but didn’t want to commit to a multi book story arc which appeared to be the rest of the series.  Btw, Dr, Peter Zak took care of my Medical/Legal square for Bingo!

7 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

I knew I'd missed a week, but I went back to check, and apparently I missed two!  Oops.  My excuse is that my dd asked me at the last minute to fly off to Germany for a week to help her settle in there (she's got a 6-month coop job there).  So, since I last updated, I've finished:

46. A Memory of Empire by Arkady Martine - for my SciFi book club, which will met  while I was away. 😕 Interesting world-building and story line - I really liked this one.  5 stars.

47. Atemschaukel/ The Hunger Angel by Herta Müller - So glad to be done.  If you have to read a book about Stalinist labor camps, pick The Endless Steppe.  2.5 stars.

48. The 7 1/2 Lives of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton (audio) - A very inventive murder mystery. Tons of twists and turns.  The blurb 'Gosford Park meets Groundhog Day by way of Agatha Christie and Black Mirror' is fairly apt.  3.5 stars.

49. The Lowells of Massachusetts: An American Family by Nina Sankovitch (ebook) -  I went into it rather thinking this would be mostly about the founding of Lowell, Massachusetts - that actually barely figures into the book at all!  This follows the Lowell family from its arrival to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1600s to the 1930s - and darned if someone in this family wasn't involved up to their eyeballs in just about all the major points of American history during this period - politics, arts, industry, education, religion even.  I kept thinking this would be a great book to read for US History where you could go off on tangents and explore things more deeply - sadly, no more homeschooling kids to plan that for!  Anyway, interesting and well told - and I got all kinds of new angles on many historical events.  4 stars.

50. Frostnacht/Arctic Chill by Arnaldur Indriðason - #7 in the Erlendur series. 3.5 stars.  Apparently there were a lot of complaints on GR about the English translation of this one, which included a lot of British slang and expressions (and apparently the English translators switched with this book).  British slang would bug me in a book written in and about Iceland.  Fortunately no British slang in the German translation...

51. Kälteschlaf/Hypothermia - #8 in the Erlendur series. 3.5 stars.  These are quick reads for me - I read this one in a day, mostly on the plane back.  I think I'm continuing as much to find out what's going on in the continuing lives of the main characters as the various crime plots.  I'll probably finish the three more books in the main series; I'm not sure if I'll go on and read the prequels...

52. The Warning Voice (Story of the Stone vol. 3) by Cao Xueqin - finally finished this up!  The story of course doesn't end at the end of the third volume; there are two more volumes.  I'm not sure when or if I'll continue... the next two volumes apparently have a very different tone, which is foreshadowed at the end of this volume.  I feel like I probably will finish them (I already bought vol. 4...), but take a bit of a break.  Most of this was a 5-star read for me, but I'm giving it 4.5 stars overall, maybe because the end was getting sad - the kids are growing up and moving out and things aren't often going well for them in their new adult lives, and there's tons of foreshadowing about the overall family's heading toward ruin from riches and abundance.

Hey, I hit 52 books! 😁

Currently reading:

- Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips (ebook) - I think Jenn recommended this?  I then recommended it to my library's Overdrive, and it they acquired in much more quickly than I'd expected!  So I'm reading it!

- Milkman by Anna Burns (audiobook) - I'm really enjoying this audio version.

And picking Tirante el Blanco back up, which I'd just started before heading off to Germany.  I also have Black Swan Green by David Mitchell out of the library to start.

I was able to locate A Memory Called Empire at my library.  I have a lot of Sci Fi in the stack right now so am trying something new,  I put a hold on it then immediately suspended it.  I have never done that with physical books before........pretty sure it worked.   I will read it in the fall!

So what am I reading..........

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland on audio.  I only have a couple of hours left so I might manage to listen to it tomorrow.  I love the narrator!  I was telling Dd about it and she wants it for her next plane book.  @aggieamy it’s a YA, not sure if your Dd is ready for alternative Civil War history with zombies in Kansas..........

Look Alive Twenty Five by Janet Evanovich seems to be the book I am making the best progress on.  It’s light and familiar as I have read the other 24.  😂. 

Persepolis Rising by James SACorey #7 the Expanse.............my favorite series has jumped ahead 30 years and I am having problems getting into this one.  My favorite characters are old and listening to their aches and pains is not entertaining.  I will read it and am only 5% through so it will probably become great but seriously sad about this development.  

Silence by Jan Costin Wagner is a Nordic Noir set in Finland.  This is one of my 10 challenge areas that is a bit behind schedule. So far I like it........just discovered the author is German not Finnish.  Boo!  Still plan to count it.........ETA. I am also behind in my Brexit Express (10 EU not UK countries) and don’t have Finland (or Germany 😉) in that category yet.  I suspect it will end up there.

Edited May 27, 2019 by mumto2

[Teaching3bears]

I read The Healing: One Woman's Journey from Poverty to Inner Riches  by Saeeda Hafiz.

Easy quick read which was what I could manage right now.  The book is the author's honest and emotional telling of her quest to have a healthy life.

 

[Mothersweets]

Lots of reading going on but they are all chunksters so I'm not really finishing anything. I did finish Dread Nation last week - I listened to the version read by Bahni Turpin - is that the one you're listening to, mum?

I'm also reading The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett and am maybe a third of the way through it.

Listening to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell and loving it. It is due back to the library tomorrow and I think I will use my next audible credit to purchase it. 

SKL, These Happy Golden Years is my dd's favorite of the Little House books! I always think of Laura and Almanzo when I see wild roses. 🌹So nice to hear your family is enjoying the series, too.  Not sure if you're familiar with it but The First Four Years is a bit of a downer - a huge difference in tone and feel.

Edited May 27, 2019 by Mothersweets

[Violet Crown]

I put aside Volpone temporarily, and this week read instead Cornell Woolrich's thriller I Married a Dead Man, which was made into a movie (as was his novel Rear Window, filmed by someone or other). Fun crime fiction for those of us who like that genre. For just one more entry in the "Crime and Punishment" category -- this time, malfeasance on the high seas -- I read The Mutiny On Board H.M.S. Bounty, by William Bligh himself. Not to be confused with the 1932 fictionalization, nor the great Charles Laughton film, this is Bligh's own 1791 account of the events. Not a spoiler, I hope, to tell you that Bligh comes off rather better in this account than in the contemporaneous account by Fletcher Christian's lawyer brother, on which the novel and movie were based.

Madteaparty, did you see that The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily was just made into a film? It seems like everything I'm reading these days has a movie version.

Currently reading Miguel de Cervantes' Exemplary Stories. Turns out he wrote a lot more than Don Quixote. They take some getting used to; the short story structure of 1613 was very different from that of today.

[Junie]

I finished The Song of Roland.  I really enjoyed this although it was sometimes difficult to read.  Especially with a house full of interruptions.  I have discovered that I am partial to  French literature.  It's something to consider if I ever go to grad school.

I'm also still slogging through Story of the World Volume 4 and Dickens' Oliver Twist.

[Violet Crown]

Congratulations Matryoshka on 52!

Junie, tell more about your taste for French literature. Any recommendations for the young beginner? I ask because Middle Girl has started reading French lit in earnest; it's too bad they don't offer the AP anymore. I'm casting around for readable texts besides the usual high school warhorses (Voltaire, Racine, Flaubert, Sartre, Duras, etc.), but my French is too weak to think of much. She's enjoying Bernanos right now.

Edited May 27, 2019 by Violet Crown

[mumto2]

16 minutes ago, Mothersweets said:

Lots of reading going on but they are all chunksters so I'm not really finishing anything. I did finish Dread Nation last week - I listened to the version read by Bahni Turpin - is that the one you're listening to, mum?

I'm also reading The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett and am maybe a third of the way through it.

Listening to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell and loving it. It is due back to the library tomorrow and I think I will use my next audible credit to purchase it. 

SKL, These Happy Golden Years is my dd's favorite of the Little House books! I always think of Laura and Almanzo when I see wild roses. 🌹So nice to hear your family is enjoying the series, too.  Not sure if you're familiar with it but The First Four Years is a bit of a downer - a huge difference in tone and feel.

Yes, my version of Dread Nation is narrated by Bahni Turpin.  She is so good.......so many different really distinctive voices.  I love both Pillars and Jonathan Strange so I have to say at least your chunky’s are really good books!

[mumto2]

4 minutes ago, Violet Crown said:

Congratulations Matryoshka on 52!

Junie, tell more about your taste for French literature. Any recommendations for the young beginner? I ask because Middle Girl has started reading French lit in earnest; it's too bad they don't offer the AP anymore. I'm casting around for readable texts besides the usual high school warhorses (Voltaire, Racine, Flaubert, Sartre, Duras, etc.), but my French is too weak to think of much. She's enjoying Bernanos right now.

Just and FYI in case you are interested for your Dd.  My Dd used to be really involved in organizing a French translation internet group using open source texts, so not all classics......I know they did Tarzan. 😂 but they also did some Duras I believe.  Determined totally by what they could download for free.  The group has reorganized many times since it’s Duolingo roots.   There were members from all over the world the last time I knew.....many native French speakers learning English too.  She hopes to have time in the fall to become involved again.  If you want details for Middle Girl let me know....this is a mixed group of all ages which worried me greatly at one point but no problems ever.  

[Violet Crown]

Sandy, I'll check with MG and see if she'd be interested. Thanks!

[Junie]

42 minutes ago, Violet Crown said:

Congratulations Matryoshka on 52!

Junie, tell more about your taste for French literature. Any recommendations for the young beginner? I ask because Middle Girl has started reading French lit in earnest; it's too bad they don't offer the AP anymore. I'm casting around for readable texts besides the usual high school warhorses (Voltaire, Racine, Flaubert, Sartre, Duras, etc.), but my French is too weak to think of much. She's enjoying Bernanos right now.

I'm really just beginning...  You probably could be more help to me than I could be to you. 😉

First, I'm reading English translations.  Improving my French skills is actually one of my goals that I'm working on, but I would be on a first grade reading level in French.  (I might be on a 4th or 5th grade level in Spanish.  I'm trying to improve that, too.)

What I've read in the past 2 years: The Three Musketeers, The Man in the Iron Mask, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and The Song of Roland.  Les Mis (which I've never read) and some Guy deMaupassant are on my TBR stack.  Oh, and I've read some Jules Verne, though not recently.

 

[Kareni]

23 hours ago, Robin M said:

Don't know what I'm going to read next as I have finished my sip books and not not sure what I'm in the mood for.  Hmm?  Looking at the shelves and playing eeny meeny miny moe.

If you're looking for a recommendation, I'll suggest SK Dunstall's Linesman (which I think you own) or Katherine Addison's The Goblin Emperor.

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Some bookish posts ~

Five Books with POV Characters Who Don’t See Eye-to-Eye by Christine Lynn Herman

https://www.tor.com/2019/05/23/five-books-with-pov-characters-who-dont-see-eye-to-eye/

13 Optimistic Fantasies to Chase Away the Grimdark Blues

https://www.tor.com/2019/05/24/13-optimistic-fantasies-to-chase-away-the-grimdark-blues-2/

For Sale: A Poisoner’s Lab Secreted in a Beautiful Book

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/poison-book;

For those who like non-fiction: Books that made you understand the world better

https://ask.metafilter.com/332065/Books-that-made-you-understand-the-world-better

Regards,

Kareni

[Loesje22000]

@Violet Crown @Junie

some french stuff dd read:

https://www.amazon.fr/Comtesse-Ségur-01-malheurs-Sophie/dp/2012011411/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?__mk_fr_FR=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&keywords=malade+sophie+segur&qid=1558985332&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmr2

https://www.amazon.fr/Mémoires-dun-âne-Comtesse-Ségur/dp/2070584224/ref=sr_1_1?__mk_fr_FR=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&keywords=Memoire+ane&qid=1558985445&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Cyrano de Bergerac

 

[JennW in SoCal]

I finished Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips, and really liked it. It is set in Kamchatka, and while it is set up as a mystery, it is really a series of 12 interconnected short stories about different yet connected women. Beautiful writing, evocative setting, and relatable characters. This is the debut novel by one of my niece's best friends since childhood.

Still working on, and thoroughly enjoying, An Odyssey: A Father, A Son and An Epic, part memoir, part analysis of the Odyssey. If you haven't heard of it, the book is about the semester that the author's octogenarian dad sat in on the freshman seminar he taught on the Odyssey. They later took a cruise on the Eastern Mediterranean to see all the places from the epic.

And I have my usual fun audiobooks going, too, the 4th Rivers of London, and a couple of Discworld titles, too. 

@Kareni It's been a while since I've stopped by the Tor.com site, so I've missed a few of those "5 books that" lists. But what I loved, and appreciate you linking, is the list of optimistic fantasies to chase away the grimdark! There are lots of suggestions in the comments section, too. I need to jot down a few of those titles. 

 

[mumto2]

8 hours ago, JennW in SoCal said:

I finished Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips, and really liked it. It is set in Kamchatka, and while it is set up as a mystery, it is really a series of 12 interconnected short stories about different yet connected women. Beautiful writing, evocative setting, and relatable characters. This is the debut novel by one of my niece's best friends since childhood.

Still working on, and thoroughly enjoying, An Odyssey: A Father, A Son and An Epic, part memoir, part analysis of the Odyssey. If you haven't heard of it, the book is about the semester that the author's octogenarian dad sat in on the freshman seminar he taught on the Odyssey. They later took a cruise on the Eastern Mediterranean to see all the places from the epic.

And I have my usual fun audiobooks going, too, the 4th Rivers of London, and a couple of Discworld titles, too. 

@Kareni It's been a while since I've stopped by the Tor.com site, so I've missed a few of those "5 books that" lists. But what I loved, and appreciate you linking, is the list of optimistic fantasies to chase away the grimdark! There are lots of suggestions in the comments section, too. I need to jot down a few of those titles. 

 

I was just looking through the new audiobooks on my library website and spotted Disappearing Earth.  It does sound good.  I added myself to the list.

@Mothersweets I finished Dread Nation yesterday and l loved the ending.  Obviously there will be another book.......just looked, GR says winter 2020, so we won’t have to wait long!

I started listening to All Cry Chaos https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11276223-all-cry-chaos?ac=1&from_search=true and am intrigued.  It is a murder mystery set in Amsterdam (my Brexit category) with strong Mathematical ties.  

[Robin M]

Yesterday hubby and I went through multiple boxes of books and ended up with 15 (+/-) bags of books to donate. I filled up the back of my car and there are more in the chevy.  Nope, didn't do it the Marie Kondo way, otherwise it would have taken forever. 😀 Kept my favorite authors, hubby's technical books and said good bye to the rest.   The hardest part for hubby was going through a huge tote bin of mom in law's books. Lots of English history as she was researching for a historical fiction regency book she was writing before she passed.  We kept a few including the 5 volume set of the Diary of Samuel Pepys. I seem to recall one of you mentioning his books before,probably why I kept it.  

[Robin M]

On 5/27/2019 at 10:59 AM, Kareni said:

If you're looking for a recommendation, I'll suggest SK Dunstall's Linesman (which I think you own) or Katherine Addison's The Goblin Emperor.

Regards,

Kareni

Yes, I do have the Linesman. Totally forgot about it and the Goblin Emperor looks good too.   Thank you!   I dove back into the Black Dagger Brotherhood series and read Blood Fury (legacy series) which had way too much sex and not enough mayhem.  😀  and now reading The Chosen, #15 in the series which is xcor and layla's story.

[SKL]

Hey guys, I have a question.  Where do you put books that you want to read, but you don't want your kids to know you are reading?

(Now don't get any funny ideas - it's just a book about parenting adopted teens - "parenting in the eye of the storm."  But they get weird when they see I'm reading a book about their own psychology iykwim.)

  Normally I read in a location they have access to, and they do notice what books I have in there, even though I store them in a cupboard.

[Kareni]

1 hour ago, SKL said:

Hey guys, I have a question.  Where do you put books that you want to read, but you don't want your kids to know you are reading?

That's difficult. Is the book a hardback? Perhaps you can borrow the dust jacket from a different book that would not interest them.

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

I just finished a fantasy anthology that could be described as a tome due to its seven hundred plus pages. 

Unfettered III

I tried every story; many I finished, others I did not. I particularly enjoyed the stories of Seanan McGuire, Naomi Novik, Callie Bates, Lev Grossman, Marc Turner, Anna Stephens, Megan Lindholm, Cat Rambo, and Scott Sigler. Some of these authors were already known to me, others were not. 

 "Lacking health insurance when he was diagnosed with cancer, Shawn Speakman asked friends in the science fiction and fantasy writing community to donate short stories he could use to counter mounting medical debt. The result was Unfettered, an anthology offering tales from some of the best authors working today.

Now, in Unfettered III, Speakman continues to pay forward the aid he received, raising money to combat medical debt for SF&F artists and authors. He has gathered together a great mix of new and favorite writers―free to write what they like―the result a powerful new anthology perfect for all readers.

Be haunted by the chilling ghost story of Megan Lindholm. Revisit the Magicians world with Lev Grossman. Return to Osten Ard in an epic first look at Tad Williams’s Empire of Grass. Share a heartfelt story of loss and gain with Callie Bates. Cross the sands of the desert planet Dune with Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Travel the Ways in a new Wheel of Time novella with Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson. Enter the amazing potter city of Seven with Naomi Novik. And many more stories, all wondrous alongside beautiful art by Todd Lockwood! "

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

21 hours ago, JennW in SoCal said:

@Kareni It's been a while since I've stopped by the Tor.com site, so I've missed a few of those "5 books that" lists. But what I loved, and appreciate you linking, is the list of optimistic fantasies to chase away the grimdark! There are lots of suggestions in the comments section, too. I need to jot down a few of those titles. 

You are quite welcome, Jenn.

A few more posts on the same theme:

Hopepunk Thoughts Plus A Reading List

Hopepunk, the latest storytelling trend, is all about weaponized optimism (this ends with a list of books, music, movies, and other media)

TOP 5 WEDNESDAY – FAVOURITE HOPEPUNK BOOKS OF 2018

Regards,

Kareni

[melmichigan]

Well I took a weeks break for some gardening, which fell by the wayside last year and was in dire need of some attention.  I got back to reading the end of this last week.  I listened to the new Mercy Thompson book, Storm Cursed, which was very good.  (I ❤️Mercy.)  I am continuing to make progress in The Expanse Series by James S.A. Corey, and finished Caliban's War (595 pages), Abaddon's Gate (539 pages), and Cibola Burn (581 pages) in a marathon read over this last weekend while my husband worked and I couldn't sleep.  It felt really good and I was able to follow along well without rereading to much, for which I am thankful.  We spent Monday at the parade and memorial ceremonies, which are very important for me to share with our children.  I am now taking a short reading break (I overdid it with my eyes) and finally finished listening to the audible by Wild Country by Anne Bishop last night.  The next available books in The Expanse series are in transit from area libraries, so I will start those again soon, but will try to pace myself better. @mumto2 I'm reassured that you're still reading the series!

Edited May 29, 2019 by melmichigan

[Violet Crown]

17 hours ago, SKL said:

Hey guys, I have a question.  Where do you put books that you want to read, but you don't want your kids to know you are reading?

(Now don't get any funny ideas - it's just a book about parenting adopted teens - "parenting in the eye of the storm."  But they get weird when they see I'm reading a book about their own psychology iykwim.)

  Normally I read in a location they have access to, and they do notice what books I have in there, even though I store them in a cupboard.

I have no solution. I found Wee Girl reading "Freeing Your Child From Anxiety" in her bed, when I thought it had been squirrelled away from prying wee hands. She's been explaining OCD best practices to me since.

And yesterday Middle Girl asked casually who Jean Genet was. I said, Someone you can read when you're 21 and not living here. So much for double-shelved, in the back, bottom corner.

[mumto2]

39 minutes ago, Violet Crown said:

I have no solution. I found Wee Girl reading "Freeing Your Child From Anxiety" in her bed, when I thought it had been squirrelled away from prying wee hands. She's been explaining OCD best practices to me since.

And yesterday Middle Girl asked casually who Jean Genet was. I said, Someone you can read when you're 21 and not living here. So much for double-shelved, in the back, bottom corner.

That is my life!

18 hours ago, SKL said:

Hey guys, I have a question.  Where do you put books that you want to read, but you don't want your kids to know you are reading?

(Now don't get any funny ideas - it's just a book about parenting adopted teens - "parenting in the eye of the storm."  But they get weird when they see I'm reading a book about their own psychology iykwim.)

  Normally I read in a location they have access to, and they do notice what books I have in there, even though I store them in a cupboard.

I have to agree there is no great solution because my kids have always found what I was trying to keep private, generally by accident.  They aren’t even hunting.  If I have a humiliatingly trashy book cover they spot it!   Mom’s stuff is open season......oddly they stay away from hubby’s stuff instinctually, probably because much of his work is confidential.  I don’t touch his devices etc either.  Going off what I think I remember from other posts now......... Wondering if you could store the book in a briefcase or something else that is connected with your professional life.  Perhaps your girls might have a built in division between mom’s stuff in main house and working mom client papers.  

 I was going to suggest a kindle version that you just keep on a boring kindle reader but remember some of those covers go to all your devices when you check out even when you specify one.  My iPad shows everything even though it just has that kindle app.  You can delete the covers.

[SKL]

I don't have Kindle.  And it's a paperback, so no fly cover.  (I guess I could rip off the front cover, but I hate to do that to a brand-new book.)

For now, I stuck the book backwards in the middle of a pile of Spanish-language kids' books.  My kids unfortunately want nothing to do with that stack of books.  But it is not in a location where I can stash the book every time I transition from reading it.

[Kareni]

22 hours ago, SKL said:

Hey guys, I have a question.  Where do you put books that you want to read, but you don't want your kids to know you are reading?

Here's an idea for a paperback ~

https://thegraphicsfairy.com/printable-book-covers/

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Another idea ~

Did you ever make a book cover out of paper for a school book?  I'm sure there are countless tutorials on line.

Wrap the book of interest plus a similarly sized book that you KNOW your children would not be interested in. Make a point of sharing tidbits of the uninteresting book with your children so that they associate the look of the book with something that is repellent to them. Then put that book in your sock drawer and happily read its twin in public.

Regards,

Kareni

[tuesdayschild]

An example of a book I wanted, sensitive content, out and handy to read.  I just covered it in brown packaging paper.   (One associate saves sensitive content reads as "restroom"  only books).  Hope you find what will work for you @SKL.  Love!! your ideas @Kareni

ETA: Pulled it out of the shelf for a better view, it sits flush in amongst the other books. (and no longer in this spot 😉 )

Edited May 30, 2019 by tuesdayschild

[tuesdayschild]

My family gifted me with a Kindle Paperwhite, and, fifty audiobook credits (to collect over 4 years) for my 50^th  birthday.  I am feeling seriously blessed.  The only downside for an Amazon Kindle in NZ is that it cannot be used for our library downloads, so I’ll stick with my phone for those. 

Completed: 

• 16/05 – 28/05  Brother Francis: The Barefoot Saint of Assisi ~ Augustine Institute , Dr. Tim Gray, Paul McCusker   (Audible Drama)  Christian Content  (3+)        I found the high drama music became wearying after a while, and the story was a bit choppy in places.  (My IRL Catholic faith friends would really appreciate this retelling of Brother Francis’ lifestory, if the music didn’t bug them too 😉 )
• 70:   Six Weeks of Blenheim Summer: One Pilot’s Extraordinary Account of the Battle of France ~ Alastair Dyson Panton   (4+)  Scotland/England/France/Belgium .   This was actually a very good read!  I’ll definitely be recommending it to some WWII/aeroplane buffs I know.     There is some language content - Grandpa generation swearing – especially in the one sentence from the Aussie pilot where every second word was bleeding :P:  no F-bombs.

May’s spelling challenge:

• P=  The Bone is Pointed: Inspector Bonaparte Bk 6 ~ Arthur Upfield (library CD) (3-)
• E=  Silas Marner ~ George Eliot
• T=  Code Name:  Lise The True Story of the Spy Who Became WWII's Most Highly Decorated Woman ~ Larry Loftis
• E=  The Prisoner in the Castle: Maggie Hope Bk8 ~ Susan Elia MacNeal  (1)  
• R=  Sick Heart River: Sir Edward Leithin Bk5 ~ John Buchan Peter 
• Z=  Towards Zero: Superintendent Battle Bk5 ~ Agatha Christie
• A=  Lady Susan ~ Jane Austen (3-) 
• K=   Louisiana's Way Home ~ Kate DiCamillo  (3+)    Juvenile fiction

Still reading/listening to:

• The Wilhelm Conspiracy:  Sherlock Holmes and Lucy James Bk2 ~ Charles Veley and Anna Elliott narrated by  Edward Petherbridge    (recommended to me by my Dd)
• Started   20/04 The Luminaries ~  Eleanor Catton  (NZ author)  Chunkster (sip read)

[mumto2]

2 hours ago, tuesdayschild said:

My family gifted me with a Kindle Paperwhite, and, fifty audiobook credits (to collect over 4 years) for my 50^th  birthday.  I am feeling seriously blessed.  The only downside for an Amazon Kindle in NZ is that it cannot be used for our library downloads, so I’ll stick with my phone for those. 

Completed: 

• 16/05 – 28/05  Brother Francis: The Barefoot Saint of Assisi ~ Augustine Institute , Dr. Tim Gray, Paul McCusker   (Audible Drama)  Christian Content  (3+)        I found the high drama music became wearying after a while, and the story was a bit choppy in places.  (My IRL Catholic faith friends would really appreciate this retelling of Brother Francis’ lifestory, if the music didn’t bug them too 😉 )
• 70:   Six Weeks of Blenheim Summer: One Pilot’s Extraordinary Account of the Battle of France ~ Alastair Dyson Panton   (4+)  Scotland/England/France/Belgium .   This was actually a very good read!  I’ll definitely be recommending it to some WWII/aeroplane buffs I know.     There is some language content - Grandpa generation swearing – especially in the one sentence from the Aussie pilot where every second word was bleeding :P:  no F-bombs.

May’s spelling challenge:

• P=  The Bone is Pointed: Inspector Bonaparte Bk 6 ~ Arthur Upfield (library CD) (3-)
• E=  Silas Marner ~ George Eliot
• T=  Code Name:  Lise The True Story of the Spy Who Became WWII's Most Highly Decorated Woman ~ Larry Loftis
• E=  The Prisoner in the Castle: Maggie Hope Bk8 ~ Susan Elia MacNeal  (1)  
• R=  Sick Heart River: Sir Edward Leithin Bk5 ~ John Buchan Peter 
• Z=  Towards Zero: Superintendent Battle Bk5 ~ Agatha Christie
• A=  Lady Susan ~ Jane Austen (3-) 
• K=   Louisiana's Way Home ~ Kate DiCamillo  (3+)    Juvenile fiction

Still reading/listening to:

• The Wilhelm Conspiracy:  Sherlock Holmes and Lucy James Bk2 ~ Charles Veley and Anna Elliott narrated by  Edward Petherbridge    (recommended to me by my Dd)
• Started   20/04 The Luminaries ~  Eleanor Catton  (NZ author)  Chunkster (sip read)

Happy 50th Birthday!🎉🎉🎉

Great birthday present!  Yeah, to finishing Peter Zak........I didn’t think of Christie for my Z.   As usual I loved looking at your books.

Earlier today I finished a really good mystery on audio.  All Cry Chaos  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11348411-all-cry-chaos reminded me of the combination of all the Gamache series stuffed in one book.  I really loved the main character in a ❤️Gamache way.  The storyline was good.......successful Interpol agent with a lovely family (the owns a charming French vineyard), with a habit of relentlessly pursuing cases he probably should close unsolved when gets involved in a fascinating case of a mathematical genius’ murder in The Hague.  I loved it but it is definitely dark in places and violent.  Unfortunately it is sort of a stand alone with a prequel available which I have not read.  It will work for my Brexit Express 10 which is why I read it.....the blurb said Amsterdam.  

 

[Penguin]

Happy Birthday, @tuesdayschild !!!!!!!!

I finished Alberta and Freedom  (1931) this week. This is the second part of a trilogy by Norwegian author Cora Sandel. It is surprising to me that Cora Sandel is not better known outside of Norway. She is a really big name in Norwegian literature. The trilogy is semi-autobiographical. The first book, Alberta and Jacob, takes place in rural Norway. The second book takes place in Paris in the 1920s. I did not like this book as much as the first book. There was a scene at the end that I though depicted Africans in a racist manner. That nearly spoiled the book for me. And the Starving Artist social scene became tiresome. But I certainly liked it enough to finish the trilogy. The writing is excellent, a bit Virginia Woolf-ish, I think.

I have just started Absalom, Absalom. I did a reread of The Sound and The Fury earlier this year, and I am very much looking forward to another Faulkner.

[tuesdayschild]

@mumto2  'z' is a challenging letter to read, and that was a title I already had.  Have you read The Veiled Lady ~ Agatha Christie?   I listened to it and the narrator ruined it for me.  

(Thanks mumto2 and @Penguin  for the birthday wishes 😘) 

@Mothersweets  Giving a happy sigh that Jonathan Strange is a winning listen for you too.

Really enjoying seeing what you're all reading/finished. 

**

I'm missing seeing @Negin book cover photos here so will add a random one of my own: I found this vintage read off a rabbit trail either @Kareni or @Violet Crown generated 😉  and will be counting it towards the spelling challenge somehow.

The Little Grey Men by 'BB'

The last four gnomes in Britain live by a Warwickshire brook. But when one of them decides to go and explore and doesn't return, it's up to the remaining three to build a boat and set out to find him. This is the story of the gnomes' epic journey in search of Cloudberry and is set against the background of the English countryside, beginning in spring, continuing through summer, and concluding in autumn, when the first frosts are starting to arrive. 

First published in 1942, this book is still fondly remembered and well-loved by readers everywhere.

This edition includes the original black and white illustrations by the author

 

 

 

[mumto2]

@tuesdayschild Your post is filled with Rabbit Trails!  Really fun ones!

The Little Grey Men.........how did I not know about this book?  It’s Gnomes which are huge family favorite and a bit of a running theme in our family.   We give silly gnome presents and I am in the process of finishing a gnome themed table quilt to entertain us all.  

For inquiring minds The Little Grey Men is being reissued this fall in the US.  There is a sequel.  The book received a Carnegie award and is on lists for best British Children’s Literature.  The author received an MBE https://www.bbsociety.co.uk/bb-biography.php. Basically I am planning to wait for Tuesday to read this then order my own copy.

BTW,  Grey works for next month's detectives first name, Guido.😉

Now for the Vanishing Lady.  That short story is a bit elusive isn’t it?  Included in some early books of Poirot shorts but not in others but very familiar with David Suchet’s Poirot episode.  I don’t think I have ever read it but I found it in Hercule Poirot: The Short Stories https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16248281-hercule-poirot and will read it.  😂. On hold. It wasn’t In the book of early shorts I read for my Agatha Christie challenge and I feel rather cheated.  I may have read it years ago......

The Gnomes in progress and I do know it’s a bit tacky😎 and odd......

 

Edited May 31, 2019 by mumto2

[JennW in SoCal]

Wasn't there a song about a Gnome-mobile in a 60s Disney movie? Sorry -- I'm free associating again. (But thansk to google, I see it was an actual movie, and yes I'm old enough that I likely saw it in the theater!!) Search for the song on YouTube at your own risk. It has a vicious ear-worm kind of hook to it.

Thanks to @Kareni, I've been binge reading one of the titles listed in the articles she linked about hope-punk, and other non-dark fantasy novels. Curse of Challion, by the prolific author Lois McMaster Bujold, is a fun page turner, rather fluffy, and taking some unexpected plot turns. It has been exactly what I needed this week!

Anyone else planning on binge-watching Good Omens this weekend on Amazon Prime?!

[mumto2]

1 hour ago, JennW in SoCal said:

Wasn't there a song about a Gnome-mobile in a 60s Disney movie? Sorry -- I'm free associating again. (But thansk to google, I see it was an actual movie, and yes I'm old enough that I likely saw it in the theater!!) Search for the song on YouTube at your own risk. It has a vicious ear-worm kind of hook to it.

Thanks to @Kareni, I've been binge reading one of the titles listed in the articles she linked about hope-punk, and other non-dark fantasy novels. Curse of Challion, by the prolific author Lois McMaster Bujold, is a fun page turner, rather fluffy, and taking some unexpected plot turns. It has been exactly what I needed this week!

Anyone else planning on binge-watching Good Omens this weekend on Amazon Prime?!

We own the Gnome mobile and have watched in many times. 😎 Just the mention of the music has it playing in my head........

[Liz CA]

We moved over Memorial Day weekend and I have so much unpacking and finishing of various things that my reading consists of a few pages before I fall asleep at night.

I will update when I have wrought some kind of order from this chaos.

[tuesdayschild]

1 hour ago, Liz CA said:

We moved over Memorial Day weekend and I have so much unpacking and finishing of various things that my reading consists of a few pages before I fall asleep at night.

I will update when I have wrought some kind of order from this chaos.

Thinking of you!!  

[tuesdayschild]

@mumto2  Gnomes feature big in our family's lives - my darling M.I.L is a huge garden gnome collecting fan.  (Such a fun yard to stroll around - they're hidden everywhere).  Your quilt would be a smashing hit for her - you have seriously clever hands!

I've brutally resorted my reading line up for this month, spelling Donna Leon, so I can fit TLGM in, here's the Leon part, still haven't settled on 'o' yet:

• L=   The Little Grey Men ~ ‘BB’
• E=   20/04 -   The Luminaries ~  Eleanor Catton, narrated by Mark Meadows (audible/epukapuka)  (NZ)  Chunkster       (848pgs)
• O= 
• The Other Woman ~ Daniel Silva , narrated by George Guidall (Budapest, Hungary)
• The Picture of Dorian Gray ~ Oscar Wilde   Classic
• Out of the Easy ~ Ruta Sepetys, narrated by Lauren Fortgang  (Y/A)
• A Thousand Beginnings and Endings ~ Ellen Oh & Elsie Chapman
• The Glass Ocean:  A Novel ~  Beatriz Williams, narrated by Lauren Willig
• N=    Spies of No Country:  Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel ~ Matti Friedman  

I'll be keeping an eye out for your, eventual, thoughts on The Veiled Lady: Charles Armstrong was the narrator on the version I listened to 🤔 👎

@Junie my dc wish they could hear a demo of you doing The Song of Roland to a rap tempo 🙂

@Matryoshka  Well done on the 52 bookmark!  Hope your heart is managing with your dd that far away.

opps, run out of time - thanks to each one of you for idea sharing, and book chatting - have a good weekend.

Edited June 1, 2019 by tuesdayschild

[Lori D.]

On 5/28/2019 at 1:11 PM, Robin M said:

... the Goblin Emperor looks good too...

Just popping in to say that I just finished The Goblin Emperor a few weeks ago and enjoyed it! It was a fresh/novel approach to a fantasy work, both in the world created (fantasy with a few light touches of Steam Punk), and with a focus on a people group not typically used as protagonists (goblins). But I esp. enjoyed the politics aspect, with a young distant heir kept far from court suddenly rising to the throne with the unexpected deaths of those in line before him, and both learning about court life, as well as his people.

[Lori D.]

16 hours ago, tuesdayschild said:

...The Little Grey Men by 'BB'...

To me, Little Grey Men has a bit of the feel of Wind in the Willows crossed with Watership Down. 🙂

[Kareni]

My husband mentioned recently that he needed a book to read. I suggested The Goblin Emperor which he is now reading. Naturally, I had to reread it myself for the, uh, nth time. I enjoyed it once again.

Regards,

Kareni

[tuesdayschild]

2 hours ago, Lori D. said:

To me, Little Grey Men has a bit of the feel of Wind in the Willows crossed with Watership Down. 🙂

Thanks for the review: I should really like this book then (fingers crossed).

[Lori D.]

10 minutes ago, tuesdayschild said:

Thanks for the review: I should really like this book then (fingers crossed).

I hope so! I must confess: it did not "grab" me right away, and I initially thought it was going to be a bit "twee".  I had to read a few chapters before I really started to click with it and give it a chance to settle in and "find its voice" -- so you may need to persevere a bit if you're not "feeling the love" (lol) in the first pages.

[Junie]

3 hours ago, tuesdayschild said:

@mumto2  Gnomes feature big in our family's lives - my darling M.I.L is a huge garden gnome collecting fan.  (Such a fun yard to stroll around - they're hidden everywhere).  Your quilt would be a smashing hit for her - you have seriously clever hands!

I've brutally resorted my reading line up for this month, spelling Donna Leon, so I can fit TLGM in, here's the Leon part, still haven't settled on 'o' yet:

• L=   The Little Grey Men ~ ‘BB’
• E=   20/04 -   The Luminaries ~  Eleanor Catton, narrated by Mark Meadows (audible/epukapuka)  (NZ)  Chunkster       (848pgs)
• O= 
• The Other Woman ~ Daniel Silva , narrated by George Guidall (Budapest, Hungary)
• The Picture of Dorian Gray ~ Oscar Wilde   Classic
• Out of the Easy ~ Ruta Sepetys, narrated by Lauren Fortgang  (Y/A)
• A Thousand Beginnings and Endings ~ Ellen Oh & Elsie Chapman
• The Glass Ocean:  A Novel ~  Beatriz Williams, narrated by Lauren Willig
• N=    Spies of No Country:  Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel ~ Matti Friedman  

I'll be keeping an eye out for your, eventual, thoughts on The Veiled Lady: Charles Armstrong was the narrator on the version I listened to 🤔 👎

@Junie my dc wish they could hear a demo of you doing The Song of Roland to a rap tempo 🙂

@Matryoshka  Well done on the 52 bookmark!  Hope your heart is managing with your dd that far away.

opps, run out of time - thanks to each one of you for idea sharing, and book chatting - have a good weekend.

Ha!  I can't rap worth anything.  It did make for an interesting reading voice in my head.  I kept imagining what a stage production would be like.  I think it would be pretty awesome!

[Robin M]

@tuesdayschild  Happy Happy Birthday. A milestone birthday! 

 

 

@Matryoshka  Congratulations on reaching 52 Books and also to your daughter on her job in Germany. So fun you got to travel and help her out. 

@SKL   Any book I don't want my kiddo or even my  husband to know I'm reading.  Like the the bare chested man covers, even though it has nothing to do with the story,.  😉   I'll read those on my ipad because a book covered by an anonymous brown cover will be fair game in my household of curious george's.   If it's a hardback or paperback, I'll read when they are otherwise occupied or away from the house. I never thought of using a different hardback cover, but that wouldn't work either because hubby is always picking up and looking at my books.   

@mumto2   Love the quilt.  I buy lots of gnomes for my sister and dad.  They had a big collection in their yards.  

@JennW in SoCal  Oh my gosh, the Gnome-Mobile. Loved that movie and brings back lots of memories.   James is into all the older movies now. Hmm! I wonder what he'd think? 😀

 

@Lori D.  Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed Goblin Emperor.  I've read a few urban fantasies including one in which the love interest was a Goblin. Can't remember the name off hand.  

@Kareni   Thank you for all the links. Lots of lovely rabbit trails. 

 

😍

[mumto2]

@JennW in SoCalGuess what my kids are watching?  😉. Dh actually wants to watch but fell asleep.  I will wait for him.

Thought I would post this link that came to my email https://veritaspress.com/blog/ten-for-the-beach-a-summer-reading-list-for-students-and-graduates-alike. I need to follow up on a couple of the books that I haven’t read from it....