wintermom Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 15 hours ago, Penguin said: @wintermom I was in Denmark right before advent. I left on November 16th. Candles are indeed an integral part of the winter months. This photo was taken that same day. My friend and I had done a little hike along the shoreline and then went into this cozy cafe. Of course there was a candle! Oh yes! Levende lys or Living light is a critical part of life in Scandinavia all year round, but especially during the winter. Did you see any of those giant-size tea lights outside people's front doors? People put these out if they're expecting guests in the winter. They light the way to the door. They'll also put them on grave stones, especially Dec. 23 (lille julaften = little Christmas eve). At least they do in Norway, I'm not sure about Denmark. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teaching3bears Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 I loved reading as a child but was not exposed to a lot of quality children's books but have read a ton homeschooling. I did read a ton of Nancy Drew. I read some Trixie Belden and maybe one Cherry Ames. I don't think anyone has mentioned The Bobsey Twins. I loved those. I read Encyclopedia Brown, and The Littles and I might have read one of The Borrowers. I read a lot of Judy Blume and other similar authors. I remember loving Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt and a book called The Keeping Days. Also, How to Eat Fried Worms. I read lots of comic books! As a small child I loved my Little Golden Books and Maurice Sendak's Chicken Soup with RIce. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vmsurbat1 Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 All this talk about which books were favorites when a child led me to think about my answer. I was an avid reader and I think I loved them all! From Dr. Seuss, all the serials (Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys (I had brothers!), Cherry Ames, Enid Blyton, etc.), the monthly book orders from Scholastic Books, to books borrowed from my parents--Dad read James Bond (on his business trips), Mom read romance plus blockbusters like Watership Downs, nearly everything by Pearl Buck, and grand epics by James Michener. No Classical literature but that's what adulthood is for. 😉 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 Today only, free for Kindle readers ~ De Profundis by Oscar Wilde "Written from Wilde's prison cell at Reading Gaol to his friend and lover Lord Alfred Douglas, "De Profundis explodes the conventions of the traditional love letter and offers a scathing indictment of Douglas's behavior, a mournful elegy for Wilde's own lost greatness, and an impassioned plea for reconciliation. At once a bracingly honest account of ruinous attachment and a profound meditation on human suffering, "De Profundis is a classic of gay literature. Richard Ellmann calls "De Profundis "a love letter...One of the greatest, and the longest, ever written."" Regards, Kareni 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 Some bookish posts ~ Looking at Willa Cather's West https://pictorial.jezebel.com/looking-at-willa-cathers-west-1840245840 Kneading Into the Comfort of Cozy Cat Mysteries https://pictorial.jezebel.com/kneading-into-the-comfort-of-cozy-cat-mysteries-1840412477 DOROTHY L. SAYERS: A CRIME READER'S GUIDE TO THE CLASSICS by Neil Nyren https://crimereads.com/dorothy-l-sayers-a-crime-readers-guide-to-the-classics/ BitchReads: 17 Memoirs Feminists Should Read in 2020 by Evette Dionne https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/bitchreads/most-anticipated-memoirs-2020?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=True Story&utm_term=Suppress_Disengage_BookRiot_TrueStory Go on a Magical Adventure with the 60 Best Fantasy Books of All Time https://reedsy.com/discovery/blog/best-fantasy-books Regards, Kareni 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 1 hour ago, Kareni said: Some bookish posts ~ DOROTHY L. SAYERS: A CRIME READER'S GUIDE TO THE CLASSICS by Neil Nyren https://crimereads.com/dorothy-l-sayers-a-crime-readers-guide-to-the-classics/ This is a great article for Sayers fans! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted January 15, 2020 Author Share Posted January 15, 2020 The Eye of the World in the Wheel of Time series is turning 30 this month. I started the Eye of the World in the Wheel of Time series in 2010 when another blogger gave me a dare reading challenge. I thought I had read it before but none of the story seemed familiar. Once I started however, I wanted to know the rest of the story. They are chunky books so I'm currently reading #11 Knife of Dreams. My goal was to read two a year but that didn't pan out evidently. The Gathering Storm is up next on my nightstand. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 Last night I finished The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith which I read for my book group. I quite liked this book and look forward to the discussion. "Amsterdam, 1631: Sara de Vos becomes the first woman to be admitted as a master painter to the city’s Guild of St. Luke. Though women do not paint landscapes (they are generally restricted to indoor subjects), a wintry outdoor scene haunts Sara: She cannot shake the image of a young girl from a nearby village, standing alone beside a silver birch at dusk, staring out at a group of skaters on the frozen river below. Defying the expectations of her time, she decides to paint it. New York City, 1957: The only known surviving work of Sara de Vos, At the Edge of a Wood, hangs in the bedroom of a wealthy Manhattan lawyer, Marty de Groot, a descendant of the original owner. It is a beautiful but comfortless landscape. The lawyer’s marriage is prominent but comfortless, too. When a struggling art history grad student, Ellie Shipley, agrees to forge the painting for a dubious art dealer, she finds herself entangled with its owner in ways no one could predict. Sydney, 2000: Now a celebrated art historian and curator, Ellie Shipley is mounting an exhibition in her field of specialization: female painters of the Dutch Golden Age. When it becomes apparent that both the original At the Edge of a Wood and her forgery are en route to her museum, the life she has carefully constructed threatens to unravel entirely and irrevocably. " Regards, Kareni 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 On 1/12/2020 at 9:07 PM, aggieamy said: We're talking about favorite childhood books. What were some of yours? Because right now we're all picturing a little VC walking around with The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Bleak House tucked under her arm. No, not at all. My favorites were Time Cat, The Phantom Tollbooth, and Stuart Little. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 (edited) 22 hours ago, Robin M said: @Violet Crown Waving hello, plus I learned a new word - maieutically. 🙂 Yes I had to look that up when Kierkegaard used it. Oh and by the way I FINISHED EITHER/OR. Good gravy, that was really something. I nearly crashed and burned at the essay "Equilibrium Between the Aesthetic and the Ethical in the Development of Personality." First book of 2020! Meanwhile still reading David Copperfield for Wee Girl and Dubliners for Middle Girl. My theme this year will be "Just read and don't mind that you don't get close to 52." ETA Did I mention Either/Or is 600+ pages long? Edited January 16, 2020 by Violet Crown 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maus Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 Well, I'm starting off with one from Agatha Christie, and one from the Well-Educated Mind autobiography list. The intent is to meet both of those challenges, but there are so many books in the world, and many of them are sitting by my bed already... 4. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou. I've been meaning to read this one for years, and finally got to it. 3. "The Harlequin Tea Set" by Agatha Christie. I don't remember reading this before, either. 2. "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis. Technically, a reread, but since the last time I read it was over 30 years ago, all I remembered really was the epistolary format. Surprisingly current and relevant. 1. "Unselfish: Love Thy Neighbor as Thy Selfie" compiled by Paul D. Parkinson. The back cover sums it up nicely: "99 inspiring stories of people putting others before themselves." 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vmsurbat1 Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 14 hours ago, Violet Crown said: Oh and by the way I FINISHED EITHER/OR. Good gravy, that was really something. I nearly crashed and burned at the essay "Equilibrium Between the Aesthetic and the Ethical in the Development of Personality." First book of 2020! Just wanted to say "Congratulations!" What a weighty beginning; that essay title is really something! Tell me more about Either/Or! A quick google search only brought up grammar posts...... I tend to like to have a book of essays to dip into.... 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicentra Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 26 minutes ago, vmsurbat1 said: Just wanted to say "Congratulations!" What a weighty beginning; that essay title is really something! Tell me more about Either/Or! A quick google search only brought up grammar posts...... I tend to like to have a book of essays to dip into.... I'm not VC 🙂 but I think it's a collection of essays by Kierkegaard. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 (edited) Neil Peart, drummer from Rush, died last week and his books are currently free on audible until January 28th. Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road is his best known book. He went on a long motorcycle drive to begin healing. His 19 year old daughter and wife died within six months of each other. The daughter died in a car accident and the wife died from cancer. I am not up for this book - as a cancer survivor with a 19 year old it is simply a NO for me at this time. I would like to listen to Traveling Music: The Soundtrack to my Life and Times while on a road trip. I am glad to see audible doing this - the books are out of print (for now, at least), and of course prices spiked just after his death. Rush is my favorite band of all time, and while celebrity deaths rarely make me emotional, I have found myself deeply impacted by NP's death. I have seen them in concert who-knows-how-many-times, mostly while in high school. But the last time was in 2011 with my youngest son, who is also a fan. While I have never read any of NP's books, his love of literature was always obvious in both his lyrics and through his interviews. I just found The Neil Peart Reading List on the NY Public Library's website. Edited January 16, 2020 by Penguin 6 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 Today only, free for Kindle readers ~ The Wonderful Visit by H. G. Wells "An angel comes to Earth in this fantastical tale by H. G. WellsWhen a fallen angel appears in the skies of southern England, the vicar of a small town mistakes the winged being’s dazzling plumage for that of a bird and shoots him down. This is only the first misfortune to befall “Mr. Angel,” as he comes to be known. “Neither the Angel of religious feeling nor the Angel of popular belief,” this celestial visitor quickly draws the ire of the village folk. But as time goes on, the angel becomes more and more human. His wings atrophy, and much to his surprise, he finds himself falling in love. The master of fantasy literature, H. G. Wells has spun a brilliantly imagined tale in The Wonderful Visit." Regards, Kareni 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 7 hours ago, vmsurbat1 said: Just wanted to say "Congratulations!" What a weighty beginning; that essay title is really something! Tell me more about Either/Or! A quick google search only brought up grammar posts...... I tend to like to have a book of essays to dip into.... They're essays (mostly) by Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. The most popular of them, though, isn't an essay but a piece of short fiction (meant as an illustration of the aesthetic approach to love and marriage) called "The Seducer's Diary," which is frequently published on its own. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 @Violet Crown The current Danish media-darling-philosopher is Svend Brinkmann. I suffered through one of his books for the sake of my book club, and unfortunately he is on the list again this year. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 And, @Violet Crown, since I am also reading David Copperfield, I'd love more Kierkegaard inspired commentary on the characters! What about the Murdstones? Or David's twitter-pated love for Dora? I'm listening to the audible version read by the actor Richard Armitage, and part of me wants to create a ring tone or text message alert from a clip of him reading Aunt Betsey Trotwood exclaiming "Janet!! Donkeys!!" 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 54 minutes ago, Penguin said: @Violet Crown The current Danish media-darling-philosopher is Svend Brinkmann. I suffered through one of his books for the sake of my book club, and unfortunately he is on the list again this year. Warning acknowledged and accepted. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 @Violet Crown I do wonder if my Danish is good enough yet for Kierkegaard. The biggest problem with even making the attempt is that the orthography of the language underwent a massive change in 1949. Anything printed before then is very hard for me. Sometimes I can find a reprint with updated spelling and punctuation, and that makes a huge difference. But those reprints are not really all that easy to find, since perhaps it is the equivalent of rewriting Shakespeare into a No Fear version? But you made me curious to look. So far I have found one for The Sickness Unto Death and Fear and Trembling. Uh-oh! Now I have no more excuses for avoiding Kierkegaard! I am currently working my way through 100 Danish poems. The Danish is on the left and the English is on the right. I have just hit the 1800s and it the language is just starting to look familiar. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 9 minutes ago, Penguin said: @Violet Crown I do wonder if my Danish is good enough yet for Kierkegaard. The biggest problem with even making the attempt is that the orthography of the language underwent a massive change in 1949. Anything printed before then is very hard for me. Sometimes I can find a reprint with updated spelling and punctuation, and that makes a huge difference. But those reprints are not really all that easy to find, since perhaps it is the equivalent of rewriting Shakespeare into a No Fear version? But you made me curious to look. So far I have found one for The Sickness Unto Death and Fear and Trembling. Uh-oh! Now I have no more excuses for avoiding Kierkegaard! I am currently working my way through 100 Danish poems. The Danish is on the left and the English is on the right. I have just hit the 1800s and it the language is just starting to look familiar. That's really interesting. But is it just an orthography change, rather than a language change? English spelling finally got standardized somewhere between Shakespeare and now, but the language is also very different - whole verb forms have disappeared, and tons of vocabulary differences over centuries. 1949 is awfully recent - I doubt the language itself has changed? - so not the same thing as no-Fear Shakespeare. German had a big (though sounds like not as seismic) orthography change much more recently. They seem to have reprinted everything. I prefer the old spelling conventions, but it's actually hard to find anything using them, unless it's an old copy. Even if I wanted to read Goethe, if I bought a new copy, I'm pretty sure it would have been re-spelled (and I'd guess Kierkegaard gets reprinted fairly regularly?). 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 (edited) 16 minutes ago, Matryoshka said: That's really interesting. But is it just an orthography change, rather than a language change? English spelling finally got standardized somewhere between Shakespeare and now, but the language is also very different - whole verb forms have disappeared, and tons of vocabulary differences over centuries. 1949 is awfully recent - I doubt the language itself has changed? - so not the same thing as no-Fear Shakespeare. German had a big (though sounds like not as seismic) orthography change much more recently. They seem to have reprinted everything. I prefer the old spelling conventions, but it's actually hard to find anything using them, unless it's an old copy. Even if I wanted to read Goethe, if I bought a new copy, I'm pretty sure it would have been re-spelled (and I'd guess Kierkegaard gets reprinted fairly regularly?). Well, for one thing your German is an entire league above my Danish! Sure, with these old poems it is also vocab and usage. While searching around the internet, I found pleas for help from desperate Danish high school students who have to read this old stuff 🙂 The biggest recent language change that comes to mind is that all of the formal pronoun forms have disappeared - unless you are talking to the Queen. Edited January 17, 2020 by Penguin 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 1 minute ago, Penguin said: Well, for one thing your German is an entire league above my Danish! Sure, with these old poems it is also vocab and syntax. While searching around the internet, I found plenty of pleas for help from desperate Danish high school students who have to read this old stuff 🙂 It sounds like it was a much bigger change than German made. They changed the es-zet rules (ß) which drives me nuts, but is just changed to an 'ss' so not really hard to read, just annoying, and they changed some other things that now allow for triple letters in the middle of words (mostly compound, with which German is rife - like if one word ends with a 'll' and the next starts with an 'l', before you'd get rid of one of the l's if you smooshed the two words into a compound, but now you spell it with three l's in a row. cringey.) It's more like the differences in UK and US spelling conventions. But Shakespeare can't be respelled to make it much better - thou hast, methinks, whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune - none of those can be modernized by spelling changes alone - you'd have to rewrite. Goethe does indeed have florid vocab and syntax (and those Germans with their page-long sentences... 😒). One of the dusties hanging around here shaming me is The Sorrows of Young Werther. Another year - I am going to try to tackle One Hundred Years of Soluitude as my nemesis book for this year... 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 18 hours ago, JennW in SoCal said: And, @Violet Crown, since I am also reading David Copperfield, I'd love more Kierkegaard inspired commentary on the characters! What about the Murdstones? Or David's twitter-pated love for Dora? I'm listening to the audible version read by the actor Richard Armitage, and part of me wants to create a ring tone or text message alert from a clip of him reading Aunt Betsey Trotwood exclaiming "Janet!! Donkeys!!" I kind of think Kierkegaard would feel their central flaws derived from the wrong theology of the Church of England, but I'm hardly a Kierkegaardian. I do feel he'd have something specific to say about the Micawbers. Now that I'm re-reading and discussing Dubliners with Middle Girl, I keep hearing relevant Pogues lyrics in my head. (Not a coincidence that one of their album covers shows all the band members as James Joyce.) Also the story "An Encounter" now strikes me as an Irish version of Deliverance: "Beware the predatory deviants inhabiting the countryside!" Either/Or qualifies for three categories: Plucked From the Air (ethereally selected by Middle Girl); Brexit Deal (Denmark); and Gorey Cover Art (see below). If I'm going to finish out the 10x10 categories I will have to resort to overlapping. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 6 hours ago, Penguin said: @Violet Crown I do wonder if my Danish is good enough yet for Kierkegaard. The biggest problem with even making the attempt is that the orthography of the language underwent a massive change in 1949. Anything printed before then is very hard for me. Sometimes I can find a reprint with updated spelling and punctuation, and that makes a huge difference. But those reprints are not really all that easy to find, since perhaps it is the equivalent of rewriting Shakespeare into a No Fear version? But you made me curious to look. So far I have found one for The Sickness Unto Death and Fear and Trembling. Uh-oh! Now I have no more excuses for avoiding Kierkegaard! I am currently working my way through 100 Danish poems. The Danish is on the left and the English is on the right. I have just hit the 1800s and it the language is just starting to look familiar. As usual I am in envy of your multilingual reading abilities! Frankly I'd like to know what the Danish word translated as "aesthetic" meant to his original readers. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 5 hours ago, Matryoshka said: German had a big (though sounds like not as seismic) orthography change much more recently. Was that at the same time as their abandonment of blackletter? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 5 hours ago, Matryoshka said: Goethe does indeed have florid vocab and syntax (and those Germans with their page-long sentences... 😒). One of the dusties hanging around here shaming me is The Sorrows of Young Werther. Another year - I am going to try to tackle One Hundred Years of Soluitude as my nemesis book for this year... If you need a reading buddy for Goethe I might to be convinced to read along in Dutch if it is in from June or later in the year. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted January 18, 2020 Author Share Posted January 18, 2020 On 1/16/2020 at 10:32 AM, Penguin said: Neil Peart, drummer from Rush, died last week and his books are currently free on audible until January 28th. Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road is his best known book. He went on a long motorcycle drive to begin healing. His 19 year old daughter and wife died within six months of each other. The daughter died in a car accident and the wife died from cancer. I am not up for this book - as a cancer survivor with a 19 year old it is simply a NO for me at this time. I would like to listen to Traveling Music: The Soundtrack to my Life and Times while on a road trip. I am glad to see audible doing this - the books are out of print (for now, at least), and of course prices spiked just after his death. Rush is my favorite band of all time, and while celebrity deaths rarely make me emotional, I have found myself deeply impacted by NP's death. I have seen them in concert who-knows-how-many-times, mostly while in high school. But the last time was in 2011 with my youngest son, who is also a fan. While I have never read any of NP's books, his love of literature was always obvious in both his lyrics and through his interviews. I just found The Neil Peart Reading List on the NY Public Library's website. Penguin, thank you for link to Neil Peart's reading list. I'm enjoying reading through his reviews and have some common interests in books which makes it fun. Lots of books I haven't read so adding some to my wishlist. I' added the link to 52 books All About Books link section in the sidebar. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 5 hours ago, Violet Crown said: Was that at the same time as their abandonment of blackletter? Oh, heck no. That was back in 1941. The spelling rules stayed the same through the change in typeface. The new spelling rules date from just 1991. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 (edited) 7 hours ago, loesje22000 said: If you need a reading buddy for Goethe I might to be convinced to read along in Dutch if it is in from June or later in the year. Lol, not sure if I'm up to two nemesis books this year! Let me get through One Hundred Years... first. Although, I was planning on rereading The New Sorrows of Young W. as part of my rereading 10x10. It would actually make sense to read that one. That was the whole reason I bought that book to read, after I read The New Sorrows... the first time... I loved that book - so very different from the Goethe, even though it's a riff on it. Edited January 18, 2020 by Matryoshka 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicentra Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 7 hours ago, Violet Crown said: I kind of think Kierkegaard would feel their central flaws derived from the wrong theology of the Church of England, but I'm hardly a Kierkegaardian. I do feel he'd have something specific to say about the Micawbers. Now that I'm re-reading and discussing Dubliners with Middle Girl, I keep hearing relevant Pogues lyrics in my head. (Not a coincidence that one of their album covers shows all the band members as James Joyce.) Also the story "An Encounter" now strikes me as an Irish version of Deliverance: "Beware the predatory deviants inhabiting the countryside!" Either/Or qualifies for three categories: Plucked From the Air (ethereally selected by Middle Girl); Brexit Deal (Denmark); and Gorey Cover Art (see below). If I'm going to finish out the 10x10 categories I will have to resort to overlapping. 1 hour ago, Matryoshka said: Lol, not sure if I'm up to two nemesis books this year! Let me get through One Hudred Years... first. Although, I was planning on rereading The New Sorrows of Young W. as part of my rereading 10x10. It would actually make sense to read that one. That was the whole reason I bought that book to read, after I read The New Sorrows... the first time... I loved that book - so very different from the Goethe, even though it's a riff on it. I feel like I should know this from having read here over the years but I can't recall... What is the 10x10 challenge? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 This evening I finished my latest reread of The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. I enjoyed it once again. Regards, Kareni 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 53 minutes ago, Dicentra said: I feel like I should know this from having read here over the years but I can't recall... What is the 10x10 challenge? 10x10’s, or whatever works for you like 5x4 to equal 20.......is when we pick our categories at the start of the new year and hopefully manage to read our desired number in each category by the end of the year. Each of us picks our own rules (and adjusts them as needed as we go along!). Like all the challenges here there is no pressure, no requirement to play. Last year I really loved doing this because it made me stretch myself and read a few books that were not in my comfort zone. I tend to do what some might consider “easy “categories......my next 10 by Agatha Christie as part of a perpetual challenge. Last year I plan to read 10 detective novels that span the world or at least 6 of the continents....10 books that have Dragons should provide for a fantasy/ urban fantasy mix. It is definitely not too late to start! 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicentra Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 37 minutes ago, mumto2 said: 10x10’s, or whatever works for you like 5x4 to equal 20.......is when we pick our categories at the start of the new year and hopefully manage to read our desired number in each category by the end of the year. Each of us picks our own rules (and adjusts them as needed as we go along!). Like all the challenges here there is no pressure, no requirement to play. Last year I really loved doing this because it made me stretch myself and read a few books that were not in my comfort zone. I tend to do what some might consider “easy “categories......my next 10 by Agatha Christie as part of a perpetual challenge. Last year I plan to read 10 detective novels that span the world or at least 6 of the continents....10 books that have Dragons should provide for a fantasy/ urban fantasy mix. It is definitely not too late to start! So it doesn't mean 10 books in each of 10 categories? Or I suppose it could if I wanted it to is what you're saying. 🙂 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 Have any of you read Maus? My son has it for English class, but apparently doesn’t like it at all, especially the graphic novel aspect. He left Part 2 here available and I’m considering trying to read it tonight while he’s at a friend’s. Maybe after finding a summary of what I missed in part 1. I think the teacher probably chose a graphic novel to be “kid friendly,” but ds says he’d rather read a prose novel. Or prose history. His favorite teacher last year was his English teacher who nearly always gave reading options. Unfortunately this year’s teacher doesn’t and he is strongly disliking much of what she has chosen, though I think she put a lot of effort into her choices and a whole theme to unify the choices. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 (edited) 10 minutes ago, Dicentra said: So it doesn't mean 10 books in each of 10 categories? Or I suppose it could if I wanted it to is what you're saying. 🙂 Yeah, that's pretty much it, but overlap is allowed so it doesn't have to actually be 100 unique books. Unless you don't want to allow overlap, which is anyone's prerogative. 😄 This year some people are doing the 5x20 (which I guess could be 5 books in 20 categories, or 20 in 5, depending on preference??). I did a 10x10 last year; this year I'm doing a 10x12, or 10 books in 12 categories, though actually not even really because I counted nonfiction as two categories 'cause I'm trying for at least 20. So, yes, it's pretty flexible! 😂 ETA: Oh, it was just 5x4? My bad. Adjust as needed based on your interests and desired reading volume. 😉 Edited January 18, 2020 by Matryoshka 7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SereneHome Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 1 hour ago, Kareni said: This evening I finished my latest reread of The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. I enjoyed it once again. Regards, Kareni And...just like *that* I broke my promise and added this to TBR! 3 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 1 minute ago, SereneHome said: And...just like *that* I broke my promise and added this to TBR! You will love it! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 @mumto2 might I like Agatha Raisin and literary Brit trip jaunt to Cotswolds do you think? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 24 minutes ago, Pen said: @mumto2 might I like Agatha Raisin and literary Brit trip jaunt to Cotswolds do you think? I have read these from the first........as in I remember getting the first off the new books shelf.........I think I have known a wide enough group of fans so you might as in probably will. They can be snort worthy funny and probably good to clean to😉 Start with one of the first ones, if possible the first one read. Quiche is in the title, maybe Quiche of Death, because. It hooked me. i also enjoy her Hamish MacBeth series set in a small village in northern Scotland featuring a clever policeman who works very hard not to be promoted away from his village. Once again close to in order preferred because characters repeat. This one has interesting pets imo so you might like it better. Or you might decide to try both.😉 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 7 minutes ago, mumto2 said: They can be snort worthy funny and probably good to clean to😉 Yup! Books to clean to, exactly what I’m looking for!!! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 1 hour ago, Pen said: Have any of you read Maus? My son has it for English class, but apparently doesn’t like it at all, especially the graphic novel aspect. He left Part 2 here available and I’m considering trying to read it tonight while he’s at a friend’s. Maybe after finding a summary of what I missed in part 1. I think the teacher probably chose a graphic novel to be “kid friendly,” but ds says he’d rather read a prose novel. Or prose history. His favorite teacher last year was his English teacher who nearly always gave reading options. Unfortunately this year’s teacher doesn’t and he is strongly disliking much of what she has chosen, though I think she put a lot of effort into her choices and a whole theme to unify the choices. I have read Maus threetimes now. Maus is geared for 15+ yo imo, and should never be a first introduction/reading on this part of history. Dd doesn’t like it either so far but emotionally she is younger then her age sometimes. I think it is a great work. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 11 hours ago, Pen said: @mumto2 might I like Agatha Raisin and literary Brit trip jaunt to Cotswolds do you think? 10 hours ago, mumto2 said: I have read these from the first........as in I remember getting the first off the new books shelf.........I think I have known a wide enough group of fans so you might as in probably will. They can be snort worthy funny and probably good to clean to😉 Start with one of the first ones, if possible the first one read. Quiche is in the title, maybe Quiche of Death, because. It hooked me. I posted previously about the recent death of author M.C. Beaton. Here is New York Times obituary that contains additional information and links. Regards, Kareni 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 Today only, free for Kindle readers ~ Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson "In the early days of the American experiment, as the states spread across the continent and the young nation was reshaped by the Industrial Revolution, no intellectual held more power than Ralph Waldo Emerson. The leading light of the Transcendentalists, Emerson spent his life devising a uniquely American philosophy, a worldview as suited to the bustling docks of Boston as it is to the endless expanses of the West. Through lectures, letters, and essays, Emerson helped a nation discover its identity. In this collection, which includes such monumental essays as “Nature,” “Self-Reliance,” and “The American Scholar,” Emerson brilliantly articulates his philosophy of individualism and nonconformity. An inspiration to Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, and countless other literary and political figures, Emerson exerted a profound influence that continues to be felt more than a century after his death." Regards, Kareni 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 13 hours ago, Kareni said: This evening I finished my latest reread of The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. I enjoyed it once again. 12 hours ago, SereneHome said: And...just like *that* I broke my promise and added this to TBR! 12 hours ago, mumto2 said: You will love it! It's a great book, SereneHome. I hope you'll enjoy it! Regards, Kareni 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicentra Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 Thanks for clarifying the reading challenges! I love the flexibility! 🙂 Question... Does anyone else have a problem with audiobooks? As in they can't remember a single darn thing after listening to one? 😛 I've always known my memory is almost exclusively visual (I remember what I see) but my lack of auditory memory means that audiobooks go in one ear and right out the other. Literally. 😄 Anyone else have this problem? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SereneHome Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 42 minutes ago, Dicentra said: Thanks for clarifying the reading challenges! I love the flexibility! 🙂 Question... Does anyone else have a problem with audiobooks? As in they can't remember a single darn thing after listening to one? 😛 I've always known my memory is almost exclusively visual (I remember what I see) but my lack of auditory memory means that audiobooks go in one ear and right out the other. Literally. 😄 Anyone else have this problem? Even as a kid I never liked being read to, so I taught myself to read so I could just do it myself. I can't stand audibooks!! I don't know if it's bc I am a visual learned or not, just never liked it 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 @Dicentra It was 2019 that we came up with the 10x10 challenge. Both @Violet Crown and I have commented that we did not finish our 10x10s, but that we were carrying them over into 2020. So, see, even if you join a challenge you get to modify it to suit your own needs and desires 🙂 I'm thinking about expanding my 10x10. Since I started playing with you guys in 2017, I have kept detailed book lists on Goodreads and in my paper notebook. I'm thinking about looking through those three years of lists and making a new, ongoing notebook of categories. One of my goals for this decade is to fill up the nice notebooks that I have accumulated. As for audiobooks, I often have to hit that "back up 30 seconds" button. I do not listen to a lot of audiobooks in comparison to other posters. I normally only listen to them when I have a long drive. But this month I have been listening a lot more than usual. I am trying to hurry up and finish three audible books so that audible will gift me with $20 - a mere token for the untold thousands that I have spent since amazon launched. But, by golly, I'm gonna get my 20 bucks! 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicentra Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 6 minutes ago, SereneHome said: Even as a kid I never liked being read to, so I taught myself to read so I could just do it myself. I can't stand audibooks!! I don't know if it's bc I am a visual learned or not, just never liked it I actually don't mind them (depending on the narrator) - I just wish I could remember the story afterwards! 🙂 Although, if I want to look for a silver lining, I suppose I could relisten to books over and over again and it would be like a new book every time! 😉 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicentra Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 1 minute ago, Penguin said: @Dicentra It was 2019 that we came up with the 10x10 challenge. Both @Violet Crown and I have commented that we did not finish our 10x10s, but that we were carrying them over into 2020. So, see, even if you join a challenge you get to modify it to suit your own needs and desires 🙂 I'm thinking about expanding my 10x10. Since I started playing with you guys in 2017, I have kept detailed book lists on Goodreads and in my paper notebook. I'm thinking about looking through those three years of lists and making a new, ongoing notebook of categories. One of my goals for this decade is to fill up the nice notebooks that I have accumulated. As for audiobooks, I often have to hit that "back up 30 seconds" button. I do not listen to a lot of audiobooks in comparison to other posters. I normally only listen to them when I have a long drive. But this month I have been listening a lot more than usual. I am trying to hurry up and finish three audible books so that audible will gift me with $20 - a mere token for the untold thousands that I have spent since amazon launched. But, by golly, I'm gonna get my 20 bucks! I need to get better at taking notes. I have lots of thoughts about what I read but always think, "I'll write it all down later." And then I don't. Note taking - definitely a habit I need to work on. There was a year when DH and I were first married that we were living in two separate provinces (I was finishing university and he had started working) and I drove back and forth every week. This was back in the day of taking audio books out from the library and they were on CASSETTE. 😄 I enjoyed listening to them while I drove but couldn't remember a darn thing about the story afterwards. Hmmm... If I listen to an audiobook but can't remember anything about it afterwards, does it still count as a book read? 😉 And I totally get it, @Penguin - you get that 20 bucks! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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