Book a Week 2020 - BW5: Ladies of Fiction - Mary Stewart

[Robin M]

 It's February!!! Happy Ground Hog's day! Will Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow today? I think not as it's acting like spring around here and the flowers are quite confused. This month is Black History Month, American Heart Month, Great American Pie Month as well as Spunky Old Broads Month.   I need to read Gayle Carson's How to Be an S.O.B.—A Spunky Old Broad Who Kicks Butt and practice being spunky, open, and brave. *grin*

I think this month's Ladies of Fiction Bookology author, Mary Stewart would have been considered spunky, open, and brave. She wrote mysteries, romantic suspense novels, an Arthurian fantasy series, short stories, children's books, radio plays and poetry. 

I first read the Arthurian saga about Merlin and his life before, during, and after King Arthur, which consisted of The Crystal Cave (1970), The Hollow Hills (1973), and The Last Enchantment (1979) and Wicked Day (1983) back during the late 70's, early 80's.  I read and reread all her books during that period of time, but unfortunately only kept Merlin's Series in my stacks.   The series has always stood the test of time and each time I get something new out of them.  I look forward to rereading The Crystal Cave again this month.   I only have to hear one of the titles of her books such as Touch Not the Cat or Nine Coaches Waiting or The Ivy Tree or Airs above the Ground and be taken right back into the story.   

There are a number of ways to complete the bookology challenge, including but not limited to: 

·         Spell out the author's name - one book per letter from the title on the cover.

·         Read one or more books written by the author.

·         Read a book written in the country or time period of the author.

 Learn more about Mary Stewart and watch her discuss her passion for reading and writing, Camelot Project's Interview and Mystery Scene's article: Mary Stewart, Teller of Tales. 

 Link to week four

 

Visit  52 Books in 52 Weeks where you can find all the information on the annual, mini and perpetual challenges, as well as share your book reviews if you like.

[maize]

I don't usually join the book threads but I also read the Merlin series as a teen and very much enjoyed it. 

I don't have much time for reading these days, but if those books are on Audible I would be happy to revisit her world.

[Robin M]

Phil predicted an early spring. We'll see what happens.  I woke to chilly temps again versus yesterday wandering around in short sleeves.  I'm all set to read Mary Stewart's Crystal Cave.  Currently reading Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel, #1 in her Infernal Devices series.  I'll post a wrap up of January later of the month's reads and more thoughts on the Hobbit which I finished.  

[Robin M]

5 minutes ago, maize said:

I don't usually join the book threads but I also read the Merlin series as a teen and very much enjoyed it. 

I don't have much time for reading these days, but if those books are on Audible I would be happy to revisit her world.

Hi Glad you stopped by.  The books are on audible. Yeah! 

[maize]

4 minutes ago, Robin M said:

Hi Glad you stopped by.  The books are on audible. Yeah! 

Thank you!

[Robin M]

Quote

@Lori D.  Also finished Something Wicked This Way Comes (Bradbury) for my class this past week. Wow, Bradbury's writing style, the very creative ideas, and the father standing in the gap for his boys. So wonderful to see that the character of an involved parent is crucial to the young teen boys surviving the dark carnival.

I loved Something Wicked. So well written!!!

[Violet Crown]

It's Candlemas for us today, and while the guinea pigs definitely saw their shadows whilst gamboling on the lawn, it was an early spring for sure at 80+ degrees.

Finishing the Robert Louis Stevenson collection South Sea Tales. These are all set in the Pacific islands, where RLS and his wife settled, and the only sign of Scottishness is the tendency of all the characters to quote spontaneously from Robert Burns. I started it for the sake of the first story, The Beach of Falesá--part of Middle Girl's English curriculum--which makes an interesting contrast piece to Conrad's Heart of Darkness, but RLS is an excellent storyteller and I've gone on to read and enjoy the rest. The Isle of Voices is a rewriting of Shakespeare's Tempest, but from the point of view of the islanders; The Bottle Imp is a Pacific island version of a German fairy tale which RLS wrote specifically for translation into Samoan. 

After RLS, my modern poetry book and then Emma and a very obscure book I found mentioned in Dubliners which I can't wait to read.

[mumto2]

I finished listening to Christie’s ABC Murders yesterday and totally enjoyed it even though it was more predictable than most AC books imo or I just remembered it clearer! 😂  I also finished a couple more Faith Hunter’s in preparation to read the new book that came out last fall.  
 

Currently almost finished with The Chinese Shawl by Patricia Wentworth which I am really enjoying. These books are such a great find for classic mystery fans!  I am now reading the books in order and so far it’s satisfying,  enough background characters (really background in this one....a mention of a new baby by Miss Silver) to hopefully make it worthwhile.  
 

I have read three chapters of the first book in a new to me Sci Fi series called Waypoint Kangaroo.  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26114364-waypoint-kangaroo  Not sure how this series came onto my lists but it seems to be a fun one featuring a bumbling Bond spy type main character named Kangaroo because he has an odd super power pocket into a parallel at his disposal. 

Julia Spencer Fleming’s In a Bleak Midwinter will be my next audiobook.  So the reread or in this case relisten to this favorite series starts!

Robin,  the Mary Stewart links are great!  I am planning to read The Rose Cottage because I missed this one during Brit Tripping Brit Tripping and had planned to read it then.  I might join you in The Chrystal Cave......

 

 

[Kareni]

Some bookish and other posts ~

Burrowed in Books: World-famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil lives at the library when he’s waiting for his special day

This is an interesting piece about a shipwreck, research, and a poet. It's lengthy but enjoyable.

The Ghost Hunter: For hundreds of years, there were rumors of a shipwrecked treasure on the Oregon coast. But no one found anything, until Cameron La Follette began digging. by LEAH SOTTILE

**

Plus today only, free for Kindle readers ~

The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

Regards,

Kareni

[Negin]

I read New York: the Novel - 5 Stars - American history is not my strength and I’m always on the look-out for books that will hold my interest me in this area. This one was wonderful, historically accurate, and beautifully written. I lived in New York when I was in graduate school many years ago. I appreciated learning about places and events that I knew very little about. The book starts with the 1600s Dutch settlers and Native Americans and goes all the way to the early 2000's. As you can imagine, it’s a massive read. It was such a good read that I didn’t want it to end. That’s saying a lot for a book that’s well over 800 pages. Here's a link to my Good Reads review if you're interested in some illustrations. 

Rutherfurd is an excellent writer. He wrote Paris which I read a few years ago. He truly has a knack for making history come alive. You start rooting for various characters and truly caring for them. I plan to eventually read all his books. That’s how good of an author he is.

Here are some quotes that I thought are worth sharing:

“Whatever you do, keep your family together. That’s the most important thing in the world.”

“If I had my life again, I’d act differently. It’s hard for a man if he thinks his wife doesn’t respect him.”

“Lincoln thinks slavery is wrong—that I don’t deny—but he went to war to preserve the Union. He made that perfectly clear. He has even said, in public: ‘If I could save the Union without freeing a single slave, I’d do it.’ His words. Not mine.” He paused. “What does Lincoln want for the slaves? Who knows? From what I hear, his main idea for liberated slaves is to find a free colony in Africa or Central America, and send them there. Do you know he actually told a delegation of black men, to their faces, that he doesn’t want Negroes in the United States?”

“I’d rather be the wife than the mistress.”

“You still have your marriage.”

“Marriage may not be a perfect state, but it is a protection, especially as we get older. And we are all getting older, my dear.”

“Many countries have accepted the Jews, … and always they have turned against them in the end. The Jews will only survive if they are strong. This is the lesson of history. … We were commanded to keep our faith. So let me tell you: every time a Jew marries out, we are weakened. Marry out, and in two, three generations, your family will not be Jewish. Maybe they will be safe, maybe not. But in the end, either way, all that we have will be lost.”

“I was reading Virginia Woolf the other day, and she remarked that at one period of her life, she was able to get so much done because she had three uninterrupted hours to work in every day. And I thought, what on earth is she talking about? Only three hours a day? And then I looked around the office at all the people working their fourteen-hour days, and I thought, how many of you actually spend three hours in real, creative, intellectual activity in a day? And I reckoned, probably not one.” She smiled. “And there’s Virginia Woolf achieving more than they ever will in their lives, on three hours a day. It makes you think. They might do better if they worked less.”

“You can do what you like, sir, but I'll tell you this. New York is the true capital of America. Every New Yorker knows it, and by God, we always shall.”

“All empires become arrogant. It is their nature.”

“She was quiet for a moment or two. Then she said: 'Cruel words are a terrible thing … Sometimes you regret them. But what's been said cannot be unsaid.”

Some photos of my brief time at NY with my daughter last June. I went to Columbia for grad school many years ago, so going back to NY is always nostalgic. 

[Dicentra]

I'm reading but not nearly as much as I'd like.  Darn work gets in the way. 😉  I'm kidding - I LOVE teaching chemistry.  And after this year, I won't be having to create content for new courses (at least for a few years) so I'll have more time to read.

I did finish one more book and am still reading a number of others.  So far I've finished:

1. The Love Knot by Elizabeth Chadwick   *Historical fiction/romance - 3 stars

2. The Case of the Chocolate Cream Killer: The Poisonous Passion of Christiana Edmunds by Kaye Jones   *Nonfiction (history) - 4 stars

2 1/2.  Extraction (Pendergast #12.5) by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child  *Fiction (short story) - 4 stars  (I didn't think that a short story would count but I did finish it 🙂 )

3. Daughters of the Grail by Elizabeth Chadwick  *Historical fiction/romance - 4 stars

Daughters of the Grail is set in 13th century France and deals with the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars which I was not familiar with.  I think I'd like to read more about Catharism in future.

I also got completely sidetracked from The Hobbit and the other books I was reading after I picked up and started The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike.  It's a horror novel set in Tokyo in the 1980s (it was originally published in 1986) and I can't stop reading it.  But I need to read something less stressful afterwards if I want to sleep at night so I started Village School by Miss Read as a "palate cleanser" before bed. 🙂  I'm about 80% finished with The Graveyard Apartment and it's been an interesting read.  I haven't read any Japanese fiction before and the writing style and how social/cultural issues are dealt with is certainly different.  I'm liking it. 🙂

Edited February 2, 2020 by Dicentra

[mumto2]

@Kareni Thank you for the Groundhog Day article because it was oddly timely because my dc’s had tons of questions last night......remember raised in England so they only know about the movie.  I forwarded it on.  I also sent it to my hedgehog loving British friend who appears to highly oddly enthused.  She now seems to be making a study of groundhogs...😂

@Dicentra I record my short stories and novellas on Goodreads and put them on their own short story shelf so I know that I have read them and subtract them off my book total at the end of the year

[SKL]

Howdy.  I'm almost done with the Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.  (I did say it was a short book.)  I find it's helping me to put some things in perspective.  I seem to have lost a lot of perspective on some things (and gained on others) since becoming a mom.

I also started Little House on Rocky Ridge by MacBride, which is about the childhood of Rose Wilder Lane.  My daughter is enjoying this series so I decided to check it out.  🙂  Just for fun.

I think I may start a more serious grown-up book this week - maybe The Fire Next Time (Baldwin).

We are on chapter 4 of Wuthering Heights (audiobook).

[Dicentra]

21 minutes ago, mumto2 said:

@Kareni Thank you for the Groundhog Day article because it was oddly timely because my dc’s had tons of questions last night......remember raised in England so they only know about the movie.  I forwarded it on.  I also sent it to my hedgehog loving British friend who appears to highly oddly enthused.  She now seems to be making a study of groundhogs...😂

@Dicentra I record my short stories and novellas on Goodreads and put them on their own short story shelf so I know that I have read them and subtract them off my book total at the end of the year

Excellent idea, mumto2!  Thanks! 🙂

[Mothersweets]

Hello! Last week I read Night by Elie Wiesel. Simple and beautifully told memoir of surviving the Holocaust. 

I had started You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz but lost interest as the story took its sweet time to get rolling. Also, I just wasn't finding the main character likable. It's going back to the library on Monday.

So I started the first in the Ruth Galloway series, The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths and am liking it. 

@Dicentra - The Graveyard Apartment sounds good- I'll look for it at my library. Thanks!

and yay for Mary Stewart! I haven't read Touch Not the Cat so that is next on my list of her books to read. 

Edited February 3, 2020 by Mothersweets

[tuesdayschild]

I'm hoping to listen to Rose Cottage and Nine Coaches Waiting for this months Mary Stewart challenge. She's a new to me author,  I've only recently,  Nov 2019,  read one of her other books (Madam, Will You Talk?).  Our local library does not have any of her books in English ....  we can download a few titles in German though.

Just started reading The Elements of Eloquence: How to Turn the Perfect English Phrase by Mark Forsyth and  I'm chipping away at The Creature from Jekyll Island, Fifth Edition: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve by G. Edward Griffin.  

With @Robin M talking about her breakfast time sip reads🥰 ....  one sip read I'm really appreciating with my early cuppa this year is Beholding and Becoming: The Art of Everyday Worship by Ruth Chou Simons  (definitely Christian content): I'm tending to sit there and absorb the gentle peace in the artwork and calligraphy that goes with the text - I love books with beautiful illustrations.

 

Edited February 3, 2020 by tuesdayschild
pict too big

[Negin]

11 hours ago, Mothersweets said:

Hello! Last week I read Night by Elie Wiesel. Simple and beautifully told memoir of surviving the Holocaust. 

I loved that one also. 

6 hours ago, tuesdayschild said:

With @Robin M talking about her breakfast time sip reads🥰 ....  one sip read I'm really appreciating with my early cuppa this year is Beholding and Becoming: The Art of Everyday Worship by Ruth Chou Simons  (definitely Christian content): I'm tending to sit there and absorb the gentle peace in the artwork and calligraphy that goes with the text - I love books with beautiful illustrations.

 

This is so pretty. I just can't get over how gorgeous it is. 

[Meriwether]

Just popping in to say I love Mary Stewart. I found The Moon-Spinners in the attic when I was a kid and must have read it dozens of times.

[Negin]

Kindle book on sale today. 

 

[mumto2]

39 minutes ago, Meriwether said:

Just popping in to say I love Mary Stewart. I found The Moon-Spinners in the attic when I was a kid and must have read it dozens of times.

Moon Spinners was my favorite growing up too.  I reread it a few years ago when Dd was a tween and enjoyed it again!

@tuesdayschild I love your sip read book.  The colors are beautiful!

@Negin  Your NYC pictures are wonderful.  I have never been except to sit in the airports.

Edited February 3, 2020 by mumto2

[Emba]

The Mary Stewart Merlin books sound interesting, and I was happy to find that they’re available in audiobook from my library. But the first one is checked out, so I won’t be starting them until I can read them in order. I am becoming less and less flexible on that as I get older. I won’t read a series out of order if I can help it.

Last week all i really read was The Strange Case of the Origami Yoda. It’s s middle grades fiction book, and the only reason I read it was because I am putting together a coop class with some origami projects, and it came up in the search for origami books. I found it fluffy and amusing, but not enough so to recommend it to my sixth grader. To much focus on who likes who, who will dance with who. I know kids that age think about that stuff a lot but we can encourage them to set their sights higher. I did like the origami Yoda that I made with the instructions provided in the back of the book.

[Matryoshka]

1 hour ago, Meriwether said:

Just popping in to say I love Mary Stewart. I found The Moon-Spinners in the attic when I was a kid and must have read it dozens of times.

I read through - and loved - most of Mary Stewart sometime in high school.  The two that stick out in my mind are The Moon Spinners and Airs Above the Ground.  I read Touch Not the Cat last year - I think I'd missed it before, or I don't remember it - did not hold up to what I remember of those other two, which I would like to reread at some point.

[Ottakee]

I just finished The Parker Inheritance   It is a middle grade book about 2  kids who seek to solve a mystery puzzle and along the way learn a lot about the civil rights issues of the 1950s.  I really did enjoy it and think it would be great for middle age and above kids.  The only warning I have is that there is a sub LGTBQ storyline.  The book doesn't go into any real detail, but it is there and wrestled with a bit.  Fine of adult to navigate but you might want to help younger kids navigate the issues with your guidance. 

[Dicentra]

I was up until 1:30am finishing The Graveyard Apartment.

That ending will stay with me for a loooooooooong time.

I have to say - this was one of the best horror books I've ever read.  No gore and no violence - just straight up psychological horror.  The author sets the stage and then allows the reader's imagination to fill in the blanks.  I guess my imagination runs pretty dark.   It's the juxtaposition of the banality of it all over the supernatural.  So very disturbing.

I'll just say...  I don't think I've ever been so unnerved by a butterfly before.

That is all.

1. The Love Knot by Elizabeth Chadwick   *Historical fiction/romance - 3 stars

2. The Case of the Chocolate Cream Killer: The Poisonous Passion of Christiana Edmunds by Kaye Jones   *Nonfiction (history) - 4 stars

2 1/2.  Extraction (Pendergast #12.5) by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child  *Fiction (short story) - 4 stars  (I didn't think that a short story would count but I did finish it 🙂 )

3. Daughters of the Grail by Elizabeth Chadwick  *Historical fiction/romance - 4 stars

4. The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike  *Horror - 5 stars

Edited February 3, 2020 by Dicentra

[Meriwether]

1 hour ago, Matryoshka said:

I read through - and loved - most of Mary Stewart sometime in high school.  The two that stick out in my mind are The Moon Spinners and Airs Above the Ground.  I read Touch Not the Cat last year - I think I'd missed it before, or I don't remember it - did not hold up to what I remember of those other two, which I would like to reread at some point.

I think This Rough Magic feels the most like The Moon Spinners.

[Matryoshka]

Just now, Meriwether said:

I think This Rough Magic feels the most like The Moon Spinners.

I remember the title of that, so I'm pretty sure I've read it - ditto Nine Coaches Waiting.  But can't remember details of either of those. But I seem to recall Moon Spinners  was in Greece?? And Airs was all about the Lipizzaner Stallions...

[melmichigan]

I will come back for an update.  I just finished a reread of The Hollows book 12 and learned today that Kim Harrison is doing a read-along group to American Demon on Goodreads.  I absolutely love the Hollows series!  Anyway, as they go through the books they are also being offered on amazon kindle for $1.99.  Currently at that price are #6-8.  The group is currently reading #7 White Witch, Black Curse for anyone who is interested.  🙂 

[mumto2]

5 minutes ago, melmichigan said:

I will come back for an update.  I just finished a reread of The Hollows book 12 and learned today that Kim Harrison is doing a read-along group to American Demon on Goodreads.  I absolutely love the Hollows series!  Anyway, as they go through the books they are also being offered on amazon kindle for $1.99.  Currently at that price are #6-8.  The group is currently reading #7 White Witch, Black Curse for anyone who is interested.  🙂 

For some reason I thought that series was complete.  I loved it too.  I started a reread of these a couple of years ago in honor of Spooky October and never finished.  When I finish my Faith Hunter reread maybe I will go back and read the Kim Harrison’s including the new one.

I just ran into her other series set in Rockton, the off the grid one, again.  I didn’t love the first one and hadn’t realized there are now five books in that series. I may give the second book a try in that series too.

[Dicentra]

Mary Stewart's "The Crystal Cave" Kindle version is currently on sale for 81 cents! 🙂

https://www.amazon.com/Crystal-Cave-Arthurian-Saga-Book-ebook/dp/B00GW4L1OC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

And it's on sale for 99 cents on Canadian Amazon! 😄

I read her Merlin series years ago so definitely time for a reread!

[Negin]

3 hours ago, mumto2 said:

  Your NYC pictures are wonderful.  I have never been except to sit in the airports.

Thank you! You're so sweet. You already know that I always enjoy all your beautiful pictures also. 

[melmichigan]

1 hour ago, mumto2 said:

For some reason I thought that series was complete.  I loved it too.  I started a reread of these a couple of years ago in honor of Spooky October and never finished.  When I finish my Faith Hunter reread maybe I will go back and read the Kim Harrison’s including the new one.

I just ran into her other series set in Rockton, the off the grid one, again.  I didn’t love the first one and hadn’t realized there are now five books in that series. I may give the second book a try in that series too.

When it was released back in 2014 (wow, time is flying) it was said to be the conclusion of the series.

Also, for anyone interested books 1, 3, and 4 are available on kindle unlimited if you use the links from her blog.  Now I can start from the beginning!

Edited February 3, 2020 by melmichigan

[Excelsior! Academy]

1. Below Stairs by Margaret Powell (Selfie, Pick Your Poison)

2. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (Soldier, Bingo)

3. 6 Day Body Makeover by Michael Thurmond (Making Stuff up, Pick Your Poison)

4. Whiskey in a Teacup by Reese Witherspoon (Inspirational or Quick Decisions, Pick Your Poison)

5. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (Gothic, Bingo)

I just tried to access my Goodreads account and got an error message saying it was over capacity. 😂

Edited February 3, 2020 by Excelsior! Academy

[Junie]

Still reading through Les Mis, El Hobbit, and Hidden Figures.

I took the girls to the library tonight.  We checked out 85 books!

One of the books that I had picked up was a middle grades story told in verse -- The Crossover by Kwame Alexander.  I gave it 4 stars.  (I give very, very few books 5 stars.)

I doubt that any of my girls will like this -- it is geared very much toward boys/basketball players, but I really enjoyed it.

Here is the review I left on goodreads:

I borrowed this book from the library tonight and read it in one sitting. It was so good! The pace, rhythm, rhyme of the book mimic are written to imitate a basketball court, free-throws in the driveway, kids goofing off together. Also, I was pleasantly surprised that there was no bad language in this book. None. Given the subject and audience of the book, I was expecting that there would be the kind of language that is often heard when teen boys are balling. Thankfully, the author left all of that out and just presented a clean story with a lot of heart-felt emotions.

[Liz CA]

On 2/2/2020 at 12:48 PM, mumto2 said:

 

Julia Spencer Fleming’s In a Bleak Midwinter will be my next audiobook.  So the reread or in this case relisten to this favorite series starts!

 

 

I loved this series. Enjoy it a second time around.

[Liz CA]

Reading:

I have finally snagged the "Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie" which so many here warmly recommended.

I am still waiting on the Poisonwood Bible but I must be # 159 on the waiting list.

Audiobooks:

"Miss Julia Meets her Match."  The narrator does a great job IMHO and it's perfect for the commute hours.

Edited February 4, 2020 by Liz CA

[Pen]

6 month wait for Mary Stewart audiobooks on my Libby Overdrive system!

[Pen]

I have 3 audible credits

if I were to put one for a Mary Stewart book which is the very best (extra points if not available on Overdrive at all.  I can borrow the Merlin series eventually)? 

Edited February 4, 2020 by Pen

[mumto2]

7 hours ago, Pen said:

I have 3 audible credits

if I were to put one for a Mary Stewart book which is the very best (extra points if not available on Overdrive at all.  I can borrow the Merlin series eventually)? 

I have never listened to a Mary Stewart but her Arthur is available on my Overdrive and The Crystal Cave is a 16 hour listen and I suspect the other two books will. be similar in length, I will listen to these later in the year.  Moon spinners, Airs Above the Ground, and Nine Coaches Waiting are probably the typical favorites but these are far more fluffy than the Arthur books and shorter.  Fwiw Moonspinners is the one that stuck in my head for decades!

My library happens to have Rose Cottage which I plan to read but the Kindle price for several of the Mary Stewart’s is 1.99 or was a couple weeks ago if anyone can’t find them at the library.

 

[Kareni]

MARY HIGGINS CLARK, THE QUEEN OF SUSPENSE, HAS DIED AT 92

Some additional bookish posts ~

From the Word Wenches site: What We Are Reading-January

And if you'd like to see what others are reading (this from Reddit):   What are you reading right now? Is it any good?

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Also, for those who enjoy audiobooks, 2020 Audie Awards Finalists Named.

Regards,

Kareni

[aggieamy]

Day 10 of the flu. We're still alive. John is about 80% better the rest of us are less ...

It probably didn't help that I was up until 3 am last night with insomnia and because I was reading a good book. Nothing Venture by Patricia Wentworth. It was the first book of hers that I've read that didn't have Miss Silver. Really an outstanding book. Mysterious and suspenseful with a touch of romance. Have any of the other PW fans on her read this one yet? I didn't see it ranked by anyone else on Goodreads.

That said ... for those that follow me on Goodreads I am a very generous rater. Cozy sweet romances that I loved as a young adult might be ranked as high as Night by Elie Wiesel in my rankings. I rate books simply for myself. 

[mumto2]

2 hours ago, aggieamy said:

Day 10 of the flu. We're still alive. John is about 80% better the rest of us are less ...

It probably didn't help that I was up until 3 am last night with insomnia and because I was reading a good book. Nothing Venture by Patricia Wentworth. It was the first book of hers that I've read that didn't have Miss Silver. Really an outstanding book. Mysterious and suspenseful with a touch of romance. Have any of the other PW fans on her read this one yet? I didn't see it ranked by anyone else on Goodreads.

That said ... for those that follow me on Goodreads I am a very generous rater. Cozy sweet romances that I loved as a young adult might be ranked as high as Night by Elie Wiesel in my rankings. I rate books simply for myself. 

Glad some of you are feeling better!😉

It’s funny it never occurred to me    that Patricia Wentworth had written anything other than Miss Silver.  Planning to try one.

I stayed up late in order to finish Moonlighter by Sarina Bowen.  I haven’t read the others in her hockey series and had no problems with it as a stand alone .  Fluffy adult romance between childhood friends many years later.  Female tech CEO and a hockey player with ties to the security industry. This happens to be the first book that I have seen the new publishers library ebook policy in action with a library having only one ebook for a number of months before being allowed to buy more.  I have to say I was far down on this list....more than six months per overdrive.  Then wham it was in my account .  Sort of messes up all “my book flow planning” 😂 but I really did not wait very long, maybe 2 months.....pleasantly surprised.  Anyway I decided to read it ASAP so others could have it.

 

[Robin M]

Dragging a bit the past couple days, so not getting much else done besides paying way too much attention to the news,  reading and binging on Marvel's Captain Carter.  Returning to my news diet, especially since J.D. Robb's latest in her In Death series, Golden in Death, has arrived.  As you know everything stops, all other books forsaken while I read it.   Although James and I are listening to Godzilla and when I'm by myself in the car listening to Faith Hunter's Cat of Nine Tails stories about Jane Yellowrock universe.  I've downloaded Nine Coaches Waiting for my next listen.  

@Kareni Thank you for the links as I saw that Mary Higgins Clark had passed away.  Kirk Douglas (103) also just passed away. Loved his movies.  

@melmichigan Thank you!  I never did finish The Hollows series and I have the 1 - 6 it's probably time for a reread 

@Dicentra  My my! I must give The Graveyard Apartment a try. Adding it to my want list. 

@aggieamy  Hope you feel better soon. Swanson's Sipping Chicken bone soup is delicious, especially when don't feel like eating anything else.  Saved James from starving while he was sick.

@Negin Wonderful pictures of New York.  We were there in 2007 which was a wonderful experience, getting to go up in the Empire State Building.   I've added Rutherford to my must read author list.

 

 

[Robin M]

On 2/2/2020 at 9:12 PM, tuesdayschild said:

With @Robin M talking about her breakfast time sip reads🥰 ....  one sip read I'm really appreciating with my early cuppa this year is Beholding and Becoming: The Art of Everyday Worship by Ruth Chou Simons  (definitely Christian content): I'm tending to sit there and absorb the gentle peace in the artwork and calligraphy that goes with the text - I love books with beautiful illustrations.

Gorgeous!

[Lady Florida.]

On 1/31/2020 at 2:09 PM, aggieamy said:

Flu updated. We're all sick now and on Tamiflu. Tamiflu is like drinking Unicorn Blood. You're alive but it's a half life filled with nosebleeds, insomnia, and nausea.  

 

@Lady Florida. - What are you reading these days?

I hope you're all at least starting to feel better.

I keep meaning to pop in. The realtor is coming tomorrow and hopefully we'll have a for sale sign in the yard when she leaves. 

I actually had you multi-quoted in the thread before last where you asked about a book series. You asked me and someone else (mumto2 I think) if we read it. I haven't btw.

Audio books have still been my go-to as I continue to pack things and declutter. I finished a few more Agatha Raisin plus listened to some short Audible Originals - Caffeine by Michael Pollan and Break Shot: My First 21 Years, by James Taylor. 

I also listened to one I got on sale a few weeks ago that had been on my tbr list, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. I wish I had paid attention to the publication date. It's quite old and out of date. He basically tells us that people with mental illness have real feelings (surprise!) and those with intellectual disabilities can have meaningful lives (more surprise!). He often calls people in that last group idiots or morons, which would offend those who don't understand that the terms were in fact correct clinical terms at one time. When I was in college those terms had just recently gone out of use and were replaced with terms we find equally offensive today. The very end dealt with severely autistic people and my first teaching job included 3 young boys who fit that category. Very young - 7 and 8 years old. I recognized the child version of the man he talked about. Autism was very little understood when the book was written. When I started teaching in 1977 they had just recently let go of the idea that autism was caused by infants not being held and cuddled enough. Imagine the guilt parents felt when that was thought to be the cause! Anyway, it was interesting but I wish the publisher had given some sort of update on changes in treatment since the book was written. The author, Oliver Sacks, passed away a few years ago and it's too bad he didn't do an update in recent years. He did have updates in the book but they took place in the mid 1980s. 

My most recent book club book was Daisy Jones and The Six. It was okay. We had our meeting last night and I think everyone else enjoyed it more than I did. I'm just not a fan of the latest popular book and this one definitely fits that category. Still, the format was kind of interesting. It was like reading a Rolling Stone interview with band members. And every one of them was an unreliable narrator. 

I'm reading an historical mystery, Murder by Any Name, and some of the inaccuracies are really annoying me. I'm enjoying the mystery though and want to know who did it, so I'm trying to ignore them. A few examples:

Early in the book the author uses the phrase face-plant. It starts in the prologue! Referring to Elizabeth I - "...so much so that Mary had to give her an elbow to remind her to lift the the queen's cloth of gold train from under her feet so that Gloriana Regina did not face-plant on the gleaming floor in front of the entire court"  I actually googled in case face plant wasn't as recent a phrase as I thought. The first known use of it was in the 1980s.

"Stray over London Bridge to infect the rest of London, like rats bringing the plague..." So people in Elizabethan England understood about rats and the fleas that carry plague?

Another one I thought I bookmarked for the quote but apparently didn't, used the phrase Dark Ages, which wasn't used until the 19th century. Oh, and still another one when a character refers to "the beast with two backs". While that came from Shakespeare during the time period, Othello was towards the end of the Elizabethan era and it's doubtful people regularly used that euphemism before then.

My fellow historical mystery fans as well as historical romance fans would be cringing at all of these errors. The book was a $1.99 Kindle deal a while back so I took a chance. It's light reading and like I said I'm into the mystery. But it's still annoying.

I'm also slowly reading A People's History of the United States and The Custom of the Country. The first one is a sip read. The latter I'm having trouble getting into even though I usually like Edith Wharton novels. 

Finally, one of the book club gals gave me a hardcover copy of Educated last night. She brought it with the intent of giving it away and I was the only one among us who hasn't read it. I hadn't really made up my mind if I want to, but now I suppose I will. 

 

 

[Kareni]

Some bookish posts ~

Jo Walton’s Reading List: January 2020

https://www.tor.com/2020/02/05/jo-waltons-reading-list-january-2020/#comment-852134

10 ALICE IN WONDERLAND ILLUSTRATORS

https://bookriot.com/2020/02/02/alice-in-wonderland-illustrators/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Swords and Spaceships - 020420&utm_term=BookRiot_SwordsAndSpaceships

A Decade of Favourite Books by Claire (The Captive Reader)

https://thecaptivereader.com/2019/12/19/a-decade-of-favourite-books/

28 Little Free Libraries That Are So Adorable It Hurts

https://www.buzzfeed.com/lyapalater/the-cutest-little-free-libraries-around?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CYS - 013120&utm_term=BookRiot_CheckYourShelf_DormantSuppress

Regards,

Kareni
 

[Robin M]

Has everyone given me their updated snail mail, email, and birthday information for postcard / book swap and contact list?  I'll finish updating the list this weekend and pm. 

😘

[Kareni]

I recently finished How to Draw Inky Wonderlands: Create and Color Your Own Magical Adventure by Johanna Basford. It did not take long to read; however, it would take quite some time to do all the projects. I enjoyed it.

 "A welcoming drawing guide for creating beautiful worlds and wondrous wildlife from bestselling artist Johanna Basford

Through her bestselling coloring books and distinctive illustrations, Johanna Basford’s beautiful forests, ocean depths, and hidden magical kingdoms have enchanted millions of people around the world. In this lovely and accessible guide, she shares the fun, simple, no-skills-needed secrets to creating your own wondrous realms through fanciful, expressive line drawing.

With step-by-step exercises, inspiring prompts, and still plenty of pages to color, you’ll be free to let your creativity run wild. How to Draw Inky Wonderlands invites you to develop your personal drawing style and master creating marvelous creatures and landscapes using only the pen or pencil in your hand and the wildest reaches of your imagination. "

**

I also reread with pleasure Written in Red by Anne Bishop which I enjoyed once again.

Regards,

Kareni

[tuesdayschild]

thanks you @Kareni for the AiW illustrator link,  I'm hoping our library has books that Angel Dominguez illustrated.   ( ETA: I'm going to go and link hop with the Basford book  you just mention on my way out of here.  )

Quoting seems to an optional extra today...    I'm enjoying reading through the books you've each read and for the title sharing.  

Sincerely hope you're family is back to stronger health soon @aggieamy.  (Appreciate you sharing that Wentworth title which I've just downloaded free from Faded Page (https://www.fadedpage.com/sc/wentworth.php) 

Thinking of you (!) as you take the next step towards selling your home @Lady Florida.

 

Edited February 6, 2020 by tuesdayschild

[Negin]

Kindle book on a bit of a sale today (politics/humor)