Book a Week 2020 - BW14: Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the Ring

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday, dear hearts. Thank you for joining us in our virtual parlor for more book talk. This week we start our read of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring, the first book in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. 

"In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, as told in The Hobbit. In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose."

Take your time. Read it fast or slow, by yourself or aloud with your family. We have the whole quarter, April through June, in which to read the story.   

 “The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say”

Redditor Finds Rare 1st Edition Copy of The Fellowship of The Ring…in a Doritos Box

Owlcations discussion questions and perhaps try out the scone recipe.

Consider watching the movie or if you've already seen it, rewatch it with an eye to the differences with the book. 

Gorge of the Rings: Eat your way through the book or movies.

George R.R. Martin talks about Lord of the Rings

Youtube audiobook narrated by Steven Garnett or listen to Audible's Rob Inglis 

Happy Reading!

 

 

Link to week 13

 

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.

Edited April 5, 2020 by Robin M

[Robin M]

Morning, dear hearts. It is pouring rain right now which makes me very happy.  Our rainfall for the winter was dismal.  Lovely day to curl up with a book and read. I have Fellowship of the Ring waiting in the wings.  The Monet book isn't holding my attention so putting it back on the shelf for now. Going to dive back into the world of the Blackdagger Brotherhood with The Sinner which just came out in March.   

"Syn has kept his side hustle as a mercenary a secret from the Black Dagger Brotherhood. When he takes another hit job, he not only crosses the path of the vampire race’s new enemy, but also that of a half-breed in danger of dying during her transition. Jo Early has no idea what her true nature is, and when a mysterious man appears out of the darkness, she is torn between their erotic connection and the sense that something is very wrong.    Fate anointed Butch O’Neal as the Dhestroyer, the fulfiller of the prophecy that foresees the end of the Omega. As the war with the Lessening Society comes to a head, Butch gets an unexpected ally in Syn. But can he trust the male—or is the warrior with the bad past a deadly complication?   With time running out, Jo gets swept up in the fighting and must join with Syn and the Brotherhood against true evil. In the end, will love true prevail...or was the prophecy wrong all along?"

We watched Inception last night, 2nd time for hubby and I, first for James.  He had a headache by the end from concentrating on the story.  I understood it better this time.  Definitely a movie which must be watched more than once.

Wow, it's hailing and windy out there now.  Gotta love our crazy weather.  

😘

 

Edited April 5, 2020 by Robin M

[mumto2]

Last night I remembered to plan my Elizabeth Hunter spelling challenge ......at least to the extent of looking at how the books I plan to read fit in.  I suspect this is going to run into next month a bit unless I manage to pick up my pace.......or I may just read a stack of red covers to find the letters I need! 😉

 I checked a couple new books for the stack out on Overdrive and will see how it goes.  Planning on sticking to cozy mastering and thrillers of the Lee Child/David Baldacci type.  I think those might hold my interest.  I have the new Kathy Reichs which I am planning to get going on soon.

Currently reading another Laura Childs tea shop cozy.......Agony of the Leaves.  I skipped ahead about ten books in the series and am enjoying this one much more.

I am listening to Ashley Weaver’s Death Wears a Mask while sewing.  It’s light and an easy listen.  Period cozy.....
 

[Kareni]

Ready for a little light reading?

Today only free  for Kindle readers ~

A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe

 "Defoe’s gripping fictionalized account of the plague that racked seventeenth-century London

The year is 1665 and the plague has come to London. The air is heavy with death, the body count is rising, and the death carts are filling quickly. Our unflinching eyewitness narrator, HF, recounts the gruesome realities of life in a city overrun by the Black Death. Terror and hysteria seize the city as disease runs rampant.

Blending fiction with journalism, Defoe re-creates the plague in all its horrifying detail. First published in 1722, A Journal of the Plague Year is one of the most chilling accounts of the plague ever written."

 Regards,

Kareni

[Lori D.]

1 hour ago, Robin M said:

... This week we start our read of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring, the first book in the Lord of the Rings trilogy...
... Take your time. Read it fast or slow, by yourself or aloud with your family. We have the whole quarter, April through June, in which to read the story...

Yee-haw! I'm in! (Although, I may have to start a little later what with having to finish up with my co-op class.)

Also, a question, just to clarify: is April - June for the entire trilogy of The Lord of the Rings?? Or for the first volume of the trilogy, Fellowship of the Ring?

And, in case it helps anyone else:
When I've taught LotR for co-op classes, we read at a rate of about 70-90 pages/week, which is about 2-3 chapters/week, and it takes us 24 weeks to complete the entire trilogy. Also, the trilogy is actually divided into 6 "books" -- 2 "books inside each "volume". So:
vol. 1 - Fellowship of the Ring --> book 1 and book 2
vol. 2 - Two Towers --> book 3 and book 4 
vol. 3 - Return of the King --> book 5 and book 6

See you all along the journey through Middle-earth! 

 🧙‍♀️🧙‍♂️

Edited April 5, 2020 by Lori D.

[Ali in OR]

I'm just reading mysteries at this point which take my mind off plague problems. I finished Murder in Grosvenor Square by Ashley Gardner, a Captain Lacey Regency mystery. Had that one on my kindle for awhile. I am almost done with Rivers of London, first of that series by Ben Aaronovitch. I purchased a set of the first six books when shelter in place began.

Maybe I'll pick up Lord of the Rings. Other than The Hobbit with the girls, I haven't read it since I was a teen. And I've never seen the movies.

Edited April 5, 2020 by Ali in OR

[mumto2]

I forgot to mention I am in for the Fellowship of the Rings!  I still haven’t ran into my copy so put a hold on it in Overdrive.  I am next up!

Which reminds me.......Our neighbor just hurt her back quite badly in her efforts to reorganize the garage.  Hopefully she will manage to avoid medical care beyond talking to her doctor......she already had serious back issues.  So be careful what tasks you take on right now!  For me that means my boxes stacked with books and yarn can stay stacked in the garage.😉

 

[Robin M]

10 minutes ago, Lori D. said:

Yee-haw! I'm in! (Although, I may have to start a little later what with having to finish up with my co-op class.)

Also, a question, just to clarify: is April - June for the entire trilogy of The Lord of the Rings?? Or for the first volume of the trilogy, Fellowship of the Ring?

And, in case it helps anyone else:
When I've taught LotR for co-op classes, we read at a rate of about 70-90 pages/week, which is about 2-3 chapters/week, and it takes us 24 weeks to complete the entire trilogy. Also, the trilogy is actually divided into 6 "books" -- 2 "books inside each "volume". So:
vol. 1 - Fellowship of the Ring --> book 1 and book 2  
vol. 2 - Two Towers --> book 3 and book 4   
vol. 3 - Return of the King --> book 5 and book 6   

See you all along the journey through Middle-earth! 

 🧙‍♀️🧙‍♂️

Yeah!

We're taking it slow and reading one book a quarter 

vol. 1 - Fellowship of the Ring --> book 1 and book 2   2nd quarter  (April  - June)
vol. 2 - Two Towers --> book 3 and book 4   3rd quarter (July - Sept)
vol. 3 - Return of the King --> book 5 and book 6   4th quarter (Oct - Dec)

[Robin M]

4 minutes ago, mumto2 said:

I forgot to mention I am in for the Fellowship of the Rings!  I still haven’t ran into my copy so put a hold on it in Overdrive.  I am next up!

Which reminds me.......Our neighbor just hurt her back quite badly in her efforts to reorganize the garage.  Hopefully she will manage to avoid medical care beyond talking to her doctor......she already had serious back issues.  So be careful what tasks you take on right now!  For me that means my boxes stacked with books and yarn can stay stacked in the garage.😉

 

Hope her back heals soon!  Speaking of being careful, Melissa did a poignant post on being full of care the other day. 

[Violet Crown]

Happy Hobbitting to the LOTR participants! And joy of Palm Sunday to those participating at home today. Middle Girl cut flowering branches off the ligustrum and we read from the breviary, processed around the house with branches, and Wee Girl sang Gloria, Laus et Honor in her nicest chant voice. It was in a lot of ways nicer than standing in crowded pews holding up a palm frond.

This is King Henry VI week for me; I read Parts I and II and started Part III yesterday. We'll re-watch the corresponding Hollow Crown videos later. In general, we're trying hard to spend this Coronatide as off-screen as possible, so lots of books, baking, music, family runs, puzzles, and games, with a family movie just once in a while. Middle Girl has leapt into the breach, coaxing Wee Girl through her simmering anxieties with sisterly art projects and cookie baking. Meanwhile Wee Girl continues to win handily each round of the Crown Family Quarantine Reading Competition.

Also continuing through Decadent Poetry from Wilde to Naidu. This week I read the Yeats section; I'd never thought of W. B. as part of the Decadent movement, but some of his poetry, especially in its early versions, convincingly qualifies.

The Travail of Passion
--W. B. Yeats

When the flaming lute-thronged angelic door is wide;
When an immortal passion breathes in mortal clay;
Our hearts endure the scourge, the plaited thorns, the way
Crowded with bitter faces, the wounds in palm and side,
The hyssop-heavy sponge, the flowers by Kidron stream:
We will bend down and loosen our hair over you,
That it may drop faint perfume, and be heavy with dew,
Lilies of death-pale hope, roses of passionate dream.

 

[Lori D.]

25 minutes ago, Robin M said:

We're taking it slow and reading one book a quarter 

vol. 1 - Fellowship of the Ring --> book 1 and book 2   2nd quarter  (April  - June)
vol. 2 - Two Towers --> book 3 and book 4   3rd quarter (July - Sept)
vol. 3 - Return of the King --> book 5 and book 6   4th quarter (Oct - Dec)

Perfect! 😄 

[Liz CA]

At any other time I may have been interested in the plague hitting London - I will reserve this one for a later point in time. ☺️

I am still stuck on:

Reading

Truth Stained Lies by Blackstock. The books Ali suggested sound interesting. Maybe I need to look for Ashley Gardner. 

Audiobook:

Predator by Smith - not sure if I will continue with this one. 

Since we have the books and the movies (DVD) of Lord of the Ring trilogy and dh and ds have been constantly watching, I feel a little saturated at this time and pass.

 

Edited April 5, 2020 by Liz CA

[Kareni]

25 minutes ago, Liz CA said:

The books Ali suggested sound interesting. Maybe I need to look for Ashley Gardner. 

I liked that series, too. The first book is currently free for Kindle readers:

The Hanover Square Affair (Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries Book 1)

**

Fans of Ilona Andrews might be interested in this post in which she recommends a book she is reading. 

Unsouled by Will Wight

The first three books in that series by Wight are briefly free. See here. There are also many recommendations in the comments.

Regards,

Kareni

[Junie]

I'm going to skip the LoTR challenge this time.  I'm still working my way through El Hobbit and it is really stretching me.  I'm not up for reading any more Tolkien in Spanish for a while and I have made it a personal challenge to not do any re-reads this year unless they are in a foreign language.  (I am making an exception for Scripture, although I am trying to finish the New Testament in Spanish.)

Last week's reading was pretty light:

The Creek: The Past and Present of the Muscogee -- This book was a disappointment.  There was virtually no information in this book at all.  My dd12 is interested in learning more about the Creek Indians, as one of my 5th-great grandmothers was Creek.  We will have to keep looking for a book to help us learn about our Native American heritage.

 

The Crucible by Arthur Miller -- This was the first work of Arthur Miller that I've read.  I opened the book expecting to not like this at all and ended up really enjoying it.

 

 

Edited April 5, 2020 by Junie

[Robin M]

Here is my March Wrap up:

Stats:  Physical books – 6,  ebooks – 3,  Female – 4, Male – 2 

Deborah Harkness All Souls series:  A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night, The Book of Life.   Ebooks/ Love and Mystery 
A Share in Death - Deborah Crombie (#1 Kincaid/James) Whodunit and Ladies of Fiction
Dragon Bones - Patricia Briggs (#1 Hurog Duology)  Dragons
Smoke Bitten - Patricia Briggs  (#12 Mercy Thompson) Fantasy 
Running Blind - Lee Child (#4 Reacher)  mood/dusty/whodunit
Arrows of the Queen - Mercedes Lackey (#1 Heralds of Valdemar) Fantasy/reread
Luke - Michael Card ( religious commentary)  Nonfiction

Notice I'm still stuck in the first part of the alphabet with titles and authors 😁

[aggieamy]

6 hours ago, Robin M said:

Wow, it's hailing and windy out there now.  Gotta love our crazy weather.  

I love spring weather that's crazy. Not tornado crazy but the winds and the thunderstorms are awesome to sleep to. 

5 hours ago, Kareni said:

Ready for a little light reading?

Today only free  for Kindle readers ~

A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe

 "Defoe’s gripping fictionalized account of the plague that racked seventeenth-century London

The year is 1665 and the plague has come to London. The air is heavy with death, the body count is rising, and the death carts are filling quickly. Our unflinching eyewitness narrator, HF, recounts the gruesome realities of life in a city overrun by the Black Death. Terror and hysteria seize the city as disease runs rampant.

Blending fiction with journalism, Defoe re-creates the plague in all its horrifying detail. First published in 1722, A Journal of the Plague Year is one of the most chilling accounts of the plague ever written."

 Regards,

Kareni

Too soon! 

LOL.

4 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

Happy Hobbitting to the LOTR participants! And joy of Palm Sunday to those participating at home today. Middle Girl cut flowering branches off the ligustrum and we read from the breviary, processed around the house with branches, and Wee Girl sang Gloria, Laus et Honor in her nicest chant voice. It was in a lot of ways nicer than standing in crowded pews holding up a palm frond.

That does sound lovely. Our church is doing a parking lot mass next week ... Sophia and I are contemplating it but Kevin said the only way we'll get a spot in the parking lot is if we go now so we'll see. 

[aggieamy]

Hurrah! I read another chapter in the book I'm slowly making my way through today. 

And I actually finished a book today.

The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass - The narrative is good but the real winner here is his writing exercises. If you like books on writing then I suggest buying a used copy of this, arming yourself with a new highlighter and a stack of post its, and reading in a comfy chair. 

[Violet Crown]

6 hours ago, Kareni said:

Ready for a little light reading?

Today only free  for Kindle readers ~

A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe

 "Defoe’s gripping fictionalized account of the plague that racked seventeenth-century London

The year is 1665 and the plague has come to London. The air is heavy with death, the body count is rising, and the death carts are filling quickly. Our unflinching eyewitness narrator, HF, recounts the gruesome realities of life in a city overrun by the Black Death. Terror and hysteria seize the city as disease runs rampant.

Blending fiction with journalism, Defoe re-creates the plague in all its horrifying detail. First published in 1722, A Journal of the Plague Year is one of the most chilling accounts of the plague ever written."

 Regards,

Kareni

I read A Journal of the Plague Year back in ... [checks book timeline] ... 2014. It was interesting. A few things from the book have been coming to mind since our own Plague Year started. One is that, though it was going to be another two centuries before the actual vector for the Bubonic Plague was known, the authorities did know that ships brought it from Plague-afflicted cities, and crowded conditions with lots of garbage around fostered the Plague. (They also thought it transmitted person-to-person, which was reasonable enough based on observation of other diseases, but not of course true for Bubonic Plague.)

The 1665 Great Plague caused economic disaster as other cities ceased to trade with London, and nearly all commerce stopped, impoverishing the English countryside, which soon enough started to have its own Plague outbreaks on top of that. What saved the English economy was the Great Fire of London the next year, which despite its additional tragedy and devastation, was necessarily followed by a building and purchasing boom that put the countryside as well as the London population back into business.

(It's been six years so don't fact-check me, but this is what I remember from the book. Also that, despite being classified as "fiction," it's credibly believed that Defoe based the book on his uncle's journals, and as far as we can tell it's highly accurate.)

[Kareni]

5 minutes ago, Violet Crown said:

...this is what I remember from the book...

Thanks for sharing your memories, Violet Crown. I knew little as to the content.

Regards,

Kareni

[Violet Crown]

1 hour ago, aggieamy said:

That does sound lovely. Our church is doing a parking lot mass next week ... Sophia and I are contemplating it but Kevin said the only way we'll get a spot in the parking lot is if we go now so we'll see. 

So what do you think, do we call this season Coronatide, or Quarantinegesima?

[melmichigan]

Ugh!  I'm still struggling to read right now.   Warning, sad content: I read posts like this by Kim Harrison, and this by Lorelei King, and I'm just not in the mood. 

We start our Lord of the Rings study this week, so that should help.  I have the The Last Odyssey (Sigma Force #15) by James Rollins on audiobook, and have been working on a 2,000 pc puzzle to keep my mind occupied, so I'm hoping to put the two together this week.  

[Dicentra]

I don't even know what I've been up to since I last posted.  Not enough reading, that's for sure.  As much as I love, love, love to teach, it is getting to that point in the school year where I'm also looking forward to finishing off the year and being able to devote time to reading.  We have a screened in porch and by late May/June (don't judge - I'm in central Canada, remember? ;)) it will be warm enough to open it up and to sit out and read.  The screens are to keep out the mosquitoes, black flies, and no-see-ums which can be nasty here in summer.  Here's my view while sitting in my porch from last summer:

@Mothersweets and @mumto2 - I'm really liking the Ruth Galloway mysteries!!  And so many books in the series yet to read! 🙂  I finished The Crossing Places and have started on The Janus Stone.  Thank you for posting about them!  And @mumto2 - I also have the new Kathy Reichs and will start it... someday.  When my teaching year is done. 😉 🙂

@Kareni - the Defoe book wasn't free on Amazon Canada 😞 but I did find another version for 99 cents so I grabbed that.  Again, will start it post-teaching year. 😉  Thanks for the post!

@Robin M - I still haven't made much headway in The Hobbit (bad, Dicentra!) so I can't, in good faith, say I'll be able to join in with LotR.  But I'll try to at least finish The Hobbit by December! 😄

@Violet Crown - I am a literary amoeba compared to the reading giants that are you and your family but I did purchase the two seasons of The Hollow Crown from iTunes a while ago.  Sadly, I have not yet had a chance to watch them.  I have a friend who is an AP English Lit teacher who LOVES the Bard and I need her to sit next to me and explain.  As I mentioned in response to @Lori D.'s wonderful analysis posts on The Hobbit, my level of analysis/understanding of literature amounts to:

Book.

Good.

Need snack.

😉

@melmichigan - I've also got The Last Odyssey and will, again, get to it someday. 🙂

I'm going to need to spend some SERIOUS porch time this summer to get caught up on all the books and things I need to get to!

I hope everyone is staying well and safe!

[Lori D.]

30 minutes ago, Dicentra said:

 Here's my view while sitting in my porch from last summer:

What a charming summer reading porch! 😄 📚

[Negin]

Yesterday was Pen's birthday. Happy Birthday Pen!

[Negin]

2 hours ago, Dicentra said:

I don't even know what I've been up to since I last posted.  Not enough reading, that's for sure.  As much as I love, love, love to teach, it is getting to that point in the school year where I'm also looking forward to finishing off the year and being able to devote time to reading.  We have a screened in porch and by late May/June (don't judge - I'm in central Canada, remember? ;)) it will be warm enough to open it up and to sit out and read.  The screens are to keep out the mosquitoes, black flies, and no-see-ums which can be nasty here in summer.  Here's my view while sitting in my porch from last summer:

 

Your porch is just lovely!

[Pen]

I’m with @Ali in OR — reading mysteries...

I’m now on my 3rd Deborah Crombie (Kincaid/James) book.

Plus iPhone for Seniors as I was trying to set up a phone for my mom for the CV19 Stay Home.  And learning some things myself about what I can do. 

And still on Buhner and Herbs books. 

And pulling out some of my gardening books. 

 

(ps I want a puppy... all the dog threads have me thinking this would be a good time to be able to deal with house training)

 

[Negin]

I read The Neverending Story - 2 Stars - My daughter suggested this to me since it’s one of her favorites. Fantasy is not a genre that I care for much at all and I should have known better.

Although the book was glacially paced, and just dragged on and on, I read most of it. Then as I started to get truly confused and no longer cared much at all, I just skipped through to the end. There were far too many details and I was starting to lose my mind, which was not helped with all the Covid-19 rubbish these days, I have little time or patience to stick with anything that I don’t care for. Honestly, reading this felt like a never-ending story. This was a case where it’s not the book, it’s me. I’m sure that it’s a wonderful book that would appeal to anyone who loves fantasy and a good fairy tale.

The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop - 2 Stars - I was looking forward to reading this, since I love memoirs, and this was one was all about books – what could be a more ideal mix? Well, let’s just say that it didn't blow me away and I didn’t care for the author’s writing style. It lacked warmth and felt a bit detached and unemotional. It just wasn’t all that interesting to me.

    

MY RATING SYSTEM

5 Stars

The book is fantastic. It’s not perfect, since no book is, but it’s definitely a favorite of mine.

4 Stars

Really Good

3 Stars

Enjoyable

2 Stars

Just Okay – nothing to write home about

1 Star

Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

[mumto2]

Since so many of us are looking for lighter reads these days I want to recommend a couple favorite cozy authors who are popular with Overdrive (Yeah!)   These are what I call privately contemporary cozies,  fun themed mysteries ......

Kate Carlisle.........she has two series.  This is the first in my favorite series https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6077869-homicide-in-hardcover?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=xtl970AdR0&rank=1  I have read the first in her other series, not as good but I may be reading those before we are done with stay at home! 

Donna Andrews is also excellent.  I have reread this series.               https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/545766.Murder_With_Peacocks?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=WT8tK2DaMq&rank=1

 

 

Edited April 6, 2020 by mumto2

[Violet Crown]

12 hours ago, Dicentra said:

I did purchase the two seasons of The Hollow Crown from iTunes a while ago.  Sadly, I have not yet had a chance to watch them.

Go for it! You don't need to read the plays first, at all. King Richard the Third (who shows up also in the King John VI plays) is played by Benedict Cumberbatch. Don't miss his villainous villainy!

[Dicentra]

1 hour ago, Violet Crown said:

Go for it! You don't need to read the plays first, at all. King Richard the Third (who shows up also in the King John VI plays) is played by Benedict Cumberbatch. Don't miss his villainous villainy!

The main reason I grabbed the seasons was the cast list. 🙂  I love Anton Lesser.  There's also Mr. Cumberbatch :), Jeremy Irons, Tom Hiddleston...  What's not to like? 😄

Speaking of the Bard...  Has anyone else been listening to Patrick Stewart read a sonnet a day?  Like I say, I don't "get" poetry and I REALLY don't "get" Shakespearean poetry but I could listen to Patrick Stewart read tax law. 😉

https://twitter.com/hashtag/ASonnetADay?src=hashtag_click

 

[Miss Tick]

11 hours ago, Negin said:

I read The Neverending Story

Glad to hear I'm not the only one who felt this book was 2 star-ry.

I finished a YA Book this week, Graceling by Kristin Cashore. It was a nice fantasy book (stay away @Negin!) There was a map in the front which is a key thing according to The Tough Guide to Fantasyland. It had a both a male and female protagonists, but mostly people self-rescued, which was nice.

[-M-]

Hello, BaWers! I hope you’re all doing well. Since my last post, I’ve finished fifteen books, which puts me at (drumroll, please) fifty-two.

■ Autobiography of a Face (Lucy Grealy; 1994. Non-fiction.) RFS
p. 7
The cruelty of children is immense, almost startling its precision. The kids at the parties were fairly young and, surrounded by adults, they rarely make cruel remarks outright. But their open, uncensored stares were more painful than the deliberate taunts of my peers at school, where insecurities drove everything and everyone like some looming, evil presence in a haunted machine. But in those backyards, where the grass was mown so short and sharp it would have hurt to walk on it, there was only the fact of me, my face, my ugliness.

■ The Plot Against America (Philip Roth; 2004. Fiction.) RFS
I had thought this would be a reread but then realized I had confused it with American Pastoral. The book is practically perfect, so although the first episode of the new HBO series was solid, it’s unlikely that I will continue watching.

p. 114
Turned wrong way round, the relentless unforeseen was what we schoolchildren studied as “history,” harmless history, where everything unexpected in its own time is chronicled on the page as inevitable. The terror of the unforeseen is what the science of history hides, turning a disaster into an epic.

p. 300
Whether outright government-sanctioned persecution was inevitable, nobody could say for sure, but the fear of persecution was such that not even a practical man grounded in his everyday tasks, a person who tried his best to contain the uncertainty and the anxiety and the anger and operate according to the dictates of reason, could hope to preserve his equilibrium any longer.

p. 316
To have enslaved America with this hocus-pocus! To have captured the mind of the world’s greatest nation without uttering a single word of truth! Oh, the pleasure we must be affording the most malevolent man on earth!

■ Aimless Love (Billy Collins; 2013. Poetry.) RFS
Billy Collins is a treasure.

■ My Dark Vanessa (Kate Elizabeth Russell; 2020. Fiction.) ATY
Read in two sittings. Timely and disturbing. Related links here and here.

■ Severance (Ming La; 2018. Fiction.) RFS
Prescient and gorgeously written. I cannot recommend it enough. Mr. Nerdishly agrees, wryly adding, “It’s also scary as hell.” Review here.

■ Trees, Vol. 3 (Warren Ellis; 2020. Graphic fiction.) LIB
Strong addition to the series.

■ Oblivion Song, Vol. 4 (Robert Kirkman; 2020. Graphic fiction.) LIB
Less so.

■ Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland (Patrick Radden Keene; 2019. Non-fiction.) RFS
Related links here and here.

■ Catch and Kill (Ronan Farrow; 2019. Non-fiction.) RFS
This reminded me of my experience reading Bad Blood: I could not put it down; hours disappeared. A review and an article about the related podcast.

■ The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway; 1952. Fiction.) ATY
This is another of those books that I have reread as an adult and realized, “Wow, that was clearly wasted on my teenaged self.”

No one should be alone in their old age, he thought. But it is unavoidable.

■ Postal: Deliverance, Vol. 1 (Brian Edward Hill; 2019. Graphic fiction.) LIB
The owner of the comic book store we patronize has fruitfully recommended several series to me, so it’s odd that he didn’t mention that Postal, a series on my shortlist, had continued. Well, it was a treat to discover the first volume on Hoopla.

■ The Nose (Nikolai Gogol; 1835. Fiction.) RFS
We saw some of William Kentridge’s The Nose Series at the Milwaukee Art Museum, but a search of the museum’s website yields only a tax document mentioning that the printswere there. Weird. Well, in any event, I now plan to watch the Kentridge production of the Shostakovich opera via Met On Demand.

But nothing lasts long in this world, and so even joy is weaker one minute than the last, and by the third it has become something fainter still, until finally it fades imperceptibly back into the more usual state of one’s mind, just as a ripple on water, born from the drop of a pebble, will gradually merge back into the smooth surface of the lake.

■ The Book of M (Peng Shepherd; 2018. Fiction.) RFS
Too long by one hundred pages, and, boy, is the chapter for each narrator device one of the most overused in contemporary fiction, or what? Add to that the fact that I grew impatient with the fantastical elements by the final third, and you have the recipe for a Meh rating.

■ The Lion in Winter (James Goldman; 1966. Drama.) RFS
Reread one of my favorites because this is a season that requires such indulgences.

Act II, Scene 1
Eleanor: I adored you.
Henry: Never.
Eleanor: I still do.
Henry: Of all the lies, that one is the most terrible.
Eleanor: I know: that’s why I saved it up for now. (They throw themselves into each other’s arms.) Oh, Henry, we have mangled everything we’ve touched.

■ The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe (Kij Johnson; 2016. Fiction.) RFS
My ticket stub from Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s 2016 production of Tug of War: Friendly Fire marked page 41. My best guess, then, is that I began this unusual book four years ago and set it aside. Written as a feminist counterpoint to H.P. Lovecraft’s The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, this short novel is certainly not my usual fare, but I returned to the beginning and gave it another shot. Still not my cuppa, but, hey, I finished it this time. Related article here.

—————————————
ATY Acquired this year
LIB Borrowed from library (including Hoopla and Overdrive)
OTH Other
RFS Read from shelves

[mumto2]

@Melissa M I have been waiting for your My Dark Vanessa review.  I noticed you were reading it over on Goodreads and it is one of the popular books right now.  Now that I know you liked it and found it an enthralling read I will try it!😉

[Mothersweets]

I actually finished a book! The Mist in the Mirror by Susan Hill - this is the same author that wrote The Woman in Black so I was expecting a good spooky tale. This one had lots of great atmosphere, intriguing premise, etc. but failed to explain several plot points from earlier in the book. Rather disappointing. 😞

@Pen - Happy Birthday!! I hope you had a fun day!

@Dicentra - what a lovely porch! and I'm glad you are enjoying Ruth Galloway & friends.:)

[Kareni]

Belated happy birthday  wishes, Pen. I hope you had a fine celebration!!!

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

@Pen..........Happy Birthday!🎉🥳🎊

[Dicentra]

1 hour ago, Mothersweets said:

I actually finished a book! The Mist in the Mirror by Susan Hill - this is the same author that wrote The Woman in Black so I was expecting a good spooky tale. This one had lots of great atmosphere, intriguing premise, etc. but failed to explain several plot points from earlier in the book. Rather disappointing. 😞

@Pen - Happy Birthday!! I hope you had a fun day!

@Dicentra - what a lovely porch! and I'm glad you are enjoying Ruth Galloway & friends.:)

Have you read Dolly or The Small Hand by Hill?  I think they are better than The Mist in the Mirror. 🙂  I've also been intrigued with her Simon Serrailler crime novel series.  Maybe someday. 🙂

And happy belated birthday, @Pen!

[Mothersweets]

2 hours ago, Dicentra said:

Have you read Dolly or The Small Hand by Hill?  I think they are better than The Mist in the Mirror. 🙂  I've also been intrigued with her Simon Serrailler crime novel series.  Maybe someday. 🙂

And happy belated birthday, @Pen!

No but they are on my list! My library had The Man in the Picture so I'm going to try that one next.

[Kareni]

Today only, free  for Kindle readers ~

Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life by Herman Melville

"Inspired by Melville’s own experiences on the high seas, this classic adventure tale pits two sailors against an island of cannibals

After six months of  relentless battering by the turbulent South Pacific, the whaling ship known as the Dolly is beginning to resemble a swollen and cracking prison. For Tommo, it’s been six months of little to eat but stale biscuits, six months of steady abuse and derision from his shipmates, six months with nothing to distract him from the daily drudgery of life aboard the boat. All that time and not even a hint of land—it’s enough to drive anyone mad. Thousands of miles from home, the Dolly finally chances upon a remote island, and Tommo and fellow sailor Toby resolve to strike out on their own. Intrigue and excitement ensue when they discover their new haven to be inhabited by a tribe of cannibals!"

also free ~

Full Tilt (Full Tilt Duet Book 1) by Emma Scott

Regards,

 Kareni

[Kareni]

Some bookish posts ~

HONESTLY, WRITING A RECURRING CHARACTER IS A LOT LIKE HAVING AN IMAGINARY FRIEND

THE STRANGE, SORDID WORLD OF ELIZABETHAN-ERA TRUE CRIME

AGATHA CHRISTIE IS THE BEST-SELLING NOVELIST IN HISTORY

Also ~

Jo Walton’s Reading List: March 2020

https://www.tor.com/2020/04/03/jo-waltons-reading-list-march-2020/

The Magic of Libraries: Where Fantasy Meets Reality

https://www.tor.com/2020/03/27/the-magic-of-libraries-where-fantasy-meets-reality/

8 SFF Characters Who Commune With Animals

https://www.tor.com/2020/03/16/eight-fantasy-characters-who-communicate-with-animals/

Regards,

Kareni

[Dicentra]

3 hours ago, Kareni said:

Some bookish posts ~

HONESTLY, WRITING A RECURRING CHARACTER IS A LOT LIKE HAVING AN IMAGINARY FRIEND

THE STRANGE, SORDID WORLD OF ELIZABETHAN-ERA TRUE CRIME

AGATHA CHRISTIE IS THE BEST-SELLING NOVELIST IN HISTORY

Also ~

Jo Walton’s Reading List: March 2020

https://www.tor.com/2020/04/03/jo-waltons-reading-list-march-2020/

The Magic of Libraries: Where Fantasy Meets Reality

https://www.tor.com/2020/03/27/the-magic-of-libraries-where-fantasy-meets-reality/

8 SFF Characters Who Commune With Animals

https://www.tor.com/2020/03/16/eight-fantasy-characters-who-communicate-with-animals/

Regards,

Kareni

Thanks for the link to the Elizabethan-era true crime, Kareni! 🙂

[Violet Crown]

 

 

Quote

@Violet Crown I love your system! 😀So how often do the exceptions occur and you choose again?

Sandy -- I was looking at an earlier thread and realized I never answered your question! Sorry! Answer: Increasingly often, now that the enforced home-time has given me a chance to get reference books and Middle Girl's Greek and Latin library entered. This last time, for instance, I got three exceptions--The Oxford Companion to Something Or Other, a book by Philip K. Dick (dh's, no thank you), and Auden's Lectures on Shakespeare (which I started, decided wasn't very interesting, and discarded)--before ending up with King Henry VI.

 

[Violet Crown]

5 hours ago, Kareni said:

 

THE STRANGE, SORDID WORLD OF ELIZABETHAN-ERA TRUE CRIME

Thanks for that list! It includes two of dh's favorites, The Roaring Girl and The Alchemist.

[Kareni]

I'm glad to have provided a link of interest, @Dicentraand @Violet Crown.

**

A few more bookish posts ~

6 Comfort-Listen Podcasts to Transport You Beyond Your Living Room by Natalie Zutter

In Defense of Needlework  by Elyse Martin

The Merry World of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit by Jo Walton

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

@Pen   Happy Birthday, darlin!  A bit belated and hope you had an awesome day.

 

[Robin M]

Who hasn't dropped by lately to let us know they are doing okay? @vmsurbat1, @Nan in Mass, @tuesdayschild, @SereneHome, @loesje22000 Anyone else I'm missing?

@KareniThank you for all the wonderful links. I do believe my buying ban is officially over.  🙂 

@DicentraConnie, love your screened in porch and the colors are perfect. 

@Ali in OR Yep, mysteries and paranormals, fantasy are my go to's right now. 

@Violet Crown  Thank you for the Travail of Passion

@Negin I enjoyed the Neverending story movie better than I did the book!  

@mumto2  It's been years since I read Homicide in Hardcover.  Really enjoyed it. I'll have to check out more of her books.

 

 

[Robin M]

On 4/6/2020 at 1:18 PM, Melissa M said:

■ The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway; 1952. Fiction.) ATY
This is another of those books that I have reread as an adult and realized, “Wow, that was clearly wasted on my teenaged self.”

Yes, definitely.  I read it a few years back and got so much more out of it than I did in high school.  

 

On 4/6/2020 at 1:18 PM, Melissa M said:

■ The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe (Kij Johnson; 2016. Fiction.) RFS
My ticket stub from Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s 2016 production of Tug of War: Friendly Fire marked page 41. My best guess, then, is that I began this unusual book four years ago and set it aside. Written as a feminist counterpoint to H.P. Lovecraft’s The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, this short novel is certainly not my usual fare, but I returned to the beginning and gave it another shot. Still not my cuppa, but, hey, I finished it this time. Related article here.

I read this one a couple years ago and it was different,  remember I wanted to read more of her books.  I had the Fox Woman on my wishlist for a while but then couldn't recall why I wanted to read it and deleted it. I may have to revisit Dream Quest at some point.

@Junie I admire that you are plugging away reading The Hobbit in spanish.  I never gave it much thought that if I knew a book well enough, I could try in another language and pick out what they were saying. 

@melmichigan  Love James Rollins.  Which puzzle are you working on?

[Robin M]

The Hugo Award finalists have been announced. I have The Ten Thousand Doors of January as well as The City in the Middle of the Night on my virtual shelves. Guess I'll be reading both sooner than later now. Love Seanan McGuire but haven't gotten to Middlegame yet. Has anyone read any of the books on the list?

 

 

[Kareni]

This afternoon I finished The Parable of the Mustard Seed by Lisa Henry. I enjoyed it, but I prefer other books by the author. This one had abuse content that many would find disconcerting. (Adult content)

"The past never stays buried forever.

John Faimu is an Australian-Samoan police officer who deals with hurt kids every day. He loves what he does, but he’s tired of the grind of shift work, and of trying to find a balance between his job, his family, and the young man who straddles the increasingly blurry line between both.

Caleb Fletcher was the teenager John saved from a cult eight long years ago, and he’s now the young man John wants in ways that neither of them should risk.

Eight years after his rescue, Caleb is still struggling with PTSD and self-harm. John has always been his rock, but now Caleb wants more. Can he convince John to cross a line and love him the way they both crave? And when the monsters from Caleb’s past come back seeking to silence him for good, will John’s love be enough to save him?"

 Regards,

Kareni

[vmsurbat1]

13 hours ago, Robin M said:

Who hasn't dropped by lately to let us know they are doing okay?

Thanks for the shout-out Robin!  Still reading, busier than before the shut-down because no more help from outside.

 I've read some 2* books--rated but not reviewed on goodreads--and am half-way through a reread of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.  That has been put on hold because an ebook request from the library came in, so switched to Pachinko and am so glad I chose to read it.  I can see why it was so highly rated and on "favorite book" lists.  This will be one I'll review.  I've been giving detailed summaries at the dinner table and my husband is loving it second-hand. 😉