Book a Week 2020 - BW26: Ladies of Fiction - M.M. Kaye

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday, dear hearts! July is upon the horizon. Can you believe we're halfway through the year already? I think everyone's excited as we've been hearing lots of fireworks in our area. Are you making progress, whittling down your books, reading from your own shelves or adding more to your stacks? My virtual and physical TBR pile are growing. Are you expanding your reading range, diving into new genres and cultures or enjoying revisiting old friends? 

I haven't been able to settle down with new reads, dipping in and out of several book, so have been diving back into comfort reads. Do any of you remember the old Mervyn's commercial with the woman waiting in front of the closed store, with her nose pressed to the window, chanting open, open, open? New books are sitting on the shelf, waiting impatiently, whispering in my ear, read me, read me, read me.

I'm excited about this month's Ladies of Fiction Bookology author and artist, M.M. Kaye, who was born and raised in Shimla, India and wrote a wide variety of historical fiction, suspense novels, children's stories (written and illustrated) as well as radio plays.

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.

I'm looking forward to reading The Far Pavilions:

 "A magnificent romantic/historical/adventure novel set in India at the time of mutiny. The Far Pavilions is a story of 19th Century India, when the thin patina of English rule held down dangerously turbulent undercurrents. It is a story about and English man - Ashton Pelham-Martyn - brought up as a Hindu and his passionate, but dangerous love for an Indian princess. It's a story of divided loyalties, of tender camaraderie, of greedy imperialism and of the clash between east and west."

Learn more about M.M. Kaye through New York Times Behind the Best Sellers, Summer of the Child of Raj, and A tribute to MM Kaye, Shimla-born British writer.

 

“What could be more entrancing than a carefree nomadic existence

camping, moving, exploring strange places and the ruins of

forgotten empires, sleeping under canvas or the open sky, and giving no

thought to the conventions and restriction of the modern world?”

Far Pavilions - M.M. Kaye

 

 Happy reading!

 Link to week 25

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 with other readers  around the globe.

 

[Robin M]

Hard to believe we are halfway through the year already.   I'm currently rereading Nora Robert's Northern Lights and have started Far Pavilions.  Listening to Kevin Hearn's Hounded in the car and James and I have been listening to Dooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan Scott. 

At the halfway mark I've read 67 books and had a thought about breaking it down stats wise but my books are so diverse and multicultural, it's be impossible. I'm reading more ebooks than physical books. However the physical are more chunky. More female than male authors so far.

I have spent a lot of time in outer space or on alternative worlds, where a diversity of characters love and learn from each other's differences. The authors make it seamless without out getting preachy or having an agenda. I love escapist literature where the young learn from the experiences of their elders and the elders listen with open minds to the youngers. 

Edited June 28, 2020 by Robin M

[Kareni]

Today only, free for Kindle readers ~

Richard Burton's The Arabian Nights, Volume One

 "The first volume of the classic collection of Middle Eastern stories, including “Tale of the Three Apples” and “Tale of the Trader and the Jinni.”
 
To be chosen by King Shahriyar as a wife was a death sentence. After a single night of marriage, he executed each of his wives. So when Scheherazade was picked, she knew her time on Earth had reached its end—unless she could hold the king’s interest. To that end, each night she spun a new enchanting, erotic, mesmerizing tale, always keeping the king guessing as to its conclusion—and sparing her life for another thousand and one nights.
 
The first volume of this collection, translated by the renowned British explorer Sir Richard Burton, begins the stories that Scheherazade told . . ."

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Some bookish posts ~

Exclusive Interview: Stars Beyond Authors S.K. Dunstall

https://paulsemel.com/exclusive-interview-stars-beyond-authors-s-k-dunstall/

From reddit: Books about cooking (but not "cookbooks")

https://www.reddit.com/r/suggestmeabook/comments/ghsv8d/books_about_cooking_but_not_cookbooks/

From reddit: Looking for romance-adjacent books

https://www.reddit.com/r/RomanceBooks/comments/hemoy6/looking_for_romanceadjacent_books/

What Katherine Addison Is Reading Right Now

https://www.tor.com/2020/06/22/what-katherine-addison-is-reading-right-now/

Regards,

Kareni

[SereneHome]

Oh thank you for introducing a new-to-me author, I am going to look her up.

Books I started after I finished the Night Circus.. A house without windows by Nadia Hashimi. Story of a woman who is accused of murdering her husband in Afghanistan. I don't know anything about Afghanistan, except that the country where I was born invaded Afghanistan in 1979 and many many of our young boys died in that war.

I also started reading The count of Monte Cristo, for the first time since I was a teenager. Although that time I read it in Russian and now reading in English. So should be interesting 🙂

[Penguin]

Harking back to last week:

I read the Flannery O'Connor article, and found it very though provoking. Thank you for raising the topic, @Violet CrownPaul Elie notes that "as she developed into a keenly self-aware writer, the habit of bigotry persisted in her letters" and then he states that "the particulars have been held close by executors, smoothed over by editors, and justified by exegetes, as if to save O'Connor from herself." That's a problem, and that sort of protectionism needs to stop.

I am not a fan of putting a writer/artist/musician etc. on a pedestal. The harder they fall and all that. There are some writers/artists/musicians etc. whom I find so personally distasteful that I have no interest in exploring their work. I certainly like to draw that line for myself - I don't want someone else deciding for me where to draw that line. However, I am not in the least concerned about books like FOC's disappearing. I just don't see that as a legitimate threat.

I don't own or read many ebooks, but I do like Kathy's idea of backing them up with Calibre. I don't trust amazon, and  I won't "buy" movies on amazon Prime. Rent them? Sure. I prefer not to buy books and movies that are really only a license, and that I would lose if and when the platform disappears or decides to be capricious.

Back to the 10x10s:

I have a number of perpetual challenges that I want to continue, and some topics that I want to explore as a cluster of three or so, but don't merit ten books. I think it would be fun to look for the patters retroactively. In other words, my intention is to finish my originally stated 10x10 challenge and then move on to a different framework.

It was great to read your 10x10 updates @Violet Crown @Robin M and  @mumto2

Edited June 28, 2020 by Penguin

[mumto2]

Since I have now explored the links........and put some books on hold thanks to the SK Dunstall (The Lineman) interview.........

M.M. Kaye’s mysteries are quite good.  I read many of them a few years ago and enjoyed them.  My memory places them in a similar to Mary Stewart category but I could be wrong as it’s been awhile. Exotic locations and I was trying to see how many countries I could visit via books that year.

I am currently listening to another Kim Harrison and enjoying it.  I like the narrator a lot so will try to continue listening even though I recently discovered I could physically read these books far quicker.  Overdrive took my audiobook back and I had to check out the ebook and actually read the last 10 hours of the book.  I had it done in an evening......even 2x listening speed can’t achieve done that quickly!  I hope to be all caught up by the time I reach the top of the list for her new release......on Pale Demon currently.

I am reading the new Kwei Quarterly https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53172044-the-missing-american.  The Missing American started out rather choppy and I came very close to abandoning it but it was set in Ghana so I really wanted to read it as we have acquaintances from there. I am now at 16% and it has become a page turner...........

I have also just started Malevolent by Jana Deleon of the Louisiana Longshot cozy series fame.  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25856666-malevolent?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=SUC1EGV6f9&rank=1  So far it’s rather atmospheric and quite suspenseful.  I hope to really like it.  It’s the first in a series about a private dectective who searches for answers to the unanswerable.  In this book the client is being stalked by her dead husband.......she watched him die and he is dead, cremated,  But she also saw him in her house last night..... peaking out of a cool secret hiding place in her old home in New Orleans.  I suspect this is going to the obvious unknown twin answer but for right now it is also a page turner.....😂yes, two page turners. What a great situation!😀

 

[Negin]

1 hour ago, Robin M said:

I'm looking forward to reading The Far Pavilions: 

Robin, I haven't read this one yet. Thank you for the reminder to put this on my wish list. 

I read Voracious: A Hungry Reader Cooks Her Way through Great Books - 4 Stars - This was a fun and quick read. It’s part memoir, partly about books, and part cookbook. The author, Cara Nicoletti, loves to read, and she loves to cook. She spent much of her childhood in her grandfather’s butcher shop. She is a former pastry chef, a butcher, and food blogger.  

The book is divided into three sections – books that have influenced her during either childhood, adolescence, or adulthood. Each chapter focuses on a different book and includes a recipe that she associates with the story.

I was intrigued by the fact that she had paid such close attention to various food scenes and descriptions in books. I thought that I was obsessed with food, and I most definitely am. I often feel hard pressed to find anyone who loves food as much as I do, but with all that said, I have seldom paid attention to food descriptions when I’m reading. I’m sure that from here on out I’ll be noticing all that more than before!

I wasn’t too keen on some of Nicoletti’s stories. Some of them seemed slightly contrived, almost as if she was trying too hard. I’m nit-picking here, but I do roll my eyes slightly at memoirs that are written by anyone younger than 40. This author was 28 when this was published, a bit too young for my liking, but that’s fine. I enjoyed it regardless.

I also didn’t appreciate the fact that the chapters included spoilers. Spoilers, whether in reviews or in a book such as this, are my pet peeve. Once I realized that she was giving the endings away, I skipped those sections. This was only for the books that I have not yet read but plan on doing so eventually. If you do plan on reading this book, you may wish to skip the chapters of books that you plan to read in the future!

The watercolor illustrations are simply delightful!

My rule when reviewing cookbooks is to try out some of the recipes, because in all fairness, how can I review a cookbook otherwise? Some of the recipes are a bit daunting for the casual cook. There are a few that require ingredients that I cannot find. I tried out five of the recipes. Four out of the five were absolute hits and one wasn’t that great – that was the Rib Eye Steak (from “Down and Out in Paris and London”). It was just okay. I was going to give this book 3 stars, but because most of the recipes that I tried were so good and unique, I’ve chosen to give it 4 stars.

The Perfect Soft-Boiled Egg (from “Emma”) was delicious. I doubt, however, that I will make that one very often. Pricking each egg with thumbtack or needle is a bit too much work for me.

The White Garlic Soup (from “Pride and Prejudice”) was wonderful and most of the family loved it.

Everyone loved the Black Pepper Parmesan Pasta (from “Strega Nona”).

Another one that everyone loved was the scrumptious Honey Poppy Seed Cake (from “The Aeneid”). Oh, my goodness, I’ll be making that one again for sure!

 

 

[Miss Tick]

5 hours ago, SereneHome said:

I also started reading The count of Monte Cristo, for the first time since I was a teenager.

We've been listening to this as a bedtime story. Since April. 14 hours left, so at least one more renewal I think.  😁 Younger dd and I are also reading Outcast by Rosemary Sutcliff.

On my own I'm reading The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell as our history studies are moving into the Middle Ages. I just finished The Scholar, an Irish police procedural by Dervla McTiernan. Oh, and I'm 3/4 through the Aeneid.

I keep thinking that since it is summer I  should be getting "caught up" on my reading but it never happens that way.

Edited June 28, 2020 by SusanC
there is no one in the world whose first name is "Disembark"!

[Kareni]

Some currently free books for Kindle readers ~

Voice of War (Threadlight Book 1) by Zack Argyle

Plumbess Seg by Jude Fawley

Day One: A Romantic Comedy by Lauren Runow

Heaven Sent (Small Town Swains Book 1) by Pamela Morsi yeah

Moonburner (Moonburner Cycle Book 1)

Cold As January (The Tough Ladies Book 1) by Katie Graykowski

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

52 minutes ago, SusanC said:

Younger dd and I are also reading Outcast by Disembark Sutcliff.

This attack of the auto-correct (or auto-corrupt in this case) made me laugh!

Regards,

Kareni

[Lori D.]

M.M. Kaye -- her children's fairy tale story of The Ordinary Princess is a precious favorite here! 💕


I made it! Just under the wire -- the last 3 chapters of Fellowship of the Ring, with 2 days to spare in the April-June window of the reading challenge. 😄 

FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING - BOOK 2
____________________

chap. 8: “Farewell to Lórien”
An achingly poignant chapter. Farewell to those unexpected hosts who have succored them and given them respite from the enemy and the trials of the journey to express their grief at the loss of Gandalf. Farewell to the last moments spent in beauty and peace as they head to war, danger, and into the Enemy's territory. Farewell to these ancient elves and their way of life, as the elves' time in Middle-earth is running short.
__________

Theme of Hospitality
Before parting, there is the formal hospitality -- sharing of a meal, and the giving of gifts by the host, which are also meant to equip the guest for their continued journey. Think of Medieval times when travel was dangerous, so it would be a moral failing to NOT offer hospitality (food, a bed, and safety), and then provision for continuing the journey well-equipped. Here, we have:

• the formal breaking of bread together (sharing a meal) before the fellowship leaves Lórien
• the giving of gifts by the host, as a token of goodwill, and to equip the guests for their continued journey
• the "stirrup cup" -- Medieval concept of the "parting cup" of wine, given to guests as a final token of hospitality as they are in the process of leaving and have their "feet in the stirrups"

__________

"Arming" of the hero
In a sense, we have another "arming of the hero" scene -- but in contrast to the traditional arming in the traditional Hero's Journey, it is not with weapons, but with special things that the foresightful Galadriel knows they will need (in addition to the supplies needed by all for the journey: "camouflage" cloaks, way bread, rope, and boats):

• Boromir, Merry, Pippin = belt -- belts designed to hold weapons, but perhaps an echo of the Bible verses in Ephesians 6, and the "putting on the full armor of God" which starts with the "belt of truth", which encircles the center part of a person; perhaps a belt to "gird" (hold together) is most needed by these 3 characters because they are perhaps the "weakest" either in rising above temptation (Boromir), or due to naivety and inexperience (the hobbits) ??
• Aragorn = sheath to preserve his sword -- but also designed to preserve his honor, whatever the outcome
• Legolas = mighty bow and quiver -- weapon of defense, keeping the enemy at a distance
• Gimli = strand of Galadriel's hair -- a sign of diverse peoples now allied; perhaps works as reminder of the memory of this relationship, to protect Gimli's heart from hardness ??
• Frodo = phial of light for time/place of darkness -- he will be walking into the land of darkness
• Sam = box of soil from Galadriel's garden -- for healing and restoration of the land itself after war

__________

Poignant Farewell

• Galadriel's two songs of lament, but especially:
• The pain of parting — leaving "Eden" (Lórien) and its peace and beauty -- the tears were flowing as I read this passage:
  
  "The travellers now turned their faces to the journey; the sun was before them, and their eyes were dazzled, for all were filled with tears. Gimli wept openly. 
  
  `I have looked the last upon that which was fairest... Tell me, Legolas, why did I come on this Quest? Little did I know where the chief peril lay! Truly Elrond spoke, saying that we could not foresee what we might meet upon our road. Torment in the dark was the danger that I feared, and it did not hold me back. But I would not have come, had I known the danger of light and joy. Now I have taken my worst wound in this parting, even if I were to go this night straight to the Dark Lord. Alas for Gimli son of Glóin!'
  
  `Nay! ' said Legolas. `Alas for us all! And for all that walk the world in these after-days. For such is the way of it: to find and lose... But I count you blessed, Gimli son of Glóin: for your loss you suffer of your own free will, and you might have chosen otherwise. But you have not forsaken your companions, and the least reward that you shall have is that the memory of Lothlórien shall remain ever clear and unstained in your heart, and shall neither fade nor grow stale.'
  
  `Maybe,' said Gimli; `and I thank you for your words. True words doubtless; yet all such comfort is cold. Memory is not what the heart desires. That is only a mirror, be it clear as Kheled-zâram. Or so says the heart of Gimli the Dwarf. Elves may see things otherwise. Indeed I have heard that for them memory is more like to the waking world than to a dream. Not so for Dwarves'

__________

Reconciliation, Healing, Restored Relationship
The fullness of restored relationship between dwarves and elves. Begun in chap. 7 with Galadriel defending Gimli and praising the dwarf kingdom of Khazad-dum, healing, understanding, and relationship come into full flower in chap. 8, with Gimli's "bold yet courteous" request of a strand of Galadriel's hair  to remember and treasure her words at their first meeting -- and the additional gift of the blessing Galadriel bestows with it -- the gift of not being swayed by greed (which is what happened to Thorin in The Hobbit) 😞

• Galadriel: "And what gift would a Dwarf ask of the Elves?"
• Gimli: "None, Lady... It is enough for me to have seen the Lady of the Galadhrim, and to have heard her gentle words."
• Galadriel: "Hear all ye Elves! ... Let none say again that Dwarves are grasping and ungracious! Yet surely, Gimli son of Glóin, you desire something that I could give? Name it, I bid you! You shall not be the only guest without a gift."
• Gimli: There is nothing, Lady Galadriel...  unless it is permitted to ask, nay, to name a single strand of your hair, which surpasses the gold of the earth as the stars surpass the gems of the mine. I do not ask for such a gift. But you commanded me to name my desire."
• The Elves stirred and murmured with astonishment, and Celeborn gazed at the Dwarf in wonder, but the Lady smiled.
• Galadriel: "It is said that the skill of the Dwarves is in their hands rather than in their tongues... yet that is not true of Gimli. For none have ever made to me a request so bold and yet so courteous. And how shall I refuse, since I commanded him to speak? But tell me, what would you do with such a gift?"
• Gimli: "Treasure it, Lady... in memory of your words to me at our first meeting... to be an heirloom of my house, and a pledge of good will between the Mountain and the Wood until the end of days.'
• Then the Lady unbraided one of her long tresses, and cut off three golden hairs, and laid them in Gimli's hand.
• Galadriel: `These words shall go with the gift...I say to you, Gimli son of Glóin, that your hands shall flow with gold, and yet over you gold shall have no dominion."

____________________

chap. 9: “The Great River”
The painful landscape — going from the glory and living beauty of Lórien (almost Eden), into the grey lands of winter, and then even beyond into the Brown Lands still desolate from the dreadful wars against Sauron in the First Age. Reminiscent of WW1 trench landscapes (which Tolkien served in) that were desolated by the bombings, chemical gas, and stripping of all plant matter.
__________

Seeing things through long-lived elf eyes, about how they lost track of time in Lórien:

• Legolas: “… time does not tarry ever… but change and growth is not in all things and places alike. For the Elves the world moves, and it moves both very swift and very slow. Swift, because they themselves change little, and all else fleets by: it is a grief to them. Slow, because they do not count the running years, not for themselves. The passing seasons are but ripples ever repeated in the long long stream..."

__________

Boromir is starting to get obsessive, antagonistic, and sarcastic — he is not the Ring-bearer, nor has he even touched the Ring -- just being near the Ring is already working on him. 😩  
__________

Beautiful, powerful description of the Anduin River, and the Argonath, the Pillars of the Kings — mighty statues of Isildur and Anárion that guard the narrow channel near the waterfall Rauros. The different reactions to the roaring channel of water and to the imposing Argonath:

• Frodo: “Awe and fear fell upon Frodo, and he cowered down, shutting his eyes and not daring to look up as the boat drew near."
• Boromir: "Even Boromir bowed his head as the boats whirled by."
• Sam: "...muttering and groaning: `What a place! What a horrible place! Just let me get out of this boat, and I'll never wet my toes in a puddle again, let alone a river!'"
• Aragorn: "`Fear not!' ... Frodo turned and saw Strider, and yet not Strider... In the stern sat Aragorn son of Arathorn, proud and erect... his hood was cast back, and his dark hair was blowing in the wind, a light was in his eyes: a king returning from exile to his own land."

____________________

chap. 10: “The Breaking of the Fellowship”
The chapter title expresses that this is a forced breaking up of the company -- not a dissolving by choice, and not the option of continuing together AS a fellowship and IN fellowship. 😭 Description of the dawning day on which they must make the final, fateful decision of which way to go is rather ominous:

• “The day came like fire and smoke. Low in the East there were black bars of cloud like the fumes of a great burning. The rising sun lit them from beneath with flames of murky red..."

__________

Theme of Temptation
Alas, poor Boromir; though his heart’s desire is for good — the strength to defend his people — the very presence of the Ring, the temptation of its nearness -- twists him (just as it did to Smeagol when Deagol found the Ring -- how similar are Boromir's bolded words to Smeagol's):

• “...True-hearted Men, they will not be corrupted. We of Minas Tirith have been staunch through long years of trial. We do not desire the power of wizard-lords, only strength to defend ourselves, strength in a just cause…What could not a warrior do in this hour, a great leader? ... The Ring would give me power of Command. How I would drive the hosts of Mordor, and all men would flock to my banner!'”
• “I need your Ring: that you know now; but I give you my word that I do not desire to keep it. Will you not at least let me make trial of my plan? Lend me the Ring! ‘… It is not yours save by unhappy chance. It might have been mine. It should be mine. Give it to me! ‘”

Also, now that the moment of choosing their next stage of the questis at hand, it is as though the Ring has stirred up everyone so they’ve lost their heads:

• Sam: `We must try and find [Frodo] at once. Come on! '
• Aragorn: `Wait a moment! ... We must divide up into pairs, and arrange-here, hold on! Wait! '
• "It was no good. They took no notice of him. Sam had dashed off first. Merry and Pippin had followed, and were already disappearing westward into the trees by the shore, shouting: Frodo! Frodo! in their clear, high hobbit-voices. Legolas and Gimli were running. A sudden panic or madness seemed to have fallen on the Company.”

__________

The Power of Loyalty...
The loyalty of Sam — so powerful that it overwhelms his fear of water, and his terror of Mordor and the Enemy, as well as the knowledge there is a high likelihood of dying or being captured and tortured if he continues on this quest:

• Sam: "Coming, Mr. Frodo! Coming! ' called Sam, and flung himself from the bank, clutching at the departing boat. He missed it by a yard. With a cry and a splash he fell face downward into deep swift water. Gurgling he went under, and the River closed over his curly head… `Save me, Mr. Frodo! ' gasped Sam. `I'm drownded…”
• Frodo: “'It would be the death of you to come with me, Sam."
• Sam: "I know that well enough, Mr. Frodo. Of course you are [going]. And I'm coming with you."

...and Friendship
And the power of friendship — so powerful that it bolsters Frodo to be able to do this hard quest with a sense of hope:

• "It is no good trying to escape you. But I'm glad, Sam. I cannot tell you how glad. Come along! It is plain that we were meant to go together…’”

Edited June 28, 2020 by Lori D.

[SereneHome]

1 hour ago, SusanC said:

We've been listening to this as a bedtime story. Since April. 14 hours left, so at least one more renewal I think.  😁 Younger dd and I are also reading Outcast by Disembark Sutcliff.

On my own I'm reading The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell as our history studies are moving into the Middle Ages. I just finished The Scholar, an Irish police procedural by Dervla McTiernan. Oh, and I'm 3/4 through the Aeneid.

I keep thinking that since it is summer I  should be getting "caught up" on my reading but it never happens that way.

I JUST picked that up from the library last week!!

[Lady Florida.]

9 hours ago, Robin M said:

 

I haven't been able to settle down with new reads, dipping in and out of several book, so have been diving back into comfort reads. 

 

This has been me lately too. Thanks to @aggieamy and @mumto2 I have two of those comfort reads on my Kindle right now. Amy reminded me of the Vera Stanhope series. I read the first one and had always meant to read more but with all the books on my TBR list, those slipped my mind. And mum reminded me of the Sebastian St. Cyr series. When I finished #12 a few years ago, #13 had been in print less than 6 months and my library didn't have it. I decided to check and now they do. I put them both on hold just a few days ago and both said I had about a 2 week wait. Then yesterday they became available within hours of each other. I hope to start one or both this evening.

My current reads haven't changed - The Eighth Life, The Romanovs, and the audio book edition of Plutarch's Lives. I don't know what happened with my Audible app but I was about 4 hours into the book and when I opened it the other day it somehow went back to the beginning. Ugh! I didn't remember exactly where I was so I just guessed and went a little before where I ended last.

For some reason I haven't read much this week. It's not that I didn't want to or that I was busy. I can't put my finger on it but other than a little before bed reading I haven't gotten far in any of my current books.

The two new ones above are Telling Tales (Vera) and Why Kill the Innocent (Sebastian)

8 hours ago, Penguin said:

I am not a fan of putting a writer/artist/musician etc. on a pedestal. The harder they fall and all that. There are some writers/artists/musicians etc. whom I find so personally distasteful that I have no interest in exploring their work. I certainly like to draw that line for myself - I don't want someone else deciding for me where to draw that line. However, I am not in the least concerned about books like FOC's disappearing. I just don't see that as a legitimate threat.

I agree completely. There are some writers and actors whose work I will no longer read or watch. There are some writers I only recently learned about but will not read their work. If the artist is no longer living I will sometimes make an exception unless i know the entire family holds the same views. Regardless, that's a decision for me to make, not for others to decide for me.

Edited June 29, 2020 by Lady Florida.

[Lady Florida.]

1 hour ago, SusanC said:

 

On my own I'm reading The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell as our history studies are moving into the Middle Ages.

I love this series. I'm currently on the 5th one, The Burning Land, though I've put it aside for now. Dh and I watched the tv series on Netflix and it was only after we started watching that I started reading the novels. 

[Junie]

Recent readings:

The Bridegroom (with Count Nulin and The Tale of the Golden Cockerel) -- three lyric poems by Alexander Pushkin.  This was a small taste of Russian poetry that was a pleasant distraction from some longer readings.  

Mere Christianity -- by C.S. Lewis.  I heard about this book decades ago, but this was my first time reading it.  I was interested in C.S. Lewis' take on Christianity.  I became a Christian as a small child, while he did not experience Christianity until adulthood.  As a child of six, I really did not ponder theology and belief -- I just believed.  Lewis, on the other hand, was an academic who pondered about Christianity in every way he could think of.  :)  Our experiences are completely different, yet we came to the same conclusion: belief in the work of Christ for salvation.

 

[SereneHome]

@Kareni - I saw you put a "sad" face on my comment that I picked up The Last Kingdom, would love to hear your thoughts

[Violet Crown]

Penguin - thanks for being willing to pursue this conversation. I respect what you're saying but don't completely agree.

O'Connor's remarks in her letters, and her refusal to meet Baldwin, have been well-known and well-discussed for decades. It's just not true that any of it has been suppressed or hidden: and I notice that Elie doesn't go so far as to say that it has been (rather it's been "held close ... smoothed over ... justified"), because that would be a falsehood. I first read about it in an article in Commonweal, which I remember talked about it as generally familiar, if regrettable. It isn't that scholars and critics have been covering up for O'Connor: it's that nobody much cared, because everyone was interested in her work, not her innermost thoughts, beliefs, and prejudices. Literature has never before -- and I use the word never advisedly -- been approached by people who are being paid to be serious with anything like today's obsession with the identity and ideology of the writer.

A story. When I began homeschooling, we used for English the series Learning Language Arts Through Literature. When I needed a high school English literature spine that wasn't predominantly American, I bought LLATL Gold: British Literature. It turned out to be unusable, because it evaluated every work through the quixotic lens of whether he or she was a "true Christian" -- which is to say, held the beliefs and "world-view" of a 20th-century American Evangelical Protestant. Needless to say, none of the 19th-century English writers made the cut. It was obvious from the nature of the project that none of them could: yet the LLATL editor agonized over whether they were really Christians, in order to know what to do with each text. I was staggered: I'd seen lots of religious homeschooling materials before, but never witnessed such a foolish and inherently counter-productive way to approach literature.

Quote

However, I am not in the least concerned about books like FOC's disappearing. I just don't see that as a legitimate threat.

Really? After the jet-propelled sledge ride down the slippery slope we're all living through right now? I give it September at the latest. That someone like Elie would be capable of seriously writing a phrase such as "the habit of bigotry" about O'Connor tells me she's already seated in the tumbril. I mean, given that this biographical information has been out there for decades, why has the New Yorker Magazine chosen just this moment to stamp O'Connor with a scarlet "R"? There's only one reason I can think of. 

Edit: Re-reading, I realize I'm coming off pretty strongly; it's true I have very strong feelings about the kind of censorship I'm seeing in motion, but I really respect your thoughts, and my strong feelings aren't directed at you. There's such a danger in us hearing only the opinions of people who agree with us. I'd much rather hear the thoughts of intelligent readers like you who disagree or have a different perspective.

Edited June 29, 2020 by Violet Crown
spelling incompetence

[Violet Crown]

Books: Half-way through Evelyn Waugh's travel writing collection, When the Going Was Good. Just finished his visit to Abyssinia (now Ethiopia), covering the coronation of Ras Tafari. Also picked up again my neglected 2-volume The Sayings of the Holy Desert Fathers.

[Ottakee]

I just finished The Honey Bus by Meredith May.

An extraordinary story of a girl, her grandfather and one of nature’s most mysterious and beguiling creatures: the honeybee.

Meredith May recalls the first time a honeybee crawled on her arm. She was five years old, her parents had recently split and suddenly she found herself in the care of her grandfather, an eccentric beekeeper who made honey in a rusty old military bus in the yard. That first close encounter was at once terrifying and exhilarating for May, and in that moment she discovered that everything she needed to know about life and family was right before her eyes, in the secret world of bees.

May turned to her grandfather and the art of beekeeping as an escape from her troubled reality. Her mother had receded into a volatile cycle of neurosis and despair and spent most days locked away in the bedroom. It was during this pivotal time in May’s childhood that she learned to take care of herself, forged an unbreakable bond with her grandfather and opened her eyes to the magic and wisdom of nature.

The bees became a guiding force in May’s life, teaching her about family and community, loyalty and survival and the unequivocal relationship between a mother and her child. Part memoir, part beekeeping odyssey, The Honey Bus is an unforgettable story about finding home in the most unusual of places, and how a tiny, little-understood insect could save a life.

I really enjoyed this one and so did my daughter who listened to most of it with me in the car.  It tackled some deep subjects but did so carefully.  I also appreciated that it was a "clean" read.

[Liz CA]

Reading:

Still on "Who slays the Wicked?" It's in the best of C.S. Harris fashion. Thoroughly enjoyable Next up is more by C.S. Harris: "Who speaks for the Damned?"

Audio:

"Rising Strong " by Brown. Couldn't do the "Man in Lower Ten" not because the book is badly written but the narrator put me to sleep. Have to look for something else that will keep me awake on my commute.

 

[melmichigan]

I'm doing okay with my reading challenge, with 55/100 books read, but it was iffy for a while.  I had a whole month that I didn't read anything. I finally delved into some rereads of favorite authors and that has gotten me out of my funk, mostly.  I finished the Elemental Legacy books this last week with her latest in the series Dawn Caravan.  I really enjoy Elizabeth Hunter and all she writes.  I finished rereading The Hollows in preparation for American Demon, but I'm still putting it off.  I'm read the first 40 pages and realized I'm just not in the right frame of mind to give it the attention it deserves.  

[Liz CA]

44 minutes ago, melmichigan said:

I'm doing okay with my reading challenge, with 55/100 books read, but it was iffy for a while.  I had a whole month that I didn't read anything. I finally delved into some rereads of favorite authors and that has gotten me out of my funk, mostly.  I finished the Elemental Legacy books this last week with her latest in the series Dawn Caravan.  I really enjoy Elizabeth Hunter and all she writes.  I finished rereading The Hollows in preparation for American Demon, but I'm still putting it off.  I'm read the first 40 pages and realized I'm just not in the right frame of mind to give it the attention it deserves.  

 

You just made me realize that I have not updated Goodreads in ages and my counter is way off....

[Kareni]

5 hours ago, SereneHome said:

@Kareni - I saw you put a "sad" face on my comment that I picked up The Last Kingdom, would love to hear your thoughts

Apparently my finger slipped, and I tapped the wrong symbol. Oops! I've not read The Last Kingdom and hope you will enjoy it.

Regards,

Kareni

[Liz CA]

@mumto2 Thanks for mentioning "Louisiana Longshot" again. Will try to hunt this down for a new audiobook.

[Negin]

Kindle book on sale today. 

[-M-]

 

With White Fragility, I reached my goal of reading 100 books from the shelves this year. Diangelo’s treatise also put me at a total of 122 books, which exceeds my Goodreads challenge goal of 120 (recently raised from 104). With six months remaining in the year, the suggestion that I raise the goal to 240 did not go unconsidered, but July will be a busy month for me, and I would like to tackle a few reading “projects” later this summer and into autumn. More about that in another post. 

Here are the books I’ve read since my last post.

■ The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. I: The Pox Party(M.T. Anderson; 2006. Fiction.)
A brutal but deeply moving novel from the author of Feed, a family book club selection from a few years back. Related link here.

■ Citizen: An American Lyric (Claudia Rankine; 2008. Non-fiction.)
Even more powerful when reread.

■ The Blood of Emmett Till (Timothy B. Tyson; 2017. Non-fiction.)
Related links here and here.

■ Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar… Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes(Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein; 2006. Non-fiction.)
Did I read this when it was first published? All of the jokes are familiar. And maybe that’s the problem.

■ Thick and Other Essays (Tressie McMillan Cottom; 2019. Non-fiction.)
This book grabbed me by the collar, and it still hasn’t set me down and straightened my shirt. Remarkable. If it were feasible, I would press the entire text into my commonplace book.

p. 72
They say the beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that ugly is as ugly does. Both are lies. Ugly is everything done to you in the name of beauty.

Knowing the difference is part of getting free.

■ Make Your Home Among Strangers (Jennine Capó Crucet; 2015. Fiction.)
■ The Mad Scientist’s Daughter (Cassandra Rose Clarke; 2016. Fiction.)
Books that might have appealed to my much younger self still show up in my stacks and occasionally on my shelves. What can I say? A bag of Jax cheese curls or a box of Nabisco sugar wafers will sometimes end up in the pantry, too. Let’s just be grateful I don’t pull out a tube top or my neon green belt, eh?

■ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (J.K. Rowling; 2003. Fiction.)
Speaking of my younger self, it has been sweetly nostalgic to revisit these books my son and I so enjoyed.

■ Broken Monsters (Lauren Beukes; 2014. Fiction.)
Review here.

■ White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism (Robin Diangelo; 2018. Non-fiction.)
Flawed? Or diagnostic?

[Penguin]

15 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

 

Edit: Re-reading, I realize I'm coming off pretty strongly; it's true I have very strong feelings about the kind of censorship I'm seeing in motion, but I really respect your thoughts, and my strong feelings aren't directed at you. There's such a danger in us hearing only the opinions of people who agree with us. I'd much rather hear the thoughts of intelligent readers like you who disagree or have a different perspective.

No worries and no offense taken. Lots of thoughts and some questions follow! 

First, what kind of disappearing are you concerned about? Maybe we don't completely disagree. I already stated my sweeping, general distrust of amazon. When I say that I am unconcerned, what I mean is that I do not foresee all of her books going out of print and becoming unavailable. It's easy enough to buy Lovecraft.  Being dropped from syllabi? That could happen. Pulled off the shelves at Barnes and Noble? Sales drive shelf space, so if she falls out of favor that could happen. I don't even know if she is currently on their shelves! Less fawning over her as a person by Georgetown University and the Iowa Writer's Workshop? That could happen and maybe it should happen. Maybe it already has happened. I wouldn't know. Which leads me to my next thought...

Nobody much cared and now they do is not the same as scholars and critics have been covering up. Based on the quote that I made from the article, it seems to me that Elie was of the second opinion. I stand behind saying that protectionism is not OK. It appears to me now that protectionism was not what was actually happening in this case. And I am going to say loud and clear that you know far more about FOC than I do. It has probably been twenty years since I read her fiction, and prior to the other day I could have told you exactly three things about her: She was from Georgia, she was Catholic, and she died young. I could not have told you her opinion of James Baldwin. I fully acknowledge my ignorance. Believe me, my knowledge gaps never cease to amaze and dishearten me. Some of my knowledge gaps are irrelevant to me (I'm looking at you, sports) but I would indeed like to be smart about Southern Literature. You have enlightened me with regard to FOC, and I am grateful for that.

I found this article last night: "On Flannery O'Connor And Race: A Response to Paul Elie" by Amy Alznauer (published on The Bitter Southerner). Again, I have only skimmed it. It was late 🙂But I will read it thoroughly today. The intro says that she "reveals some of the blind spots in Elie's essay," and I would love to hear your thoughts. A quote: "Maybe it shouldn't surprise me that much of the work he misreads or flat-out ignores has largely been done by women and Black Americans."

Writers get reexamined, and I think that they should be reexamined.  I just finished the biography of Tove Jansson: Work and Love and her arc was fascinating. I'm NOT comparing her with FOC in any way, but TJ provides an interesting V-shaped case study of reputation. 

Part One. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Tove Jansson published anti-Hitler and anti-Stalin political cartoons in Garm, an anti-Nazi satire publication. According to the biography, "Tove was daring; she defied official policies of the time, never trying to cover her back through silence or anonymity." Garm and similar publications "tended to cause deep offence among Finns" due to Finland's 1940 alliance with Germany. 

Part Two. After the 1946  publication of Comet in Moominland (which can - questionably, of course - be read as an anti-nuclear war story), she began writing a comic strip for Ny Tid, a leftist newspaper. But the comic strip did not last long in Ny Tid. It was dropped because Moominpapa was deemed to be too borgeouis. "After all, poor Moominpapa read a monarchist newspaper."

Part Three. In 2017, the Huffington Post publishes this article: "Meet the Queer, Anti-Fascist Author Behind the Freakishly Lovable Moomins." In 2019, Tom Morello (political activist and guitarist from Rage Against the Machine) performed in a video wearing a T-shirt with a Moomin waving an anti-fascist flag. 

Edited June 29, 2020 by Penguin

[aggieamy]

On 6/26/2020 at 10:23 AM, mumto2 said:

😂😂😂That is why we get along so well with the bonus of our husbands like each other too!.  Amy and I also plot to fix her Dd up with my nerdy son.😉                

They'll thank us, really. DD would end up with awesome in-laws and based on some of the threads I've read on WTM before having good in-laws is the key to a successful marriage. I suppose a few other things are important to but the in-law situation is not to be discounted. 

 

[aggieamy]

21 hours ago, Robin M said:

I'm excited about this month's Ladies of Fiction Bookology author and artist, M.M. Kaye, who was born and raised in Shimla, India and wrote a wide variety of historical fiction, suspense novels, children's stories (written and illustrated) as well as radio plays. 

Me too, Robin! I discovered MM Kaye because of recommendations here years and years ago. Other books have bumped her from my reading priority list so I'm delighted to have an excuse to "force" myself to pick up a new book by her. 

Thank you for a wonderful year of Ladies of Fiction! This has been great.

21 hours ago, Robin M said:

At the halfway mark I've read 67 books and had a thought about breaking it down stats wise but my books are so diverse and multicultural, it's be impossible. I'm reading more ebooks than physical books. However the physical are more chunky. More female than male authors so far.

Since we're talking statistics (yay! statistics!) ...

I'm at 32 our of 52 which is a little a head of schedule.

13 books by men and 19 by women. <- That's probably normal for me. 

15 are Brit Tripping.

15 are audiobooks. <- That surprises me. I didn't have any idea I listened to that high a percentage of books. 

20 hours ago, Kareni said:

From reddit: Looking for romance-adjacent books

https://www.reddit.com/r/RomanceBooks/comments/hemoy6/looking_for_romanceadjacent_books/

 

My already overloaded to-read list thanks you for posting this link. @mumto2 and @Lady Florida. - don't miss this list! ^^^

19 hours ago, mumto2 said:

M.M. Kaye’s mysteries are quite good.  I read many of them a few years ago and enjoyed them.  My memory places them in a similar to Mary Stewart category but I could be wrong as it’s been awhile. Exotic locations and I was trying to see how many countries I could visit via books that year.

That's such a good comparison. I consider them to be first cousins ... in a literary sense. 🙂 

19 hours ago, Negin said:

 

I read Voracious: A Hungry Reader Cooks Her Way through Great Books - 4 Stars - This was a fun and quick read. It’s part memoir, partly about books, and part cookbook. The author, Cara Nicoletti, loves to read, and she loves to cook. She spent much of her childhood in her grandfather’s butcher shop. She is a former pastry chef, a butcher, and food blogger.  

The book is divided into three sections – books that have influenced her during either childhood, adolescence, or adulthood. Each chapter focuses on a different book and includes a recipe that she associates with the story.

I was intrigued by the fact that she had paid such close attention to various food scenes and descriptions in books. I thought that I was obsessed with food, and I most definitely am. I often feel hard pressed to find anyone who loves food as much as I do, but with all that said, I have seldom paid attention to food descriptions when I’m reading. I’m sure that from here on out I’ll be noticing all that more than before!

I wasn’t too keen on some of Nicoletti’s stories. Some of them seemed slightly contrived, almost as if she was trying too hard. I’m nit-picking here, but I do roll my eyes slightly at memoirs that are written by anyone younger than 40. This author was 28 when this was published, a bit too young for my liking, but that’s fine. I enjoyed it regardless.

I also didn’t appreciate the fact that the chapters included spoilers. Spoilers, whether in reviews or in a book such as this, are my pet peeve. Once I realized that she was giving the endings away, I skipped those sections. This was only for the books that I have not yet read but plan on doing so eventually. If you do plan on reading this book, you may wish to skip the chapters of books that you plan to read in the future!

The watercolor illustrations are simply delightful!

My rule when reviewing cookbooks is to try out some of the recipes, because in all fairness, how can I review a cookbook otherwise? Some of the recipes are a bit daunting for the casual cook. There are a few that require ingredients that I cannot find. I tried out five of the recipes. Four out of the five were absolute hits and one wasn’t that great – that was the Rib Eye Steak (from “Down and Out in Paris and London”). It was just okay. I was going to give this book 3 stars, but because most of the recipes that I tried were so good and unique, I’ve chosen to give it 4 stars.

The Perfect Soft-Boiled Egg (from “Emma”) was delicious. I doubt, however, that I will make that one very often. Pricking each egg with thumbtack or needle is a bit too much work for me.

The White Garlic Soup (from “Pride and Prejudice”) was wonderful and most of the family loved it.

Everyone loved the Black Pepper Parmesan Pasta (from “Strega Nona”).

Another one that everyone loved was the scrumptious Honey Poppy Seed Cake (from “The Aeneid”). Oh, my goodness, I’ll be making that one again for sure!

 

 

Added this to my to-read list also. It's an interesting premise! And you know how I adore cookbooks!

16 hours ago, Lori D. said:

M.M. Kaye -- her children's fairy tale story of The Ordinary Princess is a precious favorite here! 💕

I hate to snip so many good thoughts but I wanted to focus on this one because Chews and I just picked it out as our next read aloud! I've read it aloud to DD and a few times (as an adult) I've read it to myself. It's wonderful!

15 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

Edit: Re-reading, I realize I'm coming off pretty strongly; it's true I have very strong feelings about the kind of censorship I'm seeing in motion, but I really respect your thoughts, and my strong feelings aren't directed at you. There's such a danger in us hearing only the opinions of people who agree with us. I'd much rather hear the thoughts of intelligent readers like you who disagree or have a different perspective.

I love that this is a place where I can listen to smart educated women discuss important topics civilly! 

[Junie]

I just finished the children's book Roller Skates.  I wanted to like this book, but it really was lacking for me.  I'm now curious to find out what books this one beat in order to win the Newbery.  Were the other books that year really that bad?
I tend to define the audience for children's books based on the age of the main character.  Lucinda is ten, but there are parts of this book -- swearing, murder -- that I really don't think are appropriate.
Also, the murder made no sense to me.  The character was not even necessary to the story, and then the whole situation is hushed up and not really resolved.  As an adult I can figure out what happened, but I doubt that a ten year old would.

[Junie]

I need to re-organize my 10 x 10 lists.  Some of my categories are overflowing and can be split; other categories are still empty.

Stay tuned. 😉

[Kareni]

25 minutes ago, Junie said:

I just finished the children's book Roller Skates.  I wanted to like this book, but it really was lacking for me.  I'm now curious to find out what books this one beat in order to win the Newbery.  Were the other books that year really that bad?

1937 Medal Winner: Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer (Viking)

Honor Books:

• Phebe Fairchild: Her Book by Lois Lenski (Stokes)
• Whistler's Van by Idwal Jones (Viking)
• The Golden Basket by Ludwig Bemelmans (Viking)
• Winterbound by Margery Bianco (Viking)
• The Codfish Musket by Agnes Hewes (Doubleday)
• Audubon by Constance Rourke (Harcourt)

I'm guessing that the Honor Books were the competition that year. I recognize a few of these authors (Bemelmans, for example, wrote Madeleine), but I don't know any of these titles. 

Above information found here.

Regards,

Kareni

[Junie]

Thanks, @Kareni

I was going to look up the list later.

I haven't read any of those books either.  Maybe it was just an off year for children's lit.

I offer Children's Literature as one of our high school literature choices.  I've already got a pretty decent collection, but I've been trying to get some of the older books.

[Kareni]

I finished a couple of books over the weekend.

I quite enjoyed Beach Read by Emily Henry which had me laughing aloud from time to time. It had some witty one liners, and the story was entertaining.

 "Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.

They're polar opposites.

In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer's block.

Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She'll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he'll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really."

 **

I also read and enjoyed a new book  Hideaway: A Novel by Nora Roberts even if it did strain credulity a time or three and even though it seemed to end rather abruptly.

"A family ranch in Big Sur country and a legacy of Hollywood royalty set the stage for Nora Roberts’ emotional new suspense novel, Hideaway.

Caitlyn Sullivan had come from a long line of Hollywood royalty, stretching back to her Irish immigrant great-grandfather. At nine, she was already a star—yet still an innocent child who loved to play hide and seek with her cousins at the family home in Big Sur. It was during one of those games that she disappeared.

Some may have considered her a pampered princess, but Cate was in fact a smart, scrappy fighter, and she managed to escape her abductors. Dillon Cooper was shocked to find the bloodied, exhausted girl huddled in his house—but when the teenager and his family heard her story they provided refuge, reuniting her with her loved ones.

Cate’s ordeal, though, was far from over. First came the discovery of a shocking betrayal that would send someone she’d trusted to prison. Then there were years spent away in western Ireland, peaceful and protected but with restlessness growing in her soul.

Finally, she would return to Los Angeles, gathering the courage to act again and get past the trauma that had derailed her life. What she didn’t yet know was that two seeds had been planted that long-ago night—one of a great love, and one of a terrible vengeance…"

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

6 minutes ago, Junie said:

I offer Children's Literature as one of our high school literature choices.

What a neat option! Have you had many takers?

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

7 minutes ago, Kareni said:

I also read and enjoyed a new book  Hideaway: A Novel by Nora Roberts even if it did strain credulity a time or three and even though it seemed to end rather abruptly.

Hideaway is in my current stack too.  I am planning to use it with another Nora Roberts to add too my book chain so it will bee over a week until I get to it.

I set aside The Missing American because it could be renewed and the spot I am at feels like an OK place to break for a couple of weeks.......the action is about to shift to Ghana.  I started The Split by Sharon Bolton which is due soon.....no opinion beyond Antarctica if anyone else is hoping to read the continents this year!

[Junie]

1 hour ago, Kareni said:

What a neat option! Have you had many takers?

Regards,

Kareni

Well, I only offer it to my own homeschoolers.  I don't remember if ds19 did this one -- I don't think so -- but dd17 and dd15 both have.  I'm trying to get some new options together as dd13 is beginning high school in a few months.

I took a Children's Lit class as part of my Bachelor's degree (English Education) and I thought it was a wonderful class.  I really think that anyone who is planning to be a parent should take a children's lit class.  It was really helpful in helping me to be discerning in picking good books for my kids.

I would really like to find a way to teach literature again after my own kids are graduated (in 8 years).  I'm thinking about starting a youtube channel.

[Lori D.]

2 hours ago, Junie said:

I just finished the children's book Roller Skates.  I wanted to like this book, but it really was lacking for me.  I'm now curious to find out what books this one beat in order to win the Newbery...

Well, according to one list I found here are the Newbery winner and honor books for 1937:

1937 Newbery Award Winner
- Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer

1937 Newbery Honor Titles
- Phebe Fairchild, her book by Lois Lenski
- Whistlers' van by Idwal Jones A tale of the Gypsy life
- Winterbound by Margery Williams Bianco
- The codfish musket by Agnes Danforth Hewes
- Audubon by Constance Rourke

I've never heard of any of those 1937 Newbery honors books. I think that the Newbery awards are for books published in the previous year -- so Roller Skates was published in 1936, but won the 1937 Newbery. If that's the case, here are a few more children's books published in 1936 that didn't make even the Newbery honors category:

published in 1936 (same as Roller Skates):
- The Story of Ferdinan (Leaf) -- wow, this one has become a beloved readers' classic, but not even on the honors list
- Ballet Shoes (Streatfeild) -- first of the "shoes" series of books; another that has become a beloved readers' classic
- Billy and Blaze (Anderson) -- first of this "boy and his horse" adventure series
- Susannah of the Mounties (Denison)-- first in the series
- Anne of the Windy Populars (Montgomery) -- book 4 in the Anne of Green Gables series
- Heidi Grows Up (Spyri) -- sequel to Heidi
- Mystery of the Ivory Charm (Keene) -- 13th in the Nancy Drew series
- The Sinister Sign Post (Dixon) -- 15th in the Hardy Boys series
 

Edited June 29, 2020 by Lori D.

[Lori D.]

15 minutes ago, Seasider too said:

Some of these seem to be Caldecott age level (Ferdinand, Billy & Blaze), perhaps they made that list? 

I’m on the run at the moment but will check later. 

Also, I may be confusing Caldecott with Newbery in regard to this, but I believe at least one of them stipulates that they’re not bound to award a medal every year, just list honors. 

Thanks for bringing up that thought! 😄 

I did a little research: the Caldecott is an award for artwork in a children's book, not for the age level of the book. Also, the first year it was awarded was 1938, with selection from books published in 1937, so none of those books I mentioned above would have made the Caldecott list, because they were not artwork-based, and were published in 1936 -- a year before books were selected for the first Caldecott award.

Here's the official description:
"The Caldecott Medal shall be awarded to the artist of the most distinguished American Picture Book for Children published in the United States during the preceding year. The award shall go to the artist, who must be a citizen or resident of the United States, whether or not he be the author of the text. Members of the Newbery Medal Committee will serve as judges. If a book of the year is nominated for both the Newbery and Caldecott Awards the committee shall decide under which heading it shall be voted upon, so that the same title shall not be considered on both ballots."

And a little back history:
"Separate committees to choose the Newbery and Caldecott Awards were established in 1978 and began with the 1980 selection committees. From the beginning of the awarding of the Newbery and Caldecott Medals, committees could, and usually did, cite other books as worthy of attention. Such books were referred to as Newbery or Caldecott "runners-up." In 1971 the term "runners-up" was changed to "honor books." The new terminology was made retroactive so that all former runners-up are now referred to as Newbery or Caldecott Honor Books."

And about the artist for whom the award is named:
"Randolph Caldecott was one of a group of three influential children's illustrators working in England in the 19th century. The other two illustrators were Kate Greenaway and Walter Crane. His illustrations for children were unique to their time in both their humor, and their ability to create a sense of movement, vitality, and action that complemented the stories they accompanied. The illustration on the Caldecott Medal, which is taken from Caldecott's illustrations for "The Diverting Story of John Gilpin," is a perfect example of the humor, vitality, and sense of movement found in Caldecott's work. The illustration shows John Gilpin astride a runaway horse, accompanied by squawking geese, braying dogs, and startled onlookers."

Edited June 29, 2020 by Lori D.

[Kareni]

Another challenge from my summer reading program was to reread a childhood favorite. On our bookshelves, I found a copy of Æsop's Fables selected by Louis Untermeyer with illustrations by Alice and Martin Provensen; this was inscribed to me by my grandmother in 1969. I think it's safe to say that I've had this book for a few years! You can see many of the vibrant illustrations in this BrainPickings column by Maria Popova. (Popova's book cover is the American version; my copy was purchased in New Zealand and has the cover I linked above.) This was a fun book to revisit.

From 2018 ~ Alice Provensen, a Star in the Children’s-Book World, Dies at 99

Regards,

Kareni

[Lori D.]

50 minutes ago, Kareni said:

Another challenge from my summer reading program was to reread a childhood favorite. On our bookshelves, I found a copy of Æsop's Fables selected by Louis Untermeyer with illustrations by Alice and Martin Provensen... 

I was given Louis Untermeyer's Tales from the Ballet, illustrated by Alice Provensen when I was a little girl, and still treasure having it! See illustrations at this blog.

And -- what a great book challenge! I inadvertently did the same thing -- this summer, just for fun, I re-read Knight's Castle (Eager), with the N.M. Bodecker illustrations -- SOOO funny and well-written! 😄 

Edited June 29, 2020 by Lori D.

[Kareni]

6 minutes ago, Lori D. said:

was given Louis Untermeyer's Tales from the Ballet, illustrated by Alice Provensen when I was a little girl, and still treasure having it! See illustrations at this blog.

Those illustrations are also lovely; I see many similarities to the book I have. My book is held together with a fair bit of tape; it's been witness to a lot of love and miles!

Regards,

Karen 

[Melissa in Australia]

On 6/29/2020 at 3:38 AM, Robin M said:

Happy Sunday, dear hearts! July is upon the horizon. Can you believe we're halfway through the year already? I think everyone's excited as we've been hearing lots of fireworks in our area. Are you making progress, whittling down your books, reading from your own shelves or adding more to your stacks? My virtual and physical TBR pile are growing. Are you expanding your reading range, diving into new genres and cultures or enjoying revisiting old friends? 

I haven't been able to settle down with new reads, dipping in and out of several book, so have been diving back into comfort reads. Do any of you remember the old Mervyn's commercial with the woman waiting in front of the closed store, with her nose pressed to the window, chanting open, open, open? New books are sitting on the shelf, waiting impatiently, whispering in my ear, read me, read me, read me.

I'm excited about this month's Ladies of Fiction Bookology author and artist, M.M. Kaye, who was born and raised in Shimla, India and wrote a wide variety of historical fiction, suspense novels, children's stories (written and illustrated) as well as radio plays.

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.

I'm looking forward to reading The Far Pavilions:

 "A magnificent romantic/historical/adventure novel set in India at the time of mutiny. The Far Pavilions is a story of 19th Century India, when the thin patina of English rule held down dangerously turbulent undercurrents. It is a story about and English man - Ashton Pelham-Martyn - brought up as a Hindu and his passionate, but dangerous love for an Indian princess. It's a story of divided loyalties, of tender camaraderie, of greedy imperialism and of the clash between east and west."

Learn more about M.M. Kaye through New York Times Behind the Best Sellers, Summer of the Child of Raj, and A tribute to MM Kaye, Shimla-born British writer.

 

“What could be more entrancing than a carefree nomadic existence

camping, moving, exploring strange places and the ruins of

forgotten empires, sleeping under canvas or the open sky, and giving no

thought to the conventions and restriction of the modern world?”

Far Pavilions - M.M. Kaye

 

 Happy reading!

 Link to week 25

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 with other readers  around the globe.

 

M. M. Kaye is one of my favourite authors

Edited June 30, 2020 by Melissa in Australia

[LaughingCat]

12 hours ago, Penguin said:

First, what kind of disappearing are you concerned about? Maybe we don't completely disagree. I already stated my sweeping, general distrust of amazon. When I say that I am unconcerned, what I mean is that I do not foresee all of her books going out of print and becoming unavailable.

One thing I thought of when reading Violet Crown's concerns about books disappearing was -- when I was a teen/young adult (1970's), lots of books disappeared because there were very few places to buy books.  Many books I read could only be found through the library system  (and I know they had their own limitations on what could be kept).    Amazon, for all its faults, opened up a world of books to the average buyer that were no longer published and unfindable before  (well, I'm sure serious collectors had their ways -- but to the general public I mean).  I know I personally went crazy buying books once I understood what was available, and prices for much of that has only come down since   (this is not to say that paper books aren't hitting a online revolution similar to music has, that may affect what is available online-- but that even if things change, there are still FAR more old, out of print paper books available today then when I was young).

[Violet Crown]

On 6/29/2020 at 8:30 AM, Penguin said:

First, what kind of disappearing are you concerned about? Maybe we don't completely disagree.

Very possible. Neither my friend's work situation, nor my specific concerns, are about books becoming unobtainable or coercively removed, and it's unlikely (I opine) that they'd be deleted from electronic devices from a distance. Possibly altered; but I think not.

What I think will happen -- is happening -- is that to purchase, search for, own, read, discuss, publish certain writings will be considered prima facie evidence that this person (and his family) is unhirable, unfriendable, unmarriageable, in all ways cancelled. On the heels of this is the day when this won't even be a problem, because it wouldn't occur to any good person to publish, read, etc. such writings. Nobody has to ban [writer] from libraries or bookstores: what place fit for decent people would carry [writer]? What fringe publisher would publish [writer]? Who would want to brazenly bring [writer]'s book to the counter, or put it in her Amazon basket? The only thing better than the Angry Mob coercing your behavior, is you coercing your own behavior.

I've seen on TWTM people who considered themselves "liberal" in the non-political, genuine sense of supporting personal freedoms, say things like "It's only censorship when the government does it.... You have the freedom to say what you want, but nobody has an obligation to keep you on their payroll." How easy is this to transfer to our reading, especially when there's literally no way to obtain reading material now that doesn't involve an electronic record?

On 6/29/2020 at 8:30 AM, Penguin said:

Writers get reexamined, and I think that they should be reexamined. 

I think I agree with everything else you say in your post (I feel like I should quote each of your sentences and say, Ed McMahon-style, "You are correct, sir!"), so I've just pulled out the only one I disagree with; and that only on the technical grounds that I don't think writers should be examined at all. I mentioned Edmund Spenser earlier. He literally, seriously, advocated genocide. I don't care. The Faerie Queene is beautiful and important and should be read. Ezra Pound was a literal (not the new sense of 'literal' but the old one) Fascist (not the new sense of 'Fascist' but the old one) and was nearly hanged -- probably should have been -- for his acts of treason. I don't care. His Cantos are genius and should be read. Louis-Ferdinand Céline was a Nazi (not the new sense...) collaborationist. Don't care. Jean Genet was a sexually depraved criminal. We have evidence that Chaucer was a rapist. Don't care, don't care, don't care. I think it's time we stopped examining the writers, and we know it's time because the examinations are becoming so silly. I advocate a salutary return to the "Well-Wrought Urn" school of criticism, until we all come to our senses.

ETA: I see a literal guillotine was placed in front of Jeff Bezos's house. What fun!

ETA2: Actually I also disagree with you that I know more about O'Connor than you do. Most people who read and enjoy O'Connor don't know anything about the IWW. Hey! FO'C trivia! Name a book written by her that doesn't show up in the Library of America Collected Works. Googling permitted.

Edited June 30, 2020 by Violet Crown

[Pen]

I am in an “escapist” mood and am working my way through the Deborah Crombie Kinkaid / James series that I learned of from this thread.

 

 

[Kareni]

This afternoon I finished Cryoburn  by Lois McMaster Bujold which I enjoyed despite the sad ending.

Regards,

Kareni

[Penguin]

6 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

ETA2: Actually I also disagree with you that I know more about O'Connor than you do. Most people who read and enjoy O'Connor don't know anything about the IWW. Hey! FO'C trivia! Name a book written by her that doesn't show up in the Library of America Collected Works. Googling permitted.

I give up on the trivia question. Is it Mystery and Manners?

I had some head scratching over the IWW reference. I was thinking Wait. What? Was FO'C in the Industrial Workers of the World union? And then I realized you meant the Iowa Writer's Workshop. Ha ha.

Edited July 1, 2020 by Penguin

[Robin M]

Waving hello!  Coming up for air after working on editing a story and taxes.   

Out of curiosity I looked up banned books on Barnes and Nobles online store.  Interesting list which includes Toni Morrison, Alice Walker,  Maya Angelou but they don't have any explanations. I guess if they contain any mention of slavery, it's a bad thing now.  Conjecture on my part, however, I'll be adding to my library slowly but surely as the books on the list are ones I've already read or  books I want to read. More later on the conversation with @Violet Crown and @Penguin as I have thoughts but hubby just came home so no time to gather those thoughts into something coherent at the moment. 

 😘