Book a Week 2020 - BW30: Musing on Miscellany

[Violet Crown]

On 7/26/2020 at 6:46 PM, Dreamergal said:

Thank you !

V.S. NaiPaul is like the old uncle in your family who has the most abhorrent opinions but he is still your own is the closest way I can put it 😂. There are very few writers of Indian origin who were that prolific, award winning and who wrote about things I could identify in English so I had to read him. He's like an older Salman Rushdie. I am horrified at some of their opinions but I claim them ? 

V.S,Naipaul reminds me of my grandmother. She was the last generation who grew up in Colonial India, my father was born a little after Independence in 1947. She taught me old British colonial songs to teach me English from age 2 or 3 onwards like 'Rule Britannia' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule,_Britannia!) which essentially says colonization was God ordained because that was what she knew. When I grew up enough to understand the words they horrified me, but she never found it offensive. People who actually suffered under colonization like my grandparents identified as British too very strongly in a patriotic sense even after independence but she wasn't racist like him though she had a gollywog doll (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golliwog) she played with and I played with as a child, but I refused it when I knew better and she got upset because it was a family heirloom. She saw the world very much through British eyes. People like Gandhiji who fought for India's freedom has written racist things against Africans. I think when you are competing against a master, you try to be the "superior" servant for better privileges even though you are being looked at the same by them ? . Naipaul comes across like that to me.  I don't understand it but my grandmother especially idealized the British Royal Family so much so I know so much about QEII's grandmother, Queen Mary the empress of India when she was growing up. My grandmother was very kind and loving as a person, but she saw the world like this. I've seen Naipaul through that lens a bit to understand him if that makes sense. .

That's really helpful and contextualizing -- thanks! 

I knew nothing about the Indian diaspora until I started homeschooling, and a mom-friend explained that she was Indian, but from Trinidad and Tobago. She was also one of the most English people I've ever met, in some ways more so than people I know who grew up in England. Kind of like the Boston Irish.

Friends: I have to pull back from visiting TWTM for a while as I'm swamped with lesson planning and ordering (nothing like trying to get hold of extra hs'ing materials in late July) and figuring out the logistics of adding a child, starting this Monday. Where's the running-around-in-frenzied-circles emoticon gone anyway?

But I did finish Nostromo at last. An oddly structured novel: hundreds of pages of character development and backstory that bounces back and forth between the present and the past, then a sudden leap past the climax and a hurried description of it from a minor character that leaves crucial questions unanswered, which are then resolved in a Conradian manner. I loved it. 

Conrad might have escaped The Fury, if not for Chinua Achebe's illiterate condemnation of Heart of Darkness. Wikipedia:

Quote

In 1975 the Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe published an essay, "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness'", which provoked controversy by calling Conrad a "thoroughgoing racist". Achebe's view was that Heart of Darkness cannot be considered a great work of art because it is "a novel which celebrates... dehumanisation, which depersonalises a portion of the human race." 

To the guillotine!

Back to required homeschool reading. Next up: Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner's The Gilded Age, and W. G. Sebald's The Emigrants.

Edited July 29, 2020 by Violet Crown

[Violet Crown]

On 7/26/2020 at 12:35 PM, Mama Geek said:

Thought I would hop in here for a little while.  I just finished Pilgrim's Progress and am now reading part 2 of Pilgrim's Progress.  The first one I sort of slogged through and then I watched the animated movie and really wanted to read part 2.  I am more than halfway through and disappointed because the wife who is on pilgrimage really hasn't had to go through the difficulties because of what she learned from her husband or she had companions help her.  Hopefully she will have something come along for her to really struggle through.

I love Bunyan! Middle Girl recommends The Life and Death of Mr Badman, which she tells me is underrated. So many books....

[aggieamy]

Has anyone read any Elizabeth Cadell? So far I'd put her in the DE Stevenson category but much less known. Looking through Goodreads I don't see that anyone here has read any of her books. I thought @mumto2 or @tuesdayschild might have. (Where is tuesday???)

Also I have a complaint. My library only lets us have 30 reserved books at once. Everyone in my family reads. Kevin will read huge chunksters that take forever so he's happy with a book out at a time. The rest of us though love our cookbooks or YA suspense or Magic Tree House read alouds (*sob*) or Amelia Bedelia easy readers and 30 books is not enough. Particularly not now when I don't want to go to the library three times a week. It's the only building I go into. 

Kevin and John have been reading a bunch of Poppleton to each other. I'd never heard of the books before but Sandy sent it to John as a "congratulations on being able to read" surprise. Highly highly recommend for little readers. And it's hilarious because Kevin and John quote the book to each other randomly in a high pitched squeaky voice. "Yoo hoo POPPLETON!" 

[Violet Crown]

23 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

 I could do with some Saxon-Viking warfare right about now

Here you go.

[aggieamy]

Y'all I am D.O.N.E. with MTH. I can't do it anymore. We finished a WWII MTH last night and as soon as we finished John went and grabbed another one off the shelf we have in his room where we store future read alouds. He was so excited and I had to hold back tears. After he fell asleep I took all the MTH books off his shelf and hid them. It's no longer an option. I'm the worst mother. 

[Violet Crown]

On 7/27/2020 at 4:35 PM, Dreamergal said:

I would like to know some of your favorite poets and their books. 

So many! Last year was spent wallowing in the French Symbolists and English Decadents. Les Fleurs du Mal. In my callow youth, I couldn't get enough of A Shropshire Lad, and I still enjoy Housman.

Stevie Smith. Robert Fergusson. Yeats and Tennyson, those old warhorses. Poor John Clare, whom nobody reads anymore.

[Kareni]

4 hours ago, aggieamy said:

Y'all I am D.O.N.E. with MTH. I can't do it anymore. We finished a WWII MTH last night and as soon as we finished John went and grabbed another one off the shelf we have in his room where we store future read alouds. He was so excited and I had to hold back tears. After he fell asleep I took all the MTH books off his shelf and hid them. It's no longer an option. I'm the worst mother. 

Okay, it took me a minute to realize that MTH is Magic Tree House.

Take solace in the fact that you have competition for 'worst mother' status. In my case, after having read one book, I refused to read aloud more of The Berenstain Bears!

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

6 hours ago, Dreamergal said:

Kedgeree is a version of the Indian Kichidi

I didn't know that. My mom used to make Kedgeree for us all the time when I was little. Loved it. Haven't been able to replicate her recipe since. 

 

19 hours ago, melmichigan said:

Ryder will be put into book form next year from what I can remember.  It's been a wonderful diversion, since it's released in little snippets you never know when they are coming. 

Cool. I'll have to check it out. 

7 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

Friends: I have to pull back from visiting TWTM for a while as I'm swamped with lesson planning and ordering (nothing like trying to get hold of extra hs'ing materials in late July) and figuring out the logistics of adding a child, starting this Monday. Where's the running-around-in-frenzied-circles emoticon gone anyway?

Best of luck with your planning and getting everything you need.  Sending a virtual glass of wine. 

 

5 hours ago, aggieamy said:

Kevin and John have been reading a bunch of Poppleton to each other. I'd never heard of the books before but Sandy sent it to John as a "congratulations on being able to read" surprise. Highly highly recommend for little readers. And it's hilarious because Kevin and John quote the book to each other randomly in a high pitched squeaky voice. "Yoo hoo POPPLETON!" 

So funny.  Hope this takes his mind of MTH.  

 

5 hours ago, aggieamy said:

Y'all I am D.O.N.E. with MTH. I can't do it anymore. We finished a WWII MTH last night and as soon as we finished John went and grabbed another one off the shelf we have in his room where we store future read alouds. He was so excited and I had to hold back tears. After he fell asleep I took all the MTH books off his shelf and hid them. It's no longer an option. I'm the worst mother. 

No, you aren't.  I ended up hiding Captain Underpants and Calvin and Hobbes at one point.  The things we do to retain our sanity.  

Edited July 29, 2020 by Robin M

[marbel]

LOVED Poppleton!

I too tired of MTH. I think at one point I said "you want them, read them  yourself."

And, Berenstain Bears... 20 years on (give or take), my kids still remember my ranting about how much I despised them. They probably remember nothing of the one or two books we read, just "mom hated them."  

Kids survived and have continued to read.

[aggieamy]

53 minutes ago, marbel said:

LOVED Poppleton!

I too tired of MTH. I think at one point I said "you want them, read them  yourself."

And, Berenstain Bears... 20 years on (give or take), my kids still remember my ranting about how much I despised them. They probably remember nothing of the one or two books we read, just "mom hated them."  

Kids survived and have continued to read.

I've been meaning to say this for awhile and keep forgetting but I love how you have your Goodreads link in your sig line. It's so helpful to be able to "remind" myself who you are over on Goodreads. I hope you don't mind if I steal that idea.

[marbel]

2 minutes ago, aggieamy said:

I've been meaning to say this for awhile and keep forgetting but I love how you have your Goodreads link in your sig line. It's so helpful to be able to "remind" myself who you are over on Goodreads. I hope you don't mind if I steal that idea.

I suspect I stole it from someone else!  So go for it!  

[aggieamy]

9 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

Friends: I have to pull back from visiting TWTM for a while as I'm swamped with lesson planning and ordering (nothing like trying to get hold of extra hs'ing materials in late July) and figuring out the logistics of adding a child, starting this Monday. Where's the running-around-in-frenzied-circles emoticon gone anyway?

 

You've piqued my curiosity! Who are you adding to your homeschool?

[Junie]

@marbel

I just realized I'm not friends with you on goodreads.  I'm going to send you a request. :)  My username there is very different from my one here, though, so I wanted to give you a heads up.

[Lori D.]

On 7/26/2020 at 3:52 PM, Junie said:

...The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton -- I am still trying to figure out why this book is banned.  From what I've read, it's because it glorifies gangs/violence.  Really, though, it seemed very much like West Side Story, which has gotten a very different treatment over the years.  Maybe I'm missing something?  Anyway, I enjoyed the book.

I finally had a chance to read The Outsiders back in May. Incredibly well-written, when you realize Hinton was just 16 years old when writing it! I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, too. A good book for those teen years when struggling with trying to both make sense of the world, and figure out who you are.

Here's what Wikipedia said about why the book has been banned from time to time: "This book has been banned from some schools and libraries because of the portrayal of gang violence, underage smoking and drinking, strong language/slang, and family dysfunction." ... Scratching my head over those reasons -- the book seemed quite tame to contemporary events and detailed descriptions of events in books for teens today... 😉  

[Lori D.]

On 7/28/2020 at 2:28 PM, Dreamergal said:

....[in] my mother tongue... there is a word for the smell of earth. Now what it exactly means is the smell of parched earth as the first rain of the monsoon hits. It is very unique to parched earth  is a very distinct smell and I cannot translate that well in English. 

Korean seems to have that with the first snowfall of the year. It has been celebrated enough on Kdrama I am quite sure I am right about it. 😂

That is lovely!

My sister and I grew up in the desert Southwest of the U.S., so rain is precious here. When we have those first drops of summer monsoon rains hitting the arid desert land, we called that smell "rain-dirt". And then after the rain is the wonderful fragrance of the wet creosote bushes -- a secondary rain smell, that I think of as the smell of "rain blessing the desert."

Apparently, there are hundreds of nuanced and complex words and ways of describing snow in the Alaskan Eskimo-Inuit-Aluet language families.

Edited July 29, 2020 by Lori D.

[Lori D.]

3 hours ago, Dreamergal said:

... Robert Frost, the only thing I remember is "the woods are lonely, dark and deep' which I memorized incorrectly instead of 'lovely, dark and deep'. How one little word wrongly memorized can mess with a mind. My idea of scary woods is directly tied to that and horror movies...

... No one loves Lord Byron ? I don't like the man or his poetry...

Connecting your Robert Frost "lonely" rather than "lovely" slip, plus your mention of Lord Byron:

DSs were not poetry fans when I kept introducing short poetry units throughout middle and high school -- in spite of the fact I chose a wide assortment of poets and poems I thought they might at least find interesting. They did like "Darkness" by Lord Byron -- amazingly like a dark, nihilistic, post-apocalyptic images form a 21st century dystopia or horror movie -- but written over 200 years ago...

Edited July 29, 2020 by Lori D.

[Violet Crown]

3 hours ago, Dreamergal said:

I know these three, had to memorize some of them in school.

Yeats and Tennyson I'd expect, but I'm very impressed that you had to memorize Fergusson! When dh had a recurring job each spring term in Scotland, we used to visit the memorial to Fergusson when we went through Edinburgh.

1 hour ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

Good luck with the planning  @Violet Crown . I saw Paxton chimed in that local authorities can't tell schools to close, it's up to the school districts. I guess that makes you your own district, so you will have no worries now! 

I'm also being careful to not accept compensation (just reimbursement for supplies, lunches, etc.), so pretty sure there's no way I can fall under unanticipated statutes or orders. Nothing to see here, just a friend staying over and doing a little math and violin.... 

1 hour ago, aggieamy said:

You've piqued my curiosity! Who are you adding to your homeschool?

A friend of Wee Girl's, from her chamber group. I anticipate some fun duets being assigned by their teachers!

Edited July 30, 2020 by Violet Crown

[Kareni]

1 hour ago, Violet Crown said:

A friend of Wee Girl's, from her chamber group. I anticipate some fun duets being assigned by their teachers!

What a treat for both Wee Girl and her friend as well as the lucky audience for those duets! Enjoy.

Regards,

Kareni

[Negin]

15 hours ago, aggieamy said:

Kevin and John have been reading a bunch of Poppleton to each other. I'd never heard of the books before but Sandy sent it to John as a "congratulations on being able to read" surprise. Highly highly recommend for little readers. And it's hilarious because Kevin and John quote the book to each other randomly in a high pitched squeaky voice. "Yoo hoo POPPLETON!" 

I miss these books! 

[Junie]

Late to the poetry discussion:

The most recent "poetry collections" that I've enjoyed recently were The Crossover by Kwame Alexander and Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson.  

My little girls recently watched Andrew Lloyd Webber's CATS and they are diving into T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats.

[Lori D.]

2 hours ago, Dreamergal said:

...  I did not know Lord Byron was capable of writing such words except flowery ones. 🙄. Then again I am quite biased against the man quite rationally because he spurned his daughter who just happens to be one of my historical heroines. 

Agree -- I also am not a fan of the man... But then, there are a ton of authors and filmmakers and actors who create incredible art, but have major failings as human beings 😉 

[Robin M]

21 hours ago, Dreamergal said:

Oh dear Robert Frost, the only thing I remember is "the woods are lonely, dark and deep' which I memorized incorrectly instead of 'lovely, dark and deep'. How one little word wrongly memorized can mess with a mind. My idea of scary woods is directly tied to that and horror movies so no hiking in the woods for me even now. 🙄

He is not a favorite of mine for obvious reasons. 😀

Oh dear, so sorry.  Yes, I can see how that would affect you.  I'm not one for horror movies either so understand how you feel.   I once read a book in which I thought the narrator said he committed the crime so imagine my surprise when he wasn't guilty in the end  Huh? What?   I was so confused.      

From all you've said, it seems you are very in tune with nature and feelings and language.  Do you create and write your own poems?    I dabble and experiment with different styles and wouldn't call myself a poet, but it's fun.  

[Robin M]

Imagine my surprise when two paperback copies of Faith Hunter's Spells for the Dead arrived. I guess I got overly excited or was having a senior moment and forgotten I had pre-ordered and ordered again.  *facepalm*   Unfortunately I  can't handle the too too small print so yep, I bought the Kindle version and reading it instead.  If anyone would like a paperback copy, let me know and I'll forward it on.   

[Matryoshka]

Hi, dipping my toe back in after not posting for a long time.  My concentration time for reading just totally tanked when the pandemic hit; my reading volume has gone down by almost 2/3 compared to the past few years. 😞   I've also given up on any goals for the year, including number of books, Bingo, 10x10... and my reading in German and Spanish is also way down. But it's over halfway through the year and thought I'd give an update...  since I have no idea when last I posted, I'll just list what I've gotten through since March without a lot of commentary... (I notice I've read almost exactly the same number of books from March-July as I did in Jan/Feb alone!)

24. Say, Say, Say by Lila Savage  (audio)
25. Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk (ebook)
26. The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee by David Treuer (audio)
27. The Fated Sky (Lady Astronaut #2) by Mary Robinette Kowal
28. The Secret Commonwealth (Book of Dust #2) by Philip Pullman (audio)
29. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
30. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (audio)
31. Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson (audio)
32. Sabrina & Corina: Stories by Kali Farjardo-Anstine (ebook)
33. The Hidden Girl and Other Stories by Ken Liu
34. Eine Frau erlebt die Polarnacht/A Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter
35. The Witches are Coming by Lindy West (audio)
36. City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett
37. How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi (audio)
38. World Enough (and Time) by Edmund Jorgensen
39. American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson (audio)
40. The Yellow House  by Sarah M. Broom (ebook)
41. Network Effect by Martha Wells
42. La casa de los espíritus /The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
43. Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
44. Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer (audio)
45. Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn (ebook)
46. A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum (ebook)
47. Das achte Leben/The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischwili
48. The Salt Path by Raynor Winn (ebook)

 

Edited July 30, 2020 by Matryoshka
Fixing spacing

[Matryoshka]

On 7/26/2020 at 2:17 PM, Melissa M said:

Since my last post, I’ve finished seven books, bringing my total to 142 books read to date.

I'm very impressed that you've managed to keep up your reading pace during this whole thing!  

Quote

■ The Sorrows of Young Werther (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; 1774. Trans. Elizabeth Mayer and Louise Bogan; 1990. Fiction.)
Yes, he’s troubled and self-absorbed, but I don’t belong to the reading club that maintains we must like the protagonist to like the book. I will say, though, that I am old enough to have wanted to be “quite severe” with Werther, to insist that he get a grip and meet a few more suitable companions. Heh, heh, heh.

One of my favorite books is a riff on this one - The New Sorrows of Young W. by Ulrich Plenzdorf.  I've been meaning to read the inspiration for it for years, and one of my challenges I'm not going to make this year was to do a bunch of re-reading of some of my favorite books (I've managed one thus far 😒).  You've inspired me to tackle this one next, then follow it right up with New Sorrows...  (I've had a copy of Goethe's Sorrows lying around glaring at me for decades now, so easy to pick up...)  After the gigantic tome of The Eighth Life, this shouldn't be too bad (although non-Germans tend to write so much more succinctly!  Goethe of course is the emperor of overly-flowery language and interminable sentences, and if you think it's bad in English...)  Even The Eighth Life was almost 300 pages longer in the original German...  I think one of the reasons I like New Sorrows so much is that it was written very vernacular speech, quite fun to read.

Edited July 30, 2020 by Matryoshka

[Penguin]

@Æthelthryth the Texan I have a vivid memory of reading Pillars of the Earth in 1991. I was pregnant with my first, and I recall being terrified by a birth scene! I can't remember the scene, but I sure do recall the feeling.

@Dreamergal Do you have a recommendation for a particular work from either Radindranath Tagore or Mirza Ghalib? Both are new to me. Thank you for the link to Words without Borders. I feel like I have been on that site before, but had forgotten about it. Bookmarked it this time.

You might like Lyrikline: 

1455 poets
13076 poems
88 languages
19875 translations

And all of them read aloud, usually by the poet. 

@Violet Crown I first heard of Stevie Smith recently when musician Nick Cave published his list of 40 beloved books. He has a lot of poetry on there, and also our dear friend Flannery O'Connor. I love his intro. When asked to compile a list, he said:

"Normally, to answer this question I would simply go to my bookshelves and choose forty books. However, my bookshelves are completely empty. The 5000+ books I have accumulated over the years have been shipped to the Royal Danish Library in Copenhagen. They are now part of the completely mind-blowing, heart-stopping Stranger Than Kindness exhibition."

Too bad I won't be able to be in Denmark between now and February 2021. I sure would love to see that exhibition. 

Edited July 30, 2020 by Penguin

[Matryoshka]

1 hour ago, Dreamergal said:

Oh dear should I confess completely on a homeschool board on a thread about books my bias about Lord Byron which sounds oh so rational to me but could be crazy to others.. Here goes

I have no poetry critical background as such, but long before I knew who his daughter was I would describe his poems as pompous and this was as a teen in school. So when I heard about his connection to Lady Lovelace and he said she was not useful or something to that effect when she was born because she was a girl and it suddenly was like the universe gave me confirmation about my literary review of his work.being as pompous as he was 😊.

It's a bit personal you see my opinion about a dead poet. 😂

Welcome (though I've been myself absent lately... hopefully my pace will pick back up!)

The most I read about Lord Byron was in a fantastic dual biography of Mary Shelley and her mother Mary Wollstonecraft.  Byron came off as pompous and otherwise awful in so many ways.

12 minutes ago, Dreamergal said:

There are some women who are cloaked and veiled, they will never speak to a man or show their faces to women unless they trust you completely. They are invisible but they sing songs more like chanting and these are songs sung when they thresh rice for instance. I love listening to those.

I look for that from around the world. Things like Bedouin, Mongol poetry which is mostly spoken word. The Unesco website is a good resource for that.

http://www.unesco.org/archives/multimedia/subject/13/Intangible+heritage

I collect a lot of poetry, some in form of books and others in the form of recordings like these. 

I like some poetry, but don't seem to have the stamina to sit down and read a book of it.  It's like I have to savor it a bit at at time, but then which to read and savor?  I aspire to do better, but never seem to.

But I have become a huge fan of the Youth Poet Laureate, Amanda Gorman.  I've seen her perform a few of her spoken word poetry pieces, and am blown away every time.  Truly amazing, both her words and delivery.

[Matryoshka]

On 7/26/2020 at 5:36 PM, Dreamergal said:

Currently, there is a feast of Indian writers in English both from the Indian Diaspora and based in India. Since I've always longed for that even as a child, those are the books I gravitate the most to. The second most frequent I read are what is called Desi Writers which is a term that encompasses the South Asian diaspora. The third  tier is Asian American authors and the rest are the world. I also skew more diverse and POC authors in that tier as I always read only British and American authors that where non POC. I have for instance never heard of To Kill a Mockingbird till I came here. I also read books in the two Indian languages I know to read to maintain fluency. I read French mostly through magazines and newspapers, I do not have enough fluency to read an entire book at the speed I like to read though I read books by French authors in English.

Do you have any good Desi books you could recommend?  I've read some Jhumpa Lahiri and a few others whose names aren't immediately springing to mind...  I'm doing a multi-year Around the World challenge in which the books should not only be about a country but written by someone from there who's at least grown to adulthood there.  Much of what I find is from emigrants...

[Penguin]

I finished another book this week!

Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice that Shapes What We See, Think, and Do by Jennifer Eberhardt. This had been recommended to me by @Quill. It was quite good - a nice mix of social science research and personal story. The author mostly focuses on law enforcement, which is her area of expertise. There were some interesting long case studies such as the Oakland Riders Police Scandal (c. 2000) and the 2017 Charlottesville Unite the Right Rally. There is a good chunk of neuroscience in the book that I really appreciated learning. And she also touches on bias research in other arenas such as orchestra auditions and MLB umpires. I hope to follow it up with Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed By Men. 

Edited July 30, 2020 by Penguin

[Kareni]

Currently free for Kindle readers ~

Crown of Frost by Isabella August

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Two historical romances that are free for Kindle readers ~

Simple Jess (Tales from Marrying Stone Book 2) Kindle Edition by Pamela Morsi

To Winter at Wildsyde By Emma V. Leech

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

On 7/29/2020 at 10:49 AM, aggieamy said:

as anyone read any Elizabeth Cadell? So far I'd put her in the DE Stevenson category but much less known. Looking through Goodreads I don't see that anyone here has read any of her books. I thought @mumto2 or @tuesdayschild might have. (Where is tuesday???)

First, I know Tuesday is OK because I see her on Goodreads but I really miss her here.

I have never read Elizabeth Cadell but do know I have seen them on a British friend’s bookshelf......she isn’t the type that actually loans books.

Having problems and lost a large part of my post........

@Robin M  I almost asked you to send a Soulwood extra my way then realized if you can’t see it I probably can’t either. 😂  It popped up on my Overdrive yesterday after you posted and I am third on the list so my wait won’t be long!

@

[Kareni]

A free classic for Kindle readers ~

The Luck of Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray;,

 "A continent-spanning adventure featuring one of literature’s greatest rogues

Redmond Barry has almost all the qualities of a gentleman: he speaks well, has learned courtly etiquette, and can hold his own with a sword in hand. But passion is his downfall—passion for life, for excitement, and unfortunately, for his cousin Nora. When he almost kills Nora’s suitor in a duel, Barry flees to Dublin, and the adventure of his life begins.
 
A consummate rake and con man, Barry finds himself on the battlefield against the Prussians in the Seven Years’ War after losing everything. But war—and life, for that matter—is not exactly what Barry wished or expected it to be. A braggart’s tale through and through, with an antihero of epic proporations, The Luck of Barry Lyndon is a brisk romp through one of literature’s most unusual lives."

Regards,

Kareni

[aggieamy]

19 hours ago, mumto2 said:

First, I know Tuesday is OK because I see her on Goodreads but I really miss her here.

I have never read Elizabeth Cadell but do know I have seen them on a British friend’s bookshelf......she isn’t the type that actually loans books.

Having problems and lost a large part of my post........

@Robin M  I almost asked you to send a Soulwood extra my way then realized if you can’t see it I probably can’t either. 😂  It popped up on my Overdrive yesterday after you posted and I am third on the list so my wait won’t be long!

@

I'm about halfway in the Elizabeth Cadell book ... so far I would tentatively recommend. I'll keep you updated! I think it's actually one I discovered because of the "similar books" website @Robin M posted a few weeks ago.

On 7/30/2020 at 1:21 PM, Matryoshka said:

Hi, dipping my toe back in after not posting for a long time.  My concentration time for reading just totally tanked when the pandemic hit; my reading volume has gone down by almost 2/3 compared to the past few years. 😞   I've also given up on any goals for the year, including number of books, Bingo, 10x10... and my reading in German and Spanish is also way down. But it's over halfway through the year and thought I'd give an update...  since I have no idea when last I posted, I'll just list what I've gotten through since March without a lot of commentary... (I notice I've read almost exactly the same number of books from March-July as I did in Jan/Feb alone!)

 

I'm glad to see you post ... I was thinking about you!

My reading was really hurting in April/May but I've given myself permission to simply read whatever catches my fancy at the moment and do a bunch of rereading this year. It's helped. But still this is hard. ((HUGS))

[aggieamy]

Oh my goodness gals! I finished a Georgette Heyer audiobook that I hated with every fiber of my being. I listened at 3x speed on audible and it was the only way I got through it. I don't know why I didn't give up ... maybe I had hope that it would turn around. Horrible romantic hero. Horrible heroine. Kidnapping. Dumb plot twists. HATED. IT.

Faro's Daughter by Georgette Heyer -  My ranking is *negative stars* and *infinity thumbs down*.

[Matryoshka]

1 minute ago, aggieamy said:

I'm glad to see you post ... I was thinking about you!

My reading was really hurting in April/May but I've given myself permission to simply read whatever catches my fancy at the moment and do a bunch of rereading this year. It's helped. But still this is hard. ((HUGS))

Thanks!  I've also given myself permission to read whatever catches my fancy, but it hasn't helped, I think partly because what keeps grabbing my attention is all the Covid threads...   It's like I can't look away... I guess it's reading, but not books!

I actually had set myself a rereading challenge at the beginning of the year.  I'm not a big rereader, and thought it would be fun to revisit some old favorites.  And yet I have managed but ONE reread thus far.  Doesn't seem to have the draw for me it does for others!  I still want to reread all the ones I'd put on my list, but I think it will have to be a multi-year challenge unless I get my reading mojo back in a serious way...  just too many books I haven't read keep calling!  I had thought I might join in the LOTR reread (that's one of the few things I've already read multiple times), but as I was making so little headway on other things, I just couldn't feel like I had the spare reading time for a fourth time through.  Though I'm sure I will at some point.

[madteaparty]

I’m looking for a beach read. Last time I was at this spot I read Circe which was perfect. Last recent book I tolerated was Fleischman is in trouble. Anything?

[mumto2]

36 minutes ago, aggieamy said:

I'm about halfway in the Elizabeth Cadell book ... so far I would tentatively recommend. I'll keep you updated! I think it's actually one I discovered because of the "similar books" website @Robin M posted a few weeks ago.

 

Have you ever read Betty Neels?  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/n/betty-neels/  I recently discovered that I have a few availiable on Overdrive and am actually reading The Quiet Professor right now.  Easy clean reading........my first Harlequin was a Betty Neels romance.   The main characters are almost always a sweet British nurse and a Dutch Consultant.  After reading the linked bit I know why!😂

[madteaparty]

On 7/30/2020 at 3:03 PM, Matryoshka said:

Do you have any good Desi books you could recommend?  I've read some Jhumpa Lahiri and a few others whose names aren't immediately springing to mind...  I'm doing a multi-year Around the World challenge in which the books should not only be about a country but written by someone from there who's at least grown to adulthood there.  Much of what I find is from emigrants...

Not what you’re asking exactly but did you read A Fine Balance (Mistry) or white tiger? Later won the Man Booker. I highly recommend 

[Junie]

1 hour ago, aggieamy said:

Oh my goodness gals! I finished a Georgette Heyer audiobook that I hated with every fiber of my being. I listened at 3x speed on audible and it was the only way I got through it. I don't know why I didn't give up ... maybe I had hope that it would turn around. Horrible romantic hero. Horrible heroine. Kidnapping. Dumb plot twists. HATED. IT.

Faro's Daughter by Georgette Heyer -  My ranking is *negative stars* and *infinity thumbs down*.

Goodreads needs to make a Never Want to Read option for situations like this.  I think I might go add a shelf and put this book on it. :)

[Junie]

20 minutes ago, Junie said:

Goodreads needs to make a Never Want to Read option for situations like this.  I think I might go add a shelf and put this book on it. :)

Done.

I have never read Georgette Heyer, so I want to make sure not to start with this one.

[Kareni]

1 hour ago, madteaparty said:

I’m looking for a beach read. Last time I was at this spot I read Circe which was perfect....

A few lists for you. (There is overlap, but each list also has unique choices.)

One

Two

Three

Regards

 Kareni

[Matryoshka]

On 7/30/2020 at 10:26 PM, Dreamergal said:

I know of authors who were born in the country or grew up there, but not completely and moved west. Many of them moved back and forth.  But they grew up in areas and homes which are culture heavy so they write from that perspective.

One of my most favorite British-Pakistani writers. Mohsin Hamid. Spent part of his childhood in Pakistan as a child and the US . He is also British. He goes back and forth, lived and educated in all three countries both as a child and adult. 

Two of his books are among my favorites - The Reluctant Fundementalist

https://www.amazon.com/Reluctant-Fundamentalist-Mohsin-Hamid/dp/0156034026/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2POT3QYUPKVE0&dchild=1&keywords=the+reluctant+fundamentalist&qid=1596161024&sprefix=the+reluctance%2Caps%2C176&sr=8-2

Exit West

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H17U9OQ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

I will come back with more Indian and Bangladeshi writers tomorrow. 

To the bolded, that's why I specify just 'grown to adulthood' in this challenge (and I might include people who moved back to live) - because not just from India but from so many cultures it's hard to find books from people who stayed.  Not so much for India but for many other countries, because people had to flee and in some with oppressive regimes it's hard to publish anything critical.  But I didn't want to include books from people who emigrated as children and only had childhood memories and family stories or vacation trips to go on.  I still read many of those, just don't get counted for the RtW challenge. 🙂

I have read Exit West, but not yet Hamid's other book...

 

On 7/31/2020 at 2:04 PM, Dreamergal said:

My favorite book by Jhumpa Lahiri  (Indian American) and I can identify the most with is The Namesake about a couple moving to the US from India and all the cultural differences. 

https://www.amazon.com/Namesake-Novel-Jhumpa-Lahiri-ebook/dp/B003KGAUUQ/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+namesake&qid=1596216867&sr=8-1

I read the following book before I read To Kill a Mockingbird so when I read it, this is the book that came to mind.  I am hesitant to even put it in the same sentence as a  holy grail book of American literature, so it comes with a strong disclaimer that it is like that to me. 

 God of small things by Arundathi Roy. 

https://www.amazon.com/God-Small-Things-Arundhati-Roy/dp/0006550681/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1596218338&sr=8-1

I wanted to give more variety.. Chetan Bhagat is one of the most popular and prolific writers.  This is an ebook collection of most of his books and the price is good. These are all stand alone books. He was born, brought up and lives in India. Most of these have been made into Bollywood movies (Hindi movies) so more the Nicholas Sparks kind of author to me.

https://www.amazon.com/Chetan-Bhagat-Collection-Books-ebook/dp/B07FYL9GNS/ref=sr_1_2?crid=18XHXDW9T1NLU&dchild=1&keywords=chetan+bhagat+books&qid=1596217018&sprefix=chetan+bra%2Caps%2C189&sr=8-2

I do like Lahiri.  I've read The Namesake and Interpreter of Maladies.  Arundathi Roy has been on my TR list for a while but I haven't read anything yet.  Her books on Goodreads get very disparate reviews - lots of 5's and 1's; I think that's why they haven't percolated to the top quite yet. 

I'm not a Nicholas Sparks kind of reader, but I think it might be fun to read a Bollywood-inspiring book.   What's your favorite book of his? 

1 hour ago, madteaparty said:

Not what you’re asking exactly but did you read A Fine Balance (Mistry) or white tiger? Later won the Man Booker. I highly recommend 

A Fine Balance has also been on my TR list for a while (it's at over 1500 books, so it's hard to keep track!)  White Tiger also looks interesting - I hadn't seen that one yet.

Two I've recently added to my list are Latitudes of Longing by Shubhangi Swarup (I think this one would count for my WtR challenge) and Well-Behaved Indian Women by Saumya Dave (which would not - it's about mother-daughter relationships in an Indian-American family).

ETA: And I've had A Suitable Boy on my TR list for ages, but that's another uber-chunkster even longer than The Eighth Life!

Edited August 1, 2020 by Matryoshka

[Matryoshka]

28 minutes ago, Dreamergal said:

I hated Georgette Heyer too. I could never find a redeeming book I think I liked from her. I

preferred the American Harlequin romantic books, Diana Palmer was my favorite author.

There's a lot of Georgette Heyer love around here, so I've been meaning to try one for ages, but I have yet to read one - I guess I won't start with Faro's Daughter; I'd been contemplating The Grand Sophy.  But I'm not much of a romance reader, so...

But I do love Jane Austen, so I'm not completely aromantic... 😂

[aggieamy]

1 hour ago, mumto2 said:

 

Have you ever read Betty Neels? https://www.fantasticfiction.com/n/betty-neels/  I recently discovered that I have a few availiable on Overdrive and am actually reading The Quiet Professor right now.  Easy clean reading........my first Harlequin was a Betty Neels romance.   The main characters are almost always a sweet British nurse and a Dutch Consultant.  After reading the linked bit I know why!😂

I haven't heard of her. Do you have a recommendation on where to start? If you assign me one then I'll be a good student and read it. EDIT ... 30 seconds later I just bought The Quiet Professor so we can discuss it when I finish it in a few days. You're likely to have finished by the time you get back to this thread. 

33 minutes ago, Junie said:

Done.

I have never read Georgette Heyer, so I want to make sure not to start with this one.

 

17 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

There's a lot of Georgette Heyer love around here, so I've been meaning to try one for ages, but I have yet to read one - I guess I won't start with Faro's Daughter; I'd been contemplating The Grand Sophy.  But I'm not much of a romance reader, so...

But I do love Jane Austen, so I'm not completely aromantic... 😂

Well, I do love myself some GH in general. I think what made me so angry was that book was just bad and I know she can do better. I'll give a few recommendations. I wish I could do a "if" and "then" programming chart here.

The Grand Sophy is one of my favorites. But it's a product of it's time and there's scene with a Jewish merchant that I'm sure got laughs in the 30's but nowadays is cring-y. Don't start with it unless you're the type of reader that can compartmentalize that type of thing. 

If you like lots of humor and a gentler hero then start with Cotillion. 

If you like an arranged marriage trope and a slow burn romance built on friendship then start with A Civil Contract. 

If you like a mature couple and a villain you want to get their comeuppance then start with The Nonesuch.

If you want high comedy and improbable hi-jinks and fantastic side characters then start with Sprig Muslin or The Talisman Ring. 

Edited August 1, 2020 by aggieamy

[madteaparty]

25 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

To the bolded, that's why I specify just 'grown to adulthood' in this challenge (and I might include people who moved back to live) - because not just from India but from so many cultures it's hard to find books from people who stayed.  Not so much for India but for many other countries, because people had to flee and in some with oppressive regimes it's hard to publish anything critical.  But I didn't want to include books from people who emigrated as children and only had childhood memories and family stories or vacation trips to go on.  I still read many of those, just don't get counted for the RtW challenge. 🙂

I have read Exit West, but not yet Hamid's other book...

 

I do like Lahiri.  I've read The Namesake and Interpreter of Maladies.  Arundathi Roy has been on my TR list for a while but I haven't read anything yet.  Her books on Goodreads get very disparate reviews - lots of 5's and 1's; I think that's why they haven't percolated to the top quite yet. 

I'm not a Nicholas Sparks kind of reader, but I think it might be fun to read a Bollywood-inspiring book.   What's your favorite book of his? 

A Fine Balance has also been on my TR list for a while (it's at over 1500 books, so it's hard to keep track!)  White Tiger also looks interesting - I hadn't seen that one yet.

Two I've recently added to my list are Latitudes of Longing by Shubhangi Swarup (I think this one would count for my WtR challenge) and Well-Behaved Indian Women by Saumya Dave (which would not - it's about mother-daughter relationships in an Indian-American family).

White Tiger much smaller than a Fine Balance so easier to check off 🙂 

[Kareni]

3 hours ago, madteaparty said:

I’m looking for a beach read. Last time I was at this spot I read Circe which was perfect. Last recent book I tolerated was Fleischman is in trouble. Anything?

You might also find some ideas in this thread I started last year ~

What one book have you so enjoyed that you'd like everyone to read, because you want them to share the pleasure?

Regards,

Kareni

[Laurel-in-CA]

On 7/30/2020 at 11:15 AM, Robin M said:

Imagine my surprise when two paperback copies of Faith Hunter's Spells for the Dead arrived. I guess I got overly excited or was having a senior moment and forgotten I had pre-ordered and ordered again.  *facepalm*   Unfortunately I  can't handle the too too small print so yep, I bought the Kindle version and reading it instead.  If anyone would like a paperback copy, let me know and I'll forward it on.   

I recently found I have THREE copies of The Gates of Tagmeth -- I was really, really excited to see another book by P.C. Hodgell....unfortunately it would be very tough to start the story with the next-to-last book but I'll share if anyone wants to pay shipping for a copy. 8-)

[Matryoshka]

2 hours ago, Dreamergal said:

I read a lot of Desi writers, most write about relationships and culture, if they push the envelope immigrant experiences. But few tackle head on heavy subjects. I am talking about things like colonization, partition (when Pakistan was formed). 

Some more divisive and favorite books are

Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh is a historical novel about Partition.I had to push myself to finish this one because it was so hard to read. But it happened, it is so hard to look away and I cried through it. It was published around the time my father was born and he was the one who gave it to me and said read this ,it is our history. This was one of the books I brought with me when I came to America for the first time.

https://www.amazon.com/Train-Pakistan-Khushwant-Singh/dp/0802132219

The second book is a very recent one which deals is the effects of colonization on people and describes my grandparents especially my grandmother eerily is this book. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai. This won the Booker Prize too, she is the daughter of author Anita Desai who was nominated thrice for the Booker Prize. Kiran moved to the US as a teen. 

There is a character here who is Indian, but so British he eats paratha (a form of flatbread) with a knife and fork. My grandparents used to do that with something called an idli which is always eaten with fingers. It is very specific to write about a character and I suspect it is something she saw a grandparent raised in colonialism do. 

https://www.amazon.com/Inheritance-Loss-Kiran-Desai-ebook/dp/B008UX8DIU/ref=sr_1_1?crid=318S0APWO4NU1&dchild=1&keywords=the+inheritance+of+loss+by+kiran+desai&qid=1596311736&s=books&sprefix=the+inheritance+of+loss%2Cstripbooks%2C186&sr=1-1

This book reviews has many people not able to finish, but I found it one of the books I absolutely related with. So I don't know if it is too specific if you do not have background on   things like colonization even if you did not live it.

The third is Lajja (shame) by Taslima Nasrin a Bangladeshi writer. This book is banned in many muslim countries and she herself faced a fatwa that had a bounty on her life like Salman Rushdie had. She had to leave Bangladesh where she was a doctor. She moved from country to country and last I heard she was living in India.

https://www.amazon.com/Lajja-Taslima-Nasrin/dp/0143419218/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1JY1BKA71Y8WD&dchild=1&keywords=lajja+taslima+nasrin&qid=1596312143&s=books&sprefix=lajja+%2Cstripbooks%2C180&sr=1-1

The English translation does not do it justice in my opinion. I re-read it in Hindi, the original language it was written is Bengali. Someday I hope to have enough proficiency to read in it as lots of my favorite works are in it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taslima_Nasrin

Thanks for those.  The first two are new to me, and I've added them to my TR list.  I like novels that tackle subjects and make you think, and add to my understanding of world history, especially from a non Euro/US point of view - your comments on The God of Small Things has bumped it back higher on my list too.  The third book is one I was hoping to get to this year - not a lot of books to check the Bangladeshi box! it's a shame to hear the English translation isn't as good as it could be, as I don't read Hindi - or Benglali!  Oh, do you know who the translator was for your English edition?  I notice there are at least two, Kankabatti Datta and Tutul Gupta.  I'll try whichever one you didn't read and hope for better, lol...

[Robin M]

Hugo Award winners have been announced.  I  haven't read A Memory Called Empire, Nor Gideon the Ninth. Both look intriguing.  I loved The Ten Thousand Doors of January. The City in the Middle of the Night not so much. Have Middlegame in my stacks waiting and The Light Brigade looks promising. 

Arkady Martine wins Hugo for best novel, as George RR Martin hosts online ceremony

Mo Yan publishes first book after winning Nobel Prize in literature

Walk Beneath the Canopy of 8 Fictional Forests   My literary Waterloo is quickly becoming Lord of the Rings. One of these days I'll get back into the mood. Which brings me to On the value of reading poetry together—and apart—in the current moment.

I'm about ready for a reread month.