Book a Week 2021 - BW44: Nonfiction November

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday! Can you believe it's November already.  Time to climb aboard Pum Deg Dau o Lygrau and set sail for the unknown as we explore the land of nonfiction.  Such a wide variety to choose from - Psychology, cookbooks, history, art, religion, memoirs, craft of writing, sports, essays, poetry, crime, philosophy, and culture --- the wide vast world of how and what and why.  

Given that it's also National Novel Writing Month, if you want to spread your writing wings,  dip your toes in writing nonfiction with Telling True Stories, Flash Non Fiction, or poetry.  Or learn about the writing life from authors such as Annie Dillard or Anne Lamott. 

Dive into the world of true crime or real life detectives.  

Try out a new recipe, or go Down the Garden Path or Taste with Stanley Tucci

Be Zen, be cool, be funny, be logical or be positive.

Delve into the past with Erik Larson or Nathaniel Philbrick and many more. 

Have fun following rabbit trails.

**************************

Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 106. Dividing the Proceeds

Chapter 107. The Lions’ Den

Chapter 108. The Judge

***************************

Link to week 43

Visit  52 Books in 52 Weeks where you can find all the information on the annual, mini and perpetual challenges.  

Edited October 31, 2021 by Robin M

[Robin M]

I restarted Archangel’s Light because I always read too fast the first time because I just have to know what’s going to happen. And now on to my slow, absorb and savor read.   On my nightstand  - this month’s fictional librarian Raymond Ambler in Con Lehane’s 42nd Street Library, my non fiction reads Letters to a Young Poet by Rilke, followed by Letters to a Young Writer (Inspired by Rilke) by Colum McCann. Plus the continuation of Ready Player Two.

We watched The Nightmare before Christmas (my first time) and it was actually pretty good. And looking forward to watching tomorrow, the return of Dr Who with the Halloween Special.  

[Negin]

Thanks for the thread, Robin! The Stanley Tucci book looks good. I'm going to look into all those links. 

I read Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch - 5 Stars

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I'm hoping to get back to reading this week. I haven't red much this past two weeks. I began a PT business (teaching tennis) and have been focusing on it. I'm blessedly happy but so tired by the time I get home there is no energy to read. I have been putting on the Harry Potter movies and watching those until I fall asleep.

My non-fic reads for the month should be:  All In by Billy Jean King, Forever Young A Memoir by Hayley Mills, and finishing the book about Fred Rogers (which I have had to renew twice).

I have been reading the Nancy Drew mysteries when I donate platelets and should finish one of those  with the next donation.

[Kareni]

Some bookish posts ~

From the Word Wenches: What We're Reading in October

https://wordwenches.typepad.com/word_wenches/2021/10/what-were-reading-in-october.html

You Should Really Be Reading Victoria Goddard’s Nine Worlds Series

https://www.tor.com/2021/10/20/you-should-really-be-reading-victoria-goddards-nine-worlds-series/#more-666085

5 Books for People Who Crave More Vampires

https://www.tor.com/2021/10/19/5-books-for-people-who-crave-more-vampires/

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

2 hours ago, Kareni said:

You Should Really Be Reading Victoria Goddard’s Nine Worlds Series

https://www.tor.com/2021/10/20/you-should-really-be-reading-victoria-goddards-nine-worlds-series/#more-666085

 900 pages!!!   When has that ever stopped me. Thanks Karen. I think.  Victoria Goddard's Hands of the Emperor is now in my virtual stacks.

 

14 hours ago, Negin said:

Thanks for the thread, Robin! The Stanley Tucci book looks good.

Always my pleasure.  Yes, doesn't it. I couldn't resist as he's one of my favorite actors. I look forward to reading it soon.

4 hours ago, Granny_Weatherwax said:

I began a PT business (teaching tennis) and have been focusing on it. I'm blessedly happy but so tired by the time I get home there is no energy to read. I have been putting on the Harry Potter movies and watching those until I fall asleep.

That's awesome and glad it's going well.  Harry Potter's a good choice. James and I plan on a rewatch very soon. 

 

[Kareni]

36 minutes ago, Robin M said:

900 pages!!!   When has that ever stopped me. Thanks Karen. I think.  Victoria Goddard's Hands of the Emperor is now in my virtual stacks.

I enjoyed the book; I'd describe it as a mellow read. I hope you'll enjoy it, too.

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

Thank you for the thread Robin!

My reading last week was good but I have been checking out too many books which leads to having a stack of books on my Kindle which are going to be returned in a day or two.   I can normally manage to keep my reader turned off for a day or two for one book but I seem to be getting myself in a multiple situation repeatedly ….. this week has been all about reading the best of the stack and returning the rest.

So I finished up my current Lady of the Ashes and resisted the urge to immediately add the third one to my book queue because this is a series to be read over time I think.  Stolen Remains was great!  I really enjoy Queen Victoria as a character in these books.  This series appears to be essential complete as only a couple of shorts have been written lately.   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18223035-stolen-remains  

I am trying to finish my A to Z challenges where you read a book for each letter in the alphabet.  No set rules…I think all the BaWers who have done this in the past make their own.  I attempt to do authors last names but Asian authors and X are always exceptions!.   I normally do one for book titles too.  For some reason U is hard every year as I never seem to like the books I select but this year I was lucky.  The Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55871026-last-girl-ghosted  was pretty much a page turner for me but I suspect it’s because I know nothing about dating apps etc. The book was a whole new world for me which normally makes for a great read!  So this is totally an I really liked it but not sure if others will.  

I listened to a book that I have seen popping up on lists this week for at least a year now.  The Thursday Murder Club https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46000520-the-thursday-murder-club is charming, that’s the only way to describe a bunch of geriatric “detectives” living in a rather posh assisted living type arrangement in Kent.  They meet in the Jigsaw Rooms on Thursday mornings and call themselves something silly in order to book the room discretely.  They have entertained themselves for years solving the cold case files one of their members stole when they retired from the police when suddenly a real murder happens at their home.  It’s a book filled with the inconveniences of being old so at times sad, other times sweet, most of the time pretty humorous.  The narrator was excellent.  I am waiting impatiently for the second one!

Laura Griffin has long been a favorite author of mine.  Her long running series of suspense novels with a romantic twist is excellent. She recently has started writing unconnected books that are still set in Texas and still set at crime scenes.  Her latest Last Seen Alone is a good solid read, not a favorite but good.  She is an author that I reread at times. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56637934-last-seen-alone

Dear Mrs. Bird is a friend recommendation and I have to say it is quite wonderful.  I happen to be listening to it and enjoying the audio.  It’s an odd coincidence that Last Girl Ghosted also featured a modern day advice columnist complete with podcasts named Ms Birdie.  There must have been a real columnist someplace but a quick search didn’t spit her out.

Edited November 1, 2021 by mumto2

[Kareni]

Late last night I finished The Last Watch (The Divide Series Book 1) by J. S. Dewes; this science fiction novel kept my interest. I haven't decided yet whether or not I'll read the sequel.

"The Divide.
It’s the edge of the universe.
Now it’s collapsing—and taking everyone and everything with it.
The only ones who can stop it are the Sentinels—the recruits, exiles, and court-martialed dregs of the military.
At the Divide, Adequin Rake commands the Argus. She has no resources, no comms—nothing, except for the soldiers that no one wanted. Her ace in the hole could be Cavalon Mercer--genius, asshole, and exiled prince who nuked his grandfather's genetic facility for “reasons.”
She knows they’re humanity's last chance."

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

And last night I finished Into the Labyrinth: Mage Errant Book 1 by John Bierce; this was a quick and fun read. It's a coming of age story set in an academy for mages. I may well go on to read the next book.

"Hugh of Emblin is, so far as he's concerned, the worst student that the Academy at Skyhold has ever seen. He can barely cast any spells at all, and those he does cast tend to fail explosively. If that wasn't bad enough, he's also managed to attract the ire of the most promising student of his year- who also happens to be the nephew of a king. Hugh has no friends, no talent, and definitely doesn't expect a mage to choose him as an apprentice at all during the upcoming Choosing.

When a very unusual mage does choose him as apprentice, however, his life starts to take a sharp turn for the better. Now all he has to worry about is the final test for the first years- being sent into the terrifying labyrinth below Skyhold."

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

My distant book group is meeting tonight for which I just finished rereading Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. This is a short modern classic (about 200 pages), but it's sentence after (frequently long) sentence with no chapters or breaks between paragraphs. Several of the other group members mentioned finding it challenging/a slog. I can't really disagree!

"Heralded as Virginia Woolf's greatest novel, this is a vivid portrait of a single day in a woman's life. When we meet her, Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway is preoccupied with the last-minute details of party preparation while in her mind she is something much more than a perfect society hostess. As she readies her house, she is flooded with remembrances of faraway times. And, met with the realities of the present, Clarissa reexamines the choices that brought her there, hesitantly looking ahead to the unfamiliar work of growing old."

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

A very short term offer from Tor ~

Download Sylvain Neuvel’s A History of What Comes Next — Before November 6th!

"“A History of What Comes Next is a riveting blend of historical thriller and scientific speculation, which never loses its core of humanity.” —James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestselling author

For generations, Mia’s family has shaped human history to push them to the stars. A History of What Comes Next is the secret history of the origins of the space programs in the USA and USSR, abounding with spies, conspiracies, and a mysterious Tracker who will not allow humanity to escape the planet."

**

Also currently FREE for Kindle readers ~

Deadly Night: Ageless Mysteries - Book 1

Regards,

Kareni

[Laurel-in-CA]

An eventful October for us, as dh was laid off again -- 10 months is not quite his shortest time in one job, but almost. He is busy looking again, using all the skills he learned the last time around; we are re-evaluating our options if nothing comes up by January. This is OK because my work hours picked up a bit and we can get by with that and unemployment for awhile. We celebrate our 31st anniversary today!!

Thanks to Robin for planning to lead us on a reading journey again next year. Maybe we should start celebrating an anniversary for that given how long you've been guiding this annual trip!

I am all caught up on C.J. Box's Joe Picket stories and am on the waiting list for some of his other work. I started A Stranger in Olondria, a fantasy that came highly recommended. It has a very unique world, compares rural vs cosmopolitan and their ideas about ghosts (or are they angels?), but I got bogged down in all the descriptions and frustrated that the plot itself moved so slowly. In the end, I gave up. 

Read a lovely, inspiring read called Champions by Craig Johnson (not of Longmire fame), a pastor dad who talks about the challenges of parenting an autistic child and how it led him to begin Champions Clubs - special-needs-focused programs at churches that have spread around the US and even world wide. He also wrote a curriculum for the clubs and that's available too.

Meanwhile I finally got to the top of the list for the first book in Robyn Carr's Virgin River series...eager to compare it to the Netflix show, which I've enjoyed.

[Kareni]

Happy anniversary to you, @Laurel-in-CA! I hope you have a lovely celebration!!!

How frustrating for your husband to be laid off; good wishes for his job hunt.

Happy reading!

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

1 hour ago, Laurel-in-CA said:

We celebrate our 31st anniversary today!!

Woot Woot! Happy Anniversary!  🥂  Sorry to hear hubby has been laid off. Hugs and good thoughts winging your way for a  great job to come along for him.   I've read the whole Virgin River series so sending good reading vibes as well. Once I read the first, I was hooked. 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Happy anniversary @Laurel-in-CA

I'm sorry your DH was laid off again. I hope he finds something soon.

[tuesdayschild]

On 10/31/2021 at 10:23 PM, Negin said:

I read Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch - 5 Stars

I enjoyed this too.

On 11/3/2021 at 12:28 PM, Kareni said:

My distant book group is meeting tonight for which I just finished rereading Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. This is a short modern classic (about 200 pages), but it's sentence after (frequently long) sentence with no chapters or breaks between paragraphs. Several of the other group members mentioned finding it challenging/a slog. I can't really disagree!

Your comments here have helped me to pinpoint why I keep side stepping continuing to read Mrs. Dalloway.   (Hope your book group had an engaging discussion.)

4 hours ago, Laurel-in-CA said:

We celebrate our 31st anniversary today!!

Happy 31st wedding anniversary!!  (Hoping a work situation opens up for your Dh, and, one he'll enjoy!)

[tuesdayschild]

For the Non-fiction November challenge:

I'm currently listening to, a library loan,  Travelling to Infinity: The True Story Behind The Theory of Everything ~ Jane Hawking, narrated by Sandra Duncan,  and enjoying it so far. 

I've just started reading The Resilient Farmer ~ Doug Avery, an NZ biography.

Books recently completed:

My library had the e.book, thank you, @Negin mentioned last week - Dogs as I See Them ~ Lucy Dawson: the portraits are works of love.  A wonderful book.

151:  29/10  The Truth:  DC Smith Investigation Bk9 ~ Peter Grainger, narrated by Gildart Jackson (4)  Gildart Jackson ‘is’ the voice of DC Smith!  Even though I am au fait with DC as a fully developed character in Jackson’s previous books with DC as a member of the Police force,  this story definitely has the feel of my favourite character being placed into a different, unfamiliar, setting in this break away story with David finding his way in a new, for him, setting working as a private detective:  in this setting he is trying to find evidence so that his client will not be prosecuted, as opposed to gathering evidence for prosecution.  I felt badly for DC with the way things ended, and I’m interested to see where Peter takes us in the next book.

152:  29/10 – 31/10  The Idiot: BBC Dramatised ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky (4) (2h 40m) This radio drama is so well done, and despite the tragic denouement   - Dostoyevsky allows madness to enact it’s revenge, and creates the setting for Myshkin’s fear to take him prisoner - this version has encouraged me to invest in going through the unabridged version.   (The unabridged audiobook is currently included in the plus catalogue with my audible membership as a free listen.)

[Robin M]

I'm on page 75 of Ready Player Two and so far it's pages and pages of world building and explanations.

Me to James:  "Does anything actually happen in this story?"

James:  "Don't get bored mom, give it a few more chapters."

Me: "Yes, but does anything happen? What happens?"

James: "I can't tell you. Just keep reading to find out."

Sigh! 

 

[Robin M]

Procrastinating web wonderings this morning:

Ursula Le Guin has jumped into the awards game with Prize for a single work of Imaginative Fiction.   

I love doorstoppers:   Rhythm of War & Other Best Fantasy Doorstoppers.  Now that I've finished Wheel of Time, dipping into the Stormlight Archive with Way of the Kings.

Off the Shelf's ebook roundup: November eBook Deals: 10 Magnificent Reads for Your Digital Library

2022 is Harry Potter's 25th anniversary. James has a reread and movie rewatch in store for us. Bloomsbury unveils big plans for 25th anniversary of first Harry Potter book

Tom Hanks likes manual typewriters and wrote a book: Uncommon Type: Some Stories  and hails Edinburgh bookshop owner as his hero.   Brings back memories of learning to type on my dad's old manual. 

😘

 

[Kareni]

And last night I finished Jewel of the Endless Erg: Mage Errant Book 2 by John Bierce which I enjoyed. I'd describe this as a young adult fantasy. Do start with the first book in the series.

Regards,

Kareni

[Lady Florida.]

On 10/30/2021 at 9:54 PM, Robin M said:

Happy Birthday @Lady Florida.  Hope you had a awesome day!!!

 

Thank you for the birthday wishes in last week's thread Robin! I've been hit and miss on the book threads for a while. 

Some of the books I finished since my last visit to BaW -

-Warriors of the Storm -# 9 in the Last Kingdom books. Dh keeps waiting for me to finish so we can discuss them but I only read one every few weeks.

-The Count of Monte Cristo - No one was really talking about it in the weekly threads, I wasn't sure who was doing the read along, and it got too good to stop so I just went ahead and finished it. I enjoyed this reread as much as when I first read it.

-The Island of Sea Women - This is my third Lisa See book and though I've enjoyed them all this one was sadder and more violent than the others I read (Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane). I cry easily and found myself in tears a number of times while reading this one. I always appreciate how she weaves historical events and the culture of a place into her stories. The events in this book were unknown to me and reading the book sent me on some Google paths researching what happened in South Korea during and after WWII and the splitting of the country.

-Zuleikha - This was quite good though the ending felt rushed. It only seemed rush because the rest of the novel moved slowly, then it seemed like it was racing towards a resolution. It was an interesting look at the Soviet Union under Stalin when kulaks were being "liquidated as a class" and sent to labor camps.

-Ancillary Justice - A decent science fiction novel that I think has two more to the series. I enjoyed it but didn't love it. Eventually I'll probably finish the series.

-The Devil in the Marshalsea - historical mystery about a murder in the infamous Marshalsea prison/debtor's prison. The character who solved the mystery while imprisoned is in more of the series and I'll likely read the others when I can get them from my library.

There have probably been a few more Gaslight Mysteries I finished since my last update.

I reached a point where I was floundering trying to find something to read and started but gave up on several books. Eventually I got caught up in the hype about the upcoming movie The Last Duel and read that book. I liked it but I think anyone who isn't interested in the history of the time period might find it dry in some parts.

I'm a sucker for all things medieval and after finishing that book I started several other books about the middle ages, all but one being nonfiction.

The Red Prince - about John of Gaunt

The Black Prince - about his more famous brother Edward

The White Ship - by Charles Spencer, Diana's brother. The title is misleading because it starts with William the Conqueror and goes well past the White Ship disaster to the anarchy. I'm just over halfway through and Henry I is about to die.

Dune - I wanted a nice big chunky book to read (not technically chunky since I read mostly e-books) and knew that science fiction usually has some decent long books, so I was going to ask some friends who usually read the genre. Instead of asking though, I ended up deciding to read Dune. We recently watched the movie - ds went to see it in a theater, dh and I watched on HBO. I had no idea what it was even about but dh read the book years ago. He also saw the original movie and was disappointed with how far it strayed from the book. Anyway, after I told dh I want to read it, he said he'd like to reread it since he's forgotten a lot. We bought an e-book copy and will decide later if we want to continue the series. This is the only book in my currently reading that isn't set in or about the Middle Ages. 🙂

 

 

 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I finished the Fred Rogers book. Thankfully only the intro was creepy (still don't know why the author had to talk about Mr. Rogers in his underwear or stripping down to nudity to go swimming). Many good points were in the main body of the book and I'm glad I finished the book.

I have started many books abut can't get into them. I am having difficulty focusing and my mind wanders to what I 'should' be doing. It may be time to rework a daily schedule to include reading time and decrease my television viewing.

[Negin]

@Laurel-in-CA, Happy Anniversary! 

Sorry that your husband has been laid off. I hope that he finds a good situation soon. 

[Robin M]

Link to week 45

[SKL]

Howdie!  Would you believe I'm still working on Think Like a Monk?  But I'm getting close to finishing.  Lately I'm getting a tiny bit more reading time.

I bought a book, Soul Spa, which our church's women's book club is reading right now.  I haven't started it yet, but hope to this week.  (I'm not participating in the book club right now, but am always interested in a good book.  Hopefully it's good.)

My kids have to read "Fahrenheit 451" for school, and as I've never read it, I am forcing them to listen to the audiobook with me in the car.  We don't like it much so far, but at least it will be one more to check off the list.  🙂

I have lots of other reading materials on my list of things to read soon, but they aren't really what I'd call "books."