Book a Week 2022 - BW34: 14 Things

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday!  This week I'm thinking about the number fourteen.   Merriam Webster defines it as 'a number that is one more than thirteen'.  That's it, I kid you not. Other dictionaries (real ones) state it is a cardinal number, ten plus four; equal to seven times two, or six less than twenty; a symbol 14 or XIV;  a set of persons or things. 

Did you know a series of 14 books is called a tetradecology? 

Pressbooks: In the 14th century, Chaucer became the first writer to use English in his works

History Extra: Cosmopolitan Chaucer: Marion Turner on the 14th-century poet’s inventive, international life

Buzzfeed:  Hannah Loewenthal's 14 Best Books in 2022

Momjunction:  17 Best Books For 13 And 14-Year-Olds To Read In 2022

GMA:  August books to squeeze in before summer ends: 14 to read

NPR:  Here are the 14 books that NPR staff and critics are loving the most so far this year

Goodreads: Books with fourteen in the title

Read a book with 14 or more books in series such as Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time, J.D. Robb's In Death, Terry Pratchett's Discworld, Louise Penny's Armand Gamache, Jan Karon's Mitford, Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone, or Lee Childs Jack Reacher. 

Have fun following rabbit trails. 

Our A to Z and Back Again letter and word of the week are S and Series. 

 

  

Link to Book Week 33

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

[Robin M]

I'm still rereading and reading Ilona Andrews Guild Hunter series.  Discovered I stopped after book 7 and didn't read 8 - 10 so currently reading for the first time Book 8 Magic Shifts. 

"After breaking from life with the Pack, mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate—former Beast Lord Curran Lennart—are adjusting to a very different pace. While they’re thrilled to escape all the infighting, Curran misses the constant challenges of leading the shapeshifters.

So when the Pack offers him its stake in the Mercenary Guild, Curran seizes the opportunity—too bad the Guild wants nothing to do with him and Kate. Luckily, as a veteran merc, Kate can take over any of the Guild’s unfinished jobs in order to bring in money and build their reputation. But what Kate and Curran don’t realize is that the odd jobs they’ve been working are all connected.

An ancient enemy has arisen, and Kate and Curran are the only ones who can stop it—before it takes their city apart piece by piece…"

 

Our Saturday night movie was Jurassic World Dominion. Very enjoyable! 

And It's official! Our staycation has begun. We took a week off from work for the first time in four years, maybe five, maybe six years. I can't remember. First there was the construction, then business took off, then Covid, and business is still booming. It's been a while.

We're taking advantage of the fact that this week is our anniversary, John's birthday, and James starting fall classes online.  We're looking forward to a  little bit of downtime,  as well as furniture shopping and some garage cleaning. The garage cleaning may be put on hold is our 100 degree weather continues this week.  Plus John's excited about spending a day playing in a friend's music studio.  

And Yes, lots of reading will be involved as well.  ~ cheers ~

[Negin]

Thank you for the thread, Robin. I had no idea about a tetradecology. Guess I learn something new every day! Enjoy your staycation!

I read 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos - 5 Stars

“Nothing makes a man more reverent than a library.” – Winston Churchill

 

[Kareni]

Enjoy your vacation at home, Robin!

**

A bookish post ~

Honey, I Shrunk the Books: A DIY Guide to Making Miniature Book Replicas

https://www.autostraddle.com/honey-i-shrunk-the-books-a-diy-guide-to-making-miniature-book-replicas/

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

Robin, Thank you for the thread and solving one of my biggest Bingo Card mysteries!  I could not figure out how 14 things was going to work.

I finished my next Stuart Woods Orchid book and enjoyed this one too.  Considering he killed off one of my favorite characters that is pretty good.  The Dobie was not injured.  My bookchains are moving forward slowly…..https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/465754.Orchid_Blues

I started Revenge by Tom Bower this morning.  It is really interesting in regards to Meghan Markle’s early life.  She must really hate the fact this one was published as her careful creation of the Meghan brand is rather amazing and not exactly likable.  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61444224-revenge?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=y4XZG8Uav8&rank=2

I’ve been listening to The Trouble with Cursed for almost two weeks and hope to get some time to listen and finish it this week.  It’s the latest book in Kim Harrison’s The Hollows series and is actually number 16 so it would count for my 14 things category!  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59028121-trouble-with-the-cursed?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=iPRDOsIyKi&rank=1

 

 

[Kareni]

I often like books with a time travel element and quite enjoyed This Time Tomorrow: A Novel by Emma Straub. Be aware that it focuses on the love an almost forty year old woman has for her father who is close to death.

"On the eve of her 40th birthday, Alice’s life isn’t terrible. She likes her job, even if it isn’t exactly the one she expected. She’s happy with her apartment, her romantic status, her independence, and she adores her lifelong best friend. But her father is ailing, and it feels to her as if something is missing. When she wakes up the next morning she finds herself back in 1996, reliving her 16th birthday. But it isn’t just her adolescent body that shocks her, or seeing her high school crush, it’s her dad:  the vital, charming, 40-something version of her father with whom she is reunited. Now armed with a new perspective on her own life and his, some past events take on new meaning. Is there anything that she would change if she could?"

Regards,

Kareni

[melmichigan]

11 hours ago, Robin M said:

I'm still rereading and reading Ilona Andrews Guild Hunter series.  Discovered I stopped after book 7 and didn't read 8 - 10 so currently reading for the first time Book 8 Magic Shifts. 

"After breaking from life with the Pack, mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate—former Beast Lord Curran Lennart—are adjusting to a very different pace. While they’re thrilled to escape all the infighting, Curran misses the constant challenges of leading the shapeshifters.

So when the Pack offers him its stake in the Mercenary Guild, Curran seizes the opportunity—too bad the Guild wants nothing to do with him and Kate. Luckily, as a veteran merc, Kate can take over any of the Guild’s unfinished jobs in order to bring in money and build their reputation. But what Kate and Curran don’t realize is that the odd jobs they’ve been working are all connected.

An ancient enemy has arisen, and Kate and Curran are the only ones who can stop it—before it takes their city apart piece by piece…"

I think I've read that series 2 or 3 times now.  Do not forget about Iron and Magic, and Blood Heir!  I also enjoy their Hidden Legacy series, with the last of the current trilogy coming out on Tuesday. 

Edited August 21, 2022 by melmichigan

[melmichigan]

Recently I started the Lizzie Grace series by Keri Arthur with Blood Kissed. I revisited some of my favorite authors with Phsy-Changeling Trinity #6, Storm Echo by Nalini Singh, and The Dark in You #8, Reaper by Suzanne Wright. I also reread Emerald Blaze, Hidden Legacy #5 by Ilona Andrews, and Smoke Bitten, Mercy Thompson #12 in preparation for new released in both series on Tuesday. 😉  

I'm currently listening to a new series by Catherine Bybee, with book #1 When it Falls Apart.  I enjoy the majority of Catherine Bybee's works on kindle unlimited audio, the exception being the Richter books.  They make perfect fluff when I'm busy cleaning or doing other chores.

[Negin]

Kindle deals. 

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Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win

    

 

[Storygirl]

On 8/21/2022 at 12:40 PM, Kareni said:

I often like books with a time travel element and quite enjoyed This Time Tomorrow: A Novel by Emma Straub. Be aware that it focuses on the love an almost forty year old woman has for her father who is close to death.

"On the eve of her 40th birthday, Alice’s life isn’t terrible. She likes her job, even if it isn’t exactly the one she expected. She’s happy with her apartment, her romantic status, her independence, and she adores her lifelong best friend. But her father is ailing, and it feels to her as if something is missing. When she wakes up the next morning she finds herself back in 1996, reliving her 16th birthday. But it isn’t just her adolescent body that shocks her, or seeing her high school crush, it’s her dad:  the vital, charming, 40-something version of her father with whom she is reunited. Now armed with a new perspective on her own life and his, some past events take on new meaning. Is there anything that she would change if she could?"

Regards,

Kareni

I read this one this week as well, on audio. I enjoyed it, as well!

[Kareni]

We seem rather quiet this week. I hope everyone is reading a good book!

As for me, I've been rereading the science fiction romance Touchstone series and have finished Stray (this is FREE!), Lab Rat One, Caszandra, and Gratuitous Epilogue all by Andrea Höst. I enjoyed them all!

Here is the blurb for Stray which is FREE for Kindle readers ~

"On her last day of high school, Cassandra Devlin walked out of exams and into a forest. Surrounded by the wrong sort of trees, and animals never featured in any nature documentary, Cass is only sure of one thing: alone, she will be lucky to survive.

The sprawl of abandoned blockish buildings Cass discovers offers her only more puzzles. Where are the people? What is the intoxicating mist which drifts off the buildings in the moonlight? And why does she feel like she's being watched?

Increasingly unnerved, Cass is overjoyed at the arrival of the formidable Setari. Whisked to a world as technologically advanced as the first was primitive, where nanotech computers are grown inside people's skulls, and few have any interest in venturing outside the enormous whitestone cities, Cass finds herself processed as a 'stray', a refugee displaced by the gates torn between worlds. Struggling with an unfamiliar language and culture, she must adapt to virtual classrooms, friends who can teleport, and the ingrained attitude that strays are backward and slow.

Can Cass ever find her way home? And after the people of her new world discover her unexpected value, will they be willing to let her leave?"

Regards,

Kareni

[Storygirl]

I've read a few books from my 100 best books scratch-off poster, since I last posted:

Inferno by Dante Alighieri, on audio. I still have the next two to read be able to scratch The Divine Comedy off of my poster. This is a reread for me, though it's been since high school or college. Four hours on audio, but at double speed, it went quickly.

Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, on audio. Nonfiction is not my fave, so I'm going to rank this one as okay. I would not say that it is one of the top books ever written! A kind of history of humans with conjectures about possible evolution, through physical, social, political, and cultural changes over time. He does have some interesting thoughts, and I am interested in history. But I wouldn't have read it without it being on my list.

Never Let Me Go by Kasuo Ishiguro, on audio. I liked this one, but I felt the whole time that the narrator had essential information that she wasn't revealing. Because it was kind of memoir-style, with an adult recounting events from her childhood leading up to her present, it makes sense that the reader would only know what she knew at each time of her life. But it wasn't my favorite literary device. It was an interesting story, though, set in a near future, where.... well, I can't say too much without revealing things the story doesn't want you to know.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, on audio. A long time ago, I listened to this story, set in 1964, while on a car trip, so this was a reread, and I enjoyed it both times. 14 year old Lily runs away from home, along with her adult Black babysitter (who raised her since age 4, when Lily's mother was killed). With only a picture of a Black Madonna with Tiburon, SC, written on it, as a guide, Lily finds her way to the home of three Black sisters who raise bees and sell honey, who take the two of them in. Lily learns about racism, and her mother's past, and herself, while hiding from her abusive father. All of the characters are memorable.

The Trial by Franz Kafka. Caught up in bizarre bureaucracy, Josef K has to figure out how to defend himself after being accused of an unknown crime. I found the portrayal of women to be unfortunate -- weak, pawns, sexualized, manipulators -- and would have enjoyed this more if it had been a short story instead of a protracted tale. There is definitely plenty to discuss if read for a class, but not my cup of tea for pleasure reading.

 

 

 

 

 

[Storygirl]

I've also read a few others:

The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny, on audio. Inspector Gamache #5. I believe that the next book ties closely in to this one. I feel that Gamache jumped to some conclusions here in a way that is atypical for him -- I thought he left some questions unanswered. I expect the next book may pick up those threads, but because of that, I found this one less satisfying than the previous ones. Lots more to go in this series, though.

The Lazy Genius Kitchen by Kendra Adachi. Adachi has a Lazy Genius brand, with a podcast and previous book, neither of which I have partaken of, but I've heard of them, so I grabbed this one off of the library shelf. I can't say that I learned anything new that will reshape what I do in the kitchen drastically, but maybe I will tweak some things with her advice.

A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Reybourn, on audio. Veronica Speedwell #2. I enjoyed this sequel as much as the first, so I shall follow the sassy detective heroine further on her adventures. One of Queen Victoria's daughters enlists Veronica's help with exonerating a man imprisoned and sentenced to death.

Acts of Violet by Margarita Montimore, on audio. This story was fun, though I found the ending unsatisfying. It was a fun audio experience, because some of the sections are episodes of a podcast. Sasha's sister, Violet Volk, was a famous magician who literally disappeared, and Sasha dreads the media circus that surrounds the upcoming 10th anniversary of the disappearance. The magical realism was fun but also didn't quite work completely for me. Entertaining, regardless.

 

 

[SKL]

I finished Wind in the Willows.  It was fun, but I'm not super sorry my kids missed this one.  😛

Now I'm starting Secret of the Andes.

[Storygirl]

Some more:

For the true crime Crime Spree challenge, I listened to Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer. Less a mystery than an exploration of a fundamentalist sect of the Mormon church, which believes in multiple wives, and how fanaticism corrupted the thinking of two brothers and led them to murder their sister in law and baby niece. This has been made into a TV series recently, so I heard about the book and decided to try it. True crime is not really my thing, so I thought this had a different emphasis that might draw me in. Again, nonfiction is not my favorite, so this was only okay for me.

The Defense by Steve Cavanagh, on audio. I picked this one, because a podcaster recommended a later book in this series, and this is the first in the series, and I wanted to start at the beginning. The book starts with a great hook right off the bat -- a lawyer is intercepted in a restaurant bathroom by Russian mobsters and forced to take over the murder trial of the crime boss. How is he forced? They plant a bomb on him, and he has to figure out how to get it past the courthouse security -- or they will kill his daughter. This is all just the very first part of the story, and the rest launches from there.  I'll be reading more in this series.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, on audio. When I first heard of this book, I thought NOPE. Because there are multiple narrators, and one is... wait for it.... an octopus in an aquarium. But I saw it recommended in multiple places and decided to give it a try, and I'm glad I did. It's one of those books that has multiple characters and storylines that come together in the end, and it's fun and satisfying. The voice of the octopus is convincing, actually, and not as weird as I thought! I really recommend this one to those who like things that are warm hearted, character driven, and very slightly quirky.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry. This is my first Emily Henry book, because I'm not normally a romance reader. But I thought I'd give it a try, and I liked it quite a lot. When a literary agent agrees to go with her pregnant sister on a long vacation to a small town that was the setting of a bestselling book written by an author she represents, she (of course) runs into the editor who rejected the story. At first, she tries to avoid him, then....you will have to read it to find out, but this is a romance, so....  It was fun!

 

 

[Storygirl]

13 minutes ago, SKL said:

I finished Wind in the Willows.  It was fun, but I'm not super sorry my kids missed this one.  😛

Now I'm starting Secret of the Andes.

I loved Wind in the Willows when I was young, but I haven't reread it in recent decades. I read it many times, as a kid, actually, because we owned it, and I reread all of the books we owned, because I always had to be reading something, and we didn't go to the library often enough.

[Robin M]

On 8/21/2022 at 12:14 PM, melmichigan said:

Do not forget about Iron and Magic, and Blood Heir!

Thank you for reminding me. I had totally forgotten about Hugh's trilogy.  Pulled up Iron and Magic to read on Ipad. 

Patricia Brigg's Soul Taken arrived and currently reading! 

 

Our staycation turned into a topsy turvy week:   Our 30 year old air conditioning finally decided to break beyond John's capability to fix it, so had it fixed to work temporarily and getting estimates to replace.  Meanwhile it's been too hot to cook so choose Cattleman's for our anniversary and Cheesecake factory for John's bday.  College course for James was a bust due to difficulty so dropped it and need to enroll him in something else. We did get him a new mattress set which will only take a couple weeks to be delivered.  Yeah.  Went to Naturwood shopping for leather couch and fell in love with a couple but they are too huge for our living room. Poo! Any changes such as different color or configuration will take 19 weeks to get done. Going to another store tomorrow to see what they have. 

Did get a chance to go to Barnes and Noble and picked up a few books: Pierce Brown's Red Rising, Mark Pryor's Book Artist, Susan Mallery's Boardwalk Bookshop, and Alice Henderson's A Blizzard of Polar Bears.  

Oh and guess what dummy me did. I went on Amazon and choose four books I loved to send as birthday gifts to family in Texas and they suddenly arrived here. I didn't change the address. Doi! Fortunately they are ones I wanted to read again so added them to my stacks and will arrange for gift certificates or something instead.  What a week! 

[mumto2]

I have take a break from quilting and am knitting baby sweater so am watching a bit of telly which means I am not getting through my books well at all.  But I am well!😉. I dis finish The Scanvenger Door the last in The Finder Chronicles and really enjoyed it.  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51319852-the-scavenger-door  Going slow with a couple other things......the new Faith Hunter short story book is being savored on story at a time!

[Robin M]

Link to week 35