Book a Week 2022 - BW46: A bit of this, a bit of that!

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday! I'm leaping down rabbit holes today on the internet, exploring this, that, and the other.  Kind of like my sleep lately.  Ever since the time change, I've been waking up around 4, unable to get back to sleep for a while. Ideas bounce through my head for the story I'm working on as well as book ideas and book bingo, too tired to write them down and hope I'll remember them in the morning.  Some ideas remain when I wake, others are still floating around in my mind, on the tip of my tongue but not quite there. Oh well. What was I saying. Oh yes. *grin*  I've been exploring, letting my fingers do the walking through the web.   A sample of today's finds. Enjoy! 

In Search of Marcel Proust

Where to Start with Nora Ephron

Entangled Publishing Launches Red Tower Books, Focused on Romantic SFF

On writing a New Take on the Thin Man, set in Space

Hungarian Speculative Fiction: Forceful, Vicious, Viscous

Murder in the Moors: Crime Fiction Books Set in the English Moors

True Life: I was a Dragon Book Kid

Antarctica Reading List.

25 Best Steampunk Books (2022)

 

Our A to Z and Back Again letter and word of the week are G and Grateful.

**

 

Link to Book Week 45

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

Edited November 13, 2022 by Robin M
Fixed link

[Robin M]

So many books on the wish list with an ice theme as well as dragons and on the shelves including Proust's volume two in his Search for Lost Times Books -- In the Shadow of Young Girls.  I read Swann's Way a couple years ago and once I got used to his writing, got a lot out of it.  I'll be trying to get back into it come 2023. 

I'm currently on #9 in the Kate Shugak series with Hunter's Moon.

"It's autumn in Alaska: hunting season. Kate Shugak is acting guide to ten big game hunters carrying an arsenal of expensive weaponry. Unfortunately, not one of them seems to know one end of a shotgun from the other, and all are a danger to themselves and anyone else in range.

So when one of the men is killed, his death is dismissed as a tragic accidental shooting. But when the weather worsens and Kate finds herself stranded in the wilderness with the hunting party, she begins to have her doubts about the group. And when she discovers another body in gruesome circumstances, Kate realizes that someone is after more than just four-legged trophies..."

[bookbard]

Re-reads at the moment. Warlight by Michael Ondaatje - good but tragic. It's the writing which is so good. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. People either love it or hate it; I think it's a great book, if you think of it as a mix between reality and fantasy (with a big dash of bollywood ridiculousness). The writing is good in a completely different way - it's compelling. And The Interior Life by the late Dorothy J Heyt, who died only recently from ALS, which is about a woman in the 80s, a stay at home mum, who invents a fantasy which adds incredible depth to her life. 

[Negin]

Thank you for the thread, Robin. I perked up at the Nora Ephron link. I read I Feel Bad About My Neck, And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman and I Remember Nothing: and Other Reflections - both several years ago. It's time to look into her other books, or even to re-read this one. A few years ago, we watched"Everything is Copy." 

I read The Gift: 12 Lessons to Save Your Life - 5 Stars

I also started and gave up on a few books:

"The Story of Arthur Truluv" - nope, not happening. I got 20 or possibly even more percent in. I didn't like it one bit. I read some awful reviews and that convinced me even further. It was pointlessly overly graphic. Completely unnecessary. You know when it doesn't add anything to the story? That sort of rubbish.

"Where the Forest Meets the Stars" - couldn't get into that at all. I need to be more selective about fiction.

"Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart: Thirty True Things You Need to Know Now" - skimmed through it. No.

 

[bookbard]

Love that quote, so true!

[Granny_Weatherwax]

This week I am continuing Eye of the World. I am almost halfway through. Temps have dipped into the teens and all I want to do is snuggle under a blanket and read. I am forcing myself to walk today and reading will be my treat at the end.

I was with my DGD yesterday and asked her about The Dark is Rising. She said we put it back on the shelf and bought Wee Free Men instead. Since she has WFM on her shelf and since that is one of my current faves, I have to believe I did not buy Dark. I will look through my shelves in the next few days because the memory of purchasing the book is there; if I cannot find it here, I may go buy it. Or I may get it from the local library. Oh, what a quandary I am in.

@Robin M -the bit from the Kate Shugak book lets me know I will probably enjoy that series. I haven't yet looked at my library to see if they are available and will do that in the next few minutes. I hope so and will be keeping my fingers crossed.

[mumto2]

I’m still spending my days reading quietly in isolation for my cold but am feeling much better today.  My husband still caught my ick and has now joined me in my isolation.

 

Kate Shackleton’s First Case is a recently released prequel novella for a favorite cozy mystery series.  Kate is a WWI widow who lives in limbo because she doesn’t have actual confirmation that her physician husband is actually dead.  She is the adopted daughter of a high ranking police officer and his Lady wife.  Her cases are interesting and i was happy to read the prequel.  I now need to get back to reading the actual series!  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40227692-kate-shackleton-s-first-case

Hidden by Fern Michaels is the first in her Lost and Found series about a pair of antique restorers who are siblings.  Lightly entertaining about the search for the will of a very rich man with heirs who won’t be easily stopped.  I have the second book in my pile.....I must admit I am not sure that a non sick me would not have abandoned this one because of constant perspective shifting which I normally hate.  But I read it and was entertained.  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56533082-hidden
 

I have also now read as far as I plan to in the Librarians Vampire Assistant series and am currently reading a series of K9 rescue dogs by Love Inspired. They were free on prime reading https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44130625-seeking-the-truth

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Yay, my library has the first Kate Shugak book. It doesn't have the entire series but I am hoping I can borrow from other libraries as well. I put A Cold Day for Murder on hold and should pick it up tomorrow or Tuesday.

Interesting thing - the library is looking for a part time shelver. It pays $12 an hour but might be a fun way to spend a few days.

[Mothersweets]

Hi everyone! I started several books this past week but they just weren't compelling to me. I think I'll pick up the next in the Joe Pickett series as I'm sure that will keep my interest.

I have been looking for new-to-me picture books for my grandkids and have found one with a very charming character:

Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton  My 6yo grandson and I read it together and it was a definite hit.

@Robin M the murder iin the moors link isn't working - is this the correct one?

 

[Robin M]

7 minutes ago, Mothersweets said:

@Robin M the murder iin the moors link isn't working - is this the correct one?

Yes, that's right.  Fixed it in the intro thread. Thanks! 

[Robin M]

9 hours ago, Negin said:

 

Yes, definitely.  And strangers too! LOL!

[Robin M]

3 hours ago, mumto2 said:

I’m still spending my days reading quietly in isolation for my cold but am feeling much better today.  My husband still caught my ick and has now joined me in my isolation.

Glad you a feeling better but sorry hubby got it.  When my hubby gets sick, he's usually 'ten times worse ' than I am and loves sympathy and TLC.  Me, I just like to be left alone to sleep.  I stay in my pajamas as long as possible, because the moment I get dressed, the guys think all is right with their world again and I'm no longer sick. LOL.

[Robin M]

1 hour ago, Granny_Weatherwax said:

Interesting thing - the library is looking for a part time shelver. It pays $12 an hour but might be a fun way to spend a few days.

Yes, that would be fun!

[Kareni]

4 hours ago, Granny_Weatherwax said:

Interesting thing - the library is looking for a part time shelver. It pays $12 an hour but might be a fun way to spend a few days.

I volunteered at my local library for about fifteen years shelving books.

The pros ~

I found a lot of good books to take home (and since I was volunteering, they could hardly dock my pay for occasionally flipping through a book).

The cons ~

Older knees and eyes made it more challenging to shelve books on low shelves.

Children's books were often challenging to shelve; as many such books are thin, the call numbers are often on the front cover rather than on the spine. Frequently, one had to pull out many shelved books to determine where to shelve a returning book. 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

I recently finished a couple of books ~

Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan was a dangerous book. I took it to bed one night to sample; I one more chaptered until I finished it! As you might surmise, I enjoyed it.

"Nora’s life is about to get a rewrite…

Nora Hamilton knows the formula for love better than anyone. As a romance channel screenwriter, it’s her job. But when her too-good-to work husband leaves her and their two kids, Nora turns her marriage’s collapse into cash and writes the best script of her life. No one is more surprised than her when it’s picked up for the big screen and set to film on location at her 100-year-old-home. When former Sexiest Man Alive, Leo Vance, is cast as her ne’er do well husband Nora’s life will never be the same.

The morning after shooting wraps and the crew leaves, Nora finds Leo on her porch with a half-empty bottle of tequila and a proposition. He’ll pay a thousand dollars a day to stay for a week. The extra seven grand would give Nora breathing room, but it’s the need in his eyes that makes her say yes. Seven days: it’s the blink of an eye or an eternity depending on how you look at it. Enough time to fall in love. Enough time to break your heart.

Filled with warmth, wit, and wisdom, Nora Goes Off Script is the best kind of love story—the real kind where love is complicated by work, kids, and the emotional baggage that comes with life. For Nora and Leo, this kind of love is bigger than the big screen."

**

My local book group will be meeting soon to discuss Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel by Anthony Doerr. Since this was a long book (637 pages), I read it slowly over a couple of weeks. It was very different from the previous book I'd read by this author, All the Light We Cannot See, but I did ultimately find it a rewarding read.

"Among the most celebrated and beloved novels of recent times, Cloud Cuckoo Land is a triumph of imagination and compassion, a soaring story about children on the cusp of adulthood in worlds in peril, who find resilience, hope, and a book.

In the 15th century, an orphan named Anna lives inside the formidable walls of Constantinople. She learns to read, and in this ancient city, famous for its libraries, she finds what might be the last copy of a centuries-old book, the story of Aethon, who longs to be turned into a bird so that he can fly to a utopian paradise in the sky. Outside the walls is Omeir, a village boy, conscripted with his beloved oxen into the army that will lay siege to the city. His path and Anna’s will cross.

In the present day, in a library in Idaho, octogenarian Zeno rehearses children in a play adaptation of Aethon’s story, preserved against all odds through centuries. Tucked among the library shelves is a bomb, planted by a troubled, idealistic teenager, Seymour. This is another siege.

And in a not-so-distant future, on the interstellar ship Argos, Konstance is alone in a vault, copying on scraps of sacking the story of Aethon, told to her by her father.

Anna, Omeir, Seymour, Zeno, and Konstance are dreamers and outsiders whose lives are gloriously intertwined. Doerr’s dazzling imagination transports us to worlds so dramatic and immersive that we forget, for a time, our own."

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Some bookish posts ~

A Horse Girl, a Hobbit, a Wanderer: On Picking Up Hobbies From Books

https://www.tor.com/2022/10/27/a-horse-girl-a-hobbit-a-wanderer-on-picking-up-hobbies-from-books/

Home Looks Like a Hobbit Hole: Finding the Cozy Spaces of SFF

https://www.tor.com/2022/09/22/home-looks-like-a-hobbit-hole/

MAGPIE MURDERS IS A BRISK, DEXTEROUS MURDER MYSTERY ABOUT THE FUN OF READING

https://crimereads.com/magpie-murders-is-a-brisk-dexterous-murder-mystery-about-the-fun-of-reading/

Regards,

Kareni

[Vintage81]

Hi everyone! I recently finished three books:

• The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah - This is my third book by this author (I've also read The Nightingale and The Great Alone). This book followed Elsa during the Dust Bowl. She starts in Texas but moves to California after her sons gets sick. This book was super depressing. I kept waiting for something good to happen to this family and it just never did. I know it's not realistic to expect a happy ending in all books, but usually people go through ups and downs, but these people just seemed to have downs. I still loved Kristin Hannah's writing. She really draws you into the story and the characters immediately. I didn't love the ending, though. It felt rushed and unresolved. (4.5 stars)

The other two books we read for school...

• Samurai Rising by Pamela S. Turner - A story about the life of samurai warrior Yoshitsune. This was a slow-burn type of a story that followed the tumultuous life of Yoshitsune and also gave an interesting look into the life of a samurai and life in Japan at that time. (4 stars)
• The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton - I'm not sure if this book is considered a true classic, but I don't typically read aloud too many of these to my DDs. I thought this one would be interesting and I think they actually enjoyed it. They were a bit hesitant at first when I told them it was published in the 1960s. 😂 I decided I couldn't do the book justice by me reading it aloud, so I played the audiobook for them, which in the end I think was a good move. Now I'd like them to watch the movie. (4 stars)

[bookbard]

28 minutes ago, Vintage81 said:

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton - I'm not sure if this book is considered a true classic, but I don't typically read aloud too many of these to my DDs. I thought this one would be interesting and I think they actually enjoyed it. They were a bit hesitant at first when I told them it was published in the 1960s. 😂 I decided I couldn't do the book justice by me reading it aloud, so I played the audiobook for them, which in the end I think was a good move. Now I'd like them to watch the movie. (4 stars)

We did this for school in about year 8 I think. I don't think I'd ever cried so much before in my life!

 

 

[mumto2]

8 hours ago, bookbard said:

We did this for school in about year 8 I think. I don't think I'd ever cried so much before in my life!

 

 

It was a movie too.  I read it in junior high for a class.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

16 hours ago, bookbard said:

We did this for school in about year 8 I think. I don't think I'd ever cried so much before in my life!

 

 

My initial emotional reaction to The Outsiders is why I have never reread it.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I picked up Kate Shugak and A Cold Day for Murder last evening. In a serendipitous twist, we had our first snowfall last night, about 1.5 inches, so I'm going to set aside Eye of the World this morning and open ACDFM.

I think I will pop over to the library today and get more details about the shelving position.

[Kareni]

Last night I finished A Restless Truth (The Last Binding Book 2) by Freya Marske; this was an enjoyable historical romance. It is a follow on to the author's first book but features different main characters.

"Magic! Murder! Shipboard romance!

Maud Blyth has always longed for adventure. She expected plenty of it when she volunteered to serve as an old lady’s companion on an ocean liner, in order to help her beloved older brother unravel a magical conspiracy that began generations ago.

What she didn’t expect was for the old lady in question to turn up dead on the first day of the voyage. Now she has to deal with a dead body, a disrespectful parrot, and the lovely, dangerously outrageous Violet Debenham, who’s also returning home to England. Violet is everything that Maud has been trained to distrust yet can’t help but desire: a magician, an actress, and a magnet for scandal.

Surrounded by the open sea and a ship full of suspects, Maud and Violet must first drop the masks that they’ve both learned to wear before they can unmask a murderer and somehow get their hands on a magical object worth killing for—without ending up dead in the water themselves."

Regards,

Kareni

[bookbard]

Still haven't finished Shantaram, it's a very long book. Just realised it's set while the Russians are still in Afghanistan - interesting reminder of how the Taliban started by being given weapons by the Americans. I was in India in the early 90s myself, haven't been back since then, forget how long it's been and how much must have changed.

Also reading another book by Katherine Blake/Dorothy Heyt (her books are free to download online as they're out of print - hosted on a website by a friend of hers; you can pay whatever you want to their paypal account). Dorothy J. Heydt: Bibliography (kithrup.com) 

A Point of Honour is set in the future, written ages ago, but she got so much right! Pandemics have killed a lot of people and left others weakened to things like the flu. Masks are illegal, and people complain about the mask laws (although it's due to hiding your identity not health). The warmed earth has led to lots of flooding and no private cars.  The main character is a minor celebrity in a popular VR game set in a high fantasy world, but someone is after her and trying to kill her. It's not a perfect book, but it's a lot of fun and has a happy ending which makes it a comfort read for me. 

[Kareni]

@bookbard, I found a very nice review of A Point of Honor (American spelling on Goodreads) by author Rachel Neumeier. You can see it here. It makes me wonder if you've read any of her books.

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

And speaking of Rachel Neumeier, here is a post by her that might interest some ~

 Positive Fantasy

also

Recommended Reading

Regards,

Kareni

[bookbard]

20 hours ago, Kareni said:

It makes me wonder if you've read any of her books

I don't think I've heard of Rachel Neumeier. 

 

20 hours ago, Kareni said:

(American spelling on Goodreads

Sorry, the author was American so it should have been Honor, I didn't think.

[Robin M]

It’s all kindle unlimited fault. They sucked me in to Kate Shugak’s story through book 9 and I just couldn’t stop. It’s like an addiction now.  That happened and then this happened and oh my gosh,  what will she do, and I have to know what happens next.  And the only reason I’m buying the rest of the series is because I know down the line, I’ll read them again.  Currently on #13 A Grave Denied.

[Robin M]

On 11/14/2022 at 11:03 AM, Vintage81 said:

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah - This is my third book by this author (I've also read The Nightingale and The Great Alone). This book followed Elsa during the Dust Bowl. She starts in Texas but moves to California after her sons gets sick. This book was super depressing. I kept waiting for something good to happen to this family and it just never did. I know it's not realistic to expect a happy ending in all books, but usually people go through ups and downs, but these people just seemed to have downs. I still loved Kristin Hannah's writing. She really draws you into the story and the characters immediately. I didn't love the ending, though. It felt rushed and unresolved. (4.5 stars)

Thank you for the honest review. I've loved most of Kristin Hannah's books, so glad to know this one may not be worth reading. 

 

On 11/14/2022 at 11:33 AM, bookbard said:

We did this for school in about year 8 I think. I don't think I'd ever cried so much before in my life!

We didn't read this one, but Charlotte's Web was one that grabbed me and made me cry while reading aloud to the kiddo. 

On 11/15/2022 at 4:11 AM, Granny_Weatherwax said:

I picked up Kate Shugak and A Cold Day for Murder last evening. In a serendipitous twist, we had our first snowfall last night, about 1.5 inches, so I'm going to set aside Eye of the World this morning and open ACDFM.

I think I will pop over to the library today and get more details about the shelving position.

Woot Woot! 

 

23 hours ago, bookbard said:

Still haven't finished Shantaram, it's a very long book. Just realised it's set while the Russians are still in Afghanistan - interesting reminder of how the Taliban started by being given weapons by the Americans. I was in India in the early 90s myself, haven't been back since then, forget how long it's been and how much must have changed.

I really want to read this one. Adding to my christmas wish list. Hubby likes buying me chunky books. 

 

20 hours ago, Kareni said:

And speaking of Rachel Neumeier, here is a post by her that might interest some ~

 Positive Fantasy

also

Recommended Reading

Why I have not read anything by her....   Loving the post and her recommended readings. Off to peruse her book list. 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

On 11/15/2022 at 6:11 AM, Granny_Weatherwax said:

I picked up Kate Shugak and A Cold Day for Murder last evening. In a serendipitous twist, we had our first snowfall last night, about 1.5 inches, so I'm going to set aside Eye of the World this morning and open ACDFM.

I think I will pop over to the library today and get more details about the shelving position.

Oh my, I got caught up in the travails of Rand and his companions and have been unable to set aside Eye of the World so Kate Shugak languishes unopened on the table, beckoning to me every time I peer out the front window to look at the snow. The good news is I only have about 250 pages left of EOTW.

[Negin]

On 11/14/2022 at 3:03 PM, Vintage81 said:

Hi everyone! I recently finished three books:

• The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah - This is my third book by this author (I've also read The Nightingale and The Great Alone). 

 

I believe that this was my third Kristin Hannah book also. I hated it, and am most likely done with her. Too many books and too little time. 

[Mothersweets]

8 hours ago, Negin said:

I believe that this was my third Kristin Hannah book also. I hated it, and am most likely done with her. Too many books and too little time. 

This was my third one, too. I feel like her books have a tendency to start out strong with lots of detail about her character's life but in the last chapter it's, "Susie worked as a barista and put herself through art college and is now head curator at the art museum." (eyeroll) Drives me nuts.

[Kareni]

My book group has The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah on our list. I am now wondering what I will think of it!

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

I am almost finished with Only Bad Options: A Galactic Bonds book by Jennifer Estep; it’s an enjoyable science fiction romance.

"A WOMAN WHO SEES EVERYTHING . . .

Few people know the name Vesper Quill. To most folks, I’m just a lowly lab rat who designs brewmakers and other household appliances in the research and development lab at the powerful Kent Corp. But when I point out a design flaw and a safety hazard in the new line of Kent Corp spaceships, everyone knows who I am—and wants to eliminate me.

I might be a seer with a photographic memory, but I don’t see the trouble headed my way until it’s too late. Suddenly, I’m surrounded by enemies and fighting for my life.

I don’t think things can get any worse until I meet Kyrion Caldaren, an arrogant Regal lord who insists that we have a connection, one that could be the death of us both.

A MAN WHO CAN’T FORGET HIS PAST . . .

The name Kyrion Caldaren strikes fear in the hearts of people across the Archipelago Galaxy. As the leader of the Arrows, the Imperium’s elite fighting force, I’m used to being a villain, as well as the personal assassin of Lord Callus Holloway. Even the wealthy Regals who live on the planet of Corios are afraid of me.

But everything changes when I meet Vesper Quill. I might be a powerful psion with telepathic, telekinetic, and other abilities, but Vesper sees far too many of my secrets.

Thanks to an arcane, unwanted quirk of psionic magic, the two of us are forced to work together to unravel a dangerous conspiracy and outwit the deadly enemies who want to bend us to their will."

Regards,

Kareni

[Negin]

9 hours ago, Kareni said:

My book group has The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah on our list. I am now wondering what I will think of it!

Regards,

Kareni

Kareni, have you read others by her? 

[Kareni]

7 hours ago, Negin said:

Kareni, have you read others by her? 

I think so...

On 7/9/2012 at 9:53 PM, Kareni said:

I just finished one of Kristin Hannah's older books, a historical romance entitled Waiting for the Moon. It was a pleasant read.

 

On 10/14/2010 at 9:05 PM, Kareni said:

I read and enjoyed Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah; it's a poignant book about two sisters and their relationship with their mother. The story within a story is set during the siege of Leningrad, and I feel as though I learned a lot about that time and place in history.

I went looking, Negin, and as you can see, it's been a decade. These are the only two that showed up on my search; I may have read others prior to 2010.

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

link to week 47

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Confession time: I will not be reading Hard Times this year. I just can't get into it. I guess it's the price I pay for saving Dicken's until the end of the year.

So, I'm going to cheat. I am going to use white out and rewrite that Bingo square. Judge me as you will. There will be no shame here.😉

Now I just have to figure out what to replace it with. Read an entire series? Did that (4 books). Complete the summer public library reading program? Did that (8 books). Read in the hot tub? Did that (no books ruined). Read a book about poop? Just checked one out from the library (It's Terry Pratchett). Rearrange book shelves to accommodate new books and to rotate collections? Did that (Terry Pratchett is now a bit more prominent and my Granny Weatherwax figurine is nestled by Witches Abroad.).

I am finishing Stop Doing That Sh*t today and I started Strata by Terry Pratchett last night. Stayed up until after midnight reading (take that Hard Times). Although that might have more to do with the steroid induced insomnia...