September 2023: What are you reading?

[Quarter Note]

On 9/21/2023 at 1:37 PM, Kassia said:

Me too!  I put Cranford on my to read list because of her post.  🙂 

Another boardie recommended Cranford to me a while ago.  It's a fun read!  Enjoy!

[Quarter Note]

Barely any reading done lately, but the one book that I did finish was a fascinating non-fiction:

Beaverland:  How One Weird Rodent Made America by Leila Philip

It was a really interesting, very readable piece of nature/environment writing.  The author is a college writing professor who fell in love with some beavers who lived in a creek near her house, and then went on a quest to find out all that she could about the animals.   I think it turned me into a "beaver believer" too!

 

[Grace Hopper]

20 minutes ago, Quarter Note said:

Barely any reading done lately, but the one book that I did finish was a fascinating non-fiction:

Beaverland:  How One Weird Rodent Made America by Leila Philip

It was a really interesting, very readable piece of nature/environment writing.  The author is a college writing professor who fell in love with some beavers who lived in a creek near her house, and then went on a quest to find out all that she could about the animals.   I think it turned me into a "beaver believer" too!

 

Have you ever seen the dance of the beavers film? I think it’s an IMAX. Fascinating. 

Edited September 26, 2023 by Grace Hopper

[Quarter Note]

29 minutes ago, Grace Hopper said:

Have you ever seen the dance of the beavers film? I think it’s an IMAX. Fascinating. 

Why, no!  I've never even heard of it!  Thank  you!  Oh wow, now I need to see if I can find this movie.  (I'm.a sucker for furry wildlife.)

Edited September 26, 2023 by Quarter Note

[ScoutTN]

The Island of the Mighty by Padraic Colum

Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age by Rosaria Butterfield

[Quarter Note]

2 hours ago, Grace Hopper said:

Have you ever seen the dance of the beavers film? I think it’s an IMAX. Fascinating.

Ummm... Grace... I don't want to tell you how much time I've spent watching cute beaver videos since I went looking for the trailer for this movie...  😊

Must... close... Youtube....Dishes....Laundry...Dinner....  But they're so cute!

(This post is just another way to say thank you again!)

Edited September 26, 2023 by Quarter Note
typo

[Kareni]

Yesterday I learned of a new book in a favorite series. I promptly bought it, started reading, and finished it late last night. It's a mystery, but I simply enjoy getting to spend time with the characters.

Murder in Protocol by Anne Cleeland

It's the eighteenth in the series; I'd recommend starting with the first book, Murder in Thrall.

(FIC 88, RR 40, NF 10, NS 22, GN 2, PIC 1//)

Regards,

Kareni

[4kidlets4me]

I finished Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings. This is a short fairytale set in Australia that just might be the creepiest thing I've read in a long time. It reads like a fever dream and most of the time I had no idea what was going on. Each chapter is like it's own short story that interconnects with the overall plot but at the same time makes no sense! 5 stars.

I also finished We Have Always Live in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. This is a lot like Flyaway in that it sort of makes sense but also maybe not. The narrator is unreliable and at the end I wasn't even sure if she was real or not. 5 stars.

I attempted Black Chalk by Christopher Yates for the 3rd time and decided to give up on it. It has an interesting premise but the 50 pages I managed to read were so boring I couldn't force myself to finish.

I also started The Witching Hour by Anne Rice but I think I'm going to abandon this one too. It's more than 1,000 pages and I've read 100 and I'm not even a little interested in what happens next. 

[Vintage81]

Recently finished My Roommate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine. This is a contemporary romance and the title kind of says it all. This book was kind of silly, but it kept me somewhat entertained. The writing was very shallow (not sure if this is the right word, but I can't think of another one). Like it went kind of like this....

"Oh, there's blood in the fridge." 

"Uh...."

"Are you a.....vampire?"

"Um.....yeah, I'm a vampire"

"Oh, okay. Cool."

I'm being a bit hyperbolic, but there really wasn't much detective work regarding the whole vampire thing, nor was there much concern. Oh well, whatever!! I guess it's not supposed to be too deep. (a very generous 3 stars...only because the vampire watched K-dramas!!!! 🤣)

[Amoret]

On 9/26/2023 at 2:36 PM, Quarter Note said:

Oh, Amoret, keep going!  I loved Pickwick!  Honestly, the second half is much better than the first.  It ends gloriously.  

Oh no, I am not giving up! It just took me a while to get into it. I do love Dickens, and I have genuinely enjoyed seeing the the trajectory of his work as a whole and origin of so many of his characters and ideas.

I am also rereading The Mists of Avalon. I have read it twice before, both quite a while ago, and I loved it the first time, didn't like it as much the second, and am curious to see how it goes this time. I think DD13 would really like the story, but I don't remember how graphic or gratuitous some of the "adult" content is, which is why I am rereading it.

[Laurel-in-CA]

Finished an audio memoir by Michael J. Fox about his optimism amidst the challenges of spinal surgery, parkinson's, acting, and adventuring. His speech is slurring a book, so perhaps the audio was not the best way to go. I did enjoy his use of language, metaphor and analogy and, yes, he IS a super optimist! "No Time Like the Future"

Also read "A Path Appears" by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn (husband/wife team) about altruism, charities, and evaluating what is really effective and what has not achieved its goals. The book is secular and although it mentions a couple of religious charities it downplays that side of the giving picture. It seems a HUGE gap in the story. And they label a "supergiver" as someone who gives 10% or more...which is exactly the meaning of a tithe. Anyway, they introduced me to a couple of charities and talked about the decision whether to invest in pursuing donors vs. put all the $$ into charitable endeavors (the later leads to a lot less $$ available). Interesting considerations.

Working more myself (hurrah!) on a new business venture with some old friends, and dh is still looking for work and getting more discouraged. Retirement and downsizing is looking a lot more feasible than another job in his field right now. Trying to develop other possibilities too, but that will take time.

[Kassia]

@Laurel-in-CA Job hunting can be so hard.  It must be so tough on your DH and tough for you too as you support him.    I remember when my DH was laid off and I was so scared but didn't want him to know.  Wishing you the best on your business venture.  I read the Michael J. Fox book a while ago, but don't remember much about it.

I just started Brave Enough, by Jessie Diggins (Olympic cross country skier)  after finishing a quick read, Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio by Peg Kehret.  The polio book is supposed to be for middle school, but I think it might even be for upper elementary.  I really liked it and wasn't familiar with what it was like when polio was still around. 

 

Edited September 30, 2023 by Kassia

[Kareni]

I reread a favorite fantasy and enjoyed it once again. This is another book that features a main character who is a genuinely good person.

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold

"A man broken in body and spirit, Cazaril returns to the noble household he once served as page and is named secretary-tutor to the beautiful, strong-willed sister of the impetuous boy who is next in line to rule. It is an assignment Cazaril dreads, for it must ultimately lead him to the place he most fears: the royal court of Cardegoss, where the powerful enemies who once placed him in chains now occupy lofty positions.

But it is more than the traitorous intrigues of villains that threaten Cazaril and the Royesse Iselle here, for a sinister curse hangs like a sword over the entire blighted House of Chalion. And only by employing the darkest, most forbidden of magics can Cazaril hope to protect his royal charge -- an act that will mark him as a tool of the miraculous . . . and trap him in a lethal maze of demonic paradox."

(FIC 88, RR 41, NF 10, NS 22, GN 2, PIC 1//)

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

I also recently read Hidden Light (The Lydents' Curse Book 1) and The Bridge Over Snake Creek (The Lydents' Curse Book 2) both by Nikki Bolvair. These were pleasant fairly short paranormal reverse harem stories featuring young adults. Below is the blurb for the first book; the second book is set in the same world but features different characters.

"Parents divorced? Check.
Not wanted by stepdad? Check.
Fall in love with Hale and Zander? It wasn't supposed to happen.
After her parent’s divorced and her mother remarried, Carly Phillips was sent to live with her father, only visiting her mother for holidays. Now newly graduated and scoring her first job as a lifeguard, she has the unthinkable happen and her world is shattered when she suddenly discovers, in the most horrible way possible, that magic is real.
If her world isn’t shaken enough, she’s suddenly sent back to live with her mother and a stepfather who already made it obvious she doesn’t belong in his family. For Carly, life can’t get any worse because the guys are still there and her feelings for them haven’t changed. She's still in love with them and they couldn't be farther out of her reach.
But Hale and Zander, along with their friends, Baxter and Colten, have their own opinion when it comes to Carly and they have every intention of turning up the heat and forcing their way into her life."

**

I also read another reverse harem romance (erotic romance) ~ The Hostage Bargain by Annika Martin. I'd describe it as rather silly and straining credulity. It begins with a bank robbery on a SUNDAY afternoon in smallish town America, and the heroine is one of SEVEN tellers. She leaves voluntarily with the three bank robbers and escapades ensue. (Definite adult content)

"My cruel banker boss had the whole town under his thumb, but nobody more than me.
I was miserable.
Trapped.
Until the three hot AF outlaws came to town.
They robbed my boss’s bank like it was child’s play.
They took me hostage.
But the truth is, they rescued me.
And now they’re obsessed with protecting me, like I’m their new Cinderella.
But can this four-way fairytale have a happy ending?"

(FIC 91, RR 41, NF 10, NS 22, GN 2, PIC 1///)

Regards,

Kareni

[GailV]

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu. I'd seen a lot of chatter about this on Mastadon a while back, and finally got my turn on the library hold list. I really enjoyed it.

Apparently it's coming to Netflix -- I saw the preview right after I read the bit in the book about everyone in the game-version of Trisolaris floating off into the sky, and the Netflix version looked like what I had imagined  in my own head. 

I've heard the second book is sort of a slog, but I will take it on eventually.

BTW, reading this right after reading about QAnon was amazing. The book opens with the Cultural Revolution, and ridding the 1960s version of China of elites and intellectuals -- those scenes seemed like QAnon fever dreams of what they'd like to do. But then we move on years later to a fricking HUGE conspiracy, and the need to convince everyone in the world that science is nonsense. 

Sci fi! Conspiracy! Cults! Weird physics discussions! So many of my favorite things, all in one place!!!

[Kassia]

On 9/26/2023 at 3:36 PM, Kassia said:

Now I'm reading Loud by Tana Douglas (the first female roadie).  

I finished this and thought it was okay.  Her story was interesting, but I thought her writing was really flat if that makes sense.  I think a different writer would have made this a much better book.  

[Vintage81]

New thread…