10 July 2023 "Book Jumping" from This is How You Lose the Time War back to Coriolanus
I finished Act I of Coriolanus and then went on a family vacation. There was no way I was bringing the complete--and very heavy--works of Shakespeare as beach reading, so I left that at home in favor of This is How You Lose the Time War and Sense and Sensibility.
My darling hubby got to the Time War book first, so I started on the Austen. I found myself oddly annoyed at Jane Austen for this book that I love a lot (but not as much as my favorite, Pride and Prejudice). I disliked the characters and their behaviors because they were silly. I believe that was part of Austen's point, but I was annoyed nonetheless.
But then, oh my goodness, how I loved This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. I got it to read and discuss with some friends (definitely not a book club) and I found myself putting the book down after each chapter, so I could take some time to do other things. Why? So I could enjoy the book that much longer. I don't often do that when I read something, but I certainly did here. And still, I read it in 3 days. But what great days! I can't wait to find out what the others thought of it, too.
But then, once home, I started on Act II of Coriolanus and just couldn't do it. I'm fully capable of reading and enjoying Shakespeare's plays, but I just couldn't get back into this particular storyline. I realized that it was too much of a jump from a sci-fi book written in 2019 back to one of Shakespeare's histories. I needed something between the two. So, I went back to Austen and was also annoyed at Northanger Abby. I just disliked the naïve heroine. Since I'm now 2 for 2 in Austenian annoyance, I really want to read Pride and Prejudice, but I would also be sad if it annoys me, too. There's a chance that I may not be at the right point in my life for Austen.
From Austen, which I finished on the first day of a swim meet, I went further back to John Milton and started reading Paradise Lost on the second day of the swim meet. Epic poetry isn't really swim meet reading, either, but it gets me much closer to Shakespeare, so I'll stick with it for now.
I told my darling hubby about how I'm choosing titles to read to get closer to Shakespeare, and he termed it "book jumping." I like that.
My darling hubby got to the Time War book first, so I started on the Austen. I found myself oddly annoyed at Jane Austen for this book that I love a lot (but not as much as my favorite, Pride and Prejudice). I disliked the characters and their behaviors because they were silly. I believe that was part of Austen's point, but I was annoyed nonetheless.
But then, oh my goodness, how I loved This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. I got it to read and discuss with some friends (definitely not a book club) and I found myself putting the book down after each chapter, so I could take some time to do other things. Why? So I could enjoy the book that much longer. I don't often do that when I read something, but I certainly did here. And still, I read it in 3 days. But what great days! I can't wait to find out what the others thought of it, too.
But then, once home, I started on Act II of Coriolanus and just couldn't do it. I'm fully capable of reading and enjoying Shakespeare's plays, but I just couldn't get back into this particular storyline. I realized that it was too much of a jump from a sci-fi book written in 2019 back to one of Shakespeare's histories. I needed something between the two. So, I went back to Austen and was also annoyed at Northanger Abby. I just disliked the naïve heroine. Since I'm now 2 for 2 in Austenian annoyance, I really want to read Pride and Prejudice, but I would also be sad if it annoys me, too. There's a chance that I may not be at the right point in my life for Austen.
From Austen, which I finished on the first day of a swim meet, I went further back to John Milton and started reading Paradise Lost on the second day of the swim meet. Epic poetry isn't really swim meet reading, either, but it gets me much closer to Shakespeare, so I'll stick with it for now.
I told my darling hubby about how I'm choosing titles to read to get closer to Shakespeare, and he termed it "book jumping." I like that.
13 June 2023 Checkmate
I've started Coriolanus. By that, I mean the introduction pages before the play begins.
I forgot that I was also reading two Steven James books from his The Bowers Files. I finished the final one today while sitting at my younger son's golf practice, so I'm inserting them into my list here. The Pawn begins the series with FBI Agent Bowers dealing with a series of crimes at which chess pieces are left at the scene. Checkmate concludes the chess-named series. All of the books in this series are tense thrillers and quick reads. Perfect for the summer.
I forgot that I was also reading two Steven James books from his The Bowers Files. I finished the final one today while sitting at my younger son's golf practice, so I'm inserting them into my list here. The Pawn begins the series with FBI Agent Bowers dealing with a series of crimes at which chess pieces are left at the scene. Checkmate concludes the chess-named series. All of the books in this series are tense thrillers and quick reads. Perfect for the summer.
12 June 2023 Summer Reading So Far
So that new year, new start with recording my reading didn't really work (obviously). Now there's a fair pile of books on my desk for me to write about, and they're hindering my ability to put more stuff on my desk. Here are a few brief synopses.
1. The Time Machine by H. G. Wells and illustrated by Ale + Ale
I completely bought this book because of the pretty pictures. The story was intriguing if a bit brief for my interests, and I think Wells created an excellent dislikable main character. There were so many times that I disagreed (often aloud) with this character's actions, decisions, and even thought processes.
2. Nation by Terry Pratchett
Ah, Sir Terry, this is not one of your Discworld books that I love, but I can love this book, too! What happens when a natural disaster leaves too few, and too young people to recreate their world? It is a serious topic with a lot of philosophical, ethical, and religious ideas worth debate. But, it is also Terry Pratchett, so there's going to be some lighthearted scenarios involved, too. This book earned an APA Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, and I highly recommend it. I hope my kids read it, too, because there's just so much to discuss.
3. The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett
It is a Discworld novel, and for that I liked the book. But compared to the other Discworld novels I've read, this one does not make my list of favorites.
4. Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan. I bought it for my son who loved (note the past tense?) Riordan's other series based on mythology because I thought it would be an interesting change of topic. This book is based on the world created by Jules Verne in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and I quite liked it as a version of "fan fiction." It is gathering dust on my desk because nobody else has picked it up yet.
5. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
This is the final of my young adult fiction read so far this summer (it is only mid-June, though), and I enjoyed reading about Coriolanus Snow in high school during his time as a mentor for the 10th Annual Hunger Games. This student had such great potential--and we can argue that becoming president of Panem shows that he reached that potential--that went horribly, horribly wrong. I really liked the way Collins began the story with Snow's actions that seemed good but could be interpreted differently, continued with exploring how this young person's attitudes and choices could be noble and unethical at the same time, and ended with a fascinating shift into the character we see as president during the 74th and 75th Hunger Games in Collins' trilogy about Katniss Everdeen. Also, the characters' names were based on literature, which she made a point of mentioning throughout the novel, so my next read is....
6. Coriolanus by Shakespeare
1. The Time Machine by H. G. Wells and illustrated by Ale + Ale
I completely bought this book because of the pretty pictures. The story was intriguing if a bit brief for my interests, and I think Wells created an excellent dislikable main character. There were so many times that I disagreed (often aloud) with this character's actions, decisions, and even thought processes.
2. Nation by Terry Pratchett
Ah, Sir Terry, this is not one of your Discworld books that I love, but I can love this book, too! What happens when a natural disaster leaves too few, and too young people to recreate their world? It is a serious topic with a lot of philosophical, ethical, and religious ideas worth debate. But, it is also Terry Pratchett, so there's going to be some lighthearted scenarios involved, too. This book earned an APA Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, and I highly recommend it. I hope my kids read it, too, because there's just so much to discuss.
3. The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett
It is a Discworld novel, and for that I liked the book. But compared to the other Discworld novels I've read, this one does not make my list of favorites.
4. Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan. I bought it for my son who loved (note the past tense?) Riordan's other series based on mythology because I thought it would be an interesting change of topic. This book is based on the world created by Jules Verne in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and I quite liked it as a version of "fan fiction." It is gathering dust on my desk because nobody else has picked it up yet.
5. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
This is the final of my young adult fiction read so far this summer (it is only mid-June, though), and I enjoyed reading about Coriolanus Snow in high school during his time as a mentor for the 10th Annual Hunger Games. This student had such great potential--and we can argue that becoming president of Panem shows that he reached that potential--that went horribly, horribly wrong. I really liked the way Collins began the story with Snow's actions that seemed good but could be interpreted differently, continued with exploring how this young person's attitudes and choices could be noble and unethical at the same time, and ended with a fascinating shift into the character we see as president during the 74th and 75th Hunger Games in Collins' trilogy about Katniss Everdeen. Also, the characters' names were based on literature, which she made a point of mentioning throughout the novel, so my next read is....
6. Coriolanus by Shakespeare
18 January 2023 New Books!
I got some great new titles for my birthday this year:
- Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (a dictionary of common phrases and references)
- Robert Jackson Bennett's City of Blades and City of Miracles which I hope complete a trilogy and aren't just a start at a looooong series. But I haven't checked yet.
- The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
16 January 2023 Terry Pratchett's Lords and Ladies
Such a good book filled with such quotable lines! This is another wonderful comedic fantasy from Pratchett's Discworld series.
"Using a metaphor in front of a man as unimaginative as Ridcully was like a red flag to a bu...was like putting something very annoying in front of someone who was annoyed by it."
"Using a metaphor in front of a man as unimaginative as Ridcully was like a red flag to a bu...was like putting something very annoying in front of someone who was annoyed by it."
9 January 2023 Trying Again
I clearly haven't updated this page in, well, years now. That's shameful because I got out of the habit of telling you, whoever you are reading this, about some wonderful books. I haven't stopped reading...I just stopped recording. So, fresh new year and a fresh new start. To catch up (or at least make myself feel better), here are the books that are on my bedside table. Most are titles I've now read. Some I've started. Some I've reread. Some I've wanted to start but haven't gotten around to it yet.
Now they are a stack on my desk, so I'll have to deal with them soon. I am happy to notice that none are from as far back as when I recorded that I'd read Needful Things and Fragile Things back in...not worth looking up the date.
In no particular order: Terry Pratchett's Lords and Ladies, Terry Pratchett's Wee Free Folk, Rebecca E. F. Barone's Unbreakable: The Spies Who Cracked the Nazis' Secret Code, Richard Adams' Watership Down, Christopher Moore's Sacre Bleu, John Grisham's The Last Juror, Stephen King's The Wind Through the Keyhole, Rosalind Miles' The Child of the Holy Grail, C. S. Lewis' Prince Caspian, C. S. Lewis' The Four Loves, Stephen King's The Dark Tower (Book VII).
I never did finish that re-read of Matthew Lewis' The Monk; the book is back on a bookshelf somewhere; and I don't feel bad about that decision.
Now they are a stack on my desk, so I'll have to deal with them soon. I am happy to notice that none are from as far back as when I recorded that I'd read Needful Things and Fragile Things back in...not worth looking up the date.
In no particular order: Terry Pratchett's Lords and Ladies, Terry Pratchett's Wee Free Folk, Rebecca E. F. Barone's Unbreakable: The Spies Who Cracked the Nazis' Secret Code, Richard Adams' Watership Down, Christopher Moore's Sacre Bleu, John Grisham's The Last Juror, Stephen King's The Wind Through the Keyhole, Rosalind Miles' The Child of the Holy Grail, C. S. Lewis' Prince Caspian, C. S. Lewis' The Four Loves, Stephen King's The Dark Tower (Book VII).
I never did finish that re-read of Matthew Lewis' The Monk; the book is back on a bookshelf somewhere; and I don't feel bad about that decision.
29 MaY Stephen King’s Needful Things
“Leland Gaunt stood at the window and looked at the town below, spread out, defenseless, in all that lovely darkness” (320).
23 May NeIl Gaiman’s Fragile Things
A series of short stories in many genres. His introduction also provides background about how he wrote each one. Tributes to Doyle and Bradbury, stories based on tarot cards and the months of the year, and requests made by friends, family, and magazine editors—there’s such variety here, and each story is as enjoyable as it is unique.
18 May Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane
“I liked myths. They weren’t adult stories and they weren’t children’s stories. They just were.” (53)
The book, so far, has a fascinating perspective on adults and children, their similarities and their differences.
The book, so far, has a fascinating perspective on adults and children, their similarities and their differences.
6 May 2021 More TimOthy Zahn
Now for the rest of the trilogy:
Dark Force Rising and
The Last Command
What a different take on the Han and Leia relationship! I’d like to read more about Wookie life debts, too.
Dark Force Rising and
The Last Command
What a different take on the Han and Leia relationship! I’d like to read more about Wookie life debts, too.
5 May 2021 Neil Gaiman's Fortunately, the Milk
This is a story that we can read (preferably aloud to a young child) in one sitting. For the adults, there are nods to The Usual Suspects, Doctor Who, and a bit of The Hitchhiker's Guide series.
So many great parts of this story are "astonishingly specific" (51) that I laughed out loud.
So many great parts of this story are "astonishingly specific" (51) that I laughed out loud.
28 April 2021 Timothy Zahn's The Heir to the Empire
I had all of these Star Wars novels when I was younger and donated them before a move. Now my boys love Star Wars (they take after their parents), so I had to find new copies of a few of these now "Legend" novels. Starting Timothy Zahn's trilogy now.
My favorite character is Mara Jade. On page 39, Talon Karde (also a fun character) thinks to himself: "Someday, he promised himself silently, he was going to find a way to dig the details of her past out from the cloak of secrecy she'd so carefully shrouded it with. To find out where she'd come from, and who and what she was.
And to learn exactly what it was Luke Skywalker had done to make her so desperately hate him."
My favorite character is Mara Jade. On page 39, Talon Karde (also a fun character) thinks to himself: "Someday, he promised himself silently, he was going to find a way to dig the details of her past out from the cloak of secrecy she'd so carefully shrouded it with. To find out where she'd come from, and who and what she was.
And to learn exactly what it was Luke Skywalker had done to make her so desperately hate him."
27 April 2021 Done with Marlowe
And, done! That ending was not what I was expecting.
24 April 2021 Back to Christopher Marlowe's The Jew of Malta
This time, I'm determined to finish it.
18 April 2021 Laziness made me start another book: Ransom Riggs' A Map of Days
Overall, you should know that I'm still avoiding Matthew Lewis' The Monk. It is on my bedside table, gathering dust. Marlowe's play is on top of The Monk on that table. The table, the novel, and the play are all upstairs (gathering dust).
I have too short an attention span at the moment, and I'm too lazy to go upstairs to get the challenge reads when Ransom Riggs' A Map of Days is across the room. It is in the Miss Peregrine series and has pictures. Mainly, I'm interested in the pictures.
I need a nap.
I have too short an attention span at the moment, and I'm too lazy to go upstairs to get the challenge reads when Ransom Riggs' A Map of Days is across the room. It is in the Miss Peregrine series and has pictures. Mainly, I'm interested in the pictures.
I need a nap.
13 April 2021 Back to Christopher Marlowe with The Jew Of Malta
Tamerlaine was easy to follow because it was a series of battles to gain land. The Jew of Malta is a play about economic issues and control. I don't quite have a grasp of it yet.
12 April 2021 Stephen King's Doctor Sleep
And now I'm done with with this book. My general opinion is "meh." King's done better and much, much worse. Though, I did like Rose the Hat as a villain.
6 April 2021 Stephen King's The Shining
I'm not quite done with King yet. I realized that I haven't seen Doctor Sleep yet, so now I've got to re-read the two books that made that movie possible.
"Aspen leaves whirled and skittered in aimless packs across the lawn that was now neatly mowed and tended for no guest's eyes. There was no one to see the autumn leaves steal across the grass but the three of them. It gave Jack a curious shrinking feeling, as if his life force had dwindled to a mere spark while the hotel and the grounds had suddenly doubled in size and become sinister, dwarfing them with sullen, inanimate power" (101).
"Aspen leaves whirled and skittered in aimless packs across the lawn that was now neatly mowed and tended for no guest's eyes. There was no one to see the autumn leaves steal across the grass but the three of them. It gave Jack a curious shrinking feeling, as if his life force had dwindled to a mere spark while the hotel and the grounds had suddenly doubled in size and become sinister, dwarfing them with sullen, inanimate power" (101).
28 March 2021 Stephen King's Misery
I made the mistake of joining my son in a conversation about Stephen King's books. Now I'm taking a break from The Monk to enjoy more modern horror.
"I am in trouble here. This woman is not right."
"I am in trouble here. This woman is not right."
26 March 2021 Matthew Lewis' The Monk
No, not the actor who played Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter movies. This Matthew Lewis was born in the mid 1780s and wrote gothic fiction masterpiece, The Monk, when he was just nineteen. The book was so popular that he became known as "Monk Lewis."
About the main character:
"Ambrosio was yet to learn, that to an heart unacquainted with her, Vice is ever more dangerous when lurking behind the Mask of Virtue."
About the main character:
"Ambrosio was yet to learn, that to an heart unacquainted with her, Vice is ever more dangerous when lurking behind the Mask of Virtue."
5 March 2021 Louisa May ALcott's Behind a Mask
Four of Alcott's gothic fiction novellas collected in one place! The title story was the best, but the other titles were too much fun not to mention here. In true gothic fiction fashion, Alcott gave us "Pauline's Passion and Punishment," "The Mysterious Key and What It Opened," and my favorite title of the group: "The Abbot's Ghost, or Maurice Treherne's Temptation."
1 March 2021 Sara Pennypacker's Pax
My youngest suggested this one. It was a bad idea to start Pax for my bedtime reading. I cried through the first three chapters and then had to keep reading to calm down enough to get to sleep. This was a good recommendation!
27 February 2021 Ernest Cline's Ready Player Two
A fast read and heavily reliant on the first book. The foreshadowing in the beginning chapters was a bit heavy-handed, so I could quickly guess how the book would end. The new characters were great but underdeveloped. I'll recommend Ready Player One instead.
20 February 2021 Terry Pratchett's Snuff
I love Pratchett's Discworld books, and this one did not disappoint--especially since I love Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
- From the back cover: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a policeman taking a holiday will barely have time to open his suitcase before he finds his first corpse."
- "The bestselling novel taking the Ankh-Morpork literary world by storm was dedicated to Commander Samuel Vimes. The title of the book was Pride and Extreme Prejudice."
14 February 2021 Jesmyn Ward's Sing, Unburied, Sing
My husband got me a literary t-shirt for my birthday. It reads "Zora & Alice & Maya & Jesmyn." I hadn't read anything by Jesmyn, so I picked up this book. What a great novel! I need to read more by this author.
"But it was impossible to not hear the animals, because I looked at them and understood, instantly, and it was like looking at a sentence and understanding the words, all of it coming to me at once."
"But it was impossible to not hear the animals, because I looked at them and understood, instantly, and it was like looking at a sentence and understanding the words, all of it coming to me at once."
12 February 2021 Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
I read a book I won't even mention by name because nobody reading this list should even think I'm recommending it. After that, I needed to re-read Pride and Prejudice. Ah, Pemberly!
5 February 2021 A few books since October
Wow, I'm out of the habit of writing here. Since October I've read, and I can recommend these titles:
- Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera
- Christopher Marlowe's Tamburlaine Parts I and II
- Jack Whyte's The Fort at River's Bend and Metamorphosis: The Sorcerer
- Vikas Swarup's Q&A (based on a recommendation from a student and then his kindness in giving me a copy)
15 October 2020 More Jack Whyte
Okay, so I need to update this reading list. I finished Marquez' novel (in my head it is "Cien Anos" thanks to my college Spanish classes), and I needed something different before confusing the 17 Aurelianos in this novel with the varied and many characters in Love in the Time of Cholera. I'm looking forward to reading that after my book club discusses Cien Anos.
So, I went back to Jack Whyte's Camulod series. I'm in the process of reading book four now.
So, I went back to Jack Whyte's Camulod series. I'm in the process of reading book four now.
- The Skystone: What happens when the Roman legions leave Britain? Caius Brittanicus and Publius Varrus create order based on their Roman training amid the chaos in the countryside.
- The Singing Sword: Publius Varrus, now a metalsmith in Camulod, seeks more skystones to smelt into a sword fit for a king. Meanwhile, the dream of a unified Britain continues as the Celtic people and Camulodians unite.
- The Eagle's Brood: Caius Merlyn Brittanicus and his cousin Uther Pendragon become military leaders in Camulod.
- The Saxon Shore: Merlyn Brittanicus furthers unification of the Britons by establishing relationships with the Eirish and Saxon people as he returns to Camulod with Arthur.
13 August 2020 Gabriel Garcia Marquez' One Hundred Years of Solitude
"Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice." (pg 1)
This is one of the best and most memorable first lines of a novel I've ever read. One of my life goals is to read Marquez' book in Spanish instead of in translation. But for now, English will do. What a beautifully written book!
This is one of the best and most memorable first lines of a novel I've ever read. One of my life goals is to read Marquez' book in Spanish instead of in translation. But for now, English will do. What a beautifully written book!
10 August 2020 David Sedaris' When You Are Engulfed in Flames
My favorite short story collection by David Sedaris is Me Talk Pretty One Day, but I couldn't find my copy of it. So, this one is a fine enough substitute.
14 July 2020 Jack Whyte's The Skystone
I'm re-reading to see if I can recommend this series to my oldest. I love Arthurian stories, and this is a great one. Whyte tells the story of Camelot, King Arthur, and Merlin while giving the legend and magic a basis in history and logic. If Arthur didn't get Excalibur from the Lady in the Lake, how did he get it? How was Camelot established to unite Britain after the fall of the Roman Empire?
This is Book 1 in the Camulod Chronicles, and Arthur doesn't even make an appearance for another three books.
This is Book 1 in the Camulod Chronicles, and Arthur doesn't even make an appearance for another three books.
11 July 2020 Ms. W updates Her list
Whoops! I’ve been reading and completely forgot to make notes on this page.
Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own —reread for my book club. What a great conversation starter!
Orson Scott Card’s Speaker of the Dead and Children of the Mind--these are in the Ender’s Game series. Did you watch the movie? The book was infinitely better, but that book was not as good as Speaker. I guess I just prefer the hive queen and the pequeninos.
Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own —reread for my book club. What a great conversation starter!
Orson Scott Card’s Speaker of the Dead and Children of the Mind--these are in the Ender’s Game series. Did you watch the movie? The book was infinitely better, but that book was not as good as Speaker. I guess I just prefer the hive queen and the pequeninos.
1 July 2020 Michael Crichton's Timeline
Is it science fiction? Is it historical fiction? Yes to both!
25 June 2020 Adam Schell's Tomato Rhapsody
With writing like this, how can I keep from laughing and groaning at the same time?
"Considering that in two Sundays Davido would be married and living in Florence for the next twelve months, the moment he and Nonno returned from Florence Davido went straight to the kitchen, doing his best to cook away all the anxiety that simmered inside him." (p. 35)
Also, I was greatly amused when I looked up the information in one of the first footnotes. This is my kind of book!
"Considering that in two Sundays Davido would be married and living in Florence for the next twelve months, the moment he and Nonno returned from Florence Davido went straight to the kitchen, doing his best to cook away all the anxiety that simmered inside him." (p. 35)
Also, I was greatly amused when I looked up the information in one of the first footnotes. This is my kind of book!
23 June 2020 Michael Crichton’s Prey
As it turns out, my son got many of Crichton's books from the library. This one is building to a great finish.
18 June 2020 Michael Crichton’s The Great Train Robbery
And now my third: This novel is more historical explanation than scientific mystery, but it is a great look at Victorian London. I know very little criminal slang from that time period (or any time period), so I’m thankful for so many contact clues and for my really good dictionary.
15 June 2020 MIchael Crichton’s ThE Terminal Man
My son wasn’t thrilled when I referred to Micro as “Honey, I Shrunk the Scientists.” He also didn’t say I was wrong.
That book was a fun read, so now I’m trying another. The Terminal Man begins like more of a psychological thriller than other Crichton books I’ve read.
That book was a fun read, so now I’m trying another. The Terminal Man begins like more of a psychological thriller than other Crichton books I’ve read.
13 June 2020 Michael Crichton and RiChard PreSton’s Micro
My oldest really likes Crichton’s novels for their mix of thriller and science. Micro is one of his favorites and he recommended it to me.
By Chapter 5, I was hooked.
By Chapter 5, I was hooked.
22 May 2020 Susan Orlean’s The Library Book
“The library is a gathering pool of narratives and of the people who come to find them. It is where we can glimpse immortality; in the library, we can live forever.” (11-12)
I’m going to like this book.
From page 34: “In total, four hundred thousand books in Central Library were destroyed in the fire. An additional seven hundred thousand were badly damaged by either smoke or water or, in many cases, both. The number of books destroyed or spoiled was equal to the entirety of fifteen typical branch libraries. It was the greatest loss to any public library in the history of the United States.”
Then again, maybe “like” is the wrong word.
I’m going to like this book.
From page 34: “In total, four hundred thousand books in Central Library were destroyed in the fire. An additional seven hundred thousand were badly damaged by either smoke or water or, in many cases, both. The number of books destroyed or spoiled was equal to the entirety of fifteen typical branch libraries. It was the greatest loss to any public library in the history of the United States.”
Then again, maybe “like” is the wrong word.
18 May 2020 Margaret Peterson Haddix's THe Missing Series
My youngest got this 6-book set for his birthday. I'm chasing him through it, and because of Wolf Hall, I'm a book and a half behind. So far, fairly typical YA fictional protagonists, but the world isn't fully dystopian (yet) and they travel through time to solve problems in history. Ever so much better than The Magic Tree House stories!
15 May 2020 Hillary Mantel's Wolf Hall
First in a trilogy about Thomas Cromwell and his rise in the court of King Henry VIII. I'm enjoying this book for the wrong reasons: I've learned a few new archaic swear words/phrases, and I really like how these characters are so very polite and so very insulting at the same time. (I've read a lot of historical fiction about the reign of Henry VIII, so none of the plot or the court intrigues were all that new to me.)
29 April 2020 Yevgeny Zamyatin's we
This Russian anti-utopian novel from 1924 inspired Brave New World and 1984, beginning the dystopian fiction genre. I've read it a few times, and now I think I might try Huxley's Brave New World once I'm ready for another dystopian novel.
"There is no final one. Revolutions are infinite."
"There is no final one. Revolutions are infinite."
19 April 2020 Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
"I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing other than of a book. -- When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library." (Lied Caroline Bingley and now her dialogue is featured on a British £10 note.)
I wasn't feeling well, so I picked a story that always makes me happy. Then I watched a quiz show where an answer was this title. The host made a joke about people wanting to read this classic, especially when there's time for so many during this quarantine, but nobody actually reads it. He was wrong, and I laughed.
I wasn't feeling well, so I picked a story that always makes me happy. Then I watched a quiz show where an answer was this title. The host made a joke about people wanting to read this classic, especially when there's time for so many during this quarantine, but nobody actually reads it. He was wrong, and I laughed.
15 April 2020 Mackenzi Lee's Loki: Where Mischief Lies
Because my youngest really liked it, he strongly suggested I would like this book, too. So far, it isn't bad. It is also very definitely a standard YA book in the Marvel universe.
30 March 2020 Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology and Irving Stone's Lust for Life
And now, I've managed to start both an "afternoon read" book and a "before bed" book.
I'm continuing to go through Neil Gaiman's works I hadn't yet read. Norse Mythology is his most recent in paperback. Unlike his other original works that place mythical figures into his own novel plots, this time he's done a lot of research into the original Norse myths and is retelling them as accurately, yet creatively as he can.
Lust for Life is Irving Stone's novelized biography of Vincent Van Gogh. I'm enjoying it a great deal. I wasn't sure I'd like it as much as I liked the author's "The Agony and the Ecstasy" about Michelangelo. I found myself pleasantly surprised at how engaging this very thick book was so early in its chapters. I'm having a hard time putting it down.
I'm continuing to go through Neil Gaiman's works I hadn't yet read. Norse Mythology is his most recent in paperback. Unlike his other original works that place mythical figures into his own novel plots, this time he's done a lot of research into the original Norse myths and is retelling them as accurately, yet creatively as he can.
Lust for Life is Irving Stone's novelized biography of Vincent Van Gogh. I'm enjoying it a great deal. I wasn't sure I'd like it as much as I liked the author's "The Agony and the Ecstasy" about Michelangelo. I found myself pleasantly surprised at how engaging this very thick book was so early in its chapters. I'm having a hard time putting it down.
21 March NeIl Gaiman’s StardUst
The star has my favorite dialogue in a fairytale. This isn’t your ordinary children’s story.
Because sometimes life is like this... A close friend recommended my family watch this movie called Stardust, starting it would make a good pairing with The Princess Bride. We already quote The Princess Bride too much, so I suggested the movie to my hubby. He asked if it had anything to do with Neil Gaiman’s book of the same name because it is one of his favorites. Lo and behold, it is the movie adaptation, and we’ve got a copy of the book, too.
I read the book very quickly and we watched the movie soon after.
Because sometimes life is like this... A close friend recommended my family watch this movie called Stardust, starting it would make a good pairing with The Princess Bride. We already quote The Princess Bride too much, so I suggested the movie to my hubby. He asked if it had anything to do with Neil Gaiman’s book of the same name because it is one of his favorites. Lo and behold, it is the movie adaptation, and we’ve got a copy of the book, too.
I read the book very quickly and we watched the movie soon after.
19 March The Divine Magnet: Herman Melville's letters to Nathaniel hawthorne
"...I should write a thousand--a million--billion thoughts, all under the form of a letter to you. The divine magnet is in you, and my magnet responds. Which is the biggest? A foolish question--they are One." --Melville to Hawthorne, November 1851, in reply to Hawthorne's letter about the recently published Moby Dick
I haven't read Moby Dick yet, but I have enjoyed Hawthorne's works. I learned a long time ago that these two authors were friends, and now I can read about it. This book is a fascinating look at one side of their friendship. Unfortunately, Hawthorne's letters are lost to us. Melville's content is thoughtful and emotional in ways I hadn't expected. His vocabulary is certainly keeping me on my toes, too.
I haven't read Moby Dick yet, but I have enjoyed Hawthorne's works. I learned a long time ago that these two authors were friends, and now I can read about it. This book is a fascinating look at one side of their friendship. Unfortunately, Hawthorne's letters are lost to us. Melville's content is thoughtful and emotional in ways I hadn't expected. His vocabulary is certainly keeping me on my toes, too.
1 March 2020 Tyca-SE Authors
Oh, I am so very glad I went to the TYCA-SE Conference! (That's the Two Year College Association--Southeast US conference for those who like to know acronym meanings.)
Both novels are page-turners and deal with social issues. I highly recommend them--especially if you like Atlanta authors.
- Thomas Mullen's Darktown
- Tayari Jones' An American Marriage
Both novels are page-turners and deal with social issues. I highly recommend them--especially if you like Atlanta authors.
6 January 2020 Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight
“In the darkness he looked much more normal. Still pale, still dreamlike in his beauty, but no longer the fantastic sparkling creature of our sunlit afternoon” (292).
Why am I reading this?
Why am I reading this?
26 December 2019 Stephen King’s The Institute
“It was so simple, but it was a revelation: what you did for yourself was what gave you the power.”
Started and finished in a matter of hours. This was a typical King book for me—I had to keep reading until the story ended. Easily compared with Firestarter, the character development pales in comparison, but I like this book better because my youngest gave it to me for Christmas.
Started and finished in a matter of hours. This was a typical King book for me—I had to keep reading until the story ended. Easily compared with Firestarter, the character development pales in comparison, but I like this book better because my youngest gave it to me for Christmas.
19 December 2019 J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit
"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort" (Tolkien 1).
What a great first line--"and that means comfort"--a Hobbit hole, a home, and a good book all mean the same thing.
What a great first line--"and that means comfort"--a Hobbit hole, a home, and a good book all mean the same thing.
15 November 2019 Walter M. Miller, Jr's A Canticle for Leibowitz
I've read this novel before, but now I get to discuss it with my book club. With views on religion, philosophy, and politics, Miller Jr's dystopian fantasy spans many eras to examine what happens when society destroys itself because it refuses to learn from the past.
"Are we doomed to do it again and again and again? Have we no choice but to play the Phoenix in an unending sequence of rise and fall?" (Miller, Jr.)
"Are we doomed to do it again and again and again? Have we no choice but to play the Phoenix in an unending sequence of rise and fall?" (Miller, Jr.)
4 November 2019 So many Starts and Stops
I didn't read one full book for the months of September and October. I did, however, start and stop many. I just couldn't settle on one I wanted to complete.
21 August 2019 the Art oF War
Chapter 6: Weaknesses and Strengths
”31. Of the five elements, none is always predominant; of the four seasons, none lasts forever; of the days, some are long and some short, and the moon waxes and wanes.”
There’s a painting here if I can figure it out.
”31. Of the five elements, none is always predominant; of the four seasons, none lasts forever; of the days, some are long and some short, and the moon waxes and wanes.”
There’s a painting here if I can figure it out.
18 August 2019 The Art of War but also Tuck Everlasting
My youngest is reading (sped through) Tuck Everlasting for school and checked it out of the local library to re-read it. Then he strongly suggested his parents try it. Who am I to turn down a book (not by Rick Riordan) that my son wants me to read? Beautiful descriptions, fantastic moral questions to discuss. And that toad!
I’m also making progress through the chapters by Sun Tzu. A quote I keep considering is from the lines in Chapter Three, “Offensive Strategy.”
”For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.”
I’m also making progress through the chapters by Sun Tzu. A quote I keep considering is from the lines in Chapter Three, “Offensive Strategy.”
”For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.”
9 August 2019 Sort of Sun Tsu’s The Art of WaR
I finished the introduction! All six chapters! I have to admit the final three were more interesting and a faster read.
Also, I’m re-reading Ready Player One because my oldest left it on the coffee table next to my book and...choices. My husband just finished Zorba the Greek with mixed reviews and a recommendation, so I suppose I’ll read that next.
Also, I’m re-reading Ready Player One because my oldest left it on the coffee table next to my book and...choices. My husband just finished Zorba the Greek with mixed reviews and a recommendation, so I suppose I’ll read that next.
2 August 2019 Not Really Sun Tzu's The Art Of War
I'm stuck in the very dense introduction. I really, really want to get to the text of The Art of War, but it turns out that I don't know anything about the history, the literary history, or anything surrounding this famous title. The introduction offers a lot of information, but it served as someone's dissertation work, and is challenging reading. I find myself wanting to cheat and use Wikipedia as a resource, but the intro is great content. If only I could get through some of the footnotes that include research in French (not in translation!).
So, when I'm not slowly reading a page of the intro to The Art of War in the hopes of finally making it to Sun Tzu's chapters, I'm also quickly reading the chapter-less pages of Terry Pratchett's Nightwatch.
So, when I'm not slowly reading a page of the intro to The Art of War in the hopes of finally making it to Sun Tzu's chapters, I'm also quickly reading the chapter-less pages of Terry Pratchett's Nightwatch.
10 July 2019 Terry Pratchett's The Fifth Elephant
"They say the world is flat and supported on the back of four elephants who themselves stand on the back of a giant turtle. […] They say the fifth elephant came screaming and trumpeting through the atmosphere of the young world all those years ago and landed hard enough to split continents and raise mountains" (1).
For anyone who enjoyed the Amazon miniseries Good Omens and the originating book, this is a good starter into the Discworld of Terry Pratchett before delving into the darker, often funnier works of Neil Gaiman. The Fifth Elephant is about a police officer-turned-diplomat, werewolves, dwarves, vampires, and a mystery surrounding a loaf of bread. It has almost nothing to do with elephants.
For anyone who enjoyed the Amazon miniseries Good Omens and the originating book, this is a good starter into the Discworld of Terry Pratchett before delving into the darker, often funnier works of Neil Gaiman. The Fifth Elephant is about a police officer-turned-diplomat, werewolves, dwarves, vampires, and a mystery surrounding a loaf of bread. It has almost nothing to do with elephants.
16 June 2019 Patricia A. McKillip's The Bards of Bone Plain
A close friend lent me the book long enough ago that I put it on a bookshelf and forgot which one. It was a fast read with a little bit of everything...song competitions, archaeology digs, murder, an angry queen, Highlander, riddles, an explosion, a confrontation in a sewer, and a guy just trying to do the bare minimum for his research paper to graduate from school.
Looking for a pleasant summer read? Try it.
Looking for a pleasant summer read? Try it.
9 June 2019 MichaeL CRIchton’s jurassic park
This title is on my oldest’s summer reading list. I hadn’t read it in a while and thought I’d see how the book compares to my memory of the movie. As always, so much better!
Poor mathematician Ian Malcolm: so accurate and so ignored!
Poor mathematician Ian Malcolm: so accurate and so ignored!
5 June 2019 Grady Hendrix' Horrorstor
"Amy was completely immobilized in a wooden box roughly six feet long, twenty inches wide, so shallow that her face touched the lid. It had the dimensions of a coffin, bit she knew right away that it was a Liripip, one of the most popular sellers in Wardrobes."
What happens when a store, not exactly unlike IKEA, is built on grounds that once held a prison run by an insane warden? What happens when the store personnel, called in to work overnight to prepare for a corporate audit, hold a séance to bring back the dead? What do the personnel think when the undead repurpose all of the hard-to-pronounce products and use them as torture methods? More importantly, what do readers think?
This reader didn't think much. The best part of the book was when the characters mentioned the names of the products as they ran, screaming through the store. Not high praise for a horror novel.
What happens when a store, not exactly unlike IKEA, is built on grounds that once held a prison run by an insane warden? What happens when the store personnel, called in to work overnight to prepare for a corporate audit, hold a séance to bring back the dead? What do the personnel think when the undead repurpose all of the hard-to-pronounce products and use them as torture methods? More importantly, what do readers think?
This reader didn't think much. The best part of the book was when the characters mentioned the names of the products as they ran, screaming through the store. Not high praise for a horror novel.
3 June 2019, I've gotten a little distracted
I'll do better this semester. I've kept up with my reading but not this page on my website. Life, work, and (what I now know is) a broken wrist happens. I'm choosing my typing carefully now while I type in a brace that covers three fingers. So here's what I've read since The Handmaid's Tale and The Neverending Story:
- Stephen James' The Pawn (psychological thriller, the first in an entire chess series)
- Zora Neale Hurston's Barracoon (I looked forward to this one for a very long time because Hurston is one of my favorites. It was hard to read and good to read at the same time.)
- Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters (I believe I caught most of the MacBeth references, but you don't need to know MacBeth to enjoy this comic fantasy novel.)
- Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (An unusual play based on Hamlet that now has my family playing the game, Questions, and you should be familiar with Shakespeare's play before reading Stoppard's variation.)
- Stephen King's The Gunslinger
- Stephen King's The Drawing of the Three
- Stephen King's The Wastelands
- Stephen King's Wizard and Glass (Then I had to stop reading/pre-reading for my son because I got tired of Midworld. I usually need a break after I get to the awesome riddles for Blaine the Pain of a Train.)
- James Howe's Howliday Inn (I started reading this early fiction novel to see if I could get my younger son interested. Also, it is the opposite of a Stephen King book. I loved Bunnicula when I was a kid. Sadly, I had to return my borrowed copy before finishing it--and before getting my son interested in it.)
17 March 2019, Time to update my reading list
No, I shouldn't update my reading list because it has been just that long since I finished reading St. Augustine's Confessions, but because I feel so guilty at finishing it so recently. And then reading another book so quickly after that.
I did enjoy St. Augustine's book. It just took a long time to get through the not quite autobiographical part before I really, really enjoyed the nuances of the philosophical part in the final sections. I had no idea a person could analyze Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 in such detail. I needed another two days to finish the book for my book club. I'll take comfort in the fact that I finished it over my book club weekend. That's something, right?
Our next book club meeting will discuss Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. Nope, I haven't seen the Hulu adaptation. In comparison, this was a speed read because I finished this book in about a week. I can't say I liked this one, but held my attention despite simultaneously reading The Neverending Story (written by Michael Ende and translated by Ralph Manheim) with my youngest. With both the dystopian novel for grown-ups and the fantasy novel for children, there are similarities, oddly enough. In the former, the narrator writes directly to the readers in hope: "By telling you anything at all I'm at least believing in you, I believe you're there, I believe you into being. Because I'm telling you this story I will your existence. I tell, therefore you are" (268). In the latter, the reader is twice removed. We read a story of a boy who reads and then becomes a major participant within the story he reads: "Bastian gave a start when he realized what he had just read. Why, that was him! The description was right in every detail. The book trembled in his hands. This was going too far. How could there be something in a book that applied only to this particular moment and only to him?" (106). The similarity, of course, is how the writer focuses on the importance of the reader.
I watched the original The Neverending Story movie repeatedly as a child, so I recognize where this book is headed, but for what I've read so far, there are way too many pages left for the book ending and the movie ending to be the same. I'm going to enjoy reading this book with my son.
I did enjoy St. Augustine's book. It just took a long time to get through the not quite autobiographical part before I really, really enjoyed the nuances of the philosophical part in the final sections. I had no idea a person could analyze Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 in such detail. I needed another two days to finish the book for my book club. I'll take comfort in the fact that I finished it over my book club weekend. That's something, right?
Our next book club meeting will discuss Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. Nope, I haven't seen the Hulu adaptation. In comparison, this was a speed read because I finished this book in about a week. I can't say I liked this one, but held my attention despite simultaneously reading The Neverending Story (written by Michael Ende and translated by Ralph Manheim) with my youngest. With both the dystopian novel for grown-ups and the fantasy novel for children, there are similarities, oddly enough. In the former, the narrator writes directly to the readers in hope: "By telling you anything at all I'm at least believing in you, I believe you're there, I believe you into being. Because I'm telling you this story I will your existence. I tell, therefore you are" (268). In the latter, the reader is twice removed. We read a story of a boy who reads and then becomes a major participant within the story he reads: "Bastian gave a start when he realized what he had just read. Why, that was him! The description was right in every detail. The book trembled in his hands. This was going too far. How could there be something in a book that applied only to this particular moment and only to him?" (106). The similarity, of course, is how the writer focuses on the importance of the reader.
I watched the original The Neverending Story movie repeatedly as a child, so I recognize where this book is headed, but for what I've read so far, there are way too many pages left for the book ending and the movie ending to be the same. I'm going to enjoy reading this book with my son.
7 January 2019 Yes, Still reading st. Augustine
And I thought I was struggling through Ulysses.
I can't skim the paragraphs of St. Augustine's writing the way I felt like I was expected to do so in Joyce's novel. This is dense argument and philosophy about the saint's understanding of God. It is also a fascinating look at an intelligent transition through a series of belief systems before settling on a final one, accepting it wholeheartedly, and then doing his best to explain it, promote it to others, and, essentially, becoming one of the first leaders of that system. All while trying to remain a humble servant to that faith.
So, because I'm fascinated and must read every word and work to understand the arguments in every sentence, sometimes I need a break. So, after Christmas, I went shopping and picked up some less dense reading material:
I can't skim the paragraphs of St. Augustine's writing the way I felt like I was expected to do so in Joyce's novel. This is dense argument and philosophy about the saint's understanding of God. It is also a fascinating look at an intelligent transition through a series of belief systems before settling on a final one, accepting it wholeheartedly, and then doing his best to explain it, promote it to others, and, essentially, becoming one of the first leaders of that system. All while trying to remain a humble servant to that faith.
So, because I'm fascinated and must read every word and work to understand the arguments in every sentence, sometimes I need a break. So, after Christmas, I went shopping and picked up some less dense reading material:
- Michael Crichton's Airframe (My son recommended it to me, but I can't recommend it to anyone who bothers to read this list. The plot was predictable, and the red herrings obvious in this mystery. After discussing the book, he agrees with me about the storyline. He liked learning all of the technical details about airplanes.)
- J. K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy (So far, so good. The plot is plodding along, but the book is a quick read, and there are some giggle-worthy descriptions.)
18 October 2018 The Confessions of St. Augustine
Book One, Chapter One: "Great are you, O Lord, and exceedingly worthy of praise; your power is immense, and your wisdom beyond reckoning."
Someone else chose this title for my book club, but I'll admit I've wanted to read this very dense praise of God by one of the founders of my faith for a very long time. We'll see if I can finish it without getting distracted by the time my group meets.
Someone else chose this title for my book club, but I'll admit I've wanted to read this very dense praise of God by one of the founders of my faith for a very long time. We'll see if I can finish it without getting distracted by the time my group meets.
16 October 2018 Jane Austen's Mansfield Park: 3 more pages!
My last post was in August?!? In my defense, my kids got to my reading list again...
My oldest started middle school and gained access to a wider variety of fiction than I'd expected. James Patterson, Michael Crichton, and other great page-turners. He wore me down and I let him read The Hunger Games trilogy. Which meant I re-read it, too, so we could chat. That was awesome, but then my youngest decided in the middle of a discussion about why Peeta would have made a more intriguing protagonist,
"I don't like to talk about books I haven't read. So, let's talk about the Wings of Fire book that I do like." (No, none of us had read it, but that didn't stop him from telling us the entire plot.)
What that conversation did, however, was add again to my reading list. I needed to read a book with the younger one so that we, too, could have book conversations and get excited together about reading. Enter another Rick Riordan story into my life: Magnus Chase: The Ship of the Dead.
And now, I'm proudly finished with Jane Austen's novel. I loved every bit of it but the final chapter. All that remains is the final three pages of commentary and researched scholarly interviews. I finished the novel portion of my book late last night, so I thought I'd save the remaining bit for this evening when I can enjoy it, too.
My oldest started middle school and gained access to a wider variety of fiction than I'd expected. James Patterson, Michael Crichton, and other great page-turners. He wore me down and I let him read The Hunger Games trilogy. Which meant I re-read it, too, so we could chat. That was awesome, but then my youngest decided in the middle of a discussion about why Peeta would have made a more intriguing protagonist,
"I don't like to talk about books I haven't read. So, let's talk about the Wings of Fire book that I do like." (No, none of us had read it, but that didn't stop him from telling us the entire plot.)
What that conversation did, however, was add again to my reading list. I needed to read a book with the younger one so that we, too, could have book conversations and get excited together about reading. Enter another Rick Riordan story into my life: Magnus Chase: The Ship of the Dead.
And now, I'm proudly finished with Jane Austen's novel. I loved every bit of it but the final chapter. All that remains is the final three pages of commentary and researched scholarly interviews. I finished the novel portion of my book late last night, so I thought I'd save the remaining bit for this evening when I can enjoy it, too.
20 August 2018 Jane Austen's Mansfield Park
"A fondness for reading, properly directed, must be an education to itself."
Now I'm determined not to distract myself from Jane Austen again. It helps that the library is now closed for the next month as they go through a renovation. No more bags of books for my boys! They must read what they've got.
Now I'm determined not to distract myself from Jane Austen again. It helps that the library is now closed for the next month as they go through a renovation. No more bags of books for my boys! They must read what they've got.
19 August 2018 The Wild Muir
I finished another book in my stack! Yay!
John Muir's collection of short adventure stories was worth the read because he loved the outdoors so much he made me want to see nature through his perspective. Also, I got a Trivial Pursuit question right because it was asking about his role in creating the Sierra Club and preserving the Yosemite Valley. "Some crystals landed with their rays almost perfect, but most of them were worn and broken by striking against one another, or by rolling on the ground. The touch of these snow-flowers in calm weather is infinitely gentle--glinting, swaying settling silently in the dry mountain air, or massed in flakes soft and downy. To lie out alone in the mountains of a still night and be touched by the first of these small silent messengers from the sky is a memorable experience, and the fineness of that touch none will forget."
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This is my interpretation of the first of the "small silent messengers from the sky."
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7 August 2018 Cat Winters' In the Shadow of Blackbirds
That was a very entertaining book, the way Ransom Riggs' Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children series was good. It had elements of historical fiction, horror, the fantastic, and a touch of romance, albeit a strange romance between the protagonist and a ghost, but it was worth a read for an older teen audience or an adult reader who needs a fast read. And the photos were an excellent addition!
31 July 2018 Not another one!
Oh, no! My oldest brought home another bag of books. I guess I’ll be pre-reading a bit more...
Thats a quick “no” for Larry Brown’s The Rabbit Factory, although I may add it to my own list. (I had to read the front cover that my son forgot to review on his own.). A slower “no” for Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell, in that I had to read the first paragraph. But I’m three chapters into the curious YA historical fiction piece called In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters. I hope the story is as enjoyable as the book itself so far—type, cover, chapter titles, and photos.
Thats a quick “no” for Larry Brown’s The Rabbit Factory, although I may add it to my own list. (I had to read the front cover that my son forgot to review on his own.). A slower “no” for Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell, in that I had to read the first paragraph. But I’m three chapters into the curious YA historical fiction piece called In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters. I hope the story is as enjoyable as the book itself so far—type, cover, chapter titles, and photos.
27 July 2018 DougLas Adams' Life, The Universe, and EverYthing
Now I've finished the second book on my bedside table. And I learned there is "an art to flying...or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." The book got more interesting, and creatively disjointed, after that.
Back to John Muir.
Back to John Muir.
24 July 2018 Betty Webb’s The Otter of Death
Of course I’d stay up late to finish the otter book first.
23 July 2018 Ms. W is Having Trouble Concentrating
I'm enjoying my summer and a variety of books. The trouble is that I just can't settle on finishing the ones I want. In the past month (MONTH?!?), I've continued reading The Wild Muir, including reading stories aloud to my boys who've enjoyed the adventure tales, but I've also set that aside to read Oscar Hijuelos' entire young adult novel, Dark Dude, to pre-read for my eldest--to his dismay, too, because I judged it a worthwhile book to read and discuss with him later when he's a teen. It was rightly labeled as YA fiction. But for personal reading, I began and then put down Douglas Adams’ Life, The Universe, and Everything. I have Hitchhiker’s Guide practically memorized as evident when watching the BBC miniseries earlier this month, so I started Life for something fun and slightly different. Then I got sidetracked by Dan Brown's Angels and Demons which I'd read before. I picked it up this time because a friend returned it to me and it was sitting on my coffee table. I set that aside because I remembered the plot too well and was in more of an Austen mood, so I shifted to Mansfield Park which I don't remember with as much detail. I got through the pleasant and scholarly introduction and the first few chapters, but then there was a $5 per bag book sale at my local library, and, well...that was dangerous. Problematically, my boys read through their bag too quickly. (Not really a problem for this mama.) Returning to the library so they could check out new books, I saw The Otter of Death by Betty Webb. With a goofy summertime fun title like that, how could I pass it up?
And this is why I have a stack of books on my bedside table and no title next to the date at the top of this post.
And this is why I have a stack of books on my bedside table and no title next to the date at the top of this post.
24 June 2018 The Wild Muir
"What dreams and speculative matter for thought arose as I stood on the strand [of the Gulf of Mexico], gazing out on the burnished, treeless plain!"
John Muir's collection of short stories, selected and introduced by Lee Stetson, is a perfect read while vacationing in the woods. His excitement for his surroundings makes me desire that joy wherever I go, whatever small adventure I find.
John Muir's collection of short stories, selected and introduced by Lee Stetson, is a perfect read while vacationing in the woods. His excitement for his surroundings makes me desire that joy wherever I go, whatever small adventure I find.
23 June 2018 finishing northanger AbBey
I giggled my way through Northanger Abbey. The story was typical Austen romance, but the author's interruptions were biting satire. I'll re-read more, sooner rather than later.
14 June 2018 Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey
I just played a Jane Austen board game, called Polite Society, with a friend, so I felt the need to re-read one of her novels. This is a good one because it is both Jane Austen and Gothic fiction.
"No one who had ever seen Catherine Moreland in her infancy would have supposed her born to be an heroine."
"No one who had ever seen Catherine Moreland in her infancy would have supposed her born to be an heroine."
24 May 2018 Sarah Domet's The GuIneveres
Another debut novel and runner-up for the Townsend Award, this is a story of four girls linked by their being placed in a Catholic orphanage and the further bond of all being named Guinevere. These fast friends do everything together: learn, work, pray, miss their families, and dream of a future.
"What we didn't know yet was how much we'd come to need these boys. We didn't know yet how these wounded soldiers would undo us, or that they'd unravel us, one by one. That's the power of prayer, the risk of it, too: You never know how God will answer."
"What we didn't know yet was how much we'd come to need these boys. We didn't know yet how these wounded soldiers would undo us, or that they'd unravel us, one by one. That's the power of prayer, the risk of it, too: You never know how God will answer."
9 May 2018 Julia Franks' Over the Plain Houses
This debut novel won the Townsend Award, and I was fortunate enough to be at the award dinner to see Franks accept it because I'm a reader for Perimeter College's Chattahoochee Review. (plug, plug for an awesome literary journal).
NPR calls this novel "a spellbinding story of witchcraft and disobedience" (from the cover). I'm already fascinated by the protagonist, her secrecy, and the rural town in which she lives.
NPR calls this novel "a spellbinding story of witchcraft and disobedience" (from the cover). I'm already fascinated by the protagonist, her secrecy, and the rural town in which she lives.
2 MaY 2018 Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One
”Then, on the evening of February 11, 2045, an avatar’s name appeared at the top of the Scoreboard, for the whole world to see. After five long years, the Copper Key had finally been found, by an eighteen-year-old kid living in a trailer park on the outskirts of Oklahoma City.”
The boys gave this novel to my husband for his birthday. He read it quickly and recommended it to me. A sci-fi story full of 80’s references? Sure, I’ll give it a try.
The boys gave this novel to my husband for his birthday. He read it quickly and recommended it to me. A sci-fi story full of 80’s references? Sure, I’ll give it a try.
22 April 2018 Tom Hanks’ Uncommon Type
As it turns out, I did want to read this all at once. Hanks’ stories were quick reads, enjoyable, and nostalgic.
8 April 2018 Dan Brown's Origin
"FACT: All art, architecture, locations, science, and religious organizations in this novel are real."
I went back to The Beautiful and the Damned but then was reminded I hadn't read Dan Brown's latest. I should put Fitzgerald back on the shelf of "someday books" and stop feeling guilty at the dust collecting on his characters. Right now, I've got to speed through Spain with Robert Langdon and his cast of sidekicks. He's going to solve a history/art/religion/technology murder mystery. Again. There's a great speech near the beginning of the book, asking the audience (and readers alike) to think of the world with childlike wonder: "...let us lie out beneath the stars, with our minds wide open to all possibilities." I need to remember this advice more often! |
I love stargazing in my backyard, so this quote was especially fun to try to paint.
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5 April 2018 Tom Hanks' Uncommon Type
“In the time I spend lollygagging over my whites and colors, Anna will drywall her attic, prepare her taxes, make her own fresh pasta, and start up a clothing exchange on the Internet.”
Yes, that Tom Hanks. The actor can write, too. His short stories, so far, are delightful. A quick read. And each story has some mention of a typewriter to connect the collection thematically. I don't actually want to read all of these stories all at once. Instead, I think I'll keep this book by my bedside to enjoy a quick-witted story for when I'm between longer novels.
Yes, that Tom Hanks. The actor can write, too. His short stories, so far, are delightful. A quick read. And each story has some mention of a typewriter to connect the collection thematically. I don't actually want to read all of these stories all at once. Instead, I think I'll keep this book by my bedside to enjoy a quick-witted story for when I'm between longer novels.
14 March 2018 Rick Riordan's Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer
“My name is Magnus Chase. I’m sixteen years old. This is the story of how my life went downhill after I got myself killed.”
The writing doesn't get much better after the joke that begins this series.
Healthy boys, life back to normal, but they are still enjoying reading aloud. I wouldn't dream of stopping our newly re-instituted evening routine...but I'm also tired of Rick Riordan. Greeks? Did that series. Romans? Read that one aloud, too. I at least knew how to pronounce all of those words. But the Norse? Now I'm stumbling. Yet, I'm learning new things--to an extent--and adding to my vocabulary a bit. Norse mythology needs a pronunciation guide.
My youngest is very happy to read aloud, but he's also started reading chapters ahead so he can "pre-laugh" at the jokes to show off each night. I've accepted the challenge (and the excuse not to read every chapter aloud) and started racing him through the book just like I have done in the past with his big brother. Right now he's a chapter ahead and thinks he's a champ. I wouldn't have it any other way.
Someday I'll get back to Fitzgerald, but first I gotta read and snuggle with my kids.
The writing doesn't get much better after the joke that begins this series.
Healthy boys, life back to normal, but they are still enjoying reading aloud. I wouldn't dream of stopping our newly re-instituted evening routine...but I'm also tired of Rick Riordan. Greeks? Did that series. Romans? Read that one aloud, too. I at least knew how to pronounce all of those words. But the Norse? Now I'm stumbling. Yet, I'm learning new things--to an extent--and adding to my vocabulary a bit. Norse mythology needs a pronunciation guide.
My youngest is very happy to read aloud, but he's also started reading chapters ahead so he can "pre-laugh" at the jokes to show off each night. I've accepted the challenge (and the excuse not to read every chapter aloud) and started racing him through the book just like I have done in the past with his big brother. Right now he's a chapter ahead and thinks he's a champ. I wouldn't have it any other way.
Someday I'll get back to Fitzgerald, but first I gotta read and snuggle with my kids.
27 February 2018 Norton Juster's the phantom tollbooth
“... what you learn today, for no reason at all, will help you discover all the wonderful secrets of tomorrow.”
I have loved this book since I was in the 4th grade and my friend Heather gave it to me while I was recovering from a fall, a trip to the hospital, and a broken arm. I'm now reading it aloud to my boys because of a similar silly childhood injury. My oldest has a concussion that keeps him from screens (oh, the horror!) and, more tragically for him, from reading to himself. So, we're back to his younger days of mom and dad reading aloud. Thank goodness for great books with characters like Milo, Tock, and the Humbug off on their imaginary adventures. |
The Mathemagician offers great advice to Milo.
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5 February 2018 I got a bit behind in keeping track of my reading....
I finished House of Mirth. Oh, what good reading that was! I enjoyed crying at the end. Then I had to explain to my boys that I wasn't actually sad, but that I was happily sad. I enjoyed the way Edith Wharton made me feel sad at the end of her novel. I'm not actually giving anything away because a careful reader will see that Lily does not make the best decisions, but I was sad anyway for Selden and the other characters. Because I liked the writing so much, I actually painted some of the lines from this novel. If I can figure out how to upload them, you'll see my art posted soon.
But then I pre-read Department Nineteen for my oldest who wants to start reading horror novels. I like horror novels, but I couldn't enjoy this one. The alliteratively named Will Hill added too many incongruous things within this debut novel for me to successfully suspend my disbelief. A teenager copes with the death of his father and the kidnapping of his mother? Okay. I can deal. A secret government agency to combat vampires? Okay. Created by Van Helsing (from Bram Stoker's Dracula). Sure, why not? But that includes Bram Stoker as a character so the story can be "meta"? Um...Starting to struggle. And the agency sends an agent to save and recruit the boy? Eh...recruit the teenager who just witnessed his family's destruction to go off and kill vampires? Now I have issues. And the agent that recruits him is Victor Frankenstein? What?!? But not Victor Frankenstein, the scientist, but the monster who is now a calmer creature who took his creator's name to honor him? Now I have more issues. Then, for no reason, there's a side trip as part of the back story, where the British characters travel to the US and meet, through nothing but coincidence, F. Scott Fitzgerald. There's no reason this author is part of the novel because he does nothing to help the characters or to further the plot. I was done with the book far before I got to the last chapter, but I carried on to ensure it is age appropriate for my child. Sadly, he'll probably enjoy it.
And now, because of the Fitzgerald reference, I'm sure, I pulled a book off my shelf that I picked up at the bookstore a while ago: The Beautiful and the Damned. So far, I've finished the introduction. Perhaps tonight I'll get to Chapter One.
But then I pre-read Department Nineteen for my oldest who wants to start reading horror novels. I like horror novels, but I couldn't enjoy this one. The alliteratively named Will Hill added too many incongruous things within this debut novel for me to successfully suspend my disbelief. A teenager copes with the death of his father and the kidnapping of his mother? Okay. I can deal. A secret government agency to combat vampires? Okay. Created by Van Helsing (from Bram Stoker's Dracula). Sure, why not? But that includes Bram Stoker as a character so the story can be "meta"? Um...Starting to struggle. And the agency sends an agent to save and recruit the boy? Eh...recruit the teenager who just witnessed his family's destruction to go off and kill vampires? Now I have issues. And the agent that recruits him is Victor Frankenstein? What?!? But not Victor Frankenstein, the scientist, but the monster who is now a calmer creature who took his creator's name to honor him? Now I have more issues. Then, for no reason, there's a side trip as part of the back story, where the British characters travel to the US and meet, through nothing but coincidence, F. Scott Fitzgerald. There's no reason this author is part of the novel because he does nothing to help the characters or to further the plot. I was done with the book far before I got to the last chapter, but I carried on to ensure it is age appropriate for my child. Sadly, he'll probably enjoy it.
And now, because of the Fitzgerald reference, I'm sure, I pulled a book off my shelf that I picked up at the bookstore a while ago: The Beautiful and the Damned. So far, I've finished the introduction. Perhaps tonight I'll get to Chapter One.
3 January 2018 Edith Wharton's House of Mirth
"Selden paused in surprise. In the afternoon rush of the Grand Central Station his eyes had been refreshed by the sight of Miss Lily Bart."
This book is a biting commentary on New York society in the early 20th century as an aging (29-year-old) Lily Bart strives to find herself a rich husband. The writing, so far, is sharp, the details are relevant (unlike when I'd read Wharton's The Age of Innocence), and the characters, while predictable types, make me want to see how Wharton will move them through her plot since I know the ending will not be the standard romantic ideal.
This book is a biting commentary on New York society in the early 20th century as an aging (29-year-old) Lily Bart strives to find herself a rich husband. The writing, so far, is sharp, the details are relevant (unlike when I'd read Wharton's The Age of Innocence), and the characters, while predictable types, make me want to see how Wharton will move them through her plot since I know the ending will not be the standard romantic ideal.
24 December 2017 Ulysses No More
"yes I said yes I will Yes.”
Finished in time to discuss it with my book club. Whoo-hoo! Wow! What a difference the final four chapters made! I can't say they were easy to read, but they got me hooked. James Joyce did NOT disappoint. I enjoyed the book far more at the end, and I now think that I'll go back to re-read it (not soon, but at some point) to try to appreciate what I'd missed in the earlier chapters. It may take a third read, realistically. But, I'll look forward to that, too. |
art by yours truly: refrigerator magnets of my favorite Ulysses quotes
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November and December: What I've done instead of Reading ulysses
I haven't completely given up on this book. I'm just not giving it my full attention.
- I celebrated reaching the halfway point.
- I chose to grade essays and work on next semester's classes earlier in this semester than I normally would.
- I finished out my semester and began winter break.
- I painted 6 canvases to give to my nieces and nephew for Christmas.
- I read Superheroes and Halos by my friend Maria Morera Johnson because I was tired of looking forward to it as a treat once I finished Ulysses. I was right not to wait! That book was awesome!
- I took up a new hobby.
- I used my wood-burning pen to draw on wood, excellent results.
- I helped my youngest make wooden candy dispensers for his Christmas presents and to complete his requirements for his Cub Scout Bear badge. Roar!
- I baked cookies.
- I ate cookies.
- I ate M&Ms out of a candy dispenser.
26 October 2017 still Ulysses
I'm almost to the halfway mark in this book. I will celebrate when I get there.
The last chapter ended with a surreal conversation and an amusing italicized word.
Done.
Not yet, but I'm still working on it.
The last chapter ended with a surreal conversation and an amusing italicized word.
Done.
Not yet, but I'm still working on it.
27 September 2017 Still reading Ulysses
I really looked forward to reading this book. I loved Joyce's A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man. I loved Dubliners. This is a different book altogether. The wordplay is fun at times, so I do enjoy that. The literary allusions are wonderful, too. I'm catching the references to mythology (thanks to my recent reread of The Odyssey) and the less subtle ones to Shakespeare. The dialogue in Latin, I admit, is over my head. Where's the translation? Not in my copy.
The constant stream-of-consciousness is a struggle. The sentence fragments are driving this English teacher crazy. I'm 200 pages into this 1,000+ page literary masterpiece hoping that it will click for me soon because right now, I'm skimming to get the gist of it. I don't want to dislike this book when there are so many aspects of it that are fun, but right now, I feel like I'm back in college reading The Sound and the Fury. That didn't go well for me, either.
Out of curiosity, I looked up the book online, and I actually understand a lot more of what's going on than I thought I did. I'm just not enjoying the style, and I'm still in the exposition portion of the novel, so none of the action has begun yet. Soon, soon...
The constant stream-of-consciousness is a struggle. The sentence fragments are driving this English teacher crazy. I'm 200 pages into this 1,000+ page literary masterpiece hoping that it will click for me soon because right now, I'm skimming to get the gist of it. I don't want to dislike this book when there are so many aspects of it that are fun, but right now, I feel like I'm back in college reading The Sound and the Fury. That didn't go well for me, either.
Out of curiosity, I looked up the book online, and I actually understand a lot more of what's going on than I thought I did. I'm just not enjoying the style, and I'm still in the exposition portion of the novel, so none of the action has begun yet. Soon, soon...
6 September 2017 James Joyce's Ulysses
"Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed."
And so my reading begins...
And so my reading begins...
23 August 2017 back to The Odyssey
My oldest finished The Westing Game before I did. Mainly because I'm a nice mom and let him read it until his bedtime. I knew I could read it after he was asleep. Our breakfast conversation the next morning was a lot of fun, but muted and in code because I brought the book into the kitchen and my youngest started on Chapter 1.
Now I'm back to The Odyssey and my determination to finish it soon. We'll see when I next add to this list....
Now I'm back to The Odyssey and my determination to finish it soon. We'll see when I next add to this list....
18 August 2017 Ellen Raskin's The Westing Game
"Who were these people, these specially selected tenants? They were mothers and fathers and children. A dressmaker, a secretary, an inventor, a doctor, a judge. And, oh yes, one was a bookie, one was a burglar, one was a bomber, and one was a mistake. Barney Northrup had rented one of the apartments to the wrong person."
Now I'm in trouble. I haven't finished The Odyssey, nor have I started Ulysses, which is the book I actually need to read for my book club meeting, and I found myself in a bookstore yesterday. I never go to bookstores, actual, physical book stores. There aren't any near my house. I buy my print online. So, when I was near a Barnes & Noble, I had to go in. The aroma of pages and coffee was too strong to resist.
I left the store with one book actually for me (F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Beautiful and the Damned) and...more than one...for my boys. I'm now racing my oldest to finish reading The Westing Game because it is a murder mystery puzzle code, etc, book. The author, Ellen Raskin, won the Newberry Medal for it, but deliberately didn't write a YA Fiction novel because she didn't read children's books and didn't know how to write them (according to the book's introduction). She wrote a book she thought her audience would like, and I appreciate it anytime an author doesn't try to write to a young audience. Most of the time, they write "down" to kids. My boys (and I--because I do a lot of pre-reading) don't need that in our well-read lives. Just tell us a good story, please!
I'm on Chapter 8, and my son's on Chapter 7, so I win for number of pages...so far. Now we just have to figure out whodunit!
Now I'm in trouble. I haven't finished The Odyssey, nor have I started Ulysses, which is the book I actually need to read for my book club meeting, and I found myself in a bookstore yesterday. I never go to bookstores, actual, physical book stores. There aren't any near my house. I buy my print online. So, when I was near a Barnes & Noble, I had to go in. The aroma of pages and coffee was too strong to resist.
I left the store with one book actually for me (F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Beautiful and the Damned) and...more than one...for my boys. I'm now racing my oldest to finish reading The Westing Game because it is a murder mystery puzzle code, etc, book. The author, Ellen Raskin, won the Newberry Medal for it, but deliberately didn't write a YA Fiction novel because she didn't read children's books and didn't know how to write them (according to the book's introduction). She wrote a book she thought her audience would like, and I appreciate it anytime an author doesn't try to write to a young audience. Most of the time, they write "down" to kids. My boys (and I--because I do a lot of pre-reading) don't need that in our well-read lives. Just tell us a good story, please!
I'm on Chapter 8, and my son's on Chapter 7, so I win for number of pages...so far. Now we just have to figure out whodunit!
16 august 2017 homer's The Odyssey, translated by Robert fitzgerald
"All my years of misadventures, given by those on high!" from Book Seven
I'm reading The Odyssey to prepare for my book club's reading and discussion of James Joyce's Ulysses. The going is slow through this 24 book narrative because I'm enjoying stumbling through the Greek proper nouns and the references to mythology, but I'm also savoring the qualities of Ancient Greek literature: the calls to the gods, the repetition, and the storytelling among its characters.
I'm reading The Odyssey to prepare for my book club's reading and discussion of James Joyce's Ulysses. The going is slow through this 24 book narrative because I'm enjoying stumbling through the Greek proper nouns and the references to mythology, but I'm also savoring the qualities of Ancient Greek literature: the calls to the gods, the repetition, and the storytelling among its characters.