View Full Version : What are you reading in 2012?
Last year's reading thread was so much fun (and had gotten so long) I thought a new year deserved a new thread!
I am reading several classics in daily installments through http://www.dailylit.com. Somehow I had gotten through life without ever reading "Treasure Island." I'm also reading "The Virginian," which is a classic western, and "Hard Times" by Charles Dickens. I've always wanted to read more Dickens, but I totally bogged down in "Tale of Two Cities" last year. I think I like Dickens better when he's writing about his own times rather than a historical novel. All three are great reads and I enjoy the suspense of having to wait to find out what happens next.
IshbelRobertson
1-1-12, 6:36pm
We have just had a new version of Dickens' Great Expectations on BBC TV here, with Gillian Anderson as Miss Havisham. Whilst she has had mixed reviews, I thought she was wonderful! We also have Edwin Drood to look forward to in the next couple of months.
I have just downloaded ALL Dickens' works for my kindle (I think it cost me 99pence!) - as I made a decision to re-read ALL his works this year. I'm starting with The Old Curiosity Shop - I hated it when I read it at school, and couldn't wait for Little Nell to die.... Let's see how it goes re-reading as an adult!
Well, I've got plans! Unbroken for one, and Those who save us for another.
I got a Kindle Fire and have already started reading again - which feels like a miracle in and of itself!! LOL. I have only downloaded "free" books, but am enjoying Snow In Winter right now. I've also downloaded a series of books on Buddhism that I will read next. I also finally got a copy of One Man's Wilderness and am reading that in the evening. Looking forward to adding titles to my "must read" list.
Cloth, Paper, Scissors, a multi-media collage how-to book. I prefer technique books to project ones, but there is useful information (on products and media, mostly) to be teased out of this. I might buy it used.
I've just launched into George R. R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series, starting with the first volume, "A Game of Thrones." I'd been avoiding it because I'd heard how he takes so long between books, and how frustrated his fans are. But a friend offered to lend them to me, and now I'm sunk. :0!
Bastelmutti
1-2-12, 2:10pm
I downloaded The Count of Monte Cristo to my phone to see if I can read a book on it. Might start that tomorrow while waiting in the dentist's office. Also downloaded a decluttering guide from a blog and would like to read a few more e-books by blog authors. On my list is also something from Zen Habits. Oh, and re-perusing How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.
Just finished Robopocalypse by Daniel Wilson. Basically, it was about a Terminator-like Robots Against Humans war, with a slightly more positive outlook for the humans and no time travel. I'm not sure why the author structured the novel with the ending in the prologue, but it was a very fun, readable book and I love a good apocalypse. At one point, there are even robot-powered zombies! How can you not love that?
Just finished "The Greenhouse," by Audur Ada Olafsdottir, an English translation from Icelandic. The imagery is beautiful, and the plot is seemingly simple, but thoughtful. It's about an introspective young man from Iceland who takes a job as a monastery's gardener in a foreign country. He's 22 and recently fathered a child on a one-night stand. His mother was recently killed in an auto accident; he has an elderly father and an autistic twin brother.
This all makes for a page-turner, but I thought about it a lot when I wasn't reading, and since finishing it. It's very different, and I hope the author writes again.
As usual, I have several books going:
Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber
Giotto by Norbert Wolf
Catherine the Great by Robert Massie
I am reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Begins in 1939 in Germany and told through the experiences of "Death" as a character. Very different and absorbing.
AmeliaJane
1-14-12, 2:31pm
I came across a series of children's books, new to me and very charming, by Eric Sanvoisin called "Inkdrinker." It is about a little boy who becomes a vampire, but he sucks ink out of books instead of blood out of people. It's translated from the French, so the voice is a little different. I have one niece in particular in mind to share it with. Gave another pair of nieces the classic Madeleine for Christmas. It still works--their dad is giving me dirty looks when I come over because he's had to read it so many times--but I hadn't thought through how odd a convent school and, for instance, a doctor who visits you at home would seem to modern children.
Well, I've got plans! Unbroken for one, and Those who save us for another.
Am nearly done with Unbroken. It's fantastic. Is a movie in the works yet, I wonder?
happystuff
1-14-12, 7:00pm
I finally finished a leasurely read of One Man's Wilderness by Richard Preonecke (sp). The PBS show Alone In the Wilderness is some the film footage Richard took while living in Alaska. I've always wanted the book and finally got it for Christmas. Now I want the others!!
Have some free downloads onto the Kindle that I can't remember the names of but the current one is simple living related. My "to read" stack is still pretty high - lol.
Run! - by Dean Karnazes, who runs ultra-marathons. His long training runs are for like 40-50 miles! My Sport is your sport's punishment! Great quote. Great read for runners.
Van Gogh: A Life
What a sad life he led...
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, a teen fantasy novel. It's pretty good. It's novelty is that is uses genuine old photographs to illustrated the odd people in the story.
Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber
This is a beautifully written account of a young woman's journey to Christian faith. Caro arrives as a scholarship student from Canada in Oxford to study the literature of the Romantic poets. The beautiful descriptions of student life in Oxford are certainly enough to keep one reading but the spiritual questions that she asks are so universal that it was hard to put down. As she questions and searches for answers, her honesty, humor, and humility keep the book from being pompous or condescending. The many references to literature have me wanting to pull out my old volumes of English literature and drink in the beauty of the masters. In addition to the story of God's love, a tender human love story unfolds.
Not everyone will find the answers that Caro finds, but just about everyone asks the same questions
Brad Steiger's Real Monsters, Gruesome Critters, and Beasts from the Darkside, a stew of tales of crypto-beasts, denizens of folk tales, and assorted menacing creatures, real or imaginary. I'm especially drawn to the Nixie, a race of seductive figures who lead unwary revelers to a watery demise. It makes me think of the mysterious deaths of young men who leave nightspots only to be found dead in the nearest body of water. I really should be a screenwriter...
ETA: I really shouldn't. But I'd love for someone who is to run with that particular idea.
IshbelRobertson
1-15-12, 5:41pm
Jerusalem by Simon Sebag Montifiore.
crunchycon
1-16-12, 11:59am
DH and I have just discovered CJ Box (the Joe Pickett series), and are enjoying working through the series. We're picking up uber-cheap paperbacks at the secondhand store, then returning them for credit. Am also currently reading "How to be Perfect: One Church's Experiment in Living the Old Testament Book of Leviticus."
Next on deck: "The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains."
AmeliaJane
1-16-12, 10:45pm
My current fun book is "Texas Gothic" by Rosemary Clement. It's about a young woman from a family of witches who runs into Scary and Dangerous Things in the Texas hill country. I don't find that many contemporary books set in Texas, plus it's a good fastpaced read.
Giotto by Norbert Wolf.
My career was in the medical field and I have little knowledge of art or art history. Now that I have retired, I want to explore this area. So my husband and I are reading about an artist and his work each month. We began this month with the 14th century painter Giotto. Norbert Wolf's 90 page book on Giotto was a good choice for a beginner. The variety of his work is impressive --not variety of subject because the vast majority was religious. We took a trip to Italy in 2001. We went to Rome and Florence but if we were to go again, we would make sure to see the Arena Chapel in Padua. The pictures in this small book show a wide variety of his work. The text describes the time, place, and technique of the paintings in a manner understandable to a beginner like me. Next month we stay in Italy but move forward in time to Brunelleschi and his magnificent dome.
I'm reading the very entertaining Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything. It's fascinating - and he encourages you to follow along as he learns the mnemonic tricks used by people who do incredible feats of...well...remembering things. My husband was aghast when, reading in bed, I was able to remember a long list of VERY random objects in the book easily. I still can, in fact, several days later. Weird wild stuff.
Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James. If Jane Austen herself did not actually write at least the first chapter of this book, surely P.D. James was channeling her when she wrote it. Did you ever wonder what happened after Jane and Bingley and Elizabeth and Darcy married? P.D. James enlightens us in this delightful sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. There is a murder at Pemberley and the morally challenged brother-in-law and husband of Lydia, Wickham, is the obvious suspect. The murder sets the stage for the delicate interactions among the characters from Pride and Prejudice. A delightful, pleasant read.
At age 92, P.D. James is still dazzling us with her amazing talent.
Lionel Shriver So Much for That
My goodness, I had no idea how difficult the US medical system is. The hero has a dream of a simple life (love those kind of books!) and is about to launch into it when his wife reveals she has cancer. Scarilty quickly an enormous amount of money goes west.
It sounded a bit depressing - I only started reading because Lionel Shriver was in Australia recently and she has a wonderful sharpness and acidity about how she speaks and so I wanted to read her writing. I didn't find it depressing though to read because her writing (and her characters) are quite wonderful. And ther hero's best friend does these amazing raves about modern American life - I think I learnt a lot about modern American life. It's a great read and not at all 'heavy' even if the subject matter sounds 'heavy'. Has anyone else read it?
In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson. In 1933 President Franklin Roosevelt named a new ambassador To Germany, William E. Dodd who was a professor of history at the University of Chicago. This book covers his 4 years as ambassador during the rise to power of Adolf Hitler. Ambassador Dodd brought his family with him—his wife and grown son and daughter. The first year was a study in willful blindness to the growing evil of Nazism. It is understandable only by remembering how strong the isolationist sentiment was at that time and how prevalent anti-Semitism was in the United States. After the first year though the Dodd family’s eyes were open to the horrors. Much of the time Dodd was at odds with the State Department which seemed more intent on recovering bonds from the German government than in facing Hitler. The strain of living in Germany during those years caused a decline in Dodd’s health and he retired at the end of 1937. After that, he spent much of his time and energy to alerting the citizens of the U.S. to the mounting danger from Germany. The book included (maybe a bit too much) the various love affairs of his daughter Martha. All in all, it presented a realistic picture of a family from Chicago suddenly plopped into the middle of the rising Third Reich where they had great cognitive dissonance between their expectations of a civilized society and their observation of a descent into barbarism.
domestic goddess
2-9-12, 1:35pm
It looks as if some of my next reading will be books mentioned here. Right now I'm reading Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich. It is a challenging read for me because I don't normally put much stock in visions and I find even "modernized" Old English strange. Now that I can carry a number of books with me easily on my e-reader, I'm really ready to spend a lot of time reading.
domestic goddess
2-9-12, 1:44pm
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, a teen fantasy novel. It's pretty good. It's novelty is that is uses genuine old photographs to illustrated the odd people in the story.
That sounds like something my 10 year old granddaughter would enjoy. I'm going to look for it for her.
domestic goddess
2-9-12, 1:46pm
I came across a series of children's books, new to me and very charming, by Eric Sanvoisin called "Inkdrinker." It is about a little boy who becomes a vampire, but he sucks ink out of books instead of blood out of people. It's translated from the French, so the voice is a little different. I have one niece in particular in mind to share it with. Gave another pair of nieces the classic Madeleine for Christmas. It still works--their dad is giving me dirty looks when I come over because he's had to read it so many times--but I hadn't thought through how odd a convent school and, for instance, a doctor who visits you at home would seem to modern children.
The Inkdrinker sounds like a good book for my 7 year old granddaughter. Both girls have read some of the Madeleine books, too.
I would never have thought that a 575 page biography could possibly hold my attention all the way through. But Catherine the Great by Robert Massie did just that. Catherine comes across as a real flesh and blood person. From her birth and early years as the daughter of a minor noblel in Germany to her horrific marriage to young Peter through her long reign as empress of all the Russias, this book make her come alive. She lived and loved on an immense scale. I won't even try to enumerate her interests and accomplishments; I will leave that story to Robert Massie and encourage you to meet Catherine through his book.
I'm currently reading The Last Well Person by Nortin T. Hadler, M.D. This is the sanest book I've ever read on how to use the health care system to your own best interests. He has a really interesting take on heavy-duty medication and surgery that I've seen nowhere else, essentially that a lot of people will die when they are due to die and medical intervention merely gives them the choice of "cause of death".
Gardenarian
2-13-12, 4:30pm
Just discovered a great author - Robin McKinley. Don't know where she's been all my life! Working my way through all of her books - love "The Blue Sword" and "Outlaws of Sherwood."
Also, 5 stars to Reginald Hill for "The Wodcutter" !! love this book! Get it from the library today!
domestic goddess
2-15-12, 8:03pm
Just finished The Vault by Ruth Rendell. It is the latest in the Inspector Wexford series, only he is now retired, and no longer an Inspector. I have read that she is in her late 90"s, and still writing books that are page turners! I really liked it.
I'm reading the books Man Seeks God: My Flirtations with the Divine and You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You're Deluding Yourself Both very challenging and funny.
I read The Last Well Person a few weeks ago. It was a good read, and I agree with him on so many things, but I was a little offput by his insistence that most of what we do for prevention -- from breast exams to vitamins to alternative therapies -- are a waste of time in his opinion. My husband read it and said, "So.....we shouldn't do anything at all. We should just die?" But a lot of intriguing ideas about invasive treatments and drugs.
AmeliaJane
2-16-12, 8:00pm
Thanks so much for the info about The Vault! I love the Inspector Wexford novels...I missed that there is a new one out. Since the author writes non-series books too, it can be quite awhile between books. Amazon mentioned that the book ties into another, earlier book (non-Wexford) so I have requested that too. The Wexford series is one of the few mystery series that has held up for me over time, and even improved.
I just read The Pluto Files by Neil deGrasse Tyson. I heard him speak earlier this year and loved his passion for science education. I've been doing a lot of work-related reading lately, so recreational reading has been limited...
flowerseverywhere
2-16-12, 8:25pm
Giotto by Norbert Wolf.
My career was in the medical field and I have little knowledge of art or art history. Now that I have retired, I want to explore this area. So my husband and I are reading about an artist and his work each month. We began this month with the 14th century painter Giotto. Norbert Wolf's 90 page book on Giotto was a good choice for a beginner. The variety of his work is impressive --not variety of subject because the vast majority was religious. We took a trip to Italy in 2001. We went to Rome and Florence but if we were to go again, we would make sure to see the Arena Chapel in Padua. The pictures in this small book show a wide variety of his work. The text describes the time, place, and technique of the paintings in a manner understandable to a beginner like me. Next month we stay in Italy but move forward in time to Brunelleschi and his magnificent dome.
Florence I love the Bruneleschi dome book if you are thinking of the Ross King one. Also, the Pope's ceiling.
I do love "Agony and the Ecstacy" by Irving Stone about Michealangelo and his faith to the Medici Popes and how he walked all over Italy. Fascinating book. And by the same Author, Letters to Theo about Vincent Van Gogh.
One of my hobbies is reading about the most famous artists. I think my favorite is Michaelangelo- a pure genius.
Flowers, I loved Brunelleschi's Dome too. In fact, if you ever have a chance to watch this series, I was totally engrossed: http://www.amazon.com/Empires-Godfathers-Renaissance-Ross-King/dp/B0007KIFW8 I've actually watched the whole series twice. Really good.
"So.....we shouldn't do anything at all. We should just die?"
I am reading the latest book by the same author (I think) called Healthy Aging and thus far, this was my exact thought. According to him, all the things we think are so important, diet, exercise, etc are highly over-rated in the grand scheme of how long people live. The strongest indicators for long life, according to him are level of education/job status just prior to retirement and a sense of community belonging.
Oh thank heavens. Now I can just sit on my beeehind and eat bacon cheeseburgers for the rest of my life, knowing my degree and my community belonging will get me through! :D I think I will take Blue Zones out of the library again, just to refresh my memory on it. It had a great (and simple) set of tenets for a long and happy life: Happy work, community involvement, family, diet, physical activity, less stress, etc.
Reading Life by Keith Richards. I'm skimming some of the stuff, but it's really pretty interesting. He's pretty articulate, even with all the f-bombs.
Just finished Hadler's Rethinking Aging and that it made me do.
Currently on Moonwalking with Einstein courtesty of pug's suggestion
Also starting a brand new book called The Power of Habit which is fascinating.
domestic goddess
3-8-12, 2:18pm
Still slogging through Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich. Read a gem by Joan Chittister called God's Tender Mercies, about forgiveness. And Richard Rohr's Woundrous Encounters during this Lenten Season.
Unfallen Dead (book 3, Connor Grey series), by Mark del Franco; The Opposite of Fate, an autobiography by Amy Tan; and a whole clutch of books on art quilts and surface decoration
I just finished Switch: Changing Things When Change is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath. I got it (maybe on a a recommendation from this forum) thinking it was about personal change--while there is information about that, the really valuable parts for me address institutional change and fostering change when you are not in a position of authority. I really recommend it and plan to use some of the information at my workplace.
Also reading a bunch of graphic novels--Ex Machina about a guy who can talk to machines, Bone by Jeff Smith which my nephew loves, but recommended for all ages, and Locke and Key which is a darker fantasy-horror comic about a family living in a mysterious house with doors opened by magical keys. The last is darker than I normally like, but the characters are so well written I have stuck with it.
"My Stroke of Insight" by Jill Bolt Taylor. A brain scientist who had a stroke herself in her 30s and survived to write about it and her spiritual and other insights from it. She also gave a TED talk so you can google her on that to see the very brief summary.
Search the Dark by Charles Todd. Inspector Ian Rutledge solves another murder while listening to his inner tormentor, Hamish, a relic from his time on the Western Front. A good read; unlike Inspector Rutledge, I never know until the very end who the villain is.
Gaia's Garden. It is one of those aha books that has totally changed my mind about the way to garden. Kind of like how Tightwad Gazette so many years ago changed my way of thinking about how to live.
C.S. Lewis' Surprised by Joy
Not one damn thing that I like, that's what I've been reading.
Not one damn thing that I like, that's what I've been reading.
ha! I get into those droughts too. And then I think well maybe those amazon suggestions on what other books you should buy aren't such a bad idea, even though that type of personal targeted advertising creeps me out. A conundrum.
I'm reading a fascinating book titled Herbal Antibiotics by Stephen Harrod Buhner. The author is very knowledgable and makes excellent arguments for herbal medicine over antibiotics.
rosarugosa
3-17-12, 2:36pm
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese - excellent so far.
Beautiful Minds: The Parallel Lives of Great Apes and Dolphins by Bearzi and Stanford. Dolphins and apes and humans--all quite different, yet alike in many ways. This book explores the parallel evolution and the development of intelligence in dolphins and apes.
The book details the ability *of these intelligent creatures to develop family bonds, form alliances, and care for their young. *The culture, politics, social structure, personality, and capacity for emotion are discussed with wonderful examples. *This dual portrait—with striking overlaps in behavior—is key to understanding the nature of “beautiful minds.”
The last section of the book discusses the perilous plight of these creatures as their habitat is rapidly being destroyed and what can be done to reverse this and save these beautiful min
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese - excellent so far.
This book is excellent from start to finish. I know you won't be able to put it down--I couldn't.
Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking
I loved this book because it validated so much of what I am--an introvert. *
Our*culture favors extroversion and looks down on introverts. *The author challenges both introverts who may need to develop skills to have a successful life in an extrovert oriented culture and extroverts to learn to appreciate the unique attributes that introverts can bring. *
I found the first section very interesting in talking about how we have moved from a Culture of Character which values virtue and wisdom to a Culture of Personality which values American Idol. *The second section discusses*many the biological factors of introversion and extroversion. The third section discusses Asian cultures which place more value on quiet, studious ness, humility, and careful thoughtfulness. *The fourth section is very helpful because of the advice for living with extroverts and raising and teaching introverted children.
Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
Well, I was just blown away by this book and its unblinking look into the hideous treatment of Muslim women. Ayaan Hirsi Ali experienced it all from female genital mutilation, to a forced marriage, to death threats because she spoke out against the mutilation, beatings, and honor killings of women under Islam.
If you are a person who thinks of Islam as a religion of peace, I challenge you to read this book.
Florence I read that, and at the same time I read two other books about Muslim women from North African countries, so I get them mixed up. The book you mentioned is about the chick who emigrated to The Netherlands, right? And then to the U.S? She's pretty hard core about rejecting her mother religion.
I think of Islam as being neither peaceful or violent, but those who practice it fall on either side of the coin.
The other books about North African Muslim women were not as good as the Ali book. One of the books I read was about a woman who claimed to have been kept as a sex slave for Osama Bin Ladin. That one was a little Out There. She shared in her book that Osama loved Whitney Houston, thought that she was beautiful and magnificent. Just a tidbit for the day. :)
Not one damn thing that I like, that's what I've been reading.
Me too. I recently read three biographical books that were so forgettable the only thing I remember is that one of them was by Anne Lamott. I think I'll stick with more intellectual pursuits like watching Grimm and Ancient Aliens and driving myself crazy with cryptic crosswords.
I'm reading "I bought Andy Warhol" by Richard Polsky
Just read Martha Beck's book "Finding Your Way in a Wild New World." Jury's still out on that one.
Oh also--during that jag where I was reading biographies of women from north African countries, I read a memorable novel--Little Bee. Tragic and sad, and horrifically violent, but that's life in Sudan. Or Somalia. Or wherever that was.
Back in the early '70s I read "The Passover Plot" by Dr. Hugh J. Schoenfield ... a very popular book way back then ... "a new interpretation of the life and death of Jesus". I remember being fascinated by it even tho now I don't really remember the "argument" -- I think, something like "Jesus believed he was the Messiah and planned and plotted everything that happened" -- or something like that. Anyway, all these many (~30) years later I decided to read it again. I'm just beginning, but lordy I don't remember the difference in "style" -- sentence structure, etc. -- from then to now. Not quite so easy reading as it was then!
I'm also hooked on Michael Connelly police mystery novels. Very little violence, you're in their minds as they work things out. But I have to read them in order, and even tho I have several on my shelf I don't have the next one so I have to hunt for it at some thrift shops. I love them.
And there are some others waiting until I get around to them. So many books, so little time. DH likes audible.com and has downloaded several, and I should too. I don't read as much now as I used to, and I think maybe my eyes just get tired. So listening to books -- what old people do! -- might be a good change.
I have several books going right now; all of them are really good so far:
Birds of a Feather , by Jacqueline Winspear
Today We Are Rich: Harnessing The Power Of Total Confidence , by Tim Sanders
Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power , by Rachel Maddow
The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust , by Diana B. Henriques (audio CD)
Grand Expectations: The United States, 1945-1974 , by James T. Patterson
Just finished Richard III by Shakespeare. As I have mentioned here before, I subscribe to a free service called Dailylit.com that will send you a page or two of a literary classic once a day. I did it with The Tempest and loved it...it let me really slow down and savor the language and wordplay in a way I had not before. Unfortunately, slow reading did not work as well for Richard III. Too many characters with similar names (how many royals named Elizabeth and Anne were there, anyway) and complicated political maneuverings to keep track of from day to day. I do want to see a filmed or staged version, though--it was hard to buy Richard on the page--I couldn't believe people kept falling for his line of b*******-- but I bet a really talented actor could bring him to life in an amazing way.
Also just finished "The Virginian" by Owen Wister, also from DailyLit. I enjoyed it a lot, and never realized before where the Western line "Smile when you say that" came from. I always imagine John Wayne saying it--didn't realize it was borrowed from this much earlier book.
Drift by Rachel Maddow
This is great, important, well researched, and well written book that I just could not read. *That's not exactly accurate--I read the prologue, the first chapter and the Epilogue in detail. *The problem were all the chapters in between. *I just couldn't take the return in excruciating detail of Grenada, Iran-Contra, and Oliver North, from there we move on to Kuwait, Halliburton, and Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, *followed by Bosnia, leading inexorably to Afghanistan and Iraq. *It was like nails on a a chalkboard for 7 of 9 chapters. Don't get me wrong, Maddow nails it completely in the description of our not so slow drift toward the replacement of our Constitutionally designed plan that going to war should be a difficult thing to do to our current state of perpetual war which can be initiated unilaterally by the President. *It's just that I lived through Iran-Contra, Grenada, Bosnia, Iraq, and now Afghanistan and I just get mad all over reading about it. *
Now for the really great parts of the book: the beginning and the ending. *Wow!
She begins with Jefferson's great worry that a standing army would drain resources and overwhelm public sentiment. *His goal was to never have one unnecessary soldier.*
The epilogue
Going to war, being at war should be painful. From now on when we go to war, let's pay for it--taxes, bond drives, cake sales, whatever.*
Let's do away with the secret military. *The entire chain of command should be accountable to Congress.*
Let's get the chain of command straight: the President does not defer to the commanders in the field. *The President is elected by the people to execute their will.
Let's scale back the use of contractors. When the contractors commit illegal acts such as rape or murder, they should be prosecuted not given a new name and a new contract.
Every international problem or conflict is not ours to solve with military.*
"We just need to revive that old idea that America is a deliberately peaceable nation. *That's not simply our inheritance, it's our responsibility."
I'm in Queue for Drift, but i fear even Maddow's trademark wry style and impressive intellect won't save the experience for the same reason you cite, Florence.
ApatheticNoMore
4-16-12, 1:40pm
"Sacred Economics" Eisenstein - jury definitely out on that one though I do think it is worth reading. Positives: very important topic, making the economy not destroy the world, in need of our best thought. And the more I think about it the more I think that it is not necessary to have an economy that destroys that world. Obviously very intelligent well educated author with broad base of knowledge, will challenge you, will bring up new approaches and ways to think about things. And I'm VERY sympathetic to what he wants. Inspiring idealism.
Negatives: author is in love with himself, doesn't give credit (this is glaring when you are perfectly aware of exactly whose ideas he's citing which many people probably aren't but ...), doesn't get enough feedback from knowledgable people as possible critique of his views (I want this not for the sake of balance but for the sake of strengthening them!). Just thinks he is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Don't get me wrong, he's smart, but it's just too much. Half the time this makes me want to throw the book across the room but I keep reading for the information because it is IMPORTANT to THINK about THESE topics :\. Possibly too idealistic, certainly we're not going to acheive the desired end game of the book anytime soon.
I read a great review about That Woman by Anne Sebba, the new biogrpahy about Wallis Warfield Simpson, so I'm going to reserve a Library copy. I had no idea that the Duke fawned over Wallis and kinda bored her and that she seemed to wish to be rid of him early on, but she was stuck with him and had to play out the royal romance to the bitter end of a long, tedious marriage
Soltice Wood by Patricia McKillup about the fey world and how it intersects with the human world in an East Coast estate.
I've got a list of good fairy novels and am working my way slowly through it. I always feel like reading about the fey in spring and early summer!
Fey world, eh? I'm developing a taste for fantasy lately, what with Grimm and Mark del Franco's Connor Grey books, so I put Solstice Wood in queue, even though Amazon's capsule review made it sound a lot more genteel than my usual fare. I'm entranced by the idea of intersecting worlds and just below the surface intrigues brewing and bubbling while the outer world goes on all unaware.
[QUOTE=JaneV2.0;77567]Fey world, eh? I'm developing a taste for fantasy lately, what with Grimm and Mark del Franco's Connor Grey books, so I put Solstice Wood in queue, even though Amazon's capsule
haha genteel, well, there IS some sex in Solstice Wood but it's implied, it's tame. Those fairies are such seductive creatures. This isn't the best fairy novel I've read but it's ok.
I really liked Keith Donohue's The Stolen Child about a changling. It came out a few years ago.
Del Franco's chief fairy, so far, is a little pest named Stinkwort who has a taste for Oreos. Not so seductive, but an enjoyable recurring character.
Great thread, I've jotted down several to read next...Right now I'm reading 'Over the Edge of the World'..recently read 'Cutting for Stone', 'Growing Up Amish', 'I Know This Much Is True' and 'Lost in Shangri-La'.
The Bee Keeper’s Apprentice by Laurie King. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s premise is that in retirement Sherlock Holmes is paired with a young American girl who is his intellectual equal. While taking no guff from him, she becomes his apprentice and works with him in solving crimes both large and small. Written in an A.C. Doyle style, it is a pleasant read.
Reading Teeny Houses, Almost Amish and breaking Night
Today We Are Rich by Tim Sanders
Learning--feed your mind good stuff; be as careful with what you put into your mind as what you put into your mouth; *good books, good music, good conversation with people who lift you up.*
Gratitude--exercise your gratitude muscle; make gratitude your first thoughts in the morning to banish fear and anxiety.*
Giving--focusing on the needs of others brings out our strengths; before you let thoughts of lack become dominant, challenge them with an act of giving.*
Rules for effective giving:
* *1. *Give in accordance with your values
* *2. Give to empower others
* *3. Give expecting nothing in return
* *4. Tune in to daily giving opportunities
Finishing--Keep your promises. *Fulfill your commitments. Whether your habits are good or bad, you wear them as a badge of who you are. *Knowing that you should do something and not doing it changes your perception of who you are.
The good loop--each time you practice learning, thanking, giving, and finishing, the positive results encourage you to do even more which of course leading to more positive results.
Good motivational reading.
I've been re-reading Shantyboat: A River Way of Life by Harlan Hubbard. It was first published in 1953; my early 80s edition has a foreword by Wendell Berry.
This is the description on the back of the book:
"Shantyboat is the story of a leisurely journey down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans. For most people such a journey is the stuff that dreams are made of, but for Harlan and Anna Hubbard it became a cherished reality. In the fall of 1944 they build a houseboat, small but neatly acommodated to their needs, on the bank of the Ohio near Cincinnati, and in it after a pause of two years they set out to drift down the river.
In their small craft, the Hubbards became one with the flowing river and its changing weathers. An artist by profession, Harlan Hubbard saw clearly. The panorama of fields and woods and villages; summer gardening; foraging expeditions far afield from the river bank; the quiet solitude of the mists of early morning--are are displayed here with springlike freshness. This book mirrors a life that is simple and independent, strenuous at times, but joyous, with leisure for painting and music, for observation and contemplation."
A preview is available on Google books. You may also want to read Wendell Berry's own book on the Hubbards, Harlan Hubbard: Life and Work.
I am almost done with "The Wise Man's Fear" by Patrick Rothfuss. It is the sequel to "The Name of the Wind", though it could be read independently without much loss. My best description would be a more mature cross of the Harry Potter books and The Hobbit with more character development and less action. They are slightly slow going, but easy reads of a rambling adventure with a bit of fantasy and magic.
I tend to stagger a little fantasy or scifi between more serious novels or documentary and these are pretty top of the line for their genre.
Today We Are Rich by Tim Sanders
Good motivational reading.
I liked this too.
Right now I am reading "Making Good, Finding Meaning, Money and Community in a Changing World."
Excerpt: Figuring out what to do with your life isn’t just about self-examination—it’s about examination of the world you live in. Theologian Frederick Buechner puts it this way: “Your vocation is where your greatest passion meets the world’s greatest need.” It takes a conscious act of imagining beyond what you see, connecting what you read and what you understand about the world to the actual life you lead.
We need to genuinely believe that things can change, that what once seemed impossible is now within reach. Arriving at that perspective is largely a matter of seeking and claiming our options, from the tiniest task-related choice, to the sweeping global choices we make as a culture. Do we really have to trade our time for money for something we don’t believe? Do we have to settle for being unhappy at work just because we have the pressure of bills to pay?
Covering a lot of broad topics currently, but there are enough discrete "how-to" steps to make it somewhat useful for someone trying to crack the toughest nut: How do I do what I love - what I believe in - for a LIVING, and still pay the bills? Not quite through yet, am hoping for more concrete examples rather than sweeping sentences beginning with "We must...." (yeah, yeah, I KNOW what I 'must,' and what's good for the planet, but the electric bill's due in two days)
ApatheticNoMore
4-23-12, 7:07pm
How do I do what I love - what I believe in - for a LIVING, and still pay the bills? Not quite through yet, am hoping for more concrete examples rather than sweeping sentences beginning with "We must...." (yeah, yeah, I KNOW what I 'must,' and what's good for the planet, but the electric bill's due in two days)
yea I actually find that type of stuff, more poisonous than not. Let's hit everyone over the head with ideals that many, likely most, will not acheive, because for everyone to acheive them is likely impossible. I mean have you noticed the economy actually functioning that way? Neither have I. Who would sweep the floors? Who would work retail? Etc. etc.
But then right, they are failures if they don't achieve something few in the world, as it actually is, do. That's poison! And no respect even for how difficult it is, for what a rare accomplishment it is to do so.
Some will though, if you are middle class etc. you are already one of the lucky. So any given you ... just might.
Some who claim to have I don't even respect. I mean it's better to be an honest wage slave, than some of the profiteering schemes I have seen (yes we'll just sell $10000 classes in finding your passion by grand guru whomever :P)
fidgiegirl
4-23-12, 7:50pm
I have just finished "Thinking in Pictures" by Temple Grandin, and enjoyed it very much.
Need to read this whole thread ;) It might take me the rest of 2012 :)
THE UNCHOSEN about people who rebel against living in Hasidic communities--some leave, some stay but secretly break the rules. Good on the interior conflicts involved.
dado potato
4-25-12, 7:56pm
Michael Holroyd's 3-volume biography of Bernard Shaw. At this time I am on page 90 of "Vol I: The Search for Love". Shaw is 25 years old, a vegetarian and abstainer, but as yet ... no love.
The Man who Planted Trees by Jim Robbins
This is the true story of David Millarch and his quest to save the genetic material of the world's oldest trees. He considers this of utmost importance as *these are the trees with proven survivability. *His method is to find what he calls Champion trees and clone them. *As our climate changes, these are the trees that have proven that they can survive.*
His story begins with a near death experience during after which he said he had received instructions that this was to be his purpose in life. *One would think that cloning the world's oldest trees would be a very straight forward process but it has been anything but straight forward. *To begin with, he didn't know how to clone, he didn't know where the trees were located, and had no money to do it anyway. *How he is doing it is a tribute to the virtue of perseverance.*
It is an interesting read and with the exception of a little pseudoscience, well worth reading. *
Chinese proverb:
* * *When is the best time to plant a tree? *Twenty years ago.
* * *When is the second best time to plant a tree? *Today.
The World as It Is: Dispatches on the Myth of Human Progress by Chris Hedges
This book of essay is dedicated:
"For my children, Thomas, Noelle, Konrad, and Marina, whose joy and laughter save me from despair and for whom I must alway hope"
I was very glad to read this dedication because the book is very bleak. It's good that he does have some hope and relief from despair.
I found myself alternately avidly shaking my head in agreement and slamming the book shut determining that he's just too negative and who needs more of that!
The bottom line is that he uncompromisingly states the facts that our democracy is in jeopardy from our corporate purchased political system, to our state of perpetual war to feed the military-industrial complex, to our destruction of the natural environment which supports life on earth. *I'd love to be able to argue against him but I can't--he's right. *
If you've ever wondered about the direction of our political system, wondered why we move from one war to the next to the next, or if we are totally insane to be destroying the life sustaining systems on earth, you'll want to read this book. You may want to double up on your anti-depressant medications though.
I'm tired of ponderous non-fiction, so I'm taking a break with Patricia Cornwell and throwing in a little Fernando Pessoa for kicks. (Just discovered him on Refdesk. We seem to share a sensibility.)
happystuff
5-12-12, 8:49am
Am continuing with my free kiindle downloads. Am reading Off The Grid - which is NOT what it sounds like - LOL. It's a spy-type book. Dh also just finished Kite Runner, so I'll be starting that soon.
Oh also--during that jag where I was reading biographies of women from north African countries, I read a memorable novel--Little Bee. Tragic and sad, and horrifically violent, but that's life in Sudan. Or Somalia. Or wherever that was.
Nigeria
The World as It Is: Dispatches on the Myth of Human Progress by Chris Hedges
This book of essay is dedicated:
"For my children, Thomas, Noelle, Konrad, and Marina, whose joy and laughter save me from despair and for whom I must alway hope"
I was very glad to read this dedication because the book is very bleak. It's good that he does have some hope and relief from despair.
I found myself alternately avidly shaking my head in agreement and slamming the book shut determining that he's just too negative and who needs more of that!
The bottom line is that he uncompromisingly states the facts that our democracy is in jeopardy from our corporate purchased political system, to our state of perpetual war to feed the military-industrial complex, to our destruction of the natural environment which supports life on earth. *I'd love to be able to argue against him but I can't--he's right. *
If you've ever wondered about the direction of our political system, wondered why we move from one war to the next to the next, or if we are totally insane to be destroying the life sustaining systems on earth, you'll want to read this book. You may want to double up on your anti-depressant medications though.
Chris Hedges is a true hero. I just read Death of the Liberal Class which is good. He can be very negative, but unfortunately, I think he's telling the truth.
We just read "The Various Flavors of Coffee" and now I am reading "I am The Messenger"...both are for my book club and pretty interesting.
This is without a doubt my all time favorite motivational book. Every chapter in it is full of inspiration toward leading a full and rewarding life. I've read it at least 10 times and every time I am inspired and uplifted. I'm just going to list the 12 chapter titles to give you the book in a nutshell or rather 12 nutshells.
1. Today's attirude gives me possibilities.
2. Today's priorities give me focus.
3. Today's health gives me strength.
4. Today's family gives me stability.
5. Today's thinking gives me an advantage.
6. Today's commitment gives me tenacity.
7. Today's finances give me options.
8. Today's faith gives me peace.
9. Today's relationships give me fullfillment.
10. Today's generosity gives me significance.
11. Today's values give me direction.
12. Today's growth gives me potential.
John Maxwell writes from a Christian perspective so it while the principles are applicable, the Christian perspective may not be in line with those of another faith.
ApatheticNoMore
5-16-12, 9:03pm
Chris Hedges is a true hero. I just read Death of the Liberal Class which is good. He can be very negative, but unfortunately, I think he's telling the truth.
He also seems to be single handedly leading a sucessful court crusade to halt the NDAA (when not picking fights with Occupy I guess :)). Sure on the NDAA, Chomsky and so on are also on board (so are the signatures of the masses including moi, but ... it started with Hedges).
Yea that is heroic. I mean so many talk a good game with the endless BS that is our political and intellectual scene (or stage perhaps since so much of it is mere performance) but to see someone (and to be sucessful it had to be someone in the public eye not just joe nobody) take it down to the wire when it actually matters ....
Gregg Olsen's Abandoned Prayers, non-fiction murder in Amish country. My flirtation with fiction was a bust. I may try again some time.
I'm mostly non-fiction also. Just finished "Hungry for Home" - true story of the Irish families who lived on the islands called The Blaskets. A hard, hard life and many emigrated over the years. Eventually those remaining were all moved to mainland Ireland after WWII.
The underlying story is how deeply imprinted "home" is on one's psyche, even with all its hardships.
I have 4 books going:
Grand expectations by James Patterson (This is a history of the U.S. from 1945 to 1974 and it is so interesting. I am reading it slowly to savor it!)
Messenger of Truth (Maisie Dobbs #3). I don't remember who it was on this board that introduced me to Maisie, but whoever it was, Thank you! Love this series!
Cast of Characters by Max Lucado
The Journey by Wanda Brunstetter
Gardenarian
5-21-12, 5:13pm
"So Much for That" by Lionel Shriver.
Loved it.
Review from Publisher's weekly:
A risk taker with a protean imagination, Shriver (The Post-Birthday World) has produced another dazzling, provocative novel, a witty and timely exploration of the failure of our health-care system. Shep Knacker's long-cherished plan to use the million dollars from the sale of his handyman business to retire to a tropical island receives a gut-wrenching blow when his wife, Glynis, is diagnosed with a rare cancer. Transformed into a full-time caregiver, the good-natured Shep is buoyed during the illness of self-centered, vindictive, and obnoxiously demanding Glynis by his working mate and best friend, Jackson Burdina, whose teenage daughter, Flicka, also has a terminal disease. Ironically, Glynis tenaciously clings to life, while Flicka, with whom she bonds, wants to end hers. Jackson, meanwhile, acutely conscious that he's going broke, rails pungently against government regulations and the insurance industry. A mouthpiece for the plight of middle-class workers, Jackson's diatribes about contemporary society—the medical, educational and banking systems, exorbitant taxation, political chicanery—ring painfully true. As Shep's Merrill-Lynch account dwindles and further medical calamities arise, Shriver twists the plot to raise suspense until the heart-lifting denouement.
happystuff
5-26-12, 4:19pm
Just finished The Kite Runner. Still reading my free download "Off The Grid", but it's not catching me. Heard about The Walk by Lee Goldberg and may get that from the library next week.
Recommending two:
"Free for All: Oddballs, Geeks, and Gangstas in the Public Library" by Dan Borchert. Non-fiction. A long-time assistant librarian in a So. Cal library, he's a witty and honest writer on what actually goes on both in and behind the scenes at the public library. The title is a play on words in that the public library is tax-payer funded, free for everyone, and then of course when school lets out and kids pour in it can become a "free for all."
"The Wildwater Walking Club" by Claire Cook. Fun summer fiction featuring 3 smart, mature women who make you wish you could be friends with in real life.
Botticelli by Barbara Deimling
I read this as part of my Art History Project. * It was just perfect for a novice student such as I. *I knew nothing of Botticelli and his work. * While the book is not lengthy, there is enough background of what was going on in Florence in the late 15th century and enough of Botticelli's life to make him real. *The paintings selected for the book were excellent in that Deimling explains what is going on in the painting and points out the changes in his painting style through time. *This book did just what I wanted in my Art History project-- it introduced me to an artist and show me enough of his work to make me want to see and learn more.
Gardenarian
6-26-12, 6:05pm
"The Lord God Bird: A Novella" by Russell Hill. This is a little masterpiece.
In 1949, Jake Hamrick, a 19-year-old who has been obsessed since childhood with the ivory-billed woodpecker, leaves Illinois for Louisiana accompanied by Robin, his tiny girlfriend. They search in the bayous where the bird was last reported, and Robin, as obsessed as Jake, dresses like the bird, smearing her naked body with white clay, wearing a cloak of black crow feathers, her hair in a red crest. Local hunters pursue Robin and Jake deep into the bayous, where they are harbored by Robert, an ancient black man.
"Talk Talk" by T.C.Boyle Entertaining and intelligent.
Deaf Dana Halter is falsely arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, auto theft, and passing bad checks, while William Wilson has been living a blameless life of criminal excess at her expense. Dana and her boyfriend Bridger set out to track him down.
Unlikely Friendships: 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom, by Jennifer Holland. A short, mostly uplifting collection with lots of photographs. My favorite was the brief relationship that flowered between an underwater photographer and one of his subjects--a huge female leopard seal seemingly intent on teaching him how to survive in the frigid sea.
"Sacred Economics" by Charles Eisenstein. A provocative book that talks about the unsustainability of our current growth economy and proposes a new vision for the devaluing of money and the movement towards a gift economy.
Super Immunity by Joel Fuhrman
This was an interesting book although I can't say that I learned anything new or that I believe all his dietary claims.*
Basically he is saying eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, *and nuts. Stop eating junk, processed anything, and eat much less eat. *Exercise. *Nothing new there.*
I am skeptical of the studies that he cites primarily because I know how easy it is to skew results to show just about anything you want it to show. Will you be healthier following his eating suggestions--sure. But I'm not so sure you can prevent or cure everything from colds and flu to cancer.
The recipes at the back of the book sound really awful.*
AmeliaJane
7-1-12, 11:10am
Just finished one of the funniest books I have read recently, which was Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson. It is a memoir of her life in Texas, but definitely has a vein of the "Texas tall tale" to it. The language is quite strong, so I wouldn't recommend the book if 4-letter words make you uncomfortable, but it honestly did make me laugh like a hyena a number of times as I was reading it. Part of the chapter about her years in the HR field is online, so you can easily Google your way to that and see if it's your cup of tea.
Wingfield by Dan Needles is a wonderful book with gentle humour.
Madeleine Brent mystery romances which I just discovered about strong young female heroines from unique geographical situations that sound so exciting. Peter O'Donnell who really is the author apparently was in the army in Persian Caucasus area and saw a capable independent young girl on her own and this has inspired this whole genre and includes the Modesty Blaise series as well. Well written, I think.
Dick Francis mysteries
Just picked up this book and started...“Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows” Melanie Joy (2009)
The Information Diet: A Case for Conscious Consumption by Clay Johnson. An okay writer, a good concept, wish it had been longer and more detailed in the how-to department. The book creates a number of interesting metaphors: overconsumption of processed/slanted information as compared to obesity, obtaining information at the source (or at least unfiltered) as akin to veganism, eating at the bottom of the food chain to avoid it being poisoned by political rhetoric/media influence/big business, etc. The most valuable part is probably his brief plan for reducing media overconsumption, and becoming really conscious of what we consume, how much, and how.
I'm reading Sleeping With the Enemy - Coco Chanel's Secret War by Hal Vaughn. He makes a pretty convincing argument that she was a Nazi collaberator during WWII while France was occupied. I think she did it more because of maintaining her business and personal lifestyle and to get her nephew out of the POW camps. She was also very anti-Semtic, apparently. Too bad, I love her style and if I could ever afford it (LOL), now I'll have to decline from wearing her designs.
Grace Leads Me Home by Marlene Miller--done. Explains in detail why I am not Amish. *Let me enumerate some of the more obvious reasons: 1. The Bible teaches eternal salvation of the believer; they do not. 2. 10 children in 13 years. 3. Grinding poverty like having your child wear shoes held together with duct tape because you could not afford a new pair of shoes. 4. Unending work in unsafe conditions. I believe that the Lord gave us a brain and expects us to use it.
Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
I grew up in a small post war community much like Port William. The sense of belonging and the sense of things just being the way they should always be we're as familiar to me as they were to Hannah Coulter. *Like Hannah's children I left and so did the majority of my classmates. And after we left or because we left, everything changed. *I loved this book and recommend it highly.*
Just finished the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Boy, was that dark! I will need to read some kind of comic novel for balance next...
Gardenarian
7-5-12, 6:43pm
"A long way down" by Nick Hornby. Dark humor - but it had me laughing out loud.
In his trademark warm and witty prose, Hornby follows four depressed people from their aborted suicide attempts on New Years Eve through the surprising developments that occur over the following three months. Middle-aged Maureen has been caring for her profoundly disabled son for decades; Martin is a celebrity-turned-has-been after sleeping with a 15-year-old girl; teenage Jess, trash-talker extraordinaire, is still haunted by the mysterious disappearance of her older sister years before; and JJ is upset by the collapse of his band and his breakup with his longtime girlfriend. The four meet while scoping out a tower rooftop looking for the best exit point. Inhibited by the idea of having an audience, they agree instead to form a support group of sorts. But rather than indulging in sappy therapy-speak, they frequently direct lacerating, bitingly funny comments at each other--and the bracing mix of complete candor and endless complaining seems to work as a kind of tonic. Hornby funnels the perceptive music and cultural references he is known for through the character of JJ, but he also expands far beyond his usual territory, exploring the changes in perspective that can suddenly make a life seem worth living and adroitly shifting the tone from sad to happy and back again. The true revelation of this funny and moving novel is its realistic, all-too-human characters, who stumble frequently, moving along their redemptive path only by increments.
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
This was a best seller in 1860 and I can see why. I know I have seen the film version but completely forgot what happens. This is well written and a page turner. I have no idea what will happen next. Terrific dialogue and character descriptions. He's one of those writers that give you the notion he is talking directly to you.
"A Paradise Built in Hell - the extraordinary communities that arise in disaster" by Rebecca Solnit. Lots of insight on how people actually behave in disasters, based on real ones like Katrina and 9/11 and others. Thanks to bae for the recommendation.
Next on deck is "The Crash Course - The unsustainable future of our economy, energy and our environment" by a favorite forum author, Chris Martenson. and then after that, I'll definitely be looking for something a little lighter!
"The Anarchist's Tool Chest", Christopher Schwarz
When I am too exhausted, ill or busy to work in my shop, I will shuffle down the stairs to my 15' x 25' workshop and simply stand there for a few minutes with my hands on my tools.
To be sure, I thought I was a touch nuts because of this personality quirk. But after reading the oral histories and diaries of craftsmen from the last 300 years, I found it's actually a common trait among artisans. I am drawn, married or perhaps addicted to the things that allow me to coax wood into new shapes. At the same time, my relationship with my tools is like a tumultuous combination of an Italian family drama, a bigamist's decision about who to sleep with and a careful gardener.
This book, “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest,” paints a world where woodworking tools are at the center of an ethical life filled with creating furniture that will last for generations. It makes the case that you can build almost anything with a kit of less than 50 high-quality tools, and it shows you how to select real working tools, regardless of their vintage or brand name.
“The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” will guide you in building a proper chest for your toolkit that follows the ancient rules that have been forgotten or ignored.
And it will make the argument that building a chest and filling it with the right tools just might be the best thing you can do to save our craft.
Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
I grew up in a small post war community much like Port William. The sense of belonging and the sense of things just being the way they should always be we're as familiar to me as they were to Hannah Coulter. *Like Hannah's children I left and so did the majority of my classmates. And after we left or because we left, everything changed. *I loved this book and recommend it highly.*
Florence, I just finished reading Hannah Coulter on your recommendation. I loved this book too. It is so beautifully written, rather elegiac, but not sappy.
How Do you Kill 11 Million People? by Andy Andrews 15 minutes to read, many minutes to digest. The gist- lies are the source of all trouble and just what should we do individually about it. I'm wondering if any one else has read it. Our book club will discuss it next week.
ToomuchStuff
7-21-12, 2:02pm
"The Anarchist's Tool Chest", Christopher Schwarz
Is it a keeper for your library, or a reader?
Sad Eyed Lady
7-21-12, 4:03pm
Just finished the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Not quite as good as I anticipated, but overall I enjoyed it.
Polliwog, I am so glad you read and enjoyed it. It rather reminded me of Thornton Wilder's play Our Town.
I am was wondering why I was in such a funk and realized that I am reading two downers:
It's Even Worse than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the Politics of Extremism by Thomas Mann & Norman Ornstein.
So Rich, So Poor: Why It Is So Hard to End Poverty in America by Peter Edelman
They are both well-written, thoughtful books but they are sure not a laugh a minute.
happystuff
7-22-12, 7:14am
How Do you Kill 11 Million People? by Andy Andrews 15 minutes to read, many minutes to digest. The gist- lies are the source of all trouble and just what should we do individually about it. I'm wondering if any one else has read it. Our book club will discuss it next week.
You have piqued my curiosity! I've added this to my book list. Thanks!
Enjoying a number of Catherine Cookson novels for a change. It makes one realize that times could be really tough without the many amenities that we take for granted today.
Just finished The Real Men in Black, Nicholas Redfern and Girl Walks into a Bar, Rachel Dratch. I tried and failed to get into Shadow Tag by Louise Erdrich. I've tried to read her stuff before and I've come to the conclusion that I just don't like her. Gratuitous cruelty is the best reason I can come up with. A Kitty Kelly style expose' of her life with Michael Dorris would likely make a riveting narrative (so many lies!), but there's no sign of one on the horizon.
I read several forgettable novels, Jane Lynch's biography, and a book about a British midwife titled Call the Midwife. The midwife book took place after WWII and covered a time when midwives (many of them nuns) traveled to the homes of the poor for pre-natal care and delivery. It took place in a big city in England, can't remember which one. PRetty interesting.
ApatheticNoMore
7-23-12, 2:25am
Perfect Health Diet - Jaminets. Came across this website researching short-term fasting (which may have benefits - autophagy, increased glucose tolerance, some of the same mild possibly beneficially stress as caloric restriction - and of course has risks, for instance if the body interprets it as true starvation this will shut down female reproductive function => bad for health).
Anyway The Perfect Health Diet, got this book because I believe they are right on at least some of the science and because the diet sounds yummy (what else can you truly say that for? For me only the Mediteranian diet also seems yummy) so wanted to read more. It's moderate (not low) carb, moderate protein (excessive protein can shorten lifespan), high fat. Yum :) I WANT TO BELIEVE!! It's also anti most grains (eat tubers instead), anti-legume (I'm not totally convinced on this point), moderate fructose (and prefer glucose -fructose forms more AGEs, is processed differently, although even then don't go crazy with glucose), moderate polyunsaturated fats (even omega 3 is toxic in excess - although of course most people dont' get enough now especially considering omega 6 load). I like some of their focuses like on infections. They believe a lot of the diseases of old age are actually caused by infection (I have a lot of anecdotal and purely anecdotal experience to back this - I have seen someone with Alzheimers become pretty (shockingly) lucid while on antibiotics - of course antibiotics have other effects on the body besides just killing germs - possible anti-inflamatory etc.). I have also talked to people with more knowledge than me in this area, who believe this. Well I personally consider it an interesting hypothesis and area for research but I'm not going to claim I know, because really I don't. But I do find the focus on infection interesting. They also talk about things like how fructose is especially toxic when eaten with polyunsaturated fats. I guess eat fruit with cream not nuts (although I do love fruit with nuts), and eat it for breakfast when the body can best process it after hours of fasting (good time for fruit anyway). Heavily footnoted, pubmed everything, though individual studies can pretty much be used to prove pretty much anything. Oh and I have no idea what the true "perfect" health (or ideal) diet really is, and I do want to enjoy eating regardless, I'm so not good at deprivation, I just steer my diet this or that based on info. I'm not sure my lack of absolutism in diet isn't a survival strategy also :)
Gardenarian
7-23-12, 2:25pm
Tamora Pierce "Trickster's Choice" and "Trickster's Queen" (borrowed from my dd.)
Excellent YA fantasy with great female heros. The sarcastic tone started to set my teeth on edge by end, but I think these are a good choice for teen girls.
On Persephone's Island by Mary Taylor Simetti. This memoir takes place in the early 1980s. Mary is enchanted with the island of Sicily and married Tonino. This is the story of her experiences raising a family and earning a living in a rustic environment. She talks openly about the transitions and confusion of living in a different culture. What is coming across is her love of the patterns of the season. The story starts in November which was/is traditionally considered the beginning of the New Year. I Morti - A celebration remarkably similar to the Mexican Day of the Dead. Lovely read. Not sure I want to go but she doesn't shy away from problems.
Gardenarian
7-26-12, 4:21pm
"Hamlet's Blackberry : a practical philosophy for building a good life in the digital age" by William Powers.
This books discusses the effects of technologies on our minds and souls and everyday life. I'm about halfway through and just getting to the meat (at least I hope there's some meat) in which the author talks about the history of technology (back to the beginning of writing) and how it has shaped our world/minds and what philosophers have to say about it. The author is a smart guy and seems to care about the subject, but he uses some examples that are not very convincing.
His main point seems to be that we need to take breaks from being online in order to allow ourselves to fully grasp the meaning of what we are reading, posting, and texting about. This book has been talked about a lot in librarian circles; he uses the phrase "Walden Zones" which is being used by some libraries to describe quiet areas where no typing is allowed.
decemberlov
7-26-12, 4:27pm
I am currently on the last chapter of Salem's Lot (I'm a big King fan).
I was initially thinking of re-reading The Celestine Prophecy but have heard much about The Man Who Quit Money and I'm very intrigued. The CP can wait as I've already read this one twice. But I highly recommend it those that have not.
I just finished 11/23/63 by Stephen King. I've been a King fan for years but maybe am just getting a little burned out. The book had an interesting fantasy premise. What if you could go back in time and prevent the Kennedy assassination. Would it prevent the Viet Nam war without Johnson assuming the presidency, the assassination of Robert Kennedy since he might not run for president in 1968, Martin Luther King? One of King's endearing qualities has been to take fantastic situations and fill them in with ordinary characters that somehow all seem real and believable. He did a fair job of this, but missed the bulls eye in good believable character development and I thought the plot ended up being a little thin and drawn out.
He did create some good nostalgia for the time period and it was a great reminder of how much things have changed since the 50's and 60's. He also seems to have evolved from the intense gore and violence of his typical earlier style. If you are a king fan or want a light and entertaining summer read while sweltering in the heat it is probably worthwhile. It might make a great movie.
"The Witch of Hebron" by James Howard Kunstler. Most people here know Kunstler as the author of the "The Long Emergency." Kunstler also writes novels, and this one is the followup to his earlier novel, "A World Made by Hand."
Also picked up an amazing reference for $9.99 - "Back to Basics", 3rd edition, Abigail Gehring editor. It's a 400+ page book on "A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills" including step-by-step instructions and excellent illustrations and photos. Skills include constructing a small well, raising your own vegetables, fruit and livestock, tanning and leatherwork, blacksmithing, etc. I don't kid myself that I'm going to starting living like the 1850s (as in Kunstler's post-U.S. collapse novels), but this single book is so informative it's like watching a documentary.
Leonardo the Artist and the Man by Serge Bramly (I read this as this month's selection for my Art History Project.)
This book was an excellent biography of an exceedingly complex man. *It is very readable. While including information on daily life and politics of Italy during Leonardo's life, it avoids going into minute detail. *The author clearly indicates when he is speculating on some aspect of Leonardo's life and work. *His life was certainly one of constant investigation and imagination. He was an illegitimate child, he worked as an apprentice in Verrochio's studio, *he felt unappreciated in Florence & relocated to Milan. *The book includes many little vignettes which give the reader a flavor of what life was like at the time and even more what Leonardo was like. For example, *he signed a contract with a certain monastery to produce a very staid, stiff Madonna and Child but it was obvious from the beginning that he had no intention of producing such a painting; *what he did produce was the masterpiece, The Madonna of the Rocks. His interests were as varied as can be imagined--from anatomy to astronomy to machines of war to horses of bronze--everything interested his inventive mind.*
I am neither an artist nor an art historian. I found this book a wonderful introduction to the genius that was Leonardo da Vinci. My only wish is that there had been more color plates included in the book.*
(Next month's artist is Hieronymus Bosch.)
I discovered Kathleen and Michael Gear at a booksale. They have quite a range of anthropology topics but I read People of the Mist with two more volumes on my to-read shelf.
At the Moment I´m addicted to books by Lauren Oliver (I´ve just been reading "before I fall" and "Delirium" and i love them both) and Meg Rosoff (How I live Now, What I was, There is no dog). I think these books are for young adults but they helped me to be more aware of my own life.
Rogar: I really loved 11/23/63; I actually thought it was one of his better books (I've read almost all of them, except I ditched the Dark Tower series quite a while back). I really enjoyed the way he recreated an earlier time, but I thought he did do a decent job with character development. The timing for me was an interesting factor too. I was reading it while my husband was going through cancer diagnosis/ kidney removal - this was my waiting room reading material. We had both just quit smoking, so I really appreciated his observations about the America Where Everyone Smoked Everywhere All The Time. Call me perverse, but I just got a kick out of his observations on that aspect of life in an earlier time.
I'm currently reading A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. It isn't new of course, but I'm enjoying it. Irving is good; I enjoy his subtle sense of humor. I haven't read too many of his books and I think I should seek out more of them.
A Lesson in Secrets by Jacquelyn Winspear. Another Maisie Dobbs adventure, this time to the halls of academia. Maisie is beginning to see the evil of fascism rising as she uncovers the murderer of a man whose life was ostensibly devoted to promoting world peace. A good read.
Rogar: I really loved 11/23/63; I actually thought it was one of his better books....
I enjoyed 11/23/63. Maybe I just anticipated something better based on the reviews. Like maybe The Green Mile, which I thought was great. Anyway, I followed it up with "Time and Again" by Jack Finney. Somewhere in the King book notes he suggested that it was sort of the quintessential time traveler book. It was written in the 1970's so was nostalgic for that time period as well as the 1880's where the time traveler goes. It actually had some similarities to King's book so was interesting to compare. Like King's book there was a confounding romance, but unlike King, no sex...a sign of the different eras...or more plot development for the same interest? If you thought the smoking in King's book was interesting, it seems that everyone in the 1880s smokes cigars or uses spittoons with reckless abandon. I thought the plot was great. I found myself guessing what was next and then pleasantly surprised at the next twist. I thought King's book was more predictable. It was slightly dated since even the 1970's was a while ago, but I enjoyed it at least as much if not more. I picked up my copy from the Amazon used book option for el cheapo.
Beyond the fantasy element, I find these sorts of perspectives on the past through modern eyes to be interesting.
Gardenarian
8-6-12, 10:32pm
Hi Jana - I recently went through a Lauren Oliver stage - fun stuff! A little to harsh for my dd right now - she's 13 and it's fun reading all the YA fiction that is out there.
"Sunshine" by Robin McKinley. Well, it's a good vampire book, if you're looking for a good vampire book.
Also re-read "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin. A great classic puzzle-type mystery.
Irregulars, in which four authors take on the pressing problem of non-human crime in Portland (which seems to be overrun with shape shifters!), San Francisco, and Vancouver BC. This is fast becoming a favorite genre of mine. The Autism Puzzle, by Brita Belli, that explores the roles of the toxic soup we live in, mercury poisoning, the medicalization of childbirth, and the collusion of corporate polluters and government reporting agencies in the unprecedented rise in neural damage in children. Practical Paleo, by Diane Sanfilippo--a big juicy catalog-sized how-to book full of background, resources, menus, recipes, and diets targeting a variety of health conditions--and lots of lovely full-color illustrations.
Having recently moved to Richmond, Virginia, the home for many years of poet and story teller Edgar Allan Poe, I am now into all things "Poe." I want to get through some of his writing before I head down to the Poe Museum in town.
Haven't gotten to "The Raven" yet, or the one about the beating heart, but they're coming up.
The very wonderful "Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese. A novel with biographical input. A doctor at Stanford, and absolutely fantastic writer.
and for the low-brow culture that I love, "The Secret Lives of Hoarders" by Matt Paxton. Paperback of real-life stories, complete with pictures, in the bargain bin - a cheap guilty pleasure at $3.99. Although to be fair, I learned a lot about hoarder psychology and current medical thinking about the cause and treatment.
Having recently moved to Richmond, Virginia, the home for many years of poet and story teller Edgar Allan Poe, I am now into all things "Poe." I want to get through some of his writing before I head down to the Poe Museum in town.
Haven't gotten to "The Raven" yet, or the one about the beating heart, but they're coming up.
Many years ago I read a collection of Poe's works and really enjoyed them. I was reminded of The Wire, where a couple of tourists asked the local Baltimore ghetto folks for directions to the Poe house. A lady on the front steps of a ghetto row house says, "Poe house? Look around you, every house "round here is a po house."
iris lily
8-10-12, 12:51am
Having recently moved to Richmond, Virginia, the home for many years of poet and story teller Edgar Allan Poe, I am now into all things "Poe." I want to get through some of his writing before I head down to the Poe Museum in town.
Haven't gotten to "The Raven" yet, or the one about the beating heart, but they're coming up.
oh oh oh! I've been wanting to have a Poe party for ages! Guest would dress in gothic dress. It would be held on a cool, windy evening in October--I think that Poe died in October. We'd drink Absinthe and have liver for dinner (TellTale heart.) And lots of other stuff. I have the invitations pictured in my mind, they would be tied to the beak of a stuff raven and the raven would be delivered to the homes of invitees. I have tons of other ideas for it. I love Poe but actually don't read him often now having done my stints with his works.
Starting work on the new place so back to reading Gaia's Garden (again).
Cypress, if you like cookbooks, the info in Mary Taylor Simeti’s cookbook Pomp and Sustenance: Twenty-five Centuries of Sicilian Food is very interesting as well.
http://www.amazon.com/Pomp-And-Sustenance-Twenty-five-Centuries/dp/0394568508/ref=la_B000APL4YQ_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1344616077&sr=1-2
Florence, the Beekeepers Apprentice is the start of a whole series with those two sleuths.
The Anarchist's Tool Chest", Christopher Schwarz
Bae, Would you agree with his tool selection? Anything else you would add?
Gaia's Garden
Gregg, this book and some of the other permaculture books gave me a really different perspective not only on gardening, but also food, localization, having most useful objects being made from natural materials, and the importance of community wide permaculture and sustainability practices. Another one that I feel complements it very well in coordination with Jeavons’s How to Grow More Vegetables book is
One Circle: How to Grow a Complete Diet in Less Than 1000 Square Feet by David Duhon.
http://www.bountifulgardens.org/prodinfo.asp?number=BEA-0370
The permaculture and One Circle books both provide a strategy in which to consider the other.
Jeavons has done some additional work on what it takes to grow the other items in life such as fiber for clothing and put that info into booklets, which are also available from Bountiful.
Hieronymus Bosch by Gary Schwartz
I had never heard of Bosch before reading this book for my art history project. *I was just blown away by his work. *We have definitely left the Madonna and Child era of the Renaissance. It is hard to describe Bosch's work other than imaginative, inventive, creative. *This book is a wonderful introduction to Bosch and the world he lived in. *It is brief but gives enough information about several of his paintings that you can begin to see that there is more than first meets the eye in the pictures. *In fact, I bought a magnifying glass so that I could more closely examine the smaller figures and the detail in the larger ones. *What I wouldn't give for a trip to the Prado to see The Seven Deadly Sins and The Garden of Delights!
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
This Post-Apocalyptic novel takes place in the not very distant future in Colorado. The human population has been almost wiped out by a virulent strain of influenza that was perhaps developed as a biological weapon but was accidentally released as a result of a plane crash. Survivors are few and very fair between and civilization has disappeared as survival became paramount.
Although it is a typical post-Apocalyptic story, it is well written with enough description and enough emotion to make it worth reading.
One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
I anticipated loving this book, I wanted to love this book, I really tried to love it but the fact is that I just didn't. *There were interesting parts like when she told about her family and there were inspiring parts--I've started my 1000 things list. *But it was wordy and poetic and too *much stream of consciousness which drove me nuts. *To tell the truth, I didn't finish it. Maybe I will come back to it and see if it is more digestible in small doses...but probably I won't.
Hieronymus Bosch by Gary Schwartz
I had never heard of Bosch before reading this book for my art history project. *I was just blown away by his work. *We have definitely left the Madonna and Child era of the Renaissance. It is hard to describe Bosch's work other than imaginative, inventive, creative. *This book is a wonderful introduction to Bosch and the world he lived in. *It is brief but gives enough information about several of his paintings that you can begin to see that there is more than first meets the eye in the pictures. *In fact, I bought a magnifying glass so that I could more closely examine the smaller figures and the detail in the larger ones. *What I wouldn't give for a trip to the Prado to see The Seven Deadly Sins and The Garden of Delights!
I only know a couple of Bosch works but they are gory and detailed and pretty horrific. And, they are fascinating! His work is a theme in the film In Bruges which is itself a bloody, gory, yet funny film. It's one of my all time favorite films. It was a good pairing, this artist in this film.
Newest book trilogy series by Jeffrey Archer starting with "Only Time will Tell'. A friend got the first and second and I will buy the third once it comes out. Well done writing and story.
I just started reading " Dearie" it is a biography of Julia Child ... A more of a better read than the "50 Shades" that my DSD got my sucked into :doh:
I just started reading " Dearie" it is a biography of Julia Child ... A more of a better read than the "50 Shades" that my DSD got my sucked into :doh:
I have a request in at the library for this and am really looking forward to it.
boss mare
8-29-12, 11:21pm
I have a request in at the library for this and am really looking forward to it.
Wonderful book, I am half way through it I down loaded it onto my Kindle... I always am inspired by women who find themselves even if it is later in life
Bella Figura: A Glimpse into the Italian Mind by Beppe Severgnini
Will the Real John Callahan Please Stand Up? Memoir and cartoons from the late Portland native.
I just finished "Turn Right at Machu Picchu" by Mark Adams. On one hand it is a frolicking account of the New York city pasty-faced desk job author taking on the adventure of exploring the ancient ruins of the Incas on foot with an aussie who may be a remnant of the disappearing group of true adventure/explorers. On a different level it is also an exploration of the mysteries of the Incan cities. Why were they built and what might have been the reasons behind their sophisticated architecture. Adams has a humorous writing style that reminds me of Bill Bryson. An interesting and fun read of an amazing area.
Bruno, Chief of Police by Martin Walker
This book is really two books in one. There is the murder of great-grandfather Hamid al-Bakr and the tangled web of war time crime and revenge. But there is also the loving story of the village life in the French countryside, the rhythms of life among the villagers, the food and customs. *It is a wonderful book in both realms. *I can't wait to read the next on in the series.
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame Smith. It's actually pretty good though you might think surreal.
I had started "Dying to Be Me" by Anita Moorjani mid-summer and finally finished it off. It was an impulsive purchase after being caught watching Wayne Dyer on the PBS beg-a-thon. Anita has terminal cancer and goes to the hospital as her organs start shutting down. Near death, she goes into a coma and has a near death experience. Her NDE tells her it is not her time and she returns to her body for a total recovery and miraculous cancer remission. Her case seems well documented and has astonished doctors. Slightly new agey and a decent library read if you're into that sort of thing, but not worth the price of a new book.
Now reading "Kitchen Confidential," by Anthony Bourdain.
San Onofre Guy
9-4-12, 7:00pm
Prague Winter by Madeline Albright. Those in eastern europe have had a rough time of it for centuries.
That Summer in Sicily by Marlena De Biasi
I had started "Dying to Be Me" by Anita Moorjani mid-summer and finally finished it off. It was an impulsive purchase after being caught watching Wayne Dyer on the PBS beg-a-thon. Anita has terminal cancer and goes to the hospital as her organs start shutting down. Near death, she goes into a coma and has a near death experience. Her NDE tells her it is not her time and she returns to her body for a total recovery and miraculous cancer remission. Her case seems well documented and has astonished doctors. Slightly new agey and a decent library read if you're into that sort of thing, but not worth the price of a new book.
I had the exact same experience--saw that PBS Wayne Dyer show and downloaded Moorjani's book on my Kindle. Read it quickly. Definitely reads as one of those metaphysical "miracles." I thought it was interesting--my key takeaway was the inspiration to live your own life.
Prague Winter by Madeline Albright. Those in eastern europe have had a rough time of it for centuries.
I'm quite fond of Madeleine Albright, but being shallow and easily distracted by shiny objects, I've only read (looked at) her Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box.
And, further blowing up any gravitas I ever laid claim to, I'm currently reading Real Aliens, Space Beings, and Creatures From Other Worlds, by Steiger and Steiger. And listening to the Dixie Chicks.
AmeliaJane
9-8-12, 10:15am
I have been reading short books here and there, including a book called "Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit-Down" about the English practice of tea-drinking and a couple of YA books and graphic novels. My big achievement was finishing "The Way We Live Now" by Anthony Trollope. I have been reading in brief installments for over a year now (Trollope is LONG) and finally finished today. I didn't like it as well as the books I've read from his Barsetshire series (those are very warm-hearted, and most of the characters in The Way We Live Now are not all that likable for a lot of the book) but it was an interesting read especially as I read Hard Times by Charles Dickens in the spring, and they are two very different perspectives on English life in the 19th century.
The AGe of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker. Story told through the eyes of an 11 or 12 year old girl of what happens when the earth's rotation starts to slow. I read it within 48 hours on a very busy weekend. Well-written and lots of food for thought.
I just finished Little Heathens by Elizabeth Gilbert. It is the reminisce of the author's childhood growing up on an Iowa farm during the Great Depression. In some ways it removes romantic notions of working hard from dusk to dawn as a young girl doing farm chores and helping with cooking and household chores. In other ways it brings back some of the magic of old time home remedies, cooking recipes, simple entertainment, country life, and sense of family and community that have been forgotten. It has several old recipes, a few of which I am tempted to try. I found it to be a wonderful window into a simpler but more difficult time and place.
The author later becomes a professor of English, so it is an easy, entertaining, and well written read.
I just finished Little Heathens by Elizabeth Gilbert. It is the reminisce of the author's childhood growing up on an Iowa farm during the Great Depression. In some ways it removes romantic notions of working hard from dusk to dawn as a young girl doing farm chores and helping with cooking and household chores. In other ways it brings back some of the magic of old time home remedies, cooking recipes, simple entertainment, country life, and sense of family and community that have been forgotten. It has several old recipes, a few of which I am tempted to try. I found it to be a wonderful window into a simpler but more difficult time and place.
The author later becomes a professor of English, so it is an easy, entertaining, and well written read.
I second the recommendation for Little Heathens. Growing up on a farm in the Depression meant you had enough to eat but you worked for it every single day. And I remember the scene where as a young girl she contracted blood poisoning and when the doctor said she had to rest to recover, her siblings looked at her with ENVY because she did not have to do her chores. Yikes.
awakenedsoul
9-15-12, 12:11pm
I just finished Little Heathens by Elizabeth Gilbert. It is the reminisce of the author's childhood growing up on an Iowa farm during the Great Depression. In some ways it removes romantic notions of working hard from dusk to dawn as a young girl doing farm chores and helping with cooking and household chores. In other ways it brings back some of the magic of old time home remedies, cooking recipes, simple entertainment, country life, and sense of family and community that have been forgotten. It has several old recipes, a few of which I am tempted to try. I found it to be a wonderful window into a simpler but more difficult time and place.
The author later becomes a professor of English, so it is an easy, entertaining, and well written read.
I loved that book, too. I copied some of the recipes out of it and made them. They are really good! It really inspired me to grow my own food, cook, bake, knit, etc... If you can feed yourself in tough economic times, you are way ahead of the game.
I loved that book, too. I copied some of the recipes out of it and made them. They are really good! It really inspired me to grow my own food, cook, bake, knit, etc... If you can feed yourself in tough economic times, you are way ahead of the game.
I read Little Heathens and it spoke to me, being from Iowa farmers, and it showed me what my dad's life was like as an Iowa farm kid. DH, being an Iowa farm kid but a generation later, had all kinds of mod cons compared to my dad. But just last night DH was talking about having 10 gallons of milk PER DAY that they used and sometimes HAD to find use for. Today the farm kid kid is outside smashing apples in a press and making cider.
This warm winter has produced hundreds and hundreds of apples in our urban orchard and he is driven to use up all of that produce. Me, I refuse to be a slave to all of the produce that we have here, and I won't help him. So judge me, go ahead. ha ha. I hate the idea of having all of this apple juice taking up space in our freezer, we don't need 12 gallons of it.
awakenedsoul
9-15-12, 4:23pm
I have an apple tree but it doesn't bear any fruit. I guess you can't grow Gravensteins in Los Angeles. It's funny how when you have an abundance of something in the garden, you can get sick of it. I have crates of pomegranates that I had to pick early. (Otherwise the rats eat every single one.) They taste pretty good, but I wish I could have ripened them longer on the tree. Last winter I gave away lots of lemons and now I'm down to my last six for the year. Rats! I wish I had frozen more juice like your husband is doing. I hate to buy lemons later in the year when I had plenty, if I'd just kept more. Oh well.
Back to OP, I just read Healing Back Pain, The Mind Body Connection, by John E. Sarno. It's excellent. He believes that back pain and fibromyalgia are psychological. (Buried negative emotions.) I've tried his techniques, and I don't have back pain anymore.
ToomuchStuff
9-16-12, 12:53am
Is this thread only for finished books? I am wondering because I have a few books I have started, and sometimes they seem to drone on, that I either walk away, or go read something else and come back and finish them. The one I am trying to get back into, I can't tell you how I heard about it (years ago), but now am trying to find time to finish it. Spark your Dream by Candelaria and Herman Zapp.
AmeliaJane
9-16-12, 9:29am
I think you can write about books you have read, are reading currently, thinking about reading, or even asking other posters if they would recommend them. The original idea when these book threads started ages ago was to give each other ideas about "the next book." My last couple books were graphic novels--I read the first one in a series called "The Sixth Gun" which is a paranormal Western, which I will definitely continue with, and I looked at a couple children's graphic novels about an 8-year-old Conan the Barbarian type character that I may give to a niece or nephew for Xmas.
Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
I didn't finish this book. I thought it gratuitously disgusting. YMMV.*
Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
I didn't finish this book. I thought it gratuitously disgusting. YMMV.*
Florence, I think I read that one, with relish. You aren't surprised, are you?;)
I think that's the one that talked about how bodies donated to Universities for medical research are sometimes sold to commercial enterprises that abuse them in testing things like mountain climbing equipment . Here these poor sods think they are doing something noble, intending to lay on a slab and be dissected by an earnest young med student, but in reality, their bodies are slammed and smashed up in experiments that develop commercial products.
awakenedsoul
9-19-12, 10:45pm
Oh that freaks me out because I donated mine to Research For Life. Oh well...I just finished Becoming Sister Wives- The Story of an Unconventional Marriage. It's by Kody, Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn Brown. It was actually fascinating. I never understood plural marriages. Their point of view is wildly different than mine. It reminded me of how some of the immigrant families live. The shared household duties, finances, and childcare.
iris lily
9-19-12, 10:47pm
Oh that freaks me out because I donated mine to Research For Life. Oh well...I just finished Becoming Sister Wives- The Story of an Unconventional Marriage. It's by Kody, Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn Brown. It was actually fascinating. I never understood plural marriages. Their point of view is wildly different than mine. It reminded me of how some of the immigrant families live. The shared household duties, finances, and childcare.
I've seen the sister wives on their tv show and some of them seemed rational.
Florence, I think I read that one, with relish. You aren't surprised, are you?;)
I think that's the one that talked about how bodies donated to Universities for medical research are sometimes sold to commercial enterprises that abuse them in testing things like mountain climbing equipment . Here these poor sods think they are doing something noble, intending to lay on a slab and be dissected by an earnest young med student, but in reality, their bodies are slammed and smashed up in experiments that develop commercial products.
The parts about organ harvesting didn't faze me: I worked for many years in an OR where we did organ harvesting and transplantation. No, it was the parts about eating feces and fetuses that seemed in the book mostly for the shock and disgust factor and I found it annoying. There are so many better books to read. IMHO.
Florence, I think I read that one, with relish. You aren't surprised, are you?;)
I think that's the one that talked about how bodies donated to Universities for medical research are sometimes sold to commercial enterprises that abuse them in testing things like mountain climbing equipment . Here these poor sods think they are doing something noble, intending to lay on a slab and be dissected by an earnest young med student, but in reality, their bodies are slammed and smashed up in experiments that develop commercial products.
I've read about quite a bit of gallows humor type corpse abuse in anatomy classes, where people should know better. I'm not interested in being a punch line or a crash-test dummy, so off to the crematorium I go.
iris lily
9-20-12, 10:58am
The parts about organ harvesting didn't faze me: I worked for many years in an OR where we did organ harvesting and transplantation. No, it was the parts about eating feces and fetuses that seemed in the book mostly for the shock and disgust factor and I found it annoying. There are so many better books to read. IMHO.
I don't remember the parts about feces and fetuses, maybe I skimmed over that part? I do skim read a lot. That book did leave me with the impression of being uneven--some good stuff, some not good stuff.
Also, there are now more regulations about medical schools selling off body parts and entire cadavers.
The most recent medical school book I read showed the students working on their cadavers for a semester, developing a relationship, and having a respectful burial after the class was over. I think, in general. Medical schools are very careful about this sort of thing.
I have some 20 library books (including bios of Ayn Rand and Mitt Romney because I just don't understand) waiting for my attention just as the SO and I are catching up on stuff around here. I'm kind of sorry I never learned speed reading.
I'm reading two fairly decent mainstream novels (if that's not a ringing endorsement, remember that I am picky about fiction.)
The Innocents by Segal. Nearing the end, I thought: hold on--I know what is coming! wow, this is a blatent ripoff of--something. Hmmm WHY is this so familiar? Had to Google it to find that all of the clues kept me clueless: the title, the main character's name "Adam Newman" didn't tip me off. It's a cover of Edith Wharton's Age of Innocence set in contemporary London among a Jewish enclave.
The Painted Bridge by Wendy Wallace is set in Victorian times and is about a young woman whose husband committs her to a genteel private mental institution.She is sane. Or is she?
San Onofre Guy
9-26-12, 1:59pm
Yes Chef by Marcus Samuelson, he is not a typical Swede!
"arms wide open - a midwife's journey" by patricia harman. Her memoir of her time in the 1960s and '70s in rural Minnesota living in communes, being a political activist, and learning midwifery.
Wonderfully written, and the description of the harsh reality of surviving winters in cabins without running water or electricity or much money is an awakening to those who romanticize that life.
I am an avid reader but my choice of books is usually in the nonfiction genre. I like to read something that is real, not just something that was made up. I have worked as a librarian (in a tiny library) before and that was a dream job, getting paid to read!! I found many great books on the donation cart or in the second hand store and even at the Dollar Tree ( a store where everything is $1)
Here are some of my recent reads:
" Pick a Better Country - An Unassuming Colored Guy Speaks His Mind About America" by Ken Hamblin. A great book by a great guy, He has served his country, is proud to be American and addresses many racial concerns with intelligence, thoughtfulness and fairness. He is breath of fresh air with his perspective.
"We Band Of Angels - The Untold Story Of American Nurses Trapped On Bataan By The Japanese" - written by Elizabeth Norman It's the true stories of courageous nurses who served our country and their experiences as they were being held by the Japanese.
Icebound - A Doctor's Incredible Battle For Survival At The South Pole - by Dr, Jerri Neilsen This was a great book about life at the community that exists at the south pole. Jerri was there as the doctor for the community. Then she developed breast cancer at a time when there was no way for a plane to land or take off to rescue her because it was too cold for a few months. Her only hope was supplies dropped from a plane as it flew over. She had to treat her cancer herself.
Black Diamond by Martin Walker
This is the third book in the Bruno Chief of Police series by Martin Walker. The usually quiet village of St. Denis is disrupted by attacks on the Vietnamese stall holders in the village market, by the substitution of inferior Chinese truffles in shipments going out of the market, and by a fire at a local Asian restaurant. Events take a truly sinister turn when Bruno's long time friend and hunting partner is brutally murdered. French history in Vietnam and Algeria is woven into the intrigue as the murder is solved. Also woven into the tapestry is the love of good food and wine and being Bruno, women. A good read.
The World of Durer by Francis Russell
I read this as part of my Art History project. I really liked this book because it did such a good job of placing Durer in his time and place. Durer was a prolific artist whose home was Nuremberg although he traveled both to Italy and to the Netherlands. Russell gives a good description of life in Durer's time. He also show the work of other artists before, during, and after Durer. The book does not go into great detail but is a good overview of Durer and his times.
frugal-one
10-1-12, 8:22pm
You may find me a bit macabre but I have been trying to get my estate planning done. This book was recommended by an estate attorney and I have to say I find it FASCINATING!!! It is "Final Rights by Joshua Slocum/Lisa Carlson. I have been taking notes. It tells how to plan a funeral, different rules for each US state, what education requirements are...etc. An example that I find interesting is that if they say "direct cremation" you should ask if the
price includes the minimum container and cost for cremation process and permits. You decide what container is temporary. Direct cremation may not even be cremation of the body. Also find interesting that in the state I live, I can bury the body in my yard, transport the body in my car myself (or whatever), and no embalming is required. Not that I would do those things... but who knew?
You may find me a bit macabre but I have been trying to get my estate planning done. This book was recommended by an estate attorney and I have to say I find it FASCINATING!!! It is "Final Rights by Joshua Slocum/Lisa Carlson. I have been taking notes. It tells how to plan a funeral, different rules for each US state, what education requirements are...etc. An example that I find interesting is that if they say "direct cremation" you should ask if the
price includes the minimum container and cost for cremation process and permits. You decide what container is temporary. Direct cremation may not even be cremation of the body. Also find interesting that in the state I live, I can bury the body in my yard, transport the body in my car myself (or whatever), and no embalming is required. Not that I would do those things... but who knew?
That is different!!! There are rules about burying bodies here. What do you mean by direct cremation? Both DH and I want cremation and our ashes scattered with no visitation or funeral and our kids know this. Feed the trees is our motto.
Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Meyes
Il libro molto bene.
decemberlov
10-10-12, 2:30pm
The Road - Cormick McCarthy
It is a post-apocalyptic tale of a journey of a father and his young son over a period of several months, across a landscape blasted by an unspecified cataclysm that has destroyed most of civilization and, in the intervening years, almost all life on Earth.
So far I am enjoying it. It's a different style of writing than I'm normally use to though.
The Road - Cormick McCarthy
It is a post-apocalyptic tale of a journey of a father and his young son over a period of several months, across a landscape blasted by an unspecified cataclysm that has destroyed most of civilization and, in the intervening years, almost all life on Earth.
So far I am enjoying it. It's a different style of writing than I'm normally use to though.
decemberlov, there's a movie out on this book also.
Blackdog Lin
10-12-12, 10:33am
Well, too cool. I've never dipped into this thread before this morning - but I just spent a pleasant half-hour reading the whole thing, and now have a lovely list of books to request from the library. As a new retiree with (a) winter coming on; and (b) a serious aversion to housecleaning, I'm very glad and grateful for everyone sharing their likes and dislikes.
As for my right-now reading: Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner. It's awesome, one of the best books I've picked up in years. From the back jacket: "tells the story of Lyman Ward, a retired professor of history and author of books about the Western frontier, who returns to his ancestral home.....embarking on a search.....to rediscover his grandmother.....who made her own journey to Grass Valley nearly a hundred years earlier. (His) investigation leads him deep into the dark shadows of his own life."
It won a Pulitzer (was published in '71), which sometimes scares me, as I frequently find award-winning novels too "deep" for me - I'm mostly looking for a cracklin' good story. I am pleasantly surprised by how good this one is. I plan to look up his other writings later.
decemberlov
10-12-12, 11:01am
decemberlov, there's a movie out on this book also.
I noticed this the other day when I was out shopping for a birthday present for my little one. I remembered the cover from seeing it at Redbox a few months ago and remember wanting to see it but then forgot about it. I'll have to wait until I finish the book now though so I don't spoil it for myself. I really dislike seeing movies before reading the book...I always like the character I make up in my head much better that who gets casted for the movie :~) Have you see the movie, Lainey?
As for my right-now reading: Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner. It's awesome, one of the best books I've picked up in years.
I am a Stegner fan and glad to hear of folks reading his books. Sometimes I worry that he is fading into obscurity. He has a book called, "Collected Stories of Wallace Stegner" that is the best collection of short stories I've ever read.
Blackdog Lin
10-12-12, 2:20pm
Thanks Rogar. I'll add that one to my reading list. What do you think about The Big Rock Candy Mountain (I've heard of it, don't know where) and The Spectator Bird (won a National Book Award)? Was thinking about trying them next.
iris lily
10-12-12, 3:28pm
Now reading "Kitchen Confidential," by Anthony Bourdain.
That book set me off on a whole slew of books about restaurants and cooks in training. None of themwere especiallly memorable, but they were all kinda interesting.
...I always like the character I make up in my head much better that who gets casted for the movie :~) Have you see the movie, Lainey?
I've seen the movie, and it pretty much mirrors the book, which as you already know, is intense. The actors who played the father and the son did a wonderful job, though.
frugal-one
10-13-12, 11:44am
That is different!!! There are rules about burying bodies here. What do you mean by direct cremation? Both DH and I want cremation and our ashes scattered with no visitation or funeral and our kids know this. Feed the trees is our motto.
That was the reason I posted this. Who knows what they mean. That is why you need to get it clarified.
San Onofre Guy
10-15-12, 10:49am
I just finished a book by Alexandra Fuller about growing up in Rhodesia during the war in the 70's and I am now reading a sequel about her mother growing up.
RIGHT NOW I'm reading the Dave Ramsey stuff (taking the class), "Reclaiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World" by Bishop John Shelby Spong (for a class at our UU church starting at the end of the month), and "Why Faith Matters" by Rabbi David Wolpe (because I want to). And I have three or four very good half-read books I need to finish, but DARN -- too many books, too little time.
Forest Gardens, Vol 1 and Folks, This Ain't Normal (Salatin)
smellincoffee
10-24-12, 11:38am
Forest Gardens, Vol 1 and Folks, This Ain't Normal (Salatin)
I've heard a lot of good things about Salatin! He appeared in Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, if I remember correctly.
As for myself, I'm reading Flushed! How the Plumber Saved Civilization.
"Imperfect Birds" by Anne Lamott. Novel about a Calif. mom with a teenager who abuses drugs. Very realistic, wondering if Anne herself had to go through that with her son in real life ...
I have to read so much stuff for work that I almost always read fiction for pleasure, you know, on my own time.
Just finishing Patterson's 11th Hour, co-written with someone else, not the best.
frugal-one
10-25-12, 9:19pm
AWESOME... FRUGAL LIVING BOOK... Have a couple of dozen pages earmarked.... "Clark Howard's Living Large in Lean Times" (250+ ways to buy smarter, spend smarter, and save money). Haven't found a more useful book in years!!! I have learned so much.
I have my usual 4 books going:
The Man Who Saved the Union by H.W.Brands. It is a biography of Ulysses S. Grant. It is excellent. I am learning so much that I really had no idea of. For example, I didn't know that during the Mexican-American War, the U.S. invaded Mexico at Vera Cruz and fought Santa Ana all the way to Mexico City. Also, both Grant and Robert E. Lee were in the 4th Infantry together on the invasion.
South Riding by Winifred Holtby. This indulges my love for English village life. Very good.
7 by Jen Hatmaker. Did Jesus really mean it when he said to care for the poor and sick?
A Fearsome Doubt by Charles Todd. Murder most English in the years just following WW I.
iris lily
10-26-12, 9:40pm
I just finished Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok, probably the best novel I've read this year.
It's about a young Chinese girl who emigrants to the U.S. with her mother. She is gifted in academics. She and her mom suffer through a few years living in a NYC condemned apartment with no heat and endless roaches while they struggle to learn the language and makes ends meet.
iris lily
10-26-12, 9:41pm
...
South Riding by Winifred Holtby. This indulges my love for English village life. Very good.
...
I watched the BBC production of this, it was decent.
I just finished Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok, probably the best novel I've read this year.
It's about a young Chinese girl who emigrants to the U.S. with her mother. She is gifted in academics. She and her mom suffer through a few years living in a NYC condemned apartment with no heat and endless roaches while they struggle to learn the language and makes ends meet.
I just requested it from the library. It sounds intriguing.
boss mare
10-27-12, 9:51pm
I just started Cowboy Ethics by James Owen and Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin I had read her book The Happiness Project and I just loved it..... I hope I love this one as much too
Next on the list is: Lessons From A Desperado Poet by Baxter Black
Very timely - with the 50th anniversary of the Cuban missile crisis -
One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War, by Michael Dobbs
The book was published in 2009, but I heard a radio interview with the author this past week, and I was interested enough to pick up the Kindle version (I read on my phone). There is lots of information from recently declassified documents. It's fascinating. You really get a sense of the chaos and confusion. Before I'd only read RFK's Thirteen Days, which I believe was in one of my political science classes in college (I was a journalism/poli sci double major).
I have been reading:
The Man Who Saved the Union by H.W.Brands (Excellent)
South Riding (Liking it more and more as I get further into it)
The Foreest Unseen: A Year's Watching in Nature by David Haskell (Just started it so the verdict is still out)
A Fearsome Doubt by Charles Todd (Excellent Ian Rutledge mystery)
Paris: A Love Story by Kati Marton (Very disappointing; didn't finish it)
pony mom
11-13-12, 12:06am
I'm just starting Middlemarch by George Eliot. I love English classics. It's a pretty thick book and very wordy so I have to slow my eyes down so my brain can catch up (I read too fast).
I was hoping to find another book by Wilkie Collins, since I really enjoyed The Woman in White and Armadale, but my library didn't have any other books by him.
Gardenarian
11-14-12, 5:13pm
Just discover K.J. Parker. Wonderful writer! (fantasy stuff)
awakenedsoul
11-14-12, 5:33pm
I Just finished Lies My Mother Never Told Me by Kaylie Jones. What a terrific writer! It was excellent. It's a momoir. Now I'm reading The Urban Homestead by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen. I'm enjoying it. Most of it is stuff I already know, but it inspires me to get out and weed the garden.
Well I tried to read Brave Dragons: A Chinese Basketball Team, an American Coach, and Two Cultures Clashing by Jim Yardley, but gave up about a third of the way through. One reviewer called it "rollicking." I beg to differ. "Plodding" would be more like it. Not much basketball, lots of mind-numbing background. I started Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, decided I didn't like the female lead, leafed through to the conclusion, and that was that. I don't seem to be having much luck with books lately, but The Mole People is next up, and maybe my luck will improve.
dado potato
11-14-12, 6:12pm
I just started 1493
I just started 1493
Be sure to let us know how it is. I've been intending to read it.
dado potato
11-16-12, 5:09pm
1493 is full of tidbits that I quite enjoy ... the "Little Ice Age" arguably brought about by unintended reforestation due to the decline of aboriginal population in N America, the innovation of joint stock companies in England as a "private enterprise" approach to achieve colonization, European honeybees and earthworms arriving in the new world, etc.
Sir Francis Drake as a "terrorist".
Things that make me go, Hmmm.
This must have been my week of autobiographies by dead guys, as I finished David Rakoff's "Fraud" and Christopher Hitchens' "Mortality". I enjoyed the latter much more. They both have(had?) a razor-sharp wit, but being witness to Hitchens' articulate exploration of his own cancer diagnosis and (unsuccessful) treatment was really enlightening for me.
I just finished Richard Ford's "Canada". It famously starts out with this, "First, I will tell about the robbery our parents committed, then about the murders which happened later." Nice grabber for an opening line. The rest is the story of what happens to a 15 year old boy who seems to be leading a normal life, when one day his parents decide to rob a bank.
Sometimes modern novels don't appeal to me but I liked this one a lot. A believable story. An intriguing plot and written in a language that made me want to re-read sentences two or three times just because.
I would add that I also recently read "Wolfer" by Carter Niemeyer. It's a true memoir by the man behind the scenes who headed up the reintroduction of the wolf into the United States. It is a gritty account of the saga between ranchers, the government agencies, and predator wildlife in the West. I think it is an eye opening dose of reality for us treehuggers and also for conservatives. It was excellent.
The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature by David Haskell
Beautiful, just beautiful. The words convey both the beauty of nature and the love the author feels toward his chosen mandala. In addition to the affection expressed, the author has a good grasp of the general science of the area. I was quite surprised to learn how little I knew about the relation between roots and fungi and about life below the leaf litter. Very interesting, very well written.
The Weiser Guide to Cryptozoology, by Budd, a variety of foundation piecing books, and Metal Clay and Color by Wohlgemuth.
Im reading the Pulse by Scott Williams.Its about some kind of solar flar or pulse that wipes out the grid. It could be a good story but the writing isnt the best.I just finished Surviviors.It was alittle to religous for me and I didnt like the ending.But most of the book was good.Im fixing to start Collision Corse.I was reading westerns but now Im on this economic collapes thing.
Gardenarian
12-10-12, 2:34pm
"Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail" by Cheryl Strayed.
I've been wanting to do a really long backpacking trip for a while, and was really looking forward to this book. What a disappointment! This is more of a coming of age story than a hiking tale. The book was written more than 10 years after she made her trip, and her memories seem to have gathered a lot of dust in that time. There is very little description and what there is is dull and pallid. I'm clearly not the audience this was aimed at, but I can't imagine who would enjoy the whining, self-indulgent tone of this book.
"Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail" by Cheryl Strayed.
...but I can't imagine who would enjoy the whining, self-indulgent tone of this book.
Thanks Gardenarian. That is one that I was thinking about reading. I think I will pass.
My last read was "Passage" by Sandy Powers. It is a short book of true anecdotes and letters about the author's mother growing up during the depression, living through WWII, and eventually becoming an undercover agent for the FBI during the cold war. I thought it was excellent, but maybe a better library borrow than a purchase since it's a pretty short read. I finished it in an afternoon. The lady was a true survivor and it was an interesting account. To me it was a good example of the everyday heroes that developed during the depression and war years, as much from the circumstances of the times as from strong character.
From a simple living standpoint, it was a reminder of the common trials our parents or grandparents endured as a fact of everyday life. And maybe how much we take for granted these days.
"Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail" by Cheryl Strayed.
I've been wanting to do a really long backpacking trip for a while, and was really looking forward to this book. What a disappointment! This is more of a coming of age story than a hiking tale. The book was written more than 10 years after she made her trip, and her memories seem to have gathered a lot of dust in that time. There is very little description and what there is is dull and pallid. I'm clearly not the audience this was aimed at, but I can't imagine who would enjoy the whining, self-indulgent tone of this book.
Funny, Gardenarian, I had almost the opposite reaction when I read this.
Strayed says in the beginning that she's an absolute novice hiker and it shows from her many mistakes. On the other hand, I thought her writing was very clear and descriptive - when she talks about being able to take a cool drink after hours of being thirsty, or badly misjudging her boot size and watching her toenails turn black - all of those things made me feel like I was there with her. Her persistence in continuing to hike even when others were quitting also indicated her awareness that she knew the journey was helping her emotionally and other ways.
I agree that if you're looking for a book more focused on hiking itself, then this may not be for you.
I agree that if you're looking for a book more focused on hiking itself, then this may not be for you.
I actually really liked the book, "Turn Right at Machu Pichu" by Mark Adams. Quite a bit of hiking and camping adventure, some good history, and entertaining and sometime humorous writing. The author's job as an outdoor writer has kept him at a desk in NYC for years, when he decides to take a great adventure.
AmeliaJane
12-11-12, 9:11am
I just finished Mansfield Park. It was interesting although I understand why people say it is not their favorite Jane Austen. Compared to heroines like Elizabeth Bennet and Emma, Fanny Price is something of a prig and there is a lot less of Austen's signature subtle humor. On the other hand, I wasn't sure up until the end which way the plot was going to go and that was kind of fun. I think part of the problem is that Fanny is so deprived (no supportive family, no money, no power at all over her own fate, except to decide who she's going to marry) that Austen can't quite bear to give her the flaws that make her other heroines more human.
Also just read "The Year of Learning Dangerously" by Quinn Cummings, who writes about taking her daughter out of school for homeschooling and spends a year investigating different corners of the homeschool community. I thought she got a little heavy-handed when she was writing about the religious conservative community, but overall it was pretty funny.
Gardenarian
12-12-12, 5:01pm
I just finished Mansfield Park. It was interesting although I understand why people say it is not their favorite Jane Austen.
Though I have read that Austen considered "Mansfied Park" to be her best novel.
AmeliaJane
12-13-12, 2:13pm
Well, I will say that I found Mansfield Park the most thought-provoking of the Austens, in that afterwards I really found myself pondering what Austen was trying to accomplish in the book (in a good way, not a bad-writing kind of way). I read Emma last year and it was interesting to see some of the wealth dynamics from the poor side of the perspective.
I spent the summer on a science fiction kick, re-reading my collection of Heinlein, Wells, Burroughs, Bradbury, Clarke & Asimov. For the winter months, I've just moved on to the epic-fantasy genre beginning with George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series which include A Game of Thrones, A Storm of Swords, A Feast of Crows, A Clash of Kings and A Dance with Dragons.
The next book in the series, The Winds of Winter may be published by the time I finish the first five.
Just came from the library with Sex and the Kitty, about Nancy the Facebook cat, as well as books on color and patina on metal jewelry, paper beads, Sasquatch, and baking with almond flour.
The Storyteller
12-14-12, 12:03pm
I spent the summer on a science fiction kick, re-reading my collection of Heinlein, Wells, Burroughs, Bradbury, Clarke & Asimov. For the winter months, I've just moved on to the epic-fantasy genre beginning with George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series which include A Game of Thrones, A Storm of Swords, A Feast of Crows, A Clash of Kings and A Dance with Dragons.
The next book in the series, The Winds of Winter may be published by the time I finish the first five.
We have very similar taste in books, Alan. Great minds, as they say...
Which Burroughs (I assume ER) books are you re-reading?
Which Burroughs (I assume ER) books are you re-reading?
Mostly the Barsoom series (unfortunately I don't have the entire collection) with a few others such as Tarzan of the Apes and The Lost Continent thrown in for good measure.
Gardenarian
12-17-12, 5:12pm
The next book in the series, The Winds of Winter may be published by the time I finish the first five.
Eagerly anticapating "Winds of Winter"! I hope I don't forget the entire series before it comes out!
Eagerly anticapating "Winds of Winter"! I hope I don't forget the entire series before it comes out!Martin is known for the long periods between release of each book in the series, but man are they worth the wait!
The Storyteller
12-18-12, 10:58am
Alan, so glad to find another ERB fan. He helped me survive a very rough and tumble high school experience. And I agree about Martin and his long lapses being worth the wait. As a Dallas Cowboys fan, however, I didn't appreciate his little Giants vs Cowboys dig in the last book. [Actually, it was so cleverly done, I didn't really mind.]
I knew if we looked long enough, you and I would find something to agree on. :)
Gardenarian, don't worry. This series is so rich, it is worth re-reading every time a new addition comes out. I just hope I'm still alive when the next one comes out.
ETA: I also very much appreciate Heinlein, especially his early work.
As a Dallas Cowboys fan, however, I didn't appreciate his little Giants vs Cowboys dig in the last book. [Actually, it was so cleverly done, I didn't really mind.]
Are you speaking of Ser Patrek, with the silver star on a white field herald, who was killed by a giant?
The Storyteller
12-18-12, 1:30pm
Are you speaking of Ser Patrek, with the silver star on a white field herald, who was killed by a giant?
Nice catch. Giant, aka Wun-Wun, aka One One, aka Eleven, aka Phil Simms.
I didn't catch it, myself. Had to have it explained to me over on the Westeros GRRM fan site.
Well I didn't catch it either, had to think about what you were inferring.
Florence
12-19-12, 11:50am
The Inn at Rose Harbor
When you pick up a Debbie Macomber novel, you know that while trials may abound, in the end, love will overcome. One doesn't read a DM book for great intellectual stimulation but for soul nourishment. This was an especially well written poignant story of loss and guilt, of forgiveness and hope, of coming home. Good for a cold winter day under a quilt with a cat and a cup of hot tea.
Finished!
This morning I finished reading the Bible in a year chronologically. Our church had challenged us to do this. I have read the Bible in a year before but never chronologically. It was a real blessing and I learned so much! I especially appreciated the emails from others sharing their struggles and blessings as we all read on together.
iris lily
12-31-12, 12:35pm
I reviewed the 2012 thread and don’t think I mentioned these fairly decent novels.I try to list the books that I found worth reading, but don’t give anylove to the ones that are easily forgetable. Both are about young women in WWI era Europe, both about Holocaust survival.
Lost Wife by Alyson Richman. A young couple is separated in the Holocaust. This has an interesting focus on life of artists during this tragic time.
House at Tynford by Natasha Solomons: about a rich young Jewish girl in Vienna who is forced to go to England to work as a chambermaid. This one isn’t as good as the Amazon ratings indicate. It is hyped "for those who like Downton Abbey" but it's not much like that.
Miss Buncle's Book
Miss Buncle who lives in the quiet English village of Silverstream needs money. It is 1934 and her dividends are simply not coming in adequate to pay her meager bills. She considers her options and decides to write a book. She thinks she lacks imagination and must write about what she knows. And what does she know? Her neighbors and the people of Silverstream. So she writes a thinly disguised novel about the people of her village. A veritable tempest in a teapot is set off in the village. Its a pleasant story which nourished my love of English village life.
iris lily
12-31-12, 8:46pm
Miss Buncle's Book
I'll put this on my list. I like village novels but so many are either a little too treacle-y or else they have a murder in them. Don't like either one. The height of village novels in the style that I like are the Mapp and Lucia novels.
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