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Chari
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A nice idea, Donna....and you are off to such a good start! Here's to 2009!!
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Chari...Take Up & Read
Dh Marty 27yrs...3 lovely maidens: Anne 24, Sarah 20 & Maddelyn 17 and 3 chivalrous sons: Matthew 22, Garrett 16 & Malachy 11
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Sarah M
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| Posted: Jan 31 2009 at 9:16pm | IP Logged
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Chari wrote:
Sarah, did you finish Three Cups of Tea? What did you think?
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I'm only on chapter 4- having a hard time getting into it, but my sister raves about how good it is, so I'm trying to stick with it.
I got a late start on it because I was distracted by a little gem of a book: A Year Without Made in China- a witty, humorous, and yet serious and insightful book- a quick read, I enjoyed it!
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Carmie
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| Posted: Jan 31 2009 at 9:55pm | IP Logged
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Sarah, I'm supposed to be reading Three Cups of Tea for my bookclub, but I'm just not motivated yet although I hear nothing but great things about this book.
I read A Year Without Made in China last month and although I liked her challenge to boycott China, I got bogged down with the constant concern on how this venture might affect her children. The way I saw it, her kids needed a few less "things" with lights and batteries! She did prove that we are quite dependent on China for a good portion of the things we buy.
Right now, I'm about to finish reading Twilightand I have to say that this is so not my kind of book, but I had to see what all the fuss was about. I'm on the fence about continuing the series. I am struggling with the dialogue. I find myself re-reading passages a lot to really understand them. I don't like vampires even so-called nice ones.
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Carmie
mommy to Luke(10), Sam (4) and Tess born 12/02/08
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Kyra
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I also received The Shack for Christmas. I got all the way through it. I thought the writing was terrible, and the theology was questionable, to say the least. I recommend against it.
I just re-read Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom, by Loiusa May Alcott. They were a fun read. A little overtly moralistic, but fun.
I read Skellig, by David Almond (I think) last week. It's YA fiction about a boy who's just moved house, his baby sister is sick, and he finds a mysterious creature hidden in the broken-down garage. I really liked it. It won something or other in Britain for second-best YA fiction in seventy years.
I'm gradually working on The Well-Trained Mind, and I'm going to re-read the Lord of the Rings (I haven't read it in at least four years, which is too long), Poetic Knowledge, by James Taylor, and read So Brave, Young, and Handsome (by Leif Enger) for the first time.
Sorry for the crummy sentences-up all night with sick baby.
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Kyra
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Oh, and whoever's reading Home, I hope you like it. Gilead is probably my favourite novel ever. I didn't like Home quite as much, but it's still a beautiful book.
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Sarah M
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| Posted: Feb 02 2009 at 10:07am | IP Logged
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Carmie wrote:
| Sarah, I read A Year Without Made in China last month and although I liked her challenge to boycott China, I got bogged down with the constant concern on how this venture might affect her children. The way I saw it, her kids needed a few less "things" with lights and batteries! She did prove that we are quite dependent on China for a good portion of the things we buy. |
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Oh, I completely agree! It was rather shocking, for instance, to read that her 4yo asked that his Santa list be read to him each night, in lieu of a bedtime story--even worse to read that she actually complied.  Much about her parenting I disagreed with, but I think she has a fabulous writing style and I enjoyed her book anyway.
Now I'm getting serious about Three Cups of Tea and I'm re-reading Pocketful of Pinecones- a favorite!
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Barbara C.
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Inspired partly by this forum, I decided to keep track of which books I read each month in the form a of a blog post. So if anyone is ever looking for ideas, I am giving "Reading Lists" its own category. The list for January 2009 is up right now.
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Barbara
Mom to "spirited" dd(9), "spunky" dd (6), "sincere" dd (3), "sweet" dd (2), and baby girl #5 born 8/1/12!!
Box of Chocolates
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Karen T
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Natalia wrote:
Karen T wrote:
And I just started The Book Thief today; it's so weird with the narrator I'm not sure if I'll continue but I plan to give it a few chapters at least to see. |
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A friend lent me this book and I finished reading it about a month ago. I loved it! It is weird and it is not a happy book but I liked the perspective the narrator brings to the story. I also loved the main character and I loved the way the author writes. If you finish it let me know how you liked it. |
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I finally finished this book this past weekend. I kept vacillating as to whether I liked it or not, but I think I've decided yes. It was very strange and there were some things I wish had been narrated differently (trying not to spoil it but I'd prefer not to have known some things ahead of time that were given away) I read the author's blurb that said his parents grew up in Austria and Nazi Germany, so he had some first-hand information and it made it very believable.
ETA One thing I learned from this book - most of the German swear words!
Karen
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Carmie
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With all the negative reviews for The Shack I am wondering if I should bother at all. Everyone I talk to about this book has something negative to say. My Father-in-law (Christian, but not Catholic)gave this book to everyone in the family for Christmas. I'm not sure if he's even read it himself. I'm curious though. What is it that people are finding so appealing?? This is a huge bestseller.
I'm back to reading The Bird in the Treeby Elizabeth Goudge. Any fans of Elizabeth Goudge??
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Carmie
mommy to Luke(10), Sam (4) and Tess born 12/02/08
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Kyra
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I love Elizabeth Goudge. Well, I love The Little White Horse. I keep meaning to look for more of her books.
The Shack is very 'huggy' theology. (Warning, pejorative language) God just loves us without expectations or obligations, institutional religion is bad, we shouldn't ever bow to obligations, there is no Hell. Someone I know said that it added a "Sola" to the Reformation- "Sola Relationship", we are saved by our direct relationship to God, without interfering tradition, ritual, or priesthood.
I didn't like it much.
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Sarah M
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Okay, I finished Three Cups of Tea- actually, I just couldn't get into it. So I bailed and read the Young Reader's Version instead---MUCH BETER! Way less rambling, much more action. I loved it. Very inspiring and really interesting.
Next up: Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr. And I'm still working through Pocketful of Pinecones and The Love Dare(The book featured in Fireproof, the movie, which I am still waiting to see- I'm in line for it at the library).
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LisaD
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Carmie wrote:
I'm back to reading The Bird in the Treeby Elizabeth Goudge. Any fans of Elizabeth Goudge?? |
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I LOVE Elizabeth Goudge. I just passed a bunch of her books along to my mother and she is now a big fan, too.
This week I read Inkheart, which I really enjoyed. I had to keep swiping it from 9 year old dd, though!  I also recently read L.M. Alcott's Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom. Yes, they are a bit idealistic and moralistic (especially Rose in Bloom), but I really enjoyed them. I'll be passing those along to dd to read, too.
Next up are Michael Phillips' Legend of the Celtic Stone and An Ancient Strife.
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~Lisa
Mama to dd(99), ds(01), ds(03) and ds(06)
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donnalynn
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Thanks to 4real - I checked out a couple of Elizabeth Goudge novels over Christmas - I read The City of Bells and another related story The Sister of the Angels- this is a Christmas story which some consider a younger reader's book but it was in our adult library section - it is wonderful and I am going to suggest it for my daughters next year.
Anyone know which of her other novels might have more of a Springtime feel?
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donnalynn
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SeaStar
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I just finished
"Miss Alcott's E-mail"
It was very interesting. I had not realized until now how little I knew about her or the times she lived in. I was astounded to read that she lived across the street from Ralph Waldo Emerson, and that next door on one side was Nathaniel Hawthorne. On the other side? Henry David Thoreau.
Can you imagine?
I learned a lot from this book- for instance, many families boycotted stores that sold products made by slaves (similar to boycotting made in China?). The people of her times were fascinating. Harriett Tubman? I have to read more about her. She was a woman who GOT THINGS DONE.
I had no idea.
Anyway- I think it would be a great living history book for older kids.
I enjoyed it from start to finish.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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Karen T
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LisaD wrote:
This week I read Inkheart, which I really enjoyed. I had to keep swiping it from 9 year old dd, though! I also recently read L.M. Alcott's Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom. Yes, they are a bit idealistic and moralistic (especially Rose in Bloom), but I really enjoyed them. I'll be passing those along to dd to read, too.
Next up are Michael Phillips' Legend of the Celtic Stone and An Ancient Strife. |
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I just finished Inkheartalso but didn't think it was that great. The first half was very good, but then it seemed to take a long time to resolve, with very little additional development, and the ending was a little too neat for me. But, for the age it's written to I suppose it is probably good! I was just hoping for more, esp with a movie coming out.
Karen T
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LisaD
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donnalynn wrote:
Anyone know which of her other novels might have more of a Springtime feel?
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Oh, you should read The Scent of Water! It's a lovely, lovely book. Another favorite, really a children's book, is Linnets and Valerians. Something I like about Elizabeth Goudge, is that her books for younger readers are just as engaging for adults.
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~Lisa
Mama to dd(99), ds(01), ds(03) and ds(06)
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Kyra
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There's a weird novel (which I only read half of) which won the Pulitzer in 2005? I think? called March, which is a reimagining of the Little Women story, told from Mr. March's perspective. It includes a lot of details which pertain to L.M. Alcott's life, including suffragism and emancipation. Unfortunately it portrays Mr. March as a pretty awful, immoral person.
I'm re-reading LotR right now, and a couple of Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid cookbooks/travel books (Seductions of Rice and Hot Sour Salty Sweet). A lot of fun.
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Chari
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Welcome, Kyra, to the boards and the Book Club!
LOTR......lucky you! I know there is a re-re-read, or so  ....in ,my future.....got to read some other books first.
I just finished the curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon.
Has anyone ever read this before? It is a "book" "written" from the perspective of a 15 yo autistic boy. My friend has an autistic boy who we interact with frequently......and I read it to "see" some of his pespective. He is sleeping over tonight as a matter of fact, while his mom is out of town and dad is at work. the boy in the book is higher functioning.
The story is kind of sad......but very well-written......with a few "bad words"
Melinda...two summers ago, we toured the homes of the authors in Concord, MA........WAY COOL to be where
they all wrote our favorite books!
And, Margaret Sidney, of Five Little Pepper fame also lived in the same house as LMA and Hawthorne. Small world!
We also took a walk all around Walden Pond.
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Chari...Take Up & Read
Dh Marty 27yrs...3 lovely maidens: Anne 24, Sarah 20 & Maddelyn 17 and 3 chivalrous sons: Matthew 22, Garrett 16 & Malachy 11
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CrunchyMom
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Chari wrote:
I have to admit I am not well-read .....as I have only read ONE Dickens' book......A Christmas Carol. My children think I am a fraud...........in having never read CD. I REALLY need to read some Dickens......my 13 year old has read at least 6 FAT Dickens' novels (but I cannot get her to read Anne of Green Gables for some reason.......maybe if I hid ALL books but those... )
North and South is SO on my list this year..........so I can be allowed to see the movie. Mare may have convinced me to get going...(with the Pride and Prejudice lean ).....except I am kind of fasting from reading.....but, hey, lent will be here soon....I can fast then......maybe I should just give in.....going to the library site to order it now. |
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I think I'm a fraud, too. I enjoyed BLEAK HOUSE from Masterpiece Theater, but I can't say I loved it so much that I want to read the book. Dickens characters are amazing, but everything seems a bit dark, and, well, dirty. Like grungy dirty, not inappropriate or anything. Great Expectations (themovie) was so depressing.
Oddly, I LOVED KRISTEN LAVRANSDATTER, so, I can't really claim that I only like "happy" books or anything. I can't really explain my aversion, though, I might try it if you will
Yk, I actually think my aversion to Dickens comes from being forced to watch the musical OLIVER in grade school every year when our teacher was preoccupied with the high school musical. I didn't like it at all--it actually scared and upset me as a child.
NORTH AND SOUTH was good. Actually a very fast read for me. I read it online from Project Gutenberg last year, the only book I've really done that with (but the library didn't have it and I really didn't want to buy it).
As for what I'm reading now, I have lots of non-fiction in the basket next to my chair: PRAYER PRIMER by Dubay, MARRIED SAINTS AND BLESSEDS, JESUS OF NAZARETH by Pope Benedict, AN AMERICAN CHILDHOOD, IN THIS HOUSE OF BREDE (my only novel), THE STORY OF A SOUL by St. Therese, and a few other things I can't remember!
I loved Goudge's series that included PILGRIM'S INN, though I can't recall the names of the other books in that series atm.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
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[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Kyra
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Thank you. :D I've re-read LotR so many times that I had to take a break for a few years- have you ever re-read something until you can visualize where specific sentences are on each page? And then I saw the movies several times, and wanted to wait a while until they'd faded. Anyway, we've just made it to the Council of Elrond, so it's going nicely.
My husband wants me to read Irresistable Revolution, by Shane Claiborne, when I get a chance. He's just read it and was astonished at Claiborne's life and message.
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4Real Forums : Book Club
Topic: Our 2009 Book List!
