Library Bookshelf

[CallieOK]

Merry Monday,

Valtermar, my library has an audio book of "Daughter of the Mountains".  I'm no longer able to go to the library but I can borrow e-books.  So I don't know if they have a hard copy of this one.

Sometimes I get started with an author and more or less read my way through the list of e-books.  Had never particularly liked Nicholas Sparks but recently read one that I did like....and now I'm "hooked".

Am also reading novels by Susan Meissener.  Just finished "Secrets of a Charmed Life" (two sisters who were evacuated to the country during the London Blitz of WWII/a journalist's current day interview with one of them) and have started "Lady In Waiting" that fictionally connects Lady Jane Grey with a current day discovery in a box of antique trinkets.

I might get more reading done if Domestic Duties, errands and watching my OU Sooners football games didn't interrupt.   

[Marilyne]

Callie - I'm going to put Secrets of a Charmed Life, on hold at the library.  Definitely sounds like a story that will appeal to me. If they don't have it, I'll choose another title by Meisner. 

Maryc - I'm not doing so well with Mountain Time, by Doig.  I enjoyed The Whistling Season, so much, and loved all the characters, but not so for this one. The older I get, the more impatient I become with a story.  If it doesn't grab me early on, I tend to lose interest.

I ordered Doctor Z, but it's in transit from one of the other county libraries, so don't know when it will arrive.

[maryc]

Marilyn I didn't get into Mountain Time either.  After The Whistling Season that was so good I just didn't feel like I could make the leap to modern time.  I guess that I just felt better connected to the simple life of the earlier time.  I did enjoy some of the description of places in San Francisco after we were just there last fall.
  I'm having trouble just now getting into a book that keeps my attention.  There is a lot going on in my life and by the time I have time to read, I'm too tired.  Maybe when winter starts to settle in.....could be the season change.

[Tomereader1]

One of my neighbors is having a new roof put on, the hammering is driving me crazy. May have to get out and do some shopping or something.  I need a new roof too, but can wait a bit to save up for the deductible.
Oh BTW, there seemed to be such a furor over the brand new mystery from Laura Lippman. Well, I'm reading it now, and am not liking it anywhere near as much as I thought I would.  Was on a library request list for about two months!

[Valtermar]

Hi!

Marilyne, MarsGal and Callie, thank you for the comments on "Daughter of the Mountains".

I found out that Amazon, in Brazil (www.amazon.com.br), has the book in hard-copy for prompt delivery. Lucky me.

I will rather read the book in hard copy than hear the audio-book. Tried an audio book just once, while in a long transatlantic flight, and was pleasantly surprised that it helped me sleep.

[MarsGal]

Hi everybody!

Unfortunately, I haven't had a lot of time to read the last few days, so have nothing new to report.

I am sure I won't get through much of the book on the late Han Dynasty before it must go back. Too bad. I did, however, find some articles by the author in .pdf form to download and someone wrote a compilation titled "Campaigns of the Three Kingdoms: A Compilation of Battles, Wars and Engagements", also in .pdf form. It sure looks like a handy guide to read. Odd that there is no author listed, but it does include source and reference lists. These will have to do since there is no way I can afford the huge price for this book ($200 US). The publisher of the book, Brill, has an e-book form, but it is not in English.

[MarsGal]

I haven't been reading much this last week. However, yesterday I did finish listening to Simon Winchester's The Madman and the Professor. More than the history of the the creation of the New Oxford Dictionary, it is a human interest story. It mainly follows the relationship between one of the contributors and one of the editors of the dictionary. A very touching story. I am eyeballing The Silk Roads: A new history of the World by Peter Frankopan for my next listen, but I may change my mind.

Yesterday, also, I started reading H. Beam Piper's Lone Star Planet. Very funny parody of Texans complete with "supercows", everyone carrying guns, and the Alamo, the real one not a replica. It seems the Texans, most of them, migrated lock stock and barrel to the planet New Texas. Very funny!

The book on the Late Han Dynasty went back to the library today. The book is too material dense (lots of notes and detail) for me to get through before I had to send it back. If it ever comes out in English in Ebook form I will likely get it. Well then again the book is $42 in Dutch/German, so I hate to think what the cost would be here.

[so_P_bubble]

I too have enjoyed The madman and the Professor. Real interesting on how Oxford D. was created.

[MarsGal]

Okay, so now I have gotten into Quantum by Patricia Cornwell. I am not into it far enough to say anything about it. The audio book I decided on is Adrian Goldsworthy's How Rome Fell. I am impressed already.

[PatH2]

I read some of Cornwell's early detective stories with pleasure, but as she continued they got increasingly ill-natured, and I gave up.  Let us know how Quantum turns out.

[FlaJean]

Have just started reading "She Said" by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey.  I've just gotten through the Preface and the first couple of chapters, but it is very interesting.  It took a lot of work to just get the information and then to find women willing to take the chance of telling it.  Amazing how much these powerful and rich men get away with.

[Marilyne]

Callie - I finished Queen Bee, and I definitely have mixed feelings. Some things I liked, and others, not so much.  Too predictable for me.  Archie's new wife Sharon, was way too much of a witch to be believable.  Her sudden and convenient demise was even more unbelievable!    The situation with Leslie's husband Charlie, was also too extreme to be believable.  In other words, the whole storyline was a stretch for me.   However, I did read every line and it held my interest, even though it verged on fantasy! ha ha  There is something about Dorothea B Frank's novels, that always keep me reading - whether I really like them or not. The story moves along at a fast pace, and the dialogue is always witty and entertaining.

On a different subject . . . tonight is the final episode of the Country Music documentary, and I'm going to miss it!  I've enjoyed it very much.   

[MarsGal]

I am about three quarters of the way through Quantum now. The author is doing a good job of keeping me confused about what is going on, but then the main character is thoroughly confused too. Lots of little clues and hints that do not make much sense. The animation and videos are very short and at the beginning of each chapter. They don't really add anything to this particular book, IMO.

The third book in Martha Wells/ Murderbot series, Rogue Protocol, showed up, so I gave Quantum a break to read it. Her Murderbot stories are quick and relatively short, so I finished in two days. The characters remain interesting and/or likeable, both human, non-human and those in between. Now the fourth is on hold for an estimated eight weeks at the library.

[Marilyne]

MarsGal - I think my husband read the Martha Wells series, Rogue Protocol?  He's still asleep, but when he finally appears for breakfast, I'll ask him how he liked them?  Good luck with Quantum.  I admire the way you stick with a book, and don't give up on it.  I don't seem to have the patience anymore. 

Jean and Callie - I have She Said, and Secrets of a Charmed Life, on order at my library.
Callie - see my message above, on Queen Bee.

[Vanilla-Jackie]

Two books i have just taken possession of this week are...
...her most recently published and more updated versioned book " Heaven Your Real Home From a Higher Perspective " and " Finding God in Hidden Places " both by Joni Eareckson Tada...Before i ordered i watched her video on youtube so i could hear the sound of her voice, also to see her sincerity of her beliefs in her facial expressions, her warmth as she spoke...she comes across as a very inspiring lady...I was very impressed with her...For anyone who doesn't know, she is a quadriplegic for more than 50 years and, a cancer survivor...Her books are to give one the hope and the joy of our better world is yet to come...These are two books i am so needing since the sudden death of my Richard...I so need that comfort factor that he is in a better place than i am in at this present time in my life, as it is me who is now carrying his pain and doing his suffering each and every day..

Oh, and if i can muster up any smiles, i have also taken in Pam Ayres most recent book " Up In The Attic."...Me and Richard saw one of her live performance shows a few years ago at a local theatre back where we used to live...

[MarsGal]

Oh bother. It turns out that Quantum is the beginning of a series. While the action in this first novel has an ending, the main character's twin sister, and suspected source of all the trouble, remains at large. This leaves it open for the twin to cause more mischief. Think I will pass.

Also, I finished Police Your Planet by Lester del Rey (aka: Erik van Lhin).   It is an interesting novel about a guy deported to Mars with a promise that if he can clean up the corruption there, he may be able to return to Earth. The action and characters remind me of old style gangster days with gangs of mobsters and the police all using clubs and knives. There are drug running, job buying, extortion, kickbacks, bribes, territorial gang fights, etc. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20212

[FlaJean]

I finished reading one of the best memoirs I have ever read—-"The Master of Disguise:  My Secret Life in the CIA" by Antonio J. Mendez.  A few years ago I bought from Apple the movie "Argo" about the rescue of 6 Americans in 1980 during the Iran crisis.  The movie made in 2012 was about the "ex filtration" CIA specialist who proposed a supposedly wild idea to use a Canadian film crew idea to scout out locations for a science fiction film as a ruse to rescue the 6 Americans.

To make a long story short, I watched the movie again a couple of weeks ago and wondered what the real story was like.  I found the book by Mr. Mendez in iBooks and bought it.  Mr. Mendez never got credit for rescuing the Americans until the movie came out in 2012.  The book explains so much about counterintelligence of the CIA while also covering Mr. Mendez's life and how diligent and stressful life can be for undercover agents.

The book is outstanding and so is the movie.

[Marilyne]

MarsGal - I love that title, Police Your Planet!   It sounds like a good story - kind of like the movie Gangs of New York, takes place in the 1860's, in NYC, with two rival gangs, trying to gain control of the city.  Anyway, I may check my library and see if they have it.  If I don't like it, AJ will read it. 

Jackie - the two books by Joni Eareckson Tada, sound like they will be very good, and helpful for you to read at this time.  I haven't read any of Eareckson/Tada's books, but I have read about her life, and how she has overcome a disabling accident.  She is a very inspirational woman!

I haven't had anything I've wanted to read, since I finished Queen Bee, a few days ago - so I picked up my copy of The Poisonwood Bible, and started reading it again. It's at the top of my all time favorites list, so I consider it to be well worth reading again. 

Bubble - I wonder if you've ever read it?  Your mention of Congo, in a post in Bait and Tackle, is what made me think about it again.  If not, I think you would love the story.  It's the fictional story of an American Missionary family, who arrive in the Congo, in 1960, just as the revolution is beginning, and The Congo Civil Wars, have started. Lumumba is featured, but I think they use a pseudonym for his name?  Don't remember that detail, as it has been a number of years since I last read the book.  It was certainly a fascinating and important time in history, and reviewers seem to think the story is mostly accurate.

[Marilyne]

Jean - Looks like we were posting at the same time.  I haven't read your message yet, but will comment later, when I get home from having may hair cut!

[so_P_bubble]

Marilyn, Yes I have read that book and it is maybe fiction but based on real story and the location is well described. I remember that I enjoyed that book very much. It was a tragic period for Congo and the war is still going on between tribes.

[MarsGal]

Argo is one of those movies that I kind of would like to watch, but never got around to it.

Now I am reading Handro by Travis Mohrman. The book is set hundreds of years after an apocalyptic event of some kind that is only vaguely mentioned. The remaining population are scattered in small groups and living a pre-industrial way of life. Handro has been taught survivalist skills from and early age and is now wondering the countryside, meeting up with various groups of people, practicing folk medicine and hunting skills among other things. He is something of a loner, preferring, for the most part, to avoid contact with other humans. Interesting story. It is not dark and dystopian like a lot of post-apocalyptic stories. I just found out that this is an off-shoot of an earlier series called Down the Path which follows two different people. Mohrman has written several other interesting sounding books I might just have to add to my TBR pile. The author is an ecologist/botanist in his day job.

[Marilyne]

MarsGal - I've also never seen Argo, but thank you for reminding me!  Another acclaimed movie, based on a true event in history . . . this one being the Iran hostage crisis.  I remember that it was nominated for tons of different awards, in acting, directing, story, etc.  I'll check my Comcast movies, and see if it's listed.  If not free, then I'm sure it would only be a few dollars to rent.  Much less than going to the theater to see it! 

Bubble - I'm glad you also enjoyed "Poisonwood", and probably you could relate to it better than most - being as you had lived there. Every time I read it, I learn more about the history.  Now when I see a story about Congo,  in the newspaper, on line or TV, it means so much more to me than before.

Tome - I think you're another one in this folder, who liked the book?  We've talked about it off and on over the years.

[Tomereader1]

Yes, loved Poisonwood!  Marilyn, did you get any snow?

[Marilyne]

Hi Tome - No snow here, but lots of it in the Sierra!  Our temps dropped to 48 last night and only up to the low 60's today. It was 100 degrees here only five days ago, so that was quite a drop! 

[MarsGal]

October is starting off with a Welsh themed bang this year. The first of the fall season meetings of the local Welsh Society is meeting tomorrow. Not only that, over on SeniorLearn, Barb has chosen to do an Arthurian themed book discussion. Several focused on various legendary Knights of the Round Table, but the one we are starting off with (we might be doing two altogether) is Lady Charlotte Guest's The Mabinogion. They are a compilation of Welsh lore and tales which are considered the earliest prose writing in Britain. Some of them are about Arthur. I hope we do one of the two she listed about Sir Percival, if we do another. I know practically nothing about him.

[MarsGal]

Oops! Only one book mentioned in my previous post is about Sir Percival.

My monthly lend from Amazon is back to the sixth of the Expeditionary Force series, called Mavericks. Once again, I am not being immediately drawn into the story.

[Marilyne]

A new week has arrived, and I have another book waiting for me at the library.  I didn't get to the one I picked up last week - a novel by Susan Meissner, Secrets of a Charmed Life.  There isn't a hold on it, so I'll keep it and will start reading it today.  I know someone in this discussion recommended it?  I think it was either Callie, or Maryc?

MarsGal - I haven't looked into SL, in many weeks, but will check it out today, and see what books are being recommended there?  Are you all still reading the King Arthur/Knights of the Round Table stories? 

Hope to see messages this week, from all who post here?  Same applies to the Television/Movies folder.   

[MarsGal]

Marilyne, the King Arthur's Knights themed discussion doesn't start until Oct. 14. We'll start with Lady Charlotte Guest's The Mabinogion. I haven't started it yet. It has been way too quite over on SeniorLearn. Only three of us seem to be interested in doing the Arthurian discussion. Pity. Maybe more will show up when we get started.

Meanwhile, I am still reading Mavericks (Expeditionary Force, Book 6) by Craig Alanson. Also, still listening to Adrian Goldsworthy's How Rome Fell. I know so very little about the later Roman Emperors. Right now I am at Chapter 6 out of 25 with more Parthian Wars and Emperors being replaced in quick succession.

[maryc]

Hello again book friends.  Got distracted from reading for a spell while planning a trip to visit to family.  Finally got a book from HOOPLA that is good   "The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek".  It is about a young woman in Kentucky during the 1930s.  She managed to get one of the jobs created in the W.P.A.program as a travelling librarian.  She went on foot and/or by mule into the mountain places to deliver books to assigned patrons.  Sad conditions but good story.

[MarsGal]

Hi Mary. The book sounds interesting. I read an article about the traveling book ladies more than a few years back, including photos of them on mule/horseback. Don't remember where, but it was probably in The Smithsonian.

I am now well into Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan. Very Noir. Violence and some explicit sex. Best I can tell, the book represents a version of Transhumanism. Very  interesting. I just found out that Netflix has done a series based on the book. Of course there are some changes. My sister says the TV version left her with questions as if the necessary info to completely understand what was going on was missing.

Continuing my listen to Goldsworthy's How Rome Fell. There is a lot in there that I didn't know, like much of the info about later official Emperor's and the later self-proclaimed Emperor's, some of which "ruled" at the same time as others. A lot of them didn't last long in during the power struggles of the late Empire.