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I will definitely be watching to see what you read and how you liked them. I like your categories. I'm curious about your needlework and our travel headings - is needlework going to include non-fiction, or novels which include a focus on some kind of needlework? "Our travel" sounds like places that you have already visited - true? In any case, am anxious to see your books.
'Needlework' is basically non-fiction. (Things tagged 'Textile' in my library.)
'Our Travel' will depend on where we go next year. This year was Iceland and Venice, and included everything from guidebooks to fiction to books on Vikings... (If I had started 888 before our trips I could have made each into a separate category.)
Hadn't thought about tracking where my books for the challenge came from. I like that!
The Private World of Georgette HeyerI really enjoyed this. She was a lovely person, as well as a wonderful author.
I didn't always agree with Hodge's ratings of the books. Of course, I just love ALL Heyer's regnency romances. Now I have a better understanding of why I love hers, and can't stand reading others. I'll just have to keep rereading my pile of Heyer, won't I?
Message edited by its author, Jan 2, 2009, 3:52am.
PersuasionThis was wonderful! Especially after watching the BBC video, and being upset by the weaknesses of the story there. Turns out the weaknesses were all in the video - not in the book.
Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to all CreationThis was just plain fun. I won't remember many of the details, but just getting an overview of the wide and wonderful variety of ways that different species manage their reproductive life was an eyeopener.
Emma is not my favorite Austen heroine, nor did I particularly like the book.
Two Plachutta cookbooks
Plachutta: Meine Wiener Küche
Kochschule : Die Bibel der guten Küche
The first one is more geared to normal house use. Yes, it's heavy on the boiled beef, but why else do you buy Plachutta? The occaisional essays on aspects of Wiener Küche are interesting and informative.
The second is not really designed for home use. The 'beginner' is a restaurant beginner. Most recipes are too fancy for everyday, require more room or equipment that most homes have. Fish farces are required for several recipes, but nowhere can I find directions for making them...
If I were looking for a book to give away, I would buy the first one. If I were going to buy one for myself, it would be the second. I borrowed them to compare, fully intending to buy one of them. Now I don't think I will. But I will go out and pick chard for the chard-potato 'nockerln' today or tomorrow.
Message edited by its author, Jan 13, 2009, 8:45am.
Cookbooks
(Plachutta: Meine Wiener Küche) (Austria)
(Kochschule : Die Bibel der guten Küche) (Austria)
OathboundThe Rainbow and the RoseOathbound isn't the best of Lackey's books, but for those already aquainted with the characters it fills in some background. Fun.
The Rainbow and the Rose is vintage Shute. It combines both the English and Australian flying themes, dream sequences that pull different time frames together.
Ich bin der Weisse Clown
This isn't in any particular order, which I found confusing at first, as I am not 'up' on all the people she taked about, but as I got into it I really enjoyed it.
Helpmates, Harlots, and Heroes
A good book, easy to read, provides plenty of food for thought. Bellis gives short explanations of various Feminist readings of each character. What is missing is comprehensive readings of any of them.
It's a good place to start if you are working on any of the individual women, but not the place to finish.
It isn't a book to use for a study group on women of the Bible - but a good book for the leader to have read. A lot of the points brought up would be good to use for discussion.
All in all a book I'm glad to have in my library, but not the book I had hoped it would be.
Went to a lovely exhibit today. A creche exhibit at the Museum fuer Volkskunde (Vienna). It was a guided tour by a restorer given for the Viennese club of Crechebuilders, so very interesting. I bought the catalog and immediately read it. Good catalog, too.
http://www.librarything.com/work/7701922...The Dedalus Book of Austrian FantasyThe stories were mostly morbid. A few I would classify as macabre. Some were merely wierd, and almost enjoyable. I really liked 'The trouble with Time Travel' by Martin Auer.
Slow cooking properly explainedA very British cookbook with lots of steamed puddings (Steak and Kidney, Christmas, Date and Walnut). Very good basic instructions on how to use the slow cooker, as well as a variety of good sounding recipes. I'm going to enjoy using this!
Message edited by its author, Feb 2, 2009, 2:33am.
Demels Großes Weihnachtsbuch
Attila DogudanDear me, it is beginning to look like my Austrian category is really a cookbook category, and no end in sight. I have two more waiting already.
This one is a fun collection of baked things for Christmas. Probably just as well I'm so stuffed up - the temptation to go bake is limited when you can't taste anything.
Message edited by its author, Feb 3, 2009, 7:46am.
Mommie DearestI understand why people were upset by this book. It was fun to read, but I'm sure it wasn't fun to live through. I feel sorry for both of them.
SotahI think this is the book I read several years ago, and couldn't forget. Having found it through 'Name that Book' and having come to the conclusion that it must be the book I read back then I'm not sure whether
A) The book got a lot deeper while I wasn't looking.
B) I got a lot deeper while I wasn't looking.
C) The bit of Hebrew I learned in the meantime, and the experience of knowing practicing Jews as opposed to just reading about them made more difference than I would have thought.
Anyway, I was right to want to read this book again.
Black OpalThis wasn't one of her best. Too many subplots, and at the end one got the feeling that she had reached the number of pages allotted and just wrapped the ends up without weaving them in properly.
I reread Heinlein's Double Star last night. Great vintage Heinlein. A short book, but lovely to read again.
This morning I finished Bryson's 'Thunderbolt Kid'. One day this will count as Vintage Bryson. In the meantime it brought back memories of my earliest years. I'm a few years younger than him, and we left the US for India 1964. When I returned in 1968 the place I had considered home was gone forever.
Message edited by its author, Aug 21, 2009, 4:00am.
I am really pleased that the earliest Deryni boook by Katharine Kurtz are being reprinted. I finally got my hands on them, and
Deryni Rising has certainly been all I hoped.
Perfect Hostage is interesting to have read. I could have done with a lot less on her father's life.
Beaded Garden was not what I really was looking for when I bought it, but I can imagine using some things in it someday.
Message edited by its author, Mar 12, 2009, 3:53pm.
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Was that
The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer? I love that one! It's not entirely believable, but I love it anyway!
Yes. She's such a good writer that I am ready to believe all sorts of wierd things while I'm in the book. I think it's because she is so good at characterizations. The people are real even when the situation isn't.
Die Google Falle
I suspect that Reischl is right, and Google knows more about us than is safe. But he doesn't seem to have an answer for that, which I suspect is also right.
Kronländer Kochbuch by Christoph Wagner and Adi Bittermann
Yes! Very good cookbook.
My two disappointments with it since we bought it in December were that there didn't seem to be recipes for Grammelpogatschen and Haluschka. The recipe for Grammelpogatschen is on page 28 - I assume the 20 in the index is from the illegible font used for the page numbers. The Haluschka recipe is on page 143 - the recipe title is more complicated than that and therefore somewhere else in the index. I have changed my index so that I can find these very important recipes.
I very much enjoyed the notes about the cooking of the various countries involved, how the recipes were adapted when they were adopted into the Viennese cuisine, and other historical aspects of the dishes described.
I particularly enjoyed the gulasch chapter, as I made gulasch yesterday without a recipe. My variation on the theme is just one of many differing opinions on how this ought to be made. Note: the packages in the freezer are marked 'Gulasch base'. I will add letscho and sour cream before serving the last portion for today's dinner. That's the way we - or at least I (and the men haven't complained yet)- like it best.
I think I will find the 'Zwischengerichte' chapter most useful. What the authors consider snacks, we will eat as main courses. But the meat chapters will also get used. I'm highly tempted to splurge on a rabbit after reading the recipe for 'Znaimer Kaninchen'.
Last, but certainly not least, the dessert chapter is full of things I would like to try out.
This is the 'Austrian' or 'Viennese' cookbook I've been looking for. It tries to tease out some of the influences that created the food I've learned to love, and make it easier to play the variations instead of simpllifying and declaring one variation to be 'classic'.
I end March with three categories filled.
Science Fiction and Fantasy
Other Fiction
Austria
I am going to be able to move more cookbooks out of Austria, as I read other books on Austria. it will be interesting to see if I end the year with a separate Austrian Cookbook category (four so far)!
Science Fiction and Fantasy will certainly have offshoot(s) before the year is over. I'll also be looking for ways to move additional books out of Other Fiction.
I have 5 other categories with at least three books read. I need to work on some of the ones I'm not reading much in.
Message edited by its author, Mar 29, 2009, 12:56pm.
Buchmalerei in hebräischen Handschriften
This is wonderful! I really enjoyed looking at all the illustrations of manuscripts. I tried to find a poster of one of them, but had to settle with scanning and printing it for my wall.
Valdemar Books by Mercedes Lackey
Oathbound
Moving Targets
Oathbreakers
Oathblood
Arrows Trilogy
Winds Trilogy
Storms Trilogy
Owl Trilogy
Brightly BurningMagic Trilogy
Sun in GloryMessage edited by its author, Oct 17, 2009, 8:37am.
Wir kochen Sie ein!
After trying to do preserving in Austria to the standards of the 'Ball Blue Book' and 'How to put Food By' for so long, it no longer surprises me to find a new Austrian preserving cookbook that recommends procedures those books condemned as unsafe decades ago.
On the other hand the recipes are exceedingly interesting, and I have learned ways of getting supplies that I had not known of. I'll follow the recipes, but use the other procedures.
Message edited by its author, Apr 24, 2009, 7:33am.
Fahrenheit 451I was quite underwhelmed. Very 1950s. Inconsistant: The firemen carry around rule books; after so long without books, Captain Beatty can quote a lot of classics and expects his hearers to know what he is talking about.
I'm not sure why I never read this before. I've counted it as a classic.
Moveable FeastsThis book was interesting, but there were a lot of jumps where it was not clear why the author thought that two paragraphs belonged next to each other.
The book includes a lot of UK information. More available, or an attempt to be useable on both sides of the Atlantic? Aha! A Brit living and working in New York. That explains it!
Message edited by its author, Apr 29, 2009, 4:35pm.
The Wizard of LondonI'm sure Mercedes lackey has read as many British boarding school books as I have, and a LOT more books on magic. The book is full of what ought to be cliches - but the way she transmutes them is - well, magic.
End of month 4
Finished categories - 4
Categories being worked on:
Biography 7/9
Needlework and Crafts 5/9
Science 4/9
Classics 4/9
Other non-fiction 4/9
Cookbooks 3/9
British Fiction 3/9
Theology 1/9
Humour 1/9
Bones, rocks and starsThis is about time, as scientists use it. Not the metaphysics, but how it is measured, and how we use it. Turney does radiocarbon dating, and his story of the Flores 'Hobbit' and his involvement in that story was the highlight of the book for me.
Very well written. I think I probably learned a lot without even noticing.
Message edited by its author, May 2, 2009, 3:51am.
Ware FrauRather horrendous stuff to read about, but well written. (Book about the trade in women from Nigeria to Europe who are forced into prostitution.)
Message edited by its author, May 3, 2009, 4:26pm.
The Miracles of JesusHugh Montefiore offers the hypothesis that at least some of Jesus' miracles might be examples of paranormal gifts. I'm not sure I go along with him in his interpretation, but the idea is very interesting, he writes as well as ever, and many of the stories of the saints are not well known outside of the Roman Catholic church.
I found this the least satisfying of the books by Montefiore that I have read. It opens up more questions than it even tries to answer.
Judges and MethodThe articles vary a lot in the amount they actually say about Judges, and when they do talk about Judges, they use different stories to make their points. This makes comparing the various methods rather difficult. I think a concluding chapter to pull the book together would ahve been useful.
Having said that, I do think I learned a fair amount, both about Judges and about methods of studying the Bible.
The Secret SupperI thought I would try this when the library had it on display, although I rather cringed at the thought of reading a Da Vinchi Code clone.
Turns out it was almost certainly in the works before Brown's book came out, and besides the fascination with him and Mary Magdalene, they have little in common. Not the best book I've ever read, (not really my genre), but certainly readable, well researched, and the reader isn't constantly cringing at the story depending on factual errors.
The Sparrow and
Children of GodThe Sparrow was more powerful, but The Children of God wrapped up the loose ends. Both are exceedingly good books.
Anthropology, Ecology, Faith, Music, the direction that technology will take in the next few decades, all are believable (although the last pushes things a bit, IMHO).
A Thread of GraceShe can write non-science fiction as well. Which is very well indeed.
Alles wandert
A very interesting collection of essays. Each worth reading, and interesting in how they fit together. Whether it is the Earth itself, plants, animals or people, everything is in motion. The interplay between these various motions and beween them and our moving climate is the theme of this book.
Drawn thread embroideryby Moyra McNeill
Not a pattern book, but very good instructions for a wide variety of styles of Drawn thread work. The chapter on experimental work is very good. I would have liked to see some of the pictures in colour. That lack is the strongest sign that this is a reprint, and not a new book.
How INvention BeginsA fascinating study on the way technology develops.
It was also really great to finally be able to read
Cotillion again. (My old copy had fallen apart, and I have a new copy now.)
I am so happy they are back in print!
A Field Guide to the EnglishI enjoyed this. Like any ex-pat, the author isn't always consistant about whether or not she enjoys living in the UK. Neither praising all the time, or always finding fault, but commenting on the sorts of things that outsiders notice.
Loved the hedgehog chapter, but then, I love hedgehogs.
GrendelMy son has been enjoying his IB Theory of Knowledge class, and I have recommended that he read this with an essay for that class in mind. Interesting to read, but leaves me feeling blah about it now that I have finished. With all the philosophy being spouted by everyone, in the end there seems no meaning to anything.
I've put this into classics, and will now try to also read Beowulf.
Living Dolls This was interesting to read, but not anything that will send me off to read more.
I'd hoped to get 9 categories finished this month, but we leave on holiday on Tuesday, and the only way I can do it before then is to combine Cookbooks and Crafts temporarily, so I guess next month.
Wait a minute. I've moved things around a bit. I have at least one more cookbook waiting to be read. If I read that and another two cookbooks OR books on Austria (to move Austrian Cookbooks from Austria to cookbooks)...
Message edited by its author, Jun 21, 2009, 2:33pm.
real food from your slo-cooker by Annette Yates
I thought I would probably discard this one - until I got to the vegetable recipes. Those look really good. Also the puddings.
Got back from the holiday. Lots of new books to enter, but didn't read much.
Nürnberg is a guide book.
Ceremony of the Innocent was awful. Discarded.
Billie Jean was interesting once. Discarded.
In God We Doubt was very good, he stated the problem very well, even if I come to other conclusions than he does.
The Round Tower. Cookson is always good.
Favourite Boating Recipes. I enjoyed reading this, and we will use several of the recipes. As a record of wht the narrowboat people actually ate, I don't think it is reliable.
Cook Your own VegRather predictable selection of vegetables, but the recipes themselves are often unusual. Generally two for each veg. Good advice on growing and harvesting.
And that makes 9 categories fiinished.
Creative machine stitching : special effects for quilts and moreThere are a lot of good ideas in here, and I should make the sampler flower pillow, just to learn the techniques.
2 things I don't like:
A lot of it is too fiddly for me for machine work. (I'll happily fiddle in hand work, but constantly changing colours, and finishing off threads every few stitches on the machine) is for the birds.
She is apparently unaware of the problems that can arise from some of the methods she recommends. The marking pens and adhesives usually work well with most materials, but can make big problems with some materials, and even testing beforehand isn't enough of a safety net. (The problems can appear months or years on.) The only safe thing is not to put such chemicals into any item meant to have a long life.
Message edited by its author, Jul 16, 2009, 6:14am.
The Potato FactoryThe story of how Mary Abacus starts her dynasty in Australia with the help of Ikey Solomon is immensly engrossing. Luckily it is only the first of a trilogy.
Bad ScienceHow and why the media (particularly in the UK) misinterpret science.
Message edited by its author, Sep 16, 2009, 11:08am.
The last MughalGood book. Very different perspective from the usual.
Message edited by its author, Jul 26, 2009, 5:08am.
Life, the Universe and everythingAndy Fletcher is a teacher writing for teenagers. Personally I would leave out a lot of his cutsie language. But he does manage to get a lot of the science over fairly clearly.
As far as the theology goes, he shows that belief in some sort of God is not irrational. This is important, but I am immensly more interested in what sort of God.
Bottom line: I am happy that my son's TOK teacher assigned this. It is interesting to have read. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone past teenager mental age.
Inherit the Wind by Susannah Curtis
Interesting book. It feels like a sequel, but I don't find any indication that there was a first book.
Der erste WalzerThe individual essays were mostly quite interesting. As a collection, it got a bit tedious towards the end.
Grieser would have done better not to have included the introduction about 'firsts'. The various essays did not use the same definition of a 'first', and some were just historical trivia about Austria, and not really about any sort of 'first' at all.
Celtic art in cross stitchNot the kind of thing I normally buy, but when I see it really cheap on a used book table... Good move. The patterns are lovely, and I particularly like the smaller designs in the back. The descriptions of how the larger designs were put together were very interesting, and could help someone get up the courage to start designing themselves - especially with all that design material at the back.
(When leaflets advertise large numbers of designs for small charts with no additional material about them, I see no reason to complain about the '75 beautiful designs' on the cover. They are not all full projects, but they certainly are designs.)
Sacred and ConfidentialI'm not sure if it's cheating to add this one. I just entered it, and started looking through it. It was quite fun, but it's a very short book of cartoons.
Edited to add: Now I've entered a second book by the same artist. Top Sacred . I've counted it as part of the same book.
Message edited by its author, Aug 9, 2009, 6:53am.
Hebrew for the rest of usI would recommend this book to any Christian wondering whether learning Hebrew would be useful and/or within his/her capabilities. If going on, nothing here would be wasted, rather it would help at many of the difficult bits, and if the decision was made not to go on, at least a partial step would have been made. Certainly it is the best introduction I have yet seen aimed at Christians.
The full review is a lot longer.
Narrow dog to CarcassonneI didn't think it would be possible to write a book about narrowboating that would be totally boring. I was wrong.
edited to add:
My husband has now said that we will not discard this book, but that we will keep it on his shelves. He says my problem with it is that I haven't spent enough time in British pubs discussing things after several beers and other alcoholic beverages.
Message edited by its author, Aug 9, 2009, 6:11am.
Das GlasperlenspielIt has been decades since I last read this book. It pulled me in again. When I'm not actually reading I see a lot of problems with it - first and foremost, of course, that women aren't real people in it. The whole idea of the game is unrealistic ... But when you are reading, none of this matters.
I think I need to get back to Jane Austen.
A boy off the bankA delightful book. I really enjoyed the descriptions of canal life. This one is fiction, about a young boy entering canal life during WWII. I've got to get the sequels.
Hallstatt: Dachstein, Salzkammergut
Lovely photographs, the German text is well written, although it sometimes get too much into tourist advertising. The English summaries skip much of the interesting material, and the translations of the picture captions are often much less than optimal.
Dreamers of the DayTo take the premise of a nobody hobnobbing with Lawrence of Arabia and Winston Churchill (and a German spy) while they shape the Middle East after WWI, and make it both exciting and believable is an amazing feat.
I'd have left off the final chapter, but it does serve to remind us that we are talking fiction, which I had trouble remembering during the book.
Valley of the Horses - Rereading,as this is one of my favourite series.
For Love - it was just about worth the one or two euros I paid for it second hand.
Whose word is it? - Well written for the lay public.
The barbecue! bibleWhat a great refernce book! A wonderful collection of recipes for direct fire recipes from around the world.
Which translates as 'Why do I have to take this one back to the library?'
ContactI enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. Talking to Jerry, it seems that the novel is different from the movie (which I haven't seen, but he hasn't read the novel.)
BTW, I returned it to the library this morning, only to have my son borrow it immediately.
A Girl at the Tiller
A package of books on canal themes arrived today. I have already finished A Girl at the Tiller and a booklet on handling a narrowboat alone. The
Geoffrey Lewis trilogy is really good, and the temptation to finish it, too before going back to the Currently Readihng is great.
Hamilton by Catherine Cookson
The basic plot is the same as in 'The Thursday Friend': (Warning: spoiler) Woman marries abuser because she believes noone else would have her. Writes book and meets publisher. Crisis in marriage leads to happy end with publisher. I think The Thursday Friend worked better.
Die frische KücheWow! Lots of recipes for each vegetable, including several that aren't well represented in my other cookbooks.
Ben Hur I made it through. I'm fairly sure I read it once before. I doubt that I will do it again. Very 19th century.
G'schichten vom LandAnother library book I would rather not return. Lots of good ideas for unusual trips around Vienna.
Message edited by its author, Aug 28, 2009, 5:49pm.
Justification : God's Plan and Paul's VisionA good starting place for learning part of Wright's opinions about Paul while we wait for the next volume of 'Christian origins and the question of God' to come out.
This is more difficult reading than usual for a boook listed as Tom Wright. I got a lot out of it. I will get a lot more out of Romans and the other Pauline letters the next time I read them. But I should also come back to this in a few months and try again to get all of what Wright is trying to say. As usual, what I understand of Wright makes a lot of sense.
The New Number OneI really enjoyed this trilogy. The rest of it is in 'Our Travel', but that's full, so I used it to fill up 'British Fiction'. Within the next day or two, I expect to fill up 'Needlework and Crafts' as well, which leaves me with 'Classics' at seven. That gives me 6 in my second challenge.
I will soon be able to separate Austrian Cookbooks out from the general cookbook category. I currently have 5 non-Austrian books in there. That one should fill up. (Maybe moving two other food books from other non-fiction if it doesn't anyway.) Makes seven.
There are several extras in various fiction categories. I ought to be able to make the other two in there. It isn't clear right now whether I'll get both a biography and an autobiography category filled, but that is another possibility. I don't think I'll have the second done by 9.9., though!
Message edited by its author, Aug 30, 2009, 5:07pm.
Jelly roll quiltsI'm ready to start making one of these as soon as I get to the quilt shop. (Which doesn't open for another two hours!)
Message edited by its author, Sep 1, 2009, 2:18am.
The hero's walkAn interesting book. But I don't understand what the title has to do with it.
Losing IsaiahFull disclosure: I grew up with a younger brother who was both adopted and of a different race.
This is a powerful story that gets down to some of the real emotional truths in adoption in a way that only fiction can. If there is a weak point, it is that Selma's lawyer does not bring out the way proper legal procedures in an adoption protect all parties.
How was the Georgette Heyer book?
Foxfire 7
This is a themed volume of Foxfire - about religion in the mountains. As such, it is more organized than some of the other books.
Just stumbled onto your thread after having lost it several months ago. I won't lose you again. Lots of great titles - my only complaint is that my library doesn't have many of them. I wonder if some of your UK publications aren't available in the US? I do own the Jelly Roll Quilts book in #105. It is fabulous - I made a quilt right away and before I could decide which to make next, my mother stole my book! She made several quilts from it before we saw the book for sale in a quilt shop and bought it, so now we each have our own copy!
Be glad you have access to English language library and bookstores. Luckily I do read in German, too, and between that, the school library and the small section of English language books at the city library, I don't have to buy everything I read. This year it seems to be working out to about even thirds of books I've bought new, books I've borrowed, and books I already owned.
Which ones did you look for and not get?
Message edited by its author, Sep 15, 2009, 3:25pm.
I can't remember just which ones, now, except
Bad Science which looked especially interesting to me. I am very aware of how fortunate I am to have a wonderful library only a mile from my house. Plus bookstores all over town. But, the more you have, the more you want! I try to stay focused on the thousands of books I can read, and not dwell on the handful that I can't.
I don't have a second language, so living in a non-English speaking place would be very hard for me. I'm not sure how I would handle a situation where (legible) books suddenly became scarce.
I was interested that your son is in an IB program, and taking the Theory of Knowledge class. That diploma is offered at our local school as an option for the kids who want the challenge. Unfortunately, none of mine were interested in working that hard. I wish it had been an option when I was in school.
That's a very British one.
The schools the boys have gone to are organized around the IB, and it seems easiest to go with the flow. If one of them had really complained about the extended essay, we would probably (have) let it go, but since their friends are (were) in the same boat, they don't seem to mind. Steven has a really good IB program going.
Language A is English (standard)
Language B is German (Higher. He took the standard level exam as a sophomore and got a 6, so this was obvious)
Math (Standard)
Physics (Higher)
Environmental Science and Society (standard as his social science)
Theatre Arts (Higher) as his sixth subject.
He is really enthusiastic about all the techie stuff backstage, and wants a college where he can continue to study that as a minor.
I'm not sure my boys have been enthusiastic about working this hard, but they have been interested in most of their classes, so they have been willing to put in the effort. At least most of the time.
Edited because I had the Higher and standards wrong.
Message edited by its author, Sep 16, 2009, 12:14pm.
#118 Ah, the positive side of peer pressure! Of my 4 children, 3 are in creative fields (one is in culinary school, one is studying art, the third is a musician and composer). Only one is drawn to more academic subjects and actually enrolled in a couple of the preliminary IB courses while he was in school. However, he is interested in biology and the IB science curriculum (here, at least) was limited to either chemistry or physics. So he gave that up and took the advanced biology classes instead.
Here, the students are permitted to take isolated IB classes for advanced credit without seeking the IB diploma. In our large public high school, there are typically less than a dozen IB diplomas granted each year, out of an average class of around 500 graduates. The students who receive the IB diploma are truly the cream of the crop - they do it because they are driven to achieve that accomplishment.
I'm sure your boys will not regret the extra work they're doing when they reap the rewards later. That is what I could never convince my kids of - the value of working so much harder than they were required to, in order to benefit later. Now that they are in college, they're beginning to see what I meant and are having some regrets about not listening to me. Small comfort.
Kids can also take individual exams here, too, but last year 36 were awarded the full IB diploma, which is a bit over half the class, I think. The whole school is 800 students from preschool through grade 12. The difference is that this is a private school, most of the kids' parents are either in the diplomatic service of their countries, or are high managers in international business. (Vienna has a tradition of being where the families stay while the husbands are working in Eastern Europe. This is less so now, as many capitals in Eastern Europe now have facilities for international families, but it is still a favourite base for the families of people whose jobs require a lot of travelling.)
In the first place there are very few students who are not capable of doing the full program. In the second place there is a lot less opportunity to do other things than there might be in a US city, particularly for those who don't speak German. They can't drive, most activities in English for their age group are school related. English language TV is limited. I think three movie theatres regularly show films in English. And most of the parents know each other, too.
Even those doing art stuff at school find themselves in IB classes. AIS has IB courses in Visual Arts and Theatre Arts. Edward did IB Music in Geneva when we lived there. AIS also requires a fairly full schedule. Juniors have to have at least 7 subjects. Seniors at least 6. It just makes sense to take the IB curriculum, since you are going to be in IB courses for most subjects grades 11 and 12, anyway. If you chose to take non-IB classes (like the one year classes offered in Bio Chem and Physics) you are going to be in classes that are mostly sophomores. That is below the dignity of a senior.
Message edited by its author, Sep 16, 2009, 4:31pm.
Your school sounds like the world-wide norm regarding the IB program, as it was presented to us. There are relatively few schools in the US which participate, and many of those are private schools. Most American students do not have this opportunity. I think that is the basis of much of my frustration with my kids - they had a chance that few others have and they didn't take advantage of it.
I hope your sons are able to recognize how privileged they are to have such an environment for learning. What a tremendous opportunity to learn about the world by being in close contact with people from so many places. And you are absolutely right, the opportunity cost (to use a business term) for committing to a rigorous study program is much less there than here, where the kids have so many other choices about how to spend their time. What do they plan to do next? Stay in Vienna?
Neither Frank or Edward finished college. Frank is the computer techie at a small college in Miane, and will have his second child in November. Edward just finished Basic training in the Navy. He is getting married in October when we are in the US. That same week Steven will look at three colleges. (Will I still be alive when we get home?) He wants a computer major and technical theatre minor. I think part of the problem for both Frank and Edward was that after the IB, the first year of college was just too easy. They got used to coasting, and didn't keep working they way they could have.
Steven will have to really work very hard to do both computing and theatre, so maybe he will do better.
I'm going to bed now. It's almost midnight here.
The Glass PalaceMoving between Burma, India, and Malaya from 1985 (Third Anglo-Burmese war) to the 1990s, this book follows the fortunes of a few interconnected families that today would be called 'Third Culture'. It investigates personal identity and shifting loyalties in a setting where there is no solid ground of belonging.
Although it starts and ends in Burma, most of the main characters are not Burmese, and many have mixed national and/or racial backgrounds. I have put this in my India category, and it is certainly as much about Indian identity and history as Burmese.
Women before God
The most interesting thing about this book is that it has stayed fairly readable over the decades. On the other hand I never quite figured out what the point was of most of what she says. Most of it I agree with, but it doesn't seem to be leading anywhere.
Joe's allotmentThe only reason I didn't read this all in one go is that I got so eager to get out and work on my own garden.
This isn't the best book I have for advice on specific topics, but a good read for inspiration, advice and enthusiasm.
Home-grown chard for supper --Yum!
Message edited by its author, Sep 26, 2009, 11:00am.
Der Napoleonbauer
The middle of the 19th century was full of both social and technological change throughout Europe. In the Semmering region of Austria, the building of the train line across the mountains and freeing the farmers from serfdom came together only 40 years after Napoleon came through. Bauer Polleros, who had been active in harrying the French, tries the same methods on those building the train line and changing the established order of society, but the modern age comes anyway.
This is a well written novel about the period. This novel should only be attempted by those who have some aquaintance with Austrian dialects. All dialogue is written more as less as it would have been spoken. "I red', wann i will. Da steh' i; kömmts her, wann eunch was nit paß. Und g'fragt hat den dort ah koan Mensch!" or "Moanst? So müasset ja alles wieder auf'n selben Fleck z'ruckkömma? Und däs is g'wiß nit wahr!" No dictionary is going to help with this, but if you can read it, the book is well worth reading. (And then take a train ride across the Semmering to see it all.)
Rax König was similar, but dealt with the protestants who lived as woodcutters rather than give up their faith. (Joseph II, 18th century)
Message edited by its author, Oct 1, 2009, 2:53am.
Heart and SoulBinchy makes you sink into her world. I'm sorry to leave it behind - but there will be more Binchy books to read, I'm sure.
Das Buch vom Knödel
Yes, I saw another cookbook in the piles outside a bookstore I walked past today, and it somehow ended up being bought before I got past. Read it right away, too. I think we'll have broccoli dumplings with cheese next week. And the Apple and poppy dumplings as well. Just to get started...
Message edited by its author, Oct 5, 2009, 3:57am.
Aches and PainsI sent my mother a copy of this before her hip operation to cheer her up in hospital. It didn't make it to hospital - she read it before going. It was fun finding it and reading it again.
Die Seidenstraße: Mythos und GegenwartVery interesting, but I couldn't help contrast this with BBC books based on their documentaries. This would have been so much better with more pictures, and those pictures where they belonged in the text.
Sun in GloryThe Lackey story is very good, and fills a 'hole' in Valdemar's history.
The first story is also good and also tries to fills a hole. The writer may be only 12, but she knows Valdemar well.
The other stories did not seem to really belong in Valdemar. This sort of anthology is always a gamble, but this one was a lot less well done than most.
Not without my neighbour : issues in interfaith relationsAn intelligent, thoughtful and well-informed series of essays on the issues involved in inter-faith relationships (from a Christian/World Council of Churches point of view). Ariarajah doesn't present us with readymade answers, but he sets some of the questions in a perspective that is not only very personal, but also keeps the larger picture firmly in sight. Anyone who deals with people of a different faith would benefit from reading this.
Mallen Trilogy. First two 2009-11-08 Litter 2009-11-09 Not entered yet.
At this point I'm trying to see if I can finish a third challenge by the end of the year. I've got two categories filled towards it.
Three underfilled categories can be filled if I point my reading that way.
I'm allowing second fillings without splitting the category, and Valdemar would be refilled now if I counted the trilogies as three books instead of one.
Other fiction and other non-fiction should refill without a problem.
That makes 8. I may end up with one overlap refilled category to make up the third challenge.
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