What are you reading the week of November 5, 2016?

I've had a crazy busy week, so we'll have to go without a bio this week. :-(

I'm going to try to squeeze in a little time to finish Ancestral Journeys: The Peopling of Europe from the First Venturers to the Vikings. It's a mostly successful book, but it can make you a bit cross-eyed trying to keep up with Y-DNA haplogroups with names such as E1a1a1a1b2a. When I hit those, I just hear a Charlie Brown cartoon teacher's voice in my head and continue on with the more interesting story of the prehistoric migrations of peoples.

Reading The Fences Between Us : the Diary of Piper Davis by Kirby Larson. YA historical fiction about Japanese Americans in Seattle, WWII era.

Still working on The Werewolf of Bamberg, The Hanging Girl, and The City Stained Red.

Still reading Becoming Ellen by Shari Shattuck and the book on Norman Rockwell.

Life has been very difficult these past two weeks. When I can concentrate long enough to keep my mind on a story, I'm re-reading Pride and Prejudice for the millionth time and finding it very comforting. Have a good week, everyone!

Starting Countdown City, second in the Last Policeman series by Ben Winters.

Finished Open House which was an entertaining account of a middle aged lady facing divorce, learning about herself and what makes her happy. Not necessarily deep but entertaining despite some irritating self pity episodes.

I just finished Killing for Company: The Story of a Man Addicted to Murder by Brian Masters, which was very thought-provoking.

Up next is Purple Hibiscus: A Novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for my book club.

I am halfway through The Shadows of The Wind and I am so bored that I cannot continue. Maybe it's just the mood I'm in......

I'm reading A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers, and The Trumpeter of Krakow.

In the middle of I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh.

Prisoners in the Palace by Michaela MacColl (teen)
Library copy

I visited Kensington Palace over the summer so this novel is a good complement.

The new Jack Reacher, Night School, just arrived, so I'm off and running with that one.

Still working on the Norman Rockwell book but started Oneida- From Free Love Utopia to the Well-Set Table by Ellen Wayland-Smith.

Just started on sons of fortune by Jeffrey archer

Hi, everytime i try starting pride and prejudice i just dont, is it really that good?

Last week I finished McCampbell's Heroes: The Story of the U.S. Navy's Most Celebrated Carrier Fighters of the Pacific War by Edwin P. Hoyt and An Anthropologist on Mars by Oliver Sacks.

The former was a technically informative but ultimately (for me) unsatisfying World War Two history about a carrier-based fighter group flying in the later stages of the War in the Pacific. The latter was, in contrast, a very satisfying collection of essays by Sacks about people living, with various degrees of success, with (relatively) unusual defects, injuries and abnormalities of brain function and cognitive abilities.

You can find more on both books on my 50-Book Challenge thread and (in the case of the Hoyt book) on the book's work page.

I'm now reading the novel Waterbaby by Chris Mazza.

Finished The Hanging Girl by Jussi Adler-Olsen. Despite a rocky start, I actually liked it more than I thought I would.

Next up is The Temporal Void by Peter F. Hamilton.

>16 Kathambi: I loved that book but if you are not into it, don't read it. Heaven knows that there are billion other books to read.

I have just finished reading The Odyssey by Homer.

.

Just started The Mathematician's Shiva: A Novel by Stuart Rojstaczer. Another one recommended by my librarian. Hope it's better than the other one I tried.

I finished Agnes Grey by the youngest, relatively unknown Bronte sister, Anne Bronte. The book reads much like her sister's books although the subject manner may be less universal. It deals with the British class system and how it leaves many, particularly governesses in an isolated condition.

@22, I read and own a Penguin Classics edition of the novel. It was her 1st published novel, published in 1847. Her best known novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was published the following year.
I agree Anne Bronte isn't as well as her two older sisters.

I'm continuing with A Closed and Common Orbit, and also starting Hag-Seed.

Saving Fish From Drowning – Amy Tan
3***

From the book jacket Twelve American tourists join an art expedition that begins in the Himalayan foothills of China and heads south into the jungles of Burma. But after the mysterious death of their tour leader, the carefully laid plans fall apart and disharmony breaks out among the pleasure-seekers as they come to discover that the Burma Road is paved with less-than-honorable intentions, questionable food, and tribal curses. And then, on Christmas morning, eleven of the travelers boat across a misty lake for a sunrise cruise – and disappear.

My reactions
I like Tan’s writing. She has the ability to plop me right into the middle of a completely different culture. This story, narrated by the ghost of Bibi Chen (the group’s recently deceased tour guide), has some elements of magical realism. Tan deftly explores the ways in which American tourists make “innocent” mistakes that have significant consequences.

Some of the characters were irritating because of their know-it-all attitude; others (especially the two youngsters) were petulant and bored. They ignored advice and warnings, made little effort to truly understand the culture, and took unnecessary risks. Their unreasonable expectations drove me crazy and made me cringe for the impression they left on the locals they encountered. And yet … by the end they seemed genuinely moved by the generosity and kindness of the people, and were eager to help (if misguided in their efforts).

At 474 pages, this is longer than it needs to be. I got the point long before the tourists did, and I think a good editor might have helped Tan trim about 100 pages. Still, I enjoyed it and was entertained throughout.

Tan narrates the audio version herself. She really personified Bibi, and I felt as though I were hearing a tall tale directly from the character. A few of her attempts at Australian or Swiss/German or British accents went rather awry, but, again, it was as if Bibi Chen were telling the story and trying to add color to the tale so I forgave Tan.

Make Way For Ducklings – Robert McCloskey
5***** and a ❤

Mr and Mrs Mallard search for a good home in which to raise their brood. It must be safe from foxes and turtles, have water to swim in, and a good source of food. They find the perfect place just in time.

This is a perennial favorite for children and their parents. I have many fond memories of sitting before the television, watching in rapt attention as Captain Kangaroo read this book to us. Oh, how I loved the story of how Policeman Michael and the other people ensured the safety of Mrs Mallard and her brood: Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack and Quack, as they crossed busy streets, waddled past coffee shops and book stores, and finally made their way to the Public Gardens, for a reunion with Mr Mallard who waited patiently on the little island in the pond.

It’s an absolute delight to revisit this story and my adult self is much more able to appreciate the wonderfully detailed illustrations.

Just bought Silas Marner. Look forward to reading it. I read the book in high school and we'll see how it works this time around. Optimistic!

Here is the new thread. Sorry about how late I'm posting this. I got wrapped up in something I was working on and forgot all about it.

>16 Kathambi: I tried to walk away from your request. I'm way too passionate about Pride and Prejudice and I'm afraid I'll overstate the case, but I find I have to say something. If it were up to me -- and thank goodness it isn't -- every human being would be required to read that book even if I personally had to stand over them every inch of the way. I'm really not a tyrant, I simply don't want anyone to miss that book. It's one of the great treasures of this planet, of humankind. It's funny and wise and poignant and true and smart and romantic and delightful and so much more than that.

I wish I could hand you my copy of Fay Weldon's book, Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen -- I'm not even sure it's in print anymore but she says what I want to say to you better than I can ever say it (and more succinctly).

Elizabeth Bennett is a heroine you shouldn't miss. She is a great companion to take with you through life.

(Sigh) I'm making it sound too monumental -- it's simply a lovely story, so well-told. I've read it several times, at different stages of my life, and it's meant different things to me -- revealed different things -- each time.

I guess it's not for everybody, but you don't know it's not for you if you don't read it! Maybe you're not ready for it now -- maybe you've built it up in your mind to be too big an obstacle -- but don't make the decision now to put it away forever.

Whatever you decide . . . I wish you good reading.