The Sunday Salon

Monday Morning Sunday Salon

/ justbookreading / Leave a comment

I was planning to post a Happy Thanksgiving note last week, but thanks to a weather front creeping slowly towards the East Coast, we got in the car Wednesday night instead of Thursday morning and made the trek to PA snow free and I never got around to posting anything.  So happy belated Thanksgiving everyone.  🙂

I was also planning to have something to post for the Sunday Salon yesterday but my husband is leaving for Denver this morning and I spent the day with him trying to figure out how to fit suits and heavy sweaters into one suitcase and never put butt in chair.

So today it is and we’re going to go about this bullet style so I can cover several topics and not have to worry about coming up with pithy transitions.

  • I honestly didn’t get much reading done, and a week later, I’m still reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.  Between visiting relatives and a holiday, reading time was almost nonexistent the last week but I’m actually enjoying this slow meander through the wizarding world.  While I won’t say that the Order of the Phoenix is my favorite of the Harry Potter books, I will admit to it being a nice holding place.  A lot happens in this installment but it’s also where Harry tries on male crankiness and I tend to get sick of brooding easily so parts of this one don’t always appeal to me.  That said, I’m still enjoying it.
  • Thanks to a staff retreat, I had the chance to visit the Frederick Douglass house in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, DC last week.  If you need a refresher on Douglass, the Wikipedia page can help you out.  I was planning to share a few photos but I was using my cell phone and don’t have time this morning to pull them off so if you’re interested in photos, the Park Service site has a few.  Going into the tour, I only knew what I remembered from school, which I hate to admit was not a lot, so I was looking forward to the guided tour from the Park Service.  The house, which is an amazing place, contains 70% of the original pieces of furniture and artwork which Douglass used during his time at the house.  It drips with history and makes you feel as though you’ve stepped back in time.  With a portrait of Abraham Lincoln hanging over one fireplace, you feel the immense burden that Douglass shouldered and the fight which he made personal for all those that would listen.  I think we may have a copy of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave on the shelves somewhere and I need to find it.  I almost bought it at the bookstore but decided to check the house first since I remember seeing it recently.
  • Pictures.  I had several that I was planning to share but again, on the cell phone and don’t have time (really it probably has more to do with patience but whatever) so if I can get myself in gear at some point in time this week, I’ll share.

That’s it for me this morning.  I’m hoping to catch up with some blog reading this week too.  I took a look at my email and blog feeds and let’s just say it was overwhelming and I may just hit delete and start over but I plan to read as you all out there give me some great book selections and I feel I can’t miss even one.  Enjoy the week.

The Sunday Salon

/ justbookreading / Leave a comment

We had visitors this weekend so not much reading was done. I did get in a few chapters here and there but mostly it was filled with football games and touristy things.

In the last week, I finished The Distant Hours by Kate Morton, The Sherlockian by Graham Moore, The Exile by Diana Gabaldon, and started Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling so even if I didn’t get to read this weekend, it was still a good week overall.

I don’t have much to say today which is probably due to the lack of sleep I’ve had the last few nights.  Even the nap this afternoon didn’t help so I’ll be making this a very short salon today.  I was planning to talk about cleaning off the bookshelves or maybe even holiday reading but I don’t have it in me today.  🙂

Happy Sunday.

The Sunday Salon – Real Books

/ justbookreading / 2 Comments

I’m back from my trip to Vegas, and now that I’ve slept a bit and figured out which time zone I’m in, it’s book talk time.  I had this return post pre-planned and then a conversation with a co-worker caused that one to get put back in the thought pile.  Let me explain.

My company has a conference and trade show in Las Vegas each year and the exhibitors offer give aways and prizes to entice attendees to visit their booths.  This year, three exhibitors were giving away Kindles.  My co-worker said she didn’t get it.  I asked what she meant and she said people forgot what books are supposed to be.  Which is an intriguing thought but that’s not where I’m going with this.  What she was getting at was the feel of a book, the smell, the weight of holding a book in your hands.  Knowing that at any moment you could open to a page and read.  You don’t have to wait for it to warm up and find your page.  You can flip back and forth, scan ahead, read the ending; whatever you want because the pages are all right there for you.  She looked at me and said, “You know what I mean.  You always have a book.”  I agreed but then told her that I also own a Nook.  She looked surprised and asked why I had one.  My response: “It’s easy to travel with and my husband likes the fact that no matter how many books I buy or download, the books don’t take up any space.”  I had several books at my finger tips this week and I didn’t have any worries about my bag being overweight.  If I wasn’t satisfied with what I was reading, I knew I could easily find another book without having to leave my room.  But even I have to admit that it wasn’t like having a real book with me.

So, what’s a real book then?  I get the physical experience of reading a book.  There is something very satisfying about turning the page, the feel of the paper, the smell, and the weight.  I like being able to flip to the ending and read the last few paragraphs and pages at my will.  It’s possible to do all these things on a reader but it takes a tad more effort and you have to wait.  I admit to being impatient and waiting for my Nook to load the ending annoys me so I don’t read ahead.  I guess you can say one disadvantage for me is that I don’t read ahead, which is part of my regular reading habit, simply because I don’t like all the flipping and waiting.  I should explain at this time that it doesn’t actually take long for the flipping to happen, I just don’t like waiting the three seconds for it to happen.  And, yes, I’m one of those people that stand in front of the microwave waiting for it to hurry up and finish cooking my food.

I love my little Nook but it hasn’t change the way I read drastically.  I still buy books, I still go to the library, and I still re-read books that are on my shelf.  I’ve just added ebooks to the mix.  I believe that if you’re a reader, you’re a reader.  That won’t change; it just changes the medium in which words are read.

So, what did I read on my Nook while stuck on planes and listening to conference attendees complain about coffee?  I finished The Hard Way by Lee Child, Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews, and started The House on Durrow Street by Galen Beckett.

The Hard Way is a loaner from a co-worker.  I’ve read several Lee Child books now and each time I finish I’m happy to say that I’ve been entertained and slightly annoyed because the main character in these books, Jack Reacher, manages to get involved in situations that, well, just don’t happen.  Once I let go of reality, I usually enjoy the books and this one was much the same.

Magic Bleeds in the fourth book in the Kate Daniels series and can I tell you how much I love these books!  It’s urban fantasy, gritty, the world is phenomenal, and each time I finish one I always want more.  And I’m happy to see that a fifth book is in the works — Magic Slays. These books are like the best brain candy I ever had.

The House on Durrow Street is a little slow for me at the moment.  As the first book, The Magicians & Mrs. Quent, this one is broken up into three books and the first part, while setting the stage for future events, is also slightly boring.  I hope it picks up soon.  I liked the last book but didn’t love it although I did like world and that’s the reason I decided to read this one.

I’m off to take a nap which is my normal routine the weekend after this work conference.  If I manage to keep my eyes open for any length of time, I might also do some reading.  Happy Sunday.

The Sunday Salon – Lazy with Crazy Acquisitions

/ justbookreading / 7 Comments

Hi there.  I’m still around; I was just a lazy blogger last week.  Work always gets extremely busy this time of year — I refer to it as the Vegas Syndrome.  My company has a conference the first week of November in Las Vegas and every year around this time everything explodes and that’s pretty much the state work is in at the moment which is why I was lazy on the blog front.  I plan to remedy that in the next few days since things should calm down and return to some sort of normal before I get on a plane.

While I’ve been lazy with the writing, I haven’t been lazy in the book acquiring department.  I’ve mentioned this before — we have a book buying moratorium on at the moment in our house.  Review books are still allowed, but all other books, with the exception of ebooks since they take up no space, were not.  Somehow the moratorium failed in the month of October.  My husband and I both bought several books and said, “Oh, we’ll find space for them,” which probably means we’ll have to buy a new bookcase but so be it.  We’re planning to do that anyway.

So what did I end up with?

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton — This is a review copy I requested so it’s not falling under the rule but since it came into the house, it’s getting counted.

The Hard Way by Lee Child — A co-worker loaned this one to me (He’s got most of Child’s Reacher series and I keep borrowing them.  He’s like a personal thriller library.) and again not a true rule breaker but it will be spending time here so on the list.

Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories — We have this great local bookstore a few blocks away and each time I go there, I visit this book.  The last time I went in, it came home.

The Cat Who Walks Through Walls by Robert A. Heinlein — I’ve been in the mood for some good science fiction and it’s been a while since I’ve read one of Heinlein’s books.

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman — More science fiction.  My husband read this one and loved it.  I don’t like to read about war but the science fiction part has me intrigued.

Rudyard Kipling’s Tales of Horror & Fantasy with an introduction by Neil Gaiman edited by Stephen Jones — My husband bought this one for me after a particularly long day.  🙂  It’s short stories and perfect for when you want something quick and creepy.

The Lost City of Z by David Grann — I’ve been wanting to read this one for a long time, and when I was playing around with my Nook yesterday, decided that it was time to buy it.  Besides, I need something to read on that long plane ride to Las Vegas. (ebook)

The House on Durrow Street by Galen Beckett — I read the first book, The Magicians & Mrs. Quent, and while I can’t say I loved it, I liked it enough to get the second one.  (ebook)

Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews — I’ve read the three previous books in this series and loved them all.  It’s urban fantasy and everything about these books is fantastic. (ebook)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, to close this up, the wrap-up for last week.  I read:

The Burning Times by Jeanne Kalogridis, finished The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (I’m a week ahead of the read along, it’s supposed to end on Halloween, but I’m not good with reading on a schedule.), and started Corrag by Susan Fletcher.  I plan to start Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie today too.  I downloaded a free copy to my Nook weeks ago and have been meaning to read it.  I loved this book as a child and want to see what I think of it as an adult.

That’s all for me today.  Buy any good books in the last few days?

Enjoy your Sunday.

The Sunday Salon – Looking Back on DNFs

/ justbookreading / 1 Comment

In October, I gave up on two books.  That’s odd for me considering I try not to toss books in the DNF pile so easily.  Looking over my list, I was happy to see that up to this point in the year, I had only stopped reading three books.  Now, I’ve ended up at five, still not a large number but a slightly higher one than last year.  Here’s the list:

White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

The Greenlanders by Jane Smiley

Kings of the Earth by Jon Clinch

The Clouds Beneath the Sun by Mackenzie Ford

Fire in the East by Harry Sidebottom

I had trouble with the stream of conscience type writing in White is for Witching.  I read some great reviews of this one and was sure I was going to love it but the writing didn’t appeal; I’ve never enjoyed this particular writing style.  I won’t be going back to this one.

The Greenlanders was dense.  The descriptions were lengthy, the names crazy, and I felt I should have been taking notes to figure out which Sven was being talked about.  I adore Viking stories, and while this one was different than I expected it to be, I plan to go back to it at some point.

While browsing the new arrivals shelf at the library, I came across Kings of the Earth.  It looked interesting — a death, family drama — but after the first chapter, I couldn’t go on.  It was too depressing, some of the characters were creepy, and I didn’t want any of them to spend time in my head.  I won’t be going back.

The Clouds Beneath the Sun. I talked about this book in this post if you’re interested.

Finally, Fire in the East.  I picked this up yesterday afternoon and was excited because ancient Rome is always a setting I love.  What stopped me?  The language.  I wasn’t expecting, “Halt, who goes there?” type of stuff but this was so far off that I started to get annoyed in the prologue.  Now, I have nothing against cursing.  You should hear me when I drive in the city, I could make a sailor blush, but the use of a particular four letter word that rhymes with duck at least once on every page in the prologue floored me.  Not because of the word itself but because I don’t think it was in wide use in 238 AD.  I didn’t google that so I could be wrong but it was so out of place that I began skimming to see where and how it was being used.  I put the book down and picked up another.

On another topic, I had a good week of reading last week.  I finished A College of Magics by Caroline Stevermer, Chasing the Night by Iris Johansen, caught up with The Historian read along, and picked up The Burning Times by Jeanne Kalogridis.

Enjoy your Sunday.  I’m off to do some reading.

The Sunday Salon – Great Books

/ justbookreading / 3 Comments

I didn’t finish one book last week (more on that later) so why did I title this post great books?  Well, I get an email newsletter from the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors (NAIWE) and all last week they sponsored Great Books Week.  I didn’t get a chance to participate but I thought it might be fun to take a look at the questions and answer a few.

Day 1: What book has had the greatest impact on your life? In what way?

This is a tough question and I don’t think I can answer this with one single book.  To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee was astounding.  I read it in high school and cried through a good portion of the book.  It made me scared and made me laugh.  I wanted to start it all over as soon as I finished.  It made me love reading.  Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott may seem like an odd choice but I have a soft spot for knights and ladies.  Also, I loved the way everything — and I mean EVERYTHING — was described in this book.  It can be extremely tedious at times but the description of Rowena’s dress as she walked in to a room (the green color and the way it moved as she walked) has stuck with me all these years.

Day 2: What makes a book great?

For me, characters make a great book.  I want to care about the people, laugh with them, cry with them, and get frustrated with their actions.  I want to feel their pain, understand their fears, and take a journey with them.  If I don’t, I have trouble with the book.  Yes, a book can be great for many other reasons — setting, plot, foreshadowing, language, etc. — but for me is has to be the characters.

Day 3: What childhood book captured your imagination?

This is an easy one — Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  I loved the setting and at one point in my very early life I thought being a pioneer would be fun.  That was until I learned the pioneer life included a lot of camping.  Camping is not something I do.  I changed my mind quickly about wanting to be a pioneer but the stories stuck with me.

For Christmas one year my parents bought me the entire collection.  I remember reading them all over Christmas break.  When I finished, I told my mother that we needed to go to the bookstore and she asked me why.  I told her that I finished my Little House on the Prairie books and needed to get more.  I remember this next part very distinctly.  She was standing at the sink in the kitchen, she stopped what she was doing, looked at me and said, “Well, read them again.”  I was about eight years old and it had not occurred to me at this point in my life that you would re-read a book and I was totally fascinated with the idea.  And, being the little dork I was, yes, I did run off and start the books all over again.

Day 4: What book or books do you read over and over?

I’ve read Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen several times.  There’s something very lovely about both stories and each make me happy in their own way.  Little Women by Louisa May Alcott is another that I’ve taken off the shelf more than once.

Day 5: If you were stranded alone on a deserted island, what five books would you want?

I don’t like narrowing books so I’m going to cheat, slightly, on this question.

The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.  There are seven books in this series and each clock in around 700+ pages so they are perfect if a stranding were to occur when you have all seven in your suitcase.  Besides, a Scottish man in a kilt would be great company on a deserted island.

The Complete Works of Jane Austen.  This one is not really cheating as it is a collection of her stories all contained in one book.  I haven’t read all of her books yet but I know they would be great reading.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.  I never get tired of this story and know I could easily turn to it and be taken away.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.  I re-read these books this year and fell in love with them all over again.  I never get tired of this story.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  The language is so wonderful that when I first read it I kept going back to re-read passages.  I took me forever to finish but was so very worth it.

Anything to add to the list/questions above?

Usually at this point I do a wrap-up of my week’s reading.  I don’t have anything to wrap-up since I didn’t finish one book last week.  It was a fairly hectic week for me and I didn’t have much time to spend reading.  I gave up on one book — The Clouds Beneath the Sun by Mackenzie Ford — and still haven’t finished A College of Magics by Caroline Stevermer.  I’m enjoying it and I hope to finish it today at some point.  I also have to catch up on The Historian read-along since I fell behind this week.

Since I have a full day planned, I’m stopping here.  Have a good Sunday.

The Sunday Salon – October already! When did that happen?

/ justbookreading / 4 Comments

It seems the days/weeks/months are flying by this year.  While I will not admit to being ready for October, I am ready for fall — my favorite time of year.  Unfortunately, I don’t live in an area where the leaves turn colors.  They go from green to brown and then fall off; not exciting at all.  When you grow up in the Poconos, all other fall foliage is a disappointment by comparison.

Since it is October, I thought I’d do a September wrap-up.  Last month, I read nine books which actually surprised me because I didn’t feel as if I read much in September.

Appointment in Samarra by John O’Hara

Esperanza by Trish J. MacGregor

The Mosaic of Shadows by Tom Harper

Dracula in Love by Karen Essex

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach

The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell

Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

The Dead Path by Stephen M. Irwin

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

While I enjoyed several of the books, a few others felt blah but no overwhelmingly bad reads or DNFs so a good month in the end.  I hope to have reviews up for several of the above books this week.

I’m currently reading The Clouds Beneath the Sun by Mackenzie Ford and so far it’s a good read.  It takes place on an anthropological dig in Africa in the 1960s; a very interesting setting with a lot of potential conflict.  I wasn’t so sure about this one early on but it seems to have found its footing.  I hope to be able to spend some quality time with it today.  The weather here has been wonderful the last two days, and instead of reading, we’ve been outside enjoying the cool, dry days.  I’m hoping to combine my reading with some outdoor time later today.

Happy Sunday.  🙂

The Sunday Salon – The National Book Festival

/ justbookreading / 6 Comments

The National Book Festival was this weekend in Washington, DC and I braved the still 90 degree weather to see two authors — Diana Gabaldon who wrote The Outlander series and Elizabeth Kostova who wrote The Historian and The Swan Thieves.  Gabaldon was very funny especially when she started describing how and why she decided on a Scotsman for the male character.  She drew a huge crowd, and as always, a lot of questions about her next book since she left everyone hanging in An Echo in the Bone.  Two years at least.  Yep, another two years or so before I find out what happened.  She does have a graphic novel coming out that does feature Outlander characters so I guess that will have to do for the moment.  Kostova was good as well and spoke about her writing process which I found interesting.  For whatever reason, I’m always fascinated to hear about authors’ writing processes; when they write, how they put the story together, and where they find inspiration.  This week I’ve been reading The Historian for the read along and hearing Kostova speak about the book provided a lot of insight on why and how she ended up writing about Dracula.  I’m surprised to see how much I’m enjoying it the second time around too.  I always worry that when I pick up a book to re-read that I’m not going to enjoy it as much as I did the first time and that my experience and memories will be ruined somehow.  That doesn’t seem to be happening with this book.

Because of the heat, I ended up spending time in the National Gallery looking at Edvard Munch prints instead of listening to more authors and by 2PM I decided that I had lost enough fluid thanks to the heat and left so not much else to report.  C-SPAN’s Book TV will have coverage up soon if you’re interested in seeing any of the authors at this year’s festival.  I’ll probably end up watching a few that I missed this way.  If you want to see the list of authors, the Library of Congress which sponsors the festival has a complete list.

Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire was my other re-read this week.  I hate to admit this but I remember more from the movies than I do the books, but thanks to cable, I have seen the movies more than I have read the books so it does make sense.  It’s nice to be surprised by a book on a re-read though.  While I knew the ending, there were details I had forgotten which make the story much different to read than to watch.

I started The Dead Path by Stephen M. Irwin this weekend.  He’s an Australian author and this is his first book.  It’s dark, disturbing, and sad and I have decided that I will probably be finishing this one while the sun is shining today.  Come to think of it, it would have been perfect for the Readers Imbibing Peril Challenge which I meant to enter and then didn’t.  Maybe next year.

I was planning to include a few pics from the book festival but I can’t figure out how to get them off my phone and hubby is working.  Since I want to be able to spend some time with him today, away from the computer and the blackberry, I’m not going to ask him how to figure it out.  Besides, they aren’t all that good so you’re not really missing anything.  The woman in front of me kept moving and her head appears in every single one of my photos.  Oh well.

That’s it for me this week.  Happy Sunday!