Tag: books

Top Ten Thursday: 10 Books I’d Like to See Under the Christmas Tree

There’s no such thing as too many books.

When people ask what gift I like, I always tell them they can’t go wrong with coffee and books. However, since my TBR list is a bit daunting and may send certain friends into a nervous breakdown from trying to pick the perfect book from the hundreds on my list, I’ve decided to give some help. Now, I know that this may be a bit late for this year, but it’s never to early to start thinking about next year . . . is it?

10 Books I’d Like to See Under the Tree

Buried Giant Goodreads CoverThe Easy Ones

The Buried Giant

[Kazuo Ishiguro; hardcover]

The Relic Master

[Christopher Buckley; hardcover]

V for Vendetta

[Alan Moore & David Lloyd]

The Slightly Expensive (Comparatively)

Monty Python’s Flying Circus: Complete and Annotated…All the Bits

[Luke Dempsey]

Louvre: All the Paintings

[Vincent Pomarède and Erich Lessing]

The Louvre All the Paintings Goodreads Cover

The Difficult, Expensive, and/or Nearly Impossible Ones

American Gods

[signed by Neil Gaiman]

Divine Comedy

Hogfather Book Cover[Dante Alighieri, author; John Ciardi, translator; Gustave Dore, illustrator]

I thought this book impossible, but apparently a leather-bound edition was released back in the 70s.

The Godfather

[signed by Mario Puzo]

Hogfather

[signed by Terry Pratchett]

Any signed Pratchett will do, but Hogfather was my first

Lord of the Rings

[J.R.R. Tolkien; Red Leather (real, not faux) Edition]

 

 

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Teaser Tuesday: The Relic Master

Along with my 30th Birthday, the Wheel of Time has brought ’round

Teaser Tuesday

Just in case you don’t know, Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! All you have to do is grab the book you’re currently reading, open to a random page and share a few sentences from that page. But make sure you don’t share any spoilers!*

*I wish I could take credit for this introduction, but I shamelessly stole it from Heather over at bitsnbooks. To help me make amends, you should go check out her blog.

In terms of reading, I haven’t left the Renaissance, but I have traded nonfiction for historical fiction.

This week, I’m reading  The Relic Master a work of historical fiction by Christopher Buckley featuring one of my favorite Northern Renaissance artists, Albrecht DĂ¼rer, and a plot to forge a relic for his patron – a relic known to us as the Shroud of Turin.

The Truly Random Number Generator sends us to page 264:

The Duke reached inside his cloak and produced a 
large key. The archdeacon produced a second key. 
Two archbishops wearing miters appeared from 
behind a curtain. Each in turn produced a key. 
Dismas eliminated any notion of obtaining four 
separate keys from four different people.

The Relic Master Goodreads Cover

The plot thickens!

In Retrospect

I’ve just about finished Heretics and Heroes: How Renaissance Artists and Reformation Priests Created Our World by Thomas Cahill and have found it intriguing, engrossing, and otherwise enjoyable. No spoilers on the star-rating, though; you’ll have to come back next week (or keep track of me on Goodreads)

Coming Soon

I’m not sure what will be next, but I plan to have a number in mind for the 2016 Goodreads Challenge.

 

 

What have you been reading?

 

 

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Don’t forget to follow me on:

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Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.

Teaser Tuesday: King John

Yesterday, high school basketball officially began.

Today, the turning Wheel of Time turns to

Teaser TuesdayJust in case you don’t know, Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! All you have to do is grab the book you’re currently reading, open to a random page and share a few sentences from that page. But make sure you don’t share any spoilers!*

*I wish I could take credit for this introduction, but I shamelessly stole it from Heather over at bitsnbooks. To help me make amends, you should go check out her blog.

I’m full steam ahead on my Goodreads challenge: 5 books ahead!

I left present-day Discworld for Roundworld in the 12th and 13th centuries with Marc Morris’ King John: Treachery and Tyranny in Medieval England: The Road to Magna Carta.

Yes, this book has two subtitles!

The Truly Random Number Generator sends us to page 191:

Yet the impression, from both the chroniclers and
the official records, is that John indulged his whim
in this way a great deal more than any of his
predecessors.  With increasing frequency, men and
women, great and small, were deprived of their lands
simply because they had somehow incurred his
displeasure.

King John coverSounds like John will live up to his nickname:

John the First and John the Worst

In Retrospect

The Shepherd’s Crown by Sir Terry Pratchett earned 5 stars.

When Books Went To War by Molly Manning also earned 5 stars, and in my opinion should be required reading for anyone who doubts the value of the printed word. It is by far the best book about books I’ve read.

 

 

What have you been reading?

 

 

Have a suggestion for a poem, photograph, or future post?

Drop a note in the prompt box!

 

Don’t forget to follow me on:

Facebook – where I share news stories, articles from other blogs, and various and sundry miscellany that happens to catch my eye. It’s stuff you won’t see here! Well, mostly.

Instagram – where I show you my Life in Motion and share quotes and such. The widget only shows my last three photographs – don’t you want to see them all?

Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.

Monday Morning Grievance: Unexpected Library Fines

It’s Monday and I haven’t had my coffee.

Monday Morning Grievances Logo 1

Last Tuesday I went to the Library; Tuesday is my normal Library day. I returned my books and browsed the New Nonfiction shelf, where I found not one, not two, but three books on my TBR – needless to say, I added them to my stack. As it turned out, these were the only three books I desired to check out. Then, I went to the counter, handed the Librarian my card, and heard:

I’m sorry – you have an 80¢ fine on your card.

What? What book was over a week late? It’s impossible for several reasons:

I checked out all my books on the same day

I returned three books, and

the late fee is 10¢ per day, so

either one book was eight days late or

two books were four days late, but . . .

I checked the library cards that morning and they were stamped “Oct. 20”

So I asked the Librarian which book was late; she could not tell me. When I began to plead my case, she said

Sir, I don’t have the authority to clear your fine, but I can let you check out these books and you can pay your fine next time you come in.

I suppose at some point one has to take what one gets, but I’m still miffed about that 80¢.

I know I wasn’t late.

 

 

What annoys you?

 

 

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Don’t forget to follow me on:

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Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.

Teaser Tuesday: The Shepherd’s Crown

Like a centuries-old Spanish church emerging from the depths of drought-ridden Mexico, the turning Wheel of Time has brought up

Teaser TuesdayJust in case you don’t know, Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! All you have to do is grab the book you’re currently reading, open to a random page and share a few sentences from that page. But make sure you don’t share any spoilers!*

*I wish I could take credit for this introduction, but I shamelessly stole it from Heather over at bitsnbooks. To help me make amends, you should go check out her blog.

Given my hectic schedule, I’ve fallen slightly behind pace on my Goodreads challenge; I am now only four books ahead of schedule.

In an attempt to salvage victory, I’ve decided to finally read The Shepherd’s Crown by Terry Pratchett. I received it on release day, but haven’t had the heart to read it . . . yet.

This week, the Truly Random Number Generator sends us to page 192:

They brought actual terror, and horror, and pain. 
. . . And they laughed, which was bad enough
because their laughter was actually musical, and
you could wonder why such wonderful music
could come from such unpleasant creatures.
They cared for nobody except themselves and 
possibly not even that.

Shepherd's Crown Cover

In Retrospect

I’m slowly working my way through Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America by Eric Jay Dolan. The story is interesting, but the prose is lacking. I may abandon it . . . or not.

 

 

What have you been reading?

 

 

Have a suggestion for a poem, photograph, or future post?

Drop a note in the prompt box!

 

Don’t forget to follow me on:

Facebook – where I share news stories, articles from other blogs, and various and sundry miscellany that happens to catch my eye. It’s stuff you won’t see here! Well, mostly.

Instagram – where I show you my Life in Motion and share quotes and such. The widget only shows my last three photographs – don’t you want to see them all?

Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.

Teaser Tuesday: Fur, Fortune, and Empire

I may have been off my blogging game for a few days, but my reading schedule rolled merrily along. Come to think of it, maybe that had something to do with my interrupted blogging schedule . . .

Be that as it may, the turning Wheel of Time has brought around

Teaser TuesdayJust in case you don’t know, Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! All you have to do is grab the book you’re currently reading, open to a random page and share a few sentences from that page. But make sure you don’t share any spoilers!*

*I wish I could take credit for this introduction, but I shamelessly stole it from Heather over at bitsnbooks. To help me make amends, you should go check out her blog.

Believe it or not, I am somehow still 5 books ahead of my Goodreads challenge! I hold no delusions: NaNoWriMo will interfere with both reading and blogging.

This week I’ve left turn-of-the-last-century New Orleans for the American frontier in Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America by Eric Jay Dolan. Don’t worry, I won’t be swayed by his middle name – I’ll give the book the same treatment I give any other book.

This week, the Truly Random Number Generator sends us to page 56:

It wasn't long, however, before Ashley lived up 
to their worst fears.  Although he quickly gathered
a "good parcel of beaver," Ashely refused to pay
back the undertakers for any of the supplies they
had given him, and then he had the gall to ask
for more.

Fur Fortune Empire cover

In Retrospect

I felt Empire of Sin: A Story of Sex, Jazz, Murder, and the Battle for Modern New Orleans by Gary Krist deserved 4 stars – the storytelling was solid, but several transition chapters were decidedly lacking; I found myself flipping back to reacquaint myself with the story line.

I also won a copy of Pop Sonnets: Shakespearean Spins on Your Favorite Songs by Erik Didriksen from Heather over at bitsnbooks. I gave the book 4 stars, mainly because I felt too many songs were more modern than I’d like – I understand that’s a purely subjective opinion, but it’s still mine.

 

 

What have you been reading?

 

 

Have a suggestion for a poem, photograph, or future post?

Drop a note in the prompt box!

 

Don’t forget to follow me on:

Facebook – where I share news stories, articles from other blogs, and various and sundry miscellany that happens to catch my eye. It’s stuff you won’t see here! Well, mostly.

Instagram – where I show you my Life in Motion and share quotes and such. The widget only shows my last three photographs – don’t you want to see them all?

Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.

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