It's all Greek to me! Paws' 2015 challenge

Converses2015 Category Challenge

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It's all Greek to me! Paws' 2015 challenge

Aquest tema està marcat com "inactiu": L'últim missatge és de fa més de 90 dies. Podeu revifar-lo enviant una resposta.

1PawsforThought
Editat: des. 29, 2014, 1:49 pm



2014 didn’t allow me much time or energy to read like I’d want to, but it did allow me a most wonderful holiday in Copenhagen and Berlin - a holiday I mostly spent going from museum to museum (with the odd art gallery through in for good measure). Spending so much time surrounded by busts of Augustus, statues of the nine muses and the gates of Babylon gave me the inspiration for the 2015 challenge. Eureka!
I’m going old school. Ancient Greece old.

I have ten categories lined up, all named and themed (sort of) after Greek gods and goddesses. I’m going to try and join in with a few challenges and group read and while I know it will be a herculean effort to do them, I hope it won’t be a sisyphean one.
Now that I have everything lined up, I’ll dive right in. I’ll try to pace myself though, a year-long challenge is not a sprint - it’s a marathon.
And if I drink too much wine this year, I blame it all on Dionysus - the boy with grapes in his hair.

Crowning my thread are the nine muses (that is Polyhymnia, Euterpe, Erato, Calliope, Clio, Melpomene, Thalia, Terpsichore and Urania) supported by Apollo on the lyre.
Lastly a photo of the wonder that is Nike of Samothrace, in my opinion the most beautiful statue in the history of everything ever. Just look at her! If I could afford it, I’d buy her and have her in my bedroom.

2PawsforThought
Editat: juny 22, 2015, 6:01 pm



Aphrodite

The goddess of love, beauty, desire and pleasure. She’ll be the figure head for the LGBT category, because love is love and love is beautiful. But love isn't bound by categories so other love stories can fit in here too.

3PawsforThought
Editat: des. 29, 2014, 1:42 pm



Apollo

The god of music, arts, knowledge, healing, plague, prophecy poetry, manly beauty and archery. This will be the category for plays, poetry and others arts.

4PawsforThought
Editat: jul. 12, 2015, 7:16 pm



Ares

The god of war, bloodshed and violence. This will be for books about the world wars.

* The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

5PawsforThought
Editat: ag. 10, 2015, 9:13 am



Athena

The goddess of intelligence, skill, peace, warfare, battle strategy, handicrafts and wisdom. This will be the category for books about the Cold War and books featuring intelligence (of the military kind) and spying.

* Smiley's People by John le Carré

6PawsforThought
Editat: jul. 27, 2015, 5:22 pm



Artemis

The goddess of hunting, wilderness, animals, young girls, childbirth and plague. This will be the category for graphic novels because all the GNs I’m currently reading are about being hunted or hunting for something.

* Fables, Vol. 2: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham
* Fables, Vol. 3: Storybook Love by Bill Willingham

7PawsforThought
Editat: jul. 23, 2015, 5:08 am



Demeter

The goddess of grain, agriculture, harvest, growth, nourishment and the life and death cycle. This will be for children’s books, young adult novels and short stories, because harvest time is short and so is life.

* Hanging on to Max by Margaret Bechard
* Go Ask Alice by Anonymous (Beatrice Sparks)

8PawsforThought
Editat: abr. 22, 2015, 12:33 pm



Dionysus/Bacchus

The god of wine, parties, festivals, madness, chaos, drunkenness, drugs and ecstasy. This is the place for easy reading and comedic books.

* I Will Repay by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
* The Elusive Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy

9PawsforThought
Editat: jul. 25, 2015, 2:11 pm



Hades

The god of the underworld, the dead and regret. This is the category for horror, crime and other scary things.

* A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie
* At Bertrams Hotel by Agatha Christie

10PawsforThought
Editat: nov. 30, 2015, 5:48 am



Hermes

The god of boundaries, travel, communication, trade, language and writing. This is for fantasy and sci-fi books. Because traveling can happen both in space, time and the imagination.

* A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin

11PawsforThought
Editat: des. 14, 2015, 1:04 pm



Zeus

Finally the god of the sky, weather, thunder, lightning, law, order and justice. Since he’s definitely an old guy, this is the place for old books - classics.

* Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
* The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
* The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

12PawsforThought
Editat: juny 22, 2015, 6:13 pm

The Erechtheoin caryatids at the Acropolis

13PawsforThought
Editat: nov. 30, 2015, 5:49 am

BingoCAT



Read a book translated from a language you don't speak
Read a book that reminds you of your childhood
Read a book about a subject/topic of which you're unfamiliar
Read a book about autism
Read a book about language(s)
Read a book with scientists
Read a book with a natural disaster
Read a book centered around a major historical event
* I Will Repay by Baroness Emmuska Orczy (The French revolution)
Read a book with correspondence or letters
* Smiley's People by John le Carré
Read a book with a LGBTQ main character
Read a book with a protagonist of the opposite gender
* Hanging on to Max by Margaret Bechard
Read a book set in a country other than your own
* The Elusive Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy (France)
Read a book where an animal is of importance
* A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
Read a book that is based on a fairy tale or myth
* Fables, Vol. 2: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham
Read a book with a mythical creature
* Fables, Vol. 3: Storybook Love by Bill Willingham
Read a book where prophecy, signs, or portents are part of the plot
Read a book that's a genre bender
Read a book inspired by another piece of fiction
Read a book that's completely outside your comfort zone
* Go Ask Alice by Anonymous (Beatrice Sparks)
Read a book published in 1915
Read a book whose author has the same first name as your ancestor
Read a book you've owned for more than 1 year
Read a book by an LT Author
Read a book chosen by someone else
* The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
Read a CAT
* The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

14PawsforThought
Editat: des. 29, 2014, 1:57 pm

Group reads

January:
February:
March:
April:
May:
June:
July:
August:
September:
October:
November:
December:
Year long:

15PawsforThought
Editat: des. 29, 2014, 1:56 pm

The British Author Challenge

January:
February:
March:
April:
May:
June:
July:
August:
September:
October:
November:
December:

16PawsforThought
des. 29, 2014, 3:30 pm

Feel free to leave a message or two. I love talking to people. And remember that book tips are always welcome!

17rabbitprincess
des. 29, 2014, 6:01 pm

Hello again Paws! I love your theme! Will be tagging along with Ares and Athena in particular. Good luck with your challenge! :)

18PawsforThought
des. 29, 2014, 6:27 pm

>17 rabbitprincess: Hi! Thanks for visiting.

19majkia
des. 29, 2014, 6:40 pm

The Sybil tells me she foresees many arrows piercing my body.

20sturlington
des. 29, 2014, 6:52 pm

Love your thread! I will be checking for book bullets.

21lkernagh
des. 29, 2014, 8:54 pm

I went through a bit of a 'deja-vu' experience when I opened this thread and then I realized that you used the same thread topper image for your 75 Challenge. Whew! I was a little worried for a minute there. ;-)

I agree, the statue of Nike is stunning. Great line up of gods, although I will admit that I have never really trusted Hermes - he has that feigned innocence that makes me think he is up to something!

May the gods - and goddesses - shine brightly on your challenge!

22PawsforThought
des. 29, 2014, 9:04 pm

>21 lkernagh: Haha! Sorry about the scare! Just makes it easier for myself to have the same pic everywhere (also for others, I suppose).
You don't trust Hermes? Aww. I really like his winged hat. :)

23RidgewayGirl
Editat: des. 29, 2014, 9:05 pm

Beautiful theme for your categories.

24-Eva-
des. 29, 2014, 9:50 pm

Loving the theme! That is some fantastic art too!

25BBGirl55
des. 30, 2014, 5:32 am

Well hello Greek Goddess!

26LittleTaiko
des. 30, 2014, 3:59 pm

Love your theme! I've always been intrigued by the gods and goddesses. Maybe your theme will inspire me to read more about them.

27PawsforThought
des. 30, 2014, 4:30 pm

>26 LittleTaiko: It inspired me so hopefully that will spread! After I came up with the idea I spent a few weeks reading up on the gods and goddesses and the myths attached to them.

28LittleTaiko
Editat: des. 31, 2014, 11:52 am

I do have Oh My Gods: A Modern Retelling of Greek and Roman Myths to read which hopefully will be a good starter/refresher. Any books that you recommend? Also, if you are ever in LA you should go to the Getty Villa - lots of lovely antiquities that are primarily devoted to the Greek and Roman gods/goddesses. We went in October and it was wonderful.

29Poquette
des. 31, 2014, 9:00 pm

Your statuesque theme is just marvelous! Beautifully photographed as well. Will follow with interest both here and in Club Read!

30Miela
des. 31, 2014, 9:24 pm

I'm looking forward to seeing what you read this year -- I love your theme! (Also, what's the British author challenge?)

31PawsforThought
des. 31, 2014, 10:01 pm

>28 LittleTaiko: Sorry, don't have any recommendations. I read a couple of retellings and kids non-fiction books - all in Swedish I'm afraid. And if I ever make it as far as L.A. I'll remember the Getty Villa, sounds incredible!

>29 Poquette: Yeah, the photos are lovely. I scoured the interent for the best ones - took a while.

>30 Miela: The British Author Challenge is a challenge in the 75ers group. If you've ever heard of the American author challenge (or maybe it's the American author read? I'm not sure) it's the same thing but with British authors. Two chosen authors per month (one male and one female). It's just extra incentive to read, and I was interested in reading several of the names that were listed so joined in. The general thread is here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/185338

32mamzel
gen. 1, 2015, 1:03 am

Good job with your theme! It sure gets harder every year to come up with new ones but you managed fabulously!

33VivienneR
gen. 1, 2015, 4:27 am

I love your categories and theme. Athena looks so serious, wise. Looking forward to following along.

34PawsforThought
gen. 1, 2015, 6:46 am

>32 mamzel: Not to me. I actually had two other themes lined up but then got this idea so scrapped/delayed them. Good to have idea for next year...

>33 VivienneR: :)

35Roro8
gen. 1, 2015, 7:15 am

I really like your theme. Great pics of the sculptures, they all look fabulous.

36mstrust
gen. 2, 2015, 11:02 am

Great pics and theme! Good luck this year!

37PawsforThought
gen. 3, 2015, 1:15 pm

38randomfakename
gen. 3, 2015, 1:20 pm

Gorgeous theme!

39PawsforThought
gen. 3, 2015, 1:49 pm

>38 randomfakename: Thanks! I'm very happy with it.

40MissWatson
gen. 4, 2015, 11:50 am

Hi Paws, great theme and gorgeous pictures. Nike is best of all, of course!

41PawsforThought
gen. 4, 2015, 12:26 pm

>40 MissWatson: Yeah, she's the best. I love her.

42DeltaQueen50
gen. 6, 2015, 1:16 am

Excellent photos of those gorgeous statues. I am very taken by the statue of Aphrodite. Great theme.

43PawsforThought
gen. 6, 2015, 2:33 am

>42 DeltaQueen50: She's incredibly beautiful, isn't she. I could just stare at these photos all day.

44paruline
Editat: gen. 9, 2015, 9:35 pm

Love your theme! It made me think of two books I enjoyed in the last few years. The first is The secret history about students that become quite taken with Dionysus. The second one might be good for your SFF category: Earth abides. It's post-apocalyptic and the survivors in my mind were archetypes of mythology.

45PawsforThought
gen. 9, 2015, 3:21 pm

>44 paruline: Thanks for the book tips! I'll definitely check them out. Sound interesting.

46Dejah_Thoris
gen. 11, 2015, 10:23 am

I love your theme! The statues are gorgeous - and the BINGO card, too!

47PawsforThought
gen. 11, 2015, 11:44 am

>46 Dejah_Thoris: Thank you! :D

48kaystj
gen. 11, 2015, 4:45 pm

I feel very silly asking this, but what does "read a CAT" mean?

49PawsforThought
gen. 11, 2015, 5:06 pm

>48 kaystj: Not silly at all! "CAT" is short for Categories and Themes, a challenge that first got started a couple of years ago here in the Category Challenge group. There are three official CATs every year, plus a couple of unofficial mini-CATs (known at KITs). The people who want to join in on the challenge discuss what type of CATs they'd like the following years and after suggestions have been made they are voted on. This year it's History and SciFi/Fantasy plus the regularly recurring RandomCAT, where LT member volunteers get a month each to pick a theme for.
Previous years there have been the AlphaCAT (now a KIT), AwardsCAT, MysteryCAT and GeoCAT. Some of the KITs are and have been (besides the Alpha), Gastro/Cooking, Biography and Horror (which has been moved to its own group).
The Bingo started out as a suggestion for the CATs but it was deemed better as its own thing (some people call it the BingoDOG), which is why there is a connection to the CATs via the middle square.
I used to be quite involved with the CATs but not anymore. I am taking part in the Horror(KIT) so I'll be counting that as "my CAT".

50kaystj
gen. 11, 2015, 6:43 pm

Thank you so much for the clarification! I am thinking about participating in that challenge too, so I kinda needed to know.

I love the CAT/KITs naming :)

51luvamystery65
feb. 8, 2015, 2:14 pm

I found this online. I love the internet!

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x67wde_the-3-chuckles-cinnamon-sinner_music

Music for our club meetings. LOL!

52PawsforThought
feb. 8, 2015, 2:37 pm

Haha! What a lovely little clip! I'm going to be humming that the rest of the night.

53PawsforThought
feb. 10, 2015, 3:38 pm

Whoohoo! I've been waiting for this day since New Year's and it's finally here! The book sale catalogues are out!

(For those who don't know, Swedish booksellers have an annual FANTASTIC book sale at the end of February and the big name booksellers send out catalogues a couple of weeks beforehand so you can check out what's going to be on sale (and compare prices!). The catalogues, and the online versions, came out today and I've spent most of the day perusing. Normally a hardback cost about 240 SEK, during the book sale that book can cost 70-100 SEK, and sometimes the early bird-offers are even better.)

There's some good stuff on offer this year, even if a lot is completely uninteresting to me. I'm going to make a list and compare different stors/sites. And I'll have to be really tough with myself - just because there's a sale doesn't mean I can buy ALL THE BOOKS. No. But there are some that I've been wanting to buy anyway and getting 60% off isn't too bad.

54mstrust
feb. 10, 2015, 3:43 pm

That sounds like fun! Buy buy buy!

I'll be spending this Sunday buying books too, at the massive charity book sale at the fairgrounds.

55LittleTaiko
feb. 10, 2015, 3:48 pm

Enjoy! I hope you get some fantastic books. Let us know what you end up with.

56PawsforThought
feb. 10, 2015, 3:49 pm

>54 mstrust: It is fun! (I won't actually be doing any buying until two weeks from now when the sale actually starts. I'm just preparing myself...)

Have fun at your sale! Hope you find lots of books you want.

57PawsforThought
feb. 10, 2015, 3:50 pm

>55 LittleTaiko: There's going to be a few history titles, for sure. Not much fiction, because most of the titles aren't my thing. But a lovely-looking translation of Plutarch and the collected poems of Gustaf Fröding are also already set. And then we'll see.

58Dejah_Thoris
feb. 10, 2015, 3:54 pm

That sounds like fun!

59PawsforThought
feb. 10, 2015, 4:05 pm

60luvamystery65
feb. 10, 2015, 4:09 pm

So it's like Christmas comes twice a year for you. ;-)

61PawsforThought
feb. 10, 2015, 4:21 pm

>60 luvamystery65: Almost! (If only there was food at the book sale it'd be perfect!)

62rabbitprincess
feb. 10, 2015, 7:07 pm

That sounds like an awesome sale! Looking forward to hearing all about your haul! :D

63PawsforThought
feb. 11, 2015, 2:50 am

>62 rabbitprincess: I'll definitely be posting about it.

64-Eva-
feb. 16, 2015, 4:05 pm

Oh, bokrean! I miss that, but I dislike February weather more so I won't move up my annual trip. :)

65PawsforThought
feb. 16, 2015, 4:22 pm

>64 -Eva-: Oh, I understand your dislike of February weather. It's worse than usual this year with +5 last week and -14 this week. Everything is ice now. And f%ing freezing cold.
But the booksale does warm my frigid little heart. I may or may not have printed out lists of "possible buys" from both Bokus and Adlibris and comparing them to the Akademibokhandeln catalogue...

66-Eva-
feb. 16, 2015, 6:20 pm

"may or may not have"
I'm going to guess that's actually meant to read "have" without the other words. :)

Yeah, we've been in the high 20s and low 30s here lately, so -14 is not an option....

67PawsforThought
feb. 17, 2015, 3:45 am

>66 -Eva-: Maybe...

Bloody hell! That's so warm! That's extreme summer over here. Oh, I'm so envious! (Not really, come to think of it, because when we had 30+ last summer I though I was going to die. That's a bit to high for me. Proof that I'd never survive living in Australia.)

68-Eva-
feb. 17, 2015, 2:08 pm

>67 PawsforThought:
We are fully stocked on air-conditioning! :)

69PawsforThought
feb. 17, 2015, 2:25 pm

>68 -Eva-: There's no air-conditioning outdoors!

70-Eva-
feb. 17, 2015, 2:32 pm

>69 PawsforThought:
Which is why we have malls everywhere so you can go inside and cool off.
Actually, we have malls everywhere cause we like to shop, but they work for AC as well. :)

71PawsforThought
feb. 17, 2015, 3:52 pm

>70 -Eva-: But I hate malls. And big shops in general... :(

72PawsforThought
feb. 25, 2015, 1:11 pm

Book sale day! Whoohoo!
(Or as my friend texted me last night: "It's Christmas!")

I only bought four books today, which is actually quite a lot for me as I've been very restrictive with book purchases in the past decade or so. But they seem very good and the prices can't really be beat.
I got a world atlas (regular price 469 SEK, sale price 99 SEK), an art history/dictionary (regular price 429 SEK, sale price 139 SEK), a book about the iron curtain (regular price 299, sale price 89 SEK) and a book about WW1 (regular price 269 SEK, sale price 79 SEK).
And they had an extra offer of 4 for the price of 3 so I got the cheapest book for free.

If I had bought them at regular price it would have cost me 1466 SEK ($176/£114) but it now cost 327 SEK ($39/£25). One fifth! Pretty good deal, I'd say.

I will be buying a few more books but I'll get them online as the prices were better there. And I'll pop back into the book shop in a couple of weeks when the sale is winding down (and the prices have been cut even further and see if anything strikes my fancy - there were a couple more things I was interested in now, but not enough to buy yet. If they're still there when the prices are lowered again, I'll buy them.

73VivienneR
feb. 25, 2015, 1:50 pm

Congratulations on a bargain haul of books!

74mstrust
feb. 25, 2015, 2:04 pm

You got some great deals! Enjoy them!

75DeltaQueen50
feb. 25, 2015, 4:03 pm

I admire your restraint, Paws, but it sure sounds like you got some great books!

76Dejah_Thoris
feb. 25, 2015, 11:17 pm

Thanks for the book sale update! They all sound wonderful!

77rabbitprincess
feb. 26, 2015, 5:35 pm

Woo hoo, excellent book hunting! I hope the books you were thinking about but didn't buy are still there later on.

78LittleTaiko
feb. 27, 2015, 10:18 pm

Great book buying! Hope you enjoy what you bought.

79-Eva-
feb. 28, 2015, 12:05 am

>72 PawsforThought:
Great result!! Our tradition was to go when the stores open and raid until we couldn't handle it anymore and then get some semlor and go home and fika and go through our loot - so much fun!!

80PawsforThought
feb. 28, 2015, 4:25 am

Thanks everyone for your comments! I'll return with further reports on more book sale shopping.

>79 -Eva-: Sounds great! I wanted to go when they opened but unfortunately I do have a job to go to so I couldn't. Luckily, my dad could so I sent him to buy my books for me (they had a 4 for the price of 3 offer the first few hours of the sale and I wanted to use that).

81PawsforThought
feb. 28, 2015, 10:12 am

Book sale crop part deux:

So, I bought a few more books. From an online retailer this time except for one which I found when shopping with mum yesterday.
The list goes as follows:
Salman Rushdie's Joseph Anton - orig. price 210 SEK, sale price 39 SEK
Spices and herbs encyclopedia - orig. price 269 SEK, sale price 129 SEK
5 biographies by Plutarch - orig. price 187 SEK, sale price 79 SEK
Biography about dying of cancer (2 parts)- orig. price 186 SEK, sale price 59 SEK (per part)
Book about Danish jews fleeing to Sweden during WW2 - orig. price 222 SEK, sale price 69 SEK
Vegetarian cookbook - orig. price 227 SEK, sale price 65 SEK
Book about the warship Vasa - orig. price 179 SEK, sale price 99 SEK

If I had bought them all off sale it would have cost me 1666 SEK (£130/$200). Now it cost me 598 SEK (£46/$72). That's just over 1/3 of the original price (36%).

I'm really excited about these books. I've been wanting to buy that particular vegetarian cookbook (it's a standard cookbook with EVERYTHING in it, and is from a publisher with very high renown when it comes to cookbooks) for ages but it was sold out at the sale last year and I don't want to pay full price for something I know is going to go on sale again. I have both the "regular" (non-vegetarian, all-encompassing) cookbook and the cakes/biscuits/other sweet things cookbook they make and they're amazing. Everything from "how to boil an egg" to gala dinners are in there. I'd love to buy the main competitor's work too, also very good (my parents have two copies and they've both been used so diligently they're in shreds).
Cookbooks always make for good deal during the book sale.

There are two more books I'd like to get but the online shop has run out. I'm hoping they'll get re-stocked soon, otherwise I'll buy them at the regular shop (if they still have them). And maybe something else that strikes my fancy when prices are lowered again.

82-Eva-
feb. 28, 2015, 8:12 pm

Which cookbook is it? My mum was asking me to look through the catalogs online to see if there was anything I wanted her to get for me.

83PawsforThought
març 1, 2015, 4:01 am

>82 -Eva-: Vegetariska kokboken (det är vegetariska varianten av rutiga kokboken). http://www.bokus.com/bok/9789187785603/vegetariska-kokboken/

84lkernagh
març 1, 2015, 4:23 pm

Oh, restraint at a book sale..... I manage that by only taking cash with me. I have no restraint. ;-) Awesome deals!

85PawsforThought
març 1, 2015, 5:46 pm

>84 lkernagh: I'm restrained to the point of being miserly.

86-Eva-
març 1, 2015, 6:42 pm

>83 PawsforThought:
För 79:-? Sign me up! Tack.

87PawsforThought
març 1, 2015, 6:56 pm

>86 -Eva-: 65:- med Medmerakort!

88-Eva-
març 1, 2015, 7:02 pm

Ooh, jag är övertygad att mamma har ett sådant! :)

89PawsforThought
març 2, 2015, 9:31 am

:)

90PawsforThought
març 5, 2015, 2:16 pm

If anyone is feeling envious over my book sale deals, there's a drive at BookDepository right now (I know they're Amazon, but still - and they have free worldwide shipping!).
Tons and tons of Oxford University Press books at 40% off or more. I nearly fainted when I saw The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar and Oxford A-Z of Grammar and Punctuation but then I realized they were paperbacks and I don't do paperback (*crying*).
You can find the sale here and here (there one page with Humanities and one with Science & Medicine)

In other news, I received my book sale package (they books I bought online) today and the books are marvellous and beautiful and I loved them all. And now I want to buy more books. This really is an addiction.

91PawsforThought
març 14, 2015, 9:46 am

Happy Pi Day!

92mstrust
març 14, 2015, 1:26 pm

Looks like a Chess Pie! Yum!

93PawsforThought
març 14, 2015, 2:09 pm

>92 mstrust: I had to google "chess pie" because I have no idea what that is. I just chose the pic because the pi looked nice on it! :P

94mamzel
març 16, 2015, 1:42 pm

Did you see George Takei's tweet - hi security code is the last four numbers of pi.

95PawsforThought
març 16, 2015, 2:53 pm

>94 mamzel: Bahaha! No, I didn't see that. I don't have twitter so am often a bit out of the loop on those things.

96mamzel
març 16, 2015, 4:27 pm

I don't either. I forget now where I saw it - on an LTer's thread, maybe?

97mstrust
març 16, 2015, 4:36 pm

>93 PawsforThought: Oops, sorry to make you go searching! I guess it's a Southern thing that hasn't made it's way to the rest of the country. Anyway, it's a deliciously simple pie with a firm custardy texture and a vanilla/egg flavor. Very closely related to Buttermilk Pie.

98PawsforThought
març 16, 2015, 5:14 pm

>97 mstrust: Don't apologize! Learning new things is good (and it's not as if googling "chess pie" takes up THAT much of my precious time).

99PawsforThought
abr. 7, 2015, 3:51 pm

This is the best news I've had all year: http://www.themarysue.com/brontosaurus-real-after-all/

Brontosaurus! Yes!

100PawsforThought
abr. 8, 2015, 7:26 am

I finished a book! Incredible!

I Will Repay by Baroness Emmuska Orczy

This is the second of the Scarlet Pimpernel novels and while I didn't like it as much as the first one it's a fun and breezy book. It's full of historical details and spilling over with satire of the French revolutionists. The main characters are not as easily likeable as the ones in the first book, which is the reason I'm not as fond of this one. Still, good fun and I'm definitely reading on in the series.

Category: Dionysus/Bacchus
Bingo square: Read a book centered around a major historical event

101rabbitprincess
abr. 8, 2015, 6:59 pm

"That demmed elusive Pimpernel!" I must reread the first book sometime :)

102PawsforThought
abr. 8, 2015, 7:16 pm

>101 rabbitprincess: It really is a delightful read, and a lovely character. I've been very keen on watching the movie version with Anthony Andrews as Percy, ever since Eva (I think it was) told me of its existence.

103christina_reads
abr. 9, 2015, 6:03 pm

I love the Anthony Andrews/Jane Seymour version of The Scarlet Pimpernel! It was my first encounter with the demmed elusive hero, and now the book is one of my favorites! I agree that I Will Repay wasn't quite as good as the first book…but then, I don't really expect any of the sequels to be. :)

104PawsforThought
abr. 10, 2015, 5:22 am

>103 christina_reads: No, sequels are very rarely as good as the first, and I don't really expect them to be either. I was mostly just surprised at how small a part Percy had in the book. It made it feel like it wasn't really a Scarlet Pimpernel book at all until the book was almost over.

105-Eva-
abr. 14, 2015, 11:27 pm

>102 PawsforThought:
Guilty! I had a little rewatch over New Year's (in lieu of Ivanhoe) and it's still good! :)

106PawsforThought
abr. 15, 2015, 3:05 am

>105 -Eva-: Good to hear! I think I'm going to try and read the novels first, and then have a watch.

107PawsforThought
Editat: abr. 22, 2015, 12:34 pm

The Elusive Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy

This is the third of the Pimpernel novels and I had a really good time reading it. The story in this one once again revolves around the Percy Blakeney and Marguerite and I have to say I like it quite a bit better than the last one (I Will Repay).

Category: Dionysus/Bacchus
Bingo square: Read a book set in a country other than your own

108LittleTaiko
abr. 27, 2015, 10:02 pm

Happy to hear that you like the third in the series so much. Even happier to see that Percy and Marguerite play a bigger role this time. I need to move it up on my TBR list.

109PawsforThought
abr. 28, 2015, 6:07 pm

>108 LittleTaiko: I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the series, but it's going to have to wait as I have a ton of other books I need to finish first.

110PawsforThought
Editat: juny 22, 2015, 2:38 pm

A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie

I'd never even heard of this Marple-mystery before but picked it up alongside a pile of other Christie novels when I checked out a small mountain of books from the library for some "light summer reading". Christie always makes for great reading in summer and I read this one in the wonderful sunshine we had this past weekend. It's a bit different than Marples in general, or at least I thought so, but it had to be considering the setting.
I thought it was interesting how rather off-handed Marple's nephew was about having a gay friend (though using what we'd think of as a slur to describe him), even though the book was written (and set) in the early sixties.
I did like it, but it's not my favourite Marple.

Category: Hades

111DeltaQueen50
juny 22, 2015, 2:59 pm

Hi Paws, I occasionally find a new Agatha Christie that I don't remember hearing about before, and it's always a pleasure. She has such an extensive catalogue!

112PawsforThought
juny 22, 2015, 5:57 pm

>111 DeltaQueen50: Out of the seven Christies I checked out from the library, I only recognised the titles of two of them (Murder on the Links and Bertram's Hotel).

113DeltaQueen50
juny 22, 2015, 11:26 pm

Happy Reading!

114VivienneR
juny 24, 2015, 12:56 am

>110 PawsforThought: I thought it interesting that although the island of St Honore, the setting of A Caribbean Mystery was fictional, it was Christie's stay at the Coral Reef Club, Barbados, that was said to have inspired the book. The movie was filmed at the actual hotel in 1989. I think I enjoyed the book more just knowing that background story.

115luvamystery65
juny 24, 2015, 11:12 am

Howdy Paws! It's been too long since I've been around. I haven't read an Agatha Christie in some time. I hope all is well.

116PawsforThought
juny 24, 2015, 5:39 pm

It's been long since I've been around, too. Properly at least. Agatha Christie is perfect for summer reading, that's the time of year I've always read her.

117mstrust
juny 25, 2015, 12:32 pm

>116 PawsforThought: I've been working on reading her entire catalog for, oh, a good four years. I think I'm only halfway through. I haven't read A Caribbean Mystery yet, but know the story from having seen the Joan Hickson version. Donald Pleasance was a lot of fun in that one.

118PawsforThought
juny 25, 2015, 1:42 pm

>117 mstrust: I don't know how many of her books I've read. I do have all her books listed in my giant to read/have read-masterlist and I've marked the ones I know for sure I've read but there are a few I can't remember if I have or haven't.
Donald Pleasance is always good!

119rabbitprincess
juny 25, 2015, 6:16 pm

My BF and I have been working our way through the David Suchet adaptations of Poirot, or at least the seasons that featured Hastings, Miss Lemon and Inspector Japp, because we've seen most of the later seasons. I'm looking forward to (re)reading some of the books this summer for Agatha Christie August. :)

120PawsforThought
juny 28, 2015, 11:21 am

Hanging on to Max by Margaret Bechard

I initially liked this book, despite the incredibly "after school special" feel. I can't remember reading another book about a teenage dad taking care of his baby without the mother there, so that was nice.
And I liked it, until the ending. It just didn't sit right with me. I have no problem with the issue in itself, but it seemed to come out of nowhere and felt as if the author ended it that way because she'd decided it was going to end like that - not because it worked with the story and the characters.

Category: Demeter
Bingo square: Read a book with a protagonist of the opposite gender

121-Eva-
juny 28, 2015, 6:46 pm

>110 PawsforThought:
I've never heard of that one either, but she was quite prolific, wasn't she.

122PawsforThought
jul. 12, 2015, 4:08 am

I created a few lists the other day, mainly just as a reminder to myself but people are of course welcome to use them as suits their own needs. If you feel like it, please do add more titles as you see fit (just please don't add duplicates).

http://www.librarything.com/list/10367/all/Early-Modern

http://www.librarything.com/list/10366/all/Truly-old-classics

http://www.librarything.com/list/10364/all/Womens-reading-list (This one needs tons more titles but I haven't had time)

123PawsforThought
jul. 12, 2015, 7:02 pm

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

This was recommended to me and I had very high expectation when I started reading but found it a bit slow and was irritated by the main character throughout so couldn't enjoy it as much as I wanted. I had a feeling all along how it was going to end and I'm glad I was right, because any other ending would have seemed strange.

Category: Ares
Bingo square: Read a book chosen by someone else

124PawsforThought
jul. 12, 2015, 7:08 pm

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

I'd made a note ages ago about reading this but forgot all about it. It's been on several "must-read" list that I've looked up recently which spurred me to pick it up.
I really liked this. It's a short story so a fairly easy read in that sense but books about mental issues are never "easy" and this was very well written so I felt drawn into the delusions and hallucinations.

Category: Zeus

125PawsforThought
jul. 21, 2015, 9:15 am

I put in an order at Book Depository last week and the books are already here! It usually takes two weeks so I was very pleasantly surprised.
The books all look great and I can't wait to read them (though I'll have to, because I have library books that are due back).

This is what I got:
Angela Carter's Book of Fairy Tales
Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories from History without the Fairy-Tale by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie
Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age by W. Bernard Carlson
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Sandman: Fables and Reflections and
Sandman: Brief Lives by Neil Gaiman
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
Joy in the Morning,
Thank You, Jeeves and
Right Ho, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse

126mstrust
jul. 21, 2015, 11:58 am

>124 PawsforThought: I read that one just a few weeks ago myself, after having it on my WL for a couple of years. It's a story that sticks with you.

>125 PawsforThought: Princesses and Wodehouse- great haul!

127PawsforThought
jul. 21, 2015, 12:36 pm

>126 mstrust: Yeah, I've been thinking about it regularly since I finished it. And I recommended it to both my mum and my sis-in-law. I'm so glad I took a chance and read it.

You can't go wrong with princesses and Wodehouse, can you? Though now I want to buy EVEN MORE books. Sigh.

128PawsforThought
jul. 21, 2015, 6:29 pm

I've been drooling over this beauty for ages now:



It's gorgeous! And I want it. Unfortunately it seems like there aren't very many of the stories actually included in the book. "More than 20 stories" isn't really what I'm looking for when wanting a copy of Arabian Nights. My Swedish edition has well over a hundred stories in it.

129lkernagh
jul. 21, 2015, 7:52 pm

>128 PawsforThought: - Mind if I drool along with you? What an amazing cover design!

130PawsforThought
jul. 21, 2015, 7:55 pm

>129 lkernagh: It's incredible, isn't it? And so fitting!
Drool away, I have a mop and bucket.

131MissWatson
jul. 22, 2015, 5:04 am

>128 PawsforThought: I think this is why people actually buy and keep different editions of some books. Just because they are beautifully made and illustrated.

132PawsforThought
jul. 22, 2015, 5:13 am

>131 MissWatson: Yeah, but I don't like doing that. Unless there are unusual circumstances that call for different editions, I want just one copy. And I want it to be both pretty and good (well translated/complete/whatever). This is the reason why I don't own a fraction of the books I'd like to own. There are so many books I'm dying to get hold of but I just can't do it because they're hideous.

133PawsforThought
jul. 22, 2015, 8:01 am

Does anyone have any thoughts on Evelyn Waugh and his writing? I've been thinking about reading Brideshead Revisited because I love the mini-series with Andrews & Irons but I don't know. Is that the natural "first Waugh book" or would it be better to read something else first and work my way up to BR?
I know Waugh has a generally high rating on LT but that doesn't really tell me much.

134rabbitprincess
jul. 22, 2015, 5:52 pm

If you like the miniseries of Brideshead, I think that would be a logical place to start with Waugh's work. The only other book of his of which I have much recollection reading is The Loved One, which I like more now that it's had time to settle in my mind.

135PawsforThought
jul. 22, 2015, 6:08 pm

>134 rabbitprincess: Well, I like the first part of the series (with Sebastian and Charles) much more than the latter part (with Julia), which bored me a little. (My love on the mini-series is partly due to my love of Anthony Andrews.)

136mathgirl40
jul. 22, 2015, 10:09 pm

>125 PawsforThought: Very nice book haul! The Carlson book looks particularly interesting.

137PawsforThought
jul. 23, 2015, 4:23 am

>136 mathgirl40: Yeah, Tesla is one of my favourites so I had a hard time picking just ONE biography of his. This one seemed the best.

138PawsforThought
Editat: jul. 23, 2015, 5:10 am

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous (Beatrice Sparks)

This book is crap. I can't believe the publishers tried to pawn it off as "true story" because it's painfully obvious that it was written by an adult to warn young people of drugs. And it does a terrible job of it. Not only is it clear as day that do teenager writes the way this "diary" is written, and you don't have to have much knowledge of drugs to point out the glaring mistakes regarding drug use (WHO would, after having tried LSD once - by mistake - offer up their arm to a complete stranger and have them inject you with speed?), but it's also incredibly moralizing about sex and sexuality.
I realised after reading that it was written in 1971, which makes perfect sense, but I think it's amoral of the publishers to keep this book on the shelves.

Category: Demeter
Bingo square: Read a book that's completely outside your comfort zone

139PawsforThought
jul. 24, 2015, 10:30 am

Since the weather is going to be rather awful here this weekend I've decided to have myself a readathon. I made a thread over in the 75'ers thread and anyone who's interested is welcome to join me!

140PawsforThought
jul. 25, 2015, 2:10 pm

At Bertram's Hotel by Agatha Christie

Ah, it's so nice to get to read a book you really enjoy! There's been to many boring and/or frustrating ones lately that this really was a breath of fresh air.
It's not Christie's greatest but it's different from most of the ones she's written (that I've read). It isn't about someone getting murdered and Miss Marple figuring things out and telling the police who did it. The murder doesn't happen until almost the end, you realise quite early on more or less what is actually happening (not the details but the gist of it) and the majority of the sleuthing is done by an actual police officer!

Category: Hades

141mstrust
jul. 25, 2015, 3:52 pm

I liked that one too; it was like Miss Marple was having a nice holiday. And it made Brown's Hotel very popular because every fan wants to stay where Miss Marple stays.

142lkernagh
jul. 25, 2015, 9:30 pm

I admit to having never read any of Agatha Christie's stories but the movie adaptation of At Bertram's Hotel starring Joan Hickson is one of my all time favorite Agatha Christie movies.

143PawsforThought
jul. 26, 2015, 4:43 am

Fables Vol. 2: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham

I love Fables and I can't work out why I haven't finished this one sooner. I started on it right after I read volume 1 but stopped about a third of the way through. I'm glad I picked it up again and finished it.
The minds of the people behind these stories are great - there's really not much more I can say about it. The first book was great and this one too, I know there are less stellar works further along in the series but so far I'm enjoying it greatly.

Category: Artemis
Bingo square: Read a book based on a fairy tale or a myth

144AHS-Wolfy
jul. 26, 2015, 10:18 am

>143 PawsforThought: It's a fun series to follow along with. Glad to see you're enjoying it also. I need to read the latest HC release sometime soon.

145PawsforThought
jul. 27, 2015, 5:21 pm

Fables, Vol. 3: Storybook Love by Bill Willingham

Yet another great installment. I love the detail that goes into these stories, and the nods to various stories even when they're not part of the main plot. This one has a bit more blood and gore than I recall from the first two (there was gore in the second volume too, but there are pages coloured red in this one), though it's not too much, I don't think.

Category: Artemis
Bingo square: Read a book with a mythical creature

146PawsforThought
jul. 27, 2015, 9:44 pm

I always used to add pictures with my book "reviews" in the thread - don't know why I haven't done it this year. It's looking a bit grey and boring here without them so I think I'll add them in one of these days. Possibly tomorrow but we'll see if there's time.

147-Eva-
jul. 31, 2015, 11:02 pm

>125 PawsforThought:
That is one excellent haul - there are quite a few of my favorite books in that batch! I think I need to reread Rosencrantz and Guildenstern soon - it's been a while.

148PawsforThought
Editat: ag. 6, 2015, 2:38 pm

Double Sin and Other Stories by Agatha Christie

I read this one really fast on the train down south. It's a collection of shorts and while some are less than stellar (the one about the medium) some were really great and on the whole, I enjoyed the read. Both Poirot and Miss Marple show up and while I usually have no favourite of the two, the Poirot stories in this one were better, I think.

Category: Hades

149PawsforThought
ag. 6, 2015, 2:45 pm

I've been absent lately but I have good reason. I was away on holiday from last Thursday until today (I am very tired right now) and the week preceding that I was very busy preparing everything about the trip, which was rather stressful. My feet are full of blisters from all the walking I did but I had a lovely time and that's what matters.

150lkernagh
ag. 7, 2015, 9:38 am

Glad to see you had a lovely - if feet blistering! - holiday!

151PawsforThought
ag. 7, 2015, 10:43 am

Thank you! My feet have had some TLC and are getting back to normal.

152rabbitprincess
ag. 7, 2015, 5:21 pm

Hurray, holidays! :) Glad you had a good time.

153PawsforThought
ag. 7, 2015, 6:21 pm

Thank you!

154PawsforThought
ag. 10, 2015, 9:12 am

Smiley's People by John le Carré

I don't think i'm smart enought for these books, or at least not attentive enough. I missed a ton of small details that later proved to be important and forgot a ton of others. There's just too much for me to keep track of, which is a shame because the books are good, if you can really stick with them. I particularly like Smiley himself (who I now can't imagine any other way than as Gary Oldman) - he's a phenomenal character. I had a hunch about the ending and was very proud of myself when I turned out to be right.

Category: Athena
Bingo square: Read a book with correspondence or letters

155-Eva-
ag. 13, 2015, 11:15 pm

A holiday is the best reason! Great to hear you had a good time, even if blisters made an appearance. :)

156PawsforThought
ag. 14, 2015, 3:10 pm

Blisters are to be expected (and I was prepared with plasters).

The bad thing about holidays is how much they make me want to go on ANOTHER holiday...

157PawsforThought
ag. 15, 2015, 6:07 pm

Are there any poetry lovers here?

My bookshelves are severely lacking in poetry so I've been browsing the poetry sections of my go-to online bookshops but I seem to have a bit of a brain freeze coming up with ideas of poets to look for. I like poetry, even though I don't read poems very often (that probably has something to do with the fact that I barely have any poetry books at home...)
I generally prefer older, rhyming poems to more modern stuff but I'm not an absolutist.

So far my embarrassingly short list of names includes:

Byron, Shelley (Percy) and Keats - the "trio of lyrical treats", as the wonderful Dorothy Parker put it
Dorothy Parker herself
Sara Teasdale
William Blake
Wordsworth & Coleridge

And that's all my poor mind can conjure up at the moment. I DID say it was embarrassingly short.

158-Eva-
ag. 16, 2015, 3:08 pm

I'm terrible at getting around to reading poetry as well, but Blake is one of my favorites. I am very fond of Rimbaud as well, for his fearlessness.

159PawsforThought
ag. 16, 2015, 3:28 pm

Ooh, Rimbaud! I don't think I know anything about him other than his name. I need to learn more, and get acquainted with his writings.

160mstrust
Editat: ag. 16, 2015, 4:09 pm

I don't think of myself as a big poetry reader, but it seems that I have enough stored in my head to have favorites. I give credit to my poetry loving English teacher.
John Donne, Edgar Allen Poe, the Cavalier Poets Robert Herrick and Sir John Suckling, or Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

161PawsforThought
ag. 16, 2015, 4:15 pm

>160 mstrust: Thank you. Herrick and Suckling are new acquaintances for me.

162PawsforThought
ag. 17, 2015, 8:54 am

I love octopodes. If I were to live my life over again I dedicate it to studying these weird, beautiful, scary things.

163christina_reads
ag. 21, 2015, 1:36 pm

>157 PawsforThought: My favorite poet (not that I have a huge familiarity with the genre) is W.H. Auden. He might be more modern than what you're looking for, but I definitely recommend giving "September 1, 1939" or "Funeral Blues" a try!

164PawsforThought
ag. 21, 2015, 5:22 pm

>163 christina_reads: No, I love Auden! Funeral Blues makes me cry every time (that poem being read was my absolute favourite part of Four Weddings and a Funeral - so heartwrenching). Thanks for mentioning him, I'd forgotten about that.

165PawsforThought
ag. 21, 2015, 5:26 pm

I feel I should mention this, because I think I didn't make it clear initially.

I'm not asking for people to recommend me poets to read as some form of introduction to reading poetry. I love poetry and I have read quite a few poets though not nearly as many as I wish I had.

My problem isn't about being introduced to new poets, it's about remembering the names of the poets I've read and liked so that I can buy their works because I want to have more poetry books at home.

So you don't have to try and think of names that would be good for a "newbie poetry enthusiast". Just list as many famous poets as you can think of.

166LittleTaiko
ag. 21, 2015, 9:41 pm

My poetry knowledge is really sad, but I do love Mary Oliver and look forward to her latest publications.

167christina_reads
ag. 28, 2015, 12:21 pm

>165 PawsforThought: Oh, OK, that clarifies things a bit more! So, here's some famous poets that you may have read and enjoyed the past: Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Walt Whitman, W.B. Yeats, Alfred Lord Tennyson, John Donne, Alexander Pope, T.S. Eliot (though he's another modern guy), and of course Shakespeare!

168PawsforThought
ag. 28, 2015, 12:29 pm

>167 christina_reads: Thank you! I'd forgotten about Alexander Pope (poor thing, how could I have forgotten him?). I don't think I've read very much by him - not that I can recall anyway - but I like him a lot.

And Will Shakers is forever on my to-buy list but I can never seem to find any good editions. Sigh.

169PawsforThought
set. 20, 2015, 12:50 pm

I wish more hardbacks were printed with covers as nice as the paperback editions. So many more nice paperback covers than hardback dittos. And I can't stand paperbacks.
If these Bulgakovs were available in hardbacks (with these covers) I'd buy the lot, immediately. But alas!

170PawsforThought
set. 20, 2015, 1:36 pm

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

I read this a few days ago - I had to analyze it for coursework so I didn't really have a choice. I'm not sure what I think about it; it's rather strange. I think I liked the story itself well enough (especially the very typically Gothic ghost story beginning) but the writing wasn't quite my thing. And it ended very strangely. I've only read James once before (that was also a short work) and I had similar feeling towards that one so I'm not sure how I feel about reading any more by him.

Category: Zeus
Bingo square: Read a CAT (HorrorKIT)

171Roro8
set. 20, 2015, 3:48 pm

>170 PawsforThought:, do you find you enjoy a book less when you 'have' to read it rather than when you choose to read it? I know I do.

172PawsforThought
set. 20, 2015, 4:51 pm

>171 Roro8: Not necessarily. If it's a good book I'll like it whether it was my choice to read it or not. The only difference is that I'd never finish a book I hated if I'd chosen it myself, whereas I have no choice but to finish it if it's for an assignment.
Actually, some of the best books I've read have been forced reads.

173rabbitprincess
set. 20, 2015, 5:53 pm

>169 PawsforThought: Wow! Love those covers!

174PawsforThought
set. 20, 2015, 6:15 pm

>169 PawsforThought: They're incredible, aren't they?! I'm especially fond of the M&M one, it just fits so well with the story.

175VioletBramble
set. 20, 2015, 7:21 pm

Those are nice covers. I like the one for A Young Doctor's Notebook the best.

176-Eva-
Editat: set. 21, 2015, 1:14 pm

>169 PawsforThought:
Those are great covers! I'd love to have The Master and Margarita one, but I already own two copies of that book, so... :) I'll try for a copy of A Dog's Heart instead - that one's outstanding as well.

177PawsforThought
set. 21, 2015, 1:15 pm

>176 -Eva-: Well, it IS a great book so...

178-Eva-
set. 21, 2015, 1:19 pm

I used to own 3 copies... It is in fact that book that made me look for a site where I could list all my book so that I wouldn't buy multiple copies of books I already owned. Without it, I may not have made it to LibraryThing at all. :)

179PawsforThought
set. 21, 2015, 1:25 pm

>178 -Eva-: That's one way writing can change someone's life.

180mathgirl40
set. 25, 2015, 9:32 pm

>169 PawsforThought: Love the covers! The cat for The Master and Margarita is just perfect.

181PawsforThought
set. 26, 2015, 6:12 am

>180 mathgirl40: It is, isn't it? I love it and wish I could have it.

182PawsforThought
oct. 3, 2015, 8:42 pm

Today was my thingaversary. 3 years, so that'll be four books for the thingaversary and a couple more as a late birthday present for myself.
Anyone have any tips?

183luvamystery65
oct. 4, 2015, 9:00 am

Happy Thingaversary and belated birthday Paws!

I'd say get whatever it is you want. I know you have an annual or semi-annual books sale that you absolutely love so I suggest that you save your four for that if it's an event you look forward to but normally restrain yourself from purchasing.

If that doesn't work for you then get yourself some gorgeous editions of books that you absolutely love.

184PawsforThought
oct. 4, 2015, 9:06 am

>183 luvamystery65: The book sale isn't until February! You think I'll be able to hold off for that. And I can't afford to buy a few books without it having any impact on my finances (that didn't use to be the case, so I'm not in te habit of buying books all the time). I'm just really picky and don't want to buy books that don't look nice, so it's difficult to find ones I want to buy, even if I like the inside of them.

185mstrust
oct. 4, 2015, 2:36 pm

Happy Thingaversary!
Instead of buying several books, you might buy a nice copy of one you'd really like. Then wrap it up so you have a present to open. : D

186DeltaQueen50
oct. 4, 2015, 2:46 pm

Happy Thingaversary! There's no set and fast rule about book buying, I say buy when you can, choose what you like and enjoy your books for years to come.

187PawsforThought
oct. 4, 2015, 2:49 pm

I think I might have expressed myself poorly. I'm not complaining about the book buying, nor does it negatively affect my finances. I WANT to buy books, several books. I just don't know which ones to get - partly because I'm really picky and partly because I'm indecisive.

188-Eva-
oct. 10, 2015, 9:09 pm

Happy belated Thingaversary! Hope you managed to figure out which books on the wishlist were highest on the covet-pile. :)

189PawsforThought
oct. 11, 2015, 3:06 pm

>188 -Eva-: Nope, not yet. Still deliberating. I'm not really in any hurry - neither the books nor the money is going anywhere while I ponder.
I have decided on a few titles, but I want 2-3 more that I haven't thought up yet.

190PawsforThought
nov. 30, 2015, 5:44 am

A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin

Finally.
I love these books so I don't know why it's taken me so long to finish this one, or rather, why I've kept putting off finishing it. It's great to be able to read a novel where you really don't know what's going to happen. A lot of the time, especially with fantasy novels, you know roughly how it's going to end but not with this.

Category: Hermes
Bingo square: Read a book where an animal is of importance

191luvamystery65
nov. 30, 2015, 9:00 am

Howdy Paws!

192mstrust
nov. 30, 2015, 11:06 am

Good to see you back!

193-Eva-
nov. 30, 2015, 11:05 pm

>190 PawsforThought:
If I were you, I'd drag them out a little, since the next installment won't be here too soon. :)

194PawsforThought
des. 1, 2015, 3:24 am

>191 luvamystery65: &>192 mstrust: Hi. Thanks for stopping by.

>193 -Eva-: But that leaves me with the problem of forgetting what's happened in the previous book once I get around to reading the next installment.

195PawsforThought
des. 14, 2015, 1:02 pm

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

Audiobook read by Jeremy Irons, and I doubt anyone could ever do it remotely as well as he did. Wonderful reading.
I loved the first part of the book, when Sebastian was there and the relationship between him and Charles. Was bored to tears by the second half with Julia - such a dreary character.
Also didn't feel as if the book had a proper ending, which is obviously how life actually works, but it felt very unsatisfying in a novel.

Category: Zeus
I can't fit this into any of the bingo squares left.

196rabbitprincess
des. 14, 2015, 6:09 pm

Jeremy Irons would be a fantastic narrator! My copy of Brideshead, while a print copy, did at least have him on the cover :)

197mstrust
des. 14, 2015, 7:36 pm

>195 PawsforThought: I also read Brideshead Revisited this year and it was one of my high points. Though having Jeremy Irons read it to me would be pretty great too.

198VivienneR
des. 14, 2015, 8:06 pm

>195 PawsforThought: I too felt let down by the ending that I didn't feel matched the rest of the book, especially the "halcyon days" in early chapters. I have the audiobook narrated by Jeremy Irons that I'll get around to sometime. I'm glad to hear his reading is so good, just as expected.

199PawsforThought
des. 15, 2015, 3:28 am

Glad to hear I'm not the only one.

I felt the same about the mini-series when I watched it years and years ago. Brilliant first half and then it just seems to dissolve into nothing. A character as great as Sebastian played by someone as great as Anthony Andrews, and then he just disappears? His battle with alcoholism and his emotions towards Charles and the Catholic church would have been much more interesting than the Julia debacle.

200MissWatson
des. 23, 2015, 7:01 am

Merry Christmas!

201-Eva-
des. 27, 2015, 7:03 pm

Jeremy Irons is a fantastic reader - I listened to him read The Alchemist and he managed to convince me I liked the book. :)