Time for a While She Knits post?
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queensthiefI'm informed that June 8 is World Wide Knit in Public Day.
Should we maybe do a While She Knits post to celebrate?
I'm going to try to do a cut here but it probably won't work. If not, I'll try to edit it...
I'll start by listing some of the books I've been reading (or in some cases re-reading):
Water, Water Everywhere by Emily Kimbrough. She and her friends would go off on trips to various places (in this case, Greece, a few other places, and then boating on the Thames) and then she'd go home and write about it. You will laugh about the shoebag that features in the various books.
Bonnie Dundee by Rosemary Sutcliff. Magnificent historical fiction about John Grahame of Claverhouse, first Viscount Dundee; 17th century Scotland. See my picture at the top of this post.
The Lion of Muenster by Daniel Utrecht of the Oratory. A biography of Blessed Clemens August Count von Galen, Bishop of Muenster during World War II and made a Cardinal just after the war shortly before his death, who publicly defied Hitler and the Nazis.
The King and the Quaker by Vincent Buranelli. James II of England (VII of Scotland) was accused by his enemies of being an evil bigot and tyrant who hated all Protestants and wanted to oppress them. How inaccurate this is can easily be demonstrated by the fact that he and William Penn (yes, that one; the Quaker who founded Pennsylvania) were good friends.
We Didn't Mean to Start a School by Joanna Bogle (writing as Julia Blythe). I love boarding school books, especially British ones (yay, Antonia Forest!). This is a contemporary one about how a closed hotel accidentally became a school.
The Kitchen Linens Book and The Apron Book by Geisel, EllynAnne. A tribute to the lovely things made and used in years past by American housewives.
The Lost Art of Dress: The Women Who Once Made America Stylish by Linda Przybyszewski. The author calls them the Dress Doctors. "The books were written by a remarkable group of women who worked as teachers, writers, retailers, and designers. They offered advice in classrooms, on radio broadcasts, at women’s clubs, and in magazines. They even enlisted the federal government in their efforts through the Bureau of Home Economics." The author, a professor of American History, says of herself: "My first book was a biography of a justice on the United States Supreme Court. I may be the only historian to lecture at the Supreme Court in a suit that won a blue ribbon at a county fair."
There are more; many more; but I'll stop here.
So, what have you been reading?
Should we maybe do a While She Knits post to celebrate?
I'm going to try to do a cut here but it probably won't work. If not, I'll try to edit it...
I'll start by listing some of the books I've been reading (or in some cases re-reading):
Water, Water Everywhere by Emily Kimbrough. She and her friends would go off on trips to various places (in this case, Greece, a few other places, and then boating on the Thames) and then she'd go home and write about it. You will laugh about the shoebag that features in the various books.
Bonnie Dundee by Rosemary Sutcliff. Magnificent historical fiction about John Grahame of Claverhouse, first Viscount Dundee; 17th century Scotland. See my picture at the top of this post.
The Lion of Muenster by Daniel Utrecht of the Oratory. A biography of Blessed Clemens August Count von Galen, Bishop of Muenster during World War II and made a Cardinal just after the war shortly before his death, who publicly defied Hitler and the Nazis.
The King and the Quaker by Vincent Buranelli. James II of England (VII of Scotland) was accused by his enemies of being an evil bigot and tyrant who hated all Protestants and wanted to oppress them. How inaccurate this is can easily be demonstrated by the fact that he and William Penn (yes, that one; the Quaker who founded Pennsylvania) were good friends.
We Didn't Mean to Start a School by Joanna Bogle (writing as Julia Blythe). I love boarding school books, especially British ones (yay, Antonia Forest!). This is a contemporary one about how a closed hotel accidentally became a school.
The Kitchen Linens Book and The Apron Book by Geisel, EllynAnne. A tribute to the lovely things made and used in years past by American housewives.
The Lost Art of Dress: The Women Who Once Made America Stylish by Linda Przybyszewski. The author calls them the Dress Doctors. "The books were written by a remarkable group of women who worked as teachers, writers, retailers, and designers. They offered advice in classrooms, on radio broadcasts, at women’s clubs, and in magazines. They even enlisted the federal government in their efforts through the Bureau of Home Economics." The author, a professor of American History, says of herself: "My first book was a biography of a justice on the United States Supreme Court. I may be the only historian to lecture at the Supreme Court in a suit that won a blue ribbon at a county fair."
There are more; many more; but I'll stop here.
So, what have you been reading?
no subject
Date: 6/2/19 07:43 pm (UTC)I know there's some Leigh Bardugo fans hereabouts... I read King of Scars and enjoyed it, though the ending read like a fever dream. But that's all I'll say, because spoilers.
The trouble I'm having with books lately is that I've been exploring new authors and genres, without much success... I simply haven't found any new favorites. So, I've fallen back on old favorites:
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett was a fun one to revisit in anticipation of Spring.
All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot was the book I brought with me while dog-sitting for a week.
Persuasion by Jane Austen, because someone said it was their favorite and that made me curious to reevaluate it, plus I recently watched The Jane Austen Book Club for the first time and it had me howling with laughter.
And The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien, because I'm one of those people who will re-re-re-re-read The Lord of the Rings while everyone is still talking about Game of Thrones. (Not dissing GoT fans. It just doesn't hold the same appeal for me.) Something that's really striking me this time around is how frequently Tolkien's heroes come by unexpected help in the form of decent and hospitable folk. The films downplayed this (probably to simplify plot and heighten conflict) but I don’t doubt Tolkien’s intentionality in carrying this theme throughout his writings. It's like he's saying, never underestimate the power of simply doing what is right and kind, against the convoluted machinations of evil. And I find that very refreshing and encouraging. I recently saw the new film about Tolkien, which is partly what made me want to read his books again. I'm probably going to re-read The Silmarillion next, or finish Sauron Defeated (yes, it's taking me a long time).
no subject
Date: 6/2/19 08:50 pm (UTC)And James Herriot's books are brilliant. They have to be, or I wouldn't every have read something that gave some rather icky details of veterinary practice, squeamish as I am. He really has a way with words, and can make you cry or, as I can attest to from personal experience, burst into loud laughter in the middle (for some people) of a final exam that you have already finished before the end of the period and so are reading a book.
My two favorite Jane Austen books are Pride and Prejudice, and Persuasion.
I need to re-read Lord of the Ring.
no subject
Date: 6/2/19 10:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 6/5/19 11:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 6/2/19 08:35 pm (UTC)Leslie, you have such interesting taste in books. It always reminds me of how many fascinating books are out there, especially nonfiction books on obscure topics.
Like freenarnian, I've been trying lots of stuff but, other than Louise Penny's Armand Gamache mystery series, haven't found much to get excited about. I read Kind of Scars, too, and liked it but, honestly, the story went right out of my head as soon as I finished, never a good sign. Unlike her Six of Crows books, which stayed with me a long time.
I read two books that have high-functioning autistic female main characters and liked them both a lot: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman and The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves. Although they have some similarities, they're quite different from one another. The first is all about loneliness and has some sad parts but lots of humor, mostly from the main character's cluelessness about certain things. The second is more of a romance, with a twist at the end that was very well done. Both really delve into the growth of the main character as they learn to function in a world they don't always understand. It makes you realize how much we take for granted our ability to make sense of social, verbal, and body language cues.
If you like graphic novels, you'll love Hey Kiddo by Jarrett Krosocka. He's the author of the Lunch Lady books but this is a very serious memoir of growing up with a mother who was a drug addict. If you've never seen his Ted Talk, it's powerful: https://www.ted.com/talks/jarrett_j_krosoczka_how_a_boy_became_an_artist?language=en
I read When Light Left Us by Leah Thomas, a YA sci fi book I'd read good things about. It was ok, it was kind of weird and not exactly what I expected from the reviews but the writing was good, I thought.
Now I'm working my way through Wilkie Collin's Woman in White (which I've never read!) and the Ancillary Justice series by Ann Leckie, which I love and just have to reread every now and then. If you like really dense science fiction, read it!
no subject
Date: 6/2/19 10:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 6/19/19 01:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 6/22/19 08:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 6/6/19 09:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 6/17/19 04:38 pm (UTC)"Stolen Time" by Danielle Rollins (time travel adventure with some foreshadowed twists)
"We Rule the Night" by Claire Eliza Bartlett (WWII-Soviet-like country at war with a country that uses, like, magic powered planes. Women are recruited to form a counter force since there are few men left to fight.)
"Stepsister" by Jennifer Donnelly. (An after-the-happily-ever-after story of Cinderella's stepsister dealing with the aftermath of being one of the ugly stepsisters).
Reread His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pullman, this time on audio, which was excellent.
Reread "The Decoy Princess" by Dawn Cook (princess trained to ward off assassins learns that she's not actually the princess, and has to sneak around fighting baddies to rid the country of a usurper) which was just as entertaining as I remember, and the sequel was just as bland as I remember.
Reread the Darker Shades of Magic trilogy by VE Schwab, this time on audio. Still excellent, though I think I prefer it on paper.
"The One" by John Marr (page-turning speculative fiction about a DNA test that can determine your soul mate).
"Winter of the Witch" by Katherine Arden (final book in an excellent trilogy based on Russian folklore)
no subject
Date: 6/17/19 10:01 pm (UTC)I'll have to look up some of the other interesting titles you mentioned!
no subject
Date: 6/19/19 01:24 pm (UTC)If you like Russian folklore, also check out "Deathless" by Catherynne Valenta, "Enchantment" by Orson Scott Card, and "Veil of Gold" by Kim Wilkins.
no subject
Date: 6/19/19 01:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 6/22/19 08:10 pm (UTC)I suppose I like the atmosphere and historical underpinnings of books like Nightingale and Silver, but overall plot and individual characters were sometimes a miss for me. I'd love to find some Russian folklore-inspired novels that tick all those boxes. I agree that Silver felt too long, and I thought the same about her previous fairy tale retelling, Uprooted. But I'm nitpicking at this point!
no subject
Date: 7/5/19 11:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 7/6/19 01:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 7/6/19 02:03 am (UTC)(mild spoiler potential for anyone who hasn't read it)
I don't know if she's planning to write more, but I want to know more about the outcome of the war and how magic will influence it, and how the magic works in general*, and what the consequences of using it will be, and what living metal is, and about the Elda, and the Skarov, their shape-shifting, and whether Tannov was successful! I wanted closure for Revna's family back home, and most of all I wanted to see more of the pilot, navigator, and engineer's blossoming care and respect for one another as a team.
*Some of these details remained a little fuzzy and in the background of what was ultimately (and I'd say successfully) a character-driven survival story. I just wanted MORE world-building, political intrigue, and magic-exploration, as my interest in this one was largely sparked by its "historical fantasy" premise. The conflict felt drawn out in places, and the ending too abrupt. And yet these characters will stay with me for a long while.
I have Many More Thoughts, if you want them, but for now I'll rein in my post-book frenzy. 0:)
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