Lynness-oops

Oops, sorry- that last post was me- I forgot to put my name on it in the
title or anywhere.

March read

    I read The Scarlet Pimpernel as intended.  It wasn't stellar, and there were some corny parts, but it was still enjoyable.  Afterward Nathan and I watched the A&E version of the movie.  I had hoped it would stick to the book, but it only did in the most basic and broad ways- we didn't really enjoy it that much.
    I wonder what people thought of a Baroness writing novels.  Did it make a sensation?  Was it just for enjoyment, or did she have to supplement their inheritance/income?

Rae- I haven't read any of Michael Pollan's other books, but I checked one out last month and still haven't had time to read it.
    I tried reading the Professor and the Madman once upon a time, thinking it would be right up my alley, but I just couldn't seem to get into it.  I don't remember why.  And, possibly, it wasn't even the book itself- I may have just had too much going on.  Maybe I'll have to give it another try.
    I still have my dissection book (we used Clemente's, not Grey's, since it lent itself better to doing the actual dissection and preparation of cadavers for others to learn from, which was the whole point of the class)- it still has stains on it and smells like formalin.  I just look at it and think how much I used to know!!

Rae: April Reading

OK, folks...this one's an easy one. April will be the month to support your local library. Go to the library and select at least one fiction and one non-fiction title of your choice. Read them. Report back. Have fun.

Happy Spring!

Happy reading!

Lynness- March read

    March is Marching by in quick time... between the four of us, we've got 6 doctor/dentist/midwife appointments this month (...so far...).  3 of them were today.  (Ultrasound for me-girl!!, sick visit for Isaiah-strep throat, and dentist for Nathan).  That was entirely unintentional, but at least they're over with.  So I finally got around to looking at the March assignment yesterday and thought that the subject was pretty broad and that I could easily find something on my bookshelf I hadn't read.  I picked The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy.  I've seen a few minutes of a movie version (come to think of it, that would've worked well for last month- and I will probably watch it after I read it, if I can find the movie) and know the very basics of the story, but that's all.  I think I'll like it and it shouldn't take too long.
    On the subject of reading- Isaiah found my old copy of The Boxcar Children at my mom's this past weekend and read it.  I reserved the next 2 at the library and Nathan and the kids picked it up last night and he's already done with one.  I thought that might be a series Autumn or Reed might be interested in reading- with parents or without.

Raehink: Responses to various posts

I have finally reached (well, almost...I still have to pass the final exam) the end of my precalculus class at BYU. It's been by far the most difficult for me. I have had to essentially shut out the world and my family for the last month to really have a chance to grasp anything in the class. I have such a difficult time with things geometric (my neurons just don't fire correctly in that area) and what with having to graph parabolas, ellipses, hyperbolas and such...I was having a rough time. And logarithms. They are a law unto themselves! But I did enjoy the stuff at the end about sequences and probability. There's nothing like a difficult class to make you see and feel all your inabilities. I guess that's why we major in things we're good at...or at the very least, interested in. Anyway, I'm back.

I have loved reading your posts about what books you have been enjoying. Believe it or not, even I get in reading ruts where nothing on my shelves is of interest and I need a recommendation. I wanted to comment on some of the titles you've each mentioned.

LULU: I have the Persian Pickle Club on my shelf, waiting to be read. I'm looking forward to it. It's still about ten titles away, however. I absolutely loved Marley and Me. I hope you do too. I passed it around to a lot of people.

ANNIE: Thank you for reading to your children. They will thank you for it one day. Coraline is one of the rare movies that both Papa and I would like to see. Eventually. And know that we are praying for your hubby and his men.

LYNNESS: I too enjoyed the Pollan books. In fact, they really helped us to make some changes in the way we eat around here. Not drastically, but gradually. I loved the fact that he isn't extreme. Just pragmatic. I have a stack of about fifteen "food" titles to read, based on what was in the bibliographies of his two titles. Have you read his book on gardening called Second Nature? I really enjoyed it also. Read it many years ago, before he became well-known for his food opinions. It might be a fun read for spring.

MIM: Oooh. I'm jealous about the OED. Someday. I remember how excited I was one year at Christmas to receive Grey's Anatomy as a gift. That feeling must be close to how you felt. Isn't it fun to think that our parents passed that gift of loving words on to us? I was at Dad's yesterday and we were trying to remember how many vertebra are in the spine. He just pulled out the old World Book and found out the answer. He says he often uses those encyclopedias.

I'm so glad you enjoyed The Professor and the Madman. It's one of those books you really can't describe to people. They might not read it. You just have to get them to start reading until they are hooked on the story. I am so glad that Mom recommended it to me. I don't know that I would have read it otherwise. She saw all the gospel applications in it and knew it would appeal to both of us. Good on her.

I'm also happy to hear that you liked the stroke and Lindbergh books. It thrills me to be able to pass on books that I just know will strike a chord with the person on the other end. It's a small joy in my life! I loved the quote you shared from Reeve's book. We know just what she was trying to express, don't we? I'm glad you're finding time to read. I know you're busy. Enjoy those last few months in Japan. Then on to Harvard. We hope.

In spite of the math, I have been reading a little. I loved a book called The Hunger Games. It's one of those books I mentioned above...if I tell you about it, you may be turned off and not read it. But please get a copy from your library and give it a try. I'd love to know what others think about it. Maren and I really enjoyed the story and have had quite a few discussions regarding some of the issues it raises. The author is Suzanne Collins.

My other recommended reads in the past month are A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel and The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi. I am still reading Sarah's Quilt (the sequel to These Is My Words). I was supposed to finish it for book group last night and didn't. They were amazed. I am looking forward to finding a title for the March assignment, too.

Happy reading!

Raehink: March Reading

Since March is Women's History Month we will do some reading around that subject matter. You are to choose a book (fiction or non, your choice) that is either:

• written by a female or
  
• about a female or
• about some aspect of womanhood

Make it as fun as you'd like. Enjoy. Report back.

Happy spring!

Happy reading!

Lynness- a couple of quick reads

    I just finished a couple of quick fantasy reads that I thoroughly enjoyed.  My sister gave us a bag of second-hand books for Christmas (she knows us well) and in it were 2 Robin McKinley books, The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown, neither of which I had ever heard of (even though The Blue Sword was a 1983 (?) Newberry Honor book).  They were satisfying, were not weighed down with so much...story, I guess, as the likes of Elantris or Eldest, etc, but still detailed.  In both you find yourself near the last few chapters, wondering if there are really enough pages to finish the story or if it's going to need a sequel, but they both finish, right on cue.  The second book is really a prequel to the first, but far enough back that the characters are ancient history to the people of The Blue Sword and really, you could read them in either order.
    If you ever want a quick, clean, satisfying, good-always-wins-but-it's-a-long, hard road-type-fantasy-story, these are a good place to start!  I was hoping that one or the other had been made into a movie to watch for this month, but no.  They probably would've ruined it, anyway.