Tuesday, November 6, 2012

First Chapter - First Paragaph(s) - Tuesday Intros (Nov. 6)


This week's choice

Originally published: October 2005

On May 18,1860, the day when the Republican Party would nominate its candidate for president, Abraham Lincoln was up early.  As he climbed the stairs to his plainly furnished law office on the south side of the public square in Springfield, Illinois, breakfast was being served at the 130-room Chenery House on Fourth Street.  Fresh butter, flour, lard, and eggs were being put out for sale at the City Grocery Store on North Sixth Street.  And in the morning newspaper, the proprietors at Smith, Wickersham & Company had announced the arrival of a large spring stock of silks, calicos, ginghams, and linens, along with a new supply of the latest styles of hosiery and gloves.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Teaser Tuesdays (Nov. 6)

Teaser Tuesday is a bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.  Anybody can play along!  Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

On May 18,1860, the day when the Republican Party would nominate its candidate for president, Abraham Lincoln was up early.  As he climbed the stairs to his plainly furnished law office on the south side of the public square in Springfield, Illinois, breakfast was being served at the 130-room Chenery House on Fourth Street.  Fresh butter, flour, lard, and eggs were being put out for sale at the City Grocery Store on North Sixth Street.  And in the morning newspaper, the proprietors at Smith, Wickersham & Company had announced the arrival of a large spring stock of silks, calicos, ginghams, and linens, along with a new supply of the latest styles of hosiery and gloves.

~ p. 5, Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Sunday, November 4, 2012

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (Nov. 5)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a fun weekly meme hosted by Shelia at Book Journey, in which we share what we've read and reviewed and what we plan on reading in the coming week.

What I have reviewed this week:
1) Home by Toni Morrison (review)

What I am planning on reading this week:
• Anna Karenina
• Les Miserables

• A Team of Rivals
• All Things New
• Mansfield Park 
• The Taming of the Shrew

• The Hobbit


Musing Mondays (Nov. 5)

This week's musing asks:

What is the most recent book you purchased, or brought home from the local library? What you made you pick it? Have you started reading it, right away, or will you wait for a bit?

I have gotten a lot of library books in the last few days, so I can't just name one, so I will mention the last book that I purchased, which was A Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin.  I bought the book a few weeks ago and I have only started it now.

I am hoping to go to the movie "Lincoln" when it comes out in a couple of weeks.





Sunday Salon - A couple of things

It hasn't been a great week, at least reading wise.  I did do some reading, but not the amount that I have in previous weeks.   Part of the reason was that I found myself on Thursday without a book to read on the way back home (I finished my book on the way to work) and ever since then I haven't felt like reading much.

Besides that, I joined with Wallace's readalong of The Hobbit and am looking forward to starting this week and I am hoping that I will finally get Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin started.  I haven't had much progress with Les Miserables and Anna Karenina, but am hoping that I will get a bunch more done in the next coming days.

Hopefully this week is going to be a better reading and blogging week.

Review:
1) Home by Toni Morrison (review)


Friday, November 2, 2012

The Hobbit Readalong

(if you click on the photo, it clicks to the sign up page)

Wallace over at The Unputdownables is hosting a readalong for The Hobbit.  This has been a book that I have been wanting to read for quite some time, which I think was right around the time that the LOTR movies came out about 10 years ago.  At the time, new editions of the 3 book set, along with the rest of Tolkien's books came out and couldn't resist getting the new editions (I have the full set of LOTR books, but they are still unread).

I am going to post what she has posted over on her site and please read the ENTIRE post.  Its actually quite a doable book, as most copies of the book are between 300-400 pages (mine is about 310) and has less than 40 chapters.  I hope you can join me (the information posted below can be found at The Unputdownables)

Schedule:

Beginning Friday, November 3rd and ending Friday, December 28th. 
READING SCHEDULE:
Week #/ Where to Stop (For example, in week one STOP and place your bookmark at Chapter III.)
Week One/ Chapter III
Week Two/ Chapter VI
Week Three/ Chapter VII
Week Four/ Chapter IX
Week Five/ Chapter XI
Week Six/ Chapter XIII
Week Seven/ Chapter XVI
Week Eight/ The End
POSTING SCHEDULE:
Post #/ date post should be up on blog:
Start up Post/ Today!
Week One/ November 9th
Week Two/ November 16th
Week Three/ November 23rd
Week Four/ November 30th
Week Five/ December 7th
Week Six/ December 14th
Week Seven/ December 21st
Week Eight/ December 28th (Final Review)
** Please don’t forget to come to this blog each week to share your thoughts in the comments section of the weekly Read-a-Long discussion (see below for more information).**

How it Works:

  1. Each week, on Friday, I will post my thoughts about the week’s reading. You will have from Friday through the following Thursday to post yours. If you are stuck on what to comment about, you can respond to my post or others’ comments. Regardless, you MUST check in each week (two weeks without a response and you will be taken off of the list — see below for details on why). You may have only one “off week” (which may not be the last week of reading for obvious reasons) and still be kept on the list, but you must let me know in the comment section by saying something like, “This is my off week — I am catching up!” Please note that, in order to be counted, your offering to the discussion must be about the current weeks’ reading, not about past weeks. ***For all week’s discussions please refrain from posting ahead, even if you have read ahead, as to not spoil the book for others***
  2. As these Read-a-Longs grow, so do the amount of people who participate – yay, all the more fun!!! Also, all the more keeping track of who is still reading. As you know – if you have been absent from discussion for two weeks, you will be removed from the list. However, now, in order to get back on the list, you need to a.) Have missed no more than two weeks of discussion, b.) Let me know you would like to be on the list again, and c.) Consistently be part of the discussion for the next two weeks after requesting to be put back on the list. Am I trying to be mean? Absolutely not! I LOVE having you all read a long. It is, however, a lot of work to keep track of who’s still reading, and to keep taking names off and putting them back on the list. Most importantly though,  consistency is good for the group; we tend to get to know each other through discussions and rely on the conversation to keep us reading. I don’t do these read-a-longs to gain followers; I do them because the benefit of reading certain books with a group of dedicated people is often superior to reading them alone. But reading with undedicated people is worst of all, which is why I care less about numbers and more about dedication to the book and the discussions. (Bonus, at the end of the year I tally those who have done multiple read-a-longs and they get honorable mention on the Read-a-Longs page and a chance to enter for the 2012 Read-a-Long Prize — it’s going to be GOOD!.)
  3. If you are a blogger you may post a link to your blog if you are posting about each of the each week’s reading. If I, or other readers, have extra time we will gladly try to visit your blog; however, you must make sure to share your thoughts here on this blogand be part of the main conversation or your comment will not be counted.
  4. Comments from the previous week’s reading will be closing Thursday afternoon (before the next discussion takes place on Friday). If you would like to be part of the discussion, please remember to comment before then.

Home - Toni Morrison

Title: Home
Author: Toni Morrison
Pages: 160
Published: 2012
Genre: Literary fiction, Historical fiction, African-American literature
Challenges: 2012 Support Your Library, 2012 Historical Fiction
Edition: Hardcover
Source: Library

Description: An angry and self-loathing veteran of the Korean War, Frank Money finds himself back in racist America after enduring trauma on the front lines that left him with more than just physical scars. His home--and himself in it--may no longer be as he remembers it, but Frank is shocked out of his crippling apathy by the need to rescue his medically abused younger sister and take her back to the small Georgia town they come from, which he's hated all his life. As Frank revisits the memories from childhood and the war that leave him questioning his sense of self, he discovers a profound courage he thought he could never possess again. A deeply moving novel about an apparently defeated man finding himself--and his home. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: This was my first Toni Morrison book and I am glad I started out with a shorter novel instead of reading something that I may have given up on.  I had heard good things about the book and thought I would give a chance.  Overall, I quite enjoyed the book and while I was reading the book, I was able to get lost in that world to the point that I know that I glazed over some parts of the book (I also had to get the book back to the library, otherwise I  would have gone back and re-read some parts).  I like how Morrison enveloped me into the story and made me like I was actually there, like I was with Frank on his journey.

The only complaint I have about the book is that it was almost too short.  It felt like it was something could have been a little longer than it actually was and like something that should be re-read to effectively understand the book.

Bottom line: I would recommend this book to those that have enjoyed Morrison's books in the past or for those that are wanting to read something of her's and unsure of whether to venture into her work.

Rating: 3.375/5

Pages for 2012: 19425


What Strange Paradise - Omar El Akkad

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