Wordless Wednesday

The Classics Club

I recently discovered "The Classics Club" calling itself "A Community of Classics Lovers" which would include me!  The goal of this group is for each person to make a list of classics to read and set a date to complete the reading.  Sounds simple.

Here are the simple instructions from their site:

• choose 50+ classics
• – list them at your blog
• – choose a reading completion goal date up to five years in the future and note that date on your classics list of 50+ titles
• – e-mail the moderators of this blog (theclassicsclubblog@gmail.com) with your list link and information and it will be posted on the Members Page!
• – write about each title on your list as you finish reading it, and link it to your main list
• – when you’ve written about every single title, let us know!'''

I am starting my list today and will post it here on my blog.  My goal is to read the 50 chosen books and post a discussion on each by December 31, 2022.  

I already see what my problem will be -  selecting only 50.  

Wordless Wednesday

 

Musing Mondays

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Name any 5 books from your “to be read” pile (even if it’s a “virtual” pile).

Wow just 5....

1.  Crewel World by Monica Ferris

2.  Murder is Binding by Lorna Barrett

3.  Thyme of Death  by Susan Wittig Albert

4. Cat and Mouse by James Patterson

5.  Flight of the Intruder by Stephen Coonts

There are so many more but this should keep me busy.

Wordless Wednesday

First Chapter Tuesday

Every Tuesday Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros where we share the first paragraph sometimes two, of a book that we are reading or plan to read soon.  

"No, it's not the wedding I  dreamed of, but it is the wedding I want!"  Hannah Swensen's hands shook slightly as she replaced her cup of coffee in the bone china saucer.  She'd been so startled by Grandma Knudson's question that a few drops had sloshed out of her cup and landed in its matching saucer.  The matriarch of Holy Redeemer Lutheran Church was known for being outspoken, but Hannah hadn't expected to be grilled about her upcoming nuptials when Grandma Knudson had called her at The Cookie Jar, Hannah's coffee shop and bakery, and invited her to the parsonage for coffee.

"Everyone's talking, you know," Grandma Knudson confided, leaning forward in her chair.  "No one can understand why they haven't been invited to the wedding.  I told them you preferred a small, intimate family affair, but they feel left out.  And almost everyone from my Bible study group asked if there was something wrong."

Joanne Fluke.  Wedding Cake Murder. New York:  Kensington Publishing Corp. 2016.

Musing Mondays

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Your favorite poem, or collection of poetry?

Musing Mondays comes courtesy of Jenn at Books and A Beat.  I have chosen to respond to her "Random Question."

Ordinarily, I would say that I am not a poetry person but my favorite collection of poems is Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters.  This is a collection of monologues beyond the grave from the residents of a fictional town in the Midwest.

The poems are all free verse.  Some are humorous, some are dark, and some are sad.  Because the speakers are dead, they speak the truth which can be harsh and brutal.  The reader learns the real behind the scenes information about the town and its residents.  Often the poems revealed the connections between the speakers.  "Ollie McGee" and then "Fletcher McGee" are wife and husband and the reader learns the secrets of their marriage from each one's perspective revealing quite different ideas.  The humor of their sad marriage lies in the revelations of the individual points of view.

The English teacher I had in my junior year of high school used poems from this collection frequently as lead-ins to thematically linked other works of literature.  I think that is why I enjoyed them so much - to see the universal connections.

There is an online edition of Spoon River Anthology at Bartleby.com.

Friday Finds

I had a small book haul this week.  I went to the library and checked out Tricky Twenty-Two by Janet Evanovich and Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas.  Two very different books but I wanted both.  

I am a huge Janet Evanovich fan especially the Stephanie Plum series.  This series has two of my all time favorite characters, Lula and Grandma Mazur.  They are worth the whole series.  I don't think I can look at diets or "ho's" the same way again.  Lula's diets are legendary.  My favorite is the "just eat one" of anything you want.  Lulu ate one box of donuts and then one bucket of chicken.  Now that is my kind of diet.  Ho's are another story.  I don't know any ho's but if I did I'd want them to be just like Lula.

Who can make a viewing a date night?  Grandma Mazur.  Funerals and viewings are her form of entertainment.  I'll go with her but only if they are serving food.

It seems almost wrong to write about Bonhoffer in the same post but that is the other book I found.  I read a review over at Great Book Study and was intrigued.  It seems appropriate given that I just finished The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah which centered on the Nazi occupation of France.  Can I handle another Nazi book?

Finally, at the library, I picked up the April edition of Book Page.  I like to go through and mark the books I want to read and then put them on hold.  I usually get some great picks.  

It is a warm day here in Chesapeake with a hint of rain.  A perfect day to sit on my balcony with one cup of coffee and one good book.

#tbt - Turn Back Thursday

Recently, I have started listening to "The 60s on 6" on my satellite car radio.  I usually listen to all news stations but the election is killing me.  I need to go back in time - at least for a while.

Monday was a beautiful day and I was off to spend the day with my daughter in law who was having work done in their home.  My car windows were down and the radio was loud.  The next song up took me back to the backyard of the house where I lived as a teenager.

"Windy" by the Association was a favorite.  It was light and energetic and still reminds me of the summer.  

The song reach number one in 1966 and was the second hit by the group.  The first was Cherish.  I love that song too.  I have read that the song was written by a women and Windy was originally meant to be a guy but the producer changed the gender and then the tempo and it was a hit.This link The Association Song clips will take you to "Songfacts" and you can hear Windy and a few other of their hits.  

Photo from Songfacts site.

I can't believe that I am "throwing back" so many years ago.  Does anyone else still feel 16?

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday

Every Tuesday over at Bibliophile By the Sea Diane shares the first paragraph, maybe two of the book she is reading.  She challenges us to do the same.  This week, I am sharing the first paragraph from The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.

"If I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this:  In love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are.  Today's young people want to know everything about everyone.  They think talking about a problem will solve it.  I come from a quieter generation.  We understand the value of forgetting, the lure of reinvention.

Lately, though, I find myself thinking about the war and my past, about the people I lost.

Lost." (1)

I started reading yesterday and I am having a difficult time putting it aside for things like cleaning, eating, sleeping.  I didn't think I was a Kristin Hannah fan.  I'm not sure why.  I don't think I have ever read any of her books, but I think perhaps I labeled her "chick lit."  That isn't one of my categories of choice.  This book is a very pleasant surprised.  I will have to give some of her other books a try.


Hannah, Kristin.  The Nightingale. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2015.

Musing Mondays

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by Jenn over at Books and a Beat that asks you to respond to one of the prompts listed on her page.  This week I am combining two.

• I bought the following book last week
• I am currently reading

When I post a book to GoodReads it links to my Facebook page.  It is usually two or three of my same friends who comment; however, last week when I listed The Lake House by Kate Morton a girl (well woman now) I taught almost 30 years ago responded.  The Lake House has popped up on several pages she reads and she wondered how I like it.  It is now one of my all time favorites and so I gushed a bit about it. 

Later, she got back to me and told me about her current favorite The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. She was off to get The Lake House and wanted me to get The Nightingale so we could then compare notes.

I taught her "Reading/Language Arts" when she was in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade.  How could I ignore her enthusiasm over a book even if it has been 30 years?  So off I trooped to Barnes and Noble. There was a lengthy wait list at the library and we were meeting the family at Macaroni Grill for dinner and this just happens to be across the street from Barnes and Noble.  (We picked the restaurant before I knew I needed the book!) 

I had already started Predator by Patricia Cornwell so I wanted to finish it first.  I finally started The Nightingale last night.  I feel like I need to lock it in my car.  I have a list of things I need to do around the house and now I have no desire to clean.  The Nightingale is calling me.  Only a few chapters in and I am hooked.  

I can't wait to facebook AnneMarie!