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Dazrin · 03-19-2018, 07:41 PM

I'm listening to the book that I originally intended to nominate for February but didn't due to cost; The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson. It is a fascinating tale so far and would have been fun to discuss. I work along side architects and construction contractors for my real job and it really doesn't seem like things have changed that much in the last 120+ years.

latepaul · 03-19-2018, 08:40 PM

I listened to (75%) and read (25%) All Our Wrong Todays which got nominated for April. It's an odd book. I enjoyed it but it's not quite what I thought it would be. The author plays with form a little bit, which I found irritating. But worth a read I think.

gmw · 03-21-2018, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by latepaul

I listened to (75%) and read (25%) All Our Wrong Todays which got nominated for April. It's an odd book. I enjoyed it but it's not quite what I thought it would be. The author plays with form a little bit, which I found irritating. But worth a read I think.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. I had it down as one to look at, but on seeing the current price in Australia ($17) I decided it could wait a while. ... But I checked again just now and see Kobo have dropped the price back to $11. Curious.

June · 03-22-2018, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dazrin

I'm listening to the book that I originally intended to nominate for February but didn't due to cost; The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson. —-

That one is on my “to-buy-list”, it does sound like a good book. I had the audio book from the library, but didn’t have time to listen to more than a bit in the beginning, before it expired.

Dazrin · 03-22-2018, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by June

That one is on my “to-buy-list”, it does sound like a good book. I had the audio book from the library, but didn’t have time to listen to more than a bit in the beginning, before it expired.

I don't think I will be able to finish this check-out but have it reserved from my other library too.

Bookpossum · 03-22-2018, 05:51 PM

I looked it up on Goodreads and it sounds macabre but fascinating.

JSWolf · 03-22-2018, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catlady

I'm currently listening to one of the books that lost out to Hemingway for March: The Light Between Oceans. I'd never heard of this book before, and I appreciate JSWolf's nominating it. I'm less than halfway through, but I'm loving it.

I found The Light Between Oceans to be very good. I'm glad you are enjoying it. The movie was pretty good, but the book even better.

JSWolf · 03-22-2018, 05:58 PM

One thing I'm finding more of is more books I find I might like that others have nominated. Previously, there have been times when the only books I found I was interested in were the ones I nominated. Also, I think I'm finding it easier to find books to nominate. The last nomination was the only time (so far) where I found three books to nominate without too much of a hassle.

Catlady · 03-22-2018, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I found The Light Between Oceans to be very good. I'm glad you are enjoying it. The movie was pretty good, but the book even better.

I liked it a lot, though some parts seemed rather forced. The characters and their moral dilemmas would have made for interesting discussion.

Bookworm_Girl · 03-23-2018, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bookpossum

I looked it up on Goodreads and it sounds macabre but fascinating.

It was a dark but interesting read. I recommend it. I liked the history of the time period. Another author that writes similar crime books about older eras is Kate Summerscale.

CRussel · 04-04-2018, 01:07 PM

I just finished a new book by one of my favourite authors, Nathan Lowell. Now I would never argue that his books are great literature, but they really are quite pleasant cozies. Nothing really bad ever happens (with one very notable exception) to any of the characters, but somehow our protagonist(s) always endure and excel, and the situations always resolve in a positive way. Without being particularly saccharin, IMO. Lowell is, ultimately, a storyteller, and a good one. Most of his books started out first as podcasts, and it shows. They're stories first, and books only second. But that isn't a bad thing, IME.

Lowell writes YA Space Opera (the Solar Clipper series and its derivatives) and Fantasy (Tanyth Fairport series). The first of the Solar Clipper series is Quarter Share, the story of a young (18?), recently orphaned, man who must leave the Company Planet where his mother had been a professor, and who signs on with a trading ship (a Solar Clipper) as the lowest grade of the ship, an unskilled "quarter share", working in the galley. The first few books of the series follow his progression from quarter share, to half, full, double, Captain's and finally Owner's Share. In all of these, rather more coffee is consumed than even I can believe in, but then coffee plays a recurring theme throughout.

The Tanyth Fairport series follows the herbalist and healer who has spent the last 20 years walking the planet Korlay searching for knowledge and preparing to write her learning into a book all can use. But she settles for a space in a small, new village without even a name to help and to be part of that village (that she eventually names Ravenwood) through its early trials.

These books are, as I've said, "cozies", but they're quite enjoyable tales that are easy reading, inexpensive (Kindle Unlimited, if you have that, but inexpensive regardless), and fairly short. Recommended if you want a break from sturm und drang to simply enjoy what you're reading. Most have audio versions available, either on Audible, or as podcasts read by the author, and all are available DRM-Free on Amazon, so you can easily convert to your preferred format.

Dazrin · 04-11-2018, 03:07 PM

We're coming up on April's discussion of Making History so I have updated the list thread.

I added links for May's selection of The Radium Girls and look forward to that discussion.
It's been nearly a month since we started discussing The Old Man and the Sea and that thread has slowed down a lot, so I grabbed the comment count for the Stats tab of the spreadsheet linked in the selection list. We are down a little from February but still over a hundred comments. Yay!
I removed the "new question" coloring from two questions in the FAQ; it's been a couple months so those questions aren't new any longer.

As usual, feel free to ask questions in this thread or the list thread or by PM.

We'll be Making History in a couple days, I hope to see you then!

issybird · 04-11-2018, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dazrin

It's been nearly a month since we started discussing The Old Man and the Sea and that thread has slowed down a lot, so I grabbed the comment count for the Stats tab of the spreadsheet linked in the selection list. We are down a little from February but still over a hundred comments. Yay!

I'm going to bang the drum a bit here to say that the fun of a good discussion can make reading a book you wouldn't otherwise have considered well worth it, in addition to the horizon-expanding thing. Let's keep it going.

Thank you, Dazrin, for maintaining the records and for the terrific visuals.

Bookpossum · 04-11-2018, 06:29 PM

Yes, sharing the pain of a bad book can be a lot of fun. In the same way, I get most fun out of reviewing books on Goodreads that I really disliked.

And thank you very much Dazrin for keeping us tidy and up to date.

Dazrin · 04-12-2018, 02:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRussel

I just finished a new book by one of my favourite authors, Nathan Lowell. Now I would never argue that his books are great literature, but they really are quite pleasant cozies. Nothing really bad ever happens (with one very notable exception) to any of the characters, but somehow our protagonist(s) always endure and excel, and the situations always resolve in a positive way. Without being particularly saccharin, IMO. Lowell is, ultimately, a storyteller, and a good one. Most of his books started out first as podcasts, and it shows. They're stories first, and books only second. But that isn't a bad thing, IME.

I got Quarter Share from the Kindle Owners Lending Library today ... and finished it. Excellent book. Thank you for sharing it! I will definitely be continuing.

04-11-2018, 03:07 PM	#162
Dazrin Wizard Posts: 2,631 Karma: 73864785 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: PDXish Device: Kindle Voyage, various Android devices	We're coming up on April's discussion of Making History so I have updated the list thread. I added links for May's selection of The Radium Girls and look forward to that discussion. It's been nearly a month since we started discussing The Old Man and the Sea and that thread has slowed down a lot, so I grabbed the comment count for the Stats tab of the spreadsheet linked in the selection list. We are down a little from February but still over a hundred comments. Yay! I removed the "new question" coloring from two questions in the FAQ; it's been a couple months so those questions aren't new any longer. As usual, feel free to ask questions in this thread or the list thread or by PM. We'll be Making History in a couple days, I hope to see you then!

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03-19-2018, 07:41 PM	#151
Dazrin Wizard Posts: 2,631 Karma: 73864785 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: PDXish Device: Kindle Voyage, various Android devices	I'm listening to the book that I originally intended to nominate for February but didn't due to cost; The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson. It is a fascinating tale so far and would have been fun to discuss. I work along side architects and construction contractors for my real job and it really doesn't seem like things have changed that much in the last 120+ years.

03-19-2018, 08:40 PM	#152
latepaul Wizard Posts: 1,264 Karma: 10203040 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: a variety (mostly kindles and kobos)	I listened to (75%) and read (25%) All Our Wrong Todays which got nominated for April. It's an odd book. I enjoyed it but it's not quite what I thought it would be. The author plays with form a little bit, which I found irritating. But worth a read I think.

03-22-2018, 05:51 PM	#156
Bookpossum Snoozing in the sun Posts: 10,137 Karma: 115423645 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: iPad Mini, Kobo Touch	I looked it up on Goodreads and it sounds macabre but fascinating.

03-22-2018, 05:58 PM	#158
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,894 Karma: 128597114 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	One thing I'm finding more of is more books I find I might like that others have nominated. Previously, there have been times when the only books I found I was interested in were the ones I nominated. Also, I think I'm finding it easier to find books to nominate. The last nomination was the only time (so far) where I found three books to nominate without too much of a hassle.

04-04-2018, 01:07 PM	#161
CRussel (he/him/his) Posts: 12,157 Karma: 79742714 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sunshine Coast, BC Device: Oasis (Gen3),Paperwhite (Gen10), Voyage, Paperwhite(orig), Fire HD 8	I just finished a new book by one of my favourite authors, Nathan Lowell. Now I would never argue that his books are great literature, but they really are quite pleasant cozies. Nothing really bad ever happens (with one very notable exception) to any of the characters, but somehow our protagonist(s) always endure and excel, and the situations always resolve in a positive way. Without being particularly saccharin, IMO. Lowell is, ultimately, a storyteller, and a good one. Most of his books started out first as podcasts, and it shows. They're stories first, and books only second. But that isn't a bad thing, IME. Lowell writes YA Space Opera (the Solar Clipper series and its derivatives) and Fantasy (Tanyth Fairport series). The first of the Solar Clipper series is Quarter Share, the story of a young (18?), recently orphaned, man who must leave the Company Planet where his mother had been a professor, and who signs on with a trading ship (a Solar Clipper) as the lowest grade of the ship, an unskilled "quarter share", working in the galley. The first few books of the series follow his progression from quarter share, to half, full, double, Captain's and finally Owner's Share. In all of these, rather more coffee is consumed than even I can believe in, but then coffee plays a recurring theme throughout. The *Tanyth Fairport* series follows the herbalist and healer who has spent the last 20 years walking the planet Korlay searching for knowledge and preparing to write her learning into a book all can use. But she settles for a space in a small, new village without even a name to help and to be part of that village (that she eventually names Ravenwood) through its early trials. These books are, as I've said, "cozies", but they're quite enjoyable tales that are easy reading, inexpensive (Kindle Unlimited, if you have that, but inexpensive regardless), and fairly short. Recommended if you want a break from sturm und drang to simply enjoy what you're reading. Most have audio versions available, either on Audible, or as podcasts read by the author, and all are available DRM-Free on Amazon, so you can easily convert to your preferred format.

04-11-2018, 06:29 PM	#164
Bookpossum Snoozing in the sun Posts: 10,137 Karma: 115423645 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: iPad Mini, Kobo Touch	Yes, sharing the pain of a bad book can be a lot of fun. In the same way, I get most fun out of reviewing books on Goodreads that I really disliked. And thank you very much Dazrin for keeping us tidy and up to date.