Play Book Tag discussion
Footnotes
>
Trim Challenge 2022 – Community and Announcement Thread
Hayjay315 wrote: "Hey BNB! I'm your buddy for this one! I'm going to be traveling through the July 4th weekend, but should be able to pick this one up anytime after that. What time in July works best for youl..."I am pretty open, so does around the 9th work for you?
Booknblues wrote: "Hayjay315 wrote: "Hey BNB! I'm your buddy for this one! I'm going to be traveling through the July 4th weekend, but should be able to pick this one up anytime after that. What time in July works be..."Great! I'll plan to start reading on the 9th!
Hayjay315 wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Hayjay315 wrote: "Hey BNB! I'm your buddy for this one! I'm going to be traveling through the July 4th weekend, but should be able to pick this one up anytime after that. What ti..."Oh, fun!
Diana H. wrote: "My #7 is Inheritance by Judith Michael"Wow. That brings back memories... from the 1980s? I loved her books. Definitely read it.
Theresa wrote: "Diana H. wrote: "My #7 is Inheritance by Judith Michael"Wow. That brings back memories... from the 1980s? I loved her books. Definitely read it."
It surely doesn't bring back my memories, because I wasn't even born by the time the book was written:) But I hope it'll be an enjoyable read.
Diana H. wrote: "Theresa wrote: "Diana H. wrote: "My #7 is Inheritance by Judith Michael"Wow. That brings back memories... from the 1980s? I loved her books. Definitely read it."
It..."
🤣🤣🤣🤣👵
Finished the first of the July options today The Last mainly because all 3 are more interesting than the June ones to my current frame of mind and one of them is over a 1000 pages. Perfect timing for that to land since it is school holidays for 3 weeks.
June # 8
Strangers On a Train – Patricia Highsmith – 4****
Two men meet on a train and one is an alcoholic psychopath who proposes a plan for two perfect murders that will solve all their problems. It’s a wild ride. The suspense comes from one man’s clever and persistent pursuit of the other, not just as an accomplice to murder, but as a best friend. He behaves like a love-sick boy, and his careless actions are bringing an equally determined detective closer and closer to the truth. Will they truly get away with it? If not, who will get blamed? Who will crack first?
LINK to my full review
And this one has the LGBT tag Tagged 11 times, 1st column, midway down.
I just finished my second #8 To Paradise. Easily 5 stars. About to start The Secrets Between Us for July.
Finished my #7 Midwives5 Stars
I love everything I've read from Bohjalian, and Midwives lives up to my expectation.
The story centers around Sybil, a midwife who has lost a mother during a home birth gone wrong. The story is told primarily from the point of view of her teenaged daughter Connie.
Following the death of the lost mother, there is an autopsy and Sybil is arrested and tried. Most of the book follows the trial.
The thing I love about all of Bohjalian's books are the ambiguous moral dilemmas that leave me asking "what would I do?" and "what side would I have taken?" and "how would I have acted?"
Definitely a thought-provoking book!
My June trim:Next of Kin: My Conversations with Chimpanzees / Roger Fouts
4.5 stars
Roger Fouts was a psychology student in the late 1960s when he got a job helping with a chimpanzee, Washoe, to study whether or not chimps could learn human language by way of ASL (American Sign Language). Despite that he really wanted/planned to work with kids, this began decades of research with, then activism for, chimpanzees. He and his family (wife and eventually three kids) moved where Washoe was either sent or where was best for her. Roger was unable to help many other chimpanzees he met along with way (though he was able to help a few), but (often with Jane Goodall’s help), he fought to make living conditions for chimpanzees used in research in the U.S. better.
He was still fighting for changes in 1997 when the book was published, but on checking today, things have gotten better – not for all chimps, but for many (most?). There were a few sections in the book where he was talking about research and studies that got just a bit dry, but for the most part, I loved reading about the chimps and the studies and was (to no surprise) horrified at what he saw in the medical research labs. Whether in my psychology or anthropology classes 30ish years ago, I had heard of both Fouts and Washoe, as well as many of the other scientists and studies Fouts mentions in this book. I went through a bunch of emotions reading this book – happiness, sadness, anger... I love that he ended up being an activist, and wanted(s) to see change. I can’t believe it took me so long to finally read this book!
Since I am leaving on a trip, and I want to get my ducks in a row before I go, voting for the August Tag begins the 15th, (I return the 18th). But if anyone is desperate to know who the Trim Picker for August is... its ta da.... Diana H!
Hayjay315 wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "My #7 is The Narrowboat Summer, which I think I have a buddy read with somebody."Hey BNB! I'm your buddy for this one! I'm going to be traveling through the Jul..."
Hayjay, I am finishing a book and The Narrowboat Summer is up next. I should be ready tomorrow or monday. How is it for you?
Booknblues wrote: "Hayjay315 wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "My #7 is The Narrowboat Summer, which I think I have a buddy read with somebody."Hey BNB! I'm your buddy for this one! I'm going to be traveli..."
Oh, I have that in my TBR and could use it for another challenge - should have time to read it after July 17! I would happily join you.
@BNB, Sounds great! I needed something to distract me from a stressful day so started and am enjoying it!@Theresa, Wonderful you can join us! I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
Anyone else is welcome to join us if the blurb for this book resonates with you or you have it on your TBR!
Hayjay315 wrote: "@BNB, Sounds great! I needed something to distract me from a stressful day so started and am enjoying it!@Theresa, Wonderful you can join us! I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
Anyone else..."
I've finished the book I was reading and will start it and set up a thread tomorrow.
July's #7 done: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly / Jean-Dominique Bauby
2.5 stars
The author, from France, suffered a stroke at 44 years old. It didn’t kill him – instead, he woke up with (I think he called it) “locked-in syndrome” (or something similar). His brain was all intact, but he was completely paralyzed, except for being able to blink one eye. This is his “memoir”, as told by blinking that eye every time the correct letter was suggested, one-letter-at-a-time. He died a very short time after the book was published.
I guess it makes sense that the book was short and the chapters were short, given how difficult and how much time it must have taken to “write” this book. The chapters read like little essays. I found the chapters about his ordeal much more interesting than the random chapters on his dreams or reminiscences – those just seemed to ramble and I found them boring. I like the idea of the book, and it’s incredible that he was able to do it at all, but it just wasn’t very interesting to me.
Finished #7Wow, No Thank You.: Essays bySamantha Irby
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
I actually ended up with Swimming Home as my next book. So this is actually my third July book. I do most of my reading during the summer since I'm a teacher. My other two were The Alice Network and Where the River Ends[-both very quick reads.
Finished my #7! In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado - really incredible read. 5 stars. Review is here.
I finally finished a Trim book within the month it was chosen!Here is my review: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Cool! My #15 is The Constant Princess.
My 15 is a double header:The Bar Harbor Retirement Home for Famous Writers
Paris by the Book
I am behind so need to shuffle the read soon tower.
Well for once I’m ahead of the game! - mine was Beartown and I read it last month. I’ll pick up one I haven’t got to yet instead :)
Sue wrote: "My 15 is Klara and the Sun"My #15 is Klara and the Sun too and it seems quite a few people are reading it this month.
I get 15) Burn/Run/Darwin ElevatorHopefully at least 1 will get me to focus. Patrick Ness is generally good for distracted mode.
TRIM is definitely going better than TBR or any other challenge this year. Picking 3 varied options has worked to get at least one done each month.
My #15 is Violeta which I plan to read after I finish News of a Kidnapping.
@ Sallys-will be interested in your reactions to this one. I read it earlier this year
Yes Amy The Social Graces is my # 15. It is going to be a heavy month for me so I may fall a bit behind
Did not know we were doing that together! But it is a women in history book if that ups it. Also, you were interested in the Only Women in the Room, right? Looks like an emerging buddy read for that. I will set up a thread August 1....
My August is Strangers on a Train! I have seen the Alfred Hitchcock adaptation and have always wanted to read the book. We'll see if I can fit it in to my busy August reading schedule grim😬
My #15 is The Apple Orchard which fits end of summer perfectly! I’m also interested in joining the buddy read for Klara and the Sun!
Here's the Klara and the Sun buddy list from the first post:Sue, Lynda, Oliver, Heather, Diana, Sally, Shelley, Jen + Hayjay and anyone else who'd like to join
My library hold shows me still a few weeks out from getting my copy, but looking forward to reading with the group!
Amy wrote: "Did not know we were doing that together! But it is a women in history book if that ups it. Also, you were interested in the Only Women in the Room, right? Looks like an emerging buddy read for tha..."I think I will sub Only Woman in the Room for my number 15, because I already read that and Only Woman has been on my TBR a couple of years.
Woo!! Klara and the Sun!!I'm also going to try to read She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth by Helen Castor, as it fits the monthly tag and I had it listed as one of my choices on a different number.
Finished my #7 for July:The People of the Abyss by Jack London - 4* - My Review
Jack London’s memoir about the time he spent in London’s East End in 1902. It is a piece of immersive journalist in which he poses as an American sailor temporarily out of work. He describes his first-hand experiences of walking the streets at night, attempting to obtain menial work, and enduring many travails. The author observes the lives of many people, including singles, families, and children, describing overcrowded housing, comparatively high rental fees, rampant illnesses, and lack of job opportunities. He takes British society to task for not doing enough to keep these people from starvation and death.
He cites many statistics of the time as to how much people made and the costs of obtaining the merest basics to eke out a living, often throwing individuals into debt and a massive downward spiral. It brings to light the full impact of industrialization, and the resulting gaps between the fortunate and the unfortunate. These true stories are heartbreaking. I am always interested in reading about the past, especially when written by those who lived in the time period. This is one of Jack London’s first works, before he became an acclaimed author. It illuminates a period in history, but also offers lessons for our own time. Though the depths of deprivation may not be quite the same, many of these issues are still with us.
My #15 is:
Memoirs of an Addicted Brain: A Neuroscientist Examines his Former Life on Drugs by Marc Lewis
Heather Reads Books wrote: "Woo!! Klara and the Sun!!I'm also going to try to read She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth by Helen Castor, as it fits the monthly tag and I had it listed as o..."
I was debating between She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth and The Dark Queens: The Bloody Rivalry That Forged the Medieval World. The Dark Queens fits another challenge, so I am going with that one. Interested to read your thoughts on the other one though
Jenni Elyse wrote: "Cool! My #15 is The Constant Princess."Ohhh, nice - enjoy!
Play Book Tag
Books mentioned in this topic
Homage to Catalonia (other topics)The People of the Abyss (other topics)
Girl, Interrupted (other topics)
The Shadow King: The Bizarre Afterlife of King Tut's Mummy (other topics)
Pandora's Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Johann Hari (other topics)George Orwell (other topics)
Paul A. Offit (other topics)
Susanna Kaysen (other topics)
Jo Marchant (other topics)
More...
I had to look. That is a FABULOUS cover!