Play Harder General Discussion

[NancyJ]

Booknblues wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Here is my final list of the year (maybe). I have plenty of time and no pressure. ( I’m taking one day at a time right now, and today is a good day.) Of course I would love to hear s..."

Thanks I found quite a few possibilities for all 3 of the animal books.
I loved Perestroika when it seemed we all read it at the same time 1-2 years ago. A lot of the horse books sound good. I like the ones where the horse and trainer sort of heal one another.

I’ll hold off on the mystery for awhile. I found a middle grade classic that fits sci-fi-fantasy.

I’m still in a reading slump, and every book I start falls flat, except a memoir by a neurosurgeon, which is terrific.

(Corrected)

One of the animal books includes a neuroscientist who bought a farm during Covid, so that might help get me out of slump,

Thanks for the ideas on the SSF books too.

[Theresa]

On the farm animal one, I'd start with a list of common farm animals then do a quick search of my TBR and ebook libraries to see what books I have with ones in the title. My list would look like this - using the different terms for male/female/young:

Cow
Bull
Chicken
Hen
Rooster
Pig
Sow
Sheep
Lamb
Calf
Steer
Duck
Geese
Goat - and even Kid
swine

You could even go to fish - I've certainly heard of and driven by a trout farm. There's a book with trout in the title that was very popular some year ago: Paris Trout by Pete Dexter

There are a number of cozy mystery series with farm animals in some of the titles: Buttermilk Creek have cow, Bought the Farm have swine and similar.

On my TBR is a book by Alice Walker - 216 pages - The Chicken Chronicles: Sitting with the Angels Who Have Returned with My Memories: Glorious, Rufus, Gertrude Stein, Splendor, Hortensia, Agnes of God, The Gladyses, & Babef

i remember spotting this on an earlier list or two and thinking it was very narrow. I do tend to read books set on farms and even about specifics like chickens, but the titles never include the animal!

[Theresa]

Horses - Dick Francis mysteries often have horses on the cover.

Bear - How about ? I believe that's a bear on the cover.

Also

[NancyJ]

Lyn wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Here is my final list of the year (maybe). I have plenty of time and no pressure. ( I’m taking one day at a time right now, and today is a good day.) Of course I would love to hear s..."

Thanks Lyn, that’s a great recommendation. I like that author and his way of seeing the world. He talked about Crazy Horse in another book too. It looks like this book is more in-depth. I also feel a connection to the Anishinaabe culture (which overlaps with Ojibwe and Chippewa), but I can’t think of any well known figures.

[Theresa]

Real historical person - At the moment, since I'm reading a lot of mysteries, those are what comes to mind. Besides the Wrexford & Sloane series book I just read which had a well-known NYC botanist as a character in it, there are a number of series which include historical figures --

I would personally not consider someone still living as an historical figure - I believe there needs to be some time lapse before you become 'historic' or 'historical'. Someone still living hasn't necessarily earned that right yet -- even though I would say at this point that some will of course be ones some day - Obama for example, Hilary Clinton, and so will Trump - no matter what you think of them now. But I would not consider them historic figures now.

There are plenty of mystery series featuring historical figures like Jane Austen. Also books by Marie Benedict include them.

A wonderful read which has many figures from the French Revolution and Reign of Terror in it is by Marge Piercy.

[Olivermagnus]

NancyJ wrote: "Robin P wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "🔹6. Read a book that is a mystery but not a thriller - Rules???
Does anyone have guidelines for this one? Do I have to verify that the book has NO (or

I would just..."

I just loved Three Bags Full.

Soon to be a major motion picture starring Hugh Jackman and Emma Thompson, this funny and surprising mystery features a new breed of detectives you’ve got to read to baaaaa-lieve.

[Booknblues]

NancyJ wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Here is my final list of the year (maybe). I have plenty of time and no pressure. ( I’m taking one day at a time right now, and today is a good day.) Of course I w..."
Now that you mention a neuroscientist, I wonder if you may be interested in Cowpuppy: An Unexpected Friendship and a Scientist’s Journey into the Secret World of Cows which is written by a neuroscientist who bought a farm and raised cows. It may appeal to you as he is very much a part of academia and even though he is raising cows he cannot forget his academic roots.

[NancyJ]

Booknblues wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Here is my final list of the year (maybe). I have plenty of time and no pressure. ( I’m taking one day at a time right now, and today is a good day...."

Yes, Cowpuppy is the book I found on your animals shelf. I am really enjoying a book by a neurosurgeon (while fiction is putting me to sleep .. go figure). So when I saw neuroscientist in the Cowpuppy blurb, I knew I had to try it. I think I’ll remember the title now, it’s so cute.

[Joy D]

Nancy, Here's a link to my mystery shelf. I don't care for thrillers, so most of my more recently read books are mysteries and not thrillers. A lot of non-fiction books on this list feature a mystery.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

[NancyJ]

Joy D wrote: "Nancy, Here's a link to my mystery shelf. I don't care for thrillers, so most of my more recently read books are mysteries and not thrillers. A lot of non-fiction books on this list feature a myste..."

Thanks these are great! More my speed. I picked quite a few that could work, and tagged them mystery- not-thriller. Nearly all have some thriller tags, but I focused on mpg, or relative numbers. I have many historical mysteries that work too. They often have fewer thriller tags than many of the cozy mysteries.

I’m also going to look at my SFF possibilities for mystery and thriller tags. The book I just started sounds like it’s setting up a mystery. Death of the author.

[NancyJ]

Theresa wrote: "On the farm animal one, I'd start with a list of common farm animals then do a quick search of my TBR and ebook libraries to see what books I have with ones in the title. My list would look like th..."

Great ideas. I would add bees to the list too. I found quite a few books that would work so far. My first pick is Cowpuppies (with cow later in the title). I have several bee books, and if I’m in a mood for silliness or cozies- Who Moved My Goat Cheese?

[Book Concierge]

NancyJ wrote: "I have three animal books.
🔸2. A book with a common farm animal in the title -I’m leaning toward bees or babe the pig (I found 1 that’s long enough). Or something else?
3. A book with one or more horses on the cover - I may need suggestions I know there are lists (but I’m not in the mood for cowboy smut atm)
12. Read a book that features a bear in the title, content, or on the cover. We have bears in the suburbs! I would like to read a serious book about their habitat problems, maybe with a focus on conservation, or national parks. Otherwise is there a CJBox book with bears?..."

2. I think you're already on the track for this one.

3. A nonfiction I really enjoyed last year The Last Ride of the Pony Express: My 2,000-mile Horseback Journey into the Old West

12. You might like one of these nonfiction titles:
The Bear's Embrace: A Story of Survival by Patricia Van Tighem (Frankly, it's more about her journey of survival than about the bear)
Night of the Grizzlies by Jack Olsen (focuses on the bears in a national park)

Also The Incredible Journey (which probably would also qualify as a middle-grade classic) does have a section where there is a bear attack.

[Robin P]

- that's a bear on the cover, it's not obvious at first.

[NancyJ]

Robin P wrote: " - that's a bear on the cover, it's not obvious at first."

Thanks I would not have seen it! This book fits Nike’s idea about women crossing borders too.

[NancyJ]

Book Concierge wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "I have three animal books.
🔸2. A book with a common farm animal in the title -I’m leaning toward bees or babe the pig (I found 1 that’s long enough). Or something else?
3. A book wit..."

Thanks! There are a lot of bear attack stories, and I don't know if my stomach could handle them. I like the park idea better. I saw two set in Yellowstone park. They had a good reputation for their work with wolves. I guess Apex predators can improve a whole ecosystem.

I really liked incredible journey.

[Theresa]

@NancyJ - I've been thinking about what I would do for a middle school classic - and I keep thinking about Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames etc. - all those series books I was reading at that age - and I'm sure you did too. Others that I think of:

The Witch of Blackbird Pond
The Julie and the Wolves series
Anne of Green Gables of course - though I never read them.
Little House - my youngest sister read those

A book I found in my Junior High School library and still love: The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope - features a house haunted by ghosts from the American Revoltuion - a really delightful story and holds up to adult reading. While none of the characters are middle grade age, I think it still works as a middle grade classic.

Tuck Everlasting
Johnny Tremain
Kidnapped - other Robert Louis Stevenson

The Yearling

Black Beauty
Misty of Chincoteague

[Joy D]

A few more suggestions:

For bears, 2 I have read & enjoyed & 1 that's on my TBR:
The Bear
The Bear and the Nightingale
Memoirs of a Polar Bear

For farm animal in title, this is the novel that the movie Blade Runner is based upon (and it fits the monthly tag too):
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

[NancyJ]

Joy D wrote: "A few more suggestions:

For bears, 2 I have read & enjoyed & 1 that's on my TBR:
The Bear
The Bear and the Nightingale
Memoirs of a Polar Bear

For ..."

Ah. I’ve been meaning to read ..androids. This would be a good time to try it.

[NancyJ]

Theresa wrote: "@NancyJ - I've been thinking about what I would do for a middle school classic - and I keep thinking about Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames etc. - all those series books I was reading at that ag..."

I wish I could combine the MG classic with horses. Maybe I’ll pick one, and decide later which prompt to use for it.

[Theresa]

Well, horses also show up on the covers of westerns -- I might try a Zane Grey or Louis L'Amour - I do have a weakness for classic western movies where the good guys had white hats and the bad guys had black hats. I've always meant to read , for example.

I'm finding a number of your prompts this time, Nancy, rather nostalgic - taking me back to the 1960s.

They certainly would count as undemanding reading!

[Booknblues]

Looking up my bear books, I found these reviews:
Grizzly Years: In Search of the American Wilderness
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Great White Bear: A Natural and Unnatural History of the Polar Bear
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...