Does this happen to anyone else? You finish a book, scratch your head and ask "WHY did I read that?"
Ugh. And, for full disclosure, this is the *seconDoes this happen to anyone else? You finish a book, scratch your head and ask "WHY did I read that?"
Ugh. And, for full disclosure, this is the *second* biography I read of Josephine. (The first was from the Makers of History series by Jacob Abbott.)
I learned that all the portraits of Josephine show her mouth closed because her teeth were black. Well now.
There's not much I can admire about this woman. She definitely had spunk. Her first husband had his head lopped off; she was scheduled next, but the mob executed Robespierre and set her free. Later she married Napoleon, who crowned her Empress of France.
When she was at the peak of power, it seems her works of mercy were renown.
On the liability side of the spreadsheet there are multitudes of lies, schemes, infidelity, narcissism, greed, reckless spending, gargantuan debt, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
The residual emotion after finishing this was pity. ...more
If you don't produce, you won't thrive — no matter how skilled or talented you are.
The irony is rich: I was distracted (because: multi-tasking) while If you don't produce, you won't thrive — no matter how skilled or talented you are.
The irony is rich: I was distracted (because: multi-tasking) while I listened to this book, so much of the content bounced off me. I often return to the Velcro metaphor of learning: one needs the loops on one side for the hooks to attach to them. I fear I wasn't very "loopy".
I appreciated Newport's lauding of boredom. I chafe if a dead battery or lack of internet keeps me from listening to a book (or podcast) while I work or walk or wait. But it's good to be bored.
While listening, I kept hearing "depth" as "death". At first it startled me: "Be a disciple of death." Or "be committed to death"; "a Death Philosophy" -- then it was chuckle inducing. :)
I'm not familiar with Edward Behr's work; in preparation for my dream trip to France, I put "France" in the se4.5 stars rounded up
What is French food?
I'm not familiar with Edward Behr's work; in preparation for my dream trip to France, I put "France" in the search engine of Hoopla. I'm glad this came up! It's part travel memoir, part instructional (why a certain process requires a certain procedure), part delightful thumbprint biographies of artisanal geniuses.
One theme that carries through each story is the difference between the old techniques and modern machine-aided methods. How has industrialization changed French cuisine?
Here's some (but not all) of the food and drink covered in the book: → French bread from the 6th Arrondissement, Paris → Vegetables from Versailles → Croissants from 14th Arrondissement, Paris → Champagne from Epernay → Sausage from Troyes → Kugelhopf from Alsace → Comté cheese from Labergement-Sainte-Marie → Vin Jaune (yellow wine) from Château-Chalon → Vinegar from Orléans → Parsleyed Ham from Dijon → Wine from Beaujolais → Sea Salt from Ars-en-Ré → Snails from Saintonge → Blackened Cheesecake from Poitou → Foie Gras from Gascony
One quote I transcribed into my journal:
"What most of us want most when we travel are those moments of contact — with landscape, people, art, architecture, food — that feel intensely personal, or authentic, for lack of a better word. Those experiences are almost always unforeseen and they occur less often in the company of countless others with the same purpose."
As soon as I finished listening to this book, I started over and listened again. I will probably try to get my hands on a print edition in order to marinate in the stories....more
I listened to the beginning several times - not because it was bad, but because I was exhausted each time and lost the key points. It's like that withI listened to the beginning several times - not because it was bad, but because I was exhausted each time and lost the key points. It's like that with audiobooks, isn't it? You have to pay close attention to the beginning while you are getting to know the characters. Eventually, I was all in on this YA novel.
Repeating what I've written before: I need a book to capture and hold joy and grief. Both. Because life is like that.
What a wondrous time we inhabit! So many resources are available with one click. In learning (or re-learning) a language it helps to pull all the leveWhat a wondrous time we inhabit! So many resources are available with one click. In learning (or re-learning) a language it helps to pull all the levers. I'm using Duolingo daily, which relies mostly on indirect teaching, with occasional instructions on a grammar concept.
Innovative Language uses conversations with a native speaker to teach vocabulary and grammar. I love the review where the words are said syllable by syllable slowly. Several times their explanations turned a light on in my brain. With Duolingo I was picking things up intuitively but not really knowing why. The all audio format is challenging, but they spell words to clarify.
Last weekend a friend suggested we speak French at meals. Oh dear. I was drowning in ignorance. If I didn't have family and community attachments, I think it would be wonderful to move to a foreign country for a year and use the immersion method.
My fond hope is that when I get home from France I will make language acquisition a priority. ...more
So here's the thing: sometimes I awake in the small hours and struggle to get back to sleep. This is 45 hours of familiar content and luscious BritishSo here's the thing: sometimes I awake in the small hours and struggle to get back to sleep. This is 45 hours of familiar content and luscious British accents. I listen (with the sleep timer engaged) and Austen's stories lull me back to sleep. I'm not concerned about missing a plot point or keeping track of the characters.
Gina Loughlin's original music — the audio trailer for Persuasion — mesmerized me. I listened to the theme (repeated before each new section) and mentally transcribed the music. It's very sticky in my brain!
How the dramatized version compares to a straight reading of the text isn't of interest to me....more
This is what happens when you enter "Paris" in the search engine of Hoopla.
I enjoyed Sciolino's narration of this microcosm of Paris. She calls it a This is what happens when you enter "Paris" in the search engine of Hoopla.
I enjoyed Sciolino's narration of this microcosm of Paris. She calls it a "half-mile of magic." This is not cozy Provence, oh no. It's straight up urban life.
With an upcoming trip to Paris (and beyond) I'm down for books that give me a taste of French culture. But I don't imagine making a pilgrimage to walk the rue des Martyrs. ...more
Quite satisfying read. A newborn baby is swaddled and set out to sea in a skiff. She is found and raised by Osh, an old man, an exile (from where?) whQuite satisfying read. A newborn baby is swaddled and set out to sea in a skiff. She is found and raised by Osh, an old man, an exile (from where?) who builds a house from the flotsam and jetsam that washes up on to his sparse island. Osh gets help from Miss Maggie who lives on the island next door.
Sea stories fascinate me. Island living. How they survived on an island with so few resources.
Once again: children's literature for the win. When I need a lighter read, my choice is kid lit.
My favorite quote: But some people let fear set its hook in them, so it's hard to pull out....more
My friend Scott went to Scotland. He returned with a book for me, The New Testament in Scots. I loved it, but I couldna read it by isself, it was tae My friend Scott went to Scotland. He returned with a book for me, The New Testament in Scots. I loved it, but I couldna read it by isself, it was tae foreign. I found Tom Fleming's narration of the gospels, which was gorgeous, but couldna listen to it by isself and ken what it was sayin.
But if I put the two (audio + print) together, it made sense. Reading George MacDonald and Robert Louis Stevenson paved the way. Lorimer translated the New Testament from the Greek. Reading the Bible in a different language forced me to go slow, which, I think, was guid.
Here is a sampler from John:
• His blytheness is mine, an nocht is wantin til it.
• He maun grow, and I maun dow.
• The Jews wis bumbazed tae hear him.
• Símon Peter than drew the swuird he wis cairriein an strack the Heid-Príest's servan and sneddit aff his richt lug.
This has been my choice of audiobook-to-fall-asleep-to this summer. So delighted was I that I pulled the hardback down and reveled in the print. In thThis has been my choice of audiobook-to-fall-asleep-to this summer. So delighted was I that I pulled the hardback down and reveled in the print. In the same way that I read most mysteries for the "mood", I read Wodehouse for his turns-of-phrase and brilliant descriptions.
Everything in this book is perfectly ridiculous. Not irrational like Dadaism, but satire that makes you smile.
• Lord Emsworth, who is besotted with his pig, Empress of Blandings. Who, by the way, has a "high standard of obesity." • The Lord's neighbor, Sir Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe. • A butler called Beach. • The Lord's brother is The Hon. Galahad. Listening to the audio, I thought it was Ungalahad, perhaps related to unguent?
Stephen Fry was narrator par excellence. I snagged The Blandings Castle Collection (Books 3-6) for one credit on Audible. My favorite laugh aloud moment was when a formerly broken up couple reunites.
Ronnie was saying what he thought of himself and his opinion appeared not to be high. He said he was a beast, a brute, a swine, a cad, a hound, and a worm. [...] Sue said it had all been her fault. Ronnie said, No, his. No, hers, said Sue. No, his, said Ronnie. No, hers, said Sue. No, altogether his, said Ronnie. It must have been his, he pointed out, because, as he had observed before, he was a hound and a worm. He now went further. He revealed himself as a blister, a tick, and a perishing outsider.
I listened to Simon Vance's splendid narration twice while walking country roads. Learning about St. Francis was fine, but Chesterton's excursions andI listened to Simon Vance's splendid narration twice while walking country roads. Learning about St. Francis was fine, but Chesterton's excursions and asides were fantastic. I am eager to read the print book, in hopes of harvesting many great quotes that I've forgotten....more
I read (and loved) 52 Ways to Walk. And the cover of Miss Eliza's English Kitchen popped up by the same author. I gave it a go, and I'm glad I did.
TheI read (and loved) 52 Ways to Walk. And the cover of Miss Eliza's English Kitchen popped up by the same author. I gave it a go, and I'm glad I did.
The food writing is splendid. Some of the social angst of a Victorian spinster seemed more 21st century than 19th century. This book made me happy to live in a time where cooking my family's food is socially acceptable, not strictly the domain of servants.
NOW, I have to get my hands on Eliza Acton's cookbooks! Here is a delicious quote:
"I have started to see poetry in the strangest of things: from the roughest nub of nutmeg to the pale parsnip seamed with soil. And this has made me wonder if I can write a cookery book that includes the truth and beauty of poetry. Why should the culinary arts not include poetry? Why should a recipe book not be a thing of beauty?
My thoughts come quickly and smoothly in the solitude of the kitchen, and as I beat the eggs I find myself comparing the process of following a recipe to that of writing a poem.
Fruit, herbs, spices, eggs, cream: these are my words and I must combine them in such a way they produce something to delight the palate. Exactly as a poem should fall upon the ears of its readers, charming or moving them. I must coax the flavors from my ingredients, as a poet coaxes mood and meaning from his words."...more
A book centered around Queen Elizabeth's 1947 wedding gown, and the women that worked on embroidering it. Marisa Calin did a fine job narrating. An AnA book centered around Queen Elizabeth's 1947 wedding gown, and the women that worked on embroidering it. Marisa Calin did a fine job narrating. An Anglophile, I loved all the Englishness of the book and especially enjoyed the wedding dress.
I swallowed this down in two gulps. There is much to ponder. It had the grip and vibe of Tara Westover's Educated.
I used to read Yancey's column in CI swallowed this down in two gulps. There is much to ponder. It had the grip and vibe of Tara Westover's Educated.
I used to read Yancey's column in Campus Life magazine when I was in high school. I was raised close enough to Yancey's fundamentalism to recognize and nod ("Every Head Bowed and Every Eye Closed"); but I'm grateful that my upbringing didn't include the egregious parts of his.
The weakness of the whole "performance model" of Christian living was amplified in this book.
Reading this evoked many emotions: melancholy, sadness, poignance, and chuckles.
After his father died, Yancey's mother gives a "you're the man of the house now" talk to Yancey's brother. Marshall nodded and accepted the weight of that burden as solemnly as a three-year-old could do. He informed Mother that he should take charge of my spankings right away....more
What a fun excursion! It brought 84 Charing Cross Road to mind. I hope the print book is longer than the 1:12 audio version, which is a stage adaptatiWhat a fun excursion! It brought 84 Charing Cross Road to mind. I hope the print book is longer than the 1:12 audio version, which is a stage adaptation. I will search out the paperback.
Epistolary books are fun for searching out clues between the lines. The greeting and closing gradually changed as their trust and affection grew....more
Three stars means I like it —it's my default rating for genre fiction. This title isn't earth shattering, just a bit of silly fun. In the same way I rThree stars means I like it —it's my default rating for genre fiction. This title isn't earth shattering, just a bit of silly fun. In the same way I read most mysteries for the "atmosphere" I read PGW for his wordsmith skills.
Cyril Fotheringay-Phipps (pronounced Fungy-Fips), nicknamed "Barmy" gambols into the world of theater. Dinty Moore made a great heroine. This action is located in America.
One scene made me chortle. Two crooked playwrights, coaxing Barmy to buy the play, give a fingernail sketch with a hilarious run-on sentence:
"So it's her bedroom and she's in a negligay, and in comes the hero through the window and says, 'Genevieve!', and she says 'Harold!', and she says 'Is it you?', and he says, 'Yah, it's me', and back and forth and back and forth, and then it comes out that the brother has died and confessed on his death-bed that it was him that dun it, and she says she loves the hero still but must stick to this guy she's married because she's the soul of honour, see, and they have a farewell scene, and suddenly in comes the husband and he thinks the hero is a burglar and he plugs him with his gun and the hero falls to the ground a corpse and the dame falls on top of him and has a fit and dies on his body. The next act's in heaven," said Mr. Lehman, going to the water-cooler. Barmy blinked. "Heaven?"
I'm breaking my own rule: "Never read Wodehouse back to back."
However, when I saw "included until 5/03" next to many Simon Vance's narrations of WodeI'm breaking my own rule: "Never read Wodehouse back to back."
However, when I saw "included until 5/03" next to many Simon Vance's narrations of Wodehouse books — all bets were off.
I don't read Wodehouse for the plot or the story.
I read him for humor, for vocabulary, for word play, for names, for English idioms, What ho?
Speaking of names, it seems so delightfully Wodehousian to shorten Felicia to Flick.
Simon Vance did his usual superlative job of narration. Sadly, when I listen, I intend to remember the zingers, but almost never do. With apologies to my friends in Pittsburgh here's a laugh aloud: Judson had accused him of being like a wet Sunday in Pittsburgh. Quite justly. He had been like a wet Sunday in Pittsburgh.
Carol Bakker
>
Books:
audio
(408)
Loading...
