Anna Begins

bookadayuk September 3rd, Best home front novel This has GOT to be The News from Paraguay by Lilly Tuck. The first time I read it, I was so grossed out by The War of the Triple Alliance that I almost became physically sick. This novel, is about Ella Lynch, the wife/ mistress of a ridicules dictator in Paraguay and the war fought between Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay against Paraguay in 1864. During the war, some historians estimate Paraguay lost the majority of its population, and 90% of all men in the whole nation. Was definitely a 5/5 for me.

Ugh- I dislike birds no offence if you have one, we live with one. Anyway, glad you have a good holiday and I'd like to read The Birds too, I've seen the film and it's really creepy. I didn't know it was based on a short story!

*bump* Some of us were having this discussion- anyone want to? We have a lot of different members now than in 2007 and 2012. Does anyone prefer 1st person over 3rd? I'm really being attracted more and more to 1st person narratives, they are harder to find though, for some reason. I guess it is easier to write in 3rd? What do you all prefer?

Wow- great review!

Do you have one of those plastic screen saver things that go over the screen? That could be a problem too.

^^ that sounds interesting and different! Good reviews, even if you didn't enjoy the My Girlfriend's a Geek as much. I might have to put Anna on my list, I'm glad it wasn't too heavy on the romance part. I like when books reference current events, movies or books!

I really have to thank you for this suggestion! I am totally getting my friend one, maybe my old paperwhite for her birthday or a new one for Christmas, I'm not sure. I'm glad you finished and found a solution! Your friend is very nice to loan the Kindle. Have fun with book 3!

Title: Burt Tongues Author: Chuck Palahniuk Genre: Transgressive Fiction Pages: 400 Format: Kindle Right from the beginning, Chuck Palahniuk is off and running- starting with the introduction, for Heaven’s sake. He says, “The worst thing you could do is read this book and enjoy every word. This book, the book you’re holding, I hope you gag on a few words- more than a few. May some of the stories scar and trouble you. Whether you like or dislike them doesn’t matter; you’ve already touched these words with your eyes and they’re becoming part of you.” Despite that introduction, Burnt Tongues falls flat as a collection of Transgressive Fiction; which Wiki defines as a genre of literature that focuses on characters who feel confined by the norms and expectations of society and who break free of those confines in unusual or illicit ways. Because they are rebelling against the basic norms of society, protagonists of transgressive fiction may seem mentally ill, anti-social or nihilistic. The genre deals extensively with taboo subject matters. This is group of short stories, selected by Palahniuk, were submitted to him and he picked the final 20 out of 100 he was sent. The 100 was whittled down from 1000’s of entries. The problem I had with this book is it was often hard to determine if it was a male or female protagonist. It was also hard to keep track of the title of the short story I was reading- I had to flip to the Table of Contents a lot. It would have been nice if instead of just “Burt Tongues” at the top of the page, it said “Burnt Tongues: Paper”, etc. Um… they were also sort of boring. I kept reading, thinking they would get better. On the whole, I think Palahniuk is losing his touch, his latest, Doomed was a terrible and I think this one is bad too. I also constantly wondered what the other 80 were like that Palahniuk turned down. All in all, I expected more from this book and have started to stray after 50%. I think it will turn into a continuous/ between books read for me. 2/5, it was just ok. Sorta recommended, if you like short stories that boarder on the bizarre.

Just stared reading Cuckoo's Calling with my dad on my suggestion. He started immediately (I didn't mean TODAY), but I started tonight, bad, because he reads so much faster than I do. This puts Trainspotting on the back burner, unfortunately. I still have a new Catherine Ryan Hyde book to devour. Grrr- I wanted to read this so bad and I just don't know if I can get to it this month!

You said you read the Once series, is the 3rd one (Now) good- should I read it? It sounds much different than Once and Then.

Oh cool review- I will probably read I am Livia, as I like historical fiction a lot- and first person It sounds like you liked it better than First Lady of Imperial Rome? I was interested in your Under the Dome review too, I've heard mixed things, about the book and the show, but I like the premise, so that's gotta be on my list too.

I didn't look at my email till late!

I'm going to post my own random responses to the bookadayuk for September. Just cause I don't do them everyday. September 2nd, Favorite book set in a school. I'm not even looking at how many people will say Harry Potter. I want to say Vampire Academy for some reason. I scored it pretty low when I originally read it, but as time has gone by, I think I've forgotten all the things that irked me about it. I'm still not too interested in the others in the series, but I think I enjoyed it more than I thought.

Just picked up Where We Belong last night for a 99 cent deal. It's 413 pages, so I might try and read it over the 3 day read-a thon. I've been looking forward to reading it anyway, so when I saw it on sale, I had to grab it! From Amazon: Fourteen-year-old Angie and her mom are poised at the edge of homelessness… again. The problem is her little sister, Sophie. Sophie has an autism-like disorder, and a tendency to shriek. No matter where they live, home never seems to last long. Until they move in with Aunt Vi, across the fence from a huge black Great Dane who changes everything. Sophie falls in love immediately, and begins to imitate the “inside of the dog,” which, fortunately, is a calm place. The shrieking stops. Everybody begins to breathe again. Until Paul Inverness, the dog’s grumpy, socially isolated owner, moves to the mountains, and it all begins again. Much to Angie’s humiliation, when they’re thrown out of Aunt Vi’s house, Angie’s mom moves the family to the mountains after Paul and his dog. There, despite a fifty-year difference in their ages, Angie and Paul form a deep friendship, the only close friendship either has known. Angie is able to talk to him about growing up gay, and Paul trusts Angie with his greatest secret, his one dream. When the opportunity arrives, Angie decides to risk everything to help Paul’s dream come true, even their friendship and her one chance at a real home—the only thing she’s dreamed of since her father was killed. A place she can never be thrown out. A place she can feel she belongs.

Oh my gosh, that is so awesome! I wish we had more things like that!

Saw in the I, Claudius thread you were interested in Livia, there is a new historical fiction book out about her called I Am Livia, don't know if you've seen it before, it just came out in May. http://smile.amazon.com/Am-Livia-Phyllis-T-Smith-ebook/dp/B00EZCY0LO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1409664660&sr=1-1&keywords=i+am+livia Edit: It is first person!

I picked up two books last night on Kindle's daily special, Where We Belong by Catherine Ryan Hyde about a girl who has an autism- like disorder and makes friends with a dog who helps her. Than I bought a YA book called Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick, about a young boy surviving the Khmer Rouge, although I'm not sure how YA a book like that could be. I am also contemplating a subscription to Time magazine. Just what you need!

Funny to think of a Biography of a dog!

Now I know who I'm "talking" to!

what kind of Kindle do you have? With some, you can do Immersion reading, where the audiobook follows the book. So you can follow along in the text, while having it read to you. It's really neat. Sorta like subtitles for a book? In reverse

Aw! That's too bad. I loved the review though- thanks for not giving away spoilers or even alluding to them- in case I do give it a go (but probably not for awhile now)!

lol In one of the Burnt Tongue stories, this guy finds a girl's lost cell phone and keeps it for her. He, because of a series of events calls it Altruistic Suicide and I was like- what the heck??? Then, Pontalba said Bone Clocks might be too magical realism for her and I looked that up, because I wasn't liking the synopsis of it either. Then I realized- ya, I usually stay away from those type of books (with some exceptions).

Tim actually found the best edition for the price, he posted a pic in my Rare Book Help thread, toward the bottom: http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/12880-rare-book-help/?hl=%2Brare+%2Bbooks This has been a secret so long, that I can't contain it lol I had to post that I was getting it. Not only is it for my mom, who I love dearly, I also never by books anymore, so it was fun looking. Isn't is gorgeous? Here is a even better pic of the cover: https://www.google.com/search?q=count+of+monte+cristo+folio+edition&rlz=1T4GGNI_enUS541US541&tbm=isch&imgil=D_TxYMs9oRWVvM%253A%253BEbRZ3nHFVr1uEM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.amazon.com%25252Fgp%25252Fcustomer-media%25252Fproduct-gallery%25252FB001O8SEBE&source=iu&fir=D_TxYMs9oRWVvM%253A%252CEbRZ3nHFVr1uEM%252C_&usg=__vy17wEjo0Vl2HW1yEygfxNpaGWg%3D&sa=X&ei=XpYEVNHqL6aJjAK5zoGYBg&ved=0CDcQ9QEwAw&biw=1280&bih=569#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=D_TxYMs9oRWVvM%253A%3BEbRZ3nHFVr1uEM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fecx.images-amazon.com%252Fimages%252FI%252F81WAkzhY6ZL.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.amazon.com%252Fgp%252Fcustomer-media%252Fproduct-gallery%252FB001O8SEBE%3B345%3B500 She wants to go to this huge McDonalds near our house that has a big playset in the middle for her bday (Athena, just realized, she is the 25th too, there is the connection ) and we promised she could go shopping for a Monster High doll. Barbie's are still a little too old for her, I think. I also bought her a new pink giraffe print cover for her Galaxy Tab, as her old one is designed badly and is worn out.

Now you know he passed, here is a cute clip of him on Good Morning America: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2013/10/giant-george-the-worlds-tallest-dog-has-died/

The beer tram for me, please I bet you all have some good beer up there! It's great you are now so close to your friends- one of my two best friends lives a 10 hour car ride from me and we are constantly trying to come up with ways to see each other. They might even vacation in Disneyland with us next year Can you REALLY get by a year without buying books? lol