Happy Friday! What are you reading? 4/3

[charlatti]

What are you reading and how do you like it? Any challenges or goals of the year?

QOTW: In honor of my autocorrect changing challenges to challah, do you have any awesome food traditions for Passover, Easter, or other occasions at this time of year? (Yes, I do know challah is far from a Passover food.)

[MrsAxilla]

Still working on Gone with the Wind. I may have to take a break, though. My book club is reading The Luminaries, which I understand is long, and the meeting is next weekend.

QOTD: uh, no. We usually spend Passover with family in Florida, but we're not going this year. I just realized yesterday that it starts tonight, so I'm kind of winging it.

[MrsAxilla]

Crap! It's 850 pages! I'm in trouble - lol!

[charlatti]

I'm reading A Crimson Warning by Tasha Alexander, another Lady Emily mystery. I have been enjoying these for brain candy/palate cleansers.

QOTW: no traditions, really, unless you count eating as much aspargus as we can stand while it's in season. I'm making cupcakes for Easter dinner. Yum.

[aurora]

Apr 3, 2015 10:06:49 GMT -5 MrsAxilla said:

Crap! It's 850 pages! I'm in trouble - lol!

If you weren't spending all your free time designing B's Irish immigrant costume...

[aurora]

I'm reading HP and the Order of the Phoenix again. I've been sick and it's like comfort food for me. I also started Pillars of the Earth recently; no idea if I'm going to like it or not.

On a related note, I kind of want to buy the HP audiobooks. I was surprised to find that the set is around $250. Has anyone ever found them for sale?

QOTW: we go skiing, just like with any other winter/spring weekend, and then eat whatever sounds good afterwards.

[BlackCanary]

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

[MrsAxilla]

Apr 3, 2015 11:11:26 GMT -5 aurora said:

Apr 3, 2015 10:06:49 GMT -5 MrsAxilla said:

Crap! It's 850 pages! I'm in trouble - lol!

If you weren't spending all your free time designing B's Irish immigrant costume...

I know!  I just got really stressed out.  I have to work this afternoon and three full days next week, design and make a costume, cook something "Irish", find and take the kids to an Easter egg hunt, do two Passver Seders, take over the PTO, do my taxes, write 80 posts to make Elder, AND read 850 pages, all before Saturday!  I'm never going to make it.  I need some meth!

[aurora]

Apr 3, 2015 11:31:30 GMT -5 MrsAxilla said:

Apr 3, 2015 11:11:26 GMT -5 aurora said:

If you weren't spending all your free time designing B's Irish immigrant costume...

I know!  I just got really stressed out.  I have to work this afternoon and three full days next week, design and make a costume, cook something "Irish", find and take the kids to an Easter egg hunt, do two Passver Seders, take over the PTO, do my taxes, write 80 posts to make Elder, AND read 850 pages, all before Saturday!  I'm never going to make it.  I need some meth!

LOL.

Maybe you can start live-posting your read? Sort of like Mark Reads Harry Potter, but with each new insight being a separate post?

[MrsAxilla]

Apr 3, 2015 11:34:14 GMT -5 aurora said:

Apr 3, 2015 11:31:30 GMT -5 MrsAxilla said:

I know!  I just got really stressed out.  I have to work this afternoon and three full days next week, design and make a costume, cook something "Irish", find and take the kids to an Easter egg hunt, do two Passver Seders, take over the PTO, do my taxes, write 80 posts to make Elder, AND read 850 pages, all before Saturday!  I'm never going to make it.  I need some meth!

LOL.

Maybe you can start live-posting your read? Sort of like Mark Reads Harry Potter, but with each new insight being a separate post?

Lol. I've decided not to post any more paragraphs. Each one will get its own post!

[rootbeerfloat]

Season of Storms by Susanna Kearsley

QOTW: We're dyeing eggs today, and we'll do baskets and an egg hunt on Sunday.

Hey, MrsAxilla, Outlander is back tomorrow night! (Just trying to lend a hand on your quest, lol.)

[MrsAxilla]

Apr 3, 2015 12:31:32 GMT -5 rootbeerfloat said:

Season of Storms by Susanna Kearsley

QOTW: We're dyeing eggs today, and we'll do baskets and an egg hunt on Sunday.

Hey, MrsAxilla, Outlander is back tomorrow night! (Just trying to lend a hand on your quest, lol.)

I know! And game of Throne next week, an we still have to finish re-watching the last few episodes of season four. DH doesn't watch Outlander, though. It's my guilty pleasure. I save them for when I'm alone during the day. Guess I'll have two to look forward to.

[Nonny]

Red Rising -- I'm enjoying the premise of the story, but I'm finding the writing to be atrocious.  It's not Stephanie Meyer bad, but it's close, and OMG, the fucking camelCasing of pseudo proper nouns is totally unnecessary and driving me bat shit crazy.

QOTD:  I don't host anything, so really my "traditions" involve buying and eating as many Cadbury Cream Eggs as possible.

[spedrunner]

Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain 
Portia Di Rossi

This is a fabulous view of the world of eating disorders. She really gives you an idea of how we struggle. I could have totally written this myself.
It is also eye opening seeing how much we really HATE ourselves. It is easy to see where her struggles began. I can completely relate to her eating disordered thoughts, abuse of your body and feelings of wanting control and perfectionism Great book and great look into the world of ED

Outlander (Book 1)

Wow. I really am loving this book. I am on chapter 20 and already am falling for Jamie (although they just had their first little tiff and he called her a bitch )
I do not know much about the series, so its exciting to see where this story is heading

Easter Traditions

Pisanki (polish easter eggs)
dying easter eggs
Blessing our easter basket (we fill it with foods we will eat on easter, we share the food that has been blessed with our family)
the lamb butter
ham and polish cabbage!

[Pippin]

Still working on The Gunslinger I haven't had much time to sit and read this week.

QOTW: We usually stick with ham and deviled eggs etc. We're boring haha. I am attempting to cut back on the amount of candy my kids get from everyone so all their eggs will be filled with penny's and a few little toys. My mom's annoyed at me, sorrynotsorry.

[rootbeerfloat]

Apr 3, 2015 14:05:22 GMT -5 Nonny said:

Red Rising -- I'm enjoying the premise of the story, but I'm finding the writing to be atrocious.  It's not Stephanie Meyer bad, but it's close, and OMG, the fucking camelCasing of pseudo proper nouns is totally unnecessary and driving me bat shit crazy.

The names of everything bugged me, too. I also liked the second book better.

[charlatti]

Apr 3, 2015 18:43:45 GMT -5 Pippin said:

Still working on The Gunslinger I haven't had much time to sit and read this week.

QOTW: We usually stick with ham and deviled eggs etc. We're boring haha. I am attempting to cut back on the amount of candy my kids get from everyone so all their eggs will be filled with penny's and a few little toys. My mom's annoyed at me, sorrynotsorry.

We had an neighborhood egg hunt last weekend and the kids were so excited about the eggs with pennies in them. All different ages too - even the bigger  kids thought the pennies were fun.

[sparrowsong]

Land of Echoes: A Cree Black Mystery  It's about a parapsychologist who investigates hauntings. I'm totally into it.  I've read another book in the series that was set in New Orleans called City of Masks. This one is set in New Mexico near a native reservation. 

Next up is Austenland which I'm also very excited about. 

[sparrowsong]

Apr 3, 2015 11:17:44 GMT -5 aurora said:

I also started Pillars of the Earth recently; no idea if I'm going to like it or not.

One of my favorite historical fiction novels ever. The stuff about the architecture and the process of cathedral building back then is fascinating, and the relationships of the people of the town that are great too. It's amazing how important one building could be then, when now we build and tear down, treating even big buildings as disposable. I wish all architecture was a revered as medieval architecture. 

Update when you finish, what you think of it!

[aurora]

Apr 3, 2015 21:29:05 GMT -5 sparrowsong said:

Apr 3, 2015 11:17:44 GMT -5 aurora said:

I also started Pillars of the Earth recently; no idea if I'm going to like it or not.

One of my favorite historical fiction novels ever. The stuff about the architecture and the process of cathedral building back then is fascinating, and the relationships of the people of the town that are great too. It's amazing how important one building could be then, when now we build and tear down, treating even big buildings as disposable. I wish all architecture was a revered as medieval architecture. 

Update when you finish, what you think of it!

I'm glad to hear it! I figure I really like historical fiction and I also love touring all of the old cathedrals in Europe so I should like the book.

[dorothyinAus]

I'm reading Death Dines at 8:30, a collection of short mystery stories by various authors.  It's fun so far, but I find that short stories with favorite characters always leave me feeling a bit cheated.  I'm used to the longer novels and the short stories are just too quick.

QOTW:  I'm still developing traditions with my husband.  I miss my family's traditions, especially the holiday morning treats of the from-a-can orange sweet rolls.  (Yes, I know they're from a can, but they were always a treat on holiday mornings.)  I miss cornbread dressing, which is another holiday meal treat.  I could make them here, but I have to make everything from scratch and it's just not the same.  DH's family usually celebrates with a roasted chicken, and while that's nice and lovely, and I don't have to cook it, I'd really like something different, something closer to my holiday memories.  And I really miss green bean casserole, but I can't even get close to that because I can't find the French's Fried Onions.

[ally]

I am reading The Paton Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett.  Only 30 pages in, but I like her writing.

QOTW: no real traditions for Easter, unless Resse's eggs count!  They are the perfect candy!

[SpartanGirl]

I had a pretty productive week. I finished Comfort & Joy by Kristin Hannah, Lost & Found by Brooke Davis, and The Cuckoo's Child by Margaret Thomspon this week. Comfort & Joy was okay. It was a quick read, but not at all what I was expecting. I really enjoyed Lost & Found. It was quirky and sort of dark, but not too depressing. The Cuckoo's Child was interesting but a bit too wordy (for lack of a better description) at times.

I just started The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano. I'm only about 80 pages into it but so far it's pretty good.

[Emerald1486]

Working through Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon.

QotW: We don't really have food traditions, though my mom made to sure to include plenty of fruits and veggies this year

[2curlydogs]

Apr 3, 2015 10:36:26 GMT -5 charlatti said:

I'm reading A Crimson Warning by Tasha Alexander, another Lady Emily mystery. I have been enjoying these for brain candy/palate cleansers.

I LOVE the Lady Emily books. LOVE them. For all they're brain candy, they're SO well done.

I just finished up A Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer. Lovely, well-researched. I have started his Elizabethan England one as of Sunday.

The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer. I wasn't sure how this one ended up on my library e/audio book wish list but I'm glad I checked it out. Liking it quite a bit so far.

No easter tradition beyond going to my brother's for ham and really excellent wine.