Category: Sunday Wrap Up

It has been way too long since I’ve done a Sunday Post wrap up. That’s probably because I’ve been taking writing workshops for several weekends, plus I taught a gardening class. I don’t seem to be organized enough to prepare during the week, which some of you do.  Sunday Post is a fun meme, so I’d like to try to get my act together more often.

Otherwise, I’m in the throes of spring cleaning. I rearranged my furniture, have been organizing my books (always a major task), and even cleaned up the yard.  You should have seen the dust bunnies fly!

I have four bookcases, but they are all filled past capacity. Do you think I need another bookcase?  How many bookcases do you have?

The last two  weeks:

Karen and I have been reading The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans, which is the tenth novel from The Bestseller Code 100 challenge.

The Horse Whisperer* by Nicholas Evans

(*Amazon Affiliate link)

Published in 1995, it was Nicholas Evans’s debut novel. It was later made into a movie with the same title starring Robert Redford. Did you read the book? See the movie?

Related posts:

1. Book-beginnings, a discussion of the first line of the novel
2. Karen’s review from a reader’s perspective
3. Roberta’s review from a writer’s perspective

I also participated in the Spring 2017 Bloggiesta. Bloggiesta is a fun way to get to all those blog projects you’ve been meaning to get around to.

Books currently reading:

The Orphan Master’s Son*

(*Amazon Affiliate link)

This novel is next for the  Bestseller Code 100 reading challenge. It won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It is set in North Korea.

We discussed the first paragraph for Book Beginnings on Friday.

Links to posts read and enjoyed on other sites:

The National Book Critics Circle announced the 2016 finalists. My library has copies of the two I want to read, Lab Girl and LaRose. Sweet!

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Today we’re joining the Sunday Post meme at the Caffeinated Book Reviewer blog.

It’s December, so we should expected to be covered with the white stuff in some parts of the world. Unfortunately, “the white stuff” in my world was in the form of tissues from the tissue box. Between my family and I , there was veritable blizzard of the stuff.

Hope you all escaped the blizzard and have a very good week.

This week on the Blog:

State of Wonder: A Novel*

*Affiliate link

Monday Karen posted her reader’s review of State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (spoilers) for our Bestseller Code 100 challenge.

I posted my review/analysis of State of Wonder from a writer’s perspective on Wednesday (spoilers).

Note:  If you have ever reviewed State of Wonder, please feel free to add your link to this post.

Thursday we were tired of digesting the book and asked, “If the novel you are currently reading was a type of food, what kind would it be?”

Friday we joined the Book Beginnings meme with the first few lines of next book in our challenge, Primary Colors. Did you read this book or see the movie?

Primary Colors: A Novel of Politics* by Joe Klein (Previously published anonymously)

(*Amazon affiliate link)

What’s coming up:

Our Bestseller Code 100 challenge discussion begins Monday December 5, 2016 for Primary Colors by Joe Klein
Genre: Political novel, originally published anonymously in 1996.

Books currently reading:

Uniform Justice* by Donna Leon

(*Amazon affiliate link)

I needed a trip to Venice. Where do you wish you were going this week?

Links to posts read and enjoyed on other sites:

Rose City Reader has a list of vintage mysteries she read for a challenge this year.  What a terrific idea!

Today we’re joining the Sunday Post meme at the Caffeinated Book Reviewer blog.

This week was a blur of classes, meetings, and errands. It will be good to have a day where I don’t have to go anywhere.

This week on the blog:

• Finished my review of Dennis Lehane’s Shutter Island from a writer’s perspective.
• Listened to Lee Child’s interview about his newest book, Night School.
• Participated in Book Beginnings on Fridays with Ann Patchett’s State of Wonder.

What’s coming up:

Karen and I are going to start discussing Ann Patchett’s State of Wonder for The Bestseller Code 100 challenge.

Books currently reading:

After plowing through the challenge books this week, I needed something comfortable and easy to read. I picked up the first Nero Wolfe mystery, Fer-de-Lance* by Rex Stout.

*Affiliate link

I devoured the Nero Wolfe books when I was younger. Reading them again from a writer’s perspective opens up a whole new level of appreciation.

Do you have a favorite book or author you grab when you want a fast, comfortable read?

Links to posts read and enjoyed on other sites:

Pairing travel and reading seems like a natural thing. BookRiot has some suggestions this week for reading locally when traveling.  In a shameless plug, I’ve been keeping a (rather neglected) list of children’s books for families traveling through the states. Someday, I’d love to see it expanded to other countries.

Today we’re joining the Sunday Post meme at the Caffeinated Book Reviewer blog. She has some big news today!

This week:

Karen and I launched our discussion of Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane, which is number 100 on the list of the best of the bestsellers. The list was created by the computer algorithm in The Bestseller Code by Jodie Archer and Matthew L. Jockers.

We both agreed it is a novel that sticks with the reader. It gave us a lot to ponder and talk about. We are wondering if all the novels on the list will be this complex.

Update of recent posts discussing Shutter Island:

• Start of discussion/landing page
• Discussion of the narrator (spoilers)
• Karen’s review – from a reader’s perspective (spoilers)
• First paragraph – Book Beginnings on Fridays

On a personal note, I decided NaNoWriMo is rather like a marathon for writers. Some people love a marathon, and other people like to walk a few miles in the morning. I’m a walker.  I’m bowing out.

Things that I smell on my morning walk:
Wet dogs
New grass
Car exhaust
Dryer sheets from someone’s laundry
Breakfast cooking on Sunday mornings

Things I hear on my morning walk:
Dogs barking
Leaf blowers
Cars and trucks on the main street
Birds singing
Ducks quacking
The sound of my two feet on pavement

What’s coming up:

Review of Shutter Island from a writer’s perspective

Books currently reading:

Re-reading State of Wonder: A Novel by Ann Patchett for our discussion starting November 21, 2016.

Links to posts read and enjoyed on other sites:

Elizabeth at Silver’s Reviews introduced us to a fun meme Book Beginnings on Fridays at Rose City Reader. You probably already know about it, but I like it because it’s a fast and easy way to learn about new books.

Today we’re joining the Sunday Post meme at the Caffeinated Book Reviewer blog.

This week:

I had a “challenging” week. On Monday Karen and I launched our Bestseller Code 100 reading challenge. Yesterday I finished the NaNoWriMo October Prep challenge. In between I had an unexpected health challenge. I’m on the mend now, so let’s get to the links.

Monday:  The challenge is to read through the list of 100 bestsellers picked by the computer model described in The Bestseller Code by Jodie Archer and Matthew L. Jockers. The following week (November 7) we’re starting with book number 100, Dennis Lehane’s Shutter Island.

Thursday:  We asked book lovers where they pick up their books at reasonable prices.  The discussion flourished on our Bestseller 100 Reading Group Facebook page.

Saturday:  Did you see the online interview with author Jodi Picoult earlier in the week? If not, I’ve got a brief summary and links to the archived video.

What’s coming up next week:

National Novel Writing Month begins Tuesday.  As I’ve told my friends and family, don’t expect to hear from me again until December.

Are you ready?

Books currently reading:

Primary Colors: A Novel of Politics by Joe Klein (Book 98 of the challenge)

Rough Day: Detective Lottie King Mystery Short Stories by Shelley Coriell

Because you can’t read just one…

Links to posts read and enjoyed on other sites:

Pages Unbound Reviews asks  Can You Run a Book Blog without Book Reviews? After running a children’s book review blog for a number of years, I would say that writing reviews can become drudgery.  Blogs that offer a mix of content are more fun to read, too. What do you think? Can you leave out book reviews completely? (Link originally found at Got My Book).

Having recently discovered the awesome Helping Writers Become Authors blog, I have to mention How to Find and Fill All Your Plot Holes  (just in time for NaNo.)

Today we’re joining the Sunday Post meme at the Caffeinated Book Reviewer blog.

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This week:

The October 2016 NaNoWriMo Prep Challenge is going well. Having a concrete goal to strive for every day has made the novel preparation work much more manageable.  Some of the assignments have pushed me to try new things, too. For example, I had been dreading writing down how my main character is going to change over the course of the novel. I probably would have avoided it at all costs, or written something generic, if it hadn’t shown up as an assignment. The challenge made me investigate character arcs in greater depth and in the course of my research, I developed the perfect arc for my character. When I was done, I wanted to give a high-five everyone in the room (that would have been the cats.)

What’s coming up:

Karen and I are going to launch our big reading challenge tomorrow and we are holding our breath in anticipation . We are inviting everyone to read through the list of 100 best books picked by the computer algorithm discussed in The Bestseller Code with us. We hope you stop by tomorrow to find out all the details and that you consider reading along with us.

Posted recently:

Summary and review  of The Bestseller Code by Jodie Archer and Matthew L. Jockers. The authors developed a computer algorithm to tell whether a book would become a bestseller or not. After evaluating 20,000 novels written over the last three decades, they were able to predict with 80% accuracy. They also used the model to create a list of the 100 books with the best scores from those they evaluated.

Posted Whodunit Challenge #5. Can you guess the mystery author?

Whodunit Challenge #5 Answer is revealed.

Books currently reading:

Finished the first reading of books number 100, Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane, and number 99, State of Wonder by Ann Patchett, on The Bestseller Code 100 best books list.  Primary Colors is up next.

Links to posts read and enjoyed on other sites:

As a writer, I’m always looking for cool names for my characters. Turning it around for Top Ten Tuesday, The Bookwyrm’s Hoard and I Wish I Lived in a Library  have “ten characters I’d name a pet (or car or child) after.” We once named a cat Miss Rumphius from a favorite children’s book. That is, until a week later we found out the cat was a boy. Fun idea, though.

Today we’re joining the Sunday Post meme at the Caffeinated Book Reviewer blog.

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