Weekly Wrap-Up January 18, 2025

[@Nina_DP]

Elena Knows was one of the most visceral reading experiences I have ever had. I felt like I *was* Elena, fighting for every inch of progress, talking to people's shoes, and positively gut-punched at the end. What a journey. Pineiro's ability to put the reader not only in her POV character's head but trapped in her body was stunning.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@Nina_DP absolutely. It may be my favorite of hers so far. It’s a stunning book-and devastating too.

[@kevintowle9665]

I have also had a productive week Pat. Great updates. Its funny how smells trigger memories. I can so relate to being inpatient with a book and the time we have! I also started Emperor of Rome by Beard. Just a smidge but i am going to dedicate an hour today! This week will be better for you my friend. Keep plugging away Pat!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@kevintowle9665 thank you, my friend. That’s what I’m trying to do with Mary Beard-a little bit each day. Hope you’re having a good weekend!

[@patriciah8579]

I appreciate the candor in these reviews and am glad you reiterated your intent to read more books that are good for the soul. We’re gonna hold you to that, Pat! I know what you mean re impatience. There’s a kind of sweet spot in our reading years when we’re most open to going along for the ride. When young, we’re still developing an appreciation for the long and winding road of the big, challenging reads. And when you’re our age, some works, regardless of brilliance, begin to feel self-indulgent and meandering. Plus we now bring decades of life experience to our reading. We’ve seen the shiny things, oohed and aahed at the revelatory prose. That said, I’m on page 700 of Les Mis and have enjoyed every single page! 😊

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@patriciah8579 thank you for this very thoughtful assessment. You absolutely get where I am, Patricia. Les Miserables has a compelling story-most of the time. I’m just not feeling it in Proust. Tomorrow’s video will talk a little bit about some of the more joyful reads that I have on deck… I hope you’re doing well, my friend. 🥰

[@Littlebiglibrary]

A very Solid wrap up video. Take care Ms. Pat -James & Bella!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Thank you, James and Bella! Hope you are doing well!

[@BernasBookishAdventures]

Thanks to you and the wonderful group that we had, I had my first 10/10 book after a period of more than 1 years. The book was fantastic but the discussion we had in the chat increased my enjoyment a lot 🤗🤗 Take care Pat 🌸🌸 I also like to read light hearted books along with meaningful and impactful works. I need my guilty pleasures to keep reading 😎

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Oh Berna, I am so glad that you have joined us in the Pineiro Project. What a special group we have there! And yes, you are absolutely right: balance is essential. I got off to a very intense start this January. Now I'm trying to re-focus. Wow! You're first 10/10! Incredible!

[@ellenmadebookclub]

I hope you have some more lighthearted reads coming up 😊 I find it hard to bounce back too, depending on other things. Happy to hear you’ve got the other things down in your self-care routine!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@ellenmadebookclub hi Ellen. I definitely do have some lighter reads planned.

[@reiannaisreading]

Great wrap up! I had never heard of Pineiro before your videos but I think I'm going to give her a try.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@reiannaisreading thank you. She’s a terrific writer….

[@joshuacreboreads]

Good for you - if a book is making you impatient, refusing to keep the reader engaged, then you might as well dump it, no matter the reputation. Have a good weekend, Pat!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Thanks, Josh. I'll finish Volume 1, but I can't see reading the next five volumes at this time. The group is set up so that we can read ten or fifteen pages a day and still finish all six volumes in a year, but I don't know that I want to make that commitment. Too many things that I want to read....Hope you are doing well. Has your semester started yet? What are you taking this time around?

[@ToddsBookTube91]

I look forward to your videos Pat! My favorite Genres are Poetry, Fantasy, and History!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@ToddsBookTube91 thanks, Todd! I try to do a poetry episode every week also. I hope you’re doing well.

[@theagraceful]

I appreciate your need to protect what's important to you: your ❤️

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Thank you. Yes, I just got off to a very intense, heavy start this month. Time to refocus....Hope you are doing well.

[@TheLibraryMouseGina]

I am still working on Lost Children Archive and I agree with everything that you have said about it. I'm not done yet though and I'm having some difficulty wanting to read it. You have had a busy reading week. :)

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Hi GIna. I hope I didn't discourage you. I think it's a worthwhile book but a flawed one, and this was a very bad time for me to be reading it. I'm not sorry I read it or anything like that, but it was very problematic, I thought.

[@constancecampbell4610]

Thank you, Pat. I wonder if you would enjoy Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand. I remember it quite fondly. It would not wreck you, I feel sure. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a very nice palate cleanser for the brain, too. Take good care. 🤗💕

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@constancecampbell4610 hi Constance. I think I would like Major Pettigrew. I have read all the Douglas Adams books, but maybe it’s time to revisit…Thanks!🥰

[@RebeccaStultz-y9f]

Major Pettigrew is a perfect recommendation for reading without devastation.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@RebeccaStultz-y9f Excellent! Thank you!

[@Rainierbooks]

Elena Knows is a great novel. I also love the publishing house in Scotland, one of the few indies that is left out there.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

I agree that Elena Knows is a really great and powerful novel. We're reading all of Pineiro's translated novels--seven in total--and I think this is my favorite one so far.

[@RaynorReadsStuff]

What a rollercoaster of a week for you my lovely friend. Yes definitely pay attention to that self care goal and read lots of things to bring you joy. I haven’t yet finished Lost Children Archive, that’s on the cards for today, but Elena Knows is a devastating book in so many ways. I also found SPQR a very accessible read. Definitely a good one to begin your Roman reading. Now concentrate on taking care of you Pat 😊

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@RaynorReadsStuff yes, yes, yes!! I’ve got to do a better job of balancing rather than going from one intense book to the next…

[@spreadbookjoy]

Glad you ended on a happy note! Elena Knows has definitely stayed with me - a little book that packs a huge punch.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@spreadbookjoy oh my goodness, yes! I find that about Pineiro in general. Even the ones I haven’t loved have stayed with me, and I keep thinking about them….

[@spreadbookjoy]

@ looking forward to more!

[@vickicoleman2474]

Great wrap up. The Mary Beard books both seem like something I might need to explore. Ay! So many goodies out there!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@vickicoleman2474 I’m amazed at how accessible Mary Beard is. I’m really enjoying her.😊

[@ariannefowler455]

I'm hoping you can find some feel good books after such emotional reading. It's such a heavy start to the reading year. Like you, I was going to read Emperor of Rome this quarter, but decided I needed to start with SPRQ. I'm listening to it on audio and it's working well for me that way.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Hi Arianne. Yes, it was a really intense week, wasn’t it? I do have more fun things planned. I’m enjoying SPQR so far. It’s surprisingly accessible-much more so than I expected. Hope you’re having a good weekend!

[@RebeccaStultz-y9f]

Oh, I so understand needing to counter the books that with complex issues and painful stories with what I call an ice cream book, one that makes you want to keep “licking” the pages and will feel like a treat when finished. Pat, an ice cream book I think you’d enjoy is Clyde Edgerton’s Walking Across Egypt with a teen boy and elderly woman as the main characters, with growing pains and wisdom and hope at the end. Plus, I laughed out loud reading the opening scene.

[@JessBookgirlTV]

Great weekly reading wrap up.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@JessBookgirlTV thank you, Jess. I hope you’ve had a good week too. 🥰

[@ttowntrekker5174]

Pat, I think this is your best wrap up yet. Beautifully poignant. You all have inspired me to check out Claudia Pineiro. I started All Yours yesterday and will finish today. It was a bit of a rough start for me. The first couple of Chapters were very basic and I thought "what are they seeing?" So, I stuck with it and now I can't put it down. I don't know what changed or if my brain just had to adapt but the plot is brilliant!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@ttowntrekker5174 that’s not even close to her best. If you do like it, try Time of the Flies next-which is the sequel taking place 15 years later. It’s phenomenal.

[@ttowntrekker5174]

@@BookChatWithPat8668 I bought the two together and it's next!

[@ttowntrekker5174]

@BookChatWithPat8668 I had to go ahead and start Time of the Flies tonight and I'm so glad I did! You're right, it's much better.

[@JessBookgirlTV]

Hi Pat! I did The Spoiler Booktag created by Gun Powder Fiction and Plot. I tagged you and it is airing on Wednesday.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@JessBookgirlTV oh wonderful! Thank you, Jess! I’ll look forward to seeing your video on Wednesday.

[@CionMohler]

I’m going to read the Simak book. It sounds cheering.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@CionMohler I’ve really enjoyed the few Simak novels that I’ve read so far.

[@lindaege123]

I'm relieved to hear that someone besides me thought Lost Children wasn't the best book I ever read. I thought it was just me being dumb.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

No, I don’t think the problem is in you! I think she’s trying to do some important things, but maybe too many. It just didn’t really work for me, especially the parts told from the boy’s perspective.

[@davidnovakreadspoetry]

My experience with Proust was similar to yours. I didn’t finish _Swann’s Way_ but perhaps I shall. Thanks for the thoughtful reviews.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@davidnovakreadspoetry thank you, David. I’ll finish Swann’s Way, but I don’t think I’ll continue with the other volumes at this point…Life is too short. I hope you’re doing well, my friend.

[@anotherbibliophilereads]

Some really good books in this wrap up. Elena Knows and Proust are both magnificent for different reasons. Classic science fiction can also be refreshing even though I’m not familiar with the two titles in particular. Many years ago I read the unexpected edition of Stranger In a Strange Land. There were too many references to uninhibited adult relationships for the publishers in 1961 . It’s curious that they cut the 2nd amendment stuff. Nowadays that would be tolerable.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@anotherbibliophilereads they didn’t actually cut all of the gun rights talk, but it’s drastically altered from what Heinlein intended. But they also altered or omitted many other things, including all of the interesting things Heinlein was doing with gender. They made it into a totally different book.

[@MIDDLEoftheBookMARCH]

Emotional reading week indeed. ❤

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@MIDDLEoftheBookMARCH really! ❤️

[@helenclare3250]

I occasionally "enjoy" a heavy read but I must alternate it with somethjng else. Elena Knows sounds incredible. I found myself in a pickle this last week with 4 books on the go, which is too many for me. I have now finished 3 of them so feeling happier. Despite the 4 books being different genres, 2 on the go is my preference. I hope you have a good upcoming week.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

I agree. It’s very hard to have four books going at once. And I also agree that balance is really necessary!

[@awebofstories]

I had very similar feelings about The Mighty Red. On one hand, it was better than many novels I read, but it was not nearly as good as many other books by Louise Erdrich that I read.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Exactly! It's still Louise Erdrich, so it's good--but not as good as usual. I was disappointed.

[@GrammaticusBooks]

Now I need to find your live stream for Red Planet! Will that be up on your video list? Interesting that Scribner made him remove portions of the firearms text. Back then, it wasn't uncommon for kids to carry .22 rifles onto school buses (in cases) for use after school in gun clubs.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

The livestream is at 2:00 today, but I'm sure Shawn will post it afterwards, and hopefully, I can add it to my channel as well. Scribner's made Heinlein take out words like "shut up" and other phrases too. I'll try to send you a link to an article about the changes that he had to make. I'll try to send it through email. But the editions that we read for this discussion are the restored editions as Heinlein intended them. It was common for kids to have guns back then. (Believe it or not, the school where I taught for more than three decades still has an area referred to as "the rifle range," though I can't imagine that it was an active range anywhere in the last sixty years!)

[@GrammaticusBooks]

@@BookChatWithPat8668 Nice that you were able to find the restored editions Pat! And I'd love a link to the article if you can locate it. I was running errands today and missed the live stream. I'll see if I can find it on Shawn's channel. Great stuff Pat!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@ I see that you’ve found the livestream. Great! It was fun to discuss this book with this group.

[@CionMohler]

I agree with your assessment of Proust. Outside of an academic setting i don’t see the attraction. Joyce is also a headache and not worth the time in my opinion. Time is too short to waste no matter your age.

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Proust just isn't holding the appeal for me that I know that many do see in him. I have loved Joyce in my lifetime, but I found my third re-read of Ulysses to be a real slog. I'm looking for very different things in my reading now.

[@Dillon__Morris]

Congrats on your productive week! How much time do you dedicate to reading a day?

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@Dillon__Morris hi Dillon! Hope you’re doing well. Since I’ve retired, I find I am able to devote several hours a day to reading most days, and I do best early in the day and have trouble focusing in the evening. I also listen to audiobooks in the gym and in the car. Maybe 3-4 hours a day? I never could have done this, though, when I was teaching full-time…

[@Dillon__Morris]

@ wow, you must be a fast reader! I’d have to read a lot more to read that many books

[@theresepazell7875]

Hi Pat. Like your blouse. Boy you took on some heavy books.. little by little as they say...Read what you enjoy otherwise it wont be pleasurable as reading is supposed to be..Take care..

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@theresepazell7875 thanks. It’s just the way these reading events lined up this month. Something for me to be more cognizant of moving ahead…

[@Ali-AvidReader]

Sounds as though you’ve had an emotional reading week. Glad it ended with a fun book! I haven’t read any books by Pineiro, would you suggest starting with Elena Knows?

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@Ali-AvidReader most of the people in our group started with Elena Knows because it may be her most well known translated work. It’s a very quick read at under 150 pages. It’s just a devastating story. It packs a powerful punch. It may be her best novel. I had not read it before, but I’m in the minority in our group, which is reading her books mostly in chronological order. Yes, I might suggest starting with Elena Knows. It’s very different, though, from her other novels. She’s called a crime writer in Argentina, but that title doesn’t really accurately describe who she is or what she’s writing. She writes about crime as a way to get at the very deepest social issues in her society.

[@Ali-AvidReader]

Thanks Pat, I’ll start with Elena Knows.