Seniors & Friends

Village Square => Leisure Activities => Topic started by: Marilyne on March 29, 2016, 03:20:53 PM

Title: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 29, 2016, 03:20:53 PM
Welcome back to the Library Bookshelf! :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 29, 2016, 03:27:54 PM
X
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on March 29, 2016, 03:54:23 PM
Hooray,  we're back!

Same old Callie here - had to re-register.

FYI,  "Monuments Men"  is on AMC tonight.  (Weren't we talking about this movie here?  It's been sooooo long.... :uglystupid2: (couldn't wait to try out one of the new emoticons!)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on March 29, 2016, 04:14:27 PM
mark
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 29, 2016, 04:19:13 PM
Hi Callie - Good to see you here! Thanks for the tip on Monuments Men.  It's also playing on my free, On Demand movies, so I'll likely watch it there, so won't have to contend with commercials.  Not sure about some of those new emoticons. ???  Is that a baseball bat?? LOL.  I wonder if we're going to get our old ones back . . . the balloons, welcome sign, thumbs-up, and others? 

Hi MarsGal - Are you a new member, or an old member with a new name??  Either way, welcome to the brand new Library Bookshelf!

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 29, 2016, 04:26:52 PM
Marilyne, I was Frybabe. I took the opportunity, since we had to reregister, to change my moniker. No longer with Fry Comm (a client had taken to calling me Frybabe), I am looking forward to being around when we actually put boots on the ground on Mars. In my next life I fully expect to be part of a space mission. Big plans for the unknowable future huh!

BTW, I am currently reading a nonfiction, Meet You in Hell by Les Standiford. The Black Count by Tom Reiss is currently on hold. Both are interesting. The Black Count is so interesting that I presented my BIL with a the audio CD version of it on his 80th birthday less than two weeks ago.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 29, 2016, 05:50:02 PM
MarsGal - I like that better than Frybabe!  I kinda thought it was you when I saw the new moniker.

Thanks for the book suggestions.  I know you like science fiction, so wondering if they're sf? I checked out a new sf book that was recommended to me - Nightfall, by Halpern and Kujawinski.  "After fourteen years of Day, comes fourteen years of night".  I haven't started it yet, but sounds like a good one. 

I don't think I'll be around to see anyone set foot on Mars - unless it happens pretty darned soon! I'll have to be content with reading and watching,The Martian.   

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 29, 2016, 09:47:39 PM
Marilyn, they are both nonfiction. Meet You in Hell is about Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick who had been his partner. Big feud between the two. I haven't gotten to the big steel/iron worker strike yet.The Black Count is about Alexander Dumas' father. His father and grandfather were big inspirations for some of Dumas' characters. Some interesting history about French attitudes toward slavery and Blacks that affected their lives.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Kelly on March 30, 2016, 09:25:52 AM
Hi MarsGal
You had me confused with the name change!

Mind you it des not take much to confuse me :)

Kelly
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on March 31, 2016, 01:21:26 PM
Finely found where you were all hiding.  Looks like I am a Newbie again.  Need to find out how to put a new Avatar in along with putting a shortcut on my desktop.  I have instruction some place

Oh!  spell check not working here.Can't manage without that.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 31, 2016, 01:54:25 PM
Welcome back JeanneP - We're all Newbies again!  It's nice to start fresh and new again, but takes a while to get things set up the way we want them. 

MarsGal - Meet You in Hell, sounds good.  I already put a hold on it at my library, and will pick it up this weekend. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Kelly on March 31, 2016, 02:43:29 PM
Hi Marilyne
I think I have been upgraded from a newbie!

Kelly
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 31, 2016, 02:49:30 PM
Marilyne, after I am done with Meet You in Hell (who could resist a name like that), I plan on reading Standiford's book on Henry Flagler. He helped open up Florida with his railroad and resort.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Jeanne Lee on March 31, 2016, 04:28:32 PM
Kelly, your status as newbie, full member, etc. depends on the number of posts you make.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 01, 2016, 05:05:55 AM
I am still reading the Clifton Chronicles, the last 5th published. Archer is really the best as for keeping us in suspense.
I hope the next volume is published soon.

Anyone read or enjoyed Elisabeth Goudge?  I used to have all her books but cannot find them anymore :(
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 01, 2016, 09:25:02 AM
Am I the only one having trouble finding my way around the new SandFs.   The new posts now appear at the bottom of the page and there doesn't always seem to be a reply button.   I wonder if I need to reset my info to receive emails for new posts??
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 01, 2016, 10:00:18 AM
Mary you need to click on "notify" in the discussions  when you want to get a mail for new posts.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 01, 2016, 11:04:03 AM
maryc - you can go to your own profile, find the "drop down" menu, and click on Look and Layout.  Then you can arrange the look of S&F to the way you want to see it.  There is a box to click as to whether you want to see new posts starting at the top of the page or at the bottom.

That probably doesn't make sense, so I hope Bubble can explain it better? 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on April 01, 2016, 11:34:05 AM
That makes sense just fine, Marilyne, and probably explains it more clearly than I could.

I'm not reading anything of much value these days......mostly fluff that helps me go to sleep at night or occupies me if I wake up during the night.  However, I read a good one a couple of weeks ago.  If anyone here likes Daphne du Maurier books they might like Black Rabbit Hall / Eve Chase.  I enjoyed it very much.
Title: "
Post by: maryc on April 01, 2016, 12:05:26 PM
Thank you ladies for your good help in getting me organized here in the forums......it worked!    As is so often the case,   I don't read the directions thoroughly.    :-[     My DD often tells me,  "Mom....read the directions!"

Bubble,  I see that you are reading the Clifton Chronicles.    I have yet to get the newest from the library and think that there might be a wait as Mr. Archer seems to be pretty popular these days.    I'm still involved with Maggie Hope and her mystery series.    I've read them a bit out of order so have the third one left to get back to.    Well anyway,  I know her and her co workers pretty well by now so it won't be hard to catch up.   These have been interesting reading, but I'm tired of reading series and want to dabble.    My DD reminded me on Sunday that there is a sequel to The Bean Trees and I would like to go there next.   It is call Pigs in Heaven.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 01, 2016, 02:06:29 PM
Yes Series can be a bit too much after a time.  I too will go to something shorter after this, maybe a Grisham or some Science Fiction for a change.  I'd like to get a Robert Sawyer, but he is hard to find here for some reason.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 01, 2016, 02:11:40 PM
The 6th Clifton Chronicle is out and I just finished reading the e-book version on my Tablet.  I think #7 is due out later this year.
I'm enjoying the series but I hope he doesn't go on and on and on and....until the books sound as if they're written from a formula.

IMO,  that's what Diana Gabaldon has done with her "Outlander" series.  I think the last one was #10 or #11 and the two main characters STILL aren't back in Scotland, where they were buried in the first book!

Currently, I'm reading "Ordinary Grace" and some "fluff stuff".    Not sure that Alexander McCall Smith's "Scotland Street" series qualifies - but I just started the current one in that series.

Also need to clean the refrigerator.  Hmmm.....what to do? what to do?   :-\   ;D
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 01, 2016, 04:38:24 PM
maryc - Glad you now have the page layout set up as you like it. :thumbup:   Your mention of The Bean Trees, reminds me once again that it's the only Barbara Kingsolver that I haven't read!  The Poisonwood Bible, is at the top of my all time favorite book list, but I was not particularly fond of Flight Behavior, and The Lacuna

phyllis - I very much like Daphne du Maurier books.  I've read Rebecca, and seen the movie, a number of times over the years.  Despite it's age, it's a story that never grows old and dated.  I'll put Black Rabbit Hall, on my library list for this weekend.

bubble - My husband read the latest Grisham book, and liked it a lot. I can't remember the name of it now?   My favorite of his books is The Client.  I especially liked the movie version.

Callie - I've never been a big fan of series books, except for the Nancy Drew and Cherry Ames books, when I was a little girl. :) I've never read any of the interesting sounding books that you all mention in this discussion, like the Clifton Chronicles.  Did you watch the TV version of The Outlander?  I liked it at first, but the last episode was too disgusting for me.  I doubt that I'll be watching it again when it returns.  I did like some of the characters however - especially Dougal and Jamie. 
How do you like Ordinary Grace?  I really enjoyed that book, and my husband did too. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 01, 2016, 06:32:05 PM
Marilyne,  I watched about half of the first episode of the TV "Outlander" but became disgusted with the characterizations and didn't keep at it.  Re: the books....  I'm tired of them wandering around colonial America and wish she would get them back to Scotland and be done with it. 
Not long after "Outlander" was published,  I was on a tour of The British Isles and we went to the Culladon Battlefield. It was fascinating to look out across the region and visualize the battle.  The little house is a museum but I didn't get over to it.
I was amazed that copies of the book were in the gift shop, which I thought spoke well of Gabaldon's historical accuracy - since she's from New Mexico.  However, the Scottish title is "Cross-stitch" (yes, I bought one  :)).

I finished "Ordinary Grace" this afternoon.  I'm glad I read it - but wouldn't count it as one of my favorites.

The Clifton Chronicles aren't anything like the Nancy Drew, etc. series. (How about the Bobbsey Twins and Honey Bunch?) They follow the Clifton family through quite a few years - with other characters being introduced along the way.  It isn't necessary to read them in order but the later ones would probably make more sense if you do.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 02, 2016, 03:27:48 AM
My daughter is reading Outlander in Hebrew!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on April 02, 2016, 06:53:17 AM
I read through the Outlander series to Voyager but grew tired of the whole thing so never finished reading the series.  I did watch the tv show and loved seeing the beautiful Scottish scenery again.  I'll probably start watching the new season but since it is set mainly in Paris I'm not sure if I'll keep with it.  I didn't like the last episode of last season either, Marilyne, but since it was in the book I guess they had to portray it.  I don't think it needed to be quite so graphic, though.   :-[

Callie, we were at Culloden in 1978 and the battlefield was overgrown with trees but still very effective.  I read later that they removed all of the trees and restored it to the same field where the battle actually took place.  It is a somber place when you see all of the Clan graves and think about the terrible slaughter that went on there.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 02, 2016, 08:05:28 AM
Talking about Clan, did anyone read and enjoyed The Clan of the Cave  Bear by Auel?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 02, 2016, 08:12:15 AM
Bubble, I read that years and years ago when it first came out. Never read any of the rest of the series.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on April 02, 2016, 08:16:40 AM
I read it, too, a long time ago.  I remember that I liked it but tried one of her later books and didn't think it was as good so didn't stay with her.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 02, 2016, 08:17:36 AM
that serie was good and then she promised to havethe last one published soon, which would have told what happened to her son left with the tribe, but after a few years we are still waiting!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 02, 2016, 08:19:46 AM
Yes Phyllis, the last ones were a bit repetitive.  It is difficult to innovate on prehistory.  It did have me very interested in that  time period and researched more.  It showed me that lots of what she wrote was based on real facts and founding.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 02, 2016, 09:45:35 AM
Last night,  I accidentally discovered that the first Outlander series is being re-run -  two episodes back to back - prior to the new season starting next Saturday .
I managed to watch the entire first episode by doing a crossword puzzle during the graphic sex scenes.   
I stopped watching the second episode during the scene in which Jamie takes the punishment for the young girl because the graphic violence was increasing. Don't even want to think about how Jamie's experiences with Captain Jack Randal will be depicted!!  :o
I think that puts an end to my watching Outlander!

Bubble,  I've read the entire Auel series and feel the same way I do about Outlander.  Enjoyed the stories (especially because I've been to the Dordogne River area and have seen the Lascaux Cave paintings and the cliff dwellings in the rocks)  but - wind it up, please!

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 02, 2016, 09:51:04 AM
Yes!  I would so much like what she would do for the future of the child left behind.  Would he recognize his mother? Does he have speech?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 02, 2016, 09:53:05 AM
There is a similar book titled  the First Americans by William Sarabande.  Very good too.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 02, 2016, 09:56:11 AM
Bubble,  Jean Auel's web site gives no indication that there will be another book after "Shelters of Stone".   Maybe we're supposed to write our own ending?   ???
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 02, 2016, 11:26:16 AM
One season of Outlander, was enough for me. There are so many other excellent dramas and series on the premium channels or Netflix streaming, that I would rather watch.  I did enjoy it at first, and loved the gorgeous scenery, the history, the clothing, and some of the characters . . . but the graphic love scenes were too long, and the extreme violence was horrific.  The scene between Jamie and Jack Randal went on and on for at least a half hour!  No need for showing the viewers such detail.  I wonder if people really like watching scenes like that, or if it's only us old folks who are turned off?  :-\

Callie - Oh yes, how could I forget The Bobbsey Twins!  There was also a mystery series called The Dana Girls, that I liked.  However, my favorite was always Nancy Drew. My oldest daughter read them and loved them also, but I doubt if the young girls read them today?  So much quality literature now for children and teens. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 02, 2016, 12:07:12 PM
Quote from: CallieOK on April 02, 2016, 09:56:11 AM
Bubble,  Jean Auel's web site gives no indication that there will be another book after "Shelters of Stone".   Maybe we're supposed to write our own ending?   ???

Really?  Strange because I read that on her site maybe 1 or 2 years ago.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 02, 2016, 12:11:02 PM
http://www.cleveland.com/books/index.ssf/2010/11/jean_auels_new_the_land_of_pai.html (http://www.cleveland.com/books/index.ssf/2010/11/jean_auels_new_the_land_of_pai.html)

and there should be one after that
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 02, 2016, 12:15:16 PM
http://www.theguardian.com/books/video/2011/mar/29/jean-auel-childrens-books (http://www.theguardian.com/books/video/2011/mar/29/jean-auel-childrens-books)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 02, 2016, 12:44:30 PM
Looks as if Land of Painted Caves is the last one mentioned on Jean Auel's web site - also in 2011.

http://www.jeanauel.com/ (http://www.jeanauel.com/)

I guess she's still thinking!   :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 02, 2016, 12:49:20 PM
I did read the Land of Painted Caves.  It made me want to visit those caves.  Impossible of course, especially if, like she said in the interview, some are not open to the public.  I did visit a Stalactite huge cave near Jerusalem and I thought  at the time that this would have been a good addition for Ayla's story.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on April 03, 2016, 12:42:00 PM
Hey, Marilyne and everybody!   Finally got back in here, thanks to Jeannie and Pat (did I get that right?)  We just can't thank them enough for all they do.
I so missed S&F!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 03, 2016, 12:55:35 PM
Hi Tome! Glad you made it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 03, 2016, 12:57:15 PM
Welcome home tomereader!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 03, 2016, 03:39:21 PM
Good to see you Tomereader.  Radioman was asking about you and wondering if you made it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 03, 2016, 04:17:34 PM
Tome - Welcome back to S&F!  We're especially happy to see you here in the Leisure Activities boards! :thumbup:   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Kelly on April 03, 2016, 04:21:28 PM
Hi Tomereader
Good to see you here.

Kelly
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on April 03, 2016, 06:46:02 PM
Yep! Finally got 'er done!  Thought I was gonna be banned from S&F forever.

What I'm reading:  A Walk in the Woods (for f2f book club, I'm moderating);  "An Undisturbed Peace" about The Trail of Tears (another sad episode in our US history; "Kindred", a sci-fi genre about a modern day Black woman being transported to the antebellum South;  "In the Shadow of the Banyan" re Khemer Rouge in Cambodia; sounds like I am on a real downer, but I'm reading these "piecemeal" so I don't suffer depression!  Also have 3 more books that I just picked up from the library...can't even go there now, as I am overloaded.  One is a mystery for our mystery club.  Will mention those later.  Gonna have a cataract removed in about 3 weeks, so tryin' to catch up.  Not to mention Kindle readings happening late at night!  So if you all don't hear from me...hey I'm reading!  It is so sweet to see everyone here, and interact with my S&F "peeps".  Luv you guys! (that inlcudes gals, too)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Kelly on April 03, 2016, 07:58:59 PM
Hi Tomerader1
It is good to be in touch with our friends again.

Kelly
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 04, 2016, 04:18:04 AM
Books are our best friends.  From age 6 I have never been without a book on my night table.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Kelly on April 04, 2016, 07:09:50 AM
Hi Bubble
I can say rarely has there been a book on my bedside table

Kelly
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 04, 2016, 10:13:20 AM
You then must sleep the sleep of the just
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Kelly on April 04, 2016, 11:09:48 AM
Hi Bubble
I usually have my IPad on and catch up on the news of the day before I retire.

Kelly
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 04, 2016, 11:50:18 AM
and I have my tiny transistor in bed for midnight news  ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 04, 2016, 11:51:18 AM
Tome - Looks like you're going to be a busy reader, if you hope to get all those books read before your cataract surgery.  I had my surgery about 5 years ago, but I don't recall that I had trouble reading or watching TV after the first couple of days? However, I did wear sunglasses to watch TV. It was bright sunlight and the ever changing brightness on the TV that bothered me most. 

I picked up my library books yesterday, so now have a couple of new ones to look forward to.  I still have The Life we Bury,  to finish, and Nightfall, to start.  Ordinarily I'm not a science fiction or fantasy reader, but Nightfall sounds intriguing to me.  "After fourteen years of day, comes fourteen years of night"!  Interesting concept.

bubble - My bedside table is also stacked with books.  However, as I've grown older, I do find it difficult/painful to read in bed.  I cannot seem to get comfortable with a book, so I now use my Kindle more. Just the opposite during the day, when I can sit in a chair. 

MarsGal - one of my new library books is Meet You in Hell. (like you, I love that title!)  It must have sounded  good to my husband too, because he sat down right away and started reading it. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 04, 2016, 12:08:17 PM
and I find I tire more reading on a Kindle. It seems less satisfying too.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 04, 2016, 12:10:05 PM
bubble, I agree - definitely less satisfying! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 04, 2016, 12:10:19 PM
Tome.   You can follow the route of "The Trail of Tears" Very sad but interesting. I did it a few years back.  Also did the "Oregon Trail" and the one the "Mormons took" To Salt Lake City.  I like stopping and reading all the plaques that explain them.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 04, 2016, 12:41:51 PM
It is interesting to me to hear others tell about their beginning to read stories.     I can recall going to the library with my mother before I could read and continued to do so as I started to read for myself.    She would help me to select suitable titles and authors.    Another thing that I enjoyed with her was reading the continued novels that used to be published in the Lady's Home Journal.    Sometime she would ask me to read aloud to her while she sewed (making our clothes).   I think she encouraged me to read stories that I wouldn't ordinarily have done at a younger age.   When we moved to this town in 1955 our library was housed in a very old and tiny building right on the main street.  It was a small quaint library with the librarian seated at a large school teachers desk in the center.   It was really more like a small book store.   It has had a couple of moves since then and now we have a lovely large building.    Here is a link to our early library building that now houses a popular Italian bakery store.    The building looks pretty much like it always did and adds to the charm (IMHO)  :)
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g48050-d873382-Reviews-DiCamillo_Bakery-Lewiston_New_York.html
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on April 04, 2016, 01:02:57 PM
Oh, that Italian bread sounds so good!  I am so far away from New York.  Do they ship?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 04, 2016, 01:15:42 PM
So-P, I noticed my eyes also get tired more quickly with the Kindle Fire, but not so much with the Paperwhite. I actually got the Fire because my old 2nd gen Kindle (b/w) didn't have backlighting. I thought it might help my reading. I can read in the dark with it, but it is definitely more eye tiring. I pretty much confine my Fire usage to some apps and games I like. I got the Paperwhite, which has the adjustable backlighting, to replace the 2nd gen when its battery died. Also, I began noticing that many of the newer books I downloaded were not supported on the old 2nd gen.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 04, 2016, 01:46:59 PM
I use the kindle mainly in waiting rooms. Maybe because I don't have any very "griping " or fascinating book  on it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Kelly on April 04, 2016, 02:18:10 PM
Hi Bubble
I use now and again my smartphone for reading.

Kelly
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 04, 2016, 02:27:16 PM

How interesting Kelly
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Kelly on April 04, 2016, 03:30:09 PM
And playing music!

Kelly
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Kelly on April 04, 2016, 03:30:37 PM
And I forgot playing music

Kelly
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 04, 2016, 05:13:16 PM
Yes  tomereader1, Di Camillos does ship and in fact they ship a partially baked bread that you can bake or freeze for later. It isn't cheap but a treat when you know what you've been missing.  I've sent it to our grandson who grew up here and now lives in Charlotte,NC where there is no real good Italian bread.  He loves to get it  and when he come here he takes home as much as he can store. :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 05, 2016, 12:50:28 AM
You reminded me of a book, MaryC.  Those about Don Camillo.  Very funny depictions in a small village.  They made films about it as well, with the comic Fernandel.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 05, 2016, 07:51:31 AM
 Bubble, That sounds like what could be written of many small towns including ours. ;D
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 06, 2016, 05:50:32 PM
This made me smile.  A friend who lives in Toronto phoned this afternoon.  She just returned yesterday from a visit to her homeland of Australia.  She asked if I had read Archer's  Clifton Chronicles.  Oh yes,of course!   She said that while she was waiting to board her return flight she saw the latest of the series and decided to buy it for herself.  ($40.)    We laughed about what a widespread popularity they have.  I had just emailed her the title and author of the Maggie  Hope Mysteries as she had lived in London during WWII and knew that she would enjoy the history in those.  For anyone I interested in that period and place I recommend those stories....fiction of course but a lot of history woven in.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 07, 2016, 02:47:49 AM
I have never heard of Maggie  Hope Mysteries.  Are they analyze of characters like Ruth Rendell, P.D. James, Mary Higgins or Patricia Cornwell?  These are the authors most requested in my library.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 07, 2016, 07:36:15 AM
Bubble,I hadn't heard of the author of the Maggie Hope stories before.  Her name is Susan Elia Macneal http://www.susaneliamacneal.com/books.html
Sorry if he link doesn't work....I'm learning about copy and paste with the Kindle...it's different.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 07, 2016, 08:28:48 AM
Thank you for the link.  I am curious about Elizabeth's spy.  I'll see if it is in the library.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on April 07, 2016, 08:50:39 AM
I liked MacNeal's Mr. Churchill's Secretary so I'll need to check the library for some more of her books.  Also, I want to look up Archer's Clifton Chronicles since so many of you have liked them so much.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 07, 2016, 08:52:54 AM
Elizabeth's Spy was the last one I read though it was out of order. There is enough comment in each book to explain the background.  I almost passed on that one....enough of a series but was glad I decided to read it.  Hope you can find it. :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 07, 2016, 09:02:51 AM
I remember well that period of time, which is why I chose it.  I remember the photos in magazines about Elisabeth and her younger sister, the romance of Margaret with Townsend (sp?) and the heart break that followed.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 07, 2016, 09:22:51 AM
Maryc,  thanks for reminding me about Susan Elia MacNeal's series.   I had read all of them except "Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidante" .
Just checked - and my library has it in e-book form, so I've placed a Hold - and there's only 1 person ahead of me.

Fanciful stories, IMO, but very enjoyable reading.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 07, 2016, 09:39:37 AM
I suppose I am not modern enough for ebooks. I downloaded a few but am not tempted to read them.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 07, 2016, 10:18:51 AM
Yes Callie,   The Maggie Hope stories were a little exagerated (Wonder Woman?) but the detail about the British government and the war years was good.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 07, 2016, 11:52:31 AM
bubble - I find it difficult to concentrate on any Kindle book. Hard to explain, but for me it's just not a book!  There have been a few good ones that I've downloaded, but I eventually end up getting the book from the library if it's one I really want to savor and enjoy.  Much better and more comfortable for me. 

However, I do use my Kindle for other things.  I take it with me when I go anywhere where I know I'll have to wait.  Then I check into S&F or Facebook, or keep up with the latest news. 
My husband took it with him when he was getting his chemotherapy. It's wonderful when you know you will be stuck in one place for a while, and want to access a variety of things  to help pass the time. He watched TV shows, read articles, watched the news, etc.  However, when he reads at home, he also prefers a real book.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 07, 2016, 01:06:25 PM
In that case (for S@F) I prefer to use Ben's I-Pad as the screen is a bit bigger and easier to type on it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Kelly on April 07, 2016, 01:28:39 PM
Hi
Looking at the word library, in the UK so many are shutting down through lack of finances.

Such a pity

kelly
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on April 07, 2016, 09:10:16 PM
I lost my Kindle--I went to New Orleans for an early Christmas with my youngest son's family.  The older son is a freshman in Birmingham, AL, and I drove up there and the 2 of us rode the train to N.O.  I had taken my kindle with me as I was only spending a weekend down there.  I can't find it and think I left it in the hotel I stayed in.  I had downloaded all of Jane Austen's books on it so that I can re-read them when I wish--and now I don't have them anymore.  I much prefer books to a kindle, but they are handy for travel.  I think I'll buy another when they are on sale.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Kelly on April 07, 2016, 09:36:44 PM
Hi Sue
I might be worth a try in giving the hotel a ring, just in case thy lost your home address and have the Kindle.

Maybe you have already contacted the hotel.

kelly
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 08, 2016, 03:07:31 AM
Oh Sue, I am sorry.  what a loss.  At least I think those Austen books were a free download from Gutenberg?
I am enjoying J. Austen more now than when they were compulsory reading in College.  I think we need to be more mature to really appreciate them.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on April 08, 2016, 05:59:06 AM
Me, too, Bubble.  When I HAD to read Austen in college I wasn't thrilled with her at all.  I would get bogged down in all of the "wordiness".  Now, I love Austen.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 08, 2016, 06:18:53 AM
I read Pride and Prejudice long ago and liked it very much and I've seen a number of movies based on Austen's books. Several years ago, I tried reading Northanger Abby and did not care for it at all.

Sue, I hope you deregistered your missing Kindlle so that whoever found it (assuming it was found and not turned in) can't use your account.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on April 08, 2016, 06:20:28 AM
Sue, all your Kindle books are still "in the cloud" - in Kindle storage.  When you get a new device, you'll still be able to get access to them.  (I know from experience.  LOL)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 08, 2016, 07:13:21 AM
Quote from: phyllis on April 08, 2016, 05:59:06 AM
Me, too, Bubble.  When I HAD to read Austen in college I wasn't thrilled with her at all.  I would get bogged down in all of the "wordiness".  Now, I love Austen.

I think we all "mature" in the same way.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 08, 2016, 10:34:41 AM
I agree about Austen's books.  When I read them in college I thought they were boring! ::)  Now I love them, and have enjoyed owning and reading them many times over. Also the many movies and TV series adapted from the books are always a treat to watch.
Sue - Good to hear that the 1940 version of P&P played on TCM so recently.  Usually the movies cycle through that channel a couple of times a year.  I'll watch for it. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Kelly on April 08, 2016, 12:05:22 PM
I prefer Jane Eyre

Kelly
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on April 08, 2016, 03:02:18 PM
I like the Bronte books and especially Jane Eyre, too, Kelly.  I always find them to be a little depressing, however.  When I saw where the Brontes lived, in the parsonage at Haworth, I could understand why so much of what they wrote was on the "dark" side.  Of course, we were there on a rainy and dreary day so that didn't help much either.   :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 08, 2016, 03:32:36 PM
Phyllis.  I wish you had been up in the Haworth  when the weather was nice. One of my favourite area when I am back as grew up close enough that could just go up  when the weather was nice.  Family did own a cottage there. The area is sort of dreary when raining.

Which over villages did you see?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on April 08, 2016, 10:10:30 PM
Jane Eyre is a favorite, also.  I don't think I downloaded it to my Kindle.  I loved the movie version with George C. Scott (I think that's his name) as Rochester (if I'm thinking correctly).

Thanks for the suggestion about looking on the cloud for my downloads for my Kindle, Mary.

I'm late getting here tonight and I'm going to check the other forums I use.  So thanks everybody for the sympathy!

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 09, 2016, 06:50:57 AM
Sue, I liked the George C. Scott version, but I would be hard pressed to decide whether I liked his verison or Orson Welles version better. Joan Fontaine was great as Jane. Susannah York was just to pretty for me to like her in the role since Jane was supposed to be rather plain. Wikipedia has a list of all the versions, adaptations and Jane Eyre inspired productions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptations_of_Jane_Eyre There are many more than I expected.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on April 09, 2016, 08:34:36 AM
I liked the Orson Welles version, too.  He had the brooding dark appearance that I always felt Rochester should have.  And Agnes Moorhead as Mrs. Reed was perfectly cast.  Agnes Moorhead was one of our best character actors and I enjoyed everything she did.

I wonder if I can find that old movie anywhere to watch on TV.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Kelly on April 09, 2016, 11:33:05 AM
Hi Phyllis
I liked Jane Eyre because I did not see it as depressing, but how life can be and is. 

Kelly
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on April 09, 2016, 04:01:52 PM
Kelly, do you have a mad woman hiding in your attic?    :2funny:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 11, 2016, 02:50:39 PM
I didn't get on the bandwagon with the Alexander McCall Smith novels earlier but noticed one on the New Fiction shelf today called "The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine".  This is the new No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency novel.   The title really caught my eye as we haven't seen much sunshine for several days! :(    Anyway, I brought it home and scanned a couple pages.    I'll give him another chance.  Who knows?

The second book I picked up today is My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on April 11, 2016, 04:06:45 PM
I think that it takes perseverance to read MacCall Smith.  I like his books but they are very slow moving.  My favorite series of his is the one that is set in Edinburgh with Isabel Dalhousie.  Just googled it:  (The Sunday Philosophy Club )  The NY Times concludes that the novel is "the literary equivalent of herbal tea and a cozy fire".  ;)  I think I read somewhere that the series has been "postponed".  Probably he won't write any more of the Dalhousie series.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 11, 2016, 05:37:29 PM
I gave up on Alex. Mc Smith and The Gurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.    I just couldn't get through all those letters to make any sense of that one.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 11, 2016, 07:43:07 PM
Maryc. The one "LUcy Barton" came in for me to download to my Tablet from the Library. Left it to late to do it so will have to put my name on the list again. Let me know if it is good.  Was a long waiting list for it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 11, 2016, 08:08:11 PM
 :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 12, 2016, 06:35:10 AM
I liked the TV series, #1 Ladies Detective Agency, but have yet to get around to reading any of McCall's books. Phyllis, slow moving does not appeal to me very much. I guess that is because I have been spending the last two years reading SciFi, most of which are Military, but some are Space Opera. The fast and constant action have spoiled me some.

I recently finished The Little Paris Bookshop. It has a nice flow to it and is a nice story about grieving and learned to live and love again. I liked the ending, but thought the epilogue, although it tied things up in a bow, was not necessary IMO. In fact, I think it took away some from the ending in the last chapter. The author included a booklist and some recipes at the end too.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 12, 2016, 10:35:57 AM
I watched the TV series, #1 Ladies Detective Agency, and then read the books afterwards.  I liked both, very much, and was looking forward to reading any and all, of A.McCall Smith's other books. I tried a number of them, but found them too slow going for me.  The Gurnsey/Potato Peel, etc., had such a catchy title that I thought sure I would like it, but I just didn't have the patience to stay with it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 12, 2016, 12:28:37 PM
JeanneP,   The copy of I Am Lucy Barton was on the shelf of new fiction.   It is in large type but still a very small book.    I don't remember reading this author before but I'm finding this story a little strange.   Hope you will like it.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 12, 2016, 01:51:14 PM
My Libary is showing the Lucy Barton book only available as for the Kindle or any Tablet. May put it on later.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 13, 2016, 02:26:42 PM
Lucy Barton was a quick read though a strange story, IMHO   ???     JeanneP,  Let me know what you think when you have read it.

I have gotten well along with Alexander McC Smith's  The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine.     I'm enjoying his story of  everyday happenings  wrapped in his humor.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 13, 2016, 09:38:02 PM
I like McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.  The others are a little slow but I did enjoy The Sunday Philosophy Club for awhile.  I stuck with the series until Isabel had little Charlie (?).  The stories just got a bit too "wordy" for me.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 14, 2016, 07:09:28 PM
Yes FlaJean,   McCall Smith does have kind of a "wordy" way of putting things, but I enjoy the bits of wisdom that are wrapped up in his wordiness.    This morning I came across a statement  by Mma Ramotswe when she was talking with a friend about someone who had passed and it struck me as something I want to save to think more about later.    She said what had started as a straightforward account had suddenly become something else:    a reflection on how we believe in people, how we need them and how their loss diminishes us.     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 15, 2016, 12:44:48 AM
maryc -
"what had started as a straightforward account had suddenly become something else: a reflection on how we believe in people, how we need them and how their loss diminishes us."

I like Mma Ramotswe's statement, and I agree that it is one that we can save and savor many times over. 

When I was reading the Kent Haruf books, there were lots of passages that I saved and thought about afterwards.  So true to real life, and many that were true to my life.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 15, 2016, 02:25:47 AM
a saying:
' Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one's self-esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily; and why older persons, especially if vain or important, cannot learn at all.'     
-Thomas Szasz, author, professor of psychiatry
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on April 15, 2016, 06:25:08 AM
Bubble, it's always nice to find others who follow "A Word A Day".  LOL
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 15, 2016, 06:29:48 AM
Yes, there is always something to learn there.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 15, 2016, 04:09:59 PM
Thank You, bubble and maryz . . . I immediately subscribed to "A Word A Day". :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 16, 2016, 07:05:54 PM
Yes Marilyne,   There were some things in those books of Kent Haruf that I wish I had saved.    I need to start a little journal of those things!   Where do you find  "A Word a Day"?     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on April 16, 2016, 08:14:52 PM
Here's the web site, maryc

http://wordsmith.org/words/today.html 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 16, 2016, 09:10:09 PM
Thank you MaryZ.  :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 18, 2016, 12:46:42 AM
Remember the novel, The Light Between Oceans?  I read it a couple of years ago, as did others who post in this discussion.  Callie and maryc, I think you both read it at that time? 

Anyway, I just learned that it's been made into a movie, which will be released in theaters in September.  One of the stars is Michael Fassbender, who recently played Steve Jobs, in the movie, Jobs.  I only saw the name of one of the women actors, but I didn't recognize her?  The book took place in Australia, so possibly, most of the cast will be Australian? 

I liked the book very much, and always thought it would make a very good movie.  I'll be looking forward to seeing it. :thumbup:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 18, 2016, 02:36:38 AM
who is the author?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 18, 2016, 06:13:10 AM
Here is the trailer for the movie. The author of the book is  M.L. Stedman.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5SOdK-9f_A
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 18, 2016, 07:02:33 AM
Thank you! looks like a good one.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 18, 2016, 10:14:58 AM
Marilyne,  thanks for the "heads up" about the movie "The Light Between Oceans".  As I recall, it was set on the west coast of Australia and I hope they do film it there. 
I also hope it comes to the smaller local theater because the only way to get to the theater complex in the Mall is to take the elevator or escalator in the middle of the Mall (outside exits from the theater area but no entrances) and I can no longer get to it very well.

I'm currently reading the e-book of "The Summer Before The War" by Helen Simonson.  I can understand why it's on the best-seller list; it's very good.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 18, 2016, 03:46:02 PM
Whoa!  That trailer is very misleading! :o Unless they changed the story in a big way.  It says, "A love story between Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander".  What?  It's not what I would consider a romantic love story at all!!  What a shame, if the changed the entire story for the movie.   

Please don't let that trailer discourage anyone from reading the book! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on April 18, 2016, 05:39:45 PM
That would certainly be a ruination of a wonderful book.

As to all the reading I mentioned a week or so ago, I finished "Kindred" by Octavia Butler. It was a pointed social commentary, enhanced by Sci-Fi, time travel.  It is not a current book by any means, but worth reading.  I understand Butler has written several sci-fi genre books.  Also finished The Night Sister, the genre I would catalog as horror/thriller.  It kept me reading, but it was a bit gory in places; a lot gory in others.
I may have mentioned that I was moderating "A Walk in the Woods" by Bryson, and I was still enraptured by the book, even after my presentation.  You will probably think me wacky, but I wore hiking-type boots, trail shorts, hat, backpack.  If I knew how to put a photo here, one of our members took a picture of me, and I would post it, for a laugh or two.  I had printed off maps of the Appalachian Trail, and compared them.  In memory of "Katz" tossing his food away, I gave everyone a pouch of instant oatmeal!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 18, 2016, 05:42:13 PM
Marilyne, as I recall, I thought it started out as a love story but changed after they saved the child and then lost her.  That experience changed the feeling of the story for me.  I was disappointed in the end.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 18, 2016, 06:15:52 PM
Okay- I definitely jumped the gun on my criticism of the Light Between Oceanstrailer!  Whenever I watch a youTube video on my old computer, I only get parts of the video, and no sound!  So of course I didn't see the video the way it was meant to be viewed, until I just now watched it on AJ's computer.  Now I see that it looks  good, and very much like the book.  Sorry if I sounded negative.  Now I'll be anxiously awaiting the movie! :)

FlaJean - I loved your description of moderating A Walk In the Woods! Your outfit sounds perfect, and I'm sure it put everyone in the mood for discussing the book, as well as going for a hike afterwards! ;D
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 18, 2016, 06:24:25 PM
Marilyne, that was Tome moderating "A Walk in the Woods".  Sadly, I was the one with a negative comment on "Light Between Oceans".  I think I must be the only person here who was disappointed in that book.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 18, 2016, 06:51:53 PM
FlaJean - Thank you for correcting me!  As you all can see, I'm really "out to lunch" today! I hope tomorrow is a better day ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on April 18, 2016, 06:58:42 PM
Gee, Marilyne, you have those "out to lunch days" too? 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on April 18, 2016, 07:16:02 PM
Marilyne, let me know if you get the email with picture!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 19, 2016, 12:31:08 PM
Tome - I received your email . . . LOVE the picture!  A great example of really getting into character! LOL  Please post the pic  here, as it is definitely book related, and I know everyone would enjoy seeing you going for, "A Walk in the Woods"! :thumbup:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on April 19, 2016, 01:44:05 PM
If someone would post or email me some instructions, I would gladly post the pic here.
But I'm not much good at posting pics.  I don't even remember how one posts their picture for their avatar?  I know someone can help.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 19, 2016, 02:02:21 PM
Oh, my - am I ever in "reading heaven"!

I'm still reading Helen Simonson's 'The Summer Before The War" and now "The 14th Colony" (Steve Berry's newest) and "Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidante" (newest in the Maggie Hope series), both of which were on Reserve,  have appeared in my library e-book check-outs.

We are having gloomy, rainy days and I have nothing on the calendar all week.

Did I say I'm in "reading heaven"?   :smitten:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 19, 2016, 02:25:47 PM
Callie - I'm planning to read The Summer Before the War, as soon as I can get my hands on it.  As I've mentioned many times, I truly enjoy stories that are written about life during the 1930's, and on into the War years. That's my favorite era, followed by the '50's and '60's.

Although I was too young to remember much of the 30's, I do recall a surprising amount of things from the 40's - starting with Pearl Harbor, and on through WWII.  It helps that my mother was an avid amateur photographer, and filled many albums with black and white photos. (or "snapshots", as she called them).  I can look through those albums now, and each picture brings back a memory.   

Tome - If you give me permission, I'll try to post your photo in this discussion?   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on April 19, 2016, 03:10:30 PM
Yes, Marilyne, you have my permission to post the photo.  And if you can copy the little blurb along with it: I may have mentioned that I was moderating "A Walk in the Woods" by Bryson, and I was still enraptured by the book, even after my presentation.  You will probably think me wacky, but I wore hiking-type boots, trail shorts, hat, backpack.  If I knew how to put a photo here, one of our members took a picture of me, and I would post it, for a laugh or two.  I had printed off maps of the Appalachian Trail, and compared them.  In memory of "Katz" tossing his food away, I gave everyone a pouch of instant oatmeal!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 19, 2016, 05:27:01 PM
Marilyn,   I've been reading all afternoon.    WWI is just  the time period for "The Summer Before The War".  The story mainly centers around  residents in a small Sussex town and Class Distinctions as the English preparations begin.  So far - no battle scenes or bombs. One story line is about some Belgian refugees who are "graciously" given homes amongst the more elite citizenry and the "struggle" to decide which ones, if any, are to be "received" for tea or dinner - or neither. 
Good story, although Simonson's "verbiage" is a bit much.  (At least, no one has yet done anything "with alacrity" or "glided" to the window or over the stairs, a term which always brings a mental picture of someone on a skateboard  :) )

Tome, I'm looking forward to seeing the picture.  I enjoyed Bryson's "The Road To Little Dribbling" but quickly lost interest in his "At Home".  Not sure I want to tackle "A Short History of Nearly Everything".

EDIT - a few hours later:   I spoke too soon re: battles and verbiage in "The Summer Before The War"!    The very next chapter I began reading was set near a battle field in France where one character had gone as a field surgeon.  Blood flowed freely..
Later on, one of the ladies waiting at home  "proceeded in a dignified glide through the upper hall and down the polished stairs".   Cliches abound!   :)

I still like the book.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 20, 2016, 12:08:30 AM
Callie - The Summer Before The War, is a very popular book.  The waiting list at my local town library was 57 people! 
So I will "glide" over to the county library, where I hope to get it much sooner!  The book sounds very refreshing . . . love those British cliches! :D

Tome - Look for your picture to be posted in the morning! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 20, 2016, 01:02:00 PM
Our Tomereader - Looking good, while adding a touch of reality to a book discussion on A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson! 

Tome's personal comments here:
I may have mentioned that I was moderating "A Walk in the Woods" by Bryson, and I was still enraptured by the book, even after my presentation.  You will probably think me wacky, but I wore hiking-type boots, trail shorts, hat, backpack.  If I knew how to put a photo here, one of our members took a picture of me, and I would post it, for a laugh or two.  I had printed off maps of the Appalachian Trail, and compared them.  In memory of "Katz" tossing his food away, I gave everyone a pouch of instant oatmeal!

(http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb142/vintage34/walk20in20the20woods_zpsj9fk0kbp.jpg)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 20, 2016, 01:49:12 PM
Great picture! I would have loved to participate in that discussion! :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 20, 2016, 02:10:48 PM
Tome:   Love it!  Good for you =- and I, too, would have enjoyed being in that discussion.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 20, 2016, 02:17:35 PM
Tome.

Great picture. You look all set for a long hike. One should always dress that way when going into any woods or even hiking anyplace.  I went Rambling as we in UK call it from being very young. Still do some but not for weeks at a time like before reaching 70. I had to cover as Poison ivy. Oak would get me so easy.  That was a good book.  All his books are interesting.

He lived for many years in the area of Uk I am from. Married a girl from the area.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on April 20, 2016, 02:31:46 PM
Thank you Marilyne for posting this for me.  It was a great discussion by the way.  For anyone who has not read the book, there is so much info about how much of our wilderness is gone; the loss of birds and wildlife, the sad way that the upkeep on the trail is not done, how little we, as Americans, walk.  All in all, much more than a story of two codgers who decide to hike the AT.  I recommend this book highly.  It is funny, sad, informative.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 20, 2016, 03:49:45 PM
Super pix, Tome.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 21, 2016, 04:40:44 PM
Tome - I picked up a copy of A Walk In The Woods, at the library yesterday, and started reading it last night.  Very good so far - witty and informative!  Certainly nothing like Wild, Cheryl Strayed's book about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.

Callie - I think I mentioned that there's a long waiting list at both libraries for The Summer Before The War.  I may check out the Kindle edition, but likely a wait for that one too. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 22, 2016, 06:33:36 AM
We have two copies of A Walk in the Woods in our library branch and they don't stay on the shelf very long. It was the March pick for our book discussion group.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 22, 2016, 08:49:11 PM
Tomereader,    I liked your picture and liked the way you got into your review!   You did it up well!

I just finished a Kindle book called   A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash.    It is set in the mountain country just north of Asheville, NC.   The story centers around a small mountain community where the practice of the use of fire and snakes in the church was practiced.  When I started this book, I didn't think I would read it all but as I got acquainted with various characters,  I was drawn into their story.   Apparently he has another book whose story is set in the same part of NC.     Now I have started the sixth chapter of the Clifton Chronicles by Jeffrey Archer.  It's been a while since I finished number five but I'm finding it easy to get back into the plot.   :)    I think there will be just one more of this series.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 26, 2016, 02:23:09 PM
It was interesting yesterday when I sat in the Drs. waiting room with my book and a lady nearby struck up a conversation about reading.    She said that she reads everything from Suess to thrillers.      After a  bit of conversation I learned that she lives in the same Village as our daughter and I've admired her very old house for years.    Funny how books can introduce you to people.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 26, 2016, 04:20:45 PM
maryc - Doctor's waiting rooms are fascinating places to "people watch", and occasionally strike up a conversation with a friendly person.  If I see someone reading a book, I always try to see what the title is. (without being obvious about it!) :D It's interesting to me, to see what total strangers are reading.

One of my doctors has a large bookshelf in his waiting room, filled with hard cover books and paper backs.  The sign on the top of the case says, "Help yourself to a book.  If you like it, please take it home with you, and enjoy!  Next time you have an appointment, bring it back, or leave any other book you would like to share with someone."

Good idea! :thumbup:   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 26, 2016, 06:42:04 PM
Great idea on the Books in Doctor Office.  Should be more of that done.  More people would read if they could get good clean books without having to pay such high prices for. Unless they have a Tablet to download.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 26, 2016, 09:13:11 PM
This office was the VA clinic and I noticed that they do have a bookcase there and it is a good idea.   I'll have to remember to hang onto a good book to take in for that shelf.   I know that my brother has mentioned getting a book from the VA clinic in Pittsburgh when he goes down there but I hadn't noticed this one before.  In my daughter's little town there is a very popular diner.   They have a bookcase just as you come in the door and it is an honor system library....no cards, no strings.     A friend of ours who dines there quite a bit told me that she often takes her overflow books there. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 27, 2016, 05:18:22 PM
We have a couple of sort of large Mail boxes around my area.  You can put books in and also take out.  We also have big red ones where can leave shoes along with another side to put books,  Post office has a box to drop in books for the Prison System.  I am all for doing things like that.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 27, 2016, 06:48:27 PM
Jeanne - We used to have a large book drop-box in one of our local shopping centers, but it's now gone.  I asked in one of the stores where it was, and they told me it was removed because people were throwing trash and bags of garbage and worse, into the box. :(  It's so depressing to hear about how thoughtless and selfish people can be. Don't they have a conscience?

This morning I had a long wait in another doctors office, but no "help yourself" bookshelf there.  I did notice that there was one other person (besides myself) reading a book, but everyone else was playing with their smart phones. ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on April 27, 2016, 08:35:25 PM
 :-[i get so sickened when I get out of my car, and in the parking lot are several used, disposable baby diapers.  I get the feeling these people don't have any idea about  the proper way to dispose of their trash.  You can imagine what their "abode" must look like. :-[
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 27, 2016, 09:42:20 PM
Now is my town there were lots of drop boxes belonging to Goodwill in order for you to drop clothing. All had to be taken away because people where dropping anything in them along with mattresses . Old broken furniture . lot of trash. Would all get wet. Terrible.  Some people. Trashy.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 28, 2016, 07:35:24 AM
[attachimg=1]
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 28, 2016, 07:36:30 AM
Since we don't have a words related discussion, and since readers love words, I posted this new definition here!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 28, 2016, 07:42:21 AM
http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/blog/2016/04/fomo-hella-microloan-and-more-than-1400-other-new-words-added-to-merriam-webster-unabridged/ (http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/blog/2016/04/fomo-hella-microloan-and-more-than-1400-other-new-words-added-to-merriam-webster-unabridged/)

Link for more.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 28, 2016, 11:34:26 AM
bubble - Thank you for providing some interesting reading this morning, for those of us who like learning new words. :)
My youngest daughter suffers from a serious case of nomophobia!  She believes that being without her iPhone would be the end of her social life - or ability to communicate with her friends.  It's mostly the texting, I think??  According to her, no one actually TALKS on the phone anymore . . . you only text back and forth. ::)

Another good site for word discussion,   http://www.dictionary.com/   They feature, "The word of the day", which is usually interesting.  They also talk about the correct pronunciation of common words.  For instance today, they talk about the mispronunciation of the word pronunciation! "Why is this common word mispronounced
so often?" :-\
 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 28, 2016, 12:46:56 PM
Marilyn, thanks a lot for that link - I did a Xword straight away!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Kelly on April 28, 2016, 12:59:01 PM
Hi Marilyne
Your youngest daughter I think is right, very few people phone family or friends now.

Emails used to be the main communication, but that has been overtaken by texting.  And irbid not only the young people who text, but more and more people our age are texting.

And the latest way of texting is by using WhatsApp where you can text, record an audio message and it on WhatsApp.  And record a video and send that to family and friends.

I read in 2012 that 8 trillion text messages were sent!

Kelly
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 28, 2016, 01:22:52 PM
I hope WhatsApp is reliable: I am trying to guess what your "irbid" meant :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 29, 2016, 01:58:54 PM
I must be one of the very few people now who refused to use Texting. They can either use E-M to me or call on my home line. Use the answer machine if they leave a message I will get back to them.  Very few people are given my Mobile phone number

I have notice now that I have not heard from a few friends by E-M.  I know that all the Grands and eldest daughter now just  texting other people. Not me.  The youngest daughter hardly every uses her computer now.  All on her Iphone.  Think I am the only person in family without one. One wanted to buy me one for Mothers day. I would not use it.  Happy with computer. Ipad and Tablet.  Did accept a new answer machine as mine now broke the other day.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 29, 2016, 06:34:44 PM
Jeanne - count me as another who doesn't have a smart phone and who doesn't text. I'd like to get an iPhone, because there are so many interesting and useful app's you can get for free.  However, it's too pricey for me to buy something that I don't really need at all.  As for the texting - there is no one for me to text. LOL  I doubt that my adult kids or grand kids would be too thrilled to get a text from me, unless I was asking a question that needed a quick answer, or it was an emergency of some kind.  None of my friends, my brother, or other older relatives have smart phones, so that leaves no one. :'(
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 29, 2016, 07:10:08 PM
Marilyn.  Now you can get just as many good Apps if you have a IPad.  Use for other things also.  I really like mine.  Just get the Mini IPad. I think if I get another one later I will just get the mini. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 29, 2016, 07:38:28 PM
My dil, who works for AT&T, helped me get a GoPhone.    I haven't added any apps   If I get to the point of frequently sitting in waiting rooms, I suspect that will change.

Neither have I yet texted with anyone but family and I usually have to instigate things because they know I don't have it on any more often than I did my plain old cell phone.

However, when severe storms and possible tornadoes were moving into the metro area Tuesday night and there was real concern about power loss,  I received texts from every family member:   "Is your phone on and charged?"  (It was)
Then - when another round was approaching earlier this evening,  I figured out how to send a text to all of them at the same time with the message "Phone on and charged!"   (Fortunately, the storm missed the areas where we all live - but did do/is doing some damage as it's moving across the state)

Once, when my son was looking for items he needed for a project at my house, he sent pictures and I was able to make choices.  That was nice.
And once, when my son was looking for ceramic pots he was putting in my flower beds, he did send pictures and I was able to make choices.  That was nice.





Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 30, 2016, 02:25:03 PM
My husband and I text with our kids a lot.  I don't feel bad about texting because I know they will answer when they have a minute, but don't like to interrupt their work day with a telephone call.  Mostly I text from my iPad---the screen is larger for my old eyes. ;)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Dahlia308 on May 03, 2016, 06:32:15 PM
Quote from: Marilyne on April 02, 2016, 11:26:16 AM
One season of Outlander, was enough for me. There are so many other excellent dramas and series on the premium channels or Netflix streaming, that I would rather watch.  I did enjoy it at first, and loved the gorgeous scenery, the history, the clothing, and some of the characters . . . but the graphic love scenes were too long, and the extreme violence was horrific.  The scene between Jamie and Jack Randal went on and on for at least a half hour!  No need for showing the viewers such detail.  I wonder if people really like watching scenes like that, or if it's only us old folks who are turned off?  :-\

I watched the whole first season of Outlander and loved the scenery and the relationship between Claire and Jamie.  I've found out that in any given program, once the main characters marry, the show is over.  I've watched the first two episodes of the second season, but am not impressed.  Scotland was so much more beautiful than France.

Nancy

P.S.  Sorry to be replying to such an old post.  I "just" found S&F again and am getting caught up!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on May 04, 2016, 06:22:36 AM
Hi, Nancy.  I agree that the scenery in Scotland is so much better than in France.  The thing that is impressing me about this season's episodes is the costuming.  Wonderful outfits that everyone (men and women) are wearing are beautiful but especially, the beautiful costumes that Claire is wearing.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 04, 2016, 10:44:00 AM
Nancy (Dahlia) - Welcome back to S&F!  I'm glad that you found us again, and hope to see you here often. :)

I have also heard the old adage that a marriage between the main characters in a TV show, spells the beginning of the end of the show.  If the couple is already married when the show starts - ("Mad About You") - it's okay, but as soon as they have a baby, the show is finished. :(

In the case of "Outlander", I think they were following the book, when they had Jamie and Claire marry?  I'm not watching the series this season, and I haven't read the books, but I think having Claire married to two men at the same time has a purpose. It adds to the tension of the story, and will be an important factor, when she returns to the 1940's, to her present day husband.
I may watch this new season, after it goes On Demand.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 04, 2016, 09:56:17 PM
When I returned Cometh The Hour to the library,  I took a quick look at the new books.   The one I checked out is called  The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend.    Funny sounding title.  This is a first novel by Katarina Bivald who lives in Stockholm, Sweden.     This book has had a slow start for me but to be fair,  I was trying to read when I was quite tired so I'm giving it a fair chance to pick up.   I have gotten acquainted with a few of the characters and can see where there is promise for a good story.  I'll let you know. :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 05, 2016, 02:02:36 PM
maryc:  I agree, The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend, is an unusual title! ha ha!  I had to read it over a couple of times to make sure I was seeing it right - and now it's beginning to sound intriguing!  Keep us posted on how you like it, and I may add it to my book list. 

My book list . . . hmmmm?  I have a few that I'm waiting on from the library, and a couple of others that are still here, but so far untouched.  Somehow I just can't get started on anything in recent days.  The weekend is coming up again, and that's usually when I do the most reading. 

Tome:  I don't recall if I told you how much I enjoyed A Walk In The Woods?  Besides being a good true story, I learned so much about the Appalachian Trail, and all of the small towns, cities and states, along the way.  It was fascinating to me to compare the differences in the AP, and the Pacific Crest Trail.  I recently read the book and saw the movie, Wild, so it's fascinating to compare the differences in the two trails.  I remember that you didn't care much for the "Walk in Woods" movie??  I thought for sure it would be playing On Demand or on Netflix streaming, but it's not available on either at this time.  I would like to see it, just for comparison purposes.  I can't see Robert Redford as Bryson, but I CAN see Nick Nolte as Katz! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on May 05, 2016, 02:53:56 PM
It wasn't that I didn't like Walk in the Woods movie version, it's just that it seemed so slow in getting started.  After having read the book, I got the movie from Netflix, and watched it again.  It was a teeny bit better in the second viewing, especially since I read the book, and was so blown away by all the information it contained about the AT. 
I have seen "Wild"...have not read the book, but might give it a go, and then I will research the Pacific Crest Trail and make comparisons.  Marilyne, I'm so glad you enjoyed A Walk in the Woods.  Perhaps having read the book first, you might not enjoy the movie as much, but it's a double-edged sword.  The awesome cinematography of parts of the actual AT, helps make the movie  more enjoyable. Nolte as Katz is superb as the overweight, foul-mouthed buddy.  It wouldn't have been ANY fun without him!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on May 05, 2016, 03:25:55 PM
I don't remember if I am the only Mystery reader here or not but just in case......I read on the Barnes & Noble site today that Louise Penny will have a new Inspector Armand Gamache book out on 8-30-2016. A Great Reckoning It is the 12th in the series.  I'm looking forward to it since she is one of my favorite authors and I like this series very much.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on May 05, 2016, 04:43:15 PM
No, Phyllis, I read mysteries also.  Am a member of a f2f Mystery Book Club, as well as a regular book club.  Love the Louise Penney series.  Do you get her emails?  Her husband Michael has Alzheimers now.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 05, 2016, 05:20:09 PM
I had A Walk in the Woods on hold at the library but found the movie on Hoopla and watched it the day before I got the call for the book.   I'm going to be on the negative side here.    The movie was ok but not what I expected and so I didn't pick up the book.   I may have missed the better part by not reading the book.

I do like mystery stories but not thrillers.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on May 05, 2016, 09:45:08 PM
The book is better.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on May 06, 2016, 08:50:37 AM
I don't get the Louise Penny emails, Tome, but I did check out her website and it is a really good one.  Glad to know that you are a mystery lover, too.

Sometimes you don't know that you are into a "thriller", MaryC, until it suddenly pops up.  I do my "head in the sand" thing and just skip through those parts.

I didn't read A Walk in the Woods but watched the movie.  I liked Nolte, too, but just couldn't keep from thinking how OLD Redford looked.  The movie was OK....scenery was beautiful....but wasn't crazy about it.  I tried to read Bryson's The Road to Little Dribbling but lost interest in it.  He just seemed so negative to me...kept talking about all the tourists, trash and clutter, his intense dislike of the National Trust, etc.  It might have gotten better later in the book but I never got that far.  And, IMO, if it wasn't for the National Trust in Britain a lot of those wonderful historic places would be long gone.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on May 06, 2016, 09:30:05 AM
I'm also a mystery lover but not crazy about "thrillers" either.  I haven't read A Louise Penny in ages and I do enjoy her.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on May 06, 2016, 09:52:06 AM
I like it that Robert Redford has let himself get "old", and not done all the plastic surgery stuff that others (men and women) have done.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 06, 2016, 04:20:04 PM
Besides Redford, another actor who looks every bit of his 85 years is Clint Eastwood.  Too bad that the American women actors feel compelled to get so much cosmetic surgery.  The British actresses, like Judy Dench and Maggie Smith, are both turning 82 this year, and definitely look 82!  However, they're still working steadily, so it hasn't hurt their careers at all to refrain from face lifts.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 08, 2016, 12:20:47 PM
I'm about half-way through The Reader of Broken Wheel Recommend.   It has been a slow mover for me but the story is unfolding and for those who like to read,   I think you would enjoy it.  She mentions a lot of titles and authors that we talk about here.

In regard to Robert Redford in A Walk in the Woods,   I wondered when I saw him if he really looks that way or if his aging was exaggerated for that movie.       I haven't seen him  on any shows recently so didn't know.  I suggested the book to our son because he had made an acquaintance with a man from Charlotte, NC who is legally blind and has hiked several of the well known trails.   That man has become well known through the media and also I see that he does workshops with young people who are visually impaired to inspire them to attempt more physical activity......see Trevor Thomas on Facebook.  It is interesting.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 09, 2016, 11:32:27 AM
We went to son and dil's for Mother's Day dinner, plus a game of bocce ball on their backyard court. Lots of bending over and squatting down required in that game, so I had to give it up long ago. ::)  AJ can still keep up with the younger folks, so he played, and enjoyed himself.  Older men seem to be so much more flexible than women . . . that's the way I see it anyway?  My dil's parents were also there, and her dad was playing, whereas her mom was sitting with me on the comfortable patio chairs. LOL 

Our granddaughter is home from college, and she prepared the entire Mother's Day meal.  It was delicious - lemon chicken, artichokes, salad, and a rice casserole.  Chocolate covered strawberries for dessert! 

I almost forgot to mention that I received two books!  One is by Anna Quindlan . . . Still Life With Bread Crumbs. I've enjoyed every book she's ever written, so I'm sure I'll like this one too.  The other one has a catchy title . . The Coincidence of Coconut Cake, by Amy Reichert.  I'm curious, so I think I'll start reading that one today. :) 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on May 09, 2016, 12:03:05 PM
I read Stilllife with Breadcrumbs, Marilyne, and recall that I liked it.  On the recommendation of the readers in this topic....I ordered the first book of the Clifton Chronicles by Archer.  I'm just getting started so don't have a yea or nay opinion yet.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on May 09, 2016, 12:42:03 PM
Phylllis, you won't be able to stop reading.  I even forgot to eat lunch once, I was so engrossed in it.  ;D
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 09, 2016, 02:36:12 PM
Marilyne,   It sounds like a nice Mother's Day with your family.    Good!!  Sounds like you have some good reading in store.        We went to our son and DILs also.   Our son cooked on the grill but it was too cool for picnicing outdoors.   It was just a nice and comfortable visit with the generations and we were happy that Al was up for the visit. 

Phyllis,   I hope you will enjoy the Clifton Chronicles.    I just finished the 6th and last one out.  There were times during the reading of the 6 books that I thought of stopping, but didn't and found the whole tale quite interesting and I learned something about the British government that I hadn't known.     It was the same with the Maggie Hope Mysteries.    Those little books told a lot about the British government  during WWII and workings of their espionage.  I found it interesting how some of the facts from one book overlapped information in the other.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on May 09, 2016, 03:20:22 PM
Sounds like a nice day for you both Marilyne and Maryc.  I had a nice day too.  Daughter's husband worked so his Asst Mgr. could have the day off with her children so our daughter spent part of the day with us.  Marilyne, we played a nice sit down game of Canasta.  ;)

I haven't had time to join the library yet, but planning on going tomorrow.  I've heard so much about the Clifton Chronicles I thought I would see if I can find the first one.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 10, 2016, 06:57:25 PM
FlaJean - Good to know I'm not the only one who hasn't read The Clifton Chronicles.:D  I've heard nothing but good comments, so it must be an excellent series.  However, I'll put them on the back burner for now, as I still have at least a dozen books waiting to be read!
Your mention of Canasta, brought back pleasant memories of long ago.  I remember when it was a very popular card game . . I think that was in the 1950's? 

Today I went to Barnes & Noble, and bought an odd assortment of items . . . none of which were books!  I had a 40% off coupon that was about to expire, so I decided to just look around and buy whatever looked interesting to me. 

I've been wanting a get myself an adult coloring book, so I spent a lot of time looking at all the many selections. Most were intricate designs or full page detailed florals, which did not interest me.  I only saw one or two that included people, which is what I prefer.  One was "Alice in Wonderland", but no, too much detail!  I never found exactly what I had hoped for, but I did get one, called The World of Debbie Macomber.  Still no people, but lots of gardens, kitchens, bedrooms, cottages, etc.  We'll see how I do, and if coloring is really an adult stress reliever?? ::)

I've never read any of Debbie Macomber's books, but maybe this will inspire me to do so?   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on May 11, 2016, 06:44:33 AM
Macomber has written a "jillion" books. (A little exaggeration there.  ;) )  They are pleasant American cozies.  I have only read the series about the The Shop on Blossom Street because of my interest in knitting.  Her Cedar Cove series was made into a TV series that ran on the Hallmark channel for quite awhile.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on May 11, 2016, 03:15:56 PM
Phyllis.  Now what name did the Ceder Cove Series come under.  I don't get the Hallmark channel but notice that lots of time they then go to DVD and my library get them all.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on May 11, 2016, 04:06:07 PM
JeanneP,  from Wikipedia:

Cedar Cove was an American/Canadian drama television series on the Hallmark Channel that aired for three seasons from July 20, 2013, to September 26, 2015.  Based on author Debbie Macomber's book series of the same name, Cedar Cove focused on Municipal Court Judge Olivia Lockhart's professional and personal life and the townsfolk surrounding her. It was the network's first-ever original scripted series.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 11, 2016, 04:28:12 PM
phyllis and Jeanne - My Debbie Macomber coloring book, consists of scenes at the Rose Harbor Inn, somewhere near Seattle, WA.  I just now looked again at the book, and see that there are many pictures to color of the Inn, as well as rooms in the Inn, and the surrounding gardens.  I especially like dishes, china, teapots, etc., so I will enjoy coloring the pages showing the table settings and kitchen countertops. 

phyll - I see that there is one page showing a wicker knitting basket, filled with yarn, and a knitted square with needles. Also a cute sidewalk cafe, and lots of country style looking bedrooms.  Oh yes, I think I'm going to enjoy this new coloring pastime! :)   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on May 11, 2016, 04:37:07 PM
I was shopping at my local Kroger just a few minutes ago, and in passing the magazine rack, I noticed they had three (3) different Adult coloring books.  One a Christian-based,
one a Flying on with butterflies, birds, bees, etc. and a Sea-themed one, with different fish, sea shells, etc.  AND they are about $6.00 cheaper than ones I've seen on-line, and even the ones they have a CrackerBarrel stores.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 11, 2016, 08:36:33 PM
The adult coloring books do look like a fun past time.    I'm curious Marilyne what you are using for your colors.   Our daughter was given a book at her retirement party and she bought colored pencils.   Sometime later I heard a comment that the gel pens were nice for use with those.    I think it might be a little easier on your hand with the gel pens but I'm only guessing.    I have thought of one of those books for myself but haven't gotten serious about looking.    It would be good for winter time when there is no gardening to take me outdoors. ;D   It seems to me it would be an awfully nice gift for someone who is ill or having had surgery and needed to be quiet for a time.

I returned The Reader of Broken Wheel Recommend today.    I do recommend this book especially in this group of folks who like to read.    The last chapter especially leaves you laughing.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on May 12, 2016, 09:06:43 AM
Marilyne, the adult coloring books sound like fun and I'm sure you are going to enjoy them.  I looked at some of them but mostly I express what little bit of artistic interest I have in creating graphics in Paint Shop Pro.  Both pastimes are very relaxing and fun. 

I'm still reading the first book of the Clifton Chronicles.  I am enjoying the book but I wish I hadn't gone to Wikipedia to learn more about the author.  Too Much Information!  ::)   Archer has led a rather shady life, hasn't he?  Very surprising and makes me think that in this first book he has included a lot of incidents from his own early life. I wonder how many authors write from their own life experiences.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 12, 2016, 01:16:55 PM
maryc - Thanks for the tip on the gel pens.  I bought a container of colored pencils at B&N, when I purchased the book, but after starting on picture #1 yesterday, I could tell right away, that gripping those pencils, was going to be a painful ordeal! I found an old box of crayons here, and they were slightly easier on the hands, but still not comfortable. Today I'll look around town, and see if I can find the gel pens.

phyll - Even though I haven't read The Clifton Chronicles, you've certainly piqued my interest in Jeffrey Archer! :o  Now I must look him up on Wikipedia, and find out about his "shady" background! LOL   It might inspire me to at least read his first book.  I'm not a big fan of series books, but everyone raves about The Chronicles, so I'm sure I would like them too.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on May 12, 2016, 01:39:26 PM
I just brought up my Library and on Debby M. Cedar Cove I see the Series one and two and the Final episode That ran on Hallmark and so just requested them  I think there are 6 series in each one.  Also ordered the Cook Book that goes with them.. (Love cook Book).  All her books are also in in LP.  Think I have read quite a few of them. Between my books from library which I prefer and the ones on my IPad and my Amazon Reader. I will never catch up on my reading.
Now I just finished on last night I think you would like.  (The Husbands Secret)  by Liane Moriarty a Australian writer that I am finding good. Now started on (The light between Oceans) another in Australian.
Another Stormy day here again today and so Good day to just read... Catch up.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on May 12, 2016, 01:41:48 PM
I finally got to the local library.  It is very nice and thoughtfully decorated here and there with bronze statutes and what looks like paintings by local artists.  My visit was on the way to the super market and I couldn't remember The Clifton Chronicles and checked out a couple of mystery books by an author I'm not familiar with--- Tash Alexander.  British mysteries which I enjoy.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on May 12, 2016, 02:00:20 PM
I would assume that the gel pens would "use up" too quickly. I know that standard "gel pens" that you just write with, the ink is gone before you know it. I guess if you bought the cheap ones from the dollar store, the expense mightn't be too great.   I got colored pencils for my coloring books.  If they are problematic for my hand, I might try Crayolas.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 12, 2016, 03:13:46 PM
FlaJean,A new library is a treat.  When we travelled we would often stop for lunch  and look up the local library to use the internet.  I liked to see other libraries...very interesting.

Phyllis,  I'm smiling about your comments on Archer.  He did have quite a colorful life.  I wonder how much of his ill gotten gain he has managed to hang onto.  His life experiences certainly have provided him material to keep his livelihood afloat through writing.   Did you notice that he has another series called The Prison Diaries?   I don't plan on reading those.  :D
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on May 12, 2016, 05:49:13 PM
Do not buy the cheap colour pens now that lots of people are putting out there.  Buy only good ones for the books.  They last pretty good. GD sent my last one with a good book from Barnes and Noble. Think they were $14.  Watch Office Depot for when theirs on sale.  Their $15 set was for $8.99 few weeks ago.  Cheap one will seep through the paper .
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 17, 2016, 10:55:34 AM
I have a few new books to read, but haven't started any of them yet. Two I mentioned that my son & dil gave me for Mother's day - The Coincidence of Coconut Cake, and Anna Quindlen's, Still Life With Breadcrumbs. Another one that I've been waiting on from the library, The Summer Before the War, is finally available!  Someone in this discussion recommended it - I think it was FlaJean??  So I'll pick it up today, and then decide which of the three I'll read first. :-\
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 21, 2016, 12:32:21 PM
A brand new Jane Austen movie will open in select theaters today!  This is very intriguing, and sounds like something we would all like.  The movie has been adapted from the novel, Lady Susan, that Austen never completed.  It has been renamed, Love and Friendship.  (Why renamed . . . my newspaper review does not say?) 

The review is quite good, the only negative being that it drags a little, and is very "talky".  (Aren't all Austen movies "very talky"? LOL)  It stars Kate Beckinsale, as the widow, Lady Susan. Others in the all British cast are Chloe Sevigny and Lochlann O'Mearan.

I will guess and hope, that this film will go to DVD and the movie channels, fairly quickly, because unfortunately it will not have much of an audience in theaters.  I see in my paper this morning, that it's playing in only one small art theater here in this huge metropolitan area of Silicon Valley. :'( 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 21, 2016, 08:18:26 PM
Recently when I had finished the last Archer book of the series I went browsing at the library.  I picked some older books.  The Shipping News by E.Annie Proulx was good...different.  Another that I'm reading now is Object Lessons by Anna Quinlan.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on May 21, 2016, 08:54:57 PM
Just finishing up watching the second Series of "Cedar Cove". Went into the library to see if the Have number 3.  Wish is titled Series.  They don't yet. But did read that there was suppose to be a number 4 but the show was Cancelled out.  No reason given. Says that leaves a lot of unfinished things.  Wonder how it was in her books. What is the name of her final?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on May 22, 2016, 08:31:47 AM
Publication Order of Cedar Cove Books

16 Lighthouse Road (2001) Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle 
204 Rosewood Lane (2002) Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle 
311 Pelican Court (2003) Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle 
44 Cranberry Point (2004) Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle 
50 Harbor Street (2004) Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle 
6 Rainier Drive (2006) Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle 
74 Seaside Avenue (2007) Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle 
8 Sandpiper Way (2008) Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle 
92 Pacific Boulevard (2009) Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle 
1022 Evergreen Place (2010) Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle 
1105 Yakima Street (2011) Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle 
1225 Christmas Tree Lane (2011) Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on May 22, 2016, 01:27:20 PM
Phyllis

I will print out that list.  I did go in yesterday and ordered 2 at a time to go onto my Amazon Reader or the IPad.  Prefer the reader as I can put in my purse.  Think I have read a few of them.  So going by date written.  Looks like most do not follow the Story as told on the TV series.
She really wrote a lot of books.  She lives in that town they say. Not called Cedar Cove. I think I went bye it when I was in Seattle years back.  Doubt it looked like that then. A tourist place now.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 22, 2016, 01:39:36 PM
JeanneP,  if I remember the Cedar Cove books correctly,  the Hallmark series combined plots of several into each episode.        I did not think the actress who played Judge Olivia was anything like the character in the books!
Author Debbie Macomber has a LOT of series books!!! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on May 22, 2016, 04:01:59 PM
I did watch series 1 and 2 of Cedar Cove.  Stayed with it but thought the acting was awful. Some were like they had a sheet in hand reading it.  Had to be a reason for Hallmark to Cancel out Series 4 and looks like they sort of cram a lot in the #3 which is called Final Cedar Cove
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 22, 2016, 04:30:09 PM
 
IMO,  Hallmarkmovies are always a bit "smarmy".   :P
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 22, 2016, 05:05:52 PM
Not the greatest of actors on the Hallmark shows! LOL  They usually look good though!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on May 22, 2016, 11:33:12 PM
Tonight I watched a couple of Jessie stone movies with Tom Selleck on the Hallmark Mystery Channel.  I think he is a good actor.  He is aging but still looks pretty good.  :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on May 24, 2016, 08:32:32 AM
Ditto to what you said, Callie.  Still, I watch once in a great while when I don't want to see any violence, blood and guts like every other show seems to feel is necessary.

FlaJean, the Jessie Stone movies were favorites of mine.  Perhaps now that "Blue Bloods" has finished T. Selleck will make another Jessie Stone movie for TV.  I hope so.  I thought he was perfect for the character.  I always enjoy reading Robert Parkers books. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 25, 2016, 12:13:22 PM
I see that Blue Bloods is on Netflix, but I haven't seen any Jesse Stone movies listed there?  I haven't read the Parker  books, but AJ read them and liked them a lot. 
He just finished reading, The Revenant, based on the true story by Michael Punke.
Leonardo DiCaprio, won the Best Actor Oscar this year, for his lead role in the movie.  Now AJ is anxious to see the movie, but I'm not sure if I can stand to watch it?  Supposed to be very graphic, re, violence, suffering, redemption, etc. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on May 25, 2016, 02:11:06 PM
Marilyne, I watched the Jesse Stone movies on Hallmark Mysteries. If you put Tom Selleck in the Netflix search the Jesse Stone movie should come up if there are any on Netflix.  I did watch one on Netflix a couple of years ago, but they do change their movies from time to time.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 31, 2016, 05:21:28 PM
A big enthusiastic recommendation for, Still Life With Bread Crumbs, by Anna Quindlen.  I think most of you who read or post in this discussion will like it. 

I've only read two other books by Anna Q - One True Thing and Blessings, both of which were very good. "True Thing" was made into a good movie, starring Meryl Streep and Renee' Zellweger. "Blessings", is a wonderful story that has stayed with me over the years.  A rather common theme, but written in a memorable way.

I see that she has written lots of other books, both fiction and non-fiction, which I hope to get to before long.  I still have one library book here to read . . . The Summer Before the War), as well as a paperback called, The Coincidence of Coconut Cake.     

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 01, 2016, 06:47:49 AM
I am now on the third book of Estelle Ryan's Connection series. I like the characters, but think this third book is a bit much. It concludes efforts to bring one particular bad guy to justice, so the first three books are a trilogy. I hope, are each of the rest are separate mysteries.

The main character and narrator of the novels is a high functioning autistic who works for an insurance company as an investigator. She uses her expert skills in nonverbal communication, something  I am told is usually lacking in an autistic person, to solve art thefts and forgeries. Her unofficial/official team include a thief, a criminal knowledgeable in weaponry (possible former mercenary), a expert computer hacker, and an Interpol detective.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on June 01, 2016, 08:24:18 PM
I read the first of Ryan's Connection series and thought it was very well done.  I have intended to go back and read more of this series.  I think there are about 7 or 8?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 02, 2016, 06:08:03 AM
She is up to nine now, Jean. I've finish book 3 (The Braque Connection). Braque and the rest of the artists named in the series are unfamiliar to me except for Morisot whose paintings I have seen. No surprise about Georges Braque. He was a cubist; I don't like cubism. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on June 02, 2016, 06:54:48 PM
I couldn't face another series right now!!!! :yikes:    Since I finished The Clifton Chronicles and the Maggie Hope Mysteries  I've been reading various authors.    I'm just finishing one by Jan Karon.    I've read a few of her books but hadn't read this one called  In The Company of Others.   This story takes place in Ireland where Father Tim and Cynthia have gone for a vacation.    I think it is more  involved  than the earlier books and there is a story within the story as they have come across an old journal telling about the mansion that is part of the property of the B&B where they are staying.   

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on June 03, 2016, 01:05:06 PM
My f2f book club just read "The Elegance of the Hedgehog".  We all agreed it was NOT an easy read...very philosophical/metaphysical.  However, those of us who had not finished the book, all said we were determined to finish it!  I was the moderator for this one, and had a list of discussion questions, which helped a lot to further our discussion.  Now, the real kicker is:  There is a movie of the book, but it is not titled "Elegance of the Hedgehog", but only The Hedgehog.  Wow, wow, wow. I watched the movie yesterday with a dear friend who is also a member of our book group.  It is in French, with English subtitles (very easily read, I might add).  The acting is superb.  The movie gets into the kernel of the book, without having to read/reread the philosophical parts, which seemed to slow the reading process.  One member said she had finished the book, but was going to read it again.  Lots of classic book titles mentioned in the story, which will prompt some of us to find and read them.  Get this movie from your library's collection,  on Netflix or however you get your DVD's. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 03, 2016, 04:07:21 PM
Tome - Your comments on The Elegance of the Hedgehog, are very encouraging!  I've thought about reading it over the years, but most reviews say it's difficult, boring, and lots of other negative adjectives!  Since you recommend the movie, I may watch it instead.  I'll check my On Demand, and see if it's listed. 

For some reason, I'm reminded of Watership Down.  I remember trying to read that book, and being bored out of my mind. (Looking back, I probably wasn't astute enough to see all the symbolism, etc?)  When it was made into a movie, I went to see it, but didn't enjoy it. I think I probably had my mind made up, and didn't give it a chance.     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on June 03, 2016, 04:19:41 PM
The book could be reviewed as difficult/boring, some parts more than others.  It is a treatise on France's "class society" as much as anything, and therein we find the two main characters' purpose...very basically, personally acknowledging while denying it in their own lives. (Did that make sense?)  In other words, in their very private lives, they make sure they don't live up to the way others stereotype them.

I loved "Watership Down" and I have been swearing to reread it, but keep forgetting.  I didn't care for the movie either.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on June 04, 2016, 08:56:11 AM
I have said the same thing, Tome.  Watership Down was one of my favorite books and I keep saying I will re-read it.  My brother hated it saying that he just couldn't buy into the anthropomorphism.

I will go to Netflix and try to find Hedgehog.  I think I would like to see that.  Thanks for mentioning it.

I have found that so often the books that were the most difficult and boring to stick with are the ones that have stayed in my mind for years afterward.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 04, 2016, 12:46:54 PM
phyll - I'm with your brother on Watership Down, but I would be willing to take another look and see if maybe old age has softened my opinion??  Another one that I tossed aside many long years ago, was The Hobbit series.  I don't think I'd be willing to give them another look. 

Some fantasy stories I really like, but not those involving animals or inhuman creatures.  I'm loving Game of Thrones, on HBO, and would like to read the series of books that it's adapted from, A Song of Ice and Fire, by  George R. R. Martin.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on June 04, 2016, 12:57:49 PM
Marilyne, I definitely agree with you on The Hobbit.  Tried to read them but it just didn't work for me.  And I will say the same for the Hobbit movies.  However, I liked Avatar very much and it is in the same fantasy genre.  I have no good explanation for that!   :uglystupid2:

Couldn't find the movie "The Hedgehog" on Netflix and Amazon isn't playing it on movies/videos but will be happy to send me the CD for $9.99.  I don't think so.  When I go to the library later on in the week I'll check to see if they have a copy.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on June 04, 2016, 02:03:29 PM
Netflix does seem to have/or intends to have "The Hedgehog". When I put it in my queue it dumps it down to the waiting list part.  Depending on the size of your library, they might have a copy.  Good luck.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on June 04, 2016, 02:13:06 PM
Anyone here has read the books by Ann Mc Caffrey?  Her Pern series had me hooked for many years and I always enjoy re-reading them when I have nothing new at hand.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 05, 2016, 06:29:56 AM
Bubble, I just finished reading the first of the Pern series. It was interesting enough to finish, but I wasn't that taken with it or the characters to continue. Maybe I will pick it up again later.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on June 05, 2016, 06:53:02 AM
which one did you read?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 05, 2016, 08:51:03 AM
Dragonflight (1968) I believe it was the first one written. The only character I really liked was F'Lar, the Wingleader of Brenden Weyr.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on June 05, 2016, 09:12:34 AM
Tome, I have Netflix streaming where I can watch in HD on either my Smart TV or my computer.  However, I seldom watch any video/movie on my computer.  I prefer the bigger screen.  I used to get the DVD mailed to me but haven't used my DVD player for years.  I don't think it is even connected anymore.  I think the Netflix streaming library is not as extensive as the DVD library but perhaps The Hedgehog will show up in the list eventually.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 05, 2016, 11:16:55 AM
phyll - Our DVD player is also just sitting and gathering dust.  Like you, we used to get the DVD's through the mail, but then went to the direct Netflix streaming instead.  Not a great selection of the older movies that I like, but enough to give me plenty of things to watch! 

Do you ever use Redbox?  The DVD's are only $1.50 for 24 hours, and they always have the very latest movies.  Also, my library has both new and old to select from.  However, I'm embarrassed to admit that I never get either one, because I've forgotten how my player works! LOL  :-[
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on June 05, 2016, 11:39:36 AM
Quote from: MarsGal on June 05, 2016, 08:51:03 AM
Dragonflight (1968) I believe it was the first one written. The only character I really liked was F'Lar, the Wingleader of Brenden Weyr.

One of my favorites is Dragon singer and Dragon song, about the same character Menolly.
F'lar is there in all the books as well as his wife.  My dearest character is Robinton, master Harper of Pern.  He too is in all the books.

The first was not the best.  But they do not need to be read in order, which is a good thing :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on June 05, 2016, 03:22:45 PM
I've seen Redbox in several places here, Marilyne, but have never used it.  Too lazy to stir myself and take the dvd back, I guess.  And most definitely too lazy to dig out the old DVD player and dust it off and hook it up.   :sleep:    Oddly enough, our library system does not offer movies/tv shows on DVD.  They have a very large collection of Books on DVDs and an even larger collection of eBooks for Kindle, Nook, and other types of e readers so I don't know why they don't have any movies on DVD.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 06, 2016, 07:04:37 AM
That is good to know, Bubble. I may get back to them later on, but, for now, I had other books that needed read before my library loans expired. We are doing The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry over on Senior Learn beginning today.  www.seniorlearn.org
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 06, 2016, 11:02:58 AM
MarsGal - A.J. Fikry, was a favorite in this discussion a couple of years ago. I think you're going to enjoy reading it! :thumbup:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on June 06, 2016, 01:51:43 PM
I have the "Storied life of AJ Fikry" on hold at the library. Will maybe able to catch up with the Discussion.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on June 06, 2016, 03:34:42 PM
I called The Storied Life of A J Fikry a "gentle" book.  I liked it very much but then anything about books, book stores, and literature will draw me like a magnet.  I have put an ebook version on hold at the library and will read it again.  This time I will link to and read all of the short stories that are mentioned at the beginning of each chapter.  I didn't do that the first time I read the book....in too much of a hurry to read the unfolding story of Fikry.   ;)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 06, 2016, 04:01:14 PM
Good idea phyllis!  I had forgotten about the short stories/books, mentioned at the beginning of each chapter in Fikry.  Also a variety of books touched on, throughout the story. I think I'll put a hold on it at my library also. :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on June 08, 2016, 03:00:26 PM
I'm smiling at the discussion about using the DVD players. ;D     I have trouble whenever I use ours.    My biggest problem is remembering that I need to set the "source".....AND THEN....after I have watched the DVD,  I forget to reset it and the next time I want to see TV,   I've forgotten and there is no signal for the TV. :2funny:

My brother and I have a good laugh with each other over the "high tech" stuff like our telephones.    He was an electrician and did TV repair for a living many years ago but times have changed a whole lot!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on June 09, 2016, 04:53:10 PM
I started The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry and was looking forward to a good story.  I've heard so many good reviews, but I'm having a problem sticking with it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 11, 2016, 11:36:25 AM
Light, charming, warm and witty . . . four adjectives to describe The Coincidence of Coconut Cake!  I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book.  I never would have picked it myself, but because my dil gave it to me, and it was here, I felt obligated to read it.  So glad I did! 

This book will be especially enjoyed by all of you ladies who like to cook!  Lots of food descriptions, preparation, and recipes. It made me wish I had the opportunity to sample the large variety of food described throughout the story.   Also, if anyone here is at all familiar with Milwaukee, and the food, restaurants, and lifestyle, you will love this!

The story is about a young woman chef, who is just getting started in the restaurant business, and runs into some roadblocks that sabotage her new business endeavor.  She is very likable, as is her whole staff, and everyone else in the book.  This is pleasant summer reading, and I think most of you will enjoy it! :thumbup:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on June 11, 2016, 11:52:33 AM
Marilyne, I am definitely going to look for that book.  I finished Donna Leon's latest book "The Waters of Eternal Youth" about her protagonist Guido Brunetti in Venice.  The occasional references to the meals his professor wife prepares sound delicious.  I hate to cook but enjoy good food and love to look at recipes.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 11, 2016, 11:46:05 PM
FlaJean - I love that book title, The Waters of Eternal Youth!
The book sounds interesting, so I'll check my library tomorrow and see if they have it?  At the moment I don't have anything new here that I feel like reading, so that sounds like a good start!

I hope you can find "Coconut Cake" . . . I think you'll like it. :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 12, 2016, 07:10:12 AM
Jean, Roberta Pianaro and Donna Leon have a cookbook out called Brunetti's Cookbook which combines both recipes and excerpts from the books plus six original essays. It appears to be a retitling (and probably an re-editing) of A Taste of Venice: At Table with Brunetti which does not appear to be in print any more.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on June 12, 2016, 02:40:07 PM
This is the best book I have read in a long time. Could not put it down and so it was 3:30 this morning when I finished it. Do have to say that I was crying for the last hour. (that takes a good story. A British writer. I had not seen her name before but looks like lots of books written by her. I look for LP so maybe that is why I don't see in library. I think this was written in 2013.  No many going to LP anymore.
Called "Me Before You" by Jojo Moyes. Hope I can find more by her.
I think that maybe now a movie out on it. But book as to be the way to go.
Has anyone else now read it?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on June 12, 2016, 02:58:07 PM
A sequel of that book entitled After You was released 29 September 2015 through Pamela Dorman Books.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on June 12, 2016, 03:03:47 PM
Bubble.  Yes I see that she has written about 30 books. Only 3 in LP.   I wondered if After You tied into the one I just read.  Will have to read in Small print.  I don't see any in the Library to put on my IPad of Tablet either.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on June 12, 2016, 03:10:44 PM
I did find the book. "After you" now available at the library to go onto my IPad.  Got a list of people requesting it. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on June 12, 2016, 04:02:47 PM
Marilyne, our county library has the coconut book and I put a hold on the large print.  They have to get it from another branch library.  Looking forward to reading it.  In the meantime I am still reading The Storied Life of A J Fikry.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 12, 2016, 04:26:55 PM
I've just finished The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, Jean. I couldn't resist finishing it even though our book discussion is only on chapters 4-6(Juming Frog...). What a tribute to small, independent bookstores, their owners and to readers everywhere. Such a gentle, sweet/sad book.

Ismay is into plays. It reminds me that I just saw a news item that the Allenberry Resort Inn and Playhouse is being sold at auction in July. It has been in business, in the same family, for over 70 years and has attracted some big names to its stage, including Jean Stapleton, Norman Fell, John Travolta, Eileen Brennan and Roy Schieder. Allenberry is just down Rt. 15 not too far from here.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 12, 2016, 04:33:56 PM
FlaJean - Looks like we're doing a sort of virtual book exchange here! ;D  You're reading Fikry, and waiting for Coconut in large print, while I'm finished with Coconut, and waiting for Fikry in large print. (Also coming from a branch in my library system.)   

JeanneP - Me Before You, seems familiar to me?  I think I may have read a review, or maybe someone here read it and recommended it?  I'll plan to get it from my library . . . it sounds good. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on June 12, 2016, 04:38:05 PM
It is 94 out but I need to dress better and head to the library. I notice they have FIKRY on hold for me.  Usually good TV on Sunday but they are still Pledging and so nothing worth seeing on the usual PBS . Need to pick up some DVD and couple books. Then go to the store.
That will be it. Back into cooler clothes.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 12, 2016, 05:09:35 PM
MarsGal - I just saw your post about the closing of the Allenberry Resort Inn and Playhouse.  So sad, that so many of the summer theaters have closed.  I wonder if it's the expense of funding the productions, or if the public no longer is interested in attending?  Either way, I hate to see the end of that bit of American theater.  I like all of the actors you mentioned, most especially Jean Stapleton and Eileen Brennan. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on June 12, 2016, 11:32:02 PM
I didn't think I would like Fikry but once I got into it I couldn't put it down.  As Marsgal said, it was a gentle sweet/sad story, but it also gave me a few laughs along the way.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 13, 2016, 06:58:23 AM
Marilyne, for now the Playhouse is still open. But that may change once it is sold. I am sure developers will be vieing for the property as it is prime real estate for development. The auction is set for July 12.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 18, 2016, 02:54:09 PM
I now have the library large print version of The Storied Life of R.J Fikry.  Just opened it and started reading yesterday, and really liking it for the second time!  It's interesting, as to how much one forgets about a book! I remember the basic story, and yet I had forgotten the details, and the personalities of some of the characters.  I can already tell that it will be an enjoyable weekend read. 

I also have another large print book, that I'll read next. A Spool of Blue Thread, by Anne Tyler. She is not one of my favorite authors, but I have liked some of her books.  The best, IMO, is The Accidental Tourist - great story and wonderful movie. I read a few of her books after that one, but I don't remember the titles?  However, I've been meaning to give her another look, so decided on this new best seller, "Blue Thread".  I'm looking forward to it. :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on June 18, 2016, 03:37:27 PM
I am reading "The Storied life of RJ Fikry. So far not finding much of a story in it. Must be about half way through. Maybe something happens in the 2nd half.
After it I will read "The Invention of Wings"  Sue Monk Kidd. only other of her books I have read was "The Secret life of Bees.. The I of Wings is about Early 19th Cent. Slave time in Charlston NC... Bit of a change
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 18, 2016, 05:24:59 PM
Marilyne, I guess I misspoke about Allenberry Playhouse still being open. It is not. My sister has a friend who volunteers at most of the regional playhouses, Allenberry was one of them. So the website was never updated.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on June 18, 2016, 08:22:10 PM
I picked up The Coincidence of Coconut Cake a couple of days ago but was in the middle of reading a book set in the late 1800s,  The Laws of Murder by Charles Finch.  Now I'm starting the Coconut book but not far enough along to know if I like it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 19, 2016, 01:05:05 PM
FlaJean - Don't be expecting Great Literature, from The Coincidence of Coconut Cake. Nothing there that's in line for winning a Pulitzer! ;D  Just light summer reading.  A good example of "Chick Lit". 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on June 19, 2016, 06:14:54 PM
Marilyne, I finished the "Coconut" book and enjoyed it.  My husband went to bed early as he was not feeling well, and I stayed up late to finish it.  I would love to have a slice of that cake but only if someone else makes it.  :thumbup:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 22, 2016, 01:43:29 PM
I really loved reading The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, for the second time.  For me, a good book becomes even better, when you read it again.  I notice details in the story that I missed at the first reading, and always get to know and like the characters even more than I already did.

I love Gabrielle Zevin's writing style.  She brings all the quirky characters to life with her delightful dialogue.  I haven't looked yet, but I'm hoping she's written more books?   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on June 22, 2016, 02:09:39 PM
Well maybe I should just read the book again in a few months.  I just could not see anything happening in it. Him finding that baby and raising her. Nothing interesting in meeting the Sales lady. Took 2 pages on the book that was stolen and then even though worth million it was just forgotten.  The mystery was told about it at the end. Nothing exciting there. Then he quickly died.  Maybe I read to many Mystery books and books on family affairs type thing. I am just starting "A spool of Blue thread" By Anne Tyler. It seems to be a messed up family type story.

Glad that others are enjoying reading it though.  I will try another Zevin's Book and so what I think about it.  Has she written many?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 22, 2016, 03:08:09 PM
JeanneP - Regarding Fikry . . . the baby was left in the bookstore on purpose, by the mother!  He and the "sales lady", got married!  I'm sorry you didn't like the book, but we all have different tastes in literature, art, music and movies.     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on June 22, 2016, 06:23:06 PM
Marilyn.  Now I did finish the Book. It was worth doing that.  Now didn't the baby also have his SIL husband as its father. (No one aware of it ). I sort of read into it someplace that it was that way. Like I say, will try again later. I have a few books on my list to do that.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on June 28, 2016, 10:59:05 PM
         MaryC is here, just lurking around the corner!    I've been reading the posts but using the Kindle and I don't seem to have the capability to reply from that device.    By the time I get around to sitting down at my computer,   I've forgotten what I wanted to say. (http://www.seniorsandfriends.org/Smileys/alive/tickedoff.gif)     We are doing ok.   Al seems  stable right now, though he is  weak and rests a lot.      Our refrigerator had a bad spell and when we had the service man here he added  refrigerant but said that there was no guarantee how long it would last.    He thought that to repair it would  be too costly soooooo we had to decide on what to buy from where.   I did make the purchase online from Sears and it was delivered yesterday.  Never a dull moment.    I would like to have some sort of birthday celebration for Al's 90th   in August.   Getting our family all together in one place at a convenient time for everyone is  proving to be a monumental task. 

I have been reading but right now I can only tell you the most recent thing.   (http://www.seniorsandfriends.org/Smileys/alive/2funny.gif)    That was one of Jodi Picoult's books called The Storyteller.    If you can't take the details of the Holocaust,   I wouldn't recommend it.    They story is interesting but there is a lot of time spent on those days.   OH,  I just remembered the book before that.   It was another by Catherine Ryan Hyde called  When I Found You.  That was one that I would really recommend.   Her writing never disappoints.    Today I read about Anderson Cooper's  book  The Rainbow Comes and Goes.    He is a favorite journalist of mine so I ordered it from the library.   We'll see how that goes.

I wrote this in response to the comments in the Cooking forum and then realized my comments were all about reading,  so I moved it over here.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on June 29, 2016, 10:49:28 AM
Maryc, it is good to hear from you.  My son uses a Kindle and goes on the Internet.  So maybe there is a way you can post from your Kindle.  I usually post from my iPad and rarely bother posting from my computer anymore.  It is so easy to just sit in my swivel rocker and "rock and read or write".   It is making me lazy but at age 80 I deserve a little lazy time.

I also like Anderson Cooper and that sounds like an interesting book.  I'll check my library for it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 29, 2016, 02:30:17 PM
maryc - Good to see you back!  I'm glad Al is feeling better, and that you're all getting ready to celebrate his upcoming birthday.  I know how hard it is to get the family all together for any event . . . especially those illusive grandchildren!

I thought about you this past weekend, while reading the new book by Anne Tyler, A Spool of Blue Thread.  It's an excellent family story, that I think you'll really like. I plan to write more about it later this afternoon. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on June 29, 2016, 08:40:23 PM
FlaJean,   I do use the internet with the Kindle but for some reason the "reply" button doesn't show on the Seniors and Friends pages.    I really like my Kindle and use it for most purposes like a tablet as well as for reading.

This afternoon I remembered another book that I've read this summer.   It was another by Jan Karon about Father Tim and his wife on their trip to Ireland.    Maybe I've already mentioned this one....it does seem so.

Marilyne,   I had intended to read A Spool of Blue Thread but somehow didn't make a connection just yet.  I'll be glad to hear what you have to say about it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on June 29, 2016, 09:10:32 PM
I've read all the Mitford Father Tim books by Jan Karon.  Loved them all.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 30, 2016, 11:27:11 AM
maryc - A Spool of Blue Thread, is the story of an ordinary American family.  Lots of warmth and love in this book. 
The reason I thought about you when I was reading, was that I remembered a conversation we had in this discussion many years ago, about how there is often one child in the family, who marches to a different drummer, and always keeps things a bit off balance.  There's a quote in the book that says it all, about being a mother:  "You're only ever as happy as your least happy child". 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on June 30, 2016, 07:42:47 PM
Oh my Marilyne,    That statement is so very true.   Now I will have to make an effort to get that book soon.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 01, 2016, 09:01:58 PM
Last evening I read the sample of A Spool of Blue Thread and picked up the book at the library today.  😊
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on July 02, 2016, 12:07:57 PM
MaryC.  Now I just finished the Book. A spool of Blue Thread last night.  Its good. Not read any of her books for awhile.
I read Me Before You and loved it. Got it in LP. I ordered "After You" which follows but they don't have it In LP my library. I got it in small but hard to read.  So it is where  can be read on Readers and so will wait on line and get it on my IPad.. No idea what to start on now.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 06, 2016, 01:06:01 PM
Yesterday I picked up Everybody's Fool, the brand new novel by Richard Russo.  I don't know if any of you remember, but we had a wonderful discussion here in Library~Bookshelf a number of years ago, on Russo's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Empire Falls?  It was made into a TV mini-series, starring Ed Harris, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, and Helen Hunt.  I believe it was Newman's last movie, before he died. 

Anyway, I've read very little about Everybody's Fool, but I expect to like it, and hope that some of the characters from "Empire", will be returning?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 06, 2016, 09:41:45 PM
I remember Empire Falls though I watched the movie from our library and didn't read the book.   I would think this new book by Russo would be good Marilyne.  You can let us know.

  I am enjoying The Spool of Blue Thread and beyond the issue of challenging children I've been interested in the handling of aging parents...or should I say attempting to do so.  We are beyond the age of these folk and I often wonder what my responses might be to our children's effort to "help us out".  So far-so good.  Don't you wonder why no one thought to seek medical help for Abby when she started having her little episodes.  I've got about another 100 pages to go.  I need another couple sleepless nights to finish this.😊
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 09, 2016, 04:11:38 PM
mary - I agree that Abby's little "episodes", were not addressed in the way that we would expect them to be.  Another thing that didn't make sense to me, was that Red and Abby never legally adopted Stem?  Maybe there was a reason given, but if so, I missed it?

Overall, I thought the story was excellent, and all the characters were likable, each in their own way.  The back-story of Linnie and Junior, was fascinating and well written. I liked Denny, because I could relate to his quirkiness, and his ability to control the emotions of the family, whether he was there or not. 
I liked the ending, when Denny was on the train, and seemed to have a sort of epiphany.  Maybe that was just wishful thinking on my part, but he seem to finally come to terms with himself, and his relationship with the family. I had high hopes for is future! 

This style of writing has become my favorite in recent years. I really love books like this . . .  I think they are referred to as "character driven novels".  Not a specific plot, just families together in the good times and the bad, or townspeople interacting with each other. (Kent Haruf, is a good example of what I mean.)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 09, 2016, 11:08:41 PM
I did finish The Spool of Blue Thread and enjoyed it so much...didn't want it to end.  I too had good thoughts about Denny's future...hoping for a family of his own.  We always hope for the best for those "different" family members.   I had a sister who marched to her own drummer and my mom was still worrying about her  when she was 90.  I think this is my best type of story also.  There is so much food for thought.

I noticed that the other book discussion group is reading Our Souls at Night this month.   That was another good one that we talked about here a while back.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on July 10, 2016, 12:36:06 PM
MaryC.  I read "Spool of Blue Thread" also . It is good.  I figured that there would not be a happy family ending for Denny. Him just leaving off again sort of left readers not really knowing what would happen in his future. Maybe another follow up to the story later. Some writers leave things open in order to do that.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 10, 2016, 02:29:09 PM
Our f2f Book Club, (general reading not Mystery) has come up against a rock and a hard place!  We have regularly only one man in our club; however, he is willing to read anything that is suggested.  One of our female members mentioned that we seem to read an awful lot of "chicky" type books (no, not romances) but with basically strong female characters, or stories that appeal more to women.   Then we got into what we might read for next month, that would be more "male-oriented".  Someone came up with "Catcher in the Rye".  Several of us rolled our eyes...my sentiments exactly.  I absolutely hated that book, finally finished on my second try, and still hated it.  I think if I heard the phrase "and all" one more time I would upchuck!  However, it is on the agenda for next month. Yuck!  So, my dear friends, your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to throw out some titles you think would be male-oriented, in the realm of general fiction. (We have read some Ray Bradbury).
We actually have had some good ones in the past "Doc" and "Epitaph".
I posted this on SeniorLearn also.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 10, 2016, 03:26:48 PM
When I finished The Spool of Blue Thread,  I was without a book at hand.    A while back I signed up with Hoopla.    This is connected to our library.     I found a book to my liking there called The Seakeeper's Daughter by Lisa Wingate.     It wouldn't fit the bill you are looking for Tomereader.   This is a gals story but it is good.       
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 10, 2016, 03:56:00 PM
Tome, I like adventure and SciFi. At the moment I can think of several, older books that you all might be interested in reading.

Kim - Rudyard Kipling
The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula Le Guin
The Dispossessed - Ursula Le Guin
1984 - George Orwell

The last three all involve politics/government of one sort or another, society, and how people interact with others in their given situations.

Ursula Le Guin prefers to call her writing speculative fiction. When you are next over on SeniorLearn, you can look up Kim and The Left Hand of Darkness in the archives.

I enjoyed John Scalzi's Lock In which is an interesting crime mysterywith a protagonist who has Hayden's Syndrome. I am not sure want you can get out of this one, but it can bring up discussion of Hayden's Syndrome and pharmaceutical malfeasance, plus it is a good detective story. If you are not into robotics, it might not suit.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on July 10, 2016, 03:56:42 PM
Arn't they wanting one that a Man will enjoy? I read quite a few that I think would be good for both men and women.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 10, 2016, 05:20:50 PM
Tome - I often recommend a book to my husband that I especially like, if I think it's something he will also enjoy reading. There are many that we have both liked very much . . . the first two that come to mind are:
All the Light You Cannot See - Anthony Doerr
House of Sand and Fog - Andre Dubus, III

Those two he liked enough that he wanted to talk about them when he was finished reading.  They might be worth looking into for your group? 

Regarding The Catcher in the Rye . . . I thought it was fabulous, when I first read it in the 1950's.  However, I can see that it would seem incredibly "dated", by today's standards.  It was very innovative back then, but it's been  60+ years!  Many other young adult, or so called "coming of age" books have been written since then, that are more in tune with today's world. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 10, 2016, 05:56:55 PM
I loved "the House of Sand & Fog", I'll have to research the #of copies and #of pages before I would recommend it.  "All the Light You Cannot See" has (in my paperback copy) over 500 pages, plus it is such a current book, they might not have enough copies available at one time for us to read. Thank you, Marilyne.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 11, 2016, 06:27:59 AM
I read about 10 pages of Catcher in the Rye when I was in my 20's. Couldn't stand it. Another book that was required reading in college way back was Faulkner's Light in August. I took an huge dislike to that too. Anything, back in those days, that had swearing or vulgar language, I disliked. Now-a-days I can tolerate some.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 12, 2016, 12:38:38 PM
I've been taking a short reading break, since I finished A Spool of Blue Thread.  That book gave me a lot to think about, so I just haven't been ready to jump right into another one right away. However, I do have Everybody's Fool, by Richard Russo, checked out, so I'd better get to it.  As I mentioned before, I did like Russo's best seller, Empire Falls. This new book features some of the same characters, which can be good or bad?

I have to do a lot of grocery shopping today, so I'd better get myself together and get going.  I do dislike driving and parking, and walking in the HOT weather, but I've put it off for too long. Seems I have slowed down to a crawl in recent weeks, and will use just about any excuse to stay at home . . . but then I get restless and start "climbing the walls", so best to put on the sunscreen and hat and face the crowds! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 12, 2016, 01:16:44 PM
I need to do a "little" grocery shopping today, Marilyne.  Just a few items, but am dreading going out into this heat.  It's only 80 now, but supposed to get to upper 90's.
I'll share a little secret with you:  I read "A Spool of Blue Thread", and didn't like it at all. Maybe I need to re-read it, I could've been in a rotten mood at that time!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on July 12, 2016, 05:37:19 PM
Marilyne.  I just picked up the DVD for Empire Fall. Not read the book  yet. I usually like to read it first but maybe my library didn't have it on LP.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 12, 2016, 07:32:45 PM
Tome - If you didn't like "Blue Thread" the first time around, you probably won't like it any better if you read it again. Usually we tend to like the same books (and movies), but looks like we aren't on the same page with this one. (Pun intended!) :D

Speaking of differing opinions on books . . . I was once in an online book group, where we read "House of Sand and Fog".  I was the only one in the group who loved that book!  There were a few who absolutely hated it, and the rest were indifferent or apathetic.  If you end up choosing that one for your book club selection, I'll be interested in hearing the various opinions of the members.

JeanneP - I hope you like the DVD of "Empire Falls".  I remember the book more than I do the movie?  Can't recall if the movie stayed with the book or not?  Paul Newman was very good.  As I mentioned before, I think it was his, and his wife's, last movie. (Joanne Woodward.) 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 12, 2016, 08:58:04 PM
A lot of times certain members will not like a book, because of personal experiences; i.e.
wayward children, drug use, abuse, assault, devasting illness.  I really loved House of Sand & Fog, although the female character's alcoholism/drug use hit too close to home for me, but reading about the culture of the middle Eastern immigrants was so enlightening and heart rending.  So, I could sort of "screen out" the parts that were hurtful personally. And I can still remember parts of that book, whereas I can't think of a single thing about "Blue Thread" that I recall.  But, like I say, I may try to read it once more.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 13, 2016, 06:47:30 PM
Tome - If I can relate to, or recognize anyone in a story who reminds me of someone I care about, (the good, the bad, and the ugly), then I will like the book.  If I can't relate to anyone in the story, and the characters seem unrealistic to me, then I generally don't like the book and will often give up on it.  That's probably why I don't care for mystery, fantasy, science fiction or action books.  I cannot relate to the people or the situation.  Give me a good old "character study" book, or movie, and I'm a happy camper. :thumbup:

However, that doesn't explain why I like the TV show, Game of Thrones? :dontknow: LOL   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 18, 2016, 12:23:49 PM
Lately it's been hard to concentrate on reading a book.  Used to be I could lose myself in a story, but lately seems like I have an endless cycle of family worries/things running through my head, plus all the tragedies going on in the US and France. 

My youngest grandchild lives in Baton Rouge.  I know she is okay, but still I worry about her - knowing that she and her friends go out to dinner at night, and do things around town.  She is doing her college internship there this summer at Aflac Insurance. (I know you've all seen the Aflac duck commercials on TV.) ;D 

I have the new Richard Russo book, [/i]Everybody's Fool[/i], but I haven't been able to really get into it.  I like his writing very much, and I thought this would grab me right away, but so far, not so good.  I'm going to wait a few days, and then give it another try.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 18, 2016, 12:59:50 PM
I can relate to your current feelings about reading, Marilyne.     Sometimes the current events are overwhelming and it is hard to step away even into a story of other times and places.    I've been working slowly on a book borrowed from Hoopla.   I believe I mentioned it just a few days ago.   It seemed like chic-lit but turns out to have some meaty issues that we all deal with in one way or another.    It's my kind of story!  (The Seakeeper's Daughter)

I've been wondering what I missed about SCFSue.    I haven't seen her here for quite a while.    She often wrote in the Gardening Forum too and there aren't too many of us over there.....it gets lonesome.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 18, 2016, 01:16:11 PM
mary - SCFSue had a bad fall from a ladder, and was seriously injured.  I don't know how she is doing at this time, but I do know that she was in the hospital and then a rehab hospital for a long time.  She lives alone, so I imagine it will be difficult for her at home.  I watch for news about her in the Bosom Buddies forum, but haven't seen anything about her in many weeks?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on July 18, 2016, 07:06:44 PM
Re SCFSue - we at BB haven't heard from her since she fell.  A couple of the gals talked to her, and we've been sending her cards via her daughter-in-law.  As far as we know, she's still in rehab.  Keep her in your thoughts.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 18, 2016, 08:25:00 PM
I'm so sorry to hear about Sue.  Don't know how I missed it but I did.  If anyone here sends greetings please send my best.  She seemed like An active person so this would be difficult.




Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 21, 2016, 12:27:47 AM
maryc - The Seakeeper's Daughter, sounds like a good story.  Some chick-lit is quickly forgotten, but others are well worth reading, and this sounds like one of the good ones.  I think Brooklyn, is a good example of quality chick-lit, and also The Light Between Oceans

Today I finally had a break-through in my determination to like, Everybody's Fool, by Richard Russo.  It took a couple of chapters, but I'm starting to really get into the story at last. Unfortunately, I only have it for a few more days, because of the long library wait list. I see that it's on the top ten Bay Area Best Seller list, so that would be the reason for it's popularity.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 21, 2016, 09:55:05 AM
I finished Seakeeper's Daughters last evening, just in time as it would be recalled today. :)   Yesterday I picked up Anderson Cooper's book  The Rainbow Comes and Goes.

In regard to The Seakeeper's.....check out a website for The Federal Writers Project.  It was part of the WPA program and figures into this story with some interesting twists.  My curiosity is always tweaked when something new to me in history is mentioned.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 21, 2016, 11:42:24 AM
I just finished a most unlikely find, and at this moment, I cannot remember where I saw the title (on some blog, I'm sure), but it sounded interesting:  "Close To Shore" by Michael Capuzzo, published 2001.  Subtitled "A true story of terror in an age of innocence".  The author's note at the beginning states:  "This is a work of non-fiction.  All characters are real and their descriptions, actions and dialogue are based on newspaper accounts, interviews with family members, diaries, medical journals and other historic sources".  Perhaps this is where Peter Benchley got his inspiration for "Jaws".   Set in 1916, there are dozens of historical pieces of information about that time period, i.e., preamble to WWI, etc.  Interesting especially about the "bathing" (Swimming) practices, costumes.  I simply could not put it down.  I was amazed by the absolute lack of information about sharks and the disbelief of the so-called "experts" that sharks would attack humans in the water.  There was so much going on in the world during this time period, that is totally relevant to today (pollution of rivers, creeks).
Not your supreme "literary achievement" but interesting nonetheless.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 21, 2016, 01:21:09 PM
Tome - "Close to Shore" sounds good!  I can tell that I'll like it, and it's also the kind of book that AJ likes.  I'm going to check both of my libraries, and place it on hold.

mary - the same with "The Seakeeper's Daughter".  I haven't checked the The Federal Writers Project website yet, but it sounds interesting.  I've always been interested in anything having to do with the WPA. 

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 21, 2016, 02:12:56 PM
Funny you should mention the pollution of the waters today,Tome.  At breakfast this am we were talking about a spill in a creek that is close to the Niagara River.   "They" say that it is contained but Al was commenting how back in the '30s and "40s that many people changing the oil in their car would simply pour the old oil down the drain in the street or alley.   People weren't so concerned or aware of the damage.

There has been a large news story recently about the many contaminated sites in our county from industrial waste disposal over the years.  Some of them aren't too far away.  It makes you wonder about your property values and sales possibilities in the future.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 21, 2016, 03:29:52 PM
You might say pollution today is "minimal" as compared to, say, 1916.  Any and all factories dumped everything into nearby waterways, be it creek or river.  Also, raw sewage was summarily dumped thus!  This book has a whole bundle of little tidbits of history that should be of interest to most of us here!  Even reading the author's Acknowledgements was interesting for all the citations of the various museums and collections of news clippings, etc.  If you can get the book from your library, I recommend it.  I got it in large print, so that helped me a lot.  Not a tremendous amount of pages, even in largeprint, so it's reasonably quick to get through.  It does have a bit of foreshadowing, which adds some tension to the book.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 21, 2016, 11:57:53 PM
Update on SCFSue: Good news today, that Sue is home from the hospital and is recuperating. :thumbup:  I hope she is able to return to S&F soon. 

I had to take Everybody's Fool, back to the library today, because of the wait list.  I'm back in line again! ::)

My town library did have Close to Shore, so I checked it out and will start reading it tomorrow.  They did not have The Seakeeper's Daughter, but I'm sure the county library system will have it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 22, 2016, 09:10:27 AM
Oh my goodness Marilyne!!!     I just decided to read a review of Everybody's Fool and discovered that it is a sequel to one of my most favorite movies. I thought of it when you first mentioned the title but didn't check it out.  Guess I never knew who wrote the first story.    I don't normally buy movies but do have this one.    This is one of those stories that grab the heartstrings because of the likeness of someone close. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 22, 2016, 12:24:56 PM
maryc - Yes, Everybody's Fool is a sequel to Empire Falls by Richard Russo.  I didn't realize it either, until I finally recognized the character named "Sully".  He was the one played by Paul Newman, in the TV movie.  I thought Newman, was absolutely perfect in his portrayal of Sully.

I didn't get far enough into the new book, to find out if all of the other characters will be in this story too? Now it will be a long time before my name gets to the top of the wait list once again.  I may check the county library, and possibly will be able to get it sooner.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 22, 2016, 12:58:53 PM
Marilyne,   I did watch Empire Falls and enjoyed that one too but Nobody's Fool was the one that I have kept in my (small but select) library of movies.      I could see the similarity of story line from Nobody's Fool to Empire Falls but hadn't really connected them.    It sounds as though Somebody's Fool is set in the same Central NY town as Nobody's Fool.   That is as it says in the review a small almost shuttered but once  thriving town  in NY where there are so many towns like it.    I'm going to have to keep Richard Russo in mind when I'm looking for something to read.     Guess I need to pay attention to the author names a little closer.   :-[   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on July 22, 2016, 01:51:03 PM
I'm reading "Everybody's Fool" and wondered why Sully's name sounded familiar.  It's been too long since I read "Empire Falls"!!
"Nobody's Fool" is not available on e-book from my library.  Would someone please give me the general plot and characters in that one.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on July 22, 2016, 02:06:05 PM
I just watch the first Disc of "Empire Falls" need to get to the other half tonight.  Seems I either read it or saw the movie years ago.  My library don't have Every bodies fool in book form or a DVD. How old is it?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 22, 2016, 02:22:13 PM
I was thoroughly confused, but I THINK I finally have it straight! ???  Nobody's Fool, was written in the early 1990's, and made into a movie starring Paul Newman, Jessica Tandy, Bruce Willis.  Everybody's Fool, is the brand new book, which is the sequel to "Nobody's".  Empire Falls, was written in 2001, and made into a movie shortly thereafter.  All three books feature the same characters.  The first two movies starred Newman, as Sully. 

I apparently never read, or saw, Nobody's Fool, so that's why I kept thinking that the new book was a sequel to "Empire", instead of "Nobody".  Are you confused yet? LOL! :dizzy:

Callie - now that we have that cleared up, I'm interested in how you like Everybody's Fool?  I was just getting into it, when it was due back.  However, I'm on the waiting list, so hope it won't be too long. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on July 22, 2016, 03:05:38 PM
Marilyne,   I haven't quite decided, yet.    Maybe that's because I don't remember any of the characters from his previous books.

Coped from the Washington Post's review of Richard Russo books:
(Quote)  How could 23 years have slipped by since Richard Russo published “Nobody’s Fool”? Was is really in some previous century that we snorted and sniffled over the rambling adventures of Donald “Sully” Sullivan, the wisecracking, self-destructive 60-year-old contractor who rarely lets a bar stool cool? It all seems so disorientingly recent. . . . Who’s the fool now?

Even if you didn’t read that ­big-hearted novel, you probably saw the wonderful film version starring Paul Newman and Jessica Tandy â€" both, alas, long gone. Set in the moribund town of North Bath, N.Y., “Nobody’s Fool” demonstrated the full range of Russo’s humor and his ear for the baseline tragedy that runs through these working-class lives. Later, those tones came into exquisite balance in his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “Empire Falls” (2001), but the characters of “Nobody’s Fool” still hold their own wacky charm, and it’s a delight to join them again in Russo’s sequel, “Everybody’s Fool.”
  (End quote)

Looks as if "Nobody's Fool" may have been the first in the trilogy ??  I didn't see it listed on any book review sites I look at.
Edit:  It is available in hardback from my library - but not on e-book.

Edit #2  :):   Just read a synopsis of "Empire Falls" - different location and different main character.  Maybe the "....Fool" books are about minor characters in "Empire Falls"?

Off to settle in out of the 104 degree temperature and continue reading "Everybody's Fool".
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 22, 2016, 03:44:33 PM
Well this was fun!!! :2funny:    I will add this little tidbit to the mix.    When I was about 12 or so I had a girlfriend/neighbor who had come from Hornell, NY  to Niagara Falls with her family because of jobs in the War effort.    Eventually they went back to Hornell  where they had come from.    I went to visit her one summer after that and Hornell is not far from Bath, NY.   I didn't realize that the movie was set there until we started to watch it.   That's just my little bit of trivia to add to this funny discussion.   In any case,  thank you Marilyne for getting us together with Richard Russo.    He will provide us with some good future reading. 

I would add that Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn were favorites of ours and in fact we were lucky to see them in a play in Toronto years ago.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 22, 2016, 05:02:46 PM
Whew!  I'm glad that's all cleared up!

Callie - As you said, "Empire" was in a similar, but different location, and a whole different set of characters. Paul Newman was named Max in "Falls", and was Sully, in "Nobody's Fool".  I plan to get "Nobody's" from the library, and read it before my name comes up again on the wait list for "Everybody's".

maryc - I'll have to look up Bath and Hornell, on my NY map, and see where they're located.  When an author uses a real town in a story, I like to look it up to see exactly where it is. Interesting that you were there when you were young. I wonder what it's like now, compared to back then?

I often think about different towns, and friend's homes, where I visited often as a child. I try to remember details, but I usually only recall the exterior of the house, the layout of the rooms, and the yard, but not much about the interior, furnishings, etc.  Some relatives homes I recall more clearly, because I was there more often I guess.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on July 23, 2016, 08:57:49 AM
Nobody's Fool was filmed in the Hudson Valley, New York towns of Beacon, Fishkill, Balmville, Poughkeepsie, and Hudson.[3] The setting for both the book and movie, North Bath, New York, is based on the city of Gloversville in Fulton County.[4]  -Wikipedia

The book is set in No. Bath, NY, but the movie was filmed in the Mid-Hudson Valley where I lived for 26 years.  I recognize so many scenes from that area when I watched the movie.  I lived in Wappingers Falls, in Dutchesss County, which is just a few miles from Beacon---approx. half-way between Beacon and Poughkeepsie.

I hope to get a copy of "Everybody's Fool" soon but the waiting list is very long.  I have a gift card from B&N and I may decide to make a visit to the store which is just a few blocks from me.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 23, 2016, 12:11:26 PM
Phyllis -  I didn't realize that you lived for such a long time in IBM country!  Was that 26 year time span, when Tom was employed there?  Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to travel to Poughkeepsie or Endicott, with Al, when he would go back for meetings or workshops.  I would love to have visited that area of the state. I've never been to NYC either. :(
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on July 23, 2016, 03:31:31 PM
Marilyne, Tom joined IBM in 1956, in Denver, CO.  We lived in Dutchess Co., NY, for a year while he was learning about main frame computers.  Then we moved to Santa Monica office (lived in Culver City) for a year.  When a chance came to transfer back to Dutchess Co. he jumped at it.  We didn't like the L.A. area and missed the mid-Hudson Valley.  We lived there until 1984 when he was transferred here to the Research Triangle Park area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill).  He retired in 1991 after 35 years with IBM and we decided to stay here in North Carolina.  I still miss Dutchess Co.....we loved it there...but, I understand it has changed so much.  A lot of City people have moved there and commute daily to NYC...about 90 min. by train.  Maybe even shorter now with improvements in railway travel.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 24, 2016, 04:26:11 PM
Phyll - Al, also started working for IBM in 1956, and retired in 1991.  We were married in '56, and he spent his whole working career in San Jose - so we've lived here forever. Looking back, I wish he had been transferred to another location somewhere, but at the time, I considered myself lucky to stay in one place. Now I see the advantages of having lived in other parts of the country, or world.

It's just 1:30 here, with temps in the 90's, so I plan to stay in and do some serious reading for the rest of the afternoon.  I have Close to Shore, and I'm anxious to get started on it.  Seakeeper's Daughter, and Nobody's Fool, are on hold for me at the library, so I'll pick them up tomorrow. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 27, 2016, 02:44:32 PM
I'm  about finished  with A Anderson  Cooper''s book and I wouldn't  give it high point unless you would like to hear Gloria''s story over and over....sorry Anderson!
The library phoneed with my held books so tomorrow I'll  have something new. :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on July 27, 2016, 04:29:42 PM
Hello on a "not so hot" (meaning 90+ degrees instead of 100+) but very humid Oklahoma afternoon. We are having hard rain showers every once in a while which are keeping the temperature "down" - but making it really really muggy outside.

I'm getting weary of the down-at-the-mouth characters in "Everybody's Fool".  I'm tempted to skip to the last chapter to see how the stories end -but will try to behave and read it like I'm supposed to!  :)

Maryc,  I agree with you about Anderson Cooper's book, as well as the t.v. documentary about his mother.  I really didn't care.

I read "Texas Monthly" magazine on-line from my library.  The July issue had a featured article about Larry McMurtry.  I had enjoyed the book "Tears of Endearment" and the movie with Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson but didn't realize there was a sequel.  So I'm now reading "The Evening Star".  Not far into it but I think I will like it.

Just finished "The Corsican Caper" by Peter Mayne and think I'll try either or both of the other two "Caper" books.



Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 27, 2016, 07:06:46 PM
The heat is oppressive here as well. :hot: Ninety-eight right now at 4:00, and the sky is an ugly grayish brown color, thanks to the massive wildfire near Monterey. (Big Sur).  It's about 75 miles from here, but the wind is blowing the smoke directly over us, and it's trapped here in the Santa Clara Valley.  Bad for people with breathing problems or allergies.  Rain? No chance of that happening until November at the earliest.

Callie - I like everything I've ever read by Larry McMurtry. (I think we've had this conversation in the past? LOL)  I'm sure I must have read The Evening Star, but I don't remember it?  I loved Terms of Endearment, but my favorite of his novels is The Last Picture Show.  I watch the movie every time it plays on TCM, and never tire of it.

maryc - I now have The Seakeeper's Daughter, and will be starting it, as soon as I finish Close to Shore, which I'm really enjoying. Although I'm not finished with it, I can tell that I'll be recommending it! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 27, 2016, 08:17:15 PM
Glad you're enjoying "Close to Shore", Marilyne.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 30, 2016, 06:08:32 PM
Callie,    I discovered that the best part of Cooper's book was the last chapter.  ;)     He said most of what I was interested in hearing in those pages.   

I started Close to Shore last evening and it seems interesting though a little slow moving at the beginning.    Lots of background and description of the times.   He does paint a clear picture of how things were but  maybe it's because I've been tired that it seems long getting to the real story.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 31, 2016, 12:50:45 PM
Tome - Thanks for recommending Close to Shore.  A fascinating and little known piece of history.  I was fascinated, and surprised at how little was known, one hundred years go, about sharks, and the fact that so many brilliant scientists were in denial for so long. 

I really like Michael Capuzzo's writing style. He has visual way of describing each person, place and event, that made me feel like a part of every scene. I love this line: "That morning the ocean was calm and smooth as blue fabric, and waves came spaced at long intervals, like decorative fringes of lace."   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 31, 2016, 01:58:38 PM
Wow, Marilyne, a good review you gave, and expressed my feelings exactly about the book.  I am sooooo glad you enjoyed it!  I hope maryc will enjoy it that much also.
"Fascinating" was the perfect word to use, and so little known about this event in history.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 31, 2016, 04:49:50 PM
Tome - AJ is starting Close to Shore, as soon as he finishes whatever it is he's reading.  I'll let you know how it likes it. (I already know he will!) :)

maryc - So now it's onward to The Sea Keeper's Daughters!  I'm looking forward to it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 01, 2016, 04:59:29 PM
I'm still reading Close to Shore and the description of the people and times puts me in mind of a couple books I read a while back.    One was New York by Rutherford and the other was a strange little Time Travel book by Jack Finney called  Time and Again.    Both those books were so very descriptive of those early times in the cities,  like this one that you felt transported.     I know I'm a slow reader and haven't really reached 'The Sharks' part of the story but it is a pleasant walk through the streets of those old time places.    I had to chuckle over the comment about the Dr's daughter disagreement with him over Women's Rights, etc.  As the cover of the book notes, it was indeed an age of innocence and yet don't you sometimes feel that we have just lived several decades of innocence and are on the brink of  revelations that aren't too pretty?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 02, 2016, 06:52:41 PM
mary - I think that those of us who grew up in the 1930's, 40' and '50's, also lived in sort of an "age of innocence". Just imagine yourself at age 16, suddenly entering the world of today's teenagers!  I know I would have been in total shock! :o

I've been on a nostalgia trip lately, remembering what life was like back then, because I belong to a Facebook group of people who grew up in my hometown in Southern California.  It's been so much fun, remembering schools, teachers, businesses, city parks, and the many ways we spent our leisure time.  There are over 1,000 people who belong to that group, and so far, I'm pretty sure that I'm the oldest!  I haven't connected with anyone from my old neighborhood, (who lived there back when I did), or anyone from my 8th grade or high school graduating classes.  Most of the people who post there are from the "baby boomer" generation or later. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on August 02, 2016, 08:44:58 PM
Marilyne,  it's the same for me in the Facebook group for my small hometown.  Recently, someone posted a picture of a postcard with a drawing of the high school that was there in 1908.  I "countered" with a photo of the same building from my Dad's photo album - labeled in his handwriting. He was a student there in 1908.

You and I were discussing Larry McMurtry's "The Evening Star".   I'm about 75% through it and not sure I'd recommend it.  Aurora (Shirley MacLaine) and The General (Jack Nicholson) are "aging" and, frankly, I'm finding them both extremely annoying!  Nothing good came of Aurora's grandchildren, either.

I'm about to start "The Glory of Everything", which is a sequel to "The Kitchen House".  Hope it's more cheerful.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 03, 2016, 12:45:03 AM
Callie: I remember now - I did read The Evening Star, and I disliked it intensely! It was many years ago that I read it, but I recall being very disappointed.  It didn't seem at all like the right sequel to Terms of Endearment.  It was a long time after that before I started reading McMurtry again.  His early novels like "Terms", "Picture Show" and "Lonesome Dove" were his best.  His recent books haven't been nearly as good. He also wrote a sequel to "Picture Show" that was terrible, IMO.  I don't remember the title, and I don't think I even finished it?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 04, 2016, 09:50:12 PM
I picked up the August edition of Book Page at the library this week and have found a book there that I want to read as soon as it becomes available.    I'm pretty certain that the subject would ring a bell with some of you here.   It is called They Left Us Everything by Plum Johnson. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjAwofAkqnOAhUM5SYKHdgZBuUQFggkMAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.goodreads.com%2Fbook%2Fshow%2F18333481-they-left-us-everything&usg=AFQjCNGt9zH-8RmtOG__QckaEBCBH7UzIg

This story may give me incentive to start a major organization of my "stuff".......or not! :)

I ran across one of those special quotes in Close to the Shore yesterday that I wanted to save just for fun.   It was this by the highly regarded  Dr.Frederic Augustus Lucas who work was described in this story.   He was speaking of himself and how his work habits changed as he got older.    "Worst of all,  his brain had joined with the labor unions in demanding an eight hour day and refusing to work nights."     I can relate to this!!! ;)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on August 05, 2016, 01:03:03 PM
MaryC.  I keep looking at all my stuff that I have collected or inherited for family in UK. Only one of the young in my group here are into anything that is over 5 years old. I have nothing that does not go back 50 years to 150 years. I just need to get things taken care of. I hate seeing people stuff that they collected and loved when I go to these Estate Sales. Hate to think my GGP on up will be handled that way.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 05, 2016, 02:19:13 PM
mary - They Left Us Everything, looks to be a book that we can all relate to - on either end of the spectrum!  AJ and I cleared out the family homes of our parents, and now it looks like our grown children will be clearing out this old house, in the not so distant future.  We're trying to make it easier on them, by constantly donating, throwing away or selling items - but no matter how much we get rid of, it doesn't seem to make a dent in the endless "stuff". 

JeanneP - I know what you mean about the estate sales.  I used to go to a lot of them, run by professionals, and occasionally, the owner of the house (always a woman), would be sitting and watching the procedure.  It was heartbreaking to see the sad, forlorn look on her face, as hundreds of strangers picked over and grabbed at her lifelong treasures.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 05, 2016, 10:24:06 PM
We do go to a few estate sales and I find it interesting  to observe the collection of someone's lifetime of interests.   Recently we went to one of an acquaintance whom I had visited often in the Nursing Home before she passed.    This lady was a great cook and was a mainstay of our church kitchen crew.....always there presiding over dinners.    It was sad but like one last visit with her .   At sales where I knew the person I like  to buy some small keepsake  that reminds me of  our friendship.   We were late at this sale but I did buy a coffee mug decorated with pansies (for friendship) and I use it daily and think of our friend Dode.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on August 06, 2016, 02:12:59 PM
I do the same if I knew the people having the sale. Last one this year was a Doctors Home. He retired after 40 years here at the local hospital. Beautiful home. they traveled the world. Sad,as he had just had to put his wife in the Nursing home.. Came down with Alzheimer. I collected small china boxes. Not collecting anything anymore. But took 2 of hers as a memory. Such beautiful furniture. Had I been younger saw many things I would have bought.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 08, 2016, 05:15:25 PM
Marilyne,    I've started Everybody's Fool.    It IS good reading but I told Al that he needs to reminds me next time I get a real library book to be careful that it isn't so heavy.    This book has nearly 500 pages and I like to read in bed and have trouble with one arm and shoulder so it is pretty uncomfortable to hold up a book this heavy. :'(       Interestingly  when my daughter saw the book by Anderson Cooper here she thought she would like to read it.    I have about a week left on it when I finished so passed it on to her.     She said yesterday that she thought it was good and was down to the last chapter.    I got a little bored with Gloria's life story but she found it interesting.......different strokes!!!!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on August 09, 2016, 08:01:50 AM
I just started Everybody's Fool, too.  Only a few pages into it but he is a good writer so I think I'll enjoy it.  I know what you mean, Mary, about holding a heavy book when reading in bed.  I'm sorry you have shoulder problems.  Makes it really difficult to do some of the things we need, and want, to do.  More and more I'm using my Nook reader to read myself to sleep at night.  It is light weight and easier to hold but I still prefer the "real" book most of the time.  I love just the "feel" of a book.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 09, 2016, 12:04:35 PM
mary and phyllis - Because of a waiting list, I was barely into Everybody's Fool, when I had to return it to the library. I put my name back on the list, so I'll eventually be getting it again.  I'm glad that, so far, you're both enjoying it. 

I have the same problem with managing a heavy book . . .  either in bed or trying to get comfortable in a chair.  I've given up reading in bed, because of pain in my back and tailbone, so most of my reading is now done in the living room, where I change from chair, to couch, to recliner, etc.  ::)  It doesn't seem to matter whether it's a heavy book or my Kindle.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 12, 2016, 01:30:55 PM
I'm really enjoying Everybody's Fool.     When I started out I wasn't sure I would get all the way through 477 pages but it's going fast now that I've started to sit down in the afternoon to read some.    Richard Russo has a way with telling a story about people and their various personalitys.   He is in a bit of a rut when it comes to profanity but this is just me speaking.   I'm sure that if I were to frequent certain spots in our town where some 'regulars' go  I'd either get used to it or stay away.    :-[    Anyway thanks Marilyne for bringing this good one to our attention and I hope you get to finish it soon yourself.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on August 12, 2016, 07:43:42 PM
MaryC. I just watched the DVD. Library don't have the book in LP. Just to many pages for Regular print. One day will see it out for the Reader. or IPad.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 13, 2016, 03:31:53 PM
maryc - I'm glad you're liking Everybody's Fool. I haven't checked to see how many are ahead of me at the library, but hope the "line" moves quickly! I had a hard time time getting into The Seakeeper's Daughters, and finally gave up on it.  I just looked back at your recommendation, and see again, that part of the story deals with the WPA. I had forgotten that connection when I was reading, or I might have stuck with the book a little longer!

I'm also on the wait list for They Left Us Everything by Plum Johnson.  That definitely sounded like one that I should read, and I'm looking forward to it.

Nothing else to read at the moment, so I returned to a book of short stories that I have here, by Alice Munro. In the past, I haven't been fond of short stories, but I find that I like them more as I've grown older. 

Alice Munro, is especially interesting to me, because she was born in 1931, is now 85 years, and is still writing.  She has won the Nobel Prize for Literature, and a number of other prizes and awards.  She is Canadian, so all of her stories that I've read, take place in Canada.  This book of short stories is titled Dear Life.  She has written many others over the year, so anyone who is interested can find her books at the library, and probably some of them would be free on Kindle?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on August 13, 2016, 06:12:03 PM
I read until I finished a book last night. Was 2:30am. A fast read. a womans book. by Jennifer Weiner. "Who do you Love"  Few tears fell on the last page.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 14, 2016, 03:48:40 PM
About that book I recommended yesterday, Dear Life,by Alice Munro: I saw this on the back cover of the copy I have.  I think it sounds very intriguing, and is probably the reason I bought this book of short stories.

"In story after story, Alice Munro pinpoints the moment a person is forever altered, by a chance encounter, an action not taken, or a simple twist of fate.  Her characters are flawed and fully human.  Their stories draw us in with their quiet depth and surprise us with unexpected turns.  "Dear Life", shows how strange, perilous and extraordinary. ordinary life can be."

I'm not quite finished with it yet, but I'm definitely interested in reading some of her other books.  The fact that she is 85, and still writing and winning book awards, is certainly a commendable achievement.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 14, 2016, 08:13:32 PM
Marilyne,   I understand what you are saying about The Seakeeper's Daughter.     I had a little trouble in spots....it dragged on for me but kept going.    Anyway different stories catch us in different ways and sometimes not at all! :)

I have a request in as well for They Left Us Everything.    Everybody's Fool will be finished soon and hopefully that book will be ready for me. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 16, 2016, 12:08:53 PM
Finished Everybody's Fool last evening.    Great story,  not so great vocabulary.   I'm old fashioned and I know it! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on August 17, 2016, 08:43:43 AM
Mary C, you did better than I did.  Had so many things going on and I was struggling with keeping my interest going with "Everybody's Fool" so I returned it yesterday.  I'm in agreement with you.....really hate the objectionable language that seems to be so acceptable these days.  I'm old fashioned, too, and I don't think that is such a bad thing. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 18, 2016, 01:05:52 PM
We went to son and dil's for dinner last night.  Both grandkids are getting ready to return to college for their final year, so this was a send-off for them.   Granddaughter Jessie, is returning to LSU, which is in Baton Rouge, and is totally flooded, with more rain expected. She spent most of the evening watching for updates on the computer, and texting her friends who are already there. Most students are helping to evacuate stranded flood victims, or  working to clean out and repair houses that have been virtually underwater!  She will be leaving today, and is anxious to get back there, and start helping.

My dil gave me a couple of books that look interesting.  One is House Girl, by Tara Conklin.  It takes place on a Virginia tobacco farm, before the Civil War.  The other one is The Last Original Wife, by Dorothea Benton Frank.  I have liked some of her books in the past, but others, not so much.  They all tend to be very much alike, so I'm not sure which is which.  However, they are easy reading, so I may just sit back and relax with this one. :)   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 18, 2016, 02:44:55 PM
Someone dropped off at the library a bunch of Advance Reader's copies and uncorrected proofs. Since we cannot sell them, there was a big free sign on them. I took three. The Black House, by Peter May, is the first of a detective trilogy set in the Hebrides. The Infidel Stain, by M. J. Carter, is the second in an historical fiction series set in Victorian England (the first apparently was set in India). When the Moon is Low by Nadia Hashim, is modern day story an of Afghan schoolteacher's flight, with her three children, across Asian Minor and Europe to fihd freedom and refuge.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 18, 2016, 07:29:50 PM
When I went in to return Everybody's Fool I checked to see if my book on hold might be there and it wasn't so I scanned the new book shelf.    I picked up two totally different authors than I have read before.    One book is  The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick.    It seemed like a good little story so I took a gamble.    The other is We Are All Made of Stars by Rowan Coleman.   Both of these look like light reading so I'll take a little break with these.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 23, 2016, 01:45:25 PM
I'm nearly finished with The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick.     This was a real book from the library, found in the New Fiction section.     I highly recommend this story.   It is light reading for sure with just a touch of fantasy (maybe) but it touched me in how this gentleman set off on a journey of exploration after a year of grieving his wife's death and living just as he always had in a  pretty precise routine.   I think you will like it!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on August 23, 2016, 02:26:17 PM
"They Left Us Everything" sounds interesting - but it isn't available from my library in e-book form and, right now, that's the only way I'm reading.

My mother was the opposite- until I caught on to what she was doing!  Her attitude was  "who wants that old stuff?" and, so, she gave away all of the glass front bookcases from my Dad's law office (2 rooms), a Choctaw Stickball mallet (pretty rare to be owned by anyone not a tribal member),  her English saddle (not used in my lifetime) and several other items, including my entire set of Bobbsey Twin books and my bride doll plus her trousseau, which my aunt had made.
When we cleaned out my grandmother's house and she saw what I was interested in, THEN she began asking first.  :)

I have heard my two granddaughters "discussing" which one will get my sterling silver and which one will get my mother's set - and, just recently, they discovered my wedding dress in a bag in the closet - and one of them came out wearing it.  Her parents' facial expressions were priceless.

I'm not putting names on anything - plan is to perch on a pink cloud somewhere and watch the fun.

Currently, I'm reading a non-fiction -  "First Women" by Kate Anderson Brower.  It's about the First Ladies from Jackie Kennedy to Michelle Obama and is described as a "group biography" about life "upstairs and downstairs" at the White House during their years in residence.  So far, it's very interesting.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 23, 2016, 02:27:39 PM
mary - The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, sounds good.  I like all stories that deal with older people, moving forward and adjusting to life's ever changing circumstances.  I'll put it on my library list, but probably won't order it for awhile.  I have a stack of books here that I got from my dil, that I haven't touched yet!

Now that the Olympics are over, I'll get back to my afternoon reading once again. Of the four books waiting for me, I think I'll start on In the Unlikely Event, by Judy Blume.  She wrote a lot of best seller children's books, back in the 1970's and '80's.  I'm sure many of your daughters read Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. Both of my girls read that one, as well as many of her other excellent books for middle-school children. In recent years, she has started writing for adult women, so I'm curious as to what this one is like?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 23, 2016, 05:22:18 PM
Yes Marilyne,   I think I had a copy of Are You There God?    I enjoyed J. Blume's writing.   Didn't she write for one of the women's magazines too?   It seems like I discovered her through a column, maybe Family Circle or Woman's Day?   A book written for adults sounds interesting.

Callie,   How sad that your Mom "pitched" some of the stuff you would have liked to keep.   My Mom was pretty set about not leaving much to be decided by us....she made the decisions.      I already sold my silverware and split the money between  them.    It seems as though not too many young ones want to maintain that level of entertaining any more.   They weren't  unhappy with the $$.

I'm still waiting for They Left Us Everything.  It could be a while but I do have my name in.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 28, 2016, 12:28:02 PM
Sorry to say that I haven't started any of the new books that I mentioned in my last post. Sciatica is acting up again, so it's just too hard to get into a comfortable reading position. Short sessions in front of the TV, or here at the computer can be managed, but sitting long enough to get involved in a book is impossible for now.   I've never done any books-on-tape, but I'm thinking of giving it a try?  That would give me a few more options for comfort . . . mainly lying down!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 28, 2016, 01:50:55 PM
Marilyne,  So sorry to hear of the "flare up" of the sciatica again.    It is a pain in the ????    One of my friend/neighbors has suffered for a few years with it.    She had the epidural once that worked well for a while but recently had another that didn't help.   It is nasty.

I have a little book on Kindle that was a bargain from Amazon ($.99) called The Wiregrass by Pam Weber.    I'm enjoying it while I wait for a book on hold from the library.

Yesterday we observed Al's 90th with a family reunion/friends gathering in our yard.   The weather was perfect, food was good and everyone enjoyed visiting.....and Al was feeling better than he had been earlier in the week...Thank goodness.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on August 28, 2016, 02:15:19 PM
I'm just starting "The Thirteenth Tale" by Diane Setterfield.  It was highly recommended to me by one of the librarians and though I'm only a few pages in to it I think I'm going to like it.

I'm sorry you are having so much pain, Marilyne.  An Audiobook would probably be a good idea for you so you don't have to hold anything and can find a comfortable position....if that is possible.  I will occasionally try a talking book but most of the time they just put me to sleep.    ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 28, 2016, 04:01:03 PM
"Books-on Tape"! ha ha ha ::)  Of course there is no such thing anymore - just a generic term.  anyway, you all knew what what I was talking about.

Another thing that I have to consider because of the aches and pains of aging, is the possibility of hiring someone to keep this old house clean.  I've never had a cleaning person, but I think it might be time.  Al is still full of energy, and says he can continue to do the hard things like windows, floors, showers, et al, but I think he should turn those tough jobs over to someone else.  He already does practically everything around here, including keeping all the cars in top running order.  When you live in a large house with lots of rooms, etc., it's a never ending chore to keep everything going.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on August 28, 2016, 04:02:45 PM
Just started another book "House girl" Jumps between 1851 (through the time of slavery and up to the 1940s.  Back and forth.  I like this type of story.

Been so lazy today. Fact all week. Nothing seemed to work right all week so just gave up and relaxed. Hope next week get more active. House need jet washed. Carpets need cleaning. Fall is coming. Been such a summer for dust blowing around.  I feel so sorry for all those people who are trying to return to their homes and having such a mess. Flooding, Tornado,   So I am not complaining about mine.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 28, 2016, 06:10:44 PM
maryc - I've been meaning to ask you when you'd be celebrating Al's 90th birthday.  I see that yesterday was the big day, and that everything turned out perfect for him.  That is quite a milestone, and I'm happy to hear that he's feeling well. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on August 28, 2016, 08:40:36 PM
MaryC, so glad to hear that Al's 90th birthday party turned out well and that he was feeling better.

Marilyne, Sorry to hear about your problem.  I have problems with my sciatica in my left leg/hip off and on since I fell a few years ago. I found that Advil did give some temporary relief.

My grandson just had surgery for melanoma a couple of weeks ago.  They belief they got it all but he will have to be careful.  Then last week my husband had a basal cell cancer cut out of his neck.  Not nearly as serious as grandson's.  But he is going to have be careful.  He had an older brother and sister with skin cancer.  We are just thankful it wasn't worse.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 29, 2016, 11:26:02 AM
FlaJean,  It is a good thing that the Drs.  are able to remove these things as they do now.  I hope your son and husband have good healing.     Al has had some done already and has an appt for Wed. this week for a big raised spot on his back.    He is a fair skinned Scotsman and prone to barnacles (as he refers to them!).  Our mothers just told us to go out and play and we did without the benefit of sunscreen and now years later the results come along.   What did we know??

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 29, 2016, 01:52:09 PM
FlaJean - So sorry to hear about your grandson having the melanoma surgery.  It seems to be occurring a lot, in that younger generation.  You wonder why it is so prevalent for them, when it was our generation that had so much unprotected sun exposure? 

mary - my Al, has had countless "barnacles" removed - some of which have been squamous and basil cell carcinoma's.  I have had the same problem for many years now.  We both make appointments every four months with the dermatologist, and he always finds something to either burn off, or remove and send to the pathology lab.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on August 29, 2016, 05:25:59 PM
I have been having a skin problem this summer. Not just the little brown spots that come with to much sun when young they say. I have always had them checked. But now it was like a rash front of arms and legs.  Had to wait 6 weeks to see my Dermatologist. Whole dept busy. but got there today.
Went all over and took off a few little brown spots. One on my nose. Tells me they now have a new way of taking care of the blemishes (This is what he called my problem). Do something, then wrap in stuff like Siran Wrap for awhile. Suppose to make arms look like when young. (Most probably cheque book like when young also.) Told him to have them checkit to see if Medicare Ins. Will cover some of it or will it come under Cosmetic. Not something that I am going to do if expensive.  He checked all other places like back and places I cant see and says all O.K.  Just come back in again 6 months. All these Specialist seem to have gone to 6 months now , not a year like it use to be. That is why they are so busy.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 30, 2016, 11:49:50 PM
JeanneP - How did you like House Girl?  My dil gave it to me last week, but I haven't started reading it yet.  It looks like it's going to be a good story. 

I've reached the top of the waiting list once again for Everybody's Fool, so I'll be going to the library tomorrow to pick it up. I'll only have it for one week, so I plan to sit down and start reading as soon as I get home! :study:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on August 31, 2016, 12:53:27 PM
Marilyn's

Not far into it yet. So far liking it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on September 02, 2016, 09:55:12 PM
Well I said I wasn't going to read a series again (right away)  :D but here I am.    My brother suggested the Winston Graham Poldark series.     I am well into the first book.   I didn't think I was going to like it this well.    The setting takes me back to Rosamunde Pilcher's The Shell Seekers though I believe these stories take place on the west side of Cornwall.   It seems to me that some of you talked about the Poldark series when it was on The Masterpiece Theater.....maybe it wasn't here but I seem to recall some discussion.

I did get They Left Us Everything about the same time that I got the Graham  book but this one is from Hoopla and is due back sooner so I got busy with Poldark first.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 03, 2016, 02:24:20 PM
maryc - I'm about a quarter of the way into Everybody's Fool, and I'm still not really understanding what the story is going to be about.. New characters are still being introduced, and I have to admit that I'm getting slightly overwhelmed with so many townspeople and relatives, et al,  each with their own interconnected back stories.  I have to keep looking back to see who's who, etc.  Maybe I should have read Nobody's Fool first?? 

Anyway, I feel like I'm struggling a bit, and because the book is so long, I don't know if I'll stick with it?  I don't like to give up on something good, so please encourage me if you think it's worth it? :-\
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on September 03, 2016, 06:53:38 PM
Marilyne,   It's too bad you didn't see the movie or read Nobody's Fool before this book.  I just saw the movie and so that fixed in my mind the characters that are pretty much the same in the second book.  There are a lot of characters and I thought I would never get on with the story.    Anyway rather than being a plot to this one it is pretty much a character study.    You get to see the good, bad and ugly  and how even those who appear to be  pretty bad have some redeeming qualities and those who seem like ok people can have a little nastiness to their make up.     Maybe this doesn't do much for your interest so you will either read until your interest is piqued or give it up.   Sorry I can't do better for you. :-[   Isn't this often the way with a sequel to a good story?

I have started They Left Us Everything along with Ross Poldark.    The first is a modern true story that takes place just around the end of the Lake from us near Toronto. It is kind of a good to alternate with the Poldark yarn.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 04, 2016, 12:46:19 PM
maryc - I looked at my On Demand movies last night, and found Nobody's Fool. We watched it last night, and enjoyed it very much!  I can't believe that I missed it back in the early 90's. I thought I had seen every Paul Newman movie ever produced, but obviously I hadn't. 

Now plain to  see that Everybody's Fool is a sequel, and that most of the same characters have returned, in all their original quirkiness! LOL   
Yes, I agree with you, that both books are character driven stories, which is my favorite style.  Now I will open "Everybody's", this afternoon, and it will have a whole new meaning for me!  I know I'll enjoy it from here on out. :thumbup: 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on September 06, 2016, 04:28:53 AM
Want to see old friends, go down memory lane? 

http://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?topic=234.msg43347#msg43347 (http://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?topic=234.msg43347#msg43347)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on September 06, 2016, 01:11:02 PM
Bubble.  Now what name did you go under on Seniornet?  I don't seem to remember you. Where did you mostly post?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on September 06, 2016, 01:47:06 PM
same name.  I never changed since the time I started on the net.  I was mainly active in the writing forum, in WREX with MAL as leader.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on September 06, 2016, 03:12:34 PM
Marilyne,   I'm glad to hear that you found the movie, Nobody's Fool.     That surely set the stage for the sequel book so that you have some acquaintance with the large cast of characters.

I'm coming up to the end of Ross Poldark and have enjoyed the history.  I knew that I had read another good story that was set in Cornwall but couldn't think of it.   Now I've searched around and discovered that The shell Seekers was also set there but on the east coast.     In my searching I found that The Forgotten Garden, (Kate  Morton) was also there.   Since reading those stories,  my interest in that part of UK has been piqued.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 06, 2016, 06:44:03 PM
mary - You mentioned that you were familiar with the Poldark series that played on Masterpiece Theater. You can probably access the shows On Demand, on PBS?  We watched the first two seasons and liked it a lot, but I haven't heard anything about a third season?  I didn't read the book, so don't know if they were true to the story or not?  The show was filmed in Cornwall, and the scenery was spectacular!  Also, the actor who played Ross, was not hard to look at either - one of the best looking men I've seen on any TV show! :D

I'm just about through with Everybody's Fool, and so glad that I stuck with it. I doubt that I would have, if I hadn't watched Nobody's Fool.  I wonder if a movie will now be made from "Everybody's"?  How could they do it without Paul Newman . . . he was the perfect Sully! :thumbup:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on September 06, 2016, 10:15:01 PM
We haven't had too much luck in finding anything good On Demand.      One of these days when  Al is busy with something else I might call Cable and ask for some help.     It seems like we are missing out there.    I don't watch too much TV but Al likes sports and some things on History and Discover.   If it appeals to me I watch but otherwise I read or do something else.

He has been watching the series Harley and the Davidsons  this week and some of that is interesting to me but not straight through for 2 hours. :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on September 07, 2016, 01:10:26 PM
MaryC, my husband has been watching that Harley series, too.  I've been sitting in my comfy easy chair in the bedroom reading a cozy mystery.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on September 07, 2016, 01:54:34 PM
FlaJean,   :)   We do what we enjoy most.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on September 07, 2016, 01:59:38 PM
Bubble.  now how far back is it going since Seniornet.  Must be about 20 years. Do you still have the picture you used back then? Was Don in there at the same time?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 07, 2016, 03:13:59 PM
Harley and the Davidson's??  Hmmm - if it has to do with motorcycles, I don't think I'm going to mention it to my Al. ha ha.   Enough with the motorcycles on American Pickers! ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 07, 2016, 03:18:17 PM
Marilyne, I believe this is the story of how Harley-Davidson came into being. (Betcha the Pickers are watching!)  I'm DVR'ing it for hubby to watch later when there's nothing else to watch.  He said a movie he watched the other day was really good ..."Tumbledown".  I was busy with house-hold chores and didnt get to see any of it.  If he said it was "good" it might actually be worth watching!  Of course, he loves the Hallmark Movie Channel...he and our daughter can sit there, watch, and make a dive for the Kleenex box.  She laughs at her Dad and his "chick-flicks".
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 07, 2016, 05:36:20 PM
Tome - Your hubby sounds like a real sweetie! So nice that he'll watch the Hallmark Channel with your daughter. :)
When I'm not in the mood for TV, AJ will immediately go to The Western Channel, (Encore Westerns), and if there is nothing there that he wants to see, he'll go to the American Heroes Channel. (I call it, The War Channel!) He likes anything associated with WWII, so will watch old newsreels or documentaries dealing with battle scenes, European or Pacific fronts, famous Generals, etc. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 07, 2016, 06:02:19 PM
My daughter and I are the "action movie twins" although she likes the Hallmarks too.  She and I like all the Die Hard movies, we both have the full set of DVDs.  Also, the Jason Bourne series, but hubby likes those too.  I'm also a WWII nut, Civil War nut, and more lately, things about WWI.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 07, 2016, 06:18:00 PM
I am currently reading "The Lilac Girls" which is a WWII book, fictionalized non-fiction.  The book is narrated by three women whose lives were affected by the war; one in U.S., one Polish, one German.  It is,of course, not a happy book.  The "camps" were hideous, even moreso than in some other books we've read, or movies we've seen. The women were real, only a male love-interest, for the American woman working in the French Consulate was fictional.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 08, 2016, 12:24:52 PM
Tome - sometimes we're in sync, other times, not so much!  I've never seen a Jason Bourne or a Die Hard movie! :o  I'm probably one of very few.

The Lilac Girls sounds good! Let us know how you like it?  I haven't read a book dealing with WWII, that I haven't liked . . . same with the Civil War stories. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on September 08, 2016, 01:10:56 PM
I have not seen the "Lilac Girls" movie showing anyplace in town.  Can't find it in the library as a book or DVD.  I know I would like to read it.  It can be gotten on Kindle but for $14.95. So will wait and see if can find it later. Just don't buy books anymore. Have to many not read yet.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 08, 2016, 01:12:08 PM
Marilyne, I knew --in my heart of hearts -- that you wouldn't be in sync with me on the Die Hard/action movies.  I lot of shooting, explosions, car chases, mayhem etc.  I don't particularly enjoy those things used "randomly" in movies, especially in this day and age of ComputerGenerated stuff.  But, as used for instance in the Jason Bourne movies, it all fits nicely.  Did you ever read any of Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne novels?

I am liking "The Lilac Girls" as much as one can "like" a book about the horrors of concentration camps, the suffering of innocents who weren't in the camps, and the inhumanity of the Nazi regime.  The numbers are absolutely staggering, over and above the numbers actually sent to the ovens; a camp would be built to house X number of prisoners, but would grow to 2, 3 or 4 times that many. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 08, 2016, 01:13:12 PM
Jeanne, the book "The Lilac Girls" has only just been published.  It will be a long, long time, if ever, for a movie to be made and released.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 08, 2016, 02:04:00 PM
JeanneP - If you ask your library for The Lilac Girls, they most likely will order it for you.  There are so many new books being published now, that the libraries cannot keep up with all of them.  Since most people now read on their iPads or Kindles, libraries don't order every new book that comes out, like they used to.  However, I have had good luck putting in an order for a new book, and so far they have accepted all of my requests.  I recently asked for They Left Us Everything, and the library will notify me when it comes in.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on September 08, 2016, 05:18:28 PM
So True. Our library is a large one but having a hard time financially. We are twin cities and the other library even larger and quite new. Thing is they both got big mortgages.  Got all the technical stuff. Buildings to modern and  to big. So now no money . Most people working there  quite young now as they paid the older ones to retire early. Most are on Part time now  so dont have to pay Ins. Retirement etc.  They say now most not working with a Degree like they use to have to have. Always loved libraries but not the same now.  They do try when I ask but no longer are they getting the books in LP also.
I do have my IPad and Amazon Fire. Sort of hate putting the new books on there at about 14.99 because I read a book so fast. I thought that The lilac Girls must be quite new.  I will ask and put my name down. Be one of the First. Been some books were I have been Number 123 in a sort time.  People not buying books any more like the did.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on September 09, 2016, 07:39:31 AM
JeanneP, I am one of those non-professional librarians that you talk about.  But, I was lucky in that I worked in a mid state NY library and was involved in almost every job that needs doing in a public library, including reference work, which I loved.  Libraries are only as good as the government that controls their funding.  In our system our governing board felt libraries were very low on their list of funding so it was difficult.  Here in Wake Co., NC, our wonderful and very large library system ranks high on the governing board's list and it shows.  We have so many libraries and more new ones being built almost every year and they are all well used and always busy.  Furthermore, if it weren't for part-time staff and volunteers most libraries would have to close their doors.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 09, 2016, 11:11:15 AM
What interested me was that the main library here had an ad out for a part-time person to do just about exactly what I am doing at the branch as a volunteer. The only reason I didn't apply is that I didn't want to go the exta miles to the main branch for the wee bit of money  I'd get that would be almost certainly taken up mostly by taxes, not to mention the emergency service charge that the county is allowed to charge for those who work out of their own township. Not worth the hassle.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 11, 2016, 04:43:29 PM
We've been trying to clear out and give away many shelves full of books.  It's a difficult task, deciding which books to keep, and which ones to donate to local thrift shops.  Even a few First Editions . . . From Here to Eternity, being one.  You would think that it might have some value, but I looked at some online books sites as well as ebay, and see dozens of copies for sale, and nobody buying.  Some even had the dust jackets, and looked brand new! 

Many are books that I would like to read again some day, like Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, and a couple by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Sad to say, but I don't think my adult children or grands would be interested in any of them. My youngest daughter and my dil, read all the time, but I doubt that either of them would know who Ann M Lindbergh is!  If they should ever in the future want to read anything by her, or Rachel Carson, or James Jones, they would most likely just order it on their Kindles or ipads.  Times have changed! *big sigh* :(
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 11, 2016, 05:24:24 PM
They are being a little ruthless here too. With the pending move downstairs they have been pulling lots of books that haven't been checked out in a long time.  Since our branch is so small, the manager likes to keep mostly the current and near current stuff so we see a large volume turnover in check-outs rather than keep books very few if anyone wants to borrow any more. The more check-outs we have the more we can receive in the budget.

The withdrawn and donated books go down to the Friends of the Library shop for sale at a minimal amount. I've seen the bookstore volunteer take loads of books that have been donated to the dumpster. There are a lot that sit on his shelves unsold and there are a lot of duplicates of the once popular sellers such as Baldacci, Scottoline, Stuart, Steele, Patterson, etc. I should ask if they ever think to ask some of the nursing homes and assisted living places want any. The place we had my Mom at had a nice wall full of books above the cabinets they kept the board games in.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on September 11, 2016, 06:37:30 PM
MarsGal, our Friends of the Library has books sales 2-3 times a year - books taken off the shelves plus donated books.  Any that are left at the end of a sale are first taken to McKay's (a big used book store).  Books they won't take there are taken to the recycle center. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on September 12, 2016, 01:47:42 PM
Both our libraries have the Book Sales about 4 times a year now if not more.  Not as many people seem to line up to get in anymore. Use to be people who owned Used book stores . they would get in line at the first opening. (5pm on a thursday. ) They would be there about 2pm.  I use to try to find Crochet books and go through the DVDs. Now best places seem to be at Estate Sales.
The end of the library book sale on the following Monday can fill bags with what not sold FREE. Also the post office has a place to gave books to go the the Prisons.  We have Drop Boxes for Books all over town for that also. And same amount to drop of SHOES.
The big drop off place all closed because people where dropping Mattresses, Furniture all kinds of dirty things at them. Got to be a real mess. Now get fined if found doing it. $500 I believe. Seems to be working.
I don't buy now other than some I want to keep on my Ipad or Tablet.
I have a great collection of Cook Books.  Some going back to the 1800s. Love them. My girls in family don't want any.   They don't even like to cook and other than one Grandson and now a Great Granddaughter love reading books.  So sad....
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 15, 2016, 01:43:28 PM
I've been rereading that wonderful American classic novel, My Antonia, by Willa Cather.  It's a beautiful story, and one that is worth reading again and again. I'm sure many of you were assigned to read it in college or high school English class?  If that's the last time you read this book, I think you will understand and appreciate it more, now that you're older and wiser.

For those of you who haven't read it, it takes place between about 1880 and 1910, on the plains of Nebraska. Although it's considered to be a historical novel, it's written more like a memoir.  It's about the Northern European immigrants, who came to America at that time, and formed settlements in the farming communities in Nebraska and the surrounding frontier states. The settlers were from Norway, Sweden, Russia, Denmark and Bohemia. (later called Czechoslovakia)

The first part of the story is about the hardships that the new immigrants faced, in adapting to their new life on the frontier.  Antonia Shimerda, a Bohemian girl, is the featured character, and the story follows her throughout her lifetime.

Willa Cather wrote the story from first hand knowledge.  She was an American, who grew up in Nebraska, in a rural farming community.  She wrote about true incidents, that actually happened during her lifetime, involving the immigrant families.  That's the reason why the book is sometimes referred to as a memoir. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on September 15, 2016, 05:36:50 PM
I think I will try and find My Antonia and read it again also.  Been so many years since I first read it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on September 15, 2016, 07:46:24 PM
My  Antonia is free on Amazon for Kindle.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on September 16, 2016, 12:31:15 PM
There are several different ones on iBook.  JeanneP, the blue one is free.  I read it again a year or so ago.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on September 18, 2016, 03:08:30 PM
My Antonia is on the shelf for me at the Library. In LP so I will just read theirs.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 22, 2016, 04:33:37 PM
Yesterday I started reading a book, that I can tell, is going to be a winner for me . . . News From Heaven, by Jennifer Haigh.  The book is divided into ten stories, that are all linked together by some or at least one, of the characters.  It is set up in the same style, Olive Kitteridge. (different author.)  I liked "Olive" very much, and I think I'm going to like this one even more. 

So far, I have completed the first story, which takes place in the 1930's, and is about a sixteen year old Polish farm girl from Pennsylvania, who gets a job as a live in cook and housekeeper, for an orthodox Jewish family in New York City.  I enjoyed it so much, and didn't want it to end . . . but I'm sure the characters will reappear in later chapters. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on September 22, 2016, 09:22:25 PM
Marilyne.  That book sounds good but familiar. I should start keeping names of books read in a better list.  I keep picking up books now that I have already read.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on September 23, 2016, 05:41:35 PM
News from Heaven does sound good.

   I was interested in the conversation about My Antonio here a little while back.    I had a couple books by Willa Cather on my Kindle that I read just a bit ago but didn't read that one.   Perhaps when I get caught up I will.   I am reading the third book by Winston Graham about the Poldark family back in the 1700s in Cornwall.    Even though I said I wouldn't  read another series right away.......I am.    This is the last one offered on Hoopla so I don't imagine I will read more of them right away.  Our library has one that is very late in the series but it is way to heavy for me.

    Is Hoopla offered by libraries across the country or is it here in the east?    My brother has it through the Western PA county where he lives but I don't know where it is offered.     It is a pretty good thing in that there are books, magazines, movies,and TV shows available.

I just purchased a $1.99 Kindle offer from Amazon.   It is by Adrienne Trigiani and called Don't Sing At the Table:Life Lessons from my Grandmother.   I have enjoyed her books some time ago so this caught my attention.

Please forgive me but here I go again....wandering off subject.   Yesterday we had a visit from a family who were our neighbors all the time our children were growing up.   Now they are scattered across the country but their daughter came home for her 50th class reunion and the rest of them came visiting friends and family in the area.     They were just here for coffee but it was good to see them all.   The mother of the family and I had good times when our kids were young, doing what all mums  did back in the 50s and 60s.    We shared recipes,  crafts,  garage sales, so we have lots of good memories.  We both had a daughter and three sons in that order and we both lost one of our boys.  My friend is 92 and not in such good health but she still loves to travel and her family sees  to it that she is able.  She lives part of the year in Texas with her daughter and part with one  son in AZ.   I marvel how they manage to keep her hooked up  with Drs. in all the places where she stays.   Its a good family.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 24, 2016, 05:12:05 AM
I never heard of Hoopla, MaryC, so I looked it up. Interesting. They offer more than Overdrive, which is what we have at our library systems here in Cumberland and Dauphin counties. The Philadelphia Free Library also uses Overdrive. We can borrow only audiobooks and ebooks from Overdrive. I think I will ask about it next week when I go in.

We are very close, now, to moving to our new digs downstairs. The physical space is a little smaller than originally expected because first the split the space between the library and another group, and then, the County Commissioner decided he wanted to have a meeting room on the street level too. We will ge getting an extra computer station for patrons and a larger circulation desk. All we need is for everyone to get coordinated to help us move. That is not likely to happen until after Pumpkin Fest which is Oct. 8 & 9. Once we are downstairs, we will have direct access from the street and we will be open from a few hours on Sat.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 24, 2016, 12:22:38 PM
maryc - please don't apologize for "wandering off subject".   I enjoy reading about how you and other members here celebrate the special events in your lives, as well as how you spend your ordinary days. We all live so far apart from each other, and at this stage of our lives, we will likely never meet in person.  It makes me feel close, to hear about everyone's  activities, families, neighbors, reunions, et al.

I've noticed that the message boards that are still thriving here on S&F, are the conversational boards, where members talk about anything and everything.  The boards specific to a single subject, are not doing so well.  It used to be that ALL boards were busy and active in S&F, but that is no longer the case. :(

MarsGal - I keep meaning to ask you if you live in Philadelphia, or in one of the outlying suburbs?  I like to look at my old AAA Atlas, and see where all members live. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on September 24, 2016, 12:34:07 PM
I enjoy the conversations, too.  I've always kept to the photo folders so I always feel like an interloper in the conversation folders as the members seem to know each so well.  However, I enjoy this folder even tho I haven't been doing much reading lately.  I'm afraid a cataract operation is my fate after the first of the year.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on September 24, 2016, 12:41:58 PM
FlaJean - don't dread your cataract surgery.  It's usually a very easy procedure, with amazing results.  John and I each had both eyes done, and one of our daughters had the surgery when she was in her early 40s.  I hope yours is as successful.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on September 24, 2016, 01:00:27 PM
I second Maryz's post about cataract surgery.  My ophthalmologist was planning a trip to Europe with his family when my cataracts were ready for surgery.  So he asked me if he could do one the first week he had free before his trip and the second the next week.  Everything went very well and I haven't had a problem since (except for seeing a specialist for a spot on my retina which has been there since I was a child).  No problems recovering from the surgery.  So I'd say Go for It!

And my library is having their used book sale on October 8 (I think!)  I'm trying to find someone to take me to the sale as I am still not driving since my fall in late April.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on September 24, 2016, 01:16:31 PM
Oh, how I'm enjoying reading the recent message thread here!  I, too, enjoy sharing events in our lives.  I'm "in" two of the conversational folders but am finding more and more that I don't really have anything to add to those conversational threads.

Marilyne,  you and I are alike in looking up places connected with people we know.  In my case,  if Oklahoma City were a clock face,  I'd live "north of noon".  My oldest granddaughter, who has a Musical Theater degree, is moving to NYC next week.  She will be living in a sub-let apartment (shared) for the first month - in order to "eyeball" possibilities for something long-term.
Recently, she gave me the names of the streets that intersect near her sub-let because, she said,  "Gammy, I know what you'll do.   You'll get on Google street-view and look around."
She was right!

FlaJean,  I also encourage you not to dread the cataract surgery.   I was amazed.   
I was offered a big warm muffin with my choice of coffee, hot tea or juice while I was waiting for the post-op eye drops, etc. .   You might mention this to your doctor.   :)
About a year later, I did have to have each eye lasered for a film that developed - but that was a 5 minute office procedure (no muffins - although I did ask  ;D).

As most of you know,  I borrow e-books/magazines from my local library.  Overdrive is the program used for the books and Zenio is for the magazines.  I'm really enjoying those because I can read so many that I wouldn't subscribe to.
Currently,  I'm reading my way through the Low Country Tales series by Dorothea Benton Frank, have just finished the Harmony series by Phillip Gulley (gentle humorous stories about a Quaker pastor and his flock in Indiana) and am waiting for "Commonwealth" by Ann Patchett.

I love the suggestions that others post.  Most of them are available on the library e-book list and I can either put them on Hold or on a Wish List, which is a reminder of ones I want to eventually read.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 24, 2016, 05:00:02 PM
Callie - I looked at my trusty road Atlas, and I'm sure I spotted you, a little North of OKC!  I do enjoy the old maps more than I do looking at locations online.  The maps are so colorful and beautiful, and easier for me to follow.  Of course I also love snooping on the Google street view! (Makes me feel like a peeping Tom!) :D

Congratulations to your granddaughter, for following through on her dream to live in NYC.  She is one determined young lady, and I will be waiting to hear about her first audition, and eventually a part in a Broadway show!

Speaking of Dorothea Benton Frank . . . my dil gave me a copy of The Last Original Wife.  This was about two months ago, and I haven't opened it yet.  Somehow, the title doesn't sound like DBF?  Have you read that one?

Sue - I'm so happy to see you back with us again!  Your fall, and subsequent rehab, was a long and painful ordeal for you.  You sound very positive now!  Please continue to visit us here in Library bookshelf, and also on the Television/Movie board. 

FlaJean - I join the others, in encouraging you to have the cataract surgery.  You'll be thrilled with the clarity of your vision!  The following morning, I looked out my kitchen window at the trees in the backyard, and was amazed that I could see the individual leaves, and the many different shades of green! I hadn't realized that all colors had become dull and drab for me, so it was an exciting surprise for me to see again!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on September 24, 2016, 05:18:30 PM
Marilyne, the last few books by DBF that I've read are a bit more "edgy" (not sure that's the exact term I want) than her earlier ones in terms of love scenes and relationships.  Still good reading, though - at least, IMO.

Granddaughter is basically a dancer who can sing and will probably be a "theater gypsy" - auditioning for ensembles instead of specific roles.  I think she's looking at a broader picture than just "being on Broadway".  She says companies from community theaters across the nation hold auditions in NYC and plans to take part in those as well as general area theaters. I'm looking forward to hearing about her new adventures. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on September 24, 2016, 06:03:43 PM
Thanks to all of you for encouraging me about cataract surgery.  I'm such a wimp when it comes to anything medical.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on September 24, 2016, 07:56:31 PM
I would agree with the others FlaJean regarding your cataract surgery.    Our son who is 60 just had both of his eyes done within a month and he is pretty pleased with the outcome.   He missed very few days of work over that time and he is a truck driver for a car carrier company.

I'm one of those folks as well who like to see on the map where someone hails from.   In my mind I like to "place" that person.    When we speak with our son when he is on the road,  I always ask where he is calling from and what his destination is.  Callie,   I sometimes do like you and looks at the Google map.   When our grandson moved up to Savannah from Miami I was able to see his home and that was a good feeling.    That reminds me that he has moved to a different house and I better get on that and see what the new one looks like.

Welcome back SCFSue.    I'm sorry that I didn't get it that you had your accident until quite a while after it had happened.   If I don't get in here almost daily it seems that I miss things that I shouldn't have missed.    I hope that you will continue to mend well and be able to do all those things that you enjoy.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 24, 2016, 08:44:52 PM
Marilyne, l live in Enola which is across the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg, PA.

FlaJean, go for it. I was amazed at the difference my surgery made, not just in being able to see clearly, but also at the colors I didn't realize that I had lost a lot of the yellows, the blues popped out and the greens, well the greens, I never realized there were so may shades of green. I had congenital cataracts so I had to have mine taken care of when I was only 45. Nowadays, surgery is even better than when I had mine done (they still used stitches then), and the recovery time is much faster.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on September 25, 2016, 06:54:40 AM
I echo what others have said about cataract surgery.  I was so delighted to regain colors.  Because the cataracts came on so slowly I hadn't realized how much I had lost.  It was wonderful to look out across the landscape and see those vivid colors again.  I had to have laser surgery done, also, because a light film had developed but that was a very quick and easy....and painless....procedure that only took a few minutes.

I used to read Dorothea Benton Frank every time I saw her latest book but I have been less enthusiastic about the most recent ones she has written.  I think authors tend to run out of ideas after several books with the same setting or same characters.  I know I would find it hard to keep coming up with something new and different.

Callie, you always have something worthwhile and interesting to contribute to any conversation.  It is nice to find you posting here.

Just finished reading Louise Penney's latest..."A Great Reckoning" with her central character of Armand Gamache.  This is the 12th in that series.  Each book can be read as a stand alone but to get a sense of the on-going characters and their lives it is better to read them in order. I know that many of you here do not like "mysteries" but Penney writes so well.   I love her descriptions of the village of Three Pines and all of the quirky people who live there.  I wouldn't mind living there myself.   :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 25, 2016, 01:32:40 PM
phyllis - I agree, that many good authors, seem to run out of ideas after the first two or three books, but they continue on, even though the storyline's become all too familiar.  In times past, when an author wrote a popular book, it was many years before they followed it up with another one.  Now they grind them out as quickly as possible, and all stories are similar. 

Nonetheless,  I'll probably start reading DB Frank's The Last Original Wife, sometime today.  I need something totally different, after finishing News From Heaven, yesterday. I was enthusiastic about "Heaven" after the first couple of chapters, but then it seemed to fall apart toward the end.  The stories followed the lives of different families who lived and worked in a coal mining company town, in Pennsylvania.  Some of the stories took place in the 1930's, and others in the '70's and '80's, when the mines began to close, and people were suddenly out of work.  I do recommend it, because it was different, and would be of interest to anyone familiar with life in a company town. 

MarsGal - Speaking of Pennsylvania, I found your city on my atlas, and I see that you live near two places that I've heard about all my life, and always wanted to see . . . the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and the city of Hershey.  The Susquehanna River, looks so long and wide to me!  We don't have rivers like that out here in California.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 25, 2016, 01:57:04 PM
Marilyne, the Susquehanna is one of the oldest rivers in the world and is the longest river on the East Coast. At Harrisburg, it is nearly a mile wide. I can remember when I was a little tyke seeing the boats on the river dredging for coal. They haven't done that in a long, long time so we have a lot of little islands popping up. We are getting to be quite a stopping place  for the birds on the journey north, and our bald eagle population is growing.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on September 25, 2016, 02:56:30 PM
I had my cataracts taken care of about 8 years ago now.  I just use glasses for close up. For a few years after having them done I could get by without using any. He just gave me a proscription for a single vision.  I see him every 6 months to a year as he watches behind my one eye.  In the last fewyear now I am finding that i have to keep taking reader out  to see prices in stores and read LP books now better
My appt. last week I told him and he has given me a different prescription to have more of a bifocal pair made so that I can leave them on as I am shopping.  Now need to get them made and see how they work.  I still do fine driving, watching TV and out in the dark driving without wearing any.  I have never been able to walk around in glasses. Had them around y neck when working.  He thinks if I get really light weight frames I could get use to this new prescription and walk in them.

But Mary. The operation is fast and comfy one.  I prefer it to going to the dentist. My eyes were never where he could put me into Contacts.  I don't think I could have put those things in and out.  Have a hard time just putting eye drop in.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 27, 2016, 04:21:03 PM
So many women southern fiction writers out there, with three names, that it's no wonder that I got Dorothea Benton Frank, confused with another author   The past couple of days I've been reading, The Last Ordinary Wife, and I kept thinking to myself that the style doesn't seem at all like the DBF that I recall from years ago?  That's because it wasn't DBF I was thinking of, but instead was Mary Alice Monroe. ::)  It was  MAM's, The Beach House, and Time is a River, that I was remembering.  Both excellent stories, that left a lasting impresson.

However, my favorite of the Southern authors, (with three names), is Anne Rivers Siddons.  I just loved the novel Peachtree Road, and also read a number of other books by her, but can't recall the titles?  I'm going to look up all three women, and try to figure out what I've read, and what belongs to which author!  Then will order something from each of them!   
 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on September 27, 2016, 10:00:17 PM
This talk of Mary Alice Monroe (and by the way Mary Alice is my real name)  (:   I wonder if you all read the one she wrote that was set in the mountains of N.Carolina.  Time is a River was the title.   It was quite different from those set at the shore.   I had forgotten about it until this discussion started.
WW
I'm still involved with Winston Graham and his stories of the Poltarks.  When this one is finished I will read my new Kindle book.....Don't Sing At the Table.    It caught my attention because my mother used to say that to us when we were kids as probably many moms did.


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 28, 2016, 12:14:35 PM
A HUGE wildfire happening right outside of my town. It's called the Loma Fire, and has been going on for three days already. This morning, the sky is an unnatural shade of yellowish red, and big plumes of smoke are visible.  We saw scary looking flames shooting up yesterday, but don't see them this morning.  We live in a foothill community, at the base of the Santa Cruz mountains.  There are thousands of homes in the mountains, but we live in town, so we aren't threatened. 

It takes such a long time to get these California wildfires under control, due to the relentless heat, low humidity and lack of rain.  We haven't had any rain since early April, and likely will not have any until November.  On Monday, the day the fire started, the wind was blowing from East, so the humidity was only 12%.  Today the wind has shifted, and is coming from the West, off the ocean, and that should raise the humidity, cool things down, and help the firefighters.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 01, 2016, 12:32:34 PM
I've been on a wait list at the library for What she Left Behind. I picked it up yesterday, but don't recall even requesting it?  Someone in this discussion must have recommended it?  It's written by Ellen Marie Wiseman? Yet another author with three names, so it must be good! ha ha  :D

Not much activity here in Library~Bookshelf,  this past week. I hope we hear from some of of you today. Let us know what you're reading or what you're doing this first weekend in October?   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 01, 2016, 01:44:22 PM
It has been quiet here....everyone must be busy reading something good!    For some strange reason I lost the use of my Mozilla Firefox browser and am using MS Edge and it doesn't allow me to use the little expressive faces above.   Oh well.  At least I can get on line.

We had another hospital visit this week.    Al had some sort of kidney  infection  that set him back pretty well last week-end.    We had 911 early Monday morning and he was in hospital  until Wednesday noon.   He feels  a whole lot better but needs to keep his legs moving now until he can get some strength back.   It's amazing what three days in bed does for your strength.

Meanwhile I'm still working at Jeremy Poldark.   This book is shorter than the others but continues to hold my interest.....just haven't been putting the time into it.

Marilyne,  I do recall someone mentioning What She Left Behind, but can't tell who it was.   I did read the other similar title  They Left Us Everything.    I passed that on to Debby (DD) as I could see some things in the Mother/Daughter relationship that I thought she would appreciate, and she did.

Phyllis,   I tried one of Louise Penney's books a while back but couldn't get with it.   The story you described here sounded interesting.....maybe that would do it.   Sometimes one of their books catches ones interest better than another and I'm always looking for a new author to follow.   It seems that in late years when I go library scoping,  I'm more apt to look for familiar authors than at attractive titles.    Once in a while at the New Book Shelf,  I let go and take a second look just because of an interesting title and sometimes it works for me.

While waiting for Al at the hospital I picked up an Oprah magazine and notice that Everybody's Fool had a little write up in the book suggestions.    Of course the magazine was probably 6 months old or more!!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on October 01, 2016, 02:48:13 PM
Some years ago when many of us were still on Senior Net, someone set up a weekend at one of the South Carolina beaches (can't remember which).  I met Joan (?) Grimes (?) at the Atlanta airport and we drove down to enjoy the weekend.  I think Ginny (?) might have been one of the people who rented a large condo and invited Mary Alice Monroe to come out to the beach to speak to us about the effort to preserve/help baby turtles make it safely into the water.  We went over to Charleston to visit the turtle lab in the museum there.  It was a fun trip--and I'm wondering if there are others here who also participated.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on October 01, 2016, 03:06:04 PM
Sue, do you have any photos of that meeting?  I remember some were posted at the time.  That would be great in the Gatherings and Meeting Friends~Old and New.

http://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?topic=234.msg45888#msg45888 (http://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?topic=234.msg45888#msg45888)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 01, 2016, 04:16:57 PM
maryc - Sorry to hear that Al had a kidney problem that required a hospital stay.  I hope he is continuing to recover, and will quickly regain his strength.
I've been on the wait list for They Left Us Everything, for many weeks now, and the line seems to be moving very slowly!  Glad you liked it enough to pass it along to your daughter.  I wonder if I'll feel the same, when I finally have a chance to read it?
   
SCFSue - I remember the Senior Net weekend that took place at a beach in S. Carolina.  I wasn't there, but I enjoyed hearing about Mary Alice Monroe, and the effort to help and protect the baby turtles. I had read The Beach House and Swimming Lessons so was familiar with where you were staying, and the purpose of the visit.  I also liked hearing about all the fun you had. What a wonderful experience for everyone!     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 01, 2016, 05:33:33 PM
I remember that Gathering at the Ocean and meeting with M.A. Monroe.    It did sound like a good time and wouldn't it be nice to see pictures of it again!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on October 01, 2016, 08:35:16 PM
Maryc, sorry to hear about Al and glad he is some better.  I made a quick trip to the library and got four large print books.  Two of them are mysteries set in Alaska which sound interesting. I like to read stories set in different areas.  A good author usually does their homework and you can learn a lot about the geography while enjoying a good story.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on October 01, 2016, 09:51:30 PM
I have never been much of a photographer.  My husband took all the family pictures, loved cameras, and took lots of pictures of things he saw while on deployment with the U.S. Navy.  During the Cuban Crisis in the 60's, he was flying P3V's and he took pictures of the Russian ships taking missiles back to Russia.  I have taken a few pictures of my youngest son's two sons who started spending June with me when they were only 3 and 4.  Jon and Stacie both worked out of the house by then--Jon stayed home with the boys until then.  Stacie's mother kept them in July and they started back to nursery school and Kindergarten in August.  Alex is a sophomore in college here in Alabama and Nick is a senior at his high school in New Orleans.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on October 02, 2016, 03:16:14 PM
Sue.  Where do the years go.?  None of the boys managed to get to stay with you this summer.  Maybe soon you may be able to drive down to see the one one College close.  Will Nick be going to the same University next year. That would be nice for you to have both of them closer
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 02, 2016, 03:35:30 PM
Sue - Too bad your accident prevented you from your regular time spent with your grandsons this past summer.  I can remember you talking about them over many of the years that they spent vacations with you. Are Alex and Nick your only grandchildren, or do you have others?

I gave up on What she Left Behind, after just one chapter.  Very melodramatic, with lots of violence in the back story. Not my style of book at all. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on October 03, 2016, 04:54:01 PM
Jeanne, Nick is a senior in high school this year and Alex is a sophomore at Birmingham Southern University here in Alabama about 100 miles from me.  Last year, I went up to Birmingham about once a month on Saturdays to take him out to lunch and sometimes go to a movie or some other thing to see in Birmingham.  Nick is planning to attend LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana after he graduates from high school next June.  He will major in Math.  He wants to teach Mathematics after graduation.

Marilyne, Alex and Nick are brothers--my youngest son's children.  I have a step-grand who is now 25, but still living at home with his Mother and my oldest son, Bill (his step-father).  Andy is working at a computer store.

In April of 2014 when Alex was a senior in high school, I took him to New York City for his spring break.  I hope my leg will be well enough to take Nick on the same trip next spring break.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on October 03, 2016, 04:56:45 PM
Bubble, I don't remember if I took a camera to that beach blast where we met Mary Alice Monroe.  I do have a simple Canon camera, but I never remember to take picture with it.  I'm thinking several of the other women there and maybe Robby (the only guy) might have taken pictures. 

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: pedln on October 03, 2016, 09:22:21 PM
SFCSue, I remember that get-together at Isle of Palms.  It was in January of 2005 and a really fun time.  There were 17 or 18 of us -- Robbie and all the rest of us women. Meeting Mary Alice MOnroe and being invited to the aquarium by her photographer was a highlight, but I think the best part was just all of us getting together.  Do you remember the cake that Judy Laird bought?  Her daughter had told her to get a cake from some special hotel, and she did, to the tune of $65. She shared with all of us.  I remember JOan Grimes taking lots of photos at the Poe Tavern.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on October 04, 2016, 11:57:18 AM
Pedlin.  Hello Again. Not seen you posting in a long time.  Hope all is well with you.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on October 04, 2016, 12:10:21 PM
pedln thanks for mentioning that Robbie was at that reunion. 
I have now emailed him to ask if he had photos of the event.
He said that he wanted to join us in S@N.  That will be interesting :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 04, 2016, 12:11:53 PM
pedln Good to see you posting again!  I hope you return here with some book talk, or visit our TV/Movie board.
http://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?topic=15.390
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on October 04, 2016, 03:11:07 PM
It would be a delight if Robbie would join us here in S&F.  I remember how much fun it was reading his posts in the old Sr.Net.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on October 04, 2016, 03:23:01 PM
apparently he has problems signing in.  I emailed Pat, asking for help!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 05, 2016, 02:32:31 PM
I'm thinking about all of our S&F friends along the East Coast, and hoping they will be spared the wrath of Hurricane Matthew!  I think the only members who post in this discussion, who live near the coast, are phyllis and FlaJean?
Stay safe everyone, and keep us posted, if you can.       
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on October 05, 2016, 10:51:22 PM
Marilyne, we live on the Gulf of Mexico on the panhandle of Florida.  So it looks like we will be spared this time.  the area we moved from might be impacted.  I'm always glad each year when hurricane season is over (officially on Nov. 30th).  The summers can be hot but we sure enjoy the weather the rest of the year.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on October 06, 2016, 08:04:54 AM
Thank you, Marilyne.  The latest news is that Matthew will take a turn to the East as it reaches the lower coast of NC.  We here, about 90 miles inland from the Outer Banks, will now probably just have rain and some gusty winds.  We are as prepared as we can be and I am lucky that this house has a full basement.  A rarity in NC.  My son and I will go down there, if necessary, but if the storm does as they think it will I don't think we will need to.  We've lived through several of these hurricanes and tornadoes since we moved here so we have the routine pretty well organized.

"Longmire" current season has been a big disappointment to me.  Some of the story line is (IMO) ridiculous!  What do you think, Marilyne, if you have been watching it?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 06, 2016, 12:30:27 PM
phyllis & FlaJean - Good that you are both a safe distance from the coastline.  Matthew looks like a powerful one, and I dread hearing about the damage to come. As you both know, we don't get anything resembling a hurricane, here in California, so I can't imagine how frightening it must be.

phyllis - Happy Birthday to you!  We will be celebrating today also, because it's our 60th anniversary!   Ten years ago on our 50th, our son & wife hosted a lovely party for us.  it doesn't seem possible that another decade has gone by so quickly.  No big party this time . . . we just plan to go out for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants.

phyll - YES, I agree with you on the new season of Longmire.  I've only seen two episodes so far, but have been extremely disappointed.  As you say, "ridiculous"! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on October 08, 2016, 05:13:26 PM
My sister Anne and hubby Richard live in Atlantic Beach, FL (almost on the beach east of Jacksonville).  Her son's family also lives there.  I've been trying to reach them since I realized the storm was going to hit there--no answer and the place is now flooded.  Anne and Richard live in a retirement community and I'm hoping the community arranged for buses to remove their residents.  I'm very worried and haven't heard from any of them.  I am hoping they have found motels/hotels on I-10 West of them.  So many people there will be going back to flooded and destroyed homes.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 08, 2016, 10:20:02 PM
Sue - I hope you've heard from your sister by now?  Tonight's news showed pictures of the Jacksonville area, and it looked very bad. Let us know when you get a message?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 09, 2016, 06:27:10 AM
My sister lives in Wilmington, NC. She said she would call after the storm passes. I don't expect to hear from her until tomorrow. She is out of the flood zone, but not by much.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 10, 2016, 11:05:06 PM
Sue and MarsGal - I hope you've both heard from your sisters by now, and that all is well?  I think it's interesting, that as soon as one of these monster storms is over, the press stops talking about it.  The week before a hurricane hits the US, they talk non-stop, day after day, but when it's over, it's over . . . as far as the news media is concerned.  I know there is massive clean-up ahead for Florida and SC, and poor Haiti, but we likely won't hear much about it. :(

Now the news will consist of nothing but political talk, leading up to the election in early November. ::) 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 11, 2016, 06:31:22 AM
Haven't heard from my sister yet. Will try to call her later today if I don't hear from her by then.

Now reading Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. Interestingly, he has mentioned several Welsh names in the first five pages. Koontz lives in CA, but I wonder if he, like me, has Welsh ancestry.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on October 11, 2016, 11:40:43 AM
Marilyne - you're right about folks moving on to "the next disaster".  One of our Bosom Buddies lives in Baton Rouge.  She's okay, but three of her children lost everything in their homes in the recent flooding there, and you don't hear anything about the recovery process there - even to compare it to the damage cause by Matthew.  Sue's sister has checked in and they are all okay, with no damage.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 11, 2016, 12:19:52 PM
maryz - thanks for the update on Sue's sister.  Now all sisters are accounted for! :)  My granddaughter goes to LSU, so I have heard about the clean up there, but only because she has kept us apprised.  Nothing at all on any of the news sources.  When a tornado rips through a town and totally levels it, the coverage lasts for one day . . .  then we never learn if the town/city was rebuilt. (schools, churches, homes, etc.)  I say, "poor Haiti", because it seems that they are constantly getting hit with one disaster after another.  Remember the devastating earthquake that happened there about five years ago? . . . now the hurricane! 

MarsGal - I've never read any books by Dean Koontz, but my husband is a big fan.  Yes, Koontz does live in Southern California.  I think that lots of writers settle there, because in between books, they can get work writing screenplays for the movies.  I'll have to look him up online, and see if he has Welsh ancestry?  The name Koontz, is unusual.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: joyous on October 11, 2016, 01:45:48 PM
Marilyn: I was not aware that you have a grand daughter going to school "way down here in Baton Rouge".  How did
she happen to enroll here and where from? I guess she
filled you in on the flooding here because the newspapers
gave us about a one-page write up only. >:(
Joy
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Sandy on October 11, 2016, 03:07:55 PM
Joy ...  I found these pictures
out on Google Images:     

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1718&bih=788&q=baton+rouge+flood&oq=baton+rouge+flood&gs_l=img.3..0l10.3613.9159.0.9555.19.12.1.6.7.0.138.1210.1j10.11.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..1.18.1237...0i10i24k1.-Eqg88VlkVQ


I am sure that this is just a sampling of the
horrific damage that Flooding has done
to Baton Rouge.

So sad,  so very very very sad.   

Sandy   

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 11, 2016, 03:20:59 PM
Joy - My granddaughter is in her fourth year at LSU, and she really loves it there.  She visited many colleges and universities across the country, before choosing LSU.  She knew nothing about it at the time, and didn't know anyone there - she just had a good feeling that it was the school for her.  When she started as a freshman, she went through "rush", and joined a sorority, so she has become close friends with lots of girls.  This, her last year, she is living in an apartment off campus with three other girls from her sorority. 

She and her friends have worked since August, in helping to clean up and rebuild since the flood.  She has told us a lot about how devastating it has been for the city of BR.  She stayed there over summer, and worked (did her internship) at Aflack Insurance, in BR.

I should mention that she was born here in California, and has always lived here, so everyone was surprised when she chose a school so far away from home.  Our son and dil go back there quite often to see her, and will be going again in a few weeks for all the Homecoming events.   
   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on October 11, 2016, 05:35:23 PM
My youngest grandson, Nick, wants to attend LSU next year after he graduates from high school in New Orleans. He will major in Math--wants to be a math teacher.  Hopefully he'll get a scholarship.  His older brother Alex is on full scholarship at Birmingham Southern University here in Alabama--about 100+ miles from me.  Last year I visited him about once a month on Saturdays.  I'd take him out for lunch and maybe a movie or visiting an attraction in Birmingham.  I haven't been up there yet this year because of the fall I had in April (I can't drive yet).  His mother is coming up from N.O. for homecoming at BSU and will take me with her for homecoming weekend festivities.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 14, 2016, 06:39:58 PM
I'm curious as to what you all think of Bob Dylan, receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature?   
I like him a lot, and have a special place in my heart for the song Like a Rolling Stone, that was popular way back in 1964/65.  At that time, we had a 16 year old foster child living with us, and she was so crazy about that song, that I bought her the 45 record.  Well, she played it so much that it about drove me crazy at first, but then I started liking it, and it became one of my favorite recordings from that era. Of course it always reminds me of her when I hear it.  I also like Blowin' in the Wind

As far as Dylan getting the Nobel Prize for Literature . . . that is something to wonder about?  I don't have a problem with it, but I think it would have been better if he's been awarded the Nobel Prize for Music.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on October 15, 2016, 02:35:46 AM
Personally I think that his lyrics are more powerful than his tunes even though they are catchy.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 15, 2016, 07:37:27 AM
My Publisher's Weekly newletter had this to say about Dylan's bibiographical output.

QuoteA prolific songwriter whose lyrics have been acclaimed since his earliest work in the beginning of the 1960s, Dylan's discography is remarkable for both its quality and scope.

His bibliography, on the other hand, is significantly slimmer. And it's notably smaller than any other winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Dylan is the author of a single work prose poetry, a single work of adult nonfiction, various art books, and of five songs that have been adapted into six children's books.

Readers have pointed out to PW that they didn't include a book of his lyrics. Others chided the article author for his apparent narrow definition of literature.

As for myself, I have for quite some time thought that music lyrics in many cases could be thought of as poetry set to music. I think it might be fun to pick out song lyrics that could qualify as poetry on their own if they. Folk music, blues and the old country and western songs might be a good place to look.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on October 15, 2016, 08:24:14 AM
Yes, I agree with you MarsGal
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 15, 2016, 02:16:43 PM
bubble and MarsGal - I like both of your comments on Bob Dylan.  I do hope that our other regulars in here, will have an opinion also? 

MarsGal - I agree with you, that there are a variety of songs that have lyrics, that would be good examples of poetry, set to music. Many love songs, as well as the older Country/Western and folk songs.  I hope that you and others, will name your favorites and post the lyrics. :)       
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on October 15, 2016, 02:31:34 PM
When I was a young girl--probably 7 or 8--I lived with my grandmother and her niece--who was my Dad's first cousin.  Frances May was a beautician and on Saturdays only worked until noon or 1:00.  My next young sister and I would walk up town to the beauty shop about noon and wait for Frances to finish work and close the shop.  She would take us uptown (about 2 blocks away) and let us each buy a comic book and a booklet with all the hit parade hits.  The booklet was usually printed in orange or green--kind of rough paper.  We knew all the lyrics and tunes to big hits.  One of our favorites was Chickoree Chick, Cha La Cha La.  We would practice and then perform for her and our grandmother.  Lots of fun for us.  Do any of you remember those song books?

As for Bob Dylan, I loved his voice and his songs.  I was a bit surprised about his winning the Nobel Prize.  He was quite a presence on the music scene, though, and his lyrics were wonderful. 

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 16, 2016, 06:27:25 AM
I did a little checking around and discovered that the Nobel prizes are a bit short on the arts and humanities, with Literature being the only one. Also, it turns out that Lyrical Poetry has been around since at least the Greeks. Here is what Wikipedia has to say. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyric_poetry Also, found this explanation for, it looks like, 9t grade students http://study.com/academy/lesson/lyric-poetry-definition-types-examples.html

http://www.webexhibits.org/poetry/explore_21_song_examples.html Keep on scrolling down to see contemporary examples including one by Dylan.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 16, 2016, 12:05:51 PM
MarsGal - Thanks for posting the links to the lyrical poetry! Now I can understand why Dylan won the Nobel Prize for Literature.  When I clicked on the first link, it describe the three categories of poetry: lyrical, dramatic and epic. Bob Dylan certainly does belong in the lyrical category.   Also, I learned something that is obvious, but I hadn't known before . . . the word lyric, is derived from the ancient instrument, the lyre.  Also, I didn't realize that Literature, is the only category in arts and humanities, eligible for a Nobel Prize.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 16, 2016, 01:16:09 PM
Nobel Prizes are for chemistry, physics, literature, medicine or physiology, economics, and peace. I wonder if there is some prohibition from adding music and art.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on October 16, 2016, 01:48:54 PM
Most probably a lot more competition in the Music/arts writing field. Be hard to pick.
   not that many in the Medical, chemistry. inventive etc. I should think.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 16, 2016, 02:14:12 PM
Sue - Thanks for reminding me of those Hit Parade song booklets . . . I had forgotten all about them. Brings back some fun memories. I think a new issue came out every week, and were available at the local drug store magazine section. As you said, they were made out of rather flimsy paper that was just a little heavier than newspaper, and the song lyrics were printed in different colors.  My cousin and I would buy one every week, and memorize the lyrics, and then take turns singing.   I remember, "Accentuate the Positive", and "Kiss Me Once, Kiss Me Twice, Kiss Me Once Again, It's Been a Long Long Time".  Must have been right around the end of the War? Probably about 1945?  I turned eleven that summer, and my cousin turned 13. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 16, 2016, 07:02:38 PM
I replied to this earlier from my Kindle but guess I didn't have a good Internet connection.    I don't recall the little song booklets that you have been mentioning here but in the '40s we had a couple music stores within an easy walk of our home.   My sister and I bought sheet music of the Hit Parade tunes so that we could play them  on the piano.   Of course they  had words as well and often a picture on the cover of a current celebrity singer who had made a hit with that song.    It was fun and easy music for young players.     I still have a few of those in my piano bench.    Sometimes we traded with our friends to expand our collection.    Fun times!  My sis was four years older so she was all into the latest music and led the way for me.    Whenever I hear  I'll Be Seeing You I think of her.   She has been gone for 17 years but it is one of the early songs that reminds me of her and it is a favorite.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 17, 2016, 04:24:47 PM
maryc - We also had music stores in the town where I grew up.  Now they are a thing of the past?  We used to buy sheet music and piano books, as well as 78 RPM records and albums. They also sold and rented musical instruments, and gave lessons in the back of the store.  Do you all remember those little soundproof "listening booths", where you could sit and listen to a record, or records?  We didn't always purchase anything, but the store personnel didn't seem to mind. 

Two sheet music songs that I can remember buying and learning to play on the piano,  were "The Gypsy", and "Near You".  I never did very well with the boogie-woogie bass on "Near You", but I loved "The Gypsy", and played it until  I finally got tired of it!  I'm sure that everyone in the family was begging for mercy! LOL
I still have the sheet music for that one, as well as many other pop songs from the 1940's.     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 17, 2016, 05:08:08 PM
Yes we did sometimes use those "listening booths" for checking out new records that we might or might not buy....usually not!    I agree that our family probably got pretty tired of hearing those songs over and over as we learned to play them.  I couldn't master that boogie woogie left hand either Marilyne.  (:   

    Funny thing we have a music store now in our small town but it mostly sells electronic equipment that we all know allows for loud, loud and louder vibes etc.    They do give guitar lessons there but it is nothing like our old haunts.   I would say that if you wanted to buy sheet music now you would have to order online. 

  I have some very very old sheets that were left in a house that we rented furnished during the early war years.    Those folks were a family of a career navy man and when he was called up to active duty they left Niagara Falls and went to live with family in the east.    Housing was in short supply and my father happened onto this place when we were moving to N.F. and we rented it for a short time and then purchased it. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 20, 2016, 12:31:10 AM
Today I finished an excellent and unusual book that I am recommending to all of you. It's titled Mary Coin, by Marisa Silver, and is a fictional story, based on a real event in history. 

Most people in our generation, are familiar with Dorothea Lange's famous photograph called, Migrant Mother, that was taken by Lange in 1936, when she was documenting the migrant laborers in California.  She was commissioned by the US Government, to take pictures of families and children, who were desperately trying to survive by working in the fields and living in sub standard labor camps. At the time that Lange took the actual picture, there was no personal information exchanged between the two women.  Lange, simply took the picture, along with others, and then moved on,  so neither of them had an way of knowing that the picture would become the most recognized image of the Depression years. 

As I said, Mary Coin, is a fictional novel, not a documentary. The story simply imagines the lives of the two women . . .  Mary, the migrant worker, and Vera (Dorothea Lange) the photographer.  The story starts when they are both young women, and follows them throughout their lives.

Here is an NPR review of the book, showing the famous photo.
http://www.npr.org/2013/03/07/172905580/a-new-focus-on-an-old-image-in-mary-coin
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 20, 2016, 03:27:31 PM
Marilyne,   I was interested in your little book review here today.    I've had a soft spot in my heart for the migrant families for some time and our church women prepare health kits each spring for the incoming people of that season,  including a new bath towel and sundry necessary toiletries.    In our morning paper yesterday one of the regular local columnists wrote a very good article about the farm workers and the kind of reception they receive in our area.    Here is a link to that column.  http://www.niagara-gazette.com/confer-treat-migrant-farm-works-as-your-neighbors/article_431c37d4-0092-52e4-8926-a905ff30c8d0.html

This afternoon I finished reading Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee.    I know that we discussed this book quite a while ago when it first came out but you know that I'm not always "outfront" with the newest books.   A while back Debby came across it and found that her library had it available.     She finished it quickly and passed it along to me.    I did enjoy it but found that it did rerun a lot of what was in the first book.   That was ok as it has been many moons for me since I saw To Kill a Mockingbird.    As I read I could still picture Gregory Peck as Atticus.....in looks and in manner.   That was nice.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 21, 2016, 12:05:45 AM
mary - That was a good, well written newspaper article!  I find it very interesting, that the migrant workers in your area, are from Jamaica!  I had assumed that all farm/orchard workers were from Mexico, as they are here in California. Just shows how little we know about different regions of our country. Now I'm curious as to what the crops are that are being picked in your area?  Here in CA and in the other Pacific states, it's an endless year around job for the workers. Lots of Fall and winter vegetables and fruits right now. As soon as one crop is finished, another is ready for harvesting.  It never ends, because of the mild climate.

I haven't yet read Go Set a Watchman, but would like to someday.  I didn't realize that it was about the same characters that were in "Mockingbird"?
Today I received a notice from the library, that They Left us Everything, is finally in!  I've been waiting a long time, and I'm really looking forward to it.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 21, 2016, 03:14:37 PM
Marilyne,   I suspect that the origin of the farm workers here in the east is about geography.   There could be some Mexican workers among them but I would think they would be coming up from the south here on a route that would include Florida in the winter and up this way in the summer months.    As for right now,  the grape harvest has just finished and some of the later apples are still coming in as well as the cabbage crops.  The cabbage is harvested right up to the first hard freeze.

We watch David Suzuki's documentary last evening about the drought in CA.    It was an eye opener to see the miles and miles of orchards and produce and  sobering to hear the scientists  forecast about the changing weather conditions.

  In spite of rumors about the N.E.  we sometimes have pleasant weather through the end of October at least.    We keep our outdoor living room (which is our attached  garage in winter)   ready for use on any nice days right through Oct. and most years can open it again in April with a few days then nice enough for enjoying the outdoors.  I'm beginning to think we will have to put away our furniture and roll up the rug pretty soon.     This week has turned pretty wet and cool but at the beginning of the week it was beautiful and warm.  Year around we snatch at any sunny and decently warm day to get out in the sunshine. :D
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on October 22, 2016, 01:56:57 PM
Marilyne, I read in an article that some areas of the San Joaquin valley has sunk 28 ft. because of farming usage of water and the drought.  The Calif. agriculture is so important to this country, I hope they can find a solution.  My oldest daughter lived in Santa Cruz for many years and I love that area. 

In the area of my home state Virginia (Yorktown)they are working on cleaning used water and then sending it back into the aquifer to replenish the loss of water as the land is sinking.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 22, 2016, 09:42:01 PM
FlaJean,   There was mention on that show that we watched about how much the earth had settled.   It was quite astonishing.     It seems like what you said  about the filtering of waste water and returning it to the underground sources makes more sense than trying to use it directly even for farming.    I know that they say that it is safe for certain purposes but it is early in that game and you do have to wonder.

I hope that you enjoyed your Sinatra concert this evening.   There is a man who performs regularly here in our area and he does Sinatra quite well.    He has come to our Senior Center for special occasions and we alway enjoy hearing him.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 23, 2016, 01:26:19 PM
Quote from: maryc on October 21, 2016, 03:14:37 PM
We watch David Suzuki's documentary last evening about the drought in CA.    It was an eye opener to see the miles and miles of orchards and produce and  sobering to hear the scientists  forecast about the changing weather conditions.
mary - I would love to see that documentary. Was it on PBS or one of the other channels?  I looked On Demand, but didn't see it.  Lots of programs about our drought, but they don't really seem to look at the "big picture", which includes not only the farmers and ranchers, but the millions of people living in the big cities. When your realize there are now estimated 12 million people in Los Angeles County, alone, it's shocking.  Think of the water that those millions use every single day of the year - and newcomers are still arriving every day, from across the US and from other countries. :o

FlaJean - Yes, Santa Cruz is a lovely beach city.  We live less the 20 miles away, and love to drive over there for the beach and for the seafood restaurants. They are extremely low on water there, and are taking steps to build desalinization plants to supplement their supply. It's not a total solution, but it helps. Extremely expensive, and is only practical in coastal cities.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 23, 2016, 04:21:56 PM
Marilyne,   Yes the program was on PBS  but I can't seem to find it in last weeks schedule.  Anyway they did talk about the population explosion and the challenge between the large need for water for personal use and that of the agriculture.   It is a huge problem.   

On another subject,  we had lunch today with our daughter, son and DIL at an interesting place in a little Village on the lake.    This place was formerly an old Cold Storage building.    It has been refurbished into a lovely building using the old with the new.    It houses a craft brewery and restaurant and shops.    The restaurant specializes in pizza made in wood burning ovens as well as their own beers.    They did offer other things but we all decided on pizza which was very good.   I ordered a special drink called Autumn Sangria.   It was a blend of Pinot Noir with apple cider and chopped apples and spices.    We all sampled and thought it would be a great hot drink as well.  It was a fun change for a cool Sunday afternoon.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 24, 2016, 03:18:00 PM
mary - your lunch at the converted cold storage building sounds like fun.  Does you son and dil live near you?  We are fortunate that our son and his wife live only about three miles away, so we do see them quite often.  Our daughter lives about ten miles from us in San Jose.  She'll be coming over tonight to do her laundry and will have dinner here. 
Older daughter is way over in the Central Valley.  I'm sure that was the area depicted in the documentary you watched. The farmers and ranchers in her area, are now in extreme drought. 

I finally read They Left Us Everything!  I liked it okay, but it wasn't at all what I was expecting.  I'll have to look back at your comments on the book, to see if you liked it or not? 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 24, 2016, 05:16:32 PM
For those interested in a little more information on AR and ASR wells, here is information on the EPA site. Notice on the side bar, they list the different classifications of wells. Under Laws and Regulations you can find information on the Clean Water Act which regulates just what must be removed from the water before it is injected into aquifers and, of course, what needs to be removed when it is taken out before it goes out to your tap.
https://www.epa.gov/uic/aquifer-recharge-and-aquifer-storage-and-recovery

Oh gosh, I found a YouTube explanation for my favorite ASR project (it was part of paper I did in college for a Technical Writing class.). There are lots of other videos about the subject too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZflOM2P1PG8

Here is another one that talks about the wells along the coastline (here it is Florida, but you can find them along the East and West Coast too). These wells are not only for storing drinking water, but to keep back the salt water from the oceans from encroaching into natural  fresh water aquifers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7ivLMtkMto

BTW, you may have noticed the bit about keeping brackish contaminated water out of the system in Wichita. Theirs is a problem of contamination from very old oil well containments that have leaked into the river system upstream. So their ASR serves two purposes, to help provide enough drinking water for Wichita and to keep the brackish water from contamination their aquifer.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 24, 2016, 06:46:07 PM
MarsGal,   This is some pretty interesting stuff though it is pretty technical for this old brain.    In our part of the country there has been quite a flap about Fracking procedures to obtain access to natural gas.   It has not been  allowed in NYS, to the best of my knowledge.   In PA where there has been or was Fracking for a while now seems to be having some second thoughts about the benefit.   Our civilization is so anxious to get at the minerals in the earth that it is a little scary when you think of the possible results of too much of a good thing.

Marilyne,  Yes our son and DIL lives about 30 minutes away and our daughter just 4-5 miles.    We see our daughter quite a bit.   She is single and she and I enjoy shopping, music etc.   Al goes with us sometimes but isn't up for much of a stretch of time.   Our son drives truck for a new car carrier company so he is away several days a week.   His wife has a Day Care center and works long hours.     We often get together with them on Sunday for breakfast or just a visit.   Our youngest son and wife live in Charlotte, NC so our visits with them are mainly by phone a couple times a week.  I think I mentioned earlier that we have a DIL and grandchildren living in San F.    She calls often to keep us up to date on her family which I appreciate.   When I hear of some families and the stress,   I feel very lucky to have the arrangement that we do with our children.     I did get Mary Coin at the library today so will be reading that tonight.   It looks promising.
"They Left Us Everything"  was not the story that I expected either.    She detailed stuff that seemed unimportant to me and didn't talk about what I thought she would.    ???
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 25, 2016, 08:36:04 AM
Fracking something else again. I have a few comments about it.

1. Most of the Northern Tier counties are economically poor. The drilling has brought much needed business and opportunities, including training for jobs in the fracking industry.

2. The industry and the local college branch (I think it is part of Penn State now) set up a training program to train local people who want jobs. They offered (don't know if they still do) a $10,000 sign on bonus for those who entered the training program. The requirements are strict regarding being in class and on time, and no DUIs, etc. on their driving record. One of the problems is that quite a few of the trainees took the bonus money and then dropped out of the program. They were a little short sighted in grabbing $10K when after training, they would be pulling down much, much more. My guess is that most of them saw free money for a little work (training) and didn't want to actually do hard work.BTW, the reason so many people were imported from out of state to work on the projects is that we did not have enough qualified people here.The training was to help mitigate that problem.

3. Many claims of gas getting into water are not exactly bogus, but most of that is not due to fracking. Gas is close to the surface in much of the area, and it has been getting into the water systems for many, many years. The local water municipalities have been routinely filtering the gases off. I don't know what the people with wells did. Anyhow, my best friend  grew up in Mansfield and still maintains a house there. He knew people just down the street that would turn on their water and could light it with a match. This was when he was a child so that was at least 60 years ago. Newer folks to the area may not have been aware of the possibility not to mention those who saw a chance to blame it on a big corporation to get free remedy or money.


4. Keep in mind that waste water from fracking is generally sent out for recycling to be reused or released into the water systems. I am not real clear on how much water is "dumped" into the rivers and streams, but it much be partly recycled according to the Clean Water Act. Any water dumped upstream from a municipal water supply must be done no closer than whatever the current law requires. The bad part about this is that local municipal water companies are mostly old and were grandfathered in when the newer regulations regarding treatment is concerned. Being small and in poor areas, they do not have the money to upgrade. I don't know what the current status is regarding this problem. I believe I heard that they were working on building a water recycling plant nearby rather than trucking much of the waste water elsewhere. I don't know where we are with that either.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 25, 2016, 10:54:30 AM
MarsGal - Thank you for the informative and interesting message on fracking, in PA.  I had no idea that it was such "big business", and so well organized. I would like to copy, paste, and send your post to my husband, as he is very interested in the subject.

I'm wondering if you've stared having earthquakes in PA, as they are now having in Oklahoma?  It concerns me when I hear about the 4 and 5 point quakes in OK. 
Callie, one of our members,  is from OK, and often posts in this discussion.  I hope she read your message and comes in to tell us about fracking in her state.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 25, 2016, 12:38:39 PM
Marilyne, to my knowledge there haven't been any earthquakes in upstate PA that have been attributed to fracking. There were several small events in Lawrence County (above Pittsburgh) earlier this year. I don't know what they concluded about whether or not fracking had anything to do with them. That corner of PA and Ohio have a history of earthquake events. Your husband might be interested in this nicely presented report from PennState which seems to be pretty close to being up-to-date. http://extension.psu.edu/natural-resources/natural-gas/webinars/seismicity-in-pennsylvania-and-the-pennsylvania-state-seismic-network/seismicity-in-pennsylvania-and-the-pennsylvania-state-seismic-network-powerpoint

And this one from the League of Women Voters about what Harrisburg is considering regarding the fracking wells. It might interest you to know that unless they did so recently, PA does not have any regulations regarding AR and ASR wells which means they are regulated by the Feds only. Some states have regulations in place that are stricter than the Fed regs. The fracking injection wells would be classified as a Class II well. Click on Class II on the side bar of the EPA site I previously posted for more into on them.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on October 25, 2016, 02:55:11 PM
Callie's here but prefers to stay away from the issue of fracking and earthquakes.
Obviously, it's a "hot topic" in this area because of the oil and gas industry being so strong.  My family has never been involved in either business.

I don't know enough about waste water disposal to discuss it intelligently - but I know the state has stopped some drilling companies from doing so deep underground.  I think discussion is ongoing about what to do with it otherwise.

News media tells how many earthquakes have happened within the last 24 hours but, unless it's more than a 3.0, doesn't comment any farther other than to give location.
I guess the tremors have become commonplace here in central Oklahoma (If OKC were a clock face, I'd live "north of noon").   A year or so ago,  the family was eating dinner at my son's house about 10 miles northeast of me when someone looked up and said,  "Earthquake?"  Someone else said, "Felt like it" - and everyone went right on eating.


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 25, 2016, 05:12:42 PM
Here is a link to a broadcast that was aired earlier this year on the subject of the numerous quakes in OK.   
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-oklahoma-rise-in-quakes-linked-to-man-made-causes/   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 25, 2016, 10:51:59 PM
Hi Callie - Thanks for giving us an idea of what it's like to live in "earthquake country". Even though they aren't caused by the same seismic faults that cause our quakes here on the West Coast, they are still earthquakes - only of a different variety.  I can understand that it's a "hot topic" for the people in Oklahoma.  What a dilemma!

maryc - Thanks for the link to the 60-Minutes show.  That does explain the water injection, and then the disposal of the salty/brackish water.  I can certainly see how injecting it deep into that Arbuckle layer, is a dangerous thing, with obvious consequences. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 27, 2016, 01:29:38 PM
I just read a fabulous book, and I want to recommend it to everyone, everywhere!  The Summer of My German Soldier, by Bette Greene, copyright, 1973.  I started reading it yesterday, and couldn't put it down . . . stayed up last night very late to finish it. 

The story takes place in Arkansas, during World War II. It's about a 12 year old Jewish girl, who shelters a German soldier, who has escaped from a POW camp located outside of town.  The consequences of course, are grim, for all concerned. 

I came across this book, while going through the many  boxes and shelves of books that I have saved over my lifetime.  I'm planning to give them away to anyone who wants them, but there are some that are special to me, and I want to read them again.  Funny how you remember liking or loving a book from long ago, and when you read it again 40 years later, it is even more meaningful!  That's the case with this book. 

This morning I looked it up on Amazon, and see that it is still available after all these years, and is also on Kindle.  I'm sure it's available in most libraries across the country. I see that it was made into a "made for TV" movie, starring Kristy McNichol, in l978. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on October 27, 2016, 01:43:06 PM
Marilyne.  That book sounds so familiar. Maybe I read it years ago. Will check with the Library. I know I didn't watch the movie.

Library has it in regular Book. No LP or dvd.  I think maybe it came out on VCR It is pretty old.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 28, 2016, 07:03:58 PM
I've about finished Mary Coin.   This was an interesting and quick read.   It made me think about our own lives through those years.     I feel that I was very very lucky.     We didn't have a lot but did have a roof over our heads and regular meals while so many lived such desperate lives.   It makes me appreciate more and more what our parents did to get our family through.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on October 28, 2016, 09:31:01 PM
I will order "Mary Coin" at the library today. They don't have it in LP but will read it in a chair and not in Bed. Sound good.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 29, 2016, 12:17:26 AM
maryc - Glad you liked Mary Coin.  I was a
"Depression baby", (1934) so don't remember the bad things about those years . . . only the good things. Both of my parents worked, and my grandmother lived with us and took care of me.  My dad was a truck driver and auto mechanic, and mom worked in an office.  They were very fortunate to have two incomes during those years. When my brother was born in 1937, she  quit work, and stayed home with us until my dad was drafted into the Navy in late 1942.  Then she went back to work for the duration.

I think you will like, The Summer of My German Soldier, by Bette Greene.   As I said in my earlier message, I was pulled right into this wonderful story. I started reading, and couldn't put the book down until I finished it that night.  Then I went to bed and thought about it for a long time.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on October 29, 2016, 12:13:35 PM
That really sounds like a book I would like, Marilyne.  The kids in our neighborhood collected old metal objects to be recycled and used in the war effort.  On one occasion when the items were collected they sent out an Italian POW with the group and we were all excited to see a real POW.  He said to all us kids that he had a bambino at home and that the Americans were good to him.  It is one of those memories you just never forget.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 29, 2016, 07:15:40 PM
I picked up My German Soldier (the book  ;) )  at the library this afternoon.    It is a very old paper back copy but will be nice and light for reading in bed.

There was a German POW camp at Ft. Niagara, about 5 miles from here in the 1940s.     There must have been some long lasting friendships forged between the prisoners and some of the farmers that they worked for at that time.   A local woman has written several histories of the area and that time being included in one where she tells of communication for years afterward.   This is an interesting bit about what one of the men did while he was here at Ft. Niagara.   I believe that he came back some time later to visit.   

http://info-poland.buffalo.edu/exhib/murals/Ballest.html
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on October 29, 2016, 07:20:46 PM
That was really interesting, Mary C.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 29, 2016, 11:41:37 PM
Jean - What a wonderful memory, about the Italian POW, who helped you with the scrap metal drive. Remembering what he said about his bambino, shows how favorably impressed you were, and what a nice young man he was.  Just think, he could still be alive somewhere in Italy, and maybe he also remembers that day? 

mary - It's interesting that both you and Jean had POW camps near the towns where you were living during the war.  I didn't realize that the prisoners worked for local citizens, and often became friends.  That is a beautiful mural at Fort Niagara, painted by Ernst Wille.  I plan to look him up online. I'd like to see other paintings/art work  that he has done. 

We lived in a suburb of Los Angeles, so it was too urban for a POW camp, anywhere near.  However, we were close to Santa Anita Race Track, which was the staging area for Japanese citizens before they were sent to the internment camps.  We had a Japanese girl in our class at school (must have been about 3rd grade).  One day she was gone, and our teacher told us that she and her family were waiting at Santa Anita, to be send away to a camp until the war was over.  I remember that a heavy silence hung over the room, and nobody said anything. I wanted to know more, and I'm sure the others did too, but in those days, children didn't ask questions like they do now.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on October 30, 2016, 02:56:37 PM
Marilyne, I lived in West Virginia during WWII and although I was only 6, I was already reading the afternoon newspaper.  I remember horrible headlines about the Germans and Japanese.  There was no mention of the camps for the Japanese in California.  In 1965, my family moved to Monterey where my husband was a student at the U.S. Naval Post Graduate school.  We lived in Navy Housing.  Our best friends down the street were the Nakagawas.  Bob was on the U. of S. Carolina rifle team and Gordon was on the U of California (Berkeley) rifle team.  Their scores were often the top 2 in the nation.  So we became close friends.  One day Jeanne, Gordon's wife, and I were having coffee.  She asked me about the different places I'd lived.  At that time, she said she'd never left California except for the years they were sent to the camps.  I didn't know what she was speaking of and asked my husband.  He told me then that all the Japanese citizens were rounded up and confined to barracks inside barbed wire fences with military guards outside.  Her parents and Gordon's lost their family farms which were not restored to them until after 1960.  It's hard to believe, but true. 

I have learned since moving here to Auburn, AL, that there was a German prison camp in our neighboring town--no families, just captured soldiers--who were in prison.  Evidently it was toward the end of the war.  The prisoners were allowed to work for local farmers and small businesses and were returned to the camp after work. 

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on October 30, 2016, 04:38:24 PM
In my town in the UK. We also had 2 POW Camps . One for Italians and one for German.  They would work on the street repairs and some of the farms.  We would talk to the Italians but didn't care for the Germans although I know a few girls older than I was who got friendly with them.  They did seem to have it pretty easy specially the German Officers.  They sort of loved to still wear the fancy Uniforms and act different.  Don't think our British army boys had it as easy in their POW camps. Although the Red Cross did keep check on both side.
Now Many of men I knew were POW on Japan.  Different for them. Some came back in such bad shape.  3 of my friends fathers never did get right after coming home. Some had been taken prisoners way back in 1938.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 31, 2016, 08:02:44 AM
My Dad was part of an advance team that set up Army hospitals and POW camps in England. I remember he said one time that he got along okay with the Germans. They called him "Mighty Mouth" after he cartoon character Mighty Mouse. Dad was only 5'4" and was a Staff Sgt.

I heard that a lot of the German POWs chose to stay in the US after the war and many eventually became citizens. My former father-in-law was one of those to were interred in Japanese POW camps. He was in such bad shape, all skin and bones. He lost half of his stomach because of his experience. Paul was captured in the Philippines just missing by an hour the infamous "Death March".
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 31, 2016, 01:20:47 PM
MarsGal - Great story about your father, known as "Mighty Mouth"!  When my dad was drafted into the Navy, he was 34 and 11 months. Thirty five was the age cut-off for draftee's, so they really must have needed men, at that point.   He was always the oldest in his company, so was jokingly called "Pop", or "The Old Man". Also, he was almost completely bald, so it made him look a lot older. He was one of those funny, likable type men, so he loved all the teasing and I'm sure he gave it right back! :D 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 31, 2016, 05:12:29 PM
Good stories ladies about your fathers and FILs  in regard to service to our country.   Those were different times for sure.    My brother and I were talking about the difference between  the  POW camps here in this country and those that our service men were in overseas.   I wondered about the agreements between the countries regarding the treatment of prisoners of war and if there was ever any recourse for the inhuman treatment.

Marilyne,   I finished Summer of My German Soldier last evening.   It was a different little story.    I wondered about the abuse of that child being a part of a book that was written for young people that long ago.   Her father would have been in jail in these times.  :o
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 31, 2016, 05:40:10 PM
mary - Summer of My German Soldier, was written in 1973.  I don't think it was meant to be for young people?  There were very few books written for young people back then.  The Judy Blume books are the only ones I can remember my youngest daughter reading?  She was born in 1969, so would only have been four, when this book came out.  I think the term YA books, is fairly new - maybe in the last 20 years?  Now it's a very lucrative market, and there are hundreds of YA books published every year.  I noticed on Amazon, that "German Soldier", is now recommended for young adults, and even has a study guide that goes with it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 01, 2016, 07:57:09 AM
My daily cruise through Project Gutenberg garnered this little gem, a book of verses and such by J. S. Ogilvie, published in 1881, called The Album Writer's Friend. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/53404 Click on the html link to view on line, or download in ePub or Kindle formats. The scrapbookers and card makers among us might like to take a look.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on November 01, 2016, 02:03:48 PM
MarsGal - I love the saying I found there:  May your coffee and slanders against you be ever the sameâ€"without grounds.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 01, 2016, 03:47:05 PM
That is a good one Bubble!     I found one that I liked too.   It goes this way:  The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without adversity.   It caught my eye because I recently had saved another very similar.      If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror ever be polished?  Rumi
Thanks Marsgal for the reference!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 01, 2016, 03:49:27 PM
Marilyne,   The copy of German Soldier that I had from the library was marked for Young Readers.  It would be interesting to hear comments from young readers on the story.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on November 01, 2016, 09:44:26 PM
German Soldier is waiting for me at the library.  Not in LP and so I hope, as it is a old book that they print is not to small.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 02, 2016, 10:41:15 AM
Jeanne - hope your copy has large enough print for you to read easily.

mary - I think it would be hard for today's teens or young adults to relate to "German Soldier"?  They have no context regarding war, prisoners, internment, etc. Our generation actually remembers those events, and can readily relate to the circumstances . . . as shown by the personal stories and memories that some of us have posted about in the past few days.

I'll be back later with a short list of good sounding books!

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 02, 2016, 04:14:57 PM
Marilyne,  I agree that the young readers of today would have little except what they might have read to base any connection to this story.

We are going out this evening to a concert on The Mighty Wurlitzer organ.   This organ is in a theater in a town nearby.    The theater is old and has had a long and large refurbishing program going on.    We used to attent these concerts once in a while but it has been a long time.   Al thought he would like to hear it again and see what has been done to the theater as well.    It will be fun.    Here is a link where you can see  and hear.
http://www.rivieratheatre.org/about/the-mighty-wurlitzer/

The Wurlizter company was based in this town.   It was a beautiful and very large  old factory that has been closed for many years.   It now houses a number of smaller companies.   As I was looking for the youtube that I posted,  I discovered many others that tell a lot of history about the Wurlitzer company.     We have always enjoyed organ music partly because we met at a roller rink and at that time the live music was provided by an organ.   Of course that was an electronic organ but good just the same.    A few years ago there was a Band Organ rally at another town near us.    Those were interesting and some of those were Wurlitzer products as well.  I didn't know until then that there was such an interest and such variety of instruments. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 02, 2016, 06:22:54 PM
Mary - Wish we could go to the Mighty Wurlitzer concert with you and Al, tonight.  We have a long history with theater and church organs, going back to the mid 1950's.  My Al is a big fan, and even helped a friend dismantle an old church pipe organ, and put it back together again in a huge Victorian mansion in San Jose.  This was right after we were married in 1956.  Oh those were the days of such enjoyment! 

There are so few of the Mighty Wurlitzers left now.  I haven't heard of a concert anywhere in many years.  I recall going to San Francisco to a concert by George Wright, at the Fox Theater.  I wonder if the Fox Theater with that Mighty Wurlitzer,  is still there?

I tried to listen to your YouTube video, but it wouldn't come up on my old computer.  I'll send the link to my Al, and we can both listen to it on his computer.  In the meantime, I'll read all about it!

Regarding the roller rinks and ice rinks . . . yes, there was always live music being played on an organ of some kind.  So romantic,  that you and Al met at a roller rink.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on November 03, 2016, 01:09:06 PM
Maryc, I wish we could join you in the concert.  I listened to three of the songs but it refused me the last one.  I guess you have to have an account?  We went to an organ concert many years ago in a shopping mall when we lived in Maryland.  It was an electronic organ but the performer sure made it perform.  It was great.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 03, 2016, 04:39:03 PM
Wouldn't it have been a good party if we could all have gone to the Mighty Wurlitzer concert together.   :thumbup:   The music was great and as an added attraction he had a old friend along who played piano and they played several hymns with piano and organ.  That was thrilling and received great applause. Another that brought a good response was a medley from Sound of Music.   Amazing Grace was his finale with interludes of Jesu, by Bach.   That brought a standing ovation and for an oncore he and his piano player did  How Great Thou Art in duet.    I think the audience would have stayed and stayed but our artist was from Rochester and had quite a drive ahead of him and the weather was dark and rainy.    Tim Schram who was the organist for the evening told that he had been playing the organ since quite a young age and had done a  lot of church music as well as other performances.  I looked for youtubes featuring him but didn't have a whole lot of luck.    The theater is lovely.   It isn't a large venue but has been restored to it's former beauty.


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 03, 2016, 07:23:09 PM
mary - sounds like you had a wonderful evening at the concert. A great selection of music!   I've been thinking about the few pipe organs that I remember here in the San Jose area. Most of the theaters and churches that housed them, were torn down long ago.  One lovely old church burned down about 20 years ago, destroying the organ of course.  I think that now, to hear a pipe organ, one would have to make the short journey to San Francisco. Whether concerts are held anywhere, anymore, I don't know? 

One thing I have heard, is that children don't take piano lessons anymore - therefore, very few people able to learn to play those mighty pipe organs.  I'm afraid it's true, as I don't know anyone whose children or grandchildren play the piano?  We wanted to give our piano to our son and dil, so the two grandchildren could learn to play.  Alas, they didn't want it, because the kids were too busy with swim teams, Little League, ballet, and such. Time marches on . . . things change. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on November 03, 2016, 07:40:21 PM
Up to about 10 years ago we had a big Wurlitzer Organ use to come up in the front of the hall area. It was a old Theatre at one time. Just beautiful. Had the private Boxes all around the walls and 2 balconies. Then is closed down for about 5 years. Now Millions spent opening it up again. Can bring it up on line. (The Virginia) Champaign.  Not as Posh but nice. Has a lot going on again now.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 05, 2016, 01:06:48 PM
Here is an excellent list of 14 novels, "that portray diverse and resilient American families".  This is where I saw, Mary Coin, and is what prompted me to check it out at my library. As you all know, I was very impressed with the story, and I recommended it highly.

Others on this list that I have read in the past, but are well worth reading again, are House of Sand and Fog, The Prince of Tides, The Joy Luck Club, and Snow Falling on Cedars.  Of the ten left that I haven't read, I plan to eventually, give them all a try. 
Also, look at the bottom of the list, at 15 Books from Ann Patchett’s Very Long List of Favorites.  I like Ann Patchett, so would be more than ready to read some of her recommendations, as well as some of the other suggestions.
http://offtheshelf.com/2016/08/14-novels-that-portray-diverse-and-resilient-american-families/
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 05, 2016, 10:31:57 PM
JeanneP,  Your Virginia Theater is very beautiful.   It looks to be much larger than our Riviera.   Unfortunately Niagara Falls lost two remarkable theaters back in the '60s to "Urban Renewal" and of course they will never be replaced.     The only theaters now are the Warehouse type with five or six auditoriums....nothing you could really call a Theater in the strictest sense of the word.   They are just a place to show a movie!

Marilyne,  Thank you for reminding us of some good authors.    I've had Ann Patchett in mind for a while now.  I have enjoyed her writing.      Snow Falling on Cedars came to my mind when we were discussing the Japanese families  who were forced into Internment Camps during WWII.    I've been reading another book by Lisa Wingate.    She wrote The Seakeepers Daughters.     I know that you didn't connect with that book and this one started off to seem to be another predictable ending but along the way it has gotten to be more thought provoking.    This one is called The Prayer Box.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 06, 2016, 04:50:57 PM
mary - I think I'll get The Prayer Box at my library. Even though I couldn't get into The Seakeepers Daughters, I might like other novels she's written.  I've often liked one book by an author, but than haven't cared for the next one.  I remember really loving The Prince of Tides, by Pat Conroy . . . but I wasn't nearly as enthusiastic about all of his other books.  I liked some, but for me, nothing ever measured up to "Tides". 

I also thought of Snow Fall on Cedars, when we were talking about the internment camps.  That was such a good book, and one I would like to read again.  The same with House of Sand and Fog.  Fortunately, I have a copy, so will definitely read it again. 

I haven't looked at Ann Patchett's list of favorites as yet, but I'm sure there are some there that I will enjoy reading. I've read two of her novels - Bel Canto, and an older one called The Patron Saint of Liars, and liked them both.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 09, 2016, 01:48:19 PM
Last evening I started to read a very short novella by Maeve Binchy.  The title is The Builders.    I found this book on HOOPLA.    I'm finding it very interesting as it pertains to an older woman who is the mother of three children that she raised mostly by herself.     Now living alone she is beginning to be aware of how  of indifferent her children are to her feelings.  The thing that has sparked my interest is her thought process that leads her to begin to stand up to her children and  begin to want and have a life of her own outside motherhood.  It IS a short book and I'm nearing the end but stopped last evening just short of learning what she does in the end. ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 10, 2016, 01:46:51 PM
mary - I like Maeve Binchy, and have read a number of her books over the years.  The Builders, sounds like another one that I'll enjoy reading.

I talked to my cousin last night, and she highly recommended a novel that her book club is reading, titled Circling the Sun, by Paula McLain.  It's about the life of Beryl Markham, who wrote many books about her adventures as an aviator.  This novel is about her most amazing life . . . one facet being her relationship with, Denys Finch Hatton, who also had an affair with Karen Blixen/Dinesen - written about in Blixen's memoir, Out of Africa

Anyway, I Googled Circling the Sun, and saw many recommendations and reviews.  I see that the author, Paula McLain, also wrote a novel that I liked a lot, The Paris Wife.  It was about Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley.  I think others in this discussion also read it?

If anyone is interested in Circling the Sun, here is a good online review, written for NPR.
http://www.npr.org/2015/07/28/426741186/an-airborne-adventurers-journey-in-circling-the-sun
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on November 10, 2016, 05:25:51 PM
MaryC.  I thought I had read all of Maeve Binchy books but   "The Builders" I hadn't heard of.  Now what date was it written.  I read that since she died. Her son was finishing some books that she had just part written.  Guess she left a lot of them.
Will see if my library has it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 10, 2016, 09:19:45 PM
JeanneP,   The Builders was first published in 2002.   Maeve Binchy died in 2012.   She was such a good writer.    I don't believe I've read one of her books that I didn't enjoy thoroughly.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 11, 2016, 04:58:36 PM
JeanneP,   You should also note that The Builders is a novella.   It is less than 100 pages.    I don't know how those are published in hard copy.    It would be a very small book.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on November 11, 2016, 06:03:13 PM
MaryC
I just picked it up. It is a small book. Will be read in a hour.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 12, 2016, 07:00:27 PM
I got Circling the Sun, by Paula McLain, at the library yesterday, and sat right down and started reading it.  I'm now about half way through, and really enjoying it.  As I said in my post above, it's a fictionalized account of the life of Beryl Markham, well known aviator, who also wrote a number of books.  West With the Night, was probably her best known book.

I think it's interesting that so many novels are now being written (fiction), about well known real people, who are no longer living.  Another example, that maryc and I read a few weeks ago, is Mary Coin

I wonder if this style of writing has a name, like "fictionalized memoir", or some such? The authors must do a huge amount of research, in order to know so much about the lives of these real people that they write about. Paula McLain, the author of Circling the Sun, wrote a similar novel about Ernest Hemingway and his first wife Hadley, called The Paris Wife.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 12, 2016, 07:05:41 PM
I just looked at my NPR link above, for the book, and I see that the reviewer calls this style of writing, a "novelized memoir".
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 13, 2016, 02:06:19 PM
Marilyne,   I really enjoyed the story of Mary Coin.    The history of the times was interesting and her story and that of the Vera were interwoven very well.    I have looked up Circling the Sun on Hoopla but not sure it is the whole story.   I plan to check it out soon.

It's a beautiful late fall day here in NY.    The sun is bright though the breeze is brisk and quite cool.    We've been working on getting the leaves cleaned away as much as possible and it has been a wonderful long fall for it.    I was a little concerned that the snow would come before the leaves fell, as has happened in other years.     We have a large patch of ivy growing on a deep drainage ditch near the road.    It is good because that part of the bank doesn't have to be mowed.    The downside is that there is a Norway maple nearby and those large lovely leaves fall on the ivy and if you don't get them pretty much off in the fall they cause the ivy to sort of smother over the winter and it is very slow in greening up in spring.  (Poor planning on my part!!)  I think it is about done for this year. :thumbup:   Al has been feeling pretty good and has been getting out quite a bit to help with the leaves.    He can ride the mower to mulch them up and it takes care of a lot.    I'm happy to have him getting out for a good amount of time every good day.   He feels better for it.  Our neighbor has mowed our grass all summer but I really don't want him to feel responsible for the leaves as well and I enjoy it anyway....when the weather is as nice as it has been. :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 16, 2016, 01:30:18 PM
Recently I spoke about the Lisa Wingate books.   Debby has been reading them as well.     I just borrowed another through Hoopla.    This  one is The Story Keeper.    These books are part of a group called  Carolina Heirlooms.   I didn't realize it when I read  The Seakeepers Daughters but when Deb started talking about the Melungeon people it made me think of how they were mentioned in  that book.   The Story Keeper gets back to the mountains and deals with a little more history of the Melungeons.    It is a strange little historical bit that I have not run across before.   Actually it looks like there are five books in this group and I have not read them in order but they do have a common thread running through.

  Cape Hatteras National Seashore was one of the places we visited when we camped with our children.    Later Al and I went back there on one of our travels and visited my Aunt and Uncle who had moved out there at the time of their retirement.    It is an interesting place and still beckons to me so the setting of some of these stories is near and dear to my heart. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 16, 2016, 02:59:23 PM
mary - I have The Prayer Box, by Lisa Wingate, and will be starting it as soon as I finish Circling the Sun.  I'm wondering if Prayer Box is one of the Carolina Heirlooms novels? It's nice that you have a direct connection to the area, and that you've visited there over the years. I'll have to look it up on my atlas, to see exactly where it is? 

I'm almost done with Circling the Sun, and hope to finish it today. It's a long book! I've had other things on the agenda this week, so haven't had a chance to relax and read.

JeanneP - I notice that you haven't been in this discussion or the Television/Movie discussion for a number of days.  I hope we hear from you soon?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on November 16, 2016, 03:30:16 PM
I've read/am reading Lisa Wingate's  "Blue Sky Hill" series.   First one is "A Month of Summer", second one is "Beyond Summer and third one is "Dandelion Summer". 
Will be interested in the "Carolina Heirlooms" series.  I've read about the Melungeon people somewhere else - but can't remember where. 

Edit:   according to my library's e-book list,  "The Prayer Box" is #1 in the Carolina Heirlooms series and "The Story Keeper" is #2.  They are the only ones listed in this series in e-book form.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 16, 2016, 03:51:21 PM
Thank you Callie!  Good to know that I'll be starting out with #1, in the Carolina Heirlooms series. :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 16, 2016, 06:03:54 PM
When I have finished The Story Keeper,   I will follow L. Wingate in some of her other books.    In The Prayer Box her main character was  involved with The Seaglass Shop and I notice there is another book called The Seaglass Sisters that most likely includes those gals that ran that shop etc. etc.     They were going head to head with developers who wanted (as many do) to build high rises and multiple dwelling units on land that had long history with the town and also presented adverse enviromental issues.   I wouldn't mind following that line.   Can anyone remember who the other author was that quite a few here enjoyed who wrote about the Georgia and/or S. Carolina coastal region.   That one also had some of the same characters in several books.

CallieOK,   There is quite a bit about the Melungeon folk on the internet if you care to read more about them.   It is interesting.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on November 16, 2016, 06:22:23 PM
I am still here. Just reading the postings. I don't know what I have been doing for past 2 weeks. Really behind on book reading. Not found anything I like to watch on the new shows on TV. I was in the habit of not turning the TV on before the Election. Got tired of listening. Now its over I guess it safe to watch again. Although we are still getting The Trump name and daily doings on.  Does look like he got a better hair cut.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 17, 2016, 02:47:35 PM
I finally finished reading, Circling the Sun, and as the saying goes . . . not a moment too soon!  It was good enough to finish, but not good enough that I would recommend it.  This fictionalized memoir of aviator, Beryl Markham, was interesting in it's way, but the author somehow, did not make Beryl, into a sympathetic likable person.  I realized about three quarters of the way through the book, that I really didn't care that much about Beryl, or any of the other characters in the book.  In order for me to like a novel, I have to be able to relate to or genuinely care about at least one of the main characters in the story.  Very wordy and long winded, with pages and pages of dialogue.

I must say that I'm disappointed, as I really liked Paula McLain's first novel, The Paris Wife, which was about
Ernest Hemingway and his first wife Hadley.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 17, 2016, 10:16:04 PM
Right now, I am reading the second of a spy trilogy by Jason Matthews. The Red Sparrow was the first and is being made into a movie to be released next year. I wonder who they are going to get to play Putin.The second book, the one I am reading now, is Palace of Treason. The story itself is current day, and plays out, so far, in Moscow, Helsinki, Athens, Rome, Paris, Washington DC, and the Estonian border. The author and his wife are retired CIA.

If you like spy thrillers, I recommend this series.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 17, 2016, 10:19:33 PM
Marilyne,   I found that Hoopla has something called  Summary and Analysis of Circling the Sun.    I borrowed it and found that it wasn't for me.     This was by Instaread.    Now this is a new thing to me.   Perhaps some of you are already aware of this but I'm adding a link here to explain what Instaread is about.   My Instaread was a book, not an audio.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/instaread-book-summaries/id1046172976?mt=8 (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/instaread-book-summaries/id1046172976?mt=8)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 18, 2016, 12:22:56 AM
MarsGal - the Jason Matthews spy trilogy sounds very good.  I'm not much for detective, mystery books, but I love spy stories!  One of my all time favorites is, The Spy who Came In From The Cold.  Loved the movie too!  Lots of international spy drama on the Showtime series, Homeland.  If you don't have Showtime, you can probably see it now on Netflix or Amazon??  Well worth watching. 

mary - I clicked on your link, but couldn't figure out what to do or where to go to see the book summaries?  I guess I would have to download Hoopla to my Kindle?  The NPR review on Circling the Sun, was very good, as were a couple of others that I checked.  Sounds like the Instaread summary you read, is in agreement with me?

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 18, 2016, 06:52:41 AM
Marilyne, my favortie has to be Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

Jason Matthews is one of a very few, apparently, American writers of spy novels (or good ones, at least). A reviewer I read said his writing is right up there with the likes of John Le Carre and Graham Greene. I have several of the first Daniel Silva spy novels, but have yet to read them. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 18, 2016, 02:17:54 PM
Marilyne,   I guess that wasn't a very good site to explain what Instaread is about.    I Googled it and chose that one.    I was hoping to shed a little light on what Instaread is about, but ?!?!?    I hadn't heard of it before but that book popped up in the Hoopla site so I took a look.    Apparently it is a method of allowing you to either read a book quickly or to browse to see if it is to your liking.    It seems like a good idea, if we can just figure it out.   I see that Amazon has quite a number of books but the Kindle editions are $2.99 and I don't believe that I would pay that to look over a book. ::)    Anyway it seems like something new.    Now Mary Z always seems to be out there ahead of the curve (no offense MaryZ!) on new stuff,  and she might be able to fill us in on it a little more.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on November 18, 2016, 02:47:15 PM
No offense - sounded more like a compliment...LOL.  Anyhow - I don't know anything about that site - never heard of it before.  With Amazon books, before you actually order (and pay for) a book, you can get a sample - usually several pages or a chapter - for free.  Then you can order it or not, as you choose.  And there are other sites (Book Gorilla, etc.) that offer free or relatively low-priced books.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 18, 2016, 06:29:40 PM
It WAS meant to be a compliment, MaryZ,  but you never know how something may come across in print. :)
I have downloaded samples of books from Amazon and then decided they weren't for me.    I haven't used Book Gorilla.    I did have Book Bub coming into my mail box regularly but found that they weren't offering much to my liking so I quit them.   Amazon offers a fair number of the $,99 books that suit me so between that and Hoopla  I do ok.    I've been surprised at the number of books Hoopla offers.

Did anyone here see the movie of The Light Between Oceans?    I've been waiting for Red Box to get it but so far they haven't had it.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 19, 2016, 01:24:41 AM
MarsGal - I've read a lot of books by Graham Greene over the years, The Third Man, being my favorite.  I absolutely love that movie!  Definitely in my top five movies of all time . . . maybe even #one.  I'm still enthralled, every time I watch it.

maryc - I don't think The Light Between Oceans has come out on DVD as yet?  As I mentioned in here a while back, it only played in one theater here, for one week . . . then it was gone!  It should appear On Demand very soon. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on November 19, 2016, 12:26:19 PM
 When I read all the reviews The Light Between Oceans I bought the book for my iPad.  I think I'm the only person that did not like that book.  I liked the beginning but as I read the book I just felt depressed about the characters and the whole story generally.

The thing about buying books online is not being able to share them with others.  Even if you just give it to be sold, someone can enjoy the book for very little money.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 19, 2016, 02:43:41 PM
FlaJean - I remember that you didn't care for The Light Between Oceans. Maybe you'll like the movie?  The book reviews were good, but the movie reviews were not so great. From what I saw, the male critics wrote it off as a sentimental "Chick Flick".  Men just can't relate to a story like that, IMO.  Too bad they ruined it for the theater goers, but it might still do okay as a rental and a pay-for-view on TV. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 19, 2016, 07:38:11 PM
 I can imagine that my husband wouldn't be too interested in the movie, but I would.   :)    Sometimes he just doesn't have patience or interest in sitting through this kind of story.     Strangely enough the  old movie Splendor in the Grass was on last evening and he stayed up and awake for the whole thing.   It was pretty emotional but I think his interest was in seeing the older actors/actresses as much as for the story.       
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 22, 2016, 01:06:25 PM
Too busy and too much company here, so no time for reading.  I have a couple of books that I checked out from the library, but  I won't be starting any of them until after Thanksgiving. The Prayer Box, is one that will be waiting for me. 

Our older daughter and granddaughter arrived yesterday, and will be here through Friday.  Not a big crowd for Thanksgiving dinner, but enough to keep me moving and busy.  Son and family will be going to dil's family, so they won't be here. There will only be eight of us, so not as many as former years. 

I'll be looking in to S&F when I need a break, so hope to see messages as to what you are all doing or where you are going  for the holiday? :)

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 23, 2016, 06:51:46 AM
This morning I discovered this interesting article about the origins of various fairy tales.

https://www.abebooks.com/books/the-gruesome-origins-of-classic-fairy-tales/?cm_mmc=nl-_-nl-_-C161122-n00-fairytAM-123314TG-_-f-cta1&abersp=1
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on November 23, 2016, 12:35:32 PM
Marilyne,  I started "The Prayer Box" a couple of days ago.  So far, it's all description and practically no dialog, so all I know is that somebody has discovered a dead body.
That kind of writing annoys me as much as authors who use the present tense for the entire book. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 23, 2016, 01:12:50 PM
Callie - the novel I just finished, Circling the Sun, was just the opposite - endless dialogue, and very little description.  Maybe I'll like The Prayer Box better?  I won't be starting it until after the holiday weekend, so will let you know what I think.

MarsGal - I just saw your fairy tale link, and will take a look as soon as I finish here. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 23, 2016, 03:41:21 PM
I will agree that it took a little time to get into the story of the Prayer Box but I believe that if you persevere you will find a good yarn in it.   :)     I'm well along with The Story Keeper (same author) and it is another enjoyable story.

MarsGal,   I haven't followed the fairy tale link yet but it caught my eye.  As I have been putting away the little summer things from the yard and garden among other things was a "fairy door" that I purchased at a Celtic Festival a couple years ago.    Our neighbor gave me a darling little fairy house and then when I got the fairy door I set up a little place under a low hanging tree for my fairy garden.    I want to be sure that if there is a slim chance that the little people will find a welcome in our garden. ::)

:pumpkinpie: I hope that you all enjoy a good day tomorrow with family, friends, either or both!.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on November 23, 2016, 03:58:04 PM
Tomorrow our daughter and son in law will be here for dinner.  Son in law is a good cook and loves to cook so he will take over the kitchen (which makes me happy).  I'll do the deviled eggs and fix a salad.

Marilyne, how do you manage a meal for so many with arthritis in your hands.  I guess your daughter will be a big help.

Maryc, I've been seeing the snow scenes from New York.  Was your area impacted with the storm?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 23, 2016, 06:46:32 PM
FlaJean,  No snow in our town yet! :)    There are cities east of us and south who have measurable snow but all we have seen is a few pellets in the air but nothing to stay on the ground.     I went out to the garden and the woods this afternoon  to get rid of the compost and apple peels and it wasn't too bad out.   It was probably about 40 but there was no wind so I poked around in the woods for a bit picking up fallen branches that we would burn in our outdoor fireplace if weather permits again this fall.    We had a nice fire last week on one of those warmer days but kind of thought it would be our last for this year.     Since we don't camp any more the outdoor fire is one of the last remains of those days that we still can enjoy.

It's nice that your son in law is happy to do the big cooking Jean.    Our son and daughter in law will cook the main part of the meal for tomorrow.    They are a pretty good team in the kitchen.    She often will ask me to make the gravy as that is something she isn't too comfortable with.     Now that I know she will ask,   I go prepared with some packets of that gravy mix and I think for tomorrow I will take a  small pot that would be about right for the gravy.    It isn't too handy making it right in the roasting pan.....too spread out.
It will be a fun day.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 25, 2016, 06:46:21 PM
Daughter Shelley and granddaughter Claire left this morning for the drive to their home in the Central Valley. They will be back for Christmas, which will be here exactly one month from today! :yikes:

After they left, AJ and I met some old friends for a nice, nostalgic lunch. We have known this couple since 1953.  She was my roommate my second year at college, and he was the housemother's son.  We were married in Oct. '56, and they were married in Dec. '56.  We even lived in the same apartment building the first six months we were married, until both men were drafted into the Army, and after that, both worked for IBM until retirement.  We stayed in San Jose area, but they were transferred to Tucson, AZ, and chose to stay there after retirement. So we only see them when they visit their grown children in San Jose, which is usually either Thanksgiving or Christmas.

I was sorry to see that her health has deteriorated since we saw them last December.  She fell in the shower three years ago, hit her head, and was comatose for a week. She recovered, but has never been the same.  It's very difficult for her to talk, but she is aware of everything, and wants to socialize. 

Sorry for rambling on and on, but we just got home, and it's on my mind.  Lots of things to think about this holiday season.  I'm hoping for the best for her . . . my oldest living friend.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 25, 2016, 07:09:52 PM
Marilyne,   Sorry to hear of your dear friend's health issues.    It is sad as we see our friends going through these things and knowing how quickly things can change for us.    Life is fragile!

Nice that you were able to spend time with your family for Thanksgiving.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 26, 2016, 06:13:30 PM
maryc and Flajean - wonderful that your children and their spouses are good cooks, and actually want to prepare the holiday meals.  We had such a small group here this time, that it was a sort of "team effort". :D   For Christmas, we will be going to our son and dil's house, and I'll only have to bring one dish.  I haven't been informed yet, as to what that will be?  If I have a choice, I'll probably make a gelatin salad, that I can do well ahead of time. 

FlaJean - yes, I do have a difficult time with preparing some items.  Peeling potatoes is not something I can do anymore, nor is mashing them.  Rinsing and preparing a large turkey for roasting is also impossible for me. That was my favorite task in years gone by.  Others here could do it now, but in recent years, we've opted for a Honey Baked Turkey - already sliced, and ready to heat and eat.  I do still make the dressing, which is a family favorite.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 26, 2016, 07:27:25 PM
Marilyne,    It is too bad that you have such trouble with your hands.    It is nice that you can find prepared foods that help to fill in for the old traditions.

   Our kids do well with the Holiday meals.     I wished that I had been quicker with my camera when they were checking the turkey for being done.    They both were watching for the "button" to pop up and after the recommended amount of time they used the meat thermometer and it registered done but still no button pop.   ???      They were both so serious and bending over that bird,  it would have made a perfect Thanksgiving picture for posterity.  Our daughter in law, Barbara said that she cooked the turkey upside down for an hour, then turned it over to finish out the time.   She read somewhere that it allowed the juice to flow into the breast  for a more juicy meat.   I guess it works but I can't see myself "turning" a 20 lb turkey when it has been cooking for an hour.   :eek:     I told her that someone should invent a cage of some kind that could be swivelled. 

  Oh well,  now on to Christmas and all that will have to be attended to within the next four weeks.   I did find a Minnie Mouse watch for our gr. granddaughter today.   She is 8 and her father is taking her to Disney World this year so hopefully this will please her.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on November 26, 2016, 10:03:34 PM
We had such a nice Thanksgiving dinner and then watched the Football game.

Maryc, when you mentioned the upside down turkey, it reminded me of my daughter in law when she and my son were newly married. They were living in Gulfport where he was stationed at the time.  It was their first Thanksgiving and Dee's sister flew down to be with them.  Neither one knew how to cook and they cooked the turkey upside down.  Then tried to slice it without turning it over.  They finally figured it out.  They've been married 36 years and still remember it and laugh.  She turned out to be a very good cook.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 27, 2016, 07:59:06 PM
FlaJean,   I'm smiling over your "turkey story".    Those are good memories.     Our DIL, Barbara always said that she couldn't cook.    Somehow she must have because they raised three healthy children who never looked starving!    The fact of the matter was that her mom and her aunt were both very good cooks and I don't believe that Barbara ever did much of the cooking for Holidays.     They were a very close family and Mom and Aunt Jean took care of those things.   Now they are both gone and I feel as though our DIL has stepped up to the occasion very well.   We had a nice  turkey dinner  with some of the "take out" from Thanksgiving Day.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 28, 2016, 11:37:04 AM
FlaJean - I love that story about your dil, and the upside down turkey! ;D They have been married a long time . . . 36 years!  Did they have children who now have kids of their own? 

maryc - Some women, (and men) are just natural cooks. I'm not, but I had to step up and learn in a hurry. My mother and my mil, were fabulous cooks, so I sat back and enjoyed their holiday meals when I was a newly married woman.  They both died at a young age - my mom was 64, and mil was only 56, so I had to handle all the special occasion meals from then on. With the help of their old recipes, I somehow muddled through, and finally became comfortable.  Our older daughter does a good job, and dil is a wonderful cook, so I'm happy now to turn almost everything over to them. 

I have two of those old wooden recipe file boxes . . . one belonged to my mother, and the other was my mil's.  I still refer to them a lot, after all these years! :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on November 28, 2016, 06:37:20 PM
My three sons are all good cooks.  The oldest doesn't do much anymore except grilling outside, but the other 2 do quite a bit of the cooking at their homes.  One of the reasons I think they are good cooks and like to cook is that I encouraged them to help with the cooking when they were teens--I even let them make some home made beer from a recipe from The MotherEarth News.  This was a hippy-ish magazine about going back to the land (which we did when my husband retired from the Navy).  Hubby was away during the beer making episode, so I had to drink a glass.  The rest of it went down the drain!

SCF Sue  (I'm using this name because the other Sue is back.  Hurray!)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 29, 2016, 01:07:40 PM
Sue - Your beer making episode, sounds like a good learning experience and a lot of fun for you and your sons. :) The Mother Earth News, is still a popular magazine, for those interested in organic gardening, healthy cooking, and anything having to do with the environment.  My brother and his wife have lived that lifestyle throughout their marriage, and it's served them well. 

I gave my dil the book, My Antonia, and she liked it so much that she bought a book of short stories by Willa Cather, called, Obscure Destinies.  She gave it to me this weekend, and I'm looking forward to reading it.  The only other book by Cather, that I can recall reading is, Death Comes For The Archbishop, which was a college lit assignment. (a LONG time ago!)  I don't remember much about it, except that I was disappointed in it, after "Antonia".
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on November 29, 2016, 01:11:34 PM
Marilyne, my son has two grown sons and three grandsons and one granddaughter.  My daughter in law is one in a million.  Our son has MS and doesn't drive anymore although he is able to walk with a cane.  Dee has that responsibility besides watching out for her parents who are in their late 90s.  It is interesting that her parents were married 18 years before they had the two girls a year a part.  Her father is 97 and was a POW for two years in Germany.  He wouldn't talk about those years until he joined a POW group that formed around the time Tom Brokaw's book "The Greatest Generation" was published.  He had some interesting but hard times.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 30, 2016, 06:58:29 PM
FlaJean - The Greatest Generation, is one book that I have, and that I intend to keep.  Very inspirational reading!
That is interesting and unusual, that your dil's parents were married 18 years before having children.  They probably had given up hope, and were thrilled when they had the two girls. I have read, that POW's from WWII, did not want to talk about it, when the war was over.  They just got right back to work, went to school, started families, et al. Just one of the things that the Greatest Generation was all about.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 03, 2016, 12:50:45 PM
I am reading an ebook that was a  99 cent  offer on Amazon a while back.  It is called The Eagle Tree   The remarkable story of a boy and a tree  by Ned Hayes.    It isn't exactly a page turner or one that would ever be a classic.   It is interesting if you have or had any connection with autistic children or adults. 

I finished another of Lisa Wingate's stories about Cape Hatteras and have borrowed another called The Sandcastle Sister.    This story goes back and picks up Jenn Gibbs who worked for a New York publishing company and was the main character in The Story Keeper.   I've enjoyed her books.

I noticed in Walmart's book department the other day that there is a new title from Jodi Picoult called Small Great Things.   As I scanned the review it looked like another good one.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 03, 2016, 01:42:24 PM
maryc - Thanks for telling us about The Eagle Tree. As you know, I have an autistic granddaughter, so I do like to read all fiction and non fiction, about autism.

I was very disappointed in the Willa Cather book of short stories, titled Obscure Destinies.  If you like the early writings of Cather, as I do, you probably won't like this - her last book. It was written in the 1930's, and I think she was quite old by then??  The three stories in the book were poor quality, compared to her earlier novels.  My Antonia, and O Pioneers, are classics, but I can see why Obscure Destinies, is never mentioned.

Now I'm back to finishing The Prayer Box, by Wingate.  I'm just a few chapters into it, but I like it so far. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 12, 2016, 02:22:17 PM
Yesterday, I picked up a book that I had ordered at the library, called, Another Brooklyn, by Jacqueline Woodson.  I came home and started reading, and had a hard time putting it down to do anything else!  It is unique and different from any book that I've ever read. 

The first part of the story takes place in Brooklyn, in the 1970's.  It's about four black girls, who form a close and protective friendship, starting at age twelve.  As the years pass, unfortunate things happen in their lives, that they have very little control over. I'm not far into the book, but I can see that the story follows each girl as she grows into adulthood. 

I can already tell that this will be a book that I recommend, as one of my favorites from 2016.  I'm trying to remember where I heard about it?  It could have been on Goodreads, or maybe a newspaper review, or one of the book blogs that I find on line? 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 12, 2016, 05:29:11 PM
I just finished The Eagle Tree.    As I said earlier,  it wasn't a page turner but a lot of dialog of the main character's thoughts.     That in itself was interesting even though it dragged out a bit.     It gave me a better understanding of how another thinks.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 14, 2016, 11:17:17 AM
maryc - Looks like you and I are the only ones who are doing much reading in recent weeks.  I'm sure our other regulars are just busy with holiday preparations, and I hope that we will soon hear from all of you. :)

I looked at my On Demand movie selections, and see that The Light Between Oceans, is not available yet, but will be coming soon.  I'll take a look at the Red Box, in my local Safeway, and see if they have it there?

Mary, I think you might like Another Brooklyn, by Jacqueline Woodson.  Her style of writing is different - sort of like a flood of memories, rather than a story. I know that doesn't make any sense, but it's hard to describe.  It's strictly fiction, but seems like a memoir.   As I wrote in my last message, it's about a young black girl, growing up in Brooklyn, in the 1970's. The descriptions of  what life was like then, for young girls, and what Brooklyn was like then, makes a fascinating story.  I see that Jacqueline Woodson, the author, has received awards for YA books, and that this is her first adult book. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on December 14, 2016, 02:00:37 PM
Well, Marilyne, I have been reading, mostly on my Kindle, but had 6 books out of the library.  I had the Ann Patchett,
"Commonwealth" and had just barely started it, but had to finish two books for my f2f, mystery and general book club, so had to take it back unfinished.  From your review, I can't wait to read Another Brooklyn, but I have decided that I won't request anything else from the library until after Jan. 1.  I have several things I want to read, here in my own TBR stacks, and there are just so many good sounding books out there now. 

Since the regular (network TV) has been showing mostly reruns, and PBS is pledging us out of our minds, I have been utilizing my Smart TV, as I am gradually learning how to search for movies etc.  I have Netflix and also Amazon Prime, so I can get most anything.  We found a neat British mystery series, "Paranoid", which hubby and I both enjoyed.  We had finished "The Crown", which is holding the #1 spot in my TV heart.  Can't wait till next year for more episodes.  Also, a strange British mystery series, "River", which we just got started on.  I have finished Season 4 of Longmire, Season 1 of Bosch, watched the full length movie "Eye In The Sky" with Helen Mirren, and have hooked hubby on the series "The Americans".  Sounds like we have "bingeitis", yeah!

Hope everyone has their Christmas shopping/decorating done, and that foul weather has not hit in your area (probably not yours, Marilyne)!  Happy Reading & TV Streaming!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 14, 2016, 05:16:32 PM
Tomereader1,   I am just learning the ins and outs of streaming.   We bought ourselves a Bluray player for Christmas and I have gotten it set up and have watched a few things from youtube.   We don't have any subscriptions yet.   I've been trying to figure what is best.    I kind of lean toward Amazon Prime because of the free shipping benefit there.   Otherwise I don't know much about any of them.    One Christmas movie that we watched on youtube was Christmas on Division St.    I found that in looking for movies with Hume Cronyn.  It is probably quite old but we enjoyed it.    I've been trying to get The Gathering with Ed Asner but so far the best I can do is get the trailers. >:(    Our son was pretty impressed that we were watching stuff from youtube already.    They bought a Smart TV several months ago and haven't been able to see the "Smarts" yet.   :)    I know that he is away for work a few days and nights a week (drives truck) so they don't have a lot of time to play with this and their children who are the  techies are always on the fly so don't have time to help mom and dad get set up.

I spoke here about going to the Riviera Theater a while back to hear the Mighty Wurlitzer Theater organ.   We were able to buy tickets for a Kenny G concert for our son and wife for Christmas.   That concert was held last evening and he called me today to tell me how good it was and how they enjoyed seeing the old theater.   He said there was a period of organ music before the show so they had the opportunity to see and hear the Mighty Wurlitzer organ.

I started a new book from Hoopla last evening.    It is called People We Love by Jenny Harper.  The story is set in Scotland.     So far.....interesting.

My reading time has been cut short in recent days due to writing Christmas cards and letters as well as spending time with this BluRay player.   It is frustrating but in time it will come along.   I should go over to the forum on computers etc. and ask a couple questions.     I'm never sure that I know what question to ask to get the answer I need. ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on December 14, 2016, 05:23:16 PM
MaryC, Amazon Prime is a good thing, as MarthaStewart would say.  It gives you free shipping and other perks, but is great for streaming their own Amazon movies.  If you already have a Netflix streaming account, or even a disc in the mail account, you can get their streaming on the SmartTV, and they have some really good shows, as well as TV series old and new.  Did I understand you to say you had a SMartTV?  Or does your BluRay player do this streaming?  I know some of them do, but I don't know the ins and outs of it.  Maybe its like having SmartTV.  I think I would ask over in the Computer/TV/Electronics boards, and get some better info. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 14, 2016, 06:04:53 PM
Our streaming is also done through the BluRay player.  We've had it for a couple of years now, and the only complaint I have, is that the color quality has deteriorated for both Amazon and Netflix.  Maybe it's our TV, and not the Bluray?  I would love to get a Smart TV, and hope to talk hubby into it, after the first of the year. 

Tome - I have to be all ready for House of Cards, which returns in January for Season #4.  If you haven't watched it yet, that would be a series that both you and your husband would like.  Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright do an incredible job!

We've also seen all of Bosch, and Longmire, and we both thought River, was fabulous!  I recommended it in here, but I don't think anyone else watched it?  Talk about different!  I really thought Stellan Skarsgard, the actor who played River, was wonderful, and I hope he gets an Emmy Award for that performance. (Maybe he was nominated last time . . . or not?? I don't know.)

We finished the first season of The Crown, which I loved, and will mention again in the TV discussion.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on December 14, 2016, 07:41:16 PM
I'm a big fan of the books which feature Harry Bosch as a detective, now retired.  Which channel is showing movies about him and who plays Bosch?  I was very disappointed in the one episode I saw with (my mind is a blank) a handsome young man who played Jerry McGuire playing Reacher--very poorly cast for anyone who loves Reacher as a wandering ex-soldier. 

SCFSue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 15, 2016, 07:35:21 AM
I agree that Tom Cruise is badly miscast in the Jack Reacher movies. But then, I am not a Tom Cruise fan. He was good in Top Gun, not bad in Oblivion and okay in Edge of Tomorrow (I had to watch that one twice to just say okay). I think those are the only movies I've seen him in.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on December 15, 2016, 08:34:48 AM
I definitely agree that Tom Cruise is NOT Jack Reacher! 

As for River, Marilyne....I tried it but just couldn't get into the fantasy with his ex-woman partner (played by Nicola Walker who also played the daughter, Gillian, in Last Tango in Halifax).  I won't say more than that for fear of spoiling.  Maybe I'll try it again sometime.  IMDB article re "River"....

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4258440/

I was just looking around for something to fill up an hour+ yesterday and came across "Broadway Melody of 1940".  Fred Astaire, George Murphy, and Eleanor Powell musical.  Old, dated, in black/white, but so much fun.  It was an ON DEMAND movie and I had a great time watching it.  Wish they still made those great old musicals these days.

Last night I watched "Jungle Book" on Netflix and enjoyed that a lot.  The artistry of the graphics just amazed me.  Loved the voice of the evil tiger.....spoken by Idris Elba.  What a wonderful voice he has....wish we could see him in more movies.  He is a fine actor.  From Wikipedia....

Idrissa Akuna "Idris" Elba, OBE (/ˈɪdrᵻs ˈɛlbə/; born 6 September 1972)[3] is an English actor, musician and DJ.[4][5] He is known for playing drug baron Russell "Stringer" Bell on the HBO series The Wire,[6] Detective John Luther on the BBC One series Luther, and Nelson Mandela in the biographical film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013). He has been nominated four times for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film, winning one, and was nominated five times for a Primetime Emmy Award
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 18, 2016, 03:23:01 PM
Phyll - did you ever see Idris Elba, in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom?  He did a wonderful job of playing Nelson Mandella, and was nominated for an Academy Award.  I saw it, and thought he was deserving of the Oscar, but I don't remember if he got it or not?  That's the only thing I've ever seen him in. 

I love the old musicals, and don't care if they're corny or not!  Fred and Ginger are always fun to watch, in anything!  I don't know if the Bob Hope and Bing Crosby "road" movies qualify as musicals?  Lots of cute songs sung by Bob and Bing, and love songs by Bing and Dorothy Lamour. 

Another black and white musical that is usually shown this time of year is Holiday Inn,1942 or 43, with Crosby and Fred Astaire.  This the first time that Bing sang the song, "White Christmas", and as we all remember - it became one of the top selling music recordings of all time.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on December 19, 2016, 09:08:33 AM
I haven't seen Mandela.....yet.  I don't think he won the award but I'm not sure about that.  Mandela is on my TBS (to be seen) list.  I first saw Elba in BBC's "Luther".  I liked it and him very much but the series was too short.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 21, 2016, 11:22:54 AM
Today is the Winter Solstice, so I'm posting this interesting interpretation of the changing of the seasons, and how it relates to the cycle of life . . . birth, death and rebirth.

Winter Solstice ~ December 21st

The Winter Solstice is a magical season . . . one that marks the journey from this year to the next, journeys of the spirit from one world to the next, and the magic of birth, death, and rebirth. The longest night of the year (December 21 in the Northern hemisphere), is reborn as the start of the solar year and accompanied by festivals of light to mark the rebirth of the Sun. In ancient Europe, this night of darkness grew from the myths of the Norse goddess Frigga who sat at her spinning wheel weaving the fates, and the celebration was called Yule, from the Norse word Jul, meaning wheel. The Christmas wreath, a symbol adapted from  Frigga's "Wheel of Fate", reminds us of the cycle of the seasons and the continuity of life.

That the timing of the Christian celebration of the birth of Christ occurs in the Yule season is no coincidence. Christmas was once a movable feast, celebrated many different times during the year. The decision to establish December 25, as the "official" date of Christ's birth was made by Pope Julius I in the fourth century AD, hoping to replace the pagan celebration with the Christian one, since this date coincided with the pagan celebrations of Winter Solstice, with the Return of the Sun Gods occurring throughout the world.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 21, 2016, 03:23:01 PM
Thank you for that interesting piece about the Winter Solstice Marilyne.    I've always been a star/moon watcher and as I've gotten older even more interested in the season changes etc.    Actually last evening I was looking for a good bit to post on my Facebook page about the Solstice, but didn't find one that just suited me.  I did find some good stuff about those who visit the Stonehenge sites to be there to welcome  the new sun.   That was interesting!!

Many years ago an older friend told us about how she had grown up in one of the Scandinavian countries and what a big celebration they observed especially on the Summer Solstice.    I've not forgotten my friend Alice and how she told of staying out at their summer parties late in the evening to watch for the Wee Folk to appear.    Guess I'm a believer!! as I still keep my eyes open in the summer eves for the possible sighting.   We need to make them welcome in our gardens, just as we do that merry old elf who might just visit our homes a few days from now. ::)   Happy Solstice and Merry Christmas!!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 22, 2016, 04:53:08 PM
maryc - Thanks for your comment on my story of the Winter Solstice. I've always liked any story that deals with the changing of the seasons, and how this event reflects the cycles of life.   I have also heard about the celebrations in the Scandinavian  countries, for both Summer and Winter.  they often include staying up all night, with lots of celebrating.  I love the myths that surround both Solstice days.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on December 22, 2016, 08:11:48 PM
As a Child I remember in the North of England there would be celebration of Solstice.But I think it went out years ago.

Now down in Stonehange. The seem to do more at the Spring Solstice. Hundreds of People do it big there.  All seemed like Witch Craft to me.
I know that New Years in my area was really big. My Grandmother use to tell me
When lighting the Yule log, a large space is needed for the bonfire and a very dry log should be used so it burns quickly. Each member of the family can throw holly sprigs into the fire to say goodbye to the solar year. The ringing of bells symbolizes the ringing out of the old year and the ringing in of the new year. The family can gather in a circle with the leader talking about the importance of the solstice before the bells ring.

Now down in Stonehange. They  seem to do more at the Spring Solstice. Hundreds of People do it big there.  All seemed like Witch Craft to me.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 23, 2016, 12:02:26 AM
JeanneP - Your custom of burning of the yule log for New Years, sounds like a nice traditional celebration.  Saying goodbye to the old year, and welcoming the new! 

Lots of Christmas traditions in my family, but I don't recall much for New Years, except for the midnight revelry. Lots of parties going on for the adults, in the neighborhood where I grew up.  On New Years Day, my mother always fixed a baked ham, decorated with pineapple slices.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 23, 2016, 02:12:56 PM
Al's parents always talked about New Years as being a celebrated holiday in Scotland.    They spoke often of Hogmanay and I never really understood the word or the meaning until we had the Internet and I could research it a bit.    As we live close to the Canadian border we have heard lots about Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) but I hadn't heard of the New Years celebration until I met Al and his family.
Hogmanay ([ËŒhÉ"É¡məˈneː] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA) HOG-mÉ™-NAY) is the Scots (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scots_language) word for the last day of the year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Year) (Gregorian calendar (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar)) in the Scottish manner. It is normally followed by further celebration on the morning of New Year's Day (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Year%27s_Day) (1 January) or, in some cases, 2 Januaryâ€"a Scottish bank holiday (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_holidays_in_Scotland).
The origins of Hogmanay are unclear, but may be derived from Norse (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_activity_in_the_British_Isles) and Gaelic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaels) observances. Customs vary throughout Scotland, and usually include gift-giving (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift-giving) and visiting the homes of friends and neighbours, with special attention given to the first-foot (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-foot), the first guest of the new year.


JeanneP,   What I read about the celebration of the Solstice at Stonehenge, it sounded as though the people who go there for that day are kind of a cult who dress in the early costumes etc....very serious about their practices.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on December 23, 2016, 04:18:45 PM
New Years is big in UK also . Specially up in the North where I am from and family live. Pretty close to the Scottish Border. Boxing day big also. Day after Christmas day. Was my Eldest brothers Birthday. He also past away Christmas Day  they think as he was alone So show it as dec. 25 .

My Father had Black hair and darker than most in UK. So as start of New Years  Day have to only let the first person to enter your home has to be a darker person. They have to walk all around the house coming in one door and leaving by the Back door.  This then removes all bad luck  things that have happened in the house and allows Good Luck to come in.  Kept him busy that morning. Every one wanting him to come and walk through. ( Brits usually very pale skin and no Dark haired.) I sort of took after his family.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 23, 2016, 05:18:04 PM
When I was a young child our family would attend a church service on New Year's Eve called a Watchnight Service.   There was a worship service followed by a lunch and it was a thrill to be old enough to go and stay up later than our usual.

The conversation here about the Winter Solstice reminded me of a favorite hymn called All Beautiful the March of Days.
1 All beautiful the march of days,
as seasons come and go;
the hand that shaped the rose hath wrought
the crystal of the snow,
hath sent the hoary frost of heaven,
the flowing waters sealed,
and laid a silent loveliness
on hill and wood and field.

2 O’er white expanses, sparkling pure ,
the radiant morns unfold;
the solemn splendours of the night
burn brighter through the cold;
life mounts in every throbbing vein,
love deepens round the hearth,
and clearer sounds the angel hymn,
"Good will and peace on earth."

3 O thou, from whose unfathomed law
the year in beauty flows,
thyself the vision passing by
in crystal and in rose,
day unto day doth utter speech,
and night to night proclaim
in ever-changing words of light
the wonder of thy name.

There is a youtube of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing  this but you can't really understand the words.

   










Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 23, 2016, 05:58:46 PM
maryc - Thanks for posting, "Beautiful the March of Days". I like the Christmas message in the lyrics. I don't believe I've ever heard it?  I'm going to take a look on YouTube and listen to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, as well as any others that I see.  Sometimes the YouTube video's include the words to the music, moving cross the screen in sync with the singer/singers.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 23, 2016, 06:02:47 PM
Glad you enjoyed it Marilyne.   Yes, some youtube videos do have words and it helps. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 25, 2016, 10:44:46 AM
One of my favorite Longfellow poems and Christmas carols,    A good message for us all. 

I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."

Till, ringing singing, on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men!

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
 
 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on December 25, 2016, 11:51:39 AM
Love that poem, Marilyne.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 26, 2016, 10:29:50 AM
I remember hearing that in a carol. I didn't know it was from a Longfellow poem.

St. Peter's Choir: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOGz9WqNQoI


Ed Herrmann with a Longfellow Christmas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXfzp296zhA
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on December 26, 2016, 04:18:48 PM
When I was a pre-teen/teen, my grandmother's church often used this hymn as an anthem on Christmas Day.  I sang in the young people's choir and was surprised, but happy, that I remembered almost every verse.  I even gave a solo performance for myself today!  It's a lovely hymn and brought back some happy memories. 

SCFSue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on December 26, 2016, 07:43:47 PM
There are 2 things that I have to do at the end of the Christmas. Listen to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and on New Years Eve. The one from Vienna with the Boys Choir. Hope they do it this New Years.  Julia Andrews is usually the comentater from Austria.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 26, 2016, 11:44:15 PM
I'm glad that so many of you commented on the Longfellow poem and carol, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

MarsGal - Thanks for posting those beautiful YouTube renditions.  I enjoyed them very much, and it prompted me to do a little research on the original poem.  I see that there are many more verses, besides the ones that I posted. Some are more vivid in describing the chaos of the Civil War. Overall, it is a great American poem, and the words give us hope for the future. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 27, 2016, 12:54:56 PM
Better late than never... :-[ .    I too really like that Hymn and poem Marilyne.   It doesn't seem to be used as much any more but it is beautiful.    Thank you for reminding us of a classic.

Our Christmas time was good time spent with family.   The gifts are fun but the time together is priceless and the good will that prevails during this season among friends is so heart warming.   There has been so much talk about community building during this election season that I would hope these good intentions and love of fellow man would go on into the new year.   My wish for the New Year:  "The wrong shall fail, the right prevail.  With peace on earth, good will to men."

On the subject of reading, etc.   I am reading a book by Sandra Dallas that I borrowed through Hoopla.   It seems almost like a book for young readers but a subject that I enjoy.    The title is The Quilt Walk.   The story tells of a family's trip by covered wagon from Illinois to Denver in the 1800s.   I haven't found one of her books that I didn't enjoy.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 27, 2016, 11:35:09 PM
maryc - I've read lots of books by Sandra Dallas, and have enjoyed them all.  I think I might have read The Quilt Walk, but not sure?  Many of her stories involve quilt making.  I remember one that I especially liked called Alice's Tulips, that takes place during the Civil War. It seems to me that there was something about a quilt in that one as well?  Tall Grass, was another one I liked.  It was about a Japanese internment camp, during WWII.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on December 28, 2016, 01:06:00 PM
I am reading "The Last Runaway" by Tracey Chevalier.  Such an interesting story, and has so many points of interest:  The Quakers (Friends); states with/without slavery (this takes place before Civil War); settling in the State of Ohio, retail i.e., various types of stores, milliners, dry goods, general stores, and especially "quilting".  The story of a young woman who comes to America from England, and finds everything so terribly different.  She faces several tragedies, as well as being a "fish out of water".  I started the book last night, and read until 3:00 AM (couldn't sleep anyway) and read a few more pages this morning around 6:00.  I love Chevalier's work, she is so thorough, but never sacrifices the characters.  I highly recommend this book, if you haven't already read it; published back in 2013.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 29, 2016, 02:29:37 PM
Tome - The Last Runaway, sounds good.  One more to add to my long list of books to read!  I don't think I've heard of Chevalier?  There are so many writers who are published now, that it's hard to keep track of what I have read or not read.  When I look through an edition of Bookmarks Magazine, it always amazes me that there are always new authors in every edition, plus all the well known familiar names that I recognize. 

For Christmas, my dil gave me A Man Called Ove, by  Fredrik Backman.  It's been on Bestseller lists for quite a while now, and has already been made into a movie. Also, The Life We Bury, by Allen Eskens.  I'm looking forward to both of those. 

I also have another best seller that I'm anxious to read, called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying up: the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing, by Marie Kondo.   I think I'll read that one first, because my New Year Resolution, is to donate, sell on ebay, or throw away, an accumulation of stuff from a lifetime!  My three adult children, only want a few items, so I must part with everything we are not using or don't need.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on December 29, 2016, 02:47:45 PM
Chevalier is the one who wrote the bestseller The Girl With a Pearl Earring
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on December 29, 2016, 03:07:37 PM
Chevalier also wrote "Remarkable Creatures", which was very good and interesting.  My f2f book club read it, and totally enjoyed it.  Made for interesting discussion too.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 29, 2016, 07:00:48 PM
Interesting new authors mentioned here.    I looked on Hoopla last evening and saw that The Girl Witha Pearl Earring was one available.   I believe that was the story about the painter, if I'm not mistaken. 

Marilyne,  I had to smile when you wrote of the book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.    I've seen that one advertised and saw another similar one just a day or so ago called Down Sizing etc. etc.    It is another book about just that.    When I saw the title,  I laughed and asked my daughter if she thought that anyone who really needed to downsize would take the time to read a whole book about it first.   ;D    Let us know Marilyne how it goes.    I keep talking about it and the best I've done so far is to get rid of a few items of clothing that I haven't worn in some time.   

   I did get a new bath scale for Christmas and have the old one set out for passing on to a local person who recycles metals.    That scale is quite heavy and I believe has a lot of metal in it.     This person has an interesting story.   He is retired and has made a real mission of collecting cans (which in our state are worth $.05 each) and other metals that he recycles for cash.    This money is all donated to food pantries in our community.    He has been written up in the paper and it is amazing the amount that he has raised for this purpose.  His mission even has a name.   It is called D4F (Deposits for food) :thumbup:

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Sandy on December 29, 2016, 08:15:14 PM
I enjoy hearing about all of the the different books that people are reading.   

I check on my Maine State Library Talking books
to see if they have them and most of the time they do. 

So I order them up and listen to them and if I like
the talking book version,  I order more  by the
same author.

There are thousands of talking book available
for people who are visually handicapped,  and available from the State libraries around the country..    They send you
a digital recorder  and all the talking books that you want...   

I use and enjoy this service so very much and also appreciate everyone's suggestions...  to guide me to experiencing
talking books that I would never be aware of. 

This is a free service,  all done through the US Mail, 
at no cost to the participants.   

I don't know if I have said this before but I will
say it again.   "Listening" to books is not the same as
actually "reading" books...     so it took me quite a long while
to get use to and appreciate "listening" to books being
read, instead of reading them myself.

I now would find it very hard to get along with out them, 
as I go to bed with one every night of my life.  It all takes place through the State Library System... 
Maine is here:   http://www.maine.gov/msl/outreach/lbph/index.shtml

We are so fortunate to have this service available in this country
and I am blessed to have it . 

Thanks for the good suggestions for me to choose from!

Sandy
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on December 30, 2016, 04:01:17 AM
Sandy, do they also have a service sending those Talking Books through the internet so they can be downloaded on the computer or on a kindle?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Sandy on December 30, 2016, 10:12:47 AM
Yes they do So_P..
But for me it is easier and turn around is just 
few days.
     
I list 16 books at a time.   Some are home,  some are
on the way from the central library and some are on their
way back to the central library,   by mail.   There is no
charge to send them via mail.   And they are delivered
right to my mail box.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 30, 2016, 12:30:32 PM
Sandy - The Talking Books sound like a wonderful thing! Do you have to show eligibility for this service, (visually handicapped), or is it available to people with other types of disabilities, or no disabilities?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on December 30, 2016, 01:01:59 PM
Would I be eligible, being outside of US?...
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on December 30, 2016, 05:18:48 PM
So_P,  the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, might have a similar book lending operation for visually impaired and/or hearing impaired.  I don't know if it's only for U.S. residents, but you should be able to inquire online.

SCFSue

P.S. My friend Bonney's husband received books from the L of C and I think our local library might have ordered them for him or he ordered directly from the Library of Congress.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on December 30, 2016, 07:21:07 PM
Bubble. I would think that one had to have a US library card to be able to download anything out of US.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Sandy on December 30, 2016, 07:43:32 PM
Quote from: Marilyne on December 30, 2016, 12:30:32 PM
Sandy - The Talking Books sound like a wonderful thing! Do you have to show eligibility for this service, (visually handicapped), or is it available to people with other types of disabilities, or no disabilities?


Here is a link to how the talking books program works...
Each State has it own State Library to contact for  more information.       I was encouraged to sign up for it
Via the "Iris Network" here in Portland Maine:
http://www.theiris.org/... 

It is available to people who have handicaps and require
assisstence via talking books.    What ever the handicap might
be.     

It is a us Governement program,  so I am not sure how it
works for people outside the USA. 
I suspect that answers  to that can be found via any
agency in your area/country that deals with disabilities
and help available.


http://www.maine.gov/msl/outreach/lbph/talkingbooks/index.shtml
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on December 31, 2016, 03:36:21 AM
Thanks for the info.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 31, 2016, 12:03:38 PM
Sandy - Thanks for the information.  I'm sure neither I, nor my husband would qualify for the program, but we very well might in the future.  Until that time, I plan to buy a device of some sort, for listening to audio books. I don't know if I can use my Kindle?

I picked up two books from the library, that finally came in - I requested them both, way before Christmas.  They are The Trespasser, by Tana French, and Gone to Soldiers, by Marge Piercy.  Both were recommended on two of the book sites that I belong to. 

I was surprised to see that "Soldiers" is 700 pages long, and is a hard cover, with small print on large pages! :o  It weighs about five pounds!  I honestly don't think I will be able to sit with it on my lap, or even haul it around the house!  I'm disappointed in the size, but the reviews I've read on this novel are all raves, so I'm anxious to see what it's all about.  I'll start reading it this afternoon, and see if I like it right away.  If so, I'll stick with the book, or check into getting it later on my Kindle. 

The other one, "Trespasser", must have also been recommended on a book site, or maybe someone mentioned it in this discussion?  I most likely won't even get to that one before it's due back. 

So, I still have all the books I got as Christmas gifts, but they will be waiting for me after I read these two. (or most likely only one!) ::)   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on December 31, 2016, 04:09:06 PM
I was talking to my Friend who has MS. Now had it about 14 years and so getting where he is pretty disabled now. Telling him about the Talking books.
Monday I will go talk to my library and see what I can find out about setting him up if available. He like me has love reading all his life but no long can hold on to one or goes out doors.  He does still live alone with a male assistant daily. We talked for 2 hours this morning. He is always in such good spirits. Amazes me. Stops me from complaining about the little things when I stop by to visit.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Sandy on December 31, 2016, 04:31:55 PM
This is where you go for the talking books in Illinois:

https://www.illinoistalkingbooks.org/apply

It is not at your local library.   
Check out this website and that will tell you all about it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 01, 2017, 11:37:30 AM
I didn't stay up to greet the New Year.  Went to bed at 11:00, thinking about how I used to try so hard to stay awake until midnight, when I was around 11 or 12 years old.  My grandmother had a small tabletop radio, and she would let me sleep in her bed, so that I could listen to all the festivities that were happening at that time. (This was before television!)  I mostly recall listening to Guy Lombardo, Harry James, and other Big Bands of that era, who were broadcasting live from places like, The Starlight Roof, on top of the Waldorf Astoria, in Manhattan . . . or  the many ballrooms across the country, like the Trianon Ballroom or the Aragon, or the Hollywood Palladium.  Besides the music, I could hear the happy sounds of laughter and talk in the background. Oh how I longed to be there!  I was thinking about those times when I fell asleep last night. I still long to be there!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on January 01, 2017, 11:58:47 AM
I don't enjoy New Year's Eve like I used.  Don't care for most of those singing groups.  I used to love watching and hearing those Guy Lombardo days.  We are on Central Time in this part of Florida and I forget as I am so used to eastern time.  We stayed up to watch the ball come down when it suddenly dawned on us at 11:30 CT that we had missed it so went to bed.

HOPE 2017 IS GOOD TO ALL OF YOU
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on January 01, 2017, 03:37:02 PM
Sandy.  Oh! good, we will check that organization out.
It should help him.  thanks



Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 01, 2017, 08:05:53 PM
http://my.playaway.com/playaway/   This is a newer audio book that our library has.

We stayed up for the ball drop last evening.    I'm not so much into the show beforehand anymore.   As someone said,  "There is no more Guy Lombardo".    It is kind of interesting to see all the people at Time's Square and the fire works after but that's all.     Debby was over and we had pizza and wings and a movie on Netflix.   Al napped so he could hold out until midnight and she and I worked on a jigsaw puzzle that I bought at an estate sale this summer.    The picture is of the Las Vegas strip.    It has been quite challenging and isn't finished yet.    She stayed overnight and made a Shepherd's Pie for our dinner today.   It was a  good time  and a fun change from our regular routine.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 02, 2017, 11:51:34 PM
Cold and drizzly today and yesterday, so I've been staying inside and reading.  Of all the books I have here to choose from, I picked The Trespasser, to start with. I saw that it was on the NYT Best Seller list this week, which is probably why it's only available for one week from the library.  Turns out it's a murder mystery, which is not my favorite style of book.  Even so, I'm really liking the characters, and the setting, which is in present day Ireland. 

I'm still reading, and enjoying, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.  I'm inspired, but somehow I continue to sit around reading and watching TV, instead of getting to the business of "tidying up"!  ;D ::)   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 08, 2017, 12:29:04 AM
I finished The Trespasser, by Tana French, and thought it was an excellent crime thriller!  Not the style of book that I usually enjoy, but I have to say that this mystery novel was good, and really pulled me in from the very beginning.

The main character is a woman detective on the Dublin, Ireland Police Force, and what an unusual and intriguing character she is!  I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery, and to everyone else who wants to take a chance on something different! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on January 08, 2017, 01:28:57 PM
Marilyne, that sounds like a book I would like.  Will look for it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on January 08, 2017, 02:12:00 PM
Meto.  Off to the library soon. Cold out.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on January 09, 2017, 11:01:51 AM
Marilyne, I was able to borrow that book from the library thru Overdrive for my iPad.  But, I am on "hold".  This is the first time I have actually done this thru Overdrive and it was simple.  They supposedly will notify me by email when it is available so I will find out then how simple that part is.  😀

I got an iPad Pro (the large one) for Christmas and I LOVE it.  I'm getting more used to reading on the iPad and actually prefer reading books this way (I never thought I would say that).
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 09, 2017, 11:20:30 AM
FlaJean,  I'm another one who never thought she would prefer reading books on a device - but I have become thoroughly spoiled to borrowing library books on my Tablet through Overdrive!
The e-mail notices work fine for me and include a link so you can find them in your Holds.
I've been going through books so fast that I finally started a data base so I could remember which ones I've read.
I can also borrow magazines the same way - but am finding I don't enjoy reading them on the Tablet quite as much as the books.

Son/dil gave me Netflix for Christmas and I'm surprised to find I now have about 9 movies or Netflix original series in my "queue".   
Guess I've finally caught up with the times.    ;D
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 09, 2017, 12:37:48 PM
It seems as though Netflix did quite well this past Holiday season!    Debby gave us 6 months of Netflix for Christmas.   She was funny about it.   Earlier we were out shopping and she was looking to buy a Blu Ray disc player for herself and she talked to me about getting one for ourselves so that we could look at you tube videos on the TV.     I did decide to get one and then at Christmas, lo and behold we now had Netflix.   We have enjoyed having the movies without commercials.   Last evening we watched the movie Big Stone Gap.   That was from a book by Adriana Trigiani  that I had read several years ago.   

Callie,   I have really enjoyed using the Kindle too and get books from our Library quite often.   I seem to have trouble with Overdrive but use Hoopla through our library.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 09, 2017, 02:25:02 PM
Maryc,  So glad you mentioned the movie "Big Stone Gap".  I've read the book and either didn't know or didn't remember there was also a movie.  Will have to look for it and put it in my Netflix queue.

There must be several programs similar to Overdrive.  I'm so grateful that it's possible to get the library books this way because it's gotten much harder for me to get to the library in person. 
So far, I haven't had this happen - but I like the feature of the book "disappearing" if not renewed by its due date....no overdue fines!
I also like being able to put 10 books at a time on Hold or on a Wish List and then being notified when one or more is available for borrowing.
Plus - I love finishing a book at - say - 11:05 p.m. and starting another one at 11:06!  So many choices - so little time. 

So far, I can't think of any thing to dislike!
 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 09, 2017, 02:41:08 PM
I'm trying to figure out why it is that I haven't enjoyed reading books on my Kindle, like the rest of you have?  I think it must be that when I'm reading a regular book, I look back a lot at what I've already read, to check names, places, time frame, etc.  I also like to place bookmarks on pages that have passages I especially liked, and want to read again.  My Kindle doesn't give me the ability to do that, but I suppose newer models do??  Mine is getting pretty old now.

FlaJean and JeanneP - I hope you both like The Trespasser.  As I said, I usually don't read mystery or crime novels, because I prefer character driven stories, rather than a story that's totally action driven and revolves around solving a crime or catching the "bad guy". 
However, "Trespasser" seemed to have plenty of both!  Great characters, especially the main female detective.  The mystery part was intriguing, and well written.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on January 09, 2017, 05:11:26 PM
Marilyne, you can add a "bookmark" on your old style KIndle. I have one, that I use more than my Kindle Fire.  The Fire has so many more ins and outs than the old one, and i haven't taken the time to really learn its use.  I didn't even get deep into the things tht the old Kindle can do either, but it serves my purposes.  When I add a book to the old Kindle, it automatically goes to the KIndle Fire too.
It is both easier and harder to read on the Fire, you have to swipe to turn pages, where on the old one, you just click the button!  Funny how we get used to some things, and don't get into the "new ones".  I still like a "book/book" to have and to hold from this day forward (oops!), and there are always book that get published that I immediately know I will have to either check it out at the library, or order it from Amazon to add to my already seam-bursting library. 
I love Netflix and Amazon made for TV movies.  With this SmartTV, I can get all of them.  (I'm getting better with scrolling thru the menu on the SmartTV.  If it wasn't for my daughter, I never would have learned any of it!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Jeanne Lee on January 09, 2017, 05:24:19 PM
What makes a TV "Smart"?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on January 09, 2017, 06:52:33 PM
I've had a Kindle for about 10 years--a gift from one of my sons.  I don't like it much.  I prefer a book, but I did download all of Jane Austin's book on it and enjoy re-reading them when I can get the Kindle to go to the book I want.  I'm just a Klutz at Kindle reading, I'm one of those old dogs who don't learn new tricks!  I finished a book (can't remember now which one) and can't get it to return to the index.  Any suggestions for a quick lesson which will help me return to my index of titles?

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: junee on January 09, 2017, 07:16:55 PM
Jeanne Lee

I also want to know, what makes a tv smart?

FlaJean.  Your remark gives me confidence to move up to an IPad Pro . Hope there is not too much further to learn.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 09, 2017, 07:39:01 PM
Jeanne Lee - I don't have a Smart TV, but I know that they're already set up to get Netflix and Amazon streaming. (And probably lots more!) I think all new sets are "smart", but I'm not sure?

Sue - Your Kindle is about the same age as mine.  I'm sure they have improved a whole lot since then! 

Tome - I can leave a bookmark when I stop reading, so I can continue where I left off.  However, I can't leave "markers" on lots of different pages, that I can refer to later - nor can I look back to an earlier page, to check on a name or place, etc. 

Junee - Good to see you here in the Library Bookshelf!  I hope you return often.  I'd like to get an iPadPro, as well, but first I have to get a new desktop iMac.  My old 2002 iMac is very slow, and often won't let me access certain web sites . . . such as Facebook!  If I want FB, I have to use my husband's computer.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on January 09, 2017, 08:11:53 PM
As Marilyne said, the TV is set up so you can access Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Pandora, etc.  You can stream movies thru Amazon for free if you have AmazonPrime.  Netflix charges, I think, $7.95 a month for streaming. Hulu is about the same $, but I don't care about getting Hulu.

As I told Marilyne back a few pages, ALL tvs are NOT SmartTV's.  Most new TV's are LED, (Light emitting Diode) which makes the picture better, supposedly, and 1080P, which I can't explain to you, but is also clearer sharper picture, HDTV (high definition).  I sound like a commercial for TV sets (lol)!  Just read over some of the ads.  If you are lucky enough to get sale circulars with your newspaper, there are lots of ads.  You can kind of do a comparison as to what each TV has.  Samsung and Sony are the premier mfgrs of SmartTVs, with a bunch of new, un-name brands like Hisense, Roku, Insignia.  Also, Toshiba, LG and Vizio are some better brand names. Sorry to blab on.  Just trying to provide information. 

I will do another post for Marilyne about bookmarking in the old Kindle.  I guess I need to know if hers is the "very first model" of Kindle or 2nd Generation.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Jeanne Lee on January 09, 2017, 09:20:05 PM
Thanks for the info about smart TV's.  You mention Sanyo as one brand.  My son just bought me a Sanyo a couple of months ago but it doesn't seem to have anything extra or special.  Am I just too old and set in my ways to notice or don't all Sanyo TV's have the smarts?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: junee on January 10, 2017, 01:33:04 AM
Marilyne
Thanks for information re smart tv. I Am now getting Netfix so my tv must be smart.!!
I did get a copy of Summer of My German Soldier,read it and enjoyed, and passed it on, after your recommendation
I just hope this next IPad is not  too different to this one. The book by mychair at the moment is Light  Between Oceans.





Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 10, 2017, 04:26:05 PM
Junee - I'm glad that you also liked, Summer of My German Soldier.  It's one of my favorites, of the books that I've collected over the years.  I think you'll like The Light Between Oceans.  It was a popular one, here in this discussion, and lots of our members read it.   I haven't seen the movie yet, but I'm looking forward to it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 10, 2017, 04:40:20 PM
My daughter-in-law set up Netflix on my tv. pc and tablet.  The only problem is that I can't get Closed Captioning on the tv - although I can get it on the pc and the Tablet.  On-line information I found said that CC is only available (for Netflix) on SmartTV.   Guess dil will have to work her magic the next time she's here.

I've been watching The Crown and Gilmore Girls special series on my pc but don't want to sit in this chair long enough to watch a movie.
Haven't tried it on the Tablet other than to find I could get the CC.  Not sure I'd like a screen that small.

Dil said to plug the Tablet into the charger if I use it so the battery won't run down so fast.  Good to know.

Junee,  I liked Summer of My German Soldier and Light Between Oceans.  Would love your comments on that one - since it's set in Australia.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: junee on January 10, 2017, 06:34:17 PM
Callie
My library brings me 4 books and 4 DVDs every 4 weeks and this week I randomly took
Between Two Oceans outnof the bag and started to read . Did not know the author
And was surprised to find it set in Australia.  Now at the point on our mainland ,the SW
Of Western Australia is a place I remember well. Stood there admiring the view of The Southern and Indian Ocean meeting, on a small rise of about 2 ft and slipped,broke ankle,not good break, had operation in Perth and then boarded a plane by a lift machine.
I am enjoying the book but have only just begun.

Marilyne
Interesting that this book was made into a film.  Hope it is the same title as the book.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 10, 2017, 08:20:44 PM
Junee, a movie was made based on "Between Two Oceans".   I should see if it's on Netflix and add it to my "queue" (things I want to watch).  Hope it was filmed on location.  The place where the two oceans meet must be fascinating.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 10, 2017, 11:21:38 PM
Callie - There is a way to get closed captions for Netflix and Amazon on your TV , but it took us a long time to figure out how to do it!  Your son and dil can probably show you what steps to follow to get the captions. 

Junee - Too bad you slipped and broke your ankle, while viewing the the two oceans.  Well, at least you got a good look, even though it didn't end well.

Yes, the title of the movie is the same as the book, and it was filmed on location.  The cast is all Australian. I can't remember the names of the stars, except for Michael Fassbender.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 11, 2017, 12:31:53 AM
Marilyne,  son tried this afternoon - no luck.  His wife is the computer guru so we'll see what she can do the next time she's here.
"The Light Between Oceans" doesn't seem to be available on Netflix and I don't have any other source for movies. 
That's o.k.  There are plenty of other choices.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 11, 2017, 02:12:52 PM
Callie - I have to confess that my husband handles the Netflix/Amazon viewing, so he was the one who figured it out, and then wrote it down. (not me. :-[ ) He also called Netflix, and talked to a tech who walked him through it.  When I want to watch something on those channels, he has to set up the cc for me, all the while insisting that it is simple, and that I should learn how to do it. LOL ::)

Anyway, here are the steps.

To adjust subtitles on most Blu-ray players, Smart TVs, and set-top boxes:
1. Launch the Netflix app.
2. Select the movie or TV show you want to play.
3. Select Audio & Subtitles from the options panel.
4. Select your preferred audio or subtitle options.
5. Press Back to return to the options panel.
6. Select Play.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 11, 2017, 05:54:08 PM
Marilyne,   Thanks for the steps.    I jotted down the directions I found on the Netflex website but I may have mis-written them because I thought it said to "press Options on the remote" - and my remote doesn't have "options".

These look as if the Options panel is on the Netflix screen after you select what you want to watch.
I'll look for it next time I watch something.

I finished "The Crown" series last night.  It ended with some "cliff-hangers" so I hope there'll be another one before too long.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on January 11, 2017, 07:47:45 PM
Dont think I have enjoyed a DVD series  as much as I am in Watching "A Place to Call Home" It is Australian. I had not heard of it before.  Just starting on Season 3. Watched the first 2. found myself staying up until 1am . It sounded like it was not going to be renewed but just read that they are now into Season 4 and thinking will be a Season 5 and 6. I hope so.  I was hooked on "Downton Abbey" but not the way I am hooked on this one.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 13, 2017, 04:23:48 PM
I'll share a little "laugh on me" episode that happened since we've been using Netflix with the Blu Ray player.   Our TV is sort of new but of course not "smart" as we are using the player to stream.    We have just one HDMI outlet on our TV so we went to Walmart looking to buy a device that would adapt to more components.     With the help of a nice clerk we came home with one that had places for three additional HDMI plugs.    When I had opened it and tried to plug it into the TV,  I discovered that it was a USB adapter rather than for HDMI.    I should have looked more closely at the store.    Anyway it will go back and I think I will just order from Amazon.    That probably would be the quickest solution.    Meanwhile we just transfer the cable back and forth from the set top box to the Blu Ray.    You can laugh with me, just not AT me please.    :-[
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 14, 2017, 02:17:46 PM
maryc - I'm laughing with you! :D  There are so many cords and plugs and cables connected to the TV and the various "boxes", that I feel helpless just looking at all of them!  I admire you for figuring out what was wrong, and making due, until you get what you need from Amazon.

I'm reading the book Bell Canto, once again, before watching the opera on PBS.  I recorded it last night, and was surprised to see that it is three hours long!  Definitely a show that we will watch over two or three nights. Not sure when?  Sharks hockey is on tonight during prime time, so that will take up the entire evening.  I see that the comedy, 9 to 5, is playing tonight on PBS, so I may watch it?  It was a big hit in 1980, but I wonder if it would seem a bit dated now, in 2017?

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on January 14, 2017, 02:31:11 PM
Maryc, I would never laugh at anybody after some of the things I've done.  We recently got a notice on our TV screen to update.  We did and then started getting some weird messages and the screen freezing. I dug into the book and went back to the factory setting.  Been working fine since then.  I'm ignoring any future updates!  :thumbup:  sometimes that old saying "if it ain't broke don't fix it" is the best idea.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on January 14, 2017, 06:06:45 PM
Seems like everything on Electronics now want to have you Update almost weekly. I have just stopped doing them. It does seem like something gets messed up.
Nothing seems to stop advertisement from coming up now. The more they say they are improving their systems the worse they seem to get.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 17, 2017, 04:53:21 PM
I'm enjoying my re-reading of Bel Canto. It always surprises me how much we forget about a favorite book or movie.  The basic story I remember clearly, but many of the individual characters and the different circumstances, I had forgotten. Also, this library book is in large print, which makes any story, a pleasure to read.  Has anyone watched (or plans to watch), the PBS opera presentation?   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on January 19, 2017, 09:30:20 PM
have the little space invaders arrived and carted off all our Seniors and Friends?  I have not received any notifications in any of my forums since the 17th.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 19, 2017, 11:39:55 PM
Tome - Good to see you! :wave:  Yes, messages are few and far between here in the Leisure Activities forum. A few other discussions in S&F are still quite busy, so I'm hoping that things will pick up here before long. 

I finished reading Bel Canto, and liked it even more this time!  I went to the library today, and got a book by Colm Toibin, the author of Brooklyn.   This one is called The Master.  I don't know what it's about, but I see that it has won a lot of prizes and was selected as one of the ten best novels from the year 2004.  I loved Brooklyn, so I'm hoping this one is just as good. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 21, 2017, 08:01:47 PM
I'm here lurking.    ;D    I've been reading another series that my brother got me started on.    The series is called Promises to Keep by Shayne Parkinson.     The story is set in the bush country of New Zealand in the 1800's and centers around an extended family of folks who lived and farmed there.    I've just gotten the third book.   It appears that there is one more but some places have said that this is the final.    We shall see.

Yesterday I spent quite a bit of time watching the Inaugauration.  Regardless of my vote,  I was interested in the festivities.   Seeing the past presidents and wives together was interesting.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 23, 2017, 11:50:47 PM
maryc - Promises to Keep, sounds good.  I've liked every book I've read, or movie I've seen, that takes place in Australia or New Zealand.  Remember the movie, The Piano?  It also takes place in NZ, in the mid 19th century.

I've been doing lots of TV watching this past week, so time to turn it off, and settle down to some serious reading.  I have a number of books from the library, as well as some that I got as Christmas gifts.  The one I mentioned a few days ago, The Master, looks like it's going to be good.  I also have A Man Called Ove, The Life We Bury, and a few more! :study:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 24, 2017, 04:05:39 PM
Marilyne,  TV during the past week or 10 days has been quite interesting and continues as changes take place in Washington.     I've never followed politics very closely but in recent months have become more interested and now am curious to see what follows what etc.  The health insurance program is one that is especially of interest and wonder how that will play out for millions of Americans.

The movie Piano is not familiar but I will look it up.    I did download a sample of the book A Man Called Ove, read that and put in a request at the library for it.    It seems to be either one that isn't yet available or else too many people ahead of me.    I'll wait.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 26, 2017, 11:34:15 AM
mary - I haven't yet started A Man Called Ove, but I'm looking forward to it.  It's been on the Bestseller List for quite a while.  Funny thing . . . for a Christmas present, I gave "Ove" to my dil, and she gave me the same thing. It wasn't the first time that that has happened! :) We generally are in sync, as far as books are concerned.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: junee on January 26, 2017, 11:52:49 PM
Callie. I finished Light Between Oceans . Enjoyed first 2/3 but took me a while to read all the grief at the end.  However am now looking for the movie as know that part of
Australia.  Takes me a while to find a movie,either on Netflix or from wherever.
.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 27, 2017, 12:16:25 AM
Junee,   I just searched Netflix and don't see "Light Between Oceans" listed.    I don't know the "rules" but, if it's still playing in theaters, maybe it isn't available, yet.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 27, 2017, 12:35:32 AM
Junee and Callie - "The Light between Oceans", is not on Netflix yet.  It was supposed to start playing on my On Demand sometime this week.  On Demand is a feature I get with Comcast cable, but I don't know if it's available from other cable services? 
Junee - I don't know if you have RedBox in your grocery and drug stores in Australia?  If so, it's probably available there for $1.50.  It's no longer playing in theaters, so we should be able to get it on TV?   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: junee on January 27, 2017, 04:26:06 PM
Marilyne and Callie. Thank you for the information on "The Light between Oceans".
We do not have Redbox to my knowledge but I will continue to look in Netflix. I only
recently was connected to Netflix.  Really want to see this movie and enjoy reading in this place when I am looking for a book.  The Library brings me books but not always what I want to read but they have a good size print.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 27, 2017, 06:28:39 PM
Hi Junee - I just now looked at my On Demand movie guide, and I see that The Light Between Oceans, is available for $5.99 for two days.  Sounds kind of pricey, but it would cost a lot more to see it in a walk-in movie theater, and you wouldn't have the advantage of closed captions!  So I guess $5.99 isn't that bad.  If I want to wait, it will be free, after a couple of months.  It's not playing on Netflix streaming, but I'm sure you can get it if you subscribe to the Netflix DVD's. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on January 27, 2017, 07:17:03 PM
Now I just picked up "The Light between Oceans"  from the library yesterday. The had it in LP.Will be next book I start.  will not be long before they have the DVD. I just checked and they already have it in.  I am number 47 on the list. Goes fast but will give me time to read book.

  I don't use Netflix . Not even gotten one at home on the On Demand.  I like to read the book before watch the movie.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on January 28, 2017, 11:51:08 AM
No Wonder I found that Movie and book at the library. I put in the wrong on. Suppose to look for "Light between oceans" as you were suggesting above.  I typed in "The Deep end of the Ocean" This is what I got.  Another Senior Moment.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on January 28, 2017, 12:00:39 PM
 On checking I see that I read the book last year. "Light between Ocean". It was mentioned in here while back.  As for the DVD I am still at Number 47. on the order list.  It has been awhile since the movie was in town here. I didn't see it.

Will now see what the one I got is all about."The Deep end of the Ocean"
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 28, 2017, 12:18:54 PM
JeanneP - I read The Deep End of the Ocean, and I liked it!  It was on Oprah Winfrey's book club, way back when she first started those recommendations.  I don't remember much about it, except that it was good, and I went on to read most of the books from Oprah's list.  Let us know how you like it??
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on January 28, 2017, 12:31:16 PM
Anymore there are just to many books coming out with the same titles. Specially between the ones in the Library and then the Ebooks coming out by the thousands just that way.  I use to go by Authors names but very seldom see one I know going directly to the EBooks.   My library now have far more books that you can only get on the Tablets of Ipads than the get going onto their shelves.  Libraries are changing so much. Such a shame.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 28, 2017, 01:04:58 PM
Junee,   I've been reading a series of books that are a story set in  New Zealand in the 1800's.    You might be interested in this story if it were available in your library.    The first book of the series is A Sentence of Marriage.    It is the tale of an extended farming family who lived in the bush region called The Valley of Plenty.     This is a link to the author who is a native of New Zealand.  http://www.shayneparkinson.com/

Marilyne,   This week when I was visiting at the nursing home I stopped to talk with one of the younger residents.    I noticed that she often has a book at her side.     We talked about books etc.    She told me that her F2F book club is having their meeting at the NH soon and brought her the book to be discussed.   It is A Man Called Ove.    I told her that I had read the sample and am waiting for the library ebook.   She made a few comments that helped me to think more about reading the whole book.    That was an interesting little connection and I'm sure we will have more visits in the future.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on January 28, 2017, 01:52:31 PM
Mary.  Doesn't look like our library have any of Shayne Parkinson books.  I look for ones written by and about Australia and NewZealand
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 28, 2017, 11:19:21 PM
maryc - I'll be interested in hearing what your friend at the NH, had to say about "Ove"?  I've only barely started, but so far, the story seems familiar and very predictable. l hope to finish it tomorrow, and will let you know. :-\  Two things I found out about the book: a movie has already been made, and will be released soon, and a sequel to the book has been written and is a huge success.  It's called My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 29, 2017, 12:03:14 PM
Marilyne,   I will hold my friend's comments about "Ove" until you have finished so as not to spoil anything there for you.     I did see the sequel listed on Amazon when I looked for "Ove".    From what I read in the sample I was reminded me of another book some of us read here a while back called Emily Alone by Steward O'nan.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on January 29, 2017, 02:02:23 PM
If you have Book Bub on your Ipad then today you can buy "The Deep end of the Ocean" for $1.99.  That was fast. It was selling for $29.99 on Amazon last week.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on January 29, 2017, 03:14:38 PM
"The Light Between Oceans" movie was released on DVD January 24th.

As to "A Man Called Ove", the movie was released some months ago in theatres, but not yet on DVD.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: junee on January 29, 2017, 11:39:06 PM
Maryc
I am interested in the books you recommended . Will try at the library. Think the librarygirl calls this Friday, so will have a written notbfor her. Thank you.

Callie.
We always get movies etc. ages after they are shown in the States.  I use Netflix and  ITunes . Nbetflix is free but I can hire or buy on ITunes for a very reasonable price. I notice the movie The light Between Oceans has just come on but $17.99 so will wait as soon it will be for hire...I hope.

Marilyne
I copied those instructions for closed captions and will try this out . Who knows I might be successful and I certainly would like cc when looking at movies.  I oftenhire movies for
$3.99 for 48 hours. Just have to find what I enjoy. Working my way thru Crown and Victoria. At present.


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on January 30, 2017, 07:15:21 PM
I was just looking at the Video of the Mary tyler Moore funeral Sunday. the cemetery if very close to Granddaughters house in Connecticut. So I will go and see it. She must have had it all arraigned and the site is just beautiful. Has a big Angel on it (Cost $2 hundred thousand). and the site takes 12 Grave lots. Just hope that tourist respect the site. I looks like a cemetery that locks its gates in the late afternoon.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 31, 2017, 02:17:47 PM
mary - It's been two days since I last sat down with Ove!  Lots of things going on around here, so I haven't had the time to read or watch any TV.  However, this afternoon I hope to get back to a more normal routine. I'm about halfway through the book, and liking it okay, but not understanding why it is such a mega hit?  I can see what's coming, but maybe not?  There might be an unexpected turn of events?

Junee - I hope you've had a chance to see The light Between Oceans?  As to your closed captions - maybe you have a neighbor or someone who can show you how to get them for the movies that you watch?  I have access to cc on my remote, but they are also usually available at the beginning of most movies where it says "set up" . . . or something similar. 

JeanneP - The grave site for Mary Tyler Moore, sounds lovely.  I hope that there is a way to keep tourists at a safe distance. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 31, 2017, 04:24:13 PM
The remote for our Sony Blu Ray player (which streams Netflix, youtube, etc.) has a button for CC too but they aren't available with everything that plays, I've noticed.    We like to have them also because some of the conversation is either with an accent that is difficult to catch or sound just isn't so good.  It helps to fill in the spaces. :)

We watched a news conference this noontime with the White House Press Secretary and he read his notes so fast that you could barely understand.   Even the CC went by too fast. :yikes:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on February 01, 2017, 12:05:08 PM
Marilyne, I understand, from a friend who has read "Ove"
(we saw the movie together) that the newspaper reporter is emphasized in the book, much moreso than in the movie.
So there may be more dialogue there (in the book). I didn't get to finish the book, as I checked it out from the library, and my time ran out, it had many holds on it. Truthfully, I can't make a comparison between the two, but I feel that the movie was just perfect the way it was presented. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on February 01, 2017, 12:10:35 PM
I have noticed that a lot of "older" movie, and especially ones from UK don't "always" have CC.  Marilyne, you mentioned at one point that you were thinking on getting a new TV.  Well, if you are, don't go into a BestBuy store, because it will knock your socks right off.  The displays of the TV's (3D, OLED, 4K, curved screen, etc.) will make you want to buy one right there!  I stopped in yesterday to ask some questions of their "Geek Squad" personnel, about hooking up my DVD player.  Just walking thru I wanted to shell out the big bucks for a set that would take up my entire living room wall.  Hah, hah.  Wouldn't do that, but oh, my, the beauty of the picture on those things!!!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 01, 2017, 02:06:24 PM
I liked, A Man called Ove, and I can surely see why it's so popular. The old familiar story of the grumpy curmudgeon  with the hidden heart of gold.  His sad back-story explains his cranky mean spirited attitude, but you know right away that circumstances will occur, and he will change, rejoin the human race, and begin to enjoy life again. It's a predictable story, that plays out as expected.

All of the characters in the story are fun to read about, but not at all realistic. (IMO)  Of course this takes place in Sweden, so maybe they would seem more real in that country?  Nonetheless, they are interesting, and all add to the outcome of the story . . . which is easy to predict. That's not a bad thing, so I hope you all get a copy of this novel, and that you enjoy it. :)

Tome - For me, the newspaper reporter was one of the least interesting characters, so I can see that she might be left out, or played down, in the movie?

mary - Now I'm really curious about what your NH friend thought of the book?  It was nothing like Emily Alone, except for one circumstance. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 05, 2017, 11:23:26 AM
I read a wonderful book over this weekend . . . The Age of Miracles, by Karen Thompson Walker.  It is truly a story that grabs you from the beginning, and you can't put it down until you reach the end.  I cannot begin to say how much I liked this story.

At first I thought it was a YA book, because the narrator is a young girl, but I don't think so, and it doesn't matter anyway.   It was recommended in the "O", Magazine, and the Oprah Winfrey, website.  However, I first saw it recommended on my new favorite online book site, "Off the Shelf".

The story might be considered science fiction, because it's about the beginning of the end of the world . . . the end times.  I really think that all of you who read this forum, would like this book.  I recommend it highly!  :thumbup:

I looked it up on Amazon, and notice that there are a number of books with the same title, so if you get it from the library or online, be sure the author is Karen Thompson Walker. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 05, 2017, 12:00:36 PM
Marilyne,    I guess that my friend's opinion of Ove was about as you stated.....a grumpy curmudgeon with a heart of gold with a happy ending to the story.    In the series that I've been reading there is just that sort of person but unfortunately for his family the heart of gold does not show up until his dying moment.   There are glimpses into his childhood  that give you an idea of how he became what he was as a man.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on February 05, 2017, 12:42:26 PM
Marilyne, I read 'The Tresspasser" by Tana French.  It was OK but don't think I would bother reading another from this author.  However, I did like the ending.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 05, 2017, 01:00:27 PM
FlaJean - The Trespasser, is not really my style of book, as I don't care for mystery novels, or "who done it" plots. However, I thought the characters were interesting, and her style of writing was good.  Also, the fact that the story took place in Ireland was different.  (The police departments in the USA, would never get away with treating the female officers the way she was treated!) Anyway, like you, I'm not planning to read any other books by Tana French.  One was okay, but that was enough.

mary - People who like happy endings, will like "Ove", and I'm sure the latest by Bakman, "My Grandmother, etc", is probably along the same lines. 

mary and Flajean - consider the book I just finished - The Age of Miracles, by Karen Thompson Walker.  Whether you'll like it or not, I don't know, but I guarantee that it will hold your interest to the very last page! :thumbup:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 09, 2017, 11:53:30 AM
The Age of Miracles was available as an ebook from our library.    I've started it and get the idea of what it's about.    My copy of the Shayne Parkinson book is on loan for two weeks so I'm trying to finish that in time and read a bit of Miracles along too.   :)     I'm not too much into Sci Fi but will continue to see what will happen.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 09, 2017, 02:29:51 PM
mary - I dislike science fiction stories such as The Hunger Games, but I really hate science fiction action stories that involve wars and space ships and alien beings, such as Star Wars, and Star Trek! :P 

However, I do like the style of SF that deals with past lives, like Somewhere in Time, or "end times/end of the world" scenarios.  I thought The Age of Miracles was well done, with the 'end times' theme . . . without going hysterical or totally hopeless. The characters seemed real and were likable, and the situation verges on plausible in the future? Especially when you think about the condition of our planet now, with climate change, oceans filling with trash, ozone layers, polar ice melt, et al.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 09, 2017, 05:56:31 PM
I suppose I should back up on that statement about SF.    Marilyne, your comments made me think of one that I read just a while back called Time and Again by Jack Finney.   I really did enjoy that one like Somewhere in Time and I'm sure if I were to think longer I would remember others.  I did read the first book of The Outlanders but didn't care to continue with those.     You probably would put me into the category of  people who prefer to "just not think about the scary stuff" that might or might not happen.   Al watches too much news, IMHO and I often need to temper the stuff that is happening and threatens to possibly happen.   He is 90 years already and doesn't  need a daily dose of gloom and doom.  Of course we have had a long  running debate about him being too negative and me being too positive so go figure! ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 10, 2017, 07:46:56 AM
Marilyne, I like lots different SciFi venues but not particularly interested in time travel (never even read or saw The Time Machine). I do have one or two to read sometime, though.

If you haven't read any of Hugh Howey's books, I would suggest The Shell Collector. It is a near future, environmental, romantic novel revolving around the rising tides from climate warming. The woman is a journalist who also collects shells. She is researching and writing an expose about a big oil company CEO who is also a major shell collector. She blames him and others like him for the rising waters and destruction of the coastal areas so vital as bthreeding grounds  and nurseries for shell bearing creatures and fishes.

Many of Howey's works are post-apocalyptic, but they concentrate more on the daily living, problems of community building and coherence, and such. The Silo (Wool, Shift, Dust, each with their sub-series) series is post nuclear, so is Sand, I think. Sand is a stand alone and concentrates on communities of scavengers roaming a desert area: some conflict/rivalry between groups, some inventiveness, a little romance. It is a very interesting book.  Beacon 23 is set on a "light-house" at the edges of an asteroid belt. The setting is SciFi, but most of the book is about a guy who signed on to get away from people and his personal demons (he has PTSD). He has a growing  romantic relationship with a neighboring light keeper who is in a similar situation. Together they begin to heal their psychological wounds, learning to trust and rely on each other. He has also written a non-fiction travel memoir series called Wayfaring for those who like boating. I am going to have to check out some of his more recent writing. I've been remiss in keeping an eye on what he has written since he started his Molly Fyde series (which didn't interest me). Enough of Hugh Howey, whose praises I sing.

A Must Read book: Elizabeth Moon's Remnant Population. It is about an older woman who purposely stays behind when a colony is forced to relocate elsewhere because an intelligent species was found on the planet which the powers didn't want contaminated with advanced tech. This is about how she feels free at last, becomes self-sufficient, and eventually, against colony policy, begins to teach the locals some of the tech. I very highly recommend it.

Not all SciFi are bang, bang, shoot-up ups. Jack McDevitt is one author wrote several good space exploration type series including his Alex Benedict (occupation: antiquities finder/dealer) series and  his Pricilla Hutchins (occupation: pilot who ferries space scientists to research sites). Of course, the older writers, like Arthur C. Clark and Ray Bradbury of often wrote more positive things about the future.

Recently I started on Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas series. Paranormal is also not one genre I usually "haunt". These are good, quirky. Koontz recently wrapped up this series after 8 or 9 (?) books. Carmen de Sousa wrote several novellas about a detective with just a hint of the paranormal that I liked. She has moved on to a paranormal romance series which I have yet to start; I'm not big on the Romance genre either.

I don't think we have a huge SciFi following here. Seniorlearn.org is mightily suffering now, too. We are down to two regulars who read SciFi. Too bad.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 10, 2017, 03:58:40 PM
MarsGal - I read The Shell Collector, and thought it was very good.  My husband read it after I did, and liked it so much that he checked out some other books by Hugh Howey, that he liked even better.  I always intended to read another of his books, but had forgotten all about him until you reminded me.  Remnant Population sounds good.  I might give that one a look. Sand, sounds like another one I might try.  I prefer stand alone books to series. 

As you know, this S&F book discussion, encompasses all genres of literature in one place . . . classic, best seller, SF, non-fiction, historical fiction, books into movies, and everything else!  We used to have a good sized group of members who posted here, but it has dwindled down to only a few.  I wish all of our book loving friends would return, but I'm not holding out much hope!  Many of them have left S&F.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 10, 2017, 04:07:49 PM
mary - I smiled when I read your last message, because it looks like you and Al are just the opposite of us!  My Al is cheerful and positive, and always seems sure that things will turn out okay. He is not a worrier, and doesn't even think about, what if?  He's a good example of a "glass half full" personality. I'm definitely a "glass half empty". :( I'm anxiety prone, and a world class worrier . . .  always thinking of the worst case scenario, whether it's family stuff or world problems.  Like your Al, I was watching way too much in the way of politics on TV, which is so depressing - no matter which side you are on.  I have cut way back, and now only watch local and a half hour of Scott Pelley on CBS.  No more CNN, MSNBC, or Fox!!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 10, 2017, 07:30:56 PM
Marilyne,    ;D   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on February 10, 2017, 08:39:18 PM
I like to watch Lester Holt on NBC and then turn to PBS at 6:00 for the best news without bias, bar none. I never watch CNN, MSNBC, or Fox, either!

SCFSue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on February 11, 2017, 12:43:06 PM
I watch either David Muir or Lester King at 5:30 and Scott Pelly at 6:00.  I especially enjoyed David Muir's broadcasts when he was doing the "Made in America" visits to small manufacturing businesses that were really "made in America".  I read some articles in Washington Post online and enjoy a good indepth article in The New Republic, But if something really big happens I go to CNN or MSNBC.

I finished a couple of mysteries and am now re-reading The Paris Architect about a young self-involved young architect in Paris after Germany invaded France in World War II.  The war changed him and his outlook on life.  I love a book with a satisfactory ending and this one has it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 11, 2017, 04:16:52 PM
FlaJean - The Paris Architect, sounds good.  As I've mentioned before, I like books that take place during WWII, or the Depression. 

One of my on-line book sites featured African American women writers, a couple of months ago.  I read one of the novels, and recommended it in this discussion . . . Another Brooklyn, by Jacqueline Woodson.
I've just started another one, The Mothers, by Brit Bennett. This is her first novel, although she has written for publications like The New Yorker. So far I'm liking it very much. 

On the TV news subject . . . I'm trying to stay away from any cable news shows that are slanted either left or right. I like a, middle of the road approach. We used to watch PBS nightly news, but AJ didn't care for it . . . said it "put him to sleep". LOL!  I think he's so used to the fast moving, quick sound bite style on the network news, that he couldn't deal with an in-depth story. Anyway, I think I can talk him into giving PBS another look.       
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 14, 2017, 04:54:42 PM
FlaJean - Birthday Girl!  I hope you have a wonderful birthday, and a great Valentine's Day! :love:
:hb3:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 14, 2017, 06:30:01 PM
Happy Birthday FlaJean.   Hope you have had a good day.    Our son and DIL are visiting in Fla and said that today was very nice and warm. (that was in W. Palm)  Hope it was same for you.

Marilyne,   I finished The Age of Miracles.   It was an interesting story though I don't like to be frightened over what may happen to our globe, even though the possibilities are surely there for a mishap.  Once I had gotten into the story, I didn't want to stop before I found out the ending.   Thanks for the suggestion.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on February 15, 2017, 11:48:27 AM
Well, gee, per Marilyne's great recommendation, I requested "Age of Miracles" from my library.  So I started reading, and realized I had read this before.  I'll have to check my list to see exactly when.  But, it does have my interest and I'm over half through.  Will, of course, finish it! and thanks again for the reco!
A great book that I read quite some time ago, but is still very pertinent is "One Second After" by Wm. R. Forstchen.  It deals with the after effects of EMP (electromagnetic pulse).  A very enlightening look at what could happen if this was ever used.  An apocalyptic novel that is well worth our time.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 15, 2017, 02:03:26 PM
mary and Tome - glad you both liked The Age of Miracles. (Tome for the second time around!) 8)

I'm not a fan of doomsday stories, but I thought "Miracles" was good.  I liked all of the characters, and I felt that the ending presented a flicker of hope.  There are other such books out there that are much more depressing, such as The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. :(  It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.  Very good, but oh so hopeless.
Tome - now that I'm, kind of, in the mood for such stories, I'll check out One Second After.



Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on February 15, 2017, 07:50:10 PM
P.S. - I actually read "Miracles" in February last year. Coincidence, yeah?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on February 16, 2017, 08:33:55 PM
I had a nice birthday, but the years are flying by.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 16, 2017, 09:32:21 PM
After I had finished The Age of Miracles my book stack was dwindling so last evening I watched To Kill A Mockingbird on Netflix.   That movie never gets old for me!

I did get an ebook from the library through Hoopla that I am enjoying.   It is Chasing The North Star by Robert Morgan.    I've read and enjoyed a few of his books in the past.    His stories are centered around the western end of North Carolina and time wise they are in early times.    This one is as you might guess about a young slave who chooses to make a run for Canada from South Carolina.   I've like Mr. Morgan's stories because we had friends who lived in Hendersonville, Brevard and Boone, NC and enjoyed visiting that part of the state so it is interesting to read about these places in early times.   One of the interesting names of a town mentioned in this story and one that we have seen is called Traveler's Rest.

I stopped in at the little library in our daughter's town today because I had a few minutes before getting my hair cut.   This library is in the old school building that housed K-12 before the centralization of our school district.   They have made good use of the building.  It now houses the Village offices, the library, the historical room/museum, Village board room, scouts and recreation facilities for youth.   Well anyway back to the library.    A friend of my daughter's was just leaving her volunteer stint and we spoke about books and authors.  She suggested an author that is new to me by the name of Nancy Thayer.    I took the first of her books called, The Hot Flash Club.   Her setting for the stories is Nantucket.  I'll let you know how I like it....or not.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on February 17, 2017, 12:01:50 PM
Just started "Age of Miracles"  So far seems to be going slow. Maybe get more interesting  soon.  I have so many books to read that I just stop reading if not good. Seems to be a lot more writers now. Some really bad.  I use to pick books by Authors but seems lot have quit writing.  Now they say with books going on IBooks and no longer $29.95  they are not paying big money to writers.  also some of mine have now gotten old.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 17, 2017, 12:53:21 PM
JeanneP: There are a number of books with the title - The Age of Miracles.  Make sure you have the one we've all been reading, by Karen Thompson Walker.

Tome: I've done that also - started reading a book, and then realized that I've already read it. I've done it twice, with books by Sandra Dallas. I like her novels, so I've just gone ahead and enjoyed them all over again. :)

Mary - Watching To Kill a Mockingbird, is a good way to spend an afternoon.  As you said - it's a movie that can be watched over and over, and you never tire of it. I didn't realize it was on Netflix.  It's been a long time since I checked out the movie listings there, so will have to take another look and see what else has been added. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 17, 2017, 05:01:02 PM
I'd like to see a breakdown on the cost of producing a book in electronic form vs. print, but of course, the cost all depends on volume. Many of these new writers start out in ebook form because the cost of printing a book is more expensive if the run is not a high volume. Publishers are a bit shy of printing books that, in their opinion, won't sell very well. A printed book that doesn't sell is wasted cost. A few of the new authors will go the print on demand route for those who want paper, but the cost is high.

You might be interested to know that Amazon discovered a while back that people were downloading a book but not reading it (this includes the borrows and freebies). They were paying the authors by the number of books downloaded. They changed their royalty policy to pay authors by how many pages were read rather than how many books got downloaded. Many of the authors felt this was unfair. A few authors actually did better. I don't know how B&N and the others who offer ebooks handle their royalty payouts. BTW, this may be part of the reason you may have noticed that ebooks are getting longer.

Some of the writers who started out with ebooks have since gotten publishers' attention with high volume sales of their ebook. Several who started out with an ebook and went on to print include Hugh Howey, John Scalzi, and Andy Weir. Weir's book, The Martian, is especially interesting. The print version came out at about the same time, or shortly after, it was announced that Ridley Scott took a shining to it and bought the rights to make it into a movie. Kudos to Scott recognizing it's worth early on.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 18, 2017, 12:10:41 PM
MarsGal - You wrote an informative post about the differences in the cost of electronic books vs. print books. I had never stopped to think about it before, but the authors, publishers and sellers all stand to make or lose money, depending on how the book is produced.

Although I have a Kindle, I still prefer reading a real book, but I think I'm in the last generation with that preference.   I can see the future, and it doesn't look promising for print!  The younger generations already prefer ebooks. Most college textbooks are now available in electronic form, and in upcoming years, I can see that the huge tomes we had to buy and carry around, will soon be obsolete. The publishing business is changing rapidly and drastically! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 18, 2017, 05:11:48 PM
Marilyne, I still like to have lots of print books when it comes to my Latin, History, and Biographies.

BTW, if anyone is interested in Historical Fiction, particularly 1st Century AD, you might want to check out Regarding Tiberius by Bartholomew Boge. For a first time author, it is very well written and proofread. While reading it I dragged out some maps and did some online traveling to see some of the spots the characters traveled through, and I learned a few things along the way, too. The female lead is a bit strong for some people, but I keep thinking that there were plenty of examples of strong women in history. The story reminds me of a Greek tragedy. I am happy to hear that Mr. Boge is in the process of writing a sequel.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 19, 2017, 12:23:40 PM
MarsGal - thanks for recommending Regarding Tiberius.  First Century AD is a LONG time ago! This afternoon I hope to go to the library, unless the upcoming rainstorm arrives early.  I'll add "Tiberius" to my list of books to consider. 

An excellent nonfiction book about a historical event in America, that I would like to recommend, is The Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson.  I read it many years ago, but was reminded of it again on one of my online book sites.  I liked it very much back then, but I think I will like it even more now.  So much has changed in the world since then.  It was then made into a PBS documentary, which was very good, and unforgettable. Here is a quick review from the book site.

"Epic in scale and beautifully written, Pulitzer Prizeâ€"winning author Isabel Wilkerson chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life. From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America. Told through the lives of three unique individuals, The Warmth of Other Suns is the definitive and vivid account of how these American journeys altered our cities, our country and ourselves."
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 19, 2017, 01:16:41 PM
Marilyne, I forgot to say that, for far, it is only available through Amazon either as an e-book or print on demand. I did put in a recommendation to my library, but my library manager likes to buy books with lots of reviews. Boge has yet to build up a large following. Too bad, because the book is good. I think GoodReads has more reviews than show up on Amazon.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 19, 2017, 03:58:25 PM
Some interesting stuff in the discussion here this week.   The last I heard of Tiberius was in high school Latin classes.      I'm sure it would be a lot more interesting to me now than it was at that time. ::)

Isabel Wilkerson's book does sound interesting also.   We were relatively new in the city of Niagara Falls when part of the movement of people from the south  was strong here due to the many industrial jobs available.  Those were interesting years.

I've just finished Robert Morgan's book Chasing the North Star.    Marsgal,  you spoke of a strong female character in Tiberius.    In this book which is about a runaway slave,   there also is a strong female character who makes the tale quite interesting even though it is almost unbelievable in some cases.    I'm sure that there were incidents in those times that we would think impossible now.  Our little Village is a landmark of the Underground Railroad so that added to my interest in his story.   I have been trying to post a picture of a monument called Freedom Crossing that sits in a park right at the Niagara River.    It was named after the children's book of that title.   The book was written by a local woman (Margaret Goff)  and was read by most 5th graders in the area in years gone by.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on February 19, 2017, 03:59:15 PM
My library will not buy Regarding Tiberius. I just got it for $3.99 on my Kindle.  I remember that series on Tiberius ran on Public TV years ago. On for about 3 seasons. I loved it. Can get it on DVD at Libraries.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 20, 2017, 06:39:59 AM
JeanneP, this isn't the same Tiberius, but I think you will like the story anyway. If you are a serious Roman history fan, you might be a little disturbed by some of the time line. Mithridates VI (Pontus) died in 63BC ending the Third Mithridatic War. The ending of the book is about 33AD. Which, is a seventy year span which got leaped.

Some things I learned when checking some of the sites and people mentioned in the book:

1. Mithridates did in fact have two daughters named Cleopatra. The first on was married to the King of Armenia. I couldn't find any info on the second except that she existed.

2. Pontius Pilate committed suicide several years after being recalled to Rome. I don't remember where I found that info. So little is known of his life.

3. Finally realized where the kingdom of Pontus, and the cities of Pergamon and Antioch were geographically. I had never looked them up before.

I actually don't remember a series on PBS specifically about Tiberius (the Emperor), but there was I Claudius, which was great. Also, I remember seeing a series about the early Emperors.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 20, 2017, 12:44:25 PM
MarsGal - I checked both libraries yesterday, (town and county), for Regarding Tiberius.  Neither one had planned to purchase it, however my town library did say that they would put it up for consideration. 

Interesting how we all have our favorite historical "time periods", when it comes to reading pleasure.  I've never read much Roman history, except what I was required to read for college lit classes.  However, it's never too late to start!  I enjoy learning, now, much more so than I did as a college girl. 

maryc - Chasing the North Star sounds like a good one.  I do like to read books, (fiction or non), that take place before, during and after, the Civil War.  I'm interested in reading the new bestseller, The Underground Railroad.  Long waiting lists at the libraries.  Very interesting that your village is a landmark town for the Underground Railroad.  Was the Freedom Crossing, from the US, into Canada?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on February 20, 2017, 01:07:35 PM
Yes. The PBS show was. "I Claudius" Really good.  I am going to watch them again.

I now have the Tiberius on my Kindle Fire Tablet.. Will take a while to read. Will just use it when on Appointment waiting.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 20, 2017, 03:27:31 PM
Marilyne,  Yes Lewiston is a border town right on the Niagara River.    Here is a website that gives some info about the Underground.  http://historiclewiston.org/freedomcrossingwebcam/   The Freedom Crossing webcam will give you a pretty good picture of the monument.   You can see Canada across the river from those pictures.   Our whole region is rich in this history and the Art Gallery at Niagara University has a good exhibit.   This waterfront park is the one I have mentioned more than once here.    It also houses the SILO restaurant that was build in/on an actual old coal silo that was used to store coal for the steamships that came in and out from the Lewiston Docks a hundred years ago.

I was very moved while reading Chasing the North Star when Jonah mentioned often that he hoped to make it to Canada where he could have his freedom.     It was just about that time when Canada was openly welcoming the refugees into their country while there was such an uproar in Washington over newcomers to our country.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on February 20, 2017, 04:07:13 PM
Canada has always been good for letting refugees and Immigrants in.  So many went from my area in UK after the war ended.  Lots of my school friends went.  Lots to australia and NZ also.  I was planning on Australia in the 50s.
I like Canada . Been up there a few times. Write to friends up there still.  We are all getting older.  Seniors seem to worry less in Canada than here. I like their Health System etc. Just like in the UK. Aust. and NZ.  USA should take a better look at the way they are run.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on February 20, 2017, 04:17:47 PM
Marilyne, I've seen the news and weather reports about California, and have been worrying about you.  Has all this rain/flooding reached your area?  Those horrific sinkholes are scary.

Let me know if you all are OK.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 20, 2017, 06:54:08 PM
mary - The Freedom Crossing Monument is beautiful!  I don't believe I've ever seen a commemorative statue or monument that is as large.  I didn't realize that Lewiston, was right there on the Niagara River, that defines the border with Canada.  I remember when you posted a picture of the Silo, that you had taken after eating there. Interesting looking building conversion!

It will be a long wait for The Underground Railroad, so I'm going to see if my library has Chasing the North Star. I'll probably enjoy both books more, now that I have a frame of reference to Lewiston!

Tome - Yes, the rains are like, 40 days and 40 nights, here in Northern CA!  We need water so desperately, but too bad it has to come at the expense of so much chaos and destruction.  Right now it's pouring and the wind is howling, but I'm grateful that we still have power and that our house is not in the pathway of potential mudslides.  We're all hoping that the many dams around here will survive the onslaught.  They are all spilling at this time, which is a very unusual event!  Lexington, the one that is just outside of town here, is full and spilling. Only a little over a mile from me - on the highway to Santa Cruz. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on February 20, 2017, 08:13:11 PM
I am still amazed. I bought Tiberius from Amazon Yesterday. clicked it to go onto my Amazon Fire tablet. & inch I carry in my purse.  Saw where it also downloaded onto my 10 1/2 inch tablet  Its not Amazon.  Both have  Kindle on.  Its a deal as I can also read on the 10 1/2 in bed.  easier than my IPad to read.  You just pay one time.
Has anyone noticed this.  It surprises me.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 20, 2017, 08:30:52 PM
JeanneP,  It seems to me that if you have the Kindle app on more than one device that the books you buy or loan will show up on both.

Marilyne,   I've also wondered about how you are situated in regard to the stormy weather.  That Onoville Dam crisis was really frightening.    If you do get Robert Morgan's book Chasing the North Star,   I should tell you in advance that our folks in the story didn't come this way in their travels.   It was in their plan but just didn't happen that way.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 21, 2017, 07:02:19 AM
JeanneP, as long as your devices are registered on Amazon, the e-books will download to all of them. There are a very few exceptions where some of the books are not configured for the Paperwhite or the older Kindles. I have the free Kindle app on my laptop as well as having a Paperwhite and a Kindle Fire. The other thing you will notice is that Amazon will coordinate the devices so that it keeps track of the page you are on. That way you don't have to find where you left of on the other device.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on February 21, 2017, 12:42:10 PM
Has anyone seen the new movie Hidden Figures?  (The story of a team of African-American women mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the US space program. From Internet). An acquaintance saw it and said very good.  I'll wait until it comes out on rental but did read an interesting article about those black women and their work.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on February 21, 2017, 02:08:12 PM
MarsGal.  That is so neat. getting the books on both Tablets.  Naturally they do not show up on my IPad. I keep special books on there.  This small Amazon fire is a favorite of mine. Handy when going out. Can read but still get on E-M. Internet etc. Phones to small for me.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on February 21, 2017, 03:39:04 PM
FlaJean, I haven't seen the movie, Hidden Figures.  But I have read the book - it's a most interesting story of persistence and courage.  It's available from Amazon on e-books.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 23, 2017, 03:47:45 PM
FlaJean & maryz - My cousin saw the movie, Hidden Figures, and thought it was really good.  She predicts that it will win Academy Awards for both the film and the actors.  She has also seen all the others that are nominated for awards, and liked La La Land the best . . .  as did my daughter and also son and dil.  I think it's the favorite this year.

maryc - Chasing the North Star was not available at either library, but it has been ordered for me through the country system.  I might get it this weekend.  In the meantime, I have The Warmth of Other Suns, to read and enjoy all over again.   

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 26, 2017, 08:01:47 PM
For some reason I seem to have been on a reading frenzy of late. ::)    As I was finishing The Hot Flash Club (which I won't especially recommend)  I purchased a $.99 book from Amazon called  So Much Owed:  An irish World War 2 Story by Jean Granger.    I've started it an found it to be quite interesting.   When I returned The Hot Flash Club to the library I couldn't leave without picking up at least one more book.   As I was scanning the shelves I noticed one that caught my eye called Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots by Jessica Soffer.   This is a different story by an American  whose father emigrated from Iraq in the late '40s.   The characters in the story are also Iraqi though they have lived in NYC for many years.   One of the recommendations on the back cover is by Stephanie Kallos whose book Sing Them Home I had read a few years ago.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 01, 2017, 06:39:34 PM
As sometimes happens, I received a notice that five of the books I had on my library wait list, all came in at once! I picked them all up, but will probably only be able to finish two or three at the most.  The one that I'm most anxious to read, is Dinner At the Homesick Restaurant, by Anne Tyler.  Her novel, A Spool of Blue Thread, was my favorite book from last year, so I'm interested in reading her other books. 

maryc - How did you like So Much Owed?  It sounds good to me, so I may get that one for my Kindle. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 01, 2017, 06:57:45 PM
Marilyne,    I am only about 8% into So Much Owed as I have been reading a couple books together, but so far I'm really liking the story.      The other one that I started about the same time called  Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots is a hard cover  book from the library and I really highly recommend this one.    It is a fast reader and a different kind of story but one that will steal your heart (I believe!)

Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant sounds like a good one.   I did have A Spool of Blue Thread on my list but just can't remember whether or not I read it.

Today was really exciting for me.    ???   I went to the bank to get some help with a banking app for my phone.   The manager had no trouble at all but when I went to put in my ID and password my phone froze up and wouldn't respond to anything at all.    I came home and phoned Verizon.    After about an hour of trying this and that,   the gentleman helping me decided that I would be getting a new phone to replace this one.   Fine!   I wondered about my phone calls until Friday when the new phone would be here.   He assured me that I could have call forwarding.  That took nearly another hour until I worked through getting that set up.   After that I made myself a cup of tea and sat down to collect my wits about me.    Like computers,  these phones are just great until there is a problem!


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 02, 2017, 01:54:15 PM
mary - Yes, I believe you read A Spool of Blue Thread, right after I did?  One of the lines I quoted from the book, will always stay with me: "A mother is only ever as happy as her unhappiest child".  I wanted to read more novels by Anne Tyler, after "Spool", but got bogged down with so many books and library holds, that I quickly lost track.  Now I'm about half way through Dinner At the Homesick Restaurant, and finding it to be good, but quite dark.  Tyler's books are all family oriented, and this one is too . . . but it just doesn't have that joyful quality that I found in "Spool".
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 04, 2017, 04:21:26 PM
mary - I changed my mind about, Dinner At the Homesick RestaurantI liked it very much!  When I first started it, I was a little disappointed, because I had really liked the mother in, A Spool of Blue Thread, and I guess I expected the mother in this book to have the same personality traits.  This one was much more flawed, but as I got to know her, I became more accepting. 

As I said in my last post, all of Anne Tyler's books seem to be family oriented, and this is no exception.  Tyler has a way of pulling the reader into the family, and making you empathize with each and every member.  I'm wondering if any of her books have been made into movies?  I'll have to check that out. 

I definitely do recommend Dinner At the Homesick Restaurant, to all of our Library Bookshelf readers. :thumbup:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 07, 2017, 06:24:56 PM
Yesterday I downloaded a sample of Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant from Amazon and read it.   It seems like one that I would like so I'll wait for either a Kindle offer or the library to get it....whichever comes first.   The Kindle price was $11.99 so it will be worth the wait.   I'm still reading and enjoying So Much Owed.  This story is set in Ireland between the first and second WWs and the political views are interesting among the Irish.   

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 09, 2017, 03:19:38 PM
I looked Anne Tyler up on IMDB, and sure enough, four of her books have been made into movies!  The best known is The Accidental Tourist, which won a couple of Academy Awards.  I saw it many years ago and liked it, and I think it's playing on my free movies?  If so, I'd like to see it again. 

Another one that was made into a movie is Breathing Lessons, starring James Garner and Joanne Woodward.  I haven't read the book, but I plan to get it asap.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on March 10, 2017, 10:55:20 AM
I love reading books on my iPad, but all the good books are on hold for weeks and weeks thru our library system thru the Overdrive.  I don't like audio books at all.  The last few years in my old age I've become more germ conscious and many of the library books are dirty with coffee and food stains and it just turns me off.  Silly, I know, but can't help it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 10, 2017, 12:34:02 PM
When I was on library duty yesterday, one of our patrons came in asking for the book that complements the PBS series, Victoria. I was surprised that we had a copy so soon, but we did - just one. She wasn't too happy about being number 20 on the list. We don't have the DVD for this first season yet, but I am sure some of the libraries in the system will order it and more of the book.

I am not an audio book fan either, Jean. Although there are a very few I like. I have one I downloaded from Audible years ago which is Edgar Allan Poe read by Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone. I heard a clip of The End of an Affair (or something close) read by Colin Firth; he is excellent.

My latest Roman history addition, sad to say, is an e-book: The Death of Caesar by Barry Strauss. Two reasons I bought an e-book; the price was so much better than I could find for a print book in very good condition and I am running out of room on my shelves for any more print books.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 10, 2017, 12:36:48 PM
FlaJean - I agree with you about the dirty library books! Almost all of the soft cover books are soiled, torn, ruffled pages, and spotted with food and water marks.  I can't deal with that, and always return them without reading. Even to handle them is a turn-off. :P

Hard cover books are all that I will check out now, as they are always clean and intact.  Also, the books in large print are hard cover, and they're clean and easy to read.  A Spool of Blue Thread, the book I liked so much by Anne Tyler, was available at my library in hard cover/large print.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Sandy on March 10, 2017, 01:43:17 PM
Because of my limited vision, I use audio books every night.    I go to sleep with them.    (I can time them to shut of after 15, 30, 45, or 60 minutes)... So I don't go flying through and audio book in one night. 

Listening to Audio books is not the same as reading a book.   

I had to get used to the change and learn how to enjoy audio books.   

I find when I read a book,  my eyes and brain are concentrating on the written word.   And my hands are holding the book,  so I am fully concentrating on the act of "reading".   

While "listening" takes a different set of combined learned actions, in order for me to listen effectively. 

My brain had to be retrained to comprehend verbal words,
versus visual words.         (Big Difference)

When I  started the audio books,  I had to teach myself to listen  better....  In order to pick up all the information that someone else is speaking.   (And to ignore their voices,  if I am not comfortable with them) ..

Realizing this,  I know that when I talk to someone on the phone,   I pay much more attention when I hold the phone to my ear rather then use my speaker phone.   

When other things can interfere with my communication...

Funny how much we depend on all of our senses  and how changing the way we use them  sometimes makes us uncomfortable  ....  (like is the message really getting through?)

I have learned to love the audio books now and dread the day when I can't get them (if that day should come)  because I do so depend on them in my daily life.

I just feel that today we can not depend on things to stay the same,  (Will I always be able to get my audio books through Maine State Outreach Services,  as I do now??)   

I certainly hope so. 
Sandy                                                                                 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 10, 2017, 06:11:58 PM
Sandy - very interesting observations and advice, on listening to audio books.  Also, I've always wondered why I can't seem to concentrate when I'm listening or talking on a speaker phone - but have no problems with a standard phone. Now I know! :thumbup:

What type of device do you use to listen to audio books?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Sandy on March 11, 2017, 09:35:17 AM
The Maine State Library gave me this listening device,   and the disc come to me via mail and are returned  (free of charge) ... 

Here is the listening device and the pack which holds the disc for my listening pleasure.

I have 20 allowed to be out at one time.   (Some are here, some are coming and some are being returned)  So
I always have some books on disc to listen to at night. 

(http://www.seniorsandfriends.org/gallery/89-110317094423.jpeg)

It is very simple for me to keep track of what I have had and what is available to me.     I use their website to pick out the books that I want to receive,  or the type of books that they will send me if none of the books that I have chosen,  are in stock... (by category ==  biography mystery  etc etc etc)   So there is always something coming or going back  for me to choose from.

Click below to see a larger version of this picture:
http://www.seniorsandfriends.org/gallery/89-110317092720.jpeg
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 11, 2017, 04:46:46 PM
It is interesting to see the actual device you are using Sandy.

When I was still working, my place of employment did the print catalogs for the Braille and Audio (Talking Books) for the Library of Congress. It sounds like your library is part of their network of cooperating libraries.
https://www.loc.gov/nls/ Good for them and good for you.  Here in PA, the Free Library of Philadelphia serves our area and there is another in Pittsburgh that I covers that area.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 11, 2017, 05:36:47 PM
Hi Sandy,   You have made some interesting observations on the talking books.     I had never really thought about it in that way before.
   Last week I met a new friend at the Nursing Home.    She relies on the NY State program for the talking books and enjoys them a whole lot. 
   Our library system is featuring a new audio book product call Playaway.    It might not be so good for visually impaired but for a take along item they are quite handy.    I've added a link below for a youtube that describes the Playway.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI8WYzPhjP8
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on March 13, 2017, 04:17:32 AM
Don't ask me who's influenced me.
A lion is made up of the lambs he's digested, and I've been reading all my life.
-Giorgos Seferis, writer, diplomat, Nobel laureate (13 Mar 1900-1971)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 13, 2017, 02:30:56 PM
A very busy weekend!  No time for reading or TV watching, so I'll be getting back to my usual routine this week . . . a couple of doctor appointments, and plenty of time to read and catch up with lots of recorded TV programs. 

I have a couple of books checked out from the library.  One that I read a few years ago, called The Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson.  It's about America's great migration of African American's, away from the southern states, and into Chicago, Detroit, NYC and other large cities of the Midwest and California. This migration occurred from the 1920's through the 1950's.  It's a fascinating true account of American history, telling the stories of different families, and where they moved, and what happened to them over the years.  I highly recommend it! :thumbup:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 14, 2017, 01:59:39 PM
Bubble,   Interesting quote.....something to think about. :)

Marilyne,   I found that I can borrow The Warmth of other Suns through Hoopla.    It is telling me that I have checked it out but it hasn't appeared on my Kindle yet.   A little hitch!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 15, 2017, 01:14:08 PM
mary - As I mentioned, this is my second time around reading, The Warmth of Other Suns.  I'm enjoying it again, and feel that this account of The Great Migration, does a good job of explaining this significant/important event in American history.

Have you read Dinner At the Homesick Restaurant yet?  I'm curious as to what you and all others thought of the book?  I especially like family stories, and Anne Tyler is the best at making you care about each and every member of her diverse, and sometimes complicated, families.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 15, 2017, 05:44:19 PM
Marilyne,   No I haven't gotten a copy of Dinner at the Homesick.....just yet.    I have a hold on it at the library and meanwhile I'm reading Isabelle Wilkerson's book.   As far as I have already read in her book,   we saw the same thing played out here in Niagara Falls in the '40s when there was a large movement of  people here for jobs.   The housing was definitely segregated and continued to be.       
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 16, 2017, 03:50:57 PM
Mary - I haven't read any more of The Warmth of Other Suns, (hereafter referred to as TWOS!), since I last wrote.  I'm having some problems with my eyes, so it's been uncomfortable to read.  I'll see the eye doctor again today, so hope it can be resolved.  I have a stack of books to read, and would like to get to them asap.   The television and the computer don't seem to bother my eyes as much, which is good.  I saw a good movie on Tuesday night, that I will mention in the TV/movie discussion.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 16, 2017, 07:02:04 PM
Marilyne,   I'm a bit embarrassed to say that what I thought was the book TWOS is really something called a Quicklet.     I kept reading on and on and wondered when the story was going to get under way.   Finally I realized that what I have is just a book of notes about the book!   Oh well I'll have to keep my eyes open for the book either online or at the library.  I did wonder at that name but it really didn't describe what it was.   Well I do have another book in the Shayne Parkinson series about New Zealand that is waiting for me so I guess I'll go on and read that one while I wait for those that I can't get just yet.

Sorry to hear of your eye trouble and hope it can be corrected soon.    I do have some eye trouble from time to time but have found that when it starts it helps to use a lubricating eye drop pretty steady for a few days.   It is hard to tell if it is seasonal or ??    I've seen our eye Dr. off and on over the years but he doesn't seem to do much more than recommend the drops....not medicinal,  so I'm doing my own thing now and it seems to work.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Sandy on March 18, 2017, 10:15:43 AM
Lately I have been hooked on Stuart Woods novels:      http://www.stuartwoods.com/

I follow the recommendations of people in this forum
and I suspect that is how I got hooked on  Stuart Woods novels.       I really like his "Stone Barrington's" series and others.   These books on disc are really easy for me to listen to.    When I get done reading them all that are offered through my Maine State Library books on disc.
(About 60 right now)  I will probably just start re reading them all over again,  this time in order of publication. 

Fun!

Sandy

 


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 19, 2017, 12:13:04 PM
Sandy - I've never read anything by Stuart Woods, but my husband has read some of the Stone Barrington books.  I may take a look at those, especially Swimming to Catalina.  I love that title!

maryc - That's the first time I've ever heard the word Quicklet!  All sorts of new words appearing in recent years. ::)  I guess a quicklet, is a review or summery that would help you decide if you want to read the book or not? Next time I'm at B&N, I'll take a look.   

I'd like to recommend a book site to all of you who love to read or listen to books. Many of you have probably already joined, but if not, it's called Off The Shelf.
http://offtheshelf.com/ 

Not only does it recommend books of all genre's - fiction and non, classics, memoirs & biographies, but it also reviews many of the latest/newest books.  If I'm looking for something to read, I go there, and come away with lots of different ideas that I don't see on other book sites.

Sandy - They also have a separate category on audiobooks.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 19, 2017, 12:25:48 PM
Interesting link Marilyne....."off the shelf".     I notice that the writer gave one of your "favs"   Anne Tyler a nice plug.   I do want to remember to keep looking for Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant.   Maybe I'll ask at the library about whether or not it might have been ordered.   :)

Some of our regular readers have been among the missing for a while here.    Are you all busy reading something good or ????
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on March 19, 2017, 02:14:20 PM
Sandy,  I finally printed out a list of the Stone Barrington books  and began checking them off as I read them.   Except for one or two of the oldest that don't seem to be available any more,  I think I'm caught up!

Marilyne,  the "off the shelf" link sounds interesting.   I'll check it out later because I'm on my way to help celebrate a friend's 97th birthday.
She and her husband of 20 years just recently moved from their home to an apartment in a Senior Living Village.  She has published 2 books of her poetry.  Some of her writing is inspirational but she has a delightful sense of humor and other verses are wry observations of Life In General.
She's giving the program at our next P.E.O. meeting.   Amazing lady!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 19, 2017, 02:46:01 PM
Marilyne, I get Off the Shelf too. I think it is a Simon and Schuster newsletter. I get several of their emails. I get a few others including Publisher's Weekly newsletters; they include one for Librarians and one for International publications among others.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 20, 2017, 04:55:46 PM
I was able to  get The Warmth of Other Suns today at the library.    Marilyne,  It is a heavy book!!!   I do wish this was a Kindle edition! ::)     This one will be a book for holding on my lap to read....not one that I can hold for reading in bed.   But at any rate,   it starts off good.

The librarian ordered the Anne Tyler book for me.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 21, 2017, 06:52:34 AM
Has anyone heard of Wattpad? It is an application you can download to your cell phone for reading books. Curious to know what people think of it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on March 21, 2017, 08:49:50 AM
Marsgal (Frybabe?) - I just answered this in SL - anyhow, I put the Kindle app on my phone and can read all my e-books with it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 21, 2017, 11:31:52 AM
I answered over on SL, Mary. It seems it is an app geared to new writers; it includes instructions on how to post your stories. Although the app store says it can be run on Windows 10 PC, mine is not configured to use the app. Hachette Publishing is partnering with Wattpad to produce 50 audiobooks.

Oh, look. Wikipedia has an entry for it. Interesting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wattpad 

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 22, 2017, 12:40:40 AM
maryc - I'm having the same problem with my copy of TWOS, as you're having.  It weighs a ton, and the print is small and difficult to read, for these old worn out eyes.  I've been propping the book up on a firm pillow, on my lap, but it's still hard to handle.  I wonder if I had a large print version, when I read it before, because I don't remember any problems??  I think that TWOS is a book that will be better enjoyed on my Kindle, so I'm going to look into ordering it, instead of struggling with this heavy library copy. 

Yesterday, March 20, was our son's birthday (56). Tonight we took them out to a local restaurant for dinner.    We usually have a bigger family group . . . at least one of the grandchildren, our youngest daughter, and sometimes one of dil's sisters.  This time it was just the four of us, which was nice for a change.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 22, 2017, 09:18:30 PM
Marilyne,   YES  that book is heavy.   Even the librarian commented on the weight of it when she checked it out. ;D    I definitely am doing the reading of this one as I sit in my rocker.   Trouble with that is that the sun shines in over my shoulder and I get awfully sleepy and tend to nap just a little much.    I'll never get through 600 pages at this rate.  I mentioned to Al that it would be nice in a loose leaf notebook form where you could take out portions at a time.   :)   The book is good for at least one or two renewals so I guess I'll make it.    It is disturbing in many parts and reminds me that in many of the southern states the laws were sort of made up as they went along regarding these folks.   At the same time I've been thinking about the inequities in the housing and even work in the northern states where so many migrated. 

I did pick up Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant today and that is light and easy reading in a paperback.   I thought when you first mentioned it that it was a new book but see that it has a copyright date of 1982.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 24, 2017, 12:21:59 PM
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant is my go-to book for night time reading because it is a light paperback.      Last night I ran across one of those "keepers" that I want to save for future reading.   It was from Ezra in regard to his restaurant but an interesting thought.   "Life is a continual shoring up, against one thing and another just eroding and crumbling away."   Haven't we all heard people use the phrase,  "after a certain age, life is just patch, patch, patch."   :)    The mother in this story is a rather depressing person.    She so reminds me of one  person I have known though my friend had so much more to be thankful for than Pearl but she just couldn't seem to be happy with her life and did kind of take it out on her family.   It makes me think that we accept the outcome of our decisions about our life in so many different ways.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on March 24, 2017, 05:14:58 PM
I have a book I am reading on my IPad right now.  It was one of the 1.99 ones on Book Bub last week.  One of the best I have read this year.  Just can't stop reading.
its Called."The Memory Keepers Daughter" by Kim Edwards. (never heard of her before.  I have almost come to the end of it. Wish it would go on.  If you can fine it . Read it. Hard to put down.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 24, 2017, 06:18:11 PM
Jeanne - I read The Memory Keepers Daughter, and remember that I liked it a lot.  That was a long time ago, and now I can't remember what it was about?  Maybe I'll check it out again.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 24, 2017, 06:52:13 PM
maryc - That's a good quote from Homesick Restaurant.  I'm going to save it too.  I seem to think along the same lines as Anne Tyler, because I find so many quotable passages in all of her books.  I'm sure it's not just me, but women in general, who relate so well to what she has to say.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 24, 2017, 06:53:01 PM
The Memory Keeper's Daughter sounded familiar to me and when I looked at a review I remember reading it.   I believe that Debby recommended it to me a few years back.   I see that it is also a movie.   I wouldn't mind seeing that if I could find it available on some of my subscriptions. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on March 24, 2017, 08:10:58 PM
Yes, "Memory Keepers Daughter" has been around awhile. I read it with my f2f book club several years ago.  Very good book.  I was not as impressed with the TV movie, although it wasn't a "bad" adaptation. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on March 24, 2017, 09:15:06 PM
Mary. Now my library had it in and so I ordered it.  Don't think the Movie will do it justice though.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on March 25, 2017, 11:38:22 AM
Reminder:  There is a mini challenge going on!

http://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?topic=321.msg76940#msg76940 (http://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?topic=321.msg76940#msg76940)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 28, 2017, 06:52:07 PM
Finished Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant last evening.   It WAS such a good read and I hated for it to end but it did!   :(    I ran across another passage that I thought was worth saving.  This was something that Cody's father had said to him when he was young about the passing of time.    I need to keep Anne Tyler in mind for good reads.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 29, 2017, 11:21:18 AM
mary - A friend told me that there are a couple of web sites on the net, that deal with memorable quotations from authors, and that Anne Tyler, is one of the most quoted.  I'll have to look for them, and see what others have to say about her?

I have two of her books on order from the library, (Large print), . . . Breathing Lessons, and The Accidental Tourist.  Both are two of her oldest, and I don't remember reading either one?  "Accidental" was made into a movie, and I did see it . . . maybe in the late 1970's, but don't remember much about it?

I was going to give my youngest daughter copies of "Homesick" and "A Spool of Blue Thread" for her birthday, but I've decided against it.  She's never been married or had children, so I don't know if she would like them or not?  I think Tyler's books are best appreciated and enjoyed by women who have raised families, been in good or bad marriages, et al.  What do you think? 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on March 29, 2017, 02:02:53 PM
I'm going to recommend a book, which may not be everyone's cuppa tea, but I read it and so totally enjoyed it.  I've spread the word to my f2f book group friends.
The book is "News of the World" by Paulette Jiles   If you happen to be on GoodReads, look at the reviews there.
If you plan to get it from your library, plan on waiting awhile!  I'll just say, the best thing I've read in awhile, and on my list of "keepers".  I may re-read soon.  The characters are still with me, and it has been awhile since I finished it. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on March 29, 2017, 03:05:45 PM
Tomereader,  thanks for the suggestion.   I've just put "News of the World" on my library e-book "wish list".  Didn't look to see how many are ahead of me for the 5 copies - but I have enough in my Loans and Holds to keep me busy for a while.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on March 29, 2017, 03:10:33 PM
Callie, you will find its "structure" a bit different...she uses no quotation marks,  but it's easy once you realize it.  I had put it on my reserve list so I could lend it to a friend, but there were so many ahead of us, that she ordered it from Amazon, and started it on Monday.  Is now well over half through and is raving about how much she loves it!  I hope any here who read it will feel the same.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on March 29, 2017, 03:16:55 PM
At last check, there were 55 holds on News of the World!
And that's down from about 70 something when I first looked it up.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 29, 2017, 04:13:15 PM
Marilyne,   I think whether or not an unmarried woman w/o children would appreciate this story would depend on the person.     My daughter is single at 65 never having had children but we read the same things sometimes and talk about the characters and how we see our own family and friends in some of them.   I agree that you couldn't share those feelings that A.T. expresses about ones children unless you had given them birth and seen them grow and mature with good and not so good traits and still love each one because they are yours.   Interestingly Debby is the eldest and she seems to be closest to the youngest of our crew and he is the one who has had the most difficulty getting on with his life.    I always hark back to Erma Bombeck's famous writing,  Dear First Born, etc. etc.  That is a favorite of mine and have a copy for each child with our important papers. :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on March 29, 2017, 07:08:38 PM
today in the paper is a article about a man who just took his library book back.had it since 1982. He liked it so much that he kept reading it. 25 times.  He got it restored and had the author sign it.  He gave the library. a $200 donation also.  Book is called "Bid  Time Return" by a Richard matheson.  a 1975 novel.
I just have to try and find this book.     Dees sound like a good story.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on March 29, 2017, 07:13:21 PM
I did find that our library does have a DVD on that book but they don't hve the book itself.  Most probably put in in the Book sales few years back.  Will have them see if they can find it at one of the other libraries.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 29, 2017, 08:00:16 PM
JeanneP - I'm wondering why the man didn't just buy a copy of the book, instead of keeping it for 35 years! LOL ;D  I've never heard of "Bid Time Return", either, but I'll bet there will be hundreds of requests for it at libraries across the country.  People will be curious, after reading the newspaper story.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 29, 2017, 08:59:26 PM
I looked up Richard Matheson. He was the guy who wrote I Am Legend, The Shrinking Man (movie aka: The Incredible Shrinking Man), and What Dreams May Come among lots of others. Somewhere in Time is the movie version of Bid Time Return. Here is the Wikipedia entry listing all his books, short stories, and movie and TV scripts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Matheson

To bad I'm not into time travel novels. Our library system has only one copy and that has only one hold on it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on March 29, 2017, 09:45:40 PM
Oh, my goodness.  "Somewhere In Time" is one of my all-time favorite movies.  I couldn't begin to tell you how many times I've watched it.  I have a copy of it somewhere around here, but can't play anything right now as my DVD player needs replacing.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 29, 2017, 10:30:45 PM
Now I know why the man kept the book for 35 years!
Somewhere In Time, is a beautiful story, and I'm sure the book Bid Time Return is just as good.  I'd like to read the book, and also would like to watch the movie again.

MarsGal - Thanks for doing the research and letting us know.  It was a surprise to us all!  I'm also impressed with all of the other books by Richard Matheson.  I know I read What Dreams May Come, but I can't place it?  I'll look it up when I finish here.  The Incredible Shrinking Man, is a highly entertaining movie!  I watch it every time it's on TCM, and always enjoy it.  It's my brother's favorite movie! :o 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Sandy on March 30, 2017, 09:54:00 AM
Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 â€" June 23, 2013) was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres.

He is best known as the author of "I Am Legend", a 1954 horror novel that has been adapted for the screen four times, as well as the movie "Somewhere In Time" for which Matheson wrote the screenplay, based on his novel Bid Time Return.

Matheson also wrote 16 television episodes of The Twilight Zone for Rod Serling, including "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" and "Steel".

I   also have seen a lot of his works that were made movies and appeared on the Twilight Zone.     
What a great writer!!!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 30, 2017, 11:08:15 AM
Somewhere in Time must have huge popularity ratings.    I love that movie and have heard others say the same.   :)    I didn't read that  book but as I've mentioned before on this forum I did read one just a couple years ago that I can't forget.    Time and Again by Jack Finney.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 30, 2017, 11:23:56 AM
I looked up Matheson's book, What Dreams May Come, and see that it was made into a movie starring Robin Williams.  I don't remember seeing the movie or reading the book, but I'm now interested in both of them.  This comment  from Matheson, himself, is certainly intriguing.

"I think What Dreams May Come is the most important (read effective) book I've written. It has caused a number of readers to lose their fear of death â€" the finest tribute any writer could receive."
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on March 30, 2017, 06:24:14 PM
I see that the movie is Called. Somewhere in time. My library have it so ordered. The don't have the book" Bid time return". I had never heard of that writer before. Has a lot of books out.  I am watching "Light between Oceans " at the moment.
The storms are so bad here today. Can't even get outdoors.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 31, 2017, 06:22:39 PM
Tomorrow is daughter Sandy's birthday, so I did a little shopping this morning!  I wanted to get her a couple of books, so that gave me an excuse to spend lots of time, (and lots of money), at Barnes & Noble.

mary - I had decided that one of the books for her would be Dinner At the Homesick Restaurant, but they didn't have any Anne Tyler books at B&N except A Spool of Blue Thread, and another one that I didn't recognize. I should have gotten myself organized sooner, and ordered the books from Amazon, but too late now.

So I ended up buying Plainsong, by Kent Haruf, and Big Little Lies, by Liane Moriarty.  I don't know anything about "Lies", except that it's been made into an HBO series, that I hear is very good. My dil liked the TV show, and I can always rely on her opinion. 

I got a bit carried away, and also bought some books for myself, and then to pass along later to daughter or dil. One is a novel that takes place during WWII, called Lilac Girls, by Martha Hall Kelly, and the other is a Debbie Macomber book from the bargain shelf, called Last One Home.  I also bought a magazine that looks interesting - Family Tree - the Genealogy Websites Guide.  I looked through it when I got home, and looks like good research information, and dozens of fascinating websites. 

So I have my weekend cut out for me!  Tomorrow night Sandy is going out with her bf for a birthday dinner, so she'll come over here on Sunday.  In the meantime, I have lots of reading material to choose from. :)         
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 01, 2017, 12:45:29 PM
Well Marilyne!!   You sure did have a good time at B&N! ::)    What a way to spend an hour or so?  Debby and I have said when we went there to shop for a specific gift that we should just make a point of going there just for entertainment.   If we found a good buy or something that we couldn't resist ok but it would be fun to just browse with nothing special in mind.    Same with Hobby Lobby.   We usually go there for one or two things in mind and don't have time to look through the store.  I passed my library copy of Dinner at the Homesick Rest. to my neighbor.    She normally reads mysteries but liked the sound of the family characters and situations.

I hate to say it but I gave up on the Warmth of Other Suns.   Too long and too small print.    I have a library book on my Kindle that I'm enjoying.   It is Jodi Picoult's " Leaving Time."   The story interests me especially because  two of the characters are researchers into elephant behavior and she tells quite a bit about that.   I've always been curious.   

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 04, 2017, 11:49:10 PM
mary - I followed your lead, and returned The Warmth of Other Suns to the library.  I really wanted to read it again, but like you, I couldn't handle the size and weight of the book, plus the small print.  Maybe I'll get it on my Kindle, at some time in the future.  In the meantime, I still recommend it to anyone out there who hasn't read it.  A worthwhile historical account of America's great migration of African Americans, from the South, to the North and Midwest.

Your Jodi Picoult book, dealing with elephant research, sounds interesting.  Elephants, reminds me that my daughter recently finished the book Water For Elephants, and she was raving about it, when she was here on Sunday.  She thinks it's the best book she's read in years.  So now I'm going to have to check that one out and read it again.

JeanneP  - How did you like the movie The Light Between Oceans?  I see that you mentioned it back a few days ago, but didn't say what you thought about it?  I wonder if Junee ever had a chance to see it?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: junee on April 05, 2017, 04:25:37 AM
Marilyne
Yes, after reading the book , I eventually got the movie downloaded.  Now that story started off well but there was so much grief that I then went looking for something
Light to read.
Well , this is what happened.  I saw Dr Zhivago movie on Apple and wanted to see that again as it is many years since I saw that movie and once again found myself  deep in the tradgety... glad I found it though, as had forgotten much of it.

I don't read as fast as I used to, but like to have a book nearby.

Thanks for remembering that I was asking about  The Light between Oceans.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 05, 2017, 12:19:06 PM
Junee - Good to hear from you!  Doctor Zhivago, is a movie that can be watched and enjoyed over and over again.  There is so much to learn and to see, that you can't get it all in just one viewing.  There are a couple of scenes that I look forward to, every time I watch it.  One is when Yuri and Lara, arrive at the family estate in the Urals, and walk through that incredible frozen mansion. I read that it's called the "Ice Palace Scene".  I always marvel at it, and wonder how they ever filmed it? 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 05, 2017, 01:09:25 PM
I watched "Light between Oceans" on DVD. It was O.K but i think I enjoyed reading the book more. Your imagination sort of takes over in books and in the film it didn't.  Scenery did but not the actors.  I get that often when getting both. Once in awhile I will like the movie better.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 07, 2017, 12:10:12 PM
Jeanne - Looks like you weren't impressed with The Light Between Oceans.  I hope to see it some afternoon this weekend.  I don't think it's the kind of movie that AJ would like, so I'll watch it when he's busy with something else.  Actually, I think maybe he would like it!  He seems to be enjoying lots of heavy drama in recent months. I rented the Oscar winner, Manchester By the Sea, and watched it alone one evening when he was out.  Because I had the movie for 48 hours (Comcast) he watched it later, and liked it a lot!  That movie is about as heavy as drama ever gets!

Speaking of "books into movies", yesterday I watched Water For Elephants.  My daughter read the book this week, and was so crazy about it, that I decided I wanted to read it again.  In the meantime, I found it on my free movies, so saw it yesterday afternoon.  It's a unique story, and one that most people would enjoy, I think.  Now I must get the book, as I remember that the book was much better than the movie.  Both good!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 10, 2017, 04:38:51 PM
A new week, and some new books are waiting to be read. :)  I checked out two from the library, but haven't decided which one to read first.  I think it will be, What Dreams May Come, by Richard Matheson. (Author of "Somewhere in Time".)  The other one is, News of the World, by Paulette Giles.  It comes highly recommended on one of my book club sites. I also have the two here at home that I bought last week at B&N - The Lilac Girls, and Last One Home. Both look good, but I'll read the library books first. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on April 10, 2017, 05:24:59 PM
Marilyne, read "News of the World"... Ithink you'll love it.
Believe your hubby will too!
Joanne
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 12, 2017, 02:16:28 PM
Tome - You are exactly right!  I'm reading News Of The World, and I'm loving it. :thumbup:  Hubby will read it as soon as I finish. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on April 12, 2017, 06:02:28 PM
Marilyne, yes indeed.  I absolutely loved it.  It's been a few weeks since I finished, but the characters are still with me, and I consider doing a re-read! (but have f2f book club things to read first)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 13, 2017, 07:16:34 PM
I finished, News of the World, and can truly say that it's the best book I've read in a long time. I didn't want it to end, but when it did, I was overcome with emotion . . . mixed feelings of joy and sadness. Such a great story. Such remarkable characters. Nothing I say can do it justice, so I'll simply recommend News of the World, to those who read this discussion, and hope that you'll all like it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on April 13, 2017, 07:54:15 PM
Thank you, Marilyne, for your "endorsement" of "News of the World". You felt the same way I did. (I still sometimes think we're sisters, separated at birth!)

Joanne
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on April 13, 2017, 08:13:47 PM
For any of you who may have read the story of Henrietta Lacks, you'll be interested in hearing that Oprah Winfrey is making an HBO movie about her.  I don't know when it's due to be shown.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on April 13, 2017, 08:20:33 PM
Maryz, my book club read the story of Henrietta Lacks--I think we did it at least 5 years ago, the first year it was published.  It was frightening in what was done to this poor and poorly educated woman.  I was shocked and would expect the movie to shock many viewers. 

SCFSue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on April 13, 2017, 09:32:45 PM
This was the review I wrote for "Girl on the Train".  Found it safely tucked away in My Documents.

BOOK REVIEW â€" 9-3-15
               
At or near the top of the NYT Best Seller List for several weeks, “The Girl On The Train” by Paula Hawkins seemed to be a shoo-in for my next favorite thriller.  One of the cover blurbs did give me pause when it made a vague comparison to “Gone Girl”.  But what could go wrong when a young woman travelling on a commuter train every day spots a couple on their deck and in their back garden.  She gives them names and fantasizes about their lives,   while her life couldn’t be less perfect.  Nor the lives of those, once or soon to be, close to her.
The narration switches between our commuter Rachel; the female half of the “perfect” couple, Megan, and the woman who has effectively usurped Rachel’s life and happiness, Anna.  No wonder then that Rachel is suffering from depression and alcoholism with accompanying blackouts.
While I waded through the first 51 pages, knowing something had to “happen”, the author is intent on weaving back-stories into the narration, exposing the characters, warts and all, until the reader’s “who really cares about these people” sets in and it becomes do or die…finish the book and find out who done it, or slam the covers closed and let them stew in their own stagnated half-lives.  I finished the book.
jm
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 14, 2017, 11:47:00 AM
After a long, long wait I finally got A Man Called Ove.  I just started The Whistler so will finish it first.  It seems feast or famine with getting these E-loans thru Overdrive and local library.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 14, 2017, 02:02:13 PM
Tome - Your Girl On the Train review is very good.  Almost makes me wish I had finished it!  I got about a third of the way into the book, closed it, and never opened it again.  One of those stories, where I didn't like, or care what happened, to any of the characters.  There was something distasteful about the story (to me) and I really didn't care to finish it and find out what happened.  I felt exactly the same way about Gone Girl, but I did finish that one. Not only did I not like any of the characters, but I found the story to be ridiculous, and beyond belief. Some of the story lines were flat out preposterous!

Neither one is the style of book that I prefer, but I know I'm in the minority.  As you know, both books were extremely popular, and turned the authors into millionaires. 

FlaJean - Hope you enjoy your E-books, after such a long wait.  When you're finished, you might be interested in reading News Of the World, by Paulette Jiles.   Both Tomereader and I give it the highest of recommendations! :thumbup:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 14, 2017, 07:29:56 PM
Now who wrote the story on Henrietta Lacks?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on April 14, 2017, 09:30:47 PM
Jeanne, here's the amazon web site for the book.  The author is Rebecca Skloot.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00338QENI/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 15, 2017, 12:51:10 PM
maryz - I'm looking forward to the Henrietta Lacks story, to be shown on HBO.  I saw Oprah's short promo about the movie, and it looks like it will be very good.  I haven't looked on my list of upcoming HBO shows, so I don't know yet when it will be playing.  When I see the date, I'll post it here so that anyone who is interested can watch it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 15, 2017, 03:36:23 PM
MaryZ.  I will check and see if that book comes into my library.  I am not buy anymore book for my IPad. Tablets. as I have so many unread on all ready.

I don't get HBO so will not be able to watch on TV.  I like most of what Oprah does.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on April 15, 2017, 04:52:28 PM
Jeanne, the book was discussed here a few years ago.  I don't know how to get to that discussion - maybe somebody else can do that.  But this is a link to an interview with the author on BookTV.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?292685-7/immortal-life-henrietta-lacks
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 16, 2017, 01:28:57 PM
Mary.  I think I read something about what the book was about  few years ago.

Something about the Medical illegally using for research from a Black lady years ago.

Don't think I will be reading the book.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 17, 2017, 03:20:41 PM
Oprah's movie about the Henrietta Lacks story had a two page write up in the Profile section of our Sunday paper.  I can't say now when the movie is coming out but probably sometime soon based on the publicity given yesterday. 

I still haven't gotten a copy of The Man Called Ove and the library doesn't seem to have News of the World so I've been fishing through my already purchased ebooks and am reading one by Willa Cather.  It is a "so-so" book but will do until something better comes along.   ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on April 17, 2017, 05:38:36 PM
MaryC, do you have a Kindle?  If so, you can get "News of the World" on there.  I think it cost me $1.99 at the time I ordered it. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 17, 2017, 08:27:10 PM
Thanks for the tip, Tomereader.    I will check it out.   My library Hoopla program has the review book and others by same author but not that one.   :(
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on April 17, 2017, 08:58:02 PM
You can order a Used copy in Good Condition from Half Price Books Marketplace, for $7.50.  They ship quickly and shipping should be $3.95
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 18, 2017, 01:49:19 PM
mary - I hope you can find News Of The World.  I think You'll like it.  The author, Paulette Giles, recommended another book along the same lines, called Captured, by Scott Zesch.  Under the title, it says - "A true story of abduction by Indians on the Texas Frontier."  I have it on hold at the library, and will be picking it up today.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 21, 2017, 06:49:45 PM
I have been reading more this week. One think I read was the Book. or Epilogue as Robert James Waller calls it.  I never knew he had written it. It is the follow up after his book. The Bridges of Madison County.  How every one loved that book.  So I also got the DVD of Bridges and watched it in order to catch up and remember.  All should read this 2nd book if you haven't.  As usual it brings a few tears. I am now reading his. "Slow Waltz at Ceder Bend"  I tend to go back to some of the Older writers at times.

I have not found any favorite writers for awhile. We have lost quite a few of the old ones.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 21, 2017, 07:03:53 PM
I did not give the name of the Book that follows (Bridges of Madison county) It is Called (A Thousand Country Roads).  Seems like he wrote it a few years after the Bridges.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 21, 2017, 11:40:18 PM
JeanneP - I remember when everyone was reading The Bridges of Madison County!  I also saw the movie, starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep.  That seems like such a long time ago, but it  couldn't have been that long, because both Streep and Eastwood are still busy making movies! I'll have to look it up and see when it was made? 

I just finished rereading Water For Elephants, by Sara Gruen.  My daughter read it a couple of weeks ago, and was totally enthralled with the story. She wanted me to read it again, and even brought me the book when she came over on Easter Sunday!  It certainly is a wonderful story, and definitely worth reading again.  The movie is not nearly as good as the book.

Tomorrow, I hope to start Captured, by Scott Zesch.  I also still have What Dreams May Come, by Richard Matheson. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 22, 2017, 02:34:11 PM
I have the DVD for "Water for Elephants" from the Library.  I don't think I finished the book.  May watch it today.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 22, 2017, 07:52:57 PM
After I read Water For Elephants,  I followed Sara Gruen and read most of her other books.    They were all good but likely WFE's was her best.   

I'm still reading Willa Cather's,  One of Ours.    It is a good story and now has moved from the mid-west to France during WWI.    I like the history and the character studies in this story. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 23, 2017, 06:01:24 AM
Right now I am reading a book (The Bookman's Tale by Charles Lovett) which is about an Antiquarian bookseller who is trying to track down a Victorian watercolor artist who painted a portrait of a woman who looks like his dead wife. He wants to know who the artist is and how his wife (for whom he is still grieving) came to be painted 100 years before she lived. Wrapped up in all of this is another mystery, which becomes the prime focus, in which a supposed original copy of a book in which Shakespeare wrote notes in the margins having used it as a basis for A Winter's Tale. Both are intertwined. I am following the bookseller/antiquarian through the steps he is taking to locate the artist as well as authenticate the book. There is also a general overview of restoration of books and bookbinding. Art and books are two subjects I enjoy. I am finding the book hard to put down.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 23, 2017, 07:59:58 AM
I'd love to read that one! Books are a passion of mine.
When was it published?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 23, 2017, 11:41:33 AM
Bubble, it was originally published in 2013. I don't think the Hardback is in print anymore, but you can find it used. Amazon has it on Kindle, in paperback and on Audible. I assume, though I haven't looked, you can easily find it elsewhere.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 23, 2017, 01:19:28 PM
I don't know if any of you have read Tony Hillerman's books about the Navajo reservation in the "Four Corners".  He received award from the Navajo for his realistic portrayal.  They are mystery books but you learn so much about the Native American culture.  I read all of his books.  His daughter has continued the series and have written three.  Her name is Anne Hillerman and her writing is very similar.  I know many don't like series books, but I do.  I enjoy getting to know the characters and the ways in which their lives evolve. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on April 23, 2017, 02:12:08 PM
FlaJean, we not only read all of Hillerman's books, we spent several trips in the Four Corners area, following his roads and stories using the AAA Indian Country map for a guide.  The scenery is always a character in his novels.  We loved every minute of it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 23, 2017, 02:54:50 PM
FlaJean,  I also like series.

Jodi Thomas has several - all set in Texas.
After certain characters are introduced in #1 of each series, the following ones will center around one of those characters - usually in a different place and with different experiences.

I've enjoyed the Harmony Series  (first one "A Place Called Harmony" - then 5 more books),  the Whispering Heart Series (first one, "Texas Rain" introduces the McMurray family then 6 more center around various members of the family) and the Wife Lottery Trilogy  (as you may have guessed, first one "The Texan's Wager" introduces the 3 women and tells one story; #2 and #3 are about the other two women).

Unlike so many authors,  JT doesn't have a "set" formula.  The plots and story lines are not similar.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 23, 2017, 04:01:53 PM
The Bookman's Tale. I think I will look for it also.  My kind of stories.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 23, 2017, 04:19:49 PM
Good. I just checked my library on line and see that they have. The Bookman's Tale in on LP.  so ordered.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 24, 2017, 10:38:26 AM
Callie,   You spoke of the Harmony series of books.    I've enjoyed  some of Philip Gulley's Harmony books.  I notice that there are several writers using the same series name.  I wonder which one you were speaking of.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 24, 2017, 10:57:39 AM
MaryZ, what an adventure you had in following those roads and stories.  That is beautiful country.  We've driven across the country several times and really enjoyed the scenery in that area.  But I wouldn't want to live there with that wind and blowing sand.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 24, 2017, 11:05:28 AM
Mary,  I'm speaking of the Harmony series by Jodi Thomas, all of which take place in and around a small west Texas town by that name.    I had read the series by Phillip Gulley before I discovered the "other" one. 

When I was taking some writing courses (eons ago ;) ),  I learned that titles are not copyrighted - or, at least, weren't at that time.  I guess that's why there are two.

Lisa Wingate has also written several series that I've enjoyed.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 24, 2017, 11:49:19 AM
I just finished  Slow waltz in Cedar bend by Robert James WAller.   Very good. As good as his Bridges of Madison county. Found 3 other books by him.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on April 24, 2017, 12:37:02 PM
FlaJean - we loved our many trips out there and had some great adventures. And I have pottery, Navajo rugs, photographs, and wonderful memories. But, like you, I wouldn't want to live there full time.  For this Tennessee gal, there's not enough green - although the other colors are spectacular.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 25, 2017, 08:05:38 AM
JeanneP and Bubble, let me know how you like The Bookman's Tale when you read it. I just finished. A really great read for me, good ending. The scenes are mostly in North Carolina and England (Kingham, where the author lives part of the year). Charlie Lovett is himself an avid book collector and a member of Grolier's Club which is mentioned n the book. I had never heard of the club before, only knowing Grolier as a publisher of encyclopedias. Their Book of Knowledge set was a favorite of mine when I was young, as was the accompanying set, Lands and Peoples[/i].
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 25, 2017, 03:54:59 PM
MarsGal - Now I'm curious about The Bookman's Tale!  The title reminds me of The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood.  I remember years ago we had a discussion on "Handmaid", here in this folder. (or maybe it was way back in Senior Net?)  It was a very strange story!

I'll be watching to see how you all like it, but in the meantime, I'll request it at my library.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 25, 2017, 05:57:13 PM
Marilyne, I actually liked the movie of The Handmaid's Tale better than the book. The book was written like a diary, where as the movie was a smooth progression. I was surprised to see Robert Duvall in the movie, and noticed that for quite some time I didn't see anyone list it in has part of his cinematography.  Odd! Anyway, the movie didn't get the publicity that it probably deserved. George and I ran across it playing at an old out-of-the-way movie house. He mistook it for a Shakespeare play, as I recall, until it started.

One of the gals over on SeniorLearn is reading The Bookstore on the Corner which she likes a lot. She calls it a fun read. It is on my TBR list now, but for now I just downloaded Carlos Ruiz Zafon's second of his "The Cemetery of Forgotten Books" series which began with Shadow of the Wind. This one is called The Angel's Game. Zafon now has four books in the series.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 26, 2017, 08:12:48 PM
Callie,    I enjoyed some of Lisa Wingate's books too.  The Prayer Box and the Story Keeper were a couple of the last ones I read.....both very good.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 27, 2017, 11:10:24 AM
I just started reading "The bookman's Tale". I don't think it will be my kind of reading. Will try a few more chapters but don't think will change for me.
I just have to many books to read to carry on with one not interesting me.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 27, 2017, 12:24:08 PM
JeanneP, I agree.  If I don't enjoy a book, I'm not wasting my time on it. 🙁
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 27, 2017, 12:45:42 PM
Jeanne and Jean - I agree with both of you.  There are so many books out there for us to choose from, that I don't like to spend time reading something that I'm not really enjoying. 

Right now, I'm about to give up on, What Dreams May Come, written by the same author who wrote Somewhere in Time.  Because I loved the book and the movie of "Somewhere", I thought for sure I would enjoy "What Dreams May Come".  It's just a bit too fanciful for me, and I'm not relating at all to any of the characters.  I'm about half way through it, and may continue on, but I doubt it.  Too many other books waiting for me on the shelf!

I think I mentioned that What Dreams May Come, was made into a movie starring Robin Williams.  I'm curious as to how he interprets the main character, so I will watch it if it shows up on TCM or Encore. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 27, 2017, 01:02:50 PM
Sorry you don't care for A Bookman's Tale, Jeanne. It jumps back and forth in time; some people don't like that (my Mother didn't). There are three main time periods that proceed toward the current day events: following the book through its' various owners, following Peter through his education and his marriage, and following the events leading to the painting of the portrait found in a used book that started the whole mystery off. They all come together near the end. For me, I thought the book got more exciting as everything started to come together.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 27, 2017, 04:33:34 PM
Mars Gal.  Maybe I will go a little further into the book.

Now I put the DVD of
'What Dreams may do"


' this morning while having lunch. I couldnt find the book.  Not caring for the movie so turned off. thought maybe the book would be better.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on April 27, 2017, 06:30:34 PM
MarilynE, I thought Robin Williams died a few years ago.  Is this an older film?

SCFSue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 27, 2017, 06:42:54 PM
Sue - The movie What Dreams May Come, was released in 1998, so it was made long before Robin Williams died.  When I looked up the information, I found that there are lots of good reviews on the movie.  One said it was a "visual masterpiece"!  Maybe I'll just forget about the book, and plan to get the movie at my library. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 28, 2017, 08:14:12 AM
Tomorrow, April 29, is Independent Bookstore Day. You can find a local participating bookstore here. http://www.indiebookstoreday.com/
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 29, 2017, 04:36:14 PM
I posted the following message in the Television/Movie folder a couple of days ago.  Now I remember that all of the discussion on this book, was here in the Library Bookshelf! :-[ 
So I copied and pasted my movie "review" below.  Junee responded, and you can see her post in TV/Movies. 

The Light Between Oceans - I've been wanting to see this movie for a long time, so finally rented and watched it today.  I liked the book a lot, but I was disappointed in the movie.  It wasn't bad, it was just very slow and maudlin. Not a lot of dialogue. I thought the first hour dragged along too slowly.  Then it picked up and got much better, but still left much to be desired. They stuck with the story fairly well, except for a few things. Like any other movie made from a book - they have to leave out a lot, because of time constraints.

Junee - I'm wondering if you ever watched it, and if so, what you thought of it?  The lighthouse itself, and the surrounding ocean scenery was gorgeous.  The houses and clothing and people, all had the authentic look of the early 1920's. The actors were all excellent!  The movie was just a bit too hopeless and depressing, but of course the book was too . . . although there was something uplifting about the book at the end, that didn't come across in the movie.

Junee's response on the TV/movie discussion.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 29, 2017, 07:18:38 PM
I feel the same on" LIght between the Oceans" I just could not put the 2 main actors into their part as I felt they were in the Book. I do find myself doing that when reading the book and watching the DVD close together. I am weird.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on April 30, 2017, 02:14:10 PM
For Kindle users, and anyone who would like to collect some of these children's stories:

Betsy-Tacy Treasury
by Maud Hart Lovelace
The Betsy-Tacy Treasury brings together the first four books in Maud Hart Lovelace's classic series: Betsy-Tacy; Betsy, Tacy and Tib; Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill; and Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown. Tracing the girls' lives from early childhood to the brink of adolescence, Lovelace illuminates their innocent, mischievous fun and their eye-opening adventures exploring the world around themâ€"from the stories Betsy spins from their neighborhood bench and the sand stores they run in their backyards, to their first experiences at the library, the thrill of the theater, and the sight of their first automobile.

$1.99

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 30, 2017, 04:03:57 PM
Tome - I thought I had read all the children's series books when I was young, but somehow I missed Betsy-Tacy.  The name doesn't ring a bell, nor does the author.  When I was first learning to read, I remember liking The Bobbsey Twins, and there was also a series called The Five Little Peppers.  Then as I got older, I was a huge fan of Nancy Drew and Cherry Ames!  I remember my brother reading The Hardy Boys series. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on April 30, 2017, 06:23:09 PM
Tomereader 1, I read all the Betsy-Tacy books when I was a kid in the early 40's.  I also liked the Five Little Peppers and some of the Bobbsey Twins, but not as much as the others.  I read some Nancy Drew, also, but didn't read many of the Hardy Boys.  Reading was my passion then and now!  My favorites when my kids were young included the Ramona series by Beverly Cleary as well as Ralph S. Mouse.  I went on to become a teacher, mostly primary grades and I shared these books with my first through third graders--and even with some junior high girls who'd never read much of anything.  These girls were from poorer families who didn't own books or have a library card. 

SCFSue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 02, 2017, 04:08:24 PM
Does anyone remember reading books by Elizabeth Enright? I must have been about ten or eleven, when I read her books, and absolutely loved them.  The only two titles I recall are, The Saturdays, and, The Four Story Mistake. I would love to read them again now, and see what I think, after 70 plus years. 

The first book I remember reading by myself, was Blue Willow, by Doris Gates. I was so impressed with that story, and must have read it dozens of times.  It was a real eye opener for a little girl.

Every year for my birthday, my aunt and uncle gave me one of the Oz books, so I had a collection of about five or six, before I got too old for them. They were beautiful editions, with the original illustrations by John R. Neill. (I still have two of them.)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on May 02, 2017, 06:49:32 PM
Marilyn, I read some of Elizabeth Enright's books when I was in elementary school.  At the time my small town didn't have a lending library, but a book mobile stopped there once a week and I always walked to town and checked out as many books as they would let me take home.  I also enjoyed Beverly Cleary's books about Ramona, her family, and her friends.  After I became a teacher I read the Cleary books to my elementary classes and many of the children became book lovers because of that.

SCFSue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on May 02, 2017, 09:41:25 PM
It seemed that when we were young and loved to read we always would read a book 2 or 3 times and also save them.  Mine were usually gifts. Now libraries came along where we no longer buy books and save them.  Not as many people read books now. Children are into so many other things and Technology has taken them over.  3 of my older Grands are bookreaders but none of the younger GGrands are. They sure are clever on their Ipads though.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 05, 2017, 12:57:22 PM
Well!  Here I am just a few steps behind everyone as usual.   ;D     I finally got a copy of Oav from my friend at the Nursing Home.   I started it last evening.    Meanwhile I had purchased another Kindle edition of a book by Catherine Ryan Hyde titled Leaving Blythe River: A Novel.    I've enjoyed several of her books and this one is a different and interesting story.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on May 05, 2017, 09:05:22 PM
My f2f book club just finished reading and discussing "Did You Ever Have A Family" by Bill Clegg. His debut novel is "a powerful story about a circle of people who find solace in the least likely of places as they cope with a horrific tragedy".
Anne Enright (a ManBooker prize winner) says this is "full of small-town secrets and whispers...Clegg has woven a richly textured tale of loss and healing.  This is a deeply optimistic book about the power of human sympathy to pull us from the wreckage of our fate."



This book produced one of the very best discussions we have ever had in our 10+ yrs in this group, and we had a delightful moderator, who did a fantastic job. The book is divided into chapters about the various people, and switches point-of-view
rapidly sometimes.  I could not do this book a good service, only can say once you get into it, and are able to switch POV and follow the story (you will be going back & forth a good bit to make sure you have everyone clear in your mind) it will be totally worthwhile.  At least IMHO.  9 out of 10 of our attendees truly enjoyed the book and feel the same way I did.  Give it a chance.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on May 06, 2017, 03:29:48 PM
I checked and my library do have that book by bill Clegg. Not in LP. They seem to be getting most of book now that only show for you to download on Readers
I will try to read in Regular Print
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 06, 2017, 03:53:51 PM
mary - So good to see you checking in.  I was beginning to worry about you!  So you finally got A Man Called Ove!  I wonder if you'll find it to be worth the wait?? 

Tome - Did You Ever Have a Family, sounds like the style of book that I like.  From what you told us about it, the plot sounds similar to the movie, Manchester By The Sea?  If you haven't seen that film, I recommend it, but it's not for everyone.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on May 07, 2017, 12:57:28 PM
Hubby and I watched "Manchester By the Sea" last night.
Sorry to say, Marilyne, that I was not impressed.  Perhaps
Casey Affleck did earn his Oscar.  I tend to be unimpressed when films garner Oscars, when almost the the only thing notable is how many times each character uses the "F" word; i.e. "The Departed".
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 07, 2017, 02:13:25 PM
Tome - I did like "Manchester", but not enough that I would watch it again.  Too depressing. I thought Casey Affleck deserved the Oscar, and all others in the film were good too. As for the "F" word . . . I'm pretty much used to it now, as it is rampant in all movies . . .  comedies, tragedies, mysteries, crime, family drama, and virtually everything on HBO, Showtime, Netflix and Amazon! That's the way of the world now, I guess? :(

I just remembered - no "F bombs" in The Light Between Oceans.  Movies that take place in past decades, usually try to stay true to the era, as far as language is concerned.       
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on May 07, 2017, 04:41:56 PM
Marilyne, well I'm "used to it" also, but it is really wearing hearing it again and again and again.  Maybe that means I'm not "used to it".  LOL
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 09, 2017, 05:52:20 PM
I really am enjoying The Man Called Ove.    I have to say that the short preview that I read didn't give a clue of the real story!    You have to love this unusual man and his wife.    She was a smart lady!

Regarding the current movies and even some TV shows.   My husband just can't tolerate  the language and the "sex in the city" demonstrations.    I'm not thrilled with them either but have found that if you can get by it somehow there often is a good story hidden away.   As a result  we don't watch many of the newer movies and not too much of TV except for stuff like The Pickers,  Antiques Road Show,and The Alaskans.    Sometimes we hit on an older movie that is good or an old musical.    He enjoys sports too so when it isn't my cup of tea I just read.   It does offend me that this kind of language and behavior is pushed so much but I guess we have  the "Remote Control".
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on May 09, 2017, 10:04:29 PM
Mary C, just by coincidence, I finished reading "my grandmother asked me to tell you she's sorry" by Fredrik Backman, whose previous book was The Man Called Ove.  This book was about a young girl, her family, neighbors, and friends.  Very enjoyable.  It was a selection for my book club this month which I had to miss because of illness.  I'll try to get The Man called Ove next if my library has it.  (and the title of the book I read was in all lower case letters!).

SCFSue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 10, 2017, 04:59:52 PM
Interesting SCFSue,    I did read a review of the book you spoke of but haven't read it yet.    I'll have to add it to my list.   :)    I have a few in the queue just now.   The Man Called Ove is still on a long wait at the library but I was lucky to get a copy from a friend.   It is the same with Jodi Picoult's book Great Small Things.    That is another long waiting list.   I just keep watching and sometimes one of these titles will show up with Book Bub or another of the Bargain E-book offers.   I don't mind paying $.99 to get one earlier but I'm pretty frugal and usually wait.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 10, 2017, 11:33:59 PM
mary and Sue - My dil has a copy of,  my grandmother asked me to tell you she's sorry, and will be bringing it to me this coming weekend.  I liked A Man Called Ove, so  I'm looking forward to reading more by Fredrik Backman.

Sue - It's good to see you posting here, and so glad you're feeling better after your heart surgery. Wonderful that you're doing well, and already resuming some of your regular activities.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on May 11, 2017, 09:36:16 PM
Thank you, Marilyne.  I'm feeling much better today--even went to my once a month hair dresser for a hair cut.  My friend from the "Village Friends" picked me up to drive me there.  Then afterwards she took me to our public library where I was able to get some books to read--but not A Man Called Ove as so many want to read it.  I put my name on the waiting list.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 12, 2017, 08:12:03 PM
Last evening I discovered that the movie,  A Man Called Ove is showing on Amazon Prime.  I will wait to watch it after I've finished the book.  :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 13, 2017, 02:43:31 PM
maryc - Thanks for the tip!  I didn't know that A Man Called Ove, had been made into a movie, much less that it's available to see on Amazon! I think it might be a Swedish movie, since the story takes place in Sweden?  I'll check my Amazon, and will plan to watch it soon.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on May 13, 2017, 04:04:17 PM
Now I have on order for both book and Movie "A man called OVE" . I think I am down to #2 now on the Movie list. Same on the book. Hope the don't come at the same time.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 14, 2017, 01:03:01 PM
Wishing all of my book loving friends a Happy Mother's Day!  Be sure to check in and tell us what you're reading?

I'm almost finished with CAPTURED: A true story of abduction by Indians, on the Texas Frontier. This is a fascinating account of Indians, who kidnapped white children, kept them, and raised them as members of their families and tribes.  I knew that this happened to settlers in the West, but I had never read true accounts about actual children, who lived to tell the stories of their lives in captivity.

I read this non-fiction book, as a follow up to the novel, News of the World, by Paulette Giles.  It was a fictional story of a young girl, who had been kidnapped by Indians, and was being returned to her family.  It's a wonderful story, that I would recommend to one and all! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 16, 2017, 07:45:24 PM
I finally got around to watching the movie A Man Called Ove.......and it was in Swedish!  OK if you have already read the book but I had hoped to watch it with Al and it wouldn't work at all.  ::)

I just finished an e-book called Leaving Blythe River by Catherine Ryan Hyde.    It wasn't what you would consider a classic but the story was interesting and a little different.    One especially interesting thing was that our niece who is a Social Worker in Seattle posted a quite long article today on Facebook  about thoughts on the children of abusive families stepping up to care for aging parents.  The idea of forgiveness for past neglect and or abuse by a parent was strong in this book so it was quite a coincidence to read her post today as I finished the book.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 17, 2017, 06:25:50 PM
mary - JeanneP left a message in the Television discussion today about the Ove movie.  She liked it, and got used to the subtitles within a few minutes.  I'm not a big fan of subtitles, but I agree that you do forget about them within about five minutes.

Leaving Blythe River sounds good!  I've heard about women who were abused by their fathers as children, and then when he becomes old and sick, they step up and become the caretaker.  It's not as uncommon as one would think.  I have one friend, whose father walked out on the family when she was a baby, and never returned.  Then when she was in her late fifties, he suddenly appeared. It was the first time she had ever seen him!  He was sick with cancer, and she let him stay in her home, and took care of him until the end.

There was a similar theme in the Anne Tyler book, Dinner At the Homesick Restaurant.  The father had deserted the family, but then returned for his wife's funeral, when he was old, and the children were all grown.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 27, 2017, 03:07:36 PM
Remember Anita Shreve, the best selling author from a few years ago?  (The Pilots Wife, The Weight of Water, Resistance, and many others.).  I loved her early books, but then I moved on to other authors, and kind of forgot about her.

Well, she is back, and has written a wonderful new book - The Stars Are Fire.  I  started reading it Thursday night, and could not put it down until well after midnight.  Then I read through most of yesterday, and finished it in the early evening.  It’s my favorite style of writing . . . a fictional story, that takes place during an actual event in history. 

This true natural disaster took place in October 1947, along the coast of Maine.  After a summer of drought, fires broke out and were soon raging out of control, and moving from village to village - burning down everything.  The main character is a young woman with two children, who is expecting her third.  She is in a bad marriage, and is trying to figure out what went wrong, when the fires come, and her life changes dramatically.

I think you will all like this novel. Great characters and compelling story! :thumbup:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on June 05, 2017, 12:40:47 PM
I need a bit of help re: Mystery.  Could someone suggest a "cozy type" mystery that is well-written and not too "saccharine".  Once upon a time, I had a list, but it has gone on to better things (lol).  I don't usually read these types of mystery, but I must moderate a discussion for my f2f mystery club, next month, and all my favorite authors have gotten a bit too dark and raw, allowing for the sensibilities of our members.  I have to clarify a bit here:  We read from our library's collection, and must have adequate copies for our members.  The newer stuff is usually something we have to put on reserve, and the older stuff has been "made redundant" and removed from their collections, or only one or two copies have been retained.  I had a couple of suggestions to our "fearless leader" who okays our picks, but my Stuart Kaminsky choice was unfortunately one that only had one or two copies available.  My Tami Hoag choice, I vetoed this one myself, as absolutely too dark/raw/violent.   So...cozies please, if you will, and I will research whatever my library may have that meets our requirements.  Thank you in advance!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on June 05, 2017, 12:49:58 PM
Tomereader, any written by Ruth Rendell, Patricia Highsmith, Elisabeth George, M.H. Clark, would do.  These are the favorite authors  for my golden age readers at the library.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on June 05, 2017, 02:18:42 PM
Thanks Bubble!  I'm lucky in that my library has many copies of Ruth Rendell's work!  I have picked one that has more than enough copies for our f2f group, and will read it quickly and recommend it to the fearless leader.  I knew I could depend on S&F to assist me.  Especially you, Bubble!  I'll let you know how this works out.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on June 05, 2017, 03:37:51 PM
Tome, M.C.Beaton is another good "not-dark" mystery writer.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on June 05, 2017, 03:53:38 PM
Thanks, MaryZ.  I will surely place that name at the top of my list for next time I have to moderate at Mystery Club.
I think I have actually seen many copies of M.C.Beaton's books on the shelves at my branch, so that should not pose a problem of enough copies available.  However, I will do a
double check!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on June 05, 2017, 06:08:50 PM
It's been a long time since I've read a Ruth Rendell mystery, but I have a vague notion that hers can be pretty spooky.  You might want to check it out before you recommend it.  M.C.  Beaton's books are usually pretty interesting and not dark if my memory isn't failing!

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on June 05, 2017, 08:12:56 PM
SFSue, "spooky" was not the problem.  Two of the books I wanted to recommend were "grisly/dark and raw".  Spooky we can handle!  FYI, the 2 books were by Tami Hoag, and I didn't remember her stuff to be so grisly, but it had been awhile since I had read her.  Guess she's trying to keep up with some of the other "mystery" writers who seem to go to very dark places.  Another thing with hers, repetitive.  Saying the same thing over and over.  Not in a  POV way, just repeating again and again in the same character's voice.  I have read some Rendell, also writing as Barbara Vine.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 05, 2017, 11:44:56 PM
Tome - I'm glad you got some help with your search for a mystery book for your F2F group. They all sound interesting to me, but I'll have to wait until I finish the huge stack of books that I have here to read!  I received three new ones as Mother's Day gifts, and I have books waiting for me at both the Town and the County libraries.

I'm a big fan of Anne Tyler, and recently discovered that all of her older books are available in large print, so I have a few on order.  I've never read The Accidental Tourist, although I saw the movie and loved it, so I'll read it first, in LP. 
Another novel, that was recommended to me, is 'round midnight by Laura McBride.  I have no idea what it's about, but the title is intriguing.

JeanneP - I haven't seen you posting here in The Library, or in any of the other discussions?  I hope you're okay? Let us know.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on June 06, 2017, 07:30:09 AM
Tomereader, what I like in those authors is that they also do a psychological analysis of the characters, not just laying down facts and events.  It makes it more interesting and life-like.
Agatha Christie used to do that with her Miss Maple.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 06, 2017, 11:07:45 AM
Tome, Maryz, SCFSue & bubble -
It's good to see you all posting here in Library Bookshelf, in the past couple of days! There are still lots of our old members who haven't checked in, in a long time.

Yesterday I mentioned JeanneP.  We haven't heard from you in a while?  Also missing for a couple of weeks, are . . . 
maryc - I hope both you and Al, are doing well.  Drop in and tell us how things are going in your life?
Callie - It's always good to hear from you, either here in the Library, or in the Television discussion.
MarsGal - I've been missing you as well. Return soon, and tell us what you've been reading.
FlaJean - You've posted in Television recently, but haven't seen you here in the Library in a long time.
phyllis - It's been a long time since we've heard from you?  Come back and say hello, and tell us about your life and the books you're enjoying?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on June 06, 2017, 01:38:25 PM
I did read Hidden Figures.  Much of it took place in my hometown of Hampton, VA.  My brother-in-law worked about 40 or 45 years for NACA (later changed to NASA) during much of what went on during the book, but he seldom talked about his work (all secret stuff,I guess).  I remember well the signs of "Colored Only" at local stores.  I believe the movie might be more interesting than the book for most people.  I think that era really needs the visual depiction to show what it was like regarding race.

Also just finished Donna Leon's latest Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery Earthly Remains.  This is one of her best books in this series.  I read not long ago that she doesn't like her books sold in Italy where she has lived for around 30 years in Venice.  She is very forthright with her description of corruption in Italian politics, so I can understand why if that is true.  I have read all her books but my husband has only read one other and he also enjoyed the book.  She is such a good writer it is easy to follow the story without having followed the characters previously.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on June 06, 2017, 07:08:55 PM
It is good to see a little activity here in the book shelves.     I regularly check in to see what is going on here but I use my Kindle  and  can't reply with the Kindle, for whatever reason!!!    Anyway by the time I  sit down at the computer to write what's on my mind, I've forgotten what it was. :dontknow:     Well anyway,  we are both doing ok.....count every good day as a bonus.    The gardening season is upon us and I've been busy between house and garden.    Even so I'm  currently reading Abide With Me by Elizabeth Strout.   I'm enjoying the story though it is a little sad.   I had Hidden Figures on my list but haven't gotten to it yet.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 07, 2017, 06:56:37 AM
Good morning Marilyne. I'm here. I just haven't had anything real interesting to post here lately. I think we are having the same problem over on SeniorLearn. Our posters have gradually been dwindling even as interest in our Latin classes continues unabated. Very few of those interested in the Latin classes ever make it over to the other discussions, even with encouragement. Sad.

I am reading more SciFi at the moment. There doesn't seem to be much interest in that genre in its many forms here, on SeniorLearn or at my local Library.

The most recent non SciFi book, Phantoms in the brain : probing the mysteries of the human mind by V.S. Ramachandran and Sandra Blakeslee, got taken back to the library after I read less than one chapter, just couldn't get into it right now. I'd like to find something a little more up to date.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on June 07, 2017, 08:32:25 AM
I just love reading a good SF book, but  it is hard to find good recent ones. Somehow I enjoy more the old ones.
Have you read any by O. Butler? They do hope new avenues of thinking.

H. Harrison - West of Eden {I}, Winter in Eden {II}  and Return to Eden {III} are a favorite.  Totally different from the previous author of course.

Robert Sawyer is the most recent I read and enjoyed it a lot.  Unfortunately he is impossible to find locally. I have only read the trilogy Hominids. But the synopsis of his other books are, each one, very intriguing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_J._Sawyer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_J._Sawyer)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 07, 2017, 09:33:54 AM
Aside from reading the "old timers", my current new and newish science fiction writers are Hugh Howey, Evan Currie, Marco Kloos, and Daniel H. Wilson.

Howey, who is best known for his Silo series, has written Sand (post apocalyptic, very interesting story of salvage efforts), Beacon 23 (set on a "lighthouse" near an asteroid belt is more about PTSD than space), and The Shell Collector (a romance set in a near future climate change environment).

Wilson's new book, The Clockwork Dynasty, will release in little less than a month. A bit different than his usual robotics/AI themes, this one is about human looking mechanical robots (think those wonderful mechanical singing birds, carts, and other novelties of earlier centuries). This book is sure to appeal to Alternative History, robotics, and Steampunk fans. For those interested in modern or near future robot/AI wars, Wilson's Robopocalype and Robogenesis are very good.

Andy Weir's new book, Artemis[/i], will have less science and more people interaction than The Martian. I am looking forward to what he does with it. The setting is the Moon, and the lead character is a smuggler.

Of course, I can never say enough good things about Jack Campbell and Jack McDevitt. Sad to see that McDevitt, who is 82, appears to be looking back rather than starting new projects. He updated his Hercules Text and wrote a follow on to his 1996 book Ancient Shores, called Thunderbird.

Oops! The time. Gotta run.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 07, 2017, 01:50:24 PM
So good to see so many of our book lovers checking in!  Now, if we hear from Callie, phyllis, Sandy and JeanneP, I think that about covers the number of members who have posted in here in the past year.  We used to have a couple of men also, but Jerry dropped out of S&F a few years ago, and Kelly left about six months ago.

FlaJean - I noticed that Hidden Pictures is now playing for free, On Demand.  I've been trying to get AJ to watch it with me, but he's not interested. I think he considers it to be a "chick flick", just because all the principle characters are women.   Did Larry watch it with you? 

maryc - I'm glad both you and Al are doing okay, and I can certainly relate to your comment that you, "count every good day as a bonus".  Those are my feelings as well. 
I'm very interested in what you think of the new Elizabeth Strout novel, Abide With Me?  I liked Olive Kitteridge, and I was very impressed with the television movie, starring Frances McDormand and Richard Jenkins. 

bubble - My husband has read a couple of the  Harrison books, and liked them a lot. Now he's mostly reading the best sellers, like Patterson, Grisham, Lee Child, et al. Too me, they're all alike, so I rarely ever read them.  I'll send the Robert Sawyer link to him - I think he might be interested.

MarGal - I like the dystopian style of science fiction, and also time-travel - but I'm not fond of the Star Wars/robot/space style of SF.  I've read a few dystopian novels lately that I think you might like.  My favorite is, The Age of Miracles, by Karen Thompson Walker.  There is a new one out titled California, by Edan Lepuki, that sounds good.

I'm not a member of SeniorLearn, but I sometimes look in, to get ideas for interesting books to read.  I've noticed that messages have fallen off there, in Library, and in Fiction, and Movies.  In the past I've followed along with some of the Book Club Discussions, and have often read the selected book.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on June 07, 2017, 02:09:29 PM
If I manage to get hold of Number our days, I hope to join that discussion in SeniorLearn. Library here don't have it :(
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on June 07, 2017, 02:23:02 PM
Marilyne, I had also noticed that the postings, both here and in Senior Learn, have been very slim.  Given that a good many of us are "of a certain age", it tends to be a bit worrisome when familiar names and faces don't show up for awhile.  Over the years I have been subscribing to S&F and SrLearn, we have lost so many members.  And it is always sad to me, even though I only knew them through on-line forums. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 07, 2017, 02:54:13 PM
Marilyne, I am not big on time-travel. I did however, run across a YouTube program where the narrator postulated that time is not dimensional but a process. He further argued that matter projects time forward and antimatter projects time backward. If that is the case, if we, in the far, far future, learn to use/control antimatter, can we at least "see" back in time if not actually go there?

If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it.
- William Arthur Ward (1921-1994)

I imagine me in space in a future life. I also have no intention of going anywhere before I see boots on the ground on Mars.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on June 08, 2017, 03:44:10 AM
A thought:

When I invented the web, I didn't have to ask anyone's permission. Now, hundreds of millions of people are using it freely. I am worried that that is going to end in the USA. ... Democracy depends on freedom of speech. Freedom of connection, with any application, to any party, is the fundamental social basis of the Internet, and, now, the society based on it. Let's see whether the United States is capable of acting according to its important values, or whether it is, as so many people are saying, run by the misguided short-term interest of large corporations. I hope that Congress can protect net neutrality, so I can continue to innovate in the internet space. I want to see the explosion of innovations happening out there on the Web, so diverse and so exciting, continue unabated. -Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web (b. 8 Jun 1955)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on June 08, 2017, 08:31:02 AM
Bubble, nice to see that you read A Word A Day, too.   ;)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 08, 2017, 09:05:40 AM
I guess big business won again, not the customer, not small businesses that cannot afford the extra cost of buying faster internet services. We'll see.

Gotta run. Library day, today.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 08, 2017, 11:05:14 AM
Thank you Bubble - Something to make us pause and think.  Good timing. 
I also get "A Word A Day".
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on June 08, 2017, 02:29:16 PM
I hope to get the book on the 16... Keep your fingers crossed for me :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 08, 2017, 02:49:52 PM
I just brought home from the library a new book on crocheted ornaments. I hope to use some of my scraps to do some of these quick projects. I like to use small ornaments for package toppers.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 09, 2017, 11:54:59 PM
MarsGal - The Time Travelers Wife, was one TT book that I disliked, and never finished.  I know it was extremely popular, and I think it was even made into a movie?  I wanted to like it, but it just wasn't for me. 

I've finally gotten to the point where I don't feel personally obligated to finish a book if I'm not enjoying it, or unable to relate to any of the characters.  I used to hang in there, and plow through the book, like it or not.  I get most of my reading material from the local libraries, but occasionally I will buy books from Amazon or B&N.  My son and wife always give me a couple of books for Christmas, Mother's Day and my birthday.  So I do seem to have a steady stream of books to choose from.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 10, 2017, 05:41:01 AM
Marilyne, I enjoyed reading the first four of Andre Norton's The Time Traders series). The last three were written much later and in collaboration with another writer. Those last three are still copyrighted; the ones I read are free on Project Gutenberg. LibraVox has an audiobook available, but I haven't listened to it. Norton updated Time Traders in 2000 to move the time period forward and updated some of the names of the competition and events, so the ones I read are the original edition. That is pretty much the extent of my adventures in time travel.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 12, 2017, 12:28:52 PM
I'm enjoying reading The Accidental Tourist, again, after many years.  It's not my favorite Anne Tyler book, but it's very good, and was made into an excellent movie.  When I finish, I'll start a novel by Chris Cleave, titled Everyone Brave is Forgiven.  It was highly recommended on one of my favorite book sites - Off The Shelf. 

maryc - Let us know how you liked Abide With Me?  I'm on the waiting list at the library, but I fear it will be a long wait.  I'm looking forward to it, as I did really like Olive Kitteridge.   

Which reminds me: I was looking for things to watch or rewatch on HBO, and I see that Olive Kitteridge, is still available.  In fact all of the original HBO shows are there to see, starting with The Sopranos, and all the way up to Game of Thrones.  So those of you who have HBO, and missed some of the earlier programs, can still watch everything that has ever played on that channel.  The same applies to Showtime, and all the other premium channels. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on June 12, 2017, 12:59:27 PM
I've wanted to comment on the book, Abide With Me but have had trouble getting it right.    It was such a good story and the main character (the minister) was a great student of Dietrich  Bonhoeffer and so there were many quotes.     We had a Pastor years ago who also was apt to use many quotes from Bonhoeffer.     It felt a little like stepping back to that time for me.   Also since my parents were always close to the Pastor's family of whatever church we attended,  I felt a kindred spirit in looking at things  inside and out from the minister's family  .   There were so many good thoughts that against my usual idea of not buying fiction books,  I am tempted to own this one.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 14, 2017, 05:42:11 PM
maryc - I'm embarrassed to admit, that I had never heard of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I'm interested in all things having to do with WWII, so I'm surprised that I don't remember ever coming across his name. I looked him up, and see that there are many books, articles and biographies about him.  I'm intrigued, and plan to read as much as possible about him before I get the book Abide With Me.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on June 15, 2017, 10:25:27 AM
I'm a Presbyterian and Dietrich Bonhoeffer has been quoted in lots of Presby sermons! Evidently he was a much respected and gifted writer.

SCFSue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on June 15, 2017, 11:01:00 AM
And there is an excellent Wikipedia article about Bonhoeffer, several movies and documentaries about him also.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 15, 2017, 01:42:56 PM
I've read a number of interesting articles online about Bonhoeffer, and would like to know more.  I looked at one that lists his many quotes, which are certainly worthy of reading.  There are quite a few movies and documentaries about him, which might be available On Demand?? One was produced as recently as 2016.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 16, 2017, 05:56:52 PM
Right now I am reading The Prefect by Alastair  Reynolds It is a scifi police procedural/detective story. It is strange, or more precisely, the environments and the "people" are often surreal. The story is set in a cluster called the Glitter Band. The Prefect and his co-workers are tasked with policing the area. They use forensic techniques and good old fashioned detective legwork to solve the crime(s). Included in the doings are sabotage, mass murder, and the complete destruction of habitats.

I am also in the middle of Outsystem by M. D. Cooper which has its own version of bizarre in places. This is also primarily an investigative story centered around incidents which are meant to slow down or stop a colony ship from being completed. The main character is a security officer who was hired to stop the perpetrators. The incidents include an attempt to blow up the ship, viral attacks on ships AI, cargo being stolen or destroyed, and attempted kidnapping or assassination.

Both books are okay enough to keep reading.

After those, I have Elizabeth Moon's The Speed of Dark https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/elizabeth-moon/the-speed-of-dark/ which is about an autistic man who has a chance to try a new experimental treatment to cure him of his condition. The other is Lightless, the first of a trilogy, by C. A. Higgins to read. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/c-higgins/lightless/ Kirkus calls it psychodrama; Amazon lists is as space opera, or mystery.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 17, 2017, 11:31:53 PM
MarsGal - Of all the books you're reading, I would most likely choose, The Speed of Dark.  That one sounds like a story that I could relate to, because I have an adult autistic granddaughter.  She is high functioning, but still is obviously very different, and has a difficult time talking and responding to people.  She's twenty five years old now, and I worry a lot about what her life will be like as the years go by.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 18, 2017, 06:49:23 AM
Marilyne, I just started Speed of Dark last night. Moon won a Nebula Award for Best Novel in 2003 for the book. I read somewhere that her son is Autistic. She wrote an essay about autism in 2003. http://www.elizabethmoon.com/autism-general.html

I have a nephew that was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome when he was 17 or so. Up until then he had been diagnosed as ADHD even though he had definite motor skill problems. He was given special permission to use a computer rather than pencil and paper after several years of attempts at school to get him to write. Almost all the teachers refused to have him the classroom if he forgot to take his Ritalin.

While my sister has always expressed that she thought the state was very helpful with her son, I have always had my doubts. The misdiagnosis was not discovered until he was almost out of high school, I think, cost him a lot. Early diagnosis and training is important. He held a few jobs for awhile, but because of a business closing, one moving out of state, and another at Cornell University (his favorite) losing grant funding, and several temp only jobs, he was never able to establish a solid work relationship. Now in his mid-40s he is living in a halfway house with a helper to check on him, he is way overweight, has a fatty liver and high blood. Sad. When he was little he loved to draw pictures and make little books, oh, and he loved to push buttons on things. He seems quite knowledgeable on a number of topics, is a talker, and likes to wax philosophical on lots of things. I can't help but think that he could have been a writer or researcher (his job at Cornell involved cataloging bird specimens) if not for misdiagnosis and economic circumstances.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 18, 2017, 01:13:02 PM
MarsGal - I read the essay by Elizabeth Moon, about her son's autism  She gave an excellent description of an artistic child. Her son sounds pretty typical.  All symptoms and actions are not the same in all autistic children - there is a wide range from severely affected (non verbal) to very high functioning savant. (like in the movie Rain Man).
Always new discoveries and so many theories out there, that it's hard to keep up.
 
I don't think we have any fathers, who post in this discussion, but just in case any men are  looking in, I want to wish all of you a wonderful Father's Day!   

We'll have a quiet Father's Day.  Our son and dil, always have us over for dinner, but this weekend they're in Oregon, for the graduation of their son, Jake . . . our youngest grandson. Our oldest daughter lives about 150 miles away, so she won't be coming today either.  That leaves Sandy, the youngest, who will come tonight and go out for dinner with us.  She's had a rough week this week, and is not doing too well.  She got laid-off, from her job on Friday, and is taking it really hard.  It was a job that she loved, and the termination came without warning.  My heart aches for her, as she is all alone, and the job meant a lot to her.  Not just for the steady paycheck, but also for the self esteem.
Today I'm reminded of a quote from author Anne Tyler, from the book, A Spool of Blue Thread:  "A mother is only ever as happy, as her unhappiest child".
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 18, 2017, 01:36:16 PM
Marilyne, I am so sorry to hear your daughter has to go through a lay off. It wasn't fun for me either.

I've been seeing lots of reports of retail closings affecting a number of stores (or the possibility of) around here. Many of the retailers have finally accepted the fact that more and more people are doing their shopping online and are readjusting. What gets me is Sears. They seem to have started the whole mail-order catalog thing, so why they have been slow to close stores and go to mainly an online market I don't know. But then there is Amazon, which is going in the opposite direction by adding storefronts. They just announced they are buying Whole Foods.

There are certain things I buy that I refuse to buy online, though, like furniture, large appliances, clothing, and shoes. I was forced to buy a hanging light online because Home Depot didn't carry it except for online. There are just some things I need to see and try on before I buy.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 18, 2017, 01:44:13 PM
I just bought another crochet book: Christmas Ornaments to Crochet by Megan Kreiner. It was a new item in our local library, so last week I took a look at it. There are enough interesting projects for scraps of yarn for me to go buy it. I particularly like the penguin and the little "present" box that can be stuffed and sewn closed, or it can be left empty and with the lid separate so you can fill it with a little trinket or something.  I like to use small ornaments to decorate gifts.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on June 19, 2017, 05:05:11 PM
Marilyne,  I would add my sympathy to your daughter as well in the loss of her employment.    I send a good big hug though you to her (you don't have to tell her that you told us....just an extra hug for support!)  I hope that this closed door turns into an open window for her.     That quote from The Spool of Blue Thread is so very good......it says so much in just a few words.

  Our local children, grands and gr. grands came for a picnic yesterday and we were only rained in for a short time.    I am in awe of what good things they have done with they lives in these short years  ;) since we gave birth to our own offspring.    I have to commend the dads in the family.   When our own children started their own families I saw the difference in the young fathers who were at home with child care, kitchen and laundry appliances right along with the moms.....a new generation and hopefully it will be the same with their children and so forth.    I don't mean to complain but my husband was raised by a stay at home mom who was in charge of the kitchen  and probably didn't want those seven boys messing around in her kitchen.   Their job in life was to earn a living which they did early and well.

Marsgal,  Your book of crochet ornaments sounds neat.   I really need to push myself to get back to some handwork.    I have another good book going but I'll talk about that more another day.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Sandy on June 20, 2017, 09:07:44 AM
Good to see you MaryC !

How times have changed ....   and us along with them !

Sandy

:thinking:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 20, 2017, 01:18:11 PM
MarsGal & mary - Thanks for the supportive comments, regarding my daughter being laid off from a great job that she loved.  Of course there is a lot more to the story, which I can't go into here. 

Sandy - Good to see you checking in here.  I was thinking about you a couple of weeks ago when I recommended a new novel, here in this forum.  It's called The Stars Are Fire, by Anita Shreve.  It takes place in Maine, and is based on a true event, that happened there in 1947 . . . a series of catastrophic fires, that burned along the coast, and destroyed many of the small towns and communities.  The fictional story is about a young wife and mother, and how she copes with both the fire, and her life afterwards.

MarsGal - I'm still planning to get The Speed of Dark, but first I have finish the ever growing stack of books that I have here waiting for me.  Your crochet ornaments sound to be very attractive, both for presents, or for using as Christmas decorations.  I was thinking that you could make beautiful wreaths with your ornaments.  Buy some of those wreath forms at Michael's, and cover them with your colorful crochet ornaments, and they would make lovely Christmas presents.

mary - Looks like you had a wonderful family picnic on Father's Day.  I understand exactly what you mean, by the difference in the young fathers of today, compared to the fathers in past generations.  My mil, devoted her life to cooking, cleaning and taking care of my fil, AJ, and his brother. Consequently, the young men from that era, were pretty much helpless in the kitchen, or doing anything pertaining to household chores.  However, my husband was a fast learner! LOL!  :thumbup:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 21, 2017, 07:43:35 AM
What a cool idea, Marilyne. I hadn't thought of making a wreath to display them.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 22, 2017, 11:11:10 PM
Although I have a good sized stack of books here to read, I couldn't resist checking out two more today at the library!  One is non-fiction . . .  The Romanov Sisters, The lost lives of the daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra by Helen Rappaport.  The other one is fiction . . . 'Round Midnight, by Helen McBride.   
I've always been fascinated by the Russian Revolution, and the untimely deaths of the Tsar and Tsarina, and their entire family, so I'm really looking forward to The Romanov Sisters, and will be starting it tonight.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 23, 2017, 06:51:41 AM
Marilyne, have you read any of Boris Akunin's works? I read the first four of his Detective Erast Fandorin books. They begin with The Winter Queen, set in 1876. I really must get back to reading the series now that you've reminded me of them. So many books, so little time.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on June 23, 2017, 02:11:12 PM
I've just finished an interesting novel that was based on a true story.    It is a library book called The Orphan Keeper by Camron Wright.    The story is of a young boy (not an orphan)  who was snatched from the streets of India and sold to an orphanage who placed the children in home in America.  My daughter recommended this book to me some time ago but I just got to it recently and found it to be a good read.   Now I'm reading a cozy mystery by P.B.Ryan.   The title is Still Life with Murder.

The talk of the Russian Revolution here caught my attention.  Our son and DIL just returned from a trip to France.   They visited with some old school friends who were vacationing in the south of France and then before they came home spent a couple days in Paris.    The sights in both places stirred a lot of conversation about history and we talked about the time line of what they saw in relation to the French Revolution.    Our son has not been much of a history buff but these things stirred up interest in the whys and wherefores of those sights.    One thing that really impressed them was the aquaduct built during the Roman times to supply water to the city of Nimes.  Amazing engineering!!   We enjoyed their trip through pictures and youtubes that we looked at as they traveled.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on June 23, 2017, 02:12:21 PM
Margal, I like reading mysteries by foreign authors so I checked my library for Boris Akunin (a pseudonym for a reallly long Russian name :)).  The only book available is The Winter Queen.  I read the summmery and it sounds interesting.  I'll look for it next trip to the library.

I just finished several books set in Wyoming and the author's descriptions were just as I remembered from a visit there in 2003.  Sometimes I get so involved with the plot when watching a movie that I miss the interesting scenery and importance of location.  I use my imagination more reading a book.

Mary, your son's trip sounds wonderful.  I know you are enjoying the photos and videos.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 24, 2017, 12:42:18 AM
The movie, Doctor Zhivago, 1965,  was my first exposure to the Russian Revolution. I knew nothing about it until then - had never studied it in either high school or college history.  I loved the film, and then read the book, which I also liked very much.  In the late sixties another book dealing with the Revolution was published, Nicholas and Alexandra. It's a fabulous true account of the life of the Romanov family, and their five children, as well as Alexandra's bizarre obsession with Rasputin!  Absolutely fascinating reading.  The book leads right up to the end, when the entire family was kidnapped and murdered by the Revolutionaries.  My youngest daughter was born in 1969, and we named her Alexandra. (Nicknamed Sandy.)

So I'm thrilled to read another account of the lives of the the Royal family, and all of their trials and tribulations.  The Romanov Sisters, looks like it's going to be very good reading.  I haven't started it yet, and probably won't be able to sit down and read until Sunday.  I will take a look at the books by Boris Akunin, when I finish.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 28, 2017, 06:29:07 AM
I like to read old books (such as found on Project Gutenberg). I've found some very good books there.

Right now, I am reading Lords of the North by A. C. Laut. It is set in the early 19th century, mostly in Canada. The backdrop, so far, includes the rivalry between the North West Company, based in Montreal, and the Hudson's Bay Company.

I looked up both companies. Surprise! The Hudson's Bay Company still exists. The North West Company operated between 1779 and 1821, when it merged with Hudson's Bay. An employee consortium bought out the northern trading posts in 1987 and revived the North West name; it is based in Winnipeg. North West Company is now a grocery and merchandise store chain, while the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) evolved into a retail company. HBC is the company that acquired Saks Fifth Avenue about four years ago.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on June 28, 2017, 03:11:48 PM
http://www.booklistreader.com/2017/06/27/books-and-authors/harpercollins-celebrates-200-years/

This was so interesting!  Take time to see which of the 200 books you've read!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on June 28, 2017, 03:13:11 PM
www.HC.com/200

This is where the books are listed!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 28, 2017, 05:34:19 PM
I read 17, one I think I read but not quite sure it was so long ago, and 3 in my pile to read.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 29, 2017, 12:48:28 AM
Tome - What a great list of memorable books! It was a good reminder of books I read long ago, and had forgotten about.  Now I'd like to take another at some of them, and see how they’ve held up over the years - (The Thorn Birds).  Some of them I own, and have read many times - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Poisonwood Bible, The Hours. Others I struggled through, not really liking them, but hanging in there to the end. (One Hundred years of Solitude). ::)  One book that made me remember and laugh, was I’m OK - You’re OK.  Anyone else remember reading that one??  It was extremely popular. I think it might have been the first in a long line of “self help” books?  Did the self help books help me, or anyone else?  I doubt it!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on June 29, 2017, 11:59:55 AM
Marilyne, I remember reading "I'm OK You're OK" late 60s-early 70s?  I remember agreeing with the premise at the time, but don't know whether it helped me.  It must have made an impression to stay with me after all these years because I don't generally remember book or movie titles after so many years.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on June 29, 2017, 04:43:20 PM
I remember reading I'm OK, You're OK, too.  It was at a time I wasn't so sure I WAS OK.
My husband was a Navy Pilot and flying P3V's and was deployed 9 months at a time--at least almost every year.  We had 2 toddler sons at the time, lived in Brunswick, Maine, which had very LONG, COLD, and SNOWY winters.  Needless to say, my husband was home very seldom in the winter.  I'd have to park my car down at the end of the driveway when snow was predicted and the next morning would have to shovel my way through 4-5 foot drifts to clear the snow off--and the snow plows which Brunswick started up as soon as the snow started falling would pile all that up in front of the car.  I survived, though, and lived to tell about it!

I just didn't think I was OK!
Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 29, 2017, 05:16:29 PM
Sue - sounds like you were alone a lot, during those early years of your marriage.  Maybe the book I'm OK - You're OK, helped you survive those years?  I don't remember much about the content of the book, but I did read it, and maybe it helped me cope with some issues in my life at the time?  I think it came out in the mid-1960's?  It would be interesting to read it now, and see how it's stood the test of time?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Sandy on June 29, 2017, 05:49:28 PM
Quote from: Marilyne on June 20, 2017, 01:18:11 PM't go into

Sandy - Good to see you checking in here.  I was thinking about you a couple of weeks ago when I recommended a new novel, here in this forum.  It's called The Stars Are Fire, by Anita Shreve.  It takes place in Maine, and is based on a true event, that happened there in 1947 . . . a series of catastrophic fires, that burned along the coast, and destroyed many of the small towns and communities.  The fictional story is about a young wife and mother, and how she copes with both the fire, and her life afterwards.

   I ordered four of Shreve's book from my books on disc
If I like,  I will order more.     Thank you
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 30, 2017, 12:24:02 PM
Sandy - I hope you enjoy the Anita Shreve novels you ordered.  She's an interesting writer, in that she usually has an unexpected turn of events, or a "twist" in the plot, that you didn't see coming.  I've read most of her books.  A couple of them are all time favorites of mine . . . others were quickly forgotten. 

I'm still reading The Romanov Sisters, and finding it fascinating, but slow.  Very detailed historical facts about the Russian Royal family.  The background information and personalities of Nicholas and Alexandra are most interesting.  It seems like it was a real "love-match".  Rasputin, has not appeared on the scene as yet.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on June 30, 2017, 04:41:42 PM
Sandy,   I'm sorry not to have responded to you sooner.    I've been trying to remember where we met.   Was it here in the Library or ??    Sorry to be so absent minded!!!

I just picked up The Stars are Fire at the library today and am anxious to get started.    Meanwhile I purchased a $.99 bargain from Kindle that really started off with a bang.   That is called Brought to our Senses by Kathleen H. Wheeler.    It is a family story (one of my favorite themes  :) ) and it starts right off with discord among the sisters with Mom in the early stages of memory troubles.   I don't remember reading anything by K.H. Wheeler before but she seems like one that I would enjoy.   

I noticed today on Good Reads that Elizabeth Berg has a new book coming out in November titled  The Story of Arthur Truluv.    This looks promising and will have to keep an eye out for it.

I hope that you all enjoy the Fourth of July week-end.    We started early when our son from Charlotte arrived last Tuesday.   He spent Tues. and Wed. night with us and then his son picked him up to go to the cottage on the lake where his wife's family have a reunion each summer.  He is a good and easy house guest.....just enjoys visiting with no extra running around....just like dad!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: junee on July 01, 2017, 11:46:48 PM
Marilyne
Think I remember that you were going to reread Thornbirds and so I brought my kindle back to life and it is many years since I saw the movie.  Downloaded but never read the book.  Colleen McCullough
Goes to the depths about this child's childhood but I am still reading and hope it  lightens up soon.  Just wondered what you thought of these early chapters?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 02, 2017, 11:40:59 AM
Junee - I haven't reread The Thornbirds yet.  I did check out the book from the library but I never got to it, and finally had to return it. Then I got involved in lots of other books, so I forgot all about getting it again! This time, I'm going to order it in large print, which will be easier for me to read.

I'm almost finished with The Romanov Sisters.  It's a long and detailed book, but worth the effort.  As I mentioned earlier, I've always been especially interested in the Russian Revolution, and the tragic ending for Nicholas and Alexandra, and their family. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on July 02, 2017, 01:28:03 PM
I enjoyed reading "The Thornbirds" but liked to watch the DVD more. Think all the women wanted to watch Richard Chamberlain back then. We had a priest here in town that looked just like him. The women were going to Mass more just to see him.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 03, 2017, 12:32:45 PM
JeanneP - I agree, Richard Chamberlain was nice to look at!  He probably still is, even though he's turning 83 this year. 

I'll pick up The Thorn Birds at the library today.  Unfortunately, they didn't have a copy in large print, so I hope the small print and the large size of the book isn't too hard for me to handle.  If so, I'll order it for my Kindle.

maryc - How do you like The Stars are Fire? I thought it was a excellent story, and after I finished, I gave it to my daughter to read. She didn't like it as much as I did, mainly because of the part about the piano player. 
I'll be looking forward to Elizabeth Berg's new book. I have her as a "friend" on Facebook, and I remember when she posted a message about  The Story of Arthur Truluv.. It's fun and interesting to have your favorite authors as friends on FB. They talk about their latest book, and sometimes just write short comments on their personal lives, their pets, etc.  Some authors are very political, (not Berg), and are not shy in voicing their opinions.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 03, 2017, 02:32:50 PM
Yes Richard Chamberlain WAS nice to look at but it seemed to me that it was hard work going through all of those episodes of The Thorn Birds so had no interest in reading it.    Maybe that is what seeing the film before the book does.....you skip a lot of detail that would be interesting in print.

I'm just ready to start The Stars Are Fire as I was finishing Brought to Our Senses.   That was a good family story but some might not  be comfortable with the extensive detail about the mother's illness.   I'll have to read another of her books to judge her style better.

It is interesting to read more about the authors and their families and lives but I've never followed one of Facebook.   Good idea and a good way to keep up with the new things they have coming out.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on July 03, 2017, 03:24:42 PM
Now Richard Chamberlain is another actor that had a Face Lift done. Turned out awful. Only seen him one time on a talk show. People notices and things said. Not been back on any since.  Still lives in Hawaii they say.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on July 04, 2017, 02:50:25 PM
If you like books about sisters, I recommend Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown which was published in 2011.  There are 3 sisters who have been brought together after a lengthy time of going their own ways.  My book club read this several years ago and I enjoyed the book--as well as seeing myself in the role of Big sister, recognizing the traits of middle sister in my middle sister and baby sister, too.  All 3 sisters were flawed in some way--as aren't all sisters? 

I hope the title is underlined.  I've forgotten how to do that!

SCFSue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 04, 2017, 04:20:24 PM
Well, I went and did it! My Kindle e-reader is refusing to download any more books. I checked the memory available and found that I only have 1.6mb left. Get to get cracking and read some of those Gutenberg titles I have downloaded and let sit.

One of those is Anthony Trollope's short story, "An Unprotected Female at the Pyramids", which I enjoyed. This is the first Anthony Trollope for me. I plan on finding more of his stuff to read.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 04, 2017, 06:08:47 PM
Mars Gal - your overloaded Kindle, sounds like my overloaded DVR!  I have so many movies and television programs recorded, that I finally ran out of space.  I'll be watching Yankee Doodle Dandy later tonight, so that will free up two hours.  Then I think I'm going to start deleting anything that's been recorded longer than six months.
I like the name of the Trollope short story - An Unprotected Female at the Pyramids.  That's a title that will get your attention!

Sue - I finally finished The Romanov Sisters.  A wonderful historical account of the Russian Royal family, during the Bolshevik Revolution. (and before). Your recommendation, Weird Sisters, sounds good.  I'll look it up, and see if they have it at my library.  I'm trying to think of other books featuring sisters, but all I can remember, is Little Women, and Little House on the Prairie.  I've always wished I had a sister, but have to be content with my one brother. :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 05, 2017, 06:16:29 PM
Just checking in to say that I finished The Stars Are Fire and how much I enjoyed it.   Grace and friend Rosie's early lives were similar to mine in the way we kept house (that is before all of the automatic appliances that we are blessed with today)  I had to smile when Grace got her first washing machine and how she emptied it out the window.   My first washer was a second hand wringer but at least I had a basement with laundry tubs for rinsing.   :)   I noticed how steadily those ladies smoked in their homes with young children and thought how much things have changed in that respect as well.    Beyond those things it was a gripping story and kept me interested from the beginning.   Thanks for the tip, Marilyne.

Speaking of stories about sisters,  the one that I had just finished,   Brought To Our Senses: A Family Saga Novel by Kathleen H. Wheeler was about a family with three sisters and one brother and the relationships between each daughter and mother and between the siblings.  Some of the Lisa Wingate books are also about sisters and one in particular is about a group of friends who were like sisters.   I had just one sister who was 4 years older than myself.    We were never close as youngsters and then she left home and moved across the country so that it was impossible to be close.    She died at age 70.    I've had women friends over the years that were like sisters to me without the sibling rivalry that happens with blood relatives.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 05, 2017, 06:28:58 PM
MaryC, I am currently reading Brought to Our Senses, it is a tough read.  Unfortunately, my 2 daughters are similar to
Elizabeth and the "rebel" daughter.  The book is teaching me what can and cannot be agreed upon by siblings!  I gotta leave good instructions. Also, do "The Conversation" thing.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 05, 2017, 06:54:55 PM
mary and Tome - Well, now I'm going to have to get Brought to Our Senses, ASAP!  Sounds like my two daughters.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 05, 2017, 07:16:45 PM
the conversation I speak of is: www.the conversation project.org
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 06, 2017, 12:51:22 PM
Tomereader,  I hope you will find this book interesting as well as somewhat useful.     I believe that where there are siblings in a family that mostly some of them will fit into one category or another.   Not too likely that all children are the same!  ;)     We DID have the conversation somewhat when my husband was so ill 18 months ago.    We had made some of the decisions earlier on but when you come face to face with the facts you begin to second guess what you thought was the right thing.   We have chosen to let nature take it's course but at the same time do everything within reason to see that he is protected from other risks.   We feel like we are living on a plateau and enjoying every day of it.   Our children really don't want The Conversation BUT when they came to a crisis they were supportive  with whatever we wanted to do or not to do.  There is a form that Hospice provided us with called MOLST (Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment).    This is from the NYS Department of Health but I wouldn't be surprised is other states have something similar.    We keep it on the front of the refrigerator and our Dr. has a copy.   Enough of that for now.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 08, 2017, 03:03:42 PM
mary -I'm glad you liked The Stars are Fire.  I thought it was a good story, based on a true catastrophic event.  As you said, the day in and day out lives of Grace and Rosie were most interesting. The days of the wringer washing machines, seem like a fuzzy dream to me now.  In the house where I grew up, we had a "wash room" just outside the house in back The wringer washer and laundry tub were out there, and of course the clothes line was in the back yard. 

I remember very clearly once when I was about four years old, and my mother got her hand caught in the wringer.  Fortunately I was playing nearby, and she called for me and told me run across the street and get her neighbor friend, Ella.  I recall being frightened, but Ella was there, and came running, and released the wringer pressure. They remained close friends all through the years.
The last time I saw Ella, was at my mother's funeral/memorial service, in 1975.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on July 08, 2017, 10:46:06 PM
I remember those days with the wringer washer.  We had a laundry room and I loved helping my mother by putting the clothes thru the wringer.  I got my hand and arm caught once but don't remember it hurting.  I remember even more when my mother got her first automatic machine.  The first time she used it the machine started jumping around during the spin and gave us a scare.  The repairman had to bolt it to the floor.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on July 09, 2017, 06:53:24 PM
When my grandmother retired from almost 60 years at the Post Office, she had a time with the laundry.  Until that time, we had a lady who came to care for my youngest sister who did the laundry.  So Grandma decided that she would do the laundry.  To her this involved hauling the wringer washer out on the back porch, carrying buckets of water to that tub, plus two 2 round tin tubs for rinsing, and me to tote  clothing and hang up the wash outside.  I was about 15 and had a pass (which I worked for by scrubbing out men's and women's changing rooms at Lower Falls Beach).  I hated laundry day because I couldn't leave for the 4 mile walk out to that beach until everything was on the clothes line. 

Then next day, I had to iron the sheets AND the towels (which didn't help their texture!).  This also made me late for getting out to LFB!  I had 2 younger sisters, but neither was expected to help--not fair I used to grumble under my breath!  Did grumbling help?  No WAY!  Oh well, I lived through it and probably was better for it, but it didn't make me happy!

FlaJean, you were fortunate you weren't badly hurt with that wringer accident!

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 10, 2017, 06:51:55 AM
Same here, FlaJean. My arm went numb and was a bit swollen, but it cleared up soon enough. The rollers popped before anything worse happened.

SCFSue, I remember the days of ironing sheets, etc. You name it, it got ironed. Mom was also very particular about how things, especially towels, got folded. She had worked as a hotel maid in Bath during the war. That is where she met Dad.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 10, 2017, 11:41:41 AM
The wringer washer that we had, had a release handle that separated (released) the two rollers. This was in the late 1930's, so it was probably an early model and didn't have any safety features?  I only remember that my mom couldn't reach it to release it, which is why she sent me running for Ella. Funny how you remember certain small events like that, from so long long ago.

Sue - It sounds like you did more than your share on wash day!  I often think about the many "chores" that my brother and I had to do every day, including weekends! My mother worked all during the War years, while my dad was gone overseas, so we had to do everything.  Grandma was there to watch over us, but I don't recall her doing the work - just giving orders! LOL.

I also remember ironing sheets, but not towels.  We had to shake the towels to take out some of the stiffness, before folding them.  Ironing was my favorite chore.  I did a lot of it over the years, and I still like to iron.  I find it to be very relaxing - almost tranquilizing.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on July 10, 2017, 11:54:52 AM
I'm still not fond of ironing, although I occasionally get out the ironing board and "touch up" something that has been washed and hung in the closet and needs a bit of ironing.

Thank goodness for the new sheets which need no ironing and towels which come out of the dryer nice and fluffy!  I don't even have a clothesline anymore--and it might be illegal in my neighborhood to hang things outside.  A former neighbor had a pole with a round top with several rounds of clothes line and she let me hang some things that didn't do well in my dryer.  She moved away and the new neighbors don't seem to want anyone in their yard, so I hang some things inside to dry, but most things can go into a dryer these days.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 10, 2017, 04:56:21 PM
Interesting reminiscing here about wash days of "old".   I don't mind ironing and still do our casual clothes even though they probably would be ok without.   I just like the look of a smooth tee shirt and jeans or shorts.   :thumbup:    When the children were small and I was a stay at home mom I did ironing for a lady weekly.    She was the caregiver for two granddaughters and they each wore one of those pretty dresses every day for school.    There were miles of skirts and ruffles.   It was a challenge.     Do any of you recall using an ironer.    My mom had one for a time during the war years and we used it especially for household linens.   The dish towels were not textured as they are now so needed smoothing out.  I think she found that she could do a dress shirt quicker with a hand iron than trying to juggle it on the ironer.   :)

Speaking of sisters and divided chores,  I'm reading a book by Elizabeth Berg just now.   It is called What We Keep.    A large portion of the story is told by the main character about her growing up years with a sister who was pretty close in age and there were squabbles about many things.   I thought I had read this but brought it home just the same.    I don't believe I have read it before.    I took two of her books because I was in a hurry and couldn't zero in on another good author.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 10, 2017, 05:29:45 PM
I am back to reading another SciFi, Down below Station by C. J. Cherryh, which is the first in The Company Wars series. It won the 1982 Hugo Award. Unfortunately, the copy I have is small, dark, dense print and the pages are yellowed. Because of that, it is difficult to read if not in good light, so it is going to be a slow read. Oh, super! I just found the full audiobook on YouTube,  I think I'll try that.

As for lighter fare, I am reading Gone to Green by Judy Christie. It is also the first of a series and follows a woman who inherits a small town newspaper. It is a pleasant read, humorous in an understated way, and a change from heavier reading.

Just finished: Knights of the North: A Yukon Adventure, by Bobby Hutchinson. It is as much a romance as it is an adventure. Set in the City of Dawon, Yukon, it follows two RCMP members. It to is not taxing on the brain. The characters are likeable for the most part, but not always with much character depth.

All three of these books were written by women.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 10, 2017, 11:46:47 PM
mary - I read What We Keep, many years ago, but I remember how much I liked it.  I'd like to read it again, along with a couple of other Elizabeth Berg novels.  My favorite of all her books is, We Are All Welcome Here.  I liked it so much that I bought a copy from Amazon, just so I could have it to read again whenever I wanted to.  It's fiction, but Berg adapted it from a true story.  We are probably the last generation who can appreciate this story. It's about a young wife, who contracts the worst form of polio, and ends up in an iron lung.  It sounds terribly depressing, but it's not!  In spite of the circumstances, it's an upbeat story.  As I said, after our generation is gone, no one else will ever be able to relate to a story like this . . . the fear of polio, and how the lives of some who were afflicted, were changed forever.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 11, 2017, 12:29:48 PM
Oh yes!!! the fear of polio especially when our children were young.    The vaccine was just in the early stages as our children were born and it was still a threat until those were more widely available.  I still meet an adult who was affected with Polio as a child.

I thought that I had read We Are All Welcome Here but since I am on this E. Berg journey,  I may take it out and read it again.   Your description kind of revs up my memories.  The second one that I brought from the library this time is Tapestry of Fortunes.    That title did not ring a bell with me at all.    The library has notified me that one of Jodi Piccoult's books that I requested is in.   That one is Small Great Things: A Novel.    I did take out the "Playaway" and started to listen but that doesn't work well for me as I fall asleep and loose my place.   :D   

I should go out and do some gardening but it is hot out there and the comfort of the AC holds me inside.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 14, 2017, 01:56:38 PM
This week I’ve been rereading The Thorn Birds, and I'm finding it totally engrossing!  Very hard to put down!  I last read it when it was first published in 1977, and then watched the television series that followed fairly soon after. 

Not sure, but I think the TV show focused mostly on the love story between Meggie and Father Ralph?  The book covers so much more regarding the history of Australia, the people, and the members of Meggie’s family. 

For those of you who have never read The Thorn Birds, I highly recommend that you do!  For those who read it 40 years ago, it is well worth reading again!  There is so much in the book that I had forgotten, and many things in the story are much more meaningful to me, than they were back then.

Junee - I remember that we talked about TTB, a few months ago, and you said you were going to reread it? I'm wondering if you ever did?  If not, I think you will really enjoy it all over again.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 14, 2017, 02:10:42 PM
I probably posted a recommendation here for "The News of the World" by Paulette Jiles.  I understand they are making a movie of it, and UNFORTUNATELY, once again Hollywood is miscasting the lead actor; i.e. Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher.  The lead character in NOTW is Capt. Kyle Kidd, who is 70+ years old, has a deeply resonant voice by which he captures his audiences when reading the News of the World.  So...Hollywood is casting Tom Hanks as Capt. Kidd. Please tell me this isn't true. My pick for the lead, who would fit the description of Capt. Kidd is Sam Elliott, who is currently starring in "The Hero". 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on July 14, 2017, 02:14:04 PM
Tomereader1, IMHO Tom Cruise has a very pretty face, but little to no acting talent!  I recently watched a "Reacher" movie which starred Cruise as Reacher--and believe me, he is NO REACHER--who is a very manly man!

SCFSue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 14, 2017, 04:32:40 PM
Now, don't anyone get me wrong here!  I love Tom Hanks, I've enjoyed almost all of his movies, but he would be so wrong for this particular role!  He's probably bought the movie rights to this book and figured he ought to "star" in it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 14, 2017, 05:42:29 PM
Tome - I read News of the World, as did my husband, and we both loved it!  I agree with you 100%, as to the casting of Tom Hanks, as "the Captain". There are others in that age category, that would fit the role better.  It seems that Hanks has a lock on every choice role for any actor over 60 years old . . .  "Sully", "Bridge of Spies", and "Captain Phillips”, just to name three. I know that he bought the rights to "Sully", but not sure of the others? 

Like you said, he's a great actor and I like him . . . but still, it would be nice to see another older actor cast as the lead in "NOTW". Hanks just doesn't look the part.  I was thinking of Harrison Ford or Sam Shepard, but Sam Elliott would be good too.  Even Tommy Lee Jones would be a possibility . . . he's the right age, and he's a Texan. 

Too bad we can't work as casting directors! ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: junee on July 14, 2017, 07:22:43 PM
Marilyne

YES, I did find the first two chapters depressing but am enjoying it now I am into the main story.  Not a fast reader these days and know I will be wanting to see that movie again as it is many years since I viewed it.
Now a very interesting article this week in our Women's Weekly,which I normally do not get but GDaughter brought it to me.  You probably know that Colleen McCullough died in Norfolk Island and has left TWO WILLS (seem to remember something about Mary Carson doing the same thing) and is being sorted out in the courts.  One will leaves All to her husband Rick and the other will leaves all to The University of OKLAHOMA.  Think maybe she is having the last laugh.  I always enjoyed interviews when she visited back here but some of her answers ,
and the laugh that followed made me wonder if they were ambiguous.    Will be interesting to see what the result is, and I hope it appears in the news some where.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 14, 2017, 08:42:46 PM
Tommy Lee Jones does not look like a well man, last movie I saw him in.  I know he looks his age, but it's past that now, he looks sick.  Never cared much for Sam Shepard.  Don't really see Harrison Ford as the Captain. 
Elliott looks rugged, worn, and oh that voice.  Just my MHO
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 15, 2017, 12:17:00 AM
Tome - I like Sam Elliott, but there is something about his on-screen persona, that I don't think would be right for The Captain. Maybe too laid back and flirtatious??  I do agree about his voice though - it would be perfect. 
Another actor who is about the right age, and who is extremely versatile, is Richard Gere.  I think he could pull it off.   Also Ed Harris, is a wonderful actor.  Robert Duvall, is way too old, at age 85, but when he was younger, he would have been perfect.  He really knows how to become the character he is playing.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 15, 2017, 06:42:24 AM
It is a shocker to realize Robert Duvall is now 85.

I finished reading Gone to Green , by by Judie Christie, which is, I think, a Chick Lit thing. Not my usual venue, but it was a pleasant read and a break from heavier reading. Of course what got my attention in the first place, was that the plot had a big city Northern gal inheriting newspaper in a small Southern town.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 16, 2017, 12:02:52 PM
MarsGal - looks like both you and maryc, gave Gone to Green, a thumbs-up, so I'll add it to my library list.  So many books on my list are unavailable at my two libraries, so I guess I'll have to work harder at learning to love my Kindle!  I do like it for other things, but still prefer a real book, if I can find one.

Junee - Hang in there with The Thorn Birds!  Although it's a long and detailed story, but it's really worth it.  I'm so glad that I read it again after all these years, and would recommend it to all those who look into this discussion. :thumbup:   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 19, 2017, 12:33:09 AM
Our ongoing heat wave has finally subsided, so tomorrow I plan to finally break out of this house, and get a much needed change of scenery!  I have to get some groceries, plus go to the library, and maybe I'll drive to San Jose to the Barnes and Noble?  It's fun to go to B&N and just look at all the new books. They always have some interesting selections on their bargain book shelves. 

Junee - I meant to mention yesterday, that I hadn't heard about Colleen McCullough, leaving two wills - with the second one willing her fortune to the University of Oklahoma?  Yes, it does sound like she was influenced by her fictitious character, Mary Carson. ;D  I'm sure all the information is online, so I'll look and see what I can find.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 19, 2017, 01:32:54 PM
I saw my name mentnioned here in connection with the book  Gone to Green.   ;D     I hadn't read it but decided that perhaps I should look into it.    It sounded kind of interesting so I did make the $.99 buy from Kindle.     I'm reading that now off and on with the Jodi Picoult book that I have from the library.   That one is kind of heavy reading so Gone to Green is light and a relief from all that stuff that is in the other story.    There is a lot about the White Supremacy movement in   Picoult's book and it gets me down.  It is stuff that I know exists but I would rather  not think about it.....way too scary.   Am I a coward???

I have requested News of the World from the library so I'd better keep at the books I have in hand to be ready for that when it comes along. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on July 19, 2017, 01:41:42 PM
News of the World sounds interesting.  I'm on the reserve list.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 19, 2017, 06:13:15 PM
mary - I've become disenchanted with Jodi Picoult, in recent years.  Her novels are too similar, and too depressing.  I usually enjoy a book with lots of angst and drama, which she has plenty of, but there was something about her stories that gave me an uncomfortable feeling that lasted for a long time.

FlaJean & mary - I hope both of you will enjoy News of the World. It's the best book I've read this year! 

MarsGal & SCFSue - I think you would both like it too!   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on July 19, 2017, 06:20:58 PM
did my quick trip to the library. Left house at 4pm and back by 4:40. Just still to hot to be outside. Set now for next 2 days as will still be high 90. Got 3 DVD and pickup up "The Hamilton Affair" for one book.  Right now I am in the middle of the book "Margo" Had it out a couple of time but did not start it. It is quite good. Margo was the eldest sister to Anne Frank. in the non fiction book as we know Margo died same time a Anne in the Camp. In this book she lived to escape on the last day. Changed her name, came to the USA and now has a job in a Law office. Not admitting her religion of her life.
Fast reader. I will finish it.

Time to fix fast dinner.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Sandy on July 19, 2017, 06:52:21 PM
I am not a fan of Jodi Picoult either.. 

I do like the way she writes,   but I find
her subject matter  controversial,  about matters
that I do not enjoy reading about and confronting.
(Race,  sexuality, etc etc. ) with regards to other
peoples lives.     

Personally,  as a matter of self preservation,
I tend to focus on the positive,  when ever possible.

Issues that upset me,  I sort
through t("right wrong or indifferent"),
until I am satisfied with what ever I decide,
then I let them go  (as much as possible.)

I tend to avoid  reading  about life's
stressful issues that are not personally 
my own.     As they say "Denial" is
more then a river in Egypt!

(I embrace it!)
Sandy   ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 19, 2017, 07:24:03 PM
Sandy,   You put those thoughts quite well.  I especially like your last phrase.  :)     It does seem as though in this day of so much bad news coming at us daily and almost hour by hour,  we really don't need fiction to add to the mix.     I may just give in to my weaker self and return that book to the library. :-\

Some of you have been talking about the heat in other parts of the country.    We've been pretty lucky in regard to the heat but we're having a couple days just now of weather that is too warm to be enjoyed unless you happen to be one of those folks that just love the heat!  It is hard for me to imagine those 100+ temps that were going on in the S.W. a couple weeks ago......way too hot!!!  Stay cool and hydrated friends.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 20, 2017, 07:01:50 AM
Marilyne, I have had News of the World on my library wish list for a while now. However, I am trying to read some of the accumulation I already have physically and on e-book before ordering more from the library. I am down to about five books on my library wishlist from about 25 a year ago.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 20, 2017, 07:39:11 PM
maryc - Because you like Elizabeth Berg, I thought about you when I read her Facebook page today.  This is a really fun read, and will remind you of summers in the 1940's, when we were growing up. Lots of talk of cousins, aunts, uncles - what life was like before television, airplane travel, and electronic devices.  I really enjoyed reading what all these people had to say about their fond memories of childhood summers.
https://www.facebook.com/bergbooks/?hc_ref=ARTKVbgjCUdXRSUbZntsH5f6-fo18xmJ9Df7OI08mDwTMO6IoH1fKdjnZO_RXAjRsJM&fref=nf
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on July 21, 2017, 05:33:54 PM
Marilyne. That reading/cooking day would be nice to go to. Little expensive though $350 for the day I Think it said. It is in Chicago which is close to me. I thought she lived in Texas.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 21, 2017, 06:17:26 PM
Elizabeth Berg's Facebook post was a delightful read.   It reminded me of summers that I spent with my Aunt Mary and Uncle Mert.   She was my father's sister and had no children of her own but she was always welcoming and fun and funny to be around.    Here's just one little incident that sticks with me.   Aunt Mary worked at the local grocery in their in house bakery.   One day before work she had baked a cake to take to the home of someone who had lost a loved one.    While she was at work, Uncle Mert told my cousin and myself that he thought he should sample the cake (for quality control).  He did and Auntie made quite a stir when she came home to find her cake had been cut.   After the dust settled she just baked another and all was well.   They were quite a pair and left lots of good memories behind.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 22, 2017, 12:31:49 AM
JeanneP - I saw that you left a message on Elizabeth Berg's Facebook page! I think you should consider that cooking class if you live close enough.  It would be fun for you. :)  Is Oak Park a suburb of Chicago?

mary - I enjoyed reading all those comments too.  Really brought back pleasant memories of vacations long forgotten.  I also had an aunt and uncle who were childless . . . my mother's brother Boone, and his wife Dot.  They lived in a small mountain town way up in Northern California called Willow Creek, and always welcomed us whenever we could make the long drive to visit them.  We would always take two or more cousins with us, and would meet other family members there. We all had such a wonderful time - fishing and swimming all day in the surrounding rivers, and sleeping in the backyard bunkhouse at night.       
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 23, 2017, 03:42:50 PM
Our Souls At Night, by Kent Haruf, a novel that many of us read last year, has been made into a Netflix movie.  It will be entered in the Cannes Film Festival, at the end of August, and after that, it will be available to see on Netflix. It stars Robert Redford and Jane Fonda.

I saw a short news story about it online today, and I'm sure we'll be reading a lot more about the movie, before we have a chance to see it.  I really liked the book, and will be looking forward to watching the movie.  After reading the book, I went on to read all of Kent Haruf's novels. I think there are six? 

If there are any of you who haven't read Our Souls At Night, or any of the others, I highly recommend them all.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on July 23, 2017, 07:20:50 PM
Need to see if library have. "Our Souls at night." Will see the movie for sure once it is out. I can see Redford and Fonda together.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on July 23, 2017, 08:05:32 PM
Our Library has the book in Large Print. "Our souls at night". I ordered. Should be a fast read. Only 150 plus pages. Sound good.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 24, 2017, 03:33:46 PM
Ah yes,   Our Souls At Night!!!   That was a moving story.  I read some of the reviews last evening and many expressed my feelings.    It's a sad day to know that we will have no more of Kent Haruf's good writing. I found him quite by accident years ago and thought that I had read them all but as I look over the list I believe that there are still a couple I've missed.   

I'm well into News of the World and it is good as you said, Marilyne.    I noticed that it isn't such an old book and yet the copy I have from the library looks well worn.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on July 24, 2017, 05:36:17 PM
 I am going to get trying on the Ipad to read some of the books I have on there.  Seems like library put most of the new ones coming out onto the IBook through the library.  Specially if the Library keep putting out these notices saying they are closing in order to again bring the spray people in again because of find bugs in the books.. Twice now in 6 weeks. The Library is a multi Million Dollar building. They keep adding onto it. First section goes back to the 1800s. Beautiful building.

I keep the books close to my bed.  Makes me think.  Bed Bugs I don't need
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 25, 2017, 09:11:22 PM
JeanneP,   That IS a little frightening to think you might bring home little critters in library books. :yikes: I used to like to shop at our Salvation Army store and have found some really nice things there but in later months when there has been a scare about BBs  I've given second thoughts to that little excursion.

I just finished The News of the World.    What a beautiful little book!!   Paulette Giles is such an artist with words.  Her descriptions are just lovely.    I'm passing that book on to my daughter and she has a newer book of Jan Karon's that she is giving to me.  We both use the same libraries so it works out well.   Today I mentioned to her the Netflix movie, Our Souls At Night.    I hope when she finds it,  I will be able to watch it also.  She and I shopped for clothes today and we both bought the same pair of Sketcher shoes.   They are a nice pair of step-ins in gray and are just what I've been looking for as a neat casual shoe.  Besides that we didn't do too well.   I found a nice sunny yellow tee in Chico's and a couple more in our local department store.  The buys are pretty good just now as they are clearing out the summer clothes.    I've been looking for a pair of light weight pants-not dressy and not jeans, but didn't find anything like that.    There are racks and racks of capris but not much choice in light full length pants.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 25, 2017, 11:51:32 PM
mary - So glad you also liked News of the World.  Tomereader recommended it, and I'm so glad she did!  Look back about a week ago in this discussion, and you'll see posts from both Tome and me, about the book being made into a movie.  Apparently Tom Hanks bought the rights to the book, so we assume he will play the part of The Captain?  We each had an opinion on actors that we thought might be better suited, but I'm sure Hanks will do a good job . . . as he always does.

Interesting, that I also went shoe shopping today, and tried on some Sketchers.  I ended up not buying anything.  I was looking for tie shoes, so didn't see any step in's.  I might go back and take a look at other styles.  I agree on the available pants now on summer sale in our stores.  Seems that they are all Capri's or what we used to call peddle-pushers.  I'm looking for long pants, in a tan or khaki color, but they're hard to find.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on July 26, 2017, 11:42:15 AM
I looked at the Sketchers web site and realized I've been wearing Sketcher's for the last couple of years for every day wear.  They are called "Go Walk" and the most comfortable shoes I've ever had.  I love "slip ons". And shy away from shoes you have to tie.

I'm still in queue for News of the World.  Unless I buy a new book, I've been reading on my iPad.  Been disappointed with books from the library with their coffee stains, etc.  Getting a little germ conscious in my old age.   :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 26, 2017, 02:23:21 PM
I bought two extra pairs of Skechers "knock-offs" from WalMart.  They are DanskinNow.  Cost about $9.99 a pair.
My dtr gave me the first pair, and I liked them so much, I looked them up online, and ordered the 2 extra pairs in different colors.  I've had two ladies in different settings, say "don't you just love Skechers"?  I must admit, they do look very much like Skechers.  They are so comfortable, with "non-marking soles" which is a good thing.  I probably couldn't find real Skechers in my size, as I have to get most shoes like this in the girls department, and these fit wonderfully.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on July 26, 2017, 05:52:50 PM
I picked up "our souls at night" just Tuesday and read in on about 2 hours. Short book but Oh! so good.  I can just picture Jane Fonda playing that part. Hope I can find a DVD later. Can't think who the man is with her. Little sad at the end her stuck in a Senior place.  Some people  do let the children tell them what to do. Not me.

Now I guess it was BB again that where found in the Library. They tell me that now once a month they have dogs coming in that are trained to find things . That is good.  I know that the better Hotel have this service also.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on July 26, 2017, 09:57:52 PM
For those of you with Netflix:   I did a search for "Our Souls At Night", checked "My List" on the screen that came up and it will be automatically added to mine when it comes out.

I also checked out the e-book and read it in one evening.  Sorry - but I can't quite see Robert Redford and Jane Fonda as these two characters.  Hope the script writers don't change the story around.

This is the 4th book Haruf wrote about people in "Holt, Colorado".  1) Plainsong ; 2) Eventide ; 3) Benediction   Don't have to read them in order but some characters are referred to in books that follow the one in which they first appear.


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 26, 2017, 11:42:00 PM
Hi Callie - Good to see you checking in. :hello:  I agree with you on the casting of Redford/Fonda in "Our Souls".  I can't see them as the characters in the book . . . they're just too "pretty" and youthful looking. ::)   Actually, they're both quite a bit older than the the couple in the book?  It's been a while since I read it, but seems to me they were supposed to be right around age 70?  Fonda will turn 80, this year, and I think Redford is the same age?  Of course neither one of them looks a day over 70, so maybe the casting is good?  I can't think of anyone else for the roles, except maybe Richard Jenkins, who played the husband in "Olive Kitteridge"?  As for the actress, I can't come up with anyone except Frances McDormand, who played "Olive"?  They look more like real people, not Hollywood stars.

JeanneP - Glad you also liked the book!  I do like both Jane Fonda and Robert Redford, and have enjoyed most of the movies they've been in over the years. Even though I can't picture them in this particular film I will probably change my mind when I finally see it.  I'm sure they'll do a good job. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on July 27, 2017, 12:12:16 PM
Jane Fonda was on a talk show a couple months ago. Looks good for age. Now she lives with a partner who I think is just a little younger than her and so I can see her in the part. Now Redford. Saw him and he looks really old now. Still attractive for his age. They will have to do a lot to him in order for him to look 70. But I think he will do O.k.  Unless it comes out on DVD I will not be able to see the movie. Will search around later.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 27, 2017, 03:12:40 PM
Just as a matter of interest (mine, maybe not yours!) Marilyne and I discussed Tom Hanks being cast as Captain in News of the World.  I think she thought that a good choice, and I didn't.  But, here is the MOI, of all the Tom Hanks movies, and there are dozens, which do you think was his best-acted role?  Other than Castaway?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on July 27, 2017, 04:23:34 PM
I liked the one (forget the name) where Tom Hanks played a young man who had a child's mind--and who had a ball at Macy's department store playing with toys, especially the stand on/jump on piano.  Does anyone remember this film?

SCFSue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 27, 2017, 05:43:57 PM
"Big"
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 27, 2017, 06:26:40 PM
I'm not a good one to suggest stars for roles as I don't see enough movies to recognize and remember especially any of the current working people.   However,  we did watch a movie on Amazon Prime a few evenings ago that was a story about older adults.    It was called Lovely,Still and starred Martin Landau and Ellen Burstyn.   This was one of those stories  that left us wondering.   If anyone has seen it I would appreciate some feedback to see if our thoughts on the story were correct.   I really do enjoy stories about older folk (like ourselves) and they are more enjoyable if the characters are look like real people and not too glamorous.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on July 27, 2017, 07:36:40 PM
I think Tom Hanks can play anything. Not seen him in any where I didn't think he did well.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 27, 2017, 07:50:48 PM
I'm not going to post my choice until Marilyne has chimed in.  She and I often have similar tastes in movie, books.  I think my choice would not be in her favorite genre, but will wait and see.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 27, 2017, 11:37:45 PM
Tome - That's a tough question.  Tom Hanks has starred in all sorts of movies over the years . . .  drama, action, comedy, and even a fantasy or two.  Three of my favorites that come to mind. (Not counting "Cast Away"), are The Green Mile, Saving Private Ryan, and The Road to Perdition.  People like to make fun of Forrest Gump, but I liked it, even though it was a totally unlikely story.  NOT my favorite, but it was a nice "feel good" movie.  I didn't like the strange fantasy movie, Cloud Atlas, at all. Didn't like the book either.

By the way, I wasn't happy with the casting of Hanks, as Captain, in News of the World. I thought Harrison Ford would be a good choice, and I thought of a few others as well, but can't remember now who they were?  However, Tom Hanks bought the rights to the book and is producing it, so it's a done deal, that he will be the star. I'm beginning to picture him in the role now, and I'm sure he'll do a good job, as he always does. :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 28, 2017, 06:48:11 AM
I was looking over the list of movies Tom Hanks was in and it dawned on my theat I haven't seen that many. Of the ones I've ssen Saving Private Ryan and A League of Their Own came to mind first.

I thought Cloud Atlas was an interesting movie, but the cast member that stood out the most for me in that movie was Jim Broadbent as Cavandish. There were just too many actors playing too many different roles to pick out just one best in that movie. Kudos to all of them for being able to pull of so many different roles in one movie.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 28, 2017, 12:54:38 PM
Marilyne, you reminded me of several that I didn't even think about, but would be right up there on my list of his best performances.  My #1 pick is "Road to Perdition". I've watched that everytime it appears on any channel. #2, "Saving Private Ryan";  the rest would all be tied as I love League of Our Own, Forrest Gump, Green Mile and, of course, Castaway.  As mentioned, he is good in everything ! (Hey, I love You've Got Mail!)  Does anyone remember "Joe and the Volcano"?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on July 28, 2017, 01:10:05 PM
My favorites are You've Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, and The Road to Perdition etc., etc.  :thumbup:  Love his facial expressions.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on July 28, 2017, 01:32:49 PM
Tom Hanks son is getting to be a good Actor also. Looks a lot like his Father

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 28, 2017, 02:58:49 PM
I forgot about A League of Their Own.  I liked it a lot! Not sure, but I think that Joe vs The Volcano, was a box office flop?  I didn't see it, and have never seen it playing on any of the movie channels.     

In recent years, Tom Hanks has starred in movies where he plays a real person . . . Bridge of Spies, Sully, and Captain Phillips.  A new one is in the works, where he plays former Washington Post editor, Ben Bradlee.  Meryl Streep is also in it, but I don't know who she plays?  The name of the movie is The Papers
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 28, 2017, 03:51:34 PM
Good ones, FlaJean. I've watched both Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail numerous times. I think Hanks and Meg Ryan made a good on-screen pair. Didn't she do Joe and the Volcano with Hanks too?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 28, 2017, 05:34:09 PM
Hey, I forgot "Bridge of Spies" - - guess because it's so recent.  Sleepless in Seattle also goes on my list, alongside You've Got Mail.

Hanks is exceptionally versatile in his acting roles, so I will hope he can do the role of Captain in News of The World with his usual authority.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on July 28, 2017, 06:46:01 PM
I've seen Bridge of Spies several times, that was also way up there in my estimation.  I love movies about real people and history, and Tom Hanks does that so well.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on July 30, 2017, 05:09:50 PM
Nice here again today. Just getting ready to go over to the grocery store. Don't want to go far n my car as something seems to be wrong with the lock as when I put my key in it just needs  a lot of work turning it before it starts. It is going into the shop Tuesday while I go to movie next door. Car need good check up. I may be looking at what they have in on their Honda Lot.
Now I am reading a book at the moment. It not bad. About a girl 21 gets in a little trouble and the Child service talks her into signing her 4 year and a 6 month children away. She was going to prison for 10 months. Sort of goes through all their lives. The up and downs. Called "Somewhere out there" by Amy Hatvany. Never heard of her but then never heard of 3/4 of the writers now. Seems like all can get book printed.
Off I go.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 31, 2017, 12:00:00 PM
JeanneP - I agree with you, that there are just too many books being published now, compared to in the past.  So many that I would like to read, but I know I'll never get to even half of the ones that are on my order list. For now, I'm sticking to familiar authors that I know and like.

Which reminds me of Elizabeth Berg. :)  I was looking at her Facebook page over the weekend, and really enjoyed reading her short essay on joining Weight Watchers. LOL  Here it is, if anyone would like to read it.
https://www.facebook.com/bergbooks/

FlaJean - I also liked Bridge of Spies,and will probably watch it again well.  I also liked Sully a lot, and thought Tom Hanks did of great job of portraying the real Sully.  I don't know if you and Larry would like Hacksaw Ridge?  We watched it over the weekend, and thought it was a good movie.  It is another true story of a real person - a heroic American during WWII.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on July 31, 2017, 12:21:56 PM
I enjoyed Sully a lot.  Hacksaw Ridge sounds good.  We usually rent movies from Apple iTunes and it isn't on rental chart yet.  They try to sell for a few months before renting.  I'm sure Larry would enjoy it so will keep it in mind.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 02, 2017, 05:50:51 PM
I am close to finishing Daniel H. Wilson's new book, The Clockwork Dynasty. Here are my thoughts. Make human-like automata, breath some life, anima if you will, into it, add a generous helping of philosophy (think Plato), an ancient history, yin and yang, a little mythology, and superstition, oh, and maybe a little horror scene or two, and you come up with a very interesting tale. The female human lead, who is a research specialist on automatons, is a little slow to pick up on what the other characters are  which I thought that made her a little less convincing as an expert in the subject.

All of that and you might think it is a bit much, but Wilson pulls it off. It is not Wilson's usual high-tech, robotic/AI tale. I am enjoying it.

I finished Artemis Fowl last night. It is an entertaining and fun story. Since I am not up on Fairy lore, I am wondering about some of the relationships and behaviors attributed to trolls, fairies, pixies, and leprechauns in the story. Fantasy is not something usually read, but I did like this book. However, now that my curiosity about the book and character has been satisfied, I doubt I will read any of the rest.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 03, 2017, 05:16:31 PM
Here is a list of 18 books titled "The Best Books About Books". http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/the-read-down/books-about-books?aid=randohouseinc19836-20&ref=PRH745BDD28FA28&linkid=PRH745BDD28FA28&cdi=13F0CB1F062E09D7E0534FD66B0A73BA&template_id=6803

I read five of them. In addition, I may have read The Haunted Bookshop. If not, it will still be on my Paperwhite. This is the sequel to Parnassus on Wheels which I do remember reading. Eight of these books I never heard of, and I saw the movie The World According to Garp. Several of these books I didn't know were about books, like The Fault is in Our Stars. At least three of the books that I haven't read are likely to go on my library wishlist.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 04, 2017, 12:09:59 PM
MarsGal - Interesting list of  "Books about Books".  I’ve read five of them, my favorite being, The Book Thief. That was an unusual and well written story.  I also liked The Fault In Our Stars.  Didn’t care much for the Jane Austen Book Club.   I notice that they left out a recent book about books - The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, by Gabrielle Kevin.  It was a very good, if a little bit implausible.

I see that the Penguin Random House site, is similar to the one that I go to a lot called Off the Shelf, which is a Simon & Schuster site. Set up in a similar way. Some excellent selections there as well.
http://offtheshelf.com
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 04, 2017, 12:31:07 PM
I get those two newsletters, Marilyne, plus Publisher's Weekly, Harper Collins, Book Page, and one from a SciFi site for new and independent Science Fiction and Fantasy writers. Book Page is the one that our library gets free give out copies each month. https://bookpage.com/


I noticed that there were books missing from the list, way too many to list. Among a few I can recall are 84, Charing Cross Road, The Name of the Rose, Dewey, The Bookman's Tale (very good), Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore (also very good), A Novel Bookstore (another thumbs up), and The Bookseller of Kabul.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on August 04, 2017, 12:53:52 PM
Marsgal,  is there a charge to subscribe to the bookpage on-line?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 05, 2017, 06:32:54 AM
Callie, the print edition is available free through bookstores and libraries. Subscriptions for individuals are available but cost $30 for 12 issues. The online version is free as are past issues which can be viewed from the website.

They have a list of libraries and bookstores where you can find Book Page:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9OKSeUVsRTnVy1HSHdaTG1BREU/view
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on August 05, 2017, 10:07:51 AM
Thanks.   I've picked up the free BookPage in past years and always enjoyed reading it.   However, I don't go where it's offered any more.    I often look at the web site to get ideas for books TBR but had never investigated the subscription possibility.
Your link made me wonder....so I asked.   :)  Thanks.  Now I'll sign up!  :thumbup:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 07, 2017, 03:45:11 PM
If you enjoyed watching The Carol Burnett Show, back in the day, you might like the book she's written about the show.  It's called, In Such Good Company, and is written by Carol, herself.  It's not an autobiography. It's only about her show, and all the wonderful actors who worked with her every week, as well as some of her favorite guest stars.  It was fun to read, and brought back lots of good memories from the long, long ago.  I hope she someday writes her entire life story, as I'm sure it would be very interesting.

I like celebrity memoirs or autobiographies, and have read quite a few over the years.  Some that stand out in my mind as being very good, were by Patricia Neal, Ann Baxter, Mia Farrow, and Jane Fonda.  I know many of you don't like Fonda, but needless to say, her life story is fascinating! The way she was raised, her mother, her father, her many husbands, and her lifestyle, all make for a very interesting story.   There are a number of books that have been written about her, but this is the only one that she wrote herself.  It's been many years ago that I read it, and can't remember the title?  I'll have to Google it, or look on Amazon.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 09, 2017, 02:27:03 PM
Thanks for the tip on the Carol Burnett book Marilyne.    I'm going to send that on to Debby.    She still enjoys reruns of some of those old shows and has recently started reading some biography.    Even though you say this one isn't just that it sounds like one that she would enjoy.

I've been reading (as I haven't been posting   :) )    I brought home another E. Berg book called Say When.     Don't think I read this one.    While I was browsing her shelf at the library I notice a book nearby that caught my eye.   This one is called Trophy House by Anne Bernays.   Never heard of her but this is a light, quick, chick lit, good for easy summer reading.    When the weather turns to fall I will be interested in getting into something a little more serious.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on August 09, 2017, 03:20:55 PM
Marilyne,  I was able to get the e-book for "In Such Good Company".   Finished it in one evening.  It was entertaining.

I just got "Three Tales From The World Of Cotton Malone" by Steve Berry.  I've read almost all of the Cotton Malone series and am enjoying these "prequels" to three of the stories.   However, I may have to reread the books because I can't remember the details.

Also have two "chick lits"  -  "First Comes Love" by Emily Giffin and "The One That Got Away" by Bethany Page,  I won't read "thrillers" at bedtime so have dipped into "First Comes Love".  So far, so good. 

I subscribed to the Bookpage monthly e-mail  (Thanks, MarsGal).  "The Locals" by Jonathan Dee was listed in the August Top 10 but it isn't available (yet?) in e-book.  So I'm trying "The Privileges" to see what I think about him. Haven't started it, yet.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 09, 2017, 07:12:31 PM
Callie - I'm glad you enjoyed In Such Good Company.  It's not a book that will win any lit prizes, but fun for those of us who remember The Carol Burnett Show.  I do hope that she writes a book someday, that's more of a personal memoir.  She's led an interesting life, with lots of highs, and lots of lows.

maryc - Debby will probably like it also, especially if she has been watching the old reruns. I've never been able to find reruns of her shows on any of my channels.  I doubt that they would seem dated, after all these years.  Her style of humor, and the way the show was set up, is timeless, I think?

I've also been reading some Elizabeth Berg books, that I would recommend to anyone who likes good character driven stories.  Durable Goods, is excellent!  It's short book, about a military family in the 1960's.  I know that Berg herself, was an "Army brat", (as she likes to call herself), so I wonder if some of the events in the story were based on her life?  I just started The Pull of the Moon, and looks like it's going to be another good one.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on August 09, 2017, 07:58:35 PM
Marilyne,  Carol Burnett also wrote "This Time Together".  It has more biographical material and more detail about her co-stars and special guests.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 10, 2017, 12:09:11 AM
Thank you Callie. :)  I'll see if my library has This Time Together
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 13, 2017, 03:51:49 PM
Now reading Dead Virgins, the first of the India Sommers Mystery series, by K. M. Ashman. The chapters flip back and forth from 2010 to 64AD. The story is interesting but not great. The author spends some time explaining the historical background of the goddess Isis and her connection (incarnation?) to Vesta. I am puzzled that the author says the Isis myth, along with Set and Horus came originally from the Black Sea area, not Egypt. Huh? Ok, I need to research that. Literary license or new research findings? The main female character is a librarian and amateur historian.
https://www.fantasticfiction.com/a/kevin-ashman/dead-virgins.htm

Also, I've begun reading a new book called Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan. It is okay, but after five chapters, I still haven't warmed up to characters.The author worked in several bookstores and is married to a librarian. http://www.matthewjsullivan.com/books.html

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 13, 2017, 04:54:26 PM
MarsGal - I love the titles of the two books you recommended!  Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore, and Dead Virgins, certainly did get my attention!  I've always been attracted to catchy titles and attractive book covers . . . although I have to admit that many of them didn't live up to my expectations.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 19, 2017, 02:47:30 PM
I just finished reading another Elizabeth Berg book, The Pull of the Moon.  I liked it okay, but not nearly as much as EB’s other books that I’ve read.  It was about a fifty year old woman, who suddenly realizes she is getting old.  She just up and leaves her home and husband, to go out in the world and “find herself”. ::)  During her travels, she meets many people who help her to see and appreciate her life, etc., etc.  This same basic story line has been done by other female authors, and a few male authors as well. (Anne Tyler and Larry McMurtry, to name two that I can think of, although I can’t recall the titles of the books.)   Anyway, there were some things about Pull of the Moon that I could relate to.  She has few profound things to say, that I agree with about family, husbands, etc.  However, it's not one of Berg's best novels, IMO.

I now have the book that some of you recommended, called Brought to Our Senses, by Kathleen Wheeler.  It looks good, and I'm looking forward to reading it.     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 22, 2017, 01:45:38 PM
Marilyne,  I hope you will enjoy Brought to Our Senses as I did.   I suppose it wasn't so much enjoyment as it was hearing how other families deal with issues of aging as compared as to my personal opinions.    I happen to have two good friends  with husbands suffering with dementia.   Both now are in care facilities and each family has their own unique set of circumstances due to location of children and differing opinions on what is the right and wrong of the care plan.   When you wrote of The Pull of the Moon,  I realized that I had just borrowed it from the library on my Kindle.    Just before that I had brought home her book of short stories called Ordinary Life.   The first story of that book was about a woman age 70 who decided that rather than spend money for a retreat away from home that she would spend a week locked in the bathroom.    She stocked the room with comfortable bedding for the tub and plenty of her favorite foods.   The story is funny in the conversations she had with hubby but after that and then The Pull of the Moon I had to wonder if this author has a strong urge to get away and "find herself".   The short story was good and enough but I'm not sure I'll plod along with this lady on her sojourn.      Meanwhile my request for Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman came in at the library.    At the beginning I wasn't too sure about this story but it has turned into quite an interesting tale.    I'm not sure if it was mentioned here or if I read about in The Book Page. It is different!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on August 22, 2017, 01:50:39 PM
I think I could live in my Bedroom for a week if all I need in there. Sure could not do it in a bathroom.
I am waiting for some of the books you suggested to be in the library. Not gotten any good reads for the past week.  2 I brought back from last week I found I had already read.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on August 22, 2017, 02:02:07 PM
Marilyne and Mary,  on your recommendations,  I've begun reading Elizabeth Berg's books and like her story-telling - although the recurring "theme" (avoiding tough decisions by refusing to deal with reality) puzzles me.

So far,  I've finished "Pull of the Moon" and "Brought To Our Senses".
 
Now, I'm reading "Home Safe" - about another woman who is having a problem deciding who she is as an Independent Individual.
This one is a new widow with one adult never-married daughter.
The contrast between the description of the woman's writing career and her struggle to make decisions on her own is puzzling to me.
(That's probably because I have never in my entire 81 1/2 years had that problem, including after my husband died at age 59. )

If anyone reads it,  I'd love to exchange opinions.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 22, 2017, 05:41:17 PM
Callie & mary - Elizabeth Berg seems to have an endless variety of books!  I haven't read them all, but have liked everything so far.  I know I criticized The Pull of the Moon, but I still enjoyed it . . . just not one of my favorites. So far, I think my favorites are What We Keep, and We Are All Welcome Here.  I recently finished Durable Goods, which was her first book.  I liked that one a lot.  Also, Dream When You're Feeing Blue, was pretty good.  It takes place during the War years of the 1940's.  Generally I don't care for "home front" stories of WWII, unless the author is old enough to actually remember what it was really like.  Since EB wasn't born until 1948, she is too young, but she did do a good job with this story.  Be sure to look at her Facebook page, in case you haven't seen it.  She posts a lot of interesting messages, and there is also a list of her books that you can click on and see.  https://www.facebook.com/bergbooks/

Tomorrow we're going to visit my brother, so we went to Barnes & Noble today, and picked out a couple of books for him for an early birthday present.  One that I thought he would like is News of the World.  Both AJ and I really enjoyed that one, so I hope he will too.
mary - I remember that you also liked it? 
Callie - if you haven't read it yet, I think you'll like it too.  I plan t o check out Home Safe, ASAP.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on August 22, 2017, 06:04:44 PM
Marilyne,  "News of the World" is on my "wish list"  (library e-books I don't want to reserve but would be interested in reading).
However, I'm a bit about "white person rescued from Plains Indians in the 1800's" stories as I am about novels set during the reign of Henry VIII.  As I told a friend who recommended yet another one of those,  "I think I've learned just about  as much as I care to know about that subject."   ;)
Thanks for the recommendation.

I looked at the synopsis of "Dream When You're Feeling Blue" and felt much as you did.   Plenty of other Berg books available so I think I'll work my way through them first.

I'm also reading two other books. 

Somewhere I saw mention of James Michener's "Caravan" as being "au courant" (so to speak) about Afghanistan.  Hadn't read it in years so checked it out and am amazed at how similar the beginning chapters set in 1946 are to the current day.

I saw "At Home In Mitford" listed as the Hallmark movie last Saturday night.   The Mitford books
are among my favorites and I actually own most of them.  So, of course, I tuned in.  What a disappointment!!!!!

It's obviously a vehicle for Andie MdDowell because it begins with Cynthia and her cat moving to Mitford. The book does NOT center around these two.  In fact,  they don't appear until Chapter Nine and Father Tim is NOT a handsome young Hunk.  He is a 50-year-old balding, slightly overweight parson!   GRRRRRRR

So I decided to read the real thing instead of staying with the movie.
I was afraid that, if Andie McD. coyly tossed her hair or uttered that insipid giggle she did as the Judge in the Cedar Cove  Hallmark series......I'd throw my shoe at the screen!!!!!    :tickedoff:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on August 22, 2017, 06:40:57 PM
I read "News of the World" a couple of weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I didn't read any reviews but knew all you who had read it liked it.

Callie, I own all original Mitford Years books.   When we moved and downsized I got rid of most of my books but kept them (but they are still packed  :) )  I read a couple of her later books after Father Tim retired.  I had hoped she would start a series with the oldest boy becoming a vet but I haven't really kept up with what the author, Jan Karon, has been writing in the last few years.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on August 22, 2017, 06:55:33 PM
Now I didn't see "At home in Mitford" Listed for TV. I also loved all those books. Will read them over once in awhile.  Father Tim was never a Young Handsome man but loved him the way he was. Don't tell me the had a HUNK playing him.  If it was on Allmark. then it will be out on DVD. Library will have it I should think. They usually buy such as that.
I didn't like Andie McD. In the Ceder Cove Series either.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 22, 2017, 08:49:13 PM
Jan Karon is an author that always makes me feel  "at home". :smitten: Just a week or so ago my DD passed along Come Rain or Come Shine.   That is about the son finishing his Vet schooling and setting up practice as well as getting married.   FlaJean,   I'm sure you would enjoy that one.    The other one I read recently was In The Company of Others.   That was about Father Tim and Cynthia's trip to Ireland.....another good one.
  I did enjoy News of the World.  I sent that one on to my brother.
  Dream When You're Feeling Blue WAS a good story.    Speaking of WWII stories did everyone here read the novel about the young women and men who went to work at the Oak Ridge Tennessee plant where the work on the Atomic bomb took place.   That was a good one and another was The All Girls Filling Station.   Both of those had quite a bit of history of the war years woven into them.
 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on August 23, 2017, 12:30:50 AM
MaryC, I'm glad you mentioned that.  I'm going to look up Jan Karon and see what books are available that I haven't read.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 25, 2017, 05:50:44 PM
For those who have read The Pull of the Moon by Elizabeth Berg,  I highly recommend that you get her book of short stories  "Ordinary Life" and read one of the stories titled Martin's Letter to Nan.  It is priceless!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on August 25, 2017, 08:25:20 PM
Oh, thank you, Mary C.   I was wishing for a sequel from his viewpoint.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 25, 2017, 09:40:20 PM
CallieOK,   I think you will enjoy it. ;)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 25, 2017, 10:36:54 PM
mary - Martin's Letter to Nan, sounds good!  I'm really curious as to what he has to say, in answer to all those long descriptive letters she sent to him!  I hope to get Ordinary Life, this weekend.

I'm almost finished with Brought to Our Senses, by Kathleen Wheeler.  It's a very good book, but exhausting to read!  I would love to discuss it further with any of you who have read it?  Tome and mary, I think?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on August 25, 2017, 10:58:39 PM
"Ordinary Life" e-book was available to borrow from my library so I checked it out and have already read "Martin's Letter To Nan".   You're right, Mary C; it was priceless.   :)
(I actually had two reactions and would prefer to wait for others before I "spout off" with the other one.)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on August 26, 2017, 05:20:13 PM
Tome hasn't read it yet...will request from library.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 26, 2017, 06:57:21 PM
mary and Callie - Yes! "Martin's Letter to Nan", was perfect!  As you know, when I wrote my comment on The Pull of the Moon, I liked the story, but I was also annoyed at Nan's self indulgent little vacation.  Her letters to Martin were filled with all of her wants, needs, longings and disappointments, with not much concern as to poor old Martin, sitting at home wondering what happened?  We'll never know, but maybe Elizabeth Berg later regretted writing something that was so totally self centered?  Putting Martin's response in this 2002 book of short stories, was the perfect way to address the original story.  Also made me think of that old book titled, Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus. :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on August 26, 2017, 07:18:14 PM
I am reading Eliz. Berg book "Say when" The title did not seem familiar but the more I read it seems I have read it before.
I just looked to see if the ones you mention above where at the library. Not in Large Print. I just got the regular print and hope print i is dark enough. Most of Bergs books usually out in LP.  Not many doing it now. My library seem to be just putting more and more into The E book section. I just have to many already on my Ipad and Tablet.
I spent the 6 hours last week watching the Thorn Birds . Now I didn't know that one had been made of the Parts not shown in the Original movie. Just picked it up and so will watch it tonight. Nothing on TV .
Suppose to cover the 20 years that they did not see each other from her having that son and him growing up and dying.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 26, 2017, 09:48:31 PM
JeanneP,   It seems to me that the ebooks are a perfect solution for those who need the larger type.   I use the larger font when I read from my Kindle.   It seems comfortable.

Marilyne,  Yes, I did read Brought to Our Senses.  It was a thought provoking book, especially from the standpoint of those of us in our later years.   I often think of how it would be to be aware that I wasn't really handling things too well, etc.  I speak often with ladies at the nursing home who already have some memory problems and yet they know that they aren't   processing  things as they once did.  I can see them trying to adjust to that and it is a sad thing.  Of all the things about getting older,  that is one that I hate the most!!! >:(

The other short story in that book that I really had to chuckle about was the very first called A Love Story.    That was about Mavis McPherson who rather than going on a nice simple retreat just locked herself in the bathroom with comforts and food to last her.  Her conversations with her dear husband through the bathroom door were something.   It was a little like Nan's story but Mavis had her husband right their outside the door making things a little clearer for her. :D
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 27, 2017, 06:14:55 AM
I'm reading the first of the Laiden Universe SciFi by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller called Crystal Dragon and a 1913 book by Burton E. Stevenson called The Marathon Mystery. I am enjoying both very much.

In Crystal Dragon, I really like how the authors depict a man, M Jela, on very short rations and water slowly succumbing to dellerium from lack of same. Of course, he is rescued at the last minute, he is the main male character after all., and gets assigned to a "black ops" spy mission. The female lead, Cantra, gets caught up in the intrigue (accidentally of course). This is another good depiction of someone trying every which way to extricate herself from the situation.

The Marathon Mystery reminds me very much of the 40's - 50's detective/newspaper reporter type movies.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on August 27, 2017, 11:50:38 AM
I'm reading Anne Hillerman's latest book "Song of the Lion" which continues the mystery stories that her father, Tony Hillerman, wrote about the Navajo Indian Nation.  These books explain so much about the native people and their beliefs while weaving the information into a good story.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 27, 2017, 01:46:02 PM
mary - Brought to Our Senses, was such a sad story, from beginning to end.  I had mixed emotions about Janice, (whether I liked anything about her?), but it was so painful to read about her lingering for such a long, long time. What a chaotic life, for everyone in the family. :(

MarsGal - Marathon Mystery, sounds interesting.  If you mean it reminded you of the old Film Noir detectives from the 40's/50's, like Philip Marlowe or Sam Spade, I think I might enjoy reading it.  I know that my husband would like it.

FlaJean - I remember that you mentioned the Tony Hillerman books about the Navajo Nation once before, and I added them to my "want list" at that time.  Unfortunately, that list was soon forgotten, but I'll add them once again, and hope to get to them this time. ::) 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 30, 2017, 12:38:50 PM
Callie and mary - How did you like Elizabeth Berg's book of short stories, Ordinary Life?  I liked, "Martin's Letter to Nan", the best of the bunch - probably because of just finishing, The Pull of the Moon.  Having Read all the short stories, as well as many of EB's novels, I can see where the same general themes are repeated in many of her books.  The gruff, cold, father appears in lots of the stories and novels. Not quite abusive, but unable to communicate with wives and daughters. 

All of the her books that I've read so far, the main character always has daughters and sisters, no sons or brothers. There is always that back and forth dynamic between the wife and the husband.  The lonely wife wanting more closeness, and the husband not getting the message.  I still have some of her novels to read, and some that I would like to reread.  One that I read many years ago, that I want to read again, is What We Keep.  One I haven't read, but will start today, is Until the Real Thing Comes Along.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on August 30, 2017, 08:18:32 PM
I just picked up "Ordinary Life" Print is not good but will at least read the" Martins Letter to Nan" if not the others.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on September 01, 2017, 01:56:42 PM
The monthly recommendation list from BookPage arrived in this morning's e-mail.

One of the books is Jan Karon's "To Be Where You Are",  the 14th book in the Mitford series.  (Dooley now has a 4 year old child!).
It isn't yet available in e-book from my library but there's already a waiting list....and I'm now on it.

No comments on Martin's Letter To Nan, yet?

I found an interview with Elizabeth Berg on "The Pull of the Moon".  She said she saw Nan as a 50-year-old woman who is mildly overweight and full of despair about things she couldn't articulate.
Berg originally thought the content would deal with the psychic avalanche of menopause.  However, it became a polemic against the way women continue to be misunderstood and mistreated and how aging women aren't valued and often seem all but invisible.

Hmmm....from my viewpoint at almost 82, I guess I missed something 30+ years ago.  Never had a problem "articulating" and don't remember a "psychic avalanche" (probably wouldn't have recognized it if I'd had one.   :D)

   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 01, 2017, 02:47:51 PM
Quote from: Marilyne on August 26, 2017, 06:57:21 PM
mary and Callie - Yes! "Martin's Letter to Nan", was perfect!  As you know, when I wrote my comment on The Pull of the Moon, I liked the story, but I was also annoyed at Nan's self indulgent little vacation.  Her letters to Martin were filled with all of her wants, needs, longings and disappointments, with not much concern as to poor old Martin, sitting at home wondering what happened?  We'll never know, but maybe Elizabeth Berg later regretted writing something that was so totally self centered?  Putting Martin's response in this 2002 book of short stories, was the perfect way to address the original story.  Also made me think of that old book titled, Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus. :)
Callie - You must have missed my comment on "Martin's Letter to Nan" . . . see my quote above from Aug. 26th.  I was hoping to see more comments,  but maybe our readers don't have her book, Ordinary Life yet? I hope we see more.

"The psychic avalanche of menopause"? :o  Sounds pretty scary! I don't remember suffering such an avalanche, but maybe it's been so long ago, that I've forgotten? lol ::) ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on September 01, 2017, 03:44:45 PM
Marilyne,  I did see your response but must not have caught your meaning when you wrote "poor old Martin.....sitting at home wondering what happened."
After I read his letter to her,  I did not think of him as "poor old Martin".   He's just as defensively self-centered as she is and some of his comments infuriated me.
However,  I think Berg brought home the points she wanted to make about women being misunderstood and seen as invisible.
Wonder how we would have turned out if we had been thinking like this at that age?


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 01, 2017, 04:29:48 PM
Callie - You're right!  I just reread Martin's letter, and he is totally clueless as to a lot of Nan's issues.  I think that's what I meant by "Poor old Martin, etc" . . . that he doesn't get it at all, and is only seeing things from his side.  On the other hand, Nan has high expectations and needs, that will never be met. As I already mentioned, I think there is a lot of truth to the "Mars/Venus" analogy . . .  I've been married for 61 years, and I'm still sometimes amazed that my husband and I see the same situation from totally different perspectives.  I see some of Martin's personality traits in AJ, and also see some of Nan's traits in myself!

I do think that today's young wives and mothers are much more assertive and demanding than we ever were in our generation.  Consequently, the men seem to be more "tuned in" to the what women want and need in a relationship. My son and dil, as well as other relatives in that generation, seem to be in sync on most issues.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on September 01, 2017, 06:13:30 PM
Since I can check out more than one e-book at a time, I rechecked "Pull of the Moon" after I finished Martin's letter and did some comparisons.  (It was a slow afternoon  ;D )  You are so right about the Mars/Venus analogy!!
However, when I read Berg's comments on her idea for "Pull of the Moon",  I decided she had deliberately written Martin that way to make her point about women being mistreated, etc.

I also saw some of my late husband in Martin - although he would never have said anything was his "right" or that I "owed" him. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on September 01, 2017, 08:15:44 PM
Callie and Marilyne, Good to read your comments about Nan and Martin.  I had similar thoughts on of them.  I did think they were both quite occupied with their own wants and needs though to give credit where credit is due, Martin didn't present his complaints until Nan had had her little rant in her letters.  I agree with you that some of those personality "flaws" are present in myself and Al.   Right or wrong IMHO most men are just tall boys that need taking care of......some more so than others.   I've seen with our sons how much more self reliant they are than their Dad.   I hope that you gals could have read the first story in that book.   I mentioned it in an earlier post.   It was about the woman who took to the bathroom for her retreat and to "think".   That was much more amusing and real in the way she and her husband worked through her feelings.    Another story in same short story collection was about the young woman who didn't want to go to her parents home for yet another Christmas celebration because of her father's coldness.  She felt that he had never treated her mother or any of the family too well.   In the end of that story she seemed to come to the realization that her father really did care for his family (and Mom knew it) but just didn't have the ability to communicate those feelings as she would have liked.   Interesting thoughts there about how men and women express themselves.       
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 02, 2017, 01:44:25 PM
mary - I did read the Berg story of the wife who locked herself in the bathroom.  It was call "A Love Story".  At first I thought it was a bit far fetched, but then as I read more, I could see the point that EB was making.  Like many of her books and stories, it's all about the push and pull between husbands and wives, and the different ways that couples reach mutual understanding or acceptance.     

The other one you mentioned, about the woman who was reluctant to go to her parents home for Christmas, because of her cold father. That particular "father theme"  is repeated over and over in EB's books.  I know that she grew up in a military family, and moved a lot throughout her childhood. Her real father's personality must have been similar to those that she repeatedly writes about . . . cold and distant. Her very first book, Durable Goods, I think is patterned after her life as a child in a military family.  I thought it was an excellent story, and is one of my top favorites of all her books.  I recommend it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on September 02, 2017, 03:52:00 PM
I did pick up the book with the "Letters to Nan "in . will read that part first.
I am still reading her "Say When"
Can't wait to read. Jan Karon. "To be where you are". Love those books. Now I wonder if Father Tim still alive. He was not well in the last book I read and he must be getting old now. Hope he is. He is main part of stories.
Seems like when I try reading in bed that I now last about 10 min.
I am drinking a new tea I have that is good to keep Blood Pressure steady.
think is sure put you to sleep. Sleep about 9 hours.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 03, 2017, 12:51:53 PM
What is the name of the "new tea" you are drinking?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on September 03, 2017, 02:42:09 PM
Triple Leaf Tea.Inc.  A Chinese company that has been just one family for generations they say. I found it in Meijers Grocery store. Seems to have helped me getting up during the night . Says it is also helps kidneys and liver. I take a low dose Blood Pressure pill that I would like to get off. This tea does provide a Natural Diuretic. Watching it as  that is why I take the BP med But that is what is making my Sodium show low. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 04, 2017, 02:49:21 PM
Jeanne, that's the manufacturer, but what is the Generic name?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 04, 2017, 03:08:38 PM
Is it in a Purple box and labelled  Blood Pressure?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on September 05, 2017, 07:28:44 PM
Speaking of stories of family relationships etc., I just finished an older book of Anna Quinlan called One True Thing.   Somehow I had missed that one earlier.   It was very good and thought provoking.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on September 05, 2017, 10:00:18 PM
TR.  Yes, that is the one. Purple Box. Just Blood Pressure on it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 06, 2017, 02:18:55 PM
Thanks JeanneP
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 06, 2017, 05:01:27 PM
Speaking of tea, a friend gave me a couple of tea bags of Red Bark tea. She got curious about the tea that Mma Ramotswe was always drinking in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. She got curious and discovered that Amazon sells it. I really liked that show, but I never read any of the books.

Right now, the closest I get to family relationships in my reading are the Liaden Universe books by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. They are chock full of family and clan ties as well as proper etiquette in family and business dealings. Proper etiquette is strictly adhered to in order to avoid or reduce potential misunderstandings and unintended insults. The books are a mixture of space opera, trade dealings, family sagas and some wizardry.

Oh gosh, I just nearly jumped out of my seat. An ambulance just went by and they saw fit to hit the siren just as they went by.  :o
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 12, 2017, 12:20:24 PM
MarsGal - Your mention of Mma Ramotswe's tea, reminded me again of how much I enjoyed reading The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.  It's the only series of books by Alexander McCall Smith, that I've ever read.  I also really enjoyed the HBO series, and thought it was so well done, with cast members that were perfectly matched to those in the book.   I've always intended to read some of his other books, but never have.  He's written so many, that it's overwhelming to decide which one you want to read!

Not much reading this week, except for an excellent memoir by Jennifer Weiner, called Hungry Heart.  She's written a lot of "chick-lit" novels over the years . . . most of them are very funny, some serious, and all very readable.  Two that I recall reading are All Fall Down, and Goodnight Nobody.  If you like her books, you will like her memoir.  Always fascinating to me, to read about the childhood/lives of different authors. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on September 12, 2017, 08:42:10 PM
I've been thinking of FlaJean.   It seems to me she would have been in the path of hurricane Irma. It seemed as though it had lessened in force by the time it got to the Fl. panhandle but still had quite a punch.    I can't recall how close Jean was to the Gulf but know that there was a lot of concern about the large number of tall pines up in that part of the state.   I hope she will be checking in here soon.   Our grandson lives in Savannah and he said that he was lucky to have power when so many were without.

I'm reading another one of Susan Elia MacNeal's books about Maggie Hope.  It is part of a series that I read a while back.   A friend had loaned them to me and since then she has purchased this one and another.   These are set in Eng during WWII.  It just came to me day or so ago that Maggie Hope is like a grown up Nancy Drew with just a little more thrill built in.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on September 13, 2017, 02:04:25 PM
Maryc, I noticed that you did see my post in another forum.  Thanks for thinking of us.  We were not impacted by the storm at all.  No wind and a little rain which wasn't even connected to the storm.  The city (Ocala) we moved from did receive a visit from Irma and still has a lot of people without power according to their newspaper.

Marilyne, I really enjoy the No. 1 Detective Agency books and the HBO series.  McCall Smith's other books are entirely different.  His Sunday Philosphy Club with Isabel Dalhousie series I like but I don't think they are generally very popular.  It isn't a club but Isabel is a philosopher and edits a magazine.  It is a kind of slow and thoughtful book about Isabel.  I've read all the books including the latest which I bought from iBooks.

I think his Scotland series is also interesting about little Bertie and his home life  but I've only read a couple.  The library doesn't have them.  I've thought about buying them but I have so many other books to read that I haven't wanted to spend the money.  Our library is nice but small and limit their buys to the most in demand books.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 13, 2017, 11:14:47 PM
FlaJean - So glad that you're way up North, and didn't get any grief from Irma.  On tonight's news, they showed a lot of aerial photos of the Keys, and it was shocking to see what looks like total devastation.  I just can't imagine how the area can recover, but I know it will, in time.

After reading No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, and watching the series on TV, I was looking forward to sampling other books by McCall Smith.  As I've said before, I'm not a big fan of series books, and seemed like all the books of his that I considered, were part of one series or another.

Today I picked up a couple of books from the library, that I'll start on tomorrow.  Until the Real Thing Comes Along, by Elizabeth Berg, and What She Left Behind, by Ellen Marie Wiseman.  The Wiseman book was recommended to me by someone, but I can't remember who?  Maybe it was from the website, Off The Shelf?  Lots of good book ideas posted there.

mary - I loved the Nancy Drew books, so maybe I would like the Maggie Hope series. . . especially since they take place during WWII.  As I've mentioned many times before, I enjoy books from that time in history.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on September 14, 2017, 01:25:20 PM
I enjoy series, Marilyne.  If the author is good, the stories are always different but many of the characters are familiar.  I feel comfortable with familiar people, places and things so I enjoy reading about familiar characters in different situations in the fictional stories.

I started my early reading habits with series books.  I loved "the Little House" books by Wilder, and later my favorites were Nancy Drew which were series with Nancy and her two friends.  In fact, I had a collection of them (the old ones when she was driving the car with the rumble seat). I passed them on to my oldest daughter who became a big fan.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 14, 2017, 02:46:41 PM
FlaJean - Now that I'm thinking about it, I read lots of series style books when I was a girl.  Besides "Nancy Drew",  I liked the "Cherry Ames" books, "The Bobbsey Twins", and "The Dana Girls".  Lots of books from my favorite authors now, are almost like a series.  The Kent Haruf books, all take place in the small town of Holt, CO, and some of the same characters show up in most of his stories.  Also, the Elizabeth Berg novels are all similar.  I think she uses different characters, but there is a certain sameness that I like.   

I don't remember reading the "Little House on the Prairie" series when I was young, but I did read them to my daughters, and of course we all watched the TV show!  They both also read "Nancy Drew", "The Bobbsey Twins", (updated) and another series called "The Happy Hollisters".  My son wasn't a good reader when he was a boy, and only read a book when he had to write a book report for school. ::)  Now he enjoys reading, and always has a book going on his iPad.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on September 21, 2017, 04:34:59 PM
I was curious about the author Ellen Wiseman so checked with the library.  I was able to get the ebook right away.    The story is interesting and sad and now I'm anxious to see the ending.  She writes a good story so I will have to remember her for other books.   Thanks Marilyne for the tip.   I have another audio book under way at the same time.  It is The Best of Us by Joyce Maynard.   It seems to be a slow starter for me as she tells a lot about her online dating experiences before she met her second husband.   Perhaps I'm too slow with the book but we'll see.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 22, 2017, 06:21:51 PM
mary - The minute I read your message, a little reminder bell went off in my head! (so to speak, ha ha) I remembered that my husband was to pick up, "What She Left Behind" by Wiseman, along with a bunch of other books from the library. I realized that I had never seen it, so I started looking around the house, and sure enough, I found it. It was stacked amongst his books, instead of mine. I had forgotten that I even ordered it! ::)  Now I have something to read over the weekend. Let me know what you think of it when you finish?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on September 24, 2017, 02:08:38 PM
Marilyne,   I did finish What She Left Behind last evening.   It was well written IMHO.   Some parts of the story were sad, sad, sad and others uplifting.   Good contrast.   The parts of the story about the treatment of mentally ill individuals and those "judged" to be made me upset.   This was in the 20s.    My late sister went through some shock treatments back in the 1950s and we will never know the effect that may have had on her physical health.   Several years ago we were traveling in W. Virginia and happened to stay overnight in a small town where there was a former  mental hospital.   As we observed the old abandoned facility I thought of people who might have been confined there maybe miles away from family and friends at a time when people didn't have the luxury of a car and good roads to be able to visit regularly.  An interesting side note here is that just recently a modern hotel was opened in the buildings of the Buffalo State Hospital.     I will try to copy and paste here the information about the restoration of an important landmark building in Buffalo.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on September 24, 2017, 02:15:36 PM
https://richardson-olmsted.com/
The site I referred to in the  previous post.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on September 24, 2017, 03:27:03 PM
Interesting article, Mary.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 26, 2017, 04:02:14 PM
Marilyne, I think you or another of this group, mentioned a book titled "Brought To Our Senses" by Karen Wheeler.  Is it a novel or a collection of short stories?  Do I have the title and author correct.  Couldn't find anything similar in my libraries.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on September 26, 2017, 04:51:55 PM
Tomereader,  I haven't read "Brought To Our Senses" but just did a search for the title and found that the author is Kathleen H. Wheeler.
It's a novel.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 26, 2017, 05:33:27 PM
Thanks, Callie!  I'll try looking it up on line again at my library's site!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 29, 2017, 03:39:24 PM
Obviously my library does not have it.  Boohoo!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 29, 2017, 03:45:57 PM
Tome - My library didn't have it either, but they special ordered it for me.  I'm sure it will eventually be available for your Kindle,  from Amazon or other ebook sites. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 04, 2017, 02:43:04 PM
Has it really been quiet here in the bookshelves or am I out of touch?  About the time I finished What She Left Behind the library notified me that I had two books available that were on hold.    I really hit the jackpot!!   One of them was a newer Fanny Flagg book that I had just looked at in Barnes and Noble,   The Whole Town is Talking.    This is a happy read and is going fast.   The other was a later book of Jan Karon,  To Be Where You Are.  Debby took that one so we can switch and read them both in the two weeks.  After What She Left Behind,  this is like a sunny day after a storm.   :D

I hope that all of our friends here ok  and just busy with other things.

Debby called my attention to the fact that Our Souls At Night is now on Netflix with Robert Redford and Jane Fonda.  I'll watch it soon to see how well they kept to the story.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 04, 2017, 04:02:08 PM
maryc - So glad to see your recommendation for the Fannie Flagg book, The Whole Town Is Talking.  I can hardly wait to get it at my library and start reading!  It will be so nice to read something happy!  I've liked every book ever written by her, and I'm sure this will be no exception.  Have you ever read Standing in the Rainbow?  If not, I think you would really enjoy it.  Something about it, brought on a lot of nostalgia for me.  It takes place in a small town in the Midwest in the late 1940's. The story is very soothing and has that style of wit, that she does so well.

I began reading What She Left Behind, and after the first page, I realized that I had started it once before and never finished it.  The story itself looks to be good, but I think I'm going to return it to the library, and maybe check it out again in the future.  I'm just not in the right frame of mind for something that seems so sad and depressing. I probably didn't give it enough of a chance, which is why I will keep it on my book list for later.  I think I need something a little lighter right now, so I hope the Fannie Flagg book is in. 

Thanks for the good news, that Our Souls At Night,is now on Netflix.  I liked the book so much, and I'm looking forward to the movie.  My only problem, is that that quality of my Netflix reception has become very poor, in recent months, so I haven't been watching anything on it for a long time.  Netflix itself, is only about one mile from my house, so should call them and maybe they can figure out what's wrong.  Maybe they'll even send a tech worker over to my house to look at my picture and diagnose the problem! ha ha (I can dream, can't I?)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 04, 2017, 08:58:15 PM
Marilyne,   I just checked in to see if I had read Standing in a Rainbow.   I don't believe so.  You however are in for a happy surprise.   I'll tell no more!   I've read a few of her books starting with Fried Green Tomatoes.  I think the last was The All Girls Filling Station's Last Reunion.   On the flyleaf of this book it tells how Fanny Flagg started writing as a young child and went on to write and produce some TV specials.  She wrote and appeared on Candid Camera a favorite show of mine.    She is an author that I fall back on when I need something happy to read. ;D
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 10, 2017, 05:36:40 PM
maryc - I'm enjoying The Whole Town's Talking!  Imagine how pleased I was, after a few chapters, when I realized that it's a "prequel" to Standing in the Rainbow!  "Rainbow" takes place in Elmwood Springs, starting at around 1945 or 46?  So I suspect that "Talking" will end at about that time - after WWII??  Lots of the same people, and same names, in both books.  I'm only half way through, but I already don't want it to end.  Fortunately, I own a copy of "Rainbow", so when I finish, I plan to read it again, to get the full scope of Elmwood Springs, and all of it's citizens through the years.   So much warmth and wit in both books.  Wonderful and lovable characters. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 12, 2017, 08:16:29 PM
Marilyne,   Your post about The Whole Town's Talking sounded as though you had a smile on your face.  :)   I can understand why.  Fanny Flagg's books just have that affect on me.   Even the sad things that happen don't seem so sad at all, just a matter of life happenings.

I've been reading the Jan Karon book that I picked up at the same time and it is a similar type of book.   The people just carry over from one to another with an addition of a character here and there,  just like real life.  I'm afraid that I'm going to have to return this one unfinished unless I have a marathon read between now and Saturday as it can't be renewed.....there is a waiting list. :'(
 
My thoughts for today.
On Saturday I hope to be able to go to Niagara Falls for an open house of a new apartment building.  It was formerly a  Junior High School that I attended and has been refurbished for apartments.  It was just a couple blocks from our family home and I went there for four years due to the crowded conditions of Senior High classrooms.  Those were happy years!   This was just after WWII and the influx of families to the city finally caught up to the school system.   Since that time there have been many new schools built both in the city and in the nearby suburbs.  When our son and his family moved to Charlotte, NC about 25 years ago he commented that Charlotte was facing a shortage of school buildings because of the rapid population growth there.   It's interesting how these things happen.   I know that our own school district had quite a building program going on during the time I worked there and now one of the buildings has been turned into the Administration building as the census has once again shrunk.  At the rate that homes and apartments are being built in our district I have to wonder if that could change again.   Perhaps not because of the smaller families.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 15, 2017, 12:42:22 PM
mary - I finished The Whole Town's Talking, and loved every minute of it.  Yes, I have a smile on my face right now, just thinking about the story and the characters. As I said in my last post - so much warmth and humor!  It's a book that would be enjoyed most, by those of us who are now old, and who remember what life was like when we were growing up - before progress and technology stepped in and changed everything. The closeness of the neighbors, and the whole community, is what I miss most. I think you likely still have some of that left in the town where you live, but here in California, it's gone, and is just a memory.

I hope you follow up, and read Standing in the Rainbow, which also takes place in Elmwood Springs, and has a few of the same characters. Two that I remember who were also in Rainbow, are Aunt Elner and Tot.  I think Mackie and Norma, are also in the story, but it's been a while since I've read it, so not sure.  The main characters are different in Rainbow, but just as likable and unique, as the ones in TWTT. 

P.S. Don't you wish you could someday, go to Still Meadows?  I do! :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 15, 2017, 05:14:05 PM
 :)   Yes Marilyne, Still Meadows sounded like a nice place to "catch up" on all of the news about friends and family.   Don't we just hope for that kind of place someday?    It's funny you should be reminiscing about the good old days when you knew your neighbors both next door and around the block.  Just this morning over the second cup of coffee Al was doing a little of grieving about those days when our neighbors and ourselves sat on our front porches and visited across the way or if you should take a stroll down the block you could stop and pass the time of day.  We weren't so busy rushing off here and there or staying indoors to watch TV.  We moved to the suburbs to give our children and ourselves space and out here there is a busy road, no sidewalks and neighbors who like  ourselves have busy lives and not much time for neighboring.  When our children rode the school bus they knew all the children up and down our road and we got to know many of them through the children.   Not so any more.   Families move in and out and we recognize people by their autos that we see parked by one house or another but that's about it.  We do have some folks in our immediate neighborhood who have been here for many years and we have speaking acquaintance and our next door neighbor takes care of our lawn and snow since Al was sick......can't complain there!  Life is just different.

We did go to visit my old Junior High School on Saturday when they had an open house for the renovation to loft apartments and commercial use.    That was a walk down memory lane.     I couldn't live there but it was interesting to see what they have done with the old building.  (built in 1923)

I know that the Jan Karon books are not for everyone but they are a comfortable read and the characters carry along from one book to another and you have that small town community feeling running through it. Debby and I have read all of them and enjoyed each one.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on October 15, 2017, 06:02:02 PM
I loved the Elmwood Springs novels.   

maryc, I was reading along about the WAFs in The All Girls Filling Station's Last Reunion"  and came across "Bea, who grew up on a ranch in Wapanucka, Oklahoma."  What????    :o
I grew up in the first town east of Wapanucka (yes, it's a real place) and went to school with a Bea who lived on a ranch between the two.   The more I read, the more I realized that the character must have been based on this person, although the character's personality and life style was very different from the girl who was three years ahead of me in high school.  The Bea I knew married three millionaires and has had a building named in her honor at a state university. ;)
Would love to know the connection (if any).

Still waiting on the latest Jan Karon book.
However, "A Column of Fire" by Ken Follett appeared on my e-book list this week.  I'm alternating between that and reading through the Lakeshore Chronicles series by Susan Wiggs.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 16, 2017, 12:05:58 PM
Callie - That's pretty remarkable, that the Bea, in "Filling Station", could likely be the girl you went to school with?  Fannie Flagg, probably bases her characters loosely, on people she once knew from long ago.  I haven't looked up FF's biography, but now I'm wondering if she's from Oklahoma? 

I started Standing in the Rainbow, once again.  Now that I can connect some of the characters to those that I just read about in The Whole Town is Talking, I'm enjoying it more than ever! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on October 16, 2017, 12:35:02 PM
Marilyne,  No,  Fannie Flagg isn't from Oklahoma and didn't go to the same private school or college that Bea attended.  The character is definitely "loosely" based on the Bea I knew.  ;)
Wish she'd do a book signing in OKC.  I'd ask her!!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on October 17, 2017, 01:41:27 PM
I think Fannie Flagg might be from some southern state.  I'm not sure, but am thinking Alabama or Georgia.  Just a guess.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on October 17, 2017, 01:42:32 PM
Sue, the biography I found said Alabama.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 17, 2017, 10:40:48 PM
Callie,   That is quite interesting that you made that connection between Bea and someone that you knew way back when.  I wonder if you all have read A Red Bird Christmas.   That one is set in a small Alabama town that might possibly be or resemble her home.    I didn't have time to finish the Jan Karon book before it had to go back to the library so I just put another hold on it so I can finish when my number comes up again.    I'll be interested in hearing how you like the Ken Follett book.  I haven't read any of his books since Pillars of the Earth.    Right now I'm reading another story about WWII in England.   It has a lot of similarities to the Maggie Hope Mysteries that I read a while back. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on October 18, 2017, 05:58:19 PM
Thanks, Callie.  I think I read some time ago that she had attended the U. of Alabama in Tuscaloosa (our Auburn Tiger's fiercest enemy!).  But that was some time ago and I am not really great with my  short term memory since a bad fall a year and 1/2 ago.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on October 18, 2017, 07:39:38 PM
maryc,   I'm not liking the new Ken Follett book as much as I did the others in the series.  Not sure if it's because I've read just about as much as I want to know about the battles between Protestant Elizabeth I and Catholic Mary Stuart in medieval England - or because he's writing in short simple sentences like so many authors do now.
I brought up samples of the first few books in the Pillars of Fire series and his writing style is much more to my liking in those books.

In addition to "A Column of Fire",  I'm trying to keep up with the book discussion over in SeniorLearn on "Barchester Towers".   It's also about an English Catholic/Protestant fuss - during the 1800's when the Methodists and other denominations were becoming popular.

Too much of a good thing??

"How To Find Love In A Bookshop" (Veronica Henry) and "The Identicals" (Elin Hilderbrand) have just appeared on my Loan List.

Maybe I'm on Overload   :crazy2:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 18, 2017, 09:15:42 PM
Yes Callie,  Those old battles just went on and on.  For myself it is hard to maintain interest after about so many skirmishes. :(     I do need these lighter reads mixed in to keep me happy. :D
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 19, 2017, 07:15:22 AM
I am still working on the Liaden Universe series. This one is hardcover, so I needed something to read on my Kindle when not carrying a book. What I came up with is Wind in the Willows which I never read. Nice story.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 19, 2017, 11:44:25 PM
MarsGal, I've never read Wind in the Willows either.  Maybe your mention of it will inspire me!  :)

I didn't have a chance to do any reading at all today, so I'm still near the beginning of Standing in the Rainbow. Since I've read it a couple of times before, I'm in no hurry, and kind of like taking my time and enjoying it all over again. Definitely a story that would only appeal to those of us who are in our 70's, 80's or 90's, and can remember the years right after WWII, and through the 1950's.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 22, 2017, 03:02:36 PM
I've just started a book that I downloaded to my Kindle from Amazon.   It was a deal from Book Bub.    The Crazy Ladies of Pearl Street by Trevanian.   This is a new author for me.    It looks like a different slice of life from the '30s.   Here is a brief  review:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30889.The_Crazyladies_of_Pearl_Street
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 24, 2017, 12:37:40 PM
mary - I read the review of The Crazy Ladies of Pearl Street, and I can tell that I'm going to like it.  I haven't checked either of my library sites yet, but I hope that one of them has it.  Speaking of Irish immigrants in New York, my daughter recently read, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith.  She enjoyed it so much that she immediately went back to page one, and read it all over again!  It's been at least thirty years since I last read it, but she wants to talk about the story and the characters, so she's urging me t o read it it again.   

Funny thing about "Tree", is that I can remember when my mother received the book as a Christmas present, back in the early 1940's, when it was a best seller.  I was too young to read it then, but that copy was always in our bookshelf over the years, and I recall reading it when I was about thirteen.  It was likely the first "adult" book that I ever read, and I loved it so much!  Lots that I didn't really understand at that age, but I've read it a number of times over the years, and enjoyed it every time. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 24, 2017, 05:14:40 PM
Marilyne, it's funny you should mention A Tree Grows in Brooklyn because I've been thinking of re reading it myself.  I was pretty young when I read it also.   It was a good story and since reading several others about the Irish in New York I've thought it would be worth reading it again.   Also several years ago we went on a short visit to NY city and while we were there we saw the bridge.   I had to think while we were there of the many stories that took place during those early years  within the shadow of that structure. 

I wonder how many of the readers here have read the book New York by Edward Rutherford.   That was interesting though it went back many years before the great immigration.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on October 24, 2017, 05:20:22 PM
I think I've read all the Edward Rutherford books and enjoyed them.  I love well researched Historical Fiction.
Should reread "New York" - now that granddaughter lives there.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 25, 2017, 02:32:39 PM
I also read New York, by Rutherford. I had forgotten a lot of my American History, so found the book very informative.  The Dutch heritage was interesting.   There was a movie out just a few years ago called Gangs of New York, that took place in NYC in the 1860's.  It was said to be an accurate history of the gang wars between the new Irish immigrants, and the NY natives, who were mostly from Holland.  Also used the real names of the gang leaders, and lots of corrupt officials in NYC government at that time. I had heard of Boss Tweed, but didn't know who he was until I saw that movie.  I think Daniel Day-Lewis, won Best Actor Oscar that year?  Leonardo DiCaprio, was also in the movie.  It was a good movie, but EXTREME graphic violence.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 28, 2017, 11:58:08 AM
Callie,  Wouldn't it be fun to be able to get your granddaughter to read New York at the same time that you did so you could talk about it from her viewpoint.    It probably would be a little hard to pick out some of those places now as some of the landmarks would be gone but overall the general layout of the city is still there.     I know, I know it is dreaming to think that one of our grandchildren would have time or interest to be reading anything that we would be interested in but it's a nice thought. ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on October 28, 2017, 12:19:27 PM
maryc,  she is A Reader but simply doesn't have time to do that kind of reading right now. 
Recently, I told her about reading a novel set in the old Barbizon Hotel For Women  - now a vacant building.  She had worked nearby and walked past it on her way to the subway stop.

She knows I look up the Google Map street view of any place she mentions and "wander around" the area.   I even found her window in the apartment building where she lives!
She teases me about being able to find my way around if I visit.  (Not likely - and I would NOT do well in the middle of all those tall buildings so close together!) 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 28, 2017, 02:34:09 PM
Callie, The Internet is a wonderful tool in keeping connection with our young family members.  I've done the same with my grandson who lives in Savannah.    I like to be able to visualize the places where they live and work even if I can't go there.  Our son drives truck and whenever he phones I ask where he is travelling  to.    I have told him that I like to be able to "place him in my mind" based on his destination for the day.  When they went to France this year he did a good job of posting pictures to Facebook so that we were able to enjoy the sights as they went along.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 31, 2017, 07:16:05 AM
Short story list for Halloween. https://americanliterature.com/halloween

And how about some music to read by: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uWizf76vko
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 02, 2017, 04:27:12 PM
maryc - I started reading The Crazy Ladies of Pearl Street, yesterday, and could hardly put it down.  I can tell I'm going to like it.  As you said, an interesting take on the Depression years.  I'm just a little way into it, but I love his writing style!  I looked at his list of other books, but the only title I recognize, is The Eiger Sanction.  I haven 't read it, but I think AJ did?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 03, 2017, 06:23:03 PM
Marilyne,   I've been getting behind in reading since the World Series started. :-[    Al is a Yankees fan but this year he seemed to be interested in following the Series so I got started and wanted to see it through.   I've had two books going at the same time so the reading has been pretty slow.  I did sit down last evening and read quite a bit of The Crazy Ladies.   It is good and easy reading.    The other book is one that my brother sent and is a WWII story in and around London.  I think I mentioned it before that it is very similar to the Maggie Hope series that I read just a couple months ago.   Anyway, since he thought enough to send it, I thought I would finish it.   At the same time I've been trying to construct a simple family tree for one of the great granddaughters.    She is 9 years old and seems to have such an inquiring mind.   I've thought it would be nice for her to see in pictures how she was connected to all of the rest of usand how we fit into her family.  When I was a youngster we lived in a small town that had many, many Aunts, Uncles, cousins, etc.    I never really was able to fit them all into place on the family tree until much later in my life.  Maybe that is just a quirk with my thinking that I ought to be able to place every relative on their correct branch of the "Tree".   ;)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 04, 2017, 04:00:34 PM
mary - We usually don't follow the Series, unless the SF Giants or Oakland A's are playing.  However, I was rooting for the Dodgers this year, in remembrance of my father.  He was a huge Dodger fan!

I was curious about Trevanian, the author of "Crazy Ladies", and found a fascinating biography online. "Crazy Ladies", is actually his autobiography, done in novel form.  He spent his childhood, during the Depression and WWII, living with his mother and sister, in Albany.  As depicted in the story, it really was considered a poor slum district, during the time that he lived there.  Trevanian is his pen name .
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 08, 2017, 02:44:41 PM
Marilyn,  I hope you are enjoying Crazy Ladies as much as I am.  I like the reference to the Hit Parade.  That was not to be missed at our house and his mention of all the old songs brings up fond memories.  His mother was quite ingenious as were many mothers of those years.  I recognize some of my own mother's economy measures.😏
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on November 08, 2017, 04:13:52 PM
I know none of us lives on "Pearl Street", but to all our "Crazy Ladies" here, I finally was able to get the book from my library, and will probably start it tonight!  You all are making it sound like so much fun, I can hardly wait.

I have been so wrapped up in my f2f library book clubs that I haven't had a lot of time to post here or read any of your suggestions, but be assured they are on a list (that is supposed to be right here by my computer--ha ha!), but I looked up several,requested the ones they had, and will keep after them.  The cooler weather finally got here, only today a good bit of rain, which we need.  We were having 90+ degree weather for the first wk of November, weird! Now it's in the 50's where it belongs.  Guess the time change helped to change the weather's mind! LOL
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 08, 2017, 10:54:43 PM
Mary - I also remember listening to, "Your Hit Parade", every Saturday night for many years.  Very clever, the way he names four or five of the popular songs, on each page.   Some of the long forgotten ones from the 1930's, I now remember, like "Little Sir Echo", and "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down".  I had a number of things to do today, so didn't get any reading done.  It will be an early to bed night for me, but I'm going to try to read one chapter before I fall asleep.

Tome - Glad you'll be joining the rest of us "Crazy Ladies! :D  I hope you'll like it too. Be sure to come back and us know what you think? 
We're getting cooler weather here too.  Supposed to rain tonight, which will be a treat for us.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 09, 2017, 08:33:32 AM
Welcome to the "Crazy Ladies" Tomereader.   It will bring back some memories.  I'm thinking of one story he tells about bouncing a ball against the house wall and having a neighbor shag him away.  We had a brick house next door that was a perfect wall for one of those games. ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 12, 2017, 04:24:54 PM
Yesterday I finished The Crazy Ladies of Pearl Street, and I was sorry to see it end.  I really enjoyed it, and it's definitely one of my top two favorite books that I read this year.  What a great story teller Trevanian is, and he has a writing style that I absolutely love. The book is fiction, but is based on Trevanian's childhood, growing up in an extremely poor district of Albany, NY.  The time frame starts in the depths of the depression, around the mid 1930's, and goes through WWII. 

As I mentioned in my earlier post, he references the popular music of those years, and names so many wonderful songs that bring back memories.  One song that he mentions, is Little Sir Echo, from 1939.  That one really resonated with me, because we had an old wind-up Victrola at that time, and that was one of our records.  I looked on YouTube, and see that it was recorded by many bands and singers that year.  I listened to all of them, and I believe that our record, was the one by Guy Lombardo, with vocal by Carmen Lombardo.  His distinctive voice, and the bouncy rhythm of the band, sounds so familiar to me, that I'm pretty sure that this was the one!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frsOM3bgnBk&list=RDfrsOM3bgnBk
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 12, 2017, 05:37:05 PM
Marilyne,  Your thoughts on Crazy Ladies sound much like mine.  Funny isn't it how we can just stumble onto a good author that we haven't read before.  I've been a little bogged down with reading.  I shouldn't have started that one so soon because I had the WWII English one my brother had sent going but I just decided to take a peek into Crazy Ladies and got hooked. ;) .  Meanwhile the Jan Karon book that I had out from Library and didn't have time to finish came around for me again so I need to finish that before it's due again.  Oh well I'll still have Trevanian waiting for me as that is a Kindle book.  It's nice not to run out of good choices....just pushed me a bit.  Meanwhile I'm trying to get a beginning family tree done for our GGD for Christmas.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 21, 2017, 01:23:34 PM
Just now scrolling through Facebook, and I saw interesting posts by two of my favorite authors - Elizabeth Berg, and Fannie Flagg.  FF commented favorably on E. Berg's newest book The Story of Arthur Truluv.  I'm anxious to read it!  This is the first time I've seen FF's Facebook page, and I plan to "like" it, so I can return and see what she has to say in the future, about other books.  The page features her book, The Whole Town is Talking, which both maryc and I liked very much!  Highly recommended as a happy and unique book to read over the holidays, or to give as a Christmas gift.
https://www.facebook.com/fannieflaggbooks/?hc_ref=ARQC4eBgY7XpWZbwcgfBDomdWfWLc7P4bDIrXOQdsnAcLFdmMcw9XIi14k5i92v7vnU
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 23, 2017, 09:15:17 AM
Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving everyone!    Just wanted to send an alert (if you hadn't noticed already) that David Baldacci's  The Christmas Train will be on Hallmark this Saturday, Nov 25.  This is one that I have on my Christmas book shelf.    I'm anxious to see what they do with this story.   Probably the usual "Hollywood" effects.  :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on November 26, 2017, 11:02:26 AM
This is one Baldacci I have not read, but I enjoyed the movie last night.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on November 26, 2017, 11:23:50 AM
I really enjoyed “The  Christmas Train” last night also.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 26, 2017, 11:32:15 AM
I was looking forward to watching The Christmas Train, but I didn't realize that the Hallmark movies are not adjusted to be shown at the same time across the country!  Someone in the TV section mentioned that it was playing at 8:00, so I sat down, all prepared, and of course the timing was for 8:00 on the East Coast, and had already been shown three hours earlier at 5:00, here!  ::)
I should have thought about that, as Turner Classic Movies are shown the same way.  No problem though, as Train will play again this morning at 10:00.  So I'm set up to record it, and will watch it tonight.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on November 26, 2017, 02:29:41 PM
You didn't miss much,Marilyne. IMHO it was the dumbest Hallmark presentation I've ever seen.  Poor script, walk-thru acting, yech.  I've always looked forward to Hallmark Presentations (not the TV series shows which are schlocky but fun).  Use that 2 hours to read a good book!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 27, 2017, 03:33:38 PM
We enjoyed watching The Christmas Train on Saturday.   My husband who hates the commercials and usually goes off to bed about 9:30, commented that the commercials were short and he stayed to watch the whole movie.   I liked that there were a few surprises mixed into the story.....not all so predictable as the usual Hallmark Christmas stories.   Just another review! :)

I should interject here that I still have The Crazy Ladies kind of waiting in the wings.  It seems to be a book that doesn't move along like it seems like it should but in all fairness I haven't sat down for any stretch of time to give it a "push" either.   I started looking at my shelf of Christmas books and thought I would get through The Christmas Train before it aired, but didn't.  Debby brought over a small Christmas story by  Mary Higgins Clark,  Silent Night. It was a quick and good short read to get me into the spirit of the season.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 29, 2017, 12:29:32 AM
Eventually, I'll weigh in on, The Christmas Train!  I recorded it Sunday morning, but in the meantime, AJ went to Costco, and bought a new TV.  A Black Friday sale, that was good for the entire weekend.  He wanted a larger screen, and I wanted the ability to get a good picture on Netflix and Amazon, so we now have a new set.  All is well, except we lost the things we had recorded, so I'll have to wait for "Train" to show up again.  I know it will be playing many times before Christmas. 

My daughter watched it tonight, and sent me an email just now, saying that she liked it. Quote:
"I just finished watching The Christmas Train. It was good! It was a little bit sappy and unrealistic, but that's how all of the Hallmark movies are. It was very predictable up until the very end, when they threw in kind of a silly plot twist. I would have liked it better without the twist. But overall, it was a good Christmas movie. Christmas movies are supposed to be feel-good movies, which is why Hallmark tends to have some good ones this time of year."
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on November 29, 2017, 10:14:14 AM
Congrats on your new TV!!  What did you get?  Brand, screen size, Smart?
I don't understand about "losing the things you had recorded"...How would a new TV affect that?  Those would be stored on a DVR box, or on your DVD Recorder, wouldn't they?  I'm so confused!  Anyway, great Christmas present for yourselves, early!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 29, 2017, 06:23:04 PM
Tome - Yes, the new TV is Smart! :D  It's a Samsung, 49 inch, and is HDR, which stands for High Definition Resolution.  It looks no different than plain old HD, to me??  The only thing I don't like about it, is that the picture is a little TOO BIG for our small size living room.  Our old set was a 42 inch, which was in scale with the room, and looked better.

As for my saved programs - I have no idea where they went??  AJ says they should be there, and he will take a look later and bring them up?  He's the resident engineer, so I guess he knows what he's talking about?  Anyway, no big loss if they don't show up.  I had deleted a whole bunch of movies that had been there for ages, so only had a few HGTV shows, some Sharks games, and "The Christmas Train", recorded. Oh yes, there was also a TCM special about Elizabeth Taylor, that I was planning to watch, but I know it will be shown again at some point in time.

Netflix and Amazon look great!  I'm really happy about that, and just in time for the second season of "The Queen"!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on November 29, 2017, 08:29:50 PM
I would think the programs you saved would be on your DVR (from your cable company?)  Anyway,I would like a 42 in. Samsung, but it would be way too big for our room, a 40 inch would probably be passable, but then I'd have to buy a new entertainment center to hold it.  Mine is till in good condition but was only made for a 32 inch TV. I don't want the TV on the wall, talk about a crick in my neck! LOL  Is the sound/audio good on your regular stations?  on my Samsung, the sound is great as long as you're watching Amazon or Netflix, but on other satellite/cable/local channels, you have to turn the volume up to about 40 to make the sound loud enough to hear.  On Amazon/Netflix, about 25 or 26 will knock your socks off!  I'm going to get a "sound bar" to enhance the regular sound. 
Did you get some of that rain a few days ago (our weather guru showed rain in No. Cal.? ) We've been having mixed up weather...winterish mornings 40+ then 60's to 70's in the afternoon.  haven't seen rain in weeks.  Can't believe it is the end of November already!  Did you have good thanksgiving?  Don't recall if I saw you post about it. Enjoy that TV!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 30, 2017, 07:19:55 AM
I am quite pleased with my Sony SmartTV. Most of my watching is now on Amazon Prime (currently watching  Medieval Dead) and various YouTube clips.

My current reads are Elizabeth Moon's Cold Welcome, and James Oliver Curwood's The River's End.
,
Moon has gone back to her previous Vatta characters with a new series called Vatta's Peace. This first one concentrates on ocean search and rescue, and survival in foul weather and arctic like weather conditions and a saboteur or two as well as trying to find a way to communicated with and get rescued by the good guys before the bad guys show up.

Curwood's book is a Western set the Canadian wilderness and around Prince Albert in Saskatchewan, CA. The story is just okay. It follows a guy (wrongly accused of murder, of course) who is impersonating a member of the CMP at the prompting of said CMP who was dying. There is mystery and romance. Curwood's treatment of women rather condescending. The women are often described as tiny,delicate, and as children even though the may be adults and only a few years younger than the man. Also as fitting to the era, those of Chinese origan are sinister and not to be trusted. A bit melodramatic.

On hold and behind a bunch of others is Artemis by Andy Weir. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 30, 2017, 12:13:31 PM
MarsGal - I'm pretty sure that my husband read Curwood's, The River's End?  I know he read something by him, and that his books were written a long time ago. (Explains his condescending treatment of helpless women!) ::)  I do like to read an occasional western, in fact my favorite book from this past year was a western . . .  News of the World, by Paulette Giles.  I recommend it, and think you would really like it a lot.

Right now I'm reading a novel by Michelle Richmond, an author I like very much.  This one is called, The Marriage Pact.  The reviews call it a psychological thriller?  I'm not a fan of that style of story, but I'll stick with this and see how it goes.  I liked one of her early books, called The Year of Fog, which was more of a mystery story.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 30, 2017, 06:06:29 PM
News of the World is on my library wish list. I didn't realize it was a western. I read mosly Westerns and horse stories when I was a youngster. My most unforgettable Western was Owen Wister's The Virginian. I'd like to reread it some day. I never got around to reading any Zane Gray until I saw the 1996 movie of The Rider's of the Purple Sage.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 30, 2017, 09:20:46 PM
Marilyne,   When you look into the book The Christmas Train,  also check on one called Wish You Well by D. Baldacci.  It isn't his usual style either.   Here is an interesting article about his writing of that book.    https://davidbaldacci.com/book/wish-you-well/ (https://davidbaldacci.com/book/wish-you-well/)      This article struck a chord with me as I have been working on a small family tree for one of our great granddaughters.    She is just 10 so it will be brief but hope it will catch her attention enough to pursue it some later.    In researching some of the family I am reminded of some of the stories that I already know and now wish I had more of those.   My mother and grandmother were good family historians.    It doesn't seem to interest some people until it is too late to capture those memories.

I did enjoy reading News of the World sometime during this past year.   She had a good way with words.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on November 30, 2017, 10:44:50 PM
I also really enjoyed “News of the World”.  It was recommended by several here, so I thought I would give it a read and was surprised at how different and interesting it was.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on December 01, 2017, 12:06:09 PM
MaryC, when I clicked on the Baldacci page you mentioned in your post, I got a virus warning from my Norton program, so I clicked out.  Have you had any such warning?

Thanks, SCFSue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 01, 2017, 04:52:49 PM
No Sue,  I didn't get any warning and I surely hope that you haven't gotten into anything because of it.    If you want to read it I wonder if you just searched his name or the book title and then chose one of the reviews.  That is how I found it and had no problem.     Sorry if I caused you any.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on December 02, 2017, 03:45:20 PM
Hi MaryC.  No trouble here as I clicked out of it as soon as I saw the warning.  I've been getting annoying e-mails from Malware Bites which is wanting me to subscribe to them and I suspect they might be putting it in there.  I use Norton Security and run the quick scan daily and a full scan once a week.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 03, 2017, 11:25:48 AM
maryc - I clicked on your Baldacci link, and had no problems viewing it.  Wish You Well, sounds like a good book, based on his knowledge of the setting where it takes place.  I'm adding it to my library list! I doubt that I will ever read all the books on my list, but I try to read the ones that are recommended in this discussion.  I receive email rec's from two book sites - Off the Shelf and Good Reads.  They all sound interesting, and I'd like to read each and every one . . . but only so many hours in the day! ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 03, 2017, 06:09:05 PM
I am reading Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner and enjoying it very much. He based his main female character on Mary Hallock Foote, a noted writer and illustrator of the time.

The book and the author come with some controversy. Stegner won a Pulitzer Prize for it, but was criticized for his use of the material and for plagiarism even though he had family permission.  From what I gathered Stegner even offered his novel to the family to read and comment before publication but no one took him up on it (seems a little hard to believe).

About the book: http://www.openlettersmonthly.com/novelreadings/a-kind-of-investigation-into-a-life-wallace-stegner-angle-of-repose/

About the author: https://wallacestegner.org/bio.html

Angle of repose is an actual scientific term. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/angle_of_repose

About Mary Hallock Foote, including links to some of her stories: https://americanliterature.com/author/mary-hallock-foote
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 03, 2017, 10:47:59 PM
Marilyne,   I agree that there are so many interesting titles out there at our fingertips that it is hard to set a priority.  I did finally finish The Crazy Ladies and I thought the ending was just a little strange.  The book was good but it seemed to stretch out through the middle.   I felt that he belabored  their situation a little long.   I'm sure that those years felt like forever while they were happening but I just couldn't seem to get through them.    Debby brought me another Christmas story that she had from the library.    It is a short little story by Melody Carlson call The Christmas Pony.   I have one by her on my Christmas book shelf called The Christmas Bus. Both are short and easy to read stories.    I noticed today on Book Bub that they were offering Ann Tyler's book called Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant.    That was mentioned a few months ago here and I read it at that time.   Currently I have a book on my Kindle from the HOOPLA program through our library.   This one is called The Roots of The Olive Tree by Courtney Miller Santo.    I've just started it but so far, it is good. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 04, 2017, 02:05:57 PM
MarsGal - Interesting history on Angle of Repose.  Sounds like a good read, so I will add it to my list of titles.  I hope I'm around long enough to eventually read everything on the list!  Not likely though, since I add something new every couple or days. 

mary - I can tell that I enjoyed Crazy Ladies, more than you did.  There was something about his writing style and the character of himself, that I really liked.  I thought the ending was good - maybe kind of rushed?  It was patterned after Trevanian's, actual life.  He met his wife in Europe, and they were married and had four children.  They were still together when he passed away in 2005.
Just checked on Wikapedia:  "Trevanian" >>> Rodney William Whitaker, born 1931, died in 2005.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on December 09, 2017, 04:24:23 PM
Just finished Malice by Japanese author Keigo Higashino.  It was an interesting book even ‘tho you knew very quickly who the murderer was.  Not until the end does the reason for the murder become clear as the thoughtful detective reasons it through.  We always think of the Japanese as being very polite and civil and they are, so bullying in schools surprised me.  When I was a child, our teachers would never put up with any bullying and I really don’t know much about how it is handled now.

I’ve started a second book Salvation of a Saint by the same author and it is quite different but just as interesting.  I love reading books by foreign authors.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 10, 2017, 12:03:54 AM
FlaJean - There are a couple of Japanese writers that I like.  One is Kazuo Ishiguro, who was born in Japan, but is now a British citizen.  I've read two of his books . . .  the best and most well known, being, The Remains of the Day.  It was made into a wonderful movie starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson, and was nominated for all the major Academy Awards. Unfortunately it didn't win anything.  It would be a great movie to watch some night . . . I'm sure it's available on Netflix, Amazon or On Demand.

I just finished reading the latest Elizabeth Berg novel, The Story of Arthur Truluv.  She is one of my favorite authors, so I was really looking forward to this new book.  I'm wondering if anyone else has read it, and if so, what you thought? 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 10, 2017, 09:01:56 PM
I just picked up Arthur Truluv from the library yesterday and I'm nearly finished.  It is a good story (IMHO). Guess it's my kind of story.   Of course it isn't quite finished and I haven't peeked to see the ending but it's been a fun few hours with these folks.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 11, 2017, 04:50:47 PM
mary - As much as I like Elizabeth Berg, I was not fond of Arthur Truluv.  I felt like it was a totally unoriginal bunch of characters, and seemed like I had read the same story many times before in the past.  How many novels have we read that involves an unhappy, teen girl, whose mother died when she was a baby . . . leaving a neglectful, cold and clueless father to raise her by himself? He does a terrible job, so of course she gets into trouble as a teen, etc. etc. etc.  It seems that this "absent mother", is a common theme in too many books that are written for women! 
Occasionally it will be "absent father", who has abandoned his family to fend for themselves. 

Elizabeth Berg "borrowed" shamelessly, from other best selling books, to write Truluv
I saw parts, right out of A Man Called Ove , The Whole Town's Talking, but mostly from Plainsong, (Kent Haruf).  Teen age expectant mother with no family support, is taken in by two kindly and loving elderly/older people.  She cooks or cleans in exchange for room and board.  In both stories, the boyfriend was almost identical . . . a self centered jerk, with no compassion.

Am I getting too critical, in my old age?  ::) :-\   There actually are some authors, who like to write a story that has an intact family . . .  mother, a father, and siblings . . .  for better or for worse! Life's misfortunes, and bad things can happen within a family, even when mom and dad are both there.  You don't have to get rid of poor old mom, to make a story a good one.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on December 11, 2017, 05:07:59 PM
Marilyne,  I find many "prolific" authors who seem to have A Formula posted on their bulletin board and just change the character names and location (most of the time) with a slightly different plot.
Good example is Sherryl Woods' "Chesapeake Bay" series.  Although I'm not overly fond of the syrupy Hallmark shows, I did follow this series and thought I'd read the books to see how the stories had been condensed.
Every single one is about an O'Brien family member and his/her difficulties getting The True Love to agree to marry!  I'd swear the dialog is even the same!  Thank goodness, the tv series did condense things but I hope the script writers get everybody coupled and settled during the next season.

(Of course, that isn't keeping me from reading the books!   Need something to numb my mind after busying about with Christmas activities.   :2funny: )
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 11, 2017, 05:20:58 PM
You gals are right about the overuse of a theme in books and especially the Hallmark stories.   I suppose I'm a sucker for the Happy ever after and the redemption theme. :-[ . I did like that they brought poor dad into the circle at Thanksgiving.   I thought of the Kent Haruf tale as I read this and also the conversations at the cemetery in regard to The Whole Town's Talking.   Did you not think too of Our Souls At Night when Lucille decided she should move in with Arthur and Maddy???  Good little discussion here anyway.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on December 11, 2017, 08:20:06 PM
Well, now I'm curious about this "Arthur Truluv"!  ???
  Had to put the e-book on my "Wait" List and am #22 out of 22 requests.  Hope I haven't forgotten all these comments by the time my turn comes around.   ;D

Has anyone read "Can't Wait To Get To Heaven" by Fannie Flagg .?  It's another Elmwood Springs story and I thought it kind of went along with "The Whole Town's Talking. 
Elnor Stemfissle falls out of her fig tree and is pronounced dead.  Past and present residents have various reactions.  Final one is a surprise to everyone!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 11, 2017, 11:58:35 PM
Callie - maybe your library has a copy of "Truluv", that you can get right away?  It's a quick read, so you probably would be okay with a book. I'm anxious to hear what you think of it?  My library had a copy, with no waiting. 
Yes, I read "You Can't Get To Heaven", and liked it a lot.  Aunt Elner, is one of my favorite characters from FF's novels!  I first met her in, "Standing in the Rainbow". I also like "Poor Tot". ;D
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on December 12, 2017, 01:01:06 PM
Marilyne,  I suspect one of the many libraries in the Metro Library System would have a copy of "Truluv" but if the local branch didn't have one available, I'd have to put it on Reserve, anyway.   I can wait.
I was teasing about remembering the comments.  After all,  I could scroll back and find them!!   ;D

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 14, 2017, 10:15:21 AM
Just finished Angle of Repose. What a story! The story is very heavily based on real people, places and events.

Wikipedia has a summary that doesn't get too detailed with spoilers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angle_of_Repose

The struggle of these two mismatched characters to keep a marriage together in the late 1800's/early 1900's is well worth reading. The occupations of both partners, one an illustrator and writer, the other a civil engineer are well illustrated. Oliver was an overly trusting and hard working engineer who (along with his family) suffered set back after set back and disappointment.  Susan, who all the while wrote about and illustrated the West and its inhabitants, never really became a part of nor was reconciled to living in the West. She preferred the society of and moaned over the loss of her Eastern family, friends and sensibilities.

Almost forgot the other bit of the novel involves a wheelchair bound historian who is writing a novel about his grandparents. He does some comparisons and speculations regarding his situation, experience and feelings with those of his grandparents

Marilyne, do I remember correctly that you are in Idaho? The latter part of the book is set in the Boise area and involves attempts to dig irrigation canals and divert some of the river into them. It wasn't very successful until Idaho became a state and the US government took on the project.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 14, 2017, 10:31:08 AM
MarsGal - I just read your review of Angle of Repose, and it sounds good.  I already have it on my list, so will hope to get it on my next library order.

I live in California . . . native daughter.  I've lived here all my life, except for a year in Washington and a year in Oregon.  I've visited Idaho, and it is indeed, a beautiful state.  I don't believe we have ever had a member of S&F, or Senior Net, from Idaho, Wyoming, Montana or S. Dakota?  I remember exchanging emails with someone, way back a number of years, and we were wondering why those states have never been represented here?  We had a man from N. Dakota, many years ago, but  not the other states mentioned.  I believe that we've had members from every other state in the USA?  Possibly not New Mexico?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on December 14, 2017, 11:53:55 AM
I lived 5 years in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when my husband was stationed at Kirkland, AFB, but worked on a guided missile project north of Las Vegas, Nev.  He was flown out there on Monday mornings from Kirkland to Las Vegas and then driven with other crew members out to a nuclear missile project site in the mountains.  He came home on Friday evenings and left again on Monday mornings.  Our 2 oldest sons were in high school and the youngest in 5th or 6th grade.

I was born in West Virginia, lived there in Elementary School, lived in South Carolina in Junior High, back to WVa for high school, and back to South Carolina for my college days at the U. of South Carolina in Columbia.  Bob and I married on the day after graduation, went straight from the ceremony to Norfolk, VA, where he was assigned for 3 months to a small ship which left Norfolk on Monday mornings and returned on Friday afternoons.  Since he was the lowest ranking officer on that ship, he had the Officer of the Watch duty on Saturday or Sunday and could not come home on duty days. 

He trained at Pensacola, FL, to be a Navy pilot and served as that for 20 years.  We lived in Pensacola, Corpus Christi, Texas, and Memphis, TN, during pilot training.  Then went to Brunswick, Maine, for 4 years in a P3V squadron where he was first a co-pilot, then a full pilot.  Then he was chosen for post graduate study at Monterey, CA, where he got a graduate degree in Engineering and then it was off to San Diego where our 3 boys and I lived for the 2 years he was stationed aboard an aircraft carrier off the coast of Vietnam.  After that tour it was back to Brunswick for another 2 years in a squadron where he was one of the Executive Officers.  The last tour was in Albuquerque.  Our 2 oldest graduated from high school there and both returned to Alabama to attend Auburn University.  When our time was up in Albuquerque, we moved to a farm we'd purchased about 65 miles south east of Montgomery, AL.  The boys moved away to college and we stayed at the farm.  Bob died in 2002 and I sold the farm in 2004 and moved to Auburn--about 50 miles north of us.  We'd planned to move up here after he retired, but didn't expect his illness.

So that's the story of a Navy family, who called lots of places home!
Sue   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 14, 2017, 02:15:42 PM
SCFSue - I enjoyed reading about your life as a military wife.  You surely did live in many places across the USA!   My ex sister-in-law, is from Albuquerque.  After she and my brother were divorced (late 1960's), she moved back to NM, and eventually moved to Ruidosa, where she raised horses, and  entered horse shows all over NM.

My husband was drafted into the Army, right after he graduated from college, and was stationed in Washington State for his first year of active duty.  After that, he was assigned to the 72nd Army Band, and we moved to Ft. MacArthur, in Southern California. A beautiful Army post!  Our oldest daughter was born there in 1958.

I've just started an interesting novel, called Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty.  I saw that it has been made into an HBO limited series, starring lots of good actresses: Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, and others, so thought I would read it, and then watch the series.  I'm only barely into it, but not sure if I'll stick with it or not?   At first I liked it, but now it's starting to get a little "creepy"!  I don't care for suspense and sociopathic characters, and looks like that's where it's heading.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 14, 2017, 06:20:25 PM
Ah, well then, Marilyne, the story starts out and ends in California, in beteen are Colorado, Mexico, North Dakota (but briefly mentioned), and Idaho. You'll probably recognize some of the historical mines and works that benefited from Arthur De Wint Foote's (upon whom Oliver's character is based) inventiveness and management. One of the projects he worked on is the Tehachapi Loop which is not mentioned in the book. http://www.amusingplanet.com/2016/12/tehachapi-loop.html He also constructed a road, Foote Crossing Road, which is off California Rt. 49. I think it and the bridge named after him are mentioned in the book.

For anyone interested in the Leadville CO history, a Google search will bring up tons of pix and info on the people and town during the 1880's and 1890's. Leadville is apparently a popular place to visit these days. Here is Mosquito Pass which was described in the book: http://www.dangerousroads.org/north-america/usa/178-mosquito-pass-usa.html Someone is having way too much fun in modern Leadville: http://www.colorado.com/sites/default/master/files/1_Leadville-Ski-Joring-Horizontal-Blue-Sky%27_0.jpg

Speaking of way too much fun, I've been having way too much fun looking up the historical places and people from the book.

Rodman W. Paul edited a book called A Victorian Gentlewoman in the Far West: The Reminiscences of Mary Hallock Foote (The Huntington Library Classics) which, I think, is a compilation of Mary Hallock Foote's letters. I have to get the book. Interesting to note that in Angle of Repose the historian/narrator has a son named Rodman. I wonder if Stegman was giving a "tip of the hat" to Mr. Paul, who was known as the foremost authority on California mining.

Okay, I am back to SciFi again with the second of Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space series, Chasm City.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on December 14, 2017, 08:11:20 PM
MarsGal,  I read the Wikipedia article about "Angle of Repose".  Now that you've mentioned Leadville, I'll definitely look to see if I can put it on my Wish List.

I lived in Leadville from 1964 'til 1977.  My youngest son was born there.

Three novels set in early day Leadville that were well-researched and present a pretty good picture of "how things were" in the late 1800's are The Silver Rush series by Ann Parker:   Silver Lies, Iron Ties and Leaden Skies.
Everybody Came To Leadville by Edward Blair is a good non-fiction book.

I could write/talk for "hours" about living there!

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 14, 2017, 08:53:14 PM
Thanks for the book listings Callie. Edward Blair's book sounds interesting. The title of his book appears to be no exaggeration, from what I've read elsewhere, even before the railroad with the difficult passage to get there, it was a thriving town. I was just trying to follow the path from Fairplay to Leadville via the Pass. What a long and windy trip that must have been, not to mention the difficulties, especially in snowy weather.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on December 14, 2017, 11:30:22 PM
MarsGal,  Mosquito Pass between Leadville and Fairplay is still navigable with a 4-wheel drive vehicle.  We roamed around that area frequently  enjoying the beautiful wild flowers and exploring the various gluches. It's a beautiful area - but I can't imagine how rough it would have been to traverse it in a stagecoach or wagon.
Wish I could share some pictures with you.
 
You might be interested in this article about an annual event involving Mosquito Pass.

]http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/legacies/loc.afc.afc-legacies.200002772/] (http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/legacies/loc.afc.afc-legacies.200002772/)

My husband ran the burro race between Fairplay and Leadville (with borrowed burro "Big John") in 1965.  We then became actively involved on the Leadville committee.
The story will also say that Leadville decided to go on its own in 1970.  That decision was made in our family room!   
Leadville Boom Days still occurs on the first weekend of August.  Runners and burros race to the top of Mosquito Pass, circle the monument and return to town via roads through the historic mining district.


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 14, 2017, 11:34:39 PM
MarsGal - It appears that I also might have some family connections to some of the mining sites mentioned in Angle of Repose.  I would like to look into The Silver Rush series, by Parker.  Many of my ancestors were "49ers", and migrated to Nevada and California at that time.  My grandmother was born in a mining camp in Nevada, in 1878.  I've been doing lots of research on Ancestry.com, trying to piece everything together.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 17, 2017, 05:21:34 PM
My sister just told me about We Are Legend (We Are Bob: Bob Universe 1) by Dennis E. Taylor. She is big on audiobooks. I just listened to an excerpt on Amazon. The reader is fantastic! The book is a riot! Too bad I already used my two free credits for Audible and I'll be cancelling the service before my trial is up. The library system has one print book. Too bad they don't have the CD. Take a listen. https://www.amazon.com/We-Are-Legion-Bob-Bobiverse/dp/1680680587/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513549058&sr=8-1&keywords=we+are+legend+we+are+bob
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 18, 2017, 10:55:35 AM
I've been looking around the net to see if I can find any interesting reading discussion forums/discussions similar to SeniorLearn. There are three I've bookmarked to take a closer look at:  LibraryThing (which I've heard others speak of before), Online Book Club for Readers, and Booktalk. Anyone familiar with these care to comment?

BTW, I tried GoodReads a few years back and didn't like it; it was too confusing to find what I wants and when I did find that someone local had started a discussion, I  left a comment, but no one ever showed up again on it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 18, 2017, 02:55:25 PM
MarsGal - There lies the big problem with reading sites/book discussions online . . . no one ever responds to your comments, questions or reviews!  I've also joined lots of book talk groups, but members rarely post.  When they do, it's only to recommend a book they like.  When I want reading recommendations, I go to, Off the Shelf, or Goodreads, to see if anything sounds interesting.

When I clicked on your We Are Legend link, and I got a good written review of the book.  However, I didn't get any sound?  Maybe the link "knows" that I don't have a listening device of any kind! :o  ;D
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on December 18, 2017, 03:14:16 PM
I joined a couple of book sites on Facebook but the only postings were from authors trying to sell their books.  I was disappointed and "unjoined".   :(
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on December 18, 2017, 04:41:51 PM
I got the same thing, Marilyne, review, but no sound.  And I can listen to audio.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 19, 2017, 07:09:29 AM
That's odd Tome and Marilyne. I can hear the audio just fine. Try this one, it is from the author's website. It is not the same bit as at Amazon. It isn't as funny as the Amazon bit, but you can tell the narrator is really good with the voice inflection. I can just hear Bob being almost gritting hid teeth dealing with the sales robot. http://dennisetaylor.org/legion/

Thanks for the comments on other reading discussion sites.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 19, 2017, 09:19:56 AM
Well, I went to cancel my free Audible trial and was offered three more months at half the regular subscription price. I'll give it a go for that, but I doubt it will be worth it for me in the end.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 20, 2017, 06:00:24 PM
I want you all to know that I was too quick to pass judgment on, Big Little Lies!  I had only read a little bit when I pronounced it "creepy".  I continued reading and after a couple of chapters, couldn't put it down!  It's a good story, with unforgettable and likable characters.  I highly recommend it to everyone.  The author, Liane Moriarthy, is Australian, and the story takes place there.  It was made into an HBO Limited Series, starring Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and others, but the location has been changed from Australia to the USA.  I'm most anxious to see the series.  If anyone has watched it, tell me how you liked it?

Now I'm reading a new book that I read about on the, Off the Shelf, book site.  It's called The Antiques, by Kris D'Agostino.  I've only just started it, but I like it already. 

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 21, 2017, 03:34:06 PM
The Winter Solstice
Today, December 21, is the Winter Solstice - the shortest day of the year. It’s fascinating to read the many enchanting myths, about the Solstice. They are all similar, but this one is my favorite - it’s most appealing, because it ties the Solstice to Christmas.

The Winter Solstice is a magical season . . . one that marks the journey from this year to the next, journeys of the spirit from one world to the next, and the magic of birth, death, and rebirth. The longest night of the year (December 21 in the Northern hemisphere), is reborn as the start of the solar year and accompanied by festivals of light to mark the rebirth of the Sun. In ancient Europe, this night of darkness grew from the myths of the Norse goddess Frigga who sat at her spinning wheel weaving the fates, and the celebration was called Yule, from the Norse word Jul, meaning wheel. The Christmas wreath, a symbol adapted from  Frigga's "Wheel of Fate", reminds us of the cycle of the seasons and the continuity of life.

That the timing of the Christian celebration of the birth of Christ occurs in the Yule season is no coincidence. Christmas was once a movable feast, celebrated many different times during the year. The decision to establish December 25 as the "official" date of Christ's birth was made by Pope Julius I in the fourth century AD, hoping to replace the pagan celebration with the Christian one, since this date coincided with the pagan celebrations of Winter Solstice with the Return of the Sun Gods occurring throughout the world.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: junee on December 21, 2017, 05:14:28 PM
Marilyne.  That is interesting.  I just read that today,which is Friday 22nd is the Summer solstice.  A very wet day here, but welcomed after we have just had 2 days of extremes heat.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 29, 2017, 12:07:18 AM
Did anyone receive any books for Christmas this year?   My dil never disappoints me, and looks like she picked another winner this year . . . Manhattan Beach, by Jennifer Egan, which I think is on the NYT Bestseller list?  I won't be starting it for a while yet, as I still have a couple of books checked out from the library that I want to finish.

The book I mentioned in my last post, turned out to be quite good. The Antiques, by Kris D'Agostino.  One of those stories with lots of quirky characters, and rather outlandish circumstances.  I almost gave up on it early on, because I didn't take a liking to any of the characters at first . . . but after a few chapters I got to know everyone, and started to like them. (Except for one, who was too extreme to be believable.)  I would recommend this book, but with reservations.  It's a family story that's entertaining and funny, but is also sad in parts.  I loved the ending! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on December 29, 2017, 12:24:07 PM
I haven’t received books for Christmas since I was a child and received 12 Nancy Drew mystery books from “Santa”.  One of my best childhood Christmas memories.  I was still a little too young to ride the bus to the local library and the books opened up another whole world to me.  My two sisters were 9 and 13 years older so I was almost like an only child when I was young.

I was in B&N bookstore and saw a couple of hardback books on sale by a couple of authors I had read in previous years.  Couldn’t resist buying them but just now getting around to reading one of themâ€"-Ghost Wanted by Carolyn Hart.  My husband read it and liked it.  It doesn’t sound too intriguing to me, but I’m starting it today.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on December 29, 2017, 02:02:09 PM
I didn't receive any books this year, but 2 of my sons & wives gave me Amazon gift certificates, so I'll be able to purchase used editions of the remaining selections for book club this year and have some left over in case I see something I MUST have for my home collection.  All 3 of my sons and wives know reading is my passion!

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on December 29, 2017, 03:24:19 PM
Thing are changing for me now at the library. I like to read LP and for years when a book came out they would always get LP. Now most are coming in where you have to download from library to you Tablet. IPad..
Same system. Can renew if not finished. I have so many books on my IPad and also Amazon Fire that I don't feel like putting more on. I still prefer to have a book in my hand when relaxing.
I don't mind Technology but I think now it is going to far for me. Everywhere expect you to use it. Banks, Doctor. Hospital. They put everything on and tell you . Go into your computer and all will be in there. Must be hard for a lot of seniors that are not into computers and no wish to be. I know quite a few.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 29, 2017, 03:45:31 PM
No books under the Christmas tree for this gal.    As I said earlier,  Debby and I exchanged Christmas books from the library during the holidays and I have a couple free and inexpensive ones from Book Bub to be read.   After we read several of those light and short Christmas stories,  I told her that I was ready to get into something longer and a bit heavier after the new year.   I'm browsing!!  That is the time I clear the dining room table for a jigsaw puzzle too.   She and I  got the very same puzzle for each other for Christmas!   That was funny.

Yesterday I did take another from my Christmas shelf and started to re-read it.   It is a collection of stories by Richard Paul Evans.   Last night I read The Christmas Box and I think the next one is called Timepiece.  If I don't have a book started that I can pick up,  I feel kind of lost.    I know that I can always do some knitting and use up some of my stash of yarn but I did do just a little with fixing a cap I had made last year that seemed a little small.   After I had crocheted just a while my arm started to act up so I guess whatever knitting or crocheting I do will have to be in short times.  When I talked with the Dr. about it a year ago,  he just said that maybe I'd have to stop knitting.   I thought that was not too nice of him to take that attitude! ???   I suppose that there are some things that we just have to adapt to and not try to FIX everything.   Well,  I really got off the subject here, didn't I......will I get a violation notice or reprimand??? :D

Al seems to be feeling a little better today.   He had some scrambled eggs this morning and has been up in his recliner and on the couch rather than in bed today.    That is improvement!!  Happy New Year to you all!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 30, 2017, 12:51:27 PM
mary - Don't apologize for going off topic!  I like it when members are conversational, and talk about other things that are going on in their lives.  It's too bad that so many people have dropped out of S&F, but I'm hoping that those of us who are still interested, will continue on. There's only so much we can say about a book or a TV show, so feel free to talk about anything in this folder, or in Television/Movies.

Good to hear that Al, is feeling better.  I really believe that Winter is the hardest season for us older folks.  I always feel like I'm coming down with something, but fortunately most are false alarms.  This morning, my Al was complaining that he gets up every morning with a sore throat, and feels like he's catching a cold.  Then as the day progresses, the soreness goes away and he begins to feel better.  The humidity is extremely low here, so I think that's why we both have a lot of upper respiratory trouble.  It's supposed to rain here on Tuesday, so that will be a relief . . .  It will increase the humidity, and clean the dirty air.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on December 30, 2017, 01:37:17 PM
Wonder what this "sore throat syndrome" is caused by?  When I go to bed at night, my throat feels so sore, and also upon waking.  After breakfast or so, it goes away Hmm?

I love our Library Bookshelf and Movies & TV, and hope that the members will at least stop in once in awhile.  I am reading about 4 books right now and have one coming up for my General Book Club, a classic "Captains Courageous".  My other books all seem to be mysteries!  A couple "good"; one that I finished was"not so good".  It was by one of these Icelandic authors who are being translated now.  The surnames are simply staggering, which puts a damper on the book.  I put a BuzzBooks on my Kindle, which are excerpts from upcoming novels.  The two I've gotten thru are really interesting and maybe I'll check them out when they are published early 2018.
Sounds like everyone had a fairly Merry Christmas!  I am looking forward to 2018, as maybe it will give us something other than "tweeting", "fake news", "FBI investigations" etc, if you know what I mean! Sing Auld Lang Syne for me at midnite + 2 minutes, and I will turn another year older just for your entertainment!
Love to all here, and Happy New Year!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 30, 2017, 03:04:15 PM
I'm not sure where you all live, though do know that Marilyne is in the S.F. area,  but I would be suspicious of dry air in the house causing those sore throat symtoms.    We had to have a repair to our dryer vent last week and the service man was talking about the dry air and static in the house during the winter months.    The past couple weeks have been extremely cold here so the furnace is running a lot.    I've been keeping the tea kettle full on the stove on a very low heat setting and I think it does help with the humidity. It is a good time to make soup as well and a pot of simmering soup puts out a good amount of steam.....but we can only use up about so much soup.   :lol:

SCFSue,  The Amazon gift cards are nice aren't they.....there is such choice there.

JeanneP,  If I were you I wouldn't worry about how many books you put on your devices.   From what I understand about the storage,  you can have quite a lot stored on the Cloud and still bring them back onto  your device for reading when you wish.    Since I had my cataracts removed about a month ago,  I find that I can easily read from my Kindle without glasses since I have a larger font setting.   I really enjoy that and notice a big difference when I pick up a book that has smaller print.

I've found that Good Reads is such a busy site that it is hard for me to make good use of it.   The one thing that I do like is that early on I did make a list of books read and books that I'd like to read.   Sometimes I go there for a reminder.   I don't necessarily want every book that I start to read being announced on Facebook!    I doubt that my Friends there are all that interested. :)

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 30, 2017, 03:57:25 PM
I agree MaryC, dry air and maybe some mouth breathing at night. When my nose gets a bit stuffy overnight I suspect I breath through my mouth. I might go to bed with an unstuffed nose, but by morning I am often stuffy.

I am rereading Hugh Howey's Beacon 23. Yes it is a SciFi, but its focus is on a war hero with PTSD and a bit of survivor guilt. He lands a job on a hazard beacon station near an asteroid belt which he thinks will get him away from publicity and situations that have become uncomfortable. He is a little paranoid and a lot lonely though, until he meets another close-by beacon dweller of the female persuasion. Howey always tells a good story.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on December 30, 2017, 06:18:16 PM
When I got sick a month ago I moved into a smaller bedroom and put a Warm Air steamer Humidifier in . I let it run while I am sleeping and it seem to have helped . I know that my whole house may have dust in places because of all the heavy drapes. NickNaks and high up cabinets that are sure to have dust on them. I do have allergies most of the year also. I need to change the furnace filters again also. Been 2 months. I can tell it all comes from the inside because I am fine out of doors
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on December 30, 2017, 06:25:14 PM
I know I breathe through my mouth when I'm sleeping.  Biotene spray on my tongue at bedtime helps some - but not entirely.  I also have a "croaky" voice in the morning that sometimes goes away after a cup of hot tea - but not always.
I do have a humidifier going all the time.  It makes a difference but I'm not sure how much reaches my bedroom.

From my "History" e-book list on the library site:

A Christmas Affair - Jodi Thomas (Ransome Canyon series)
Her Royal Spyness  - Rhys Bowen  (London, 1930. Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, 34th in line for the English throne, is flat broke. She's bolted Scotland, her greedy brother, and her fish-faced betrothed. London is a place where she'll experience freedom, learn life lessons aplenty, do a bit of spying for HRHâ€"oh, and find a dead Frenchman in her tub. Now her new job is to clear her long family name...)  Fun read
Royal Flush  #2 in the series.  Also fun read.
The Address Fiona Davis  (story set in The Dakota in NYC <where John Lennon was shot> - goes back and forth between 1885 when The Dakota was built and 1985 when characters related to the original architect discover family secrets)
Hank and Jim - Scott Eymann  (non-fiction about the long friendship between Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart

Now reading
a "fluff" book in the Chesapeake Shores series - on which the PBS series is loosely based.  Plots are getting boring!
Angle of Repose - I think someone mentioned it here.
and getting ready to start:
Quick and Dirty - Stuart Woods
Winter Solstice - Elin Hilderbrand

Reserved books are coming in faster than I can read.  <Sigh>





Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 31, 2017, 12:45:51 AM
Callie - I also have a problem with the dry mouth during the night.  My ENT doc recommended little discs called XyliMelts.  They are concave on one side.  That side will adhere to your gums or a tooth, and stay there until they have melted.  I was skeptical, so at first I just let them melt in my mouth like a cough drop . . . but then discovered how easy it was to make them stick!  Now I keep them on bedside table every night in case I wake up and need one. Oh, I also have a cool mist humidifier going at night.

Your list of books sound intriguing!  I love that title, Her Royal Spyness! :D  One of your selections, Angle of Repose, is waiting for me at the library right now.  I doubt that I'll get over there tomorrow, but I'm sure they will hold it until Tuesday.  It was recommended here, by MarsGal.  I think I've read other books by Stuart Woods, but can't remember what?     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on December 31, 2017, 10:58:05 AM
This is just a guess, but I'm wondering if Callie and Marilyne sleep on your backs?  I always sleep on my side and have never had that problem, but I think back sleepers might have problems with mouths falling open in deep sleep.  My late husband tended to snore if he turned onto his back.  And I think it's because his mouth dropped open.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 31, 2017, 04:12:56 PM
SCFSue - I sleep on either my left or right side, but never on my back.  I'm a restless sleeper, and wake up off and on all night.  I don't remember the last time I actually slept through the night?  I'm sure I probably do breath through my mouth some of the time?  I think that one of the reasons that so many of us have dry mouth problems at night, is because we take the hydrochlorothyazide (sp?) for high blood pressure or kidney issues.  I have read that that medication is one of the reasons for dry mouth. 

mary - I like the book site, Off the Shelf, better than Good Reads. It doesn't have as much content as GR, but is mostly book selections, suggestions and reviews.
http://offtheshelf.com
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on December 31, 2017, 08:42:00 PM
Sue,  I mostly sleep on my side but, like Marilyne, my mouth is dry no matter in what position I am.
I know I sleep with my mouth open but I only awaken for that usual reason most of us "of a certain age" experience so I don't have apnea  Otherwise,  I would sleep soundly for at least 7 hours.
I also take blood pressure medicine that could be an issue because I often have dry mouth during the day, too.  Riccola Lemon Herb lozenges (sugar free in my case) are the most helpful things I've found to help with that.  They don't taste  medicin-ey and relieve the dryness very well.

Re:  sources for books. I get notices from BookPage monthly with a "Best of....." list.  Of course, I also get "suggestions" for different things "I might like".  I sometimes browse through the reviews on their web site and find that ones I think I'd like are usually available as e-books from my library.

Temperature is to be in the single digits and wind chills even colder for the next couple of days.  E-books, Here I Come!  :thumbup:

:party2: HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE  :party:

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 01, 2018, 12:33:39 AM
Here's a witty New Years poem, by Robert W. Service. It will put a smile on your face! :)

The Passing of the Year

My glass is filled, my pipe is lit,
My den is all a cozy glow;
And snug before the fire I sit,
And wait to feel the old year go.
I dedicate to solemn thought
Amid my too-unthinking days,
This sober moment, sadly fraught
With much of blame, with little praise.
   â€¢   
Old Year - upon the Stage of Time
You stand to bow your last adieu;
A moment, and the prompter's chime
Will ring the curtain down on you.
Your mien is sad, your step is slow;
You falter as a Sage in pain;
Yet turn, Old Year, before you go,
And face your audience again.
   â€¢   
That sphinx-like face, remote, austere,
Let us all read, whate'er the cost:
O Maiden! why that bitter tear?
Is it for a dear one you have lost?
Is it for fond illusion gone?
For trusted lover proved untrue?
O sweet girl-face, so sad, so wan
What hath the Old Year meant to you?
   â€¢   
And you, O neighbour on my right
So sleek, so prosperously clad!
What see you in that aged wight
That makes your smile so gay and glad?
What opportunity unmissed?
What golden gain, what pride of place?
What splendid hope? O Optimist!
What read you in that withered face?
   â€¢   
And You, deep shrinking in the gloom,
What find you in that filmy gaze?
What menace of a tragic doom?
What dark, condemning yesterdays?
What urge to crime, what evil done?
What cold, confronting shape of fear
O haggard, haunted, hidden One
What see you in the dying year?
   â€¢   
And so from face to face I flit,
The countless eyes that stare and stare;
Some are with approbation lit,
And some are shadowed with despair.
Some show a smile and some a frown;
Some joy and hope, some pain and woe:
Enough! Oh, ring the curtain down!
Old weary year! it's time to go.
   â€¢   
My pipe is out, my glass is dry;
My fire is almost ashes too;
But once again, before you go,
And I prepare to meet the New:
Old Year! a parting word that's true,
For we've been comrades, you and I --
I thank God for each day of you;
There! bless you now! Old Year, good-bye!


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 01, 2018, 06:55:35 PM
Good poem  for a new year Marilyne.

As for the dry mouth at night,  it is troublesome.    I've learned recently that if I moisten my lips before I go to bed with Carmex lip balm it help to keep my lips from getting so uncomfortable.    Sometimes when I get up  in the night I will refresh the lip balm and it has helped.    I have the stuff in the tube but what I really like the best is the very heavy balm that comes in a tiny jar.    Yes,  I am a back sleeper and know that breathing through my mouth causes this but since I haven't gone so far as to invest in a chin strap  :yikes: I'm just going to have to put up with it.   Callie,  I'm checking out the Riccola lozenges.  Good thought!   These extremely cold temperatures are causing  problems with dry skin too.   My thumbs at the corners of my fingernails have started cracking like they do in cold weather.    I use a heavy cocoa butter product made by Palmers that feels good on the hands but just doesn't get to the cracked fingers.   I use liquid bandage on those spots and it helps to heal.  We're going to have to change our subject here to "First Aid Helps for Seniors".   ;)

Marilyne,  Thanks for the tip on Off the Shelf.   Good idea.   The Book Page is another that often offers good ideas.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 02, 2018, 11:21:23 PM
mary - Another option for dry lips and also the cracked cuticles, is Aquaphor.  It's in a tube, and comes in all sizes.  I think its made by the company that makes Eucerin lotions?  The dermatologist gave me a tube of it, and told me to rub it in around my fingernails, where the skin is dry, sore and cracked. I like your idea of the liquid bandage, and I have some, so will definitely try it. 
For the dry mouth, I like the Xylimelts, Mild Mint.  You can get them at any of the major drug stores.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 03, 2018, 04:37:27 PM
Lots of good suggestions here.   I better write them down!   ::)    Life has been pretty crazy here this past couple of weeks.   Al's problem didn't resolve itself with the first medication and in fact the sulpha drug caused him a pretty good case of hives and didn't hit the infection.    We spent half a day in the Emergency Room yesterday so that he could receive IV fluids and a change of meds.     He seems much better today but I know that he HAS to drink more water, etc. and he is just a "sipper".   All the Docs  keep telling him to drink more and more and he just doesn't do it.   It is still cold though the weather folks said that today was to be the warmest day of the week and it is 20 deg. but dropping the rest of the week.   We can't complain because our house is warm and we have enough food.    I think often of those who don't have food and shelter.....has to be brutal!  I know that the shelters open extra hours and provide additional beds for this kind of weather but there are people who do have a place but heating is inadequate.

I'm still reading one of my Book Bub novels.   It is called Road Ends: A Novel by Mary Lawson.   A different but interesting family story.   Reminds me a little of the style and subject matter of  Anne Tyler or Jeanette Walls.   Could be depressing but one of the character's story keeps you going to see how she turns out. :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 03, 2018, 05:51:54 PM
mary - Sorry to hear that Al is not doing well, and had to go to the ER for a change of meds and an IV.   It's very hard for some, to drink the amount of water that they need.  My Al is also a sipper!  He will swallow a pill with just one swallow of water, and that's it.  I'm a water gulper, and can easily chug down eight ounces, without stopping. Younger daughter is like me, only drinks even more.  Older daughter has thyroid issues, (Grave's Disease), that can cause diabetes and kidney stones.  She's been told to drink lots of water, but claims she can't swallow more than a couple of swallows, and that's it. ::)  Hard for me to understand.

As you know, I like both Anne Tyler and Jeannette Walls, so Road Ends, by Mary Lawson, sounds good! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 12, 2018, 05:06:17 PM
Yesterday I picked up The Reminiscences of Mary Hallock Foote, Edited by Rodman W . Paul,  from the library. These are the real life letters from which Wallace Stegner wrote his Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Angle of Repose.

The book is every bit as lengthy as the novel, but I think it covers a longer time span and promises to be just as, if not more, interesting. The preface was in itself worth the wait for the book. The author while acknowledging all those that helped, also explained the extensive search for and gathering (either original or photocopied) materials and mentions India and sea navigation which the novel says nothing about. I will be starting the first chapter tomorrow.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 12, 2018, 05:42:36 PM
MarsGal,  unfortunately, my library doesn't have "The Reminiscences of Mary Hallock Foote".  I would love to read what she writes about Leadville!
I'm sure I've mentioned that we lived there for 15 years.
The part about Leadville in "Angle of Repose" was very interesting.  I think I know where The Ditch was but thought everything else was "generalized".  Of course, that's a fiction author's prerogative and I'd rather read that than "facts" that obviously come from some Chamber of Commerce leaflet instead of personal observation - as I've realized when reading other books set there.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 13, 2018, 05:26:20 AM
Callie, I had to put in for an inter-library loan to get the book. Maybe you can try that route. The used books I've seen listed on Amazon and ABE Books are a bit pricey, unfortunately.

I was doing a Google on books about Leadville and ran across this one:Leadville: The Struggle To Revive An American Town by Gillian Klucas. Have you read it?

The other was mention of the bookstore, The Book Mine, which doesn't seem to have its own website. Love the name.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 13, 2018, 11:21:16 AM
I finally got my copy of Angle of Repose, from the library - sent from another branch. The book is a total mess.  It's a paperback, and it is stained and dirty, and pages are difficult to turn. Readers have apparently laid it open/flat to hold their place, instead of using a bookmark.  It even has a weird smell!  (probably my imagination, because it looks so bad.)  It's the only copy in the county library system, and must be very popular.  Anyway, I cannot enjoy a book that's in such a condition, so will probably order the e-edition or check out another source?  Funny how I don't mind reading a well worn book, or antique book, as long as it has a hard cover.

I am most interested in reading the part about the Almaden Quicksilver mine, since it is practically in my back yard.  It's about ten miles away, in the hills that surround San Jose.  It's now a national monument, and is an interesting place to visit.  Still very rural and remote, in spite of it's proximity to the big city.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 13, 2018, 11:44:46 AM
Marilyne,  I've only been reading e-books I can borrow from my library now that it's hard for me to get to the library itself.  Have yet to dip into ordering books from Amazon or elsewhere.
Leadville: The Struggle To Revive An American Town by Gillian Klucas   is available as an e-book but the OKC metro library doesn't have it.  I have "recommended" that they get it but, of course, there's no guarantee.
If the library gets it, I'll take a look to see what/who she writes about.

The nice book store that was in Leadville when we were wasn't called The Book Mine.  Of course, it could have changed owners several times since we left in 1977.  :)

Interesting that you live near one of the mines mentioned in "Angle of Repose" and so sad that the copy you got is such a mess.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on January 13, 2018, 02:31:34 PM
My son bought me the ebook from Amazon of Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff.  It was really interesting even though some of it had been reported in the press.  I thought it was well written.  Amazing that they allowed Wolff in day after day to just sit in the West Wing on the couch and talk to anyone and everyone.  Never a good idea and bet they regret it, but it sure makes for a good read.

Other than that book, I haven’t been doing much reading.  I just don’t seem to have accomplished much of anything lately.  Well, that’s the way it goes sometimes.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 13, 2018, 04:16:04 PM
Jean - We tried to get Fire and Fury, at either the library or ebook, but a long wait for both.  There sure are a lot of mixed reviews on it, but like everything else political, it depends on which party you support, as to whether you like it or not.

So far, in this new year, I haven't read much of anything.  I did receive the book, Manhattan Beach, as a Christmas gift from my dil, but I haven't started it yet.  I also have a book that she gave me for my birthday, way last summer, that I haven't read . . .  The Lilac Girls.  Actually, I started it, but I guess the story or characters didn't grab me, because I put it down and haven't picked it up again.  It sounds like my favorite time frame for novels - 1930's and 1940's - so I know I'll probably like it once I get into it.  Someone in this folder, or maybe another one, mentioned that parts of the story take place in a concentration camp during WWII, and were very depressing and graphic??

Callie - Was there anything in Angle of Repose, about silver mining in Eastern Nevada?  I thought I had read that there was, but didn't see anything in the contents that looked like any place in Nevada?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 13, 2018, 04:52:54 PM
Marilyne, I don't think so. The Footes were in Deadwood, South Dakota for a little while. Arthur De Wint often went off to other mines to do inspections, though, so he could have gone to Nevada, very briefly, for a few of those. I'll let you know if Nevada is mentioned in her "Reminiscences". 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 13, 2018, 09:25:50 PM
Marilyne,  I was the one who commented on the concentration camps in "Lilac Girls".  Two of the characters end up in one - but on opposite sides, so to speak.  I skipped over a lot of those parts.

Well, now, isn't this fun?   I had returned "Angle of Repose" and couldn't remember details about the locations.  So I just checked it out - used the "chapter finder" link to find what I wanted to know - and sent it back to the library!

Narrator lives in "Grass Valley CA" and talks about someone taking him into Nevada City.  There are separate sections for each place Susan and Oliver lived:  the New Almaden,  Santa Cruz in CA,  Leadville, Michoacán Mexico and Idaho (two sections "The Canyon" and "The Mesa" both near Boise City). 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 13, 2018, 10:56:22 PM
Callie - New Almaden is about 10 miles SE, of my town, and Santa Cruz is about 15 miles to the West.  My oldest granddaughter and her family live in Grass Valley.  Nevada City, is a small town right next to G. Valley. (It's in CA, not NV).  So I'm familiar with three of the locations in the book.

I started reading Lilac Girls, again this afternoon.  I think I'll stick with it this time.  I know I won't like the details of the concentration camps, so I'll likely skim over those parts, as you did.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 14, 2018, 12:01:47 AM
Marilyne,  I'll be interested in what you think about the sections of "Angle of Repose" that deal with the sites you know.

Glad you're going to finish "Lilac Girls".
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 14, 2018, 11:26:39 AM
maryc - It's been almost two weeks since we've heard from you?  You last message mentioned that Al had not been doing well, so I'm hoping that he is better, and that you're just busy trying to stay warm and comfortable. The pictures of Niagara Falls, that I saw on the news last week, were a sight to behold . . . frozen solid! :o Keep us posted on how you are both coping during this cold month of January?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 15, 2018, 05:18:16 PM
I've been a lurker here for a while.  Al has been up and down and doesn't seem to progress steadily.  Anyway, I get notifications of activity here  (on Kindle) in my mail and can read what's posted but for some reason my posts sent from my Kindle don't always get through. I did sit down at the computer today to write but when I pressed the reply button the blank square for a message didn't open up!  Now that's a brand new one for me.  So I'm back to the Kindle and see if I can post today.    It's interesting reading about those of you who read the book about CO and have been talking about familiar places.  Nice to compare notes.  I did get new lenses for my glasses after my cataract surgery and my eyes are doing well though very dry and burning.  Again it is the cold weather and dry air in house.  The new great grandbaby due in March will be a boy....announcement yesterday!  His middle name will be same as Al's.  That is Mc Robert after his Uncle Alfred McR.  A good Scottish name. :)





Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 16, 2018, 12:18:46 PM
mary - I was starting to get worried about you, so good to hear that you and Al are both okay.  It must be extremely hard to get through these cold winters, as you grow older.
I can tell that you're looking forward to the arrival of your new grand baby.  Will he be living close enough that you can see him often?  His arrival in the early Spring, will cheer everyone up, after the long cold Winter.  Our son was born on March 20, the first day of Spring.

Are you reading anything good, that you can recommend?  After I finish The Lilac Girls, I have Manhattan Beach, but then nothing waiting for me at the library.  I'm going to start using my Kindle more, so I'll have more of a selection to choose from. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on January 16, 2018, 02:16:53 PM
I have been reading the posting daily but not doing much replying, fact not hardly on the computer at all.
Weather is just awful this winter here. So cold,fact only 12 deg today. Sun out a little so I will head over to the library. Had to go out to store yesterday and got caught in a bad blizzard. Came of of store and had left my lights on. Battery Dead. Man in a truck  jumped it and only took a second.
Been doing lot of reading and found a writer I like. Has quite a few books out and pickup one call Stolen Marriage. I thought it so good that I read it in 2 days. Finished it at Midnight last night. Her name is Diane Chamberlain. So going to see if I can find some more by her. Seems like most of my favourite writers or now either dead or quit writing and the new ones that are worth reading hard to find. Will be repeating to read some of the old ones again soon.
Hope you are all staying well and just bungling down with a good book. Bad weather seems to have hit everywhere.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on January 16, 2018, 02:35:58 PM
Mary, good to hear everything is going ok with you and Al.  I’m finally going to have cataract surgery in late Feb.   My right eye is a “lazy eye” and that is the one that is bad.  So I’ve really put this surgery off because I still see ok with my “good” eye.  I use Optiv eye drops several times a day for dry eyes and it really helps.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading on my iPad but mostly just interesting articles.  I have read several good short stories, and several good short Christmas “feel good” books during the holidays.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 16, 2018, 10:41:11 PM
Thank you all for your concern for Al.  We had an appt with our family Dr today.  He is ordering some testing to learn a bit more about what the kidneys are doing .....or not doing.  Perhaps we'll know more soon.


Jeanne. It does seem like a nasty winter but on the bright side,the days are getting longer.  I'm sure that your location gets hit harder than we do.  Often Buffalo gets a lot more snow than we do here just a short distance away.


FlaJean,I read a few cozy Christmas stories in December.  It was easy reading and didn't take as much concentration. :) . Good luck with your eye surgery.  I hope your Drs staff will give you the good care that mine did.  They seem to provide every comfort to put you at ease for the procedure. 


Marilyn, We are pretty happy about the new baby.  They live about 15-20 miles away.  I'm reading a book now called The Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan.  It's good with a few twists that keep you guessing.  Debby got it from Book Bub and shared it.  I saw a write up for Lilac Girls that sounded interesting but not sure I have the heart for it just now.



Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on January 17, 2018, 10:04:28 PM
MaryC

This is the coldest we have had in a long time.  Only got to 16 deg last few day. Tonight going down to 8below zero . Not had heavy deep snow but just days of 2 to 3 inch. I would just as soon have one big one and get it over with.
Just on the Phone to Daughter in Houston Area Texas and they are at 22 deg. Grandson was raising chickens for the FAA show and hatched 2 days ago. Had 16 but lost 3 last night.
They don't know how to handle really cold in Texas. Also like all the South. Homes are not insulated like us up in the Midwest. But I did notice tonight that it was still pretty light out at almost 6pm. I like that.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 17, 2018, 11:45:58 PM
JeanneP - It must be hard for you to be alone, during one of these prolonged cold spells. Lots of stories on the news about the cold in the South, as well as the Midwest. I hope you don't lose power during any of these storms?  That's too bad about your grandson and his newly hatched chickens.  Probably happening to lots of the other FAA kids as well.
I'll check my library to see if they have Stolen Marriage, by Chamberlaine. 

FlaJean - My husband also has a "lazy eye". As he's grown older, his vision has become extremely poor in that eye, but his doctor tells him that his cataracts aren't ready to be removed yet.  He has dry eye, and has to do the Restasis drops, twice a day. 

Mary -  I'm also adding your book, The Mill River Recluse, to my library check list.  Good that you live close, so you can see your gr-grand baby, when he arrives. Nice that his middle name will be the same as Al's. Maybe he'll be born on St. Patrick's day, and they will want to change all their plans and name him Patrick!  That's what we were going to name our son, if he had been born a few days earlier, on March 17th.  However, we changed our mind when he was born on the 20th, and went back to our original choice. 

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 18, 2018, 05:42:24 AM
Marilyne and Mary,  I read Mill River Recluse several years ago and found it enjoyable.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 18, 2018, 05:37:37 PM
For those of you who knew Jeanne Lee:  Her obituary was posted in Norms Bait and Tackle today by angelface.   Here is the link, if you would like to read it.
https://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?topic=34.msg118295#new
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 20, 2018, 01:18:29 PM
Another sad passing in our S&F community.  Hal Kelly (halkel), passed away yesterday.  Here is a link to the Tranquil Cove folder, where friends are leaving messages for Hal, and also Jeanne Lee.
https://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?board=21.0
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 22, 2018, 04:39:53 PM
I finally got a hold of a copy of A Victorian Gentlewoman in the Far West: The Reminiscences of Mary Hallock Foote, edited by Rodman W. Paul. The first part is a sketch of family, acquaintances, and Quaker life among the New York Quakers, both city and country. They were strong supporters of anti-slavery and women's sufferage. Friends and acquaintances included such prominent New Yorkers as Ellwood Walter (Mercantile Mutual Insurance Company, marine insurance and large landowner), Moses S. Beach (owner of the New York Sun newspaper at the time) and George Haviland (of the Haviland China family), as well as Henry Ward Beecher.

This was an era of expanding advanced educational opportunities for women. Mary Hallock Foote attended The School of Design for Women in New York. It was one of the most advanced schools available to women at that time. The footnotes (probably the editor's) comment on Coopers Union so I gather that the design school was part of it. Coopers Union was established in 1859. As a side note, Irving College, right here in Mechanicsburg, PA was established in 1856 as a liberal arts college for women. I think they began with two degrees, Bachelor of Arts and Mistress of English Literature.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 22, 2018, 08:24:02 PM
Marsgal, The book you wrote about in this last post sounds good to me.  I've been quite interested in the Quakers.  It seemed to be that they were way ahead in their thinking about many things.  I've had a couple of friends who grew up Quaker and I admired their way of attitudes.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on January 22, 2018, 10:27:43 PM
I have a small Quaker church right bye me. Often think I would like to just go in and see what they do.  I have been to a yard sale there and inside looks like just have benches. Did not see any religious item anywhere.  I also had friends years ago that were members and knew some in UK when growing up.  They don't talk about their churches at all or religion. I am going to get on line and read about it a little.
Been a cold and rainy day today. Not done a thing other than I made a bunch of Sausage Biscuits for the freezer and some Tomato and Mushroom sauce. Had to use up the mushrooms.
Got laundry ready for the cleansers tomorrow if weather clears. Read a little. a cleaned up the front yard from limbs and leaves. Oh! and took a nap for a hour. Hope I sleep tonight. Better put a movie on and stay up late.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 22, 2018, 10:37:13 PM
Jeanne, It sounds like you had a pretty good day today....productive!  It was good to be able to get out in the yard a little.  Our lawn is still pretty wet for walking around but it w would be nice after all the big winds we've had.  Debby and I watched a good movie from Red Box last evening.  It was Victoria and Abdul.  Judy Dench played Queen Victoria. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 23, 2018, 12:24:11 PM
MarsGal -  I’ve been watching the Amazon series, The Man in The High Castle, and thinking that you would probably like it a lot.  It’s an adaptation of the 1962 novel of the same name, by Philip K Dick.  Won all sorts of awards back then.  It’s an alternate history or dystopian novel, set in 1962.  The premise being that Nazi Germany won WWII, and the United States has been divided into three parts . . .  the Pacific coast is controlled by the Japanese, the East Coast by the Nazi’s, and the middle of the country is known as the Neutral Zone.  All sorts of intrigue, with interesting characters and situations, as American resistance forces, work to regain their Country.

mary - I've never heard of Victoria and Abdul, but sounds interesting.  If Judy Dench is in it, then it's bound to be good.  I'll look for it on my premium channel movies or Netflix? 

JeanneP - I've always been interested in the Quaker religion, but I know almost nothing about it. Like you, I plan to do some research online.  I've been meaning to tell you that I got the book you recommended, Stolen Marriage.  I'll likely start reading it this afternoon.

Callie - I finished Lilac Girls, and I loved it!  What a great story, of a true event in history.  Yes, there were some descriptions that were hard to read, but not as bad as I was expecting. I've read other accounts of Ravensbruck, and other camps, that were much more graphic. I would definitely recommend the book.  My favorite genre - a fictional story, based on actual history.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 23, 2018, 05:30:31 PM
One of the choices my sister thought I might like to wath when I was at her house for Christmas Dinner was Victoria and Abdul. We ended up watching something else.

The Man in the High Castle won four Emmys in 2016. I haven't watched it, though I have thought about it more than once. I tend to crinkle my nose up at things with Nazis in them these days. Maybe I should crinkle my nose and watch an episode or two anyway. I still have to watch Falling Skies and the other similar SciFi that was on about the same time (forget the name).

Steph, who used to check in on SeniorLearn is a Quaker. Too bad she isn't posting anymore. She could have answered questions. I kind of remember her saying that there are no formal church services at a Meeting House. You just sit quietly and pray or what have you on your own. I found this info that explains it. http://www.quakerinfo.org/quakerism/worship

Mary Hallock Foote certainly was acquainted with some prominent people during her time as an art student in NYC. Her recollection of Henry Ward Beecher as a person is interesting.

She also says that most all Quakers were Republican. The Republican Party was founded by the old Whig Party. The founding meeting was in Wisconsin (surprise, not an East Coast state) on May 20, 1854. What interesting times MHF grew up in what with anti-slavery activities, women's suffrage, and a new political party. It is interesting to note that most Republicans  and Quakers of the time, according to MHF, were anti-slavery, while the Democrats were generally wanting to leave the Southern states do their own thing. Quakers are and were very much anti-war so it would be interesting to read something of the times about how the Quakers resolved supporting something that was leading to war.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 23, 2018, 05:42:16 PM
Quoting from author Phillip Gulley's web site:   "Philip Gulley is a Quaker pastor, writer, and speaker from Danville, Indiana.  Gulley has written 21 books, including the Harmony series recounting life in the eccentric Quaker community of Harmony, Indiana. "
These are gentle, humorous fictional stories about a modern day Quaker Meeting (congregation).  Easy light reading.  I enjoyed them all.

Here's a link to the Good Read information about the Harmony Series 
https://www.goodreads.com/series/54659-harmony (https://www.goodreads.com/series/54659-harmony)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 24, 2018, 05:10:46 AM
I woke up morning to news that Ursula la Guin, one of the contemporary greats in speculative/science fiction writing, died yesterday. She will live on in her writings and in all those who were influenced by her writing, both authors and readers.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 25, 2018, 02:41:59 PM
JeanneP - I'm almost done with A Stolen Marriage.  I really like it, and find that it's hard to put it down.  I'll let you know what I think of the ending.

MarsGal - I'll have to look-up Ursula la Guin, online, and see what she's written?  The name sounds familiar, so maybe I've read some of her stories.  I hope that you give The Man in the High Castle, a look.  I think you'll like it. 

mary - I have The Mill River Recluse, here to read, as soon as I finish A Stolen Marriage.  It's a good thing I'm stocked up with plenty of books, and food . . . weather is dismal and damp, so I won't be leaving the house for a few days. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on January 25, 2018, 04:10:04 PM
I can see that "Lilac Girls" is on the shelf for me at library today. Will pick it up tomorrow.  Been waiting awhile as it had a long list for the LP. one.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 25, 2018, 05:12:00 PM
Sorry, I spelled her name slightly wrong. It is Ursula le Guin. She preferedt to have her works called Speculative Fiction rather than Science Fiction. Her Earthsea series is quite popular; it leans toward Fantasy to my eyes. I never got into that. My favorites are The Disspossed and The Left Hand of Darkness. The Lathe of Heaven is very good too, but it can be a little hard to understand at times. PBS did a production of it back in the 80s. I think there were one or two remakes since then, but I didn't see them.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on February 01, 2018, 07:51:27 PM
I picked up "The Lilac Girls on Tuesday at the library. Started and thought would be a lot like another couple books same type. Thought I would leave off reading it. However I started and been reading it all day today. Sort of a book that hard to put down. She is a good writer but this is her first book and now find that she is writing another book following up on the "Lilac Girls" Will not be out until 2019.  It took her 3 years to write the first one. I will have forgotten by then.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 01, 2018, 11:22:24 PM
JeanneP - I'm glad that you're enjoying The Lilac Girls.  I thought it was a great story, and based on feel facts.  I was also surprised that it was Martha Hall Kelly's first book.

Did I tell you that I liked the book you recommended, The Stolen Marriage.  It was a very good, and had an unexpected ending.  I'm going to order the book from Amazon, for a present for my daughter-in-law.  I know she'll like it too.     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on February 02, 2018, 06:25:57 PM
Marilyne.  Yes. I didn't expect that ending either.  I can't find anyother books by that same author. Seems like when you find a good story it turns out to be the first one they have written.
I finished the Lilac Girls.  Been reading a lot about both the writer and also The Caroline Ferriday . You can bring up the story of what happened to some of the Women. All about the experiments and the doctor. Can't believe the US gov. let her out of prison after 5 years and went right back to doctoring. Was given 20 years. They let so many people out of prison early. Germany was divided into 3 section after the war ended and the US got that part of Germany. The british another and then the Russians got the eastern.  Some of them should have been tried in the Russian Sector instead of US as most where Poles. Many more would have gotten the Death sentence.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 06, 2018, 04:12:38 PM
JeanneP - I found another book by Diane Chamberlain, author of The Stolen Marriage . . . it's called Necessary Lies.  I hope I like it too, but sometimes when I read another book by an author I really like, I'm disappointed.  We shall see?

maryc - Hope we hear from you soon, and that all is well in your world? I'm almost finished with the book you recommended, The Mill River Recluse.  I like it a lot, and plan to look for another one by Darcie Chan, called The Mill River Redemption.  Hmmm, I'm wondering how it will be linked to "Recluse"?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 07, 2018, 06:22:54 AM
Marilyne, I didn't know there was a sequel to Mill River Recluse. Now I am going to have to look for it.

The group discussion over on SeniorLearn this month is A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. Our library still has quite a few holds on all the versions it has, so I won't have the book in time to participate.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 07, 2018, 05:43:39 PM
MarsGal - I'll plan to look in on the SeniorLearn discussion of A Gentleman in Moscow.  I don't belong to SL, but I often read the postings, and have followed a couple of the book discussions over the years. 

I finished The Mill River Recluse and I plan to take a reading break for a couple of days, before I start something new. I'm hoping to get a lot of things done around the house . . . maybe a little of what is referred to as "Spring Cleaning". ::)  Also lots of things slated for the local non-profit thrift shop, or maybe ebay?  In the early years of eBay, everything sold quickly, sometimes with a bidding war!  Not so anymore.  So many millions of people trying to sell stuff now, that there is just too much, and not really worth the effort unless it's something very unusual.     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 12, 2018, 09:27:18 PM
Well,  I'm back....sort of.    My Al  died on February 1.    He had not been feeling well at all since before Christmas.   It was one thing after another but fool that I am,   I thought that any day he would make a come back.   The last week end of January he was really down and on Tuesday the 30th he went into Hospice House and was gone on Thursday afternoon.    I can't say enough about the care he received there at the Hospice House.   They not only kept him clean and comfortable but they were so kind to our family.  Debby and I stayed with him right through and all of the children were  together at the end.  I know that many of you  here have already gone through this and now I realize as I work through the house and see his handiwork all around me how much I have lost.  Our family and friends have been so kind and gracious to us....we are blessed in that respect.   We had nearly 68 years of a marriage that we often marveled about.    We were so young at the start,  we have been amazed that we  were so lucky to have made such a good match and still enjoyed  each other's company.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on February 12, 2018, 10:14:08 PM
maryc, I'm so sorry to hear about Al.  I know how much you will miss him. My heart goes out to you and yours.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on February 12, 2018, 10:48:47 PM
MaryC, I'm sorry for your loss.  I also know how hard it is to lose one's husband after a long marriage.  My husband died in 2002--we had been married 44 years.  He'd been ill with a recurrence of cancer, so in a way it was a relief as he suffered so much, but it still hurts.

It takes a while to recover from the loss, but I'm sure your friends and family are supporting you.  Let them help you when you need help.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 13, 2018, 12:45:50 AM
Oh Mary, I'm so sorry to hear the bad news about Al.  A 68 year marriage is remarkable.  I remember when you posted your wedding picture here a few years ago.  You both looked so young, and so happy.  I'm glad that Debby was with you during these last two weeks, and that she lives close enough to be there for you in the future  I will be thinking about you tonight, and will light a candle on the Virtual Candle site, in remembrance of Al.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 13, 2018, 07:13:44 AM
MaryC, my heart goes out to you at the loss of your Al. My condolences to you and your family.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on February 13, 2018, 01:33:54 PM
MaryC, so sorry for your loss.  Prayers for you and your family.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on February 13, 2018, 02:48:39 PM
Maryc,  I am so sorry to learn about your husband.  Gentle hugs and prayers to you.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on February 13, 2018, 09:01:46 PM
Maryc, I’m so sorry to hear about Al.  It’s a sad time, but you have lots of good memories.  I had been thinking of you and wondering how things were going.  Thanks for letting us know.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on February 13, 2018, 09:38:43 PM
MaryC. Sorry to hear that Husband has passed. It has left you now with 68 years of good memories. You have these to be with you always. could see over the years we have read you postings just how close you were. Family and friends will be with you.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 13, 2018, 10:04:51 PM
Thank you all for your kind thoughts and words of encouragement.    I have to keep reminding myself that many have gone through this experience and moved on with their life.    I know I will and the words of friends do help so much.    We have been so much more fortunate than many so  have much to be grateful for.

Strangely enough I had a book on my Kindle that I had started a week or so back and have started again to read it since our children have gone home.   The title is What Remains True by Janis Thomas.    I've thought that maybe I shouldn't be reading  just now because it is a story of a family who lost a 5 or 6 year old child to a tragedy and the parents are understandably in deep throes of grief.    BUT,  I've continued with it and found it interesting.   Every chapter is the thoughts of one member of the family,  including the dog!!   ???    Even the child who passed  is part of this and it seems as though his spirit is kept from moving on because of the unresolved situation within the family.    It might be a little far fetched but it does give one the comforting thought that your dear departed lingers near observing and consoling.  I like to think so.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Mary Ann on February 13, 2018, 10:19:17 PM
Maryc, I almost never get into this folder but tonight I thought I'd see what was going on and I saw where you had lost your husband.  I am so sorry to hear that.  From what you've written, you have a very good attitude and you will recover.  You will always have good memories of a long-time marriage.  Best wishes to you.

Mary Ann
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on February 14, 2018, 08:27:22 AM
MaryC, I'm so sorry to hear that your Al has passed.  I lost Tom a little over 6 years ago and I, like so many others here, can understand what you are feeling.  My prayers are with you and your family.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 18, 2018, 01:20:40 PM
maryc - I think about you every day, and hope that you’re feeling well.  It’s been a long and sad winter for you, and I know you will welcome the arrival of Spring. 

The book you mentioned in your last message, What Remains True, sounds very good. I can see that the concept of the story, would be comforting to you at this time.  I would like to read it too, and will add it to my library list. 

I would like to recommend the book, Necessary Lies, by Diane Chamberlaine.  Mary, I think you will like it, as will all others who post in this folder.  The story takes place in the South, in the 1950’s, and is classified as historical fiction. Lots of surprising facts that actually took place in the South at that time.  A wonderful, enlightening story and a real page-turner! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on February 18, 2018, 02:16:04 PM
Marilyne, thanks for the recommendation about Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlaine.  I'll check my library's website to see if they have a copy.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 18, 2018, 06:47:29 PM
Thank you once more for the kind thoughts.   Family and friends have been so kind.  During January when I was at home most of time I started a good bit of cleaning out too many years of collecting things and now I'm continuing that project.  I don't plan on moving anytime soon but when that day does come I'd like to be able to pick up and go without a lot of big decisions about letting go. I've admired my mother in that she cleaned out her house while she was able and left very few decisions for her last move.   Today I realized that even though our last child has been gone for many years my first aid closet is still stocked for a family of six. :o . Our house isn't large and I really could enjoy a little more space in that closet.


I've just started a book called The Michigan Street Children by Michael McCarthy.  It is written about an Irish immigrant family who settled in Lockport,NY in the pre Civil War era. Debby bought this book at a Celtic Festival at Olcott,NY last fall directly from the author who signed it. Olcott is just a few miles north of Lockport and sits right on the shores of Lake Ontario.  The subject matter is interesting but I wonder about his phrasing somewhat.  Lockport as well as being our County Seat is on the Erie Canal and that adds interest.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on February 19, 2018, 03:59:54 PM
Good way to keep busy Mary. Clearing things out. My place is a mess. Every closet full of stuff that should be gone. I had 5 Grands and now all grown up, Married with children and I still have all their Games. Books. GI joes. Records filling up one closet. All from the 60s. Must have 3 computers stores in one. Clothes I will never wear again. Promise myself soon as it warms up everything will go. Specially Kitchen stuff. My 2 daughters want nothing and none of the rest of the Grands need a thing. I am embarrassed everytime I open a closet door.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on February 19, 2018, 04:13:30 PM
Jeanne, those '60s records are probably worth a bunch of money.  Don't just throw them out.  People are really buying them right now.

Good luck to all with the down-sizing!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 19, 2018, 04:43:21 PM
JeanneP: Another thing - don't throw away any G.I. Joe's.  The old original "Joe's", from the 1960's and 70's are extremely hard to find, and collectors will pay quite a bit for them.  Some older kitchen items, as well as some dinnerware from the 1950's/60's are also of interest to collectors.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 19, 2018, 05:43:35 PM
Last evening I found the novel Necessary Lies on my Hoopla site.  It is an audio book but that's ok.  I can listen when my eyes are tired.   It is starting off to be a good story.  Thanks for the tip.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on February 19, 2018, 08:16:51 PM
MaryC.  Now I still have the Radio/record player from 1964. Beautiful Cabinet so just could not let it go. Plays 2 sizes of records like when new. I record shop found a new needle to put on it couple years ago. Have most of the London or Broadway big shows. Was a big collector of Folk Music and Country from 50 years or so back. Surprised they still play good.
Most of the things I have I have had at least 55 years in this house. collected for years  but when my mum and aunt passed in UK I brought lots of their collections which they had owned since the 1930s and earlier. some China for 1814 and a clock for 1759. Will maybe check with our University Museum here on day and see what they would like to have.  That is why I hate parting but i will.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 23, 2018, 03:38:50 PM
maryc - Let us know if you listened to Necessary Lies, on your Kindle, and if so, how you liked it?  I thought it was a very good story, based on fact. 

JeanneP - I think you would like it too. . . by author Diane Chamberlain, who wrote The Stolen Marriage.

Now I'm reading another novel by Chamberlain, titled The Silent Sister.  So far I'm liking it a lot!  Like her other books, it's hard to put down!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on February 23, 2018, 07:39:49 PM
Marilyne.  Now I check the library the other day hoping tha Diane Chamberlain  had other large prints books like Stolen Marriage which I loved.  Don't see any . Lots in Small print.. Will check if any Ibooks come up and read on IPad...Been trying not to put more books on it  as have so many.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on February 23, 2018, 08:02:54 PM
I just went into library to see what they did have by Diana Champerlain.  35 books come up but only the Stolen marriage and 2 others in small print. All the rest are on Ibooks only. Library doing that more and more now. It is a big city library and always building something but will not spend on Books it seems. They do real good buying the DVD as get a movie soon as they come out....
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 24, 2018, 06:43:18 AM
I've been resorting to more and more e-books and, surprisingly, Audible for relatively new books as well as the old ones. My small library branch and even the county system often no longer have hardcopy of the all the series books I have gotten interested in. Their philosophy is that if a book (regardless of whether or not it is part of a series) gets below a certain number of checkouts over a period of a year, they remove it. That leaves those of us who discover an older series we hadn't run across before scrambling to fill the gap. I had that problem with Donna Leon's Inspector Brunnetti series, and have just run up against it with Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga series. Not only that, I was only able to find Shards of Honor in online streaming form and the next, Barrayar in MP3 format. I am not sure but, I will probably have to stream that online, too, when it becomes available unless I am able to download it to the Amazon music app. I doubt that Audible will see it, but I could be wrong. If all else fails, then I have to decide whether or not the series (or any book for that matter) is worth buying with my limited funds.

I think I haven't mentioned yet that I stopped volunteering at the library as of this week. My back is just not up to the bending/twisting motions for shelving and pulling books anymore. Fortunately, my branch is only five or six blocks up the street, so it isn't going to be a problem for borrowing and returning books.

At the moment I am pretty much in between books again. I am in the middle of one audiobook and am picking around at several ebooks to see what is interesting. I started L. Ron Hubbard's SciFi, Battlefield Earth because it is supposed to be a classic that changed the face of the SciFi genre. Apparently, the genre was more or less strictly technical and science focused at the expense of human characters. Hubbard changed that. And now look what we have: Hard SciFi (the original tech/science, I suppose), Military SciFi, Space Opera, Psychological, Thriller (crime/detective/techno) SciFi, Speculative Fiction (and emerging genre that Ursula le Guin and Margaret Atwood, among others, would like their works referred to as this rather than being lumped into SciFi). These days, it is hard to definitely place many of the books in one or other genre, there are so many cross-overs.

The last of the Red Sparrow trilogy is out. The movie releases at the beginning of March. I am quite interested to see what the movie people have done with it. I read a while back that it going to have a definite R rating, so maybe they won't strip too much story from the book. If you didn't know, Red Sparrow is what they call trained Russian operatives in seduction and blackmail techniques to gather information from their targets. The author and his wife are retired CIA operatives; the books in are modern day settings.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 24, 2018, 08:39:34 AM
Marilyne,  I'm about finished with Hidden Lies.  It reminds me of the frustration I felt when I read The Help.  "Robert" :tickedoff: ......so concerned about his small minded friend's opinions!!    I'm hoping this ends like the Hallmark movies with the girl making an important decision before her life gets too messed up.  Now you know my view.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 24, 2018, 04:32:00 PM
MarsGal & maryc - I’m sorry to say that I've never listened to an audio book!  I’ll have to remedy that soon, now that I know I can listen on my Kindle.  I know I’m going to have to figure out how to get the connection to Audible, but hope to find the information online. 

Mars - Sorry that you gave up your volunteer job at the library.  I understand, as I'm sure I couldn’t bend to place books on the bottom shelf (even sitting on those low rolling trolleys).  Also lifting anything above shoulder height is almost impossible now.  I recently moved all of my dinner plates, to a rack on the counter top, because I could no longer lift the plates up, or take them down.  Some books I’ve owned for years seem extremely heavy to me now, although it never bothered me in the past.  I’m trying not to let those things depress me. :'(  I’m interested in the Red Sparrow trilogy too.  Looking forward to it!  You mentioned Margaret  Atwood .. . have you watched, A Handmaid’s Tale?  I haven’t seen it yet, but I hope to watch it soon. 

maryc - That’s one of the things that I like about Diane Chamberlain's books.  Despict all of the conflicts and struggles that are going on in the story, most things, (involving the main character),  are resolved satisfactorily in the end. 

JeanneP - You might try reading Chamberlain's books in the regular print.  All of the ones I've read so far have been good sized, easy to handle hard cover library books.  The print is nice and dark, and isn't as small as it is in paper back books.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 25, 2018, 07:38:39 AM
Marilyne, I am very quickly getting used to listening to audio books, but only when my eyes go fuzzy on me from reading or playing on the computer. That way I am not much distracted by doing housework or other things that take any concentration. I am pleased by the number of very good Readers, but there are quite a few that seem rather flat or don't quite get the "voices" or inflections right, IMO. Fortunately, you can listen to a sample to determine if you like the book or not. The classics, especially, have several different Readers /versions that you can check out. Also, the offerings include Great Courses Lectures and Radio or Stage Plays and the like that have multiple voices (thank you, BBC). A few even include sound-effects or music.

Something my sister and her husband do is download an audiobook and then burn it to disc so they can take it with them on their trips. Sue prefers listening to them during their drives because she doesn't get distracted by things to do in the house.

I saw the 1990 movie at a small, independent theatre in Allentown.  There are some big names in the movie, but I don't think it ever got much attention by the media or a big advertising presence. I don't think the type/theme of the movie was of interest to many at that time. I read the book, too. If you haven't read it, it is written in diary form which a future anthropologist discovered and read, commenting or speculating a little (if I remember correctly) on various entries. I actually liked the movie better because it was given a smoother continuity. The TV show I have not seen.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 25, 2018, 04:55:10 PM
MarsGal - I looked up Red Sparrow at both of my libraries, country and city, and there is a wait list at both!  It surprised me, being as the book is not new.  It must be because of the TV show, which will be starting soon.  I didn't realize that there was a movie in 1990 . . . I may see if it's available On Demand.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on February 25, 2018, 10:21:54 PM
I think "Red Sparrow" is a movie, not TV show.  I read the book last year, and it was very good if very dark and violent. It is part of a Trilogy, the newest one just coming out. Jennifer Lawrence is going to be great in it.  Did you all see 60 minutes tonight?  She was inteviewed.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 26, 2018, 06:46:06 AM
I am anxious to see if the movie combines all three books or just follows the first, since it looks like they timed the movie release closely to the release of the last book. Not that I pay any attention to Rotten Tomato rates, but they only give it three stars. Disappointing, but it may change once the movie opens March 1 to the public.

Gave up on Hubbard's Battlefield Earth fairly quickly. It isn't a bad story, simply written, but I am not in the mood for it. It does remind my of one of Marion Bradley's Time Agent series books where the where the Time Agents went back to the stone ages.

The Audiobook I am listening to now, We Are Legion: We Are Bob (Bobiverse book 1), does have a sequence where some of the Bob's are helping a group of stone age era sentient beings to survive. Another set of Bob's are trying to help Earth evacuate before a Nuclear Winter (or asteroid hit, I forget which) exterminates the survivors. Also, the book includes Brazilian probes as the improbable antagonists in the war and space colony race. The reader, Ray Porter, is great at changing voice for his various Bob's.  He does a credible impression of the fish general in Star Wars (forget his name) in his character, Guppy. One, called Homer, sounds a lot like Homer Simpson. Another Bob, calling himself Riker, is a huge Star Trek fan and styles his "command" after him. Funny! Oh, and yes, I am having a little trouble remembering where all these Bob's are at times as they spread out into the galaxy looking for new homes for humans.             
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 26, 2018, 09:18:48 AM
Just a while ago, I found the audiobook version of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. I've had that book on my Paperwhite for quite some time but never got around to reading it. Kenneth Branagh is the reader. Branagh does a superlative job of the reading, and I am so glad I had put off reading the book. I don't think I would have had the patience to read it now without frequent pauses. Conrad is quite a word smith isn't he?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 26, 2018, 02:53:41 PM
Mars - When I took Senior English, in high school, our second semester assignment was to write a term paper on a contemporary British Author who was born in the 19th century, but  lived on into the 20th. (It was contemporary at that time, which was 1952.)  I wanted to do my paper on Virginia Wolff, but our teacher decided which author we would have, and she gave me, A.J. Cronin - Keys of the Kingdom, and The Citadel,.  My boyfriend was in the same class and he was assigned Joseph Conrad.  We read each others books, and studied together, so besides all of Cronin's books, I also read Heart of Darkness.   I loved that novel at the time, and have not read it since. Now that you've reminded me, I plan to put it at the top of my library list to read again.  I would also like to listen to the audio book, read by Kenneth Branagh, but will reread the book first.

Interesting, when I look back over a half century ago, I can see that A.J. Cronin and his novels, have not withstood the test of time . . . whereas both Joseph Conrad and Virginia Wolff's books are still being read, and assigned in classrooms.     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 01, 2018, 11:55:17 AM
I have just started listening to News of the World, which, I think, some of you have mentioned before. The reader is Grover Gardner. He is a fantastic reader. I looked him up and found that he has received numerous awards for his readings, has read over 800 books so far, and is much younger than I thought.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on March 01, 2018, 12:14:30 PM
I really enjoyed News of the World.  I downloaded a free version of Heart of Darkness.  I sampled several audio versions but the voices were irritating to my ears.  The audio version by Kenneth Branagh cost $15.  I’ll stick with the free one.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 01, 2018, 01:31:54 PM
FlaJean, the version I listened to is from Audible Prime. I Have Amazon Prime so Audible gives me some free books and a few other audio channels to stream for free. The choices are pretty limited and if I want to download, I would have to pay. I just listened to the free online stream instead.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on March 01, 2018, 04:12:15 PM
Speaking of "News of the World", along with three other members of my face-to-face book club, I had the privilege of seeing and hearing Paulette Jiles.  This woman is a brilliant scholar, and though this book brought her to the forefront of readers everywhere, she has written other novels, as well as poetry.  She is a deft speaker, both serious and funny.  In the Q&A afterwards, she answered all questions thoughtfully and in depth, as called for.  One of the questions was "will there be a sequel to "News of the World"? To which she thoughtfully but rapidly answered "No". Should you get an opportunity to hear her, by all means, do so.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 01, 2018, 08:16:51 PM
I remember reading News of the World a while back.    It was a good story.    My problem with the audio books is that it puts me to sleep and I can't remember where I left off.   :(     I did enjoy Necessary Lies but know that I missed one part toward the end.   I had to go back and listen to a portion over to find out what had happened.

I finished The Michigan Street Children last evening.   It had quite a bit about the Civil War in the last part of the book and especially a lot of detail about Andersonville Prison.    I had read the book Andersonville many years ago but this was a sad refreshment of my memories of that.   

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 03, 2018, 01:31:58 PM
maryc - The Michigan Street Children sounds interesting. I'm always ready to read anything that takes place during or after the Civil War, so I will place that book on my ever growing list!  The Civil War era, and the WWII era, and their aftermaths, are my two favorite time frames for novels.

Occasionally, when I go to the library, I will take a chance on a book that I find in the large print section.  Last week I got The Hollywood Daughter, by Kate Alcott. The story takes place in the 1940's and 50's, when lots of scandals were taking place in the film industry.  First came the Ingrid Bergman/Roberto Rossellini affair, and then the McCarthy hearings, accusing many Hollywood stars of being communists.  The story is told through the eyes of a young teenager, who is the daughter of a Hollywood press agent.   This is fiction, but based on fact. Interesting for it's take on the movie stars of that era.  My how things have changed! :o

I also got Heart of Darkness, by Conrad. I was hoping to read it once again after so many years, but I won't be able to read this copy.  The print is extremely small and difficult for me to see.  I think I'll wait, and listen to the audio version, read by Kenneth Branagh.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 10, 2018, 10:29:12 PM
It's been quiet here for a time.


  I just finished a book called All the Winters After by Sere Prince Halverson.  This was from HOOPLA and turned out to be quite good.  It was set in Alaska and there was a good bit about a religious group called The Old Believers.  It seems that they had moved from Russia to Asia and eventually to Oregon then to Alaska.  I hadn't heard of them before so it was interesting along with the rest of the story.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 11, 2018, 12:40:38 AM
mary - yes, it has been very quiet in here this past week.  I think I finally burned out on Diane Chamberlain's novels.  I started out with The Stolen Marriage, then Necessary Lies, followed by The Silent Sister.  I liked all three, and figured I would just forge ahead and read a few more, so I got, Pretending to Dance.   

I started "Dance" right away, and although the characters and story sounded just as good as the others, for some reason, I just couldn't stay with it.  A recent review I read, compared Chamberlain's books with those of Jodi Picoult, and I definitely see the similarity.  I read three or four of Picoult's novels in a row, and then stopped and was never interested in reading another one.  So, I plan to take "Dance" back to the library tomorrow, along with Heart of Darkness. I'm still on a long wait list for The Red Sparrow, and something else - can't remember what - so I'm open to just about anything that catches my eye.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 11, 2018, 08:11:40 AM
I got notice that The Kremlin's Candidate (Red Sparrow book 3) is ready for me to pick up. I will do that tomorrow.

News of the World is done, so I picked around at several e-books, deleted a few that were of little interest, and settled on Renegade (The Spiral Wars, book 1) by Joel Shepherd. It is a space opera involving political intrigue involving framing a hero then murdering him, and framing one of his subordinates for the murder just after the end of a long-running war. Long running resentments against a wealthy family that has some sympathy towards a large but politically suppressed opposition party appear to be the driving force behind the plot right now. Easy read, likable characters.

I just ran across an old Cathy cartoon I clipped out of the newspaper about 20 years ago. Cathy, on her laptop hunting down books to buy, says "Ready? Who has time to read?? I acquire!"  Cathy Guisewite created the comic which ran from 1976-2010. It was one of the few comics I tried never to miss.  Just now looked her up on Google. She must have truly retired, because there isn't anything from her since then.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on March 11, 2018, 02:59:49 PM
Didn't realize that Chamberlain had written so many books. I loved Secret marriage but can't find any others in Large Print. Maybe some will come onto Book Bub for Ipad and I will buy.

It does seem to be that a author now can write a couple of good books and then they become awful. they just have to write so many now to make money.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 11, 2018, 04:58:36 PM
JeanneP - The Chamberlain books that I've been reading are regular print, but the books are hard cover, and slightly larger in size than the usual library books . . . so the print doesn't seem so close together, and is easier to read because it is dark.  Don't check out any of her soft cover books!  I looked at one of her books in soft cover, but the print was too light, and too small and close together.

MarsGal - I saved a lot of "Cathy" cartoon strips also!  Some of them were so true to my life at the time - especially the ones that dealt with exchanges between Cathy and her mother.  Very much like my daughter and me. ;D

FlaJean - How did you like the audio version of "Heart of Darkness"?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on March 11, 2018, 05:32:24 PM
Marilyne, I sampled a couple of audio readings of “heart of Darkness” and didn’t care for them. I have found using head phones or ear buds irritates my ears.  So I thought I could just listen thru the speaker, But didn’t care for the readers.  I ended up getting a free regular eversion from iBooks, but haven’t started it yet.

I bought the eversion of Katie Tur’s book “Unbelievable” and it was very interesting.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 15, 2018, 01:42:09 PM
I noticed a book while I was browsing at the library, called Vanessa and Her Sister, by Prima Parmar.  The title sounded interesting, but I knew nothing else about the book, when I checked it out.  It turns out to be an historical fiction account of the young adult lives of Virginia Woolf, and her sister Vanessa Bell. The story starts in 1905, so both sisters are in their twenties, and are not yet married.

If you are a Virginia Woolf fan, or even if you are just curious about her, this is fascinating reading!  The novel is written in journal and letter form.  The journal part is written by Vanessa, and most of the letters are written by friends, lovers and other family members.  It's very well researched, and much of the writing is adapted from Vanessa's actual diaries. I am totally enthralled by the lifestyle that they lived as young women!

I’m not finished yet, but I’m so glad I happened to pick this novel.  It’s different from anything I have read in the past.  I would especially recommend it to anyone who has read or is interested in  Virginia Woolf, or who has seen the movie, The Hours.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 15, 2018, 04:32:44 PM
My DD Debby keeps  bringing me books!!! :thumbup:    Her linedancing class is held in a lovely little Episcopal church in her town and they have a library bookshelf.   One of those take and give things.    Anyway she reads a book and then passes it on to me.   I'm halfway through a comfortable little story called A Miracle For St. Cecilia's by Katherine Valentine.    Yesterday she brought another called The Crossroads Cafe by Deborah Smith.   Meanwhile one of the Book Bub offerings was Idaho.  http://www.emilyruskovich.com/   I was intrigued by the title and writeup so bought it.    I have just started that one and it is intrigueing to say the least.   You will get an idea of the subject from the website.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 17, 2018, 11:47:31 AM
maryc - I'm so glad that Debby lives close, and comes over to see you often.  I know that you're so very lonely, and missing Al, every minute of the day.
I read the review you posted on Idaho, and it definitely sounds like my kind of book. I plan to put in a request at my library today.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on March 17, 2018, 12:33:12 PM
“Idaho” sounds really good, Mary.  I got it from Amazon for my Kindle app for $1.99.  I still have some money left from a gift card from my son and wife for my birthday.  I have two books to read before I get to it.  I just have not been reading as much lately.  Don’t know why as there certainly is not much on TV that interests me.  I am so tired of the HGTV shows and just not into the latest TV offerings.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 17, 2018, 08:36:23 PM
FlaJean and Marilyne,  I'll be interested to know your thoughts on Idaho when finished.


Marilyn, I am fortunate to have my daughter so close by. She is in the midst of the Community Choral group's Easter concert series  but today she came by to have corn beef dinner with me after the concert.  We have these nice little frequent visits that are good.   She and I are applying to be substitutes for the Home Delivered Meal program sponsored by our County Office on Aging.  We will try as subs to see how it suits us then maybe take a regular schedule.  We've thought of it for a while. 



Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 20, 2018, 04:54:15 PM
maryz - In case you happen to look in: If I remember correctly, you're an artist . . . so I think you might enjoy the book I recommended a couple of days ago, called Vanessa and Her Sister, by Priya Parmar.  Vanessa, is Vanessa Bell, artist/painter, and her sister is writer, Virginia Woolf.  It's historical fiction, but based on true facts, and real people.  The story revolves around The Bloomsbury Group, a gathering of well known (real) London artists, writers and intellectuals, in the early years of the 20th Century.  All wealthy and talented, and living what was then called the "Bohemian" life, in London.  Fascinating reading!

FlaJean - I'm also getting tired of the HGTV shows. Some that I really liked for a long time, have become annoying and repetitious.  I wish they would stop all the endless renovation shows!  Too many of them, and they're all alike!  The only shows we enjoy now are the ones that we record in the middle of the night, that are not shown here in prime time - Log Cabin Living, Buying Alaska, and one that takes place in Montana. (can't remember the title?) Some the "buying the beach" shows I still like, because I love seeing the various beaches around the US, Bahamas and other places. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 20, 2018, 05:20:45 PM
I have to wonder what keeps HGTV going with those flip house shows   They are so similar and who want their home to be just,like everyone else's with "open concept and an island in the kitchen". The open concept is nice in way but my experience #for what it's worth) is that there is no place for quiet conversation with everything in one big space.  When the Family is all together it's bedlam.  I sound like a crabby old lady! :(   When I am alone I usually have the Easy Listening music on low and just read.  I did enjoy the Alaskan shows with Al but even those were reruns many times.
   The book I mentioned earlier called Crossroads Cafe is turning out to pretty good.  It is a large paperback and quite dog eared...well read!😏  I'll see if there is a review that I can post for your information.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on March 20, 2018, 05:30:51 PM
Just finished reading “the Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women” by Kate Moore.  A most interesting story that I had to take in stages.  I would get so angry at the lack of humanity in the company and their lying that I would put it aside a day.  Then I would go back to the story and marvel at the brave women who fought for their rights ‘though they were suffering terribly.  The book is well sourced and had photos and end notes.  Below is a short blurb.

“Meanwhile, hundreds of girls toil amidst the glowing dust of the radium-dial factories. The glittering chemical covers their bodies from head to toe; they light up the night like industrious fireflies. With such a coveted job, these "shining girls" are the luckiest alive â€" until they begin to fall mysteriously ill.”
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 20, 2018, 05:44:11 PM
That reminds  me of the movie Who Killed Karen Silkwood.   There was another one earlier about a woman who campaigned against her employers because of unsafe working conditions.  It's scary and you have to think that all of our modern miracle products are like a Pandora's Box, and the lid is open and no turning back.


My book review is here.http://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/overall-b-reviews/the-crossroads-cafe-by-deborah-smith-2/
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on March 20, 2018, 06:18:52 PM
Marilyne, thanks for the recommendation.  I'll check it out.  I haven't painted in about 5+ years, but I still love art.  I read very slowly now, so it might be a while.  ;)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 20, 2018, 11:44:49 PM
maryc - I agree that the HGTV new or remodeled homes are almost all exactly alike.  The open concept idea for the main living area and the kitchen is something I would never want.  In most of the remodels, anyone walking in the front door, can see all the way into the kitchen!  You would have to have your countertops, (and that ever present island), uncluttered and standing tall at all times. An island in the middle of the kitchen would never work for me.  It looks to me to be a huge obstacle, and I would be bumping into it constantly - especially the four corners.  Also spilling things from island to sink or counter, would be a problem for me. 

It is hard to understand why all buyers want exactly the same thing for they kitchens?  Nothing that shows any individual personality whatsoever!  Never any curtains or blinds on the windows.  Never anything colorful or attractive sitting out to add a little color.  The same cold, gray stainless steel appliances in every kitchen. The same cold granite countertops. Oh well, I don't need to worry, as I won't be getting a remodeled kitchen any time soon! ;D

FlaJean - I've seen The Radium Girls, recommended on a number of book sites.  I plan to read it . . .  even knowing how upset I will get, and how sad I will feel, reading about those poor women.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on March 21, 2018, 11:55:41 PM
MaryC, I finished “Idaho”.  I wish the author had made some things clearer in regards to the children.  Surely there would have been newspaper clippings or more in-depth reporting,  especially in a rural area with not as much news.  I admired Ann but I didn’t agree with many of her decisions.  However I think she made the right choices at the end.  (Did you understand the relevance of bringing back Elliot later in the book?  I didn’t think that fit in, but maybe I just missed something).  The story was intriguing but not sure I would read another by this author.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 22, 2018, 07:05:17 AM
I've just finished the last of the Red Sparrow series, The Kremlin's Candidate, by Jason Matthews. The last half of the book was a real rollercoaster/nail-biter. The book had more description and less dialog, especially in the first half, which left me a bit impatient. The ending was good (appropriate to the situation) but it left me feeling sad, haunted, almost like being in mourning. As your read the series, you may find yourself hoping for the best, fearing the worst. The series ending is a mix of both.

A word about the movie: Again, it was good, but did not strictly follow the first book. Jennifer Lawrence was excellent. The critics were right about a passionate spark being missing between Dominika and Nate in the movie. A shame, because that passion was a major force in the books, especially the first two.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 22, 2018, 04:40:25 PM
Hi FlJean,  I haven't finished Idaho yet.  I got started with The Crossroads Cafe and have been pushing along to get that finished before next week.  It is a large size book and I would rather be reading the ebook when Debby and I go to visit our son....easier to pack.   I do agree that this author has a way of telling the story that makes me want to tell her to get to the point.  I keep feeling that there is something that I'm just missing.  I'll respond more to you when I finish.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on March 22, 2018, 09:19:03 PM
My TV connection not working to day and so I got a movie to watch. "Lady Bird" Did well on some Awards. So will watch it tonight
Comcast suppose to be out tomorrow. Yesterday my WiFi and internet down. They did that over the phone.  Comcast seems to be having a lot of trouble these days.
Also now my Face book since last week is acting strange. Guess they are in trouble also.  I am beginning to think that Technology is trying to get to big to fast. Each trying to outdo the other.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 22, 2018, 09:43:11 PM
Jeanne, You certainly are having your troubles with techie stuff. My brother told me tonight that he is having such problems with Facebook that he can't do much of anything. All he has been getting is advertising.  He just likes to keep up with his family that is scattered across the country and it is an aggravation.Good luck to you.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 23, 2018, 01:19:01 PM
FlaJean - Yesterday I started reading The Radium Girls.  I feel exactly like you do, that it's hard to read about how clueless everyone was in the beginning!  Even when the first symptoms started to appear, the medical community didn't know what was wrong . . . then, when the companies did find out, they wouldn’t admit to it, and kept the facts hidden.  It is a shocking story, and I feel so bad for those young women. I'm only about half way through the book, so I'm hoping that there will be some reckoning and compensation for the families of these doomed women.

Mary and Jean - I also have Idaho, so I'll read it next. I'll be thinking about the comments you have both made about the different characters, and will be watching for them.

JeanneP - I hope you liked Lady Bird?  I thought it was very good, and very true to life.  As I mentioned before, you will see yourself in some of the sequences between mother and daughter.  I think it's my favorite of the movies that were nominated  this year.  I have finally watched them all and I like Lady Bird and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, the best.

MarsGal - I still haven't received notice from my library, that any of the Red Sparrow books I ordered are in yet.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 23, 2018, 05:09:51 PM
Same thing happened to me with The Martian. I recommended that on to the library because I knew that Ridley Scott had bought the movie rights. I read the book before the rush which came when the trailers started showing up. As for Red Sparrow, it had been on the shelf a little while before I picked it up. I found out about the movie before they even had the actors lined up, but after I read the first book. They were real low key about the movie until shortly before it was released, so now you see the book rush. I was lucky. I didn't have to wait too long for number three, but I had to make sure I had if read by the due date because there are people waiting behind me.

Now I'm reading Elysium Fire by Alastair Reynolds now. It is a sequel to The Prefect. They are set in the Revelation Space Universe, but are not a part of the main series. I am quite happy about the sequel because I like the main character and several of his side-kicks. Thanks, Mr. Reynolds! More, please.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on March 24, 2018, 01:51:12 PM
Looks like a stay home read and watch films all weekend. We had 2 days like summer and now back comes the snow. Very cold out.I started watching Lady Bird. Got sleepy and so it is still in my DVD player.  Will start it over I think later today.
Doubt I even get out of PJs today.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 25, 2018, 05:26:42 PM
After finishing The Radium Girls, I was left with such an empty frustrated feeling.  Even though the situation occurred long ago, and was financially settled decades ago, the money could never make up for the suffering and the deaths of all those innocent young women . . . most of them in their twenties.  A tragic situation, and a sad time in our history. 

I have two books here to read that I haven't picked up yet.  I think I have to recover from The Radium Girls, before I start something new..  The books that will be waiting for me are Idaho, and The Girls at the Kingfisher Club.  I think I'll watch TV for the remainder of the afternoon . . . probably something easy and without controversy, like HGTV.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on March 26, 2018, 01:09:06 PM
Just my personal opinion, Marilyne, but “Idaho” was also a little frustrating for me.  I really could not understand or relate to the characters.  You might want to read something heart warming and light before reading “Idaho”.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on March 26, 2018, 04:20:36 PM
The Library did get "the Radium girls" In Large Print. Couple of people before me but doesnt take long to get.. Seem I have not been getting any really good books this past month. It is so hard now to find ones by favourite authors.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 26, 2018, 06:33:47 PM
Last night I wrote and posted something about the book Idaho but apparently it didn't make it here.    I've thrown in the towel on that book.  I just couldn't struggle with it any more.   The author seemed to me to spend a whole lot of time on things that didn't seem to have too much to do with the story.   Maybe I gave up too soon but it just made my brain too tired.   All of that time in the prison with someone named Elizabeth (???)  and then more pages about the little girls playing dolls and all the detail about that was just the last straw for me.   I already had a book from Hoopla on my Kindle and that was easy to get started.   The catchy title of this one is Flat Broke with Two Goats by Jennifer McGaha.  This one is back in North Carolina just like Deborah Smith's Crossroad's Cafe that I just finished.   This book is listed as a Memoir of the author.   I agree with FlaJean that this book is a downer and I wouldn't recommend it unless you really enjoy dark stories.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 26, 2018, 11:02:27 PM
Mary and Flajean - With both of you giving Idaho, a thumbs down, that's enough for me. I'm not interested in another sad or hopeless story.  Enough of that going on around me, and plenty of TV shows and movies available, if I want to feel depressed!  So Idaho goes back to the library.  I did start reading it yesterday, and I didn't care for what little I read. 

Today I picked up two more books, so besides The Girls At the Kingfisher Club, I also have Paper Towns by John Green, and A Girl Named Zippy - Growing up Small in Mooreland, Indiana, by Haven Kimmel.  I think I'll read that one first.  There's a picture of an adorable baby on the cover, and it's in large print! :)   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 28, 2018, 07:51:28 AM
Does anyone remember the big earthquake that hit Yellowstone back in 1959? I don't. Project Gutenberg has has a book called The Night The Mountain Fell by Edmund Christopherson. There are lots of pictures and the narrative looks rather detailed. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/56850

I did a little research on Mr. Christopherson and found that he was a free lance writer, mostly about the North-West and Montana, which he called home. He contributed many travel related magazine and newspaper articles. He died at age 56 in a beach accident in Rio de Janeiro while attending a Travel Writer's convention.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 28, 2018, 10:12:21 PM
For anyone who is looking for a light read but with some good messages intertwined, I recommend Flat Broke With Two Goats by Jennifer McGaha.  I found this book through the Library Hoopla system. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 01, 2018, 12:15:18 PM
Happy Easter to all of our book lovers! I hope you continue to post messages here, and that you keep us informed on books you like or don't like.  I've enjoyed many hours of reading this past year, thanks to your recommendations!

Thank you to . . . maryc - Tomereader - MarsGal - JeanneP - FlaJean - Callie - SCFSue - maryz - and all others who have contributed to this forum! :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 01, 2018, 01:27:01 PM
Worrying now about all my books that I bought and they are on my IPad. Most not yet read.

But now a tech problem again.
I think I just blew my IPad. Strange. It did start up . They said like."Slide to power off" Thought I would do that as not done awhile. Turned it back on and nothing. It had 60% power still but just blank. I plugged in to power cord again but nothing works. Was working perfect last night.
Could it be the battery died? I will take it to Best Buys tomorrow and check. Never thought they just did that without some warning.

Hope you all having a nice day...
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 07, 2018, 04:32:45 PM
 I just finished reading the happiest, sweetest, memoir style book, that I have ever read!  It's called, A Girl Named Zippy, by Haven Kimmel.  It's a charming, uncomplicated, witty account of a little girl growing up in a rural town in Indiana, in the 1960's and 70’s.  It's so refreshing to read a happy memoir, where you like all the people in the family, and in the whole town!  You will feel good when you finish this book! :thumbup:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 08, 2018, 07:41:08 AM
A find in Gutenberg this morning in the Legends category: Robin Hood by Joseph Ritson, http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/56926   This is interesting because Mr. Ritson complied many Robin Hood stories, poems, and papers he found into one book. This edition is richly embellished and as fair number of photos/illustrations. Enjoy!

I discovered this book on Amazon (as far as I know the only place it is available) which have ordered. Song of Praise for a Flower: One Woman's Journey through China's Tumultuous 20th Century, by Fengxian Chu and Charlene Chu, is a biography/memoir. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07791M17S?tag=viglink125204-20 I read some of the excerpt and expect it to be every bit as interesting and wonderfully written as the Chinese Science Fiction that I so admire.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 08, 2018, 01:46:05 PM
Marilyne, I got “A Girl Named Zippy” from Amazon for my iPad (On the Kindle app) for 1.99.  Will start it soon.  Want to watch golf today and a special about Mr. Mueller tonight, but looking forward to reading it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 08, 2018, 10:44:45 PM
FlaJean - I hope you enjoy reading "Zippy", as much as I did.  Nothing particularly profound or exciting about it - just a sweet and humorous memoir.

There's so much strife, hate and sadness around the world, and in the news constantly. It's nice to escape with a story about another time and another place, when life was predictable, and most people were kind.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 09, 2018, 12:41:24 PM
Just do not seem to have. "A girl named Zippy" in my library at the moment. I think it goes back a few years and so no use asking them to buy it.  Now i didn't find it on Amazon for $1.99 either. I could have put it on my IPad or Amazon Fire. if i did.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 12, 2018, 06:14:38 AM
In yet another effort to understand Quantum Physics, I am now reading What Is Real?: The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics by astrophysicist Adam Becker.

So far, which isn't at all far yet, I am finding the book very readable and interesting. Already I have learned about a very common misconception about the Schrodinger's Cat mind experiment. Schrodinger said that the cat would either be dead or alive but we wouldn't know until we opened the box. But many physicists decided to go with the idea that the cat was both and alive and the end result was decided when the box is opened, a seemingly slight, but important, distinction. Einstein got it, but Bohr and the majority of the physicists favored the second approach.

My main question, at the moment, is what is the transition point at which standard physics and quantum physics intersect. What is the catalyst? Apparently, that is a question the author is asking too.

I have always thought of Quantum Physics as someone's idea of a cosmic joke. However, now we have Quantum computers and such that actually work.

Uh, oh! Speaking of Quantum Physics, my Quantum cat just appeared. Shan has an uncanny ability to play now you see him, now you don't. He seems to transport himself from one place to another, instantly. He even comes with a Star Trek like communicator twitter.

On another note, the upcoming book discussion for May on SeniorLearn will be Winter Garden by Kristen Hannah in case you want to look in. I don't remember if the exact discussion opening date in May is set yet.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 12, 2018, 11:27:38 AM
MarsGal - The Kristin Hannah book discussion coming up on SeniorLearn, sounds good.  I don't belong to SL, but have followed along on a few of the discussions over the years.  I've read one book by Hannah, called The Nightingale, which was very good.  It took place during WWII, and was about the lives of two sisters, during that time.  I enjoyed it, as I always enjoy any books or movies about WWII, whether they are fiction or non fiction.

I admire your interest in physics, and your desire to continue to learn more.  Were you a science major in college?  I'm going to look up the difference between regular physics and quantum physics?  I imagine that the answer is quite complicated, so I probably won't learn much??
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 12, 2018, 12:08:15 PM
Oddly enough, Marilyne, I detested science when I was in high school. I came around to an interest in it land in Science Fiction much later. I did take a class in Botany and two Chemistry classes in collage to fill requirements. One of the Chemistry classes was the about the chemistry of winemaking.

I am also reading and e-book called T'on Ma by Magnolia Belle. It begins in 1850 Texas. It is a romance involving Lana (a white female, called T'on Ma by her Kiowa admirer), Two Hawks (the Kiowa), and Lt. Liam O'Connell (stationed at Ft. Worth). Not my usual fare, and while interesting so far, is not anything outstanding. But then, I am only a few chapters in with Lana just becoming acquainted with Two Hawks and his interest in her. As far as I know, the book is only available on Amazon.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 15, 2018, 11:14:38 AM
Good morning book lovers!  Hope to hear from some of you today, as to what you're reading, or just what you're doing on this Wintery looking April Sunday.

maryc - We haven't heard from you in a while?  I think about you often, and hope you're doing okay, and that all is well?

MarsGal - Last year, I went through a spurt of reading books about early settlers interacting with Native American Indians.  It started with News of the World, which I enjoyed very much.  Then I read a couple of other non-fiction true accounts, of children who had been kidnapped and raised by Indians.  Fascinating reading!  The book you mentioned, T'on Ma, sounds interesting, and I may see if it's available from my library.

I've started a couple of books this past week, but just haven't clicked with any of them.  One of them, The Lying Game, was a Christmas gift from my dil.  It's by Ruth Ware, author of the best seller, The Woman in Cabin 10, which I have never read. "Lying Game" reminded me right away of The Girl On the Train, which I hated. Not my style of books at all. So I may go back to the library today, and see if I see anything that might keep me going this next week.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 15, 2018, 11:42:25 AM
Susan wittig Albert writes a series about a group of women (young and older) in Darling, Alabama, a small town in the 1930s.  The women are members of the local town garden club and the stories revolve around them and others in the small town.  I’ve enjoyed this series as Albert shows it so authentically to the times, mentioning the popular music of the time and how their lives were back then.  It isn’t an exciting page turner but stories that just move along in a comfortable way.  Presently I am reading her latest in this series “The Darling Dahlias and the Unlucky Clover”.  Even if you don’t like series each book can stand on its own.  However, I do like series and enjoy how an author develops characters over time.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on April 15, 2018, 01:39:19 PM
FlaJean,  I'm a Susan Wittig Albert fan, too.  When I want something light hearted, I check out her many novels at my library.  I think I've read most of them.  The Darling Dahlias are a hoot!

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 15, 2018, 02:33:07 PM
FlaJean,  I also like the Darling Dahlias.  Am glad to know about the new one.

I enjoy series that tell about the various characters "introduced" in the first one - and, sometimes, in subsequent ones.

Currently reading my way through the Elm Creek Quilt books by Jennifer Chiaverini.  Unfortunately, she didn't write them in sequence but a list naming them this way can be found on her web page.  Scroll down to "What are the Elm Creek Quilts novels?" and click the question.

https://jenniferchiaverini.com/faq/ (https://jenniferchiaverini.com/faq/)

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 15, 2018, 03:22:10 PM
Callie, I hadn’t heard of the Elm Creek Quilt books. Sounds like my type of books.  Will see what I can find.  I have a couple of books I recently got from the library which can’t be renewed then a book on my Kindle to read “A Girl Called Ziggy”.

By the way, Albert has another new China Bayles book out this month  “Queen Anne’s Lace”.   Also for those of you that like Donna Leon, she also has a new Commisario Guido Brunetti book out “The Temptation of Forgiveness”.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 16, 2018, 11:54:58 AM
I am now reading an engrossing novel called, The Art of Peeling an Orange by Victoria Avilan. It is set in the world of art and entertainment. There are an artist who was jilted, her psychotherapist sister who is lesbian, and her roommate who is a nurse as well as the roommates' boyfriend and the multi-talent who stole the artists' love away. There is a death, suspicion of murder, and a lust for vengeance -- so far. I am just to Chapter 11.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 17, 2018, 07:24:23 AM
Nota Bene: I wouldn't suggest The Art of Peeling an Orange if you don't care to read Lesbian eroticism which shows up later int the book. And here I thought we were heading for a kind of supernatural (Gothic?) mystery. I will be finishing it, though. The writing is good with an odd twist (hence my thoughts toward the supernatural).
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 17, 2018, 10:53:27 AM
MarsGal - The Art of Peeling an Orange, is an intriguing title!  However, the storyline doesn't sound like something I would particularly like, so I'll pass on that one.  My ever increasing loooong list of books on my "want to read" list, is becoming unwieldy! ha ha.  I will never get to even a third of them! 

Too much going on around here to concentrate on any book, at the moment.  I still have Manhattan Beach waiting for me, so that will be my next book.  I read a review, and it sounds wonderful. Takes place in the 1930's and '40's, which is my favorite time frame for novels . . . along with the Civil War era.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 17, 2018, 11:14:21 AM
My copy of Winter Garden is at the library to pick up.

On SeniorLearn.org, it looks like we will be discussing The House of Seven Gables in June, just after Winter Garden.. Also proposed for the fall is a non-fiction work, Brunelleschi's Dome by Ross King. Nothing is firm yet on these two, but I am hopeful.

I am getting through Adam Becker's book slowly. Since it is a hardcopy, it is harder to keep at it partly because of the cats (there is always one sitting on my lap when I sit down, sigh), and partly because I find it more difficult to concentrate on the subject in the evening. I hope I will be able to renew the book, or that one of the libraries will pick up an audiobook copy or eBook soon. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 25, 2018, 04:29:59 PM
I mentioned in Norm's B & T, this morning, that I watched the movie, Life of Pi yesterday, and was so impressed with it.  I loved it!  Then Bubble and MarsGal posted messages there, that the book (Life of Pi) had been discussed many years ago in Senior Net.  I was there way back then, and posted a lot in the Books and Literature folder, but I don't remember the Life of Pi discussion.  Maybe some of you remember it, or took part in it?  Well, "better late than never", as the saying goes!  I enjoyed the movie so much yesterday, and plan to get the book at the library ASAP.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 26, 2018, 02:57:14 PM
Marilyne, I’m enjoying “A Girl Named Zippy”â€"close to finishing it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 27, 2018, 08:21:54 AM
Has anyone read Circe by Madilyne Miller? It is a fantasy telling of the life of Circe who features in Greed Mythology. It is on  Unbound World's list of SciFi and Fantasy books for book clubs. Here is their list. http://www.unboundworlds.com/2018/04/best-sci-fi-fantasy-book-clubs/ I've been considering it but what with all the other books I already have that need read, it is on the backburner, as is Station Eleven (also on the list).
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 27, 2018, 08:33:32 AM
I am very tempted to search for "Kindred" by OCTAVIA E. BUTLER.
I do like that author very much.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on April 27, 2018, 11:37:10 AM
My son took me to the library yesterday after our lunch and grocery shopping trip.  He has been telling me about an author, C.J. Box, who writes about a forest ranger in Montana.  Last week I read one of the series and enjoyed it, so yesterday, I chose 2 more--the first and second in the series.  The ranger's duty includes arresting poachers, other out of season shooters, etc.  I've never been to Montana, but have lived in northern and southern California and think the terrain is similar to some areas in northern California (although with a much smaller population).  If you enjoy Detective stories, you may like these C. J. Box mystery novels.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 27, 2018, 11:59:15 AM
MarsGal - What an interesting list of books!  I just glanced at it, but right away saw a book that I've always wanted to read . . . Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.  Maybe I'll request that one at my library, as well as Kindred, by Octavia Butler. 

How do you like, The Winter Garden?, so far?  I'm not particularly intrigued by the story because it seems so familiar . . . like it's a rerun of plot/characters,etc.  Similar to other novels over the years?  However, I'm sticking with it for now.

(I was trying to clean up a few errors on this post, and accidentally deleted it! So It has now changed positions!)  LOL
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 27, 2018, 12:57:58 PM
Thanks for the description of C. J. Box's character. He is popular here, but I never got around to trying one. I'll have to make a point of it now that I know the main character is a Forest Ranger.

Montana! Never been there but love the scenery I've seen on arm-chair traveling trips. Did you know that just below Alaska (#1), Montana has the next highest suicide rate in the US. I haven't looked into an explanation for that yet.

Marilyne, I haven't started Winter Garden yet. I would have much preferred participating in the A Gentleman from Moscow discussion, but I couldn't get a book because of the long ling of people before me. I am not as keen on this one, but I missed a few discussions and thought I'd try it. At least one of the posters said it is hard to put down. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 27, 2018, 01:11:01 PM
Sue, never read C.J. Box but the description of his books sound interesting.  We spent a week in Montana several years ago.  They call it big sky country.  It’s a lovely place to visit in Sept. but too cold for me in the winter months.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 27, 2018, 05:14:55 PM
FlaJean - I'm glad you're enjoying A Girl Named Zippy.  There was something about that memoir, that I just loved.  I plan to read it again some day, when I'm in need a sweet uplifting story.

The C.J. Box series, sounds similar to Longmire, except that Longmire was Sheriff of a county in Wyoming, not a Ranger in Montana.  I don't know if the Longmire TV series was adapted from a series of books or not?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on April 27, 2018, 06:13:02 PM
Longmire (TV) was adapted from a series of books.  They are excellent, and can all be found on amazon.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 27, 2018, 10:48:43 PM
I posted a little earlier today but have been having some problem with my computer so don't know whether it will post like a duplicate to this one or what?!?!?    I've been away visiting family.    I could read the posts here on my Kindle but couldn't post.   Besides that I'm not too comfortable about posting information about being away from home.    Anyway Debby and I went on a road trip to visit family in Charlotte, Savannah and Pennsylvania.   Along the way we visited with some old friends  who are having health problems and it could be the last visit for us.   

I did finish a book that I had borrowed from the library but didn't have concentration  to start a new one.   We did visit a few libraries and I bought a paper back from Friends of the Library.   It is Milk Glass Moon by Adriana Trigiani.  I have enjoyed her books and expect this will be the same.

It is good to be back in my own home and especially my kitchen (my favorite room!!).

Callie,  I noticed that you are reading the Elm Creek Quilting books.  My daughter and I read several of those a few years back and liked them very much.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 28, 2018, 02:57:56 PM
maryc - Good to have you back with us! I was thinking that you might be away visiting friends and relatives, and looks like you were.  I’m glad you and Debby took some time for a little vacation.
I love that book title - Milk Glass Moon!  I know I've read books by Adriana Trigiani, but can't remember which ones.  I'll have to look her up and see her list of novels.

MarsGal - I'm liking The Winter Garden more and more.  It took me a little while to get into the story, but now I'm glad I didn't give up on it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 28, 2018, 04:34:10 PM
The Great American Read premiers on PBS on May 22. Here is the list of their 100 books. http://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/books/#/  I've read only 21 of them and have another four in my TBR pile.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 28, 2018, 04:51:09 PM
MaryC, it’s good to see you posting.  Sounds like you had a nice trip   It’s always good to get back home even when we enjoy a vacation.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 28, 2018, 05:21:10 PM
Maryc,  I read The Elm Creek Quilt books in chronological order.  She "wraps up" the story of the quilters who gather at Elm Creek in "The Wedding Quilt"  (#12 in the chronology) but has written 8 others about "side characters".   I'm just now reading to first of those "Sonoma Rose", which is about Ana (who became the cook at Elm Creek in about book 10).

"Milk Glass Moon" is the 3rd book in the Big Stone Gap series.   "Big Stone Gap" is the title of the first one in the series; it was made into a movie starring Naomi Judd.  "Big Cherry Holler" is #2.  These two will give you a background for the story in "Milk Glass Moon".

Marilyne and MarsGal,  are you going to follow the discussion of "Winter Garden" over in SeniorLearn?    I just finished the first 6 chapters (first week's discussion) and confess I became a wee bit weary of how the angst and drama was dragged out.  I'll keep reading to see how the story develops but don't plan to do more than just follow along in the discussion. 

I've read 25 of the Great American Read books (more if you count every one in the Outlander series) and have seen the movies of several others.
I printed out the list for reference.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 28, 2018, 05:37:49 PM
I have the book, Callie, but I haven't started it yet. I am in one of my reading "breaks" doing other things. A rare occurrence, I know, but it does happen to me sometimes. Anyhow, I plan on at least reading some of it and will probably join the discussion for a while. My book goes back to the library soon, and I won't be able to renew it so it because others are waiing on it. The ebook I have on hold still has four people ahead of me, so I am unlikely to complete the discussion either.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 28, 2018, 06:01:09 PM
Callie - I was a little impatient at first, with The Winter Garden, but once I got into it, I'm really liking it a lot!  I plan to read the entire book, and then look into SL, and follow along as they discuss the different chapters.  I'm no good at reading a book a section at a time, and then discussing that section/chapter, before continuing on.  I remember back in Senior Net, trying to slowly follow along like that, but it just didn't work for me.  I'm not a member of Senior Learn, so I wouldn't be joining the discussion anyway, but I do like to see what other readers have to say about a book. It's fascinating to me, that personal opinions on story and characters, differ so drastically from one person to another!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 28, 2018, 06:19:17 PM
Marilyne,  I'm sure I'll read ahead, too.  Not sure I can recheck the e-book, either.  I think I'd be put back at the end of the waiting list.
I do like the story in general and am always curious about how an author "wraps up" a story with such contrasting characters.
I think our personal backgrounds have a lot to do with our reactions and am always interested in the variations.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 03, 2018, 04:03:54 PM
Callie and MarsGal - I finished The Winter Garden, yesterday and I thought it was a great read!  Much better than I was expecting it to be, because I'm not a huge fan of Kristin Hannah's novels. (However, I did like The Nightingale).

I won't say much about "Garden" now, because I don't want to ruin it for either of you, in case you aren't finished with it yet?  I looked at the discussion of the first few chapters on SL,  and found it to be very interesting.  I'll check it out again later today, and see what else has been said.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 03, 2018, 05:09:56 PM
I've also finished "Winter Garden" and liked it. The ones in SL who aren't reading ahead are going to have a surprise, aren't they? Will be interesting to read their reactions.

Do you think you'll comment there when everyone has finished the book?

i've checked out the ebook of "Victoria and Abdul" from my library.  Hadn't watched the movie so didn't realize it's based on a true story.  Not far enough into the story to have an opinion, yet. :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 03, 2018, 05:43:21 PM
Callie - I'm not a member of SL, so could not comment, unless I decided to join.  After all these years of being a "lurker", I'll probably continue on the same way.  I notice that there are very few messages there in recent months.  Same problem we have here in S&F.  People seem to be tired of message boards. :(
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 04, 2018, 07:21:35 AM
I agree, Marilyne. It is a real shame. Sometimes I feel like I am talking to myself, but if one person, lurker or not, finds my posts on a subject interesting and reads the book or researches a subject, I am happy.

My current books to finish this month: Winter Garden (just starting Chapter 7), The Metronome a crime mystery by D. R. Bell (about half way through, 1st book of a trilogy), Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold (audio-book not started, part of the Vorkosigan series), What is Real?: The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics  by Adam Becker (only two chapters in), Dead Wrong by Richard Phillips (not started, part of the extended Rho Agenda series). Don't you just love it when all your holds come up at once?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 04, 2018, 03:08:42 PM
MarsGal - I know what you mean . . . I also sometimes feel like I'm talking to myself.  It's a problem on all message boards now.  Like you, I think that more people than we realize, are reading our posts. There are so many visible "guests" here in S&F, at all times . . . it's just too bad that they don't want to join and post in any of the folders.

After I finished Winter Garden, I looked online for more information on The Siege of Leningrad.  I plan to check out other books, (fiction and non-fiction), and learn more.  It's hard reading about that terrible time in history, but I want to know about it.  It used to be that I didn't want to read about war, but now I realize that my generation will be the last one to actually remember the War years.  This realization makes me want to know as much as possible.  I also have been watching old  and new movies that deal with WWII, as well as some documentaries.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Sandy on May 04, 2018, 04:07:47 PM

I "listen" to a lot of books...  but
I don't discuss books...

"Reading" books and "Listening" to books,
as I have mentioned before",  require
different skills....  and demand different
reactions... 

When I use to "read",  that is all I
would do.     I would start a book,  and
spend all of my time inside that
book, until I finished it.

I read a lot,  all of my reading life.   I
grew up in a family where both my
Mom and Dad read  a lot.   I think
that "reading" functioned as  a good
escape from participating in family life.

The older I got, the less I spent time
reading.   (I was a single parent with
four kids) working in a profession that
required a lot of my thought (computer
programmer) so  there was little to no
time for reading for pleasure.    I never
got back to reading for pleasure.... as I
spent most of my time working on
computers  (which is still reading!) 

Once I had the strokes about 5 years ago, 
I took up listening to books on disc.   
I got in the habit of going to bed with
them,  every night... (have them shut
off automatically after one hour)... 
but of course I up 2-3 times a night for
a potty break,  turn on my book and
listen until I fall asleep again.   

What I am trying to say is there is  a
big difference between reading for
pleasure and listening for pleasure
before sleeping ... 

Often times I listen in here and
find books that I can get from
my Maine State Library books on disc...
In fact most of the older ones I can get...

But the way I "read"  (listen to) books does
not lead me to having a good discussion about
them,   because my listening  serves a different
purpose then the way I use to read books.

I have mentioned this before ... but I just wanted
to reinterate that I do come here often and   read
what is being said (because I still can read with
vision left in my right eye.   

Listening to with ears does not make for easy
discussion with other people who are using their
eyes to read the same books.   

I think that it is because information read with ones
eyes goes to a different place in the brain,  then
information listened to with ones ears... 

How the brain can make sense of it all,  who
knows??   LOL       
And actually,  it doesn't make any difference
as long as we are happy getting to know books,
which ever way makes sense to us. 

Wow....  long winded!!!   

Just to let  you know that I am
here and appreciate those of you
who are participating here. 

Sandy

P.S.   I edited some of this
but not all of this,  so please
forgive my mistakes..     
:knuppel2:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on May 04, 2018, 04:08:36 PM
Marilyne (et al)  The most memorable book dealing with the Siege of Leningrad is, for me, "The Madonnas of Leningrad" by Deborah Dean.  It has such a beautiful story which kind of masks the horror of the siege. If you read this, you won't soon forget it.
I had read it when it came out, and then later recommended for my f2f book club, and re-read it.  Still one of my all-time favorite books.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 05, 2018, 07:33:06 AM
Tomereader1, the Wikipedia entry on the Siege of Leningrad is extensive and includes a large listing of footnotes and bibliographical information. The Madonnas of Leningrad is among those listed. YouTube has some presentations which show old footage of the siege, including an hour long presentation by PBS America. One of the presentations includes info about the Metronome which is mentioned a number of times in the crime mystery I am reading. YouTubes list of programs and clips abut the Siege. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=The+Siege+of+Leningrad



Sandy, after sticking my nose up at audiobooks and the quality of narrators, I finally discovered that there are some wonderful narrators (including Ray Porter and Grover Gardner). I don't listen often, but when my eyes give me fits and fuzz out on me I can still "read". One of my major complaints about using audio books is that, so far as I can tell, they don't include photos, maps, etc. that I like when reading history. Wouldn't it be wonderful if there was a button you could click on to take you to  such info while reading? The other is that I haven't discovered a way to do a search for something that I read earlier or bookmark a spot. Maybe there is for some books, and I just don't know it yet.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 05, 2018, 10:18:41 AM
I've never listened to an audio-book but would imagine that the tone of voice the narrator uses could make a difference in interpretation of the text by the listener.

I enjoy discussing a book but don't enjoy analyzing the "whys and wherefores" of the author's "intent".  Never could catch what the historical fiction author was "saying" about a particular social issue, for instance - which is probably why I've never liked Charles Dickens.
Once did a book report in high school on "Anna Karenina" and was surprised that the teacher was so impressed that I chose to (read this phrase in lower dramatic tone  ::)) Read Tolstoy.  I just thought it was a good love story with lots of complications.

However, if I were teaching history today, I would try to have the students read at least one or two novels that related to the era being studied.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 05, 2018, 11:06:02 AM
Callie - I've never listened to an audio book either.  I'd like to, but I don't have a listening "device".  I do have a Kindle, but haven't figured out how to listen?  I've read all of Kent Haruf's books, but would also like to listen to them.   I'm remembering back when many of us in this discussion, were reading his novels, and someone said that the narrator of his books was wonderful, and set the perfect tone. 

I was required to take Russian Lit when I was in college, and remember liking Anna Karenina, but War and Peace, not so much. Dostoyevsky, was pretty much lost on me.  Crime and Punishment . . .  :yikes:  I resorted to Cliff’s Notes, on that one!

There is a excellent movie about Tolstoy, that I highly recommend.  It's called The Last Station, and stars Christopher Plummer as Tolstoy, and Helen Mirren as his wife.  It's a wonderful film, that's available On Demand, or on DVD.  Fairly recent - I think around 2010?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on May 05, 2018, 11:35:06 AM
Marilyne, I have very sensitive ears and earbuds/earphones bother me so when I sampled a couple of audiobooks I just listened through the sound of the device.  Of course, I was by myself in the house and wouldn’t be able to do that in public.  My problem has been finding a voice that I enjoy listening to.  I was using iBooks but you should be able to do the same thing on a Kindle (depending on the type of kindle reader you have).  At least it would give you an idea of whether you would like an audio book.  Google your type of Kindle and see if it has audio.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 05, 2018, 12:41:51 PM
FlaJean - Yes, my Kindle does have audio.  I'll try to download something today, and see if I can get it to work for me?  in the long ago, I used to listen to the radio at night, on my Sony Walkman. The ear buds didn't bother me at all then, but that was a long time ago.  Now I have itchy ears, that drive me crazy day and night, so that would be a problem with buds. (Or maybe it would solve the problem?) :-\

Tome - The Madonna's of Leningrad, is one of the recommended books on Amazon, about the Siege of Leningrad.  There are lots of others that sound very good as well.  Some are novels, but others are non-fiction accounts or diary/memoirs.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on May 05, 2018, 12:46:53 PM
In the past, I tried two different times, two different books to listen to the audiobook. It was terrible (to me)  felt like trying to listen to a TV program from another room, and not getting the real "meat" of the story.  Also, the two I tried had very monotonous readers, which didn't help.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Sandy on May 05, 2018, 05:01:36 PM
Even though,  IMHO,
there are huge differences between
"reading"  and "listening" to books,
I am so grateful that I am still   
(in my way) able to listen to stories, 
be they fiction or non fiction...

For me, it is still "the great escape"
that I can pop into anytime I choose to
turn on my machine and tune  in my brain.
Sandy
:tup:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 05, 2018, 08:33:49 PM
Sandy,  absolutely right about the pleasure of turning on the machine and indulging!!!! 

I feel the same way about the e-books I borrow from the OKC metro library.   Just turn on my Tablet, click - and there it is !   

I've been reading Sue Grafton's 'Y Is For Yesterday" all afternoon.   Am sure I'll finish it before I go to sleep - even if that's in the wee hours.   ;)

Onward and Upward!!!! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on May 06, 2018, 02:27:23 PM
I've read all of Sue Grafton's books, A through Z.  I own a good many of them, but I was disappointed in the last 2 or 3.  I think she was running out of steam by then.  Sometimes a prolific author tends to have her characters do a lot of the Same Old Thing!

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 06, 2018, 03:00:18 PM
Didn't Sue Grafton pass away right after (or just before) the last "alphabet" novel was published?  I haven't checked to see if "Z..." is available for e-book loan.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on May 06, 2018, 04:15:13 PM
Grafton died after “y”.  I read in an article that her daughter said that would be the last one.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 06, 2018, 05:13:07 PM
I'm still hanging about, reading the posts on my Kindle but not able to post there so I have to sit down at the computer in order to do that.  ho-hum!!    When I make up my mind what I want to do and get all of these household fix it up  things  done,  I'm going to get a tablet that will handle the internet just a little better.   I can't complain about the Kindle.   It has been a dandy little computer but it does have limitations.  When we were away I was able to keep up with banking and email and all sorts of necessary things.    I'm not thrilled with the fact that these electronic devices have such a short life.   I know that it is necessary to the manufacturers to bring on new and improved features in order for them to stay in business but those of us that are older are used to buying something that will last a good long time.  ::)    Now off the soapbox!    I did finished  Milk Glass Moon and really enjoyed it.  It's been a long time since I read her earlier books and perhaps I didn't read the second of this group but do remember the characters and it was good to be reconnected.

I've been reading some non fiction in the meantime by  Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and another writer dealing with losses.   Some is helpful and some not so much.   I suppose you just have to pick and choose what appeals.

The yard and gardens are beckoning with lots of housecleaning to be done.   We've had a couple really bad windstorms that left broken trees and lots and lots of pickup to be done before the grass could be mowed.   I love to work in our yard,  it is great therapy but does take time away from other things.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 06, 2018, 06:28:47 PM
 Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, now there is a name I haven't heard in quite a while. Back when I was in . college, I thought she pretty much wrote the book on death, dying and grief counseling. Her attempt to put together an AIDS hospice in Virginia for infants and children with AIDS was blocked by local residents fearing spread of the disease. She also did some work on near death experiences.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on May 07, 2018, 02:03:44 PM
I remember reading Kubler-Ross's book on death/dying in the 60's/70's.  She discussed patients who had near death experiences with visions of former family members and others.  Very interesting work. 

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 10, 2018, 12:10:20 PM
maryc - good that you're enjoying your Spring yard work. It's wonderful therapy, and gives me great satisfaction to get those flower beds read to bloom all summer. 
Due to flexibility problems, I can only work in the raised planters now, but it's better than nothing. I hope to put in some colorful petunias this weekend, in my front planter bed. 

I read a wonderful book this week, that I highly recommend . . . An American Marriage, by Tayari Jones.  It was #1, on Oprah Winfrey's book list for Spring, and deservedly so! A story that will not be soon forgotten. I hope that some of you who look into this discussion, will give this one a chance.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on May 10, 2018, 12:31:24 PM
Marilyne, I will put American Marriage on my list; however, I just checked and there are 133 "holds" on it.  So it will be awhile.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 11, 2018, 08:12:49 PM
I noticed this week that the book An American Marriage was mentioned and the long waiting list at some libraries.    It sounded like a good one so I went to my Hoopla site just on a chance that they would have it.   Low and behold they did and I got the download immediately.   It is a good and quick read.  I see that on my Kindle edition there are about 1500 pages but that goes a lot faster because I have a larger  font set for comfortable reading.   It seems to be a story that keeps me wanting to read on so I know it will be going fast.  It is a different kind of story.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 14, 2018, 11:26:46 AM
Callie & MarsGal - I haven't looked into SL in a few days, to see what is being said about The Winter Garden.  The last time I checked, all those who had finished the book, were enthusiastic about the story and characters, and were discussing the ending.  I'll try to catch up with thoughts and opinions this afternoon or evening.

maryc - I'm wondering as to how you liked An American Marriage?  I was quite enthralled with the story, and felt that it turned out as I hoped it would.  I have read that it's destined to be a Best Seller, because of Oprah, recommending it and giving it a high rating.  IMO, it stands on it's own, even without her recommendation.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 14, 2018, 12:37:03 PM
Marilyne, I was going to ask if you were still checking the discussion. We are getting through the book faster than expected. There didn't seem to be too much to say about part of the book, other than the story does carry you along until you've gone farther than you've intended. I had to read ahead because I couldn't renew the book and had to get it back to the library.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 14, 2018, 01:24:00 PM
Marilyne and MarsGal,    I'm smiling at some of the reactions to the ending.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 14, 2018, 08:01:22 PM
I did enjoy An American Marriage.   I'm not always a fan of Oprah's books but this one was good and kept me reading.    I liked the ending,  though it wasn't what I was looking for.

I have a couple of other books on the Kindle to be read.   One is already started.   It is another about the Orphan Train.   This one called The Last Four by C.J. Petit.    The other is a Book Bub selection called High Plains Tango by Robert James Walter.   Both seem almost like what my mother used to call "Dime Novels" but for lack of something better,  I will continue.   Sometimes there is a surprise in what looks to be an ordinary book.  :)   

Debby and I have started another adventure.   We signed up to be volunteers for the County Home Delivered Meals program.   For the time being we will just serve as substitutes when needed.   This way we can learn the ropes and see if we are ok with it.   We went out this morning with another driver for orientation.   It is challenging to be sure that the right meal goes to the right person!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on May 14, 2018, 08:56:52 PM
MaryC, so glad to know someone else uses "BookBub".  Isn't it neat?  Do you also do "Book Gorilla" - - basically the same offerings depending on what you sign up for. Or I guess you could use different "preferences" for one or the other.  I use mostly fiction, "mystery".  The Robert James Waller is the author of Bridges of Madison County, etc.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 15, 2018, 10:42:21 AM
oops!   Guess I was looking at the author's name in a dim light.....Robert James Waller....not Walter! :-[ I had read that he also wrote The Bridges of Madison County.    I noticed that because my brother has often mentioned that movie and that he liked it.   

I will check out the other book offer site that you mentioned Tomereader.    Sometimes I feel as though me  preferences aren't too accurate with those place but when I look to change them don't really find choices that fit so I just read the offerings and take 'em or leave 'em.    The book that I'm reading just now called The Last Four seems like a simple Western and I can almost picture John Wayne as the hero.   BUT,  I will finish anyway.   I'm sure that some of the story is based on truth but is a little far fetched in the telling of the outcome.

I wonder is anyone here watched Little Women on Sunday evening.   Debby and I both watched it and were a little disappointed.  I'm not much for action movies but I had a hard time staying awake to see this through. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 15, 2018, 12:40:19 PM
maryc,  I felt the same way about "Little Women".  Too much like a syrupy Hallmark movie for my taste.  Maybe that's because I remember Kathryn Hepburn as a peppery Jo,  Elizabeth Taylor (in a blonde wig) as Amy and Margaret O'Brien as Beth.
I wondered if all the freckles on "Beth's" face were real or makeup.
Even so,  I'll watch the other episodes to see what they do with the rest of the story.

I'm currently reading "The Hypnotist's Love Story" by Liane Moiriaty (sp?).  A hypnotherapist's boyfriend is being stalked by a former lover he rejected.  The therapist has just discovered the ex-girlfriend has been a patient under another name.  Can't quite decide if I "like" it - but it's holding my interest and I'll keep reading to see how it all turns out.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 15, 2018, 02:02:39 PM
I'm reading Peter F. Hamilton's The Reality Dysfunction , but I don't think I will get to finish it. It turns out that it is 1239 pages or there abouts.  Not only that, it is part of a trilogy with the other two being over 1000 pages each. The description sounded interesting. It is a future history of two very advanced tech and bio-tech civilization groups, Edenists and Adamists and their conflicts. Somewhere in all of this, I just discovered, according to Wikipedia, is that the core plot is about the souls of the dead coming back to possess the living, and the living fighting back. Ugh! In that case, it doesn't sound like I care to finish that part anyway. Still, Hamilton's writing has an appealing flow to it that I like.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 19, 2018, 12:20:37 AM
Does anyone have any final thoughts or comments on The Winter Garden?   I see that they have pretty much wrapped up the discussion in SL?  I thought the descriptions of, The Siege of Leningrad, were well documented, and that Hannah did a great job of telling it like it really was.  She didn’t hold back, but presented everything in a realistic way.  I was fascinated by the prolonged siege, and immediately did some research online, and learned that it was every bit as bad, or worse, than what was depicted in the novel. That part of the story was a real eye opener for me. 

The brief storyline of Vera/Anya getting together with Evan, wasn't explained to my satisfaction?   It’s hard for me to believe that Vera could later, give birth to Meredith and Nina, and then proceed to ignore them.  I would think or hope, that the girls would have given her a new start, and that she might have been grateful to have a chance to raise a new family?  Instead, the girls paid the price of Vera’s guilt and heartbreak.  Evan took over and raised them, but why didn't he ever explain to them what was wrong with their mother?

As for the ending of the story?  I’m sure I’m not the only one who could see what was coming?  The trip to Sitka, was going to reveal something big, but it wasn’t going to be from their visit with the Professor.  When they went to the cafe and met the waitress, it became clear.  I had forgotten that Vera and Sasha had planned to move to Alaska, when the War was over!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 19, 2018, 05:31:10 AM
Marilyne, I think we are pretty much done with Winter Garden now. We pretty much have come to the same conclusions you did. The only thing I haven't looked into (yet) is where the evacuees were to be taken. Some, I believe, were sent to Siberia. I'd like to know a little more about that, but it really wasn't part of the story.

There is now a question whether or not we will read The House of Seven Gables next. A couple of the gals want a feel good or upbeat book next; they don't want anything that might be depressing. I am looking into it in case PatH asks for suggestions. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 19, 2018, 10:54:36 AM
Marilyne,  I agree with being able to figure out the ending of Winter Garden. 

I think more of an in-depth discussion was expected because the book dealt with the cruelties of a particular event in modern history and its effect on the main character.
Kristen Hannah may set her books during troubled times but she is, after all, a writer of "popular novels".
Most writers of that kind of fiction don't "analyze" the characters' angsts very much and usually wind up all the conflicts  quickly in the last chapters.

That's what happened in "The Hypnotist's Love Story".  I could tell what was going to happen long before the last chapter but kept reading to see how the author got to that point.

I started "My Exaggerated Life" by Pat Conroy as told to Katherine Clark but didn't get very far before I'd had enough about his abusive father,  abusive treatment at The Citadel etc. etc.     

Now reading "Enchantress of Numbers" by Jennifer Chiaverini,  "a novel of Ada Lovelace (Lord Byron's wife)".   She has just left him because of psychological abuse.
   
What is it about this abuse theme?   ???  As the old saying goes, "Same song, next verse, could be better but......"    <sigh>

Lots of Domestic Duties to do today.  Think I'll spend my free time watching my recording of The Wedding. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on May 19, 2018, 12:49:47 PM
Another portrayal of The Siege of Leningrad is shown in the movie "Enemy At The Gates", which is more of a "war"story, but outlines some of the hardships of the Russian soldiers, as well as the populace. When a soldier fell, others were quick to take his coat/shoes/rifle.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 19, 2018, 04:48:42 PM
I am reading two books, well actually I paused The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton to read the book that just came in, Kurt Vonnegut's The Sirens of Titan. It is much shorter. I am enjoying both.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 22, 2018, 01:30:20 PM
MarsGal - The only Kurt Vonnegut I've read, is Slaughterhouse-Five, and I think that was back in the 70's or 80's?  I remember liking it, but at the time I don't think I understood what he was trying to convey.  Now, I know I would like it a lot more, so may read it again. 

My dil gave me two books for Mother's Day, but I'm not sure that I'll read either one.  I started, Into The Water, but after a couple of chapters, I wasn't liking it much, so closed it and started the other one - The Wife Between Us.  So far, not so good, on that one also.  Both books are "thriller" style, which is not my favorite genre.  "Water", is written by Paula Hawkins, the author of, The Girl On the Train.  I didn't care for that book at all. . . started it, but never finished it.  "Wife", seems to be along the same lines.  The caption on the cover says, "Fiendishly clever - In the vein of Gone Girl, and Girl on the Train."   Psycho-dramas, or psychopathic characters seem to be very popular now, but not with me.     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 22, 2018, 05:29:24 PM
Marilyne, I am almost finished with The Sirens of Titan. What a strange, creative mind Vonnegut had. I think Titans hits on all four cylinders taking pot shots at war, religion, people who follow the herd, lemming like, without thinking for themselves, and the idle, dissipated rich.

I keep hearing how Slaughterhouse Five is so good. Maybe I'll give it a shot; I just didn't think I would want to read a WWII, time-travel science fiction, but looking at a synopsis, it appears to be much more than that.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on May 22, 2018, 10:18:19 PM
Marilyne, I hated the book Gone Girl.  The female character was just so evil--very difficult to read about the things she did and managed to get away with.  I can usually deal with plots that are scary, but that one was totally disgusting. (IMO!)

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on May 22, 2018, 11:04:38 PM
Did anyone here watch PBS's "The Great American Read"?  Do visit their site and check out the books that were on "their" list.  All my "true" favorites were not listed.
It will be repeated twice more during the night and early morning hours (don't know about your local PBS).
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 23, 2018, 10:28:21 AM
Just finished another book from Book Bub specials.    This one is Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers by Sara Ackerman.     I bought it because the title caught my attention and it turned out to be  pretty good.   The story is set in Hawaii shortly after Pearl Harbor.   For a light quick read, I would recommend it.
After I finished that book I went back to reading High Plains Tango by Robert James Waller.   It is light reading as well.   Yesterday I was at the library for another errand so couldn't resist browsing the stacks.    I picked up another book by Elizabeth Kubler Ross and David Kessler.   This title is Life Lessons and it starts out well.  It deals with living  life to the fullest.   Another that I brought home and have read a little is For One More Day by Rich Albom.   This is one of his books that I hadn't read.

Meanwhile Debby and I have been doing a little research since our visit to Savannah where we walked through the Bonaventure Cemetery.   There I noticed a headstone for Johnny Mercer and we stayed out on an island where there was a roadway called Johnny Mercer Blvd.    Our grandson told us that the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was filmed in Savannah and partly in this cemetery so we started to do a little digging and learned that Mercer was born and raised in Savannah.   She is reading the book just now and we watched the movie last weekend and found that scenes in the movie were done in the Mercer house which was owned by the main character.   It has been an interesting journey down memory lane.   Of course our grandson and his mom are too young to be familiar with the name but it was good for us oldies!   :)   I'm sure that some of you know all this about Mercer but I was quite intrigued. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 23, 2018, 04:20:55 PM
maryc - I'm a big Johnny Mercer fan, and I love looking through the Mercer Educational Archives website.  It's divided into different sections, and each one is unique and interesting.  You probably saw it when you were doing the research?
http://www.johnnymercerfoundation.org

As you know, the movie, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, is not about Johnny Mercer.  Just the setting, in his home town, and in the background, with his wonderful music. I bought the CD, and loved all of the selections that were featured.   Rosemary Clooney, singing Fools Rush In,  and so many other  familiar Mercer songs like, That Old Black Magic, Laura, or Autumn Leaves.  I didn’t really care that much for the movie itself, but for me, it was worth seeing for the music!   The book is better . . . lots more history there. I thought it was much more enjoyable than the movie.

Your book selections sound good to me.  I'm looking for some light reading, so will see if I can get
Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers or High Plains Tango.  I like all of Mitch Albom's books - my favorite is The Five People You Meet in Heaven.       
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 23, 2018, 08:29:03 PM
Marilyne,   Debby thought the book was much better than the movie.   She said that the movie is like a book report on the book!  :)    No I didn't come across the website that you mentioned but will look into it.    I know that the story had little to do with J.M. except that Williams owned and lived in the Mercer house.  You are  probably like myself in relating to Mercer in that I had many of the sheet music copies of his songs and he just seemed so familiar.   It was strange when I spoke of him and the young ones just looked like I was talking Greek.  ???   I'm sorry now that we didn't take a regular tour of the city.   We went on foot with our grandson as our guide.    In Charleston we did take the horse and carriage tour and our guide was so very knowledgeable about the city and history of.    We would have learned more of those things in Savannah.   However our tour guide was good and we enjoyed hoofing it around town with him.   He and his mom have had difficult times with their relationship and she said afterward that it was the best visit she has had with him in some time.   He is a great guy but I think their problem is in her letting go and letting him be his own person.....it is time!!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on May 25, 2018, 12:27:43 AM
MaryC, when we visited Charleston we drove out to the island that has the only tea plantation in the States.  It was such a nice tour.  I had read about it in a mystery book that is set in Charleston so I looked it up on the Internet and talked my husband into driving to the island.  We both enjoyed it and, of course, I bought a very pretty little teapot and matching cup to remind of my visit.  :thumbup:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 25, 2018, 08:58:13 PM
FlaJean,   That must have been an interesting tour.  I know that Debby would have really liked that as she is a tea fancier.   ;)   One year when we were at Myrtle Beach we drove down Rt. 17 where there was supposed to be places where tea and rice were grown at some time.   That whole part of the country is interesting to me after having read some of the books that are written about it.  I would like to stay out there for a time to be able to get around and visit more of the places of interest at a leisurely pace.  I know that there were a few churches that we didn't get to visit and would have liked to.   We did get into a couple of them but between time and our feet and legs giving out we had to limit how many places we went into.
Marilyne,   I've enjoyed some of the youtubes that were referenced in the site you mentioned about Johnny Mercer.    One especially was with Steve Allen where Mercer sang some of his songs.   I always liked Steve Allen and loved to hear him play piano.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 27, 2018, 12:22:56 PM
Tome - I missed the PBS show, The Great American Read, but I'll find it On Demand, and take a look.  The opinions on those endless lists . . . the best books, TV shows, Movies, cars, cities to live in, et al, rarely ever jibe with my favorites. It’s fun to look at the selections though, and then make your own list!  :)

Speaking of . . . yesterday we went to the library, and I forgot my most recent list, which included four books recommended here by MarsGal, Callie and maryc.  Couldn't remember what they were, so I picked out a few from the New Book shelf, that looked good.  The Female Persuasion, Meg Wolitzer - Before We Were Yours - Lisa Wingate, and The Overstory - Richard Power.
I started reading "Persuasion", when we got home, and so far I'm liking it.  Meg Wolitzer, is one of my favorites, although I don't like her as much as I like her mother - Hilma Wolitzer.  She's about 85 now, and still writing.  Her best novel, IMO, is Hearts, written in the early '80's, I think? 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 02, 2018, 08:18:10 AM
Good Morning.

I gave up on The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton a while back. Now I am reading a four book series by Colin F. Barnes called Code Breakers. It is features a mostly transhuman/posthuman post-cataclysmic society with constant fast action. Ht hasn't gotten tedious, but I am starting to wish for a swifter ending. I am on book three now. There are other books squealing for my attention. Also, I am in the middle of an audio version of Bujold's The Vor Game. part of the Vorkosigan series which I like.

One of my book Email's featured The Alice Network (forget the author's name, off hand). I need to see if my library has it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 02, 2018, 10:26:00 AM
MarsGal - I see on my Off the Shelf list of, "books made into movies", that Fahrenheit 451 has been made into a new HBO series!  It's been about fifty years since I've read it, but I remember enough, that I think I'll enjoy it. You might want to take a look at it, if you like Ray Bradbury. 

I have one more episode to watch of another new, "Book into movie", playing on Netflix.  It's Jamaica Inn, by Daphne duMaurier.  It's quite the bleak, dismal story, as you know if you've ever read it.  The British cast is excellent.  Can't remember any of their names at the moment, but they're all very good.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 02, 2018, 02:37:05 PM
Tomereader's husband Bob:
Sorry to tell you all, that our friend Tome's husband, Bob, passed away on May 29th, after a sudden illness.  I hope that she is doing as well as can be expected, under these sad and unexpected circumstances, and that she will return to Seniors & Friends when she is feeling better.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on June 02, 2018, 02:46:15 PM
I'm so sorry to learn about Tomereader's husband.  My thoughts and prayers are with her.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on June 02, 2018, 07:02:55 PM
So sorry to hear about Tomereader’s husband.  This is going to be a difficult time for her and the family.  Thoughts and prayers for Tome and family.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on June 02, 2018, 07:26:24 PM
I'm so sorry to hear about Tomereader's husband passing so suddenly and unexpected.     Prayers for her and her family,   my heart goes out to her.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on June 14, 2018, 02:00:56 PM
It has been sooooooo quiet here on the Library bookshelf!!    I finally finished High Plains Tango by Robert J. Waller.    It really wasn't that long of a book but I kept getting sidetracked with other reading.    This turned out to be a good story with a few current issues mixed in.   Marilyne, you mention a book by Lisa Wingate a while back called Before We Were Yours.    It seems like I read this some time ago or else Debby read it and we talked about it.   I wonder if you did read it?   I started another last evening that I got through Book Bub.  This one is Washed Away by Geoff Williams.    I don't think I'll finish this.   It is like a documentary of a huge flood across many central states in 1913 and has just too many statistics for me.  I'm in the market for a new title.   Ideas??
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 14, 2018, 03:34:01 PM
Mary - It's so good hear from you!  I know I've neglected this folder for a couple of weeks, but now that you've given me a nudge, I'm ready to post again!   

I've read a couple of very good books, since I was last here.  I liked The Female Persuasion, very much, and I think that you would all like it as well. It's by Meg Wolitzer, who, along with her mother Hilma, has written some excellent books.  Persuasion is a story about ambitious women in today's world . . . their different families, the men in their lives, etc.  All very different from when we were all young, but fascinating reading. The characters are all likable, including the men.  Nobody is evil, or even mean spirited.  Just normal people in a variety of unique families and situations.

Mary, I'm just now into the first couple of chapters of, Before We Were Yours, by Lisa Wingate.  It's a fascinating story so far, and I know I'm going to love it. A totally different story.  The writing reminds me of books by Diane Chamberlain . . . Necessary Lies, and others, that take place in the South.

Tomereader - I hope you're doing okay, and glad that your daughter lives close, and is there for you.  I'm thinking about you, and looking forward to when you feel like returning to S&F.     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 14, 2018, 04:51:03 PM
Haven't had too much to say about what I am reading now. We are discussing Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat, but it isn't something I care to read a lot of at once. It is humorous and a bit frivolous.

I am  about to give up on Robert Harris's Conspirata. This is an historical novel about Cicero's year as consul as told by his slave/secretary Tiro. I liked the first book, Imperium, years ago, didn't know it was part of a trilogy until last week. Anyhow, I can't get excited about this volume. Maybe I'll come back to it another time.

The last book I am reading is called Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War. Ghost Fleet refers to our mothballed fleet held in reserve just in case. It is okay, but so far, I am not really invested in any of the characters. The author keeps introducing new characters in different locations during the first surprise attack on the U.S. It is also not a book I cannot put down.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on June 15, 2018, 10:52:43 AM
I've been reading a series written by C.J. Box which features a forest ranger in Montana.  My son is a fan and introduced me to these.  If you like mysteries, enjoy learning about the West with rustling and other crimes, I think you might enjoy these books.  I'm going to the library this morning with my son and will bring home 2 more in this series.  Right now I'm rereading a Susan Elizabeth Phillips novel, Lady Be Good, which I will finish today and will start one of the new books I check out after lunch with my son.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MaryTX on June 15, 2018, 11:27:08 AM
Sue, my son is also a fan of C.J. Box and have gotten me hooked on them also.   I have very eclectic reading tastes and I go from a mystery to a romance to a best seller to a biography - whatever catches my eye at the time. 

Since it is very difficult for me to get out of the house now, I check the library's catalog frequently and put books on reserve and my kids pick them up for me. 

Mary
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 15, 2018, 01:29:36 PM
MaryTx - Nice to see you here in the Library Bookshelf. :) If you and Sue both recommend C.J. Box, I think I'll take a look at his books.  I'm not a big fan of mystery novels, but I do like to read them occasionally.  I did like the Longmire series, and this looks similar.  My husband likes Bosch and Longmire, so I'm sure he will enjoy the Box stories. 

My favorite novels are the ones referred to as "chick-lit".  The two I recommended yesterday, would fall into that category . . . The Female Persuasion, and Before We Were Yours.  I like all books by Lisa Wingate, Diane Chamberlain, and Anne Tyler.  I also like every book ever recommended by Oprah Winfrey, who is a great fan of chick-lit.   My most disliked books are the psychological thrillers, like Gone Girl, The Lying Game, Girl on the Train, and many similar that seem to be very popular. 

MarsGal - I saw that Three Men in a Boat, was the book to be discussed in SeniorLearn.  As you know, I often take suggestions from SL, but I decided to pass on that one.  Doesn't sound like something I would enjoy.  Ghost Fleet sounds intriguing.  Not sure if I would like, but I'm quite sure my husband would.  I'll put it on my library list.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 15, 2018, 05:03:51 PM
I just this afternoon realized that I checked out an audio book a while back and forget to download it. I have 9 days before it goes back. It is another in the Vorkosigan Saga series.

Marilyne, I think Ghost Fleet is a bet scary, but I can't see that our military (all branches) would get so blindsided by an attack. It is still jumping around from person to person and place to place regarding the action and aftermath. Interesting enough to keep reading.

Three Men in a Boat reminds me a lot of the Brit sitcoms, humorwise. Someone said it has been made into a movie several times. I think it would be more fun to watch than to read.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: angelface555 on June 15, 2018, 06:17:06 PM
There is a new quiz out for those perhaps interested;

https://www.seniorsandfriends.org/village-clubhouse~place-for-fun!/trivia-quiz/msg131966/#msg131966     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on June 15, 2018, 10:48:07 PM
I read several of  the Clan of the Cave Bear--I don't know how many she wrote.  And also read 4 or 5 of the Outlander series.  I bought those, but gave up after that.  I'd moved to Auburn after Bob died and the library here is much larger with a greater variety to choose from.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on June 18, 2018, 08:38:30 PM
Hi  Redbud (MaryTX)   Good to see you over here.   I believe we were both in a gardening forum back a few years.  Is that correct?  Nat (Nature) from Toronto was the leader of that group.   He passed away and that forum just sort of dropped for a time.
I have another of Catherine Ryan Hyde's books going now.   The title is The Wake Up.   It is good but a little different kind of story.    It was a Book Bub $1.99 offering.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 19, 2018, 07:44:28 AM
Marilyne, I finished Ghost Fleet.... It followed several different tracks with some intersecting and some not. At first i thought it was going to be the first of a series, but no, the author managed to wrap everything up in the epilogue. The characters I most took to were Major Doyle, who led a small guerrilla band throughout the war, and Colonel Vladimir Andreyevich Markov, a Spetsnaz officer tasked with investigating a series of murders.

While it makes a good read, it is flawed as this article I just found points out. https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2015/07/31/reading_ghost_fleet_is_a_mistake_108311.html

At the bottom of the article the writer does recommend P. W. Singer's nonfiction, Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry. The book has been updated since I first read it. Published about the same time as the original book, is this article (.pdf) for the peer-reviewed academic journal, International Security. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/20020128.pdf

Your husband might be interested in Corporate Warriors... if he hasn't read it yet.
I might take a look at the updated version myself to see how much has changed.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on June 19, 2018, 12:24:12 PM
For those of you who enjoy   "people stories",   I highly recommend The Wake Up by Catherine Ryan Hyde.   It is a good family story that gives lots of food for thought.   :thumbup:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 19, 2018, 03:15:34 PM
Before We Were Yours, by Lisa Wingate.  What an incredible story, turned into a wonderful book! This is my favorite style of writing . . . a fictional story, based on a true event in history.  This true event is about young children, who were kidnapped from their parents and families, and sent to a "home", where they were put up for adoption and sold for a high price, to wealthy couples who wanted a child. 

This actually took place in Memphis, Tennessee, during the 1930's and 1940's.  You have to read it, to get the full emotional impact.  The children were duped into thinking that their actual parents didn't want them, and had given them away. The way they were treated in the orphanage/home was atrocious. 

I have a vague memory of a neighbor friend of mine, when we were both in our 20's, telling me about how she was turned over by her parents to a children's "home", to be adopted, because her parents didn't have the money to raise her.  This happened during the depression, when she was about three or four.  She was from Memphis!  She was adopted by a wealthy family, and had a wonderful life . . . private schools, college education, etc.  After reading this book, I can't help wondering if her real parents actually gave her up, as she believes, or if they were tricked, as the parents were in this story?  Now I would love to know more, but I doubt I ever will.  We are still "Christmas Card" friends, but that's it.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on June 19, 2018, 08:13:22 PM
Yes, Marilyne, Before We Were Yours was a wonderful, enlightening book.  Glad you liked it. 
Bet you're in "hog heaven" tonite if you watch TCM channel:  Singin' in the Rain; An American in Paris and Gigi.   Wow, what a line-up.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 19, 2018, 11:41:25 PM
Tome - Good to see you here!  Yes, I was impressed with that great lineup of shows on TCM tonight.  Gene Kelly's finest! I have the DVD of Singin' in the Rain, so I didn't watch that one.  Paris, is playing right now, and GiGi, doesn't start until 9:15, so I'll record that one.  I see that the 1951 version of Showboat, is playing tonight at 1:30, so I'll record it too.  It's my favorite version - I like Ava Gardner and  Kathryn Grayson, and love Howard Keel.  Lots of other greats also, such as Marge and Gower Champion.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 24, 2018, 11:35:37 AM
Today I plan to go the library, to return my last bunch of books, and select some new ones.  I hope to find something in large print, that looks good to me.  The regular print books are becoming uncomfortable for me to read . . . print too small and too light for my eye problems.  Too bad there isn't much in the large print section that I'm interested in.

MarsGal - I have Ghost Fleet, on hold.  I'll take a look at it, but I think it sounds more like a story my husband would like.  Other than that, I'm still on the wait lists for other books that I'm interested in.  I can't even remember what they are, at the moment? ???

If anyone has any suggestions, post some titles here in the next couple of hours?  Our library doesn't open until 1:00 pm on Sunday,  which is still four and a half hours from now. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on June 24, 2018, 11:58:04 AM
Marilyn, do you know of the author Elizabeth Goudge? I love her style, her descriptions of children, her uplifting stories.  Maybe start with 'The City of Bells'
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MaryTX on June 24, 2018, 12:12:36 PM
Marilyne, have you ever read any of Kristin Hannah's books?  I hadn't heard of her until my daughter told me about her latest book, "The Great Alone" set in Alaska.  I enjoyed it and started looking for others of hers.  I just finished "Summer Island" which I really liked and it was set in the San Juan Islands of Washington state.  I have a personal connection on both sides of my family with the islands.  My grandparents homesteaded 640 acres on San Juan Island in the late 1880s and my mother, aunt and uncle were born there.  My paternal grandparents in Michigan raised a niece with their kids.  When she married, she and her husband lived on Shaw Island.   My sisters and I spent a good part of our summers with them.  The only 'modern' conveniences they had were electric lights!

Mary
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 24, 2018, 03:49:17 PM
MaryTX - I've read two books by Kristin Hannah, and liked them both.  One we talked about in here a  couple of weeks ago . . . The Winter Garden.  It was a good story, but I liked The Nightingale, better.  I'm leaving for the library in about an hour, and will look for Summer Island, and hope they have it in large print.  I like novels that take place in the Seattle area, or anywhere in Washington.  I spent lots of time there in my younger days.

bubble - My library doesn't have The City of Bells.  I might be able to get it from Amazon, on my Kindle?  I've never enjoyed reading much on my Kindle, but I should give it another try . . . it's good for setting the print size to something comfortable for my eyes. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MaryTX on June 24, 2018, 04:27:12 PM
Marilyne, Amazon has "Summer Island" is on Kindle if you can't find it in large print.  My Kindle died so I have been reading Kindle books on my Ipad.  I like reading on the Ipad as it is easier to hold in my arthritic hands than a book and I can increase the print size.

I'll will have to look for "The Winter Garden".

Mary
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 24, 2018, 07:11:53 PM
MaryTX - My library has Summer Island in large print, but it's checked out right now.  I put my name on the wait list, so will probably go ahead and read it when it comes in.  I know I should start getting used to reading on the Kindle.  Not only are my eyes in poor condition, but I also have arthritic hands, and have a hard time holding onto anything, including books.  I'm sure my hands would win a prize for the ugliest and most twisted! LOL All of my fingers are going in different directions! :'(

Maryc - I got The Wake Up, by Catherine Ryan Hyde, at the library.  It looks like a story I'm going to like.  If you're looking for something good to read, I suggest Before We Were Yours,  by Lisa Wingate.

bubble - The library had nothing at all by Elizabeth Goudge, but I'm sure I can find something by her for my Kindle.

Other books I got today are: The House of Unexpected Sisters, By Alexander McCall Smith.  This is his new "Ladies Detective Agency" novel. The Last Picture Show, by Larry McMurtry, and Anything is Possible, by Elizabeth Strout. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Olive Kitteridge, which I liked a lot.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on June 24, 2018, 07:59:47 PM
Good afternoon/evening all.    Lots of good suggestions here today.    I don't believe I've read anything by Kristin Hannah though have noticed them at the library.    I'll give her a try.   Also Elizabeth Goudge sounds like she might be good for a new author.   I just finished one that I got through HOOPLA.   It is a different story about a young woman  who is autistic and has been raised by her mother to believe that she isn't able to do much of anything.   The title is The Seven Rules of Elivra Carr by Frances Maynard.
Thinking of you 'Tomereader'.  Nice to see you here a few days ago.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on June 24, 2018, 09:52:31 PM
MaryC, thanks for your thoughts. Hope you are doing all right.  I try to get to the computer once a day, but don't always open up all my S&F notifications.  It's good to come here and see everyone talking about the books they're reading and movies/TV.  I've just not found anything interesting on TV that I can concentrate on.  I've DVR'd a couple of shows, like tonite I'm DVRing "Endeavor" and the first episode of "Yellowstone" which I missed when it premiered.  Tomorrow is more paperwork.
Love to all of you S&F friends!  Some days you keep me going. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on June 25, 2018, 02:17:14 AM
Marilyne, any other book by E. Goudge is as good as  The city of Bells. Of course it was printed some time ago, but I have always enjoyed re-reading it again. It's optimistic!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 25, 2018, 05:44:37 AM
Tome, I watched Endeavor last night. It was pretty good, better than a few I've seen. Anyway, it is lucky I got to see it because I didn't get notice, via email, until yesterday. Usually the Masterpiece Emails come earlier that the day it airs.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 25, 2018, 11:17:29 AM
Tome - I watched the first episode of Yellowstone, last week, but I'm undecided as to whether I'll stick with it?  I like Kevin Costner, so I still have high hopes for this series.  It's okay, but is really just a rehash of all the modern Westerns you've ever see.  Widowed patriarch with adult children, trying to keep his huge ranch from being taken over by developers.  Indian Reservation adjacent to his land, et al.  Kind of a mixture of "Longmire", and the old "Bonanza".  I will say that it was better than most of the new choices on Netflix and Amazon.  Not sure what's available on HBO/Showtime, right now?

Mars - I'm going to watch Endeavor, On Demand tonight. 

bubble - I think I might have read some books by Elizabeth Gouge, many years ago?  I Googled her name, and some of the titles sound familiar to me. 

I checked out way too many books yesterday!  Two of them are on a "one week only", because they are brand new books . . . the new "Ladies Detective Agency", and the Elizabeth Strout.  I doubt I will start either one.   I always get carried away at the library . . . so many books and so little time! ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on June 25, 2018, 12:14:17 PM
Marilyne,  I'm so glad you mentioned the new "Ladies Detective Agency" book!  I checked the series list on the author's web site (easier to type than to do his entire name! ::) ) and discovered I had not read the previous five.  There's a long waiting list for the newest one (#18 in the series) so I've put it on Hold and will try to catch up while I'm waiting.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 27, 2018, 03:52:08 PM
Callie - I was fortunate to get the new "Ladies Detective Agency" book, (The House of Unexpected Sisters), because I know that there will be a long wait for it from here on out.  Too bad it's only available for a one week checkout, because I'll have to take it back before finishing it.  The book is long and the print is small, so I know I couldn't finish it in time.  I'll wait, and get it for my Kindle, so I can adjust the size of the print. 

maryc - I started reading "The Wake Up". I'm about a third of the way through, and enjoying it a lot.  Aiden, is such a likable man!  The boy, Milo, is complicated, but I'm hoping things will turn out well.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on June 28, 2018, 08:37:58 PM
I did enjoy The Wake Up.    I can't recall a book of Catherine Ryan Hyde that I haven't liked.    As I mentioned earlier I just finished The Seven Rule of Elvira Carr by Frances Maynard.   That is a different little book but good thoughts in it.    Referring back to The Wake Up,  I have one now on my Kindle from Hoopla.  It is titled Among the Lesser Gods by Margo Catts.  She is an entirely new author name for me but her writing is good and I'm about two thirds through the book and have enjoyed the story.    Someone here mentioned Elizabeth Strout the other day so I stopped in at the library and picked up one of hers that I hadn't read.   It is titled Anything is Possible.    I didn't think I would finish Olive Kitteredge  when I started it but I did and liked her writing style.   

Tomereader,   One thing that has helped me quite a bit is reading.    I can't concentrate on TV much though I did watch a movie on Amazon Prime the other evening.   (Wish You Well)    I've read a few things by Elizabeth Kubler Ross and recently I had a book from Hoopla called Resilient Grieving by Lucy Hone.  She has many good thoughts that are just a little different.  She is from New Zealand.  Take care.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on June 28, 2018, 10:56:04 PM
maryc, thanks so much for thinking of me.  We are sharing a terrible time, yes?  I can read, but still can't get into TV.  My DVR is filling up with thoughts that I will get around to watching sometime in the future.  I'm going to check with my library about the Resilient Grieving book, maybe they will have it or can show me how to do Hoopla on my tablet or Kindle?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on June 29, 2018, 07:46:51 AM
John Knittel -  author from some time ago but I recommend warmly!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on July 01, 2018, 01:35:45 PM
Just finished Alexander McCall Smith’s latest No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency book “The House of Unexpected Sisters.  Precious discovers some exciting changes to her life.  A pleasant read and good results to her detecting.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 01, 2018, 03:37:19 PM

Nice to see your face here today FlaJean.   Seems like I've been missing you.   Your Ladies Detective story sounds good.   I need a little change of subject. 
Bubble your older authors reminds me of an old, old book that my late aunt gave to me years ago. She was a collector and buyer of old books that took her fancy and as she got older she dispursed her collection as she did this one to me.  It is yellow with age but I did read it and pulled it from my book shelf trying to think of someone in my family that MIGHT take an interest in the old story.  This book is Eben Holden by Irving Bacheller.   On a blank front page this is this dear inscription:     To the best woman I know,  my wife.   C.H.W.  December 25, 1900     I simply say that she is good and loves me with pure womanhood....when that is said,  why, what remains?  Jonquain Miller. This is written in ink in an old, old  cursive style. Following is a link to the story. 

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2799/2799-h/2799-h.htm
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on July 01, 2018, 04:00:15 PM
MaryC, I had cataract surgery in April so didn’t do much reading for a while.  I’m glad I finally got that behind me.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 01, 2018, 04:43:40 PM
Mary - I agree with you, as to that inscription in the book your aunt gave you.  Whether you like the book itself or not, it's worth having just to read that sweet and endearing inscription from a man to his wife. I've so often been impressed with the manner in which men and women wrote personal letters and notes to one another, back in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  They had such a way with words, and they were so loving, sincere, and sometimes very witty.  I read a book a long while back, that was compiled of actual letters,  written by soldiers during The Civil War, to their wives, sweethearts and families back home. They were so beautiful.  Even letters from Service men, written during WWI and WWII, were well written, descriptive and loving. Sad to say, but we know, that letters like those from the past, will never be written again.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 01, 2018, 06:13:28 PM
FlaJean,  I'm happy to hear that your cataract surgery is behind you and that you are able to be back reading again.   I had both eyes done late last year and that's that,  I hope!!
Marilyne,   You are right about the love letters.  Actually Al and I were never apart for any length of time but I do have one  letter he wrote me shortly after we met.    At the time we met he already had a reservation for a weeks vacation at  a popular beach resort in Canada so he did go.    It was very early in our courtship but he wrote this one letter.    Strange as it seems  that 70 years ago  he had the feeling that we were going to spend our life together.  Needless to say I have that letter tucked away with other treasures.  I should make a time capsule!! ;)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 07, 2018, 04:24:03 PM
Not much reading going on here this past week.  Lots of Fourth of July events to watch on TV, as well as movies pertaining to the holiday. I've been having some trouble with my eyes lately, so reading has been uncomfortable. I'll see my eye doc on the 24th. 

FlaJean - I had to return The House of Unexpected Sisters, before I had a chance to read it.  It was on a one week check-out, because of a long wait list.  I'm glad you read and enjoyed it.  I also had to return the Elizabeth Strout book, Anything is Possible, for the same reason.  I think you would like the novel that Maryc recommended,  The Wake Up, by Catherine Ryan Hyde.  AJ is reading it right now, and liking it!

Mary - I know you're so glad that you saved that first letter you received from Al.  I still have some of the early letters that I received from my Al, right after we first met, at the very end of our Freshman year in college.  At that time I went back home for the summer, which was about 400 miles from where he lived in San Jose.  So we wrote for three months, until school started again.  The other bunch of letters I saved, were written when he was drafted into the Army, shortly after we were married in l956.  He was stationed in Washington, and I was working in San Jose . . .  until I made enough money to join him.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 11, 2018, 07:11:07 AM
I will be picking up The Joy Luck Club at the library tomorrow or Friday for the SeniorLearn book discussion. I never read it, but have seen the movie.

In the meantime, I finished a SciFi by Evan Currie that I forgot I had alread read. Now I am finally starting Jack Campbell's newest.

I am only at the start of Chapter 4 in Mike Duncan's The Storm Before the Storm which is an history of the late Roman Republic between 146BC and 78BC, taking it up to Sullas' death.

I've signed up again for Audible and now have the second of the "Bobverse" series to listen to as well as the next in the Vorkosagan series, Mirror Dance by Bujold which I have downloaded from the online library.

My "typing assistant" is back, but with less room to sit on the desktop because of my Latin book pile. Yes, I am doing Latin again, after a year's absence. I have enough trouble with Latin as it is.  ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 12, 2018, 05:22:29 PM
MarsGal - I noticed that, The Joy Luck Club, was going to be discussed in Senior Learn.  I read it more than twenty years ago, when it was a best seller, and I also saw the movie.  I liked it, but not enough that I would want to read it again.  It was good, but I think that too much time has passed since it was written. Times have changed totally in San Francisco, and I think that much of the story would now be outdated.  However, the interactions between the mothers and daughters, would be timeless.  It was a good story.

I haven't picked up a book in at least a week, which is very unusual for me. Reason being, that I've been "studying" for my written drivers test, which I hope to take next week.  The test they give to seniors, is longer and more difficult than the regular renewal test that everyone else takes.  Also, my dry eye problem has escalated, and I've had a lot of blurriness.  I hope I pass the vision test!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 12, 2018, 06:37:47 PM
I hear you with the dry eye blurriness. This is why I started up listening to audio books occasionally. Systane has come out with a new formulation, but I haven't tried it yet. The stuff is ex-pen-sive. And, I saw it only in 1/3 oz. bottles. Good luck with your drivers test. I am not sure what the rules are here in PA for oldsters, but if I retake it, I can get a little discount off my auto insurance. PA has it set up so that you can take it online now.

I had to take the Roman history book back to the library because here was another hold on it. I do have a hold on it in Ebook form so I can pick up where I left off later. I also have The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish and Cory Doctorow's Walkaway on hold. The nice thing about the FLP ebooks is that I can set the time I want to keep the book from one week to a month, in weekly increments. Really nice, if you have lots you are reading or it is a lengthy book. I have not started listening to Mirror Dance yet.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 14, 2018, 11:10:29 AM
MarsGal - I thought about you last night while I was watching the HBO series, Westworld.  I wish you were also watching it, because then you could explain it to me! ???  Is it science fiction or something else??  Kind of a mix of alternate universe, dystopian, with some, "Ground Hog Day", thrown in to really confuse me.  The same scene repeated over and over, with different outcomes.  This was the first episode, in the series, and I'm not sure I'll stick with it.  AJ liked it, and will probably continue watching whether I do or not. 

The reason we watched it, is because it's been nominated for a large number of Emmy Awards, so we figured it would be worthwhile.  Lots of well known actors in it, like Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, etc.

The Dry Eye problem is a driving me nuts.  Seems to have escalated this past month, so I may have to go on a prescription med when I see the eye doc in a few weeks.  Right now I'm using Systane Complete, or Refresh Plus . . . both outrageously expensive.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on July 14, 2018, 02:26:02 PM
My doctor prescribed Restasis for dry eyes.  I stuck with it a couple of weeks until my eyes were so red and itchy, I gave up and went back to my otc Refresh Optive.  Evidently I was allergic to something in it.  Now I’m stuck with several containers of expensive medicine I can’t use.  I Use my Optive four or five (at least) times a day.  Sometimes I even use the drops when I get up during the night.  I also use two prescription medicines for my eyesâ€"Timolol for pressure and Lumigan for optic damage.

I just haven’t been reading many books, but I do read a lot of articles and enjoy playing games on my iPad.  I keep up with the Wash Post and follow some of their reporters on twitter.  I really enjoyed the movie “The Post”.  The acting was great as well as the story.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 14, 2018, 05:39:57 PM
FlaJean, my best friend is allergic to the citric acid found in some eye products.

Marilyne, I've never watched it. I think I forgot about it and which net is was on when it first started. Yes, it is considered Science Fiction, but like so many other books/tv shows/movies there are sub-genres and crossovers it could fit into. Wikipedia has an explanation of it, but for some reason, I can't get the link to work when I paste it to here. From that explanation, I don't think I would care for it. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 14, 2018, 05:50:42 PM
Oh super. My hold on Cory Doctorow's Walkaway is ready. Now I am in the middle of a Jack Campbell SciFi, his newest, just started The Joy Luck Club for the discussion group starting on Monday, and Mirror Dance, which I still have not started listening to yet. Not only that, I've started back on Latin classes. Ginny has allowed me to join in the Summer Reading group which is doing Livy, which turns out to be very difficult.


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 16, 2018, 02:42:29 PM
MarsGal - How are you liking The Joy Luck Club?  I haven't looked in on the discussion yet, but I plan to this afternoon.  It might inspire me to get it and read it again.  I always get more out of a story, and like it better, on the second reading.

My reading has consisted of, The California Driver Handbook, for the past week. I have to take the written test at the DMV, and always feel like I must know and remember every little detail in the book! ::)  I'm also a little concerned about the eye test.  I see okay with my glasses, but with the Dry Eye problem, I never know when I'm going to get that blurriness.

Jean- That reminds me, my husband AJ, uses Restasis for his dry eye, and he also has the punctal plugs inserted in a couple of his tear ducts.  It makes me shudder to think about it, but they don't bother him at all.

He's now reading, The Red Sparrow, and really likes it.  He wants me to read it when he's finished, which I may do.  I remember a few years back, when a couple of members in this discussion were reading it and talking about it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 17, 2018, 08:01:45 AM
Yes, I was immediately taken by The Joy Luck Club. I am not very far into it yet.

I think this is the third book I've read that is focused on the immigrant (and family) experience in America. The other two were Jhumpa Lihiri, The Namesake and Khaled Hossani's A Thousand Splendid Sun's (sequel to The Kite Runner, which was primarily set in Afghanistan). Long ago, I also read two of Maxine Hong Kingston's books. She wrote mostly about issues of gender and ethnicity which must have included immigrant experience, but I don't remember.

Aside from that, I enjoy reading Chinese and Chinese/American writers, most of whom, so far, write/translate Science Fiction. These include Cixin Liu's (The Three Body Problem trilogy) and Ken Liu (writer/translator).  There are others whose names I don't recall.

The Three Body Problem trilogy may be coming to Amazon as a series:
https://www.tor.com/2018/03/28/amazon-may-pay-one-billion-to-adapt-cixin-liu-the-three-body-problem/

I am glad your Hubby likes The Red Sparrow. He will like all three in the series, I think.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Vanilla-Jackie on July 27, 2018, 03:28:42 PM
Marilyne...
...testing, testing, re, Database Error...I can see you managed to post in Follow that Name but you cant post in here...I cant post in Follow that Name but I can post in here...now if only we could do a swap... ???
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 27, 2018, 04:45:57 PM
Checking again to see if I can post a message here?

Go figure! :-\  I've been trying all morning, and it finally worked! 
Jackie, if you're looking in, be sure to try posting on the game board.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 27, 2018, 05:04:57 PM
My daughter wrote a short comment/review, on the Goodreads website yesterday, about the book, "The Couple Next Door", by Shari Lapena.  She liked it a lot, and is anxious for me to read it.  It's a suspenseful thriller type of story, which I don't care for at all . . . however, I'll read it because she wants me to.

Before I do, I'll finish two books that I started this week.  One I mentioned before, "Manhattan Beach", by Jennifer Egan.  It's a historical novel that takes place in NYC,in the 1930's and '40's.  That's one of my favorite time periods for stories . . . the Depression Era, and World War II.  The other book was recommended on the book website, Off The Shelf . . . "The Last Ballad", by Wiley Cash.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Vanilla-Jackie on July 28, 2018, 01:21:54 AM
Marilyne...
...I am back home too but...I rather like it here so plan on visiting again... :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 29, 2018, 10:43:50 AM
Jackie - You're always welcome here in the Bookshelf, or in any of the folders in Leisure Activities!  I'm wondering why we had such a hard time yesterday, posting messages throughout the various folders?  It seems to be resolved now, so I hope it stays that way!

MarsGal - I saw your message in Bait & Tackle, about Barb's post in SL.  I checked it out, found it interesting, and decided to respond here in the Bookshelf.  I plan to get "The Adult in the Room", ASAP!  Sounds fascinating and enlightening!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 29, 2018, 12:20:31 PM
Marilyne, I just read a sample on Amazon from The Adults in the Room... The guy is sure a powerful writer. It is on my list too.

I noticed that quite a few of the reviewers thought he was on some kind of ego trip even though most of them liked the book.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Vanilla-Jackie on August 02, 2018, 05:24:44 AM
Just had Lien de Jong and Bart van Es on our tv morning programme, with Lien telling her true story...re, our soon to be televised docu - programme, there is also a book now available on her story...( The Cut Out Girl, ) a Story of War and Family, Lost and Found.... I think this will be, a not to be missed programme..Links...


https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/bart-van-es/the-cut-out-girl/


https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-7352-2224-3
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Vanilla-Jackie on August 02, 2018, 05:45:47 AM
Bart and Lien...

(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/320x240q90/921/Fd5CpV.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/plFd5CpVj)    (https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/320x240q90/921/iGhfph.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/pliGhfphj)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 02, 2018, 10:57:13 AM
Jackie - Thanks for the recommendation!  The Cut-Out Girl, sounds like my kind of book.  As I've said many times in this discussion, my favorite stories take place before, during, and right after the War.   This sounds like a good one, and I plan on checking my library later today.  Lien de Jong, certainly does look good in that interview, considering she must be in her mid to late 80's?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 03, 2018, 07:32:03 AM
Good (still wet) morning.

Well, I have given up on The Joy Luck Club, not because I didn't care for reading it, but because with other things needing done, I got too far behind in the book discussion. It and the Roman history book that I didn't even get a chance to read went back to the library yesterday. Because The Fate of Rome was in such small print, and was printed on good heavy paper,  I deemed it too difficult to try to hold up over the constant occupation of my lap by one or another of the cats. I really struggled with buying the print or the Ebook version. Finally, I opted for the Ebook version because they did a good, clear job of rendering all the illustrations, charts, photos and tables. Besides, I have pretty much run out of bookshelf space for my ancient history books.

I finished Storm Before the Storm, the other Roman history book I had. I did learn about the Jugurthan War which I didn't know anything about except for the name. Otherwise, most of the book was reviewing info I already knew something about. The one thing that struck me, though, is that the book was more sympathetic to the - what we would term - liberal cause, while portraying the aristocratic classes more as the bad guys. This view is not one that I have not been used to given that most of what I have read was from supporters of the Republic and status quo whereas the others were more likely to have been portrayed in a less favorable light.

Now, I am listening to two Audiobooks. One is Falling Free which is considered a prequel, setting 200 years prior, to the Vorkosigan SciFi series. The other is Circe by Madeline Miller. https://www.npr.org/2018/04/11/599831473/circe-gives-the-witch-of-the-odyssey-a-new-life
 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 03, 2018, 12:36:04 PM
MarsGal - I'll take a look at The Joy Luck Club discussion on SL, and see whats being said about the book.  I read it about fifteen years ago, and remember that
I liked it, but not enough to read it again.  Sometimes a story just doesn't grab me, for whatever reason, and I usually just put it aside, and go on to something else. There are too many books that I want to read, that I can't see spending time on one that I'm not enjoying much.

My favorites are almost always, character driven books . . . not so much plot driven.  If I can't relate fairly quickly to any of the main characters, then the story is usually not interesting to me - even if it has a good plot. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 16, 2018, 12:42:01 PM
My daughter-in-law gave me an interesting sounding book yesterday, called Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee.  It was a National Book Award Finalist, and has been on the NYT Bestseller list for some time.  That said, I would very much like to read it, but I'm afraid the print is way too small and light, and the book is too thick for me to handle.  There are 485 pages, and with the soft cover, I cannot open it for reading, the way I can with a hard cover book. 

It makes me feel bad, that the new books are being printed this way - ( small, light print and thin cover.) I guess the younger generation only reads from Kindles, iPads, etc., so in a few years they will probably stop publishing regular books, as we know them.  I have a Kindle, but I prefer reading from a book.  This may come out in a large print book, at some time in the future, and if so, I'll read it then.

Mars Gal - the book you recommended, Adults in the Room, by Yanis Varoufakis, is waiting fo me to pick up at the library, so I'll start reading it within the next couple of days.

I also have A Visit From the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan, waiting for me, so I'll have enough to choose from over the weekend.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on August 16, 2018, 03:45:32 PM
Marilyne.
I have that problem now. My library are not getting books in LP. I have ordered I couple I want to read in small print but like you say. So small and can hardly read the print.. I do have Ipad and 2 readers with lots of books on now but I still rather hold book in my hand. I will check my library and see if they have Pachinko. Does sound interesting. Not buying full price books any more.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on August 16, 2018, 03:52:10 PM
No. they just have it in small print with 4 people waiting. Also can download it to one of my readers.  I will just get the hand one and see what it looks like. I would think it is a soft back one.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 16, 2018, 05:24:23 PM
Let me know how you like Adults in the Room, Marilyne. I won't get to it for quite a while yet.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Circe audiobook enough to consider listening to it again in the future. The reader had a rather smooth, seductive voice that was very relaxing. I had a little trouble staying awake.

I just finished (couldn't put it down) The Night Market by Jonathan Moore. It is a detective/crime thriller set in a near future dystopian San Francisco. Very well written, I took to the characters right away.
It contains some surprising and unexpected twists, and the ending was unexpected. After I read it, I found out that is the third of a very loosely connected series. The other two are also set within the SFPD, but it looks like with different characters.

Two more of my book holds came in. I picked up two yesterday: Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold (a Vorkosagan sage book) and a SciFi short story anthology, Infinite Stars, which includes some stories from some of my favorite authors including Bujold, Jack Campbell, Orson Scot Card, Elizabeth Moon, and Ann McCaffery. This morning I downloaded Preston and Childs, Cabinet of Curiosities which is the third of their creepy Pendergast series (remember Relic?) I still have two ebooks on hold.


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 23, 2018, 11:52:14 AM
I have a stack of books sitting here, and I can tell that I won't get to most of them before they're due.  Right now I'm engrossed in an excellent novel, called A Visit From the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan.  It won the Puitzer Prize for fiction, in 2011.  I'm very impressed with this unusual story, and plan to read other books by Egan, when I finish.

That's a problem I have, when I check out too many books from the library at one time.  If the first one I read really grabs me, then I want to read more by that particular author, and the others just sit and gather dust, until they finally have to be returned. ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MaryTX on August 23, 2018, 12:31:24 PM
Marilyne, I do the same thing.  I always have a "books on reserve list" at the library going plus the ones I have already checked out.  Several on the reserve list seem to come at the same time.  I try to read the ones that can't be renewed first, then the others sit and some go back unread.  I can't drive right now so am dependent upon the kids to make the library runs.  They are doing my other errands also so I try to limit the library runs.

Mary 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on August 23, 2018, 03:00:03 PM
"Several on the reserve list seem to come at the same time."  I have this same problem, i.e.  I have nine (9) books that were on my reserve list, they came in
two and three at a time over just the last week.   I have been doing a lot of reading about coping with grief, have finished and sent back three, and still have the nine
unrelated stack!  Two are economics related, two more are grief/recovery related,
three are reads for my two f2f book groups; and I can't recall the other two.  And...I was right in the middle of a Kindle book, but I can always put that one off. Our library system has this fairly new "perk" of automatically renewing your books, unless the book is being requested by someone else.  So I think I've a good lot of time left on all.  Maybe one of the mysteries is on the current list, and will have to be finished and sent back.  Hey, feast or famine, right?  LOL
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on August 23, 2018, 03:08:23 PM
And Hey, there's Redbud.  Haven't seen that name on here for too long!

Oh, and BTW,Marilyne.  Last night I watched "The Darkest Hour", starring Gary Oldman.  Wow, what an actor!  This was the film about Churchill being elected Prime Minister, and all the circuitous doings in the House of Commons, while the Germans were taking country after country, and Churchill was afraid that his "island" was next.  If one could be said to "chew the scenery" in the old show biz vernacular, Oldman did just that...but I felt I was actually watching Churchill.  A terrific movie, especially for us WWII buffs.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 23, 2018, 05:17:21 PM
Tome - Last night, AJ wanted to watch "The Darkest Hour", but I was hesitant, so we watched something else.  I knew it was about Churchill, and that Gary Oldman was nominated for lots of awards, but it didn't appeal to me.  Now it DOES! :) Thanks for recommending it . . . we'll probably watch it tonight.

MaryTX - Good to see you here in the Library~Bookshelf!  please return, and tell us what books you're reading?  Mine all seem to arrive at the same time also, and I rarely get around to reading them all.  Like your library, we can only renew books that are not on a wait list. The ones that are, have to be returned in one week.

MarsGal - I haven't opened "Adults in the Room" yet.  I don't remember if it's on a wait list or not, so I'd better check.  The book you mentioned - "The Night Market", sounds good.  I'll see if it's available at my library for next time. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on August 23, 2018, 06:30:14 PM
"Adults in the Room" is one of the books I have from that list of 9. 

The Darkest Hour moves rather slowly, but strangely, it is over before you know it.
There are some distinctly funny "bits", which actually made me laugh!  I will do just one teeny spoiler here...and you will have to be paying attention to catch it...
Churchill meets the King, and kisses his hand/ring, and the King, returning his arm to the usual behind the back position, wipes his hand on the back of his jacket! I just roared. Okay no more spoilers!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 23, 2018, 09:26:57 PM
I'm back!!!   I've been in Charlotte, NC since the 19th of July and came home last Saturday.   As usual I could read the posts on my Kindle but couldn't respond.     We had a celebration of life for Al on July 14 and all of the family was to be here.   Our son in NC went into the hospital on July 10 with Acute Heart Failure and was there for 9 days.    As soon as I had finished up here with the memorial I went down there planning to stay for 3 weeks.  My return flight was scheduled for August 9.   On the 8th our son (Nate) started having episodes of  passing out.   He went back into the hospital for a couple days for observation.   Long story short,  the Dr. finally took a couple of his medicines away and since then his blood pressure seems to be holding pretty steady.  It's been a roller coaster summer.    Meanwhile I had a couple books on my Kindle and managed to finish those.   One of them was a Joyce Carol Oates book called The Falls.    I hadn't much liked her writing in We Were the Mulvaneys but decided to give this a try since it was set here in Niagara Falls.    It was a pretty good story but as before it seemed to me that she passed a few good stopping places along the way and then the ending was sort of abrubt.   The other book was especially good.   It was called The Solace of Water by Elizabeth Byler Younts.   This story is about the unusual friendship between a black woman and an Amish woman.  I really enjoyed that one.  The Charlotte Library system uses the Hoople program and I was able to help our son get the Hoopla on his TV so that they can borrow movies.    I had watched one called Roommates with Peter Falk and he tried to get it from their library but it was in big demand.  He was able to get it the next day.   It is a good generational story.   In my searching around I found that other libraries around the country use a similar program but with a different name.   I like it very much because I can get books, audio books and movies right from home and there is never an overdue as when the time is up....IT'S UP!! and your item disappears from you device. 
Tomereader,   I noticed that you too have been reading some about coping with grief.   Have you read anything by Alan D. Wolfelt,  I happened onto some of his writing and liked his way.  Another title that was good was Resilient Grieving, by Lucy Hone.   I hope you are doing well.     Sorry to be so lengthy here.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 23, 2018, 11:44:30 PM
maryc - So glad to have you back with us!  I’m sorry to hear that your son had such a serious health emergency, and was unable to attend Al’s, Celebration of Life. It sounds like he was successfully treated, and the situation is now under control?     

I read, The Falls, a couple of years ago, and I remember thinking it was pretty good, compared to other novels by Joyce Carol Oates.  She is one of those authors that I have always had a love/hate relationship with.  I've enjoyed some of her books, but others I have disliked intensely. She can be so very depressing!  I think that she has written too many novels over the years.  A writer who is that prolific, is bound to stumble along the way. I liked her early books more than her recent ones.  She seems to be recycling lots of her old ideas, only with new characters.

Tome - we didn't watch The Darkest Hour tonight after all.  We went out for dinner, and by the time we got back, it was too late for a movie, so we'll plan to see it tomorrow or Saturday.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 24, 2018, 06:40:40 AM
Now back to reading the SciFi anthology, Infinite Stars.. Also, reading The Weight of Ink which, so far, has not excited me; I expect it to pick up a little farther into the book. I didn't care for Cabinet of Curiosities; it seemed pretty boring after reading  Relic and its' sequel Reliquary. I expect to try another of Preston and Childs Pendergast series in the future.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on August 24, 2018, 12:00:44 PM
MaryC, good to see all is well with you, but sorry to hear about your son’s health emergency.  Glad he is doing better.

My husband got a series of books on iBooks that were light reading but iinteresting and sometimes laugh out loud funny.  It has been so hot this summer that we have exhausted most of the Netflix and Acorn movies and series and have been reading more books.

Am really looking forward to some cooler weather.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 25, 2018, 11:26:22 AM
Tome: I loved The Darkest Hour . . . see my comment in the Television/Movies folder.  An excellent film!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on August 25, 2018, 12:58:13 PM
Wow!  I'm so, so glad you liked it.  I'll go to Television/Movies folder now and read your comment.  Somehow, I just knew you'd like it!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 30, 2018, 12:17:34 PM
I finished The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish. And, wow!

What begins as an investigation into some very old papers and books found in a closet under a stairs in 2000, jumps to the mid 1600s and the small Jewish community in London that fled the Inquisition. This is also the time period in which Jewish communities everywhere were dealing with Spinoza's radical/heretical ideas and with Sabbatai Zevi, who claimed to be the Jewish Messiah.

While a little overall Jewish history is included, much of the book touches (some more heavily than others) on issues of morality, free will, women's place in the community, societal pressures, and discrimination/prejudice. The consequences of ones actions and how it may affect others at the time and in the future is, I think, one of the main themes running across both time periods.

It also hits on the prejudice/bigotry within and without the Jewish community, and the guilt, shame and fear buttons, hitting on all emotional cylinders and a bunch of philosophy as well. Major events include the Inquisition, the Great Plague of 1665-1666, and a touch of the Great Fire of London in September of 1666.

The major philosophical debate at the time, or at least in this book, is the God vs. Nature issue. Does God exist and if so, how much of life can be attributed to God's work vs the work of natural processes. Are God and Nature one in the same?  Oh, and what is the nature of desire? That seems to crop up now and again, but I don't think it got the 'play' that other issues got. A worthy book for those who are up to it. It won the 2017 National Jewish Book Award.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 30, 2018, 04:44:07 PM
Marsgal,   The Weight of Ink certainly sounds like some "heavy reading".    About a year ago I thought that I would take one serious book for a winter read.   Maybe something like that but the winter last year kind of turned my life upside down and here is another fall and winter coming and I  have done nothing more in the reading than  just for entertainment.   I really don't ever think of a  book as just pleasure because there is always something in a story that teaches me something I hadn't known before.    Anyway I might just tackle that title if it comes my way via library or Kindle. Thanks for the good review.  Has anyone read the last book by Khaled Hosseini And the Mountains Echoed?  A little sidenote here....while I had a long layover on my way home from Charlotte  I had breakfast with two interesting and delightful ladies.   One was a student on her way back from her home in Italy  to college in Alabama.   The other was an expat who lives in Holland and was coming to Western New York to visit her daughter.    Of course we talked of reading.  The student  (Pre Med) admitted that she has very little time for reading for pleasure...understandable.   The other woman and I shared some favorite authors and she told us about a book by an Italian author  that sounded good.   It  was titled Best Friends by Elana Ferrante.   That was such an interesting little time spent with other travelers.

I've had a hard  cough and  cold for going on two weeks now and haven't been doing much of anything but maintenance around the house and yard.   Going to the Dr. this afternoon.  Maybe she will have a magic potion for me.....think so???
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 30, 2018, 06:10:10 PM
Tomereader1, we are dwindling down to a few over on Senior Learn. I am wondering if you've given up on us since I haven't seen you over there in a while. There are five books that are listed for possible discussion in September, but there are so few of us now that there is some question as to whether or not to bother. Such a shame, IMHO, but then I haven't been thrilled with their selections lately and would just rather keep on reading the stacks I already have waiting.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on August 30, 2018, 08:18:19 PM
MarsGal, I visit Senior Learn every day, as I do S&F.  I'm always interested in what you all choose for discussion.  I am in two f2f book clubs  and that doesn't leave me a lot of time to come into SL and discuss. A lot of the selections are kind of "over my head".  I have approached this before, somewhere in the SL Library forum, and don't particularly relish the almost "line by line" parsing that happens there.  I realize that most of the SL's are highly educated, and I appreciate and honor that.
But in my advancing age, I prefer to read for  entertainment.  Of course, I learn a great many things from books that  normally would not be of my choosing. I will look in, and depending on the chosen book, I might join in.  And No, I haven't given up on Senior Learn.  It will be a crushing defeat if it goes down the tubes...so many different boards, are interesting to me, even if I can't or don't participate. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 31, 2018, 12:15:00 AM
MarsGal - The Weight of Ink sounds good, and I plan to put it on my library list, and give it a go. It sounds pretty deep and detailed, so I don't know if I want to deal with it at this time?  We shall see, once I get it home.  I don't care for light and fluffy, but I also get worn down with a story that's too heavy.

Tome - I enjoy following along with the SL book discussions, but I wouldn't feel comfortable adding my two-cents worth.  I haven't looked to see what books they're considering for September, but will take a look after I finish this message.  The last one was The Joy Luck Club, which I had read 20-30 years ago, and didn't care much for it at that time, but decided to read it again!  I wanted to like it, and I stuck with it, but when I finished, I felt pretty much the same about the story as I did so many long years ago.  The Chinese myths, superstitions and detailed stories were really lost on me, and I had a terrible time remembering which daughter belonged to which mother. 

Mary - I read the first two books by Khaled Hosseini . . . The Kite Runner, and A Thousand Splendid Suns. I liked "Kite Runner" okay, but found "Splendid Suns" to be too violent, sad and hopeless. When I finished it, I had no desire to every read anything else by him.  however, I'm very interested in what you think about, The Mountains Echoed?  Keep us posted. 

I hope your doctor gave you a "magic potion" today to help you get rid of that cold and cough?  Sounds like it's been hanging in there for too long.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 31, 2018, 06:54:54 AM
Marilyne, the book isn't as heavy as you might thing with all those subjects swirling around. Much is touched on, but most not in any real depth. It did make me want to know more (or refresh my memory) about certain subjects and events. The main characters are academics and intellectuals, a dangerous and often forbidden occupation for a woman in the 17th century.

Tome
, I don't mind the "parsing" so much because I like to read up on places and topics touched on and share that info. I am not always successful in keeping my posts as short as I'd like, though. Reading some of the extra long posts others post can get tedious, especially if there are more than one very long post to read. So, i am just as guilty as the others in that department.

Speaking of parsing, my Latin classes start up on the 14th. This year, after a year hiatus, I am in a class that likes to parse everything. Ginny loves parsing. I don't, never did. Was not good at it in high school. Don't like it any more now than I did then, and that was English. Think about the horror of parsing Latin.

I am down to the last two of my overwhelming pile of books that came in almost at once. I gave up on Andy Weir's Artemis at Chapter Three and just read the ending. The story follows a young, petty smuggler living in the Moon's only city. So, now I am listening to Komarr, the next in the Vorkosigan series I am reading/listening to, and back to finishing up the SciFi short story anthology that I had to renew. These two shouldn't take long to finish. After that, I haven't decided.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 06, 2018, 12:39:20 AM
Lately, I've been having a hard time finding a book that I really want to finish.  Unusual for me, as I usually do have good luck with recommendations from either Goodreads or Off the Shelf, or from members in this folder.  This week I'm reading one recommended on Goodreads . . . Etta and Otto and Russell and James, by Emma Cooper.  It's about an 83 year old woman, who sets off to walk across Canada . . . from Saskatchewan to Nova Scotia.  The authors unique writing style is hard to understand, and the story itself is just not believable.  However, I will stick with it for now, because I'm curious to see if she makes it to Nova Scotia?

MarsGal - I looked into SL today, and couldn't get enthused over the selection for the discussion this month, so I'll not be following along as I often do.  I did see that Barb is reading a book that sounds intriguing . . . Behemoth, by Joshua Freeman.  I checked my library and they have it, so I'll pick it up in a few days.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 06, 2018, 07:14:07 AM
I get that way sometimes, too, Marilyne. I usually just stop reading for a few days when that happens.

i am not overly excited about the choices either. I sometimes wonder where they come up with these choices. I am going to join in since the I can get the book at the library (we are going to do The Architects Apprentice) but may not finish as I have done for the last two books. Behemoth... is one I may read later, but not as a group discussion. I put it on my library wish list.

Right now, I am reading, but probably soon to drop, another SciFi. I am enjoying the humor, but can't seem to get real engaged with the story or the characters. I don't pick up much depth of character or emotion, kind of 'flat' I think.

I have two books on hold at the library that should be ready to pick up Fri. or Sat. One is the next one in the Vorkosigan series. The description makes the story sound a bit bizarre, but Bujold always seems to keep me engaged. The other is an old Jack McDevitt stand-alone, The Casandra Project which he wrote with Mike Resnick. I must remember to get his last Priscilla Hutchins entry which released in April. The Hutchins series is not my favorite. I am still hoping he has one more Alex Benedict book in him.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 06, 2018, 03:34:53 PM
Marilyne & Marsgal, I am having a tough time with reading, especially if it's just for my own enjoyment.  Marilyne, you know my situation, and I seem to have lost the ability to get into a book, follow the story, and get to the end of it.  I have still been reading on Grief/Recovery, which doesn't seem to fall into that category.  I am currently reading "The Widower's Notebook" by Jonathan Santlofer, and re-reading "the Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion, which I had actually read some years ago because it was a National Book Award winner.  The Widowers Notebook is, of course, from a man's point of view, and is so heart-wrenching to find that a man can be as totally lost, even moreso in some instances, by the loss of his spouse.  I think women should not let the title "Widower's Notebook" keep them from reading this book, if they are in the very early stages of grief.  The Didion book, on this my second reading, speaks to me in ways it did not when I first read it, being not yet widowed.  Don't mean to be a downer here! 
I also sometimes wonder where the titles come from in SeniorLearn's "Library" book discussions.  There was only one on the original list, that I might've been interested in reading/discussing,  and it was deep-sixed early on.  (I think it was "The Address")
But who knows. 
I actually have finished two "mystery books" that I had on my Kindle, although read in very short spurts.  I guess it is the "gotta know what happened and who dunnit" qualities that sort of held my interest. 
Oh, again my library has done me in,  three books came in from my requested list, which I figured would be a great while before arriving.  Maybe I can get into one or more of those, one is a mystery, one a plain ole novel.  Keep your fingers crossed, if I can finish any of them, I might, just might, have something to recommend to my dear readers here. 
Enough said.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 06, 2018, 05:39:22 PM
Callie, now that book sounds like something I would enjoy, and maybe even stick with to the ending.  But I won't be requesting it just anytime soon.  Got to slog through all these other books first.  And try to get my "reading hat on".  LOL
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 06, 2018, 07:07:20 PM
Tome - it will probably take a long time before you can enjoy just sitting down and reading for pleasure.  Don't try to rush things . . . just read whatever appeals to you now. I also remember reading The Year of Magical Thinking, back when it was a bestseller.  I'm sure I could not relate to it then, even though I remember liking it.  Even now, it would not have the meaning that it has for you, but I think I would enjoy reading it again.

Callie - The Address, sounds like a book that I will definitely enjoy reading.  I'm going to add it to my library list, and hope to get it this weekend.  The quote you posted from the OKC Library, is intriguing! The Dakota, goes all the way back to 1884?  I had no idea it was so old!  I don't know much about it, but have only read about it in stories over the years.  Of course we all remember that that is where John Lennon was living, when he was killed.  I think the Yoko Ono still lives there?   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on September 06, 2018, 09:05:46 PM
I just discovered that my quote about "The Address" from the library description was the same as one on Fiona Davis' website.  So I've removed mine and am substituting a link to the one on her website.

http://www.fionadavis.net/the-addressnew/ (http://www.fionadavis.net/the-addressnew/)

You can also read about her other books there by clicking on the Books link.

I've also read "The Dollhouse", which is about the Barbizon Hotel for Women in NYC during the 1950's.  Also based on an historic place and, probably, "events of the day".

Think I'll put "The Masterpiece" on my e-book Wish List and read it when, like Tomereader,  I've finished the ones I currently think I'd like to read.

Wish I could keep from dozing off when I'm reading.  Couldn't be my age, could it?    ;D
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 06, 2018, 11:21:49 PM
Callie, Ya' think?  I do that too.  My Kindle is pretty heavy when it lands on my chest, and semi-wakes me, so I can go to sleep!
I used to be able to read into the wee hours, especially if something is good.  Now, even if it's good, I fall asleep.  But...it beats insomnia.  Of course, there's always the nighttime call from the throne room, which disturbs even the best of sleep.  I also want to read "The Masterpiece" - - sounds really good doesn't it?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 07, 2018, 06:56:28 AM
Oh gosh! Falling asleep on my reading. Yes! Doesn't seem to matter what time of day. I missed a dramatic scene, the climax of a kidnapping episode, when I fell asleep on the audio book I was listening to. I didn't go back to repeat it.

I remember hearing of the Barbizon Hotel when I was young. A hotel for women, strict rules about visitations by men and codes of conduct. In fact, when I was young I thought it was a charm school. https://bust.com/entertainment/15498-where-the-girls-are.html

All this just reminded me of Thoroughly Modern Millie, which was not based on the Barbizon. I haven't seen that movie in many years.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Sandy on September 07, 2018, 07:29:50 AM
I have just ordered "The Address"
and "The Dollhouse" from   MSL  (Maine State LIbrary
Talking Books) ....   

Thanks so much for the recommendations..

Sandy
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on September 07, 2018, 11:23:02 AM
It's a "quack quack" day in central Oklahoma - gray, gloomy and very very wet.  I had all my morning chores done about an hour ago and settled into the recliner to read.  Would you believe the phone just woke me up!  (Of course, you would!  :crazy2: )

Sandy,  so glad you can get the audio books from the state library.  The Oklahoma State Library has the same service but, since I live in the metro OKC area,  I can borrow e-books (as well as audio books and magazines) from the Metro Library.   Such fun to finish a book and have a new one in the short time it takes to get it downloaded.

Tome,   I can still read into the "wee hours" although I try to discipline myself from thinking "just one more chapter".

Had to go on the Wait List for "The Masterpiece".   There are 8 people waiting on 2 copies.

Maybe I'll be  finished with "The Romanov Prophecy" by Steve Berry,  a Molly Murphy mystery by Rhys Bowen and a "chick lit" beach novel by Georgia Bockoven.......if I can keep my eyes open.

Happy Reading!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on September 07, 2018, 05:37:48 PM
Glad to now read that others are having a hard time reading. I thought it was just me. I start a book and don't find it interesting at all, even if by a writer I have enjoyed in the past. I also seem to be falling asleep more. I thought I would quit taking a nap after the winter months but not working. Still taking them. Never make it past 9pm if I don't.
This hot summer has gotten to me. Yesterday 10l deg and today Storming with 69 deg. I am dreading thinking what winter will be like. I just have to see what will be happening in town that I can get out of the house more and involved in. The more friends I loose now is really making a difference.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 08, 2018, 01:22:06 AM
Today I went to the library and picked up two books: The Address, and Behemoth.  As soon as I arrived home, I started reading "Address", and I was instantly taken with the story.  I can tell already that it's going to be a winner, for me.

Behemoth looks interesting too, and full of history.  It's been a while since I've been enthusiastic about any book, so it's nice to have two good ones to enjoy over this coming hot weekend! I doubt I'll be leaving the house, with temps expected to hit 100 degrees tomorrow, and then in the 90's on Sunday.

MarGal, Callie and Tome - I'm always interested in hearing about your audio books. Please tell me again what the different listening devices are that you all use?  Would my Kindle work? I know I've asked this before, but I'm embarrassed to say that I've forgotten. ::) :-[ ::)

JeanneP - Good to have you back with us.  Lots of good book recommendations here.  Check out a few of them from the library, and I think you'll find one or two that you like.  Now that the days are getting shorter, seems like there is more time to read.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 08, 2018, 06:45:48 AM
Marlyne, I use my Kindle Fire Tabiet for my Audible audio books and for the ones I borrow from the library (my library uses the OverDrive app). I can also listen, with the Audible and OverDrive apps on my computer, although I don't care to.

There are several other lenders of EBooks, audio books and movies. Hoopla, for example, offers movies to stream as well as Ebooks and audio books. In northern California there is something called Library to Go. I don't know if they offer audio books. You should check with your library to see which service(s) your library uses and if they include audio books.

For other book lenders you may not need a library affiliation to borrow. I believe Open Library is one of them. Most or all of these  generally offer several different formats, so you don't need a Kindle. I expect that they or most of them only cover Ebooks, though.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on September 08, 2018, 12:09:03 PM
Marilyne,  I don't need audio books - yet! - but they are listed along with Kindle and e-books (separate categories) in the OKC Metro Library on-line catalog.   I can download them on my PC/Tablet (they'll show up on both).  Tablet isn't a Kindle.

Overdrive is the download for all the books, including the audio ones.
Hoopla is the download for movies available on loan from the library.  I haven't tried any of these, yet.
RBDigital (used to be Zinio) is the download for magazines.  I can choose a list of ones I want to read regularly and can be notified when a new issue is available. 
That list is currently growing. <sigh>

The "Behemoth" mentioned in SL isn't owned by my library but there are a couple of others listed with that title.  One is "the history of elephants".  I'd probably read that before I'd read the history of factories.   ;)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on September 09, 2018, 11:12:16 AM
Lots of interesting titles being passed around here.    Also the discussion about the use of libraries' digital resources is interesting.    I've not been one to bring home an armful of books at a time and when I finish one of the ebooks it is so handy to just go to my list of favorites and download another in just seconds.  Our Hoopla app provides books, audio books and movies so that it is a good source of either media I decide I'd like at the moment.   Occasionally the movie of a particular book title will show up there and not the book.  I would prefer to read the book first but in a pinch I would see the film.  Sometimes when I feel too tired to read I can enjoy  a movie.    I am reading a novel now called The Library at the Edge of the World by Felicity Hayes McCoy.  It is set in Ireland  in present times.    I just learned that there is also a sequel so perhaps I will follow up on that.   Easy reading!!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on September 09, 2018, 06:46:54 PM
Good day for reading. Finely stopped raining and now so cold I felt like turning the furnace on today. Did use a heater.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 10, 2018, 06:37:50 AM
JeanneP, I also refrained from turning on the heater yesterday. It seems a bit early to do so. Yesterday was a good day for reading. I spent the entire day doing so, and will probably do so for a good bit of the day today. I was amazed that my eyes didn't 'bug out' on me from all the reading.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on September 10, 2018, 09:48:24 AM
We're still having 90* afternoons here in Alabama.  I try to get my outside chores done in the early mornings.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on September 10, 2018, 02:44:03 PM
I preordered Bob Woodruff’s new book that is out tomorrow.  So I’ll be busy reading for a few days.

Sue, I believe we are a little cooler here than your area.  Most of our weather is in the medium 80s.  We had a nice rain shower this morning and the rest of the day has been sunny.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 10, 2018, 05:54:39 PM
MarsGal - Thanks for the info on the audible books for the Kindle Fire - which is what I have.  I'll download something from my library, and let you know how it works for me. 

Callie - I'm wanting to try the audio books to listen to when I go to bed at night.  I'm a poor sleeper, and need something to help me relax. We shall see?  As for the book "Behemoth", I haven't opened it yet, but I can see that it looks a bit daunting! :-\ The books that Barb recommends on SL, are often too heavy for me . . . both in size and content! 

FlaJean - The Woodruff book will surely be a bestseller!  Let us know what you think, after you've read it.

Maryc - "The Library At the Edge of the World" sounds good . . . I love that title! 

Now I'm anxious to get back to "The Address", which is a great read so far.  I'm about half way through it, and really enjoying it.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on September 10, 2018, 10:48:12 PM
Marilyne,  I agree about the book choices on SL. I like to learn background but not that much!

Audio books sound perfect for you.  Hope you can work something out.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on September 10, 2018, 11:19:35 PM
I spelled the author’s name incorrectly.  The book is “Fear: Trump in the White House” by Bob Woodward.  I bought it on iBooks so it gets downloaded on both iPads (mine and my husband’s) so we will both be reading at the same time.  That’s one of the advantages of getting an ebook.  I didn’t like ebooks in the beginning but I’m starting to really enjoy the convenience of reading on my iPad. It’s very comfortable.  I lean the iPad on my lap and enjoy my easy chair.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MaryTX on September 11, 2018, 09:57:40 AM
Good wet, dreary, and sleepy morning :).  I picked up "The Address" at the Library yesterday and stayed up close to midnight reading it.  I kept telling myself I'll just finish this chapter...... ;D. It is a very interesting book and hard to put down.

I put myself on the reserve list for Bob Woodward's book.  It hasn't come it yet so it will be awhile.  I'll probably end up ordering it to read on my Ipad, but I have a bunch of books to read before I do it.  My eyes are bothering me so I can't read like I use to.

Mary

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on September 11, 2018, 08:58:22 PM
MaryTX  Do I recall that you went by the name Redbud earlier?   I was drawn to that name because the Redbud tree is a favorite of mine and I have several in my garden.  :)    I have been looking around for The Address and so far it is not available through my library system, neither in hardbound book or ebook.   It just says unavailable so it may be that it is in big demand just now.    Meanwhile I'm starting the sequel to The Library at the Edge of the World.   I suppose it is good to read it while the characters and places are fresh in my mind.  It has been cooler here since the weekend but it is due to warm up again starting Thursday.   The cooler weather was quite refreshing after the heat of the past few weeks.   I get more ambition when the temps and humidity drop.   There is much to do in the yard and around the house in preparation for winter.I have been curious about the Woodward book too.   When it gets to the library I'm sure in will be out for many weeks.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MaryTX on September 12, 2018, 10:41:55 AM
Mary C, yes I went by Redbud on the old SeniorNet.  S&F wouldn't accept the name for some reason so I went to MaryTX. 

We are originally from Southern Oklahoma and redbud trees are very prolific and they are one of our favorites.  My husband passed on in 2009 about three weeks before his 87th birthday.  As redbuds were his favorite, the kids and I planted one in his memory on his birthday in our side yard.  It was just a three foot stick with a couple of small branches coming out of it.  Nine years later, it is about 15 feet tall and about 8 feet wide.  It is the most gorgeous tree in the spring when it blooms and is a good shade tree in the summer.

I stayed up close to midnight last night reading "The Address" and couldn't keep my eyes open so will finish it today. I am going to look for "The Dollhouse".

For those of you who like Christian fiction, Karen Kingsbury has two new books coming out.  "When We Were Young" comes out October 16 and "Best Family Ever" which will be published 2/15/19.

Mary
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 12, 2018, 12:07:10 PM
MaryTX - I Also remember your name, Redbud, from Senior Net. Did you post in the Books and Lit discussion, or maybe in Movies, Television, Music?  There were so many people on SN back then, compared to now.  We were all so much younger back then, and message boards and Chat Rooms, were new and exciting.  Now people seem to have moved on to sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

I'm glad you liked The Address.  It held my interest from the first page, and I would recommend it to any and all readers who look into this folder. I'm already planning to buy the book from Amazon, for a Christmas present for my daughter-in-law. :)

Maryc - Next up, The Library at the Edge of the World.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on September 12, 2018, 08:13:04 PM


Today there was an advertisement on my Kindle opening page for a free book once a month  for Amazon Prime members.    I looked over the offerings and chose this one.   I did enjoy All the Light You Cannot See and think this one will be as good though a different author.

The Ragged Edge of NightNovel by Olivia Hawker(https://www.seniorsandfriends.org/data:image/jpeg;base64,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) (https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q%3Dtbn:ANd9GcRssv5E3QMk100dd1ydJo38snJsLG12COEVOSpleXZqAQBZWqqP&imgrefurl=https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Ragged_Edge_of_Night.html?id%3DZf3hswEACAAJ%26source%3Dkp_cover&h=594&w=396&tbnid=TME53ta8yCtqiM:&q=The+Ragged+Edge+of+Night&tbnh=160&tbnw=106&usg=AFrqEzcxpLcxzrXHaKjc8D6uCB6019A_vQ&vet=1&docid=YHefygaUGFbgfM&itg=1&client=firefox-b-1-ab&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjRn7OF2LbdAhWd8oMKHe2wAKEQ_B0wEnoECAgQFA)
4.3/5 · GoodreadsFor fans of All the Light We Cannot See, Beneath a Scarlet Sky, and The Nightingale comes an emotionally gripping, beautifully written historical novel about extraordinary hope, redemption, and one man's search for light during the darkest times of World War II. Germany, 1942. ... Google Books (https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Ragged_Edge_of_Night.html?id=Zf3hswEACAAJ&source=kp_book_description)Expected on (https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-ab&q=the+ragged+edge+of+night+expected+on&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAOPgE-LVT9c3NEwzLjDPKcnL01LMTrbST8rPz9YvL8osKUnNiy_PL8q2Sq0oSE0uSU1RyM8DAJXaIB00AAAA&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjRn7OF2LbdAhWd8oMKHe2wAKEQ6BMoADAXegQICBAf): October 2018Author (https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-ab&q=the+ragged+edge+of+night+author&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAOPgE-LVT9c3NEwzLjDPKcnL05LJTrbST8rPz9YvL8osKUnNiy_PL8q2SiwtycgvAgDdka5MLwAAAA&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjRn7OF2LbdAhWd8oMKHe2wAKEQ6BMoADAYegQICBAi): Olivia Hawker (https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-ab&q=Olivia+Hawker&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAOPgE-LVT9c3NEwzLjDPKcnLU4JwM5KyTbKTzMu0ZLKTrfST8vOz9cuLMktKUvPiy_OLsq0SS0sy8osAIxw_Hj4AAAA&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjRn7OF2LbdAhWd8oMKHe2wAKEQmxMoATAYegQICBAj)Genres (https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-ab&q=the+ragged+edge+of+night+genres&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAOPgE-LVT9c3NEwzLjDPKcnL0xLOTrbST8rPzwYTVumpeUWpAFYQqHUmAAAA&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjRn7OF2LbdAhWd8oMKHe2wAKEQ6BMoADAZegQICBAm): Historical Fiction, Literary fiction, Adventure fiction
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 13, 2018, 06:53:05 AM
MaryC, I regularly borrow a book each month from Amazon's Lending Library. There is also Amazon Prime Reading which offers books free to read without the limit. And, of course, there is the monthly subscription to Amazon Unlimited which I don't subscribe to. I do, however, subscribe to Audible. The audio books come in handy, sometimes, when my eyes are too tired to read.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on September 19, 2018, 02:19:30 PM
It has been awhile since I found a book that I just could not put down. I miss so many authors from years back. Now this book sort of a lot like "The Girl on the Train" that was O.K but little hard to follow. The one I just read is "The Wife between Us." Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen wrote it. I never heard of them before. Don't find any other books by them. It had a long waiting list at our library so I took a chance and got on it. Its not one that you can just read a little and put down because you will loose what is happening. Be like me. read in a day and half. No cleaning done just stayed with it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 19, 2018, 03:25:43 PM
Most all of us here are familiar with "The Johnstown Flood of 1889".  Well, I am
reading, for my own edification, "Washed Away" by Geoff Williams, which tells the story of the Great Flood of 1913.  It was not only in one city or state, but involved
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin,Pennsylvania, Maryland, Michigan, New York, West Virginia, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri and Louisiana.  I had never heard of this "great flood".  The author writes in a very entertaining style, chronologically telling of how each area was affected, damage done, loss of life.  The book is 347 pages long, but moves so quickly.  I'm finding it very interesting, as he also outlines some of the reasons the flooding became so severe (the rain notwithstanding). How and where  the towns were built, lack of real dams, etc.    I think this is a book anyone would enjoy.  The little vignettes of townspeople trying, most in vain, to find a place to shelter when the water becomes like the sea rushing in.  He mentions that at one point the mississippi river became seven (7) miles wide!  I recommend this 2013 book.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 19, 2018, 05:00:12 PM
I never heard of that flood either, Tome. I must look into it. In the meantime, I am reading The Architect's Apprentice. Can't say that I find it all that interesting. Maybe it will pick up when it gets more into the architecture. Right now it involves the white elephent, Chote, and how Jahan got to be in Istanbul tending it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 19, 2018, 05:32:10 PM
JeanneP - My dil gave me a copy of The Wife Between Us, for my birthday.  I haven't read it yet, but now that you have recommended it, I'll start reading it, and see what I think.

Tome - I have never heard of the Great Flood of 1913 either.  So many states involved, it must have been catastrophic . . . especially for that point in time, when rescue efforts must have been ineffective, or even nonexistant.  Also rebuilding and starting over was far more difficult than it is today.  Washed Away, sounds like good read, and I plan to request it from the library.

MarsGal - Sounds like you're starting to like The Architect's Apprentice?  I haven't read any of the discussion/comments in SL as yet, but I will take a look. It didn't sound like a book that I'd like, but maybe you can convince me otherwise? :-\

I have a few library books here that I haven't opened yet. I'm not feeling enthusiastic about them, and can't remember where or when I heard about them?  One is a new book, that I probably saw recommended on Goodreads or Off the Shelf . . . The Golden State, by Lydia Kiesling.  The other is The Garden of Lost Days, by Andre Dubus, III.  He is the author of House of Sand and Fog, which is one of my very favorite novels, so I'm hoping I like this one as much?   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 20, 2018, 05:57:35 AM
Marilyne, I think the "Before the Master" section of The Architect's Apprentice, so far, is boring. I am hoping it gets more interesting when the book gets to the architect and Jahan's apprenticeship.

I am listening to Captain Vorpatril's Alliance which is another of the Vorkosigan series. I like Ivan (cousin of Miles). He is perpetually cheerful, tries really hard to be average guy, somewhat anxious to stay out of the line of fire and higher ranks that would bring extra attention and responsibilities, and plays the field but unlucky at finding a mate. His several comments and snide asides regarding his friend Byerly had my laughing out loud several times.

Also reading a scifi which is okay, but so far, not all that interesting. It involves Quantum physics which I always think of as some kind of cosmic joke and pretty much incomprehensible to me. It is possible I won't bother to finish it.

Continuing on with The Black Count, a biography of Alexander Dumas' father.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MaryTX on September 20, 2018, 09:14:51 AM
Good morning everyone.  I'm going to pick up "The Dollhouse" from the Library today and if it's as good as "The Address", it will be another late night tonight!

Mary
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 20, 2018, 10:43:46 AM
Marilyne, nice to know that "House of Sand and Fog" is one of your favorite novels.  I loved it too.  Didn't think the movie of it did it justice.  So many good performances in the movie though.  I thought the father, doing whatever work was necessary to keep up appearances was very uplifting.  The other stories, so, so sad.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on September 20, 2018, 12:18:02 PM
Has anyone here read "The Miniaturist"?  My PBS station is running it once a week and some of it seems gruesome to me.  I go to the library every Friday afternoon thanks to my son and I am thinking of checking it out.  I'd  like to hear from anyone who has read it and your opinion.

Thanks,
Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 20, 2018, 02:22:15 PM
SCFSue - I read up online about The Miniaturist, and knew right away that it was not the type of story that I would enjoy - either the movie or the book. I don't care for creepy, dark stories, so I decided to pass on the PBS show.  Most shows on PBS are good, but there are some that fall short.  Of course most people seem to like to read or watch scary stories with weird characters, which is why they're so popular right now.

Tome - I felt the same way about the movie of House of Sand and Fog. Ben Kingsley was perfect, but the rest of the cast was not well chosen, IMO.  The actress who played Kathy, was just not right for the part.  Never heard of her before or since??  Also, they changed the ending, which ruined it for me. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on September 20, 2018, 05:45:02 PM
Marilyne, thanks for the heads up about The Miniaturist.  If my library doesn't have it, I'll probably forget about it.  I was appalled at the first episode on PBS.  I find it easier to read about scary things than to watch them on TV!  TMI in my opinion!

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on September 21, 2018, 01:01:29 PM
Tome, interesting about the book about the 1913 flood.  My husband has all of his father’s genealogy records and we found a whole set of small photos of the 1913 flood in his hometown and Hancock Co Ohio.  One was of his 19 year old dad standing in front of the local drugstore.  A few years ago the local Historical Society was interested and we sent them copies.  A few were printed in the local paper.

I’ve been busy rereading books by Jane Austin.

Sue, when you read a book, you can always flip the page on anything that bothers you but not so easy when looking at movie.  Anything that I see stays too vividly in my mind and I’m very particular about what I watch.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 21, 2018, 04:25:40 PM
Jean - I feel exactly as you do.  If I see something evil or shocking in a movie or TV show, it stays with me for too long.  I just can't seem to shake the image . . . especially if it involves abuse of children, women or animals.  There seems to be so much of that type of programming on now, and it upsets me to think that children can, and do, watch those movies and TV shows.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 21, 2018, 05:04:40 PM
flajean, how nice that your hubby had photos from the Flood era.  I have really enjoyed reading this book, and learning about something I never even heard about.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 21, 2018, 05:12:17 PM
Something evil or shocking on TV or in movies...hmmm.  That would be just about every show or movie.  I, myself, do not watch what are termed  "horror" flicks.  Can't stand 'em.  Back in the, what, 70's when they had so many of the "screamer" movies, where mayhem was happening to groups of teenagers (Jamie Lee Curtis got her start in these), I didn't care for them.  One movie I saw that lingers with me today was the very first "Psycho".  I didn't sleep for weeks, and was a nervous wreck all through the night I first saw it, as were a couple of other gals who went together to see it.  Still don't like that one.   The other one was not a horror flick, but I'd have to look up the title.  It made me physically ill, as well as nervous.  We don't even have to go there!  I saw Stephen King's "Carrie" and that didn't have any effect at all, but I don't watch if it should come on TV.  "Shocking" - - well, if it offends me, I just change channels, and don't watch any more episodes.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 22, 2018, 06:55:58 AM
I dislike horror films too, including horror in space SciFi. When I was young I did watch some of the Vincent Price horror flix and, of course, Bela Lugosi's Dracula, a very old Frankenstein, and Gene Wilder's Young Frankenstein (comedy), and a couple of versions of The Mummy (which I didn't consider much of a horror). After than nothing unless you consider War of the Worlds or She as horror. The first I listened to and also saw the old movie. The second I read and thought I saw a very saw an old movie, but maybe not; the earliest movie listed in IMDB is 1965. I could have sworn there was an old black and white from earlier.

Ready to pick up at the library: The Cold Between by Elizabeth Bonesteel, John Scalzi's The God Engines.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 22, 2018, 10:17:47 AM
Marsgal, I watched those "old" horror films, especially liked the Vincent Price ones, since I liked him so much at the time.  Dracula never scared me, it was mostly funny, and the Mummy ones too.  What was it, hmmm, back in the 80's on TV there was a daily show that had a Vampire,  ohhhh I just remembered "Dark Shadows".  Used to watch that with my kids.  It bordered on the silly, with just enough suspense to keep us watching!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 22, 2018, 11:25:47 AM
Ah yes . . . Dark Shadows!  Brings back memories of my oldest daughter hurrying home from school with one of her girlfriends, in time to watch the show.  Of course I joined them! :D  Remember "Barnabas Collins"?  My daughter always insisted that she was going to some day name her daughter, "Angelique", after the main female character.  Of course she didn't! ha ha
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 22, 2018, 11:51:07 AM
Thanks, I couldn't think of the name Barnabas for anything!  My daughter did the same.  I was usually at work, but sometimes I made it home in time.  You know, my mother used to watch too, with daughter.  I don't know if she enjoyed it, probably thought it was silly.  But, hey, she watched As The World Turns and The Guiding Light, etc.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 22, 2018, 04:26:10 PM
My sister, Sue, was glued to the TV set when Dark Shadows came on. I didn't care for it, probably because it reminded me of soap opera with a twist. I know a lot of people liked the soaps.  Are they still so very popular? I despise them.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 23, 2018, 12:14:53 AM
MarsGal - Yes, "Dark Shadows", was called a gothic soap opera. The early Frankenstein movies from the 1930's were also gothic.  Stone buildings with spires, and dungeons, and the townspeople marching with torches! :yikes:  "Bride of Frankenstein", with Elsa Lanchester, was a real kick . . . also "Son of Frankenstein". They still play on TCM, a couple of times a year, and are fun to watch.  Not at all scary.

When "Silence of the Lambs", came out, we went to a theater to see it with my cousin and her husband. About midway through it, I got up and walked out, and waited in the lobby for it to be over.  Such a distasteful and horrifying film, IMO! Yes, I know it won all sorts of awards and acting honors, but it's just not for me.  Whatever it is that makes people enjoy being scared, I lack it. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on September 25, 2018, 08:44:28 PM
It is interesting to observe the people who really enjoy the horror movies and those that don't.    I have one DIL who really likes those and can't seem to get enough.    Like someone said here,  if I were to watch them,  some of those scenes would stay with me way too long and I would be checking behind all the doors and shower curtains constantly.  :yikes:      At the other end of the spectrum,   I'm not wild about the predictable ending stories either.   It seemed like the Hallmark theater got into the boy meets girl pattern of stories and you could tell the ending from the beginning.   I do like a story with some substance and a little tension is good but not the Ax murder or supernatural variety,  thank you very much!!    I'm about finished with the WWII story I've been reading titled The Ragged Edge of Night by Olivia Hawker.     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 26, 2018, 06:57:58 AM
I never got that spooked by horror stories. But my sister, who likes them, was a bit paranoid about insects. She would check her bed for creepy-crawlies before climbing in under the covers. My little sister and i had great sport with this on several occasions, much to her horror. I remember my little sis had a toy that molded soft plastic into small insect figures. You can guess Sue's reaction to climbing into bed only to have toes touch something soft and squishy not supposed to be there.

I can't say that I am all that interested in The Architect's Apprentice. I am much more interested in the background history and personal insights participants are posting, so I am skimming along on the book. Odd that I haven't felt compelled to dig up history, maps, photos, etc. for background myself. Maybe it is because Barb, et. al., have done a good job on their own.

I've been reading a couple of rather bland books. Several of which I dropped after a few chapters. My current read, The Cold Between by Elizabeth Bonesteel, is supposed to be a military scifi, but so far, seems more like a romance. The lead female character spends a lot of time ruminating over several former affairs, and has a mildly erotic encounter with a man who is/was a member of a group that is looked on with suspicion and bigotry. No real science, so far, in this book. The crew of the ship are on a first name basis, rarely, if ever, using their titles of command. If this is military, they are very lax with their protocols regarding, at the least, their chain of command. There are some odd goings on and a murder that may or may not be related to them that are just beginning to  cause concern. I'll read a little longer, but not sure I will finish it. This is the author's first novel and the beginning of a series.

Oh, yes, I tried to read John Scalzi's bizarre novella, only a little less than 140 pages, The God Engines. The story seems to be about faith, hypocrisy, testing faith.  Set on a spaceship which is apparently powered by a lesser god. The shipboard priest acts as what we could think of as a political officer making sure that the crew is adhering to their faith in the main god. The lesser god (along with other lesser gods on other ships) tries to rebel and suborn the crew. Much of the dialogue is between this lesser god, the priest and the captain of the ship. I stopped reading at page 37, but the darn book is calling me back. I actually picture the ship more like a galleon in the era of the Inquisition than that of a spaceship. So far, I have not discovered how the lesser god actually powers the ship. The book also might actually be interesting converted to a play.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 26, 2018, 02:28:29 PM
MarsGal - I haven't been following "The Architect's Apprentice", on SL.  The subject/story doesn't interest me, but Barb does such a good job when she leads a book discussion, that I'm sure she is making it interesting!  She seems to be able to dig up facts about whoever or whatever any story is about.   

Maryc - The time frame of "The Ragged Edge of Night", is one of my favorites for fiction or non-fiction, so I'll look for it at my library . . . also one that Tome requested last week, titled "Washed Away".

MaryTX - Let us know how you liked "The Doll House"? Was it as good as, "The Address"? It was not available at my local library, but I can probably get it from the county.

I did go to the library a couple of days ago, and got, "The Garden of Lost Days", by Andre Dubus, III.   After the first couple of pages, I realized that I read this book about 10 years ago! ::)  It's a fictionalized account of the men who came to the US, learned to fly planes, and were then responsible for 9/11 . . . the planned attack on the World Trade Center. It weaves true facts with a good fiction story, and is a very compelling read.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on September 29, 2018, 07:11:53 PM
It is like winter has arrived here today. I am now wearing warm flannel PJ. bundled up reading. My service man comes Wed. to see that furnace ready for winter but think will be using it tonight. Got a heater on at the moment. Will be down to 41 deg soon.
What a book I have just finished. Couldn't put it down. Never heard of the author before.B.A Paris.British writer but lives in France. Book Called"Bring me back" She has written 3 book and all 3 in Large Print. This one was written in 2018  Have ordered the other 2. Can't wait for them. Glad to see new writers still.

Been a busy week. Looking for to trade car or find one and sell my Honda Accord. Its ready to go.  Like loosing a good friend.
Next week going to try and get lots done before winter does get here.
Carpet cleaners Thur. Furnace Wed. Porch jet washed. It is going to be in the 80s for 2 days they say . Also need to go get flu shot.

Hope things have settled down for the people in the South. I hate thinking about the ones flooded out. Hope they get lots of help.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on September 30, 2018, 07:46:31 PM
Marilyne,  I hope you are able to find The Ragged Edge of Night.   There is an interesting surprise in the Historical Note and Author's Remarks at the end of the story.   

JeanneP,  Your description of yourself in your last post sounded very cozy AND WINTERY.  We have had quite cool nights and yes the furnace has been running some already.    There is a lot to do to get ready for winter.  Furnace, gutters and the garden has to be put to bed and outdoor decor and furniture put away.  Saturday was a nice day and I did get a lot done outside.   Your speaking of getting a new car is a big move.   I'm hoping that my 2014 Ford Escape  will last until I don't need a car anymore.   That was a big purchase but we were able to make the decision together and I wouldn't want to do it again myself. We always bought "Gently used cars",  but Al thought he would like one new car in his lifetime and we decided to do it and I'm glad we did.   He did enjoy it.  Good luck to you on your buying adventure!!

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on October 01, 2018, 09:41:26 AM
Good morning.  I am not driving now because of a bad fall I had 2 years ago.  However, I kept my 2010 Toyota Corolla and my son who lives near me uses it to take me to doctor's appointments, grocery store and library trips each week.  I only have about 50,000 miles on it and we're thinking it will last another 10 or more years at this rate.  This is my fifth Toyota and I must say they are very reliable.  We started out with Chevy's when we were first married (1958) as my uncle was a Chevy dealer, but had a real lemon back in the 70's and switched to Toyotas.  Some friends have suggested getting a new car, but since I'm not cleared to drive by myself, I'm just going to hang in with the one I have!

BTW, not being able to drive myself is the pits!
Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 01, 2018, 11:43:24 AM
Mary - I'm glad that your Al, had the satisfaction of buying and enjoying the one new car!  We've always bought "gently used cars" also, except for our last purchase a couple of years ago . . a brand new Toyota Camry.  We had a Camry before this one, that we drove for about 16 years or more?  This one will last that long, I am sure. 

Jeanne - Looks like you're really getting organized for the coming Winter! Wish I could say the same, but I haven't done a thing yet to prepare.  Our winter doesn't really start until after Thanksgiving.  It is starting to cool down at night, and we have had a couple of days in the low 70's, but I know we still have some 80's and 90's coming up in October.

Sue - Sorry you still are unable to drive, but I can see that would be dangerous for you, until you get that brace off of your leg.  When do you expect it to be removed? 

Mary - I finally ordered "The Ragged Edge of Night", and am expecting it by the end of the week.  I read a review online, and I can tell it's story I'm going to like. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 01, 2018, 07:03:33 PM
SCFSue,   I'm sorry to hear that you are still "sidelined" from your accident.  I've heard many people talk about the limitations of not driving.   We have been so fortunate to be so mobile all these years and then to be grounded has to be a huge change.   I think that subconsciously I have been preparing myself for that time but I did that also for the death of Al but it is never the same when it really happens, is it??  We are lucky in our community to have a van service provided by our Town for shopping, medical and hair care.   This is by appointment and many complain that they often have to wait to be picked up to go back home,  but it certainly beats not having transportation at all.    I'm glad that your son is able to  take you to the places you need to go.   When I think about it, it kind of works out doesn't it that by the time we reach this point in life our children are beginning to retire and have just a little more time to help when needed.    ;)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 16, 2018, 06:40:45 PM
I'd like to recommend a Best Seller, that I thoroughly enjoyed reading . . . Crazy Rich Asians,  by Kevin Kwan.  It’s already been made into a movie, and has been breaking box office records for the past couple of weeks.  It’s the first time that a film with an all Asian cast, has been such a moneymaking success, and I can see why, as the story is a good one. 

It's highly entertaining, informative, funny, and a real eye opener !   It gives you a glimpse into the lifestyle of the extremely wealthy families in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia. I’m very interested in seeing the movie now.  I know it will be a good one!

Other books that I’ve read the past couple of weeks, are:
The Golden State, by Lydia Kiesling:  This is a unique and interesting story. An American woman, is married to a Turkish man, who has been detained in Turkey, due to new regulations and restrictions, etc. etc.  So she is alone and lonely in San Francisco, with her 18 month old daughter. The baby goes to day care, and the woman works at a good, high paying job. One day, she suddenly leaves work, picks up the baby, and begins driving to her grandparent home, in a tiny community up in Northern California, in the high desert.  It's really just a double-wide trailer, but it's where she spent much of her happy youth, and she feels like she needs to be there at this time.  The basic story is about the things that happen, while she is there . . . the people she meets, and the community itself.

Transcription, by Kate Atkinson:  I thought I would like this book, because I've liked others by this author.  However, it was one of those stories that I just could not get into at all.  I kept picking it up and putting it down, and finally I put it down for the last time.  Too many books out there, to stick with one that you aren't enjoying.

The Ragged Edge of Night, by Olivia Hawker.  I got it from the library a few days ago, and will likely start reading it tonight or tomorrow.  It was recommended here, by Maryc, so I think I'm going to like it.  We usually like the same books! :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on October 16, 2018, 07:46:08 PM
Marilyne,  I just put a hold on the e-book of "Crazy Rich Asians".  I am #243 and the library has 33 copies of the e-book.  Do you think I'll remember why when I finally get it?  ;)

A friend and I are trying to find a mutually convenient time to see the movie.  It's been playing locally for quite a while and I'm hoping we can manage to get there before it goes off.

I'm not reading anything recommendable right now.  Have several things on hold and am slowly inching to the top of the list on some of them.  Others may be like CRA - hopefully in my lifetime!

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 17, 2018, 07:24:21 AM
I finished John Scalzi's Head On the other day. Even though the story revolves around a sport, I enjoyed it. Head On is the second in his Haden's Syndrome series (the first is Lock In)  The stories revolve around the victims of an epidemic of major proportions who became paralyzed to the point of not being able to move or communicate or were partially recovered victims. Enter the direct brain/computer connection, human-form robots which gives them the ability to interact with normal people, and a special internet area set up for Haden's victims to communicate with each other. The main character is a Haden's victim who is also an FBI agent assigned to the Bureau of Haden Affairs. He and his partner investigate various Haden related crimes. I do hope Scalzi writes a few more in this series.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 17, 2018, 02:41:31 PM
Hello all,   Life has been moving at a breakneck speed lately.   So much to do and so little time!!! :)    I have been reading some  but finding that when it is time for reading that my eyes and brain seem to think it's time to sleep.   The book I am reading just now is one of a series called The Vatican Chronicles.   The book title is The Mystery of Julia Episcopa by John I. Rigoli and Diane Cummings.   It has quite a bit of biblical history woven into it.   Again it was another referred to me by my brother who is one who enjoys history.    I'm about halfway through and it has held my attention pretty well so far.    "The plot thickens."  Along with reading for pleasure, I've continued to follow up on some of the HOOPLA books on bereavement.    Those books I read in bits and pieces.    For anyone interested in such,  I have a very good one right now called Grief Reflections, A Quiet Book of Comfort by Bobbie Baker.  I'm considering buying this book as the chapters are short and it would be a nice book to turn to for short meditations.   She has a very nice style.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on October 17, 2018, 03:35:54 PM
MaryC, if you could PM me with some more titles on Bereavment, I would appreciate it. I think I have exhausted my local library branch's holding on that subject.  Hope you are "dealing" well with this new form of living.  I understand about the reading at night, my eyes think they're supposed to close and let me go to sleep!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on October 17, 2018, 04:14:08 PM
MaryC,   I can get Hoopla but have stuck with Epub.   How is it different from that and Overdrive?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 17, 2018, 04:29:31 PM
Hello CallieOK,  I haven't used Epub but tried Overdrive and found that books that I search always seem to be at libraries where my card is not valid,  like in Canada or in another part of the state.   I'm not sure what my problem is with that so I have just continued to use HOOPLA as it serves me well.   :thumbup:    I don't think that there is a lot of difference between the programs just what's available for the user where they are.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 18, 2018, 07:13:35 AM
I heard about Hoopla from the Free Library of Philadelphia. FLP subscribes to both Overdrive and Hoopla. My local library system only participates on Overdrive. I don't think lets us borrow movies or music online like Hoopla does. I haven't tried to sign up for Hoopla yet to see if I can borrow through my FLP card.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on October 18, 2018, 11:47:32 AM
I can borrow books from the OKC metro library (my local library) through Kindle, OverDrive and Epub without signing up for any specific one.  I would need to sign up for Hoopla and had forgotten it includes movies and music.  Probably wouldn't use it as much.

The library continually adds newly published books but, of course, the waiting list for some 2018 publications is very long.


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MaryTX on October 18, 2018, 12:06:08 PM
Marilyne, I was disappointed with THE DOLLHOUSE and didn't finish it.  I got close to halfway and asked myself why was I continuing to read it when I couldn't get interested in it.

I'm now reading Karen Kingsbury's newest WHEN WE WERE YOUNG.  I really enjoy reading all her books.

I'm #10 on the reserve list for Nicholas Sparks' EVERY BREATH and #29 for CRAZY RICH ASIANS.

Callie, I get on the library's reserve list sometimes even before a book has been published but ordered by the library. Sometimes I'm pretty low on the list and other times I'm on top or close :).   

Mary   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 18, 2018, 01:17:00 PM
MaryTX - I didn't like The Doll House either!  Like you, I thought it might get better, but I don't have the patience anymore to forge ahead on a book, if I'm not enjoying it.  Too many good ones out there to choose from.  Karen Kingsbury, is a name I don't recognize, but I'll put a hold on When We were Young, and also look on line at her other selections.

MarsGal - Did you finish The Architect's Apprentice, for the SL book discussion?  I didn't get the book and follow along as I sometimes do, but I have looked in a couple of times at the comments. I doubt that I would have stuck with it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 18, 2018, 03:55:59 PM
No, I didn't finish it Marilyne. The story (but not the historical background) didn't appeal to me. It took too long to get to the architectural stuff. I saw someone posted that the ending was a bit much.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on October 18, 2018, 05:09:13 PM
I stopped trying on "The Architect's Apprentice" after just a few days.  Book didn't hold my interest and neither did the discussion.   I don't think I'm cut out for the in depth analyses and references to/for other reading. 

Mary and Marilyne, so sorry neither of you liked "The Doll House". 

What were you expecting that disappointed you, Mary?   
(BTW,  I sometimes put a hold on books the library doesn't have yet - and have recommended a few others, some of which they bought.

What did you not like that made you run out of patience, Marilyne?   

I'm #8 on the waiting list for "The Masterpiece" by the same author.  Maybe it will be better.

Have finally concluded some business issues that had been hanging over my head desk for several weeks.  Fingers crossed that I'll now to be able to get back to some good reading time.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 18, 2018, 07:32:47 PM
Callie - I knew I was going to like The Address, before the end of the first chapter.  I’ve always been fascinated with The Dakota, and was anxious to read about it (knowing that the story was historical fiction of course). Although it was a little "far out" at times, I though it was a very compelling story.

I had also heard and read a lot about, The Barbizon, when I was a young woman in the 1950's.   I remember thinking, way back then, about how wonderful it would be to live there.  I think I was expecting something entirely different from, The Doll House?  Maybe more of a standard "chick lit", romantic '50's love story, with lots of complications??  Not sure, but I just didn't like the way it was heading.  I probably didn't give it enough of a chance?? :-\
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MaryTX on October 18, 2018, 08:02:43 PM
Callie, I agree with Marilyne.  I loved THE ADDRESS from the beginning but just couldn't get into THE DOLLHOUSE.  I've always thought the Barbizon was an interesting place from what I have read about it.  I probably quit too soon also but there are many books I want to read.

Mary
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on October 18, 2018, 08:56:33 PM
I wished the author had picked something other than "seedy jazz clubs" as a contrast.  Maybe she thought the tenements and the posh Upper East Side had been overdone.  (She may have had a point!)

Onward and Upward!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on October 20, 2018, 12:28:38 PM
my latest read is “Mind Unraveled” by Kurt Eichenwald.  Kurt is a reporter with Newsweek and it is about his struggle with epilepsy.  It is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time.  I’ll never forget when I was around 10 years old and was playing a board game with my friend and she suddenly had a bad epileptic seizure.  Her mother was just so calm and told me I’d better run along home.  I was frightened and told my mother that Margaret had a fit.  My mother said “she has epilepsy, Jean, and she’ll be ok”.  I’ll never forget that.  Some things are just burned into our memories.

Anyway, the book is well written. When we are healthy and our children are healthy, we don’t think often enough of families that struggle with disabilities of all kinds and how tough it can be to try and live a regular life.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 20, 2018, 04:25:25 PM
I finished reading Jonathan Moore's Dark Room, which I liked just as much as The Night Market. I am skipping The Poison Artist because it involves serial killings. Moore switches from following a Homicide Detective in that one to a Medical Examiner.The next one, Blood Relations, looks interesting. It follows a PI. All of these books are set in San Francisco, except that the PI in Blood Relations travels to Boston.

Now I am reading Beryl Markham's West with the Night. She wrote very eloquently, almost poetically, about Africa.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 20, 2018, 09:34:32 PM
FlaJean,  Your latest read sounds like a good one.     Like you, I've thought of the struggle of families with a child with epilepsy or other chronic problems.  They are special people!!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 21, 2018, 12:11:18 AM
MarsGal - How are you liking, West With the Night, by Beryl Markem?  I read it many years ago, and thought it was very good.  Another book, with a similar theme, is On your Left the Milky Way, by Dorothy Kaucher. Back in the'50's, when I was in college, Kaucher came to the Journalism Dept, specifically to talk to girls who were interested in writing.  About seven of us sat around all afternoon talking with her - not only about her book, but about women writers, and the future of women in journalism. She was a very inspirational woman. Now that I'm remembering her after all these years, I think I'll look on Amazon, and see if they have "Milky Way", and if so, I'd like to buy a copy.  I already looked on my library website, and they don't have it there.

FlaJean - Mind Unraveled, sounds like an excellent book.  I can understand why you would have a special, personal feeling about the subject.  I would like to read it, and will check to see if my library has a copy.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 21, 2018, 05:52:04 AM
Looks like Kaucher's books are all out of print, but you can still find them in the used book market.

So far, I like West With the Night very much.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 28, 2018, 08:17:56 PM
I'd like to recommend a book that I just finished.    Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris.    Here is a brief summary:
  Inspired by an actual newspaper photograph that stunned the nation, Sold on a Monday is a powerful novel of love, redemption, and the unexpected paths that bring us home. From New York Times bestselling author Kristina McMorris comes another unforgettable novel inspired by a stunning piece of history.
Hope you will enjoy reading it as I did.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on October 29, 2018, 12:58:57 PM
Another book, in a similar vein to Sold On Monday, is "Before We Were Yours" by Lisa Wingate.  It is also very good, and deals with a true story, in basically the same time frame as "Sold".  I recommend it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 29, 2018, 02:00:30 PM
Mary and Tome - My favorite genre for reading, is fiction, based on a true historical event from the past. So I know I'll like "Sold On a Monday".  "The Ragged Edge of Night", falls into that same category.  Mary, I really enjoyed it, and AJ is reading it now and also likes it. 

Tome, I read "Before We Were Yours", and liked it so much, that I bought a copy for my dil, for her birthday.  She also liked it, and passed it along to her sister.  We talked about it in this discussion about six months ago?  I can't recall who else read it, but I think it was MaryTX and Maryc?  Definitely one of my favorite books this year.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on October 29, 2018, 03:48:39 PM
Marilyne, I had a wee thought that we had at least talked about  "Before..." but wasn't sure.  It is such a pain to go back and back trying to find where you talked about something! But, again, if I didn't say so before, glad you liked "Before We Were YOurs".
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 29, 2018, 04:35:52 PM
I'm quite certain that I did read Before We Were Yours quite a while ago.    Now after reading the summary to refresh my poor memory,   I think I'll read it again.    These stories about children taken from their parent in hard times are so sad and yet the story that goes along draws you into the book.    My MIL told me long ago that the Visiting Nurse who helped their family during those times offered to adopt my SIL who was the only girl in the family.   Of course Mom C. wouldn't let one of her children go especially her only daughter.  Some of the boys may have given her some second thoughts as they grew into teen years!!! ::)   In later years even before I met my husband the nurse lived in my neighborhood.    She did have an adopted daughter and the girl had a good life with the family.    It is sad that more of those stories didn't have happy endings.
Last evening I started a library  book called The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin.  I started reading kind of late and it seemed a little hard to read but the story is beginning to come into focus.   I'll continue.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 03, 2018, 06:11:03 PM
Unsheltered, a new novel by Barbara Kingsolver: I’m struggling with this book. I want very much to like it, but I’m having a hard time. The first chapter was very good, and I was looking forward to reading more . . .  but then came chapter two, and I started to lose interest.  I read more after that, but I’m not sure if I’ll stick with it or not?

Tome - I know you like Kingsolver, so I’m wondering if you have this on your wait list?  (I waited a long time for it, from the library,). I’m most anxious to know what you think of it, and if you think I should give it more of a chance? 

I believe that those people who know and review books are correct, when they say that every writer has one good book inside of them, and all of those that come after, (or before), the good one, fall short.  I think this is true of Kingsolver. The Poisonwood Bible, is one of my Top Ten favorite books of all time.  It is a story that captured me from the first page, and didn't disappoint as the book moved forward.  However, other novels by her, have been mediocre, or absolutely terrible. (IMO of course). 

So, if I decide to give up on that one, I have Telex From Cuba, waiting for me.  This novel by Rachel Kushner, is another one in my favorite genre . . . recent historical fiction.  It's about an American family in the 1950’s, living in an American colony in Cuba, where they operate a sugar beet plantation for a US based fruit company. It sounds boring, but it’s far from it.  As you can tell, I read it once before, about five years ago.  It’s worth reading again, and I think that most of you will agree with me, if you give it a chance.  it's most likely available on all the E-book sites, for very little. It was published in 2008.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on November 03, 2018, 06:14:49 PM
Marilyne, I will have Kingsolver's latest on my "wait list", but I have several others on that list, plus my book club readings.  I sometimes feel "bogged down" by one or another of the book club selections, and may start reading it, only to throw up my hands and say" do I really care about these people/this story?"  I have to moderate my next mystery club meeting, and it is a Charles Todd book (I know you don't read mysteries much). The series' are written by a man and his mother, who live in the U.S. in separate states (isn't that a hoot?).  Anyway, the book I am doing is one of their Bess Crawford, nurse/amateur sleuth, and focuses on WWI.   I've not read one from this series till now.  The Inspector Ian Rutledge series, I have read a couple of.  We'll see how this one floats!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 04, 2018, 06:11:38 AM
I recently started the audio book version of Adrian Goldsworthy's Augustus. I would have preferred print, but I have just about run out of room on my shelves and I couldn't resist the Audible price. Goldsworthy is one of my current favorite historians along with Mary Beard.

Goldsworthy recently wrote Vindolanda which, to my knowledge, is his first attempt at fiction. Vindolanda is a Roman garrison/fort located near Hadrian's Wall. It is on my wish list.

I stopped reading West with the Night, briefly, to read a rather short first of series SciFi by M. R. Forbes called Earth Unknown (Forgotten Earth series). I sometimes wonder how I get sucked into his books, but I do. His characters in both the series I've read (War Eternal was the other) are similar in some aspects. The main characters in both are flawed, framed for a crime they didn't commit, are seeking to right the wrong and save humanity in the meantime. The author makes use of clones in the one and "replicants" in the other. The clones/replicants are crucial to the story both as vehicles used to frame the main characters and for help in fighting against the bad guys.

Now, back to West with the Night. Her vivid description of her youth living in East Africa and the local people and wildlife she interacted with are well worth reading.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 07, 2018, 06:27:22 PM
I had the pleasure of a nice telephone conversation with maryc, on Saturday night. She and her daughter Debby, are visiting relatives in San Francisco for about a week, before returning home to New York.  The weather has been warm and sunny since they arrived in SF, and it will continue on until the end of the week.  I hope they are having a great time, enjoying all the sights and activities here in the Bay Area.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 10, 2018, 04:46:13 PM
Debby and I are back home and it was such a pleasure to speak with Marilyne on the phone.   You are right Marilyne about the traffic in S.F.   We were happy to ride the buses and trolley and leave the driving to the pros!   There is so much to see there.   We were very handy to Golden Gate Park and spent parts of a few days there just exploring.   The vegetation is so different from our colder climate.   We did lots of walking and hill climbing.....I mean serious hills  :D but it was all well worth the effort.  One of the things we did was to find the Tiled Steps and climb to the top.   They are quite interesting as are the succulent gardens all the way up on both sides.   As we came back down from Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill, we met a woman walking up carrying a long loaf of french bread under her arm.   We stopped to chat and learned that she lives up near the top and walks down and back up a couple times a week.   She was friendly and said that sometimes she thinks to call her husband for a ride back up but mostly doesn't do that.  We talked about what it would be like to carry your groceries up those hills to your kitchen.   ::)    Getting back to reality,  there are loads of leaves to be cleared from the lawn.   They have been slow in coming down but did just that while we were gone.   I did a partial job on the back yard today and hope for some dry weather another day to get to the front.   It's always good to come back to your own surroundings!   Meanwhile I've been slowly working my way through The Orchardist.    It's an interesting tale but slow moving for me.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 11, 2018, 01:57:57 PM
Mary - Welcome back home! I'm glad you enjoyed GG Park . . . a person can spend days exploring the beauty of that park.  The deYoung museum is gorgeous, as in the Conservatory of Flowers. I've never visited The Tiled Steps. I remember back when they were being built, and we always intended to go . . . but now, I doubt that we will ever have the chance to see them, as well as lots of other sites that I missed over the years. 
Did you walk across the GG Bridge? :yikes: How about the touristy spots like Lombard Street?  You told me that you had been to Chinatown, so you likely also went to Fisherman's Wharf?  I haven't been there in at least fifteen years or longer, but I hear that it's not a pleasant place to visit anymore? 

I'm glad you and Debby had a good time, and I'm sure that it was a nice vacation for you both.  You came at just the right time, weather wise, and it's fortunate that you left here when you did.  The thick smoke from the wildfires going on now in the Northern part of the state, has engulfed the entire Bay Area, so it's difficult to breathe, and would have been impossible for you to enjoy all the lovely sights.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 11, 2018, 07:14:14 PM
Marilyne,  No we didn't walk across GG bridge but did drive across a couple of times.   It is quite a structure.   We did go to Fisherman's Wharf on our first day there.    We had been to the Health Club with our granddaughter in the morning and she was working in the afternoon so we had lunch with her at the Ferry Building and then took the Streetcar down to the Wharf.    It is very very touristy but we did find the sea lions and a couple of the more noteable spots.   My first impression was that it reminded me of the Clifton Hill area in Niagara Falls, Ontario where the souvenir shops stand elbow to elbow along with the carnival atmosphere.  We did get to Lombard Street.  That was one of our more strenuous walks.    We were on one of the open air sight seeing buses that day and decided to get off on the west side of the crooked part of Lombard St and walk to the top and then down the curvy hill.    I'm sure the bus driver and tour guide laughed when we got off there.   It was several blocks   all up steep hills to the top of the street. :D    Then of course it was downhill from there.   It was worth the effort and we congratulated ourselves on making the climb and recovering.  You are right about the Conservatory of Flowers....beautiful!!!   We planned on going to the California Academy of Science in the park one day with our DIL and grandson but she got sick and couldn't go so we passed on that.  We did however visit the Japanese Tea Garden one morning and that was peaceful and beautiful.    The story of that would be a sad but intersting book.  I'm sure it is on the internet.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 16, 2018, 02:03:43 PM
Okay, time for an update.

I finished West with the Night. It was well worth reading. Still listening to Augustus, but I have added my very first Agatha Raisin novel courtesy of Amazon's online stream of a small selection of free audio books for Prime members. It is read by none other than Penelope Keith, and it is super to listen to. Huckleberry Finn lost out to it, temporarily, because 1) I read that long ago, and 2) because it is longer. BUT, it is read by Elijah Wood, so I will be getting to it in the future.

We will be starting on Unit III of Latin for Americans on Monday. Yippee, Cicero!

I see my last post went all odd with the upgrade. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on November 16, 2018, 03:02:28 PM
Marking my spot since I had to sign in again and don't see any way to have a list just of Forums in which I've posted.

Currently reading my way through the latest Alexander McCall-Smith's books in various series.  I'm #1 for some books I've been waiting on for a long time.  Wanna bet they'll all show up at once?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 16, 2018, 04:05:41 PM
Hi Callie - This new Format is The Pitts, as far as I'm concerned. Nothing we can do about it, so we'll just have to try to learn all over again and "soldier on". ::) Alexander McCall Smith sounds good to me right now. Maybe reading about the #1 Ladies Detective Agency, would put me in a better mood? :-\

MarsGal - Huck Finn, read by Elijah Wood, does sound temping. I'd like to give that a listen also, if I ever figure out how to download audio books on my Kindle or on my phone?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 17, 2018, 03:26:39 PM
Well, here we go again.....it's almost like starting over!!   The layout looks nice.   I wonder what brought this about.
       I did go to the library this week and brought home a book titled The Underground River by Martha Conway.  https://www.amazon.com/Underground-River-Novel-Martha-Conway/dp/1501160206    It has been an enjoyable read for the first 100 or so pages.
     I imagine that everyone is getting ready for Thanksgiving. Today I got the apples for pies and will make a batch of crust early this week to avoid the last minute rush.  Did everyone but me know that postage is going up again at the end of January?   I bought some Christmas stamps this week and the clerk advised me that this increase will be five cents, the largest ever. Last time I missed getting more Forever stamps by just a few days.  I won't get stung this time.  :-[
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 19, 2018, 12:00:48 PM
Mary - You and Debby visited San Francisco at just the right time. The wildfires are still burning in the Northern part of the state, and the smoke is drifting down here to the SF Bay Area, and just sitting here and not moving. Gray and ugly, and difficult to breathe. It's been 10 days or more now, and not expected to change until Wednesday. Most schools are closed, football games cancelled, etc. Everyone is wearing face masks, or staying home. We're all complaining a lot, and feeling guilty about it, because of all the thousands of people who are missing, and those who are homeless and suffering, in the town of Paradise. (still burning!)

I have a stack of interesting books here.  I finally finished Telex From Cuba, which is a good novel that explains the rise of Fidel Castro, in Cuba in the late 50's and early 1960's. The fictional story of the American family running the sugar plantation at that time, is based on fact, and is a fascinating story in itself.

I also have Truly, Madly, Guilty, a bestseller by Liane Moriarty.  I liked her last book, Big, Little, Lies, that was made into a good movie starring Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon.  I won't get to this new one for awhile, because I want to read Sold On Monday, first.  Mary, I think you recommended it a while back, or maybe it was Tome or Callie? 

Mary and Tome - Thanksgiving will be sad day for both of you this year. I'm glad that you both have loving and supportive daughters, who will be there with you over the Holidays.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on November 19, 2018, 12:52:08 PM
Marilyne, must have been Tome who recommended "Sold On Monday". I've read the other two and will look for it
.
Am just about through reading all of Georgia Bockoven "Beach" books and don't have any others waiting. 
I had decided to work backwards from the most current one on a list of Danielle Steele books so may borrow another one of hers until something I have on Hold comes in.
However, I've noticed I'm #1 for several books on my Holds.  Wanna bet they all show up at once about the time I start the D.S. book?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 19, 2018, 02:33:17 PM
Callie, your mention of D.Steele, reminds me that I recorded a Hallmark Christmas movie, titled Debbie Macomber's Trading Christmas, that I might watch this afternoon. I usually like her stories, and I especially like her adult coloring books! :D

Did you ever get Crazy Rich Asians? If so, what did you think of it?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 19, 2018, 04:37:06 PM
I did recommend Sold on Monday.   It was a good read with a few side plots to add interest.  The Underground River is going well.  There is a little tension added just now as the main character gets involved in the Abolitionist movement.
      We were lucky to have our trip to S.F. over just as the fires began.   I feel so badly for the large number of people who have lost homes, family members and everything in these fires.   And to think of the large number of people still missing.   I would hope that many have escaped to some place where they aren't able to communicate but that is probably wishful thinking.  I spoke to a woman last week who had lived near Paradise, CA and said that her former home is gone as well as those of some friends from there.   That kind of brought it close to home.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 23, 2018, 01:57:50 PM
Good morning to all book lovers. :)
I hope you all spent a pleasant Thanksgiving, with family or friends?  Ours was quiet, but nice.  All grown-ups now . . . no children or babies.  I mentioned in another folder, about how I miss the old days of the Children's Table, for holiday meals. I loved it when I was a child, and my brother and I and our cousins, had a table all to ourselves! My kids liked it also, and insisted on continuing with the Children's Table, up through their teens!

It's very quiet here today, and I will stay put, because I dislike going anywhere on Black Friday.  We have plenty of leftover food, and lots of good books to read and movies for me to watch.  I didn't open a book over the past couple of days, so I still have "Sold on Monday", and "Big, Little, Lies", here to read.  I intend to have a relaxing day, and I hope you all do too!  :thumbup:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on November 23, 2018, 05:26:56 PM
Sure enough....before I had time to even open the Danielle Steel book, 3 of my Holds were automatically checked out to me!
I could stop the automatic checkout but it's so handy.
I moved the DS book to the wish list so I won't have to hunt for it.  Not putting anything else on Hold until I catch up.

Had a lovely Thanksgiving day with #2 son/dil and her family.  Just 8 of us as other son and family were with her large family.  They were "local" but too far for me to also go there and be home before dark.

Found 3 tv specials to watch last night and my Oklahoma Sooners have a football game tonight.  Don't think I've ever known of a college game on a Friday night.

Granddaughter coming for lunch tomorrow so I may have another Hold checked out before I find time to read.  :o
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 24, 2018, 06:56:23 AM
I had a lovely meal with my sister, BIL, and three good friends on Thursday. I even made room for a piece of German Chocolate Cake.

Now that I have finished Nomad, the first of Matthew Mather's New Earth series, I am casting about for another Ebook read until I can borrow the next of the New Earth series. For the most part, I enjoyed the book. The author went to great pains to get the science right, both the astronomical and the climate and geological changes wrought by the devastating encounter of the solar system with the Nomad object. He even has a YouTube video showing our solar system, the Nomad object and its' trajectory, and finally the changes in the planetary orbits. I won't tell you what they think the object is; that would spoil part of the fun. The only problem I had with the story was that several of the women showed not a lot of common sense in a few places. All in all, it is a good mix (well balanced?) of science and romance, with some adventure and criminal activity mixed in. 

It must be a book break week, since I haven't listened to more Augustus for a few days, and have only just read a few paragraphs into a book which is on our Latin class reading list of background material. I am also having a hard time getting revved up to work on the Latin for Monday's class.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 24, 2018, 12:18:46 PM
MarsGal - I'll see if my library has Nomad.  I'm looking for something different for a change, as I can't seem to get interested in any of the three books I have here to read. All stories seem to have a familiar ring to them lately . . . like I already read them at some time in the past?  I probably did! ::) My memory is not what it used to be.

Callie - I'm sure you're enjoying your lunch today with your granddaughter.  Is this g-daughter Ellen, who now lives in NYC?  If it's not too late, be sure to tell her that I'm looking forward to seeing her in Mrs. Maisel,  As I said above - not much reading going on here. Mostly just sitting in front of the TV, scrolling, and watching whatever looks good.

Since my daughter Shelley, and Gr-daughter Claire left yesterday, I've been taking it easy, and resting up from Thanksgiving.  They decorated the Christmas tree for us, before they left, so that was a big help. I don't think we've ever had our tree all finished, with lights twinkling, this early in the season.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on November 24, 2018, 03:12:32 PM
Marilyne,  No, this is granddaughter Emily (Ellen's sister) who is studying for her Chiropractic Doctorate near Kansas City.  She has come and gone - on her way back to K.C., thank goodness. It's about a 4 1/2 hour drive - quite of bit of it in flat, open country.  Blizzard conditions are predicted for K.C. area tomorrow.  Don't know when her roomie expects to be back but it's much better for Em to be by herself in a cozy warm apartment than by herself in a car on a snowy highway. I did send sandwiches and cookies with her...just in case.

I planned to put away Fall/Thanksgiving decorations today but after staying up to "help"  ;)  my Sooners barely beat West Virginia,  I'll probably read and snooze.

One of the newly arrived books is "A Thousand Voices" by Lisa Wingate.  It's about a young woman of Choctaw heritage who was adopted into a white family and is searching for her biological ancestors.  It's set in the part of Oklahoma in which I grew up and I'm enjoying seeing familiar place names - as well as the Choctaw history the author has accurately worked into the story.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Sandy on November 24, 2018, 03:38:38 PM
Good Saturday Afternoon. 

I also like Danielle Steel books
to listen to when I go to bed
at night.    I set my timer to 1 hour so I
don't miss much if I fall asleep.  When
I wake up for my night time stroll I
set the timer again and go on listening.
Sandy
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on November 25, 2018, 07:16:46 PM
Callie. That sounds like a book I would enjoy. Will check library
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 26, 2018, 07:03:36 PM
Last evening I had a good post ready and lost it.   I shut the computer down and went to bed. :(
I wanted to comment on some of the posts here.   CallieOK,   I like the sounds of the Lisa Wingate book and will look for it soon.   I've enjoyed her writing.
     I do recommend The Underground River.  I took it back to the library today but it was too early to get inside to look for another  book, possibly the Wingate one mentioned here.
     Just finished one that I borrowed from Debby's library.   It was a Karen Kingsbury book called Between Sundays.   A predictable little story though had a good message about the plight of foster children when they reach the age of 18 if they have not been adopted by that time.  Also it was good timing as the story was set in San Francisco and mentioned several places that we had just visited recently.  Otherwise those places would not have meant much to me.   Today I picked up another at a little bookshelf in the local Diner we like to go to.   From what I've read already it is a newer publishing of an older story.  Actually it is Book 1 of a series but I'll see how the story goes.   Again it is a California story about a family who followed the Gold Rush.   This is another favorite subject for me.  I'm posting this before I lose it again.   :D
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 28, 2018, 01:23:39 PM
I haven't done much reading the past couple of weeks. I was blaming it on Thanksgiving, but that was over almost a week ago, so I can't use that excuse any longer. I think I need a new, comfortable chair, but that's not going to be happening any time soon!  In the meantime, I'll try to "plump" up my old chair, with pillows and a back cushion!  It's raining today, which always puts me in a reading mood, so that should help me get started again.

Callie - your Lisa Wingate book, A Thousand Voices, sounds good. I really liked her latest book, Before We Were Yours.  It would be high on my list of favorite books that I read in 2018.  I have one of her early novels here to read - Good Hope Road.

Maryc - I still have Sold On Monday, sitting here waiting for me.  I haven't opened it yet.  The Underground River, also sounds good, but I'm going to have to read the books I have here, before checking out any others.   What's the name of the book about the California Gold Rush?  I'd like to add that one to my list.

Sandy - good to see you posting here.  I think it was MarsGal, who said that she also listens to audio books, when she can't sleep at night. Sounds like a great idea.  I'm such a poor sleeper, and I know that listening to a story would be very relaxing for me.  I used to listen to overnight talk radio, but those programs are no longer available.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 30, 2018, 07:46:32 PM
Marilyne,    I had to laugh at myself after I posted last time.   I was still upset about losing the first post and just wanted to get that one off so I neglected to include the title of the book. ::)    The book is the first of a series titled  My Father's World by Michael Phillips and Judith Pella.  I don't know whether I'll find the following ones or not but this one is  pretty good.  The style of writing almost makes me think it is written for young readers though it doesn't mention it.  It is easy reading and holds my interest because of the series of events.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 03, 2018, 11:51:16 AM
Mary - I'll add My Father's World, to my library list.  Not a lot of recent novels written about the Gold Rush, that I can think of? The oldies by Mark Twain and Brett Harte, are always fun to reread, but no newer ones that some to mind?

I finally finished Sold On a Monday, and I liked it a lot! I think I liked Before We Were Yours, a little better. They had a similar theme, but each written from a different perspective. I would recommend both books.

Today I plan to start reading The Ragged Edge of Night, by Olivia Hawker. I know that someone recommended it in this folder, but I'll have to scroll back to find out who it was? It looks good, so I'm looking forward to reading it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on December 03, 2018, 12:12:15 PM
The book column in my Sunday newspaper listed some biographies that sound interesting.  They are 2018 publications and, amazingly, were all available through the library e-book loans.  The ones listed in this column are usually snatched up by the time I get around to looking for them.

"My Days: Happy and Otherwise" by Marion Ross ("Mrs. C", the mom on "Happy Days"  I started this one last night.  Am liking the story but not yet sure how I feel about her!

"Jackie, Janet and Lee" by J. Randy Taraborerelli, about the former first lady, her mother and her younger sister.  I put this one on my Wish List and it will probably have to be "On Hold" by the time I get ready to read it.

"Eunice: The Kennedy Who Changed the World" by Eileen McNamara - about Eunice Kennedy Shriver.  Also put it on Wish List - probably more curious than interested  :)

"In Pieces" by Sally Field.  The column writer was giving suggestions for Christmas gifts and commented on this one, "Wrap it up with a DVD of "The Flying Nun" or a copy of "Smoky And The Bandit".

Need to limit my daytime reading time right now and hope I won't have any "just one more chapter" nights for a while.  ;) 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 04, 2018, 04:11:21 PM
Callie - I'd like to get, In Pieces, by Sally Field.  I do find celebrity memoirs or autobiographies, to be fascinating reading. Here are some that I have read and enjoyed, that you also might like:

My Life So Far, by Jane Fonda. What a sad childhood she endured.  Then came her movie career, and a mixed variety of husbands and other men. Her life with Roger Vadim and Ted Turner, are most interesting.  She also talks about the Vietnam incident.

What Falls Away, by Mia Farrow. Interesting childhood, growing up in Beverly Hills. Then her teen years, very sheltered, in European boarding schools. She writes about her marriages to Frank Sinatra and Andre Previn, and relationship with Woody Allen. This memoir was written right after the scandal broke, about Allen and her adopted daughter, so not much about that.

As I Am, by Patricia Neal.  A long time since I read it, but I do remember that it was mostly about her long-lasting affair with Gary Cooper, their breakup, and then her marriage to Roald Dahl.

Million Dollar Mermaid, by Esther Williams. Because of her "clean-cut, good girl" movie roles, I always thought her as the innocent type, with high morals. I was wrong! ::)

Intermission, by Anne Baxter. An excellent memoir! After winning the Academy Award for "All About Eve", she met and married an Australian man, and moved with him to a Sheep Station, somewhere in the outback of Australia. Her life there was unbelievably difficult. I would love to read this again. It's been at least 25 years since I read it, but worth reading again.  It's probably out of print, but I plan to check my library.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on December 04, 2018, 09:15:32 PM
I would like to read that again also. Intermission Let us know if you find it....
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on December 04, 2018, 11:03:33 PM
Thanks, Marilyne.  None were available in e-book loan except "My Life So Far".  I put it on my Wish List.
I was given an opportunity to recommend "What Falls Away" and did so.  The library often gets e-books it doesn't have that are recommended by a reader doing a search and will notify the reader when it becomes available. 
Had to chuckle when I typed Mia Farrow in the search space and "Rosemary's Baby" came up.  I guess she's mentioned in the Notes.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on December 05, 2018, 05:14:26 PM
My daughter was getting rid of some books and gave me Barbara Walter's memoir that was published in 2008.  It's almost 600 pages but it is interesting.  I'm about half way.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 05, 2018, 06:32:42 PM
This discussion about biographies has been interesting.  I read bios on occasion but not usually Hollywood celebs. 
Marilyne,   I read The Ragged Edge of Night a few months back and enjoyed the story. It really took you into the life of the German people at that time.    I thought that Sold on Monday was good because it involved the story of the careers of the newspaper people and the struggles they had, especially the young woman with a child. Thank goodness that the Women's Lib movement has made some things better for women in the workplace.   Daughter Debby loaned
me another book this week.   It is The Christmas Sweater by Glen Beck.   I wasn't a particular fan of his but this was a good little story for the Christmas season and had some really good messages woven into it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 06, 2018, 08:04:02 AM
I've been reading on biography, of and on (even thought it is very interesting) about Alexandre Dumas' father called The Black Count: Glory, revolution, betrayal and the real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss. Not only am I learning about the Count's military career, but something of the politics and how blacks were treated in France, pre and post revolution. The other biography I am in the middle of is an Audiobook, Augustus by Adrian Goldsworthy. Goldsworthy is an expert in military history and one of my current favorite historians. As a side note, Goldsworthy is trying his hand with historical fiction these days starting with his first book called Vindolanda(Roman Britain). It is in my TBR Ebook pile.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on December 06, 2018, 02:17:23 PM
This Morning I have watched the Funeral in Huston Tx. for George Bush. Lasted about hour and half. Was beautiful. The whole thing from the 3 hours yesterday . Don't think that will be another that will be so well done. Learned so much more about him. What a family he had.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on December 07, 2018, 10:10:18 AM
I watched the Bush funeral, too.  I am a Democrat and never voted for him or for his son who also served as President, but I admired Bush 1 because of his demeanor, honesty, and ability to work with the Congress.  I consider him a true American Hero.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 08, 2018, 02:23:52 PM
FlaJean - I read the Barbara Walters memoir. It was good - a real eyeopener.  I had no idea she came from such an unusual background. I think you will like it also. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on December 08, 2018, 06:16:52 PM
It is so cold here. Even the furnace has to be moved up. Going down to 11. Deg. Tonight.
Just going to wrap up in Afghan and watch TV. From 7 to 9 there is a 50s music show with the singers of that time. I should remember some of them.ber most will have passed.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 14, 2018, 12:50:29 AM
I've started a number of books in the past few weeks, and then quickly discarded them after a couple of chapters. I was beginning to wonder if there were any out there that could capture my interest, when I got a notice from the library that, Night of Miracles, by Elizabeth Berg, was waiting for me.

I've read most of her books over the years, and have liked them all. Her style, and the way she looks at life, suits me very well. Some of the characters in her stories have made a lasting impression on me - especially my favorite, We Are All Welcome Here.  Others that come to mind are Dream When You're Feeling Blue, Durable Goods, and Open House.
 
I was disappointed in her last book, The Story of Arthur Truluv, because I thought she "borrowed" too many of her characters from other well known authors. It was a nice book but was unoriginal, too predictable, and was not up to her usual standards.  I decided to go ahead and order Night of Miracles, in hopes that it would be better, and it definitely is. It's light reading, which is good for this time of year . . . so far nothing that tears at your heart, like some of her earlier books. I'm only about half way through, and I'm really enjoying it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on December 14, 2018, 11:48:25 PM
Are S&F using a new format here?  when I tried to get in, an unfamiliar screen showed up. Had to do "Search" and it showed a list of all the forums, and finally found this latest one for Library Bookshelf.  Is there something new I need to do?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 15, 2018, 12:22:19 AM
Tome - You caught on quickly to the new format! It is a little confusing at first, but they say it's good for us old folks to learn something new! ::) The main thing that a lot of us are doing, is making our font/type, a bit larger, because lots of members have a hard time reading the small print.  If you want to make yours larger, look up above the "smiley's" in the reply box, at the two blue A's.  The one that has the red arrow line on the side, will allow you to make your font larger. Click on it, and you can choose the size you want.  The one I'm using is the the size-3.

I'm happy to see you here - it's been a long time since you last posted. Please come back and tell us what you're reading, or watching on TV?  I know that Christmas will be very sad for you this year. I'm glad that you have your daughter to be with you.     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on December 15, 2018, 07:53:25 PM
Marilyn

I have tried that way to make mine larger 4 times but it will nit make mine larger. Way to small for me on high pad.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on December 15, 2018, 07:55:36 PM
Tried that 4 times to make mine larger . Will not work. Just to small.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on December 15, 2018, 07:57:15 PM
T
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 15, 2018, 11:35:15 PM
JeanneP - maybe you aren't writing your message between the two separate brackets?  Go to the Reply box, and above the line of Smiley Faces, you will see a box with two blue A's in it.  Click on the A with the red line on the left side. You will see numbers from 1 to 7, with 7 being the largest. If you click on one of those sizes, the number you selected will show up in your reply box. Then you begin writing between the two sets of  bracketed numbers.  Write just a sentence at first, and then click on PREVIEW, to see if the size is right.  If so, you can go back and continue on with your message.  It takes a little practice to get it right, so don't worry if it doesn't look perfect.  If it's not working for you, just use the regular type that you've always used.  Most of us can read it just fine.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 16, 2018, 04:41:46 PM
There's still time, for those of you who would like to read some good and meaningful Christmas fiction, before the big day arrives.  Here are a few book suggestions that you can get at the library, or for your Kindles and iPads.   I've read a few of them, and have others on my wait list at the library.

A Redbird Christmas, by Fanny Flagg - This one is a favorite of mine, that I read every year, during the holiday season. It's an inspirational story, that I think you all would enjoy.  This sentence, that I copied off of Amazon, gives a good, short description of the book: An enchanting Christmas story of faith and hope for all ages.

The Mistletoe Promise, and, The Christmas Box, by Richard Paul Evans - I'm probably the only one in this folder who has not read any books by Evans. I would like to, and right now I have both of these on order at the library. 

The Christmas Train, by David Baldacci - As most of you know, this story was made into a good Hallmark Movie.  I've seen the movie, but I've never read the book.  I hope to read it this year.

The Deal of a Lifetime, by Fredrick Backman.  This is a new book by Backman, author of the very popular book, A Man Called Ove.  I haven't read it, and likely won't this year, because the wait list at the library is extremely long! 

One Day in December, by Josie Silver.  I don't know anything about this story, except that it is recommended in the, Reese Witherspoon Book club.  I've read a couple of her recommendations, and have liked them a lot.  Her book club is very much like the original Oprah Winfrey Book Club. 

Anyone who has read any of these book selections, let us know what you think of them?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 18, 2018, 10:11:50 PM
About Christmas fiction:  I've read A Redbird Christmas by F. Flagg.  Anything I've read by her has been very enjoyable.  I haven't read The Mistletoe Promise but did read The Christmas Box quite a while back, in fact it is part of my collection.  I noticed The Mistletoe Promise on Hoopla but passed that one up for another by Evans titled The Gift.  It was a little different Christmas story , but the one that was really different and made you laugh and cry was called Not Just Another Christmas Story by Michael Cinquanti Sr.  This was another Brooklyn story, this time not the Irish but Italian.  My growing up years were in an Italian neighborhood so that the references to the typical family reactions was a good time of reminiscing for me.  I have The Christmas Train in my Christmas book collection.   That was good!!  I haven't read the others. A couple others from my bookshelf are Shepherds Abiding by  Jan Karon and A Christmas Blizzard by Garrison Keillor.   Several years ago I decided that I would like to collect Christmas stories so I started to buy myself one each year.  There are about 10 of them now.  It's a fun little special collection.
   I haven't been posting here for a while because daughter Debby is moving this week and we have been spending most days packing up her things and last weekend we starting carting the boxes and small furniture over to her new  place.  It will be nice when finished but it has been pretty chaotic.   Christmas has kind of gone on the back burner except for gifts for the family.  Neither of us has done much decorating.   Her house is torn up and I just haven't had too much heart for it so we are just kind of getting through it.   She has had her regular music programs and I've attended which add a nice feeling to the season.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on December 18, 2018, 10:56:44 PM
Still can't get it to print larger
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on December 18, 2018, 11:01:49 PM
[/size]I give up
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on December 18, 2018, 11:05:53 PM
Last try
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 18, 2018, 11:33:25 PM
JeanneP - Bubble can explain things a lot better than I can. Go to the FYI section of Seniors and Friends, and ask Bubble or Oldiesmann, and they can help you.  Click here >>> https://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?topic=631.msg146294#new
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 19, 2018, 11:29:42 AM
Mary - Thanks for some good suggestions for Christmas reading.  Not Just Another Christmas Story sounds good and different. I'll check my library and see if they have that one.  There is a long wait list for all of the Richard Paul Evans books, as well as the new Backman book.  (Ove author) I think it's the first Christmas book he's written.  My daughter sent me an email last night that she had just watched The Mistletoe Promise, on Hallmark, and she really liked it. Now I want to scroll through the movie guide on the Hallmark Channel, in hopes that it will be playing again before Christmas.

Not a great time of year for Debby to move to a new house . . . but I know that you have to go when something becomes available that you want.   Is she renting a place, or buying?  Both of my daughters are renters.

I'm hoping to get to Tuesday Morning today, to look at bed pillows for both daughters for Christmas presents.  I can't handle the big department stores anymore, like Penney's or Macy's.  It isn't the walking that bothers me as much as standing in the long lines at the check out counters!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 19, 2018, 05:03:45 PM
I forget the title off-hand, but I read, this morning, a Christmas short story in Jack McDevitt's new book of short stories about a young girl who, against her father's wishes, took down their Christmas tree and set it up in the ruins of a long dead civilization on a planet far, far away because she thought they should have a Christmas too. Lovely, little story.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on December 19, 2018, 07:07:09 PM
Marilyne.
Now got the size where I want it to be. It was that way for years but about 3 weeks ago got so small could not read it. I never did anything to make it happen. Thanks for help.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 20, 2018, 12:46:07 PM
JeanneP, the size of your type is fine.  Don't worry about changing it.  We can all read it okay! :thumbup:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on December 20, 2018, 01:53:38 PM
Wouldn't you know?  THREE e-books on hold appeared in my library loan bookshelf this week!!!!

Looks as if there may be quite a few "one more chapter..." nights coming up.  Oh well,  I don't really need to get up on a time schedule.  Family will gather at #1 son's house on Christmas Day and all I've been assigned is Cornbread Dressing.

 I finished "Before We Were Yours" just before the news ones arrived.  I liked it although I skipped a lot of the descriptions of cruelty the children suffered while in the Tennessee Children's Home. 
Finished David Baldacci's "Christmas Train" last night (yes, one of "those" nights  :) ).  Still deciding what I think about that one.  Some things that happened in locations I'm familiar with just weren't quite plausible.
Haven't been watching the Hallmark movies but will now start checking to see if - by chance - it's going to be on.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 20, 2018, 04:28:56 PM
Callie, I also have a stack waiting for me at the library, but I doubt that I get to any of them before Christmas.  Our oldest daughter and granddaughter, will be here on Saturday, so that will end my reading/relaxation, until after Christmas. I still have to get two more presents, but I'm hoping to take care of that problem tomorrow. I'm still a little stressed about the food situation, but things will work out, as they always do. ::)

Once again, I want to recommend Elizabeth Berg's latest book, Night of Miracles. Perfect for this season of the year, even though it isn't a Christmas book.  It's a story that will leave you feeling good.  One of the main characters is an 87 year old woman, named Lucille, who was also featured in Berg's book, The Story of Arthur Truluv.  I liked that book okay, but I like Night of Miracles, much better.

JeanneP, Callie and Mary - I think you would all like "Miracles"!  MarsGal, I know it isn't your style of book, but for a change of pace, you might like it?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on December 20, 2018, 06:23:26 PM
I just put "Night of Miracles" on Hold.  There are 7 copies and 7 people ahead of me on the Wait List.  Wanna bet I'll get it about next Monday?    ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 21, 2018, 11:32:11 AM
Today - December 21, is the Winter Solstice - The shortest day of the year.  Lots of legends and myths about this day, but I thought this one was the most interesting, because it ties the Solstice to Christmas.

Winter Solstice

The Winter Solstice is a magical season . . . one that marks the journey from this year to the next, journeys of the spirit from one world to the next, and the magic of birth, death, and rebirth. The longest night of the year, (December 21 in the Northern hemisphere), is reborn as the start of the solar year and accompanied by festivals of light to mark the rebirth of the Sun. In ancient Europe, this night of darkness grew from the myths of the Norse goddess Frigga who sat at her spinning wheel weaving the fates, and the celebration was called Yule, from the Norse word Jul, meaning wheel. The Christmas wreath, a symbol adapted from  Frigga's "Wheel of Fate", reminds us of the cycle of the seasons and the continuity of life.

That the timing of the Christian celebration of the birth of Christ occurs in the Yule season, is no coincidence. Christmas was once a movable feast, celebrated many different times during the year. The decision to establish December 25, as the "official" date of Christ's birth was made by Pope Julius I, in the fourth century AD. He was hoping to replace the pagan celebration with the Christian one, since this date coincided with the pagan celebrations of Winter Solstice with the Return of the Sun Gods occurring throughout the world.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on December 22, 2018, 06:24:13 PM
Yes, I changed it to that  size but I think will now go down one.  It is so small when typing but so large when it shows up after posting. Actually I like it large.
Having problems with eyes at the moment.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 24, 2018, 09:20:38 PM
MERRY CHRISTMAS READERS!!  I hope your stockings are stuffed with those titles you've been waiting to get.
   Thanks Marilyne for the good comments about the winter solstice.   I thought about it last week when we were in the midst of moving Debby.  The days will start to be longer soon.
     I just finished a book called Christmas Jars by Jason F. Wright.  I recommend it for a quick and comfortable Christmas read.
     I'll be going out to the 11 o'clock service at our church soon.  It will be Celtic music tonight and should be an interesting service.   Tomorrow Debby and I will go to our son and daughter in laws home for Christmas dinner and a four generation gathering.  
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on December 25, 2018, 10:35:35 AM
Merry Christmas, fellow readers!  I hope everyone here has a lovely Christmas with friends and family.

SCFSue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 25, 2018, 01:46:23 PM
Merry Christmas to all my faithful book loving friends.  I'm pleased that so many of you are still here, posting in the Library Bookshelf, after so many years!   There are always books to read, to recommend, and to talk about, and I hope that we continue on here in this discussion, as long as we remain in Seniors and Friends. :)

Once again I read, and enjoyed, A Redbird Christmas by Fanny Flagg. It's such a sweet and comforting story, full of the kind of people and friends that you wish lived in your town. Everyone is generous, thoughtful and kind, which would be a wonderful thing to find in today's world . . . not only at Christmas time, but all year long. 

The story made me think about all the other books by Fanny Flagg, that I
I've read and enjoyed.  I'm planning to read many of them again - starting at the beginning, with Fried Green Tomotoes, then pick and choose some of my favorites, like Standing in the Rainbow, and The Whole Town's Talking.  Many others as well.  It will be a pleasant way to start the New Year!
[/color]

Here's my favorite Christmas song of recent years:

Christmas Bells

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The Carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
'There is no peace on earth,' I said;
'For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!'

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
'God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 26, 2018, 10:35:55 PM
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day is my all-time favorite Christmas songs.  It is timeless.  During the days leading up to Christmas I've had the Mormon Tabernacle Choir playing on my Pandora.  They have sung some carols that were unfamiliar to me but that I've enjoyed a lot.  One is a Welch carol called Suo Gan.  It is a lovely lullaby.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 26, 2018, 10:53:22 PM
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LQlU8tJglk0 I hope this link works for anyone interested.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on December 27, 2018, 10:31:08 AM
My voice is not what it once was, but I enjoyed singing "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" while sitting here at my computer.  It has been a favorite since I was a young girl in Junior choirs.  Thank you for posting it!

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 28, 2018, 07:51:23 PM
I picked up Night of Miracles yesterday and am well into it.   It is a good and easy read.....just my style!! :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 30, 2018, 12:41:08 AM
Mary - I'm glad that you're enjoying Night of Miracles. I had a feeling that you'd like it. Elizabeth Berg's books are always filled with people that I can relate to, and this is no exception. Her stories leave you feeling good, and hopeful.

For Christmas, my dil gave me Anne Tyler's latest book, Clock Dance.  So far I like it a lot. Tyler's characters tend to be a bit more complicated than Berg's, but just as interesting and likable.

Mary - I just realized that I never commented on the lovely Welsh lullaby, Suo-Gan, that you posted a couple of days ago. The photos of the children were beautiful. The sleeping babies brought back memories ... good memories of so long ago.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 30, 2018, 09:50:51 PM
Just finished Night of Miracles.  I couldn't stop reading it and didn't want it to end.  There are so many directions she could keep this group of characters going in future books.  One thing I liked in particular was a few comments she made here and there that really spoke to me.

Yesterday I went to the library to browse and brought another book by Elizabeth Strout. The title is Anything is Possible.  We'll see about that.  Another selection was just at random,a book called Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J Ryan Stradal.  I've heard nothing about him or the book, it just caught my interest.

I've read a few of Anne Tyler's books but not that one Marilyn.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on December 31, 2018, 04:01:07 PM
Happy Hogmanay!  And, Happy New Year to All.  MaryC, I truly hope this year will prove to be better for folk like you and me.  Marilyne, thanks for all your good wishes along the way.  I may have to find that book "A Night of Miracles", sounds wonderful!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 31, 2018, 07:10:12 PM
Tome - Good to see you back with us. I was afraid that you had deserted us - no thanks to this the new set-up here at S&F! It takes some getting used, but eventually we adjust!

Mary - So glad you liked Night of Miracles, as much as I did.  I could relate to Lucille, in many ways . . . but the one that really made me smile, was her love of aprons! My mother was never in the kitchen without an apron, and was always insisting that I should be wearing one.  I resisted! However, when I was about sixty, I found one of her old ones packed away, and I started wearing it.  This led to me buying a few home made aprons at craft fairs and boutiques . . . and now I have about seven of them. I now love aprons, and can hardly prepare a meal without putting one on!   

Tome and Mary - This has been a sad year for both of you. I can imagine that Christmas, must have been an especially hard time for you.  I hope you will both slowly begin to feel better in the New Year.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 31, 2018, 08:23:30 PM
Happy Hogmanay to you as well Tomereader and all here who observe the Scottish tradition.  My late mother and father in-law having come from Aberdeen often  reminisced about the New Years celebrations over there. I think you will like Night of Miracles T.R.   It has some very good comments sprinkled throughout that make you think of a good marriage and life and death and how we fit into the scheme of things.  I do enjoy that in a book.  I too hope that the coming year is peaceful and healthy for all of us.   I've been reading through my journal this evening and have had a tear and a smile at various happenings.   The 12 months flew by didn't they?   One thing that brought a smile is this.   In July we had a Celebration of Life for my husband.   He had wished a while back for a disco ball to hang in our summer room.  Our summer room is just our garage that we have screened and furnished like a enclosed porch.    He had a CD player with some of his favorites and TV etc. out there.  When we met at the roller rink back in 1949 they had a large disco ball that was lighted for certain skate dances.   He never forgot how nice that was and thought it would be fun to have one.   A year or so ago Debby found one at Party City and got it for his birthday.   It hung up in the ceiling with the tiny white lights.   He called them his "mood lights" ;D   It was our family joke.   Well when we had the tent set up in the yard for his Celebration, everyone thought that the disco ball should be there for him.    A couple young men friends who came up from PA for the event went right to work and strung the power up and the disco ball high in the tent.   When I read that in my journal today I had a little chuckle and texted them to thank them once more.  These kinds of memories are a great comfort to me.
   Marilyne,  I had to smile about Lucille and her aprons also.   I noticed when we were packing up Debby for her move that she had several aprons that had been made for her by my mom and another older friend of hers.   She doesn't wear them except when she works at the church kitchen.   I use to make them myself but when I went to work outside the home,  I didn't have time for doing those things.   About that time we also had Girl and Boy Scout involvement and all those hobbies kind of fell by the wayside. :(   I still have pieces of fabric stashed away for such things and now with the New Year it is time to get back to sorting and tossing stuff that I probably will never use again.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on January 01, 2019, 11:59:17 AM
Yesterday we had to go to Cox Cable in Destin to replace our TV remote so stopped by B&N bookstore in the same shopping center.  It was good to see so many people browsing.  I found two hardback Donna Leon 2014 and 2015 Guido Brunetti series at $6.98 each.  I love her books and at that price it made my day.  (It doesn't take much to make my day anymore 😁)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on January 01, 2019, 12:03:17 PM
I am a huge fan of Commissario Guido Brunetti, too.  Love her descriptions of Venice.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 01, 2019, 12:47:24 PM
 :hb3: Tomereader!


and a Very Happy New Year to all!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 03, 2019, 04:45:17 PM
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TOMEREADER!!!   Sorry to have missed the date but hope your day was pleasant. 

I picked up a book at the library a few days ago by Elizabeth Strout.   This book is Anything is Possible.  After I started it, I realized that I had already read it but decided to go ahead and read it again.   It is worthy of a second read.   I did take back The Great Kitchens of the Midwest or whatever the proper name of it was.    I couldn't stand the filthy language! :tickedoff: My belief is that a writer that is any good could tell a  story using good and proper English.

FlaJean,  Your trip to B&N sounded like fun.  It's been a long time since I  spent time in that store.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 03, 2019, 05:02:39 PM
Now reading the fourth of the Expanse series books and White Rose, Black Forest by Eoin Dempsey. It is pretty good so far.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 03, 2019, 05:21:34 PM
Mary - When you mentioned Elizabeth Strout a couple of days ago, I knew her name sounded familiar, so I looked her up, and see that she was the author of Olive Kitteridge.  I really liked that book, and I especially liked the HBO movie, starring Frances McDormand, and Richard Jenkins.  I think I might have read Anything is Possible, but not sure?  If I did, it must not have made as big an impression on me as "Olive" did?

I just finished a wonderful book that my dil gave me for Christmas . . .Clock Dance, by Anne Tyler. I recommend this book to everyone who comes into this folder! She's one of my favorite writers, and I have yet to be disappointed in any of her books. Her last book, was, A Spool of Blue Thread, which I loved.  Also, Dinner At the Homesick Restaurant, was wonderful.  Clock Dance, is excellent, with characters that you all will like, and a great story. :thumbup:

Tome!  Belated Happy Birthday, from me too!  I'm already getting behind in the New Year, and it's only the 3rd of January!

MarsGal - White Rose, Black Forest, is an intriguing title. I remember when you mentioned the author a while back.  That first name is certainly different.

Hi Phyllis!  Good to have you back with us in Library~Bookshelf!  Let us know what you've been reading, and also visit the Television folder and tell us about your favorite shows.  If I remember correctly, I think we had similar tastes . . . both liking HBO, Netflix and Amazon? 

 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 03, 2019, 08:35:00 PM
I've been house-bound by cold and now icy/snowy weather so have just about read through all the e-books on my Loan and Wish List.

Just finished "Crazy Rich Asians" - a fun light read about a society of billionaires who discover theirs isn't the only way to live.

I didn't realize it's #1 of a trilogy.  The next two continue the stories of two characters in the first one.  Haven't seen the movie and don't know if it combines the three stories.
Also realized I'd been thinking of the title incorrectly.  I'd been thinking "Crazy.....Rich Asians" (as in rich Asians who are crazy".  It's actually "Crazy Rich.....Asians" (as in Asians who are 'crazy rich'.)

The author's notes indicate he grew up in this type of Society but no longer lives that way.

Now reading "Home Safe" by Elizabeth Berg.  Fortunately, just as I was getting a bit annoyed with the "poor me" attitude of the suddenly widowed main character, the story begins to take a more positive turn.  I'm pretty sure I know how it will turn out - but I'll enjoy seeing how the author gets there.

Next up is another book in the Molly Murphy mystery series by Rhys Bowen.

After several days of temperatures near or below freezing, we're supposed to be in the 60's all next week. 
Guess I'd better read fast.  ;)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 04, 2019, 05:28:08 PM
Callie - I got a big kick out of Crazy Rich Asians, and the intense focus on MONEY in those countries that were featured. Of course I don't know if it's true that wealthy families in Singapore, Hong Kong and parts of China, actually live like that, or if the book was supposed to be a farce? I remember reading the author's notes, that indicted the lifestyle depicted was a true picture of how he was raised.  Still it's hard to believe? Whether based on truth or strictly fiction - it was highly entertaining! ;D

Home Safe, is one of the few Elizabeth Berg books that I haven't read, but I would like to read it.  I also have a few Anne Tyler books on my list that I haven't read yet.  Interesting that Tyler, tends to write family stories, where the mother tends to be mentally unstable, whereas Berg writes family stories here the father is cold and stern, or absent completely. I know that Berg was raised in a military family, so it could be that she is writing from experience in some of her books?  I don't know about Anne Tyler's family?? Berg's recent books have gone off in another direction, and now feature warm and likable characters, and a predictable ending. (Arthur Truluv and Night of Miracles.)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 11, 2019, 05:20:02 PM
Callie,   The cold and frosty weather you spoke of has reach us here in the N.E.   This morning the weather people on the radio said it was 14 deg. at 6AM but felt like 1.   I can vouch for that.   When Debby and I went out at 10:30 to deliver meals it was very very cold.   It called for all the extra layers one could put together.   We noticed that when we were at a house facing south and the sun was out, it seemed a bit milder but you wouldn't want to waste any time out there.  I'm reading another book from Deb's bookshelf called The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacqueline Mitchard.   This is an older book (1996) and I think I tried to read it once before but gave it up.   It was a slow starter.  Ms. Mitchard is one for many details and for me that really bogs me down.   Anyway I have gotten caught up in the story and will finish this time.   Meanwhile I did get a copy of Home Safe from the library and will get to that.   Berg's books are pretty quick reads so I likely will read that along with the other.   For those of you who are in this deep freeze area.....stay warm and safe.   The icy driveways and walks are treacherous!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on January 11, 2019, 09:46:13 PM
Marilyne, is there still a Movies/TV board on here?  Haven't seen it, or can't figure out how to get to it.  Help me out here!!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 12, 2019, 12:20:22 AM
Hi Tome - Yes, there is still a Television folder, which also includes Movies.  Originally it was called Television & Movies - Old and New.  I think it was after the last big S&F site crash a couple of years ago, that it got shortened to Television Today?  Anyway, besides television, it includes movies old and new.  Hope to hear from you soon!
https://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?topic=15.1380
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 14, 2019, 02:41:38 PM
Remember a month or so ago, when we were talking about celebrity memoirs or autobiographies"?   I just finished reading another good one . . .  In Pieces, by Sally Field.  As with most other memoirs of famous people, the picture you have in your head about the person, is never what she or he, is actually like.

Like so many female movie stars, she had a very unusual childhood.  I won't spoil it for any of you who plan to read the book, but will just say that there are some incidents that might surprise you. Many female celebrities seem to be able to rise above their past, and continue on to become show business icons.  They have a never-ending drive to succeed, that most of us can't relate to.   

I really liked this memoir, and would definitely recommend it.  After I finished it a couple of nights ago,  I couldn't get the ending out of my mind, and found myself lying in bed thinking about it.  The next day, I read the ending over again, because it was so well written and said a lot about Sally Field.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 14, 2019, 03:15:29 PM
I'm on the waiting list for "In Pieces" and will be interested in reading it.

Right now,  I have two books "up" on my library loans because I'm going to a Book Discussion Club this week.
The book being discussed is "Hillbilly Elegy" and the other one is "What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia".
The first one is a memoir of the author's family branch who moved north from Appalachia to work in factories.  He is highly educated and only visited his relatives in Appalachia.  The other one is mostly a rebuttal, as well as the author's take based on her experiences.  She received her education while living in Appalachia (doctorate), moved away and then moved back.
I've read both but wanted to review them.  I may take my Tablet to the meeting for reference - and will be very interested in hearing what this particular group has to say about "Hillbilly Elegy".

Am also reading the last one in Rhys Bowen's "Molly Murphy" series and getting ready to begin Elizabeth Berg's "Tapestry of Fortunes".

(Why are you on the computer, Callie?  Get busy!!!!  ;D )
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 17, 2019, 02:47:42 PM
Callie - Hillbilly Elegy, sounds like something I would like.  I'll put it on my library list, and hope to get it soon. At the moment, I'm without a book to read.  Too much "weather", to go to the library, and as you know, I don't read much on my Kindle.

My daughter recommended a mystery series book to me, that she saw at the library, and the title intrigued her so she checked it out.  It's called Kilt at the Highland Games, by Kaitlyn Dunnett.  Apparently her mystery series are all Scottish themes and titles.  Not sure if they take place in Scotland or where?   The two titles that Sandy has checked out now, are Bagpipes, Brides and Homicides, and The Scottie Barks At Midnight.  I love that last title, and plan to get it at the library and read it first.
Maryc - You might like this series?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 17, 2019, 05:41:07 PM
The Sally Field memoir sounds good to me.   I've always enjoyed her movies.   Also the books about Appalachia.   That is a part of the country that has always interested me.  Several years ago I read two or three books by Robert Morgan about that area.  Truest Pleasure was one and Gap Creek another.  He is a good story teller.  Callie,  You have reminded me of one of Elizabeth Bergs books that I really liked and think I will reread it soon.   I have Safe Home now.   At the beginning,  I wondered if I wanted to read it because she didn't seem to be doing so well after her husband's death, but the story is getting better.   I just finished The Deep End of the Ocean.  That was a long book but I did get caught up in the story and wanted to see it through.  I will look into the Scottish mystery series.  Something a little different.  That kind of reminds me of The Maggie Hope Mystery series by Susan Elia MacNeal.   I read those a few years ago and enjoyed them.  Actually Susan  MacNeal is from Buffalo and the friend who loaned me the books met her here shortly after we had read the books.   One of those books centered around the children of the royal family when they were sent away from London during the War.  I just saw a review of a book called The Gown.   It is about  the seamstresses who worked on the wedding gown for the Queen  back in 1949.   It sounded like a story worth following.   I believe I saw it advertised on Hoopla.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 20, 2019, 01:04:39 PM
MarsGal - a number of weeks ago, you mentioned that you were reading White Rose - Black Forest, by Eoin Dempsey. Because I like most novels that take place during WWII, I got it from the Library, and just finished reading it.  It was a good story, but a familiar one!  I don't know how many books I have read with that same theme - "woman or child finds a man who has parachuted from a downed plane, or who has escaped from a POW camp."  He is usually injured and needs treatment, and needs to be hidden, etc. etc. etc.  I can name three other novels with the same storyline.  They are always exciting with a lot of tensions building up.  It's usually a German woman, who finds an American or a British airman or soldier.  This was no different from all the others.  If you liked this story, there is a similar but much better one called Resistance,  by Anita Shreve, that has a more realistic ending.  Also, one that takes place in the USA, called The Summer of My German Soldier, by Bette Greene. 

Right now I'm reading Kilt At the Highland Games, that I mentioned a couple of days ago.  It's a Liss MacCrimmon Scottish Mystery.  It's light reading, but is good, and really holds my interest.  When I'm done with this one,  I plan to read another one called, The Scottie Barked at Midnight.

JeanneP - In case you look in today, I wanted to tell you that the Sally Field memoir, In Pieces, is available in Large Print!   

Maryc - I'm wondering how you're liking Tapestry of Fortunes?  I got it at the library, and sat down immediately and started reading.  Sorry to say that I was disappointed.  I only read about a third of the book, but decided it was not the Elizabeth Berg that I love, so I closed it for good.  I just could not relate to the main character at all.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 20, 2019, 01:55:23 PM
Marilyne,  I did finish "Tapestry of Fortunes" but agree it wasn't the usual Elizabeth Berg.

Just finished reading ""Farewell, Dorothy Parker" by Ellen Meister.  If you like Dorothy Parker's type of humor and can accept her appearing as a "live ghost" every time the Algonquin guest book she signed is opened  ;) , you'd probably enjoy the basic story.

#2 in the series is "Dorothy Parker Drank Here".  I'm getting ready to read it.

Maryc,  thanks for the suggestions about Appalachian stories.  I read "Gray Mountain" by John Gresham quite a while ago.  It's about legal issues in the coal mining industry.

Still on the waiting list for Sally Fields' book.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 20, 2019, 02:58:10 PM
Callie - It was you who had mentioned, Tapestry of Fortunes!  After all of us talking about Night of Miracles, and other EB novels, I was thinking it was Mary, who was reading it. Interesting that you weren't impressed with it either . . . just not the Elizabeth Berg that I like.

The Dorothy Parker series sounds good.  It's been a long time since I have thought about her, but always enjoyed her writing and her humor.  I have Hillbilly Elegy, waiting for me at the library, so will probably pick it up tomorrow. (Just remembered that tomorrow is MLK holiday, so the library will probably be closed.)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 20, 2019, 03:16:20 PM
Marilyne, I didn't realize "Hillbilly Elegy" had created such a stir until after I'd read it.  Here's a link to various discussions (mostly on Youtube) about the book:

https://www.google.com/search?q=Hillbilly+Elegy+youtube&spell=1&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiht_Wkk_3fAhVdJDQIHWXODIgQBQgpKAA&biw=1440&bih=782 (https://www.google.com/search?q=Hillbilly+Elegy+youtube&spell=1&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiht_Wkk_3fAhVdJDQIHWXODIgQBQgpKAA&biw=1440&bih=782)

Must admit I skimmed a lot of the first chapters because of the language and what I thought was repetition about the author's "kinfolk".  I realize that was background information but became more interested when he began to tell about the opportunities he had and his reaction to them.

Will be interested to know your opinion (and that of anyone else who has read it)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on January 20, 2019, 08:24:56 PM
Marilyn.
Thanks for the book names you just put in. I will put my name down for the Sally fields. I am sure will be a waiting list for the large Print. I will check out a couple of the others also. I like books about the WW2 years.
My car will not start at the moment.  Had to chop 4 inch of Ice of it today. Think the Alternator may be gone as I just put a new battery in 3 weeks ago . It is still cold here. Down to one degree last night.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 20, 2019, 10:44:59 PM
Jeanne P,  We are in the same "deep freeze" here in Western NY.  Temperature was at 7 degrees earlier with the "real feel" at -17.  Needless to say I've been home for two days....staying safe and warm. 
Callie,  You mentioned Gray Mountain.  That reminded me of a book I read a long time ago about mining in Virginia or W.Virginia and the start up of the Unions.   It was sad what the early workers went through when that happened.   That is what really brought my family to Niagara Falls back in the '40s.   My father worked for a company that engraved rollers for printing wall paper.    He and a few others wanted to get a Union in their shop and as a result lost their jobs.   He found work in a Union shop here in Niagara.
Marilyne,  When you mentioned the plot of White Rose-Black Forest I immediately thought of Anita Shreve's Resistance. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 21, 2019, 06:55:51 AM
Marilyne, White Rose, Black Forest is not the kind of novel I normally read, so I haven't read any similar novels to compare. I am doing a reading challenge list this year and the first on the list was to read a novel set in or about a forest and then a non-fiction with the same theme. This novel, set in a forest, fit the bill, and it cost me nothing. The non-fiction, which I am reading right now, is The Battle That Stopped Rome by Peter S. Wells; it is about the Battle of Teutoburg Forest in 9AD where Rome lost three crack legions to an ambush and massacre lead by Arminius (known as Hermann in Germany). The defeat was almost unheard of in Roman history up til then, and was a major humiliation to Emperor Augustus. According to early historians, he never quite recovered, emotionally, from the shock of losing around 20,000 troops and the three Eagle standards.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on January 21, 2019, 09:52:58 AM
My book club read _Hillbilly Elegy- several years ago.  I found it interesting--the author grew up in Kentucky (if I remember correctly) and worked hard to overcome the poverty he grew up in.  My sister in Jacksonville, Florida, had mailed me her copy when her book club finished their discussion.  We were raised in southwest West Virginia so were familiar with coal mining and poverty.  I enjoyed the book and was impressed by the author's efforts to overcome the poverty his family struggled with.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 23, 2019, 04:18:31 PM
I now have Hillbilly Elegy, and I'm looking forward to finding out what it's all about.  I still have a couple of chapters left to read in Kilt At the Highland games.  I'm enjoying it, and I think those of you who like mystery stories, will like it too.  It's not the first one in the Liss MacCrimmon Scottish Mystery series.  If I had known that there were other earlier ones, I probably would have read them first, but I don't think it matters much.

Callie - Did you see MarsGal's message in Bait and Tackle, about her niece's upcoming wedding in Singapore?  It reminded me of the book that we both recently read that took place mostly in Singapore.

MarsGal - The web site for the wedding was so interesting! I wish you would post the link here as well.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 23, 2019, 05:40:12 PM
Marilyne,  I did see MarsGal's link but haven't had time to look at it.  Did you know there are 3 books in the series we read set in Singapore?  I'm on the wait list for the other two.

Just checked out Book 1 in the Liss McCriminon mystery series....Kilt Dead.  They're all available in e-books and look like fun reads.  (Moosetookalook??????  :roflBig: )
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 24, 2019, 12:42:52 PM
Here you go, Marilyne. http://www.tusharwedscarrie.com/

Callie, when I went back over the posts in Norm's forum, I saw you have the National Cowboy Museum site listed. When I get done here, I am going over to check it out. I missed it earlier.

I will be picking up The Painted Kiss by Elizabeth Hickey, probably tomorrow. I adore Klimt's paintings. If it hadn't been for the movie (not based on the book or vice versa),The Woman in Gold starring Helen Mirrenn, I might not have known about him.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 25, 2019, 03:53:50 PM
MarsGal, I hope you enjoy browsing through the museum site.

In case others might want to do so,  I had posted about the head of Ethnology at The National Cowboy and Western Museum in OKC (http://="https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/plan-your-visit/collections/" who was the program at a club meeting I was attending.
Unfortunately, he didn't use our speaker system and kept turning his head to a side table.  So I only caught a small portion of what he was saying.  What I did catch was that he is an Archeologist and an Historian. He is helping develop a display for a new addition to the museum that will feature the many ethnic groups represented by artifacts found at the Spiro Mounds http://="https://www.okhistory.org/sites/spiromounds.php" and other places in Oklahoma. I did not catch most of his descriptions of these artifacts and the distant locations to which they'd been traced.  :(   :'(

I browsed through part of the wedding link but there's so much that looks interesting that I want to go back and do so in more detail.  Thanks for sharing.

"The Mark of Civility" by the author of "A Gentleman In Noscow" has just appeared in my e-book loans from the library.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 25, 2019, 04:39:10 PM
The conversation here about The Cowboy Museum and archeology findings in OK reminded me of a movie I watched recently called The Magic of Ordinary Days.   It was on youtube.  I'm not positive about the exact state but it was somewhere in the country where the major crop was sugar beets. The story was set in the early '40s and there was a Replacement camp nearby as well as a POW camp.  The female lead had been a graduate student and her interest was in archaeology and she was thrilled to find artifacts from the early farming days.  The area around the story reminded me of the novel Tallgrass.
   I picked up a new book at the library today by Khaled Hosseini called Sea Prayer.   It is a very very short story but I recommend it if it is available in your library.  It is really more like a poem in free verse but very thought provoking.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 28, 2019, 07:27:14 AM
I've started on The Painted Kiss. I am once again immersed in pre-war Vienna (this time, WWI).

Also, I finally finished listening to Augustus and haven't chosen the next audio book yet. My newest acquisitions includes Alice Hoffman's novel about Camille Pissarro titled A Marriage of Opposites, The Buried Book, by David Damrosch, which is about the Epic of Gilgamesh, and a reading of Beowulf. Less than half of my audio book collection is fiction.  One of those is the complete Barsoom series. I just loved reading about John Carter's adventures on Mars and couldn't resist the thought of listening to the series.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on January 28, 2019, 09:41:40 AM
In the late 1940's there was a Prison of War camp here in Opelika, Alabama, where my son lives not far from me (in Auburn, AL).  The prisoners were young boys who were almost men and they were used by the city of Opelika for gardening/lawn service, etc. until the war was over.  Many have returned to Opelika for visits with the people who used their services during WWII.  I think most of the prisoners had been forced into the German army while just teens.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 28, 2019, 11:09:43 AM
SCFSue - The book,  The Summer of My German Soldier, did take place in Alabama, so I'm pretty sure that the prisoner of war camp was in Opelika.  I think you would enjoy reading it, and it's available at the library. It's a very different story.

Callie - I enjoyed the Cowboy and Western Museum site that you posted, as well as the Spiro Mounds site.  I would love to visit that museum, and the Frederic Remington exhibit, would be the first one I would want to see. 

I hope you enjoyed Kilt Dead, the first book of the Liss MacCrimmon Scottish Mystery series.  I would have preferred to read the books in order, but since my daughter had recommended Kilt At the Highland Games, I read it first.  I liked it, and now have two others checked out.
I'm about finished with Hillbilly Elegy, and find it to be fascinating reading.  Hard for me to relate to such a life of chaos, but it looks like things do turn out well for J.D.

Mary - The Magic of Ordinary Days, sounds like a story I will like.  I looked it up online, and one of the reviewers said it reminded him of  Plainsong, by Kent Haruf.  Haruf, is one of my favorite authors, so I'm looking forward to "Days".

MarsGal - I also have The Painted Kiss, ordered at the library!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 31, 2019, 01:46:32 PM
Last night I finished my little mystery story called Dead of Winter by Wendy Corsi Staub.  Apparently it is one of a group called The Lily Dale Mysteries.   It caught my eye because of the setting at Lily Dale.   That is a small summer community in the southern part of Western New York populated by mediums.    I had heard tell of Lily Dale when I was a small child as it was just a few miles from the town where I was born.    Much later my husband, daughter and I went there when we were camping nearby just to look around.   Interestingly,  one of the meteorologists from a local TV station that we watch was staying there  because his wife is a medium.  As we strolled around the grounds he happened to come by on his way to the post office.   This is "small town USA!"   ::)  
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 31, 2019, 02:19:29 PM
Mary - that's very interesting, about the town of Lily Dale, being populated by mediums! I'm wondering why they are all congregated together? I'll have to "Google" mediums, and read more about it.  Sounds like a fascinating subject, that I know nothing about. I remember seeing a medium being interviewed on a TV talk show, many years ago, but that's about the extent of my knowledge on the subject.

I'm glad I read Hillbilly Elegy, and would definitely recommend it.  I do like memoirs, and this is an unusual one. I found myself thinking about it a lot, after I finished it, and wondering about many of the situations that he wrote about, and how they turned out?

I'll be starting Bagpipes, Brides and Homicides, this afternoon.  I liked Kilt At the Highland Games, so will likely read a few more in that series at sometime in the future. I have a few books waiting at the library, but can't remember what they are, at the moment?  I won't pick them up for a few more days, so will probably be ready for something different by then.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on February 06, 2019, 03:10:50 PM
I "adjusted" my safety settings and have had to sign in again on various web sites.

When I tried to do so on Seniorlearn, I was told I had been "banned from using this forum. No expiration on ban".
I tried "googling" the web site to re-register and got the same message.  There was no place to click for registering, asking questions or correcting whatever the problem is. I have no idea what I did wrong.

If someone participates on SL, would you ask why this might have happened and what I can do about it?

We're completely "fogged in".  I stocked the pantry yesterday and have been "Domestic" today.  Now ready to settle in and read/snooze for the rest of the afternoon.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 07, 2019, 11:21:50 PM
I finished a good book today, titled,  The Wife,  by Meg Wolitzer.  I have read a few of her novels, as well as those of her mother, Hilma Wolitzer, and have enjoyed every one of them.  The thing that sparked my interest in "The Wife", is that it has been made into a movie, starring Glenn Close.  She won the Golden Globe for Best Actress, and she is also nominated for the Academy Award, for Best Actress. I loved the story, and I can see that it would make a wonderful movie. Glenn Close is the perfect choice to play the title character. I'm looking forward to seeing the movie.
Callie and Mary - I think you would both like this book!

Callie - I hope you finally got into SeniorLearn? After I read your message yesterday I went to SL, and had no problems.  However, I am not a member, so I go in as a guest, with no sign-in or password.       
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on February 08, 2019, 12:21:52 AM
Thanks, Marilyne.  Just put "The Wife" on hold.  I'm #6 on the list - library has 2 copies of the e-book.  Shouldn't be too long.
There was another e-book with the very same title but by a different author.  Good thing the one you mentioned had a picture of Glenn Close on the cover because, of course, I blanked out on the author's name as soon as I left this page.

I haven't tried getting into SL again.  I guess it recognized my computer because the ban mentioned the e-mail address I sign in with and there was no way to re-register.  May have to try on my Tablet and see what happens.
 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 08, 2019, 05:48:07 AM
Callie, let me know if you still have problems getting into SL. I can let Jane know. Maybe she can do something from her end. I assume the email you have listed in SL is still valid; she may want to contact you.

I am currently reading Mark Kurlansky's The Big Oyster. It is a history of NYC and local surrounds with an emphasis on the local oysters that used to be the envy of the world. Kind of a "rise of NYC, fall of the environment and the subsequent ruin of the oysters and oyster industry along the Hudson Estuary" kind of thing. So far, I haven't decided on the audio book I want to listen to next. I am up to 33 titles now, with only five listened to so far.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on February 08, 2019, 11:16:46 AM
MarsGal,  I'd appreciate it if you would let Jane on SL know my situation. Thank you!
I tried Googling SeniorLearn.org and got the Home page for what looks like a newsletter for a larger group than "ours".  There was a link to "discussions" but when I clicked on it, I got the same ban message. So I can't even re-register.
I'm "CallieinOK" on that site.

Yes, that e-mail address is still valid and I've been receiving/sending messages on it.  I could understand needing to re-register but have no idea what I did or didn't do to cause the ban.

The book about the Oysters around NYC sounds interesting.  My granddaughter who lives in NYC had registered with an Events Staffing company and was assigned to a team doing a "Fish Count" of the Hudson estuaries.  They were to catch as many fish as possible within a time limit, identify/measure/weigh each one and return it to the water.  Her team caught a large bass but, after completing the requirements, couldn't figure out how to get the hook out of its mouth.  Up steps this petite red-head who grabs the fish out of the holding tub, removes the hook and tosses it back in the water. She explained to the astounded New Yorkers, "My Nana taught me to do this when I was 10".   ;D   (Note:  other grandmother - not me!)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 08, 2019, 12:39:33 PM
Callie, the note to Jane is sent. It may take her a day or two to respond.

In the meantime, yes, The Big Oyster is interesting so far. I am not far into the book so I am hip deep into the multitude of oyster middens on the islands and around the shores of the Hudson. I am learning some more about the history and language of the local/regional Indian tribes, all part of the Delaware Indian grouping.

Good for your granddaughter. I hope she enjoyed the day on the water.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 12, 2019, 03:53:28 PM
MarsGal - How did you like The Big Oyster?  Another good historical novel about the early days of NYC, is New York: the novel, by Edward Rutherford.  I read it few years ago, and liked it a lot. It focused on the Dutch settlers. I remember that a couple of others in this folder also read it at that time, and liked it.   Another one that is supposed to be an authentic historical novel about the early Jewish settlers in NYC, is Kavalier & Clay, by Michael Chabon.  It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, in 2001.  I tried to read it, but I just couldn't get into it.  That was way back a least fifteen years ago, so I might check it out, and try again?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on February 12, 2019, 04:23:53 PM
Marsgal,  I did hear from Jane.  She, Marcie and my son tried to fix the problem.  I haven't yet tried what son suggested and Jane agreed with because it would interrupt my bedtime reading  ::) ..but I will. Thanks for helping.

Has anyone read "Me Before You" by Jojo Moyes?  About a quadriplegic who bonds with his young caregiver before going to Switzerland for "assisted suicide". I had read it and watched the movie based on the book this weekend.  Filmed in England and well done.  The actor who played the butler on Downton Abbey had a major supporting role.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 13, 2019, 09:30:53 AM
Marilyne, I like these first chapters of The Big Oyster because they cover the very early history of the area. I am now into the early Dutch settlements and just finished a little bit about oysters in general. Yesterday's reading was a bunch of antidotal vignettes, some of which I skimmed over. They seemed kind of redundant. I should be reading it faster than I am, but I keep interrupting myself with other things and some short stories I've been reading.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on February 13, 2019, 09:36:12 PM
now
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on February 16, 2019, 09:21:41 AM
This is for Callie:  There is a sequel to Me Before You written by Jo Jo Moyes.  It was published last year or the year before.  It is about what happened to the young woman who was the assistant to the young man who went to Europe and committed suicide.  The title is Me After You.  The man had left his estate to her and she moved to Europe later and it's about her trying to adjust to the results of his suicide.  It was published about 2 years ago I think.  I read it when it came out.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 16, 2019, 03:03:37 PM
The title The Big Oyster made me think of Edward Rutherford's New York the novel. I enjoyed that so much.  As soon as I can locate The Big Oyster I'll like that I'm sure.  Even though I've lived in NY state all my life I've only been to NYC once on a short tour.  The Big city has a certain fascination and the history even more so.

I just finished a very short book of Mary Higgins Clark.  She grew up in the Bronx who had her early education under the supervision of the Nuns. 

Before that I had two books by Ann Tyler.  Vinegar Girl was a short and different story.  A Spool of Blue Thread was the second.  I think I've read that before but read it through anyway.  Lots of food for thought in that story especially for older people.  I've said it before here and I'll say it again....I really need to clear out more of my "stuff".
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 16, 2019, 11:28:25 PM
mary - I've enjoyed all the books I've read by Anne Tyler, except for one . . . Vinegar Girl!  I didn't really care for it, and ended up by not finishing it.  I knew up front that it was based on, "The Taming of the Shrew", which I like, but somehow, it just didn't work for me. :-\  I did like A Spool of Blue Thread, very much!  I think it's my favorite of all of Tyler's books.   Another Tyler book that I liked a lot, is Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant. I think you would enjoy that one also. 

Today I finished reading, The Magic of Ordinary Days, by Ann Howard Creel. It was a very good story, that held my interest from beginning to end.  Now I'm anxious to watch the movie, and hope that it's playing on one of my many movie channels. 

Callie - I think you'll also like it.  It takes place in Colorado, during The War years. The writing style reminds me a lot of Kent Haruf, and the setting is the same.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 17, 2019, 05:10:42 AM
 I am getting ready to read Murder on the Orient Express. I have seen several TV movie versions, but never actually read the book. All the Poirot I've read were esenntially short stories/novellas.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 17, 2019, 09:15:35 AM
Marsgal, It would be fun to read Murder on the Orient Express years after the movie.
I see now that I neglected to say that the Mary Higgins Clark book I mentioned earlier was her memoir...another picked from Debby's library!😊
Marilyn, I did The Magic of Ordinary Days in reverse order.  I watched the movie and now will read the book.  I too thought Vinegar Girl left us hanging at the end.  In Mary Higgins Clark book she talked of an teacher she had a long the way who used this suggestion for writing.  Ask yourself two questions,'Suppose?' and 'What if?' A and turn that situation into fiction.  Perhaps that how writers springboard from a single story to a series.  I felt a little the same at the end of A Spool of Blue Thread about Denny's life. I did read Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant.  These storys about families and the situations between children and parents leave me feeling can little sad and wondering how we might have done differently with our own.  I watched a movie this week that was an interesting family situation.  The title was Sister Cities.  It had a surprise an a kind of unbelievable ending.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on February 17, 2019, 02:53:35 PM
Marilyne,  "Me After You" was waiting on my Loan list for me to finish "Two By Two" by Nicholas Sparks.  TBT was the story of a single Dad from his viewpoint and I thought it was very good.

Also have Book #3 in the "Crazy Rich Asians" series waiting.  I think it arrived before Book #2 but I was so far down the list for both that I'll read it anyway.

I'll look for "The Magic of Ordinary Days" .  Thanks for the suggestion.  Will also look for the movie.

Weather is sunny and not too cold today so I need to get to the grocery store before the next Wintery Mix moves in.  Then I'll settle in (again!) to hibernate (again!).
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on February 18, 2019, 01:04:38 PM
Donna Leon has a new Commissiario Guido Brunetti book in March "Unto Us a Son is Given".

Tony Hillerman's daughter, Anne Hillerman, published her 4th(?) book which is due out in April.  I purchased her first 3 books on my IPad Kindle app.  They are just as good as her Dad's book and I have enjoyed each one.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 20, 2019, 08:33:12 AM
I am almost done with a cozy mystery called If You Can't Stand the Heat (Poppy Markham: Culinary Cop series) by Robin Allen. I like it. I noticed that it also comes in large print, but you may have to click on her name to get her Amazon page to find it. It looks like she has four in the series and then stopped. After a break of about four years, her latest book, not part of the series, is listed by Amazon as a  "Magical Fantasy". 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 21, 2019, 02:47:07 PM
Jean - Thanks for reminding me of Tony Hillerman.  I read a couple of his Navajo Mystery's, a number of years ago, and really enjoyed them.  I'd like to read more of those, and I think my husband would like them too. Are his daughter's novels similar to his as to theme or style?  I might take a look at her website, and find out a little bit about her.

Mars Gal - The Poppy Markham series sounds good.  I may give those a look, when I finish the Liss MacCrimmon Scottish Mystery, that I have checked out.  It's called The Scottie Barked at Midnight, and so far I like it the best of all the Scottish Mystery cozy's that I've read so far.

I want to recommend The Magic of Ordinary Days, again, to anyone who might be looking for a good book to read. I'm not sure why I liked it more than other novels that I've read recently?  It's a familiar theme that's been done a lot,  but for some reason I found myself thinking about it for a long time after I finished it.  I decided to order the book from Amazon, to give to either my dil or to my daughter, for birthdays coming up soon.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on February 22, 2019, 12:01:18 PM
Anne Hillerman writes with many of the same characters.  Tony Hillerman got awards for writing so authentically about the "Four Corner" area and the reservations, and his daughter writes in that same vein.  I noticed that I bought all four of her books on my Kindle app and it is the 5th one due out in April.  I do prefer a "real" book, but I often get Amazon gift coupons and usually use them to buy Kindle books.

In every place we have ever lived, the first place I visit (after the grocery store) is the local library.  We have a very nice, tho small, library here.  I think a lot of older people like cozy mysteries because they do have a good selection in regular and large print.  I do want to buy McCabe's new book that came out on Tuesday.  I've heard him discussing his book on several shows.  He worked on the Boston Marathon bombing case and I heard that he has a section of his book on that.  Although the news only covers parts about Trump, I believe the book covers much more of his life in the FBI.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on February 22, 2019, 12:33:25 PM
I finished "Me After You" and am now reading "Still Me" - the sequel to the sequel :) .  Author notes say this is the last one about Louisa and I agree that it's time to wind up her story.

Also finished "Night of Miracles" by Elizabeth Berg, in which Arthur Truluv is mentioned.  I'd read that one but decided to re-read because I've forgotten the details.  It's on my Loan list.

MarsGal,  "If You Can't Stand The Heat" sounds very much like the Poppy Peters Mystery Series by A. Gardner (first initial only).  First one (of 5) in that series is "Southern Peach Pie And A Dead Guy".  I've read two of the series and liked them.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 23, 2019, 05:24:22 PM
I just arrived home from the library, and sorry to say that they didn't have any of the books that I wanted.  I should have put in a request, but because these books are all old, I expected that they would be in the stacks for me to look at and decide on.  What really surprises me, is that there was nothing by Tony Hillerman!  I know he wrote a dozen or more novels, and I was willing to check out any that looked interesting to me.  I plan to go to the library website when I'm finished here, and see if any of his books are at other libraries in the county system.  The other two books that I wanted, were Ship of Fools, by Katherine Anne Porter, and Lost Horizon, by James Hilton.  I can understand why there wasn't a copy of either one of those, being as they were written in the 1930's.  However, I'm hoping to find them both, somewhere in the system. 

Jean - Give me some suggestions as to the T. Hillerman novels that you liked best, and I'll request them if available?

Callie - Everyone I know who read You Before Me, liked it a lot, and sounds like you did too, if you also read the follow up book. I've held off getting it, thinking that it sounded too sad, but I think I'm ready to read it.  My dil thought the story was uplifting . . . she also saw the movie.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on February 23, 2019, 07:06:24 PM
Marilyne, do you ever use https://www.fantasticfiction.com
They have hundreds of authors.  If you click on H you will see both Tony Hillerman and Anne Hillerman listed.  I love that sight as all the authors' books are in order and if there is a new book being published it will list the month it is coming out. I liked all of the Hillerman books.  If I owned the books, I would go back and read everyone of them again.

There was a 3 or 4 episode series on Netflix about the Lieutenant and Jim Chee based on Tony Hillerman's stories.  I also enjoyed that, but I don't know if Netflix still has it.  If I find it I'll let you know.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MaryTX on February 24, 2019, 11:08:20 AM
] FlaJean, thanks for posting the "Fantastic Fiction" website.  I try to keep up with new books from my library's Upcoming New Books listing but miss some of my favorite authors since they don't purchase every new book.

I started reading Tony Hillerman's Lt. Leaphorn books when he first started the series and he certainly passed on the writing gene to his daughter as she seamlessly carried on the series as if he was writing it. 

Mary
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 24, 2019, 02:44:03 PM
MaryTX - Good to see you here in the Library Bookshelf.  When I didn't find the Hillerman books yesterday, I ordered some to be sent to my library, from others around the county.  I'll probably get some by next weekend, and I'm looking forward to reading them.  I have no idea what titles they'll send, but I'll be happy with any of them.

Jean - I also want to thank you for posting the Fantastic Fiction, website.  When I get whatever Hillerman books they send me, I'll be able to look and see where they fall on the list.  I haven't checked Netflix yet, for the Hillerman series.  It's probably still there, as they seem to keep their series and made for Netflix movies, on forever.  I noticed the last time I looked, that the movie Our Souls At Night, with Jane Fonda and Robert Redford, is still available.  That was the one adapted from the book by Kent Haruf.  If you haven't seen it, it's worth viewing. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on February 25, 2019, 12:03:43 PM
I don't think Netflix has that series anymore.  I looked extensively in Search for it.  Netflix eventually drops and changes their entertainment.  They dropped the old Sherlock Holmes version for the new Sherlock Holmes with Cumberbatch.  I didn't like the new Sherlock Holmes.  I like series that stick more closely to the original stories.  I hardly look at Netflix anymore.  They have way too much junk in my opinion.  I have been reading much more since I had my cataract operation last year.

Good to see you posting here, MaryTX.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 25, 2019, 05:54:13 PM
Jean - I agree with you on Netflix.  For one thing, they have TOO MANY shows to choose from! I get bogged down and discouraged, just scrolling through the endless choices.  We've tried lots of them, and turned them off after watching one episode.  Most are too violent, overly sexy, or just the "same old/same old".  I'm so tired of stories about crazy psychopaths committing crimes - especially against women and children. There's just too many shows like that on TV now.

I like a good story with a little humor, like The Kominsky Method, on Netflix now, with Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin.  If you have Amazon, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, is really funny. An added bonus, is that it takes place in the late 1950's, so you will enjoy the authentic clothes and attitudes of people at that time in history. I know I've already mentioned both of those within this month,  because they're the most recent series shows I've seen on TV.  We've mostly been watching movies this past month, and will continue on and try to see some of the Oscar winners from this year that sound good to us.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 01, 2019, 11:43:39 AM
I am having a dickens of a time trying to decide which book to pick for my monthly first reads freebie. The first is a Thriller titled The Rescue by Steven Konkoly. It is about a "former CIA operative turned mercenary" who specializes in rescuing kidnap victims: a mission gone bad, lots of people dead, a cover-up and false accusations, a prison sentence, revenge.

The second, and the one I am leaning towards is a non-fiction titled Zoo Nebraska: The Dismantling of an American Dream by Carson Vaughn. It is an expose covering the rise and fall of a small town zoo that began as the Midwest Primate Center, grew into a thriving tourist attraction, and then became the focus of a power struggle that ended in its demise. Yup! I think I'd rather read this one. https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-5039-0150-6
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 01, 2019, 12:03:12 PM
MarsGal - Interesting coincidence!  I received an Amazon message this morning, on recommended new books for March.  One of them is Zoo Nebraska!  Like you, I read the review, and knew right away that it's a true story that I want to read!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 05, 2019, 02:04:57 PM
Yesterday I went to the library, and I now have a stack of library books, that's so high, it's actually intimidating!  :yikes:  How will I ever read them all, and how will I choose which one to read first?? 

Jean & MaryTX - Two of them are Tony Hillerman novels .  . The Wailing Wind and Listening Woman. Which one do you think would be the best story to start with, to introduce me to Hillerman? Or does it matter?  I still have lots of other Hillerman's on order, but they are all checked out or on waiting lists.

MarsGal - Another one I saw on the New Book Shelf, and looked interesting to me, is a book of short stories by Joe R. Lansdale. I've never heard of him, but he is famous for SciFi books and stories.  I sat down and read one of the stories last night, called In the Mad Mountains.  Wow, that was a cross between SciFi and horror! It surely did hold my attention, as I could not put it down until I had come to the end.  I'm wondering if you've ever heard of Lansdale??  Apparently he has written lots of novels over many years, but not all of them are SciFi. This one is his newest.

The other books in my stack, are Sisters, by Lisa Wingate, (author of "Before We Were Yours"), Transcription, by Kate Atkinson, Lost Horizon, by James Hilton, and Ship of Fools, by Katherine Anne Porter.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on March 05, 2019, 03:04:45 PM
Marilyn, may I butt in?  We've been great Tony Hillerman fans over the years and have owned all of his books.  I would recommend reading them in chronological order, but it's not really necessary.  The characters change and develop over the years, and you'll grow to know them.  But each book also stands on its own.  For us, one of the main "characters" in his books is the geography of the NM/AZ/Navajo reservation area.  We traveled there extensively and were able to visit many of the sites he talks about.  One of the characters refers to a AAA "Indian Country" road map.  We literally wore out two of them, following the back roads he writes about.  I hope you enjoy the books.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 05, 2019, 04:48:14 PM
No, I've never heard of Joe R. Lansdale. That isn't a surprise since it appears he tends toward horror type novels. I mostly stay away from horror films and books, including SciFi. 

Waiting for me at the library is a book on the history of Bulgaria's first empire. I've also put a hold on the March discussion of a book about the Silk Road. I am just too lazy to go refresh my memory on the titles just now.

I read Oscar Wilde's The Canterville Ghost. Oddly, I didn't think it came off as funny as the movie did.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 05, 2019, 07:37:48 PM
I am getting myself buried in books this month. I just put two more books on hold. One is Mary Roach's Spook and the other is about the Mary Celeste.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on March 06, 2019, 10:05:27 AM
I am also a fan of Tony Hillerman's novels.  Especially since we lived in Albuquerque in the early 70's.  Did he die?  I know from recent posts that his daughter is writing the series now.  He was a favorite of my late husband (and me!) and our teenage sons (who are now in their 50's and 60's!). I am going to look for the new editions written by his daughter on my next trip to the library.

SCF Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 06, 2019, 02:38:03 PM
maryz - Nice to see you here in the Library Bookshelf.  :)  It's been a long time since you've posted here, and I'm hoping that you return more often and comment on books you've read, or are reading.   

I'm impressed that you and your husband, traveled to Navajo country, and visited many of the sites that are in Hillerman's novels. We only did that once, many years ago, after we both read an interesting true historical book about the Modocs, a Indian Tribe here in California.  It was called, The Modoc's and Their War. We drove to that remote area, far up in the Northern part of the state, and walked the Modoc trail, the caves, the hideouts, etc.   
 
I was hoping to read the Hillerman books in Chronological order, but found out that it's difficult to do that, unless I want to buy them. (or read on my Kindle). Also, although I have access to two libraries, city and county, neither one of them has all of the books.  I got a couple of them - mentioned in my message above - and I decided to read Listening Woman, first, mainly because it had the oldest publication date.  I started it last night, and it held my interest right away, so I can tell I'm going to like it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on March 06, 2019, 03:16:00 PM
Marilyn, the best place to find Hillerman is to get the paperbacks at a used book store.   :)  Your trip to Northern CA sounds like a good one.  We also did a (then) Elderhostel in Aztec, NM, with one of the subjects being Hillerman's novels.  He was in ill health then.
 And yes, Sue, he died a few years ago.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 06, 2019, 05:14:23 PM
MarsGal -  Both of us are buried in books!   I know I won't get to even half of my huge stack. I wanted to mention that Joe Lansdale, is not focused on horror stories/novels, at all.  In the book of his short stories that I mentioned, he writes an introduction to each of the stories.  The one I read, In the Mad Mountains, his introduction talks about specific genre's of sci Fi, and a writer by the name of Lovecraft, (whom he does not like) and others I can't remember now. Anyway, he was channeling Lovecraft, in that story.  At least that was the impression I got?

Anyway, he says his favorite genre is plain old American fiction - stories from the past, most especially the old west.   The name of his book,  is Driving to Geronimo's Grave, and other stories.  The first story is "Geronimo's Grave", which Takes place in Oklahoma, during the Depression, and is about a teenage boy.  It's short, and it's very good.  Lansdale has a great sense of humor.  I think you'd like this book.

maryz - Thanks for the tip on the used bookstores, for finding Hillerman novels.  I haven't been to one in years, but I know of a good one that I used to like to visit.  I hope it's still there?   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on March 06, 2019, 07:47:41 PM
Thank goodness. I got 4 books at the library last week. Still without a car and tonight we are getting 3 to 5 inches of snow. Do not remember a winter like this in Illinois before. I fell like wall are closing in.
Found a new writer. love her books. Her name is Emily Giffin. I read the first one and then found 4 more of her books in LPrint Got them all. now into number 2.
Not even in the mood to be on the  computer. I need to get onto Comcast as my WiFi not working .Will try contacting them tonight if I feel like spending a long time talking to someone out of the country. Hard to get people in US.
We need to get some warmer weather and sunshine to get me into a better mood.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on March 06, 2019, 08:25:45 PM
Marilyne,  unfortunately,  "Driving To Geronimo's Grave" isn't available to me but here's a link to some information about the site

Geronimo's Grave (http://blogoklahoma.us/place.aspx?id=389)

I've been to the museum and the cemetery at Ft. Sill.  Both are very interesting.

I'm a bit low on e-books right now.  Have been browsing through the ones that are Available and can't find any that look interesting that I haven't read.  Can't decide what interests me.


I'm tired of the same old authors, some of whom (who?)  seem to have a chart over their desks with plot sequence and just change the names and places for "new" novels.

Oh well.....
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 07, 2019, 06:24:32 AM
Marilyne, one point for Lansdale. I don't like Lovecraft either.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on March 07, 2019, 07:51:04 AM
My library only has one book by Anne Hillerman and it is an audio book.  They  ALWAYS put me to sleep so I don't get one very often.  I'll keep checking around because I really liked the Hillerman books.

I've put a Hold on the new Donna Leon book.  It will be awhile because I'm #83 on the waiting list!  I love her books because of her wonderful description of Venice.  She makes me feel that I am walking beside those canals.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on March 07, 2019, 12:28:09 PM
I ended up buying the 4 Anne Hillerman books from Amazon on my Kindle app because the library didn't have them.  When I get a birthday gift card from Amazon I sometimes use it for online books (even 'tho I would rather have a paper version).  I will probably also buy #5 when it comes out.  Reading a lot on my iPad puts pressure on my eyes so I try to avoid it.

Phyllis, Donna Leon is a favorite author.  I love those meals his wife cooks.  I appreciate the thoughtfulness Leon has shown in writing about a decent and loving Venetian family.  She certainly doesn't hide the corrupt Government but shows how to survive without becoming corrupt and how at times there is no answer but you just do your best.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 07, 2019, 04:17:38 PM
Callie - Your link, showing the picture of Geronimo's grave, looks exactly as he described it in the story!   I think that Joe Lansdale is from, or now lives in, Oklahoma?  If so, your library will probably order the book. At my library, it was on the shelf featuring new and recommended books. I see that it's a First Edition, and was just published in 2018.

Jean and Phyllis - I had a short wait for the only two Tony Hillerman books, that I now have. There were a couple of Anne Hillerman's, at other libraries in the County system, but there's a long wait list.

Last night was a bad night, as far as falling asleep was concerned, so I got up about midnight, and read a couple more chapters in Listening Woman,  I'm already half way through it, and really liking it. When I finish it, I have one more Hillerman, and that's it, until I get notice that another one has arrived at my library.

Donna Leon, sounds like a writer that I would like, so I'll add her name to my list of authors to look for, the next time I go to the library.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on March 07, 2019, 05:19:18 PM
Marilyne,  I looked up Joe Lansdale.  He lives in Texas.   The library has some of his books (written as Joe R. Lansdale).  I read a sample of one or two  that are about a pair of "red-neck" P.I.s  - and have put one on my Wish List. 
E-book patrons can Recommend e-books for the library to purchase.  I'll do so for the "....Geronimo..." book.

Have started "Sweetgrass" by Alice Monroe.  So far, it's pretty good.

Haven't read a Hillerman book in a very long time.  Maybe I'll dip into one of them.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 08, 2019, 01:25:19 PM
A while back there was discussion about The Hillbilly Elegy.   I wasn't able to find that book here in our library system.   However, in the search another title came up and the review caught my interest.  This book title is Under a Cloudless Sky by Chris Fabry.   It is a novel about the woes of the coal miners and their families in the thirties.   I did enjoy that one.   I'm in the midst of reading Zoo Nebraska.   That was a free offering from Amazon for the month of March.  Interesting!!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 08, 2019, 11:37:01 PM
maryc - Zoo Nebraska, must be a good non-fiction book. It seems to be highly recommended from many sources.  It was reviewed in the book section of my Sunday newspaper, and I also received an Amazon message, recommending it as one of their choices for the month of March.  So I put in a request at my library, but it's so new, that they don't have it yet.  So I'm interested in what you think of it?  It sure did get good reviews. MarsGal, also said that she was planning on reading it. 

Callie - I think I read Sweetgrass, but I can't recall for sure?  I may be thinking of Tallgrass, which was about a Japanese internment camp in Colorado. It's been a long time, but I remember that it was a good book. I looked up the Lansdale book about the two PI's. It's a series, and The site tells you the order in which they were written, so you can start out with #1. I've only read two of the short stories by Lansdale, but I like his style, and would like to read more, so I'll probably start with the PI series.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on March 09, 2019, 09:55:49 AM
I have Navy friends, (Japanese Americans), who were interred at a prison camp during WWII when we were children.  Their fathers were second generation Americans who were farmers in California.  I had no idea that this had happened until I was a grown woman and married.  Our husbands were both Navy pilots and were sharp-shooters at their universities (us at U. of South Carolina and them at U.C. Berkeley).  The 2 husbands took turns being the winner of the national ROTC shooting prize during their college days.  When we were stationed at the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, CA, we lived in the same quad at the PG school and we wives became friends.  I didn't know or remember about the interment until Jeannie told me about the 4 years they were imprisoned by the U. S. during WWII.  We are still friends, but sadly both husbands are deceased.

SCFSue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on March 09, 2019, 01:18:09 PM
Marilyne,  here's a synopsis of "Sweetgrass"

Sweetgrass is a historic tract of land in South Carolina that has been home to the Blakely family for eight generations. But Sweetgrass--named for the indigenous grass that grows in the area--is in trouble. Taxes are skyrocketing. Bulldozers are leveling the surrounding properties. And the Blakelys could be forced to sell the one thing that continues to hold their disintegrating family together.

I liked it because it was different from the "usual" Low Country stories I'd been reading.

Have now started reading "Wife", the book the movie was based on and Glenn Close won an award for.  Not sure I like the author's writing style but I'll stick with it for a while.

There were several German POW camp in Oklahoma during WWII - one was right outside my hometown.  I remember hearing that the prison camps were put in the middle of the country because it would be harder for prisoners to find their way to the coasts if they escaped.

Electricity was off for more than an hour this morning.  Fortunately, it's a sunny day and I just sat in my south window and played games that are downloaded on my Tablet.

Off to get busy with the projects I'd planned to do - both of which require microwave and oven.

Happy Reading, everyone.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 10, 2019, 11:38:21 PM
I'm giving up on Zoo Nebraska,lost interest in all the trivia
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Vanilla-Jackie on March 11, 2019, 04:34:00 AM
I know I have mentioned this book before but is well worth mentioning again...Chef Interrupted by Trevis Gleason...Believe it or not I am reading this book for the fourth time, something I have never needed to do with any book, so much interest, I still seem to come across things I never took in on one of my previous reads...By the way he has MS but the book is not focusing on that but his stay in ireland with his new pup, the guests who come over to stay in his rented rustic cottage in the wilds of west Kerry, Ireland for the winter, few of his recipes are also thrown into the book..This book is very humorous, and in my opinion " a must read.."

" Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1966, writer Trevis L. Gleason had lived a life many would consider quite full by the time he was diagnosed with Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis in 2001 at the age of 35. Gleason forewent scholarships in the field of music education to join the United States Coast Guard in 1985.  As he had in high school music and athletics, he confronted new challenges and exceeded expectations at every turn; becoming the youngest person ever to be named Coast Guardsman Of The Year at the Service's annual Coast Guard Festival in Grand Haven, Michigan in August of 1986.

After nearly 7 years sailing the Atlantic, Pacific, Barring and the Great Lakes as an accomplished navigator for the Coast guard, Gleason took another tack and plotted a new course in the culinary world.

Studying at the revered New England Culinary Institute under Chef Michel LeBorgne (No Crying In The Kitchen – Public Press 2009), Gleason once again excelled, representing the school at the prestigious "Salute To Excellence" held by the National Restaurant Association in 1992.  Honing his culinary skills around professional kitchens in New England and New York, Gleason settled into what he expected to be a nice, long position at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration.

Within three years, however, Gleason was named as a Goodwill Ambassador to the former Soviet Republic of Ukraine by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).  During his time in Ukraine, Gleason put his new-found love of artisan bread baking to use as he helped several farmer/owners of local bread bakeries in the new, Free Economy to increase their production (by as much as 40%) without adding labor or expense.  He also helped establish a cooperative granary and mill for the local farmers with the help of international financing and the UN's World Bank.

Upon Return to the United States, Chef Trevis moved to San Francisco, California to take a directorial position with the California Culinary Academy where he opened and ran several cooking schools for the Academy around that state.  A later position with a German foodservice equipment manufacturer had him flying approximately 250,000 miles per year around North America and Europe.

All of this changed in April 2001, however, when years of misdiagnosed ailments and ignored symptoms finally culminated in a stroke-like episode which led to his diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis.

Gleason was forced to retire at the very moment his career was entering rarefied air.

The journey back from such a fall may be impossible for some – and it was nearly so for the Chef.  With the help of a world-classed medical team, the dearness of old friends and a new-found batch of passionate people working to cure the disease and help those living with MS until that cure is found, Gleason has grasped the reigns of his new life and ridden not off into the sunset, but rather onto a bigger and more important stage.

Trevis Gleason is now a leading voice for people with MS and a multitude of chronic illness.  His Blog, Trevis L Gleason's Life With MS, is one of the longest running, most widely read and respected on the topic.  He also writes regular blog posts for the MS Society of the United Kingdom (A Yank's Life With MS) as well as for the National (US) Multiple Sclerosis Society (The Unspeakable Bits; From A Life With MS).  His opinions are sought by elected officials and non-profit leaders.  He stirs a national conversation about MS the way he once might have an elaborate consommé and while MS has stopped him from doing much he formerly found "important" there is no greater work for him, than being a voice for those who live with MS just like he does.."


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on March 11, 2019, 01:47:36 PM
Jackie, that sounds like a really good book.  I checked my library but it doesn't have it.  I'm sure I can get it from Amazon.  I'm going to order Anne Hillerman's latest book in April so I'll get that one at the same time.  Something to look forward to.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Vanilla-Jackie on March 11, 2019, 03:00:34 PM
FlaJean...
...you wont be disappointed.. :)

https://www.amazon.com/Chef-Interrupted-Discovering-Multiple-Sclerosis-ebook/dp/B00RW30I8M/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=trevis+gleason&qid=1552331126&s=books&sr=1-1-fkmrnull
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on March 11, 2019, 06:05:10 PM
That book does sound interesting. Just checked and not in library. What is it that makes people that come down with MS to be such fighters. I have had  friends and all were the same. fought so hard to keep up with the good work they had always done.It did seem to hit them in ages about 35. lost one last year and now one last week. Both involved in so much for many years with it without realizing .Both age 65. there does seem to be lots of research being done on Ms.Lets hope soon something will be found
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 11, 2019, 06:57:44 PM
I just discovered that David McCullough has a new book releasing the beginning of May, The Pioneers. It is about the settling of the Northwest Territories. Should be interesting. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Pioneers/David-McCullough/9781501168680

The History of the First Bulgarian Empire is very interesting, but my oh my is all that migrating and raiding and such confusing. Early accounts of the area are spotty and often contradictory. Then there are the names; different accounts use different spellings of both people and places. No maps and only vague references to where groups migrated to or from, or where battles were fought. It must be a real challenge to piece all that together into something semi-coherent.

I just started Shadow of the Silk Road, today, for our book discussion on SeniorLearn. Then there are the two books I picked up at the library which will have to wait a while till I get to them, and I just got notice that the next Expanse book is ready for me to download. And I am in the middle of doing my Taxes.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 12, 2019, 02:29:49 PM
Maryc - I'm on a wait list for Zoo Nebraska at the library, but I doubt that I will read it when it finally arrives. You were definitely not enthusiastic, which tells me that I probably won't be either.  We haven't seen a comment from MarsGal yet?  she mentioned last week that she intended to read it, but hasn't said anything since?  I have a stack of books here, that I would like to read, but it will take me a long time to get to all of them, plus a have a few others waiting for me at the library. I should have known better than to check out so many at one time!

To all those who recommended the Tony Hillerman novels, I would like to tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed reading, Listening Woman.  I've done a little research, and I see that it's one of Hillerman's, Joe Leaphorn, series.  I would like to read another in that series, as I really liked Joe!  Today I'm going to start on another of the many books that I checked out last week.  I haven't decided which one, but they all look interesting.

MarsGal - The Pioneers, sounds good.  I like stories dealing with the early settlers, in different areas of the country.  One of my favorites is an old classic by Willa Cather, My Antonia.  Just a wonderful book, that I own, and have read a number of times over the years.  It takes place in Nebraska, and is focused on the immigrants from an area in Czechoslovakia, known as Bohemia.   A wonderful story, that will grab you right away, hold your interest, and stay with you for a long time.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 12, 2019, 05:27:35 PM
Marilyne, I will eventually get around it but right now. I have five library books to read, one of which I am sure I won't be able to renew. Too bad only one is an Ebook. The library systems I have don't have the others in Ebook format. Trying to read around the cats slows me down.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 13, 2019, 04:37:30 PM
Callie - I'm wondering how you liked  The Wife?  I thought it was a very good story.  I'm anxious to see the movie, available on TV for the sum of $5.99.  That is so reasonable, compared to going to a theater, but I still find it hard to pay, when there are lots of things to watch for free!  I will probably watch it some day this week anyway.  Glenn Close, is perfect for the title roll, and being as she won the Golden Globe for Best Actress, and was nominated for the Oscar, I'm sure she does a great job. 
I Googled Sweetgrass, and yes, I did read it, and I liked it.  Mary Alice Monroe's novels tend to be similar to each other, as far as the general theme is concerned, which is fine with me.  There have been only a few that I didn't care much for.  Of the Southern women writers, I prefer Anne Rivers Siddons.  I don't know if she is still living and writing, so I think I'll look, and see if she's written anything in the past couple of years?

I'm now reading Lost Horizon, by James Hilton. I recently watched the movie, so I was curious about the book. It was written in 1933, so the writing style seems a bit dated, but still very readable.  He also wrote, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, and Random Harvest, which were also made into movies in the 1940's.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on March 13, 2019, 04:46:14 PM
Marilyne,  I'm still reading "The Wife" - just got to the part where the "secret" of his real success is revealed.
Will be interested in seeing how the author handles that one! 

I still haven't tried to get movies on t.v. - either for free or by paying what is a minimum amount compared to theater prices.  I have several recorded from HBO or other movie channels and haven't gotten around to watching those, either.

One of these days....... :) 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on March 14, 2019, 02:30:32 PM
Just finished unto us a son is born by Donna Leon, one of my favorite authors.  Very good book.  Heading to the library soon to get a couple of books by Sharon Kahn about the rabbi's wife.  They sound like fun and light reading.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 17, 2019, 12:37:54 PM
I returned my stack of books to the library yesterday, except for one - Sisters, by Lisa Wingate.  I wanted to read Ship of Fools, but the print was so tiny and so light, that my eyes couldn't handle it.  I liked the movie so much, and wanted to see if, or how, it differed from the movie, but I'll just move on.  The other Hillerman, book that I had checked out, The Wailing Wind, I couldn't deal with either.  It was a small paper back, and was wrinkled, and dirty, and torn in places.  I could tell it had been read by countless people, over many years, but it was just too "beat up" for me to handle and enjoy reading.
 
I don't think libraries order new copies of books anymore, once they wear out, or are lost or damaged?  The younger generations don't read "old fashioned" hard or soft cover books anymore, but only stick with ebooks. Even college textbooks are now available for Kindles and online.  I wonder what will become of libraries in the future? I guess the publishing companies, will slowly switch over to digital, as newspapers are doing right now? 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 17, 2019, 01:01:03 PM
I guess you are thinking about Trump's push to eliminate Federal funding for libraries again. He tried this in 2017. What Congress did in 2018, instead, was increase funding.

I am not liking Shadow of the Silk Road very much. It is a bit of a downer and a little depressing. The author spends a lot of time relating conversations with people, many he remembered from 30 years ago about the changes in China. People seem to be somewhat disconnected from their history, and I don't mean just ancient history. I guess that is to be expected as the world seems to change faster and faster these days.

I do like A History of the First Bulgarian Empire, but will not get it finished before I must send it back, I fear. Here again, people had to contend with a lot of changes over the year with the constant raids, migrations, and forced displacement and resettling of whole populations.

Actually, the Expanse series also covers a lot of this: wars, displacement, migrations, and now the argument over safety and security and freedom. Carrot and stick. Lock step with the new, growing Empire and you will been taken care of cradle to grave. If not, you punished severely for even relatively minor infractions in thought and/or deed.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on March 17, 2019, 07:58:49 PM
Marilyne, I very seldom read paperback books anymore.  The print so close to the middle you have to almost pull the book apart to see the words.  Every now and then I luck out when going to B&N and find a good hardback book from a favorite author for $6 or less.  I keep an eye out for my favorite authors and always put a hold on the newest books at the library.  If the library doesn't get the book, I end up buying the digital version from Amazon or iBooks.  I would spend the money on the hardback but my husband isn't too happy about it so the digital version is a compromise.

I just finished "Death on Nantucket" by Francine Mathews.  However, it was the 5th in the series and now I want to see if they have the previous four.  Anything about settings in Northeastern coastal areas is interesting if there is a good plot to go with the locale.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 18, 2019, 05:12:12 PM
Jean - I also like to look through the sale books at B&N. They always have a good selection, but AJ is like Larry - why would I buy a book that I can get for free at the library or digital?   My reason is because hard bound books are such a pleasure to read, and most new library books are now soft cover.  I have a Kindle, but both of us prefer a regular book, although he doesn't mind a paper back, even if it's not in the best of shape. 

I'm not really enjoying the few books that I have checked out right now, so I may see if your recommendation, "Death On Nantucket", is in at my library. 
Later on this afternoon I'm going to leave you a message in Television & Movies, about a good new moviee that I think you would like! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on March 19, 2019, 08:54:45 AM
Death on Nantucket sounds good.  I'll have to check the library catalog.  I, also, always enjoyed Phillip Craig's Martha's Vineyard mystery books and, of course, the setting is very similar to Nantucket Is.  Both are off the coast of Cape Cod. I loved that whole area when my husband and I used to travel there.

EDIT:  Unfortunately, my library doesn't seem to have any of her books.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on March 19, 2019, 01:51:47 PM
Phillis, I'm glad you mentioned Philip Craig.  I had forgotten about him.   He died several years ago but I looked in my library and they have several books by him.  If I have read them I probably forgot what they were about.  I'm going to the library today so will see if I can get a couple of his.  I got three books from the library last week and only liked one of the three.  I've learned not to waste time on a book I don't enjoy.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on March 20, 2019, 10:26:36 AM
Sisterhood Bundle: Weekend Warriors, Payback, Vendetta 
by Fern Michaels   

The first three novels that launched the #1 New York Times bestselling Sisterhood series!
 
The Sisterhood: a group of women from all walks of life bound by friendship and years of adventure. Armed with vast resources, top-notch expertise, and a loyal network of allies around the globe, the Sisterhood will not rest until every wrong is made right.
 
WEEKEND WARRIORS
Life isn't fair. Most women know it. But when Myra Rutledge loses her daughter in a tragic hit-and-run, she recruits six of her closest friends to right the wrongs they've suffered too long. Together, the Sisterhood will learn that when bad things happen, justice is theirs to serve . . .
 
PAYBACK
When Julia Webster's husband, a U.S. Senator, betrays her for his own personal gains, the Sisterhood gather to embark on their second mission. Because the senator crossed the wrong woman . . . and there are six more where she came from . . .
 
VENDETTA
It's been five years since Myra's pregnant daughter was killed by a hit-and-run driver—the playboy son of an ambassador with diplomatic immunity. But now the time has finally come for the Sisterhood to execute some long-awaited and very sweet revenge . . .
 
"Readers will enjoy seeing what happens when well-funded, very angry women take the law into their own hands." —Booklist
 
"Michaels manages to surprise and delight fans of all ages with her novel's unexpected twists and turns." 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on March 21, 2019, 07:32:08 AM
Thanks, Bubble.  I used to read Fern Michaels whenever she published anything but haven't read her for a long time.  Maybe it's time to go back and try her again.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 21, 2019, 08:01:56 AM
I made a discovery while reading Shadow of the Silk Road. The author told about an asbestos mine he saw in Tibet. While also reading the book about the first A History of the First Bulgarian Empire, I discovered that the Romans and much of the Near East knew about asbestos, including the lung disease that plagued asbestos miners. The Romans used asbestos for a ton of  things, including armor padding/lining, hair nes, and tablecloths and napkins. Common advise at the time was not to buy slaves who had worked the asbestos mines because they didn't live long. I'd love to see examples of objects made with asbestos from those times. I wonder if any survived. Ah, I feel another Internet search coming over me.

If you are interested in seeing asbestos mine site, take a look at this page, click on #7 - Southern Silk Road. http://ken-in-china.blogspot.com/ Blogger Ken. went through the area about a year after the author of Shadow of the Silk Road, and took plenty of pictures. You can see how rugged the terrain is.


And speaking of A History of the First Bulgarian Empire, I discovered an online version of the book. The online book has been modified a little to make it easier to check the appendix and reference notes, and  added maps (hurry!) which are not in the book. For anyone interested, http://s155239215.onlinehome.us/turkic/25Bulgars/SRuncimanFirstBulgarianEmpireBook1En.htm Now I can send the ILL book back and finish it at my leisure. It is really quite good.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on March 23, 2019, 01:24:20 PM
Phyllis, I got all of the books by Philip Craig that the library had (6).  I would like to read them in order but they are sort of hit and miss.  I've read two already and my husband is enjoying them also.

I also got "Newcomer" by Keigo Higashino, a Japanese author.  I've read him before and this was published in this country in Nov. 2018.  I like to read books by authors from different countries.  I like a good mystery but not one that I consider "silly".  You can really learn a lot about people and places from a serious and good author, regardless of whether the book is a mystery or not.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 24, 2019, 12:07:00 PM
Jean and Phyllis - I'm planning to check my library for any books by Phillip Craig. I need to go in a new reading direction for a while, so that sounds like a good place to start.  Also, Newcomer, by Higashino, looks to be good. 

I didn't last long with any of the books I checked out a couple of weeks ago.  I just couldn't seem to concentrate, and allow myself get involved in any of them.  I did enjoy The one Hillerman book, and a couple of stories in the Joe Lansdale book of short stories.  The rest were a disappointment.

Lots of things going on around here the past couple of weeks, so it hasn't been a good time for reading.  Tomorrow our older daughter and granddaughter will come for a visit, and will stay about three days.  After they leave, I'll make another trip to the library, and hope to get back into a reading routine.

MarsGal - Sounds like you're enjoying Shadow of the Silk Road, so I may take a look when I go to the library?  I usually follow along with the discussions on SL, but I haven't looked at this one yet.  I will if I decide to check out the book.

Bubble - nice to see you here! I heaven't read anything by Fern Michaels, in many years, but I may take a look at the Sisterhood Series . . . sounds good!

Maryc - We haven't heard from you in a while . . . hope you are doing okay, and Debby too?  Waiting anxiously for Spring to arrive I would imagine?  Let us know what you've been reading?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on March 25, 2019, 08:47:49 AM
I checked out Donna Leon's The Temptation of Forgiveness.  She is an author I really enjoy but somehow, I just can't get into this one.  I've tried several times and even renewed it once but find I pick it up and then put it down.  I may just give up.  I'm still waiting (on a very long list) for her latest book, "Unto Us a Son is Given".  I hope when I finally get it that I will be ready to enjoy her again.

I'm glad you like the Phillip Craig books.  I'm sorry that he is gone and we will have no more new books from him.

I will have to find some new-to-me books(authors) soon.  I panic when I don't have a book to read.  I've been watching too much tv, I think.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 27, 2019, 01:47:23 PM
I've been taking a "Spring Break" from reading, for the past week.  Lots of stuff going on around here, plus our older daughter and granddaughter came to visit for a few days.  They just left this morning, but daughter #2, is coming over to do her laundry and will stay for dinner. Things won't be getting back to their usual slow pace, until tomorrow, when I plan to go to the library and get a whole new stack of books. 

Callie - did you ever get the Joe R. Lansdale book, Driving to Geronimo's Grave?  As I mentioned before, it's the first book of short stories that I've read in a long time, and I really did enjoy the change of pace, from a standard novel.  There are six stories in the book, and I read five of them. Only one, I couldn't get into, and finally skipped. When I go to the library, I plan to look for any novels by Lansdale, and see how I like them.  I found out that he is a friend of Larry McMurtry.  His writing style is similar to McMurtry's. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on March 28, 2019, 12:19:10 AM
I just wanted to say that, for some reason, I have not been getting my S&F notifications.  Coming in here tonight, I found that it was back in February when I had my last notifications. 
A Book that I read with my f2f book club, "Destiny of the Republic" by Candace Millard.  It is non-fiction, but it was terrifically received by our group.  So very much was going on at time in history, that a lot of us never knew about.  They just don't teach history well anymore!  If you can get the book, do so, I think you will be delighted with all the information, and it is very well written.  (P.S.)  Hi, Marilyne!  Have you missed me?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 28, 2019, 10:52:41 PM
Tome - So good to see you checking in here!  I don't think the S&F notifications work anymore, since our upgrade?  I remember that members were having a terrible time, with hundreds of notifications coming in at once. I'll check with someone, and find out if that problem has been fixed? 

I hope that you're doing well?  I know it's been a very hard year for you. I do think of you often, but seems like I don't do so well with correspondence any more! I'll try to do better.  :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on March 28, 2019, 11:45:36 PM
Marilyne,   The library doesn't have "Driving To Geronimo's Grave" but I've put another book by the same author on my Wish List.  Title is "Jack Rabbit Smle" and the blurb reads:  

 Hap and Leonard are an unlikely pair—Hap, a self-proclaimed white trash rebel, and Leonard, a tough-as-nails black gay Vietnam vet and Republican—but they're the closest friend either of them has in the world. Hap is celebrating his wedding to his longtime girlfriend, and his and Leonard's PI boss, Brett, when their backyard barbecue is interrupted by a couple of Pentecostal white supremacists. They're not too happy to see Leonard, and no one is happy to see them, but they have a problem and only Hap and Leonard will take the case.
 

Not much reading time this week and have been trying to finish a couple of others - so haven't actually checked it out, yet.

Also - a neighbor brought me four "real" books, one of which is a bio of Hedy Lamar.  Really looks interesting.

As we all say,  "So many books...so little time.

Hi, Tome.  :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 29, 2019, 06:46:26 AM
I think I have my March books pretty well taken care of. Spook went back to the library unread until later. I still have it on my wish list. The book about the Mary Celeste is going back too, maybe for later; I read into the first chapter and decided it and Spook were not what I needed for my challenge list. I finally found and read a book about haunted places in Pennsylvania. There were some interesting sightings, but many were missed. There were two sites in Bethlehem that I never heard about when I lived there, and one at Bube's Brewery, in Mt. Joy. The brewery is a popular brewery/restaurant complex which holds plenty of themed "feasts" and some Murder/Mystery dinners throughout the year. I was never there, but my sister was. She remembers the ghost story but never saw anything.

A History of the First Bulgarian Empire also went back to the library, but I found an online version to finish reading. The online version has annotations and maps as I read or at the end of each chaper, whereas the book did not have maps, the footnotes were tiny, and the appendixes, which were mentioned frequently, were in the back of the book. Anyway, the upshot is I can read it at my leisure now. Meanwhile, I am continuing Shadow of the Silk Road and am about to cross over into Afghanistan. Also, I've been watching some YouTube presentations of the ancient Thracian and Dacian cultures. Last night I watched a National Geographic presentation on Romanian (Dacian) history which spent some time on Trajan's war with the Dacians culminating in Trajan's victories and his war commemorative, Trajan's Column.

Next up on my challenge list will be something to do with wine or wine country. I chose, The Merlot Murders by Ellen Crosby for my fiction title and I have a non-fiction book about wine here on my cookbook shelf. In a few days, I will be able to download another book from my Prime Lending Library which will be the next installment of the Expeditionary Force series, Paradise
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on March 29, 2019, 11:31:00 AM
The book on Hedy Lamar is "Only Woman In The Room" by Marie Benedict.  It's biographical fiction.Not too sure I'm liking the first person narrative but at least she didn't write it in present tense.  :) 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 31, 2019, 12:25:30 PM
MarsGal - "The Merlot Murders", sounds pretty good.  I looked it up and see that it's one of a series called,  The Wine Country Mysteries.  Another one I saw listed, was The "Chardonnay Charade".  :D  I don't know whether they are considered cozy's, or not?

Callie - I'd like to read the book about Hedy Lamar.  It should be very interesting.  She apparently, was a brilliant women, and is noted for much more than just being a beautiful movie star.  Keep us posted on how you like the book?

I didn't go to the library myself, but AJ went, and brought back a stack of books by Joe R. Lansdale.  I had asked him to check and see what was there, and he got carried away with all the titles, so decided to check them all out. I enjoyed Lansdale's book of short stories very much, but I don't think I want to read six books by him!  I'll pick one, and take the rest back this week.  The one you mentioned, "Jack Rabbit Smile", is not one of the ones he brought home.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 31, 2019, 01:37:31 PM
I'm guessing the Wine Country Mystery series is considered a cozy. Anyway, when I put it on my wishlist not more than a five days ago, I could have borrowed it right then. As it is, I had to put it on hold yesterday. Oh, well. In the meantime, I found a short book on Pennsylvania wines that I am reading instead of the much longer and involved book I have on my shelf. I had no idea that PA wines were such big business at one time. I don't know where PA stands in production now, but in 1850 it was #3 behind CA (naturally) and Ohio. Mostly I just knew about CA and NY wines, until about 30 years ago when small vineyards started popping up here and I started seeing regional wines from other states being offered.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on March 31, 2019, 01:52:55 PM
Marsgal,  here are links to wineries in Oklahoma.  It's a growing business especially considering that Oklahoma has been a restrictive "dry" state until recently.
Wine has only been available in grocery stores for about the past 6 months. 

Oklahoma wineries (https://www.travelok.com/article_page/top-oklahoma-wineries)

Wineries near Oklahoma City (https://www.yelp.com/search?cflt=wineries&find_loc=Oklahoma+City%2C+OK)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 31, 2019, 05:37:35 PM
Have you tried any of the local wines yet, Callie? I love "Put A Cork In It". I have at least one overly verbose friend I'd love to give that to. I've tried one or two around here, but I pretty much stick to Tawny Port, Cream Sherry, or Bully HIll's Banty Red. I've never been up to the Bully Hill winery but I see from their website they've added some things, like the restaurant and the Walter S. Taylor Art Gallery. There is a story behind Mr. Taylor's label designs, especially the Love My Goat series. Here is the official version of the Bully Hill saga. It is pretty close to what I had heard, but I didn't know it was Coca Cola that bought it. I was told it was a big CA winery that bought it.  https://www.bullyhillvineyards.com/about/heritage/   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 01, 2019, 11:13:22 AM
MarsGal,   I don't drink wine.  Over the years, many friends have insisted I could like it if I tried the right kind.  Well.....I've tried their choices and have been to wine tasting events in California, France, Italy, Germany and upper New York state (where I had "ice wine")   It all tastes like medicine.
Agreed on conclusion:  I have weird taste buds.   (I'm probably the only person in the southwestern USA that doesn't like Mexican food, either.)

I've just finished the latest book in The Darling Dahlias series.  Light-hearted mysteries by Susan Wittig Albert about a group of Garden Club ladies in a small Alabama town in 1934.

Ironing is stacking up so I must resist reading until that chore is done.  <sigh>
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 01, 2019, 11:46:41 AM
Good morning book lovers! 
Callie - I used to enjoy a glass of wine, up until about ten years ago.  Now I can no longer tolerate alcohol of any kind . . . it really messes with my unpredictable digestive system! ::) My husband drinks one glass of red wine every night between 5:00 and 6:00, while he's watching the wrap-up of the day's news.  It would be nice to have something to blunt the daily onslaught of bad news stories.  Usually I just get up and leave the room, if there's a story that I can't tolerate. 

I also love the name of the winery, Put a Cork In It!   Whoever came up with that name, has a great sense of humor.  I think I'll look into the Wine Country Mystery Series, and also the Garden Club Mysteries.  I do enjoy reading a cozy, when I need something fast paced, with an unlikely, but humorous story.  The characters are always interesting and different.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 01, 2019, 11:54:12 AM
Good morning friends of the library bookshelf.  I have been reading all the while and scanning the posts for suggestions on new authors.  I just finished a little series of four books called The Shenandoah Sisters.  Debby had read the first book a while back and recommended it.  When I read number one, I discovered that the next three were available on Hoopla so that was easy.  This story almost felt like a  book for young readers but was easy and interesting with some history of the post Civil War era.  I've had a bit of trouble with my Hoopla app so activated the Overdrive app this morning.  First thing I found there was another book by Sara Gruen (Water for Elephants).  This title is At the Water's Edge.  I'll get back to you if I like it!  :)
The sun is shining this morning on yesterdays snowfall and the weather folks are predicting a seasonable week coming for us.  The spring cleanup is on and I picked up a couple bundles of sticks when I went out for the papers this morning.  I'll follow Al's model in that.  He would always stop on his way to or from the mail or paper and pick up a few fallen branches and he always had it  pretty well taken care of. 
PS...Just read Marilyne and Callies' posts.    I always enjoyed a glass of light wine but as Marilyne said it doesn't always agree with my finicky digestive system so am careful these days. ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 01, 2019, 12:40:21 PM
A lot of the wine companies put additives into their wine. Why, I don't know unless it has something to do with wine that isn't aged long enough before bottling to keep it from turning. A local winery we used to buy from in the Bethlehem area sold a lovely Ravat, but you couldn't keep it long or it went to vinegar. If I think of it later, I will look it up or ask Ginny over on SeniorLearn. She has a vineyard. Some people are allergic to the sulfates they add in. I've had a few wines that make me sneeze or, like some beers, make my nose stuffy. At any rate, wine and beer are two of the things I gave up to save money when I retired. In fact, the six pack I bought two weeks ago is the first in maybe five years or so.

I see I have a new neighbor. A groundhog.

The Merlot Mystery is in audio book form and is now ready for me to listen to.

A cozy mystery I read several years ago was a series centering around real estate agent. I liked it but never got around to reading more. Now I don't remember the book title or author.

Hi MaryC   :wave:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 01, 2019, 08:23:26 PM
Callie, the latest book The Darling Dahlias and the Poinsettia Puzzle was one of my favorites.  Loved the ending and relieved that Elizabeth's boss finally saw the light.

Hi, Mary!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 01, 2019, 10:08:04 PM
Jean, me,too.  Perfect ending.  I was so afraid she'd go with the other guy amd he'd turn out to be Cupcake's father.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MaryTX on April 02, 2019, 10:40:37 AM
Good morning everyone.  My eyes have been bothering me the last couple of weeks along with this stupid cold/cough I can't seem to shake so my reading and the computer have suffered also. 

I did finish Susan Mallery's California Girls .  It was good but typical.  I started reading her books several years ago with her Fool's Gold series.

A friend brought me one of my favorite author Susan Wittig Albert's latest books, "Queen Anne's Lace" in her China Bayles mystery series.  I'm looking forward to starting it.

I do have very eclectic reading tastes :) .  I even read cereal boxes :) .

Have a good week.

Mary
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 02, 2019, 12:00:25 PM
I just finished rereading Null-ABC by John Joseph McGuire and H. Beam Piper. I think some of you might like it even though it is a SciFi. Published way back in 1953, in three parts, it is a future history. Elections are coming up and schemes to win the election abound. There are three major "parties", the Literates which is split between two factions and the Illiterates. Spys and plots, secret activities at the high school, and a battle at a big department store are included in the run up to the elections. Project Gutenberg free offering http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18346  Amazon also offers the Kindle Ebook for free. I am sure other sites have a free version too.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 03, 2019, 05:10:35 PM
Happy Wednesday to all my bookie friends! :)  I've been neglecting my reading lately, but hope to get back to my normal routine, starting today.

MaryTX - Good to see you back with us again.  Your two selections, California Girls, and Queen Anne's Lace, both sound good. After all these years, I've finally started keeping a list of all book suggestions from those who post in this folder. I have the list on my desk top, so can refer to it before I go to the library. 

Maryc - I'll also add the books you mentioned in the Shenandoah Sisters, series.  I like any novels that take place during the Civil War era.  I'm pretty sure that I read At The Waters Edge, and that I was disappointed in it?  I really liked Water For Elephants, and was anxious to read anything else by Sara Gruen.  As often happens, I felt that her next book fell short, was not nearly as good. It could have been a different title though . . .  it was a couple of years ago?

I also have The Garden Club Mysteries, and The Wine Country Mysteries, on my new list. 

MarsGal - I think it's the white wines that have additives, like nitrates? Whatever they add, it doesn't agree with me. The red wines are supposed to be much healthier for older people to drink, but they're way too acidic for me. I do like to drink a glass of champagne, at a wedding, or a special occasion of some sort, but those times are now few and far between.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 08, 2019, 08:28:03 PM
I just finished At the Water's Edge and enjoyed the story.Marilyn,I too thought that I had read it earlier but found that it was new to me.  I had read several of Sara Gruen's books after Water for Elephants but had missed this one.
       There was another book that was being promoted on the Overdrive site called Homes. At first I shied away from it for whatever reason.  Then decided to give it a try.  So far it is interesting and different from my usual choice.  The main character is a teen age Muslim boy who lived in Iraq. When their lives are threatened the family fled to Syria and at this point in the story the father is exploring where they might be able to move on for a peaceful life.  I am reminded again how lucky I am to live in peace!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 09, 2019, 02:37:25 PM
Mary, I looked up At the Water's Edge, and see that I did read it. (the Loch Ness Monster!). I remember recommending it to you at the time, because it took place in Scotland.  I did like it, but was disappointed that it wasn't close to being as good as Water For Elephants. I think we set a high bar for an author, if we're especially enthusiastic about their first book. I think I'm
probably too critical?

Callie, I took the big stack of Joe R Lansdale books back to the library. Just too overwhelming, to think of reading more than one.  I kept Edge of Dark Water, so will see how I like that one.  How did you like the "Hap and Leonard" series novel that you started?

I have other books here as well . . . one being the new Jodi Picoult, best seller, A Spark of Light.  I'm not a big fan of her novels, but I saw this on the New Book Shelf, at the library, so decided to give her another look.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 09, 2019, 03:44:45 PM
I'm reading The Tale Tellers by Anne Hillerman.  I had preordered it from Amazon for my Kindle app and it came in today.  I'm a couple of chapters into it and enjoying the fact that Lt. Leaphorn is featured more.  I love reading about that area of the US but don't think I could live in such a barren land.  The Wine Country murders sound interesting.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 13, 2019, 12:54:44 PM
"The Tale Tellers".  It was good and centered on the main characters of Lt. Leaphorn, Bernie and Chee.  It started a little slow but sure had plenty of action before it was ended.  This is the 5th of daughter Anne's books and I bought them for my Kindle app.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 13, 2019, 03:17:27 PM
Jean - I also liked the two "Leaphorn" books that I read.  Mine were the earlier ones, by Tony H.  I think I mentioned that there are very few Hillerman books in my county library system.  I don't know why, as the series is still very popular, but I think it's probably because the books have worn out or been lost over the years, and never replaced. Most people read from their Kindle's or iPad's now, so I don't think the libraries are interested in replacing older hard or soft cover books that become damaged or lost.

Callie - I'm wondering if you liked the "Hap and Leonard" book?  I reading a novel by Lansdale, titled Edge of Dark Water, and I really like it. In fact last night I couldn't sleep, so got up and read a couple of chapters.  It's a murder mystery, that takes place in East Texas, during the late Depression years.  Not usually the style of book that I prefer, but the characters in Lansdale's stories, are so  likable, that you want to read more.   The reviews I read on line for this novel, are all very good.  The NY Times review called the book, a cross between Huckleberry Finn and Deliverance.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MaryTX on April 13, 2019, 04:07:37 PM
Hi everyone.

I picked up The Tale Tellers at the library yesterday, read it in one sitting! It took me until midnite :). I agree it started a bit slow but finished with a bang. I have read all of her Dad's books and her books are nearly identical to his.

Mary   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 13, 2019, 04:41:18 PM
Marilyne,  sorry to be so slow in replying to your question.  It's been "one of those weeks"!
 I did not like the "Hap and Leonard" book and won't be getting any more by that author.  I just don't like his writing style.

I'm currently reading "The Butterfly's Daughter" by Mary Alice Monroe.  The general theme centers around Monarch butterflies and their migration to/from Mexico.  The main character is about to complete a trip to Mexico her grandmother wanted to make with her so she could meet her family.  So far - it's pretty good.

Have just finished the first book in the "Evan Evans" mystery series by Rhys Bowen.  Not sure I'm going to like it as well as I did the Molly Murphy and Her Royal Spyness series but will try another one or two and see how it goes.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 15, 2019, 03:35:00 PM
Callie - I didn't like the Lansdale, Hap and Leonard book, either!  Like you, there were things about the characters and story lines, that I didn't care for, so I returned it to the library, unread.

Lansdale, does a much better job when he writes about life during the Depression years.  I enjoyed the short story that took place during the 1930's,  (Geronimo's Grave), as well as the mystery novel I just finished, Edge of Dark Water.  The book was exciting, and held my interest, but somewhat farfetched, as mystery stories often are.   I doubt that I will read anything more by Lansdale.   Too many other writers that I like better.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 24, 2019, 10:52:06 PM
Over in Television Topics I mentioned a book that I'm reading.  It is a non fiction called The Gift of Years:  Growing Old Gracefully by Joan Chittister.  A friend referred me to it.  I found the digital book through our library and purchased a paperback copy.  I wanted the hard copy because there seems to be quite a few things in it that I want to mark and reread.  I think it would be a good book for discussion with older folks providing all are ok talking about getting older.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 25, 2019, 07:22:22 AM
I am reading,and very much enjoying Ivan Doig's Last Bus to Wisdom. It tells the story of an 11 going on 12 year old boy with quite an imagination, who makes a bus trip, alone, from a Montana ranch to a Wisconsin lake-shore town to stay the summer with relatives he has never met. Right now, he is on his way again, by bus, after being sent back by the great-Aunt. This is my first Ivan Doig. I plan on reading more.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 25, 2019, 10:48:47 AM
Marilyne,  I think I've read all of the Ivan Doig books and enjoyed each one.  I'm not familiar with Montana - but it's enough like places we lived in Colorado that I can "relate".

A neighbor brought 5 "real books" :)  she thought I'd like.   I've read "Only Woman In The Room" (memoir of Hedy Lamar) and "Little Fires Everywhere", a novel by Cynthia Ng.  Didn't think much of the memoir but enjoyed the novel.

Finally got an e-book copy of Sally Field's memoir - after a long time on the wait list.  So far, it's about her anxiety issues wanting to cling to her mother and being sexually abused by her step-father.   I may give it up if she doesn't get past the "poor pitiful me" stage.  (Sorry - but I'm really getting tired of reading about 'overcoming terrible childhood experiences'...or not)

Off to play Bridge.   Have a Great Day, everyone.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 25, 2019, 11:10:04 AM
MarsGal - I just now put a library hold on, Last Bus To Wisdom. I can tell, from what you said, that I'm going to like it. I don't think I've read anything by Ivan Doig, but the name sounds familiar? 

maryc - I also put a request in for The Gift of Years. "growing old gracefully", is a theme that I always hope will be an inspiration for me. If I like it, I'll probably also buy a paperback copy.

I just finished an interesting non-fiction book, called, An American Summer - Love and Death in Chicago, by Alex Kotlowitz.  As you can tell, it's about the ongoing gun/gang violence in the black communities within Chicago.    It's not a pleasant read, but it's important.  The author, has been working with young teens for many years, trying to change the mind-set and improve the hopelessness and the living conditions for these young men.  I would recommend it, if you are interested in such things.

Callie - We were posting at the same time, so I just now saw your message.  I'll return later with more comments.  :wave:     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on April 27, 2019, 04:23:18 PM
When reading Ivan Doig, start with "The Whistling Season".  Absolutely fabulous! :thumbup:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 27, 2019, 05:43:25 PM
Glad I am learning about some new (to me) writers now. I think I have run out of the ones I have followed for years. So many new young ones but not all have I found worth following.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 27, 2019, 06:05:48 PM
I finished Last Bus to Wisdom last night. For some reason, it the writing style reminds me a little of O'Henry. Maybe that is because the boy's nickname was Red Chief, like in O'Henry's short story, "The Ransom of Red Chief." The only question it all left me with is, since the narrator is the boy all grown-up, did he ultimately get his dream job.

Now I am on to reading Riding the Bus with My Sister, by Rachel Simon. So far, it is as captivating as Last Bus was.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 27, 2019, 06:13:38 PM
Yesterday I took back a bunch of books that were either due, or that I had lost interest in reading. A couple of them, I hadn't even opened, but just felt like they had been around here too long. 

I now have, Time is a River, Mary Alice Monroe; Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens; All We Ever Wanted, Emily Giffin; Last Bus to Wisdom, Ivan Doig.

Sorry Tome, I would have started with The Whistling Season. if I had seen your message yesterday.  If I like "Wisdom", then I'll get "Whistling", next. 

Callie - your mention of reading a book by Mary Alice Monroe, is what prompted me to check out Time is a River. I couldn't remember the name of the book by her that you're reading, but just now looked back a few messages, and see that it was The Butterfly's Daughter.  They only had a couple of her books in the stacks, and I'm sure that wasn't one of them. I can always have it sent from another library in the system.

I remember that I liked the Sally Field memoir, but I've read better celebrity "tell all books", in the past. It did hold my interest, and like  many celebrities, she had an unusual childhood. Sally comes across as being so normal, so I was kind of surprised to read some of the things in her life that were far from the norm.

After I got home from the library, I sat down with Time is a River, just to make sure that I hadn't read it in the past.  No I hadn't, and yes, I got hooked on the story right away!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 27, 2019, 10:27:51 PM
You all got my attention when talking about Ivan Doug's books.  I went looking and have The Whistling Season and The House of Sky from HOOPLA and from the library.  Meanwhile I had up OR Downloaded another audio book called Inheriting Edith by Zoe Fishman.  I'm concentrating on finishing that because it will go back first.  It a light but good little story following a common plot about a young woman who quite unexpectedly inherits a home at Sag Harbor along with the mother of the owner who has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer disease.  I will get to the other titles soon.  Marilyne,  Time is a River is a good story that I think you will enjoy.  I'm including a link here to a tourist attraction/farm that we visited in that part of North Carolina when we were there a year ago.  https://www.google.com/search?q=apple+hill+farm+-+alpaca+farm+banner+elk+nc+28604&oq=APPLE+HILL+FARM.+BANNER+ELK&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0l2.16010j0j9&sourceid=silk&ie=UTF-8
Friends of ours from here went to Boone,NC when they retired about 30 years ago.  When her husband had to go into a Nursing Home their daughter retired from her librarian job in Sacramento and came back to Boone to be near them. She found part time work at this Apple Hill Farm.   So while we were there visiting her parents she took us to Banner Elk to visit the farm. It is such an interesting place with alpacas sheep,goats etc.  It feels like you are on top of the world when you are up on those mountains.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 29, 2019, 01:45:37 PM
So many books you mentioned above soung interesting. Thing is I only read LP now and getting less and less coming out in LP.My libery seem to be buying more books by uknows authors. I see them on Book Bub list on computer for 99 to $1.99 .
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 29, 2019, 06:37:14 PM
maryc - I finished Time is a River, and you were right, I did enjoy it.  Mary Alice Monroes's books are usually good, and always hold my interest. Next, I think I'll read Doug's, The Last Bus to Wisdom.. Looks like I'm the only one who posts in this folder, who hasn't read any of his books?

I don't know where I heard about the other two books I have out - All We Ever Wanted, and Where The Crawdads Sing?  I don't think they were recommended here, so I must have read about t hem online. 

JeanneP - Many of these books come in Large Print, especially the ones by popular authors like Mary Alice Monroe.  If you ask, the library will often order you a book in LP, from another library in the system.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 30, 2019, 06:23:36 AM
I've just put in a request for Deepak Chopra's Buddha, which is billed as a biographical novel.

I'll finish up Riding the Bus with My Sister this morning and then drop it off at the library. It is due back on Wednesday. While it is a nicely written book, it was a bit more drawn out (although not a long book) for me. It is the accumulation of a whole year of riding a bus, the people she met along the way and their varying reactions to her sister, and reminiscences . of their childhood.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on May 01, 2019, 09:29:16 AM
Not long after I moved to Auburn, I attended a weekend at one of the South Carolina beaches.  I picked up a longtime poster at the previous Seniors/Friends (Joan-- can't remember her last name) at the Atlanta Airport.  We drove down to the weekend gathering.  Mary Alice Monroe was just becoming well known and she came over to our gathering to give a talk--and arranged for us to go into Charleston for a behind the scenes visit about the work she was doing with turtles at the beaches nearby.  I'm wondering if other of the women attending that weekend are still here on S & F?

SCFSue

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 02, 2019, 12:26:18 PM
Neither "Time Is A River" by Mary Alice Monroe nor "Riding The Bus With My Sister" is available in e-book from my library.   I'm surprised the M.A.M. book isn't there.

I skipped to the last two chapters of the Sally Field memoir.  I thought it was strange that she had never looked through letters. books, journals, etc. until she decided to write a memoir - and then didn't remember the events she found mentioned.

E-books on my Loan list right now are a Poppy Markham mystery,  "We Are All Welcome Here", Elizabeth Berg, and "When Life Gives You Lululemons", Lauren Wiseberger (decided I need a "fluff" book to balance the others.  ;D

I'm reading the 3rd of 6 books a neighbor brought me (about Sally Hemmings) and still have "Beneath A Scarlet Sky" and "The Woman In The Window" left.

Maybe "one of these days", it will stop raining and storming and I'll be able to sit on the patio and read while enjoying all the flowers my lovely family planted in pots, planters and as "fill-ins" around the perennials in the two flower beds.

Happy Reading, Everyone
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on May 03, 2019, 12:17:38 PM
I am going to be a real pest, and ask again, is there any way to recover a post that just suddenly disappears?  I was spell checking, and it went away and I couldnt find it.   I would certainly appreciate help, I think someone posted on this subject awhile back, but I don't know where to look?  Help! !
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 03, 2019, 02:49:36 PM
Tome - I'd like to help you, but I don't know the answer?  I  suggest that you go to the computer Q & A folder.  Lots of people can help you there. >>> https://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?topic=8.1380
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on May 03, 2019, 03:16:35 PM
Somebody else once said it was "CTRL Z".  I tried it, and it worked once, but didn't the next time I did it.  It probably depends on why/how the post happened to disappear (which I usually don't know).  Good luck.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 04, 2019, 07:46:43 AM
I have that problem too, sometimes (especially when Shan is being helpful). Often I can get back to my pre-post by clicking on the forward button at the top of the browser. That only works if Shan or I accidentally manage to go back a page or two. I've never tried the Control Z function.

I've started reading Ben Franklin's autobiography and right away discovered that he was into doing his family genealogy, especially when he was in England. Franklin was the youngest son of seventeen children. The name Franklin is derived from freedman or freeholder. Yesterday I picked up the biographical novel about Buddha and read a few pages into that too.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 04, 2019, 11:38:54 AM
Callie and MarsGal - I've been wanting to mention something about The Last Bus to Wisdom, that is of interest to those of us who are Great Lakes webcam watchers!  I'm about three quarters of the way through the story, and have just finished the part where Donnie's uncle tells him about his glass eye . . . acquired when he was working on an ore boat, that got caught in a horrendous storm, on Lake Michigan, near Mackinac  Island!  I thought it was quite coincidental.  I'm enjoying "Wisdom", very much, and will put in a request for more novels by Doug.

Callie - I hope you eventually get Time is a River?  A good read, although the basic theme has been done many times by other authors.  Elizabeth Berg for one, as well as other writers of women's fiction.  Nonetheless, the storyline  holds your interest, and the characters are likable.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 07, 2019, 09:10:08 PM
Just finished All We Ever Wanted by Emily Griffin.   It was a quick read with a good message but it seemed to get kind of like a soap opera in places. ;)   Now back to This House of Sky by Ivan Doig.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 08, 2019, 07:04:26 AM
I gave up on Deepak Chopra's Buddha real quick. It didn't suit me. Then I started one of Paul Ceohlo's books, title is something like By the River Piedra I Sat and Wept. It was about what I expected and dislike it even more than The Alchemist.  I even tried Herman Hess's Siddartha in audio book form. Now that one it took a little longer for me to dislike. The narrator was soft spoken and the narrative almost poetic. Part of it's poem-like charm was a certain repetitiveness of phrases, but the is getting old. Also, I have no way to bookmark where I stopped in the YouTube offering, so when I stop and go back into the program later, it starts back the beginning again.

I am about to give up on trying to read a fictional book where the character is into self-improvement. I remember reading, years ago, The Celestine Prophesy which I may actually have finished. It didn't make much sense to me. It was another of the mystical quest for self awareness and improvement that was recommended reading for managers. I have come to the conclusion that I have a natural aversion to this kind of writing.

Ben Franklin's autobiography is much more to my liking. He does include commentary on how he constantly sought ways to improve himself and his situation in life. I know there are novels out there where characters seek to do the same without going all mystical/metaphysical or how-to preachy, but I can't seem to find them in my Google searches.

Jack McDevitt's latest in the Alex Benedict series has dropped into my library (I had it pre-ordered). He is one of my favorite SciFi writers.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 09, 2019, 05:08:49 PM
MarsGal - I've read a number of books by Deepak Chopra, over the years, and always enjoyed his writing.  Most were self help or suggestions/outlines for achieving a rewarding life, or afterlife.  When I've seen him interviewed, or speaking on TV, he always grabs my attention and holds it.  A very calming voice, almost mesmerizing,  I haven't seen him speak in well over ten years, so I'm sure he looks much older now - but still with the same message.

I also remember reading, The Celestine Prophecy, when it first came out and was so popular.  It must not have impressed me either, as I don't remember what the "prophecy" was?   ::)

Maryc - I have, All We Ever Wanted, but I haven't started it yet.  Instead I'm reading another one that you recommended . . . The Gift of Years, by Joan Chittister.  I opened it yesterday and read the first chapter, called "Regret", and I was hooked.

Callie - I'm curious if you have read, You Are all Welcome Here, by Elizabeth Berg?  That was the first book I read by Berg, and I was quite taken with it - especially since it was based on a true story.  I remember the polio epidemics that came around every summer when I was growing up.  I knew a number of children who got the dreaded disease, but only one who was in an iron lung.  She only survived for a few years.     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on May 09, 2019, 05:51:57 PM
Mary. I have all I ever Wanted here also. Will be next read. Right now reading Emily giffins First Comes Love. Not to bad. Sort of jumps between to sister. reminds me of my two. Just never got along it seemed.

I remember watching Deepak Chopra on TV years ago. Never did like him and so I doubt I could read his books.

TV is so bad these days. Special the Public TEl stations. They seem to be showing so many shows that have been on before. All kinds. Some the people in them have been dead for ages. I do see some new ones coming up in June on lots of stations. Just to many Crime and Medical for me.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 09, 2019, 06:25:30 PM
Marilyne,  I recently finished "We Are All Welcome Here" - probably the 12th book I've read by Elizabeth Berg.
I thought it was interesting how she told a story about the effects of racism by contrasting a paralyzed polio survivor's experiences with those of a black person.

I'm currently reading "Unsheltered" by Barbara Kingsolver.  Blurb about the book on the library website says"  Unsheltered is the compulsively readable story of two families, in two centuries, who live at the corner of Sixth and Plum in Vineland, New Jersey, navigating what seems to be the end of the world as they know it. With history as their tantalizing canvas, these characters paint a startlingly relevant portrait of life in precarious times when the foundations of the past have failed to prepare us for the future. I'm just now getting into the story of the earlier couple.  Good so far.

As usual, this was one of several books I had On Hold that appeared in my Loans at the same time.  The other two are by Jodi Thomas and Susan Mallery.  Will probably finish each of them in a "one more chapter" session  :) .
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on May 10, 2019, 01:57:02 PM
After Eliz. Berg passed her son finish writing a book that she was working on. It wasn't that good. Can't think of the name. I haven't seen any more from him. She was a good writer.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 10, 2019, 04:14:17 PM
JeanneP - Elizabeth Berg, is still very much alive and well. I visit her Facebook page often, and enjoy reading her messages there.  Here is a link to her page. Click on it, and read what she has to say about her books, and about her life.
https://www.facebook.com/bergbooks/
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 10, 2019, 04:48:22 PM
I am still reading on Ben Franklin's biography and have started Octavia Gone, Jack McDevitt's new book.

Next on my reading list for the second half of the month are two books featuring walks or walking. For the non-fiction I chose The Worst Journey in the World: Antarctica 1910-1913, by Apsley Cherry-Garrard, who was one of the survivors of Scott's last expedition. For the novel I chose Claire Cook's The Wildwater Walking Club. It turns out that this is the first of a series.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 10, 2019, 07:05:19 PM
This is my third attempt to reply here.   The first time I was interrupted  by the telephone and the other two flew away before I could get them posted.  ;D
Mars Gal and Marilyne,  I've enjoyed The Gift of Years in reading just a chapter at a time and sometimes going back and rereading  a chapter more than once and marking my special places.   We've used a couple of chapters for discussion in our Bereavement group.   I've liked Deepak Chopra's writing ever since I discovered him many years ago in Family Circle or Woman's Day.   Those magazines introduced me to many writers that I read over the years.   They used to offer some very good articles.  Not so much any more.
JeanneP,   Since you have already read some of Emily Griffin,  You likely will like All We Ever Wanted.  Her style of writing really pulled you along into the story.
I'm enjoying Ivan Doig's This House of Sky.   His style is so poetic and as he writes about his parents I feel as though that is the way I would like to tell my parent's
story if I could write.  He speaks of them with such fond affection. 
Callie,  The book you mentioned by Barbara Kingsolver sounds like one I would like.  I'll make a note of it.....before I forget it!! ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on May 10, 2019, 08:39:51 PM
Marilyne
Think I am wrong in the Name. Now who am I thinking off. A Irish writer. Just can't think of her name. Wrote so many books. Will come to me soon. There was a son who finished her last book. Will hit me as I am laying in bed.
A thought , am I thinking of Maeve Binchy? I loved all her books. Shocked when she died.
Isnt Berg the one who has a lot of Children.? Been reading so long I am forgetting the old time writers....
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on May 11, 2019, 10:30:23 AM
Jeanne, Maeve Binchy wrote a lot of very interesting books set in Ireland.  I enjoyed reading lots of them, although I never bought one.  My library had most of them in stock.

SCFSue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on May 12, 2019, 12:30:23 PM
Hope everyone is enjoying a serene and lovely Mother's Day.  Actually was able to  celebrate yesterday, went to an exquisite Concert by the New Life Symphony Orchestra (Callie you have probably heard them or heard of them).  The music was awesome.  "The Flower Duet" from the opera Lakme was sung by Crystal Dugger and Mindy Dennison.  I have heard many versions of this gorgeous duet, by world-renowned sopranos, but these two were the best I've heard. Absolutely flawless.  Brought tears to my eyes. After the concert, my daughter, my dear friend and I went for dinner.  An all-around wonderful Mother's Day, we celebrated each other as we're all 3 mothers!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on May 12, 2019, 02:22:18 PM
Just got the name of 5 book I think I would like. A lost always comes out in sundays paper. I will go into library Site soon and see if can find any of them. Doubt will be in LP. Very seldem do the ones printed show up.
Still pouring down here. Going to stay in PJs and read..
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 12, 2019, 02:46:02 PM
Tome, unfortunately, I have not heard or heard of The New Life Symphony Orchestra.  Since I'm not really a symphony lover, they may have played in OKC and I just wasn't aware of it.

I think I mentioned having 2 books I'd probably finish in "just one more chapter" sessions.  Well, I did so - and am now going back to the Kingsolver book.  Finding it much slower reading than "chick flick romances"  ;)

Am also trying to read "Sally Hemmings", an actual book that a neighbor loaned me.  It's fiction but historically accurate and I'm trying to read carefully so I don't miss any facts that are "hidden" in conversations, etc.

We're finally having a sunny day with pleasantly cool temperatures and I think I'll change out of my church clothes and try to sit on the patio to read.  The cottonwood trees along the creek behind the back fence are sending out "cotton" and I may start sneezing.  "Always something...."  ::) 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on May 12, 2019, 03:59:55 PM
Callie, they are based out of Tulsa, that's why I thought you might have heard of them!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 12, 2019, 04:17:05 PM
I'm in the OKC metro area.  Will try to be aware of news articles, etc.  Thanks for the info.

Gave up on patio reading.   Achoo!   :tissue:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 12, 2019, 04:40:52 PM
Happy Mother's Day everyone!  It's nice to see so many new messages since I was last here!

Tome - So glad you had chance to attend the New Life Symphony Orchestra, concert, with your daughter and a friend.  It's been a long time since I've been to a live music event of any kind.  We used to have season tickets to the San Jose Symphony, but the conductor left, and the whole thing fell to pieces. We also used to love Musical Theater, especially Broadway shows, with original cast.  Saw many of them, back in the day, but nothing recent.  Hamilton, is playing right now in San Francisco. I'd love to see it, but we never go to SF anymore, and also the tickets are extremely expensive!

Callie - I'll be interested in your final opinion of Unsheltered?  Kingsolver's book, The Poisonwood Bible, is at the top of my list of favorite novels of the past twenty five years.  I just love that book, and I've read it at least four times over the years, and I discover something new to like (or learn), very time I read it.  However . . . I've been disappointed in every one of Kingsolver's books that I've read, or tried to read, since then. There was one I couldn't even finish, it was so bad. (IMO of course).  The Sally Hemmings book sounds interesting.  I'll probably add that one to my library list. 

Maryc - Thank you for recommending, The Gift of Years. It's now on my latest Amazon order. Although I don't buy many books anymore, I felt that I needed to own that one.  Lots of things that I would like to read over again, and think about some more.  I also plan to give it to my youngest daughter, in hopes that she will read it. Maybe not the whole book, as she is not really old enough yet, to appreciate most of it,  but there are certain things that I feel she will like.

MarsGal - The Wildwater Walking Club, sounds good. I have, Riding the Bus with My Sister, waiting for me at the library, and will be picking it up some day this coming week. 

JeanneP - I hope you found some of our recommendations in Large Print, at your library?  If you're in a county library system, like I am, sometimes the book you want is sitting at another branch.  If you don't see something in LP that you want, ask at the desk, and they will check to see if it's in the system, and have it sent.   
 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 13, 2019, 10:21:22 PM
Callie, I read Sally Hemings quite a few years back.  I have to smile when I think of how I came to read it.  I was serving as a Deacon in our church at the time and one of the people that I visited was a sweet little lady member.  She had recently lost her husband.  As we visited we chatted about common interests, one being reading.  She had read the book in recent weeks and was sure I would enjoy it.  She told me about it with just a bit of a twinkle in her eye....maybe that it was just a little naughty.  It was an interesting story.  My friend Pearl is gone now but each time I drive by her house I remember our good visits and our pleasure in books.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 16, 2019, 06:46:04 PM
I enjoyed The Wildwater Walking Club. It was fun, light, and even included a few lavender recipes. I didn't know you could eat the stuff. I wonder if I ate lavender it will make me smell like it to mosquitoes and chase them off.

I am now listening to Race to the South Pole by Roland Huntford. In this book the author offers up both Amundsen's and Scott's diary accounts of the Antarctic expedition of 1910-1914 and well as background info on the differences of attitude and preparation the two made for their race to the pole. I must say that it puts Scott in a very poor light.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 16, 2019, 10:09:35 PM
I just finished This House of Sky btw Ivan Doig.  If you haven't already read it,  I highly recommend it.  I just looked back but couldn't find who mentioned it, but thank you for the suggestion.  I hadn't heard of this author. His writing is so moving.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on May 17, 2019, 11:53:26 AM
MaryC, I don't know where else you post but in case you didn't know, Pat Scott Halbach who started S&F died yesterday.  Bubble posted the following.

https://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?topic=716.msg155362#msg155362
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 17, 2019, 12:58:42 PM
Finally finished "Unsheltered" .  I managed to follow the jumps between current time and two centuries ago but, as is happening more and more with current books, felt the author wrapped things up too quickly and left "solutions" dangling.

Sometimes I feel as if I'm "studying" and need to take a break with a "chick lit" or two.  However, I'm determined to finish "Sally Hemmings" and have put "Jefferson's Daughters" back on my library Wish List.   

I keep thinking I'll have more time to read but have been OBE  (Overcome By Events) - some necessary and some unexpected but all time consuming. 

"One Of These Days....lalala  ;D
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on May 17, 2019, 03:56:11 PM
Callie, I think there a recent book published about Sally Hemmings which I haven't read.  I read the one by Barbara Chase-Riboud that was published in 79 or 80.   I read it soon after it was published and I enjoyed the book but have my doubts about much of her suppositions.  The historical dates could be checked but there isn't any way she could come up with some of that information.  Sally was just 14 years old and Jefferson was 46or 47?  She really didn't have any choice.  It's been a long time since I read it but I remember having my doubts about some of the author's thought about the subject.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 17, 2019, 04:57:09 PM
Jean, that's the Sally Hemmings book I'm reading but it's a 2009 reissue with a 14 page "afterword" by the author.  DNA  is one topic. Will let you know what it's about when (and if  :)
I get that far.

I always read novels about real people "with a grain of salt" because conversations have to be imagined.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on May 17, 2019, 10:55:47 PM
I notice a lot of the reading here is in the Non-fiction genre lately.  I am reading the most interesting NF book, that is both enlightening and frightening.
"Midnight in Chernobyl" by Adam Higginbotham.  Also listed on the cover "The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster".  If anyone thinks Chernobyl was the only nuclear disaster, they will be totally shocked.  We all know about the U.S. "Three Mile Island", but, theoretically it has been the only one of any note here.  The incompetence, secrecy, political manuevering of the USSR in developing their nuclear program is absolutely staggering.  366 pages,an epilogue, a glossary, 102 pgs of Notes, and 26 Pg. Bibliography.  There are also a few photos of the city that was built to house all the engineers, workers and their families. Many of whom have perished.  This book will be a real undertaking, but my gosh, an eye-opener. Makes one wonder if there have been other disasters here in U.S. that are being kept secret.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 17, 2019, 11:51:14 PM
Thank you FlaJean for letting me know about Pat Scott....sad news.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 18, 2019, 02:32:12 PM
Lots of good books mentioned here this week!

Tome - I already have my name on the library list for, Midnight in Chernobyl. I've heard that many incidents like that one have happened  in different countries, but they're hushed up. It does make you wonder about the USA, but it's mighty hard to keep anything secret here.  So many people involved in everything now, plus the media, that it's impossible to prevent leaks.

Callie - you didn't say whether you liked, or would recommend Unsheltered?  As I mentioned before, so far, nothing by Barbara Kingsolver has come close to being as good as The Poisonwood Bible.  That's only my opinion, as I'm sure others would disagree?

maryc - I now have the Ivan Doig book that you liked . . . This House of Sky..  I probably won't be starting it for a while, as I still have a few library leftovers that I haven't looked at yet, as well as two books I got for Mother's Day.  One from my dil, The Lost Girls of Paris, by Pam Jenoff, and another one from Sandy, The Art of Racing in The Rain, by Garth Stein.  I started reading "Racing in the Rain" yesterday, and I am loving it!

MarsGal - The Wildwater Walking Club, is being sent over from another library, so I likely won't get it for a while.  Sounds like light reading, and sometimes I think we all need something light, for a change.  I have, Riding The Bus With My Sister, here now, but won't be starting it for a few days yet. 

I Don't remember if I mentioned that I read, All We Ever Wanted, by Emily Giffin.   Maryc, I think you recommended it, and I'm glad you did!  I really liked it, and feel like it addressed a current problem with teens and cell phone pictures, as well as a good storyline for older adults as well.  As I was reading it, I was thinking about the controversy over the recent appointment of Supreme Court Justice Bret Kavanaugh, because of things he was accused of doing when he was a teenager.  This story is sort of along those lines, but more current.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 18, 2019, 08:41:21 PM
Marilyne, Funny you should mention it but Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh came immediately to mind when I read the incident with the young man who had the Princeton opportunity.   I also wondered if his father had purchased any favors in that regard. :-[ . I not sure but I believe I read that Garth Stein book a while back and gave it to my one grandson who always has at least one dog in his family.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 22, 2019, 11:32:22 AM
Mary - I remember looking at the publication date for the book, All We Ever Wanted, and seeing that it was after the Kavanaugh controversy. I do think that writers get their ideas from situations and stories that are happening in the current news, as well as from decades in the past. Seems like right now, there are lots of sad stories about teens sending compromising pictures of themselves or others, on cell phones, that later come back to haunt them. 

Mars - I finally got Riding the Bus With My Sister, and plan to start reading it today. 

Tome - I'm on the wait list at the library, for Midnight in Chernobyl.

Other library books that I have here, that sound good, are:
The Great Alone, by Kristin Hannah. I read her best seller, The Nightingale, and like it a lot, and this one sounds good too.
Flame in the Night, by Heather Munn. It's a novel that takes place in France, in WWII.
The Wartime Sisters, by Lynda Loigman - another WWII story.

That gives me four good sounding books, to keep me busy over the long Memorial Day weekend.  :thumbup: 
   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on May 22, 2019, 07:28:22 PM
Marilyne, I finally finished "Midnight in Chernobyl".  I understand there is something on TV (don't know which channel) about Chernobyl.  They are now into Episode 3, and I didn't know about any of it.  Anyway, the book will educate you, and scare the pants off you. I bet your hubby would enjoy reading this.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on May 22, 2019, 08:11:21 PM
I am reading "The Girls of Atomic City" by Denise Kieran.  It is really interesting.  These were women (many of them young early 20s) that were part of the Manhattan Project.  The author interviewed them personally.  Much of this information is history that's never been told.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 23, 2019, 07:11:19 AM
Jean, we read The Girls of Atomic City a few years back on SeniorLearn. It was quite an interesting book and discussion.

I have three and a half chapters left in The Race to the South Pole. The narrator is great. The one thing that disturbed me was that they killed and ate the ponies and dogs along the way, feeding the meat to the dogs and eating it themselves. This must have been planned into the expedition because there was no way they could have taken enough forage and food for the dogs and themselves. The diaries of Amundsen and Scott show up quite vividly the differences in attitudes and preparations the teams had toward their expeditions. I seem to remember, when I was growing up, that Scott got most of the heroic notice. I knew very little of Amundsen. Unless things change in the last few chapters, I think Amundsen should have been the one to get lion's share of the praise and credit. Maybe he did, at the time. It does seem odd that Scott, with his previous experiences, should have been so ill prepared.

I'm also reading the latest in the Expanse series which became available the other day. The same day Jack Campbell's newest book, which I pre-ordered, dropped into my Kindle library.

My next reading challenge for June will be something featuring a garden for the first half of June, and something featuring a boat ride for the second half. Their are plenty of candidates for these two categories that I will enjoy reading.

You've reminded me that I need to see if my library has Midnight in Chernobyl.

Marilyne, let me know what you think of Riding the Bus with My Sister. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 24, 2019, 04:42:42 PM
MarsGal - I have some favorite novels, where the story takes place on a ship or a boat.  The first one that comes to mind is, The Caine Mutiny, by Herman Wouk.  In case you haven't read it or seen the movie, it is a great story, that will really hold your interest. Herman Wouk, just recently died, within the past couple of weeks, and I believe he was 103 years old?   

Others that are good, are Mister Roberts, by Thomas Heggen.  It was made into a Broadway play, as well as a movie. 
The Perfect Storm,"A True Story of Men Against The Sea", by Sebastian Junger. Also made into a good movie.
The Life of Pi, by Yan Martel.  You've probably read this one already, but if not, it is well worth reading.  Also made into a movie.
Finally, Ship of Fools, by Katherine Anne Porter.   The story takes place in the late 1930's right before WWII.  I recently watched the movie again, and really enjoyed it.  One of those that you can watch over and over again, and see something new every time. I wanted to read the book again, but my library didn't have it. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 25, 2019, 07:33:45 AM
Thanks for the list, Marilyne, I forgot about The Caine Mutiny. I managed not to have to read that in high school when I more than likely would not have appreciated it. Oddly, I've never seen the movie either.

I didn't know Mister Roberts was a book. I vaguely remember the movie.

Neither read nor seen The Perfect Storm, which reminds me that I saw part of a YouTube video that was about 29 minutes long and which was shot from inside the bridge of what looks like a tanker or cargo vessel during a storm. I stopped watching it before it started making me queasy.

Did read The Life of Pi but didn't see the movie. Ship of Fools never interested me.

I have a library of non-fiction books that include one by Peter Throckmorton about undersea archeology, one of an ancient Greek geographer and explorer named Pytheas, and Dana's Two Years Before the Mast (great book). I'll have to look closer to see what I have in my library for fictional boat rides that I haven't read yet; I think I have a few, including Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile which I've seen (the Peter Ustinov version). I think I would rather tackle Captain's Courageous or The Caine Mutiny, two of the classics I missed reading. Oh, I have Hunt for Red October, I forgot about that. It is one of my favorite Sean Connery movies. I suspect the spirit of the read is supposed to be a ride as a passenger rather than as crew, though.

For the garden one, I have a recent book about the gardens of Versailles on my wish list. I believe it is written by the head gardener. I am not sure if he is current or retired. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 25, 2019, 12:36:33 PM
FlaJean,  Interested in your post about reading The Girls of Atomic City.  I read either that one or something very similar a while back.  It took me back to the war years and made me think about the young high school grads who picked up and went to distant cities to live and work in the war effort as well as the very young men who were either snatched by Uncle Sam or volunteered and went to distant places on earth.  Many of them had never been out of the county where they grew up. It was such a time of upheaval.
     I'm reading a book about Caroline,the mother in the Little House series.  It starts off when they leave home and family in Wisconsin to set off for opportunity in Kansas.  It reminds me that people have always risen to the challenge of change for the sake of something better even in the face of danger.  I suppose that I'm just one who clings to the familiar. ???
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 25, 2019, 05:54:02 PM
FlaJean - I read, The Girls of Atomic City, a couple of years ago, and really liked it.  It was a fascinating look at WWII history, that very few people know about.  I'd like to read it again, as I've forgotten some of the story.  I think the city is still there, but it of course has changed, and now has a different name?
Mary - I think you and I read it at the same time, along with a couple of other members who post in this folder?

MarsGal - Once I got started, thinking about stories/books  that take place aboard a ship or small boat, I can't seem to stop! ::)  I just remembered The Old Man and The Sea, by Earnest Hemingway!  Another one that is a wonderful and exciting story, is The African Queen, by C.S.Forrester.   He also wrote adventure stories that were called the Horatio Hornblower Series. The African Queen, is a wonderful story.  I read the book, after seeing the movie in the 1950's. The movie was an award winner starring Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart.  Really worth watching if you've never seen it, or watching again if you have! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 25, 2019, 06:18:05 PM
More to choose from. You mentioned Hemingway and it immediately brought to mind Jack London's non-fiction account of his deep-sea fishing adventures and sailing his ketch, Snark.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 26, 2019, 01:16:57 PM
MarsGal - I finished, Riding The Bus With My Sister, and I liked it a lot.  A different and unusual type of story - not only about Beth, but also the rest of the family.  Beth was incredibly difficult to deal with!  I don't know how Rachel stuck it out for an entire year.  It made me realize how hard it is to reason with, and live with, an MR adult woman. My 28 year old autistic granddaughter, is so much easier to live with and to reason with . . . although she can be stubborn and has her difficult days also.
Thanks for recommending the book.  I really enjoyed reading it, and thought about it a lot when I was finished.  I hope that Beth is doing well now, and that all the other family members are too.  I would like to read a follow-up some day. 
 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on May 27, 2019, 11:47:00 AM
Marilyne, I'm glad to find someone else who likes the book The African Queen.  it is good, isn't it, though I think the movie is even a little bit better.  Horatio Hornblower is loosely based on the very colorful real person, Lord Cochrane, who is also the inspiration for Patrick O'Brian's Jack Aubrey in the Master and Commander series.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 27, 2019, 12:17:42 PM
Hi Pat!

I went nuts yesterday and ordered five new books. Four SciFi's, three of which are Sharon Lee and Steve Miller Liaden Universe short stories and novelettes, one a book of short stories which may or may not be all SciFi, and one a nonfiction about Marcus Agrippa.

I am close to finishing two books, so I think I will try for getting one done today. I hope everyone is having a nice holiday.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 27, 2019, 02:37:32 PM
Hi Pat . . .  Welcome to the Library Bookshelf!  I liked the book, The African Queen,  and wanted to read it again, but neither my city nor country library system has the book. I don't know if it's out of print, or if the copies from so long ago have simply worn out, or are long lost?  I'll have to look on Amazon, just to see if it's still in print or not?

In the meantime, we have that wonderful movie!  :thumbup:  It's probably available for check-out at most libraries, and also can be viewed On Demand, or on some of the Channels like Netflix or Amazon.  I plan to look at the Search option on my Comcast, and see if I can find it listed anywhere.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 29, 2019, 07:05:57 PM
I'm back to reading Caroline after stopping to read This House of Sky.  I wasn't sure if Caroline would just be more of the Little House tale or ??   It does follow their travels from Minnesota to Kansas but this from a wife and mother's view.  I'm attempting to add a link to a review of the story.http://www.theonceandfuturepodcast.com/blog/2018/3/5/review-caroline-little-house-revisited-by-sarah-miller
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 30, 2019, 02:04:44 PM
Maryc - I looked at the blog post about Caroline, and thought it was very informative.  I read some of the blogger's other book reviews, but I see that the other books aren't really my reading style.  However, I loved the Laura Ingall's Wilder books, so I'm pretty sure I  would like Caroline.

I took back most of the library books I checked out last week, except for one, because I just could not get interested in any of them. I really liked,  Riding the Bus with My Sister, and would recommend it highly.
Maryc - I think you would like it, as well!

The book that I just started, is, The Great Alone, by Kristin Hannah.  I had a sleepless night last night, so I got up and started reading it, and I think I'm going to like it.  I have not cared for all of Hannah's books, but I did like, The Nightingale.  This one looks to be just as good. 

Callie - I just wanted to tell you that I loved your post yesterday in another folder, about sheltering in the closet, during your recent Oklahoma tornado scares.  I got a real laugh out of reading about how you texted your "wallmate" who was also hunkering down right next to you! ;D
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 30, 2019, 04:25:33 PM
Marilyne, neighbor and I have teased about learning Morse code so we could communicate through the wall.  However, her bedroom/closet are on the north side and mine are on the south - so we're not next to each other.

The official advice is, that if you don't have an underground shelter, the safest place is the most interior room of your house with as many walls as possible between you and windows.  Bathrooms are considered "safe", also. 
A corner of my closet is right behind my shower and that's where I keep some pillows, a down throw and a battery radio 'stashed" during "tornado season" (usually April, May and a bit into June). 
I also have a small basket with a bottle of water, some crackers and one of my husband's old referee whistles because I read somewhere to put a whistle in with your "supplies" so you could signal without yelling if anything blows on top of you.

Better to be safe than sorry.

I'm trying to finish the paperback "Sally Hemings" but it's one that requires paying attention to details and that's hard to do with one eye/ear on the t.v. weather reports. 
Last evening and today have been gorgeous so I've manage to get a few chapters read.  Interesting story. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 30, 2019, 05:24:08 PM
I just saw last night that The Goldfinch was made into a movie. I don't care for that kind of book and I am not likely to see the movie, but I know the book was popular when it came out. Another new movie, The Nightingale, is not Kristen Hannah's book; it is an Australian movie, a thriller, a story of revenge, set in 1825 in what is now Tasmania. The movie will be released August 2.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on June 01, 2019, 09:33:04 AM
Oh CallieOK,  I'm happy to hear you came through that last round of storms in OK.  We shouldn't complain about our rainy spring when we see the weather destruction across the country.
Marilyne,  I read the review of Riding the Bus with My Sister.  It has a very familiar ring to it.  Was there a movie some time ago with a similar story line?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 03, 2019, 04:13:45 PM
I'm giving a high recommendation to Kristin Hannah's latest novel - The Great Unknown.  The story takes place in Alaska, in the 1970's, just after the  Vietnam War has ended.  Ernt, comes home from the war, to his wife and daughter in Seattle, and finds out he has inherited a cabin in AK, from an  Army buddy who was killed in the War.  The family moves to this remote area, off the grid, and the story begins. 
It's the best book that I've read by Hannah. Interesting characters and plenty of drama, which she is famous for. A hard book to put down! I read most of the day yesterday, and had not quite finished when I went to bed.  Woke up at 2:00 AM, and couldn't stop thinking about what the ending was going to be, so I finally got up and read until I finished it!  This book is not going to win any Pulitzers, but I do believe it will eventually be made into an award winning movie!  I hope I'm still around to see it, when that finally happens.

MarsGal - I ordered The Goldfinch, in large print from the library, and was truly surprised when I went to get it!  It's three inches thick, with 1238 pages! Needless to say, it's very heavy, and I'm having my doubts as to whether I'll able to hold and handle it!  If I can't, I'll probably order it for my Kindle . . . or maybe not? 

Mary - I don't think Riding The Bus With My Sister, was made into a movie?  I don't remember that we ever talked about it here in this discussion, but maybe so?  The first I had heard about it, was from MarsGal.

Callie - you do sound well prepared for a possible tornado!  We are constantly being warned here, about the high probability of a big earthquake. (long overdue). We're supposed to have two weeks supply of food and water, amongst a long list of other things.  Nobody I know, including us, is prepared. :-[
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 03, 2019, 06:32:31 PM
This is my current read. Garden of Eternal Mists by Tan Twan Eng  https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/aug/24/garden-evening-mists-tan-twan-eng-review Responding to the reviewer's last comment, sometimes bland is good. This is one of them .  So far, I have not found the presence of the Pretorius family "awkward" nor the characters overall "unappealing" as another reviewer asserted. And here I find that HBO is making it into a movie. https://bookstr.com/article/hbo-to-adapt-malaysian-novel-the-garden-of-evening-mists/

Riding the Bus with My Sister was made into the movie (2005). I didn't see it. Rosie O'Donnell and Andi McDowell played the lead roles. I don't think it got very good ratings.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on June 03, 2019, 09:39:23 PM
Marilyne,  Oklahoma has had a lot of earthquakes during the past few years...some of them large enough to damage buildings. I've felt a few rumbles but son/dil who live on the other side of town had so many small quakes that they took some china items off of shelves because they were afraid they'd be jiggled off and break.

 Oil and gas well "fracking" was determined to be the cause and has been outlawed (definition of fracking:  the process of injecting liquid at high pressure into subterranean rocks, boreholes, etc. so as to force open existing fissures and extract oil or gas.  We now occasionally hear about a small one here and there - but it's been a long time since there was major damage.

 I remember reading about the movie "Riding The Bus With My Sister".   Rosie O'Donnell would have been o.k. but Andi McDowell has always seemed "insipid".....which is probably why I didn't watch it.

I've put "The Great Unknown" on my e-book Wish List.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 08, 2019, 06:39:37 AM
I finished Garden of Evening Mists yesterday evening. The ending was a bit different than I would have guessed. It was a good ending, still leaving one to wonder what might have happened. The book was so interesing that it kept me from flip-flopping back and forth between it another SciFi. Now I am going to have to read Malaysian author Tan Twan Eng's first novel, The Gift of Rain. Both novels are set in Malaysia before, during, and after the Japanese invasion and occupation.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 08, 2019, 07:36:51 PM
Now on to The Gardens of Versailles by Alain Baraton who is Gardener-In-Chief of the Versailles Gardens. He is a regular on France's public radio station, France Inter, and also produces show for them.

He starts his narrative by describing the devastation created by the huge storm of 1999. The kind of storm, he says, that is very unusual for France. He reports that a total of 18,000 trees (including some around or over 300 years old) were outright destroyed (around 10,000) or were too damaged to save. I don't remember this.  Do any of you?  Unfortunately, the book has no photos or illustrations of the the gardens. But fear not, there are plenty on the net, including pix of the storm devastation (Getty Images, IMO, has the best shots). In some places, it looks like all the trees were completely flattened. The next few chapters go back to his childhood and then goes on to his being hired and so on. I am just now starting Chapter 3.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on June 08, 2019, 09:01:28 PM
Marilyne, I'm about 2/3 of the way through "The Great Alone", the Kristin Hanna book about Alaska.
I'll finish it but suspect a movie would be way too graphic about the abuse, hunting and injuries for me
Kristin Hanna is speaking at the local college in September. It's an evening event so I hope I'll know someone who's going who will give me a ride.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 09, 2019, 12:36:23 AM
Callie - I'm glad you're sticking with The Great Alone.  The basic storyline is good, and the characters are interesting, but the constant drama is exhausting! That's Kristin Hannah's writing style, and that's why her books are so popular, and why she pulls me in every time.  I hope you get to see her at your local college. Maybe she is on tour, and will also be speaking at one of the colleges near me.  If so, I think my dil might be interested in going with me. 

MarsGal - That's very interesting, about the monumental storm, that ravaged the Versailles Gardens.  I never heard anything about it either!  That does seem strange that it wasn't reported here, considering the incredible amount of damage.  I'm going to check out the Getty Images you suggested, as well as other sources on line, to get an idea of what it looked like.

I had no idea that Riding the Bus With My Sister, was made into a  movie. I wonder why I've never heard of it until now, as I'm always interested in any movie, that is adapted from a book. Maryc, said she mentioned it here in this folder, but I guess it went right past me at he time. I can definitely picture Rosie O'Donnell, as Beth, but can't see Andi McDowell as Rachel.   I do plan to check my, On Demand movies, and see if it's playing, and if so, I would like to watch it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on June 09, 2019, 12:43:38 PM
I can't remember if it is Callie or Phillis that likes the China Bayles series written by Susan Wittig Albert? But in case you didn't know——her latest book is out, A Plain Vanilla Mystery.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MaryTX on June 10, 2019, 09:56:17 AM
FlaJean, I'm the one who likes the China Bayles books. 

I stayed up until close to midnight Saturday night to finish "A Plain Vanilla Mystery" and I felt the lack of sleep yesterday :).  She always starts each chapter with interesting and informative information on whatever herb, spice and/or plant the book is about. This book was about vanilla and orchids.  I love orchids but my green thumb doesn't extend to either orchids or miniature roses! I do well with big roses but my thumb turns black when I even look at an orchid or a miniature rose.  I won't mention how many of both have turned up their toes in my care ;D.

Mary 

 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on June 10, 2019, 11:44:28 AM
MaryTX, I have the book on Hold at the library so don't know how soon I'll be reading it.  Yes, that info she puts at the beginning of each chapter about herbs, is really interesting,  Now she is writing a series of "novellas" about Ruby called the Crystal Cave Series.  I bought the first two "NoBODY', "Some BODY Else".  The third one is coming out this month "Out if BODY".  They cost 3.99 on iBooks or Amazon for the Kindle.  I don't read much on my iPad since having trouble with my eyes, but I am buying the latest when it comes out this month.  They are quick reads.  Ruby is such an unusual character. I'm not into that new age stuff but Albert must have been getting lots of requests about Ruby so finally giving that character a story of her own.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MaryTX on June 10, 2019, 01:44:35 PM

FlaJean, thanks for the info on the "Ruby" novellas.  I'm not into that stuff either but Ruby is a character.  I'll have to order them. 

I prefer books and still have a "Hold" list at the library, but because of arthritis in my hands, it's getting harder to hold a book, as well as the print seems to be getting smaller or my eyes think so :).  I can increase the size of the print on the iPad so it's easier to read.

Mary
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 10, 2019, 01:45:16 PM
Mary TX and Jean - You've both sparked my interest in the China Bayles Mysteries.  I'll have to take a look, so will be adding them to my ever-expanding list. Jean, the one you mentioned today called the Crystal Cave Series, sounds especially good. 

I took a short reading break, after finishing The Great Alone, which I sometimes do, when I've finished a long emotional novel.  So yesterday I was ready to begin reading, The Goldfinch.  As I said a couple of days ago - the large print library book that I have, is unwieldy, to say the least! It's three inches thick, with 1238 pages, hard cover. Needless to say, it very heavy, and extremely awkward to handle, and painful for my arthritic hands.  Sitting in a chair with a support pillow under the book, was not enough, so I gave up on it.  However, I did get through the first chapter, and I could tell it's going to be a good story, so I'm anxious to read more.  I've ordered the regular print book from the library, and if that doesn't work, I'll try the Kindle version.

Maryc - We haven't heard from you for a while?  I hope you're okay, and just busy working in your garden?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 13, 2019, 09:01:48 AM
I have two books to pick up from the library today. One is a book about the Lusitania and the other is a SciFi short story anthology. The Lusitania might be my last book in the year long challenge I am doing. I've just got too many other books I want to read. Unfortunately, the subject matter of this challenge is not really helping me to reduce the number of books I already have on my bookshelf that I want to read, believe it or not. But the main reason is that Barb, the only other one on SeniorLearn that is doing the challenge has been out of commission for the last four or six weeks with eye problems.

Okay, so now I have just started listening to Carthage Must Be Destroyed by Richard Miles, and the Great Courses audio book on Einstein's Theory of Relativity and Quantum physics. The other physics Great Courses book, I returned for credit. I just couldn't get used to the professor's manor of speech, not to mention the chapters I picked through all seemed to be stuff I already knew. This other one, by a different professor, is likely to do a lot of historical background that I already know, and he speaks in a very rushed way, but I think I can handle it.

I also returned Hyperion. The reader was good, but I could tell I was going to get very confused about who was who and what was what by the strange way of referring to various things and people. This is considered a classic, so if I still want to read it, I will get an e-book or print version so I can more easily stop and think about or go back and double-check things.

One of the nice benefits of AudioBook is that you have a year to return any audio book you don't like for full credit. I don't know if they set a limit on how many you can return. At any rate, I am pleased. I turned around an used my credit from the physics course for another Great Books lecture series, this time it is Food: A Cultural Culinary History.

Marilyne, have you tried any of the lap-readers and book stands? Some of them are real simple and others include adjustable heights and angles, and page holders.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 13, 2019, 12:06:25 PM
MarsGal - Thanks for the reminder, regarding the lap readers.  I've seen them displayed at Barnes & Noble, in the past, but never thought about buying one. I'll plan on checking them out, to see what styles would be the most comfortable for me. Good for you, for sticking with the SeniorLearn challenge!  However, I can see that it would prevent you from exploring other books of interest.  There are only so many hours in a day! 

So now have both copies of The Goldfinch . . . the regular print, and I still have the humongous large print volume.  This novel won The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and I can understand why!  It is a wonderful story - with fascinating and detailed descriptions, and both likable and hateful characters.  It's not a quick read.  It's a long book, and although I've been reading for a couple of days, I'm only a third of the way into it.  You can't skim this book, or skip parts of it . . . it has to be read in full, to get the full impact of the story. I've had to go back a couple of times to the first chapters, to check on names and situations.       
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on June 14, 2019, 05:06:20 PM
MarsGal, if your Lusitania book is Erik Larson's Dead Wake, we read it on SeniorLearn 4 years ago, led by Ella and JoanK.  It's a very good read, but not short.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on June 14, 2019, 06:55:04 PM
Just finished Albert's "A Plain Vanilla Mystery".  Very good!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 15, 2019, 06:27:19 AM
PatH, it is Lusitania: triumph, tragedy, and the end of the Edwardian age by Greg King and Penny Wilson. I forgot about Larson's book..
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on June 15, 2019, 12:57:50 PM
MaryC checking in.   It has been a very busy few weeks.   Deb and I had a yard sale last weekend.  It was a community wide sale with each person having their own individual sale.  Lots of people out and it was nice weather.   We didn't get rich but had some fun and got rid of some things....left overs going to  Goodwill. :thumbup:   Also there has been lots of catching up in the garden due to the very rainy month of May.   I had advertised that I was splitting perennial  plants and had quite a few responses to that so was trying to get those dug and it led me to doing other things in the garden. :)
    I finished Caroline a few days ago.   I enjoyed her story.  Those settlers were such hard workers and dedicated to claiming their plots of land.    I have another book going now that I found on Amazon.   They send a letter each month advertising books and occasionally I find one that catches my eye. The title of this is Along the Broken Bay by Flora J. Solomon.   The story is about  Manilla and the resistance movement among the Filipinos and  American's and others living there in the 40's.   I've never run across a story about the resistance in the  Pacific war front before.
   I found the movie Riding the Bus With My Sister on a movie channel I get with the Firestick.  The name of the channel if IMDb TV.   Some movies on there has commercials but thats ok....I can ignore them.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on June 15, 2019, 04:21:43 PM
Don't like to do yard sales but for past 2 weeks I have been clearing lots out of my our. I am embarrassed to say but some stuff was  at least 50 years old, Never thought of myself a a herder but I really was. Got that my cupboards. every where I could put things were overloaded. I put such as all the toys, games and children books I put on the porch with a sign out saying Free please take. Had from all my GC. And some GGS. games going back to 1971. 50 of them. Someone took them in a hour. Next day I put all my kitchen items not used anymore. They vanished also. Put a big MW cabinet and cupboard out next day. Must have been taken overnight.. I then took a large leaf bag and put in at least a hundred books and took out to Salt and light charity shop. On a roll and so emptied all kitchen cabinets of pans, dishes glassed filling another leaf bag. Took to same place. So all in all I filled 4 large leaf bags with stuff. I have another bag with old invoices . bank stuff, Health reports going back again 40 years. These will have to be shredded. I am still not done. Have redone my walk in pantry and tosses out every thing that was over 3 months Wash all the jars and containers and labeled Now have to replace spices and things. Looks nice now. Only thing is I now need to do a lot of cleaning to what is showing. All carpets need cleaning.
It is pouring down today so think will just read a book. Promising never again to let things pile up so bad. :idiot2:     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on June 15, 2019, 04:45:47 PM
Great job, Jeanne!  Downsizing is really hard work, and you have to be brutal.  Enjoy your new spaces!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 15, 2019, 04:57:22 PM
JeanneP - I'm so impressed!  You are truly an inspiration to me.  We've lived in this house for almost 50 years, so we also have a huge accumulation of things. Now is the time to get rid of everything! :thumbup: 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on June 15, 2019, 06:40:58 PM
Good for you Jeanne.  We also got rid of lots of stuff when we downsized and moved here close to our daughter.  We still have a few boxes we need to go through out in the garage.

MaryC, you sound like you have been busy.  I can't work out in the yard anymore because of my back, but I sure wish I could.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 16, 2019, 07:23:20 AM
Last night I started reading The Song of Achilles (finally). Unlike Madeline Miller's Circe where the narrator is Circe, this story is seen through the eyes of Patroclus who is Achilles' good friend and companion who was killed during the Trojan War. It will be interesting to see how the ending is treated since he died before Achilles did.

I decided to return the book on the Lusitania and just bring home the SciFi short story anthology. So much for the challenge.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on June 16, 2019, 06:32:41 PM
Jeanne P,  Very nice work in getting so many things taken care of.  You were smart to just set them out "for free".  I did just put many thing out by my mailbox close to garbage day.  If they didn't get picked up by a person the G.Men took them.  We have a pretty active group of people who watch the curbside for "finds".  Isn't it nice to see some empty shelf and closet space???
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 18, 2019, 07:17:25 AM
Hunger Games fans, rejoice. Suzanne Collins is writing a prequel which is to be released in May of next year. The Hunger Games trilogy has sold over 100 million copies so far, according to Publisher's Weekly.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 18, 2019, 12:26:52 PM
maryc - Good to see you checking back into this folder! It's great that you and Debby keep yourselves busy doing lots of productive things, like the garage/yard sale. That's a great way to get rid of items you no longer want or need, and also make some spending money.  We used to participate every October, when our town set aside one Saturday as Garage Sale Day.  It was lots of work, but also lots of fun. Unfortunately, the town no longer sponsors the sale. Seems that everyone in this area, now prefers Craig's List or on-line "garage sales", for that type of buying. 

MarsGal - I did read the first book in the Hunger Games series.  I know that the books and movies are extremely popular, but they're just not for me.  I love drama, but I want it to be realistic . . . a story that could actually happen today, or did actually happen in the past . . . such as WWII or Civil War drama, etc.   

We had company all weekend - our daughter and gr-daughter from out of town, were here for Father's Day.  I know I wouldn't have time to spend reading, so I put The Goldfinch, on the shelf until they left yesterday.  It is SUCH a good book, and I'm anxious to get back to it today.  I can understand/appreciate that it won the Pulitzer for fiction.  What a fabulous story!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 19, 2019, 08:00:26 AM
You did better than me, Marilyne. I haven't read any of the Hunger Games series.

The Song of Achilles is interesting, and while I am enjoying it, I don't think it is as compelling as listening to Circe. It is possible that the narrator of Circe spoiled me a bit with her sultry, breathless telling. I do hope she writes a few more about mythological figures.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on June 19, 2019, 09:59:56 AM
I read the first of the Hunger Games, and enjoyed it well enough, but didn't get around to the others.  I'm not sure a prequel would be particularly useful for the series.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Sandy on June 19, 2019, 10:32:38 AM
Reality vs delusive Fantasy....

Well,  I kinda agree...
I am not much for "The Hunger Games", 
because I can't imagine that ever
happening....
 
I have let myself get heavily
involved in "The Handmaids Tale", 
even though  I can't imagine
that happening to us here in
the USA.... 

So that brings me back to
our politics of the day.... 

I also would never in my life
expected the way things have evolved
politically  in our government
to actually become my reality.
And yet it has!!! 

YIKES!  :knuppel2:
"One just never knows  for sure when
the worm will turn and the unexpected
happens.   
 :'(  :'(  :'(

Sandy
(So maybe I should rethink The Hunger Games...
Ya think?  )
 :tickedoff:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on June 19, 2019, 11:53:25 AM
YIKES!  My feeling exactly.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 19, 2019, 12:12:50 PM
Sandy, are you watching the TV series? I haven't seen it. I did read the book and watch the movie. It does present an all too plausible future should the government ever fall (and it will eventually), but it doesn't take into account the possibility/probability of other top world countries coming in and taking over.

The Postman is another in a similar vein. It concentrates on building a communications network between isolated communities, and through that, resistance to the bullies who have carved out their own territories. In that story, however, I think I remember there was a semblance of a government left, but out of communication with much of the country. I have been thinking of reading the book (only saw the movie).
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Sandy on June 19, 2019, 01:16:23 PM
I am watching the series
of "The Handmaids Tale",  and will look
up "The Postman" .... It is on Prime but not
free...  cheap enough though if I decide to
stick my big toe in yet another dark
apocalyptic story.

 :crazy2: 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 19, 2019, 02:02:59 PM
I've been anxious to see The Handmaid's Tale, ever since it came out.  It was playing here, on Hulu, which is just about the only channel I don't get.  Now I think Season #1, is finally available on HBO, which I do get, so I may start watching it today.  I read the book many years ago, and was planning to read it again before watching the series, but now I don't want to wait!  There are so many books that I want to read, and so many movies and TV series that I want to see, that I don't know if I will ever catch up!  Sometimes I wish that there weren't so many news books being published all the time.  It didn't used to be that way, but now, no matter how much time a person devotes to reading, you can't possibly read all that you would like.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 19, 2019, 04:33:53 PM
Sandy, The Postman is not quite so dark and it has an upbeat ending.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 23, 2019, 07:20:57 AM
I have finished Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles. For some reason, I didn't care for it as much as I liked Circe, but it sure does make me want to reread the Iliad. There are some elements of Homer's epic that I had forgotten or missed, plus, in the appendix the author says that some of the elements of the Achilles myth were not in Homer, but added later. Now I'd like to find out who and when these (including the myth of his heel being his only vulnerable spot) newer elements crept in.

Now I am back to reading The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume 12, edited by Jonathan Strahan. I am never disappointed by the volumes he edits. So far, I am particularly taken by Yoon Ha Lee's "The Chameleon's Gloves" which leaves me wanting to know more about the Kel and in particular, Rehan who is referred to as they/them. The author only minimally describes the Kel culture and does does not describe physical features. Chameleon in the title refers to an ability, not looks.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 23, 2019, 11:12:36 AM
Quote from: Sandy on June 19, 2019, 10:32:38 AMReality vs delusive Fantasy....
I have let myself get heavily
involved in "The Handmaids Tale", 
even though  I can't imagine
that happening to us here in
the USA.... 
:tickedoff:


Sandy, MarsGal and Jean:  Another dystopian TV series with a similar premise, is The Man in the High Castle. . . a series that's streaming on Amazon Prime.  It takes place in the 1960's, after Nazi Germany and Japan have won World War II.  The East Coast of the US is occupied by the the Nazi's, the West Coast by Japan. The Neutral Zone, is the middle of the country.  The story is about how Americans, are forced to live under rule of the two countries, and those who are active in the underground resistance movement.  Hard to describe, but this series is GOOD!  An idea of what our world would be like, under the rule of another country. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on June 26, 2019, 05:25:28 PM
I've just finished The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff.  I read a review and went on to find it on HOOPLA.  There are several reviews by Goodreads, some very high numbers and some not so.   I was drawn into the story of the two women trying to survive in Europe during WWII.  At the end of the epilogue it mentions The Lost Girls of Paris by the same author.    It seems as though that book was mentioned here some time ago.  If you did read that one,  I believe you would also enjoy The Orphan's Tale.
   Our library just called to tell me that a book I ordered had come in.  This one is written by a home town man who went to school with our children.   It is Key North by Jeff McBee.  He uses our central school and village as a fictional setting for his story.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 29, 2019, 01:02:01 PM
Maryc - I'm interested in reading The Orphan's Tale, more so than The Lost Girls of Paris.  I started to read Lost Girls, and just couldn't seem to get into it, so probably gave up too soon?  I'll put Orphan's, on my library list, and hope to like it better? 

I've been on a reading hiatus, since finishing, The Goldfinch, and right before that, The Great Alone. Both were excellent stories, and I highly recommend them.  Alone, was an easier read, because there weren't so many characters, to keep track of, and the story was pretty straightforward.  Goldfinch, was more detailed, complicated and "talky",  which I like in a novel. I've read that both books are being made into movies, and I will anxious to see either one! 

I have a few books waiting for me at the library, but I've lost track of what they are, and haven't check the website in a couple of weeks?  I'll be picking them up sometime over the weekend, and will settle down to some serious reading again.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 30, 2019, 06:58:06 AM
At the moment, I am reading short stories by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller from their Liaden Universe, which I always enjoy. Tomorrow I can pick up book four of the Galaxy's Edge series from the Lending Library. Light reading lately, giving my eyes and brain a break, and to get other things done.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 01, 2019, 11:26:45 AM
I picked up two books from the library this weekend: 
One is The Lost Girls of Paris, in large print.  I started reading the regular print edition, but I just couldn't get into the story, because the print was too small and light, for my eyes.  I can tell that this will be much better.  The other one is,  Midnight in Chernobyl, by Adam Higginbotham.  I've heard a lot about this non fiction account of what is called, "The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster".  When I finish it, AJ wants to read it, so I'll have to get started on it today.  There is a wait list at the library, so I think we only have it for ten days?

MarsGal - I looked into Senior Learn, this weekend, and see that they will be  doing a short discussion on the memoir, Educated.  I've read a lot of reviews online, and they are all good ones, so I put my name on the wait list at the library.  I hope I get the book in time to follow along with the discussion on SL.

Callie - We haven't heard from you in a while?  Any interesting books that you can recommend?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on July 01, 2019, 12:08:07 PM
"Midnight in Chernobyl" sounds interesting.  I'm going to check my library to see if they have it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on July 01, 2019, 02:50:45 PM
Marilyne,Have been reading but prefer to post from PC and haven't had time to do that.
BBL.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 01, 2019, 04:01:02 PM
i think all who read "Midnight i Chernobyl" will enjoy it, and be enlightened by it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on July 02, 2019, 05:11:39 PM
My library does have a copy.  I've got it on my list to read when I finished some books I have.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 03, 2019, 01:06:41 PM
I just downloaded from the library, a book I think I may have already read. Oh well, it will be easy to return if I did. It is River of Stars by Guy Cavriel Kay; I think I may have forgotten to take it off my library wish list. I also put a Jonathan Moore book on hold; it should be ready to pick up soon. In the meantime, The 4th Galaxy's Edge book fairly flew passed my eyes. Now I am reading a SciFi that marginally holds my interest, so I will keep at it even though the characters are not particularly compelling and the narrative seems a bit flat or too precisely worded. It makes the narrating character seem a bit pompous. More Liaden Universe stories wait in the wings, as does Neil deGrasse Tyson's Accessory to War. Has anyone read that one yet?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 03, 2019, 01:26:49 PM
MarsGal - I haven't read anything by Neil deGrasse Tyson, but AJ has read some of his books.  I have watched him on TV a number of times.  I'm just a short way into Midnight in Chernobyl, and it's very good so far.  The only thing that I'm having a hard time with is the Russian names!  It's hard to keep all those long complicated names, with the right people.  I remember having the same problem when I read Gorky Park, a number of years ago.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 03, 2019, 01:42:16 PM
the version of the one i read had a great Glossary in the back with all the names and what their jobs were, but wont help us pronounce 'em!

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on July 09, 2019, 09:35:20 AM
How the States Got Their Shapes 
 
How the States Got Their Shapes
Mark Stein

A New York Times bestseller: Discover how Oklahoma got a panhandle, why some parts of Delaware are attached to New Jersey instead of the rest of their state, and more in this book packed with fascinating historical trivia!

Publisher Description
Why does Oklahoma have that panhandle? Did someone make a mistake?

We are so familiar with the map of the United States that our state borders seem as much a part of nature as mountains and rivers.
Even the oddities—the entire state of Maryland(!)—have become so engrained that our map might as well be a giant jigsaw puzzle designed by Divine Providence. But that's where the real mystery begins.
Every edge of the familiar wooden jigsaw pieces of our childhood represents a revealing moment of history and of, well, humans drawing lines in the sand.

How the States Got Their Shapes is the first book to tackle why our state lines are where they are. Here are the stories behind the stories, right down to the tiny northward jog at the eastern end of Tennessee and the teeny-tiny (and little known) parts of Delaware that are not attached to Delaware but to New Jersey.

How the States Got Their Shapes examines:

Why West Virginia has a finger creeping up the side of Pennsylvania
Why Michigan has an upper peninsula that isn't attached to Michigan
Why some Hawaiian islands are not Hawaii
Why Texas and California are so outsized, especially when so many Midwestern states are nearly identical in size
Packed with fun oddities and trivia, this entertaining guide also reveals the major fault lines of American history, from ideological intrigues and religious intolerance to major territorial acquisitions. Adding the fresh lens of local geographic disputes, military skirmishes, and land grabs, Mark Stein shows how the seemingly haphazard puzzle pieces of our nation fit together perfectly.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 09, 2019, 11:18:13 AM
HI Bubble! I wonder if this is by the guy that narrated a TV series on the same subject a few years back. Very interesting. There was one house, but I forgot which states, that was particularly interesting. It was situated half in one state and half in another. This is not the house in the show, but apparently there are others that cross state lines. This must have been a nightmare for the rightful owner of the property. https://nypost.com/2015/02/22/woman-loses-half-of-her-border-straddling-home-in-property-tax-snafu/

I am reading River of Stars now, and it does not look at all familiar, so I must have been thinking of another book that I read. This is a story set in 12th Century China, at the beginning of the Jin-Song Wars. I cancelled the Jonathan Moore book and put it in my wish list for later.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 11, 2019, 12:22:21 PM
Bubble - Thanks for recommending How the States Got Their Shapes!  Looks like it will be a fun and informative book, which I plan to order from my library.  The shape of the states, is of those things that we take for granted, here in the US, and never stop to wonder about the why's and wherefores?

Tomereader - I agree with you . . . Midnight in Chernobyl, was a fascinating account of the nuclear explosion and meltdown, at the Chernobyl plant in  Russia.  We all remember when it happened, but I didn't get the full impact at the time, as to what a full scale disaster it was, and how difficult it was to gain control!   I had a hard time with all the Russian names, and finally just decided to read the story, and not try to commit every name to memory. Too many names, and too many complicated situations, to keep them all in place! Although the people involved are all important, you can understand the story by just remembering a few of the most important men and women. 

MarsGal - I haven't looked at Senior Learn, in a long time, but I am planning to follow along with the discussion of the memoir, Educated.  From what Ive read about it online, I can tell that I'll like it.  I've enjoyed most of the memoir style books that I've read over the years unless they are just too far fetched to be believable.  Some, written by men, seem that way to me.  However, all of the ones I've read that are written by women, are very believable.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 14, 2019, 12:05:41 PM
I stopped reading River of Stars temporarily to read Marko Kloos latest start of a new series, The Palladium Wars, called Aftershocks. I couldn't put it down, so now I am done and have to wait patiently for the next installment. Aftershocks introduces and follows several characters, primary of which is Aden who has just been released after being a prisoner of war and is now trying to find his way home. He, of course, has issues mostly stemming from not wanting his father to discover he is still alive. Dad is a rich and powerful control freak. Other major characters seem to be, so far, his sister who stuck around and has to deal with dear old dad, a Palladian military officer on duty in Occupied Gretia, Aden's home world, and a Rhodian warship captain. Demonstrators, terrorists, Dad's henchmen, and pirates included. The next installment looks like it is shaping up to include smugglers in the mix.

River of Stars is good, but is slow moving as characters and their lives are introduced. I expect that girl will meet boy at some point. Other characters are slowly being introduced, but I have no idea yet their significance. This story starts somewhere around the beginning of the wars between the Jin Dynasty and Song Dynasty. In history, the Jin rebelled and pushed the Song out of Northern China. They in turn were eventually conquered by the Mongols. I expect I will be looking stuff up, a lot.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on July 15, 2019, 02:34:56 PM
Talk about being OBE !!!!!  The past two weeks have been "one thing after another" and I really hope things have settled down for a while.

My last post said I'd been reading but preferred not to post from my Tablet.  Now I have a new pc and am slowly learning to use it (see comment on "one thing after another"  :o )

Discovered I've read almost all of the books on the "Oklahoma Best Sellers list in Sunday's local paper.
Where The Crawdads Sing"
"Little Fires Everywhere"
"Summer of 69"
"Lilac Girls"
and am currently reading "The Guest List"/
 Have also read "Before We Were Yours" and "A Gentleman In Moscow" that are on the Publishers Weekly List but not on the one from Oklahoma.

 Also reading "Blessings In Disguise" by Dorothea Benton Frank (not on OK Best Sellers list but I like it) and getting ready to read "Pachinko", which will be the selection for my Book Club in September.  I started out way down on the Wait List and figured I'd better read it when it appeared in my Loans or I might not get it again before September.
Was just notified that "Mrs. Oliphant Is Perfectly Fine" has been added to my e-book loans.  I think I've read it but don't remember details so want to read it again.

Love seeing what you're all reading and am putting some things on my "Wish List" for the future....whenever that is!   ;)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 15, 2019, 04:23:31 PM
Callie - so good to see your message!  ( You'll have to tell me what OBE means? ???)  I did see your post in B&T, that you're in the process of breaking in a new computer, so that explains why we have't seen you posting in a while. 

Your list of books, read and unread, looks almost exactly like mine!   Some I  have read, others I had to take back to the library because they were due, and one I started, but just couldn't get into . . . that one being  Pachinko!  I'm anxious to find out how you like it?   My dil gave it to me for Christmas, so I wanted to like it, but finally gave up and I don't know what ever happened to it?  I think I gave it to one of my daughters, but not sure?

I checked out,  Where the Crawdads Sing, but it was on a long wait list, so I only had it for one week, and never even opened it!   That was when I was reading The Goldfinch, which took a long time for me to read, so I never got around to "Crawdads" - but I'm back on the wait list again, so should get it soon.  I read both, Lilac Girls, and, Before We Were Yours, and liked them very much.  Right now I'm reading Educated, which is an excellent memoir, IMO.  I know that they're going to discuss it in Senior Learn, so I will be interested in seeing what they have to say.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on July 15, 2019, 04:37:14 PM
Marilyne,  OBE is "Overcome By Events".   :)

"Where The Crawdads Sing" was a Book Club discussion last spring. So was "Educated".  We had read/discussed "Hillbilly Elegy" before discussing "Educated" and "....Crawdads".  Maybe I'm cynical but it was "same song-second verse" and I had a bit of a problem understanding how the authors could break away to achieve so much and still insist they had close relationships with their families.

I haven't checked in on "SeniorLearn" in a long time.  Please let me know here when the discussion of "Educated" begins; I'd like to follow it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 16, 2019, 07:38:54 AM
I love "OBE", Callie. I might just borrow that sometime in the future (assuming I remember it, hah!)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on July 16, 2019, 12:45:41 PM
The discussion on Educated officially starts 19 July on SeniorLearn.
 This is the website...

http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=5349.0
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on July 16, 2019, 01:07:24 PM
Thanks, Mary.  I used to be registered there and took part in some discussions.
Several months ago, my username and password were Barred from the site.  Administrators couldn't find a reason. I can get in to read...as anybody can...but can't post. I gave up trying.

Marilyne, I started Pachinko last night.  Think I may skip around to see what happens to Deprived Child  ;) and how it ends. Then  at least I'll know what the discussion is about in September.
I hope they pick a different theme for next season's books.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 16, 2019, 03:15:59 PM
Maryz - thanks for the letting us know the date of the upcoming Educated, discussion on Senior Learn.  I don't belong to SL, but I've followed lots of the book discussions over the years.

Callie - I'm looking forward to your opinion on, Pachinko?  I'm almost finished with Educated, and I really like it, but beyond shocking in throughout the book!  I'm curious as to what those on SL, have to say about it? 
Like MarsGal, I plan to also borrow "OBE", in the future!  ;D 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 17, 2019, 07:50:29 PM
Lots of interesting titles mentioned here. I'll be interested in How the States Got Their Shapes.  The title Summer of '69 caught my eye.   Each year at the time of our local school class reunion there is a band called Summer of '69 that plays a concert in the Village park and it is always very well attended by the alumni and families AND the fact that Debby graduated in 1969!!
     I haven't visited for a while.  We've had a series of visitors for the past few weeks.   It was Debby's 50th class reunion and about the same time our family came from NC for their annual vacation at the lake.  It worked out well because our two daughter in laws happened to get here at the same time so we had a family girl's lunch which doesn't happen too often with one in NC and one in CA and two here.  Anyway it was a busy time but time very well spent with family and old friends. 
    I've been reading at bedtime and finished the one book about Lewiston and another that I picked up just at random on a library visit.  The second book turned out to be very good historical fiction  about Niagara Falls, Ontario.   The title is The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan.   It is a novel but like the one about Lewiston it uses real people  and events in creating a good story.   As I read, I recognized people and places that made it more intersting.  If you have visited the Falls,  you might remember seeing the old work scow that sits grounded  a few hundred yards above the falls.  The rescue of those workmen was made very real in the story.
    Today I picked up a book from the new fiction shelf called Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts.  The author's name caught my eye.   I thought of Billie Letts who wrote The Walmart Baby story but it is not her.  Anyway this story has started off like one that will keep me reading.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 18, 2019, 12:11:20 PM
maryc - I'm interested in reading The Day The Falls Stood Still, and plan to put it on my library list.  Another book you might like is, The Falls, by Joyce Carol Oats.  I know . . .  she writes strange and complicated books, but this one is fairly "normal" if I remember correctly?  Some of her novels I've liked, but others I haven't wanted to finish.  This was one that I liked.   That reminds me . . . I watched the old movie, Niagara, a couple of days ago. The story was pretty predictable and dated, but I did like seeing the camera shots of the falls. some good photography, considering the movie was made in the 1950's.

Tomereader - Have you seen the TV series, adapted from Midnight in Chernobyl?  It's playing on Netflix, and is very good, I think.  So far we've watched two episodes and will continue on tonight with two more. It's much easier to remember or follow along with the various characters, now that I can put a face, to the complicated Russian names. The series is titled, just, Chernobyl, and is a British TV production.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on July 18, 2019, 01:51:44 PM
Help yourself to OBE! I "borrowed" it from a retired Navy friend; don't know if it's a military term or just one he made up.  ;) 

Yesterday, I went to a book club meeting/luncheon.  Lots of lively conversation about "Beach Books" we're reading this summer.  I chose to tell about Elin Hilderbrand's latest novels and shared a comment I'd read that she is the "queen of Beach Books".  Another member teasingly "disputed" that comment because she likes Mary Kay Andrews. We decided EH is the queen of Nantucket/Martha's Vineyard and MKA reigns on the barrier islands off Charleston.

Sounded as if everyone is looking forward to discussing "Pachinko" when our regular meetings begin in September.  So I guess I'll finish it <sigh>.

Am still working on "The Guest List" by Sarah Blake.  I'm about 75% through it and still haven't figured out where the title came from. Also wish she had made it more clear to which generation she's referring when the chapters skip from the 1930's to the present day and back to the 1940's, etc. "Other than that"  ;) ... I do like the story.

I don't think I'm ever going to find the Round Tuit for Netflix.  I'm determined not to add anything else to My List until I catch up with what's already there.

Nothing on the schedule for the next few days. Maybe....
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 18, 2019, 02:41:55 PM
Marilyne,  I did read The Falls by Joyce Carol Oates.   It was good but between the actions of the young bridegroom and some of the other stuff going on in that story made the going a little tough.    It was pretty true to fact when she got into the  part about Love Canal.   I'm very familiar with the place where the family lived in the later years.   It still stands as a community that was built for factory workers back in those years though of course by now many of the homes have been refurbished.   Geographically Ms. Oates stayed on course much better than she did in We Were the Calhouns.   That was about this part of the state but her reference to town names were all over the place. ;D
  Marilyne, I think you would like Finding Dorothy.   Here is a link to a pretty good review.
https://bookpage.com/reviews/23593-elizabeth-letts-finding-dorothy-i-class-fa-fa-star-i-fiction

  Callie,   You have mentioned a couple authors of beach books that I hadn't run across.  ::)    I'll check them out.  Thank you!!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on July 19, 2019, 05:14:14 PM
Have finished "The Guest Book" and revised my opinion. The meaning of the title is revealed in the last chapter and actually ties everything together.
Basic theme of the story is how attitudes change through 3 generations (or just seem to) about several social issues that divide people.
Not really light reading but I recommend it.....and have suggested it as a discussion selection for my Book Club next season.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 20, 2019, 05:27:32 PM
Marilyne, I didn't know Chernobyl was on Netflix, but I certainly will watch. It premiered on HBO which my Dish no longer lets me watch. so I'm thrilled it is on Netflix now.  I have been bingeing on "Medium" which I'm sure you wouldn't be a fan of. It's on Hulu. but i loved the show when it was on yrs ago.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 20, 2019, 06:08:02 PM
Tome - so sorry I misled you!  Chernobyl is only playing on HBO, at this time.  Because it's in streaming format, I was thinking it was on Netflix. (HBO shows are usually on a week to week basis, not streaming.)  Also, we are now using the "voice" thing on our remote, so we only speak into the remote and say, "Chernobyl", and it appears!  So I obviously lost track of what channel it was on.  Sorry for my mistake, and I do hope it goes to Netflix or Amazon soon, so you can watch it.  Very well done!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on July 20, 2019, 09:07:09 PM
Marilyne  I'm about 75% through Pachinko and recommend you try again and stick with it.  Can't say it's a great book but it has been an interesting story so far about a Korean family from the Japanese occupation of that country through WWII. I think the story is about to move into the time period of the Korean Conflict.

Correction on the Beach Book queens.  Mary Kay Andrew's stories are set on the islands off Georgia. 
Mary Alice Monroe sets hers around Charleston.  She is an advocate for the preservation of sea turtles and this is often worked into her stories.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on July 21, 2019, 01:52:22 PM
After my husband died in 2002, I went to Charleston (S.C.) to a gathering of women who were staying out at the beach near Sullivan's Island.  Mary Alice Monroe came out to the condo where we were staying (there were several men in our group, too) and talked about her work with the turtles at the beach.  I had read several of her novels and enjoyed her visit to our group.  She then invited us to Charleston to visit the turtles who were young and were waiting for movement to the beaches.  She is an expert on turtles and frequently includes them in her novels.

SCFSue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 22, 2019, 11:32:57 AM
Marilyne, Netflix does show several Chernobyl-related movies/documentaries but not the movie. There's a new brouhaha going on down here (I guess anywhere there's AT&T)  any of their U-Verse or Direct TV users will not be getting CBS programming on their local channels due to a " retransmission fee" dispute. Hope this doesn't affect many S&F viewers. (article appeared in Sunday's edition of The Dallas Morning News)





 





Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 23, 2019, 06:59:26 AM
Last night I finished River of Stars by Guy Gaviel Kay. The more I got into it, the more interesting it became. The setting is the 12th Dynasty at the beginning of the wars between the Jin and the Song which eventually saw the downfall of the Song Dynasty. The main characters are "inspired" by real people. Among these are Li Qingzhau, considered to be one of the greatest of China's poets, her husband, who was indeed very much into epigraphy, and General Yue Fei, whose life became legend thanks partly to a book his grandson wrote in the 13th century. Historians, of course, are questioning some of his grandson's assertions. Li Qingzhau's poetry has been translated into English, although I only see two old translations. I have not checked to see if the bio of Yue Fei has been translated yet. The Jin were the steppe people who swept down from the very northern part of China and pushed the Song Empire back to the Yangtze River.

Kay wrote another book set in China during the 8th or 9th century (I think) called Under Heaven. I have a notion to read that next if I can get a hold of it. I also may order one of the translations of Li Qingzhau's poetry.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on July 24, 2019, 10:41:22 AM
Good morning, Callie and Every Buddy looking in this morning.  Callie, I played bridge yesterday with your friend from Opelika.  I play once a month at the retirement home near me and she was there as a new member.  We had a good hand and I enjoyed playing with her.  As I was leaving to go home, I saw her outside with her 2 dogs.  She is a very friendly person and a really good bridge player.  I'm assuming that she has moved into one of the homes in the retirement center.

SCFSue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on July 24, 2019, 12:44:14 PM
Good morning.

Sue, Jennye said she played bridge with you yesterday. So glad you've met.  She has moved into one of the villas at Azalea and likes it very much. Those two dogs are her "life"!  :)

I'm  baking mini cupcakes for Bridge tomorrow. Timer went off,  BBL..
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 24, 2019, 05:41:35 PM
Callie and Sue - How nice that you now have a mutual friend.  Sounds like Jennye has recently moved to Alabama?  I'll take a look at my trusty AAA Atlas, and see how close Oklahoma City is to Opelika?

Callie - Now I'm sorry that I gave my copy of "Pachinko" away.  I can tell that I didn't give it a fair chance.  Well, there's always the library, and it might be out in Large Print by now?  My library copy of "Educated" was in large print, which is easier to read, but sometimes hard to handle in size and weight.  I've looked into the SL discussion on, "Educated", a couple of times, and find it to be very good and interesting to follow along.  There seems to be a general consensus of opinion, that I agree with.

Right now I have a few library books checked out, but have been busy with other things, so I haven't done much reading this week. Can't remember the titles right now, but one is the latest novel by Jodi Picoult.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on July 24, 2019, 06:35:33 PM
Marilyne, Pachinko didn't end the way I expected.
A friend and I agreed that the author dropped the ball at the end..

Educated discussion was interesting, wasn't it?  I also agreed with the general view points.


My friend who met Sue and I were sorority sisters and roommates at OU.  She moved around more than I did and had taught in the Auburn area for several years.  She had been back in Oklahoma for a while hoping to reconnect with friends from student years.  Recently she decided to move closer to her family in Atlanta and people she had known as an adult professional.  I think she made a wise decision.

I have 4 e-books going and hope no more show up from my holds for a while. The Summer Guests by Mary Alice Monroe is about a hurricane and show horses not turtles. So far, it's good.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on July 24, 2019, 07:23:37 PM
I checked my library for Pachinko. The don't have it in LP but die have 14 waiting on hold for it in regular print. Just put my name on list . will check the size of the print.
I had not heard of it prior to the other posting on here.

Weather pretty nice here at moment. Man to Jet Wash my place cam by but had a big flat bed full of trees he had cut down on it. Along with having a big truck I told him that i didn't want it block the street and to pick another day. Now suppose to be tomorrow If he can get his truck fixes. It broke down on the way home.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on July 25, 2019, 11:41:44 AM
Good morning, Every Buddy.  I'm late today as I stayed up last night to finish a book I was reading.  I've just finished my daily walk and it was HOT outside.  I don't like to skip the walk and didn't, but really need to get up, eat breakfast, and outside earlier than I did this morning!

MarilynE, Opelika is the town east of Auburn where I live.  My middle son and his wife live in Opelika.  Auburn is a bit larger than Opelika, but both are nice places to live.  My neighborhood has a good division of residents.  Some of us are older and enjoy seeing the youngsters of the young neighbors playing outside.  I used to make lots of cookies during Christmas vacation and had a "cookie party" for the youngsters in our neighborhood.  Those children are now in college and although there are a few new young ones, I haven't done that in several years.

Not much else to report here this morning except that it is HOT!  I've been out to walk and I had to struggle up hill as I was walking as fast as I could.  I wanted to get back inside the house where it is cooler!

Have a nice day, Every Buddy!
Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on July 28, 2019, 01:37:35 PM
Good Sunday Afternoon, Every Buddy.  I've just come home from church where one of my younger friends who I mentored on trips where we were helping Gulf Coast places which had been hit by the big hurricane in New Orleans and other coastal areas.  Patrick works at the Conference Center in Birmingham and told me after church that he is engaged.  I remember him being very popular with young ladies who also were helping with recovery efforts.  He dated quite a few of them, but never very seriously.  His parents and I were close and I attended his church in N.C. when he was ordained.  I expected to see his parents today, but they weren't there.

I don't have much planned for the rest of the day.  I'll fix my lunch shortly and then start reading one of my new library books.

I hope Every Buddy is doing well and Feeling OK, especially Jane and Ray.  I hope all is well with them.  Take care Every Buddy and check in when you can!

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 28, 2019, 02:02:02 PM
It's a lazy Sunday afternoon here too.  Went to church and had lunch with a friend who came across from Ontario today to visit our church.  Debby is busy helping to finish the decorating for Vacation Bible School that starts tomorrow.  I gardened yesterday so decided I would have a lazy afternoon on the porch swing.  I finished Finding Dorothy and recommend it if you like history.  I'm now reading another book from the new bookshelf at the library.  The title is Women Rowing North....Navigating Life's Currents and Flourishing as We Age by Mary Pipher.  Good so far.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on July 29, 2019, 11:25:05 AM
Good morning, Every Buddy looking in this morning.  My son Tim (who lives in Opelika--nearby) came to take me to my (Big Squeeze) this morning.  My boobs are so small that there is a lot of OUCHIE pulling to get them under the thing.  I survived it, though, and am glad to have it over for another year!

MaryC, it's good to see you here this morning.  We usually have Jane, and other Buddies here early, too, but perhaps they have early doctor appointments or other errands to run.

Not much else to report from Auburn.  I've walked in my neighborhood after Tim left and am planning to stay inside (or perhaps do a little weed pulling, but not stay outside very long!)

Have a nice day, Every Buddy.
Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 29, 2019, 12:06:03 PM
Hi Everybody!

Here is my reading update: I did pick up and start Under Heaven. It has an interesting beginning in which the main character has set himself a tremendous task in honor of his deceased father during the mandatory mourning period of two years.

Having set myself a goal of listening to at least one chapter a day from my audio books, I am now only four chapters away from finishing Carthage Must be Destroyed.[ All of those Hannibals, Hammilcars, and Hanos are a bit confusing, but now I am finally to the Hannibal with whom we are all familiar

I also started a SciFi, name forgotten at the moment, which I would ordinarily not continue with because I discovered it includes fighting flesh-eating aliens. I do not like SciFi horror stories. However, I took a liking to the main character, and the writing is fairly good.

Last night, I watched a series on the Crimean War that I ran across on Amazon. Lots of photos and art, and first-hand accounts.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on July 29, 2019, 12:54:05 PM
SCFSue, this is the Library Bookshelf discussion, not the Bosom Buddies.  We've missed you over there.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on July 29, 2019, 01:04:59 PM
Sue,  I think you posted your posts backwards.
Private message received and answered.  :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on July 30, 2019, 09:02:29 AM
Well, I just attribute my mistakes to a wandering mind.  I'm sorry about that, but sometimes I'm just forgetful.  The fall I had from my roof 4 years ago has not improved my memory!

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 30, 2019, 10:34:23 AM
SCFSue - We're happy to see you here in Library~Bookshelf, whether you meant to come in or not!  :)   You mentioned that you visit the library every week, and read lots of books?  Come back here any time, and tell us what you've been reading, and give us some of your recommendations?  Looking forward to seeing you here again.

I'm reading a fascinating non-fiction book titled,  THE CODDLING OF THE AMERICAN MIND - How good intentions and bad ideas are setting up a generation for failure.   This is a must read, for those of us who are interested in, but puzzled by, the generation who are now in college, or in their twenties.  This is not about the much touted "Millennials", but the next generation after . . . often called "Snowflakes".  This is fascinating reading!!  You will see the vast differences in how the different generations have been raised over the decades.  Although I'm only half way through the book, it makes me fear for the future. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on July 30, 2019, 02:54:52 PM
Quote from: SCFSue on July 30, 2019, 09:02:29 AMWell, I just attribute my mistakes to a wandering mind.  I'm sorry about that, but sometimes I'm just forgetful.  The fall I had from my roof 4 years ago has not improved my memory!

Sue
Sue, I have those "Intellectual Interludes" more frequently than I'd like!!!!  ;)
I agree with Marilyne.....do come back and comment on the books you're reading.

I just began reading "Finding Dorothy" which is a fictional story about Mary Baum (wife of L. Frank Baum) attempting to become involved with the filming of "The Wizard of Oz' in 1938.
She had just gotten in to see Louis B. Mayer and heard Judy Garland sing "Over The Rainbow" in rehearsal when the story went back to Mary's childhood and growing up years.
Looks like an interesting fictional biography about someone I'd never thought of as being worth writing about.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 30, 2019, 06:20:10 PM
Callie,  I hope you enjoy Finding Dorothy as much as I did.  I started it thinking that it would be just ok but found it to be full of interesting facts and a good story.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on July 30, 2019, 08:49:00 PM
Mary C,  so THAT"S where I learned about "Finding Dorothy".  Talk about Intellectual Interludes!!!!  :crazy2:
Thanks for the recommendation! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 31, 2019, 09:03:28 PM
Callie😊. It's ok...I just happened across it while browsing the "new book shelf" at our library.  It was a good find.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 04, 2019, 05:19:23 PM
I am about half way through Under Heaven by Guy Gaviel Kay. Like his River of Stars, it is full of poets and poems, introspection, and superstitions, not to mention political conniving and untimely deaths. Women play a larger role in this one, from a sister who is made a princess and given as a bride gift, to Kaylin assassins, to courtesans, to concubines of very high level political advisers. While I can't say I am particularly fond of any one character (except maybe the sister) in this book, I can say that the story is just as compelling as River of Stars.

There are now two SciFi books waiting on me, one is the continuation of one of the two series I am alternating each month, and the other is by Martha Wells called All Systems Red, which is the first of her MurderBot Diaries series.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 11, 2019, 06:51:47 AM
I finished reading Under Heaven. Both it and River of Stars, while only focusing on a small segment of time in ancient Chinese history, gave me a feeling of time flowing endlessly, diverging, flowing back again, the whirls and eddies and currents, the choices and unexpected events that alter a timeline from where they might have otherwise gone. Kay weaves in a rich mixture of history, myth, legend, superstition and religious ritual, poetry and poets, and descriptions of the land and culture. And, of course, the eternal conflict between bureaucratic and military interests. Some of the characters you meet were based on real people. The characters are somewhat inclined to be philosophical and introspective at times. Each choice you make, big or small, leads you down a path. Which path would you take, and where might it lead? What paths have you taken that were altered by unexpected events?

Now I am reading All Systems Red by Martha Wells. It is an easy read, nothing technical. The story is narrated by a Cyborg who is very sensitive to the slights, prejudice and jokes that are heaped on his kind. This is part of a four novella series. So I'll be done with it soon.

I am already thinking of the next book to read. Maybe I will go back to Ancient China and begin reading The Water Margin, also called Outlaws of the Marsh. Set during the Song Dynasty (same as River of Stars), and is considered one of the greatest works of Classical Chinese literature.

For my listening pleasure, I am now on Praetorian: The Rise and Fall of Rome's Imperial Bodyguard by Guy de la Bedoyere, which I like much better than Carthage Must be Destroyed. The book on Carthage was something of a disappointment except for the last chapter.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 13, 2019, 02:02:11 PM
Sorry for neglecting this folder for so long. Too much going on here at home, so I put all of my reading and TV watching on hold for the duration!  I have a few books set aside that I haven't finished, but I'll review and catch up  . . .  starting tomorrow.

MarsGal - Good to see your messages here.  I admire you for choosing historical subjects for reading, like ancient China, Rome, et al.  It's wonderful that you have the desire to continue to learn!  I mostly stick to fiction, but I also like non-fiction, like the two books I most recently read called, Midnight in Chernobyl, and The Coddling of the American Mind.  "Chernobyl" is recent history, and "Coddling" is a writers opinion of why the so-called Millennials and their offspring, are so different from other generations.  Most of the historical non-fiction I like, deals with events from the 19th and 20th centuries . . . mostly the Civil War era, through World War II.

I hope we hear from others who often post in this folder?  Did anyone read, The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein?  I really liked that novel, and now anxious to see the movie!  It's just been released, and is playing in theaters here now.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on August 14, 2019, 12:48:40 PM
Reading a book that I just got of the shelf . Love it. "The Girl who came home" by Hazel gaynor. Never heard of her. Ireland and the Titanic crossing and lives before and after.
I am just getting back into reading. finding Internet boring anymore along with TV. Peoples Phones have taken then over. Nothing better than books.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 15, 2019, 11:07:21 AM
Marilyne,  Good to see you back  "among us".  I was ready to send a search party out.  Hope everything is ok with you and yours. 
  I just finished WOMEN ROWING NORTH.  It had lots of good thoughts but seemed to be slow reading for me.    I'm still working my way through OLD GRACEFULLY.  I like to stop and ponder and have been marking my book for future reference.  Guess I did the same with Women Rowing North.    I did  pick up another book by Ivan Doig,  THE WHISTLING SEASON.  I've started it and have a feeling that I read it before but will have to go a little deeper to find out.  Maybe I started and didn't finish.  I do like his writing style. 
    Wonder how CallieOK is enjoying FINDING DOROTHY?
  MarsGal,  You are way ambitious in reading all that ancient history.  My brother, age 93 just loves that kind of story as he is interested in that era. He relates all of that to me in our daily phone conversations and so I get some of it second hand.  :)  I've never gotten really into it but rather like more recent history and of our own country.  I'm sure it's a lazy mind but that's where I am!! :-[
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 16, 2019, 07:05:19 PM
Although all my company has gone home, and my husband is feeling better, I still haven't returned to my regular reading routine.  I have two books checked out from the library, but haven't started either one of them yet . . .  The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, by Lisa See, and Home for Erring and Outcast Girls, by Julie Kibler.  The latter, I've had for over a week, so I'm going to start reading it over the weekend.

Maryc - I'm interested in reading The Whistling Season, and will definitely put it on my library request list.  I've read a couple of books by Ivan Doig, that I've liked a lot, although I can't think of the name of them at the moment?  ::)  ::)  I'm pretty sure that "Whistling" is not one of them, but I may be surprised! ha!  How nice that you talk to your brother every day.  I always enjoyed my phone conversations with my brother, and miss them so much.   He usually managed to made me laugh, and could change my mood from unhappy to happy.  We didn't talk every day, but when we did, it was always an upbeat conversation.  He was a "glass half full" person, and looked on the bright side of any issue, whereas I tend to dwell on the dark side.

JeanneP - good to see you here also.  Your book, The Girl Who Came Home, sounds good.  Any story dealing with the Titanic, is always very good and usually dramatic and exciting. 

So, it's now after 4:00 PM here, so time to start thinking about what to fix for dinner?  I think tonight will be leftover cold chicken, potatoes and a veggie or salad of some sort.  Not very creative, but too hot to think about cooking.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on August 18, 2019, 12:19:58 PM
The memory keepers daughter by Kim Edwards. I just finished it . Another one hated to come to the end.
Just about given up now on computers, television gone back to reading books and sendin long letters hand written. People seem to be so taken up with Facebook. Texting. I give up. Even families have gotten hooked.
Going to send out a few emails to old addresses and see what happens.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 19, 2019, 07:03:40 AM
Time to update my current reading. I finished listening to Praetorian and wish I had gotten the book. The book has a bunch of photos and lots of Appendices and Notes that are not included on the audio book. I didn't mind that so much with Carthage Must be Destroyed because I have already have several print books on the Punic Wars. I have not decided on which book to tackle next in audio format.

Just started reading The Water Margin (aka: The Romance of the Three Kingdoms). At 771 pages long, it is going to take a while. It looks like it is set
during the Han Dynasty (2nd Imperial Dynasty 206-220AD)and the Three Kingdoms period (220-280AD). Other than that, I am reading a SciFi short story.

My typing assistant has arrived. After neglecting his duties for several weeks, he seems to be interested in laying on the computer keyboard again.

I have rearranged my "media" room a little and still have some books to put back on shelves or purge.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 26, 2019, 01:00:02 PM
Mighty quiet here this last week.

I just can't stay away from ancient history. My latest listen is The War that Killed Achilles by Caroline Alexander. I am enjoying it but she is not convincing when she says in her intro that the book is about Homer's take on war. Oh, she does make a few comments about how Homer shows the futility of war, etc. but for the most part it seems more a character analysis, and a synopsis of actions taken and how various characters reacted to those actions. Actually, the NYT Book Review pretty much sums up what I am thinking, as I listen to the book. Nicely done, but nothing new. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/books/review/Coates-t.html

Romance of the Three kingdoms is going well, except that all the different characters and their several names and titles used by many of them are confusing. I do recognize the actions that Guy Gavriel Kay used in his novels. Other than the confusion of names, the novel itself is easy to read, if a bit choppy at times. Most of the descriptions in the novel are limited to words and actions of the characters. It does not dwell on descriptions of gardens, clothing, social graces, etc. So, for example, you read that someone is gifted with fine clothing, but there isn't any description of the clothing. Very little is said of the battles or fights except for the opening engagements, which appear to be mostly between individuals (champions) before the main battle begins, and how maybe long the battles lasted before the adversaries break off.

I keep forgetting to get back to the Bulgarian history I was reading months ago. Part of that is because I had to send the ILL book back before finishing. I have an online copy bookmarked, but I (and my back) dislike reading long online articles and books that I can't download to read offline on my tablet.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 27, 2019, 12:00:16 AM
MarsGal - I haven't deserted you!   Thank you for continuing to post messages, even though no one has responded in the past couple of days.  As I said before, I admire you for sticking with the ancient history.  I'm sure I haven't given it a fair chance, but I still have a long list of books to read here at home, as well as a others to be ordered from the library.

Maryc - Thanks for the recommendation for,  The Whistling Season,  by Ivan Doig.  I'm almost finished with it, and enjoying every page.  I like Doig's writing style and dialogue - easy reading and a good story.   His novels kind of remind me of Elizabeth Berg.  Always interesting and likable characters.

I saw a recommendation online, for James Patterson's, NON-fiction true account of the Jeffrey Epstein story,  Filthy Rich.  Embarrassed to say, I couldn't resist . . . I checked it out from the library. :-[   Patterson wrote this book a couple of years ago,  before Epstein's latest arrest and subsequent suicide. The incredible part, is that this behavior had been going on for years and years, and everyone, (meaning lawyers, celebrities, politicians, etc.), knew about it.  It will infuriate anyone to read this true story, and makes you lose even more faith in the rich and famous.  Money buys power!!  It really is an embarrassing expose of our criminal court system, and those who are in charge.  The most amazing thing of all . . . no one knows where Epstein's money came from?  He was a multi-billionaire, who lived in the biggest and most expensive house in NYC, and owned other mansions in other states, plus yachts, airplanes, and a private island?  Needless to say, it's a fascinating book.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 27, 2019, 06:19:38 AM
I do like Ivan Doig's writing, so I will be looking into The Whistling Season.

As for Patterson's book. I remember seeing something about it a while back, but forgot about it.
Patterson is an interesting guy. I wonder if he will eventually write a memoir.

A break from SciFi, I have also started The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson. I doubt I will finish it though. It is a supernatural horror story. I am not into horror. H. P. Lovecraft credited Hodgson's writings as an influence on his own writing. I couldn't get through Lovecraft's writing either. Come to think of it, although I've seen the old movie, I couldn't finish Frankenstein either. Although I saw several Dracula movies, when I was young and have the book, I've never read it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 31, 2019, 12:01:44 PM
JeanneP,  Glad to hear you found The Memory Keeper's Daughter and liked it so well.   I read it some time ago but now think I will reread it.
   Marilyne and Marsgal,  I did really like The Whistling Season and it had a few little surprises that made it more interesting.  The very rural atmosphere of the family home and school community was a comfortable setting.  If you haven't already read This House of Sky by Ivan Doig,  I think you would like that too.  
   Debby and I went to one of our favorite second hand stores yesterday and I picked up a book of short stories by Robert Fulgrum....It was on Fire When I Lay Down on It.   This is a rerun and as you have heard me say,  I'm not into buying books.   I just thought I'd read through it and pass it on to one of the local book shelves.   It's light and quick reading that will bring a smile.
  I have just purchased an e-book called Elderhood by Louise Aronson.   It seems that the Baby Boomers have spurred an interest in growing older and what the possibilities of these extra years that many people of other times did not live to "enjoy?".   Jane Fonda and others have some very good TED TALKS on youtube.com on the subject.   My husband was fortunate to live to age 91 in relatively good health right up until his last couple of years.   I consider myself to be very healthy and ponder what it is I should be doing to leave things better when my time does come.  It's an interesting topic.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryz on September 01, 2019, 12:34:24 PM
All of Ivan Doig's books are good.  Another writer with series and stand-alones is Ferrol Sams - mostly a Southern writer.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 01, 2019, 02:44:14 PM
MaryZ - Good to see you posting here in Library Bookshelf.  I've been watching for a message from you in BB, as to how you're doing since your surgery?  I hope okay, and that you'll begin to quickly get your strength back.  The only other Ivan Doig novel that I've read, besides The Whistling Season, is Last Bus to Wisdom, which I found out was his final book before his death in 2015.  There are lots of others, so I'll have a whole bunch to enjoy over Fall and winter!   Let us know what you've been reading, or listening to?  Also, please join us in the Television folder, with some suggestions for viewing.  You've probably had a lot of time  for watching TV in the past few weeks.

Maryc - I plan to look into Ted Talks, on YouTube.  Sounds interesting.  Jane Fonda usually has lots to say, so I'd like to hear her take on growing older?  She was born in 1937, so is turning 82 this Fall!  She looks 52, thanks to an abundance of cosmetic surgeries!  ::)

MarsGal - The Patterson book on Epstein, was very well researched and fascinating reading.  It's distasteful and sad, to read about the things that that man got away with over his lifetime - with help from lots of high profile lawyers, judges, politicians, and an endless supply of money. Wow, Prince Andrew, is certainly a "piece of work", as the saying goes.  I doubt we will be hearing anything more about him in the future.  I feel sorry for his two adult daughters.

JeanneP - I'm leaving you a message in the TV folder.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 02, 2019, 11:48:00 AM
Arghhhh! Arghhh! triple Arghhhh!


I had a nice big post this morning on my laptop almost ready to post. Well, I lost it. Tried again and didn't get as far before I lost that one too, so I quit for a while. Now I am on my Linux machine and a keyboard I can get along with. Soooooo, now for my reading update report.

My last Audible listen was The War that Killed Achilles by Caroline Alexander. I enjoyed that very much. Now I am listening to Simon Winchester's The Professor and the Madman which is about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary. The early chapters are mostly about the "madman" who turns out to be an American veteran of the Civil War.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms is about half way done. I will have to renew it in a day or two. Meanwhile, I finished Martha Wells' Artificial Condition which is the second of her Murderbot series. It is a short and fast read. It doesn't have a lot of scientific/technical detail. The main character seems to have himself hooked of TV shows, which, it turns out, occasionally help the SecUnit interact with humans and enhanced humans. He does not consider himself human although he has human components. The closest thing I would say he resembles is a Cyborg, although Wells does not use that term.

Yesterday, being the 1st, was my download day for freebies from my Amazon Prime. From the Lending Library I downloaded the next of the Galaxy's Edge series I am in the middle of, and two from the First Reads section. The two I selected are of particular interest. One is Jan Stocklassa's The Man who Played with Fire which is about Stieg Larrson's (The Girl Who series) investigation into the assassination, in 1986, of Olof Palme who was Prime Minister of Sweden at the time. This is the first of Stocklassa's books translated into English. Stocklassa is a journalist who generally writes about international affairs.

The second is Patricia Cornwell's Quantum. This one is listed as a thriller. What is super interesting about this one is that it includes animation and videos embedded in the book. I remember reading something about that, probably in Publisher's Weekly, so I want to see how it does. Some of the Fire tablets and the apps for iOS and Android can take advantage of the feature.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on September 03, 2019, 11:25:43 AM
Marsgal,I sympathize with you and your frustration about the disappearing posts. :(    I've had that happen and either didn't have time or gumption to go back and rewrite my thoughts again.I admire your ambition in reading.
   I'm giving up on the latest Ivan Doig book that I brought from the library.  I so enjoyed The Whistling Season and can't seem to get my head around this one in modern times.  Partly I think I'm too distracted to shift gears.   There is a lot going on with getting things done in the house and the garden for fall and the basement cleanout continues slowly but surely. 
MaryZ,  Sorry that I didn't catch on to your surgery.  Hope all is going well for you.
FlaJean,  It seems as though I haven't seen you posting here for a while.  R YOU OK? 
R YOU OK is the name of a program run by our local police department.   They have a auto telephone system that calls you phone number at a certain time each day.  If you don't answer, a call goes out to your contact number to check on your welfare.   This system may be across the country as well.   I don't know but I think it has value for persons living alone.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on September 03, 2019, 11:59:51 AM
MaryC, I do read the posts but very seldom post because I mostly read mysteries and that doesn't seem to be a popular genre in this folder.

I have read several books lately that are considered mysteries but are really just good stories.  I had read "The Paris Architect" several years ago but recently read it again because I liked it so well.  It is set in Paris in World War II.  The author, Charles Belfoure, recently published a new book "The Fallen Architect" which is set in Great Britain.  This is also a good story of an architect who was jailed after a balcony failed in a new building he designed.  Both of these books have good endings.  I no longer read sad or depressing books or books I don't like.  If I don't like a book I just put it down.  I used to suffer through and finish the book.

Mary, I miss the garden forum and Nat who used to be so interested in orchids.  There just aren't enough members now to keep, something like that going.  But I see you are still active in your yard.  Our yard in our new home is very small but we do have a few pretty flowers and bushes.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 03, 2019, 05:50:09 PM
Jean, I keep downloading mysteries, but something else always sneaks in ahead. I did pick up and almost started the first of Tony Dunbar's Tubby Dubonnet series. Tubby is, if I remember correctly, a lawyer, and the setting is New Orleans.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Valtermar on September 03, 2019, 07:34:43 PM
My first post here at Library Bookshelf, invited by MarsGal.

(You did invite me, MarsGal, didn't you? :) ).

So much to write, so... where do I start? May be with how I read these days... Well, I do prefer using an ebook reader. Nowadays it is the Kindle, from Amazon, but I started with the Rocket-eBook in 2000. Then I changed to the Palm pilot, used it for many years, changed to iPod touch and then to the Kindle. None is easier than the Kindle to get a book ASAP. Once in a while I do read paper books. Pocket books used to be my preferred ones before the e-readers. Because I like to read SciFi books and they are hard to get in Portuguese, I accustomed myself to read them in English. So, for the last 20 years, 99 percent of the fiction books I read are in English. Read some in German, Spanish and, course, some in Portuguese as well.. I am not capable of fully understanding German, but it helps in learning the language, though.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on September 03, 2019, 08:10:22 PM
Welcome Valtemar!  Nice to see a new name here.
FlaJean,  Happy to see your smiling face.😊👏. 
 Yes I miss the gardening forum.  I had never had an orchids but our grandson gave me a plant in bloom about three years ago on Mother's Day.  It finished blooming then and again about a year later.  I about decided that it wasn't going to bloom again.  All at once a blossom shoot started to appear.  It has now been blooming since July and doesn't show signs of fading.  There are eight blossoms on the stem.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on September 03, 2019, 11:39:11 PM
Welcome, Valtemar!

Maryc,  I did give orchids a try, but didn't have much luck.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 04, 2019, 12:47:12 AM
Valtemar - Good to see you posting here!  Most of our readers here prefer Kindles, iPads or other types of e-readers.  I have a Kindle, but I still love a real "old fashioned" hard cover book.  I usually order them from the library  whenever possible. If not possible, then I use my Kindle.  So,  you're a science fiction fan?  You and MarsGal, will have a lot in common!  I prefer historical fiction, but I like reading all genre's of fiction, and non-fiction as well.  What are some of your favorite books? 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on September 04, 2019, 06:14:38 AM
FlaJean I too like a good mystery/thriller. Patricia Cornwell, P.D.James and Mary Higgins-Clark are my favorites with Elizabeth George.

But the best for me is still S-f!
I read mostly on my I-Pad, (or Kindle if I am in a waiting room for long) but I would prefer real books when I have a choice or the budget!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 04, 2019, 07:07:22 AM
Bubble, the Patricia Cornwell I picked up a few days ago for my Kindle will be my first for her. I won't get to it until later this month, but am anxious to see how the new animation/video features in the book at work.

Oh yes, Valtermar, I could not pass up a chance to converse with another SciFi reader. I am sorry to hear that not many are translated into Portuguese. Are there any Portuguese SciFi writers? Some of my favorite SciFi writers are John Scalzi, Hugh Howey, Marco Kloos, Daniel H. Wilson, Jack Campbell, and Jack McDevitt. Currently I am reading the Galaxy's Edge series by Jason Anspach and Nick Cole, and Craig Alanson's Expeditionary Force series. I also have an interest in Chinese SciFi. And, although I am not a gamer, I have read many of the HALO books.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 04, 2019, 07:31:29 AM
Valtermar, I am a big fan of Project Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page They are dedicated to making available books that are no longer copyrighted. Out of curiosity, I checked their listing of books in Portuguese. http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/languages/pt
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Valtermar on September 04, 2019, 07:53:18 PM
Maryc and FlaJean, thank you for the welcome messages.

Marilyne, I do have favorite genres but I can't say I have favorite books, except that some do seem special. I am a fan of the late Isaac Asimov. Some of his books I read three, four, even five times already. As for genres, I also like detective and adventure stories. In that regards, some of Asimov's books were both SciFi and detective stories, like Caves of Steel, for instance.

MarsGal, I can remember just one Brazilian SciFi writer. I read his book but didn't like it much. It is possible there are others I am not aware of.

Isn't it interesting that you have mentioned these many SciFi writers and I do not think I have read any of their books? I take it as a clue there are a lot of them, which I think it is a good thing.

Among the SciFi writers I enjoyed reading are A.C. Crispin, Alan Dean Foster, Anne MacCaffrey, Arthur C. Clarke, Ben Bova, Bruce Sterling, David Brin, Douglas E. Richards, Elizabeth Moon, Greg Bear, James P. Hogan, James White, Jeffrey A. Carver, John David Krygelski, Joshua Dalzelle, Jules Verne, Lois McMaster Bujold, M. C. A. Hogarth, Michael Crichton, Orson Scott Card, Richard K. Morgan, Richard Phillips, Robert A. Heinlein, Robert Harris, Robert J. Sawyer, Sharon Lee, Stephen Baxter, Vernor Vinge and William Shatner.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on September 05, 2019, 03:25:26 AM
And what about Aldriss, Benford, Bradley, Brin, O. Butler, C.J. Cherryh, H. Harrison, R. Sawyer, S.S. Tepper, J. Pournelle, F. Herbert?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Valtermar on September 05, 2019, 07:21:05 PM
Hi, Bubble! I started reading White Mars, from Brian Aldiss, some years ago, but didn't like the story and the writing style...

By Gregory Benford I read Foundation's Fear and The Martian Race, which I liked, and Against Infinity, which I didn't like. He does have a good number of books and I keep some of them in mind for future reading...

By Bradley you mean? Bradley Denton or Marion Zimmer Bradley or...?

David Brin and Robert Sawyer are on the list and I remember I read Sawyer's book Factoring Humanity last March, after you suggested his name to me. Other of his books I read are Illegal Alien, Starplex and The Terminal Experiment.

From C. J. Cherryh, that I can remember, I read Visible Light SS, a collection of short stories, which I liked.

Can't remember if I read any of Harry Harrison , Jerry Pournelle, Octavia Butler and Sherry Tepper books...

I read, tried reading in fact, one of Frank Herbert books. I found he liked his characters to have very very long monologues. I didn't find it enjoyable. But I liked the film Duna, inspired in his books, both the old and the new film versions.

Anyone that you would specially recommend?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Valtermar on September 05, 2019, 07:44:31 PM
Hi, Marilyne!

I wonder if you read Stephen Baxter trilogy Destiny's Children, and specially the first book, Coalescent. In this book Baxter tells the story of Regina, starting in the ancient Rome empire, with a historical perspective.

There is also Len Deighton's Series Bernard Samson, starting with Winter, the first book, with a good perspective of the life in Austria and Germany before and during the World War (not a SciFi fiction, though).
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Valtermar on September 05, 2019, 07:49:40 PM
Hi, MarsGal!
Thank you for the suggestion of Gutenberg project, and the list of books in Portuguese.

As to the authors John Scalzi and Hugh Howey, any book from them that you would specially recommend, for a start?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on September 06, 2019, 03:31:52 AM

West of Eden (1984)Winter in Eden (1986)Return to Eden (1988) science fiction novel by American writer Harry Harrison.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_of_Eden (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_of_Eden)

A story where the dinosaurs survived and ruled...
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 06, 2019, 07:27:15 AM
Morning Bubble. I haven't read any of Harrison's novels (that I can recall, unless it was Deathworld), but I have read several of his short stories. "Arm of the Law" remains one of my all-time favorites.  http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29204

Valtermar, I have enjoyed all of the Scalzi books that I have read so far. Agent to the Stars was my first encounter with Scalzi and his quirky humor. Very funny! It was his first effort at novel writing and posted it for free on the net to see if anyone was actually interested in reading what he wrote. After that there was the Old Man's War series. If you liked the Star Trek TV series, you might like Redshirts. It is a spoof of the TV show. BTW, Wil Wheaton who played Wesley Crusher on the TV show is a good friend of Scalzi. With the Piper family's permission, Scalzi did his own retelling of H. Beam Piper's Little Fuzzy with his Fuzzy Nation. I recommend Lock-In if you are interested in an earth-based near future medical thriller. The main character is confined to a bed with Haden's Syndrome (reminds me very much of late stage ALS patients and those with catastrophic spinal cord injuries) from which he operates a robot/android in order interact with others outside the confines of his bedroom. He is an FBI agent tasked as a liaison with others of the Haden's Syndrome community and to investigate crimes involving those afflicted. In Lock-On, he investigates several murders involving nefarious medical business dealings, and a his second, Head On he investigates the murder of a favorite player in a sport, open only to Haden's sufferers, that has gained lots of fans and big-money backing. I hope he writes more.

The first Hugh Howey books I read were his Silo series. While they are good, the books that I like the best are his Sand series, a post-apocalyptic series involving "sand-diver" salvagers, The Shell Collector, a stand-alone environmental/romance novel, and especially Beacon 23. Beacon 23 is about an off world "lighthouse keeper" suffering from PTSD.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on September 06, 2019, 07:39:05 AM
I never read Arm of the Law, by Harry Harrison. I will! Thanks for the link

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 06, 2019, 12:26:51 PM
Valtermar - Thanks for recommending the Stephen Baxter books.  The trilogy sound like something I will like, so I'll check out my library, and see if they have them in stock.  I think my husband has read books by Len Deighton?  He also likes any fiction or non fiction dealing with World War II . . . before, during and after. 

I read your list of SciFi authors, and only recognized a few of them - Robert Heinlein, and of course Jules Verne.  I was surprised to see the name William Shatner.  He is certainly a multi-talented man!  I know he's involved in all sorts of different things, but I didn't know he was also a writer.  I will have to Google his name, and see what it is that he's written?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Valtermar on September 06, 2019, 08:04:19 PM
Bubble - Thank your for the suggestion of books by Harri Harrison and the provided link to Wikipedia. I added the author and books to my list of books to read.

MarsGal - Thank you for listing some books by John Scalzi and Hugh Howey and the comments about these books. I added them to my list of books to read, together with those suggested by Bubble.

Among the authors whose books I started reading more recently, I like to recommend Sharon Lee and Steve Miller and their series of books about the Liaden Universe, and Douglas E. Richards.

Sharon Lee and Steve Miller created these characters from the planet called Liaden, living in a distant future where space travel is common and humanity has spread through the galaxy. I very much like their way of writing and the way they portray their characters. They are very fond of cats, so that cats have their part in the stories.

Douglas E. Richard stories I like because he usually chooses scientific topics and includes them in his stories, so that the reader can both enjoy the stories and learn more about science at the same time. At the end of his stories, Douglas usually comments about his choices and tell what in his stories are facts and what is fiction. It is a new way of writing that some authors of late have chosen. Michael Crichton used this style and James Rollins (author of the Sigma Force Series) uses it as well.

James Rollins books are for those who enjoy adventure stories like those of Indiana Jones. I have read 13 of his books of the Sigma Force series and liked  them all.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Valtermar on September 06, 2019, 08:23:23 PM
Hi, Marilyne! I think Len Deighton is a very good writer and also a researcher of History, so that his stories have their fiction part and also their historical facts, so that the readers can enjoy his stories and learn about History at the same time. There was a TV Series made (in England, I think) based on his books.

As for William Shatner, the books by him that I read are of the Tek War series (Tek War, Tek Lords, Tek Labs...). I also watched the movies made based on these stories.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on September 07, 2019, 04:21:18 AM
Yes, I too enjoyed the Liaden Universe very much! I should re-read that series.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on September 07, 2019, 11:39:27 AM
Welcome, Valtermar!  It's great to meet another sci-fi fan.  Now we're going to overwhelm you with enough suggestions to last you for several years.  If you don't already know about it, a great resource is the Fantastic Fiction website.

https://www.fantasticfiction.com (https://www.fantasticfiction.com)

It covers 40,000 authors of several genres, including science fiction, fantasy, and mysteries.  For each author you get a very brief biography, and a list of all their books, including ones not yet released, with a brief description of each.  Series are grouped together in chronological order.  Their system takes getting used to, as their alphabetic lists only include the most popular, so you have to search by author for the others.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Valtermar on September 07, 2019, 06:48:24 PM
Hi, Bubble!  The follow up of Neogenesis (Liaden Universe - Book 21), published in January, 2018, will be Accepting the Lance (Book 22), to be published next December 3, 2019. Meanwhile, there has been publication of short stories like Heirs to trouble, Degrees of separation, Fortune's favor and Shout of honor.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Valtermar on September 07, 2019, 06:57:54 PM
Hi, PatH2!  Thank you for the Welcome message and thank you also for the link to fantasticfiction. I didn't know the site, so that it was a great addition.  :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on September 08, 2019, 04:35:05 AM
Welcome back PatH! Good to see you, - I missed you both!  :smitten:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 08, 2019, 08:03:41 AM
Good morning everyone.

Cruising through YouTube yesterday, I discovered that the Kings and Generals channel includes The Three Kingdoms. These were posted recently, so I guess the Kings and Generals: Three Kingdoms video game (which sponsors the channel) is a recent addition to their line-up. Nice that they sponsor some real history. Anyway, the Three Kingdoms series sure helps to visualize and keep who is where doing what to whom more straight in my mind. The videos use the real history rather than the novelized version which is what I am reading.  Oh, and I also watched one on the Praetorians which pretty much seems a short summary of the audio book I finished last week.

I've  only gotten around to reading one of Len Deighton's books, City of Gold, which I remember liking.

John Sandford co-wrote with photo-artist, Ctein, a Science Fiction thriller called Saturn Run. It was very good. So far, it is one and only cross-over into SciFi that I know of.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on September 08, 2019, 01:38:29 PM
Good morning and welcome, Valtermar.  It's always nice to see someone new here.  I've read a few of the books you've mentioned, but I tend to read mostly novels which are easily found in my local library.  I hope you'll settle in soon--and as you can probably see most of us who post are women. More than a few of us are widows.  However, our reading tastes are varied and a number of posters are into the type of books you mention.  I hope you'll visit us again soon.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 08, 2019, 06:57:31 PM
I have a correction. Kings and Generals does not own the video game, it is Total War that has the Three Kingdoms game. Kings and Generals is, however, sponsored by them. The Invicta channel on YouTube also has a series on the Three Kingdoms which I actually can follow a bit better than the Kings and Generals one. I've watched a number of both channels' short videos on various other ancient groups and battles.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 09, 2019, 03:20:19 PM
Sorry to read in the newspaper this morning, that prolific Southern writer, Dorothea Benton Frank, has died.  She was only 67 years old.  I've read many of her novels over the years, and I know that many of you have also.  The article said that she has a brand new book our now, called Queen Bee.  I would like to read it, and plan to see if it's available at my library.

I haven't been reading much this past week.  The last time I went to the library, I picked up a book by Barbara Kingsolver, called Prodigal Summer.  Her novel, The Poisonwood Bible, is at the top of my list of all time favorites, I'm always ready to read another of her books, in hopes that I will like it.  So far, I haven't found any of her books, since "Poisonwood", to be at all enjoyable, and I don't think I've stayed with and finished any of them. The same problem with "Prodigal".  I read enough to know that I'm not interested in the story or characters, so that's another one crossed off.  I've heard it said that an author really has only one truly great book to write, and when it's been written, all others to follow are mediocre at best.  I think it applies to Kingsolver.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on September 09, 2019, 04:19:52 PM
I'm also sorry to hear about Dorothea Benton Frank.  I loved her books and was looking forward to more.
Marilyn, let me know if you are as surprised as I was at the central character in "Queen Bee". 

I'm reading novels by Susan Meisner
  She takes an historical event of the past and builds a story that connects it to a fictional event today. Have read "Fall of Marigolds" (a real fire in a NYC factory) and "Stars Over Sunset Boulevard" (the filming of "Gone With The Wind".  Am currently reading "Secrets Of A Charmed Life".  It centers on two sisters who were evacuated as children during the London Blitz.  Current tie is an interview with one of them who has just confessed she isn't really 102 and her name isn't really what she says it is.  Story has now switched to the evacuation.

Hello, Valtermar from Oklahoma.  :welcome:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Valtermar on September 09, 2019, 07:44:20 PM
Hi, SCFSue and CallieOK.  Thank you for the welcome. :)

MarsGal, City of Gold is one among Len Deighton's books I didn't read yet.

I do not think I read John Sanford books yet, either. I read what readers thought about Saturn Run and some think the authors spent too much space in the beginning of the story describing technicalities. Are you of the same opinion?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 10, 2019, 07:37:21 AM
Valtermar, I didn't have any problem with the technical details in Saturn Run. I know some people do not like it. I have talked to some people who didn't even like the scientific/mathematical details in Andy Weir's The Martian, which I considered at a high school or first year college level. None of it interfered with the story itself. If I don't understand the science/technology (Quantum theory/mechanics is a good example) I either look it up or skim over it because most of the time the detail does not interfere with the main plot. I don't really need to know how something works, just that it does. If I do need to know, it is because I am a curious creature.

I am going to share a memory with you all. I can remember, when I was a youngster, my Dad used to tell me I would love reading Victor Hugo because I liked detailed descriptions so much. I never did get around to reading Hugo, but I never lost that interest in detailed descriptions, whether in science and technology, or details describing the shape, colors and smells of a landscape, or details of what a character is wearing.

My current SciFi read is M. R. Forbes, Deliverance. It is the first of a series involving a colony ship which is escaping Earth after it is overrun by alien creature bent on destroying mankind. Of course, some of these creatures have managed to get aboard the ship. Forbes writes some interesting characters. I liked his War Eternal series very much. That one involved sentient AI and time recursion.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on September 10, 2019, 07:43:53 AM
And in old time Seniornet (WREX discussion) I started writing about A1, not Al, in a parallel world. ;D  I wish my inspiration would come back... it was fun.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 11, 2019, 12:54:33 PM
Two of my long standing holds at the library came in. One is Alastair Reynold's Revenger. The other is A History of the Later Han Dynasty 23-230 AD by Rafe De Crespigny. The book, published and presented to the Shippensburg University Library in 2017, looks pristine. As I was hoping, it does have some maps. It is 510 pages not including the bibliography and index at the end. I still have a little over 200 pages to read in Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

The other day I found a volume of Ray Bradbury short stories (Quicker than the Eye) that I never finished. It is now sitting out where I can see it so I can finish it when I get a chance.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 12, 2019, 06:12:02 AM
This morning I sent back Revenger after reading only a chapter and a half. It is written for the young set, I think. Anyway, I didn't take to it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 12, 2019, 03:20:40 PM
Mars - I've recently taken back lots of unread books to the library.  There was a time, when I would stick with a book, and try to start liking it - especially if it had good reviews, or someone recommended it to me.  I wasted too much time, when I should've tossed it.  Now I realize that there are many books out there that really suit me, so I don't waste my time any longer. 

My dil, gave me a novel called The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, by Lisa See.  I read another of See's books a few years ago, called Shanghai Girls, and I loved it.  So far I can't drum up any interest in "Tea Girl", but will give it another go this afternoon before I give up on it.   Other than that, I have an Ivan Doig book here, called Mountain Time, that I'm anxious to read, so maybe I'll start it instead, and get back to "Tea Girl" at another time.  Decisions, decisions!  :D   :-\   ::) 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Valtermar on September 12, 2019, 08:21:54 PM
Hi, MarsGal! Thank you for the reply in regard to John Sanford's Saturn Run. I will keep it in my list of books to read.

Richard Douglas also likes to include details of the scientific kind in his stories, and usually I like to read them. I might like to read John Sanford book.

I traveled on Thursday and Wednesday, so that I bought an e-book by Elizabeth George to read while traveling. It is "In the presence of the enemy". I read most of her books of the Inspector Lynley Series, already. This one is among the few still to be read.
Elizabeth George's books were a recommendation of Bubble, many years ago. Thank you again, Bubble. I like to read her stories.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on September 12, 2019, 11:45:15 PM
Marilyne,I'll be interested to hear how you like Mountain Time.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 14, 2019, 11:49:23 AM
Good Morning book lovers!  :)  Still early here in the West, but I've been up since about 6:30, thinking about the wonderful movie I watched yesterday and last night.   One of my top five favorites of all time, Doctor Zhivago.  I have the DVD, so usually take it out at least once a year, and enjoy it all over again.  Strange that I have never read the book, by Boris Pasternak, from which the movie was adapted, but I plan to get it at the library this weekend.   Have any of you read the book?  I'm fascinated by the Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks, and how Russia was forever changed as a result.  After I saw Doctor Z, for the first time, in 1965, that's what started my interest.   I then read the book, Nicholas and Alexandra, which was a best seller at that time, and followed it up by reading other accounts of the Revolution.

Maryc - I haven't yet started Mountain Time, but there is no time limit on how long I can keep it, so I'll likely wait until after I read "Dr.Z".   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on September 15, 2019, 02:56:02 AM
I tried reading Dr Z, a very heavy tome (in French anyway) and found I was plodding in it, losing track of who all the characters were, and very long descriptions. That was many years ago, when it was just published.  I am not sure if I even got to the end.

Years later, I went to see the film but again, could not manage to the end, but for a different reason :(  I was pregnant and felt that the baby was in discomfort... I rushed to the hospital, just in time for a miscarriage with sad result. Now I don't want to see the film. But I do like the music of Lara's theme. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on September 15, 2019, 01:49:50 PM
I saw the Movie, Dr. Zhivago, on TV when it first appeared, then I went to the library and checked out the book.  The novel was wonderful, although lengthy.  The movie stuck to the plot very well, IMHO!

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Valtermar on September 15, 2019, 07:55:43 PM
Hi, everyone!

Back in the seventies, I was still starting to learn English and wanted books in English do practice and advance my poor knowledge of the language.

At the time, I was living in Porto Alegre, in the South of Brazil and, at the end of October and beginning of November, there was always a book fair at downtown. So, while strolling through the fair, searching, I found this used book by Louise S. Rankin, in a bargain box, with the title "Daughter of the Mountains" and immediately decided to buy it and try reading it.

I remember that, though I could not understand all that was written, I got a good gist of the story and enjoyed reading it.

Just today I recalled my experience with this book and thought: "Why not read it again?". Unfortunately, Amazon does not have a Kindle edition of it. :(   I think I will try the audio book, instead...

Have any of you read this book?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 15, 2019, 10:57:22 PM
Bubble - I can certainly understand why you don't have good feelings about Doctor Z.  Losing your baby is a sad memory, and I can see that the movie, or the book, would always remind you. 

I think the reason that lots of us get bogged down when reading Russian literature of any kind, is the names of the characters - whether fictional or real.  The characters are generally addressed by their full name, which is often long and complicated, and hard to remember.  Then they usually have another shortened nickname.  I recently read the new,  non-fiction book, "Midnight in Chernobyl", and per usual, I lost track of who was who, because of the names! 

As for the movie, "Doctor Z", one thing I would strongly advise anyone to do when they watch it on TV or from a DVD.  Be sure to turn on the closed captions!  Between the complicated names, and the Russian accents, it's difficult to follow the story.  When you have the CC to refer to, it makes a world of difference, and makes it much more enjoyable.

Valtermar - Now I'm curious, and will check my library to see if they have a copy of "Daughter of the Mountains", by Rankin. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 16, 2019, 06:36:11 AM
Good Morning all.

I finally gave up on Romance of the Three Kingdoms and started reading A History of the Later Han Dynasty 23-230 AD by Rafe De Crespigny. The book starts out with a timeline which is very helpful for seeing who did what when. The book is also very rich with notes, also very helpful. In the few pages I have read so far, I have discovered that the first ever recorded earthquake in China with a seismograph was in 133 AD. Not only did the Chinese aristocrats have a formal name, and a court name, but at least some of them also had a temple name. Lots of luck keeping track of people when each name can be used at different points in a book. The part of the original layout of the capital, Liuyang, was destroyed by course changes of nearby rivers over the years. Early Chinese cities were made from earthworks, tiles and wood which did not hold up well through the centuries.

I have not read Daughter of the Mountains. Information about Rankin is hard to find, but I did run across a Kirkus Review (1950) of her book The Gentling of Jonathan.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on September 16, 2019, 10:48:13 AM
Merry Monday,

Valtermar, my library has an audio book of "Daughter of the Mountains".  I'm no longer able to go to the library but I can borrow e-books.  So I don't know if they have a hard copy of this one.

Sometimes I get started with an author and more or less read my way through the list of e-books.  Had never particularly liked Nicholas Sparks but recently read one that I did like....and now I'm "hooked".

Am also reading novels by Susan Meissener.  Just finished "Secrets of a Charmed Life" (two sisters who were evacuated to the country during the London Blitz of WWII/a journalist's current day interview with one of them) and have started "Lady In Waiting" that fictionally connects Lady Jane Grey with a current day discovery in a box of antique trinkets.

I might get more reading done if Domestic Duties, errands and watching my OU Sooners football games didn't interrupt.  ;) 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 16, 2019, 06:51:57 PM
Callie - I'm going to put Secrets of a Charmed Life, on hold at the library.  Definitely sounds like a story that will appeal to me. If they don't have it, I'll choose another title by Meisner. 

Maryc - I'm not doing so well with Mountain Time, by Doig.  I enjoyed The Whistling Season, so much, and loved all the characters, but not so for this one. The older I get, the more impatient I become with a story.  If it doesn't grab me early on, I tend to lose interest.

I ordered Doctor Z, but it's in transit from one of the other county libraries, so don't know when it will arrive.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on September 16, 2019, 11:04:34 PM
Marilyn I didn't get into Mountain Time either.  After The Whistling Season that was so good I just didn't feel like I could make the leap to modern time.  I guess that I just felt better connected to the simple life of the earlier time.  I did enjoy some of the description of places in San Francisco after we were just there last fall.
  I'm having trouble just now getting into a book that keeps my attention.  There is a lot going on in my life and by the time I have time to read, I'm too tired.  Maybe when winter starts to settle in.....could be the season change.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 17, 2019, 10:16:37 AM
One of my neighbors is having a new roof put on, the hammering is driving me crazy. May have to get out and do some shopping or something.  I need a new roof too, but can wait a bit to save up for the deductible.
Oh BTW, there seemed to be such a furor over the brand new mystery from Laura Lippman. Well, I'm reading it now, and am not liking it anywhere near as much as I thought I would.  Was on a library request list for about two months!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Valtermar on September 17, 2019, 06:52:10 PM
Hi!

Marilyne, MarsGal and Callie, thank you for the comments on "Daughter of the Mountains".

I found out that Amazon, in Brazil (www.amazon.com.br), has the book in hard-copy for prompt delivery. Lucky me. :)

I will rather read the book in hard copy than hear the audio-book. Tried an audio book just once, while in a long transatlantic flight, and was pleasantly surprised that it helped me sleep. :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 19, 2019, 01:31:41 PM
Hi everybody!

Unfortunately, I haven't had a lot of time to read the last few days, so have nothing new to report.

I am sure I won't get through much of the book on the late Han Dynasty before it must go back. Too bad. I did, however, find some articles by the author in .pdf form to download and someone wrote a compilation titled "Campaigns of the Three Kingdoms: A Compilation of Battles, Wars and Engagements", also in .pdf form. It sure looks like a handy guide to read. Odd that there is no author listed, but it does include source and reference lists. These will have to do since there is no way I can afford the huge price for this book ($200 US). The publisher of the book, Brill, has an e-book form, but it is not in English.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 21, 2019, 07:51:00 PM
I haven't been reading much this last week. However, yesterday I did finish listening to Simon Winchester's The Madman and the Professor. More than the history of the the creation of the New Oxford Dictionary, it is a human interest story. It mainly follows the relationship between one of the contributors and one of the editors of the dictionary. A very touching story. I am eyeballing The Silk Roads: A new history of the World by Peter Frankopan for my next listen, but I may change my mind.

Yesterday, also, I started reading H. Beam Piper's Lone Star Planet. Very funny parody of Texans complete with "supercows", everyone carrying guns, and the Alamo, the real one not a replica. It seems the Texans, most of them, migrated lock stock and barrel to the planet New Texas. Very funny!

The book on the Late Han Dynasty went back to the library today. The book is too material dense (lots of notes and detail) for me to get through before I had to send it back. If it ever comes out in English in Ebook form I will likely get it. Well then again the book is $42 in Dutch/German, so I hate to think what the cost would be here.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on September 22, 2019, 02:12:59 AM
I too have enjoyed The madman and the Professor. Real interesting on how Oxford D. was created.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 23, 2019, 12:10:05 PM
Okay, so now I have gotten into Quantum by Patricia Cornwell. I am not into it far enough to say anything about it. The audio book I decided on is Adrian Goldsworthy's How Rome Fell. I am impressed already.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on September 23, 2019, 03:32:08 PM
I read some of Cornwell's early detective stories with pleasure, but as she continued they got increasingly ill-natured, and I gave up.  Let us know how Quantum turns out.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on September 24, 2019, 12:41:04 PM
Have just started reading "She Said" by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey.  I've just gotten through the Preface and the first couple of chapters, but it is very interesting.  It took a lot of work to just get the information and then to find women willing to take the chance of telling it.  Amazing how much these powerful and rich men get away with.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 25, 2019, 04:56:59 PM
Callie - I finished Queen Bee, and I definitely have mixed feelings. Some things I liked, and others, not so much.  Too predictable for me.  Archie's new wife Sharon, was way too much of a witch to be believable.  Her sudden and convenient demise was even more unbelievable!    The situation with Leslie's husband Charlie, was also too extreme to be believable.  In other words, the whole storyline was a stretch for me.   However, I did read every line and it held my interest, even though it verged on fantasy! ha ha  There is something about Dorothea B Frank's novels, that always keep me reading - whether I really like them or not. The story moves along at a fast pace, and the dialogue is always witty and entertaining.

On a different subject . . . tonight is the final episode of the Country Music documentary, and I'm going to miss it!  I've enjoyed it very much.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 26, 2019, 07:21:20 AM
I am about three quarters of the way through Quantum now. The author is doing a good job of keeping me confused about what is going on, but then the main character is thoroughly confused too. Lots of little clues and hints that do not make much sense. The animation and videos are very short and at the beginning of each chapter. They don't really add anything to this particular book, IMO.

The third book in Martha Wells/ Murderbot series, Rogue Protocol, showed up, so I gave Quantum a break to read it. Her Murderbot stories are quick and relatively short, so I finished in two days. The characters remain interesting and/or likeable, both human, non-human and those in between. Now the fourth is on hold for an estimated eight weeks at the library.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 26, 2019, 11:16:38 AM
MarsGal - I think my husband read the Martha Wells series, Rogue Protocol?  He's still asleep, but when he finally appears for breakfast, I'll ask him how he liked them?  Good luck with Quantum.  I admire the way you stick with a book, and don't give up on it.  I don't seem to have the patience anymore. 

Jean and Callie - I have She Said, and Secrets of a Charmed Life, on order at my library.
Callie - see my message above, on Queen Bee.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Vanilla-Jackie on September 26, 2019, 12:55:01 PM
Two books i have just taken possession of this week are...
...her most recently published and more updated versioned book " Heaven Your Real Home From a Higher Perspective " and " Finding God in Hidden Places " both by Joni Eareckson Tada...Before i ordered i watched her video on youtube so i could hear the sound of her voice, also to see her sincerity of her beliefs in her facial expressions, her warmth as she spoke...she comes across as a very inspiring lady...I was very impressed with her...For anyone who doesn't know, she is a quadriplegic for more than 50 years and, a cancer survivor...Her books are to give one the hope and the joy of our better world is yet to come...These are two books i am so needing since the sudden death of my Richard...I so need that comfort factor that he is in a better place than i am in at this present time in my life, as it is me who is now carrying his pain and doing his suffering each and every day..

Oh, and if i can muster up any smiles, i have also taken in Pam Ayres most recent book " Up In The Attic."...Me and Richard saw one of her live performance shows a few years ago at a local theatre back where we used to live...
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 28, 2019, 06:54:37 AM
Oh bother. It turns out that Quantum is the beginning of a series. While the action in this first novel has an ending, the main character's twin sister, and suspected source of all the trouble, remains at large. This leaves it open for the twin to cause more mischief. Think I will pass.

Also, I finished Police Your Planet by Lester del Rey (aka: Erik van Lhin).   It is an interesting novel about a guy deported to Mars with a promise that if he can clean up the corruption there, he may be able to return to Earth. The action and characters remind me of old style gangster days with gangs of mobsters and the police all using clubs and knives. There are drug running, job buying, extortion, kickbacks, bribes, territorial gang fights, etc. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20212
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on September 28, 2019, 02:46:32 PM
I finished reading one of the best memoirs I have ever read—-"The Master of Disguise:  My Secret Life in the CIA" by Antonio J. Mendez.  A few years ago I bought from Apple the movie "Argo" about the rescue of 6 Americans in 1980 during the Iran crisis.  The movie made in 2012 was about the "ex filtration" CIA specialist who proposed a supposedly wild idea to use a Canadian film crew idea to scout out locations for a science fiction film as a ruse to rescue the 6 Americans.

To make a long story short, I watched the movie again a couple of weeks ago and wondered what the real story was like.  I found the book by Mr. Mendez in iBooks and bought it.  Mr. Mendez never got credit for rescuing the Americans until the movie came out in 2012.  The book explains so much about counterintelligence of the CIA while also covering Mr. Mendez's life and how diligent and stressful life can be for undercover agents.

The book is outstanding and so is the movie.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 28, 2019, 03:00:51 PM
MarsGal - I love that title, Police Your Planet!   It sounds like a good story - kind of like the movie Gangs of New York, takes place in the 1860's, in NYC, with two rival gangs, trying to gain control of the city.  Anyway, I may check my library and see if they have it.  If I don't like it, AJ will read it. 

Jackie - the two books by Joni Eareckson Tada, sound like they will be very good, and helpful for you to read at this time.  I haven't read any of Eareckson/Tada's books, but I have read about her life, and how she has overcome a disabling accident.  She is a very inspirational woman!

I haven't had anything I've wanted to read, since I finished Queen Bee, a few days ago - so I picked up my copy of The Poisonwood Bible, and started reading it again. It's at the top of my all time favorites list, so I consider it to be well worth reading again. 

Bubble - I wonder if you've ever read it?  Your mention of Congo, in a post in Bait and Tackle, is what made me think about it again.  If not, I think you would love the story.  It's the fictional story of an American Missionary family, who arrive in the Congo, in 1960, just as the revolution is beginning, and The Congo Civil Wars, have started. Lumumba is featured, but I think they use a pseudonym for his name?  Don't remember that detail, as it has been a number of years since I last read the book.  It was certainly a fascinating and important time in history, and reviewers seem to think the story is mostly accurate.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 28, 2019, 03:03:30 PM
Jean - Looks like we were posting at the same time.  I haven't read your message yet, but will comment later, when I get home from having may hair cut!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on September 29, 2019, 04:41:02 AM
Marilyn, Yes I have read that book and it is maybe fiction but based on real story and the location is well described. I remember that I enjoyed that book very much. It was a tragic period for Congo and the war is still going on between tribes.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 29, 2019, 06:35:40 AM
Argo is one of those movies that I kind of would like to watch, but never got around to it.

Now I am reading Handro by Travis Mohrman. The book is set hundreds of years after an apocalyptic event of some kind that is only vaguely mentioned. The remaining population are scattered in small groups and living a pre-industrial way of life. Handro has been taught survivalist skills from and early age and is now wondering the countryside, meeting up with various groups of people, practicing folk medicine and hunting skills among other things. He is something of a loner, preferring, for the most part, to avoid contact with other humans. Interesting story. It is not dark and dystopian like a lot of post-apocalyptic stories. I just found out that this is an off-shoot of an earlier series called Down the Path which follows two different people. Mohrman has written several other interesting sounding books I might just have to add to my TBR pile. The author is an ecologist/botanist in his day job.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 29, 2019, 11:16:15 AM
MarsGal - I've also never seen Argo, but thank you for reminding me!  Another acclaimed movie, based on a true event in history . . . this one being the Iran hostage crisis.  I remember that it was nominated for tons of different awards, in acting, directing, story, etc.  I'll check my Comcast movies, and see if it's listed.  If not free, then I'm sure it would only be a few dollars to rent.  Much less than going to the theater to see it! 

Bubble - I'm glad you also enjoyed "Poisonwood", and probably you could relate to it better than most - being as you had lived there. Every time I read it, I learn more about the history.  Now when I see a story about Congo,  in the newspaper, on line or TV, it means so much more to me than before.

Tome - I think you're another one in this folder, who liked the book?  We've talked about it off and on over the years.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 29, 2019, 07:20:44 PM
Yes, loved Poisonwood!  Marilyn, did you get any snow?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 29, 2019, 11:29:09 PM
Hi Tome - No snow here, but lots of it in the Sierra!  Our temps dropped to 48 last night and only up to the low 60's today. It was 100 degrees here only five days ago, so that was quite a drop!  :o
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 01, 2019, 09:10:23 AM
October is starting off with a Welsh themed bang this year. The first of the fall season meetings of the local Welsh Society is meeting tomorrow. Not only that, over on SeniorLearn, Barb has chosen to do an Arthurian themed book discussion. Several focused on various legendary Knights of the Round Table, but the one we are starting off with (we might be doing two altogether) is Lady Charlotte Guest's The Mabinogion. They are a compilation of Welsh lore and tales which are considered the earliest prose writing in Britain. Some of them are about Arthur. I hope we do one of the two she listed about Sir Percival, if we do another. I know practically nothing about him.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 02, 2019, 07:03:25 AM
Oops! Only one book mentioned in my previous post is about Sir Percival.

My monthly lend from Amazon is back to the sixth of the Expeditionary Force series, called Mavericks. Once again, I am not being immediately drawn into the story.


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 07, 2019, 01:42:13 PM
A new week has arrived, and I have another book waiting for me at the library.  I didn't get to the one I picked up last week - a novel by Susan Meissner, Secrets of a Charmed Life.  There isn't a hold on it, so I'll keep it and will start reading it today.  I know someone in this discussion recommended it?  I think it was either Callie, or Maryc?

MarsGal - I haven't looked into SL, in many weeks, but will check it out today, and see what books are being recommended there?  Are you all still reading the King Arthur/Knights of the Round Table stories? 

Hope to see messages this week, from all who post here?  Same applies to the Television/Movies folder.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 07, 2019, 03:49:17 PM
Marilyne, the King Arthur's Knights themed discussion doesn't start until Oct. 14. We'll start with Lady Charlotte Guest's The Mabinogion. I haven't started it yet. It has been way too quite over on SeniorLearn. Only three of us seem to be interested in doing the Arthurian discussion. Pity. Maybe more will show up when we get started.

Meanwhile, I am still reading Mavericks (Expeditionary Force, Book 6) by Craig Alanson. Also, still listening to Adrian Goldsworthy's How Rome Fell. I know so very little about the later Roman Emperors. Right now I am at Chapter 6 out of 25 with more Parthian Wars and Emperors being replaced in quick succession.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 14, 2019, 08:17:37 PM
Hello again book friends.  Got distracted from reading for a spell while planning a trip to visit to family.  Finally got a book from HOOPLA that is good   "The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek".  It is about a young woman in Kentucky during the 1930s.  She managed to get one of the jobs created in the W.P.A.program as a travelling librarian.  She went on foot and/or by mule into the mountain places to deliver books to assigned patrons.  Sad conditions but good story.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 15, 2019, 07:52:43 AM
Hi Mary. The book sounds interesting. I read an article about the traveling book ladies more than a few years back, including photos of them on mule/horseback. Don't remember where, but it was probably in The Smithsonian.

I am now well into Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan. Very Noir. Violence and some explicit sex. Best I can tell, the book represents a version of Transhumanism. Very  interesting. I just found out that Netflix has done a series based on the book. Of course there are some changes. My sister says the TV version left her with questions as if the necessary info to completely understand what was going on was missing.

Continuing my listen to Goldsworthy's How Rome Fell. There is a lot in there that I didn't know, like much of the info about later official Emperor's and the later self-proclaimed Emperor's, some of which "ruled" at the same time as others. A lot of them didn't last long in during the power struggles of the late Empire.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 16, 2019, 03:55:56 PM
I just finished the book about The Packhorse Library project.  I would highly recommend it to you who enjoy books and reading.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on October 16, 2019, 05:56:56 PM
I've been reading e-books that are selections for my Book Club. 

Next one to be discussed is "The Secrets We Kept".  I'd heard it was about secretaries for the CIA back in the 50's who were privy to lots of information while taking dictation and, of course, couldn't share any of it.
However, the main theme was the attempt to get the Boris Pasternak novel "Dr. Zhivago" published when Russia refused to do so.  The story was based on facts and the main "character" was Pasternak's mistress who did become a CIA secretary - and worked undercover in various ways.
The story was interesting but the way the author jumped back and forth between time frames and "narrators" was confusing.  Every chapter was written in first person and I found it hard to realize who was "talking".

Just finished "The Handmaid's Tale" and all I can say is "SCARY"!!!!!!  Have NO desire to see the movie!! We're also going to discuss "Testament", which is a sequel - but I'm going to wait a while before reading it.

The third one I've read is "Boom Town", which is a history of Oklahoma City.  Not sure just why the author tried to connect our professional basketball team with various historical happenings/figures and hope the discussion leader can clarify.
However, it did clarify for me why/how the downtown I'd grown up with was so completely different when I moved back to Oklahoma after 20 years out-of-state.

I'm done with Book Club selections and am now going to "lighten up" with the 50th book about Stone Barrington by Stuart Woods and "What Happens In Paradise", a new novel by Elin Hillinbrand.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 17, 2019, 12:00:44 AM
Mary - The Traveling Bookwoman sounds good.  I'll add that one to my ever expanding library list. The Packhorse Library Project, is an interesting title . . . sounds like non-fiction?

Callie - I started reading The Handmaid's Tale, about 20 years ago or so. I didn't like it then, but I know I would like it now.  I haven't seen the movie, but plan to watch it whenever it comes to one of the channels that I subscribe to.  With my huge Comcast bill, I thought I was paying for just about everything, but the only channel where "Handmaid" is available, is Hulu, which is the only one we don't get!  I'm sure it will be shown on other  channels before long?  It has received many Emmy awards in the past couple of years, and I do like the actress who plays the main role.  Can't remember her name at the moment, but she was one of the stars in Mad Men.

MarsGal - I like any movie or book the would be considered Noir, so I'm sure I would enjoy Altered Carbon, by Richard Morgan!  Another one joins the list!  8)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 17, 2019, 06:32:41 AM
I haven't watched the TV version of The Handmaid's Tale and don't plan to. I first ran across it when George and I went to see the movie. George was surprised that it wasn't Shakespeare, which is what he thought when he saw the title. I quite enjoyed it, never forgot it, and always wondered why it didn't do better, especially with the likes of Robert Duvall, Elizabeth McGovern, Faye Dunaway, and Natasha Richardson playing leading roles. In fact, I don't remember it even being advertised. We saw it at a little independent theater,  in Allentown. Years later, I read the book, which was good, but I didn't care for the written as a diary format so much. I doubt I will read Atwood's recent follow up book.

Altered Carbon
is finished. I had a hard time putting it down. The next in the series of three is now on my hold list along with book four of Martha Wells Murderbot series and Heinlein's Starship Troopers. Altered Carbon is a great detective story with lots of twists and turns, lots of false leads, allegiance changes, and lots of violence, some explicit sex and drugs included. It draws a picture of a society I would never want to live in.

Now I need to dig into my bookstack to see what I want to read next as well as to finish "The Lady of the Fountain" (fromThe Mabinogoin).
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 18, 2019, 12:01:05 AM
Marilyne,  The title of the book is THE BOOK. WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK.  The packhorse library project was the name of the W.P.A.program.  The story is based on facts about that.  I'm sure you will like this one if in fact you do get to it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on October 18, 2019, 01:04:51 PM
That book sounds interesting,  it was through the HISTORICAL RECORDS REVIEW of the WPA that I found genealogy information about my father's family.  The WPA made work for many different people in different categories during the Great Depression.  Someone was paid to interview the farming community in the small district of Poquoson, VA and recorded the farming families—their births and deaths, etc.  it seems as if many of the people in the 30s did not have a lot of state registered information so the project was important for history.  At least that is my opinion from what I've read.

Presently reading some mysteries and also Midnight in Chernobyl.  I believe some have read this and thought it was interesting?  Anyway, with all the talk about Ukraine, I thought I would check it out.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 18, 2019, 04:46:13 PM
Jean - some of the young men in my family - cousins and uncles - had jobs working for the WPA during the Depression. One of them worked at Mt. Hood, Oregon, building the beautiful lodge, that's still standing today.  Strong and sturdy, as well as well as breathtakingly gorgeous!   I was too young to remember of course, but I do remember when they all went into the military at the beginning of WWII. 

I thought Midnight in Chernobyl, was an excellent book. The Russian names were confusing - I quickly lost track of who was who - but I concentrated on the main characters, which made it easier. I also watched the mini-series, which was shown on HBO.  I think it's been picked up by Netflix, but not sure?

MarsGal - I didn't know, The Handmaid's Tale, was made into a movie!  I was talking about the recent series on TV, that has garnered so much acclaim and so many awards.  Now I'm interested in watching the older movie, and hope I can find it at the library or eBay. Sounds like a perfect cast of great actors, and I'm sure they did a good job with the story. I agree that  it must have slipped through the cracks, so to speak.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 19, 2019, 06:53:25 AM
Marilyne, I think you will like the movie. I do not intend on watching the TV series because I suspect (and in fact recently read) that it adds in current social events and controversy's not in or barely touched on in the book. I don't like it much when movie/TV show creators convolute original material to add in current social controversy and attitudes thereby changing the author's view. Of course, Margaret Atwood is still around and has written, after all these years, a sequel which may address more current attitudes and social issues. After all, she is something of an activist herself, particularly regarding environmental/animal rights issues.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 20, 2019, 03:04:43 PM
MarsGal - I'm picking up Seven Years in Tibet, today at the library . . . both the book and the movie, and will be getting  The Handmaids Tale, later in the week.  I read "Handmaid" many years ago, but I plan to read it again before I watch the movie.

I have so many books checked out right now, and I know I won't get to most before they are due.   I just finished Zoo Nebraska, which was highly recommended on all the new book sites and discussions that I subscribe to. It's a fascinating non-fiction story of a Zoo, that was opened in Nebraska, and then suffered a violent and tragic demise, a number of years later.  Very sad story, with an interesting spotlight on small town people . . . local controversies, lack of good leadership and ultimate failure. 

I also read How the States Got Their Shapes, by Mark Stein.  Very interesting information on the fifty states and how the shapes were decided.  Worth taking a look at, if only for checking your own state.  I also have Secrets of a Charmed Life, by Meisner, and The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett, but haven't even opened them.  I've already renewed both, so don't know if I'll ever get to them before they're due.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Vanilla-Jackie on October 20, 2019, 05:02:45 PM
I have been reading from two books by Joni Eareckson Tada, with another three of her books on the way...her books and her shining and uplifting personality to our God, and little will she realise she is giving me spiritual comfort and a much needed positive outlook of what we have to look forwards to....our best is yet to come...
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 22, 2019, 11:16:11 AM
MarsGal - In my message to you, above,  I mentioned that I would be  picking up both the books and movies of,  The Handmaid's Tale, and Seven Years in Tibet, this past weekend.  When I went to the library to get them - turns out there is a county strike, so the library was closed, and there were big notices out front to please support the striking workers, etc. (No pickets anywhere?) 

Anyway, that took care of my book/movie order for now, so I came home and started reading, The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett.   Oh my!  The story grabbed me instantly, and find that it's hard to put down.  Just wonderful, so far!  Many of you remember and liked the book, Bel Canto, by Patchett?  I thought it was great, but was disappointed in her follow up books.  So far Dutch House, is just as good, but totally different.

I think that all of you who post here, or who read this folder, will like it!   When I finish it, I'll write more of a review. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on October 22, 2019, 10:44:53 PM
Yeah, Marilyne, I was one of those who loved Bel Canto. In fact, my f2f book group is doing it next month, and guess who volunteered to moderate?  LOL.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 23, 2019, 07:33:14 AM
I just finished Star Surgeon by Alan Nourse. It is a short novel about an alien going through medical school and doing his pro visionary work under conditions of discrimination, bigotry and hatred. The ending had a surprise element to it. The book was published in 1959. Nourse was a practicing M.D.

Now I am picking around for another read. Haven't settled on one yet.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 27, 2019, 07:06:55 AM
The SF book I am reading now is called The Last Dance by Martin L. Shoemaker. It is set aboard the Aldrin, described as a cycler which is a transport ship(?) that orbits between Earth and Mars, but never stops, just picks up and drops off passengers and cargo "on the fly". The story is a preliminary investigation into an event (murder?) for which the captain stands to be charged if found culpable. The story progresses via a series of interviews with the crew by the investigator in charge.

During the interviews we find out that the captain, an American, likes things Brazilian. Even some of the training for the crew was done in Brazil. So naturally, I thought of Valtermar, who we haven't heard from in a while. I've noticed a number of SciFi books I've been reading include Brazil in one way or another in their stories. Denis E. Taylor's We Are Legion: We Are Bob (Bobiverse series), was the first I encountered Brazil as a space faring country. Of course I had to investigate. Brazil does have a space program that began in 1961. The Brazilian Space Agency was formed in 1994. Here is a recent article about the current status of the program. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/brazils-space-program-finally-taking I wish their program well.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on October 27, 2019, 01:00:24 PM
Reading "Permanent Record" by Edward Snowden.  It is an interesting read about his life up to this point.  I borrowed it thru Overdrive from the local library.  I usually borrow books to read from Kindle App or IBooks so I can adjust the brightness and color to minimize the pressure on my eyes.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 01, 2019, 05:47:03 PM
Just finished another book by  Kim Michelle Richardson.  This one called Liar's Bench.   It was good but not as good as The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek.  Liar's Bench is still in Kentucky but set in modern times.  I'm going looking for The Dutch House by Ann Patchett  that was mentioned here a bit ago.   I did like Bel Canto but tried some of her other books that I didn't care for.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on November 02, 2019, 11:57:04 AM
I'm reading a Maisie Dobbs mystery "Journey to Munich" by Jacqueline Winspear and it is very good.  This one was published in 2016 and I wish I had started earlier in the series.  But I notice that the library does have the last several new ones so I think I'll try the next one soon.  I love a well written book that shows the author has done good research on the subject.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 02, 2019, 04:05:06 PM
I loved Dutch House, and give it the highest of recommendations!  This complicated family saga, by Ann Patchett,  will not disappoint those of you who have read and liked her other novels.  As one reviewer said, "Its like a modern day, dark fairy tale . . . a mother who runs away from home, leaving her young son and daughter with their father, who later remarries.  His new wife becomes the quintessential 'wicked step mother'". 

At the center of the story, is, the Dutch House,itself - a lavish estate, located in a suburb of Philadelphia. With its glass doors, unique rooms and decor, and two very likable housekeepers, it's the perfect setting or backdrop, for much of this unusual family story. 

MarsGal -I looked it up online, and see that there is already an audiobook, narrated by Tom Hanks, that is highly praised by those who have listened to it. I have a feeling Hanks, will buy the rights to the movie, and will play the part of the father?

Tome and maryc - I hope you both like The Dutch House, as much as I did.  Tome, I know you haven't read it yet, but you probably will, when you finish your book club discussion on Bel Canto.
Jean and Callie - I think you will both like it as well.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 02, 2019, 04:57:17 PM
Marilyne, which book? I only see a few books he narrated, one of which is his book of short stories.

It is the beginning of the month, so I am back to reading the sixth in the Expeditionary Force series, Renegades. I decided to finish that series before going back to the Galaxy's Edge series. Also, the second of the Takeshi Kovacs series, Broken Angels just became available from my holds.

Thursday night I fell asleep listening to How Rome Fell and had to go back two chapters. My latest audio book acquisition is called Midnight Son by James Dommek Jr. An Audible Original, it is true crime mystery set in Alaska. The author is a Native American, musician, and audio producer.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 02, 2019, 05:02:48 PM
MARSGAL - The Dutch House, is the book narrated by Tom Hanks. Now that I've read it and liked it, I would love to hear Tom Hanks narrate the audio book.  I'm going to order it , as soon as I get my Kindle working again.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 03, 2019, 05:07:36 AM
Okay, I didn't realize you were still talking about The Dutch House. Brain disconnect.

I finished How Rome Fell last night. The epilogue was especially interesting because he talked about the world today and the US role in it with some comparison to Rome and its influence on the world. I think I remember he briefly mentioned the influence of international corporations too.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on November 04, 2019, 11:08:04 AM
I think I saw Tom Hanks on a blurb showing him as Mr. Rogers.  I loved Mr. Rogers and hope the new show will live up to my expectations.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 06, 2019, 02:28:43 PM
SCFSue - The movie about Mr. Rogers, (Fred Rogers), will be in theaters later this month.  The title of the movie is, It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.  My three children liked his TV show, and I liked him too.  He had a gentle and kind personality.  The movie will be quite interesting, I think.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 06, 2019, 07:53:17 PM
Debby and I were talking about the coming movie about Mr. Rogers just a few days ago.     We hope to see it.   On Sunday we went to see "Harriet".   That was very well done.   We don't go out to the movies much as there is so much on Netflix and others that we haven't already seen.
   Just a day or so ago I happened across a movie starring Robert Young called Murder or Mercy. It was made in 1987 and I have no idea whether or not he is still living.  He was such a favorite of mine way back when.   :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 07, 2019, 07:31:27 AM
I don't have much to report today. We are still slogging along with The Mabiginion over on SeniorLearn.net We are going slower than expected, but with only three of us making regular posts, and taking lots of time to research Celtic, Roman and Saxon histories as well as the abundance of Arthurian lore from Wales, Scotland and England. We haven't really gotten into the French connections, but there are some.

My Audible listen is Brigadier General (Ret) Robert Spalding's Stealth War. It is about China's stated as well as devious and often successful attempts to gain high technologies, undermine our financial base and to take trade away from the US. I only listened to the introduction so far. A bit alarming.

I am almost done with the sixth book of the Expeditionary Force SciFi series I am reading. The story has become a bit, not boring, but a little stretched, so I find myself skipping a short passage or two now and again. One more left of the series. The second of the Altered Carbon sequels is in my cue. I almost forgot I downloaded it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 07, 2019, 05:06:21 PM
Oh, no! Two more of my holds just dropped. Fortunately they are both audio books. One is the classic SciFi, Starship Troopers and the other is a Philip K. Dick book of short stories including "Minority Report". I think I finally got through the movie, Starship Troopers, but it took three tries to get past the first half hour, and only after I discovered that it was a spoof of the book which is more serious. And no, I haven't seen Minority Report either. So now that makes a total of four borrowed books.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 07, 2019, 06:05:36 PM
MarsGal - I've enjoyed watching the TV series by Philip K. Dick - The Man in the High Castle.  I really think you would like it a lot.  The theme of the story is fascinating, with great actors and realistic scenery.  The problem with any and all series shows on TV, is that you see 10 or 12 episodes in the first season, and then you're really hyped and want more!  Unfortunately, you have to wait a year, and sometimes even longer, for the next season to appear.  That particular series is streaming on Amazon Prime, and the first three seasons are available to watch.  So if you are interested and have Amazon, you could start watching, and by the time you're finished, it will be about time for Season #4 to appear!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on November 08, 2019, 11:45:36 AM
I finished the last two Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear.  They are World War II stories set in the time frame around the blitz and bombing 1940-41.  Really interesting and I have to admit of shedding a few tears along the way.  Winspear can sure tell a story.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on November 08, 2019, 12:17:32 PM
Jean
I never have read any of her Maisie Dobbs books. Just saw that library have only 2 in LP. So ordered them.
Got down to 16 deg. Here last night. Sun out a little now for awhile
 My eldest daughter down in your area for next 5 weeks. Hope the weather warm. She is expecting 80s.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on November 08, 2019, 07:50:14 PM
JeanneP, we have been having warm weather but next week will be colder—-some days only going into the high 50s.  I hope she isn't disappointed.  The cold that is hitting the east coast is seeping into our area.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 09, 2019, 11:53:24 AM
MarsGal - I just got an email notice from Amazon, that the final season of The Man in the High Castle, (Philip Dick), will start on November 15th, on the Amazon Prime channel.  I know I've been talking about it and recommending it for the past couple of years, but no one else has ever mentioned giving it a look?  I don't think it's been a big hit, because the vast/majority of TV watchers don't remember WWII, and are not interested in the idea that there could've been a different outcome.  That's what the story is about . . . USA and allies lost the War, and are now living under German and Japanese rule. 

Yesterday I went to the library, and selected a stack of books from the "new" section . . . one being the latest Joyce Carol Oates, novel, My Life As A Rat.  I started it last night, and I think I'm going to like it.  She's written dozens of books, and I've read and liked many of them and others,  not so much.  Some of her stories are just too dark and hopeless for me, but this one seems to have an unusual theme going for it, so I'll give it a chance.       
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 09, 2019, 05:15:07 PM
I listened to "Minority Report" this afternoon, and was surprised that I liked it. The next story, which I have started, is the one upon which the movie Total Recall is based. It is also good, and is actually helping me to understand the movie a bit better. These are the first two short stories Philip K. Dick wrote that I liked. I also started reading A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World by William J. Bernstein, but am not very far into it yet.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on November 09, 2019, 05:50:00 PM
Marilyne, I had watched Season 1 of Man in the High Castle, and thought I had watched Season 2.  Last night I tuned in to Season 3 and found out there was a lot that I missed, so I went back to Season 2. (FYI: on my HD TV the sound is rotten on this one, had to turn volume up to 34, and the picture is dark, almost sepia-toned) Anyway, I had missed a lot of stuff, so back to Season 2 tonight.  I am busy watching the new season of Jack Ryan, spy/action genre.  It's okay, but fairly predictable.  I've got to get back to Mrs. Maisel!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on November 11, 2019, 12:46:48 PM
Jean. She is not going to like that temp.in Florida. Still better than here in Illinois. Right now it is snowing and my car alread covered. Down in the 30s.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on November 13, 2019, 10:14:10 AM
Good morning!  It's a chilly day here in Auburn, Alabama.  I am not fond of chilly weather, but I won't be outside much today as I have a bridge date after lunch.  I will dig out a sweater to wear to the bridge club.  I need to get into the shower and find something to wear to the bridge game.

I'm currently reading a David Baldacci novel--which is pretty interesting and I'm enjoying it. I probably won't finish it today because of the outing to play bridge. 

Have a nice day and Happy Reading to everyone who loves to read.
Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 13, 2019, 11:49:35 AM
I'm about 3/4 of the way through My Life As a Rat, by Joyce Carol Oates.  I like it the way I like all of JCO's novels . . . disturbing and dark, but very compelling stories.  Once you start one of her books, you can't stop!  I would recommend it, but only if you're familiar with JCO, and like her style of writing. 

maryc - Like many of her novels, this one takes place in an area near to where you live . . . South Niagara?  I don't know if such a city really exists, but I do remember that JCO has written other books that take place there.  I read The Falls, a number of years ago, and liked it.

Tome - I'm planning on reading, The Man in the High Castle, and not waiting for the series to continue, to find out what happens.  Too long between seasons, on all the TV series.  Now it's taking at least a year, and sometimes longer, for the next episode, on any of the shows. 

SCFSue - Which of the Baldacci novels are you reading??  I've read lots of them over the years, and so has my husband.  Some I liked a lot, and others I didn't like and didn't even finish.  At the moment, I can't recall the titles of my favorites?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 13, 2019, 01:18:45 PM
I am close to finishing Broken Angels by Richard Morgan. This is the second of a series starting with Altered Carbon. All I can say is Wow. While Altered Carbon was essentially a noir style murder mystery/detective story wrapped up in a trans-human package, Broken Angels is about an archaeological find left long ago by Martians on a planet currently at war. All the elements are there: the civilian archaeologist and her helpers, the corporate backer expecting a big payday and the military wanting the advanced technology and weaponry the site promises to provide. Oh, and throw in some moral and religious posturing.It is hard to imagine that Morgan can top this one.

Starship Troopers is okay, but it is slow to grow on me. The narrator is also just okay enough to keep me listening. The beginning of the story reminds me of one of my favorite SciFi series, Frontlines, by Marko Kloos. Both begin with young recruits and follow them through basic and beyond. While there are many differences, I have to wonder if Kloos got his inspiration from Heinlein's book. But then, there are more than a few SciFi books that follow recruits through their schooling and careers. I am going to keep the series in mind as I continue to listen to the Audiobook.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on November 14, 2019, 09:40:29 AM
MarilynE, I finished Baldacci's Absolute Power last night.  It is a powerful novel with lots of intrigue.  It is lengthy, but worth the time it took to read it.  The hero is a good one and in the end, the "BAD GUY" (the President of the U.S.) gets his come-uppance--although it was touch and go for quite a few pages!

If you enjoy intrigue, you'll probably like this book.
Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 14, 2019, 11:53:38 PM
Sue - My husband read Baldacci's, "Absolute Power", and thought it was excellent. It's been returned to the library, so I'll have to put it on my next library book order, and see how I like it. Keep us posted on other books that you're reading or that you would recommend.

I finished JCO's, "My Life As A Rat". A great story, that grabbed me immediately, and never let go!  There was one small part that I could have done without, but the rest of the story was gripping, to say the least! AS the ending drew near, I was starting to relax, because it was looking like it would end the way I was hoping it would . . . but NO!  In typical Joyce Carol Oates style, she ended with a surprise twist.     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 15, 2019, 07:12:36 AM
Okay, so I gave up on Starship Troopers already, at least for now. I may grab an Ebook, but the narrator of the Audiobook was just a bit to bland to make it interesting.

Now I am back to listening to Stealth War: How China Took Over While America's Elite Slept by Brigadier General (Ret) Robert Spalding. https://books.google.com/books/about/Stealth_War.html?id=xRaZDwAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description  It is a bit alarming, but as I listen, I realized that I came to the same or similar conclusions he did in chapter 2 of the book when I was reading volume 1 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Haven't decided what book to read next. I am toying with the idea of reading a Western. Another Zane Grey or Max Brand? Or reread The Virginian? One of the old novels that I have accumulated from Project Guttenberg which are set in the western Canadian provinces, or one of the modern Westerns? Decisions, decisions.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 15, 2019, 11:00:50 AM
MARS GAL - Yesterday I was scrolling through my list of TV programs that have been saved on our DVR.  One of them is The Virginian.  I'm assuming this is a movie adaptation of the book that you're considering reading?   I'll take a look later at my DVR, and see what it's all about?   Another one that you mentioned, that sounds very worthy, is Stealth War: How China Took Over While America's Elite Slept, is a subject that has been bothering me for some time. People don't seem to be concerned about it?  I would like to know why that is?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 15, 2019, 01:46:28 PM
Marilyne,  Your conversation about Joyce Carol Oates got me thinking and so I check out her "bio".   Sure enough she was born in Lockport, NY.  Lockport is about 30 minutes east of us here in Lewiston.  Some of our family live out there.   Her first book that I read was We Were the Mulvaneys and I thought she really took a lot of liberty with the names and places here in WNY.  I know that is priviledge when writing a novel but in my mind I was placing a certain town in one area and she was miles away! I believe that I read Niagara about the time that you did.  That was a sad sad story though did cover quite a bit of history about Niagara Falls and surrounds  (Love Canal)
   A while back I mentioned another novel written about the Falls but from the Canadian side.  It was The Day the Falls Stood Still.   That story was about the famous  William "Red" Hill  a riverman who like his father and grandfather studied the river and made many daring rescues along it.  In that book there was a true account  of a dredging barge working above the Falls.  Somehow it broke loose from the Tug that anchored it in place. Red Hill  made a startling rescue of the two men who were stranded on that barge.   The barge has sat grounded just above the Falls for 100 years until just a couple weeks ago when it was dislodged from it's mooring during a fierce windstorm.  If you are interested there are a couple news youtubes about this latest event and in one of them the great grandson of the hero is interviewed.   I don't suppose this would be big news across the country but because so many have travelled miles to see the Falls many would be familiar with the sight of the old scow.
  Now I'm reading a book titled The Fifteen Wonders of Daniel Green by Erica Boyce.  It is kind of an ordinary story but is about  persons who secretly create  Crop Circles across the country.  That news has kind of gone on the back burner for a while but this book does make you wonder. :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on November 16, 2019, 07:52:46 PM
MaryC, Larry and I spent our honeymoon at the Canadian Falls.  Beautiful area.  I did read about that barge a couple a weeks ago.  Sounds like an interesting book.  I like to true stories like that.  I'll see if our library has a copy.  Maybe I can find a digital copy.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on November 16, 2019, 08:03:10 PM
MaryC, the only book I can find with that title (The Day the Falls Stood Still) is a fictional love story.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 16, 2019, 11:20:31 PM
FlaJean, The book I spoke of was written by Cathy Marie Buchanan.  It was a work of fiction but the story was about real people and events.  The private girl's school, Loretto Academy mentioned in the beginning of the story was still operating in Niagara Falls Ontario up until a few years ago.  I believe it is available online.  I just happened across it in our library.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 18, 2019, 05:01:43 PM
Jean - The novel by J.C. Oates, that takes place at Niagara Falls, is just called, The Falls.  It's a fairly recent book, I think, so you should be able to get it at the library. She is such a prolific writer, that I can't keep up with her many books.  There are a couple of her early novels that I read many years ago, that made a big impression on me, that I would like to read again.

maryc - Interesting that JCO, was born so close to Lewiston. Maybe some of your relatives in Lockport, went to school with her and remember her?  I recall a jacket on one of her books, that said she lives in New York now, but doesn't say which city.  I think you might like, My Life As a Rat, which is her newest novel. It's a great story . . . a little quirky and offbeat, like most of her stories, but sure does hold your interest!

This afternoon, I'm starting a novel by Sandra Dallas, called True Sisters.  I always enjoy reading her books . . . my favorites being Alice's Tulips, and Tallgrass.   Just remembering those two books, makes me think about how totally opposite she is from JCO!  A real contrast in writing styles!         
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 19, 2019, 09:43:10 AM
Marilyn,  My family has not been in the Lockport area long enough to have known J.C.O.  😊   Speaking of local writers and such there was a book out several years ago by Catherine Gildinger called Too Close to the Falls.  Of course I rushed to read it as she and I shared a maiden name (no relation)  Catherine grew up in Lewiston and later work as a psychologist in Toronto then at age 50. turned to writing. Her story about Lewiston was a memoir(with a twist 😱).
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 19, 2019, 11:56:52 AM
I picked up two books at the library this morning: Makers of Ancient Strategy from the Persian Wars to the Fall of Rome edited by Victor Davis Hanson and Invisible Planets: An Anthology of Contemporary Chinese SF in Translation edited and translated by Ken Liu.

Meanwhile, we continue with our discussion of The Mabiginion over on SeniorLearn.org While my favorite current historian, Adrian Goldsworthy, is mute (as far as I know) on the subject of King Arthur, other British historians are not. So we are delving into the possibility that a real King Arthur may have existed and that he may have been a former Roman soldier who stayed on in Britain after the Legions were pulled out. There were many who had common law wives and children and others who were veterans who had been given land in Britain on retirement. A Roman soldier or auxiliary would have had the discipline and training to pull together so many quarrelsome tribes together into an alliance. Teasing out the earliest mentions of a King Arthur like warlord take us right on back to shortly after the Legions left in 430AD.

Needless to say, I couldn't settle on a western to read. I tried Trail of the Lonesome Pine, but didn't care for it. So I read some more of A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World by William J. Bernstein and Arthur C. Clarke's first published short story from The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke. Those will have to wait again.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 22, 2019, 05:05:40 PM
maryc - I read a short Wikipedia biography of JC Oats, and it was quite interesting.  She was born in Lockport, but grew up and went to school in Millersport.  It didn't say where she lives now, but probably somewhere in NY. 
Reading her books is an acquired taste! ::) I like her writing, but I know that most people don't.  She described her own writing style as, "intense"!  That's a pretty good description, as far as I'm concerned.

MarsGal - I've read a number of Westerns over the years that I liked, but one that stands out is The Ox-Bow Incident, written by Walter VanTilburg Clark, in 1940.  I think you might like it also.  It was made into a movie in the early 40's, starring Henry Fonda.  I saw it a number of years ago, and thought it was very well done.

I'm in the middle of, True Sisters, by Sandra Dallas.  I like it, but not as much as her other books.  I will finish it today, and then I'll start Unsheltered, by Barbara Kingsolver.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 24, 2019, 05:06:54 PM
Another of my hold items dropped the other day. Everything kind of stopped while I am reading another of Guy Gavriel Kay's books; this one is The Lions of Al-Rassan where there are three religious groups, one worshiping the sun, one the stars and the third worshiping the two moons. Along with that are at least three main kingdoms always on the look out to expand their territory and gain tribute, as well as individuals caught in and/or involved in various intrigues. Oh, and of course, sex and violence. All my other reading seems to have stopped while I have my eyes glued to this book.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 25, 2019, 12:00:45 AM
I'm hoping others who post here, are watching Season #3, of The Crown?  I was critical at first, but it has grown on  me, and I'm liking it more and more with each episode. I had completely forgotten that Prince Philip's mother, had become a nun, and lived in Greece.  That's about all I remembered about her, until I watched tonight's episode, which was either #3 or 4?  Fascinating piece of history about her, and her place in the Royal Family, which isn't very well known or remembered.  I hope that someone else here in S&F is watching, and will comment?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on November 25, 2019, 11:36:19 AM
Marilyne,  I'm watching "The Crown" but have only seen 3 episodes.  Having a hard time with Queen Elizabeth looking so "sour" all the time and don't like the darker interior sets. 

I've just finished reading "The Other Side of The Bridge", a novel by Camron Wright. My book club just discussed his "The Rent Collector" and I was curious about other books he's written.
"The....Bridge" centers around the building of the Golden Gate bridge but is set in "current time". One character is researching the history of the bridge for a professional article and her "counterpart" has a reason for wanting to visit the bridge.  Good story with interesting characters

.
 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 25, 2019, 11:06:54 PM
Callie - I've also only seen three episodes, and I do like the show very much.  I'm disappointed in the actress who is playing Queen Elizabeth.  I think she looks too old compared to what QE looked like at that time, and older than the actor who is playing Prince Philip.  She is supposed to be only a little over 40, but to me, she looks 55 to 60. I know that QE was not noted for smiling very much, but this actress is overdoing it with the glum expression..  Another small thing, but something that bothers me . . . QE is known for her blue eyes.  Claire Foy, who played her in Season's #1 and #2, had blue eyes.  This new actress has dark brown eyes, that are noticeable in every closeup.  IMO - if they felt that she was the best one for the role, she should be wearing blue contact lenses!  I would guess that it's a real annoyance to the real QE, who is undoubtedly watching the series.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on November 25, 2019, 11:53:54 PM
I agree on all points. I liked the first cast much better.  Seems as if a makeup artist could have "aged" them. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 29, 2019, 05:30:04 PM
Sallie,  Your comments about "The Bridge" prompted me to check out the author. I realized that had read one of his a while back called The Orphan Keeper.  Thanks for the reminder.  I will follow up on other titles.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 30, 2019, 06:39:06 AM
A few days ago I finished reading the most powerful so far, IMO, of Guy Cavriel Kay's novels, The Lions of Al-Rassan. While all the characters and place names are fictional, the story is inspired by the centuries long struggle of Christian/Muslim conflicts in Spain during in the Medieval Ages, culminating with Muslim rule finally being pushed out by Queen Isabella (busy lady with lots of money) and King Ferdinand in 1492. I recognized several of the characters and clashes in the book from various times in that long history while watching Reconquista videos on You Tube while I decide which history book or books I want to read about the conflict. I know so very little of that area of Medieval history. One of the main characters in the book, Rodrigo, seems to be inspired by the real life Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar - El Cid (c. 1043 – 10 July 1099). Now, I have just discovered there is an epic poem about Rodrigo called "Cantar de mio Cid". According to Wikipedia, it is the earliest Castilian epic poem that has been preserved, and is housed at the National Library of Spain in Madrid. More things to explore.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 30, 2019, 01:10:51 PM
Callie and Tome  -  I'm hoping that one or both of you have seen Episode #5, of The Crown?  I watched it last night, and was very impressed. I thought it was the best episode yet, in Season #3.  All actors were superb, but  it was Charles Dance, who played Lord Mountbatten, who stole the show.  What a fabulous actor he is!  When he recited the Kipling poem,  Mandalay,  I was totally mesmerized, and also he was wonderful/perfect in the final scene, with his sister, Princess Alice.  Those two scenes show the vast difference in American and British actors.  Not a single American that I can think of, could possibly have played either of those scenes so beautifully.

Also, I've changed my mind on the actress playing Queen Elizabeth.  In this episode, she finally rang true with me.  She was believable and excellent throughout, and showed lots of emotion and humanity.  I've finally stopped nitpicking her, and have forgotten all about her brown eyes!  Also, the actor who played Porchey, was very good, as Elizabeth's former suitor, who is obviously still in love with her.  A great show!  I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I did.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on November 30, 2019, 01:47:23 PM
I'm not quite to #5 yet.  I've learned to like Phillip more, as well as The Queen.
As the Monarch, she was trained to not show emotion in public, and I'm sure that training poured over into her private life.  I'm enjoying Margaret a bit more, as she is showing a tiny bit of common sense.  Love that Princess Anne has shown up.  Never knew much about her.  Love the interaction between her and Alice, and so glad that Philip went to see Alice, although I'm sure he went with full intentions to chastise her for the interview. He is human, LOL.
The Aberfan episode was excellent.  Never, ever had heard about that.  Still think this is one of the best TV shows ever, including, and especially the early episodes. But I like this Season too, notwithstanding the "blue eyes".
(I noticed that with her first closeup).  Thank you Marilyne for posting in here about this series!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: angelface555 on November 30, 2019, 03:02:31 PM
Hi, I'm not a regular poster, and I have no television unless it's shown on Youtube, but I've been reading all my life.

I saw this 100 books to read in a lifetime by Amazon and was astounded to see I've read so many.

https://www.listchallenges.com/amazons-100-books-to-read-in-your-lifetime

https://www.listchallenges.com/100-books-to-read-to-be-well-read

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on November 30, 2019, 03:21:08 PM
I've been too busy with Thanksgiving activities to watch any "Crown" episodes past #3.  Might do it tonight but the big Bedlam Football Game (my Soonersvs. my family's  Cowboys will take up most of the evening.  Can't miss that one.  :)

Edit..finished what I needed to do today so watched Crown.  I put my post in the Television Today folder.  Thought maybe that would be more appropriate. 😊


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 03, 2019, 08:11:44 AM
I am a bit disappointed with Richard K. Morgan's third Altered Carbon book called Woken Furies. Aside from the main character being Transhuman and geting downloaded in to various cloned or synthetic bodies,the main opposition currently seem to be intelligent robots who are building new robot designs as well as self-replicating themselves. Some of the action is in cyber space/virtual reality. The team leaders use the term "scan up" which I assume is a virtual reality gaming term although I can't find a reference to it yet.

Meanwhile, I am still enjoying audio version of Battlefield Earth by L. Ron Hubbard. What a great story and well done. with a cast of, I think it said, sixty-five voice artists. The novel was published in 1982 but shows no sign of being dated like some science fiction.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 03, 2019, 12:45:15 PM
Callie - I remember that you also liked Elizabeth Berg's two novels - The Story of Arthur Truluv and Night of Miracles.  I knew she had written a third one, to complete the trilogy, so I put myself on the long waiting list at the library.  I had forgotten about it until I got an email, that it was there, waiting for me! It's called The Confession Club

Picked it up right away, and sat down to read it after the Thanksgiving company had all gone home.  As you remember, I really like E.Berg, and have read all of her books, plus I follow her on her Facebook page.  I love reading her ongoing messages on her FB, about her life.    So I hate to say it, but I was underwhelmed by  The Confession Club.  I almost stopped reading half way through, but went ahead and finished it, just to see if it ended as I knew it would.  Just too predictable, too full of quirky characters, and totally unrealistic.  I was disappointed, but maybe it was just me?  I'll be interested in your opinion? 

MarsGal - I've heard that L.Ron Hubbard's books are good, but I've never read one?  Too many things about his "religion", Scientology, that I cannot abide. It's now considered to be a "cult", which to me, is not a good thing.     If you're at all interested, read the book by TV star, Leah Remini, called  Scientology and the Aftermath.  It's a documentary that investigates the Church of Scientology.  She was an active member during most of her life, and knows everyone and everything about what goes on under the facade of a church.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on December 03, 2019, 01:58:31 PM
Marilyne, "The Confession Club" just appeared in my Loan list.  Not sure when I'll have time to start it....maybe this weekend.
Although I liked the first two, I did think they were a bit "strange".
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 03, 2019, 04:48:30 PM
Thanks, but no thanks, Marilyne. When I worked in pre-press, their magazine was one of the ones we printed in several languages.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 07, 2019, 07:19:31 AM
Last night I finished Woken Furies, and already I forget what transpired in the Epilogue. Well, it was late, so it probably didn't sink in. I think it was a good ending anyway. There were some spots in the book where I was a bit confused as to whether the action was taking place in virtual reality and what was taking place in the real world.

Battlefield Earth remains a good story, if oh so long. Of course, the duel of wits between Johnny and Terl keeps going on and on and on. I am getting a bit impatient to finish the book, but am deliberately listening to fewer chapters, which are very short, at a time. I am still only about half way through.

Now I really must tackle the two library books I renewed. I am half way through Ken Liu's short stories only because I've already read some of them elsewhere. There is one more borrow to read, but that is my Amazon borrow, so I don't need to be in a hurry with it; I just can't borrow another until this one is returned if I go past Dec. 30.

I forgot to mention to Patricia that I have read about 25% of both of those listed in her book of lists. Several books I've started but didn't finish and, of course, some of them are either still sitting in my TBR pile or, I have not intention of reading. My taste in reading material doesn't seem to reflect much in these top 100 or books to read before you kick the bucket.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: angelface555 on December 07, 2019, 03:09:35 PM
After some questions and consideration, we are attempting to reopen two forums. We welcome any and all participation.

Show Me A Photo Of  https://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?msg=165464

And Trivia Quiz  https://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?msg=165463
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 11, 2019, 11:47:26 AM
Tomorrow I will take my library books back and then stop at my local garage to get the car inspected.

Prisoner's of Darkness (Galaxy's Edge #6) is finished, so I am now reading Accepting the Lance by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. It is their 22nd book in the Laiden Universe. There are a lot of things going on in this book. They added new characters and brought back some of the older characters for the show down between the Department of Interior and Clan Koval. I don't know whether the fight between the two will be resolved in this book or will continue. Suffice it to say that new alliances are being forged or strengthened.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on December 11, 2019, 12:21:42 PM
I've finished "The Confession Club".   Marilyne, glad you mentioned the confusion because I was...until I decided the author had used "confession" as the central theme and worked in as many types as she could come up with to have a satisfactory ending.

My reading these days is to relax before bedtime and I usually fall asleep before I've gotten very far.

"Where'd You Go, Bernadette?" has just appeared in my loans.  Not sure when I'll start it.

Happy Reading, Everyone.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 11, 2019, 03:39:43 PM
Callie - I think you liked  True Confessions,  more than I did.  I just couldn't get past the overall abundance of quirky characters! ::) Not much in the way of reality there!  However, that won't deter me from reading more books by Elizabeth Berg!  She'll always be one of my favorite authors, and I'll read whatever she writes in the future - plus past novels that I may have missed.  I also enjoy reading her Facebook Page, which is interesting and funny. 

I just started a book by Elizabeth Gilbert, called  City of Girls.  It was recommended on Goodreads, as one of the best new books published in 2019. I've only read the first couple of chapters, but it has already drawn me into the story.  It starts with the main character in 2010, looking back and remembering her past - starting in 1940 when she was 19. Judging from what I've read so far, it will move through the decades, into the present time.  I'll comment more as I get into it.

Where'd You Go Bernadette, is one that I had on my wait list for a long time, and finally I got it, along with a bunch of other books.  It was a one week hold, so I never even opened it.  At the time, I chose to read  The Dutch House,  and that took up all my time and interest!  As you know I love it!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on December 12, 2019, 05:37:03 PM
Marilyne, I got tired of the club meetings in "The Confession Club" but, once I figured out the different types of "confessions", I could skip over the trivia and keep up with the main threads. I wouldn't particularly recommend it to anyone and wouldn't care to read it again.

Book Club is discussing "Evvie Drake Starts Over" next week.  I've already read it but am "skimming" through it again to refresh my memory. So I haven't started" "Where'd You Go, Bernadette?"  Maybe this weekend.

I'm on the waiting list for "The Dutch House".  Wanna bet it arrives right in the middle of the Christmas activities?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 14, 2019, 07:14:04 AM
I breezed through Accepting the Lance in no time. I wonder if we Laiden Universe fans will have to wait another two years before the next book comes out.

Now I am reading Song of Rolland by that famous author, Anonymous. This epic poem was first written around 1040 and was modified several times up to about 1115. It is about the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778 where Charlemayne and his army were ambushed and was the only major defeat he ever had. This battle was one of the early battles during the Reconquista which lasted 781 years (711-1492).

In line with my interest ancient history, I also started A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World, written by William J. Bernstein.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 14, 2019, 10:31:00 AM
The Fourth season of The Expanse dropped into the Amazon Prime cue this morning. There are 10 episodes. I watched the first and could barely take my finger off the button to watch the second. I don't want to watch it all at once, but it is hard to resist.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 14, 2019, 04:59:29 PM
MarsGal - Now I'm temped to give, The Expanse, a look on Amazon Prime.   I'll have to put it on my Amazon/Netflix list for a future viewing, as I'm already stacked up with shows on both channels that AJ and I want to see.  We watched the Martin Scorcese movie, The Irishman, over the last couple of nights.  I understand why it has been nominated for every possible Golden Globe award!  A wonderful movie, but way too long.  I think it's 3 and 1/2 hours, so we watched it spread out over two nights. wonderful acting by Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci.  We haven't started the new season of  Mrs. Maisel    yet, on Amazon Prime, but will probably watch Episode #1, on Sunday night. (Hockey tonight).

Callie - I see that Where'd You Go Bernadette, has been made into a movie, starring Cate Blanchett.  Now I'm going to have to reorder the book, because I love "books made into movies", and always like to read the book first.  I'm about half way through City of Girls.  Started out great, but not sure about it now?  Seems preposterous, girls acting the way these girls do in 1940?  Not believable to me at all. Things must have changed when the 50's rolled around, because I never knew of such wild girls when I was that age . . .  but I suppose I was pretty sheltered?  :o 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on December 14, 2019, 05:45:59 PM
I've finished "Where'd You Go.....". 

Kind of a strange story but it held my interest to the point that, when I realized I was nodding off and checked the clock, I was amazed to discover it was after 1:00 a.m.  :o
Finished it the next night and am still puzzling over how in the world the author came up with the plot and the location of where she went. 
Will be interested in seeing if the movie is filmed on location.....but will  :-X  so I won't spoil it for anyone who reads it.  ;D 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on December 16, 2019, 12:51:32 AM
MarsGal, whose translation of Roland are you reading? I read it a year or two ago, translated by Dorothy L. Sayers (yes, the mystery writer).  Does yours have some of the original so you can see how very different the French is.  And Durendal is a good example of sword as character in the story, that I was babbling about inmates the Mabinogion discussion.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 16, 2019, 08:08:33 AM
Pat, I am reading the translation by C. K. Moncreiff which I picked up on Project Gutenberg. There is a small amount cof mental gymnastics, and a dictionary is helpful at times when reading this 1919 translation. Otherwise it is quite interesting. I didn't know Dorothy L. Sayers did a translation. One thing that I need to research is was a brief line that indicated Roland(?) having come back from an expedition to an island (I assume, Britain), but it wasn't really clear. That expedition would have been prior to the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778. I thought of the references in the early history of Wales about the time that the Arthur legends were gaining ground. However, I see no mention of the Franks in any of the brief histories I checked on Charles Martin, Pepin, Charlemagne, and Roland himself being in Britain. Too bad I didn't bookmark the page to refer back to that line. Roland was prefect of the Breton Marches, the border territory around the Breton territory. And the Bretons had some history and language links with Wales. At any rate, it looks like the poem took on a life of its own like we see in the Arthur tales. BTW, Moncreiff's translation does not have any Old French.
 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on December 16, 2019, 10:43:38 AM
MarsGal, I'll check my Sayers to see if she says anything about that expedition in her copious notes, but it'll be a few days because I'm expecting company.  Nag me if I forget.

Sayers also translated Dante's Divine Comedy; some people don't like her translation, but I do.  How she came to do it is funny.  At one point during WWII, she was stuck in the basement sheltering from a lengthy air raid, with nothing to read but a copy in the original Italian.  She didn't know Italian, but her Latin was enough for her to puzzle it out, and by the time the raid was over, she was hooked on that glorious poetry.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 18, 2019, 06:57:09 AM
I've added a murder mystery to my reading: Shadow Tag: The Ray Schiller Series by Marjorie Doering. It is starting out pretty good.

No, I couldn't resist doubling and tripling up on The Expanse. The fourth season did not disappoint. I wonder when the next book might be out. I suspect the authors will take their time to let the TV series catch up a little.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 19, 2019, 12:27:02 PM
I'm so glad I stuck with City of Girls, by Elizabeth Gilbert.  At one point toward the beginning, I was ready to give up on it, because it was hard for me to relate to the behavior of the main character.  However, the story continued to pull me in, and got better and better.  It became one of those novels, that you just can't put down.  I even got up one night and read for a couple of hours between midnight and 2:00 am.  It's an unusual story, which is what makes it so good.  Now, one of the best three books that I read in 2019. :thumbup:

MarsGal - There are so many shows I want to see on Netflix and Amazon, that I don't know what to watch next!  I've seen previews for The Expanse, and both AJ and I want to watch it . . . especially now that you've recommended it.  This would mean going back to Season #1, and starting from the beginning!  We will definitely do this, but not until after the New Year.     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on December 19, 2019, 05:58:37 PM
I am just starting E..Gilberts Eat,Pray.Love.Think I will enjoy it. she has a followup I think. Been awhile since I read any of hers. Picked up 4 books at library,All in LP. now due back for a month so should be O.K for books until 2020.I can't believe how fast this Century is going. Seems like the l900s not so fast.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on December 20, 2019, 06:47:14 PM
I think some of you have read the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series?  I just got the latest from the library and anxious to get started on it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 21, 2019, 07:35:47 AM
Battlefield Earth is almost done. Yea! What a story. The Scots play a very prominent part in the story what with their tenacious, can do, do or die, attitude. Other nationalities and cultures are also part of the story, including cannibals from Africa, Central/South Americans, Russians, Chinese, and Tibetans, not to mention the representatives of various alien species from our universe and sixteen others.

I gave up on Shadow Tag because it turned out to be a corporate intrigue/murder which didn't interest me and reverted back to a SciFi called The Caledonian Gambit by Dan Moren. Huh! Yet another nod to the Scots and Irish through place and family names as well as lots of red hair and a penchant for riots and subversive (resistance) activities against the conquering empire. One of the main characters (a fighter pilot) is a little too wimpy and whiny for my tastes, but that is later explained, along with his fear of flying as PTSD. It is an interesting story. Moren specializes in SciFi-Espionage stories. This is his first.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 22, 2019, 10:18:20 AM
I meant to post this yesterday, which was the Winter Solstice - Dec.21. I posted it last year, because I thought it was interesting, so here it is again:

Yesterday, December 21, was the, Winter Solstice - the shortest day of the year. Last night was the longest night.  I thought this was a very interesting article - one that ties the Solstice to Christmas.

Winter Solstice

The Winter Solstice is a magical season . . . one that marks the journey from this year to the next, journeys of the spirit from one world to the next, and the magic of birth, death, and rebirth. The longest night of the year (December 21 in the Northern hemisphere), is reborn as the start of the solar year and accompanied by festivals of light to mark the rebirth of the Sun. In ancient Europe, this night of darkness grew from the myths of the Norse goddess Frigga who sat at her spinning wheel weaving the fates, and the celebration was called Yule, from the Norse word Jul, meaning wheel. The Christmas wreath, a symbol adapted from  Frigga's "Wheel of Fate", reminds us of the cycle of the seasons and the continuity of life.

That the timing of the Christian celebration of the birth of Christ occurs in the Yule season is no coincidence. Christmas was once a movable feast, celebrated many different times during the year. The decision to establish December 25 as the "official" date of Christ's birth was made by Pope Julius I in the fourth century AD, hoping to replace the pagan celebration with the Christian one, since this date coincided with the pagan celebrations of Winter Solstice with the Return of the Sun Gods occurring throughout the world.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on December 22, 2019, 11:46:31 AM
With my memory I always welcome a reminder.😁  That is interesting!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 27, 2019, 11:56:24 AM
I hope that all who contribute to this folder, had a wonderful Christmas.  We all have missing family members, and friends and loved ones who are not doing so well, but that's to be expected by the time we're seniors.  In spite of some sadness over this past year, there is always the hope of the future, when we see those adorable new babies, in the family, or the enthusiastic teen agers. At our age, we can sit back and marvel at the younger generation, as well as remembering what it was like when we were young and just starting out.

I gave books as Christmas presents to my grandchildren and great grands.  I'm not sure that they ever read an actual book, anymore, but I decided that would be a better gift from Grandma, rather than an Amazon gift card!  ::) Even if they don't read them, they will own a real book, and may decide to pick it up some day and give it a look! 

The Dutch House, was one of my three favorite novels this past year, so I gave a copy to my daughter-in-law, for a present.  We always enjoy the same books, do I should have known that she might give me the same book!  It's happened before, and it happened again! LOL No problem however, as we will pass them along to our daughters, instead of returning them.  It's a good story that can be enjoyed by all generations. 

Hope we hear from many of you today, as to your Christmas celebrations, family, et al.  Now looking forward to the New Year! 
 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 27, 2019, 04:24:32 PM
Yesterday I started two light-reading books. The first is Louisiana Longshot, the first of the Miss Fortune mystery series, by Jana Deleon. The heroine is an undercover CIA agent who reminds me somewhat of Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality. Funny, always accidentally walking into trouble, totally out of her element in small town Louisiana.

The other is another freebie, SciFi which is just okay so far.  Honour of the Knights (1st Edition)is a Space Opera/Military story by Stephen J. Sweeney, that seems to pay no heed to time, where the main character travels from Earth to somewhere way across the galaxy in a day, and news seems to travel across the spaces just like here, nothing what-so-ever as to how this might be, and so far no science at all. The main character, however, is likable. Here is a guy who made a mistake and is offered a chance to redeem himself because his skills are sorely needed. Like the other it is a fast read so I will probably go ahead and finish it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on December 28, 2019, 10:04:10 AM
Good morning, Every Reader looking in this morning.  It's a cool, chilly day here in Auburn, Alabama.  I'm hoping the rain holds off so that I can get my morning walk out of the way shortly.  I'm reading a David Baldacci thriller which has some miserable jerks who I'm hoping will come to a bad end, but you never know with Baldacci!

I have some lighter books which I checked out of the library on Friday, so hope to get them finished by next Friday when the young friend who takes me to the library and to Kroger for my weekly shopping trip.  Yesterday he had time to take me to a restaurant at the local mall and we each chose the food from a huge buffet selection.

I hope Every Reader will have plenty to read this week especially if the weather keeps you indoors!

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 28, 2019, 12:04:24 PM
Morning everybody!

I finished reading Louisiana Longshot last night. I haven't had such a good laugh in a while, particularly the backyard Rottweiler scene and the undercover op outside the Swamp Bar.

Finally, I downloaded the second volume of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The scifi I am reading is likely to get dumped. It is just not very satisfying to me, seems a bit bland, but I will say that the author was very good about his grammar and punctuation unlike other Ebook authors who are pretty sloppy about doing a proper editing job. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 28, 2019, 12:37:59 PM
MarsGal - Louisiana Longshot, sounds like something I would like, so will add it to my library list.  I mostly like detailed historical  novels, or family saga's, but "Longshot", sounds nice and light for a change.  Anything that gives me a good laugh these days, I know I will enjoy!  I received a book for Christmas, that I'm thinking you might enjoy, called The Island of Sea Women, by Lisa See. I've only just read a few pages, but looks good. It's about Korean women, on an offshore island who work all their lives as sea divers.  in their village, the husbands stay home and take care of the babies and children, and the women go out every day and dive for various and sundry sea food (abalone, etc.). The story begins in the 1930's, and goes to present time, when the remaining women divers  are now in their 80's and 90's 

Quote: "This beautiful and thoughtful novel illuminates a unique and unforgettable culture - one where the women are in charge, engaging in dangerous physical work,  and the men take care of the children.  It introduces readers to the fierce female divers of Jeju Island, and the dramatic history that shaped their lives." 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on December 28, 2019, 03:30:25 PM
I've put both Louisiana Longshot and the island of Sea women on my to read list.  It will be a while as I've about four books now to read.  I've been immersed in the Maisie Dobbs series which has covered from World War 1 to World War II and the Cold War with Russia.  Unfortunately, I started with the 2019 book which was in the New Books section   Then I had to go back and start in the beginning.  Luckily, the library has all the books and I am on the last two books.  Already I'm looking forward to the next book and I sure hope the author is planning on publishing one in2020.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on December 29, 2019, 09:27:21 AM
I think I might be one of the few in the country that is not really an Ann Patchett fan, Bel Canto was OK but I liked the movie better.  After reading so many rave reviews of her newest book, The Dutch House, I went to the library site.  For the 4 combined formats in the library collection of: book (71 copies), audiobook (31 copies), ebook (38 copies), and large print (25 copies), I saw that 1,348 people are waiting!  It is going to be a long time before I read this book, I think.  I suppose I could use my Barnes and Noble account and buy it but it has to be a VERY special book for me to do that.  Everything I've read has said that the audiobook is the best version because Tom Hanks is the reader and he does a superb job.

I just finished a Jack Reacher by Lee Child and have a Baldacci waiting....I don't remember the title.  All of those books kind of run together in my mind but they fill up some time.

Happy New Year, All.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on December 29, 2019, 01:27:39 PM
Phyllis, I am a big Jack Reacher fan!  My son who lives near me knows this and he went to lots of thrift stores before Christmas and brought me a box of Reacher books.  I'll spend lots of time reading them and hoping/praying that Reacher takes care of the bad guys and then moves on to another destination.  Reacher was a Captain in the U.S. Army, but when he retired, he took to the road (most of the time on foot) just exploring the U.S.  He usually runs into some one who  needs help and does that!

I highly recommend his adventures!  (However, someone made a film of one of his adventures and had a movie star who was VERY UNREACHER!)  I don't recommend that!

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 30, 2019, 12:53:48 AM
PHYLLIS  -  If you didn't know better, you'd never think  Bel Canto, and  The Dutch House, were both written by the same author - Ann Patchett.  They're totally different in writing style, I think.  As you know, "Bel" is a novel that's based on a true story - a hostage event that took place in 1996, in South America.  Dutch  House, is straight fiction,  and is a five decade family saga, that takes place mostly in Pennsylvania, where the fictional, Dutch House, is located.  I like them both, but I like DH, the best.  I'm really enamored with the story and the characters, and would say without hesitation that it was my favorite book of 2019.

I've also heard that the audio book narration by Tom Hanks, is fabulous.  I plan on listening to it, at some time in the future, when all the hubbub calms down.  I'm thinking that he will most likely buy the movie rights to the book, and will play the role of the father.   Request the large print copy from the library, and you will probably get it much sooner.  The large print books are on a separate wait list at our library, which is much shorter than the regular wait list.

SUE  -  I'm not a fan of the crime thrillers, which includes anything written by,  Lee Child, Baldacci, Patterson, Connelly, Clancy, et al.  They all seem the same to me, but I know I'm in the minority, as most people do like them.  My husband reads them, and enjoys them, but agrees that they all alike.   I do like the few books that I've read by John Grisham.  Not sure if he is in that same genre or not??
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on December 30, 2019, 09:48:49 AM
MarilynE, I do read a lot of the books you mentioned. Some of them are predictable, but I enjoy them.  Reacher finds a way to get out of some very tight squeezes!

Which authors do you prefer?
Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 30, 2019, 11:58:47 PM
Sue - My favorite time frame for novels, is the 1940's - before, during and after World War II.  Also fictional stories about life during the Depression years.  I also like non-fiction books written about that same era.  I love big sweeping family sagas, with interesting characters and lots of drama!
My three favorite fiction books this past year, were, The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt, (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction), The Great Alone, by Kristin Hannah, and The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett.     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on December 31, 2019, 09:03:45 AM
MarilynE, I've read quite a few books by Kristin Hannah and one by Ann Patchett.  I do enjoy most of the books I pick up in my local library.  I don't drive now since I had a bad fall, but have a young friend who takes me to the library on Fridays and then to Kroger for my weekly grocery shopping.  I'm not familiar with Donna Tartt, but will check her out at the library to see if they have a copy.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 31, 2019, 04:16:55 PM
It's been a long time since I checked in here.   Hope the Holiday went well for all.   It was strange here as early in December I learned  that my granddaughter in San Francisco had died suddenly.  Age 30....too young!!!   The month has gone by quickly first the initial shock and then trying to support her mom as she worked through the necessary arrangements. Her ashes were delivered here to me yesterday.   They will be placed in the family plot in the summer along with her dad and grandpa and we will remember her short life and what she meant to our family.  Her only sibling, an older brother is in a nursing home there in CA.  He has Huntington's Disease as his dad did.  I spoke with my DIL about going out to be of whatever help I could  but she thought she could manage with the help of friends there.  
   Keeping interest in reading has been slow but I have a book from HOOPLA now by Lisa Wingate.   This is light reading and the story is set in the south, Texas I believe.  OH!  the title is Never Say Never.  I read several of her books a while back and enjoyed her style.   I haven't had any luck in getting The Dutch House or The Goldfinch.     I'll have to keep checking with our library.

SCFSue,  I'm sorry to hear that you are unable to drive but even more so that you were hurt to that extent.   I read about your son's special gift of the Jack Reacher collection.   That was so thoughtful of him!  Enjoy your "cache" of stories.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 31, 2019, 06:05:15 PM
Maryc - I'm so sorry to hear about your granddaughter.  What a shock for your daughter-in-law, and for you and Debby too.  What a lot of sadness, your dil has had.  I remember that your son passed away with Huntington's, but I didn't know your grandson also has it. Look for an email from me.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 01, 2020, 08:54:27 AM
MaryC, my condolences to you and your family for the loss of your granddaughter.

I finally finished Battlefield Earth. My very favorite sequence was that of the dealings with the galactic Factors (investment bankers/lawyers). My favorite character names were Terl and Rotodeeter Snowl, pronounced like now. The narration was overall very good, but I could have done without so much grunt as background sounds. Music was just so-so, not my style. It was a surprisingly good book.

Today, I'll be downloading the next Galaxy's Edge series book to read. After that, the next SciFi will likely be to continue reading the Targon Tales series.

Now I am reading the second volume of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The discussion on The Mabiginion starts up again on Monday.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on January 01, 2020, 10:29:52 AM
Good morning, Readers!  It's good to get suggestions for reading here every day.  I'll be going to the library on Friday and hope to get some interesting books to bring home.  I have several books waiting to be read because of my Christmas visit with my son.  The Help by Katherine Stockett is calling my name this morning.  I need to take my morning walk first, but will start it as soon as that is accomplished.

BTW, yesterday afternoon my friend Bonney and I went to the movie to see the "Little Women" film.  It was really good and if you have read the original, it sticks to the story very well.

Enjoy your reading, whatever you might choose!
Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on January 01, 2020, 11:48:33 AM
Oh, Maryc, I'm so sorry; what a sad loss   It's hard to think of anything else, isn't it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on January 01, 2020, 09:32:39 PM
MaryC, so sad to read of your granddaughter's passing.  She was so young.  I've post this in a different forum, but grandson has stage four cancer at 38 years old.  He is receiving treatment and we are just praying the treatment will work.

I miss chatting with you since there aren't enough of us to keep the Garden Forum going.  Visit Town Talk, Norm's Bait and Tackle forum.  There is no more Norm, but his sister Mary Ann keeps us going.  There are so few posting, it would be nice if you would join us.

I got interested in the Maisie Dobbs Series and have read all the books now.  Such good stories.  They start in the 1930s and the last one is during the last of World War II.  I'm hoping for another one this year.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on January 02, 2020, 10:45:45 AM
Good morning, Readers!  It's a cold, drippy rainy day here in Auburn, Alabama.  I am dressed but won't walk this morning because of the rain.  I have plenty of books to read, so will stay inside and enjoy reading.

I hope Every One looking in has had a lovely family Christmas and will enjoy the day with relatives and friends.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 02, 2020, 05:09:41 PM
Thank you all for your kind words.  The more you speak with people the more you come to realize how much heartache there is among us.  Thank goodness that we have caring friends that support us through the hard times.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on January 02, 2020, 05:51:35 PM
I put my name in at the library on Tuesday for TheDutch house. Had a long list but today see that they have it for me. Looks like it is showing as a NEW book so would just be able to get it for a week. Not good for me. Will hold for a earlier copy.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 04, 2020, 12:37:00 AM
Maryc - I like your new profile picture very much! I'm so glad that Jean suggested that you join us in Norm's Bait and Tackle.  I think you know most of the members who post there?  It's completely different from Library Bookshelf, and Television, although a few  friends post in all three folders. I'll be looking in there first thing in the morning.   Now I'm heading straight for bed.  It's been a long, long day.

JeanneP - you can request The Dutch House, in large print! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on January 04, 2020, 10:03:21 AM
Good morning, fellow readers. I have a young friend who takes me to the library every Friday and to Kroger to do my weekly grocery shopping.  Because I no longer drive due to an injury to my left leg I count on him to help me with the library and Kroger visit.  He's been a life saver for me. 

Have a nice day, Every One, and enjoy your reading!
Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on January 04, 2020, 11:24:14 AM
Sue, your posts about the Jack Reacher books sounded like something my husband would enjoy. Our library has a program called "Libby" with digital books and I noticed they have a number of the Jack Reacher books by Lee Child.  I downloaded one for him and he really liked it.  Now he is on another one.  Glad you mentioned the books.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on January 04, 2020, 01:44:32 PM
Yes, I got The Dutch House in LP. Will start it today.
I am still fighting mu cough and cold so resting.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on January 05, 2020, 09:40:02 AM
I put a hold on The Dutch House, LP version, but it is still going to be months before I get it.  Over a hundred people ahead of me.

FlaJean, I have read so many of the Jack Reacher books and have liked all of them.  But, I refuse to watch any of the movies.  The idea of Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher is so laughable that it is beyond belief.  Has your husband read any of the Harry Bosch books by Michael Connolly?  I think they are very good and the Amazon Prime TV series is probably one of the best adaptations I've ever seen of a book-to-movie series.

Interesting bit of news about my library system that I just read.  They have done away with all overdue fines.  And, extended the loan period from two weeks to three weeks per book.  I rarely have an overdue book, anyway, but it could become a problem for large families with children that often have overdue books.  The reason is that they do not want those families to stop using the library because of the accrued fines when they are the families who often need the library resources the most.  I approve of the decision very much.  When I worked at the library MANY years ago one of my jobs was to notify people of overdue books.  It wasn't one of my favorite duties.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on January 05, 2020, 01:11:40 PM
It will be interesting to see how the no-fines policy affects book returns and "lost" books.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on January 05, 2020, 08:04:32 PM
Phyllis, thanks for that suggestion for the Harry Bosch books.  I'm sure Larry will like them and I'm going to write Michael Connolly's name down to remind myself.  He has a few more Jack Reacher books left to read.  He recently finished all the CJ Box series about the forest ranger.  He got most of those from the library so he could read them in order.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 06, 2020, 08:47:10 AM
Phyllis, I have yet to watch the Amazon Bosch series. I did watch a little of the first program, but seeing his naked butt not too long into the program put me off. Must of been my mood, because I don't always have that reaction. I keep wanting to try a C. J. Box book, but never seem to get around to it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on January 06, 2020, 10:03:06 AM
FlaJean, I am also a fan of C.J. Box's books about the forest ranger in Montana.  They are well written and the Ranger and his family (3 daughters) are very likable.  I have been reading that series for a number of years and the oldest daughter is now in college and wants to become a ranger, too, although she may change her mind before she graduates from college.

Sue

BTW, my son who lives near me remembered that I love Reacher--a retired military guy who spends his free time going from place to place--often on foot--and who frequently gets involved with some difficult circumstances!  So Tim spent a lot of time during December looking in thrift stores for Reacher books written by Lee Child.  I now have a large box of books with Reacher as the hero!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on January 06, 2020, 08:20:49 PM
So far I am not understanding the hype about The Dutch House. I stick with it a little longer but so far nothing interesting at all. Doubt it will be made into a movie. My library had a lot of names on list but they seem to be going down fast so maybe people bringing it back soon.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 07, 2020, 01:32:22 PM
JeanneP - Sorry you didn't care for The Dutch House.  We all have different tastes in books, as well a movies and television shows, which I often tend to forget.  If I'm enthusiastic about a book, I sometimes rave on and on, ad nauseam. I rarely get a comment, one way to the other, but occasionally I do.  I do like what are called "character driven books", which are usually about families, and are filled with drama and someone's personal thoughts and struggles.   Whatever style of writing we individually like, it's important to find books that we enjoy, and to keep on reading! (or listening to audio books).   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 07, 2020, 10:10:15 PM
Today I picked up one of  the books I had requested from the library.  It I s The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah.  I read a few pages while having dinner and it was easy to get interested.  Marilyne, like you family stories usually grab my interest easily.   This one with the references to the PTSD and the Viet Nam war made it more interesting because I've heard this from my  nephews who suffer yet from the effects.  I'm sure it was similar from the other wars but maybe made a little more known in recent years.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 08, 2020, 08:24:18 AM
I sent Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. II back to the library since it seemed to be a repeat, although easier to understand, of much of Vol. I.

My current SciFi read is the Targon Tales series by Chris Reher. It mostly involves the conflicts between an allied consortium in which is primary is to promote trade and stability between a group of planets. They have an active military arm to protect themselves and their allies from marauders, pirates, et. This United Commonwealth is opposed by several different groups of "rebels" and other groups who oppose their influence for various reasons. The author is quite creative, the stories are very well done, and the characters are very interesting. Descriptions of violence/brutalization and sex are  graphic at times, but not, IMO, overly done. The books also include some romance, more than a nod to the misery and plight of those caught in the aftermath of violent conflict: death, disease and destruction.

I listened to Seamus Heaney's version of Beowulf and am now started on The Buried Book: The Loss and Rediscovery of the Epic of Gilgamesh by David Damrosch. Gilgamesh is one of my favorite epic poems.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 08, 2020, 05:44:42 PM
Well!!!  Yesterday after I had been to the library to pick up The Great Alone I had another call that The Dutch House had come   I went back today to pick it up.  This is in audio format.  I set up my laptop in the kitchen where I was going to work and by the time supper was over I had finished three of the eight CDs.  It is a good story.  Thanks Marilyne for the suggestion.  I can't sit quietly to listen to a book.....I fall asleep so decided I will listen while I work and read the other book when I sit.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 09, 2020, 11:43:01 AM
Maryc - I'm glad you're enjoying the audio version of The Dutch House.  I've heard that Tom Hanks, does a fabulous job of reading it.  Of course he does a fabulous job with everything he undertakes. I'm looking forward to listening to it.  How does he have the time for so many projects?  He's always starring in a quality movie, and never seems to take a break before coming out in a new one.  I remember when he bought the rights to that book that we all read a couple of years ago, about the girl who had been kidnapped and raised by Indians? I've heard that he's working on that movie right now   The title was, News of the World.   

The Great Alone, is one of my three favorite novels that I read in 2019, so glad you're liking that one too.  When you finish it, you can try to tackle my third favorite - The Goldfinch.  I say "tackle", because it's so big and so long, that you really have to make a commitment! ha ha!  It's worth it though! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 09, 2020, 08:45:04 PM
Marilyne,   I WAS enjoying listening to The Dutch House until the CD player on my laptop started acting up.   Before that I had tried listening with my little boombox and that seemed to have some ailment as well.   My last resort will be to go out and take a nice long drive in the car and listen to the remaining 4 or 5 CDs. ;D

The other book by Kristin Hannah is zooming right along.   Al always like to watch those reality TV shows about Alaska and as I'm reading this it reminds me of how self sufficient those people are who have homesteaded there.   It is a lot of very hard work just to survive and our characters in this book seemed to be far from prepared for that life.

I just spoke with my brother and he told me about a Trilogy that he is reading that sounds good.  It is called The War Trilogy by Diane Moody.   The write up about it says that is spans the years pre WWII to the end.  The first is called Of Windmills and War and quite a bit about the Resistance and getting  orphaned Jewish children to safety.  It is "on my list".
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on January 09, 2020, 08:57:55 PM
The War Trilogy sounds really good.  I like stories in that time period.

The Paris Architect is also a very good book.  It tells a story of a Frenchman concerned about himself when the Germans take over Paris and how he is drawn into helping a rich industrialist in helping the Jews.  It has a feel good ending.  Over a couple of years I have read it a couple of times.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 10, 2020, 11:28:24 AM
Jean - I'm also intrigued by The War Trilogy, and plan to put a hold on it at my library.  I've also heard lots of good things about The Paris Architect, so will order that one too. 

Mary - While you're out driving around, listening to The Dutch House, please stop by and pick me up!  8)  It's only a couple of thousand miles out of your way! ha ha   I'm so looking forward to hearing it read by Tom Hanks, but it will be months before it's available here.   I agree that The Great Alone, is a good example of the difficulty of surviving a Winter, in a wilderness/hostile environment. A good story, that I hear is also being made into a movie! 

I just finished another good novel, that I received as a Christmas present . . . Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens.  I recommend it as a good, fast moving story, that will hold your interest.  More on that later.       
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 10, 2020, 10:13:05 PM
Marilyne,I'd be happy to swing by for you listen to The Dutch House with me.  :o Wouldn't that be something!?  I've got one more device to try.  That is the Blue Ray player.  If it doesn't play right on that then it mush be with the discs.  I reached a certain spot and it started stammering.  So we'll see what happens.

Where the Crawdads Sing was mentioned here a while back but it just didn't seem to be available through my library system.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on January 11, 2020, 10:16:31 AM
I'm about half-way through The Great Alone and I can't say that I am enjoying it but it is keeping my attention so I'll stick with it awhile.  It is depressing to me and fighting the winter "doldrums" is always a problem to begin with.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 11, 2020, 04:37:54 PM
Phyllis,I can understand how The Great Alone could be depressing for some.  It's just that sort of a grey and rainy day here today as she speaks about in Alaskan winters.  The thing about this story that frustrates me most is the helpless situation of the daughter.

Oh and BTW I did get my audio book to play  on my Blue Ray.  The technology of this machine is amazing.  When I tried playing the discs that gave me trouble with my other equipment I got a message telling me that It couldn't play the disc but to check it for fingerprints.  Sure enough!  Problem solved!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on January 16, 2020, 12:01:43 AM
For those who enjoyed the book "Arthur Trulove"by Elizabeth Berg. Try to find her new one"the confession Club. I just finished it. Hard to put down .read most of it today and hated it to end. Some of the people from Trulove appear in it. I just hope she writes more using same town and people.such a good writer.

Getting harder now to find good writers. So many seem to be passing.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 16, 2020, 01:35:17 PM
JeanneP - I'm glad you liked the Arthur Truluv stories!  You might like to read other books by Elizabeth Berg?  She has written lots of good novels, that I think you would enjoy.  Here is a page to click on, that will give you a list of her books. I've read a lot of them, and liked most of them very much.  Recently I read, Dream, When You're Feeling Blue, which was a good story of a family of sisters during the War years.  https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=elizabeth+berg+list+of+books&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8.

Last week I mentioned, Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens.  I thought it was a good story, and hope that some of you will consider reading it . . . I'd like to know what others think, both pro and con?  I think it's been on the NYT Bestseller List, for a while, but not sure?  I no longer get the list in my newspaper every week, like I used to, so I've lost track of the what's popular in either fiction or non-fiction?     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 16, 2020, 07:09:54 PM
I had  a text today from a friend who is a retired librarian and a part of a writer's group.  She is on her way today to Charleston,SC for a writer's gathering. Among the speakers are Mary Alice Monroe and Elizabeth Berg. Two others that I'm not familiar with are Signe Pike and Kate Quinn.  That should be an interesting weekend.

I'm about halfway through Where the Crawdads Sing.  It's been an interesting though sad story.  It's always amazing to me how the heroes or victims (however you choose to classify them)  have such remarkable ability to rise above poor beginnings.  I suppose it's just the story of "opportunity".
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 16, 2020, 07:13:40 PM
I finished The Buried Book: The Loss and Rediscovery of the Epic of Gilgamesh. What a disappointment. I expected a book that concentrated on the epic itself, not one that spent way too much time on how the person who found the tablets got pushed aside by the academics because he was a native to Iran and did not have a degree from one of their universities. Next up was a lot about the king who created the Great Library and a bit about him. There was a little about the library itself and only a little about the epic itself.

My new audio book listen is called The Marriage of Opposites byAlice Hoffman. I am only a few chapters in, and am enjoying it. This is the first Alice Hoffman for me. https://www.npr.org/2015/08/06/427830933/marriage-of-opposites-paints-camille-pissarros-colorful-family-history

My Ebook reads are Vindolanda by my favorite historian, Adrian Goldsworthy. It is his first novel. The other is Catseye by Andre Norton.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 17, 2020, 05:39:37 PM
Finished Where the Crawdads Sing.   What a beautiful book!!!

Have started another by Maeve Binchey.  Don't know how I missed this one earlier when I read her others.   This one is A Week in Winter.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 19, 2020, 05:43:30 PM
maryc - so glad you liked Where the Crawdads Sing.  It certainly did hold my interest, and was a unique story.  A few things were a bit far fetched/unbelievable - but that's the way with lots of fiction.  You have to be willing to stretch your believability somewhat.  They say that "truth is stranger than fiction" - but that goes both ways.  Did you ever finish The Great Alone, and The Dutch House?  Both excellent stories.

I have two books that I checked out last week, but haven't started them yet.  Once Upon A River, by Diane Setterfield, and This Tender Land, by William Kent Krueger.  As soon as I finish this message, I'll pick one and start reading until time to think about dinner.  It's now 2:45, so I have two hours!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 19, 2020, 06:18:06 PM
Marilyne,Yes I finished both The Great Alone and The Dutch House.  Both of those were so very good. The Great Alone had some interesting stuff about Alaska.    I didn't know there was another book by Kent Krueger.  He was another author that I really liked.  I'll keep that in mind.  My current read by Maeve Binchey is turning  out to be a good read as most of her other have been.  I remember the first of hers that I read many moons ago was The Copper Beach.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: SCFSue on January 21, 2020, 09:29:02 AM
Some years ago now, I attended a "house party" in South Carolina.  Mary Alice Monroe came to our gathering and talked about her first book.  She was very entertaining and a good speaker.  I enjoyed her chat and also the others who were attending (including 2 men which I found surprising!)  I've continued to read her books when I can find them at my local library.

Sue
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on January 21, 2020, 01:02:10 PM
Kent Kreuger's new book is a standalone, not one of his Cork O'Connor mysteries. This new one is in the vein of his "Ordinary Grace" which was a lovely book.  If you've not read that, I recommend it.  I have his "This Tender Land" but just haven't gotten around to reading it yet.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 21, 2020, 02:04:45 PM
Tomereader,I really did enjoy Ordinary Grace.  It seems to me that I just happened onto that title and it caught my attention.  Stories of those times I can relate to.  Some are a little ahead of my own time and others a bit behind but it's the stories of people like myself and friends that hold my interest.  I'm anxious to get This Tender Land.  I haven't located it in our library but I'm going to try one nearby.  That librarian seems to tap into responses outside of our area libraries.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 23, 2020, 05:47:19 PM
I started Once Upon a River,  but I've given up on it . . . at least for now.  The first chapter was very good, with a good beginning and unusual characters.  Then the next chapter was about different people, and not so interesting. I'm sure they will all merge in the next few chapters, but I just don't seem to have the patience to read anything anymore that doesn't hold my interest. (Is that a sign of aging?) ha ha  ::)

I'll probably start, This Tender Land, later this afternoon.  I also read Ordinary Grace, many years ago and liked it a lot.  I didn't connect the author, Kent Krueger, until I saw all of your responses here.  Now I know in advance that I will like "Tender Land"!

maryc - I've read a number of Maeve Binchy novels over the years, and liked them all, so I'm definitely interested in A Week in Winter.  I'll put a hold on it at the library.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 29, 2020, 04:21:47 PM
It's been a few days since I looked in here and it is quiet.   I just returned the audio tapes of The Dutch House and Where the Crawdads Sing and the book The Great Alone.   Since I had them for three weeks,  I shared the tapes with a friend.  All were excellent.  Today I picked up This Tender Land.  It had been requested a couple weeks ago and came from a library out toward Rochester, NY.  I read a couple of chapters and it looks like a good story but I'm going to need lots of tissues, I believe.  From the beginning it reminded me of a small book I read many years ago called The Education of Little Tree.  That youngster also was taken from the home of his Native American grandparents and sent to a boarding school very much like the one in this book.  Ahh, the things we've done for  "betterment of mankind" !!  :'(
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 29, 2020, 05:30:14 PM
I just finished "The Girl You Left Behind" by JoJo Moyes. The title refers to a painting belonging to a young widow that was bought from a "garage sale" for her by her husband on their honeymoon.  Her new boyfriend works for a company that returns art seized by the Nazis to the original owners.  He recognizes the painting as one in a case he's working on. She, of course, does not want to let it go.  "And the plot thickens"  ;)  A bit more detail about Nazi cruelty than I would have preferred but a story that kept me reading "one more chapter" instead of going to bed.

"The Dutch House" e-book just appeared in my Loans.  Planning on starting it tonight.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 30, 2020, 06:32:23 AM
I have only three chapters to go yet on The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman which is a novel about Camille Pissaro's mother. She narrates more than half of the story, but then it switches to Pissaro doing the narrating in chapter 7. Much of the book is set in St. Thomas, Dutch West Indies (now the US Virgin Islands). There isn't a lot of physical description of the island itself, but the turtles, wild donkeys, and the vibrant colors stand out for me. The book does give some idea of life in the tropics, the Jewish community, lack of women's rights, and a light touch on slavery at a personal level through the eyes of the narrator. No grand or sweeping descriptions here to bog down or distract the reader, just enough to get a sense of the people and their lives.

I finished Vindolanda by Adrian Goldsworthy last week. He did a wonderful job showing what it was like to live in and around a Roman fort at the beginning of Trajan's reign. The story follows a Centurio Regionarius (Centurion who is on detached service as a criminal investigator, or other military and administrative duties) while he investigates an ambush which quickly leads to suspicions of conspiracy and treason. The battles are at once exhilarating and horrific. Not for the squeamish. The Roman cavalry auxiliaries got quite a workout in this book, too with a nod to the Brigantians, the Dacians, and the Spanish cavalry units.

His other two books in the series are on my reading list. The Encircling Sea once again finds Flavius Ferox and his small group chasing down conspiracies and rumors of war, but this time involving invaders from the sea. Ohhhh, the third one, Brigantia, involves a murder, a summons to London and a trip to the Isle of Mona (Anglesey, Wales), supposedly the last stronghold of the Druids. Forgot to say that Ferox was of the Silure tribes/clans located in South East Wales who fought against the Romans with Caracticus until his defeat. I just love the Welsh connection.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on January 31, 2020, 12:58:26 PM
So many interesting sounding books everyone is reading.  I've jotted down a couple.  Planning to stop by the library afterwhile.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 31, 2020, 02:31:59 PM
Okay, I finished The Marriage of Opposites. Interesting story. What a hypocrite Rachel turned into. She insisted on going her own way, going against religious bans regarding marriage as well as a few other things. But darn it all, if she didn't try to stop her son from doing the same. So what we have is the life of a headstrong girl who turned into a loving (and perhaps a bit over-protective and controlling) mother. Hoffman treads lightly through slavery and women's rights as well as the restrictive attitudes of the Jewish community on St. Thomas, and still managed to stir up my emotions a bit. The last several chapters were spent in Paris. This is very much a story at a personal level rather than a family saga, I think.

This afternoon I will decide what my next audio-book listen will be. I am also between books. So many to choose from. But tomorrow I will be downloading my monthly lending library ebook which will be the next in the Galaxy's Edge series. So that is one I don't have to think about.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 31, 2020, 03:01:25 PM
Looks like I'm not going to read This Tender Land, until sometime in the future.  I didn't realize that because it's a new book, and there's a wait list, it was only a one week checkout. I got side tracked, with a book recommended by my daughter, called,  In Some Other Life.  She's fascinated by the concept of Time Travel, and has read countless novels dealing with the subject.  So far this is pretty good . . . mostly about the choices we made in life,  and how different things would be,  if we made a different choice in an alternate life.

MarsGal - I haven't read, The Marriage of Opposites, but I'm pretty sure I've read other books by Alice Hoffman.  Isn't she the author of The Night Circus?   I'll look it up when I finish here.

Callie - I haven't read anything yet, by JoJo Moyes.  I guess I should start with Me Before You, which I think was her first book, and was made into a movie.  Both my dil and grand-daughter like her books, and have read most of them.  For Christmas, I gave gr-daughter, The Giver of Stars.  Don't know if she's read I yet?
I hope you like The Dutch House?

maryc and Jeanne - Keep us posted on what you're reading?  I'll probably get lots of reading in on Sunday, while the Super Bowl, is going on.  I'm not a pro football fan, even though it's the San Francisco 49ers who will be playing this year.  I'll look in on it, off and on, but that's about it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 31, 2020, 03:53:06 PM
MarsGal - I just looked up Alice Hoffman, and see that the book I read by her, is The Museum of Extraordinary ThingsThe Night Circus, was by Erin Morgenstern.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on January 31, 2020, 06:05:02 PM
Really been some good books recommended on here past few months I have been going by them. got off the computer and TV for awhile.  Right now I am readings"The Water Dancer" TaNehisi Coates Just started. About slavery in 1800s. Little different for me.
Its cold so staying in more. Hard to get to house cleaning in this weather

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 31, 2020, 07:16:12 PM
Jeanne,  "The Water Dancer" just appeared in my e-book loans.  My book club will be discussing it in a couple of weeks.  Will be interested in finding out what you (and anyone else who's read it) think about it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 31, 2020, 07:29:39 PM
Marilyne,  Since your daughter is into time travel stories she might like Time and Again by Jack Finney.  That was a good one I read several years ago.  
  I was surprised to get This Tender Land so quickly.I thought it would be a long wait.
  Today Debby told me about a good movie she. watched on Amazon Prime called Jane and Emma....or the other way around.  I may look at it later this evening.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 01, 2020, 06:45:17 AM
Marilyne, I tried reading The Night Circus but couldn't get interested. The Museum of Extraordinary Things is one I want to read eventually. Was it good? Not my usual kind of read, but Practical Magic looks like it might be fun.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on February 01, 2020, 02:02:36 PM
I read "The Girl You Left Behind".  An interesting story but after awhile I found myself skimming parts of the book to reach the conclusion.  When I read a book by a really good author, I enjoy every sentence.  They just don't waste words in telling the story.  I think the book could have used a good editor to tighten the storyline.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 01, 2020, 02:58:43 PM
FlaJean, You said that very nicely! ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on February 01, 2020, 04:02:49 PM
Flajean,   I agree!!!!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 03, 2020, 01:01:10 AM
This Tender Land, was due on Saturday, but I decided to keep it over the weekend because I wanted to finish it, which I did.   After the first couple of chapters, I realized that it was another reworking of Homer's, The Odyssey, with some Huckleberry Finn, thrown in for good measure.  The story takes place in 1932, when two young brothers, an Indian boy, and a seven year old girl, escape from a school for Orphans and Indian Children, in N. Dakota.  Of course it's a horrible place with evil headmasters, and guards who are allowed to beat and abuse the children,  when they do anything that is perceived as wrong.  The couple who run the school are also evil . . . but of course there is one teacher who is kind and compassionate, who helps the boys and the seven year old girl escape.   ::) 

Then starts The Odyssey, down the river in a canoe, where the four kids meet all sorts of people along the way . . . the good, the bad and the ugly!   One of the boys even encounters a version of The Sirens, toward the end of the book. That's when we find out why they couldn't go live with Aunt Julia, when they became orphaned.  :o

Other books you may have read that were based on The Odyssey are,  Cold Mountain,  The Time Travelers Wife, and  The Hobbit.   The Coen Bros film,  Oh Brother Where Art Thou, was a comedy version of  The Odyssey.   All of those were better than This Tender Land, in my opinion. 
That said, However, I did like this book.  There is never a dull moment in the story, and it will hold your attention, even if it is extremely far fetched and melodramatic at times. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 04, 2020, 08:03:00 AM
I am back to listening to Brigadier General (Ret.) Robert Spalding's book, Stealth War: How China Took Over While America's Elite Slept. Alarming stuff. Having read some of how economics and trade shaped the ancient world and still shape it today, what is in this book is something of a warning. Some of the latest chapters I read discuss the Chinese push to put up super fast G5 networks and acquire telecom companies worldwide, the fact that parts for critical military equipment is manufactured and imported from China, coercing Radio Free American to modify an interview and then fire the reporter so as not to upset the Chinese government, the problem of Chinese students being coerced and encouraged to steal research info and told not to get too chummy with US students right here in the US, and schools that have Confucius Studies centers (88 as of December 2019, although some are soon closing) being "encouraged" to cancel opposition speakers as well as lack of transparency of the centers. This article doesn't state the problem of the cultural centers quite as alarmingly as Spalding does. https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/27/china-college-confucius-institutes-1221768 He hasn't even touched on the Chinese military build up yet. Alarmist as the book may be, it is worth noting that the Chinese government has a long-term, multi-pronged plan to become the dominant world economic and military power. Some of it is publicly stated, while others are more covert.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 07, 2020, 07:06:04 AM
There are a couple of novels about books on my library Wish List. The one I am reading now is The Bookshop of Yesterdays by Amy Meyerson. It is not quite an "I can't put it down book", but close if you don't think too much. This review pretty much sums up the good and the bad, but I think it is also something of a spoiler alert. https://allaboutromance.com/book-review/the-bookshop-of-yesterdays-by-amy-meyerson/  The author's bio says she teaches in the Creative Writing Department at USC, so you wouldn't expect her writing to be quite as flawed as the reviews indicate. Her next novel, The Imperfects, is scheduled to release soon. It will be on my list to read too.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 07, 2020, 11:08:29 AM
MarsGal - interesting, that The Bookshop of Yesterdays, was recently recommended to me by a friend.  I set it aside on my list, but with your mostly positive comments, I'll put in a request at the library.  Meyerson  does look young, to be teaching creative writing at USC, so she must have great credentials.  I'm looking forward to reading "Bookshop", and will look at others by her.    Also, I meant to comment on your rec for,  Stealth War: How China Took Over While America's Elite Slept.  That's a subject that has bothered me a lot, over the years, and the the book is on my library wait list right now.  I'm not a big fan of Trump, but I have to say that he got it right, as far a standing up to China is concerned!!  It's about time!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on February 07, 2020, 11:59:29 AM
I've finished "The Dutch House" by Ann Patchett and "Windfallen" by Jojo Moyes.  Liked "The Dutch House" once I got into the story but didn't care for "Windfallen" as I have other books by same author.

"The Water Dancer" is my book club's discussion this month.  One member said she loved how beautifully it was written.  I'm finding it too wordy and hard to follow.  Story of slaves getting involved in the Underground Railroad is dragging (IMO) and I'm tempted to just skip to the last chapters so I'll at least know the ending before book club meets.

I'm to lead the March discussion on "The Guest Book" by Sarah Blake (not the one with the same title by Marybeth Whalen) so will reread it and make notes.  I plan to discuss the various types of social prejudices the author works into the story.  Hope I can find an on-line interview with the author or some discussion questions.

I'm on Hold for Hillary Mantel's book to be released in March. Title is "The Mirror and the Light" - the third in her Thomas Cromwell series.

...and that's it from this corner.  Happy Reading!!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on February 07, 2020, 02:58:25 PM
My f2f Book Club met last night.  Our book for discussion was "Flight Behavior" by Barbara Kingsolver.  Before we got started, I told the group that I had read this book when it first came out, 2012, and got absolutely nothing out of it, other than Kingsolver's beautiful writing, and that I must have undergone a complete and total mind/personality change since that first try, as I found the book (in this re-reading) absolutely stunning.  We had a terrific discussion with everyone touching on basically the same points, with   very little difference in our points of view. Kingsolver does her characters so well, and we all thought there were a couple of characters that needed "more time" in the story.  I realize this is an older book, but I'm sure your libraries will have copies of it, should you care to read.  Of course, it does not compare with her "The Poisonwood Bible", which is one of my all-time favorite books. Our group tends to read things that have been out for a few years, to allow everyone to check out at the library, rather than going out and buying a book.  We make sure there enough copies in the library system before we settle on a book.  The newer things are so hard to come by with reserve lists  that would put everyone in a very long queue, and also, perhaps not enough copies available.  Well, I have probably taken up enough of your time for now.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on February 07, 2020, 03:03:10 PM
If you have read the book previously, I'm interested in knowing what you thought about it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 08, 2020, 06:41:28 AM
This morning's find on Project Gutenberg: The Shakespeare Garden by Esther Singleton http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/61325

What a lovely title for a novel, but no, it is non-fiction. The book uses Shakespeare to introduce the Elizabethan gardens prevalent in Shakespeare's time. The book starts out with a history, then moves on to the gardens with plenty of photos and poetry. Next it discusses the plants used and, finally, suggestions for garden layouts. Nice addition for garden lovers, it is still in print.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on February 08, 2020, 01:15:16 PM
Messed up yesterday and didn't get to the Library. Down to the last few pages of the last book I have. (Have lots of Ipad but pref-ere hard back.) But overnight we got a big snow fall and I am not going to go out there and clean the car off.
Some good titles up above that i want to look up or order. Will go tomorrow if it clears off.
 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 08, 2020, 03:07:15 PM
MarsGal - Yesterday I went to the Library and got,  The Bookshop of Yesterdays.  I'll probably start reading it this afternoon - it looks good.

Callie - Glad you liked,  The Dutch House.  It was one of my favorites from 2019, and I'm still looking forward to the audiobook, narrated by Tom Hanks.  I passed on, The Water Dancer, when I saw it at the library.  I'll get to it in the future, but too many others stacked up that I want to read first.

Tome - Like you, I got a copy of,  Flight Behavior, as soon as it came out - and also like you, I was disappointed.  I don't remember now how much of the book I read before closing it for good?  The Poisonwood Bible, being my favorite novel of the past 25 years, I was anxious to read "Flight", but it just didn't work for me at the time.  Now that you're seeing it from a new perspective and liking it, I may give it another  go also?

JeanneP - Hope you get to the library this weekend, so you can stock up on some of our recommended books.  You might like the one I mentioned above,  This Tender Land.  Also, I mentioned a novel last week that my daughter liked, called,  In Some Other Life, by Jessica Brody.  I thought it was pretty good.

maryc -  I hope we hear from you this weekend?  Let us know what you're reading, and if it's worth recommending . . . or not??
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 09, 2020, 06:32:35 AM
A final note on The Bookshop of Yesterdays by Amy Meyerson. I thought the ending was drawn out way too much. I ended up skimming some of it. I wonder if the author had trouble ending the story without a long explanation of why the characters did or didn't do what they did. As I look back on the read, I can't say that I cared a whole lot for most of the characters. They all seemed to have some annoying traits, but maybe that was just my mood when reading it. If you don't think or question too much about all the failings of the characters to connect with each other, it is still a good read.

I am now listening to John Scalzi's Agent to the Stars. I read it years ago and thought if funny as all get out. Wil Wheaton does a good job of narration, but I don't get that tickle my funnybone feeling that I did when I first read it. At the time I thought is was an absolute riot. I've never been real fond of Wheaton, even when he was a regular on Star Trek: Next Generation, so that could be some of it, but it could be too, that he didn't quite convey the comedy of the situation. According to previous comments by those in the business I understand that comedy is so hard to do well.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 09, 2020, 09:23:49 AM
Last evening I finished This Tender Land.   I thoroughly enjoyed William Kent Krueger's tale of the four vagabonds.  In recent months I've been thinking quite a bit about how our parents made it through the great depression and this story gave new thoughts on that subject.   Odie observed more than once how appealing the small towns looked to him and wishing that he might belong to a family living in that setting.   We did live in a tiny hamlet of what had been a bustling railroad town in early days.   My father like many others had very short work hours but he was clever and hard working and turned his hand at whatever he found to make a bit more income.  Mom was the same and stretched the little money to care for us all.  They were blessed with good health and no addictions that used up needed resources.  We never felt poor.  I feel badly now that I didn't appreciate what they did to give us the life we had when times were so hard.  Earlier on here I mentioned a book called The Education of Little Tree.   I read that book years ago and the beginning of this book telling about the life of the Native American children living in the Boarding Schools reminded me of that book.

Someone recommended another book to me recently that I have found on Hoopla.  It is The Chicken Chronicles by Alice Walker.   I've read a few chapters and it seems like light entertaining reading.  Perhaps there will be a deeper message as we go along. :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 13, 2020, 07:09:33 AM
What I am reading now, finally, is Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. It is engrossing and at times the events are unexpected. The connections between the people are not necessarily clear at first and are sometimes surprising. None of the characters seem to stand out more than the others; what seems more important are the events surrounding them and how they (the events) weave in and out of the characters' lives.

I've just started a lengthy Scifi audiobook, The Faded Sun Trilogy by C. J. Cherryh. It was a little hard to follow at first. The character names and places sound so strange and the narration has an almost poetic flow to it, kind of like reading an ancient epic poem.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on February 13, 2020, 08:19:35 AM
I am about half way through "Where the Crawdads Sing" and though author, Delia Owens, writes well the book is increasingly irritating me.  It's like trying to listen to a wonderful orchestra with one instrument playing off key.  She has set the story in North Carolina but she knows nothing about North Carolina.  The geographic descriptions of the coast are wrong..the terminology is wrong..the dialect is wrong.  It's just "off" and it grates on me.  I read a review of the book by a PBS-UNCTV Book Critic and he said it sounded more like South Carolina or Georgia.  I totally agree.  I wanted to enjoy this book but I'm not sure I can continue to put up with this disturbing irritation enough to continue to the end.

Sorry for the rant but I waited several weeks to get the book and I am disappointed.  :tickedoff:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on February 13, 2020, 01:46:26 PM
I can understand your frustration, Phyllis.  I always feel like I learn a lot even from the fiction books I read and when I find an author who doesn't do his/her due diligence in getting facts right it really annoys me.  Usually, a good author will explain what they have changed in the descriptions of local areas for the use of the story and I accept that.  Once I was reading a book and the author was telling about a high mountain in Florida.  Mountains in Florida USA??  Everyone knows that the highest point in Florida is lower than any high point in the USA.  I never read that author again.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on February 13, 2020, 06:01:49 PM
When they're that sloppy about their background, it makes it hard to take them seriously about anything they're saying.  What a bummer, Phyllis.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on February 14, 2020, 08:43:51 AM
I finished it.  I must confess that I hurriedly scanned through to just get to the end.  I found it unsatisfying and can't totally understand why it was on the best seller list for so long.  To be fair, it was well written in spots, but not a memorable book, in my opinion.

I will probably join you, Flajean, and if Delia Owens ever writes another fiction book I probably won't waste my time with her.  There are other authors that I have more trust in to do their job.

Hi, Pat.  So nice to see you here. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 14, 2020, 10:34:08 AM
Phyllis - I looked back to see what I had written about Where The Crawdads Sing, and I see that I didn't say much, one way or another. I seem to be cutting down "best sellers", all the time, and I wanted to leave this one kind of open ended, to see what others thought?   

To begin with, the story was preposterous, in most respects. A seven year old girl, left alone with no money or means to care for herself. etc., etc. (even though the entire town and authorities were aware of her circumstances)     Somehow she survives, and meets her one friend (a boy of course), when she is a child, and the years drag on and on, etc.  We have all seen this same story reworked over and over again in many novels.  Mother deserts, father is a drunken bum, siblings all leave, even thought she is the youngest in the family, nobody takes her with them. So she fends for herself.  It stretches the imagination.   I've never been to
N. Carolina, and so I'm not familiar with the terrain, climate, . . . but I also thought the setting seemed much more, "Deep South", like Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, etc. . . .  swampy and coastal, and warm year around.

Anyway, I'm getting tired of reading about spunky and heroic children!  Against all odds, they soldier on, grow up, and  thrive.   ::)  I guess that's why I also gave a thumbs down rating to This Tender Land.         
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on February 14, 2020, 12:04:09 PM
Thank you, thank you, thank you to those who disliked "Where The Crawdads Sing" as much as I did!!

Marilyne, I also thought it was a preposterous story.  No way a 7 year old child could be treated like that and "suddenly" become the accomplished artist able to communicate with "the public".
My Book Club discussed it and several thought it was "the best book they'd ever read".
Most of the members are younger than I am and seem to be caught up with current books about "spunky and heroic children (who)Against all odds, soldier on, grow up, and  thrive."

I joined after they'd picked selections for this year - but felt the same way about "Educated" and "Hillbilly Elegy" (both biographies) 
This month's discussion is on "The Water Dancer" - same theme about a slave who grew up to become a member of the Underground Railroad.  Author attributes "supernatural powers" to Harriet Tubman and I'm tempted to skim through a biography of her to see if she really could "walk on water".
Just hope I can keep a neutral facial expression and  :-X  while the others rave on. 

Phyllis and Jean, although I don't know the geography of WTCS setting, I agree about disgust with authors changing things around.
James Michener did that in "Centennial" and "Texas".  In the first one, he not only moved a major geological landmark from southeastern Colorado to north central Colorado - he also had the main character leave the fictional town of Centennial (supposedly near Greeley) before an early breakfast and had him take a totally illogical route to Durango - where he arrived in time for lunch.  Physically impossible to do that - even if one took the direct route.

In "Texas", Michener had a tribe living near Wichita Falls go on horseback and back to the Palo Duro Canyon (south of Amarillo) on a day-long hunting trip. Totally illogical, even if driving.

Thus endeth today's rant.  :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 14, 2020, 01:56:36 PM
I had the same feelings when I read We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates.later when I read The Falls she did much better with geography.  As a wise person on this site told me recently....sometimes you have to detach from reality and just enjoy the story.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on February 15, 2020, 12:32:54 PM
Callie, we discussed Educated on our sister site, and some of us had a similar reaction.  Also, I found the atmosphere of her home life unbearably oppressive, didn't enjoy being stuck in it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on February 15, 2020, 02:28:21 PM
Maryc,  I always enjoyed Michener's stories - especially "The Novel" and "The Source".
I learned to skip the first chapter or two, which are always more geological details than I want to know.  Also learned to tolerate the last chapter always being things he could think of to add about wherever he'd stayed doing research (University of Texas for "Texas" (every bad TX/OK joke he ever heard) and Univ. of CO for "Centennial")

Now need to finish "The Testaments" before it comes due and disappears from my e-book loan list.  Am sure I wouldn't be able to renew without going to the end of the line.

A friend mentioned that Janet Evanovich has added to her numerical stories about Stephane Plum; I think she said current one is #25. That means I've missed several and need to research that.

So many books...so many other things that need to be done.... :'(
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on February 15, 2020, 05:08:54 PM
I think #26 is out too.  I read #25; it wasn't one of her best.  But there are a lot I've missed.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 16, 2020, 07:17:50 AM
I've finished Station Eleven which I found engrossing. Now I am listening to The Faded Sun Trilogy by C. J. Cherryh which I had difficulty putting down. I spent most of yesterday afternoon and evening listening to it. The narrator is excellent, his voice flows and is so soothing.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on February 16, 2020, 08:14:58 AM
Thanks for mentioning the Faded Sun. 
I was pondering what book to re-read from my huge collection of S-F and this one I read so long ago that I do not remember it at all. :)  Of course listening to it from a flowing soothing voice would be a delight, but - paper back will do as well :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on February 16, 2020, 08:45:01 AM
I used to just howl at Evanovich and then got away from them so I missed a lot, too.  Maybe I need to get back up with her.  I discovered that my dermatologist was a fan and we spent most of one check-up appointment laughing over Stephanie Plum.

I just put a hold on Louise Penney's latest Inspector Gamache "A Better Man".  I think I am #35 on the list so it shouldn't be too long to wait.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on February 16, 2020, 11:04:52 AM
Lots of Evanovich e-books available from my library.  Last one listed in the Stephanie Plum series is #26.  That may have been the one my friend mentioned and I think she said #27 would be out this coming Fall.

Couldn't remember the last one I read and none of the synopses sounded familiar so I arbitrarily picked #17. 

Finally finished "The Testaments" last night and hope to start on this one after church/lunch/the newspaper.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 16, 2020, 06:33:08 PM
PatH2 - I followed along with the Educated, discussion, on SeniorLearn.  Like others in the discussion, I didn't care for the book, and I'd never recommend it to anyone.  I don't remember names now, but the girl, (main character), was interesting as a child, but as she got older she became hard to believe.  She earned this amazing education, all free from Scholarships, and went to Oxford or Cambridge, as well as major prestige schools in the USA, and yet at the end of her memoir - all she wanted in life, was to be welcomed back into that dysfunctional family, who all shunned her.  Go figure? 

Also some of her family stories in the book seemed exaggerated and unbelievable to me.  Especially when her father had the accident and was seriously burned over most of his body and face.  Of course he didn't go to the hospital or doctor.  Good old Mom, cured him with her herbs and potions, and he got well and lived to be quite old.  Not likely I say . . . but I admit to being a nit-picking skeptic. LOL

Callie and Phyllis - I've never read anything by Janet Evanovich, but I think it's high time I did!  Which of her books would you suggest that I read first?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on February 16, 2020, 10:47:56 PM
I'd just start with the first or second one, Evanovich, so you know the main character and her family/friends/cohorts.  I used to check them out as soon as a new one was published, but got lost about #19 or #20.  One day, I'll catch up.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 18, 2020, 12:11:25 PM
We had company over the weekend, so I didn't get any reading done whatsoever.  As I've gotten older, it's impossible for me to concentrate on more than one thing at a time. ???   No more multi-tasking, under any circumstances . . . Which I was never adept at doing, even when I was young.  ::)

Tome and Callie - I will start with the first or earliest Evanovich book, that they have at my library. I've learned that many of the popular series novels, such as these, are no longer available in hardback, but only in audio.   Last year, many of you recommended the Tony Hillerman, books, and I did get two of the Joe Leaphorn series, at my library.  Only two, in my huge county library system!  Reason being that this system no longer replaces books that are worn, lost, or out of print.  I prefer a real book to my Kindle, so if they no longer have what I want, I cross it off my list, and move on to something different. 

MarsGal - I started reading The Bookshop of Yesterdays, before the weekend, but had to put it aside.  I'll continue on with it today.  So far I like it.   Did you ever read The Man In the High Castle?   We just finished watching the series on Amazon Prime, and liked it a lot.  We were disappointed or confused at the ending, so I would like to read the book, and maybe figure out what happened??   I see there is a wait list at the library now, so I guess others were puzzled by the ending too?    If you haven't seen it, it's streaming on Amazon.  Really a unique story, and very thought provoking.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 19, 2020, 08:12:20 AM
Marilyne I have neither read the book nor seen the series. I am not fond of Philip K.Dick. I can remember only getting through one of his short stories years ago.

I just borrowedWe, a Russian dystopian SciFi by Yevgeny Zamyatin. I wonder if I will get through it. The second is Slow Horses, the first of the Slough House novel series, by Mick Herron. This series about a department within MI5 which is described as a dumping ground for failed intelligence agents. Apple TV has commissioned a TV series based on it with Gary Oldman starring.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on February 19, 2020, 08:43:05 AM
I have to agree with MarsGal on Phillip Dick and "The Man in the High Castle".  I watched the first season and never could figure out what was going on so I'm sure if the ending confused you, Marilyne, it wouldn't have made any sense at all to me.  I always enjoyed watching the work of Rufus Sewell but just couldn't accept him in this role.  I liked him much better in "Victoria".

I'm enduring a reading wasteland right now.  I haven't found anything that I can enjoy and most of the so-called good books are on very long waiting lists. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on February 20, 2020, 07:05:46 AM
I tried to read The Man in the High Castle tthree times, and always got stuck at about the same place.  Guess it's not for me.  I've liked some of his books, though.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on February 20, 2020, 07:31:00 AM
I met a very nice, and well-read, woman at the beauty shop yesterday and we started discussing books.  She loved "Where the Crawdads Sing" and said everyone in her book club did.  I did not, which seemed to surprise her.  When I asked what she was reading now she recommended "A Gentleman in Moscow" by Amor Towles.  I got the e-book downloaded from my library but haven't started it yet so we will see.  She invited me to join her book club but they meet at night and I just can't go out after dark.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on February 20, 2020, 10:33:07 AM

A very good book that came to me highly recommended:
Corelli's Mandolin  by Louis de Bernières.  I think you will like the character and it is well written, just a bit hard to get started.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 20, 2020, 12:01:59 PM
Phyllis, our online discussion group did A Gentleman in Moscow quite a while back. They loved it. I wasn't in the mood for that kind of story so I passed it up.

Bubble, I've had Corelli's Mandolin somewhere on my bookshelf for years but have yet to read it. I did see the movie.

I finished Moonglow Cafe. It had a nice twist to it. Now I am reading Slow Horses by Mick Herron. Part of his Slough House series, it is about a bunch of MI5 operatives who screwed up badly and got shunted off to an obscure division.

I am giving up on A Long Time Until Now by Michael Z. Williamson. A time travel story, it has an interesting storyline: various groups of people transported back in time to the stone ages. The first group is a platoon of US soldiers, and where I am at now, they have just made contact with a group of stone age peoples. What has me stopped is that after five chapters I am still reading about their various potty breaks and habits - at least two such potty breaks per chapter. Excessive to my mind, is really turned me off. When I went back to read customer reviews of the book, I discovered only one person who mentioned it. Several mentioned that it spends way too much time making and breaking camp and not enough developing interaction between the other groups they meet. The other thing that stopped me is that I had thought this was a single, but no, it appears to be the first of a series. At least one customer review complained that the ending was left hanging. Two strikes. I am not waiting for a third. It goes back.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on February 21, 2020, 09:20:32 AM
I am loving this book..."A Gentleman in Moscow".  It is entirely different from what I expected to read about the time of the Russian revolution.  It is funny, insightful, thoughtful, with charming characters and so very well written.  The best book I have read in a very long time.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 21, 2020, 02:49:47 PM
Phyllis - interesting that you met a woman, whose entire book club, really liked Where the Crawdad's Sing.  As I mentioned before, there are countless stories out there about children surviving on their own or with other children, or taking care of an alcoholic father, mother, etc.  If we all look back, I know we can remember many books we've read with that familiar theme . . . starting with Charles Dickens! 

Some I accept and like very much, but others are just too far "over the top" for me . . . "Crawdad's", being one.  I just can't accept the idea that a seven year old could survive and maintain throughout her entire childhood and teen years, totally alone, with no help from anyone. (Except for the kind black family, who helped her by buying shellfish from her, and providing her with some level of compassion).  Other than that, the entire town knew she was there and ignored her.  If this story had taken place 20 years earlier, in 1932, in the depths of the Depression, it would have made some sense, but it started in 1952!  That was modern times!  We all remember 1952, and know that there were rules in place, for abandoned or orphaned children.  Whether she liked it or not, she would have been found and sent to a foster home or orphanage - not left to fend for herself at age seven, with the possibility of starvation, or getting sick and dying.   Of course, then there wouldn't have been an exciting story of survival, against all odds?   Sometimes we have to suspend logic, and just go with flow of the story, which most readers apparently do.  In this case, I didn't. 

Not sure how, The Man in the High Castle, is classified?  Kind of a mix of dystopian, fantasy and Sci-Fi??   The story is based on the premise that the Nazi's and the Japanese, won World War II, and it is now into the 1960's, and Americans are under their rule.  The East Coast belongs to the Nazi's, and the West Coast is ruled by the Japanese.  The middle part of the US, is called The Neutral Zone.   The characters and the stories that are taking place in all three parts if the country are very interesting, I thought.  The underground movement discovers, The Man in the High Castle", who has films depicting an alternate life - where America won the War, and everyone is living the normal life we remember from the 1960's.  That is the beginning of all sorts of intrigue, and "visits"  to the alternate worlds.   

Yes, it was confusing at times, but good watching nonetheless. Lots of really good actors, although not well known?  My favorite characters were Juliana, and John Smith, the two main protagonists.    I also liked John's wife Helen, and Noboku, (sp?) the Japanese Trade Minister.   

I'm not usually a fan of most shows of this type, but for those of us who actually remember World War II, it's a thought provoking story.  Younger generations, probably wouldn't understand it at all.  You have to be old, to remember the Nazi war criminals, (still living in this story), as well as the frightening possibility that our enemies could have won the war. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 22, 2020, 07:18:55 AM
Take your pick, Marilyne. The Man in the High Castle is alternate history which is a subgenre that can be put under any of the science, fantasy, historical, or literary genres. These days you will also find it listed as a subgenre of speculative fiction which some writers prefer to call their works.

Okay, I have settled in with reading Slough Horses by Mick Herron. It is about a department of MI5 which houses failed operatives who for one reason or another were not outright fired. It is relatively funny and an enjoyable read.

The audio book I am listening to is a fantasy, but, as it turns out, is even more funny. The Red Queen's War (book one of a series) by Mark Lawrence follows a prince, too far down the line of succession to count as he gets into various scrapes. He describes himself as a liar, a cheat and a coward. It has me laughing out loud. The reader, Tim Gerard Reynolds, is very good at changing voices. Reynolds primarily focuses on fantasy novels. I put him right up there with Grover Gardner, Paul Woodson, R.C. Bray, and Ray Porter as my top five audio book voices.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 22, 2020, 09:22:24 AM
In my library browsing the other day I came across another book by Ivan Doig.  This title caught my attention.  It is Dancing at the Rascal Fair.  It was written back in 1987 and is the story of two young Scotsmen who came to America and on to Montana in the late 1800's.  It is a large book and written in small type.  I wondered if I could handle that but it started off so well that I'm sure that I'll get through it.  You don't have to read far to learn about the title.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on February 22, 2020, 09:43:40 AM
Any one read The World Is My Home
By James A. Michener ? It sounds interesting.

"Michener's own life makes one of his most engaging tales" (Entertainment Weekly): In this New York Times bestseller, a Pulitzer Prize–winning author shares his own extraordinary story. "The Michener saga is as full of twists as any of his monumental works" (Chicago Tribune).
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on February 22, 2020, 11:32:27 AM
Bubble,  I thought I'd read all of Michener's books but had never heard of this one.  It isn't available in e-book from my library but was on a list of books I could recommend.  So I did.    If/when they ever purchase the e-book, I'll be first on the list to get it.

I'm currently trying to catch up on the Janet Evanovich "Stephanie Plum" series.  Learned recently that the most recent one is "Twisted Twenty Six" - and I thought she had stopped the numerical series with "Takedown Twenty".  Easy reads since the plot is always similar.  :)

The March Book Club discussion is "The Guest Book" by Sarah Blake (NOT the "chick flick" with the same title by Marybeth Whalen!). I'm the discussion leader so purchased a copy and am trying to re-read it and take notes.  Feel like I'm back in an English Lit class - which I never did well in because I never quite "get" metaphors and other author devices.  ;)  I've also found some info on the author and some critical reviews on line that I hope to use.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on February 22, 2020, 03:19:05 PM
Maryc, we read Dancing at the Rascal Fair a long time ago on our sister site.  You won't be disappointed.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 23, 2020, 07:22:17 AM
Good morning Pat,  So far this is another of I.Doig's great stories.  Did you also read the earlier books by him?  I read This House of Sky and The Whistling Season, both winners IMHO.  ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on February 23, 2020, 12:17:09 PM
I put "A Gentleman in Moscow" on hold but noticed the same author, Amor Towles also had written "Rules of Civility".  That digital book was available so will read that while waiting for A Gentleman in Moscow.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 24, 2020, 12:27:46 AM
MarsGal - I really liked, The Bookshop of Yesterdays.  One of those books that I've been thinking about it a lot since I finished it.  That's usually a sign that it was a good book for me, and that I won't soon forget it.  There were few problems, like the fact that it did drag in parts, and it had a predictable storyline, (concerning Miranda's father). I agree with you, that the author definitely had trouble ending the story in a timely manner.  She spent way too much time, and too much detail, explaining why each of the major characters did what they did, over the years, and why things turned out as they did.     In spite of that lengthy explanatory ending, I liked it, and would recommend it to anyone who likes a unique type of family story. 

maryc - I read, Dancing at the Rascal Fair, at least 20 years ago. At that time, the author, Ivan Doig, meant nothing to me, but the story made an impression on me, and I do remember liking it a lot.   I think "Rascal", must have been one of his first books?   I wasn't until last year so when I read, The Whistling Season, Bus to Wisdom, and,  This House of Sky, that I saw "Rascal" was also written by Doig.   There are lots more books by him, and now that you've reminded me how much I like his style and his stories, I'll check the library, and see what else they have?

I'm also interested in, A Gentleman in Moscow, so will see if they have that one, as well as Rules of Civility.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on February 24, 2020, 08:38:07 AM
Flajean and Marilynne, I hope you enjoy "A Gentleman in Moscow" as much as I am.  Happy reading!  I would like to read this author's "The Rules of Civility", too, and hope I can find a digital copy when I am ready.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on February 24, 2020, 03:54:49 PM
I read the "Rules of Civility" (which was his first book) but I didn't really care for or understand the characters so didn't enjoy the story.  I have "A Gentleman in Moscow" on digital hold and I'm looking forward to see how I feel about this second book.  Charles Belfoure wrote "The Paris Architect" which I liked so well I have read it several times.  His two other books I didn't care for at all.  The characters in a story make all the difference to me in the way I feel about a book.  That is probably not the way you are supposed to judge a book.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on February 24, 2020, 05:37:28 PM
"That is probably not the way you are supposed to judge a book."

It's a fine way to judge some books.  You're going to be living inside the heads of the characters, and if you can't stand them, it's no fun.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on February 26, 2020, 08:46:03 PM
Phillis, I read "The Gentleman in Moscow" and thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was a little slow in the beginning but after he met the little girl Nina, the story really held my interest from that point forward.  My husband also read it.  I didn't think it would be his type of story but he also enjoyed it and we had a couple of good discussions about it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on February 27, 2020, 07:55:10 AM
Flajean, I hoped you would like it.  I finished yesterday, too, and was sorry to do so.  I slowed my reading as much as I could as I got near the end.  I loved the tie-in to the movie  "Casablanca" at the ending.  I'll start on "Rules of Civility" soon but not sure if I'll enjoy it as much.  But, I shouldn't pre-judge.  I'll keep an open mind.  I might find that I like it just as much.....maybe.   <grin>
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 27, 2020, 11:08:35 AM
Phyllis & Jean - A Gentleman In Moscow, was waiting for me at the library yesterday. It's in large print, so will be a comfortable read for me.  I'll start reading this afternoon, and I'm looking forward to it.  The other book I had on hold, is called The Light We Lost, by Jill Santopolo.  I don't remember where I saw it recommended, but it sounded good so I'll see how it goes.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 28, 2020, 01:46:26 PM
Tom Hanks is a co-producer and stars in a movie version of News of the World which will release the end of December. There aren't any trailers yet, but I did find this video of the author talking about the book and her inspiration for it.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Agp-0DObUo It is the kind of thing that seems a natural fit for Hanks. I am very much looking forward to it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 29, 2020, 12:37:44 AM
MarsGal- Thanks for the update on News of the World.  I've been following the progress of the movie, on IMDB, and I agree that it sounds like a winner. The minute I heard that Tom Hanks had purchased the rights to the story, I knew it would be a good movie, and that he would be perfect as "The Captain".  I didn't recognize the name of the young actress who is playing Johanna, the young girl.

I'm about half way through, A Gentleman in Moscow, and enjoying every minute of it!  What a good story it is!  More on my thoughts, when I finish.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on February 29, 2020, 03:40:07 PM
My Library found the Gentlemen in Moscow for me but print to small. They have now found one in LP at a out of town library. Will get it next week. Can't wait to read it. Sound so good.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 04, 2020, 12:55:56 PM
A Gentleman in Moscow: I very much enjoyed this book!  So different, and so full of style, charm, and likable characters. The dialogue was a pleasure to read.  I'll always remember Count Rostov, as one of my favorite fictional characters, of all time.   

It surely did give me a different perspective on the aftermath of the Russian/Bolshevik Revolution!  So well written with precise descriptions.  I have a clear picture in my head of the rooms in the Hotel Metropol, the Boyarsky dining room, and especially the attic room, where Rostov lived, for most of the remainder of his life.  Highly recommended for those who like to read historical fiction. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on March 04, 2020, 05:25:38 PM
I am hoping they can find me that book in large print. Sounds so good.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on March 05, 2020, 07:35:03 AM
I am so pleased that all of you share my opinion of "The Gentleman In Moscow".  A casual meeting of a woman at my hair salon led us all to a nice reading experience.  I am grateful she was kind enough to share her enjoyment of her book club's current read.  I would have liked to have known a Count Rostov and all of his friends.  I just received "Rules of Civility" by the same author.  I am not expecting the same level of enjoyment as I did with "The Gentleman...." but hope that it will be good when I finally get started on it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on March 05, 2020, 06:55:58 PM
The "level of enjoyment" will be different, but you will enjoy it.  I know i did, and the real "rules of civility" in the back of the book are wonderful.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 07, 2020, 02:59:07 PM
I finally finished Dancing at the Rascal Fair by Ivan Doig.   I shouldn't have used the word "finally" because it sounds like it was a chore.  Quite the opposite,  I think that I didn't want the story to end.  I really enjoy his writing style. It seems to me that some of his phrases are almost like music or poetry.  The other thing about his stories is how he tells the history.  When he spoke of the Influenza epidemic of 1919 it was so much like the scare of the Corona-virus that we are having just now.....how history repeats itself!!   Even though this is an older book,  I would highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't already read it.  I'm going to be looking for another of his books called English Creek.  Apparently I should have read that first, but didn't.

I picked up another book at the same time I got that one.  This is one by Stewart O'Nan.....remember him from Emily Alone??   This title is Snow Angels.   I'd forgotten about this author.  One that I read earlier was The Last Night at the Lobster.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on March 07, 2020, 04:36:46 PM
Simply loved "Last Night at the Lobster".  That one encouraged me to read some of his other books.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 10, 2020, 12:23:27 AM
Tome - I have Rules of Civility, on order at my library, and hope to get it soon.  I know it's totally different from, A Gentleman in Moscow, so I'll be expecting a different kind of reading enjoyment.

Mary - Thanks for reminding me of Stewart O'Nan.  I liked Emily Alone, very much, but I especially liked, Last Night At the Lobster. One of those stories that has stayed with me over the years, and I've often recommended it to friends. I went to the library yesterday, to see what they had by O'Nan, and the only one there was, Songs of the Missing.  I can tell it's going to be a sad story, but I checked it out anyway.  We are living in sad times, so maybe it's the right time to read this one.

Jean - I wish I had remembered The Paris Architect, when I went to the library yesterday!   I plan to request it, and will pick it up the next time I go.  If you liked it enough to read it several times, it must be good, so I'll be looking forward to it.  :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on March 11, 2020, 08:29:07 PM
Mary.

Just noticed . You have a new photo showing. You look good.  Hair not as short.
I see a few books that I haven't heard of before .i have been staying away from the library but may go tomorrow. Just can't get use to reading on iPad. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 12, 2020, 09:15:06 AM
Jeanne,Thank you. I thought it was time to update. :)
1  
I just finished Snow Angels by Stewart O'Nan.  His writing is real life in many cases but be prepared for sad feelings....no happy ever after.  Wonder what his personal life was like? 
   I'm now re-reading For One More Day by Mitch Albom.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 12, 2020, 12:23:39 PM
maryc - Yes, Stewart O'Nan, seems to have a direct line into the feelings and the sadness that's hidden in the hearts of many of us.  I'm reading, Songs For The Missing, right now, and it is so well written, that I can't believe it isn't a better known book?  Generally speaking, I believe that people only want to read, "happily ever after", and shy away from a story that deals with sadness and loss.  O'Nan, really knows how to tell it like it is!  Many people have to learn to cope, and accept whatever is thrown at them in this life.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 13, 2020, 05:30:19 PM
I have not had time to read much this week, but I am almost finished with a novel called Winter Loon by Susan Bernhard. It is kind of a coming of age thing, but with major family dysfunction and hardship. I will be listening to Michael J. Sullivan's Age of Myth when I get to it. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on March 14, 2020, 01:47:16 PM
I got a EMail from my Library saying they are closing down at this time. To check into my Acct. Sunday late to then know what they will be doing. So that makes all the Schools, University .City building all planning on closing until end of March. No Church service for most churches Sunday. Small one cannot have more than 25 people attending. Good Idea so that if one of them  gets sick they will be able to pin point the person. Some of the larger church have hundreds . Grocery stores really out of stuff now. People are still driving around to get stuff. They dont seem to not have some  paper towel but no Toilet paper. Just told one person. Just  Cut the paper towel roll in half and use. It will be thicker, Softer . May not fit roll but the cheaper shorter ones do.
Snow still coming down hard.           
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 14, 2020, 02:58:11 PM
JeanneP,  I've been trying to reply and been losing my messages! :tickedoff:
I've wondered about the libraries and if they would stay open.....so many hands-on things there that can't be sanitized.  It makes sense to close for the time being.
    I've been looking for a book for my Kindle since my library books were finished.   I did get one that I'd requested some time ago but haven't started it yet.   "The Goldfinch".  Many of the titles and authors that I look for aren't available from Hoopla or Overdrive.  Sometimes I just settle for what I can get that looks like my style.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on March 14, 2020, 06:03:26 PM
Mary, my library system posted a message this A.M. that all libraries will be closed until the end of March.  Wonder what they will do with our on-line reserves?
They said staff will be answering phone, but didn't address that problem.  I have 3 books on request, and they only hold requested items about 7 days before they turn them back.  Thankfully, I have two Kindles, and enough books that I haven't read to start my own library!  Also have the two books for my f2f book clubs already on hand.  I watched this A.M. on CSpan2, the interview with the author of "The Library Book" which is about the big fire in the L. A. Library which destroyed thousands of books.  She was so entertaining. I can't think of her name, but if you look up the title, you'll find her name.  The best, most current information on the COV was the Press Conference on FoxNews which lasted about l 1/2 hours.  It was to be led by Mike Pence, but Trump showed up too.  Then Pence took over, very detailed information.  Present and speaking were Mr. Fauci, who is very forthcoming, other members of the Coronavirus Task Force, and the best of all was the woman from CDC, who was, IMHO, the smartest and most informative of the group, her name was Brix (?) She imparted info that no one else has given us; i.e. just because your test comes back negative one day, doesn't mean that you are clear of the virus the next day. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 16, 2020, 04:28:02 PM
Tomereader,I have a feeling that books that have been requested might just go on hold for the time being...whether they have been transferred or not.  It is nice to have access to the ebooks anyway.  I started my spring housecleaning today. Since I'm home I may as well get that started.😊 My bedroom curtains need to be replaced but I washed and hung them back up again....maybe in the fall!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on March 16, 2020, 09:59:00 PM
Our Libraries will be closed until April 14 they say. What we ordered on line will stay of the shelf.
Town is so quiet. Don't even hear a car of bus. All bars,Restaurants had to close down at 5pm prompt. I think the Fast food places can hand out through the drive up but that will not work . One person working it and traffic would be running into the main roads. Same with the restaurants until the food they have is gone. Call and pick up  at door. All will now bother as cost to much to do that. I suppose the Pizza cars will deliver until run out.
I tried reaching the Drivers place as I need to renew my License and take the road test. Planned on thursday. Thought maybe see if the would extend. Couldn't reach them but on 6pm news they told us that all State offics like that will be closed down and such as Test. New Reg. will add 30 days onto the time due. So I can relax a little.
The now say that the Emergency Dept at the Big hospital got people with the virus in today and so will use Tents on the outside. Now entering hospital. They will give medicine to anyone with it but has to go home. Such as Heart attaches etc will be tested in tent and put through to hospital. Same for baby Delivery. We may loose a few people this way. So sad. They say that the madness is far worse than if a Flooding or Tornado. Fires etc. Way people are reacting. Specially the food problems
Wan't every one to stay in house for a time and this is what should be done. At least we have homes to stay in.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on March 25, 2020, 09:20:03 PM
Now my library ,it's a big one, have large drop in boxes outside. They sent out. Emails requesting that we don't use them? To just hold on to books until they  open up again. Saying closing for a month. Nobody can touch them. With all the rain and cold weather having then in there some may mold.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 26, 2020, 07:07:24 AM
My library has revised its closure from March 29 to April 5.

Right now I am in between books to read. I have started listening to Great Mythologies of the World, one of the Great Courses series.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on March 26, 2020, 09:43:29 PM
So excited!  I already have an ebook copy of Hilary Mantel's "The Mirror and the Light" which has just come out this week.  Good thing I'm stuck at home with lots of reading time because I doubt I'd be able to renew.
It started out with a rather gory description of Anne Boleyn's beheading.  Hope the rest won't be similar.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 28, 2020, 02:36:23 PM
Hello everyone.  :hello:   I hope you're all feeling well, and sheltering in place?  Lots of time for reading, but unfortunately, I've run out of books! :yikes: 

I was busy stocking up on some supplies a couple of weeks go, but forgot about books.  My library is closed until further notice, so I'll have to use my Kindle, whether I want to or not.  Or . . .  my other option is to reread books from my own bookshelf?  I've donated most of my books over the past couple of years, but saved my favorites to read and enjoy once again.  I think that time has arrived. Here are some samples of what I have to choose from here at home. 

The Poisonwood Bible - Kingsolver:  True Grit - Charles Portis:  The Sea Around Us, Rachel Carson:  Hearts, Hilma Wolitzer:  Standing in the Rainbow, and Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, both by Fannie Flagg:  We Are All Welcome Here, by Elizabeth Berg:  The Greatest Generation, by Tom Brokaw:  A Spool of Blue Thread, Tyler:  Last Night At the Lobster, O'Nan:  The Hours, Michael Cunningham:   My Antonia, Willa Cather: 

That's what's saved on the shelf in this room.  There's a shelf in another room that I will look at and list later.  Maybe all of you Kindle and iPad readers, can get some ideas from this partial list?
.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 28, 2020, 04:34:48 PM
I went nuts and downloaded two SciFi short story anthologies from the Free Library of Philadelphia and downloaded another three Scifi's from Amazon prime reading. Two of them I have read before and want to read again, Way Station (1964 Hugo Award for Best Novel) by Clifford D. Simak and The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. Amazingly, the Haldeman book has been "in development" since 1988 to one or another group who want to make it into the movie.

One thing about downloading books to read is that you can't get COVID-19 from doing so. Don't forget to check out https://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/ for free downloads. Lots of classics and other out of copyright books and short stories. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on March 28, 2020, 05:53:01 PM
Now I think The Mirrow and the Light would be my kind of book . Will order from library. the are closed at the moment .say until April 16. Rather not put on my IPad. Got lots of unread books on there
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 02, 2020, 07:21:04 PM
Iris read ,and enjoyed. the bookshop of yesterday's. New writer Amy Meyerson.

Back no to reading . Have 4 books sitting here . That will pas my time as we are staying in the house.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 02, 2020, 07:50:25 PM
lI've given up on The Mirror and the Light.  Too much "blood and gore" and the writing style is not at all to my liking.
Since I already know about Thomas Cromwell's life, I'm going to skip to the last two sections and wade through how the author ends the story.

"Olive Again" by Elizabeth Strout (sequel to "Olive Kitteridge")and "Resistance Women" by Jennifer Chiaverini have appeared on my Loan list.  I'm sure I'll enjoy both of them a lot more.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 04, 2020, 06:32:58 AM
Morning all!

Not much going on here in the reading department right now. I am reading the first of a secondary series of novels from the Galaxy's Edge series, plus another short story anthology. Also, I am in a major debate with myself as to whether or not to cancel my Audible account and try the offers for audio narration with purchase of the book. I've spent way to much money on audiobook sales and specials, and have not kept up with the pace. There are now over 80 books in my library. On the one hand moving to the book/narration combo promises to be less expensive than the Audible membership for the most part, on the other, I would miss out on special credits, sales and the free book offerings at the beginning of each month. I would probably lose the ability to return the audio versions I don't like within a year of purchase. George is interested in trying this, but for me, I am not so sure given that I really do like and use the extras on Audible membership. Besides, that, it looks like I can get the same book/audio combo pricing through Audible should I wish to avail myself of it. I have to say that Amazon's explanations of benefits, etc. are not necessarily detailed enough for me.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on April 04, 2020, 01:28:44 PM
I loathe tricky decisions like that.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 05, 2020, 07:32:51 AM
Well, I decided to have another go at the membership option. I think, given my book buying habits, it is still the best option for me. It is a little hard to compare methods because of the different options and pricing which depends on whether or not you are an Audible member, a Prime Member (with or without Audible membership), or buying at full price without being a member to anything.

I finished Order of the Centurion last evening, and am continuing my second short story borrow. I will start Way Station soon, and am currently listening to another Great Courses audio book, Food: A Cultural Culinary History. This one like the one on world mythologies is not the greatest sound quality. I am unhappy to say that so far, every one of the Great Courses series I got so far, I have returned for several different reasons. This one is a keeper. I discovered that somehow the audio quality was set to the lower quality standard. I have to wonder if that is what happened to the Great Mythologies of the World audio. I think I have four more to listen to: one on Spain (1492), one on world literature, one called Ancient Empires before Alexander, and there should be one on the Han dynasty in China, but I don't see it. That I will have to investigate later.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 10, 2020, 04:29:57 PM
Hello to everyone.  I hope you're all feeling well, and sheltering-in-place?   We are heading into our fourth week of SIP.  It's not as bad as I thought it would be, nd the time is moving along at a fast pace!   We've reached the point where we've run out of lots of staples, and seems to be impossible to replace the things I need.  Well, I'm just trying to think of this as Wartime, with rationing, as in WWII.  This is definitely a war, against Coronavirus!

Maryc  - It's been a long time since we've heard from you??  I hope you and your family members are all healthy?  New York has been hit the hardest, and although I know you aren't near NYC, it is probably bad in your area as well.  Please let us know that you are okay.

Callie  - I haven't seen any messages from you lately, so hope you're doing well?  I see you didn't care for, The Mirror and the Light, and you were starting  Olive Again,  by Strout?  I"m on a waiting list for that one at the library, but it will be a long time before the library opens again.  :(   Someone in here mentioned reading it, and liking it.  I think it was Tomereader?   

MarsGal  - Looks like you'r keeping up okay with your reading, as well as ship-watching and bird watching.  Did you ever see the three Ravens again?  I commented on it in Bait and Tackle, but never dug out my Birds of America, to take a look at the pictures.  Our yard is sometimes overrun with crows, so I looked up the differences in crows and ravens, and recall that it was mostly size and wingspread, with the Ravens being larger.  Also There was a difference in the cawing sound?

I've reread a couple of books that I have here - first was The Poisonwood Bible, followed by My Antonia.  I think the next one will be, The Life We Bury, by Allen Eskens.

I hope we hear from everyone who posts here: maryc, Callie, Jean, MarsGal, JeanneP, Tomereader, Phyllis, and PatH.           
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on April 10, 2020, 05:34:00 PM
PatH reporting in.  I'm fine, sheltering in place, haven't been within 6 feet of anybody for almost 3 weeks.  I feel strong and well, and haven't run out of anything really crucial yet.

For some reason I'm not reading much, so don't have a lot to say.

Stay well, everyone.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 10, 2020, 07:22:41 PM
I have so many good books waiting on the shelf at the library.I know that they are not planning on opening  until May at the earliest. Sort of without hand hold books at the moment. Got lots on my Tablets. Going to have to go to them.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 11, 2020, 05:56:10 AM
I am rereading Way Station now, and just finished the second of two SciFi anthology books.

Also, I am still listening to Food: A Cultural Culinary History which is a fun listen indeed.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 11, 2020, 12:53:10 PM
Hello,   

Marilyne,  I am sheltering in place and staying as busy as I want to be. Son is keeping me supplied with groceries, etc.  I mentioned in another forum that I now have half a gallon of Listerine due to his interpretation of my request for a "large" bottle. (He brought 2 - each of which contains 1 quart + 1 pint)  ;D  He/dil brought more supplies this morning.  Nothing in that quantity but not just one of anything, either. 

I enjoyed "Olive Again" but not "Resistance Women", which was a novel based on the lives of four women in Nazi Germany.  As with "Mirror/Light", there was just too much violence and suffering for my tastes.

I remember seeing a movie? special? on t.v. of "Olive Kitteridge" so knew the basic story, but don't think I ever read the book.  So I now have it on Hold.

Had I mentioned reading and enjoying "The Chilbury Ladies' Choir" - by Jennifer Ryan?  It's about women in England during WWII and a bombing does occur but it's not graphically violent.

Also read "Audition", a memoir by Barbara Walters.  She included lots of stories about various world leaders, etc. she had interviewed - as well as sharing her own life story and career development. It's a very long book but held my interest.

Currently reading "Broken Bonds", the second of a series of 3 stories by Karen Harper. They're about 3 adult sisters who return to their hometown in southern Ohio where one of them had been kidnapped by a local religious cult as a child.  The first one, "Shattered Secrets" is about this sister.
(The hometown in southern Ohio sounds a bit too "deep south" to me.  Is this area really considered a part of Appalachia?)

Also have a "Stone Barrington" by Stuart Woods (will probably get through that one in one sitting  :) ) and something by Danielle Steele.  Had put several of hers on the Wish List and get one when I need something that doesn't require much thinking.

Onward and Upward....


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 11, 2020, 01:25:29 PM
I read Barbara Walter's memoir a year or so ago and it was interesting.  What a life she had.

I downloaded a free book from iBooks but haven't read enough to know whether or not I like it.  I've been following the news too much, I think, and need a break so will try to read this book today.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 11, 2020, 05:39:46 PM
Callie and Jean - I also read Audition, the Barbara Walters memoir.  What a fascinating life she has led!  She's had her share of success,  but also more than her share of family problems,  with her daughter, her sister and her marriages.   I think she's about 90 years old now?

I thought I had read The Life We Bury, but turns out I had not.  I'm really liking it, and looking forward to relaxing with more reading this afternoon. Good to see that all of you are finding books to help with passing the shelter-in-place time.   

Pat - you didn't mention any books you're reading, so please give us some recommendations? 

JeanneP - I hope you've found something interesting to read on your tablet. Let us know? 

MarsGal - We can always count on you to give us some intriguing sounding sci-Fi books to consider.   I occasionally check out one of your titles, but my husband likes sci-fi more than I do.  My preferences always leaning toward family drama and long winded family sagas. 

maryc - Hope we hear from you soon, that everything is okay with you and your family?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 11, 2020, 09:49:38 PM
I Keep adding to my order list at the library. Thing once they open up I will have so many on there that I will not need to add any for a year. I get a lot of the titles from this Forum.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 12, 2020, 12:11:51 PM
JeanneP  -  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!   :happybday:

 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 12, 2020, 12:43:19 PM
Short stories worth reading. They are all three excellent. Don't let the notion that two of are SciFi. Read them anyway. You will not likely be disappointed. Minimal science in them, more human interest, empathy. 

"A Bead of Jasper, Four Small Stones" by Genevieve Valentine is about a guy who is an émigré to Europa. He is a communications technician on the night shift and communicates with a com tech in India as the Earth is being inundated with water. It is a rather poignant story with a rather startling ending given what is commanding most of the news today. http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/valentine_10_12/

"The Grinnell Method" is  by Molly Gloss. The story is about an ornithologist studying birds somewhere around the mouth of the Columbia River om Washington state during WWII. It includes sad bits, a mystery, and a young girl who shows interest in the ornithologist's work as well as the nature around her. This, of course, was back when women were still looked down on in the sciences. http://strangehorizons.com/fiction/the-grinnell-method-part-1-of-2/ Link to part two at the bottom of part 1.

Ken Liu's short story, "Mono no aware", I would add, if asked for a list of must read short stories, at or near the top of the list. It struck me as profound, a life-lesson, a life philosophy that should be on a required or included on a list of short-stories to read before you die (or more like, graduate high school/college). http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/mono-no-aware/ It was the Hugo Award winner in 2012 for best short story of the year.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 14, 2020, 05:09:43 PM
Good Afternoon to all of our book lovers!  :)   
I received an email from maryc yesterday.  She's been looking in and able to read our messages here, but has been unable to post a message herself.  Something is wrong with her overall connection to S&F, so I'm hoping that either Bubble or Oldiesmann, can help her.  I remember reading that a couple of other members have been having similar problems.

MarsGal - I would gladly read the short stories you recommended, but will probably have to wait until the library reopens.  I do have a Kindle, but AJ ran out of reading material before I did, so he got to it first!  I really don't mind, because I'm still planning to reread more of the saved books I have in my two bookshelves.

I'm almost finished with, The Life We Bury, and I like it a lot.  It's both a family drama, as well as a mystery story, and the main characters are likable and interesting. 

I hope you're all feeling well, and are Sheltering-in-Place?  Some states are so much worse than others.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 15, 2020, 07:06:19 AM
Marilyne, the links take you to the stories. You can read them online. I rarely do that as I prefer to read stories on my tablet or e-reader rather than on my desktop computer. Hopefully you will be able to find the anthology at your library when it opens back up. Our library website says they are closed until "at least" April 39. They added a banner at the top that says until further notice.

I finished Way Station. I am glad I reread it as I didn't remember the ending. The story is about a Civil War vet who becomes a station keeper for a galactic transportation system. Earth is not advanced enough to be invited to join the galactic union so it is all on the hush-hush. Somehow, he eventually catches the attention of the government and is being watched. He does not age when he is inside the station, so he still looks young although he is at least 130 years old. There is a local deaf-mute girl who becomes important to the story. The station itself is a modified farmhouse in back-woods country where people tend to keep to themselves. The station keeper keeps logs and journals about the visitors that pass through, and the gifts they bring and conversations he has with them. He is hopeful that the Earth will be able to join the greater galactic community and fears that wars will prevent it from entry. He puzzles out what it means to be human, what it means to be part of a greater community, and tries to understand at least one of the languages as well as tries to understand some of the science or how some of the various machines and gadgets work (more like a mechanic than a scientist in this effort). Netflix announced in 2019 that it plans to make a movie of the book. Not sure how that would work out. I suspect that at least some of the movie would include flashbacks as the station keeper rereads some of his old journal entries. I've seen a few posts from others who have read the books (like me, several times) who don't think it will make a good movie.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 15, 2020, 12:56:53 PM
That book sounds interesting, who wrote it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on April 15, 2020, 02:48:20 PM
Good afternoon friends of the Library Bookshelf!!  I hope you are all well and staying safely at home.

  I received an email from ET this morning with suggestions that would help me get straightened out here on Seniorsandfriends.   It worked.   Now I hope I can remember what she told me to do if this happens again as it has happened before.    :-[

JeanneP,  Sorry I missed your birthday.....Happy Belated one!! :hb2: It's never too late for balloons!!! 

  This has been a very strange time hasn't it?    It looks like we will be doing things a little differently for some time to come.    Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks.  I've been doing quite a bit more online ordering of necessities.   With Walmart it's like Christmas every day as many of the personal items come from different distributors and there will be a small package on my doorstep every few days. :)    Last week I did an order from Sam's Club to be picked up at the store.   It was very streamlined.  I placed the order with my Club number and CC number,  chose a pickup time.  On the selected day and time I went there, let them know by phone that I was there and shortly a young lady came out and put the order in my car....couldn't have been easier.

A friend suggested some books to me that she knew were available on HOOPLA.   I'm reading The Gown at present.  It isn't at all what I thought it might be but it is a good story.  Next up will be The Life We Bury.   She also recommended Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingslover and also an author Marie Benedict who wrote the stories about Hedy Lamar and Mrs. Churchill.  Those sound promising to me.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 16, 2020, 01:18:46 PM
MaryC, glad you got your problem solved.  I've been reading too much news but have read a couple of free mysteries in between.  Unfortunately, I haven't read anything that was interesting enough to recommend. 😟.  But good to hear from you!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 16, 2020, 02:34:39 PM
Mary - Looks like your problem with S&F is solved!  I hope things continue to run smoothly for you, from here on out, and that you will be joining us on a regular basis again. 

I have mixed feelings/opinions, on the book, "The Life We Bury".  No doubt it's a good story that you will be compelled to finish . . . especially good for a debut novel.  It got all sorts of awards the year it was published - 2014. 

The only problem for me, is that I'm not fond of the suspense/thriller/mystery genre, which is the category that this story falls under.  However, there were a few things that grabbed me from the beginning, that I liked.  The main character, Joe, has a younger brother who is autistic. The author of the book must have a member of his family, with autism, because he did a good job of depicting the young boys way of talking, and his reaction to events going on around him.  I can relate to that character, and anyone else will too, who is familiar with certain autistic traits.

MarsGal - I'm no good with reading anything online that goes on longer than about five minutes.  I only have a desktop computer, and after a short time, I become uncomfortable sitting in my desk chair, and facing forward.  I think if I had a laptop, I might enjoy reading short stories, while sitting in a comfortable easy chair.  ::)    The stories you recommended sound good, and I'll add them to my list of books to get at the library when it opens again. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 16, 2020, 05:32:10 PM
Marilyne, same here. I do not like reading anything lengthy on the desktop. I didn't even try the laptop because the cats are always clamoring for my lap as soon as I sit down. I do still read print books, but the tablet and e-reader are my choice these days because they are so lite that the cats interfere with them the least. Lucy in particular, because she likes to nose dive under print books and push them aside with her nose.

JeanneP, if you are talking about Way Station, that was written by Clifford D. Simak. Galaxy Magazine originally published it in two installments back in 1963.

I have started re-reading The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. It is the first of a trilogy and may contain elements of the author's experiences during the Vietnam War. It speaks to the futility of war, the dehumanizing effects of war, and the treatment of returning vets (remember how poorly Vietnam Wart Vets were treated when they came homeO.

Meanwhile, I have passed the half-way mark listening to the Great Courses audio on food history. It remains a fun listen.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 23, 2020, 05:48:25 PM
One of my all time favorite authors, Hilma Wolitzer, was recently hospitalized in NYC, with Coronavirus.  In spite of being 89 years old, she survived, and is now recuperating at home.  Unfortunately, her 90 year old husband did not survive CV, and died in the hospital last week. He was a clinical psychologist in NYC.  Their daughter, Meg Wolitzer, is also a prolific writer of novels.

Hilma, is the author of one of my top ten favorite books, Hearts, which I read in the 1980's, and have mentioned in this folder many times over the years.   Such a good story, and I know many of you would enjoy reading it.  She's written many other good novels, such as, Tunnel of Love, and, An Available Man.  Can't think of the others right now, but there are many. 

Daughter Meg, has also written many popular books, one of which, The Wife, was made into a movie last year.  The  star, Glenn Close,  was nominated for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, for Best Actress.  She won the Golden Globe Award.  I read the book, and it was excellent. I would definitely recommend it, and I think you'd all like it as well.  The movie is good too.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 23, 2020, 06:08:17 PM
Marilyne,  thanks for mentioning "The Wife".  I just did a search for the e-book through my library and it was available!  Have now checked it out.....
....in addition to ones I checked out yesterday via a search for "new e-books".  There were several pages and I'm sure the list went far enough back to question the "new".  :)

"The Matriarch"  (a biography of Barbara Bush by Susan Page, who had many interviews with Barbara Bush, her family and friends.)
"Window On The Bay"  ("chick flick"  ;)  by Debbie Macomber - published in 2019)
"Dear Senator" (a biography/memoir of Strom Thurmond by his daughter, Essie Mae Washington Williams.  No reason to get this one except it looked interesting and I'm in the mood for biographies.)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 23, 2020, 06:45:41 PM
I just borrowed "The Wife" by Meg Wolitzer from our library digital program "Libby" and am anxious to get started on it.  The picture on the cover looks like a partial picture Glen Close.  I notice at the top it says a major motion picture by Sony Classics.

I'm want to read "The Matriarch".  But I had forgotten about it until you mentioned it, Callie.  Susan Page is presently working on a biography of Nancy Pelosi.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 23, 2020, 07:21:49 PM
Jean, that's the same edition I got.  There was another one without the picture but it would have to be on hold.
Interesting that Susan Page is writing about Pelosi.  Wonder how many interviews she'll get for that?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 24, 2020, 11:57:39 AM
I really didn't enjoy "The Wife".  I don't like her "turn of phrase" when describing incidents.  I guess she just isn't my type of author.  I think I could use a good old mystery.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 24, 2020, 12:47:57 PM
Callie and Jean - I'm really interested in what you both have to say about The Wife.  I was not crazy about the book, but I didn't dislike it either.  One of those books that kind of falls in the middle, and is quickly forgotten.   Not good enough that I would want to read it again, however, I did read it to the end. 

It did make a pretty good movie, but not the style of film that draws a wide range of viewers. I've read other novels by Meg,  but can't think of the titles at the moment.  She has had a couple of best sellers.  "The Wife", was not a best seller.

I much prefer the writings of her Mother, Hilma.  Maybe it's because we're in the same generation?  Hilma's writing style is different from Meg's.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 24, 2020, 03:54:23 PM
"The Wife" just appeared in my Loans this morning. 

Finished the Debbie Macomber one last night and am now trying to finish ""Forbidden Ground", the 3rd in a series by Karen Harper. Will probably do that tonight and then alternate between "The Wife" and "Matriarch". 

Is the movie on Netflix?

I sent "Dear Senator" back and will probably put it on my Wish List. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 25, 2020, 06:54:19 AM
I am reading the Cloud of Sparrows by Takashi Matsuoka. It is an historical drama set in the second half of the 1800s in Japan. It begins five years after Commodore Perry opened up Japan to trade, etc. and the Samurai/Warlord system is starting to crumble in the face of Western ideas and weaponry. This story revolves around a particular Warlord and several missionaries. Most of the characters are moderately likeable; none stand out more than others. Several of the American missionaries are using the mission to escape bad situations back in America rather than for any real religious fervor. The young warlord is from a long line of prophets, but which sound more like mental illness (schizophrenia?) to me. It is holding my attention.

I am also am reading The Red Planet by William John Locke. No, it is not Scifi, it is, in fact, another historical novel. Set in a village during WWI, it follows a disabled vet of the Boer Wars. He is something of a busybody, very opinionated (especially when it comes to one's duty to the country and in giving advice). There is also something of a mystery evolving regarding a young woman who supposedly drowned accidentally several years prior to the beginning of the narrative. I am very much enjoying this one.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 25, 2020, 12:12:49 PM
The Red Planet sounds interesting.  The digital books in "Libby" are limited but I'll check and see if it is listed.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 25, 2020, 12:21:10 PM
Marsgal, got The Red Planet by Locke for free from iBooks.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 25, 2020, 04:30:17 PM
Good, Jean. I was just going to say that I think I got my copy from Project Gutenberg, but I see you found a copy already. I still haven't figured out why it is titled The Red Planet unless it is some reference to the huge number of deaths the war caused.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 27, 2020, 10:05:32 AM
I just have not found a book I spend hours reading. Has to be on y IPad . I have so many on my list for pick up at library once they open.
They  seem now to be showing all the new books now athe library only on a reader of some kind. They have a siting list also.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 29, 2020, 06:07:18 AM
I've finished The Red Planet. I enjoyed the story, loved the use of some old words we seldom if every see anymore, didn't love the way women and young folks were treated condescendingly at times, and especially didn't love the old view that men would be men and women were at fault if men took advantage of them. My, have we changed our attitudes over the last hundred years, at least on the surface.

Now on to H. Beam Piper's Space Viking. I am barely into it, but had to share this phrase from the second line with you which, to me, feels so alive I can almost hear it. "Behind, the broad leaved shrubbery gossiped softly with the wind..." I just love the visual and auditory imagery of a steady gentle breeze passing through shimmering/shivering leaves. 
 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 29, 2020, 11:38:14 AM
I had another book to finish so I just started The Red Planet.  I'm enjoying it.  Things have changed a lot since the book was written.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 29, 2020, 01:28:53 PM
Before lunch, I finished my library read, Cloud of Sparrows and am about to borrow the second one, Autumn Bridge even though I have some mixed feelings about the book, which is probably because I was uncomfortable with the portrayal of the missionaries. The leader was a strict fire and brimstone type, one was running away from abuse, and one was on a private mission of his own for revenge. Several of the characters picked up each others' language much more quickly than you would expect in the time span of the book. Literary license there, I expect, to move the plot along quickly. The supporting characters were good, and many of the scenes were well done. The way the paragraphs ran, it was sometimes hard to distinguish at first who was doing the talking in back and forth conversations. This is a story about relationships, mysterious family history/legends/prophecies, and transitions. Now I am off to find nonfiction books on the late Shogun period and the opening up of Japan to the West. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 04, 2020, 06:07:00 AM
Okay, so I have not yet started Autumn Bridge. Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice dropped in on me before I started, so I couldn't resist reading that first.

What an interesting novel. Not so much because of the story itself, but the main character especially holds my attention. Now, I am not at all into Zombies, the Walking Dead or their equivalents, but it took a little while to figure out that is just about what the main character/narrator is, or at least, his body is. So, now I am hooked. Part of the "corpse corps" he/she/it once controlled twenty bodies at once, and before that a ship for around a thousand years. The story unwinds by swinging back and forth between past and present. The description of the character reminds me of something between the Borg and the adherents of the Underverse from Chronicles of Riddick. I have yet to get to how this mind got from "being" a ship, then a commander of 20 bodies, and then got disconnected from the rest. The book is also something of a gender bender.

Ancillary Justice, which was Leckie's debut novel won the 2014 Hugo Award for "Best Novel", the Nebula Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Locus Award, the BSFA Award, and four others. Quite an accomplishment.  Her next two in the series, Ancillary Sword also won the BSFA Award , and both it and Ancillary Mercy garnered the Locus Award.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on May 04, 2020, 01:47:08 PM
I finished The Red Planet.  While this book was not about WWI but about the people in a small English village during WWI, it did give me a slightly different view of the war than I have read previously.  The book was written in a different era but I enjoyed and thought it was well written.

I downloaded two inexpensive "mini" books by Martin Walker about a French policeman named Bruno.  They are a pleasant read and IMO give a nice glimpse of what life is like in a small French town.  I've read several of his books from the library, however, the library is still closed and I couldn't find any digital books.

  "Martin Walker is the Senior Director of the Global Business Policy Council (GBPC). Walker has written several books. He is the author of the 'Bruno' detective series set in the Périgord region of France, where Walker has a holiday home." from Fantastic Fiction
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: angelface555 on May 05, 2020, 01:25:56 PM
MarsGal, I sent you a PM regarding Kelly.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 06, 2020, 07:10:09 AM
Well, that didn't take long. I have finished Ancillary Justice already. Very well done. I highly recommend it for those who don't mind the narrator's present/past remembrance switches and attempts to fit into a "gender-blind" society. There is an interview at the end where Leckie explains how she came up with and dealt with the main character narration. In her Acknowledgements section, she had high praise for libraries stating that "...I'm not sure it's possible to have too many of them". I have the next in the series on hold.  Her newest book, The Raven Tower, published just last year is getting some high praises also. It is a fantasy.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 06, 2020, 11:08:42 AM
Hello everyone!  I haven't posted here in a while, but I've been reading the messages every day, and keeping a long list of your recommendations.  Our library is still closed, but when it finally opens, I'll be more than ready!

In the meantime, I'm continuing to reread some of my old favorites, and enjoying them even more than I originally did.  I have a mix of classics as well as newer fiction and non fiction.  I recently finished one of my oldies, Willa Cather's, My Antonia.  I've read it many times over the years, and love the story, and all the characters.  A pleasure to read again and again.

Yesterday, our son came over and left a large grocery bag, filled with books, that belong to my dil's sister.  They've been circulating around the family for a couple of weeks, and now it's my turn!  It's really fun to suddenly have so many books to choose from . . . most titles I don't recognize. Like a little mobile library has arrived!  :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on May 07, 2020, 11:36:28 AM
Hooray!  I can get in again!  For about a week, I've been totally unable to access the site, only getting error messages.  Unfortunately, I don't have anything to report, but at least I'm here.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 08, 2020, 06:09:57 AM
Marilyne, Willa Cather, for some reason, never appealed to me. I remember reading one of her short stories when in high school, but have never even even tried her books. Of course, Project Gutenberg has a list of her books, but not the one I would most like to look at, Death Comes for the Archbishop which is based on real pioneering Catholic missionaries. I'll take a look at them in a little bit. Sad to think that I might be missing out on some good reading based on a short story I didn't like but had to read for English class way back in high school.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on May 08, 2020, 07:44:48 AM
MarsGal, they left out my favorite.  I've read Death Comes for the Archbishop several times, really liked it.  Hmm--maybe it's time to look at it again.  it's been quite a while.

My Antonia would be the best one to start with.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 08, 2020, 12:59:24 PM
Pat and MarsGal  -  I also read, "Death Comes For The Archbishop", and I like it, as well as other novels and short stories by Cather.  but "My Antonia", stands out for me, and is my favorite for personal reasons. 

My mother-in-law was born in North Dakota, in a sod house, just as described in Cather's stories.  Her parents, (my husband's grandparents of course), emigrated from an area in Czechoslovakia, called Bohemia.  My MIL was one of six children, and none of them spoke English, until they started school.    It was a hard and brutal life for immigrants back then, just as described in "My Antonia".  How I do wish I had been more interested when my MIL was alive. I would ask a million questions now, but back then I was focused on other things.  She died at the young age of 55, but in later years, I did learn a lot more about family history from her three remaining sisters.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on May 08, 2020, 07:37:44 PM
My concert buddy's grandparents came from Czechoslovakia too, though they didn't have that hard a life.  He recently read My Antonia, and it really resonated with him.  Obviously Cather got it right.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 17, 2020, 05:57:07 AM
I finally finished the audio book about food culture. Excellent. Now I am into the second of the Legends of the First Empire fantasy series by Michael J. Sullivan. Lots going on. Excellent voice work by Tim Gerard Reynolds who really brings the characters to life for me.

As for the E-books, I have started an old 3-volume historical novel sent during the French/Italian wars during Napoleon's reign. The description is good, but I don't know how long it will hold my interest. The other is one I think I read before called Star Soldiers by Andre Norton, so it may not last either. There are several hard copy books that have been squeaking for my attention.

Our local library is still closed with no opening date set as yet.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 19, 2020, 06:12:27 AM
Okay, so that was confusing, but I finally got it straightened out. The historical novel, Adventures of an Aide-de-camp, I am reading is written by James Grant (1822-1887) and it is in three volumes. Anyway, the war participants are the English who are intent on pushing the French out of Italy, and of course, the French. Italian factions are fighting on both sides. I had a little trouble at first figuring out which side the Aide-de-camp was fighting with although the nationality of the author should have given me a clue. The time period for the novel would have been the very last years of the 1700's and the early 1800's. I love Grant's descriptions of the land and people which provide a good view without bogging down the story.

I did indeed read Star Soldiers before and didn't want to read it again. Instead, I picked up a more recent Scifi which is holding my interest sufficiently to finish.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on May 19, 2020, 11:10:55 AM
Ann Cleeves is the author of the books that the TV series Vera is based on.  I loved that series on Netflix several years ago, but Netflix only had a few and then no more.  Well, "The Long Call" is her first book in a new series in the Devon area of England about a male detective.  She really knows how to tell a story.  Such a good author.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on May 19, 2020, 01:00:19 PM
I liked that show also. I will put that book on order. I picked the books that I had on order at lib. Sunday per their instructions. Got a shock. The gave me 19 books. So will be awhile. We can't return any until they open up. 1 already had 8 here from 2 months ago
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: angelface555 on May 21, 2020, 04:15:44 PM
MarsGal, I sent you a PM.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 23, 2020, 09:51:41 PM
I wonder if anyone else here is having trouble concentrating on reading?   I seem to jump from one thing to another.   I realize that this time of year calls my attention to outdoor work and I am too tired in the evening to do much.  I did start to read the old Cather book, O Pioneers and then realized that I had not only read it long ago but saw the movie just a while back so it didn't hold my interest like a new story.   Then a friend gave me an older book by John Kenneth Galbraith about the Scottish settlers in Canada.   I started that as well because I had had an interest in his writing many years ago when he wrote about the change in economics in America after WWII.....The Affluent Society. It seems that his writing spans quite varied topics.   The one about the Scots is about his home territory which was just across the Niagara River from where we live.   His family had a farm near the northern shore of Lake Erie, so it is a rather familiar setting.   He has quite a sense of humor in his way of describing people and events so it is light reading.  At the same time I've been reading some of the poems of Ann Weems in a book called Searching for Rainbows.   We could all use a rainbow or two about now I think.   
   Hope everyone is well and surviving the "time away from friends and family".   Jeanne P.  I'm surprised to hear that your library was able to deliver books that you had on hold.  Good for you.   You will need a truck to return all your reads once that time comes. :roflBig:

Oh one more little note.......I cut my own hair last evening.   I should  post a new picture of my handiwork.    I guess it doesn't matter much.   I only see the neighbors and my daughter.  lol
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 24, 2020, 06:58:05 AM
MaryC, I get that way every once in a while. It generally lasts a few days and then I am back in reading mode. This COVID-19 business seems to have stretched it out more, though, making me a little more restless -- a good thing because I have gotten more done than usual in the clearing out department especially.

I did get back to reading the last two or three days (it has been rainy and dreary). Now that I have finished the second of Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch series (Ancillary Sword), I am ready to start the third. This series is more what I would call social SciFi. The protagonist of the series must navigate, not only his ship, but all the social, cultural and gender norms of the different peoples he engages with. The gender references can be a bit confusing, so if you start the series, pay particular attention to the description of how the different cultures refer to themselves. Mostly, though, it seems regardless whether you are a he or she, they seem to refer to everyone as a she. The business of wearing gloves in public was a little odd, but the why of that got explained in book two. I already downloaded book three, but will start that after I finish up the first of Greg Alanson's offshoot of his popular Expeditionary Force series, Mavericks: Deathtrap which follows the part of the force that was left behind at a planet they call Paradise.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on May 24, 2020, 02:03:16 PM
I now have all those books but can't settle to more than a hour reading. Just jump one thing to another. Walk around house a lot.
Worked in yard this morn. SIL came from out of town for 2 hrs to help. Need to hos off all cushions and put furniture out. All needs painting this year. Doubt gets done. It is 87deg. Right now.my allergies bad. And whole area west of me is poison ivy that I have to watch out for .not had my shots.
Seems like the numbers of people catching it going up here.
Sad news from u.k family as my cousins son . His girlfriend who was a nurse in UK died last week from it. So sad. Hitting so many young and yet the stil want every thing open up.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on May 24, 2020, 08:16:43 PM
MaryC, MarsGal, and JeanneP, I've been the same way, a kind of irritable restlessness.  I've got the time to read, but can't seem to settle down to it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 24, 2020, 08:34:20 PM
Add me to the irritable restless club!  Shall we call ourselves The IRCS (pronounced irks) :crazy2:

Can't get interested in anything on Netflix or tv,either.

I've started a fictionalized biography of Mrs. Winston Churchill and have a "Miss Julia" book for contrast, can only read a couple in that kind of series before I feel like I'm in a rut.

Onward and upward
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 24, 2020, 11:08:41 PM
Jeanne P,I'm sorry to hear of the death of your relative's girlfriend.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 25, 2020, 01:11:32 AM
Callie  -  May I join the IRCS Club?   Same exact problem here, as far as concentration is concerned.  In the past month or so, I haven't been able to stick with a book long enough to develop an interest in the story or characters.  I have a bunch of new and interesting sounding novels that my dil brought me, but every time I sit down and start reading, my mind immediately wanders. A hopeless endeavor for the the foreseeable future.  :(

On the other hand, I've become a total television slug.  Fortunately, I have Netflix, Amazon, HBO and Turner, so I don't think I need to worry about running out of shows or movies to watch. 

Maryc - I was starting to worry about you, so I'm glad you checked back in and brought us up to date.  John Kenneth Galbraith!  I had forgotten all about him, but definitely remember reading, "The Affluent Society", way back when.  It's been a long time ago, and I don't remember much about it except that it was best seller, and was very good.  He was also a syndicated columnist, I think?  A very accomplished writer.

Well, it's 10:00 PM, Sunday night, so best that I clean up the kitchen, and then start getting ready for another restless night of fitful sleep and worrisome dreams.  Here's hoping that the serious problem going on in our world, will start improving tomorrow . . . the beginning of a new week.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 25, 2020, 09:26:21 AM
Memorial Day 2020....The day is starting out with full sun and a light breeze.  A perfect morning for parades and hanging of memorial wreaths and/or decorating grave sites. Most won't be done today.  I may drive into town to see if the VFW folks are at the Memorial. They spoke of hanging a wreath but not having the usual ceremonies.....so sad.   I thought about going to the cemetery and planting some Forget Me Nots so they will come up every year at this time.  They are so pretty just now.

Marilyne,  I hope your wish comes true for a resolution to the present world problems.   I've been losing myself into movie some too.  I've even resorted to a series called Sweet Magnolias that I'm quickly losing interest in.....too much "soap".
   Callie,  Recently I watched a movie on Netflix that gave a little look at Mrs. Churchill.  " Churchill's Secret".  I don't remember how I came across it but it was interesting.  I have the book you are reading on my list also.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on May 25, 2020, 09:32:44 AM
Callie, I like your club name.  I'm in.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on May 25, 2020, 10:43:51 AM
I just finished reading a wonderful book, another by Lisa Wingate.  (She wrote "Before We Were Yours" which was a fact-based novel, that I totally enjoyed. The one I just finished, on my Kindle, is "The Story Keeper".  It is set, mostly in Appalachia, and has both a modern time frame, along with an historical one.  The characters are well-written, and I have found Wingate to be an excellent author.  She has other books in this series, (Carolina Chronicles), which I will have to get into.  At the conclusion of the story, I thought "this would make a wonderful, full-length Hallmark Movie, or simply a made-for-TV movie".  Then again, the writers would probably hack it up and leave it totally unrecognizable.  About Wingate's books, she doesn't fill content with needless cursing or sex scenes, for which I strongly applaud her. You can tell interesting and viable stories without those.  I don't want to leave an impression that these might be "cozy" stories, (no harm - no foul to cozy readers). I got this Kindle version from Amazon, it was either free, or $1.99 and after having read it, I certainly would have paid full price. I hope some of you will read "The Story Keeper" and enjoy it as much as I did.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 25, 2020, 11:14:15 AM
Wow!  Didn't realize I'd be starting a movement!  :cheers:  Here's to the IRCs!

Tome,  I enjoy Lisa Wingate's books, also, and agree that screen writers usually hack up the story of any book that's made into a movie or t.v. series.  I realize that any good story needs to have conflict and possibly romance but it "irks"  ;) me when they choose to turn that into something Sensational. Hallmark is good about not doing that - but their stories usually go the other way and get "syrupy" (IMHO)

Maryc,  Marie Benedict,the author of "Lady Clementine" has written other fictionalized bios about women connected to famous men.  I've read "The Other Einstein" (Mrs. Albert...), "Carnegie's Maid" and "The Only Woman In The Room" (Hedy Lamarr)

The library notes on that one read: Her beauty almost certainly saved her from the rising Nazi party and led to marriage with an Austrian arms dealer. Underestimated in everything else, she overheard the Third Reich's plans while at her husband's side, understanding more than anyone would guess. She devised a plan to flee in disguise from their castle, and the whirlwind escape landed her in Hollywood. She became Hedy Lamarr, screen star.
But she kept a secret more shocking than her heritage or her marriage: she was a scientist. And she knew a few secrets about the enemy. She had an idea that might help the country fight the Nazis...if anyone would listen to her.
 

Onward and Upward, Sister IRCs.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on May 25, 2020, 12:12:58 PM
I am sitting here thinking of tearing into putting the porch ready for summer. Furniture.  Floors all looking awful. Will need full day.was always done by this date.need to put old clothes on. Get hose and blower out. Will be 84 deg soon. I wish I could get into the work move again. Not having people coming to visit for now 2 months has made me so lazy. Talk about lived  in look inside. yuk...
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on May 28, 2020, 04:14:34 PM
JeanneP,  This response is a little late but I'm hoping you didn't get into cleaning your porch on that very hot day.   Today is cooler here though raining and the weekend looks to be even cooler.....a nicer time for that hard work.  I have to remind myself that I shouldn't work outdoors too long in the extreme heat.  I'd rather take a break than to fall on my face. :-[

Tomereader,   I did like The Story Keeper.   Lisa Wingate writes a good story!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 29, 2020, 07:03:25 AM
Yesterday I finished the third of Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch series. The ending was at a good spot but, while mission was accomplished, it left me wondering about the future of the main characters. There is a fourth book which is set in the same universe but with all different characters and barely a reference (that I could find on skimming) to the action in the previous books. I sent it back to the library without reading it.

So now I am back into Mike Herron's Slough Horses spy series with the novella, The List. The next in line is on hold.

The next read will likely be the next Order of the Centurions (Galaxy's Edge offshoot) by Anspach and Cole. I see they have started opening up their series offshoots to other collaborators like James Patterson does with his books. That seems to be quite popular with authors these days.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 30, 2020, 06:56:06 AM
Looks like our library is kind of opening up beginning June 1. They are doing a "contactless pick-up" only  service for books on hold, and then only by appointment.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on May 30, 2020, 10:29:38 AM
Callie, I have a question about The Other Einstein.  There's a lot of speculation about how much of Einstein's early work was actually done by his wife.  What does Benedict say?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 30, 2020, 10:44:46 AM
Pat, Benedict indicates she either did the work or gave him enough "observations" to allow him to reach the conclusion.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on May 30, 2020, 05:03:46 PM
There was a pretty darn good movie on TV awhile back about Einstein and his wife.
They seemed to portray that she did a good deal of his work, (I think maybe earlier work).  See if you can locate it, worth it!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 30, 2020, 05:30:42 PM
Tome, was the Eintein movie on a "subscription" channel, PBS or a cable  channel?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 30, 2020, 05:42:28 PM
I think the short series on Einstein, played on the National Geographic Channel, a couple of years ago?   I recall that my husband watched it, and thought it was excellent. It may still be available?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 30, 2020, 06:02:08 PM
Thanks,Marilyne.  Don't remember the last time I tried to watch that channel, That wiil be a New Project Woo Hoo  ;D 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 03, 2020, 07:02:36 PM
I've discovered that I haven't forgotten how to read after all!  :)     For the past couple of months, my interest level was zero, as well as my ability to concentrate on any book . . . but suddenly I'm back!   

When I'm looking at a list of books, or just browsing in a bookshop or library, I tend to be attracted to books with interesting cover art, or an intriguing title.   (I know that sounds very shallow, but I can't help it.)  ::)    Anyway, I picked this one from Amazon, knowing that I would like it, because of the title.

It's called,  When We Believed In Mermaids,  by Barbara O'Neil.   I'm a little over half way through it, and so far the story hasn't disappointed me. I really like it!
Sorry Callie, I hope you won't kick me out of the IRCS club?  :-\
 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on June 03, 2020, 08:36:40 PM
;D , Marilyne.  Nobody's going to get kicked out of anything by me!!! 

Our weather has improved and I'm able to spend more evenings on the patio watching the birds and a friendly rabbit, as well as enjoying some chats with my next-door neighbor.  Being able to have a conversation in person has relieved the irritability a lot

I'm attracted to the same things as I'm browsing through the 14,000+ items available for e-loan from my library.

I have several on Hold that won't even be released until later in the summer.  Cuts down on the ones I'd like to get sooner but also gives me a chance to be among the first to read something new.

I've begun a writing project and have been spending time on it. However, I'm down to two books - one almost finished - on my Loan list so need to get busy and find some others.

Onward and Upward... 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on June 04, 2020, 02:37:15 PM
Funny--I've picked up some too.  It's welcome.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 04, 2020, 04:15:01 PM
My post from this morning seems to have disappeared. I wonder if I hit forgot to hit post.

I was saying that I've taken it into my head to clear out some of my over 500 eBooks on Amazon, most of which are freebies. Amazon, bless their hearts, sets all the books that they update back to not read. Now I can't tell which ones I already read and which I didn't care for or read and didn't want to keep but forgot to delete, so far, I have ended up rereading one I read but only remember the first section and one that I don't remember much about either. I think I only deleted two so far.

The last two books I borrowed from FLP I sent back almost immediately. One I read about six months ago and forgot I did, and the other just didn't interest me like I thought it would. I am still waiting on four eBooks on hold and added several more to my wish list.

My audio books are piling up. My newest acquisitions include The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt by Toby Wilkinson, Barbara Tushman's A Distant Mirror, and some classics including The Count of Montecristo and The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire. Listening has been a bit spotty the last week or so. I am still on the second of the fantasy series I am into, so it will be a while before I get to those.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 06, 2020, 06:58:14 AM
I am back to reading A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World by William J. Bernstein. I had set it aside a while back and never got back to it until now. The chapter I am on now (The Disease of Trade) is about how disease was spread through trade routes and its effects. The book was published in 2008, well before our current pandemic, but oh so timely and familiar feeling now.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 06, 2020, 01:32:13 PM
MarsGal - The chapter from your book, How Trade Shaped the World, about how disease was spread through trade routes, is indeed timely.     About a month ago, I watched the 2011 fictional movie, Contagion, which was about a deadly flu virus from China,  sweeping around the world, and killing millions.    I couldn't get over how the Coronavirus epidemic, came along 9 years after that fictional movie, and mirrored the story so closely!

I finished the novel, When We Believed in Mermaids, and I liked it a lot.  I think most of you would like it, so I definitely recommend it.  An unusual story, with likable characters, family drama, angst and conflict.  However, no violence or creepy stuff.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on June 06, 2020, 03:54:37 PM
Just received a notification from our Library system that "Library To Go" will begin at selected branches, on June 9th.  Thankfully, both of my nearby branches will have this.  (I only have one book on request at this time).  They did move the outside book bins back, so we could begin returning items we have been holding for 3+ months. They had just picked them up and moved them somewhere for storage.  If we return something, it is 4 days before it shows as being returned on our record. I don't know what they are doing, or where, but must be some of that ultra-violet light treatment we've heard of.  The Library To Go will be similar to what we had to do when the beauty salons re-opened.  Make an appointment (request for books), they will notify you when holds are ready. Call the to schedule a pick up time.  Drive to the library, park, they'll check out your items and deliver them to you while you wait in your car.  Sure, it sounds a bit of a bother, but hey, we can get books, reading material.  I have read so many Ebooks, I'm just "blah" about them.  I picked up one of my hardcover books last night, thinking it would be nice to hold a book in my hand.  It was nice, but hey, I had already read it!  I put off starting to read my copy of "The Goldfinch" since it is so long, but the movie has already come out.  It's on Amazon, and I tried to start watching earlier today, but over the last week or so, I can only seem to watch about 15 minutes of something, then I either turn TV off entirely, or switch over to Netflix and do the 15 minute thing again.  Getting a short attention span in my old age, LOL!
The heat is getting miserable here too.  I don't know what the actual temp was yesterday, but just stepping outside to check mailbox just wilted me down.  I try so hard to keep the A/C set high enough so it only comes on intermittently.
Got it at 82 degrees now, and with the ceiling fans, it is comfortable in here.
I simply cannot think about an electric bill of $100.  It's bad enough being in the $65+ range.  I'm frugal with running the washer/dryer, dishwasher too.  But being alone they don't get much of a workout! It's going to be a late lunch for me, 2:50 PM, and I don't know what I want to eat.  Since it's the weekend,I may splurge and go get a Burger or some Taco Bell junque food!  I'll be a good girl and cut this short for now. TTYL as the "texters" say.  Stay cool, stay home, stay safe. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on June 06, 2020, 05:10:41 PM
Tomereader, I envy you your re-opened libraries, even though since I don't drive they wouldn't do me any good.  Maybe I could pay them to mail me the books. ;)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on June 06, 2020, 06:42:13 PM
I still can't get back to reading for longer that half hour. Before this if the book good I would sit and read it all day.
Wish ours would put the bins outside again. I have over 20 books here. Also I miss having their copy machines as I don't have a scanner anymore and time for Car licenses etc want paying and they just sent a open card not one in a return envelope. They want all done on line but mine needs me to take the road test. Need it in  April. Our stickers went up to $159 this year. Its due June 30th.
So hot still. Need to go to store as I am out of Ginger Ale and 7 up. Means I have to get dressed. Would get arrested if I went with what I have on right now....
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 11, 2020, 08:13:21 AM
I finally finished Age of Swords and have now started listening to the third in the series, Age of Swords.


The last book I read, The Emperor's Edge by Lindsay Buroker, is a fantasy I managed to put in my SciFi folder. It was okay, but I ended up skipping the middle to see what happened at the end. It turns out to be the first of a nine book series. I can't see me reading all nine books. Maybe two or three, but not nine. The story line is that a group of people, one an assassin, one a cop (called Enforcers here), an alcoholic academic, a preening outcast from a rich family, and a young street urchin/thief, conspire to save the young emperor from a greedy and nefarious group who oppose the emperor's ideas for reform. The group are considered by all to be enemies of the empire, an image they encourage in order to preserve the emperor's true parentage and keep him on the throne. Some wizardry/magic included. It appears I may have the next to in my queue, so I will read them next, I think.

Bubble, how is your friend in Brazil doing? I don't find many SciFi fans to "talk" to. Even our SciFi discussion group on SeniorLearn is down to just me and PatH.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on June 11, 2020, 04:08:13 PM
Thank goodness. From today now we will be able to take back all the library books. Drop them at the back entrance. Still not going into the library. I have 23 books taking up space in my Bedroom. About 18 not worth reading. Will keep 3 that may be O.K.
I did start reading a few now that are on my Ipad, Amazon fire and another tablet. Sort of got use to it but still prefer in my hand.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on June 13, 2020, 09:21:04 AM
Jeanne P,  I understand what you mean about returning the books.  I had a pile of puzzles and books borrowed from our Senior Center library that I kept moving around my sewing room.  Finally yesterday when I went to do Meals on Wheels I noticed that the Director of the Center was working. I phoned in and she told me I could come in to get or return books,etc.  It's good to have them gone and I picked up a few books.  One is a real oldie...."Brave New World."   That title could be quite appropriate right now!! 
  I spoke with a friend this week who told me that she has been getting books from a couple "Little libraries"  around town.    She and a few friends have been keeping the book supply flowing by exchanging books during these past weeks.  She is a private duty personal care aide so is pretty well connected through the community.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on June 21, 2020, 01:04:38 PM
I decided to reveal my  "corvid haircut!" just for fun.   After the events of the past few weeks,  I think we could use a little something to lift our spirits....at least I do mine.   I have an appointment for a professional haircut on Tuesday this week.   Vicki will take care of the blunders I made especially across the back.  I feel just a bit guilty for worrying about such a small thing in light of the current troubles, but I guess we can only deal with what is at hand.
    A very nice surprise came in my mailbox this week.  A young friend who I mentioned here earlier had been to an Annual Authors Series at Charleston, SC with Mary Alice Monroe,  Elizabeth Berg, and others.  Mary Alice was about to launch her new book "On Ocean Boulevard".   My friend sent a signed copy of the new book.   I have gotten right into it and it is like revisiting old friends at The Isle of Palms and Sullivan's Island.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on June 21, 2020, 01:42:24 PM
well my posting vanished again. Try to remember what I said.
Mary. You look so good with short hair. As mine curls I have to leave it longer. I did trim my back again yesterday. Now the front on sides are back to bob length and if I blow it a little I think may leave it like that. Seems to be getting thicker also.

Now the library again letting us order books on line and they send a Email when it our turn. Now we still have to call and pick up outside. That is not  to bad. They have 2 new ones for me today. Have a week to pick them up.
I am still not into reading as many as usual. Hard for me to sit still it seems.In Bed I last about 10 min. So funny how this Tie Down is working on us.
We had the youngest in my area die 2 days ago. Age 37 and he worked for Amazon. Now it makes me feel like I don't want to be ordering on Line anymore. I did get a packet yesterday. Quickly tore the package up. Washing hands right away. i need my special Shampoo but I got on line and saw that the Vitamin  shop here in town have 2 bottle and so I called them and will pick up tomorrow. Just never been in that shop before. They will bring curb or you can go in. May see if any Tech. in Target also to check phone.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on June 21, 2020, 02:05:01 PM
Mary, I like your haircut.  Back is always tricky.  I've cut my own hair for years, and that was the hardest to learn.  I wouldn't be able to do a really short job--the shaping is too hard.

Jeanne, isn't it awful being suspicious of everything that comes into your house.  Unless there's some reason not to, I put mail and packages off in a corner for a day, to give the virus a chance to die, before opening.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 24, 2020, 07:29:17 AM
I finished two books in the last several days and am now embarking on new adventures.

The first is the audio version of Michael J. Sullivan's Legends of the First Empire series within his World of Elan series. Next up is Age of Legend: Legends of the First Empire (book 4). This fantasy continues to captivate me. So far, there are two more after this in the "Legends" series, both of which were published last year. I wonder if they will be the last. But never fear, there several other series in the World of Elan universe which will keep me quite busy for quite a while. The Legends series is not the first published, but is a prequel to the rest, which comes to a total, so far, of 22 novels and several short stories in the Elan universe.

The second book I finished is C. J. Cherryh's Heavy Time. Once again C. H. Cherryh had me totally engrossed in the story and the characters. A tale of corporate greed and malfeasance on a ore processing and shipbuilding station, Cherryh brings together a cast of characters ranging from young newbie, naïve ore prospectors to the old hands, from those who are suppressed by "the system" and find ways to work around it as best they can to those who know how to "play" the system, from political activists to don't rock the boaters. It is a tale of murder, cover-ups, and the psychological, physical and financial damage wreaked upon those unknowingly caught in the middle.

Now I am reading a murder mystery called Blackman's Coffin: A Sam Blackman Mystery by Mark de Castrique. The main character is a disabled vet who was, prior to losing part of a leg, was a military police investigator and the story is set in the Asheville, Black Mountain (VET hospital), and the Biltmore Forest, NC area.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on June 24, 2020, 12:36:32 PM
Blackman's Coffin sounds interesting.  I'm going to check the library digital list and see if it's available.

 Checked - (as usual) it is not available.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on June 24, 2020, 02:22:37 PM
Darn it. My 3 books did show in LP coming in but just went and picked them up  curb side and 2 are small print. Going to have to order some more books.
Now they open up inside next. Week. I sort of like the curb when dressed sloppy. I am today . So hot again. I for the day
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 26, 2020, 06:26:03 AM
Jean, I finished Blackman's Coffin yesterday and went looking for more. My online library only has this first one in audio book form but none of the others, and my local library only has one other. There are six in the series so far, according to the author's site, and A Specter of Justice is the fifth. I may have to make do with that, though I'd like to read the others. Castrique has another series he calls Buryin' Barry which has seven books in it so far. This series is about a former cop turned undertaker. Castrique himself is an experienced broadcaster and producer, and has gained several awards, including an Emmy, for his work.

My latest audio book "read" is The Silk Roads: A New History of the World by Peter Frankopan. Since I barely got started with it a while back I am starting over.

Now I have to make up my mind what I want to read next, more from the book on ancient trade and trade routes, or C. J. Cherryh's Hellburner, or something else.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on June 26, 2020, 05:14:34 PM
Our county library systems is on the small size.  I need to find another lending digital book outlet.  I don't mind buying an ebook now and then but only if I have read other books by the author and am pretty sure I will like the book.  The digital library is limited for me.  Maybe I'm just too picky.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 27, 2020, 07:47:41 AM
My budget doesn't allow for spending much on books anymore. I got Blackman's Coffin when Amazon offered it as a freebie with Amazon Prime. Now they lend it free with Kindle Unlimited which I don't subscribe to. The Free Library of Philadelphia, which is available to all PA residents, only has this one in audio, and none of the others at all. They use Overdrive, as does my local library. Internet Archive (www.archive.org) has it but I never figured out how to actually download files from there. Plus, they only have Epub and PDF available. You can read online if you have an account (free). https://archive.org/details/blackmanscoffin00deca/page/n3/mode/2up I make use of Interlibrary Loans on occasion, but that is pretty much out until the libraries open up again.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 27, 2020, 04:18:18 PM
MarsGal - I've mostly been reading novels that my daughter or dil has brought over for me.  Nothing I would choose, but better than nothing, for now.  AJ confiscated my Kindle, at the beginning of Shelter in Place, so I haven't had that to fall back on.  I much prefer a real book anyway, so he is welcome to it. 

maryc - I can't believe that I never commented on your new picture and your haircut!   You did a great job, and it doesn't look like you needed a professional cut.   I have given up on my hair.  I tried to cut it, but could only do the sides and bangs, so now the back has gotten so long, that I hold it in place with a big barrette, and then try to curl the front with a curling iron.  Our hair salons have not opened here, and I'm afraid it will be a while yet until they do.  A new surge of Covid-19 has hit us in California, and it's pretty bad.

How wonderful that your friend had a chance meet both Mary Alice Monroe, and Elizabeth Berg!   As you know, E. Berg, is one of my long time favorites.  I also like Monroe, and will definitely look forward to reading, On Ocean Boulevard.

Sandy brought me a novel that she love,  called,  In Five Years,  by Rebecca Searle.  It was a good story, with a couple of surprising twists. I liked it, and I think most of you would enjoy reading it. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on June 29, 2020, 08:34:09 PM
I'm doing most of my reading on my Kindle, during this time when can't get library books.  For the second time in about 30 days, I went to my shelf, where I put new books I have bought, or the ones that I win in the various publishers' on-line sweepstakes, and pulled out a book.  Only to start it, and realize that I've read it already!  Guess I read when they first arrived in the mail.  Both of these were mysteries/thrillers; one by Laura Lippman, the other by Karen Cleveland. The Lippman is the one I started last night, but it is so good that I decided to go ahead and finish it.  One of the Tess Monaghan, P.I. series.  I have been going through Kindle ebooks like crazy and haven't written down titles or authors. And, have started several that were so badly written and terribly edited that I just Removed from Device.  I realize this should be in the books section, but I wanted to get something posted so you "friends" wouldn't think I had been abducted by aliens, LOL.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 30, 2020, 07:37:43 AM
Three days ago my next Slough House (Slow Horses) book, Real Tigers, arrived. Then yesterday Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, was ready to pick up. I was not expecting Sapiens quite so soon since the wait time was longer than another novel on my hold list.

My audio listen, The Silk Roads: A New History of the World by Peter Frankopan, is densely packed with a lot of information not directly related to traveling the Silk Road, but more like the world changes that were affected by the Silk Roads or, in some cases, changes that affected the use of the Silk Roads. The second chapter which was about the spread of early Christianity, only marginally mentioned the Silk Road and its influence in spreading the new religion, possibly because most of the movement went west and away from the ends of the Silk Road and not so much east. This book would be slow reading indeed, and maybe a bit "dry", if I had to read the print version
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 01, 2020, 12:36:15 AM
MarsGal - "The Silk Roads", sounds a little too heavy to tackle in print, at this time.  For now, I'm sticking with the light reading.  Just started, "Fried Green Tomatoes, At the Whistle Stop Cafe", by Fannie Flagg.
I left a message for you in Bait and Tackle.

Tome - The Tess Monaghan, P.I. series sounds good.  I'll look into that at the library, as soon as I can get in . . . which looks like a long time from now.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 01, 2020, 07:18:53 AM
Last night I binged on Trapped, an Icelandic police series. Dubbed in English where needed, it kept me interested. I'll watch the rest tonight. Amazon only has eight videos of Season 1 although Wikipedia lists 10. You might recognize one of the characters who played Gian Paolo Baglioni in five episodes of The Borgias.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on July 08, 2020, 12:57:26 PM
I just finished a "novella" by Susan Wittig Albert, "Deadlines".  An interesting quick read.  She has two more novellas coming out with this character, a reporter on the Pecan town paper.  Many of the same characters are in this story that are in the China Bayles series.

I've also started a new nonfiction book by Jacob Soboroff, "Separated", about the children taken from their parents at the border.  A good factual look at what happened and is continuing.  I preordered the book by Mary Trump and looking forward to reading it.  Plenty of reading material for a while.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 14, 2020, 07:56:24 AM
I've been concentrating on several non-fiction books (and having SciFi withdrawal about now).

A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World is about 43% finished. The current chapter is about the British East India Company and the Dutch equivalent. The author compares the companies and their methods of trade and finance. Most interesting.

Meanwhile, I am also reading The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia, a travelogue by Paul Theroux. What a fun and occasionally disturbing read. Published in 1975, it was his first travel book. The description of travel on the Orient Express showed its poor conditions before it was again revitalized. I wonder about traveling it now. Then there was the poor treatment of people from train officials and border inspectors ripping off travelers, and don't forget the prejudices of the time. I suspect Jug was a derogatory term for Yugoslavians; I never heard of the expression before. He finally had something, and at some length, nice to say about his train trip up to Simla in India and the people he meets on the train and while there. I wonder if this had anything to do with the change of scenery and weather from hot, oppressive weather to the cool, green foothills of the Himalayas. Currently we have reached Bombay and working towards Ceylon (Sri Lanka).
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 14, 2020, 10:58:29 AM
MarsGal - The travelogue book about The Orient Express, sounds fascinating.  I had heard that it was a tough ride, before it was revitalized.  I always hoped to take a trip on the famous train, but that dream will never come true in this lifetime.  However, I can still enjoy reading about it.  :thumbup:

It's been difficult for me to get along without my weekly trip to the library.  I've reread most of my favorites that I have here, and a few that my daughter and dil have dropped off over the past three months . . . but I need to spend time browsing through the library stacks, as well as the ever changing shelves in the, New Books selection.  It will be a while yet.

In the meantime, I've been sorting through dozens of children's books that I have saved over the years.  I have a few that were mine when I was a child, and lots that were favorites of my three children.  Yesterday I was rummaging around in the basement, and came across a huge box of children's series books . . . Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames and others.  I spotted an old Dana Girls Mystery, that I remember reading and loving, when I was about age ten or so. It's called By The Light of the Study Lamp, and the copyright is 1934!  It doesn't say when this edition was published, but judging from the cover art, I would say early 1940's. 

Anyway, I brought it upstairs, cleaned it up, and started reading.  Needless the say, the story is very dated, but that makes it a fun read.  When it was written, a car was referred to as an "auto". The Dana Girls, drive a "roadster".   I remember Nancy Drew, was always jumping into her "roadster",  when she was busy solving a mystery.  I'm really curious as to why I remember liking this particular story more than others, so I will stick with it and maybe bring back some good memories.     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on July 15, 2020, 02:34:07 PM
The best Christmas I remember is the year when I was around 10 or 11 and I got 12 Nancy Drew books.  I had two sisters but one was 13 years older and the other 9 years older, so it was almost like being an only child.  And I used to read a lot.  My mother didn't drive so starting around 10 I was given bus fare and took the bus to the library.  The library had a really large children's section and the librarian used to help me pick out books she thought I would enjoy.

I just finished Mary Trump's book about the Trump family.  It is not a gossipy book.  She is a clinical psychologist and explains much about the President and how he was treated differently (much better) by his father than the other four children and how that affected him.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on July 15, 2020, 03:41:57 PM
I've just placed a Hold on Mary Trump's book.  I'm #267 on the list!!!!
Also placed a Hold on "The Art of Her Deal',  a biography of Melania Trump.  I'm only #3 on that list.  :)

Otherwise, I'm reading "light fiction" - have a couple by Nicholas Sparks and "The Shakespeare Requirement", which is a sequel to "Dear Committee Members" - both by Julie Schumacher.  Blurb to "Dear Committee Members" reads:

Jason Fitger is a beleaguered professor of creative writing and literature at Payne University, a small and not very distinguished liberal arts college in the midwest. His department is facing draconian cuts and squalid quarters, while one floor above them the Economics Department is getting lavishly remodeled offices.

Have just started "Shakespeare...", which begins as the Economics Department has moved into its remodeled space.

I loved Nancy Drew and thought her car and boyfriend were SO glamourous!  Still have my copy of "The Quest of the Missing Map".
I read the Mary Poppins books before Nancy Drew and rather liked her "pompous" attitude.  Those and the line drawings of MP surely don't look sound or look like Julie Andrews!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on July 15, 2020, 10:45:10 PM
I loved Nancy Drew too.  JoanK and I ended up with a complete collection.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 15, 2020, 11:15:27 PM
The Nancy Drew books certainly were popular.  Those along with the Little House series were among my memorable reads. Bless Streeter Aldrich was another author that I enjoyed  back then.
   The Ocean Boulevard gave me a little kick start with reading again.  A friend recommended another story recently that I'm reading now.   It is Thunder Dog by Michael Hingson.  This is a memoir.  Michael was blind from infancy and the story tells a lot about his experiences as a blind person and with the various guide dogs.  He and his dog were working in the Twin Towers on September 11 when the plane crashed into their building.

Jean,you mentioned reading Mary Trump's book.  I saw her briefly on a news show today.  How long before she will be discredited?

I hope that those of you who live in "hot spots" are able to stay safe.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 16, 2020, 11:25:02 AM
I did get a kick out of reading, By the Light of the Study Lamp.  I have a number of other  series books from my childhood, and may take a look at those also.  It remember The Haunted Bridge and The Whispering Statue, were two of my favorite Nancy Drew's, and I have them both, along with  Cherry Ames, Senior Nurse

I will also be looking forward to reading the book by Mary Trump.  True accounts of super wealthy American families are fascinating, and all surprisingly similar in structure.  The Kennedy's, of course, come to mind.  Lots written about Joe Kennedy, how he made his millions, and now he treated his children.  Certain ones picked to be in the spotlight, and others treated poorly.  The Rockefeller's were similar. 

Other mega-rich family patriarchs, who are still alive and "running the show", are Rupert Murdock, and Ted Turner.   Both have been married numerous times, and have lots of adult children, and lots of drama going on behind the scenes.  Anyone interested in this type of family, be sure to watch the HBO series, Succession.  Strong, smart, sociopathic father, married three times, with four adult children.  Each one scrambling to be the one who is chosen to sit on the throne, when the old man dies.  (Which he has no intention of doing!)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 16, 2020, 02:17:52 PM
Speaking of books about the famous and very rich brought to mind The Captains and The Kings by Taylor Caldwell.   I read it years ago at a time in my life when I hadn't given too much thought about those who make many of the decisions for our country and in fact our world.   I was impressed with that story and have thought of it often since in regard to some of the things that have happened since.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on July 16, 2020, 02:34:26 PM
I don't think I will bother ordering any of the Trump Women Books. Mary's may have lot of truth in it but but so much denied  and for his Wife. She has not been in the country long enough to know anything other than what she has picked up since marrying him. This was about when she came in . Had gotten a Visa to go into Canada and so I am sure he helped in Getting here into the US . She even go her citizen ship with in a year. Suppose to be five. Got a visa for her parents. Same thing. You know that hers has been Ghost written.  She always looks so sad and has a hard time holding his hand. I would say that she will be out of that Marriage soon as he is out of office. I think she is that smart..
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 16, 2020, 09:20:15 PM
I tend to agree Jeanne.  Actually I thought that Mary Trump (author) looked kind of sad during her interview on TV.   Had to wonder why.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on July 17, 2020, 01:31:25 PM
Susan Wittig Albert has a new trilogy of novellas.  I bought the first one "Deadlines" ($3.99) and the other two will be out in a few days and next month.  Three different stories about a newspaper reporter in Pecan Springs, TX.  i enjoyed it and will get the other two when Amazon has them.  Albert also had an earlier trilogy of novellas about Ruby, the interesting owner of Crystal Cave.  All the characters in these novellas are set in the town of Pecan Springs, TX.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 19, 2020, 02:45:22 PM
maryc - Interesting you should mention Taylor Caldwell.  I remember my mother reading Dynasty of Death, and then, The Eagles Gather.   It must have been the mid 1940's?   Both books were still in their  bookshelf, when we cleared out their house in 1991, after my father died. I remember my Mom saying that "D of D", was one of her favorite books, and she thought I might like it also.  I never read it, but now that you mention Caldwell, it reminded me, and I intend to order it from my library . . .  as well s "Eagles", and The Captains and the Kings.  I think a couple of her novels were made into movies? 

Jean - The trilogy of novels by Susan Wittig Albert, sounds like some that I would like.  I enjoy stories about newspapers, reporters, etc.  Probably because I was a journalism major in college, and loved newspaper work.  I'm still a "news junkie", after all these years.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 20, 2020, 06:38:12 AM
I watched a trailer last night for Foundation. Yep, AppleTV is doing a series based on Asimov's trilogy. They have guts for tackling that one, I think. I remember reading that eons ago but cannot remember a thing about it. I don't think, when I read it, I fully understood what was going on.

Meanwhile, I left Peter Theroux in Japan even though he still had to take the Japanese trains and then back through Russia. His narrative while interesting reading was exhausting. He seemed only to stop at a place if he had to, preferring to ride decrepit trains through countries (and the people) he had little nice to say about. So now I am back to reading A Splendid Exchange at least up to and including the time period encompassing the "Great Game" and "British Raj" periods before going on the The Anarchy. The Last Mogul is back on my wish list at the library until I finish those two. Then I can finish the rest of A Splendid Exchange which I assume goes pretty much up to recent times.

I should probably also continue to listen to the Silk Road history just to keep in the historical period, but like I said before, it is dense and requires more concentration. For a break, instead, I have a SciFi post-apocalyptic to veg on.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 23, 2020, 03:19:43 PM
I finished Michael Hingson's book,  Thunder Dog and recommend it.
  Just as I finished that book a friend brought me  another by Jojo Moyes.  This is The Giver of Stars.   If you read and liked The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek you will really enjoy this.  The story is very similar though set in a different Kentucky mining town in  the '30s with a  different group of people.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 28, 2020, 01:01:55 PM
Maryc - Since my post where I mentioned remembering Taylor Caldwell, I've tried to find any of her books, at either of the two libraries I have access to . . . City and County.  Neither one has a copy of any of her novels.  I thought. for sure that there would be a copy of The Captains and the Kings, out there, as well as the other two I mentioned that my mother liked.  I suppose they're only available now at used book store, or antique stores that have a book section.  :-\

I'm wondering how you liked The Giver of Stars, by JoJo Moyes?  I gave that one to my granddaughter last Christmas, and she liked it.  She had already read Me Before You

I'm really stalled on my reading.  Our libraries are still closed, and my enthusiasm for reading has dwindled.  I've reread most of my old favorites like My Antonia, by Cather,  and Fried Green Tomatoes, by Fannie Flagg.  I still have a couple of Anne Tyler novels to reread, as well as last years favorite, The Dutch House.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 28, 2020, 08:44:43 PM
I think if anyone wants Taylor Caldwell books, try Half-Price Books; also HPB Marketplace (you can usually find anything there; or Thrift Books on line, they are excellent, as is Alibris. I have found books on some of those sites that nobody had.  Some of them are "free shipping" some are not.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on July 28, 2020, 09:21:24 PM
Read the posts about Taylor Caldwell and was curious to know if the OKC Metro Library had any in e-book form.
Indeed it does!!!!  There are eleven Taylor Caldwell books available in either e-books or audio books.  Wish I could give you a link but you'd have to have this library card.

Been a long time since I've read any of her books and I can't even remember the titles but I remember I liked them.  Maybe I'll begin putting these on my Wish List - which is growing to the point of keeping me busy for a very long time!

Just finished a memoir by Sonia Sotomeyer.  It's very wordy and was TMI (IMO) about her years growing up in a Puerto Rican family in the Bronx.  I actually skipped several chapters to get to the ones telling about her becoming a judge. Even those were full of minor details and she ends the book with her appointment to the Supreme Court. Can't really recommend it unless you're very interested in her.
 
Now I'm working through one by Nicolas Sparks, Debbie MacComber's newest one and the last of a series by Kay Correll.  The last two are very similar - girl has bakery/cafe on island/in small town - meets "new man in town" - one or the other resists the mutual attraction - etc. etc.  Won't take me long to finish both of them.

Happy Reading
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 29, 2020, 04:08:11 PM
Callie - You made me laugh, with your comment on the Debbie MacComber and Kay Correll books.  So true about the similarity in plot, in so many many books, written in recent years  When our heroine meets, "new man in town", they initially have a misunderstanding about something, that keeps them in conflict. Do you suppose that they will finally resolve their problem,  get together,  and live happily ever after??  I wonder?  ::)  ;D   

Thanks for the info on the Taylor Caldwell books.  I looked on eBay, and see that there are dozens of her novels for sale starting around $14.95 for medium condition, and going up to $29.95 for excellent condition.  I think not!    I will check my County library, and probably will find that they also will have a selection in e-books and audio. I prefer an actual book, but will read on my Kindle, if necessary.  As I mentioned at the beginning of the pandemic, AJ confiscated my Kindle, and he still has control!   In the meantime, I got a message from my dil, that she is bringing over a bag of books.  Hoping there will be some good ones!     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on July 29, 2020, 05:27:07 PM
I just checked both large libraries in my area. I have card. Neither one have any Tayler Caldwell books listed. I know at one time   the did because I use to read them. If I asked thy would most probably Get one on Tape or to read on Ipad. Have lots of books to read but would have been nice to maybe re-read one of the Caldwell books. Sure a high price on Amazon. I found one of my favourite books from my young days that had long gone out of print. Found one in Australia. Just to expensive to purchase.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on July 29, 2020, 06:16:42 PM
Marilyne, Almost every book set on a beach is that way. 
I've also noticed that the nonalcoholic "drink of choice" is always lemonade. Makes me think these people spend an awful lot of time squeezing lemons!  :D

Have finished the MacComber and Correll books. Just downloaded "New York" by Edward Rutherfurd and a "Cotton Malone" book by Steve Berry.  I enjoyed the Rutherfurd books about Ireland and London.

Had my last "maintenance" doctor's appointment today and now have a totally blank calendar for the next few months because I don't expect my September-May activities to start up as usual this year.  Have a feeling the Bridge Club may just fold altogether.  :(
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 30, 2020, 09:54:12 AM
Callie,  I read and thoroughly enjoyed Edward Rutherford's New York several years ago.   Sometime after that I came across another story about New York that intrigued me.  It was a tale of time travel but the parts about NYC in early days up against the present time kept me interested especially after having read "New York." (Time and Time Again by Jack Finney) I've only been to the city once on a brief tour so know little about it except for reading but Rutherford's book laid the city out so well.

About the Taylor Caldwell books....I wonder if they might be available through The Gutenberg Project.  It is a good source of older authors.  I have been pleasantly surprised when buying used books.  Sometimes they are like new....maybe over runs??
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 30, 2020, 09:59:33 AM
Marilyne,I almost forgot.....The Giver of Stars.....I'm about finished and waiting now for the outcome.   It's a very good read.  Maybe you can borrow it back from your granddaughter.    :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 01, 2020, 06:55:52 AM
To brighten things up a bit, I've started listening to John Lithgow's book, The Poet's Corner. He narrates the main dialogue giving details about the poets, fond memories of growing up with poetry, and sometimes, how they influenced or impacted his life. He and a bunch of actor friends read various poems.

The other listen is a collection of seven of the BBC Radio dramatizations of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. What fun!

Otherwise, I continue listening to The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan. Dense, lots of history not directly linked to the Silk Roads but certainly the events, trade, and ideas that traveled the roads influenced and were influenced by travel along them.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 01, 2020, 07:13:52 AM
As for reads, I am into the second of a series about a bounty hunter. The series is called The 28th Gate by Christopher Dimond. The characters are interesting, the main character likeable. The novels are presented in an episodic manner. Some of the episode endings let you know that a character will be showing up again later (but not necessarily in the next episode) or that the consequences of the current episode will rear its head later. No cliffhangers though, each episode is a complete story on its own.

Also, I just downloaded my next Lending Library read which is, once again, part of the Galaxy's Edge series by Anspach and Cole.

Still reading A Splendid Exchange off and on. More interesting that Frankopan's book, faster moving, and while not exclusively about the silk roads does include the Silk Road trade since they were the primary trading routes early on.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on August 01, 2020, 12:01:13 PM
MarsGal, the Pratchett should brighten any day. He's one of the funniest authors I know of. How many of his books did the BBC do?  Surely not all of them?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 01, 2020, 03:13:39 PM
I believe the description said seven, however I just reread the summary and last one is from his Johnny Maxwell series, called Only You Can Save Mankind.  The six Discworld books are Mort (which I am listening to now), Wyrd Sisters, Guards! Guards!, Eric, Small Gods, and Nightwatch.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 01, 2020, 04:41:56 PM
Mars - Thanks for reminding me of Terry Pratchett.  I've read only one of his books, The Color of Magic.   This was many years ago . . . can't remember how long?  Anyway, I liked it a lot, and always intended to read more, but forgot all about him.  I'll check my library and see what they have.  I think you already told me, but I forgot . . . what devise do you use for audio?

Mary - I'll also look to see if they have Giver of Stars, at the library.  I'm sure they do, as all books by JoJo Moyes, are extremely popular.  The problem is, that it will most likely be in soft cover.  They only order paperbacks now, for the popular best sellers.  I like reading them just fine, when they are new, or gently used, (like from my daughter or dil), but cannot stand them from the library.  Soft cover library books,  quickly become tattered and dirty and bent.  I don't enjoy reading a book in that condition!  :P  (As I have mentioned in the past.)

Callie and mary -  I read, New York, by Rutherford, many years ago, and really enjoyed it.   One of those books that I would like to order and read again.  Well documented, fascinating reading.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on August 01, 2020, 04:50:50 PM
I think I may have already read "New York" but it was a long time ago and, now that Miss Ellen lives there (or will again - when she goes back after being at home since March), I'll enjoy reading it again.
"The Forest" is the most recent one of Rutherford's that I've read.

Have been reading "Safe Haven" by Nicholas Sparks but the "bad guy" is so threatening as he searches for the Wife Who Ran Away that I find I have to read something else at bedtime so I won't have bad dreams.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 05, 2020, 02:59:15 PM
 I just finished a story called Yellow Crocus  a first novel by Laila Ibrahim.   Marilyne you might be interested in the author's life as she is a Berkley resident and works as the Director of Children and Family Ministries at the First Unitarian Church in Oakland.  The friend who loaned this to me says that there are a couple more books about these families.   I hope to be able to read them as their story perked my interest in their lives and I'd like to know what happens later. :)
    I also have an audio book "A Wolf  Called Romeo" by Nick Jans from Hoopla.   That is a true story and promising to be good.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: angelface555 on August 06, 2020, 11:42:21 AM
I'd like to thank everyone who played my last quiz and thanks to our winners, Amy, Marilyne, and Jenny!

I have another quiz, A Mythical Creatures Quiz-Name the creature by its description.

https://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?msg=182381

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 09, 2020, 07:06:59 AM
I am reading an old classic, Greyfriar's Bobby by Eleanor Atkinson. Does anyone remember seeing the 1961 Disney movie?

Another Expanse series novella just became available in my hold que, so I will start on that one shortly. The last two "fill-in" novellas I never finished. We'll see how this one goes.

The last few weeks I've splurged on a bunch of e-books and audio-books which were on sale. Sigh! Like I have time to read/listen to all of these plus the tons a already have loaded into my two tablets and the Paperwhite.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on August 09, 2020, 12:13:47 PM
Larry and I have been whiling away the days of this pandemic with reading some books written in the early 1900s that I found in iBooks, some free and some 90 cents, a combination of adventure and a little romance.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 10, 2020, 11:33:27 AM
The friend who loaned me Yellow Crocus also lent me Mudbound.   I had started to watch the movie a while back and gave it up. The time frame of the book is in the late 1930's and through to the end of WWII and  has a powerful message regarding the current racial injustice issues.  It has kept me reading.   Maybe I'll go back and watch the movie after all.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 10, 2020, 03:42:39 PM
maryc -  Regarding Mudbound . . . I haven't read the book, but I was very impressed with the movie!  It's playing on Amazon Prime, and is well worth watching.  Now that you've reminded me of how much I liked the movie, I'll add the book to my library list. 

Son and dil, came over yesterday, and she brought me a couple of books.  One I had already read and mentioned here, When We Believed In Mermaids.  The other one looks to be very interesting.  The Fountains of Silence, by Ruta Sepetys.  I don't know anything about it, except that it takes place in Madrid, in 1957.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on August 11, 2020, 12:54:42 PM
Marilyne,   Now that I've read the book Mudbound  I will likely go back and watch the movie.   Somehow when I started to watch it before I just couldn't get past the grave digging in the mud and rain. ::)  Even after I've read the book it seems to me that was a strange beginning.  It did all come together at the end of the story but for me it was a slow starter.
 After I read a review of it I put When We Believed in Mermaids on hold at the library.  Our library is open for browsing but the reading room nor the computers are open for use.  I went in one day and it seemed so strange with the children's room closed and no one moving around as usual......"our new normal?"
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 14, 2020, 07:33:50 AM
I just the other day started Ink and Bones by Rachael Caine. It is a steampunk/alternate history novel, first of a series. It revolves around The Library which pretty much runs everything since it has authority over all governments. The story follows a young man from London who is studying to become a part of the library system at its headquarters in Alexandria. The Library controls what the general population may read while confiscating all print books and only allow the reading of texts via what is essentially an Ebook in order to suppress what it deems are "dangerous ideas". It also has its own police force used to combat smugglers and their clientele. The Library and it's subsidiaries are guarded by them and some pretty viscous automations. Of course I like it very much and plan to continue reading the series which is up to five volumes now.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 17, 2020, 05:34:39 PM
I am done with Ink and Bones already and waiting on the next in series which is now on hold.

Meanwhile I am enjoying John Lithgow's Poet's Corner, The One and Only Poetry Book for the Whole Family. I am listening to the audiobook version that includes, which this one doesn't see to have, Ligthow's thoughts and a short bio of the poets.  The list of poems and readers in below. Click on show more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1W7VK6Yo4s
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on August 20, 2020, 09:49:23 AM
That's an interesting site, MarsGal.  I'll have some comments when I've listened to more of it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 22, 2020, 05:06:20 PM
This summer, has not been a pleasant one for most of us.  I've spent the majority of my time sitting . . . either watching TV, reading a book, or here at computer.  No wonder my eyes are sore, my legs are stiff and my back is killing me!  :tickedoff:  Well, this too, shall pass!  :-\    In the meantime, I'll recommend a couple of books that I've enjoyed: 

The one I liked the best, is,  Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng. Some of you may have already read it, being as it was on the NYT Bestseller list for a long time, and now has been made into a movie or TV series. (Not sure which?) Anyway, I thought it was a very good story, and I think you all wold like it.  I won't go into any details, because I don't want to ruin it for anyone. Some of you may have read it, or have it on a wait list at the library? 

The one I'm reading now, is, Pandemic 1918, by Catherine Arnold.  Under the title, it says,  "Eyewitness accounts from the greatest medical holocaust in modern history". Little did the author suspect, when she wrote this book in 2018, that in a little over a year ahead, another Pandemic would occur!!  I'm just barely into the book, but looks like it's going to be good, and a fascinating comparison with what's going on right now. 

Callie - I remember you said a while back, that Miss Ellen had returned to NYC?  I hope she is doing well, and has found a job . . . until time for some auditions!    Also, I saw on the news last week, that 23 members of a Sorority, at either U of OK, or OK State U, had tested positive for Coronavirus.  I looked online to see which house it was/is, but alas, they didn't say?  Was it mine, was it yours, was it my grandaughter's?  Curious minds want to know!!  ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: angelface555 on August 22, 2020, 05:42:08 PM
There is another quiz for those who wish to participate.

https://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?msg=183047
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on August 22, 2020, 05:57:09 PM
Marilyne,  I also liked "Little Fires Everywhere".  From "blurbs" I've seen about the movie, I'm not so sure I'd like it, though.

Ellen has three more days of required quarantine. She's gotten regular phone calls and texts checking to see that she's where she's supposed to be.  Her Dad asked how they would know and she said "they" will check via video call if it seems necessary.
She said she thinks she will have some "nanny" jobs when she's available. I don't know if these are the same ones she had earlier.  She had told me she could also tutor if needed. Quite a few restaurants are open for outdoor seating but I haven't heard if she plans to contact any.
She had sent some video auditions while she was still here.  She hasn't said if there are any happening in NYC but she had said the community theaters around the country have either moved their seasons ahead or aren't auditioning in NYC.
She graduated from The University of Central Oklahoma and is not in a sorority.

Emily graduated from OSU and was a Zeta Tau Alpha. Pi Beta Phi was the sorority with all the positive tests.  I was a Theta at OU.

Emily is through with classes (and finals!!!!).  As soon as she completes the required 200 adjustments at the college clinic, she will move home and begin an internship with a chiropractor who specializes in pre-natal/pediatric chiro. She's on schedule to graduate and become "Doctor Emily" in December.

Carson said 2 members of his OSU frat (Phi Kappa Tau) had tested positive but he lives off-campus and hadn't been around either of them. At least one of his classes is "face-to-face"
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 23, 2020, 08:13:16 AM
Marilyne, I finally did a copy and paste of the list of poems read so I can refer to it on occasion. There are some poets I am unfamiliar with even if I recognize some of their poems.

Yesterday I had occasion to call Audible with an account question. The CSR, who was a treat to talk with, fixed my problem and added a complimentary credit for another book to boot. That was totally unexpected. Anyway, I ended up with three more Audible books to listen to: Age of Empyre (the latest of the "Legends of the First Empire"), History of the Medieval World by Susan Wise Bauer, and John Scalzi's Fuzzy Nation. I read Fuzzy Nation before, but it is a funny book and for once Wil Wheaton sounds just right for the reading of it.

Wil Wheaton, you may recall if you are a Star Trek fan, played Wesley Crusher on the Next Generation series. He was never a favorite and generally, I don't think he is all that great at narration except for a few including Redshirts (a Star Trek spoof, kind of), The Android's Dream (inspired by Philip K. Dick's "Do Android's Dream of Electric Sheep") and Agent to the Stars. These three are also Scalzi books. Anyone who likes Hollywood spoofs should like Agent to the Stars and Redshirts.

Here is the online version of Agent to the Stars, free to read. http://scalzi.com/agent/ or you can download a free copy from ManyBook in any of several formats. It is now also offered for sale. While Old Man's War is often listed as Scalzi's debut novel, this one is actually his first. He posted it free online, long ago, just to see if anyone would read it. I am such a longtime Scalzi fan.

So now I am reading another okay SciFi and still need to finish A Splendid Exchange
(always seem to read non-fiction in starts and stops). Still listening to three Audible books mentioned before.

I am expecting at least one of my online library holds to drop any time now.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 23, 2020, 05:15:11 PM
Callie - My granddaughter was a Pi Phi! (LSU)  I'm sure the word has leaked out, that that was the sorority with the 23 Covid-19 cases!  If not, I'll be sure to tell her! :D  She graduated two years ago, and now lives and works in San Francisco. I was a Chi Omega, at SJSU. (San Jose State U).

MarsGal - I remember Will Wheaten, when he played one of leading roles, in the movie "Stand By Me", adapted from the story by Stephen King.  He was only about 14 at the time, and I thought he did a great job.  I didn't even realize he had gone on to have a movie career as an adult.  I've never seen "The Star Trek" series.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 23, 2020, 07:08:57 PM
Marilyne, Wil has had recurring roles in Eureka (I liked that show) and Big Bang Theory, among others. He does voice for books and for some video games. He is a blogger and also an advocate for mental health organizations who advocate for those with anxiety disorders and chronic depression from which he suffers. It also appears that he has started writing. I wonder who influenced him to write. He and John Scalzi are great friends and gaming buddies. They both have a strange sense of humor. Anyway, Wheaton's books are on Amazon and probably others. Who knew! I am glad I checked his blog site. Will have to check into his writing.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 29, 2020, 07:16:58 AM
Oh, darn. Project Gutenberg changed up its website, bigtime. I don't think I like it much. It looks more like all the others with pictures of the covers. Instead of listing new releases from the last 24hrs, week or month, it just lists them as recent releases. Just checking the daily releases doesn't seem possible or easy at this point. The old app I have on my Kindle Fire no longer links to Project Gutenberg, but I can still link to Feedbooks and another site (name escapes me at the moment). Well, that's okay. I can still download the files to desktop and copy them over to my Paperwhite like always, but I am not sure what folder I need to copy any of them to in the Kindle Fire. Kindle offers very few alternative readers. I think they still have Calibre in their apps store, but I never got along well with that program, not for reading and certainly not for converting ePub files to .mobi. Oh, well. The Paperwhite is my primary reader for any book files I download from somewhere other than Amazon. It is not like a really need yet another reader app. Oh, and now that I have my laptop working again using Ubuntu OS, I need to find a decent reader for that. There are some, including Calibre.

I am reading Spook Street, the next in the Slough House series. My reading, for the moment, has slowed to a trickle again.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 04, 2020, 07:17:23 PM
For my dil's birthday, I gave her the new book, American Dirt, by Jeannine Cummins.  Destined to be a Best Seller, and much more, or so I have heard?   It's the latest book on Oprah Winfrey's book list.  I deliberately haven't read any reviews, as I was hoping to get it at the library . . . but the wait list is long!

I haven't read anything worth mentioning, since I finished, Little Fires Everywhere, which I already mentioned, and thought was very good.
Callie -  haven't seen any reviews of the movie, (series?), but I would watch it if I had Hulu.  Impossible to view any of the good shows on Hulu, unless  you subscribe.  I already have Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO, Showtime and TCM, so I'm not ready to add another one!  However, if this Pandemic continues on and on, I may just add Hulu, and a few others.  There are so many streaming channels now, that I've lost track.  ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 09, 2020, 07:12:45 AM
I am now reading the second of the Great Library series, Paper and Fire, by Rachel Caine. It is just as interesting as the first. There are a few spots where the main character's (narrator) actions seem to contradict what he said/thought, not enough, though for me to remember an example this morning.

The other day I bought an E-book primarily about the maps and mapmakers during the "Great Game" era. I do love maps. This adds to my collection of books regarding this era of the British Empire and its rivals for lucrative trade in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, et.al., and the other goal of opening up trade with China through the overland Silk Road routes.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 12, 2020, 07:41:11 AM
Well, I breezed through Paper and Fire and have the next one, Ash and Quill, ready to read after I read Mick Herron's Slough House novella, The Catch. Last night, I finished John Scalzi's The Last Emperox which is the last of his latest trilogy. It had a good, if somewhat surprising, ending.

My Audible listens have suffered the last week or two. I am in the middle of three different listens so must try and get back to them. My collection just keeps growing ahead of my listening.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 12, 2020, 11:56:58 AM
MarsGal - Looks like you've been all alone in this "room", for the past week!  Sorry I've been so neglectful.  I took a break from reading for awhile, but now getting back into it again.  I started the non-fiction book, Pandemic 1918, a couple of days ago.  A fascinating account of the Spanish Flu, and how it spread through every country, and the methods that people and doctors used to cope with it back then.  It's a very detailed book, with lot of names, places, well documented.  I was thinking that it would be easier to understand if you listen to on audio device, than it is to read it. 

Other than that, we did pick up a few books at the library.  You have to order online, then drive up to a designated spot, call a number from your cell phone, and then they bring your books out and put them in your trunk.  Just exactly the same routine, as ordering and picking up groceries at Safeway. 
 [/b]
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on September 14, 2020, 05:13:52 PM
It has been quiet here for a time.    Marilyne,  I wonder what the conditions are in your area with the fires going on nearby?
  I've been reading quite steadily.  This past week's sad anniversary of 9/11 reminded me of a book I read just a while back called THUNDER DOG.   It was the memoir of a legally blind man who with his guide dog was fortunate to get out of one of the Towers.  He credits his dog along with a fellow worker for keeping their group of people on course as they escaped down many floors of the burning building.  The author is Michael Hingson. 
      THE WOLF CALLED ROMEO  by Nick Jans was an interesting read.   A friend loaned me Mary Trump's new book.   That was interesting though depressing.    Then I started the Marie Benedict books.   First one was CARNEGIE'S MAID  and now I'm reading LADY CLEMENTINE....about Mrs. Winston Churchill.  M. Benedict has a good way of drawing you right into the story.  This particular book about the Churchills reminds me of a good series I read several years ago called THE MAGGIE HOPE MYSTERY SERIES by Susan Elia MacNeal.   One of the books in that series is called Mr. Churchill's Secretary.  All were good WWII stories.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 20, 2020, 06:42:31 AM
Time to update my current reading:

I finished listening to the Legends of the First Empire series written by Michael J. Sullivan and narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds. What a story. I plan on listening to another book before going back to the next series in the Elan Universe arc.

I am reading a very interesting Scifi called A Memory of Empire by Arkady Martine. This is a story of political intrigue as well as a murder mystery. Anyone who likes poetry may get a kick out of this one. Poetry is writ large in Empire culture and is often used as a means of coding messages and making political statements. Naming conventions are interesting as well as the descriptions of the City, which is an Ecumenopolis (planet wide city), its inhabitants and its architecture.

After that, the next Slough House book, London Rules, is ready to read. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 04, 2020, 04:39:27 PM
Hello everyone. :) I hope you're all doing lots of reading??   I'm not doing as much as I used to, but still have a few books sitting here, waiting to be opened.  The libraries are still not open for browsing. I loved spending an hour or so at the library, looking at the brand new selections, the large print section, and always a walk through the stacks in search of an old favorite author.  Something very satisfying about just being there.   I hope the opportunity to enjoy that simple pleasure, returns soon.

We can order a limited number of books online and then drive up, call a number, and someone will bring them out and put them in your trunk.  Somehow, not at all satisfactory.  I've ordered quite a few, but haven't really enjoyed them, and usually don't finish.  One that I've tried to read a number of times over the years, is A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.  I figured this would be a good time to give it another go, but I just can't get past the first chapter. I must be missing something, as I usually enjoy popular best sellers. My dil gave me a book called, Cruel Beautiful World, by Caroline Leavitt.   She liked it, and we usually agree, so I might start reading it this afternoon.

If anyone has anything to recommend, please let us know? I'd love some suggestions.       
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 05, 2020, 11:00:50 AM
Good morning all.    My reading has been a little spasmotic  recently but I continue on.  I just finished WHEN WE BELIEVED IN MERMAIDS.   That was a good and different story.  Thanks Marilyne for the suggestion.    I recently picked up a PLAYAWAY from the library.  It was Dan Rather's book WHAT UNITES US.   I liked it but it kept stopping and I had to continually find my place and restart it so it's going back to the library.
   I'm open to suggestions for something interesting.   I'll have to go back in the posts here and see what was mentioned that I haven't caught up with.   Sometimes a title isn't available for me at the time it is mentioned. :(    It seems that many of our regular folks have not been posting here for a while.   I hope it is just busyness that is keeping them away.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 06, 2020, 09:43:21 AM
Oh, gosh. Reading like crazy and listening too. My library holds are coming in practically on top of each other. On top of that, I have bought a few more, and now that Amazon has started a new thing for premium members, I am listing to a bunch of audio borrows. I have listened to the first of three and on the second of the Norse sagas including The Poetic Edda. Two of these audiobooks are translated and read by the author along with his synopsis of events. There is also a Medieval history and Riders of the Purple Sage to listen to. Right now, though, I am in the middle of Heaven's River by Dennis E. Taylor. It is the fourth in his Bobiverse series. Once again, the Silk Roads audiobook is on pause. Will I ever finish it at this rate?

After finishing A Memory of Empire and London Rules, I am now into the fourth book in The Great Library series, Smoke and Iron. I thought that would be the last, but no, there is another.

I got reminded that I never finished Boris Akunin's Ernst Fandorin series because they had not been published yet in English (this was several years ago). Picking up where I left off, the next in line is The State Counsellor. Fandorin is a one time Far East diplomat and spy,that on coming back to Moscow, joined the Moscow police department as a detective. The time period is a few years before the 1917 October Revolution. BTW, yes, counselor is indeed spelled with two l's in the title-British spelling, I believe. If you like period piece detective stories, this series is good and interesting.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 10, 2020, 12:31:21 PM
I finished reading through five Great Library series books by Rachel Caine and expected the fifth to be the last one. Well, no. She stretched the story out to yet another book. It is on hold now.

Listening to Heaven's River is a "trip". In this one, the book is paying homage to a number of books, TV shows, movies, a scientist (but I forget who already), and probably a game or two, but I am not up on them except for HALO. I am definitely going to have to listen again and keep a notepad with me to write down all the references. Star trek and its offshoots get a lot of play. Skippy the beer can from Craig Alanson's popular Expeditionary Force series, the TV show Cheers are two I remember offhand. Much of the setting is an O'Neil Cylinder or Ringworld type of environment.

I did not finish The State Counsellor. I couldn't get into it. I remember the earlier ones being much more interesting.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 10, 2020, 02:00:40 PM
MarsGal - Your reading choices are always interesting!  "Heaven's River" sounds fascinating, and one that I'd like to read.  Next time I make out a library list, I'll see if they have it in our system.

I'm almost finished with "Cruel Beautiful World", by Caroline Leavitt.  I really like this book, and highly recommend it!  Good reviews from all the major sources. 

Maryc, Callie and Jean - If you're looking for something to read,  I think all three of you will like this novel.  It takes place mostly in 1969, in Boston, and rural Pennsylvania.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 11, 2020, 06:44:32 AM
Marilyne, Heaven's River is the fourth in series and best read in sequence. The first is truly funny, this last one is a bit more subtle. I checked and see that yes, there are paperbacks out now which are available from several places. I am not sure about the E-book availability except for the Kindle. The audio book is exclusive to Audible. Ray Porter does an excellent job of catching Bob's exasperated/sarcastic voice. Bob, I should point out, is a bit unhappy to discover that he has died and his mind uploaded into a Von Neumann probe which was then shot out into space. Good luck on finding this in a library.

The series is considered hard science fiction but they are not heavy reading and don't get bogged down in lengthy technical explanations. Dennis Taylor, a former computer programmer, is interested in exploring human/computer interactions. The books are not hard to understand, but it is helpful to know a little computerese. I had to look up "framejack" just to get a better picture of it, but you get a vague idea even without getting the dictionary out. Featured equipment in the series include Von Neumann probes, virtual reality, O'Neil cylinder or ringworld (4th book), colony ships (but vaguely defined), cloning, androids or something similar, and of course, where there are humans (or human minds), there are nukes occasionally being lobbed about. The books include political, moral and philosophical differences and the need for cooperation.

Well, now that I am done with Bob, I am going back to the Norse sagas on audio. Oh, and yes, I am trying mightily to listen to and understand what is going on in Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi. I found it a free listen on YouTube. The narrator has got a lovely smooth. lulling voice, but the tale is hard to understand just yet. I hear it gets more understandable farther it. I hope so. Quantum anything is generally for me to understand.

 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 12, 2020, 03:32:15 PM
MarsGal,  You make my head spin with the number of titles you go through in such a short time.  I'm lucky to go through a book a week.

i've got another audio book going just now.   It is another WWII story set in Poland in 1939 at the time of the Nazi invasion.  It flips back and forth from that time to the present.   I'm especially enjoying the audio because of the Polish dialect.   I have several friends and relatives who had family from Poland and this story speaks to me.

We've been missing quite a few of the regulars here recently.   I wondered about  them and hope all is well and that they are busy with other things.

Marilyn,   I will look up your latest title.  It sounds like one I would enjoy.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 13, 2020, 05:34:27 AM
MaryC, It is just me and the cats here. I am something of a homebody so don't go out much. In fact, with the COVID-19 business, George and my sister think I am turning into a down-right hermit. One of the reasons George prefers that I take care of his cats when he is away is to get me out of the house occasionally, even if it is just over to his place and back. I tried to get him to find someone else to check the house and feed the cats without success. He doesn't actually have anyone close by that he trusts to let into his house without him being there, not to mention that cat sitting services would be mighty expensive for him since he is often gone almost two weeks out of the month.

Well, that got a little off topic, didn't it. I carry a book or my E-reader everywhere I go. The audio books I listen to while doing my jigsaw puzzles and some housework, like washing dishes. Other than Sue (who I talk to almost every day on the phone, do lunch with every other week or so, and do a one day bus trip or two each year) I don't have any other nearby relatives. The closest I have to friends these days are you lot and the bunch on SeniorLearn, Sue, and George. Oh, and my cats. So--plenty of time to read and play on the computer. It suits me.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 13, 2020, 06:16:46 AM
Okay, back to Quantum Thief. It is very difficult to follow let alone understand. Quantum physics is way beyond my understanding of physics except for a few basic physics principles. I don't to "gaming" and know absolutely nothing about Game Theory except that there is one. And yet, I am reluctant to stop listening. The narrator's voice just sucks me in. I'm just along for a very confusing ride. Without all that, it is more or less a mystery story about a thief who is broken out of prison by someone who needs his expertise to locate someone or something. It turns out that the thief has multiple realities, kind of like multiple incarnations I guess, and must find these other versions of himself and their memories in order to accomplish his mission. Like I said, very confusing.

I just started All My Sins Remembered by Joe Haldeman. Yes, it is another SciFi. This is a spy/assassin/detective type story. So, here is a guy, who is something of a pacifist/Buddhist, signing up with an agency (government?) to work in an area suited to his beliefs and finds himself trained and doing things totally against his beliefs. There is some kind of psychological manipulation of the brain (brainwashing? hypnosis?) and body changes involved in order to accomplish his goals.

I am well into listening to Saga of the Volsungs. The first part, some of which I skipped, was essentially the same tales as in The Poetic Edda. The second part is about Ragnerok and the fall of same. I don't recall much said about that in the last audio book. This part of the Norse sagas is what inspired Richard Wagner to write his famous opera and has spawned numerous books, comics, and movies.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 21, 2020, 07:19:57 AM
Book reading/listening update:

Now that I have finished listening to Song of the Volsungs, I am trying mightily to finish Silk Roads. Almost there.  For a light listen, I started Ben Garrod's book  A Grown-Up Guide to Dinosaurs. It is only 2 3/4 hours long. Also, I am listening to The Fractal Prince, second of series by Hannu Rajaniemi via YouTube. It is easier to follow than the first book. What bothers me a bit about the YouTube books is that not a few of them are current books still under copyright laws. I have absolutely no idea if the authors/publishers and in some cases Amazon (because some of them are Audible books) have given their approval.

Reading wise, I am reading my print copy of C. J. Cherryh's Hellbender and on my Paperwhite, Ken Liu's Paper Menagerie and Other Stories
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on October 21, 2020, 11:31:34 AM
MarsGal, I'm overawed even thinking of your marathon reading.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 21, 2020, 12:05:15 PM
PatH2 - I love that word, "overawed"!  I'm going to use it in conversation, ASAP!  8)

MarsGal - I agree with Pat.  I'm truly impressed that you can listen to, and also read, so many books within the same time frame.  Something I've never been able to do.  A true example of multi-tasking!

I've gone into another slump, as far as reading is concerned. Since I finished "Cruel, Beautiful World", I haven't picked up another book. I have a couple of novels here that I started, but didn't read more than a chapter.  The stories just didn't grab my interest, but I may have to give them another look.         
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 22, 2020, 12:10:49 PM
Marsgal,   I liked listening to the audios while working on my jigsaw puzzles too.   It's almost time for me to "dedicate" my dining room table to the winter puzzles. :)  
Marilyne,   I'm about halfway through Cruel Beautiful World.   Not moving too fast but it is a good story.  Iris is such a good person!!   My reading buddy here at home has given me a couple of titles to check on when this is finished.  I just stopped tis writing for a minute to look at my HOOPLA list of favorites and found that there are quite a few good ideas there for fiction-non fiction and also some audios that look promising.   Sometimes I takes the time to just browse the HOOPLA titles and mark as favorites for later.  It's almost like a trip to the library. :D

Has anyone heard from FlaJean or JeanneP or any of the other regulars here?  It's been a long time.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on October 22, 2020, 01:39:47 PM
Maryc, I've read over a hundred books in the last couple of months.  Most of them are older books of authors of years gone by written in the 20s, 30s, and 40s.

 I did read a couple of books lately by Debbie Macomber about Alaska---"Alaska Home" and "Alaska Nights" about 3 brothers who start a local airplane service and advertise in the states to try to get more women in town.  Both books were "delightful" with a little comedy and romance thrown in.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 22, 2020, 07:07:02 PM
Jean - I guess it's a toss-up, as to who has read the most books - you or MarsGal?!  :D   It's very impressive that you've read over a hundred books in the past couple of months! 
I also enjoy reading novels written in the 1930's, 40's and 50's.  Did you ever read "Rebecca", by Daphne du Maurier?  I read the book long ago, and also saw the Hitchcock movie that won so many awards in 1940.  Now I see that it has been made into a brand new movie, and its playing on Netflix!  I've read lots of reviews in the past couple of days, and they are mostly quite favorable.  Of course it's being compared with the original, starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine.  The Netflix movie is British, so I don't recognize the names of the actors.  We will probably watch it this weekend.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on October 22, 2020, 10:25:58 PM
Marilyne, I've read "Rebecca" several times and have seen the movie.  I didn't know a new movie was made.  I'll check it out on Netflix.  I guess you can tell I'm not really a movie fan and usually prefer books.  However, I think the movies made from John Grisham's books are usually better than his books.  I also thought Hidden Figures was much better as a movie.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on October 23, 2020, 09:07:23 AM
Rebecca has always been my alltime favorite book since I read it back in the 40's so I was excited when I learned a new movie of it was coming out.  I watched it on Netflix and I'm sorry but I was terribly  disappointed.  I've read several critics' reviews, Marilyne, that panned it badly and I have to agree with them all.  The part of the second Mrs. de Winter is played by the young actress. Lily James, and she is so miscast, IMO.  She is the same actress who played Lady Rose in Downton Abbey.  She was good in that part but I didn't think she fit this part of the second Mrs. de Winter at all!  They changed the ending from the book and it damaged the story a lot.  The scenery was beautiful, however, and that is about the only good thing I have to say about the production.  :-\ 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 23, 2020, 05:11:46 PM
Phyllis - I'm almost afraid to watch the new, "Rebecca", because I personally feel that nothing can ever compare with the original, when it comes to any remake of good quality old movie.  Like you, I loved the book!  I didn't see the movie until it was re-released, in the early 50's, and I loved it as well.  Since then, I've seen it a number of times on Turner Classic Movies.  It doesn't play as often as the newer Hitchcock films, but it does roll around once or twice a year.

Out of curiosity, I will watch the Netflix movie, but my expectations are not high.  When I stop and think that the original movie is now  80 years old,  it makes me realize that there are only a few of us who remember it, or who have actually seen it.  So the new version, with the same story, will probably be popular with all of the many generations who have followed since ours.  Lily James,  who plays the second Mrs. de Winter, is a very popular star in the UK right now.  I've seen her in just about every British movie or TV series within the past couple of years.  Kristin Scott Thomas, who plays Mrs. Danvers, is a good actress, and probably does a credible job  . . . but can anyone come close to the portrayal of Mrs. Danvers, by Dame Judith Anderson??   I think not!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on October 24, 2020, 03:54:52 PM
Good to see the posts from FlaJean and Phyllis.  Still wondering about JeanneP.      FlaJean,  you really have been on a reading binge!! :2funny:    I hope you are well otherwise.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 03, 2020, 12:34:38 AM
Phyllis  -  Just getting back to you about  Rebecca!  I was hoping to like the new version, but I was disappointed. It just didn't have that spellbinding Hitchcock touch!   The actor I liked the least was Armie Hammer, who played Maxim DeWinter.  He wasn't convincing at all, and lacked the sophistication of Laurence Olivier.  Kristen Scott Thomas was quite good as Mrs. Danvers, and Lily James, was okay, but too childlike?  The new version might be quite popular with the younger generations, who have never read the book, or seen the original movie.
I did enjoy the clothes, the scenery, and of course, Manderlay! 

I looked on my Comcast "search",  to see if the original is available to rent?  Unfortunately,  it isn't.  However, I did see that there is another version, produced in 1997,  starring Charles Dance, Emilia Fox, and Diana Rigg, as Mrs Danvers!  That's a good cast, and sounds worthy of watching! Diana Rigg would be great, and Charles Dance has the perfect British aristocratic presence!  He was wonderful in,  The Crown, playing Lord Mountbatten!  I'm sure I will rent that version at some time in the future.
   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on November 03, 2020, 09:24:16 AM
Marilyne, the Rebecca version with Charles Dance is pretty good and he actually looked the part.  Armand Hammer didn't and IMO didn't even try to act the part, either.  Diana Rigg did a surprisingly good job as Mrs. Danvers in the Charles Dance version, I thought. 

In the Hitchcock version I never liked Olivier because he was not a favorite of mine in any part that he did in spite of his immense popularity, but Hitchcock's direction, as always, was perfect....or, nearly perfect. And Judith Anderson will always be Mrs. Danvers, in my mind.  Since Rebecca is my favorite book of all time I'm probably 'way too critical of any movie production of it.   ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 05, 2020, 08:23:01 AM
My reading/listening has slowed down for a couple of days now. Two days ago, I finished the last of the Norse saga audio books I borrowed. The next chapter of the Silk Roads audio book needs attention. I just haven't felt like getting into this next chapter yet as it is an hour and a half in length. I rather dislike stopping in the middle of a chapter, but I may just have to go ahead and risk having to to it in order to move ahead with the book.

I am now reading the most recent download from my library holds called The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord. It is a social scifi about (so far) refugee immigration and assimilation. It looks like the beginnings of a possible romance too, but it is too early to tell. Meanwhile, my monthly Prime lending library book is waiting, and two others started but temporarily put aside.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 15, 2020, 01:24:50 PM
Hello Booklovers!  I haven't posted, because I haven't been reading much at all in recent weeks.  For some reason, I can't seem to find a book that holds my interest for long, although I think I've found a couple that I've been enjoying this past week. 

Remember a few years ago, when many of us read,  The Orphan Train,  plus other books about that shameful time in our history?  Children were abandoned or given away by their families, and many ended up on the orphan trains, in hopes of being adopted by a kind loving family.  Some realized that dream, but others were not so lucky.    My dil gave me a non-fiction book, called "We Rode The Orphan Trains", by Andrea Warren.  She interviewed  dozens of older people in the late 1990's and early 2000's, who rode those trains when they were children, and compiled this short history on some of them who are/were still living to tell their stories.  Fascinating short accounts of how each one happened to end up on the trains, and what happened when they were "adopted".  Photographs of most of them when they were children.

The only other book I have is,  The Paris Architect, by Charles Balfoure.  It's a  novel, that takes place in 1942,  when Paris was occupied by the Nazi's.  I started it a couple of days ago, and looks like it's going to be as good one.

I've been  "vegging out" in front of the TV most afternoons.  I have dozens of good movies and programs  recorded off of a variety of different channels, so this is a good time to catch up and enjoy.  I'd love to be out browsing through the library, or any number of other activities, but we're under another strict Covid lockdown here, so we have to make the best of what's available.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 15, 2020, 04:39:08 PM
Not much to report on the reading front except that I am listening to a Nero Wolfe book. I finished listening to The Fractal Prince which had interesting bits but was fairly incomprehensible. In Wikipedia's description of the book, it mentions several books and authors that influenced this second book. One is The Manuscript Found in Saragossa by Jan Potocki (also now residing in my wish list) and another, The Arabian Nights. The last of the series is The Causal Angel. It is apparently read by someone other than Scott Brick, so maybe I will not be lulled to sleep by such a mesmerizing voice.

As for my E-reading, I am into a SciFi series by M. R. Forbes. It is not as interesting as the first series I read by the author. Real print book is Hellbender by C. J. Cherryh
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 24, 2020, 06:09:23 AM
Okay, time for an update, I guess.

I didn't finish the M. R. Forbes series; didn't even finish the first book. Almost done with Hellbender and have started the last of the Great Library of Alexandria series that was written by the late Rachel Caine who passed away on Nov. 1. Haven't listened to any audio books in a few days. The Silk Roads audio book is up to modern times now and I am not inclined to listen to that just now since I am much more interested in ancient and medieval history.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 24, 2020, 10:35:45 AM
Hello everyone!   Just checking in to see what is being read here.  :)     For myself,  I'm about halfway through MY DEAR HAMILTON by Stephanie Dray.   For those who enjoy I'm historical fiction you might find this interesting.   It's told from the view of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton.  The person who recommended to me said that she couldn't get into the book HAMILTON but found this one more interesting.
   I have found that between the bad news of Covid-19 and the excitement of the election,  it has been hard to read for pleasure more than a little bit at a time so the reading is slow.
   Thanksgiving plans have been strange this year.   Debby and I are having our dinner together but not with the larger family group.   We are doing some  baking to share with people we know who are alone.   I questioned myself about sharing food but think that the benefit outweighs the risk in this case.   I'm fortunate to have Debby close by.
  Happy Thanksgiving to any and all who visit here.   Stay well!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on November 25, 2020, 11:06:57 AM
Maryc 
QuoteI have found that between the bad news of Covid-19 and the excitement of the election,  it has been hard to read for pleasure more than a little bit at a time so the reading is slow.
You're speaking for all of us, Mary.  That's why no one's posting.

I'm fine, no particular news here.  Tomorrow, if the weather lets us, a small group of friends will gather on a lawn and sit 6 feet apart, masked, and chat for a while over snacks, then go our separate ways to our own modest plans.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on November 28, 2020, 03:36:40 PM
Thank you for the beautiful new page layout here.   It was a lovely surprise today!!!
 
 Pat H.,I like to hear about the interesting ways that people have planned to get together safely with friends.   Our Bereavement group met at Ft. Niagara State Park in the warm months.  Everyone really enjoyed being out there by the Lake.   Recently we have met (masked) in the large Fellowship Hall at our church where there is lot of room for distancing and also have some windows open for a good change of air.  That could change if the church building has to close for any gatherings.  My daughter's choirs have had some interesting innovations.   The bell choir again meets at the Fellowship hall with each person having their own table spaced apart.  The director has filmed their practice and uses it for the online service.   The chancel choir meet by Zoom but then they have taped their own singing individually and the director has created a Zoom choir.   She has worked hard at keeping  the music for streamed services interesting.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 28, 2020, 05:31:46 PM
Hello to Mary, MarsGal and Pat:  It's been a couple of weeks since I posted here, but have read all of your messages when they were posted. 

Mary - sounds like you and Debby spent a pleasant Thanksgiving together, and I'm sure you enjoyed  a nice meal . . .  as AJ and I did.  It sure was quiet this year, compared to all TG's from the past, but was for the best.  We've all lived long enough to have lots of wonderful memories.

MarsGal - I saw in B&T, that you were busy feeding George's cats over the holiday, but not getting together with your sister and bil this year.  I hope you had some festive food to enjoy?

Pat - It looked like you were planning some social interaction with friends, even though you were unable to have Thanksgiving dinner together?     
Does anyone remember back a couple of years ago, when many of us read the memoir,  Hillbilly Elegy,  by J.D. Vance?  I remember liking it, but found it to be quite sad and hopeless.  It's been made into a Netflix movie, and I watched it last night.  I was so impressed with the actors, and how they depicted the characters from the book.    Glenn Close, played Vance's grandmother, Mamaw, and Amy Adams, played his drug addicted mother.    They are both excellent actors, and did some of their best work on this movie, I thought.    I'm sure they will be up for Emmy Awards next season. The boy who played Vance, as a child, was also good.  It was very much worth watching, if you like a good drama, which I do.  The movie had more of a hopeful ending. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on November 28, 2020, 06:46:16 PM
Thanks Bubble. See my new face showing up. We all must be getting our hair cut shorter and shorter these days. I got one to last for 60 days as all all shut down again. She over did but will grow out.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on November 29, 2020, 10:19:35 AM
Regarding Hillbilly Elegy. Sorry, Marilyne, you and I often agree but I'm not with you on this one.  I read the book...or ended up scanning to the ending....and watched about a half-hour of the movie before deciding that there is enough depressing "stuff" in the daily news without using my "entertainment" time to watch even more depressing "stuff".  Glenn Close did well in the part and Amy Adams, too, but the whole theme just wasn't my cup of tea.  Whiny, is the word one critic used and I agree with that.  And one article writer, who was raised in similar circumstances, wrote this scathing critique:

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/netflix-s-hillbilly-elegy-turns-my-community-s-human-anguish-ncna1248890

Even the CNN reviewer called it a "dreary movie".
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on November 29, 2020, 12:00:27 PM
Marilyne and Phyllis, my book club had read/discussed "Hillbilly Elegy" but, like Phyllis, I had skipped to the ending after I was about half-way through. 
Started watching the movie last night and turned it off at about the same point. (haven't figured out how to Fast Forward on Netflix). 

Started to share my opinion but deleted comments because they would not be at all "p.c.". 
Onward and Upward.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 29, 2020, 01:20:00 PM
Phyllis and Callie - I debated whether to even mention "Hillbilly Elegy", in this folder, for a number of reasons.   I didn't mean to give the impression that I was recommending the book or the movie.   I really only wanted to heap lots of praise on Glenn Close, and Amy Adams.  I thought they did an incredible job of portraying the two women in Vance's memoir.  From what I remember about his book, the movie followed the story.

Before watching, I read some reviews from different publications that I follow online, and most were favorable.  I don't know anything about life in that part of our country, but I do believe that drug addiction, and all the problems it presents, is pervasive in most of the 50 states.  Certainly has been a serious problem here in California for the past 15 or so years. 

Phyllis - I read the review you posted, and the first thing that came to mind, was that the reviewer is a very angry man.  He was furious, in his hatred of the book, the movie, and even had to throw some blame in the direction of Trump!  ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on November 29, 2020, 04:54:13 PM
Marilyne,  I'm glad you did.  I was interested in learning what other readers-like-me (i.e. not reviewers or critics)  thought about it.

I had watched as much of the movie as I did on t.v.  Pulled Netflix up on Tablet and was able to "scroll" to the end. The comments and pictures that accompanied the final credits were interesting.

Back to books..... :) ... I'm ready to start a Fannie Flagg that I haven't read..."The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop".  Had recently reread her "A Redbird Christmas" and read "Mistletoe Miracles", #7 in Jody Thomas' Ransom Canyon series.  Both Christmas themed ("sort of" for "MM"  ;) ).

Off to read in my sunny window - for as long as it lasts before the sun goes behind the trees.

 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on November 29, 2020, 05:59:34 PM
I'm probably behind times again but I just read that Tom Hanks is starring in "News of the World".  It opens Christmas Day and I think will be on Netflix at some point.  I really enjoyed that book and now that Tom Hanks has aged, I can see him in that role.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 30, 2020, 07:32:42 AM
Jean, the movie is going to be a must see for me (eventually). Tom Hanks is a very good choice for the lead role. Sam Elliot would have been super too. News of the World is one of the first audio books I listened to. Excellent story, excellent narrator, and I expect on less from Hanks and the movie.

Last night I listened to a chapter of a Medieval history audio book I had previously started, and also began listening to one of the Dalai Lama's books, Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions by H.H. the Dalai Lama and Ven Thubten Chodron.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on November 30, 2020, 08:40:26 AM
Callie, thanks for reminding me of Fannie Flagg.  I liked her both as a performer and as an author.  I need to check the library catalog.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 30, 2020, 11:11:55 AM
I also like every book written by Fannie Flagg,  and Redbird Christmas is one of my favorites.  I'm on the wait list at the library for it, but I think I'm going to order a copy from Amazon, instead.  I promised myself I would buy no more books . . . but that's a special one that I can give to my daughter after I read it.  In fact, I think I'll order one for both of my girls, and my dil too!  Good Christmas gifts!

Maryc  - Remember how much you and I enjoyed,  The Whole Town is Talking, by Fannie Flagg?  For those of you who like her stories, and her characters, I think you'll love this one.   It's a feel good story, that's especially enjoyed by us older folks! 

MarsGal  - I'm very excited that the movie News of the World will finally be released!  I loved that book so much, and could always picture Tom Hanks, in the leading roll.  I didn't listen to the audio book, but I remember that he was the narrator, and you said he did an outstanding job.

The only problem, is that it will be playing in theaters, and unlikely that any of us will going to a movie theater, anytime soon.  We'll have to wait for it to show up on Netflix I guess. 

Phyllis  - I don't remember if you read it, back when we were all talking about it?  If not, I really think you'll like it too.  Although it's not a Christmas theme story,  there's something very uplifting about it.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on November 30, 2020, 11:46:14 AM
News of the World sounds perfect.  I had to put a Hold on the e-book and I am 15th on the list but that's ok.  I'll get it eventually.  Thanks for reminding me about it, Marilyne.  I'll have to go to Thrift Books for A Redbird Christmas because my library no longer has it in their catalog.   (And I promised myself I wouldn't buy any more books either.....but, I still do.  <sigh>
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on November 30, 2020, 04:21:20 PM
Gals, I had always pictured Sam Elliot as The Captain in News of the World. The voice alone should have gotten him the part! LOL. Plus, if you've read the book, you know that the Captain had been in the Civil War, and it would have made his character older than Hanks appears.  Plus, the Captain always mentions about how he is aging.  But, I guess since Hanks bought the rights to the film, he can play the part if he wants to, na, na, na, na, nah! I will certainly watch it, whenever we can get it through whatever medium we can.  If it goes to TV it will probably be on HBO, which I don't subscribe to.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 30, 2020, 05:12:33 PM
Oops, Marilyne, I didn't mention the narrator's name. It wasn't Tom Hanks. Grover Gardner did the narrating. He is one of the very best narrators in the business, IMO. He got his start doing narration for the Library of Congress' Reading for the Blind program. Gardner is Studio Manager at Blackstone Audio which is why, I suppose, you can often here him at the beginning and end of audio books "Blackstone Audio presents..." and "We hope you have enjoyed..."
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 04, 2020, 05:33:06 PM
I had a nice reply already to post here a few days ago and it got lost!!!
    I'm with Tomereader on the character for News of the World.   As I read the book the face of Sam Elliot came to mind.   It's funny isn't it how you visualize a character just by their description. That was a good story and I'll be looking for the movie.
    I did find the Hillbilly Elegy movie and it was surely sad.   I didn't read it at the time it was mentioned here  so the story was new to me.    It did put me in mind of Glass Castles by Jeanette Walls.   I'm amazed at how the children of some families rise above all the drama and go on to be a success and so much more.  The touching thing  is their devotion to the parents who caused so much grief in their lives.
   Marilyne,  I'll never forget THE WHOLE TOWN'S TALKING.   It was a good and funny story that I've recommended to many friends.   It's interesting though that I only have a few friends who share my interest in that type of story.  Some are totally dedicated to who dun its and others only read biography.   I like Heintz 57 myself though have a soft spot for good family stories.  I just finished MY DEAR HAMILTON.  Anyone who likes historical fiction would find this a good one.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 06, 2020, 07:19:26 AM
Two more library books dropped. I almost forgot to pick up Alone at Dawn which is the true story of John Chapman, Medal of Honor recipient for his action in Afghanistan. The other one is The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. So, I have to put aside two SciFi's I recently started (nothing to to report on those) to read these.

Last night I finished listening to a short novel called One Man's War by Steven Savile. It is a Scifi mercenary story. and I can't say I liked the characters. They liked killing way too much. To counter that, I am now listening to another shortie, How to Survive the Roman Empire by Pliny and Me by Hattie Naylor. It is rather amusing with a somewhat understated humor.

Other than that, the cats and I are spending more time watching YouTube ships and elephants clips at live streams. That has cut into my reading time, but Oscar and Lucy like to watch TV and Shan likes to play. I swing his "fishing rod" toy around for him to chase and jump at while watching.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 10, 2020, 07:30:24 AM
Yet another book library read just became available. I really like how I make sure to space them out according to when the library estimates a book will be available to me, and yet, they tend to drop within days of each other rather than the week's spacing I try to maintain. Sigh! Anyway, A Borrowed Man by Gene Wolfe is now waiting to be read. It is a first of series about, what else, books. It is billed as a SciFi/Mystery.

Okay, so I returned Alone at Dawn without finishing it. Don't get me wrong, it is a good book, but I already saw a documentary about John Chapman and this book, even though good, spent a lot of time going over the history of Combat Controllers (interesting), It went on to describe other CCT members doing their thing while Chapman just missed or was recovering from an injury to participate in several high profile missions including Desert Storm and the beginnings of our military's mission in Afghanistan. Worthy reading. Maybe I will go back to it another time.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 15, 2020, 02:15:47 PM
Well known author,  John LeCarre,  died today, at the age of 89.  He was a prolific writer and is best known for his spy/espionage novels.  The only one I've read, is The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.  It was a very popular book in the 1960's, during the Cold War.  It was made into an award winning movie, starring Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, and Oskar Werner. Other novels that were made into movies, were Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,  and The Constant Gardener.  All of his movies are playing now on either Netflix or Amazon.  I plan to watch, "Spy Who Came in from Cold", tonight, or soon.
     
Before LeCarre started writing, he worked many years as an actual spy, for British Intelligence.[/b]
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 15, 2020, 03:21:32 PM
I made short order of A Borrowed Man and The Midnight Library. I didn't care for them. I am, however, having better luck with Jonathan Moore's Blood Relations. It doesn't have the slightly supernatural element to it that others of his I have read, but I am, nevertheless, not disappointed. Once again it is set in the San Francisco area, this time following a disbarred attorney turned PI. I am almost done with it; not sure what I want to pick up next.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 24, 2020, 01:20:24 PM
:christmastree: :christmastree: :christmastree:        MERRY CHRISTMAS   :christmastree: :christmastree: :christmastree:
 AND  (HOPEFULLY) A
         :hb2:   HAPPY NEW YEAR    
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 25, 2020, 01:46:52 PM
Maryc - Thanks for the cheerful greeting this morning!  I hope all is well with you and Debby, and that you will spend a nice day together, and maybe with the rest of your family as well?  Yes, let's all hope that 2021 will be a better year for everyone.  Couldn't get much worse, so I'm sure it will be an improvement!  Lots of our S&F members now have Covid-19, circulating in their families.  Hope all of us old folks continue to stay well.  I think Shirley, is the only member of S&F to get a case of Covid.  She was quite sick, but took care of herself at home alone, and got through it okay.

Callie - Hoping all your loved ones are much better today, and that it hasn't spread to other family members. 

MarsGal - As I said in B&T this morning, I'm glad to hear that George is better, but sounds like he will not be released from the hospital for some time yet?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 26, 2020, 06:23:22 AM
I agree, Marilyne. I don't think George will be out soon. Meanwhile, I am trying to think of ways to have his cats taken care of if I get sick before he gets out. Right now, if I get sick I will have to have someone come by and pick up his house key so that they can either evacuate them to the vets for boarding or bring them here. Lily will be a trial to catch as she stays away from everyone (including me most times) except for George.

Meanwhile, when not on the phone with George, the hospital or various friends and relatives, I have had my nose stuck in some books. Two more SciFi books bit the dust real quick. The first looked like it was shaping up to be a drama involving the first expeditions to Mars. I didn't care for diving right away into disagreements and jealousy. The other started off with them main characters, a part of a government fleet, tracking a pirate vessel. So far, so good, but - recovery of goods is split between the original owner, the fleet and the ship's crew. In other words, they are government owned and sanctioned Privateers. The lust for rewards shows and gets them into trouble when the Pirates band together and set a trap. I didn't care for the characters, and I didn't even get to the pirate characters.

So now I am back to reading through a set of eight books, also SciFi, that is just okay. The only reason I continue with this series is that I actually paid for it. I want to get my 99 cents worth.

This coming year I may drop my Audible subscription for a while until I catch up with what I have. I haven't had much success this year curtailing my book buying what with all the deals, discounts and special sales in print books and E-books lately. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 30, 2020, 01:20:46 PM
Marsgal,  :roflBig:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on December 30, 2020, 01:44:54 PM
Sorry about the laughing icon.   It was sent in error!!!!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 31, 2020, 05:50:35 AM
That's okay, MaryC. I just thought you were commenting on my inability to stay away from books and buy books I will never get around to reading before I go to the great Library in the sky.

Anyway, I am now listening to The Politically Incorrect Guide to the British Empire by H. W. Crocker III. I thought it was going to be a humorous thing, but it isn't. Turns out it is part of a series, each book being written by a different author. I am also reading an old book, Carmen's Messenger by Harold Bindlosss which seems to be a melodramatic mystery set in Canada and England. Also reading A War Like No Other: How the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War by Victor Davis Hanson. I hope the chapters are more interesting than the prologue was. I have The Giver by Lois Lowery to listen to before I have to send it back to the library. Good thing it is a short novel.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 05, 2021, 06:36:28 AM
I finished Carmen's Messenger the other day. It was a good read, with the traditional melodramatic climax with the fight on the caboose landing where the bad guy goes overboard. The other books are progressing slowly. Another book I am reading, and almost done with, is a first in series SciFi about a bounty hunter. The lead character is likeable. Amazon has a January book challenge I am participating in, and the SciFi will satisfy the first of series read.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 05, 2021, 02:46:02 PM

Mars Gal - It's good that you can concentrate on a book, with all the serious things you have going on in your life right now.  I've been having a tough time in recent months, sticking with a book.  I either have too many other things on my mind, or just haven't found the right book to catch my interest.   The only thing that seems to take my mind off of all the woes of the world, is getting involved in a good TV documentary or movie.  I've been vegging in front of the set, most afternoons and evenings. 

I hope we hear from some of our book friends this week, with some reading recommendations?        
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 18, 2021, 06:35:58 AM
I haven't been up to my usual speed at reading lately, because of George's death and the need to check on his cats a trying to find homes for them (next to impossible these days). However I did finish Gerta last week and am now reading the final book of The Cemetery of Lost Books series by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Labyrinth of the Spirits.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 18, 2021, 01:44:05 PM
MarsGal - Good to see you posting again. I've been thinking about you every day, and hoping that everything will work out for George's cats.  It's a tough one for you to handle, because I know you want to be true to George, and do what he would have wanted. As you said, it's a bad time now because it's Winter, and people are focused on Covid.   

Are you signed up for Next Door, in your neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods?  I've noticed that there are messages on my Next Door, all the time, about cats that have been abandoned,  or left in houses and apartments when their owner has suddenly passed away.  Local neighbors are looking for new homes for these cats.   There seems to be lots of responses and interest in the problem.  Cat lovers are very sympathetic to a sad story of formerly beloved cats, who are now without a home.  Maybe you could look into joining your Next Door,  and posting a heartfelt message there?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 19, 2021, 05:13:33 AM
No, I am not signed up for Next Door, but my sister is. She has mentioned it several times as a source of info regarding repair, remodel and landscape/lawn contractors. However, George's GF and executor of the will contacted the Harrisburg Humane Society and has set a date with them to surrender the cats. She must come down here with appropriate paperwork showing that she is authorized to surrender them. My job, in the meantime, is to get the vet's records for the cats.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 26, 2021, 08:09:06 PM
Well,  I did it again.   A few days ago I sat here and wrote a nice response to some of you and apparently got distracted and never sent it.   Now I have no idea what I said except that it had something to do with this craziness we are all in.    I do have an appointment for my vaccine tomorrow IF in fact the Rite Aid has the stuff.   Keeping my fingers crossed.
   I finally found a book that got me reading right off from the page one.  It is  "ONE FOR THE BLACKBIRD AND ONE FOR THE CROW" by Olivia Hawker.    It is another of my favorite topics, that of the settlers in Wyoming. I haven't read anything by this author before so we'll  see how this goes.
  I finally went to Amazon and looked at their free and inexpensive books and found this for $2.99.  I don't usually pay more than  $.99 but I was getting desperate for something to read.
  I haven't been to the library since December when I stopped driving.  Otherwise I would go and browse or at least order and pick up, besides I really like the ebooks.
  Debby would take me to the library but I've had so many appointments for her to drive me to that I don't want to  stretch her good will.   She laughs and comments that there isn't much else to do these days so why not?  She is a good daughter!!
   We had a pretty good snow today.  It's the most we've had all winter.   The weather people say that we are in for a hard cold snap.  Can't complain as it's bee a mild winter so far and we are a good way into it already.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 27, 2021, 07:38:07 AM
Gosh, I've been neglecting this discussion for over a week.

Hi, MaryC. I like the e-books too. As much as I like print books, I found e-books more convenient to carry (because a book or two are always with me where-ever I go), and because it is easier to handle with cats on my lap and in the way.

So, since I posted last, I finished The Labyrinth of the Spirits which turned into more of a horror bloodbath than the others, not to mention seemingly quite lengthy. In spite of the brutal tortures and assassinations during and after the Spanish Civil War, I enjoyed the writing and loved the frequent mention of authors and books.  Since the author passed away last June, I won't be enjoying any more of his wonderful writing.

I am now reading The Map of Knowledge by Violet Moller and Orders of Battle by Marko Kloos which is the 7th of his Frontlines series. I actually thought #6 was the last because the two main characters were planning to retire from the military. I am happy to see it wasn't.

I'm also getting back to listening to The Politically Incorrect Guide to the British Empire.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 27, 2021, 12:29:11 PM
Good morning MarsGal and Mary.  Good to see both of you still posting here, and hope that we hear from others who used to be regulars.

I haven't posted much, because I'm still unable to go to the library and browse, which is my favorite way of choosing books.  However, we can order online and pick up, which I've done only a few times since the pandemic started.  I've been waiting a long time for the latest  Elizabeth Berg book, and finally got it yesterday.  It's a memoir, titled "I'll be Seeing You".  I haven't opened it yet, but plan to start reading this afternoon.  I know there are other Elizabeth Berg fans who post here, so I'll return to report on how I liked it. 

Mary - I checked my library for, "One for the Blackbird One for the Crow", but they don't have it, so it many be new, or only available for e-books?  Sounds good, so I'll put in a request.

MarsGal - "The Politically Incorrect Guide to the British Empire", sounds like something I would really enjoy, so hope my library can get that one for me as well.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 27, 2021, 01:50:08 PM
I participated in my first Zoom meeting with the Book Club this morning.  A member's husband lets us use his account so we don't have to download Zoom, which I doubt I'd ever use for anything else.

We "discussed" "The Lost Girls of Paris" which is basically about girls who were recruited (against all the male opposition) for British attempts to foil Nazi attacks in Europe.  I wouldn't count it as Historical Fiction and found some of the plot developments unrealistic.
But it was so nice to see faces and hear real voices. 

For recreation, I'm working my way through various "chick-lit" series by various authors.  Discovered there are three who did a "Hope Springs" series.  One is set in Hope Springs, Wyoming, one in Hope Springs South Carolina and the other in Hope Springs, South Dakota.  (All fictional towns)Same basic story lines but kinda fun to see how different writers set up the  plots.

Off to see what the latest development in.....now, where am I? ....um, Oh, yes - South Dakota :D 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on January 29, 2021, 06:11:53 PM
Deb and I got our Vaccination Wednesday and have an appointment for the second on February 24.   Glad to have that started.

Callie,  Your Zoom book club meeting sounds interesting.   I've just participated in Zoom meeting a couple of times with family.  It's fun but leaves a lot to be desired.  IMHO!  We've talked about having our Bereavement Group meeting by conference call because everyone in the group wouldn't be able to Zoom, but we haven't get to it just yet.   Meanwhile we just call one on one to check up.  I looked at The Lost Girls of Paris but somehow it just didn't get my interest.   There was a little something similar going on in the Maggie Hope Mysteries series (Susan Elia) when Maggie went over to Europe as a  spy during WWII.
   Marilyne,  I didn't get my copy of One For the Blackbird and One For the Crow from the library.   I broke down and bought it from Amazon on a special  for $2.99.
  Marsgal,  I like the ebooks too because my Kindle is lighter to hold when I read in bed and if I'm out and need to kill time I can pick up the story on my phone.
   For those of you who are getting this cold weather.....keep warm as best you can.
brrrrrrrrrrrr  22 degree on my back porch just now!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 30, 2021, 06:52:08 AM
I gave up, temporarily, on The Map of Knowledge. Too much going on, so I barely got started before it was time to send it back. I didn't renew it because the last book in my hold cue just dropped. I'll read that and put The Map of Knowledge back onto my wish list for later. There is just too much going on right now to keep up with my reading. Hopefully, that will change by the end of this coming week if the upcoming snow storm doesn't slow things down.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on January 30, 2021, 11:45:16 AM
I just finally received this ebook from my library and started it late last night.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52762903-the-book-of-lost-names

I was too sleepy to get very far but I think it has promise and certainly has gotten good reviews.  I'll let you know later what I thought of it.  Has anyone else here read it?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 30, 2021, 12:36:28 PM
Phyllis - I remember reading reviews on  The Book of Lost Names,  when it was first published.  It sounded like a great story, and I intended to put my name in at the library.  I see from your link, that it was published last June, so probably didn't get much press, thanks to the Pandemic.   Anyway, I forgot about it at the time, but will now order it.  The Goodreads review places it in the same category as  All the Light We Cannot See, which is one of my top favorites in recent years.

MarsGal - I can see why you have no time for reading, at this point.  I see that George's cats have gone to the Humane Society. Very sad for you, but I understand that you had no other options.  I hope that Lily is adapting okay to your three cats?

Mary - Great that both you and Debby, received your Covid vaccination!  I have an appointment for Feb. 8th, which is a week from this Monday. I will be a relief to have the first one over with.  The new cases are slowly going down here in my county, which is/was one of the worst in California.  They say it's because so many people have been vaccinated?   I hope this will be the beginning of the end of this tragic scourge. 

Callie - I think I read,  The Lost Girls of Paris, a couple of years ago?  I'll have to look on my Goodreads list, or better yet, I'll look art a review?   Usually I have better recall when it comes to books, but maybe too much on my mind in recent months?  Your Zoom, book club meeting sounds like fun.  I'm not enthusiastic about face to face, online meets with family, and others.   After the initial greetings, I seem to go silent, and fade into the background.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 30, 2021, 04:13:02 PM
The Zoom meeting was fun but I wouldn't like using the program for conversations. You can tell if a participant begins to talk because a green line shows around her picture.

I didn't really contribute to the discussion but had my Tablet open to the library website and was able to tell the group if books being discussed for future meetings were available in e-book and if there was a long waiting list. 

The March selection is "Fifty Names For Rain" by Asha Lemmie, a "Good Morning America" selection.  I read a sample and am not sure I'll like it any more than I did the other one.  The group seems to pick stories about abandoned/disadvantaged/mistreated (take your pick) people who "rise above the situation" and end up going to Harvard or being rescued by someone who "believes in them".   Sorry to sound cynical but......... ???  ::)

MaryC,  I read 8 of the Maggie Hope books quite some time ago and enjoyed them. Had forgotten she went to Europe.

Phyllis, I've checked out the e-book of "The Book of Lost Names" and look forward to starting it.

Seems as if there's a "trend" for setting stories in bookshops or about booksellers.  I just finished "The Lost And Found Bookshop" by Susan Wiggs and "The Red Notebook" by Antoine Laurain. The first one is set in a book shop and the main character in the other one is a bookseller. Both were very good.
I've read others in the past few months in which one character or another either worked in or owned a book store but can't come up with the titles and am too lazy to look them up.  :D

No Plan du Jour for today.  It's sunny and warm(er) but much too windy to sit on the patio.  So I'm off to sit in my one sunny south window and return to Hope Springs, South Dakota.

Happy Reading, Bookbuddies.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 31, 2021, 03:27:46 PM

Callie - YES, many novels have been written in recent year, that take place in a bookstore. Definitely a trend!  I have read quite a few of them, but can only think of a couple of them at the moment.  One, was  "The Storied Life of AJ Fikry" - can't remember the author?  It was a fun read, but totally unbelievable story. Not realistic at all. I think lots of others who post here, also read it, and you might have been one of them?  Another one I read, was about a young woman who inherits a book store.  Can't remember the title of that one? 

"News of the World",  the novel we all read last year,  (or the year before?),   will soon be available for rent on my Comcast pay-per-view.  Because of the pandemic, it was only released in a few theaters in September, and of course was unavailable to most people.  It was supposed to be nominated for a few Academy Awards, but I haven't read anything about tis year's nominations.  I will likely pay to watch it on my Comcast movies.  One of my favorite books in recent years.      
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 31, 2021, 03:37:29 PM
Marilyne,  I read "Storied Life...." and agree about unbelievability. Also think I've read one about an inherited bookstore but can't remember the title, either.

I'm now reading "Five French Hens" by Judy Leigh.  It's a "light read" that isn't "chick-lit" about 5 English ladies in their 70's who decide to have a Girls' Week Out in Paris. ("hen" is apparently an affectionate British term for women of a certain age  :) ). 
The humor is "age-appropriate" and there are enough twists and turns in the story to make it fun and interesting.
EDIT:  Finished "Five French Hens" last night and did not find the conclusion "age appropriate" - although that may be because I'm not "up with the times". 

Lost interest in the "Hope Springs, South Dakota" book after a few pages so, after a bit of desk work, I'm heading for the sunny south window to find out what the next Paris adventure is for the Five French Hens".

Happy Reading, Bookbuddies. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 02, 2021, 02:09:57 PM
At last!   An excellent, high quality new movie playing on Netflix!   I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm so tired of the movies and series that run on both Netflix and Amazon Prime.  They are fine if you like a continuous flood of thrillers . . . murder and mayhem, drug dealers, psychopaths, sex, and endless visual violence.  If you feel worn down by the constant flow of distasteful trash, you're in for a treat! 

This brand new British film, The Dig, stars Carrie Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes, Lily James, and other excellent actors.   Both AJ and I were very impressed with the entire production!    First of all, it's a true story that occurred in England, right at the beginning of WWII.  (It's not a War story - I only mentioned it to set the time frame.)  It involves a piece of land, owned by a widow, Carry Mulligan.   On her land, are a series of large mounds that have always been there.   They had always been an object of interest to explorers and archaeologists over hundreds of years, but nothing specific or of interest had ever been found.   

A man living on a neighboring farm, who is an excavator, (Ralph Fiennes), asks her permission to explore/dig one of the mounds.  What he finds is extraordinary. The fact that the story is true, and easily researched,  makes it all the more fascinating.  I hope those of you who have Netflix, will give this one a chance.

There have been a couple of books written about this dig, plus there is plenty of information and documentation online as to the facts.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on February 02, 2021, 03:30:02 PM
Marilyne,  I watched "The Dig" last weekend.

I found some reviews of the movie. One indicated that, in the novel the movie is based on, Mrs. Pretty tries to connect with her deceased husband via a "seer" in London. I wished they had included that instead of so many long drawn-out scenes of her walking across the field and through the London streets to the doctor's office.  Those scenes with the repetitive music and "voice overs" for conversations were a bit "Artsy", IMO.

Another thought the story line of the Piggots' marriage took away from the main story line.  It didn't say if that's included in the novel.

Even so - I did enjoy the movie and definitely recommend it.

I was able to put a Hold on an e-book copy from the library.  :thumbup:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 02, 2021, 04:22:55 PM
Callie -  I agree with you on the little "complication" with the Piggots' marriage.  You wonder why the screenwriters decided to add it to the story?  I guess they wanted something contemporary to spice it up a little??  Anyway, I could have done without it. 

It was definitely not a fast paced exciting movie, like we're so used to seeing now. It did move slowly, but I found it easy to watch.  The only character who could be considered to be a trouble maker, was the man from the British Museum - but even he mellowed in time.

Overall, it was a big cut above what we're used to seeing on Netflix. AJ put a hold on the ebook also, so when he finishes it, I'll read it.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on February 02, 2021, 05:23:00 PM
Yes, Marilyne.  I posted about "The Dig" either somewhere on here, or over in Senior Learn.  I totally loved the movie, and someone had posted that snarky review by a "reviewer", which I thought was awful.  Sometimes I think reviewers post bad reviews to keep patrons from attending the movie.  Just thankful this was on Netflix.

True the Piggot story was kind of a "do nothing" for the entire movie.  But otherwise, as I said, I loved it.  I don't think the idea of Mrs. Pretty and a "seer" would have added anything to the story/movie. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on February 02, 2021, 09:23:48 PM
Marilyne,   some variation of this sort of "complication" seems to be a given in most contemporary films, t.v. shows, etc.

Tome, I did see your comments about "The Dig" on SeniorLearn - and, instead of saying I "found" the reviews, I should have said I clicked on the link another poster provided.

I enjoy reading the posts in a couple of forums on SeniorLearn but discovered I'm way out of my depth trying to participate in the discussions.  I've never been good at "interpreting" literature or catching on when we're supposed to recognize something about a character by what I consider "vague" references.

An example would be the rather sudden appearance of Mrs. Pretty's sad face as she's being driven to London for the doctor's appointment and her walk along the dismal streets and through the dark tunnel while comments/warnings/farewells about the pending war are all around her.
Took me a while but I finally decided these were all symbols of the personal turmoil she was dealing with.  After the "Aha" moment, I was able to see that her surroundings were also a good way to indicate the times in which the movie was set.

(I'm not describing this very well!)

I agree completely that it was a cut above the usual on Netflix and was easy to watch.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on February 03, 2021, 09:37:35 AM
I watched it last weekend, too, and agree with everything that's been said here.  It was so interesting to see the Sutton Hoo site and it seems that the movie followed the story of the excavation pretty well.  The side stories of Edith and Robert Pretty and Basil Brown's unusual marriage plus the "romance" of Peggy Piggott and Edith's brother just helped flesh out the movie, I guess.  Over all, I found the movie interesting and enjoyed it very much.  And, I always enjoy watching the work of Ralph Fiennes.  He is a fine actor.

Callie, I was nodding my head at your remarks about SeniorLearn.  I have always loved to read and I do so for entertainment and to be informed.  I get really lost and frustrated when I get in a group who is interested in picking apart and dissecting an author's every motive or every supposed innuendo.     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on February 03, 2021, 11:42:55 AM
Phyllis,  I agree that the side stories helped flesh out the movie...plus gave us something to discuss  :) .

I'm glad there's a site like SeniorLearn for more in-depth discussions of books and  I learn a lot from reading the posts.
 However, my reading is like yours - for entertainment and to be informed.  I do enjoy well-researched historical fiction  However, if it's set in an area I know well, I get disgusted if the author takes too many liberties.  ;)

I also enjoy non-fiction - particularly biographies and, sometimes, memoirs.

I'm now reading a "memoir" by Ree Drummond,  the Oklahoma author known as The Pioneer Woman who has cooking shows. I put quotes around memoir because the chapters are more "blogs" about her life and family.  My opinion?  Well, let's just say "The Generation Gap is showing!"  :D 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on February 03, 2021, 05:02:16 PM
Callie, I always go to Senior Learn, to see what's new in my favorite forums.  I did try once or twice to involve myself in the book "discussions", but like you, I read for pleasure and enlightenment, and couldn't force myself to sit and dissect each and every nuance or lack thereof.  I do remain in awe of the intellects displayed there. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 03, 2021, 05:41:01 PM
I've enjoyed reading all of your comments and opinions on, "The Dig".   I think we are all in agreement, that although it may not be perfect, it's a big cut above the usual fare on Netflix, and Prime.  Looking back over the past couple of years on those channels, I would say there have only been a few other new shows that I liked enough to ever watch again.  "The Crown", comes to mind, as well as a number of excellent documentaries on WWII.   I also liked the documentary/drama on the Russian Revolution, and the downfall of  Czar (Tsar) Nicholas.   A few of the made for Netflix or made for Prime movies have been good, but not many. 

I'm not a member of Senior Learn, but I have looked in, and followed some of the conversations and book discussions over the years.  I remember some of the members from way back in Senior Net.  I've never considered joining, for a number of reasons, but I do like to see what they have to say about books, movies, and TV shows.     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on February 03, 2021, 10:38:00 PM
It isn't new but a Netflix movie I enjoyed is "Quartet".  Maggie Smith is an aging classical singer who moves against her will to a Senior Living Center.  She discovers three residents with whom she once performed - including a former beau. After several "plot hitches"  ;) , they give a concert.   
The classical music throughout is great, all the actors are "age-appropriate" and the story is good.

Another one that's "age appropriate" is "Our Souls At Night" with Robert Redford and Jane Fonda.  It's based on the novel by Kent Haruf.  The blurb with the e-book reads:

In the familiar setting of Holt, Colorado, home to all of Kent Haruf's inimitable fiction, Addie Moore pays an unexpected visit to a neighbor, Louis Waters. Her husband died years ago, as did his wife, and in such a small town they naturally have known of each other for decades; in fact, Addie was quite fond of Louis's wife. His daughter lives hours away, her son even farther, and Addie and Louis have long been living alone in empty houses, the nights so terribly lonely, especially with no one to talk with. But maybe that could change? As Addie and Louis come to know each other better—their pleasures and their difficulties—a beautiful story of second chances unfolds, making Our Souls at Night the perfect final installment to this beloved writer's enduring contribution to American literature.


I'd read the book before the movie came out and, although the story line was the same, the two stars looked a bit too sophisticated compared to the other residents, who were dressed more appropriately for the area (IMO  :) ).

Had a nice conversation with a friend today. Told her about the Ree Drummond book and she suggested I read RD's autobiography "Frontier Follies".  So I've checked out the e-book.

Happy Reading, Bookbuddies.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 04, 2021, 10:47:48 AM
I see that Amazon has discontinued the Kindle Lending Library so I don't get my once a month free read. A lot of the writers I like to read have gone moved over to the Kindle Unlimited plan. While there are a lot of books listed in their free Prime Reading section, I usually don't see much I am interested in. That all just means I have more time to read the offerings through the Free Library of Philadelphia and catch up on all those downloads I haven't gotten to yet.

Right now I am reading an adventure/romance Scifi that is a bit underwhelming, but I am reading it anyway. Once again I run into the misuse of the pronoun I when me is needed. Sigh! Have the schools changed the rules or are the students just not getting good teaching these days? The one outstanding (dare I say egregious?) misuse of words in this book is the use of gambol when gamble is needed. One does not gambol at the gaming tables, one gambles. An young antelope or a bunch of baby bunnies might gambol (frolic, cavort, prance) though.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on February 04, 2021, 02:21:18 PM
I am always appalled at the awful grammar when I read the posts on my Next Door account.  I think they quit teaching Grammar in schools about 1980 or so.  That goes for Spelling too. 

I read Kent Haruf's "Our Souls At Night", and I have watched the movie twice.  Was not quite sure what I felt the first time I watched, except how old Redford looks, and maybe Fonda didn't look old enough! 

Yes, Callie, I have watched "Quartet" several times.  Love that one too.  Have any of you ever seen "Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont"?  That is a lovely movie.  I can think of several others, that are several years old, that are "age appropriate" for us. Getting the titles from my brain to my lips is a bit of a problem, some days.  I am always saying to myself "there will be a 10 second time delay while the memory chip upgrades".  Sometimes it is more than 10 seconds, but you know what I mean.

Have a lovely day, all!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 04, 2021, 04:29:14 PM
It's nice to see all this "activity" here today.  
   I watched The Dig just a couple nights ago.  It was nice to know that it was from a true event.  I like to look those up and read a little of the background story.   It was  a good story though I have to follow along with the action and catch a word here and there to know what's being said.   I turned the volume up higher but it didn't seem to clear up the words much.   Debby keeps telling me I have a hearing problem but I'm in denial.  ::) Mostly I can hear everything, even some noises that I don't want to hear!!
   A few days ago there was another newer movie on Netflix call Penguin Bloom.   It was a good little family story set in Australia.
   Speakiing of books written from historical facts,  I have a newer one on my Kindle just now called West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge.    The background story is of a pair of giraffes that were to be the first at the San Diego Zoo and their trip across the country.   This was in the '30s and the ship that they came to the East coast was caught up in a hurricane and so the story goes from there.   I haven't read the book yet but can't wait to get going as soon as I finish One For the Blackbird.....
   I'm happy to see that there are others here who regard some of the book discussions as I do.   I really read for pleasure and learn about so many things that way.
   It's a beautiful sunny day here in WNY.  The snow hasn't melted off yet but the temperature is in the high 30's and feels so nice after the teens and 20's.  We'll enjoy it because there is more wintry weather on it's way.  :)
  Oh and yes Callie and Tomereader,   Out Souls At Night is a good one to  watch again and even reread it.  Kent Haruf has a few books that I've enjoyed.   Does anyone remember an old movie called Queen of the Stardust Ballroom starring Maureen Stapleton and Charles Durning?   It was another of the good movies of older people in it's day.   I may try to find it again.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 04, 2021, 05:03:30 PM
Callie - "Our Souls At Night", was one of my favorite Kent Haruf novels, and I liked the Netflix movie version as well. Of course Jane Fonda, did not look the right age for the part, although she actually was.  Her upper arms, in those sleeveless blouses, did not look like the arms of a woman in her 70's, which she was supposed to be.  JF admits to multiple cosmetic surgeries over the years, so I guess getting rid of the baggy saggy arm flesh, was one of them.  ::)  In spite of those little annoyances, I thought it was a a very good movie, and they both did a good job with the characters.    I don't know how I missed, "Quartet", but I'll
definitely watch it.  Anything with Maggie Smith, is bound to be good.

MarsGal and Tome - I'm sorry to say that the state of the English language, has been in a steady decline for the past couple of generations.  As you both said, it's apparent in newspapers, online, and even in published books by well known authors!  Don't they have editors and proofreaders anymore?  Apparently not!  The written word gets printed, as is, and nobody seems to care about grammar, spelling, punctuation or sentence structure.    Some of the sentences that writers cobble together in articles and news stories, are barely readable.  As you said Tome, reading Next Door, is appalling.  The adults who post in my ND, are mostly in their 30's through 50's, and are well educated and making incredible amounts of money in High Tech jobs!  Yet they can't put a sentence together.  The sad part, is that nobody cares.

Mary -  I'm glad you also enjoyed "The Dig".   Definitely quality television.  A suggestion for you, so you can "hear" the  dialogue better . . . try setting  your closed captions, and see if that makes a difference.    We now keep them on all the time, except for live programming like the news.  Captions are available on all movies, as well as Netflix and Amazon Prime, HBO, etc.  Yes . . .  I remember,  "The Queen of the Stardust Ballroom", and I loved it!   I was much younger then, but still, the basic storyline was not lost on me.  That was the first time I ever saw Charles Durning, and I remember liking him, and predicting, (to myself), that he would be featured in many more productions over the years . . . which he was.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on February 04, 2021, 05:15:37 PM
Oh, yes Mary.  Do put on your Closed Captions.  There are very few movies that do not have it.  I use mine all the time, but especially when I'm watching my British Mystery shows.  Have you noticed how fast the newscasters are speaking nowadays?  The closed Captions cannot even keep up with them!!  That started a couple years back, and has been getting worse.  I guess they talk faster so that can get in more commercials!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on February 05, 2021, 09:23:37 AM
It seems to me that EVERYONE talks faster now, Tome.  I've frequently asked people on the phone at medical offices, etc., if they would please speak more slowly so I could understand them.  They try for a few sentences but then quickly revert to rapid speech again.  It is so frustrating.

I watched "Quartette" again last night.  What a collection of talented actors!  I enjoyed it just as much the second time as I did the first time.

I couldn't watch TV without the captioning.  Even turning the volume up high doesn't help with the clarity of speech.  But, sometimes, the way the captioning "translates" the words is hilarious.

Marilyne, where I live is often referred to as "Silicon Valley East".  We have the same type of population that you have.  High salaried/high tech but, I just shake my head when I read some of the posts on Next Door.  I cannot believe that so many of these people cannot know even the most basic rules of English grammar.  Grammar was not my favorite subject in school and I'm often guilty of "lazy speech" but.....well.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 07, 2021, 01:13:02 AM
I've been thinking about the passing of Christopher Plummer, this past week, and wanted to say a few words about how much I've enjoyed his many films over the years.  What a great career he had, and what a versatile actor he was!  The first movie I saw him in was, "The Sound of Music",  in 1965.   I liked it then, and I still watch it whenever it plays on TV.  Another of my favorites is the historical drama, "The Last Station",  about the final years of Leo Tolstoy's life.  Helen Mirren plays his wife. I think it's available on some of the streaming channels.  I highly recommend it.

Max Von Sydow, another one  of the older generation of actors, passed away about six months ago.  He was also one who played in dozen of films, and was a long time favorite of mine.   The first movie I saw of his, was "Hawaii", in 1966.  I was so impressed with him them, and have seen him in countless movies since.  He starred in a number of Ingmar Bergman movies back in 60's, that are still fascinating to watch, even after all these years.  Most recently he played the Holocaust survivor grandfather, in  "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close". 
 
Both Plummer and Von Sydow, were 91, and were born in 1929.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on February 08, 2021, 09:46:04 PM
I was reading today that Chris Plummer wasn't really sick but that he had a fall and hurt his head.  He was on a talk show last year and did not look in his 90s. Was married to a really young blond women years and years younger I believe.
I never heard of that Movie "Extremely Loud and incredibly close"
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 09, 2021, 12:21:59 AM
JeanneP - So good to see you!  :hello: It's been a long time since you've posted in any of the discussions.  So glad you're back with us!

"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close", is a story that takes place in New  York City, right after 9/11.  It tells the story of a boy and his mother (Sandra Bullock), dealing with the loss of their husband and father, who was killed when the World Trade Center collapsed.  It's a sad but uplifting movie.   I liked it, and I think you'd like it too.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 14, 2021, 06:04:42 AM
My reading still isn't back up to usual, but I have started Iain M. Banks' Consider Plebas which is the first of his Culture Wars series and sporadically listen to The Politically Incorrect History of the British Empire.

I have yet to see Extremely Loud and Incredible Close though it is one I would like to see at some point. The last movie that I saw that Christopher Plummer was in was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. While I might have seen him in some of the very early (1950's) TV shows, the first movie I remember seeing him in was Night of the Generals.

Regarding Max von Sydow, I think Hawaii was the first time he came to my attention, too. The Quiller Memorandum came out the same year, but I think I saw that later. The last of his was Never Say Never Again
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 15, 2021, 02:15:04 PM
Hello everyone this snowy day in the N.East.   JeanneP,  It's so good to see you back here.   I hope you haven't been away due to illness.  We've missed you!!

  Finally I finished One for the Blackbird....  Such a good story and lots of after thoughts about the characters and their situation.    Yesterday I started West with Giraffes.   It was a quick start and I'm already anxious to see what happens next.

   I must have missed the passing of Christopher Plummer.  There surely has been a rash of the older stars leaving the scene recently.   Cloris Leachman's death set me to looking for some of her movies and they weren't hard to locate.  I've enjoyed watching some of the oldies.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 22, 2021, 12:46:07 PM
Greetings, how is everyone doing today? What if anything are you all reading now?

MaryC, did you like West with Giraffes? What is it about?

Now that everything has settled down for what passes as normal around here, I have gotten back to my reading/listening. I just finished listening to The Politically Incorrect Guide to the British Empire which I enjoyed very much. The audio book on Medieval history I started a while back is almost done; I expect to finish it in the next day or two.

Having finished Iain M. Banks' Consider Phlebas, I skipped the second in series (which has to do with games) and am now reading Use of Weapons. These are part of his Culture Wars series. They are separate stories set in the same universe. They are a little difficult to describe without a long description, but the best short explanation is that the Culture Wars are a clash between the humanists who do not believe or want to be part of a culture that is made up of "Minds" and people who have uploaded their conscious's to what amounts to a virtual reality universe as opposed to the physical universe.

My sister, of all people is now reading the third of Elizabeth Moon's Vattas's War SciFi series and enjoying it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 22, 2021, 02:07:00 PM
Is anyone using a Kobo Ereader? The battery on my almost six year old Kindle Paperwhite is not holding charge like it used to. I am thinking of trying a Kobo, partly because it is less resitrictive than the Kindle products. Also, Kindle does not support .epub. Believe it or not, there are a few books out there that use .epub but not Kindles proprietary .azw, etc. Oh, and the price is right.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on February 22, 2021, 02:29:52 PM
Marsgal,  YES I did like West with Giraffes.   It is from a true news story in the mid 1930's.   The San Diego zoo had arranged to get two giraffes from Africa.  They arrived in New York amidst an historic hurricane and had to be transported to San Diego by truck/trailer.  The story has a couple of stories intertwined which adds to the interest.  The human/animal connection is so touching throughout and the stories behind and along with the people makes for great reading.   I highly recommend it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 22, 2021, 03:55:43 PM
MarsGal - I remember that you mentioned  The Politically Incorrect Guide to the British Empire,  once before, and it sounded like a book I would enjoy.  This time, I'll remember to  put it on my library list.   The Culture Wars series, sounds very complicated to me - virtual reality universe, as opposed to the physical universe.  Interesting to contemplate such a thing, and I can see that there would be conflict!  :o   

The only thing I have read of interest lately, is Elizabeth Berg's newest book,  I'll Be Seeing You,  which is a memoir.   It's mainly about her mother and father, and their life together and long term marriage, but includes lots of interaction with Elizabeth and her siblings.   Mainly, it's focused on her parent's transition from their family home, to a small apartment in a  senior community.   I liked it, and could definitely relate to some of the problems with the parents and other family members .  Highly recommended!  :thumbup:

maryc - West With Giraffes, sounds very good!  I'm going to add that one to my library list as well.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 27, 2021, 11:27:30 AM
I gave up on Use of Weapons about half way through. It was too drawn out and got boring.

What I just started instead is Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover Landfall, the first of her Darkover series. I borrowed it in .epub format to see how well the Libby app works. It was easy to install on my Kindle, and it works fine. I gave up on trying out the reading apps available to Kindle that are supposed to "translate" .epub and other formats to Kindle's format. They didn't work well at all. Anyway, now I have a reader that I can use for books not formatted for Kindle. There are some out there.

Also, I am listening to a very interesting non-fiction book called At the Edge of Uncertainty: 11 Discoveries Taking Science by Surprise by Michael Brooks.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on February 27, 2021, 12:20:42 PM
I tried an audio book a few weeks ago.  The reader was a delightful English gentleman's voice.  However, I find listening to an audio book very slow going.  I can read the book so much faster.  I guess audiobooks just aren't my thing.

Looking forward to Donna Leon's newest Guido Brunetti book coming out March 9th and Jacqueline Winspear's new Maisie Dobbs last of March.  They are two of my favorite authors.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 28, 2021, 07:10:50 AM
FlaJean, I am not a fast reader, so the audio book is speedy enough for me. Did you try adjusting the reading speed? I can do that with Audible; I don't know about other audio programs. I like the Brunetti series, but stopped reading them a while back (forget why). Every time someone mentions Donna Leon, I think I need to start reading them again, but so far, haven't.

The latest in the Liaden Universe, Trader's Leap, by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller released at the beginning of December. I thought I was on the notify list, but apparently not. It is more strongly oriented towards the wizardry some of the characters have displayed over the series than usual. Nevertheless, I will be reading it soon.

 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 08, 2021, 06:38:28 AM
After I finish a SciFi sometime today, next up will be Trader's Leap and my latest library download, The Manuscript Found at Saragossa by Count Jan Potocki who lived 1761-1815.

Potocki was something of an adventurer. He served twice in the Polish Army as a Caption of Engineers, was the first person from Poland to ride in a hot air balloon, and wrote about his many travels in Europe, Asia and North Africa. He established a publishing house in Warsaw and opened the first free reading room there, among other things.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 09, 2021, 03:17:14 PM
MarsGal  -  As I've said before, I admire your ongoing interest in reading about historical people and events that took place in past centuries!  My husband is interested to a certain extent, but only from the 18th Century on, and only dealing with politics or wars. 

I was reading an interesting article online today about biopics.  I Googled the word, and found out that a biopic is a movie or TV show about a real person  from the past, starring  well known actors. (The word is pronounced bio-pic).  The life story of the person, is based on true facts, and is usually accurate, but of course the dialogue is made up.  They feature popular actors, and are very often Oscar winners.  Recent examples are "Green Book", "Steve Jobs", and "Hidden Figures", and older ones are,  "Patton", "Frida", and "The Elephant Man".  Dozens of others. 

The reason I'm mentioning it, is that there is a new movie biopic playing on Netflix, about the Nazi mass murderer and architect of the Holocaust,  Adolph Eichmann.  It's called "Operation Finale", and is a British production.  It sounds  authentic and has great reviews.  We plan to watch it sometime this week.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on March 09, 2021, 04:07:27 PM
Marilyne, I just finished watching "Operation Finale" last night.  It was well done.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on March 11, 2021, 11:53:44 AM
Operation Finale sounds really interesting.  Thanks for mentioning it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 11, 2021, 12:45:15 PM

Last Night we watched Operation Finale.  It's based on the true story, and from what I have read about it, it stuck with the actual facts.   Ben Kingsley, starred as Adolph Eichmann, and he was wonderful, as he always is.   I highly recommend this Netflix movie!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on March 18, 2021, 01:58:32 PM
I downloaded a bunch of free Zane Grey books from iBooks and my husband is enjoying them.  When I was very young I remember we had a collection of those books.  I remember when my mom, dad and I motored twice to Calif. in the early 50s that we stopped at a lot of places I had never heard of at that time---Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon, etc.  I wonder if my dad learned about them in those books.

I've never been fond of westerns but think I'll read one and see what they are like.  I did read "Betty Zane", an historical book Zane Grey wrote about his pioneering family, and it was very interesting.  I don't think I would ever have made a pioneering wife.

I'm looking forward to Jacqueline Winspear's new book "The Consequences of Fear" that is due out in another week or so.  She is a very good writer.  I often saw her "Maisie Dobbs" books listed but they never appealed to me until I read the first one, then I was hooked.  They are often listed as mystery genre but I find they are more just good stories with a bit of mystery thrown in as she is a woman investigator.  Definitely not your usual mystery stories.

Well, that is my post for the day.😁
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 19, 2021, 06:27:36 AM
Jean, I read a lot of westerns when I was young, but never read Zane Grey until I saw The Riders of the Purple Sage movie with Ed Harris when it was on TV. I have a few others on my Kindle that I haven't read yet (Betty Zane is one). There was one I started a few years ago and didn't finish. Don't remember which one. I remember, when I was little, my Mom had a friend who was a huge Zane Grey fan.

Right now I am reading a fantasy called Enemy by K. Eason. It is okay, nothing special. Easy read.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 19, 2021, 01:38:03 PM
I've never read any books by Zane Grey,  but my husband has read and liked them all over the years.  I think it's about time, so I'll order a couple of them the next time I make a library request.

The best Western style novel I've ever read is,  The Ox-Bow Incident,  by Walter Van Tilburg Clark.   I highly recommend it.  One of those stories that lingers in your thoughts, long after you've read it.  It was also made into an Academy Award nominated movie in the early 1940's, starring Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Anthony Quinn, and other excellent actors from that era.  It lost the Best Picture Award that year, 1943,  to  Casablanca.  It plays on TCM a couple of times a year, and is well worth watching.

Right now I'm waiting on a bunch of books that I ordered from the library.  Two by Marilynne Robinson, and two by Ann Patchett.  Another one is,  The Nightingale,  by Kristin Hannah.   I read it a couple of years ago, but want to read it again before I see the new movie . . . coming soon to Netflix!     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 20, 2021, 07:12:55 AM
Of the Westerns I read long ago, The Virginian by Owen Wister stands out by a mile. Of the horse stories I read, though not Westerns, Black Beauty and The Black Stallion took top honors.I have some Westerns and Western non-fiction books in my TBR list, including a reread of The Virginian, and recent books about the Chisholm Trail and The Pony Express.

I've been trying to get my head out of so much SciFi and read other venues lately with a little success. Right now I am reading a fantasy called Enemy by K. Eason. Not bad. I think what carry the story more than anything are the author's way of writing the character's dialog and that the characters are likeable or you can empathize with them in their situation.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on March 20, 2021, 08:47:51 AM
FlaJean, I wanted to thank you for mentioning Jacqueline Winspear.  I've heard of her but had never tried one of her books. I started with her first, "Maisie Dobbs" and I am enjoying it very much.  Winspear writes well and Maisie's story is intriguing.  I'll read more in the series.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on March 20, 2021, 05:08:02 PM
I tried watching "Operation Finale" but it was a little too serious for me right now.  I could have read the story but the visuals affect me too much.  I'm really not much of a fan of movies.

Phyllis, I'm glad you like Maisie Dobbs.  I read most of the series before the pandemic.  I read the last several on "Libby".  I'll probably just buy the latest because who knows when our library system will digitize it.  They have an odd system in the way they digitize books, leaving big gaps in series.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 23, 2021, 07:06:28 AM
Now reading Embers of War by Gareth W. Powell. This one won a BSFN award several years years ago. It is a novel that follows several people and a decommissioned warship in the aftermath of a war.

Another book by the same title, but non-fiction, is in my wish list que. It is about the origins and events led to the Vietnam War and our involvement in it.

Also reading The Adventures of the Infallible Godahl (1913), by Frederick Irving Anderson. Godahl is a writer of crime mystery novels who gets himself involved in real crime mysteries. He has something of an inflated ego.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 25, 2021, 12:00:32 PM
MarsGal, Jean and Phyllis -  Good morning to all of you!   Some of the books I ordered finally came in at the library, so I have a nice selection here to choose from.  I started reading Commonwealth, by Ann Patchett, yesterday afternoon.   Like all of her novels, this one caught my interest immediately, so I know I'm going to enjoy the story.   

Does anyone else remember back a number of years, when we all read a book that was written by Patchett's mother?   It was a nice love story, about an older woman who owned a flower shop?  I remember that all of us liked it.  I don't think she ever wrote anything after that?   I'd like to maybe read it again, so I'll look it up later. 

Jean - I understand why  Operation Finale was hard for you to watch, when they showed footage from the actual concentration camps. Those pictures are real, and very graphic.    The basic story of Eichmann's capture in Argentina, and ultimate trial in Israel, was fascinating and was based on true facts. Of course, Ben Kingsley was wonderful, in his portrayal of Eichmann.

MarsGal - How did you like Embers of War?  I was never interested in reading true accounts or fictional novels of WWII, or WWI, but as I've grown older, I've been drawn to many of them, as well as lots of the older movies that were produced after the war.   Last night we watched, The Naked and the Dead, made in the 1950's, and adapted from the best seller at that time,  by Norman Mailer.  AJ liked the movie so much, that he is ordering the book.

Phyllis - I plan to also order Maisie Dobbs, when I finish with my recent order from the library.   I remember that you have HBO and I think Netflix?  Please give us a few suggestions for movie or series that you have enjoyed?  I know that nothing new has been produced during the Pandemic, so everything available now is old. . . still, I know there are many good shows that I haven't seen?    It will be nice when new ones start popping up on all channels! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 26, 2021, 07:46:06 AM
Marilyne, I don't have the book about the Vietnam War yet. It is, however, in my library wish list.

The one I am reading is the SciFi one, and it is interesting. Most of the characters are dealing with the emotional aftermath of a war which ended after a Hiroshima type attack. The story centers around a former warship converted to search and rescue missions and its' crew. The narrative of each chapter rotates between the different characters (from both sides of the former conflict) as the tale unfolds. So far, they are the ship itself, two of the four person crew, an intelligence agent, and the object of agent's quest who have a voice. Nevertheless, it is not hard to follow and not confusing. There are two more books in this series.

I haven't read any of either Ann Patchett or Jeanne Ray.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on March 26, 2021, 09:03:34 AM
Marilyne, I honestly haven't found much of interest to watch.  I've been watching some documentaries mostly.  However, last night I watched "The Imitation Game" with Benedict Cumberbatch.  The story of Alan Turing.  He broke the Nazi code (Enigma) and is credited with shortening the second World War.  And, of course, had much to do with the early foundations of the computer.  It was a very good movie and well acted. If you haven't already seen it I think your husband would enjoy it, too.

And a few nights ago I watched "The Railway Children" and that was a pleasant movie though meant for a more juvenile audience.  I was looking for something with no violence, no foul language, no sex and that movie fulfilled all of that.  It is not a movie that has a great deal of depth to it but I enjoyed it because it was just "pleasant", for a change.

By the way, I have Netflix and Prime and a few other streaming channels but never found much I watched on HBO so I don't subscribe to that now.  I do have Roku and watch that lot.

I have tried two or three times to read Ann Patchett but just can't.   Just don't like her style.  I'm on my third "Mazie Dobbs" by Winspear and enjoying it very much.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 26, 2021, 01:05:24 PM
Phyllis  -  I agree, The Imitation Game is is an excellent film!  Cumberbatch, was nominated for an Oscar, for Best Actor that year, but I don't remember if he won or not?  He surely did deserve to win. I haven't watched  The Railway Children  yet.  I've noticed it as I scroll through Netflix, but never stopped to read about it.  I assume it's along the same theme as,  The Orphan Train,  and other stories about children who were ether abandoned, or sent across the country by their mothers, in hopes of a better life?  That's a concept that is difficult for me to accept, but I understand that parents become desperate, and have to choose between the lesser of two evils.  Other books in that same genre, are, "Before We Were Yours", and "Sold On a Monday".    Heartbreaking stories, but supposedly based on fact.

Bel Canto,  was the first book I read by Ann Patchett, and I do think it's a hard one to get into.  I started it a number of times, and would give up on it, but then it suddenly "clicked" with me, and I couldn't put it down!  As you probably know, it's based on a true story.  Last year I read her most recent novel, The Dutch House, and I liked it so much that I bought myself a hard cover edition.  I read it again right away, and I know I'll read it, yet again in the future. Every once in a long while, a read a book that I simply must own!

MarsGal  -  thank you for remembering that Ann Patchett's mother's name is Jeanne Ray!  The book that many of of us read and liked here in this folder, is titled  Julia and Romeo.    If I remember correctly, it was a sweet love story, about an older couple.   
Callie  -  I think you might have been one who read it at that time?   

More later about the overwhelming selection of TV channels, movies, series,  and documentaries, that are available out there for us to enjoy . . . or not!  :-\
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on March 26, 2021, 02:53:07 PM
I read Bel Canto and finished it but it was a struggle.  I assumed the same thing as you did about THE RAILWAY CHILDREN and had a surprise when it wasn' t about that at all.  The time frame is set long before the 2nd world war and the children that were sent away from the danger of the bombings, which I Thought would be the subject.. I repeat...it is a juvenile story but charming.
 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on March 26, 2021, 03:27:22 PM
Thanks for the name for Ann Patchett's mom, Jeanne Ray.  I had read "Julia & Romeo" a long time ago.  It was a very sweet book.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on March 26, 2021, 04:40:38 PM
Marilyne,  I've read several of Anne Patchett's books but haven't read "Julia and Romeo" by her mother.
 I searched for it but it isn't in e-book.  :( 

Have had problems reading e-books and other things on my Tablet the past few days. #2 son took it home with him yesterday and computer tech dil discovered it had been affected by some sort of issue that hit Android devices all over the country. Took her over an hour last night to figure it out and fix it. 

Wasn't sure I could get to sleep last night without my usual "one more chapter" reading before turning out the light but I managed by pulling a book off my bookshelf.  Don't have a big collection but, once in a while, will re-read some of the choices.

Off on an adventure with sons/grandson this weekend.  Will be the farthest from home I've been in over a year.

Enjoy your weekend, Book Enthusiasts.
 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 27, 2021, 06:46:45 AM
Callie, both B&N and Amazon have Julie and Romeo in e-book form.

I am really beginning to like the Libby app. Instead of all the nonsense on Overdrive of having to sign into Amazon to complete the loan process, I get to read it in Libby immediately. So now, I have Embers of War in .epub and Elizabeth Bear's Ancestral Nights in Kindle form on Libby. I think I will use Libby for all my library loans from now on. Right now I only have it installed on an old Kindle tablet, but I may just install it on one of my others too.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on March 27, 2021, 09:34:08 AM
My library has offered the Libby app for quite a long time and I use it on my Samsung Android tablet.  I have liked it very much from the beginning.  Unfortunately, my Toshiba laptop is too old to install it and I still use Overdrive on it to read eBooks.  However, I've never had a problem with Overdrive.  As long as I can set the font size to my comfort zone I'm happy.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on March 27, 2021, 03:27:24 PM
I like Libby and find it very easy to use.  My problem is our local library system.  My son is in a larger library system that uses Libby and he has a much better selection of digital books than we have.  So does it all come down to funding?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 29, 2021, 12:09:17 PM
I was saddened to learn that novelist and screenwriter,  Larry McMurtry,  has died.  He was born in Archer City, Texas, in 1936, and he died there on March 25th, at age 84.

He is one of my favorite writers, and has been for many years.  I've enjoyed all of his books, and especially love the ones that were made into Academy Award nominated movies.    My favorite is,  The Last Picture Show,  but running a close second, is  Terms of Endearment.  I also liked the book and the miniseries, Lonesome Dove,  and the movie, Hud.  He  wrote the screenplay for many other movies, the most well known being Brokeback Mountain.

All of his novels take place  in Texas, where he lived most of his life. In recent  years, He opened an antiquarian bookstore in Archer City, named "Booked Up", which he ran himself.  He also had a personal library of 30,000 books!   He was married and divorced twice,  and has one son.

I was surprised that there wasn't more about his passing, on the news or online?  He led an extraordinary life, and was good friends with other novelists, like Ken Kesey and Stephen King.  However, I did some research, and found lots of interesting things written about him.  One of his long time woman friends wrote:  "The secret to McMurtry's extraordinary success was his characters. His books and movie adaptations were not plot-driven, they were character driven.  He was fascinated with women. He thought they were one of the great mysteries of the universe. He had no interest in men.  He said, 'If you want to learn about emotion, you have to go to women.'" 
 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 30, 2021, 08:20:13 AM
Having never read but one Bronte sister novel (Jane Eyre), I have just started The Tenant of Windfell Hall by Jane Bronte. I haven't gotten to the novel itself yet, but the intro is very interesting. The author of the intro said that this book initially sold more books than Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Also, the book seems partly based on Jane's experience tutoring and has something to do with brother Branwell. Apparently something happened while she was tutoring at the same place as Branwell and something happened which greatly disturbed her but never spoke of. I am looking forward to getting into the story itself.

Almost finished listening to a short book authored and read by Michael Pollan called Caffeine: How It Created the Modern World.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on March 30, 2021, 11:02:33 AM
It's been a while!!!    I was interested to read here that Jeanne Ray is the mother of Ann Patchett....I never knew!!   Jeanne Rays books were so light and fun to read.   I recently watched a rerun of of movie made from another book that I'd enjoyed earlier called  Big Stone Gap.  A happy ending story by Adriana Trigiani.

    Callie,  If you enjoyed Five French Hens,  I wonder if you have read Joan Medlicott's books about The Ladies of Covington?   Another group of older ladies whose adventures you might like.


   I wonder how many of you are signed up with Good Reads.   I find it a great place to track down something that I've read and for whatever reason want to go back to find title or author.

  I hope that the pressure of the past months is beginning to ease a little for you all as the vaccines are getting around.   I think we will be a lot more cautious in the coming months and years after this experience.

  Happy Eastertime everyone.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on March 30, 2021, 12:44:06 PM
Tell me what this " Libby" is . Not heart of it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 31, 2021, 06:56:32 AM
JeanneP, Libby by Overdrive is a reading app designed especially for smartphones and tablets. https://www.overdrive.com/apps/libby/ Scroll down the page to see the video. You will need to use Libby is a library card from a library that supports overdrive. Also, if you are using a Kindle tablet, Amazon does not support Libby, so you need to follow special instructions to install it.

IMO, Libby is easier to use than the regular Overdrive app. The only thing I miss is the wish list that I keep on Overdrive.Also, not all books I want to read are available in Kindle's format. Now, through Libby, I can read books in .epub on my Kindle as well as Kindle formatted books. Also, I don't need to sign in to Amazon to complete a borrow transaction like I do with the regular Overdrive app.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 03, 2021, 08:04:34 AM
Well, something different for me, I am reading two books, neither of which are SciFi, and went back to listening some more on the non-fiction books I never finished.

In addition to Windfell Hall, I my copy of a tome called The First Man in Rome. It is the first of Colleen McMullough's Masters of Rome series. The .epub book says it is 1,000 pages, the print version is 1,147 pages.

Didn't read a thing yesterday. Amazing!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 03, 2021, 11:44:38 AM
Good Morning MarsGal, and any other book lovers who look in today.    Nice that you're taking a break from Sci-Fi, and catching up with other books you've neglected.

I'm almost done with Ann Patchett's, Commonwealth.   It's a good family saga, but is very long and detailed, so is taking me longer than usual to finish.  Lots of interesting characters to keep up with.  I have two more library books when I'm done with this . . . the two Marilynne Robinson novels.

The Covid cases have diminished here in Santa Clara County. Very few new infections, so looks like the vaccinations are working to end this miserable plague.   By summer, I think businesses and restaurants will be open for inside service, and people will be returning to watch live sports events!  Schools are still mostly closed, but looks like there is hope for opening soon. 

We've watched lots of TV shows, series and movies, over this past year.  I'm grateful that they're available.   The 24 hour news programming is always there, to see first hand what's going on in the world. Mostly sad and unfortunate events happening every day so far in 2021.  Hard to watch, but I feel like I have to be informed.  We watch a movie or documentary  about every other night, and also keep up with the hockey games and college basketball.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on April 04, 2021, 09:24:53 AM
I finished the second in a row Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear so think I will take a break from her for awhile.  I just downloaded a book by Sue Monk Kidd named, "The Book of Longings" that sounded intriguing so I will start that today after I finish cooking the Easter dinner.  The main character is the wife of Jesus.  We'll see how far I get with it.

Happy Easter to All.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 04, 2021, 01:37:48 PM
I finely joined Netflix. It's on desktop bot need to put on to. Started watching Franky and Grace. So far watched about 12 hrs and still not ended. Love it. 

Just nothing anymore worth watching on Xfinity. Yet paying to much. My wifi is so slow and Internet also. Going to call them again.

75 deg. Here today and so off out.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 04, 2021, 01:39:43 PM
Don't know why print so small as I moved it up to  6 now. Keeps going back.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 05, 2021, 01:53:46 PM
JeanneP -  Good to see that you got Netflix!  There's a large variety of shows and movies to see, which should keep you busy for a long time.  Be sure to put, The Crown, on your list of future series to watch.  I think you'll like that one a lot.  Don't worry about getting your print large enough in here.  We can read the regular size just fine!

Phyllis - The Book of Longings, sounds good. I will definitely order it from my library.    The only Sue Monk Kidd novel that I can remember reading, is The Secret Life of Bees, and I loved it!  I also thought the movie was excellent.  If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. 

I only watched one movie over the weekend - Algiers, from 1942, starring Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamar.  Any of you out there who are old enough, may remember the character, Pepe le Moco, and the famous line, "Take me to the Casbah!"  Neither AJ or I remember seeing the movie, but we both remember that line of dialogue.  Also, in later years, the cartoon character Pepe le Pew, was patterned after Charles Boyer . . . the French lover!  ;D
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on April 06, 2021, 11:50:03 AM
Now I remember that movie. Oh! Charles Boyer.Did his eyes still excite. Always did me. 
finely gotten it working good on NetFlix. Guess that you have to sign up on each thing you want to watch it on. For me Desktop and one TV in living room. May start screening WILL also as the have all the Masterpiece on. Most I have seen over the year but will enjoy seeing again.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 06, 2021, 05:51:29 PM
I finally, finally finished the audio book about the Silk Road (which went way broader than that) by Peter Frankopan. He is a 'bit' critical of the British and the US involvement in the Middle East especially since the 70s. And now, just when we become oil independent, the Biden bunch are going to make us oil dependent again until we increase our renewable energy output sufficiently. So, I guess the behind the scene shenanigans will continue. Forgive me for one of my rare political comments.

I laughed myself silly listening to The Adventures of Tom Strange, Interdimentional Insurance Agent. It was written by Larry Correia and narrated perfectly by Adam Baldwin (who played Jane in Firefly). I laughed so hard I thought I would crack a rib.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on April 07, 2021, 08:43:45 AM
I gave up about half-way through "The Book of Longings" by Sue Monk Kidd.  Just couldn't find a point to it.  The theme has been hashed over by other authors many times.  And better done, in my opinion. 

I turned to "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein and loved that. Spent most of the day reading it.  One of those books that I couldn't put down.  I'll admit that it probably doesn't appeal to everyone but I thought it was terrific, even though it is a sentimental tear-jerker.  I'll try to find the movie though I'm almost always disappointed in the movie made from a favorite book.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 07, 2021, 12:06:19 PM
Phyllis -  I'm so glad you liked, "The Art of Racing in the Rain".   It was such a warm and uplifting story,  narrated by the wise and wonderful dog,  Enzo!    I loved it,  and now I'm inspired to read and enjoy it all over again.

I have the book here, and I see that I have bookmarked lots of pages - all of which contain passages spoken by Enzo,  about his thoughts on life, and humanity.   One that I especially liked  - "I'm stuffed into a dog's body, but that's just the shell. It's what's inside that's important. The soul. And my soul is very human."

I did see the movie, and of course I was disappointed, as we all usually are by a movie adapted from a good book.  They changed lots of things from the original story, as they always do.  :(   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on April 08, 2021, 09:41:12 AM
I'm going to listen to you, Marilyne, and pass on the movie.  I liked the book so much I don't want to "muddy" it with a bad movie.  Enzo was such a wise dog.  I hope his human reincarnation was just the same.   :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 09, 2021, 03:48:10 PM
[Hello.  Remember me?  ;)

It's been a busier than usual two weeks and, by the time I get around to reading anything....I fall asleep!

Just reading "beach book/chick lit" stuff - most of which I finish in one session.  There are several authors of this kind that I like = even though I know how it all will end - so I decided to print out a list from each author's website and work my way through.

Currently reading Jodi Thomas, Mary Kay Andrews and Nancy Thayer.

I've been reading posts and enjoying your comments.
Now I need to bring my Tablet and Cell Phone up to full charge in case the predicted severe weather actually affects my area tonight (weather gurus can't seem to make up their minds if or when that will happen).

TTYL
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 10, 2021, 11:56:17 AM
Callie -  Good to see you checking in!  Sorry your weather is also unpredictable, with days of Winter still hanging around. I saw your post in another folder, that Miss Emily came by with her SO, and that she seemed happy, and that the rest of the family likes him also. ❤️   I hope Miss Ellen,is doing okay in NYC?   Wonderful that she will again have a small bit in "Mrs. Maisel".

Phyllis  - I didn't mean to discourage you from watching the movie,  "Racing in the Rain".   They left out some of the story that might be considered controversial, but the rest of the story stuck fairly close to the original. The voice of Enzo was narrated by Kevin Costner, and I thought he did a good job.  The actual dog who "played" Enzo, was wonderful!   

Has anyone else been watching the Hemingway biography/series, on PBS?   We've seen Episodes one and two, and will watch the final one tonight.  Excellent, in my opinion!   Of course, any series produced by Ken Burns, is always good and accurate.    I've been thinking about what a hard time I've had over the years, reading any of Hemingway's novels!   Now I'm anxious to read each and every one, and I plan to check them out, from the library, one by one.   So I  tried . . . only to discover that lots of other people in my library district, want to do the same thing!   There is already a wait list, for all of his books. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 10, 2021, 01:30:33 PM
Marilyne, didn't even sprinkle at my house but it was a tad chilly this morning.

"SO" is a much better term for a couple the ages of Miss Emily and T. than "boyfriend/girlfriend".  :) I'm happy that she's met someone because most of her friends have married - or are getting married and it's so much nicer if she has a "Plus One" when they get together.

Miss Ellen is doing fine in NYC.  She's getting more shifts at the store where she was transferred and I think a few "in person" auditions are beginning to appear. She had sent in a few video auditions but she doesn't do well with those.

I've never been particularly interested in reading anything by Hemingway but did read "The Paris Wife", which is about him and his wife, Hadley. That was quite a while ago and I don't remember the details.
Maybe I'll watch the final PBS episode tonight.

Have a "sort and stack" project staring at me.  Off to get it out of the way.

Happy Reading, Everyone.

 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 10, 2021, 07:45:42 PM
Anne Hillerman's latest book will be out April 13th. She has done a masterful job of continuing her father's work. Love this series.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on April 10, 2021, 08:05:35 PM
Marilyne, I've watched Epi. 1 of the Hemingway series.  I DVR'd Two and Three, perhaps tonight I'll catch up.  I am enjoying it.  I've read several of his books, can't say I enjoyed them.  I did read "The Paris Wife" about Hadley and Ernest. It was a good, well-written and interesting book. 

" May you live in interesting times" - - the adage is so true, especially with our weather.  Thinking that less than a month ago, we had a blizzard (Texas style!) with snow and ice and frozen pipes and severe water damage, some folks with no heat or water.  Now we have had several days in the upper 70's, only to have a real quick cold front push through, last night Hail in several places.  I had some, pea sized or smaller, but it quit within 5 minutes (thank goodness).  I kept hearing "ping, ping, ping" on the roof and glass patio door.  Went out to check and by the time I came back in, it was over.  Yesterday was windy, with temps I think in the lower 80's, I had to turn on two ceiling fans.  Then this AM
very chilly.  The rapid weather change has created the need to strip down the bed, take off the flannel sheets, electric blanket and quilt, and return to regular sheets and light coverlet.  Of course, in a day or so, I'll probably have to dig out my flannel p.j.'s  LOL.
Hope everyone is doing as well as can be expected, our regular healthwise, with accidents and surgeries notwithstanding.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Amulet on April 10, 2021, 10:24:45 PM
Does anyone here read e-books?  If so what do you like about reading that way?  If not, why not? I live in a part of the world where trees used to grow profusely.  Now they are dying out because of climate change.  We no longer get enough rain.  We need to start reading digital books.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 11, 2021, 12:50:13 AM

Amulet - Hello, and welcome to the Library Bookshelf, discussion!    Yes, I think just about everyone who posts here, reads e-books, or listens to audio books.  I'm the last hold-out, who still prefers an old fashioned book.  I do have a Kindle, and I download a book occasionally.   Sounds like you may live in California or Oregon?   I'm in CA, and we are now officially in drought conditions.   We'll likely have to start water rationing by Summertime.  Right now we're only being asked to conserve. 

Tome - We finished watching the Hemingway series tonight.  I thought it was excellent!   As I said yesterday, Ken Burns, never disappoints.  All of his many series on PBS, have been very well done.  Back in another lifetime, when I was a Journalism/English major in college, I read lots of the early Hemingway books, but can't say that I enjoyed them.   I think I was too young to appreciate them, which is why I intend to read them again.  I also read, "The Paris Wife", and liked it very much.

Jean - I remember you recommending Ann Hillerman, a couple of years ago.  I intended to read one of her novels, but my  list is always long, and some of the books work their way to the bottom and then get forgotten. I'll move her back up to the top.

Callie -  I still like the old fashioned terms, like boyfriend or girlfriend, but I've been trying to switch to, "significant other".  Recently I've been told that SO, is an outdated term, and we are now supposed to say "partner".   Partner, can mean - bf, gf, husband or wife, so it's generic I guess??   ::)  ;D 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Vanilla-Jackie on April 11, 2021, 04:14:56 AM
Amulet
...a warm welcome from UK...Oh yes, how i agree with you, our ever changing climate change and the destruction and decline of our trees, we so need them, they purify our air...we also need the ability to read good books yet save our fast diminishing trees..

As for reading, i only read when i go to bed, this helps me doze off...

...Two books i have re-read are Chef Interrupted by Trevis Gleason... his story - memoir of holidaying ( from America ) for two months in Ireland, miles from nowhere, in a rented old house with his new pup, his determination and humour...We both have something in common, we both have MS, hence the read...

...and Tales of a Tiller Girl by Irene Holland...her true story of growing up in the 1930's...dancing during wartime London, then starting her own dancing school in her later years...When i was young, just had my 70th Birthday, like many here in UK, we grew up watching on our tv's Sunday Night at the London Palladium, hence the Tiller Girls came on first with their high kicks dance routine to open the show...It is her own personal story of her dream of becoming a dancer - tap dancer, this was her only dream from a young child...

I have also read books by Joni Eareckson Tada, her quadriplegic and ministerial life...Heaven your Real Home and Joni and Ken, an Untold Love Story...

Jackie...
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 11, 2021, 07:50:41 AM
Welcome Amulet. I have a large library of print books that are being neglected because I spend almost all my reading time with an E-book or audio book.

Things I like about E-readers:
Light to hold, and lots easier to hold when they commandeer my lap.
Can change the font and font size to suit.
On my tablet, I use the light yellowish background color instead of white.
Easy to carry with me everywhere, especially when traveling.
Lots easier to borrow books from library and return than physical books.
I don't use the bookmark and notes feature, but they are there if you want them.

What I like about audio books:
As with E-readers, can carry my tablet with me, and can borrow from library. Can also bookmark, but I never tried it.
Can do other things while listening. (but beware, sometimes you miss things because attention is divided)
An excellent narrator can make a book more interesting than if you read it yourself.
Some are really super at voice changes for different characters making it easy to know who is talking, and great fun to follow. Some audio books are "full-cast" narrations.
I find that I like listening to an extra long book better than reading them.
You can adjust the reading speed slower or faster by a little bit. I only used this feature once.


I can't speak to reading on a smart phone, because I don't have one, but I rather think I wouldn't like it much. I like a larger screen. I don't know about other E-readers, but Amazon seems to encourage customers to upgrade to newer versions rather frequently. For example, there is no way to change the battery on the Kindles so you have to get a new one instead. They do have an easy recycle program in place for the old one if you but new which I appreciate.

I hope this doesn't amount to an ad for Amazon. I am just pointing out some of the things you might want to look at before getting an E-reader.

Oh, and since I inherited an old Nexus tablet with Google's OS installed, I now have easy access to borrows using Libby from Overdrive. And yes, it is definitely easier to borrow an Amazon e-book or audio book with Libby than using the Kindle using just plain Overdrive. But, I like it especially because I can read .epub books that Amazon doesn't carry. I've run across two borrows so far that my library does not have in Kindle format. Bottom line is that you do not need a dedicated E-reader to read digital books. There are a number of E-book apps out there and book sites (free and otherwise) as well. I assume there are also apps for listening to audio books, or general audio applications that handle voice audio as well as music. I haven't looked into that.

Well, time to stop. I think I just about over-killed that subject.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on April 11, 2021, 09:18:46 AM
Welcome, Amulet.  I am one who declared that I could never read a book on an e-reader.  I would always have to have the "real" book.  But, now that I can no longer get to the library easily having an e-reader has saved my life.  And I would repeat all of the reasons that Mars Gal listed.  I especially like being able to adjust the font size to my comfort. 

I'm not a fan of Hemingway's books.  Too much testosterone for me, I think.  I remember seeing the movie of "For Whom the Bell Tolls", with Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman,  and it stuck in my memory.  I did watch all of the Ken Burns' doc. and was surprised to learn that Hemingway, though talented, was not a very nice person.  I would not have wanted to know him personally, I think.  Any man who abuses women is not someone I would care to know. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on April 11, 2021, 11:24:42 AM
Amulet,  I agree with Mars Gal and Phyllis.  I can borrow as many as 10 books at a time from my library, have 10 "On Hold" and put as many as I want on my "Wish List".   I love being able to finish a book and get a new one as soon as I can check "Borrow".
 
The neatest thing about the library is that, if you don't renew or return at the end of the borrowing time (2 weeks), the book simply disappears.... No Overdues!  :thumbup:   You can recheck it immediately if it's available.

I like fiction- particularly well-researched historical fiction -, biographies and some mysteries or "thrillers" (never have understood the difference - but I don't like gory descriptions).
Have tried to keep a data base of e-books I read but slowed down adding to it when the number reached  800.

Still working my way through the three "chick-lit" authors I mentioned earlier.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Amulet on April 11, 2021, 11:46:46 AM
Thank you CallieOk, Phyllise, MarsGal, Vanilla-Jackie and Marilyn.  Forgive me if I get this all wrong or leave someone out.  I'm trying to get the hang of this place and I didn't get notified this had been responded to.  I thought I'd signed up for that. Now I have an error message that there's something that needs to be corrected before I can continue.  But I have no idea what to do or how to correct it.

I'm an author and am reconsidering how I present my work.  In other senior sites I've been on only an occasional persons read e-books.  They wanted something they could hold in their hands - which was not an e-reader. I understand that, but reading on an e-reader or a computer is so much easier.  I don't have an e-reader.  I downloaded Adobe Digital into my computer and downloaded an e-pub version of digital books. So I read on my computer.  I far prefer it.

Yes, Marilyne, I live in Oregon in the Coast Range.  When I was a kid we had so much rain I complained.  Now the trees are dying.  This year is worse than last and so on.  The trees are harvested very young and chipped for paper and furniture.  Old growth trees can withstand fires because the bark is so thick.  These trees are being harvested at about twenty years old, so the ones standing burn easily.  I wouldn't doubt that the fires hit my area this year.  Last year they were 40 miles away and the sky turned orange several different times and the air was awful.

We all need to do our part to protect out planet.  This is the only place we have to live.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 12, 2021, 04:09:21 PM

Amulet  - Very interesting that you are a writer!  Do you like to write short stories, or full novels, or non-fiction?  Yes, there are many options for reading books, in todays high tech world.  Although I do occasionally read on my Kindle, it would be difficult for me to read a book on my computer.  Back problems, as well as it's too uncomfortable for me to sit in this desk chair for very long.   Maybe wouldn't be so hard if I had a laptop, but a desktop computer is all I have.

What type of reading do you enjoy most?   Do you like novels written by and for women, or historical fiction,  or do you like thrillers, mysteries, etc.?  Most of us who post here read a mix of all those, plus lots of non-fiction as well.  Let us know what books you've enjoyed?

I also live in wildfire country, here in Northern California. It's getting worse every year.  The fires are starting earlier in the season, and lasting into November, the past couple of years.  Every year we hope it will be better, but instead it gets worse.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Amulet on April 12, 2021, 05:29:18 PM
Quote from: Marilyne on April 12, 2021, 04:09:21 PMAmulet  - Very interesting that you are a writer!  Do you like to write short stories, or full novels, or non-fiction?  Yes, there are many options for reading books, in todays high tech world.  Although I do occasionally read on my Kindle, it would be difficult for me to read a book on my computer.  Back problems, as well as it's too uncomfortable for me to sit in this desk chair for very long.  Maybe wouldn't be so hard if I had a laptop, but a desktop computer is all I have.

What type of reading do you enjoy most?  Do you like novels written by and for women, or historical fiction,  or do you like thrillers, mysteries, etc.?  Most of us who post here read a mix of all those, plus lots of non-fiction as well.  Let us know what books you've enjoyed?

I also live in wildfire country, here in Northern California. It's getting worse every year.  The fires are starting earlier in the season, and lasting into November, the past couple of years.  Every year we hope it will be better, but instead it gets worse.   

Since I sit at my computer most of my day, I have a comfortable desk chair. I would find it very uncomfortable to write on a laptop, all scrunched over.

I've written creative nonfiction and fiction. With the nonfiction I had a story that needed to be told.  It took me ten years to write it and get it published.  Then the publisher messed it up, turned some of my painful truth into lies.  I rewrote it years later, once I had recovered from the trauma of the horrible event. I write literary fiction which just means it is character driven rather than action oriented.  I just learned it's actually upmarket fiction, which means it's literary with market potential.  I don't like thrillers.  I lived through a version of that and I will never like them.  It is not entertainment, if you've been victimized by it.  All books are mysteries.  You start a book not knowing what is going to happen, and the author, if she/he is good at it leads you through the mystery.  I did write one book that could be considered alternate history. It was set in two time periods.  There are elements of magical realism/visionary stuff in my books.  That just means that just because someone dies, doesn't mean they are no longer in the story.

My favorite book of all time is Jonathon Livingston Seagull.  It literally changed my life.  When I was twelve I read and was haunted by Gone with the Wind.  These days I am too busy writing my own stuff to read much.  One I've written all day I want to be entertained by a movie, tv series or documentary.  Lately I've been watching a lot of space stuff, which led me to write my latest novel including quantum entanglement.

As for the wildfire seasons they will ongoingly be getting worse.  So we are again assembling boxes to pack our most needed emergency supplies in in case we have to bug out this summer. The rain just isn't showing up.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 13, 2021, 08:06:47 AM
If it weren't for it actually appearing to work, I would think Quantum Physics/Mechanics is a cosmic joke. It is very hard for me to wrap my brain around.

My last foray into Quantum physics was Hannu Rajaniemi's trilogy starting with The Fractal Prince. I listened to the audio versions narrated by Scott Brick, whose voice was absolutely mesmerizing. I began to understand some of the story better in the second book, The Quantum Thief. The third is The Causal Angel.

Now that I have finally finished listening to the two non-fiction audio books I had set aside for a while, I am starting a new one. Caesar's Legion: The Epic Saga of Julius Caesar's Elite Tenth Legion and the Armies of Rome
By: Stephen Dando-Collins. I am getting a really big backlog on my audio book listens especially since Audible had added what amounts to a borrowing library of audio books. The oldest audio book I bought that I haven't started yet is  Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World By: Jack Weatherford, so I may start that too.

E-book wise, I am reading another first of series military scifi, Marine (Terran Scout Fleet, Book 1) by Joshua Dalzelle. It is not a bad story, but it suffers from the usual lack of proper editing. I really do cringe and have to shake my head at the thought that there are so many writers who do not know when to use "you and me" as opposed to "you and I". And, I must finish up A Splendid Exchange by William J. Bernstein, which I think is more interesting than Frankopan's Silk Roads... book. I hope to get these done before Mick Herron's newest Slough House book becomes available from the library.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on April 13, 2021, 10:33:22 AM
for Kindle

   
The Engineer's Wife

By Tracey Enerson Wood

Inspired by true events: In 1869, suffragist Emily takes over her husband's role overseeing the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. Can she overcome the obstacles she faces — and embrace her ambition? "An absorbing and poignant tale... Not to be missed!"
(New York Times bestselling author Kim Michele Richardson).

Historical Fiction
$1.99  instead of $9.99
Amazon
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Amulet on April 13, 2021, 11:30:42 AM
Quote from: MarsGal on April 13, 2021, 08:06:47 AMIf it weren't for it actually appearing to work, I would think Quantum Physics/Mechanics is a cosmic joke. It is very hard for me to wrap my brain around.

If you want to understand Quantum Physics watch documentaries about it by physicist Brian Greene.  He's excellent in explaining it.  My book does not dwell on the technical side of it.

The reason some books are poorly edited is that it's hard to find a publisher and an agent. That means that the writer writes stuff without learning all the rules, and then publishes it him/herself. They tend to think their work is gold, as is. The publishers and agents used to weed out the authors who weren't ready for publication yet.  I have a writing friend who thinks her books are perfect because she considers them God assignments.  So she stopped trying hard.  Plus, it's hard to catch one's own mistakes.  Even if you have people reading for you, they miss the mistakes too.  Plus sometimes junk writing makes it, big.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: patricia19 on April 15, 2021, 06:32:04 PM
I don't normally post here, but I was given a book by  Richard Powers called "The Overstory."  It tells the story of nine Americans who are drawn into deep and interesting relationships with trees. It received the 2019 Pulitzer prize winner for Fiction, and I highly recommend it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 16, 2021, 12:35:30 AM
Patricia - I remember reading about this novel when it was nominated, and it sounded fascinating . . .  then I forgot all about it.   ::)   I plan to check my library tomorrow, and hope that they have a copy.  Thanks for reminding me. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: patricia19 on April 19, 2021, 10:41:11 AM
I think you'll enjoy it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 26, 2021, 01:41:55 PM
Patricia - Just to let you know that, "The Overstory", has not arrived at my library yet.  It was ordered from another library in my county system, which of course is in another city.    Never had to wait this long for a book, but I think its because I asked for Large Print, if possible,  but that I would be okay with regular print.    They probably didn't notice the last part, so I guess I'll be getting large print?  :-\ 

Another book that I've wanted to read for a long time, is "The Dinner List", by Rebecca Serle.  The premise of the book is  -  If you could invite five people to a dinner party, who would you invite?  The five guests could be deceased, living, famous, infamous, etc.  Sounds like something to think about?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 27, 2021, 07:20:21 AM
Morning everyone.

Look to Windward by Iain Banks, is almost finished. While there are a few spots I skimmed over, the story is quite interesting. Here is the story of a soldier grieving for his dead wife (also a soldier) and wishing mightily that he would die and join her. He is inconsolable. Finally, giving up on trying to help him through his grief, his superiors offer him a suicide mission. This mission is seen as an act of retribution against the alien empire that meddled in the internal affairs of his independent home-world by fomenting a class/civil war. Does this sound oh too familiar? Yet another country/empire meddling in the internal affairs of another to try to affect whatever changes they deem best for that country or their own pockets as the case may be.

I finally got back to Michael J. Sullivan and the first of The Riyria Chronicles series, The Crown Conspiracy. It is another segment of his Elan Universe books. I had been putting this next series off for a while because I know once I start it, I will not be able to put it down.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 29, 2021, 05:01:45 PM
MarsGal - As usual, your reading selections sound fascinating.  "Look To Windward", is one that AJ might like, so I'll have him look it up, and see what he thinks about ordering it for the Kindle.  As you said - a familiar theme, but always interesting.

Patricia - I finally got, "The Overstory"!   Definitey not the large print copy that I was hoping for.  In fact, the print is not only small, but very light.  I'll start reading this afternoon, but if it's too hard on these old eyes, I'll probably order it again for the Kindle.  I read the book jacket, and the story sounds like one that AJ would like also. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: patricia19 on April 29, 2021, 08:48:41 PM
I really enjoyed the book Marilyne and I'm curious to see what you and perhaps AJ think.

The Dinner List sounds interesting as that is a game I've played since childhood at family or holiday dinners.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 01, 2021, 02:28:24 PM
Mick Herron's latest Slow Horses series novel, Slough House, just became available from the library. I will start reading it after I finish the last few chapters of Requiem for Medusa: Tyrus Rechs: Contracts & Terminations Book 1 by Jason Anspach and Nick Cole. It is another of their Galaxy's Edge series. Okay, but not their best, I think.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 04, 2021, 10:26:12 PM
Alrighty then, I seem to have lost my post!

I just finished Slough House, already. The ending just flabbergasted me. AND, I just found out that Apple+ is filming a series based on the books. Of course, COVID19 has slowed things down mightily, but they do have six episodes finished so far. Great cast with Jonathan Pryce, Gary Oldman, Kirstan Scott Thomas, Jack Lowden, Olivia Cooke and Chris Chung for starters. I am not familiar with the last three actors.

I checked with IMDB to find out what is going on with the HALO series to be aired on Showtime. It has once again been put back to a release date sometime in 2022, this time because of COVID. You don't have to be a gamer to watch, but if you hare interested, I recommend watching Forward Unto Dawn. It is one of my favorite SciFi movies.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 05, 2021, 11:28:05 AM
MarsGal - Slough House, sounds good!   Also the fact that it has been made into a series, starring all those great actors, makes it all the more interesting.   Not sure if I get Apple TV, but if not, I'll look into it?  I'll also look and see if I can find, Forward Into Dawn.  Not a lot of new shows to choose from on any channel.   As you said, Covid has caused production to stop on all new TV programming.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on May 05, 2021, 12:29:01 PM
Have you read all 7 books plus 3 novellas in the Slough House series, Mars Gal?  I would like to read them but my library doesn't have them in ebook format and these days I find it isn't easy to get to the library to pick up a hard copy.

I agree, Marilyne.  Not too many good new shows to choose from.  I've even gone back and am watching an old tv series starring Jennifer Garner, "Alias", on Roku.  Actually, it's still pretty good.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 05, 2021, 02:38:52 PM
Oh yes, Phyllis. I did read all of them.

Another book just became available, so I will be reading A Desolation Called Peace next. It is the second of Arkady Martine's Teixcalaan Series. Her first, A Memory Called Empire, won the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Novel. Not too shabby for a debut novelist.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 05, 2021, 03:15:21 PM
Phyllis and MarsGal - Do either one of you remember reading a novel titled,  The Group, by Mary McCarthy?  It was a bestseller in the mid 1960's.  I read it, as did all my friends at that time, and we could hardly wait for the movie to arrive!  I had forgotten all about it, until I watched the 1966 movie yesterday.    It was GOOD, and ahead of it's  time, in many ways.  Of course, no nudity or four letter words at all.

The thing that was most interesting to me, was seeing so many stars from that time, who were relatively unknown then.  Many went on to have good long  careers,  others not, and some of them died very young.
The successful women were,  Candice Bergen, Jessica Walter, Shirley Knight and Joan Hackett. Walter and Knight both died in 2020.  They were in their 80's.  The men were Hal Holbrook, James Broderick, and Larry Hagman.    Hagman's character in this movie was exactly the same as his infamous character of JR, in the long running TV series, Dallas. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 06, 2021, 08:27:10 AM
I've heard of it Marilyne, but never read it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 07, 2021, 02:45:08 PM
Phyllis, Callie and MarsGal  -  I've seen online, that all of the series shows that we've talked about here, have resumed production, and will be available soon to watch.  The one I'm most interested in following is Succession, which is on HBO.    If any of you still have HBO, and haven't watched this series, it's really worth seeing.    Supposedly a fictional, (loosely based on fact), account of the Rupert Murdock family.    I know it's hard to get through that first episode of any series, but once you get the gist of the story, and get all the characters straight, it's worth sticking with.  There are two seasons of the series available on HBO right now, so if you're interested in family drama, this is for you.   However, the F word is used constantly!   Seems some of the family members can't speak a sentence without using it.   I don't like it, but I do get used to it.

We've been sampling lots of series on Netflix and Amazon, but haven't found one we are hooked on.   There is British series on Netflix, called  Peaky Blinders, that we started watching, and we did get through the first season.   It takes place in Birmingham, England, right after World War I.    The young men who served in France during the war,  come home to poverty and descent  throughout England.   Gangs are formed, of which Peaky Blinders is one.   (Apparently there really was a gang by that name in Birmingham.).  Anyway, it's a little too violent for me, but AJ likes it, so I've continued to watch through the first season.  The stars are all British actors.   There are four seasons available, so we will probably move forward with that show.

For those who don't want to watch either excessive violence or listen to the F word, there is always Turner Classic Movies!!!   All the wonderful movies from the 1940's, 50's and 60's.   Now also from the 70's and 80's.   Last night we watched  The African Queen,  starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn.   I had forgotten what a great movie it is!   TCM has closed captions, for those of you who need them.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on May 08, 2021, 11:55:41 AM
Marilyne, The African Queen is one of my husband's favorite movies.  I'm not a Bogart fan but he is really good in that movie and Casablanca.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 15, 2021, 12:20:08 PM
I am not getting as much reading done these last two weeks as usual. Oh, well! I am still reading A Desolation Called Peace, and while I recharge the Kindle it is on, I switch to The Grand Babylon Hotel by Arnold Bennett. It was originally published as a serial back in 1902 in The Golden Penny magazine.

When I looked back a few pages, I see I mentioned I was going to read two non-fiction books. Well, guess what! I promptly forgot about them, so they are still unread.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 20, 2021, 07:31:03 AM
Okay, then. I couldn't get through The Grand Babylon Hotel. It got a little too silly plot twist wise for me. Or it could be it just didn't suit my mood.

Another book I could not get through is The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson. It deals with travels and research in the different worlds of the multi-verse. The premise sounded interesting, however, it just didn't hold my attention.

Now I am reading a mystery called Don't Leave Me by James Scott Bell. So far, so good. We have a PTSD war vet who is a fifth grade teacher with a brother who is autistic. His wife had died in an accident shortly after he came back, so he is dealing with that too. Now he and his brother are being threatened and his was house set on fire by person or persons unknown who seem to indicate his wife had been involved in or saw something she should not have. I haven't gotten too far into the book yet.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 20, 2021, 01:01:15 PM

MarsGal  -  I'm curious about, The Grand Babylon Hotel, and wondering if it has any connection to that popular Hollywood silly/ridiculous movie,  The Grand Budapest Hotel?   "Budapest" was an odd comedy, starring almost all the current stars, in mostly cameo appearances.  For reasons that I can't figure, it was nominated for, and won many of the major Oscars and Golden Globes the year it was released.  I think it was around 2015, but not sure.  It was apparently one of those Hollywood "insider comedies", that we,  the common folk,  did not understand?  Later on, I'll look up both titles, and see if there is any connection?

I see I didn't mention that I received two books for Mother's Day, from my son and dil.  One is  The Four Winds,  by Kristin Hannah.  In general, I like her novels.  She is a prolific writer, and really knows how to tell a story and hold your interest.  However, some of her plots are a bit preposterous, or a little too contrived.    My two favorites that she has written are  The Nightingale, and  The Great Alone.  Another one that I liked was The Winter Garden.   

The other book they gave me, is  The Silent Wife,  by Kerry Fisher.  Never heard of it, but on reading the cover review, it sounds like a thriller type of story, full of secrets and psychopaths.  Not the style of novel that I enjoy reading.  However, I'll give it a fair try before abandoning it.           
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 21, 2021, 08:04:32 AM
We did a book discussion on The Winter Garden a few years back on SeniorLearn. I enjoyed it very much, but have not gotten around to trying any of her other books, but there are several that look promising including The Nightingale, Magic Hour, and Home Front.

I gave up on Don't Leave Me. It is turning into a drug cartel thing. Additionally, I don't care for most of the characters which include a cop who is more interested in advancing his career than getting at the truth and the son of a drug cartel boss who likes to beat himself with sticks.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 21, 2021, 02:18:23 PM
Re: Kristen Hannah.....    I've read "Winter Garden", "Distant Shores", "The Great Alone" and "The Four Winds" (which my Book Club discussed on Wednesday). 
Please share what you like about her stories.  Personally,  I'm tired of long detailed descriptions of tragedies and travails experienced by the main character in each and every chapter!

I'm currently reading "Mountain Time" by Ivan Doig and have "Crazy Rich Girlfriend" (#2 in Crazy Rich Asian trilogy) ready to start when I need a change.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 21, 2021, 04:35:17 PM
Callie  -  I agree, the main female character in the K Hannah books always has to go through Hell and back, before the requisite happy ending.  :o   Not necessarily "happy", but with most of the problems resolved, and the possibility of a better life ahead.  Most of the novels by women, for women, are  like that.   I also get tired of the constant angst,  but I do like it better than murder and mayhem, and psycho killers, and drug addicts. 

I do like all of the Ivan Doig books that I've read.  Good stories, without all of the misery and sadness.  I thoroughly enjoyed, Crazy Rich Asians . . .  always wondering, "Is any of this lifestyle based on truth, or is it all sheer fantasy"?   Let us know what you think of #2 in the trilogy?

MarsGal - Any book, movie or TV series, that includes drug cartels, is not for me either, so I can see why you lost interest in Don't Leave Me  I cannot deal with the brutality and ugliness that is always part of a those stories.   Of the K Hannah books you mentioned, you might want to try, The Nightingale.  Takes place during WWII, which is always a good setting for a novel.   Lots of my favorite books and movies take place during that time period.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 28, 2021, 04:32:07 PM
Callie  -  I finished The Four Winds, and have mixed feelings, as I usually do with most Kristin Hannah novels.   There were many things I liked about the story, but other things that irritated and even angered me. 

The angry part, was how Hannah, picked familiar sequences from The Grapes of Wrath, and passed them off as her own!  I'm sure John Steinbeck, would be suing for plagiarism, if he were still around.  :o   Then I realized that,  "Wrath", was written more than 80 years ago, so probably it's not required reading anymore, as it was when I was in school.  So most likely nobody will notice the passages that I recognized, that were rewritten by Hannah.    They were also included in the movie, which often plays on TCM.     Two of them take place on the grueling road trip to California to find work . . .   the candy counter scene, and the one when they finally emerged from the Mojave desert, to feast their eyes on the orchards filled with orange trees, and the Lush green fields, etc.   Later in the book,  when the stillborn baby was delivered in the back of a truck, was also in "Wrath".

I liked the beginning part of the book, that describes the dust storms, and what it was like to experience one.  Also the overall story of the main character was well done.  Hannah's trademark, is the strong woman, who perseveres, through unspeakable hardships.   I would like to hear what your book club thought about the book??   Also, if anyone noticed the similarity to "Grapes of /Wrath"?   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: patricia19 on May 28, 2021, 05:16:09 PM
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/four-winds-book-review/2021/01/28/6c3afed8-6165-11eb-9061-07abcc1f9229_story.html
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 28, 2021, 09:03:33 PM
Marilyne,  I was busy with something else and didn't realize it was time for the Zoom meeting of Book Club until it would have been too late to join in.  Learned that one member shared her Dad's memoirs about his family during the Dust Bowl and the leader had some other books about the subject to recommend...which I do not intend to read.

I confess I have never read "Grapes of Wrath" and only watched the entire movie because I was "supposed to".
I realize and accept that many many people had a terrible experience during the Dust Bowl - but I highly resent the entire state of Oklahoma being depicted this way.
For one thing, Steinbeck's fictional family came from the eastern part of the state - which was EDITED...in the same way that the western part was. My family had been in the eastern part since 1904 and none of them experienced anything like this - nor did anyone they were closely associated with.

Patricia,  I liked that review - particularly
Her prose, so ordinary line by line, nevertheless accumulates into scenes that rush from one emergency to the next — starving! beating! flooding! — pausing only for respites of sentimentality. (There's a little boy in these pages so sweet he could be ground up to flavor 8 million cupcakes.)
 I (the reviewer) confess, I spent too long rolling my eyes at the flat style, the shiny characters and the clunky polemics of "The Four Winds" before finally giving in and snuffling, "I'm not crying — you're crying!" 


Call me cynical and snobbish - but that's the way I feel about these kinds of stories.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 29, 2021, 06:27:26 AM
I didn't either, Callie. The only Steinbeck I remember reading was The Red Pony.

Right now I am reading another crime mystery that is pretty good. I don't recall the name or author right now. It is certainly better than the last one I tried to read.

Yesterday I finished listening to a short autobiographical sketch that Yo Yo Ma did. Spanning his life in music, he talked about his encounters with music from around the world that influenced him, both in music and philosophical reflections, including his inspiration for putting together his Silk Road Project. Interspersed with his narrative are selections of his works.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: patricia19 on May 29, 2021, 10:11:59 AM
It's interesting to me because I read all of Steinbeck's books and Heminway's as well after being introduced to them in school. I also changed my tastes in literature as I grew, as most do. One reason teachers required so much of Steinbeck's work in the state was that FDR sent many of the Dustbowl survivors here and to the Anchorage area, and here they prospered.

Now, I understand Callie's anger at the way her state has been portrayed. I have a lot of anger and resentment over how my state was and is still portrayed, and remembering my Missouri dad resenting the way his state was in the fifties and sixties. People tend to form opinions about a place or people due to local mores and media. Look at the burgeoning QAnon movement as a good example.

The books I read today are historical in nature, be their theme fantasy, autobiographical or political. Going back to an ancient time in my life, I earned degrees in Medieval city-states and how they changed people and times as well as Medieval warfare, which was more landgrab wrapped in a religious cloak, not that it is changed today.

My nonfiction is also historical in nature as I read books on psychology, psychiatry, and sociology. When, where, how, and why interest me.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 29, 2021, 11:51:13 AM
I edited my last post because the eastern side of Oklahoma was certainly affected by the Depression and the Dust Bowl - but not in the same way that the flat western plains were.  I remember reading that dust from that area (and others) was detected as far east as Washington, D.C.

Patricia,  I also love well-researched history and biographies.  I realize fictional authors are allowed to....well, fictionalize  ;)... events and locations but when an author writing about the CO mountain town I lived in for 15 years probably got her information from Chamber of Commerce pamphlets rather than personal observation.... :tickedoff: . 

I enjoyed James Michener's novels but was really upset with "Centennial" when the main character left the fictional town of Centennial (far north central part) after an early breakfast was  in Durango (far southwestern corner) in time for a late lunch - after wandering through the mountains. That would be impossible if you took the Interstates!.

After several other similar things with novels set in places I'm familiar with I decided hiss last chapter are usually devoted to  mentioning all the places he visited while doing his research.

 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: patricia19 on May 29, 2021, 12:04:58 PM
Callie, I know exactly what you mean. Not too long ago, a formerly favorite author wrote a story where the characters lived in a small enclave just north of Fairbanks, AK.

Now, this was okay, reasonable even. But what I objected to, wrote to her about, and never received an answer or acknowledgment; was her inaccuracies such as Moose herds, grizzlies attacking within city limits, and other non-researched fantasies.

She also had her character mush between Fairbanks and Anchorage in an afternoon, a journey over a mountain range and 359 miles, 5.5 nonstop drive by auto, actual trip.

You can tell a story based on places you've never been, but please do even a simple modicum of research!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 29, 2021, 01:48:58 PM
I was writing a response to both Callie and Patricia, and wanted to look up the name of Steinbeck book, so clicked over the Google, and of course my S&F post was gone, gone gone, never to be seen again!!   I remember that Mary Page was asking about that problem in B&T, and I assured her that unfortunately, it happens to all of us.  :tickedoff:    Well my message was much too long anyway, per usual, so I will rewrite a shorter version later on this afternoon.  :'(
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: patricia19 on May 29, 2021, 02:16:01 PM
Marilyn, this is why I often have two copies of S&F opened.  The original and a place I can move out of, leaving the original holding any comments or replies open and available.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 29, 2021, 03:31:04 PM
Marilyne, I have the same issue!  Wish I could remember to "open a new tab" :uglystupid2:

Gorgeous sunny and pleasantly cool day in central Oklahoma.  I'm headed to the patio to read the rest of the afternoon.  (Note to self: Mosquitos are here!  Spray patio with area Off before going out  >:( )
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 29, 2021, 05:32:50 PM

I mainly wanted to have my say about John Steinbeck, who is my favorite of the writers from that era.  We were required to read,  The Grapes of Wrath,  when I was a senior in high School.  Later,  when I was in college, there was an English class on Steinbeck, and all of his books and writings up to that point in time.   We read, "Wrath", and discussed it, chapter by chapter,  in class.   Since then,  I've read it a couple of more times, and have seen the movie  many  times also.  I never tire of it, and always find something new and relevant every time I read it or watch it.  As I said in my last post, I doubt that it is required reading in schools, as it was back then, and probably the text/style of writing seems  seems dated, by today's standards.

Steinbeck was born in California, in Salinas, and lived in various cities here in the Northern half of the state, his entire life. (including the town where I live.)  In the '30's, he traveled around CA,  writing about the Depression,  and supposedly he was the only well known writer who really went into the camps and fields and orchards, and actually worked with, lived with and talked to, the migrant workers who had come to CA for a "better life".  A better life was not possible at that time, so it was basically just a struggle for survival.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 29, 2021, 10:12:04 PM
Sharing an e-mail I received about the Book Club discussion of "The Four Winds".

(The discussion leader) first discussed the meaning of the idiom "Scattered to the Four Winds". 
In our book, the term seems to refer to a group of people who were scattered to different places by the winds of the Dust Bowl along with 450 Million Tons of Topsoil.  After our discussion, (Member who sent the e-mail) found that the phrase appears to have its origin in Jeremiah 49:36 which indicates that the four winds encompass all directions or the four corners of the earth:  north, south, east, and west.

We found it interesting that the term "Okies" was such a slang word representing anyone fleeing the dust bowl to find a better life in California. The Dust Bowl exodus was the largest migration in American History.

Many of us shared family stories of our relatives' experiences during the Great Depression/Dust Bowl. (A member)read a portion of her Father's fascinating story of his family's migration from Kansas to Oildale, California (North-Northwest of downtown Bakersfield) during the Great Depression.  They traveled in a truck covered with a tarp much like a covered wagon.  They picked grapes, plums, and figs; they were paid $5.25 a day. 

We discussed the relevance of the Great Depression story in our current lives.  Kristin Hannah pointed out that this past year, we have seen the depressive results of the pandemic:  "People out of work, in need, and frightened for the future".  In The Four Winds, we saw how hope, resilience, unity, and the strength of human spirit helped these families survive adversity; hopefully, we can learn from this Greatest Generation. 

For further reading on the Great Depression/Dust Bowl, (A member)recommended the Non-Fiction account in "The Worst Hard Time" by Timothy Egan. 
The Worst Hard Time retells the story of the Dust Bowl through the memories and family histories of some of its surviving witnesses.

(Another member) recommended "Children of the Dust Bowl" by Jerry Stanley.  Children of the Dust Bowl is an outstanding book which provides an engaging portrait of the Oakies -- following their journey west, their continuing struggles in California, and finally their daily life as the residents of Weedpatch Camp (a government farm labor camp), where residents created their own 'emergency' school.


........

Would be interesting to learn your comments about relevance of the Great Depression to today's pandemic.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 30, 2021, 12:22:28 PM
Callie  -  Thanks for posting the comments  from your book club about,  The Four Winds.    It would be so interesting to read a collection of writings by survivors.  There must be many who wrote accounts and memoirs, that got lost over the years.   There are some survivors who are still living, but were babies and children at the time, and probably don't remember much at all.   
I don't see any similarities  between  the dust bowl/migration, and the Covid epidemic? 

Interesting that one of your members mentioned relatives  migrating to Oildale, CA.,  a small town outside of Bakersfield.  My father's cousin moved to Oildale in the 1940's, and opened a beauty shop.  She was a California native, so was not part of the migration.  She owned that shop until she died in the 1980's, and I guess she made a decent living.  Oildale, is obviously named for the discovery of oil there at sometime  in the distant past.    Hundreds of oil derricks there, pumping away  for many decades.  I remember what the area looked like in the late 1940's,  but don't know if the oil was all pumped out long ago, or still working? 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 30, 2021, 12:50:25 PM
I am on to two new e-books and restarting an audiobook from Michael J. Sullivan's fantasy series because it seems to have lost where I stopped, not too far in fortunately.

My borrowed book is A Map of Betrayal by Ha Jin. It is a novel about a daughter who is investigating the life of her father, a master spy of China, and in doing so, discovers she has half-siblings born to her Dad's first wife in China. As with most of the Chinese and Chinese-American authors, I am enjoying this one very much.

Ha Jin (pen name of Xuefei Jin), is a Chinese-American poet and novelist. Here is The Poetry Foundations page on him with links to some of his poetry: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ha-jin

The other book is titled Night of the Moths by Italian author Riccardo Bruni. It is a psychological thriller. I am not too far into it yet.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: patricia19 on May 30, 2021, 01:16:35 PM
FDR in the thirties sent many of the Dust Bowl survivors to Alaska. Many of the farmers in this state can link back to those survivors. There have been multiple writings, stories, and even commemorating a statue to that effect.

It kickstarted one of Alaska's main industries along with mining and lumber pre-oil. The largest influx before both was from the countries of the USSR and Yugoslavia. However, Alaska was a territory until 1959, which may explain the lack of outside info on the subject.

Another historical moment was the Lend-lease program, where FDR and Stalin cooperated during WWII. America supplied both the planes and the training pilots, and Russia sent the men willing to learn. The Russian men who crashed during training are buried in a cemetery only three blocks from where I live. The fields where they lived and trained are five blocks from me and a statue showing a Russian Aviator and an American Aviator separated by a large propellor, commemorating that is just across the river from me. 

MarsGal, I've put A Man of Betrayal on my list of books I want to read.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 30, 2021, 01:21:50 PM
Marilyne,  "The Worst Hard Time" is available in e-book.
 I'll try to ask the member who sent the e-mail what some of the comparisons were.

Re: your comments on studying the works of John Steinbeck.  Authors who actually live in the areas about which they write are usually more accurate in their descriptions....IMO.

My high school literature classes were sadly lacking in depth and I only took the required ones in college.  Have always loved to read but struggled a bit with "interpretation" of classics because I never could catch or understand the metaphors or relate them to history.  Am a bit better about that part now - but still have to have metaphors explained most of the time.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on June 02, 2021, 05:14:31 PM
Heard from Book Club member re: comparing the Depression to the Pandemic. She wrote:

Regarding your question about The Four Winds and our Book Club Discussion of how the Great Depression and The Pandemic were similar, the discussion surrounded the theme of all those who were unemployed and the governments efforts to provide relief. During the Great Depression, the WPA was established to create jobs for the unemployed.  During the pandemic, stimulus checks were initiated.  During the pandemic, we saw migration of people to smaller cities.  It seemed that during the Dust Bowl the people in search of employment were moving to larger cities or cities not affected by the erosion of the Dust Bowl.  Food insecurities during the pandemic were also common.  There was also a lot of discussion about the discrimination of the "Okies".  These migrants were not welcomed in any cities.


I finished "Crazy Rich Girlfriend" and also read "Rich People Problems", which is the 3rd book in the "Crazy Rich..." trilogy. Both were nice contrasts to the more depressing stories.

#2 son is bringing dinner.  Better go set the table.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 04, 2021, 05:00:36 PM
Hi Callie! -  Just now seeing your post about comparing the Depression/Dust Bowl   era, to the Pandemic.   IMO - apples and oranges!   We can't say one is worse than, or not as bad as the other, because they were totally different.       

The worst thing about the Pandemic,  was the millions of people around the world, who died of Covid-19.   Fortunately,  most who came down with it, survived, and many had no symptoms whatsoever.   Most  of those who followed government guidelines, and stayed home and wore masks, were spared, but many became depressed and had serious personal problems, or problems with their stay-at-home children, etc.    However, nobody ever needed to go hungry, regardless of their financial status or mental state.  Free food, was everywhere here in California.   Either free meals provided and delivered,  or food boxes at various pick up spots.   Also, the Government sent out stimulus money, gave unemployment checks every month to those who had lost their jobs.  Here in CA, landlords were not allowed to evict tenants if they could not pay their rent.  It's still in effect!  There was no reason for anyone to go hungry, or lose their homes. 

A far cry during the Depression, the Dust Bowl, and the massive migration  to CA and other states!   Nobody gave anybody money.   Homes and farms were foreclosed, and people were destitute.   No unemployment, checks, no free food.  People had to fend for themselves with no help.  Those who drove West,  eventually found menial low pay labor, and filthy, poor living conditions in camps with no clean water, sanitation, no doctors or hospitals that would or could help.   People actually starved to death, and others died from any number of illnesses brought on my malnutrition, unsanitary conditions, or working outside in freezing cold or extreme hot weather. 

As for the word "Okie" . . . it was a general derogatory term,  that included all those who migrated from the Dust Bowl states - not limited to those from Oklahoma.             
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on June 04, 2021, 05:38:31 PM
I agree.  Probably good I wasn't part of discussion  :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 06, 2021, 07:23:15 AM
I've been bouncing around with my readings the last few days. Martha Wells latest Murderbot novel, Fugitive Telemetry, came in so I stopped to read that. I knew it would be a fast read. The books are not very long. Now I am back to A Map of Betrayal.  I also started John J. Gobbell's Edge of Valor which is the first of a military investigative trilogy while waiting for the tablet with the Libby app on it recharges (older model, real slow charging).
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 12, 2021, 07:25:11 AM
I finished listening to The Crown Tower, first of the Riyria Chronicles series within Michael J. Sullivan's Elan universe. It is set much, much later than the first series I read and is itself a prequel series to his Riyria Revelations series. Next up for the series are three short stories, two of which I have.

Ha Jin's A Map of Betrayal is a slow read for me but good, interesting. It doesn't look like I will finish it before I have to return or renew.

The SciFi trilogy I am reading is okay, but the execution is poor. The ending sequence in the first book didn't make much sense to me. Why wouldn't recorded helmet cam video of an event and a cache of illegal weapons be sufficient evidence, the choice being to destroy or try to secure the cache in enemy territory until and if investigators could get back in to do their thing. While there a few editorial errors in the first book, the second was much worse, and of course, there were more plot holes. I dread what I will find reading the third book. This trilogy made it to audio book. I wonder if these things were corrected for them. I can't actually see a narrator wanting to read some of the glaring errors without correction.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 12, 2021, 12:39:34 PM
MarsGal - good to see you keeping up with your reading,  and posting about it here in Library Bookshelf!   I haven't opened a book since I finished,  The Four Winds.   I'm having some problems with burning and soreness in my left eye, so not comfortable reading for the past week or so.    As I mentioned a while back, my long time ophthalmologist, retired about a year ago, and I haven't made an effort to find a new one.  At my age, I definitely should be seen on a regular basis.  Besides Glaucoma, I also have Dry Eye, and need new prescriptions for both.     

I don't know why I've become so hesitant to see any doctor, for anything?  Just seems like I dread making the appointment, then sitting in the waiting room, and then the exam.   I did finally make an appointment and spent the afternoon at the Hearing Aid Center,  a couple of days ago.  It was a long appointment, which I knew it would be, but now I have it out of the way and hoping that the new aids will work well for me.  The eye-doc will be next on my list!

Fortunately it doesn't bother my eyes to watch television or to sit here at the computer, so I've been doing a lot of those two things in recent weeks. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 13, 2021, 08:07:38 AM
Another book dropped into my loan cue, an audio book this time. It is called This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger and narrated by Scott Brick whose voice so mesmerizes me. The author describing his book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxxWoTly0_A
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 13, 2021, 10:31:34 AM
Mars - This Tender Land, is an excellent book . . . great story!  I read it a couple of years ago, and recommended it here in this folder.  I'm pretty sure you will like it, so I'll be looking forward to seeing what you think.   After reading it, I looked for other books by Kent Krueger, but can't remember if I read more or not?   I'll look him up later, and see what else he has written?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 13, 2021, 12:57:30 PM
Krueger has a series of mystery novels whose main character (Cork O'Connor) is part Ojibwe and part Irish. I might just add them to my wish list since the locales of many of these books include areas near and around Lake Superior and the upper part of Lake Huron. Well, there is at least one set in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. This Tender Land is not part of that series, though.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on June 13, 2021, 08:53:58 PM
Most all of the "Cork" mysteries are in the U.P.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 14, 2021, 07:09:32 AM
Thanks Tome, I just skimmed over some of the blurbs about the books. They do look interesting. Have you read any of them? I recall that many of the "Cat Who" books are, or assumed to be, set in that area too.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on June 14, 2021, 06:47:54 PM
I've read All of the Cork mysteries, unless there's one published 2020.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 15, 2021, 06:41:51 AM
Tome, I don't think Krueger had anything out in 2020, but he does have another Cork O'Connor scheduled to go on sale this year in August called Lightning Strike.

I stayed up a bit late last night to continue listening to This Tender Land. It's a very compelling story, hard to put down.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 23, 2021, 12:50:57 PM
I finished listening to This Tender Land yesterday. The story is so very compelling. I love how Krueger was able to seamlessly weave in all kinds of issues from child abuse and pedophilia to alcoholism, prostitution, the belief in miracles, and the steadfast belief in God through all hardships to those who feel God has let everyone down and more. While the narrator ended the book telling what became of the other three children through the years, he didn't really say what he did, unless I missed it, other than marrying his sweetheart. I know he mentioned several times he was a storyteller, but didn't specifically say he was a writer, and I wonder about his harmonica. Did he continue playing? He was in WWII. What did he do, where was he stationed? Fodder for another tale, I think. Oh, and I was pleased that Krueger actually visited some of the areas he wrote about and actually took to the rivers he had his runaways travel down.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 23, 2021, 01:46:29 PM
MarsGal - It's been a long time since I read, This Tender Land,  so I don't remember the ending that clearly.  However, I plan to read it again, and will pick it up at the library the next time I go.    I only remember that I  liked it a lot, and recommended it highly, here in this folder.

I think you would like the non-fiction book I'm reading now - Nomadland, by Jessica Bruder.   The subtitle is, "Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century".   It was made into a movie, starring Frances McDormand, and it won the Oscar, for Best Picture.  I haven't seen the movie, but I plan to watch it after I finish the book.  I just started it yesterday, so not far into it, but it's very good so far.   Lots about both the book and the movie online.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 24, 2021, 07:10:55 AM
I heard of Nomadland, the movie, but didn't look into it. It sounded like it might be a "docudrama".

Last night I finished watching the five episode The Forgotten Army: Azaadi Ke Liye. An Amazon Original, it depicts the reminiscences of an Indian officer of the Indian National Army formed in Singapore under the Japanese during WWII and set in the background of the recent (and ongoing) struggle for freedom within Burma where much of the action takes place. Very good.

Yesterday, I started the first of Tony Dunbar's Tubby Dubonnet series, but can't seem to get into it. So, what shall I read next? So many books in my queue, and even more now that I am, once again, trying Amazon Unlimited. Gosh, and I bought more Audible books. I started to listen to a thing called Beadle the Bard which I also didn't care for. It is for Harry Potter fans. So, what shall I listen to next? Decisions, decisions!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 01, 2021, 06:48:29 AM
Yesterday I finished The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay, and today I will start The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave. Wonder of wonders, neither one is a SciFi.

The Little Printed Bookshop is kind of a self-help tale where three women are given a list of books to read. Some are non-fiction, some are novels. Each, read in order, points to ways of re-examining one's life, making amends for past missteps, self forgiveness, asking for forgiveness, etc. At the end the author relists the books specifically mentioned and those that are alluded to without giving the title. I enjoyed it.

Also finished yesterday the Michael J. Sullivan fantasy I was listening to. It was good, but not quite as interesting as others in the Elan Universe. Next are several short stories, then back to the full length books.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 02, 2021, 04:32:08 PM
MarsGal -  You are correct,   Nomadland,  is definitely a docudrama!   I haven't seen the movie yet, but the book is a real eye-opener.  How has this lifestyle been going on  all across the West, Southwest, and South, and most people, like myself,  didn't have any idea!    These nomad workers are  retiree's without a pension or retirement plan, those who have had to declare bankruptcy,  or people who don't have the skills to make enough money to survive in today's economy.  Especially the inability to pay the high rents that are now required in most of the Western States.  So they sell everything and buy an old RV or live in a converted van, trailer, etc. 

They travel from job to job - seasonal work, like at State Parks, or sports venues, or year around 24 hour jobs available at the Amazon warehouses.  Now called "Fulfillment Centers".  That was the most shocking part of the book to me . . . the grueling, exhausting, work at Amazon, for minimum wage, done mostly by women and men over 65.  The warehouse in Nevada, was something like the equivalent of 6 football fields in size, and of course concrete floors. These older workers are on their feet for their entire eight hour or longer, shift! 

It's a book worth reading, to learn about a segment of American society that is struggling to survive, and who are virtually invisible to the rest of us.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 06, 2021, 07:06:40 AM
Yesterday afternoon, I finished The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave. It is an interesting tale of what lengths a parent will go to protect his child from the bad choices he made. The search to discover why he disappeared, to find out who he truly is, and the discovery of previously unknown family put his daughter in danger. The narrator of the story is the stepmother who is left with the responsibilities of raising and protecting a resentful sixteen year old. Not bad.

So now I started a post-apocalyptic tale by Karen Traviss (yes, that is how she spells her last name) called The Best of Us. Many of Traviss's books are set in gaming universe and Star Wars worlds. This one is in the Galaxy's Edge universe. So far, so good. Looks interesting--bio-weaponized plant virus released got out of control and ravaged the world.

Audio bookwise, I haven't decided on what next to listen to. Of course, the big sale of the year was on, so I bought more. Sigh. Three of them are Great Courses audios.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 07, 2021, 11:18:16 AM
MarsGal -  Your description of The Best of Us, has a familiar ring to it . . . "bio-weaponized plant virus released got out of control and ravaged the world."  Hmmm, now the consensus of opinion seems to be swinging back to the Covid 19 virus, accidentally escaping from the lab in Wuhan.    We shall see how that pans out?

I went to the library yesterday, and picked up a new book that I ordered a while back, called  The World Without You,  by Joshua Henkin.  I can't recall who recommended it  or whether I read about it online, but it must have sounded good?  I haven't opened it yet, or even read the book jacket, but will sit down with it later this afternoon.   

Anyone out there with HBO?   If so, I'm hoping that someone else has been watching,  Mare of Easttown?   It's a new seven episode show, starring Kate Winslet, and lots of other wonderful actors as well.   It's not the type of show I usually watch - very dark.  The world seems like a  dark and unpredictable place to me right now, so it kind of fits.  I recommend it, if you like to watch good acting, and lots of drama.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 10, 2021, 07:27:16 AM
Now my current reading is full up. Two non-fiction books from FLP showed up pretty much at the same time. The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson is an audio book, so that choice got decided for me. The other is The Light Ages by Seb Falk; it focuses on science in the Middle Ages.

Meanwhile I am still reading The Best of Us. It is better than I expected. I am just about three quarters of the way through. Not a lot of fighting in this one. The story revolves around three, no four, groups: On Earth, the scientists in their high security compound, a community of mostly farm and village people, and a "transient" group of war vets and other refugees, and 40 light years away, a colony secretly being built and populated. Aside from the secrets being withheld by the scientific leaders, even from their own group, there is some hostility expressed regarding the transients. But slowly some people within these groups start to trust and help each other. It is interesting reading to see three disparate groups slowly learn to trust and to integrate.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 16, 2021, 07:33:35 AM
I posted this on SeniorLearn, but thought you might like to hear about this book:

"I recently finished listening to The Dead Drink First by Dale Maharidge, the audio version of his Bringing Mulligan Home: The Other Side of the Good War (2013). This short volume, a little over three hours to listen to, like the book, is about his 18 year journey to find and bring home a WWII MIA member of his dad's squad. I think the book went a good way to explaining (or reminding me) why many of the vets didn't talk about their war experiences and it certainly did talk about what we now call PTSD the vets' lifelong struggle with it. It just goes to point out how lucky my dad was that he never had to engage with the enemy. He was administrative staff and spend the war in England. They were just loading onto a ship at Liverpool to head to the Pacific when the Bomb was dropped and their transfer to the Pacific was cancelled."

Maharidge, a Pulitzer Prize winner, has written a number of books and articles about the working and rural poor in America.

Shame on me. I sent back both The Ascent of Money and The Light Ages without finishing them. I got bored rather quickly with the first. I lost interest in the second which looked at science through the eyes of one specific monk. I didn't give either one much of a chance to change my mind.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 21, 2021, 07:03:08 AM
Two more books bit the dust without finishing. One, a science fiction audio book got a bit boring and seemed overly long. I skipped to the end and found it no more interesting than the middle of the book. The other, Ha Jin's Ocean of Words, while not at all bad, just didn't hold my interest just now. His first work of fiction, it is a collection of short stories set along the Soviet-China border. I may get back to it in future. There is another of his in my library wish list, too, for later. It seems I have had an unusually long string of non-finishers lately. Hmmmm!

Yesterday I started reading a new SciFi series by Rick Partlow, Drop Trooper: Contact Front. I like the main character, and the story is okay so far. Haven't decided on my next audio book yet.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 26, 2021, 07:22:24 AM
I am getting a little lonely in here.

Now reading the second of the Drop Troopers series and picked up another of Iain M. Banks Culture Series called Matter from FLP, but haven't started it yet.

Been listening to several short audio books. One was a presentation read by Kate Mulgrew and Francesca Faridany called The Half-Life of Marie Curie. This play, written by Lauren Gunderson, is wrapped around her friendship with a British mathematician and suffragette Hertha Ayrton. Unfortunately, for those who don't have it, it is only available through Audible. They commissioned the work. It is worth a listen.

Right now I am listening to a "full cast" audio of Ender's Game called Ender's Game Alive which was produced in 2013. The cast includes  audio narrator like Scott Brick (a favorite), but also a few actors like the multi-talented Theodore Bikel and Samantha Eggar, and SciFi author and screenwriter Harlan Ellison. This is probably one of the last performances by Bikel since he passed away in 2015. More listed, but those are the names I know except possibly for Sefan Rudnecky and Christian Rummel. Of course it is a little different than the movie and does explain a thing or two that I either missed in the movie or they didn't include. Entertaining.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 26, 2021, 12:28:34 PM

MarsGal - Looks like you've been talking to yourself again! :D Ha ha!   It's been lonely in this folder lately, so I'm thinking you must be the only one reading, or maybe the only one reading anything worth mentioning?   I haven't read a book since,  "Nomadland",  which I thought was a worthy read, but now have run out of choices.  The library has finally opened for browsing, so I hope to visit sometime this week, and come home with a stack!

I've been watching a lot of TV, and I know there are others out there as well, but I guess I'm the only one who wants to report on my choices and recommendations?    We watched the Olympics opening ceremony on Friday night, and since then we've stayed with the various sports that are being featured so far.  Time seems to have slowed down considerably for me, so I'm happy to become glued to the TV, watching gymnastics, swimming, bicycling, and the grueling Triathlon!   The official Olympic Triathlon, consists of a swim of 0.93 miles (1.5 kilometers), a bicycle route of 24.8 miles (40 kilometers), followed by a run of 6.2 miles (10 kilometers).  All three done without pausing for a break, rest, etc.  I don't know how, or WHY, someone would pick that particular sport?  Anyway, it's interesting to watch dozens of them struggling through the three phases of the contest!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on July 26, 2021, 01:54:37 PM
I'll keep you company for a bit, MarsGal.  I never saw the movie of Ender's Game, only read the book and its many sequels.  Orson Scott Card is an author I find compelling to read, but all the while I'm thinking "yes, but...."

That's not Bikel's only venture into sci-fi/fantasy.  There's a 1980 made for TV cartoon version of The Return of the King in which he does the voice of Aragorn, and also I think sings some of the songs that were written for the production.  41 years ago--yikes.  It was a good job.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on July 26, 2021, 02:03:26 PM
Marilyne, I'm not posting much, nor watching much TV, but I read your comments with interest.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 26, 2021, 04:34:14 PM
It always seems "quieter" in the middle of summer.This year it is worse.

I am on a quest to locate a list of the characters each each person read, but Audible/Amazon don't seem to list them. I did find something that said the readers played multiple parts. I think I picked out Bikel, but with him you never really know; he was sooooo good at changing accents, etc. My favorite Bikel movie is The Russians are Coming..., but I liked to hear him sing on occasion.

I just finished the second Drop Troopers novel and downloaded #3.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 27, 2021, 08:34:26 PM
Marilyne, I just reread your last post. Some of my best conversations, these days, are with myself or with the cats.  :laff:

This afternoon I stopped by the San Diego webcam and ended up watching the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Stockdale come into port.

Now I am about ready to sit down again and do some more reading. Oscar is looking for a lap and some attention.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 28, 2021, 07:07:00 AM
Ran across this list this morning. It isn't the run of the mill book list I am used to seeing. It includes authors I have never run across. Guess this means I will be looking them up to see what they wrote, who they were and why they are on the list. https://www.imdb.com/list/ls005774742/

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: maryc on July 29, 2021, 12:26:46 PM
I thought I posted here a couple days ago but !?!?  Anyway it's been a while.  Summer brought company and a couple days in the hospital with an A Fib event.  That shook things up a bit but I'm getting back into routine.The days in hospital gave me time to finish a good book that had been loaned by a friend.  The title was The Waiting (quite appropriate?)  It is a true story written by Cathy LaGrew  about her grandmother's life.  If you can find it I would recommend it.
  Before that I had finished Saving Savannah, by Patti Callahan Henry. This is a historical fiction written about the sinking of the steamboat Pulaski off the shore of  N. Carolina in the 1800's.  The remain's were found  just a few years ago and made news because of the great amount of treasure. Good people story!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 29, 2021, 03:10:17 PM

Maryc - so good to see your message this morning!   It's been a long time since we've heard from you!   Sorry to see that you spent a few days in the hospital with A Fib.  I'm wondering if they recommended a heart monitor?   AJ was going to get one, but then the doctor changed her mind, and wants to wait on it for awhile.   Anyway, glad you are home, and feeling better, and that you have Debby, to look in on you.    Please post again soon, and let us know how you're doing?

MarsGal - Best Book lists, are always one person's opinion, and I usually don't agree with most of them.   Looks like this list concentrates on the  "ancients".   I do like Shakespeare, and have read some of Tolstoy and liked it, and of course "Les Miserables".  Most of the others I would not be interested in reading at this time of my life.   I had to read, "Crime and Punishment", when I was in college, and I have to confess that I don't remember anything about it.

PatH2 - Good to see you posting!   The mention of Theodore Bikel, always makes me think of "Fiddler of the Roof", which I enjoy watching, whenever it plays on TCM.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 02, 2021, 10:36:26 AM
Sigh! I am between books again. I sent Matter back to the library because I thought I wasn't going to get a chance to finish it. Now I have to wait to borrow it again.

The Scifi series I got into was too interesting to stop reading until book five. The war is over and the series starts a new arc. It doesn't appeal to me at the moment. It involves the main character and his wife leaving the marines to settle on a colony planet which, wouldn't you know, doesn't have much, if any, law enforcement. The pirates are moving in with crews that include former enemy aliens. I dropped the series for now. Time to find something else to read.

My audio book listen is another of the Michael J. Sullivan fantasy series. This one is marginally interesting, but not his best.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 05, 2021, 12:11:44 PM

Good Thursday morning to MarsGal, Pat, maryc, Callie, and anyone else who is still  checking in on this folder?  Not many of us left, I'm afraid.  :(    Last time I posted here, I was excited and pleased that our library was open again, for browsing and spending  quality time in a pleasant environment.    Sorry to say that it has closed once again . . . so back to ordering online, and picking up at a designated outside area. 

Along with everyone else, I'm wondering if this pandemic will ever really be over for good?  Restaurants are closing again for indoor dining, and movie theaters that had just opened, are now closed again.  It's a sad state of affairs, but I'm hoping I live to see the day then Covid-19, is just a bad memory! 

My reading is about like it's been all Summer . . . nothing new, so mostly trading books with my younger daughter, and dil.  This past weekend, Sandy gave me,  "The Orphan Train",  by Christina Baker Kline.  There were a lot of variations on this story a few years ago, so I'm not sure if I read this particular book or not?  Jackie, my dil, gave me,  "The Things They Carried", by Tim O'Brien.  I've always wanted to read it, so happy to have it.

I was browsing through one of my WWII,  Facebook  groups,  and someone recommended a 1943 novel called, "Shore Leave", by Frederic Wakeman.  I checked my library and of course they didn't have it.  However, eBAY had a number of used copies for very reasonable prices, and Amazon had one,  (used of course),  for $14.95, with the original jacket.  I haven't ordered one yet, but I'm thinking about it.         
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on August 05, 2021, 06:33:57 PM
Marilyne, I just finished a book by Lisa Wingate who wrote "Before We Were Yours".  This book is titled "The Book of Lost Friends". The story goes back and forth from 1875, after the Civil War, until 1987.  The story is told by a former slave, then in 1987 by a school teacher, who is trying to coax some kind of interest in her students ranging from 7th to 12th grade, small rural school in Augustine, Louisiana, predominantly black.

I found, and you might also, that the book begins very slowly, but as the story progresses I found myself unable to put it down for the night. I do recommend this book. It is not something to be rushed through. It does have a "family saga" for the former slave-owner, both historically and present day.

Lots of further reading, if one is so inclined, a fairly large Bibliography, and two websites, i.e. Historic New Orleans Collection, and an NPR website.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 06, 2021, 06:09:35 PM
I have just started book 4 of the SSG VanHorn scifi series. The story is keeping me interested even though I think that Staff Sargent VanHorn is over the top with acquiring various injuries and still goes out for more. Kind of like the Timex commercial, he "takes a licking and keeps on ticking".

The newest download from FLP is A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. I just downloaded it today.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 24, 2021, 12:52:12 PM
Time for an update.

A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet was finished almost two weeks ago. What in great story, chock full of interactions between various aliens as a "tunnel-borer' ship makes its way across space to the next big job. The ship tunnels space to make wormholes large enough for ships to travel through. This is again, the first of a series of four. However, it appears each book (or at least the next one) has a different story with different characters. I liked the characters in this one so much that I don't think I will read the others, at least not right away.

We talked a little about William Kent Krueger's This Tender Land a little while back. I just got notice of his 18th Cork O'Connor book. It is a billed as a prequel to This Tender Land. I am looking forward to reading it when it shows up in my online library.

My current audio book is about The Crusades by Thomas Asbridge. It is one of the first audio books I bought, so it is more than about time I listen to it.

My newest library ebook is Matter by Iain M. Banks. Part of his Culture series, it is the one I sent back to read later because I was in the middle of too many other things at the time.

I hope everyone is doing well.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on August 24, 2021, 05:14:57 PM
MarsGal's update reminded me that my Book Club (which has been meeting via Zoom) has chosen books for the next several months.

For September, we're to read "The Dressmaker of Khair Khana" by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon. She is a former reporter for ABC News and the book tells the story of a fearless young entrepreneur who brought hope to the lives of dozens of women in war-torn Afghanistan. It's a novel but is based on a true story.

Others are:
"The Last Thing He Told Me" by Laura Dave. Before Owen Michasels disappears, he manages to smuggle a note to hs beloved wife of one year:  "Protect her."    He's referring to his 16-year-old daughter. When Owen's boss is arrested by the FBI, his wife realizes her husband isn't who he said he was. She and the daughter set out to discover the truth.

"People We Meet On Vacation" by Emily Henry.  Poppy and Alex, former very best friends, live far apart but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together. Until two years ago, when they ruined everything and haven't spoken since. Poppy decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation and make it all right. He agrees... and the plot thickens.  ;)

"The Indigo Girl" by Natasha Boyd. Based on historical documents from 1739-1744, this is a historical fiction account of how a teenage girl produced indigo dye, which became one of the largest exports out of South Carolina.

"The Lincoln Highway" by Amor Towles In June, 1954, an 18-year-old boy is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the juvenile work farm where he has just served 15 months for involuntary manslaughter. He discovers that two friends from the work farm have hidden in the trunk of the warden's car. They hatch a plan that will take them all to New York City.

These are all available in e-books from my library.  I've put the first and second ones on Hold and the others on my Wish List.  Looks like I'll have plenty to read for a while.
That's good because I'm about to the end of the lists for various authors'  "beach books".  ;D   

 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 25, 2021, 07:11:58 AM
I read The Last Thing He Told Me a month or two ago. It was a good story. I'll be darn if I remember how it ended though.

I am trying to finish up a book of short stories before I go on to read Matter.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 25, 2021, 12:19:30 PM

Callie and MarsGal -  Thanks for the book suggestions.     I also, think I might have read, "The Last Thing He Told Me"?   Something about that title sounds so familiar, but it could have been a former recommendation or a similar title?   Callie, let  us know about any of the other books on your Book Club list that cause some good discussion amongst your members?

My dil belonged to a book club for years, but it disbanded, because of heated discussion/controversies over politically charged books.   People in today's world, just can't seem to allow a person to have a viewpoint, that deviates from their own opinion.    I see that issue all the time on my Next Door messages, and in general conversation on various websites.   

Last week she brought me a couple of novels that she liked, but I haven't even looked at them yet.   "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo",  by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and  "The Last Green Valley", by Mark Sullivan.                     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 02, 2021, 08:42:04 AM
Gosh, a whole month had gone by without any posts. It is as bad if not worse over on SeniorLearn.

Her is my current update. The audio book listens include a non-fiction, The Crusades by Thomas Asbridge. Very listenable and interesting.

Blood Territory by Mark Wittaker is a narrative/reconstruction of a true story murder investigation by an investigative reporter in Australia. The victim was a part-aboriginal male. It shows up some of the discrimination/prejudice many have toward indigenous and mixed-blood people. For me, it is not quite as interesting as Midnight Son was, but still good. I have about an hour left to listen.

I don't think I mentioned Midnight Son here. It is by James Dommek Jr., Josephine Holtzman, and Isaac Kestenbaum and is narrated by James Dommek, Jr. who is an Alaska Native writer, musician and the great-grandson of the last of the Iñupiaq story-tellers. An interesting and sad true story, it is about Teddy Kyle Smith who murdered his mom and attempted to kill two others, his supposed encounter with the mythical Iñukun tribe, his capture and trial. Midnight Son is a winner of the 2020 Excellence in Audio Digital Storytelling, Limited Series Award. There is no book version. Information about Teddy Kyle Smith, his acting career (including movie clips) and his trial, and about James Dommek Jr. can be found if you do an online search.

As for reading, yesterday I finished the latest Galaxy's Edge novel in the main series. Now I can concentrate on finishing Iain M. Banks' Matter from his Culture series, another very interesting book, and oh so long. While the tablet with the Libby app on it is charging, I am reading the third in Marko Kloos Palladian Wars series, Citadel. These days, I like using the Libby app because, for some reason, it is more complicated downloading an Amazon library borrow from FLP onto my Kindle E-Reader. I may have set things up wrong, but I always have to sign into Amazon to complete the download of Kindle e-books. On Libby, I don't. It just downloads. Plus, on Libby, I can download .epub formatted books which Kindle does not support.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 03, 2021, 12:19:57 AM

MarsGal -  Not a month since anyone posted in this folder . . . actually only about a week!  ::)  :D    I left a message on the 25th, about two books that my dil had brought over, and I was looking forward to reading them!   Well, I have to confess that I have yet to open either one.  I got involved with the Afghanistan evacuation, and of course the never ending California wildfires, and the major surge of Covid cases here in California . . . and on and on it goes.   So I've spent most of my days watching all of these stories unfolding on television news programs, and haven't done any reading.

In the meantime, a new book was delivered to me yesterday, that I had forgotten I had ordered a long time ago.   It was announced a number of months ago, that Hilma Wolitzer, one of my all time favorite authors, had written a new book, and that I could order in advance and it would be delivered the end of August!  I ordered, and it arrived on August 31st.  The book is a collection of her short stories, that she has written over the years.  They were all published in various magazines, going way back to the 1960's.

I love the intriguing title of this book . . .  Today A Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket.  It's also the title of one of the stories in this collection.  I know I'm going to enjoy all the stories, just as I have enjoyed all of her novels over the years.  Hilma Wolitzer, is now 91 years old! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 15, 2021, 07:57:55 AM
And now, for the mid-month update.

I am still working through the audio book on the crusades. The chapters are somewhat long. Interesting stuff, but I am sure I will, at some point, have to listen to it again because not all of it is trickling into my long term memory. It is now 1118 and Baldwin I has just died, so there is lots more to come.

Matter
by Iain M. Banks is finished. Of the Culture Series novels, this one is probably my favorite. There are several that didn't appeal to me.

Last night I downloaded The Legend of Broken by Caleb Carr. Today I will start reading it. I am horrified to see that the audio book version is 36 hours long. I may end up switching to it - because - Tim Gerard Reynolds is narrating it, along with some help from George Guidall, and John Curless. But then, the reviewers on Audible say there are extensive footnotes, and some had trouble following the action without reverting to the print version to go back and clarify something. I adore Tim Gerard Reynolds and enjoy George Guidall narrations (not familiar with John Curless yet), so if I like the book well enough, I might just buy the book and the audio book to complement each other. This is Carr's first venture into writing a fantasy. I also have his The Alienist on my wish list.

Have also just started reading Take What You Can Carry by Gian Sadar. It is a romance novel about an aspiring photographer in Kurdistan. Amazon lists it as a Woman's Historical Fiction or Romance Literary Fiction. Not my usual reading venture, but it promises to have some elements of adventure in it. We'll see.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 22, 2021, 07:39:08 AM
Good morning.

I am still reading The Legend of Broken. Even though I have been reading it fairly steadily, I have yet to reach the middle of this very lengthy book. The tale, essentially, is a clash between pagan tribes and the early Christian communities, and of people clinging to the old ways (including sorcery and wizardry) vs. people embracing the new. I see all kinds of oblique references to events and peoples which belong to the time period possibly around the first Sack of Rome which was 410AD. The Romans had pulled back troops from fringe areas, and the Huns were pushing westward into Europe. The Franks were mentioned which could be sometime before or around the time they became the Merovingian kingdom, and what looks like a Norse reference. There was an early migration by northern Germanic tribes (which included the Scandinavians) prior to the Hun invasion. [BTW, the early Scandinavian migrations are considered a the source for the German legend of Siegfried, Sigurd in Norse. You can find translations of the Norse tales of Sigurd in the Nibelungenlied, the Völsunga saga, and the Poetic Edda.] The story also includes a plague, or what is suspected of being a plague, but I can't find any reference to plague in that area in the same time frame as the others. The closest I can come to that is the Plague of Athens in the 5th century. Oh, and there is a movement afoot to banish or destroy any that are deformed, physically weak, or sickly (rather Hitlerian, that). Lots going on in this book.

You can read and enjoy The Legend of Broken without knowing the late Roman/early dark age history, but I just love to find and pick through these references. The location of the tale is in the Harz Mountain range of Northern Germany, somewhere around the popular Brocken Mountain which comes with its own set legends of witches and black magic. Today it is part of the Harz National Park and is a popular place for hiking, climbing and mountaineering.


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 25, 2021, 08:41:24 AM
I've narrowed down the timeline for The Legend of Broken. It appears to take place in the early to mid 700AD time-frame. Even though I am reading fairly steadily, I am still only about 2/3 of the way through, if that.

I have not had a chance to read further into Take What You Can Carry for a few days while trying to get the other book read so I do not have to renew it. Still listening to the Medieval history book, but that is also spotty because of other things that need tended to. I have only been listening to it when I spend time doing my jigsaws, which I haven't been working on much lately.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 25, 2021, 11:27:42 AM

MarsGal -  Good to read your posts here and in Bait & Tackle, even though I haven't been responding much lately.  I've been underwhelmed by the books I've read in recent weeks . . . make that months!  Nothing worth recommending, or even mentioning, since my last post.    Someday, I hope to be able to visit the library in person, and spend the afternoon browsing and picking books that I will like.  Again, our libraries are closed, except for online ordering and pick up.  I think I'm just plain burnt out with that routine, and want to get back to what suits me.

I did enjoy the book of short stories by Hilma Woliter,  that I ordered from Amazon . . . Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket.  Lots of food for thought in those stories, plus her ability to convey understated humor.  I plan to read it again this weekend, as I know from her novels, that I will like it more and more, with every subsequent reading.

Other than that, I've been reading a lot of poetry.  I have all my "soothing" favorites, but have also found many other collections online that I'm enjoying.  I especially like poems that are calming, and  that offer a spark of hope for our future.  The world is changing too drastically for me, and I think I'm having a hard time adjusting!  :o
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on September 25, 2021, 01:11:33 PM
Hello.  Been a while since I've posted but I have been reading one e-book after another.  This is mainly because an HOA roofing project has been going on and crews have been working their way toward my duplex for the past two weeks.  Had to choose "going out" times around their trucks being parked along the narrow street. Mine was done last week -gutters put on Monday - and crews finished the last building yesterday.

Marilyne, thanks for mentioning "Today A Woman Went Mad...".  I looked up the author in my library's e-book list and am now 51st in line to get the book. I have checked out "An Available Man" by Hilma Woliter, which is about a 62-year-old widower whose friends decide he needs a new wife.   
I learned that Hilma Woliter is 90 years old and still actively writing. Amazing!

I recently read "The Last Thing He Told Me' by Laura Dave, which is the next selection of my Book Club.  Another member said she started reading it one morning - and finished it about 1:00 a.m. the next morning!    I did take a couple of days to finish but we agreed that it was hard to put down. 

Two other good novels are "Time Is A River" by Mary Alice Munroe and
"The Bestsellers" by Olivia Goldsmith, which is quite long.  It's about 5 authors who are trying to get a book published and the owner of a publishing company and his chief editor who are considering all of them.  Probably of more interest to anyone who has tried freelance writing (as I have with non-fiction articles) but I liked it.

Visiting with friend, who had dropped by, made me realize how very seldom I have one-on-one "in person" conversations. Most are by text or e-mail and I think I'm losing the ability to keep up with what I'm talking about vocally.  :(  :'(

Happy Reading, Everyone.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 26, 2021, 12:10:27 PM

Good morning Callie - Thanks for all the recommendations!   I've heard that,  "The Last Thing He Told Me", is an excellent story, so I'll be looking forward to seeing if you like it?    I'll put in a request today, because there is likely a long wait.  I'm pretty sure I read, "Time is a River",  by M.A Monroe?  I've read most of her novels over the years.  There are lots of good books, written by or about women struggling with breast cancer, and I've read quite a few of them.

I thought I had read all of Hilma Wolitzer's books, but I don't remember,  "An Available Man"?   The title is definitely familiar, but it could one of her older novels, that I read, but have forgotten.  My favorite is the first book I ever read of hers, which is "Hearts".  The storyline might seem a bit dated now, as I think it took place in the 1970's, but that makes it all the better for me!  I like to read stories that took place during that time frame, and I really love this one.

As I mentioned before,  "Today A Woman Went Mad...", etc, is a collection of her short stories, that she wrote in the 1960's and 70's, that were published in various magazines at that time. They are written as fiction, but  after reading a few, you can tell that they are a reflection of her marriage and her family.   

Incidentally, her daughter is much more famous - Meg Wolitzer.  She is a prolific writer, so you may have read some of her novels - a couple have been made into movies.  She wrote, "The Wife", starring Glenn Close,  that was nominated for the Academy Award a couple of seasons ago?  I read it and it was good, but I don't think I've read any of her other books.  I prefer Hilma's style to Meg's.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Vanilla-Jackie on September 26, 2021, 12:38:07 PM
Just taken in my order of " Poems For Pensioners " by Andy Seed... Cover page states " hilarious and nostalgic poetry from the award-winning author of " All Teachers Great and Small " i will read it in bed, i will let you know if it makes me laugh or any of it associates with me...I will give you my verdict if it is-was, a worthwhile purchase book... it wasn't too expensive for 76 pages..
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on September 26, 2021, 07:19:05 PM
Jackie,  I like anything that's "hilarious and nostalgic".  :)

Marilyne, I did like "The Last Thing He Told Me' but it isn't a particularly "pleasant" story.
I started "An Available Man" this afternoon.  Publication date is 2012.   Looked at the author information; she is definitely NOT 90 years old!!!!!!    "Today A Woman..." is the only other e-book of hers available from my library.  :(
I've read "The Wife" and will look for more Meg Wolitzer e-books.  Thanks for the reminder/suggestion.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Vanilla-Jackie on September 27, 2021, 01:41:36 AM
Callie...wow, she doesn't look a day over 75..i too cant believe she ( Hilma Wolitzer ) is 90..

Her most current book ( Today a Woman Went Mad In the Supermarket ) seems appealing to me as it rings bells of me in the past, i can relate to that, my lack of patience and crowds, the sooner i was in, the sooner i was out...This book comes with 4 and 5 star ratings-reviews...
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 27, 2021, 01:33:29 PM
Callie and Jackie -
Hilma W,  is 90 for sure, but certainly doesn't look like it on the picture shown on the book jacket of,  "Today A Woman Went Mad...".   It's the same picture she uses on her Facebook profile.  Yes, she is one of my FB friends!  Ha ha -  ::)    I'm  also "friends" with lots of other authors, such as  Meg W,  Elizabeth Berg, Mona Simpson, etc.    Also a few older movie stars like Shirley MacLaine,  Julie Christy, and many others.      Of course I don't know any of them, and I never write messages to them on FB,  but I do enjoy reading what they have to say.  That's how I found out that Hilma had written this book of short stories, and how I happened to order it early.   Also,  how I learned that she and her husband both had Covid, last Fall, in October 2020.  She survived, but her husband died in a hospital in NYC.  He was 91.  Hilma writes about it in the final chapter of the book.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on September 27, 2021, 02:10:42 PM
Marilyne,  Hilma is truly amazing! 

Never thought about looking up celebrities on Facebook - much less becoming Friends.  May have to look into that.

Did errands this morning.  It's very humid and I'm glad I'm in for the rest of the day.  Will probably continue with "An Available Man" - if I don't doze off.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 30, 2021, 07:12:53 AM
Last night I finished both E-book reads. Both The Legend of Broken and Take What You Can Carry are worth recommending. I did skip a few things in "Legend": the supposed letters between Edward Gibbon and, darn, I forget who already, and the end where all the Notes were. While the Notes were interesting, they were (for me) unnecessary to the story. As for the second, I was not overly invested in the main characters, themselves, but the story itself was became more absorbing as I read along. I found the acknowledgements at the end most interesting as she named the numerous (many family members) whom many of the characters were based upon. Much of the story is set in Kurdistan.

Time to get back to listening to the book on the crusades, and to hunt down my next reads.

I am happy to hear, Callie, that you enjoyed The Last Thing He Told Me. I too, enjoyed it but with a few qualms.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 03, 2021, 11:49:32 AM

MarsGal and Callie:   Good morning to you both,  and anyone else who enjoys reading, television or movies.  I haven't started a new book, since,  "Mad in the Supermarket".  I've been having a return bout with sciatica, which limits the amount of time I can sit, so reading anything more than the daily newspaper is out of the question for now.  I can deal with this desk chair for short periods of time, but 15 minutes is my limit at the computer.

Did either of you happen to watch Manifest, when it played on NBC a couple of years ago?  It's a Sci-fi/Supernatural series about a commercial airliner, with a full load of passengers, that disappears, and it's assumed that it crashed in the ocean, and everyone died.   Five years later, the airliner suddenly returns and lands, with all passengers looking exactly as they did five years earlier, and not aware that they have been gone and their loved ones have mourned their death and then moved forward.   Anyway, it's now playing on Netflix, and we are liking it enough to watch an hour every night.  Very predictable story line, but even when you figure out what will happen next, it's pretty entertaining.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 04, 2021, 06:40:47 AM
Didn't see it Marilyne, but I think I may have seen a trailer or clip because the bit showing them going through the airport looking a bit bewildered. The only "airplane" movie I think I ever watched was The Langoliers. BTW, I think that is the only Steven King I have ever seen, or read for that matter. Oh, no. I lied!  :yikes:  I read Misery, and saw at least part of Delores Clayborne. My sister insists that I should see The Dark Tower (or was it The Stand?). I am amazed at the huge number of movies/TV presentations that are based on King's short-stories rather than full novels.

I am reading another book in the Galaxy's Edge universe, although I have no clue why. There is only one character I truly like. It is really a bit much to have all in one story survivors of several colony ships that were sent from Earth by rival warring groups crash on the same planet, an advanced AI (mighty helpful), an absolutely brilliant scientist who seems to be able to invent all kinds of things in incredibly short order (with the AI's help), and a slightly "brain damaged" war robot, not to mention the genetically modified wildlife bent on killing humans. No library read at the moment. but I am thinking of downloading  Helen Morales, Antigone Rising. It is a non-fiction book about the power of myths. Continuing with The Crusades on audio book.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on October 09, 2021, 01:57:02 PM
I've been reading family stories about the Amish.  I read five in a series on Libby and then the last two in the series as hard copies from our library.  I love reading using Libby, but our county library system is small and what is digitally available is limited, so then I have to go to the library for hard copies.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 09, 2021, 06:42:34 PM
That is a shame, Jean. Here in PA the Free Library of Philadelphia is free to all PA residents as long as you have a local library card. Does any other state do the same I wonder? What I like about Libby is that I can read books that are epub. but none avaiable in Kindle formats. It is also nice to have an extra reader for when I am charging my regular one. I do all my library reads through Libby because if I do I have to log in to my Amazon account to complete the loan. I don't know if I set up something wrong originally, but I don't have to do that when I use Libby, even for  Kindle formatted books.

I just finished reading a book called Constance by Matthew FitzSimmons. It is a social scifi which centers around a clone who, aside from the mystery surrounding her "original's" death, she must navigate through clone hating people (including former friends), political enemies, legal laws which differ from state to state, and big money interests looking to use her in one way or another. Pretty good, and now I find out there is a second to be released in Sept. of next year.

Now I am looking for another read. Got another 11 hours to go on my audio book on the crusades.


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on October 11, 2021, 11:47:03 PM
Margal, I also found that I had to log in to Amazon to complete the loan when using the Kindle app.  So I always use Libby.  Unfortunately, we don't have the best library system. 

 The County system is linked to the Panhandle system but they only recognize my card for this County.  I've been wondering if I could get a library card for Pensacola Library.  I could add a library on Libby if I can join them.  Would be worth a try.  There are very few movies that I like and I don't care much for what is available on TV so books are important to me.

Both my oldest daughter and my son are big science fiction fans, but not me.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 14, 2021, 11:27:49 AM

Jean -  Good to see you here in the Library!  Please return with some suggestions for books that you have read and enjoyed?  This weekend, our library is finally opening again for browsing.  It did open for a very short time in early Summer, but then closed again when the Delta Variant appeared.   I missed that window of opportunity, so it's been more than 18 months since I have been.    Of course we have ordered and picked up, but not the same!

Callie -  How did you like "An Available Man"?  I only remember that I was anxious to read it, and must have been disappointed, because I can't recall any of the story.  Hilma Wolitzer's novel "Hearts", is always on my list of my top five favorite  novels.   I would definitely recommend,  "Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket",  by Hilma, although it's not at all like "Hearts". 

MarsGal -  I've read a few Stephen King books, but the only two I really like and remember are,  "Stand By Me",  and  "The Shawshank Redemption".   Both made into wonderful movies.   His other books don't interest me much, because I don't like being scared . . .  don't care for psychological thrillers.     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on October 14, 2021, 05:40:46 PM
Marilyne,  I liked "An Available Man" but, having become a widow at age 57, I did find the general plot a bit stereotypical.    I became more than a bit cynical about the attitudes and procedures of getting "coupled" again and decided I liked my independence too much to adjust to "playing the game"...which I have never regretted!

Since then, I've read "The Wish" - Nicolas Sparks' latest which was #1 on the NY book list last Sunday. It's a good story but, again, a bit hard for me to accept some of the details about the main relationship in the plot.

Also finished "Rules of Civility" by Amor Towles.  Had already read "A Gentleman In Moscow".  His style isn't the easiest to follow but, once I got into the rhythm of it, I liked both books. His "Lincoln Highway" comes out October 5 and I have it on hold.

Now bouncing between a Stuart Woods "Stone Barrington" thriller and "That Summer" by Jennifer Weiner. Both are quick reads (for me) and, if our weather continues to be as soggy as it's been for the past week or so, I'll probably be looking for another one soon.

Flajean, what are titles for some of the family stories about the Amish?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on October 19, 2021, 01:30:17 PM
Jennifer Beckstrand has a cute series about grandparents playing matchmakers for several of their grandchildren.  I looked her up in Fastasicfiction.com and read the books in order on my ipad using Libby.  

I just finished a series of three written by Tamera Alexander which takes place in fictional Timberlake Colorado in the late 1800s soon after the Civil War.  They are very well written, I thought.  I seldom recommend books because my taste in books is so different.  In my "old age" I like a little clean romance and a reasonably good ending.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 19, 2021, 06:10:10 PM
Ah, progress! I am almost done listening to the Medieval history book I was listening to.

Ebook reads: another SciFi series started. This one begins before the three Terran Scout Force books I read by Joshua Dalzelle. Omega Rising is about a former soldier (Iraq and Afghanistan experience) who accidentally got himself "abducted" by a space alien who was running illegal cargo for a space crime cartel, managed to get out of that before he got sold into slavery, and took off with the ship and some crew grateful to be out of a bad situation. I already know some of the background from the previous three books, so I can expect more butting heads with crime cartels, mercenary work. and work for Earth's fledgling Space Force. It is a father/son kind of thing. Omega Force series is about the father, Terran Scout Force is about the son. Dalzelle writes well and his books are well edited for the most part.

Also just started is Richard Powers' The Echo Maker. It is going to be hard to put down. It is about a sister and her brother who ends up with the rare Capgras syndrome (imposter syndrome) after he has a severe brain injury.

Just in from the library my ILL, US Power and the Multinational Corporation (1975) by Robert Gilpin. which is about multi-national corporations, politics and the trend toward globalization. Even though this is dated, I expect it to be interesting. I'd like to get the history of the trend and to compare the predictions, trends and people involved from back then to what we are seeing now. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 27, 2021, 06:58:15 AM
A week has gone by and I am continuing on with the scifi series I am reading. This series, it turns out, is his first. I can see a difference between the two related series, but not by much. Dalzelle uses some of his air force experience and his love of working on classic cars as character background. There are twelve books in this first series; I just finished number three. None of them are overlong, but manage to get a good, complete story in each. So, not a lot of technical explanations or lengthy background descriptions. The books focus more on character interactions and basic plot.

I am still reading The Echo Maker which is a longer book than I expected. Still good, but I am getting a little annoyed with one main character. She brings an overbearing sense of responsibility regarding keeping her younger brother out of trouble and dislikes his choice of friends as well as a simmering resentment for being pulled back to a town and life she keeps trying to get away from.

The economics book is going back to the library, unread except for a few paragraphs. I read more than enough as it is without killing my eyes on tiny print. Too bad it is not digitized.

In audio, I am listening to a modernized version of Gilgamesh. Some of the details of the story I think earlier translators either skipped over or moderated so as not to offend sensibilities. I really don't remember the rape scene, for example. It is short, only 4hrs. long. Not sure what I want to listen to next.


 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on October 27, 2021, 01:46:15 PM
Still reading about life in the middle to the late 1800s.  Oh, how life has changed since those days, but people haven't changed that much in my opinion.  There are still decent and caring people and selfish and mean people.  That dynamic never seems to change.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on October 28, 2021, 04:54:03 PM
Good Afternoon,   

Finally finished "Sheltering Rain" by JoJo Moyes (good story), "People We Meet On Vacation" by Emily Henry ("Meh"  ::) ) and "The Husband's Secret" by Liane Moriarty (good - but I've liked others by her better)

Hadn't finished "...Rain" when 4 I had on Hold appeared in Loans.  :o  Put one of them on "Delay" for a week and have good intentions of finishing at least two of these before it appears again:  "Lincoln Highway" by Amor Towles, "To Live and Die In Dixie' by Mary Kay Andrews (a light read humorous mystery) and "Today A Woman Went Missing In The Supermarket" - which had been mentioned here.

I've been working on the final editing, etc. of my Dad's biography so my reading has been Late Night. Dozing off and a couple of nights when severe storms moved in around then have kept me from "one more chapter" - and I need to Concentrate And Catch Up

Happy Reading.  TTYL.






Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 31, 2021, 07:51:47 AM
I am almost done reading Richard Powers' The Echo Maker. The farther I got into it, I think it should have been yet another book to not finish. And it seemed so promising in the beginning. The sister and the psychologist/author she consults have issues of their own that complicate things. Most of the characters' personalities seem greatly exaggerated. The farther I read into the book, the less I liked any of the characters except maybe for the accident victim who can be excused for his bizarre behavior.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 09, 2021, 06:37:01 AM
Good Morning, all.

Between now and my last post, I have almost completed listening to Jack Weatherford's Genghis Kahn and The Making of the Modern World. Very well done, very engrossing. Learned a whole lot more about Genghis Kahn and the steppe tribes in general.

I have not finished Gilgamesh. It is a story I am generally interested in, and have read parts of or a summary of before. This one is a bit more graphic than I am used to or remember.

Since my last post, I am well into Joshua Dalzelle's Omega Force series which is about a group of mismatched guys from different species the end up forming a mercenary group to help defend against criminals and various nefarious  political groups. Very well written and edited. It reminds me some of Guardians of the Galaxy with maybe a little Firefly mixed in.

I am also into Margaret Attwood's The Penelopiad. Penelope, the wife of Odysseus (Ulysses), is in Hades. It is the 21st century, and she is reminiscing about her marriage and life in ancient Sparta. It is humorous and fun to read. Those who don't already know the story of Penelope and her long wait for Odysseus to come home after the Trojan War may not enjoy it quite so much as I, so I would suggest reading about that bit from The Odyssey.

There is still a little under half left to read of A Splendid Exchange which I put aside a while back and got forgotten. Good history of how trade routes got established and how trade changed the world through trade. I see I left off at the Opium trade and the trade wars surrounding it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 10, 2021, 12:37:55 AM

MarsGal -  I keep meaning to tell you that I now have "Angle of Repose", from my library.  So far I've only read the introduction, which was quite intriguing.  However, I can see a problem looming ahead for me . . . it's a paperback, and the print is tiny and very light.  My eyes are shot, (along with my ears and my voice), so I doubt if I will be able to stick with it.  I would definitely be better off ordering it for my Kindle.  My husband is in the middle of a book on the Kindle, so I will have to wait.

The book by Margaret Atwood, "The Penelopiad",  sounds good.  I may get that one from  the library, when I return,  "Angle".  I've read a couple of books by Atwood, in past years, besides "The Handmaid's Tale",  but can't remember the titles at the moment?  It's been a long time!  I'm thinking that she is getting along in years, and may be up into her 80's by now?  Like Hilma Wolitzer, Atwood is still writing.  Hilma is now 91.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 10, 2021, 06:48:09 AM
I recently sent a book back to the library for the same "tiny print" reason. Unfortunately, it is not one that I can get in large print or as an Ebook. I am sure there are more current books out there that I can get which are very much more up-to-date.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 10, 2021, 12:14:01 PM

Callie - Just today seeing your message here from October 28th!   I'm not as alert as I once was, so have missed lots of posts in recent months.   ::)  :(

I'm impressed that you have completed your father's  biography, and you are in the final editing stage.   What a wonderful legacy to leave for your family members.  I've thought seriously of writing a short biography or at least a time-line, on both my mother and father, but now I know it will never happen.  I'm so sorry I didn't get more detailed information on either parent, but too late now.    My Dad was born in a lumber camp, in Northern California, and my Mother was born in a mining camp, in Eastern Nevada. They were both born in 1909.

You mentioned, "Sheltering Rain", by JoJo Moyes.   I read, "Me Before You", a long time ago, and liked it.  Always intended to read more by her, but never have.   I gave my grandaughter one for Christmas, last year, but can't remember which one?    I've read quite a few novels by Liane Moriarty, over the years, and enjoyed most of them.   She's a prolific writer, as is JoJo Moyes.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 16, 2021, 07:24:28 AM
We talked a little about The Last Thing He Told Me not too long ago. Guess What! AppleTV+ is going to make it into a TV series. Jennifer Garner is will be playing the lead role after Julia Roberts had to back out because of other commitments.

Nothing new to report book reading wise. I want to finish up what I am reading now and then pick up some of those that have been languishing in my already acquired TBR pile.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 17, 2021, 05:50:55 PM
I finished The Penelopiad a short while ago. I especially liked the last few chapters which included a modern day court case against Odysseus for killing the 12 slave girls and some paragraphs about the dead being reborn with a nod to those who believe they remember past lives.  Interspersed through out the book were skits performed by The 12 Maids which were pretty good.

I've just started I'm Waiting for You and Other Stories by South Korean author Kim Bo-Young. She has won the South Korean SF Novel Award three times since her debut novella in 2004. That one won her the first ever Korean Science & Technology Creative Writing Award.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on November 18, 2021, 12:39:58 PM
I just finished an interesting free book from Apple Books called Wild Heart on the Prairie about two Norwegian families homesteading in Nebraska in the late 1800s.  It started when they landed in New York.  Amazing to read of the grit and determination of these young families with only a few English words.

Marilyne, I thought of you when they mentioned lutefisk.  I remember you mentioning that at your husband's family reunion.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 19, 2021, 12:06:35 PM

Jean - I will definitely look for  Wild Heart On the Prairie.  I am drawn to books or movies about settlers from Northern Europe - Sweden, Norway, Czechoslovakia, who came to the US with absolutely nothing, and settled in  Minnesota, Wisconsin, The Dakota's, Nebraska, etc.  It was a hardscrabble life for immigrants in those days.  No money or help from the US Government back then, except for a plot of land in the wilderness that no one else wanted.  They either survived those first brutal Winters, or they died. 

My Mother-in -law was born in N. Dakota, of Czech emigrants (Bohemia), and my FIL, in MN of Swedish emigrants.  They were second generation, but had fascinating stories to tell that had been passed down from their parents.

There are two movies playing on either Netflix or Amazon Prime, (don't remember which), about the Swedes coming to MN.  The first one is,  The Emigrants,  and the second is a follow up on the same family called,  The New Land[/u].  Both starring Max Von Sydow and Liv Ullman.

If you have never read,  My Antonia,  by Willa Cather, I think you'd like it very much.  It is  centered around a Czech/Bohemian family who came to N. Dakota, with absolutely nothing, and of course couldn't speak English, had no money, etc.  It's a classic American novel, and if you read it, you will understand why it has stood the test of time. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 24, 2021, 07:17:31 AM
Yesterday I finished listening to the first half of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. This audio edition presents the story in modern English first and then in Middle English. What strikes me in the modern version is how the story is very pointed about how women were thought of as sneaky/conniving and not to be trusted.

By an odd coincidence, I just started reading Evan Curry's Holy Ground, a modern warfare novel, where one of the fighter squadrons is designated the Green Knights.

The audio book on Genghis Khan is finally finished. It ends with an account of Kublai Khan and his reign in China, and includes how the Black Death began in China, was transported to Europe,  and created a world wide economic collapse complete with another round of persecution against the Jews.

I got carried away and bought seven more audio books on sale, all but one are Great Courses.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 15, 2021, 07:26:49 AM
Can't say I have done much super interesting reading since my last post. I've read several SciFi series that were okay at the beginning but went in a direction I wasn't interest in following in the last few. I did however, finish them.

Currently listening to Nolyn by Michael J. Sullivan, another of his Elan Universe books. It is not quite as interesting as the rest. Wonder if this is a trend with me. Reader burnout? At any rate, I am reading only one book at the moment and that is Evan Currie's Archangel One. It is an offshoot of his Odyssey series which is following a fighter pilot who is the best friend of the main character in that series.

What are you all reading these days? Any interesting new Christmas stories?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on December 15, 2021, 12:50:40 PM
I've been reading some old Mary Stewart and Helen MacInnes books.  I read many of them many years ago but am enjoying them once again.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 16, 2021, 09:07:14 AM
I used to love reading the Mary Stuart books.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 16, 2021, 05:37:30 PM

MarsGal - Knowing that you favor Science Fiction, I thought you might enjoy a list of The Wall Street Journal's top picks from 2021.  Some of these sound intriguing, and others, not so much.  Maybe you have read some of them?  I plan to order a couple of them from the library.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-best-books-of-2021-reviews-science-fiction-fantasy-11639155248?mod=series_boty2021

Here's a new book review that was in today's WSJ, that sounds like a fun spoof on the apocalyptic fantasy.  I surely do agree with the reviewer, that it's a theme/genre that has been totally overdone in recent years! 

Harrow
By Joy Williams
The apocalyptic fantasy—the most hackneyed, oversaturated genre in contemporary literature—receives a much-deserved kick in the tail with this cracked, morbidly hilarious novel. Elderly ecoterrorists, a confused quasi-messiah, a Kafka-quoting child magistrate, an oddly indifferent totalitarian regime: all feature in a splintered vision of environmental collapse that seems somehow both gleefully nihilistic and yearningly spiritual.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 17, 2021, 06:37:59 AM
Harrow sounds like something we might see on the big screen in future, Marilyne. Maybe in cartoon form?

I couldn't get into the Wall Street Journal list, so I looked at few other lists. All of them included Andy Weir's Hail Mary, which I do not intend to read. Also on many of the lists are Martha Wells Fugitive Telemetry (read), Arkady Martine's A Desolation Called Peace (read), [/i] Adrian Tchaikovsky's Shards of Earth (haven't acquired yet), The Last Watch (The Divide Series, 1) by J. S. Dewes (new to me, must investigate), and S. A. Corey's Leviathan Falls (The Expanse, 9) (haven't acquired yet).

I do recommend Arkady Martine's Teixcalaan series of which A Desolation Called Peace is the second in the series. These are the only novels she has written, all else are short works.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on December 17, 2021, 11:25:41 AM
Jean, I loved Mary Stewart, too, and it is because of one of her books my husband and I traveled to the Isle of Lewis/Harris in the Outer Hebrides and had a wonderful and memorable time.  She wrote "THE SILENT ONES".  It was about that island and her writing was so descriptive I wanted to see it.  The "Silent Ones" named in her book are the Standing Stones of Callinish and it was/is a beautiful site and one we always remembered.

I think I read everything she wrote.  Also, I read Victoria Holt, Jean Plaidy, and my favorite author of my all-time favorite book, "Rebecca", Daphne du Maurier.  I think you and I liked what used to be called Romantic Fiction.  I still do.  I love happy endings instead of "the world is being destroyed!" endings.  :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 19, 2021, 11:34:17 AM
Just a note for anyone using the Overdrive app. Overdrive is discontinuing their "legacy" app as of Feb 1922, and will completely drop it by the end of next year. They are in the process of moving everyone over to Libby by Overdrive. As far as I can tell, you can still only get Libby through the Apple Store or through Google Play.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 20, 2021, 06:17:38 PM
One of my holds dropped two days ago, so now I have started it. It is a nonfiction called Gladius by Guy De le Bedoyere. It is about the life of the everyday Legionnaire as described by various first person accounts, letters, tombstone inscriptions, and the like.

I am getting close to the end of Nolyn. It got better as I listened further on.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on December 22, 2021, 11:52:18 AM
"Rebecca" is also one of my all time favorites.  I haven't read it in several years and think it is time to read it again as I am wondering what to read next.

Marsgal, I get a little frustrated with Libby regarding books in series.  They will digitize #one or #two in a series and then skip to #4, etc.  completely out of order.  Of course, that might have to do with our local county library system.  I don't think the library system is high on the local list of importance.  There just aren't a lot of digitized books in the genre I prefer, and many of the good authors are completely ignored.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on December 22, 2021, 12:24:45 PM
I noticed on iBooks that they have another book by Daphne du Maurier "Jamaica Inn" for $1.99 so I bought it.  Has anyone here read that book?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 22, 2021, 05:44:20 PM
Jean, I know what you mean about the Libby/Overdrive offerings of series books missing some. I suspect that if they purge some offerings because they don't get borrowed enough, just like my local library. I know of at least one that was there a while back that isn't now. I think, too, that they pay the book companies for a certain amount of time or number of borrows, then they have to either pay again or drop the book. I could be wrong on that, but it seems to me I saw that somewhere. I have Kindle Unlimited, so that helps. Between my local library, the Free Library of Philadelphia and Kindle, I can usually find a free copy to borrow. Oh, but what a scramble it is sometimes. For instance, one series I "read" came from several sources and in ebook or audiobook form. Oh, and YouTube actually has some of the audio books up on their site. Like I said, a scramble.

Hoopla would be interesting to have, but my library system has Overdrive. Hoopla lets you borrow movies. Overdrive doesn't offer that.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on December 23, 2021, 10:12:54 AM
I read "Jamaica Inn" years ago, Jean.  Another good one.  I loved all those so-called Gothic Romanaces.  As I said, I much prefer a happy ending, even after all the terrible things have happened to the heroine.   ;D 

My library went to Libby a long time ago MarsGal.  I like it better than Overdrive.

                   MERRY CHRISTMAS AND PEACE TO ALL!                             
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 23, 2021, 12:02:57 PM
I think Overdrive has been offering the Libby app here for at least two, maybe three years. They finally decided to get rid of the original Overdrive platform and go entirely with Libby which is much easier to use on smartphones and tablets. It will be interesting to see if Amazon and Overdrive come up with a Kindle compatible Libby now that the Overdrive app will disappear altogether next year.

BTW, you can download android apps that are not Amazon approved. It is not too hard, but it does run the risk of introducing malware to your Kindle tablet. The Amazon approved apps which are listed in their app store have all been vetted and checked to be malware free.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 03, 2022, 11:27:40 AM
Good morning book lovers!  Sorry it's been so long since I've posted, but I'll try to come up with a good excuse!  ;D  ::)  Actually, the honest  reason, is that I haven't read anything . . .  since way before Christmas!  That's a long time for me, but I'm going to try to get back to the books, starting today!

I do have one interesting non-fiction library  book here, that I have picked up a couple of times, but I'm finding it difficult to read.  It's called,  A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century . . .  Evolution and the Challenges of Modern Life.  I read a good review on,  "The Wall Street Journal" book recommendations, and it sounded fascinating, however . . .  I'm afraid it's a little too intellectual for this 87 year old brain. 

I may give it another try this afternoon, or I may turn to a couple of new novels I got for Christmas from my dil.  Apples Never Fall,  by Liane Moriarty.  I've read a couple of her best sellers over the years, and liked them.  The best being,  Big Little Lies.  The other is an oldie . . . The House of the Spirits,  by Isabel Allende.    It's a book I've always wanted to read, so I'm looking forward to it.

Phyllis - Your mention of,  Jamaica Inn, reminds me that I watched a new movie version of it on one of the streaming channels.  It's been a couple of years now, but I recall that I was disappointed.  It was either Netflix or Amazon Prime, and had a couple of well known actors, but I didn't care for it.  I'll check and see who the actors were?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 03, 2022, 02:41:25 PM


I see my post never made it. Oh well!

My current list:

Gladius by Guy de La Bedoyere, nonfiction. Okay but hasn't told me much I don't aleady know.

International Bounty Hunter four book series by Rick Partlow. Bounty hunter and his AI dog. Again, okay I don't care for it as much as his Drop Trooper series.

Theft of Swords, my current Elan Universe listen by Michael J. Sullivan. Again okay, but time has moved on in the series and with it come different characters that I haven't warmed up to as well as the earlier book sequence. Still worth listening to.

I am expecting Stephen Fry's Mythos from the library soon.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 04, 2022, 11:51:48 AM

The TV version of  "Jamaica Inn",  that I mentioned yesterday, was a BBC series, that was rerun here in the US about five years ago.  I don't remember exactly why I disliked it, but I remember that I never finished watching all the episodes.  I looked at the list of British actors, but didn't recognize any of the names.  Apparently, it's still playing on Amazon Prime, if anyone is interested.

We've been watching the show/series,  "Yellowstone",  starring Kevin Costner.  These are reruns of the original show, that ran on NBC, for many years.  Now on the NBC channel, called Peacock.  I didn't even know that we had that channel, but apparently they show reruns of all older NBC shows.  Anyway, we're enjoying it . . . watching one, one hour episode, every night.  No commercials on Peacock!  :thumbup: 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on January 04, 2022, 09:21:18 PM
I think "Yellowstone" is only about 3, maybe 4 years (seasons) long.  I can't get it, which upsets me, as I have heard some good feedback from people I know.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on January 05, 2022, 09:50:26 AM
I watched the first 2 seasons of Yellowstone but got really turned off by the nudity and violence so I quit.  Now that I have cut the cable the only way I can get Peacock is by paid subscription.  I didn't feel like subscribing just to watch a show that I wasn't enjoying.

I didn't like the newer version of "Jamaica Inn" either, Marilynne.  Not done well at all.  The main female character was played by the actress that played the youngest of the 3 Downton Abbey sisters.  Can't remember her name.  She was nice to look at but not a very good actress, IMO.

I just finished "The Last Garden in England" by Julia Kelly.  I liked it a lot.  It is a multi-generational story about several women, all connected in some way to a walled garden at an English manor house.  It spans from the 1800's thru the WW 2 war years to modern times.  Well written and on the recommended list by my library.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 05, 2022, 12:00:11 PM
Phyllis & Tome - We're still in early Season #1 of "Yellowstone",  so I don't have all the characters figured out yet.  So far, I don't care for the daughter . . . she's just a little bit too weird for me.  I have always liked Kevin Costner, so that's really why I started watching.  I don't care for any of the new/young movie or TV stars who are being featured in the latest hits.  None of them stand out . . . they all seem to be the same.

As I said, I didn't know we even had Peacock?  It must be included in our Comcast package, along with Turner Classic Movies.    We both like or have liked, all the series or movies featured on HBO over the years, so will not give that one up.  Netflix and Amazon Prime, are our only two streaming channels.       
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 11, 2022, 07:22:26 PM
Hi all, adding to my list of January 9.

Mythos showed up yesterday. It is always enjoyable to listen to Stephen Fry.

Freedom by Sebastian Junger arrived in my library two days ago. I am half way through it already. It is not a detailed or complex book, but the author does share a little history as he travels along the rails that follow the Juniata River. It reminds me that I have a volume of the history and scenery of the Juniata River that is hanging out, so far unread, on the bookshelf. This is a good opportunity to get it out and read it when I am done with Freedom.

Gladius had to go back unfinished, but I have it on hold again so I can finish it when it becomes available again. It was longer than I thought it would be.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 17, 2022, 06:39:28 AM
A follow-up on Freedom: The book surprised me. The farther I got into the book, the more the author got into examples from world history showing the constant struggle for freedom vs oppression. The balance between the two is hard to maintain for long. In between the history, philosophical and anthropological musings, the author continues his travelogue of his westward trek following the rail tracks and evading rail workers and cops. It is, after all, against the law to be on rail property, especially now with worries of sabotage. Did you know that Hitler had the Horseshoe Curve on his list for bombing during WWII? Anyway, the book while being a little less of a travelogue combined with a little US history than I thought, is just as if not more interesting. 

I am listening to Stephen Fry's Mythos, the first of a mythology series. It is, I think, the adult version of the Greek/Roman god myths. No mincing, playing down, or glossing over words here.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on January 17, 2022, 10:14:31 PM
What is "the Horseshoe Curve"?  Never heard that term.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 18, 2022, 07:17:06 AM
Glad you asked TomeReader. https://www.railroadcity.org/curve.html

live webcam, it's a bit snowing today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YghZcdke78

Years ago, George and I took a bus trip that included a trip through the horseshoe curve via train. The site of the live cam has a little museum, a tourist shop (naturally) and a funicular that takes you up to the picnic site level with the tracks. Had a saboteur managed to blow up the tracks there as Hitler wanted, it would have been a major disruption of rail traffic to the East Coast during the war.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on January 18, 2022, 02:06:04 PM
Interesting about the Horseshoe  Curve.  Had never heard of it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on January 18, 2022, 07:48:09 PM
Thank you MarsGal!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on January 19, 2022, 11:41:21 AM
I discovered that Amor Towles, the author who wrote "A Gentleman in Moscow", a book that I loved, has a new book out.  "The Lincoln Highway."  I clicked on my library to see if I could get it as an ebook and I can......but not for the next six months!  Well, I put a hold on it, anyway, and hope that the long wait will be worth it.....when I finally get to read it.  ;D

I just finished the last book that Margaret Maron wrote before she died.  It is the Judge Deborah Knott series.  Maron lived in my area so I always enjoyed her books because it was about places and some people whom I recognise.  The book was good, as always, and M. Maron is, and will be, missed.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 19, 2022, 12:16:39 PM
Phyllis, I've read the ebook of "The Lincoln Highway".  It's a good story but has very little to do with the real Lincoln Highway.  Also enjoyed "A Gentleman In Moscow" and "Rules of Civility" - his story of New York "society".

I don't try to participate in the Zoom "meeting" of my Book Club but do read the monthly selections.  Just finished this month's selection "While Justice Sleeps" by Stacy Abrams.  Story is centered around a Supreme Court Justice who is in a coma and has appointed one of his clerks as his legal guardian.  Rather complicated "thriller" about her experiences solving various issues with Executive Branch and FBI/Security, etc.

Next selection is "The Gown" which centers around designing/making Queen Elizabeth's wedding gown.

I don't know where the Book Club comes up with these selections but I'm glad I can get them in e-book form.

"Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone", Book 9 in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon was added to my loans a few days ago and I'm working my way through the Cavendon Hall series by Barbara Taylor Bradford.

Plenty to read - just wish I could keep from dozing off while I'm doing so.  ;)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on January 19, 2022, 12:34:39 PM
Phillis,  I enjoyed both of Marion's series.  The last Sigrid Harold book she wrote in 2017 showed the family connection between Sigrid's and the Deborah Knott families.  I bought that book (digital).  Several years ago I ran across a short story by Margaret Marion which is really good.  As fas I know, she didn't normally write short stories.  I made a copy and kept it and have reread it a couple of times.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 23, 2022, 01:46:52 PM
My newest read is a very interesting non-fiction book called The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic – and How it Changed Science, Cities and the Modern World by Steven Johnson. It is about the Cholera Epidemic of 1854 in London.

I am also reading book seven of Rick Partlow's Dropship Trooper series, and back to listening to the the second book in The Crown Tower by Michael J. Sullivan.

Has anyone read The London House by Margaret Reay? It sounds like it is going to slide back and forth between current day and WWII Paris as a granddaughter uncovers her grandmother's true history as a spy for the allies during the war. I just downloaded the audio book because it was less expensive (on sale) than the Kindle version.

Another WWII audio book I just downloaded is called The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer. He recounts his days as a German soldier in Russia during WWII. It gets very high praises. Might be an interesting follow up to Erich Maria Remarque's novel All Quiet on the Western Front which was set in WWI.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on January 23, 2022, 02:53:21 PM
The London House sure does sound interesting.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 25, 2022, 07:24:09 AM
My latest local Library mystery newsletter lists three books that particularly sound interesting. I will be taking a closer look at them shortly. Has anyone read any of these books or others by the authors?

Christopher Fowler wrote a detective series called Bryant and May. The newsletter features the latest and last of the series, Bryant and May: London Bridge is Falling Down. It is an investigation into the murder of a 92 year old woman who was part of a group of older women with ties to government intelligence who also may be in danger. From the cover style (kind of retro to the 40's maybe?), so I thought it was an older series. But no, the first was published in 2004.

Silent Parade
by  Keigo Higashino and translated by Giles Murray is a detective story set in Japan about an investigation into the murder of a guy who is thought to have gotten away with murder 20 years before. It is the fourth of this series translated into English.

Lee Goldberg's Bone Canyon is a police procedural. It is set in Los Angeles County and is the second of a series. The blurb mentions a six-year old gang rape and some kind of police involvement, so it might not be my cup of tea just now. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on January 25, 2022, 11:16:52 PM
Marsgal, I read "The Devotion of suspect X" by Keigo Higashino and enjoyed it, but it was the only book by him at my Ocala Library and since then I forgot about him.  I looked him up in Fantasticfiction.com and notice that he has written more books and has several detective series.

I am sure I would like Christopher Fowler's Bryant & May detective series.  According to fantasticfiction there are 20 in that series.  I wish I could find these books in digital form but not audio.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 26, 2022, 07:22:17 AM
FlaJean, you can get the Bryan & May series in eBook form from GooglePlay, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Vitalsource (whoever they are). You can also borrow Christopher Fowler eBooks through Hoopla and OverDrive/Libby. You will need a library card from your local library system to sign up/in to Libby.  I just checked the Marion County library system site. https://library.marionfl.org/ I am not sure, but it looks like they use Libby. Click on the eBooks tab for info or call the library for help. 

FYI, OverDrive is discontinuing their classic OverDrive app very shortly and transitioning all of their stuff to their Libby program. I think they said they will be pulling the OverDrive app off the net by the end of Feb, and by the end of the year the old program will be shut down. So be sure to download the Libby by Overdrive app. I am hoping they get the Libby app listed in the Amazon apps section. Right now, I have to download the .apk file and manually load it into my Kindle. It isn't hard to do, but you must carefully follow the online instructions to do it if you are using a Kindle. If you have an Apple device, you can just download the app from Google Play, no worries. I can't speak to other devices and what is available to them.

I was able to find two of the books I listed above at FLP, so they are now in my library wish list. They did not have any Lee Goldberg books, so if I want to read Bone Canyon, I will have to buy it. Lee Goldberg's books are offered on my Kindle Unlimited, but I am maxed out on how many books I can borrow there just now. (Gee, what a surprise!) I will have to wait to add it to my downloaded borrows. It will be a while until I can get around to reading them. It looks like two more of the book I have on hold will drop within the next two weeks.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on January 26, 2022, 09:47:06 AM
I already have Libby on my Galaxy tablet but my older PC won't download Libby so I still use Overdrive on it.  Guess I'm going to lose Overdrive on the PC but still have Libby on the tablet so I should be all right.  Or, I could buy a new PC.....no, don't want to do that right now.   :-\


I'm having trouble getting books from the library now. I have holds on 5 books and I am 'way down the wait list for all of them.  Our download library is so popular everything gets snapped up long before I can get to it.  I'm waiting on "The Lincoln Highway", "Go Tell the Bees I Am Gone", and Louise Penny's latest that I can't remember the name of right now, and a couple of other books.  Everyone of those has a wait list of 3 or 4 months.  Meanwhile, I'm resorting to reading stuff I have read before or, books that just don't keep my interest and I give up on them after a few pages.

At least the Olympics will start soon.  Maybe, that will keep me entertained for awhile.   ;)

Hope Marilyne's hand is healing and that she will come back here soon.  Miss her posts.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 26, 2022, 01:31:18 PM
Phyllis, thanks for the info about Libby.  There's a "notice" at the top of the page when I check into my ebook Loans that says "Your loans are available on Libby".  I've never checked on that and am wondering if my current Holds and History will also transfer.  Do you know?

I'm reading my way through the Barbara Taylor Bradford series "Emma Harte".  I swear if she has someone "glide across (to somewhere)" one more time.... :knuppel2:  .  At least she hasn't had anyone do anything "with alacrity"....yet!  ;D

 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 26, 2022, 02:30:14 PM
Phyllis I know what you mean about having to wait so long. Last year, one of the books I had on hold took 24 weeks til I got it.

Re Libby by Overdrive for PC: It is a little confusing on the net, but it looks like Overdrive discontinued the PC app. The only way you can read it on PC now is from your browser, which of course, means you are online while you read. I am not particularly fond of it myself as I prefer to download and read on my eReader or tablet. Also, I discovered that to sign out of Libby on the web, you need to actually find "get some help" and then click on "reset everything". You will have to resign back in with your library card next time you want to read. Seems a bit complicated to me. Why they don't just use a "sign out" button is beyond me.

Callie, I was having trouble finding my wish list, but finally found how to sync it. It also was not one simple step.

The only reason I have a Google account is so I can subscribe to some of the channels. Close the account again. I have started getting a lot of phishing emails with gmail addresses at my regular email address purporting to be something they are not, not to mention more spam phone calls than usual. I never trusted Google to be secure. This is the second time I had this problem which points to them.
 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on January 27, 2022, 09:42:14 AM
Callie, I can't really answer your question because I simply don't remember whether the Reading History transfers over automatically or not.  I think it probably did or I would remember being upset.   :tickedoff:  but I can't be sure.  Here is a link to the Libby Help site.  Maybe you can find an answer there. 

https://help.libbyapp.com/en-us/index.htm

MarsGal, I access the download library with Google and have never had a problem.  And, I never Sign Out of the web site because I doubt seriously if any hacker is going to steal my library information.......no money is involved and if they just want my address I delete ALL suspicious mail in my mail program, anyway.  Besides, I never want to take the time to Sign In when I want to look at my library account.  Always too impatient, I guess. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 27, 2022, 10:26:30 AM
Phyllis, I discovered that I have to stay signed in to YouTube otherwise it is a real pain in the ... to get signed in again. I end up running back and forth from the TV downstairs to the computer upstairs. OR, I just stay signed on to Google on my computer. Or, of course, I could just cancel the free subscription service. I do often stay signed in on my library account, but that is not through Google.   

I think all the phone spam I'm getting is something other than Google related. I double checked and I do not have my phone number listed on my account. Anyway, I don't answer any of those calls. 

There was a news item this morning about a phone scam in my area where a caller claimed to be from the Social Security Office gave a spiel and then said that the local police would be contacting them. Sure enough, someone called using a spoofed phone number from the local police department with instructions. Last year there was something similar here but using one of the court administrative offices. Seems someone is targeting Cumberland County residents.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on January 27, 2022, 11:22:06 AM
MarsGal, I got a call from Soc. Sec. once but I had already read on the SS.gov. site that they never call SS recipients.  They will contact you by mail if there is a problem.  So I just said something rude (probably) to the so-called "SS agent" who was calling me to tell me there was a problem with my account and hung-up.  And, I'm very suspicious of all emails that don't look "right" to me.  I never click on a link supplied in an email.  I always go to a search "engine" like Google and access my account directly through the secure SS address.  Much safer.

I agree YouTube is a pain so hardly ever go there except to access it through my Roku device to watch something on the tv screen.  Rarely ever watch YouTube on my PC.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on January 27, 2022, 01:57:48 PM
I just discovered that I could switch to Libby automatically on my PC through the Metro Library site. Took a couple of clicks and my Loans and Holds showed up.

Haven't tried it on Tablet, yet.  Hope it's as easy because I always read e-books on it. No History - but I can still get into the OverRead site and will keep it until I'm told it's no longer available

I never sign out of the web site, either. All I need to get in is my last name and Library Card # so hackers wouldn't get much information if they tried.

Had started a Data Base for the History but haven't worked on it for quite a while and should put it on the ToDo list - which is growing!.

Still working my way through the Barbara Taylor Bradford series.  Now noticing that, in addition to "gliding", characters are "murmuring".  ::)  (Stop editing, Callie - and just read!  ;D )



 
 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on January 27, 2022, 06:20:35 PM
Marsgal, Libby only has one available book by Christopher Fowler.  When I click on that one book there are a number of his books listed with two dashes.  Clicking on them brings up "Unavailable".  Our library system is not very good.  Libby is dependent on the local library system and I guess what they digitize.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 28, 2022, 08:07:18 AM
That is interesting FlaJean. I didn't know they were dependent on local libraries for their digitized offerings. I kind of thought it would be the other way around. FLP has 18 of Fowler's books, of them there are only eight available now, the rest have a wait list.

I wonder how many big libraries offer e-membership to their state residences. Although I live in the Harrisburg area, I mostly use the Free Library of Philadelphia to borrow eBooks and audio books. Their only restriction is that you must belong to your local library. In order to apply for membership I had to provide my local library card into on the membership application. I can get eBooks through my local library only. They use OverDrive, so I think I am going to check their website or call to find out if that will change because of the change from the Overdrive app to the Libby app. Hadn't thought to ask.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on January 28, 2022, 02:25:23 PM
MarsGal, did you see on the news about the bridge collapse in Pennsylvania?  A few injured but nobody killed.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 29, 2022, 07:07:05 AM
My sister told me about it, Tome. She could not resist making a snide comment about how someone is likely to blame the collapse on Biden as he was scheduled to be in Pittsburgh that day.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on February 03, 2022, 01:12:39 PM
books.jpg
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on February 03, 2022, 02:12:48 PM
So true!  Liked the graphic.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 04, 2022, 08:34:12 AM
Only one thing missing in that illustration :kitten:

So, now where am I with my books? Oh,yeah. I finished the audiobook I was listening to, but have not yet picked another. Also, I am almost finished reading The Ghost Map after which I will get back to reading Gladius. The other day I started a scifi series, Blackstar Command. It is okay enough to keep going with if for a while, but nothing special.

I am contemplating weaning myself off the Kindle merry-go-round a little by buying another dedicated Ereader, possibly a Kobo. I understand the Kobo includes a link to Libby and one of the other online Libraries (forget which just now), and you can listen to audio books on it. Anyone want to comment on Kobo?

Currently, I am trying to find a way to install Libby on my Kindle HD8's. I can't download the Libby app on them like I did with the old 8.9HDX and my HD10. I have to do more investigating on that because I would like the app on one of the newer 8's at least.   

The Old 8.9HDX is beginning to lose its' ability to hold a charge for long, so I might experiment with changing the battery. There are videos on YouTube on how to do it. The battery is not easy to get to. You have to very carefully remove the casing, take out a bunch of tiny screws and unhook wiring before replacing. Once the casing is apart, you have to be very careful that you don't accidentally short out the circuit boards inside. Static electricity is not your friend. Time, patience and nimble fingers are required. Maybe it is worth the effort, maybe not. It just annoys me that I feel like I have to trade in my old Kindles for a new one just because the battery doesn't hold charge after a few years. Seems like a bit of a racket regarding the tablets. My Paperwhite, on the other hand is at least six years old and is still pretty good at holding a charge even though I often use it for hours almost every day.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 04, 2022, 03:11:01 PM

Hi to all my book and e-reader friends!   I haven't posted in a few weeks.  My eyes are in dire need of an ophthalmologist, which I will finally be seeing the first week in March.   Also, still unable to hold a book or Kindle in my left hand, while I turn a page or scroll, with my right. My hand surgery is taking a long time to heal!   Fortunately, my eyesight is fine for TV viewing, so I spend way too much time there. 
I also sit too long at the computer,  mostly just reading my favorite web sites - but rarely adding much of a response.

Phyllis -  I'm in full agreement with you, regarding  "Yellowstone"!   Last night we watched episode 7 or 8, in Season #2.  It was absolutely shocking!   The most horrifying, violent scene I have ever had the misfortune to  view on a TV show  or a movie.  We talked about it when it was over, as to why, WHY the series shows are becoming so incredibly  violent . . .  Filled with psychopaths, committing unspeakable acts.   He thinks it's because that's what sells, and what people want to see!  Unfortunately, I'm afraid he is right.  Shows like that are extremely popular.  No wonder our country has become so overrun with hate, and with people committing horrendous crimes, shooting and violence of all kinds.   Anyway, that episode did it for me - I will never watch "Yellowstone" again.

Callie -  The new season of  "Mrs Maisel"  has arrived, and not a moment too soon!   It will be so nice to see something funny!   Let me know  what to look for, so I won't miss seeing Miss Ellen?

Love reading all of your messages, and will post more soon.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on February 04, 2022, 03:33:37 PM
Marilyne, Ellen has naturally red hair.  I think she's the "Nanny wheeling a baby carriage across the park" in episode 7 or thereabouts.  Don't know which one has the Carnegie Hall scene.  I know she's wearing a blue dress in that one.

Off to see if Amazon web site has a "Free Trial"

Edit"  Web site says Season 4 of "...Mrs. Maisel" doesn't begin until February 18.     I know Ellen was an Extra in Season 3 but don't know exactly what scenes she was in..
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 10, 2022, 07:55:06 AM
Morning all. Here is my new reading update.

I dropped the last SciFi series I started. The story was just okay, some of the characters were likeable, but the sentence structure seemed a bit "off" and some words were misused. Once I think I caught a passage that contradicted something written earlier, but I didn't try to go back and find it. Now I am wondering if I had the series name wrong, or got the thing from somewhere other than Amazon. I deleted the book and now I can't find it anywhere. I don't even know who wrote it; it was a new author to me. Oh, well.

So, now I am reading another of Rich Partlow's book series, this one is a precursor series to two others I have already read. So far, the characters are not as personable as the other books, but the story is good and gives background to what follows in the other books.

Master and Commander vol. 1 is started on audio book, but so far, I am not warming up to main character (or who I assume is the main character) as yet. He seems stuffy or stiff, and egotistical to go with his calculating ambitiousness. So far, the character seems rather "flat". I am only to the point where he gets word of receiving command of a ship, so I will continue with it for a while to see if he becomes more well rounded personality-wise. Perhaps I would be better off watching Russel Crowe's movie.
 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 24, 2022, 01:01:46 PM
Sent back Master and Commander, just didn't take to it.

I am continuing with Rick Partlow's Holy War series. This is the third series I've read that is set in the same universe, during the same wars, etc., but on different campaigns or at different times. Only a couple of the characters get a mention in the other series, and then only briefly. Well written.
 
I am also reading Alastair Reynolds' House of Suns. It is a bit surreal, about a long lived family line of clones. Enjoying it.

My audio book is Stephen Fry's Troy. It is the third of his mythology series. The first didn't appeal, the second I skipped, but his telling of the Troy myth is, well, pure Stephen Fry. Loving it.

Even so, I still feel like I am being a slug with my reading lately. Well, there are other things that need doing after all.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 24, 2022, 01:13:01 PM
Marilyne, how is your hand doing? My sister has a flexible floor stand to hold her tablet so she can read without holding it. There are a bunch of them out there, including table top models. I've considered getting one myself, but so far I have resisted.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 06, 2022, 07:56:54 AM
It is mighty lonely over here.

I just finished Stephen Frys' audio take on the Trojan War. Troy, the third book of his Mythology series, is highly entertaining IMO. One of the most interesting bits was the explanation for the word Murmidones  which referred to the army accompanying Achilles in battle. The word is from the Greek mýrmēx. Fry referred to Achilles army as Ant People. Well, I can picture that. Hordes of soldiers swarming across the plain towards your castle might appear  like an army of ants, especially from a distance. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it. Highly recommended for those who enjoy Mythology. I wonder if he plans on doing more myths, Norse certainly, but maybe some of the lesser known myths from around the world.

I have yet to pick out my next audio listen and I am almost done with Alastair Reynolds House of Suns which will launch a search for my next library borrow. Another break from reading SciFi, I've just started a Western novel called 1874: Columbia River Posse by R. J. Bessonette. Bessonette made a lovely dedication to his maternal grandmother who had passed on her experience and knowledge of those times. It is a murder mystery set in Washington state.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 13, 2022, 07:13:11 AM
Okay, speak up. Who is reading what these days?

My currents are:

Remains by Jason Anspach and Nicholas Cole. It it the latest of the main sequence Galaxy's Edge series.

Reality is Not What it Seems by Carlo Rovelli. Nonfiction, it is about Quantum gravity physics. I remain determined to understand at least a smidgeon of what quantum physics is about.

Red Notice by Bill Browder. What I thought was going to be a novel based on a real event is actually the real deal written by the financier involved.

BTW, I really enjoyed 1874: Columbia River Posse. It is a novel about what might have been one of the last posse's of the old west on the hunt for a murderer. Forming up near the Colombuia River, the ride ends in Boise Idaho.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Skhilled on March 13, 2022, 09:31:05 AM
I like to buy cooking, baking, and computer books and magazines. I'm currently reading:

The Science Of Good Cooking: by America's Test Kitchen. It's all about the science of cooking and how to achieve the correct textures, etc. for foods.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 14, 2022, 01:00:00 PM
Skhilled, my last foray into reading about cooking was Ken Albala's lectures from Great Courses called Food: A Cultural History. Very interesting and enjoyable.

TomeReader
, I think your are the one that has been reading Mick Herron's Slough House series. His newest, Bad Actors, is due to release on May 10. Can't wait.

I dropped Red Notice already. I might try it later in Ebook form rather than via the audio book I borrowed. It might have been partly because the narrator used a constant voice of disgust or if being ticked-off. Well, I suppose I would be too had I had something like that happen to me. Then again, the subject matter is not something I want to deal with right now. It turns out that the author is the grandson of Earl Browder who was General Secretary of the Communist Party USA for fifteen years. The author himself is a financier and political activist.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 14, 2022, 03:34:21 PM
Skhilled - Welcome to Library~Bookshelf.   Hope you return often and keep us posted on any good reading suggestions.  :study: 

Mars - Of the books you've recently listed,  "1874: Columbia River Posse", sounds like one that would enjoy.   Another classic Western that you've probably read, is  "The Ox-Bow incident".  The book was written in 1940, by Walter Van Tilburg Clark, and was made into a movie in 1942.    The movie is also excellent - starred Henry Fonda, and lots of other actors who later became famous.

I'm still having problems with my eyes, so haven't done nearly as much reading as in the past.  The most recent book I've read, is "The Things They Carried", by Tim O'Brien.   It's a memoir, about his time served  in Vietnam.   Not the usual War stories, but more of a personal account of what it was like for him, and for the men in his unit.     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on March 14, 2022, 04:08:01 PM
Marilyne, I was the one reading "Slough House".  I can't remember why now but I didn't finish it before it went back to the library.  I ought to check it out again and try to get to the end.

I just finished "Go Tell the Bees That I am Gone".  The latest in the Outlander series by Gabaldon.  It was just OK.  Not great.  I'm finding I am less and less interested in this series. It has gone on much too long, IMO.

Sorry about your eyes.  I can sympathize with you.  Mine aren't doing so great either.  I must get to the eye doctor soon and see if she can help me.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on March 14, 2022, 11:34:24 PM
No, MarsGal, it wasn't me, but Phyllis who was reading SloughHouse.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 15, 2022, 07:28:24 AM
Oops! Sorry, Phyllis. I thought there was someone who was pretty close to caught up to me on reading the series.

I settled on a mystery to replace Red Notice. I forget the title just now, but it is one of Lindsey Davis's series, not Falco, but the following series featuring his daughter.

Reality is Not What it Seems is still interesting and readable. But then, I am still reading the historical background chapters, so my brain isn't twisted into knots yet. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 21, 2022, 08:32:26 AM
Time to update my current reading.

I am still reading Reality is Not What it Seems. Yesterday I picked it up and put it down again after a paragraph or two. It wasn't a day for concentrating on the subject matter.

I started and rejected a couple of SciFi novels. Right now, the one I am reading is rather strange. The prolog indicates that there is an ecoterrorist about to blow up a space station, but the first chapter is set in the US and involves a mining operation. And, of course, it is a first of series. It is puzzling enough at the moment to keep me reading to see where it leads.

In audio books, I just finished a murder mystery set in Rome during Domitian's reign. It was okay, not great. I liked Lindsey Davis's Falco series, but this series featuring his daughter is not as interesting. Or at least this one wasn't. I read the first of this series quite a while back but must have missed a book or two in between it and this one. I have not decided on my next audio book.

John Scalzi's latest book, The Kaiju Preservation Society, released a day or so ago. I checked my online library the same day and they already had it listed. That was fast. What was even faster were the number of people placing holds on the thing. Six months I will have to wait to read it. Sigh! Anyway, it is about an out of work guy who signs up to work for this animal preservation society. Only after he is hired on, does he discover the animals and preserve are off-world. It looks to be another great, snarky spoof type book like his Agent to the Stars and Redshirts. "Agent..." was the book that hooked me on Scalzi's books. It was his first, offered free online before he went 'big-time" with the likes of his Old Man's War series. BTW, if you didn't know, he and Wil Wheaton are longtime friends. Remember him from Star Trek's Next Generation series? Wil narrates most of Scalzi's audio books.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 21, 2022, 08:43:56 AM
Marilyne, I recently bought a non-fiction audio book titled All the Wild That Remains: Edward Abbey, Wallace Stegner, and the American West by David Gessner. I do not remember reading any of Edward Abbey's work. Abbey wrote both fiction and non-fiction.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on March 21, 2022, 06:13:11 PM
I just finished Donna Leon's latest "Give Unto Others". This is her 31st book with Guido Brunetti and I enjoy these books as much as ever.  There was an interesting twist to the story that made it a little different.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 22, 2022, 07:22:01 AM
Gosh, I am sooooo behind in reading the Brunetti series. I got away from them quite a while back and never got back to them. I stopped after reading #12, Uniform Justice. Didn't care for that one. I will be downloading #13 shortly. Thanks for the reminder, FlaJean.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 22, 2022, 12:29:47 PM

I read a strange but interesting book over the weekend:   Running, by Randolph Rhett.   I had read a review on line . . . a personal account of a Millennial age man,  (mid 30's), and how the reality of how his life and the lives of his friends had turned out,  did not meet their high expectations. 
It was written in story form , starting with his education at Yale, his law degree, girl friends, etc.  It held my interest throughout, although hard for someone my age to relate to  people in that age group? 

After reading the review, I was interested enough to look on Amazon, and saw that it was free Kindle or Audio, (don't remember which), but I ordered the soft cover book instead.  Don't know if it was worth $9.99, but I will pass it along to my daughter-in-law.   They have two adult kids in their mid/late 20's, so she may be able to relate?       
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on March 24, 2022, 05:15:28 PM
Marilyne, I'm still having a hard time relating to people in their 50's.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 25, 2022, 09:28:10 AM
Yea! My online library got five more of John Sclazi's new book, so now I only have about a six week wait instead of six months.

Reading: The Last Monument by Michael C, Grumley - the first of a mystery series where the protagonists an agent of the NTSB.

Listening to: Ancient Empires before Alexander, a Great Courses lecture series by Robert L. Dise, Jr. He speaks with humor; it is quite entertaining as well as informative.

Shortly, I am about to embark on another library read, but haven't quite decided yet. However, The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel and Embers of War (non-fiction) by Fredrik Logevall have been on my wishlist for quite some time and are beckoning.

 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on March 25, 2022, 09:34:57 AM
Finished "The Last Bookshop in London", by Madeline Martin.  Loved it!

Started "The Lincoln Highway", by Amor Towles.  Not liking it too much so far but will keep trying for a little bit longer.  If it doesn't get better, back it goes to the library.  Callie, you were right.....not much about the Lincoln Highway in this book.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on March 25, 2022, 09:48:09 AM
Phyllis, it's a fairly good story - as long as you're not expecting anything about the highway!  Can't figure out why he used that title - unless it refers to the original plan that goes astay. 

New housecleaner due momentarily.  Will be back later. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 25, 2022, 12:29:26 PM
I think The Last Bookshop in London is in my library wish list. I'll have to double check.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 26, 2022, 04:46:22 PM
A few comments on current TV shows:

Callie - We've been watching Season #4 of "Mrs Maisel", and so far, have not seen Miss Ellen.  There have been two scenes showing Nannies or Mothers pushing baby buggies.  One was a blond, and the other was a brunette, so I'm still looking for a redhead?  :)   We only have a couple of episodes left, so I'm hoping I didn't miss her.  She was easy to spot in the other seasons, because of her hair.   
So far, I'm not enjoying the show, as much as I did in earlier seasons.  I think they might have run out of steam with the original comedienne story, and have now resorted to adding new actors and trite, boring, overworked storylines. Not nearly as good as before.   

Has anyone else been watching "The Gilded Age", on HBO?  I'm really liking it a lot, and in my opinion, is by far the best new series in a long  time.  The sets, the clothes, the actors, the story  . . .  all perfection! ❤️
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on March 26, 2022, 05:36:55 PM
Marilyne,  Ellen and the baby buggy were just barely visible in the distance. If she hadn't sent a clip pointing to herself, I wouldn't have seen her.
 I think she was most visible in episode 4.  Mrs. M and her friend walked into a bar and passed directly behind Ellen just before they sat down.  She is standing facing the camera and looks as if she's "talking" to someone at the table. Very quick but you can see her face- and her red hair.
She said she's not really visible in the Carnegie Hall audience but she's in the "blue group".  She said different groups wore different colors and they were moved around so it wouldn't look like the same view of the audience every time.

Yes, I have watched every episode of "The Gilded Age" and enjoyed it a lot. I recognized "Mrs. Fain" was Kelly O'Hara, an Oklahoma product, but it took me a while to be sure of Nathan Lane!  Season 1 ended this past week and I've read that there will be a Season 2 but don't know when.   

New housecleaner worked out well but I still haven't had a chance to gather together comments on books I've been reading.  On my ToDo list - as soon as I find that particular Round Tuit.  ;) 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 28, 2022, 02:13:04 PM

Callie,  you're usually the only member here, besides myself, who watches the AA show every year.  Just wondering if you tuned in last night?  :yikes:   Hasn't been so much excitement since the 1970's, when the "streaker" ran across the stage! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on March 29, 2022, 11:22:27 AM
Marilyne,  I didn't watch the AA this year; didn't know any of the nominated actors and the nominated movies didn't sound like anything I'd be the slightest bit interested in.  Also am tired of listening to what is now called "humor". 

The news media will have a hey-day about the excitement.  ::)

Can you tell I'm cynical about certain attitudes/behavior in today's world?  ;)


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 29, 2022, 01:06:59 PM
Callie - Like you, I didn't know any of the people nominated, nor had I seen any of the movies.  The only reason I decided to watch, was because I had heard that  "King Richard", the story of the incredible Williams sisters, was up for Best Picture, Actor and Actress.  I admire Serena and Venus very much, and have read that it was because of their father, that they both became tennis champions.  Well yes, Will Smith got the Best Actor Award, but as you know,  it was tainted because of his juvenile and violent behavior.  Disgusting is the word! 

However, I still plan to see the movie, which is available on Amazon Prime.  I think it's a pay-per-view, at $5.99, but I don't mind paying for something I really want to see.  Besides, Jeff Bezos needs my money!  ;D   >:(  ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 05, 2022, 10:05:59 AM
I wonder if my sister saw King Richard. She loves watching the tennis matches.

I sent The High Mountains of Portugal back to the library. After I got into it a bit, I realized I read it before, at least the first bit. It turns out that this book is actually three separate, but very loosely connected stories.  As I recall, I didn't care much for the second part.

The Last Monument, which I did finish was okay, but it has a definite Indiana Jones feel to it. That shouldn't be surprising since the old notes that they were following were from a real time explorer who was the inspiration for Indiana Jones series, The Lost City of Z, and some believe the inspiration for H. G. Wells, The Lost World. Anyway, after a while the main characters became a little bit annoying. They supposedly have expertise in their chosen fields but are all too gullible even after a number suspicious coincidences which they acknowledged by then completely ignored. I may or may not read the second at some point to see if it improves.

I am still listening to the Great Courses Ancient Empires before Alexander. It is a two part course so it is quite lengthy. Next up will be one that is going off my free listen list at the end of May, Living History: Experiencing Great Events of the Ancient and Medieval Worlds. Hopefully, I will get that one all listened to by then.

My regular e-reading involves a book of SciFi short stories and yet another Galaxy's Edge universe series.

More than enough to keep me for a while. My reading has slowed down somewhat this last month for some reason.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 08, 2022, 09:02:41 PM
I never get "real" books from the library anymore.  I'm so paranoid about getting Covid.   I found some older Donna Leon digital books for 1.99/2.99 and have really enjoyed them.  I also found several Margaret Maron digital Deborah Knott books for 1.99 so will soon start on them.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 09, 2022, 06:41:30 AM
FlaJean, I am with you about the physical library books. While I must maintain a local library card to use it, my library go-to is the Free Library of Philadelphia which allows anyone in Pennsylvania with a local library card to join. It has an extensive e-book and audio book collection which are mostly the usual classics and recent popular books. Still, there are a few books I have trouble finding elsewhere. These are primarily older non-fiction, and out-of-print books located in college libraries.

Speaking of, another FLP book just became available. so now I have a first of series Japanese detective novel called The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino to read as soon as I am finished with the SciFi short story collection I am now reading.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on April 09, 2022, 03:39:49 PM
Marsgal, You're very fortunate in having so many choices.  My son who lives in Montgomery County MD also has many digital choices.  Unfortunately, not in FL.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 25, 2022, 07:29:40 AM
Flajean, wonderful that your son is in Montgomery County. When I was working, one of the catalogs I helped get ready for printing was their summer parks programs listing. It was extensive and has some wonderful programs for both adults and children. Their catalog has had quite a make-over since I worked on it. https://montgomeryparks.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/2022-Spring-GUIDE.pdf

So, what am I reading now?

Ghost Fleet by P. W. Singer. It it is a military thriller published in 2015 that is, considering what is going on right now, set in the now or near future. It skips around to different areas and people which include a Russian political dignitary in China, freedom fighters and a Chinese crime detective in Hawaii, espionage efforts at the Pentagon, and various naval and tech war efforts in California. It is a pretty good book.

John Scalzi's latest book, The Kaiju Preservation Society, that is about an animal rights organization which operates both in this world and in a parallel universe where the Kaiju (fictional monsters, think Godzilla and friends here) exist. I just downloaded it, so I haven't started reading it yet. It should be fun to read. Scalzi's sense of humor really comes out Agent to the Stars, Redshirts, and Fuzzy Nation so I am expecting a good laugh or two or three or four with this one too.

Yet another SciFi series set in the Galaxy's Edge universe called Ruins of the Galaxy written by J. N. Chaney and Christopher Hopper. Unfortunately, it is a nine-book series, and I am only into book three now. I say unfortunately, because it is taking a while to get through it. While I have an urge to quit reading it because I don't care for humans with superpowers type stories, I keep going because Chaney and Hopper are so good at character development and world building, not to mention very good proofreading and editing. Still, I don't think I can handle nine books of this.

My audio listen is The Last Watch by J. S. Dewes. It is set, so far, on a border post station (yes, another SciFi), keeping guard against a much feared invasion from the void beyond. The inhabitants of this posting are, for the most part, criminals, many of whom are former military. The main character is a prince who never served in the military but who was getting into trouble. It is not as bad as it sounds. I am enjoying it.

Started but on hold until I finish the above library audiobook is Quantum: Einstein, Bohr, and the Great Debate about the Nature of Reality by Manjit Kumar. Not so much math in this one, so far, it follows the history and debate about Quantum physics. Interesting, easier to follow than some books about Quantum physics, but then I am only up to Einstein and Bohr.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 01, 2022, 07:09:49 AM
Since my last update, I've finished The Ghost Fleet, which was good, but I wasn't quite satisfied with the ending. It seemed a little abrupt, like there was something missing between the main story and the epilogue.

I really liked listening to The Last Watch which is also done. There is a sequel out called The Exiled Fleet, which I hope will be made into an audio book, and a third scheduled for next year. J. S. Dewes also has a book called Rubicon coming out soon. I don't know what that is about, but it sounds like it will be more light, humor infused SciFi.

Okay, now for the thumbs down. Sad to say that John Scalzi's The Kaiju Preservation Society was less than I expected of it. Well, then, I was never much for Godzilla type monster stories, but his usual snarky humor seemed to be mostly missing. As for the Galaxy's Edge offshoot series I was reading, I finally gave up on it. Too much action couched in wizardry and superpowers to suit me. I did try to like these two, but ultimately for me, they were a no go.

I am now back to listening to Quantum and just starting two new reads, Charlie Lovett's First Impressions, which is a Jane Austen type mystery and The Devil's Waters by David L. Robbins. The last is billed as "A USAF Pararescue Thriller".

Has anyone noticed the shift to using "them" when a character is not defined as male or female? I hate this. What a lazy cop-out. Them is a plural pronoun meant for multiple groups of people or objects, as in more than one. This new use jars me to no end. I have no idea why they don't invent a new singular pronoun for gender undefined or gender-neutral single individuals instead.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: RAMMEL on May 01, 2022, 11:05:10 AM
"them" prevents sexism. Crafty, huh.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on May 01, 2022, 06:10:54 PM
Yes, that's good, but it steals our plural.  "Thems"?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on May 02, 2022, 01:35:40 PM
I just finished a nice light read that for once didn't put me down or depress me. "The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop" by Fannie Flagg.  I have previously only read her "Fried Green Tomatoes....".  I had forgotten how charming her books are...and sometimes funny.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on May 04, 2022, 01:18:07 PM
Phyllis,  glad you mentioned that book.  Was able to borrow it from Libby.  Sounds good.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 04, 2022, 03:51:01 PM
I love Fannie Flagg's books!  Has anyone read "The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion"?  The background details of one character sounds as if she's based on a girl who was a couple of years ahead of me in high school and part of a group who were like "big sisters" to my crowd.  I'd love to have a chance to meet Fannie Flagg and ask her if she knows this person personally.

I'm currently reading the Church of England series by Susan Howatch. Thought I'd be rereading them but don't remember anything about the first one "Glittering Images" and doubt I'll recognize the others, either.

Also reading my way through a lighter series by Julie Capin called the "Romantic Escapes Series". The titles are all little "eateries" in various countries:  "The Little Cafe In Copenhagen", The Little Brooklyn Bakery" The Little Paris Patisserie", etc.
 Others are located in Ireland, Switzerland, Tokyo and Croatia.  Sounds as if the author has actually been to these places - or did a lot of research!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on May 04, 2022, 07:47:13 PM
As soon as I read the title of the Fannie FLagg book that you mentioned, Callie, I checked the download library and they had it!  I borrowed it and will start it tonight.  Thanks.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on May 04, 2022, 09:15:18 PM
Phyllis,  The character I think is based on the girl I knew is called Willy and is from Oklahoma.  The reason I think she's loosely based on someone I knew is that Willy's real name is the same as my friend's and she's from a tiny town not far from our home town. She's not a main character and doesn't appear in the story until way into the book.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on May 04, 2022, 10:53:41 PM
If any of you are "real bibliophiles" and love your local libraries, I have a book selection for you.  "The Library Book" by Susan Orlean.  It is predominantly about the fire that destroyed most of the Los Angeles Public Library back in 1986. Over 400,000 pieces of their collection was destroyed. The author did meticulous research, and the book was as much about the fire, as it was about the beginnings of the LAPL. A fantastic story, as good as any novel I've read lately, and the author's love of books and libraries is deeply evident on every page!!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 05, 2022, 06:58:48 AM
After putting aside several books after starting them because they didn't suit for the moment, I began reading Now We Shall Be Entirely Free by Andrew Miller. It is apparently set sometime during the Napoleonic wars. I forget who recommended it, but thanks. It is hard to put down.

Tome, I remember mention of The Library Book when it came out and forgot to add it to my reading list. Thanks for reminding me.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 14, 2022, 07:44:35 AM
I recommend Now We Shall Be Entirely Free, by Andrew Miller. Set sometime between 1803 and 1815 during the Napoleonic Wars (the Guardian article says 1809, it follows a soldier who, evacuated home to recuperate, runs from guilt, the horrors of the war, and unknowingly, from accusers alleging a war crime. The ending is abrupt and surprising. Great writing.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/aug/14/now-we-shall-be-entirely-free-andrew-miller
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 17, 2022, 10:51:52 AM

MarsGal -  knowing you like SciFi, I'm wondering if you read,  "The Time Traveler's Wife", and if so, what you thought of it?    Seems like readers either loved it or hated it.  I was one who was in between - liking the characters, but the story itself was too chaotic and confusing for me.  I wanted a clear cut explanation, and the one given was too vague and didn't satisfy me.     

Reason I mention it, is that it's been made into an HBO series, that started this past Sunday.  We watched episode #1 last night.   AJ thought it was going to be like,  "Back To the Future",  even though I told him ahead that it was not that type of time travel.   I know he won't be watching episode # 2, next week.  ::)    I won't give up on it that quickly, but will give it another chance, and hope it will get  better?

Callie -  The Fannie Flagg book you recommended - "The All Girl Filling Station", sounds good.  Very interesting that you think one of the characters in the story is based on someone you knew!   I've enjoyed all of the Fannie Flagg books that I've read, and particularly like how she features some of the same neighbors and friends in most of her books.  My two favorites are,  "Standing in the Rainbow, and  "The Whole Town is Talking".  Both are feel good stories! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 17, 2022, 11:19:10 AM
No, I haven't read it Marilyne. I generally stay away from time travel type novels and such. I did watch the movie Outlander a few months back. Although I remember reading/seeing several other time travel goodies, but I can't think of any at the moment. I never even read H. G. Wells' The Time Machine. Oh I do remember one, a series actually, by M. R. Forbes. The series is War Eternal and uses time recursion as a main story mechanism. The story line is that while you can only go forward in time, time itself is recursive and eventually curves back to the starting point. So, in order to go back in time, you must go forward until you get back to the time period you want. I have seen some lilies listed as having recursive petals because they curl back towards themselves. Otherwise, it is mostly a mathematical concept used also in computers. Look up time recursion on the net and that is mostly what you will get.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 22, 2022, 08:03:34 AM
Just a head's up for fans the Mick Herron, Slough House series. Bad Actors (book #8) was just released a few days ago. My local library has is already, so I put a hold on it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 23, 2022, 12:13:58 PM
Got a heads up on a sale special on a book I read long, long ago, and in fact, also saw and enjoyed the movie, The Moon Spinners by Mary Stewart. Anyone remember the movie? It starred Haley Mills.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on May 29, 2022, 07:37:07 PM
Over in Senior Learn, I had posted about how much trouble I had trying to get into "Hamnet". After the third try, I finally made it through, Having finished "Hamnet" I have to say after all my stopping/starting, I did like the book.  The part where Hamnet succumbs to the plague was so terribly "fitting" as it pictures his mother by his bedside, losing her entire sense of self, and the ensuing days where she neither eats, drinks or interacts with the other household members.  Her interior monologue, after his passing, touched me so deeply in light of the horror we have witnessed in the last few days in real life.  She was saying things that I could hear the 19 sets of parents saying or thinking about the loss of a young child.  Sad, yes, but a point in the novel that had real relevance and a timelessness about a mother's all-encompassing Love.

I'm sure it's not a book anyone would rush to read at this time, but I'm glad I made the effort to finish it.  Not a great many books can leave you feeling you have been touched deeply by a character or monologue.

(You will note that I am detailing only the Mother's role, but the Father (Shakespeare) and his other children are monumentally affected by this loss and deftly covered in the final few chapters.  I meant no disrespect, but needed only to speak from the mother's POV).
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 01, 2022, 07:25:30 AM
I put the book on my library reading list. Not sure about reading it just now. But who the heck is Agnes? I thought Shakespeare was married to Anne Hathaway.

I am not reading much just now, but I did listen to a Great Courses lecture series on Sun Tzu's The Art of War. It was a bit too short, IMO. Very interesting. Now I am listening to Ernest Cline's The Fold which is a SciFi story about a group of scientists working toward making teleportation a reality. It took me a little while to get into it. Can't say that I find it terribly exciting though.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 08, 2022, 07:20:23 AM
I am delighted with my latest read, Charlie Lovett's The Lost Book of the Grail. Nice story set in Barchester, with the main character teaching at the local college. So far, the story is interspersed with childhood memories and a love for the local area. He spends lots of time in the local church library as he is charged with writing a history of the church which was originally a monastery.

I continue listening to The Fold. It became much more interesting after my last post, when the characters discover their creation is doing something very unexpected.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 11, 2022, 06:05:40 PM
I finally bit the bullet and bought a Kobo Libre 2. I am trying to wean myself away from Kindle a little bit. The Kobo itself is nice to handle, but I had dickens of a time getting it set up. It took me a visit to the website on my computer and trying several times. I was a little surprised and disappointed to see that the do not support Libby by Overdrive, but I do have access to through the Overdrive app. A lot of good that will do me since Overdrive is discontinuing the Overdrive app by the end of the year (or so they said). The Overdrive app showing even less functions that the app I got from Amazon for my Kindle (which also does not support Libby). So now I have yet another e-reader. Well, it does hold 32gigs. My poor Paperwhite is just about full and gets a bit slow if I get it too close to full. I'll let you know how I like it once I get used to it and find out how to get Project Guttenberg books into it. It is not one of those listed already, but maybe they have a way to add it to the links list.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: FlaJean on June 13, 2022, 12:13:14 AM
I bought all the Anne Hillerman digital books, which continued her Dad's Series about the Navaho Nation.  She is a terrific author.  I think even better than her dad, Tony Hillerman.  Anyway I have gone back to the first one and reading them again.  I find that my memory isn't as good as it use to be and enjoy them almost as if for the first time.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 16, 2022, 06:48:37 AM
Thanks for the reminder, FlaJean. I keep forgetting to look into Tony Hillerman and now his daughter. I have read two or three novels involving tribal cops and such, but I don't think any of them were Hillerman's.

Right now, I am listening to Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods which is giving me quite a chuckle. It's nice to listen to or read something cheery for a change.

I've been a bit slow with my reading lately. It looks like I will have to renew Charlie Lovett's The Lost Book of the Grail to finish it. I had to postpone my hold on a Japanese murder mystery/police procedural for a second time too. Even my current SciFi is getting a bit neglected.

Meanwhile, my house is in disarray as I try to find places to stash kitchen paraphernalia in preparation for my kitchen remodel. I had to rebox two boxes of cookbooks because Shan decided they are great cat scratchers.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 22, 2022, 06:17:22 AM
I've finished The Book of the Holy Grail by Charlie Lovett. What a great book, the best of the three of his I have read so far. What a combo: a bibliophile, an interest in church history and architecture, a quest for a lost boook and the Holy Grail, and a little romance.

Now I am back to reading Donna Leon's Brunetti series with Doctored Evidence.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 02, 2022, 08:58:55 AM
Well, it is mighty, mighty quiet around here, but I persist in adding to my current reading monologue. Here is the latest.

I just finished listening to Robert A. Heinlein's Citizen of the Galaxy. I did enjoy it very much. It is essentially an anti-slavery novel with big swipes at big business and its focus on making the big bucks regardless of where it comes from. So, off world slave trade, institutionalized slavery and master spies.

I just started The Devotion of Suspect X. Finally. A bit too early to tell, but so far it looks good.

Still reading a five-book series, Forgotten Colony by M. R. Forbes. This is the second of Forbes' series I've read and as with the first, it has interesting characters and a very twisty plot.

I think I settled on my next listen, which is a Great Courses lecture, but don't remember the title off-hand. I could change my mind.   


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 04, 2022, 06:12:29 AM
I made some changes to my reading. First, I did not finish the SciFi series I was reading. It just got a bit too drawn out and less appealing by the end of three books. Second, I did not end up choosing a Great Courses lecture but am now listening to The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine by Serii Polkhy. It was published in 2019, before the current conflict. Lastly, The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino was a bust for me. I was not in the mood to read a story that let you know up front who did it and why. Instead, I pounced To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini which had been sitting in my library wish list for quite a while.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 04, 2022, 11:01:53 AM

MarsGal - Not much activity on this board the past couple of months.  I know you probably feel like you're talking to yourself, but be assured that I do read your posts!   I haven't been doing nearly as much reading as in the past.  My eyes are worn out, and my ability to find a comfortable chair, seems impossible!   I still have a couple of new books that my dil gave me for Mother's Day, in May, that I haven't even looked at!

One of them sounds especially intriguing . . . The Second Life of Mirielle West, by Amanda Skenandore.  The story takes place in the 1920's, in a Louisiana leprosy hospital, where patients were forcibly quarantined.  "Inspired by a true story, An extraordinarily timely tale of resilience, hope, and the last women who expected to find herself in such a place".   
I've always been interested in true accounts of the scourge of leprosy in the past, so I know I'll like this story.       
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on July 04, 2022, 11:50:36 AM
Marilyn, MarsGal  and Jean, I've been reading a lot of ebooks for various reasons:  1) I'm literally 'home alone' most of the time. 2) I haven't been socializing with neighbors - partly due to the heat/humidity/pollen count and partly due to the fact that I can't walk far enough any more to go for a stroll .  3) I've lost contact with most friends I used to socialize with - partly because shared activities disappeared with Covid restrictions and partly because I got tired of having to instigate communication and 4) there's absolutely nothing on t.v. or Netflix that I care to watch - either reruns or first showings.

However, my reading choices aren't as "literary" as those mentioned here sound.  I've read "The Palace Papers" by Tina Brown and have just started her "Vanity Fair Diaries".  The rest have basically been the latest "beach books" by authors who like settings on Cape Cod, Nantucket and the islands off the Carolinas.  ;) 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: RAMMEL on July 04, 2022, 12:18:21 PM
I'm another who comes here and reads the posts, ------ but ----- I'm not a good reader, ---never was.  But I can read a tech manual and spot mistakes (if there are some). Obviously not from me but my son is a reader. He also is a big customer of "Great Courses". If I made a crazy guess I would say he has all of the Great Courses History Items.
Thinking about it now, I think my problem is that I read everything like I'm reading a Tech Manual. I read every word,chew it up, and digest it. Not reading thoughts.   Hard to teach an old dog new tricks  :(   

Happy 4th to everyone.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 04, 2022, 01:47:45 PM
Thanks, gang. I like to post what I am reading in case there is anyone out there that is interested in the book or author even though they might not respond. Since these are my opinions, you all may or may not agree with my assessment of a book. That is okay. I do like to point out when I think an author does a good job of developing his characters, when the editing is not up to snuff, and my pet peeve, the misuse of pronouns. My latest in the latter category is the use of they and them for a single gender-neutral/alternative person. Surely, they can come with something better to use than a well-established plural pronoun to denote a single (pick your letter) person. Speaking of which, they have added so many letters that I have no clue what some of them are for. 

Rammel, the most technical SciFi book I ever read has to be Neal Stephenson's Seveneves. It is a tome with lots of technical and design descriptions regarding building an off-world habitat and the means to get to it. An impending worldwide disaster looms and the scientists, engineers, botanists, etc. are on a deadline to develop and build this habitat in an effort to save/preserve human life. It was so technical that I had to read it slowly to digest it all. The span of the book is 5,000 years. Some of the decendents of the original seven female survivors return to Earth to discover that some humans survived the impact and its aftermath by living in deep mines or in undersea habitats. Stephenson did not grace us with a follow-up book telling their side of the story. Seveneves is supposedly going to be made into a movie with Ron Howard directing. I am having an incredible amount of difficulty finding any info about its status.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 05, 2022, 11:02:52 AM

MarsGal -  Even though I may not respond, I always enjoy reading your book reviews, and have read a few of your recommendations over the years.  "Seveneves",  sounds like a good story, but  maybe too long and detailed for me at this point in time.  I'll wait for the movie . . . If Ron Howard, is producing it, then I'm sure it will be a good one.    I agree with you on the new pronoun changes, as to gender.  "My latest in the latter category is the use of they and them for a single gender-neutral/alternative person."   It's gone a bit over-the-top for me too, and I'm also having a hard time remembering what the various letters of the new gender-alphabet stand for . . . can't keep track of all the changes and variations.

Rick - You might enjoy reading some of the new style detective novels that  are very popular now - especially with men readers.  Look online for lists of books by John Grisham, Michael Connelly or James Patterson.  Many have been made into good movies.  Patterson has branched out in recent years,  and now does non-fiction also - focusing on controversial or political subjects. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on July 08, 2022, 04:42:20 PM
im about halfway through "Seldom Disappointed", a memoir by  Tony Hillerman. He writes as if we're having a conversation and I'm particularly enjoying the descriptions of his growing up years as a poor farm boy in Oklahoma during the Depression.

Will confess I skimmed through his WW2 experiences although I may go back and read more of the details, which arent gory descriptions.

I'm at the point at which someone read an assigned artice he wrote and suggested he could be a journalist; he had never considered writing anything...much less making a living from it.

Very interesting story.


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 10, 2022, 11:32:12 AM

Callie - I copied and saved your list of "Summer reading", that you posted last week.  "The Palace Papers", and "Vanity Fair Diaries" sound good for me.  I think I'll skip the Beach Books this year.  I like Mary Alice Monroe, but have read enough  of her novels, for now.    Of the Southern writers, my all time favorite is Pat Conroy. "The Prince of Tides", is my #1, followed by "The Great Santini".  After Conroy, I like Anne Rivers Siddons. I still have a ragged and faded old paperback around here, of "Peachtree Road".  Love that story.

MarsGal - I read online, that HBO has dropped production of, "The Time Traveler's Wife".  No more episodes to even finish out the season.  Apparently many other viewers, besides me, felt the same way.  I gave up on it after the first two episodes . . . a chaotic mess, IMO.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on July 10, 2022, 11:53:13 AM
Marilyne,  I'm not finding "Vanity Fair Diaries" as interesting as "The Palace Papers" - probably because I'm not as interested in magazine publishing as I am in The Royals.  I did find/am finding both of them a bit repititious (sp?), though.
Am beginning to find the same about "Seldom Disappointed, too. 

Oh, I like Mary Alice Monroe, Anne Rivers Siddons and Pat Conroy, too.  The movie version of "Prince of Tides" that was produced and started Barbra Streisand irritated me because it was mainly about HER - not the relationship between the brothers (as I recall).

Noticed in today's paper that the Recommended Summer Reading list included "The Summer Place" by Jennifer Weiner.  I just finished it and liked it - although I almost had to make a diagram to keep up with the various relationships.
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Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 10, 2022, 12:47:53 PM
Callie - I very much agree with you as to Barbra Streisand, ruining the movie version of,  "The Prince of Tides"!  I remember that she bought the movie rights from Conroy, and then proceeded to rewrite it.   What a disaster it was.  :(   I love the book, but try not to even think about the movie!

I've read a number of novels by Jennifer Weiner, and like them, so will now get,  "A Summer Place".    I love the titles of her earlier books . . . such a clever play on words, and each one sounds intriguing.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 16, 2022, 03:07:22 PM
Catch up time. I have not listened to my audio book for a few days now, so I am still on the Ukranian history.

Meanwhile, my last library read is done and back to the library. It was Christopher Paolini's To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. Well written, but a bit overly lengthy. It has what I would describe as a "women turns into a (maybe god-like) superhero" type theme, but it creeps up on her, so you get to read the gradual transformation and discoveries along the way. I was a little disappointed that she didn't get to revert back to herself since there was a budding romance involved.

My newest library read is Becky Cooper's nonfiction True Crime book, We Keep the Dead Close. It is about an unsolved murder at Harvard University back in the late sixties. Very interesting.

I still don't quite have the hang of downloading from Overdrive on the Kobo, so while trying to get Mick Herron's latest Slough House book to download, I accidently unborrowed it. So, now I have to wait another 14 weeks for it, look like. Sigh! I was looking forward to it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 08, 2022, 07:15:05 AM
I finally sat down the last two days to do a little reading.

Right now, I am reading The Grey Lady (1895) by Henry Seton Merriman (penname of Hugh Stowell Scott). The first few chapters serve to introduce the characters and their various situations. So far, the characters are the nasty upperclass lady (the grey lady of the title), twin brothers (both seamen), a Majorican gentleman living in Barcelona, a young lady living in Majorica whose father just died, and her uncle (also a seaman). The story so far is mild. Librivox says it is "A tale of romance, greed, blackmail, secrets, Spain and ships." I like the writing style.

Having just finished the audiobook about the Ukraine and surrounds, I decided to listen to The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. I read it years ago and have wanted to reread it. The cover to my paperback came off and I haven't glued it back on yet. It is a lengthy book, so the audio version suits, especially since I was able to borrow a download to listen to.

I also just started the 4th volume of The Wayward Galaxy SciFi series.

I am expecting Powers and Thrones by Dan Jones to become available from my e-library within the next week.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Sandy on August 08, 2022, 01:05:39 PM


Update on  Seveneves

A feature film adaptation of the Neal Stephenson sci-fi novel Seveneves is picking up steam, and it's got some serious clout. Per Deadline, Ron Howard has signed on to direct the film, setting his Apollo 13 screenwriter William Broyles Jr. to pen the script while Brian Grazer will produce.

That's a formidable team for any adaptation, but Seveneves has some serious promise and marks a significant tonal changeup for the Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind director.

The novel, which hit shelves last year, begins with humanity in dire straights as a catastrophic event renders Earth uninhabitable.

The world's nations subsequently band together to devise a plan to ensure humanity's survival, which involves sending pioneers into the far reaches of outer space.

But then the book jumps 5,000 years into the future, with the progeny of these pioneers now spanning seven distinct races and three billion strong.

They set out on an ambitious journey of their own—a return to Earth.

https://collider.com/seveneves-movie-ron-howard/#:~:text=A%20feature%20film%20adaptation%20of%20the%20Neal%20Stephenson,pen%20the%20script%20while%20Brian%20Grazer%20will%20produce.

Ron Howard is working it...   should be great!!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 09, 2022, 06:37:24 AM
Sounds like they are going to skip a lot of the technical details of building a space station and concentrate on the more human interactions. I think the return to earth part took up far less space in the book than the efforts to get into and stay in space. Good. The book was very long and hard and technicals were a bit hard to get through. I am looking forward to seeing the movie.


In the book, the space stations/colonies were not that far out in space relatively speaking. They sat at stable LaGrange Points in relatively close proximity to the earth and sun. Here is an explanation of Lagrange Points which even shows where the James Webb is located at the L3 point. https://www.space.com/30302-lagrange-points.html#:~:text=Lagrange%20Points%3A%20Parking%20Places%20in%20Space%201%20Structure,Mainzer%20told%20Space.com.%203%20Lagrange%20point%20science.%20
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 01, 2022, 06:40:22 AM
It has been at least three weeks and not a peep from anyone here. I've been busy with the kitchen remodel so my reading slowed down considerably for a while. Now I am able to get back to it. No new books, just trying to get the ones I am reading/listening to finished. Powers and Thrones is huge (and, so far, is very interesting). Since I wasn't going to get it finished by the time the library wants it back, I bought the audiobook version. Now, the library just let me know that the compendium edition of William Kent Krueger's Cork O'Connor series is ready for me to read. I am looking forward to reading them.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: RAMMEL on September 01, 2022, 08:48:48 AM
Not a peep from me, but I do look in here. Unfortunately I'm not a reader. I can read a Tech manual (and find mistakes) but other reading usually sends me to lala land.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on September 01, 2022, 10:32:51 AM
My reading has slowed down, too.  I can't seem to stay awake long enough to finish more than a page, or even a paragraph.   :o
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 01, 2022, 11:06:53 AM
Mars - Thanks for waking us up this morning.  :)  Sad but true, most comments in this discussion never get responses, and it's the same in Bait & Tackle.  Too few members left who still respond or offer their 2 cents worth.    Some members look into S&F every day, but haven't posted a message in years.  :( 

I want to remind everyone that this Library folder also includes television shows and series, and movies.  So some of you who have a difficult time reading, can talk about any movies you especially like, or that you recommend.

I still read, but not even close to as much as I used to.  Issues with my eyes are getting worse, and also, trying  to get into a comfortable reading position in a chair, is almost impossible.  I can watch TV okay from a recliner, but can't read in a recliner.  ::)  Also I
I've never been able to read in bed. 

My dil gave me a book for my birthday, that I plan to start reading over this long hot weekend:  Things We Never Got Over  by Lucy Score.  It looks good, but unfortunately the print is small, and the book is very thick, so it will take some patience.      As for TV/Movies - I did watch a pretty good one a couple of days ago during the day.  It was an oldie, starring  Michael J. Fox, called  Bright Lights - Big City.  It was a drama, that came out around the same time as Back to the Future.    He was such a good actor!  Just a shame that his career was pretty much ended because of Parkinson's. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 01, 2022, 03:35:03 PM
Well, Hello, Ms. Marilyne.  Here is my two cents (you know, in your heart of hearts, that I am reading every post that occurs in Seniors & Friends, but just lurking for the most part. If I don't post anything, don't hold it against me.  I may just be trying to collect my thoughts; for that, I use a very small bucket! For anyone who watched any of Downton Abbey and loved Hugh Boneville, he has a new made for TV movie out, either Netflix or Prime, in which he is an absolute MONSTER. You will not love him in this.it is a scary, horror type movie which I don't normally watch, mystery, yes, horror NO. Netflix has a neat documentary for those who love and have cats: The Mind of a Cat. Interesting. Reading:just finished "Pony" by R.J.  Palacio, who wrote "Wonder". It is thundering and the sky is very dark gray. Looking to get some more rain. I finally managed enough green grass(weeds) to cal the yardman back out. Of course, he had to get a $25 "upcharge" for the grass having grown since our deluge earlier in the week. I wouldn't let him attempt mowing since it was dry hay and a fire hazard to mow. In the health arena, I got some food poisoning last week, never been sicker in my life. Now I'm hoping that this post will keep the wolves from my door, LOL. Wishing you all good health, good reading, good TV and some good meals along the way.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 02, 2022, 07:53:27 AM
What a wonderful surprise to see all the posts this morning.

I'll be back later. I want to make an attempt at the lawn or weeding before it gets hot again today.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 02, 2022, 12:49:00 PM
The yardwork went well this morning. It was cooler than the weather forecast predicted. Right now, it is still only 73o with a nice breeze. I see the weather forecast has been revised down by two or three degrees than what they had predicted earlier. The windows are open to take advantage of it.

Nothing wrong with reading tech manuals, Rammel. Technical writing is a special kind of writing. Technical specs and instructions need to be precise and in correct order, even the simplest instructions that you might believe are intuitive. I took a technical writing class in college. It was enlightening and interesting.

I watched the whole season of Amazon's The Terminal List several weeks back. It was better than I expected. Now I have Jack Reacher in my watchlist, but I haven't started it yet. I haven't read any of the associated books upon which these two shows are based.[/i].
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 02, 2022, 02:21:07 PM
YAY!  Tome appeared at last, and posted a nice long newsy message!  Good to see you here, and also good to see you lurking in "Just Plain Old Music" or "Bait and Tackle".  I think it's a fact, that most of us lurk, a lot more than we actually post.

Although I like Hugh Bonneville, I doubt I will check out his new show on Netflix.  I'm also NOT a fan of horror shows or books!  I've never understood why most people enjoy those graphic, distasteful types of shows, but I'm not one of them.  Watching evil psychopaths prey on innocent people is not my idea of a good way to spend the evening.   seems that most good actors are willing to star in those shows . . . It's all about the money I guess?   Sorry you had a bout with food poisoning!  I can relate, and understand how it can scare you . . . wondering if you're going to survive! Glad you're feeling better, and hope your Labor Day Weekend will include no labor!  :no: 

MarsGal - "The Terminal List", sounds like something my husband would like.  He generally likes any show dealing with the military, espionage, etc.  I read some reviews online and it sounds pretty good.   I'll at least watch the first episode, probably tonight, so will let you know what I think.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 02, 2022, 08:45:20 PM
Marilyne, if you go into Senior Learn, pick The Library.  I have posted about the book we just read in my f2f Book Club.  Title:  Pony by R.J. Palacio. If you don't or can't go to SL, let me know and I will copy my post here.  Fantastic book, fantastic club meeting.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 02, 2022, 11:01:26 PM
Marilyne, hope that fire in No. California is not near you.  Bet the smoke is getting to your area.  This was at a lumber mill about 50 miles from Oregon border.  Trust you all are okay.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 03, 2022, 07:07:57 AM
I am not a horror fan either. I have, however, managed to read only a very few of them unless you consider the aliens and monsters, I encounter reading SciFi. In fact, the one I am reading now features several very nasty creatures native to a planet being colonized. They are an element of, but not the main focus of the book. Book I do avoid are those that feature serial killers.

The first three Cork O'Connor series novels are patiently waiting for me to finish the Scifi book. Almost done with it.

BTW, I have a hard time picturing Hugh Bonneville playing an evil person.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 03, 2022, 12:45:44 PM
Well, Hugh Bonneville in this movie, was evil to the bone!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 03, 2022, 02:00:08 PM

MarsGal -  Last night we watched episode #1 of The Terminal List. AJ liked it much better than I did.  I liked it enough that I'm willing to watch another episode before I decide if I'll stay with it.  I generally have to become interested in, or identify with, one of the characters, in order to stay with a movie, series or a book.  Only a few characters introduced in the first episode, so I haven't picked one yet.  More as it moves along, so I'm sure I will.

Joanne/Tome - I did go to Senior Learn, and read your post about Pony, by R.J. Palacio.  Definitely sounds intriguing, so I'll plan on checking it out at my library, after the long weekend.  No, we are no where near that raging wildfire, up by the Oregon border.  It looked so sad on TV last night - like the entire town of Weed, will be evacuated.  I'll be watching it on the TV news today.

I like Hugh Bonneville okay in most of shows I've seen him , but my favorite of the older British actors, is definitely Charles Dance!   Oh yes -  he really takes over every scene he is featured in, no matter what part he is playing.    I liked  him in  Game of Thrones,  but it wasn't until I saw him in  The Crown,  where he played Lord Mountbatten, that I really  took notice of him!  He was perfect in  that role I thought, even though he didn't have many scenes!  One of my two favorite scenes in that  series featuring him, was when he went to the bedside of his dying sister, Princess Alice.  Very well done, but his very best scene, and my favorite, was when he spoke at his Burma Veterans  meeting, and recited Rudyard Kipling's poem,  The Road to Mandalay.   I must have scrolled back and watched that scene at least ten times.  :love:  Loved it!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 04, 2022, 08:32:01 AM
Marilyne, Terminal List gets better after the first episode with lots of twists. It is a bit on the violent side though so don't get too attached to most of the characters. The second season promises to be interesting too.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 06, 2022, 07:45:10 AM
I am enjoying Iron Lake very much. On checking the Minnesota state map, I discovered that there is a real Iron Lake in the upper area near the Canadian border. It is a very long, narrow lake just below Route 92, the Old Gunflint Trail. That whole area is more lakes than ground. Must be a great place to feed the mosquitoes.

The audiobook, only a few hours long, that I just finished was comprised of poems and a short bio of Li Bai (aka: Li Bo), a poet who lived in the 6th century. The guy must have been a heavy alcoholic. Many of his poems are about or mention drinking or being drunk. I think it would have been nice to hear them in Chinese because the English translation loses all poetic rhythm. Now, what to listen to next, back to Powers and Thrones in audio this time, or something else. Lots to choose from.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 16, 2022, 07:16:59 AM
Well, I goofed. Here I sent the vol. one compendium comprising the first three Cork O'Connor books thinking that I could put a hold on the third book for a little later. I started it but it wasn't holding my interest right now and I was almost out of time with people waiting behind me. I put a hold on the single edition of Purgatory Ridge and will have to wait 13 weeks to read it. The compendium edition I had would have had me waiting 14 weeks. In the meantime, I discovered a prequel (Book 18) which I got right away. Yea! This book starts with Cork just beginning his office as Sheriff with more lookbacks into his childhood, etc. Actually, I like this one, called Lightning Strike, better than Purgatory Ridge.

Currently listening to more of Powers and Thrones and another of John Scalzi's Dispatcher series. The Dispatcher and its sequels are only a few hours long. The books follow a guy (the Dispatcher) who is a licensed killer who often works with hospitals and the police. Because of some odd quirk, in this world, people can under certain circumstances be killed with their consent, after which the body disappears and pops back to life somewhere else in good health. There is a big market for it among those suffering grave injury or disease, and of course on the shadier side, criminals and others on the run.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 19, 2022, 06:36:12 PM
Done with Lightning Strike already. Hardly put it down. Now I am reading a rather quirky, odd and pretty interesting SciFi called Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Think Dick and Jane, "See Spot Run". The text is mostly written as if a dog had written it, complete with whines and wanting so badly to be patted and here those words, Good Dog). The "dog" in question is one of several bioform weaponized creations. He and his squad get cut off from communications with their Master forcing them to think for themselves which is very hard on a dog who lives to please his master and follow his masters' instructions. The other three members of this experimental multi-form squad are a huge bear, a distributed intelligence in the form of a bee swarm, and a dragon, not the kind with wings, think more like snake with lots of teeth and I think is read a retractable fin on its back. I am already just about half-way through the book.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 21, 2022, 10:59:45 AM

Mars - "The Dogs of War" sounds intriguing, but probably would give me nightmares, and empathy for the poor dogs, just wanting to be dogs.  In reality,  abandoned, lost or stray dogs actually do learn to think for themselves, and follow the best course in order to survive.

I just started reading, "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo".  All reviews are intriguing . . . guessing which famous woman, inspired the title character?   I haven't read enough yet to form an opinion, but I'm sure I'll have one before long.   It's getting harder every day for me to read because of eye problems and inability to get  comfortable in any of the chairs around here.   So it will likely be a while before I finish.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on September 21, 2022, 11:46:00 AM
Marilyne -  I'm "on Hold" for "The Seven Husbands....".  Interesting that reviews are guessing which famous woman was the inspiration.  I'd guess Elizabeth Taylor.

I'm currently reading novels by Gail Godwin and J. Courtney Sullivan.  Not sure what "genre" these fall into - but it isn't Sci Fi, Horror nor "chick flick"  (currrently referred to as "Beach Books"; guess the "chick" term is now verboten  ::) ).  I like drama and conflict but prefer a gentler tone.

 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 21, 2022, 02:27:24 PM
I am almost done with Dogs of War, just a few pages to go in the epilog. Best I can tell from the author's description, the "dog" is a combination of dog and human (he has hands) genes and lots of hardware infrastructure and computer augmentation. There are some gruesome scenes, but the story is essentially focused on the dog part wanting to follow instructions and please his master and the sudden need to make decisions on his own. The loss of communication with his master forces him to make decisions on his own which involves trying to learn right from wrong, who is trustworthy, who is lying, etc. As the story unfolds, it becomes a fight for freedom from bondage, to make his own decisions, the right to be treated fairly including in courts of law, and all that follows. In other words, it is one of those "uplift" stories that are becoming popular these days. It is also a peek at what future wars may look like when we go beyond using simple robots. Nicely done.

This year Geraldine Brooks came out with a new book, called Horse. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jun/10/horse-by-geraldine-brooks-review-a-confident-novel-of-racing-and-race. I am going to have read it, and March, and Caleb's Crossing as well. 
 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on September 21, 2022, 04:50:01 PM
Seven husbands?  Hmm, maybe ZsaZsa Gabor?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 23, 2022, 04:13:33 PM

I'm not far enough into  Evelyn Hugo  yet,  to make any guesses as to who the title character might be patterned after?    I think it's a compilation of glamorous movie stars from The Golden Age of Hollywood - circa 1930's, 40's and 50's.  The interesting  part to me, is that the author,  Taylor Jenkins Reid, wasn't born until 1983, so she wasn't living during that time frame.  Also, none of the legendary stars are still alive, so no first hand interviews.  She obviously did plenty of research, and must have watched lots of old movies!   So far it's a good story, and I can see why it's a best seller, and why Netflix is making it into either a series or a movie. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 24, 2022, 07:42:29 AM
One of my holds, Full Dark House, just became available. It is the first of Christopher Fowler's Bryant and May series. Set in London, Bryant and May work for the Peculiar Crime Unit. I am going to start it today. It and Grey Lady (Henry Seton Merriman), which I have neglected for a few weeks, should keep me away from the SciFi for a week or two.

The Grey Lady reminds me a bit of Jane Austen's works but are set during the Victorian Era, including a dominating rich lady, withheld inheritance, young lady of marriageable age, two brothers, one favored the other not, etc. A bit bland, not bad, not great either.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 25, 2022, 11:58:54 AM

MarsGal, Callie, and anyone else who reads this discussion:  Something new and good on the horizon for young people who want a well rounded old-fashioned education, as well as learning basic life skills!  The Old's-Cool Academy sounds wonderful to me. 
Please read this short article, and tell us what you think?
https://www.oldscoolacademy.com 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on September 29, 2022, 08:35:07 PM
Marilyne, For many years, I've been an advocate for the "middle level" student - the ones who don't have straight A's, excel in sports, participate in special groups (like choir/band/pep club/etc.) nor are they ones who are "challenged" in some way and given special treatment based on their particular needs/abilities. 
They are the ones who just make average grades, want to get a diploma, earn a good living and live independently.

So I think the Olds Cool Academy sounds like a "pie in the sky" idea.  You can, if you want to, read/listen to/learn to appreciate classical literature/music/etc. on your own.  However, learning a skill that leads to a job doing "practical" work takes concentrated training and this doesn't sound as if that's emphasized that much.

And that's strictly IMHO - I don't intend to criticize anyone who has a different opinion.

Changing subjects  :)    How are you coming with "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo"?  I'm on "husband #4 and think the author certainly has "worked in" a lot of relationship varieties!!!! 



 
 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 29, 2022, 10:34:07 PM
Callie - I think the purpose of Olds Cool Academy, is to provide an education in subjects that are no longer required or even available in most colleges and universities. In other words, a well rounded  education. 

"Unlike most schools, which are either academic or vocational (or specifically-focused on getting the applicant a job), the Academy will have the students immerse themselves in the Great Books, to be awed and enlightened by the deeply human and valuable perspectives and answers these classics can still bring to their everyday.

Students will also be studying traditional craftsmanship–e.g. woodworking, penmanship, beer-brewing–the thrill of the drill, the quill, and the still, so-to-speak. As well as business etiquette basics, and, although pooh-poohed in today's real-whirled immediacy and relentless pursuit of gratification, so many other simple but enriching life skills like patience, being humble, and truly grateful".

I'm halfway through,  "Evelyn Hugo",  and I like it!  I've settled on one famous star that I think the main character might be patterned after?   IMO, it's definitely not Elizabeth Taylor, or Zsa Zsa Gabor.     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 30, 2022, 06:36:46 AM
Sounds nice. It is only a one-year program. I think it would fit into the Liberal Arts category.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 07, 2022, 02:36:05 PM
Oh, good Marilyne. I am not particularly keen on movie star type books, but I am interested in how you like her writing. Just this morning I added Forever Interrupted to my library wish list. It is also by Taylor Jenkins Reid. The library lists eight of her books; four of them are also in audio book form.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on October 07, 2022, 08:59:20 PM
Just for fun here's the list of books my f2f book club has on our agenda through February: December - A Christmas Carol; January - All the Light You Cannot See; February - The Night Watchman; Louise Erdrich.  We also have two alternates in case the moderators can't be found (LOL); The Anomaly by Herve LeTellerin; or the play "Uncle Vanya" I think The Anomaly sounds like something MarsGal might like.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on October 07, 2022, 09:27:07 PM
I finished "Seven Husbands..." but wouldn't recommend it for  discussion or book club. Will be interested in Marilyne's comments.

Now reading "The Best Of Everything" by Rona Jaffe. It's about several NYC career girls in the days before Women's Lib and what each had to put up with in the office atmosphere. 

Tome, your book club's choices sound interesting. I've heard of "All The Light You Cannot See ".
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on October 07, 2022, 10:15:48 PM
    This is a hugely long post but I copied/pasted what the chairman of my P.E.O. Book Club just sent about the next selections.  I'm pretty sure she got the synopses from Good Reads:

OCTOBER: "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus.     Elizabeth Zott does not have "moxie"; she has courage. She is not a "girl boss" or a "lady chemist"; she's a groundbreaker and an expert in abiogenesis ("the theory that life rose from simplistic, non-life forms,") .  Not long after Zott converts her kitchen into a lab equipped with beakers, pipettes,and a centrifuge, she gets hoodwinked into hosting a staid television cooking show called "Supper at Six."    But she isn't going to smile and read the cue cards. Zott ad-libs her way into a role that suits her, treating the creation of a stew or a casserole as a grand experiment to be undertaken with utmost seriousness. Think molecular gastronomy in an era when canned soup reigned supreme.  Baked into each episode is a healthy serving of empowerment, with none of the frill we have come to associate with that term.

NOVEMBER "The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot" by Marianne Cronin Life is short. No-one knows that better than seventeen-year-old Lenni living on the terminal ward. Dodging doctor's orders, she joins an art class where she bumps into fellow patient Margot, a rebel-hearted eighty three year old from the next ward. Their bond is instant as they realize that together they have lived an astonishing one hundred years.
    To celebrate their shared century, they decide to paint their life stories: of growing old and staying young, of giving joy, of receiving kindness, of losing love, of finding the person who is everything.  As their extraordinary friendship deepens, it becomes vividly clear that life is not done with Lenni and Margot yet.

December  "The Secret Keeper of Jaipur" by Alka Joshi   Henna artist Lakshmi arranges for her protégé, Malik, to intern at the Jaipur Palace in this tale rich in character, atmosphere, and lavish storytelling  .It's the spring of 1969, and Lakshmi, now married to Dr. Jay Kumar, directs the Healing Garden in Shimla. Malik has finished his private school education. At twenty, he has just met a young woman named Nimmi when he leaves to apprentice at the Facilities Office of the Jaipur Royal Palace. Their latest project: a state-of-the-art cinema.
      Malik soon finds that not much has changed as he navigates the Pink City of his childhood. Power and money still move seamlessly among the wealthy class, and favors flow from Jaipur's Royal Palace, but only if certain secrets remain buried. When the cinema's balcony tragically collapses on opening night, blame is placed where it is convenient. But Malik suspects something far darker and sets out to uncover the truth. As a former street child, he always knew to keep his own counsel; it's a lesson that will serve him as he untangles a web of lies.


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 08, 2022, 08:34:57 AM
The Anomaly sounds pretty weird, I listened to a clip. Amazon lists it as a technothriller or psychological thriller. I like the heading one of the reviewers titled its: "Godel, Escher, Bach in a novel". Others titled their review with equally interesting lines. Others were disappointed with the ending. 

Here is The Guardian review which only make the book all that much more intriguing.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jan/14/the-anomaly-by-herve-le-tellier-review-high-concept-thrills

I am going to add All the Light We Cannot See to my TBR list, not because it is a WWII story, but because it revolves around a museum gemstone with a curse.

The Night Watchman is a semi-fictional historical novel which touches upon the Federal Government's attempts, in the 1950's, to force the Ojibwe peoples to assimilate into American society. This is of interest to me because it was a cause of the suspicion and distrust of the police and "whites" in general that permeates William Kent Krueger's first Cork O'Connor mystery series, and I assume his following novels. This book won a Pulitzer Prize last year.

It is a good list TomeReader.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 09, 2022, 06:19:39 PM
Just curious. Has anyone read The Night Ship by Jess Kidd? Could be interesting, maybe. I read a few reviews, but while there was some praise for the book, it seemed somewhat restrained. The book is based on a real event.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 09, 2022, 07:04:23 PM

MarsGal - I just read a couple of online reviews on  The Night Ship,  and it sounds like a story that I would like very much.  The fact that it's based on a true historical event, makes it all the more fascinating.   I plan to check my library, and if they don't have it, will look on Amazon.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 10, 2022, 09:21:20 AM
Right now I am reading The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. One of his early novels, he originally wrote it for YA readers. Just great for Halloween time, it is a spooky tale of murderous revenge, of friendship, and of family lost and found. I am enjoying it.

Gave up on THe Grey Lady. It just stayed so bland it got boring.

Only three hours to go on Powers and Thrones. It is a great overview of the Middle Ages and one of the very few audio books read by the author I like. Generally, I think authors should stay away from reading their own works. Since Jones is not only a historian, but a well-known TV presenter and journalist he knows how to make his subject come alive.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 11, 2022, 12:54:09 PM

Callie, and anyone else who has read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

The author, Taylor Jenkins Reid, has become a multi-millionaire, thanks to this novel, and the movie that will soon be released on Netflix.   For me, it was just a basic "chick-lit" story, full of farfetched and highly unlikely events.  Lots of speculation on who Evelyn was patterned after?  I don't believe it was anyone in particular, which is the way Reid planned it.  Smart idea, because it keeps everyone talking about the possibilities.

I've read  biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs written by, or about, most of the famous women stars  from that era.  None of their lives  are even remotely similar to Evelyn Hugo.   Seven husbands for Elizabeth Taylor and Lana Turner,  and four for Ava Gardner, Joan Crawford and Marilyn Monroe.   Ingrid Bergman and Sophia Loren are the only two big stars I can think of who were not born in the USA?  (The fictional Hugo, was born in Cuba).

I like character driven fiction, so for me to enjoy any book or movie, I have to be able to identify or sympathize  with at least one of the characters.  I didn't latch onto, nor did I even care about, any of the people depicted throughout this entire novel.   The only one I even liked, was poor old Harry.  I think he was husband #5 or 6?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on October 11, 2022, 04:46:26 PM
Marilyne,  Very well put!   I completely agree with you re:  "Seven Husbands..."   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 12, 2022, 07:26:53 AM
Thanks for the review, Marilyne.

I finished The Midnight Palace last evening. It was a good story, not great but a solid good for sure. It kept me reading, so my eyes were getting a little fuzzy around the edges until I finished it. Now I am reading another SciFi from one of my favorite author's, Marko Kloos. I am only into Chapter Two so far. It seems a bit lackluster so far.

Also, I spent a little time yesterday doing a little cleaning out some books I downloaded years ago and hadn't taken a look at before. Yea! More space. My poor Kindle doesn't hold but about 4Gig worth of books and it is getting long in the tooth (seven years old), so I have been considering getting an upgrade with lots more storage space. Some nice prices today yet, but I just don't want to spend more money until I recuperate a bit from the kitchen remodel expenses. I've also been drooling over getting new laptop, but that too I am trying to hold off on. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 14, 2022, 08:33:22 AM
What I am reading now is Proof by Dick Francis. He was a British steeplechase jockey with over 350 wins who used his knowledge of horses and racing as a venue for his novels, many of which were stand alones. He seems to have led and interesting life which included becoming jockey to Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. I've bookmarked his autobiography on Internet Archive to read. Wikipedia has an interesting bio of him and in it it states that a British TV and film production company has optioned the rights for his works. So, if you like horses and horse racing, you might want to keep and eye out. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Francis

Just started the Great Courses lecture series, Masters of War: History's Greatest Strategic Thinkers. It isn't what I had planned on listening to next, but since it becomes unavailable at the end of the month I need listen to in next. So far, it is a most interesting history and comes with an outline and suggested reading which of course had me off looking for some of those books. Like I need more to read, but there I go.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 17, 2022, 04:16:05 PM
Good afternoon to all of our books reader friends.   Would be great if those who are looking in, would join us in comments or recommendations?    Same applies to TV shows or movies.  Let us know if you see anything worth watching?

MarsGal - Back a long time ago, I read quite a number of books by Dick Francis.  One of my neighborhood friends and I used to share books, and he was her favorite author at the time.  Her maiden name was Francis, and her twin brother was Dick.  NOT the well known author of course, but because their names were the same, she enjoyed reading his books.   Then she passed them on to me, and
I liked them as well.  Now I can't remember a single title!  ::)

I've started a couple of novels in  recent weeks, but can't seem to get interested in any of them.   I have the book  The Night Ship,  on order at the library.   I already have a feeling I'm going to like it, so looking forward to it .
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 17, 2022, 05:52:25 PM
I thought that title was familiar. I added The Night Ship to my library wish list a few days ago.

Well, the only thing Masters of War was doing for me was to put me to sleep, so I sent it back to the library and am now listening to The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson. What fun listening to it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 28, 2022, 04:37:50 AM

Wide awake tonight at 1:15, so decided to read for awhile, but that didn't work out very well.  My eyes are pretty much useless at this late hour, so I'll just say a quick "hello" to my Library Bookshelf friends instead.

Out of curiosity I looked back approximately one year ago, here in  the discussion.  This week in 2021, looked very much like it does now in 2022.  The same members posting.  Jean is the only one who is no longer with us.

Callie recommended, "The Sheltering Rain", by JoJo Moyes.  MarsGal was reading, "The Echo Maker", and I was raving about, "Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket". 

Jean posted an interesting message: 
"Still reading about life in the middle to the late 1800s.  Oh, how life has changed since those days, but people haven't changed that much in my opinion.  There are still decent and caring people and selfish and mean people.  That dynamic never seems to change."
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on October 28, 2022, 10:13:42 AM
I miss Jean.  She and I had similar reading preferences.

I am in a slump.  I have a hard time finding a book that sounds interesting but when I get it I find that my mind just won't stay with it.  I've been trying audio books since I have my new blue tooth hearing aid but if the narrator's voice irritates me I lose interest very quickly.  So far, the only narrator's voice that doesn't grate on me is Penelope Keith reading an Agatha Raisin mystery.  Of course, now that she is dead there won't be any more of her reading.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 28, 2022, 01:06:33 PM
Phyliss, I know what you mean about the narrators. Since you like Penelope Keith, she also read the Agatha Raisin series.

Listening to samples helps, but not always, to find narrators I like. The ones I like most consistently include Tim Gerard Reynolds, Derick Perkins, Stephen Frye, and Grover Gardner. Narrators I like very much but are a little less consistent or maybe a little too consistent with their voice style, IMO, include Ray Porter, Scott Brick and R. C. Bray. Porter is a little too consistently snarky, Brick is a little too smooth for some readings, and Bray is really good at hard living types like post-apocalyptic or rough war scenes.  I've been picking up a few full-cast audiobooks. My latest acquisition is the Poirot stories read by the original cast. They are great. They remind me of the old radio shows I listened to as a youngster.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on October 28, 2022, 03:23:41 PM
Thanks for those suggestions, MarsGal.
I am glad to learn about the Poirot series...he was a favorite of mine,  too.
I am going to check the library to see if they have something to borrow.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on October 28, 2022, 04:04:00 PM
This has been a couple of weeks with "one thing right after another".  All pleasant but tiring.  I haven't read anything worth recommending but did finish the Cliffehaven series by Ellie Dean.  By the final book (the
 18th!!!), things were getting repetitive but it was nice to "let down" by reading something I didn't have to think about. :)

I don't post on the SeniorLearn site but do read the posts.  Someone there recommended the Agatha Raisin books by M.C. Beaton.  I did a search and discovered that author has written other series and have put the Poor Relations and Six Sisters series on my Wish List.  Poor Relations is apparently about some "titled" English people who have lost all their money, meet in a park and decide to open a hotel.  I read the sample of the first one and it looks like fun.

More "catching up" desk work to do.  TTYL
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 05, 2022, 01:59:44 PM
I haven't gotten much reading done lately. There are still a few episodes of Bill Bryson's The Road to Little Dribbling to listen to.

Just yesterday I started a SciFi "The Breaker of Empires" trilogy by Richard Baker. It has an interesting beginning. The story follows a prince who was sent from his home world to military academy and do military service in a local alliance group. His father is looking for him to gain knowledge and experience in a much more modern military venue that back on his home world with a thought to become independent of the alliance. The settlers of this home world are apparently of Kashmiri descent. So far so good.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 15, 2022, 06:00:12 AM
I am still on the "Breaker of Empires" series by Richard Baker. It remains pretty interesting. However, each book is fairly lengthy, so I am still only part way through book number two. This time the protagonist is more then 10 years into military service, still encountering prejudice and bigotry, some of it attempts to derail his rise through the ranks.

My current audio book is a translation of Julius Caesar's The Civil Wars. Caesar was an exceptionally good writer. In his accounts of his military campaigns, he uses the third person voice to relate his experiences which makes him seem less biased and more objective about his campaigns and decisions
.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 15, 2022, 10:57:09 AM

Good Morning Marsgal, and anyone else looking in today.   Mars, looks like you're keeping up with your reading (listening),  and the rest of us aren't.  I waited for weeks to get  The Night Ship,  from the library, and when it finally came in the print was so small that I  couldn't deal with it at all.  I took it back and reordered the Large print.  Might as well forget regular sized print from here on out.   
I'm thinking of ordering a new Kindle for a Christmas present for myself?  My old one now belongs to my husband.  ::)    He started using it during the early months of the pandemic, and now uses it exclusively! That's going on three years, and I've forgotten how to use it, so might as well start from scratch with a new one.

Hope all of you book lovers are doing well, and looking forward to Thanksgiving?   Tell us about any special plans. Ordering food, cooking the dinner yourself, or going out to a restaurant?      
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 18, 2022, 12:09:37 PM
I've stopped listening to Caesar's Civil Wars temporarily because Bill Bryson's audio version of his A Short History of Nearly Everything became available this morning. Another wonderful delight. I don't know what all he is going to get into, but he starts out with the creation of Us and the Universe. I can tell you if I had heard this or something similar what I was a youngster, I would have taken much more interest in things scientific early on. I was delighted to hear his account of the Bell Labs radio antenna and the detection of the cosmic background radiation which resulted in a Nobel Prize for physicist Arno Allan Penzias and radio-astronomer Robert Woodrow Wilson. I didn't hear about it until five or so years later when I picked up a book on Radio Astronomy. I still have the book.

I also downloaded Purgatory Ridge by William Kent Kreuger which became available the other day. I am only one chapter in on it.

I forget the series title, Dark something-or-other I think, but I watched the first episode of it a week or so ago. It is based on Tony Hillerman's books. I really am going to have to add his books to my library wish list.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on November 20, 2022, 06:06:06 PM
MarsGal, Hillerman's books are good reads, painting unforgettable pictures of the desert countryside, and giving good descriptions of the Navaho way of life and thinking.  They're uneven in quality, though, and some of them have some rather gory bits.  His daughter is continuing the series, and her books have a different emphasis but are also good.

Best to read them sort of in order, to keep track of the cast of characters.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 21, 2022, 11:43:02 AM

Countdown to Thanksgiving . . . only three more days!  Older daughter and granddaughter will be here tomorrow, and will stay until Friday.  We usually cook, but this year there will be only the four of us, so decided to go out for dinner.  That will be a first, so I'm hoping it will work out?   

Mars Gal - I remember that you and Sue usually go out, so I'm thinking you will do that again this year?

Pat - Tell us what you will be doing this Thanksgiving?   I don't remember if you live near family members or not?  I only recall that you have a sister, so hope you will be seeing her over the holidays?

Callie, Tomereader and Phyllis - let us know what you will be doing,  or  going,  over the long weekend?

Callie - I've been meaning to mention that I've lost  track of "Mrs. Maisel"?  I don't remember much about the recent season, so I guess I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the early ones?   Let us know if Miss Ellen, will be in any new shows, and how she is doing in NYC?

Phyllis - I remember that you liked cooking, and used to make some delicious sounding meals.  Are you still doing Thanksgiving, or opting out this year?

MarsGal - Forgot to comment on  all of your Bill Bryson books.  I've
read a few of them over the years, and enjoyed them all.  One I remember, that I don't think you mentioned, was an account of his hike along the Appalachian Trail.  Don't remember the title, but it was a fun read.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on November 21, 2022, 01:47:03 PM
A Walk in the Woods!  Very good, and the movie was quite good also.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on November 21, 2022, 06:35:49 PM
Marilyne,  Ellen was an extra in an episode of "Mrs. Maisel" earlier this Fall but I haven't heard anything from her about it since.  I know they filmed at The Subway Museum" (have no idea!) and she said she wore a "Jackie Kennedy hat". 
    The "Nanny parents" are in rehearsals for The New York City Ballet production of "The Nutcracker" so she's getting plenty of hours in with her "Nuggets" (as she calls the 3-year-old twins} and also working some shifts at Loft.
    I think the usual group is having a "Friendsgiving" but I doubt she's taking the turkey on the subway - as she did the first Thanksgiving she was there.  She does have her reservations for coming home for Christmas.

I have "politely declined" joining the sons' in-laws/families for Thanksgiving for quite a few years.  I like and get along with everyone but one dil's family lives 30 miles away (and now has many small children running hither and yon who have no idea who I am) and the other dil's family is nice but only talk to each other.

  I used to help with the Community Dinner when it was at various churches (and had "tons of fun" doing so) but when it became so large that it was moved to the ballroom of the local university, I had "aged out" of helping in such a large place.
 
  So plans are to try and finish the 4 very long e-books that have moved from my Holds to the Borrowed list and enjoy seeing family members who plan to drop in some time this week.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: RAMMEL on November 21, 2022, 06:59:14 PM
CallieOK,

 New York Transit Museum 

You can visit it at - https://www.nytransitmuseum.org -
My younger son joined it for a while and did visit it. He wanted me to go with him at one point but it wasn't to be. Obviously for those interested in transportation and the Subway.

Railway and mass transit museum in New York City, NY

The New York Transit Museum is a museum that displays historical artifacts of the New York City Subway, bus, and commuter rail systems in the greater New York City metropolitan region. The main museum is located in the decommissioned Court Street subway station in Downtown Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. There is a smaller satellite Museum Annex in Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan. The museum is a self-supporting division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 22, 2022, 06:36:47 AM
Oh, Wow! What a delight to read all of your posts this morning.

A Walk in the Woods was the first Bryson book I listened to, Marilyne, maybe two months ago. It is what got me started on the others.

I gave up on Purgatory Ridge and sent it back after only three or four chapters. My mood just didn't suit it at the moment. I also decided not to finish reading the third of the SciFi series I've been reading, at least for the moment. All three in the series are very long, so the last got to be a bit tedious to get through. It was just a little too much to get through all of them at once. I'll get back to it later. So now I am reading an historical novel set in the 5th century, AD near the end of the Western Roman Empire.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on November 30, 2022, 01:35:31 AM
Marilyne, a very late answer to your questions.  Almost 2 years ago I moved from my longtime home in a suburb of Washington, D.C. to Portland, OR, where my children and grandchildren now live.

Thanksgiving was at the house of one daughter, and included 2 daughters, 2 SILs, 2 grandchildren, several rabbits (pets, not food), 1 minute dog, and me.  It was great, having all of us together.

My twin sister, JoanK from SeniorNet, lives in Los Angeles (Torrance), and celebrated with daughter, son, DIL, grandchildren, and various inlaw relatives.

It's nice that restrictions are eased enough that we feel OK celebrating together again, though my grandson had a bad cold and joined us virtually from his bedroom.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 30, 2022, 07:27:36 AM
Pat, it is nice to know that you finally made that last hop across the country. It must have been very trying to make that trip several times a year. I must have missed the news. I am also glad to hear about JoanK too. I really miss the old bunch that were on SeniorLearn. There aren't many left, I think. I miss our old extended book discussions.

My reading has really slowed down lately. Right now, there are only four chapters left in the Bryson audio book. The current SciFi read is a time travel/alternate history type thing. It is okay. I think I keep on reading it because it involves traveling back to early Britain where the last of the Romans have taken refuge against the Carthaginians who are bent on annihilating them entirely.

Audible has made some changes. They no longer support the PC app. I can no longer download anything I bought after the end of August, nor will the app update any new info or support. I am going to look into getting a recommended thumbdrive and download an mp3 player to put my newer audio books on as back-up. I already downloaded the converter program which will convert Audible's proprietary files to mp3. Haven't tried it yet, though. You can see how trusting I am of Amazon/Audible cloud storage always being accessible. One nice thing is that Audible has started a program that, like Kindle Unlimited, allows you to borrow audio books rather than buy them. I like lots of options, hence the Kindle's, the Kobo, and keeping backup files on my computer or a thumbdrive.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on November 30, 2022, 09:42:57 AM
Pat, I remember you from SeniorNet.  I was Phyll, now phyllis, and I was the DL for the old knitting  discussion on SN.  Didn't you years ago knit Irish sweaters for your sons?  I remember you posting pictures of them in the Needles, Hooks and Shuttles Discussion.  I was in awe of your talent.  Or, am I thinking of Joan as the knitter?  It is good to hear from you and to know you are with your family on the West Coast.  I am still on the East Coast, my son lives with me and takes care of me.  I no longer knit and still miss practicing a craft I enjoyed. But, I still read!  :)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on November 30, 2022, 11:09:17 PM
Pat - It must have been difficult for you to leave your long time home in DC, and move across the country to Oregon?  I hope you like Portland . . . it's such a beautiful city, with so much to do and see.   Right after I graduated from high school here in California, the company my Dad worked for transferred him to Portland, so my parents and brother moved there and stayed for two years.   I was attending college at San Jose State U, here in CA, during that time, but I would spend all my holidays and Summer vacations in the Portland area.     

My parents leased a house in Lake Oswego, which was/is a suburb of Portland, as I'm sure you know.  I loved it there, and met so many people and made some great friends.  Then my dad was transferred back to the Los Angeles area after two years, so my happy days in Oregon ended.

MarsGal, Pat and Phyllis - I was also active in the Senior Net Books and Literature folders.  I especially remember enjoying a guessing game, where we would try to guess the name of a certain book and author.   Whoever was running the game would give a new hint every few days, and we would all get one guess after each hint. It could continue on like that for weeks until someone finally guessed correctly.   Lots of enthusiasm and fun back in Senior Net!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: PatH2 on December 06, 2022, 10:08:25 AM
Phyllis, I used to enjoy your discussion, but I can't claim credit for those sweaters.  I was never that good, and was already cutting back on my needlework of all kinds.  Now I'm also not doing any.

Marilyne, it was hard to leave the DC area, but I knew I would like Portland, since I'd been visiting it for a long time, first when one daughter went to school there, and later, when first one, then both moved there.  It's changed a lot since 1990, especially downtown, but it still feels like Portland.  Lake Oswego is very beautiful.  One daughter rented there for a while before buying a house.  I'm living downtown, but can see trees and the Willamette River and Mt. Hood from my 15th story window as well as tall buildings.

That book game was fun, wasn't it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 07, 2022, 11:25:53 AM

Pat -  What a beautiful view you have from your condo/apartment window.   I could sit and look at Mt. Hood, all day long . . . a spectacular sight!   Did you ever drive up there to visit and tour the Lodge, build by the CCC during the Depression?  Definitely worth seeing.  Like a step back in time. 

Phyllis -  I remember reading and enjoying your knitting discussion, on the old Senior Net.  I probably didn't contribute much, as I was  not a talented knitter . . . just enjoyed simple knitting as something to keep my hands busy.   I tend to be restless and difficult to remain "grounded" when I'm sitting.   I would still love to sit and knit, but too difficult with arthritis in fingers and hands.

MarsGal -  I finally have "The Night Ship", after waiting a couple of months!   Picked it up yesterday at the library, but haven't started it yet.   Another one I got that was recommended on one of my book sites, is  "St. Sebastian's Abyss",  by  Mark Haber.  I thought of you when I ordered it . . . sounds like the type of book that you would like?

Callie -  Haven't seen you posting anywhere lately?   Hope all is okay in your family, and that your dil, is still doing well?   Let us know what you're reading, or  watching on TV?           
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on December 07, 2022, 12:05:33 PM
Good Morning,

Marilyne, I know I've been negligent (sp?) about posting.  Nothing drastic just OBE (Overcome By Events - or, in my case, having too many things coming at me at once)

Everyone in family is well.  The Grands are busy pursuing their careers (Ellen isn't performing but is "Nannying" and working holiday shifts at Loft) and, the last I heard, dil battling cancer return is back to her usual activities, although she tires more quickly.    
Other dil is having some kind of implant inserted in her hip area today that's supposed to control the nerve pain into her leg due to the multiple back surgeries she's had.
 She assures me it's a "simple" procedure but she has to remain in the Spine Hospital overnight so they can test it.

I've been reading a variety of e-books.  Finished The Bridgeton Collection that the Netflix series "Bridgeton" is based on and just now finishing the Elm Creek Quilt series by Jennifer Chiaverini.

Have also read The Poor Relations series by M.C. Beaton, which is about four "older" people who have lost their fortunes (pronounced with a long "u") in England and open a hotel.  Amusing stories about their attempts and what happens to each of them.
 
Although I'm not going to the meetings, I've been trying to read my Book Club selections every month.  Latest one is
"The Henna Artist" (book 1 in the Jaipur Trilogy by Alka Joshi).

Have also read some non-fiction, including "So Help Me God" by Mike Pence.

Not watching much t.v.  Have been keeping up with "The Voice", although I mute the sound during some of the "screeching" solos.  That's why I'm not watching very many Christmas shows; just can't tolerate the type of "music" popular today.

In "real life", just trying to keep up with Domestic Duties, prepare for Christmas and deal with this one-day-dreary and cold/the-next-one sunny and almost hot Oklahoma weather!

Re: not posting "anywhere lately"...  I just don't have anything to add to most of the conversational forums that describe daily activities and haven't posted here because I seem to read other types of books than are usually mentioned. (Hate to say this but most of the Bill Bryson books haven't kept my attention).

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 08, 2022, 05:51:56 AM
An obsession with a painting, some 20 books dedicated to that one painting, and then there is "that horrible thing". Now I am intrigued. Thanks for finding that book Marilyne. BTW, I discovered that Haber wrote another, his first novel, called Reinhardt's Garden which also deals with another painting and the overarching theme of melancholy. Both have a wait list at my library, although much shorter than The Night Ship.

Callie, I have several Agatha Raisin mysteries in my audiobook cue, but so far have only listened to one. Great fun. Right now, I am trying to clear out some of the borrowed audio books that I've held in my cue for a much longer time. I am almost finished with Caesar's Civil Wars. Caesar was an excellent writer as well as military commander.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on December 08, 2022, 09:26:24 AM
Watched a movie made from Louise Penney's Inspector Gamache books.  It was good and well filmed by a Canadian company.  It is streaming on Amazon Prime.  Will be 8 episodes in all.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on December 08, 2022, 12:49:25 PM
Yes, I watched the Three Pines first two episodes.  They're doing a good job.  I just wish Ruth, the duck lady poet, wasn't so free with her cursing!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 11, 2022, 08:09:12 AM
Now that I am finished with Civil Wars, I am listening to Middlemarch, a classic I missed when younger. So far, I am enjoying it.

Also reading on two SciFi books while waiting for Justinian's Flea to come up again in the cue since I had to postpone reading it earlier.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 12, 2022, 01:17:52 PM
One of the SiFi books I am reading is Exin Ex Machina: Asterion Noir Book 1 by J. S. Jennsen. I've discovered it is the first of a subset of Jennsen's Amaranthe series. It is holding up well without reading the 10 books ahead of it. This is a universe where man and machine are one. This is a future of computer augmented brains, and punishments are meted out by erasing a person's memories or worse. It is getting very interesting what with a lost love found and the quest to recover 700,000 years of archived memories all the while opposing the political control and punishment system. The more I get into it, the harder it is to put down.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 15, 2022, 06:27:51 AM
I've finished Exin Ex Machina. At some point I am going to have to read the whole series, Unfortunately, most of the books I will have to buy because they are not available at the library.

The latest Galaxy's Edge series book I am reading is turning into something unexpected. The story is also heading into mind bending quantum worlds.

The borrowed book I started just the other day is The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson. It the true crime account of American music student Edwin Rist and his obsession with and theft of bird feathers from the British Museum of Natural History. During the subsequent trial, the psychologists determined that Rist is Autistic, so he ended up getting off with a much lighter sentence than he would have otherwise.

Middlemarch is still ongoing. It is delightful but lengthy.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 22, 2022, 11:26:18 AM

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all my friends here in Library Bookshelf.  A big family gathering here on Christmas Eve, so I probably won't be back to say hello until the 26th.

I wanted to tell you all about how much I like,  The Night Ship!   A very unusual story!  It kind of reminds me of Michener's books . . . where the story takes place in a past century, and then switches to the same location in modern times.  I would say it is definitely the most memorable novel that I've read in 2022.  It was a little difficult getting into the story, but worth looking back a few times in the early chapters, so you don't lose track of the characters. 

Yesterday I went to Barnes & Noble, and bought a copy of the book for my dil, for a Christmas present.  I know she will like it as much as I do.    Another book that I was considering for a gift, is the new one by Barbara Kingsolver - Demon Copperhead.  I decided not to take a chance on it, because  I haven't read it. Usually I like all of her novels, but not always. 

Hoping you all have a nice Christmas, and will spend the day with loved ones, along with your happy memories from Christmas past.  Lots of holiday movies to watch and music to listen to.  The Television Yule log, will be burning here all day, with beautiful music playing in the background. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 04, 2023, 07:41:54 AM
Gave up on Middlemarch part way in because I lost interest in the characters.

I am still only doing only one audiobook and one eBook at a time now. I am done with the second Agatha Raisin audiobook and am ready to start the next one. After finishing the sixth of Joshua Dalzelle's Black Fleet sci-fi series, I am taking a break before starting in on his seventh. So now I am back familiar territory with another of Rich Partlow's series (Space Hunter War) set in the same universe as his Dropship Trooper (et.al.) series which follows a bounty hunter. Oddly, it is starting out with an SAR team sent out to rescue a squad of soldiers pinned down in enemy territory. I am assuming this is background for the character or team prior to leaving service to become bounty hunters. My guess, anyway.

I am still waiting on Justinian's Flea to become available again from my online library. It has been telling me for some time now that the wait is just two weeks. It has been over two weeks.


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 08, 2023, 01:09:32 PM

I haven't posted here since right before Christmas, so today is the day!   I already said how  much I liked The Night Ship,  but will mention it again, in hopes that someone will give it a try?   Definitely not a book/story that will appeal to everyone.  Unusual is the best description! 🤔 

MarsGal - "Unusual" also applies to Saint Sebastian's Abyss,  but for different reasons!    I think you'll like it, so I hope you'll eventually read it.  It's very witty and cleverly written.  I know you prefer audio books, so don't know how this would be to listen to?  I think it might be a better one to just read, instead of listening to it?   It's very short.  On second thought, it would be great to listen to it being read by the author, Mark Haber.

I received three books this Christmas - two from my dil Jackie, and one from my youngest daughter, Sandy.  Jackie gave me the new Barbara Kingsolver novel,  Demon Copperhead.  Looking forward to reading it, as she is one of my favorites.  Also a she gave me The Nurse's Secret.  It sounds like a mystery story, but neither of us are big mystery fans, so I doubt it?    The Book of Dreams,  by Nina George,  is the title of the novel from Sandy.  That's an intriguing title, so I have a feeling I'll like it. 

Hope we hear soon, from all those who post here in "Library Bookshelf"?    Happy New Year reading to,  MarsGal, Callie, Phyllis, Tomereader, PatH2, and anyone else who enjoys relaxing with a good book.  :thumbup:      
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 08, 2023, 05:40:50 PM
Thanks, Marilyne, Both The Night Ship and Saint Sebastian's Abyss still have long wait lists at the library. In the meantime, I am trying to get to the books that are ready now and have been on my wish list the longest. In the meantime, I also have three holds queued up. It is beyond me why Justinian's Flea is taking so long. It STILL estimates two weeks, and I am supposed to be the next in line. I've been afraid to pick up one with no wait because as soon as I do, you just know (it happens every time) that one of my holds will become available. I do want to read Justinian's Flea but if it doesn't soon show up, I may just put it back in the wish list for another try later. Right now, I am trying to get through most of the books in my Kindle Unlimited que. At least I don't have to wait for them and don't have a time limit to get them read.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 12, 2023, 08:21:51 AM
Finally, FINALLY, Justian's Flea had arrived. I started it last night, but only read to the end of chapter one so far.  Two more hours to go listening to the third Agatha Raisin series called The Potted Gardener. I like it better than the last book. I just now discovered has been a British TV series since 2014. I wonder if it was ever shone here somewhere. Okay, yes, but I don't subscribe to Acorn TV.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 16, 2023, 08:41:34 AM
Well, wouldn't you know it, another of my library holds is ready, this time way earlier than expected. Africa Risen is an anthology of 32 short stories by writers of African or African descent. I am looking forward to reading it, but I am determined to finish Justinian's Flea first.

Phyllis, I was scrolling back on the posts a little and noticed that you mentioned Louise Penny. I didn't comment at the time because I haven't read any of her books (although I have Still Life sitting around here somewhere). After checking out IMDB, I can say that the TV episodes of Three Pines don't appeal to me, but my sister might like it. The movie, Still Life, looks interesting though.
 
I hope everyone is doing well and that Marilyne is soon back online. It is getting lonely here.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: RAMMEL on January 16, 2023, 10:21:26 AM
MarsGal - Just a FWIW, I look in here whenever there's a post, but I'm not a reader. I never was good at reading. Very slow and I read every word. When we had to do "Book Reports" in school I always had to renew my library book once before I finished it. But give me a Tech Manual and I can proof read it. I envy those who can read - and get something out of it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 23, 2023, 12:15:58 PM
Rick,  your description of your reading skills as a child, sounds  exactly like my brother when he was in elementary school.  He also dreaded the book reports.  Remember the three "reading groups" in the lower grades?   Number 1, was for the best readers . . . usually all girls.   Number 2, for the middle readers, mostly girls, but some boys.  Number 3, for the ones who were struggling . . . all boys!  My brother was always in group #3!  When my three kids were in school, the two girls were always in #1, and son Brad was stuck in #3.  I believe it's a boy thing.   

MarsGal,  I picked up one of those free library magazines the other day, listing the latest books, authors, and reading trends.  One article that I found interesting was titled  Calamity.    It was about the growing popularity of dystopian fiction, and the reasons why it's gaining so many new readers.  Recommended new books, were "Project Hail Mary", by Andy Weir. ("The Martian")  Also, "The Confession of Copeland Cane", Keenan Norris, and "Dreams Bigger than Heartbreak", by  Charlie Jane Anders.    I was planning to order all three at the library, but decided against it.  I still have three or four Christmas present books to read!  Haven't started any of them yet.  ::)     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on January 23, 2023, 07:30:15 PM
Which "book magazine" did you get at your library, Marilyne?  Was it Book Page? or another one?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 23, 2023, 11:02:44 PM

Joanne, it's called   bookish,  small b.   There are two or three different publications like this that show up in our two libraries. We have a town library, as well as a County library, equal distance from the house.   I prefer County . . . better selection and better parking.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 28, 2023, 11:41:13 AM
Marilyne, once upon a time, I could say that I was a particular fan of Dystopian fiction. That was before I was aware of the genre/sub-genre designators. I think (1984, Animal Farm and Fahrenheit 451 were my first encounters when I was still in high school. About 20 years ago I saw a movie called The Handmaid's Tale before I ever knew it was a book or heard of Margaret Atwood or read much Science Fiction at all. Then came Ursula K. le Guin and her The Lathe of Heaven and her Hainish Cycle series which includes The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed. And my SciFi reading took off big-time. These days my SciFi reads often contain elements of dystopian type societies.

I am now almost done reading Justinian's Flea. Very readable and interesting overview of the history of the Eastern Empire and surrounds but very little is about the plague or the flea. I haven't settled on my next non-SciFi read yet, but it is likely to be a book about the rise of the Mogols in India. I have to get that first one done before I can borrow the other in the series which continue following the rise and fall of the Mogols and get into the "Great Game" era.

Meanwhile, I finished the Agatha Raisin mystery I was listening to and am now listening to a HALO universe-based story by Kelly Gay and narrated by Scott Brick. After that, I will probably be listening to Red Roulette by Desmond Shum. I thought it was a novel but turns out it is listed under Chinese history and biography. It should be ready to download soon.

Bubble, every once in a while I think about your SciFi loving friend in Brazil. He was only up on the net a very few times. I didn't have anything really interesting in SciFi that I was reading, so I didn't say much at the time. It is not often I come across anyone who regularly reads SciFi, so I was disappointed that he didn't stick around. I "dropped the ball" by not asking what kind of SciFi he liked or read that he'd like to discuss. Now I am really interested in seeing what SciFi writers have been translated into Portuguese.  Since I have an interest in reading books and short stories from authors from other parts of the world, I looked up Brazilian authors and discovered that The Brazilian Ministry of Culture/National Library Foundation has sponsored a series of books called Brazilian Literature in Translation. I am especially interested, at the moment, in reading Rubrem Fonseca's detective stories.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 07, 2023, 12:53:59 PM

I'm almost finished with an excellent novel, that think you all would like as much as I do.
Pony, by R.J. Palacio.  This is not your typical horse story or Western,  that we all remember reading in the past.  I would describe it by saying it has some similarities to the books, "True Grit", and "News of the World" . . . both of which I liked very much, but I like this better.   It takes place around 1860, and is filled with great characters and dialogue.  I recommend it highly.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on February 07, 2023, 02:32:56 PM
Yes, Marilyne, we did this in my f2f book club.  And it garnered a fantastic discussion.  Of course, our moderator did a wonderful job culling out great ideas/thoughts, images, etc of the book, and everyone was delighted.

I read a book just recently, from the Young Adult shelves of the library. Title: "The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen". It gives great insight into a strict/observant Jewish community and the education of the young people.  There is no sex, cursing in this book, but it does touch on an area that is unfortunately predominant in our society...antisemitism.  The book is touching, funny, informative.  I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 10, 2023, 11:53:49 AM
I turned Red Roulette back to the library after reading the first few chapters and jumping to the end. Also, not finished was Charlie Wilson's War. After a little bit I got the measure of the man and decided I didn't want to read the rest, at least not now.

What I did finish listening to is Velocity Weapon by Megan E. O'Keefe. The farther I got into it, the harder it was to put down. It sucked me right in. One of the main characters is a ship that is designed to be a smart weapon, not carrying weapons, but actually being one. When the sentient AI running the ship became aware of the true nature of his ship and that he would be forced to comply, he became paranoid and angry. Then there are the two neighboring planetary system groups who are at odds because one has a warp gate and won't share tech. There are the rulers in the "Prime" system who have chips implanted in their brains, and there are some people who are gradually enhancing themselves to become, what, cyborgs? Uplifted? They are still in the shadows but consider what they are doing is the future of mankind. Included: spies, politicians, military, smugglers, junkies, secret and illicit scientific experiments in human and weapons development, oh, and family. Seen from three points of view and experiences. Can't wait to start the second book.

Also reading an Andre Norton book called Star Soldiers. Good book. It is a clash between modernish and more primitive weapons. With humans (mercenary) armies being brought in to supplement the armies of various more primitive worlds. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 15, 2023, 07:29:51 AM
Now listening to the third of the Velocity Weapon trilogy, called Catalyst Gate. One of the phrases used to describe the series is "edge of your seat." It sure is. So much so that I have had a really hard time putting them down.

The Book of Lost and Found by Lucy Foley became available at my online library three days ago. I have yet to start reading it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 16, 2023, 08:15:35 AM
I'm afraid I didn't give The Book of Lost and Found much of a chance. Didn't even get through all of chapter one. Just didn't like the 1920's rich party goer's beginning. This book is a split between an earlier time and present. Besides, Megan O'Keefe's trilogy is somewhat all consuming. I still have over 10 hours to listen to on the last book.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on February 18, 2023, 10:23:19 AM
Quote from: MarsGal on January 28, 2023, 11:41:13 AMBubble every once in a while I think about your SciFi loving friend in Brazil. He was only up on the net a very few times. I didn't have anything really interesting in SciFi that I was reading, so I didn't say much at the time. It is not often I come across anyone who regularly reads SciFi, so I was disappointed that he didn't stick around. I "dropped the ball" by not asking what kind of SciFi he liked or read that he'd like to discuss. Now I am really interested in seeing what SciFi writers have been translated into Portuguese.  Since I have an interest in reading books and short stories from authors from other parts of the world, I looked up Brazilian authors and discovered that The Brazilian Ministry of Culture/National Library Foundation has sponsored a series of books called Brazilian Literature in Translation. I am especially interested, at the moment, in reading Rubrem Fonseca's detective stories. [/size]


I transmitted your message to him.
I would be
grateful if you could forward this answer to our friend.

I might not be very useful in providing the answer to the question about
how many SciFi authors have their books translated to Portuguese, since
almost all of the SciFi books I read are in English. I have been doing
that since the eighties.

It is good to know our friend has an interest in reading books from
Brazilian authors. Can our friend read in Portuguese?

I was not aware of the existence of Ruben Fonseca. Downloaded a copy of
the book "Feliz Ano Novo" (Happy New Year), just to have an idea. Found
that his is a 'colorful' language, full of swearwords. Perhaps in an
attempt to represent the language of the common citizen. Anyway, it is not
the kind of language I am accustomed with, even in English (though, to
tell you the truth, hearing these words in a foreign language do not have
the same impact as hearing them in your native language).

Searching in the Internet, I found a site from where one can download
books from Rubem Fonseca. I am citing the link here, in case it might be
of interest to you and our friend.

https://elivros.love/autor/Rubem-Fonseca


He could not reply himself because he lost his P.W. aand was too busy at work to look for it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on February 19, 2023, 04:03:51 AM
MarsGal : update from Brazil

MarsGal suggested some good SciFi authors to me, for which I am grateful.
She recommended, for instance, Hugh Howey, and I read and liked some books
 from him (The Bern Saga, books 1 to 4, which I read in November and
December 2021). She recommended M.R. Forbes from which I read Forgotten
Colony, books 1 and 2, in March 2021. She recommended Martin L. Shoemaker
whose books I like very much. From him I read The Near-Earth Mysteries,
books 1 and 2, Blue color space, Today I am Carey, A most auspicious star
and Lost in the Fog (all read between 2020 and 2021). She also suggested
John Scalzi, whose books I didn't read yet because I find the cost of his
books is too high.

Have a nice Sunday!

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 19, 2023, 11:27:27 AM
Thank you so much for following up on my query, Bubble. Too bad he lost his PW. I hope he finds it soon.

To answer your friend's question, no, I can't read anything other than English and classical Latin. Shortsighted of me, but then so were all the schools and colleges that started to drop a foreign language as a requirement to graduate.

I have found two books translated by Clifford E. Sanders of Brazilian authors. One is São Paulo Noir (Akashic Noir) which is a book of short stories by various authors, and the other is Crimes of August: A Novel by Fonseca. These are in on my Wish List to buy. Further, I discovered the Brazilian Literature in Translation Series of which Crimes of August is one. The series is published by Tagus Press which is part of the University of Massachusetts for anyone interested. https://www.umassd.edu/portuguese-studies-center/tagus-press/

The cats are starting to pest, so I guess it means lunch time. After lunch, I plan on raking some of the backyard while the sun is shining. I need the exercise.

Wishing everyone well.



Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 19, 2023, 05:36:15 PM
Okay, I'm back.

Megan E. O'Keefe's trilogy is history. What an absolute roller coaster ride that series was. If you like space opera, this has just about everything in it including the kitchen sink.

Now I am into Last Night in Montreal written by Emily St. John Mandel who also wrote Station Eleven. This one is not Science Fiction. It is populated with a bunch of dysfunctional people. The main focus in on a gal who was kidnapped by her father when she was young, and they travel for years never staying in one spot for long. The other major characters, so far, include her last boyfriend who goes looking for her when she leaves, the detective who becomes obsessed with the case and continues year after year to try to locate her, and the detective's daughter. The characters all seem to carry emotional baggage that drive their actions or inactions as the case may be. There is a kind of "ships passing in the night" kind of element to the story. The author has again written an incredibly interesting book.

Marilyne, I have Horse by Geraldine Brooks on hold. The library doesn't have Pony, but I will try to keep it in mind if it goes on sale. Aside from most of the Nancy Drew Mysteries, horse stories and westerns were pretty much all I read when I was a youngster.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 21, 2023, 11:59:39 AM

Good Morning to any and all book lovers who might be looking in!  :study:
Sorry I haven't posted here in a week or more, but really haven't found anything that I feel like reading.  (In spite of the fact that I have five books here that I got as Christmas presents.)  The last book I read was Pony, by R.J. Palacio, and I'm still thinking about it, and pondering over some of the characters and the deeper meaning to the story?  I want to read something else by Palacio, but there's  only one book by her at my library.   It's titled  Wonder.  There's a long wait list, so I may just order it from Amazon?  Haven't decided yet.

I started reading one of my Christmas books, but it just didn't grab me . . . The Book of Dreams, by Nina George.   Kind of a trite, overworked storyline, that I'm tired of reading about in so many novels.  Thirteen year old boy trying to connect with his father whom he has never met. (a one-night-stand situation).  Of course the boy and his friend are both super intelligent, and have been invited to join Mensa.  ::)  :-\   For  reasons I don't understand,  authors seem to be obsessed with writing about brilliant teenagers?

MarsGal -  The book you mentioned, Last Night in Montreal, sounds good. "It is populated with a bunch of dysfunctional people."   Sounds like something I can relate to!  :crazy2:     Seriously, it does sound like a good story, so I'll see if it's available at my library.     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 24, 2023, 06:57:28 AM
Anybody read this book? Looks interesting/odd. I am thinking about getting it.
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Memories-of-the-Future/Siri-Hustvedt/9781982102852?ss_sid=113179285&utm_source=email&utm_medium=sands_email&utm_campaign=2019_DiscountReads&lctg=113179285
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 24, 2023, 11:16:00 AM

MarsGal - "Memories of the Future", sounds like something I can definitely relate to at this time in my life.   Four things I have plenty of . . . Time, Memory, Desire, and Imagination!   
I'll check my library for a copy and let you know what I think.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 25, 2023, 07:37:16 AM
Current listens: Blue Earth Remembered by Alastair Reynolds and another of M. C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin series. Reading another okay but nothing special Sci-Fi.

Blue Earth Remembered begins with childhood remembrances and a funeral in what was Tanganyika. The family is gathering back on Earth from various parts of the solar system for the funeral.  I just started it, so can't tell you anything much about the book other than it appears to be a space opera and perhaps also a family saga story.

I found something I thought would be interesting and started the process of signing up. Our Giant Food Stores (part of the huge Ahold conglomerate) has a wellness program on their website. I was looking at it this morning and discovered a webcast about books. I began the registration process but discovered that it is a Zoom event. Should have known, but hey, it was 5am in the morning. What can I say! I don't do Zoom or any other similar programs on the net. Wonderful that they didn't mention it was a live participation event upfront. I declined to confirm my email and set up an account so, hopefully, I won't get promotional emails from them.

Meanwhile, for Sci-Fi fans I discovered Quinn's Ideas https://www.youtube.com/@QuinnsIdeas
He has tons of video with lots of interesting commentary on Sci-Fi books and movies in general as well as focused series Sci-Fi conceptions and on books such as the Hyperion Cantos, The Three-Body Problem, Dune, and Foundation. He does some of the best synopses, commentary and explanations I've seen on the subject.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 27, 2023, 08:49:29 AM
Another book I am reading is worth a mention here, I think. I thought was going to be another ordinary story. The first eleven chapters of William Frisbee's The Last Marines series, however, was written so well that I felt like I was right there in the trenches in Southeast Asia with them. Chapter Twelve starts out 400 years later. Other than the communist type of government/alliance relentlessly spreading throughout the solar system against all opposition, I don't yet see a connection between the two sections - so far. Meanwhile, the first section reminds me of Joe Haldeman's Forever War series which has been cited as anti-war and showing the futility of war.  Haldeman was a combat engineer during the Vietnam War. Frisbee served in the US Marines. I don't know if he had any combat experience, but he did serve during the collapse of the communist states. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 27, 2023, 11:06:10 AM
Good morning MarsGal - I wanted to let you know that I ordered one of the books you mentioned a couple of days ago . . . Memories of the Future.   I picked it up yesterday at the library, and will start reading this afternoon.  "Time, Memory, Desire, and Imagination".  Those descriptive words got my attention, so hoping it will be a good one.

Interesting comment you made yesterday, about  signing on, and then off again, for the wellness event. Seems there are lots of ZOOM meetings, discussions, events online relating to every possible subject.  I'm not a big fan of ZOOM , and I know I would never want to be part of a discussion or meeting.  The few that I have tried, I haven't felt comfortable, and never said a word.    I know it's a new world out there now, and I should get on board, but it's not happening here.  ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on February 28, 2023, 12:16:02 PM
new word:

cli-fi
/ˈklīˌfī/

noun
a genre of fiction that deals with the impacts of climate change and global warming.
"cli-fi, like the science behind it, often presents bleak visions of the future"
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 28, 2023, 05:25:15 PM
The number of books about climate change have exploded in the last 10 or 20 years. The bunch at GoodReads is currently listing over 350 books. I've read Mathew Mather's Nomad series, and Hugh Howey's Sand and have his sequel in my reading cue. Oh, and Hugh Howey's The Shell Collector which is something of a climate change romance. Those are the most recent. I see someone had Dune on their Cli-Fi list. I don't recall climate "change" being an issue there, but I would have to re-read it. Another on that same list is Olivia Butler's Parable of the Sower. I have some Olivia Butler to read, but I don't think that is one of them. I'll have to check into it. Looks interesting.

The Sci-Fi book I mentioned above is getting a little weird for my tastes. Farther into the book and we get a person with psychic abilities and a malevolent "spirit", for lack of a better word at the moment, that infects humans with something that changes them into ghoulish, ravaging beings. No, no, no! Not my cup of tea at all. I am not fond of horror stories.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 02, 2023, 08:52:18 AM
Updates:
I finished the SF I was reading and just started the second even though I do not care for horror SF which this seems to have turned into. I like the main character and the banter between him and the private, one of only three other remaining Marines by the end of the bhttps://www.seniorsandfriends.org/Smileys/alive/smitten.gifook.

Yesterday I downloaded two books of crime mystery short-stories translated from Portuguese, Crimes of August by Rubem Fonseca and Sao Paulo Noir which is an anthology of several Brazilian authors. Since Audible was offering several free to listen elementary Brazilian Portuguese language lessons, I downloaded those too.

Other fairly new acquisitions include, Across the Sand by Hugh Howey, Village in the Sky (Book 9 of his Alex Benedict series), Bernard Cornwell's Winter King (my first Cornwell), Mansi Shah's The Direction of the Wind and of Joe Haldeman's three Worlds series.

I seem to have stopped listening to my audio books for the last week. Got to remedy that situation since I am in the middle of two books there.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on March 02, 2023, 09:39:41 AM
I have been listening to a Robert Parker/Jesse Stone audio book.  I can hear it on my new Blue Tooth hearing aid.  Don't have to bother with an ear plug....which are really uncomfortable for me.  Unfortunately, listening to an audio book still puts me to sleep.  I don't know how to correct that problem. 
  :2funny:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 02, 2023, 10:23:54 AM

Phyllis - I'm interested in your Blue Tooth hearing aid?  Is this an aid that you wear all the time, in place of your old ones, or one that is only worn for listening to an audio device? 

MarsGal - You're keeping up with your reading, which I haven't been doing lately.  I have a stack of books beside my reading chair, but I can't seem to stick with a book longer than about 10 minutes lately.  Uncomfortable chair, painful eyes, and my mind is far far away.  Trying to get back to the way things used to be, but I think it's too late!   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 13, 2023, 02:39:51 PM
Marilyne, just a note to let you know I finally got The Night Ship,but haven't yet started it.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 14, 2023, 10:59:59 AM

MarsGal - Hoping you like,  "The Night Ship",  as much as I did.  The first couple of chapters that take place on the ship went a little slow for me.  I think it was all the Dutch names that were difficult for me to keep straight.  I did read a couple of reviews online, that helped.  I would love to listen to the audio version.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 17, 2023, 02:34:25 PM

Mars - I hope you didn't give up on  The Night Ship?   It seems a little confusing at first, but after a couple of chapters, you figure out where the story is going, and then it takes on new meaning.  Fascinating characters! 

I was shut in here for a few days this week because of a storm that knocked out electrical power for TV, internet, or telephone.  So that left reading books, as my only alternative!   I started a couple of new ones, but just couldn't get interested, so began looking through a shelf where I keep books I've already read,  but liked so much that I wanted to read them again.   I chose,  Our Souls At Night,  by Kent Haruf.  A thought provoking story of an older couple in their 70's.  I liked it even more this time than I did the first time around.  I think you might like it, as well as Haruf's other novels.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 17, 2023, 04:35:51 PM
Marilyne, I got a little bored with the 1698 side of things with Mayken and her quest to find the evil spirit hiding in the ship. Mostly, I think, it is because I didn't take to most of the characters. I am just skipping and skimming that part now. In 1989, Gil has his evil spirit too, but so far it is confined to a book. It is a nice touch to help tie the two stories together. I like that Gil has been dubbed Gilgamesh when he named his pet turtle Enkidu. The ongoing archaeological excavation is also a great way to bring the two stories together.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on March 17, 2023, 06:54:23 PM
Marilyne, "Our Souls at Night" was a beautifully done book.  The movie they made of it was also done well.  Didn't have a Tom Hanks to mess it up!  It hurt a lot to see Redford & Fonda looking their ages (well, not so much Fonda). If you haven't seen it, pull it up on one of the streaming channels and give it a whirl.  I think you'll enjoy it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on March 18, 2023, 08:12:32 AM
Marilyne, Our souls at night was/is one of Don's favorite book. He even sent his copy to me.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 18, 2023, 10:52:38 PM

Bubble - yes, I can see that you and Don would like that book very much,  and be able to relate to it.  Such a meaningful story. 

Tome - I also saw the movie and thought it was very well done, and the casting was perfect.  I would guess that Tom Hanks was probably considered for the Redford role?   If so, someone had the good sense to nix that idea!   

MarsGal - I also lost patience with Mayken's "Night Ship" activity, although some of the goings on below deck were interesting. (the poor cows)!  On the other hand, never a dull moment on the island!   I was intrigued by the way the two stories merged.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 19, 2023, 08:44:18 AM
I agree Marilyne. The book actually left me wondering what happened to Gil afterward, but that would be a story for another time. I finished reading it this morning. Did you check out the photos from her research pertaining to the wreck? Near the bottom of the webpage there is a photo of a replica of the ship. http://jesskidd.com/night-ship-gallery/ Big ship. Still, I wonder how they managed to pack over 300 people (did I remember that right?) into it. I was disappointed that there was no mention of current day descendants of the survivors. Maybe there aren't any. That, or they don't want to deal with curious people. I actually think this might make a good movie or mini-series.

Now I need to find a new book to read. My online library says I still have to wait five weeks for Geraline Brooks' Horse. That is the same number of weeks they said several weeks ago. They have an amazing 50 copies with 115 people still on the wait list before me.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 22, 2023, 05:19:40 PM
While I am waiting for Horse, I am reading War by Sebastian Junger. It is an account of his being with troops in Afghanistan back somewhere around 2004 and later. He did a good job telling how the soldiers fought, lived and died during his times there. He kept himself mostly out of the picture, just reported what the guys had to go through. Junger mentioned a documentary he did. I think I might have seen it on YouTube months ago. Some of the descriptions he wrote seemed familiar.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 22, 2023, 11:09:01 PM

Mars - While you're waiting for Horse - see if you can get Pony?    I really think you'd like it.   Scroll back a few posts and see what Tomereader and I had to say about it.   It's my favorite book, so far this year.   A beautiful, mystical story, with a lot of action and great characters!

Yes, I did look at the Jess Kidd web page, with the photos drawings, etc. Fascinating to see her, and learn about the research involved in the story. Lots of very good reviews of The Night Ship on line.  Most were in agreement with us, that Kidd spent too much time with the shipboard intrigue.  Many readers admitted  skimming through much of those chapters, just like we did. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 23, 2023, 07:41:09 AM
Looks like I can get it from my local library. They have both a print and an audio version in the Children's section. Out of the whole county system, they are the only ones that list it. They list plenty of other R.J. Palacio books. The first few paragraphs have me interested already.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 27, 2023, 10:13:12 AM

I picked up three books at the library on Friday, and all three are going back today.  ???  I had  seen mini-reviews on line, and they all sounded good, but I didn't realize that  they're YA or children's books.  The first chapter of each, told me they would be very good for kids or teens, but not for me.

MarsGal -  Speaking of such things .. . I was surprised that you found Pony, in the children's section of the library?   Definitely not a child's book, IMO.  Maybe a mature teenager?  I'm curious as to how you liked it? 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on March 27, 2023, 07:26:50 PM
Marilyne, what were the titles of the 3 YA books you took back to the Library?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 28, 2023, 09:48:23 AM
Marilyne, I put Pony in my wish list at the library but haven't ordered it yet. Amazon lists it for 5 and 6 grade students. I am trying to remember what I was reading at that age. I loved horse stories and Westerns at that age, so I would say Black Beauty, and The Black Stallion for sure. By the time I got to fifth or sixth grade I was reading some of Max Brand's westerns. My favorite was Alcatraz. Max Brand is the pseudonym of Frederick Schiller Faust who wrote under a whole bunch of names. Did you know he wrote the Dr. Kildare series? I didn't. The Kildare books were written between 1936 and 1944. I remember watching the updated TV version which came much, much later. Faust died of shrapnel wounds in Italy in 1944 while traveling with troops as a correspondent for Harper's Magazine

What is puzzling to me is that years ago, I read that the name "Max Brand" was actually used by several different writers. Now, I don't see that anywhere but find that Schiller wrote 500 novels before his death and that they were still being published as late as 2019. I have no idea if any of these books are republished under new titles or have finally hit their copyright expiration, or what. Well, that seems an interesting project for my curiosity if I care to look further. Maybe I misunderstood all those years ago and there weren't a bunch of people writing under the Max Brand name, but actually the other way around given that he used so many different names.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 28, 2023, 01:51:09 PM
MarsGal . . .  "Max Brand" rang a bell with me, but when I Googled the name, got all sorts of contradicting information?  Some say it was a pseudonym, and others say there was actually a Maximillian Brand, who wrote lots of books?  Kind of reminds me of "Carolyn Keene", the author of the Nancy Drew books and other series books as well. Actually a whole bunch writers wrote the Nancy Drew books, and all used the same name, and created all those stories - others say there was one original author with that actual name?   

I read most of the same horse books that you did as a child. I well remember "The Black Stallion",  "Black Beauty", "My Friend Flicka" and "Thunderhead, Son of Flicka".  I loved "National Velvet", and was crazy about the movie.  I recall finding an obscure book at the library called "Spurs for Antonia", that turned out to be a favorite.

Two Westerns that I liked as an adult, and would recommend are "Lonesome Dove", by Larry McMurtry and "The OxBow Incident". (can't remember the author?  "Oxbow" was made into a great movie in the early 1940's, starring Henry Fonda and Dana Andrews, among others.  It's available on Netflix or Prime I think?  The series adapted from "Dove", is a classic!

I would never put "Pony" in the children's section of the library. The story is way too complex for most kids. I'm sure many children have read it, but would not get the theme, the ending, etc.  Like when I read GWTW when I was about 12.  ::)   Yes, I liked it, but didn't fully appreciate the story, the Civil War, the characters, and the vast historical scope of the book,   until I read it again many years later.   As you know, you have to have a certain level of maturity to understand many book, stories and movies.

Tome - The children's books I took back to the library were I'll Give You the Sun, A Monster Calls, and don't remember the name of the third one?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 29, 2023, 07:44:46 AM
Oh, yes, National Velvet. Forgot about that one. I never read, nor watch the TV series for Flicka.

The Lonesome Dove series is in my library wish list. I may actually get to it eventually. I have 54 books in my online library wish list. It is constantly on loan. Right now there is an eight week wait for it, and it is #48. The larger the number, the longer it has been on my list.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 31, 2023, 04:44:10 PM

I haven't done any reading at all this past week, except for the newspaper every morning.  I noticed in the today's paper that quite a few well known older entertainers and one politician,  are celebrating their birthday today, March 31.

The two oldest: Richard Chamberlain,  star of the TV series, "The Thorn Birds",  as well as the show, "Dr. Kildare", turns 89 today.
Shirley Jones, star of the 1950's musicals  "Oklahoma" and "Carousel", as well as the TV series The Partridge Family, also turns 89.  Both born in 1934.

Herb Alpert, Big Band trumpet player and recording artist - "The Tijuana Brass", is 88 today.  Born in 1935. 

Movie actor Christopher Walken,  turns 80, today.  Comedian Gabe Kaplan, is 79.  Former VP Al Gore turns 76, and Rhea Perlman, is 75. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 01, 2023, 07:12:06 AM
This morning I downloaded Horse, two weeks earlier than expected. So far, I have read the first chapter.

Lonesome Dove is now in my hold list, seven weeks wait time. I don't think that book is ever without a wait list.

I mostly read the first of a Rick Partlow SF book, which turns out I read before. Since the thing was just published this year, I thought it was a new story, a continuation of another character introduced earlier in his Drop Trooper universe. But no, he reissued the book with a slightly different name and maybe a few editorial changes, and, with no indication that it was a reissued/updated version. It is a good thing I just borrowed the book and hadn't bought it. I will not be rereading the other two.

I am trying out listening to audiobooks on my computer rather than on my tablet, especially the Great Courses ones. Those often have pdfs to consult so it will be easier to look at here than on my tablet. This one is The Other 1492: Ferdinand, Isabella and the Making of an Empire.



Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 11, 2023, 05:47:10 PM
Alrighty, then! No one has been in here for a while. Since I posted last, I have finished reading Horse. I really liked it, but after a day or two, I decided that it was less about the actual horse, but rather a study in what changed (or not) in attitudes regarding others different than ourselves, The book covers the time period before and maybe a decade after the Civil War and modern day, The story of the racehorse and those who cared for, trained, mistreated, bought and sold him and his trainer/groom. The treatment of slaves was there, but somewhat muted. The attitudes toward blacks and the wealthy were a bit stronger because that was, I decided, the point of the book - how we still carry prejudices against "others". Attitudes learned from family and friends even though many of us never experienced the things we've been told. For me it was not only a good read, but a thought provoking one.

I am back to listening to Blue Earth Remembered by Alastair Reynolds. It is the first of three in a family space saga. The family is of Nigerian origins who have become wealthy and influential in business. BTW, one of the main characters in Horse is a black grad student born in Lagos.

The new book I downloaded from the online library is called A Rising Man by Abir Mukhergee. This is the first of his Wyndham and Banerjee crime novels (five so far) set in India shortly after WWI. Other than that I have been weeding out more SciFi novels that I downloaded eons ago and only just got around to looking at them. I pitched at least three of them within the last few days. This latest one looks like it might last a little longer than the others.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on April 11, 2023, 06:14:04 PM
My closest Library Branch was having their Book Sale, with the first day for Members Only (Library Friends).  I usually always go, but lately haven't found anything I really wanted. But, with "usually", I normally don't make it on the first day.  Good thing I did today.  Got 4 books, $5.00; one hardback, three of the large sized paperbacks.  Got everything home and discovered I have a brand new copy of one of the books, which is "The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek". Rest of the list:  The Silent Patient (mystery), The Rose Code (which has been highly recommended both on-line and in person friends; and "The Dutch House" by Ann Patchett (one of my favorite authors).  I see myself getting bogged down here very shortly, as I now have the above, to add to two books I'm currently reading on my Kindle, two books I need to be reading for my 2 book clubs, and three books I have gotten into, but flitting back and forth from each one, like a hummingbird at a flower!  Here's to my eyes holding out!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 17, 2023, 01:01:24 PM

Joanne - I've been meaning to comment on your selection of books from the Library Sale.  I remember getting, The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek, from the library sometime last year.  The story didn't grab me, and my mind kept wandering, so I gave up on it. 
My favorite one of your purchases is, The Dutch House.    I loved that story, and all of the characters!  Ann Patchett's best book so far, IMO.  Be sure to let us know how you liked it?

I started a book over the weekend that I know I'm going to enjoy.  The Paper Palace, by Miranda Cowley Heller.  "Chick Lit" for sure, but so far, I like the main characters.  Lots of mother/daughter interaction, that I can relate to, to a certain extent.  My personality and lifestyle is not the same as the mother in the story, and neither of my daughters are like the main character who tell the story.  However there are certain familiar female traits there, that many of us have to some degree?  Or not . . . I'm only a couple of chapters into it.         
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 17, 2023, 05:25:19 PM
I love books about books and book people. There are only a few I haven't liked. I just acquired one the other day that will probably take a while for me to get to. It is a novel called The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis. Has anyone read it yet?

I also picked up a copy of the Oxford Companion to Classical Literature. I got it at a real good price, plus I had a couple of accumulated discounts to apply to it.  :thumbup:

Oh nuts! I thought The Last Thing He Told Me was going to be a movie. It turns out it is a TV series on Apple+. I read two reviews of it. They both thoroughly panned the show. I liked the book, but don't think it is TV series material. A movie would have been better, I think.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on April 17, 2023, 08:04:35 PM
Marilyne, one day in the beauty shop, I saw a lady reading "the Paper Palace", she was roughly my age.  I asked her how she liked it.  Accompanied by an eye-roll, she said "nope, not doing a thing for me".  I said, I guess I'll pass, and she said that would probably be best!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on April 17, 2023, 08:07:40 PM
Marilyne, I posted this over in Senior Learn in response to Ginny's asking what "tomes" I'm reading.

Ginny, and all!  What "tomes" am I reading, ha ha ha.  Wouldn't call them tomes exactly, but I'm deep into far more books than I should be.  I'll make an effort to list them:

I went to see that awesome movie, "The Lost King", and have delved deep into checking out books from my library on this particular occurrence (digging for and finding the bones of Richard III); so I have "Digging for Richard III;
"Looking for Richard" (DVD - Al Pacino as R III); another one on order, but haven't picked up yet.  Now, for other stuff:  "The Art of Blessing the Day" - Poems with a Jewish Theme by Marge Piercy; "The Night Watchman" by Louise Erdrich (I should have finished this for Book Club, but extenuating circumstances prevented); "I Have Some Questions for You" by Rebecca Makkai (now half-way through), and one trashy piece of memoir/essays, which shall go unnamed, haven't finished that one and don't really intend to.
There you have it in a nutshell (pretty large nut, I'd say)!  I'm really, truly anticipating and WAITING on "Horse", but I'm way down the list of requests.  You may now return to your reading!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on April 21, 2023, 11:21:59 AM

Tome - Looks like you're reading mostly worthwhile or historical books?   "The Night Watchman", by Erdrich sounds like one that I would like.  I may go to the library over the weekend, so hope to see it there. I usually like your book club selections . . .  "Pony" was wonderful.   
I'm still struggling through "The Paper Palace".  I have the same opinion as the woman you saw reading it at the beauty shop! Eye-roll  here too.  ::)   The only reason I'm sticking with it, is because my daughter gave it to me, and keeps asking me what I think of various characters.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on April 25, 2023, 06:47:01 AM
I see it is time for an update.

Currently reading the second of Christopher Fowler's Bryant and May series called The Water Room. This case involves lots of rain and the underground water channels, creeks, sewers and such that flow underneath London, and, of course, strange deaths.

Blue Earth Remembered is getting more difficult to get through without falling asleep on it. Not that it is boring, but more like very wordy and slow moving as the main characters try to follow clues to solve a mystery. Every action seems to come with lots of discussion or thought as the story moves forward.

Also, I am slowly getting through The Other 1492: Ferdinand, Isabella and the Making of an Empire.
I keep forgetting to listen to it while I am up here on the computer.

I finished A Rising Man by Abir Mukhergee and started the second in the series. However, I decided not to continue with the series. For a former Scotland Yard detective, the main character was pretty clueless. I liked his side-kick better.

Meanwhile, I've been spending more time with house and yardwork as the weather improves.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 05, 2023, 08:07:48 AM
Not much of interest to report today, but I am, finally, almost through Blue Earth Remembered. It has become more interesting in the last third of the book. Finally some action, and I am not falling asleep on it. About three hours to go.

I just finished rereading three series books written by Rick Partlow. For some reason he saw fit to reissue them without mention that they were new editions of ones I already read. A number of people complained about that. Too bad I don't have the originals to compare. But there are things in them that I don't remember from the originals, so I guess it was worth it. New next in this series is not out yet. I don't know if it is a rewrite of the original, or an extension. I am now starting Book 12 of his Dropship Trooper series. Another one is due to release in July. He also has a new series, Psi Wars, upcoming. Most of Partlow's books are set in the same universe and time-frame; they just follow different characters in the same wars and aftermath.

The online library loan books have not fared too well. Currently, I have Umberto Eco's Prague Cemetery. If the author's goal was to make the described characters out to be thoroughly disgusting individuals, he has succeeded. They (and by extension their occupation, gender, age, race, etc.) are brutally portrayed, emphasizing every character flaw imaginable. Downright vicious. This is not my idea of a good, enjoyable read. It is about to get sent back to the library.

In my hold list, and I expect it soon, is Enemy of All Mankind by Steven Johnson. It is about the pirate, Henry Every. He sailed the Atlantic and Indian Oceans in the mid-1690's. He was 40 when he disappeared having been last seen in Ireland in 1696.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 10, 2023, 12:57:56 PM

Dreary and damp again this morning. :(  It doesn't look like Spring outside, but is supposed to warm up over the upcoming weekend.  I'm looking forward to some cheerful sunshine. 

Hello to MarsGal, Tome, and Callie, and all other readers, who might be looking in?  I haven't been doing much reading in recent weeks.  Too hard on the eyes, and also hard to sit on any of the chairs here. They used to be comfortable, and now they aren't? 🤔
I did pick up a book at the library a few days ago that I had ordered in large print, and was shocked to see the size of it!  It's 2.5 inches thick, and about 10 inches in length.  Very heavy and hard to hold, but I'll pile a few pillows on my lap for support, and give it a try.

Tome, I think you recommended it here?  The Rose Code, by Kate Quinn.  I also checked out another novel that looks good,  The Last Green Valley,  by Mark Sullivan.  I've read other books written by him - most of them take place during WWII. 

Has anyone seen any movies or television shows to recommend?   If so, post them here.   My DVR is full of things I've recorded, but none sound  good to me right now.       
       
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 11, 2023, 07:41:10 AM
Sorry to hear that you are not very comfortable lately on top of your ongoing eye problems.

Right now I am more than halfway through listening to Lois MacMaster Bujold's last of the Vorkosigan saga, Gentleman Jolie and the Red Queen. It isn't particularly interesting, but I persevere because it is, after all, the last of a very good series.

More interesting is George Bruce's Burma Wars: 1824-1886. This is a first of series about the British wars of conquest and exclusive trading treaties in the Bengal and Burma areas. The other two books in the series cover the Afghan Wars (book 2) and the Sikh Wars (Book 3).
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: RAMMEL on May 11, 2023, 08:56:41 PM
I'm not much of a reader, or a good reader - but today I got the urge to read a couple of short stories that I liked years ago - no doubt when I was still in school. For whatever reason they must have made their mark.  --- I still like them.

The Deacon's Masterpiece
"The Wonderful "One-Hoss-Shay"
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/45280/45280-h/45280-h.htm

THE COMMUTATION CHOPHOUSE 
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/51957/51957-h/51957-h.htm#link2H_4_0006 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 12, 2023, 06:38:49 AM
Rammel, the only Christopher Morley I ever read were his novels, Parnassus on Wheels and it's sequel, The Haunted Bookshop. While I enjoyed both of them very much and planned to read more of his works, I never got around to it. You remember those "round tuits" don't you? I still have a lot of them taking up space on my bookshelves among other places.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: RAMMEL on May 12, 2023, 10:14:06 AM
MarsGal --- Read the ones I posted. They're short, and fun. Shouldn't take a "reader" very long.

Yes, those Round Tuits --- Don't we all have some of those  :2funny:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 12, 2023, 03:28:09 PM
Rick -  Thanks for the recommendation and link to the Christopher Morley short stories!  :thumbup:   I clicked on,  The Commutation Chophouse - 100 meals for $10! 
I enjoyed every line . . .  the story it self, but especially the witty dialogue/conversation between the two men.

""They seem to have spilled some beans," I said, peering through the dusky aperture. "There's a truck delivering food or something at the back door. They've tipped over a can, I think."
"Spilled some beans?" he said, with his first sign of real interest. "That sounds symbolic. Let me have a look."
 
I have it bookmarked, and hope to eventually read all of the stories! :tup:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: RAMMEL on May 12, 2023, 03:53:50 PM
Those were two items forced upon us by some crazy old English Teacher. At this late stage of life I must say that she probably knew very well what she was doing. If it made me interested, she won the whole class - as I was not the best of students. I had a similar Math teacher - Miss Kelly - At the time I didn't think anyone liked her, but she had a way to teach the unteachable. I'm sure that deep in us we knew she was good. ---- Kids will be kids.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 13, 2023, 03:01:56 PM
I am planning on dropping my Kindle Unlimited. They are jacking up the price up $2.00 a month. Well, there go most of the SciFi books I have been reading. And this comes not too long after the Free Library of Philadelphia dropped its legacy Overdrive app for, as far as I am concerned, the less Me friendly Libby app. It looks like they also rearranged their website, so I have to get that now too. While I haven't tried it, I assume that my local library is forced to follow on by switching to Libby since they were also using Overdrive.

Yesterday I finished listening to Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen. Next up is a non-fiction titled The War of the Three Gods by Peter Crawford.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 22, 2023, 08:33:58 AM
Now I can get back to reading all the books I have bought and neglected. I started the audiobook version of The War of the Three Gods. So far, it has not really caught my interest, so I am putting it aside for now. Instead, I am beginning On a Steel Breeze by Alastair Reynolds. It is the second in the Poseidon's Children series. It and the last of the trilogy are narrated by Adjoa Andoh.

In dropping my Kindle Unlimited subscription, I discovered that Amazon added features to their Prime Reading which I get with my Prime account. The only real difference between the two that I can see is that the free read book selection is more limited. It no longer states that you can only borrow one book a month or at a time. Huh! Glad I discovered that. I feel somewhat liberated now. All my owned books that have been neglected now have a chance. In fact, I just finished a SciFi and am browsing for another. Too bad I couldn't resist another year of Audible.

Rammel, I took an interest in the illustrations in The Wonderful "One Horse-Shay" I was curious to discover if the illustrator, Thomas McIlvaine, used charcoal, ink and or watercolor. It is a bit hard to tell with the b/w, less than ideal reproduction quality shown. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to me much on the net about McIlvaine except that I noted he was born in Philadelphia, PA.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on May 24, 2023, 08:02:36 AM
In spite of the cold, I have not managed a lot of reading. But now, I am into a SciFi I have had sitting in my eReader for a while. Code of Conduct by Christine Smith is a well written book of political intrigue. The main character is a fugitive military officer who is accused of murder and treason. After a bad accident no one knew if she was dead or alive, and she is trying to keep it that way. No such luck. She is, in this first of series, tapped to use her skills to discover whether the deaths of the family of a politician she once knew were truly accidental or, in fact, murder. Meanwhile, political rivals are hatching various plots to discredit him, as well as take control over governmental and treaty rights regarding trade and immigration. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on May 24, 2023, 11:10:32 AM

MarsGal -  Sounds like you're giving yourself a rest today.  No more mowing and yard work, until the cold is gone!   Hope you're feeling better, and will take it easy today.

Younger daughter thinks that I gave up on,  "The Paper Palace", too soon, and insists that I give it another try.  So I'm going to finish it . . .  no matter that it's one of those unbelievable "chick lit" stories.  The situations facing the main character and her family, are too extreme  for me, but I plan to stick with it.   I hope to get through it today, as I do have a couple of library books here that I would rather read.

Callie -  We haven't heard from you in a long while?   Let us know what you've been reading, and also any good recommendations for TV watching?   I'm ready for a good movie, or a good series like "Succession".    Both daughters liked the movie version of,  "Where the Crawdad's Bloom".    I was not as crazy about the book as most people were, so I haven't watched the Netflix movie.   I probably will eventually.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 02, 2023, 07:07:18 AM
After looking like it was never going to end, my cold, all of a sudden, did. Hurray!

The lawn is just now looking like it needs some attention. Thanks to the dry weather these last 10 days or so it has been very slow to grow. Not so the darn weeds. Some rain is predicted for Saturday, so maybe I will mow afterwards. It will be much cooler Saturday and Sunday. Today they predict over 90oF.

Meanwhile I have been doing some reading and have been going through my e-pile of TBRs and purging some I decided I will not read after all. Also, I cancelled my Kindle Unlimited subscription since they have decided to jack the price up.

So, what have I got lined up to read now? I am reading yet another SciFi. This one started out as a military crime investigation that after following the trail of stolen equipment brought to light a conspiracy of traitorous collusion among military members to facilitate an invasion from a neighboring empire. On a Steel Breeze is a slow listen. So far it has not grabbed my interest much. It seems to be picking up a little now. I read a little more of The Anarchy by William Dalrymple, the long-neglected story of the fall of the Mogul Empire and the rise of the British East India Company. The George Bruce book I was reading earlier about the Burma Wars was of the same era, but it disappeared when I cancelled Unlimited. At the top of my cue in the other Kindle tablet is Backyard Starship, first of series by J. N. Chaney and Terry Maggert. Then there is a Great Courses audio I am part way through but haven't gotten back to yet.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 02, 2023, 11:59:56 AM
Good morning Mars - Glad your cold is gone, but I wish you hadn't sent it to me!  :knuppel2:  I'm afraid I now have it, but not sure yet - could be a bad allergy attack?   The wind has been blowing non-stop for a couple days, and many trees and flowers are in bloom.  There's an olive tree in the far corner of my backyard that's blooming, and it's always been one of my worst allergens.

My dil came by a  week ago and brought me a stack of books, so I have plenty to read this weekend.  One of them is  Spare, the "tell-all" book by Prince Harry, criticizing all the Royal's . . . and he wonders why he was not welcomed by his family, at his father's Coronation?  ::)
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 08, 2023, 07:25:10 AM
While waiting on my tablets to recharge, I re-read Binti and am continuing on with the rest of the novella series written by Nnedimma Nkemdili "Nnedi" Okorafor. The short story "Binti: Sacred Fire" was not particularly interesting, but now I am ready to read book two: Binti: Home.

Huh, I should clarify that the un-named SciFi I referred to in my last post is not On a Steel Breeze. On a Steel Breeze is going a little better now, but it certainly is not as interesting to me as Blue Earth Remembered was. This second of series skipped a generation or two, although a couple of the prime characters in the first book are still around, the characters being either very long lived or are what the book calls "artilects", AI robots/constructs with the original character's memories and knowledge. This second of series mostly focused on several of the characters traveling on a colony ship. There is a continuing mystery to be solved which involves both those on the ship and those back in near earth space. Right now, our intrepid near-earthers have just survived a major "accident" on Venus and suspicions are high that it wasn't an accident at all.

I also managed to read a few more paragraphs of The Anarchy in between the novels. One book I downloaded from the library and started to read was the non-fiction The Bookseller of Florence by Ross King. It is a very lengthy book which I would never have been able to finish in 20 days. It went back to the library, and I bought a copy. When I get back to it, I'll probably have to start over. Good thing I only in a chapter or so. It is a book about one of my favorite non-fiction topics: books, printing, history of paper and ink developments, etc. The author follows the life of the book maker Vespasiano da Bisticci. At the height of Bisticci's success as a book/manuscript maker, Gutenberg invented the press. How did Bisticci deal with this world-changing event? Did he oppose the printing press or learn to use the new technology? Looking forward to reading it soon.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on June 08, 2023, 10:57:53 AM
I used to read a lot of science fiction, too, MarsGal, but now the rapid development of AI is no long fiction but fact and that concerns me....even worries me.  IMO, we must slow this down and put rigid controls over how far scientists can go with their so-called progress.  With reports that AI is getting smarter than humans now, if they are not controlled it could happen that the human race will end.  That sounds like something from "I, Robot" or even "War of the Worlds", doesn't it?  I never thought in my lifetime it would actually become a concern.  What bothers me even more is that some very learned thinkers are actually feeling the same concern and are warning in the media that we must be very careful and put safeguards in place.  What is your opinion about this?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 08, 2023, 12:28:25 PM

Phyllis - I'll throw in my 2 cents worth here was well.  As you know, I live in the heart of Silicon Valley, and AI is a subject constantly in the news here.   Lots of the top high tech genius engineers think  it's already too late.   They're trying to reign it in, but not succeeding, because they are so many independent  companies/scientists that are working on it in secret, and they don't have to answer to anyone.

Even if we are somehow able to control AI here  in the US,  China would continue on.   There is no stopping China.  They answer to no one.  I'm glad that I won't be around long enough to see what happens, but I worry about my grand and great-grand children. :(   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 08, 2023, 07:21:15 PM
I have to agree with you all. What is alarming me at the moment is the likes of Elon Musk raising a red flag over AI but doesn't he have a tech company that is working on just that? Well, this helps explain it he was involved in something called OpenAI. He disagreed with their direction and left the company. Now he is starting another. I have to do a little research on OpenAI. The Open in front of AI kind of makes me think it is like Open-Source programming in Linux/Unix. Anyone can program something in with open source coding that others can go in modify and or share as they like. No cost. I rather think that Musk's main problem with OpenAI is that it is not regulated or strictly regulated.

Here is the first article I came up with, https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/14/23684005/elon-musk-new-ai-company-x

There are so many Elon Musk videos on YouTube where he talks about AI and its dangers. Tanke your pick if you are interested. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Elon+Mus+k+on+AI

On a similar subject, I saw a clip yesterday about the proliferation of surveillance cameras and how they are being misused, and not necessarily by the police. Public housing complexes and other apartment complexes, for example, are also using them against residents for very minor things that have nothing to do with public safety but are infringements on rental rules. So, if your kids take a short-cut across the grass rather than staying on the road or sidewalk, the camera can flag it and next thing you know you get a fine. Beware, Big Brother is here.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on June 09, 2023, 09:59:44 AM
Marilyn, unfortunately both our husband's worked for the company that is in the forefront of AI developement.  I live in what is often called Silicon Valley East.  I would like to think that they are a responsible company and only develop AI for beneficial purposes.  I am not against AI but hope that safe-guards can be put in place in the early days and not wait too long and try to curb in the whole industry when it is too late.

I agree on Musk.  It always seems to me that he has lots of warnings while at the same time he is personally profiting from developing this technology.  He seems to fit that old adage....."Do as I say, not as I do."   But, I am afraid that at times I am guilty of that same behavior.   :( 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 09, 2023, 02:00:52 PM
Okay, here is more about OpenAI, and yes, according to this Microsoft, though not directly involved in the company is an Investor. Wikipedia has an extensive article about OpenAI who developed (developing) ChatGPT which has been in the news lately. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenAI

So, it looks like I may be wrong about OpenAI being structured similarly to open-source programming. It is actually the name of a company. I am going to have to look into it more closely. I am still fuzzy exactly what the issues are between Musk and OpenAI regarding how AI should be developed and controlled.
Here is an article about OpenAI's CEO about global cooperation and governance over AI. https://www.gizmochina.com/2023/06/07/openai-ceo-altman-advocates-global-cooperation-mitigate-existential-risk-ai/

I think that is enough heavy thinking for the day.


Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on June 10, 2023, 10:23:46 AM
anyone read this one?



The Anvil
By Christopher Coates
To survive a comet headed for Earth, the government creates underground shelters. But decades later, when people return to the surface, what they find is unexpected... A riveting science fiction novel!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 10, 2023, 07:00:31 PM
Haven't run across it yet, Bubble. Will look it up shortly.

I haven't felt much like reading today, but I did listen to more of On A Steel Breeze. The book is a bit spotty, but the bit I've been listening to yesterday and today is holding my interest. Otherwise, I have been picking about and pitching some I have had in my cue for quite a while. Yesterday I got back to reading a bit of the next book in the Binti series. Although it isn't holding my interest as well as the first book, I am going to try to finish it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 11, 2023, 11:36:55 AM

Bubble - Yes, I remember reading reviews  about "The Anvil", and that it was going to be made into a mini-series?  That must not have ever happened, or I think we would have heard more about it?
It does sound like a good story, so I plan to put it on my library list.

Phyllis - I had no idea that Big Blue was working on the development of AI.  Maybe that's happening more in NC, than it is here?  When you were living here, it was the premier tech company, but now has shrunk to only the development Lab in the Almaden Valley.  Those lovely mid-century modern buildings out off Cottle Road, have been torn down and are long gone.  In their place is a massive shopping center containing Costco, Home Depot and all the other chain stores.  :'(    A sad sight for those of us who remember the early days. 

MarGal - I'm in the middle of a good memoir book, that I think you would like.  When The World Didn't End, by Guinevere Turner.  I'll write more when I finish. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 15, 2023, 10:57:28 AM

Pulitzer prize winning author,  Cormack McCarthy,  died yesterday at the age of 89.  He wrote many books, but will be remembered mostly for his prizewinning novel,  The Road.  To those who haven't read it, I recommend it highly.  It was also made into a movie, which I have never seen, but I intend to find it on one of my movie channels, and watch it tonight.   

He wrote two other memorable novels that were also made into movies:  All the Pretty Horses,  and   No Country for Old Men,  which won an Academy Award.  He wrote many other novels, that sound wonderful.   So many books that I hope to read . . . but so little time.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 16, 2023, 06:10:00 AM
Has anyone read I'm Not Who You Think I Am? The description of the book gave me the impression it is a mystery surrounding a man's death. I thought there was a mystery to be solved about his death, but it turns out that it is more about a 12-year-old boy who witnessed his dad's suicide and how it affected him. Or that is how the first chapters start out. Not exactly what I was expecting. It is very well written, though.

I am sorry to hear about Cormack McCarthy. I still haven't read any of his books, nor seen the movies. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on June 16, 2023, 07:40:22 AM
a review about this book says: "If you're looking for a straightforward, not-too-challenging mystery, then I Am Not Who You Think I Am is a fine choice. Just don't expect to remember much about it when you're done."
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 16, 2023, 01:35:14 PM
That would probably be a good description of the story, Bubble. I did like the writing style and the prolog to the book made things sound rather mysterious/ominous, but I didn't finish it, I decided I wasn't interested in the characters or in following a teen dealing with witnessing his father's death. Never got far enough to find out why the father committed suicide.

What I have settled on now is The Paladin by George Shipway. It is an historical novel set in France after King Philip II annexed Normandy. It follows William Tirel who is sent to Prince William (William the Conqueror) in Rouen, FR to learn to become a knight. In the first chapters, the author introduces the main character to the training needed to become a knight. I am to the part where he is done with the three years of preliminary training and about to leave Rouen to find someone who will take him one as a squire/knight apprentice.

Most of the characters are real. William Tirel is the knight suspected of killing William Rufus (William II) during a hunting accident in the New Forest. With the death of William Rufus, his brother Henry became King of England.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on June 25, 2023, 10:45:20 AM
When the World Didn't End, by Guinevere Turner.  I mentioned that I was reading this memoir a couple of weeks ago, but never got back to say more about it.  It's well written and worth reading if you like a true story about children who were raised out of the mainstream, in a large cult community.  This group was/is called, The Lyman Family,  and was started by  "guru" Melvin Lyman in the 1960's.   If anyone is interested in Lyman, there is lots of information online about him, and the "family", and how it got started and developed over the years.

Yesterday I started the novel, This Tender Land, by William Kent Krueger.   I read it many years ago, but was reminded of it recently, and decided to take a fresh look.  Krueger's books are all good, and worth reading more than once.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on June 25, 2023, 06:46:26 PM
I don't think you will be disappointed, Marilyne. It is a very thought-provoking book.

I am finally getting around to reading Andy Weir's Hail Mary. It is not bad. It kind of reminds me of The Martian because the main character is stuck off by himself and he has to do science things (mostly math references so far) to figure out where he is and what he needs to do.

I've also started C. J. Cherryh's Alliance Space which includes two books. I am almost positive I read Merchanter's Luck before, but so far, I don't recall a thing that I've read. The other is Forty Thousand In Gehenna.

For my listening pleasure I am well into Poseidon's Wake, the last of the Poseidon's Children trilogy by Alastair Reynolds.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 01, 2023, 12:22:57 PM

Sad news about the passing yesterday of versatile actor, Alan Arkin.  He is on my list of long time favorites, and is near or at the top!   Always a pleasure to watch him in a comedy or a drama.  He did both, equally well.
 
He was born in Brooklyn, in March 1934, so he just turned 89 years old.
Many  of us remember him in the 1966 comedy,  The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming!  He was nominated for Best Actor,  but didn't get the award.    Also nominated a few years later, 1968 for,  The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.   It was adapted from a book of the same name,  by Carson McCullers.   Anyone here who hasn't read the book, or seen the movie, I recommend both!  A unique and beautiful, but sad story.

After those two hits he went on to do dozens of movies and TV shows over the years.  Other starring roles were in "Glengarry, Glen Ross", "Hearts of the West",  and many more.  He finally got an Oscar for Best supporting actor  for the comedy,  "Little Miss Sunshine".  He most recently starred in the television comedy/drama series, "The Kominsky Method", with Michael Douglas - 1918 -1921.  I watched it and liked it - still available on Netflix, if anyone is interested.  RIP Alan Arkin.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 01, 2023, 02:56:20 PM
Sue and I were commiserating over his death this morning. Sad to hear he passed. One movie you didn't mention is Catch 22 where he played the main character, Yossarian. The cast of characters is fantastic. I have the book, but never got around to reading it, like so many others.

I finished Hail Mary several days ago. It was okay. The beginning is engaging, and I did like the ending very much. The book reminded me of The Martian but not as good, IMO.

Oh, Oh, exciting news! :cheer: (for me anyway). I am just ecstatic. While checking out the jigsaw puzzles on the Microsoft Store, I discovered that my jigsaw puzzle game was there. I missed it before, or it didn't show on Windows 11 in S mode. I removed the S. Not only that, I can also stop whining about the Kindle and Audible apps. They are there now, too. All three are happily residing on my laptop now and seem to be working fine. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 07, 2023, 07:09:27 PM
Re: The Library Posted in Senior Learn
« Reply #23469 on: July 06, 2023, 11:41:24 PM »

Ginny and whomever else is reading here:  I have only this weird thing to report, and it only applies to "Library" as it does to my Kindle Library.  Years ago, I had one of the first Kindles, loaded beaucoup books on it, then came fancier Kindle HDX, so I switched to that.  I thought (what I get for thinking) that all the books on the old Kindle would transfer over to the new one.  Well, I was researching on my old Kindle, after charging the battery (I'm surprised it would even take a charge) and wondered if I could switch some of those old books to the new. (I'm rambling here, it's getting late).  So hie me to the computer, click on Amazon Kindle, Manage Your Account or whatever, and lo and behold every single solitary book from the old K, was listed with the date, which Kindle it was assigned to, with squares to click if you wanted to send whichever book to the newer Kindle.  I spent probably 2 hours, switching from old to new, and only got about halfway thru the Old K's library.  There were several I could Delete, which I did.  Amazing that this all kind of "fell into place" without my having to contact Amazon and ask if it could be done (didn't want to appear to be a numpty...British TV word).  I'm always afraid to do something on my own, since this computer is so darn old, and not running a current operating system.   But, I think there's a saying apropos for this..."nothing ventured, nothing gained". Now I think I will go to bed with visions of new reading material dancing through my head!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 08, 2023, 08:04:28 AM
Super, Tome. I kind of forgot you can do that now. I noticed the same thing when I got my first Fire. Not all of my Kindle books showed up. Some of the eBooks apparently were not reprogrammed to accommodate the newer 4/c formatting.

I still have my old b/w eReader, too. I had a lot of Project Gutenberg books on it but have since moved many of them over to my Kobo which meant converting or redownloading them as .eps files. The poor little Paperwhite was just about full and was getting slow because of it. Now, it works a lot more smoothly.

I could never get used to the new(ish) web design on Project Gutenberg, so I rarely go there anymore. Recently there have been some copyright issues even though they had been careful to research any known copywrites. I noticed, the last time I looked, that a few of the books and short stories I had downloaded years ago are no longer listed (or I just couldn't find them). Wikipedia has a good synopsis of the conflict. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Gutenberg

Now I am down to reading one book. Edward Abbey's, The Monkey Wrench Gang, is supposed to be available in about two weeks. And, I've decided to listen to Tom Holland's Persian Fire (non-fiction). It is one of the first audiobooks I bought, so it is about time it got my attention.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 08, 2023, 08:41:13 AM
Now this is interesting. Since I brought up Project Gutenberg, I decided to check it out since I haven't been there in a while. I discovered, a) that I can see the books as a list rather than the cover pix, b) that there are new formats and newer versions of formats added to the download offerings. I am going to have to look into this. https://www.gutenberg.org/help/bibliographic_record.html#Dropbox
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 19, 2023, 05:59:29 PM
Well, I am still waiting on The Monkey Wrench Gang. The site still says two weeks. Meanwhile, I have finished listening to Farilane by Michael J. Sullivan. It is the latest in his Elan Universe, but not for long. His last of this sequence is scheduled to release soon. The book went fast because after the first few chapters, which didn't particularly excite me, I couldn't put it down. The ending was surprising, awesome, jaw dropping.

My old paperwhite went back for trade-in. I hated to see it go. I've had it since 2015. But - the new Kindle (I did not opt for a another Paperwhite. Is wonderful, lots more Gigs (went form 4GB to 16GB), I can listen to audible books via my Bluetooth earphones should I want to (it does not have external speakers), and it now can handle more than just Kindle books (like .epub and more). I think you need to use a program to convert from .epub to the Kindle format, but I didn't check into it. Makes me wonder why I spent all that money on the Kobo a year or so ago. It is also lighter. They trimmed the edges on three sides to slim it without reducing screen size. Very nice, very pleased.

My new audiobook reading includes Persian Fire by Tom Holland which I am reading on my laptop so I can look up maps and such as I read. Because this isn't a Great Courses book there are no maps with the audio version. That is one of the disadvantages of audio books over print. My SciFi pick, after rummaging through my pile and discarding some early on, is Starshine: Aurora Rising Book One (Amaranthe Book One) by G. S. Jennsen. I had previously read several of the short stories associated with the series.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 30, 2023, 01:05:00 PM

I am guessing everyone is busy with other things and not doing much reading. My updated reading:

That is kind of a short list for me. Well, I guess I will go see what I can cue or put on hold for my next library read soon. The Fox is not very long.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on July 31, 2023, 11:27:22 AM

MarsGal -  I never cared much for Kate Mulgrew, so I wouldn't be interested in her memoir.  I don't really know why - maybe the characters she played in movies and TV shows?  Just something about her that was/is unlikeable?

I have  yet to open either of the novels that I got as gifts for Mother's Day, in May.  One is  "The Spanish Daughter",  by Lorena Hughes.  I see that it's already been made into a movie - playing now on Netflix or another of the streaming channels?  The other book is "Spare", by Prince Harry.  He and his wife don't really interest me, nor does his many complaints and issues with  his family.  I'll probably pass that one along to my local non-profit thrift shop.

Other than that, I've been mostly watching old movies on TCM, or just reading about all the new movies.  I would love to see "Oppenheimer", but it will likely be a long time before it shows up on any TV channel.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on July 31, 2023, 06:36:01 PM
I actually never heard of (or don't think I did) Kate Mulgrew before she played Captain Janeway on one of the Star Trek series. Don't think I ever saw anything she was in except for that. My sister watched some of Ryan's Hope when it aired. While I aware of the Mrs. Columbo series, I never watched it. When I listened to a clip on Audible, I thought it sounded interesting, and it was, a bit, but only her childhood remininces. Good thing I borrowed the book rather than buy it.

The Spanish Daughter gets some very good reviews. I took a minute to find it in the library and read an excerpt. Looks like a fun read, so I put it in my wish list.

My sister wants to see Oppenheimer too, but neither she nor I want to spend three hours in a movie theater. We are also waiting for the stream.

I am enjoying The Fox. It is only about six hours long. I find that I need some shored novels, novellas and short stories on audio to spell me from the much longer ones.

I downloaded a couple of free magazines to my laptop. I still do not like reading magazines on the computer and the Kindle Fire 10 is out. I thought reading one on my laptop with the larger screen would be better. Nope!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on July 31, 2023, 10:06:35 PM
Reading:  "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" by G. Zevin;
"Homecoming" by Kate Morton; various mysteries on my Kindle.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 13, 2023, 07:38:04 AM
Almost two weeks and no one has been posting, including me. Well, there is a reason for that. I haven't been reading much, or nothing much worth reporting, anyway.

The Fox by Fredrick Forsyth ended up being just okay. It got a bit boring, actually.

Also finished are the first three books in G. S. Jennsen's Amaranthe series. I am liking this series very much but am taking a break from it for now to catch up on several other of my favorite SciFi series books. One I just started is The Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M. Banks which is part of his Culture series. It promises to be very interesting. So far, it seems rather surreal.

Speaking of surreal, I just acquired Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. It is a bit hard to describe, but it appears to be kind of like someone's surreal dream or hallucination. Well, at least to me after listening to the excerpt. Here is a review. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/sep/17/piranesi-by-susanna-clarke-review-an-elegant-study-in-solitude
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 13, 2023, 08:56:05 AM

MarsGal - Good Morning!  Nice to see some action here in the Library.  The Hydrogen Sonata . . . love that title!   Let me know if you like it, and I may give it a try.  Nothing on my reading agenda at the moment.  I finished The Spanish Daughter, but was not impressed.  I had a hard time staying with it.

There's too much on TV now!  I usually end up scrolling through the possibilities, and rarely ever find anything I want to watch.  Just too overwhelming now.  I usually check out what's going on in the World on one of the news channels from the UK or Australia. That's the only way you can get the big picture, with no slant to left or right.   I still watch a lot of movies and other programming on Turner (TCM). Always something there that I can't resist. 

I think I mentioned here a couple of weeks ago, that daughter Sandy, saw Oppenheimer.   She was impressed, and still talking about it.  I would love to see it, but it will be a while before it's shown on any of the TV Channels.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on August 16, 2023, 09:04:06 PM
Marilyne, I am currently reading "Horse" by Geraldine Brooks. It is a fascinating book, and I posted info on my Facebook Group page, Historical Fiction Readers.  I will try to copy it from there, and paste it here for you and other readers here. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on August 16, 2023, 09:29:02 PM
After a long wait, my library request for "Horse" by Geraldine Brooks finally arrived.  If you've read any of her books and/or seen any of her interviews you will know how deeply she researches each and every one.   It's 512 pages (in Large Print), but it moves along so beautifully the length is not going to make a difference to me.  I'm only on Pg. 155, but I keep going back, reading passages that are simply and artfully crafted.  For people who do not like books which alternate the story from one character or time frame to another this may not be for you, but I can't see how it could have been done differently.  Her research encompasses Art, Science (wonderful chapters on The Smithsonian), horse breeding (then and now), slavery (before the Civil War),  and the problems of past and present racism.
Even though I've not finished the book, (was up till 4:00 AM reading), I highly recommend this novel. (and any of the author's other books)!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 17, 2023, 09:20:45 AM
Marilyne, ultimately, I was disappointed in Hydrogen Sonata and read most of it. It was just too convoluted for me. I did go to the end and read the last chapter or two. I believe the first and last chapters were the only ones featuring the character who was trying to master a very difficult composition written specifically for a very strange and difficult instrument. Everything in between, which involves a whole civilization making the transition from flesh and blood to what they call The Sublimed. Here is a Fandom page with an explanation. https://theculture.fandom.com/wiki/The_Sublimed While each book in the series is essentially a standalone there does seem to be a vague progression. I think I should have read Surface Detail before reading this last one because it seems to be slightly connected and a murder mystery to boot.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 22, 2023, 08:37:42 AM
I am listening to a time-travel book called A Long Time Until Now by Michael Z. Williamson. This is the fourth time I tried to start the book, but until now was unable to get past the first two chapters. To me, it seems more like an anthropology/ancient culture lecture plus survival how-to series than a SciFi story. The story involves soldiers in Afghanistan who unwittingly drive through some kind of time warp and end up in the paleolithic age. Other groups, including a neolithic tribe and Roman soldiers also got trapped in the time warp. They all must learn to interact with each other, learn enough skills to communicate, build a camp/fort, learn local plants and animals that are dangerous while learning how to gather/cultivate plants, hunt animals or herd and pen animals, well you get the idea. All the while the soldiers are trying not to use much of their advanced tech in front of the less advanced groups. Aside from that the story also deals with issues of sex, treatment of illness and injuries without advanced meds and methods, and of course, different religious beliefs and customs. I am about three-quarters of the way through now, and another group has shown up. This group is from the future. So now, the soldiers are no longer the most advanced of the various groups and have to adjust to that circumstance.

There is a "follow-up" book called That Was Now, This is Then, but I am not sure I want to get it. It seems to be essentially a rescue story. A time-machine, invented in the future, went a bit wonky and left people stranded in different time periods. They are in need of rescue. It may or may not include the group in the first book. I am a little fuzzy on that.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on August 22, 2023, 10:23:56 AM
I am in the reading doldrums.  Can't find anything I want to try.  Whatever I download and start I seem to never finish.  Attention wanders and I lose the thread.  Maybe take a vacation and try again later.

Thinking of Marilyne and hope the "hurriquake" in Calif. didn't give them any problems.  It seems most of the damage was around L.A. and the southern part of the state so maybe they escaped it.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 22, 2023, 10:55:28 AM

MarsGal, I think it sounds good!  Maybe just a slow starter?   Time travel is the only style of SciFi that I really enjoy, so I may check it out at the library,  and see what I think. 

Nothing of interest to read or to do around here, so going to the library and browsing will be an event! There's a brand new book out about JFK, that sounds interesting.  Can't remember the title?  You'd think that everything there is to say about him has already been said, but I guess there's always something new.

Phyllis, thank you for thinking about me.  :) We live too far North, to have been in the storm track.  The desert areas around Palm Springs, Death Valley and on into Nevada were hit the hardest.  The earthquake was along the coast near San Barbara, but I guess didn't cause any damage?   It kind of got lost in all the hurricane media coverage.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on August 22, 2023, 06:01:48 PM
The pictures on the news of those mudslides were terrible.  The water/flooding was bad enough, but water will recede & dry up, but what does one do with all that (6 ft. deep) mud?  My heart goes out to ALL who are suffering from the onslaught of mother nature.  Here we are just having more (and more) of these 100+ degree days.  Lawns are a thing of the past, mine resembles a corn field that has been reaped already.  Had to text my lawn fellow and tell him not to bother, there's nothing to mow, except "dirt".  I got my soaker hose straightened out enough to get to the front of the house to try to help the foundation a bit.   Another thing is, the birds (any kind) and the squirrels are "no-shows".  I tried to rig up the soaker hose and a large plastic pan to make a sort of fountain, but no birds came, no squirrels either.  The other day (probably a couple of weeks now) one brave squirrel sauntered up to the very back of the house, where there is an overflow pipe from the A/C and a bit of water always stands.  It was full of leaves and mud, but he came up to get a drink from it.  The last birds I saw in the backyard, were some grackles, looking terrible, feathers all amok, skinny.  They just walked about the yard, then flew off.

People are giving up their pets, and the animal shelters are overflowing.

More tropical storms and other severe weather on the way. Hate to think of the damage to already ruined properties.

Prayers for those in Maui who lost everything.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: RAMMEL on August 22, 2023, 06:42:46 PM
Be sure there's some water out there every day. Something will come when you're not looking. They need the water.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 29, 2023, 12:37:50 PM
Tome -  I hope you've had some good rain since you last wrote, and that your weather has returned to the old  normal?  So far, our Summer weather has been tolerable, compared to last year, but we still have a few months of heat ahead.  The dreaded Wildfire season will arrive here soon, so always hoping it will be milder than in years past?

I read about a new book yesterday, and immediately ordered it from my library.  The River We Remember, by William Kent Krueger.
I've read all or most of his books, and this sounds like another good one.  :thumbup:

Hello to MarsGal, Callie, Phyllis, Rick, Tome, and anyone else who looks at this folder.  Hope we soon hear from all of you.  :study:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: RAMMEL on August 29, 2023, 12:40:56 PM
I just took a look.   I do wish I was a reader. I can read a Tech Manual and stay awake, but little else.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on August 29, 2023, 07:53:41 PM
No, Marilyne, not a drop.  Weather person said we had a "cold front" on Sunday.  Hahahaha. The high temp was in the 80's.  Today it is back in the nineties, with morning temps (they say) in the seventies.  Didn't feel like that to me.  Yes, Kreuger's books are all special. Hoping you don't get any extra wildfires there.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 30, 2023, 08:17:40 AM
I guess I will have to find you something interesting for you Rammel. What kind of technical manuals do you like to read? Hard science fiction is more science oriented than others of the subgenres, some more so than others. Andy Weir wrote The Martian and Hail Mary(more math oriented in this one) which I would call hard science light.

While they are science oriented, they have a lot more of the human aspects to them than say, Neal Stephenson's SevenEves, which I have read, is very heavy on the science and technology of building and maintaining a space colony/refuge at the LaGrange point. It is also very, very thick. It is not a book you can sail through. I had to read it a little bit at a time. Another of his massive tomes is Cryptonomicon which I have yet to read. A Barnes and Noble book describes it like this.  "Entire sections of this doorstopper novel read like the coolest, most entertaining math or computer science textbook you'll ever encounter."

More listed as hard science fiction that I have read include:
The Three-body Problem (I have to reread this series. It was hard to follow at times)
Dennis E. Taylor's Bobiverse series starting with We Are Legion (We Are Bob). Think Von Neuman's probes. It is a riot.
Many of Alastair Reynolds books includingRevelation Space, House of Suns and Blue Earth Remembered
Blindsight and its sequel Echopraxia by Peter Watts
Arthur C. Clark's 2001 a Space Odyssey and his Rendezvous with Rama[/i among others
Some of Isaac Azimov's Robot series stories.
Iain M. Banks culture series, all of them.

Although it is listed as a techno-thriller, I would add Daniel H. Wilson's books including Amped and Robopocalypse/. These are robotics and neural implant oriented.

Most, if not all, of these writers hold advanced degrees in the sciences.

Right now, I am reading one of Jonathan Straham's short story anthologies called Engineering Infinity
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: RAMMEL on August 30, 2023, 09:45:58 AM
On the occasions that I have bought a new car, I have bought (if available) it's corresponding Manuals. For my Ford Wagon I even found an error in their Electrical Manual. My problem with reading is I read every word and analyze everything. So reading a book that most of you would knock off in a day or two takes me a couple of weeks. Of course slowly failing eyes don't help. I'm more inclined to read short items or stories (As the ones I mentioned a while back).
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 30, 2023, 04:33:05 PM
Then, I guess, Neal Stephenson's book would be out for you Rammel. Like I said his books are huge. And yes, I had to read SevenEves slowly and in bits to follow what exactly they were doing to calculate trajectories and put together their space habitats.

I suppose you read a lot of the Azimov and Clark short stories already. Lots of the Science Fiction stories of the 50's were science oriented. Off the top of my head, I think Alfred Bester, E. E. "Doc" Smith, Murry Leister, Poul Anderson, H. Beam Piper, Alan Edward Nourse, Fredrick Pohl, and Edmond Hamilton wrote some hard SciFi back then. Then there are David Brin, Greg Bear, Gregory Benfield (who also edits anthologies), and William Gibson and writing. They are all still alive as far as I know.

I tried looking up non science fiction short stories, but the search just kept giving me SciFi stories. Well, no one can say I didn't try. The anthologies of short stories often give a clue as to the theme of the stories inside, like the one I mentioned above.

Short stories are great because they cut out a lot of the fillers and fluff and get to the point rather quickly. I understand that they are actually more difficult to write.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: RAMMEL on August 30, 2023, 04:49:13 PM
MarsGal - I'm sorry but I may have given a wrong impression. . What I reads is what I said, but it is rare that I even do that. I'm just not inclined to pick up a book. Even in a doctors office I'm inclined to just sit there rather than pick up one of the old magazines.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on August 31, 2023, 07:02:03 AM
My sister Sue was never a reader when we were young. While she does read now, her main focus on watching movies, TV shows and tennis. The only time she listened to audiobooks was when she and Jim were traveling in the car. Now that Jim is gone, she doesn't care to listen. My other sister reads, but not nearly as much as me. Her husband, on the other hand, is a SciFi nut like me. We occasionally pass on book titles that we enjoyed.

My online library notified me yesterday that the audiobook version of When the Heavens Went on Sale by Ashlee Vance just became available. This book has to do with the privatization and commercialization of space ventures such as we see now with Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, et.al. I haven't started listening to it yet.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 31, 2023, 11:55:07 AM
Rick - I remember back about six months ago, you listed two short stories here.   At the time,  I clicked on the link, and read them both.   The stores were good, easy to read, with lots of wit and humor.  Today when you have nothing to do, read one of them, and I think you will enjoy the time spent.   My favorite was, "THE COMMUTATION CHOPHOUSE". :tup:   

The Deacon's Masterpiece
"The Wonderful "One-Hoss-Shay"
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/45280/45280-h/45280-h.htm

THE COMMUTATION CHOPHOUSE 
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/51957/51957-h/51957-h.htm#link2H_4_0006
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: RAMMEL on August 31, 2023, 12:20:13 PM
Marilyne, - I think those two were my favorites. In their own way they both carry an interesting message.
I've read them more than once, and will likely read them again. If for no other reason it is a good starting point for finding other good stuff.
A piece of poetry I've read more than once (Have a printed copy of it somewhere around here) is Invictus. Have to read it once in a while to set my mind straight.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on August 31, 2023, 12:41:25 PM
Rick - Here is a beautiful reading of "Invictus".
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: RAMMEL on August 31, 2023, 10:25:51 PM
Marilyne --- I read them both.  Still good after all these years.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 01, 2023, 07:47:18 AM
Has anyone heard of "flash fiction"? They are very short stories. I just ran across this website. Click on the story title to read. https://reedsy.com/discovery/blog/best-flash-fiction
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: RAMMEL on September 01, 2023, 10:01:19 AM
I bookmarked that, and at this point intend to check it out. Who knows - maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 04, 2023, 12:03:03 PM
MarsGal - Thanks for posting the Flash Fiction web site.   I've read a number of them so far, and plan to read every one on the list.  Joyce Carol Oates, is one of my favorite authors, so I read her stories first.  "Where Are You?", 523 words is typical JCO.  The other one by her, "Widow's First Year", has only 4 words - but those four words say it all. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 07, 2023, 08:32:15 AM
Looks like I will be busy watching documentaries for a while about various authors. I ran across Write Like on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@writelike The only one I watched so far is the one about Daphne Du Maurer. Very interesting bio. I have never actually read or watched movies of any of her books.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 07, 2023, 08:50:05 AM
If you liked Firefly or Guardians of the Galaxy, you might like reading Micheal Moriarty's The Decline and Fall of the Galactic Empire series. It has a similar sense of humor and is quite funny. Moriarty also wrote a series about a space accountant which I have yet to read although I have known of it for a few years.

I am also enjoying listening to When the Heavens Went on Sale. It is not about Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos or Richard Branson, but about Astra, Firefly, Planet Labs, and Rocket Lab and their founders. The author, Ashlee Vance, previously wrote a book about Elon Musk which I have not read.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 07, 2023, 10:27:17 AM

Good morning MarsGal - "When The Heaven's Went on Sale", sounds like a good one.  I'd like to read Ashlee Vance's book about Elon Musk.    I have to admit that I'm impressed that three of the wealthiest men on earth - Musk, Branson and Bezos - have used some of their $Billions$ toward space exploration.  Of the three, Branson has been the least public about his life and his money.   I'd
like to know more about him?

Did anyone else read any of the "Flash Fiction" stories?   I was hoping someone would comment on if they like the idea, or if they have a favorite?     Besides the JC Oates stories that I mentioned, I've
read a couple of others that I've enjoyed.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: phyllis on September 07, 2023, 10:43:48 AM
Daphne du Maurer was one of my all-time  favorite authors and her book, Rebecca, is my top book of choice and is consistently included in the top 100 best  books ever written.  The movies, on the other hand, never seemed to make her books worth the film.

I will have to read some more flash fiction to make a decision.  I read one and it is clever but, I have always read books because I loved the way they unfolded and kept my interest and traveled on their journey.  Short stories and flash fiction is over and done quickly and I found that unsatisfying. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 17, 2023, 12:08:53 PM

Good morning:  Looks like it's going to be a  beautiful Fall day here.  I have lots of books to read and movies to watch, so that should keep me busy.

My dil brought me Ann Patchett's new book,  Tom Lake.   She's one of my favorite authors, so I'm happy to have her latest novel.  Hope I like it as much as I did The Dutch House?

Has anyone seen any good movies lately?  Either new ones to recommend, or oldies from long ago?    A couple of nights ago, I watched one that I remembered from l948, One Touch of Venus.  A comedy/fantasy/love story starring Ava Gardner, Robert Walker and Dick Haymes.  It was enjoyable and fun to watch - especially because it brought back happy memories of seeing it when I was in the 8th grade.

Other than that, I haven't seen any other movies lately.  I have a  whole bunch saved on my DVR that I hope to eventually watch.  Most are oldies like "The Grapes of Wrath" and "GWTW", and also lots of musicals. 

Hoping to see messages from some of you today . . .  hearing about books, movies or TV shows is always welcome?          
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on September 17, 2023, 05:27:15 PM
I'm on the Waiting List for "Tom Lake".  Unfortunately, my Tablet stopped working and DIL has taken it home to see if it can be fixed (it's an Android - not an IPAD).  I suspect its time for a new one.  I can read on the computer but it's not as comfortable as the recliner - and I can't take it out on the patio or to the comfy chair in the bedroom (site of my "just read one more chapter" nights  ;) )

I did watch the movie "A Man Named Otto" on Netflix last night.  I'd read  "A Man Named Ove" (on which movie is based) but it's been so long ago that I couldn't remember if the characters were the same as the movie.  Tom Hanks was pretty good as Otto.

I love the old musicals and will have to see what I can find to watch while I'm "tablet deprived".
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 18, 2023, 07:56:52 AM
Marilyne, I started The Spanish Daughter. It is okay so far, but I have not a clue as to why she thought she had to disguise herself.

I started, but didn't finish several Sci-Fi books that didn't suit, and one I did finish but won't continue with the series. The new one is Andrew Moriarty's Trans Galactic Insurance which is the first of his "Adventures of a Jump Space Accountant" series. I am hoping for some humor without being silly or downright stupid. I have only just started it; so far, so good.

I haven't been listening to anything for the last few weeks. I ran out of time on When the Heavens Went on Sale so it went back to the library unfinished. It is now back in the cue so that I can finish it.

I haven't watched a movie in a few weeks. What I have been watching, aside from the ship live cams, are various history (mostly ancient) and book programs on YouTube. Most of the book review hosts tend to review the same books, though. Yesterday I did watch a very interesting webcast with Alastair Reynolds and Adrian Tchaikovsky discussing their books and writing.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 18, 2023, 12:28:37 PM

Callie, thanks for reminding me of "A Man Named Otto".  I had forgotten that it's available on Netflix.  I also read  "A Man Called Ove", a few years ago, and liked it.  My younger daughter liked it so much, that she bought the DVD . . .  the original movie produced in Sweden, with English subtitles.  I watched it also, and thought it was very good.  Better than I was expecting it to be. So now I'd like to see the American version with Tom Hanks.

Do you still have TCM?  If so, check out the musicals available there.  They cycle through the big Broadway productions, plus lots of the lesser known Hollywood musicals made in the 40's and 50's. ("State Fair", "Words and Music", "The Harvey Girls", etc.).  Also lots of Nelson Eddy/Jeannette MacDonald, and one I watched a couple of weeks ago that I always look forward to, "Sun Valley Serenade", with Sonja Henie. 

MarsGal,  I just couldn't focus on "The Spanish Daughter".  I don't know why, but my mind kept wandering and finally I gave up on it.  My daughter liked it "Okay".  I still have it here, and may take another look before I give it away.    I also gave up on watching the ship cams.  Since they all went to YouTube, I don't like them as much as I did in their original form.  I especially liked the Duluth canal/bridge cam, and the way the people would gather ahead of time to wave and cheer for the really big ones . . . especially Paul Tregurtha!             
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on September 18, 2023, 06:14:01 PM
I have to agree about YouTube. It is not as nice to click through as it used to be. I particularly don't like the junkie look of the clips what with multicolored fat fonts with drop shadows polluting the "covers" on so many of the clips. Very distracting, sometimes hard to actually read the header because the type clashes with the background. 

Actually, I like the San Diego live web feeds better now that someone at the NCIS (so I heard) department made a "request" to the park service to shut down the web cam up near the Cabrillo monument (Is that Point Loma?) due to security concerns. They moved and added more cams so I get to see more of the marina area, but a lot less of the North Island base. There are lots and lots of birds flying about, seagulls and osprey mostly, I think.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on September 18, 2023, 09:58:29 PM
DIL brought fixed Tablet home and "Tom Lake" appeared on my Availability list :thumbup: ! I'm all set for a  "just read one more chapter" night.
Unfortunately, I have an appointment tomorrow morning so will have to discipline myself.

Yes, I do have TCM and will have to remember to check the schedule.

I lost interest in watching the ship channels when I found some bird watching sites and could watch from laying of eggs to fledging (bird begins to fly on its own). Particularly like one that follows eagles and Canada geese.

Off to read!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on September 19, 2023, 12:21:52 PM

MarsGal - I plan to look for some cams of the San Diego area, and start following them.  Lots of beautiful and interesting cities in California, but for me, San Diego is just about perfect. I've never lived there, but have visited off and on over the years, since I was a child.  The weather is considered by many, to be perfect, year around.  Never too hot, never too cold.  If you have a favorite cam, please post  it here - I'd love to see it.  :)

Callie  - I'm curious as to what you think of "Tom Lake", so far?  I'm not going to get to it for a couple of days.  Too much going on today and tomorrow, so it will have to wait. 
Be sure to look at the Guide on your TV listings, for a long view of what's coming up on TCM.  Lots of good stuff playing in the overnight hours, that you can record to watch at a convenient time.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: CallieOK on September 19, 2023, 04:53:34 PM
I just started "Tom Lake" this morning.  Had to stop to tend to other things and haven't gotten back to it. 
     It's a fairly easy read but I haven't quite figured out what the "plot" is, yet or what the title refers to.   The story keeps switching back and forth between the "narrator" telling a story about her youth (Tom Lake hasn't been mentioned as a person nor a place) and conversation between her and her three 20-something daughters, to who she is apparently telling the story.
  A bit confusing because there's no punctuation or chapter switch between the story and the conversation.  I'll get into the rhythm...eventually, I hope. 

I'll check the guide for TCM but will probably watch the movies "in real time" (I'm a "night owl".  :) ) because I tend to record programs and then never get back to them.

EDIT on Sept. 21....    Since there haven't been any posts since mine, I'll just add to it instead of starting a new one.

TCM didn't list any old musicals for the future - at least in the evenings, which is when I'm most likely to watch. 

I finally looked up the synopsis of "Tom Lake" because I could not figure out when/where/why the conversations between the narrator (Lara - the mom) and the three 20-something daughters were taking place.  The daughters have returned to the cherry farm and the Mom is telling the story of her romance years before she married.  Whew! Now it makes sense - sort of.   However, it's a good story and I will finish it.   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 08, 2023, 08:30:29 AM
Still mighty quiet here. Here is my list of current reading/listening which I have also posted on the very quiet SeniorLearn site.

Just finished last night: The Lamplighters by  Emma Stonex. Story was okay. Nicely written, but it seemed to really drag out. The ending was predictable.


Continued:
-Another chapter of Persian Fire. I wish the chapters were a little shorter. Good but dense. Keep falling asleep on it.
-Another chapter of the neglected Great Courses audio, The Other 1492: Ferdinand, Isabella, and The Making of an Empire. Chapter six was of particular interest because it included books, authors and printing in the 15th century. Interesting that the chapter was mostly about the role of books in culture.
-Return to Glory by Jack McDevitt. Always a good read, these are some of his short stories, plus and excerpt from his book Hercules Text which I read years ago.

Just started: The Great Courses, Creation Stories of the Ancient World by Joseph Lam. Very good.

I see that I have two other books in my TBR that include lighthouses, Swan Light, by Phoebe Rowe and The Light on Farallon Island by Jen Wheeler. The Farallon Islands, I just read, are a group of small islands off the West Coast around San Francisco. They are closed to the public, being designated a wildlife refuge. I might just continue the theme next. Both these books appear to be debut novels from the authors.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 11, 2023, 09:31:43 AM
Forgot to mention that I have been, off and on, slogging through the first book of Joe Haldeman's World's series. It is getting political what with other world's wanting more independence from Earth, especially regarding economic endeavors. The main character is being gradually suborned into a political cell. Not my cup of tea but, so far, I am unwilling to give up reading it just yet.

Before I got to picking up one of the lighthouse novels, I ended up starting The Brighter the Light by Mary Ellen Taylor. I am not sure where it will lead, but it appears to be a mystery and starts out in Nags Head, NC.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 18, 2023, 07:25:04 AM
I seem to be picking about with my books lately. Almost all of the books I mentioned in the last two posts are still ongoing. I did listen to two of three Sci-Fi novels in a trilogy by Michael Mammey. The third is started, but so far it isn't holding my attention like the other two. I am a few chapters into The Brighter the Light, too. Light reading. The characters are personable and the story is decent. It is a coming back home, finding romance type thing. Not my usual read.

Someone is posting the old Crown and Country series hosted and produced by Prince Edward, so I have been watching some of those along with a bunch of other YouTube history, news and other postings that catch my eye rather than reading so much.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 19, 2023, 08:02:51 AM
Has anyone run across the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series by Toshikazu Kawaguchi? They all seem to revolve around a café in Tokyo where you can have a cup of coffee and get a chance to go back in time. Sounds intriguing.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on October 19, 2023, 10:50:41 AM
MarsGal - sounds like something I'm going to like reading!   I'd do it straight off, if I had the chance.  Now I'm going to start thinking about, "where, and what year"?   Endless possibilities to ponder. 🤔   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 28, 2023, 03:44:02 PM
I am still picking about and not really settling on any one book. Done with the last of the Michael Mammey Sci-Fie trilogy; it was only so-so. The Brighter the Light is also now history; it was only just okay. Still have not finished the three Great Courses series listed a few posts back. Same with Persian Fire.

I am back to reading more of Joe Haldeman's Worlds. I knew if I hung on long enough it would get interesting.

Dan Simmons (of Hyperion fame) wrote two books, titled Illium and Olympos. I thought, a few years ago, that it was a kind of version of the Trojan War but set on Mt. Olympus on Mars. Well, unless I missed it early on, the book is not set on Mars, or not yet at any rate. Bizarre is what I would term the book so far, really bizarre. I am actually giving it a little more time than I did with Hyperion; I didn't get far into that one, so I owe it to Simmons to slog my way further into Illium before throwing in the towel. Right now, I am at the party with about sixteen beings (godlets?). If it follows The Iliad, there should be a challenge, side-taking and betting. Another huge tome, I will not get through all of it before it goes back to the library, or I renew it. All in all, I think I would rather read Emily Wilson's translation of The Iliad and The Odyssey
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on October 29, 2023, 10:56:49 AM
Amazing! I picked up Illium this morning, and all of a sudden, it is actually starting to make some sense to me since I read Chapter Five this morning.

The book is following two different lines, pretty much alternating chapters. Group one is following a bunch of post-post-humans on Earth (All the post-human/uplifted have abandoned Earth for who knows where). Their mode of transport (goods and people both) is by way of the fax.

Group two is following a scholar who quantum teleports himself between a scholastic center on Olympos (Mt. Olympus on Mars?) and the time and events surrounding the Trojan War. The head of the center or department is called Muse.

Chapter five, BTW, is set in a good-old fashioned library with real books, which nobody except for one knows how to read.

Has anyone read it? What did you think?


modified post and also posted on SeniorLearn.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on November 27, 2023, 08:00:36 AM
After quite a hiatus, I listened to more of Persian Fire. It struck me that Tom Holland and his narrator, Michael Page, seemed somewhat tongue-in-cheek in the narration centering on Athens. Well, that thought livens the book up a bit. Now I think I will have to go back and see if I can pick up on it earlier, or if it is just Athens and its snobbish residents and political manipulations that is getting the treatment. It could just be that Michael Page's manner of narration just makes it seem that way.

A non-fiction book I finished since my last post was Operation Pineapple Express by Lt. Col. Scott Mann (retired). It is about a group of mostly veterans here that, after repeatedly being stonewalled by our government officials and their various offices, took it upon themselves to find ways to get Afghani American trained special forces members who worked along side our forces, interpreters, embassy staff, and American citizens and others at risk of Taliban retribution out of Afghanistan during the last days of our pull-out. They were effective enough that even some within the government requested their help. The squads on the ground at the airport put their military careers at risk to help with these unofficial and unsanctioned actions. Imagine my surprise to discover that one of the vets lives locally and one family he was instrumental in helping is now living near here too. The book relates not just the action on this side, but also the efforts and trauma those rescued went through to get "inside the wire" and to safety.

Now I am reading Fair Trade by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. It is another of their Liaden Universe stories. I am a bit behind. A new book came out in July which I will need to pick up at some point.

Other than that, my reading has been mostly short story anthologies, another lesson or two from the two Great Courses series I started, and a few non-descript books that I discarded quite early in my reading.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 04, 2023, 01:57:30 PM
It's been some time since I've posted . . . mainly  because I haven't read an actual book in a long long time.   Only online newspapers, and opinion articles from various columnists and publications.  I've continued to read  reviews on recent books, but nothing that's made me anxious to start anything new.

Mars - I remember back in September, when you posted the Flash Fiction website?  That's about as close as I can come to a book, recent months!  ::) 

I belong to a couple of literature and poetry groups on Facebook, and  very much enjoy the short discussions or comments on old favorites from the past. (Steinbeck, Hemingway, Frost, etc.)  I like to take a look everyday at those sites, and see what members have to say.

Callie - I finally finished Tom Lake, but it didn't make much of an impression on me.  I have to make a connection with at least one of the characters in a story in order to enjoy it, and there was no-one in TL that I could relate to.  I was disappointed, because I liked The Dutch House very much,  so had high hopes for TL.  My younger daughter now has it, and I'm hoping she'll enjoy it more than I did.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 13, 2023, 10:08:20 AM

Heavy wet fog out there this morning. Cold, dark and gloomy. Reminds me of a poem by Sara Teasdale.

   Gray Fog
   •   
   •   A fog drifts in, the heavy laden
   •   Cold white ghost of the sea.
   •   One by one the hills go out,
   •   The road and the pepper-tree.
   •   
   •   I watch the fog float in at the window
   •   With the whole world gone blind,
   •   Everything, even my longing, drowses,
   •   Even the thoughts in my mind.
   •   
   •   I put my head on my hands before me,
   •   There is nothing left to be done or said,
   •   There is nothing to hope for, I am tired,
   •   And heavy as the dead.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 14, 2023, 08:48:37 AM
Thanks for the poem, Marilyne. The name Sara Teasdale sounds familiar to me, but I'll be darn if I know from where. Looking her up, I see that a number of musician/composers have used her poems in their work. She was either mentioned, or poems were featured in several written works, including Ray Bradbury's science fiction short story "There Will Come Soft Rains" (same as her poem). I don't recognize the poem names but I did recognize, Bradbury, of course and a few of the musician/composers like Amy Beach. To my ears this is rather cringe-worthy and unintelligible, but I include it anyway. It is listed among Beach's work as a Secular Choral piece. IMHO, this is not one of Beach's better works. Thank goodness it is very short.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on December 15, 2023, 12:02:14 AM

Mars - I agree, "cringe-worthy" describes it well.  I couldn't understand a single word of Sara T's poem.   I don't care for that type of musical presentation anyway, (same person, four frames).   Interesting that her poems have been used in the works of well known musicians and novelists.   
She is one of my favorite poets, so I'm surprised I know so little about her. I plan to do some research.   As in, "Gray Fog", she often writes about or mentions the sea/ocean. Here is another short one.

 Tides

LOVE in my heart was a fresh tide flowing
 Where the starlike sea gulls soar;
The sun was keen and the foam was blowing
 High on the rocky shore.

But now in the dusk the tide is turning,
 Lower the sea gulls soar,
And the waves that rose in resistless yearning
 Are broken forevermore.

Sara Teasdale
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on December 24, 2023, 05:57:19 PM
Joanne, I think you were the one that was reading the Slough House series too.  I just finished Mick Herron's The Silent Hours. I thought at first it was completely separate from but set in the same arena as the Slough House. I was wrong. While not a part of that series, some of the characters do show up and play key roles in this new book, only they are either using code names or no names are mentioned. Added to that the book flips back and forth between present day and Berlin after the wall came down. It only slowly dawned on me who these people were. So this turns out to be backstory for at least two of the Slough House characters. Great follow up to the original series. BTW, has anyone seen the TV series? It is (was?) on a channel I do not get.


Merry Christmas Eve to everyone!   :christmastree:
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 04, 2024, 06:33:37 PM
I've been a bit slow with my reading this past week. I'd like to finish up several books that got side-lined.

I am determined to finish Persian Fire sometime this month. The Tuscarora War is in my audio cue for this month too. But, of course, I had to start listening to another sci-fi called Fear the Sky. It is a borrow so I need to concentrate on that one. R.C. Bray, one of my favorites, narrates. Likewise I need to finish Pandora's Jar, also a library borrow.

Bookwise, I am reading another book of sci-fi short stories, and just started back to the long-languishing The Anarchy by William Dalrymple.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: so_P_bubble on January 07, 2024, 12:27:12 PM
Did you know that Jacqueline Kennedy co-authored with her younger sister "One Special Summer", a book about their summer trip through Europe in 1951?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 08, 2024, 06:15:46 AM
I didn't know that, Bubble. Looking it up, I found some photos of the book pages. Delightful, colorful, fun. https://journeyjottings.com/blog/2014/07/one-special-summer/

Pandora's Jar is back at the library. I thought the author/narrator brought up a lot of interesting thoughts about how women were treated in the mythological stories. As narrator, she conveyed a rather strident, indignant attitude. She did well narrating her own work (not all authors can pull off reading their own works), but at times the indignant, almost angry, attitude sometimes got a little much. It did not stop me from listening though. Natalie Haynes did a great job of researching the various versions by other authors contemporary with or before Homer.  The ancients not always dumped the blame on these women. Attitudes towards women show up in later interpretations of the stories. Well worth the read/listen.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on January 08, 2024, 08:59:49 PM
Marsgal, saw this on Random House site, and thought you might like to peruse it.

https://links.eml.randomhousebooks.com/e/evib?_t=923db5ced76341da95addaffe2072c88&_m=2829a358f66e416e96a119b218a9d1b8&_e=PE-oWgxgjaTUL9ADkku5-m_fasbi-z44Le2l50z_gi4MFzdaMmPQXbsVjZ9VDsKOzbJuJ-5lQj1E2se9dbMOvQ%3D%3D
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 09, 2024, 08:13:51 AM
Thanks for the link, Tomereader. I was almost certain that I read one of Alison Weir's (one only), that being her book on Mary Queen of Scots, but the original release doesn't seem back far enough. So, my best guess is that I have simply been aware of Alison Weir for a long time, but had lost interest in medieval history by that point. Now I have become interested in British history again, but with emphasis on the time period including Roman Britain up to the conquest of Wales by Edward I. Nevertheless, I have put several of her books on my library wish list, and the three in her England's Medieval Queens series on my books to buy wish list.

Has anyone read Salman Rushdie? Victory City sounds intriguing, but the excerpt I read puts me in mind of The Life of Pi, which to me strange and mystical and a bit hard to make much sense of.

My Dad's favorite silent movie was All Quiet on the Western Front. I never forgot the time he let me stay up late to watch it with him when I was little. I finally got to read the book about 10 years ago. Since I don't have NetFlix, I have not seen the remake that was recently released.

I just this morning discovered that a favorite book has been made into a series (also on a channel I don't get) and took an instant dislike to it. I have had Beacon 23 on my re-read pile as with several of Hugh Howey's other books for a while now.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: RAMMEL on January 09, 2024, 09:49:24 AM
All Quiet on the Western Front
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPKeYhkBt5A - Did you check Youtube or Amazon?
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 09, 2024, 11:16:51 AM

All Quiet On the Western Front,  has been made into three separate/different movies over the years:   
The first was in 1930, and starred Lew Ayres.  Apparently it follows the book really well, and is an excellent movie.

The second version was in 1979, starring Richard Thomas and Earnest Borgnine.  It was very popular at the time, and I remember seeing it and being very impressed.  It is considered one of the greats, and is now played often on TCM, when they do a series on War movies.   

The third and last version, was made in 2022, and was released in theaters about a year ago.  That's the one that people are talking about now.  It won four Oscar's at the Academy Awards last year.  It's playing on Netflix  now, and I intend to watch it ASAP.  I had forgotten about it over this past year. (It is not available on any other channel).
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1016150/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_all%2520quiet
   
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 09, 2024, 02:33:35 PM
Oh, I will have to see the Richard Thomas/Earnest Borgnine one. Thomas was a good choice for the lead. I completely forgot about that one, don't recall seeing it. Yes, Lew Ayres was the one I watched with Dad. Silent film, B/W. The book I have is American copyrighted and published in 1929, February 1930 reprint, translated by A. W. Wheen.  By the time I found this edition, the book had been reprinted a total of 18 times between June of 1929 and February 1930. Thanks to Wikipedia, I have discovered a newer translation which, according to Wikipedia's article, is a more accurate translation of the original. It appears the original translation  left out a few things or lightened the impact of certain passages for American readers. Okay, I have to get that one and probably the Remarque's sequel, The Road Back.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 11, 2024, 07:06:50 AM
My post this morning on SeniorLearn since the book may be of interest to some of you. Hints of romance, with lots of suspense, and I like the poetry.

The listen that has my attention this week is Adam Hamdy's The Other Side of Night. It doesn't get great reviews, but it doesn't seem too bad to me. Sadly, I read a few of the reviews after I started reading it which kind of spoiled the suspense a bit. I'm glad I didn't read the review spoiler before I started. Otherwise, I might not had started it. It is basically a murder mystery/suspense/psychological thriller, but is slowly morphing into something more. I like this clip of the author's comments about the poems in the book. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRCOFIpslTY
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on January 11, 2024, 09:58:32 AM
Mars - The Other Side of Night, sounds good. I'd like to check it out at the library right away, but feel like I should first read the books I received as Christmas presents.  Can't remember the titles at the moment, but will look and post them later.  ::)

Friday night, we plan to watch All Quiet on the Western Front, now playing on Netflix.  This is the newest version I mentioned a few days ago, that won the Academy Award last year.   Looking forward to seeing it. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 12, 2024, 07:27:44 AM
Let me know what you think of the new version, Marilyne. I don't get Netflix.

Well---I finished The Other Side of Night. What an interesting twist to the ending. Some science fiction involved. It now has me looking into theories of time. I have read some on the recursive theory of time, but not this new one (B-theory of time). The epilogue to the story is, maybe, a little long but still interesting.

So, I am to back listening to Persian Fire and Far Pavilions which is am slowly working my way through. I've put aside Vanished Kingdoms by Norman Davies for now.



 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on January 20, 2024, 08:07:04 AM
Not much reading going on the last few days because I have been busy snow shoveling, housework and finding more things to throw out or pack.

What I am reading, and almost done with, is Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Door Through Space for the thrid or fourth time. I read The Colors of Space for the third time several weeks ago.

The sun has come up. It is only 17oF but I need to go retrieve the trash can and shovel snow, again. I hope the roads are fairly well cleaned off because I need to go gas up the car tomorrow.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 15, 2024, 12:04:55 PM
Still no books to comment on here. I'm hoping to get to Walgreens this week, to try on different lenses for reading.  I can see the TV just fine, so have been watching  movies, or reading articles online about subjects that interest me. 

Yesterday I watched a movie on TCM from 1969, called  The Rain People.  I had never seen it  or even heard of it that I can remember.   It was one of the earliest movies, directed by Francis Ford Coppola.  It starred James Caan, Robert Duval, and Shirley Knight.  A number of years later when Coppola directed The Godfather, he chose both Caan and Duval for leading roles.
I  liked  Rain People,  and recommend it,  but definitely not for those who like cheerful, upbeat movies with a happy ending.  Go to the Hallmark Channel for those, but go to TCM if you prefer "the dark side".  I found myself still thinking about it  last night when I went to bed, and woke up this morning with it still on my mind.     
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 15, 2024, 05:00:16 PM
Have done neither reading nor movie watching this last week, just some YouTube, but not even that much. I don't know if I mentioned it, but I switched to streaming and internet and dropped regular cable TV. My goal, since I rarely watched regular TV, was cost cutting, not "cord-cutting". I've succeeded in that, at least. Even though I am now renting the modem instead of using my own, and of course, Xfinity's Zumo box. I am spending less. I really, really hated spending the money on the various sports and other fees that I had to with regular cable. I do not watch sports (well, except for the soccer finals last year).
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 22, 2024, 11:12:43 AM
The rain has ended for now, and has been replaced this morning by a heavy blanket of fog . . .  "The cold white ghost of the sea".   Very fitting description, but always makes me shudder a little to look outside and see nothing!

Younger daughter came by over this past weekend, and brought me a book she received as a Christmas gift.   Where the Forest Meets the Stars,  by Glendy Vanderah.    She said it's either fantasy, time-travel, or a mixture?  Sounds interesting enough, that I may finally do some reading in the next couple of days. 

Mars -  Sounds like you're pretty well  settled into your apartment, and that you made some real changes in your TV viewing?  I'm curious as to how you like your new streaming/internet set-up?   I'll have to look that up and see what it consists of, as we also have Xfinity?    Most likely you haven't had time to do much TV watching or reading the past couple of weeks, what with your move and all.

Joanne and Callie -  Have either of you read anything worth recommending?  I'm going to try to get away from doing so much News watching on TV, (or internet).  There are a WHOLE LOT of important news stories the past couple of months, so it's hard for me to stay away from checking  on the many different situations that are constantly changing.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 22, 2024, 03:05:37 PM
Marilyne, let me know how you like the book. I have eyed it a couple of times but have not committed to getting it yet.

I am getting a few paragraphs at a time read on Ann Lecke's newest book in the Imperial Radch universe, Translation State. As usual with other Radch characters in and around the Imperial Radch Empire, the characters are often very strange and different from our upbringing and society. I've skipped a few bits pertaining to one character's upbringing because it is a bit too distasteful to me, but otherwise, the story is rather interesting. So, the main character is sent off to find, if possible, a fugitive from two hundred years ago, an assignment that no one really expects to bear fruit. I'd call it an mystery adventure. Oh, but there is a pending treaty lurking in the background that may or may not be influenced by the results of this search for the fugitive who is most likely dead by now. Compounding my confusion and dislike, is that Lecke subscribes to the use of alternate pronouns to describe beings. But I suppose if the being is strange enough, male or female may not apply. It confuses me a bit, especially since there doesn't seem to be a standard or consensus for pronoun usage among writers just yet on the subject of non-binary people/beings. Well, for me, it gets in the way of the story.

Okay, on to streaming. I noticed that the ads on YouTube are lengthier and often more difficult to bypass than before. Annoying. I looked around a little but didn't find anything very interesting. The Peacock stream that I thought I was getting free, apparently isn't. I tried that, but it wanted monthly sub fees.  That doesn't stop them from reminding me that it is ready for me to activate. Their free stream (Xumo?) doesn't have anything I ever heard of or am interested in, but I will keep checking. Freevee is there, but I hear Amazon (did you know that channel it Amazon? I didn't) is degrading the free version's video quality and removing Dolby sound from the free version. Does that mean they will have a pay version of FreeVee? Can they even call it FreeVee if they start charging? Amazon has been making some really strange changes lately.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 26, 2024, 10:25:06 AM
MarsGal - Good morning!  I started reading Where the Forest Meets the Stars, over the weekend.  It's good, but very predictable so far.  I feel like I already know the ending, but maybe there's a twist or an event that will take me by surprise?   For now, I'm enjoying it, and plan to finish it today.

I'm interested in your comments about streaming, and would like to know more about it?
We still have the Comcast/Xfinity bundle . . . TV, internet and land line. I would not want to lose the regular old Broadcast channels - ABC, CBS and NBC, plus Turner, HBO, Showtime, and lots of the sports channels.  The only streaming channels we get are Amazon Prime and Netflix.  Not sure about Peacock but I think we have it?   Isn't it attached to either NBC/HBO??  Also there are all sorts of new News channels, that I haven't sampled yet?  Anyway, the whole thing is overwhelming, and I think that at our  age, we will likely keep things the way they are? Too old to adjust to a drastic change.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 26, 2024, 01:23:07 PM
Marilyne, I am still waiting to see what my first full bill will look like. They like to tell you how much the basics are, but forget to remind you of all the extras they charge. I don't remember off hand what they will be charging for renting the modem and Xumo box. Still, I am thinking I am saving close to $100 since won't be paying local broadcast and sports fees and the streaming is less expensive than regular cable. I think he said $70, but I could be remembering wrong. I don't subscribe to Netflix, Hulu or any of the other streaming services at the moment.

Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on February 26, 2024, 10:29:55 PM
Found a lovely book on my Kindle (probably .99Cents)  "beyond that, the sea" by Laura /Spence-Ash It is a WWII, entertwined family story, London parents send daughter to U.S. while London being bombed.I'm not through yet, but it is a charming story!  It is also available through my library as a book or Ebook.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 27, 2024, 10:36:59 AM
Joanne,  Thanks for the recommending, "Beyond That, The Sea".  I'm always ready for a WWII book or story, and will check to see if it's available at my library.  There are so many books published now that are very good, but most never get the recognition the deserve.   

One WWII book that did get plenty of awards and lots of publicity a few years ago, is "All the Light We Cannot See".  A beautiful and unusual story, with great characters.  It was made in into a movie, that got no publicity whatsoever - good or bad?   It went directly to a  streaming pay channel, and was never heard of again?   I hope I'm wrong, and that someone who posts here has seen it, and will tell us about it?

Mars,  I'm about halfway through "Where the Forest Meets the Stars", and will probably finish it this afternoon.  So far it's been focusing on a good love story, between two of the characters.    The alien child, Ursa, is being well cared for, but of course no one believes her story about where she's from and why she's here. 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on February 27, 2024, 01:34:40 PM
It does seem though now that they will print any book good or bad.Lots of new writers do awful ones but the still get on the 99 cent ones on the book clubs, Fact the library put so many on shelves,Not many of the authors of years ago are seen now,
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: JeanneP on February 27, 2024, 06:56:01 PM
Can anyone tell me where June In Australia does her posting.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 28, 2024, 06:48:50 AM
Hi, JeanneP. Sorry, I can't help with June. I do miss our Australian friends.

I am still reading Translation State by Ann Leckie. Less confusion, more interest than earlier in the book. What suddenly struct me the other day is that the "current" situation the characters find themselves in reminds me an awful lot like some of M. C. Escher's drawings, like Relativity Lattice or his series of sphere spirals, or his Drawing Hands. In the case of the book, it is, so far, recursive hallways that turn back on themselves, exactly the same, and yet not. Each rotation is a bit off in time and or space. I think I remember a Star Trek or two that used the idea. I think they used the term out of phase. You were there, but weren't.

Oscar is looking for attention, and I am soon expecting a delivery, soooooo....

Later!
 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on February 28, 2024, 10:36:25 PM
JeanneP:  You can find June Drabek listed in the Members as Junee also.  She is 101 years old now, and in Sydney, Australia.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on February 29, 2024, 11:33:22 AM
Heading for another storm today, so here's hoping that this will be the last big one for the Winter of 2024.   The weather man (meteorologist) on the local news last night said the snow fall in the High  Sierra's  from this storm will be epoch.   Up to eight feet of snow will Fall!  He said "Not inches . . . FEET"!    No snow here of course, but it will be a cold storm, with North Winds.

I still have the last quarter of "Where the Forest Meets the Stars", to read.  Yesterday wasn't one of my better days, so most of the things I planned to do, didn't take place.  I ended up going to bed right after dinner.

Mars -  Your mention of M.C. Escher, made me remember when back in the 80's, my daughter had a bf, who was an excellent artist, and could look at an Escher drawing and copy it in every detail.    I do like that style of art.  I'm a fan of Rockwell Kent, who had a similar style,  and illustrated so many books back before Escher.    Makes me stop and think  - are there any artists who are known for book illustrations in  todays world?   I don't think so, except maybe for children's books.

JeanneP -   Junee usually posts in "Norms Bait and Tackle" when she comes to S&F.   Mostly she posts messages on Facebook, so you can find her there.  Junee is amazing!  She will be 102, in August! 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on February 29, 2024, 07:31:21 PM
Marilyne, I am not familiar with Rockwell Kent. I'll have to look him up.

I finished Translation State and am now looking about for my next read. IMO, Translation State was not among Leckie's best. The ending fizzled.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 13, 2024, 10:53:13 AM
Good morning to all book lovers, and movie watchers too.  :)    I finished Where the Forest Meets the Stars,  a few weeks ago, but neglected to come back here and give my "book report". 

It's listed as being in the Sci-Fi genre, and that idea is what pulls you into the story.  However, there are many different "themes" going on as well.  The main characters are all interesting and likable, except for one.  This isn't a book that will become a best-seller or win any awards, but it was a good story.  I liked it. 

As for movies:  I keep saying that I plan to watch all of the Academy Award nominees, but so far I haven't seen any of them.  Always something going on in the evening. (mainly hockey playoffs)  The only one I've seen that got a few nominations is Barbie, which I liked very much.  A movie with a  positive, uplifting message that I think most women can relate to.

They are all available now on the various streaming or pay-per-view TV channels. 
I'm looking forward to seeing them all, but especially interested in Oppenheimer  and  Killers of the Flower Moon.  If anyone looking in has seen any of them - let us know what you think? 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MaryPage on March 13, 2024, 12:00:26 PM
Found you! I've been looking for posts about books read.  I'm not terribly adventuresome with computers, so it takes me a while.  As far as I can remember, I am an original with Senior Net.  I am into dementia now, and have read tons of books (and seen their movies when and if they were made), and now have forgotten all of them!  Even my beloved Jane Austen's.  Have you noticed they are writing a myriad sequels to her books now?  Hallmark is even making movies of these sequels!!
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Tomereader1 on March 13, 2024, 01:07:21 PM
As MaryPage said "Found You". I am like you, Marilyne, want to see the Oscar nominated movies, but I'm such a cheapskate, I won't pay-per-view.  If I'm going to pay, I'd rather just go to the movie theatre and see it like it was supposed to be seen.  I know the streaming folks often cut or shorten the movie, and I don't like that one bit.  In the theatre, you can enjoy the Dolby sound and the larger than life picture.  I have within a couple of blocks a theatre, but I'm not even sure they are open anymore.  I used to go on the special Saturdays when the Metropolitan Opera had their showings.I really miss that. As for books and reading I'm still reading, on my Kindle and real books.  I want you to know that I am not a "book banner", but as relates to my face-to-face book clubs, I have not been in several months.  I would check out the selections, and darned if I didn't find, within the first few pages, scenes or language that absolutely put me off; and I am also not a prude. So, I would return the books to the library and not show up for the meetings.  Since I was an original member of that group, I know I am being looked upon unfavorably, but hey, "id est quod id est". Guess I'd rather read a Kindle selection, that may not be classically written, than read something that offends me, even it is someone's "literary selection". 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 13, 2024, 02:39:43 PM

MaryPage -  Good to see that you found us!   This used to be a busy group with lots of messages, but now they are sparse.   Just a few of us left who post here,  so we welcome anyone and everyone who enjoys a good book,  a movie, or who wants to recommend a TV show.    I did NOT know that sequels to Jane Austen's books are being written!  What a shame.  :(     I did read somewhere that yet another Pride and Prejudice movie is in the works!   That's okay by me, as P&P is my favorite of her books. 
Hope you return soon and tell us what you are reading or watching on TV?

Joanne -  The channels that stream movies, make it a point to tell you that all movies are uncut and shown exactly as they were in the theater.  I think some of the old movies that were,  or are still shown on the old UHF channels like AMC, are butchered something terrible.  I would never watch those either.   If you have Amazon Prime, you can go there and see lots of the Oscar winners from recent years, that are free.   The new ones from this year, that you have to pay for,  are anywhere from $5.95 to $9.95.  Much cheaper than a theater ticket.   We also have Netflix, but don't watch it as much as we do Amazon or HBO.           
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MaryPage on March 13, 2024, 07:50:19 PM
I have been totally enjoying the sequels of Jane Austen's six books as written by well-known authors of today.  They use her sense of humor and writing style, and stick closely to the settings to ascertain they stay in the correct time period.  The truly astonishing thing is how many authors have chosen to do these books, including one of my British favorites, P.D. James!

As for what I watch, well, other than lots and lots of news, I tend to stream stuff on PBS.  I did all of Hotel Portofino, and have just begun the 9 seasons of Endeavor.  And yes, I love Doc Martin, too!
I watch those shows as they are offered on my telly.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 14, 2024, 09:10:21 AM
MaryPage I am so happy to see your post here. TomeReader it has been a while, I think, since your last post. It is always nice to see you pop in again.

TomeReader, my sister has seen numerous Metropolitan Opera and Broadway offerings at the movie theater. The only one I remember seeing was the Wagner's Ring Cycle, but that was on TV. Being a fan of the Nibelungen legends and history, and a long-time Wagner listener, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I've been reading some of David Drake's short stories. And listening to Far Pavilions. I can hardly belief that I still have about 40 hours to go. Such a long book.

Sue, is giving me one of her bookshelves. It is just like my other two mission style folding shelves except that it is four-tier rather than my three-tier. I think there is just one tote bag of books to bring over from the house and then my clearance guys will take the rest to one of the charity shops or to the library.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MaryPage on March 18, 2024, 11:36:57 AM
The following is made up of comments on fragments of comments just reread.  I remember clearly, now someone has mentioned Brits sending their children over here for the duration of World War II (for safety), knowing several of these. It was great fun knowing them.  Also, Rockwell Kent was a GREAT illustrator.
 
We really relished his work back in the day.  I no longer can bear to read any Science Fiction, Fantasy, or any of that ilk.  I have no idea why this is, but it is.  I was a Huge Fan of these when in High School.  As for my streaming, I find most of the shows I enjoy are on PBS.  Because I spend so much time there, I contribute to them once a year.  In return for my contribution, they issue me a free passport to stream any of their shows whenever I choose.  I do this all the time, and use no other method or incur no other expense.
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: MarsGal on March 18, 2024, 06:37:20 PM
I am not familiar with Rockwell Kent, MaryPage. I did a quick look-up of his art and was delighted to see that he did some block printing. I did a few of those back in my high school days. Linoleum blocks were so easy to carve. I also managed to carve several small blocks of wood for block printing. The State University Museum at Plattsburgh, NY has what it says is the "most complete and balanced collection" of his works in the US.

 
Title: Re: Library Bookshelf
Post by: Marilyne on March 18, 2024, 06:50:52 PM
MaryPage, glad you remember Rockwell Kent.     He was an  extremely interesting man, besides being a great artist. Probably his illustrated version of Moby Dick, is one of his most recognized works of art.  There were dozens of other familiar books as well, and many that I would like to look at.  So many things I want to see, and so little time left!

I used to watch PBS a lot, back a few years ago, but not so much now. I spend most of my TV time watching news channels, or movies.  I especially favor Turner Classic Movies - 1930's through the 1980's.  A couple of days ago, I watched Picnic, from 1955 .  I had seen the movie way back then, but had forgotten that it was adapted from a Broadway play, by William Inge.   It was better than I remembered - probably because I'm old now, and can  relate better to the characters.  Yes, the storyline seemed very dated, but it was filmed in 1955, and that was a long time ago!   People were different back then.  It starred Kim Novak, William Holden and Rosalind Russell.  She was so good!  I hope she won an Oscar that year for Best Supporting Actress?  I'll have to look it up and see?

Hi Mars!  - I see you just now posted, so will respond later.   
I looked up Picnic and see that it was 1955, not 1958.