Author Topic: The Library (Read 197661 times)

JoanP · « **Reply #200 on:** January 09, 2009, 07:31:06 AM »

The Library

Our library cafe is open 24/7, the welcome mat always out.
Do come in and join us.

We look forward to hearing from you, about you and the books you are enjoying (or not) right now.

Let the book talk begin here!

Everyone is welcome!

MarjV · « **Reply #201 on:** January 09, 2009, 07:56:07 AM »

Thursday I finished the newest short story collection by Annie Proulx - "Fine Just the Way it is". Only 2 stories did I skip over. She does bring the old west right to life and tells the hopes and downfalls of dreams & lives. Not for the faint hearted .
There is humor in there also.

NYT review link: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/books/review/Carlson-t.html?_r=1 "> FINE JUST THE WAY IT IS [/url]

Steph · « **Reply #202 on:** January 09, 2009, 07:59:14 AM »

Taleisen is Lloyd Wrights home.. Summer that is, he also had one in Arizona(I think) for the winter. There is a school there and it was going on when we toured. People live there as well. If you are a disciple of his, you can apply for some sort of grant and live there and either teach or work on a project related to his work. There were even some small children who belonged to one of the teachers.
Oh heavens, I loved Anya Seton, but have not seen anything of hers for years. She would be a fun read back..

Babi · « **Reply #203 on:** January 09, 2009, 09:29:53 AM »

I have always understood that Frank Lloyd Wright's genius was in fitting a house into it's surroundings, so it seemed to belong. No structure sitting like the proverbial sore thumb, awkward and jarring. From the descriptions in these posts, I suspect he had little appreciation of the details that make the interior of a home a comfortable and practical place to live.

Maryemm · « **Reply #204 on:** January 09, 2009, 12:10:18 PM »

Quote

The valley in which Taliesin sits was originally settled by Wright’s maternal family, the Lloyd Joneses, during the Civil War. Immigrants from Wales............

Ha ha, Ginny. I said we get everywhere!!

ANNIE · « **Reply #205 on:** January 09, 2009, 12:44:29 PM »

Quote from: Babi on January 09, 2009, 09:29:53 AM

I have always understood that Frank Lloyd Wright's genius was in fitting a house into it's surroundings, so it seemed to belong. No structure sitting like the proverbial sore thumb, awkward and jarring. From the descriptions in these posts, I suspect he had little appreciation of the details that make the interior of a home a comfortable and practical place to live.

HI Babi!
I would disagree with your opinion about his appreciation of the details that make the interior of a home a comfortable and practical place to live and I might add a place to work in.

Back in bygone days, when I frequently visited the Cornell Art Museum while visiting my daughter and grans in Ithaca, NY, the museum had a fine exhibit about the planning and building of the Johnson Wax Building in Wisconsin. And from that exhibit, I went to see the one permanent one at the Met Museum in NYC.

Not only was he very caring about the interior of each of his designs but he usually designed all the furniture that went in each of his buildings. I wish you could see the Johnson Wax building as it is outstanding architecture. And the chapel that he drafted in Chicago.

One opinion of a friend of mine was that he hated hallways and stairs and really made them too narrow. She had just been to see Falling Water in Pennsylvania.

Now you've got me going so I will see what links that I can bring here for you to peruse.

EvelynMC · « **Reply #206 on:** January 09, 2009, 01:16:54 PM »

Maryz:

Thank you for the quick info on the aquarium. I have been wanting to go there since that new building with the salt-water tank opened.

We live in Hot Springs, AR. So it isn't far, but more than a day's drive for us. Lately I been having difficulty getting around, so until this is resolved, going anywhere is problematic. But thank you for your kind invitation, if/when we go, I'll let you know.

Evelyn

JoanP · « **Reply #207 on:** January 09, 2009, 02:48:55 PM »

The polls just opened in the Book Club Online discussion. A varied and interesting slate. Please come on in and vote for your first - and second choice for our February discussion of one of these titles.

I love to visit the FLW homes, but agree with you, they aren't comfy-cosey. They do have nice views from every window. They seem to be very easy to keep clean and neat - although I'd probably clutter mine up in no time if I lived there. It was the chairs - so unfortable! I'd have to bring in my own furntiure and work around those built in chairs...

ANNIE · « **Reply #208 on:** January 09, 2009, 03:29:10 PM »

Hi Babi,
So, here's a link with many pictures of the Johnson Wax Building in Wisconsin plus the story of the job done by Wright. He even designed all of the office furniture that went into it. Amazing tale! Also, he never finished it.
http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Johnson_Wax_Building.html

PatH · « **Reply #209 on:** January 09, 2009, 08:15:38 PM »

I remember reading somewhere that the roof leaked like crazy and was very hard to fix. I love how it looks, though.

straudetwo · « **Reply #210 on:** January 09, 2009, 09:04:07 PM »

Yes, steph , Frank Lloyd Wright designed two homes named Taliesin, the first in Wisconsin (which burned in 1914 and again in 1925), the second one known as Taliesin West near Scotsdale, Arizona, where he mentored students.

Wright's mother was Welsh, and 'Taliesin' the name of an eminent 6th (?) century Welsh poet, pronounced "TALLY-ESSEN", according to the Frank Lloyd Foundation.

My report on the f2f discussion of "Loving Frank" by Nancy Horan was deliberately brief iso as not to influence (or 'spoil' , as we call it) the experience of future readers of this excellent book, which is a skillful, sensitive reconstruction of facts and based on diary entries, letters, and includes samples of the contemporary press as narrative proof.

Frank Lloyd Wright met Martha (Mamah) Cheney when he was commissioned by Edwin Cheny to design a house for the Cheney family. A passionate love affair between Mamah and Wright ensued and became the talk of Chicago. When both sailed for Paris in 1909, leaving behind their spouses and children, public outrage was vehement and temporarily stopped Wright's career. Yet it resumed after 1916 and his greatest work was still to come. Mamah's reputation, on the other hand, was irreparably destroyed.

After their return from Europe, Wright built Taliesin in the hills of southwestern Wisconsin as a safe haven for him and Mamah, but it was not to be. Edwin Cheney agreed to a divorce, Catherine Wright (the mother of actress Anne Baxter) did not.

The author of "Loving Frank" seems to raise an uncomfortable question : is a woman who puts her passion before her children an unnatural mother? And that is the question we debated vigorously during our discussion.

P.S. The Edwin Cheney House in Oak Park, Ill., built in 1903, is still operating as a B&B, but I was unable to access a photo of it.

Pat · « **Reply #211 on:** January 09, 2009, 10:06:22 PM »

Link to photos of the Edwin Cheney house.

http://www.peterbeers.net/interests/flw_rt/Illinois/Cheney_House/Cheney_House.htm

maryz · « **Reply #212 on:** January 09, 2009, 10:41:29 PM »

This is a link to the FLW Rosenbaum House in Decatur, AL.

http://www.wrightinalabama.com/

pedln · « **Reply #213 on:** January 09, 2009, 11:07:19 PM »

Well, talk about timing , deja vu, or what have you. If you subscribe to the Wall Street Journal click here and read more about Wright's House of Wax

Here's an excerpt.

Quote

In 1936, Herbert F. Johnson Jr., a third-generation scion, sought to extend this paternalism to a new headquarters that would centralize disparate administrative functions and staffs in a way that was both humanitarian and distinctive. Wright, then 69 years old, had built few structures during the Depression, and he needed a commission.

The two men of great accomplishment clashed at first but then became fast friends. Site aside, the project largely became an expression of Wright's ideas. For the most part, Johnson just kept accommodating him, even though the eventual cost of the building was about $900,000, several times Wright's original $200,000 estimate

.

CallieOK · « **Reply #214 on:** January 10, 2009, 12:40:47 AM »

There is a Frank Lloyd Wright building way out here in Oklahoma.

Click here The Price Tower in Bartlesville near Tulsa to see pictures and learn about the only skyscraper he designed that was actually built.

A year or so ago some friends and I stayed in The Inn At Price Tower. It's an interesting place.

straudetwo · « **Reply #215 on:** January 10, 2009, 12:58:32 AM »

What joy!

Thank you, Pat, maryz, and pedln, for the links. Simply super.

Pat, I don't mean to change the subject but had meant to say this days ago :

The horse-drawn sleigh at Christmas you told us about brought to mind the title of a book by Per Petterson. Its title is Out Stealing Horses and it established this Norwegian author's reputation beyond Scandinavia. The English translation came out in 2005 and was a pleasure to read. Interesting (but not really strange) to learn that Scandinavians differentiate between loneliness and solitude.

There is, I believe, a special luminous quality in the work of Scandinavian authors :
Knut Hamsun (yes, he was a Quisling and controversial),
Sigrid Undset, who won the Nobel Prize in 1928 (for Kristin Lavransdatter),
Novelist Trygve Gulbransson,
and playwright Henrik Ibsen, all Norwegians.
Then there are the Swedes, author Selma Lagerlöf (Gösta Berling) and playwright August Strindberg (Miss Julie) among others, and I devoured them all. All are part and parcel of world literature and a treasure to behold.

Per Petterson is continuing the tradition. His most recent book is To Siberia. No, it's not about Siberia, really.

P.S. Allow me to say that I am tickled pink because I (hahaha) finally(!) managed to get my beloved, absolutely essential PopChar back and the diacritical marks are exactly where they should be.

JoanP · « **Reply #216 on:** January 10, 2009, 08:01:48 AM »

Traudee mentioned the book, Out Stealing Horses 0 my husband received this as a gift from one of my sons. (This particular son likes to buy books that he is interested in and then give them as gifts to whomever he decides they would suit.)

I'm going to read it when he's finished - but this morning what caught my eye was mention of my all-time favorite coming-of-age books, Sigrid Undset's Kristin Lavransdatter. I'm wondering whether they have withstood the test of time...

Remember to vote for the Feb. discussion in Book Club Online, everyone. You have until Tuesday pm to make up your minds.

JoanR · « **Reply #217 on:** January 10, 2009, 08:46:06 AM »

My volumes of Kristin Lavransdatter have withstood the test of time although the spines have faded so that it's hard to read the titles! My husband gave them to me in the first months of our marriage in 1946 joining the Book-of-the-month club to do so although he himself,an art student, was not a big reader. He thought it was just the right thing for me - never mind the fact that, as struggling students in college, we could hardly afford to eat! I guess I lived on books while he lived on oil paint and we both lived on love!

JoanR · « **Reply #218 on:** January 10, 2009, 08:54:48 AM »

P.S. "Out Stealing Horses" is a marvelous book. I gave it to my sister after reading it as I do with most of the books I find wonderful. There is such a feeling of "presence" in the book. I gave her "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" this year. She uses her computer but is still pretty timid about it - I would love for her to log on to this site but it will have to wait, I guess, until we can get together!

Babi · « **Reply #219 on:** January 10, 2009, 10:18:35 AM »

FAIRANNA, I based my comment on the complaints about interiors I read in the posts here. People were commenting not only on the narrow halls and stairways, but also, as I recall, rooms like the bathrooms. I'm not sure I would like my architect designing my furniture; our tastes might not at all agree!
I love the flowing lines of the Johnson building you posted. The interior spaces are huge. I'm sure it would be a wonderful place to work. The concept would have to be greatly scaled down to make a comfortable home. I like spaciousness in a home, but not to excess.

STRAUDE, you really should share that post about the Scandinavian authors with the Reading Aroud the World site. It's still in the planning stage at present, but I hope you will bring that list when it opens.

Steph · « **Reply #220 on:** January 10, 2009, 01:16:34 PM »

oh, I did love the Kristan Lavensdatter so much years ago. I had totally forgotten it until I saw it mentioned here. I only read the first one, although I think there are several.
Taleisen is interesting indeed, but I stick by my original opinion. The hall ways are truly truly narrow. The bathrooms are rudimentary and the guide was telling us that day, that the house has problems with heat in the winter. The views are spectacular however. There is one room ( his office) that is so glorious. Even dont mind the uncomfortable seating. It just has a wonderful feel to it.
We didnot yet see the Johnsons Wax building, but I heard wonderful things about it. We are considering visiting Arizona again this year in the rv and if so will visit the West edition, which I gather is more of a school.

pedln · « **Reply #221 on:** January 11, 2009, 10:21:35 AM »

Yes, Straude, we will be opening the Read Around the World site early this week, so please do share that information about the Scandinavian writers there.

I emailed my good friend JudyB from Wisconsin about our FLW discussion here and she came here to lurk and then sent me the following, which I have edited. She grew up in Racine and worked in the Johnson Wax building.

Quote

1939 - My parents took me to the grand opening of the Administration Building. I do remember it well, and I rode on my father's shoulders. There were many people, and Life magazine ran a big article about it. I remember my mother commenting that not everyone would be happy about Life's comments about the building's location. It was a middle class/working class neighborhood of proud people. My grandmother lived a block away. Life inferred that it was "slum" area.

Dick's (her husband) family lived across the street, and he has clear memories of the test they ran on the cantilivered pillars of the Great Workroom. There were many dignataries, and they kept piling on the sand far in excess of what was required. He personally observed it.

1953 - I enjoyed working in the Great Workroom when I first started at S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. It was fabulous. In those days, everything was typed by secretaries. The FLW desks were very convenient, but the 3 legged chairs were not comfortable. You had to have perfect posture and balance. They have been replaced with 4 legged chairs.
The Chicago Art Institute has an original desk and chair on display. The desks varied slightly.....depending on their use. A secretary's desk had an arm for a typewriter, while an executive desk usuually did not.

Wright was very concerned with how things looked. He was not always
concerned with comfort. (The fireplace at Wingspread was designed to hold full length logs -
vertically, and Sam Johnson is quoted as saying that the first time they had a fire in it, they had to take the logs and throw them outside.)

Later I was transferred to the Penthouse (where the executive offices were, including H.F., his private secretary and a small office for Sam, who was at Stanford during that era.). Occasionally I was asked to give tours.....I remember one from N.D. The mid level of the Administration Building contained an employee cafeteria and a bridge to other offices in the P.R. Dept.

The building did leak, and the pails and rags used for wiping up the water were Cherokee Red. I believe the building leaked because the pyrex tubing that provided light did not have modern caulking materials. Wright was ahead of his time. Later they replaced the original tubing
with a facimile that did not leak. You probably recall seeing maintenance men working on the building for years. Usually they werecaulking the tubing.

The Tower was originally used for research and development, but it is now primarily used for archives, according to what I have heard. There is only one central elevator in the building, and I believe it did not meet codes.

Babi · « **Reply #222 on:** January 11, 2009, 10:51:19 AM »

PEDLIN, your friend's personal history of the Johnson building is fascinating. I always find these personal observations so much more interesting than facts, figures and professional commentary. Imagine, three-legged, unstable chairs, because the appearance of the design was more important!

Steph · « **Reply #223 on:** January 11, 2009, 12:12:48 PM »

I loved the description of Pedlins friend. I am more eager to see the building now.
That part of Wisconsin where Taleisen is is truly lovely in the summer. Dont think I would like winter there, but oh my, it was green and lovely.
Amazing.. Had one of our sons, and wife and two grandchildren. The 13 year old Girl is and always has been a quite gentle girl who struggles with reading. I told her that I had read Twilight and left it in her room if she wanted it. She was funny. First she came and told me, the book looked way too big and she thought she wouldnt.. Then about an hour later, checked in wondering where she was and she was curled up onthe bed deep in the book. She has carried it everywhere to read and they left about an hour ago and she asked if she could take it home. I told her that had been my intent and she lugged it in to the car, still reading. Her Mom was most amused..

straudetwo · « **Reply #224 on:** January 11, 2009, 01:11:38 PM »

Pedln, thank you, and thanks to Babi as well, for alerting me to the up and returning RATW.
Well worth waiting for.

nlhome · « **Reply #225 on:** January 11, 2009, 02:25:36 PM »

Pedlin, thanks. I enjoyed the stories about the Johnson Wax building.
Steph, the forecast for the Spring Green Wisconsin area this week is (after several inches of snow Friday) 2-4 inches of snow tomorrow, high Tuesday of 1 degree F, a little more snow on Wednesday, and a high on Thursday of 1 degree F, a low of -19. So, yes, it's lovely in the summer, not counting the mosquito population, but right now....better to be somewhere warm!

pedln · « **Reply #226 on:** January 11, 2009, 05:15:43 PM »

Steph, perhaps Stephanie Meyer is doing with Twilight what J. Rowling did with Harry Potter -- getting even reluctant readers hooked on reading. I'm neither a fantasy or vampire fan, but hey, if they can get more than one kid to finish a challenging book, that's great.

And I'd say you're one smart grandma.

jane · « **Reply #227 on:** January 11, 2009, 07:02:23 PM »

I have a grand-nephew who asked for the Meyer books for Christmas. My sister, his grandmother, was thrilled...he's not a kid who reads normally...and she was thrilled to get him Twilight...and he was engrossed in it on Christmas day at her house.

jane

JoanK · « **Reply #228 on:** January 11, 2009, 07:41:35 PM »

That's great! I believe anyone will enjoy reading if they have a book that captures their interest, and can lose the dread that they're going to be "tested on it".

MarjV · « **Reply #229 on:** January 12, 2009, 07:32:24 AM »

I will be happy to see RATW - that's my favorite reading genre for fiction and mystery. Thanks.

Steph · « **Reply #230 on:** January 12, 2009, 08:00:41 AM »

Yes, I do agree that getting people actually interested in a book is the key to reading. Kait is always being tested on every book she reads and I think that inhibits her enjoyment. But.. in Florida, the FCAT is so darned critical that the teachers never stop pushing.. Kait is not a good tester. She freezes with pressure and I am sure she is not the only one who does.

pedln · « **Reply #231 on:** January 13, 2009, 09:54:36 AM »

Read Around the World, our site where we talk about books and films with an international vein is now open HERE

Do come and join us and let us know what you’ve found from other parts of the world.

Steph · « **Reply #232 on:** January 14, 2009, 07:48:13 AM »

Still reading a bit on the 44 Scotland St. Still not sure how I feel about it. But it is really easy to read a bit and then put down.. The chapers lend themselves to ups and downs.

JoanP · « **Reply #233 on:** January 14, 2009, 11:38:21 AM »

A TIE! CLICK HERE to Break the Tie!

bellemere · « **Reply #234 on:** January 14, 2009, 11:06:25 PM »

My vacation is coming up! Three weeks in Mexico, on an island with no library and no bookstore! i have to bring my reading with me. I have a gift certificate for Barnes and Nobel and have already bought "The Leopard" by Giuseppi de Lampedusa, a classic novel that I would like to try. What would you take to an island? I can buy two more paperbacks. I must also try to find something my husband would like; sports, politics, recent history.
The best I have read in the last year was The Gathering by Ann Enright, and the worst was The Friday Night Knitting Club. Would love to find something set in Mexico.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #235 on:** January 15, 2009, 12:02:02 AM »

Yes, Yes, on The Gathering - whee the Irish have a way with words don't they - I've ordered Anne Enright's earlier novel What Are You Like?

How about a Carols Fuentes to take with you - The Years with Laura Díaz sees the twentieth century through the eyes of a woman who becomes as much a part of our history as of the Mexican History she observes and helps to create.

For me the work of Haruki Murakami is fulfilling and compelling - reality and fantasy have no separation. His work is read and admired by men as well as women usually with some connection to WWII - by now Kafka on the Shore should be in paperback. Certainly The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles is in paperback.

Gumtree · « **Reply #236 on:** January 15, 2009, 07:25:25 AM »

Bellemere Hello to you! You caught my attention with mention of The Leopard. Such a shortish book with so much to say. The only novel Lampedusa wrote -I'll be interested to hear what you think of it. There is a brilliant 1950's film with Burt Lancaster as Fabrizio...worth watching for the ballroom scene alone.

Babi · « **Reply #237 on:** January 15, 2009, 09:00:08 AM »

BARBARA, do mention the Carlos Fuentes and Haruki Murakami books on the new Reading Around the World site. Murakami is an entirely new name to me.

bellemere · « **Reply #238 on:** January 15, 2009, 10:18:20 AM »

Re: Carlos Fuentes

Someone just gave me a copy of The Death of Artemio Cruz. But the Laura Diaz book sounds better. For a New England Great Books institute a couple of years ago, we read The Hummingbird's Daughter - a great evocation of Mexico's history and struggles. Not coldly factual by any means and very gritty, with just enough of Mexico's magical realism.

ANNIE · « **Reply #239 on:** January 15, 2009, 12:14:20 PM »

I just spent an hour reading all of these delicious posts about FLW and authors whose names are new to me and now I feel I must make a list and get me to the library when the temps are little warmer. What fun to hear from new folks who are reading authors I have never heard of and know that this all adds to our wonderful new books site. Welcome to you all!!
Babi,
I now understand what you were talking about when it came to FLW interiors. I thought you meant that he didn't care about the interiors of his creations. Not how uncomfortable they may have been.
So, many of his interiors leave me feeling chilly. And, his buildings did leak and were hard to heat. But, the history of this man and his career has always interested me, so I will go find "Loving Frank" and see how well the book reads. It sounds fascinating.
About Talisen West, I read or saw on a TV biography that when FLW moved in there with his mistress and her children he hired a man and wife to do the serving and cooking for them. FLW went back to his business in another state and while he was gone, a tragedy occurred. One day, the mistress fired the couple over a theft or somthing, and told them to leave the next day. The husband was so mad that while his wife served them their dinner, he prepared to burn the house down by sealing and locking all the doors and windows. After the family was bedded down for the night, he and his wife set fires all around the building and burned it to the ground, killing the family that slept.

News:

Author Topic: The Library (Read 197661 times)