Author Topic: The Library (Read 208084 times)

Babi · « **Reply #1000 on:** April 30, 2009, 08:36:49 AM »

The Library

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

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

Let the book talk begin here!

Everyone is welcome!

Suggestion Box for Future Discussions

As far as I know, I read all the Pearl Buck books, and Hollywood made films from some of them. She really knew China; her parents were missionaries
there and that's where she grew up. I'm really enjoying the reminiscing over
all these old favorites.
It took some hunting, but I finally found...and ordered...Anne McCaffreys three
book series on the 'Twins of Petaybe'. She is another my daughter and I both love. Valerie has a good many of her books on her shelves, but somehow we missed this series. The second book of the series was particularly hard to find for some reason, but I finally found a place that had all three, with book two in pb only.
--Babi

mabel1015j · « **Reply #1001 on:** April 30, 2009, 03:22:35 PM »

I was one of the founders of the Alice Paul Institute and now do voluteer work for them. We now own her family farm in Mt Laurel, NJ, and use it as a leadership training center for women and girls and to keep Alice's history alive - she was the "Martin Luther King" of the suffragist and Equal Rights Amendment movements, except she did it first. Pearl Buck's Foundation has a similar set up of Pearl's house in Bucks County, Pa. So, some of us decided to take a day-trip to the PB estate to see how they did things. They also run the international adoption agency out of that property. I tho't i should learn as much as i could about PB before going, so i read a book written by Peter Conn about her. It is very interesting. He is an English/literature professor at U of Pennsylvania, so he writes not only about her life - which is VERY interesting - but also discusses her books in depth. She knew all of the famous women and men of the first half of the 20th century, including Alice Paul. She was involved in many of the social movments of the time, including Maragaret Sanger's birth control movement and was an acquaintance of Eleanor Roosevelt. And she had a long-time affair w/ an intriquing man. Much more interesting character than i expected. .....................................jean

mrssherlock · « **Reply #1002 on:** April 30, 2009, 04:35:38 PM »

Mabel: What is the title of that book, please?

mabel1015j · « **Reply #1003 on:** April 30, 2009, 10:52:51 PM »

Jackie - Pearl S. Buck: a Cultural Biography by Peter Conn. I think it was published in the early 90's, but let me check on that...............

1996, by the Cambridge Univ Press.....................................i tho't it was a great read and so interesting in so many facets .............the time of living in China w/ her missionary parents, her marriage, her books, her social activism, she was so much more than "just" a novelist....................her home in Bucks Co, Pa is an interesting place to visit also......................jean

Frybabe · « **Reply #1004 on:** May 01, 2009, 01:51:24 AM »

Mabel, I can't tell you how many times we have traveled past Pearl Bucks place, but never stopped. It is not the kind of thing my boyfriend is interested in. We have been to the Mercer Tile Works, however. I do remember some conversation on the old Senior Net about Alice Paul. I had never heard of her previously. Thanks for reminding me.

JoanP · « **Reply #1005 on:** May 01, 2009, 09:06:20 AM »

The VOTE IS ON! May 1 - May 5
After reading reviews of the nominated titles,
in the Suggestion Box- please vote for future Book Club Online discussions.

Thanks!

mrssherlock · « **Reply #1006 on:** May 01, 2009, 12:36:52 PM »

My library doesn't have this bio of Pearl Buck; it has 2 others, both written in the early 80's. However this reminds me that I've thought more than once that we should consider reading authors who have won a prestigious award, like Buck's Nobel Prize in Literature. Obviously these awards would include Nobel, Pulitzer, Whitbread, they could include Edgar (mystery), Nova/Nebula (science fiction) and Spur (western). Canada has awards, as does Australia and other countries, I'm sure. Fanstatic Fiction used to have a list of literary awards but that category doesn't appear in their menu now. (?). Oops, here it is: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/awards/ We could pick a theme for each discussion and choose among the award winners from that category. I spend hours reading interesting books of no particular merit except my interest and there are hundreds of award winners I never get around to. Just a thought . . .

nlhome · « **Reply #1007 on:** May 01, 2009, 10:39:54 PM »

Bellemere, I too am reading Egan's book about the dust bowl. It's really interesting.

Babi · « **Reply #1008 on:** May 02, 2009, 09:21:13 AM »

Were you interested in tile works, FRYBABE? Come on, fair is fair. If you go to
some places he likes, he can go to some places you like, right?

JACKIE, I have been surprised more than once to read a list of awards, like the
Nobel for Literature, and find many books I never heard of on the list. I
suppose they were chosen for reasons that seemed pertinent at the time, but
they certainly didn't make it into lasting popularity or classics. Which, of course, doesn't mean there aren't books on those lists that would make
great reading.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #1009 on:** May 02, 2009, 10:23:07 AM »

BABI: Good point. The books which have stood the test of time are the one I would like to read. Wonder how time will treat those writers such as Barbara Cartland and Danielle Steele?

Frybabe · « **Reply #1010 on:** May 02, 2009, 10:57:54 AM »

Oh Yes, Babi, the tileworks was fascinating. I loved the looks of the old building as well as learning about tile making there. Bought some tiles for family. Did not have time to go through the Mercer Museum though. We never did get back there. Did see a TV program about Mercer and the Museum, must have been at least 15years ago, probably more.

We didn't have much free time with both of us working and going back to college, so we went places we both could enjoy. A lot of my enjoyment comes from sharing an experience with someone I know will enjoy it too.

Isn't there another author that lived near Buck's place? Michener?? There are others in the general area. Wouldn't it be neat to take a "literary landscape" bus tour of homes of authors and, perhaps, some old libraries? Have you been in the old library building on the Lehigh University campus? Great old building with spiral staircase to the second level. Floorboards you can see through to the ground level.

winsummm · « **Reply #1011 on:** May 03, 2009, 12:03:52 AM »

reading robin hobbs fool series right now which is a continuation of the assassin series. she is a terrific writer the poetry is amazing in an easy book. by easy I guess I mean good trash....this is NOT TRASH. the story line is imaginative also. there's more I get it on my kindle and each one costs 6.39 like a paper back only 1.60 cheaper. back to my kindle can't leave it alone.

this one is FOOL'S ERRAND the white phantom character is back in play. It would make a great HBO movie series.

claire

winsummm · « **Reply #1012 on:** May 03, 2009, 12:15:57 AM »

Quote

http://www.amazon.com/Pearl-S-Buck-Cultural-Biography

I googled it and this page has reviews and is interesting in itself. the book lists for fifty bucks but s forty five at amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Pearl-S-Buck-Cultural-Biography/dp/product-description/0521639891

claire

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #1013 on:** May 03, 2009, 08:59:53 AM »

If I was interested I would pick up a used copy for as little as $3.14

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0521560802/ref=ed_oe_h_olp

Babi · « **Reply #1014 on:** May 03, 2009, 09:49:42 AM »

FRYBABE, I think it's wonderful that you are both going back to college.
I did that, when I was much younger, when the kids were growing up and
I could see the days ahead when they would be leaving home. I still
enjoy learning something new, but I have to do it via computer these
days. Seniorlearn is a major 'mentor' for me.

Not HBO, CLAIRE! I don't get HBO. How about one of the non-premium networks?

Frybabe · « **Reply #1015 on:** May 03, 2009, 12:03:58 PM »

Babi, I graduated college 16yrs. ago. George graduated a little later. We are both moved back up to the Harrisburg, PA area now. Sorry if I misled you into thinking I was back in school now. Although with the way things are going at work, I may have to go back again for a "product upgrade". They just laid off four more people that I know of at work.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #1016 on:** May 03, 2009, 08:27:59 PM »

Yes, James Michener lived in Bucks Co, as did John O'Hara and i think there were other authors and other artists. That region is sort of an artists' mecca.

Frybabe - I spent 5 great yrs teaching at Wm Penn H.S. in Harrisburg when i first graduated from college 40 yrs ago. For the first 2 yrs i lived up by Italian Lake near the high school. What a lovely spot that was. The school used to produce a wonderful May Day pageant on and around the lake, w/ the May "queen" coming down the lake on a motorized swan and her court - the girls who had made the honor roll - in pastel dresses.

Reading the link that Claire provided to the Pearl Buck bio reminded me of a fact i learned from reading women's bios in the 1970's - most of the women whose names we know in history accomplished what ever the actions were for which they were famous, when they did not have, or, no longer had responsibilities for husband and/or family. Even tho Eleanor Roosevelt was still married and still had children at home when she first began her "political career," she really had no homemaking responsibilities and only the "wifely duties" that she wished to have. She and Franklin no longer "lived" as "husband and wife" after his affair w/ Lucy Rutherford. And she emerged as the butterfly who was herself, and did work in her own name and person from that point on.

Yes, Elizabeth Cady Stanton had 6 children and was a homemaker thru her years fighting for women's rts, but when she had a speech to prepare for, or writing to do, Susan B. Anthony came to her house weeks ahead of time and took care of her children and the household. Margaret Sanger had divorced her first husband when she began her fight for birth control. She smartly married the heir to the 3-in-one oil company who funded her crusade and asked little in the way of wifely and homemaking duties. The list goes on, w/ many women, like Susan B. Anthony and Jane Addams never marrying at all. Pearl Buck had left her first marriage and made a name for herself as an author, when she came into her own as a crusader of human rts.

Has that changed? Are there women now who have made a name for themselves while still fulfilling the roles of mother and wife........................Maryz - the Rutgers basketball and the Tenn basketball coaches come to mind..

Jean

maryz · « **Reply #1017 on:** May 03, 2009, 09:29:27 PM »

jean, you've got that right!

Frybabe · « **Reply #1018 on:** May 04, 2009, 12:29:12 AM »

Ah yes, Jean, Italian Lake. I remember we went there several times when I was a youngster. It was beautiful, and of course, how could a child resist the big goldfish. I know were trying to clean it up a few years ago. It became a mecca for Canada Geese. What a mess they make. Everything was coated with goose "splatter".

I just loved trips up Second St. with its lovely houses, some had brick arches with rooms overhead (if I remember right) spanning the driveway. Most of them are still there. And North Front with its mansions. Did you know, Jean, that some developer several years ago almost got the go ahead to tear down some of those mansions to build modern buildings in their place. Oh, you should have heard the outcry. They are part of the charm of driving down Front St. You bet, I'd be upset if someone tore down the mansions and put up a modern monstrosity.

marcie · « **Reply #1019 on:** May 04, 2009, 11:24:38 AM »

Hi, everyone. Preston and Child (and Agent Pendergast!) fans in the eastern half of the U.S. will be interested to know they are planning a tour of quite a few cities to launch their latest book, Cemetery Dance. See http://www.prestonchild.com/books/cemeterydance/

Fran · « **Reply #1020 on:** May 04, 2009, 11:28:20 AM »

Just orderd a used copy of Pearl S. Buck--appreciate "info" given in The Library. Fran

mabel1015j · « **Reply #1021 on:** May 04, 2009, 01:59:31 PM »

Frybabe - i lived for two yrs w/ a retired teacher on Green St, one street up from the river from 2nd. Her backyard backed up to the lake. It was one of those brick colorials. A lovely house. ........it was also a great job, because it was from '63 to '68, just after Sputnick went up and Kennedy and JOhnson thru a lot of money into educations. So we had lots of resources, unlike teachers today, who have to sometimes buy their own supplies....................
Those Canadian geese have made a mess everywhere, how did that happen?..................jean

Frybabe · « **Reply #1022 on:** May 04, 2009, 02:26:13 PM »

How about that, Jean. I did a semester at HACC in the fall of 66 or 67 when they were still across from the old Armory. The Amory was our student lounge area. What a smoke filled, noisy room it was.

The geese at some point decided that the Susquehanna and environs were a great place to stay. We had a population that decided it was easier to overwinter here rather than fly farther south. Someone was able to get free feed and feeding them down at the the landing in West Fairview for a while. Also, the weather had been pretty fair for winter for a number of years. So they stayed. I am not sure how they discouraged them, but there are not nearly as many around anymore.

Geese aren't the only ones happy with the area. We were getting quite a variety of ducks on the river. Didn't see so many of them either last year. Our population of river gulls keeps expanding and we have had a big increase of Herons in the last few years. Oh, and the Bald Eagles, and hawk populations appear to be increasing.

Marcie, I checked the Preston and Childs tour schedule. The only ones semi near to me are the Philadelphia and the Gaithersburg, MD signings. I like their website.

ginny · « **Reply #1023 on:** May 04, 2009, 04:10:45 PM »

Marcie, what an exciting thing! Preston and Chiilds book tour, thank you SO much, I had read the little excerpted pages from Cemetery Dance in their last book and was so excited! AND they are coming to Charlotte,, NC, that's doable for me, I really am excited to hear about this, thank you!

That Monster of Florence looks good too.

ginny · « **Reply #1024 on:** May 04, 2009, 04:15:11 PM »

I'm afraid I've come in with some bad news in that I've just had word that Fran Middleton has died. Marcie can tell us more about her career with SeniorNet, but many of us know her from our many Books Gatherings she attended, always with a sparkle in her eye and lots of enthusiasm, I'm looking at a photo of her at our Books Meeting Chicago now. She had intended to come to NYC this past September and found she could not.

She was also at the 20th Anniversary SeniorNet Conference, she had been with SeniorNet a long time.

Life is so strange, isn't it? I was just thinking about her. Seems like everything we READ in the Latin 201 reminds me of her, Lake Geneva, and the famous passes through the mountains, and the various Swiss villages, she and I had some fine and fun adventures in Europe, which I'll never forget..

I am so sorry, we will miss her. I thought you would like to know.

maryz · « **Reply #1025 on:** May 04, 2009, 05:24:14 PM »

Thanks for bringing us that sad news, Ginny. Fran will definitely be missed.

pedln · « **Reply #1026 on:** May 05, 2009, 09:26:02 AM »

Ginny, I am so sorry to hear about Fran Middleton. She was a lovely person and I feel priviledged to have met her twice -- at the 20th Anniversary SeniorNet Conference and at our books gathering in DC in Oct, 2002. She most certainly will be missed.

marcie · « **Reply #1027 on:** May 05, 2009, 11:11:57 AM »

I will miss Fran very much. She was SeniorNet's first "employee" who Mary Furlong hired to oversee its first online community (on the Delphi Network) and to establish the first Learning Center sites. She had a lot of spunk and loved to travel and meet people.

JoanP · « **Reply #1028 on:** May 06, 2009, 11:58:38 AM »

Everyone who ever met Fran has a Fran story. She was the kind of person who related to each person in a personal way. We will always have those memories - and the certainty that she is now in the place she deserves to be!
She will be sorely missed.

JoanP · « **Reply #1029 on:** May 06, 2009, 12:01:59 PM »

As often happens when there are so many nominations, the results tend to be scattered. So that we come up with the title for the next book discussion with the most interest, we have set up a new poll with the top FIVE contenders. You will only get to vote for one of them this time.

Before opening your ballot, please be sure that you are familiar with the following titles so you know what they are each about - (You can learn about them by clicking the title in the chart in the heading at the top of the page in the Suggestion Box Discussion)

Quote

The Last Dickens by Pearl (read together with The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Dickens)
The Book Thief by Zusak
People of the Book by Brooks
Bridge of Sighs by Russo
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by Wroblewski

VOTE HERE: Run-off Vote for Future Book Discussions

mabel1015j · « **Reply #1030 on:** May 06, 2009, 01:33:18 PM »

For those of you who like southern and/or humorous writers, i found a new one - to me. Haywood Smith lives on the edge of Lake Lanier in Ga and this book "The Queen of Mimosa Beach" is set in that area. The protagonist is a 50-something woman who has all of her resources depleted in a nasty divorce so she has returned to her hometown to live w/ her mother and dad and her aunt and uncle. Both of the men are in different stages of dementia, which she writes w/ humor, but w/ empathy for the mother and the aunt. I read about 100 pages last night and liked it very much.............jean

joangrimes · « **Reply #1031 on:** May 06, 2009, 11:46:31 PM »

Fran Middleton will be missed by all who knew her. She was a very special person. I will never forget the first time I met her. It was at a bash in Florida with a group of SeniorNetters from the AOL SeniorNet Site. I knew her for a long time and enjoyed seeing her at the other gatherings that she attended.

Joan Grimes

marcie · « **Reply #1032 on:** May 07, 2009, 12:32:15 PM »

Here are links to two slightly different obituaries for Fran Middleton:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/pressdemocrat/obituary.aspx?n=francisca-g-middleton&pid=126958146

http://www.legacy.com/SFGate/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=126988661

ginny · « **Reply #1033 on:** May 08, 2009, 07:03:46 AM »

Thank you Marcie. I guess as we've been doing this for 12 years it's inevitable that you'd lose somebody, but I hate this anyway. Still it's a miracle we've still got who we have I guess. We've lost quite a few over the years. I'm glad we've still got YOU all!

Too bad we can't do a small area where we have a small photo and one liner of all of those we've lost over the years or something.

LJ, Theron, Lorrie, etc.

Jean that sounds like a fun book, let us know if it holds up, I could drive to Lake Lanier, let us know when you finish it?

Speaking of loss, Wednesday I picked up the new Christopher Buckley book on Losing Mum and Pup, on his loss of his parents. I had read a little of it and it sounded quite intriguing. It's small. I look forward to reading it, it's apparently done with charm and grace. I really know nothing about the Buckleys other than what I saw on television.

Also could not help but pick up the new book on the behind the scenes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where our old friend Thomas Hoving has a giant chapter, boy oh boy he still is larger than life, just as he was when we first met him in 1996, I've looked at some of his chapter, it promises to be a riveting read.

For some reason I keep buying Non Fiction, I'm sure there's a reason but isn't it true, sometimes it's stranger than fiction and more interesting.

What are you all reading?

JoanP · « **Reply #1034 on:** May 08, 2009, 08:47:04 AM »

Charlotte, Mal...

Frybabe · « **Reply #1035 on:** May 08, 2009, 01:03:42 PM »

Reading Carol Goodman's The Seduction of Water while waiting for my copy of The Night Villa to arrive. What wonderful writing.

Also in the order is The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia by Peter Hopkirk (non fiction).

mrssherlock · « **Reply #1036 on:** May 08, 2009, 01:16:28 PM »

There is another series about an antique dealer but Josie Prescott's place isn't the cute little shop in the quaint little village. Josie runs an operation with several employees and has auctions, a warehouse, a weekly tag sale, and an analytical mind which helps her, and we readers, keep our eyes on the goal of finding out what happened to her charming receptionist. Killer Keepsakes, by Jane Cleland, is the fourth in this series and the stories keep getting better. Gretchen, the receptionist, never returns to work from her vacation in Hawaii. When Josie checks her apartment she finds a dead man lying on the couch. Turns out Gretchen's life is very private and no one seems to know much about her past. Though this sounds like a formula Cleland does not write formulaic. This was a page turner.

Olive Kittredge is a group of short stories connected by the appearance of the title character in each one. Sometimes it is merely a walk-on, as in the tale of the dinner-hour pianist's grim life told in little snippets of flash0back. Olive and her husband appear, walk through the restaurant to their table, and then stroll offstage at the end. In between we learn about the secret pain hidden behind her smile and nimble fingers. Elizabeth Strout is one fine writer.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #1037 on:** May 08, 2009, 01:52:16 PM »

This is a link to Haywood SMith's website which has a list of her published books and one of her upcoming books..........i'm still liking The Queen Bee of Mimosa Branch..........jean

http://www.haywoodsmith.net/

gingerw · « **Reply #1038 on:** May 08, 2009, 09:34:29 PM »

Marcie, thank you so much for telling us about Fran.

She sent me a vhs about Ireland once as she knew I wanted to go there but never made it.

I knew Fran many years and seen her at many gatherings.

I also knew Mal.

Gumtree · « **Reply #1039 on:** May 09, 2009, 01:25:46 AM »

Frybabe I'm also reading Carol Goodman's The Seduction of Water to get a 'feel' for her writing before we start on The Night Villa - good writing but not quite what I was expecting. I have a copy of 'Villa' ready for the discussion but don't want to begin it too soon....

Am also reading Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian - am almost half way through it and wondering whether to continue with it. I don't much care for vampire tales...though the historical aspect of the novel is intriguing. Is it worth another 300-odd pages... ?

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Author Topic: The Library (Read 208084 times)