Author Topic: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #1 (Read 162632 times)

Gumtree · « **Reply #720 on:** July 01, 2009, 01:30:25 AM »

This is the place to talk about the works of fiction you are reading, whether they are new or old, and share your own opinions and reviews with interested readers.

Every week the new bestseller lists come out brimming with enticing looking books and rave reviews. How to choose?

Discussion Leader: Judy Laird

I need the sun too - luckily Australia has plenty of of it - three consecutive days of cloudy skies without any sun is about the limit here -but it's enough for me to start going gaga. It's not enough to see the sunshine outside I have to actually be out in it. I'm fair skinned and burn very easily so summertime is always a hazard.

Steph · « **Reply #721 on:** July 01, 2009, 10:18:42 AM »

I am lucky in that I live in Florida.. and on a lake, so I just walk the dogs and keep happy. Live right up from a lovely walk-run-bike path..
Not quite done with Nineteen Minutes.. A puzzling book in many ways.

ALF43 · « **Reply #722 on:** July 02, 2009, 07:35:33 AM »

Boy I'm missing being home in florida right now Steph. I think it has rained 10 out of the 14 days we've been here in upstate New York. Reading the paper this AM on the porch it was only 60. BRRRRRRRRRRRRR

ANNIE · « **Reply #723 on:** July 02, 2009, 08:47:03 AM »

Yeah, Alf, its cold here in Ohio also. I was wondering if it will warm up for the 4th of July. We have had lots of rain, too.

Aberlaine · « **Reply #724 on:** July 02, 2009, 12:12:07 PM »

I'm from upstate New York, too, and we've had quite a wet spring and summer so far. Only three days of sunshine, I think. Everything is soaked. And, we had a few thunderstorms with winds and hail come through last week and devastate many of the gardens. Our jalapeno pepper plant is gone and two of the four of our tomato plants don't look like they're going to make it.

I have a light box in our garage, packed away for the summer. I'm thinking of getting it out again. Both my partner and I are fighting SAD right now - in July!

I've just started Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovski. Interesting so far. It's about the bombing of Paris during WWII and how the Parisians fled the city.

Nancy

joangrimes · « **Reply #725 on:** July 03, 2009, 12:45:14 AM »

Nancy,

I really enjoyed reading Suite Francaise.

Joan Grimes

Steph · « **Reply #726 on:** July 03, 2009, 11:53:24 AM »

We are still in upstate New York.. Association Harbor and it is still raining and cool.. We went to Sacketts Harbor two days ago. Had lunch in a delightful outside restaurant under large cool trees. Beautiful little village, although mostly tourist stuff..
Then yesterday it poured, but we had committed to a tour out of Alexandria Bay of the Thousand Islands. Great fun between raindrops.. The islands and thehouses are quite fascinating. Still cool today and rainy off and on.. Seems like the sun simply does not want to appear. Monday we will depart for Cooperstown.. I love that place and the lake.

MarjV · « **Reply #727 on:** July 03, 2009, 12:44:21 PM »

I sure enjoyed Suite F also. Amazing novel.

Glad some of you will be getting When to go in............... You will find it such a tale and an interesting way of pseudobio. I had never heard of that author before.

It's just wonderful to me that there are new authors to discover and new books to read.

Happy 4th to the USAers. Belated Canada Day greetings to CAnadians.

joangrimes · « **Reply #728 on:** July 03, 2009, 12:57:00 PM »

Oh Steph,

I know you must be enjoying Upstate NY. Enjoy Cooperstown and tell it hello from me. I love it !! Theron and I used to go there when we we took our annual visit to Up state NY. The summer before he died we took his daughter and grandson over to Cooperstown from Mt Upton where they live and spent the day there. I remember having lunch in a restaurant over looking the lake. He was born and reared in Upstate NY. I really miss being able to get in the RV and go up there. Of course I still miss Theron horribly and I always will.

Have fun Steph. You have fun up there too Alf.

Joan Grimes

ANNIE · « **Reply #729 on:** July 03, 2009, 02:35:15 PM »

Ahhhhh, Cooperstown is one of my favorite places also. Its the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame plus it has that gorgeous lake and James Fenimore Cooper's home to tour plus an opera company lives there in the summer. Wish I could see one more time!
Yes, Steph and Alf, do enjoy upstate NY. Its so beautiful!
My daughter and family live in Ithaca and I spent much time there when the children were younger. They are both married now.
We also have good friends in Utica near the Erie Canal.

joangrimes · « **Reply #730 on:** July 03, 2009, 03:10:12 PM »

Oh Ann,

I love the area around Ithaca too. I love the Erie Canal...all of that American History that pops into my mind when riding through the area. We used to talk about all that as we drove through the area.

Cooperstown and James Cooper we discussed him and his writing when we wen there.

What a beautiful part of the world!! What beautiful memories I have!!

Joan Grimes

Steph · « **Reply #731 on:** July 04, 2009, 10:37:06 AM »

When we lived in New England, we used to come to Cooperstown every summer for the opera. So this is quite a sentimental journey for us.. When we leave there will go on to Hyde Park. That is a place we have never been. I am looking forward to Roosevelts museum and house and Eleanors house.. The Culinary Institute ( even thought I cannot get the reservations for dinner) and we also hope to go to West Point..Although I am getting conflicting advice on whether you can just go or have to be a on a tour.

joangrimes · « **Reply #732 on:** July 04, 2009, 10:57:59 AM »

HYde Park was very interesting to me. I visited it many, many years ago when my 1st husband and I took our children on a long camping trip up through NY and into Canada. Theron and I did not ever have a chance to revist it during our travels in the area.

Joan Grimes

JoanK · « **Reply #733 on:** July 04, 2009, 07:38:24 PM »

Our daughter went to Coprnell and my husband and I used to combine visits to her with exploring the nearby areas. I loved the area. (of course we didn't do it in the Winter. Ithaca is in a "snow shadow" and doesn't get much snow, but not so surrounding areas).

ANNIE · « **Reply #734 on:** July 04, 2009, 08:20:36 PM »

Oh, JoanK,
I am familiar with that snow in Ithaca. Spent several Christmases there. First no snow one Christmas, then as soon as Christmas was over, down the snow came on my husband, son and SIL as they tried to put up a huge TV antenna. What a job that was, in all that snow and wind!

Steph · « **Reply #735 on:** July 05, 2009, 08:31:11 AM »

I would only come up here in the summer. I like the idea of snow, but not the actual snow.. That is, the first snowfall is beautiful, but after 24 hours, it tends to get fairly ugly. Last December when we did the river cruise in Germany for the Christmas Markets, it snowed one evening and we were on the boat and it was magic.. The next morning, they had to shovel out the pier in order to get us off the boat and it rapidly lost its charm.

JoanP · « **Reply #736 on:** July 05, 2009, 12:46:11 PM »

But Steph, wasn't the "magical" memory worth the wait?

Just a quick note - Geraldine Brooks' People of the Book - (voted for discussion by many of you several months ago) - will begin on July 15. Though travelling abroad, the author has agreed to communicate with us and respond to our questions, via email. We are quite excited about it.

Join the Prediscussion going on now, so that we will be ready to hit the ground running on the 15th. You'll find us right here - People of the Book

For those who need more information about this book -

Quote

You'll fall in love with Hanna Heath, Geraldine Brooks' edgy Aussie rare book expert with an attitude, a loner with a real passion for her work. How could she refuse this opportunity of a lifetime, the conservation of the beautifully illustrated Sarajevo Haggadah, the mysterious Hebrew manuscript, created in Spain in the 15th century?

The invitation will bring Hanna into war-torn Bosnia in the spring of 1996 and then, into the world of fine art forgers and international fanatics. Her intuitive investigation of the manuscript will put her in a time capsule to medieval Spain and then back to Northern Australia again with a number of stops along the way. This is based on the travels of an actual manuscript, which has surfaced over the centuries since its creation in Spain.

EvelynMC · « **Reply #737 on:** July 05, 2009, 04:35:30 PM »

What is the name of the light you use to combat SAD?

Evelyn

ANNIE · « **Reply #738 on:** July 06, 2009, 11:31:27 AM »

Evelyn,
Here's link to the light that I use.

http://www.fullspectrumsolutions.com/light_therapy_13_ct.htm?gclid=CKW96t-ywZsCFRd75QodpwXU_w

mrssherlock · « **Reply #739 on:** July 06, 2009, 12:28:35 PM »

I like the option of using bulbs instgead of having to buy a light bos; they cost much more than I can fit into my budget. Thankj you for this resource.

maryz · « **Reply #740 on:** July 06, 2009, 04:12:15 PM »

Evelyn, I went to a locally owned drug store - the kind where they sell canes and braces and post-mastectomy supplies and still compound prescriptions, etc. They had one, and I bought ours there. It is about the size of a flat-screen monitor screen, on a stand. It was, as I remember, about $200+ , but John really needed to have it right away (IMHO), not to have to wait while I shopped around on the internet and waited for shipping.

Steph · « **Reply #741 on:** July 06, 2009, 05:02:57 PM »

Oh me, yes the memory of the snow falling on the water and the next morning forming icicles and snow everywhere. One of those things that will forever be in the brain.. But it was funny the next morning to wqtch a very unhappy crew shovel.. It was a German Boat and I will never do that again.They do not run the very nicest boats. Everything is run like a clock an dnothing is just sort of laid back.. Sort of ruins the ambience of the trip.

JoanK · « **Reply #742 on:** July 06, 2009, 07:32:49 PM »

But they do clear up the snow well in Ithaca. It falls one day, and the streets are clear the next. This was a revalation to me, coming from Washington DC where a snowfall sometimes hangs around causing trouble for weeks.

Steph · « **Reply #743 on:** July 08, 2009, 08:07:25 AM »

It is funny. Washington regards itself as a southern city and no matter how many times it snows, they seem to regard it with horror and try to ignore it. I grew up in Delaware and they use to do a much better job of clearing their snow. My cousin went to college right outside of Washington and we used to laugh about the snow crisis every winter.

JoanK · « **Reply #744 on:** July 08, 2009, 09:19:05 PM »

STEPH: you're absolutely right. It's better than it used to be. It used to be that one snowflake, and traffic would be in an instant traffic jam. Now, it takes at least a dozen.

Where did your cousen go to school?

Steph · « **Reply #745 on:** July 09, 2009, 02:18:21 PM »

U.of Maryland at College Park.. class of 1958....She loved it. I went to the U. of Delaware since my Dad decided he wasnt letting me out of the state ( I grew up in lower Delaware). I used to sneak off and visit her.. Much more relaxed campus than ours.

JoanK · « **Reply #746 on:** July 09, 2009, 02:36:15 PM »

Yes, my husband went there as a graduate student and I taught there for a semester. A lovely campus. And I'm still a fanatic fan of their basketball teams, especially the women.

Steph · « **Reply #747 on:** July 10, 2009, 08:10:53 AM »

Finished an older book last night. Plantation by Dorothea..etc. It was her second book and not quite as good as most of the others. Too many complications in this one and too much gushing over male beauty. Hmm. boy am I grumpy

Babi · « **Reply #748 on:** July 11, 2009, 07:48:41 AM »

If I'm not mistaken, Persian taught at the U. of Maryland for many years, tho'
I'm not sure which campus. That would probaly have been after the period
your cousin was there, tho', assuming she is approximately the age the rest
of us are.

Aberlaine · « **Reply #749 on:** July 11, 2009, 09:56:32 AM »

I lived in Ithaca for 22 years. My kids grew up there and went through the school system. Worked at Boyce Thompson Institute right across from the Vet School. The last ten years I commuted from Elmira up Route 13 - not much fun. I miss having state parks around me. I especially loved lower Treman Park and the walk up to Lucifer Falls. Now my joints won't let me make that kind of climb.

I've started reviewing the first part of People of the Book and am getting excited about starting the discussion. I love reading a book twice because I pick up so much more detail the second time around.

Nancy

ANNIE · « **Reply #750 on:** July 11, 2009, 02:44:02 PM »

Aberlaine
My daughter has lived in Ithaca since 1983 and would never leave unless her asthma gets so bad that she has find another atmosphere to reside in, like Arizona, New Mexico etc. She works on the edge of campus at Telluride House. Her kids were in the alternative public schools, the elementary being downtown, and high school, being up on the hill from the three way split roads. I used to know that town so well, even knew the names of all these things I have mentioned but time flies and my memory has flown out the window. And we just attended our grandson's wedding last June. Oh well, its not important.

JoanK · « **Reply #751 on:** July 11, 2009, 03:07:36 PM »

Is that "three way split roads" the dreaded "octapus"? My husband and I drove through it once, and then avoided it like the plague!!

ANNIE · « **Reply #752 on:** July 11, 2009, 05:12:17 PM »

Give that lady the prize!!! Yes, thank you JoanK, it was called the dreaded octopus. I got used to it since I was the taxi for my daughter whenever we visited.

Frybabe · « **Reply #753 on:** July 11, 2009, 05:16:11 PM »

Aberlaine,

My sister lives at the upper end of Treman, close to Trumballs, Corner. My best friend has relatives in Elmira. Small world.

ANNIE · « **Reply #754 on:** July 12, 2009, 09:56:18 AM »

Sounds like we have Ithaca and environs surrounded with friends and family. My granddaughter(an Ithaca citizen) went to Colgate in Hamilton,NY. My next door neighbor who grew up in Elmira, tells me her husband also attended Colgate. And that same next door neighbor use to be Annafair's(our poetry lady here on SL) neighbor! Its a small small world, for sure!

Steph · « **Reply #755 on:** July 13, 2009, 08:00:38 AM »

Getting ready to head off to Corning this morning. Plan to do the Museum of glass and other noted sights. I do love the Museum, but then MDH and I are glass fanatics. One of the biggest highlights of our western trip in may was in Tacoma..The Museum of glass there is truly a special place.

Babi · « **Reply #756 on:** July 13, 2009, 08:33:36 AM »

Thanks for clarifying that bit about Joan and the broken glass, ANNIE. I'm
glad no one was hurt.

ANNIE · « **Reply #757 on:** July 13, 2009, 10:19:30 AM »

Steph,
We have been through the Corning glass museum about 6 times over the last 30 years but what I want to mention here is that they were doing some rehab work on it plus a huge addition was being added about 7 or more years ago and I am interested in knowing how much it has improved.

Also, while you are in Corning, don't miss the other art museum which has three floors, each dedicated to one thing and not to be missed. The top floor is all western collected by the former president of Corning, the second floor is all antique toys and the first is lots of local art and more glass. Can't remember the name of the museum but you can't miss it.

Babi,
Glad you understood my reiteration on the glass in the bedspread. Hahahaha!

maryz · « **Reply #758 on:** July 13, 2009, 11:51:42 AM »

We love the Corning place!!! Have been there twice. John's cousin lives nearby in Owego. The last time, we took two 15-year-old grands, and did one of the hands-on classes. Fun.

Come to Chattanooga. There's a terrific exhibit on at the Tennessee Aquarium and Hunter Museum of Art combining glass pieces and jellyfish. Chihuly is one of the glass artists represented. It's a fantastic exhibit - especially the part at the Aquarium where the glass is displayed with the jellies. A definite WOW!

joangrimes · « **Reply #759 on:** July 13, 2009, 01:59:27 PM »

Oh Steph! I love Corning. It is just wonderful. We vistied there when we attended the SeniorNET bASh which took place in Williamsport , PA.

Annie , are you referring to the Rockwell Museum of Western Art. Here is a link to its web site. http://www.rockwellmuseum.org/

You must visit the Rockwell museum while you are in Corning too Steph. It is a wonderful museum.

MaryZ, I would love to come up to Chattanooga to that exhibition at the Hunter Museum of Art. I adore Chihuly.

Joan Grimes

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Author Topic: Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #1 (Read 162632 times)