Author Topic: The Library (Read 2299503 times)

marjifay · « **Reply #10760 on:** February 25, 2013, 06:36:17 PM »

The Library

Our library cafe is open 24/7, the welcome mat is always out.
Do come in from daily chores and spend some time with us.

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

Let the book talk begin here!

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That man's house sounds like mine! But I'd never find anything if I arranged them all by author. Mine are arranged by subject/genre and then by author: Fiction, Biography, History, etc.

Loved that he kept books he read long ago. I also still have and loved Portnoy's Complaint.

Marj

Steph · « **Reply #10761 on:** February 26, 2013, 06:21:10 AM »

I hated Portnoy..What a kvetch.. But I agree on the books. My books are stored differently.The ones I have not read.. tbr are separate from the others. The others are filed in groupings, since I only save the books by authors I adore. Most of what I read now gets trader or given to the Friends of the Library. Very few savers.. My IPAD has quite a few books on it,mostly not read yet.If I sell this house, I will probably wean down the books a bit more.. since I want to get into a smaller place.

Babi · « **Reply #10762 on:** February 26, 2013, 08:47:00 AM »

I'm with STEPH on "Portnoy's Complaint". Never read another book by that author.
And we simply don't have space to keep every book Val and I read. We have a half-
dozen bookshelves scattered through the house and that's our limit. Actually,
there is some old stuff we will likely never read again that are just gathering
dust and could be tossed.

maryz · « **Reply #10763 on:** February 26, 2013, 01:26:40 PM »

The only books I buy nowadays are e-books. John might buy something at the used book store or the library book sale, but those go right back or get passed along. This is not to say we don't have a lot of "keeper" books, plus my art books.

The fun thing is our week at the beach with family and friends. Lots of us bring sacks of books along and there is a huge book swap. Anything that doesn't get picked is disposed of as above.

MaryPage · « **Reply #10764 on:** February 26, 2013, 11:17:14 PM »

Me, too. Me, too!

I hated Portnoy, I still begin to retch whenever anyone even MENTIONS that book. And I never read another Philip Roth, either!

MaryPage · « **Reply #10765 on:** February 27, 2013, 08:55:33 AM »

I believe one of the books of our century, almost equal to Darwin in his, will be this book:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/noble-savages-napoleon-chagnon/1111401959?ean=9780684855103

You can go on line and Read All About It. The Daily Beast had a long and wonderful article, full of pictures. Napoleon Chagnon. I have read some of it, and he is a marvelous writer. Most important, he has shaken up the world of Anthropology something fierce!

Steph · « **Reply #10766 on:** February 27, 2013, 09:08:05 AM »

My cold is not quite gone,, seemed to come back yesterday afternoon.. Think that talking on the phone made my throat hurt and then I could not sleep. Darn darn darn... Will be careful today. I really need to start collecting tax stuff.. Just have a stack and it is not even sorted. I cannot file yet, since I have pipelines ( schedule K) and a real estate trust that has filed for an extension but can at least get all of the deductions in order.

Frybabe · « **Reply #10767 on:** February 27, 2013, 12:27:26 PM »

Bookstore news: Barnes and Noble. I saw an article yesterday that said the B&N founder wants to buy the retail business and website, but not the Nook Media and textbook portion of the business. Here is Bloomberg's article: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-26/barnes-noble-stores-seen-topping-market-value-real-m-a.html

I wonder how that will affect the proposed store closings. Mr. Riggio, I've read is a dyed-in-the-wool brick and mortar retailer. The retail stores are doing much better than the Nook segment according to reports. This whole thing is getting very interesting to watch.

maryz · « **Reply #10768 on:** February 27, 2013, 01:08:33 PM »

I just read an article in the new Smithsonian magazine - an interview with Bernard Bailyn about his new book The Barbarous Years. Sounds fascinating. I haven't checked our library, and I'm so cheap - I don't know if I want to buy it for my e-reader.

We've just watched a 12-lecture Learning Company course called The Other 1492, which is about events in the Iberian Peninsula (wasn't really "Spain" then) leading up to the voyages of Columbus. We got it because it was priced very low, but found it fascinating.

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #10769 on:** February 27, 2013, 02:16:50 PM »

Need to ask a question here concerning books. I know when we need to look up something about a Movie, there is IMdB. I seem to recall there is a similar site for books, but can't recall what it is, if it is; I could have just dreamed this! LOL! Wikipedia doesn't seem to have the info I'm looking for, as I have very little input information.

JoanK · « **Reply #10770 on:** February 27, 2013, 03:31:08 PM »

"I hated Portnoy, I still begin to retch whenever anyone even MENTIONS that book. And I never read another Philip Roth, either!"

Me, too!

Frybabe · « **Reply #10771 on:** February 27, 2013, 07:33:31 PM »

TomeReader, you might be thinking of one of these two sites.

Fantastic Fiction: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/

Stop You're Killing Me (Mysteries): http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/

Steph · « **Reply #10772 on:** February 28, 2013, 06:27:28 AM »

I read the B&N article too.. I have one close enough to the house to stop in.. I don't like their on line site and never use it..But I love the store.

ginny · « **Reply #10773 on:** February 28, 2013, 08:08:17 AM »

I read it too, thank you for putting it here, Frybabe. It looks like the guy who started Barnes and Noble has it right, so far as I can see, the stores are a real asset and there aren't many left, they are a wonderful market.

The Nook, however, appears in danger, since it records such huge losses and may have trouble standing on its own without the profits of the mothership: the B&N stores. You can't get INTO one here. At one of the local huge B&N's here (we have 3 in two towns) they took out the whole center of the store for a Nook area, which is almost always empty and had to cram all the books in strange places elsewhere to do it, and this is a megastore by anybody's reckoning. it's a waste of space. A small help desk (which is what they did with the Customer Service) ought to be enough, the whole premise of a bookstore is to look at real books. Those with e readers don't need to go out in the snow to see a book in person.

Didn't we read here, however, that they make more money on the Cafe than they do books?

I like e books, and I have some, but I don't need an area the size of a small market to look at the different electronic devices on display. Maybe he can take the company private and do what he wants with it.

marjifay · « **Reply #10774 on:** February 28, 2013, 11:12:04 AM »

THE BARBAROUS YEARS; THE PEOPLING OF BRITISH NORTH AMERICA by Bernard Bailyn sounds very interesting, MaryZ. Looks like a good one to buy (641 pp, 2012), but I'll wait for it to become cheaper. Meanwhile, I'll read it from my library. Thanks.

Marj

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #10775 on:** February 28, 2013, 12:11:32 PM »

Frybabe,
Fantastic Fiction is not it, nor is Stop You're Killing Me, which is for mysteries.
It should be something with initials (similar to IMdB), unless I have dreamed the whole thing, LOL.

Frybabe · « **Reply #10776 on:** February 28, 2013, 12:57:02 PM »

Well, if someone comes up with it, Tome, I'd like to know. It will get added to my bookmarks. Most of the time, I first hunt down stuff on Wikipedia or Amazon. Sometimes doing a web search can direct me to a more obscure but worthy site. I've run across some sites that give synopsizes and characters of various books, but I think they were rather limited to, say, one author or the best of a genre, etc. CliffNotes: http://www.cliffsnotes.com/ BookRags: http://www.bookrags.com/

As you can see, Tome, you have me on the hunt. Ah, the thrill of the hunt.

Try this one, Tome. Someone asked the question on Google.
https://isbndb.com/

Also,
Bookish: http://www.bookish.com/home
Article about Bookish: http://techland.time.com/2011/05/06/ss-hachette-penguin-announce-new-imdb-for-books-site-bookish/ Could this be what you saw? They are hoping to make this the IMDB of books according to the article. I hope this one doesn't turn into another GoodReads with user forums all over the place, is just a bit too much for me.

And this, Internet Book List: http://www.iblist.com/

pedln · « **Reply #10777 on:** February 28, 2013, 01:16:26 PM »

What about just doing a google on the title, or has that already been mentioned? That usually works for me, and then maybe the kind of site Tomereader wants will just jump out.

Frybabe · « **Reply #10778 on:** February 28, 2013, 01:23:24 PM »

Sorry Pedln I was editing my post when you posted.

I got the impression she doesn't have the title. She said she had very little input info, so I thought she might need a site that can do a search by keyword rather than title or author. Then again, it might be a book that is obscure and out of print.

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #10779 on:** February 28, 2013, 02:13:25 PM »

Ahh, very little information indeed. I was given the date of publication only, the fact that it dealt with the Southern topic of, perhaps, slaves. The person who has this book is a friend of a friend, and one or the other of them will get back to me with Title, Author, Publisher when they can. I appreciate all your above links, and will try each with that miniscule info I have.
Ah, the hunt!

CubFan · « **Reply #10780 on:** February 28, 2013, 05:24:37 PM »

Tome -

I don't know if this is any help - but I am reading a new book, recently published (2013) that has to do with runaway slaves/Quakers, set in Ohio in the 1850s - The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier.

Mary

JoanP · « **Reply #10781 on:** March 01, 2013, 12:01:26 AM »

Very sad news tonight...
We have just heard from her daughter, Valerie, that Babi, Barbara Simpson, our long- time friend and Seniornet/Seniorlearn Discussion Leader, passed away tonight after a sudden illness.

Please keep Babi and her family in your thoughts and prayers. More in the morning.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #10782 on:** March 01, 2013, 01:48:47 AM »

I am so very sorry to hear this news. Babi was a wonderful person, and always made such interesting, informed and generous conversation. A very sad day for all of us here.

Rosemary

Steph · « **Reply #10783 on:** March 01, 2013, 05:57:18 AM »

Oh Babi, we seem to be kindred spirits and read much of the same type of books. I will miss her so much.. Its amazing, never met her, but feel as if I have lost a very dear friend.

MaryPage · « **Reply #10784 on:** March 01, 2013, 06:05:57 AM »

My gawd, she was just here, wasn't she? That was sudden, and is a huge loss for us, as I felt she and I were also kindred spirits. Oh yes, I will miss her sorely. But I also feel the suddeness was lucky for her; I yearn to go quickly and unexpectedly, as well.

God Speed Babi.

maryz · « **Reply #10785 on:** March 01, 2013, 06:37:49 AM »

What a blow - to lose Babi so suddenly! Such a loss to her blood family and her SeniorLearn family. I now our condolences will find ther way to her loved ones.

Frybabe · « **Reply #10786 on:** March 01, 2013, 07:02:04 AM »

Oh, no! What sad news to wake up to. I'll miss Babi and her posts. My condolences to the family.

marjifay · « **Reply #10787 on:** March 01, 2013, 07:16:06 AM »

Oh, what sad news! I didn't know Babi was ill Will really miss her.

Marj

JoanP · « **Reply #10788 on:** March 01, 2013, 07:35:02 AM »

That's the thing, Babi wasn't ill until the day before. In fact, she was with us, right until then. Maryz, we are putting together a site to post condolences and our memories to send on to Babi's family...and for her family here on SeniorLearn too. Later this morning...

PatH · « **Reply #10789 on:** March 01, 2013, 08:45:28 AM »

Oh, no! She was just talking with us all 2 days ago. What a blow; she'll be missed.

It was good of Valerie to let us know so promptly.

marcie · « **Reply #10790 on:** March 01, 2013, 11:16:37 AM »

It is such a shock to learn about Babi. Rosemary, I echo your thoughts which I think captured Babi very well: "Babi was a wonderful person, and always made such interesting, informed and generous conversation. "

I too will miss her very much.

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #10791 on:** March 01, 2013, 11:59:12 AM »

I will miss her posts. She seemed like such a kind-hearted person, and so erudite. Always helpful, quick with kind words. And Val, she loved and appreciated you so very, very much.
My heart goes out to you and the rest of your family, and I cannot fathom the deep sadness you must be feeling now. Bless You.
Babi will be sorely missed here.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #10792 on:** March 01, 2013, 12:49:51 PM »

I lived Babi's comments. I will miss her insight.

Jean

CallieOK · « **Reply #10793 on:** March 01, 2013, 01:47:19 PM »

I am so sorry to learn about Babi. She certainly will be missed.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #10794 on:** March 01, 2013, 02:06:23 PM »

Oh - I am speechless

JoanP · « **Reply #10795 on:** March 01, 2013, 06:04:22 PM »

It was so sudden - we didn't have time to prepare, to send her cards or flowers or a book. We had no idea - she had no idea this was coming. In a way, that is comforting.

Even if you've posted your thoughts here or elsewhere, will you please copy and paste them here in this site - we'd like to print out the comments and share them with Babi's family so they know how much she's meant to us. In Memory of Babi

Steph · « **Reply #10796 on:** March 02, 2013, 05:46:54 AM »

I have posted.. But I agree with MaryPage.. I too would love to go suddenly and quickly.. I know I will think of her when reading certain authors that she and I shared.

bookad · « **Reply #10797 on:** March 02, 2013, 12:49:17 PM »

I am so sad to hear of Babi's passing. I always looked forward to her insights and posts.
Deb

mabel1015j · « **Reply #10798 on:** March 02, 2013, 07:03:13 PM »

If you didn't get to see the CSPAN program on Martha Washington last Monday, CSPAN 1 is starting it again right now 7:00EST. If you have only one CSPAN channel it's probably that one.
Jean

Steph · « **Reply #10799 on:** March 03, 2013, 06:17:16 AM »

Central Florida decided to have a few last days of winter. Wow,, it is cold and windy. I am really enjoying my haul from the book sale.. I even got a few large print, that not because I liked lp, but because they were books I had never read and could not find in regular.. I also found and just finished reading in two nights, an old Dell Shannon.. Elizabeth Linington wrote so many books and I used to read them all. Have not seen one of hers in years.

News:

Author Topic: The Library (Read 2299503 times)