Author Topic: The Library (Read 2084730 times)

Steph · « **Reply #120 on:** October 29, 2009, 07:57:27 AM »

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!

Everyone is welcome!

Suggestion Box for Future Discussions

Finally started reading The Thirteenth Tale last night. Sounds at this point like a ghost story.. Not quite sure.

PatH · « **Reply #121 on:** October 29, 2009, 08:10:24 AM »

We read "The Thirteenth Tale" on the old site. The plot has a huge number of twists and turns. Just when you think you know where you are, you find you don't.

Mippy · « **Reply #122 on:** October 29, 2009, 08:48:51 AM »

Go Phillies !!!

...sorry, just had to post to all you baseball fans!

ANNIE · « **Reply #123 on:** October 29, 2009, 11:55:47 AM »

Mippy,
I concur

ANNIE · « **Reply #124 on:** October 29, 2009, 11:56:17 AM »

Hello to all here!
Here's a link to one of our proposed discussions which is scheduled for February.

http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?board=75.0

Entitled "America's Prophet-Moses and the American Story," our author, Bruce Feiler, takes us on a tour of quotes and historical events referring to Moses who seems to be very important in the history of our country.

Do let us know if you will be joining us by posting at this site.

ALF43 · « **Reply #125 on:** October 29, 2009, 01:28:51 PM »

I'm in the middle of reading a good book my daughter gave to me. It's entitled The Secret of Lost Things, by Sheridan Hay. I had never heard of the book, nor the author but am really enjoying this story. It's a literary adventure about an 18 yr. old girl who leaves Tasmania to make a life for herself in NY City. She finds her home when she takes a job at a huge chaotic emportium of used and rare books called the Arcade.

PEDLN- where are you? What was the name of that huge book store that we visited in New York last year? As I read this it trannsports me right back there to that store.

The folks that she works with are all a bit strange, which is what I love about this eccentric story. There are all kinds of literary parallels throughout the book and is one of those stories that makes you reflect. I like it, can you tell? It's been a while since I've picked up a book that I took to right away like I did this one.

jane · « **Reply #126 on:** October 29, 2009, 02:58:47 PM »

Interesting article in Tuesday's USA Today: p.4D:

"Library books go the way of the dodo."

A boarding school in MA is eliminating the vast majority of their print books. The students will use the internet for research, using 14 databases that the school subscribes to, and there will be 65 kindles for reading other books. The Librarian, for example, will download books assigned for class...ie., David Copperfield...to the kindles which the students will check out.

"Most students love the new library, but a few remain skeptical." One student then comments that reading books on a computer is difficult and taking notes additionally difficult.

jane

maryz · « **Reply #127 on:** October 29, 2009, 03:26:00 PM »

jane, I can understand that it would cost considerably less. But, it surely does make it hard to highlight and write in the margins.

Also, I find with my Kindle, it's hard to go back and find something in a previous chapter. Change is always tough, isn't it.

JoanR · « **Reply #128 on:** October 29, 2009, 04:37:48 PM »

Alf - I met Pedln in NYC last May and we spent quite a bit of time in the Strand, the bookstore supreme! We got to ride up and down in the freight elevator since the regular one was out of service. Fun going through the back rooms and seeing all the loading and un-loading of boxes of books!

Re: book stores - I've just come home from the library with "The Book Shopper" by Murray Browne. Looks good!. There's a quote on the back from Henry Ward Beecher : "Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore". Amen to that!!!

Frybabe · « **Reply #129 on:** October 29, 2009, 07:37:22 PM »

Quote

Henry Ward Beecher : "Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore".

Years ago, when George and I would browse the bookstores he always knew just when to grab me and pull me out before I got carried away. Back then I had very little to spend, not to mention very little time to read for pleasure and very little room to store things. That was when I was working on my BA. and he on his PhD.

Steph · « **Reply #130 on:** October 30, 2009, 07:41:47 AM »

I just got mesmerized by The Thirteenth Tale.. Gulped it down.. and probably will reread for things I missed. What a wild ride.. Sorry I missed the discussion on the old site. I loved it ..
Alf.. Will look for The Secret of Lost Things. Sounds like my kind of book. Anything to do with book stores always interests me.

Babi · « **Reply #131 on:** October 30, 2009, 08:44:40 AM »

I read an article about that 'new' kind of library in another magazine
a while bacK, JANE. Commented about it somewhere here. I don't like the idea at all. I find it hard reading books on a computer, also. Maybe I'm
just being an old fogey; books on discs or other advanced technology has
been a feature of Sci/Fi for many years now.
With the cost of books, MARY, I suppose it will be a cost saver in the
long run, but the initial cost of all those computers and associated tech.
was staggering!

ALF43 · « **Reply #132 on:** October 30, 2009, 08:49:14 AM »

Steph- I, too, enjoyed Teh Thirteenth Tale and thank you JoanR-- yes, that was it The Strand. this book reminds me of the Strand with all of its little crooks and crevices. Plus, it is about a lost original manuscript of Melvilles. Very good plot with lots of eccentric people. (To say nothing of this eccentric reader.)

jane · « **Reply #133 on:** October 30, 2009, 11:34:39 AM »

Babi...I guess the kids have grown up with the computers, do all their research online through databases that used to be hand searched in our "day"...and so they're used to it. But I, too, find reading on a computer unpleasant. That said, however, Iwould love to have a kindle...and am kind of holding out for the next generation which I hope will have color.

I see that B&N has now come out with their own version...called the NOOK, so I guess there are at least three out there now...Kindle, Nook, and the Sony one I saw at Borders.

I think it would be wonderful for traveling and for waiting in this office or that. The downloads are far more reasonable than any hardcover .. many of which are in the $25-35 range now, it seems, or paperback even...which seem to be getting closer and closer to the $12-18 range. I continue to rely on my local library, but they can't carry everything...so the 1/2 price bookstore gets my "buying books" business as does another used book store. Both, however, are 35 miles away.

maryz · « **Reply #134 on:** October 30, 2009, 01:16:08 PM »

jane, as I've said before, one of the things I like most about the Kindle is its portability and ease of holding. I had it in the doctor's office on Monday, and both the nurse and the PA were quite interested in seeing how it worked. The PA especially commented when I told him that the reason I had bought it in the first place was because I had trouble holding heavy books - and he thought he would recommended to arthritis patients for that reason.

And, like you, we travel a lot, and it's nice to take only the one "book", and not have to take a suitcase-full.

pedln · « **Reply #135 on:** October 30, 2009, 03:18:40 PM »

Mary, you said a few posts back that with the Kindle it was hard to find something in previous chapters. Can you not do key-word searching on the Kindle, like doing a "find" in WORD?

Am going to have to look for that USA Today article about the library that's not going to get any more books. I just came from the our local library after a session on Concierge training -- for volunteers, and learned so much about our newly renovated (and really state of the art) library. It has an automatic check-out, which many libraries now have, but what really boggled my mind was the automatic check-IN machine and our small city of 35,000 has the first one in Missouri. Not only does it check in, but it sorts the books and other media as it does so.

Later: I just read that article. More thoughts later, but I think it's funny that the headmaster didn't address anything about text books. Seems to me that if you're going to digitize, that would be the place to begin. The good news is that other schools and libraries benefitted by getting the books that Cushing withdrew.

maryz · « **Reply #136 on:** October 30, 2009, 03:46:48 PM »

pedln, I'm not sure of the answer to your question, but i don't think so. You can make electronic notes, but I haven't felt the need to explore that yet.

And, I seem to be firmly stuck in both worlds. One of the things I don't like is that all the instructions are in the Kindle itself - no instruction manual comes with it. I'm just stodgy enough that I want a paper manual to look at while I fiddle with the electronic controls. Is that schizophrenic?

mrssherlock · « **Reply #137 on:** October 30, 2009, 04:59:13 PM »

Mary: I would say rather that it is old-fashioned to wish for a hard copy. I always print my electronic manuals.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #138 on:** October 30, 2009, 05:11:17 PM »

I was curious about the features on the Kindle II and found this website: ttp://www.collegedegrees.com/blog/2008/06/17/hack-your-kindle-100-tips-resources-and-tutorials-to-get-more-out-of-the-amazon-kindle/
In this case "Hack" refers not to subversive programming but customizing your Kindle. Seems there is a Search function.

salan · « **Reply #139 on:** October 30, 2009, 06:26:01 PM »

Steph-I loved The Thirteenth Tale. It is the selection (my recommendation) my book club chose for November. I am looking forward to reading it again. I think the book will provoke a lot of discussion.
MaryZ-I, too prefer hard copy manuals. There are too many pages to print out on some manuals. It is very aggravating to try to read and work out problems on line. I know from personal experience that having a manual on line presents a real problem when your computer is acting up and not responding. I ended up having to phone Dell and spending an hour on the phone with Hammath from India (which was another problem in itself!).

I would like a Kindle for travelling. One of the ladies in my book club can get Kindle books on her cell phone. My BIL also gets them on his IPhone. I am not sure how all of it works. I am slightly technically challenged and frequently feel that my world is spinning out of control, so maybe I don't need anything else to figure out. I saw a sign on a T-shirt that was very fitting. It said "Travelling 33 rpm in an IPod world". That's me!!

Sally

pedln · « **Reply #140 on:** October 30, 2009, 08:03:00 PM »

Sally, so the Kindle software is compatible with other players -- iPhone and cell phone. I would like to see more compatability before getting any kind of e-reader. Like, can you download to a computer, will Kindle books work with a Sony or a Barnes and Noble reader. I don't think so, yet. Not having that compatability means that the book supplier doesn't have any competition.

Steph · « **Reply #141 on:** October 31, 2009, 09:18:49 AM »

I have been wondering about the Kindle and compatability.. I suspect it is like computers before Windows.. I learned and loved Dos...and really hated Windows at the beginning, But it gradually ate up most anything else for pcs except for Apple.. Now the readers are three and it would make sense if they worked together, but they dont. I asked one of my sons about something called blue ray.. Wanted to know if it worked with dvd's.. and he said.. NO... so that is just one more thing, I think I will ignore.

ALF43 · « **Reply #142 on:** October 31, 2009, 09:31:42 AM »

I know that we all must "move on" and get with it, -blah-blah. BUT it truly saddens me when I read about libraries not maintaining a stock of new books. Perhaps it is because I have found so much joy and peace in libraries throughout my life.
I just read yesterday that the publishers of Andre' Agassi's new book and of Stephen King's new novel will not be allowed as an E book. They admitted that they are losing too much $$$$ through ebook downloads and want the public to purchase the hard covered stories.

JoanK · « **Reply #143 on:** October 31, 2009, 08:39:57 PM »

The Story of Civilization has been active as a discussion group for eight years. We are now talking and reading about Italy during the Renaissance years.

Things happen in this period of history that change the way of the world forever. They are happening again in our discussion.

Come share with us this discussion of one of the most significant periods in the history of the world. You'll be glad you came and you will gain in understanding why we are where we are today.

On Sunday, we will have a celebration of eight years of discussion, and of making our way in only eight years from living in caves to the glories of the Renaissance.

For Seniorlearn members, go to http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=64.360

If you’re not a member, go to http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?action=help

ginny · « **Reply #144 on:** November 01, 2009, 09:02:30 AM »

Thank you, Joan! Robby has another achievement, too, he's being honored by an entire chapter in the forthcoming book "WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH THE REST OF MY LIFE? True Stories of Finding Success, Passion, and New Meaning in the Second Half of Life." by Bruce Frankel. Published by Penguin Press.

He's our own celebrity! And richly deserved, too. I better put that there also. That's one book I want in print on my shelf.

What fascinating conversations, topics and news here. CAN libraries go to digital? Oh gosh I hope not but I wasn't keen on losing the file card system, either, and just look at it now, the great benefits! One thing about it: you'd never get a dog eared slopped on old book again? Benefit?

Still a book, the smell, and holding it in your hand, and how interesting Alf on the losing money thing about the Agassi book.

I've finished You'll Never Nanny in This Town Again and am about 1/2 way thru Mrs. Astor Regrets, my goodness, my goodness.

I wonder if it's possible to live too long. EVEN if you have enough money and power for 100 people... and even if you live those extra years, she lived to be 105, climbed steps at 102, was it? EVEN if you live those extra years to the upmost of your ability and charm, even so......

Truly you can see that money does not bring happiness, what a sad in surprising ways book this one is, but not for the reasons you might think. Wow what a book. Non fiction. I'm going to go find my copy of Hoving's Making the Mummies Dance, because he's not quoted but Phillipe de Montebello is and I know Hoving will tell it straight.

You could not write a plot with more twists and turns, stranger than any fiction. Can't put it down, actually.

Have any of you read the excerpt of Stephen King's Under the Dome now in the current Entertainment Magazine? He does write so well, but I heard it was about cannibalism, not sure I can stomach (no pun intended) that one.

Steph · « **Reply #145 on:** November 01, 2009, 09:43:14 AM »

I had wondered if authors were affected by the Kindle, etc. Answer seems to be yes. Hmm. I love the idea of having one for travel. My suitcase is always half full of books.. especially on long trips.

ginny · « **Reply #146 on:** November 01, 2009, 09:45:41 AM »

Stephanie, I meant to say, I have been reading along with open mouth, what a frightening experience you had! It's getting kind of nasty out there, I am glad you are OK, and unbowed!

Stay safe!

Frybabe · « **Reply #147 on:** November 01, 2009, 09:58:57 AM »

Ginny, thanks for the note about Robby. I have been neglecting my reading of The Story of Civilization for a while and am now way behind (still in the last third of volume IV). In truth, the book got slid under the sofa and then got buried by all the new acquisitions this year.

I peeked in on The Last Dickens a few times. Matthew Pearl was very accessable and enthusiastic wasn't he? It almost makes me feel like I should have gotten the book and participated. I am interested in picking up his Dantes Club and looking forward to his "Boston" novel.

Brian · « **Reply #148 on:** November 01, 2009, 12:06:47 PM »

The Story of Civilization has been active as a discussion group for eight years. We are
now talking and reading about Italy during the Renaissance years.

That period in history was launched by reports of the travels of Marco polo and the
reappearance of classical objects from antiquity. Early archeologists unearthed what once
was Rome and the Arabs of Spain brought Greek and Roman documents to 13th century
Italy. Genovese and Pisan trade with others around the Mediterranean basin brought new
Hellenic influences to the Italian peninsula. Artists were ready to break out of the
idealistic constrictions of the past and to push into more realistic areas of art expression.

Trade brought new wealth to Italian merchants and gave rise to a moneyed merchant
class. The new wealth found it's way to the Papacy and it encouraged dissipation among
the Popes of the period. This led to abuses and to conflict with European royalty and
dissension from within the Church.

Things happen in this period of history that change the way of the world forever. We can
never go back and it all happened here.

http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=64.new;topicseen#new

Come share with us this discussion of one of the most significant periods in the history of
the world. You'll be glad you came and you will gain in understanding why we are where
we are today.

JoanK · « **Reply #149 on:** November 01, 2009, 01:00:09 PM »

FRYBABE: you don't need to read the book. Robby posts all the relevant parts for us to discuss. Just jump in anytime.

marjifay · « **Reply #150 on:** November 01, 2009, 03:41:14 PM »

I read THE LAST DICKENS, Frybabe, and really enjoyed the first part re his speaking tours in the U.S. It brought Dickens to life for me. But there were parts I thought should have been shortened or eliminated -- the publisher's trip to London was interesting at first but then really dragged, and could have been shortened. And the part about Dickens' son in India didn't go anywhere nor add anything to the story, IMO. I had to push myself to finish the book. I wanted to read his book about Poe until I read some of the reader reviews at Amazon.

Marj

marcie · « **Reply #151 on:** November 01, 2009, 04:30:35 PM »

The 1930s is a decade that has a lot of similarities with today. On Monday, my local PBS station will be showing "The Civilian Conservation Corps" as part of The American Experience series. See http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/ccc. It looks very interesting.

PatH · « **Reply #152 on:** November 01, 2009, 06:42:10 PM »

Frybabe, JoanK is right, you can jump into Story of Civilization at any time by reading Robby's excerpts. I've done this several tiame.

JoanK · « **Reply #153 on:** November 01, 2009, 06:47:39 PM »

Come and join the party. You won't believe the food we have. But come in costume.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #154 on:** November 01, 2009, 08:20:54 PM »

A new to me author is writing a series about Leonardo da Vinci. See here: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/diane-a-s-stuckart/queen-s-gambit.htm

JoanK · « **Reply #155 on:** November 01, 2009, 09:33:13 PM »

I've ordered it. At that price, who could resist.

winsummm · « **Reply #156 on:** November 01, 2009, 11:38:21 PM »

Mrs sherlock thank you for the white queen. Philippa Gregory one of my favorite writers. I hope Kindle has it.

claire

marcie · « **Reply #157 on:** November 02, 2009, 12:49:42 AM »

The Queen's Gambit sounds very interesting. Thanks, mrs sherlock.

Steph · « **Reply #158 on:** November 02, 2009, 07:58:19 AM »

Reading two books as always. One is a reread, quite old.. Susan Howatch at the beginning of her career wrote two books, I adore.. PenMarris is the current reread. She patterns English royalty into real life . Fascinating approach.
The other is a fun book.. Lois Battle wrote it.. The Floribama... something or another. About mid life crisis and change.. Really interesting and fun.

Babi · « **Reply #159 on:** November 02, 2009, 08:34:17 AM »

Good for Robby! He is an inspiration, isn't he?

News:

Author Topic: The Library (Read 2084730 times)