Author Topic: The Library (Read 2085162 times)

bellemere · « **Reply #1280 on:** March 26, 2010, 09:35:00 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!

Ginny, John says that the reason the Romans were all over Provence is because the emperors promoted it as a retirement community for military officers.they retired after only 20 years, like our guys today, and the emperor did not like these physically fit relatively young men, and their weapons, and their intense loyalty to their own commanding officers, to be hanging around Rome with nothing to do. Potential source of big trouble. So ...... a nice little place in the south of France? An offer they couldn't refuse?

Frybabe · « **Reply #1281 on:** March 26, 2010, 09:46:01 AM »

Anyone interested in local/regional history or genealogy may like to check out this website: http://www.heritagebooks.com/

Gumtree · « **Reply #1282 on:** March 26, 2010, 10:58:36 AM »

Postscript to my icestorm story:
- the debris torn from vegetation during the storm which landed in the river is beginning to rot down now and as it does it is depleting the oxygen levels in the water to such an extent that our marine creatures are dying in great numbers.

Scientists and conservationists are mounting a rescue operation to transfer the fish etc to holding tanks until the water re-oxygenates but it is already something of a lost battle as vast areas of the river are yielding few if any live creatures. Currently they are concentrating on native species in their known habitats.

How sad it was to see a TV clip of a long-necked tortoise emerging from the water, gasping for air and trying to climb up the river bank. They say he'll be OK - but what of the others?

mrssherlock · « **Reply #1283 on:** March 26, 2010, 12:14:12 PM »

Gum: An illustration of the fragility of the interdependent biology Mother Nature developed. A tragedy for one scenario may be the salvation for another. Would mammals have flourished without extinction of the dinosaurs?

Steph · « **Reply #1284 on:** March 26, 2010, 01:30:00 PM »

On my north of France river trip, we visited an area where VanGogh lived and died. We visited his and Theo's graves. You take a little walk visiting the areas where he painted, ending up with the cemetary. It was so lovely and peaceful. Van Gogh is a personal favorite.. but I do agree that the very first Rembrandt original , I ever saw at the Getty.. I just stood in amazement. The light,, I had always heard about his use of light, but oh me, explanation and actual face are quite different.
Alf,, I envy you the classes. We have nothing down here in Clermont. Our junior college simply does not have classes like available except for full time students.

maryz · « **Reply #1285 on:** March 26, 2010, 01:47:12 PM »

I've just finished the Sara Paretsky "Bleeding Kansas". It was different from her usual mysteries. I don't know what I expected, but this wasn't it.

I'm having to keep thinking it over, thinking what I wanted to say about what the book was about - not my usual response to a book. Any thoughts from those of you who have read it?

joangrimes · « **Reply #1286 on:** March 26, 2010, 03:50:48 PM »

Yes Steph, that is a fascinating place where Van Gogh died...The church there is the subject of one of his famous paintings...I have been there several times. The name of the town is Auvers Sur OISE. It is one the Oise River. They are really working on the town to make it a real attraction. I went there the last time I was in France , which will be two years ago in May... I love walking to the burial place and watching the birds flying over the fields..The fields look just like his paintings. I really love Van Gogh..I think I said that before.

. I have lots of pics of all that somewhere. I wish I knew where they are and felt like looking for them...But maybe everything will improve for me soon and I will be able to dothat..

bellemere · « **Reply #1287 on:** March 26, 2010, 05:05:57 PM »

Gumtree, WHERE ARE YOU? We had a big rainstorm in Eastern Mass a few weeks ago, flooded streets, etc. but nothing so apocalyptic as you describe.
I just finished one of those "locked room" mysteries, and although I seldom read them, I enjoyed the setting in Vienna, and the old fashioned speech and colorful background details. I have always been fascinated by the Viennese turn of the century culture, I was only there once for a few days, but never forgot it. the book is A Death in Vienna by Frank Tallis.
Now our book club is starting on The Given Day by Dennis Lehane, set in my home town of Boton in the early part of the 20th century. Lenane is considered a "noir" author. Anyone got a good definition of "Noir" ?
I have daffodil shoots coming up. and I am forcing some forsythia branches. and my granddaughter is home from her South American odyssey, surviving a couple of riots, "faux" policemen, and an earthquake. She loved every minute of it! Ah, youth!

JoanR · « **Reply #1288 on:** March 26, 2010, 05:15:06 PM »

Gum - What a disaster. One wouldn't ordinarily think of the consequences of all that vegetation being blown into the river. How long does it take, I wonder, for the oxygen levels to return to a life-sustaining level? Will they try to restock the river with more wildlife? At least enough to get things going again. Our big snowstorms were pretty minor compared to what you had.

winsummm · « **Reply #1289 on:** March 26, 2010, 05:34:33 PM »

I have read three of the diva gooks and just discovered EGGGSeCUTIVE ORDER yeah. I love these particular ones related to the white house.just downloaded sample ten minutes ago. these communities of mstery writing women are all amuzing and give us lots of new recipes. some even hand work directions. what a nice combination of interests along with the blood and guts and violence

claire

PatH · « **Reply #1290 on:** March 26, 2010, 07:14:44 PM »

Gum, it makes me shudder just thinking about the destruction you describe. It must be dreadful to watch.

PatH · « **Reply #1291 on:** March 26, 2010, 07:17:49 PM »

Ginny, thanks for posting those two pictures of les Alycamps. The similarity of the color scheme is interesting. I think the light of Provence is infectious.

winsummm · « **Reply #1292 on:** March 26, 2010, 07:47:05 PM »

just checking out some of the woman sleiths and problem. they talk like women, lots of gossip and cutsie language. dumped ost of them.

claire

kiwilady · « **Reply #1293 on:** March 26, 2010, 11:28:47 PM »

Greetings bookies ( I bet you are thinking now there is a post from the wilderness!)

Many years ago when I was just a teenager there was a travelling Van Gogh exhibition which came to our city Art Gallery. Oh how I loved it. Even today he is my favorite artist. Those colours!

Hi to Jan and Gumtree! Long time no see.We are having a dry summer here in Auckland. Its still warm and going to be warm well into April. Only had 10% of our normal summer rainfall so far.
I have a puppy aged 7 mths now and the only time I can read a hard copy book is when she is napping in her crate. I have been getting audio books mostly lately. I lost my two old girls aged 14 and 14 and a half last year. Now I have ChiChi ( also a bichon frise) who is a real shock to the system. She is like a kid with ADHD so different from the other bichons. I have to walk her for an hour each morning.(My arthritis is killing me!) My grandaughters say I should write a book about Chich as she is such a character. She is very vocal and makes many sounds including a noise like a cats purr.

I am reading a real hotch potch of mysteries and thrillers at the moment. I adore the Medieval Murderers books and there is another couple of authors ( their names escape me right now) that I have discovered who also do Medieval mysteries.

I have made myself read one Asian author per month at the moment. There are some great books coming out of India at the moment.

Carolyn

joangrimes · « **Reply #1294 on:** March 27, 2010, 12:42:38 AM »

Hi Carolyn!! It is so good to see you here. I hope you will be able to think of the names of those authors who write medieval mysteries that you read.
tell us more about your family and about your animals.

Joan Grimes

joangrimes · « **Reply #1295 on:** March 27, 2010, 12:59:15 AM »

Gum, that storm was really a horrible experiene for you to go through. I am so glad that you got through the experience safely.

Joan Grimes

winsummm · « **Reply #1296 on:** March 27, 2010, 01:07:36 AM »

dogs into books and even films. HBO keeps playing MARLy AND ME and I keep watching it. get out the cam corder you may havr a little star in your life. those little white dogs are impossibly cute anyway.

I don't have a dog now for one very good reason I have arthrits too. can't bend over ar enough to clean up and as for walks. . .nah. now ay forget it.. so I watch dog whisperer and animal planet and other peoples dogs. mine were mostly collies.

cliare

winsummm · « **Reply #1297 on:** March 27, 2010, 01:11:55 AM »

I mispelled my name a la typo but I like it this way CLIARE. I keep running into it in al l these light mysteries I've been reading. It seems to denote a serious sort of person, often a HEAVY. gee whiz.

Claire

Octavia · « **Reply #1298 on:** March 27, 2010, 01:33:12 AM »

Hi Carolyn long time no see! I haven't replaced Dog, or Nelson the cat(same old story, health issues). Lately I've been searching Capricorn Rescue for an older cat, one who needs to live out his/her older years peacefully.
I must admit I was stunned to read that an area in NZ was desperately short of water, while we're awash with the stuff. Our riverside car park has been evacuated over and over this summer. It's a long time since Lake Eyre had water 2 yrs running.
It's all extremes now, flood, fire, drought, and hail in Gumtree's case.

Steph · « **Reply #1299 on:** March 27, 2010, 06:16:12 AM »

MaryZ.. That has been my reaction to Bloody Kansas as well. I love Paretsky, but that book was strange. I found the people almost impossible to understand.. I read reviews in which she talked of how true to life the book is.. Makes you really wonder about Kansas..
I am not overfond of the books with recipes. Some of the recipes are just flat out unusable and some to my horror are so packed full of sugar and butter, I dont dare make them.. It would be more fun if once in a while they included some low fat, etc.

maryz · « **Reply #1300 on:** March 27, 2010, 08:21:40 AM »

Steph, I'd hate to think those people were really true-to-life - in Kansas or anywhere else in this country - but....... Maybe her aim was to make us look at this unreasoning hate and intolerance, and its consequences.

ginny · « **Reply #1301 on:** March 27, 2010, 09:13:13 AM »

Carolyn, how good to see you here! I'd love to hear about your Medieval mysteries, too.

Gum, can't imagine the devastation and out of nowhere, are ice storms normal where you are or is this a pattern? Every time I see a volcano or an earthquake I wonder about the plates shifting. Of course that would have nothing to do with ice, or would it?

I have loved all the talk about Van Gogh and art, it's just amazing to me to learn stuff that I guess everybody else has known for ages, isn't the world a full fascinating place of things to learn!

Stephanie, and Joan G, you are right, Auvers-sur-Oise, for the place where Van Gogh died and is buried. I have actually been there, too, without knowledge of what was there. THIS time I hope to be somewhat better informed before I go.

I went into Barnes and Noble yesterday for a book on Van Gogh's art and they had almost nothing, and the bookseller (I always look for this guy because he knows books and a lot of things) anyway he said there's a book that's sort of a children's book, almost, on it, and I said well that's my level I'd like to see it and i LOVE it, it's perfectly beautiful, it's called Vincent Van Gogh, is paperback, about an inch thick, about the size of a piece of typing paper and is glorious. It's got background and a big colorful reproductions of painting faced by one of his letters about it, and explanations and notes, and background. It was printed in Munich, I can't seem to put it down and there's nothing anywhere characterizing it as a child's book. Some child's book, but we're all children in some areas, perhaps.

At any rate I love it, the BLUES!!

Now I need the book of his letters to Theo or the reverse, there's a book of letters, Jean, that this bookseller also recommended.

What good suggestions here, I might try to see if there's a course somewhere online or from those E Professors on him, Andrea. What did you mean by: It didn't even touch on the subject. I felt like I was back in Art class in high school by identifying Roman, and Greek architecture. He never got to Van Gogh?

I can't believe how many times I have been to Amsterdam and not even checked out anything on him.

Mary: Seeing originals of any of the "great masters" will absolutely blow you away! The first time I saw a "real" Rembrandt, I couldn't move, and the tears just streamed down my cheeks.

I was totally unprepared for the effect of Vermeer's...is it milkmaid...at the Rijksmuseum on me, talk about LIGHT, I just stood there with jaw on floor, absolutely amazing. Look at this link to the museum! I have heard that those scenes of ice skating actually hide something sinister, I think I'll watch this a bit longer and find out: http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/index.jsp?lang=en&gclid=CL37qpP_2KACFV1-5QoduWHzEQ

_______________________________

Bellemere, John is absolutely right. I'm reading two great books on Provence, one is called The Roman Remains of Southern France by James Bromwich (in which I found a fabulous milestone in Alba which I never heard of and directions as to how to get to it), and Becoming Roman by Greg Woolf, which talks about the assimilation of the Gauls (French) into the Roman Empire and ends "with a synoptic view of Gallo-Roman civilization and the origins of provincial cultures in general."

That sounds a little heavy going but it's OK in small doses.

Joan K, no I haven't seen the PBS program with Cezanne and what he painted, I'll see if IT is on Netflix, there are a lot of PBS things on there, t sounds fascinating. Yesterday the bookseller recommended a movie called Dreams, from Akira Kurosawa in which one of Van Gogh's paintings serves as a take off for a small part of a movie if I understood that correctly, so have ordered it from Netflix to see what THAT'S about. He actually tracked me back down in the store to give me the print out about it, now THAT'S my idea of a book seller!

Pat, apparently it's the LIGHT that attracted Van Gogh and I read yesterday that Les Alycamps looks almost the same now as it did then, and as it does in his painting; can't wait to see it. Am in correspondence from a guide in the area which Rick Steves recommends now on Occitan, the language, of which I also knew nothing, so I guess i won't come home as ignorant as i go. hahaa he says he can do 300 kilometers in a day, and I've got the ruins I want to see so it will really be a day trip challenge.

______________________________

What's Bloody Kansas about? not the Clutters again?

________________________________

Carolyn, I love books by/ about India, what are you reading?

Babi · « **Reply #1302 on:** March 27, 2010, 09:17:08 AM »

Do tell us about the 'great books coming out of India', too, please,
Carolyn.
I'm glad to hear you have a new puppy. I know how much you loved your
dogs. Puppies are adorable, but we always choose cats. They are beautiful
and all have very distinct personalities, but are much less demanding as far as their
care. Never had to walk a cat.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #1303 on:** March 27, 2010, 11:23:32 AM »

Carolyn: happy to see your name on a post; it's been a while. Like babi i am a cat person but dogs are fun. my sister has a boxer, rescued, that I play with when I visit her. A new to me series by Priscilla Royal starts with Wine of Violence. I like to read those series about Queen Elizabeth I; there are two: Karen Harper: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/h/karen-harper/poyson-garden.htm and Fiona Buckley: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/fiona-buckley/robsart-mystery.htm
Who are your favorite authors?

maryz · « **Reply #1304 on:** March 27, 2010, 01:19:57 PM »

Ginny, Vermeer is definitely one of my favorite painters. Just incredible!

Re Bleeding Kansas - I guess the underlying story is almost Romeo and Juliet - two young would-be lovers from feuding families. (I just figured that out, trying to come with an answer to your question.) One of the families is dealing with the death of a child and the severe depression of the mother. The other family members are the villains of the piece - extreme fundamentalist and violent in religion and politics. It's set in present-day Kansas, with references to the ancestors who moved into the area during the pre-Civil War era.

JoanK · « **Reply #1305 on:** March 27, 2010, 01:57:30 PM »

GUM: I'm so sorry for the environmental destruction caused by the ice storm. I hope the species involved will recover.

KIWILADY: I was so happy to see your name. You've been missed.

There is a mystery series with Leanardo De Vinci as the detective. Is that one you've been reading? I forget the author.

Come into Mystery Corner and tell us about them.

bellemere · « **Reply #1306 on:** March 27, 2010, 05:44:44 PM »

jOhn took his students on the Van Gogh walk inArles; thought he might have aprobame exlaining what a brothel was, but the kids knew already.
The vibrnt colors and thick surface painting of Van gogh make him a big favorite. But that one of the wheat fields, with the ravens flying over it, and the winding road disappearing into the background, according to some art critic I read that was a presager of his madness. Critics spoil everhtying.
On a trip to Spain a few years back i contacted an art historian who had put her name and phone number on "Women Welcome Women" andwhen I got to Madrid she went with me to the Prado to see the El Grecos and velasquez and above all, Goya. She was marvelous talking about them. and people around me were eavesdropping like crazy. I treated her to lunch and I think I got the best of the bargain, she was so nice.

marcie · « **Reply #1307 on:** March 27, 2010, 10:02:59 PM »

Tomorrow (Sunday) evening, many parts of the country will be showing "Sharpe's Challenge" on PBS Masterpiece Classic. "Soldier-adventurer Richard Sharpe comes out of retirement to quash a rebellion in British India. Sean Bean returns as the swashbuckling hero of this series based on Bernard Cornwell's novels. Top Chef's Padma Lakshmi guest stars." You are welcome to join our discussion at http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=1023.msg63660#msg63660.

Sean Bean (I mean the program of course :-) ) looks very interesting!

Steph · « **Reply #1308 on:** March 28, 2010, 06:15:06 AM »

Not book things, but.. it is big news for me. For the first time in 72 years, I bought a car all by myself.. I have been researching and driving for months and decided on a HOnda CRV 2010.. It is light blue and the mid line since I hate leather seats..All by myself. You have no idea what that means to me.. I am so proud of me at this moment. Silly but true. I know there will still be many many hard times ahead, but I did do something I wanted to and didnt feel silly or female at all.. Nice people at the dealership.. They gave me two short courses on that car and urged me to call them if I am puzzled at anything.. Hooray for me.

Babi · « **Reply #1309 on:** March 28, 2010, 08:50:07 AM »

Hooray for you, STEPH. I well remember when, as a single woman once again, I actually
installed a garbage disposal in my sink! I was terribly proud of myself. As it turned out, it
wasn't exactly correct in it's positioning, but it worked fine just the same.

What a marvelous idea, BELLE, 'Women Welcome Women'. I'd never heard of
it before, but what a wonderful welcome that would be. And to find an
art historian to accompany you to the museum...serendipity!

maryz · « **Reply #1310 on:** March 28, 2010, 09:34:16 AM »

Congratulations, Steph!!! That's a huge step on many different levels.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #1311 on:** March 28, 2010, 11:29:15 AM »

Way to go Steph! I remember how proud i was when i bo't my first car at age 24..........loved that car! An F-85 Oldsmobile coupe (their least expensive model and a new model that yr.) Ran like a charm..... the Honda's seem to do that also. ........... enjoy, Jean

marjifay · « **Reply #1312 on:** March 28, 2010, 12:47:27 PM »

Good for you, Steph! And you picked a great brand -- a Honda. We've had two now and love them. On our current one we got the navigational system and don't know how we ever did without it.
I'll bet you're going to love your car.

Marj

mrssherlock · « **Reply #1313 on:** March 28, 2010, 01:23:30 PM »

Steph: Congratulations! This is a significant milestone for you. When I bought my brand new Toyota Celica in 1987 I was 10 feet tall.

joangrimes · « **Reply #1314 on:** March 28, 2010, 03:28:43 PM »

That is a great step forward for you Steph. I have owned 3 Hondas. They are very good cars. I enjoyed each one of them. One of my wonderful talented Grandsons is driving the CRV which I passed on to his dad and now it has been passed on my grandson. I wish I had bought another Honda but I just thought I had to have a a beautiful red Toyota Camry. I still love my beautiful car but has been recalled. I am not even able to get in to have it repaired.

pedln · « **Reply #1315 on:** March 28, 2010, 05:54:59 PM »

That's great Steph. That 's a major decision and it looks like you did well. I wasn't sure what a CRV was, so just looked it up on the internet. It's beautiful.

I drove a Honda for 11 years, then went to Toyota, but have thought for along time about going back to Honda.

My Seattle daughter has had nothing but Hondas since her first one in the 1980's. They were always manual transmission, but now they got an automatic so their 17-year-old would get her license.

FlaJean · « **Reply #1316 on:** March 28, 2010, 09:54:23 PM »

My daughter has a Honda CRV and loves it. We have an older Toyota that hasn't been recalled. We've been very happy with it but are crossing our fingers.

Steph · « **Reply #1317 on:** March 29, 2010, 05:59:20 AM »

Thank you all for your kind and encouraging words. This is my second CRV.. I like Hondas. They seem to just run and run.
I am reading the Witch Doctors wife.. It is more of a memoir than her normal books.. Thus far, it meanders.. A bit of story, then background. I am not over impressed that all Africans are good, the missionary is totaly clueless and the Belgians are venal..

ginny · « **Reply #1318 on:** March 29, 2010, 07:35:36 AM »

I wonder why it is that so many missionaries are portrayed as clueless, have you ever noticed? It doesn't seem to matter which country (China: Pearl Buck and she should know, she was the child of missionaries), The Witch Doctor's Wife, and several of the books about India. Well meaning, sort of a metaphor for us all or something?

Stephanie, buying your first car, what a trip and exultant feeling~! May you have many many more in the years to come! You go, Girl!

I read my little "children's" book on Van Gogh and absolutely loved it. Turns out Gauguin was so enamored of that Van Gogh of Les Alycamps that he hung it in his own room. The book shows extreme close ups of the paintings, figures with no faces, just brush strokes, what incredible work. I need to see these in person, somewhere.

But Van Gogh's letters to his brother show he could have been a great writer, I think they are about as interesting as any book. In fact the same bookseller tried to sell me the book of his letters. Letters, I thought, dry, dry...er....no, again, Anderson. This quest to find out more is exactly what Possession is about, do come join us, how can you miss a good time with that book and that group already assembled? Take your book out under the trees in June and feel the magic: we're getting up a quorum for June for Possession and I don't know what there is to say about a book that hasn't been said but it's not your ordinary book, and we'll say it, you can depend on that.

Time Magazine included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005. The Washington Post said "What a book! This is a novel for every taste… an altogether magical performance."

USA today said it's "The most dazzling novel of the year." We've got a great group assembling but we need a quorum and readers and since it was one of the top vote getters in the last run off I hope that some of you may like to enrich your June by tackling it, we need your opinions: there are remote locations, and just about everything you can imagine in this Booker prize winner.

The small group now assembled could discuss the phone book and make it interesting so you've nothing to lose and everything to gain. There's even a film to compare. Marcie and I hope you will join us so we CAN discuss it together, we need a quorum. Come be possessed for June!

mabel1015j · « **Reply #1319 on:** March 29, 2010, 12:32:23 PM »

Just an FYI that i think some of you might enjoy:

I'm attending an excellent Elderhostel/Exploritas program near me, but they have it all over the country - Women and Political Leadership. The nice thing about it is that it's Thursday afternoons at 3:00 for 6 sessions. It's being given at a senior community near me. Two of the presenters, so far, have been long-term, high-level State Dept people. The woman last week knew and talked about Madeline Albright, Condoleeza Rice, Colin Powell and HIllary Clinton.

The session this last Thurs was titles Eleanor Roosevelt and Human Rights.........the presenter apparently saw human rights in bold type and "Eleanor Roosevelt" in parentheses because we know a lot about his negotiating for UNESCO and the history of human rts, only about 15 or 20 mins of the 90 minutes mentioned ER. I think most of the audience wanted more about ER.............but it was still very interesting. ....................... jean

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Author Topic: The Library (Read 2085162 times)