Author Topic: The Library (Read 2050065 times)

PatH · « **Reply #15720 on:** August 19, 2015, 10:37:48 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!

*Suggestion Box for Future Discussions
*SeniorLearn's Archives

PatH · « **Reply #15721 on:** August 19, 2015, 10:40:00 AM »

I wouldn't call to-do lists a favorite of mine-- more a necessary evil, and I'm not very good at lists either. But it doesn't take me even a second to come up with my absolute favorite quote from a discussion. It's from the Iliad. Nestor is one of the Greek warriors, elderly now, though still fighting, and respected both for his courage and his wisdom. Agamemnon says to him:

Nestor, old sir! If only your knees
Were as strong as your spirit!

That's me, all right.

bellamarie · « **Reply #15722 on:** August 19, 2015, 10:48:05 AM »

When I see a list, especially of questions I immediately feel a panic attack coming on. Lists of questions bring me back to the days at school when I would open them Iowa Basic Skill test booklets, and feel overwhelmed! I may be able to come up with 2 or 3, but 10 is not going to happen for me.

As you can see, at the end of every post I have my very favorite quote from Gone With the Wind:

"I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow.”
― Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind

bellamarie · « **Reply #15723 on:** August 19, 2015, 11:00:42 AM »

Ginny, What's YOUR guilty pleasure that you love reading? Any particular author?

I loved Jackie Collins and Danielle Steele as my guilty pleasure authors, to just escape into love, romance, complicated triangles and relationships. I have not read them for years now.

I just picked up The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler at the library yesterday. I am only on page 36, and hmmm....it is proving to be a bit of a "guilty pleasure" as Jocelyn is remembering back to her high school days and dates. Has anyone else ever read this book? To use the words from the musical Annie....."I think I'm gonna like it here!"

jane · « **Reply #15724 on:** August 19, 2015, 11:06:32 AM »

Jane Austen BookClub was read by quite a few people. It was a BookClub Online discussion way back in June of 2004 on SeniorNet. Here's the archived discussion we were able to save before SeniorNet was deleted.

http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/archives/fiction/JaneAustenBookClub.htm

bellamarie · « **Reply #15725 on:** August 19, 2015, 11:45:35 AM »

Thank you Jane, it will be fun looking back at this link as I read the book, kind of like discussing it with the group.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #15726 on:** August 19, 2015, 02:08:44 PM »

Am I one of the few who remember from grade school we used to get a separate notebook and fold in half the first page where we had a list of questions - what was your favorite color, and movie star, teacher, dessert, song, game, etc. etc and the second sheet left whole we wrote our answers then the next page was again folded in half with the questions listed that we would ask our friends one by one to answer on the following full page - continuing to fold down every other page for each classmate who filled out the full page - it was great fun - then to keep it up when we finished getting all those in our class we would start another listing the 10 best movies and the 10 best movie stars were usual or the 10 best things about Christmas and so forth.

Hopefully if not 10 at least there must be some best remembered books, authors, characters that you would want to toast as our four indomitable friend, Toad, Ratty, Badger and Mole are doing at the river while messing around in boats.

I would think and maybe I am wrong that we all have a favorite book as well as a favorite discussion that brings to mind memories of the story. And so if 10 are too many how about one so we can have it for our legacy.

Steph · « **Reply #15727 on:** August 20, 2015, 08:33:19 AM »

Oh my, my f2f book group met yesterday. Our book was Pick up by Nadine Gordimer.. What a lively far ranging discussion.. Some of our members include a psychologist,,a retired doctor and a lawer, so it really got going.. One of our members has fallen in love with theauthor and is on his third book of hers. I read her many years ago and she is powerful and different. All in all, I came home with a different slant on some parts of the book. Fun..
As a general rule, I don't do much in the take a book apart stuff on here. Prefer the general, mystery, science fiction. non fiction groups. I get new authors or an old author who has written something I never saw before.

ginny · « **Reply #15728 on:** August 20, 2015, 08:51:57 AM »

You know, we see from time to time people saying we "take apart a book" here and yet, Steph, here you come refreshed from having done just that: hearing different people's takes on a book in detail. More than "I enjoyed it, it held my interest," apparently. What's the difference? If I may ask.

The short time span?

I guess people don't know we here have the same opportunity to meet these same professions that you mention, (" Some of our members include a psychologist,,a retired doctor and a lawer, so it really got going,") here on SeniorLearn, our Latin classes are packed with them.

One of the best features of an online site is the diversity of people we are privileged to talk to. We also right here on this website have no end of attorneys, practicing and retired, physicians, practicing and retired, a psychiatrist, teachers, some retired. some not, librarians, college professors, and even a judge, not retired, in the Latin. In addition to a lot of other occupations and former occupations, and life experiences one wouldn't believe: including farmers, retirees from all conceivable occupations, scientists, housewives, truck drivers, oh you name it, we've got it, it's endless, heck, we had the famous New York Times cross word puzzle maker (Saturday) Manny Nosowsky until he became ill (a retired Urologist)...check his bio on Wikipedia and see how much he loved the Latin here...some readers here might know him from the Parnell Hall Puzzle Lady Mystery series.....we have an entire fascinating world of people and occupations in the Latin, people from all over the world, too, whom we would never have met down the street.

I really would like more of these people to come into our book discussions, some of them already do, most of them don't know about the Books for the most part, so that everybody can enjoy their company and wide range of experience.... The same heady feeling you now have, I have it in the Latin. I would like to see it extend to the Books. Discussing books on the website with people from all walks of life affords us that opportunity.

So I am curious as to the references of "take a book apart," and I would like to know what that means?

bellamarie · « **Reply #15729 on:** August 20, 2015, 10:36:17 AM »

Ginny, I am not sure what "take a book apart" means to everyone, but for me it reminds me of when I say, "We don't leave a stone unturned." It means while discussing our book we look at every aspect, we look at every possible way to see what the author is trying to tell us. I think we hit the mark most of the time, and sometimes I think we go way off and miss the mark, but either way.....we have lots of interesting discussions, lively, and even agree to disagree (which is my favorite three words, when I feel we have come to a standstill). Even though the author writes with his/her intention, as an author myself, I expect readers to look at many different perspectives. I do feel authors have a responsibility to be factual if they are writing non fiction, especially since there are ways to fact check it.

Steph, I used to be much like you say, "As a general rule, I don't do much in the take a book apart stuff on here." To just enjoy the book without delving too far into it, but over the years I have indulged in delving deeply, and turning over every possible stone. History tends to bog me down, but I have to say I have opened my mind up to it more through this discussion group then ever in my school years.

PatH · « **Reply #15730 on:** August 20, 2015, 10:50:36 AM »

I think of it as analyzing a book. Not all books need treating this way. A book can be extremely powerful while being straightforward enough not to need analysis. But if a book is full of hidden hints, or ambiguous meanings, or involves an unfamiliar setting or history, it can be extremely useful to chew it over with friends to figure out just what the author is up to. And my years of doing this on SeniorLearn have made me better at spotting what an author is up to, and not missing meanings. I've still got a way to go, though.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #15731 on:** August 20, 2015, 05:52:52 PM »

OH yes, I too have read many a book that is straight forward - a delight to read - any message is right there usually said by one of the characters - but then I read other books that only have me want to know more, and why that happened and how did that relate to the story and what does this mean and what else was going on in the world at the time and how were the manners and mores of people different - what is the structure of the story telling us and why the place, time and types of characters.

Lots of questions that pop into the front of my brain with no effort on my part - the book just lends itself to a million questions. That is also when it is so helpful to hear the introspection of others reading the same book -

Haha I guess the philosophical questions of the day... like a bunch of Frenchmen in a Paris café or Austrians in a coffee house plotting the story of the universe or at least of mankind. We are funny aren't we... oh dear... but then everything is not always to our liking and it is easy to make our choice and allow others the excitement of making their choices.

Like as kids with our extra few cents purchasing the candy that would see us through the Saturday matinée with our friends and siblings. My sister always got the paper full of dots where as I preferred the long liquorish stick that I was certain would last longer but wouldn't dream of saying anything when she was making her choice.

Steph · « **Reply #15732 on:** August 21, 2015, 08:57:15 AM »

Oh me, I am going to try hard not to hurt anyones feeliings.. In the f2f club Wednesday, we discussed the book,,,,not there they might have lived or a picture someone seems to feel pertains to the book or a discussion on real facts as opposed to the book facts.. We did not try to dissect the author, but did lightly discuss wheere she came from and how different this book was from her normal books.. That is what I loved. We treated the characters in the book as real people that we observed and much to my amusement had a heated arguement going on what the characters would be doing after the book finished. she does not do happy endings or finalities, so here we are trying to defend what we are sure the characters did later. That was what I liked. our discussions ( for me, not everyone) on line tend to skew in some odd directions and I also like to read the entire book and then refer back.. So different strokes for different folks..

PatH · « **Reply #15733 on:** August 21, 2015, 09:20:52 AM »

Well said, Steph, something for evertone.

serenesheila · « **Reply #15734 on:** August 21, 2015, 10:37:54 AM »

I am just finishing a book called "Nightingale". The author is Kristin Hannah. It has held my interest since the beginning. The novel takes place during WWII.

Everything happening in the book reminds me of how blessed I am to have been born in the USA. I was 7 years old, when Pearl Harbor occurred. The war deeply traumatized me. It was the largest event of my life.

This novel has me thinking about how different my life would be if I had lived in France.

Sheila

mabel1015j · « **Reply #15735 on:** August 21, 2015, 12:52:29 PM »

Booktv will be at the Mississippi Book Fair tomorrow and Sun. They will have panels on Harper Lee and on Eudora Welty. They will start the broadcast from the Book Fair at 11:30 on Sat and 12:00 on Sun. I don't know what time the panels of those 2 authors will be. I'll see if I can get a more definitive schedule.

the panel on Harper Lee each day will be at 11:30. The panel on Eudora Welty each day will be at 12:30. I know, that's different info from two different Booktv sources, ( the previous info was that the Miss Book Fair starts at 12:00 on Sun, probably not accurate.) i'd count on the specific times which came from their "schedule" page.

Jean

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #15736 on:** August 21, 2015, 02:27:11 PM »

Did any of you see this - looks like the number of Chinese speaking people is huge and interesting there are a tad more Spanish speaking folks in the world than those who speak English.

ginny · « **Reply #15737 on:** August 21, 2015, 07:08:13 PM »

Thank you Stephanie, I wondered what you meant by that.

And I love the comments here, too. Nothing better than a good book to chew over among friends.

Serenesheila, I have not heard of that book, I will look it up. I was stunned the first time I sort of stumbled on a plaque on the wall in a French train station about the people who were deported to Germany from that station, it really stands as a silent witness to bring back a tremendously moving event. How lucky we are, period, huh?

Jean, thank you for that notice about BookTV and the Mississippi Book Fair. It will be interesting to see what they say about the new Harper Lee book. There seem to be a lot of different reactions to it.

Barbara, what an interesting chart. I wish I could read the print better. There are a lot of Chinese in the world, I wonder if they are all speaking Mandarin and if they are all reading the same dialect. No I can just barely make out they are not. (In edit: the iPad blows it up very nicely! I can read it all now! Most interesting.)

I started Everybody Rise by Stephanie Clifford, the new book getting raves...and comparisons to Edith Wharton .....yesterday and I like it. It's about society and people's attempts to fit in there and at what cost. I've really just begun but so far it's really good. If people would like a look at what money can do, tho, they might like to read Thomas Hovings Making the Mummies Dance about his tenure as the Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Rich people acting badly.

Real rich people acting...well, I leave that to the reader. I always like to read about what really happens behind the headlines, it seems there are two stories, the real and the sort of fake the TV likes to put out.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #15738 on:** August 21, 2015, 09:39:31 PM »

ONE more list making Day - Saturday 8/22 in "Wild Days:" - We just need to include...

– 10 new bits of information you learned from our book discussions.
- Even One aha or bit of research that you remember, that you would not have looked into except for reading and discussing with us a certain book

Sunday will be our Memorial Day - not to memorialize but to remember who are the many who, are no longer with us or who, never made it over to this site but we remember them in past discussions. If you have a memory of what book you encountered these folks - great - but just listing them and if we know where, in what state or nation they were living when they posted with us -

There are so many names in the archive discussions that most of us either never encountered or we cannot remember who they were and it would be nice to recognize them - they are the shoulders that we stand on today that kept this site what it has become - the longest running Book Discussion on the Internet.

pedln · « **Reply #15739 on:** August 21, 2015, 11:13:21 PM »

Sheila, I'm glad to read your comments about Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale. It has been on my TBR list for quite some time and I've been looking forward to reading it. But I'm waiting a little while as I recently finished All the Light We Cannot See (by Anthony Doerr) and that too was set in both France and Germany during WWII. Have you read Sarah's Key? Another very sad story of life in France during WWII.

Frybabe · « **Reply #15740 on:** August 22, 2015, 06:03:32 AM »

Considering how some of our current writers crank out so many books a year, I thought this short story might amuse you. It is called "What Do You Read" and was published in Other Worlds magazine, April issue. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/49754/49754-h/49754-h.htm
If you want to download it, https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49754

Steph · « **Reply #15741 on:** August 22, 2015, 08:52:15 AM »

I will look for Nighingale.. I have read a few of Kristan Hannah..She started as a straight romance, but has slid over to a nice niche. A decent writer..

PatH · « **Reply #15742 on:** August 22, 2015, 12:14:02 PM »

Hee, hee, Frybabe, that's amusing. I wonder if I read it when it came out in 1953. It's possible; I was reading a lot of sci-fi magazines then, though mostly the more classic ones like Astounding Science Fiction (now Analog)

mabel1015j · « **Reply #15743 on:** August 22, 2015, 07:29:41 PM »

BY THE WAY, some of you get the newsletter from Learnoutloud, but some of you probably do not. And i know some of you get The Great Courses. In last week's newsletter they announced that The Great Courses are testing a new something-or-other and thru Learnoutloud, for a short time, you can get FREE COURSES.

I'm watching Experiencing America through the Smithsonian, it's quite good. I'm also just starting
24 lectures on Turning Points in History. I think you have to go though Learnoutloud to sign up, but don't worry, that is a very reputable site. There are courses on everything - art, music, war, politics, philosophy, etc,etc. and all free.

Jean

mabel1015j · « **Reply #15744 on:** August 22, 2015, 08:54:26 PM »

Because of the discussion about our experiences on SL I went to the archives to read through The Story of Civilization discussions. I noticed that the discussion that is archived started in 2003, with Vol3. From Robbie's comments it appears that they had already read through Vols 1 and 2. Are they not available to SL? I am assuming not. Regardless, of your answer, I am going to have a grand time reading what is available that I originally missed. I'll be curious also to see when I became a part of the discussion, I can't remember exactly.

Jean

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #15745 on:** August 22, 2015, 09:22:44 PM »

Jean some of the archived discussions did not make it over when SeniorNet abruptly cut off the reading group - there was a mad scramble by PatW and others to get as much saved as possible - even some of the very earliest discussions like Snow Falling on Ceder did not make it.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #15746 on:** August 22, 2015, 11:55:59 PM »

TY Barb for that info. I thought that was true.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #15747 on:** August 23, 2015, 04:02:10 AM »

Share your memories of past posters with us on Sunday August 23 in "Wild Days:"

It is not a page to memorialize folks. It is to honor by mentioning those names we can remember whose shoulders we stand on today because of their contribution to this longest running book discussion on the WWW.

*Past Members*
Sunday	Many names are in our Archived Book Discussions - Let's see if we can remember some of those names.
Aug. 23	Names of those who we know are no longer with us. – Names of those who never made it over from SeniorNet – Names of folks who no longer read with us.
Sunday 8/23	Hope you can catch us up to date about any of these folks – Or remember in what discussion you both were posting that would be great.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #15748 on:** August 23, 2015, 03:43:58 PM »

I had a joyful experience on Thursday that made me exclaim one of my favorite phrases - I LOVE this library!

I had found in a bibliography a book titled 500 Great Books by Women edited by Erica Bauermeister, Jess Larsen and Holly Smith. I checked it out on Amazon and realized that there is a short description and review for each book. I was filled with anticipation about getting a look at it and wondered if my library would have it. If they did I assumed it would be a reference book and not be allowed to leave the library. Checked their online catalogue and Lo and Behold! they have it on the circulating shelf!

I just started to delve into it, but I thought I would share the first two paragraphs of the preface with you.............

We read to learn, to feel, to stretch beyond our own lives, to escape, and to understand. A book has the power to reach back toward us and let us know we are not alone. Up from a flat page of type comes joy or anger or sadness, a sentence that soars, or an image that surprises like a photograph long forgotten. For a few hundred pages we can feel new rhythms, see new images, learn about ourselves, become someone else.

But how often are we immersed in the rhythms and images of women? Women of all cultures still comprise a frustratingly small percentage of the authors represented in classrooms, reviews, and reader's guides. In the past, finding books by women authors has taken more persistence and time than many readers had. For years, those of us involved in this project wished there was a guide to books by women we could take with us when we went to bookstores and libraries. We wanted a guide that was personable and articulate, a guide that not only gave us titles and authors' names, but a sense of a book's content and style. Finally we decided the only way to get such a guide was to write it ourselves!

Obviously, that scenario is no longer true on SeniorLearn, but this book was published in 1994. Their guidelines for the books included that they still be in print, so most are of the 20th century, but they include books from around the world and of all the genres. I'm going to have a glorious time reading through it and, of course, taking note of those I wish to put on my TBR list. Like I, or any of you, are desperate for MORE sources for books to read!

jean

mabel1015j · « **Reply #15749 on:** August 23, 2015, 03:49:03 PM »

When reading though my previous reply I wondered, did any of you in your high school or college literature courses read books by women authors and if so who were they? My guess is that those of you who went to Catholic school where you were taught by nuns, or to an all girls school, may have had a greater opportunity to have had that happen for you??

Just curious.

Jean

Frybabe · « **Reply #15750 on:** August 23, 2015, 04:06:25 PM »

I took a business curriculum in high school and didn't have any literature classes in college. While I don't remember having read any for classes I did read a few books written by women on my own time, most notably Jane Austen and Anna Sewell. My sister, I remember, read The Good Earth.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #15751 on:** August 23, 2015, 05:20:12 PM »

Went to Catholic school however it was both priests and nuns as teachers and we had one big classical book a year but each summer we were given a list of books we were expected to read in grade school from 4th grade on it was 60 books and in high school it was 100 books and so I am not remembering most of the authors but Pearl S. Buck was one as was two of the Bronte sisters, of course Alcott, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Willa Catha and a few women saints like Catherine of Genoa and who could forget Rachel Fields and Helen Keller or E. Nesbit or one of my favorites in about the 5th or 6th grade Kate Seredy - the list goes on - I graduated from grade school in 47 and from high school in 51 - our English lit classes in high school was male authors - Ivanho as Freshman - Hamlet as Sophmores - Julius Ceasar as Juniors - Candide as Seniors

mabel1015j · « **Reply #15752 on:** August 23, 2015, 08:36:53 PM »

That's a pretty good list Barbara. I guess everybody inschool in the 40s and 50s read Pearl Buck, except me. I read The Good Earth because my Mother was reading it. Her life's story is much more interesting than what my impression was in the 50s. I think there was a relatively recent bio on her by Peter Coen (?). I'll check that spelling. If you get a chance to go to her home in Bucks Co, Pa, it is also very interesting.

Frybabe were you in Pa when you were in public school? I don't remember reading any women in school, not even Harriet Beecher Stowe or Jane Austin, etc.

its Peter Conn

Jean

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #15753 on:** August 24, 2015, 12:39:59 AM »

Ok this is the last of the focus questions in Wild Days - the discussion will stay open and all the questions to help us nudge or memory are in the heading and so anyone who would like to add their thoughts and memories is welcome.

Last questions -

Monday and Tuesday Aug. 24 ~ 25

Where you a part of the Prison initiative that was also supported by Wally Lamb when he was instrumental in supporting the women writing their stories? Tell us about it?
– Where you a part of sending children's books to the Indian Reservation? Tell us about it?

What snapshot of your "Wild Days" and the Good Life reading on SeniorLearn lives in your heart that you want to leave us with as your gift to all of us.

Frybabe · « **Reply #15754 on:** August 24, 2015, 05:57:55 AM »

Yes, MaryPage, we went to public schools. My sister was two or three years behind me. I am not sure, now you speak of it, whether she read it for a school project, or on her own. She was not much for reading back then, so I would think it was a school thing. The book that most impressed her (I remember because it surprised me so much), was Ivanhoe. While she reads a lot more now, she and her husband seem to prefer the audiobooks although they generally only listen to during their many travels.

Steph · « **Reply #15755 on:** August 24, 2015, 08:49:15 AM »

Jean,Thank you so much for the first paragraph. It describes how I feel about readiing so perfectly. When I find a really good book or better, a new to me author, my heart sings all day.
Female authors.. Mill on the Floss?? wasnt that a woman.

pedln · « **Reply #15756 on:** August 24, 2015, 10:55:18 AM »

Yes, that was a woman, Steph, with a man's pseudonym -- George Eliot. SHe also wrote Silas Marner -- I remember reading that in 10th or 11th grade. And Sir Walter Scott'd Ivanhoe, also. In Jr HIgh we read The Yearling -- I remember writing an essay about it. It was probably an easy read for 9th graders, but maybe that was why most of us liked it. Never did read The Good Earth, but isn't the first line "It was Wang Lee's wedding day?"

Frybabe · « **Reply #15757 on:** August 24, 2015, 11:23:20 AM »

Oh yes, we did read Silas Marner in school. I forgot about that one. Mary-Ann Evans. As I recall, I had trouble understanding it or was just plain not interested in it when we read it. I can't even tell you how we discussed the book, it was such a none starter for me. I have Middlemarch and Mill on the Floss in my ebook queue to read. I don't recall if I downloaded Silas Marner for another try. Have we done any book discussions on other than Middlemarch? I didn't participate in that one.

Another female author with a male pseudonym was Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin (George Sand). I read a biography of her when I was young (don't exactly remember when).

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #15758 on:** August 24, 2015, 02:44:38 PM »

Our library system is currently working together with Southern Methodist University on promoting a book called “Station Eleven” that was chosen as SMU’s common reading program. Each year a single book is chosen by SMU’s Common Reading Selection Committee to be read by all of the staff, faculty, and students over the summer. The author, Emily St. John Mandel, will be hosting an author lecture here in Dallas this upcoming early September. In addition, our library is coming up with exciting programs tied in to the books subject such as vaccine panel discussions, epidemiologist lectures, post-apocalyptic theme photograph manipulation craft, survival classes by REI, pop-up Shakespeare theatre, and book discussions.

Here is the SMU web site that says a bit about the book: http://www.smu.edu/Provost/Ethics/CommonReading/2015

The above was Not my post, but informs as to how our library book club came to receive copies of the book. This is rather a post-apocalyptic story, but don't let that scare you away. The characters are well-drawn and we feel empathy for these remnants of civilization, who call themselves "The Traveling Symphony". It is told mostly in flash forwards/flashbacks. (couldn't seem to get the link to SMU's website as shown above, but perhaps you can work with it and find out how we came to get this book)

P.S. The link works well in the body of this post. The "Blog" icon actually only deals with previous Common Reading Books. Didnt find anything there for Station Eleven.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #15759 on:** August 24, 2015, 04:05:22 PM »

wow sounds like a read to explore - thanks for the heads up Tomreader - nice program your library has with SMU - what a treat - but this book really has me curious - we have September's book planned and I believe Ella is on board for a book in October - and December is planned - I wonder if there is enough interest and a discussion leader who is free and would be up for this - Well lets worry first about the important thing if there is at least 5 who would want to read and discuss this - that was the number of folks we used for years to determine if a book could have enough participation to allow it to be considered. It takes 5 committed readers to carry on a decent discussion.

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Author Topic: The Library (Read 2050065 times)