Author Topic: The Library (Read 2049324 times)

Frybabe · « **Reply #16920 on:** May 05, 2016, 09:06:06 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

Okay, here is my list of discussions I enjoyed.

The Palace Thief
The Cellist of Sarajevo
The Lady of Shalott
Girls of Atomic City
Blue Highways
Moonstone
Travels with Herodotus
The Tempest
Great Expectations
Novel Bookstore
The entire Raj Quartet series
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand
Empire of the Summer Moon
Left Hand of Darkness
Troublesome Young Men
Kim
People of the Book
The Night Villa
Richard II
The Kite Runner
The Odyssey
Women in Greek Drama

In fiction, I favor SciFi, Adventure, Mysteries.Those that I like best are those that include elements that I can look up on the net to find maps or expand my knowledge of such things as historical events, geographical areas, and scientific discovery (especially in paleontology/archeology and space). In non-fiction, I favor Ancient History, true-life adventures, biographies (relatively a new thing for me), and scientific endeavors. I have been known to read a very few Romance and Horror novels.

Impediments to read some otherwise interesting discussions have included lack of time, not able to get the book from the library, budget constraints regarding bought books, already read and don't want to re-read it, and not wanting, at that particular time, to be tied to a particular time to read the book (I want to read it but not at that particular time, or speed). Some I have started, like the re-read of The Hobbit or Alice in Wonderland, I thought I would enjoy, but didn't for whatever oddball reason (to be clear, not the discussion, the book).

Steph, I know the book you are talking about with the woman who discovered trilibites. That and the one about the lakes were two I didn't participate in and wish I had.

Frybabe · « **Reply #16921 on:** May 05, 2016, 09:14:27 AM »

Steph, if you need a breather, take one. You will be missed, though.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #16922 on:** May 05, 2016, 09:46:02 AM »

Yes, Steph you would be missed - you may want to peek in and see what is being offered each month but I bet you will share what you are reading in the mystery discussion - for now that may be your outlet - I know I would miss seeing your morning entry in the library but you know what is best for you.

OK using your list as a base frybabe and then subtracting and adding - it would probably have been easier to list what I did not join but not always because I did not enjoy the book - like you, time is a culprit. Also I have some favorites from back when we were SeniorNet but that was a different time with different participants so I will keep it to the more current reads.

The Palace Thief
The Cellist of Sarajevo
The Lady of Shalott
Moonstone
Travels with Herodotus
The Tempest
Great Expectations
Novel Bookstore
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand
Empire of the Summer Moon
Richard II
Women in Greek Drama
Dead Wake
Pinocchio
For Love of Lakes
Emma
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
I Always Loved You
Those Angry Days
First Confession
A Pair of Silk Stockings
Hare With the Amber Eyes
Bleak House
The Hobbit
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

PatH · « **Reply #16923 on:** May 05, 2016, 01:38:40 PM »

Steph, sometimes a person needs a break, even from something as good as SeniorLearn. We'll miss you, though, and welcome you back. Keep in touch about any important events, because we care.

bellamarie · « **Reply #16924 on:** May 05, 2016, 04:38:22 PM »

Steph, I do enjoy your morning posts in here daily. You inspire me with your morning walks, your few sentences that spark an interest in what you are reading and discussing with your f2f, and especially hearing of your trips. Can I say I live a bit vicariously through your vacations.

Barb, No disrespect intended, but I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with your comments to all of us who were trying desperately to voice our feelings and opinions for betterment of more participation in the discussions. I too feel I need to back away for awhile. Everyone please carry on and enjoy your future discussions.

I glanced back into the suggestions of books members shared over the months and years that were never brought back up and went to my library today and chose a few since these members seemed to like them so much. I will enjoy reading them, knowing you too read them, and wanted to share them here. Thank you all for your suggestions.

PatH · « **Reply #16925 on:** May 06, 2016, 11:18:51 AM »

We'll miss you, Bellamarie, come back when you're ready, your place will still be here.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #16926 on:** May 06, 2016, 12:25:07 PM »

No disrespect taken Bellamarie - it appear of the four aspects of any novel - Plot, Character, Setting and Theme... It is the Theme that some are having difficulty exploring - renaming it philosophies is suggesting the deep reading needed to find the theme is out of our normal enjoyment of reading.

It is difficult to imagine having much to discuss if not attempting to uncover the theme - our focus questions are a way to share with each other how the plot, characters, setting lead us to uncovering the theme and so no disrespect at all. Just aware that to discuss a book we are simply uncovering the theme which yes, is work but some of us enjoy reading to learn, thus the name of our site Senior Learn.

Here are some quotes explaining theme

"Understanding a story's theme is critical to deciphering an author's message in a particular piece of writing. In this lesson, we will examine the idea of theme and look at some examples in actual literary works. ... In other words, what critical belief about life is the author trying ..."

"Plot is the events of story; theme is the meaning behind or revealed by story. Theme is sometimes defined as the moral of a story, though theme doesn’t have to be a moral. Themes are often a declaration of the human condition. Or a truth that explains human behavior."

"Themes don’t have to be true in the real world—they are true in terms of the story they come from. That is, you don’t have to believe the theme is true in your daily life; you may actually hold the opposite viewpoint. But if the story has been written such that the theme is obvious to readers, the theme is true in terms of the people and events in the story."

"So how does a writer develop a theme for a story, poem or narrative? It really comes down to what the writer believes about life. If a writer has a belief system or feels strongly about certain things - and most people do - then, those strong life views will be reflected in his or her writing. For a work to last, it needs depth, and depth in writing reflects depth in the writer."

Some links that explain Theme...

http://www.learner.org/interactives/literature/read/theme1.html

http://literarydevices.net/theme/

http://theeditorsblog.net/2010/10/24/what-is-theme/

http://www.bucks.edu/media/bcccmedialibrary/tutoring/documents/writing/Identifying%20themes.pdf

Frybabe · « **Reply #16927 on:** May 06, 2016, 02:25:11 PM »

You may not have noticed, but I rarely answer any of the suggested questions to be answered. I generally speak up when something in the book peaks my interest. More often or not, it has to do with geographical locations, additional historical or biographical info that may be of interest to others (or not).

Barb, I am going to have to delve into your links a bit before I open my big mouth and say something totally off the wall. Thanks. I was actually thinking that a theme is necessary but is a message necessary to a story? Theme and message go hand in hand but are not the same thing?

Frybabe · « **Reply #16928 on:** May 06, 2016, 02:34:02 PM »

Okay, your links didn't take very long to read Barb. So, message could be just another word for theme or moral of the story? That is kind of what I got from it.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #16929 on:** May 06, 2016, 03:42:01 PM »

What I thought was - and this is strictly my thinking - that the theme is what is special to the story that is a link to the message - in other words and an example - one of the themes - yes, there are often more than one - one of the themes in Love of Lakes that we read a couple of months ago is having a reverence for a lake - Darby Nelson gave us the history of how lakes were created, the life that is dependent upon the lake from fish to insects, what damages a lake etc. - He wrote a total in-depth understanding of everything to do with lakes in such a way that, like falling in love with a good friend or a lover you gradually learn everything about them - where as to me his 'message' was broader - learning how the earth's surface came to be and using the guide laid out in how to fall in love with lakes as a road map his message I thought was learning how all of nature, including man is in-twined and to love and respect our inter-dependence with earth.

Again, we could share our insight into what we think is the author's message and that is where the fun begins because we may get ideas from each other that did not cross our minds - as long as our insight is based in what the plot, characters, setting and finally the theme is saying -

I liked the quote that I had not heard before - it comes up for us when we read some books that are usually written about a different time - that we may not agree with the theme but it is telling a story that puts light on the author's message which again, we may not agree with the author's message or morality but then do we agree with everyone about everything -

The current political mood today would be a great lesson in not agreeing with everyone about everything - and yet, that does not stop us from respecting and even loving the other person - I know my next door neighbor and even my son and daughter-in-law have very different political views that seem horrific to me and yet, they are neat people with thinking minds - I think that is similar to some authors - I remember reading some of David Foster Wallace whose writing about death and suicide made me cringe but oh what a writer -

And so this exploration of theme was an unexpected learning for me - I sorta had some of it but this put words that I did not have and allowed me to explore examples to help me cement what is theme.

But back to theme and message - my take is that it takes all four aspects of a novel to find the message so that I am not sure theme and message are interchangeable - but then again, that is my thinking - what makes sense for you is what your after.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #16930 on:** May 07, 2016, 08:40:21 AM »

We start discussing The Man Who Planted Trees on Monday -

The discussion is up on the index of discussions. The links to the story are in the heading - and so if you would like to read or watch the award winning film of this story before Monday than here is the link.

http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=4890.0

ginny · « **Reply #16931 on:** May 07, 2016, 10:13:31 AM »

That looks good, Barbara. You always pick such thoughtful and useful books to read!

As part of the ongoing mechanical crises yesterday late I got to drive home in one of the new...I don't know what you call them, a loaner from the dealership of one of these new.....cars which thinks for itself, doesn't need or want a driver.

I stopped by the grocery and of course had no idea if I was in the lines or not so I cracked the door as I always do while coasting in slowly to see, forget that. Doggone thing slammed on the brakes and nearly threw me thru the windshield.

Every time I stop for a light or anything else, it turns itself off. Every time I put on the turn signal cautiously it engages the cruise control. THOSE three things were scary.

I remind myself in my old age of my very eccentric aunt who bought a brand new car with all the bells and whistles when they first came out and took it back the next day. She said she did not want to drive a car smarter than she was. hahahaa

__________________

What's everybody reading? I'm continuing on a crusade to read all of Bill Bryson. I'm about 1/4 way thru, thanks to the car waiting room, Notes From a Small Island (2nd reading but have forgotten the first), laughing all the way. Kind of embarrassing, breaking out into loud guffaws every five minutes. People didn't get up and move away but I did get some strange looks.

He's so funny. Upon returning to London he remarks as if he were sightseeing, that he had spent the better part of the afternoon trying to figure out the pedestrian underground crossing at Marble Arch. hahahaa He makes you feel better about yourself just reading him because we all do things like that.

I've also started the Big Short and THAT thing is something else. (Do you find you can read more than one non fiction at a time but not vice versa? Why IS that?) At any rate it's jaw dropping: what a stock broker does not want you to know about how they pick and recommend stocks. Shocking, I think.

Ella Gibbons · « **Reply #16932 on:** May 07, 2016, 11:10:31 AM »

COMING IN JUNE:

The Storied life of A.J.Fikry, by Gabrielle Zevin, - you can find many reviews of the book online. It's a funny, tender and moving book and it reminds us all why we read and love. All that in some 250 pages! With discussion questions in the back of it, which we may use or not.

What say you? Shall we take two weeks or shall we just walk down the path and see where it leads us?

Just one: - http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/13-fiction/9726-storied-life-of-a-j-fikry-zevin

Post if you are interested....................................

Frybabe · « **Reply #16933 on:** May 07, 2016, 11:48:15 AM »

Ella, I just checked my library. They have a number of copies of the book including ebook format and audiobook format. I think you can count me in for almost any book about books and booksellers. I finished The Little Paris Bookshop the other week, so I am ready for another one.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #16934 on:** May 07, 2016, 11:11:17 PM »

There is no link on The Man Who Planted Trees for us to reply that we are interested.

Any suggestions?

Jean

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #16935 on:** May 08, 2016, 01:45:00 AM »

Jean I am not sure but the discussion is locked till Sunday night however, I hope there will be a link in the heading ad to the discussion - in the meantime I will be sure that Monday there is a link here in the Library - there are things I can do and so much more that Jane and Marcie does - links to headings is one of those many tasks along with uploading discussions and preparing the ads in the heading - on and on - we all have our tasks - Glad you will be joining the discussion - looking forward to your thoughts about the story -

mabel1015j · « **Reply #16936 on:** May 08, 2016, 01:57:05 AM »

Barb, I just read the story, very interesting!

Did we ever discuss Pat Conroy's South of Broad? I'm just starting it. I know Mary is a Conroy fan and I remember her saying she had read it, but I don't remember what she had to say about it. i'm sure she'll tell us again, ey Mary?

Jean

maryz · « **Reply #16937 on:** May 08, 2016, 07:32:57 AM »

Jean, I LOVED South of Broad. I'm a pat Conroy fan in any case. This book is a love letter to Charleston, and it is one of my favorites of his books. I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #16938 on:** May 08, 2016, 11:17:00 AM »

That's what I thought you said, Mary. Lol

Yes, the intro was certainly a love letter to Charleston. I wondered if it would continue throughout the book. Do you think it would be a good discussion book? I'm only in part one, but could see many possibilities already.

Jean

maryz · « **Reply #16939 on:** May 08, 2016, 12:43:36 PM »

I'm afraid I'm not the right one to ask. I'm not really into the discussions. I think it probably could be - I can think of a number of topics for discussion, just from my memory of the tone of the book.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #16940 on:** May 09, 2016, 09:37:01 AM »

Ok we are open - the discussion was unlocked last night - here is the link

http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=4890.0

Come on over and tell us what the story does for you - lots of topics that can be explored - more and more of his books have been translated now where it was only a few years ago that we only had this and two other books available translated into English.

It was Henry Miller who arranged with Viking to get his books translated and available to the English speaking public - seems he was visiting a bookstore in Alesia, Burgundy when the proprietor thrust a book into his hands entitled "The Joy of Man's Desiring" - On his own he purchased "Blue Boy" and read both these books on his way to Greece. He was hooked and impatient to have all Giono's books available to the English speaking world.

Jean Giono's books are prototypes to the legends of the Provence, written with the charm and sensuality of a poet - This is a man against war, conscription and against bearing arms therefore, described by some as an anarchist. His writing has been described as, the shadow of Walt Whitman, Faulkner, the buffoonery of a medieval mystery play and the heart-rendering words of an ancient Greek poet.

Visit the Provence with us, the center of Giono's literary world, as he describes the sights and smells, the color and tastes of the Provence he describes our world. http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=4890.0

PatH · « **Reply #16941 on:** May 09, 2016, 10:50:20 AM »

Oh, good, it's unlocked. I'll go in.

jane · « **Reply #16942 on:** May 09, 2016, 11:53:16 AM »

There is an interesting article this morning in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, "Gazette" about Marilynne Robinson, winner of numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005 for Gilead . She has been teaching at the famous Iowa Writers' Workshop for 25 years, but is "sort of" retiring to lecture, tour, and write.

http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/education/higher-education/university-of-iowa-famed-author-marilynne-robinson-retiring-x2014-but-not-really-20160508

ginny · « **Reply #16943 on:** May 09, 2016, 09:02:32 PM »

Goodness how intelligent looking she is. Thank you for that and I hope you're safe from what appears to be awful storms moving in your direction. Have never seen such awful weather!

I love that face, it shows somebody who loves what they do and it sure shows. I think that makes such a difference in people. That Iowa Writers Workshop has spawned what seems like a million famous authors. Do they ever have any kind of....Book Fair or something?

jane · « **Reply #16944 on:** May 09, 2016, 10:03:46 PM »

No, nothing like that to my knowledge. The list of their award winners is outstanding.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #16945 on:** May 09, 2016, 10:23:20 PM »

Jane did you ever attend a class at the Writer's Workshop? And where in the world did you learn so much about coding and computer 'stuff' - yes, when you do not know how technology functions it is called 'stuff'...

jane · « **Reply #16946 on:** May 10, 2016, 08:16:09 AM »

No, Barbara, I don't know that anyone can just "take a course" there, as one might an undergraduate course.

The Writers' Workshop is a graduate level creative writing program, leading to a MFA degree. It is for fiction and poetry only, as you'll see in the link below. The requirements for submitting an application are below:

http://writersworkshop.uiowa.edu/graduate-program/how-apply

Re:computers. I started learning about computers in graduate school in 1968-69, worked with the Computer Sci people who were doing searches for graduate students on huge magnetic reels of research data from ERIC - educational research -- and then with teaching in high school situations with the earliest Apple IIe computers. I took a lot of classes over those teaching years, but Web design and development passed me by many years ago.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #16947 on:** May 10, 2016, 08:39:52 AM »

I did not know about the Writing Workshop and with the name thought it was a separate institution much like the Campbell School in NC. Instead it is a degree program within the University. Thanks for the link Now I have to look up and learn more about the University - I am curious as how, why and when this program was established - thanks. And thanks for sharing how you became so comfortable with computers - - -

Amazing morning - could not sleep after I woke at a little after 4:30 this morning - decided a breath of fresh air was in order so, out through the garage, opening the garage door in the dark - was I shocked - more walkers and runners in the street and on the sidewalk across the street then, except for when the children leave school, there is foot traffic in the entire day - some running with flashing red lights attached to hats, belts, tops of shoes, backs of shoes, others flashlight in hand or a flashlight type light on their shoulder or cap - a few with dogs - some running fast, others slow and still others the pace was a brisk walk - some with running or walking partners and you can hear the low tone of their chatter from a couple 100 yards away - a few deer walking in the road along with a few bikers out of breath from the steep steep hill and using the opportunity to gaze at the deer to justify a rest - just amazing that all this is going on in the morning when I am usually still fast asleep.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #16948 on:** May 12, 2016, 08:52:50 AM »

Really nice interview with Mary Beard author of the new book SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/23/mary-beard-the-role-of-the-academic-is-to-make-everything-less-simple

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #16949 on:** May 15, 2016, 02:45:30 PM »

New questions are in the heading for the second and last week of The Man Who Planted Trees.

bellamarie · « **Reply #16950 on:** May 23, 2016, 04:43:22 PM »

Phew just one more week of my May madness and hopefully all will calm down after our last graduation this Friday, and the huge celebration on Memorial Day.

Ella,

Quote

The Storied life of A.J.Fikry, by Gabrielle Zevin, - you can find many reviews of the book online. It's a funny, tender and moving book and it reminds us all why we read and love.

I have read this book a few summers ago and loved it. You couldn't have described it any better. It's a great choice. I would love to join the discussion. I am planning a trip to Florida to visit my daughter and son in law to see their new home in June, but I think I can fit this in.

JoanK · « **Reply #16951 on:** May 23, 2016, 07:01:56 PM »

GREAT ! "The Storied Life of A J Filkry" is our June book. The pre-discussion will be out in a few days.

PatH · « **Reply #16952 on:** May 23, 2016, 07:57:04 PM »

Oh, good, Bellamarie, I'm glad you'll be in the discussion.

JoanK · « **Reply #16953 on:** May 24, 2016, 05:29:26 PM »

For any of you on Kindle Unlimited, "the Storied Life" is free. Or you could try the one month free trial of kindle unlimited, and get it (I don't know how hard they make it to cancel without paying).

Frybabe · « **Reply #16954 on:** May 25, 2016, 06:06:32 AM »

It is real easy to cancel, JoanK. You can cancel anytime within the 30 day trial period. You get to keep using the trial for the full 30 days even though you cancel earlier. I accidently signed up last month. Since I already have Prime and tons of books to read, I cancelled about a week in advance. The set back to Prime didn't take effect until my 30 trial was up. You do have to sign into your Amazon account and cancel from there. I need to check see if I can borrow it with the Prime Lending Library.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #16955 on:** May 25, 2016, 02:58:37 PM »

I'm reading a very interesting ebook, The Hunting of Hillary by Joe Conason and Gene Lyon, both awarded journalists. You can get it for free from Conason's blog "national memo". I'm amazed that she is still standing and willing to take the arrows that are constantly hurled at her, even those repeated arrows that have already been debunked by congressional committees and objective journalists, altho, by their own admission, there don't seem to be many of those.

She has stood for decades in the midst of the onslaughts and no, I don't believe the cliche "where there's smoke there's fire," for it appears her opposition has frequently created its own smoke machine. I don't think she's perfect, who of us are, but IMO, she has a lot going for her. Why she would want to run for president and have the unscrupulous opposition have another big attack at her, I can't imagine. But it sure would be nice to have a woman president.

Jean

bellamarie · « **Reply #16956 on:** May 25, 2016, 03:56:09 PM »

Jean, Without getting into any political debate, I have to say there are way too many bodies in the grave and in jail that have had some dealings with the Clintons. Not to mention the fact her email proved she blatantly lied to the families of the loved ones who were killed in Benghazi, and to the American people standing in front of the caskets of those dead Americans one being our Ambassador Stevens. The email speaks for itself. I have zero trust in her or her husband.

I would love to see a woman president. I even worked on her campaign in 2008. But now I do not want to see her president. She has made too many deals for the profit of the Clinton foundation which is against the law, not to mention she is still under federal investigation for her deleted emails. She has withstood decades because they have money and connections to protect her. She is as narcissistic as her husband and thirsts for power at all costs. She said it was the Republicans trying to bring down her husband when the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke, and as we found out where there was smoke there was a bonfire! He lied under oath, she has threatened women who has spoken out about his sexual assaults on them. I feel it's just a matter of time she will get indicted and he may face charges for misuse of the Clinton foundation.

A little reading material: http://www.wnd.com/2016/01/death-list-and-irs-ravaged-women-of-clinton/

For the record... I don't like Trump either.

PatH · « **Reply #16957 on:** May 25, 2016, 07:33:15 PM »

Ella and I have swapped turns, so I am now co-leading our June selection, The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry with JoanK. The actual discussion will start June 6, to give everyone a chance to get the book. My library system has plenty of copies, but since it's popular, there might be a run on copies elsewhere.

The prediscussion will be out in a day or so, and I'll post a link here. Do come in and say hi.

bellamarie · « **Reply #16958 on:** May 25, 2016, 10:24:25 PM »

Looking forward to it PatH., and JoanK. I have it on my ipad.

bellamarie · « **Reply #16959 on:** May 27, 2016, 09:44:38 AM »

Found this article of the summer reads list. I'll have to see what my library has. Just finishing up The Invention of Wings and what a story this is.

http://modernmrsdarcy.com/summer-books/

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Author Topic: The Library (Read 2049324 times)