Author Topic: The Library (Read 2086328 times)

Phyll · « **Reply #2760 on:** September 30, 2010, 12:49:30 PM »

The Library

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

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

Let the book talk begin here!

Suggestion Box for Future Discussions

I wish I had been here, Pat. I haven't loved a book this much in a very long time. It kind of restores my faith in modern literature.

Gumtree · « **Reply #2761 on:** September 30, 2010, 01:38:44 PM »

Yes, it does exactly that Phyll - I'm going to try to get the audiobook from my library. I meant to for ages and now you've reminded me. Thanks.

JoanP · « **Reply #2762 on:** September 30, 2010, 02:05:18 PM »

You might want to read along with the SeniorLearn discussion of Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - because the Annie Barrows, one of the co-authors of the book participated in the discussion with us and also completed an interview with us. The link to the Readers' Guide for the book is here - http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/readerguides/Guernsey_Shaffer.html

Within the Readers' Guide, is a link to the actual discussion. If you scroll to the bottom of the RG page, you'll see the interview with Annie. There's even a recipe for potato peel pie on that page. Remember to add lots of extra sour cream and chives...

If you scroll down the main page of SeniorLearn, you'll see the Archives for all of our past discussions. You'll love the book!

FlaJean · « **Reply #2763 on:** September 30, 2010, 03:26:27 PM »

I absolutely loved that book! It's probably one I should buy as I could read that book more than once.

kiwilady · « **Reply #2764 on:** September 30, 2010, 04:22:44 PM »

Mary P I don't know anything about it. When did this murder occur. There is nothing in the national papers right now.Maybe there has been a gag on the press about it.

Carolyn

kiwilady · « **Reply #2765 on:** September 30, 2010, 04:31:50 PM »

Ok Mary P I did some research. This was a crime of 2001- I found this in the Herald dated Nov 2001.

The doctor was South African. We have rarely had a crime like this here before. Murders here are not cold bloodedly planned in the main they are crimes of the moment fuelled by drugs or alchohol.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=229850

There is quite a big story here in the link above.

Carolyn

MaryPage · « **Reply #2766 on:** September 30, 2010, 04:50:36 PM »

Thanks, Carolyn. I do not know why it is only now being written up in The New Yorker, but I sort of have the impression that either a book or a film or both are about to be or have just been released.

Anyway, I was fascinated and repulsed by the murder itself, and extremely entranced over the descriptions of the town. Sounds a heavenly place to live.

He, it turned out, had a lover; a bunch of them, actually. Annette was his third wife!

kiwilady · « **Reply #2767 on:** September 30, 2010, 07:22:34 PM »

Dunedin is a miniature Edinburgh. It also is really cold even in summer temps rarely get over the 20c. Its our Southern most city. It has lovely buildings. Too cold for me! South is cold here as nearer the Antarctic. Southerly winds are our cold winds. Notherlies are our warm winds.

Carolyn

Steph · « **Reply #2768 on:** October 01, 2010, 05:48:59 AM »

FlaJean.. What county are you in.. I am in Lake County and they have none of your amenities for seniors.. I know that some of the towns in north Lake have meals on wheels. It is just Clermont that does not.. I would guess the problem is in Florida, that the counties do most of those things. The state has an elder department, but when I called them, I got the reply that the services are in North Lake.. Hmm. something wrong with this picture?? I lived in Volusia county and they have a wonderful senior center as does Orlando and Winter Park in Orange.. Depends on where you live.

Babi · « **Reply #2769 on:** October 01, 2010, 08:33:11 AM »

We're starting a series of 3-day discussions on Talking Heads. Anyone can suggest a topic from
whatever is going on that catches their interest. An article for reference is helpful; probably the
one that caught your eye.
Our opening discussion is on COMMERCIALS: GRINS OR GROANS. You can find it quickly via
this link: http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=1729.0

FlaJean · « **Reply #2770 on:** October 01, 2010, 09:56:49 AM »

Steph, I am in Marion Co. I believe you are correct that it does depend on the county and also on the elected officials regarding services in Florida, but I think it is pretty much that way most places.

CallieOK · « **Reply #2771 on:** October 01, 2010, 10:01:42 AM »

Babi, the Talking Heads "Commercials..." link brought me a screen saying "This is either missing or you are not allowed in." On the Index list, it is shown as "locked".
Did I miss the deadline?

marcie · « **Reply #2772 on:** October 01, 2010, 10:33:59 AM »

Callie, I've fixed the link to Talking Heads. You should be able to get in now.

http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=1729.0

pedln · « **Reply #2773 on:** October 01, 2010, 10:52:33 AM »

Quote

I've fixed the link to Talking Heads. You should be able to get in now.

Oh good, I'm heading there in a jiff.

I'm rereading an oldie (and I've forgotten it all) -- Condominium by John MacDonald. I started it because of the Zeitoun discussion as I remembered there was a hurricane in it, but mostly it's about the condominium residents and the local wheelers and dealers who weren't quite on the up and up. Absolutely fascinating with shades of financial shenanigans. I guess the hurricane comes later. Published 1977.

CallieOK · « **Reply #2774 on:** October 01, 2010, 11:11:08 AM »

Thank you, Marcie. I found it - and commented.

Pedlin, now that you mention it, I remember reading The Condominium a long time ago. Sounds like a good re-read.

bellemere · « **Reply #2775 on:** October 01, 2010, 04:42:46 PM »

I have dredged up an oldie, too: "Every Man Dies alone", about warime Berlin in the 40's and a very average middle class couple who decide on a unique way to "fight back" against the Nazi regime after theri son is killed in battle. It was translated from German and was a best seller in Europe. Wonderul writing and how it brings back the terror of those days for ordinary people who just wanted "peace and quiiet" n

Steph · « **Reply #2776 on:** October 02, 2010, 05:57:24 AM »

I remember Condominium.. Way back. Read it and assumed from something in it, that he was speaking of the west coast.. Sarasota to be exact. The Keys off of Sarasota have one bridge.. and at that time it was a draw bridge. Now it is different.

pedln · « **Reply #2777 on:** October 02, 2010, 11:29:26 AM »

You just sent me to my online map program, Steph. Amazing what you learn here on SeniorLearn, just from talking about books. Having spent very little time in Florida, I know nothing about it. Never knew there were all those other islands off the Florida coasts.

kiwilady · « **Reply #2778 on:** October 02, 2010, 04:03:30 PM »

NZ has lots of smaller islands too including sub antarctic islands. (Down in the Southern Ocean past the end of the South Island) In Auckland we have many islands in the Hauraki Gulf. They are really beautiful. Particularly Great Barrier Island which is largely unspoiled and has a small population. Waiheke Island is the most heavily populated.

Carolyn

Steph · « **Reply #2779 on:** October 03, 2010, 05:48:42 AM »

O ur Islands or Keys as they are called here are for millionaires off the Sarasota coast. Beautiful but oh so expensive.. We used to do a lot of sailing in the area years ago. Now both of my sons live in that part of Florida and love it.. Very very humid there.

bellemere · « **Reply #2780 on:** October 03, 2010, 04:58:40 PM »

My current book turned out to be a real page-turner. In spite of the fact that the Third Reich has become almost an icon of evil, to read about life under the boot of the Gestapo in Berlin is a new point of view. Evcery Man Dies Alone is based on a true story of the Hampels who were executed for "treason" for writing and circulating subversive materials. Like Irene Nemerovsky(Suites Francais) he was onlyreally discovered after his death. I recommend it if you are tired of fluffy novels and want something deeper and more gripping. I am going to stop now, I want to get back to it.

Steph · « **Reply #2781 on:** October 04, 2010, 05:49:45 AM »

Not sure I am up to pure evil quite yet.. Just now heavy stuff that is also about evil is going on mymaybe later list.
I am still reading about the Shakers in New Hampshire and enjoying myself enormously. Simple Gifts is a gift to me just now. The peace and quiet and gentleness of the women involved is enchanting.

Babi · « **Reply #2782 on:** October 04, 2010, 09:27:53 AM »

STEPH, I think the reason I like fantasy and sci/fi so much is because they always deal with
conflicts between good and evil....and the good triumphs. Not without pain and loss, of course,
but ultimately the good guys win. I need that as a buffer, sometimes, against the reality of
so much that happens in real life. It's very encouraging to read a book such as you describe, too, to remind me that most of humanity are decent people that want to do what's right.

bellemere · « **Reply #2783 on:** October 04, 2010, 09:42:30 AM »

there is a Shaker site near me in western Mass. It is a heritage preservation site, a farm with many outbuildings showing the inmcredibly efficien and beautiful building methods and farming practices of the Shakers. It's in Hancock, MAss and there is a website. It attracts visitors from all over.

bellemere · « **Reply #2784 on:** October 04, 2010, 09:46:35 AM »

forgot to put in the website
http://www.hancockshakervillage.org

Wish they had put up more photos for you.

PatH · « **Reply #2785 on:** October 04, 2010, 08:37:28 PM »

It's interesting that methods designed for simple practicality so often lead to aesthetically pleasing results.

Steph · « **Reply #2786 on:** October 05, 2010, 06:09:34 AM »

I have been to several Shaker sites,, the one that bowled me over is Pleasant Hill, Kentucky. The peace and joy seems to radiate from the buildings. Simple Gifts is mostly about the New Hampshire compounds, but does give a lot of history and the simple joys for the old women who have lived this life.. The author was 19 and a guide for the summer. She seems to have devoted a good part of her life to Shakers and their ways.. Several books about them are written by them.
Just for a change of pace,, am also reading "The Lonely Polygamist" Interesting.. Certainly a different way of looking at their life style.. The women rule the roost.. especially the first wife.

JoanP · « **Reply #2787 on:** October 07, 2010, 06:37:32 PM »

It's time to select a title for group discussion of our December Book Club Online. The holidays will be here before you know it! Where is the time going? We are looking for nominations for a good holiday book...one that is light, or uplifting - and maybe even to give as a gift.

Have you heard anything about Garth Stein's THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN?

From Bookmarks Magazine -

Quote

"A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life . . . as only a dog could tell it."

Please post suggestions - in the Suggestion Box - you'll see the link in the heading here. We need to hear from YOU!

Steph · « **Reply #2788 on:** October 08, 2010, 06:01:36 AM »

I read most of it and hated The Art of Racing in the Rain .. And I am a dog lover.

Babi · « **Reply #2789 on:** October 08, 2010, 09:37:38 AM »

See, there's just no book that everyone is going to like. I haven't read it, but I'm going to pick
it up at the library and glance through it, to decide whether to try it. Books featuring animals
can be very good, but they can also go too far in one or another direction. Matter of taste.

I'm repeating this post this morning, to catch people's attention.

Have any of you smart people with wide-ranging interests seen any subjects/articles lately
that you think would make a good discussion. We're devoting three days per topic currently on
Talking Heads and are presently talking about modern medical miracles. We're going to need
some new topics in a very short time, so do come by and take a look. If you have a topic,
please e-mail me about it. (Just click on my name on the Post. You'll find the address there.
Do, please, identify yourself in the subject line so I don't delete you.

)

JoanP · « **Reply #2790 on:** October 08, 2010, 11:18:01 AM »

But Babi...Steph didn't just dislike Art of Racing in the Rain or get bored with it - she hated it. Let's try to find something to discuss in December that no one hates!

The floor is open for suggestions...

MaryPage · « **Reply #2791 on:** October 08, 2010, 02:13:00 PM »

I don't do the discussions, so should not put my two cents worth in, but then, have never been one to hold back, so how about Ken Follett's latest book: FALL OF GIANTS? I have not bought it yet, and it is as huge as his other series books, but it is the first in a trilogy about our Twentieth Century. The reviews are great. The subject matter and setting reflect our own lives.

JoanP · « **Reply #2792 on:** October 08, 2010, 09:21:12 PM »

Thanks for the suggestion, Mary Page. Will take a look at it. Seriously, we would like to find a good book for discussion in December and now is the time to let us in on the books that you have enjoyed, or would like to share with the group. Please!

serenesheila · « **Reply #2793 on:** October 08, 2010, 11:01:23 PM »

I am reading "Fall of Giants", and loving it! I do not want to put it down. This is the first time in a very long time, that I have found a book to be so interesting.

Sheila

Steph · « **Reply #2794 on:** October 09, 2010, 06:12:01 AM »

I have the Follet on my read list..Very very large book, I think

Babi · « **Reply #2795 on:** October 09, 2010, 09:32:02 AM »

JOAN, having picked up the disputed book in the library and read a few lines, I vote with STEPH. The narrator doesn't begin to offer the viewpoint of a dog, or any other animal, so what is the point? It was a gimmick, and I, well, thoroughly disliked it.

I am currently reading "Vanishing Act" by Dorothy Morrison and finding it
keeps me turning pages. It's not heavy reading, basically a suspense-type
novel, but the background on the Indian Nations of upper New York is
fascinating. So much I never knew; plenty to discuss.

JoanP · « **Reply #2796 on:** October 09, 2010, 09:34:46 AM »

Right now the focus is on something light for December as it is a very busy month for many of us. Babi - would you mind posting what you posted here in the Suggestion box, please? The link to the Suggestion Box is in the heading at the top of this page.

Babi · « **Reply #2797 on:** October 09, 2010, 09:48:49 AM »

Oh, correction please. "Vanishing Act" is by Thomas Perry, nor Dorothy
Morrison. That was another book.
JoanP, I posted more about this book in the Suggestion Box, thinking that was where I posted the above. So, you get a bit more than you
really asked for.

MaryPage · « **Reply #2798 on:** October 09, 2010, 01:01:35 PM »

One thing about reading FALL OF GIANTS is that it actually takes place in OUR century: the 20th. It begins before we were born, but I was born in 1929 and can remember not only what the grownups said about the earlier decades, but I read about and studied it all while it was still fresh. An avid reader from age 5, my grandfather had bequeathed my father an encyclopedia of World War I (It did not own that designation then: it was The Great War), and when there was nothing else in the house I had not read and it was rainy or snowy and I could not go outside, I would sit in the living room with one of those large, heavy red books on my lap and my feet sticking straight out over the sofa and read all about it! There were simply heaps of photographs.

Later, I got into Lucy Maud Montgomery and authors of her ilk. They were full of World War I. My fave was the last in the series of 8 books about Anne Shirley: RILLA OF INGLESIDE. You can still buy it! Rilla was Anne's youngest child and was named for Marilla, who took Anne in as an orphan. It contains one of the most poignant dog stories I have ever read, and I cannot reread it without crying. I often think all the similar stories since must have been copied from it, without attribution.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #2799 on:** October 09, 2010, 03:25:10 PM »

On BookTV, they are showing George Mason U awarding Greg Mortensen, author of "Three Cups of Tea" the Fall of the Book prize. It is a wonderful program, if you get to see it - you can watch on line at BookTV - keep the tissue box close by.......Jean

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Author Topic: The Library (Read 2086328 times)