Author Topic: The Library (Read 2088098 times)

bellemere · « **Reply #4560 on:** March 27, 2011, 08:11:28 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!

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Roshanarose, thanks for the note about Clepatra. I'm up to the part where she meets Cesar, having had herself smuggled in in a burlap bag, not a rug!

roshanarose · « **Reply #4561 on:** March 27, 2011, 10:43:45 PM »

Well said Barb.

I have visited Egypt. I had to keep readjusting my jaw. My best memory of Egypt was inside a magnificent temple with a dome-like roof, painted with the firmament, and the goddess Nut (pron. Noot)leaning over the earth from one side of the temple to the other. The fresco still looked "fresh". I can still visualise it. The other stunner for me were the Temples of Ramses II and his queen Nofretari at Abu Simbel. Definitely a place to visit before you die. I have many non-fiction books about Egypt. My most read are those about the pantheon of gods and goddesses, and how to read hieroglyphics. I can write in Greek on here, but I doubt I could in hieroglyphics.

Steph · « **Reply #4562 on:** March 28, 2011, 06:13:47 AM »

Ilove history, but my passion is for Great Britain in all its loveliness, wars, kings, commoners, colonies, etc.
Egypt.,. I used to read a lot about the archeological digs. I find them fascinating.That is why MDH and I went to Egypt some years ago, but after visiting the place, my enthusiasm waned. Still love the tombs, temples. The desert, the statues, the river.. But the people I met.. Not really. I know they are all the people who cater to tourist, but the dirt in the streets, the casual cruelty, the absence of women in public all turned me off..
But Cleo for some reason just never was my cup of tea. I love reading about the great digs of history.. That is wonderful..Funny.. I had forgotten how really uncomfortable I was when we were in Egypt.. All came back.. Oh well. The tombs, etc were truly glorious, but it is not a place I would return to. The perpetual handout and giveme something turned me off.

salan · « **Reply #4563 on:** March 28, 2011, 07:27:17 AM »

Has anyone read "Cleopatra's Daughter"? I don't remember the author, but thought the book looked interesting.
Sally

Babi · « **Reply #4564 on:** March 28, 2011, 09:12:25 AM »

I went back and checked on the Battle of Actium, and it was Plutarch's report I read. He
saw Marc Antony's hurried departure after Cleopatra in the worst possible light.
In reading Grant's introduction and analysis of Plutarch, tho', there are comments that may
explain Plutarch's view. He wrote, "Plutarch was one of the many ancient writers about past
events who subjected them to a moralizing kind of analysis, inspired by Platonic idealism. He
deliberately selects the material that appears to him to throw the most light on the moral characters of the men he is considering, so that, very often, less attention is paid to the actual events of their careers."
We might want to bear that in mind if we find ourselves reading Plutarch in the future.

Steph · « **Reply #4565 on:** March 29, 2011, 06:13:15 AM »

Hey hey.. I saw in the paper that on Oct. 16, there is a cruise that is a mystery writers cruise.There will be five or six writers, a interactive mystery with professional actors, etc.. I think the book is the Allure of the Seas..There is a nice trip for us.. It leaves from Ft. Lauderdale and goes to the Eastern Caribbean.. We are always talking about cruises. Sounds as if that one might fit the bill.. I think the company is Royal
carribbean

pedln · « **Reply #4566 on:** March 29, 2011, 12:03:31 PM »

That sounds like fun Steph. Did they give any indication of books and authors?

PatH · « **Reply #4567 on:** March 29, 2011, 12:40:42 PM »

Well, Politics and Prose has finally been sold. It looks about as good as you could hope for. The new owners, a husband and wife, former Washington Post journalists who have also held public policy jobs, were carefully picked from the contenders, and are committed to running the store in person. Since I am more interested in the prose component than the politics, I hope they don't veer too far that way. Here's the story:

http://politics-prose.com/

maryz · « **Reply #4568 on:** March 29, 2011, 07:04:30 PM »

Isn't it on this board that we've talked about various library book sales? I've just gotten this link from our Friends of the Library.

Nooga.com is a brand new on-line newspaper for Chattanooga. The library book sale is one of the lead stories in the premier edition.

Great publicity for the sale!

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #4569 on:** March 29, 2011, 07:49:56 PM »

Interesting just off the phone with my daughter and she told me how as of last term EVERY text book my grandson used last semester was on the Kindle or Nook or something - Katha was not sure of the device - Savannah School of Art and Design now has every text book on a device at the cost of about 1/4th the price of each hard text book - as we talked she saw that will probably be the next way kids will go to school - instead of backpacks of heavy books they will each be given a kindle and all the text books will be on the devise.

maryz · « **Reply #4570 on:** March 29, 2011, 07:53:48 PM »

Barb, I've heard of lots of schools that are going to ereader texts. With the prices that books have gotten to be, it should be a great saving for everybody (except the publishers, of course).

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #4571 on:** March 29, 2011, 07:56:19 PM »

and just think of all those chiropractors who will have fewer young adult patients because of carting around those heavy backpacks.

Frybabe · « **Reply #4572 on:** March 29, 2011, 10:09:15 PM »

If it hadn't been for the grant for my classes, I would have been looking to rent or buy etextbooks, too. Our community college does not appear to have them available yet through their bookstore. The grant is administered through them so I get my books there. Many of the classes are available online, however, so I wouldn't have to lug the books around if I so choose. I just don't think that accounting is an online class type of thing.

Steph · « **Reply #4573 on:** March 30, 2011, 06:01:41 AM »

Authors on Mystery Cruise . Don Winslow, Robert Ward, Stephen Hunter, JOanne Fluke,John Hart and Lisa Jackson.
www.hightidecruises.com
The boat is Allure of the Sea

Babi · « **Reply #4574 on:** March 30, 2011, 09:13:14 AM »

Ah, me. I well remember the first time I read a sci/fi book in which people were reading
and studying via a recorded device. Few, if any, print books in space. I thought then
that scenario was very likely to come to pass. And lo, it has, and in my time. I think
print publishers would be wise to start diversifying...like, now!

Imagine what a boon online courses are for deaf people, FRYBABE. My former DIL is a
deaf interpreter, and one of her jobs was sitting in a classroom with a deaf boy who
needed someone to translate the teacher's lectures and questions. I wonder which method
he would have preferred? Ease of studying or the social interaction of a classroom?

pedln · « **Reply #4575 on:** March 30, 2011, 10:54:13 AM »

Well over 10 or 15 years ago an MIT professor, Nicholas Negroponti, was saying that the biggest cost of textbooks was inventory and distribution, so with those out of the way, it seems a natural for the prices to come down.

PatH, I'm glad to hear that Politics and Prose will continue. On one of my DC trips I'm finally going to get there.

The cruise sounds good, Steph. I recognized a couple names. My f2f group read John Hart's Down River and I think he won an Edgar award for one of his books.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #4576 on:** March 30, 2011, 08:20:14 PM »

Many months ago i saw a news story about an elementary school that was a pilot program for the ipad - i think it was. All students were given one w/ their textbooks on it and, of course, they could also go online. That would be great as a history teacher, to be able to direct the students to resource sites would be so much fun. Not only would it save kids backs, but remember how often your kids forgot to bring home their book, or tore the page or spilled something on it?!? No more!

Steph · « **Reply #4577 on:** March 31, 2011, 05:58:29 AM »

Several local schools in Florida have had IPADs given to them in the classrooms to use for math primarily.. Not to take home however. However I suspect that by the time my 9 year old grandson hits high school, the reading devices will be for all in the school..
I still love books the best, but the IPAD is good as well.. You get the treat of games, books, apps for a lot of stuff ( weather)Several newspapers, Slate, Facebook,email and the web.. In one small package.

Babi · « **Reply #4578 on:** March 31, 2011, 08:27:51 AM »

JEAN, you quote about judging others compared to yourself is much like something my
Father once told me. He said never to compare myself with others, but only with myself.
Seeing what progress I made could be useful. As for seeing how I compared with others, he
remarked that no matter how good one might be, there is always a faster gun out there somewhere.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #4579 on:** March 31, 2011, 01:25:51 PM »

Here are some one room school houses that I remember especially from the 1960s when I was driving back into those mountains groups of Senior Girl Scouts who would stay in the community for two weeks along with some students from Berea Collage - the collage aged students winterized and repaired the school rooms while the senior girls [high school age] gave out immunizations shots and taught some basic classes in American History while lapping up the hospitality. Most of these communities were cut off by steep gorges and rivers that we had to ford - if the creeks ran high as the old saying goes the folks on the other side were locked in and the creeks ran high every Spring.

Here's one from Estill County

A blog about a one room schoolhouse Mellwood Art Center that offers classes in things like poetry, writing, local history, public speaking and Shakespeare.

This site is a list of the photos from 51 one room schoolhouses from all over the nation One-Room Schools

FlaJean · « **Reply #4580 on:** March 31, 2011, 03:57:56 PM »

Babi, that was good advice from your father and so true!

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #4581 on:** March 31, 2011, 04:14:32 PM »

Interesting bit from the BBC - a discussion about the myth of the American Dream in literature
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12928854

LarryHanna · « **Reply #4582 on:** March 31, 2011, 08:35:04 PM »

Having attended a one room school for my first eight years of schooling I have a special warm spot in my heart for them. After reading the comments about the books written by Ivan Doig, I bought my first ebook from Barnes & Noble, "The Whistling Season" and have really enjoyed reading it. I should finish it up this evening and hate to see it end.

Steph · « **Reply #4583 on:** April 01, 2011, 06:02:15 AM »

I know two different couples who live in Vermont and Maine. Both own one room schoolhouses and live in them during the summer.In winter they are in Florida.. Both had been added onto.. They are both lovely.

Babi · « **Reply #4584 on:** April 01, 2011, 08:21:03 AM »

Thanks, FLAJEAN. Like most of us, I suspect, I was amazed to discover how wise he was...
after I had grown up!

I am savoring Doig's "Dancing at the Rascal Fair", LARRY. I'm reading it slowly, and
enjoying every bit of it.

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #4585 on:** April 01, 2011, 10:34:05 AM »

Larry, I felt the same way about "The Whistling Season". It was wonderful!

bellemere · « **Reply #4586 on:** April 01, 2011, 08:26:43 PM »

I'm enjoying Cleopatra: a Life, and learning a lot about the history of the times that I never knew. When I see the broadcasts of the turmoil in Egypt, I know that this is a big part of their history. But time to take a break and get to my Book Club April selection, Washington Square, by the old master, Henry James. I reread it last year after seeing a marvelous film with Jennifer Jason Leigh, Maggie Smith and Albert Finney. There are some great study questions on line to spark your thinking. To me, it is the perfect novel!
Both are on my Nook with the enlarged type - so easy to read.
What next/ Alexander McCall Smith has a new one about the lady detective, Precious. I always get the audio CD for my car because of the charming African accent of the reader. But I am driving less and less. I wonder if I can downloaed the audio to my Nook.

Frybabe · « **Reply #4587 on:** April 01, 2011, 08:34:05 PM »

Oh wonderful Bellemere, I saw the movie Washington Square and just loved it. I have not yet read the book.

Steph · « **Reply #4588 on:** April 02, 2011, 06:04:36 AM »

Today is complicated. I am joining both book discussions,, Scott and Simonson.. I leave for a five day elderhostel tomorrow and I need to finish off my prep for income tax.. Hmm. Going to be interesting at best..

MaryPage · « **Reply #4589 on:** April 02, 2011, 07:18:36 AM »

There is a lot about Henry James in the biography of Clover Adams I just finished. ("CLOVER, The Tragic Love Story of Clover and Henry Adams and Their Brilliant Life in America's Gilded Age" by Otto Friedrich) It seems he admired Clover greatly (called her a genius) and used her for the main character in two of his novels. He hung around so much he became quite a nuisance to the Adamses.

Sigh! I wish I were going off on another Elderhostel; it has been years now I have lacked the hustle and bustle to do one. Ah well; I am going to a family baby shower this afternoon for my namesake granddaughter. One of my daughters will pick me up and bring me home.

Babi · « **Reply #4590 on:** April 02, 2011, 09:01:25 AM »

Congratulations on your namesake granddaughter, MARYPAGE. I'm sure you will dote on one
another.

Can anyone tell me if "Washington Square" has closed captioning? The older films do not unless
it was added on being transferred to DVD. I't like to watch it, but it is frustrating to order a
film from Netflix and then not be able to enjoy it.

Frybabe · « **Reply #4591 on:** April 02, 2011, 09:25:31 AM »

Babi, I checked and it looks like the 1997 version with Jennifer Jason Leigh and Albert Finney is indeed Closed Captioned, at least the one that B&N sells does. I am surprised that NetFlix doesn't tell you if a movie is CC.

MaryPage · « **Reply #4592 on:** April 02, 2011, 09:25:43 AM »

Thank you, Babi, but I feel I was not clear. This one of my thirteen (13!) granddaughters was born in 1974 and named for me and yes, we are very close. She is to have a baby boy on May 25th, and this afternoon there will be a family baby shower for her. All of my children are past, at or reaching retirement, and I will have no more grandchildren. My youngest granddaughter is already a mother of two! This mother-to-be who will be celebrated today has concentrated on things of the mind and has a Ph.D. in Art History. She is now 37 and this 19th great grandchild for me will be her first child.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #4593 on:** April 02, 2011, 03:25:11 PM »

Congrats MaryPage - just to hold another wee one is such a soothing afternoon to look forward to - thank goodness the sun is still peeking and not shining full blast - with no rain I may have to get my hoses going after all. I too am getting the rest of the tax info together for the gal who alway does my taxes - I leave on Wednesday morning before dawn - my sister needs me - she is having more surgery - I want to pack a couple of books that are good to read aloud - I'm thinking of one of the classics and a children's book - I loved the series that William Horwood continued of the Wind in the Willows after receiving permission from the family - I may just take one of those with me - but it is the classic that I am stuck on - something with adventure but not Gothic or too complicated - any suggestions..?

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #4594 on:** April 02, 2011, 04:12:09 PM »

I Capture the Castle? Ballet Shoes? The Treasure Seekers (EE Nesbit).

Rosemary

Steph · « **Reply #4595 on:** April 02, 2011, 04:13:20 PM »

Rosemary and cozies. Carlyn Haines,Wendy Roberts and Mary Saums... were the three I picked up. Carolyn Haines does a small series. It is sort of fun, not real serious crimes, but interesting. The other two are brand new to me.

PatH · « **Reply #4596 on:** April 02, 2011, 09:33:19 PM »

I'd vote for Ballet shoes, which I found very satisfying when I read it as a child eons ago.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #4597 on:** April 02, 2011, 11:36:03 PM »

well y'all have given me ideas - not wanting to do another run to B&N I looked over my shelves - and closets - and drawers - and table tops - oh yes, hopeless - I do not own a copy but the suggestion 'I Captured the Castle' gave me an idea -

As I said the one William Horwood - when you are ill regardless of age there is nothing like a book that is similar to a child's story and so it will be Willows and Beyond

Then the castle nudged me - last month I started The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley - waylaid by other reads I can get back to it and together we can enjoy the story that includes a writer who sets up temporary housing near a Scottish Castle. Best of all for such a thick book it is so light weight beyond the usual. Great for packing.

Then for my classic - not a real classic in the true sense of the word but Eudora Welty is so much fun to read - her humor is delicious - sorta Mark Twainish...which one shall I choose - I have a hardback with a selection of her stories but with 4 books to carry a thin one story paperback is best so I will choose Ponder Heart and enjoy again Uncle Daniel's droll sense of right and wrong.

And then Steph is right - there is nothing like a cozy - I have every Agatha Raisin in paperback - I think though I will take with me one of the older stories - Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came

Steph · « **Reply #4598 on:** April 03, 2011, 06:06:53 AM »

I Capture the Castle is one of my very favorite reread books.. I loved the book.. So light and yet it says some true things very simply.

JoanR · « **Reply #4599 on:** April 03, 2011, 07:55:41 AM »

I'm another big fan of "I Capture the Castle". Wonderful little book! They even made a decent movie of it.

Barbara - good that you can go to help your sister! That's what sisters are for . Blessings on you both!!

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Author Topic: The Library (Read 2088098 times)