Author Topic: The Library (Read 2089806 times)

MaryPage · « **Reply #5960 on:** August 13, 2011, 03:12:03 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
*SeniorLearn's Archives

Right you are, Dana. Look at Somalia! That is what no taxes and no government do to civilization!

The Carleton College VOICE came the other day, and they featured a whole bunch of Top Ten lists. Here are the Top Ten Must-Read Classics, as put together by the entire staff, including students, of the Carleton Bookstore. Now mind you, I am not in agreement. I think 5 are good and 5 should not be on the list. But that is neither here nor there: you will have fun with this list which is in order from Number One to Number Ten:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Lord Of The Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
1984 by George Orwell
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Notes Of A Native Son by James Baldwin
The Odyssey by Homer
Ulysses by James Joyce

I have read every one except that Baldwin; I did read his earliest novel and admired his genius, albeit his anger rather flattened me and I admired and avoided him thereafter. As for Ulysses, I am still doing an in depth study of that with the help of The Great Books teaching course on DVDs. Nearly half-way through it, as I take long holidays from it. My mantra is I cannot die until accomplishing this self-assigned task.

Frybabe · « **Reply #5961 on:** August 13, 2011, 03:32:32 PM »

MaryPage, your comment reminded me of Jasper Fford's Thursday Next series. Thursday's grandmother refused to die until she had read the world's most boring book. She was well over 100. So take your time.

Dana · « **Reply #5962 on:** August 13, 2011, 03:37:29 PM »

Touto esti to adikien, to pleon ton allon zytein

This is wrongdoing, seeking to have more than others.

Plato.

Well, that's totally contrary to present day thinking !!

MaryPage · « **Reply #5963 on:** August 13, 2011, 04:49:46 PM »

I do not object to the rich as such. If they have worked hard and not ripped off the public with get-rich quick schemes at the expense of hurting other people, the way the banks and hedge funds have just done with working peoples mortgages being chopped up and turned into derivatives with the ultra rich taking BETS, for goodness sake, on which ones will go bad and the various ones who have conducted Ponzi schemes and thrown so many elderly investors from the upper middle class economically into the poorest of the poor, well, work hard and get rich, as Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have done, and then give to the poorest of the poor and to the sick and students; I say go for it.

In my personal experience, well-bred people who are also lucky enough to be rich, do not flaunt it with obscene luxuries. I have known multi-millionaires right in this town who drive ordinary Fords and Chevys and, yes, drive them themselves! Here in Annapolis, you have to take into account that the old guy striding down Main Street or hanging out at City Dock wearing ancient shorts and no socks in his shoes may well be a retired Admiral or Cabinet Member or, who knows? Ted Turner? Yep, he is a member of Annapolis Yacht Club.

JoanK · « **Reply #5964 on:** August 13, 2011, 06:57:25 PM »

MARY: you went to Carleton? So did my niece (PatH's daughter) and her husband. She loved it, although coming from Maryland, the cold was a bit of an adjustment.

I've read all on the list except "Lord of the Flies". Somehow, I balk at that.

MaryPage · « **Reply #5965 on:** August 13, 2011, 07:28:08 PM »

Read again. It is not Lord Of The Flies (a horrid book, albeit ingeniously written), but Lord Of The Rings.

JoanK · « **Reply #5966 on:** August 13, 2011, 08:31:05 PM »

Ogh, goodness! I've tried to read that and got bogged down. That's one you either love, or can't stand.

kiwilady · « **Reply #5967 on:** August 14, 2011, 02:49:22 AM »

I have never paid $100 for a pair of jeans in my life. The most I have ever spent on one item was $80 and that was for a wedding. I am a real miser when buying clothing. I can buy excellent designer labels for next to nothing at thrift shops or nearly new stores. I just keep going back til I find something I like and the most I have paid is about $30 for one item.

My daughter is part of a two income family has a nice home in a good street has one daughter at Girls school which is fee paying and another going there next year and she buys many of her clothes at the nearly new store. They cook from scratch with whatever is on special each week and do not spend money on going out. They run two cars and are careful with the amount they spend on gas. They rarely eat out and have a modest holiday at a camping ground each year. Their money does not go anywhere near what it did 5 years ago.

The son who has three companies is extremely well off because he can legally get so many tax breaks. It is people like my daughter and her husband who pay the bulk of the tax take. I worked for our Inland Revenue Department for eight years and when we did the stats it was wage and salary earners who made up the bulk of the tax take despite what the Govt always tells the public

Carolyn

Steph · « **Reply #5968 on:** August 14, 2011, 06:39:52 AM »

Moby Dick and Ulysses, I hated. Lord of the Rings,, Hmm, truthfully read it, but it is not even good fantasy as far as I am concerned. The rest I have read, some I loved, others I read but did not enjoy..Oh well. different strokes as they say.
We always sniff a bit at the
English class system, but lets not kid ourselves.. Americans have quite a class system on their own. I took my granddaughter clothes shopping..That is her birthday present each year..on tax free weekend. We had a blast, but oh me, my feet hurt and I got way too tired. So did my daughter in law. However spending the day in a busy mall is watching the class system at work. There were people out there who fit all of the categories, except for the very rich and the poorest of the poor..But the number of poorly dressed humans with really expensive cell phones, etc is amazing.

kiwilady · « **Reply #5969 on:** August 14, 2011, 06:50:46 AM »

Loved Pride and Prejudice and To Kill a Mocking Bird. Ulysses you can keep. Hamlet - not really a Shakespeare fan but my late husband was. He used to watch the plays on TV and I went to bed. Have not read most of the list but will look out for the titles that look intriguing.

I am reading lots of mysteries, thrillers, detective novels at the moment with the odd black comedy thrown in. The British do black comedy really well.

Carolyn

salan · « **Reply #5970 on:** August 14, 2011, 07:09:04 AM »

I have read 7 plus on the list. Ulysses & The Odyssey I attempted, but did not finish. Only read 2 of the trilogy. My favorite on the list is To Kill a Mockingbird, followed closely by Pride and Prejudice. Hated Moby Dick. Did not read Notes of a Native Son.
Sally

Frybabe · « **Reply #5971 on:** August 14, 2011, 08:07:44 AM »

I read six of the books on the list. The rest I have had no interest in reading, including To Kill a Mockingbird (never watched the movie, either).

I liked the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, also read his Tolkien Reader (short stories). When I offered to give the set to my sister for her children, however, she declined. They were still fairly young. She wanted them to be well grounded in their faith before she would allow them to read anything having to do with magic, wizardry, etc.

PatH · « **Reply #5972 on:** August 14, 2011, 08:34:33 AM »

Quote from: Frybabe on August 14, 2011, 08:07:44 AM

She wanted them to be well grounded in their faith before she would allow them to read anything having to do with magic, wizardry, etc.

That's interesting. In spite of the wizardry, Tolkien was an extremely devout Catholic, his faith being a mainspring of his life. He claimed his books promoted his faith, but he may just have been rebutting critics who called them anti-religious. I don't see Christianity in them myself, though they are deeply moral.

PatH · « **Reply #5973 on:** August 14, 2011, 08:37:19 AM »

I've read seven--all but the McCullers, the Baldwin, and the Joyce--and liked them, some quite a lot.

MaryPage · « **Reply #5974 on:** August 14, 2011, 08:58:17 AM »

Remember, this is a "must read" list, which I take to mean there is something about each which adds to the education of the reader. This something should be the power and insight in the writing itself.

That being the litmus test, I think the Austen, Lee, Shakespeare, McCullers and Homer belong on a list of 10 musts. The Tolkien, Orwell, Melville, Baldwin and Joyce do not. This is just me.

I agree that Tolkien's books were very religious and very Christian. It is interesting that some Christians make a leap of judgment that any book containing magic or witchcraft must be representing a dark pagan enemy to their Faith in a good light, when in the actual history of such writing the precise opposite has most often been true. Take C.S. Lewis and his Narnia books. Christianity personified. Likewise the Harry Potter series; though one of my daughters was told by her pastor (in church to all) not to read them or see the movies! Tolkien, Lewis, Rowling and many others have attempted to show children (and adults) the endless battle between Good and Evil in enjoyable prose, with the final lesson being that Being Good, Loyal and Loving is the road to take.

Babi · « **Reply #5975 on:** August 14, 2011, 09:32:21 AM »

Ah, sorry, MARYPAGE. I didn't realize the discussion was strictly on economics.
Consider my comments a sideline.

Another intriguing list; at least I've read most of these. All but the Orwell and
that particular Baldwin, and James Joyce. I probably should read something by Joyce, I know he's considered great, but I simply cringe from the hard work of coping with his writing style.

Jeans for a wedding?

Is that the mod thing now, KIWI? I am so 'out of it'!

It has always irritated me, CAROLYN, that the ones who get most of the tax breaks are the ones who least need it. I decline to take seriously any of the American senators who claim to act in the public interest re. out national debt. If
they were sincere, they'd start with their own outrageous and shameful salaries. GRR!!

Quote

which I take to mean there is something about each which adds to the education of the reader. This something should be the power and insight in the writing itself

.
Imposing one's own yardsticks on whatever one reads is bound to influence how one sees the result. I can well imagine the library staff might have had a quite different 'must read' definition in mind.
I do agree with your take on C. S. Lewis and other 'fantasy' writers. One reason I like them so much is that they deal with the struggle between good and evil.
There, happily, good does prevail, though always at a cost.

MaryPage · « **Reply #5976 on:** August 14, 2011, 10:01:16 AM »

My question whenever some new book or series of books gets "condemned" on the basis it contains magic is always: Why are not all of Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm likewise condemned? Why are Snow White and Cinderella ok? The wicked queen (witch) in Snow White had a magic mirror that told her things. She put Snow White to sleep forever with a magic apple. It cast a "spell" that could only be broken by the kiss of a real royal prince. But this is ok and Harry Potter is Not Okay? Go figure! Now, how about princes being turned into frogs with the spell being they must be kissed, as a frog, by a beautiful young maiden? Take Sleeping Beauty and her fairy godmothers. A spell, foretold yet, put her asleep until a young fellow came and found her. Did he have to kiss her? I forget.

Sounds a lot like magic and sex to me. No? I am mistaken?

mabel1015j · « **Reply #5977 on:** August 14, 2011, 12:57:15 PM »

Exactly MaryPage! Had the pastor who preached to his congregation not to read or see some stories actually read/seen them himself, or was he speaking from hearsay?

MaryPage · « **Reply #5978 on:** August 14, 2011, 01:10:57 PM »

I have no idea, but it came so quickly after the 1st book came out after being a smash hit in Great Britain that I am inclined to believe the book had not actually been read. Harry Potter is such a heartrending story of parents dying to save their baby son and the strength of his mother's love for that baby and the eventual triumph of Good over Evil, that it is nearly impossible for me to believe that pastor had read that book. But then again, note I say nearly impossible. At 82, I have learned that well nigh anything is possible! Plus let me hasten to say that each of us is free in this nation to believe what we choose to believe. The equation I throw into the mix is, we should check and recheck the facts in each and every case BEFORE we set our beliefs in concrete.

pedln · « **Reply #5979 on:** August 14, 2011, 02:13:38 PM »

While you're talking about condemned books, please remember Banned Books Week, always the last week in September, sponsored by ALA and American Booksellers Assoc. It looks like the list of most challenged has not changed much over the past 20 years. But my Banned Books T-shirt has become quite thin since 1982. Time to get a new one. Here are a couple of links to Banned Books

Banned Books Week

ALA Banned Books

Perhaps we could all make it a point to read a banned book during the week of Sept 24-Oct 1. And let everyone know what we're reading.

Dana · « **Reply #5980 on:** August 14, 2011, 02:57:49 PM »

Well, that list of banned books is quite amazing.

I guess its a free country and you can believe anything.......so I believe the people who want to ban these books are potty.

JoanK · « **Reply #5981 on:** August 14, 2011, 06:11:11 PM »

Have you always wondered why there's so much fuss about the ancient Greeks and Romans? Or have you read some of them but have no one to talk about it with? Come join us and vote on which of these old masterpieces YOU would like to read and discuss in October.

Look at the list and discussion here: http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=2395.40

Vote here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CRGVGSH

mabel1015j · « **Reply #5982 on:** August 14, 2011, 07:59:49 PM »

List of classics that have been banned or challenged......

http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedclassics/reasonsbanned/index.cfm

Of the first twenty i have read all but six.........and nothing will ever induce me to even begin Ulysses or Beloved. That doesn't mean i woild want to ban them from anyone who wished to take them on.

Jean

kiwilady · « **Reply #5983 on:** August 15, 2011, 03:38:26 AM »

Read this non fiction book last week. Its really excellent!

http://eriklarsonbooks.com/the-books/in-the-garden-of-beasts/

kiwilady · « **Reply #5984 on:** August 15, 2011, 03:40:03 AM »

I am a fervent Harry Potter fan. I take the books as pure fantasy and cannot see how good triumphing over evil can be a bad influence over kids. They all know its fantasy.

Carolyn

kiwilady · « **Reply #5985 on:** August 15, 2011, 03:42:04 AM »

I always knew that Azran was Jesus in CS Lewis books. My kids loved them.

Carolyn

Frybabe · « **Reply #5986 on:** August 15, 2011, 08:37:52 AM »

I am taking The Choir back to the Library today - couldn't get interested in it.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #5987 on:** August 15, 2011, 08:44:17 AM »

Oh that's a shame, Frybabe, I enjoyed it - but isn't that the beauty of libraries? I would be so annoyed if I had spent £10 on a book I didn't like, but as it is, you can just take it back and get something else.

Rosemary

Babi · « **Reply #5988 on:** August 15, 2011, 08:52:02 AM »

I find I've read only eight of those of JEAN's list, and saw four others
as films. Most of the remaining I'm still not particuarly interested in
reading. I do recall one very dear lady, having listened to a sermon on
evil imagination, proclaim that imagination should be guarded against. I
was aghast! Every invention began with someone's ability to imagine it!

Frybabe · « **Reply #5989 on:** August 15, 2011, 09:22:31 AM »

Quote

but isn't that the beauty of libraries? I would be so annoyed if I had spent £10 on a book I didn't like, but as it is, you can just take it back and get something else.

Rosemarykaye, when I was young and just starting out on my book and record buying "career" my Dad wanted to know why ever in the world I would want to spend money on books and records when I could get the books free from the Library and the music free from the radio. I am only just now beginning to appreciate his wisdom.

CallieOK · « **Reply #5990 on:** August 15, 2011, 09:56:08 AM »

Carolyn, "In The Garden Of Beasts" was the first book on my Book Swap Club's new list - and I was the first one to read it.
I was less than enthusiastic to be reading about Hitler, etc. - but found the story of the American ambassador during that time to be very interesting.

Steph · « **Reply #5991 on:** August 15, 2011, 10:22:10 AM »

I note that many have not, but I have read several of Baldwins books.. You have to remember the era they were written in. He had such anger and such dispair.. It made me truly understand what we had done to a whole race of people in the US.. Amazing, but I do think it is probably not to be on that list.. It is more sociology,, not particularly good writing.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #5992 on:** August 15, 2011, 01:13:16 PM »

Frybabe - I have just this minute come back from a country walk with my daughters - we planned to walk from East Linton to North Berwick, but realised it was far too far in the time available, so did a circular walk back to East Linton. It's a very pretty village - one that I would have bought a house in if only it had a train station - and there we came upon the library, housed in a beautiful old building with a garden outside and window boxes full of flowers. Inside it was small but well stocked and friendly - and open till 8pm! Anna found the book she had been looking for, I found the next Louise Penny, we all three picked up other things of interest, plus lots of leaflets about other walks in the area, open gardens, etc. I think this is called serendipity - if we hadn't abandoned the first route we never would have found the library, and it was in such a quiet little corner of the village that it felt almost magical.

I hope you can see these pictures:

http://www.eastlinton.uk.com/photos/ELslides/index.html

Rosemary

Frybabe · « **Reply #5993 on:** August 15, 2011, 02:27:44 PM »

http://maps.google.com/maps?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=s&hl=en&q=East+Linton+Scotland&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

Ah, Rosemarykaye, a trip to the Google maps, and guess what is listed? The library. Click on the library icon and there it is. Thank you. BTW, the pics you posted are lovely. I especially like the "sad" lion.

JoanK · « **Reply #5994 on:** August 15, 2011, 03:19:19 PM »

And I (bird watcher that I am) like the heron and swan. I wish American villages looked that nice.

CallieOK · « **Reply #5995 on:** August 15, 2011, 03:49:38 PM »

Rosemary, what a charming town! How lovely to be able to walk as you do. It would be too far, too dusty and too hot for that kind of stroll here.

My granddaughter's college roommate (first year) is due to arrive from England this afternoon. She has been to school in Swansea, Wales but I think her family home is Chippenham in England.
She has never been to Oklahoma - which is going to be a culture shock in more ways than just the distance between places!
Ellen's family are all looking forward to meeting her.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #5996 on:** August 15, 2011, 03:57:31 PM »

Glad you all enjoyed it. Callie, your granddaughter's room-mate is so lucky! I'm sure she will find it all fascinating.

Rosemary

pedln · « **Reply #5997 on:** August 15, 2011, 09:58:41 PM »

Rosemary, you're going to find us all knocking at your door, asking for a tour. What a delightful village, and I'm so glad you found a friendly library.

kiwilady · « **Reply #5998 on:** August 15, 2011, 10:23:51 PM »

My great nephew Andre will be studying in California. His mum and dad are joining him for Christmas. I asked my niece how she can bear to lose him to school so far away. She said they will visit him and he will come home too in longer holidays. He will be studying Bio engineering.

Carolyn

kiwilady · « **Reply #5999 on:** August 15, 2011, 10:25:16 PM »

Callie the book really did hold my attention all the way through. Its not always the case with non fiction. Think the author did a very good job.

Carolyn

News:

Author Topic: The Library (Read 2089806 times)