The Library

[jane]

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 

WELCOME back, Rosemary. 


You were definitely missed!

[rosemarykaye]

Oh thank you! Lovely to be back!

[BarbStAubrey]

Rosemary so glad to see your post among us again - we only did a book dealing with Lakes - For Love of Lakes, by Darby Nelson - no mention of beavers but his focus was on the geology, fish and learning what algae does to kill a lake where as, I think most of us associate beavers with rivers and streams. With the number of books written by Jim Crumley available on Amazon it appears he is a prolific writer.

[rosemarykaye]

Hi Barb - and thanks.

Yes I think he has written quite a few books over the years. He used to be a journalist working for The Scotsman, but now he is a freelance writer I think. His mantra is 'Let wildlife manage wildlife' and he can't abide some of the daft and short-sighted 'conservation' schemes brought in by our various governments. He thinks the Victorians, with their obsessions with deer/pheasant/grouse shooting, did the worst damage to wildlife, and that too many landowners and farmers still think along the same lines - they want to subjugate nature to their own ends. He believes in living in communion with nature, not trying to dominate it or change it, is the only way the world will survive.

One of his heroes is John Lister Kaye, a very enlightened landowner living at Aigas, a famous field centre in the Highlands. Lister Kaye has pioneered the reintroduction of beavers onto his land, and is very interested in many native species that have been hounded out of the UK. I have always wanted to visit Aigas - maybe one day.

[nlhome]

Welcome back, Rosemary.

Beavers - very interesting topic. They do a lot of damage sometimes in our area, on the side roads, as their dams can affect farm land and fish habitat and even cause roads to wash out. My husband spent part of his career blowing up the dams - that might be a book he'd find interesting.

[maryz]

Welcome back, Rosemary - you were missed!

I've had the good fortune to spend some time at Aigas - and it IS exceptionally lovely, and the Lister Kayes are very welcoming.  This was on an Elderhostel program (now Road Scholars) called Highlands and Islands.  We were based at Aigas, but also went to the Isle of Skye and the Orkneys.  It's a fabulous program.  There are also other Road Scholar programs based there.

[ginny]

Rosemary! What a surprise! Welcome back! I don't believe it, I was just thinking about you last week (truly) and wondering where you were and here you are!

So glad to see you again!

[BarbStAubrey]

   In the middle of our welcome back party I need to break in with a bulletin - news for our December Discussion.

On December 1 through Friday, December 18 we will read and discuss - the real Adventures of Pinocchio by ‎Carlo Collodi -

Lots of discussion material, including comparing the original to what Walt Disney did to the story - there is the topic of school, a boys relationship with his father, children lying versus adults lying - on and on -

Many of us will not want to be as engrossed in a discussion starting that weekend before Christmas - some of us will be around but for most, it will be quick post with a 'Hi' and I'm off to visit family or my neighbors or the church this or that.

And so... rather than any one book we will leave it open for us to share our thoughts on a Holiday story preferably published within the last 2 or maximum 3 years. To help with our sharing I will have some generic questions that can apply to any story - so that when you give your synopsis of your story you have earmarks to hit.

Also, during this almost 2 week Holiday discussion we can share the names of the books we gave as gifts and how our favorite book store decorated and prepared for the Holiday season. Starting on Saturday December 19 we will have a new discussion called, "Holiday Books and Book Stores".

Here are a few New Holiday Books to considered reading and sharing with us that that your library may or may not have purchased -

Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich - this is the one my library did purchase but it is already on a long list of borrowers.   

The Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski - this should be superb however, my library invested in the children's version but did not get this adult version.

Christmas Bells: A Novel by Jennifer Chiaverini - have not gotten this one yet but it sounds too good to let it pass - it sounds like a story built around hope - the kind of hope that like the proverb says, a bird sings before the sun is up.

Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas: Being a Jane Austen Mystery by Stephanie Barron - from last year -  it is a little sliver of a book that was a pleasant read.

Dashing Through the Snow: A Christmas Novel by the tried and true, with a new one every year, Debbie Macomber

The Mistletoe Inn: A Novel by another author with an annual Christmas message, Richard Paul Evans

And many more...    - lots of books that we can talk about.

With many of the larger bookstores housing a coffee shop we could even share what they had on the menu - in fact we may even decide to share what we fix for ourselves as a special tea or coffee or glass of wine when we settle down for an hour or so with a holiday story.

And so this year we join the English tradition of reading and playacting a traditional children's story during the holiday season - Be sure to put on your "todo" list to pick up your copy of the original Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi - I believe there is a free copy available to kindle users and it may even be online - I like having a book in my hand and I've ordered my copy for a few dollars - yes, at Amazon.

[rosemarykaye]

Oh I think your husband would find Jim's book very interesting, nlhome - as I said, it's very well written and concise, with some interesting snippets of history thrown in.  The publisher is Saraband and they are doing a deal for Christmas on three of Jim's books (I've only read the one so far):

http://www.saraband.net/news

Not sure about postage costs to the US though, so unfortunately Amazon may be a better bet.

Rosemary

[rosemarykaye]

That must have been wonderful MaryZ!  I remember first hearing about Aigas when i was a student, and it seems to have gone from strength to strength. You do do some interesting trips.

Rosemary

[Steph]

rosemary,, glad to hear from you. You had disappeared and I assumed that Edinburgh had gotten a strong hoid on you with all of its many charms.. But Paris.. hmm, that must be fun to drop in and have a place to stay and time to poke in the corners,, I do love corners when I am overseas.. Cant say that I am a reader of nature type things.. Animals, well it depends.. We once lived where a beaver family kept flooding all of the house on our side of a stream and the men spent hours plotting to get rid of them.

[bellamarie]

Welcome back Rosemary, Edinburgh and Paris, those sound like wonderful places to be.  nlhome, interesting about your hubby blowing up the dams due to the damage of roads.  Gives a new meaning to the phrase, "busy as a beaver."

Barb, Looking forward to December, thanks for the book titles.  I just began my first Christmas book The Gift by Nora Roberts.  I am already getting excited just thinking of the way the bookstores will decorate for the most wonderful time of the year.....

[marjifay]

I hear there will be another "debate" of GOP nominees tonight.  Fox TV channel?  I was so sorry I missed the Democratic debate Friday night.

Marj

[rosemarykaye]

Hi Steph, lovely to hear from you.

I am also not a reader of nature-type books - I had this one (which was sent to me) for ages before I opened the cover as I thought it would be boring (even though I know Jim Crumley to be an excellent speaker and broadcaster) - but it really is excellent, and it doesn't drive you mad with pages and pages of description either.

I was talking to someone who is a keen angler this morning. He said fishermen had been worried that the reintroduction of beavers would affect their catches, but they haven't seen any ill effects - the fish can swim through the dams. Crumley also says that salmon farmers now actually like beavers because they clean up the water.

And yes, Edinburgh does keep me busy! I still write for The Edinburgh Reporter website, but I have scaled it back a bit as it was taking up all my time. Paris is great to visit, but I can't imagine living there - not yet anyway.

Rosemary

[marjifay]

Oh, joy, my next door neighbors are moving!  They are the ones who had two RVs parked on their front lawn, amonst other junk, and a man who turned up his loud stereo rock music on in his truck at 2 or 3 am in the morning and woke everyone up as he returned from somewhere (probably a bar) We did not complain to the city because we were afraid of them (they looked like gang gangsters), and scared we'd come home to find our home robbed or burned down.  But they have gotten rid of all the RV's and dumped their trash in a rented trash bin apparently in preparation to getting rid of it. (Oh, and I guess they've taken their cat with them as we no longer see it, the one who used our yard as a toilet.)  We are praying that quiet elderly people will move in, but that is probably too much to ask.  They are probably selling to some of their friends.

Marj

[Steph]

Actually when my husband was alive, we really wanted to go and spend maybe six months in Edinburgh, Paris, London and Amsterdam. All cities I loved that had so much to do and see. Alas, he is gone and alone I suspect it would not be much fun.

[ginny]

Maybe it would be fun in a different way, tho.  Personally I love traveling alone. I like going with friends and family and going alone.

I like travel, period, and life is short. If it's a choice between going alone and not going that's no choice. I like stopping when I feel  like it, seeing what I want, eating when and what I want and doing exactly as I like. I  REALLY love it.

I came IN to say apparently it makes a difference which Barnes and Noble you go in. I went to the one I usually do in  Greenville SC today and was just absolutely blown away by wanting every book in the store!  That scares me for our local one because it had nothing like this.

I like browsing, too,  and I like reading a paragraph or two in the window seats  to see if I like the book. I got The Martian, we had a final semester lunch today of my Latin students and one recommended the Martian movie and book, says  they are both wonderful. Botanist on Mars? Sounds like something I'd like.

I got Hotels of North America and read half of it (it's not big) before leaving the store. I have read SO much about this book and I can see it's justified. Unusual unique premise and I am loving reading about the hotels all of which the author personally visited. So far it's wonderful, what the life of a reviewer is like, (it's fiction) and how it's revealed in his reviews. Or is it?   Also could not resist Andy and Don, about Andy Griffith and his friendship with Don Knotts.  I read bits of it too and it's got a lot of stuff in it I didn't know .  (And yes, I'm blowing my gift cards, but hey, that's what they are for, right?)

I saw Don Knotts  speak in one of his last appearances in Charlotte, NC. He was a lovely unassuming man, modest and humble. The famous Barney Fife impersonator did the warm up and he was good. Somebody then asked Knotts, who had lost most of his eyesight at the time, if he'd "do a little Barney," and he said he couldn't, that Barney took an awful lot of preparation and if he tried it now it wouldn't be right.  I liked that answer.


And I got Slade House which I have wanted ever since I heard of it. It's new, a ghost story for adults which is supposedly  somewhat scary but I'm going to see if I can get thru it.

I had my own ghost story last night, I guess. I dreamed that there was another house here on the farm, above the barn. I dreamed that we were selling this house and the buyers wanted to see that old house. Up we went. It was very old. It had fireplaces in every room and a rock one made of round stones in the main room. That sounds ugly and it was not. I tried to tell myself that I had been influenced by Adele's new video Hello, but when I got in tonight and I was telling my husband about it he said when we moved here he found the remnants of an old house (with those old timey ceramic door knobs) between the barn and the woods.  He had gathered up all the old wood and door hinges and stuff and burned what would burn and carried the rest off. There was a  lot of debris here. He says even now on occasion you see the old timey nails about in the area.  I told him I had been in it and I knew what was in it.

Dooo de dooo dooo.

So if you hear I went nuts at least you'll know why.

I did so enjoy reading here about  Bellamarie's joy in reading Christmas books, starting this time of year, it's contagious.

[BarbStAubrey]

Well with reading there is music and today I have succumbed - I have a good size collection of Christmas music - most of it is choral groups from the Cathedral groups in France and England - as well as a lot of the European ancient monophony as well as plainchant - well out it came today - not even waiting till Thanksgiving this year - it is still in the mid 80s and humid as all get out - I am yearning for a piece of evergreen but that does not grow wild and the pine forests of Bastrop have all but disappeared in the fires this year and a couple of years ago.

I've pulled out knitting yarn from so many nooks and crannies where I stored a started project and just want to turn things into a 1950s experience when we made all our gifts and only turned on the TV Saturday and Sunday night and we baked and we cut out and glued decorations - I think the horrors we have been witnessed to from the media is just too much and I want to hide in another era.

[PatH]

Ginny, The Martian is a very good book, but there is a draggy bit near the beginning dealing mostly with the protagonist doing the arithmetic to figure out if he can grow enough potatoes to survive.  Don't give up.  It soon gets better.  Weir's writing gets better as the book goes on too.  The movie is excellent too, well worth seeing, and a rare example of 3D effects actually improving a movie.  (The only other one I can think of is Gravity.)

[marcie]

Welcome back, Rosemary. How lovely to have a reason to make visits to Paris though you probably miss your husband since he's so far away. It sounds like a good change for you to still be able to contribute your writing to the website but not feel that you can't do anything else.

[pedln]

Welcome back Rosemary. It's good to have you back here.  I see you every once in a while on Facebook, working with animals and finding them homes.  And then I think of Barbara Pym and how you introduced her to those  of us here at SeniorLearn.

[rosemarykaye]

Thanks so much Marcie and Pedln.

Marcie, my husband has almost always worked away, so Paris is quite an improvement!  Unless some crisis occurs, I actually enjoy having Monday-Friday to myself to get on with my stuff. I know several other women with similar arrangements & they all say you get more out of your weekends when you know that is your time together. The rest of the week flies past. However, when one of my Siamese was suddenly at death's door a few weeks ago, I was straight on the phone for moral support (and he's not even a 'cat person').

Pedln, I am honoured to be associated in your mind with Barbara Pym! In fact I was just re-reading A Glass of Blessings in bed last night; I never tire of her.

Barb - I know what you mean; just yesterday some friends whom I meet for coffee were reminiscing about the TV of our youth - ie only one set, in the sitting room, viewing controlled by the parents even when we were older. I only saw the wonderful Brideshead Revisted a few years ago, as my mother refused to watch it when it was first aired (still not sure if that was for the implicit homosexuality or because the people were 'too posh'!). And of course programmes (at least in the UK) were only on from about 3.30pm to 11pm, when it all closed down with the National Anthem. 

Now that the immensely popular Great British Bake Off has finished for this year, the TV companies are desperately trying to find another winner - the latest is The Great British Throw Down (or something like that), which is for amateur potters. Madeleine & I have only seen one so far and we quite enjoyed it - and what has made me think of it  now is that at the beginning they showed 'The Potter's Wheel', which is an old black & white 'test card' that used to be shown when there were gaps (yes - there used to be gaps!) between programmes.

We tend to watch mainly recorded stuff these days - I never watch the news though I do read it online. We can then choose something we know to be 'peaceful' if we need that - plus we can fast forward through the commercials. We've had some excellent art programmes here lately - Simon Schama did a series about portraiture through the ages, Lachlan Goudie did one on the history of Scottish art, and Sona Datta, a person new to me, did a really outstanding one called Treasures of the Indus. I believe she is an academic at Harvard. She's brilliant - almost as good as Schama, which is high praise from me.

As for music, I have started going sometimes to evensong at St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral here in Edinburgh. The choir is outstanding, the building is stunning - yet the average evensong congregation is about 10 - people don't know what they are missing; it is almost the equivalent of King's College, Cambridge, yet their services are packed out with locals and tourists almost every day. This has actually led me down a new path in life, in that I have just been asked if I would like a (very) part-time job in the cathedral office - I wasn't looking for a job, but it sounds like fun and the lady I would be working with is lovely. Isn't it amazing what life brings sometimes?

And now I must get on with writing about Book Week Scotland.

Rosemary

[Steph]

Hmm, traveling alone. It depends. It does not bother me in familiar territory, but overseas if I have not been there before, I am uncomfortable not knowing what an area might be like. I do still travel.. generally with a cousin..She and I are similar in personality, but she has been ill quite a bit lately.
Rosemary.. you do animal rescue?? so do i. although mine is generally only with Corgi..

[bellamarie]

You ladies have me laughing out loud.  As I am reading these recent posts I am imaging a book being written with our posts.  Oh how glorious it would be.  Ginny with her ghost dream, Rosemary going to hear evensong at St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Edinburgh, Barbara listening to her Christmas music - most of it is choral groups from the Cathedral groups in France and England while she knits, PatH. The Martian dealing mostly with the protagonist doing the arithmetic to figure out if he can grow enough potatoes to survive. and we can NOT leave out marjifay's ganster neighbors finally moving away taking their RVs, cat and trash with them, and I am headed to Barnes and Noble to do just as Ginny does sit and enjoy the books and ambiance and Christmas decorations, while Steph rescues her corgi, and for the record I would not be comfortable traveling alone either.  RosemaryKaye, I too am a writer and can you just see the humor in all of these posts meshed together?  Oh I just LOVE our Senior Learn discussion!  We simply are the best well traveled, diverse, intelligent, humorous, scary, artistic, etc., etc. group ever!  I look forward to each and every one of your posts daily.  What a treasure to possess. 

RosemaryKaye we simply love having you back, please stay around.  Is there a website link we can read your Book Week Scotland articles at? 

[Steph]

Oh BellaMarie,, you are so funny and true. We all try hard to communicate our wishes and ideas to all the rest of you, because we are a community of friends and want all of you to share our lives..

[rosemarykaye]

Hi Steph - no, I don't animal rescue personally, as at the moment I live in the two top floors of an Edinburgh tenement building with no private garden. Actually quite a few people round about do have dogs and they just get very organised about taking them out several times a day, but as there are 60 stairs up to my front door, I think it would be a bit impractical. Also I still have my Siamese cats, and they are too stuck in their ways to adapt to a new animal now. However, I do try to support the animal charities I know about, by sharing their posts on FB, etc and responding to some of their appeals. Some of the smaller charities seem to be especially good, I feel.

I am a terribly nervous traveller; I have no problem in running around Edinburgh, going to plays, concerts, etc by myself (usually for review purposes), eating in cafes by myself - but going away by myself, particularly to another country, would scare me a lot. I think I would need to go on an organised holiday. Even going to Paris last week - which was with my daughter and involves just one straightforward flight met by my husband at Charles de Gaulle, gave me a few sleepless nights.

Yes! I entirely agree about all our posts! I am always telling people how great this site is, and how interesting everyone's posts are. We all live such diverse lives, but I think if we all met up we would all get on like a house on fire. Have there been any more group meetings since the one in New York come years ago?

Bellamarie - I write bits and pieces for The Edinburgh Reporter, which is a local news/reviews/etc site - if you search that name it should come up. Don't feel obliged to though!

I think as we get older our lives seem to offer more and more scope for fiction - or maybe we are just better at recognising subject matter! As I'm sure I've said before, even when Barbara Pym went into a hospice at the end of her life, she immediately remarked 'Such rich material!' - she really loved observing the minutiae of life, and those are the very things that I find so entertaining and fascinating.

And now I'd better get on, make a cake and write a review of The Edinburgh Quartet - difficult, as my knowledge of classical music would fit on a postage stamp, but unfortunately I couldn't get anyone else to come with me, so I fear I may be trawling wikipedia for insights into Sibellius..

Rosemary

[Frybabe]

Rosemarye, I like Sibelius, but I am not sure I've heard any of his quartet pieces. I usually stick with orchestral music.

[Steph]

OK>. after hearing how we need Christmas stories, I was in a used book sale ( my passion) and boom.. There was a Wally Lamb ( who is a particular favorite of mine) and a Christmas story..Wish and Hopin.. Never heard of it, but the lady next to me also searching said she had read it and it was really funny, so there you go, I now have a Christmas story by a familiar author to read.. So there.

[BarbStAubrey]

hahaha I love it Steph - when you go after something you really do it up - now I need to look into this - I never knew Wally Lamb wrote a Christmas story- interesting.

[Jonathan]

I must look for Wally Lamb's Wish and Hopin. Steph, I share your passion for used book sales. I've spent many happy hours among 'Used Books' from Hay-on-Wye in England to San Fransisco. Even right here Toronto. And I've just come home with my Christmas Story find.

Stanley Weintraub's Silent Night, the story of the WWI Christmas Truce.

'In the early months of World War I, on Christmas Eve, men on both sides laid down their arms and joined in a spontaneous celebration. Despite orders to continue shooting, the unofficial truce spread across the front lines. Even the participants found what they were doing incredible: Germans placed candlelit Christmas trees on trench parapets, warring soldiers sang carols, and men on opposing sides shared food parcels from home. They climbed from the trenches to meet in "No Man's Land" where they buried  the dead, exchanged gifts, ate and drank together, and even played soccer.' (From the back cover.)

I've heard about it, and how it disturbed the officers. It was never allowed to happen again. How? Were all soldiers given Christmas leave the following year and sent home?

[PatH]

Pedln, I am honoured to be associated in your mind with Barbara Pym! In fact I was just re-reading A Glass of Blessings in bed last night; I never tire of her.
Rosemary

Rosemary, you're associated with Barbara Pym in the minds of many of us, since you were a part of our discovery of this subtle author.  By coincidence, I had recently bought A Glass of Blessings, and have only just started it.

[bellamarie]

Oh Jonathan, just reading these soldiers were able to come to a truce and share the festivities of Christmas makes we wonder how could they go back and began killing again after this?  Jesus is indeed the Prince of peace.   

[Steph]

Jonathan, I had read of the truce many times and wondered how true the story was. Will love to hear from you what they had to say..It sounds beautiful and sad at the same time and why in heavens names did the officers care.

[JoanK]

hey Rosemary!

[mabel1015j]

The man who invented the book as we know it

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/aldus-manutius-printing-typeface-typography-italics-venice-180956855/?utm_source=smithsoniantopic&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20151115-Weekender&spMailingID=23995491&spUserID=NzQwNDUzNjY5NzES1&spJobID=681479526&spReportId=NjgxNDc5NTI2S0

[Steph]

one of my daughter in laws were here this weekend, I pointed to my books that have been read and need exchanging or donating, etc and said.. do your best. She took them all.. I do laugh.

[rosemarykaye]

Hey JoanK! - how are you?

[Steph]

Oh my, the backlash from the attack in Paris are a bit on the odd side.. No Syrians in Florida.. Hmm, probably not possible. However in the same newspaper, I noted that the amount of foreign students in U.S. colleges has increased 10% last year.  I have a friend who is retired, but was a professor for many years. He says the money from the foreign students is a large portion of the budget in many smaller universities. I also note that our 9-11 attackers came as so called students. So possibly we need to really look hard at foreign students. and possibly make sure they are the right age for college, not mid 30's.. But the colleges wont like that.. It is popular to just make pronouncements, but not actually do anything.

[Frybabe]

I remember back when Desert Storm started while George and I were in college. We were staying in college housing for married graduate students. That year a lot of the foreign students were from the Middle East. In fact, our neighbors directly across the hall from us were from Lebanon. George told me that many of the foreign students tuitions were actually subsidized by the US (I didn't verify that, but I tend to believe George usually has his facts straight). At any rate, when Desert Storm broke out a dozen or more of the children of these foreign students ran around the housing yelling Death to All Americans (which, of course, they got from the TV).  You can imagine, I was not well pleased.

I am posting an article from Lehigh Valley Live  over on the Political Processes discussion group for anyone interested. Lehigh Valley encompasses, generally, the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton area of PA. This is the area where George and I went to college.

[rosemarykaye]

Most of our universities here in the UK are enrolling more and more foreign students simply because they can charge them whacking great fees.

Edinburgh seems at the moment to be very popular with the Chinese. St Andrew's is well known for high numbers of US students - I've probably already talked about the time my elder daughter & I went for a tour of St Andrew's; the group consisted of 2 American girls, a girl from Jersey (Channel Islands) and us. The admissions woman practically fell on her knees with joy when she saw the US applicants, she quite liked the girl from Jersey as the Channel Islanders have to pay English fees - then she turned to my daughter (who has straight As in everything, as it happens) and said 'Oh - you're from Scotland. Well it's going to be harder for you.' This from one of the oldest universities in Scotland. Anna was so annoyed that she didn't even apply there. Younger daughter and I, however, went to the open day at Dundee University School of Art recently - it was quite different, many more local students. It's neither pretty nor especially prestigious (though the art school is going from strength to strength) but we really liked it as it seemed so much more down to earth and practical (it also seemed to offer a lot more student support). Maybe it's not so well known to foreign students or maybe Dundee just doesn't appeal so much - I suppose if you are paying colossal overseas fees you want to go somewhere lovely.

Higher education establishments are, I suppose, stuck between a rock and a hard place. Their funding is cut and cut, but they are still expected to produce the results in terms of research and publications. The UK, like the US,  has long pushed its education system as one of its best selling points. I do think it's wonderful to have a mix of nationalities in colleges and universities, but I can see Frybabe's point too. Such a difficult one.