Fiction ~ Old ~ New ~ Best Sellers #2

[pedln]

This is the place to talk about the works of fiction you are reading, whether they are new or old, and share your own opinions and reviews with interested readers. Every week the new bestseller lists come out brimming with enticing looking books and rave reviews. How to choose?

Discussion Leader:  Judy Laird

Wheesh.  Am really behind here.  Two of my girls were here for a long weekend -- from New York and Seattle, and we just hung out and talked, talked, talked.

I should have taken notes here, (but have to get in the shower soon for the [daily] wash.  Am definitely going to look for the Paula Cohen books. Jane Austen in Boco sounds really good.

What I also definitely want to at least look at, Steph and PatH,  before i throw it at the wall, is the one about the whiny woman with the hearing aids and cochlear implant.  I would love a cochlear implant and was ready to get about about seven or eight years ago, had all the tests, etc. but also have a complication with artificial heart valve and coumadin and the surgeon was not inclined to do it. "Ask yourself how you'll feel when you have a stroke and are a vegetable the rest of your life.  Besides, you can still hear."  uh huh.  Sort of.  So, I love my aids and assorted assistive devices.  WHAT IS THE TITLE OF THE BOOK?

[JoanK]

GINNY: I was right: the plot of JA in Boca is straight "Pride and Prejudice." I think I have identified most of the characters with their Austen equivelants.

Will JA in Scarsdale be Persuasion? Sense and Sensability? I'll have to read it to find out.

I haven't gotten to the garden discussion yet. But I'm not a gardiner, so it'll go over my head. Mel shows up just in time to be the appropriate "Pride and Prejudice" figure.

[Tomereader1]

For mabel1015j (and all of us women and inveterate readers):  A must read is "The End of Your Life Book Club" by Will Schwalbe.  His mother is an assertive woman who has done things with her life, for others, that simply boggle the mind.  But at the same time she is a caring and sensitive person to everyone she meets.  It is heart-rending as she battles her pancreatic cancer, but never loses her spirit, her kindness, thoughtfulness.  As she and her son, Will, travel this road together, through their two-person "book club", they form a bond that, although it existed previously, is changed, deepened, as he learns more about her through the books they read together.  Mary Anne Schwalbe, a woman for all seasons, exhibiting bravery above and beyond the call of duty.  I would urge you to read this. In a six page Appendix, Will lists all the books and writers that appeared in this glorious book, and we should be thankful if we have read just a few of them.

[Steph]

There seems to be a couple as owners of the house, but he has never appeared, just a power of attorney.. She is only moving to Orlando, 25 miles away. She just kept giving excuses at the closing. With my schedule and the furniture getting picked up onFriday and my house closing on my own house on Monday, I am nailed. Brought back a bunch of stuff yesterday and will put it out for Friday collection.. I still need this horrible arrangement on top of the kitchen cabinets to be taken away and a very very large object called a dock box out of the garage. No time for a maid.. the floors are clean,etc, it is just the garage that is the mess.. and stuff in the kitchen. I thinkshe  moved and had a maid service come in and they messed up on the cabinet things and the fridge stuff. But the garage is a disgrace..I always leave my houses clean and tidy.. After the furniture guys leave n Friday, on Saturday I will come back and do the floors. I clean as I pack, so the fridge, stove, cabinets, mirrors are all done as I finish the room.
I feel very proud. Went to the cardio doctor yesterday for the evaluation after all the tests. He said I have excellent cardio vascular health.. To keep up the exercise and walking and come see him in 10 years.. Then he laughed and said he was sure the pain on my right side was a muscle pull, but it was fun meeting me. How nice from a young doctor..

[maryz]

Definitely  busy week for you, Steph.  Hugs!

[mabel1015j]

Tome - i read "End if Your Life......" w/ the discussion here.

[Tomereader1]

I'm so sorry...I hadn't realized it was discussed here.  How'd I miss that?  I would assume it is archived, so I'll go back and see the input. 

I really, really loved the book.

[pedln]

A quote from Helen Simonson, from her post on Facebook --  after a trip to Sussex.

Came home with a suitcase of teabags and a lot of good research for my second novel-in-progress. Happy spring to all.

I'm looking forward to her second novel, especially if it's as good as Major Pettigrew's Last Stand.

Tomereader, sorry you missed the discussion of Will Schwalbe's book, but you're right, it's definitely a must read.  And things still pop up about it.  Remember her concern about the journalist David Rohde, who had been kidnapped by the Taliban?  He was on Morning Joe today talking about his new book, Beyond War.

[ginny]

I have gotten three books now on the Catskill Mountain Resorts, and each one is better than the last. The  Richman is really good. It reveals that that photo I put up about the Tennannah Lake House is actually the  Sunset Lodge at the Tennanah Lake House and burned down in the 30's. There seem no photos of the larger (!)  Tennanah Lake House, it's gone. Like a memory.


The last of the books called it Happened in the Catskills, however, is full of documentation by the bus boys and valets, etc. and it's a treasure.  It also mentions another one I had forgotten: the Nevele. Just seeing that name brings back a world of memories.

In case anybody  thinks that the people here are exaggerating the celebrities who attended these places, here is a  partial l list, it's alphabetical, of the names I recognize, perhaps you know some of them too?

Joey Adams
Muhammad Ali
Woody Allen
Morey Amsterdam
Andrews Sisters
Paul Anka
Pearl Bailey
Lucille Ball
Gene Barry
William Bendix
Tony Bennett
Milton Berle
Leonard Bernstein
Lenny Bruce
Yul Brynner
Red Buttons
Sid Caesar
Sammy Cahn
Eddie Cantor
Vikki Carr
Wilt Chamberlain
Ezzard Charles
Ray Charles
Maurice Chevalier
Winston Churchill
Irving Cohen
Perry Como
Bill Cosby
Buster Crabbe
Billy Crystal
Vic Damone
Rodney Dangerfield
Sammy Davis Jr.
Doris Day
Marlene Dietrich
Joe DiMaggio
Jimmy Durante
Billy Eckstine
Totie Fields
Arthur Fielder
Eddie Fisher
Errol Flynn
Phil Foster
Connie Francis
Judy Garland
Mitzi Gaynor
Jackie Gleason
Robert Goulet
Cary Grant
Joel Grey
Buddy Hackett
Moss Hart
Peter Lind Hayes
Mary Healy
Charlton Heston
Hines, Hines, and Dad
Bob Hope
Lena Horne
Julio Iglesias
Georgie Jessel
Lyndon Johnson
Danny Kaye
Bobby Kennedy
Diane Keaton
Alan King
Henry Kissinger
Ralph Lauren
Jerry Lewis
Liberace
Jayne Mansfield
Rocky Marciano
Dean Martin
Tony Martin
Jackie Mason
Willie Mays
Anne Meara
Robret Merrill
Bette Midler
Liza Minelli
Zero Mostel
Edward R.  Murrow
Bess Meyerson
Clifford Odets
Robert Parker
Suzanne Pleshette
Elvis Presley
Juliet Prowse
Tito Puent4e
 Debbie Reynolds
Buddy Rich
Don Rickles
Ritz Brothers
Chita Rivera
Jackie Robinson
Sugar Ray  Robinson
Happy Rockefeller
Nelson Rockefeller
Rolling Stones
Led Zeppelin
Eleanor Roosevelt
Pete Rose
Lillian Roth
Nipsey Russell
Telly Savalas
Neil Sadaka
Phil Silvers
Frank Sinatra'
Red Skelton
Sam Snead
George Steinbrenner
Jerry Stiller
Leopold  Stokowski
Ed Sullivan
Three Stooges
Donald Trump
Sophie Tucker
Leslie Uggams
Jerry Vale
Bobby Vinton
Lawrence Welk
Woodrow Wilson
Henny Youngman
Babe Didrikson Zaharias

That was some place, once upon a time.

[Frybabe]

Well, if Davis, Jr., Sinatra and Martin were there, Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford must have been around somewhere.

Speaking of---- I just found out that they were not the original Rat Pack. The original included Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Lauren Bacall, Sid Luft, Humphrey Bogart, Swifty Lazar, Nathaniel Benchley, David Niven, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, George Cukor, Cary Grant, Rex Harrison, and Jimmy Van Heusen. Now that was a big colony of rats.

[rosemarykaye]

David Niven?  I'm amazed!

[Steph]

Pedlin, the hearing book is packed, but as soonas I get in the new house and unpack, will get it up here. It is a very odd book, since so much of it concerns how very very hard she tried to conceal her hearing problems. She simply did not want to appear old, which strikes me as foolishness.

[ginny]

Sid Luft was there.

I left off a lot of people that I thought perhaps nobody would know. Let's rephrase that, whom I did not know.  hahahaa That's better.

JoanK, really? Pride and Prejudice? I told you I was too ignorant to read that book, I'm amazed!

I guess I need to get  out Pride and Prejudice again. I am really enjoying Boca. She's right, too, when she says time  at a retirement center moves differently than it does elsewhere. I think that's true of aging, too. She's not a gardener but she's got a lot of great things to say.  MEL, however, is ringing all kinds of  bells with me. Really enjoying the book, so far and won't spoil it for others.

You can put it down, you can pick it back  up, and still enjoy it with a lot going on in your own life, just like Mabel (Jean) said.

Maybe you would like it, after all,  Rosemary,

[mabel1015j]

I thought Shirley McClain was part of the original rat pack, but maybe she came later.

I'm not going to comment about Mel, i don't want to spoil anything for those of you reading at the moment or later. 

Are you watching the dedication of the George W. Bush Library? It's wonderful to see all the past presidents and their wives together. I believe George W may be becoming as sentimental as his father, he seemed to be swallowing tears when Laura made her statements about him. And how nice to see Barbara Bush and Barack Obama chuckling together. Condolezza Rice did a yeowoman's job pronoucing all those foreign leaders names. I would have declined that job! . The former presidents are starting to speak, this should be interesting.

[JoanP]

We've sent Judy a card from all of us at SeniorLearn.  If you would like to have her address to send her a personal note, email me and we'll send it on to you.  Difficult time for Judy.

[kidsal]

Catskills -- the movie "Dirty Dancing" was set in a resort in the Catskills.  The card games, contests, performances by guests, dances.  One of my favorite actors Jerry Orbach of Law and Order fame.

[Frybabe]

Shirley MacLaine was associated with the 1960's version of the Rat Pack as were several other actresses, including Angie Dickenson. The 60s version of the Rat Pack is the one I remember. According to Wikipedia this newer version never called themselves Rat Pack; they called themselves The Summit or The Clan. The press and "outsiders" called them Rat Pack.

I was thinking of reading The Misremembered Man by Christina McKenna. It looks interesting, but some of the reviewers say there is a lot of profanity in the book that spoiled it somewhat for them.

[JeanneP]

Most people are right when they say that we bath to often and shampoo way to much.
Hard to break the habbit...Just jump out of bed, into shower hair and everything. If you have hard water it is hard on skin.

Now In Uk. Ireland and even got it in France.  I love the hotels that do not have your own bath. Just toilet and sink.  They spoil me.  You give a time for you bath. They run the water.  Heat the towels. Some even have a heated bathrobe ready and waiting. Found one in Wales just a couple years ago.  Great.

[Steph]

I am the opposite, I want my shower in my room. some B and B's have it down the hall. and I do hate walking down the hall in a strange place in my bathrobe.

[rosemarykaye]

We once booked into what turned out to be a ghastly hotel in Aberdeen (before we moved there) - the room description said 'room with shower' - and that's what it turned out to be, a room in the middle of which was one of those plastic freestanding shower cubicles.  No wash-hand basin, no loo.  Dreadful.  Welcome to Aberdeen, where even the tackiest boarding house can get away with charging horrendous prices, thanks to the oil industry effect.

Rosemary

[ginny]

hahaha! Love it!

I can sing the song of "authentic"  English places to stay, B&B's, self catering, all such an adventure, but the shower room of Aberdeen beats them all.  hahahaa

I came in to say I finished Boca and enjoyed it, I wish there were a sequel (is there, Mabel?) because you find yourself caring for the protagonists and wanting to see what happens to them. I did download Pride and Prejudice and for some reason can't read it in e format. I  have a terrible time reading fiction on an ereader, I don't know what it is, I want that book and that feel of a book.

The only thing I can read on an e reader is non fiction. I can't understand why.

At any rate, thwarted with Pride and Prejudice, (I'll pick one up Thursday when I go to B&N) I am reading Debbie Reynold's Unsinkable biography and a life (the unauthorized life) of Liberace, which is coming out as a film  on HBO. I did not know he was a twin. Like Elvis Presley the other twin died, this one was stillborn while Liberace was 13 pounds!

Imagine!

I watched some HBO footage of Liberace, in fact I watched many of his bits on YouTube. I can see what the fascination was for him, especially among elderly women:  he was handsome, sweet, and talented. Very talented.  Paderewski is mentioned more than once, sort of his mentor. It's actually fascinating. How could anybody tho have not known he was gay? I guess back then it wasn't something spoken of much.

He played a Bluthner grand piano, their prices are available on the internet. The Grands start at somewhere around $50,000 and go up to over 115,000.  I don't believe other than on the film of him, I've ever heard one.

[ginny]

Rosemary, I know you know Cambridge. I have an adult  student who is going there this summer with her husband, a professor, and has asked me for recommendations on accommodations. She's been given a list of hostels but says actually she would like a few mod cons, (they really are travelers and  spend half the year in  Australia where he's from) and I thought to ask you, as I have visited but not stayed in Cambridge, and really know nothing about it.  Is there a place to stay there which you would recommend?

[rosemarykaye]

Ginny - I haven't ever stayed in a hotel there - on our most recent visit we booked guest rooms in my old college - not luxurious, but fun for the girls.  I will investigate - I'm sure there are some very nice places there now.  My husband has some good old friends who still live there, so they should be able to advise, and I'll get back to you asap.

I hope they're not going in graduation week, as the place will be packed to the gills.

Rosemary

[rosemarykaye]

Ginny - re Liberace, don't you think all those middle-aged lady fans of his knew full well he was gay?  I think many middle-aged women like men like him because they are usually very nice to them (the gay men to the women, that is) but there is no threat of sexual involvement or harassment.

Reminds me of a line in one of Alan Bennett's books - he said that when older ladies say, of their dear departed husbands, 'he was kind', they mean 'he didn't press me for sex.'  I don't know if that's true!

Rosemary

[MaryPage]

I think when David & I stayed in Cambridge in 1971, the place was called The Blue Boar.  But maybe that was just a place we ate and I remember the name.  The journal I kept is in my granddaughter's hands for posterity, so cannot tell you for sure.  Besides, that was a very long time ago!
Whatever, we did adore Cambridge.  I associate it with wonderful bookstores, too.  Bought simply heaps of books while we were in Britain, and had them all sent to me.  Every single one of them arrived safe and sound.  Are they still such excellent shopkeepers there in the UK?
As for Liberace, never liked him much, but was fascinated with his swishiness and his clothing.
As for "gay" men, I do entirely believe we women are usually attracted strongly to them as "safe" male friends.  Know this is most certainly true of me.  As the old, much quoted and hated line goes, "some of my best friends have been homosexuals!"
Well dang it anyway, it is true.  True! True! True!  And still is.  So what is wrong with my saying that?  Is it supposed to indicate I really have some sort of bias against them?  Not so!
I almost always totally adore gay men.  Every once in a while, you do meet one with a personality you cannot stand.  Same as with any other group.

[ginny]

Oh thank you, Rosemary, that's very kind of you.

On Liberace,  you may have it, he was more like a maven than a threatening man:  he was sweet, he defined that outrageous costume thing for all time. .I watched the youtube  where he comes out in his white fur, having worn it to visit the Queen, he was like an outre girlfriend,  really, he reminds me of...Edna? Who is the male impersonator? Dame Edna,  but much sweeter. He didn't impersonate anything tho, but himself.

Mr. Showmanship. I'm trying to think who did this type of act before Liberace, tho, like him? Was there anybody?

[BarbStAubrey]

I wonder if he saw Mae West and said to himself, why not...!

[Steph]

Liberace... I always think..OVER THE TOP.. But I suspect he had great fun.

[pedln]

I heard a story about Liberace, but don't know that it is true or not.  He grew up in Milwaukee and his parents were on welfare.  So years later, when he was performing in Milwaukee his earnings were charged for the the welfare expenses, supposedly either by the city or the state.

[kidsal]

A film is now in production about the life of Liberace.  Michael Douglas will play the role.

[Steph]

I cannot see Michael Douglas as Lee.. That's different, Mr. Macho as Mr. Gay.. Oh well , movie star egos are sky high.

[BarbStAubrey]

Well Michael Douglas does have the hair -  - but then maybe he will pull it off - the mark of a good actor is like Daniel Day Lewis caricaturization of Lincoln.

[MaryPage]

I did not think it was possible to charge a child for something the state gave his/or/her parents!
Good gosh, at that rate any one of us could be served to pay a bill for our parents taxes, stay in hospital, or ANYthing!  I mean to say, mine are long time dead and gone, and owed no one, and never needed any handouts.  BUT the principle here is, I thought no child could ever be held responsible for their parents debts or public welfare handouts.

[jane]

I didn't think so either, MaryPage. 

[pedln]

I just found this Milwaukee Journal article from 1982.  You may have to do some page manuevering to see it all.

Liberace and welfare

[Frybabe]

Holy cow! I wonder if it is still law and if there is a statute of limitations. I am assuming that since it was "family" assistance that this guy felt justified in requesting the money back, either that or he wanted some attention.

[BarbStAubrey]

Sometimes I think green eyes get the better of some folks and they find a legal way to satisfy their concept of fairness regardless that a taxpayer is hoping welfare is more like a fish hook than a fish and finally they can point to someone who used the hook to become a cultural icon.

[Steph]

Amazing how things can reach out and bite you.. Finally got my dogs to at least consider this as home..But they are not happy campers just yet. Sigh.

[jane]

I wonder if he went after the children of everyone who might have received some assistance in 1930 and the other years of the Depression?  I can understand if the Dept. had tried to get back money from the parents, if they'd had the means...but I still can't believe it would be legal to demand it from the children.  

EDIT:
I did an internet search and found that in 2011 in California they were going after children to pay for overpayment of welfare to parents...even if the child hadn't been born yet!

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2011/12/05/welfare-recipients-children-being-forced-to-make-parents-payments/

[JeanneP]

Now are you talking about Family being responsible for repaying what overpayment of welfare to Parents even if their children grown up and gone. I didn't think that could be done anymore than if grown children get over paid by welfare then their older parents can be made to reimburse the state.