Maggie1944 begins anew, again: January .... 2014

Ok, I'm staking my claim to a thread for the new year but I'm going to finish the 2013 books first.

I will be reading one book a month for my real life book group made up of LT people, and some others. I will be reading the books for Mark's monthly author challenge, too. And then, I will be reading books I own. Oh, my! I've been a part of LT since 6/14/07. So, this year's Thingaversary will be 7 big wonderful rewarding years. Oh, how time flies.

Welcome back!

Karen - Nice to see you staking out the place so early. xx

Oh my goodness the joint is jumpin'! Stand back, revelers, the party done arrived with Karen44 here.

Thx

Hi Karen!

Starred for reading in 2014!

Welcome, Morphidae, and Diana. *lifts a glass of sparkling apple cider* here's to a great reading year in 2014!

Apple cider, sparkling or not, sounds perfect for today.

Yup!

Snagging a seat for 2014!

Hi Karen!! I have you starred!! Best of luck in 2014!!

Hi Karen. I see you're starting your 2014 thread early. :-)

I'm looking forward to another stellar reading year, and particularly looking forward to our meet-up in Portland in early February. And RL Book Club, of course! Which reminds me, I must dig into The Good Earth, which is sitting on my bedside table.

I am a little bit over 50% finished with it. I am going to confess I find it to be a bit tedious. I am sure "in the day" it was quite unusual, and was eye opening for many but now it seems like old story to me. The style is interesting, though.

Hot apple cider would be luverly...

I just nabbed an ARC of the recently discovered "last novel" by Pearl Buck, The Eternal Wonder. I'm a bit nervous about how well that has held up, too. There are three of her novels I'll still happily re-read: Imperial Woman, about the last Empress of China, Tzu Hsi, Kinfolk, set in the brief interregnum between WW2 and the 1949 communist takeover, and Pavilion of Women, which seems to be set sometime in the 1910s/1920s. The others? Not so much -- they feel dated.

Marking my place, Karen, and hoping to do a better job of following your reading in 2014.

Hey maggie :)

Popping by to say hi!

Karen- I am looking forward to another wonderful year on LT. And I am looking forward to finally meeting you in a few weeks. Sounds like there is some buzz brewing on the Portland Meet-up. What a way to kick off the year!

Jennifer, thanks for popping in to say hey! The more the merrier.

Mark, I'm working my schedule. I have a all clear from the Niece. I will have a four day weekend, and will drive back in time to do the kid duty on Wednesday. Is there a thread specific to this Meet-Up that I've missed seeing?

Good to see you up and running, Karen. A four day weekend sounds great. Hope you're re-acclimating after your adventures in Hawaii.

It does seem quite too cold here I have to say. I need to dress more warmly for the dog walking; or exercise more so my blood cares warmth to all my bits and pieces. The hot tub tomorrow is an excellent idea, I think.

Shall we order some of that Aussie heat & send it your way ...... am sure they won't miss it for a couple of days

I'm "stealing" Suzanne's (Chatterbox's) list of World War I books in hopes of adding many of them to my reading.

1. The Beauty and the Sorrow by Peter Englund
2. The Final Whistle by Arthur Ellis
3. The Cartographer of No Man's Land by P.S. Duffy
4. The Archduke's Assassination by Greg King
5. The Unending Vigil by Philip Longworth
6. The Ways of the World by Robert Goddard
7. *The Great War and Modern Memory by Paul Fussell
8. *The Missing of the Somme by Geoff Dyer
9. Vimy by Pierre Berton
10. Roses of No Man's Land by Lyn Macdonald
11. Death's Men by Denis Winter
12. Undertones of War by Edmund Blunden
13. Sites of Memory, Sites of Mourning by Jay Winter
14. Peacemakers by Margaret MacMillan
15. *Night Shall Overtake Us by Kate Saunders
16. The Wars by Timothy Findley
17. The First Casualty by Ben Elton
18. The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West
19. *Regeneration by Pat Barker
20. Rising Above the Ruins in France by Corinna Haven Putnam
21. At Break of Day by Elizabeth Speller
22. Singled Out by Virginia Nicholson
23. Dead Man's Land by Robert Ryan

Any one else have some suggestions? The 100 year anniversary of the Great War give me an opportunity to dip into history I have largely ignored.

I also think I will need to spend some time, after I finish my 36th book for 2013, writing down the lists of books I've committed myself to reading in 2014. But no rush....

I'm going to be giving some thought to WWI books as well, but haven't quite got there yet! If I've got time this afternoon I'll be looking through my current books and seeing what fits in with this theme.

Hi Karen. As promised, starred you and keeping in touch! Thanks to you and Chatterbox for the WWI list.

# 13, 15 - My first read in 2013 was Dragon Seed by Pearl Buck. I had never heard of it but saw it at my library store and bought it for $1. I enjoyed it very much. I loved The Good Earth when I read it many years ago. She wrote a book about the Good Earth sons all grown up which I tried to read but it was definitely tedious in my opinion and I gave it up. Don't remember the name of it. And if anyone is interested, I thought the Hilary Spurling biography was excellent.

Looking forward to a great year of reading with you all.

Rhian, and Mary, welcome.

Karen, a few more WWI books:

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Under Fire by Henri Barbusse
Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves
Parades End by Ford Madox Ford
Death of a Hero by Richard Aldington
The Enormous Room by EE Cummings
Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
Three Soldiers by John Dos Passos
The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hasek
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemmingway
Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain
A Very Long Engagement by Sebastien Japrisot
Memoirs of an Infantry Officer by Siegfried Sassoon
Ashenden by W. Somerset Maugham
The Donkeys by Alan Clark
The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman
Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
Fly Away Peter by David Malouf
Gossip from the Forest by Thomas Keneally
In Parenthesis by David Jones
An Ice Cream War by William Boyd
World's End by Upton SInclair
A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin
A Long, Long Way by Sebastian Barry
War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
The World Crisis by Winston Churchill
Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger
War Memoirs by David Lloyd George
Seven Pillars of Wisdom by TE Lawrence

plus too many other great histories of the conflict to mention

OH! Thank you so very much. There are several there which have caught my eye formerly, and now may be the time! I have read Birdsong and liked it very much. Read The Good Soldier Svejk when I was at the University of Washington and was totally baffled by it. Too young to be reading it, by half. Loved War Horse. And I wonder if I could even find my way through The Seven Pillars of Wisdom.

We shall see...

Hi Karen- Glad you got caught up on my old thread and yes, you may count it as a book. I wasn't planning on doing a Meet-up thread but if someone else wants to...
And yes, if you think of anyone else that might want to venture into Portland, spread the word. The more, the merrier.

I second the nomination of All Quiet on the Western Front. I read it for the first time this past year, and it's powerful.

Happy New Year, Karen! Looking forward to once again following your reading adventures and canine adventures in 2014.

Amber, thanks for that recommendation. It certainly is well known as a classic. I definitely will take a look at it.

Thank you, Julia, I will be sure to keep you all up dated on the progress of the pups. They are doing a great job just now keeping me moving. No fenced yard means I have to walk them. Once before breakfast, just after waking, and then once after breakfast. Then once or twice during the day so they do not have to stay stuck in my car all day. And then once when we just get home and once after dinner. Some are longer walks than others. Some, like first thing in the AM, are just out the door and do your thing.

ha ha ha

Happy New Year!

Thanks for the reminder about the anniversary of the start of WWI. I have a number of books in my collection about the war which are from a British or Canadian perspective as I am researching family who fought from both of those areas. Some of them are not included on your list. They are:

Shots from the Front by Richard Holmes (mainly photos)
First World War Britain by Peter Doyle
Home Front 1914-1918: How Britain Survived the Great War by Ian Beckett
Brave Battalion by Mark Zuehlke
Canadians at War: a Guide to the Battlefields of World War I by Susan Evans Shaw
Fight or Pay: Soldiers' Families in the Great War by Desmond Morton
Tapestry of War by Sandra Gwyn
It Made You Think of Home by Bruce Cane
Back to the Front by Stephen O'Shea
A Storm in Flanders by Winston Groom
Battles of WWI by Martin Marix Evans
A Brief History of the Royal Flying Corps in World War I by Ralph Barker
No Graves as Yet by Anne Perry

Now that I have listed them all maybe I should start to read them in 2014 as well to mark the anniversary. So many books, so little time!

Thank you so much, FamilyHistorian. It will be interesting to read of others journey through the books this coming year. Do you have a thread for 2014 yet?

Meg, I found a link to it on your profile page. Yay!

Hi Karen, I am hoping to be more active on many more threads this year because this time I am starting from the beginning of the year. I only started on the 75 book challenge part way through last year and it was a bit overwhelming.

So, I mistook the link to the group on your profile page as a link to your individual thread. I'm still wondering if you have started an individual thread. I find having my own thread gives me an anchor, and when I can't read and post in all the threads I might be curious about, I just go post in mine and read the comments others leave there. That way I am satisfied with a small amount of time spent when that is all I can do.

Hi Karen--I'm hoping to keep up with your thread better this year. When do you get to move into your new (old) digs?

If there is an upcoming meetup in Portland, I might be able to go. I've only been to Powell's once, and it would be fun to go again, and meet some LT folks.

To lure you away from this silly hanging-on to 2013

Hi Karen, I'm starring you so I can more easily find your thread. I find this to be a very gregarious group and unless I star threads I want to follow, I lose them very quickly.

Hi Karen, you can find my thread here http://www.librarything.com/topic/162917

Now that I have decided I am finished with reading in 2013 I have started Death Comes for the Archbishop for Mark's American Authors Challenge. I love Willa Cather and I think this one will be fun. It is starting out in a way which delights me.

Here is the rest of the AAC plan:

My plans are as follows, and are tentative, of course: (edited when Faulkner was moved to February) Now, that I think about it.... less days to be with William? Too short a month to finish a tough book? hmmmm

January will be Willa Cather - Death Comes for the Archbishop ($2.99 for Nook; $4.39 for the Kindle)

February will be William Faulkner - I think I'll try A Light in August as it seems to be more accessible than others of his books.

March will be Cormac McCarthy - All The Pretty Horses (9.99 for Kindle, 11.99 for Nook)

April will be Toni Morrison - Beloved seems like a book I've been wishing for - or maybe The Bluest Eye

May Eudora Welty - short stories perhaps as recommended by … someone

June Kurt Vonnegut - I loved Cat's Cradle and may need to read it again

July Mark Twain - I already have a copy of the Autobiography of Mark Twain on my Kindle; will read, perhaps, only parts of it

August - Philip Roth - I also have a copy of Exit Ghost on my Kindle

September will be James Baldwin - Giovanni's Room

October will be Edith Wharton - House of Mirth for free on Kindle

November will be John Updike - The Witches of Eastwick

December Larry Watson - Montana 1948

Whew. I may have some shopping to do. Luckily, I have not yet spent my Christmas gift cards at Amazon, although I've been trying.

You have quite the reading plan for this year! Good luck! And hey, if it means you have to go book shopping, well... :D

Wondering if you saw that Chatterbox has started a thread for WWI reads for the year:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/163004

I'd so love to come to the meetup in Portland. It's about the same distance as Seattle for me. But, the mountain passes can be downright scary that time of year, and it's harder to get horse feeding help in the winter, too, so I guess I will think hard about it for a bit.

Thank you, Janet, I had missed that. I am going to jump in there, too, along with the American Authors Challenge, and my RL book group, and now WW1. When will I have time to be spontaneous? Ha ha ha All the time, just like the usual.

I am going to start by reding Maisie Dobbs along side of Death Comes for the Archbishop, and The DASH Diet Weight Loss Solution. There are others waiting on the table, too. And even more in boxes. Oh, me, oh, my!

Uh oh, the lists of WWI books is getting looooong. I'm also going to jump in on the thread as I'd like to mix some of these in with my reading this year. And I have no idea where to start. Pat Barker I know (and would like to do a re-read of Regeneration and, of course, Tuchman's Guns of August, but the rest are largely unfamiliar.

Ellen, I've read Birdsong and The Zimmermann Telegraph and recommend them both. The first is quite lyrical and delightful in parts, but also brutal in its description of the war. The latter is brief, and interesting, slice of the diplomacy and "schnanigans" (to use a Mamie word) prior to, and contributing to, the war. It is a nice reminder of how well Barbara Tuchman writes.

I am starting off reading Maisie Dobbs. (kind of like watching Downton Abbey, I think)

Happy New Year, Karen! I read somewhere that you won't be able to make it to the Portland meetup. I'm sorry I won't get to meet you but hopefully another time.

Yes, it is true. That weekend I must organize moving back into my house, which had been rented out. I do not know yet which day will be my first day in the new house but I know that I need to be organized to go to work the following Monday...

Empty two storage units and see the POD placed in my driveway.

Whew

We will have to do it again. Portland is too close for us not to see it often!

Karen - You are the personification of 40+ cool. Cherish your friendship and all the kind and friendly contributions you make on my thread and elsewhere in the group.

Have a wonderful 2014, special lady.

Hi Karen, Happy New Year. I look forward to seeing what the new year brings to you.

I did it! I "de-starred" almost all of my threads which I've followed in 2013. And now I just need to keep up with those I've starred for 2014. Whoo hoo. Happy New Year, indeed.

Happy New Year, Karen! I hope your move goes smoothly.

Thank you, so much. I am looking forward to settling in again.

Debbi joins me in wishing you a Happy New Year, Karen!

Back at you both, and more to spill over to Sherlock, and Sherlock's companion, that good looking young lady which I believe might be related to you and Deb?

Ha! Thanks, Karen. Yes, the beauteous Becca thank goodness takes after her mom. Young Sherlock is a boon companion indeed. Both send New Year's greetings and best wishes in return.

Happy new year, Karen. I've redone my star list as well, but if previous patterns hold, I'll be adding more and more stars, until the whole plan comes undone! Ah well, the more, the merrier. Here's wishing you a year of good reading, and an easy move-in.

Ah ha! found and starred you Karen! Good luck with all of your reading plans!

Welcome Judy, and Lynda! A new year with a multiplicity of stars. Oh, joy! Death Comes for the Archbishop has started out very nicely. I hope to make some significant progress in it today, but it depends on how well the kids entertain themselves with Christmas toys.

You are starred! Happy reading!

Happy new year, Karen.

I've been a fan of Books on the Nightstand since the beginning. I'm considering attending Booktopia Asheville, a short drive for me. Katie Krug says you have been to previous booktopias. Have you found them worthwhile? Worth the cost? I would value your opinion. Thanks.

June

Thanks June. I'll answer about Booktopia in a PM. Happy New Year and lots of good books back at you! (paraphrasing Ellen, TV diva)

Here's another star for you, Karen. I am loving all these lists of WWI books. I am terribly underread on that subject and will happily get caught up, starting with the few that I already own. I hope you have a year of memorable books.

I found you!

I am on my way back to Alabama and stopped in a coffee shop and decided to take a look at the LT threads. I wondered why the posts were so old and finally figured out that maybe moving to 2014 would help. I hope I didn't miss anything important while I was out of touch?

I am going to try to read the last two books in the Regeneration trilogy this spring, but started on The Short Life and Long Times of Mrs. Beeton this last week. I am also deep into reading Coco Chanel: An Intimate Life and was surprised to find out how much there as about WWI in that book. I left Guns of August with my Dad and hope that while he is ill he will find a longer attention span to really get into that book. It made my best of 2013 reading list. Time to hit the road again so will check in with you later tonight.

I too have to unstar all the 2013 lists and get moved over to 2014. I feel like I missed out on lots, but will get back into the swing of things.

January is always a bit of a challenge, isn't it? I think this weekend I will spend 1/2 my time reading books, and the other 1/2 reading threads.....

smiling, I am !

What a great reading plan you have for the year, Karen. I'm impressed and also envious. I'm always anxious when I put a reading plan together, if only because I know I'll eventually stop following it and read at whim. I am, however, putting The Song of the Lark aside to be read for January's American Authors challenge.

So, I'm relatively sure I'll read some other stuff, too. How can I not when I read all these threads, with all these excellent books being talked about, and the occasional excellent review written by people who's judgment I trust. No Amazon reviews for me, no sireee!

In any case, no need to be envious. We all do what we do and happy for it.

Thanks for the recommendations, Karen. I'll investigate Birdsong and The Zimmerman Telegraph. We've been re-watching season 2 of Downton Abbey in anticipation of season 4. It's kept me from getting in as much reading as I might have liked these first days of the new year.

I just was thinking about Downton Abbey. This weekend....yes? I hope I remember to watch it.

Tragedy at the kids house today: middle child, Logan, aged 8, threw a dart with a magnet on the end of it at a friend of his brother's (aged 12ish), and the _target ducked, and the metal magnet hit the big big big TV screen. It shut off instantaneously. And has not come back on. And there's a star crack in the screen. It is probably toast.

He cried, and cried, and cried. He knows he and probably his bigger bro are in BIG trouble tonight. And this is after the friend also put his radio controlled airplane on the neighbor's roof. One might as...what was there caregiver doing? (blush)

I was reading threads no doubt. I might be in trouble, too.

I did offer that they could borrow my TV (in storage) until they can afford to replace the busted one. oh, my!

>73 maggie1944:: Oops!

Just whizzing through, Karen, now I've finally found you (thanks to your link on Amber's thread) and there are so many posts. Dropping by to belatedly wish you and your family the best of health and happiness for the New Year.

Oh dear, Karen, a traumatic day for everyone it sounds like! I hope it all comes out OK.

I called at about 6:30 pm to see if Logan was still alive, and if he had his skin. Yes, alive, and yes, still in skin. The family was out shopping for a new TV! OMG. That kid did not experience the natural consequence of having no TV at least for more than a couple three hours. Sigh.

I am sure he was in trouble, but can't do without TV. Alright. Just my opinion. I'm not the parents so I'll just shut up now.

I am looking forward to life settling down now after the holidays. My time with the kids is cut back to the two hours in the mornings while I get them off to school. I need to go to the clinic and have my glasses checked and perhaps adjusted. I still am not reading with ease and I really need to solve this problem. Then! I can read happily.

Thank you for the stars and for stopping by. I so enjoy the social nature of this site. And appreciate being able to watch others reading and talk about books! Happy New Year of Reading!

Good luck with the glasses Karen. xx

Kids. Well, at least no living body was hurt. I thought that was where your story was heading, Karen, and I read with bated breath. It's good to know that a magnetic dart can bring down a TV. Glad the kids survived.

Wow to the TV catastrophe! But at least, as Donna rightly points out, it hit the TV and not the boy! Kids, eh? And yeah, I think at Scaife Manor, if Charlie pulled such a stunt, there would be no TV for a good long while, and when it did get replaced, a line would be entered in the debit column for his future allowance! Tomm and I are firm believers in Charlie 'experiencing' the consequences of his actions...

Yes. Paul, it is true that I am feeling very frustrated with the vision thing. I think early next week I am going in to talk to the clinic. And I think I must begin to look at Audio.

Donna, yup, kids are all healthy. And as I said to the oldest kid, "everyone who is an adult today had something happen to them when they were kids which was very hard to admit to the parents." Everyone! They will live. And probably live to laugh about it, but not today.

>81 maggie1944:, As an adult who once shoved her younger sister and caused a chain reaction that resulted in our father's bought-in-Germany Black Forest cuckoo clock falling from the second to the first floor and shattering on the ground, I can attest to the truth of that statement.

How are you liking Maisie Dobbs? I thought the first book was rather weak, but the second (Birds of a Feather) is my hands down favorite of the series.

Well, at least the child was horror struck at what had happened -- even if the consequences weren't long-lasting. I'm with Amber in that denying TV for a longer period of time would have driven home the message, but then, I'm not the one that has to maintain a level of sanity in a household with several small children. In the "olden days", working on the family farm would have soaked up some excess energy, but these days, even outdoor play is limited for safety reasons. I used to be able to go pretty much everywhere by myself, certainly from the age of 9 or so onward, and went for long solo bike rides starting when I was 11 or 12. In today's "play date" world, that's tough to do. So, TV becomes a solution, I suppose...

Ugh, massive empathy re glasses. I'm so lucky that at nearly 52, the only vision issue I'm facing is the inability to read tiny print (like activation codes on Amazon gift cards... which could be a real problem!!) Mostly, I can work around it, though.

All caught up and like others of an elder time, APPALLED at the TV contretemps.

Yay for only having a couple of hours a day to watch over the kids! More reading time, once the vision issues are sorted out.

Yes. Reading time!! Yay.

Yikes! I wonder what caused the failure. I don't think the dart would have hit hard enough to do the damage. THe magnet must have induced some kind of short that locally heated the screen. Hmmm more research is in order... Now where did I put those darts??

Well. I'm glad no one was hurt but can join you in a bit of chagrin that the kids didn't have to, oh, I don't know, maybe read to entertain themselves for a week or two? Ah well.

Downton Abbey, season 4, starts tomorrow night at 9pm on our local PBS station. Supported by Conrad Prebys and Debbie Turner, Donald and Darlene Shiley, and Viewers Like You.
:-)

I hope you got out with your camera today!

Ah! The plasma screen was hit hard enough that the impact broke both the front glass and the glass behind the plasma (as I however imperfectly understand it). Can not be fixed at any reasonable price. Sad. Mom and Dad found a replacement which is workable for less than $1000. Kids will maybe even forget that they didn't have their man cave TV screen for a few hours in the early days of 2014. We'll see.

Nope, did not make it out with the camera. Had a tired, and restful, morning. Tried to read a bit. Got started on Audible.com as an alternative to working the eyes. As of t his morning I've finished listening to two chapters of The Guns of August, and once I've unpacked I'll be able to dip into my hard copy of this book, too.

I also am continuing to chip away at Death Comes for the Archbishop which I'm finding to be a bit odd. There doesn't seem to be a "story" but just a description of the southwest and what it might be like to be a Catholic priest, and archbishop. Fascinating.

Today, I'll probably do more of the same although I probably will try to do a little HOA business, too. But really things are way more laid back and I'm appreciating that!

I'm reading Death Comes for the Archbishop right now too, and I agree that is doesn't really have an overarching story arc. Each chapter is its own story, and the chapters in each "book" are related, but there isn't an overall conflict going on. I still really like it, but not as much as My Antonia, which is still my favourite Cather novel.

Yes, I agree that I am enjoying it. I am not familiar with the southwest region of the USA and I love the descriptions both of the country and the people. I, too, loved My Antonia and as that was definitely more of a story I was looking for something similar. In that sense I was disappointed, but don't call it fatal.

As soon as I finish with A Cupboard Full of Coats and The Good Earth, I'm going to get started on My Antonia.

The trick with Death Comes for the Archbishop is that it starts in the middle of the actual story. The plotline becomes clearer as the novel goes on, but a lot of it is just Latour wandering through the Southwest trying to achieve his goals and the various things that happen to him along the way.

cool

I read My Antonia in November and liked it. I found it to be a very accurate description of homesteading in my part of the world. I also thought it was sad but uplifting and loved the spotlight on women who did so much of the work of homesteading.

I like accurate depictions of "settling the old west" too even when "west" mean West Virginia, or Ohio. Homesteading was such a huge adventure I am sure there are more stories than we can imagine, or read, in a life time of the 21st Century.

Have a wonderful weekend, Karen!

*waving* at Karen

Diana, thank you. I hope it will be full of wonder... I wonder when I will get to packing up, and moving up to my house (renters told me they are moving out on Jan. 25-26, and I can move in the afternoon of the 26th). I wonder if I can do my laundry while babysitting at the niece's on Saturday (she's going to a party for watching the Seahawks epic play off game!) I wonder how long it will be before I decide what bed I want... need to have one In Place by evening of the 26th. I'd better get down to IKEA on Sunday, I guess. Wonderful days!

ha ha ha

Seriously, thank you for your good wishes.

Stasia, so nice to see you around in the threads!

>98 maggie1944:: Well, if you have to do laundry, don't forget the long tongs. Best of luck with the moving. It's always fun to go to a new place; but it takes me forever to put things exactly where I want them.

I love big brass beds, but know that is not everybody's cup of tea. One of those modern looking platform beds wouldn't be bad either.

I have been thinking that I would put my name on the waiting list for Boulder. I haven't done so yet, but was thinking I would.

Wouldn't you want to have the house cleaned before moving in? I know I would!

1. Laundry: yes, having the Reacher, as we call it, would be very smart. I'll do that. BTW, the place where I am moving is not "new". It is the place I lived before I moved to my niece's neighborhood to take care of her kids. So, I'm moving "back home" in a way. Yay. I have some ideas already about where things will go, but I'm probably going to do it differently, too.

2 As I am hoping to move into the retirement home, and a studio sized place, I will not be buying a big ole bed. I am thinking of getting one of those sofas which IKEA is selling which also turn into beds. A great way to multi-task. Live and sleep!

I hope you do get on the wait list for Boulder!!! That would be so cool. And I might have an extra bed in the hotel....I reserved a room with two just in case I needed an extra bed. You never can tell, you know.....

3. The house is getting cleaned before I more in. And the sooner I am in the house, the less money I'm spending at the extended stay place. The renters are hiring the same cleaning crew I used at my last place so I know they will do a good job! She is a smart cookie!

Thanks, you guys for coming by, with good ideas and advice. I love it!

Happy weekend everyone.

I had a friend who had one of those IKEA couch-beds in her studio apartment, and it was pretty comfortable. Both as a couch and as a bed. It was also, as you mention, extremely functional for her situation. Good luck with your move!

Thanks. That is good to know. I think I'll go to IKEA on Sunday.

Tomorrow: babysitting for the Niece while she watches the Seahawks beat The Saints. Yup. I think so.

Hi Karen- I miss seeing you around my friend! I don't smell anymore! I am trying to bath regularly. Any chance you changed your mind on the Meet-
Up? That would sure be wonderful. I am really looking forward to this vacation.
Hope all is well!

Hey, hey! Cut out that hatin' on my Saints, missy. :)

May happiness abound at your new home.

IKEA is a wonderful place...reasonable prices for quality items.

Thankfully the closest store is an hour and 1/2 from me. And, getting there requires navigating through some nasty traffic, or else I'd be in big financial trouble.

They also have lots of fun things like neat wrapping paper, candles and creative dishes, etc.

Happy weekend.

Mark, I am somewhat freaked out by how many threads I'd like to follow, and so I hit just a few each time I'm on line, it does make it seem to many friends that I'm not here. But I am here.

Today, sadly, the RA is making my right shoulder hurt and I'm feeling very much like not doing much moving at all. Need to go the the Niece's house, and do the laundry, but other than that, I may just sit on the sofa and read. Kids are good at entertaining themselves.

Jim, no hatin' the Saints. If they were not here, we'd have no football crazy fun! Plus it gives a little spotlight to the New Orleans cafe in Seattle. Good for that! Otherwise, we might not have the New Orleans good tasting. So, yay for football, and Go Seahawks.

Linda, thank you so much. Yes, I'd have to be very careful with the pocketbook of money when I go to IKEA, tomorrow perhaps.

Double darn on the RA flare.

In an email from Booktopia, they said the Boulder Booktopia sold out in 50 minutes. I looked at the time-stamp on my receipt and it's time-stamped 10:54 ... 54 minutes after opening ...... so I should be really close on the waiting list. I had logged on my computer about 10:30, but was slow completing the form due to this and that.

I'm seriously thinking about driving with a stop in Wyoming on the way down. I'd love to come back by way of Mesa Verde and Arches.

I have never been inside an IKEA shop, but I've always wanted to! I should look it up and see where the nearest one is - Chicago, I suspect...

Best of good luck on the move - it's exciting but also stressful, so I hope everything goes smoothly!

ETA: Yep, nearest IKEA is 147 miles away. Sigh.

Janet, I'm crossing my fingers that you'll get into Boulder's Booktopia.

That is a long ways to go for a store, Amber, but you know it might be a fun "vacation" for a day trip. When the weather is better of course.

Their stores are such a trip. They have a nice restaurant in them usually. I think. You might want to explore on line what your nearest one offers.

Before we got an IKEA near Seattle, my friend (and her husband and 3 boys) drove to Vancouver to IKEA shop. The boys got to play in the very nice play area, they got some real deals, and they all had a Swedish meatball meal.

Karen--I hope you feel better soon, and that the move to your new/old home goes smoothly.

I'm settling down now to watch the Seahawks game. That is something I've never done voluntarily before (just vaguely listen to it when my boys are watching), but somehow this Superbowl fever has caught me up.

Karen - Your move is approaching and I can appreciate Morphy's comments about cleaning. Every time we moved in the past SWMBO has driven me mad spending the first week scrubbing the place fit to hold surgical operations on the floor. Me, I am far more concerned as to where I'll find spaces for my books.

I am sure it will go great and you will be in my thoughts at this exciting time.

I am working on my itinery for our summer trip to the US and I am pretty sure the Pacific North West will feature prominently. Seattle and Portland are on my list at the moment and I would love to be able to meet up with you when we get there.

Your comments at #108 are noted and it is a pretty chaotic time of year around here as always. It would be nice if you would pay Malaysia a virtual visit once a while my dear as I have missed your company this year so far. xx

Have a lovely weekend.

Hoping against hope the shoulder flare-up is sorted now. Happy Sunday!

Shoulder flare seems less severe this morning. The Seahawks won their football game. Must be cause and effect, right?

#115: Obviously!

So for those of you who did not start from the top of this today, I just put a topper up there. I'm going to try to do that this year: Toppers!

Atmospheric topper Karen. Looks a bit like my hair first thing in the morning. xx

ha ha ha

I need to find some more white on a green background. Maybe wispy and thin, straight and dark, like my hair?

I like the topper, Karen! Good that you informed us it was there or I might have missed it, having started where I left off.

I'm looking forward to catching up with you tomorrow evening. I'll have my new Air with me so we can compare notes.

Sorry to hear about the shoulder flare-up but if this is the implication of two more Seahawks wins, I'll buy your pain meds for you. Selfish, I know. I hope the two simply are not connected. :-)

Nope, not connected, I am sure. I think it is all about dietary choices. I just wish I knew which of all the poor choices I made are the ones which caused the flare up. Might be pumpkin pie.....

On another note: Yay, it will be fun to compare.

I finished reading Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather. She writes descriptions of landscapes in a way which makes me long to be there; and grieve for the loss of the wild landscapes which used to be the West of the United States. I am just old enough that I remember a time when we could walk into the mountains and not meet any one else there. She describes just such a time for the southwest part of the USA and I am sad for the passing of that landscape.

The "story" she tells is of the lives of a couple of Catholic priests who were friends and who had come to Santa Fe together from France. She sketches their learning the ways of the Mexican people who lived there before they came, and the ways of the native peoples who had lived there before the Mexicans, or the French, or the Americans came. Her sketches are barely sewn together with the lives of these priests and this style was not much to my liking. I am fond of books which tell a story however I will also admit I loved her descriptions and the end of the book (the last 5% according to my Kindle) was a gift of story telling. I just wish I'd be caught up in the story before then.

Books Read in 2014

Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather, as a part of the American Authors Challenge

That's a good first book of the year, Karen! I'm just about to start that one myself.

Lovely photo up top, despite whatever resemblance to Paul's bed head...

Amber, thank you. It is one of my favorites, too.

Karen, I see that you have also been Cathered in January. Well done for reading that one. Are your eyes ok at the moment, because I recall you relating that they were playing up some.
Is my thread on your boycott list as you haven't been by in 2014?

Eyes are good if I am careful to give them resting moments.

No boycotting. I'll jump over right now to say hi.

:) despite shameless promotion of self. xx

Hi Karen, from right next to you at the table!

SOMEone is having a *little* too much fun with her new toy.

:-P

Yes, Richard, I think you might have her number.

I just bought Expecting Someone Taller for my Kindle, cheapish. For the f2f group, and with my gift cards I was able to score a very clean The 8:55 to Baghdad by Andrew Eames and a nice new copy of Of Parrots and People by Mira Tweti

That last author's last name must make it a slam dunk that she writes about birds.

I am feeling the happiness that only buying books can bring!! Well, maybe selling my house at a profit was as much fun, but I prefer buying books. Much less hassle.

The 8:55 to Baghdad made me think of Agatha Christie, Karen, and I see in part it's based on following her travels in the Mideast. Sounds like a fun one - I look forward to your take on it.

Mira Tweti did seem destined to write a bird book. :-)

For those who are curious, here's the list of books we (my f2f book group) will be reading for this year:

January: The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
February: Redwall by Brian Jacques
March: Of Parrots and People by Mira Tweti
April: Blonde: A Novel by Joyce Carol Oates
May: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
June: Mission to Paris by Alan Furst
July: The 8:55 to Baghdad by Andrew Eames
August: The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America by Timothy Egan
September: The World Inside by Robert Silverberg
October: The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin
November: Mink River by Brian Doyle
December: Expecting Someone Taller by Tom Holt

Oooh, Redwall! I just read that for the first time last year and loved it!

That looks like a nicely diverse list of books, Karen!

That's a very eclectic list of books, and several I like already plus some I own and a few I've never heard of and now want!

Have I told you lately how much I resent you for your book-bulleting skills?

:-*

Amber, I ran out and bought a paperback copy of it because I wanted to be able to take it to the tub for my soaking in the warm water reading. I loved it when I first read it, too.

Julia, I think that is one of the strengths of this group. We always choose books from a variety of places, and times, and some fiction, and some not so much. I love it, too.

Richard, OK fine. You shoot BBs at me, and I'll return the favor. We'll just have so much fun!

That's a very interesting list! Someday i's like to go back and read all the Redwall books.

Jim, I've been busy and not "turned pages" very much this week, but today is relatively empty of commitments and so I hope to make some significant progress in current readings. Redwall is sitting there staring at me. I should get to it today I hope!

Hello? Anybody home? Or are you busy moving? Putting together that new bed?

nope, not moving yet. Today is a Do Nothing But Read day. Been to Starbucks for my free latte, to the pet food store for dog food, and the grocery store for a few items. Otherwise, I have walked the dogs, done a couple of dishes, and read Maisie Dobbs. I'm shooting for finishing it today. I like it but admit I'm a bit jaded by having seen many war movies made in the 1950s which tried to marry some romance with the brutality of war. It is a tough sell, and Ms Winspear does a credible job. I am surprised Maisie Dobbs has not been made into a movie starring.... lets see Debbie Reynolds? Julie Andrews?

Thanks for stopping by and checking on me. I will be moving in the Sunday after tomorrow. Yipeeee!

Stopping in to catch up with you and to wish you a weekend full of fabulous, Karen!

Books Read in 2014

1. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather, as a part of the American Authors Challenge
2. Maisie Dobbs, as a participant in reading about World War I

A delightful, well written book which sadly suffers somewhat from so many novels having been written and movies having been made about both WW I and WW II. The jolt that The Great War dealt Great Britain has also been treated by many authors and writers, the story is told over and over. The end of the previous era with its upstairs/downstairs drama has provided many humane stories. And surely Maisie Dobbs is one.

Ms Winspear write a taut novel with realism mixed with romanticism in a way which makes you love the characters and their story, and you pray they survive the war without too much damage, but of course their lives are totally changed; and the mystery Maisie Dobbs solves is the mystery of how war ravages people and turns good folk into someone else. I recommend this book to lovers of romance, and of historic fiction.

Richard's charming style of repartee made me smile as usual, Karen, but he does have a point. You got me making WWI lists and put up another list with a few on it I now need to own.

Have a lovely weekend, my dear.

Hello Karen:

I have a copy of Death Comes to the Archbishop. I hope to start it soon.

I'll add Maisie Dobbs to the tbr list.

I hope all is well with you.

Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series gives the reader a really good idea of the changes that were happening in Britain after WWI. I think that, on the whole, the series gets better the more books that you read in it.

Ah, well, I may have to reconsider not following up with Maisie.

Linda, I hope you enjoy Death. I did, and I really, really want to start planning a trip to Arizona and New Mexico.

Paul, yes, I do love our friend Richard and his versatility with our English. Enjoy your growing library and lists!

Hi Karen, I am just now getting over here to see that you scored copies of some of our books for 2014. I just picked up Redwall from the library this afternoon.

I think I'd like to give the Maisie Dobbs series another try.

oh, my, there are 5 minutes left, and it is Seahawks 20 and SF 17. Too damn close for comfort.

BTW, I've started Light in August and so far I'm loving it! Yes, I am.

Nice win! And thank you for the info. We'll let our guy know.

Congrats on your Seahawks win, Karen!!

I think you will like Redwall and will see the potential and appeal to children in this book. I think the author wrote 12 or so books in that series and they are very popular.

Glad the Seahawks won. Should be an interesting Super Bowl. Too bad it has to be played on the East Coast.

Thank you, one and all, but I really had nothing to do with it. I was not even nearby. But I watched. I guess if that helps, then I helped. Nice win. Extra exciting game. Nail biter! Those young men do look as if they can make miracles happen.

OK. Tomorrow back to the books, right after the dentist.

I have started reading Light in August and I'm loving it.

>157 maggie1944: *applause*

>158 laytonwoman3rd: *nods*

I received a copy of Neil Gaiman's Stardust (graphic novel). It is a contrast to Light in August which I'm reading at the same time.

Hey! Techies! Did you see that LibraryThing needs a programmer and you could win $1000 worth of books if you help find him or her!

I saw that! Do you know any programmers?

Maybe. I've sent a message to the real life book group and maybe there is a way there. A couple of them work for, or did work for, microsoft.

Crossing my fingers for you.

I have fallen off the Faulkner wagon, and the Guns of August, too; I'm deep into Stardust (the graphic novel version) and having a great time with it.

This weekend is a the big move back into my house - and will be crazy but I have a few quiet morning moments for reading. Thank goodness.

Perhaps it was too much August for January! You are reminding me that I have Stardust on the shelves.

Good luck with the moving, Karen!

Thanks, Mamie. I am a wee bit stressed, I'll confess. It has been months and months and if all goes good this should be the beginning of the final chapter.

I'm eating crazy, lunch was two donuts and two pieces of cheese, with a cup of tea. Ha ha ha

That sounds like a perfectly balanced lunch to me!

Reading your posts Karen - I had finally made my mind up that it would be Light in August next month, then you managed to give me pause......Mamie points out that August books are better in August but he hasn't written anything about February and.....I still don't know which Faulkner to pick.

$1,000 of books. We have to give them or we get them?! Let me loose with $1,000 on Book Depo and I would be in 7th heaven. Unfortunately I know no programmers and even so they'd have to relocate.

Moving on the last chapter. I want to cheat and go straight to the last page.......almost there. xx

Best of luck with the move this weekend!!

moving is a pain. I am still moving after being in my house a year.

Update: 1. tenants moved out earlier than we expected so I can start moving in earlier! Yay. 2. We rented the truck at a time when we could not bring it back exactly 24 hrs later, due to the place closing before our 24 hours would be up; so, we have a very long grace period.... until Monday morning. So, more flexibility at the beginning and more at the ending. Should be much appreciated by all.

Right now Niece and her Hubster are loading the truck, while I sit in their TV room watching TV. And admire the Mind Craft game the kids are playing. Leonardo da Vinci for me, Mind Craft for them. Interesting.

Morning Karen- Just checking in. Glad the moving is working out and earlier than expected. Well, the countdown to the Great Portland Meet-up has begun. I leave Tuesday morning. Are you driving down Saturday morning?

Yup, driving down Saturday morning; and I'll stay Saturday night and visit with my friend on Sunday. So I am double excited.

Sounds good. I'll probably be heading up from Salem, about 10am.

So excited that your move is finally happening, Karen! I hope it all goes very smoothly and you are soon ensconced in your very own place again.

I just finished watching Sunday Morning which is the ONLY TV show I'm genuinely attached to seeing every Sunday, and now I begin my first car load of stuff to take to the house. I'm off......

Happy to hear that the moving is going so smoothly!

Good luck with the move!

Good luck moving into the new place today, Karen. Very exciting!

Karen, have you seen the wonderful video of the Seattle Youth Football League being challenged by Fox Sports to watch the entire NFC Championship game in complete silence with a promised reward of $5K to buy new uniforms and get their field upgraded? I think Huffington Post has now picked it up. It's wonderful!!

Yay for a smooth moving process! It was a lovely day for it, so I hope it went off without a hitch.

eta: I read Light in August last August and loved it.

I am in the house, but without my wifi set up. So, I'll be posting rarely for a few days.

All good, so far. POD arriving in a few minutes. Crossing my fingers that it all works well.

I hope you're starting to settle in....

Karen - so pleased for you that you are back in you home. xx

Hi Karen, hope you're happily nesting! I'm looking forward to meeting you on Saturday. :-)

I spent a bunch of time today setting up my Library. My smaller, second bedroom is now a library! Almost all of my books are unpacked. I have so many fewer it is easy to set it up and there's room on shelves for more to come (danger ahead).

I'm not yet set up with wifi so the chat is totally out of control. I'm not visiting any one. Just updates here for now.

Looking forward to the Great Portland Meet-Up!

"My smaller, second bedroom is now a library!"

Very cool.

>186 maggie1944:, That's what I'm doing with what real estate listings claim is my third bedroom (it's the shortcut from the kitchen to the hall bathroom; not exactly a private space). I just need a few more shelves before I can really call it my library instead of "the room where the book boxes are".

I remember having a house with a second bedroom that doubled as a library/office. Sigh.

Glad you are settling in well. Have fun at the meetup!

I spent a bunch of time today setting up my Library. One of life's great pleasures. Glad you're settling into your new home. Are you liking it?

Yes. I still need to have my strong friends and relatives move the heavy furniture from the POD into the house; and, I need to unpack more boxes. Overall, I'm enjoying how much light this house has, and the fact that the heating system does a better job of heating the whole place than the system in the newer, stick built, house. I am constantly amused by the fact that people view this type of house as a "trailer" and consider our community to be a "trailer" park while truth be told they are sturdy small houses on nice small sites made affordable by their reputation, not by their quality. My yard will need some considerable work but will burst into multiple blooming trees and shrubs come spring warmth.

OK. Now I'm looking at my wish lists in advance of Portland's Powell's bookstore, and the Great Meet-Up.

Morning Karen- Getting excited? I know I am. I'll probably leave a little earlier, just to get moving.
Have a very safe drive down!
ETA- Glad the move is going smoothly. Hugs!

Happy Meetup Day, Karen!

Have a great meet up Karen.

Hoping that your meet-up is full of fabulous - which, how could it NOT be, right?!

Oh my, library-room organization and a meet-up. Won't be jealous...won't...be...jealous...

Ah!!! A great Meet-Up. Lovely people, 10 in all I think. I did not take more than a couple of quick snap shots but others will post better pictures. I did leave a good deal of money at the lovely Powell's and pledged to return after I've updated all my wish lists and my FictFact records. I may have bought some duplicates, but I'm not sure.

Fiction:
Furst, Alan Red Gold
Penny, Louise The Brutal Telling
Russell, Mary Doria Doc: A Novel

Non-fiction:
Duncan, Dayton and Burns, Ken The National Parks: America's Best Idea (An Illustrated History)
MacMillan, Margaret The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914

Audio CDs
Edsel, Robert M. The Monuments Men

I will put them in my library later, but I thought visitors here might be curious.

I'm relaxing now with my pups in a Motel room, watching TV. My house does not have wifi or TV yet (next Tuesday...I hope) so being here, now, is a relaxing moment. Tomorrow off the the dog park with a school friend, her husband, her two Miniature Schnauzers and my pups; then lunch, and drive home. I'm planning on driving between the hours of 2:30 pm and 5:30 pm because it will be when most all of the entire pacific northwest will be glued to the TV watching our beloved Seahawks whup that other team and they will not be on the highways. Smooth driving I'm guessing.

So great to meet you Karen!!

>197 maggie1944: EXCELLENT haul, Karen44. Not a dud among 'em and many hours of reading rapture ahead. Have a pleasant drive, you canny lass, and a happy homecoming.

I'm so glad that you enjoyed the meet up Karen! I'm thinking of you. Did the moving impact your RA?

Congratulations on a wonderful book haul! The National Parks: America's Best Idea (An Illustrated History would be the one I'd like to obtain.

By the way, Dayton Duncan doesn't know it yet (nor does Will) but I am running away with him. He does such wonderful participation in Ken Burns incredible documentaries.

If you haven't seen Lewis and Clark, I highly recommend it. Near the end, Dayton tells the story of Meriwether Lewis' suicide, as he relates the tale, you can hear his voice catch and he fights tears...love it!

Karen, it was so great to see you and Benny and Greta.
I'm glad you're getting some relaxation time in the hotel. Me, too. :-)

I didn't realize you had purchased a copy of Doc. I think you'll enjoy that one.

Have a great time at the dog park tomorrow!

Hi Karen- It was great to finally meet you. I am so glad you could make it. We had a wonderful time. Nice book haul. Doc is outstanding!
Have a safe trip home! Hugs!

thanks, all, for good thoughts

Linda, yes my RA has been kicking up a little bit and I'll be having a conversation with the Rheumatologist. I did have a follow up breathing test last week and the pulmonologist is happy to see no cause for concern. (following up on a medication side effect case of pneumonia two years ago) There is a CAT scan scheduled also. The Doctors sometimes seem more concerned about the side effects of the RA meds than the efficacy of the same. Me, I'm concerned about both.

Broken rib is not bothering me at all these days so that is good. My main complaint is pain in my left hand and increasing weakness there, too. Hoping the doctor will have some ideas of what to do differently. I have lost a good 10 pounds and that will be helpful, I'm sure.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled reading...

The Meet-Up was so much fun! I loved meeting each and every new LT pal, and touching base with folks I have known over the years I've been hanging out here..... Life is Good!

Oh, yay for meet-ups and book hauls! So glad that you had a good time!

Also, kudos for the brilliant driving plan - when I was in grad school at OSU, I used to wait until the home games started before doing my grocery and _target shopping. Streets and shops were deserted!

Sounds like a good time was had by all at the meetup, Karen!

Glad you had such a good time at the meetup, Karen. Great book haul. That National Parks one intrigues me, too.

Glad to hear about you and the meetup. I am driving back today as well, and looking forward to less traffic while the majority of people are watching the game.

Out there in the High Plains the folks are rooting for that BIG Orange team!

Tonight I will be back in my own bed and tomorrow I will probably be digging out the Aleve as I will be glad to be doing my yoga again. The only thing I brought back with me this time was a cold. Didn't even buy a single book.

It was great to meet you! What fun at Powell's--great haul.

A lovely day indeed, with this 22-0 halftime lead.

What a great weekend you've been having Karen. Meeting up with nine other group members. Adding 6 splendid books in Powells. And your team coasting in the S/B.

It was a great weekend. Meeting all the LT pals, hanging out at Powell's, digging through the stacks, bumping into buddies unexpectedly, buying some beautiful books, and then eating a wonderful meal, watching the beer sampler folks having great fun finding the best taste! Then back to the car with my puppies, driving to the hotel where they let you keep your dogs and place in in a room by the back door so it is oh, so easy to go for the needed walks. Lovely. Sunday I laid about being totally lazy which I've not done much of for weeks, and then met my long time friends who had the nerve to move from Seattle to Portland. We drove to an off leash park for their two miniature schnauzers, and my two puppies to run about and have a lot of fun, and then jump up on us with muddy paws (actually it was only Benny who did the muddy paws trick). Then a delish breakfast/brunch and I hit the road back to Seattle. Listening to the Seahawks romp on the radio was so much fun. Listening to a fast moving, crazy game like that is perfect for freeway driving. I made it home in time to hear the win at home, and then the neighborhood kids shot off the fireworks to celebrate! A fitting end to a great weekend.

Tomorrow I'll get my wifi set up and I can begin to try to catch up here, and put my new books in my inventory. Life Really is Good.

Sounds like a great weekend Karen. I hope the wifi set up goes smoothly.

Morning Karen- Glad to see you got home safe and sound. Yes, you must have got pretty excited listening to THAT game. LOL. The Seahawks crushed them.

Hi Karen--Great to see you again yesterday, even though we had to go all the way to Portland to do so. I'm glad you had an uneventful trip home (as did Lisa, Ellen and I, although I'm sure our drive was a great deal more chatty).

Karen, so glad to hear that you are in your home, warm, with plenty of books, and that wifi is on its way. What a great meetup!

Hi Karen! It was so nice to meet you this weekend and I hope we can get together again this year. I saw your suggestion on the meetup thread about trying to organize regular Pacific Northwest meetups and I think that's a fabulous idea.

Hopefully, next time I'll get to meet Greta and Benny!

Oh! That sounds like fun. Greta Garbo and Benny, both, love love love people and would be very happy to meet you.

Whoo who!! I am back on the internet in my own home. I can find my way here morning, noon, and night.

Great, Karen! Nice to have you back!

There will be no stopping you now that you have internet at home, Karen! Isn't it a great feeling? I feel lost whenever mine goes out for a little while.

Books Read in 2014

1. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather, as a part of the American Authors Challenge
2. Maisie Dobbs, as a participant in reading about World War I
3. Stardust - read just because I bought it and it looked fun! by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess.

A graphic novel for adults, not looking like a comic book, it has delightful illustrations and a good story. I love Gaiman's ability to tell a "fairy tale" with freshness and intelligence and humor. I liked this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes a little fantasy.

Hey, I just finished a graphic novel interpretation of Neverwhere the other day. Same reaction - a gn for adults with a good story and great artwork!

Hi, Jim, gosh it is nice to be able to check in first thing in the morning, from the comfort of my own living room. Life is moving towards normal....

Karen: Yay for internet at home!!

Oh frabjous day, callooh callay! Internet in your own home again, the rapture, the joy!

yes, and right now the Seahawks Victory Parade through downtown Seattle. OMG, the 12th Man of fans is so cool! There are at least a half a million people on the streets, 24 degrees of cool, plus sunshine! Too much fun!

And I'm happy to be on my computer! On the verge of setting up a new printer, too.

And later. I'll be reading in my new library. The Best of all worlds.

Like you I listened to the game while driving back to Alabama. It was fun to listen to a game. It reminded me of days when I was working on the farm at home and listened to baseball games while working in the fields. Listening to sports is so old school. So retro. But fun.

Glad you liked Redwall. That entire series is great fun for kids. I also like the Kathryn Lasky series Guardians of Ga'Hoole. Lasky also has a new series out about wolves that promises to be as good as the owls. Any of those three series should be great books for kids bu the Redwall books have stood the test of time.

Benita, I agree that listening to sports on the radio is great good fun and very "old school" in the best sense of the phrase.

Now, I have a quandry..... I received the list of authors for the Boulder Booktopia and an invitation to join in a Boulder Booktopia discussion in Good Reads. I am hesitant to join yet again another group dedicated to finding books for me to buy, lust after, desire, and put onto my wish lists. Plus, I think there was some very good reasons to avoid Good Reads having to do with not honoring individuals' rights to write their own best opinion about books; editing? censorship?

I'd like to be involved with folks headed for Boulder, but I don't think it is worth joining Good Reads. What do you all think?

Should we start a Boulder Booktopia group for Library Thing folks?

When I went to Booktopia I had to join Good Reads. It is the only reason why I joined. I look at it about twice a year now as my main source of book talking is here on LT. Sometimes there are good things on the current thread in Goodreads, and perhaps you can use it to catch a ride from the airport, etc. I don't think joining would be a have-to thing, but rather would be something you could do and then check it whenever you think about it.

I think they started a thread on LT for the Bellingham group last year, but am not sure.

I just saw this - http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/entertainment-eonline/20140206/b508172/

Leonard Nimoy with COPD. He says, "stop smoking now". LLAP

Benita, I'm not interested in re-joining GoodReads to participate in that thread, but I noticed I was able to read all the posts without being signed up even though I can't post. So that's a possibility for you. Karen started a thread here on LT for the Boulder Booktopia in the Gatherings and Meetups group; perhaps if we all post about it on our threads we can get some traffic there now that the authors have been announced.

#231
I discovered that too. I had joined when I signed up for the Oxford, MS Booktopia, but I don't check in on Good-reads much. I like my LT and LT friends. I can't go to any of the Booktopia's this year. They are being held at the wrong time of year for me, but maybe next year. I will check out new thread and keep up with you guys that way.

Karen,
While I was at home my sister and I did a night out and went to see the movie "Saving Mr. Banks." It is terrific. I am going to order new copies of the Mary Poppins books for our library.

Morning!

"I'll be reading in my new library." = Heaven.

Yeah! But now.... post having all the rest of my "stuff" moved out of the POD and stuffed it into the house, my little library has 1. its reading chair: Yay! 2. the space is about 75% full of boxes and stuff which needs to be unpacked and Put Away: Boo! I spent the first half hour on waking this morning rearranging the Office furniture in its niche. Then looked at the living room, the craft niche off the living room, the kitchen, the bedroom, the bathrooms, and the library. Every space has boxes, and misplaced furniture. Good news: everything is in the house. Bad news: once again I am confronted with how much Stuff I Have!

I will attack this with a Zen-like attitude. Just move one stone at a time.

I am grateful that I have a house which is mine, and I can do whatever I want. I just need to do it.

I have discovered that listening to Guns of August while I read along in my hardback copy of it is perfect. I like the greater level of understanding I'm gaining. And I have a really good example of why my glasses are not working for me to give to the eye doctor when I meet with him.

I'm enjoying the new ER book I received. Cathedral of the Wild will provide the lighter fare which will act as a counterpoint to the Faulker February's Light in August along side of the Guns of August. Seems like a doable month of good reading.

Karen, I see you are still settling in. It takes awhile to tackle all those boxes and to arrange things. I like your Zen approach. It will get done...one box at a time.

I hope you like Doc as much as I did. I would love to go to Powell's someday, especially if there is a meet-up involved. I am so looking forward to my first Booktopie in Boulder. It will be great to hang out with a seasoned veteran!

I think I am going to search for all the Bathroom marked boxes to see if I can find some cold remedies. I'm definitely dealing with a little head ache, a scratchy throat, and mild sniffles. I think I've done the normal thing: catching cold germs from the Kindergartener I hang out with daily. Those dang schools - they are just market exchanges for germs, don't you know?

I am looking forward to Boulder's Booktopia, too.

Hope you can stay just a LITTLE scratchy and avoid a major cold!

Me, too!

The good thing about hanging out with a Kindergartener and their germs is that your immune system should be in good working order.

Yes, but....

Rheumatoid arthritis requires biologic medications which suppress the immune system; so, I always worry a bit. The pneumonia of two years ago worries the doctors, too. So I hope to not have too much to fight.

Boxes of books continue to be emptied. One set of shelves were dicey so I think they will be the place for family photographs. Another set I fixed the little whatchamacallit dohickies which hold the shelves up on an L after a post goes in side. Well, the round post was a smidge too small so I enlargened it with double sided scotch tape, and bingo it worked and the shelf looks great! Progress!

Listening to The Monuments Men in the car coming and going; and oh, wow! The invasion was a mess. Those beaches. OMG. We all know what SNAFU means, right? Well there was a bunch of SNAFU occurrences.

Unpacking boxes of books and arranging them on shelves = (again I say) heaven.

yup

I also went to Audible.com and spent this month's credit on Cinder by Merissa Meyer, and read by Rebecca Soler. It is just the light fare I need between reading my daily amounts of Light in August (25 pages a day to finish by end of Faulkner February) and Of Parrots and People (10 pages a day to finish by next Book Group meeting). This is between unpacking boxes, picking up some new book cases and continuing to brainstorm on how to arrange the furniture so it will all fit. I can't believe that I've gotten rid of a bunch of stuff and I still have too much!

Ah, well. Onwards. Progress, not perfection.

Glad to hear you're having a good time with Cinder, Karen. Hope all the new house chores fall into place for you.

But what happened to Monuments Men and Guns of August?

all-purpose *smooch*

Benita, Monuments Men is on audio disc for the car driving times and I'm on about disc 4 maybe 5. I'm loving it. Guns of August does not have such a imminent deadline so it sits beside me here, at my desk ready for me to grab when I'm willing to sit still for 45 minutes or an hour.

I am definitely still reading them, too. A tad overwhelming but I am committed to not letting these books slip from my attention as so many others have. I'll be starting a special shelf for book which have book marks in them denoting my having started them, and put them down "temporarily". Enough of that.

Thank you for stopping by, dear Richard, and *hugs* back at you.

Karen, I like your idea of s special shelf for books that were started and not finished...Now, if only I could find an empty shelf...

I tried to get a copy of The Monuments Men from the library, but there is a long list before me. Perhaps folks are interested because it is a recently released movie.

I'm hoping to twist Will's arm to see the movie this weekend.

I hope all is well with you. We are set to have a major storm tonight-tomorrow. What a winter.

I'm sorry that you are experiencing weakness and pain in your left hand...any idea why?

Last week I had my second shot of cortesone in my right hand..ouch. If this one doesn't work, they recommend minor surgery. Because I am very sick of surgeries, I'll postpone if I can.

I understand your concern regarding side effects of meds. So many medications for pain impact on the liver and/or kidneys.

Morning Karen- Just checking in. I love following your current reads. I am 120 pages into Light in
August. I am really liking this one. I was able to snag an audio copy of The Monuments Men, so I hope to sneak that one in somewhere.
Cinder is a blast!

Linda, I experience the swelling and pain from the RA in my left wrist and maybe because that leads me to use my left hand less I might be developing the weakness due to inactivity, or the weakness may be due to the swelling. I'll be talking with the Rheumatologist about this when I see her. I will be looking for some adjustments in the medications as I believe we can do better. I also know part of the equation is my diet and when I am better I have less swelling. Sigh. RA is a bit of a mysterious disease without much research helping to understand how to live with it.

Mark, I think you will like Monuments Men. I certainly am although I will wait until I've finished "reading" it before I see the movie. I am sure the screen writers will add more romantic idealism to it than is justified by the realities of WWII.

I am also enjoying Light in August and am delighted with my little library room. I have my big black reading chair, and the good reading lamp, and being surrounded with books all sitting on shelves, albeit randomly, results in my being able to hold my concentration. When I read in other places there are many ways in which I can be distracted and I've been experiencing much less control over my monkey mind these days. My goal of reading at least 25 pages every day is helping me move the story along and I am very happy that is working!

Today, I'm meeting my real estate agent for lunch and we will talk a bit about just what can I do to this old (1975) manufactured home to make it more attractive. I cannot justify spending much money on it because I think the wise buyer would tear it down and replace it with a brand new one. I wish I had the gumption to do that myself. Alternatively, I can live here until my number is called at the retirement home and then sell it to fund my Entrance Fee but that has risks, too. If it becomes too decrepit it will be hard to sell for a good price. A conundrum, I think!

Books Read in 2014

1. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather, as a part of the American Authors Challenge
2. Maisie Dobbs, as a participant in reading about World War I
3. Stardust - read just because I bought it and it looked fun! by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess.
4. Redwall
5. Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Delightful romp through a retold fairy tale, now set in an alternate world with familiar characters redrawn in new colors, and new levels of evil, naiveté, age and youth. New definitions of what it means to be human, what sacrifice might look like in a different world and a new telling of the old story that the course of true love never running smoothly. Some of the teenage angst and doubts were all too familiar and not redrawn as was the rest of the novel, but perhaps that is the price one pays when reading young adult books. I'll give it a 3.5 set of stars and recommend it to those who like YA, and to those who are young.