Holy cow--my spelling and grammer are much better than below--I just can't type worth a darn.

posted by robbieg_422 at 6:21 pm (EST) on Oct 4, 2008

Hi Mary!
Thanks for your supportful comment on Early Reviewers. My mother was an library assistant in my small town school, and I sure appreciate what she and all of my teachers put up with there--the money all goes to suburban and city schools, it seems. In fact, mine is no longer there--it consolidated years ago.

I'm enjoying browsing your very extensive library (I'm new at LT, and still feel a little like a Peeping Tom when I do that). It looks like you've go alot of friends here!:)

Thanks again!

posted by robbieg_422 at 6:20 pm (EST) on Oct 4, 2008

Hiya Mary, Glad you enjoyed the trip and it was very nice meeting you. I evny you your Retirement (WooHoo!). Tuesday evening I was just starting to wonder if I should start to be concerned that you hadn't posted but I was much relieved to see your Wed post that you'd made it home ok. Hope to see you out here next year in Victoria. And I'll pass on the Bull Fries. I'll have to get real hungry before I'll eat offal. There's a reason that some parts of a cow are usually discarded. :-D

posted by Jasper at 8:31 pm (EST) on Aug 15, 2008

Here I come, hoping you are home safe and sound. And that the train trip back was pleasant. Thank you for coming to join our meet-up. You contributed a good deal of cheer.

I mailed the two pkgs today. The receipt #s are 1307 1910 0001 2884 4076 and 1307 1910 0001 2884 4083. The media rate package may take longer than the other one. I assume they will find you and will be in good shape.

Happy reading. And maybe I'll see you next year - England? Victoria? Minnesota? who knows.

posted by maggie1944 at 7:00 pm (EST) on Aug 11, 2008

Mary,

You mentioned that you were interested in coming to the Mid-Atlantic LT get-together. It's this weekend -- are you still hoping to come? Let us know!

-Danny

posted by buchleser at 7:43 am (EST) on Jul 16, 2008

Hugs. We don't NEED to make it official, but I'm glad we did. (((((((MARY))))))))

posted by mrgrooism at 8:09 pm (EST) on Jun 26, 2008

I'm glad to hear it. I remembered you mentioning the tornado and it sent shivers down my back, that was a terrifying near miss! I'm really glad your family's okay :-) Let's hope the weather settles down now...*holding thumbs*

posted by katylit at 6:25 pm (EST) on Jun 19, 2008

Hi Mary Lou, I've been watching the news and seeing all the terrible flooding on the Mississippi. You've mentioned before that your family is in Iowa, have they been affected by it at all? Such terrible devastation and loss. I hope they're okay. Just wanted you to know I've been thinking about you and yours.

Take care,

Katherine

posted by katylit at 1:35 pm (EST) on Jun 19, 2008

Hi Mary Lou, just wanted you to know that I started (finally) Touch Not the Cat yesterday and Pippin hasn't gone for a walk since. I can't put it down! I just nipped in here to visit for a few minutes, then I guess I really should take him for a walk - poor puppy - *sigh* - but then it's right back to the book. I'd forgotten how wonderful it was to read this kind of book, such lovely escapism, just pure fun. I can't wait to finish and I don't want it to end all at the same time. I keep thinking while I'm reading it "Thank you MerryMary!! Perfect Secret Santa gift!!!" :-D

Katherine

posted by katylit at 6:34 pm (EST) on Jun 4, 2008

So. Only one department of your school uses books, and the kids and teachers don't? Having been behind the desk in US school and public libraries back in the dark ages, I remember the frustrations involved in (depending on how the cards at the desk are filed):

Do I still have any books out?

I am going to do a unit on --- next week. Most of the books on that topic seem to be out. Where are they, and can we get them back in?

...

Not to mention the hours we spent every week alphabetizing the cards at the desk. (If it isn't volunteers doing the work, your school is paying for those hours.) Check in and out is a lot faster, too.

My son's school library catalogue is available on-line. We can even tell at home which books are out. We can make a list of the books he needs for a report and print it out for him to take in. I'm not sure if we can already reserve them from home. This is great for those 'Well, yes I have a report to write, but we're supposed to use the library, so I can't do it tonight, so I'm going to play games instead.

I'm sure you know how short-sighted this is, but before experiencing the advantages to everyone, I would not have believed what a difference an electronic atalogue would make.

posted by MarthaJeanne at 2:33 am (EST) on Jun 3, 2008

Hi, My neighbor goes by MerryMary on another website, so my heart skipped a beat, thinking you were my MerryMary.

posted by belleyang at 12:59 am (EST) on Jun 3, 2008

Hi thanks for commenting on my wallpaper of the "Heaven on Earth" (your words) walls and walls of books.... LOL
Love your library....Have a wonderful day!! L J
thought you might be interested in the website I found the wallpaper on
http://vladstudio.com/wallpaper/?486

posted by ljreader at 3:12 am (EST) on Jun 1, 2008

The children need your help!!

We are a group of students from DePaul University trying to collect books for children in grades one through eight. Even if you can send us just one book it will be appreciated. The books will be sent to an organization called Chicago Lights. (Chicagolights.org).

This organization distributes the books to kids in Cabrini-Green summer programs, homeless shelters, and Juvenile Detention Centers, and the Summer Day Program.
Thank you!

posted by booksforkids at 1:08 am (EST) on May 23, 2008

Hi Mary--I just dropped by to say I got a good giggle out of the title of your Bug Collectors post ("driving me crazy - it's a short trip"). That's always been one of my mom's favorite jokes--it never failed to exasperate me as a kid when I'd tell my mom that my brother was driving me crazy, and she'd tell me that, "It's a short drive!" :)

posted by Medellia12 at 4:17 pm (EST) on May 21, 2008

And thanks to you too, MerryMary, for finding my collection interesting. I was specifically drawn to your comments about The Night the Mountain Fell. I picked up a copy at a fund raising book sale at my library and was fascinated. Of course it totally destroyed any ideas I had that there was someplace in this country that wasn't subject to hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, or earthquakes. LOL.

posted by TallyDi at 10:12 pm (EST) on May 17, 2008

*big hug* Mary Lou, I'm glad you have such good friends and a wonderful family around you. I'm thinking about you too. :-)

posted by katylit at 11:53 am (EST) on May 9, 2008

Hi MerryMary, just a response to your comment in the list of suggestions thread. I think maybe I wasn't clear about the title capitalizations. I consider capitalizing only the first word and proper nouns pretty much the standard for libraries. It's what I was hoping to see, rather than many of the entries which are all small letters. While many book covers actually show all caps (which is not as easy to read on a screen as on a book cover), I know of few books that actually use the all small letters I see for titles in LibraryThing.

In any event, I said it was a picky thing and probably more work than can be justified. I had to throw it out there though! In the meantime, I tend to change the title for my own library, if I'm in a mood where it particularly bugs me. :-)

Thanks for the welcome!
Gwen

posted by GwenH at 1:20 pm (EST) on Apr 29, 2008

excellent.. a fellow librarian XD

posted by lisa211 at 5:56 am (EST) on Apr 8, 2008

I noticed some of your comments on GD and felt that I had to come and find more about you..
You are wonderful! Your profile is beautiful.. and so are you...
What a great library!!!

Clearly we need to be friends... lol.. we chose the same map!

kath

posted by mckait at 9:31 am (EST) on Mar 2, 2008

Okay, I couldn't wait anymore and I cheated and peeked!!! Oh Mary Lou, you have the most perfect taste in books!!!!! I'm so pleased and excited - I can't wait for my "secretsanta" books to arrive. Girl of the Limberlost was one of my mother's all-time favourite books and I read hers many many times. When we divided up her books my sister got her copy, so I'm delighted to be receiving my very own copy now. Thank you SO MUCH!!

And I've never read Touch Not the Cat, don't know why, 'cause, as you have seen (obviously) from my library, I like Mary Stewart. It sounds like it will be excellent and I'm really excited about it getting here so I can dig right in and start reading.

Thank you many many times over for the perfect choices - I was so unhelpful and you were so tremendously thoughtful. And I LOVE that you are my secretsanta!! A fellow Green Dragoneer, makes it even more perfect. I've got such a big grin on my face.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and may 2008 be a very happy year for you.

sincerely,

Katherine :-D

posted by katylit at 7:45 pm (EST) on Dec 27, 2007

Thanks Mary! I've been really busy

posted by pollysmith at 8:47 am (EST) on Dec 18, 2007

Mary...
I read your comment about wishing you had met Herb Zim. Herb was a friend of my father's at the University of Illinois. I knew him for most of my life (I'm now 65) and we visited off and on. Our family spent a 9 month sabadical with the Zims down on the florida Keys when I was in high school. If you have some questions about him, chances are I might have an answer.

posted by jshores at 2:40 pm (EST) on Dec 4, 2007

Thanks very much, Mary Lou! I hope you enjoy whatever work of mine you check out, and I'd love to hear what you think. (Quietly warped senses of humor are my favorite)!

Here’s wishing you a fantastic day filled with fabulous friendships, fanciful festivities, and frolicking phantom footstools.

-Jeremy :)

posted by JeremyCShipp at 6:39 pm (EST) on Nov 21, 2007

Ha. Yeah, a fun book. I hated math as a kid—and did terribly. Now I use Algebra at least almost every day! :)

posted by timspalding at 2:04 pm (EST) on Nov 2, 2007

Groucho Marx fan, are we?

posted by buchleser at 10:17 pm (EST) on Nov 1, 2007

I'll give you more as I add them to my library too. Just check the tag for updates every once in a while.

I also tagged some books as you with mixed groups (siblings, friends, etc), along with a few adult-ish books. You will want to filter the adult books for your students. :)

posted by infiniteletters at 4:57 pm (EST) on Oct 30, 2007

Ask and ye shall receive.
http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?...

posted by infiniteletters at 6:06 pm (EST) on Oct 29, 2007

Any pointers to titles/authors you already know about (and have) or ones you don't want? :)

posted by infiniteletters at 4:24 pm (EST) on Oct 29, 2007

Any more specifications? Historical, sci-fi, fantasy, "general" fiction, etc?

posted by infiniteletters at 2:21 pm (EST) on Oct 29, 2007

My grandkids make life bearable! They are absolutely the cutest, most adorable, children in the world, and its wonderful that I can play with them then SEND THEM HOME!hahaha

posted by pollysmith at 5:36 pm (EST) on Oct 10, 2007

Hi! MM, glad you like my library! it is no where near finished! Ah, Grace Livingston Hill, where the Godly always prevail and the ungodly come to repentance!

posted by pollysmith at 9:38 am (EST) on Oct 10, 2007

I'm in Arthurian Legends because my youngest son is interested. I'm not catalogging his books here - hence the lack of Harry Potter books, or anything written by Terry Goodkind. I'm hoping that maybe someday he'll get his own account on LT. I must admit guilt regarding Baxter Black.

posted by WholeHouseLibrary at 8:20 pm (EST) on Oct 9, 2007

Glad you could tell the difference between me and the other guy in the photo. It's one of the better pics of me, that is, one that doesn't make me look silly. I was thinking of putting another one up, of me looking "grim" in the Metal sense but I thought it was a bit much.

And thanks for adding me to "Interesting Libraries"

posted by TeenAuthor at 4:43 am (EST) on Oct 9, 2007

Oh my! There's been a ~TERRIBLE~ mistake! Do you realize that by adding me to your list of Interesting Libraries, everyone will question your judgment. They'll probably have you declared leagally insane and be granted Power of Attorney over your cookbooks.

Always got to open with a joke... I am touched (don't say it), and honored that I'm among the select few that you've chosen, and I accept that honor gladly, which reflects honor back upon the giver.

But, I've got to ask -- what caught your interest?

Thank you ever so much,
Mike
WholeHouseLibrary

posted by WholeHouseLibrary at 12:10 am (EST) on Oct 9, 2007

Thank you for adding my library to your interest list. I love the author clouds here, it's easy to see that we enjoy quite a few of the same authors. Actually, that may not show so well on mine, because I haven't entered all my books yet, only those I've read in the last 3 years. However, I love mysteries, especially from the Golden Age. And more. I have to run now, but I wanted to say that I always enjoy your comments in the Green Dragon!

posted by MrsLee at 5:50 pm (EST) on Oct 8, 2007

Thanks for the laugh, Mary! "Never annoy a squid" indeed! :)

posted by buchleser at 7:36 pm (EST) on Oct 2, 2007

Hi,
You made reference to being chided out of a couple of different threads in Book Talk.

You don't need to be a member to post in that group.

It also looks like you've run into a 'troll' or two.
Those characters have a token amount of books in their libraries. I suspect it's really just one person logged into LT under 2 or 3 different names and just trashing the place.

I'll let Tim know about it.
WHL

posted by WholeHouseLibrary at 12:44 pm (EST) on Oct 1, 2007

Thanks!
I've had curls my whole life...
What don't show on the picture is that when it's real humid it looks like a sheepskin hat. A kid at my son's daycare told me so, to the embarrassment of his mother. She went all read but I thought it spot on :-)

posted by Busifer at 1:27 am (EST) on Sep 21, 2007

Mary -

Your comments always make me nod my head and smile. Wish I would have known when you were coming to Cleveland. I live in Kent - which I suspect you have heard of, and I am only an hour away from Cleveland. Let me know if you are ever heading this way again.

Anne

posted by amancine at 8:21 pm (EST) on Sep 20, 2007

So glad you enjoyed your trip to Cleveland. We were there a long time ago (Rock Hall was not there yet but being built). I would love to go back some day.

posted by momom248 at 12:40 pm (EST) on Sep 6, 2007

Thank you so much for your response, Mary Lou. Your words beautifully express how 'the ties that bind' may be kept tethered through shared reading .... beyond space and time.

My grandma passed away just over a year ago, and reading the books which she loved has been both a comfort and a gift to me.

Take care,

Holly

posted by CalicoGal at 12:22 am (EST) on Sep 3, 2007

Wasn't Wally Cox the voice of Underdog?

posted by Seajack at 9:47 pm (EST) on Sep 1, 2007

Hello, there! I likewise possess numerous, treasured books -- mostly 1950s-historical romances and gothics -- which once belonged to my grandma. I used to tease her just a little bit over her reading choices, but have had to eat my own words! I, too, now am a fan of Jean Plaidy/ Victoria Holt/ Philippa Carr, Daphne du Maurier, Thomas B. Costain and Anya Seton .... to name just of few of the wonderful novelists whose books moved from my grandmother's shelves to mine. Reading the works of writers whom she loved also has helped to maintain the bond that we shared beyond her passing.

Have a happy day!

posted by CalicoGal at 12:28 am (EST) on Aug 31, 2007

Hello to a fellow Nebraskan! I bet I've driven through Dunning on my vacations to the western part of the state (I'm from Omaha, currently living in Lincoln). :) We don't have too many books in common, but we do have the most important one, Gone With The Wind, hehe. And I love children's lit, too.

Have a good day!

~Jenny

posted by goddessladyj at 1:43 am (EST) on Jul 6, 2007

*Meow* Happy Independence Day! I came by to see you and KittyMonster again. I really enjoyed my last visit. *Purrrrr*

Catalog

posted by catalog_theLTcat at 11:26 pm (EST) on Jul 4, 2007

Good evening! I didn't mind the comment at all. I have to confess that I had to google Tron. I am old enough to remember it, but I guess I didn't see it. It came out the year I graduated from college, and being a poor newly working person, I didn't do a lot of movie watching. I'll have to find it somewhere and see it!

posted by hobbitprincess at 9:16 pm (EST) on Jul 3, 2007

Paul Harvey Aurandt (born September 4, 1918), better known as Paul Harvey, is the listed author of "The Rest of the Story" books. I am hoping all the owners of his books will change the author box to say Paul Aurandt so they will untangle the several authors on the Paul Harvey page.
Blessings-JeanEva

posted by jeaneva at 12:52 pm (EST) on Jun 22, 2007

Hi Mary Lou,

Just saw a comment of your in the YALit group and thought i would stop by and introduce myself. I should have been a librarian, I think I might have had a much happier career, instead went for science and then accounting to chase the almighty $, and then ended up reducing my workload to part-time to raise my children (who are growing up too quick). Raising my kids is the most satisfying career of all.
So of course my poor hubby is left to chase the $$ ! He seem to do ok at that though...* she says, speaking like an acccountant*
Anyway enough of that... I'm from Aus (sounds like Oz, but we dont spell it that way here) and was wondering if you have much in the way of very young Australian childrens lit.
I have a young kidslit library, which is some of the books I still treasure even now my children have mainly grown out of them, although I still read to my 11 yrs old daughter at night, currently reading "little women", because I cant convince her to read older works unless we do it together and its nice to still read to her.
I would recommend any of the books in my kidslit library for your 2 obviously adorable grandchildren. Hope you can drop by.

Cheers
kim

posted by KimB at 10:32 pm (EST) on Jun 14, 2007

Well, thank you very much for stopping by! (and that's me, in the south corner of MN...)

posted by Romanus at 11:42 am (EST) on Jun 5, 2007

Hi, MerryMary :)

I just read your comment on my page. Thank you for the recommendation! I have a huge to-read pile going, but I will definitely keep my eye open for that book.

Happy reading!

posted by wispywillow at 2:29 pm (EST) on May 26, 2007

Hi MerryMary
Yes the Highwayman is a great poem isn't it. My mother used to read it to me when I was a child. I used to go to sleep at night dreaming of the hoof beats on the road, riding, riding up to the old inn door.

posted by AnneBoleyn at 3:29 am (EST) on May 25, 2007

Mary Lou,

I could easily spend hours and hours in a bookstore!! That would definitely be my first stop.

posted by momom248 at 1:07 pm (EST) on May 17, 2007

Just wanted to drop in and say hi Mary Lou. I've been casually building up the old childhood favourites in my library too, over the years. I see a book, like [The Little Lame Prince] at the used book store and so many memories just come rushing back to me and I HAVE to get it! On-line bookstores are great too - I've never heard of loganberry books though, I'll have to check them out.

My husband Mark and I have been together now for 27 years, I can't imagine life without him. I'm so sorry for your loss. Like Mike Burnett I hope you're having more good days than sad too.

Best wishes :-)

Katherine

posted by katylit at 12:12 pm (EST) on May 17, 2007

Mary Lou,

Cleveland is a great city--I was there about 10 years ago (before it got rejuvenated) and it was fun. Now Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, The Flats near the river. Have a fun time if you go this summer.

posted by momom248 at 1:48 pm (EST) on May 16, 2007

Well, I have two more of those "monsters", another black female (the mom of the kitty on the picture) and a male tabby. Two more of the mom's litter live downstairs with our neighbors and often come to visit. I love them to pieces!
The little one just seems to always fall asleep in the one spot on my bed where I have some books. I don't know, sometimes I think she'd love to read them and as she can't she just falls asleep on them.

Actually... unfortunately Thalia is not my real name :-) It was my name in the girl scouts and I use it online a lot, if it's not already taken (which it often is). I do react to it though if someone I know from the scouts calls me that.
It is the muse of comedy in Greek mythology. I am a big mythology fan and love the different characters. The cat on my picture is called Artemis. She's the only one I named so the others don't have names from mythological characters.

posted by Thalia at 11:28 am (EST) on May 5, 2007

Hi Mary, I wish more people owned, read, and loved "Sadzia!" - it's really such a wonderful story.

posted by samantha at 8:43 pm (EST) on Apr 16, 2007

Welcome to Genealogy@LT, Mary. I love your picture! When it popped up on the screen, it triggered a smail and a "Hi, Mary!" :-)

posted by pdxwoman at 7:52 pm (EST) on Apr 14, 2007