Member: benitastrnad

How was your weekend? Did you go on your trip or just stay at home cooking? I've got a question, I think you can answer it: I got a little confused by the different sorts of paperbacks you seem to have oversea. I heard something about mass market paperback and another kind of paperback where I forgot the right name. Can you tell me the difference, if it's not just the cost?
That was all, so I hope to read from you tomorrow evening or Tuesday.

posted by Tallulah_Rose at 7:09 am (EST) on Nov 29, 2009

I knwe that Thanksgiving isn't the same as these harvest festivals. But I took a glance on Wikipedia. I just can say: One of my professors (The one for North American Studies who has really good connections to Natives) told us different things about the Natives help on Thanksgiving. The quote from "Of Plymouth Plantation" we read in the lecture (I'm not sure if I really read it...) and he said, that the Natives haven't taught them anything, they just were angry about the Pilgrims. But I don't know if he really said it this way, or if I just didn't listen right or I mixed it up, because it's a years ago now that I heard it. But I will attend this lecture once more in a year so probably I am enlightened then. I'm not willing to argue about this, especially while I'm not sure... But anyhow it's a holiday, it's a feast where families come together and therefore it's agood thing.
I would be verry happy and honoured to receive a Christmas Letter from you (I don't care if it's bragging, I know you haven't intended on that). That's a lovely tradition. In Germany we just send Christmas Cards, with just a few lines on them, it's more like fulfilling of duty. I don't care about such things. The people who are important to me, I'm going to visit for they don't live that far away from me. But I think your Christmas Letters are somewhat different, so I will be happy about one. I will tell ou my adress via mail, because I don't want it to be here for everybody to see. (I have to find your e-mal again, but I think I will manage)
I've looked which copy of "Every Man dies alone" you have, and it appears that yours and mine "Every Man a Murderer" are not the same. Yours is from Hans Fallada, who is a german author as well. But mine is from Heimito von Doderer (cruel name, I know) who is in fact an austrian author. I don't recommend mine so far, but it's going to come to the point right now, probably it will turn out to be great. I'll see.
I finally made my Advent wreath today, which isn't a wreath actually but some fir tree branches arranged on a plate, with a napkin under the branches and a big red candle on it and three smaller candles (two in form of a fir cone and one of an apple). It's a simple one, we don't like all this overdone christmas decoration. We like it more homely. With us the decoration is to be out of wood and potted things in easeful colours, not all this plastic stuff wit it's shrill colours.
Okay that's to be enough from me. I hope you had a relaxed weekend and enjoyed yourself.

posted by Tallulah_Rose at 12:39 pm (EST) on Nov 27, 2009

So today is Thanksgiving, Happy Thanksgiving! In Germany we don't have such a holiday, but we have aquivalent feast, mostly in rural regions. End of August and beginning of September we have harvest festivals (the dictionary said Thanksgiving as well, but that wouldn't be helpful). That means the whole village will decorate their harvest machines or carriages and they will walk through the village, normally with a marching band (my father is in one, so we are on lots of harvest festivals every year). Then there will be cake, all eating and celebrations are ending late at night. Usually that's on weekends and every village takes it's own date, so it's no holoday at all, just tradition.
What have you decided to do? Take the trip or stay at home? So you don't celebrate Thansgiving, do you? Do you actually miss it, to have a family, or at least someone at home? I can't imagine being all alone, it would be interesting for me to see, why you have no partner.
I eventually found out how to combine/sperate books and works, so I did it yesterday for a book by Kathy Reichs (I'm sure you've heard about her, but haven't read), the german translations of two works have been mixed up...
Today is my day off, but I have a lot of reading to do for classes tomorrow and a bit housework as well, so probably it will be a full day again.
Enjoy your long weekend!

posted by Tallulah_Rose at 3:01 am (EST) on Nov 26, 2009

Hi!
Yes I finally finished the Name of the Rose. I enjoyed the murder story very well although this whole thing about the religious orders I find really exhausting and a bit long, although I am very interested in christianity, it's development and so on. But I enjoyed it and relly likes William. He reminded me of Holmes from the first chapter onwards (so I read some of the Holmes-books, but not all). I thought a bit about this coincidence and find other similarities or better reference to Holmes and Watson. At first my attention was caught by the whole name of William of Baskerville, which is a place in a Holmes-book, than of course William attitude and intellect and his way to see the world and at last the name "Adson" which is quite similar to "Watson" although it will be pronounced differently for Adson is German...
I know about the movie with Sean Connery as well, but never saw it. But I intend to. I haven't seen any Holmes-film by now, I never knew that there are some. Unfortunately our video rental store isn't that great so they might probably not have any of them.
Now I'm going to finish Every Man a murderer eventually. I starte that one back in August the style was too bad so I couldn't force myself to read it further, but I chose it for my German reading list which is due to the end of my studies, so in 1 1/2 year, but I have to read another seven and not quite sure about them. With this book the title caught my attention, but until now it didn't fulfilles it, but it's going to be better, now after we had left behind the protagonist's childhood and going to face his adult years... And I'm getting used to the style.
How's your reading going?
Do you celebrate the advent as well? Although celebrate might not be the edaquate word. In Germany we will light a candle on a Advent wreath and sit together. It's bad how little I know about America, possibly you will handle it in the same way. I have to make my Advent wreath for this year still, I think I will do it Thursday. I intend to bake cookies with my friend this weekend. But probably we don't because I bought so much sweets, it would be too much with the cookies... But I will read a christmas fairytale, so I look forward to this weekend. It would be nice if there is any snow, but I don' think so, it's way too mild for snow...

posted by Tallulah_Rose at 3:12 pm (EST) on Nov 24, 2009

Hi there! Thanks for the message! I'm glad you are planning on joining the future group reads for "WWE" and possibly "Midnight's Children",which I'll probably start in March. I really appreciate your insightful comments. I just finished "The Cellist of Sarajevo" and cannot praise it enough. It will be on my best of the year list! I see you have added "Shadow Divers". I read it a couple months ago and it was excellent! Take care!

Mark

posted by msf59 at 9:04 pm (EST) on Nov 23, 2009

Hi there! I just wanted to let you know that I've really enjoyed reading your insights in the People of the Book group read. You've given me some different ways of thinking about it as I read. This is one of the many reasons LT is so wonderful, sharing with and learning from others, and growing as readers. So, thank you!

See you around the group read threads,
Andrea/spacepotatoes

posted by spacepotatoes at 1:15 pm (EST) on Nov 9, 2009

Hi,

I finished "A Prayer for Owen Meany" this afternoon and wanted to let you know that I am going with the Wikipedia definition of presbyterian.

Wonderful book,

Robin

posted by libraryrobin at 9:33 pm (EST) on Oct 4, 2009

Thank you for backing me up on Olivia Joules. That's funny about you and your friend! Sounds like a situation I would find myself in.

posted by PaperbackPirate at 9:35 pm (EST) on Sep 22, 2009

Hi;
Mark and I have been discussing the possibility of another group read in November and want your input. We have narrowed it down to two books at this point. "The People of the Book" by Geraldine Brooks and "The Thirteenth Tale" by Diane Setterfield. So chat it up with friends or us and let us know if you are up for it and what you think. Probably the same plan as with "Pillars of the Earth" which seemed to work out perfectly for almost all of us.
Think it over and give one of us a shout.
hugs and looking forward to hearing from you,
belva

posted by nannybebette at 9:17 pm (EST) on Sep 8, 2009

Hello!
I really liked Un Lun Dun- I posted my review in the groups 100 Books Read in 2009 and 75 Books Read in 2009. The fantasy was fun , very clever and imaginative. I have put more of Mieville's book on my wish lists!
Regards
torontoc

posted by torontoc at 1:58 pm (EST) on Sep 8, 2009

Thanks for your comments about God of Small Things! I thought I'd LOVE it, or at least appreciate it, but my only time to read is on the train, and when I'm on the train, I need something I can follow easily.

posted by aliay at 9:44 pm (EST) on Sep 2, 2009

Hello
I have read all of David Mitchell's novels - I hope that he is writing a new one soon! Cloud Atlas has to be one of my all time favourites.

posted by torontoc at 11:44 pm (EST) on Jul 18, 2009

I saw your comment about the music for "Shadow of the Wind" and dug around a bit. Here's a link for info on The Angels Game music. =o) I would have posted it in the thread but I wasn't sure you'd see it. Feel free to share. =o)
~BD

http://www.randomhouse.com/ddpg/feature/...

posted by biggdiel at 11:13 pm (EST) on Jul 6, 2009

Thank you for your answer to my message about the site. I was feeling all alone in my feeling that the site is a good place for people who are more at home with books than with computers.

I'm not sure what the books we share say about either of us! In your random books I see The Way Things Work by David Macaulay. I don't think we have that one any more - my boys read two copies of it into rags.

posted by MarthaJeanne at 3:47 pm (EST) on May 29, 2008