Member: janoorani24

Your page looks beautiful. I'm so glad I could help!

All good wishes,
Linda

posted by Whisper1 at 1:29 pm (EST) on Nov 14, 2009

Thanks for your response to my recent post. I have read another of Alexie's books. Here is my review:

http://www.librarything.com/work/12861/r...

posted by Whisper1 at 3:00 am (EST) on Nov 7, 2009

Hello

I noted on a recent thread of the 75 challenge group that The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was one of your favorite reads in 2009. Like, you, I enjoyed this book a lot.

I'm sorry I've missed your thread on our challenge group. We have grown so much from the 2008 group that it is difficult to keep up with all threads. I'll be sure to search for yours.

Linda

posted by Whisper1 at 8:43 am (EST) on Nov 6, 2009

excellent info on DD. thanks much. yeah, I'd looked at king hereafter, such a great title, but readers recommended that one not start with that one so i turned to you. 'game of kings' goes on my endlessly expanding TBR list.

I'll also look for Napier as a narrator. I'm terribly picky about narrators.

posted by mirrordrum at 2:13 pm (EST) on Sep 28, 2009

you wrote on silly game:

"I'm a librarian, and your can actually add marginalia to your cataloging details in MARC standards."

i have nooooo idea what that means. *blush*

i should, but i don't. i've always wondered about MARC but have never gotten round to look it up. off to google.

posted by mirrordrum at 6:46 pm (EST) on Sep 26, 2009

a librarian. did i know that? i rather think not.

my boxed set has all 4 books. they're hardbacks and the covers are very similar to the ones i remember reading as a child. i don't think we owned them, though. i wonder. i think maybe mom had them in the academy library so i could read them whenever i wanted to. i remember they were very well worn and had that indescribable smell of library books 60 years ago.

i was raised on Winnie-ther-Pooh, the *real* pooh, not the Disney pooh who irritates me beyond words.

what would be a good Dunnett book to start with for a reader new to her writing? it will have to be an audiobook but NLS has a huge selection of her works and the local library has quite a good number from Recorded Books, who almost always have fine narrators.

i gather from a few things i've read that one needs to become familiar with her style. since you're a DD maven, i thought mayhap you'd have a suggestion.

thanks.

posted by mirrordrum at 6:37 pm (EST) on Sep 26, 2009

I'm reading my last Books About Books for 999 right now--Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her. But one of reasons I'm planning to get the Ian Sansom books is because of the library and the librarian! :-)

When I finish Girl Sleuth I have only one more 999 book to read! To finish my Fantasy category I'm planning to read Wood Wife by Terri Windling and 5 minutes ago the mail lady just brought it to my door from Amazon. The end is in sight! I'm very excited about that one, too. It won the "Mythopoeic Fantasy Award." Since myth and poetry are passions of mine and this book also involves a "mystery" of sorts it seems like for me it would be a perfect match. I'm trying not to let my expectations get too high! :-)

Carolyn

posted by MusicMom41 at 2:15 pm (EST) on Sep 24, 2009

Hi Jan

Thanks for stopping by my profile. I had to laugh when I read your question about "Romances" because I almost put a disclaimer in that post "excepting Georgette Heyer!" However, I really think of her books more as "comedy of manners" rather that Harlequin Romance types of books. Those are the ones I'm not crazy about (that's being polite). I can also enjoy a good "love story" that is well written and has an interesting plot. I'll be reading Barrayar fairly soon. If you read the Bujold books i would love to see what you think of them. I'm thinking (and I've also been told) that Barrayar is better writtin than Shards of Honor so I'm looking forward to it.

I highly recommend the Ogawa book. I almost took it back unread because it was due and couldn't be renewed--for some reason I dropped everything else Monday to read it and I'm so glad I did.

Thanks for the mystery recommendation--I will look for those. I do love mysteries.

Carolyn

posted by MusicMom41 at 3:35 pm (EST) on Sep 23, 2009

Way cool J.
b

posted by nannybebette at 7:59 pm (EST) on Aug 2, 2009

Hi, Jan - Saw an old note you'd posted to David Abrams that said you were in the military for many years. I spent 8 yrs in the army; even wrote a book about my first hitch: Soldier Boy: At Play in the ASA. I was out for over ten yrs then went back in, to study Russian at DLI that time, which led to a career with DoD. I'm retired now and still writing. Thought I'd mention another great military memoir by Debra Dickerson called An American Story. She was at DLI too, and hers is a real "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps" kinda tale. If you live in Seattle now, I hope you read Molly Gloss, a wonderful western writer out of Portland, who is currently on tour for her novel, The Hearts of Horses. Molly's a long-distance friend of mine and writes like an antique angel. Looks like your literary tastes are pretty eclectic. I read mostly memoirs and fiction, but I'll keep an eye on your collection. - Tim (RatholeBooks.com)

posted by TimBazzett at 8:20 am (EST) on May 7, 2009

A book finally came today! It (Travels with Herodotus) looks perfect. I'm actually going to be reading a lot of Herodotus for school in the next few months, so this should be a nice complement :).

My sister looked at my SantaThing page and says there's supposed to be another one coming too, but I'm just happy to have one of them in my hands right now! Thank you!

posted by _Zoe_ at 3:23 pm (EST) on Jan 2, 2009

Wow, and I thought the weather here had been bad! We've had some crazy wind and enough snow that we were running out of space to put it, but I don't think anything has really shut down because of it. And the sun is shining today, so the mail has no excuse not to come! I'm keeping my fingers crossed :)

posted by _Zoe_ at 11:48 am (EST) on Dec 29, 2008

Hi Jan,

It actually hasn't come yet; there was no mail delivery on the 25th or 26th, and then it was the weekend.... So I'm hoping today is the day! I'm sure I'll love it :). Thanks in advance!

posted by _Zoe_ at 10:08 am (EST) on Dec 29, 2008

Hope you got my SantaThing books okay, and that you enjoy them! Merry Christmas x

posted by mooingzelda at 6:23 am (EST) on Dec 25, 2008

>I've just finished a big push to get all of my books out of the boxes they've been in for the past year-and-a-half, and realized that all of my books together don't come up to 3000 SF/fantasy books alone! I don't blame you for not wanting to enter them all into LT. It's very impressive that they are alphabetized.
Alphabetized 4 deep, mind you, so they don't line up perfectly, but I know if I pull out chunks and work my way back, an author in back will match one of the front ones. I've had to pull them and move them along periodically as the collection grew, but they've been roughly alphabetical for years as they proliferated. When I moved a quarter century ago they went into boxes that way but there were noticeably fewer then.

>Anyway, now that I've finished all the boxes, I'll be entering the rest of my kids' books, but even with those, I don't think I'll go much over 2300 books total. My husband just told his sister he wants some books she's getting rid of, but I have no idea where we'll put them.
One minor reason I have so many is that some of my sisters used to buy some and they all ended up here. That's where many of the gothics I gave to the library for their book sales came from. Had to get rid of them to make room for more important books 8-)

>After I've pretty much finished messing with the books (I'll never really be done), I'll get back into sewing and quilting. My sewing machine hasn't even been turned on in almost two years!
Well, I make most of my clothes, including the swimsuits the chlorine in the pool where I swim laps keeps eating, so I have to keep sewing. At the moment a pair of slacks and a swimsuit are cut out and waiting, but it's Christmas cookie production time now. I also have to get the wine out of the bathroom and bottled ere long. Maybe after Christmas I'll not only get the sewing caught up but get back to illuminating scroll blanks!

posted by erilarlo at 7:58 pm (EST) on Dec 9, 2008

What a nice complement that is! I'm so flattered!

I don't know the Leon Uris title you mentioned. He was a big influence for me in my teens, and is probably responsible for awakening my interest in WW2, but I am kind of wary about revisiting him now I am in my 40s. it's sometimes better not to touch the idols of one's youth, don't you think?

I will be interested to hear your thoughts comparing the Niccolo series and the Lymond series. It's a shame there no other series of historical epics like Dunnett. I have been tempted several times by Patrick O'Brian, but in the end shied away, as I have a very addictive personality, and know that I would be hooked. I enjoyed the movie of Master and Commander inordinately!

How is the Tolkien course going?

posted by tomcatMurr at 9:44 pm (EST) on Dec 4, 2008

>I just looked through your books tagged "Medieval History." You have a great selection. My SCA persona is Anne Scott of Bucchleuch and I reside in Renaissance Scotland, during the reign of James V and the early years of Mary, Queen of Scot's (during the regency of her mother, Mary of Guise). Sometimes I cheat a little and become a Medieval Scottish women, because I have one Medieval gown and it's easier to put on than my Renaissance garb.<
One reason I have so many medieval history books is that, particularly since I retired a decade ago, I've been filling in the history to go with my Germanic Philology specialization--and for persona research 8 -) I first got into the SCA when I was in the middle of that graduate work, which included a lot of Old Norse, so becoming an 11th century Viking woman was a cinch. But when I got back in 2 decades later, I discovered much more variety and attempts at authenticity and then the music pulled me into a time and place where I had something to work with: 13th century Germany. And my favorite manuscript was full of people wearing a variety of t-tunics and I like to be comfortable. . .

>It's too bad you won't be cataloging your early science fiction and fantasy books. I'd love to peek at what you have. I've been fortunate in having recently moved. I've been cataloging all of my books as they come out of the boxes -- although it's going on two years now, and I'm still unpacking because the cataloging takes time. I also can't help but glance inside most of the books to reacquaint myself with them.<

The sf/fantasy collection is somewhere in the neighborhood of 3000 books. 4 deep but alphabetized, going back to the mid-1950s. Mysteries, historical and contemporary, other historical fiction, etc. don't fill as many shelves(most of them also 4 deep), but are still too numerous to catalog at my age. The books I HAVE catalogued get shuffled more often when I'm looking something up or trying to find a place for new ones so I can find them again. They're shelved in part by size for efficient use of space 8-) Cataloguing them led me to discover some I hadn't read, in fact!

posted by erilarlo at 9:25 am (EST) on Dec 4, 2008

I haven't listed my Dorothy Dunnett books because adding all my fiction would take too many years. I have all the Lymond books, among others, but only the first two Niccolo books. I tracked down the others via my library's access to other libraries. I've read everything she's written, of course 8-) I already have so much fiction on my shelves that I get most of it from the libraries, particularly if it's only available in hardcover--they take up too much room!

I don't need a challenge to devour vast numbers of books; I've been doing that since I learned to read.

posted by erilarlo at 5:30 pm (EST) on Dec 3, 2008

I read the Niccolo series this year while recuperating from an operation. I reviewed it on my blog,

http://thelectern.blogspot.com/2008/09/h...

but you probably read it already. I first read the Lymond series about 15 years ago. it's definitely time for a reread. I have not read any of her other books. Are they good?
Yes, Tolkein, was an expert in AngloSaxon, wasn't he? He created several complete languages for TLOTR, a labour of obsessive love if ever there was! if you have not yet read the Anglo Saxon poem Beowulf, you should. it will enhance your appreciation of TLOTR. Try to get the Seamus Heany translation.

Another incredible coincidence: the first book I remember buying with my own money, I think at the age of 12 or something, was Leon Uris's Trinity!!!!!! I felt so grown up reading it! I then went through a Leon Uris phase and read everything I could get my hands on by him.

posted by tomcatMurr at 9:52 pm (EST) on Nov 30, 2008

Ooooooh another Dorothy Dunnett fan!!! *Waving frantically* Isn't she fantastic!

posted by tomcatMurr at 3:00 am (EST) on Nov 29, 2008

I'm so glad you are doing the 999! One of its attractions for me is that is will ensure I read in many areas instead of just my comfort zones. Your categories look well rounded, diverse and interesting. You should have a good time. I'll definitely be checking out your Scifi/fantasy and mystery categories.

I'll also be interested to see what your book groups read. I used to have a great book group in Savannah and they keep in touch with me so I usually read the books they are reading and send my review. but I miss the discussions.. The only book group available to me in the small town where I now live is the group at the public library--we meet twice a year. One nice feature--they do this with a grant and you get a free copy of the book that is chosen. We just finished Three Cups of Tea last month--it was great and engendered some of the best discussions we've ever had. We meet every other week, usually 4 meetings, and read in sections.

Boys are ready for the outing to Science Museum--gotta go!

posted by MusicMom41 at 2:32 pm (EST) on Nov 26, 2008

Thanks for the info on the Lymond Chronicles. I will be looking for them--especially if I can figure a way to fin them into my 999 challenge!

About challenges--many of us use to them to encourage ourselves and to have like-minded people to "talk books" with and who encourage you and suggest other good books to read. It is not a "contest" and no one gets penalized for not completing. It's more social than anything else. I suggest you look at some of the 75 threads such as alcottacre, Whisper1, Prop2gether, or mine to get an idea of the kinds of talk I mean. (If you think I read a lot--alcottacre is now over 400 books!)

Suggestions for increasing your number: a lot of readers read a lot of YA books as well as adult books; many readers who have children count the books they read aloud to the children; if you like poetry, have a poetry book going all the time, read a couple each day and soon you have a book finished in no-time (that's one I use--I love poetry).

I'm encouraging to try a challenge next year for the "community" aspect of it--that is what makes it fun.

posted by MusicMom41 at 11:00 am (EST) on Nov 26, 2008

I guess I'm not much smarter now than I was then! I just checked your library and it is the Lymond Chronicles (I did sort of remember that) and the first one is Game of Kings. Now all I have to do is find them and then find time to read them! But it gives me something to look forward to. It is chess pieces.

posted by MusicMom41 at 4:00 pm (EST) on Nov 25, 2008

Hi janoorani24,

I had to come see who the baseball fan was! I notice we have a lot in common in our reading tastes--we share 180 books and I'm in your most similar library list. I'll be going to your 50 Challenge list when I have time this week. I'm in the 75 Challenge group. I'll be on the lookout for your posts.

BTW Many years ago I read a series by Dorothy Dunnett that I have often thought I would like to read again--it was somebody's Chronicles and as I recall the titles had to do with either Chess pieces or playing cards and I think it took place in Scotland. Does that ring a bell? I was a teenager and didn't pay as much attention then and also didn't think I would need to keep a record of what I read in order to remember it later.

posted by MusicMom41 at 3:56 pm (EST) on Nov 25, 2008

Jan, I apologize for taking so long to reply. About your decorator's response to your books, I would have invited her to leave immediately, so you must be a very nice person. Recently I picked up a copy of Oprah's magazine for the first time ever because of a promised look at her private libary. I expected the leather-bound first editions, but I didn't expect to see a lonely bookcase behind a leather couch. Then, the next article was a decorator's advice on how "to decorate with books" (kid you not). Among the advice were these choice ideas: 1) organize books by height and 2) hide paperbacks ("Harlequin romances") behind a large object! Let's see, I'm new here. Could you help me find out how to organize my books by the size of spine in this database?

posted by CCMambretti at 4:54 pm (EST) on Nov 18, 2008

Hi Jan, no, I don't yet have The Family Tree...I'm pretty loosey goosey with my library, I keep my wishlist on it as well as books that I have given away or sold. So it is tagged as 'want' so I wll remember to read it one of these days. As I get older I find that I need a lot more memory aids...this helps me remember what I want to read and keeps me from buying the same book over and over (yes, I have done that more then once). It does sound interesting so I will get to it sooner or later.

I did pick out a couple of books about India last night!

I'm disappointed to miss next month's book club meeting but I will hopefully see you in January.

posted by CarolO at 7:22 pm (EST) on Nov 12, 2008

Hi Jan, I really enjoyed meeting you last night and hope you will continue with the little group. I also enjoyed hearing again about SCA and will probably start lurking there some. - Karen (aka Maggie1944)

posted by maggie1944 at 10:16 am (EST) on Nov 12, 2008

It was great to meet you tonight, welcome to our bookclub!

Carol

posted by CarolO at 1:06 am (EST) on Nov 12, 2008

Thank you for adding me to your interesting libraries. Is is because of Dorothy Dunnett? The Lymond Chronicles are probably my favorite historical series. (I once gave a book talk based on that series to a woman's group who would probably have been more interested in the latest Danielle Steel!) However, I struggled through the first Niccolo book and never continued. I like to think I am saving them for later.

Anne

posted by amancine at 9:06 am (EST) on Oct 28, 2008

Thanks for adding me to your interesting libraries list! I'm happy that you took the time to check out my library. It's fun to browse someone else's books, isn't it? I usually do it with a pad and pencil at hand so I can make a list of stuff to look for.

Janis Watson

posted by janiswatson at 9:20 pm (EST) on Sep 12, 2008

It's nice to know that others like our library. I sympathize with your dislike of horror: I have avoided Stephen King up to now because I can't tell which of his books are horror and which are fantasy. But I don't read pulp romance either!

posted by MyopicBookworm at 5:17 am (EST) on Feb 1, 2008