Okay, The Scarlet Pimpernel was great! I read it by a pool in Mexico, but I'm assuming it would be great anywhere. I thought it was a quick read, especially considering it is 100 years old. I'm working my way through Willig's books right now, I started the first one right after I finished The Scarlet Pimpernel. Now if only the 4th would arrive from Amazon, so I don't have to ration out the 3rd.

posted by DevourerOfBooks at 2:09 pm (EST) on Jul 23, 2008

Hi Karen!
Thanks for the note.
Another FORTRAN geek, wow!
I'm afraid all I know are dead languages -- FORTRAN, COBOL, ADA, MUMPS, TAL, MASM, C, ALGOL, PASCAL, BASIC... and a few others that I can't conjure up at the moment. The weird thing is that I can't begin to comprehend how to code in the .net environment. No one who has taught it seems to be able to relate it to any previous language. I'm mostly self-taught in just about all my languages, and "Rosetta Stone"d learning each by writing the same application in each of the other languages. The .net and OO languages don't allow that sort of familiarization.

That's the oddest looking cat (that still has all of its parts) that I've ever seen!
Mike
WholeHouseLibrary

posted by WholeHouseLibrary at 5:25 pm (EST) on Jul 17, 2008

I noticed your comment in the Audiobooks forum re: cassettes -- after having to rewind a whole side of a tape, when I was out about town with low batteries in my Walkman, I got in the habit of checking library books on cassette right away to cue each individual tape to the beginning before commecing to read the entire book!

posted by Seajack at 4:08 pm (EST) on Jul 4, 2008

Great! I'm glad you had a good time there. Enjoy your day!

posted by GeorgiaDawn at 10:35 am (EST) on Jul 4, 2008

I did subscribe to Shelf Awareness so I'll wait on the Newsletters. Thanks! Your explanation was very easy to follow.

I don't have much in the way of plans today other than watching The Twilight Zone Marathon on the SciFi Channel. :)

posted by GeorgiaDawn at 7:42 am (EST) on Jul 4, 2008

It is fun to talk to people in the chat room. You get to know them a little better.

Have a great weekend!

posted by GeorgiaDawn at 11:11 pm (EST) on Jul 3, 2008

I'm gonna try....I still don't know what they're gonna do for an hour before the match starts. I'll check my cable's tv schedule to see when it actually starts.

If you have Java, the chatroom should work just fine. I sometimes have to "trust" the certificate, and then back up a page and sign in a second time. If you have any trouble, give that a try.

You have to trust the certificate or you won't get in.

posted by littlegeek at 5:01 pm (EST) on Jul 3, 2008

So have you tried to get into the chatroom? What happens? What kind of computer setup do you have?

posted by littlegeek at 4:14 pm (EST) on Jul 3, 2008

THANK YOU Karen, I appreciate your help!

posted by lyncos at 2:14 pm (EST) on Jul 3, 2008

Hi ! WOuld you pllease give me the email address for Adrienne Sparks at DOubleday? I would like to request Stealing Athena. Thanks!

posted by lyncos at 1:47 am (EST) on Jul 3, 2008

Hey Karen..saw you added McCarthy's 'The Road'. Hope you like it...pretty powerful, and scary, stuff!

posted by Severn at 8:22 am (EST) on Jul 1, 2008

Thanks, hope your birthday was special! I will archive your note to keep your recommendations on hand. I'm reading a Ngiao Marsh right now, next will be a Laurie King which I borrowed from the library. After that I want to try a Bruce Zimmerman, someone in the Black Orchid group recommended him as a Stout-like author. I'll let you know. Sigh. I have two stacks of mysteries about 3 feet tall to read. That doesn't take into account all of the non-fiction and fantasy books I have to read. Really, I need to make a career out of reading, but I can't find anyone to pay me to read the books I want to read. ;)

posted by MrsLee at 2:20 pm (EST) on Jun 27, 2008

I hope you had a lovely day, my sister threw a suprise party for me at a pub in town, so it has been a really good birthday. I may even forgive my sister the baby photos she sent to some of my work collegues this afternoon...

posted by SpicyCat at 7:07 am (EST) on Jun 27, 2008

Happy Birthday KarenMarie

It has been a beautiful day here. It has also been a day full of food morning coffee with work team, lunch with friends, afternoon birthday cake with the entire floor at work, and a family dinner! So I am quietly digesting, but must head off to bed soon.

I hope you have a lovely day, and get a chance to enjoy time with your family and friends.

Sarah

posted by SpicyCat at 6:19 am (EST) on Jun 26, 2008

Ellis Peters is a pseudonym for Edith Pargeter. I think she wrote historical fiction under her real name and mysteries under Ellis Peters. Here is a site with the bibliography of her works. http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/p/elli... My favorites are the Cadfael series, about a monk in the 1100s. There was a fine TV production of many of these on the BBC about 15 years ago. The first in the series is 'A Morbid Taste for Bones', but I like to start with her prequel, 'A Rare Benedictine: the Advent of Brother Cadfael'. It shows what inspired him to become a monk and why he is good at detecting. The first couple of books are good, but in my opinion, the series picks up when Cadfael meets up with Hugh Beringer, he is a wonderful addition. I can't be sure which book that is, I keep my copies in my son's room and he is asleep right now. :) Never wake sleeping teens. I read the books whenever I could find them and in whatever order, then, after I had collected them all, read them in order. I don't think it matters tremendously, it just makes more sense if they are in order until you meet Hugh.

Her other detective is George Felse, and though I like those and have decided to collect them, they are in modern (1960-1970) times and don't have the same flavor for me.

In the Letters of Dorothy Sayers, she never mentions her baby, but the woman who put the letters together fills in the gaps. Amazing to me that such a public figure could get away with a secret pregnancy and also raise the child (she paid her cousin to care for him). Also, to me, an insight into a tremendously intelligent woman who was very inept at falling in love with the right sort of man. Meaning a man who loves someone else and not only himself. For me, as a Christian, I enjoy looking into her thoughts, seeing how she worked out her faith in the everyday world which is full of mistakes and missteps. She doesn't talk a lot about her faith either, just her questions. That is why I would like to read some of her other works, sort of see what made her tick.

In my little mind, this is my rating system for mysteries: On the level of mentally stimulating: 1st, Sayers, 2nd, Stout, 3rd, Ellis Peters (not to be confused with Elizabeth Peters), 4th Laurie King. Then we jump to a new level of comfy books to read: 1st Agatha Christie, some of the early books of Lillian Jackson Braun (I overdosed on these), then a lot of others. If a book can't get to the level with Agatha Christie, I don't enjoy reading it. I don't keep Christie's books, due to shelf space, and I have all of Stout! But I can read a Christie book anywhere anytime and as many times as I want.

posted by MrsLee at 12:29 pm (EST) on Jun 21, 2008

I forgot to mention, I haven't read any of Sayers other works either, though I have the Dante books. I also read her early letters, which I think you would enjoy, they give so much insight to the development of Lord Peter and the mysteries. I've not read the later years yet.

posted by MrsLee at 2:18 am (EST) on Jun 21, 2008

Thank you for the note, sorry I snooped reading your last message. There is a link somewhere in the Black Orchid group to a great site about Stout which has the publication order of his books. I just returned from a vacation with a big armful of mysteries! :) I notice a big lack of Ellis Peters in your library, are you not a fan, or have you not read her? I like history mysteries, but they have to be well done.

posted by MrsLee at 2:16 am (EST) on Jun 21, 2008

Dear Karen:
I read your post responding to mine in the Crime, Thrillers, and Mystery group.
The last book in the Nero Wolfe series is called [A Family Affair] -- and anything I say about it will spoil it! It's best read after rereading a bunch of the others. I see you're also a fan of Lord Peter's -- have you read the short stories that occur AFTER [Busman's Honeymoon]?

By the way, that was a great suggestion of yours about compiling a list of all of Wolfe's books. Actually, someone has already done that -- [[William S. Baring-Gould]] -- the famed biographer of another favorite sleuth of mine, Sherlock Holmes. Baring-Gould wrote a book called [Nero Wolfe of West Thirty-fifth Street: The Life and Times of America's Largest Private Detective], published in 1965. Chapter 28 is titled "The Library of Nero Wolfe" and it is a fascinating list, indeed.

However, since Stout died in 1975, perhaps it is time to update that part of the book.

Another great chapter in the book is 27 -- "The Philosophy of Nero Wolfe". If you're a Wolfe fan, the book is great fun -- especially the part where Baring-Gould speculates about Wolfe's ancestor/s. Delightful!

posted by RachelfromSarasota at 4:35 pm (EST) on Jun 19, 2008

Hi, I just noticed you referenced the Lord Peter books in the Green Dragon twice, I'm a big fan. Also of Rex Stout. Did you know there is a group about his books here? It's called The Black Orchid. We have a lot of books in common, and many of your authors are my favorites as well. :)

posted by MrsLee at 2:57 pm (EST) on Jun 18, 2008

Hi there,
I'm giving a paper at a conference in September about user-based indexing (tagging) and I'm really interested in what you were saying in the 'what are you reading' group about how you use tags.
Would you mind if I used your system as an illustration of how users who tag are often not doing so for the benefit of other users but instead to help them keep track of their own library?

Thanks so much.

posted by mrsradcliffe at 11:54 am (EST) on Jun 17, 2008

Hiya Karen :)

That is indeed my Ginny girl...she's black and white - I suspect the lighting and her obscurity doesn't show it clearly. The picture shows almost all of her white heh...

High fantasy is another name for epic fantasy - set in parallel worlds, vast in scale, often with the stock-stand mythological creatures ascribed to fantasy (but not always), often multi-volumed.

Sadly, most seem to think that is all fantasy is about. Tis a shame, because it's just one sub-set of the genre.

I hope you enjoy the Jane Austen Book Club! It was wonderful, really engrossing, and such heart-warming, alive characters. I'll look out for your list in the group.

posted by Severn at 6:51 am (EST) on Jun 17, 2008

Wow! Friends with Pierce Pettis. I love his stuff. He is the only person I ever wrote a fan letter to, and he wrote a personal note back. Needless to say I was impressed. I have been trying to get him up to Alaska through our local Acoustic Adventures concert group. Maybe one day.

posted by Arctic-Stranger at 8:58 pm (EST) on Jun 12, 2008

LOL - I soooo agree w/ your Bush comment! Isn't it hard sometimes to not make those political references on non-political threads?? Sometimes I have to bite my tongue. Sometimes, obviously, that doesn't even work!

posted by teelgee at 3:55 pm (EST) on Jun 3, 2008

I've seen that group. Perhaps we'll both read Scarlet Pimpernel and love it so much we'll join as well.

posted by DevourerOfBooks at 11:30 am (EST) on May 28, 2008

Hey Karen, I wanted to let you know that I changed my username from jlcardwell to DevourerOfBooks to match my blog. I didn't want you to be totally confused when I message you about The Scarlet Pimpernel!

posted by DevourerOfBooks at 9:35 am (EST) on May 28, 2008

I used to love Chavez Ravine too until I learned about the history of the area. Unfortunately, they bulldozed entire neighborhoods to build the facility. There is a wonderful book, "Chavez Ravine:1949:A Los Angeles Story" that I have in my library. It includes photos of Chavez Ravine before the ballpark. It's worth reading if you have a chance.

I grew up in the very north end of the valley, Sylmar and went to school in Mission Hills.

Beth

posted by mcna217 at 9:24 am (EST) on May 9, 2008

I lived in the San Fernando Valley until 1977 and my father's company has season tickets to the Dodgers. Do you mean Chavez Ravine, the location, the book, or the CD?

posted by mcna217 at 8:49 pm (EST) on May 8, 2008

Oh good! Enjoy!

posted by ablachly at 2:52 pm (EST) on May 6, 2008

Hey Karen,

I realise having 41 books in common is nothing compared to the members that share books with you on the right of this message, but I like browsing through your library anyway.
It was funny seeing your husbands name is Hengeveld. I grew up in a city in the east of the Netherlands, Hengelo, and somewhere nearby there's a little town that is called Hengevelde.

posted by morninggray at 4:25 am (EST) on May 4, 2008

Hi there! I'm doing a roundup of everyone on Book of the Month as I figured we must all enjoy listing our favourite books. Come and join in on Desert Island Books - on Book Talk.

posted by Booksloth at 5:32 pm (EST) on Apr 26, 2008

I've been hearing a lot about The Inner Fish, you'll have to tell me how it is. I am planning on reading the SP after I get ALL of Lauren Willig's books, then I'm going to read SP then the Willig books. I think to make it work I may have to actually put it on my TBR Calendar that I recently made, or just read them during my honeymoon.

posted by DevourerOfBooks at 10:40 pm (EST) on Apr 19, 2008

Karen,

I think you were the other person who had bought The Scarlet Pimpernel because of Lauren Willig's books. I wanted to let you know I haven't read it yet and don't know quite where it is on the horizon, so let me know if you read it first!

posted by DevourerOfBooks at 4:06 pm (EST) on Apr 18, 2008

Hi Karen. It's funny how these coincidences work, especially since you were not even intending to get the book, it arrived accidentally. How lucky is that, a good book and a good website (with a whole lot of really great people on it) and all by accident. I hope you and your daughter enjoy the site. Take care, Jody

posted by Jodyreadseverything at 11:21 am (EST) on Apr 18, 2008

I wouldn't worry about it yet -- I know many members are still waiting for their March books.

posted by ablachly at 12:01 pm (EST) on Apr 11, 2008

April is going slowly for me in the reading department. I finished Memoirs of a Geisha, which was fabulous. I'm not working on Cold Mountain... apparently I was in the mood to read books that turned into movies recently. It's slow moving, but has wonderful imagery.

And I too look forward every month to seeing what you all have read. Always gives me good ideas of what to add to my TBR mountain, as if it weren't large enough already.

posted by Hollister5320 at 11:27 am (EST) on Apr 11, 2008

I'm no expert, but off the top of my head - - does your scanner software give you a 'preview' option? If so, you may be able to click and drag 'handles' to limit the area of the flatbed that is scanned. Check on that. I haven't scanned my book yet, when I do I'll see if I have any other suggestions. Let me know.

posted by etrainer at 3:56 pm (EST) on Apr 8, 2008

karenmarie, nope, no Pirkei Avos for me yet. Last time Gefen offered books, some of them got out right away and some took longer. I'm looking forward to it too though! :-) -bostonbibliophile

posted by bostonbibliophile at 8:13 am (EST) on Mar 31, 2008

Thanks for the comment! Good luck with the 888 challenge. (And with the homework!) I love BookCrossing. I started it initially to get rid of some extra books, but the next thing I knew, I was hooked! One of my books actually made it from Utah to Iraq to Michigan. Not sure how that happened, but it was pretty cool!

posted by cmbohn at 3:19 pm (EST) on Mar 9, 2008

yeah, the ending was off a bit, but I loved his writing style, and the concept - that people respond and react to smells, even to the point of being disguised. I just loved the whole idea even though the Frog was ugly inside and out.

(I posted this twice too)

posted by beeg at 2:21 pm (EST) on Feb 14, 2008

Thanks for the comment about sayers! We seem to share quite a few titles so I shall trust your taste! Thanks :)

posted by mrsradcliffe at 10:15 am (EST) on Feb 14, 2008

Thanks for the friend request, we do have quite a few books in common! My profile says you sent me a private message but I have no idea how to view it.

posted by lbucci3 at 2:35 pm (EST) on Jan 7, 2008