Search sgerbic's books

Random books from sgerbic's library

Civilization in the West by Mark A. Kishlansky

Henry VIII: The Mask of Royalty by Lacey Baldwin Smith

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3) by J.K. Rowling

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Trouble With Christmas by Tom Flynn

A Daughter's a Daughter by Mary Westmacott

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Standard Edition by J. K. Rowling

Members with sgerbic's books

Member connections

Friends: cj.23, GeekGoddess, jarsulic, JFCooper, squirrelontherun

Interesting library: albion25, Arthwollipot, cj.23, Francesca-Rizzi, GeekGoddess, Grijndvar, Gurdur, HarryTruman, jjmcgaffey, librarylady623, LyonTamer, rixsal, wewillfixit, WholeHouseLibrary

RSS feeds

Recently-added books

sgerbic's reviews

Reviews of sgerbic's books, not including sgerbic's

Helper badges

Member: sgerbic

CollectionsYour library (714)

Reviews207 reviews

TagsHistory (215), American History (137), Mystery (114), Fiction (102), Biography (82), Young Adult (81), Agatha Christie (79), Science Fiction (63), Science (53), 5 stars - the best of the best (52) — see all tags

Cloudstag cloud, author cloud, tag mirror

Recommendations7 recommendations

About meMy favorite book is always the one I just finished or the one I'm about to start. They have been my friends and comfort, and have opened doors I would never have known existed.

Through High School my report card reported my average status, totally C's every time. Teachers thought nothing of me, middle of the road student, didn't make trouble, awkward, very weird but not college material, not interested in learning.

I feel like I have been playing catch-up all my adult life. I have been in college almost 20 of the 28 years since High School, class after class I still feel like I'm behind everyone else. Only recently I understand why I feel this way, it is because I am not satisfied being that C student. I keep looking towards the A+ students, wondering what they are reading, why did they succeed? So there are always people ahead of me, when I catch up to those people then I look for the people even higher up, not realizing that I have been making progress all this time.

I have enjoyed organizing my home library here, it has been therapeutic and eye-opening. I can see where I have been and what remains to be done. This has taken me weeks to write all the reviews, and label all the books, but I think for me it is worth it.

Now at 45, now accepted into the History Master's program at SJSU. I now know I am not that C student anymore. I still have lots to learn, but I'm not that clueless kid, now I know where the doors are, and looking over my shoulder can see some of the doors I've already been through.

Susan,
April 10, 2008

About my libraryI'm amazed I have so few books. They are everywhere in my home even some shelves are double stacked. I have most of my books from childhood, and most of my father's books (Tagged Dad's Books). Dad was the big reader in our family, he loved westerns, nature and travel. Thinking about it now, Dad being the big reader never discussed books with me. With my sons I have done just the opposite, many of our best conversations begin with "what's happening in your book now?" I read to them as children and hold those books as precious memories still.

GroupsAmerican History, Atheists review books, Dear America, The Green Dragon

Homepagehttp://guerrillaskepticismonwikipedia.blogspot.com/

Also onFacebook, YouTube

Real nameSusan Gerbic

LocationSalinas, CA

Emailsusangerbicyahoo.com

Favorite authorsNot set

Account typepublic, lifetime

URLs http://www.librarything.com/profile/sgerbic (profile)
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/sgerbic (library)

Member sinceMay 6, 2008

Most recent activity

sgerbic added:
The Complete Art Of War: Sun Tzu/sun Pin (History & Warfare) by Sun-tzu

sgerbic added:
Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How It Can Renew America by Thomas L. Friedman

sgerbic added:
Longitudes and Attitudes: Exploring the World After September 11 by Thomas L. Friedman

sgerbic added:
The Glory That Was Greece by J. C. Stobart

sgerbic added:
The Grandeur That Was Rome by J. C. STOBART

sgerbic added:
A Treasury of Satire by Edgar Johnson

i like your review of Search for Noah's Ark. Balsiger's Lincoln Conspiracy is at least as bad, if not worse...

posted by danielx at 11:13 pm (EST) on Jun 2, 2011

I enjoyed reading your review of Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle, but I wanted to let you know that you seem to have attached your review to a different book -- William W. Johnstone's horror novel of the same title.

(Link to your review.)

Best to you.

posted by MyriadBooks at 9:30 am (EST) on Mar 22, 2011

What is the name of the first book in Beverly Cleary's autobiography?

Thanks

harrietgate

posted by harrietgate at 10:47 pm (EST) on Nov 24, 2009

I really did like your review of the Untold Story. The only thing I would have added would have been something about Eliott himself, and possibly speculating on his revealing so much about his parents. I started collecting first lady dolls, president dolls, then books to go with them. I bought the Martha Washington book while at the Washington and Lee bookstore.

I figured out by chancing book covers I could actually add photos of my dolls (have very few in yet) and I am solving the problem of storage by boxing the books, puting them in the basement and putting box numbers in as tags.

Good luck with your collection and keep on writine reviews. Even Amazon does not have a review of this book.

posted by carterchristian1 at 2:06 pm (EST) on Jul 22, 2009

Yes, Plait's book is that good, I think. He explains hard to explain things perfectly so laymen like me can understand them. I'm hoping he writes more books like this one.

posted by juanjux at 4:21 pm (EST) on May 19, 2009

I also just read Bible as History after visiting Israel and Jordan and taking a sr citizen course that included these areas. A very good book, given to me from the collection of a man who had just died. Interesint how our books move on.

posted by carterchristian1 at 3:59 pm (EST) on Apr 10, 2009

This is a very good review. I have a doll collection of first lady and presidents, even presidents children and then went on collecting books, with something by or about almost all of the first ladies.

Quit going on about grades you made years ago. It doesn't matter. Wonderful to hear about your history program. You are probably ready for it now. I am rereading books about the Bush administion, after several years watching CSpan, and am just starting to understand what was going on. Much more to come.

Library Thing is included as a social network, and I see how much more interesting talking about books is than useless "poking" on Facebook.

Elizabeth

posted by carterchristian1 at 3:57 pm (EST) on Apr 10, 2009

Susan,

Some day, indeed!

Hey, I took seven months to get around to reading and finishing the book. Don't feel you need to read the review any time soon for ~my~ benefit. I'll give you up to a year... {;>)

I keep books of personal essays or short stories around to 'take a break', 'recharge my batteries', 'insert favorite cliche here'. They're like a cup of coffee, or a stroll around the block - a necessary activity for the sake of being efficient in what else I have to do.

Don't let the school-required reading make you too crazy (although, a little crazy is always interesting).

Mike

posted by WholeHouseLibrary at 3:46 pm (EST) on Mar 26, 2009

Hi Susan,

Refer back to my 2-Jul-08 message...

I just wrote my review of Great Feuds In Science. For the most part, it was a very good read, although I have to admit, it took me two months to get through what I ought to have polished off in a week. I also read two other books before starting it. My bad...

Regards,
Mike
WholeHouseLibrary

posted by WholeHouseLibrary at 3:54 am (EST) on Feb 26, 2009

Hello, Susan Sorry it took me so long to respond. I haven't looked at the site for a while. You asked me about my opinion of Voyagers to the West. I have to confess that I am a Bernard Bailyn fan. I thought Voyagers was ingenius and a marvel of research. However, I would agree with you that it is not especially readable. Good luck in your Master's program!
Jon

posted by jkmansfield at 6:27 pm (EST) on Jan 25, 2009

I read both of Chapman's books - the Trial of the Monkey first.

The DVD "Flock of Dodos" is about the creationist/ID movement and features interviews with people both for ID and the reasonable ones :). The producers try to be as neutral and polite as possible. It's a good film.

The BOOK "Flock of Dodos" is about the creationist/ID movement, and there the similarity ends. (Titles can't be copyrighted.) They do NOT try to be neutral and polite, and are rude, crude, and socially unacceptable. It's hilarious - I've already started loaning it out.

posted by GeekGoddess at 9:32 am (EST) on Dec 23, 2008

I didn't think Bad Astronomy was as good. It's got lots of facts in it, and it's engaging and humourous, but it just didn't engage me the way Death From The Skies did.

posted by Arthwollipot at 9:14 pm (EST) on Dec 22, 2008

I thought I had already reviewed it - but I realised that I'd posted it on fishpond, not here. :)

posted by Arthwollipot at 5:45 am (EST) on Dec 19, 2008

I noticed your comments on Chapman's books. I bought both this book and his other book, Trials of the Monkey, at TAM this year. I read the other one first (going by the publication date). In the Dover Trial book, he quotes several sections from his previous book. Having read it first, I didn't find the back-and-forth nature you described.

posted by GeekGoddess at 4:17 pm (EST) on Dec 16, 2008

I think I got them all.

Do you know Library Lady's name here?

posted by GeekGoddess at 5:22 pm (EST) on Nov 6, 2008

Susan: Thank you for the kind words about my review of "A Drinking Life". While I did like the book - and it may be a good read for someone who is a long way into recovery for an addiction, I would't suggest it to someone in the heat of the battle, no. Until the very end of the book, the picture of his drinking is a bit too rosy. But PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn". I read it about every 5 years and every time I love it just a little bit more. I've never seen the movie - but I can't imagine how they could capture Francie on film better than Smith does in words. -karieh

posted by karieh at 6:18 pm (EST) on Jul 6, 2008

Hi Susan!

Thanks for the addition as an interesting library, and I've reciprocated. Looks like while I cover early Africa, you cover early USA. By the way, I know well the feeling you describe when you say that you feel like you've been catching up your whole adult life; I get that feeling too about myself.

Wishing you a good day,
Tim (Gurdur)

posted by Gurdur at 5:23 am (EST) on Jul 3, 2008

Hi Susan!

I've just started 2 books -- How to Read a Book and Truth and Consequences (Keith Olbermann). The latter is really just a collection of his 'Special Reports' that he has done on 'Countdown'. They're quite impassioned bits of railings, which I like, and he backs up what he says with the facts (which I like even more). That will be a fairly quick read for me. The ~other book, though, is one of those scholarly works, which (for me) is absolutely fascinating. I'm getting ~SO MUCH~ out of it, I can't begin to tell you (yet).

Just for you, I'll read Great Feuds In Science immediately after that. And I'll definitely write a review about it. It's going to be a couple of months, though. Mountain ranges form and erode in the time it takes me to read a decent-sized book, usually. There are exceptions -- I read the last Harry Potter Book in a week, and then read 2 more (smaller books) in about 2 days each. Maybe I'm on a roll!

I went to your web site ('cos I got nosey). I sure wish ~my~ family could do something like that! Until the mid-70's, we thought we were 100% Irish. Then my maternal grandmother and my aunt went to visit the 'family castle' in Ireland, where she found that the ancestors were "Englishmen living in Ireland" (for the past 50 years). Then, about 3 years ago, we found out that my father's mother was born in Germany, her mother was French, and ~her~ mother was Italian. My father's mother's father (it turns out was a German Jew). So much for that 100% thing. It doesn't bother me, except that it was all hidden from us.

Hope the fires aren't anywhere near you.

Regards,
Mike.

posted by WholeHouseLibrary at 2:05 am (EST) on Jul 2, 2008

Hi again Susan,
You remarked:
I wonder why you do not review your books, one of the best features on LT is this ability to quickly see what others think about a book.

The reason I haven't reviewed books (until quite recently) is twofold. One is that I am a pathetically slow, and inconsistent reader. One would think that, since I am still waiting for my next bit of Contract work to commit (currently 3 are pending), I'd spend a lot of time reading, but I don't. I spend a lot of time here, and taking care of family matters (FiL died in January, and it's a really long story -- a lot of which is already in various posts here on LT). The other tawdry excuse is that I had not been in the habit of writing my thoughts about a book until about a year ago, when I started keeping a reading journal. Once I got a feel for what was pertinent and what was not, I compared my notes to other reviews and decided that I need to be more concise. This message is a prime example -- I could keep this stream-of-consciousness writing form going all day! So, that's why I've written only 2 reviews. The one about Chauvet Cave was written by my wife and posted on Amazon or eBay, or ~wherever~, over a year ago, but I brought it back home to LT. I also spend a lot of time writing stories -- some are complete fiction, others are memoirs for my sons to have when I'm gone. It's their inheritance, since their mother and my lawyer got all the money in the divorce, 10 years ago.

You'll notice that there isn't much activity in our currently commonly-shared Group. Perhaps you'll be the one to breathe some new life into it. Otherwise, feel free to stop by the Green Dragon for a pint of ale, and some cheese, and good conversation. You may also find Happy Heathens to your liking.

Mike

posted by WholeHouseLibrary at 9:32 am (EST) on May 15, 2008

Hi Susan, and thank you for your book suggestion, and for putting me on your Interesting Libraries list. Just curious -- I've got over 1400 books in there (and another 400+/- yet to be cataloged). What makes it interesting to you? Frankly, I find it difficult to look at lists of books; would much rather see them up close and personal. For that reason, I rarely look at other people's libraries, unless I search by tag.

Prior to finding LibraryThing, I cataloged our books in a spreadsheet (now 28 columns of info, one of which can contain any of 34 different codes for the idiosyncrasies of each book. I've been accused of being a tad OCD. I still maintain the spreadsheet in parallel with the LibraryThing catalog.

Interesting bio you wrote, but you look much younger than what you mentioned.

See you on the threads!
Mike
WholeHouseLibrary

posted by WholeHouseLibrary at 10:18 pm (EST) on May 14, 2008

Yeah, a heckalota reading...but I read fast, and I'm literally addicted to books. Story I tell: I went to England to go to university there. Arrived before the university was properly open, and a week before the library opened; I couldn't find the town library nor the bookstores. I'd only brought three books with me and I'd read two of them on the plane and the third the first night...by the second day I had the shakes! My hands were literally quivering. I finally borrowed a book from my roommate (the one and only John Grisham I've ever read, The Firm) and that tided me over until I found the bookstore in town. It was...seriously weird. I haven't read all of my 3K books - some of them are reference books, some I bought en masse and just haven't gotten around to yet, some I have because they're important books and I really should read them...I'm chipping away at my TBR pile, but it's frequently more fun to reread an old favorite.

By the way, do you know there's a Google Book Search column you can add to your library? Or you can go to GBS from any book's details page - it is (or can be - you may have to add it) in the Buy, Borrow, Swap or View list on the top right. Only thing is, GBS is tied to a particular edition (ISBN), so the column may not have the link if you don't have the exact same edition. The BBSV list takes you to the front page of GBS, and you can search from there.

Yeah, not a lot of stores in Salinas! Have you checked out LT Local yet? There are several stores in Monterey and Pacific Grove - not close, but closer than San Jose.

There are a _lot_ of elements to LT. You'll find them as you explore. But do ask, me or anyone, here or in a Talk topic, 'cause most LTers love telling what they've figured out about LT...

posted by jjmcgaffey at 2:42 am (EST) on May 11, 2008

Oh yeah - and it's Jennifer. For some reason jjmcgaffey (Jennifer Jean McGaffey) is read as Jim a lot...I guess it's that second dot .

posted by jjmcgaffey at 5:49 pm (EST) on May 10, 2008

Ooof. I never tried Google Library - but it doesn't sound very useful! Can't search your own library?

Yes, I moved a bunch of reviews over too - from my 50 Book Reading Challenge here. I had never done real reviews before, but I decided it would be fun to have them. The only thing is, on LT a review is tied to a book so if you remove a book from your library you also delete the review. So I've got a lot of Discard books, some of which I've reviewed...and with 3k books, I haven't gotten around to rating or reviewing most of my books. I need the reminder of what I'd decided the stars meant!

BTW, you put your comment on your profile rather than on mine - there's a 'reply' link at the bottom of the comment that will put it on my profile, or go there and enter it directly. I got the auto-notice that you'd put me on your Interesting Libraries list and came over to see.

posted by jjmcgaffey at 5:48 pm (EST) on May 10, 2008

Thank you Jim for giving me my first comment, I came from Google Library and encountered too many frustrations to count. One major problem is the inability to search your own library for a book you know you have. So moving all my books and reviews was an event that has taken me days. I hope there aren't a lot more errors like the one you found but I can guess there will be plenty.

As you can see I have reviewed "Out of the Silent Planet" now. Apparently when I read it in 2004 I liked it, but felt it was the Chronicles of Narnia all over again, same plot, same history, same characters. It's always fun to re-read reviews years later and wonder "what was I thinking?" I have read several books that I reviewed that I loved at the time, but now years later I can barely remember them. I think that the really great books you remember and think about later.

I noticed that you did the same thing I did with the point system for rating books. I based my system if I would have talked about my book to others or if the book gave me pause. After I reviewed everything I erased the rating system I had in my profile.

I see you have a lot of reviews and we have a lot of books in common (not much of a surprise when you have over 3K books, bet you have many libraries in common). I look forward to reading your comments (something you had a difficult time with Google) and reviews.

Susan

posted by sgerbic at 8:37 pm (EST) on May 9, 2008

Hi - I was reading some of your reviews and noticed one that was misplaced. The review of Out of the Silent Planet is - um, Hugo Winners? It's a discussion of several short stories. The review is excellent, it just doesn't apply to Out of the Silent Planet! And I'd be interested in reading your take on OotSP, as well - I've never managed to start that one.

posted by jjmcgaffey at 3:37 pm (EST) on May 9, 2008