Introduce Yourself Thread #3

Thread #2 getting unwieldy, so here is #3. Please say hi and tell us a little about who you are and what you like to read.

Just a random note to say that this group makes me happy--I'm thinking about how a friend turned 40 and is having such a hard time with the concept of not being young any more and how I'm just fine with being 53, nearly 54, so what? As long as my joints don't hurt too much and I can sleep for six hours or so every night, it's all good!!

Absolutely!
My younger brother was devastated when he reached 30 - serious depression! He turned 55 this year and has never felt better about it.

My younger sister has been fighting aging since she was 24--of course, she did some *serious* living-it-up in her teen years, didn't finish college, married young, had 2 children by that time, etc. Her ex husband used to say that he wanted to leave 2 weeks before her birthday and not come back till 2 weeks after, she got into such a funk. She still wears short skirts (have to say she does still have the legs for it!), got her belly button pierced for her 40th b/day, and a back tattoo for her 45th. My children call her "cool Aunt Nita"; her own sons were mortified, lol. She turns 50 next month, and I'm debating whether to be obnoxiously mean, or send a sympathy card, or just send a sweet sappy card. We both became grandmas this year, and I have to say she's done pretty well with that, better than I thought she would.

My forties were the greatest decade of my life. But in my fifties, I've discovered how little things matter any more, and that has made life so sweet. I don't know if it's an unconscious sense of mortality or what, but nothing bothers me like it used to, and darn it, I like it that way! Yes, I'm falling apart, but that's what happens to things when they get to be my age. Growing older certainly beats the alternative!

>5 tloeffler: Hear, hear!

And what's that matter with remaining young and immature?

I'm going to hold my breath until you give me a satisfactory answer.

I make no claims to maturity other than chronological.

7: WholeHouseLibrary

I'm going to stamp my feet too, and hope the kids are embarrassed.

I may be getting older, but you can't make me grow up!

(Considering that my favorite hobby can be described quite accurately as Make-Believe and Dress-Up, that is very true ... )

>Just a random note to say that this group makes me happy

Lalita Tademy told me when I was turning 50 that her 50s were the best decade of her life - so far. I'm less than a year into mine, but I feel it going that way. Liberating, somehow, to be 50.

>7 WholeHouseLibrary: Not a thing wrong with remaining young at heart or immature. It's just that immaturity in old age is passed off as eccentricity, and is much more forgivable! (by "the alternative," I meant I'd rather get old above ground than stay young beneath it!)

Are you kidding me? Caves are ~so~ much fun! Okay, I can't read in the dark anymore, but I could be quite happy living in a nice dry cave.

#11 It is wonderfully liberating to be anywhere in the 50s!

There are many ways to see the progression of my life in events such as childhood, teenage years, etc. Or, grade school, Jr High, etc.

But one of the most interesting ways is by what comes in the mail. It started with offers to apply to college after graduating from High School. Soon offers for bank, store and credit card accounts came in the mail when I got married. Too tempting to resist.
Offers of insurance for children, diaper coupons and tot toy ads began. Explanation not needed.
Mail extolling the advantages of age defying lotions, make-up and body-shapers long before necessary. Laughable.
Same mail at thirty. Worrisome.
Continuing education, career change, and "it is not too late to get the same low insurance for the whole family" mail. Tantalizing and annoying at the same time.
Ads and coupons for re-vitalizing skin products, gray hair coverage (not quite needed) and exercise equipment. Depressing.
More offers to get that same low insurance, except it is for you to get for your grandchildren. When did that happen? Oh, yeah.
Join AARP mail. Have you taken care of your funeral arrangements and paid for them yet type of mail. Huh?
Same insurance offer, no mention of children or grandchildren, still at that same price and for a little more includes funeral benefits, just in case. Disconcerting.
Your new AARP membership card, and a news letter from the Senior Citizen Center now re-named the Active Aging Center for active-agers (you did not need to sign up for this newsletter, it just started coming in the mail). Okay. I am older, not old, active age not-withstanding.
Now the mail brings health news aimed at old people, retirement home information, same old insurance offer. Hey! I am only 55 years old!
All I am waiting for in the mail now is ads for places I can use my new senior discount. Woohoo!

Oh. I forgot. I like to read anything that does not make me feel old. (^>^)

That's why I love working in a high school library. I love reading YA books and these kids keep me young!

#15 Wait you will be getting mail for supplemental health insurance, extended care insurance, nursing homes,hospice centers and much more right now for me that junk mail is exactly what it is. I still have a couple years before I am eligible for that kind of mail. lol

Whoa..i love these posts!

i am Jude...live alone on my farm in SE Ohio...read anything as long as it is "good" according to whatever scale i'm using at the moment. i don't suffer fools gladly..and i recognize some of the names here....and i will never grow up!!

i am also getting close to the 60 mark..i turn 59 in January...unless the worm beats me to it....

Welcome to the group jdthoue!

#14 It is indeed!

>i don't suffer fools gladly..and i recognize some of the names here

Hmmm... wondering if these two are connected! Yikes! Welcome Jude!

Hi everyone, I'm Caroline Leavitt, the author of 9 novels (Meeting Rozzy Halfway, Lifelines, Jealousies, Family, Into Thin Air, Living Other Lives, Coming Back to Me, Girls in trouble and Pictures of You), a book critic for People (I'm in the same magazine as Britney Spears!), a book columnist for The Boston Globe, a senior writing instructor at UCLA Writing Program online, and a freelance manuscript editor. My 8th novel GIRLS IN TROUBLE was a Booksense Pick and is in three printings, and my 9th novel PICTURES OF YOU will be published by Algonquin in August 2010.

I read EVERYTHING. There isn't a room in our house that is not filled with books. I live in a 160 year old row house in NYC's unofficial 6th borough, Hoboken, NJ, which is really urban (great for me because I don't drive.) My husband, Jeff Tamarkin, is also a writer (His book Got a Revolution, won best book of the year from SF Chronicle and Boston Phoenix) and our son Max is big in theater and applying to high schools even as I write this.

I also write kids books. My proudest moment was writing some of the Wishbone Books, based on the PBS series about the little dog who loves classic literature.

I already see my friend Meg Waite Clayton here! A great author and a super friend, and I'm so looking forward to meeting everyone else.

I am also highly addicted to movies, chocolate, knitting.

Kind of a funny story, Caroline. I had an ENORMOUS spreadsheet of Books To Be Read on a flash drive that was lost late last year. I was more devastated by the loss of my TBR list than anything else on the drive, but I've been slowly building it back up (it's now larger than it was then). Periodically, I'll see a book and say "Oh! That book was on my old list!" and I'll add it to the new one. Your "Girls in Trouble" was one of those books. So thanks for the reminder--I'll add it back today!

And Welcome!

I feel your pain, tloeffler! In a cross country move more than 25 years ago, I lost two or three boxes of books. I still mourn their loss and every now and then will think of a title I used to own.

Somewhat along those lines (TBR), I started a new group today that I thought might particularly appeal to members of this group--Books off the Shelf. It is a challenge to read books we already own. If you're like me, by the time I reached 50, I had accumulated a LOT of books that I never actually got around to reading. I keep them because I really do want to read them; I just keep getting distracted by new titles! I thought maybe a challenge would help me on that objective. If you could also use a push, come on over!

We need a link! Tried to search groups and a huge list came back.

Thanks for the suggestion! I should have thought of that. Here you go:
http://www.librarything.com/groups/booksofftheshelfchal

Caroline! Lovely to see you here. :-)

Hi - I'm jumping the gun on joining the group just a hair - I won't actually be 50 until Monday. It just seemed silly to join the 40-something for less than a week! lol But I don't feel 50 ... does anybody else??? I like to read (duh), knit, sew, braid, weave, I'm in the Society for Creative Anachronism, and I can't seem to make my children leave the house (although in all fairness, one is only 17 and the other pays rent, so ...). And I love cats. I mostly read scifi and fantasy, with some mysteries thrown in now and then, if my daughter really recommends them.

29: BethyB
Welcome Beth. We won't "split hairs"

>30 usnmm2: Good, I don't need to be multiplying any gray ones!

I'm glad too, because technically I don't qualify for this group either - I'm 50-10.

Edited because I forgot how old I am.

So MerryMary is fifty minus ten, that's forty. I say we chuck her outta this group for a decade!

Intended as a dash or hyphen, not a minus! One year past fifty nine is fifty ten. And that's me.

>29 BethyB: What exactly does 50 feel like? Outside of creaky knees and a new devil-may-care attitude about life, I don't feel any different than I ever did! I like it!

I'm with you tloeffler, but some people do get devil-may-care knees and a creaky attitude. The heck with them.

I know some of those people, and I'm with you. Life's too short to hang around 'em!

Okay, I'm officially 50 now. WOOHOO!!!

Congratulations... and happy birthday.

Happy Birthday!

38: BethyB
Welcome and Happy Birthday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dePMU8R131s

Happy Birthday

Many happy returns!

Have your received your AARP card yet?

Thanks, everybody! and my Mom got me an AARP membership for my birthday ... the card is in the mail! :-)

Happy Birthday! (a little late, but better late than never!)

Another belated Happy Birthday and welcome!

And another belated Happy B-day. :-)

Which kingdom?

Along with the the creaky knees, I acquired a certain "use the good fabric" attitude somewhere along the 50s...

Calontir - and you?

Outlands. Going to Estrella?

If only ... my daughter is getting married in June, so all available funds and vacation time are being saved for that. I'm not even going to make it to Lilies this year, alas ...

Ah, gotcha. I've never made it to Lilies, but it's sounding more and more attractive. (I think this may be my last year for driving 1,000 miles to camp for a week in freezing mud.) I wouldn't go *this* year, but I'm the current kingdom bard.

Congratulations to your daughter!

To the rest of the folks here - we're in the same club. Which you might have guessed. :-)

Lilies is fun - warm to hot weather, swimming, partying, shopping, classes ... gotta love it ... except for the occasional storm, and even then you get good "no s* there I was, when the storm blew my roof off" stories lol

I'm scheduled to be at Outlands Battlemoor this summer (July 4th weekend) but after that my term of office is over. Maybe Lilies next year. :-) I can only deal with one or two SCA wars per year - I don't camp so good as I used to!

(Remembering one event about 25 years ago in Wyoming, where I got to be the one to climb up and fix the roofpole that had separated during the lightning storm, on the grounds that it was *my* tent...)

Lemme tell ya, the older you get, the less attractive camping becomes. No way will I sleep on the ground any more. (It's not the sleeping so much as the getting up off the ground in the morning ;-) However, you SCA folk do tend to have a talent for creature comforts when camping.

I don't think I've ever slept on the ground when camping - rugs, air mattresses, multiple layers of comforters and sleeping bags at a minimum, a bed when there's enough room to haul it (or the event is long enough to MAKE room for it).

I must confess that I like having an open floor in my tent, though - grass is such a nice rug. With proper trenching, it barely gets wet in the rain.

Can't sleep on the ground anymore either - as you said, it's the getting up that gets you.

My sister & I bought some good camp-cots at REI a few years back; the nice athletic young woman who was ringing them up for us said, 'oh, luxury campng,' to which I responded, 'no - middle-aged camping!'

Camping for the Currently Middle-Aged...

56 > I speak of "on the ground" as anything that rest directly on the ground -- air mattresses, pads, sleeping bags all count. It's the same reason I seldom sit on the floor any more; my hips and knees doth protest mightily. It all comes from that one shocking day in my forties when I went to sit cross-legged on the floor and ... it didn't work!

Now with bursitis in my hips, and sciatica, and that wonky back problem and the bad wrists and the newly chronically-painful elbow, well, damn! You should see me at work when I have to get something off the floor or from way under the counter. As my (older) boss says, "It's all about the leverage!"

MerryMary/34 - I like your age! My number for 'a lot' is 50-12. As in, 'hey, hubby, why do you have 50-12 half-full pop cans sitting around you?' Or, he to me, 'if I wanted to get you something special from Victoria's Secret, what size should I get?' Me - '50-12'.

BethyB, whilst in the midst of tagging groups, I noticed that there are lots of SCA groups here on LT. Don't know if your kingdom has one yet.

Nope, mine doesn't - I can't decide whether to start one or not - probably the same fix anybody else is in lol could be dozens of us here, but I'd never know ...

ETA - ok, so I started one - now where are all the LT Calontiri???

countrylife, my number for such cases is "seventy-'leven"!

Funny! Now I ask myself, 'what have we learned here?' Great minds think alike. Or. Old minds think alike. I'm going with GREAT!

It's gotta be great. They got us this far.

hi i never hred of this book bye

I strongly suspect that jessica is not 'qualified' to be here. ;)

Ditto that.

>But I don't feel 50 ... does anybody else???

I pretty much still feel like 27. Don't I look it? ;-)

Sometimes I feel old--not getting around as easy, gray hair, heartburn--but those are not my mind. In my mind, I feel like I could still enjoy myself as I did 30 years ago. Most of all, I continue to marvel at the realization that those younger than me DO think of me as old, that they think of me just as I used to think of others in their 50's when I was 30. I've been humbled at work to realize that some of those younger than me look up to me like I used to look up to my supervisor, yet I frequently still feel inexperienced and new. (Speaking of my supervisor, imagine my surprise when I realized a couple of weeks ago that she had been younger than I am now when she retired 14 years ago--and I had thought her retirement well-deserved!!)

Inside, I still think I'm thirty-five, until I try to get up from the floor.

I remember a couple of decades ago when my ex told me about some public figure who had died at age 52. "That's young," he said. Pause. "It didn't use to be."

...until I try to get up from the floor.

I try not to get down on the floor in the first place. It only leads to undignified shuffling and grunting. Sometimes ya gotta to get the right photograph though.

Inside, I'm 12. Sometimes younger than that.

Hi, I'm Farringdon. I like books that don't bore me. I know it's a negative definition, but it's the best I can come up with.

Well explained MerryMary (Msg34).

However your logic suffers from the same flaw as Tolkien's. He said that "eleventy first birthday" meant 111th. But eleventy implies a minimum of base 12 and so eleventy first would be 133rd (11 x 12) + 1.

Similarly if you are 50-10 then that implies at least base 11. So that means you are (5 x 11) + 10 = 65.

Sorry to be so pedantic, but I am taking a maths course through the Open University. As you've probably guessed, I'm struggling with it.

>73 Farringdon:: I lilke books that don't bore me.

I think that's a pretty darn good explanation. Many of us on this site will read anything if it is the only reading material at hand--we just have to read. Consequently, we might read just about anything that didn't bore us. Now, I might be able to tell you what I "think" will bore me and I might avoid those topics if possible. But, if it's at hand and I need something to read, I'll pick up anything and if it interests me, I'll keep reading.

I'm with Lois. I'll try anything once. Although I had a horrifying experience this week. I was reading a book that I wanted the information from, but it wasn't written very well. I actually fell asleep while reading for, if not the first time ever, at least ONE of the first times ever. On THREE different occasions. I was devastated. I told my son "What will I do if I start falling asleep while I'm reading???" He had to pat me on the head. We'll find out tonight if it's me or if it was the book. (please, be the book!)

Farringdon: I married a math teacher so that I would never have to do it again as long as I lived. Anything beyond base 10 is totally impossible for me.

In 34 years of marriage Lee managed to help me learn 7x8=56 - I had a blind spot about that one - and to trust (sort of) the convoluted way I do mental math. He said the way I figure things out like point spreads in a ball game is bizarre but it works, so it's ok. I'll be forever grateful for that insight.

My life plan (see first sentence) didn't exactly work out, as I lost Lee to pancreatic cancer in 2005. I rely on my grandkids and my memories for the good laughs in my life. And my daughter, who - thank God - inherited her dad's math genes, helps me with the math phobia.

Glad that you have the comfort of grandkids and sorry about your bereavement.

Regarding the age issue, look on the bright side, 60 in base 12 is 50. So you are eligible for this group after all!

I'm slowly making my way through this crazy website, LT, and finding good groups to join. I don't want to join too many, since it would be easy to spend all day with the groups and none of the day reading. I just found this group today, and I'm so glad. My other favorite group so far is the Books Off the Shelf group, which I noticed mentioned at message >25 lbradf:.

Anywho, I'm 57, soon 58, and feeling like I'm speeding through this 50's decade pretty fast. I just discovered spinning this past year, however, and I feel better than I've felt in a long time. I'm the oldest (which I don't mind, but I'm also the fattest, which I do mind) one in my class--most are in their 30s--and they all think they invented exercise. Heh.

My favorite genre these days is memoir--maybe it's my age.

>24 tloeffler:. I also lost a huge spreadsheet of book titles. It was devastating, and it's also one reason I'm so glad to have found this site. Glad to see you here in this group, too!

labwriter,

Welcome to the group.

>79 labwriter: "I don't want to join too many, since it would be easy to spend all day with the groups and none of the day reading."

I think you've already discovered what it took quite a few of some time to find out! Welcome.

I'm so impressed that you can do spinning. My knees scream at just the site of a stationary bicycle.

Knees, ouch. Yet another black mark against winter.

I had a database of my books that I lost when a computer died. (Yeah, backups, great idea.) Then a month later my house was flooded and I lost boxes of books plus the bottom shelf of each bookcase. So the database was moot.

Then I discovered LT and was sooooo happy at the prospect of a catalog of books that wouldn't get lost even if the computer died. Little did I realize on that day that the threads/groups/virtual friends would be an even more important part of the LT experience than the cataloging. But it's so.

>83 ejj1955: Oh, dead computers and floods--ach. Those kinds of stories are painful to hear. L/T is so great--I especially love being able to look at the book covers, particularly of books I had when I was a kid.

Don't get me wrong, I love these groups--but I know myself well enough to know that I could sit at the computer all day and read and respond to these threads. One of my goals this year is to read more, and I think being able to catalog my books here will help loads with that.

Welcome! I hope you enjoy it as much we do--this is a great group!

I hadn't noticed an introduction thread for this group but I've already been posting like mad. I'm kind of a late bloomer -- feel as though only in the last ten or so years have I begun to figure things out and I feel so grateful to be 'only' in my mid-fifties with some time to keep on flowering. I hope that doesn't sound silly!

You sound highly intelligent. Like the rest of us!!

would you like to come and remind my people of this important fact??!!!

LAst year I told people I was ten (55) this year I just 'fess up. I'm not gray completely I do hurt quite a bit but oh well. I still feel liek I'm thirty on the inside and have never wasted a lot of time worrying about the inevitable

welcome sibyx! Doesn't sound silly at all. When I turned 50, a friend who'd turned sixty the day before told me her 50s had been her best decade. Very nice to start my 50s on that optimistic note.

Polly at #89 -- you have three grandchildren! And I have a daughter not even 14!!!! That's what I mean about everything happening late!!!! I'm still about 13 on the inside, but she hasn't figured that out yet (or she's just being kind).

89: pollysmith

My wife, when asked the question about here age would answer 75 (even when she was only 45). She liked it when people would say ' Wow! You look goood for 75' ;)

92: I like her style!

I've done that before too! No one would dare call you a liar!

LOL!

Hi - My name is Sally and I live in Australia - I am 53 and staring 54 down the barrel - my hubby is the same age as me.

I was only thinking this morning that I feel and think the same way i did in my teens - but now I am at the age were I am comfortable to express my opinions but wise enough to do it kindly :)

I have a very wide range of genre - although lately I have been more YA

Welcome Sally. There are one or two other Aussies here on LT. Around about this time of day we (and the Kiwis) tend to have the place to ourselves!

Except, of course, for Tim, our fearless leader (site founder, majority owner, lead developer, inflatable rhino wrangler, stuffed bobcat fancier and chief pony ostler), who tends to be around at all hours of the day and night.

Enjoy.

Hi justjim - what is your thread called??? I have a bro in Canberra and Aussie nephews..... I've been up since very early (in my neck of the woods we've just had a blizzard!) scoping around and confess to have enjoyed very much looking through your SF -- I know I read tons of those books when a teen, but I can't remember enough about most of them to put them in as 'read'! When my bro comes over he stocks up on sf, you bet! His whole suitcase is just books.

Hiiii! Sally,

Welcome to the group. Have a cuppa , and feel free to express you opinions. With tongue in cheek we may (while LOL) disagree. But all in fun. We leave the heavy stuff to the 20 somethings.

Hi, Sally! Welcome!

Hi, I'm Linda and I'd love to change my username but I can't figure out how.

Anyway, I turnt 52 a week ago today and I still go to ballet a few times a week. Heck, my knees have been bugging me for 30 years, so being in my 50s is no big deal where that's concerned.

I love LT; what a cool site. Finally I've found "my people."

I'm off to finish reading Lake of Dead Languages. Can't wait to get my mitts on Arcadia FAlls, which I won from the Feb Giveaway. Come on, Ballantine Books! I want that book!

Hi Linda (my sister Linda just left from a visit!) and welcome.

Currently the changing of user names is turned off because of some background problems. Keep an eye on this thread for news of that.

Enjoy! There are some good people here, all book fixated.

Welcome Linda. You're going to love it here!

Welcome Linda :)

I am only new too :)

Thanks, everyone. Like I said, I'm happy to have found "my people." We all have a happy sickness.

Hello everyone! I'm 52 and just recently have had a huge burst of energy and feel more excited and eager for life and each new day than I have in YEARS!

Anyone feel like this? Ladies, do you know what I mean?

I just feel strong and brave and speak my mind graciously and feel as if I am finally who I am authentically.

Do have aches and pains and the graying hair, but I've earned them!

Anyone feel like this? Ladies, do you know what I mean?

Not touching that question with a 10-foot barge pole!

But welcome BeeHoney (what a great username!), I'm glad you're feeling on top of the world.

Edited because I typed "your" instead of "you're"; please don't tell anyone on Pedants' Corner.

Hi, BeeHoney. Wish I had your huge burst of energy, but the graying hair I do have. When my hair stylist suggested coloring my hair, I said, 'I've earned every one of those gray hairs, and you want to take them away from me!'

I started going gray in my 20s, so have been coloring my hair since then. I have thought that eventually I'll just stop bothering, but now I'm wondering if they'll have to pry the Miss Clairol bottle out of my cold, dead hands!

I got lucky in the genetic lottery. My grandmother and my brother were both gray by the time they were 30. No one knows what color my sisters' hair is - not even them. But I'm 60 and my hair is still dark with just single silver threads here and there. I've never done any coloring. Too lazy.

Congratulations, BeeHoney. I recently heard that a person's personality gets "more enhanced" as we get older. I know women are certainly willing to put up with less crap once we're over 40.

Anyway, it sounds like you're having a power surge. :-D Have fun!

Welcome, BeeHoney! I know just what you mean. I don't have the energy (sigh), but I sure agree with the finally feeling authentic! I don't believe I'd go back for anything. And I love the silver strands in my hair!

Hi BeeHoney. I wish I had your energy. I passed the 50 mark a few years ago and I am facing the reality of not being able to accomplish as much as I used to.

Welcome BeeHoney! I sometimes say I am having a "power surge," but it's really just code for hot flash. I do wish it came with increased energy, but not so much. I do, however, totally have the "I am who I am and proud of it" thing going for me. To those of you who haven't started coloring, my advice is that you don't start if you're thinking you'll ever want to quit. It took me more than a year to grow out the gray. I'm glad I did, as I really like it. However, if I were even a tiny bit more vain, the in-between would have been unendurable!

My family seems to keep their haircolor well into older age. I started touching my silver up a few years ago but my family likes the silver threads shining thru so I stopped. It is pretty.

Just stopping by to say "Howdy" as I've recently graduated from the 40-somehting to the 50-something. Nice to see some familiar names on this thread and looking forward to getting to know the rest of you.

Welcome Carol0. Always nice to see new people.

Welcome, youngster.

Welcome CarolO. I started this group when I was in your shoes - and there wasn't yet a 50-something group. I do sneak back to say hi in the 40s every once in a while, though. :-)

Thanks everyone for the welcome.

But, aw shucks, I saw todays post and hurried over to see who the newcomer was - but guess I'm still the new kid on the block. That's OK, its kinda nice being the 'youngster'.

50 seems so young to me these days (years) and I've clicked on about every poster here and have yet to find even one book in common. Perhaps when you hit 60 you'll discover the good stuff?

>121 carptrash: With all due respect, it looks as though your library mostly reflects rather specialized interests (architecture and sculpture), and, at under 300 books, I'm suspecting that you have a lot more to enter and may find some common bonds as you do. You mention on your profile that you have an interest in history--that's an area in which I'd expect more overlap with others (including maybe even me).

In fact, a closer look at your library reveals that the majority of your books have only a few (under 10) copies here on LT. Esoteric, indeed!

Good points all, ejj1955, and in fact (one of the 23 words and phrases that mean "my opinion") I have come to realize that no matter how old other folks get their interests don't seem to lock step with mine. I am now trying to enter my books in an orderly fashion and when I hit other sections other stuff will start to emerge. And I am old enough to realize that I can make common cause with all sorts of LTers without having common books. Viva la difference.

So true--for example, you could connect with others based on an approximate age grouping ;-)

Or the fact that we are all book lovers!

Absolutely. I could ask if you grew up with Dick and Jane readers, for example. Okay, maybe not books to love then, but now? Who knows. eek

>123 carptrash: I wonder, are interests in book topics or genres or whatever age related? I would agree that books are marketed to a target market however I would expect architecture as a topic to cross over a wide range of readers' ages, that it is more based on education/employment/hobby then it is on age.

I know I have had phases that I have outgrown as a reader but I don't think that I will ever be THAT interested in architecture.

>125 carptrash: I did have Dick and Jane readers, although I had already learned at home on Trixie Belden mysteries. But I also read older books my mother had had when she was young, such as Pollyanna and Prudence of the Parsonage; on my own I was reading James Bond books and the wonderful Black Stallion series. Have I hit any old favorites for you yet?

Carol - if you gave me two hours of your time in the town that you live in i can assure you (another of the 23 words and phrases that mean "my opinion) that suddenly architecture would interest you. it has an alphabet that once you know it you will not be able to stop reading buildings anymore than you can help reading billboards by the side of the road. You do read those, don't you?
ejj, I must confess that none of the P's that you mention meant much to me as a youth, tho I did have quite a crush on Hailey Milles (?) as Pollyanna, among things. It was discovered when I was about 12 (6th grade) that i did not really know how to read so by that time I was probably 7 years behind you. Remember the phrase "slow learner?" That's me on a good day. eek

Gosh, I'm sorry to hear that. I did so much reading between the ages of 4 and 10--I'm sure the fact that we didn't have a TV during those years had nothing to do with it.

I have a mild interest in architecture--changes over time, for one thing, and simply beautiful things, from Notre Dame to Frank Lloyd Wright--but I don't think that would make me read deeply in it. Still, I wouldn't mind a tour (accepting the invitation to Carol!) with someone knowledgeable, although not of the town I live--maybe someplace like San Francisco or New York?

Well, if we are ever in Seattle at the same time I will take you up on your offer...if you then let me return the favor by showing you some of my favorite off the beaten track quirkiness of Seattle.

I have been on a walking tour with someone who was knowledgeable on the subject...but I must be easily sidetracked because I find the art deco lady's head on the old WAMU HQ or the walrus on the Arctic Bldg much more interesting then the lines of the building and what kind of column it is.

In my defense, one of my all time favorite books is City: Rediscovering the Center by William H. Whyte but I enjoyed it for the social and psychological aspects.

I can't blame my reading tardiness on TV, I didn't live with one until I was a teen. More likely Miss What'shername, my 5th grade teacher who was concerned that I might be mildly retarded might have been on to something, though my mother didn't think so. And, yes, my offers are good for all. SF and NYC and Seattle are all fine and good, tho I've only been to one of them, but all are covered here somewhat. http://www.archsculptbooks.com/home.htm
I am trying to post a link that might or might not work. In any case Walt (you'll meet him if that link works) and I have the Arctic Building but I'm not sure about the deco WAMU HQ. I am in New Mexico where architecture is a whole different scene from most of the rest of the USA, or the rest of the world, for that matter. eek

> 128, 131

I like what you said about "reading" a building. I used to be pretty good at guessing the year built of public buildings just by the proportions of the interior spaces. Now, I'm woefully out of practice.

Many years ago (while on a Frank Lloyd Wright walking tour) I ran across one of those books I always wish I'd gotten. It was a field guide to architecture, with tips on spotting window shapes and roof shapes and all sorts of adornments. I just hate it when I regret not getting a book. It seemed pricey that day, but I've been thinking about it for 20 years -- shoulda just got it!

>132 PhaedraB: I feel just the same way about a textbook I sold back after the term--it was for a literary criticism class and was a selection of criticism throughout the ages. I have no idea what the title was, unfortunately. But I've thought of it often and wished I'd kept it.

Ah, the ones that got away. There was a time, before the www when I spent 10 years looking for a book and finally found it in a used book store in Columbus OH. Now on the internet it is a lot easier to track stuff down. There is one copy now for $50, less than what I paid a dozen years ago. Still I have no regrets, not like you two.

Well, considering the 1500 or so books I have (not counting the 1500 or so I'm trying to get rid of), the glass is definitely a bit more than half full!

Just reviving this thread a bit . . . we've been quiet lately, haven't we?

I've just celebrated my 54th birthday and that had me thinking about the past year. It's been quite a year. I have to say the best of it has been the birth of my first Granddaughter! Nothing better than to spend some time with a wee babe on your birthday!

Congratulations on both. The best thing about grandkids is you can spoil them them give them back.

LOL Thankyou usnmm2! Yes, I have to agree on that! I'm looking forward to when she's old enough to do the fun things with although I enjoy the holding and rocking also. I can't wait for things like tea parties and dress up and reading to her and giving her a love of books.

Another 54 here. Two grown up kids, one husband, one dog, 2 cats, lots of books. My three all-time favourite books (in varying orders depending on my mood) are Middlemarch, Captain Corelli's Mandolin and The Crimson Petal and the White. A lifelong sufferer of back problems I now work on a helpline for other sufferers and have just started an MA in Eng lit with the Open University (so yes, any time you find me on LT these days it's almost certainly because I'm trying to put off writing an assignment).

58. 2 adult sons. 2 beautiful granddaughters. 1 adult stepdaughter. American who made Scotland home in 2000. 2 years in Uganda. Full bookcases.

I like to read historical fiction, history/culture/mythology (general Celtic, Scottish, Irish,), time travel, mysteries, creative photography books, other fiction such as A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Kite Runner. I enjoy audiobooks as well.

Hello
Just found you all through a post via another Librarythinger.
Just 56 last week.
Just finished Dead Like You by Peter James who I like because I used to live in Brighton (not his best book though).
Just waiting for the sale of my flat to go through.
Just about to start a little more internet research on an idea I've had for a book.
No, that's not quite true. Just about to get some lunch before I ...
Just wish I had a bigger place with more book shelves.

NorthernTeacher

Welcome to the group.
p.s.( there are never enough shelves.)

Yes, welcome Jane. I'm JustJim, but I've never seen so many 'justs' in such close proximity!

More shelves… yes, I know the problem.

Belated welcome Never and annie, and not-so-belated welcome, Northern.

Booksloth, come sit by me. Middlemarch!!! Yay!!! (My all-time, if-I-had-to-pick-only-one-God-forbid)

Hey, what a welcome! Wish I'd found this group earlier but better late than never! There are some lovely people out there - and they all love reading. Just like me! Sorry, Jim :-)

We're not all lovely. I'm horrible but I still love reading!

Aha! Actually, Booksloth, it was your profile I was looking at to find this group! Thank you :-)

I truly don't know what to say to that - other than, thank you for coming over!

Welcome, welcome. This really is the home of people who truly understand, from the bottom of their hearts, what you mean when you say you need more bookshelves. People in RL have been known to respond to that statement with such inanities as, "why do you need so many books?"

All one can do is look at them across a chasm there is no bridging.

I agree about never having enough bookshelves -- it's almost as sad as not having enough books -- which in turn is almost as sad as bookshelves with too much room. I hate those decorating shows where someone has the good fortune to have built in bookshelves, and the know-it-all decorator removes the books to display trendy crap.

My idea of paradise is an incredible library, comfy chairs, endless coffee or tea (depending on my mood), and (in another room so as not to disturb anyone) plenty of great conversations about ideas and books. Heaven!

Like fine wine and French cheeses, better with age. I'm a late 50's something and ask myself: where has time (my life) gone? One can never have too many books and one always needs more bookshelves. Most of my friends don't understand--they read it and pitch it or give it to the library. At least 50% of my books are TBR. I can say, I don't like those electronic readers--I'm a dinosaur--I want my book--I want to hold it, savor it, touch the cover, re-read the jacket time and time again. My good books and I are like Hepburn and Tracy; a love affair. My favorite books: historical fiction (no romance!), classics and novels.

Hi All-

Gee, I'll be turning 60 (chronologically anyway...) on 2 January; does that mean I have to quit this group????

>19 jdthloue:

It is nice to meet a nother January birth!

Welcome to all the Newcomers!

I have to agree that there are really never enough bookcases! I've resorted to stacks on every available flat surface! LOL

I agree with tess_i_am48. I was gifted an eReader by my well-meaning son last Christmas, promptly loaded a book onto it that my Aunt was wanting to read, and loaned it to her. She very much enjoyed reading the book on it and liked that you can enlarge the font when necessary. However, I've yet to read anything on it myself. *sorry son* :) I am also of the feeling that I want to hold it, savour it, touch the cover, re-read the jacket time and time again, and also, appreciate the artwork that goes into the covers! That's one thing that is not the same with an eReader. Yes there's a 'cover', but it's not the same as a physical book. *sigh*

Nothing against electronic books but the tactile pleasure of holding a book and smelling the ink and paper is irreplaceable.

That said, one of these days I'm going to get a new eReader for commuting. My old PDA has over 200 books loaded, most from Project Gutenberg. Very handy. For a while I tried pruning my physical library due very limited space. It wasn't long, though, before I went into withdrawal and had to feed my habit.

I am totally lusting after an eReader and will buy a Kindle when I can. It's not either/or, it's both, but I do like the idea of pruning my physical library down to old favorites, reference books, and the TBR piles. That will still be plenty, I know I can always get more, but I also love the idea of being able to travel with a thousand books in the same physical space as a single magazine or so.

I bought an E-reader last year. My wife and I are on the road alot and it makes the travel library light and easy to carry.

Just keep in mind that once those devices fail (albeit, several years from now), unless you buy from the same source, your eBooks (the text) are gone. And even if you ~do~ get a device from the same place, it may not be compatible with the eBooks you've already purchased. You can't even pass the ownership of the device to another person. In short, the terms "purchase" and "buy" are misnomers. As far as eBooks are concerned, you are really doing a limited, indefinite-termed rental of an eBook.

158: WholeHouseLibrary

Yes, thats true. There are other ways to store and recover your E-books (so I'm told).
I use mine for the books that I know I'll only read once and some favorites that are nice to have handy when I travel. It's also nice to read the samples to get an idea if you're interested in a book. Within these guide lines I'm happy with mine.
I know some people at work subscribe to their news papers and magazines on them also.

My husband bought me a Nook a few month ago. I like it okay, but to my surprise, I found that I like reading books on my smart phone better than on the Nook. In fact, I like reading books on my phone at least as much as reading actual books--fiction that is. For non-fiction, I think I will always want to be able to physically annotate, highlight, and flip back and forth. I also am much more likely to want to loan someone a non-fiction book. However, like downloading audio books onto my mp3 player, I most of all love being able to have so many books accessible to me in one small space.

I like real, physical books, not machines- and wanting to give them to others someday- probably upon croaking- precludes e-readers.

My sons gave me a Sony e-reader last year for Christmas. I love mine. I can save books to my computer and my sister, who also has a Sony reader, and I can share books between us. I did find it a little suspicious that my son's gave me a reader after I asked them which books they wanted me to leave them. They informed me that they don't have the same taste in books as I do and they think I should leave them to my niece. She's 10.

One option I like with an eReader is the ability to download out-of-copyright books for free. I can carry all of Shakespeare, Austen, Dickens, and Conan Doyle with me, which would mean I could always find something to read.

And Amazon does promise that mostly you would be able to download your books again after purchasing them once. I know there's one famous instance in which that wasn't true, but . . .

Options, it's all about options for me.

163: ejj1955

I Forgot to mention out of print books that may be hard to find or a little on the pricy side. There are many places to down load and read books for free (like Project Gutenberg).

Not out of print, out of copyright--that's what makes them free. As I understand it, copyright lasts for 75 years, so it's the older books that are out of copyright. But the authors I mentioned are available, I believe.

In the not-free department, I'd like to have various mystery and fantasy or sci-fi series available on my Kindle, when I get a Kindle, and I'd feel no need to hold onto the physical books for them, then. But it would take some time to buy all that I'd want.

Oh dear. I don't remember joining this group. And I don't remember posting an introduction. But then, if we're all 50 something, I'm hoping you will understand.....

I'm an SK/Grade 1 teacher, wife, mother, grandmother etc. I read slowly but can't live without a book on the go. I have a dog at home and 2 gerbils at school. I am training to be a licensed lay worship leader and actually preach the occasional sermon. Which doesn't mean that I'm a good person...just a thinker and wonderer. I love librarything.com and have just started to enjoy facebook. Not quite an addiction yet.

Welcome, Lamplight!

Re: Facebook as an addiction: *imagine Yoda's scary voice* It will be.

I fought it at first, but now I'm friends with people from grade school and regularly see cute baby pictures and waste way too much time playing games. And get coupons from my supermarket. One way or another, Facebook will suck you in even as you are annoyed by many of its features.

Welcome Lamplight from one slow reader to another.