BJ reads 75 in 2011, Part 3

Here is my new thread. I hope that I will have a book read soon. In the meantime, here is my ticker:






I hope to see you soon!

Is this soon enough?

BJ- Big wave! Miss seeing you around. Have a nice weekend!

Hi BJ! I'm glad the wedding went well. Please share pictures when you get them. :)

Hi, Stasia, Mark and Angela! Thanks so much for stopping by. I have been kind of missing around here some, just recuperating from an overly busy May. The happy couple is leaving on their honeymoon today.

An overly busy May is an understatement, I know, BJ! Take whatever time you need - we will still be here when you come back.

See, you are sunshine and joy! You always know the right thing to say to make me feel better. :) I think I also mixed up my allergy meds, and I am sleeping too much. I am back on target now, I think. I am almost a third of the way through Chocolat, which is quite light. I saw the movie years ago, and the movie seems to follow the book pretty well so far. I think I will read some of my daughter's graphic novels next.

I really enjoyed Chocolat, so hope you continue to enjoy it, BJ!

I hope you get the allergy meds straightened out :)

Hi BJ! I just caught up on your last thread--congrats on your daughter's wedding!! Happy reading :)

Yes, Oxford is also a city. If your daughter's friend is studying English she's going to have a great time there.

I bought and read Chocolat soon after the film came out, and my memory of it is a bit vague now, overshadowed by images from the film. I am in the throes of moving to a new apartment so I have no idea where my copy of the book might be ;-)

Hi, Carly and Robert!
Thanks for the congrats for my daughter! She is now in Alaska on her honeymoon. I would like to go, too!

Good luck with your move, Robert. I have moved many times and always just us doing all the work. People with lots of books work extra hard, right? I am enjoying Chocolat. I am sorry to say that it makes me crave chocolate, too. :)

Good news! My other daughter has been organizing books, and she found our copy of All the Pretty Horses. I have been looking for that book for months and she found it in no time at all. Yea! So I hope to read it next.

I have not read All the Pretty Horses yet, so I will be interested in seeing what you think of it, BJ. I am glad your copy was found.

I tried and tried to read the book All the Pretty Horse and I couldn't do it. I couldn't even watch the movie and I love Matt Damon.

If only my library was as organized as yours, Stasia! I am wondering how it will compare to No Country for Old Men. ( I cannot imagine why the touchstone for this one is coming up wrong.)

Julie, I am just not a fan of Matt Damon. The only movie I liked him in was True Grit. I could not believe it was him! I don't know why I don't care for him in movies, because he has certainly been successful. But I did like the previous Cormac McCarthy book that I read, so I am hoping that I will like this one. It is on my tbr because my girls read it in high school. I have this personal challenge to read all the books that they read in high school that I have never read. That is what finally got me to read Beloved. I just did not think I could possibly like that book. Then it turned out to my tied for my top read of the year. I notice you have read lots of good books this year!

Ah BJ. I adore Matt Damon. Have since his role is School Ties. :)
I have been reading a lot of good books luckily this year. Just a couple I haven't really liked. ;)

Well, I haven't seen School Ties. Maybe I will check it out. :)

Hi BJ. I fell behind on your threads, but I'm all caught up now :)
My mother had never read any of the books I read in high school. The closest she got was seeing the movie adaptation of The Outsiders. But she is not a reader at all. I think since she graduated, she's only read 6 or 7 James Patterson books. I can't for the life of me talk her into reading anything else.

Just saying Hi...

Hi, Katie and Angela!

I read the Outsiders when I was young. Then when we moved to Tulsa, my girls told me that the author based it on her teenage years in Tulsa. I was so surprised. I think I saw the movie you mentioned. I do think that reading whatever you like is fine. But you never know, you might find the exact book that she wants to read someday. :) What did you think of the books that you read in high school? I find that reading without any homework makes the book more enjoyable.

I finally finished a book!
37. Chocolat by Joanne Harris. I picked this up as a light read after the totally hectic first half of May. Truly, though, this was not really a light read. More bittersweet. I am glad that I read it, and I had forgotten the ending from the movie. The ending was a good one.

I agree with you about Chocolat - "bittersweet" is a good word for the book, I think.

School books that I remember:
Outsiders: liked
To Kill a Mockingbird: hated
Brave New World: loved
Frankenstein: liked
Dracula: was meh, but we overkilled it enough to dislike it
Where the Red Fern Grows: honestly don't remember it
Crime and Punishment: liked
Catcher in the Rye: liked
War of the Worlds: liked

I know I'm missing a bunch, but those are all I remember without a prompt. Several of those I was likely to read anyway. I would not have read TKaM, CitR, or C&P on my own choice. Probably wouldn't have picked out WtRFG or Outsiders.

Stasia, I thought Chocolat had a pretty good ending. It was somewhat different from the movie, but I guess that is always the case.

Katie, from your list I have read all except: Crime and Punishment, Catcher in the Rye and War of the Worlds. And I want to read all of those. I liked all the other ones on your list. But then, I did not read any of them for school. Just for fun. Thanks so much for sharing your list! I loved seeing it.

When I was in high school, I read:
A Tale of Two Cities
Hamlet
Tom Jones
Gulliver's Travels
The Book of Job
Les Miserables (abridged)
Don Quixote (abridged)
Absalom, Absalom!
Anna Karenina
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Animal Farm
The Grapes of Wrath
The Oresteia
Oedipus Rex
The Crucible
The Scarlet Letter
Red Badge of Courage

I liked them all pretty well from what I can recall of the dark ages (ok, maybe not The Red Badge of Courage so much!). I recently read Don Quixote unabridged and liked it much better that way. I am now slowly reading the unabridged Les Miserables. My girls both read it for school and loved it. But I haven't gotten all that far in it yet.

Anyone else want to share your list of high school reading? I would love to see it!

And here is a truly light read:

38. 100 Facts About Pandas by David O'Doherty, Claudia O'Doherty, and Mike Ahern. I borrowed this book from my daughter. Let's just say the term fact is used loosely. Here is Fact #63:

The Running of the Pandas

In an effort to reduce casualties, Pamplona town council contemplated changing the annual Running of the Bulls to the Running of the Pandas in the mid 1980s. After purchasing the pandas for the yearly ritual, the authorities were informed that pandas rarely move faster than a brisk walk, so extensive studies were conducted to discover what would provoke them to run. These studies found that the most effective way to make a panda run (forwards) is to have it chased by bulls, so the pandas were sent back to China.

To understand the remark about running forwards vs. backwards, you will have to read the book. :)

I'd love to share my high school reading...if I could remember it. That was my first introduction to Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. Pride and Prejudice and A Tale of Two Cities were standouts for me in my senior English class. We didn't have 'Advanced Placement' classes back then (I'm talking 1960s here!). We called them College Preparatory classes. I went to high school in Killeen, Texas; Marquette, Michigan; and Waynesville, MO. Quite a range of teachers and locations. No wonder it's all a blur to me.

BJ, I'm glad you didn't blow away in last night's storms that went through Oklahoma. This weather business is getting downright scary!

Hi, Donna! I have gotten so far behind on your thread. I will try to catch up later today. Killeen is not too far from where I went to high school -- Waco Texas.

The storms this week have just been awful! Luckily, the worst of it missed us. The sirens did sound though.

Thanks for sharing your high school reading with me. Those are two quite good books! :)

haha, yeah, my memory sucks. I also read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Antigone (incl. Oedipus Rex), Of Mice and Men, Hamlet (but I don't really count it because I read it for fun first), Twelfth Night, The Odyssey, The Castle of Otranto. . . . and I'm probably still forgetting some. I liked all of those except for OMaM. Of course we did read excerpts of stuff too (incl. Gulliver's), but those totally don't count as reading something.

ETA: I actually haven't read most of the books on your list. Animal Farm has been on the tbr a while. I have seen the movie Grapes of Wrath with Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio. . . . that counts for something, right? :P

Books I remember from grammar (secondary) school:

Twelfth Night,
The Tempest,
the Prologue to The Canterbury Tales,
The Mayor of Casterbridge,
A Tale of Two Cities,
Northanger Abbey,
The Inheritors,
Antigone,
The Frogs,
Agricola,
Book VI of The Aeneid.

I think there were excerpts from Thucydides for our Greek prose, and excerpts from Horace for our other Latin poetry book. There was definitely more English lit but I forget what it was now.

I had no idea that Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio were in The Grapes of Wrath. I have only seen the old black and white version, which sort of fit, I guess. I have also never read Twelfth Night. Maybe I will read more Shakespeare next year. I am thinking that I want to read all of his plays. I have also never read The Castle of Otranto, but I think I have a copy around here somewhere. Of Mice and Men is on my tbr.

Robert, I totally forgot that we also read The Canterbury Tales, probably not the whole thing. You have read lots of books that I did not read like Northanger Abbey, The Inheritors, The Mayor of Casterbridge, The Frogs, and Agricola. I am hoping to read Northanger Abbey later this year. Back years ago I used to read pretty much only classics for fun. Then I switched to more bestsellers and thrillers. Now with LT I kind of read all over the place, which is fun.

I am still reading light stuff, but I do hope to return to Love in the Time of Cholera. I am afraid that the group read is pretty much already finished. I am still at the very beginning. Thanks, y'all for stopping by.

Any more lists out there to share for my quest?

I do not remember anything that I had to read for high school other than Robinson Crusoe. It may be just as well!

I tried to read that once, but I did not get far. I have been thinking about giving it another try. But not until I finish The Count of Monte Cristo! :)

39. Yotsuba&! 1 by Kiyohiko Azuma. I borrowed this manga (?) book from my daughter and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was just fun.

I have picked back up Love in the Time of Cholera, but I can't remember exactly where I am. I am only on page 12! It is not terribly long, so I really do want to get it finished. Plus, I need to start Mansfield Park, another book that I have never read before. Plus I have borrowed three more manga/graphic novels from my daughter that I want to read. And I must read All the Pretty Horses before I lose it again. (And we have book 2 in that trilogy, too!)

#25 and #27 I think Depp and DiCaprio were in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape."

Everyone is so much more literate than I am. The only required reading I had in high school was Romeo and Juliet, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Beowolf. I read Dune for Junior English because I was aloud to pick what I wanted to read for an oral book report. I also read the first 3 Hitchhiker's Guide books because I saw the BBC television show on PBS.

Ohhh! I have never seen that before, but I have heard of it. Thanks for the clarification.

You had some pretty good reads there, I think. I am still planning to read Beowulf this year. (I was planning to read it with the group read, but I never did get very far. Is this like a broken record?) Dune is a wonderfully complex book and a pretty tough assignment. I loved that book, but I only read a few of the sequels. I also only read the first HGG, which I think I read last year. It was hilarious. I have been wanting to read the sequels to that, too. I loved the play Romeo and Juliet and I also loved To Kill a Mockingbird, which I read for fun because it was never assigned in school. The movie was also wonderful. And our high school put on Midsummer Nights Dream every year in the park, so I am pretty familiar with that one. Thanks for sharing your list!

#30: haha! That's right, my bad. . . . ah, sometimes they just all blur together. Probably doesn't help that my sleeping schedule been wonky ever since the semester ended. And you listed another 2 I had to read R&J and Beowulf. I've had Dune on the tbr for ages. Everyone says such good things about it, I'm a little afraid it won't live up to the hype. I've got at least 4 books on the tbr in that state right now *le sigh

I have this really great book sitting around that I need to finish, but because it is so large, I just don't pick it up! I am talking about The Count of Monte Cristo! It is a great read! I don't know why I won't pick it up. I think you will find Dune worth a look, even if it turns out not to be for you. The book is much better than the movie. But I have lots and lots of books like that sitting around, too.

Get back to the Count, BJ! He is missing you! :)

Isn't that the truth? I thought that May would be the month, but it has been too busy. I am hoping that this summer at least I will get him finished. It is not like I don't like the book. Maybe I should kind of plan on 15 chapters a month like the original group read and get it done that way. Instead of picking up all the books that I planned, I have picked up The Giver, which is quite interesting.

Lol! That's another book I read for school. Granted, it was for middle school, but still. Geez, apparently I only remember them when they're brought up :P

I had some trouble remembering some of mine, too. For example, I just remembered that I read Candide for school. I am almost finished with The Giver. I will check back in later tonight.

40. The Giver by Lois Lowry. There is only Sameness in Jonas' community. There is no real choice, but no real pain either. Does Jonas like things this way? This was a terrific read, and my first time to read Lois Lowry. I know that we also have Number the Stars around here. So I plan to read that one, too.

#38: I love The Giver but I did not think the next two books in the trilogy measured up at all.

Number the Stars is a juvenile book as opposed to The Giver which is young adult. I do not know if you are aware of that or not. I did not want you to be surprised when you got to reading.

I like to read children's books as well. And I did not know that The Giver was part of a trilogy. That seems to be the way things are anymore, isn't it? Thanks for the info! :)

41. Yotsuba&! 2 by Kiyohiko Azuma. More light, fun reading!

#40: I like to read children's books too, but I was surprised at the difference between the two books, which was why I gave you the heads up before hand.

The other two books in the Giver trilogy are Gathering Blue and Messenger. They were written several years after The Giver I believe.

I don't think we have either one of those books, but I will check with my daughter and see if she remembers them. I used to buy lots of books from the scholastic book flyers that were passed out at school. My baby has been trying to get me to read The Giver for years and years. Finally, I said I just have to read that book. So I set it out and then she picked it up and read it again before I got to it. So I knew it would be a good one. :)

If you do not get to the other two books of the trilogy, I would not consider it a great loss. The Giver stands on its own well enough.

Hi BJ! I liked your tidbit from the panda book. Stay safe up there with all the crazy weather.

Hey, Carly! I think that the weather has finally settled down some. We had a second collection at Mass this weekend for the tornado victims in Joplin and Oklahoma. The panda book was pretty cute. Supposedly a six-year-old in Australia won the chance to write the book with the two other authors. Claudia was the winner of the contest. But parts of this book are a little too adult to be written with a six-year-old, so I am not sure how much input she had. I had a hard time picking which particular fact to include. There were lots of good ones.

42. Fables: Animal Farm (2) by Bill Willingham. The second in the series of adventures of fable/fairy tale characters living in New York. Funny, but not for children.

#46: I gave up on that graphic novel series after book 4, I think. A little too much raunch for my taste.

I did not really notice that in this book. There was some at the beginning of the first book, so I almost put it down, but then it stopped.

A little late with my school reading list, but here's a bit of what I remember:

My brother had to read The Westing Game and Jackaroo - I went and read them, too, probably in middle school when I ran out of my own library books to read.

To Kill a Mockingbird - I'm pretty sure I read this in eight grade

In 9th grade, mom and I created a fantasy literature course which included
The Hobbit and
The Lord of the Rings, both of which I read over the summer
A Landscape with Dragons by Michael O'Brien, a nonfiction book I sometimes disagreed with and
Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard

The only reason I didn't read the last two over the summer beforehand is because my mom, insisting that I had to read some of the books during the school year, hid them in her room.

10th and 11th grade, I stayed a year ahead and skipped Literature altogether in 12th. We had a big book of mostly excerpts, but the Shakespeare play I read in its entirety was Macbeth.

Thanks for your list! I loved The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, both of which I read as an adult. I also loved the classic To Kill a Mockingbird. I never have read Macbeth. I really must read that. I haven't even heard of the others on your list, so I will want to read them, too, sometime. I love seeing these lists of what everyone read in school.

43. Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. What happens when a highly intelligent teenagers gains the power of life and death? I did not think I was going to like this graphic novel, but about halfway through, I became hooked.

After defrosting my frostfree refrigerator for the millionth time yesterday, I did not think it was going to turn back on. Luckily, it did eventually. It is only about 10 years old. My previous one was 50 years old. I just want it to hang in there a few more years.

I need to accept that it's unlikely that I'll be able to do thread reading much til the fall ... pooh.

Hope I don't miss your reaction to Tigana -- I adore it. xox

Hi, Susan! How nice to see you! Going out of town three times in May put me way behind on everyone's thread including yours. I haven't started Tigana yet, but it sure gets great reviews. I will let you know what I think about it when I get to it. Take care.

Oooh! I really enjoyed the anime of Death Note. And the live action movie adaptations were also pretty good. I haven't read the manga though. It's been on the list, but they're generally so expensive. Maybe I'll see if the library has them when the school year kicks back in :)

Anime means movie, right? I think there is a whole Death Note series of books. I will probably read at least one more of them. I have also heard some good things about the Sandman graphic novels. I made a category for graphic novels/manga in my 11 in 11 challenge in order to try them out this year.

Yep, anime. . . think 'animation.' I tend to watch the animes first, and if I really really enjoy them, pick up the mangas (unless friends recommend/lend others). I've read 3(?) of the Sandman graphic novels. Very good! I usually incorporated that category since I have trouble reading novels during the school year. . . . pages and pages of words just seem so daunting when I'm reading several text books at the same time.

Anime -animation. I see! Have you read Watchmen? That is another graphic novel on my radar. I agree that it would be hard to read novels with all the textbooks for school. I have one book that I am trying to get through that is similar to a textbook, but it is quite time consuming. So I haven't made enough progress yet.

I read it a long long time ago, so the details are a bit hazy. Been thinking of doing a reread at some point. I also saw the movie that came out a few years ago.

Just dropping in to say HI BJ! :)

Thanks, Katie!

Hi, Valerie! I need to drop by and catch up on your thread, too!

Hello BJ. You sure have been busy. I just found out one of my sons is getting married next March.

Hey BJ!! Just stopping by to say Hi!!

Hi, Bill and Tammy! I really have been busier than I am used to being lately, and I have gotten terribly behind on LT. I am hoping that July will be catchup month for me. Amazingly, I finally finished a book.

44. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This book about a man who loses his love to another man but never, ever gives up was quite good. There was one part of it that I really did not like, but otherwise I loved the writing in this book. Maybe now I can finally read One Hundred Years of Solitude when the group read of it takes place in July. That one I have twice started with no luck. But my daughter read it for school, in Spanish no less, so it is on my list to read. I will have to read it in English. My Spanish is not nearly good enough.

Congrats to your son, Bill! The time until March will go by in a blur, I promise! And thanks so much, y'all, for stopping by my thread!

Oh, and by the way, how about those Mavericks? Now that my team the OKC Thunder is out, I am rooting for Dallas.

And I have started another accounting book. I hope this starts to rub off on me.

Good luck with the accounting, BJ!

Thanks! My daughter is taking an online beginning accounting class at the community college, and I am going to try to learn along with her.

Cool!

De-lurking to say I'm enjoying the lists of what people remember reading at high school/secondary school. Interesting variety there from different people I may do the same on my thread, if I can remember that far back myself!

Hi BJ! I read Love in the Time of Cholera a couple of years ago, but I don't remember a single thing about the plot line except for this one really brutal scene near the beginning of the book. I have still yet to read One Hundred Years of Solitude. Just that title alone doesn't sound like light summer reading to me. :)

Hi, Genny and Valerie!

I would love to see your list, too, Genny. I will look for it over on your thread in case you decide to put it there. It is pretty fun to see all the differences.

Valerie, I also think that One Hundred Years of Solitude does not sound like light summer reading! However, since there is a group reading it, I want to jump in. I have started that one twice and never got very far either time. Joining in a group helps me to hang in there until the end (even though I am often the very last one to finish). :)

My daughter and I went shopping for Father's Day and had to get some for ourselves! We got:

Still Life by Louise Penny
Immortal in Death by J. D. Robb
Yotsuba &!, Volume 3 by Kiiyohiko Azuma
Death Note, Volume 4 by Tsugumi Ohva.

For my dad, I got Dreadnought by Cherie Priest, even though I wanted it for myself. I looked for Britten and Brulightly by Hannah Berry, but it was not available.

Everything I bought for us was part of a series. How scary is that? My first Louise Penny was book 5, so I thought I should start over at the beginning.

I have finally, finally started All the Pretty Horses, and I am enjoying it so far.

Too bad about Britten and Brulightly not being available, BJ, but it looks like you did OK anyway :)

I did ok. :) There were so many more that I wanted. Can you believe that?

#72: Say it isn't so! :)

I just turned to my daughter and said, "Get me out of here -- fast!" :)

Would you believe I haven't been in a bookstore in over a year? Sacrilege!

Also, you might want to keep an eye open for your Longhorns baseball team on TV. I saw they were playing last night and was going to send you a message but it was the end of the eighth inning.

You are doing great staying out of a bookstore for an entire year. I tend to give books, so I always need to get one for myself, too. :) However, I do think that I need to cut down on all the books I have. They are kind of taking over.

Thanks for the heads up on the baseball. I ended up seeing the end of that game -- which was the best part. FSU is a pretty tough opponent. They play tonight to decide who goes to Omaha. I am planning to watch. It overlaps with the NBA, but my heart belongs to UT.

I can't believe that I put FSU in that message instead of ASU. As soon as I sat down to watch the game, I remembered what I wrote. Anyway, the game is looking pretty good for now. And the FSU - A&M game was something else!

#64 Congrats BJ. The Mavs won in 6 and they took the title on the Heat's home court.

Thanks, Bill! It was pretty amazing. I don't think they ever went to a 7th game through the whole playoffs.

Hi BJ- Hope you are enjoying All the Pretty Horses. Keep us updated. I posted the 1st Week Thread for the G.R. Star it!

I got the thread starred, and I am going to start the book tomorrow -- one day ahead of schedule. I am loving ATPH and will finish it today, I think.

Hi There
I'm stopping by to wave hello.

Hi, Linda! Thanks so much for stopping by! I need to get all caught up on your thread. You read so many books that interest me. I hope you are having a wonderful day! :)

I missed the Texas game last night but am excited for the CWS now!

It was exciting, but scary! I am excited, too, although I think the opening game is going to be a tough one.

45. All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. This book was magnificent! I now know that I will want to read all of his books. This is one of the books that my girls read in school that I had never read. It does have a fair amount of Spanish in it, but I was able to understand pretty much all of it. Here is a quote:

It is the control group which enables the scientist to gauge the effect of his experiment. To judge the significance of what has occurred. In history there are no control groups. There is no one to tell us what might have been. We weep over the might have been, but there is no might have been. There never was. It is supposed to be true that those who do not know history are condemned to repeat it. I dont believe knowing can save us. What is constant in history is greed and foolishness and a love of blood and this is a thing that even God -- who knows all that can be known -- seems powerless to change.

Anyway, I have the second book and plan to read it!

Great quote and great review BJ! I saw All the Pretty Horses at the bookstore several times but never bought the book. Your review has definitely changed my mind. This isn't a stand alone book right?

Hi, Valerie!
This is book one of the Border Trilogy, but I think you can read it as a standalone. We have the second book, and we were looking at the third one at the bookstore, but I had already bought too many books. But I am sure that I will go back and get it pretty soon. I won't be able to read the next one for a while -- too many group reads to do. :) I love the group reads.

Did you catch the FSU-A&M game tonight, BJ? Turn about was fair play! A&M goes on to Omaha!

Yes! Turnabout is right! Pretty exciting to see them in Omaha, too. I am glad to see that they did not get discouraged and fall flat after that horrible loss.

That pitcher they had on the mound was just terrific! I am looking forward to the CWS! I love it.

BJ- Glad you loved "ATPH"! You will love The Crossing too! The opening 3rd, for me, was truly jaw-dropping.

I think this is the first year for the new ball field in Omaha. I am pretty excited about it, too. I was thinking that UT might not make it this year. The pitching matchups are just critical. Can you explain to me exactly what makes a balk? I never quite understand it.

I have The Crossing and will probably get to it after our group read. I cannot get enough of McCarthy. I am so glad that I started reading his books.

46. Four Quartets by T. S. Eliot. This is a short book of poetry and, I think, the last he published. I really enjoyed reading it because it fits in nicely with the Proust that I am reading. Here is a short quote from towards the end:

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

Here is one more quote from near the beginning:

The only wisdom we can hope to acquire
is the wisdom of humility: humility is endless.

I don't think anyone really understands the balk rule, but basically the pitcher cannot intentionally deceive the baserunner. So, the pitcher must come to a set (stationary) position before he throws to the plate, because not coming set is a delaying deception to force a bad jump by the runner. The other common balk is that the pitcher must step towards the plate when throwing home or towards the base on a pickoff attempt. The common rule here is an imaginary 45 degree line from the rubber, between a line to first and a line to the plate. The pitcher has to step into the proper quadrant to throw to the base/plate. Basically, the pitcher can't stride towards the plate and whip a ball to first (or any other base for that matter) or, oppositely, stride towards first and try to huck a pitch to the batter. If I recall correctly that last instance wouldn't even be counted as a pitch. This covers 99% of balks. There are more obscure statutes but I think they are in the Latin appendices at the back of the rulebook.

Justin Verlander did that earlier this season when he attempted a pickoff, which he is the best right hander in the business at doing by far, and got his feet crossed up. To get out of the jam he just fired to the plate instead. The umpire took his mask off and looked around confusedly, the catcher had the classic deer-in-the-headlights look, all while the ball just sat there on the ground at their feet. Even the runner on first froze, not knowing what to do. They eventually ruled a base advance on a wild pitch, but not a balk because he didn't stride towards first at all. MLB Network summed it up best with the headline "What the Verlander is he doing? Al Leiter tries to explain, next..."

Oh , one base advance for all runners on the basepaths, of course. As opposed to the bizarre rule of three base advance by all runners for a fielder catching the ball in his hat. But that's another story entirely...

Thanks for the explanation and making it entertaining as well! :) They kept showing the pitcher in slow motion, but I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking for. And then the announcer seemed confused, too.

Sounds about right. Not enough announcers know the Latin or Greek that the balk rule is written in.

:)

The ASU coach was really unhappy with the call. But some other calls went their way earlier. Keep in mind that as the UT fan, I am also biased.

My son is playing at the level where they get called for balks. I never see it when it happens.

Sometimes you have to be at a certain angle to even make the call. The home plate ump doesn't always call them because a base ump might have the only view of a janky hand movement or improper footwork. That's a common one by the way, when the pitcher brings his hands up and then down to a set position without a certain pause involved. Fuzzy all around though.

(Hi TJ)

I wonder if the pitchers know that they are committing a balk when they do it?

Sometimes. There's a lot of head-hanging with shame involved. Other times it leads to a vehement argument. Either he knows that he mentally tripped or has no idea why, with no middle ground. No pitcher has ever just shrugged and said 'whatever'.

It is a pretty big deal to advance all the runners a base. We were discussing balks over dinner, and I guess we don't think we would know it if we saw it. However, my husband said that pitchers usually move the same way on every pitch so that batters can't predict the next pitch. So maybe the umpire would notice it more than we would.

In an ironic twist, the Braves won last night on a 'balk-off'. I found a video of it here at SI.com. Basically, the pitcher had a hitch if his giddy-up, as it were, and he balked in the winning run in extra innings. Just that little flinch is by rule a deception of the runner. (There is a 15 second ad to start the video)

Interesting video! We watched it a couple of times through. I am glad that I don't referee these games. I am sure there is a reason for this rule, but the penalty seems kind of severe. (My Grandpa was the biggest Braves fan due to WTBS -- back in the day.)

Most of these 'silly' rules go back to the 1880's or so, when a big part of the game was bending the rules. The three base advance for a fielder catching a ball in his hat is on the books because of Harry Wright, whose brother is considered the best shortstop of the pre-glove era, made an attempt to get around the infield fly rule originally implemented because of his own shenanigans as a manager. With runners on base (basically the infield fly rule situation) Wright would have a player bobble the catch, then snag the ball with his hat. Since the rules stated that the player had to catch the ball with his hands, the hat was not covered even though it was obviously 'caught'. Basically the same rule applied but he just made the umpires mad since they couldn't rule how the play ought to be called, so they put the three base advance in there out of spite.

One of the myriad of things that makes baseball unique.

I have watched many a Braves game on TBS as well, but my brother and I are closet Cubs fans because we had WGN on our cable system for a decade or more. We enjoyed the last several years of Harry Caray and a few years of the awkward scramble to replace him.

I love the story of the hat catch to avoid the infield fly rule. :) Although I used to score minor little league games for the scoreboard sign as a kid, I guess I really don't understand the intricacies of the game. I can't wait until the CWS starts!

#106: I can't wait until the CWS starts!

Saturday at 1pm CT is when the first game of the CWS is broadcast, BJ. The second game is at 6pm CT. I cannot wait either!

My husband has to work today, but he should be home before the first game ends.

The second game today is when Texas plays, BJ, so I know you will want to catch that one for sure!

Yes, and it will be a tough one for sure! I wonder who is pitching?

I am not sure who is pitching. It is going to be a tough game though - Texas faces Florida.

Yeah, I think Florida is number 2 in the rankings. And let's face it, Texas looks a little rough around the edges this year.

I saw on the weather that it is even hitting 100 in Houston. Yikes! This is quite a heat wave that Texas is going through this June. Usually the 100s don't arrive until July.

Well, it did not go Texas' way today. Maybe A&M will salvage some state pride tomorrow night.

Yikes! What a nightmare!!! Can we find even more pitchers? The ones who throw strikes?

47. The Captive by Marcel Proust. On the positive side, I have finished the 5th book of In Search of Lost Time. Now I can concentrate on The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell.

And how about that Rory McIlroy?

OK, I want to add a quote from the latest Proust:

It seems that events are larger than the moment in which they occur and cannot be entirely contained in it. Certainly they overflow into the future through the memory that we retain of them, but they demand a place also in the time that precedes them. One may say that we do not then see them as they are to be, but in memory are they not modified too?

#114: Yeah, it was rather a nightmarish game for Texas, but you have to tip your hat to the Florida starter. He remained completely unfazed when his defense let him down.

#115: I like that quote!

Congrats for finishing Proust #5!!!!!!

Congrats on reading another classic. Hopefully it makes up for a lousy weekend for Texas collegiate baseball. My friends were getting mad at me for trying to keep tabs on the game against Florida between innings of the Tigers screwing up badly against the Rockies. Other than Ohio State, they are the two most hated schools up here. One of my pals said that he would rather pour beer up his nose than watch that game, but he watched parts of several innings without a single appearance of a funnel. What a poser!

Thanks for the congrats on finishing the book, y'all! Proust is full of terrific quotes and also some totally off the wall remarks. I am not sure what I think of him overall. Now I am trying to get involved in The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, but I am not there yet. I think it really gets going in about 25 more pages.

I found the game painful to watch myself. The Florida pitcher did look a little rattled at one point in the third inning, but he really pulled himself together. I was impressed. We played every pitcher we had, no luck anywhere. And poor A&M! Now they get to join us in the losers bracket. I guess UT will play UNC, and they are also ranked above us. Luckily, we will start another pitcher. But congrats to Vandy on their first trip to Omaha. And what about all the flood risk? And what about building the stadium so that the homerun is not clearcut? I mean it is a new stadium!

And with a million books on hand to read, I am wanting to place another amazon order. I need to have my head examined. But I need to get another Cormac McCarthy book to finish the border trilogy. And I must reinvest in the Marcus Didius Falco books. I had several when they first came out, but I had to sell them. I have been mourning them ever since. And I have started to collect a few other series books, too.

By the way, Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there in LTland.

I placed my amazon order, and right after that I remembered a few more books that I wanted. LT makes me realize how many wonderful books are out there. I opted for the superslow free shipping. I forgot to order the Cormac McCarthy that I wanted, but I did order Silver Pigs, and a couple by Somerset Maugham, The Razor's Edge and Of Human Bondage. I also ordered a few others. I have to wait until after the 4th of July for them to arrive. But I have plenty to read in the meantime. :)

By the way, our local fireworks (Jenks, I mean, I don't know about Tulsa) are going to be on the 3rd. This seems strange to me and I wonder why? Maybe it has to do with weather. Last year we watched them in the rain. They still looked great, though.

BJ - It might be cheaper to do it on the 3rd as opposed to the 2nd or the 4th. :)

Either a traffic issue, or more likely because the 4th is a Monday this year.

It never occurred to me that cost and traffic could be an issue, but I guess that is true. They had a great display last year for a small town. But I guess you have a select group of people who can shoot them off. I will definitely watch them whenever they are. It is really close to where I live and there is lots of parking nearby.

We can see our town's from our back yard. It's great with little kids. :)

That is wonderful. :) My inlaws can see their town's from their front yard. We have had many, many 4th of July celebrations at their house. My inlaws are the most patriotic people I know.

>115 billiejean:: Marcel sounds pretty deep, although I like that quote after I figured it out. ;-)
Congratulations on finishing Book #5.

I hope you are liking Jacob de Zoet. I'm going to check out the discussion threads. I probably won't have anything to add but I want to see what others think about it.

One of my son's friends is a pyrotechnic expert. He is quite busy this time of year. He gets well paid for what he does, but it's got to be the most seasonal job ever. He's also a private detective and property manager. Interesting guy.

Carry on with your sports talk, BJ!

Marcel can also sound like a fickle little boy at times! But it is the deeper moments that I love about his writing. Thanks for the congrats on finishing book 5. There are only two more titles to go. In my set they are bound together because the next one is pretty short.

I can hardly put the Jacob de Zoet book down. The beginning was so slowly developing that I was lulled into complacency -- but wow has that changed! I am anxious to see how it all ends. (I bet you do have lots to add to the discussion!)

Your son's friend has an interesting life, I bet. My husband used to work selling fireworks during the summers. It was hard work, but it paid well.

Thank goodness for Wimbledon to take my mind off of the CWS 2 and out of UT! On the other hand, quite a tribute for that coach to get that team there. They were definitely outmatched in each game.

Congratulations on finishing The Captive. My set has been sitting on my shelf unread for several years. It looks like quite a project which is more than a little intimidating.
The quote shows real insight into how consciousness and memory function in the human mind. I have to find time to read the set.

Thanks for the congrats! But I could not have read this far if not for my book buddy, Angela! We are reading it together to stick with it. You should have no problem reading it, with all the books that you read. :) He has some wonderful thoughts on time, waking and dreaming, and places. I think that a few people here are thinking of doing a group read of it later this year or early next.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

48. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell. I thought this book about Japan and outsiders (primarily Dutch) from the turn of the 19th century was a great read. The story unfolds slowly at first, but it really picks up in the second half. I loved the emphasis on language and communication and the discussion of morality and duty. I found the look at what constitutes home and country when living far away and cut off in communication particularly interesting. And the set of characters was quite memorable. I will read more by Mitchell as the two I have read were terrific.

49. Revelation: A Devotional Commentary edited by Leo Zanchettin. This commentary on the complex book of Revelation was quite good. I am continuing to read commentaries on the New Testament.

I am finding some time to watch tennis these days. The birds are loving my raspberry bush, but they leave some for us, too.

50. Yotsuba&! Volume 3 by Kiyohiko Azuma. This was another great book, all about fireworks which is perfect this close to the 4th of July. Very cute.

51. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. I had never read this one before, and I enjoyed it a lot. Jane Austen never lets me down. :) Next up in the Jane Austen books is Emma, and as a huge fan of Clueless, I can't wait to read that one.

Hello BJ! Have you been enjoying Wimbledon? I was very happy with the results of yesterday's match, and I'm looking forward to watching the men this morning. Now that Federer's knocked out, I'm not sure of who to go for...Rafa, who's probably going to catch up to Federer's 16 majors, or Djokovic who's never won Wimbledon before? Hmm...

Hi billiejean! I'm reading The Jane Austen Book Club, and it made me look for my copy of Mansfield Park all over the house some days ago. Now I plan rereading it again soon. Austen never disappoints, for sure, I fully agree with you!:)
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet went on my TBR list, as well.

Have a great day!

BJ- I'm glad you ended up enjoying Thousand Autumns. Opinions have been mixed. I liked it too. Glad you joined us on the G.R. Keep in mind the Murakami is next.
Hope your holiday weekend is going well.

I never read the book The Jane Austen Book Club but I did see the movie. It has a pretty good cast.

I surely would like it too, because I find the book really enjoyable so far.

Hello everyone, and HAPPY 4TH OF JULY, Y'ALL! We had our fireworks last night at the small town where my kids went to school (not a small school though). Tulsa is having fireworks tonight, but the ones from last night were unbelievable. We had super seats, except I forgot to bring a blanket. Today we will have sparklers and ribs. The dog was fine because we left her home this year.

Mary, I have been enjoying Wimbledon. Kvitova looked really happy. I was kind of rooting for Sharapova as a sentimental fav, but who couldn't be happy for Kvitova? Rafa seemed off his game, but Djokovic gets better each time I see him play. And his whole family seemed so happy, too. It was time for him to win one.

Readeron, I am so glad to put one on your wishlist as you are always adding to mine! I have never read The Jane Austen Book Club, but by the time I finish all these Jane Austen books, I think I will want to read it.

Julie, I think I will probably check out the movie, too. I can't remember who was in the cast, I but I think most people really liked the movie.

Mark, how did the Thundershirt work out? I will have to catch up on your thread and find out. I really did like the book. It took me a while to get hooked, but once I did, I never looked back. And I thought the whole battle scene was wonderful and also important to the story. I read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle with Stasia recently, so I will probably just follow the comments of your group read. I thought it was a terrific read, but also perfect for a group to read together. It is different and complex -- perfect for one of your fabulous group reads. You have a knack for picking great books.

I am pondering the fact that we could have no NFL and no NBA next year.

Thanks, everyone, for stopping by!

BJ- The Thundershirt struck out again. Of course, it says it might take a couple weeks, for it to be effective, which I don't understand. We will see.
Have a great 4th!

Thanks for letting me know, Mark. I don't see how it could take a couple of weeks. I was wondering if we could get one on my sweet doggie. She doesn't like to wear anything ever. I got her a cute little coat for cold weather. But in the below zero temps, she preferred going with her own coat -- which was pretty thick and furry.

I hope you enjoy Emma! In my opinion, Emma is one of Austen's best-written characters; she captures something so universal about girls that age.

Hi, Carly! I saw on the tv last week that it was 100F in Houston. I could not believe it for June. Hope you are not melting. We have the high temps here, but usually Houston is cooler because of the water.

I am looking forward to Emma. Both of my girls liked that one a lot.

I haven't tried to read Emma yet but I can never make it through Pride and Prejudice. I do love the movie with Gwyneth Paltrow though. :)

Happy 4th!

Have you seen the movie Clueless? I think that it is based on Emma. That movie is hilarious!

It has been hot here, but I have been staying inside! Honestly, though, it would be weird if summer wasn't insanely hot. I just wish we would get some rain. Things are pretty crispy.

When I lived in Beaumont, I think it rained every single day. We actually had a little rain yesterday, and it cooled things off here just in time for the fireworks.

138- There will be an NFL season this fall. The league has a plan to delay the season for two weeks, which is exactly what they will do. They will let the news media do their dirty work because every labor stoppage in every pro sport in the US has always been blamed on the players, even if it isn't their fault for wanting an equal share in league revenues. So, after a two week vacation, play will resume with much more fanfare than usual. Probably. Neither side wants to lose out on the literal billions of dollars available.

The only other thing I can add to your conversations is that there is another ridiculous spoof on the classics in the mold of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Jane Slayre is now out there, silently waiting for people to waste their time and money on it. Jane Austen and whichever of the Bronte sisters are spinning in their graves, but with any luck, one out of a hundred readers of those things will take the effort to read the originals.

144: Clueless is based on Emma?!? That's the most convincing argument I've heard so far to read that book (granted, no one's really tried to get me to anyway)

I certainly hope that there will be an NFL season this year. But even more of a concern to me is that Directv has not made plans to add the new ESPN channel Longhorn Network. And that is where the UT-Rice game will be on tv. I am biting the nails over that one.

I think we might have a copy of P&P&Zombies around here somewhere. But my girls and I have all read P&P. I am not that big on zombies, really. They creep me out. But I might read it sometime.

Clueless is such a great movie. I will check back in on how good Emma is -- hopefully by the end of August.

Thanks so much for stopping by, y'all!

Yes I've seen Clueless. I love that movie.

Just checking in, BJ, not attempting to catch up :)

Hi, Julie and Stasia!
Yes, I love that movie, too. :) I am also looking forward to the new Harry Potter movie coming out soon. I am about halfway through the third book, which is totally falling apart. I wonder how many times it has been read? This is my first time through the book. I am neck and neck between that one and One Hundred Years of Solitude. They are totally different, which is kind of nice.

Thanks so much for stopping by, ladies! Have a great weekend!

I hope you have a great weekend too, BJ!

Thanks!

Yeah I'm excited to see the last HP movie and also sad. I'm sure I will be bawling like a baby on this one. Trying to figure out when I can see it.

I hope you're staying cool these days, BJ. I'm glad you liked Jacob de Zoet. I've been surprised by the people who don't care for it. Are your doing The Wind-up Bird Chronicle group read? I love that title! I'm ready for a little of Murakami's quirkiness!

My niece is getting married the day the HP movie opens, Julie. My daughter and her new husband are flying up for the wedding on a whirlwind visit. They are hoping to catch the movie Saturday morning before they fly back. I am going to look into the tickets and see if they are available. I just finished the third book yesterday and it was great!

Donna, Stasia and I read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle not too long ago together. It is a terrific read, and I highly recommend it. A group read is the perfect way to tackle it, because there is so much unexpected in it. However, I am going to read Emma instead, because I have never read that. (Hard to believe at my age, isn't it?)

The heat is unbelievable! Every day over a 100F, often 105F or more! My sweet doggie never wants to go outside these days. I remember a particularly hot summer in 1980, but this one could be worse. Our June is the second hottest in the last 100 years, with the #1 hot one in the 1920s. I am so glad that I have ac!

52. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling. This book is the fav of both of my girls, and I see why! What a great story! I thought this one was head and shoulders above the first two, and they were also good reads. Our copy of the book is in tatters. Now I know why. I will want to read this one again!

I am 3/4 of the way through One Hundred Years of Solitude. I had to pause until finishing HP, as I could not put it down. Marquez has a few paragraphs and sentences to rival Proust in length, but the story he tells is compelling. I can't wait to finish this one, as well.

53. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I finally managed to read this from cover to cover on the third attempt. I discovered that previously I just did not hang in there long enough to get caught up in the story. This book reminded me quite a bit of Midnight's Children, although the style was actually quite different, in that I felt like if I understood more about the history of Colombia, I would understand the story Marquez is telling better. Overall, I am glad that I read this book, and I can see why it is his masterpiece, but I found Love in the Time of Cholera an easier read.

The first time I saw "Clueless" I was vaguely sure that I'd seen it before but couldn't think how I could have done, when the friend I was watching it with yelled "It's 'Emma', it's 'Emma'!"

I have just started reading Emma, and I know that I am going to want to finish it up watching Clueless again.

54. Yotsuba&! (Volume 4) by Kiyohiko Azuma. I am still enjoying these charming manga.

#158 I had a similar experience, starting Love in the Time of Cholera and not finishing. I believe I did not give it enough time. Your thoughts are encouraging me to give it another go. I know so many readers have great respect for it ad I feel like I am missing something.

#159 Wow, I never connected Emma and Clueless, now I see!

I think that it is worth another try for Love in the Time of Cholera. I seem to recall that the beginning did not really launch me into the story. I was trying to figure out who the characters were and why they mattered. Later on, the story began to unfold, and then I was hooked. On the other hand, I do know some people who just did not like the book.

Thanks for stopping by, Michelle!

I have tried One Hundred Years of Solitude several times and just decided it is not a book for me. Maybe I should try Love in the Time of Cholera instead.

Hi BJ- I have not read Marquez yet. Fortunately I have a copy of Love in the Time of Cholera, so that one looks like it will be my 1st choice. and then I can tackle one Hundred.

Hi BJ, just swinging by to say HI while I catch up on all the threads! :)

Hi, Stasia, Mark and Valerie!
I can't recall if I mentioned it, but I found Love in the Time of Cholera an easier read than One Hundred Years of Solitude. And I needed a group reads to get me through both books. Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!

I gave up on Love in the Time of Cholera about half way through but after reading your enthusiastic comments I am determined to (someday) return and try it again. Thanks!

I hope you enjoy it more the second time through. I am that way with books sometimes. It is a book that gets mixed reviews, I think.

Congratulations on One Hundred Years of Solitude. I finally gave my copy away on Bookmooch because I just never felt motivated to start reading it, even though it gets so much attention.

Congratulations billiejean. Reading One Hundred Years of Solitude is quite an accomplishment. Plus Marcel Proust earlier this year. You are into some serious literature.

Thanks, Carly and Bill! This time just worked out to be the right time to read it as there were group reads for support. The Proust is still a work in progress. But I have read 5 of the 7 books. I also have Angela as a reading buddy there to keep me focused and interested. Continuing on the lighter side . . .

55. Yotsuba&! (Volume 5) by Kiyohiko Azuma. We only have one more volume of this manga series about this amazing little girl. I can't get enough of it!

I have also just started Death Note (Volume 2) by Tsugumi Ohba.

#171: I am glad that you found a manga series to like, BJ! I wish my local library had it.

Me, too! I think you would like Yotsuba, too. She is fun and full of life.

56. Death Note (Volume 2) by Tsugumi Ohba. I found this one even more compelling than the first volume, so I am moving on to the next volume. We don't have as many of these as we do Yotsuba books, and I still prefer Yotsuba.

I am still reading Emma and need to pick up the pace with it. I have just barely started Tea Rose and three plays by Euripides. And the next Harry Potter book is staring at me, too.

My niece's wedding was very nice, and our trip to see U2 in St. Louis was so much fun!!! (And Hot!) I had a terrific time, and it was quite different from the show in Houston almost 2 years ago. (Both shows being wonderful, of course.) St. Louis always makes me happy. I need to get there more often.

#173: Well, maybe after the Joplin meet up in November you can just continue heading east to St. Louis :)

I wish! Everyone there is so friendly! On this trip, I got to see the inside of a MLB ballpark for the first time. It was a nice facility. (I think the one in Houston was for football, not baseball.) And what a view over the stands! It was toasty though. Still, that is July, I guess.

BJ - I started The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly. The last in the fantastic Rose Trilogy! I'll let you know how it is.

Thanks for telling me! My daughter has already read the first two and was wondering of the third one had been published yet! I promised her a trip to the bookstore to see.

It comes out on 8/2/11

Thanks for the info! We were planning to try to get it tomorrow as I have a coupon. I guess I will have to get something else with the coupon and then go back for the book next week.

57. Three Plays of Euripides: Alcestis, Medea, The Bacchae translated by Paul Roche. I enjoyed reading some more Greek plays. I have been wanting to read more plays in general, although, really, I guess plays should be performed for full effect.

58. I & II Corinthians A Devotional Commentary: Meditations on St. Paul's First and Second Letters to the Corinthians edited by Leo Zanchettin. I think I have only one more of this series of commentaries on the Bible to read.

59. Yotsuba&! (Volume 6) by Kiyohiko Azuma. This is the last Yotsuba book that we have. I think there are 10 in all, and I hope to read them all some day.

60. Britten and Brulightly by Hannah Berry. Another graphic novel with a noir atmosphere.

At the store, I limited myself to only one book, a B&N copy of Jude the Obscure. There were so many others that I wanted! :)

My sweet doggie is suffering from either an injury of some kind or arthritis. I am hoping that her medicine will help her to feel better soon. She never, ever complains, so I know that she really does not feel well. The vet mentioned that it is possible that I have spoiled her, but she is so sweet, who wouldn't? I hope that she sleeps better tonight. She is not supposed to run for two weeks. I think that will be a challenge -- especially if she feels better.

August is on the way, so maybe this superhot summer will come to an end at last.

I find the Greek plays amazing in the amount of emotion they get in such a few pages. I am sure that they would be very good in performance.
Hello BJ and all. Atlanta is hot. The humidity has set in. If it wasn't for air conditioning there wouldn't be any Sunbelt.

Hugs to you and your sweet doggie!

Did you enjoy Britten and Brulightly, BJ? It is one of my favorite graphic novels, I confess.

Hi BJ, hope your doggie feels better soon. We don't have a dog, but we are looking after our friends doggie while they are away.

I'll have to check out Britten and Brulightly.

HI BJ! Just cruising through and waving hello! :)

Hi BJ- I'm hoping you enjoyed Britten and Brulightly too! It's also one of my favorites!

Hello, everyone! And thanks so much for stopping by!

First of all, I want to report that my sweet doggie is feeling much better. I can tell just by looking at her. Keeping her from running a little does not seem possible, although the heat pretty much keeps her in and next to the air conditioning vent.

I did like Britten and Brulightly. It reminded me of the old noir movies.

I don't think that it is as humid here as in Atlanta, but the heat is like an oven. We are going to be 106F or 107F in early August. We watched the radar from the tropical storm hitting Texas. I know lots of people were hoping to get a lot of rain from it. When I lived in Beaumont, the tropical storms would dump much more rain than the hurricanes. On the radar it showed that as soon as it hit land, the rain totally disappeared. I have never seen anything like it. I hope that at least the air cooled for them.

I have enjoyed the few Greek plays that I have read this year, and I want to read more of them. I am wondering if I have some more around the house here? I have also been wanting to tackle my complete works of Shakespeare one of these days.

Thanks, everyone for stopping by!

IMDB's list of films based on/adapted from Euripides's plays.

PS. I'm not quite sure what Sophocles would have made of this.

Oedipus with vegetables! That was hilarious! And thanks so much for the list of films. I like the part where it says that the gods are as bad as the humans. I was thinking in The Bacchae maybe worse!

61. Emma by Jane Austen. Another delightful read by Jane Austen. I loved this book, and being a big fan of Clueless made it even more fun.

62. Death Note (Volume 3) by Tsugumi Ohba. Yes, I am still reading this strangely compelling manga series. :)

#192: My local library has the first volume in that series. I will have to give it a read some time.

It actually took me a little while to get into the first volume. I think about halfway through I started to get hooked. Then the succeeding books are better from the beginning. I guess that is often the case with series though. Or maybe you will think I am completely nuts. :) I never really thought I would read manga, but I am enjoying the two series that I have been reading so much.

We are maybe going to reach 117F today, and my husband is working outside all day. I cannot believe this heat. Last night on our patio, it was 120F where the heat builds up under the roof. It was still 101F out from the patio at 11 last night. On the weather, our meteorologist reminded us that it was -20F in places around here last February. I am so grateful for the air conditioning working now (mostly) and the heat working last winter.

I am well into The Fugitive by Proust. My volume combines this shorter book with Time Regained, so I won't finish this book for a while. I am at the beginning of The Tea Rose and Tristram Shandy, both of which I am enjoying. And I need to get back to The Great Good Thing, which I started and then misplaced. At B&N yesterday, I got the final book of the Border Trilogy by Cormac McCarthy. The other three books I looked for were not there.

Oh my BJ! I hope it cools down for you guys soon! We've been warm on my end as well but not nearly as close to the melting point that you guys are going through. Hope you can stay comfortable in the meantime.

OOOH I'm so happy that you started The Tea Rose! I can't wait to hear/read what you thought.

Keep cool!

Good luck with Tristram Shandy. It was one of the few books I've read that I've been unable to finish.

Hi, Valerie, Julie and Robert!
I am staying out of the heat and my sweet doggie is, too. We have been hearing thunder tonight and seem to have gotten a little rain. We are supposed to cool down all the way to 105F by next Tuesday! :)

I am liking the beginning of The Tea Rose. I went to B&N to get some birthday gifts for my daughter in Austin, but I forgot to look for book 3 while I was there. Oh, well, I guess I have another excuse to drop by the bookstore.

I am still at the very beginning of Tristam Shandy, Robert. I was going to ask you about the parts that lapse into French and Latin as I think you might read those languages. Did you find those parts hard to follow? I read a little about this book, and I think it was some kind of experimental fiction when published. I probably won't get too far into it until I finish this Proust book. My head might explode. On the other hand, we picked up some more Yotsuba&! manga. That contrasts nicely with Proust. :) And I think we have another Death Note volume as well. I can only read a few pages a day of The Fugitive. I think I overdid it today, but I hope to finish before I go out of town.

Thanks so much for dropping by!

Manga at the same time as Proust - I love that. :) It's every bit as surprising as me reading Proust on the treadmill, lol...

I do not think that I could read Proust on a treadmill. You are really focused! :) I can't read at all when exercising. And I have been ignoring my elliptical lately. I really must do better.

I shudder at the thought of trying to read on a treadmill. I used to get very motion sick as a child, and still get nauseous if I try to read in the car. Nope, I will stick to techno and action tv with a spot of violence. Much more motivating :P

I get carsick, too. When I was a child, I could read in the car for hours on end. Then when I got to college age, that all ended.

I managed to get the gist of them with the help of the context, and the notes at the back of my edition translated the shorter foreign language extracts and summarised the longer ones.

I certainly couldn't read on a treadmill, not that I use a treadmill much. I prefer to walk a circuitous route outside and listen to podcasts on my iPod. h

I can read on a stationary bike but definitely not a treadmill. Too much brain bouncing going on. :)

Thanks for the info, Robert. I will be ready to read more after my trip to Texas. I want to get an ipod one of these days.

I wonder if I could read on a stationary bike? I am not sure that I could, but I remember that my Grandma did.

These lower 100s sure are nice! :) I can't even believe that I am saying that!

63. Death Note (Volume 4) by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. I continue to read these books. And the realization that soon my daughter will take them back to college where I can't read them makes me want to read faster.

I picked up the first book in the series the other day at the library. Unfortunately it is also the only book in the series that my local library carries.

64. Yotsuba&! (Volume 7) by Kiyohiko Azuma. I just love these Yotsuba books. We have two more, but I am not sure if I will have time to read them before they head to Houston.

I hope you like the book, Stasia! It is a quick read. But the setup at the beginning is a little slow. I like the followup books better.

Well, since the beginning book is the only one I can get my hands on, I guess I am out of luck.

Really the Death Note books don't seem to work as a standalone. The Yotsuba ones could work that way, but they are too delightful to stop reading.

65. Yotsuba&! (Volume 8) by Kiyohiko Azuma. We only have one more of these here, and it travels to Houston tomorrow. Can I read it tonight with all the other stuff I need to do? Stay tuned. :) I think I heard that only 10 have been published of these so far. I hope it keeps on going.

I just finished the first book published in my last volume of In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust, The Fugitive. Only the last book Time Regained remains. I am hoping to finish this long work this year.

Not to be mean, but do you know what's nice about living across the lake from Canada? Cool, refreshing Canadian cold fronts that roll through overnight with just enough rain to water the garden. Aaahhh. I wish I could send you a houseful of it.

I think the only reason I can read on the treadmill is that I use the Kindle. I can make the font bigger so that my eyes can focus while I move. Also, I don't run on the treadmill, I just walk. I doubt I could read and run. I have been thinking though, that Proust is not good for making me want to pick up the pace, lol...I'd probably walk faster if I was reading a heart pounding thriller!

Cool fresh Canadian air sounds wonderful! I just got back in town last night, and we had rain. Not a summer popup shower, but a nice soaking rain. It was wonderful, especially since the car ac quit. You know what? I actually thought it felt cooler in Houston -- even though they are having record-breaking heat. I am just about to go get my sweet doggie from the kennel. I can't wait to see her!

A friend of mine in Houston showed me her Kindle and talked about how much she loves it. Changing font size is a big plus for me. I am slowly thawing to the idea of an ebook. Not quite there yet, though.

The font size thing is huge for me on my Nook, BJ! I absolutely love it.

Glad to see you are back home again safely. It rained here in the wee hours this morning too, but not very heavily. I am hoping we get more throughout the day.

Hi, Stasia! Guess what? Our dead grass has started to turn green again! I did not think that was possible as far gone as it was. I was kind of leaning more toward the Nook since they have a color version and there seem to be free books at times. Do they still offer that? I recently bought a B&N book of Jude the Obscure, and I could see getting those on the Nook. But now that Borders is totally gone, I wonder if B&N will be, too.

Three short books:
66. Yotsuba&! (Volume 9) by Kiyohiko Azuma. This is the last one of these that we have and apparently the series only goes one more book. I will hate to see this series end.

67. Death Note (Volume 5) by Tsugumi Ohba. Still with the manga. My daughter has a few more of these, but now they are all out of town. I hope to read them over Christmas.

68. The Great Good Thing by Roderick Townley. This modern day fairytale was a delight. I loved this story that has been hanging around our house for many years. I intended to read this for the July group read, but I never got to it.

I am starting the final installment of In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust called Time Regained, which I am reading with Angela. Yea!

#216 BJ, Barnes and Noble offers a free book for the Nook every Friday.

I will have to see if my local library has The Great Good Thing. Thanks for that recommendation!

I hope you like it. I thought it was lots of fun. And it focused on storybooks, which it part of why I liked it so much. I read this on recommendation from my daughter.

Thank you for the recommendation of The Great Good Thing. It just went on the wish list.

I hope you like it! I always worry that people won't like the same books that I like. But really this book was wonderful. It is a children's book, though.

That's okay. I'm in a children's book mood.

I am not sure what kind of book mood I am in right now. I kind of want to read more Death Note, but I can't until December. My daughter is reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and is telling me about it. She is going to mail it to me next week. I've got three long books going, and I need to concentrate on them.

I think my sweet doggie's arthritis is slowly coming back. I hope that she doesn't get it as bad as last time. She is the only baby at home right now.

Our next Bible study at Church is on the Acts of the Apostles. I am so glad that we are continuing the series. It has been terrific so far. Down the road is one on Psalms that I really want to take. I am going to teach Sunday School at least one more year. I promised a friend that I would teach her daughter.

Even though it is still hot, I can't help feeling that the worst is behind us. I love the change in seasons. I hope we get a nice snow this year. I don't think our fall colors will be too great with the extended heat and lack of rain. We have been getting some nice soaking rains lately, but the trees are already stressed and dropping leaves. However, the dogwood and maple and peach trees have gotten extra attention from us, so maybe they will have a nice color. I just love the fall!

I love the fall too, BJ! It is my favorite season, hands down.

My husband likes the spring better, but fall is what I like best -- especially here where the trees are lovely.

One of the reasons I wish I lived in the Northeast is for the trees. I love when the trees change colors.

That's all well and good until you have to rake those leaves up, and always when there is a big football game on.

#226: I have a husband for leaf raking purposes :)

BJ- Just swinging by to say hi! I hope it starts cooling off for you. We have been enjoying a very nice comfortable stretch. I hope it continues.

Touchee... Employing the neighborhood kids is my preferred option.

Just stopping by to let you know Borders has reduced their sale to 40-60% off. Literary fiction is 50% off, wow. I'm gonna stop by in the morning just to browse. I know you like to browse the shelves too!

Hello Everyone!
When we first moved to Tulsa, I loved raking the leaves from my one tree every fall. And that one tree had a lot of leaves. We now have more trees with more leaves. So now I love the simplicity of our mulching mower. No raking! (Or not as much, anyway.)

Our weather is moving between upper 90sF and low to mid 100sF. I think we are supposed to hit 107F today. This would be shocking if it weren't this year. I loved the video of the snow in New Zealand. It gave me hope!

I got an email about Borders. There is a Borders left in town kind of a ways off. But I might just have to go check it out. The prices sound pretty terrific. Thanks so much for thinking of me, Welachild! I am especially interested in the literary fiction.

I sort of hurt my back moving furniture when my daughter moved back to Houston, but it is much better now. I think I am going to start some back exercises next week. I definitely want to protect my back!

Hey, I forgot to ask you what the deal is with that nut sitting up in the antenna tower in Tulsa? I bet his back hurts too after cramming himself up there for a week.

BJ - How is The Tea Rose coming? Did you pick up The Wild Rose yet? If not, we will be giving away a couple of copies on the blog soon. I'll keep you posted.

Hello Billie Jean - what a lot I've been missing by not getting back to your thread for well over 100 posts! I never did get to post anything on my own about my senior school (high school) reading - maybe one day!

I do find your reading list very interesting, lots of less common books which in some cases I know about and in a few cases I've read, but some I definitely haven't. Very impressed that you've made it through Proust - that has always seemed beyond me somehow, whereas One hundred years and Love in the time I read without any problem, so maybe I should give Proust a go one day too. The Four Quartets I love - I once took part in a dramatic reading of them - four of us dividing the poems to give different sections different voices. It seemed quite effective at the time!

And I've glanced at the first few pages of Tristram Shandy when a friend was reading it about 20 years ago, but have never attempted to read it properly. It seemed a very 'post-modern' book with its playing around with conventions, though I guess the conventions of novel writing were only just being established when it was written, so an early experimental novel is perhaps more accurate. How are you getting on with it?

#232> The guy on the tower was finally talked down after 6 days. Seems like I heard that he might have been depressed, but I am not sure. They called back a retired specialist to talk with him from a cherry picker (at least I think he was retired or had at least moved on to another job). At one point he was holding onto him so he wouldn't fall. I do not know how he survived with all this heat and how did he hang on for 6 days? I did not see anything to secure him there. I believe that he had to go to the hospital when he came down. It was a pretty strange story!

#233> I have not finished The Tea Rose yet. I am juggling it along with two other books this month. Both of the other books are group reads, so it is not getting the priority that it should. I was supposed to be part of a group of it, too, but somehow that didn't come about. I am hoping to finish it by the end of the month, though. :) I haven't gotten the third book yet, but I think I am going to check out the Borders closeout sale at the last remaining store and see if I can get it there. I will also check out your blog.

#234> I am almost halfway through Tristram Shandy. I call it 18th Century experimental fiction or stream of consciousness nonsense. I knew it was strange, but it is different than I expected. It is humorous, but not hilarious.

Genny, I think some people are considering a group read of In Search of Lost Time, maybe next year. I am trying to recall who. Maybe Donna, Roni and Sandydog? Reading this with Angela has made all the difference for me. I am only about 25% of the way through the last book, but I am starting to get back in the groove. I have come too far not to finish now! For me, it is easier to read in small daily doses than long sessions, although occasionally I do read furiously for one day. I am sure that you can read it no problem. And parts of it are beautifully written. He does kind of make fun of his ability as a writer occasionally. Wish I could have heard y'all reading Four Quartets!

By the way, still no deal for The Longhorn Network from Directv. It is almost football season!!! I am not a happy camper. :( Sounds like the Freshman is the best QB. I say play him now! Looks like it could be another tough year for UT. A friend of mine whose son goes to A&M says he is disappointed that he will be studying abroad when the Aggies beat the Horns at Kyle field. Pretty confident, huh? I bet my beloved Longhorns will face LOTS of confident opponents this year -- including Rice who almost beat them last year. I have mixed feelings on that as my baby plays the violin in the MOB and roots for Rice.

#235 I'll keep an eye out for the group read of Proust - though my track record with group reads is not very good - I'm not so good at the 'read a little bit every day' approach and prefer to stick with one book until I've finished, but for that reason I hesitate to take on very long ones as I know I won't get anything else much read for ages.

Just stopping by to check on your reading. I read the first Death Note several years ago and totally forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder so I can add it to my library.

Regarding Jennifer Donnelly, I get her posts on Facebook and she is starting a campaign to get a book category included in the Teen Choice Awards. On her Web site she has posted info on who to write letters to in order to support this initiative. I agree with her and have been following her efforts. Just thought I would pass it along to increase support of her cause!

Thanks for the info on Jennifer Donnelly. I know that she has lots of supporters and fans. This is my first book by her to read, but we have a number of them in the house that my girls have bought through the years.

I am wishing I had more Death Note books to read! I am interested in seeing how the whole thing will play out at the end. By the way, do you happen to know which name corresponds to our first name and which corresponds to our family name?

By the way, Genny, you would not have to read a little bit every day. That is just about what my limit was. And the entire work is in 7 volumes, so you could read other books in between reading the Proust.

Re msg. 235, yes, I am one of the culprits considering Proust next year AFTER Infinite Jest in the winter. Just how long are the 7 books that make up Remembrance of Things Lost? So many books out there that I want to read. No wonder I am overbooked!

#239 I will ask my daughter, she has read lots of manga series.

Hey Billiejean! I haven't read Death Note, but I watched the anime. My friends say it stays very close to the manga. I liked it very much. It got wonderfully suspenseful towards the end. There are also live-action movies that were much better than I thought they would be.

BJ, Piyush sent me this link to a website where Death Note is available online: http://www.mangareader.net/113/death-note.html

You might give it a gander and see if it takes you past where you have read already.

Donna, the books vary in length. In my volumes the shortest was a little under 300 pages. The longest book was around 650 pages. I am excited that you are still interested in Infinite Jest. Please let me know when you are starting that one.

Thanks, Michelle! I asked my daughter, but she was not sure.

Thanks for letting me know about the anime, Katie. Where did you see it? Is that something that you can rent? I think I would like to see it. I heard that the author likes to sit like the mysterious L.

Thanks for the link, Stasia. I had heard (from the Aggie student wanting to beat my beloved Longhorns at football) that there was some kind of website, so I am happy to see the link!

By the way, it sounds like they are not going to start the best QB. What is the OC thinking of? I hope that I can survive this season. It is looking scary!!!

I hope the website helps you out, BJ!

I flagged the spam message above, BJ, but since you are almost at 250 posts, you might want to start a new thread.

Also flagged it. And thanks for the tip re Proust. By treating each volume as a separate book I might eventually get through it!

The series was aired on tv a few years ago. I know my library owns the DVDs as well as the manga, so you could see if yours does as well. Looks like Netflix also has it--series on DVD and streaming, movies on DVD only. Not sure where else it is available for renting. Although, you could probably find most of the volumes used for fairly cheap. It's a good enough series that I will probably buy it, just gonna wait for the boxed set to price drop (saves space vs 9+ DVDs). Oh, there's a follow up series, I guess, called Relight. I haven't seen that one, so I don't know if it's any good or not. . . .

Thanks Stasia, Genny and Katie! Good to know about the new series. I bet my daughter does not know about that yet. I can't decided if I should read on the internet or just wait for the books to come back. I have a couple of other books that I need to read, too. :) Don't we all?

I will start a new thread:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/122420#

Thanks everyone for visiting me!