Mark's Reading Place: A Book Life #13

Threshing Wheat 1939 - Thomas Benton Hart

Books I've read so far... OTS: Off the Shelf

May:

47) Bossypants by Tina Fey 4 stars (audio)
48) The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo 4.5 stars (OTS)
49) Townie by Andre Dubus III 4.5 stars (audio)
50) Something Missing by Matthew Dicks 3.8 stars
51) The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley 3.5 (audio)
52) Snow Angels by James Thompson 4 stars (OTS)
53) Britten and Brulightly by Hannah Berry 4.5 stars
54) Shadow Pass by Sam Eastland 3.7 stars (OTS)
55) Every Dead Thing by John Connolly 3.5 stars (audio) (OTS)
56) He Who Fears the Wolf by Karin Fossum 4 stars (OTS)
57) At Home by Bill Bryson 4 stars (audio)
58) The Moon Is Down by John Steinbeck 4.2 stars
59) Cat's cradle by Kurt Vonnegut 3.8 stars (audio)
60) Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruley 3.8 stars (OTS)

June:

61) Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck 3.7 stars (audio)
62) Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon 3.5 stars
63) The English Major by Jim Harrison 3.6 stars
64) Autumn by David Moody 3 stars
65) Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness 3 stars (audio)
66) My Lucky Life: A Memoir by Dick Van Dyke 4.5 stars (audio)
67) Old School by Tobias Wolff 3.7 stars (audio)
68) The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell 4 stars (OTS)
69) Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams 3.7 stars (audio)
70) The Sisters Brothers by Patrick Dewitt 4.5 stars (OTS)

**Cream of the Crop:
1) The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan 5 stars
2) Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell 4.8 stars
3) The Siege by Helen Dunmore 4.8 stars
4) A Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood 5 stars
5) Radioactive: A Tale of Love and Fallout by Lauren Redniss 4.8 stars

Hey Mark. I can't believe I'm first! I love all the pictures you choose for your threads. So interesting.

Second and starred! Hope you had a good time tonight!

Good Evening, I am confused You start a new thread and your old has disappeared. The same thing has happened with Richard's thread.

Gotcha! Starred that is. I see that the Worst Hard Time is a favorite for the year so far. Somehow I missed your review/discussion of that. I have had the book sitting on my shelf forever. I really should dust it off and read it...

Hey Mark! I didn't miss a thread change this time. :D

Hi ya, Mark. I'm here too. I picked up A Thousand Autumns, quite by accident at the library this evening. Hopefully, I'll give it a look see.

Hi Mark, thanks for posting a painting by our Ozarks' artist, Thomas Hart Benton. I'd like to know if his mural at City Hall in Joplin survived the tornado. I sure hope so.

You are such an influence on me. I'm picking up The Old Man and the Sea and Radioactive at the library tomorrow. Two books out of my comfort zone! At least they're short. ;-)

Aha! Found you again!

I started listening to Jacob de Zoet earlier tonight and didn't get far because ran into a friend, but I have to say I'm finding the beginning very rough indeed. I'll stick with it as I'm sure there's lots there to discover.

Thomas Hart Benton = another favorite of mine. I've never seen this particular piece but he's got some others I just love that live here in the Denver Art Museum.

I just finished My Lucky Life on audio and I think you'll love it!

Checking in. . .

That Benton always chokes me up. Something about it makes me go all papaw-y, little girl at the knee and stuff...*sniff*

Your choice makes me think of the bluegrass music I caught last week or the week before on NPR -- Steve Martin's new album. Really liked it...

Still pondering mental image of a plodding zombie....

Morning everyone! Woke up to a thunderstorm. Rain off and on. Oh boy!

Pat- Nice to see you first! Hope your workouts are going well!

Laura- Big wave up north!

Cindy- The old thread stayed on my home page and its there now. Not sure.

Lisa- The Worst Hard Time is a must read! Try to find it.

Stephen- We'll have to do a better job, following each other.

Lynda- I hope you can join us. You can find the link?

Donna- I figured you would know who Hart was. I didn't realize he was from Missouri, until I looked him up. He was mentioned in the English Major.
I hope you enjoy both the Hemingway and "Radioactive".

Ilana- Hang in there with the Mitchell book. Opinion seems to be, that it really starts picking up, as the story moves along.

Joanne- You know your art! This guy has a lot of excellent work out there. I have the audio to My Lucky Life. I'll probably start it soon.

Big waves to Stasia & RD!!

Suz- I heard Steve Martin's bluegrass album too! It is very good. Heck of a band. Music seems to play a part in a few of Thomas Hart Benton's pictures.

Boy oh boy, Mark, you sure attract a crowd on your thread!!!

And yes, as someone asked on your last thread - the Canada Post Union has been locked out. So - there will be no mail service for a while. They've been doing rotating strikes for a couple weeks. Union talks are so stressful - I'll say no more....

I'm about 120 pages into A Thousand Autumns and while it's been a bit complex - I understand it picks up in the middle! I'm planning to read at least 100 pages a day. Interesting part of history that I had never heard of before.

Cool Benton, Mark, thanks.

I have to remember to keep an eye out for The Worst Hard Time. Right now I'm enjoying Willa Cather in the Southwest in Death Comes for the Archbishop.

Hiiiiiiiiii Maaaark!!!

Hey ho Marky-Mark, I like the new picture. Stay dry on your rounds. Hey maybe the ducks will walk along with you since they don't mind the water.

Hi Mark: I like the artwork as usual. Hope you're staying dry today.

I was just heading out the door to try the new Tom & Eddies for lunch when it started to pour so I'll wait til tomorrow to give them a try.

hi Mark, so glad you had a nice vacation. good luck with your Thousand Autumns read...I read about a hundred pages a while back but it didn't take... will be lurking around the group read thread to see if I should pick it back up.

shocking finale to sunday night's GoT-- I just refuse to watch any more. first Boromir is killed off from the Fellowship and now this?!! poor Sean Bean :o)

Rainy start to the morning and then a long dry spell and then more rain. Actually I stayed fairly dry, which wasn't to bad, at least the temps were comfortable.

Deb- You mentioned the Canadian PO being on strike. What does that involve? Does that mean no mail whatsoever? Nothing coming in or going out? Wow, that could be a major hassle.
Hope you stick with the G.R. I'm just under a 100 pages. There are slow sections but when it's on, it's REALLY on!

Joe- Yes, locate a copy of The Worst Hard Time. It's a fantastic read. I need to get to Death Comes for the Archbishop.

Big Wave to Tammy! You getting wet up there too?

Caro- No ducks following me around, although I could always use the company. You didn't want to join us on the Group Read, huh?

Linda- Sounded like a nice Cubs win last night. I was invited to the game too, but it's hard to do, on a work night, plus it ran into extra innings. Yikes.

Jenny- "I just refuse to watch any more". Come on, we got one more left. I am so happy with the way they adapted this series. I just wish they could have done a full 13 episode season. It really needed it. Maybe on Book 2! Yes, Sean Bean was another excellent character.

Can't wait for legally available episodes not on HBO. I understand GoT has made Martin's hinted-at gay couple openly so. I like HBO's willingness to go after it, whatever it is, that'll make a project stand out. Showtime and Starz, too. Cable is better than movies any day.

If you are going to be in New Orleans for the American Library Association conference LT and I are planning a breakfast meet and great at the Cafe Du Monde. It will be on Saturday, June 25, 2011 from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. I think that beignets with book talk will be great and hope to see some of the LT'ers from around the country and from NOLA. I will be there with a sign to mark the spot. If you guys want to post this on your threads please do so as I know that Mark won't be there, but maybe some lurker on this, or other threads will and would like to meet the LT Gods and some of their acolytes. And the Cafe Du Monde coffee and beignets will be great at that time of the morning.

You guys won't believe what I found today at a used book store - a battered trade paperback edition of Cafe on the Nile. I didn't guy it because I have the book from Inter-library Loan, but I was amazed it was there. The same store also had China Star by Bartle Bull. His books are rarely found in used book stores. I may have to go back and get China Star since I learned that my local library doesn't have that book, but then it doesn't have the first one in the series Shanghai Station, so maybe this is a couple of books I can put on the back burners until I shrink my already monstrous TBR pile.

Richard- I can't praise HBO's Game of Thrones enough. There is nothing on cable that compares to it and I think it can only get better in subsequent seasons. I'm glad it's been a few years since I read the book, so I can't nit-pick it to much.
You are so right about your comment: "Cable is better than movies any day." I completely agree. "The Sopranos", "The Wire", "Deadwood", "Breaking Bad", "Mad Men", to name just a few.

Benita- I've wanted to get to New Orleans, forever. The wife and I have been discussing a trip there, maybe in the next year or 2. I've been watching the 2nd season of "Treme" and all that fantastic music just makes me swoon.
I hope you have a incredible time and get to meet a few LTers.
Great news about spotting the Bartle Bull books. I wouldn't hesitate too much!

I had to Google "beignets". Makes my tea and toast look rather bland. Or, healthy. :)

>27 wookiebender: Makes my tea and toast look rather bland. Or, healthy.

...there's a difference...?

...there's a difference...?

Not always, *sigh*. But at least the toast was sourdough and smothered with butter and just a smidge of Vegemite. Heaven.

I'm really sad that they (quite literally) cut Sean Bean out of the show like that. Couldn't they have given him a more lasting role? I really liked both the character and the actor, but then again, there's plenty there to keep me interested through many seasons to come.

Not giving up on Thousand Autumns, no worries. However, I dare not go on our GR thread yet as really want to avoid spoilers... I'll join in when I'm further ahead. Just finished chapter 5 earlier tonight.

Just passing through and catching up, Mark. I started Thousand Autumns today. So far, so good!

I'll be continuing Thousand Autumns. On audio, I'll be wrapping up Monsters of Men. It is overlong but still enjoyable. Looking forward to the Dick Van Dyke memoir. I'm also reading the graphic Season of Mists, the 4th Sandman book.

Wookie- I always remember "Vegemite" from the "Men at Work" song.

Ilana- We'll have to be careful of spoilers on the "Games" talk, there will be some they haven't seen it. Speaking of spoilers, there has not been any on the G.R. thread, as of yet.

Morning Stasia- Glad you are enjoying it. This guy has to go on my List of current favorite authors. Did you read Monsters of Men?

#32: I own The Knife of Never Letting Go, but have not read it yet because I cannot get my hands on the other two books in the trilogy. Once this years book ban is by the boards, I am going to buy them.

Mark! As if I'd give up on GR! I'm gradually learning to let go of needing to know every character and needing to understand absoultely everything that happens, and just enjoy the ride. I don't think I realized what a careful exacting reader that I was until A Thousand Autumns. I'm learning to just enjoy the ride. I'm enjoying it more and more!

As for Canada Post - right now nothing at all is moving -but the government has put into legeslation a back to work order - which should go ahead as of next Monday or so. First it has to be debated in Parliament etc. So - the mail should be moving again within a week at most - as far as I can understand.

Stopping by to say "Hi!" I have started the Mitchell book, and I like it so far. I guess I will check out the thread since no spoilers yet. I am still pretty near the beginning.

Hi Mark!
I hate waiting and waiting and waiting for my laptop to get better and come home again.
Hard to keep up with threads. Love your picture above. Love the Daddy (assumed)/little girl theme.
Have a good one!!!

Hey Mark, The Worst Hard Time is one of your favorites I see so did you see the show on the History Channel called "Black Blizzard?" It was a program based on Egan's book and he was on it. They recreated the conditions of the dust bowl and it was very well done. We recorded it and just watched it the other night so I can say when it was actually on.

Would have joined you on the GR, but couldn't have, Marky-Mark. Lots of work this week and next week I have some colleagues in town from our UK and Texas office that I have to work with, plus prepare a presentation for a seminar I'm speaking at in Brazil the week after.

But I'm glad to see you're having a nice time. I'll just have to jump in on the next one you organize. Any thoughts as to what book that might be yet?

Stasia- I couldn't quite finish Monsters of Men. I have probably 15 minutes left. It's a pretty good book, but boy did it need to be edited. the 1st 2 books were a lot of fun but this one felt overstuffed.

Deb- I should have figured you were not a quitter. I read another 40 plus pages, it's not always real easy but boy is there a richness to his writing and what character building.

BJ- It gets better as it goes along. I'm not sure if it's just the rhythm of the prose or learning the characters, or both. Enjoy.

Claudia- No mention of the G.R. huh? We don't want to go there? To bad about the laptop, maybe you will get some good news, soon.
I'm assuming that's a father & daughter at the top. I like the look on the little girl's face.

Bonnie- I'll have to do a quick search for "Black Blizzard". Thanks for the heads-up! What have you been reading?

Caro- Next Group Read will be The Wind up Bird Chronicle. I think you've read this one, correct? This will begin July 15th. And then I'll take a break for a couple months and start churning through some of my TBR books.

Oh hey, good to know, Marky-Mark! I still haven't managed to read this one yet. Will mark it in my calendar so I don't forget .... but in case I do ... you're going to send out reminders closer to the date, right?

checking in!

You would start a new thread. Just kidding. I see it's just as busy as ever! Your picture reminds me of a scene I read off of Little House on the Prairie. In fact, more than once.

Caro- Yes, love to have you on the Murakami G.R.! And yes, there will be reminders. I have not read a Murakami since last Spring, which is to bad. I have at least 3 or 4 in the stacks.

Kath- Good to see you! Missed you!

Nathan- Yes, I do start New Threads, it's a specialty of mine. Check out the other work by Thomas Benton Hart, he's a very interesting artist.
Only one more Game of Thrones left! Boo, hiss hiss! It has been so good! I'll be very sad when it is over. Viewers were very pissed at the demise of a certain character! That's what happens in Martin's world.

>43 msf59: Wait, I thought last week was the last epidsode of the season. It's still not over? Well...it still wouldn't matter, I wouldn't be able to see it now. I thought when I left two weeks ago it was the eighth episode, so...hmm...DVD will be out eventually, I wonder who I can watch it that will interest them too...

I'm just checking in as well! :)

#39: I hope you have finished 'Monsters' by now! The lack of editing in today's books is frightening, I think, and certainly not a good trend.

Hi Mark:

Have a great day!

Another nice day. Sunny & 80. I will take it. My farmer's tan is coming in nicely. I plan on starting My Lucky Life today. It should be fun.

Nathan- Yep, the finale is Sunday. I will have to own this on dvd when it comes out. Now, the wait for the 2nd season, A Clash of Kings will begin.

Angela- Big wave!

Stasia- I was listening to "Monsters", so I'll finish it early and move on to the Dick Van Dyke. Yes, this book was bloated but I will still recommend this trilogy.

Karen- Thanks! You have a nice one too!

I have to admit, the Dick Van Dyke is starting to sound good..

What a gorgeous day today, Mark. Hope you enjoy it too.

That Dick Van Dyke book sounds good. Just read a Carol Burnett memoir and feel like reading more from that era.

Hi Mark, I liked the review of The English Major and got the book. Looking forward to it.

Hi Mark! Joanne recently listened to Dick Van Dyke's book and enjoyed it. I'm going to look for it as well. Have a great day!

I should finish reading Cafe on the Nile this weekend and what a ride! You have got to read this book. It is so much fun. This is adventure/thriller writing at its best. A nasty nasty villain to hate, a confused hero, and heroines who are loyal and smart. Lots of local lore and history about which we never hear much. If I get back to that used book store I am buying that copy of this book and passing it on to somebody as it is a book that deserves to be read. It is James Bond for the present without resorting to enfranchisement. Lots of blood, gore, and action of all kinds.

Then it will be back to Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet.

Hi Mark, hope you're enjoying the beautiful day. You're absolutely right about GoT—I'll have to be more circumspect. I'm usually quite careful about not letting spoilers slip by, but somehow I was so upset by events in the last episode that I wasn't as cautious as I should have been. I just liked Sean Bean a whole lot, what can I say?

Enjoying Thousand Autumns more and more now that I'm at chapter 9 or so. I keep saying I'll drop by the G.R. thread, but haven't much time for thread surfing much this week... I'll get there eventually.

Have a bunch of Murakami's books coming in...people were asking about him so.....i found a slew at Better World Books.....read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle...before I joined LT (?)...can't recall the year but I did read it...loved it.....if my copy gets here in time...i might pop into the GR...

weather is lovely here...but i have an 'orrible earache from sinus pressure...yard work this evening.... if i can manage.

;-}

Kath, Linda & Anne- I listened to a nice chunk of My Lucky Life today and it really has been wonderful. Funny and entertaining. Carl Reiner narrates the introduction and its great.
It truly is amazing the talent behind "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and it was cancelled after the 1st season. What?? Of course, (I'm not at that point yet) but it was picked back up. I really have a strong desire to go back and watch a few classic episodes. I have all these memory flashes of MTM in those capris! Wow! And she was only 22 years old, when it started.

Gautam- I'm glad I was able to inspire you! Harrison is a fine writer.

Benita- You are really selling Cafe on the Nile! I love your enthusiasm. I'll get to it, in the next couple months. I cant' wait for you to get back to the G.R. and view your comments.

Ilana- I'm glad you are enjoying thousand Autumns. It's more straightforward than Cloud Atlas but what writing! And what characters!

Jude- 2 visits this week! Aren't I special? You always make my day. You need to have Murakami in your collection. I'm still kicking myself, rather hard, for mooching away my copy of Kafka on the Shore, my very first Murakami too. Dumb ass.
I hope you can stop by for Wind-up Bird.

Hi Mark - been busy chasing after ghosts and driving all over the state of Maine. But, I'm baaaaack!
Liking Thousand Autumns so far - which isn't too very far yet... just a few chapters. It is annoying to me to keep starting anew when the chapter changes. :P
BUT! I know Mitchell will pull it together :}
Have a good weekend!

I hope you have a nice weekend, Mark!

>56 msf59: Glad to see you're enjoying the Van Dyke memoir, Mark. I hear you about wanting to go back and watch some episodes of the show - I'm waiting for my turn with the library's copies! :)

I've finally started Bossypants. It's a hoot!

Claudia- I'm glad you are avoiding the ghosts. The crucifix & holy water worked, see? Yes, stick with Thousand Autumns. It really is a wonderful read. I'm just about ready to start Book 2.
Enjoy your weekend.

Joanne- Yes, My Lucky Life has been a complete joy! I'm glad you are enjoying Bossypants. Doesn't she do a great job.

Morning Stasia- You have a nice one too, my friend!

There is a chance of rain in the area today but I think it will be a nice day. Everyone have a good Saturday, see you on the other side.

What! what do you have against folks who have crossed over mark?
I had no idea that you were so prejudiced! Very sad. sigh

Hi Mark...Kath is right...your hostility to Ectoplasmic Americans is unseemly.

nice turn of phrase there rdear..

Personally, I don't have a problem with "Ectoplasmic Americans". I'm just watching out for my pals. That's all. LOL! BTW- I love Casper!

I'm nearing the end of My Lucky Life. I love this book. Today, he took me through, "Mary Poppins", meeting his hero Stan Laurel, a drunken Maureen Stapleton, his battle with alcoholism, a couple other TV shows I do not remember and his divorce. Wow, great stuff!

Hi Mark, just stopping by to thank you for recommending Sweet Tooth Vol 1:Out of the Deep Woods, I picked it up at the library and really enjoyed it. Of course, now I have another series to follow ...

Good morning Mark!

Glad to know I was mistaken about the ghost thing...

Happy Father's Day, Mark!

Morning everyone! And Happy Father's Day to all you Papas out there! We are going to my BIL later, for dinner and drinks and spoil my FIL a little. It should be nice.

Judy- Glad you enjoyed Sweet Tooth. I have the 2nd volume at hand and I'm hoping it gets meatier, as it goes along. Essex County was incredible, so I know Lemire has it in him.

Morning Kath- We try to love everyone around here.

Morning Stasia- Thanks. I'll be heading over your way soon.

Happy Father's Day to YOU, Mark!

Just to clear things up... I wasn't avoiding ghosts at all. As a matter of fact, I waited till it was quiet and dark in the inn and crept around in my pjs looking for signs. I was really bummed the spirits didn't want to come out and "play". But I do appreciate your concern. :)

I am definitely sticking with Thousand Autumns - but RL has been overpowering my time and attention lately, so it's going slowly right now.

Hi Mark! I was just passing through and noticed the painting at the top of your thread has changed. The new one is nice, too, don't get me wrong :)

Sounds like people are enjoying Thousand Autumns. I had every intention of joining the G.R. but don't think I'll get to the book until next month. But I have the threads starred so I can benefit from everyone's insight when I do get to it.

Have a great Father's Day!

Claudia- Thanks! I'm nearly half-way through Thousand Autumns. This author truly dazzles me. Hope your day goes well.

Katie- Good to see you! Yes, I changed the picture, to a different Thomas Benton Hart. This one I currently have on my desktop.
I'm sorry you couldn't join us for the G.R. It's an amazing read.

Happy Father's Day, Mark!! Enjoy your special day.

Have a great Father's Day, Mark!

Happy Father's Day, Mark -- with best wishes!

Happy Father's Day, Mark!

Happy Father's Day to you Mark!

Hope you've been having a great Father's Day Mark.

I'm 2/3 of the way through Thousand Autumns already. The audio is really good, but I have to be especially attentive to appreciate the great prose, so unfortunately some of it is lost on me while I'm doing other things. All the same, enjoying it a lot.

I'm both happy and sad about GoT tonight. But then, while they're filming season 2, I'll have the books to look forward to! :-)

Happy Father's Day, Dad!!

Your new picture reminds me of Terence Malick's film DAYS OF HEAVEN......

;-}

Linda, Pat, Anne, Laura & Linda- Thank you! It's much appreciated. I had a very nice day. We had a nice dinner & a terrific dessert, (compliments of my wife) at my BIL place.

Ilana- Glad you are enjoying Thousand Autumns. I'll be starting the 2nd half of the book on Tuesday.
Looking forward to the finale tonight. I will so miss it when it goes.

Jude- Thanks! I'm a big fan of Malick too and yes the picture does remind you of "Days". My favorite of his films, is "The Thin Red Line". It's incredible. "Badlands" is pretty damn good too!

Happy Fathers' Day Mark!!!

Bonnie- Thanks! Hope you had a nice weekend!

Well, A Game of Thrones is over. Sad face. And now we wait until next Spring for Season 2. My wife expressed interest in reading the 2nd book A Clash of Kings, in preparation, which would be cool.
Actually, I pre-ordered the 5th book A Dance With Dragons today. It comes out next month.

I needed a 2nd book, to fill in between the Group Read, so I started a very promising western called The Sisters Brothers. It was just released last month. Prepare for raves!

Holy dragons! :-)

Finished Cafe on the Nile and then left East Africa for Japan and read some of Thousand Autumns while baking at the pool today. It is so blasted hot down here and no rain in over a month. So unlike the South. It was so hot that when I stopped at Barnes & Noble to purchase Handmaids Tale there were no smokers out front. Put Cafe on the Nile on your TBR list. It is so much fun. Thousand Autumns is really picking up and getting the wheels grinding. It too is a good book and a good choice for a group read. I might suggest this one for our book discussion group.

Seriously, Cafe on the Nile is a great fun read. And now I will stop gushing over it and move on to the next book - except for my review. Which I will write later. I need to let the pot settle for a bit before I write a review.

GoT!!!!!!!!!! omg... that last scene was just amazing- so perfect :o)

Sad news...work on Clash of Kings halted...no sign of an end to the impasse. Probability is the project's canceled.

I'm loving A Thousand Autumns . I'm just beginning part 3 - can't wait to see what happens next. What a story!!!

I'm afraid that I do not know what GoT is...

Ilana- Well said, my friend!

Benita- I'm glad you are enjoying Thousand Autumns. I am too and will be starting the 2nd half of the book tomorrow. Hope you guys cool off down there. Bummer!

Jenny- A perfect finish, (and one I had forgotten about). What a terrific series.

RD- Nooooooooo!! I have not heard this and I'm hoping it's something they can work out quickly. If you hear anything else, let me know!

Deb- Glad you are loving the Group Read. Me too! GoT is the HBO series A Game of Thrones, which just wrapped up.

Everyone have a good day! Humid today, with storms in the area.

Hang in there Mark.. this is the downside of summer.. it gets hot :(
gak! Hope the day goes quickly and that you stay dry :)

Mark, I also picked up The Sisters Brothers from the library. Will get to it sometime this week.

Yeah, sad to say...George RR Martin underwent a conversion experience, and has embargoed future use of his Godless work to confuse and misinform the public. In related news, HBO will only air Bing Crosby movies and re-reuns of The Donna Reed Show because it was purchased by the 700 Club.

Good ole Donna Reed...What a Godess that the pathetic 1950's spin machine used as a model for poor, misguided housewives. Yes, I can still see my mother scrubbing the floors in heels while wearing a very narrow waisted dress. Opps, now I remember the demonic sneer on my mother's face and the frustration of having four children she should not have had.....

Bing Crosby, now there's a model to emmulate. What a great father figure.

Speaking of father figures, another blast from the past includes "Father Knows Best!" Yep, that worked for our generation -- NOT!

Leave it to Beaver to have a wonderful father who politely said "Now, Beeve, don't you think there was a better way to handle that situation?" In my household my father said "What the Hell did you do that for!"

What great children Ozzie and Harriett produced. The father, of course, wore a suit and tie at the dinner table and the children happily shared their wonderful life.

Ok, back to work for me and off the soap box I go.

Drat, if only I was Donna Reed, I could stay home, bake cookies, chat with the neihbors over the fence and eagerly await dear hubby to bring home the bacon and wonderful advice.

>92 Whisper1: ...I feel queasy, Mommy...

;-P

>92 Whisper1: Thank you, Linda....I couldn't have said it better!!!

All those TV "Moms" scared the bejesus out of me...in that my Mom tried to emulate them...and couldn't "cut the mustard" as it were.

And my Dad??? Let's not go there, okay?

;-}

Hey Mark! good morning to you....

lol @ Richard

Hope you had a good Father's Day, Mark! I'm enjoying two of your recommendations - Sweet Tooth and Matterhorn. Near the end of both, and both are excellent.

OMG Matterhorn and Marlantes are truly amazing, no??

Yes!!

Big wave to Mark! :)

Lovin' de Zoet! No time for comments now - so sorry. I'm busier than a one-armed paperhanger.

Kath- Turned out not to bad! Had to put the rain gear on (way to warm for that) for just a few minutes and then the rest of the afternoon was warm and a bit humid, with some sun.
Off tomorrow. Yah! Supposed to be hot & muggy!

Cindy- I'm taking a very short breather from the Group Read and ended up reading over 100 pages of The Sisters Brothers. You will love it. It's fast & funny and tough.

RD- You had me racing around trying to confirm what you heard about Martin. LOL. I didn't see anything referring to that. Thank God. They are scheduled to start filming Season 2 next month.

Linda- Wow! I love your diatribe! Heating this rather droll place up. It needs it from time to time, so feel free to drop by again soon. The Bing Crosby reference was spot-on! LOL
Actually, I've had a crush on Donna Reed for decades! Is she still alive?

Jude- I bet you can tell some stories! I grew up in the 60s, but still watched all those classic 50s shows. It didn't resemble anything I saw. My folks would occasionally have a spirited argument but for the most part, it was quite peaceful.

Joe- Happy Belated Father's Day to you too! Are you back from Michigan? Hope you had a good time with your Dad. Wow, two terrific reads you got going there, although Matterhorn is in a class all by itself. I have the 2nd volume of Sweet Tooth at hand. Also finished Season of the Mists. It my be my favorite of the Sandman books so far.

Claudia- "Lovin' de Zoet". Music to my ears. I'm taking a break from it today and then I'm launching into the 2nd half tomorrow.

Book busy today, my favorite kind of busy, by the way. I finished and loved My Lucky Life. On audio I finally started Old School by Tobias Wolff and it begins very well. Also read a nice chunk of The Sisters Brothers. I have to report the literary Western is alive & kicking. Hooray!

I've been on LT much too long today; writing long spiels on my own thread mind you... all the same, wanted to pop by and let you know I'm here and cheering you on. It's always so nice to see how appreciative you are of the books you read and... stuff in general. Very inspiring. Hugs.

#100 Richard had me scouring the internet there too! Was seriously panicing.

I am enjoying the Group Read. I am about 1/4th of the way in. It took me a little while to get hooked in the story, but I am really enjoying it now.

*evil Muttley laugh*

I'm a rotten person, I just know it, cause I enjoyed all that.

Good morning Mark! Have fun with de Zoet..
I carry on reading farb.. I have a loaded nook for my trip...
but, don't know if I will have much time to read outside
of the airports.. except friday.

Morning everyone! I'm off today and looking forward to it. I have a few errands to run, should do some gardening, (we will see) and hopefully hell of a lot of reading.

Ilana- I enjoyed the book/movie discussion on your thread. That's always fun. Hugs back.

BekkaJo- Yes, the devil had me scrambling too!

BJ- Nice to see you! Glad you are enjoying the G.R.! I'll be starting the 2nd half today. Keep an eye out for The sisters Brothers. A western you might really like.

RD- You are a scoundrel, sir. George R.R. Martin keeps a daily journal. He's currently in Poland, on a media tour. He didn't say anything there, just praise for the show. Whew!

Kath- Have a great trip, my friend. Stop in when you can. Hugs!

66) My Lucky Life: A Memoir by Dick Van Dyke 4.5 stars

The Dick Van Dyke Show ran 5 Seasons, from 1961-1966. I would have been to young to remember it, first run but I do recall this wonderful comedy being a staple in our household, along with Get Smart, Cream of Wheat, Twinkies and SpaghettiOs. This must have been in the late 60s.
My first film going experience, that I can remember, is my Mother taking my sister and I, downtown Chicago, by train or bus, (she did not drive at the time) to see Mary Poppins. I must have been 6 and my sis 4, most likely humming "A Spoonful of Sugar" for weeks afterward.
This engaging memoir, brings all these fond memories back, as Mr. Van Dyke, takes us from his childhood in Danville IL, to his military time, to his modest showbiz years, leading to Broadway and then to a long varied television and film career. To be honest, I have not watched any of his TV work in decades. “Diagnosis Murder” was not my cuppa but he still holds a special place in my cultural past. Plus, I’ll always think of MTM in those Capris. Yeah, baby. Highly recommended.

>>101 msf59:, 108

Nice review of the Dick Van Dyke book, Mark. He holds a special place in my cultural past, too, especially the Dick Van Dyke show.

Yes, I'm back from Michigan and it was a good visit with my dad. Lo and behold, I was looking at his books and there was The Worst Hard Time looking back at me. Yes, he has read it, loved it, and was happy to lend it to me. So that came back in my backpack.

Matterhorn indeed is in a class by itself, and I also finished Sweet Tooth - I'll need to find out what happens next to our friend Gus.

Joe- Glad you had a good time, with your Dad and you found a copy of The worst Hard time. Double yah!
I'm loving a new western, you might appreciate, The Sisters Brothers. Check it out. In graphics, I'll be starting a very promising new series called Resistance: Book 1.
I thought of you, when i saw this one:
http://confessionsofacommonreader.wordpress.com/2011/06/13/hold-me-closer-necrom...
I'll have to add it to the WL too!

Lovely review of the Dick Van Dyke book...I do remember the DVD Show, firsthand....and thought it was pretty silly (jaded child, me!)....but Mr Van Dyke is/was far from silly as an actor, overall....truly a versatile soul

Thumby!!!

;-}

Adding more MURAKAMIs as I type!!!

>108 msf59: thumbs up! I loved that show. We watched it first run and in reruns, and laughed out loud every time.

Hi Mark!! It's been cooler and raining on and off, but the weather man just can't get it right.

Hi Mark, tried The Walking Dead graphic novel 'coz are big on graphic novels. Sorry to say but I did not like it much. Seemed more like a kiddy comic book.

Hi Jude- Yes, I would think you would be much to sophisticated for the DVD Show. You were probably reading Dostoyesky at the time. LOL. Thanks for the "thumby"!
Yes, I see you adding the Murakami. Yah!

RD- Thanks! I think Netflix has the 1st season of the DVD Show available. I'd like to watch a couple for old time sake.

Tammy- It's hot & muggy here, with storms on the way. It supposed to cool off nice, the rest of the week.

Does anyone collect the International Library Editions? I picked up 10 of them, back in the 80s. I stopped at the library this morning and they had several volumes for sale for .50 each!! I snagged A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and a Erskine Caldwell volume, which contained 2 books, including Tobacco Road. Both in slightly used condition. There were 2 others, I already had, and I took a pass on The Thorn Birds, which I would probably never read. I wish there were more.

The Thorn Birds is surprisingly good - at least I read it expecting to hate it and got completely hooked. It may just be a girl thing though...

Nah...didn't start reading Dostoyevsky until I was 12.....

I was just a sarcastic little kid!

;-P

Thanks for the recommendation of The Sisters Brothers. I added it to my wishlist.

I finished reading Trinity Six by Charles Cumming. It was only average, but the author shows great promise. This book had a very devious elderly gentleman in it and a very conceited academician who thought he was smart but found out that he was totally out of his league when people started getting killed. The end had a nice little twist and I am sure that this author will be back with the same characters in the future. If you aren't a spy novel fan don't bother with this one. I read it because it was free on my Nook while I wiled away the time at Barnes & Noble. I figure that Barnes & Noble is a cool place (meaning it has AC) with books and coffee so if they let me read for free I should take them up on the offer. However, I read only spy novels when doing this. Trinity Six is worth reading but it isn't in the same league with Jo Nesbo or Bartle Bull.

BekkaJo- I remember enjoying the mini-series The Thorn Birds way back when. I always had a thing for Rachel Ward. Wonder what happened to her?

Jude- "I was just a sarcastic little kid!" and you grew up into... :-} Love that consistency!

BJ- I plan on reading a chunk of The Sisters Brothers later today. It's a joy to read. Hope you enjoying the Group Read. I just hit the 300 page mark. It's not always an easy red but these characters are truly wonderful.

Benita- I haven't done spy novels in awhile. I prefer the more historical ones, like Furst produces. Thousand Autumns has been a pleasure so far!

Hi Mark, I'm officially back home. So Game of Thrones is over. I saw a Thread where people talk about the finale over at the Green Dragon. And do you know what? I just learned that the house I stayed for one and a half weeks had HBO, so I could've caught a rerun while I was over there. I never thought I would've asked or looked.

And you review...the only thing I can comment on is that I didn't know Danville was a real city.

Stay safe, Mark. The EAS came on the TV and said there was a tornado sighting near Westmont. Looks like it's heading this way, though probably east of us.

Hi Mark, I enjoyed your review of Dick Van Dyke's book -- I have it on my wishlist. I'll be curious to hear your thoughts on A Tree Grows in Brooklyn when you get to it. It was a favorite of mine growing up, and I recently enjoyed reading it again.

Linda- Yes, it was a heck of a storm. No problems here but it did knock out power around the area and I'm sure there is much wind damage. Thanks for checking in. Cubbies lost. Boo!

Nathan- Nice to see you. They begin filming Season 2 next month and will hopefully air next Spring. Check out the "Winter is Coming" website. Very cool place.

Anne- Thanks! You will love My Lucky Life. Maybe I'll see if someone wants to join me reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn later in the year. Now, I own 2 copies, I should read it.

Besides enjoying Thousand Autumns, I'm also crazy for The sisters Brothers. This is shaping up to be another great year of new books and reading in general.

#120 Not sure I was around way back then... :P

Did I thank you for suggesting Hold Me Closer, Necromancer? Looks like silly fun, and I've got it listed now. Thanks!

Hi Mark, weird weather last night. The storm hit Lake County from SW corner to NE corner. We had one wind gust, a little rain, and some thunder off in the distance. A couple miles east, there were lots of tree limbs down, power outtages etc.

Love the cooler temps, lower humidities today, that's for sure.

Mark that was some crazy@#! book cover I saw posted the other day with the large breasted woman on the cover! lol ... I just love the range of your selections! so pleased to see you loved The Sisters Brothers. wonderful storytelling. I'm ready to start casting for the movie! Wouldn't it make a great film? :o)

Gosh, I've got 3 books I need to mail to Canada, and my post office won't accept them because of the CPS strike. I just hope I don't lose these packages before the strike is over.

Definitely get to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn soon, Marky-Mark. I liked the book. Interested to see what you think of it.

Yes, it did turn out to be a pretty rough storm last night. Several roads were closed due to fallen trees & power-lines. I had to take alternate routes into work. Lots of traffic lights out too. The area where the P.O. is had no power, fortunately they had a generator set up, so we could case our mail. Kind of crazy. Several of my residential customers were dealing with fallen trees or large limbs. These same residents are still reeling from the major flooding we had there last August.
Good thing: everything has cooled off nice!

BekkaJo- You kids!

Joe- Did you have any storm damage? Or did it stay south & west?

Linda- Yes, some areas looked like a war zone this morning. Glad you avoided the worst stuff.

Jenny- Yes, I dabble in graphics about large-breasted women too. I consider myself a completest. I can't really recommend that one, though. Some of it's interesting and other parts are just to strange and violent.
Speaking of violence, The Sisters Brothers sure has it's share. I'm just over half-way but I really like this book .Yes, it would make a good movie, with just the right writing & film-making.

Caro- I have something to send to Canada too! I'm wondering how they are managing? Hopefully it's resolved soon.

As far as I know they're delivering mail on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Wow, that sounds like you had a pretty spectacular storm Mark. I have to say that apart from all the damage they cause, I tend to quite like violent storms. Stirs things up and changes up the energy. In that sense, they can be a positive thing. Like I said, apart from the damage of course...

The strike here is a big nuisance. Mind you, on a personal level I don't get much of anything in the mail since I do almost everything online and via email, including settling accounts and what have you, but I won't be ordering books until it's all settled, and I have packages I want to send that I may have to send via a courier service like UPS or whatever. They may be delivering on occasion, but I always worry what the backlog of mail and packages might cause; probably more chances for items getting lost, no?

I consider myself a completest

Love that! Another expression I like is "Renaissance Man (or Woman)" and it definitely applies to you! (and me probably too, come to think of it!)

Also, almost forgot...

I just got A Tree Grows in Brooklyn from the library yesterday and will be listening to it during July: Juvenile & Young Adult. Join us! Everyone is welcome to comment on and peruse the thread of course!

I totally lost you for a bit there Mark! Now I've found you and starred you once again, although that hasn't been doing me much good lately in terms of keeping track of all the threads. :)

Bonnie- Nice to see yo, stranger! How many more days?

Ilana- Compared to all these horrific tornadoes that have hit different parts of our country, in these past few months, this storm is pretty minor but it still is an annoyance.
"I consider myself a completest". That's a joke for Jenny. LOL.
I'm not sure I'll have time to squeeze in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, since I'm doing the Murakami Group Read mid-July and that's another big boy, but thanks for the offer. I really would like to get to it soon.

Valerie- Glad you found me! I always enjoy your visits.

Just checking in here, Mark. Thanks for the graphic recs. and for starting the GR of Thousand Autumns. After much internal strife, I'm finding it fascinating, although odd.

Add my voice (or, well, my typing) to the suggestions to read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn! It's a good read. (But no hurry, sounds like you've got plenty to be going on with!)

The Sisters Brothers is at the library, but not on the shelves yet. (Probably the librarians are reading it themselves first. ;) I'll keep an eye on it and reserve it when I can!

How funny, I've got Hold Me Closer, Necromancer on my shelves after it was recommended over on the 100 Books Group. Haven't gotten to it. Yet. But it does look like fun.

And Rachel Ward lives in Sydney (not that far away from where I'm typing, although I never bump into her, although I did see her husband - actor Bryan Brown - just the other day) and is active in Australian cinema, although more as a director nowadays. She's still gorgeous. :)

I'm currently read The Magdalen Martyrs, and it's all your fault, as Ken Bruen was one of your recommendations. I might have to have a break from Jack Taylor though, his alcoholism/addictions and subsequent stupidity is just making me angry. I want to reach into the book and shake him until his teeth have fallen out. It's still great stuff, but I may have to move to a different Ken Bruen series. (The library also only has the fourth book as an audio book, so I'd need an ILL, or try audio books again...)

#137

I felt the same way about Harry Hole in the Jo Nesbo books, and Quirk in the series by Benjamin Black as you do about Jack Taylor in the Ken Bruen books. It seems to be a trend that the heroes have to be addicted and stupid, or at least have a major flaw. I am ready to read a nice suspenseful mystery with a hero or heroine who has conceit as his or her major flaw. Like Hercule Peroit. Those other guys can really drag you through their muck and mire. It can make for a great story, but I have to get away from them so don't read to many in a row that are like that.

Gail- Nice to see you here! Hope those graphic recs will get you started. Will be watching for your thoughts. Glad you are hanging in there with the Group read.

Tania- Jack Taylor doesn't bother me like that or not as much, but I agree that self-destructiveness of his, can get very frustrating. I just love Bruen's writing. I hope I can get to Priest, book 5, sometime in the next couple months.
Have you read The Wind-up Bird Chronicle? That will be my next Group Read. I love Murakami.
Glad to hear Rachel Ward is alive and well and still a knock-out!

Benita- Big wave! "muck and mire". What would we do without it?

BTW- Anyone else read Old School? This is such a wonderful listen. The Ayn Rand segment is both creepy and riveting.

No time to catch up, just stopping by to say Hi!

ETA: Woe! Just noticed Threshing Wheat. It is stunning!

The storm ran mostly north of us, Mark. Lots of tree debris (twigs and small branches) but otherwise we were fine. We have a huge silver maple in front of the house that my wife worries will crash down, but it's a tough survivor as far as I can tell, with roots spreading all over the neighborhood.

We're having work done on our basement, so I'm glad we didn't have to take shelter there!

Books: I'm near the end of The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen, and it's been a charming read.

Hi Mark! Haven't forgotten you! I've been ridiculously busy and struggling for screen time.
Reading has almost come to a halt - but I'm still squeezing in some "de Zoet" time for as long as I can keep my eyes open at night.

Sorry to hear about the storm and its damage in your area. Just curious... what does "case our mail" mean? And just want to say... you are one wacky book geek! ;-) LOL

Happy Thursday!

Good morning, Mark, amazing what that storm did!?! It's hot and humid here because of the same storm, whose only serious rainfall fell north and east of me on Long Island. (I'm on the South Shore.) Apparently it unleashed what I learned to call a frog-strangler on the North Shore!

>139 msf59: Anyone else read Old School? Me, me, me! I loved it when I read it last year and you're right about the Ayn Rand bit. It made me very sure that I wouldn't read Atlas Shrugged.

Stranger?????

Hey Mark, you'll read A Tree Grows when you get to it, and then it'll be nice to compare notes. I'm sure it'll keep in the meantime. ;-)

Haven't read Old School yet because hadn't heard of it before, but I've added it to the WL now. They have the print book at the library, but I looked for the audio on Audible and didn't find it. Shucks. Still, I'll borrow it sometime maybe soon.

Are you going to start the GR for The Wind Up Chronicles on July 1, Marky-Mark? I need to go find my copy and have it ready since I come back from Brazil on July 1 itself.

We did find out a small tornado did come perilously close to our home Tuesday night. Here's a link that shows the path:
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=lot&storyid=69963&...

Missed us by just a few blocks. On the map, where the red path crosses 63rd & Dunham is our high school and that's where the most damage occurred, fortunately the buildings were not affected.

Yikes! That's a little too close for comfort, Mark! Glad that it missed you and hope that everyone in the path was okay.

Glad to hear you are safe Mark!

That was close, Mark. Too close for comfort.

We had a tornado in town about 12-13 years ago. After we looked at that odd cloud for awhile (it was pencil-shaped), we suddenly realized what we were seeing. Fortunately, it touched down about a half mile away and caused minimal damage to one house on each block.

I understand that this one was rain-wrapped or some such and couldn't be seen well.

>147 msf59:: Whoa... you must be living right, Mark. It is amazing how those trees were snapped in two like they were toothpicks. We have 18 large trees in close proximity to the south side of our house. I'd hate to think of them as missiles!

Lynda- Nice to see you! I like the picture too! It graces my desktop, at the moment.

Joe- Yes, a lot of damage out this way. There are still many traffic lights out, which is still a bit of a pain.

Claudia- Thanks for finding time to stop by! "you are one wacky book geek!" I'm honored, thank you! I might use that for my next heading. LOL.
Casing mail, is the term we call getting our mail in route order, by placing it in a "case" which is slotted with each address. Then when we "pull" it down, it's in the correct sequence.

RD- Watch out for those "frog-stranglers"! We've had much cooler weather, with a few light showers and this continues through tomorrow.

Bonnie- I read your review of Old School. Good job. I finished the book today. I liked it. It had it's flaws but it also had it's high points. I have not read Ayn Rand and I'm not sure I ever will. What a scary person. Sorry, about the stranger shot, I threw that in because you've been so busy with RL lately.

Ilana- You would like Old School. Many Hemingway references. Plus it's a quick read or listen.

Caro- The Murakami G.R. does not begin until the 15th. Plenty of time to land a copy and unwind after your trip. Glad you'll be able to join us. Your 1st, right??

Laura & Linda- That night, Sue was sitting on the 1st floor, watching TV, right in front of our big picture window. Later she moaned/joked, that she would have been killed and I would have been safe & sound, down there with my "books"!

Valerie- Thanks! I appreciate it!

Donna- We have a few trees around us too. Thankfully, nothing but a few small branches came down. Somebody up there, likes me!

Mark, you had quite a storm. Glad you're safe and dry.

Hi Mark. Just catching up after being away for a few days. Glad you missed the worst of the storm.

I have to admit I've stalled on Thousand Autumns. I think I'm going through another book funk. The only book I've finished this month is Matterhorn which is the best book I've read in ages. Since finishing it I've been starting and then stopping about 5 books. I need to get some traction on something soon or I'll only have read one book this month!

I finished the audio of Old School. It was a bit more uneven, than I would have liked but there is definitely enough positive, to keep me recommending it.
I finally started the audio of Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It is read by Stephen Fry, who does a fantastic job. A lot of fun so far.
Still loving the Sisters Brothers. If you like a good western, give this one a shot!

Anne- Thanks!

Pat- Sorry to hear about the dreaded book funk. Thousand Autumns would not be a good book, if you are struggling. It's not an easy read, but it is one, I think you should get back to, when you are ready.
Try something light & frothy. Sorry, I'm not familiar with any.

Does that cute dog of yours get scared during thunderstorms, Mark?

>124 msf59: That does seem pretty cool. I'll bookmark that and look at it later. Thanks for showing me that!

Mark, I just watched episode 1 of GoT again tonight, just because I can and I thought it would be neat to watch the show as I advance in the book since of course I view it with a completely new perspective that way.

I read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy... was it this year or last? Fairly recently anyway. I didn't like it as much as I thought I would, but that's easily explained: I discovered HGttG via the BBC serial over 20 years ago now, and I guess I was expecting something closer to that as I really loved what they did with it. In any case, they have the whole series on Audible, so I got the first part. Haven't listened yet, but you know how that goes...

just passing through and catching up!

glad everyone stayed safe :)

Linda- Bailey, our lab, is terrified of storms & fireworks. She gets anxious when she hears rain-drops. Her refuge, is our downstairs bathroom.

Nathan- Let me know what you think of the website.

Ilana- I'm so glad you are reading "Games". Now, you can see firsthand, why it has such a rabid following. How was the 1st episode, as a re-watch?

Kara- Nice to see you and thanks! I'll have to stop by and see what you are reading.

Mark, The Sisters Brothers is one crazy fun read. I feel that it is not for the faint of heart.

Marky-Mark : have you tried the Thundershirt for your dog? I bought one for my mom's Golden Retriever, who's deathly afraid of thunderstorms and fireworks too and if we're home, he'll try and climb on our laps. If he could crawl into our skin, I'm sure he'd do so. I tried this Thundershirt out on him and he's so much better now. http://www.thundershirt.com/?gclid=CMqg7_aSz6kCFUlx5QodqyfEMA

Cindy- Funny, I just left a comment on the "What Are You Reading Now" thread, after seeing you were reading and enjoying The Sisters Brothers and referenced the "faint of heart" thing too. This book is wickedly violent but it is So Good!

Caro- Wow, I never heard of this thing before! I'll show it to my wife, when she gets home. Poor Bailey could use any help she can get. She doesn't climb on our laps, because she is not allowed on the furniture but she finds a tight secure place to shiver and shake in.

#163 Caroline, that's so funny that you mentioned the Thundershirt. We had a bad storm here the other night and our dog was shaking terribly for about an hour. My husband was looking for information on the internet about calming dogs down during thunderstorms and found the Thundershirt on Amazon. It gets rave reviews and we're probably going to order one for our dog. It's good to know you've also had a good experience with it.

Two of my friends have Thundershirts for their dogs (one a Shi-poo and one is a Labradoodle), and say they really help out a lot. I've been thinking about getting one for one of my cats (Chico, who hides behinds chairs/in closets/in my clothing at the merest suggestion of a raindrop.) However, seeing as he completely freaked out when I put a very loose collar on him when he was about 5 months old, I think I'll try out a toddler t-shirt first and see how that goes.

Hey there, Mark! I read Hitchhiker's Guide a few years ago for my bookclub and enjoyed it but wasn't as overwhelmingly in love with it like I thought I might be. However, I did enjoy the most recent movie adaptation, and can only imagine that the audiobook narrated by Stephen Fry, whom I adore, is wonderfully entertaining. Hope you're having a nice Friday evening! Any big plans for the weekend?

My pets, much like me, don't seem to mind thunderstorms one bit, but I've had pets in the past that would completely freak out, and it's got-wrenching to see the terror they go through, so something like the Thundershirt sounds like a great idea, and I'd try it too, if needed.

Mark, the re-watch was interesting, for one thing because now I could make out who many of the secondary characters were, and also was able to spot where they were true to the book and where they re-worked things by either omitting certain details or changing things around completely (examples that comes to mind: introducing Aria while she's embroidering, BEFORE the king's visit, or Bran only seeing the two in the watchtower "in action" and not hearing them talk, as he does in the book). Very neat to be able to compare them side by side like that!

Pat- Big wave!

Laura- Thanks for the Thundershirt info. We might look into this, especially with the 4th coming up, although it might be to late to order it now.
I've heard Stephen Fry's name bandied about lately, but I'm not familiar with him. He is doing a fantastic job on this audio. I'm working today and we might go to the Downers Grove Fest tonight and maybe a bike ride tomorrow, we are over-due. What are your plans?

Ilana- Are you planning on re-watching the whole series. That is a cool idea, if you have the time.

Happy Saturday everyone! See you on the flip-side!

Sounds like a nice weekend, Mark! I've got off today (a lot of Saturdays off lately, which is unusual, but it's the beginning of summer so it's always a bit slow now) so I think some gardening is in order, cleaning up, reading, just hanging out at home. Tomorrow I have to work in the morning for job #2, and then it will be home to do more of the same! I'm so glad you're enjoying Stephen Fry. He's written both fiction and non-fiction books, been in several TV shows (mostly in England) and is one of my favorite celebrities. I really like the way he speaks, he's got a fantastic vocabulary and uses it well, a good sense of humor and is pretty darn intelligent too. I've got a few of his books here, if you're interested in reading anything by him I can always send them down to you!

Laura- My wife ordered a Thundershirt! We should have it by the end of next week, so Bailey can give it a try over the the July 4th weekend. I hope it works.
I did not know Stephen Fry was an author too? Which of his books do you recommend? He did a great job narrating Hitchhiker's Guide, almost Jim Dale like.
Are you still thinking of having an LT get-together this Fall?

Lots of book stuff going on with me: I finished Thousand Autumns and now can focus on and finish The Sisters Brothers, which I'm loving. I wrapped up Hitchhiker's Guide, it was a fun listen and will most likely look into the next book in the series. I hope Stephen Fry narrates them all. On audio, I started Born to Run, which is highly enjoyable. Non-fiction is getting better and better all the time.

Thought I'd pop in and say hi!! As for Canada Post, they remain locked out for now. Back to work legeslation has been tabled , but then there is the debate. Because the party in Majority has set the wage for Canada Post Union below that which Canada Post Corporation offered the union- the party in Oppostion is has been continuing the debate over Canada Post since Thursday - even overnight! They have set a record for length of debate, and they are making a point to the current ruling government that you cannot strip workers rights this way. Nonetheless, eventually that debating will end - but as yet , we do not have mail at all.

I admire the parties continuing to argue 24/7 for several days so far! :) I would like to get my mail - but it's nice to know that democracy is alive and well! ;)

I finished up A Thousand Autumns and it was alright - I gave it 3. 5 stars. I'm very glad I read it. I kept seeing it in the best seller section of my local bookstore - which is big - and I kept picking it up - and putting it down! The group read gave me that discipline to get through. I felt it could have been stream lined - and I would get enthralled with a character and then it would shift to a different storyline. Part 2 was my favorite -but I felt things kind of fell apart during part 3. Bu - I"m very glad I read it.

I'm onto He Who Fears the Wolf by Karin Fossum. Hmm I think perhaps Karin Fossum might be a new fav author for me! :)

Are you planning on re-watching the whole series

dunno really, I'll see how it goes and if I'm inspired to do so. And if I'm willing to take time away from LTing and... oh yes, reading. ;-)

Congrats on finishing Thousand Autumns. I agree with Deb that it could have been edited down more thoroughly and that part 3 was disappointing after part 2. Why so much talk about the British, I kept wondering. Still don't know how to rate it, but a review is brewing.

Re: Hitchhiker's Guide, I mentioned the BBC version of it, which I haven't gotten around to yet, but I feel fairly confident in recommending it to you Mark, because when I listened to it 20 years ago, I thought it was amazing, and in fact, the actual book felt like a letdown in comparison when I read it some months back. I'll be listening to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Primary Phase (BBC Radio Collection) soon and hey, if there's a touchstone for it, then it counts as a book too, yay! :-)

Hi Mark! Hope you have some fun today... another busy one for me at the historical society. Be glad when this day is over and I can get back to "normal"! Don't think my normal will happen til about September tho.

Deb- Thanks for the update on the Canada strike situation. How do you pay and receive your bills? Online?
I ended up giving Thousand Autumns 4 stars. For me, it ended very strong and despite it's uneveness at times, its many flashes of brillance made it work for me.
I'm sure you will love He Who Fears the Wolf. Wait a second, I thought I was going to send that to you?

Ilana- I have to check out Netflix and see if they have the series Hitchhiker's Guide available. If done right,
I can see them being very entertaining.

Claudia- I'm so glad you can find time to drop by, with your busy schedule. Brings a tear to my eye. Hope you can squeeze some reading in, here and there.

It looks to be a beautiful day. It'll be a mix of chores & relaxation, I'll have to be well-organized, so the latter wins out.

Sadly, I am not going to get much further than finishing the first chapter of Thousand Autumns. As first chapters go, it was outstanding and I hope to read the entire book sometime in the future, although not this year.

Happy Sunday Mark.

I'm glad the storm missed you and sorry for those who were impacted.

Chiming in on the Rachel Ward comment you posted above, she is a lovely lady...and still has charm and beauty lo these years since the filming of The Thorn Birds

Lynda- Glad you gave it a try. I highly recommend the book but it is not always an easy read. Mitchell is an amazing writer and I'm looking forward to reading his other earlier works.
Our next Group Read will be a Murakami. Are you a fan?

Linda- Nice to see you. Hope all is well with you! Yes, Rachel is still a knock-out. But only a head-shot? LOL.

#177 I've not read Murakami, Mark, although I do own Kafka on the Shore. Any chance you'll be reading that one?

Not able to catch up on everyone.. so I am just scanning and saying

The Dick Van Dyke looks good, I enjoy him :)

Lynda- We are doing The Wind-up Bird Chronicle. It begins July 15th. Plenty of time. Actually Kafka on the Shore was my first Murakami and kick-started a love affair with this guy.

Kath is back! Kath is back! Great to see you, my friend! You made my day!

>174 msf59: Oh, stop blubbering and tearing up, Mark! You know you're one of my favs!

How do you like my new hard drive? ;-)

Last night I was reading Thousand Autumns at 11:30 when hubby came to bed and wanted to know why I was still awake if I was so tired. Ya know, I was SO tired and wound up, couldn't fall asleep til I did a little reading. Today I will be home earlier and I expect taking a nap... I hope.

170: Happy Sunday, Mark! I hope the Thundershirt helps Bailey out, poor girl. I wish there was some way to explain to pets that they're okay and it's just noisy, nothing will come after them, but it's not that easy.

In true LT Book Addict fashion, I've yet to actually read anything by Stephen Fry, though I own 3 of his books. I've heard good things about all 3 of the books, though, and seeing as I like him so much I have high hopes and expectations. I've got a fiction (The Liar), the first volume of his memoirs (Moab Is My Washpot), and a non-fic/travel book (Stephen Fry in America) if you're interested.

A fall Meet-Up here in Milwaukee would be great, if people were interested. Maybe a Sunday in October? I want to make sure we have a good chance of missing snow if at all possible. I don't know, what do you think?

Mark, sorry I wasn't clear, when I talked about Hitchhiker's, I meant BBC radio, so you're not likely to get it on Netflix.

I stopped my Netflix subscription, because every time I looked for a movie, it wasn't available. I don't watch that many movies these days, and that happened at least ten times in a row, with movies I really wanted to see, like Portrait of a Lady and The House of Mirth, so I got fed up. I think this might be because there's less choice in Canada?

Re: bills, I do all my banking online, so the strike doesn't affect me much. Can't order from BookDepository since they send via post, but every other company I deal with send with UPS or some courier service anyway. And it's not like anyone writes letters anymore. *Sigh*

I had a good day so far, although my PC is giving me troubles and I have to take it in, which really sucks.
Gorgeous day today, perfect summer weather. We finally managed our bike ride, which was really nice and hopefully, we can get back in the habit.
Got some chores done, inside and out and finished The Sisters Brothers, which was excellent. Next up is The Upright Piano Player, which I heard about through BOTNS- Ann raved about it and ann knows her book business.

Claudia- The blubbering and tearing has stopped, now that I know you are back in the saddle. I am currently beaming. Glad you are still locked into Thousand autumns.

Laura- I'll have to see if Fry's memoir is available on audio. It would be great to hear him read it. Are you a fan of the televised versions of Hitchhiker's Guide? If so, where should I start?
I would love to attend another Midwest Meet-up. Later September and most of October are fine with me. I have plans for the Columbus Day weekend, we are going out of town. Any other Sunday would be fine, since I work most Saturdays.
Let me know.

Ilana- Your Netflix problems must be Canadian. I've been a member for at least 8 or 9 years and never had a problem with movie availability. I really rely on Netflix, since most current films & TV shows stink.
Glad your postal problems are minimal.

I just checked Audible and no Moab is listed there. The only version of Hitchhiker that I've seen is the newest one from 2005 with Bill Nighy, Martin Freeman, and Stephen Fry, and I enjoyed it. From what I remember it sticks pretty closely to the book, which is always a nice surprise. I just posted the offer of a meet-up on my thread, so I'll see who's interested. I've got a to work on a couple of Sundays in Sept and Oct, and will strike Columbus Day weekend from the available list too. Will keep you posted!

awww that was sweet! Sorry about the computer issues, though :(

My son and I are fans of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and unfortunately thought the televised version was terrible. It was surprisingly bad.

Hi Mark, sorry to hear about your computer problems. I have been hearing about The Sisters Brothers a lot in recent days and it sound like something I would enjoy, so I have added to my wishlist.

My son-in-law gave me some great news today, he has been able to record the whole season of Game of Thrones and is going to bring me the CD's to watch at my convenience. I am really looking forward to that.

My interest in the Canadian postal strike is purely self-serving. We're ready to send out shower invitations to our numerous Toronto relatives and we can't! Very irritating. I just read that their parliament is getting ready to pass a bill that will end it. Otherwise we will send invitations by....you got it...e mail.

Laura- I'll check my library system for Moab. Maybe I'll get lucky. Yes, throw the word out there for the Meet-up and see what happens. I see you are reading or listening to the latest Bryson book. Are you enjoying it?

Joe- Is there any televised or film version of "Hitchhikers" worth seeing? Did you see Laura's offer for another midwest Meet-up? Had a blast last time!
I started Sweet Tooth Vol 2. This has the makings of being better than the 1st. It explains Jeppard's backstory.

Judy- That is excellent!! Make sure you keep me updated on "Games". I loved Season 1. Like I mentioned to Joe, up above, Sweet tooth Vol 2 begins very well. Look for it!

Bonnie- Sounds like more added stress. Can they send e-mail reminders? At least for now?

We have yet to find a televised or film of Hitchhiker's Guide that's very good, Mark. Somebody should be able to do it with that material!

I didn't read about Laura's Midwest meetup. That would be great - so much fun last time.

Glad to hear it about Sweet Tooth 2. My wife is on me to get ahold of that. We're catching up on the last two volumes of The Walking Dead next.

Mark, that stinks about your computer woes... just after Claudia got hers fixed. Mine will probably be next as it is going old and slow... kind of like me. ;-) But what do I care? I have a young, fast, new iPad. Now if only I could figure out all the cool things I can do on it. I downloaded a few classics and will take it with me when we go to CO in July.

All our company is gone for a few weeks so maybe I can get back on the reading track. It was great having my daughter around to help me with Paddy!

I hope the thundershirt works out for Bailey. Such a sweet dog. Our Buffy Beagle used to be scared of the first thunderstorm of the spring but then, after that, she didn't bat an eye, at least as long as we weren't acting scared.

In St Louis, yesterday, it was pooches at the ballpark day so we got to see a lot of dogs both at the game and in the hotel. One guy had two dogs, one of whom was wagging her tail so much that the elevator door wouldn't close. He finally had to grab the tail and hold it so the whole elevator could be on its way.

Oh, Dang! How can this be happening? Another computer on the blink? :(
Want any advice, Mark? Well, here it is anyway...
DON"T LET THEM SEND IT AWAY! If they MUST send it out - you go with it! Ha! So there!
I sure hope yours is a quick fix and goes smoothly.

*wringing hands in anguish... in lieu of wringing necks cuz I am not violent. Really, I am not violent. I swear I am not violent. *

Joe- Thanks for the Hitchhiker info! I heard they did these in graphic form too. Are you familiar? Yes, track down the 2nd sweet Tooth. Glad to hear your wife is enjoying them too.

Donna- Wouldn't that be nice, if you could make the next Meet-up? I for one, would be very happy! I'm jealous about your new iPad. Maybe one of these days.

Linda- Hope you had a nice time in St. Louis. Are you going to the "Taste"? I try to avoid it. I don't like the big crowds anymore. Enjoy the rest of your vacation and check on Laura's thread for a possible Meet-up, this Fall.

Claudia- Yes, I think I mistakenly screwed something up, I can't fix. Thankfully my wife has a new lap-top I can use. We use a local computer repair place. He's pretty reasonable price-wise.

I read the Hitcher book last year when I saw snippets of the movie on TV and thought it was the oddest thing ever. I asked my husband who read the book before if the entire movie was this nonsensical and he said yes, and that is what makes it so brilliant. I was still scratching my head over the whale falling through the sky with the potted plant...??
Anyways, I was actually quite surprised that when I read the book, I was often chuckling at the humour, although each subsequent book got weirder and weirder and I still don't quite know what I think about it. :)

I looked more at the Winter is Coming website, and I say, it's pretty cool. I added it to my feeds, so I'll get the updates. And there is bittersweet news. The sweet news is that I get HBO for free now, the bitter news is that Game of Thrones is now on the only HBO channel that is not free. Those excutives are not stupid.

Hey Mark, flying visit before falling into a pit of exhaustion.

Valerie- Thanks for chiming in, on the "Hitchhiker's Series". Have you read Murakami? You know, that's the next Group Read we are doing?

Nathan- Maybe they'll show it on one of the other HBOs on repeats. Keep your eye peeled. When are you starting Clash?

RD- Nice to see you sir! Sounds like you had a busy weekend.

I did not have have a chance to start The Upright Piano Player yesterday, but will today. I did knock out a chunk of Sweet Tooth Vol 2. This is turning out to be a terrific series.

Just a good morning run through.. *waves*

I only vaguely remember the Hitchhiker movie..
I did like the first book but then...?

I'll take a pass on The wind-up bird, Mark as I need to concentrate on finding ways to fit in my 11 in 11 challenge. I will keep the peepers pealed for your next group read. Have a great week.

Mark - yes, there's a graphic novel of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and it's pretty darn good.

http://www.amazon.com/Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy-Authorized-Collection/dp/15638927...

>199 msf59: Maybe. I should do a search on it. I will start A Clash of Kings sometime after I decide to read again. And that won't start until after I write those reviews that I'm behind in. Darn procrastination. My friend is reading A Game of Thrones, and I know she'll like it as much as me.

Chiming in with Ilana in recommending the original BBC radio series of Hitchhiker, which preceded the books and is, I think, better than the books, although I love those too.

Let me know how your Thundershirt works out for Bailey, Marky-Mark.

And weighing in on Stephen Fry ... I love the man. He was hilarious as Jeeves, I love his voice and he wrote a few good books too. If I were into audios, I would definitely pick up Hitchhikers if only to hear him read it.

Hi Kath- Big wave back! I'll have to swing by and see what you're reading.

Lynda- I don't have any future Group Reads planned. I'm sure something will come to mind. I'll always take suggestions, so if you think of something tasty.

Joe- Thanks for the link. Is the rest of the series done in this format too, or just the 1st book?

Nathan- "sometime after I decide to read again"? Not a dreaded book funk?? Yuck!

Hi Mark! Phew, it gets busy over here. :) I won't be joining in on your group read of The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, although I may lurk a bit. I've already read the book, and have more than enough good books demanding to be read to be a bit loathe to do a re-read. (I would like to re-read it, but maybe in a few years' time.)

Thank you for your recommendation of Britten and Brulightly, it was a great read!

I loved the Hitchhiker's books when they first came out, I really must re-read them one day! I've never heard the BBC radio series, but would love to get my paws on it. The TV series I did enjoy, BUT I was a teenager and I'm not sure I'd be so impressed now. The special effects were decidedly cheesy even for the time. I found the movie disappointing, it seemed to suck all the humour out of it. (But there were some great cut scenes on the DVD, which almost made it worth the rental fee.)

And Stephen Fry is wonderful. Brilliant. Fabulous. I've read one of his novels, The Stars' Tennis Balls and it was fun, and I MUST find a copy of Moab is my Washpot, I've heard nothing but good. I loved "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" which was a sketch show he did with Hugh Laurie; he was brilliantly funny in Rowan Atkinson's/Richard Curtis's "Blackadder" series; he hosts a great show called "Q.I." (stands for "Quite Interesting") which has snippets up on YouTube and is worth watching; and he occasionally can be found slumming it in "Bones". Not sure why he's not in any of the Harry Potter movies, he must be one of the few British character actors of stature to not be. (But I can't think who on earth he could have played...) BUT he does do the audio books for Harry Potter for the English (and hence Australian) markets. And that's just the tip of the Stephen Fry iceberg, he's a busy, busy, clever man.

Genny- Thanks for the Hiktchhiker input! These books sure have their fans! Hope you are enjoying Thousand Autumns.

Caro- Hope your trip is going well. I know Brazil can get a little crazy. Yes, we are hoping the Thundershirt comes in, very soon. Wow, lots of Fry Fans, they are everywhere and just a few weeks ago, I had never heard of him.

Wookie- Glad you enjoyed Britten and Brulightly. It's such a terrific graphic. She is so talented. We'll have to keep our eye on her. Another Fry fan, amazing! Moab is a washpot does sound great. Hope I can find it.

#208 Yes, enjoying Thousand Autumns very much. I've just finished part one, so I'm a bit behind, but might just finish it before the end of JUne at this rate.

#204 Genny, I didn't realize that the BBC series of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy came FIRST, but that makes sense to me. I can't emphasize enough how great the radio show was, and though I enjoyed the book ok, the radio experience is gazillions of times better.

Hey Mark! Like I just said, look into it my friend, you won't be disappointed. In fact, I'm off to walk Coco now and will fire up Part 1.

After that, nose to the grindstone. The review muse is saying it's tonight or NEVER. She's a bit overdramatic like that, but I've learned it's best to listen to her... ;-)

Thanks for dropping by on my new thread. xx

eta: I just checked out wikipedia real quick About the Hitchhiker's Guide, and sure enough, it was a radio show first. Huh. Thanks for that bit of info again Genny.

Nearly 200 new posts while I was gone?? The horror, the horror. I've had to skim...

Hoping to do better on the new thread!

>206 msf59: Yes, I guess I am in a "book funk". I'm just too tired to do anything. Ugh! I can name a dozen different things to do besides reading right now, and that's probably my problem.

Genny- Keep in mind we are doing a G.R. of the The Wind-up Bird Chronicle next month. Have you read Murakami?

Ilana- I'll have to stop by and check out your reviews. I'll have to do it later though.

Suz- 200 behind, huh? The Threads can get away from you quick around here, that's for sure.

Nathan- You are a Young Guy!! You aren't supposed to get tired. You are supposed to be burning it up, at your age. Come on!!

Speaking of reviews, I'm a couple behind myself, due to my computer problems. I'm dropping my PC off, after work, lets hope its not to tangled.
I can not praise my latest audio enough: it's called Born to Run, about superathletes and ultra-running. This is Krakauer territory but with more humor. More raving will follow!

Gorgeous day today! Sunny ,80, low humidity!

I feel your pain, Suz... no hope of catching up after being away.. have to just move on...
This is one busy thread... our Mark is a nice guy and no one wants to miss anything here!
Including me..

Hi Mark!
I'll bet it's nice to see the pavement under your feet and sun in the sky! No more winter blues for you.
No more frozen H2O!

oh, damn, so sorry about the computer-- am so anxious to see your review of The Sisters Brothers. Will you at least tell us how many stars you're giving it? :o)

>213 msf59: Yeah well I'm also in bad shape and eat to many Cheetos...........You're totally right.

#213 - No I haven't read anything of his yet - not sure if I'll get to that in July as I don't have a copy, and I have plenty more books lined up that I do have copies of. But I do want to read it some day...

I'm back from the American Library Association conference. 17,000 librarians in New Orleans! Had a very nice meet and great with Tim and Abby at Cafe Du Monde at 7:00 a.m. (did you get that 7 a.m. thing?) The cafe is open 24 hours but I didn't know that the outdoor part is closed from 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. so we had to meet inside. It was a bit noisy but was fun. At various times five people showed up and I learned some things about planning a meet and greet. (Get big signs made so people can find you.) Some talked to Tim about technical things and the rest of us talked about lots of things. There was one interesting thread about people lying in the books that they write. It started with the Stephen Ambrose scandal because that night ALA was having its big bash at the World War II museum and Ambrose was one of the main forces behind getting it in New Orleans. We ended up talking about Joseph Ellis and his lying about being in the army and being in Viet Nam to whole class rooms full of people. The fact that he got away with it for years before a student questioned it is amazing. One of the people at out table went to Mount Holyoke College and took Ellis' Viet Nam class and stated how betrayed they felt by his lies. We had an amazing discussion about what we expect from our authors. Very nice time.

While there I did pick up some new books, but not as many as I could carry because I had too many meetings to attend. I did get to hear Brooke Gladstone speak about her new book and the media in general. Her take on the demise of the daily newspaper was very interesting as was her views of the media that is taking its place with the public.

Remember the answer to everything is 42!

#219 How I wish I could have been at your discussion about untruthful authors with Abby et al, as I have been thinking about that very topic on my thread. I just read Empire of the Sun, which the author J.G. Ballard claimed was a memoir, but which turned out to be significantly fictionalized. I would love to hear a summary of "what we expect from our authors", because for me it has also turned into a question of when to live and let live as a reader. Something which is hard for me to do when I don't respect the author.

Other examples from my own reading: James Frey and A Million Little Pieces, Orlando Figes and his outrageous lying about Amazon posts and blaming his wife for it, and now the questions being asked about Three Cups of Tea and Mortenson's accounting practices.

P.S. I'm going to put a link on my thread to your post, because I think there are others that might be interested.

Hi Mark, hope you're having a lovely day. No worries about the reviews, they'll be there whenever is most convenient for you to swing by. :-)

eta: sorry about the computer troubles, that's never any fun.

Hi Mark, we just ordered a Thundershirt for our dog too. Hope they work for our dogs. They'll certainly get a good test on the 4th.

I've already read The Windup Bird Chronicle but you're tempting me to do a reread. Of course my ability to read what I've planned is almost nill these days so I'm not promising anything at this point.

Hope your computer is back to its old self soon.

It absolutely amazes me that authors like Ellis and Ambrose should lie... Isn't it enough that they can generate great quality work? Why do their egos depend on this other stuff??? I suppose we should be grateful Ellis didn't try to persuade the world he had fought in the revolutionary war...

Hey Mark;
Ole buddy, ole pal.........how goes it? Have missed you but it looks like you are reading some good stuff including my man John.
I love how you have begun your thread. That print is wonderful.
Hope you and the family are well. Good to catch up with you again. What is your next group read sir?
big, warm hug,
belva

BELVA! You're back!! *tosses confetti* Wheeeeeeeee

What a wonderful summer day! That cerulean sky, had nary a cloud. Perfect temps, with a light refreshing breeze. These are the days I live for. Listening to Born to Run, (the book, not the album) was a perfect soundtrack, keeping the adrenalin pumping, along with the chuckles.
Dropped the PC off. Hopefully I'll get it back in a couple days, but looks like I need a new monitor. What is the life-span of these damn things anyway? 2 years? That's ridiculous.

Kath- Mark's a nice guy? Now who's been spreading that nasty rumour? Sure I like a few books, here and there, but does that make me nice? Hope your day went well.

Claudia- "I'll bet it's nice to see the pavement under your feet and sun in the sky!" Wow, you are right about that, my friend. How's the Mitchell book coming? Still slow?

Jenny- I'll try posting my review of The Sisters Brothers, in the next day or so. Yes, I gave it 4 1/2. It's a heck of a book!

Nathan- Wish you could come walking with me on the route! We can toss those Cheetos, get you a bottle of water and a good audiobook! You would be set, young man!

Genny- Yes, we always have a full-slate of books to get to, and it never ends. Maybe I'll get you to join us on a future G.R.

Benita- Thanks for all the info on the American Library Association. Sounds like you had a nice time. I have not been to New Orleans. It's a shame but it's on the to-go list! I'm crazy about good music too!
I read and loved Ellis's book on Jefferson. I don't think he lied in that one.

Lisa- I'm still a big fan of A Million Little Pieces, despite the fiction. I can't deny the affect it had on me.

Ilana- Yes, my day went very well, thank you!

Pat- Hey, we get to compare Thundershirts! Yah! Hope we get ours in the next couple days. How's the dreaded book funk? Winding down?

Suz- Big wave! I love Ambrose's work too!

Belvas Back! Yah! Obviously, I had a good day, but you just made it a bit brighter. We've missed you, stranger. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is our next Group Read, starts July 15th, nothing planned after that.
Big warm hug back!

Richard- I understand your joy! We miss our Belva. Now, I have to clean up all this confetti...

>226 msf59: I do get some exercise. Sometimes I walk out to the cemetary 2 1/2 miles away and back on foot. It's actually pretty relaxing, especially at night and with someone. I would do it tonight, but it's my parents anniversary, so I'm going to stay and eat that cake that my siblings I made.

I mentioned I was listening to Born to Run. Here is the author's website. Click on the video of the author's visit to the Daily Show. Good stuff. I cannot praise this book high enough.

http://www.chrismcdougall.com/book.html

It WAS a beautiful day today, Mark. I took Mom and Dad to Wrigley Field. Too bad the Cubs aren't very good.

So Mark... I DO NOT run. But my daughter does. Should I get Born to Run for her? You're making it sound good.

OK... my touchstones are not working... did I see something somewhere about Explorer 9 not being compatible with LT touchstones? I might have that set up as my browser now that those techie guys had their paws all over my laptop. Do you know anything about that????

Sorry... full of questions tonight. :}

Hi Mark, thanks for the visit this evening. Funny though, because we cross-posted the second time around and I happened to be mentioning group reads to you too! And... thanks for the thumbs, of course. :-)

#231 Claudia, you're right about touchstones not working with Internet Explorer 9. That's my situation and it's been really frustrating. There's a thread where people are talking about it (http://www.librarything.com/topic/116970) but it doesn't sound like it'll be fixed anytime soon.

Hi, Mark! I'm just skimming through, trying (vainly) to catch up. . .

*waves*

Morning everyone! It looks like another beautiful day. It's been a nice stretch. I'm off today too! I'm planning on throwing the bike in the Explorer and finding a nice trail. Our ride the other day, has stoked me.

Linda- Did you stay for the double-header? It looks like a painful day for the Cubbies. The plunge continues. Sad.

Claudia- I'm not a runner either. I'm a walker and a biker. Yes, your daughter will love this book. It's a good read for just about everyone! I'm not sure about the Explorer 9 issue. I hope they can solve it.

Ilana (the mistress of the hot review)- Big wave & hug!

Pat- Climbing out of that book funk, my friend? I'm a hoping!

Terri- Nice to see you! Big wave back!

Have fun with the bike ride! It is supposed to be nice here, too..
Some porching in my future, I hope..

67) Old School by Tobias Wolff 3.7 stars

This book reads so much like a memoir, that I was surprised to find it wasn’t. The story follows a young man in his senior year, at a private boarding school, somewhere in New England. It is 1960. He is part of the “scribblers”, a group that reveres writing, “book drunk boys”.
Several renowned authors visit the school and in preparation to Ayn Rand's visit, the narrator reads The Fountainhead and becomes infatuated with her radical ideas. This changes quickly, as she makes her appearance, along with her thuggish entourage and her Fascist presentation. It’s both funny and scary.
The story takes a dramatic turn, when Hemingway is scheduled to appear and a contest is put in motion, for a short story contest to be submitted by the students and judged by Hem himself. Here our narrator makes a crucial error, a mistake that could have serious repercussions, in both his academic and adult life.
I loved Wolff’s memoir This Boy’s Life and look forward to reading his short story collections. This is his first novel and it was a pleasure to read.

70) The Sisters Brothers by Patrick Dewitt 4.5 stars

Charlie and Eli Sisters are hired killers. They work for the Commodore, a ruthless frontier baron, based in the Oregon Territory. The year is 1850 and the California Gold Rush is still booming.
The Sisters Brothers are tasked with heading to San Francisco and locating a man called Herman Kermit Warm, who has fatefully betrayed the Boss.
Their journey is the bulk of the story and the colorful, sometimes dangerous people and critters, they meet along the way. Our narrator is Eli, the youngest of the pair, a beefy, taciturn man, with some principles, a big heart and a devastating temper. He also learns the importance of dental hygiene, along the way. Charlie is simply a nasty piece of work.
This is an amazing western, funny, violent and heart-wrenching and the dialogue crackles:
“It is a wild time here, is it not?” I asked.
“It is wild. I fear it has ruined my character. It has certainly ruined the characters of others.” He nodded, as though answering himself. “Yes, it has ruined me.”
“How are you ruined?” I asked.
“How am I not?” he wondered.

Good reviews, Mark. I ordered The Sisters Brothers at the library.

Thumbs! Nicely done, Mark...making me want to read something in which Chuckles the Dick's evil heir, Ernesto de Hemandhaw, appears. Yes, very nice. *plots revenge*

Hi Kath- The bike ride went fine! Since I am out of practice, I'm a bit pooped, plus the trail was mostly in the wide open, so that sun got hot. Hope you out porchin'! Wish I could join you!

Joe- I think you will love the Sisters Brothers. I also think you will love the next Sweet tooth. I think it was better than the first, much darker and more disturbing.
I requested the Alex Robinson graphic, since the library didn't have it but they did have Box Office Poison. Are you familiar?

RD- Thanks for the Thumbs! Are you a fan of Tobias Wolff? "Ernesto de Hemandhaw"! That's perfect, btw- Ayn Rand hated him too!

I do believe that this is the first time La Rand and I have shared anything except the air we breathe and the right to trial by jury.

Good to hear about Sweet Tooth, Mark, although I know my wife is hoping it gets lighter at some point, not darker, regarding our put-upon hero.

Box Office Poison was pretty popular at one point, but it's a chunkster - more than 600 pages. I haven't read it, but keep thinking of doing so.

Richard- You would love the scenes in Old School, featuring Ayn Rand. What a tyrant. It actually peaked my interest in her and I'd like to read a bio on her.

Joe- Tell your wife, I'm sorry to disappoint but Sweet Tooth does not get lighter, just the opposite, which I think it needed. Yes, I noticed Box Office Poison is a major chunkster. another beautiful day, huh?

Speaking of graphics, this is what I've been up to: I finished a YA, Resistance: Book 1. It follows a couple kids helping out during the French Resistance. It's a solid read.
I finished Sweet Tooth Vol 2. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite graphic series books. It improves on the 1st book but is much darker and nastier.
I just started Lewis & Clark. I love this expedition, so this is perfect for me. I hope to see a lot more historical graphics down the road.
What's everybody else reading? I love these "tweener" books!

The bike ride went fine! Since I am out of practice, I'm a bit pooped, plus the trail was mostly in the wide open, so that sun got hot.

How far did you go? I've been getting the wife back into riding - we're up to about 15 miles, but only on flat, wooded trails! :)

I loved Old School and now have a bunch of Wolff's short story collections -- unread -- kicking around the place. I would not, however, care to read a bio of Ayn Rand -- it would send my blood pressure up into stroke territory. I think her philosophy is vile -- giving extreme selfishness the veneer of philosophy?? -- and what I know of her life doesn't make her any more interesting.

Jim- Good to see you! I probably only rode 6 or 7 miles, not a lot but this is only my 2nd outing, in well over a year. I'll get back up there. The desire is back. Since it's beginning to get warm, I need to stick with shady trails. My wife would appreciate that too!
I was going to ask you, if you can add the 2nd thread to the 75 Graphic Novel Wiki. It would be much appreciated.

Suz- Great points on Rand. I actually didn't know a lot about her. I knew the Far Right have embraced her and thats bad enough for me.

most excellent review of Brothers, Mark! love the quote you featured. don't miss the new BOTN podcast. they're discussing a cool genre we both love--literary horror! (the fabulous Sharp Teeth comes to mind)

Thumbs from me on both reviews, Mark. I have Old School but haven't read it. I had no idea there was a Hemingway and Rand connection. I took a course on Ayn Rand in college from one of her disciples and then met her at the end of it. Very scary woman.

Thumbs to both from me too. And though I don't think I've ever read anything in the Western genre (though I do have an Elmore Leonard book, does that count?) I've added The Sister Brothers to my WL too (eta: can hardly believe they already have it at the library, yay!) The title alone made me want to look into it when you first mentioned it. Old School, I've already added way back, based on comments I saw on your thread too. See how much influence you have on me?! ;-)

Excellent bio of Rand, that evil demon: Ayn Rand and the World She Made by Anne Heller. Goes into her personal charm (apparently copious) as well as her intellectual hubris (self-evidently copious). Loathsome she may be, but important she was, is and (depressingly) bids fair to remain.

Thumbs from me too Mark! As you know I loved Old School and have This Boy's Life on my shelf as well as a short story collection The Night in Question. It's story, "A Bullet to the Brain" has been described as the best short story ever written.

Jenny- I listened to the BOTNS podcast, earlier today. Good Stuff. I pre-ordered The Last Werewolf. That colin whitehead book sounds good too. I've been hearing very good things about the Josh Ritter book also. I love that guy's music!

Pat- How was that Ayn Rand course, anyway? Pray tell!

Ilana- Yes, an Elmore Leonard western would definitely count, my friend. And yes, I'm crazy for The Sisters Brothers. Don't forget about the Cormac McCarthy westerns either. Have you read Tobias Wolff?

Richard- You are the best! I'll log into my library system and see if they have it. Cool.

Bonnie- Thanks! I have The Night in Question too, plus another short story collection. Are you officially retired?

Ellis didn't lie in his books. He lied in his classroom. He taught a class on Viet Nam and it was very very popular with the students at Mount Holyoke College. He lead the students to believe that he served in Viet Nam and therefore knew first hand of what he spoke. It took almost twenty years before a student questioned what he said about his military service and it turned out that he, like G. Bush, never went to Viet Nam. The student called him on it in front of the class. All of this happened after he won the Pulitzer for Founding Brothers and had already gained his academic laurels. The big question was if he could weather the storm. He has done so because his new books are without taint. However, as was stated in the conversation the students who had been in his class felt betrayed by him. He did not lose his job, but I imagine that there is a good deal of skepticism about what he says in any class he teaches or book that he writes from now on. And of course, he deserves to be scrutinized and forced to defend his work. Lying in front of students in a classroom for twenty years is as bad as lying in a book.

Stephen Ambrose got caught plagiarizing a whole book. I think it was the one he wrote about the air war in Europe, but can't remember for sure. Large portions of the book were actually written by a graduate student who worked for him. Then Doris Kerns Goodwin got caught doing the same thing. She had plagiarized from her graduate students and had actually not attributed quotes from other historians works. These were all popular academic authors who were the superstars of the non-fiction literary world and they were lying. It was depressing.

The conversation was interesting in that one person asked why students would be so gullible as to not question their teachers. Wasn't questioning one of the things they should do in college? So then it follows that readers should question as well. Isn't the reader or the student responsible for their easy acceptance of shoddy work? Where do the publishers stand in this mess? And what is their responsibility to both their authors and the readers?

Like Chatterbox #223 I wonder why folks of this caliber think it necessary to cheat and in the case of Ellis to outright lie?

Benita- That is some great info, I appreciate it. Sounds like Ellis is an idiot. Good writer though. I have no answers for both Ambrose & Goodwin, that's baffling.

Yep, I'll add it to the wiki right away.

Thank you sir!

No, have not read Tobias Wolff yet, but I'm most interested in Old School might put it on the list for August, in fact.
I'm very intrigued by both Ayn Rand and Hemingway of course.

About Ayn Rand, I know very little other than she's a controversial figure. Until a few years ago, I had only ever heard about her in passing, in Vanity Fair magazine articles, say, where they'd mention about a person that he or she had gone to a college (can't remember which now) where Ayn Rand's philosophy was all-important. Then someone turned me on to The Fountainhead maybe 7 years ago, and I must say I quite loved in actually. The whole architect thing really spoke to me. She intrigues me precisely because she's so controversial of course. I'm curious about Atlas Shrugged, but not sure I'm willing to plunge into that massive brick, so might... do the unthinkable and get the *gasp!* abridged audio version sometime, which is narrated by Edward Herrmann actually, no too bad eh?

eta: Cormac McCarthy. Of course. How can I forget. I read All the Pretty Horses a couple of years ago which was amazing, and which I'll have to read again so I can continue on with the trilogy having it fresh in mind.

just keeping up....

back from my vacation and just scanning the threads...no way of catching up after being gone a week....so, and happy 4th!

Hi Kara- Stop by my New Thread!