I read therefore I am- Part lV

Not going great guns this year, but a solid effort considering my reading time consists of 20 minutes before bed and whatever I can grab during the day in between my 2 babies!

Thread 1: http://www.librarything.com/topic/106611
Thread 2: http://www.librarything.com/topic/119080
Thread 3: http://www.librarything.com/topic/122646

1- Nathaniels Nutmeg, Giles Milton
2- The Blind Assassin, Margaret Atwood
3- The Cost of Living, Arundhati Roy
4- The Sweet By and By, Todd Johnson
5- The Help, Kathryn Stockett
6- Our Favourite Poems: New Zealander's Choose their best loved poems
7- First and Last, Truman Capote
8- REM- Talk About the Passion, Denise Sullivan
9- Of the Dawn of Freedom, W Du Bois
10- One Day, David Nicholls
11- Orchid Fever, Eric Hansen
12- Like Water for Chocolate, Laura Esquivel
13- Taken on Trust, Terry Waite
14- I am the Clay, Chaim Potok
15- Wishful Drinking, Carrie Fisher
16- Just Kids, Patti Smith
17- I am David, Anne Holm
18- Fall on Your Knees, Ann-Marie MacDonald
19- Silk, Alessandra Baricco
20- Falling Man, Don Delillo
21- The Imperfectionists, Tom Rachman
22- The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
23- The Outsider, Albert Camus
24- The Feel of Steel, Helen Garner
25- Independence Day, Richard Ford
26-The Hundred-Foot Journey, Richard C Morais
27- Better: A Surgeons Notes on Performance, Atul Gawande
28- The Future of Ice, Gretel Ehrlich
29- The Penguin Modern Classics
30- A Life on Gorge River, Robert Long
31- Pioneers of Martins Bay, Alice MacKenzie
32- Hand Me Down World, Lloyd Jones
33- Open, Andre Agassi
33- Cooking Up a Storm, Emma Holly
34- Every Man for Himself, Beryl Bainbridge
35- City of Thieves, David Benioff
36- The Scales of Justice, John Mortimer
37- The Magic Paint, Primo Levi
38- The Adulterous Woman, Albert Camus

Currently reading Hitch 22 by Christopher Hitchens and Freedom by Jonathan Franzen and still....The English Patient and a few others as well.

And here I am, like it or not. Starred!

Starred :)

Megan, I think you have some reading to be proud of there! Especially considering the two little heroes who must have first call upon your attention. Don't forget to put more photos of them up - especially junior as we have followed his progress on your thread avidly during the year so far both prior to and subsequent to his entrance into the world!
Starred of course.

Found you!

I abandoned Freedom earlier this year - glad you're enjoying it more than I did! Looking forward to seeing what you think of Hitch 22 too.

Hello there, Megan! *Waves* :)

starred!

Hi Megan! :) Looking forward to what other stuff you are going to read on this thread.

Hi everyone! And welcome...little Lenny says hi too.

Hi Richard- damn-did I forget to activate my invisible thread title again? Oh well, now that you're here, you may as well stay :)

Chelle- thanks for the star!

Paul- see the above picture! And listen very carefully and you might even hear him crying from there....sigh....(he's actually pretty good and doesnt cry much at all, but when he does I sure know about it!).

Cushla- abandoned Freedom? I dont want to put to down....I even read a few pages if I wake up at night to Lenny (even though my eyes protest!). Unless the ending disgusts me, Ill be rating it highly i reckon.

Stephen, thanks for waving at me, I feel like a celebrity now :)
*acts too cool for school*

Hi Kath, Ill load some fresh shots of the little'uns soon and get them posted for you!

Valerie, I'm hoping to get through a few actual novels before the end of the year! Will keep you posted (as they say).

Hi Megan!
and
Hi to Lenny, too! Gosh that kid is cute! So is big bro - not to play favorites here!

Hi back to Lenny! He seems to be wondering what all the fuss about The Corrections is whilst being contented that his mum has settled his craving for milk before picking up such a thick book.

Lenny is adorable!

>12 -Cee-: mustn't play favourties!! Although when I was a teacher I definitely had favourties, it's true!

>13 PaulCranswick: The Corrections: Loved it
Freedom: loving it
How to Be Alone: loved it
The Twenty-seventh City: will read it soon, based on past 3 reads will probably like it
Jonathan Franzen: Love him!

>14 ChelleBearss: Why thank you! I like to think I can take credit for his gorgeous-ness :)

Franzen does seem to polarise readers, love him or not ........

>9 LovingLit: Aww!

>16 roundballnz: *raises hand* Not!

Awww...too cute! Do you actually manage to read during feeds??

I remember wanting to take the time since I was up to do some damage to my TBR books but everytime I was done, I quickly beelined it back to bed!

>16 roundballnz: true....too true!

>17 kidzdoc: Hi Darryl

>18 richardderus: reaaaaaly? Now Richard, are you just being argumentative? There is/was no fuss here about Franzen, I was lent one and just went from there. But I have since read about "the fuss".....

>19 jolerie: I cant seem to manage reading while feeding, but while Im waiting for him to drop off to sleep afterwards I can usually get a few pages in.

Good haul today at the Rotary Bookarama Sale.

Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Road Less Travelled by M Scott Peck (hard cover as a gift)
Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada
The War Against Cliche by Martin Amis (collection of essays)
O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer (hard cover as a gift)

And in the prize winners category.....
The Ghost Road by Pat Barker (Booker 1995)
Moon Tiger by Penelope Livey (Booker 1983?)
The Gathering Anne Enright (Booker 2007)
Life Class by Pat Barker (Booker for Ghost Road in 1995)
A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain by Robert Olen Butler (Pulitzer 1993)
The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson (Booker 2010)

All for $2 each!
Omg I was so excited to walk through the doors and start looking. Im really pleased with what I found too, all in great condition and Moon Tiger a beautiful early edition.
Am now salivating over my nice sturdy book pile :)

(Edited for touchstone troubles...)

great haul! I love book fairs except I usually find too many books that I want and have to figure out which ones to buy and put some back - agonising! Moon Tiger won the booker in 1987.

Definitely a great book haul!

>22 kiwiflowa: yes! It was 1987, thanks. I ended up putting 4 back and not getting Oscar and Lucinda and The Colour Purple as they weren't in good enough condition.

>23 avatiakh: I think so too!
*still drooling over the pile and considering how to group them on my shelves*

Nice book haul!

Beautiful babies and lists of books.. what a great thread you have here!

Yikes! What a great haul at the booksale!
The price was surely right!
Good job! Pass the beach towel - I'm drooling too! :)

Fantastic haul of books!! Can't wait to get back home to the bookfairs. Some of the lesser known ones around Wellington are fantastic as well as the big one in town.

I abandoned Freedom ages ago so can't write anything coherent about why, except that I got really sick of the husband. To start with I couldn't put it down, but then it just got too icky. And I laughed about your middle of the night reading - I used to do tons of that too!

Well done Megan - can't think of a better way of spending $26! Managed to pick up 42 books on E-BAY for GBP21! Only snag is I can only have them delivered to my mums in Yorkshire which is not exactly convenient for delivery - talk about long term planning!

Hi and thanks Darryl, Kath, Claudia, Cushla and Paul.

It's all I can do not to go back again today for that all important second look....can I convince my partner it's necessary? (of course I can- who am I kidding!)

....so.....

I went back to the book sale and got:

Justice by LarryWatson (still want to read his one Montana 1948 too)
Telling Tales collected short stories
Ten Thousand Sorrows by Elizabeth Kim
Lobster Moth by Niall Duthie
Midwives by Chris Bohjalian
On River Road by Chris Else
Afterwards by Rachel Seiffert
The Kontiki Expedition by Thor Heyerdah
Absolution by Olaf Olafsson
Witch Child by Celia Rees

And this time all for $1.50 each! Now....off to buy new bookshelves (I wish).

Thor Heyerdahl...Larry Watson (Justice was good, glad you found one)...Willa Cather...and Scott Peck?! Eclectic R U, Megan.

Re: Franzen...The Kerfuffle merely acted to cement my poor opinion of his showoffy, overblown, elephantine tome The Corrections.

Yes, it was an elepantine tome, Id agree with you on that point *coughs* (alone) :)

*there there, pat pat* Baby-brain will ease up soon enough, loveycuddles, and you'll see clearly again. What you'll see will doubtless appall you, be warned!

#18 - you are not alone ......

Nice haul of books there - should beep you reading from the shelf for awhile

>34 richardderus: I dont generally do re-reads, especially not of tomes suffering from elephantitis...but if I do, I shall subject it to the scrutiny of my discerning self and rate it accordingly. You may want to stay tuned to see how I rate the latest Franzen (are you on the edge of your seat yet?).

>35 roundballnz: *bats eyelids* But he writes so nice and pretty-like
*flicks hair* what's not to love? :) And as for reading from my shelves....I know I'll be lucky if I even get through half of my 24 books in the next year!

Book 39
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

526 pages of joy. I kept this book handy and read it whenever I could: standing at the kitchen table, in the car if early for pre-school pick up, in bed with torch balanced on the pillow, while "watching" the rugby. Tried to read it while cooking and while pushing a pram but proved too difficult.

A great life story of a couple and their 2 children, told from each family members perspective in different chapters. This is an every day normal family of people who are human and flawed. You are given such a sense of what makes the characters tick that you cant help but feel invested in their future.

The plot is there, although not as important to me as the character development and depth. Very very nice. 5 stars.

Ok, I am going to give it another go... Got 300 pages in then stopped!

Thought I'd come by and introduce myself ,Megan. Sad to say.....I have not been able to bear reading Freedom whereas I think you rather enjoyed it. Oh dear, bad introduction.

Well, your wee one is very cute and I'm certain takes right after you! :)

Megan - you've managed to get 33 books over the weekend for the cost of around 4 or 5! Jealous to death (well a tad melodramatic, a bit jealous anyway). Your second haul is a bit more obscure than the first but the Olaf Olafsson has been strongly recommended to me elsewhere (was it Ilana, Nancy or Cushla?) and I would value your thoughts on it too.

Five stars. Five. *sad head-shake* Oh Megan...don't ever run for Prime Minister...the opposition will discredit and invalidate your party with that one rating alone. Your children will be living the humiliation of it down until THEY're grandparents. "Da, did Great-Granny Megan REALLY give the Great Satan, the anti-Faulkner, a five-star rating?!" "Remember, child, she'd just had a baby and wasn't herself...."

*another sad head-shake*

"...anti-Faulkner.." ???
OK... now I'm interested!
It's been quite awhile since I had a baby - but maybe old age senility will work for me ;-)

>Cushla: 300 hundred pages is over half way, maybe that is a good enough effort? I'm just thinking that if it didnt get you hooked by then....so NZ v France in RWC final! Go us.

>Deb, hello! Dont worry about the Franzen thing.....Richard's been trying to bait me about him all week :) (see post #41 :))

>Paul: The Olaf Olafsson was a last minute "do I recognise this author? Oh well, I'll grab it just in case I do" book. If the truth be known I choose as much on cool cover as I do on anything else!

>Richard: I seem to gleam a hint of anti-Franzen sentiment in your message. Lucky I'm immune to your taunts and can easily deflect your jibes with a swift "Franzen Rules" fist pump.

>Claudia:Who's Faulkner anyway!? (lol) Oh and BTW any kind of senility works fiiiiiine!

Yay for the All Blacks!! Wasn't last nights game nail-bitingly awesome!!??

I read The Corrections a few years back and loved it. I have Freedom on my book case and will have to get round to reading it. You aren't alone!!

#43 Megan - I thought everyone chose books that way.

>44 kiwiflowa: thanks for the support! (re: Franzen:)) Yes- for someone who doesnt watch rugby, I was actually quite nervous about that game- the nations mental health depends on us winning it seems!

>45 PaulCranswick: Oh good, it's not just me then. Book covers are like art works, I love it when they are as good as the words they contain

Definitely agree with book covers. I mean, when in a library or bookstore, you could pick up 10 or 15 books that all look great to you. So how do you pick, say, 5? You have nothing to go on besides the cover, so you pick the prettiest!

I would never not read something because I didn't like the cover, but if it's the only thing I can look at and all the books sound equally good, then books get chosen because I like the way they look. :)

*shudders* at book cover conversation

Don't judge a conversation by its cover, Richard. ;)

I agree that I love when the book cover is attractive. Especially when it's an author that I know I want to buy anyway, makes me happy to buy a book that I was looking forward to and then finding the cover is awesome.

BUT I also agree with Ape, I would never NOT buy a book that wasn't pretty

>47 Ape: Yes Stephen I totally agree with you there.

>48 richardderus: Stop shuddering all over my thread, its making it hard to read straight ;) (what's wrong with a book cover conversation btw?)

>49 Ape: lol

>50 ChelleBearss: I'm a design/art/graphics appreciator so I'm fully into it all. I actually would refuse to buy a book if I hated the cover! I'm actually that much of a snob, I'd have to seek out a different edition!

I think Penguin has the right idea: Orange bands top & bottom, white band middle, black type scattered about in various places. Book cover design done for the next ~100 years.

#41 can't imagine why the 'anti-Franzen sentiment' comment can you ? ( sarcasm alert)

Yes - thankfully the AB's smashed the Aussies in the semi-final - so the mental health of the country is safe for another 4 years ... seriously the place went into economic/mental depression last time round ! .....

Richard: that's just a clever design trick to make you want to think that they have the right idea. Messing with your head!

Hi Alex: the place went into economic/mental depression last time round
Now that's depressing!

Book 40
Women by Annie Leibovitz and Susan Sontag

I grabbed this coffee table book from the library shelf after seeing the name Susan Sontag all over the cover. It is a book of Annie Leibovitz's photographs of women from all walks, and an essay introduction by Sontag.

I've been hearing Sontag's name being bandied about by Christopher Hitchens in Hitch 22 (his autobiography). I couldnt decide if he was pro or anti her (which is quite odd for someone as opinionated as him...) and I have sort of heard of her so decided to check out her writing.

I didnt like the tone of her essay at all. It seemed like a nagging rant to me:

Imagine a book of pictures of women in which none of the women could be identified as beautiful. Wouldn't we feel that the photographer had made some kind of mistake? Was being mean-spirited? Misogynistic? Was depriving us of something that we had the right to see? No one would say the same thing of a book of portraits of men.

In response to her questions....no. I wouldnt feel cheated to see a book of pictures of women in which none of the women could be identified as beautiful. Beauty is everywhere and I think what she has said in the quote is actually perpetuating her idea that "women must be beautiful to be valid".

The photographs in the book are beautifully presented women who are not all beautiful (just like real life!). They are lovely to look through, but I would have liked to see what little info there was about the subjects presented next to each picture so that I didnt have to flick from back to mid-book to see who I was reading about. 3.5 stars.

Sounds like an odd but interesting book. Today's version of what makes a person attractive has nothing to do with real life. Opening any magazine proves that, no one I know looks like models in the magazine and I have lots of beautiful people in my life.

Beauty is everywhere So right!

Sounds like an interesting book...! oh and I gree with everything else that >56 ChelleBearss: said too!

ditto, 55-57
Strange... wild flora and fauna are strikingly gorgeous though they have no notion of it.
Humans are so obsessed with their own looks and try so hard to look other than natural... many times winding up distorted and not so charming. **heavy sigh**

All my friends are beautiful :)

Hi Megan, I just found your thread and as I see you and Richard enjoy sparring, I will keep lurking! Beautiful baby btw, it's a shame my girls are all too old ;-)

oh I love the orange penguins too!

>59 thomasandmary: Tsk Regina, promoting conflict for your own amusement! Tsk I say!

Chelle: youve hit the nail on the head there

Kath: It's an interesting essay (if my interesting you mean makes you get confused and angry at the authors sentiment), and a lovely book of photographs.

Claudia: Humans are so obsessed with their own looks. There's a lot of money in a lot of industries riding on the continuation of this trend!

Hi Regina!: your girls are too old for what? to show off? never....I see them in your profile pic and they all look show-off-able to me :)

Kiwi: I am a lot more into the Pengui Modern Classic series...yes...because of the arty covers. I know, Im fickle.

Richard: What conflict? We're the best of LT friends!! Only good friends could get away with the horrendous insults that you throw my way on a continual basis. ;)

Hmmmmmmmmmmm

Let me see

hmmmmmmmm

*I* throw insults, while *Megan* merely makes conversation...? Am I in the ballpark here?

hmmmmmmmmm

Double standard, anyone?

xo

*bats eyelids*
But Im innocent!
*bat bat*

Megan, my daughters are too old for Lenny. I presumed he was your son??? I know it's dangerous to presume or assume, either one, but regardless, my daughters are definitely too old for Lenny.

And Richard, you have no idea how much you amuse me. I talk about what you say online so much that I have to remind my family that you would never be interested in me. (No husband wants to keep hearing,"Richard said this and Richard said that..."). But they keep asking me why I'm laughing...what can I say?

>65 thomasandmary: aaaaaah
I get it now. Yes, Lenny is my son! Hes 3 months old and probably too young for your daughters! lol

>66 thomasandmary: that is so funny! Your husband think he got some competition!!??

66/67: Haha, wow. That's it, I'm shaving my head and wearing onesies in public from now on. :P

photos please Ape

Obviously that would be impossible, Kath, because so many parents would be trying to get me to date their daughters that I would constantly be lost in the swarm of young ladies.

...*ahem* Yeah, okay, maybe not... :P

>66 thomasandmary: Oh, clever way to distract people from our torrid affair! I *knew* there was a reason I seduced you in the first place!

Hi Megan, pretty hard to keep up here but I'll keep trying:)

>68 Ape: Nice! Well, interesting anyway....

>69 mckait:, 70 Yea, maybe you're right Stephen, a full grown adult in a onsie might confuse women
"oh you're so cuuuuute! hang on- you're HOW old? oooooh, 23 months. WHAT- that's YEARS?"

>71 richardderus: Richard you are famous! Being quoted in living rooms worldwide. :)

I went shopping again to knock the rest of the credit off my Borders voucher....I got myself The Outsiders by SE Hinton and the remaining $15 was spent on kids books to be given as presents.

I was *this close* to getting God Boy by Ian Cross, and after reading the LT reviews wonder if I should have!! At 60% off I feel it's my duty to purchase it and give it a good home.

Oh (yes, it's me AGAIN), I forgot that I also got a nice little poetry book Red Shoes - by Elizabeth Smither. I read it while enjoying my decaf latte (what a life!) and particularly liked this one:

Smoking with Carol

Filter tips, then menthol, lastly roll-your-own
with geriatric threads of tobacco hanging
and lick-spittle sealed. Come

you used to indicate, rolling two
in the laundry and carrying them
with the plastic lighter in your fist

out past the swimming pool, around
the Virginia creeper to the seat
where smoke could float over and entire valley

and quickly dissipate. You lit
yours first, I positioned mine
into your cupped palms or kissed

edge to smouldering slow flaring edge
breathed deep, as if we breathed together
for surely conspirators' breaths are synchronised.

Often mine went out, or I left the end
not asking for another kiss of life.
Company and conspiracy were better

than any vice or discovery (later)
that the give-away lighter had been left behind
and, for breath, there were peppermints

or a pre-dinner drink: white wine
and smoke dissolving together, Cloudy Bay
and our complicit smiles, smoke screwed-up eyes.

TWO BABIES.

Oh man.

Huzzah for The Outsiders and kids books - sounds like a standard purchase around our house as well!

#75 Megan thank you for raising the intellectual tone several notches! The treatise on the secretive vice of smoking is wonderfully descriptive. I especially liked:

You lit
yours first, I positioned mine
into your cupped palms or kissed

edge to smouldering slow flaring edge
breathed deep, as if we breathed together
for surely conspirators' breaths are synchronised.

Reminds me very much of my wife's battle with secret smoking. Ladie sin Asia are frowned upon for smoking and will invariably refrain from doing so in public. Hani on the other comes from a family where the ladies are all smokers (her two sisters and herself secretively as they would never smoke in front of their Dad who is himself a near-chain smoker), she reserves her smoking for her visits to the toilet as she swears it assists her in performing on the throne so to speak. Some time ago she quit and had severe constipation for a week until she discovered the virtues of golden prune juice. btw one vice I have never had is smoking - beyond the very rare celebratory cigar - I have never partaken of the demon tobacco.

Will have to look up her anthology if this is representative. Stunned to note that no-one much seems to read poetry nowadays and the kids would be pushed to recite anything at all.

What a haul you've had over the last couple of days, but the best part is probably the price you snagged for ALL that. :)

I've seen Freedom everywhere but I've never felt compelled to pick it up and read what it's about but your review had definitely gotten me to look into it some more.

>78 jolerie: Oh no no no Valerie SAVE YOURSELF! Ruuuuun!

Megan, my husband is a work-a-holic. He knows that he has neglected me for nearly 30 years, so when he comes home and sees me on the computer, he worries. I find it amusing for the most part, but sometimes it's irritating. So, I try to tell my girls the funny Richard lines when hubby's not around!
Stephen, don't change your clothing style and keep your hair! While I am anxious to see my single daughters find their soul mates, they are not.

Richard, you had me at the red herrings trick you played on me shortly after I joined LT!

Luxx: Ive got all the babies I need right now thank you very much!

Paul: I used to smoke. 6 years ago I had been a non-smoker for nearly 2 years when I fell off my bike on a busy road and my first thought (after dragging my bruised self and my buckled bike off the road) was *I really want a smoke*! I was really shocked that that was what I was thinking at that time! Its a pretty powerful habit to break.

That's really interesting about it being taboo for women to smoke where you are- kind of like what it used to be like here about 30 years ago with women and drinking!

Oh, and the poetry.....I'm 3/4 way through the collection and Smoking with Carol is still the stand out one. There have'nt been many runners up either.....:-/

Valerie: I am very pleased with myself and my haul lately. *looks smugly at piles surrounding the computer*
Do check out Freedom but beware......you may not love, like, be indifferent about be able to stand it!

Richard: *ignore ignore*

Regina: Work-a-holic!? That doesn't sound good. Must be hard....

Megan.... though shalt not spend gift card goodness on gifts for others. And so it is written. Sheesh!

But Megan! I am a caring, kind human being! (Stop laughing.) I must warn innocent, wayward Valerie of her imminent (and immanent, as we're talking loss of immortal soul to boredom) peril!

LOL. What would you think of me then if I absolutely was not bored but enjoyed every single line of it. ;)

>85 jolerie: Less.

Well now I have no choice but to read it!

Do as you must, of course, but be warned: Physicists and social scientists have confirmed that reading Franzen books has been definitively linked to incidences of inoperable spleen cancer and IQ reduction. Approximately 2 points per page.

You see the risk.

>83 mckait: Kath: the only problem there is that there are heaps of cool kids books on sale and not many novels. Plus I have 9 nephews and nieces who are all littlies :)

Richard: *ignore*
Valerie: you should try my new technique with regards to dealing with Richard
Richard: *ignore*
Valerie: see above :)

>88 richardderus: Lucky for me my IQ is off the chart, so now that Ive read it, I'm still above average

>89 LovingLit: OOOoooOOoOOOooOo I iz so imperessed

I'm trying to reach a negative IQ score, I'm convinced I'll gain the ability to time travel that way.

>90 richardderus: *big smug grin with a tooth glinting in the light*

>91 Ape: Not a bad plan, keep me posted on how its going :)

Yep, looks like I need to get started by reading a Jonathan Franzen novel. Do you think it would be more effective reading it or dropping it on my head?

Book 41
Hitch 22 by Christopher Hitchens

This large book took me two turns at the library to get through. And it felt like it....

Even though I find this man intelligent and interesting and witty and funny, his autobiography felt difficult to read. I fully admit that this is probably because he has a superior inteligence and that I had trouble following the thread of his arguments. This wasn't helped by the political component which I have always had trouble keeping up with. The topics he covered in his chapters are so varied and cover way more than an autobiography normally would.

He writes like a skilled conversationalist. Coming and going from topics, dropping tid bits in and then going back to the theme he started on...my brain just wasn't up to it. I can barely follow the 6 o'clock news these days.

Great name-dropping and quote-dropping from literature though: Primo Levi, Evelyn Waugh, Albert Camus, Kingelsy and Martin Amis (personal friends), Julian Barnes, Ian McEwan (friend), Updike, Tolstoy, DeLillo, Kafka.....to name a few.

I liked the chapter concerning his views on religion and others too. What a lot of people see as arrogance, I feel is more an inability to dull down his intelligence. So for that reason, I over all liked the book. 3 stars.

>93 Ape: try reading it first, and if you dont like it, go drop it on Richards head ;)

>95 LovingLit: I *will* not be assaulted by some crap writer! NO! NO!!

That surely begs the question - whose work would you feel happy to receive sharply on the top of your crown? I'll wait for the paperback version of The Sense of an Ending as it would appear to be about 25 pages long! btw is it the shortest Booker winner ever?

If I am to be assaulted by an elephantine tome, it *must* be of artistic merit and cultural significance...Death on the Installment Plan or War and Peace or Middlemarch.

One has one's dignity to consider. *rubs dented bald spot*

Self preservation should be more of a consideration than dignity surely? I want to get whacked by novellas rather than epics any day of the week. My just finished version of Of Mice and Men should suffice.

Franzen : don't do it ! - walk away form the book ! - now breathe .....life is too short to read books we dislike ....

Hmmmm things are getting a mite violent here..
Franzen? I have looked hard at his books, and actually was given a copy of Freedom,
which I hastily gave away.

>100 roundballnz:, 101 That's the ticket!

Paul/Richard: I'm not sure I want to be hit on the head with any book! Can I opt out?
You're right Kath, it's getting too intense for me here now, I'm going to go have some time out......

*does a few yoga poses, has a latte and a little lie down*

Aaah, that's better.

Alex: you are so right! I have trouble abandoning books once I've started, but our book club's "rule" is exactly what you wrote: no hassling someone who didn't finish a book- Life is too short to read books we dislike!

C'mon Megan, we're talking about time travel here! Surely a few whacks in the head with a heavy book is a small price to pay.

>104 Ape: Yea, you're right. OK you try it first and go back to when was 20, tell me NOT to wear that lace number I wore to a formal ball, and Ill go check my photo album and see how it went!

>102 richardderus: Oh dear, Richard...Oh, dear Richard. It seems our taste in books is at opposite ends of the spectrum, I just took a quick glance at our books in common and your star ratings and have discovered that: you not only didn't love The Road or Life of Pi, but that you did love The Yiddish Policemen's Union. This is the opposite of my experience, so we were destined to never agree on Franzen!
I hope I haven't started WWIII here.....

A bit of friendly banter is always good! - its not WWIII

Pffft, I don't want to go backwards. I'm going forward. I'll try to convince you not to wear that future lace number to your 90th birthday party, but you're a tough one to talk down, so...

What's to argue about, Megan? Your taste is yours, mine is good, no argument.

:-*

>106 roundballnz: I approach banter with trepidation: the kind-hearted maternal type in me always worrying just a teensy bit that the other participant will take offense.

>107 Ape: I can see it now, a 90 year old me: "how dare you you young whipper-snapper, trying to tell me what to wear" lol

>108 richardderus: I couldn't have said it better myself: Your taste is yours, mine is good :)

Book 42
The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing

I polished this little one off in one afternoon- one (perhaps the only) benefit of having a little boy with a cold is that he sleeps a lot, so I managed to get a lie down and read a whole book too.

The narrative is pretty plain, the story told like a list: "so and so met, so and so got married, so and so had children etc." In this sense it is not exactly interesting reading, but once the story grabs you you cant wait to see how it pans out.

It is a sad story of a family striving for and achieving happiness, until the fifth child arrives. The unhappy pregnancy morphs into a situation with the baby and then child that becomes untenable. I am very glad that I didn't read this book while pregnant as I would have lived in fear of what I might produce. Based on this story I will seek out the sequel Ben, In the World. In spite of the spare writing. 4 stars.

I also enjoyed The Fifth Child, compelling stuff though I wasn't ready for a sequel, still not. Not joining in the Franzen debate, but then I've never picked up one of his novels so can't.
A big day for us today! My son's girlfriend works at Eden Park so has seen all the games and been paid to do so.

Fifth Child was pretty good.. sad though..

>111 avatiakh: my brother will be there too! He is being paid to take a photo of the national anthems being sung. I dont think he can believe his luck. I cannot believe that tickets to this one game cost $1300 and more. I seriously think its crazy. But I still want us to win :)

>112 mckait: yea, it is sad isnt it. The decline of the family and all those lost hopes.

Avanti All-Blacks! Or whatever the rugby equivalent is. Them Frenchies sound like all-around NFL players. (That's a bad thing.)

Hi Megan!
Whew! Sorry I missed all this bantering ... fun to read - not sure I could have kept up though. Just reading this has me ready for a nap!
Have a great day/week!

Richard:Thanks for the support! We won, by a whisker, I was so stressed about it I had to read my book.

Claudia: Bantering is fun and funny. Thanks for visiting!

Book 43
The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

I thought I had read this book at High School, but as soon as I started it I realised that in fact I hadn't. How I thought I had read it is beyond me, as I couldnt have told you what it was about at all....but now I could.

I very much enjoyed reading the whole book. I loved seeing how the title fitted into the story. I loved getting inside Holden's head and finding out all his idiosyncrasies. He is a very *cliche warning* human character- he is thoughtful, to his detriment, he is perceptive, empathetic and kind. He is also troubled and unwell mentally.

I loved how real he was and how he said Goddam so much. I found it very funny, but overwhelmingly sad. 4.5 stars

Glad you enjoyed Catcher in the Rye! It's been on my to-do list for a very long time, I really should get around to reading it someday!

I only read Catcher a couple of years ago and my thoughts are probably a mirror image of yours. Since then I've really started noticing the number of YA novels that reference the book. One that you just have to read so you know what people are talking about.

I am pleased beyond measure that you liked The Catcher in the Rye. Holden Caulfield really knocks me out.

The book is SIXTY years old. SIXTY! Older than I am even!

>118 ChelleBearss: Hi Chelle, it doesnt take long to read so definitely bump it up the list.

>119 avatiakh: And it references a few literati things too

>120 richardderus: wow, 60 years old. That surprises me as it seems more recent than that. He was right about all those phonies...they're everywhere.

In other news....have just booked a 2 night getaway to Wellington with the littlest baby (and partner of course) only. Very excited- planning to have lots of coffees and muffins and look at boooook shoooooops. Its not til Dec, but still, it's a plan!

Megan good on you for treating yourself to a break and smart move to take your youngest. When we were living in Johor Bahru and I was travelling every week to Kuala Lumpur (2 days 1 night) Hani used to always follow me (a remnant I think from my long gone Don Juan bachelor days). We had just had Kyran and he was left behind as was her breast pump. I remember being called into emergency action as Hani with hugely swollen breasts sought my assistance to remove the excess milk. Don't know how the little chaps do it to be honest as I won myself a blistered lip but at least pacified a desperate lactating mother.

Congratulations on the rugby win! But (to non-sport-following me) reading a book sounds like a better option that stressing over a match, even if you're on the winning side!

>122 PaulCranswick: ...!!...

Don't try to tell me you've never done that Richard.

Never. Not once. Breasts are one of the main reasons I gave women up for Lent in 1981. (It IS still Lent, isn't it?) I like...other globe-shaped things...a LOT better.

Sorry Richard, now it's my turn ?? !!

congrats on booking a fun trip away! That sounds like a lovely plan for a weekend!

(ps ... your thread might be getting a little out of control, breasts, globe like things? oh lordy! haha)

>122 PaulCranswick:, 124 ....!!....indeed.
I think I'm going to have to pretend I didn't read your anecdote Paul! Although from a practical perspective- it is good to keep the milk flowing if you're away from baby as otherwise it dries up. Methods for this vary. Let's maybe leave it at that :).

>123 gennyt: True Genny, although I was at the last 4 pages in the last 4 minutes of the game so I was getting heart palpitations from both sources! I was envisaging an ending to The Catcher in the Rye that involved Holden carted off in a padded ambulance having been dobbed in by his sister. This didn't happen though, so I didn't need to fret on that front!

>126 richardderus: Richard: not into these ay? (.)(.)
I cant say I'm too shocked. Even if this conversation is bordering on TOO MUCH INFORMATION. :)

>128 ChelleBearss: Chelle, planning trips is so much fun. And to get cheap flights (which our trip happening at all depended on) was a coup!

Richard: Here you go then, just for you, a very arty shot of 2 of the All Blacks with the Rugby World Cup (inexplicably to me known as the Web Ellis Cup).

>130 LovingLit: Aaaahhhh *much* more like it! *smooch*

Oh good, I hoped you'd like it!
;-)

This is a busy and slightly crazy thread! LOL

Kath: thanks, good to hear there night be some semblance of sanity still around? I do talk about books, but people seem more interested in the other stuff for some reason....

My kiddies having some fun kicking about on the floor.

Hi Megan - I have to say looking at all the really, really cute pictures of baby boys here on LT I might have to change my tune. I thought only baby girls were that cute! Your boys are precious.

(Lenny looks a wee bit nervous. or maybe, it's big bro worship??? lol)

>135 LovingLit: awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

>129 LovingLit: LOL! As if the descriptions weren't graphic enough, Megan you whip out your artistic abilities and render us a pictorial interpretation. Thanks. :P

Your little munchkins are asking for hugs and kisses there. Lenny looks shocked as if this brother is going to gobble him right up! Too cute! :)

Very cute, once again.

> Claudia: I think it's primarily big brother worship, he loves his big bro it's so sweet.

>Richard: I knooooooooooooooow!

>Valerie: Lenny gets treated pretty gently by big bro, but there have been some close calls....

>Kerry: thanks for saying nice things about my boys, I'm totally into them

What gorgeous children, Megan. I think Lenny's look is more big bro worship than anything else. Enjoy!!!!!

Your kids are so cute! Looks like they were having a good time!

>Lynda: Thanks for saying, I do my best to enjoy them amongst the tornado that is our lives!

>Chelle: Wilbur certainly knows how to turn on the charm when the camera comes out but this one is a real smile.

Cute!

:) big brothers are great! lol

Darryl: kids are too much!

Kath: Ive got a big brother, he was great too, used to run me around our garden in a wheelbarrow, me padded with pillows and a life jacket! Over jumps, bumps and all sorts. It was so fun!

>146 LovingLit: Agreed. I took care of an adorable 22 month old girl in the hospital earlier this week, whose father taught her a cute little game. She would repeatedly put up her palm, to give me a high five; however, when I put my hand within a few inches of hers, she would withdraw her hand, turn her head to the side, and say "no". She did this half a dozen times, and I would fall for it each time, as her parents and I broke up laughing.

Darryl: That's so cute, and great that you have make time to talk and play with your patients like that. :)

Book 44
O Pioneers! by Willa Cather

This one was on my wishlist for a while and I was lucky enough to find it at the Rotary book sale a few weekends ago for $2. I was looking forward to reading about tales of the pioneers, the hard lives breaking in the land, toiling, the practicalities of it all. It didn't really pan out that way though.

It was more about the relationships and goings on within a family, with the second half concentrated on the neighbour of one of the members from the first half. It made sense to me to learn after reading it that the novel was originally 2 separate stories that were later melded. The second half grabbed me more, but the novel as a whole fell a bit flat for me. 2.5 stars.

Found a couple of bargains at the fair today, $1 each:

Bluebeard's Egg by Margaret Atwood
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon
The Chain by Edith Campion
En Route by Frank Sargeson these last two are by NZ authors and are together in one tandem issue.

It was a beautiful day at the A & P Show, nor'wester blowing, sun shining and babies behaving :)

Helpful review of O Pioneers, Megan. Thanks for that. Nice haul on $1 books! I like that part!! I didn't care for Atwood's Bluebeard's Egg, but I read it so many years ago, I can't remember why. I'm not partial to short stories, which may have been part of my difficulty. It's not Atwood - I've very much enjoyed several of her novels. Anyway, I'll be curious to see what you think : ).

Oh dear, so sad that O Pioneers! wasn't a successful read for you, Megan, since I've always thought of it so highly. Still and all, your criticisms are all perfectly valid, no denying it. I was swept into a sense of the place as a real, vibrant entity. Maybe because I've been there, who knows?

>151 lit_chick: Nancy, I used to have a problem with short stories too, but since having kids I have found that I have just the right amount of attention span for them now! They do seem to wind up just as you're getting into them sometimes though.

>152 richardderus: could be a case of my expectations getting in the way and me punishing it for not living up to them.

Book 45
Red Shoes by Elizabeth Smither

Elizabeth Smither is NZ's third Te Mata Estate Poet Laureate. This is a collection of her recent works (as of 2003 when the book was published). I am glad to have read it as I intended to try reading more poetry this year, but there were actually only two poems that I liked in the whole collection. One I put in at post #75 above, and the other follows:

Late Summer Dew

Some measure whose meaning we defer
something passing between sky and grass
like a hand pressing lightly on a head of hair

some love or liking daily growing more definite
the drenched grass silver in the dawn's light
and we humans between, walking on air.

The last line is my favourite. 2.5 stars.

something passing between sky and grass
like a hand pressing lightly on a head of hair

Lovely! And the rest wasn't that good, eh?

Well, a lot of the poems felt to me like she was directing them towards a person and it was their "in joke" that I wasn't party to - I maybe just didn't quite get them.
I is not that smart really :-/

Just stopping by to delurk and say hello Megan!

Hi Heather- I was hanging out over at your thread when you wrote that....nice to see you here!

Megan nice to see that I'm not the only anorak reading poetry. Agree with RD (just this once anyway) that the lines you quoted were exceptional and sorry if it wasn't representative of the rest. Not heard of her before and will have to look her up.

Hey Paul- poetry is the new black. Mark my words, it's making a resurgence. It's like a (really really short) short story!
Meanwhile I'm plagued by not being able to remember the name of a poet who came highly recommended by NZs premiere poet, Sam Hunt...it's ...on ...the....tip....of....my....tongue.
aaargh. I know it's a she, but somehow I dont think that's going to help me today :(

Spammery! Spamlandia! Spam-a-rincess! Mass spam posting, for sinful wicked shame on you!

Haven't the heart to flag poor old RD (he wouldn't pay any attention anyway!)

>161 richardderus: you forgot spam-a-licious!

>162 PaulCranswick: you're too kind! But yes, I imagine you'd be faced with an *ignore* response to any flag

Hooray for a good day out at the A&P Show (and books - they have books? The last one I went to was in christchurch in 1986...) And that's a very cute photo way back up-thread!

Sorry O Pioneers wasn't a great hit - I didn't know it was 2 stories put together later on.

Hi Megan!
I read O Pioneers as a YA and loved it.. wonder how I would feel about it now? Maybe I will re-read to find out.

#154 "Late Summer Dew" - impressive. Too bad that standard didn't hold up throughout the book. But I find that is true for many books of poetry - for me anyway. I still think it's worth slogging thru the sludge to find the gems. Thanks for sharing!

Occasionally I'll read a book of poetry that has only 1-3 poems that I like. Luckily, most of the poetry collections I've read have so many good poems I have trouble picking just one or two to share in my thread.
Megan - the only female NZ poet I can think of, off the top of my head, is Fleur Adcock.

I enjoyed O Pioneers earlier this summer - but I didn't have any particular expectations coming to it, so maybe approached it differently to you.

Sorry your poetry book was not more of a hit, but at least there were 2 poems you liked. I must get on and read some more of the poetry collections I have acquired....

Hi Megan. That's great that you are trying to branch out and get into some poetry. Unfortunately I am a bit thick when it comes to poetry, most of the time I just don't get it.

Poetry is nice, and I used to write a little in high school, but so much of it is so bad lately. It's almost as hard to find a good poet as it is to find a competent painter. :(

Of course, there are always the classics, and I haven't come up with a good excuse for not reading those more often...

Hi Megan - I've tried a few times with Smither's poetry, I want to like it but just can't be bothered reading it after the first few. I still haven't tried her fiction though I heard her discussing Lola at the writer's festival last year and it sounded fairly interesting. I do want to look at her The Commonplace Book: a writer's journey through quotations, I requested it ages ago from the library.
I enjoyed Joanna Preston's poems in The Summer King, she was a member of our group last year (and lives in Christchurch) and also her recommendation Tigers at Awhitu by Sarah Broom.
I also tried Dog: poems by C.K. Stead because the book cover was so cool (it won a design award for Sarah Maxey), but I gave up - maybe I should try again. You can see the book cover here.

Have you tried Billy Collins or Dean Young or Adrienne Rich or Sharon Olds or Tony Hoagland? There's a lot of good poetry being written right now.

A poet I am not.
But your thread I like to visit...
A lot!

OK, now you know why I don't de-lurk very often. LOL.

Yeah I'm a bit on the thick side with poetry as well. :/

I only got as far as roses are red....

>164 cushlareads: Cushla, I was pretty happy to see a book tent at the A&P Show, I left my biggest little boy watching the wood-chopping with his auntie and ran off to book shop.

>165 -Cee-: Claudia, I almost feel bad for not loving O Pioneers now, so many seem to have fond memories of it.

>166 VioletBramble: Janet Frame wrote a fair bit of poetry as well, but other than her and the poet I just read, I know very very few female poets here. Ill have to check out Fleur Adcock.

>167 gennyt: I think my approach to reading O Pioneers definitely altered what I got out of it. I should try to go into every book with a clean slate of expectations!

>168 ChelleBearss: I worry that I dont get it either sometimes Chelle! But I figure if I read it and I either like the way it sounds OR if I can gather some sentiment or feeling from it that I like, then I'm doing OK.

>169 Ape: There's always the classics to fall back on in a poetry emergency!

>170 avatiakh: I've never read anything else from Smithers apart from this poetry collection. Sarah Broom! I think she's the one that Sam hunt recommended on National Radio a while ago. Ive been trying to think if her name for ages. Thanks Kerry:)
PS that is a cool cover, I bought Sam Hunts collection (Doubtless) for the same reason.

>171 jnwelch: Hi Joe, thanks for these recommendations, I'll definitely check them out. I'm always looking for new goodies to read.

>172 Berly: Hey, now if that's not poetry then I dont know what is!!

>173 jolerie: Hi Valerie, we are so hard on ourselves aren't we. It's like art, literature or anything else really, totally subjective. If you like it you do and if you dont you dont.

I should try to go into every book with a clean slate of expectations! Not easy!

Genny: I know, its one thing to say that Ill try that, but another to actually succeed in doing it!

In other news...... Currently I'm being bombarded with 3 year old questions which are hilarious: "what is my tongue made of?", "what's inside the chimney?", "why are the clouds moving?", "what is the roof made of?", "what's under the road?", "who maked my neck?", "why, why, why......but whhhhyyyyyyyy?".
The funnies yet was "What colour is Nana's penis?". LOL

Megan your eldest is a prodigal philosopher. Dare I say given his questioning of his grandmother's anatomy - of Cocteau-esque proportions!
Favourite female poet, though sadly no longer with us, would be Stevie Smith. Wendy Cope is always readable too.

The funnies yet was "What colour is Nana's penis?". LOL oh wow, I would have died of laughter at the poor little child! The things kids say, eh!

Yes Paul and Chelle, it was too funny (like my spelling which I had to edit as I cant stand seeing the mistakes!).
Nana actually fielded that one as was there...and she asked him about his and his answer was "solid". He thinks that is a colour and has used it to describe things before- no amount of explanation seems to convince him otherwise!

I love reading your thread, my dog is looking at me funny while I sit here and laugh!!
Solid eh? Well it could be worse and it could be spotted or something

He may have gotten the solid color thing from being taught the difference between solid/checkered/polka dotted, etc.

I love the questions, though, and the answer. *Cackles* Your son sounds hilarious. :D

ROFL. Okay, I've now had my laugh for the day and I am complete. A solid-colored penis!

>181 ChelleBearss: good to hear- about the laughing that is :)

>182 Ape: Yea, that might be it! I try to ask him about solid/liquid as a comparison, and the knows which is which, but I think that must mean to him that everything that isn't water is "the colour solid". So funny.

>183 Berly: Well when you isolate the phrase like that it just makes it sound suspicious.....but he definitely is thinking colour!

Does Nana know "what's under the road"? I like that one :)

Too much going on for my addled brain to cope..

I wrote poetry when I was in High School...dire, maudlin adolescent crap...your 3-year-old probably as a lock on the "art" already...

Happy (what's left of) Halloween...even if you're not "here"

;-}

Farewell Megan...adieu...I am off to NaNo, and I am certain you will have forgotten me by the time I emerge from the other side of the fires on the forge of creativity...*waves lacy white hanky limply*

>187 richardderus: I was able to answer that one. Thanks to the earthquake we had in Feb I have first hand experience of seeing what is under the roads.

>186 jdthloue: Oh dear, I think we all experienced the creative bursts that adolescence forces upon us. Some of mine weren't too bad.....well.....maybe they were actually :)
We dont really "do" Halloween here, the shops try to make us think we do by encouraging rampant consumerism, but I believe I saw one (and one only) straggly group of dressed up pre-teens wander past my house last night. And my gate was shut so they wouldnt bother me!

>187 richardderus: Richard, I shall never forget you! *cry cry* Please make a hasty return.

Maybe those teens weren't even "dressed up", per se...maybe just wandering...

Rampant Consumerism=Holidays...in the US...as far as I've seen...from the time i was a kid...until now...GAK!

re #183 Sorry. Forgot the word "colored." Did kinda change the whole meaning there...whoops!

>189 jdthloue: any chance to make a buck! Grrrr- damned corporations

>190 Berly: lol, us innocent-clean-minded people can get away with the odd slip up :)

#190 Berly are you sure you didn't omit a comma between the words solid and colored?

>192 PaulCranswick: Dragging it down a notch or two Paul >:-/

Okay oddball me I don't enjoy reading poetry much, but love to see it performed ......

Sam Hunt is till one of the best performance poets NZ has

Sorry Megan guilty as charged.

No Paul, you can't give in so easily! C'mon, a group of ladies talking about penises and as soon as a man comments he's to be condemned? OBVIOUSLY this is sexism, plain as Jennifer Lopez's ass in a white bikini errr, day. They (ie, women) want to paint us as shallow, perverted men who only think about luscious breasts sexual intercourse all the time, but it's not true! Clearly it was they who were having the naughty discussion, and I for one think it's unfair that just because we are men we can't inject our opinions in an ejaculatory fashion when we feel like it!!

*Look around at a room of women glaring menacingly*

Oh...damn...on second thought Paul, I think you are on your own here. Sorry!

*Ducks and covers*

I can't think of anything but solidly mean, sexist-colored retorts, so I will plead the fifth. ( I used a comma this time Paul.) : p

Stephen thanks for your ...erm...help on this. I was acknowledging to Megan that she had in fact caught me with my trousers around my ankles (figuratively of course) in that my grammatical advice to Kim involved the improvement of sexual innuendo!

Kim - quite right too - as a battered husband - which I plead in mitigation - the occasional sexist sniggering are lapses I allow myself infrequently!

>194 roundballnz: I agree Alex (about Sam Hunt)...Ive never seen him live, but that way he has of delivering his lines is classic!

>195 PaulCranswick:/198 ha! I knew it! Although I couldn't have put it better than you...
my grammatical advice to Kim involved the improvement of sexual innuendo
You have such a good way with words!

>196 Ape: You're too late....Paul's apology is already accepted! AND as an apology is an admission of guilt, he had agreed to pay me compensation to the tune of 100 books for my suffering.
*devious laughter*

>197 Berly: Phew, commas make life easier around here :)

I ventured tentatively back into the city today, the closest I've been to the CBD since Febs earthquake effectively closed it (there are still fences around the "red zone" and entry points are patrolled by Army personnel). I parked on some compacted gravel that was once an outdoor clothing shop. There were a lot of gaps where 2 storey buildings used to be :(
Anyway, they have set up a "pop up" mall in what was the City Mall: made of brightly coloured containers with beautiful display window and landscaping /planter boxes etc.
One of my favourite book shops, Scorpio Books, is there and I bought a few things and picked up 2 free books. Wow, free. This word makes me happy.
Tributary, a poetry collection by Rae Varcoe, and,
Glottis- a NZ literary journal. It's got poetry, fiction and reviews. All good, but the cover is amazing, its styled like a 1930's National Geographic magazine, and looks great. And did I mention it was free?

Stopping by to say hi. I see you have Midwives by Bohjalian in your currently reading status. I really enjoyed the story. I hope you enjoy it!

#199 Thanks Megan (I think?!) Don't remember the compensation part but would certainly aid in clearing a space. btw I didn't realise that the impact upon daily life was so complete and continuing there. Must be both surreal and unnerving to go to once familiar places and recognise them only by one's ability to recall. Take care.

>Deb Im reading it at the moment, and after a slow start Im getting right into it.

>Paul, thought I'd be doing you a favour with offloading some books :)
It is strange to have no central city. For those of us who dont like malls, the central city was the place to go to buy stuff....so Ive had to pick the smaller malls or suburbs to go to instead. But I love(d?) the CBD in Chch....It is very surreal to have to think (really hard) about what building used to be there. I had no idea how much my experience of a place relied on landmarks.
And today we hear that our much loved Cathedral may have to go.

Just dropping by Megan and I must say your son's question truly had me chuckling at my kitchen table here. I can't imagine what kind of answer I would give if that was asked me besides, "Go ask your Daddy," and hoping that will be the end of that discussion. :)
I just found it rather funny that the topic of penis (how do you make that plural??) and grammer can go hand in hand...again I thought I had stumbled onto Stephen's thread by accident. ;)

again I thought I had stumbled onto Stephen's thread by accident. ;)
Thanks Valerie, that nice of you to say :) Stephen's thread rules.

It was very funny to hear, and I like re-telling it too.

And today we hear that our much loved Cathedral may have to go. Sorry to hear that...

Thanks Genny- nice of you to say.
It is all very sad still...I saw the building I used to do yoga in the other day, partially demolished. Bits of paper and a filing cabinet still in there. Seeing curtains flapping out of broken windows in the upper floors of the hotels....it looks like a war zone. But the rest of the city is running as normal. Bizarre.

How awful to still have to deal with some of the raw destruction which must recall the fear.
Sad. We are so vulnerable and don't really know it. Maybe that is a good thing...

Hi Megan
Sorry to hear your town is still a work in progress to get back to normal. It must feel weird to see things like your old yoga place.
Sending happy thoughts

Wow. I have never been through anything like that. Can't even imagine.

>208 -Cee-: Hi Claudia, it is a sharp reminder of what things were like when you see half demolished buildings just sitting there. I was just having a quick moan, I'm better again now!

>209 ChelleBearss: got your happy thoughts! Thanks. It really is a work in progress and I'm sure we will have an amazing new central city asap. I saw a documentary on the rejuvenation of Portland, Oregon not too long ago and liked what I saw there.

>210 Berly: I hadn't either, I still cant believe my eyes when I see stuff like this: (even if now the road is clear and the building may already be gone too....)

Such a horrible thing to happen, hopefully life gets back to normal there as soon as possible.

I've not gone through anything like that, but a town about an hour from me had a huge tornado this year. I'm a police dispatcher and we cover that town, and just hearing people call in and talk about losing their houses was just horrible. Some officers sent in pictures and the local newspaper printed a lot.

Wow, you must have nerves of steel being a police dispatcher! Its just not right to see solid buildings reduced to that mess. I cant get over the feeling that nothing is permanent now.

Its not like my life has been dramatically changed by all this, more like a series of minor inconveniences....like:
-Always having to make sure I put baby down somewhere where nothing can fall on him
-Worrying that I wont be able to get to my kids if theres another one
-Wondering, each time I go over the long bridge, if I would have time to extricate the kids and myself before it dropped and we sank in the river (I think to myself that yes I would have time, but lets face it, I probably wouldnt)
-Driving on bumpy roads all over town
-Low level anxiety about another quake, the frightening aspect of the actual shaking, and the aftermath potentials
-There being no cool non-mall shops to go to anymore that are grouped together
-Missing my favourite cafe (which was child friendly and never too busy)
-not being able to move house because the only area we wanted to move to has been seriously destabilised by the quakes
-having visible cracks on the walls and ceiling of our house that we wont mend til the earth stands still
-seeing the beautiful old buildings come down in the CBD etc etc

BUT BUT BUT they are just fleeting thoughts amongst thousands of others that I have every day, and most of the others are positive and optimistic about what a cool new city we will eventually have and how much we have all, as a city, become closer and more charitable towards each other, and how we have learned to appreciate life and relationships over buildings and things.
(I believe the rant is over :))

See... these are the things I'd never think of and be haunted by since I have never experienced a disaster like this. I imagine your life will never be the same again. Your thinking has shifted to another level by necessity. Wow...

{{{New Zealanders}}}

Thanks so much! I know I have so much to be thankful for, and I am thankful for all I have every day (health for one is a great one to appreciate). My life is actually no harder or easier that anyone elses, but you're right, it's just thinking on another level.
Thanks for hugging everyone at once! But the rest of NZ is fiiiine, Ill take their share of the hugs thanks! :)

On a happy note, wWhat an incredibly photo of your little guy!

On the sad side, how very tragic to learn of all the destruction. Thanks also for sharing those photos.

I am speechless Megan even as the earth speaks so vehemently. Stay safe and God willing everything will be back to normal in your normally blessed part of the world.

That's a lot for one person to worry about! I can't imagine how you must feel! Sending hugs and SAFE thoughts!!

>216 Whisper1: Yes to being on a happy note! Im feel like I have to stress that Christchurch is actually up and running, there are hotels and shops and people all over, but they just aren't in the middle CBD bit anymore.

>217 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul- too true. We are currently in a "new normal" situation here, which is fine.

>218 ChelleBearss: It's a pretty big list isn't it, and I'm not even a worrier! Anyway Ive only felt one aftershock in about 2 weeks now, so Im sure (sure sure) they are petering out.

*******************************

And I managed to sneak a few pages of Midwives in this afternoon in the sun, it was bliss.

Hello...any one home??

Love your pics of ruined buildings, by the way.....so like the ones they show on TV in the US...after any disaster.....makes me feel all "warm & squishy"...dontcha know?

Not making light of your actual situation...don't get me wrong...we don't have much to fear, here in Ohio, from natural disasters...Tornados, maybe...and we had the aftershocks from that Earthquake..in October...but never/hardly ever...real freakin' screamin' DISASTER...

I'm diggin' me a big hole here...maybe i better crawl in and shut the hell up, no?

****and, i just stopped by for an 'ello****

Well a ruined building is just a ruined building really isnt it, until you see a building you've walked past 100 times in ruins, it kind of doens't mean much I guess.
You're welcome to visit and say what you like here- I TRY not to judge :)

Megan, so sorry about the earthquake. I had not realized how much it had affected you and yours. I'll hope for return to normal for you as soon a possible. hugs, Megan.

That's a crazy picture Megan and I can imagine that it would be totally normal to have those fleeting, but scary thoughts after going through something like that since it is something that is out of our control. The only thing you can do is try your best to be prepared right? I know that everytime I watch the news about a disaster that has affected another part of the world, I always get anxious and think about all the stuff we don't have ready like an emergency kit (I really need to get on that!). Glad to hear you are taking things in strides and not letting it take over your life!

Thanks Deb and Valerie! Its not too huge a deal for us really, but those underlying thoughts are still there (and so many I forgot to put down too like always trying to have the car at least 1/2 full of petrol, making sure we have heaps of bottled water and canned foods....blah blah etc etc).
I think the situation in chch did teach the rest of NZ to be more prepared, as well as ourselves. Which is a good thing.

Book 46
Midwives by Chris Bohjalian

A random that I picked up at a second hand book sale, the cover caught me and its the second of the 24 books I bought that I have read.

The story involves a home birth midwife who is involved in a terrible situation of the mother who is in a bad way. It follows the story of the mother and baby and of her own family as well as, and primarily, the legal ramifications from what has occurred. It is gripping, it is interesting even if it isn't that well written.

It is told from the perspective of the midwife's daughter which I dont think added much to the book overall. All the details that she was to have overheard and retold at age 13/14 felt too much. And from all her telling of the story, I didn't really feel I got to know her very well.

The plot races away and is set up to rely on the last few pages before everything clicks into place. This means that for me, I felt I needed to race through the book to get to the conclusion, and so couldn't just meander along and enjoy the journey.

So even though it wasn't my style of book, it was an exciting read. 3 stars.

Hi Megan. Thanks for sharing about the earthquake aftermath - sorry to hear that it's still affecting so many people. I can't imagine what it must be like to have experienced something like that.

Hi Megan. Good review, sorry it wasn't the best. Hope your next book is more your style!

>226 souloftherose: Hi Heather, Im just glad I was barely affected....other people here are so much worse off than me- but even for them we have nothing on the Japanese or Haitians....it's all relative. But thanks for saying :)

>227 ChelleBearss: I have a library book out that I should get on to called This Cold Heaven by Gretel Ehrlich. but I really want to carry on with one I just started called Justice by Larry Watson. And then there's the book of short stories Im nearly finished (Telling Tales), plus all the ones I got at the book sale all those weekends ago.

THAT'S IT! I'm off to bed to read.

No way I can catch up .. so I am stopping by with a hello!

Hi Kath, I know the feeling, your thread moves at the pace of a meteorite skimming the earths atmosphere :)

Just started This Cold Heaven by Gretel Ehrlich, it is so good. I love the way she writes, intertwining historical anecdotes with her own experiences of a place. She is super and I do declare I'm off to buy her book!

LOL ... only now and then... lol

>230 LovingLit: Great analogy, Megan!

Waiting with interest for your review on This Cold Heaven - but don't rush! LOL

Ahhh, couldn't she have been a comet? Bright, icy, and with a gaseous tail?

*Dodges Kath's swatting*

I'd say you'd better dodge Stephen! That is one smart a$$ comment, just the kind I have come to expect, and love, from you :)
People may find that they are not able to crack my CIA top level code there....

Catching up, though not very successfully, Megan. So sorry to hear of the earthquake; I've never experienced but can certainly understand the resonating anxiety. Very glad you and family were safe.

Lovely note you left on my thread. A group read of one of the classics sounds wonderful! Now, we need to come up with something we'd all like to read! I've seen discussions like this on LT where someone sets up a survey and members vote, but that is WAY beyond my tech-savy skills. Perhaps just a simple conversation - is there such a thing on LT? hehe

cross posting!
There's a good conversation (and a relatively simple one!) on Heathers thread:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/124248#t
about peoples fave Dickens novel. Im thinking Crime and Punishment? Uncle Toms Cabin?.....something by Dickens?

Hmm, Uncle Tom's Cabin appeals. With regards to Dickens, I've wanted to read Tale of Two Cities forever. I'm also wanting to read more Elizabeth Gaskell this year; North and South is well-loved.

Hi Megan! My SIL gave me Midwives to read a few years ago, and I didn't mind it. It was an interesting read, if not really my thing, as you say. If adolescent narrators are not your thing - be careful if you decide to read Room . I thought it was okay,but I had trouble with the child narrator, - though it switched back and forth as far as the narrator went. Many people loved the book though -so I'm just one voice.

As for the literary read - don't worry about me -but I've read a lot of Dickens when I was young. I've always wanted to read Crime and Punishment but so far , it's seemed very intimidating to me! :)

Popped back in, hoping for cute photos, and I wasn't disappointed! Way back on Oct. 25, of course, but still delightful. How are you and the men?

>239 vancouverdeb: hmmm, hoping to drum up some support for a classic group read soon....Ill probably give Room a go one day, but hear you on the narrator warning.

>240 London_StJ: Hi Luxx, I must start the new thread with a series of cute photos. Im always taking some so there must be a few out there....you are always good at that. We are all good, Little Lenny doing great at sleeping and feeding (could work on his spilling though, we call him the super-soaker), big bro is a ball of energy as usual.

Hope you will enjoy Room, Megan. Honestly, I loved it; it was a five star read for me earlier in the year. Thought the child narrator was genius and very effective. But hey, vive la difference! Be curious to know what you think ... it's a quick read.

Apparently the whole of Christchurch wants to read it too though....the library copies are always out and I'm too cheap to reserve it for the $2 it costs.....that decides it for me though, when I can catch a copy, Ill read it :)

There you are Megan ,Nancy loved the Room and I was a bit disappointed. So, as Nancy says -Vive la difference. I hope you enjoy it!

Hi Megan - just saying


glitter-graphics.com

#245 I love that!

Popping in to say hello!
I guess every library system is different, but I'm surprised it costs $2 to reserve a book! I probably wouldn't pay that either.

Love those Hello! teddies too...

I'd be reluctant to reserve a library book at $2. They've recently introduced a 50p reservation fee at ours, which I don't mind paying, and it makes me try harder to pick up the reserved book within the 2 week window allowed, since I don't want to waste the 50p.

>244 vancouverdeb: too true, if I ever get to it Ill be able to post my thoughts

>245 calm: hey thanks! Thats cute, maybe Ill copy that one and make a kids greeting card from it :)

>246 lit_chick: me too (see above :))

>247 ChelleBearss: Yea, it does seem a lot when I recetly bought 24 books for $2 each......but then again to reserve the book it usually involves the book being transported from one library to the one you chose to pick it up at

>248 gennyt: I'm the same Genny, I'll just wait for a book to turn up in the shelves unless I really want to read it now, although if I really really really want t read it now, I go and buy it!

New thread up: with the promise of some baby photos coming soon.....I realise this will only be an incentive to some people, but hope you'll visit anyway :)

http://www.librarything.com/topic/126654