Richardderus thread 4 for 2012

Your heart is full of fertile seeds, waiting to sprout.
Morihei Ueshiba

My 2012 NEW books ticker:




Previous reviews:

1. Under the Dome...thread two.
2. The Night Circus...thread three.
3. The God Engines...thread three.

My 2012 ORPHANED books ticker:




Books are reviewed in post:

4. A More Perfect Heaven...#234.

Yes, yes, yes, it's my fourth thread for 2012 and it's the 21st. There. All your tutting is already done for you.

Now let the cocktail party recommence! Who's ready for a dividend on their martini?

PUT SOME BOOTS ON!!

wonderful quote and nice cold running water :)

Yowzers, I practically missed a whole thread when I blinked!

*parks self in thread 4*

Tut, tut. Fourth thread already. Oh, I didn't need to tut. Okay, martini dividend, please.

Like the quote and pic, Mr. R.

Exquisite photograph. I am only posting because it is so unusual that I should find a thread of yours w/under ten comments on it.

Beautiful opening to the thread Richard.

I'm going to have to find that Scalzi - where are those blue filtered glasses:)

Hiiiii Richard!! Don't think post 3 is going to stop me from exclaiming my amazement over the number of threads you have.

*Clears throat and adjust collar* ...OMG THAT'S A LOT OF THREADS!!!?!?!?

Okay, I'm finished.

The more martinis, the better, thank you!

Its only the 3rd week of the month.. if you keep up at this pace with threads Richard you are going to be well over 1 a week. LOL.. Yikes.. BTW I love the photo at the begining of the thread.

>6 suslyn: How is it I'm not surprised that running water is the first thing you're noticing these days? *smooch* for dropping in!

>7 ty1997: Stuff moves fast around here, boyo. Keep up!

>8 jnwelch: Here's your 'tini, and thanks for the thumb on The God Engines, you chirpy old so-and-so.

>9 sibylline: But Lucy! How will I ever know you've been here if you don't post? And then I'll get a complex because you don't like me anymore, and I'll have to send back the treasure fleet book (HA oh I am such a liar) and I'll be all sad all the time *chinwobble*....

Is this guff working?

>10 calm: Heya calm, it might prove challenging...Subterranean is such a small press, and I don't know how big the UK is in export terms for them. If I owned this copy, I'd send it to you. It's an excellent read.

>11 Ape: *sigh* Has anyone seen the Stephen-beating kit? Specifically the flesh-ripping scourge?

>12 tloeffler: Ah, now *there* is a woman of sense and taste! *hands TLo a fresh, cold glass* Cheers, love!

>13 MonicaLynn: Things always die down as the year wears on.

Hate martini's ----does the bar do a decent DRY manhattan? If not, just a good whiskey on the rocks (bourbon, rye, blend or even scotch) will do just fine thank you. and you can hold the fruit salad.

Now where does a lady find a book discussion around here? Kiss, kiss

>16 tututhefirst: When you find a lady, we'll figure that one out.

Have a Jim Beam, loveycuddles, and one of these divine little crab puffs.

Anyone who's visited my profile knows that I've got a list of book circle titles I've read, with my little one-line assessments thereof. I got to thinkin' about it, and decided that I'm going to give the books real reviews this year.

Here's the first one: Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands.

Oh....now you're cooking with gas. I adore crab puffs! And I prefer Old Bushmill's , but Jim Beam is perfectly acceptable.

Not up to the hard liquor yet today--how about another glass of zinfandel?

I like Scalzi, but your review scares me! A powerful review, that!

Missed another party and the thread opening, but read up on all your fresh reviews and thumbed all thumbables.
Is there a martini left for me?

I'll skip the martini and go for a gin and tonic, if you don't mind. And if you do, any red wine will do.

I'm going to go trip along to your last thread to see what I missed. I hope my drink doesn't sweat while I'm gone.

>19 tututhefirst: Mr. Man used to call me "Puff Daddy" because I'd make snack-meals of cheese puffs and crab puffs. He loved both. Also liked souffles. I miss him.

I'll put Old Bushmill's on the order for boozeohol. Gin's gettin' low, too. Hmmm six cases of zin...Roni and I should be okay for the week....

>20 ronincats: Oh hello dear! Just thinking of you! Have some 2008 Black Chicken, it's stellar, and I decanted it an hour ago.

Read The God Engines. You will be shaken and stirred...you will in fact only need a couple olives as earrings to be a martini...but you will NOT be sorry.

>21 Deern: Nathalie! Where do you imagine that you are?! There is **always** a martini for you. Here, the glass is fresh from the freezer.

Thank you for the thumbs, you sweet thing.

>22 London_StJ: G&T...I think you're a Tanqueray tot, aren't you? Here, I'll napkin up your glass and everything. Limes! Need limes!

*sigh* Has anyone seen the Stephen-beating kit? Specifically the flesh-ripping scourge?

I stored it beside the first aid kit for the sake of efficiency.

Crab puffs? Yum! You'll have to send me a recipe. I spent an ungodly amount of money today for some lump crabmeat to make my shrimp & crab fritters for Family Game Night tonight, and there will be leftover crab...

>25 tloeffler: pie crust dough
1 egg, separated
1/4C sherry
1lb crab meat, picked carefully!!!
1C real, full-fat mayo, no substitutions because they don't work AT ALL in this recipe
1/2t mustard powder
1/2t ginger
1t pimenton dulce (or paprika, 1/2t)
salt, pepper to taste

Make enough pie crust for 2-8" pies. Omit sugar from your recipe, if it has it.

Roll pie crust a wee tiny bit thicker than usual. Cut 1" rounds with a cookie cutter, or use the business end of a juice glass. Re-roll dough scraps and keep on cuttin' til they ain't none left. Prick and bake per your recipe's instructions. Cool completely before crabbing 'em up.

Beat egg white stiff. Set aside.

Beat egg yolk and sherry with powders. No lumps, please. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add mayo to crab and stir until all crab is coated. Stir in yolk and sherry until fully combined. Taste and amend with salt & pepper at this point.

Fold 1/3 of crab into egg white. Then fold amended egg white into the rest of the crab in thirds. Refrigerate 10-15min.

Preheat oiven to 425.

Put waxed paper on some cookie sheets. Place the rounds on the paper. Drop ~1T mixture onto pie crust rounds. Resist the urge to "color" the tops with paprika, it looks silly and it's not adding one damned thing to the taste.

Slip the sheets into the oiven for no more than 2-3min, and leave the door open a bit so you can see what's goin' on! This can go from divine to a hot mess in seconds.

Sounds heavenly and divine and goes on my list for my April bookclub meeting.

*smooch*

*wipes drool off of keyboard*

Thanks, sweetie!

Copied into my LT recipe collection. I'll definitely try it if I can find decent crabmeat here. Though I fear the first try will be more of a hot mess than divine.

Thanks for the martini - alla salute!

It's a really really yummy recipe, IMO. Y'all'll like it!

Forgot to say above...normally, when someone says "1 egg" they mean one LARGE egg. In this case, I mean one EXTRA LARGE egg. The difference in white volume is significant in this recipe.

Oh gosh, and I forgot to be all anal about the waxed paper! NOT NOT NOT foil. Foil makes the bottoms tough.

>24 Ape: LOL

Anal waxed paper. Aye. (Horrible executes a snappy salute)

#33: *snork!*

I'm going to try making caramels for the first time tomorrow. Wish me luck?

gorgeous picture...stopping by to say hi!

Good evening !

Well, well, while I was off running errands (including a stop at my favorite Mexican joint including this city's best margaritas not found on my back patio) this party has been rockin'!!! I love the book review of a book by an author of whom I've never heard, and the recipe for crab puffs looks yummy. Oh, and yes to celery in things (stew, soup, casserole). Lovely quote at the top of your fourth thread, to go with the lovely picture. Frozen water fall. Brrrrr.

Hold the lime, but plenty of lemon; thank you, sir. :-*

And what was the site you mentioned on my thread? I couldn't find a link on your own...

>26 richardderus: 1 cup of mayonnaise? Wow, thats a lot. That would be about as pricey as the crab wouldn't it? Sounds decadant and delicious, although I cant imagine what that taste might be actually like right now....

*very busily not tutting about 4th thread as instructed*

Stepped out of the party for a little fresh air. . . . and got lost. Oops! Back now. *Sits down with the Long Island family*

>32 mckait: Hello dear.

>33 karenmarie: *gulp* The image summoned forth...ew.

>34 scaifea: LUCK! It's a pernickety process but the end result is delicious.

>35 cyderry: Isn't it? Makes me smile every time I see it. Hi!

>36 cindysprocket: Heya Cindy! *smooch*

>37 EBT1002: When shall we show up for 'ritas, Ellen? I'll bring crab puffs.

>38 London_StJ: ...site I mentioned...? I don't remember. Oh goddesses, my Half-heimer's is gettin' worse. And lemons it is, cuddlepumpkin.

>39 LovingLit: A cup for a pound of crab? Believe me, it's not that much!

Keep up the untutting. It will serve you in good stead.

>40 katelisim: Katie darling! Here's your plate, you left it in the fridge. Crab puffs are still hot.

My RL dinner was liver, bacon and onions, served with stuffed zucchini and herbed red-wine rice. Three martinis in, I wasn't all that enthused, but it was tasty.

We were going to have liver and onions for supper tonight, but my husband had bought carne asada tacos when he came to pick me up from pottery class.

It's all your fault, Richard, I bought The God Engines for my Kindle.

Tacos much better than liver. Hi, Roni. Hi, Richard.

((Hugs)) and xx smooches xx, RD. I will pass on the martini, but could take a hot cuppa. I am cold tonight for some reason.

>43 ronincats: Carne asada sounds delish! *smooch* for buying The God Engines! Now I just hope that you don't hate it and come after me with a broom.

>44 jadebird: Dunno...the way I make liver, it's really good. I guess not everyone can enjoy the finer things. Philistine!

>45 alcottacre: *smooch* Oh, are you going to use our new continuation feature to start your latest thread, I hope I hope?

I'll take the martini Stas has passed up, richard .... i bet it'll go well with the crab puffs. I've copied the recipe by the way and will try it when I eventually get home!

My little recipe? Aw! I've hit the big time! Oh oh we're low on 'tini olives...you're good to go, though.

Seriously, how can a thread run out of olives??

*Tries to shut his mouth of huge mouthful of olives, then tries to squish in his bulging olive-stuffed cheeks* I on' owe ere aw dhe olives went...

^
^
^
>49 mckait: Gosh! I dunno!

>50 Ape: I hope you get a stomachache.

Morning RD- This place is such a whirl of activity. I always have to brace myself when I visit. I never know what might come flying at me.
Love the photo at the top! Very appropriate. Keep warm & snug, my friend.

Good morning.

I have a jar of olives in the frig, shall I bring it over?

Liver and onions, and bacon, YES! I love 'em! I have a little bacon left in the frig, too, and so perhaps I need to venture out and see if I can find any liver worth purchasing. It is the weekend you know and the butchers don't put fresh liver out over the weekends, I'm guessing.

Here...I brought a tray of cafe au lait over for you all. Enjoy.

I just feel the need to mention that most of my "favorite posts" are recipes I want to go back to and try someday.

I'm not sure that was the intended use of this feature...

:)
*smooch*

>52 mckait: Olive Oyl!

>53 msf59: You too, Mark. Enjoy this day out of the weather. It really is a beautiful photo, isn't it? Makes me smile every time I see it.

I have crab cakes on the menu for tomorrow, and seared scallops for the day after that. My mother's fiance owns a seafood shop, and I'm getting seriously spoiled by all of the quality seafood he brings me. :)

>54 maggie1944: *scoops up cafe au lait* Oh yes please, Karen44, the olive supply is under threat (see #51). OOooh that hits ye olde spotte. Truly dunno about liver's availability schedule. Ours was an impulse purchase directly off the wheelie-cart from the back.

>55 bell7: I'd forgotten about the favorite posts feature for quite a while, and started using it again only very recently. It's another wonderful feature here, like the stellar new continuing thread feature.

*smooch*

>57 London_StJ: Oh the jealousy! Oh the agony! FREE seafood!

I've always got black olives and green stuffed olives in the house. I love both types. My favorite, though, and I haven't seen them for a while, are green olives stuffed with almonds. Crunch, vinegar, and olive all together. Yum.

Free seafood. Lucky lucky.

Happy day, Richard!

I hope you get a stomachache.

I'm 23, food doesn't give me stomachaches.

oh, just you wait... old age will get you, you young whippersnapper, you!

I'll be waiting for it. *Itches his shoulder with his foot*

>59 karenmarie: Back at'cha, Horrible! I like the garlic-stuffed queen-sized green olives A LOT.

>60 Ape:, 62 *searches for flesh-rending lash again*

>61 maggie1944: I'm not content to wait for Gawd to take care of this problem. See response above.

Sorry I can't attend this party. Got the sniffles, and wouldn't want to share them.

Ugh, sniffles, feel better soon!

Are you in possession of God's Little Acre yet? Heckuva first few pages.

Nope. Maybe I'll make that the first book on my new Kindle Touch.

Too soon after breakfast for me to be contemplating anything more than another coffee but if I bake the Caroline-recommended sachertorte recipe from the Chocolate Bible do I get in the door?

I'll wait to hear Roni's verdict on God Machine before I succumb...why is there so much religion in scifi?

>66 ffortsa: OOOOOO fancy! I wanna play with it next book circle! Can I can I huh?

>67 avatiakh: Sachertorte always admitted here. Though I myownself prefer non-chocolate goodies. I made a chess pie...so nummers...but I'm the only one who likes it. Boo hiss, poor me, I have to eat the whole thing.

You devil! Enjoy.

#46: I did use the new continuation feature, RD. Are you going to drop by? Hint, hint.

>69 jadebird: *bats eyes innocently* I shall.

>70 alcottacre: Drop by where?

Well, I'm waaaaaay behind on this conversation, but back to the 'ritas in my back yard: As soon as it warms up here in Seattle (it's almost always summer by the fourth of July, or at least shortly thereafter), I'll break out the little cow pitcher and make a batch of my "margarita with a mission," as they've been fondly called by an old friend of mine. You're all invited, but only one 'rita per book-lover.

This thread always makes me hungry. :-)

Well, I looked up God's Little Acre for Kindle and was surprised to see it for $10. So I looked for it at the library - no copies available. So I looked for it at Amazon. Amazingly expensive. What's going on with Caldwell?? I will think about it.

Judy....if your library doesn't have a copy of God's Little Acre you should ask for an InterLibrary Loan. I cannot believe you live so far in the boonies (aren't you in New York?) that they can't get that book for you. Sometimes they don't advertise that this is available, but good grief, some library in the state must have it !

Our last two ILLs for our library here in little bitty town Maine came from a University library in PA

>72 EBT1002: Oh well, one it is. *slurps more martini*

>73 ffortsa: EVERY copy checked out?! Jeesh! But doesn't the NYPL do Overdrive at this point?

>74 tututhefirst: I don't think most libraries like to do ILLs. No librarian I've dealt with on the subject was anything other than grudging, to be honest.

I think ILLs are more do-able at university libraries than municipal public libraries.

Still, living in a little itty bitty town in Maine is sounding just fine right now.

*smooch*

Come on! I go off LT for one weekend and now I'm like 100 threads behind. I'm panting from trying to catch up with you!

I could really go for an olive right now, too bad Stephen ate them all!

Chelle, if Stephen's at the party, almost all the noshes are gone, as far as I can tell.

But he's so cute, what are ya gonna do?

Ellen, are you saying the bug eyed sloe-loris in Chelle's post looks like Stefano? *snigger*

I like pate but I cannot abide liver and onions. Go figure!

>76 EBT1002: Oh, the liberrians *do* them on request, it's just the pursed lips and eyerolls don't make one feel, y'know, welcome.

>77 mckait: *waves*

>78 EBT1002:, 80 Let's see if Stephen's a witch! We'll tie him to a rock and chunk him in the Sound, and if he floats we'll feed him to the ravening hordes of single women in Manhattan. If he sinks, well, problem solved.

>79 ChelleBearss: Love, taking a weekend off from LT means never, ever again in life being within hailing distance of caught up. I should know.

>81 cameling: The loris is cute, isn't it?

I'm in! "He turned me into a newt."

Sorry, but forward progress? Gimme a break. That's a pretty quick whistle, my friends.

"Well, I got better."

Test posting:

How weird! This image don't wanna.

Should we see if he weighs the same as a duck?

ETA: I assume that's the pic that's hiding from me?

Yeup, it is...never saw the like in all my born days!

Stefano, ditch all your familiars, cauldrons and spell books ... the single women of Manhattan are not to be trifled with!

"I like a thin book because it can steady a table, a leather volume because it will strop a razor, and a heavy book because it can be thrown at a cat." — Mark Twain, Gawd bless 'im!

What?! What?! TWAIN said it, not ME!

Chucks heavy tome at rd

OW! It was TWAIN not me! Owowow my foot!

Of course I float, it's called buoyancy! *Eats another cupcake*

I come here for the descriptions of sweets - keeps me from eating them in real life. I'd give you a serious run for your money on chess pie, though, RD!

>74 tututhefirst: Tina, they have copies, but they are either 'read at library only' or checked out. The NY system is vast, and I couldn't believe how few copies of the book they had. I didn't see an electronic edition, but I'll check again. That would be perfect.

eta: nope, no e-edition at the NYPL. I wonder if my card is good at the Brooklyn Library.

>91 Ape: Not tied to a big enough rock, you won't.

>92 karenmarie: Pity that you live in North Carolina, then, isn't it? *stuffs last piece of delicious homaid chess pie numminess into his pie hole*

mmmmmmmm

*evil Muttley laugh*

>93 ffortsa: Good gracious, I'd certainly hope they'd have some sort of system for mutual card honoring! Caldwell's in a funny position...too famous and well-regarded to be ignored and not popular enough to be readily available. Happens with a lot of midcentury writers...Sloan Wilson, for a wonderful example. Peter DeVries.

I think that's cheating.

>95 Ape: It's a standard test for witch identity, Stephen. Lord, what *do* they teach kids in school these days?

Continuing my reviews of book circle books from the past, I've reviewed The Book of Illusions in my thread...post #22. I don't know how many will enjoy reading it, because it brings out the nastiest, most angry side of me. I say some really mean things, and I stand behind them, so read it forewarned!

> 91, 94, 95 & 96

If all else fails Stephen, you could come over here in Oudewater is a weighing-house where they give you a paper, after weighing you, stating that you are NO witch/wizzard ;-)
I went there, but lost my paper a few moves back... luckely I haven't needed it recently!

Why, hello, Rdear.

It's a shame that you're not very popular here at LT, with no postings and all. Do try to keep your chin up...and not wobbling. ;P

Amazing. Richard must be the only person on LT who has more threads (4) than books read (3).

>97 FAMeulstee: LOL @ Anita NO ONE could mistake you for a witch!!

>98 Matke: ...I soldier on...*chinwobble*

>99 kidzdoc: Clearly you haven't been to my other thread...five reviews over there...

Which other thread? Thread #3? Another thread?

I can barely keep up with my own thread on work days in the dead of winter, nonetheless anyone else's...

It's a standard test for witch identity, Stephen. Lord, what *do* they teach kids in school these days?

We've come a long way since the witch hunts and public executions of your childhood, Richard. ;)

>101 kidzdoc: Richard's usual Homeless Reviews Thread for 2012.

>102 Ape: At least in MY day children were well-behaved and respectful because we still told them stories of being shoved into ovens by nasty old women, and implied the same wold happen to them if they misbehaved.

Good times....

xo

*smooch*

Ovens? And here I thought you all cooked over an open flame back then. :)

Silly lad! We've had ovens since we invented genocide. Back then, though, it was mammoths.

yikes

Now back in KATH's day, it wasn't mammoths, it was brontosauruses.

Hi Richard, you mean besides the four threads here you have another thread? Faints...

Kath! Look out! It's the Super Smash Hammer!

Thanks Kate! We Katies have to stick together!

Are you proposing we start an army of Katies? Because there are tons of us. . . .

"What are we going to do tonight, Brain?"
"The same thing we do every night, Pinky. . . Try and take over the world!"
Muahahahahahahahahaha!

111 posts! tut tut
I take a break for 1 day and I come back to 111 posts!
I will have you know that I read every single one ;)

can you spare a shot of patron?
silver if you have it... please?
smooch!

I like it.. I do like it.. lets do it kate!

Oh goddesses help me...*dons Kevlar and football pads*

>111 brenzi: And a non-fiction challenge thread that I haven't done anything with yet. I've decided to put books about food and cooking, not cookbooks per se, over there.

>115 curlysue: Good lawsy me!! Do your eyes hurt after all that?

yes...needed clear eyes eye drops
I'll send you the bill ;)

*hands Kara the bottle of Patron Silver*

You don't know how badly I want to post this picture here.

And it's a good thing you can't, isn't it? Or you'd wake up in the patchouli-scented embrace of the skankiest transsexual sex worker I could find and send to your house with burglar tools.

ok then forget the bill :)
*takes shot of patron silver*

Oh, I could, but it was out of respect for my (very very very very very very very) elder and with great restraint that I kindly posted it as a link. And really, the transsexual is unnecessary, waking up in the embrace of anyone would be quite terrifying.

refrains from clicking on link....

...I forgot to mention "pre-op" didn't I?

Enjoy the boozeohol, Kara! Here are some limes and there's salt somewhere around here, if you're so minded.

*heeheehee* But it's kitties, Kath...really, it is!

ewwwwww
not from clicking on link
ewwwww for pre op

ewwww for trannies in general, IMO.

*sings* I enjoy being a boy *koff* who likes boys

throws confetti for Richard
hands Stephen a broom for clean up :)

*Sigh* A man's work is never done. *Haphazardly sweeps floor and then starts pretend-jousting at nothing in particular with the broom handle*

Cinderella was the prettiest ;)

Words of wisdom I'm thrilled to hear, from someone I shared a painful intimacy with:

"As I age, I'm beginning to understand that life is about will. Will is everything, but the problem is, heartache torments will. And when that happens, the pain can keep us from eating, sleeping and from having a quality of life. The mind controls the will and if the mind is sure there's nothing to live for, then why bother living?"

Laurie Kendrick, appreciating Joe Paterno

#131: I love the quote, Richard. Thanks for sharing it.

((Hugs)) and xx smooches xx

*smoochity smooch smooch*

Richard.... books about cooking, and food, where? Where? Which of your many threads? I so want to improve my ideas of what to cook for myself! Help!

Tonite I had a frozen fettucini (I did cook it) and a fiber bar. I'm in big trouble! For lunch, I was with children! omg, I ate hot dogs, and a toasted cheese sandwich. You can see I am in desperate need of help!

I started a thread in the 2012 Nonfiction challenge, and now I can't find it!

ETA Aha! Here it is!

My adivce? Go to the liberry and get a random cookbook, open it to p43, and go from there.

Whenever I need to shake things up, I do that very thing. I use 43 because it's our house number.

sigh

I really had you on a pedestal! When you find it, will you tell me, please?

Done!

Well Richard - saw your discussion on another thread about the great "Should I buy a Kindle" debate.

I will weigh in on the e-reader data dump here. Since I'm thinking you are going to use this primarily for reading, and you're not the Angry Birds type, you would probably be totally happy with the basic Kindle Touch or Nook Simple Touch. I use them both almost interchangeably (I also have a Nook Tablet) and find the biggest (and practically the only) differences to be:

1) Brand name. You are not just dealing with a device, you are dealing with a retailer. Are you a loyal Amazon fan? i.e., do you have ethical problems with their ruthless marketing model and behavior, or do you care?

2) Ease of library book download. Amazon wins this one, although not as many library books are available yet for Kindle as for Nook (I know this for fact since I get to pick all the books for Maine state download program). The Kindle requires 2 less steps than the Nook and Kindle also sends you an email reminder that your library book is about to expire ( and oh, by the way, you can purchase the book by clicking herely.)

3)The Kindle does not do as good a job of tracking page numbers, which can make it problematic for quoting for review purposes, but since my recollection is that you don't do that too often, it shouldn't be a factor.

Both of these are available for $99 - and even the ones that sometimes come with ads aren't a problem, because you only get the ads on your "home" page....once you start reading, they're not there.

I find the Nook method of arranging shelves (aka collections) a bit easier to negotiate than the Kindle's but it's mostly a matter of personal preference. I also find the B&N personal service in the store (or on the phone) a big plus over dealing with an anonymous online giant.

Pricing on books is usually within $1 of each other.

Finally.....you don't need a Kindle Fire or Nook Color/or Nook Tablet unless you want to use it as a substitute smart phone/baby PC and play lots of games and do lots of web browsing. Besides the fact that they are much heavier (a particular consideration for those of us with arthritic/gouty hands), the backlit screen is much harder on your eyes, and the battery life sucks (as in "plug in daily"). The batteries on the Nook and Kindle simple Touch models both last for weeks if you keep the WiFi turned off unless you're downloading.

Nook works great on Net Galley - haven't tried the Kindle for that one.

Finally, I really like the extra security of the NOOK. If I left my Nook sitting around, no one who picks it up can shop/order a book unless they first put in my account info and password. Once your Kindle is registered, OTOH, anyone who grabs it can order books to their heart's content, until you notify Amazon that the little darling isn't in your hands anymore.

If I had to decide for you my vote would be NOOK. If and ONLY IF you are planning to do more of your reading as library downloads (like at least 50% or more) then I'd consider the Kindle. Once you master the download process either way, it's easy easy easy for both of them, and with either at $99 you can't go wrong.

Do it, your hands will love you!

That has to be the most concise and clear explication of the hot device debate I've seen yet! Thank you, Tina!

I'll plump for the Kindle because my ethical issues with Amazon are the same as the ones for Buns and Nubile: Greed isn't good, and in the end, bad behavior comes out and bites you in the backside. PLUS I hate loathe despise detest abominate abhor and generally do not care much for the !($&^$%!$&^&%() Nook store and its bloody bedamned bunf cluttering up a place I go to find BOOKS.

And Amazon has all those delicious, naughty man-romances in its Kindle format. Plus I won't be buying too much, but librarying a lot.

*smooch* for reminding me I don't really need a tablet. Yet.

For what it's worth:
I already had an iPad and was perfectly content to use that as an e-reader since that wasn't my primary purpose for getting it. However, for Christmas my niece and nephews bought me a Kobo Touch, and I have warmed up to it as a very useful device. I find it to be very similar in reading quality to what I have seen of Kindles and Nooks, and the book prices are similar to both. (Of course, I can still avail myself of the occasional Kindle or Nook free or 99-cent book, since I have the apps on my iPad and on my laptop. It's kind of the best of all worlds.) Like with my iPad, 95% of the books I read on it are library checkouts; I think I've bought 1 book since I got it (one that wasn't available at the library).

To sum up, I don't know which I would have bought had I been buying for myself. I'm a customer of Amazon in spite of what I feel are some borderline predatory practices, so I'm by no means boycotting the company, but I'm happy with the thought of having an e-reader that is not a Kindle or a Nook. I think competition is important, and if I can contribute to helping another company compete with Amazon and B&N, I'm glad.

#139 : Richard, Netgalley also seems to promote a great many gay romance novels - all free upon request. And downloadable in various e-book formats, or readable on your laptop.

Hmmm I weakened & bought a Kindle recently, mainly to be used for Non-fiction or those long 1000page+ books.

does make reading on the bus/train easier ... will still prefer paper books though.

#139 And it'll mean you can finally get around to reading Clarissa like you've always wanted ;P

I vote for kindle.. even though I do like my nook color..
More free books from Ammy for one thing. Yes.. I know why..
I can't bring myself to care. I am hopelessly in love with Amazon.
Despite all the reasons that I know I shouldn't be. But what we
can't beat .. we might as well join. And yes.. I do sometimes shop
at Walmart.. and I am appropriately ashamed. But I am also unemployed.
Both places offer better prices on everything ...almost.

135 > I'm up for the cookbook challenge, but how exactly does one read a cookbook? I've always found that a challenge. (and I desperately need to actually cook more rather than microwave, so I need the motivation!)

>135 richardderus:: I just might do that today. My brother gave me a copy of The Bollywood Cookbook as a joke at Christmas, but the recipes in it actually sound amazing... but challenging. Well, I could use a challenge in the kitchen! Can't rely on omelettes and slow cooker chilis forever...

Seems like you do deserve a tut tut for threading at such length, Richard! But who can resist the range of the discussions?

re the e-reader conversation, I just got a Kindle Touch, but have yet to read much on it. I didn't want to carry it around without a reasonably protective case, so I'm on the hunt for one now. I selected the Kindle (with 3G) mainly for convenience of downloads. One disappointment - with the Kindle Touch, and probably because of the touch capability, there's no way to view text in landscape mode. But that's a minor annoyance at present.

Tina, your explication of the various options is great. One of the reasons I didn't get a color or tablet device was the weight issue. One of these days, I might get a tablet, but at present my smartphone does enough of what I need.

One thing I would suggest (and am trying to achieve) is to look for a protective cover that allows you to prop up your device and read hands-free, for instance, at breakfast. It's easy to 'turn the page' without picking up the device -just touch near the center of the screen.

As for ease of download, if your library has Overdrive the new Sony reader is also excellent for that (this is what I have). And you don't have to have credit card info saved on it at all.

Ahem...tutters of the world...may I draw your tutty attention to the fact that I, me, thread-starter here, don't make the majority of the posts in my threads? I merely comment more or less amusingly on the passing scene and voilà here come the troops! I, for one, find that a delight and a pleasure, and I'm deeply flattered that it's this place, well okay these places, that the troops come and refresh themselves.

/tuts

I'm still posting catch-up reviews of old Book Circle books. Today's warble of pleasure is The Salt Eaters by Toni Cade Bambara. It's in one of my threads, forget which one, at post #34.

>145 ty1997:, 146 So if I pick a cookbook at random over in my NF thread, would you guys play along and do the p43 thing with me? Then Tom picks the cookbook, then Faith, the Karen44, etc etc?

What'ch'all think? We can share results, see what we think of the cookbook and the instructions and the format?

151 > I'll give it a shot.

Ok. I am happy to give it a shot.

From Weight Watchers One Pot cookbook: "Sunday Supper Braciloe"

What the hell is Braciloe?

I will wait until Sunday to do this because it is a multi step recipe and totally new to me, although it does sound like it might be really good.

Braciola (plural braciole, /ˌbrɑːtʃiˈoʊliː/ or /brɑːˈtʃoʊleɪ/) is the name of an Italian dish. Braciole are simply thin slices of beef pan-fried in their own juice, or in a small amount of light olive oil. It is served with a green salad or boiled potatoes. -- from our pal Wikipedia

Braciole are delicious, made with enough fat. I think an equivalent English (as in pip-pip, what-what, not our language) word is "collops': a traditional Scottish dish. It can be created using either thin slices or minced meat of either beef, lamb or venison. This is combined with onion, salt, pepper, and suet, then stewed, baked or roasted with optional flavourings according to the meat used. It is traditionally served garnished with thin toast and mashed potato.

ok, then. I'll report back after Sunday.

I finished reading Life by Keith Richards and have decided he is a very fine fellow. I'd love to hang out with him. He has a huge library which looks like it would make any of us happy, happy, happy.

He definitely does tell much about the stuff of the 60s and 70s that we later all decided was a bit over the top. He definitely did too much in the way of drugs and drinking and maybe even sexual excesses (he is not explicit about this arena, at all). Nonetheless, I loved all the gossip about music, about the making of the albums, about all the blues and R & B musicians he idolized and was able to play music with eventually! And he gives a little bit of insight into his battles with Mick Jagger.

Recommended to those who lived through the 60s and 70s and maybe does not remember everything about those years, except loving the music. (-:

Ahem....us real EYE-talians make Braciole with a flank steak or other rollable meat, although I happen to have a recipe for Turkey Braciole that is scrumptious, and probably fits much moh bettah in with the whole WW theme. Will have to dig it out. It's stuffed with pinolae, raisins, spinach, prosciutto, and some coarse bread crumbs, and then braised in a sauce of chunky tomatoes, onions and sherry (???) - some sort of wine.

So how do we play this cookbook game? I'm up for anything to do with food.

Go to the liberry.

Close your eyes and stab the cookbook shelf.

Check out that book, and make whatever recipe appears on p43. If it's a picture, make the dish that appears in the picture. If it's the middle of a recipe, or there's more than one recipe, make the one closest to the top. If there's no recipe on that page, go forward until you hit one...p44, not p42...and make that.

Weight Watchers anything sounds gruesome to me, but braciole I can see lending itself to a lower-cal treatment pretty well. I bet the wine should be marsala, though I think sherry sounds pretty darn good.

Since I own way over 100 cookbooks (many inherited or collected around the world) can I use Tutu's personal cookbook liberry? Pretty please????

Sure, so long as it's one you don't use on a regular basis, and is randomly chosen not selected via normal left-brain channels.

Actually I was thinking (since I have most of them cataloged here in a cookbook collection) I would use random.org to select the book for me and go from there. sounds like great fun.

OK, I missed that I was supposed to get a random cook book. I am happy to have one of the kids grab a cookbook off the shelf or something like that. Random! Random! We want random! No thinking. Page 43. OK

When I get home, I'll choose something else.

Okay, I'm in! Sounds like fun... and also slightly terrifying. New things! Oo-er! Good giddy-gods trousers, this could get interesting...

I went with Tina's random generator idea since I had 263 cookbooks tagged as cookbook. The first number I got was for a Kindle cookbook that doesn't even have 43 pages. I used the generator a second time and got A Book for Cooks which is one produced by a club in Mississippi in the 1950s. Now, I've got to go find that cookbook on the shelf and see what is on page 43.

ETA: Page 43 is the divider for BREAD. Page 44 has 2 recipes for hush puppies, one for a quick biscuit, one for corn cakes, and one for a griddle cake.

It may be the weekend before I have time to make anything to go with any of these.

OMG, so I grabbed a book that was just there and it is the Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates and on page 43 is the second page of...

wait for it.... you will not believe this....

Tofu Skewers with Peanut Sauce

Okay, I'm 68 messages behind and I'm not even pretending to get caught up. I'm not caught up. But hi!

>160 tututhefirst: Perfect solution!

>161 maggie1944:, 164 *GAG* Fake satay! *urp* Although...thinking about it for a moment...maybe that could be good, if one uses the firmest tofu. Iiiiiiiiinteresting....

>162 dk_phoenix: "Good giddy-gods trousers." I must *must* work this phrase into a review. *smooch*

>163 thornton37814: I love those cookbooks! "The Ladies Auxiliary of the Society of Cthulu present the MIskatonic Mash-Up!" Oh I am so eager to see what I get.

ETA >165 EBT1002: Hiya Ellen!

OK, pal, I'll give it a go and let you know. Luckily, I am not constitutionally opposed to tofu. I'll probably cut the recipe in half as I'm not going to try this out on the toddlers. Or the picky eater father, either.

((Hugs)) and xx smooches xx

I am cooking more from my personal cookbooks this year too, plus I am trying to use recipes that I printed off the internet and have just been laying around accumulating dust. I already told my hubby to be prepared for indigestion a lot!

I just want to say that this cookbook thing is so pleasing to my love of randomness. :)

So wait. We go to the library, stab a cookbook, and make whatever is on Page 43? Or just tell you what's on Page 43? If I have to make it, can I wait till Sunday?

I want to play, but I don't know the rules. *sniff*

Ack, was at the library today but didn't read the instructions until just now! Looking forward to getting back to the library Thursday to see what recipe roulette wins me!

I actually wouldn't mind it being a Weight Watchers cookbook at all (I have a hold request in on one now!). I'm a believer, having lost 130 pounds on WW.

>168 alcottacre: *smoochity smooch smooch*

>169 Ape: Yeah, random, man.

>170 tloeffler: You got it in one! Yes, it can wait until Sunday with no stress.

>171 ty1997: Then it worked! Yay! But I've eaten their "food" and I'd rather be fat than eat that stuff. I also won't drink diet drinks of any sort, or use sugar substitutes, or any of the rest of that stuff, because it either tastes like something the refrigerator would spit out or is bad for you or both.

That said, I think anything that helps someone get the results they want is peachy keen. Just not for me.

The great thing about WW is that you don't *have* to eat their food. In fact, I don't eat WW products or WW recipes often. That said, they have some decent ones, including this which is in my microwave right now.

I agree that one of the strengths of the new WW program is that they simply have stopped telling any one what they can or can not eat. I lost weight without giving up butter, real milk, sugar, bacon, steaks, or any thing else I wanted to eat.

And I'm sure this game will bring forth some very interesting results. Thanks for thinking it up!

>173 ty1997: I...well...enjoy!

>174 maggie1944: That's why I started doing it. I like surprises when it comes to food.

OOh ooh - I wanna play! I'll be in library on Thurs so will have to see what I can find :) Though if I use Cass to pick the cookbook I will be making something out of whichever book has a pink spine...

I wanna play the pg 43 cookbook game. When are you starting it, richard?

Hehe, I am not a cooker/baker at all. Proof of that: the only cook book I own is a Ramen themed thing. I did make myself stir fry last week though. It doesn't help that I'm really picky. Maybe I'll try this game the next time I'm feeling adventurous.

I will watch the game, but not play myownself...
looks interesting.

As for WW... I keep trying to find the points..
they used to be online but I think WW didn't like that.
I would like to give it a try on my own.. someday maybe!

Good morning, Richard! I can't seem to keep up with this thread . . .

Going all the way back to post eighty-something re: ILL's, I am proud to say that not only do we not grimace and roll our eyes when people ask for ILL's at our library -- we actually offer to ILL books patrons are looking for that we don't have. :) We only get cranky when we get a book in and the patron doesn't bother to pick it up, or refuses to return it on time. :(

re: the e-readers, I have a Sony Touch and it works really well for downloading library book loans, and for public domain book sites like Project Gutenberg. But I haven't been all that impressed with the Sony Reader Store.

I am a little jealous of the library loan options for e-readers in the US (and of the private loan option as well - all we non-US people can do is buy).

I doubt they will introduce that feature in Italy in the near future, the normal libraries are not well organized. I guess the help staff at my library would faint if I asked them for ILLs. They are unfriendly enough when I request books from the magazine. And there are never queues at the help desk, so it can't be stress.

The cook book game sounds like fun. I'll try to remember it on my next visit to the library.

Ooh ooh, I wanna play the random cookbook game. The only thing is, I want to be late on the list of picking a book 'cause I won't actually be able to cook it for a few weeks unless said random recipe ingredients are all things I have on hand (otherwise I'll be going well over my food budget 'cause I just did a rather large shopping).

Ok, I'm going shopping today. Going to see if I can even find some Tofu. Not as popular these days as it was in my hippie yooff.

183: No? In the 1970s I had to go to the natural food store in a basement. Now ieven the downscale grocery stores have several varieties.

Books off the shelf (library? no - I'd end up with scrapple) p 43: descriptions of general ingredients, instructions for chopping herbs, vegetable stock, a recipe already used, a recipe that requires a food processor, running out of cookbooks... ah, feasible, scones: "hazelnut meal is hard to find". Super.

No time limits on the cookbook game, start when you're ready and make whatever comes up. It would be nice to know the name of the cookbook you used, where you found it, and what the dish came out like. Sine my thread seems to fill up alarmingly quickly already, I'd ask that we put the relevant details in my other thread.

I really don't want to have more tutting.

ETA the link good giddy-gods trousers I'm forgetful!

Richard, sorry to be a dolt but would you please specify which "other thread" you wish us to use for the cookbook games?

I did, duuuuuuuh! Forgot to make the link! Not my clearest morning.

Thanks! got it, now.

78, 80 Let's see if Stephen's a witch! We'll tie him to a rock and chunk him in the Sound, and if he floats we'll feed him to the ravening hordes of single women in Manhattan. If he sinks, well, problem solved.

As always, Richard you make me smile and laugh.

>190 Whisper1: Hi Linda! *smooch* I'm so glad that I can amuse you.

Wishing you well in your quest for victory over the evil ones.

Hello, Darling, what a great game idea. I have oodles of those "Society of the Believers in Anything" cookbooks; it's really sad that so many of their recipes feature "1 Can of Cream of Blank Soup". That reminds me: I've noticed a lot of that in Paula Deen's ideas, too. Myownself (as Kath would say) would rather just go ahead and use the sour cream yumminess.

That is no game for me, I don't (and won't) cook.
Although I can warm a ready made meal ;-)

*smooch* to my threadies

Won't be seeing me again today. My liberry called and told me to come pick up 11/22/63!!! So I am off to immerse myself in what might have been but wasn't.

enjoy!!!

I hope you love 11/22/63 as mich as I did, RD!

Hey RD- I received a lovely copy of 11/22/63 for Christmas. And hope to get to it, in the next few weeks. Enjoy, sir.
Try to stop by my thread sometime and throw one of the little guys a bone!

Ohhh enjoy!! See you in a few days!

*fantods*

End of chapter 2: "And I wanted another root beer."

King, you are king-emperor and god. Perfect. Just...exactly what a real person would think. Bril. Li. Ant.

When I go back to September 9, 1958, I will be 52...but also negative 2 years and 5 days old...and I want a banana.

Not one of these blah sugarbombs in supermarkets. A *banana* like they were when I was a tot. Big, thick-skinned, kinda funny-square on the curved side. Strong taste. These were the old cultivar, now extinct, called "Gros Michel." They were good, and modern bananas aren't.

And Stephen King gets it. He nails the detail. Fie on Chuckles the Dick! Keep Great Expectations, I'll tout Under the Dome over it any damn day.

Looks like speaking politicianese worked, and there may even be a nice check in my not-too-distant future. Pray on it, k? Kthxbye

I looked at 11/22/63 when at B & N today and decided my arthritic hands could not hold that big baby so I'll probably buy it for the Kindle. I really, really want to get to it, but I did buy Wonderstruck (equally large, however lighter weight paper, and many more pictures) and Across the Nightingale Floor:Tales of the Otori.

ETA: I'll probably read one or both of these before I get to the King opus. Looking forward to reading what you're thinking about it.

Keep Great Expectations, I'll tout Under the Dome over it any damn day.
Me too!! :)

There enough room in the literary world for both Charles Dickens and Stephen King. Both are in my Top 10 authors (both in how much I've read of them, and how much I've enjoyed what I've read).

Don't make me tut!

re: e-readers. I got the small sony basic and love it. It fits in my pocket, has long battery life, etc. the only prob is because I live in Europe and cannot buy ebooks from the Sony store to download when buying from here. But I usually get mine from the library or gutenberg anyway...

Do I have to go to the library for random cookbook selection or can I choose from my large shelf of them? A game. Any game. I'm in.

WW and points: as my cousin says "it works if you do it." Yeah.

Four threads and we're not even into February???

Your social salon makes those of Mme Roland or Mme de Stael look like amateur hours!

I caught up!

Not sure about 11/22/63 yet - but have downloaded the Kindle sample from Amazon

Hmmmm - tempting me on 11/22/63! I keep hearing such good things about it. My Mum is reading it (from the lib) at the moment and I just wanted to poach it and start it to see what it was like. Unfortunately she was rather possessive - plus the kids got in the way :)

Okay, last night was a work night, and it looks like a pretty successful one. Yay me, now where's the doubloons? Hurry up and wait, hurry up and wait.

What makes the waiting easier is 11/22/63. Oh my heck. Time travel stories are fine, though I prefer the much rarer alternative history based on different endings to already known variables. However...oh my heck. What a sweet sucker-punch this book is!

*gruntled sigh*

Well, now that Owen is here.. my BIL will be reading even more slowly..
it will be a while before I get 11/22/63. I am trying to be patient. You are not helping! lol...
hope dubloons come soon.

another SK?!?
the talented Chuckles the Dick has you hooked! huh
*hands Richard a big, thick-skinned, kinda funny-square on the curved side banana* :)

still untutting about the one MILLION unread messages I have to read on your thread, Ill be back to read them, yes I will

how were the chili fries you ordered in Joe's Cafe?

How's the gout, Richard? Do oatmeal poultices work? That's what a friend's dad used to make up to soak his gouty foot in and he claims it alleviated the pain and reduced the swelling.

>211 mckait: Pick it up, hit him with it, and run home with it. Well, pause to smack your sister with it too, then run home. Wonderful.

>212 curlysue: OOO banana oooo

>213 LovingLit: You just keep up that non-tut trend, there, sugarlump.

>214 mckait: Fattening! *burp* Fragrant! *hic* Fabulous!

>215 cameling: Poultices don't do *good* things for me re: gout because my reason for having it is a switch turned on that causes me to overproduce uric acid, not underexcrete it through the kidneys, which is ameliorated by the simple, effective trqansdermal extraction. With me, that means more crystals form, which hurts more than you can imagine.

*sigh*

Good morning, RD! Have a mah-velous day.

smooches from Horrible

oh dear ...

Urg, Rdear; hoping that the crystals don't form too much...

{{{hugs}}}

and a smooch from Danny

>217 karenmarie: *smooch* for my dear Horrible

>218 mckait: Yes, dear? xo

>219 Matke: Danny darling, it's been a rough two months, with gout, losses, and a mild flu from all the stress...but I come here and my friends are a balm and a solace.

And then there's you. Nothing's perfect.

;-P

I saw a piece on the news about a type of milk that is being produce's soon to suppress flare ups of gout (apparently NZ has highest gout per capita in world), thought of you. Not that you probably want to be the poster boy for gout, but there you go. It was a nice thought nonetheless.

It was indeed, Megan, and not for the first time I am envious of the Kiwis. *smooch*

11/22/63 update: If you can read Part 2 of this book without white knuckles and tears streaming down your face, I do not want to know you anymore.

((Hugs)) and xx smooches xx, RD. Thanks for stopping by the Acre and warming up the place while I have been gone.

RD just to inform you, that you are the first in the group (and by a country mile) to reach 1000 posts for 2012. Always irreverent, always entertaining, sometimes profound, certainly opinionated....well done sir!

hands Richard box of tissues

Should there be a named award, like the Oscar? The Richard?

:: pulls on pair of wellies ::

Emmylou Harris singing Goodbye + a death scene = Niagara Falls and a worried dog.

in a little rubber raft with no paddles ...and dark clouds gathering in the sky

When suddenly the sun comes out?

Anything happening here? Nope, just the usual shenanigans.

*off to Joe's for breakfast*

Richard, check into Olive Leaf Extract I heard it helps with Gout as well as many other ailments use caution though if you happen to be on Blood Pressure medications because it supposedly helps with that too.

>232 MonicaLynn: You know, now that you mention it, I have heard that too..

Review: 4 of seventy-five

Title:A MORE PERFECT HEAVEN: How Copernicus Revolutionized the Cosmos

Author: DAVA SOBEL

Rating: 4* of five

The Book Report: Heliocentrism. I doubt that stirs much passion in anyone reading this review. It means "sun centeredness." *yawn* The solar system is heliocentric. Hawaiian culture is heliocentric. Big whoop.

In the Sixteenth Century, this sh*t was hot news, and really really controversial. Think gay marriage-level passions inflamed. Heliocentrism meant that the SUN and not God's Perfect Creation The Earth was the center of the Universe. Panic! Riots! Thunderings from dimwitted religiosifiers!

Is this sounding familiar yet?

And the man who ignited the revolution (which really amounted to observing the real world carefully and reporting on his findings) was a lifelong Polish Catholic churchman. That's right, a predecessor of John Paul II was the one who made the whole Church Edifice of lies and superstitions tremble before the might of reality! Go Copernicus! Right?

Except he didn't want to do that. He was a scientist, a man who wasn't content to look at the lunar eclipse and say "crikey that's purty" and go on back inside to pray some more. He measured stuff. He worked out mathematical explanations for stuff. He even told a few friends of like mind about his thoughts. And that's what set off the firestorm that still goes on between religion on one side and science on the other. But he was a Churchman, and a darned good and effective one, and he didn't want to rock the boat lest he fall out of it and starve. So he put his papers away, boinked his housekeeper, and prayed a couple times a day. End of revolution...but there were copies floating around and causing sensations...just a matter of time....

It was a Lutheran who did it. Wouldn't you know it would be a Protestant, AND a German. So along comes this Protestant German to Poland to look up the writer of the amazing On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, which our Lutheran troublemaker has read and is completely blown away by, and tells Canon Copernicus that he mustmustmust publish this marvelous (in the original sense of the word) piece of logic and analysis.

Well, we know who won, but it took ages to convince Canon C. to make with the goodies, and he was long dead before the real sh*tstorm hit. Best of all possible outcomes for ol' Copernicus.

My Review: Dava Sobel can count on me. I will read, and quite probably enjoy, anything she writes. She's got a knack for finding the interesting angle on stories of greater or lesser public fascination. Her use of research plus imagination is exemplary in its balance.

In this book, a beautiful hardcover from Walker & Co., she does something unusual: She writes the story of the German guy, Rheticus, and Copernicus meeting and working together to get the manuscript ready for publication as a play. It's true she won't be getting any Tony awards or getting a production even Off-Off-Broadway, but she wrote a pretty compelling dramedy about the men and their probable conflicts in doing work that simply can't be overestimated in terms of its impact on Western culture. It was a smart move, too, because this way she can't be criticized for making stuff up in the context of non-fiction...she explicitly makes it up, and presents it as fiction, because there are (unsurprisingly) no source documents to write an non-fictional account from.

Do *you* take notes of your houseguests' visits just in case future generations might be interested?

In the end, this book is the accustomed Sobel experience. It's solidly researched, extensively bibliographized, compendiously endnoted, and charmingly written. It was a pleasure to read. In Walker & Co's capable production and design hands, it's also lovely to look at and easy to read. Bloomsbury, their corporate parent, pays attention to the effect of design on the reading experience, and as a result, the books they publish are always worthy of a moment's reflection and appreciation as objects. So rare in today's world....

Very much recommended for history buffs, science readers, and Sobelians like me.

Great review, Richard! I'm with you on Dava Sobel. I'll read anything she writes. I did wonder about her decision to write the dramedy, but your review makes it sound like that works okay.

I don't take notes on our houseguests' visits, but it's an intriguing idea. There certainly have been some amusing ones.

1000 posts into the year, you present Emmylou Harris and Copernicus, and lurking pays off.

I have Galileo’s Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love .. waiting patiently

>223 alcottacre: Hiya Stasia! *smooch* back

>224 PaulCranswick: Oh goodness me, over 1K? Pays to run a cocktail party-cum-salon in one's threads.

>225 curlysue: *hoooooooonk* Thagks, Kara.

>226 jadebird: An award for what? Being chatty? I think that might not go over well. There are plenty plenty folks on the site who double as enforcers for the Longface Puritans League who would prefer all of us 75ers shut up and/or go away.

>227 mckait:-230 Y'all're weird, you know that, right?

>231 kidzdoc: That's about the size of it, Darryl. Status quo.

>232 MonicaLynn: I've never heard of that! I'll look into it, and thanks for the pointer!

>233 mckait: *hhhmf* and not mentioning it to me because you just want me to suffer, is that it? *hmmmf*

>235 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe! *note to self: never visit Joe, or Chicago, without heavy disguise*

>236 qebo: I'm glad the lurking's working out for you, Katherine!

>237 mckait: I recommend moving it up the league table, dearest.

Richard, your reviews are just a joy to read. Another excellent one.

In the Sixteenth Century, this sh*t was hot news hehe

I'm very glad you liked it, Tom! I always hope my friends will see the fun side of my stuff.

I didn't know there was any other side except the fun one...

*dingdingdingding*

...AAAANNNND we have a winner, laddies and gentlewomen! One full week of naked dancing boy-a-day service for Miss Terri Loeffler!

YES!!!!

Have you finished 11/22/63 yet? huh, huh?

doing a drive by

*heads off to join Darryl at Joe's for breakfast*

RD - the tres leches cupcakes were a huge hit. No proposals, but everyone wanted the recipe. Thanks again!

No fair, no one told me there was a prize!

ha, new thread please :)
You sure do talk a lot Richard, in a good way of course.
So, have you finished 11/22/63?

Tom, no way in HELL am I sending you my dancing boys. Nuh-uh. TLo and me, we're old enough to know what to do with 'em. You, not so much. And besides, I'm not convinced that I don't want you for myself first.

I've stopped reading 11/22/63 because we have a houseguest. Since she's one of my favorite people, I'm spending time with her and not reading.

Serious withdrawal goin' on, though!!!!

Good Morning and Happy Sunday Richard, Enjoy the time with your guest!
Great reviews on your various threads. And congrats for hitting the 1000-post mark still in January!
And I am now seriously considering reading 11/22/63. Got the Kindle test chapter yesterday.

Happy Sunday, Nathalie! I hope the test chapter hits your readerly happy place. I am really enjoying the book.

Have fun with houseguest!

Scampering through in a flurry of puppy yaps..... enjoy your guest and the day and your reading and everything.

Ooh, You make me wanna give Sobel a try :) A MORE PERFECT HEAVEN: How Copernicus Revolutionized the Cosmos sounds positively delightful.

I loved Longitude and now have A More Perfect Heaven on my wishlist.

You are a gracious host indeed, to delay 11/22/63. I could hardly put it down.

Happy Sunday, RD!

I really liked The Planets by Dava Sobel, I wish my library had more of her work! :(

Still another excellent review manges to be both witty and informative.

Stop it, Rdear...you're giving the rest of us a hard time...

And fie on those who would even think of subdoing the might 75'ers. Fie, I say.

I admit this wasn't my favorite Sobel, but I did really enjoy the little play in the middle! A bit risky for the kind of audience that devours this stuff, but it worked for me; broke up what would otherwise have been a lot of ultra-dense talk about physics 'n stuff.

A couple of Sobel's books came up as Kindle deals recently; I think I flagged them on LT. A good reason for folks to monitor that stuff...

I find myself kinda hoping that RD isn't taking too many notes about his houseguests... Or only doing so selectively.

>260 Chatterbox: *scribble scribble scribble*

The play was a risk, but I am a big fan of Sobel's brisk pace in the book. No dawdling, no rushing, just this happened, then this happened, and this too.

Dog-sick today, lung hurts, coughing, so I was in bed all day sleeping. Still really uncomfortable, so only here briefly.

wading through 45 unread posts only to discover your clucking about Dava Sobel one of my unfavoritest authors. She's right up there with Margaret Atwood.

As we say....different strokes for different folks...

off to read.. ta ta..

*smooch*

((Hugs)) and xx smooches xx, RD, my love. Congrats on the 1000 posts!

good friends do that, hold off on reading to spend time with them. Im about to sneak off to bed to avoid my partners friend coming over......he's his friend not mine so I get to go to bed and read read read
*evil laughter*

Hi Richard.

I'm sorry you aren't feeling well. Like others, I eagerly await your review of Stephen King's latest. I stopped reading him after I thought some of his books were filled with ramble, ramble, ramble simply to fill the pages.

It is great to know he has returned to page turners that are difficult to put down.

All the best to you for a pain-free day and one wherein your beloved dog is better as well.

I think that Bob has hit the wall with 11/22/63

I don't think he has picked it up in days.
sigh.

feel better you two

Sorry you're under the weather, RichardDear!

Hugs and smooches from your own Horrible

I'm lurking through and just want to say I hope you feel better very soon. Feeling poorly is such a waste of good reading time.

Hah! Karen's right. Hope you start feeling better, Richard.

Miz. Urr. Ubble.

Death, where is thy sting? I hate coughing.

I'm so sorry you're sick. Rest as much as you can.

So sorry you aren't feeling well. *smooches* and {{{hugs}}}

*pat, pat, fluffs pillow, sends Ms Stella in for some comforting canine therapy*

Just a drive-by hello, Richard!

Despite being unwell your thread still has the most posts today ......... very impressive circle

Hope to hear that you are better today?

Get well soon RD your 35 per day posting average needs you fighting fit...well fighting anyway.

Good heavens, 35 per day?! I *am* a chatty soul, amn't I?

I appear to be a Cylon, and the Resurrection Ship worked. Still coughing, but not agonizingly, have enough energy to make cream of wheat for myself, and drank almost all of a pitcher of room-temp Gatorade.

I'm sleeping whenever my eyes droop, since I've learned that sleep is the one and only cure for any illness. Bed rest doesn't hurt, but mostly as a means of making sure you fall asleep safely prone.

YouTube and Roku are keeping me entertained. I can't hold 11/22/63, and my other books fail to fascinate.

I dislike extremely being bed-bound, as it's boring as bat leavings, but I do NOT want to end up in the hospital, and that was most certainly where I was headed had I not allowed the sleep cure to do its magic for two uninterrupted days.

Guano is not boring, Richard. But I'm glad you're a resurrected Cylon and feeling better.

Good to see you are feeling a little better. Get well soon!

Joe, I do NOT want to know why you think guano isn't boring. Not now, not ever.

Hiya Nathalie! I am so so so much better than I was yesterday that I feel only slightly subhuman today! Compared to yesterday's wretched, death-is-imminent misery, that's fantabulous.

We just got our Roku box and are starting to explore it