LizzieD: 2013*8 (August: National Romance Awareness Month)

When is romance not in the air???? Please tell us what you're reading that is romantic. What you have read. Or even what you have lived!



Song

Goe lovely Rose,
Tell her that wastes her time and me,
That now she knowes,
When I resemble her to thee,
How sweet and fair she seems to be.

Tell her that's young,
And shuns to have her graces spied,
That hadst thou sprung
In deserts where no men abide,
Thou must have uncommended died.

Small is the worth
Of beauty from the light retir'd:
Bid her come forth,
Suffer her selfe to be desir'd,
And not blush so to be admir'd.

Then die, that she
The common fate of all things rare
may read in thee,
How small a part of time they share,
That are so wondrous sweet and faire.

~ Edmund Waller (1606-1687)

MOST SIGNIFICANT FROM THE FIRST HALF OF 2013

The Sisters Brothers
Above All Things
Precursor
Defender
Hotel World
The Brontes: Wild Genius on the Moors
The Philosopher's Pupil
Explorer
Dr Thorne
Cleopatra: A Life
The Shutter of Snow
Life After Life
Master of the Senate
We Are At War
Life and Fate
When We Were Bad
Eleanor Roosevelt, Volume 1: 1884-1933
A Particular Place

READ IN AUGUST

The Shanghai Moon
Nine Coaches Waiting (reread)
The Solid Mandala
Embassytown
There's Something About a Convent Girl
Good Daughters
*Lincoln Dreamt He Died
The Soldier's Art (reread)
The Curate's Wife

NEW to my house in August

1. Sword of Honour - AMP
2. Undaunted Courage - Kindle Daily Deal
3. Thomas Hardy - AMP
4. Surface Detail - Kindle Daily Deal
5. The Cloister Walk ✔ - PBS
6. The Passage of Power - Amazon
7. The Golden Scales - Kindle
8. Joanna Godden - AMP
9. Lincoln Dreamt He Died ✔ - ER ARC (May!)
10. The Oracle - AMP
11. Aimless Love ✔ - ER ARC
12. The Courtiers - Kindle Daily Deal
13. Manhunt ✔ - AMP
14. Matter - AMP
15. The Daughters of Mars ✔ - Kindle
16. The Dirty Streets of Heaven - Kindle
17. Shakespeare's Lives ✔ - AMP
18. The Roman Triumph - AMP
19. Murder as a Fine Art - Kindle Daily Deal

Currently Really Reading:

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Hi Lizzie -- love the rose at the top.

I'm fast, but not fast enough! I'm looking forward to this thread!

Great rose at the top, waiting for the rest of the furnishings to appear...

National Romance Awareness? If you say so, Peggy! Happy new thread.

Btw, I liked the sound of Shanghai Moon from your last thread; glad you enjoyed.

Oh Peggy, please excuse me from jumping in at the start of your August thread when I have not yet read July or probably even June I think... I was just glad to see a short thread to hop onto!

Nothing romantic to speak of in my current reading, and certainly not in current life. I guess the latest thing I read with a romantic element was Daphne du Maurier's Frenchman's Creek, in which the bored heroine encounters a dashing, elegant, French philosopher pirate...

Welcome! Welcome!! Reba, Lucy, Roni, Nancy, and Genny!!!
I thought that rose was pretty romantic-looking too, and as you see, I'll need to come here for my romance for the time being - not getting any from my current books anyway.
Nancy, it is. The first Rozan mystery is China Trade. It's a good, solid series.
Genny, I'm happy to see you here or there or anywhere, and I know so well the appeal of threads with only a few unread messages.
Got to love du Maurier!

National Romance Awareness Month? Hmmm. The first thing that springs to mind is the lovely "My Romance" by Rodgers and Hart sung beautifully by Ella Fitzgerald, James Taylor, and others.

OOooo Anne! I hadn't even thought of music yet. I'll have to crack out my Sarah Vaughan for Lovers! "Body and Soul"!!!!!

My Heyers would be the overt romance, but it crops up in a lot of fantasy and science fiction as well.

National Romance Awareness Month eh? I'm not sure I'll be reading anything that qualifies, but my 30th wedding anniversary is this month!!

I'll fall in line behind Laura; don't think I'll be reading anything that qualifies (God, I hope not) but my 42nd wedding anniversary is this month:)

Is it wrong that my first impulse upon hearing of "Romance Awareness Month" is to plan to read a lot of murder mysteries?? :)

#16 -- is it wrong of me to say that I agree with you??

But then, I'm a born again curmudgeon, and deeply wary of romance. It's probably old age making me crabby (crabbier??)

Happy new thread.

I'm not planning on reading much in the way of romance this month. I am not adverse to it, but the type I read tends to be for when I need a nice "safe" cosy snuggle with something that wont surprise me.

But if there's a training course as part of Romance Awareness month, can I please sign up my husband? Has the romantic instincts of a brick in a sock. But I did know that long before I married him, so I can't complain too much.

Hi Peggy - Lots of anniversaries this month -- I haven't read any Rozen books. I'll add China Trade to my list. Just what I need, another series.

Beth, you certainly need this series since you are such a mystery maven.
Helen, I wish that I could say that I could put my DH up here to give romance lessons. Alas. Not so much. On the other hand, apparently, I'm easy.
Suz and Liz and Bonnie and Laura, I'm not advocating Harlequins and bodice rippers here, but surely you're not averse to a few hearts and flowers in what you read. I know you're not!
Roni, Heyer is great! I have been drawn to Mary Stewart by Tui and found a couple on my mama's shelves. Or it might be time for another S. Kearsley. Or I might download today's Kindle Daily Deal, The Sisterhood. If it doesn't have a bit of the R word, I'll be surprised.

Ah, Romance. The Fine Madness.

Music: Etta James: At Last
Simon and Garfunkel: Bridge Over Troubled Water

Books: ummm...Oddly enough, my two favorite sort-of romances today would be Old Filth and The Man in the Wooden Hat. Not romances in the ordinary sense, but romances just the same. And I'm on board with Liz and Susanne: Reading mysteries sounds like the perfect response to the original question.
I did read Jane Eyre last month; does that count?

Movies: Casablanca
Key Largo
When Harry Met Sally

Real Life: Last night, when we happened on an Aaron Neville concert on tv: Dh, in the midst of dementia, last-stage CHF, and 3rd Stage CKD, said, "Let's just dance to this one song." We did. We both teared up as we discussed how we never thought we'd dance again. He assured me we would do it again, even if one slow dance leaves him so winded he retracts as he breathes. Now that's romance!

Mary Stewart is a lot of fun, especially her older books like Nine Coaches Waiting and Wildfire at Midnight.

I accidentally started August off with a bit of romance in Paul Leicester Ford's very vintage Wanted—A Chaperon, in which a young country beauty visiting relatives in New York City gets lost in a snowstorm just in time to interrupt the dinner of a bachelor chemist laid up with a bad ankle. Naturally, sparks fly.

21> Aww Gail. How bittersweet.
Reminds me of my parents dancing at my brother's wedding. Dad was on oxygen at the time. But he danced a smooch with Mum & I got awfully emotional. We then had to get him sat down & plugged back in pdq, but it's the emotion that counts.

My preferred sort of Romance literature is the medieval type, which includes Gawain and the Green Knight, the stories of Chrétien de Troyes, Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur and is also sometimes used to categorise Shakespeare's late plays like The Tempest.

Hmmm... romance. I need to think about this a bit, Peggy. I think of myself as avoiding romantic novels but I know that, deep down, I really appreciate a good romance (as long as it's not too unrealistic).

Didn't get a chance to post about the car accident before you had scuttled over here. Oh a good old solid Crown Vic, thank goodness! I'm so glad you are ok, Peggy.

Romance. Hmmm. Must give this some thought. Genny, Sir Gawain is one of my favourite long poems (esp. the Tolkien translation) and The Tempest is one of my favourite's of the Bard's oeuvre. Haven't read de Troyes or Le Morte d'Arthur in yonks but I did like them a lot back in the day.

As usual, I didn't give this very much thought, believing that the whole world views the word "romantic" as I do. How super that it's not so!
Tui, you have totally talked me into Nine Coaches Waiting with a little help from Jennifer. Thanks to you both! I had no idea that she wrote so well; I took it for granted back in the 60s when I was reading her. Romance! I believe. Anyway, Tui, when you've thought, I'll be glad to listen.
Genny, you are such a scholar! Medieval lit + The Tempest surely holds the essence of the type!
Ellen, I think that you'd agree that romance is best when it's not the be-all, end-all of the reading experience.
Gail, my eyes pricked with tears too. How gallant of your DH! Mine danced with me once at a class reunion, and I consider that one of the high points of the past 20 years. That is romance. And Jane Eyre totally qualifies in my book.
Helen, you bet the emotion counts!
What a couple of days.
Our Chibby died last night and we buried her today with many tears and loving remembrances.

So sorry, Peggy, to hear of your loss even though you knew it was coming. We miss our fur people so much when they pass on, don't we?

{{{{Peggy}}}}

Oh Peggy, I am so sorry! What wonderful gifts they bring to our lives.

Oh Peggy, how sad to lose a furry friend.

I, too, am a fan of Sir Gawain and the green knight but I first came across it in the Simon Armitage translation - which I just fell in love with. I keep thinking I should try more poetry of that type and tales form that era, but I suspect it would have to be in translation. But it's knowing what to try (and then finding it...)

Aw Peggy, I'm sorry to hear about Chibby. Pets are such special family members. I hope your memories can give comfort.

Hi Peggy - Sorry about Chibby. I'm enjoying all the different views of romance here...

Peggy, I am so sorry for the loss of your Chibby. Our fur folk fill out our lives so much and their passing leaves our hearts bruised yet strangely full for their having been there.

Oh, Peggy, I'm sorry too. Love and hugs (( )).

Very sorry about Chibby. I hope you are ok today.

So sorry about your fur person... Tigger, Molly and Cassie send consoling purrs.

Oh Peggy, I am so sorry to hear of the loss of you dear Chibby. God how we love our pets.

Thank you, friends. Bonnie, Suz, Genny, Nancy, Tui, Beth, Laura, Helen, Anne, and Roni, you are very good to stop and comfort. She was the best cat I've ever had, and I've had some wonderful ones. Of course, we're telling each other stories..... DH remembers seeing her in the cage after her spay, sitting lumped and dead-eyed until she saw him, and then her face lighting up. I think of 14 years of winters when her landing on the foot of the bed and coming up to lie down in the crook of my knees with purrs was the signal that it was time to go to sleep. A soft paw in the face was the morning wake-up call. man. What a sweetheart.

You know you have my deepest sympathies, Peggy.

Nine Coaches Waiting was my long time favorite favorite favorite Stewart. Perfect medicine. I prescribes it.

Aww, such sweet memories. I dearly miss having a kitty. When my beloved cat dies at home, I was reading The Fur Person by May Sarton for some reason -- one of those times when a book called my name. I didn't think I'd want to continue, but it was like a salve for my grieving heart. Our fur people are so precious.

I'm very sorry about your loss, Peggy.Keep treasuring those memories.
((((Peggy)))).

Thank you, Dr. Lucy and Gail and Anne. You all are mighty kind.

Yes, indeed... When I go to bed and turn out the light, that is Cassie's signal to hop onto the bed and find a comfortable place to sleep -- usually involving using some portion of me as a mattress or pillow. Whenever I shift my position (which I do FAR more than she does) it's the cue for some irritable chatter from Ms. C. Although I usually get up far earlier than she does, sometimes even having to climb over her!

Peggy, I join others in offering sympathy for Chibby's passing. The furkidz definitely reach in and tie strings of lights around our hearts, so I know you're terribly sad. Take good care.

Peggy, sorry to hear about your car accident on your last thread and to hear the sad news about Chibby :-( She does indeed sound like a sweetheart.

#21 "Oddly enough, my two favorite sort-of romances today would be Old Filth and The Man in the Wooden Hat. Not romances in the ordinary sense, but romances just the same." Gail, I agree.

Romancey reads for me recently would be The Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls - both have low key, unusual romances with older protagonists which I enjoyed.

Ah yes, the Mamaquake. Chibby knew it well. With us and May and the three porch cats, it's still an empty house. I realize that I walked in and always checked the Chibby places. In her early years she would come running out to speak. Thank you for the sympathy, Ellen and Heather.
I agree about the romancey books, Heather, and I didn't say, but I don't think finding Old Filth a romance is odd at all nor the Bujolds nor almost anything I read. It seems to be a big part of our culture, so it's no wonder it seeps into our fiction even if it's not the point of a particular novel.

Here's Chibs sitting beside her favorite day snoozing basket. Also note the Andy Capp that DH carved for me 40 years ago... Oh well, it's not a very good picture after all...

Sad but so sweet.

So sorry about Chibby. I know you'll miss her. Maybe in kitty heaven she has a window and a basket...

Romance... I am listening to Venetia read by Richard Armitage. While not in love with the man himself, I have a rather bad crush on his voice and his portrayal of John Thornton in North and South

Very sorry about your cat. It sounds like she was an excellent companion.

>48 nittnut:, Ooh, Venetia and Richard Armitage, that sounds amazing. He'd make a perfect Damerel, if only Heyer's estate would go against her wishes and allow film adaptations again.

Hi, Gail. Thanks, Jenn and Jennifer. I confess that I don't really know Richard Armitage. When I say I don't see movies, I really mean it. Glad he's perfect!
I should say something about my current main book, The Solid Mandala. It's not my favorite Patrick White, but it does have its moments. One of the things I like so much about him is his individual voice. This description of the only young woman in the book attempting the Moonlight Sonata is a prime example....
"....But it was going to be a heroic struggle. Not in the beginning, not in the Adagio what's-it. There she could lay the atmosphere on, and did, in almost visible slabs. Dulcie's ever so slightly hairy arms were leaning on the solid air, first one side, then the other. Building up her defences against inevitable suicide somewhere along that road which was never moonlit enough....
....Mrs. Feinstein....was responsible for nothing. She was beating time, chasing the tail end of a tune, out of her furry sleeve."
There's more, and then this aside, "At that moment Waldo Brown realized Mrs Feinstein's nose reminded him of the uncircumcised penis of an Anglican bishop he had noticed in a public lavatory. The connexion was too obvious, too obscene to resist, and he was forced to bring out his handkerchief to sneeze."
It's not so much Mrs. Feinstein's nose as that inevitable suicide along the never moonlit enough road that gets me and the mother beating time, chasing the tail end of a tune. I love that.
The other thing I'm getting to every day is Embassytown, and it's going to be one of my favorite Miévilles.
And I'm making progress now and again with *9 Coaches*, so when I have time to read, it's good.

Catching up. So, so sorry about Chibby. Such a loss.

Thank you, Becky.

Oh you are reading all winners, perfect, Dr. Lucy is pleased.

White has such a unique way with words, although his prose tends to be dense and requires concentration. I read several of his novels last year as part of the Patrick White centennial, and The Solid Mandala turned out to be my favorite. Coincidently, I watched the movie of The Eye of the Storm this week, which was the first Patrick White book I read, right about the time he won the Nobel. The movie was very good.

Thanks, Dr. L.
Deb, I didn't know that *Eye* had been adapted as a movie. I'll keep an eye out for it. (I notice that The Constant Nymph, which I read last year or some year, is on TCM at 2:00 this morning. I'll certainly skip it.) My favorite Whites so far are The Vivisector and Voss. Riders in the Chariot and The Eye of the Storm are in my second rank, and I think that *Mandala* will join them there. On the other hand, I haven't arrived at Arthur's narrative yet. I guess those are the only ones that I've read, but I'm impressed that he doesn't have a third rank so far. He's certainly not light reading!

Just a wave from NY. Here overnight then back to Providence tomorrow!

Drive-by wave here, too, Peggy. Just getting started with my day.

Please add my outreach to those above. Losing a pet is never easy. I know from personal experience.

My LT name of Whisper1 is in honor of my beloved Bishon Whisper who passed away many years ago. She lived to be 17 years old and gave so much love and so many wonderful memories. Sad to say, I still mourn her.

Hi Peggy--As I read your message, I remembered that my favorite was Riders in the Chariot not The Solid Mandala. Duh! The things age is doing to my mind! As to White overall, I think he is one of the 20th century's writers who will still be read in the 22nd century (assuming the human race is still extant).

The Eye of the Storm movie is older (don't know what year) and we saw it on On Demand, on Starz I think. It's probably available on Netflix or some such thing.

((((((Peggy)))))))

It's been a bit since my last visit and I'm so saddened to see you've lost Chibby. My heart goes out to you with love and I'm sending you my prayers right now....

I'll wave back to Suz and Nancy gladly!
Linda and Tina, you are both dears. Thank you. Linda, my cousin and her husband are Bishon lovers who, having mourned their brother and sister pair, are now happily loving brothers Morgan and Mitchell. They are beautiful little dogs! I'm glad to know where "Whisper" came from; I don't see myself changing my name to "Chibby" though. (Aunt Agatha in *Poldark Saga* referred to the baby as "the chibby." It was a perfect name for the little mite when she came to us.)
Deb, since I wrote my favorites, I have been thinking, and I believe that I'd switch Voss for Riders in the Chariot. I agree that if people are still able to read in the 22nd century, they will be reading P. White. Unfortunately, I didn't get to read him again today. August is beginning to look more and more like a write-off for whittling down Mt. Bookpile.

>46 LizzieD: Sweet photo.

I know not Patrick White but he sounds like he has some enthusiastic followers!

Like many of those Nobel types, White's prose and subject matter takes commitmet - and the rewards are many. You don't forget what you've read.

63--Unless you're old enough (like me) to forget the title of the one you like best. :)

*giggles at Deborah* Affirmations to Lucy. Ellen, when life has settled down and you are up for a literary adventure, you should try one of the big Patrick Whites!
NO reading for me yesterday. Likely to be NO reading for me today either. Bridge tomorrow afternoon instead of today, so NO reading for me tomorrow. I can't think farther in the future than that.

I never met your cat, but I miss your cat.

Hope you enjoy Shelby Foote's romance with the Civil War - it's good but can't be always taken as gospel. It's a good look at the Southern take (and the Southern memory) of the war.

If you're doing Dr. Samuel Mudd for your Study group you might have a look at Manhunt by James Swanson, a recent book that sheds light on the 14 days between Lincoln's death and Booth's death.

Easy to forget that Booth's original plan was to kidnap Lincoln, not kill him. And Mudd almost certainly knew about the kidnap scheme, though probably not the assasination plot.

Sending hugs to you Peggy.

I have some big Patrick Whites sitting here on the TBR shelves, courtesy of a friend in Australia who thought I really should read them. And I really should.

Jim, thank you for missing Chibby. I do.
You're also the first person who has suggested to me that S. Foote is not recording gospel truth in his trilogy. The Southern memory of the war is still very strong; I was brought up on family legends of that time. I'll eventually read McPherson as a check. How's that?
And many thanks for suggesting Manhunt. Since my program isn't until November, I haven't really started yet. Actually, it's supposed to be on a national park, and I will see what I can dig up about the Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson itself, but the Mudd story is far more interesting to me.
Thank you, Heather!
Tui, when you're ready, you really should!

NINE COACHES WAITING by Mary Stewart

Now this is romance! It was just exactly the comfort read I was looking for, and I'm glad I finally got to finish it. Whether I even realized it back in the early 60s when I was a teenager reading Mary Stewart, I know now that she was a very competent writer. I appreciate her effortless prose style and the touches of Jane Eyre and Cinderella that inform this slightly gothic 1958 romance.
Thank you, Tui, for reminding me that MS is out there and I have access to her. Just what the doctor ordered!

Hmm, Patrick White... Must say that I've never thought to read his books. But maybe I should? I've seen them on shelves (even ordered them in the days when I worked in a bookstore)...

But your mention of the Poldark saga made me think that I should really read that, too. I have watched (and adored) the TV series (well, it IS set in Cornwall!) and I read the last couple of books, but not the whole thing. And after all, I have so few books to read...

Suzanne, please do read one Patrick White - and choose a good one --- Riders in the Chariot for Deb or The Vivisector for me or The Eye of the Storm because it may be his most famous.
If you loved and adored the Poldark saga on TV, you will LOVE and ADORE the books I think. They are each superior of their kind. If you read only The Twisted Sword and Bella Poldark, then you really didn't get a fair picture of the whole.

I can't remember the name of the thread to post it there, but today's USA Kindle Daily Deal is Iain M. Banks's last Culture novel, Surface Detail. Quite a deal at $1.99!

So glad you loved the Stewart. I loved the whole premise that she spoke and understood French (not a spoiler) and hid it from her hosts. Believe it or not, 9 Coaches was a book that inspired me to study French with a will - I adored the idea of knowing another language and keeping it a secret! It did also teach me a lesson when abroad - never assume the folks around you don't know what you are saying.

More Peggy hugs for today... ((((Peggy))))!

Perhaps I should dig out one of my old faithful vampire romances for a little nod to "National Romance Awareness Month." I could use a few giggles and smiles... ;0)

Hi, Lucy and Tina!
I hadn't thought of Stewart as an educator, but I guess she was for you - and the best kind.
Tina, if you can use the giggles and smiles, go for them!

More like an encourager or something than an educator.

Bridge. We were all stupid today, and agreed that everybody else's stupidity made us feel normal, whatever that is.
No reading to speak of. ONE DAY I will get to read again. I did get to pick up Nancy Mitford and Evelyn Waugh. They seemed to bring out the witty and malicious in each other, so their letters are very entertaining even if all the names dropped are pretty meaningless even with the footnotes. (I mean, how helpful is, "Alexander Spearman (1901-1960). Conservative MP for Scarborough and Whitby 1941-1966. Married to Diana Doyle 1928-1951 and to Diana Ward in 1951. Knighted in 1956."?)
(I must say that learning that somebody in a foreign country is going to overhear and understand is a pretty important lesson!)

Hi Peggy, how're you doing?

I'm reading a romance right now, the new Debbie Macomber, Rose Harbor in Bloom. It's also an ER book and I'm a bit overdue but with my review.

One of the neat things about our bridge lessons is that they are planned hands, focused on what the current lesson content is, and we know that the good hands will rotate consistently. Once we get to playing regular hands, the card imps will undoubtedly work to screw up everything we are learning.

Peggy, you reminded me of how much I loved the Mary Stewart novels when I was much younger. I had forgotten all about them but I think I'm going to have to reread one or two. I can always use a good comfort read. Thanks!

Hi, Linda! Happy Debbie Macomber! I'm glad to hear from you!!
Roni, I could do with some bridge lessons, but I don't care enough about it to take them. Somewhere I have 5 Weeks to Winning Bridge, but I never cared enough to get beyond week 3. It's always different though.
Jan, I was reminded by Tui, so I'm happy to pass the reminder along. Soon I will read Madame Will You Talk?, and I think that will do it for me for a bit.
Meanwhile ----

THE SOLID MANDALA by Patrick White
I think that Patrick White is one of those writers about whom nobody is neutral. I'm in the worshipful camp. This one will not go down as a favorite, but you should look at baswood's review on the book page if you're intrigued by PW.
The story line is simple - twin brothers, a normal chap and a rather simple man, grow up, live through their parents' deaths, and into old age in a Sydney suburb. They both love or at any rate focus on the same woman. Waldo is normally intelligent and, as he seeks to maintain his respectability, resents his brother. Arthur sees Waldo's defect and loves his brother and is open to everybody else that he meets. Arthur carries four marbles, which he considers mandalas, and which he gives or attempts to give to the people he most loves.
Readers can expect amazing (and not the easiest) prose, rampant symbolism, and a surreal worldview. It's not my favorite White, but it is a fine novel.

I think I may make Voss my first Patrick White. One of these days...

The Solid Mandala does sound like a fine novel, Peggy. Glad you enjoyed.

#69 Hooray for comfort reading. I'd like to try some more Mary Stewart at some point so have added Nine Coaches Waiting to my list.

Just getting caught up here. I have nothing to add about romance books. I find very few recent books do romantic scenes well. Sex sells better than romance these days. I do love the stories upthread about dances with husbands. I find it romantic when my husband washes my car. Lol.

Peggy, I'm very sorry to hear about your sweet Chibby passing on. The pain of losing an animal is especially hard because many people don't understand how significant it is and how deeply it can hurt. I'm glad that you are getting some comfort from our little group who all seem to be animal lovers. {{Hugs}}

Well, Suzanne, Voss was my first P.W., and I was moved to keep on. I wouldn't want him as a steady diet, but he is awfully good.
Heather, by all means add the *Nine Coaches*! You'll zip right through it and be happy the whole time. That's what I predict.
Good to see you, Donna, and thank you for your sympathy. I miss her coming and going; for most of her life she came trotting out to meet me when I got home along with the dog or ahead of the dog. As to husbandly romance, I also take the many helpful things he does as signs of love - maybe not romance so much.... Did I say? DH danced with me at our 45th high school reunion, and that was romantic!

Halleluiah, I'm home! I took my mother for an overnight with her brother in Columbia, S.C. He is becoming more and more lost in the endless loops of dementia, so it was a sad visit, but we're glad that we went.
I was vastly excited to find a copy of *LBJ 4* on my return home. I have no idea when I'll read it, but I'm happy to have it here on my shelf!!!

Hi Peggy, glad you're home. Those visits are very difficult, but family is important, and the time well worth it. Even better when you can come home to a book!

Welcome back. Time for a quiet week of recuperation and resilience, friends and books.

Thanks for the welcome home, Anne and Roni. It's great to be back here too!
Still reading and liking Embassytown!

>87 LizzieD:: Aha, you too are a charter member of the Good Daughter club. Sad but good for your mother to see him in real life again. I did an entire morning of blood tests and doctor's appointments with my oldster yesterday. Reread the first Harry Potter book last night because that was all tiny brain felt like handling after dealing with HRH and the medical necessities.

Welcome home, Peggy! I'm sorry to hear about your uncle, but I do understand how you and your mom are glad you went to Columbia nonetheless.

Welcome back Peggy. Sorry to hear the visit was sad but I can understand being glad you went. And LBJ4 as a reward :-)

I have Embassytown but I'm finding the thought of Mieville daunting at the moment.

Large sympathy to other people dealing with parents. It's difficult sometimes to deal with them and the aging thing. I'll pass out the halos to the deserving.

We had his parents, his sister, her husband & their 4 children staying all weekend for his parents' golden wedding do. The parents are getting on a bit and are such hard work. The worst of it is that he finds them hard work too, gets up tight and so I end up having to cope with them AND him.
After they left on Sunday we both flumped on the sofa thinking how nice it was that they'd all gone and we had the house back again. 10 people in a house that usually only has 2 just felt so full!

I'm kind of with you Heather - I almost picked up Embassytown but then went for a j fantasy (from a pile my daughter has evicted from her shelves)...... it's August, what can I say?

Lucy and Heather, when you're ready for it, I think you'll both be thrilled with Embassytown. It's CM's working on language, and the plot is as mesmerizing as ever. I really, really like it! I wish I were reading it faster, but that's me and not CM.
Helen, bless you! I can't begin to imagine hosting 8 people (in-laws at that!) for a weekend. Kudos to you! Somehow I didn't realize that old age can be heartbreaking - and I had grandmothers who lived to good old ages ---- one was 101 when she had a stroke, after which she lived another year.
Thank you, Nancy. Thank you, Tui, and an exchange of the Good Daughter handshake with you. My mother is phenomenally good - mentally bright (better than I am) and physically strong, her mother's daughter, and the best woman in the world, really.

EMBASSYTOWN by China Mieville

I absolutely loved this book. I'm fascinated by the theories of language acquisition floated here, and since I have no knowledge of real life theory, I was perfectly happy. Therefore, this one is now my 2nd favorite Miéville, close behind Perdido Street Station.
It begins with humans living on the planet at the edge of the immer, home of the Ariekei, a race capable of biorigging that humans haven't mastered. Avice is a child in the city, whose sense of adventure and intelligence bring her to the attention of people connected with the embassy. She is paid quite a lot to become a living simile for the Ariekei, and she becomes "the girl who was hurt in the dark and who ate what was given to her."
As a young woman, she is able to become an immerser, who guides space flight, but eventually she returns home in time for the planet's apocalypse.
I am not given to long reviews, so that's all I want to say except
I loved it
It loved me

Oh, I gave one of my lads that one for Christmas. Must snag it from him for a read!

Hi Peggy, I have a picture of my Mom, her sister and an uncle who had been married to another one of her sisters (deceased). I took her to see the other two although none of them knew if it was raining or Tuesday. But somehow they carried on a disjointed conversation and seemed to like being together. I think as hard as these things are to do, they really are worth it and I applaud you for being able to carry it off.

I have Voss on my shelf so I guess I'll start there with Patrick White. Of course, I said that last year too haha.

Bonnie, I've listened to some of those conversations before, and while they're pretty grim, I'm finding this situation with Mama so alert and hurting and Uncle sometimes realizing things aren't right and hurting, really hard. I know it's worth doing and doing again. I am more than eager for his son to get him into an extended care facility, but that may mean giving up his relationship with his dad while his dad still has some awareness. Very sad.
Do, Bonnie, get to Voss sometime. (You sound like me with Matterhorn and The Cairo Trilogy. *sigh*)
Tui, I guess Embassytown is not perfect and does go on and on about theory longer than it might. Didn't matter to me. Did I mention that I loved it?

Peggy, nothing I love more than a book that loves me! Delighted you enjoyed Embassytown so much. But then how could you not? It loved you!! Here's hoping that your next one is equally as enjoyable.

Okay, skimming through, looking for a book to order from Amazon (I need one more to get free shipping). The Vivisector? Is that what you're saying?

Hello! That's all I have time for today...

Genny, I'm always glad for your hello!
Ellen, The Vivisector is my favorite White so far. It isn't an easy book by any means, but it's well worth spending money, time, and attention!
Nancy, I was trying to express a truth in Language! *E'town* did fit right into my consciousness though.

THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT A CONVENT GIRL edited by Jackie Bennett and Rosemary Forgan

This is a collection of recollections by former convent girls from Maeve Binchey to a current (at least, current in '91) Cambridge student with a couple of chapters of history. Most of the writers attended their schools before Vatican II, and their experiences are remarkably similar whether in England, Ireland, or Autralia and New Zealand. Nevertheless, I enjoyed picking this little book up for a chapter and then putting it down again. I think my favorite remark was from a woman who said that she grew up with a Protestant sense of guilt and a Roman Catholic work ethic (so she was perfectly happy to sit around doing nothing much). That doesn't bear more than a surface giggle, but since it describes my life right now, I was happy to know what I have going on.

It was good enough to give me a surface giggle as well, Peggy. Now if I could just get my husband to relax and adopt that attitude...

Hi Peggy! With daughter at UNCW, I might actually be able to make time to catch up with your threads.

If I ever finish up fooling around here at LT I plan to start Embassytown TONIGHT!

I loved it
It loved me

Wow, I don't think there could be any greater recommendation!

I loved The Cairo Trilogy, by the way. My book club read the first book years ago, and many of us were so absorbed in the story and the characters that we read the other books as well.

Anne, I hope that will happen to me with the Cairo trilogy when I finally give it a chance!
Yay, Lucy! I can't wait for somebody else to try *E'town*!
Karen, don't just catch up; come by!
Glad you enjoyed that quote, Roni. I could probably tell those RCs about the throes of Protestant Guilt!
I'm having a hard time settling into other books. I know it takes a bit.

Very belated {{hugs}} re. Chibby, I am so sorry!!

I still haven't read any Mieville, although there are so many great reviews. Which one would be a good start?

Are you planning to read The Cairo Trilogy? I've had that tome on my shelf for over a year now, I had planned to read it with the GR, but then I couldn't participate and since then I couldn't get myself to starting it, don't know why.

Thank you, Nathalie. She was a charmer.
My favorite Miéville remains Perdido Street Station although it's been nearly 10 years since I read it, so I may have begun to forget what I didn't like.
I do mean to read The Cairo Trilogy, but it will have to be at least September before I consider it again. I've tried a little bit twice now and was not sucked in either time. When you have it in you to give it a try, let me know, and I'll do the same. Theoretically, I'd love to read it with you - the theory being for the reading not the "with you" part.

I'm also hoping to read The Cairo Trilogy, but haven't even gotten as far as you have yet, Peggy.

Maybe all of us can get to it this year, Nancy. Good luck to us!

Our State magazine has a page celebrating the 50th anniversary of Andy Griffith's first appearance in the national spotlight. If you've never heard it, or if you need to refresh your memory, here's What It Was, Was Football. Enjoy!

Peggy, I've added The Vivisector to my fluid amazon.com shopping cart. It looks worthwhile.
Happy Sunday to you!

Hi Peggy - I love Our State Magazine. I've lived in NC for 22 years now and love it too. Thanks for sharing "What it Was, Was Football" - amazingly I've heard of it forever but never actually listened to it until just now.

Haven't read Perdido Street Station yet, but, like so many hundreds of books, it's on my shelves just waiting to be read. Sigh.

Romance is in need of a month?

Chibby :-(

Weeks have gone by since I seriously checked into the 75er threads, and I missed your car accident. Phew! Scary.

China Mieville... have but haven't gotten to.

I have read perdido Street Station - one of those books I picked to broaden my mind, and it broadened my vocabulary. A little too expletive laden for me, but most intriguing as a story. Never been quite brave enough to try anything else by him, for fear of being too prudish a reader.

Neither of the two I've read/am reading have any expletives at all, so no worries Helen.

Have yet to read any Mieville, but a RL friend is a fan, so never say never...

I love visitors! Glad you stopped in, Ellen, Karen, Katherine, Helen, Lucy, and Suzanne!
I hope that you will find *Vivisector* and *PSS* at least acceptable when you get to them. Helen, I found that Miéville broadened other areas of my vocabulary too. I honestly let the expletives wash on by without much attention - after all, I just made it through The Wasp Factory.
This afternoon I got to read more Nancy and Evelyn than usual, but a little serves. I'm still unsure about plowing or not plowing through Lincoln Dreamt He Died, one of 3 ER ARCs that I now have sitting unreviewed; it came Thursday and my Billy Collins came Friday. The premise is interesting: that we can study the recorded dreams of our ancestors to learn about their times and minds. His writing is deliberately abstruse. I understand all the words in a sentence, and I'm still scratching my head. For example, the last sentence in this little paragraph (and I think I understand the paragraph itself) is typical.
"Yet Rush believed the Old Testament dreams to be divine and declared it was so to his students. 'Let it not be supposed that I deny the existence of revelations in dreams in the ages of the prophets and apostles,' he said. 'But I believe they all ceased with the lives of the apostles.' To admit even one contemporary dream to be prophetic was to admit all, he said; and 'in so doing, we reject the Bible.' That is how strong his faith was and how strong his need to corporealize dreams was, even when they produced moral effects."
Maybe I should send this one on to someone better able to follow it.

Peggy, I thought The Cairo Trilogy was a bit hard to get into, but once I started and stuck with it, I was glad I did. I'm having that same experience with A Dance to the Music of Time. It's a good thing I have the accountability of the group read to keep me going. I do like the current books on WWII but got tired of the London social scene of the earlier books.

It sounds like the book about ancestor's dreams is written by a college professor trying to impress his department head or the Board of Directors. I don't have much patience with writing like that. Good luck!

Thanks, Donna. He is a prof at LSU and his credentials sound good enough for him not to have to prove himself to anybody.
I hadn't exactly forgotten *Dance*, but I haven't started book 8 either. Got to get cracking.

WLed Perdido Street Station and ordered the Kindle sample. But The Cairo Trilogy must come first, the first book at least, before the temperatures go down. And before my eyes get worse. My edition is the fat omnibus version, hardback, with thin pages and small greyish print.
You just reminded me I need to set up the next *Dance* thread soon.

That's the edition of *Cairo* that I have too, Nathalie. I like the sound of "the first book at least."

Hey, Peggy. Lots of good book talk here. I too have the first book of The Cairo trilogy and the first in the seemingly endless Powell series waiting patiently, one on the shelf and one on the kindle. I kknow I'll get to them eventually, but my concentration level isn't what I'd like it to be, so I'm reading more slowly and with less satisfaction than usual.

A title that intrigues me is The City in the City. Have you read it?

Gail, I'm delighted that you have plenty to read for whatever your concentration level may be at any given time. I do know how sadness and stress wear it away.
I am a great reader of China Miéville although I haven't read all of his work. I have read The City & the City and very much enjoyed it. It's not exactly light reading though, so don't be fooled by the science fiction or new weird cross genre or whatever label you may have seen attached to it. That's not to say that it's difficult, but it does take some attention and some thought. I say, "Go for it!"

GOOD DAUGHTERS by Mary Hocking goes immediately on my ♥Love♥ list. It's a quiet, effective coming-of-age story set in middle class England between the world wars. Alice is the middle daughter of a loving family. She is the dependable one, sandwiched between prettier, more vibrant sisters. She is so dearly loved that she doesn't see herself in this way. Her father is solidly middle class, a head master and sometime Methodist preacher. Her mother is the more insightful daughter of a Cornish woman with occasional bouts of second sight.
Alice learns about betrayal, desperation, and love by watching the families of her friends. Hocking's humor is a little akin to Barbara Pym, but her writing has all the sensibility of the 1980s. And the writing itself is lovely.
I'll be interested to see how long it takes before I pick up the second book of the trilogy of which this is the first.

oooh, one to watch for, Peggy. Thanks!

Hocking does indeed sound like a winner. Especially as I am a middle daughter - of whom my older sister said, "You don't have to be pretty, you have personality." Sigh.

Peggy, Good Daughters sounds like one I would very much enjoy : ).

Tui, Lucy, and Nancy, do give her a try. I have no idea why she's neglected. Bless Virago!!!
Off to bed with The Military Philosophers!

ETA: Not *MP*; I didn't look. The next book is The Soldier's Art.

To respond to your initial question...I find it incredibly romantic when my lovely other does thoughtful things for me. At the moment that means things like offering me a cup of tea, or bringing me an extra pillow on the off chance I will need it. I love that.

I dont read "romance" per se, but there is usually love in novels I read, or a strong absence of it which also speaks of love, in a sense.

130 - ouch! Talk about damming with faint praise, I bet that did wonders for your confidence. Families are wonderful things, but you don't (unfortunately) get to choose them.

How was your night with all those military philosophers? ;-)

Have a wonderful weekend, Peggy!

The philosophers turned into soldiers, Diana, but we made a connection for about 10 minutes: par for my course.
Helen, I do so agree. I had no idea how much I missed by being an only child. Lucy remembers the comment; I'd still be living it.
Megan, I salute your thoughtful husband! I don't read "romance" either as a general rule, but I'm always happy to let my heart go pitty-pat when it turns up in what I do read. And I'm not reading anything right now that could remotely be described as romantic except maybe The Curate's Wife, and I haven't hit on any there yet.

She also told me that I'd have been put out on a hill to die if I'd been born among the Vikings!

For the other side of the coin: When my father was on sabbatical in Italy we lived in this building in Rome that had the hugest cockroaches YOU HAVE EVER SEEN and we shared a room, and when I had to get up in the night (every night) she would patiently and kindly, no complaining, get out of bed and turn on the light for me.

And here's the thing - we've always gotten along extremely well! We both play music together and have since forever and we go to music things and so on. Perfect roomates etc. We avoid politics as I am way more liberally minded than she is (although she misses fiscal Republicans who were socially and ecologically progressive).

And I am a little funny-looking, truth be told! I tend to look great or terrible depending on my mood - she was kind of ice queen pretty when young, incredibly together and I was always a total mess. Hair clothes etc.

Hi Peggy! I'm planning to treat myself with some LT catching up as a break inbetween packing. Except I haven't started packing yet today so probably shouldn't be on here yet...

I started the Cairo trilogy last year and enjoyed the first book, found it very immersive in a slow sort of way, but have never got round to the second in the trilogy.

And I am, once again, very tempted by the Mary Hocking.

Hi Peggy. Just stopping by to say hello. I'm rarely on LT anymore because life has become so crazy, but I miss the conversations. ;-)

Good Daughters sounds like a great read. Thanks for the recommendation!

Good Daughters is now on the teetering tower Peggy. Way back at the beginning of your thread I said something to the effect that I hoped I wouldn't be reading any romantic novels this month but I just read the latest Trollope which can only be called a romance. Silly me!

Just stopping by to see if anything was up!

Hi Peggy, I'm also just stopping by to see what's up at the close of another weekend.

Well, Lucy, family is family. and that's different. I am funny-looking too if that's any comfort.
Heather, I think taking a pre-work break is a normal thing to do. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here now. Thanks for the encouragement to start *Cairo* again. I'll try to read more than 30 pages this time!
Tad, we miss you here. I hope life is crazy good as opposed to other options. Thanks for stopping in.
Yay, Anne and Bonnie! I think you will both be quietly pleased with Mary Hocking!
Lucy, Nancy, nothing particularly up with me - certainly no reading news. *sigh* I'll try to make that happen at some point today.

Hey Peggy... Stopping in to catch up on all your great reading!

Yes, we do miss you Tad. Well, I think at the age I am now being a character will serve me well, since it only gets better!

Hi, Tina and Lucy. I'm not sure about great reading at this point. I just finished and reviewed my ER ARC, which I did not appreciate at all. Being a character is a good choice, I think!

LINCOLN DREAMT HE DIED: THE MIDNIGHT VISIONS OF REMARKABLE AMERICANS FROM COLONIAL TIMES TO FREUD by Andrew Burstein
Don't run right out and buy this one if you will be advised by me. I wrote my review, but it was a duty and not particularly accurate or just or thoughtful, I'm afraid. When I went back looking for difficult language, I couldn't find good examples. On the other hand, when I looked at pages I had marked, I couldn't figure out why. It should have been good; it wasn't. I FINISHED!!!!!

Yay!!!! Now you are free!!!

Enjoying your thread, Peggy, but I don't have anything to add.

Hi, Lucy! Thanks, Becky. I normally don't have anything to add either, but today I finished a reread with great enjoyment.

THE SOLDIER'S ART by Anthony Powell

I don't remember being so pleased with the war novels on my earlier trips through *Dance*, but this one turned out to be a favorite this time. We get to see Widmerpool being himself and Nick being the perfect observer because he already knows everybody or gets to know everybody. I particularly like him for recording Widmerpool's evaluation of his efficiency as an officer - just barely adequate about sums it up - without any feeling of pique or resentment or dislike.
I quoted N. Mitford writing to E. Waugh about the first of the series that it was perfection except for somewhat lacking plot. I hope that she was better satisfied with this one! (Nope. Casanova's Chinese Restaurant was the last she commented on in these letters.) (She didn't much like it.) (I did.)

Delighted you enjoyed The Soldier's Art so much, Peggy. I find it so interesting how we have different impressions of novels through time.

Hello Peggy! Always a good ramble through your threads. Have a good Thursday!

Oh dear!! Another one on the wish list (Good Daughter). It sounds great.

Always glad to see you, Karen!
Reba, I hope that you can read Good Daughters when you're in need of something - not soothing exactly - but solid and perfect in its way.
I am currently enjoying The Curate's Wife and trying to make the August TIOLI deadline. This is another lovely book by E.H. Young. I think I may be liking it more than I did its predecessor Jenny Wren, and that's saying a lot. Dahlia has married the curate because he loves her so much, because her mother is finally marrying the man who was her lover, and because her sister has moved away. She doesn't not love him, but she is not in love with him. It's another slower book showing how the new couple work their way through hurts and basic disagreement with good will. And, of course, complications abound.

I have yet to reread the last three volumes of Dance - I'll be most curious how I respond to those when I do get around to them.

If you can join the GR in Oct-Dec, please do, Lucy!

welllll being me I would have to start all over again at the beginning, cos it's been awhile......

Oh dear. You could do it, but I'm not sure that you'd want to.

THE CURATE'S WIFE by E.H. Young

What a way to finish National Romance Awareness Month! This is a very satisfying novel about a couple of marriages - one old and one new - with no romance in sight except viewed from a long distance in a courting couple. Dahlia, who is beautiful and merry, has married Cecil, who is dutiful and stolid and a curate to boot. He is passionately in love with her; she is committed to him but without romance. We are allowed into both their minds and hearts and into the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Doubleday, the vicar and his wife. The Doubledays have fallen into an existence that appears to work for them, but only because he is lazy and she is stupid. The reader pulls very hard for Dahlia and Cecil to maintain their honesty and not to settle for mere existence.
Dahlia indulges in a mild infatuation. Her sister Jenny moves in with them and adds her angst to their situation. All's well that ends well, and romantic possibilities bloom at the end.
Altogether satisfactory!

I feel as though I did read that one years ago, but it is so blurry I could read it again like new!

Peggy, lovely review review of The Curate's Wife. That sounds like one I would enjoy : ).

Lucy and Nancy (with a thank you), it's very worth the reading. It could easily stand alone, but I think that having read Jenny Wren first makes it even more captivating. *JW* was good, but this one was better.

Poetry Time!
I'm reading my ER ARC, Billy Collins's Aimless Love, and I laughed out loud at this one from Ballistics (2008). Too good not to share!

Ballistics

When I came across the high-speed photograph
of a bullet that had just pierced a book -
the pages exploding with the velocity -

I forgot all about the marvels of photography
and began to wonder which book
the photographer had selected for the shot.

Many novels sprang to mind
including those of Raymond Chandler
where an extra bullet would hardly be noticed.

Non-fiction offered too many choices -
a history of Scottish lighthouses,
a biography of Joan of Arc and so forth.

Or it could be an anthology of medieval literature
the bullet having just beheaded Sir Gawain
and scattered the band of assorted pilgrims.

But later, as I was drifting off to sleep,
I realized that the executed book
was a recent collection of poems written

by someone of whom I was not fond
and that the bullet must have passed through
his writing with little resistance

at twenty eight hundred feet per second,
through the poems about his sorry childhood
and the ones about the dreary state of the world,

and then through the author's photograph,
through the beard, the round glasses,
and that special poet's hat he loves to wear.

Heh!

Brilliant!

I really enjoyed Jenny Wren and The Curate's Wife as well, Peggy. I agree they work best as a set.

I haven't been on LT as often as I'd like to be. Yours is the first thread this morning and what a delight!

A co-worker mentioned Vivesector as his favorite book. He went on and on and on about it. It is on my tbr list.

I've added Embassytown to the tbr pile.

I hope the day is a good one for you.

Good morning Peggy!

I read one "romance" in August and strongly and happily recommend it to you - Tolstoy Lied by Rachel Kadish. Beautiful writing, interesting characters, a fun look at college life and politics, a true love story. Kadish wove a clear and satisfying tale of a strong woman of integrity.

I'm just skibbling through here to see what's new.......

As a devotee of poetry Peggy I am sure that you were saddened by the death of Seamus Heaney yesterday. I believe the mantle of the greatest living poet became available yesterday and Billy Collins is probably a dark horse candidate.

Have a lovely weekend.

Not sure I'm going to be able to find Good Daughters. Tried a couple of bookstores in Canada and then Amazon. Nothing in the former and Amazon only offers the audio version for about $75. I"ll keep looking.

Great poem. I just asked my students to read "Introduction to Poetry." If you ever get the chance to listen to his NPR interview about Emily Dickinson, I highly recommend it; he's very engaging. His poem "Taking off Emily Dickinson's Clothes" is hilarious.

Heaney was a wonder, wasn't he? One of the greats of our lifetime.

I thoroughly enjoyed his translation of Beowulf, it's the book that started me reading other Anglo-Saxon poetry (in translation - my middle English not being up to much). But I have never read any of his poetry.
poetry scares me, I'm worried I won't "get" it.

Well, Helen, Billy Collins would be a good place to start. He is immediately "get-able" but offers plenty for settling in with besides.
Lucy and Paul, I know Heaney only by reputation. More to read.
Thanks for the tip, Beth. I'll look for both the NPR interview and the poem.
Reba, AwesomeBooks has used copies of *Good Daughters* starting at $4.01. (I love them. You have to buy at least 2 books, but there's no shipping, and their delivery is usually prompt.)
Always glad to see you, Laura, Karen, Linda, and Tui.
Thanks for the recommendation, Karen. Linda, I hope that you are really resting or energizing this weekend. You need to be good to yourself!

Loved the personal tone the Ballistics poem took!

Absolutely none of the 9 books I read in August had romance elements! Disgusting!

Quite a few of the books I've read have a romantic element, but just not enough to call it a romance......

I guess it's possible to pass through Collins's poetry "with little resistance," but it's also easy to find your own head blown away. The one I can't get over is "The Revenant" in which the dead dog says to his master, "I never liked you - not one bit." And here I was so sure that all our pets have loved us as we have loved them! (I really think that they have.) Every single time I think of a "special poet's hat," I snort.
Roni, don't you crave a little romance? Didn't you read any Sharon Lee Miller at all in August? I'm still picking up Madam, Will You Talk? when I'm at Mama's so I'm getting a little here and there. Lucy, I assume that you're getting your quota.

I've got a Eve Dallas coming from the library--I think that will count. And of course, Dr. Siri has been romancing his old flame, and that will probably continue in the next book. I'm trying not to reread the Miller and Lee books so much that I have them totally memorized, so no, I didn't read any of them in August. And Liz will probably be reading another Heyer and I'll join her for a reread on that--I had read the August one ahead of the game in July. Actually, I realized yesterday that I have two paranormal romances I got from PaperBackSwap because someone here recommended them--I should read them! Not my usual fare.

Eve Dallas is definitely a romance series. I love 'em all.

Hi, Roni and Karen. I know that Stasia loves Eve Dallas, but I've never read one. I have several though, so maybe one day when I need one....
It's September, but I'm not ready to go to a new thread yet. Any bumps will be appreciated!

Aww, it'll be a shame that romance is over for another year.

I read the Eve Dallas series in order and at a minimum I think you should read the first two or three in order. Gotta understand the thing with Roarke.

What's September's theme going to be? or do I have to wait for a further 17 posts to find out?

*drums fingers impatiently*

Ah, Helen, romance is never really over, is it? And I'm certainly not going to tell September's theme until I reveal it on the new thread. (More excitement than I've had for years!!!) (And thanks for the boost!)
No reading today so far, but soon I hope!
Karen, I'll have to see which ones I have....

Coming out of lurking mode to say "waiting".... :)

Bumpity-bump-bump!

So, adding my nudge toward a new thread. I've just realized that I did maybe one month of TIOLI this year. Must look at the September offerings. Truth to be told I've been way too preoccupied and have wasted much reading time idly playing addictive games on the kindle. I seem to have that sorted out now, and I've some new classes to take, so I'd best buckle down to business, or I'll disappoint myself.

A good week to you, Peggy.

Oh!

You need a bit of a boost?

Here's my contribution.

YAY! Thank you, Katherine, Gail, Roni, and Colleen! We're almost there, so I'd better get busy and decide which National _______ Month I want to celebrate. (I think I know.)
Still no reading. Gail, I am disappointing myself; you are a champ. Treat yourself like one.

Well, internationally it's Alzheimer's month AND international balloon month but I don't know what you lot are doing down there on the national level.

National Obesity awareness month, national hispanic heritage month, classical music month, national prostrate cancer awareness month, NATIONAL LITERACY MONTH, national recovery month, self-improvement month, national senior center month, national preparedness month, national guide dog month, national yoga month, national honey month, and many more!

September 8th is international literacy day (and my wedding anniversary *ahem*).

>195 tiffin: and we all know which will be more important in the tiffin household.

Waiting to hear which month you choose...

(rooting for classical music, meself..._

And still roaring with laughter over "the bullet must have passed through his writing with little resistance"

Adding Collins to a list of poets I must seek out, although this month I'm devouring Robert Graves's Collected Poems, thanks to the library. It's out of print, scarce and I had forgotten how much I loved many of these.

Insomnia tonight--can't fall asleep so am trying to do mindless stuff on the computer after checking out a few threads. Bump!

Although I've been reading threads - including this one - throughout the summer I haven't done much commenting, so I think it's time to get started again and this seems a very good place to start. Oh, you're nearly at 200 posts!

Really? Can we move on to Spetember yet?

Nice push beyond 200 Peggy and a very erudite way to do so if I may add with poetry and romance as ever to the fore! Have a lovely week.

Many thanks, Paul, Helen (twice!), Kerry, Roni (twice!!), Suz, and Tui (twice!)!! I'm about to continue - found my image last night, and all is well. I was drawn to piano, literacy, and honey, but the winner is ----