Morphy Moseys through 2013 - Year 7

Morphy Strikes a Post (Age seven years)

This is my third 75 Books Challenge. I read about 250 books a year, so I'm not worried about meeting the challenge!

I mostly read fantasy, preferably urban, but also enjoy general and genre fiction, historical romance, classics, popular non-fiction, and will honestly try any genre at least once.

I prefer story over language and my favorite books are the ones I just want to hug after I'm done.

I don't so much review books as leave some sparse comments.

I have more challenges and lists than I know what to do with and am not going to list them here except as notes to the books I've completed.

Pounds Lost:



Books Read in 2013: 268

My best books of 2013 are:

Written in Red by Anne Bishop
Wonder by R. J. Palacio
Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

My best book of 2012 was:

The Fault in Our Stars by Green, John

My best books of 2011 were:

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by McKillip, Patricia
Bridge of Birds by Hughart, Barry
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Wells, Rebecca
Garden Spells by Allen, Sarah Addison
Soulless by Carriger, Gail
What I Eat by Menzel, Peter and D'Aluisio, Faith
Ready Player One by Cline, Ernest

My favorite books from the years before that were:

Essential Spirituality by Roger Walsh
Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman
The Stand by Stephen King
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Katherine by Anya Seton
Sweet Liar by Jude Deveraux
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanffpost 1

Morphy's Mighty Monthly Reads for 2013 (Green Dragon Group Reads)

January (1001 Fantasy) - The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

February (111 Science Fiction) - The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

March (50 Mystery) - The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

April (111 Nonfiction) - The Great Influenza by John M. Barry

May (1001 Fantasy) - Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis

June (111 Science Fiction) - A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge

July (50 Mystery) - Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith

August (111 Nonfiction) - The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman

September (1001 Fantasy) - Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny

October (111 Science Fiction) - The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

November (50 Mystery) - The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers

December (111 Nonfiction) - Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat

Group Read Links: http://www.librarything.com/topic/146136

***

The LT Green Dragon Book Club's next meeting is at the Ridgedale Barnes & Noble on Saturday, October 19th at 2pm. We are reading The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill.

13 in 13 Challenge (53/91)

1. New to Me Minnesota Author (1/1) DONE
2. Complete Lois McMaster Bujold Bibliography (1/2)
3. Graphic Novels (3/3) DONE
4. Second Book in Series (4/4) DONE
5. Book to Movie (3/5)
6. Around the World (2/6)
7. 2011 TBR Code List (4/7)
8. Cover Color (6/8)
9. LT Recommended (9/9) DONE
10. If You Like... (1/10)
11. Paranormal Creatures (9/11)
12. Green Dragon Lists (8/12)
13. LTers Choose from the Ultimate Reading List (2/13)

Thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/147584

I stole this from someone else at LT and tweaked the last few ratings. I can't give credit because I don't remember who I copied it from! Since I started using this I've noticed I've been handing out more 6's and less 7's.

My rating system:

10 stars - The book completely enthralled me. Could not put it down. Got something more out of it than just entertainment -- it enlightened or educated me in some way. Can definitely see myself reading it again. Will keep forever and never loan it out.

9 stars - Not quite perfect but almost so. I will actively push this book on my friends and family.

8 stars - A really great book in all respects with perhaps some minor flaws. Highly recommended.

7 stars - Better than average but with some flaws. Recommended.

6 stars - Average. An entertaining read but probably forgettable. Will not reread. Recommended for entertainment value to readers with similar interest.

5 stars - Slightly lower than average. Some aspects of the story, characters or writing troubled me. Probably will not recommend.

4 stars - Finished but did not like. Would not recommend.

3 stars - Had some redeeming qualities or else I couldn't have finished it. Nothing to recommend it though.

2 star - I can't believe I finished this book. What am I? A masochist?

1 star - No book ever gets this rating. If it's a 1, I can't finish it.

It doesn't matter how careful I am each time I start a new thread. Somewhere a post gets messed up. Very aggravating.

Not updated as the site isn't working at the moment. Seems they are over their quota.


visited 17 states (7.55%)
Create your own visited map of The World


visited 34 states (68%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

Warning: Political rantings ahead

I'm feeling so helpless. I want to do something but the people who are doing this are the Republican Representatives. They aren't going to listen to me, a Democrat, who didn't vote for them. I could call them, but all I would say is that they can't hold a country hostage to get rid of something that is the law of the land just because they lost the fight. Obama got re-elected. The Justice Department said the Affordable Care Act is constitutional. The Senate doesn't agree with you. That's 2.5 of 3 parts of the government. Just stop already. What the hell are they thinking?

Yes, a significant portion of the US doesn't like the Affordable Care Act or parts of it. But we didn't like Social Security or Medicare or Civil Rights or Women's Right to Vote either. And the portion that doesn't like it certainly doesn't want the government shut down or the economy destroyed because of it!

I have a friend who works for the government. She is considered essential so she has to work. But she isn't getting paid. She still has to pay for gas and childcare. She can't get unemployment because she is "working." But she can't pay her bills because she isn't getting any money. Where is the sense in this?

I'm on Social Security. I should get this month's check because it's due on the 16th. But what about next month's check? How will we live if the Republicans makes the US go broke because they don't want millions of people to have health insurance, to be denied health insurance because of pre-existing conditions?

And there isn't a damned thing I can do to make them change their minds. Because to them, I am the enemy - a Democrat - and I must be destroyed, along with Obama, "Obamacare", the economy, the law, our government and anything else that gets in their way.

They don't want compromise, they want capitulation.

What the hell are we supposed to do?

Totally agree with your position on the furlough, Morphy.

After the last furlough, which lasted a month, back pay was paid out in a lump sum. This meant that the computer programs kicked in, and withheld a LOT more taxes since paychecks for that pay period were so much bigger (three pay periods instead of one). As they say, it evens out when you file your taxes, but, if they do it the same way again, it will be months before your friend sees all the money she is expecting.

Last time I was essential. This time I am non-essential. The weird thing is that everyone in our lab is willing to work whether we are being paid or not, but we are locked out 'due to insurance liability'.

Yup, I'm worried about money, too. I had a huge vet bill last week. I paid out $800 AND gave the horse to the vet. There went my checking account cushion. I'm going to revive the thread about eating what's in my cupboards.

ETA: Morphy, I haven't forgotten your audiobook.

I'm registered as a Republican, mainly because Maryland is overwhelmingly Democrat and I had this naive thought that my doing that would add a small measure of "balance" to the political landscape here. Having said that, I'm very much a centrist and very much a swing voter, and can't imagine giving money or working for a particular campaign of any stripe. I'm one of those people a politician needs to work to convince. :)

Frankly, the Republicans have lost badly on this. There's a small number of conservative pols who can go home and claim they fought the good fight, but pretty much everyone else gets to go home and try to avoid questions from their constituents. I'm guessing the next election won't be pretty for them. So some payback is coming.

I'm in an area heavily impacted by the shutdown, and I work on government projects through NASA (most definitely *not* essential except for support for the Space Station). We're in pretty good shape since our contracts are forward funded, so the money to do the work is essentially already here, but that will change in about 6 weeks. I've got friends who are working day-to-day as pieces of the government are re-funded. But others are out for the duration. It's crazy for no purpose, especially given that implementation of the ACA is going ahead full steam.

Rumor around town - and this is definitely only rumor - is that there's an exit strategy in the works that gets us through the current shutdown and the debt limit problem all at once, but who knows? We'll see over the next week or so.

My dad is a moderate Republican (who raised three Democrats) and is thoroughly disgusted with the Repub party. Like Jim, he's been a centrist all his life (as was my mom), and he's just hoping that it swings back to that. He's embarrassed by the current group, or at least those speaking most loudly and with the most influence right now.

What if Congresspeople weren't paid during the shutdown, like others they're hurting? More motivation to find that exit strategy and resume operations?

And just to throw a book reference into the discussion... I saw Charles Wheelan, author of The Centrist Manifesto at the National Book Festival. He seems like a pretty rational guy, and I need to hunt down a copy of his book.

Stopping by real quick to star you. I'll try to catch up in a bit :) Until then Happy Reading

Migrating over to your new thread, Morphy and completely understand where you, and everyone, are coming from. As a Canadian, I am relegated to sitting on the sidelines but even up here there is talk as to how this can impact foreign trade, etc, unless this get resolved fast. I hate the ripple effect....

*** rant ahead ***
7> I started crying all over again about this yesterday morning. All the people impacted and most people just see it through a particular political view point. Some of the things that ganged up and upset me - again:

- What about the soldier's spouses who cannot shop at the PX for the duration. Teh PX is close and about 30% closer. Their spouses are overseas supporting all our crazy operations all over the world and their families are trying to figure out how they are going to feed themsleves and their children.

- I have supported the federal government most of my working life. Even the "slackers" ( and they are everywhere) take a great deal of pride in the work they do or support.
- Preserving our country's natural heritage
- Coming up with life saving technologies
- Keeping the warfighter safe
- Ensuring clean water ( imagine if you had to pay directly for THAT)
- Setting up a justice system in a developing country
etc, etc

Whether you agree with the cause or not - it was funded by our representative government and pride in their work is what helps folks put up with the bureaucracy and the negative categorization in the media.

In our office, our technical director went from person to person - "you, stay home", you "on call", you "report to work" (without pay). If you have not experienced the whole essential/non-essential categorization, it can be hard to imagine the pain of what you have put many, many hours into being deemed non-essential.

- What about the money this is costing? The hours and hours trying to interpret emergency legislation. The hours spent trying to communicate that decision to the workforce when they are not at work. I got guidance from a number I called at 6:18 this morning (which said to check a web site that reported that it was not being updated for the duration of the shutdown). Then conflicting e-mails all morning into the afternoon. Then a phone call at about 7 pm and and e-mail and a phone call at about 8:45 pm. That is a full day of widely different work/funding guidance.

- All this this is jut for a CONTINUING RESOLUTION - not a real budget. This means that if last year you got money for physical therapy for a broken leg, you are getting it this year. The leg is fine, but your blood pressure is high. Need medication for that? No can do, it's not funded. This is INSANE. It is wasteful, non-productive and demoralizes vendors and customers of the various government departments. Yes, we ordered this systems form this vendor to solver your problem. It has been approved, everyone is really excited to get working on this. It will save the American people money and improve their lives. But... it's not funded.

- I was bitterly disappointed when I found out that members of Congress can only be recalled by fellow members - not by the people who elected them. I was all about that recall for each and every member of Congress. They are derelict in their duty on not getting a budget passed in a timely fashion.

- Yes, government civilians will be paid for the time they are not able to work. Apart from the having to wait while bills are due and the tax implications mentioned above, it is terrible thing to receive money for not doing any work. I've been there when I was not able to do the job I was hired to do. It pays the bills and meets primary needs, which is of primary important, but my brother describe it as soul destroying. It is. And it will it will cause government employees to be further vilified in the media and by other folks who are still struggling thanks to the games the financial sector has been playing with the private sector.

- My county depends heavily on the federal government. There is no person I know and no aspect of our community that has not been affected.

- Both political parties are declaring a "win", therefore this will happen in some fashion again. The losers - the American people and the allies of the United States all over the world. Yes, we promised to participate in this with your country, but it was declared non-essential work. Sure, you can count on us in the future. Don't think so.

*** climbs off soapbox to get ready for bed, for this first time since the shutdown my presence is required at work, but only 'til the end of the week ***

I don't really understand how our government works (I didn't pay enough attention in high school government class and I now get all of my knowledge about politics from re-watching the West Wing over and over and sighing wistfully), and so I keep telling myself that I must just not really understand the intricacies of government and politics. Because the alternative, to me, is even more baffling: how can so many people (the Republicans) be so selfish, self-centered, narrow-minded and -sighted, and deluded about what they're doing? Can it honestly be true that they're acting so petulantly and childishly? Really? How can *anyone,* let alone such a large group of people, be so unconcerned about the needs of others, so uncaring about other people? So ignorant of and/or unfeeling about what ethically the Right Thing To Do? It's so troubling, and I agree with you, Morphy, that it's disheartening to think that there's not much we can do about it.

Morning Morphy- Congrats on Lucky #7! It's good to hear the wailing on this completely ridiculous shut-down. Something NEEDS to be done before further damage is done.
Negotiation? What stinkin' negotiation?

15> scaifea - Thank you for putting what I was trying to say much more succinctly. I just get a stab in the heart every time I allow myself to dwell on the particulars of how a particular person, group of individuals or even the American public as a whole are hurt by this. I need to find a way to stop, but I find that I don't until I have an action plan when something like this comes to my attention.

16> I believe the key is negotiation, but in this political climate it is seen as a weakness. No politician wants to give their major donors or most vocal constituents a reason to campaign against them in the next election. After all, the only thing that matters is getting re-elected in order to create more artificial drama to feel more powerful and get more money from donors in order to get re-elected and perpetuate the cycle.

I believe that handwritten letters from constituents complaining about this behavior would at least get attention. The corporations and individuals with money and the vocal fringe seem to be the only ones being heard right now.

You guys need to amend your constitution to stop the politicians screwing you all over. Have your President elected with his party and allow him to run the country properly and not be hamstrung by an opposite legislature. With two fixed terms you are already relatively safe from tyranny of the executive.

Hi! Morphy and congratulations on your latest. 7 year old Morphy looks like she's in the middle of a jig or two up above there.

>17 MDGentleReader:: Sometimes I wonder if part of the problem is that the kind of person who wants to run for election, of any kind, is the sort of person, generally, who shouldn't be given any sort of power. And then, in the rare instance that someone wants to run for office because he/she in actual fact wants to change things for the better and lacks the passion for power and money, if they get elected in the first place, they spend so much time in the political environment before climbing the ladder to a seat in congress or higher that they've been too long exposed to corruption and down-and-dirty politics that their goals are no longer as pure as they were originally. I don't know. Again, I don't know what I'm talking about, really. Just musing.

Happy new thread, Morphy! I love to talk government but at this stage my head will explode and would hamper my reading abilities. So I'm just hanging on tight and pray that this roller coaster doesn't fall off the track. But one thing is safe to say, congress needs to have term limits! What's good for the exec in chief should be good for the House and Senate.

>8 streamsong: No rush, streamsong. I have such huge piles of books and I'm listening to the Harry Potter books. Who knows when I'd get to it!

>9 drneutron: & 11 Jim, I'm actually socially liberal but fiscally conservative. Or rather was conservative USED to be. Even now, I agree with *some* of what the Republicans want - reduce spending especially when it comes to Social Security and Medicare. And I'm on both! I think as a nation we are staying able longer and living longer than when those services first started and could handle adding a couple more years before retirement. Exceptions could be made for anyone retiring within the next five years to make an easier transition.

I think less money needs to be spent on the military - not because I don't like the military but because they need to learn to be fiscally responsible. I don't think less money should be spent on education, but less needs to go to administration and more needs to go to teachers and the classrooms. You know actual EDUCATION. We need to find out why healthcare costs more in the US than anywhere else in the world and yet we don't have the same level of health of places where it costs less. We need socialized healthcare. Not that it will ever happen.

>10 jnwelch: Joe, my husband and I talk about how there are no centrists in Congress anymore. Everyone is an extremist now. Doesn't matter which party you are in. All the centrists gave up or got voted out.

>12 Kassilem: Thanks for visiting, Melis!

>13 lkernagh: Lori, I think this is dangerous for how the rest of the world looks at us. It makes us a laughing stock.

>14 MDGentleReader: & 17 MD, I'm sorry the shut down is affecting you directly. As bad as it is for us as a nation, I know it's particularly hard for those who work for the government right now.

I'd write but as I said in my original post, I'm a Democrat and the Republicans aren't going to listen to me. They obviously don't care since I didn't vote for them.

>15 scaifea: & 19 Amber, this is something I don't get either. How can one group of people hold our country hostage? I thought this wasn't supposed to be able to happen because of the "checks and balances." Heck, one PERSON isn't allowing the House to vote. Boehner is refusing to let the House to even vote. ONE PERSON is responsible for letting this happen. ONE.

And I agree. To me, politicians are the scum of the earth. They are not in it to represent us, they are in it for the prestige and power. Even in the rare case where you have a decent one, they get pulled into the scum or they quickly leave.

>16 msf59: Mark, the worst part is that is all we can do - wail. We are all helpless to change this.

>18 PaulCranswick: Paul, amending the constitution is a lot easier said than done. Only 27 amendments have passed since it was originally written in 1787. And you'd have to have the agreement of much of Congress. Something that certainly isn't going to happen for many years to come.

>20 Carmenere: Lynda, that would be a fabulous idea. No need for career politicians. Get a real job!

***

Talk to Me Tuesday

Well, it seems we are already doing it, we just started early. I don't normally talk politics but this is a very important issue and something that is affecting me deeply.

What are your thoughts on the current government shutdown?

On why health care costs so much in the US, John Green (Kenyon alum, no less) has an excellent bit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSjGouBmo0M

My thoughts are...frustration. I was furloughed for a week and I live on a military instillation because my husband is military, so I definitely felt/feel the full impact. Now I've been recalled, but am working without pay until a budget can be passed.

I feel wronged. I feel like Americans in general have been wronged by the people we voted for. I'm hesitant to play the blame game even though I'm a registered Democrat because I feel like all of Washington is responsible in some way. I'm 26, is this what the government is going to be like my entire life and career? If so, I feel pessimistic.

248. Styxx by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Genre: Paranormal Romance (maybe more contemporary fantasy)

Notes: Cover Color (13 in 13 - Violet), next in series

Summary: Styxx was born in 10th century BC Greece and this chronicles his life of abuse and love until recent times

Opinion: This book is not for the faint-hearted - 800+ pages of the darkest horror interspersed with some rare moments of friendship and love. Styxx is brutalized in the most horrific fashion for thousands of years by many different people. I can't imagine how someone can get through that with any heart or soul, but he did. I can't figure out how Kenyon got me to read 800+ pages of abuse heaped on abuse, but she did. Good book.

Rating: 7

249. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Genre: Historical Fictional

Notes: TIOLI #11 (everyone has read), Book to Movie (13 in 13), GoodReads Popular (12 in 12), WCC Book Club

Summary: Two stories - one modern about a journalist investigating the Holocaust as her marriage falls apart and the second about a young girl taken up by the Jewish roundup by the French police in 1942.

Opinion: Really good book that I zipped through in one afternoon. The stories were told in alternating chapters which kept them clearly separated. My only disappointment was the last few pages - the relationship was far too obvious and the ending just sort of... petered out.

Rating: 8

Checking out the new digs, Morphy.

>22 scaifea: Thanks, Amber. Excellent video.

>23 RosyLibrarian: Marie, what scares me even more is what is going to happen at the next Presidential election. If a Republican gets in, we are screwed. The Affordable Care Act will go bye-bye, the budget will be slashed, gay rights will be stifled. It puts a sinking feeling in my guts.

>26 MickyFine: Thanks for stopping by, Micky!

***

Wacky Wednesday

These are sentences actually typed by Medical Secretaries in NHS Greater Glasgow

1. The patient has no previous history of suicides.

2. Patient has left her white blood cells at another hospital.

3. Patient's medical history has been remarkably insignificant with only a 40 pound weight gain in the past three days.

4. She has no rigors or shaking chills, but her husband states she was very hot in bed last night.

5. Patient has chest pain if she lies on her left side for over a year.

6. On the second day the knee was better and on the third day it disappeared.

7. The patient is tearful and crying constantly. She also appears to be depressed.

8. The patient has been depressed since she began seeing me in 1993.

9. Discharge status:- Alive, but without my permission.

10. Healthy appearing decrepit 69-year old male, mentally alert, but forgetful.

11. Patient had waffles for breakfast and anorexia for lunch.

12. She is numb from her toes down.

13. While in ER, she was examined, x-rated and sent home.

14. The skin was moist and dry.

15. Occasional, constant infrequent headaches.

16. Patient was alert and unresponsive.

17. Rectal examination revealed a normal size thyroid.

18. She stated that she had been constipated for most of her life until she got a divorce.

19. I saw your patient today, who is still under our care for physical therapy.

21 Examination of genitalia reveals that he is circus sized.

22. The lab test indicated abnormal lover function.

23. Skin: somewhat pale, but present.

24. The pelvic exam will be done later on the floor.

25. Large brown stool ambulating in the hall.

26. Patient has two teenage children, but no other abnormalities
.
27. When she fainted, her eyes rolled around the room.

28. The patient was in his usual state of good health until his airplane ran out of fuel and crashed.

29. Between you and me, we ought to be able to get this lady pregnant.

30. She slipped on the ice and apparently her legs went in separate directions in early December.

31. Patient was seen in consultation by Dr. Smith, who felt we should sit on the abdomen and I agree.

32. The patient was to have a bowel resection. However, he took a job as a stock broker instead.

33. By the time he was admitted, his rapid heart had stopped, and he was feeling better.

Thanks for the laughs!

Ditto! - hope taking the stock broker job helped.

Ok, so I'm sitting in a flight software review - supposed to be serious and paying attention. In reality, I'm checking LT threads.

This just made me snerk. In front of everybody.

:)

Funny! And most of them sound right, until you pause and think about it.

I am sure that is how they made it into official reports. I had trouble sometimes figuring out what they were actually trying to convey with the statement. Then I decided it was better to just laugh and share it.

>28 MDGentleReader: - 32 MD, Joe, Jim & Sylvia, glad you enjoyed them!

***

Tunes Thursday

I can't help but sing along with this one. I was going to express my disappointment that this was a live version of the song but after watching it, nevermind! They are having so much fun!

Mockingbird by Carly Simon and James Taylor



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeOqD3uMIRs

Everybody have you heard
He's gonna buy me a mockingbird
And if that mockingbird don't sing
He's gonna buy me a diamond ring

And if that diamond ring won't shine
He's gonna surely break this heart of mine

I do enjoy that arrangement of Mockingbird.

I prefer James Taylor as he is now, though. He's less arrogant, has much more inner peace and that amazing joie de vivre.

For my 13 in 13 Paranormal Creatures challenge I need to read a book with a siren, unicorn, centaur or other paranormal creature that isn't a vampire, angel, demon, fey, zombie, witch/warlock, mermaid, dragon, ghost or werecreature/shape-shifter. I've done all the others except the zombies and that's easy enough to find.

I read The Last Unicorn for a different 13 in 13 challenge (GD Monthly Reads!) so can't use that one.

Help?

I have no suggestions for 13 in 13, but did you catch Glee last night? I cried from start to finish.

If I remember right, On Stranger Tides has mermaids. Of course, I think it has zombies too.

The only book I have read that might help you with your 13 in 13 Paranormal challenge is Ruby's Spoon. That one has mermaids. I can't honesty recommend it - I only gave it 2 stars and found myself frustrated with the arcane old world dialect the town folk conversations were in. While I cannot honestly recommend it, some other readers here on LT have rated it rather well. Good luck with your 13 in 13!

Here's a few titles that may help:

Travel Light, which is excellent, has valkyries.

The Brides of Rollrock Island has selkies, but also a witch.

A Turn of Light has magical toads, along with other supernatural creatures both original and traditional.

Siren's Storm has sirens in it.

Wow, that is hard. Would a golem fit? There are quite a few golem books including Dreamhunter which also features individuals, dreamhunters, with special powers.

Where is the list of what you've already read for the category, Morphy? Tanya Huff's latest paranormal has selkies, as does the Toby Daye series by Seanan McGuire. Or how about The Golem and the Jinni, which takes care of two at once!

Actually, the Seanan McGuire (Rosemary and Rue is the first) also has fetches and trolls and numberous other eerie folk in it, as well as the usual fae.

Loved the whacky wednesday this week Morphy ~ classics all:

The irish guy who complained to his friends:
"It's terrible that AIDS, I don't want to get that again"

or his friend in the maternity clinic and the Doctor asked him:
"How many kids do you have?"
"Three", he replied......"One of each".

or the two cows in the field talking and one says to the other
"What about that Mad Cows Disease"
his friend replied:
"Doesn't affect me, I'm a duck"

Have a lovely weekend. xx

>36 RosyLibrarian: Marie, of course I watched! And I also cried throughout. Twice I cried so hard my husband came out to sit with me for a couple minutes. Once when his mother, step-father and brother were crying and the next time when the person who stole the jacket (was that a surprise!) was crying in the the last scene.

>37 drneutron: Jim, can't be mermaids, already did those!

>38 lkernagh: Lori, can't do mermaids, and wouldn't read something that you didn't like anyway! Ha!

>39 inge87: Jennifer, oooooh, those are some good ones!

>40 avatiakh: Kerry, golems would certainly fit! Great idea.

>41 ronincats: Roni, here's my list:

Paranormal Creatures

1. The Twelve by Justin Cronin (vampires)
2. Envy by J. R. Ward (angels)
3. Blood Wyne by Yasmine Galenorn (fey)
4. If I Pay Thee Not in Gold by Lackey/Anthony(demons)
5. (zombies)
6. Angel's Ink by Jocelynn Drake (witches/warlocks)
7. Undead and Underwater by MaryJanice Davidson (mermaids)
8. Eona by Alison Goodman (dragons)
9. This Side of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost (ghosts)
10. Written in Red by Anne Bishop (werecreatures/shape-shifters)
11. (other - sirens, unicorns, centaurs)

Also, I think you have the winner. I ordered it from the library but there's a long waiting list. I've already read Rosemary and Rue.

>42 PaulCranswick: Paul! Those are awful! Boo Hiss! A thousand lashes with a wet noodle. LOL!

I don't generally read that kind of book, but I have one for you. The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge - my cousin was telling me yesterday that she wanted a copy. I was able to assure her that it is reprinted quite regularly since it was first published in 1946, because it is such a lovely story. 4.18 on LT with 1,180 copies.

True, so true! One of my favorite books as a kid, and covers the unicorn factor. If you want an old-time nostalgic England type of read, go for The Little White Horse.

Oh I forgot about the Goudge book, it's JK Rowling's childhood favourite and was made into a movie a few years back.

Totally outside my usual reading range, but I'm enjoying lurking.

>44 MDGentleReader: - 46 MD, Roni, Kerry, okay, okay! I've got The Little White Horse on order from the library and I'm first in line!

>48 Morphidae: That's good! It was the first one I thought of, too.

>47 EBT1002: Ellen, lurk away. I lurk in about 35 people's threads a day. I post maybe once or twice a week in them.

>49 SylviaC: Sylvia, I'll probably come back to you all for my zombie one, too. I don't want a really gross, horror-like one. I loved World War Z and liked My Life as a White Trash Zombie.

***

I'm going to try to go to my first library sale today. Wish me luck!

Morning Morphy- Just checking in. Hope you are enjoying a fine weekend. I have 2 days off, so I am a happy camper.

Oh! I just recently finished The Little White Horse and loved it! I even bought a copy for Charlie's shelves. Hope you enjoy it!

Have fun at your library sale, Morphy! Library sales are my absolute favourite way of acquiring books. If its a big one, though, it can be crowded. Make sure you have something to carry your books in while you browse.

Hey Morphy--I just recently watched Warm Bodies on DVD. Heartwarming (heehee). Think Romeo and Juliet with zombies. It's a thought if you want something atypically zombie.

Your very first library sale! Have courage and patience, my friend...and grab some good books. Seriously, there are usually lots of people there but they tend to be polite. They are book people after all! Of course, you know you have to list the books you bought so we can all be jealous of you. Actually, my semi-annual sale is coming up in less than two weeks. Can't wait!

Hope you enjoyed the Library Sale! Have a great weekend.

All caught up here, Morphy! I have nothing to add to the government discussion - I am as disgusted as everyone else. I LOVED your Wacky Wednesday - we were rolling! Hope you had fun at the library sale.

Bwhahahaha. 48 books for $15. That's 31.25 cents per book. *rubs hands together in glee*

Oooooooh. You want to know what I GOT. Fine.

Murder with Peacocks by Andrews, Donna
Cold Sassy Tree by Burns, Olive Ann
The Arctic Incident by Colfer, Eoin
Coma by Cook, Robin
I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Craven, Margaret
Fantastic Mr. Fox by Dahl, Roald
Danny the Champion of the World by Dahl, Roald
The Language of Flowers by Diffenbaugh, Vanessa
Sizzling Sixteen by Evanovich, Janet
Smokin' Seventeen by Evanovich, Janet
Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! by Flagg, Fannie
Madame Bovary by Flaubert, Gustave
A Room With a View / Howards End / Maurice by Forster, E. M.
A Lesson Before Dying by Gaines, Ernest J.
My Side of the Mountain by George, Jean Craighead
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden by Green, Hannah
A Time to Kill by Grisham, John
The Green Hills of Earth by Heinlein, Robert A.
Revolt in 2100 by Heinlein, Robert A.
The Door Into Summer by Heinlein, Robert A.
The Puppet Masters by Heinlein, Robert A.
The Known World by Jones, Edward P.
A New Song by Karon, Jan
In This Mountain by Karon, Jan
Dreamcatcher by King, Stephen
Hideaway by Koontz, Dean
The Voice of the Night by Koontz, Dean
Darkfall by Koontz, Dean
Midnight by Koontz, Dean
Lightning by Koontz, Dean
Where the Heart Is by Letts, Billie
Out of the Silent Planet by Lewis, C. S.
You Belong to Me by Lindsey, Johanna
Number the Stars by Lowry, Lois
No One Noticed the Cat by McCaffrey, Anne
Moby Dick by Melville, Herman
Once Upon a Summer/The Winds of Autumn/Winter is Not Forever/Spring's Gentle Promise by Oke, Janette
Jack & Jill by Patterson, James
Spook by Roach, Mary
Creation in Death by Robb, J. D.
Delusion in Death by Robb, J. D.
Time of Death by Robb, J. D.
The Happiness Project by Rubin, Gretchen
Swamplandia! by Russell, Karen
Lucky by Sebold, Alice
Gulliver's Travels by Swift, Jonathan
Simon's Cat by Tofield, Simon
Little Altars Everywhere by Wells, Rebecca

That is one Excellent book haul, Morphy! I love book sales.

Oh wow, you certainly made up for all the ones you missed! Lots of great books in that haul.

Now you're hooked! Another library sale junkie!

You shopped like a pro, Morphy!

Hoho! Some good ones in that there pile. Danny the Champion of the World is far and away my favorite of Dahl's stuff, and Number the Stars is also excellent. Great haul!

Excellent work, Morphy! That's quite a haul!

Well, Morphy, I'd say your first library sale was a success!!

Looks like you found some great bargains. I've only read two, and Cold Sassy Tree was for 10th grade English, but I can second Number the Stars as being a good read.

#59 great haul Morphy!

Wow, you made some great finds there! Your library sale career got off to a great start :-D

>60 lkernagh: - 69 Lori, Kerry, Sylvia, Roni, Amber, Mamie, Ellen, Jennifer, Rhian, and Claire, thanks for all the library sale cheers! The only problem is that this load fills up all our book space. There is no more room at the inn! Yikes! As it is, they are sitting in bags. MrMorphy has to do some shuffling and we need to buy more book boxes before they'll fit in our "library closet."

Amber, I knew about the Dahl, that's why I grabbed that one in particular!

Music Monday

Very strange group. Very strange video. Amusing group name. Love the song. It's fun and has a great beat. Both the song and the video make you want to get up and dance. Every day I'm shufflin'...

Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ6zr6kCPj8


Party rock is in the house tonight
Everybody just have a good time (yeah)
And we gonna make you lose your mind (whoa!)
Everybody just have a good time (clap!)

The only problem is that this load fills up all our book space.

.... and that is about the only downside to book sales that I have been able to uncover to date. ;-)

There must be something you can move out of the house to make room for books. Furniture and linens are greatly over-rated. Don't get rid of MrMorphy, though--he seems to be a keeper.

>70 Morphidae: That one has often been my Monday boot-up song first thing at work. Happily, this Monday is a holiday. :)

Wow, what a book haul, Morphy. I just picked up Number the Stars for about 1/2 of your total spend. Jeesh.

That's an amazing haul, Morphy! Congratulations.

Would a druid count for your paranormal creature or gods/goddesses? If so, I recommend Hounded. Roberta raved about the series and I've only read the first which features a 2100 year old druid, Celtic gods and some other stuff. Laugh out loud funny at times.

Haven't watched Glee. It's on my DVR. Two weeks worth. I've told Lisa she has to be with me to watch it because I will be inconsolable.

Morph, can you share some details about how you lost your 190 pounds? If you want, PM me if that's too much private stuff.... I've got about that much I need to lose. :(

>71 lkernagh: Lori, it's a very sad little reason. No room! Pfft.

>72 SylviaC: Sylvia, maybe the appliances?

>73 MickyFine: Micky, hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving! Are you stuffed?

>74 jnwelch: Joe, bwhahahaha. See if you had waited, I could have sent it to you after I was done!

>75 MDGentleReader: Thanks, MD!

>76 TinaV95: Tina, no, a druid wouldn't count. Plus I've already read the entire Iron Druid series and am eagerly awaiting the next in the series in 2014. I told MrMorphy he had to be available as a tear catcher on Thursday. I knew I would be a mess.

First, I took a class on binge eating. That got me started. Especially when it came to recognizing physical hunger cues versus emotional eating.

Then I joined SparkPeople.com where I learned to track my food and gained support. If you have 190 pounds to lose, I suggest joining Team 300+ where those of us over 300 pounds lurk. You get a lot of understanding and support there. Some places in SparkPeople can be aggressively critical to us larger folks. If you do join, let me know and I'll PM you my username.

Next, I made small changes. Things like taking my Metamucil with water instead of juice. Having 1 cookie for dessert instead of 3 or 4. Using skim milk instead of whole milk. Eating my vegetables first at a meal (so I didn't fill up on the entree and not have room for them.)

My big three rules:

1. Track food daily.
This keeps you aware of how much you are eating, portion sizes, etc. You'll start making different choices when you realized how many calories some things actually have.

2. Don't drink your calories.
You'll be much more satisfied if you eat an apple than if you drink a glass of apple juice. An apple will fill you up, juice won't.

3. Five fruits and vegetables per day.
Low calories, good for you, fills you up.

***

Talk to Me Tuesday

Do you have any weight to lose? Or have you lost weight in the past? How do you or did you do it?

If you don't have a weight problem, what healthy food habits do you have? Or what bad food habits do you wish to correct?

Do you have any weight to lose?

Not much, just that perpetual 10 pounds so that I fit into my clothes better. I like to think that I have a reasonably healthy food habits, my main one being eating four of five small meals over the day and keeping portions small (We won't talk about the overflowing plates of food I consumed over the weekend - it was a holiday, after all! ). I tend to eat a small bowl of granola in the morning and then at work mid morning I either eat a banana or yogurt with fresh fruit - I love the summer months for fresh berries in my yogurt. This way, I avoid the temptation of coffee shop muffins with their 800 to 1,000 calories. Lunch is most times leftovers so I am in control of the portions and what I am eating. Dinners are usually heavy on the veggies with some protein. Weakness is after dinner treats.... both my other half and I love cheesecakes with real whipping cream and rich chocolate cakes so we work on making the portions small, petit four size.

What helps me keep my weight under control is I live a little over 3 km (just under 2 miles) from where I work. I walk to and from work everyday (unless it is pouring rain), as well as going out for walks during my lunch hour for fresh air, so it is safe to say that I walk a good 8 km (5 miles) every weekday for exercise. That is my fitness routine. If I moved offices, I would have to start rethinking my fitness routine, and my eating habits, as I am sure the weight would start to slowly pile on.

For most of my life I had no problem with weight, but in the last few it has started to creep up on me. I'm trying to establish some healthy eating strategies now, before the weight gain becomes too steady. Small but sustainable changes, like buying and eating more fruits and vegetables instead if starchy foods, eating slower, making snacks less accessible, taking smaller portions. I'm not losing any weight, but I haven't gained any more since last winter. What I really need is more exercise, but I just can't seem to push myself to get started.

>77 Morphidae: I had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend, Morphy. Thanks! Despite having 2 separate dinners, I managed to come out of both full but not stuffed. :)

77: I'm average, but I would love to drop about 10-15 pounds and feel really good about my weight. Sometimes I'm in good shape, other times I'm not. I think consistency is my problem. There have been times when I hit the gym a few times a week (this is me lately since I'm furloughed) and other times when I can barely force myself to go at all. I wish I could find a happy medium.

I didn't have a weight problem until I hit menopause, and now I'm a good 50 pounds overweight. About 5 years ago I lost 25 lbs. by keeping a food journal on the Weight Watchers site, but then they changed their program and all my entered foods and recipes needed to be redone, and it just didn't happen. One of my major difficulties is having a spouse who has never learned discipline as far as food is concerned and who keeps bringing sweets and fried foods into the house despite his type 2 diabetes, and who cannot cook without oil and fatty meats. He wants to try a detox diet for a couple of weeks, and I'm hoping he can stick to it for at least a week and that it will give me the jump start I need toward healthy eating and portion control. Although it will mean I have to give up my nightly glass of wine.

Hi there Morphy! Finally getting caught up here. :)

What an amazing book haul you got there-- great deal!! If only there were more sales like that near me... I get jealous of the acquisitions around here. Then again, if I hit one more good book sale I may have to concede defeat to the stacks and let them finally take over the house.

Weight to lose? Um... YEAH. My resting weight (as in, not worrying too much about it, just normal diet and mediocre activity) is about 40 pounds over my ideal according to the charts, so about 30 over where I want to be. I've learned to live with it because stressing about weightloss is exhausting. When I decide to care, or when I feel like getting back in shape for running, I eat low-carb and walk as much as possible. It works. My husband and I both did the Atkins no-carb thing a couple of years ago and it does work... but it made me feel like crap. I've learned that I NEED some sugars to maintain sanity. I was feeling so crabby after the first six weeks or so that I just wanted to punch someone (anyone!) in their stupid face! That ain't healfy. But, I did lose 30 pounds in 3 months. Came right back seemingly overnight when I let myself cave to the carbs. Eh.

The short answer? I walk. And eat less bread and ice cream.

Roni, I totally understand having someone like that in the house! Trying to get them to quit bringing home the sweets or give up fried foods is like handling a drug addict going cold turkey. At first they're all like, "Okay, no cookies today, let's have some celery and go jogging." but a couple days later they're screaming "LET GO, IT'S MINE! I NEED THIS!" about that last Oreo found in the back of the pantry. I was that person!

Food is an addiction, and it's very hard to change habits.

Although I could probably stand to lose the proverbial 10-15 pounds, I'm at my normal weight and pretty much where I was as a high school senior. But when I went off to college, we had all-you-can eat buffets for every meal in the dorms. Freshman year I was on the third floor of a building with no elevator, so extra weight didn't hit until sophomore year when I gained three pant sizes. It took figuring out a buffet survival plan and developing portion control, but I was able to lose a size before graduation and the rest came off afterwards once there were no more buffets.

I noticed some bad habits creeping back, so I've started planning dinners a week at a time and bringing my own food to work so I don't go to the deli and buy junk food. Other things I (try to) do to keep off extra weight: no white pasta, no cokes, avoid prepared meals and especially fast food, eat fruit/vegetables for at least 2/3 meals a day, and watch my portions. Cooking can be fun, and it is definitely cost effective if you shop right.

I'd like to lose 30 lbs and have been half-heartedly trying since Charlie was born (I did lose all of the baby weight, but haven't made any extra progress). When Tomm and I got married, we agreed to try to help each other lose weight (I weighed then what I weigh now), and for a year we did an amazing job and both lost a nice amount of weight gradually, but watching our portion sizes and never eating after 6pm. It's so much more difficult for me with Charlie around, though.

I had a horrid experience yesterday. I was at the senior center in my wheelchair. Even though I have lost a lot of weight, I have a lot more to lose. Also, my stomach hangs REALLY low. When I lose another 100 pounds, it will be removed because it's a real impediment to walking.

Anyway, I was sitting in the dining room when a woman came up to me. She pointed to my feet and asked, "What's that?" I lifted up my dress a little and said, "That's my stomach." She gasped and literally RAN AWAY. I felt so ashamed I started to cry. Last night I shared with MrMorphy and just sobbed. Why do people act like that? I already feel bad enough about myself.

***

>78 lkernagh: Lori, I'm really looking forward to being able to walk again. Walking 5 miles a day is awesome!

>79 SylviaC: Sylvia, making small changes over time has been important to my weight loss as well. I didn't lose all that weight at once. It's been a long, slow journey.

>80 MickyFine: Micky, two dinners?! Wow, why two? Different families?

>81 RosyLibrarian: Marie, consistency is important for sure.

>82 ronincats: Roni, I use SparkPeople.com and found it very helpful in tracking my food. MrMorphy is good in that he doesn't bring tempting food in the house, but he does enable me when I ask for high caloric stuff. It's all up to me to be "good."

>83 UnrulySun: & 84 Kathy, yeah. I've learned through my binge eating group that no- and low-carb diets are not good for the body. We need carbs to live. Yes, we need to be moderate and eat more complex carbs, but we do need them.

>85 inge87: Jennifer, buffets are evil. I haven't found a way to eat reasonably at a buffet yet. So I usually just stay away.

>86 scaifea: Amber, and all that baking! I'd be more than 30 pounds overweight if I made all those goodies! Yum yum.

***

Wacky Wednesday falls on Thursday this week

"Somebody has said there are only two kinds of people in the world. There are those who wake up in the morning and say, "Good morning, Lord," and there are those who wake up in the morning and say, "Good Lord, it's morning."

========

A minister parked his car in a no-parking zone in a large city because he was short of time and couldn't find a space with a meter.

Then he put a note under the windshield wiper that read: "I have circled the block 10 times. If I don't park here, I'll miss my appointment. Forgive us our trespasses."

When he returned, he found a citation from a police officer along with this note "I've circled this block for 10 years. If I don't give you a ticket I'll lose my job. Lead us not into temptation."

========

There is the story of a pastor who got up one Sunday and announced to his congregation: "I have good news and bad news. The good news is, we have enough money to pay for our new building program. The bad news is, it's still out there in your pockets."

========

While driving in Pennsylvania , a family caught up to an Amish carriage. The owner of the carriage obviously had a sense of humor, because attached to the back of the carriage was a hand printed sign... "Energy efficient vehicle: Runs on oats and grass. Caution: Do not step in exhaust."


========

A Sunday School teacher began her lesson with a question, "Boys and girls, what do we know about God?"

A hand shot up in the air. "He is an artist!" said the kindergarten boy.

"Really? How do you know?" the teacher asked.

"You know - Our Father, who does art in Heaven..."

========

A minister waited in line to have his car filled with gas just before a long holiday weekend. The attendant worked quickly, but there were many cars ahead of him. Finally, the attendant motioned him toward a vacant pump.

"Reverend," said the young man, "I'm so sorry about the delay. It seems as if everyone waits until the last minute to get ready for a long trip."

The minister chuckled, "I know what you mean. It's the same in my business."

========

People want the front of the bus, the back of the church, and the center of attention.

========

Sunday after church, a Mom asked her very young daughter what the lesson was about.

The daughter answered, "Don't be scared, you'll get your quilt."

Needless to say, the Mom was perplexed. Later in the day, the pastor stopped by for tea and the Mom asked him what that morning's Sunday school lesson was about.

He said "Be not afraid, thy comforter is coming."


========

The minister was preoccupied with thoughts of how he was going to ask the congregation to come up with more money than they were expecting for repairs to the church building. Therefore, he was annoyed to find that the regular organist was sick and a substitute had been brought in at the last minute. The substitute wanted to know what to play.

"Here's a copy of the service," he said impatiently. "But, you'll have to think of something to play after I make the announcement about the finances."

During the service, the minister paused and said, "Brothers and Sisters, we are in great difficulty; the roof repairs cost twice as much as we expected and we need $4,000 more. Any of you who can pledge $100 or more, please stand up."

At that moment, the substitute organist played "The Star Spangled Banner."

And that is how the substitute became the regular organist!

Happy Wacky Wednesday on Thursday, Morphy!

Yuck. What an unpleasant experience, Morphy. Perhaps the woman ran away because she was appalled with herself for asking such a personal question.

89> What Sylvia said.

{{{Morphy}}}

Thanks for the laughs! I've been reading some of them aloud to my co-worker.

I have this idea that I need to lose 50 pounds before menopause hits - which could be any day now. I've lost that much before with water aerobics. I've never really dieted. It's interesting, I've been under a whole lot of stress for the last few months and I just decided that I would eat what I wanted when I wanted to eat it. I definitely haven't gained weight and apparently I look like I lost weight. I haven't, yet, but I think it will start soon, slowly. My exercise program dwindled considerably when my asthma was bad and I don't quite have it back yet. I used to do strength training every morning, alternating between upper and lower body. I do still do some yoga everyday and do something to get my blood flowing everyday, morning and early evening. I do that as much for mood and energy as for muscle building and weight maintenance.

I am in awe of what you have accomplished in your weight loss journey. Particularly the last 30 pounds that you had regained and then lost again. Your discipline and your dedication to your health inspire me.

Hugs.

I also think the woman ran away because she was so embarrassed at asking the question. A lot of people don't realize that when someone loses a lot of weight, the skin simply doesn't retract back along with the weight loss. I know I wasn't aware of it for a long time. So, it wasn't you, it was her! We are all so happy for you in your weight loss, Morphy--you know we are pulling for you all the way.

I agree with SylviaC, MDGentleReader and Roni has said.... I think it was her own embarrassment for asking the question that caused her to run away. Your weight lost journey is an inspiring one, Morphy, don't let this experience overshadow that!

lkernagh said it perfectly and therefore I am just going to say, ditto! :)

Some people just don't think before they open their mouths--especially about people's appearances, whether it's the reporter surprised that the Duchess of Cambridge still had a bump the day after she gave birth, or the student who asked me how old I was, because "You look real young but you dress real old" (only the elderly wear work-appropriate attire, apparently).

I agree with everyone else that she probably ran off because she was embarrassed; it's just a shame she couldn't have kept her mouth shut. Don't let her idiocy ruin all you've accomplished.

Just jumping in here to say it's my seventh Thingaversary today. I'll be celebrating by reading for eight hours on Sunday! (If not more.)

I'll respond to posts tomorrow. Have a good evening!

Congrats!

Congrats on your Thingaversary! Definitely something to celebrate.

Happy Thingaversary, Morphy! Enjoy all that reading time. :)

Happy Thingaversary!

Happy Thingaversary, Morphy!!!

Happy Thingaversary Morphy. Have a great reading day.

>88 EBT1002: Ellen, thanks! To be honest, I prefer Wacky Wednesday to Tunes Thursday so if I forget or don't have time for Wednesday, I'll do it on Thursday!

>89 SylviaC: & 91-94 Sylvia, Roni, Lori, Marie & Jennifer, perhaps. I didn't think of it that way. I saw her face so think it unlikely, but it's possible. I appreciate all your care and support. You are my cheerleaders and make it so much easier to handle. You make me smile.

>90 MDGentleReader: MD, thanks for the compliments. I want to exercise not so much for weight loss, like you, but to increase my endurance. I've lost all this weight but physically don't feel any better.

>96 majkia: - 101 Thanks, Jean, Jennifer, Micky, Zoe, Roni, and calm! I'm getting my meals and snacks all planned for maximum reading pleasure. Apples, grapes, baby carrots - crunchy and takes awhile to eat! MrMorphy is going to make eggs for breakfast, yum! I'll splurge for lunch with a trip to the hot deli case at the grocery store. But dinner will be light with some soup. I'm going to stay off the computer as much as possible and read, read, read!

Happy Thingaversary, Morphy!

What a happy guy! Happy Thingaversary!!

Happy Thingaversary Morphy! Seven years? That is amazing! Have a great reading day tomorrow!

Morphy, I love the way you are celebrating your Thingaversary. A Morphy readathon. What a great idea!
Thanks for posting your incredible haul from your first big library book sale. Tomorrow night is Friend's Night at our sale. I hope to bring home less than ten books but it is hard to resist new-to-me books. Shelf space is always a problem at our house, too.

Happy thingaversary!

>103 jnwelch:-105 Thanks, Joe, Jim, Mark and NS!

>105 msf59: Donna, hope you have a successful haul!

***

I read all fantasy - Bastion by Mercedes Lackey, Forbidden by Kelley Armstrong, and Autumn Bones by Jacqueline Carey.

I also got started on The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide by J. R. Ward.

Reviews forthcoming.

***

Music Monday

Soft and groovy. Rock in your chair to the music type of song.

It's Like That by Mariah Carey



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI2cwfluyNo

Cuz it's my night
No stress, no fights
I'm leavin it all behind
No tears, no time to cry
Just makin the most of life

Happy belated thingaversary, Morphy! Hope the books you chose to read were all awesome!

I'm having a bit of a problem. I'm very hungry. To the point I'm feeling light-headed and my stomach hurts. However, I have no appetite at all. The thought of eating anything makes me nauseous. This has been slowly coming on over the last couple weeks but it got really bad today. To the point that I'm feeling faint, but still don't feel like eating. Nothing sounds appetizing.

Sound familiar to anyone? Any advice?

dysmenorrhea? Have you talked to your gynecologist about your stomach pains and these somewhat newer symptoms?

{{{Morphy}}}

110: Actually, yes! That has been happening to me lately and I thought it was kind of weird. My husband thinks I'm just dehydrated, but maybe it's some strange stomach bug? In any case, I hope you feel better and happy belated Thingaversary!

>109 Sakerfalcon: Claire, they were a lot of fun!

>111 MDGentleReader: MD, good thought, but no. I'm 48 and heading into menopause. I'm at the point of skipping periods and I've never had much pain with them.

>112 RosyLibrarian: Marie, I don't know if it's a stomach bug. I'm only nauseous if I try to eat. Otherwise, I'm fine, if hungry. Anyway, I'll see my therapist and nutritionist tomorrow. Maybe they'll have some ideas.

***

Talk to Me Tuesday

How and where do you store your books?

For the largest part of our books, we have a large closest - almost a walk-in - that we have near floor to ceiling stacks of book boxes in. The boxes are numbered and if you look at the books in my library you'll see a tag that gives says "Box #". In that room, there are also three book shelves. In the living room, there is a three shelf. First shelf are TBR books that I own. Second shelf is for library books. Third shelf is photo albums. Next to me is another bookshelf but there aren't many books on it except for the ones I'm currently reading and my Nook. It's mostly used as multi-layered table - phone, pen cup, pills, remotes, bill rack, volunteer paperwork, etc.

There are also usually a few books on the couch that either I'm reading or have currently read and need to add to the database.

I used to have a book in the bathroom but now I have a magazine.

Oh! And sometimes there are books on the mantel - ones that have to go back to the library.

Lastly, there are always two in my bag when I leave the house and sometimes my Nook.

Where are *your* books?

My books are supposed to be in our "library" room where we have three big shelves for them, but they are also in every other room in the house including the bathroom and the garage. My ebooks are in my Nook which is currently in my bag in my office.

My books are in two bookcases in my living room. The book I'm currently reading usually migrates from my bag to my bedside table on a daily basis. Unless I'm reading an ebook, which will end up on my phone. And my phone comes with me everywhere. :)

One of the big excitements in my life was when we cleared out an unused bedroom and moved most of my books into it. I was thrilled to have them all together. I don't really like having bookcases in my bedroom because of the dust issues. However, the books have been gradually creeping back into the rest of the house, since I went through most of the boxes in the basement and also took the plunge into online bookstores.

So currently:
-5 big bookcases in the book room (most of these have books piled behind the front rows): 1 case of children's fiction, 2 adult fiction, 1 nonfiction, 1 with poetry and humour; also the odd stack on the desk or floor;

-in our bedroom, 1 medium sized case of nonfiction books, and two shelves of overflow in the case where we keep boardgames and puzzles; and one book on my bedside table;

-the livingroom has a smallish case of picture books, reference and humour, and there are always some books on the coffee table and footstool;

-the kitchen has two shelves of cookbooks in a cabinet, and we keep our library books in a pile on a cabinet;

-in the basement, a box of poetry books that I haven't decided what to do with;

-one book in each of the family vehicles;

-I'm not even going to go into the books into the kids' rooms--it's not pretty.

Only magazines in the bathroom, nothing in the attic but mice, and all those boxes of books out in the garage are for donation, so they don't count!

Incidentally, my husband's toy tractor collection takes up just as much shelfspace in the basement as my books do on the main floor.

Most of my children's books are stored in boxes and fairly inaccessible under our stairs. I get them all out once every couple of years and am planning to cull most of them eventually. The other YA books are in my daughter's room, she has a large bookcase. Otherwise I have three non-fiction shelves downstairs and a few piles of books sprinkled around such as the library books etc. Upstairs most are stored in my bedroom, I have a wall of stacked cubes (so books are 3 deep) and this is where I spend most of my time choosing what to read next. Each cube is for a different genre/subject) and I often make little discoveries when I haven't explored one of the cubes for a long while. I have to confess to having a large pile of books by my bed and a couple of boxes in my bedroom as well. For the past 10 years I've had plans for a library in our large downstairs 'rec' room but my older son is yet to move out of it (he's 29 and that room has it's own access so is quite private).
I also have a lot of cookbooks and need to seriously get rid of some of them. I have a couple of shelves of cookbooks in my kitchen and the rest are stored in a cupboard.

My physical book collection is stored in one 5 shelf bookcase located in our living room. The book case is deep enough (11.5 inches) that I am able to double up my trade paperbacks, one row in front of another. I rarely keep books once I have read them so this is really my "TBR Bookcase", or my "To Read" collection here on LT. My e-books currently all fit on my iPod Touch, which is always in my purse for those times when I find myself stuck somewhere with time on my hands to read. Books I am currently reading or plan to read, and library books are kept on the side table near my favorite reading spot.

That being said, my Mom has informed me that I have a box of books at their house that she recently found in their large storage space so I will have fun my next trip home to see what books I have there..... that box was probably stored decades ago shortly after I completed university, and I think it contains a number of late 19th and early 20th century leather bound pocket books, which I had been collecting at the time... either that or it contains a bunch of my teenage reads which would be a hoot to revisit. ;-)

Bookshelves in nearly every room of the house (about 20 total, I think, most of which are the tall, 5-shelvers), plus a small pile of library books on Charlie's dresser and a small pile of my own library books on my desk. The book of the day has a special place on my desk (which is in a very central area of the house and so easily accessible), and is of course slipped into my bag always *always* before leaving the house. And there's always some sort of audio book in the car, both on my ipod (library books uploaded) and in disk form (I rotate through what Tomm and I own on audio, which is, at this point, the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Harry Potter books and the Paddington Bear books).

I have four bookshelves in my living room which contain literary fiction and non-fiction. I also have two bookcases in my bedroom which contain children's books and fantasy and SF; the shelves are double stacked with trade paperbacks behind and MMPs in front. In addition to that I have some boxes under the bed and in the loft, and piles of recent acquisitions on the floor. Over the last few months I've been trying to read more and buy fewer books, and to deaccession anything that didn't grab me, but it will be a long time before I really have enough space to put all my books on shelves.

>114 RosyLibrarian: - 120 Marie, Micky, Sylvia, Kerry, Lori, Amber, Claire, thanks for sharing about your books. I love reading about everyone's "storage solutions" and where you keep your books. Everywhere it seems!

Lori, you have to come back and let me know what was in the box!

Claire, I know what you mean about space. With my latest (and first!) library sale, I filled up the last of ours. Now what do I do?!

***

Wacky Wednesday

I have only two narrow bookcases in my apartment (in my bedroom), which is obviously nowhere near sufficient for my needs. But in January, that will change when my roommate moves out and I'll have a whole other room for bookcases and board game cases!

There are stacks of books on the floor, and in under-bed storage, and in duffel bags that haven't been unpacked yet from the summer because there's just nowhere for the books to go.

I do have a carrel at school, which is also overflowing with books, even though I brought in a small bookcase to put there as well. Some of my books are actually at someone else's carrel, because he hardly ever comes in and doesn't need the space.

And the vast majority of books are in my old bedroom at my parents' house, where I have 8 tall IKEA Billies, all with extra shelves added, and several smaller bookcases as well. I just have to hope that I've left Manhattan (or struck it rich!) before they decide it's time to downsize, or just decide that they could use the extra space themselves. Fortunately I still spend at least 5 weeks/year there, so I don't think they're going to get rid of all my stuff quite yet.

The more immediate risk is the several boxes of books that I have in their storage unit—childhood books like Sweet Valley and Babysitter's Club. They keep hoping to get rid of the storage unit, or move to a smaller one, to reduce the monthly costs. But they have a lot of stuff in there too, along with a good amount of furniture, so I think I'm safe for a couple of years at least. Once my brother and sister are done school and have more permanent homes, though, I think some of the furniture will start being distributed out, and then it may be time to reconsider.... eek!

So it's sort of a race against time, hoping that I'll be established enough to a) have my own house; or b) have an academic job that provides me with an office, before my current storage solutions are no longer workable.

Hello Morph - love the jokes you always put up! I agree with your other supporters - your determination to lose weight is AMAZING. My husband and I are about to go on the 5:2 regime - eat normally five days and then 2 days of semi-fasting (500 cals for women and 600 cals for men). It is a safe and effective weight loss program but most importantly are the notable health benefits in terms of reduced rates of some cancers and heart disease. I also do 2 sessions a week with my personal trainer (strength work - not cardio) and a minimum of three days where I jog/walk 5 kilometres on the treadmill. But for me, the most important thing has been about portion control (weigh weigh weigh) and cutting out bread and cheese (not forbidden, but only very rarely). Once I stopped dividing food into 'good' and 'bad' my weight went down, also. Now I look and think "is this a wise nutritional choice?". And I drink espresso coffee with a dash of milk. Rather than a 'flat white' which is usually half milk. I seldom eat processed/prepared foods of any kind - I cook from scratch. Very little salt. Minimal olive oil. No convenience foods. And I don't weigh myself - I go by mirror and clothes. I'm 58 now and in my best shape for years. Weight training is my meditation - I love feeling strong.

>122 _Zoe_: Zoe, I hope you get the job and appropriate place with storage space soon!

>123 PrueGallagher: Prue, thanks for sharing your dietary program.

***

I'm not feeling so hot. Since Monday I've been having problems eating. I have hunger signals such as feeling light-headed, stomach hunger pangs, weakness, irritability, unable to concentrate, but I can't seem to eat. You know that feeling when you are full? You go to take a bite and your throat closes up and your stomach rolls? I feel like that any time I try to eat. No matter how long it's been or how hungry I am.

My calories typically run about 2100. The last few days I've run 1600, 1500 and 1200. And that's *forcing* myself to eat. Between Monday and Wednesday, I lost 5 pounds.

How should I put this politely? Um, everything else in my system is working correctly. Except I'm burping a lot. I don't feel "sick."

Anyway, I'm mostly just whining and wondering if anyone else has felt this. I can't get to urgent care until tomorrow afternoon. MrMorphy's truck is in the shop - nothing awful, just maintenance mostly - and it won't be done until tomorrow. And I don't want to take MetroMobility in case something is really wrong. If they want to send me to ER, how would I get there?

Bleh.

***

Tunes Thursday

Tragic loss of a wonderful singer. They are having a fun time at Disneyland in this video.

Please Mr. Postman by the Carpenters



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHfddvbKb4w

So many days you passed me by
See the tears standin' in my eyes
You didn't stop to make me feel better
By leavin' me a card or a letter

My mother used to have occasional spells of not being able to eat, while otherwise being physically healthy. It would last for a couple of weeks and then she would very slowly get started again. We never knew the cause, but thought it was probably related to depression.

Hope you feel better soon.

MrMorphy had to borrow one of his parent's cars while his truck was in the shop for some minor repairs and maintenance (tune up, oil change, flush & fill, etc.) Still it's rather pricey. We were told that it would normally be $850 but since we're such good customers (20+ years), if we paid in cash it would be $650. When MrMorphy called his folks to say when the truck would be ready and they could pick up their car, they told him that for his birthday, they were going to pay for the repairs. He tried to say we could afford it (we could, but barely); however, they insisted. They are good folk.

That's great, Morphy! They must indeed be good folk.

As to the eating issue, I have no idea but I'm glad you are going to see someone about it tomorrow.

I love Karen Carpenter's voice. Yes, a tragedy...

My books:
Front bedroom has 2 36" wide bookcases and one 66" wide bookcase which has 9 shelves, I think--just enough space for paperbacks to fit in between the shelves. In the living room is a 30" 5 shelf bookcase. In the dining room, a 30" with 3 shelves. In the back bedroom, 7 72" wall-hung shelves, and a 30" bookshelf with 10 shelves. Under my computer desk, a shelf across the back that is stacked with books. In the bathroom, one shelf in the divider is books. In the kitchen, two shelves in the cabinets are books. In our bedroom, 24" of books across the back of my nightstand. That's all, ma'am!

>125 SylviaC: Sylvia, one of my suspicions is anxiety, yes. Thanks for the good wishes.

>127 ronincats: Roni, that's all? LOL. That must hold quite a few books!

Whatever caused the original no appetite - physical or mental - my eating disorder is kicking in big time. However, I'm a binge eater so have no experience with anorexia. When I figured out my calories today, I was around 900. And was thrilled. I wanted to figure out how I could make it lower. Or maybe not eat at all. I was trying to figure how to hide how I was not eating from my husband, etc. Yesterday I was really upset that my calories were "so high" at 1800 - when my range is 2000 to 2200. So, yeah, I'm struggling a lot.

I've redone my food today to try to get it up higher. Still not where it should be but at least it's over 1200 calories. I'll be seeing my therapist and nutritionist on Wednesday.

I went to urgent care Friday night and they did blood and urine tests but they didn't find anything. I'll be seeing my regular doctor sometime this week. Hopefully, Thursday.

Meanwhile, I'll force myself to eat and keep talking to my husband and my support team about what's happening.

{{{{{Morphy}}}}}

I am sorry that you are struggling so much. It seems so unfair that your body is feeding your eating disorder. You do know that recognizing the problem and talking about it are giant steps towards overcoming it. It takes great strength of character to do that.

You are deserving of nutrients to feed your body so that you can do all you wish to do.

{{{{{Morphy}}}}}

At least you are aware of the fact that your eating disorder is kicking in. That gives you some knowledge that you can use for setting goals to try to keep things on an even keel.

Being in the perimenopausal stage of life probably doesn't help, either. I find my body and mind doing some really bizarre things lately.

Between 2500 and 3000 books, Morphy. That's all! ;-)

I'm sorry to hear about your continuing issues. I think your body must be readjusting. I hope your support people up there can help, especially about the nausea. I've always been pretty good about eating regularly even when I'm not hungry because of my hypoglycemia--I know I'll have a blood sugar crash if I wait until I feel hungry. But the nausea can really interfere with that. How do you do with hot broths?

I have been on the Dr. Oz detox diet for 6 days--this is day 7--and lost 6 pounds. I know it won't keep up at this rate and don't want it to--wouldn't be healthy loss--but it is gratifying to have lost that extra 5 pounds put on since my plantar fasciitis has interfered with walking for exercise. We plan to stay with the detox for another two weeks, but having gotten into reduced calories, I want to continue watching my food intake and trying to lose the 50 pounds I need to. Is myfitnesspal.com the website you recommended? That's where I have a bookmark, I think from your recommendation. I can't lose weight without getting down to the 1200 calorie mark or below, and gain if I'm much over 1500 so don't have as much leeway calorie-wise as you do at this point. But I have every confidence that you will work through this glitch and get back on the road to the slow but steady weight loss needed for your health. {{{Morphy}}}

>130 MDGentleReader:-131 MD & Sylvia, I'm reading your posts over and over. It helps so much knowing that someone is out there that cares, understands and is rooting for me. It helps me take a deep breath and say, "I can do this."

Glad to help any way I can!

134> Me, too.

133> And, yes, you can do this.

{{Morphy}}

I had a similar week, Morphy. Pain and nausea after eating, which led to nausea whenever I even thought of eating. I forced myself through it with sips of apple juice (which I usually avoid due to the amount of sugar it has), applesauce and green tea. I knew that getting dehydrated or ketoacidotic from burning too much fat would only add to the nausea. If it happens again, I'll go see my doc. In the meantime, I'm going to call what I had a stomach bug. I also lost about 8 pounds, but yesterday I had a rebound binge. I'm trying to get things back under control today--I think I'll dig out the probiotics and see if that helps.

Hope you get to feeling better! Being nauseated is ugh ugh triple ugh! Hang in there.

Thinking of you today.

{{{Morphy}}}

See up in that first post? See that number? Yep! I've lost 202 pounds! Yeah, the last 12 have been because of the lack of appetite but the other 190 were all my hard work. Still have a long way to go. But I'm celebrating this major stepping stone along the way. Go me!

*standing ovation*
So proud of you!

>132 ronincats: Roni, that's all? Ha! We used to have that many until we did some purges. They were painful at first but we got used to it. We're down to 1200-ish now. Hot broths are fine but don't give much in the way of nutrition.

>134 SylviaC:-135 Sylvia & MD *hugs*

>136 streamsong: I have an appointment with my regular doctor on Thursday, streamsong, so we'll see what she has to say. I am worried about a rebound binge when I get my appetite back.

>137 MDGentleReader: Thanks, MD.

>139 norabelle414: Thanks, Nora!

***

I'm going to be working on reducing my computer time. Since Music Monday, Tunes Thursday, Film Friday and Sunday Sillies got few comments, I'm not going to do them anymore. I will continue with Talk to Me Tuesday and Wacky Wednesday since there seems to be much more interest in those. That should cut a good 10 - 15 minutes off my computer time those days.

>138 Morphidae: *Applause!* That's amazing, actually, Morphy. Congratulations!

202 pounds! That's a lot of self-discipline. Great work, Morphy!

Hope your appetite problem clears up soon. You don't need that complication.

Sorry I'm late, but here are some hugs for post 129 and a huge round of applause for post 138! I always keep you in my thoughts as you take this difficult journey and am rooting for you too. I'm also glad you aren't doing away with Talk to Me Tuesday because that is my favorite day. It's so interesting to read what other people post and it has allowed me to find some other threads I enjoy lurking in.

Congrats on the weight loss! That's awesome!!

Morphy, that is an incredible achievement! Well done, and I wish you all the best for the future.

Well done Morphy!

Sorry I haven't commented recently. I've mostly had time to just skim a little when I review a book. But congrats! That's a serious achievement. :)

Congratulations on the weight loss!!!!

Congrats, Morphy! WooHoo!!

I'm sad to see the Tunes go, but I understand the desire to cut back on computer time. Maybe I'll take up the Tunes thing on my thread...

Wow, Morphy! Congrats on the weight loss. That is very impressive. I hope you are feeling better.

** Joins in on the standing ovation **

That is quite an accomplishment.

>141 jnwelch: - 152 Thank you, Joe, Sylvia, Marie, Jim, Roni, Claire, Rhian, Melis, Lori, Amber, Mark & MD. I appreciate the support. Next goal is 250!

***

Talk to Me Tuesday

Where do you and have you read?

Now I mostly read on the couch but I'll also read in my wheelchair while waiting for MetroMobility or if MetroMobility has dropped me off early for an appointment. MrMorphy and I like to go to restaurants and read.

I used to also read in my car. I would park by Lake Minnetonka, usually with some type of fast food in hand, and read.

I've also read:

* in a tree
* on the roof
* on top of a swing set
* in a tree house
* under a table
* in a bowling alley
* in a movie theater
* in a pool
* at stoplights and in traffic (when stopped)
* while walking to school (almost a 2 mile walk)

I THINK I'm glad to know someone else does this:
* at stoplights and in traffic (when stopped)
Then again, it's sometimes is hard for me to break off and start driving again, so I'm still not sure I should do it. I'm just going to assume other folks are more disciplined and start driving without trying to finish the paragraph.

In the last week I've read:
in the tub
in a movie theatre
at the allergist's office, during mandatory wait after allergy shots
at the chiropractor's
in bed
in my perfect chair
in my car at a park
in a restaurant
at the library (finished an entire book standing up)
I brought a book to the hairdresser's, but apparently my appointment was not today
in most rooms in my house, including the bathroom

I don't do well with the whole reading and walking thing, although I've certainly done it. I can be a little spacy about my physical surroundings as it is. I've been known to run into walls in my own home while thinking hard about something, adding a book into the equation just seems like asking for trouble.

I used to read in my car by a lake in Minnesota. My landlady didn't approve of reading, didn't like my having my light on, so I drove to the closest lake and read there. It's not hard to find a lake in Minnesota :-).

I've also read while standing in line at retail establishments and in hot tubs and at the laundrymat and on a swing....

In bed. In the bathtub. In various chairs around the house. In my car listening to an audio book. At work. On road trips. Plane rides. Train rides. Cruises. At the beach. Parks. Libraries. In hospital waiting rooms. In coffee shops. Never by a lake in Minnesota, but I've read in lots of states and countries in Europe. My favorite was reading Great Expectations when I lived in London.

I don't know how people read while walking, it's a skill I've never mastered.

In the bathtub, in bed, in my desk chair, on the sofa, in my reading chair, on the deck, on the porch, NOT in the car except when it is not moving, at the park, at the library, at the beach, at the lake, and anywhere there is a line.

Reading for me occurs pretty much anywhere I find a spare minute or two. I don't have any surprising or unique reading places, although I do admit to walking and reading - yes, I stop reading when I am in crosswalks, you just cannot trust the drivers these days, even if I do have the right of way! ;-) A former work colleague would also walk and read and it rather unnerved one of our bosses when he would see either one of us walking through the parking lot with our noses in our books.

The best reading chair in the house also happens to be in the same room as the TV, so I can only take advantage of it when no one is watching TV. I can't tune out background noise like I used to. The next best place to read is in the computer chair. It is quite comfortable, and rocks a bit, but I can't put my feet up. I keep a different book in each of our vehicles (other than the farm machinery), for those times I have to sit around and wait—can't read in a moving vehicle. There's a book on my bedside table, but it gets read very slowly.

Mostly on the train (morning and evening), at my work desk at lunchtime, and in bed at night.

In the bath when I get the chance.

On my bed or the couch during unusually time-free weekends or on days under the weather.

Certainly not while walking! - I'm self-harmfully klutzy as it is! :)

Morph - just wanted to add my applause for your life-changing weight loss! That is absolutely amazing! You are a true heroine. I think that dealing with food 'addictions' is especially hard. Afterall, drinkers can stop drinking, but you can't stop eating. So a really awesome effort on your part.

>154 MDGentleReader: MD, hey, which lake in Minnesota? I gotta know!

>155 RosyLibrarian: Marie, well, I doubt I read the first several weeks I walked to school. But after two years of walking almost two miles both ways and only one major street to cross, it became second nature! I don't recall read and walking other than that time.

>156 ronincats: Roni, yeah. I can't read in a moving car either. I can't even look down to rummage in my purse. I get very nauseous.

>157 lkernagh: Lori, I don't think that I could read and walk nowadays. I'm too aware of safety issues since I got mugged. I can't be oblivious to my surroundings.

>158 SylviaC: Sylvia, I wonder if that whole can't read with background noise anymore comes with age? I used to be able to read in bowling alleys and now I can't even have music playing!

>159 lyzard: Liz, I sure wish I could ride on the MetroMobility bus like you do on the train. Ah well. I make up for it with audiobooks. I'm working on listening to all the Harry Potters. I've read them and watched them. Why not listen to them, too, eh?

>160 PrueGallagher: Prue, thanks!

***

Aww, no one has a more unusual place that they've read that will beat out my roof-top or top of swing set reading?

***

Wacky Wednesday

This amuses me...

Julian Smith - I'm Reading a Book



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuRuwR2JSXI

Agreed. It isn't safe to walk and be oblivious to your surroundings. That is why I don't listen to audiobooks (or music for that matter) during my walking commute from October to April... it is still dark out that early in the morning.

>161 Morphidae: Funny video, Morphy, thanks. I passed it on.

161> Love the video

160> I had to look it up - Lake Ripley outside of Litchfield, MN. 70 miles west of Minneapolis on 12. Shades of the video, the police checked on me regularly while I read there.

I read on the bus, when riding in someone's car, on my chair/couches in the living room, and in bed.

((((((Morphy)))))))

I'm so sorry I've been gone so long.

Quick explanation -- I just lost my job and I've been a bit on the hermit-y / turtle-y side and hiding out. Definitely not losing weight and probably gaining because of all the emotional eating going on. I'm so sorry about all the crap you've been going through.

What a terrible and horrendous experience to be followed up by feeling so awful! You'll be in my thoughts and prayers! I hope you are starting to feel stronger by now!

I will definitely check out your website soon. Keep smiling, dear lady!

Lovvvveeeed the video. :) Thanks for sharing!

I don't have much time to read more than my textbooks nowadays so I usually read on campus: in class before lectures, sitting on the floor in the hallways, at a variety of tables, on my bed at home, on my couch, in the car if I'm not driving.

For leasuire, I'm usually listening to audio books, so I listen while I drive, while I walk across campus, and ocassionally I can get an actually hardback book in while in bed where I tend to doze off a few pages in. :)

Funny video, Morphy!

That video is hilarious, Morphy, and so true! I'm pretty much a boring reader. I read in my library (ha!) and in bed for the most part. Ooops, almost forgot the porch swing. It has been neglected lately with colder weather and rain.

I do hope you get your eating troubles sorted out. Halloween candy is my downfall today. I got it out early...just in case. *burp*

>162 lkernagh: Lori, yeah, the only time I listen to audiobooks is on MetroMobility or in the truck with MrMorphy if I'm really tired and not up to chitchat.

>163 jnwelch: Joe, glad you enjoyed it!

>164 MDGentleReader: MD, you'd think they would get to recognize you!

>165 MickyFine: Micky, we are starting to sound like a Dr. Seuss book, lol! I will read in a car. I will read in a bar. I will read in the park. I will read in the dark. I will read in a chair. I will read everywhere!

>166 TinaV95: Tina, I'm sorry to hear about your own troubles. I haven't updated my website lately because Blogger wasn't allowing people to edit text gadgets for some reason. I haven't checked lately to see if it's been fixed or not. Perhaps over the weekend.

>167 Kassilem:-169 Melis, Roni & Donna, glad you liked the video. I love that he's so nasty about being interrupted. I'd never be that way but, oh, sometimes I've felt it!

***

Well, I went to the doctor today and she came up with several possibilities - gastric outlet obstruction, ulcers, non-contagious hepatitis (WTH!?!?!). So, we're currently waiting on the results of several blood tests then go from there. The next step will most likely be an endoscopy. Oh joy.

Meanwhile, she's taking me off Metformin and putting me on Prilosec and some anti-nausea medication.

Umm. What a nasty set of possibilities. I hope the blood tests give more information. Endoscopy, oh joy, indeed. What we will endure for answers.

I now wish I hadn't neglected to mention that I had the very similar symptoms. I didn't mention it, because I had no answers. I traveled fairly far down the gyn. answer route and then gave up in frustration (and lack of desire for still more tests). The symptoms got better and then mostly went away. I still sometimes feel full, despite not having eaten. Not much nausea, though and the gas is much less than it was. And the random, fairly sharp pains in my belly have mostly stopped. I chalked it up to some form of IBS. When it was bad, I just forced myself to have my normal breakfast - it is a drink, so I could get it down pretty quickly, dealt with the discomfort and then forced myself to consider eating every 4 hours or so, to avoid getting lightheaded and dizzy from not eating.

{{{Morphy}}}

In my mind, I have briefly considered say, ripping someone's head off for interrupting my reading, but I hope that I've mostly been reasonable and pleasant and attentive.

I will read in a moat, on a boat, riding a stoat, while eating oats.....

You'd think so, Litchfield is a really small town. Everyone I met there knew who I was and where I was living.

Sorry to hear of the inconclusive doctor's visit. I'll be holding my thumbs for the most optimistic outcome of the tests.

I can't think of any really unusual places where I've read, but my ex-husband and I did take books with us when attending an open-air music festival in Philadelphia. We were reading while the stage was rejiggered between bands, and a young woman (about the same age as us, I'd say) saw us and came over to yell "I can't believe you're reading at a music festival! Why the **** would you bring a book to something like this?! Didn't you come to listen to the artists?" Unfortunately I was too stunned to come up with a suitable response.

((Morphy!!)) Long time no ketchup in here! So sorry to hear about your current wait for results, but Oh my gosh, what a great job on the weightloss! 202 is a big accomplishment and took a lot of hard work. So proud of you.

The video you posted was very funny. Scary... and funny. :)

Places I've read? Hmm... all the usual places I'm sure, but these days with the cooler weather I read a lot in the school pickup line. I like to get there a little early, roll down the windows, turn off the car, and read. Although I've been so tired lately I find myself nodding off. Whoops.

As a kid, every year my dad would take us on a road trip to Colorado (a 2-day drive) and I would always be reading. When we took the RV, I'd lay in the bed and read, and when we took the car I'd lay the back seats down and sprawl out in the trunk. (Seatbelts? What seatbelts?) In the trunk of the car was where I first read The Phantom Tollbooth.

Also, I liked to lay out on the trampoline in the backyard and read. All the fresh air and comfort, none of the grassy itches or threat of bugs or snakes.

Hope November treats you well, my friend.

Morphy - Finally got caught up and what wonderful news to see that you have shed 212 pounds!!! I have said it before my dear but your never say die attitude is an inspiration.

I have my own weight battles (I increased in weight by about 40% after getting married) but am working quite hard at getting things under control.

Strange reading places: I suppose my awful habit of reading at traffic lights whilst driving is one I own up to shamefacedly.

Have a lovely weekend.

Just stopping by, to wish you as close to problem free digestion as possible and

{{{Morphy}}}

>171 MDGentleReader: MD, actually I don't mind being interrupted if it's someone asking me about what I'm reading. Or to talk about books. I'll talk about books for hours. And I'm guilty of interrupting someone reading to ask about the book they are reading. If they give the name of the book and go back to reading, I'll leave them alone. But if they start to chit-chat about books, I'm happy as a clam.

It's funny but there's this one lady that I've had two far-too-short book conversations with lately. She and I sit in the same waiting room to see our therapists/nutritionists. We keep getting interrupted getting called into our appointments!

>172 Sakerfalcon: Claire, dear lord, why *wouldn't* you bring a book? What if there was a rain delay? What if you had to wait a lot time in between sets? Sheesh. I think it's just a matter of common sense. I was flabbergasted at someone yesterday who said they hadn't read even ONE book this year. Wow.

>173 UnrulySun: Kathy, the trampoline sounds fun but I'll pass on the RV and car. I get sick just looking in my bag for something.

>174 PaulCranswick: Paul, 202 pounds but 212 is getting closer for sure. I did the reading at stoplight thing too. No shame here!

>175 MDGentleReader: MD, unfortunately the pills aren't helping me eat any better. In fact, if I don't drink some calories, today will be my first 1000 calorie day - less than half what I normally eat. They are helping with the nausea. I got some Naked juice and my husband is going to have me try out his Carnation drink. Ensure anyone?

Ensure always helps my mom when she feels too nauseous to eat (she's a Type 1 Diabetic, so she must eat and must be able to keep it down) - it's not the most pleasant beverage, but it does seem to work wonders. Hope it helps you!

>177 scaifea: Amber, actually, I was able to get myself up to 1300 calories. So that wasn't too bad. The Naked juice helped. And I was able to get more dinner down than I thought I would be able to.

That's good to hear. I hope you can find out soon what's causing the trouble - there's not much that's more frustrating than not feeling well and not being able to find out what's causing it!

Annnnnd, then I had an 800 calorie day. Ew? My worst yet. Most likely because I was pretty sick. Without going into TOO many details, the ER doctor thinks the medicines that my regular doctor gave me to help me eat brought a certain end portion of my intestinal system to a screeching halt. I feel better now though (after many hours in ER last night) and am shooting for 1500 today even if I have to supplement with liquid calories.

Aw, Morphy, that's too bad. I hope that was the worst of it, and things will improve from here.

Here is hoping that the ER doctors have pinpointed the problem and things will now be improving for you, Morphy.

Adding my hopes that this latest installment will lead to a solution.

{{{Morphy}}}

Goodness, Morphy! I hope things get back on track for you soon!

>181 SylviaC:-184 Sylvia, Lori, MD, Amber, thanks for your good thoughts. We'll get this figured out eventually. My doctor is out until tomorrow, so there will be nothing until then at least.

***

Talk to Me Tuesday

How do you get your news?

I used to used iGoogle but that shut down November 1st which really bummed me out. Now instead of one website, I have to use four - Google News, For Better or For Worse, Unshelved, wikiHow. Google News is working okay but there is a lot more to read. The only thing better is that there is a section for BOOK NEWS!

I also watch the local news on TV. I love the news crew. They are warm and fun.

How about you?

>185 Morphidae: I used to use Google Reader for my news feeds (which was kind of like iGoogle) but that shut down in July. Now I use feedly.com . After trying out a LOT of feed readers, Feedly was the least bad and seems to work okay on my two very different computers.

Nora stole my answer. I loved Google Reader and switched to Feedly when they shut down. I don't love Feedly, but I can't find anything better. Otherwise it's CNN, BBC and Google News.

Hope you are on the mend Morphy!

Hmm, in terms of formal news, I'll check BBC. But often I get my news through more informal mediums like Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook.

My husband has the news on TV most of the time that he's in the house, but I tune a lot of it out. After iGoogle, I tried out a few things, and Google news works best for me. Not perfect, but it covers the basics. I have Flipboard in the iPad, but I don't usually check it unless I'm looking for something specific. I get most of my local news from Twitter, and two very thin weekly newspapers. Unshelved comes to me in my Facebook feed, and I don't need For Better or For Worse, because I already own all the books except the latest treasury.

Um, traditional? Local news on TV, and especially The News Hour on PBS.

For news, I have websites for four newspapers that I regularily visit, I also follow certain feeds for more specific local news on Twitter. I don't read any print papers or watch any traditional cable TV news... our TV is strickly for watching DVDs or online (web-based) programming.

Hiya morphy!
Hmm, news... well I don't like any traditional sources at all, so I tend to get most of it through various dedicated websites, Facebook, zite, etc. And for the "important" things I have my husband who is obsessed with news and politics.

I tend to bury my head in the sand these days. I wasn't always like that but lately it's all I feel like doing.

News - I listen to our local tv morning news programme. I have it on in the next room and only watch it if something comes up of interest. I loved google reader and now have adapted to feedly though it doesn't quite work how I'd like it to. I follow a news stream on twitter and facebook when I'm online. I go to the tv and watch BBC or CNN or some such channel if there is a major story but the repetition bores me fairly quickly. I read websites that monitor the media and it can get quite interesting on how biased reportage can be, so I like to use multiple sources.
Lately I've been turning into a bit of a news junkie and need to monitor how much time I 'waste' on all this but I do find it all extremely interesting.

I use a BBC news app for my phone. And I skim the local paper (it comes out once a week). I'm not big on news, which I know is fairly irresponsible of me, but, well, *shrug.*

I get The Week magazine - it summarizes news stories from other sources. The stories come from multiple sources, so multiple perspectives are covered. I also visit the website for the political cartoons. I prefer to laugh at the issues that bug me when possible. It beats crying or raging. http://theweek.com/section/latest_cartoon is the US site cartoon link. Also, they have links to the sources of their stories. Importantly, there are book reviews every week. www.theweek.co.uk is the UK version. For a web site, csmonitor.com is my go-to site. They have really good reporting. I find the commentary to be informative and thought provoking. In addition, they have a latest news wire link for US and World news if I feel a need to find breaking news. And - it has a whole section devoted to books. I don't tend to watch TV, but if I did, Al Jazeera would be my choice. I liked getting a non-US centric version of the news. When I have watched, they seem to cover stories that matter, not stories that are sensationalist. I haven't watched since Al Jazeera America started, don't know how it compares to regular Al Jazeera. I suspect that I would not find it as interesting as I did the original Al Jazeera broadcasts.

I've been in offices where FOX News or CNN has been on continuously. MSN was switched to for the Olympics. It is quite amazing that I stayed sane. Particularly during the Casey Anthony trial. I loathed them all.

In truth, I am far more interested in when you will have answers to your digestive issues than anything covered by the above mentioned sources. So, your thread is a pretty important news source to me right now :-).

{{{Morphy}}}

Morphy I use various methods.

For general world news it would be:
TV : satelite tv I watch SkyNews for half an hour every day
Online : I trawl the British online editions. Independent and Guardian mainly. I also get the following magazines regularly:
Time, New Statesman, The Economist.

For book news:
I subscribe to the Literary Review which is an excellent british magazine and is available on line
LT
Fantasticfiction.co.uk
My local bookstore Kinokuniya

For sports news:
Online with Yahoo Eurosport
Cricinfo
LeedsUnitednewsnow.

>186 norabelle414: Nora, I thought about using feedly.com but I didn't want to have to find a bunch of different sites to add to the feed.

>187 RosyLibrarian: Marie, not yet. I'm supposed to hear from my doctor today and we'll figure out what to do next. We haven't figured out what's wrong.

>188 MickyFine: Micky, I've been staying away from Twitter and Tumblr. Facebook is a bad enough time suck!

>189 SylviaC: Sylvia, I like reading For Better or For Worse on the site because Lynn has comments on the comic and her life on most days.

>190 ronincats: Roni, I listen/watch morning news from 630am to 10am while I'm on the computer. Yes, there is a lot of repeat but then, I'm distracted through much of it!

>191 lkernagh: Lori, we canceled cable because I was only watching the news. $70 a month for news is silly. So now we just get local channels with an antenna - including the channel I watched my news on!

>192 UnrulySun: Kathy, I don't go deep into news. I just scan the headlines at Google News and read 5 or 6 articles each day. Mostly the entertainment ones!

>193 avatiakh: Kerry, wow. You are a bit of a news freak, aren't you! LOL. I find that much of it annoys me, especially poltical news.

>194 scaifea: Amber, I think I may start checking out BBC. I've heard a lot of good stuff about them.

>195 MDGentleReader: MD, I may check The Week out. It sounds interesting. I may have more news for you today. I'm supposed to hear from my doctor about what we'll do next. We still haven't figured this out. I did have a decent food day yesterday - 1500 calories. I felt stuffed though. And my eating disorder got me all upset saying I ate "too much." Meh.

>196 PaulCranswick: Paul, when do you have enough time to read books? Ha!

***

Wacky Wednesday

A Lonely widow, age 70, decided that it was time to get married again. So she put an ad in the local newspaper that read:

HUSBAND WANTED: MUST BE IN MY AGE GROUP (70's), MUST NOT BEAT ME, MUST NOT RUN AROUND ON ME, MUST STILL BE GOOD IN BED!!! ALL APPLICANTS PLEASE APPLY IN PERSON.

On the second day, she heard the doorbell. Much to her dismay, she opened the door just to see a grey-haired gentleman sitting in a wheelchair. He had no arms and no legs.

The old woman said, 'You're not really asking me to consider you, are you? Just look at you...you have no legs!'

The old man smiled, 'Therefore, I cannot run around on you!'

She snorted. 'You don't have any arms either!'

Again, the old man smiled, 'Therefore, I can never beat you!'

She raised an eyebrow and asked intently, 'Are you still good in bed?'

The old man leaned back, beamed a big smile and said,

'Rang the doorbell, didn't I?'

Hee hee.

Hope the doctor brings some relief today!

>198 streamsong: Meh, streamsong. Not really. My liver values were high, so they tested for hepatitis. I got cleared for that. Thank the gods. Where in the world would I have gotten hepatitis?!? So, I'm going back in on Monday for more liver value blood tests. Why can't they take all these tests all at once? Why is this being dragged on for so long! It's been three weeks now. Find out what is wrong with me and fix it! Grrrr.

Today's Agenda (stolen from scaifea):

I need to work on monthly billing for WeCAB (local transport non-profit). I normally get this out by the 9th of the month (Saturday) but my brain is so fuzzy from not eating well I find it hard to concentrate. It might be Monday before they get out. Tonight I have my second drawing basics class. I'm looking forward to it. My only gripe is that it is a basic class and the other three students are not beginners. So they are gently pressing the instructor to move faster or skip over stuff that *I* need. So far the instructor is resisting and has told me she will continue to treat it as the basics class that it is, for which I am grateful.

Why did those people sign up for a Basic class?! I hope the instructor sticks to her guns.

I had a similar experience in a beginner's woodworking class. Only two of us were actually beginners, and everyone else just wanted to use the tools in the highschool shop. They were making things like bookcases, tables, and porch doors. I made this:


One of the experienced students ended up telling the teacher to stop helping the people with big projects, and actually teach the beginners. I learned a few things, but certainly didn't become a confident carpenter.

Hi, Morphy! I didn't realize it had been so long since I visited. I'm sorry about your health issues, and hope your doctor comes up with something helpful. But congrats on having lost 202 pounds!

Hey, Morphy, hope all is well up there!

Hi Morphy.
I'm embarrassed to admit how much I rely on P to keep me abreast of news. I do peruse The Seattle Times most mornings (we still get the print version delivered to our front door), but I don't watch news shows on television unless there is something specific I'm wanting to track (an election, a snowstorm....).

Happy Sunday!

>200 scaifea: Amber, I've been to the second class and she is. It continues to be the basics.

>201 SylviaC: Sylvia, well, I certainly think you did a great job on those shelves.

>202 tymfos: Terri, thanks! I certainly hope the doctor comes up with something soon. I'm going on three weeks now and I'm tired of it.

>203 ronincats: Roni, things are good. Thanks! How are you doin'?

>204 EBT1002: Ellen, MrMorphy tends toward the odd and outrageous news. He'll get a bee in his bonnet about some person getting the shaft in some way in a conservative small town in the middle of nowhere and go off on a rant. I just nod and make sympathetic noises.

***

Okay, I'm behind by something like 15 or more reviews. I kept putting it off and the piles got bigger so I put it off, etc. Now it's a huge list! I'm going to post them but not going to do covers and I'm going to enter several per post.

250. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking - Genre: Nonfiction Rating: 5

Notes: TIOLI #3 (Nonfiction NY Times #1 - June 26, 1988), 111 Nonfiction

Summary: About the origins and nature of the universe from the small to the large

Opinion: I took biology in high school, not physics, so much of this was beyond me. It's not that Hawking didn't explain it well or is a poor writer. Rather, most of the basic concepts went beyond my comprehension, no matter how many times I read the paragraph or page. It only got low marks because I didn't understand half of what I was reading so the enjoyment factor was low. For someone with more physics background, like MrMorphy, I'm sure it was/would be a much better book.

*

251. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham - Genre: Science Fiction Rating: 7

Notes: TIOLI #8 (unit of time), GD Lists (13 in 13 - 111 Science Fiction)

Summary: A meteorite shower occurs one night making almost everyone blind. Then the walking, poisonous plants start hunting the blinded.

Opinion: A good precursor to many of my favorite "end of the world" stories I love so much today. Wyndham did it before it became all the rage. I felt a little distant from the characters though and found it hard to root for them. Probably because of the British "stiff-upper-lipness" of it all. I would have liked to have learned more about the colony they joined at the end, too. Otherwise a solid SF story.

*

252. He Died With His Eyes Open by Derek Raymond - Genre: Mystery Rating: 5

Notes: TIOLI #16 (United Nations Security Council - United Kingdom), Around the World in 80 Sleuths (12 in 12)

Summary: Hardboiled noir mystery about an alcoholic who is found dead in the streets

Opinion: Hardboiled noir is just not my thing. I don’t like the bleakness or cynicism of it all. I don't like depressed detectives who have no hope and stories with no happy endings. There is no humor, no joy. Just yuck. Reading about listening to the tapes and the alcholic rambling on and on was just boring on top of that. So not recommended.

*

253. So Far from Malabar by Joy DeWeese Wehen - Genre: Children's Rating: 6

Notes: TIOLI #5 (Halloween related - boo)

Summary: A temple dancer is kidnapped and sold as a slave

Opinion: This was a favorite read as a child and the suck fairy didn't do TOO much damage. However, the story was too simplistic and nothing really bad ever happened. The main character is almost a Mary Sue. Then she converts to Christianity. Ugh. Good enough story though for me to understand why I liked it.

*

254. Sacred Ground by Mercedes Lackey - Genre: Fantasy Rating: 7

Notes: Reread

255. A Kiss for Midwinter by Courtney Milan - Genre: Romance Rating: 7

Notes: TIOLI #2 (LT Author - Sarah Krisch), to complete bibliography

Summary: Historical romance novella about a young doctor who had shadowed an older doctor and years later meets up with a young woman who had been treated poorly

Opinion: I think if this had been a full novel I would had gotten annoyed with the characters. The hero was stalkerish and the heroine was almost TSTL (too stupid to live - or perhaps too stubborn to live?) But the length kept the plot moving and so it didn't bother me too much. Cute, emotionally engaging story.

*

256. Moonheart by Charles de Lint - Genre: Contemporary Fantasy Rating: 8

Notes: TIOLI #5 (Halloween - moon), 1001 Fantasy, If You Like (13 in 13)

Summary: One of, if not the first, urban fantasy novels with a blend of Celtic and Native American mythos.

Opinion: I'm glad I didn't succumb to my first instinct and toss the book aside after the first pages. I thought his writing would be too "lyrical" for me. Seems like he was just setting the tone though and the style became less purple and more straightforward. If I hadn't known better I would have said he was a hack writing what everyone else was writing. You know, similar to how many epic fantasies are just Tolkein wannabes? Instead, it's clearly a foundational work. Most of the current urban fantasy (minus the paranormal romance) seems to follow in Lint's footsteps in structure and tone.

*

257. Bastion by Mercedes Lackey - Genre: Fantasy Rating: 5

Notes: TIOLI #13 (top 75 authors), next in series

Summary: Mags and his friends head off to the cave where his parents were killed to find some answers

Opinion: One of the worst Lackey's I've ever read, if not the worst. I'd say the climax is anti-climactic but there really is no climax. One little battle and poof, the story is over. All the loose ends were tied up but it was so pathetically done that even though this is supposedly the last book when I was finished, I had to wonder if there was another book coming. My feeling was, "that's it?" To top it off, it was BORING. Two words, "travel fantasy." *yawns* Half the book was the group getting ready to travel, traveling, then setting up the cave after traveling. Dear lord...

*

258. Autumn Bones by Jacqueline Carey - Genre: Contemporary Fantasy Rating: 7

Notes: TIOLI #17 (autumn leaves cover), next in series

Summary: Daisy's boyfriend is haunted by his Obeah sorcerous past and when his family comes to take him back to Jamaica, all hell breaks loose.

Opinion: Better than the first in the series. The characters were more rounded and the plot was interesting and detailed. Still not her best but this is more like the Carey that I know and love. Whew, I was getting nervous there.

*

259. Forbidden by Kelley Armstrong - Genre: Contemporary Fantasy Rating: 6

Notes: TIOLI #5 (Halloween title - bone), next in series

Summary: Morgan decides to leave Alaska and consider joining the pack a try but gets ambushed in a small town along the way. Pack alpha-elect, Elena, and her mate, Clay, arrive to figure out what's going on.

Opinion: A light novella with a straightforward plot and little character growth. Didn't do much for me. I wanted more about Morgan and his desire to integrate into the pack as well as Elena's and Clay's reaction to it instead of another thriller/mystery.

260. Dark Lover by J. R. Ward - Genre: Contemporary Fantasy Rating: 6

Notes: Reread

*

261. The Black Dagger Brotherhood by J. R. Ward - Genre: Contemporary Fantasy Rating: 8

Notes: TIOLI #5 (Halloween title - black), to complete bibliography

Summary: Companion book to the Black Dagger Brotherhood series

Opinion: Loved this. Novella, deleted scenes, interviews with the brothers, scenes that can be found only online (hysterical!), mini-stories, and the background to how she wrote the first few books along with writing and publishing advice. Much fun ensued while reading this.

*

262. Lover Eternal by J. R. Ward - Genre: Contemporary Fantasy Rating: 7

Notes: Reread

*

263. Lover Awakened by J. R. Ward - Genre: Contemporary Fantasy Rating: 8

Notes: Reread

*

264. The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross - Genre: Steampunk Rating: 7

Notes: TIOLI #5 (Halloween title - wraith)

Summary: Finley and her friends go to New York to help their friend, Jasper

Opinion: Solid continuation to the series. I enjoy all the characters though Finley is a little harsh and Griffin isolates himself too much. I think Cross could have handled the betrayal with more finesse. Overall though, a good read.

Oh Morph, I do hope your health issues are resolved soon - you don't need any more challenges!

For news, I watch our national TV news programme in the morning while I have breakfast and get ready for work. We get a daily newspaper delivered - though I confess I only look at the crossword section (which I try to complete on the train to work). I also get twice daily email bulletins from our major metro newspaper. And my husband fills me in on other bits and pieces. I used to watch an hour-long news show in the evening, but now I am at the gym during that time....

265. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (J. K. Rowling) - Genre: Mystery Rating: 6

Notes: TIOLI #4 (title 15 letters or more)

Summary: Cormoran and his temporary secretary have to find out who killed a model when just about everyone thinks she committed suicide.

Opinion: Rowling needs to stick to fantasy. The plot and characters were boring. Cormoran was almost unlikeable. There was nothing here to set it aside from any other middle-of-the-road mystery. Robin and her antics were the only things that made me rate the book as high as I did.

*

266. Lover Unbound by J. R. Ward - Genre: Contemporary Fantasy Rating: 6

Notes: Reread

*

267. Captain's Fury by Jim Butcher - Genre: Fantasy Rating: 7

Notes: TIOLI #20 (scramble new title - Satanic Fry Up)

Summary: Tavi and his legion are put under an unsavory Senator while continuing to fight the invading Canim

Opinion: More bleak than I would like (typical for Butcher) but I still zipped through this like it was nothing. I couldn't put it down. Characterization and plotting were excellent. Seemingly unending violence, betrayal, angst, blah, blah, blah, brought it down from an 8.

*

268. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson - Genre: Horror Rating: 6

Notes: TIOLI #8 (Doctor or Who in title), Book to Movie (13 in 13)

Summary: Novella or really long short story about the duality of man

Opinion: Being too familiar with the spoiler and the movie versions where Hyde is a large monster tainted my reading of this story. I might have gotten more out of it without that bias. Hyde seems more pathetic of a creature and barely what you would consider a monster. The style is rather overblown. With all that being said, still a decent read.

~~~~~

Currently Reading:
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny

On Deck:
The Regulators by Stephen King
Greasy, Grimy Gopher Guts by Josepha Sherman
Allegiant by Veronica Roth

211: Oh no, I rather liked that one by Rowling, but I admit to being totally biased. :) I see Allegiant is on deck for you. I hope you enjoy it even though I ruined the surprise ending for you.

#206 I felt a little distant from the characters though and found it hard to root for them. Probably because of the British "stiff-upper-lipness" of it all.
Even if you're British, the "stiff-upper-lipness" that you see in books of that period can seem like another country. Although it is his most famous, this isn't my favourite book by Wyndham: that would be The Chrysalids.

Morning Morphy- I hope you have a good week. Not a fan of the Rowling, huh? I haven't seen many LTers mention it, which is usually one of my book-barometers.
I also have Allegiant lined up. My wife is reading it now.

>209 PrueGallagher: Prue, I have an appointment with my doctor today. We'll see what she has to say. I do my daily crossword online at USAToday.com. It's fun.

>212 RosyLibrarian: Marie, you didn't ruin it. I would have read the last few pages first anyway. I always do.

>213 SandDune: Rhian, I'll have to check The Chrysalids out then because I did like Triffids.

>214 msf59: Mark, actually I am a fan. I love Harry Potter. I own all the books and have read them many times over. I own and have watched the movies many times over. And I'm currently listening to the books for the first time. Probably why The Cuckoo's Calling was such a disappointment. I was expecting something much more enjoyable.

Good luck with your appointment today, Morphy!

I could just go look this up but is Autumn Bones the second book after Dark Currents? Oh... wait, I think I just answered that by bracketing the titles and looking at what came up :)

Anyways, I noticed you were reread the Brotherhood series. Awesome series. Have you read her other series: Fallen Angels? The newest book just came out. Glad you liked the Captain's Fury. You should like last two books as well then.

Happy reading and good luck.

I hope they at least have a solution for the symptoms while they seek out the cause. Glad you don't have hepatitis!

{{{Morphy}}}

>216 SylviaC: Sylvia, thanks.

>217 Kassilem: Melis, I have started Fallen Angels but am only a couple books in. I don't like them as much as the Brotherhood novels but they'll do in a pinch.

>218 MDGentleReader: MD, they did have one solution, but the side effect of the meds landed me in ER! So that didn't work.

***

So, I got more blood tests. She wanted to check out my liver functions again. She's also testing for H. pylori, the bacteria that causes ulcers. I should hear in the next few days. Meanwhile, I'm scheduled for an endoscopy. Blech. It's not until 12/23 though. It seems that everyone in the world has procedures done at the end of the year because of insurance deductibles at the beginning of next year. I'm to call in each day to see if there are cancellations.

***

Talk to Me Tuesday

On the news they are talking about classic toys. I was a big Barbie girl. I had everything. Barbie and Ken, clothes, the clothes box (whatever they called it - with the mirror inside, changing room?), the big three-story townhouse (with elevator!), the car, and the big Barbie head where you could brush the hair and put make up on.

I also remember playing a lot of board games. My favorites were Go to the Head of the Class and Life. Go to the Head of the Class was one of the first, if not the first, trivia board games.



And what was the game where you had four colored pegs that you put in a certain order and the other person had to guess what the pegs were? I think it started with M?

What were your favorite toys growing up?

The game that begins with an M is Mastermind. I used to play that one a lot with my siblings.

I still have Mastermind, but seldom play it as my mind is no longer very masterful. I also have my mother's Braille Scrabble set. We had a New Year's Eve tradition of playing Scrabble—she usually won.

I had the typical toys: Barbies, Slinky, yo-yos, Etch-a-Sketch, Matchbox cars, various craft kits. I loved my microscope, even though it never really worked well. We had to throw out all of my stuffed animals when I was about 9 because of allergies.

Morphy - I was very much the sports boy growing up. I had a rugby ball, tennis racquet and tennis balls, football (soccer) and the ever present cricket bat. We had a large garden and enticing school playing fields a stone's throw away. Having a twin brother, equally crazed, we would play a variety of sports for hour after hour growing up rain and shine. It is probably why even 20 kilos added to my "fighting weight" I astonished all the mothers at school by winning the parent-teachers race by a country mile. Lucky it was 100 metres because another 20 or so metres and I wouldn't have made it. Another 10 kilos on though and I have not chanced the race for the last couple of years.

Those chattels and of course my collection of Doctor Who books, Famous Five, Innes and MacLean.

Hi Morphy. The h pylori is making rounds around here apparently, or maybe just being tested for more often. I've heard of three cases recently myself and I don't even know very many people! I hope that's not what's troubling you although it is certainly treatable.

Old toys and games... I'm a kid of the 80s so I had a close relationship with My Little Pony, Popples, Mousetrap, and Smurfs. My brother let me be She-Ra when we played action figures. Of course we also spent a lot of time playing in the dirt, the creek, or the forest. :)

Eta: my very favorite toy was a set of little squirrel finger puppets that lived in a soft log carrier thingy. I wish I could remember the name of that toy.

Favorite game: Uno. Love that card game.
Favorite toy: Fashion plates, I think. Or maybe my Speak & Spell.

Favourite game: probably playing cards - Last Card but also gin rummy and I loved playing 500 and euchre when I was a bit older.
Favourite toy: early on it would have been blocks and the plastic farm animals from cereal boxes. My uncle was a supervisor at a plastics factory that made the toys so he always brought me a pile each time he visited (he also brought us piles of comics). I had a whole farm thing going on.
Then I moved on to dolls and really did that big time. I had a school for them and was the main teacher etc etc
I grew up on a farm so we were outside a lot running around, going bush and we had a massive tractor tyre swing in an old tree that I probably rode on every fine day for a few years.

Loved playing cards too. Especially when it was Mum, Peter and I (Julie my sister was always such a sore loser). Rummy, a game called take five and another called Fish where you turn all the cards facedown and try to match them in pairs by turning two at a time. It is a memory game and great fun. Ysabelle is extremely good at the game.

We also used to play ABC game with my mum. Take a piece of paper and divide it into columns. Write down on the left hand side all the alphabet in order and then you have five or so categories. Boy's names, girl's names, animals, fruit/veg, capital cities/countries etc. If three are playing you get one point for each answer and two if only two of you shared the same answer, three points if nobody got the same answer as you.

Connect-Four, Monopoly and Battleships were also good fun.

We were a cards family also. Shanghai, Pounce, and War were our games. We also liked to play Rummikub together and my aunt would always cheat.

I always loved my Revlon doll more than my Barbie. We played Michigan Rummy Monopoly and Pitch, and Canasta with the cousins. I also grew up on a farm and spent a lot of outdoor time playing cowboys and Indians and baseball.

Also a cards-playing family! And Monopoly. Later on it was Scrabble and Boggle with my mother. I liked playing 'Buccaneer' because it had shiny treasure. And the whole family of early Barbies - though not the lavish mansion you had, Morph! Books were those Girls' annuals each Christmas, the Anne books and What Katy Did was a favourite.

Man, I was a busy kid now that I think about it. I spent a lot of time outdoors riding bikes, rollerblading, and maybe just daydreaming. We went camping and I loved fishing. I had Barbies and dolls, but I think I loved to draw more. I was unsurprisingly a big reader. I went through a huge Anne of Green Gables phase which I guess I never grew out of. I was also a child of the 90s so video and computer games were just hitting the market. I loved Oregon Trail and playing Final Fantasy on our Super Nintendo.

Ah, that all sounds so lovely. I'd rather go do that today then go to work. :)

>220 calm: Thanks, calm! My brother is much younger than I (8 years), so we couldn't play the same type of games. I needed to play at his level. So in my teens, I was playing Candyland and such.

>221 SylviaC: Sylvia, We used to play Scrabble, too. We never played to win, however. Mom always cremated us.

>222 PaulCranswick: Paul, that reminds me. I wasn't into sports, however, I loved riding my bike. I had one from 8 to 18 or so and would ride it often. As I got older, I would ride farther and farther from home, often miles away.

>223 UnrulySun: Kathy, at this point I'm almost hoping it is the H pylori. At least that way there is a treatable reason rather than 3+ weeks of not knowing. The squirrels were called Woodsies.

>224 scaifea: Amber, I remember playing Uno for hours. Definitely a fun game.

>225 avatiakh: Kerry, my grandmother (mom's mom) would play a card game called Spite and Malice with me for hours and hours.

>226 PaulCranswick: & 227 Paul & Kathy, we'd also play gin-rummy, Rummikub, and Battleship.

>228 ronincats: Roni, ooooh, Canasta! I'd play Canasta with my other grandmother (dad's mom). I'd like to play it again, but man, you need a huge table - four decks of cards!

>229 PrueGallagher: Prue, it's funny but the card game totally depended on which family member I was playing with! Mom and stepfather was gin-rummy, maternal grandmother was Spite and Malice, paternal grandmother was Canasta. My first boyfriend was Euchre.

>230 RosyLibrarian: Marie, my mother worked for Atari in the early 80s so I got to play many games in Beta. As in, the labels were white and the name of the game was typed on! Yar's Revenge and Joust were my favorites. I also liked Centipede, Pac-Man, and Galaxian.

***

Wacky Wednesday

NEVER TICK OFF THE NURSE

A big shot attorney had to spend a couple of days in the hospital.. He was a royal pain to the nurses because he bossed them around just like he did his staff. None of the hospital staff wanted to have anything to do with him.

The head nurse was the only one who could stand up to him.. She came into his room and announced,'I have to take your temperature.'

After complaining for several minutes, he finally settled down, crossed his arms and opened his mouth.

'No, I'm sorry,' the nurse stated, 'but for this reading, I can't use an oral thermometer.' This started another round of complaining but eventually he rolled over and bared his behind.

After feeling the nurse insert the thermometer, he heard her announce, 'I have to get something. Now you stay JUST LIKE THAT until I get back!'

She left the door to his room open on her way out. He cursed under his breath as he heard people walking past his door, laughing.

After a half hour, the man's doctor came into the room.

'What's going on here?' asked the doctor.

Angrily, the man answered, 'What's the matter, Doc? Haven't you ever seen someone having their temperature taken?'

After a pause, the doctor confessed...

'Not with a carnation.'

WOODSIES! Yes that's it, thank you!

231: What! How cool! My husband still has his Atari.

>232 UnrulySun: Kathy, you are welcome!

>233 RosyLibrarian: Marie, we still have our Commodore 64s. The reason is because that is how we met. This was in 1989 - before the Internet or AOL or anything like that. Remember putting your phone in a cradle? Yeah. We met in a chat room for role players called The Red Dragon Inn. I was an elf named Goldmoon (give me a break, I was a newb) and he was a Romulan. She was fascinated by his pointed ears because he was most definitely NOT an elf...

Cute story about Goldmoon and Rumulan. I love hearing about how couples met. My husband and I met at Missouri State when it was Southwest Missouri State College back in the mid 1960s. I was playing ping pong with my friends and he was doing the same with his friends. We paired up for some doubles action...and the rest is history. Btw, our ping pong table was used mainly for wrapping Christmas presents so it is being stored in the John Deere room until the grands get older!

When I was a kid, I loved playing with my dolls and my wild side liked playing football with my brother and his friends. We used to have Game Day every Sunday as a family. I remember a game called Careers and, of course, the common ones like Monopoly. Even back then, I couldn't get anyone interested in playing Scrabble with me. It's still my favorite game to play!

I hope you get some answers to your health problems soon. At least you are ruling out some nasty stuff like Hepatitis.

>235 Donna828: Donna, was it you couldn't find anyone to play with you or rather wouldn't play with you, like my mom, because she always cremated us? The only reason we would was out of love because it was her favorite game.

Talk to Me Tuesday

Donna and I have told our "how did you meet" stories. So how did you meet your significant other? If you are single, how about a bad date story? If you don't date, any other type of relationship story is fine - like how you met your best friend, etc.

To continue my story:

So after chatting for several months, I wanted to leave town (Florida) because I just left a long-term relationship. A few friends from The Red Dragon Inn offered their homes, but MrMorphy bribed me with a science fiction convention. Now, neither of us were interested in anyone at the moment. I just left a relationship and so had he. However, our eyes met as I stepped off the airplane and it was all over. Within the week we were declaring our love.

That was in March 1989. We decided that I would come visit again in the summer and I would save up and move to Minnesota in September. A month passes and MrMorphy says he can't wait any longer. He's sending me a ticket to come visit over Memorial Day (May) and he wanted me to meet his parents. At the end of the visit, the plans were the same - for me to save to move up in September into my own place.

A month later - he can't wait anymore. He's flying down to Florida, will pack me up and I'll move into his house. So the end of June, he comes down, meets my folks and we drive up to Minnesota with a trailer. We get to his house on July 4th. At this point I've spent a total of two weeks of face-to-face time with this person. Now, we've had months of computer time and we talked on the phone every day (OH! THOSE PHONE BILLS!) but still... two weeks!

We get to the house and we aren't there for more than 30 minutes when he asks me to marry him.

We got married a year later.

June 23rd was our 24th anniversary and people often ask us if we just got married.

I love your story, Morphy - so sweet! Craig and I met at college - his best friend was dating my roommate. Definitely not love at first sight, still he was funny and the rare kind of nice. I mean genuinely, truly a nice person to the core of his being. We went on our first date the summer after my freshman year - I had just turned nineteen! We continued to date for the next two years and he proposed my senior year. I said yes if we could have a long engagement - I didn't want to get married just out of college. I wanted to live on my own for a year, just to know that I could do it and to have that experience. We were engaged for two years and got married in October of 1990. So, we have now been married for 23 years, and it has been an incredibly rewarding journey full of laughter and love.

My Sweetie and I met on Valentine's Day although it is pretty certain that we had at least been in the same room a time or two before that. I was having a Valentine's Day party and well, except for one friend, everyone I invited had someone special to spend Valentine's Day with. So the friend and I were going to watch a movie, one we'd seen before, but enjoyed. Couldn't find that it was listed at the theater we thought it was playing at. I have a thing about violence, so I don't just wander into a theater to watch any old thing. So my friend mentioned that there was board gaming happening at this guy's place that night. I had never gone to that gaming group, I wasn't on the invite list and I didn't want to go by myself to someone's home, so I'd never been. We went and I actually started dating someone else who was there, someone who had persuaded the first friend to go kayaking with us some time before. Silly me, I didn't interpret that as interest in me. I hang out with a lot of guys, so I have to be hit over the head if someone is interested. Because the guy I was dating made this gaming event a high priority, we went pretty much every time. When we broke up, my Sweetie had already broken up with someone else and asked me out. He is very quiet and perfectly content to allow people be who they are and do what they do, so I didn't know him well. I do now, and boy am I lucky. I mean, MrMorphy seems like a great guy and all, but... : ). 9th anniversary of first date is next month.

I keep hoping for good news about your digestive issues, Morphy. I hope that it is at least more bearable. Terrible thing that the something that was supposed to help landed you in the emergency room. Do they have anything else to try at all before the endoscopy scheduled for next month?

{{{Morphy}}}

Lovely meeting story, Morphy!

My hubby and I were classmates in graduate school. He first showed an interest in me (that I noticed) during the Spring semester choir tour. The following fall, we started spending time together, going out to dinner together with other friends. One day we decided to go for a walk in Fairmount Park, just the two of us. The path we were on didn't take us where we expected, it started to rain, we started to panic, a passer-by instructed us on a shortcut back to "civilization," we thought we were lost but eventually got back to campus thoroughly soaked and too late for dinner. We decided to go out together to Chinatown for dinner -- just the two of us. I got a fortune cookie that said something like, "you will be fortunate in matters of love."

Enuough said.

My husband and I only lived three hours apart when we met, so not nearly as far as you guys, Morphy. I lived in Toronto, but spent a lot of time visiting my best friend in a small town about two hours away. She met a farmer in a bar one night, and from then on most of our social activities included him and his friends. One of his friends was a really cute, shy and quiet guy, also a farmer. For four years he alternated between chatting with me and avoiding me like the plague. It didn't help that I was equally quiet and shy. Finally, he decided to go for it, and asked me out. We alternated weekends travelling to visit each other for two years, until we got married, and I moved to the farm. We've been married for 17 years. (Our friends have been married for 21.)

>237 Crazymamie: Mamie, that was different from me. I haven't been alone except for a few months since I was 17. Even then I was on the phone daily with MrMorphy.

>238 MDGentleReader: MD, no, just waiting on the endoscopy. I'm calling every day to find out about cancellations.

>239 tymfos: Terri, did you keep the fortune? :D

>240 SylviaC: Sylvia, I went looking for pictures of you two and *gasp* your photo gallery is EMPTY! *whines*

***

Wacky Wednesday

When Insults Had Class These glorious insults are from an era when cleverness with words was still valued, before a great portion of the English language got boiled down to 4-letter words, not to mention waving middle fingers.

The exchange between Churchill & Lady Astor: She said, "If you were my husband I'd give you poison," and he said, "If you were my wife, I'd drink it."
*
A member of Parliament to Disraeli: "Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable
disease."

"That depends, Sir," said Disraeli, "on whether I embrace your policies or your mistress."
*
"He had delusions of adequacy." - Walter Kerr
*
"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." - Winston Churchill
*
"A modest little person, with much to be modest about." - Winston Churchill
*
"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." Clarence Darrow
*
"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." - William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).

"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?" - Ernest Hemingway (about William
Faulkner)
*
"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it." - Moses Hadas
*
"He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know." - Abraham Lincoln
*
"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." - Mark Twain
*
"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends." - Oscar Wilde
*
"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend.... if you have one." - George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second... if there is one." - Winston Churchill, in response.
*
"I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here." - Stephen Bishop
*
"He is a self-made man and worships his creator." - John Bright
*
"He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of dullness in others." - Samuel Johnson
*
"There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure." Jack E. Leonard
*
"He has the attention span of a lightning bolt." - Robert Redford
*
"In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily." - Charles, Count Talleyrand
*
"Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?" - Mark Twain
*
"His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork." - Mae West
*
"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go." - Oscar Wilde
*
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts.. . for support rather than illumination. " - Andrew Lang (1844-1912)
*
"He has Van Gogh's ear for music." - Billy Wilder
*
"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening but this wasn't it." - Groucho Marx

>241 Morphidae: Did you check Facebook? The whole family is there.

Wonderful insults, Morphy. I like them all.

241 I kept that fortune for quite a while, but it eventually got lost. No matter; we've lived the fortune. :)

Love the insults, Morphy -- especially Faulkner & Hemingway trading barbs.

>242 SylviaC: Sylviia, no, I didn't. That would be like, smart or something. *trots off to Facebook, muttering*

>243 jnwelch: Glad you enjoyed them, Joe!

>244 tymfos: Terri, I like that one, too, as well as the Shaw/Churchill one.

***

Off to my drawing basics class tonight. I missed last week because I wasn't feeling well. I really wanted to go but I had hit the wall. I was out of spoons.* Tomorrow I'll be at church doing receptionist work in the morning them I am doing NOTHING until December 2nd. No appointments, no activities, no obligations. I'll be FREE! I've been running for months now and I need a break.

* http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/wpress/articles/written-by-christine/the-spoon...

Hi Morphy- Just buzzing through. Hope the week is going well. Reading anything good?

Thanks for sharing the spoons link, Morphy. And thanks for sharing your spoons with us! Enjoy your rest.

Enjoy all that downtime, Morphy. :)

DAGNABBIT! I called about cancellations today and they had an opening tomorrow. BUT! You're not supposed to have had ibuprofen for seven days before the procedure, which I totally forgot about, and I took some last night!!! ARGGGGGH!

Oh, drat, I hate when stuff like that happens! So sorry you can't take advantage of the cancellation, Morphy!

^ What Terri said, times two!

>246 msf59: Mark, I just finished Allegiant which was good and then started The Red Pyramid by Riordan which I was hesitant about but it ends up it has started really well and I'm having to resist it while I get my computer stuff done this morning.

>247 SylviaC: Sylvia, I shall! I'm really looking forward to it.

>248 MickyFine: Micky, I hope to get a lot of reading done!

> 250 & 251 Terri & Lori, and now I have to wait until next Wednesday to call again for cancellations. Argh! I'm such an idiot. Blargh.

I'm glad you had a good time with Allegiant, Morphy. It has generated such mixed reactions, a lot (as far as I can tell) because of that one event at the end. I thought she told a good story, even if her writing style is not always so swell.

LOVE the various insults!

Dear Morphy

Stopping by to say hello! I love the insult quotes listed above....

So often when someone says a biting thing, or is exceedingly rude, I am like a deer in the headlights, too stunned to do anything.

Later, I think of lots of things I could have/should have said.

Happy Day to you!

>253 jnwelch: Joe, I'll be putting up my micro-review today!

>254 EBT1002: Ellen, glad you enjoyed them!

>255 Whisper1: Linda, so happy to see you posting again. I'm like you with insults - speechless. I'd love to have some biting wit like some of those above!

***

New thread coming sometime today. Patience, my dears...

Here's the new thread!

See #260

Argh! I forgot to continue it and started a new thread instead. So please be sure to STAR the new thread!

See #260

ARRRRRGH! Not only did I not continue it, I put it in the wrong group! Hold your horses...

Okay, here's the correct thread. I'm such a maroon...

http://www.librarything.com/topic/161435